THE GREEK 
 FATHERS 
 
THE 
 
 GREEK FATHERS 
 
 BY 
 
 ADRIAN FORTESCUE 
 
 Isti in generationibus gentis suae gloriam adepti sunt et in 
 diebus suis habentur in laudibus. — Ecli. cxliv, 7. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY 
 
 69 SOUTHWARK BRIDGE ROAD 
 LONDON SE 
 
 B. HERDER, 17 SOUTH BROADWAY, ST LOUIS, MO. 
 
 1908 
 
• e « c 'i 
 
 Y 
 
 Mdinl''*^ HISTORV 
 
 Ni/)i/ obstat 
 
 SYDNEY F. SMITH. S.J. 
 
 May 28, 1908 
 
 Imprimatur 
 
 GULIF.LMUS F. BROWN 
 
 ■'. '' ' v"^'. :,' '. Vicar'ius Generalis 
 
 die 29 'Mali', 1908 
 
NIKOAAQI TQI OPeOAOHr2I 
 AAPIANOS KAGOAIKOS 
 AM$OIN TQN HATEP^N 
 TOYS BIOYS 
 
 224010 
 
PREFACE 
 
 WHAT is a Father? The word is used in 
 various senses. Bishops are our Fathers in 
 God, and tlie Chief Bishop is called, as by a 
 special title, the Holy Father. The name is also given 
 correctly to priests who are members of religious 
 orders and sometimes, incorrectly, to priests who 
 are not. The members of a general Council are the 
 "Fathers" of Nicaea, of Ephesus, of Trent. And 
 then by common consent rather than by any 
 formal rule we speak of certain famous Christian 
 writers as the Fathers of the Church. 
 
 For anyone to be called a Father involves these 
 four conditions. First, he must be an Author, whose 
 works are still extant. The fathers are important 
 because they are quoted as authorities in theology. 
 Obviously, then, they are all people who wrote works 
 that we can quote. St Antony the Hermit, St Law- 
 rence, St Sebastian are not fathers because they 
 have left no writings. Secondly, he must be a Catho- 
 lie, who lived in the communion of the Church, 
 whose writings are correct and orthodox. Otherwise 
 the writer's authority is of no value as a witness 
 'of the Catholic faith. Apollinaris of Laodicea 
 (fc. 390) and Tertullian (t24o) were learned 
 and prolific authors; but they are not fathers 
 because they were heretics. Thirdly, a father is a 
 person of eminent sanctity as well as learning. 
 The title is an honourable one given only to saints, 
 or rather it includes and involves the title of saint.^ 
 
 ^The legal process of canonization is a late development. 
 Alexander III in 1 170 made the first rule about it. The present 
 law dates from Urban VIII in 1634. None of the fathers was 
 
viij The Greek Fathers 
 
 So Clement of Alexandria (f c. 217) and Origenes 
 (t254) are not strictly fathers, because they are 
 not saints. As a matter of fact, the root of the 
 matter in this case, too, is the want of orthodoxy 
 that prevents them from being either saints or 
 fathers. The fourth criterion is antiquity. This is 
 the most difficult one to determine exactly. Anti- 
 quity of some kind is always supposed. The 
 fathers are the great authorities for ancient 
 tradition, they are witnesses of the faith in earlier 
 times. The age of the fathers begins at once after 
 that of the apostles ; it is not so easy to say when 
 it ends. No one calls St Thomas Aquinas ("j* 1274) 
 or St Francis de Sales (f 1622) a father, because of 
 their late date. The fathers end when the middle 
 ages begin; and there is no clear line of division 
 here. Practically, there is a chain of great Catholic 
 writers, whom we call the fathers, in east and 
 west; then after a time of comparative stagnation 
 begins another line — that of the Schoolmen. It is 
 in the case of a few saints who come in the inter- 
 mediate time that one may doubt whether they are 
 to be called the last fathers or the first mediaeval 
 writers. In the east the connected line ends with 
 St Cyril of Alexandria (•|"444), in the west with 
 St Gregory I (t6o4). After a long break come 
 St John Damascene (f c. 754) in the east and 
 St Bernard of Clairvaux (fiiSS) in the west. 
 These two are generally called the last of the 
 fathers, though St Bernard, at any rate, certainly 
 belongs to the middle ages. By taking the eighth 
 century as the limit, and by allowing St Bernard 
 as the one later exception (since by common use 
 
 ever formally canonized. The title saint (it is much less of a 
 technical term in Latin or Greek) was given originally by 
 general consent, vaguely controlled by the local bishops. 
 
Preface ix 
 
 he is called a father), we shall fix our period as it 
 is generally accepted. Any saint, therefore, who 
 wrote in defence of the Catholic faith between the 
 first and the eighth centuries and whose works are 
 still extant is a Father of the Church.^ The 
 Fathers are then further divided into these five 
 classes: (i) The Apostolic Fathers, first in order of 
 time and first in importance in every way. They 
 are the immediate disciples of the apostles, whose 
 age ends at latest by the year 150. All wrote in 
 Greek. (2) The Apologists, who lived during the 
 persecutions and wrote apologies of the Christian 
 faith against Jews and pagans, nearly all in 
 Greek. Their age ends when Constantine became 
 emperor (323). The Great Fathers,^ who wrote 
 against the heresies of the fourth and fifth cen- 
 turies, and so on till the beginning of the middle 
 ages, namely (3) the Greek Fathers, (4) the Latin 
 Fathers, and (5) the Eastern Fathers, chiefly 
 Syrian, with whom may be classed any who wrote 
 in Coptic, Armenian or other eastern language.^ 
 
 This little book contains outlines of the lives of 
 the great Greek fathers,* from Athanasius to John 
 
 ^At the beginning we must of course mark off those writers 
 of the New Testament who belong to a still higher class. No 
 one counts St Paul as one of the fathers. The title of Doctor of 
 the Church (now given by an act of Papal authority) on the 
 other hand involves no idea of antiquity. All the fathers whose 
 lives follow have been declared doctors too; but the line of 
 doctors goes on till modern times. The last Doctor of the 
 Church is St. Alphonsus Liguori (f 1787). The title is a general 
 recognition of eminent service as a theologian. 
 
 ^They are called great because their works are so much more 
 voluminous. All the apostolic fathers together make up a 
 smaller book than the New Testament, whereas St Augustine 
 alone, for instance, fills sixteen volumes of Migne. 
 
 ^It is proposed to make other little books like this one, as 
 soon as possible, that shall in the same manner treat of each of 
 these other groups of fathers. 
 
 *The spelling of the Greek names in this book is not con- 
 sistent. It cannot be so unless one spells them all in Greek or 
 
X The Greek Fathers 
 
 Damascene, with list of their chief works^ and a 
 few bibhographical notes. No one will expect to find 
 anything new in what does not profess to be more 
 than a series of popular sketches. The only object 
 of the book is to give in a small space, and in 
 English, a general account of what is commonly 
 known about these fathers. I have described their 
 lives and adventures rather than their systems of 
 theology. It is true that most fathers owe their 
 importance chiefly to their works and to the the- 
 ology contained therein. But to understand discus- 
 sions about their schools and principles requires at 
 least some training in technical theology ; and this 
 
 all in Latin. Neither course seems possible. I wish one could 
 spell all in Greek. But Athanasios, Basileios, Kyrillos would 
 look pedantic and absurd. Still less would I make all Greek 
 names into very bad Latin. That some such forms have made 
 their way into English is no good reason for increasing the 
 evil by making more. So I have used such Latin forms as seem 
 too well known to be avoided; and have left all the others in 
 Greek. Once one accepts this rule it is a matter of detail how 
 many names fall into either class. I have reduced the Latinized 
 ones and spelt in Greek as far as I dared. No doubt some 
 people would put many in sham-Latin that I have left 
 Greek. Certainly by using mixed principles one lays oneself 
 open to an obvious objection of inconsistency: If one writes 
 Athanasius, why not Eusehiusl We could go further and ask: 
 If Basil, why not Euseb, if Antony, why not Eiisehy, if Antioch, 
 why not Heracll I think the answer is that we all treat names 
 in this way in every language. When a form is well known we 
 use it, as Rome, Milan, Naples, Vienna; but in the case of 
 smaller and less known names we leave them in their own 
 language — Rocca di Papa, San Michele, Heilig-Kreuz. In English 
 we all say Florence', but we all say Fiesole. I have done just in 
 the same way in the case of these Greek names, except perhaps 
 that I have admitted as few as possible to the well-known and 
 therefore mutilated class. 
 
 ^I have quoted the works in Latin too, as they are very often 
 referred to under Latin titles, and it may be easier to find them 
 by the Latin names. I have also in each case given an exact 
 reference to the volume and page where they will be found in 
 Migne's Patrologia Grceca. Migne is very far from being the 
 ideal edition, but it is the one still commonly used and best 
 known. 
 
Preface xj 
 
 little book is meant for laymen. My object has been 
 less ambitious than a scientific investigation of the 
 growth of theology. All these fathers have another 
 side too. Apart from their writings they stand out 
 as great figures in the church history of their time. 
 They are mighty patriarchs or famous bishops, they 
 lead councils, resist Caesar and suffer persecution. 
 It is in this Hght that I have tried to present them. 
 It is easier to understand and appreciate this side 
 of their lives than to follow the development of 
 Origenism. And it will be something gained if people 
 who are not prepared to study a treatise of technical 
 dogmatic have at least an idea of who these fathers 
 were and what they did. For one does not need to 
 be a Greek scholar nor a theologian to honour the 
 memory of the Greek fathers. They lived a long way 
 off, a long time ago and spoke a strange tongue. But 
 they are joined to us in a closer bond than any tie of 
 race or language, for they, like us, were citizens of 
 that great Kingdom of God on earth that stretches 
 overland and sea and knows no division of nations. 
 These Greek fathers were Catholics as we are. They 
 belonged to the great united and visible Church in 
 communion with the holy Roman See, where sat 
 the bishop whom they, too, obeyed as the suc- 
 cessor of the Prince of the Apostles. What they 
 defended was the Catholic faith that we profess. 
 We, who are the heirs of so great a tradition, 
 ought to know at least something about the stor}^ 
 of the long chain that joins us back to the first 
 Whitsunday. And if we are to know anything at 
 all about Church history we must not forget the 
 Greeks. Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom should be 
 something more than mere names to us. They were 
 great and mighty men who stand out very clearly 
 in the long and changing line that stretches now 
 
xij The Greek Fathers 
 
 over twenty centuries. It would be a gross ingrati- 
 tude to forget that they are just as important, did 
 just as much for our cause as our own Latin 
 fathers. 
 
 Letchworth, May 2, 1908. 
 Athanasii episc. conf. et doct. duplex. 
 H avaKojuLiSr] tou Xetylravov ^ AOavao-lov tov jmeyaXov, 
 KaTaXvcri^ oivov Kai eXaiov. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter I. St Athanasiiis (293-373) i~45 
 
 1. The beginning" of Arianism 2 
 
 2. St Athanasius' early life 8 
 
 3. The first general Council (Nicaea i, 325) 1 1 
 
 4. Athanasius patriarch (328) 16 
 
 5. The Arians and semi-Arians 19 
 
 6. The first attacks against Athanasius 
 
 (335-339) . 22 
 
 7. Appeal to Rome. The second exile 
 
 (340-345) 26 
 
 8. Third exile, in the desert (356-362) 31 
 
 9. The fourth and fifth exiles (362-363, 
 
 365-366) 34 
 
 10. Athanasius' last years and death 35 
 
 11. Table of dates 38, 
 
 12. Works 40 
 
 13. Literature 44 
 
 Chapter II. St Basil (330-379) 46-86 
 
 1. His family, birth and early years (330 
 
 -c. 345 ?) 46 
 
 2. Studies (345-357) 49 
 
 3. Baptism and journey to the monks 
 
 .(357-358) 55 
 
 4. Life as a monk (358-364) 58 
 
 5. His priesthood (364-370) 61 
 
 6. Basil metropolitan of Caesarea (370- 
 
 379) . 65 
 
 7. The affairs of the province. Basil's 
 
 friends 68 
 
 8. St Gregory of Nyssa (c. 331-c. 395) 73 
 
 9. St Basil's death (Jan. i, 379) 75 
 
 10. Table of dates 78 
 
 11. St Basil's works 79 
 
 12. St Gregory Nyssene's works S^ 
 
 13. Literature 86 
 
xiv Contents 
 
 PAGF, 
 
 Chapter III. Si Gregory of Nazianzos 
 
 (330-390) 87-108 
 
 1. Early years (330-c. 345) 88 
 
 2. Education at Caesarea and Athens 
 
 345?-357) . . . 90 
 
 3. Gregory's baptism, ordination and 
 
 flight (357-c. 372) _ ^ 93 
 
 4. Bishop of Sasima. His hermitage at 
 
 Seleucia (372-379) 96 
 
 5. Gregory at Constantinople (379-381) 99 
 
 6. The second general Council (381) 100 
 
 7. Last years and death (381-390) 103 
 
 8. Table of dates 104 
 
 9. Works 105 
 10. Literature 107 
 
 Chapter IV. St John Chrysostom 
 
 (344-407) 109-149 
 
 1. Early years (344-369) no 
 
 2. Baptism. Life as a monk (369-380) 115 
 
 3. Ordination. Preacher at Antioch (381 
 
 -397) . 117 
 
 4. The affair of the statues (387) 119 
 
 5. Chrysostom's theology 123 
 
 6. Patriarch of Constantinople (398) 129 
 
 7. Eutropios's disgrace (399) 131 
 
 8. The Synod at the oak tree and first 
 
 exile (403) _ 133 
 
 9. The second exile (404-407) 137 
 
 10. Appeal to the Pope (404) 139 
 
 11. Death and final triumph (407-438) 141 
 
 12. Table of dates 143 
 
 13. Works 144 
 
 14. Literature 148 
 
 Chapter V. St Cyril of Jerusalem 
 
 (c. 315-386) 150-168 
 
 1. First years (c. 315-345) 150 
 
 2. Priest and Catechist (345-350) 151 
 
Contents xv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 3. Was Cyril ever a semi-Arian? 155 
 
 4. Cyril's theology 157 
 
 5. Bishop of Jerusalem, to Julian's acces- 
 
 sion (350-361) 158 
 
 6. The attempt to build the temple (c. 362) 161 
 
 7. From Jovian's accession to Cyril'sdeath 
 
 (363-386) 164 
 
 8. Table of dates 166 
 
 9. Works 166 
 10. Literature 168 
 
 Chapter VI. St Cyril of Alexandria 
 
 (t444) 169-201 
 
 1. St Cyril before he was patriarch 
 
 (—412) 170 
 
 2. Patriarch (before Nestorianism, 
 
 412-428) 171 
 
 3. Nestorius and his heresy 17 4 
 
 4. Before the Council of Ephesus 
 
 (428-431) 180 
 
 5. The Council of Ephesus (June-July, 
 
 431) . 186 
 
 6. After the Council (431-439) 191 
 
 7. The end of St Cyril (431-444) 194 
 
 8. Table of dates 197 
 
 9. Works 197 
 ID. Literature 201 
 
 Chapter VII. St John of Damascus 
 
 (t754) 202-248 
 
 1. The city of Syria 203 
 
 2. Before Iconoclasm (c. 680-726) 208 
 
 3. The Iconoclasts (726-842) 212 
 
 4. Revenue-officer and theologian 
 
 (726-730) 220 
 
 5. Monk at Mar Saba (c. 730-c. 734) 223 
 
 6. St John ordained priest (c. 734) 227 
 
 7. St John's philosophy and theology 229 
 
xvj Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 8. St John's poetry 234 
 
 9. St John's death (c. 754) 239 
 
 10. Table of dates 241 
 
 11. Works 242 
 
 12. Literature 247 
 
 Index 249 
 
THE GREEK FATHERS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ST ATHANASIUS (293-373) 
 
 ATHANASIUS, some time Patriarch of 
 Alexandria, is the first and, without ques- 
 tion, the greatest of the Greek Fathers. 
 The apostoHc fathers and apologists had written 
 in Greek, but they form classes of their own. 
 When we speak of the Greek fathers we mean the 
 great saints who in the eastern part of the Empire 
 wrote defences of the faith in various forms after 
 the age of persecution was over, during the time 
 of the great heresies, that is in the fourth and 
 fifth centuries. Of these Greek fathers St Athana- 
 sius is the first in order of time. Against each of 
 the heresies the Church had some one great 
 champion, one leader who stood for the Catholic 
 side against the heretics as the chief defender of 
 the faith, who was the acknowledged guide of the 
 others. The first heresy after the persecution was 
 Arianism ; it was also the most disastrous and far- 
 reaching in its effects. And St Athanasius was 
 the defender of the faith against the Arians. There 
 were others too, St. Hilary in the West, St Basil 
 and the Gregories. Every father of this time has 
 something to say against the Arians, but they all 
 acknowledged Athanasius as their leader. From 
 the beginning he had been the chief opponent 
 of Arius, so much so that *'Athanasian" was 
 often used as the name of the Catholic party, as 
 
2 . ....... ..Xh^ Greek Fathers 
 
 op'po^'d'tb '''Afiat^/' 'fo tell the story of his life is 
 practically to tell that of the Arian troubles. He 
 lived through the whole movement. As a young 
 deacon he saw it begin, and for nearly fifty years he 
 fought it from his throne by the Nile. His name was 
 always the watchword for either side. Every Arian 
 synod declared its policy to be "away with 
 Athanasius," every Catholic synod took up his 
 defence. Under five emperors and five Popes he 
 was the one tower of strength and rallying point 
 to all Catholics in that hopeless confusion of 
 synods and anti-synods, banishments and usurpa- 
 tions. Five times he himself was driven into exile 
 for the faith, and when at last he died in his o\\ti 
 home, the most famous bishop of his time, he had 
 won his fight ; Arianism was practically dead too. 
 And he left a name whose glory no length of time 
 can ever make us forget. 
 
 i. The beginning of Arianism. 
 
