_THE FALL OF ARIANISM._
[Sidenote: Prospects in 375.]
The fiftieth year from the great council came and went, and brought no
relief to the calamities of the churches. Meletius and Cyril were still
in exile, East and West were still divided over the consecration of
Paulinus, and now even Alexandria had become the prey of Lucius. The
leaden rule of Valens still weighed down the East, and Valens was
scarcely yet past middle life, and might reign for many years longer.
The deliverance came suddenly, and the Nicene faith won its victory in
the confusion of the greatest disaster which had ever yet befallen Rome.
[Sidenote: The Empire in 376.]
In the year 376 the Empire still seemed to stand unshaken within the
limits of Augustus. If the legions had retired from the outlying
provinces of Dacia and Carduene, they more than held their ground on the
great river frontiers of the Euphrates, the Danube, and the Rhine. If
Julian's death had seemed to let loose all the enemies of Rome at once,
they had all been repulsed. While the Persian advance was checked by the
obstinate patriotism of Armenia, Valens reduced the Goths to submission,
and his Western colleague drove the Germans out of Gaul and recovered
Britain from the Picts. The Empire had fully held its own through twelve
years of incessant warfare; and if there were serious indications of
exhaustion in the dwindling of the legions and the increase of the
barbarian auxiliaries, in the troops of brigands who infested every
mountain district, in the alarming decrease of population, and above all
in the ruin of the provinces by excessive taxation, it still seemed
inconceivable that real danger could ever menace Rome's eternal throne.
[Sidenote: The Gothic war (377-378).]
But while the imperial statesmen were watching the Euphrates, the storm
was gathering on the Danube. The Goths in Dacia had been learning
husbandry and Christianity since Aurelian's time, and bade fair soon to
become a civilized people. Heathenism was already half abandoned, and
their nomad habits half laid aside. But when the Huns came up suddenly
from the steppes of Asia, the stately Gothic warriors fled almost
without a blow from the hordes of wild dwarfish horsemen. The Ostrogoths
became the servants of their conquerors, and the heathens of Athanaric
found a refuge in the recesses of the Transylvanian forests. But
Fritigern was a Christian. Rome had helped him once before, and Rome
might help him now. A whole nation of panic-stricken warriors crowded to
the banks of the Danube. There was but one inviolable refuge in the
world, and that was beneath the shelter of the Roman eagles. Only let
them have some of the waste lands in Thrace, and they would be glad to
do the Empire faithful service. When conditions had been settled, the
Goths were brought across the river. Once on Roman ground, they were
left to the mercy of officials whose only thought was to make the
famished barbarians a prey to their own rapacity and lust. Before long
the Goths broke loose and spread over the country, destroying whatever
cultivation had survived the desolating misgovernment of the Empire.
Outlaws and deserters were willing guides, and crowds of fresh
barbarians came in to share the spoil. The Roman generals found it no
easy task to keep the field.
[Sidenote: Battle of Hadrianople (Aug. 9, 378).]
First the victories of Claudius and Aurelian, and then the statesmanship
of Constantine, had stayed for a century the tide of Northern war, but
now the Empire was again reduced to fight for its existence. Its rulers
seemed to understand the crisis. The East was drained of all available
troops, and Sebastian the Manichee, the old enemy of Athanasius, was
placed in command. Gratian hurried Thraceward with the Gaulish legions,
and at last Valens thought it time to leave his pleasant home at Antioch
for the field of war. Evil omens beset his march, but no omen could be
worse than his own impulsive rashness. With a little prudence, such a
force as he had gathered round the walls of Hadrianople was an overmatch
for any hordes of barbarians. But Valens determined to storm the Gothic
camp without waiting for his Western colleague. Rugged ground and tracts
of burning grass delayed his march, so that it was long past noon before
he neared the line of waggons, later still before the Gothic trumpet
sounded. But the Roman army was in hopeless rout at sundown. The Goths
came down 'like a thunderbolt on the mountain tops,' and all was lost.
Far into the night the slaughtering went on. Sebastian fell, the Emperor
was never heard of more, and full two-thirds of the Roman army perished
in a scene of unequalled horror since the butchery of Cannæ.
[Sidenote: Results of the battle.]
Beneath that crushing blow the everlasting Empire shook from end to end.
The whole power of the East had been mustered with a painful effort to
the struggle, and the whole power of the East had been shattered in a
summer's day. For the first time since the days of Gallienus, the Empire
could place no army in the field. But Claudius and Aurelian had not
fought in vain, nor were the hundred years of respite lost. If the
dominion of Western Europe was transferred for ever to the Northern
nations, the walls of Constantinople had risen to bar their eastward
march, and Christianity had shown its power to awe their boldest
spirits. The Empire of the Christian East withstood the shock of
Hadrianople--only the heathen West sank under it. When once the old
barriers of civilization on the Danube and the Rhine were broken
through, the barbarians poured in for centuries like a flood of mighty
waters overflowing. Not till the Northman and the Magyar had found their
limit at the siege of Paris [Sidenote: 888.] and the battle of the
Lechfeld [Sidenote: 955.] could Europe feel secure. The Roman Empire and
the Christian Church alone rode out the storm which overthrew the
ancient world. But the Christian Church was founded on the ever-living
Rock, the Roman Empire rooted deep in history. Arianism was a thing of
yesterday and had no principle of life, and therefore it vanished in the
crash of Hadrianople. The Homoean supremacy had come to rest almost
wholly on imperial misbelief. The mob of the capital might be in its
favour, and the virtues of isolated bishops might secure it some support
elsewhere; but serious men were mostly Nicenes or Anomoeans.
Demophilus of Constantinople headed the party, and his blunders did it
almost as much harm as the profane jests of Eudoxius. At Antioch
Euzoius, the last of the early Arians, was replaced by Dorotheus. Milan
under Ambrose was aggressively Nicene, and the Arian tyrants were very
weak at Alexandria. On the other hand, the greatest of the Nicenes had
passed away, and few were left who could remember the great council's
meeting. Athanasius and Hilary were dead, and even Basil did not live to
greet an orthodox Emperor. Meletius of Antioch was in exile, and Cyril
of Jerusalem and the venerated Eusebius of Samosata, while Gregory of
Nazianzus had found in the Isaurian mountains a welcome refuge from his
hated diocese of Sasima. If none of the living Nicenes could pretend to
rival Athanasius, they at least outmatched the Arians.
