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"TO the right honourable lords our right reverend brethren and
colleagues Damasus, Ambrosius, Britton, Valerianus, Ascholius,
Ahemius, Basilius and the rest of the holy bishops assembled in the
great city of Rome, the holy synod of the orthodox bishops assembled
at the great city of Constantinople, sends greeting in the Lord.
"To recount all the sufferings inflicted on us by the power of the
Arians, and to attempt to give information to your reverences, as
though you were not already well acquainted with them, might seem
superfluous. For we do not suppose your piety to hold what is
befalling us as of such secondary importance as that you stand in any
need of information on matter's which cannot but evoke your sympathy.
Nor indeed were the storms which beset us such as to escape notice from
their insignificance. Our persecutions are but of yesterday. The
sound of them still rings in the ears alike of those who suffered them
and of those whose love made the sufferers' pain their own. It was
but a day or two ago, if I may so say, that some released from chains
in foreign lands returned to their own churches through manifold
afflictions; of others who had died in exile the relics were brought
home; others again, even after their return from exile, found the
passion of the heretics still at boiling heat, and, slain by them with
stones as was the blessed Stephen, met with a sadder fate in their own
than in a stranger's land. Others, worn away with various
cruelties, still bear in their bodies the scars of their wounds and the
marks of Christ.
"Who could tell the tale of fines, of disfranchisements, of
individual confiscations, of intrigues, of outrages, of prisons? In
truth all kinds of tribulation were wrought out beyond number in us,
perhaps because we were paying the penalty of sins, perhaps because the
merciful God was trying us by means of the multitude of our
sufferings. For these all thanks to God, who by means of such
afflictions trained his servants and, according to the multitude of his
mercies, brought us again to refreshment. We indeed needed long
leisure, time, and toil to restore the church once more, that so,
like physicians healing the body after long sickness and expelling its
disease by gradual treatment, we might bring her back to her ancient
health of true religion. It is true that on the whole we seem to have
been delivered from the violence of our persecutions and to be just now
recovering the churches which have for a long time been the prey of the
heretics. But wolves are troublesome to us who, though they have been
driven from the byre, yet harry the flocks up and down the glades,
daring to hold rival assemblies, stirring seditions among the people,
and shrinking from nothing which can do damage to the churches.
"So, as we have already said, we needs must labour all the longer.
Since however you showed your brotherly love to us by inviting us(as
though we were your own members) by the letters of our most religious
emperor to the synod which you are gathering by divine permission at
Rome, to the end that since we alone were then condemned to suffer
persecution, you should not now, when our emperors are at one with us
as to true religion, reign apart from us, but that we, to use the
apostle's phrase, should reign with you, our prayer was, if it were
possible, all in company to leave our churches, and rather gratify our
longing to see you than consult their needs. For who will give us
wings as of a dove, and we will fly and be at rest? But this course
seemed likely to leave the churches who were just recovering quite
undefended, and the undertaking was to most of us impossible, for, in
accordance with the letters sent a year ago from your holiness after the
synod at Aquileia to the most pious emperor Theodosius, we had
journeyed to Constantinople, equipped only for travelling so far as
Constantinople, and bringing the consent of the bishops remaining in
the provinces for this synod alone. We had been in no expectation of
any longer journey nor had heard a word about it before our arrival at
Constantinople. In addition to all this, and on account of the
narrow limits of the appointed time which allowed of no preparation for
a longer journey, nor of communicating with the bishops of our
communion in the provinces and of obtaining their consent, the journey
to Rome was for the majority impossible. We have therefore adopted
the next best course open to us under the circumstances, both for the
better administration of the church, and for manifesting our love
towards you, by strongly urging our most venerated, and honoured
colleagues and brother bishops Cyriacus, Eusebius and Priscianus,
to consent to travel to you.
"Through them we wish to make it plain that our disposition is all for
peace with unity for its sole object, and that we are full of zeal for
the right faith. For we, whether we suffered persecutions, or
afflictions, or the threats of emperors, or the cruelties of princes
or any other trial at the hands of heretics, have undergone all for the
sake of the evangelic faith, ratified by the three hundred and eighteen
fathers at Nicaea in Bithynia. This is the faith which ought to be
sufficient for you, for us, for all who wrest not the word of the true
faith; for it is the ancient faith; it is the faith of our baptism;
it is the faith that teaches us to believe in the name of the Father,
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
"Accordiug to this faith there is one Godhead, Power and Substance
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; the dignity
being equal, and the majesty being equal in three perfect essences and
three perfect persons. Thus there is neither room for the heresy of
Sabellius by the confusion of the essences or destruction of the
individualities; thus the blasphemy of the Eunomians, of the
Arians, and of the Pneumatomachi is nullified, which divides the
substance, the nature and the godhead and superinduces on the uncreated
consubstantial and co-eternal trinity a nature posterior, created and
of a different substance. We moreover preserve unperverted the
doctrine of the incarnation of the Lord, holding the tradition that
the dispensation of the flesh is neither soulless nor mindless nor
imperfect; and knowing full well that God's Word was perfect before
the ages, and became perfect than in the last days for our salvation.
"Let this suffice for a summary of the doctrine which is fearlessly
and frankly preached by us, and concerning which you will be able to be
still further satisfied if you will deign to read the report of the
synod of Antioch, and also that issued last year by the oecumenical
council held at Constantinople, in which we have set forth our
confession of the faith at greater length, and have appended an
anathema against the heresies which innovators have recently inscribed.
"Now as to the particular administration of individual churches, an
ancient custom, as you know, has obtained, confirmed by the enactment
of the holy fathers at Nicaea, that, in every province, the bishops
of the province, and, with their consent, the neighbouring bishops
with them, should perform ordinations as expediency may require. In
conforming with these customs note that other churches have been
administered by us and the priests of the most famous churches publicly
appointed. Accordingly over the new made (if the expression be
allowable) church at Constantinople, which, as though from a lion's
mouth, we have lately snatched by God's mercy from the blasphemy of
the heretics, we have ordained bishop the right reverend and most
religious Nectarius, in the presence of the oecumenical council, with
common consent, before the most religions emperor Theodosius, and
with the assent of all the clergy and of the whole city. And over the
most ancient and truly apostolic church in Syria, where first the
noble name of Christians was given them, the bishops of the province
and of the eastern diocese have met together and canonically ordained
bishop the right reverend and most religious Flavianus, with the
consent of all the church, who as though with one voice joined in
expressing their respect for him. This rightful ordination also
received the sanction of the general council. Of the church at
Jerusalem, mother of all the churches, we make known that the right
reverend and most religious Cyril is bishop, who was some time ago
canonically ordained by the bishops of the province, and has in several
places fought a good fight against the Arians. We beseech your
reverence to rejoice at what has thus been rightly and canonically
settled by us, by the intervention of spiritual love and by the
influence of the fear of the Lord, compelling the feelings of then,
and making the edification of churches of more importance than
individual grace or favour. Thus since among us there is agreement in
the faith and Christian charity has been established, we shall cease
to use the phrase condemned by the apostles, 'I am of Paul and I of
Apollos and I of Cephas,' and all appearing as Christ's, who in
us is not divided, by God's grace we will keep the body of the church
unrent, and will boldly stand at the judgment seat of the Lord."
These things they wrote against the madness of Arius, Aetius, and
Eunomius; and moreover against Sabellius, Photinus, Marcellus,
Paul of Samosata, and Macedonius. Similarly they openly condemned
the innovation of Apollinarius in the phrase, "And we preserve the
doctrine of the incarnation of the Lord, holding the tradition that
the dispensation of the flesh is neither soulless, nor mindless, nor
imperfect."
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