 WHEN Constantine (306-337) proclaimed the 
 Edict of Milan (313), the Christians thought 
 that the end of their troubles had come. The per- 
 secution was all over at last; no one would be 
 banished nor burnt nor thrown to the beasts for 
 the name of Christ any longer. What could they 
 foresee but that the Church should now settle 
 down in peace, spread her boundaries on every side 
 and reign united and triumphant till her Lord came 
 again in power and glory, to found his thousand 
 years of earthly paradise? Naturally they thought 
 so; and yet never were people more mistaken. The 
 great heresies were coming as successors to the 
 great persecutions, and the Church was to be 
 more troubled and to suffer greater evils from her 
 own children than she had from the sword of the 
 
St Athanasius 3 
 
 Roman magistrates. The first heresy was already 
 brewing while the happy bishops were reading the 
 new edict and thanking God for having sent his 
 servant Constantine. During the very lifetime of 
 the heroes who could show the glorious Vv'ounds 
 they had received under Diocletian, the Christian 
 Church was tossed by a raging storm that nearly 
 wrecked her. Bishops fell on every side, intruders 
 and counter-intruders filled every see, anathemas 
 and counter-anathemas thundered across the 
 empire from Tyre to Milan, so that the wretched 
 layman who wanted to serve God in peace may 
 well have wondered whether the old cry of Chris - 
 tianos ad leones were not on the whole pleasant er 
 than the shouts of Homoiisios and Homoiusios, of 
 which he understood nothing except that, which- 
 ever he said, some one was sure to excommunicate 
 him. 
 
 In the beginning of the fourth century Bishop 
 Alexander reigned at Alexandria. He too, no 
 doubt counted on peace for his old age since Dio- 
 cletian was gone, and he certainly did not foresee 
 how great a storm would grow out of a little cloud 
 that rose in his own city. For among his priests 
 was one Arius, a Libyan from the South. Few men 
 have left so unsavoury a memory as this Arius 
 ("A/oezo?)^ He had been a well-meaning and 
 zealous person once, and had narrowly escaped 
 in the Diocletian persecution. If the Roman 
 governor of Egypt had been a little more zealous we 
 should, perhaps, now honour St Arius as a holy 
 martyr, instead of shuddering when we hear his ill- 
 omened name. He had then joined sides with 
 
 ^If we call him by the Latin form of his name, we must 
 accentuate the i (Arius) according to the Latin accent-rule, 
 because the i is long. In Greek "A,oetos is pro-paroxytone. 
 
 la 
 
4 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Meletios of Lykopolis. This Meletios (quite a 
 different person from Meletios of Antioch, who 
 made a more famous schism sixty years later) had 
 got into trouble with his patriarch,^ apparently 
 for ordaining people outside his diocese, and had 
 made a small schism in 306. But Arius soon left 
 his Meletian friends, and was ordained priest by 
 Achillas of Alexandria, Alexander's predecessor, 
 in 311. Under Alexander we find him a parish 
 priest with a Church in the city called the Baukalis 
 (>; BavKoXig). Epiphanios says that he was a 
 tall, thin ascetic-looking man, well-educated, 
 popular with his parishioners, especially with 
 pious women. ^ He explained the Scriptures^ and 
 in this explanation the poison appears, for what 
 he taught was Subordinationism. 
 
 It will be well to explain at once what all the 
 trouble was about, by drawing up the points in 
 which Arius and his followers were heretics. In the 
 first place Arianism did not spring full-grown and 
 fully-armed at one moment from the mind of one 
 man. We know now that no heresy ever really 
 began like that. It is never the case that one man 
 out of sheer wickedness suddenly invents a false 
 doctrine. We can always trace germs and tenden- 
 cies, that afterwards develop into the heresy, back 
 to many years before the father of the sect was 
 born. A movemxcnt begins, often very rightly, by 
 insisting on one aspect of the faith, very often at 
 first it is a vigorous and extreme opposition to 
 some patently false teaching. Then this way of 
 looking at things crystallizes and hardens; it is 
 taken up enthusiastically by some school, it 
 becomes a point of honour with a certain party 
 
 ^Lykopolis is in Egypt, ^Har. Ixix, 3 and 9, 
 
 ^Theodoret, H.E. i, 2. 
 
St Athanasius 5 
 
 to insist upon it, it is the national teaching of some 
 country. At last some one gets hold of the theory, 
 oversteps every limit in his defence of it, and is 
 eagerly supported by the rest of the party. And 
 then he finds himself condemned by the Church 
 and his name goes down to history as that of a 
 heresiarch. It was just so with Arius. Centuries 
 before he was born learned and most pious persons 
 naturally had been concerned as to how we are to 
 conceive the relation between the Persons of the 
 holy Trinity. It was especially the relation between 
 God the Father and God the Son that was in 
 question — one hears less about the procession of 
 the Holy Ghost at this time. Christians declared 
 their belief in one God. But they were ever- 
 lastingly accused by Jews and pagans of having 
 at least two. Did they adore the God of Israel? 
 Certainly. Then if Jesus is a God as well, there are 
 two Gods, or is he the God of Israel, and if so who 
 is the Father to whom they pray through him? 
 A certain SabelUus, who had lived in Rome under 
 Pope Zephyrinos (202-218) had tried to solve this 
 difficulty by explaining that God the Father and 
 God the Son were merely two names for exactly the 
 same Person. There is only one God. To the Jews 
 he had revealed himself as the Father, and then 
 He had been pleased to become man and be called 
 the Son and the Word of God. Whenever he in 
 the Gospels seems to distinguish between himself 
 and the Father it is only a manner of speaking. 
 Father and Son are only two modes of existence of 
 the same Person. That is the Sabellian heresy: we 
 hear of it also as Modalism and P atrip assianism 
 ("Pater passus," the Father suffered, meaning that 
 God the Father became man and was crucified). 
 Against this the right teaching insisted on the 
 
6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 real difference between God the Father and 
 God the Son. Some people in opposing Sabellius 
 went too far. The great Origenes (t254) was one. 
 If the Sabellians quoted the text : "I and the Father 
 are one" (John x, 30), he and his school answered 
 with the other text "The Father is greater than 
 I" (John xiv, 28). These extreme anti-Sabellians 
 maintained that not only is God the Son really a 
 different person from the Father, he is even less 
 than the Father. They knew him to be the Son of 
 God, but is not a son necessarily in some way less 
 than his father? So there arose the school of 
 those who, while still calling our Lord God, 
 thought that in some vague way he is not quite so 
 much God as God the Father. These people are 
 the Suhordinationists — they subordinate the Son 
 to the Father. And Arianism is nothing but an 
 extreme form of Subordinationism. 
 
 There were many Suhordinationists before Arius. 
 Paul of Samosata (Patriarch of Antioch, 260-269) 
 taught something of the kind, further complicated 
 by a distinction of person between the Logos and the 
 man Jesus Christ,^ and Lucian (tsu), a priest of 
 Antioch, and martyr at Nicomedia under Dio- 
 cletian, taught Subordinationism at the Antio- 
 chene school. It is very significant that Arius had 
 been his pupil. From this master, then, the heretic 
 had learned what he taught at the Baukalis 
 church at Alexandria. He further developed the 
 theory and at last it took this form. The root of the 
 heresy is that God the Son is not equal to God the 
 Father. In its perfect form Arianism may be 
 summed up in these six points: (i) The Son did 
 not exist from eternity. If he is the Son he must 
 
 *So this Paul had the unique distinction of being the remote 
 ancestor of two famous heresies — Arianism and Nestorianism. 
 
St Athanasius 7 
 
 have been born at some moment; so before his 
 birth he did not exist. "There was a time when 
 he was not"^ was the favourite Arian formula. 
 (2) He is not begotten of the essence of the Father 
 — God's essence cannot be divided — but he was 
 created by the Father out of nothing. (3) He is 
 therefore a creature (iroujiua, Krlcr/uLa). (4) He is 
 the first and most exalted creature, through 
 whom God created all the others. This is the Neo- 
 platonic idea that God would be defiled by touch- 
 ing matter, so he creates and rules the world 
 through an intermediary, a Demiurg [ArjiuLiovpyo^)- 
 (5) He may be called God, but only in an extended 
 and analogical sense ; the Father made him a sort 
 of God by his grace. (6) His will is created and 
 fallible. He could commit sin. That is the teaching 
 of which Arius at Alexandria maintained at any 
 rate the germ. 
 
 In 318 the Patriarch Alexander heard of the 
 trouble; he was told that Arius had fallen foul 
 of other priests because of his Subordinationism. 
 So he sent for him and reprimanded him. But 
 Arius was obstinate and went on forming a 
 party that included even many nuns. So in 321 
 Alexander summoned a synod to examine the 
 matter. It should be noted as a sign of the great 
 power and extent of the Patriarchate of St Slark 
 that no less than 100 suffragan bishops of Alex- 
 andria attended this synod. They condemned and 
 excommunicated Arius with all his followers, who 
 included already two Egyptian bishops, Secundus 
 of Ptolemais and Theonas of Marmarica. And 
 while Alexander presided, by his side as his coun- 
 sellor and secretary sat a young deacon, Atha- 
 nasius. 
 
 ^'Hj' TTore ore ovk fjv. 
 
8 The Greek Fathers 
 
 2. St Athanasius' early life 
 
 The saint who from this point becomes the chief 
 opponent of Arius was then just twenty-eight 
 years old. Various statements made by people who 
 lived at the time make it practically certain that 
 he was born in the year 293.^ His parents were 
 probably Christians ; they were certainly Greeks of 
 Alexandria, members of the great Greek colony 
 that filled that city to the exclusion of native 
 Egyptians (Kopts) since the Ptolemies had reigned 
 there (B.C. 323-B.C. 30). Apart from the fact that 
 Athanasius never spoke nor wrote any language 
 but Greek and Latin, his name^ shows that he 
 was one of that great multitude of people, 
 either born Greeks or completely Hellenized, who 
 filled the towns of the Levant since Alexander 
 (336-323 B.C.). One must remember that at this 
 time all the cities in eastern Europe, Syria and 
 Egypt were Greek. Peasants went on speaking the 
 old languages of their countries, but every one who 
 had any claim to culture, all townsmen, philoso- 
 phers, governors and bishops used what was the 
 common tongue of the East, the late form of 
 Greek that we call Hellenic. Latin in the west and 
 Greek in the east were the two languages of the 
 civilized world. 
 
 Of St Athanasius' early years we know little 
 but what we can conclude from his later writ- 
 ings; and there is one legend that we should 
 not take seriously. He certainly had what we 
 should call a liberal education. His city, Alex- 
 
 ^The chief witness is a Coptic panegyric (edited by O, v. 
 Lemm in the Mtfmoires de V acad^mie imp. des sciences de St. 
 P^tershouvg, Serie vii, vol. 36, n. 11, Petersburg, 1888) which 
 says that when he became patriarch in 326 he was 33 years old. 
 
 ^Athanasios (Xdavdai.os) is Greek for Immortal. 
 
St Athanasius 9 
 
 andria, was at that time the chief centre of 
 learning in the empire, and its schools were the [ 
 most famous in the world. That he attended these 
 schools and there read the Greek classics whose 
 study formed scholarship in his days is plain from 
 the allusions he makes to them throughout his life. 
 Homer was the fountain of culture to Greeks al- 
 ways, and Athanasius knew Homer very well \ 
 [cfr, e. gr., Or at. iv. ctra Arianos, iv, 29). He knew , 
 Plato, too, and could discuss Platonic and Neo- 
 platonic theories [Or. ctra Gentes, 40) . His language 
 is always that of a late Greek philosopher; he 
 writes naturally of archetypes and universals and 
 categories and immanent ideas. Sulpicius Severus 
 (ii, 36) says he had studied Roman law. When he 
 was accused at the Council of Tyre (335) he was 
 able to expose flaws in the technical legality of the 
 case against him.^ And, lastly, he most certainly 
 had studied the Bible. Few of the fathers refer to 
 it so constantly as he does; he quotes from every 
 book, and has a special ease in quoting every kind 
 of text that suits his purpose. In reading his writings 
 one has the impression that he almost knows the 
 Bible by heart — so ready is he always with a 
 passage, often with one that seems quite out of the 
 way, to prove his point. So St Gregory of Nazian- 
 zos only confirms what we should in any case 
 have found out from his works by telling us that 
 he was very learned in both the Christian faith 
 and profane letters.^ For the rest he is not eloquent 
 nor brilliant. He never rises to the splendid style of 
 St Basil, nor does he scatter flowers of rhetoric over 
 his work hke St John Chrysostom. He is dignified, \ 
 very determined, short and categorical in his ; 
 assertions, clear and uncompromising rather than 1 
 
 iSokrates, H.E. i, 31. ^Oratio pan., xxi, 6. 
 
lo The Greek Fathers 
 
 persuasive. In his manner he has something of 
 the Latin. 
 
 The legend about his childhood is one of the 
 famous stories that are told of great saints. One 
 day when Alexander the Patriarch was looking 
 out of the window of his house he saw some 
 children playing at church. Among them was 
 Athanasius, who was taking the leading part as 
 bishop. He was baptizing the other boys. Alexan- 
 der was so impressed by what he saw that he 
 foretold great things of this boy's future, and from 
 that moment took him under his special care. He 
 further asked very exactly how Athanasius had 
 performed the rite of baptism in his play and, finding 
 that everything had been done quite rightly, he 
 recognized the baptisms as valid and would not 
 allow these other boys to be baptized again. The 
 story is told by Rufinus (H.E. i, 14) and repeated 
 by Sokrates (H.E. i, 15). The dates make it very 
 unlikely. Alexander began to reign in 313, so 
 Athanasius was then already seventeen years old. 
 And boys of seventeen do not play at church — 
 Greek boys in the fourth century still less than 
 western boys now. Moreover it is less edifying 
 than it at first seems. That Athanasius did all the 
 rites correctly is very well — but what about his 
 intention? Rufinus and Sokrates did not think of 
 that. But boys playing at baptizing have not 
 anything like the intention that is required for 
 sacraments. So any theologian would say at 
 once that these baptism-games were invalid 
 from want of intention, as well as exceedingly 
 naughty. 
 
 To come back to what are real facts. Athanasius 
 was ordained Reader (amypooa-rtj^, lector) either by 
 Alexander or by his predecessor Achillas ; and he 
 
St Athanasius 1 1 
 
 served as reader six years ^ Then he was made 
 deacon and became a kind of secretary to Alexan- 
 der, who was a very old man. During this first 
 period, before the Arian troubles began, he had 
 already written two theological works — A treatise 
 against the Heathen and On the Incarnation (p. 40). 
 It was also during this time that he made 
 friends with the first monks, the hermits who had 
 fled from the world to the great desert south of 
 Egypt. His admiration for and friendship with 
 these holy men lasted through his life. He knew 
 St Antony (whose life he afterwards wrote, p. 42) 
 and Pachomios well. He had stayed with them in 
 their huts and had waited on them as a young man. 
 So close were his relations and so often had he 
 shared their life, that after he had become patri- 
 arch his bishops describe him as having been "one 
 of the monks. "^ It was as an already w^ell-known 
 man and as the confidential friend of the patriarch 
 that he attended the first synod against Arius. 
 And when Alexander, four years later, went to 
 expose his case against this new heretic to the 
 great council at Nicaea, he naturally took Athana- 
 sius with him as his theologian. 
 
 3. The first general Council 
 (Nicsea i, 325) 
 
 Arius then was condemned and excommunicated 
 by his patriarch, and by the whole Church of 
 Egypt. But it did not occur to him to submit and 
 retract his views. We have seen that he had large 
 ideas about the independence of clergy from their 
 superiors, and that he had shown them in the 
 affair of Meletios of Lykopolis. Now he finds that he 
 
 ^Coptic panegyric {op. cit.), p. 30. 
 -Athan.: Apol. c, Arianos, 6. 
 
12 The Greek Fathers 
 
 cannot do much in Egypt — Alexander was too strong 
 for him ; so he fortifies his party, arranges an alHance 
 with his old friends the schismatical Meletians (they 
 all eventually became Arians), tells his followers 
 to be true to the Subordinationist faith and await 
 his return, and sets off across the sea to Syria. 
 