[Sidenote: Gratian's toleration.]
As Valens left no children, the Empire rested for the moment in the
hands of his nephew, Gratian, a youth of not yet twenty. Gratian,
however, was wise enough to see that it was no time to cultivate
religious quarrels. He, therefore, began by proclaiming toleration to
all but Anomoeans and Photinians. As toleration was still the theory
of the Empire, and none but the Nicenes were practically molested, none
but the Nicenes gained anything by the edict. But mere toleration was
all they needed. The exiled bishops found little difficulty in resuming
the government of their flocks, and even in sending missions to Arian
strongholds. The Semiarians were divided. Numbers went over to the
Nicenes, while others took up an independent or Macedonian position. The
Homoean power in the provinces fell of itself before it was touched by
persecution. It scarcely even struggled against its fate. At Jerusalem
indeed party spirit ran as high as ever, but Alexandria was given up to
Peter almost without resistance. We find one or two outrages like the
murder of Eusebius of Samosata by an Arian woman in a country town, who
threw down a tile on his head, but we hardly ever find a Homoean
bishop heartily supported by his flock.
[Sidenote: Gregory of Nazianzus.]
Constantinople itself was now the chief stronghold of the Arians. They
had held the churches since 340, and were steadily supported by the
court. Thus the city populace was devoted to Arianism, and the Nicenes
were a mere remnant, without either church or teacher. The time,
however, was now come for a mission to the capital. Gregory of Nazianzus
was the son of Bishop Gregory, born about the time of the Nicene
council. His father was already presbyter of Nazianzus, and held the
bishopric for nearly half a century. [Sidenote: 329-374.] Young Gregory
was a student of many schools. From the Cappadocian Cæsarea he went on
to the Palestinian, and thence to Alexandria; but Athens was the goal of
his student-life. Gregory and Basil and Prince Julian met at the feet of
Proæresius. They all did credit to his eloquence, but there the likeness
ends. Gregory disliked Julian's strange, excited manner, and persuaded
himself in later years that he had even then foreseen the evil of the
apostate's reign. With Basil, on the other hand his friendship was for
life. They were well-matched in eloquence, in ascetic zeal, and in
opposition to Arianism, though Basil's imperious ways were a trial to
Gregory's gentler and less active spirit. During the quarrel with
Anthimus of Tyana, Basil thought fit to secure the disputed possession
of Sasima by making it a bishopric. [Sidenote: 372.] It was a miserable
post-station--'No water, no grass, nothing but dust and carts, and
groans and howls, and small officials with their usual instruments of
torture.' Gregory was made bishop of Sasima against his will, and never
fairly entered on his repulsive duties. After a few years' retirement,
he came forward to undertake the mission to Constantinople. [Sidenote:
379.] The great city was a city of triflers. They jested at the actors
and the preachers without respect of persons, and followed with equal
eagerness the races and the theological disputes. Anomoeans abounded
in their noisy streets, and the graver Novatians and Macedonians were
infected with the spirit of wrangling. Gregory's austere character and
simple life were in themselves a severe rebuke to the lovers of pleasure
round him. He began his work in a private house, and only built a church
when the numbers of his flock increased. He called it his
Anastasia,--the church of the resurrection of the faith. The mob was
hostile--one night they broke into his church--but the fruit of his
labours was a growing congregation of Nicenes in the capital.
[Sidenote: Theodosius Emperor in the East (379).]
Gratian's next step was to share his burden with a colleague. If the
care of the whole Empire had been too much for Diocletian or
Valentinian, Gratian's were not the Atlantean shoulders which could bear
its undivided weight. In the far West, at Cauca near Segovia, there
lived a son of Theodosius, the recoverer of Britain and Africa, whose
execution had so foully stained the opening of Gratian's reign. That
memory of blood was still fresh, yet in that hour of overwhelming danger
Gratian called young Theodosius to be his honoured colleague and
deliverer. Early in 379 he gave him the conduct of the Gothic war. With
it went the Empire of the East.
[Sidenote: End of the Gothic war.]
Theodosius was neither Greek nor Asiatic, but a stranger from the
Spanish West, endued with a full measure of Spanish courage and
intolerance. As a general he was the most brilliant Rome had seen since
Julian's death. Men compared him to Trajan, and in a happier age he
might have rivalled Trajan's fame. But now the Empire was ready to
perish. The beaten army was hopelessly demoralized, and Theodosius had
to form a new army of barbarian legionaries before the old tradition of
Roman superiority could resume its wonted sway. It soon appeared that
the Goths could do nothing with their victory, and sooner or later would
have to make their peace with Rome. Theodosius drove them inland in the
first campaign; and while he lay sick at Thessalonica in the second,
Gratian or his generals received the submission of the Ostrogoths.
Fritigern died the same year, and his old rival Athanaric was a fugitive
before it ended. When the returning Ostrogoths dislodged him from his
Transylvanian forest, he was welcomed with honourable courtesy by
Theodosius in person at Constantinople. But the old enemy of Rome and
Christianity had only come to lay his bones on Roman soil. In another
fortnight the barbarian chief was carried out with kingly splendour to
his Roman funeral. Theodosius had nobly won Athanaric's inheritance. His
wondering Goths at once took service with their conqueror: chief after
chief submitted, and the work of peace was completed on the Danube in
the autumn of 382.
[Sidenote: Baptism of Theodosius.]
We can now return to ecclesiastical affairs. The dangerous illness of
Theodosius in 380 had important consequences, for his baptism by
Ascholius of Thessalonica was the natural signal for a more decided
policy. Ascholius was a zealous Nicene, so that Theodosius was committed
to the Nicene side as effectually as Valens had been to the Homoean;
and Theodosius was less afraid of strong measures than Valens. His first
rescript (Feb. 27, 380) commands all men to follow the Nicene doctrine
'committed by the apostle Peter to the Romans, and now professed by
Damasus of Rome and Peter of Alexandria,' and plainly threatens to
impose temporal punishments on the heretics. Here it will be seen that
Theodosius abandons Constantine's test of orthodoxy by subscription to a
creed. It seemed easier now, and more in the spirit of Latin
Christianity, to require communion with certain churches. The choice of
Rome is natural, the addition of Alexandria shows that the Emperor was
still a stranger to the mysteries of Eastern partizanship.
