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Such was the letter written by the Synod convened in Palestine.
Some time after Athanasius had the satisfaction of seeing the
injustice of the sentence enacted against him by the council of Tyre
publicly recognized. Valens and Ursacius, who had been sent with
Theognis and his followers to obtain information in Mareotis, as we
before mentioned, concerning the holy cup which Ischyrion had accused
Athanasius of having broken, wrote the following retraction to
Julius, bishop of Rome:
"Ursacius and Valens, to the most blessed Lord Pope Julius.
Since we previously, as is well known made many various charges
against Athanasius, the bishop, by our letters, and although we have
been urged persistently by the epistles of your excellency in this
matter which we publicly alleged and have not been able to give a reason
for our accusation, therefore, we now confess to your excellency in
the presence of all the presbyters, our brethren, that all that you
have heard concerning the aforesaid Athanasius is utterly false and
fictitious, and in every way foreign to his nature. For this reason,
we joyfully enter into communion with him, particularly as your piety
in accordance with your implanted love of goodness has granted
forgiveness to us for our error. Moreover, we declare unto you that
if the bishops of the East, or even Athanasius himself, should at
any time malignantly summon us to judgment, we would not sever
ourselves from your judgment and disposition about the case. We now
and ever shall anathematize, as we formerly did in the memorial which
we presented at Milan, the heretic Arius and his followers, who say
that there was a time, in which the Son existed not, and that Christ
is from that which had no existence, and who deny that Christ was God
and the Son of God before all ages. We again protest, in our own
handwriting, that we shall ever condemn the aforesaid Arian heresy,
and its originators.
I, Ursacius, sign this confession with my own signature. In like
manner also Valens."
This was the confession which they sent to Julius. It is also
necessary to append to it their letter to Athanasius: it is as
follows.
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