 Arrived here he persuades a number of bishops 
 to join him and wanders about Syria and Asia 
 Minor making converts. He explained his ideas 
 speciously enough, declared that of course he 
 taught the divinity of Christ — in a wider sense, 
 that he had not had a fair hearing, and so on; 
 his opponents, who called him a Subordinationist, 
 were themselves Sabellians. So in a short time he 
 had an even greater following in Syria than in 
 Egypt. His chief convert was Eusebeios, Bishop of 
 Nicomedia, an important person and distant 
 relation of Constantine himself, who became a 
 leader of the extreme wing of strict Arians, and 
 eventually lived to baptize the emperor. From 
 Syria Arius wrote a meekly complaining letter to 
 Alexander, and here he also composed a curious 
 work containing discussions of theological ques- 
 tions, half in prose and half in verse, which he 
 called the Thaleia {OdXeia, festival).^ He also 
 wrote songs for sailors, travellers, millers, etc- 
 His ideas by this time were known to every one, 
 and even the heathen began to make jokes on the 
 stage about these disputes among Christians. 
 Alexander had written encyclicals to other bishops 
 warning them against Arius and showing that his 
 teaching was simply a revival of that of Paul of 
 Samosata and Lucian of Antioch. Then Arius in 
 
 ^The Thaleia has disappeared, but fragments of it are quoted 
 iu St. Athanasius' works. 
 2Philostorgios : H.E. ii, i. 
 
St Athanasius 13 
 
 about 323 comes back to Alexandria, and defies 
 the patriarch in his own city. Some bishops, 
 notably Eusebeios of Caesarea (the future father of 
 Church history, t34o), tried to arrange a compro- 
 mise and to suggest explanations that both Catho- 
 lics and Arians could accept. These compromisers 
 are the beginning of the great semi-Arian party. 
 But then, as always, the Catholic Church would 
 have no compromise and no shuffiing formulas. 
 Arius was utterly and completely wrong, and his 
 teaching must be utterly condemned. You must be 
 either a Catholic or an Arian. 
 
 Constantine came to Nicomedia in 323, after he 
 had defeated Licinius, and there the Bishop Euse- 
 beios tells him all about this new quarrel. The 
 emperor was immeasurably annoyed. He neither 
 understood nor cared anything at all about the 
 nature of God the Son. He was not a Christian, 
 though it suited him to protect Christians. But 
 above all he wanted union and concord. He had at 
 last succeeded in joining the whole empire to- 
 gether under himself, and he wanted no more dis- 
 turbance. He was braving the anger of the 
 immortal gods by being friendly to these Christians 
 and now he found that the Christians had two 
 parties and, whichever he defended, he would 
 have the other for an enemy. So he thought that 
 he could patch it all up before the trouble went 
 any further. He sends Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, 
 with letters to both Alexander and Arius at 
 Alexandria. He tells both that the whole question 
 does not matter in the very least — what is the good 
 of quarrelling over words? Arius ought not to have 
 begun, and Alexander ought not to have stopped 
 him when he did begin. Now they must both be 
 quiet and say whatever they like, only not annoy 
 
14 The Greek Fathers 
 
 each other. Constantine was a person with a 
 modern mind. Obviously his letters did no good. 
 Arius had the courage of his convictions as much as 
 the Catholics, and of course, quite rightly, neither 
 side would consent to tolerate the other. So then 
 Constantine proposed his second plan : Let all the 
 bishops come to discuss the matter at Nicsea in 
 Bithynia. He provided carriages and horses, and 
 offered them hospitality while the council lasted. 
 
 From every part of the Levant the bishops came, 
 venerable fathers who had seen the days of perse- 
 cution, many of whom still bore the marks of 
 torture suffered for Christ, some famous as 
 workers of miracles, others renowned for their 
 learning. From Egypt they hurried across Syria, 
 Potamon of Herakleia, Paphnutios of the Thebais, 
 from far Nisibis came James, Nicholas from Myra, 
 Leontios from Caesarea in Cappadocia, Spiridion 
 across the sea from Cyprus, Eustathios from the 
 great and God-beloved city of Antioch, Makarios 
 from the Holy Place where the tomb of Christ 
 still lay hidden. From Africa came C?ecilian of 
 Carthage, Mark of Calabria from Italy, Nicasius 
 from distant Gaul, and Hosius from the Gates of 
 the West by the Pillars of Hercules. And old 
 Alexander, the great Lord of Christian Egypt, 
 came with his deacon. 318 fathers met at the 
 city to whose name they were to give undying 
 honour, so that even now the Christian traveller 
 in Asia Minor braves the difficult journey to an 
 unsavoury Turkish village, that at Is7iik he may 
 stand by the shattered palace wall and dream of 
 the meeting of the fathers at the first and most 
 famous of all (Ecumenical synods.^ It is not 
 
 ^The first Council of Nicsea (325) is so much the most 
 famous of all, that when we say simply the "Council of Nicaea" 
 
St Athanasius 15 
 
 necessary to tell again the story of that great 
 synod. Arius appeared, was heard and condemned. 
 He and his followers were solemnly excommuni- 
 cated; and the emperor added a sentence of 
 banishment. The council settled other questions 
 too, the Meletian trouble in Egypt, the keeping of 
 Easter and the validity of doubtful baptisms. It 
 sat through the summer, and when all was 
 finished Constantine entertained the fathers at a 
 great banquet, and sent them home again. He had 
 sat in the place of honour and had opened the pro- 
 ceedings with a speech. But Hosius of Cordova 
 signed the acts first, "In the name of the Church 
 of Rome, the Churches of Italy, Spain and all the 
 West"; and with him sign two Roman priests, 
 Vitus and Vincent.^ So although the first of the 
 patriarchs was not present, he was represented 
 by his legates. And still Sunday after Sunday we 
 sing at Mass the creed drawn up by this council. 
 It is not a general profession containing the whole 
 Catholic faith, but a definite opposition to Arius' 
 heresy. So the memory of this first great heresy 
 and of the venerable assembly at Nicaea hovers 
 round our altars as we, too, declare our faith in 
 the absolute equality of God the Son and God the 
 Father; it is the voice of the 318 "holy and divinely 
 inspired Fathers" that sounds through our 
 churches still after seventeen centuries, as we 
 declare against the Arians that we believe in one 
 Lord Jesus Christ "ex Patre natum ante omnia 
 
 or "Nicene Synod," this one is always meant. There was, how- 
 ever, a second Council of Nicaea (the seventh general Council, 
 in 787) against the Iconoclasts, All the eastern Churches still 
 keep a feast in memory of "the 318 holy and God-inspired 
 Nicene Fathers" (the Orthodox and Melkites on the Sunday 
 in the Octave of the Ascension). 
 ^Mansi, ii, 692, etc.; 882, 927. 
 
1 6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 ssecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum 
 verum de Deo vero. Genitum non factum, con- 
 substantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt."^ 
 And throughout the council already the chief 
 defender of the Catholics — their chief spokesman 
 against Arius, Eusebeios of Nicomedia and the other 
 heretics — was Alexander's deacon, Athanasius. 
 
 4. Athanasius patriarch (328) 
 
 Three years after Alexander had come home 
 from Nicaea he died (April 17, 328). It is said that 
 he had already strongly recommended his clergy 
 to elect Athanasius as his successor (Sozomenos 
 ii, 17). But in any case that was a foregone con- 
 clusion. Very grave and troublesome times had 
 already begun in Egypt, and no Catholic could 
 have doubted for a moment that there was only 
 one man fit to take up the burden left by the dead 
 bishop. By an overwhelming majority Athanasius 
 was elected Patriarch of Alexandria (Apol. c. 
 Arianos, vi). He was consecrated by his suffragans; 
 and from now till his death, for forty-five years 
 (328-373) he filled the succession of St Mark in the 
 second see of Christendom, of which his name has 
 become the chief glory. 
 
 The title "Patriarch" in the fourth century 
 was still used loosely for any specially venerable 
 bishop ; it did not become the technical name of a 
 
 ^The council drew up twenty canons about points of disci- 
 pline, anathemas against the Arians, and especially the Nicene 
 creed, which, however, ends with the words: "and in the Holy 
 Ghost." The rest of the creed we now say was added later, 
 probably by the next general Council (Constantinople I, 381; 
 but see Duchesne, ^glises s^pav^es, Paris, 1905, p. 79). The 
 original Nicene creed is in Denzinger, No. 17, 18. There were 
 about 20 bishops present who favoured Arius, but most of 
 them retracted. The history of the council is given by Hefele : 
 Conciliengeschichte 2 ed., i, 252, seq. 
 
St Athanasius 17 
 
 definite rank in the hierarchy till gradually in the 
 fifth and sixth centuries. But in the time of Athana- 
 sius there was no doubt as to the fact that high 
 above all other bishops, metropolitans and pri- 
 mates stood three great Princes of the Church at 
 Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. He did not live to 
 see the slowly climbing ambition of Constantinople, 
 and though the Nicene Synod had given special 
 honour to Jerusalem it had refused it any place 
 even among the metropolitan sees (can. 7). That 
 synod had recognized the "ancient custom" that 
 gave the first places to the three old sees only 
 (can. 6) ; so during St Athanasius' hfe no one dis- 
 puted that Alexandria was the first throne in the 
 east, the second (after Rome) in the whole 
 Christian world. He ruled all Egypt and the lands 
 to the South, Ethiopia^ and part of Nubia that 
 were converted from Egypt. And whether he sat 
 on his throne by the great harbour in the richest 
 and most famous centre of the Hellenic world, or 
 wandered in exile in the west, or the desert, every 
 Catholic looked up to Athanasius as the Lord of 
 the East, who brought to their cause not only his 
 learning and virtues, but the honour of so great a 
 see. And yet, great as was the place he filled, there 
 was little cause to envy him. When the bishops 
 left Nicaea they must have thought that the 
 trouble was all over. The Church had spoken. For 
 the first time since the Apostles had settled the 
 question of the old law at Jerusalem (Acts xv, 
 6-29), she had solemnly declared her faith by a 
 general assembly of her rulers. Here was a plain 
 case to which to apply the text: "Who hears you 
 
 ^In the second year of his reign (329) Athanasius ordained 
 St Frumentius Bishop of Axuma, and sent him to convert the 
 Ethiopians. 
 
 2 
 
1 8 The Greek Fathers 
 
 hears me, and who despises you despises me 
 (Luke X, i6)." And Caesar had spoken too, so that 
 whoever was not moved by excommunication 
 w^ould be by banishment. And yet the Arian 
 troubles had really only just begun. The council 
 that should have ended the whole question only 
 closed the first and shortest period of its history. 
 From now till the end of the century the storm 
 becomes steadily worse and worse. The beginning 
 of the reaction against the council was when Con- 
 stantine, who had hitherto been the stern enemy 
 of the Arians, suddenly veered round and began to 
 be their friend. His sister Constantia, widow^ of 
 Licinius, w^as an Arian. She died in 328, and on 
 her death-bed she implored the Emperor to have 
 pity on Arius and his banished friends. We have 
 seen that Constantine had never really understood 
 the question at issue. He had no convictions of 
 his own, and so he was easily moved to change his 
 policy. From now till his death he becomes a 
 favourer and protector of the heretics, and under 
 his sons, too, they have the court on their side as 
 long as the movement lasts. First the banished 
 Arian bishops are recalled ; then they do all they 
 can to force Athanasius to restore Arius at 
 Alexandria. When they see how utterly hopeless 
 are all such attempts, and that in any case they 
 will never be able to make Athanasius even 
 temporize, they begin the long career of calumny 
 against him, and of persecution, that lasts nearly 
 till his death. At this point there also begins that 
 endless series of Arian and semi-Arian synods 
 that fill up the history of this heresy. Before we 
 come to them we may here give an outline of the 
 different parties into which the Arian body broke 
 up after the Council of Nicsea. 
 
St Athanasius 19 
 
 5. The Arians and semi-Arians 
 
 The Nicene Synod had declared that our Lord is 
 Consuhstantial with God the Father. That is a 
 Latin word meaning "of the same nature." The 
 Father and Son have the same identical divine 
 nature; they are different persons in the same 
 nature or substance. So obviously they are abso- 
 lutely equal. Comparisons are made according to 
 the natures of the things compared, and they have, 
 not equal natures, but the very same nature. That 
 is the Cathohc faith that we have all learned in our 
 catechisms. "Consuhstantial" is Latin. We have it 
 from the Latin translation of the Nicene Creed. 
 The original Greek word is Homoiisios^ (ojuLoovcriog) . 
 This word became the test- word of the Catholics. 
 Whoever said our Lord is "Homoiisios" to the 
 Father was a Catholic and no Arian. Homoiisians 
 were Athanasians, Athanasians were Nicenes and 
 Nicenes were Catholics. So we have a plain test for 
 one side. The other side was, as heretics usually are, 
 divided against itself. They all agreed in denying 
 Homoiisios — the negative agreement one always 
 finds; whatever they may think, they do not 
 think what the Church has defined. Out of very 
 comphcated ramifications we can distinguish three 
 chief parties of anti-Nicenes, though the boun- 
 daries between them were vague and changeable. 
 First there were the strict and uncompromising 
 Arians. Their words were Anomoios (clvojuloio?, 
 "unlike") or Heteromusios [erepo/uLovcrio'?, "of 
 another nature"). They said that our Lord is 
 simply unlike, of a quite different nature from 
 
 ^Whoever wishes to pronounce Greek properly must never 
 sound the letter H in it, Consuhstantialis Patri (in the Creed) in 
 Greek is 6/x.ooi/crtos ry TrarpL, 
 
 2a 
 
20 The Greek Fathers 
 
 God the Father. Of these was Arius himself as long 
 as he lived, Eunomios of Kyzikos^ and Aetios, a 
 deacon of Antioch. They are called strict Avians, 
 Anomoians and Eunomians. Then there were the 
 people who hoped for a compromise between 
 Athanasius and Arius, the people who thought 
 both went too far and that a via media could be 
 arranged by taking what is good from both. We 
 know them in all controversies, the people who 
 tell us that no doubt there is a great deal to be said 
 on both sides. In this controversy that attitude 
 was represented by the semi- Avians, and, as usual, 
 they satisfied no one. Their word was Homoiiisios 
 {6iuoiov(Tio<^, "of a similar nature"). They thought 
 our Lord was neither of quite the same nor of a 
 quite different nature. His nature was similar, very 
 like, almost the same as that of the Father. The 
 semi-Arians formed for a time a very large party of 
 their own. Their leaders were Basil of Ankyra,^ 
 George of Laodicea, Theodor of Herakleia and, in 
 the west, Auxentius of Milan. ^ Then, lastly, 
 between the utter Arians and the compromisers 
 there were the compromisers of a compromise, 
 people between the Arians and the semi-Arians, 
 three-quarter Arians. Their word was Homoios 
 (0/UL0109, "similar"). They thought Christ to be like 
 the Father, but not of a like nature, and preferred 
 not to talk about his nature at all. Their leaders 
 were Akakios of Csesarea (in Palestine), Eudoxios 
 
 ^He was a Cappadocian (f 395) and a pupil of Actios. As 
 Bishop of Kyzikos on the Hellespont he became so great a 
 leader of this party that they are generally called Eunomians 
 after him. 
 
 ^Ankyra in Galatia, now Turkish Engkiir, Angora, where 
 the Angora cats come from. The branch of the Baghdad rail- 
 way from Eskijehr ends here, and you must go on six days' 
 ride to Caesarea in Cappadocia. 
 
 ^St Ambrose's predecessor. 
 
St Athanasius 21 
 
 of Antioch/ Uranios of Tyre. They are called 
 Homoians. Eventually the situation was simpli- 
 fied ; the semi-Arians ended by falling in with the 
 Catholics and the Homoians fell back to the strict 
 Arians. 
 
 Since Gibbon^ these discussions about one letter 
 have been a favourite object of humour. What, it is 
 asked, can the difference between Homoiisios and 
 Homoiiisios matter? Was it worth while to rend the 
 whole Church for the sake of an iota? Undoubtedly 
 to a person who cares nothing for any dogmatic 
 belief, to whom the Christian faith means either 
 nothing at all or a vague humanitarianism, the 
 discussion will seem absurd ; so will any theological 
 controversy. But to people who take historic 
 Christianity seriously one may point out that the 
 question at issue was the vital one of all. It w^as 
 that of the Divinity of Christ. Are we to believe 
 him to be God, or only some sort of superior crea- 
 ture having rather more likeness to God than we 
 have? That is what is involved in the issue between 
 Homoiisios and Homoiiisios. And that the two 
 words look so much alike is due to an accident of 
 Greek grammar and to the fact that the semi- 
 Arians chose their word deliberately, because it 
 looked like ours. These pass- words were technical 
 forms that stood for very real differences.^ 
 
 ^He succeeded Eusebeios at Antioch and was then Bishop of 
 Byzantion from 360-369. 
 
 ^Decline and Fall, chap, xxi (ed. Bury, vol. 11, 1897, pp. 351- 
 
 353). 
 