[Sidenote: Suppression of Arian worship inside cities.]
There was no reason for delay when the worst dangers of the Gothic war
were over. Theodosius made his formal entry into Constantinople,
November 24, 380, and at once required the bishop either to accept the
Nicene faith or to leave the city. Demophilus honourably refused to give
up his heresy, and adjourned his services to the suburbs. So ended the
forty years of Arian domination in Constantinople. But the mob was still
Arian, and their stormy demonstrations when the cathedral of the Twelve
Apostles was given up to Gregory of Nazianzus were enough to make
Theodosius waver. Arian influence was still strong at court, and Arian
bishops came flocking to Constantinople. Low as they had fallen, they
could still count among them the great name of Ulfilas. But he could
give them little help, for though the Goths of Moesia were faithful to
the Empire, Theodosius preferred the stalwart heathens of Athanaric to
their Arian countrymen. Ulfilas died at Constantinople like Athanaric,
but there was no royal funeral for the first apostle of the Northern
nations. Theodosius hesitated, and even consented to see the heresiarch
Eunomius, who was then living near Constantinople. The Nicenes took
alarm, and the Empress Flaccilla urged her husband on the path of
persecution. The next edict (Jan. 381) forbade heretical discussions and
assemblies inside cities, and ordered the churches everywhere to be
given up to the Nicenes.
[Sidenote: Council of Constantinople (May 381).]
Thus was Arianism put down, as it had been set up, by the civil power.
Nothing now remained but to clear away the disorders which the strife
had left behind. Once more an imperial summons went forth for a council
to meet at Constantinople in May 381. It was a sombre gathering. The
bright hope which lighted the Empire at Nicæa had long ago died out, and
even the conquerors now had no more joyous feeling than that of
thankfulness that the weary strife was coming to an end. Only a hundred
and fifty bishops were present, all of them Easterns. The West was not
represented even by a Roman legate. Amongst them were Meletius of
Antioch, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus as
elect of Constantinople, and Basil's unworthy successor, Helladius of
Cæsarea. Timothy of Alexandria came later. The Semiarians mustered
thirty-six under Eleusius of Cyzicus.
[Sidenote: Appointments of Gregory, Flavian, and Nectarius.]
The bishops were greeted with much splendour, and received a truly
imperial welcome in the form of a new edict of persecution against the
Manichees. Meletius of Antioch presided in the council, and Paulinus was
ignored. Theodosius was no longer neutral between Constantinople and
Alexandria. The Egyptians were not invited to the earlier sittings, or
at least were not present. The first act of the assembly was to ratify
the choice of Gregory of Nazianzus as bishop of Constantinople. Meletius
died as they were coming to discuss the affairs of Antioch, and Gregory
took his place as president. Here was an excellent chance of putting an
end to the schism, for Paulinus and Meletius had agreed that on the
death of either of them, the survivor should be recognised by both
parties as bishop of Antioch. But the council was jealous of Paulinus
and his Western friends, and broke the agreement by appointing Flavian,
one of the presbyters who had sworn to refuse the office. Gregory's
remonstrance against this breach of faith only drew upon him the hatred
of the Eastern bishops. The Egyptians, on the other hand, were glad to
join any attack on a nominee of Meletius, and found an obsolete Nicene
canon to invalidate his translation from Sasima to Constantinople. Both
parties were thus agreed for evil. Gregory cared not to dispute with
them, but gave up his beloved Anastasia, and retired to end his days at
Nazianzus. The council was not worthy of him. His successor was another
sort of man. Nectarius, the prætor of Constantinople, was a man of the
world of dignified presence, but neither saint nor student. Him,
however, Theodosius chose to fill the vacant see, and under his guidance
the council finished its sessions.
[Sidenote: Retirement of the Semiarians.]
The next move was to find out whether the Semiarians were willing to
share the victory of the Nicenes. As they were still a strong party
round the Hellespont, their friendship was important. Theodosius also
was less of a zealot than some of his admirers imagine. The sincerity of
his desire to conciliate Eleusius is fairly guaranteed by his effort two
years later to find a scheme of comprehension even for the Anomoeans.
But the old soldier was not to be tempted by hopes of imperial favour.
However he might oppose the Anomoeans, he could not forgive the
Nicenes their inclusion of the Holy Spirit in the sphere of co-essential
deity. Those of the Semiarians who were willing to join the Nicenes had
already done so, and the rest were obstinate. They withdrew from the
council and gave up their churches like the Arians. They comforted
themselves with those words of Scripture, 'The churchmen are many, but
the elect are few.'[17]
[Footnote 17: Matt. xx. 16.]
[Sidenote: Close of the council.]
Whatever jealousies might divide the conquerors, the Arian contest was
now at an end. Pontus and Syria were still divided from Rome and Egypt
on the question of Flavian's appointment, and there were the germs of
many future troubles in the disposition of Alexandria to look for help
to Rome against the upstart see of Constantinople; but against Arianism
the council was united. Its first canon is a solemn ratification of the
Nicene creed in its original shape, with a formal condemnation of all
the heresies, 'and specially those of the Eunomians or Anomoeans, of
the Arians or Eudoxians (_Homoeans_), of the Semiarians or
Pneumatomachi; of the Sabellians, Marcellians, Photinians, and
Apollinarians.'
[Sidenote: The spurious Nicene creed.]
The bishops issued no new creed. Tradition indeed ascribes to them the
spurious Nicene creed of our Communion Service, with the exception of
two later insertions--the clause 'God of God,' and the procession of the
Holy Spirit 'from the Son' as well as 'from the Father.' The story is an
old one, for it can be traced back to one of the speakers at the council
of Chalcedon in 451. It caused some surprise at the time, but was
afterwards accepted. Yet it is beyond all question false. This is shown
by four convergent lines of argument. In the first place, (1.) it is _a
priori_ unlikely. The Athanasian party had been contending all along,
not vaguely for the Nicene doctrine, but for the Nicene creed, the whole
Nicene creed, and nothing but the Nicene creed. Athanasius refused to
touch it at Sardica in 343, refused again at Alexandria in 362, and to
the end of his life refused to admit that it was in any way defective.
