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PAULINUS, bishop of Antioch, died about this period, and
those who had been convened into a church with him persisted in their
aversion to Flavian, although his religious sentiments were precisely
the same as their own, because he had violated the oath he had formerly
made to Meletius. They, therefore, elected Evagrius as their
bishop. Evagrius did not long survive this appointment, and although
Flavian prevented the election of another bishop, those who had
seceded from communion with him, still continued to hold their
assemblies apart.
About this period, the bishop of Alexandria, to whom the temple of
Dionysus had, at his own request, been granted by the emperor,
converted the edifice into a church. The statues were removed, the
adyta were exposed; and, in order to cast contumely on the pagan
mysteries, he made a procession for the display of these objects; the
phalli, and whatever other object had been concealed in the adyta which
really was, or seemed to be, ridiculous, he made a public exhibition
of. The pagans, amazed at so unexpected an exposure, could not
suffer it in silence, but conspired together to attack the
Christians. They killed many of the Christians, wounded others,
and seized the Serapion, a temple which was conspicuous for beauty and
vastness and which was seated on an eminence. This they converted into
a temporary citadel; and hither they conveyed many of the Christians,
put them to the torture, and compelled them to offer sacrifice. Those
who refused compliance were crucified, had both legs broken, or were
put to death in some cruel manner. When the sedition had prevailed for
some time, the rulers came and urged the people to remember the laws,
to lay down their arms, and to give up the Serapion. There came then
Romanus, the general of the military legions in Egpyt; and Evagrius
was the prefect of Alexandria. As their efforts, however, to reduce
the people to submission were utterly in vain, they made known what had
transpired to the emperor. Those who had shut themselves up in the
Serapion prepared a more spirited resistance, from fear of the
punishment that they knew would await their audacious proceedings, and
they were further instigated to revolt by the inflammatory discourses of
a man named Olympius, attired in the garments of a philosopher, who
told them that they ought to die rather than neglect the gods of their
fathers. Perceiving that they were greatly dispirited by the
destruction of the idolatrous statues, he assured them that such a
circumstance did not warrant their renouncing their religion; for that
the statues were composed of corruptible materials, and were mere
pictures, and therefore would disappear; whereas, the powers which
had dwelt within them, had flown to heaven. By such representations
as these, he retained the multitude with him in the Serapion.
When the emperor was informed of these occurrences, he declared that
the Christians who had been slain were blessed, inasmuch as they had
been admitted to the honor of martyrdom, and had suffered in defense of
the faith. He offered free pardon to those who had slain them, hoping
that by this act of clemency they would be the more readily induced to
embrace Christianity; and he commanded the demolition of the temples
in Alexandria which had been the cause of the popular sedition. It is
said that, when this imperial edict was read in public, the
Christians uttered loud shouts of joy, because the emperor laid the
odium of what had occurred upon the pagans. The people who were
guarding the Serapion were so terrified at hearing these shouts, that
they took to flight, and the Christians immediately obtained
possession of the spot, which they have retained ever since. I have
been informed that, on the night preceding this occurrence, Olympius
heard the voice of one singing hallelujah in the Serapion. The doors
were shut and everything was still; and as he could see no one, but
could only hear the voice of the singer, he at once understood what the
sign signified; and unknown to any one he quitted the Serapion and
embarked for Italy. It is said that when the temple was being
demolished, some stones were found, on which were hieroglyphic
characters in the form of a cross, which on being submitted to the
inspection of the learned, were interpreted as signifying the life to
come. These characters led to the conversion of several of the
pagans, as did likewise other inscriptions found in the same place,
and which contained predictions of the destruction of the temple. It
was thus that the Serapion was taken, and, a little while after,
converted into a church; it received the name of the Emperor
Arcadius.
There were still pagans in many cities, who contended zealously in
behalf of their temples; as, for instance, the inhabitants of
Petraea and of Areopolis, in Arabia; of Raphi and Gaza, in
Palestine; of Heriopolis in Phoenicia; and of Apamea, on the
river Axius, in Syria. I have been informed that the inhabitants of
the last named city often armed the men of Galilee and the peasants of
Lebanon in defense of their temples; and that at last, they even
carried their audacity to such a height, as to slay a bishop named
Marcellus. This bishop had commanded the demolition of all the
temples in the city and villages, under the supposition that it would
not be easy otherwise for them to be converted from their former
religion. Having heard that there was a very spacious temple at
Aulon, a district of Apamea, he repaired thither with a body of
soldiers and gladiators. He stationed himself at a distance from the
scene of conflict, beyond the reach of the arrows; for he was
afflicted with the gout, and was unable to fight, to pursue, or to
flee. Whilst the soldiers and gladiators were engaged in the assault
against the temple, some pagans, discovering that he was alone,
hastened to the place where he was separated from the combat; they
arose suddenly and seized him, and burnt him alive. The perpetrators
of this deed were not then known, but, in course of time, they were
detected, and the sons of Marcellus determined upon avenging his
death. The council of the province, however, prohibited them from
executing this design, and declared that it was not just that the
relatives or friends of Marcellus should seek to avenge his death;
when they should rather return thanks to God for having accounted him
worthy to die in such a cause.
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