 ^The Russian arms look very like those of Austria, and are, 
 as a matter of fact, a rather bad copy of them. But in the case 
 of a war between these countries an Austrian soldier would not 
 waver in his allegiance because of that. It is very obvious that 
 the change of one letter in a word may completely alter its 
 meaning. Cardinal Newman somewhere quotes the example of 
 Personage and Parsonage. Scores of instances in any language 
 will occur at once to anyone. 
 
2 2 The Greek Fathers 
 
 6. The first attacks against Athanasius 
 
 (335-339) 
 
 As soon as the Arians feel their owii position 
 \ safe through Constantine's change of pohcy they 
 j move heaven and earth to have their great oppo- 
 ' nent degraded and banished. In 330 they had suc- 
 ceeded in deposing Eustathios, the CathoUc 
 Patriarch of Antioch, in a synod held in that city. 
 Now they fly at higher game. In 335 the}^ call 
 together a synod at Tyre to try Athanasius. He 
 came to it with forty-eight Catholic bishops of his 
 patriarchate; against him were sixty Arian 
 bishops. He was accused of these crimes: (i) He 
 had sent a certain Makarios to persecute a pious 
 priest named Ischyras. Makarios, acting under 
 Athanasius' orders, had forced his way to Ischyras' 
 altar, had broken the chalice and burnt the holy 
 books. (2) Athanasius had murdered a bishop, 
 Arsenios of Hypsele, had cut off the dead man's 
 hand and used it for working magic. ^ The Arians 
 even produced the hand. (3) He had committed 
 sin with a certain woman. The dramatic and trium- 
 phant defence of Athanasius has been the joy of 
 every Catholic ever since. He proved that Ischyras 
 was not a priest at all ; Arsenios came and showed 
 himself, very much alive with two hands, and the 
 lady did not even know him by sight when she saw 
 him. But the Arians were not prepared to accept 
 even that defence. They could not help Arsenios 
 and the lady ; but they promptly ordained Ischyras 
 bishop, to make up for his not having been a priest 
 before; they declared Athanasius contumacious, 
 
 ^The bloody hand of a murdered man as a weapon of magic 
 is a very old superstition. We know it in the "Hand of glory" in 
 the Ingoldsby Legends. 
 
St Athanasius 23 
 
 deposed him, and forbade him to go back to Alex- 
 andria. Then they all went to Jerusalem, conse- 
 crated the new Anastasis church with great pomp, 
 and began their arrangements for deposing another 
 Catholic bishop, Markellos of Ankyra. Meanwhile 
 Athanasius went to Constantinople to ask Con- 
 stantine to see fair play. So far Constantine, in 
 spite of his Arian leanings, had had a great respect 
 for the saint and had refused to countenance the 
 attempts of his enemies. Now he sends for the 
 leaders of the Arians at Tyre and asks them to 
 explain themselves. Eusebeios of Nicomedia and 
 others come, and they entirely change the ground 
 of their complaint. The former accusations, 
 although certainly striking in themselves, suf- 
 fered from a deplorable want of evidence. Arsenios 
 was still going about with both his hands, and they 
 were not sure that the lady would recognize the 
 Patriarch even this time. Also the date of Ischyras' 
 ordination promised to be a difficulty. Moreover, 
 Constantine would not trouble much about a 
 broken chalice, and his own career had shown that 
 he had no very strong feeling against either 
 murder or rape. So on the way to Constantinople 
 they thought of a far better case. They said 
 nothing more about these misdemeanours; Atha- 
 nasius had done something much worse — he had 
 stopped the corn from Egypt! Egypt paid her 
 taxes in corn, and the whole empire depended 
 on the yearly export from Alexandria. This corn 
 was by far the most valuable asset of all the taxes 
 to the government. So Constantine had no hesi- 
 tation when he heard that. Athanasius had stopped 
 the corn — Very well, he shall be banished to as dis- 
 tant a land as possible, where there is no corn. 
 The emperor would hear no defence, and Atha- 
 
24 The Greek Fathers 
 
 nasius was sent to Trier on the Mosel. This is the 
 first exile; it lasted till after Constantine's death 
 (335-338). In the same year (335) the Arians 
 carried out their plan of deposing Markellos of 
 Ankyra in a synod at Constantinople, and Pope 
 Sylvester I died (314-335). The next year, 336, 
 saw what Catholics have always remembered as 
 one of the most striking judgements of God in 
 history. The Arians had triumphed on every side 
 now. Only one thing was still wanting, the resti- 
 tution of their founder, Arius, himself. In the 
 capital of the empire he was to be solemnly 
 received and restored. The emperor ordered the 
 Bishop of Constantinople, Alexander, to receive 
 him back into communion. Arius hurried to the 
 city from Alexandria; an enormous crowd of his 
 friends came with him. The Catholics of Constan- 
 tinople shut themselves up in despair. The Nicene 
 synod had been held to no avail and the Nicene 
 faith was to be openly denied in the very heart of 
 the empire. And the Arians made the most of 
 their victory. The court was to receive the heretic 
 with every possible honour; they arranged a gor- 
 geous procession to pass through the city, to flaunt 
 the triumph of their side before the whole world. 
 The procession began, they sang out their hymns, 
 and there was the famous Arius himself marching 
 in the place of honour. Suddenly he felt unwell 
 and retired to a private place. The procession 
 waited, the hymns died out, and then gradually 
 the news was whispered among the crowd. Arius 
 was dead. In the midst of his triumph he had died 
 like Judas. In a shameful place his body had 
 burst open and his entrails were scattered over the 
 floor. Crepuit medio, and as his friends stole away 
 silently to lay aside their finery the amazed 
 
St Athanasius 25 
 
 Catholics learned that sometimes in this world 
 too the strong arm of God is stretched out and 
 that his awful vengeance had fallen at the very 
 moment when he was being defied.^ And then 
 in the next year Constantine died, too. On his 
 death-bed at last he made up his mind to be a 
 Christian, and he was baptized by his Arian cousin, 
 Eusebeios of Nicomedia. He died at Nicomedia on 
 Whitsunday, May 22, 337. His body was robed in 
 the Imperial purple, placed in a cofhn of gold and 
 brought to the city he had founded. There he lay \ 
 r^ in the church of the holy Apostles, first of the long 
 i^ ,line of Roman emperors who were buried around | 
 J^/ him, till in 14I63 the Turk cleared away the burial- ^ 
 , ^ place of the Caesars to make room for the mosque 
 of Mohammed the Conqueror. The Orthodox 
 Church has canonized him, as well as his mother, 
 and on May 21 they keep the feast of "the holy, 
 glorious, mighty, God-crowned, equal-to-the- 
 Apostles sovereigns, Constantine and Helen." The 
 Catholic Church, more difficult in her standards of 
 sanctity, honours Helen only as a saint. ^ Never- * 
 theless, a certain halo will always surround the i 
 figure of that mighty prince who joined together I 
 the whole empire under his rule, founded New 
 Rome, summoned the Nicene fathers, and is 
 remembered as the first Christian emperor. And 
 Athanasius, among the Germans in distant Trier, 
 heard the news of the awful death of his old 
 enemy, Arius, and then of the tardy baptism and 
 
 ^For Arius' death see Athanasius: De morte Arii, c. 2. Ep. 
 ad Ep. Aegypti, c. 19. Sokrates, H.E, i, T,y. Sozomenos, H.E. ii, 
 29. Theodoretos, H.E. i, 24. 
 
 ^Constantine was, in any case, only a catechumen till his 
 death-bed, and then an Arian. He pei'secuted the Catholic 
 bishops and had a weakness for murdering his near relations. 
 None of these things can be held up as examples of heroic 
 sanctity. 
 
26 The Greek Fathers 
 
 death of his old friend the emperor. The exiled 
 patriarch had been received at Trier with great 
 honour by the bishop Maximinus. He had with 
 him some of his Egyptian clergy and he could 
 write letters to his flock at home. It was during 
 this time that he wrote his first Paschal letter 
 (p. 42). And Constantine, although he had banished 
 the lawful patriarch, had not allowed any intruder 
 to be set up at Alexandria. 
 
 7. Appeal to Rome. The second exile 
 (340-345) 
 
 After Constantine's death his three sons divided 
 the Empire between them. C onstantius \iSid the East 
 (Praefectura Orientis), Constantine II Gaul, and 
 Constans Illyricum and Italy. But this arrangement 
 only led to fighting between them. In 340 Constans 
 defeated and slew Constantine II at Aquileia. Ten 
 years later, in 350, a usurper named Magnentius 
 defeated and slew Constans, and after three more 
 years, in 353, Constantius defeated and slew Mag- 
 nentius. So Constantius is again the only lord of 
 the Roman world (353-361). He reigned, of course, 
 at Constantinople, began to persecute the pagans 
 and was himself, without any sort of compromise, 
 a declared Arian. So the government and the 
 court are now even more enemies of the Nicene 
 faith than in Constantine's later years. However, 
 as soon as Constantine was dead, St Athanasius 
 was able to go back to his own city. The three sons 
 began their reigns by proclaiming a general 
 amnesty and restoring all exiled bishops. In 338, 
 Athanasius entered Alexandria again, to the great 
 joy of all faithful CathoHcs. But his enemies did 
 not mean to leave him long in peace. The next 
 year they set up an Arian anti-bishop, a certain 
 
St Athanasius 27 
 
 Pistos, at Alexandria and sent a long complaint 
 against Athanasius to the three emperors and to 
 the Pope, to persuade them to recognize Pistos. 
 Athanasius then did what every Catholic bishop 
 would do. He, too, formally appealed to the Pope. 
 He "sought refuge in Rome as in a most safe 
 harbour of his communion."^ But in 340 Con- 
 st ant ius, having refused to allow Athanasius to 
 defend himself, let the Arians in a synod at 
 Antioch again declare him deposed. Then he 
 banished him and set up, instead of Pistos, one 
 Gregory, a Cappadocian, as rival bishop. Gre- 
 gory, of course an Arian, seized the churches at 
 Alexandria with the help of the Imperial prefect 
 of Egypt and began a fierce persecution of the 
 Catholics. And St Athanasius set out on his second 
 exile. The Pope, to whom he had appealed, had 
 not forgotten him. Julius I (337-352) had suc- 
 ceeded Sylvester L As soon as the complaint of the 
 Arians and Athanasius' appeal reached him, he 
 summoned both sides to Rome. Athanasius went at 
 once, even before Gregory the usurper had arrived 
 at Alexandria. But the Arians, denying the Pope's 
 jurisdiction, like all heretics, did not appear.^ 
 
 ^St Jerome, Ep. 127, n. 5. 
 
 -Their language sounds curiously like what we hear in this 
 country. They said they could not allow the Pope to discuss the 
 matter, because it had been settled by councils. So it had, by a 
 dozen councils ; and every council had settled it in a different 
 way. To appeal to councils is a splendid argument, when you 
 are quite sure which councils are the right ones to appeal to. 
 At that time there was a council of some kind every year some- 
 where, and some councils were Homoiisian, some Homoiiisian, 
 some Homoian, and they all deposed somebody and set up 
 somebody else, and they all anathematized everything done by 
 all the others. 
 
 These Arians also told the Pope that he had no more autho- 
 rity than any other bishop ; no doubt his see was a very impor- 
 tant and venerable one, but he had no jurisdiction over them. 
 Protestantism is an older movement than people suppose. For 
 this impudent Arian letter to the Pope see Athanasius, Hist. 
 
28 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Pope Julius then, in 341, held a synod at Rome, 
 attended by fifty bishops, in which he declared 
 Athanasius to be innocent of all crimes of which 
 his enemies had accused him, and to be the only 
 lawful bishop of Alexandria. The story of St 
 Athanasius' appeal to the Pope and of the Pope's 
 judgement is one of the many famous cases of 
 appeals to Rome in the early Church. Here, again, 
 we see the greatest bishop in the east, the mighty 
 patriarch who held the second see of Christendom, 
 the leader of the Catholics against Arians, and 
 the greatest of eastern fathers solemnly appeal- 
 ing to the Bishop of Rome as his over-lord to 
 judge his case. It was no question of Roman 
 patriarchal jurisdiction. Egypt had nothing to do 
 with the Roman patriarchate. The only claim the 
 Pope could have to interfere in a quarrel at Alex- 
 andria was his claim to universal jurisdiction over 
 the whole Church of Christ. And St Athanasius 
 showed plainly enough what he thought of that 
 , I claim. He had always steadfastly refused to admit 
 I j the emperor's right to judge in ecclesiastical 
 ; ' affairs,^ but when he was in really great trouble 
 he appealed to the Pope. This is Theodoret's 
 account of the matter: "The Eusebians, having 
 got together calumnies against Athanasius, had 
 denounced him to Bishop Julius, who then ruled 
 the Roman church. And Julius, following the rule 
 of the Church, ordered them to come to Rome, 
 
 Avian, c. ii, Ep, Jul, ad Ant. (quoted in Athan.: Apol. ctra 
 Arianos, c. 21-35); Sokrates, H.E. ii, 15, 17; Sozomenos, H.E, 
 iii, 7, 8, 10. 
 
 ^For instance, he says triumphantly of this very Roman 
 
 synod in 341 : "No Imperial governor was there, no soldiers 
 
 stood before the doors, the affairs of the synod were determined 
 
 by no laws of the government." {Hist. Arian. c. 11), Indeed, 
 
 \ throughout his life he never ceased protesting against the 
 
 ; , interference of the state in these theological questions. 
 
St Athanasius 29 
 
 and he also summoned Athanasius to explain his 
 case. Athanasius, obeying the summons, started 
 at once on the journey. But they who had made 
 up the fable would not come to Rome, because 
 they knew that their lie would be found out."^ 
 And Julius wTote a stern letter to these Eusebians, 
 saying: "Do you not know that this is the custom, 
 that you should first write to us and that what is 
 right should be settled here."^ So St Athanasius 
 passed his second exile at Rome under the protec- 
 tion of the Pope. Meanwhile the bewildering suc- 
 cession of synods and anti-synods was going on 
 all over the empire. In the same year as the 
 Roman one (341) there was a great Arian synod 
 at Antioch, when the bishops met to dedicate 
 Constantine's Golden church.^ In 343 the Catholics | 
 met at Sardica (now Sophia in Bulgaria) , defended I 
 Athanasius and confirmed the right of appeal to I 
 the Pope that every accused bishop has,* and at 
 the same time the Arians met at Philippopolis 
 and again declared Athanasius deposed. But Con- 1 
 stans while he lived was Athanasius' friend, and j 
 he at last persuaded his brother. Const antius, / 
 to aUow the patriarch's return. In February, 345, 
 Gregory, the Arian usurper at Alexandria, who 
 had ruthlessly persecuted the faithful subjects of 
 Athanasius, went too far and they rose up and 
 murdered him. Then Constantius invited the 
 lawful bishop back. He wrote him a very friendly 
 letter and offered him the use of the government's 
 
 iTheodoreti H.E. ii, 3 (M. P. G. Ixxxii, 996). 
 
 ^Ep. 3 Julii ad Eus. 22 (in Athan. : Apol. c. Arianos, 21-36). 
 
 ^This is the S^iiod in enccBuiis {ev iyKaivcois, "at the dedi- 
 cation"). 
 
 ■^Canons 3, 4 and 5 of Sardica are the most famous instance 
 of an Eastern synod solemnly recognizing this right of appeal 
 to Rome. 
 
30 The Greek Fathers 
 
 conveyances. So in 345 Athanasius makes a second 
 triumphal entry into his city. This return was the 
 most famous of all. He had passed through Adrian- 
 ople, Antioch and Laodicea (where another 
 council met and declared him innocent) , and when 
 he came to Alexandria, "like another Nile,"^ the 
 people streamed out to meet him. They spread 
 their carpets in the streets for him to walk upon 
 and cut down palm-branches to carry before 
 him. "Who," he says himself, "that beheld such 
 peace in our church did not wonder at the sight? 
 Who did not praise God for the joy of the people.""^ 
 And Pope Julius wrote a letter full of praise of the 
 saint and of joy at his return. "If precious metals are 
 tried by fire, what shall we say of so great a man 
 who has overcome so many trials? . . . Receive, 
 therefore, my dear brethren, your bishop Atha- 
 nasius, with joy and with thanks to God."^ To 
 this day the eastern churches keep a feast in 
 memory of the end of Gregory's tyranny and Atha- 
 nasius' happy return.^ For ten years he now 
 reigned in peace at Alexandria, restoring order in 
 his patriarchate and writing one treatise after 
 another against the Arian heresy.^ Meanwhile the 
 synods went on. In 344 the Arians at Antioch 
 drew up another formula that was rejected by the 
 Catholics at Milan in 345. In 351 an Arian Synod 
 of Sirmium^ proposed yet another form, carefully 
 avoiding the word Homoiisios ; in 353, at Aries, they 
 
 ^Greg. Naz. : Oral, xxi, 27. ^Hist. Arian. 27. 
 
 'Athan.: Apologia, 52. 
 
 *In the Byzantine Church on Jan. 18. 
 
 ^Throughout his hfe he was always occupied in writing 
 defences of the faith. We shall come to these in the list of his 
 works (pp. 40-43). 
 
 ^Sirmiiim was in Lower Pannonia near the river Save. Now 
 it is in Slavonia, north-west of Belgrad. 
 