Basil himself as late as 377 declined even to consider some additions to
the incarnation proposed to him by Epiphanius of Salamis. Is it likely
that their followers would straightway revise the creed the instant they
got the upper hand in 381? And such a revision! The elaborate framework
of Nicæa is completely shattered, and even the keystone clause 'of the
essence of the Father' is left out. Moreover, (2.) there is no
contemporary evidence that they did revise it. No historian mentions
anything of the sort, and no single document connected with the council
gives the slightest colour to the story. There is neither trace nor sign
of it for nearly seventy years. The internal evidence (3.) points the
same way. Deliberate revision implies a deliberate purpose to the
alterations made. Now in this case, though we have serious variations
enough, there is another class of differences so meaningless that they
cannot even be represented in an English translation. There remains (4.)
one more argument. The spurious Nicene creed cannot be the work of the
fathers of Constantinople in 381, because it is given in the _Ancoratus_
of Epiphanius, which was certainly written in 374. But if the council
did not draw up the creed, it is time to ask who did. Everything seems
to show that it is not a revision of the Nicene creed at all, but of the
local creed of Jerusalem, executed by Bishop Cyril on his return from
exile in 362. This is only a theory, but it has all the evidence which a
theory can have--it explains the whole matter. In the first place, the
meaningless changes disappear if we compare the spurious Nicene creed
with that of Jerusalem instead of the genuine Nicene. Every difference
can be accounted for by reference to the known position and opinions of
Cyril. Thus the old Jerusalem creed says that the Lord '_sat_ down at
the right hand of the Father;' our 'Nicene,' that he '_sitteth_.' Now
this is a favourite point of Cyril in his _Catecheses_--that the Lord
did not sit down once for all, but that he sitteth so for ever.
Similarly other points. We also know that other local creeds were
revised about the same time and in the same way. In the next place, the
occurrence of a revised Jerusalem creed in the _Ancoratus_ is natural.
Epiphanius was past middle life when he left Palestine for Cyprus in
368, and never forgot the friends he left behind at Lydda. We are also
in a position to account for its ascription to the council of
Constantinople. Cyril's was a troubled life, and there are many
indications that he was accused of heresy in 381, and triumphantly
acquitted by the council. In such a case his creed would naturally be
examined and approved. It was a sound confession, and in no way
heretical. From this point its history is clearer. The authority of
Jerusalem combined with its own intrinsic merits to recommend it, and
the incidental approval of the bishops at Constantinople was gradually
developed into the legend of their authorship.
[Sidenote: The rest of the canons.]
The remaining canons are mostly aimed at the disorders which had grown
up during the reign of Valens. One of them checks the reckless
accusations which were brought against the bishops by ordering that no
charge of heresy should be received from heretics and such like. Such a
disqualification of accusers was not unreasonable, as it did not apply
to charges of private wrong; yet this clerical privilege grew into one
of the worst scandals of the Middle Ages. The forged decretals of the
ninth century not only order the strictest scrutiny of witnesses against
a bishop, but require seventy-two of them to convict him of any crime
_except_ heresy. Another canon forbids the intrusion of bishops into
other dioceses. 'Nevertheless, the bishop of Constantinople shall hold
the first rank after the bishop of Rome, because Constantinople is New
Rome.' This is the famous third canon, which laid a foundation for the
ecclesiastical authority of Constantinople. It was extended at Chalcedon
[Sidenote: 451.] into a jurisdiction over the whole country from Mount
Taurus to the Danube, and by Justinian into the supremacy of the East.
The canon, therefore, marks a clear step in the concentration of the
Eastern Church and Empire round Constantinople. The blow struck Rome on
one side, Alexandria on the other. It was the reason why Rome withheld
for centuries her full approval from the council of Constantinople.
[Sidenote: 1215.] She could not safely give it till her Eastern rival
was humiliated; and this was not till the time of the Latin Emperors in
the thirteenth century.
[Sidenote: Second edict defining orthodoxy.]
The council having ratified the Emperor's work, it only remained for the
Emperor to complete that of the council. A new edict in July forbade
Arians of every sort to build churches. Even their old liberty to build
outside the walls of cities was now taken from them. At the end of the
month Theodosius issued an amended definition of orthodoxy. Henceforth
sound belief was to be guaranteed by communion, no longer with Rome and
Alexandria, but with Constantinople, Alexandria, and the chief
bishoprics of the East. The choice of bishops was decided partly by
their own importance, partly by that of their sees. Gregory of Nyssa may
represent one class, Helladius of Cæsarea the other. The omissions,
however, are significant. We miss not only Antioch and Jerusalem, but
Ephesus and Hadrianople, and even Nicomedia. There is a broad space left
clear around the Bosphorus. If we now take into account the third canon,
we cannot mistake the Asiatic policy of endeavouring to replace the
primacy of Rome or Alexandria by that of Constantinople.
[Sidenote: The Novatians.]
The tolerance of Theodosius was a little, though only a little, wider
than it seems. Though the Novatians were not in communion with
Nectarius, they were during the next half century a recognised exception
to the persecuting laws. They had always been sound as against Arianism,
and their bishop Agelius had suffered exile under Valens. His confession
was approved by Theodosius, and several of his successors lived on
friendly terms with liberal or worldly patriarchs like Nectarius and
Atticus. They suffered something from the bigotry of Chrysostom,
something also from the greed of Cyril, but for them the age of
persecution only began with Nestorius in 428.
[Sidenote: Decay of Arianism.]
So far as numbers went, the cause of Arianism was not even yet hopeless.
It was still fairly strong in Syria and Asia, and counted adherents as
far west as the banks of the Danube. At Constantinople it could raise
dangerous riots (in one of them Nectarius had his house burnt), and even
at the court of Milan it had a powerful supporter in Valentinian's
widow, the Empress Justina. Yet its fate was none the less a mere
question of time. Its cold logic generated no such fiery enthusiasm as
sustained the African Donatists; the newness of its origin allowed no
venerable traditions to grow up round it like those of heathenism, while
its imperial claims and past successes cut it off from the appeal of
later heresies to provincial separatism. When, therefore, the last
overtures of Theodosius fell through in 383, the heresy was quite unable
to bear the strain of steady persecution.