St Athanasius 31 
 
 deposed and banished St Paulinus of Trier. And 
 in 355 they met again at Milan. 
 
 8. Third exile, in the desert (356-362) 
 
 This Arian Synod of Milan professed to depose 
 Pope Liberius (352-366), who had succeeded 
 Julius. He and Lucifer of Calaris in Sicily then had 
 to go into exile. It also deposed Athanasius for the 
 third time. Const ant ius had again changed his 
 mind. He was always an Arian, and he quite 
 rightly looked upon the great patriarch as the 
 most powerful and uncompromising enemy of his 
 belief. This time he tried to have him murdered. 
 On Febr. g, 356, while Athanasius was keeping the 
 night hours in the church of Theonas at Alex- 
 andria it was surrounded by the emperor's sol- 
 diers, who shot their arrows into the church. At 
 last the Catholics succeed in breaking through 
 with their patriarch, and he flees for refuge to the 
 fathers of the Libyan desert.^ This is the third 
 exile among the monks (356-362). St Athanasius 
 had always had a very great admiration for the 
 monks who lived away from the world in the great 
 Egyptian desert. We have seen that even before he 
 was patriarch he had known and served them 
 (p. 11). It is said that he was one of the founders 
 of western monasticism while he was at Rome, 
 and he had made many journeys to their settle- 
 ments in his patriarchate. So it was natural that, 
 now that h-e was fleeing for his life, he should go to 
 these monks, where he could hide from the 
 emperor's soldiers in the desert and where he would 
 
 ^Before he could get away he lay hidden in Alexandria while 
 the soldiers hunted for him in his friends' houses. Eudaimonis, 
 a nun, was tortured to make her say where he was; but she 
 kept the secret. Another lady hid him in her house for days 
 while the pursuit was hottest. 
 
32 The Greek Fathers 
 
 have the comfort of their company. For six years 
 he wandered about the different settlements of 
 these fathers south of the Thebais where the great 
 tawny Hons crouch behind the burning rocks. 
 Meanwhile, in Alexandria, his Catholics were 
 fiercely persecuted. The soldiers hunted for the 
 patriarch throughout Egypt. As they could not 
 find him, they broke open and burnt down houses, 
 scourged his clergy (Eutychios, a subdeacon, died 
 under their rods), violated nuns and took away 
 all the churches to give them to the Arians. 
 Indeed, all over the empire there was now a furious 
 persecution of the "Athanasians." For a second 
 time the government set up an intruder in St 
 Athanasius' see, this time George, another Cap- 
 padocian. This George was a quite horrible person, 
 an Arian, of course. Sozomenos says that he was a 
 notorious drunkard and a man of evil life, stupid, 
 coarse and brutal (H. E., iii, 7). He meant to make 
 money out of his place, so he secured monopolies 
 for salt, paper and nitre, and did a thriving trade in 
 coffins on his own account by refusing Christian 
 burial to anyone who was not brought in one made 
 at his own factory. Catholic bishops were deposed 
 and imprisoned, Catholic monasteries burnt down 
 and every meeting of Catholics interrupted by 
 soldiers, who scourged all the people they found, 
 sometimes even to death. But Athanasius, from his 
 hiding-place, still cared for his desolate church, and 
 wrote constantly to encourage his faithful subjects. 
 "Our churches," he says, "are taken from us and 
 given to the Arians; they have our places, but we 
 have the faith. They cannot rob us of that." Many 
 strange and romantic stories are told of the saint's 
 adventures while hiding in the desert. The loyal 
 hermits watched for the coming of soldiers and 
 
St Athanasiiis 33 
 
 sent him on from place to place, bearing them- 
 selves the brunt of the soldiers' rage when they 
 missed him. One story is famous. The soldiers 
 actually met him once face to face, but they did 
 not know him by sight. "Where is Athanasius?" 
 they asked. And he answered: "He is not far off." 
 So they hurried on, and he escaped. This story is 
 often told as an example of a mental restriction. It 
 was one of a very innocent kind. During this third 
 exile he wrote many of his most famous works, 
 including the Apology for his Flight (p. 41). While 
 he was there St Antony, the father of monks, died 
 and left his cloak of palm-leaves as a legacy to the 
 exiled patriarch.^ Throughout the Church the hope- 
 less confusion of synods went on. In 357 the 
 Arians met again at Sirmium and drew up an even 
 more uncompromisingly Anomoian formula than 
 that of the first Synod of Sirmium (in 351) ; the 
 semi-Arians held a synod at Ankyra in the same 
 year. In 358 came the famous third Synod of 
 Sirmium, with its semi-Arian formula that Pope 
 Liberius is said to have signed, in 359 the fourth 
 Synod of Sirmium, and the great Synod of Ari- 
 minium^ that Constantius forced to accept the 
 fourth Sirmian formula. The trouble and confusion 
 were now at their height. There were at least 
 twelve different creeds^ that claimed the allegiance 
 of the pious Christian layman; every shade of 
 Arianism and semi-Arianism clamoured for his 
 acceptance; only the faith of Nicaea and Atha- 
 nasius was forbidden and persecuted. It is of this 
 time, just before Constantius died in 362, that St 
 
 ^Athan. : Vita Antonii, 91. 
 
 2Rimini in Romagna on the coast between Ravenna and 
 Ancona. 
 
 ^Five of Antioch, four of Sirmium, one of Constantinople, 
 one of Akakios of Kyzikos and the Nicene creed. 
 
34 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Jerome wrote: "The whole world groaned and 
 wondered to find itself Arian."^ But the simple 
 people kept the faith through all this clash of 
 quarrelling bishops,^ and they looked out towards 
 the hot Libyan desert where the column of the 
 faith lay hidden till God should bring him back. 
 St Athanasius' return after his third exile was 
 brought about in just the same way as his former 
 one. Julian (361-363) declared himself emperor, 
 and Constantius died on his way to fight him (362) . 
 Julian began his reign by recalling all banished 
 bishops, and George the intruder at Alexandria, 
 who had made himself even more hated than his 
 predecessor, Gregory, of unhappy memory, was 
 murdered by the people. Only this time it was the 
 pagans who murdered him, thereby earning the 
 gentlest of reproofs from Julian, who thought that 
 this time the zeal of his fellow-Hellenes had 
 exceeded the bounds of moderation. So St Atha- 
 nasius came back again to his city (362) . 
 
 9. The fourth and fifth exiles 
 (362-363, 365-366) 
 
 From this time the tide of Arianism turns back 
 and the whole movement gradually disappears. 
 But Athanasius has to go into exile twice again 
 before he dies. He was by now without comparison 
 the most famous man in the Christian Church and 
 the acknowledged leader of the Catholics. At Alex- 
 andria he converts so many pagans that their 
 priests complain to Julian that if he stays there 
 there will soon be no more gods at all in Egypt. So 
 
 ^Ingemuittotus orbis et arianum se esse miratus est (Hieron. : 
 c. Luciferianos, 19). 
 
 ^St Hilary (f 366) says that the ears of the people were 
 holier than the lips of the preachers [Ad Constantimn, 4). 
 
St Athanasius 35 
 
 Julian again banishes the saint as being "an enemy 
 of the immortal gods," and he again goes to the 
 monks in the Thebais. This is the fourth exile (362- 
 363). It did not last long. Poor JuHan was killed i 
 fighting the Persians in 363, and his successor, 
 Jovian (363-364)), as usual, began his reign by I 
 proclaiming an amnesty and the return of all 
 exiles. So Athanasius entered his city again. But ' 
 Jovian died after eight months, and Valentinian I 
 (364-375) appointed his brother, Valens, to be s 
 regent of the east. Valens was a declared Arian, 
 and he immediately ordered that all Homoiisian 
 bishops who had been banished by Constantius 
 and restored by Julian should again leave their 
 sees (May 5, 365). Athanasius had to go, too, and \| 
 fled to his father's tomb by the Nile.^ But there 
 was so great a tumult among his people at this 
 continued persecution of their patriarch that the 
 emperor had to give in and recall him after four 
 months. So this fifth and last exile (365-366) was a 
 short one. Once more, and for the last time, the 
 old patriarch entered his city in triumph, and from 
 now till his death he lives there in peace. 
 
 10. Athanasius' last years and death 
 
 The saint's last seven years were spent in finish- 
 ing the work of his life, the destruction of Arian- \\ 
 ism. And now, after all his troubles, he was able to ' ' 
 see the storm calmed before he died. Arianism\ 
 was disappearing as fast as it had arisen. In spite \ 
 of Valens, the Arian Caesar, everywhere the 
 Nicene faith was being restored. Catholic bishops 
 were coming out of their hiding-places and a new 
 and younger band of defenders of the faith was 
 
 ^Sokrates, H.E. iv, 13; Sozomenos, H.E. vi, 12. 
 
 3^ 
 
o 
 
 6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 routing the heresy in east and west. St Basil 
 (t 379) > St Gregory of Nyssa (f c. 395) and St 
 Gregory of Nazianzos (f 390) on the one side, 
 St Ambrose (t397)> St Jerome (t42o) and St 
 Damasus the Pope (f 384) on the other finally 
 destroyed the evil that had threatened to swallow 
 up the whole Church. And at last — but this was 
 after Athanasius' death — the great Catholic 
 emperor, Theodosius I (379-395), ruled over a 
 united Catholic empire, and Arianism became only 
 an episode of history and a memory of the most 
 fearful storm that has ever raged in the Church of 
 Christ.^ And all these younger fathers looked up 
 with unbounded reverence to the old patriarch 
 who had borne the burden of the fight before they 
 were bom, whom they recognized while he lived 
 as their leader and champion, whom they remem- 
 bered after his death as the great standard-bearer 
 of the Nicene faith. He tasted this peace after so 
 great a storm during those last seven years. From 
 every side came news of the reconciliation of Arian 
 churches and the conversion of Arian bishops 
 In his own city he ordered everything peaceably 
 for the firm establishment of the Catholic faith, 
 and he saw the last poor remnants of paganism 
 and heresy gradually die out dishonoured and 
 unnoticed. Naturally from every side people 
 appealed to him in their difficulties. St Basil wrote 
 to him from Caesarea asking for sympathy and help 
 in his own difficulties, and when a new heresy 
 began — that of Apollinaris — once more people 
 turned to Alexandria and begged the old patriarch 
 to refute this, as he had so often refuted the 
 Arians. His treatise against Apollinaris was almost 
 
 ^Arianism went on outside the Empire for a long time still as 
 the religion of the Teutonic peoples. The Goths were Arians. 
 
St Athanasius 37 
 
 his last work. And then, after all his troubles, after 
 he had been hunted down, had fled for his life so 
 many times, after he had spent those long years of 
 exile hiding among the rocks of the desert, or wan- 
 dering in the distant western lands, after all he 
 died at home in the city that had been his since 
 his birth, that had become more famous because 
 of him than it had been in the old days of Alex- 
 ander and the Ptolemies. On May 2, 373, the old ., 
 patriarch, who had fought his good fight, finished | 
 his course and kept the faith, went to receive the « 
 crown of righteousness that the Lord gave him at 
 that day. We are not surprised that the whole 
 Catholic world from end to end united to honour 
 his glorious memory. He was buried at Alexandria 
 with great honour by the people who had been 
 faithful to him through all the persecution. The 
 whole city formed a great pomp to follow his, 
 relics to their rest. Gregory of Nazianzos preached j[ 
 a glowing panegyric^ of him. "To praise Atha-| 
 nasius is to praise all virtues. To name him is to 
 name a gathering of all that is admirable in one 
 man." He was the "Pillar of the Church, rich in 
 doctrine, edification and comfort, a triumph of 
 truth and right." Every one of these later fathers, 
 Greek or Latin, has something to say of the great 
 hero. To St John Damascene (f c. 754) in far ! 
 Damascus he is the "Foundation-stone of the 
 Church of God," and to Vincent of Lerins in still | 
 further Gaul he is the "most faithful of confessors, '^ 
 most enlightened of teachers." Naturally, he is, h 
 first of all, the great national saint of Egypt. Ask \S 
 any Egyptian Christian who is the greatest saint 
 of his country, and he will answer at once "Atha- 
 nasius the Great." The four patriarchs who now 
 
 ^Oratio 21 (M. P. G. xxxv, 1082- 1 128), probably iu 380. 
 
38 The Greek Fathers 
 
 dispute the succession of St Mark^ all claim him as 
 their most glorious predecessor. And, beyond the 
 boundaries of Egypt, east and west keep the 
 memory of the champion of the faith against the 
 greatest and worst of heresies. Orthodox and 
 Catholics remember him every year on May 2, the 
 day of his death. The Orthodox pray to him: 
 "Speaker for God, Athanasius, who overcame 
 endless dangers and trials, now you have become 
 worthy of the delights of paradise. You followed 
 God's commands, conqueror of justice, now you 
 are crowned with the crown of the heavenly king- 
 dom, glorious in your eternal triumph." And the 
 Roman Church that he honoured and obeyed"^ 
 honours him, and throughout the world her priests 
 read on May 2 of the great saint who "for six and 
 forty years during the greatest changes of times 
 with very great holiness ruled the Church of 
 Alexandria" ; and we pray that God may hear the 
 prayers that we say on the feast of blessed Atha- 
 nasius, Confessor and Pontiff, and that he may 
 forgive us all our sins through the merits of the 
 saint who served him so worthily.^ 
 
 11. Table of dates 
 
 293. Birth of Athanasius. 
 
 306-337. Const antine the Great, only emperor 
 
 from 323. 
 311. Arius ordained priest. 
 313-328. Alexander of Alexandria patriarch. 
 314-335. St Sylvester I Pope. 
 
 ^There are four Patriarchs of Alexandria, an Orthodox, a 
 Monophysite Kopt, a Uniate Kopt and a Melkite. The Latin 
 titular patriarch at Rome has no pretence of succession from 
 the old line and need not be counted. 
 
 ^Above, pp. 26-29. 
 
 ^Brev. Rom. 2 Mail, Lect. vi and Collect. 
 
St Athanasius 39 
 
 319. Athanasius ordained deacon. 
 
 321. Synod of Alexandria against Arius. 
 
 325. First General Council at Nic^ea in 
 
 BiTHYNIA. 
 
 328. Athanasius Patriarch. 
 335. Arian synod at Tyre. 
 335-337. First exile at Trier, 
 
 335. St Sylvester I f. 
 
 336. Arius t- 
 
 337. Constantine f- 
 
 337-362. Constantius emperor; he reigns alone 
 
 from 340. 
 337-352. St Julius I Pope. 
 
 338. Athanasius restored at Alexandria. 
 
 340. Arian synod at Antioch against Athanasius. 
 340-345. Second exile at Rome. Gregory of Cap- 
 
 padocia intruded at Alexandria. 
 
 341. Synod at Rome defends Athanasius. 
 341. Arian synod "in encseniis" at Antioch. 
 
 343. Catholic synod at Sardica. Right of appeal 
 to Rome. 
 
 344. Arian synod at Antioch. 
 
 345. Gregory of Cappadocia murdered. Athana- 
 sius restored. Feast of his restoration. 
 
 345. Catholic synod at Milan. 
 
 351. First Arian synod at Sirmium. 
 
 353. Arian synod at Aries. St Paulinus of Trier 
 banished. 
 
 355. Arian synod at Milan. Pope Liberius (352- 
 366) and Athanasius banished. 
 
 356-362. Third exile in the desert. George of Cap- 
 padocia intruded at Alexandria. 
 
 357. Second Arian synod at Sirmium. 
 
 357. Semi- Arian synod at Ankyra. 
 
 358. Third semi-Arian synod at Sirmium. Libe- 
 rius signs its formula. 
 
40 The Greek Fathers 
 
 359. Fourth Arian synod at Sirmium. 
 
 359. Synod of Arminium. 
 
 361-363. Julian emperor, alone from 362. 
 
 362. George of Cappadocia murdered; Athana- 
 
 sius restored. 
 362-363. Fourth exile in the Thehais. 
 363-364. Jovian emperor. 
 364-375. Valentian I emperor; Valens Caesar in 
 
 the east. 
 365-366. Fifth exile by his father's tomb, 
 373 (May 2). Athanasiusf. 
 
 12. Works 
 
 Throughout his whole life St Athanasius was 
 engaged in writing, chiefly against the Arians, 
 but we have treatises of exegesis and history, 
 letters, sermons and apologies by him as well. 
 His works were first collected and printed in Greek 
 in 1600 at Heidelberg ; the Benedictines of St Maur 
 published what is sti]l the best edition of them at 
 Paris in 1698,^ and they fill four volumes of Migne.- 
 This is a list of the chief works only. 
 
 Apologetic Writings. While he was still only a 
 deacon, before Arius had begun his heresy, he wrote 
 a Treatise against the Heathen (Xoyo? kclO' eWi'iPow, 
 Oratio contra gentes,^ xxv, 3-96) and a Treatise 
 on the Incarnation of the Word (Xoyo? irepl ryg 
 €vavOpo)7n'i(T€W(s Tov \6yov, Oratio de humana natura 
 a Verbo assumpta, xxv, 95-198). 
 
 Dogma and Polemics against the Arians. His 
 chief polemical work is the Four treatises against 
 the Arians [kut apeiavwv \6yoL S' , Orationes iv 
 
 ^3 vols, edited by J. Lopin and B. de Montfaucon. 
 '^M. P. G. xxv-xxviii, Paris, 1857. 
 
 ^The Latin titles are useful for reference to Migne. For the 
 same reason I give the volumes and pages in M. P. G. 
 
St Athanasius 41 
 
 contra arianos, xxvi, 11-526). Also Of the appear- 
 ance in the flesh of the Word of God and against the 
 Arians (xe/oi tv? eva-dpicov eTTKpaveia^ rov OeovXoyov 
 Kal Kar ctpe/al^w^^ Deapparitione Verbi Deiin came 
 et contra arianos, xxvi, 983-1028), Exposition of 
 the Faith (e/c^eo-f? Trla-Teco^, Expositio fidei, xxv, 
 199-208). Two Books against Apollinaris {kut 
 'AiroWivapiov \6yoL P' . Contra Apollinarium libri 
 II, M. P. G., XXVI, 1093-1166) were written at the 
 end of his Hfe. 
 
 Historical Works. Three Apologies are speci- 
 ally valuable as telling the history of his own time, 
 the Apology against the Arians (airoXoytjTiKo^ Kar 
 upeiavwv, Apologia contra Arianos, xxv, 247- 
 410), written in 350, the Apology to the Emperor Con- 
 stantius (tt/oo? tov ^acriXea K.(jov<TTavTioi' airoXoyla, 
 Apologia ad imperatorem Constantium, xxv, 595- 
 642) in 356, and the Apology of his flight {awoXo- 
 yla irepL t?7? 0i;y>/9 avrov, Apologia de fuga, xxv, 
 643-680)^ in 357. He wrote a History of the Arians 
 addressed to the monks {la-Topla twv apeiavCcv Trpog 
 Tovg /uLovdxov^, Historia arianorum ad monachos, 
 xxv, 691-796), between 335 and 337. 
 
 Exegesis. Of Athanasius' many interpretations 
 of holy Scripture only fragments remain that have 
 been preserved in Catenas. ^ Of these the largest 
 fragment is that of his Commentary on the Psalms 
 (xxvii, 55-590). There are also parts of his expo- 
 sitions of Job (xxvii, 1343-1347), the Song of 
 Songs (xxvii, 1348-1350), St Matthew (xxvii, 1363- 
 
 ^The lessons of the third noctuni on his feast in the Roman 
 breviary are taken from this work. 
 
 2 A Catena is a collection of interpretations from the fathers 
 arranged together under each text of Scripture in a "chain." 
 It was a favourite and very convenient way of making com- 
 mentaries on each book in the middle ages, the commentary 
 consisting of a mosaic of quotations. St Thomas Aquinas' 
 (I 1274) Catena aurea is a well-known example. 
 
42 The Greek Fathers 
 
 1390), St Luke (xxvii, 1391-1404) and i Cor. 
 (xxvii, 1404). 
 Ascetic Works. His Life of St Antony {I3lo9 kui 
 
 TToXiTcia Tov oariov iraTpo^ rj/ncov KvTWvioVy Vita 
 
 S. P. N. Antonii, xxvi, 835-976) is one of the great 
 standard books on the spiritual life. It was done 
 into Latin almost at once, and this version was one 
 of the chief causes of St Augustine's conversion. 
 He had heard a certain Pontitianus speak of St 
 Antony's Ufe and describe how he had found this 
 book with his friends in a monastery while they 
 were out for a walk; "and one of them began to 
 read it and to wonder and be greatly moved, and 
 while reading it to think about leading such a life 
 himself and leaving the army to serve God" 
 (Aug. Confess.Yiu, 6). A number of St Athanasius' 
 letters addressed to monks belong to this class 
 too. 
 
 Letters. It is, perhaps, from these letters that 
 one knows the saint best. He wrote a great number 
 to all sorts of people, and in them he discusses every 
 kind of subject; sometimes he tells the story of 
 some synod or other event, often he again exposes 
 the Nicene faith and argues against Arianism, or 
 he writes exhortations and counsel for the devout 
 life. The most important are the Paschal Letters 
 {eTTKTToXai eopTaa-TiKai,^ Litterse festivales, xxvi, 
 1431-1444). It was the custom for the Patriarch of 
 Alexandria soon after the Epiphany to write an 
 encyclical to his suffragans announcing on what 
 day Easter would fall in that year, and he used 
 the opportunity to discuss any other important 
 question of the time.^ Besides the fragments of 
 
 ^7; iopTT] in Greek always means Easter. 
 
 ^These Paschal letters then were like the Lenten pastorals 
 that our bishops now write. 
 
St Athanasius 43 
 
 Athanasius' paschal letters extant in the original 
 Greek, a Syriac version of fifteen of them has been 
 discovered.^ These were written between 329 and 
 348, many while he was in exile, and they contain 
 most important passages about his own life and his 
 theology. His letters to various monks, to Abbot 
 Drakontios (xxv, 523-534), two to Abbot Orsisios 
 (xxvi, 977-980), one to a monk Amunis (xxvi, 
 1169-1176), one addressed to the Egyptian monks 
 in general (xxvi, 1185-1188) are about the rules of 
 monastic life and asceticism. His letters to ^'^I'^^^/os, 
 Bishop of Corinth^ (xxvi, 1049-1070), to Bishop 
 Adelphios (xxvi, 1071-1084) and to a philosopher 
 named Maximos (xxvi, 1085-1090) explain the 
 Catholic faith against the Arians. They were 
 written at the end of his life, about 371. Two 
 Encyclical Letters, one to all bishops (eiria-ToXt] 
 eyKVKXiog, Ep. encyclica, xxv, 221-240) in 341, and 
 one to the Bishops of Egypt and Libya (xxv, 537- 
 594) in 356, tell the history of the Arian attacks 
 against him. An encyclical about the Decrees of 
 Niccea and one about the Teaching of Denis of 
 Alexandria (xxv, 479-522) were written between 
 350 and 354. He wrote two Latin letters to 
 Lucifer, Bishop of Calaris^ (xxvi, 1181-1186) in 
 360, one to Bishop Serapion (xxv, 685-690) at 
 about the same time, one to the Antiochene bishops 
 (xxvi, 795-810), and one to Rufinianus (xxvi, 
 1179-1182) in about 362. There are also a number 
 of other letters which will be found in Migne's 
 
 ^In 1847 ill ^ monastery in the desert. Cureton edited them 
 in 1848 and a Latin version of them is given in M. P. G. xxvi, 
 1 351-1444. 
 
 ^This letter is specially famous ; Epiphanios quotes it at full 
 length in his work against Heresies {Hxr. yy). 
 
 ^Cagliari in Sicily. This is the Lucifer who afterwards made 
 the Luciferan schism in Italy. 
 
44 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Greek series among his works. Lastly, it is hardly 
 necessary to say that St Athanasius had nothing 
 to do with the so-called Athanasian Creed. The 
 clauses in this against the Nestorians and Mono- 
 physites alone are enough to show that it was 
 written after those heresies (after the fifth century) . 
 As a matter of fact, we now know that it was com- 
 posed in Latin in the west (in southern Gaul or 
 Spain) and that it was not introduced into the 
 Divine office (at Prime) till the ninth century.^ 
 
 As a specimen of the great veneration with which 
 the fathers received St Athanasius' works we may 
 quote what Abbot Cosmas in the eighth century 
 says: "If you find a book by Athanasius and have 
 no paper on which to copy it, write it on your 
 clothes." 
 
 13. Literature 
 
 For the Benedictine edition and Migne, sec p. 40. 
 Hurter has published a Latin version of the 
 Treatises against the Heathen and On the Incarna- 
 tion in his little series {SS. Patrum opuscula selecta, 
 Innsbruck, Wagner, vol. XLiv), and an Enghsh 
 translation of the chief works forms vol. iv of the 
 second series of the Oxford Select Library of Nicene 
 and Postnicene Fathers (J. H. Newman and A. 
 Robertson). J. Draseke (who is obsessed by 
 ApoUinaris and spends his life in trying to prove 
 that he wrote every doubtful and many not- 
 doubtful treatises of the fourth century) has 
 attempted to show that his hero wrote "against 
 the heathen" and "on the Incarnation"^. The 
 standard life is still J. A. Mohler: Athanasius der 
 Grosse und die Kirche seiner Zeit (2 vols, Mainz, 
 
 ^Dom. G. Morin: Les origines du symhole Quicunque {La 
 Science Catholique, 1891, pp. 6yi, seq.) 
 
 ^Athanasiana, Theol. Stud. u. Kntiken, Ixvi (1893). 
 
St Athanasius 45 
 
 2 ed., 1844). J. P. Silbert: Das Leben des h. Athana- 
 sius (2 vols, Vienna, 1842). P. Barbier: Vie de S. 
 Athanase (Tours, 1888). H. Voigt: Die Lehre des 
 Athanasius von Alexandrien (Bremen, 1861). 
 Ch. Vernet: Essai sur la doctrine christologiqtie d' 
 Athanase le Grand (Geneva, 1879). L. Atzberger: 
 Die Logoslehre des hi. Athanasius (Munich, 1880). 
 H. Strater: Die Erlosungslehre des hi. Athanasius 
 (Freiburg, i/Br. 1894). F. Cavallera: Saint Athanase 
 (La Pensee chretienne, Paris, Bloud, 1908). For 
 Arianism see Gwatkin: Studies of Arianism (Cam- 
 bridge, 2 ed. 1900) ; Schwane, Dogmengesch. der 
 patrist. Zeit (Freiburg, i/Br., 2 ed. 1895) ; Harnack: 
 Lehrhuch der Dogmengeschichte, vol. 11 (Freiburg, 
 i/Br.,3ed. 1894). 
 
46 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ^ ST BASIL (330-379) 
 
 M 
 
 i j ^~^ T BASIL, Metropolitan of Cccsarea in Cap- 
 
 '! ^^padocia, is the chief of the three Cappa- 
 ^^^docians^ who defended the faith of Nicaea 
 in the next generation after St Athanasius. Like 
 all the fathers of that time he wrote against the 
 Arians; and he wrote a famous work about the 
 Holy Ghost. But he is not known chiefly because 
 of his polemical works. He is remembered rather 
 as a great Catholic bishop in a troubled time, as a 
 man of very ascetic life and as the father of orga- 
 nized eastern monasticism. The Byzantine Church 
 ascribes the older of her two liturgies to him; we 
 know him, through his letters especially, as a very 
 charming and sympathetic person, as, perhaps, 
 personally the most attractive of the Greek fathers. 
 
 1. His family, birth and early years 
 (330-^.345?) 
 
 BasiP came of a distinguished family of Pontus 
 in Asia Minor. His forbears had filled important 
 places in the government. At that time there was 
 no sort of hereditary nobility in the empire, but 
 certain families succeeded in getting high places 
 for their children and relations as each generation 
 grew up and so they gradually gathered together 
 much wealth and large properties. St Basil's 
 
 ^ The other two are his brother St Gregory of Nyssa, and 
 St Gregory of Nazianzos. 
 
 ^BacriXeios (Basilius) means Royal. The Greek form is 
 pro-paroxytone, the Latin pro-perispomenon. 
 
St Basil 47 
 
 family was of this kind. For a long time his rela- 
 tions had been persons of consideration because of 
 the offices they held ; they had lands in Pontus and 
 Cappadocia ; and they all had the natural instincts of 
 people of a certain social position. They show a 
 sense of distinction in style when they write ; they 
 nearly all become orators, and they are very keen 
 hunters. St Basil's grandfather had been a great 
 man, whose table groaned under the weight of the 
 game he offered to his guests. He was also a Chris- 
 tian ; he had fled to the mountains of Pontus with 
 his wife Makrine during Diocletian's persecution. 
 Here he lay hidden for a time, but comforted him- 
 self by shooting birds with his bow.^ The saint's 
 father, also named Basil, was an orator at Caesarea, 
 the capital of Cappadocia; although he was a fer- 
 vent Christian, he did not despise the old Greek' 
 classics. Later his successors in the school that 
 thought it quite possible to join the Christian 
 faith with humanism note this as a point in his 
 favour.^ The elder Basil married a certain Emmelia, 
 the mother of our St Basil, a lady who seems to 
 have brought to her husband every grace and 
 every good quahty that a bride could have. She 
 was very rich and very beautiful, but every one 
 especially praises her wisdom, sense and piety. St 
 Basil owed his training to these ladies, Makrine, his 
 grandmother, and his mother Emmelia; he, his 
 brothers and all his friends constantly speak with 
 unbounded admiration of both. Of this marriage of 
 Basil the orator and Emmelia ten children w^ere 
 bom, five boys and five girls. The eldest of all was 
 a girl, called Makrine after her grandmother. This 
 Makrine became a nun and a saint, as we shall 
 
 ^St Gregory Naz. : Oratio, xliii, 5-8. 
 Hb. II. 
 
48 The Greek Fathers 
 
 see (pp. 54, 58, 77). Then came our saint, Basil, the 
 eldest son. He was born at Caesarea in 330.^ His 
 younger brothers were Nausikrates, who became 
 a monk and died young in 357, then Gregory (St 
 Gregory of Nyssa, a bishop and one of the Greek 
 fathers like his eldest brother) , Peter, who became 
 bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, and another who died 
 quite young. The names of the other daughters are 
 not known . It was then an eminently religious family ; 
 Basil, the father, gave to the Church three bishops, 
 a monk and a nun, and three of his children are 
 canonized saints.^ The father was known as a 
 pious Christian, but it was especially the two 
 ladies, old Makrine and Emmelia, who brought 
 up the children in the fear of God. St Basil is 
 never tired of repeating that he owes everything 
 to his mother and grandmother. *T shall never 
 forget," he says, "the deep impressions made on 
 me as a boy by the words and example of these 
 venerable women." He was delicate from the first; 
 all through his life he refers to his ill-health. The 
 first years were spent at Caesarea and then chiefly 
 in Pontus, where the family had an estate near 
 Neocaesarea. Here the father taught the boys the 
 elements of secular knowledge and the mother and 
 grandmother told them stories about the old days 
 of persecution and the sufferings of martyrs and 
 confessors in the bad times that had just passed. 
 Old Makrine had known St Gregory Thaumaturgos 
 (t 270), the apostle of Pontus and bishop of Neo- 
 csesarea ; and from her they learned to honour the 
 memory of the great Christian bishop in whose 
 footsteps three of them were to walk.^ The boys 
 
 ^There is some doubt about the date. It is sometimes given 
 as 329 or 331. 
 
 2St Basil, St Gregory and St Peter. 
 
 ^St Gregory Nyss. afterwards wrote his life (p. 85). There is 
 
St Basil 49 
 
 then spent these first years on their land in Pontus 
 in a great house full of slaves, where they had 
 every comfort that a rich establishment in the 
 fourth century could offer. We picture them hunt- 
 ing, fishing, riding through the forests along the 
 slopes of the mountains that stretch down towards 
 the Black Sea, then learning the first mysteries of 
 Greek grammar, logic and rhetoric with their 
 father or sitting round old Makrine and listening 
 to her stories of the dreadful days when to confess 
 the name of Christ meant torture and death. 
 After this we shall lose sight of the others to follow 
 our two saints, Basil and Gregory. 
 
 2. Studies (345-357) 
 
 Basil the father did not mean to keep his sons at 
 home all their lives. He naturally foresaw for them 
 a distinguished career as government officials or 
 orators, and the first condition of such a career 
 was to have studied at one of the great centres of 
 Greek learning under some famous professor. There 
 were then several cities that had great schools, 
 places that corresponded to our Universities. 
 There was Caesarea, where he himself had practised 
 as an orator, the capital of Cappadocia and chief 
 town of all central Asia Minor; there was the 
 capital of the whole empire, Constantinople, still 
 glowing with the first whiteness of new marble,^ 
 where Caesar reigned with his court and all the 
 
 a pretty story about this St Gregory the Wonder-worker. As 
 he lay dying at Neocaesarea (a large and important town) he 
 asked how many pagans were left in it. They told him seven- 
 teen. "Thank God," he said, "when I came here there were 
 just seventeen Christians." This Gregory was said to have 
 literally carried out our Lord's words and by faith to have 
 moved a mountain. His name {dav/jLarovpyds, wonder-worker) 
 shows that he had a special reputation for working miracles. 
 ^Constantine the Great dedicated his new city in 330. 
 