[Sidenote: Teutonic Arianism: (1.) In the East.]
But if Arianism soon ceased to be a power inside the Empire, it remained
the faith of the barbarian invaders. The work of Ulfilas was not in
vain. Not the Goths only, but all the earlier Teutonic converts were
Arians. And the Goths had a narrow miss of empire. The victories of
Theodosius were won by Gothic strength. It was the Goths who scattered
the mutineers of Britain, and triumphantly scaled the impregnable walls
of Aquileia; [Sidenote: 388.] the Goths who won the hardest battle of
the century, and saw the Franks themselves go down before them on the
Frigidus. [Sidenote: 394.] The Goths of Alaric plundered Rome itself;
the Goths of Gaïnas entered Constantinople, though only to be
overwhelmed and slaughtered round the vain asylum of their burning
church.
[Sidenote: (2.) In the West.]
In the next century the Teutonic conquest of the West gave Arianism
another lease of power. Once more the heresy was supreme in Italy, and
Spain, and Africa. Once more it held and lost the future of the world.
To the barbarian as well as to the heathen it was a half-way halt upon
the road to Christianity; and to the barbarian also it was nothing but a
source of weakness. It lived on and in its turn perpetuated the feud
between the Roman and the Teuton which caused the destruction of the
earlier Teutonic kingdoms in Western Europe. The provincials or their
children might forget the wrongs of conquest, but heresy was a standing
insult to the Roman world. Theodoric the Ostrogoth may rank with the
greatest statesmen of the Empire, yet even Theodoric found his Arianism
a fatal disadvantage. And if the isolation of heresy fostered the
beginnings of a native literature, it also blighted every hope of future
growth. The Goths were not inferior to the English, but there is nothing
in Gothic history like the wonderful burst of power which followed the
conversion of the English. There is no Gothic writer to compare with
Bede or Cædmon. Jordanis is not much to set against them, and even
Jordanis was not an Arian.
[Sidenote: Fall of Teutonic Arianism.]
The sword of Belisarius did but lay open the internal disunion of Italy
and Africa. A single blow destroyed the kingdom of the Vandals, and all
the valour of the Ostrogoths could only win for theirs a downfall of
heroic grandeur. Sooner or later every Arian nation had to purge itself
of heresy or vanish from the earth. Even the distant Visigoths
[Sidenote: 589.] were forced to see that Arians could not hold Spain.
The Lombards in Italy were the last defenders of the hopeless cause, and
they too yielded a few years later to the efforts of Pope Gregory and
Queen Theudelinda. [Sidenote: 599.] Of Continental Teutons, the Franks
alone escaped the divisions of Arianism. In the strength of orthodoxy
they drove the Goths before them on the field of Vouglé, [Sidenote:
507.] and brought the green standard of the Prophet to a halt upon the
Loire. [Sidenote: 732.] The Franks were no better than their
neighbours--rather worse--so that it was nothing but their orthodoxy
which won for them the prize which the Lombard and the Goth had missed,
and brought them through a long career of victory to that proud day of
universal reconciliation [Sidenote: 800.] when the strife of ages was
forgotten, and Arianism with it--when, after more than three hundred
years of desolating anarchy, the Latin and the Teuton joined to
vindicate for Old Rome her just inheritance of empire, and to set its
holy diadem upon the head of Karl the Frank.
[Sidenote: Conclusion.]
Now that we have traced the history of Arianism to its final overthrow,
let us once more glance at the causes of its failure. Arianism, then,
was an illogical compromise. It went too far for heathenism, not far
enough for Christianity. It conceded Christian worship to the Lord, yet
made him no better than a heathen demigod. It confessed a Heavenly
Father, as in Christian duty bound, yet identified Him with the
mysterious and inaccessible Supreme of the philosophers. As a scheme of
Christianity, it was overmatched at every point by the Nicene doctrine;
as a concession to heathenism, it was outbid by the growing worship of
saints and relics. Debasing as was the error of turning saints into
demigods, it seems to have shocked Christian feeling less than the Arian
audacity which degraded the Lord of saints to the level of his
creatures. But the crowning weakness of Arianism was the incurable
badness of its method. Whatever were the errors of Athanasius--and in
details they were not a few--his work was without doubt a faithful
search for truth by every means attainable to him. He may be misled by
his ignorance of Hebrew or by the defective exegesis of his time; but
his eyes are always open to the truth, from whatever quarter it may come
to him. In breadth of view as well as grasp of doctrine, he is beyond
comparison with the rabble of controversialists who cursed or still
invoke his name. The gospel was truth and life to him, not a mere
subject for strife and debate. It was far otherwise with the Arians. On
one side their doctrine was a mass of presumptuous theorizing, supported
by alternate scraps of obsolete traditionalism and uncritical
text-mongering; on the other it was a lifeless system of spiritual pride
and hard unlovingness. Therefore Arianism perished. So too every system,
whether of science or theology, must likewise perish which presumes like
Arianism to discover in the feeble brain of man a law to circumscribe
the revelation of our Father's love in Christ.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
269. Claudius defeats the Goths at Naissus.
272. Aurelian defeats Zenobia.
284-305. Diocletian.
Cir. 297. Birth of Athanasius.
303-313. The great persecution.
306-337. Constantine (in Gaul).
311. First edict of toleration (by Galerius).
312-337. Constantine (in Italy).
312. Second edict of toleration (from Milan).
314. Council of Arles, on the Donatists, &c.
315-337. Constantine (in Illyricum).
Cir. 317. Athanasius _de Incarnatione Verbi Dei_.
Cir. 318. Outbreak of Arian controversy.
323-337. Constantine (in the East).
325 (June). Council of Nicæa.
328-373. Athanasius bishop of Alexandria.
330. Foundation of Constantinople.
Cir. 330. Deposition of Eustathius of Antioch.
335. Councils of Tyre and Jerusalem.
336 (Feb.)-337 (Nov.) First exile of Athanasius.
337 (May 22). Death of Constantine.
339 (Lent)-346 (Oct.) Second exile of Athanasius.
341. Council of the Dedication at Antioch. Consecration of Ulfilas.
343. Councils of Sardica and Philippopolis.
350. Death of Constans.
351. Battle of Mursa.
353. Death of Magnentius.
355. Julian Cæsar in Gaul. Council at Milan.
356 (Feb. 8)-362 (Feb. 22). Third exile of Athanasius.
357. Sirmian manifesto.
358. Council at Ancyra. Hilary _de Synodis_.
359 (May 22). Conference at Sirmium. The dated creed. Councils of
Ariminum and Seleucia. Athanasius _de Synodis_.
360 (Jan.) Julian Augustus at Paris. Council at Constantinople. Exile of
Semiarians.
361. Appointment and exile of Meletius. (Nov.) Death of Constantius.
362. Council at Alexandria. Fourth exile of Athanasius.
363 (June 26). Death of Julian. Jovian succeeds.
364 (Feb. 16). Death of Jovian. Valentinian succeeds.
365-366. Revolt of Procopius. Fifth exile and final restoration of
Athanasius.
367-369. Gothic war.
370-379. Basil bishop of Cæsarea (in Cappadocia).
371. Death of Marcellus.
372. Meeting of Basil and Valens.
373 (May 2). Death of Athanasius.
374. Epiphanius _Ancoratus_.
374-397. Ambrose bishop of Milan.
375. Death of Valentinian. Gratian succeeds.
376. Goths pass the Danube.
378 (Aug. 9). Battle of Hadrianople. Death of Valens.
379-395. Theodosius Emperor.
381 (May.) Council of Constantinople.
383. Last overtures of Theodosius to the Arians.
397. Chrysostom bishop of Constantinople.
410. Sack of Rome by Alaric.
451. Council of Chalcedon.
487-526. Reign of Theodoric in Italy.
507. Battle of Vouglé.
589. Visigoths abandon Arianism.
599. Lombards abandon Arianism.
800. Coronation of Karl the Frank.
INDEX.
Acasius, Bishop of Cæsarea, 42, 49;
at Sardica, 70, 90;
forms Homoean party, 92;
at Seleucia, 97;
character, 100;
at Constantinople, 101;
and Meletius, 103, 104;
accepts Nicene faith, 115, 120, 124.
Aetius, Anomoean doctrine, 75;
ordained by Leontius, 78; 100;
degraded, 101.
Agelius, Novatian bishop of Constantinople, 163.
Alaric, 164.
Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, 5;
excommunicates Arius, 14, 19;
at Nicæa, 21;
death of, 47;
and Athanasius, 48.
Alexander, Bishop of Thessalonica, at Tyre, 57, 58.
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 122, 134;
Illyrian council, 146, 151.
Ammianus, historian, 109.
Anastasia church, 153.
Anthimus, Bishop of Tyana, quarrels with Basil, 135, 153;
with Gregory of Nyssa, 145.
Antony, legendary hermit, 48, 123.
Apollinarius of Laodicea, 12, 113, 124;
doctrine, 136-142, 145.
Arinthæus the Goth, 132.
Arius, early life and doctrine, 5;
excommunicated, 14;
flees to Cæsarea, 15, 19;
exiled, 38;
restored at Jerusalem, 58;
death, 59; 68, 75, 77;
and Apollinarius, 137.
Ascholius, Bishop of Thessalonica, baptizes Theodosius, 155.
Asterius, Cappadocian sophist, 131.
Athanaric, Goth, 148;
death, 155.
Athanasius, _de Incarnatione_, 9-12;
as a commentator, 13, 49, 167;
at Nicæa, 21;
persistence, 27;
account of Nicene debates, 34;
dislikes Meletian settlement, 38;
policy at Nicæa, 39; 46, 47;
Bishop of Alexandria, 48;
character and early life, 48;
power in Egypt, 50, 87, 114, 122;
at Tyre, 57;
flees to Constantinople, 58, 87;
first exile, 59;
return, 62;
second exile, 64, 68;
at Sardica, 70;
second return, 73;
overtures of Magnentius, 81;
expelled by Syrianus, 86;
third exile, 87;
on Homoean reasoning, 94;
_de Synodis_, 97, 98;
third return, 111;
at council of Alexandria, 112;
fourth exile, 114;
fourth return, 120, 122;
on the Holy Spirit, 125;
troubles with Valens, 127;
final restoration, 129;
and Basil, 132, 134;
and Apollinarius, 137-141;
last years, reception of Marcellus, 142;
death, 143; 151;
holds to Nicene creed, 160.
Aurelian, Emperor (270-275), services, 16;
test of Christian orthodoxy, 24.
Auxentius, Arian bishop of Milan, 102, 121;
Cappadocian, 131.
Baptismal professions, 23.
Basil, Bishop of Ancyra, expelled, 62;
restored, 82;
at synod of Ancyra, 90, 132; 98,
returns, 111.
Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea (Cappadocia), 109;
on the Holy Spirit, 125;
life and work, 132-136;
on reception of Marcellians, 144, 145;
death, 151;
student life, 152;
holds to Nicene creed, 160.
Basilina, mother of Julian, 105, 106.
Belisarius, 165.
Cæcilian, Bishop of Carthage, at Nicæa, 20.
Cappadocia, 130.
Carpones, an early Arian, 14;
at Rome, 65.
Chrysostom (John), 43, 46, 163.
Claudius, Bishop in Picenum, 100.
Constans, Emperor (337-350), 62, 69, 73;
death, 80.
Constantia, sister of Constantine, 25.
Constantine, Emperor (306-337), character, 17;
dealings with Arianism, 18;
summons Nicene council, 19;
action there, 36, 37, 47;
church on Golgotha, 57, 76;
exiles Athanasius, 59;
work and death, 61;
church at Antioch, 67, 87;
power of his name, 80, 127, 128; 148.
Constantine II., Emperor (337-340), 62;
death, 70.
Constantius, Emperor (337-361), 45, 46;
accession and character, 62;
calls Sardican council, 70;
recalls Athanasius, 73;
defeats Magnentius, 81;
pressure on the West, 82;
exiles Liberius, 85;
expels Athanasius, 86, 101, 103;
death of, 106, 112.