 4 
 
50 The Greek Fathers 
 
 world came to stand before him. And there was 
 Athens, dangerous, perhaps, as one of the last 
 strongholds of the old gods, but most attractive 
 of all, since here the pure Greek culture still reigned 
 and the old city, mother of all Hellenism, still 
 gathered under her Akropolis the first teachers 
 and philosophers of the world. So to these three 
 cities Basil sent his sons. It was the custom then 
 for students to go from one centre to another, 
 learning what they could from each and then 
 going on to hear some other famous teacher else- 
 where. In the fourth century the love of Greek 
 letters was so little dead that it was stiU the chief 
 moving force to hundreds of thousands of eager 
 scholars. They had never forgotten the glories of 
 the old Greek classics. The one thing that gave a 
 man a position and a title to be honoured was a 
 knowledge of Homer, the tragedians, the history- 
 writers and especially the philosophers. Homer and 
 Plato were the greatest of all names to civilized 
 people in the east, who stiU spoke their language and 
 gloried in being the successors and descendants of 
 the citizens of the old Greek states. So great a power 
 were the Greek classics that the love of them 
 among all civilized people was the one thing on 
 which the emperor Julian (361-363) could count 
 in his war against Christianity. His argument was 
 always that this new religion would mean the 
 death of Hellenism ; Christians were the enemies of 
 the Greek gods, therefore they were the enemies 
 of Greek culture; they were barbarians, wor- 
 shipping a Jew, using barbarous Jewish Scrip- 
 tures in a bad Greek version instead of the pure 
 glory of Homer and Plato. And his most subtle 
 form of persecution was to forbid Christian 
 teachers to explain the classics. Let them explain 
 
St Basil 51 
 
 their Septuagint, and let all who loved Hellas and 
 beauty leave them to grovel in their debased super- 
 stition and come back to the worship of the 
 immortal gods and the use of the optative mood. 
 Christians, of course, indignantly denied that 
 there was any necessary opposition between their 
 faith and the love of what was beautiful in the old 
 classics; Christian students flocked to the great 
 teachers of Greek letters just as much as their 
 pagan fellow-citizens. These students travelled 
 enormous journeys and suffered great hardships, 
 dangers^ and discomfort for the sake of the austere 
 joy of scholarship; and they continued their 
 studies for a much longer time than the modern 
 University student. Some of them at the age of 
 thirty were still sitting round a professor and 
 learning from him.^ Basil and Gregory then w^ent 
 first to Csesarea in Cappadocia. Here there was no 
 danger for their faith; the city was almost 
 entirely Christian,^ but the schools were not the 
 best that could be found. At that time Cappa- 
 docians had a reputation for being rustic, rather 
 stupid and coarse.* It was here that the brothers 
 first met a fellow-countryman, also named Gre- 
 gory, who remained, but for one rather bitter 
 quarrel, their very intimate friend and comrade , 
 through Hfe. This is St Gregory of Nazianzos.^ The 
 two brothers and the friend form the company of 
 
 ^St Gregory of Nazianzos was shipwrecked and nearly 
 drowned once while travelling to Athens to hear Himerios 
 lecture {Poem, de se ipso, xi, 130, seq.) 
 
 2So Greg. Naz. [ib. xi, 239). 
 
 ^The town council had already ordered the two great temples 
 of Zeus and Apollo to be broken up (Sozomenos: H,E. v, 4). 
 
 *Even in Latin "Cappadox" was almost a term of abuse, 
 meaning "boor," "oaf." 
 
 ^He was the son of the bishop of Nazianzos (Diocsesarea) in \^^ 
 Cappadocia. "^ 
 
 4^ 
 
52 The Greek Fathers 
 
 three great Cappadocians who by their learning 
 and eloquence, as much as by their virtues, have 
 redeemed the character of their fatherland, so 
 that we now remember that province with honour 
 as their birthplace. Gregory of Nazianzos says that 
 already at Csesarea Basil was the most distin- 
 guished student in the city, even then surpassing 
 his professors.^ From Csesarea the brothers go on 
 to Constantinople, the other Gregory to Palestine 
 and Alexandria. Then they all meet again at 
 Athens. The city of Pallas Athene, crowned with 
 violets, was still ancient Athens. That wonderful 
 vision of gleaming marble and stately orders of 
 columns, the glowing colours of the Parthenon, 
 the shining golden helmet of the virgin goddess, 
 the cool arcades, crowded theatre and the glorious 
 Propyleia — all the splendours that we now try 
 to recall among the piteous ruins of the Akropolis — 
 were then real things. Where we look up from the 
 bay of Salamis and see only broken columns and 
 the split gable of the great temple — even now 
 incomparable in its ruin — there the sailor of the 
 fourth century saw the Parthenon radiant with 
 colour and the mighty statue of Athene lifting 
 her gleaming spear over the wine-dark sea. Athens 
 was still the heart of that rich and subtle com- 
 bination of philosophy, letters and perfect aesthetic 
 taste that make up Hellenism. Here were the tem- 
 ples and statues that formed the standard of 
 beauty for the rest of the world, in the Dionysiac 
 theatre under the Akropolis the chorus still sang 
 Aeschylus' strophes, the olive-groves at Kolonos 
 still sheltered the discussions of philosophers. 
 And Athens was still the heart of the old pagan 
 faith. The dying gods found a last refuge in the 
 
 ^Oratio xliii, 13. 
 
St Basil 53 
 
 city where they had grown; so every Christian 
 knew that, beautiful and fascinating as Athens 
 was, priceless as was the erudition, the pure 
 Greek, the perfect style that could be learned only 
 there, still there was grave danger to the faith of 
 young students in the plausible discourse of the 
 Athenian philosophers. Basil took this risk, but 
 took also every precaution while he was exposed 
 to it.^ He and Gregory of Nazianzos, now the closest 
 of friends, divided their time between their studies 
 and prayers. Gregory says that they only knew two 
 roads, that road to the lecture-room and the one 
 to the church. They kept away from the company 
 of pagan students and succeeded in the centre of 
 pagan philosophy in leading an almost monastic 
 life. *'We were advanced in the fear of God by the 
 learning of the heathen, since we knew how to 
 ascend from the imperfect to the perfect, and to 
 find a support for our faith in the weakness of their 
 reason." They gloried in one thing only, "in that 
 great name of Christian."^ We know the names of 
 the two most famous professors whom they heard ; 
 the religions of these teachers are a sign of that 
 time of transition. For Himerios was a pagan and 
 Prohairesios a Christian. A hundred years before 
 no Christian would have been allowed to teach, a 
 hundred years later there were practically no 
 pagans left. Basil and Gregory studied grammar," 
 rhetoric, logic, philosophy, astronomy, geometry \ 
 and mathematics, also a little medicine. Among 
 their fellow-students was the emperor's nephew, 
 
 ^It is uncertain whether his brother Gregory of Nyssa went 
 to Athens with him or not. We know httle aboiit this Gregory 
 till he became a monk (p. 74). 
 
 ^Greg. Naz. Oratio xliii, 21. 
 
 ^Grammar then included many things, such as the art of 
 poetry, and even history. 
 
54 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Julian.^ This meeting between the future cham- 
 pions of the Christian faith and its future enemy 
 is historical. Juhan had not yet declared himself, 
 so he passed for a Christian too at that time. But 
 Gregory says afterwards that even then they fore- 
 saw what Julian would become. He describes him as 
 a young man "uncertain in manner, shifty in look 
 and inconsistent in speech," and adds that he said 
 at the time, "See what a scourge the empire here 
 prepares for itself."^ Then in 355, while Gregory 
 stayed to continue his studies at Athens, Basil 
 w^ent back home to the family estate by Neo- 
 caesarea in Pontus. 
 
 When he arrived home he found his grand- 
 mother and father dead. Four of his sisters were 
 married; the eldest, Makrine, had been engaged to 
 a young man who died before the wedding. She 
 kept his memory sacred, gave up all thought of 
 ever marrying anyone else and lived at home help- 
 ing to bring up her youngest brother Peter. Gre- 
 gory (of Nyssa) was then an orator, and by no 
 means specially pious, ^ Naukratios after a brilliant 
 career as an orator at Neocsesarea had retired to 
 the mountains as a kind of hermit and had there 
 founded an almshouse for old men. He died soon 
 after. Peter, the youngest, the future bishop of 
 Sebaste, was being taught by Makrine, who was 
 "not only his sister, but father, mother, guardian 
 and tutor all in one."^ Basil, after a short visit at 
 home, set up as a teacher of rhetoric at Caesarea. 
 He was already a famous man. The news of his 
 brilliant career as a student at Athens had reached 
 
 ^Afterwards emperor, 361-363. 
 ^Oratio v, 2^, 24, 
 
 ^He could not stand the long family prayers (Greg. Nyss. 
 Or alio ii in xl martyres). 
 
 ^Greg. Nyss. De vita S. Macrincs. 
 
St Basil 55 
 
 his own country, so that the people of Neocaesarea 
 tried in vain to persuade him to come and teach in 
 their town. He preferred to stay at Ccesarea and 
 here for two years he was the chief and most 
 popular master in Cappadocia. 
 
 3. Baptism and journey to the monks 
 
 (357-358) 
 
 The great turning-point in Basil's life was his 
 baptism in 357. He had never been wicked in any 
 way, so that one cannot properly call it a conver- 
 sion. It was rather the natural piety he had 
 inherited from his parents that made him at last 
 determine to leave the world and live only for God. 
 And his sister, Makrine, used her influence over 
 him to persuade him to do so. She had always had 
 great faith in him and had always hoped that he 
 would become something better than a professor 
 of rhetoric. So after two years of public life he is 
 persuaded to give it all up and become a monk. 
 The first step was that he should be baptized. 
 According to the custom of that time, although 
 he was so pious, although he had always gloried 
 in the name of Christian, he was not really one yet 
 at all. Like most people, he had put off his baptism 
 to a mature age. Afterwards he and both the 
 Gregories wrote strongly against this dangerous 
 custom.^ In 357, at the age of twenty-seven years, 
 he was baptized by the bishop of Caesarea, 
 Dianeios. He then at once began to make ready to 
 lead the life of a monk. There were at that time no 
 organized monasteries with fixed rules anywhere ; it ^ 
 is our saint who is looked upon as the founder 
 of organized monasticism in the east as much as 
 
 ^Basil: Horn, xiii, Greg. Nyss,: Adv. eos qui differunt haptis- 
 mum, Greg. Naz. : oratio xl, 16, 17. 
 
56 The Greek Fathers 
 
 St Benedict (t543) in the west. But there were 
 many monks. Great numbers of men left their 
 famiUes and the cares of the world to go out into 
 some lonely place, build themselves a hut, live by 
 tilling the ground and spend all the time they were 
 not digging in praying, meditating and singing 
 psalms. These were the Ascetes (aa-KtjW/^), a 
 wrestler, warrior). Hermits {iptjuxLrtjg, dweller in 
 the desert) or Monks {/movaxo^, solitary man).^ Some 
 sort of organization had begun before St Basil's 
 time. Naturally the hermits tended to form 
 colonies, they would then look up to the oldest and 
 most venerable among them as their leader, and 
 young men when they first arrived would put 
 themselves under the guidance of the older ones. 
 So we have already the germ of a community with 
 abbot, monks and novices. Then they would read 
 not only the Scriptures but the lives of specially 
 famous fathers of the desert, and they would form 
 their lives on these models; what St Antony, for 
 instance, did was a right and safe thing for any 
 monk to do ;^ then the advice and example of old 
 and wise hermits became accepted as a kind of law. 
 So we have the beginning of a monastic rule. But 
 there was as yet no legal establishment, no legal 
 admittance to a religious order. Monasticism was 
 still simply a manner of life, not a disciplined body. 
 To be a monk a man had to flee the world and go 
 away to some quiet place to serve God. He was 
 then quite as much a monk as anyone else. It 
 
 ^As far as its original meaning goes the word Monk is there- 
 fore more appHcable to these first soHtary hermits than to 
 members of the organized communities that we know. Mdvos 
 means alone, single; and so the root idea of all the words 
 monk, monastic, monastery is solitude. Their secondary meaning 
 is, of course, quite a correct one now. 
 
 ^St Athanasius' Life of St Antony was a recognized model 
 for monks to follow, 
 
-# 
 
 St Basil 57 
 
 should be specially noted that monks were never 
 priests. The hierarchy of the Church consisted of 
 bishops, priests, and deacons; these persons 
 administered sacraments, said Mass and had the 
 care of souls. One did not say "secular priests" 
 because there were no others. For with all this the 
 monks had nothing at all to do. If a monk wanted 
 to receive a sacrament (it was not a very common 
 occurrence), he came out of his solitude and went 
 to the nearest priest. Occasionally a monk is made 
 a priest or bishop ; but then the situation was quite 
 simple — by that very fact he ceased being a monk 
 and went back to the world. The greatest and most 
 famous colonies of monks were in Palestine, Syria, 
 Mesopotamia and especially in the great Libyan 
 desert south of Egypt. So when St Basil made up 
 his mind to be a monk himself he first undertook 
 a long journey to visit these places and to learn 
 from the holy men there how to follow in their 
 footsteps. He spent the two years after his bap- 
 tism (357-358) in travelling "to Alexandria, 
 throughout Egypt, in Palestine, Hollow Syria, and 
 in Mesopotamia."^ Here he lived with the Ascetes, 
 and, sharing their life, was filled with admiration 
 for "their fasting, their courage in their work, 
 exactness in long vigils of night-prayer, the high 
 and noble spirit that made them scorn hunger, 
 thirst and cold, as if they were free from the body 
 and already citizens of heaven."^ Then he came 
 back to Pontus to copy this life at home. 
 
 ^Ep. 223, ^Ib. 
 
58 The Greek Fathers 
 
 4. Life as a monk (358-364) 
 He found quite a large community waiting to 
 lead the monastic life under his guidance. His 
 young brother, Peter, was now grown up; there 
 were no more duties to be done in the house at 
 Neocsesarea. So his mother, Emmelia, his sister, 
 Makrine, Peter himself, nearly all their servants 
 and some friends had agreed to go out from the 
 world and spend the rest of their lives in the ser- 
 vice of God. Basil chose a place called Annesos 
 not far from Neocaesarea, in the diocese of Ibora. 
 He had a strong sense of natural beauty,^ and here, 
 on the border of the little river Iris, he found a 
 retreat among such beautiful surroundings as 
 would make up for the splendour of the city he 
 had left. 
 
 There is a high mountain, not easy to reach, 
 covered with woods ; its green slopes lead down to 
 the clear river; banks of wild flowers cluster 
 around the roots of the trees ; birds sing all day in 
 their branches and the river is full of fish. "No 
 place," he wrote afterwards, ''ever gave me such 
 peace. No sound from the city ever reached us; 
 we were far away from the high road, and only 
 rarely some hunters came to disturb our life."^ 
 Emmelia, Makrine and the women lived on one 
 side of the river, Basil, Peter and the men on the 
 other. As soon as he had settled here he tried to 
 persuade Gregory of Nazianzos to leave his mud, 
 bears and wolves and to come and join him by the 
 
 ^In an amusing letter to Gregory of Nazianzos he criticizes 
 the scenery of Gregory's town, says it is full of mud, bears and 
 wolves, and that he cannot bear ugly country (Ep. 14). 
 Throughout his letters we notice this sense of beauty or 
 ugliness in scenery. 
 
 ^Ep, 14. 
 
St Basil 59 
 
 Iris. Gregory would not come at first, because, he 
 said, his old father wanted him. However he came 
 eventually and lived some time as a monk under 
 Basil's guidance. Other people came, too, drawn 
 by the fame of these men, so there was soon a 
 large colony of monks. Every one acknowledged 
 Basil as their chief. He was the Hegumenos of the 
 Laura. They worked hard to till the ground, 
 carried wood, dug, planted, watered. Gregory was 
 very proud of a fine birch tree he had planted him- 
 self.^ But sometimes the rocks nearly fell on their 
 heads, and the river was occasionally inclined to 
 be foggy. ^ They had a hard life; often Emmelia 
 from the other side had to send across bread 
 because they had none themselves. St Basil in a 
 long letter (written to Gregory of Nazianzos after 
 he had left the community) describes their life very 
 exactly.^ They got up at sunrise and praised God 
 with psalms and hymns. Then they went out to 
 work and while they dug and planted they still 
 sang psalms. During the day hours are set apart for 
 reading the Bible; they read with it Origenes' 
 (t 254) commentaries. Then there are meetings for 
 prayer and the singing of psalms ; once a day they 
 eat bread and green-meat, they drink only water. 
 They go to bed at sunset and get up again at mxid- 
 night to sing. They dress in one tunic and a cloak, 
 and sleep on the bare ground. It will be seen that this 
 way of living only needs to be codified to make it 
 a monastic rule. The singing of psalms is the 
 divine office, abstinence from flesh-meat is always a 
 fundamental rule for eastern monks, the hand- work 
 in the fields was for centuries the normal occupa- 
 tion of all monks, and the tunic and cloak are the 
 "angelic dress." During these j^ears at Annesos St 
 
 iGreg. Naz. Ep. 6. ^^p^ 4, ^Basil, Ep. 2. 
 