Councils:
Alexandria (362), 112.
Ancyra (358), 90.
Antioch (269), 33.
" (338), 64.
" (341), 67.
" (344), 72.
Ariminum (359), 93.
Arles (314), 20.
" (353), 70.
Constantinople (360), 101.
" (381), 157.
Lampsacus (364), 125.
Jerusalem (335), 58.
Milan (355), 83.
Nicæa (325), 19-40.
Sardica (343), 70.
Seleucia (359), 93.
Tyre (335), 57.
Creeds:
Antioch (first), 68.
" (second = Lucianic), 68.
" (third = Tyana), 69.
" (fourth), 69.
" (fifth), 72.
Apostles' (Marcellus), 22, 67.
Cæsarea, 26.
Constantinople (360), 101.
"Constantinople" (381), 159.
Jerusalem, 77, 159.
Nicæa (genuine) 29.
" (spurious), 159.
Nicé, 95.
Sardica (Philippopolis), 72.
Seleucia, 97.
Sirmium (manifesto), 88.
" (dated), 94.
Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, 163.
Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, _Catecheses_, 76;
accepts Nicene faith, 115; 147, 151;
at Constantinople, 157;
and "Nicene" creed, 160, 161.
Dalmatius, 62.
Damasus, Bishop of Rome, 155.
Demophilus, Bishop of Constantinople, 122, 145, 151;
gives up the churches, 156.
Dianius, Bishop of Cæsarea (Cappadocia), 115;
baptizes Basil, 132.
Diocletian, Emperor (284-305), persecution, 9;
reign, 17.
Diodorus, Bishop of Tarsus, 78.
Dionysius, Bishop of Milan, exiled, 82, 83, 90.
Dominica, Empress, 126.
Donatists, 18, 20.
Dorotheus, Arian bishop of Antioch, 151.
Eleusius, Bishop of Cyzicus, at Seleucia, 96, 97, 115;
at Lampsacus, 125;
at Constantinople, 157, 158.
Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, 160, 161.
Eudoxius, Bishop of Constantinople, 75;
Bishop of Antioch, 90, 97;
translated to Constantinople, 102; 104, 115, 120; 122;
deposed at Lampsacus, 125;
influence with Valens, 126, 129;
Cappadocian, 131, 145.
Eugenius, deacon, 142.
Euippius, Arian bishop, 132, 133.
Eunomius, Anomoean, 75, 95;
Bishop of Cyzicus, 103, 115;
on the Holy Spirit, 125;
exiled, 130;
Cappadocian, 131; 156.
Euphrates, Bishop of Cologne, 72.
Euphronius, Bishop of Antioch, 51.
Eusebia, Empress, 105.
Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea (Palestine), countenances Arius, 15, 21;
action at Nicæa, 25;
proposes Cæsarean creed, 35;
signs Nicene, 36; 42;
caution after Nicæa, 47; 49, 51;
at Tyre, 57, 58;
succeeded by Acacius, 70, 100.
Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea (Cappadocia), 132.
Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, favours Arius, 15;
at Nicæa, 21;
presents Arianizing creed, 25; 37;
exiled, 38;
organizes new party, 50;
attacks Athanasius, 56, 59.
Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, 133, 151;
murder of, 152.
Eusebius, Bishop of Vercellæ, exiled, 83, 90;
restored, 111;
at Alexandria, 112.
Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, at Nicæa, 21, 34;
exiled, 51;
and Apollinarius, 137.
Eustathius, Bishop of Sebastia, at Ancyra, 91, 103;
at Lampsacus, 126;
exiled by Valens, goes to Liberius, 128, 132;
quarrels with Basil, 135, 136, 145.
Euzoius, an early Arian, 14, 58, 68;
Bishop of Antioch, 104, 115, 120, 124;
death, 151.
Flavian, Bishop of Antioch, 78, 158.
Flavianus, prefect of Egypt, 127.
Fortunatian, Bishop of Aquileia, 70.
Fritigern, Goth, 148;
death, 154.
Gaïnas, 164.
Galatia, 52.
Gallus, Cæsar, 62, 105.
George of Cappodocia, Arian bishop of Alexandria, 86, 87;
deposed at Seleucia, 97;
and Julian, 107;
lynched, 111, 112; 131.
Germinius, Bishop of Cyzicus, translated to Sirmium, 82.
Gothic wars, first, 129;
second (Hadrianople), 149-155.
Gratian, Emperor (375-383), 149;
edict of toleration, 151;
takes Theodosius for colleague, 154.
Gratus of Carthage, 70
Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus, consecrates Basil, 133; 152.
Gregory of Nazianzus (son of the above), 151;
life and work at Constantinople, 152, 156;
Bishop of Constantinople, 157, 158.
Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, 141, 145;
at Constantinople, 157, 163.
Gregory, Bishop of Rome, 166.
Gregory of Cappadocia; Arian bishop of Alexandria, 64;
death of, 73; 86, 131.
Gregory the Wonder-worker, 132.
Hannibalianus, 62.
Hecebolius, renegade, 107.
Helladius, Bishop of Cæsarea (Cappadocia), 157, 163.
Hilarion, legendary hermit, 123.
Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, 46, 67, 82;
exile and character, 84, 90;
denounces Liberius, 92;
his _de Synodis_, 93;
at Seleucia, 96; 112;
on the Holy Spirit, 124.
Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, at Nicæa, 20; 34, 37;
at Sardica, 70, 72, 82;
exile and death, 85, 90.
James, Bishop of Nisibis, at Nicæa, 21.
Jerusalem in 348, 76.
John Archaph, Meletian, exiled, 59.
John the Persian at Nicæa, 22.
Jordanis, 165.
Jovian, Emperor (363-364), 119, 120.
Julian, Emperor (361-363), 40, 43, 46, 47, 62;
made Cæsar, 83;
Augustus, 102;
his reign, 105-117;
ascetic leanings, 108, 123;
education edict, 109, 137;
exiles Athanasius, 114, 127;
results, 118, 122;
and Cappadocia, 130;
student life, 152.
Julius, Bishop of Rome, receives Athanasius and Marcellus, 65; 70, 72,
85, 88.
Julius Constantius, 105.
Justina, Empress, 164.
Karl the Great, coronation of, 166.
Lactantius on the persecutors, 11.
Leonas, 97.
Leontius, Bishop of Antioch, appointed, 72;
management, 78; 104.
Libanius, heathen rhetorician, 43;
friend of Basil, 132.
Liberius, Bishop of Rome, 82;
disavows Vincent, 83;
exile of, 85, 90;
signs Sirmian creed, 91;
receives Semiarian deputation, 128.
Licinius, Emperor (306-323), 15, 19.
Lucian of Antioch, teacher of Arius, 5;
of Eusebius of Nicomedia, 15;
disciples at Nicæa, 21;
left no successors, 46;
disciples after Nicæa, 50;
connection with Aetius, 75.
Lucianic creed, at Antioch, 68; 77, 91;
at Seleucia, 97, 115;
at Lampsacus, 126.
Lucifer, Bishop of Calaris, exile and writings, 83, 90;
returns, 111;
absent from Alexandria, 112;
consecrates Paulinus, 114;
forms schism, 124, 134.
Lucius, Arian bishop of Alexandria, 142, 144, 147.
Macarius, Bishop of Ælia (Jerusalem), 15;
at Nicæa, 21.
Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, 79, 115.
Magnentius, Emperor (350-353), 74; 80, 82.
Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra, at Nicæa, 21;
and Apostles' creed, 23, 67;
persistence, 27; 31, 32;
and Nicene creed, 47, 51;
character and doctrine, 52-56;
exiled, 59;
restored, 62;
flees to Rome, 65;
at Sardica, 70, 72;
attacked by Cyril, 77;
deposed, 81; 90, 103;
returns, 111;
embassy to Athanasius, 142;
death, 143;
extinction of his school, 144.
Mardonius, 105, 107.
Maris, Bishop of Chalcedon, at Nicæa, 21;
curses Julian, 111, 117.
Maximin (Daza), Emperor (305-313), 48.
Maximus, Bishop of Jerusalem, 57, 58;
receives Athanasius, 73.
Maximus, Bishop of Trier, 70.
Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, 78; translated from Sebastia, 103;
exiled, 104;
return, 113, 115;
accepts Nicene creed, 120;
exiled by Valens, 128;
restored, 129; 131, 134, 147, 151;
death at Constantinople, 157.
Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, 19;
Nicene settlement, 38.
Modestus, renegade, 132, 133.
Nectarius, Bishop of Constantinople, 158, 163, 164.
Nepotianus, Emperor (350), 80.
Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, 163.
Origen, 9, 33, 76, 113;
on the Holy Spirit, 124.
Paphnutius, confessor, at Nicæa, 21;
at Tyre, 57, 58.
Paul, Bishop of Neocæsarea, at Nicæa, 21.
Paul of Samosata, 33, 91.
Paul of Thebes, legendary hermit, 123.
Paulinus, 51;
consecrated by Lucifer, 114, 147;
ignored at Constantinople, 157, 158.
Paulinus, Bishop of Trier, 82, 83, 90.
Pegasius, Bishop of Ilium, apostate, 108.
Pelagius, Bishop of Laodicea, 104.
Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, 144, 152, 155.
Philagrius, expels Athanasius, 64, 86.
Phoebadius, Bishop of Agen, condemns Sirmian manifesto, 90;
at Ariminum, 99, 101.
Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium, condemned, 73;
deposed, 81; 90, 91.
Pistus, an early Arian, 14;
Arian bishop of Alexandria, 64, 65.
Poemenius, Anomoean bishop of Constantinople, 120.
Potammon, confessor, at Nicæa, 21;
at Tyre, 57, 58.
Proæresius, teacher of Julian, 109, 152.
Procopius, revolt of, 128.
Protasius, Bishop of Milan, 70.
Restaces, Armenian bishop at Nicæa, 22.
Sabellianism, its meaning, 9;
relation of Athanasius to, 12, 32;
general dislike of, 13;
relation of Marcellus to, 32.
Sasima, 153.
Sebastian the Manichee, outrages in Egypt, 86;
commands against Goths, 149.
Secundus, Bishop of Ptolemais, at Nicæa, 21;
refuses Nicene creed, 38;
consecrates Pistus, 64, 65.
Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, 125.
Silvanus the Frank, 81.
Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus, at Seleucia, 95, 97.
Socrates, historian, 79.
Stephen, Bishop of Antioch, at Sardica, 70;
deposed, 72.
Syrianus, _dux Ægypti_, expels Athanasius, 86.
Tertullian, 9.
Theodoric, 165.
Theodosius, Emperor (379-395), choice of and character, 154;
first rescript, 155;
calls council of Constantinople, 157;
second rescript, 163.
Theodotus, Bishop of Nicopolis, 136.
Theonas, Bishop of Marmarica, at Nicæa, 21;
refuses Nicene creed, 38.
Theophilus the Goth, at Nicæa, 22.
Theophilus the Indian, 120.
Theophronius, Bishop of Tyana, 69.
Theudelinda, Lombard queen, 166.
Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria, 157.
Ulfilas, death, 156, 164.
Ursacius, Bishop of Singidunum, and Sirmian manifesto, 88, 90, 91;
forms Homoean party, 92;
at Ariminum, 95.
Valens, Emperor (364-378), 46;
character, 121;
church and state under, 122, 144, 161; 124;
Homoean policy, 126;
fresh exiles, 127;
Procopian panic, 128;
baptism and first Gothic war, 129;
overawed by Basil, 133;
second Gothic war, 149;
death at Hadrianople, 150.
Valens, Bishop of Mursa, and Sirmian manifesto, 88, 90, 91;
forms Homoean party, 92;
at Ariminum, 95, 99, 101, 130.
Valentinian, Emperor (364-375), character and policy, 121;
Semiarian deputation to, 128, 131;
death, 146.
Vetranio, Emperor (350), 80, 81.
Victor, a Sarmatian, 132.
Victorinus, Marius, 109.
Vincent, Bishop of Capua, at Nicæa, 20;
at Sardica, 70;
at Antioch, 72;
yields at Arles, 83.
Vitalis, Apollinarian bishop of Antioch, 141.