6o The Greek Fathers 
 
 Basil did codify it. He drew up a list of a monk's 
 duties, arranged the division of the day and so 
 organized the ascetic life in a system. This is the 
 first monastic rule. It is the one still followed by 
 very nearly all eastern monks, and because of it 
 St Basil is looked upon as the founder of organized 
 monasticism in the east, as St Benedict in the 
 west.^ He prefers greatly that monks should no 
 longer live entirely separated from one another, 
 but should group themselves into communities 
 under a leader (})yoviixevo<i, leader, is still the 
 Greek title corresponding to our word abbot), 
 living in huts arranged as a kind of village and 
 coming together for public prayers.^ And the new 
 members are to be subject to strict discipline and 
 tried before they are admitted as regular mem- 
 bers. The public prayer is to take place at mid- 
 night, at dawn, and then four times during the 
 day, at the third, sixth, ninth hours and at sunset. 
 This is the divine office of the Byzantine Church. 
 The psalms to be sung are fixed, and every monk 
 must leave his work to attend. Celibacy is, of 
 course, a strict law. There are long hours of 
 silence; when speech is allowed it must be grave 
 and edifying. St Basil led this life and ruled his 
 monastery for five years, from 358 to 364. Then 
 he had to leave his quiet retreat and go out into 
 the world to defend the faith against the Arians. 
 
 ^The eastern monks resent being called after any founder; 
 as they have no distmction of various religious orders it is not 
 necessary to use any special name for them. A monk is a monk, 
 d "good old man (KaXdyepos)" and that is enough. But 
 Latins, who are used to speak of Benedictines, Cistercians, and 
 so on, generally call eastern monks Basilians, and Melkite 
 monks accept the name. If they are to have a special name, 
 this is certainly the right one. There is a second edition of St 
 Basil's rule, made by him later {cfr. p. 8i). 
 
 ^St Benedict begins his rule by expressing the same prefer- 
 ence for" coenobitarum genus, hoc est monasteriale militans 
 sub regula vel abbate." Reg, Ben. Gap I. 
 
St Basil 6i 
 
 5. His priesthood (364-370) 
 
 During those years that Basil spent at Annesos 
 the Church was passing through very terrible times. 
 The Arian troubles were at their height. The 
 emperor Constantius was fiercely persecuting 
 Catholics; many otherwise excellent bishops had 
 not the strength to resist, but gave in for a time 
 and signed one of the endless Arian or semi-Arian 
 formulas that the government sent round, with the 
 alternative of banishment. Dianeios of Caesarea, 
 who had baptized Basil, was such a one. Basil had 
 always loved and reverenced him; then he heard 
 that his old friend had signed the Arian formula 
 of Ariminium.^ So at once he refused to have any 
 communion with him. But poor Dianeios had only 
 given way in a moment of weakness. On his death- 
 bed he sent for Basil and solemnly assured him 
 that he had never really meant to deny the faith 
 of Nicaea. ''God is my witness/' he said, "that I 
 signed in the simplicity of my heart. I never meant 
 to renounce the faith taught by the fathers at 
 Nicasa. Now I ask for only one thing, not to be 
 separated from the 318 holy bishops. "^ So the 
 saint came back into communion with the dying 
 bishop. In 362, after Dianeios' death, Eusebeios 
 was chosen to succeed him as metropolitan of 
 Caesarea by a stormy and irregular election. The 
 same year saw the last attempt to enliven the dying 
 embers of paganism by the emperor Julian (361- 
 363) . He was specially angry with Caesarea because 
 it was a very Christian town and because its citizens 
 had destroyed two great temples (p. 51, n. 3). So he 
 seized on the pretext of this irregular election to 
 
 ^The Council of Ariminium (359) was Catholic, but Con- 
 stantius forced the bishops who held it to accept an Arian 
 formula. 
 
 2He means the 318 Fathers of Nicsea I (Basil, Ep. 51). 
 
62 The Greek Fathers 
 
 impose a heavy fine, confiscate all Church pro- 
 perty, take away all privileges, even the right to be 
 a city, and make all the clergy policemen. He did 
 not try to hide his scorn and hatred of its citizens. 
 "I cannot find a single Hellene," he writes (mean- 
 ing a worshipper of the gods^), "among those 
 Cappadocians."^ Between the Arians and the 
 pagan emperor the Catholics were in great 
 straits. Julian further proceeded to punish every 
 one connected with the destruction of the temples 
 (which had taken place quite legally under a 
 former government) with death or exile. And the 
 bishop, Eusebeios, though a Catholic, was weak 
 and uncertain. Under these circumstances, urged 
 by Gregory of Nazianzos, Basil left his monastery, 
 came to the city and was ordained deacon and 
 priest by Eusebeios, in 364. He was by far the 
 most important person in the church of Caesarea; 
 he was known as an unswerving defender of the 
 Nicene faith, all the monks in the diocese were on 
 his side, he had much more influence than Eusebe- 
 ios himself. Eusebeios was jealous of his popularity 
 and did not like to see himself eclipsed by one of his 
 own priests. So there was friction, and there would 
 have been grave trouble had not Basil avoided it 
 by going back to Annesos. But he did not stay 
 there long. Gregory of Nazianzos wrote to him 
 again, imploring him not to forsake the church of 
 Caesarea at a time when it was in so great danger 
 from its enemies, the Arians. Eusebeios meant well, 
 but no bishop ever had greater need of support; 
 nowhere was the presence of an uncompromising 
 Homoiisian more necessary than at Caesarea. "Go 
 back since there is so much need of you. The 
 
 ^Hellene always means pagan at this time and for many 
 centuries afterwards. ^j^iian, Ep. 4. 
 
St Basil 63 
 
 heretics are all at work, some already troubling the 
 faithful with their arguments ; we hear that others 
 will arrive soon. Truth is in danger."^ St Basil 
 could not resist this appeal, so he went back to 
 Csesarea, made friends with Eusebeios again and 
 stayed with him for five years, till the bishop's 
 death in 370. During these years he, with Euse- 
 beios' consent, managed most of the affairs of the 
 diocese. His place corresponded to that of our 
 Vicars-General. And he used his power very zea- 
 lously to strengthen the position of the Catholics, 
 to improve whatever was lacking in the services of 
 the Church and to help the poor. Valens, the 
 brother of the emperor Valentinian I (364-375) 
 and Regent of the east under him, was a strict 
 Arian and a bitter enemy of Catholics. He came 
 to Csesarea in 365 with a train of Arian bishops. 
 Gregory of Nazianzos says that Basil then was the 
 soul of the resistance against him. It was Basil who 
 encouraged waverers, restrained the excessive 
 eagerness of others and strengthened all to with- 
 stand Valens' persecution.^ At this time he re- 
 formed the church services at Caesarea. He short- 
 ened the prayers of the Liturgy and Office that were 
 too long, borrowed from Antioch the custom that 
 alternate choirs should sing the verses of psalms 
 alternately — as we and the Orthodox still do — 
 and arranged the various duties of each order of 
 clerks. This reform of St Basil was gradually 
 adopted by all churches that used Greek as their 
 liturgical language. His influence on the Byzantine 
 rite was as great as that of St Gregory the Great 
 (590-604) on ours. The older liturgy of the Ortho- 
 dox Church^ bears his name, though really he 
 
 ^Greg. Naz.: Ep. 19. ^Oratio, xliii, 32 seq 
 
 ^And of the Melkites, of course, too. 
 
64 The Greek Fathers 
 
 arranged and modified it rather than actually 
 composed it all.^ In 367 and 368 a dreadful famine 
 spread over Cappadocia. Bad weather ruined two 
 successions of crops, and people were dying of 
 hunger. In this trouble, wliile the governor and 
 magistrates did nothing, Basil alone came to the 
 rescue. He sold all that was left of his property to 
 buy corn for the starving people and persuaded 
 merchants, who wanted to sell what they had kept 
 in their barns at an enormous price, to sacrifice 
 such iniquitous profit. He opened subscriptions, 
 organized distribution, founded public kitchens, 
 to which we are told that Jews were admitted as 
 much as Christians,^ and encouraged the people 
 by his sermons.^ So we are not surprised that 
 every one at Caesarea looked on him not only as the 
 foremost churchman of the city, but as the saviour 
 of the people, nor that when Eusebeios died in 370, 
 every one, the people, clergy of the town and 
 suffragan bishops of Cappadocia, with one voice 
 elected Basil as his successor. 
 
 ^The Liturgy of St Basil is used on the Sundays in Lent 
 (except Palm Sunday), Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday, 
 the eves of Christmas, and the Epiphany, and on his own 
 feast (January i). On other da^^s they use the Liturgy of St 
 John Chrysostom, a shortened form of St Basil's. And St Basil's 
 Liturgy itself is a modified form of the old Antiochene rite. 
 His relation to the service that bears his name is much the 
 same as that of St Gregory I to the "Gregorian chant" in 
 the west. 
 
 ^Greg. Nyss. : In laudem Basilii, Greg. Naz. : oratio xUii, 
 34-36. 
 
 ^A number of St Basil's homilies were preached at this time, 
 as their titles show, Hom. viii. At the time of drought and 
 famine, Hom. vi, On the words: I will destroy their barns and 
 build greater ones. See also Hom. vii and ix, etc. 
 
St Basil 65 
 
 6. Basil metropolitan of Caesarea (370-379) 
 
 We have seen our Saint as a student, scholar and 
 monk. We now come to the last phase in which he 
 is a great Prince of the Church, one of the greatest 
 of that younger generation of CathoHc bishops who 
 carried on the fight that Athanasius had fought 
 and finally stamped out the Arian heresy. Caesarea 
 in Cappadocia, his birthplace of which he now 
 became bishop, was one of the greatest metropolitan 
 sees, after the three patriarchates. Before Constan- 
 tinople and Jerusalem had become patriarchal 
 sees, after Antioch came Ephesus, Csesarea and 
 Heraclea. The bishops of these places were more 
 than metropolitans, they had metropolitans under 
 them. They are sometimes called Exarchs, and no 
 doubt all three would have kept that intermediate 
 rank between patriarchs and ordinary metro- 
 politans,^ had not the unhappy ambition of Con- 
 stantinople eventually swallowed them up into its 
 patriarchate. But in St Basil's time no one 
 dreamed of the future grandeur of Constantinople.^ 
 Csesarea was an apostolic see^ from which the 
 great Church of Armenia had been founded.* The 
 primate (Katholikos) of Armenia always was 
 ordained at Csesarea, till Armenia became Mono- 
 physite in the fifth century. And the Exarch of 
 Csesarea ruled over all northern and central Asia 
 Minor, over Cappadocia, Pontus, Galatia and 
 
 ^The organization of bishops, never quite consistently nor 
 perfectly carried out, is: i. The Pope; 2, Patriarchs; 3, Exarchs 
 ( = Primates) ; 4, Metropolitans ( = Archbishops) ; 5, Bishops; 
 6, Chorepiscopi (something like our Auxiliary Bishops). 
 
 2The first step in , its advance was at the second general 
 Council, in 381. 
 
 ^Acts ii, 9. ; I Peter, i, i. 
 
 *By St Gregory the Illuminator in the third century. 
 
66 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Pisidia. His boundaries touched the patriarchate 
 of Antioch to the south (Cihcia belonged to Antioch) 
 and the other exarchate of Ephesus to the west (the 
 Roman province of Asia and Phrygia were under 
 Ephesus). And he had jurisdiction over the great 
 Church of Armenia to the east. 
 
 During the nine years (370-379) till his death, in 
 which St Basil ruled this great province, he upheld 
 the dignity of his see and was recognized through- 
 out the Christian Church as one of her mightiest 
 bishops. And when he died he left in his own name 
 the chief glory of the see of Csesarea. It is a dirty 
 little Turkish town now; but of the few people who 
 brave the hideously uncomfortable journey of 
 five days' hard riding from Angora to Kaisari, 
 most do so because it was the city of Basil. He was 
 consecrated by the old bishop of Nazianzos, the 
 father of his friend Gregory,^ to tlie joy of all 
 Catholics, to the great annoyance of Valens and the 
 Arians. From distant Alexandria came a warm letter 
 of congratulation from the old hero of the faith, 
 Athanasius, who before he died (in 373) had the 
 joy of seeing the work of his hfe taken up by that 
 valiant band of younger men, of whom Basil was, 
 perhaps, the chief. 
 
 Very soon after the beginning of Basil's reign 
 began one of the last efforts of Arianism, a violent 
 persecution that was really the dying gasp of the 
 great heresy. Domitius Modestus, the Pretorian 
 Prefect, came to Caesarea to force every one to turn 
 Arian. He summoned Basil, and in a long inter- 
 view^ threatened him with confiscation, exile, 
 torture and death unless he would accept the 
 Caesar's (Valens) religion. Basil withsto-od him so 
 
 ^The father was also named Gregory. 
 / ^Reported by Greg. Naz. : Oratio xliii. 
 
St Basil 67 
 
 firmly that he said in astonishment : "No one has 
 ever yet spoken to me so freely." ''Perhaps," said 
 Basil, "you have not yet had much conversation 
 with a Catholic bishop." Then Valens came him- 
 self. The fame of Basil was so great throughout the 
 empire that Valens wanted to see this man. So he 
 went to the holy liturgy in the Catholic church on 
 the Epiphany of the year 372. There he saw the 
 saint sitting on his throne facing the people, as 
 eastern bishops do. The Caesar was so impressed 
 by his dignity that when the offertory came he 
 brought up his gift with the other people. And to 
 every one's astonishment Basil took it, which 
 shows that he could be conciliatory as well as firm. 
 Two stories are told of this visit of Valens to 
 Csesarea. One is that his only son, Galatos, was 
 dying and that his wife, Dominica, implored him 
 to send for Basil to heal him. Valens, wishing to 
 try every chance, did so. Basil came, cured him at 
 once, but warned the Csesar that God only allowed 
 this miracle on condition that the boy be baptized 
 by a Catholic. However, as soon as the boy was 
 well, Valens went back to his usual friends, and had 
 him baptized by an Arian, with the result that 
 Galatos at once died. The other story is that he pre- 
 pared a sentence of banishment against Basil, and 
 three times as he took up the pen to sign it his 
 hand was paralysed and the reed broke. So then in 
 great fear he tore up the parchment.^ Another time 
 Valens engaged in a great theological discussion with 
 the saint, and his cook kept chiming in and sup- 
 porting the Caesar's arguments. Basil made them all 
 very angry by laughing at the cook's bad gram- 
 
 ^Greg. Naz.: Oratio xliii, 54, Theodoret, H.E. iv, 16. Both 
 stories are told in the second nocturn of St Basil's office in the 
 Roman breviary (June 14). It seems rather hard on Galatos 
 to be killed for his father's sin. 
 
68 The Greek Fathers 
 
 mar.' Valens eventually learnt to respect the 
 Saint, since these interviews at Csesarea, and so 
 during Basil's campaign against the Arians as 
 bishop he was not again troubled by the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 7. The affairs of the province. Basil's 
 friends 
 
 During his reign St Basil was constantly occu- 
 pied not only with fighting Arianism"^ but also with 
 various questions of secular and ecclesiastical 
 politics. He was the natural protector of his fellow 
 citizens, and they turned to him in their difficul- 
 ties. One or two of these cases shall be described 
 here. The government at that time was everlast- 
 ingly cutting up provinces and making new ones, 
 to the great hurt of stable administration. So 
 Valens in 371 proposed to divide Cappadocia and 
 form a new province in it, with a wretched little 
 town called Potanda — a place no one had heard of 
 before — as capital.^ The people of Caesarea were in 
 despair at a proposal that would nearly ruin their 
 city. They implored Basil to prevent this arrange- 
 ment, so he wrote to the government and pointed 
 out the arguments against it very reasonably. *Tf 
 you cut a horse in two," he says, "you will not 
 make two horses."* He could not prevent the 
 division, however, and the only effect of his letter 
 was that they made Tyana (about sixty miles 
 south-west of Csesarea) the new capital instead of 
 Potanda. This led to further complications. 
 Anthimos, the Bishop of Tyana, hitherto a 
 
 ^Greg. Nyss: Contra Eunommm, I. Theodoret, H.E., iv, i6. 
 ^His writings against the Arians are quoted below, p. 80. 
 ^The same thing was going on all over the empire. It was 
 really a roundabout way of getting more taxes out of the people. 
 •*Ep. 74. 
 
St Basil 69 
 
 humble suffragan of Caesarea, now thought that 
 as his city had become a capital equal to Caesarea 
 he ought to be a metropolitan equal to Basil. ^ So 
 he filched a great part of Cappadocia to make him- 
 self a province, and when Basil with his friend 
 Gregory (of Nazianzos) went to levy their dues from 
 a monastery near his city he fell upon their caravan, 
 and there was a regular fight, in w^hich Basil, 
 Gregory and Anthimos all joined. The end of it was 
 that Basil and Gregory got through, but Anthimos 
 captured a string of mules laden with provisions.'^ 
 In order to withstand this truculent person Basil 
 then persuaded Gregory to accept the diocese of 
 Sasima in the debatable land. He ordained him 
 himself. He also ordained his younger brother 
 Gregory to be Bishop of Nyssa, hoping that both 
 would help him to put down Anthimos. But out of 
 this double ordination arose a serious quarrel that 
 for a time interrupted the life-long friendship of 
 the three great Cappadocians.^ Eventually Basil 
 and Anthimos became friends again ; it seems that 
 Basil in the interest of peace gave up many of his 
 rights and allowed Anthimos to keep some of his 
 ill-gotten province. The saint then sternly put 
 down a preposterous deacon named Glykeros, who 
 went about dressed like a patriarch, singing hymns 
 with a choir of young ladies.* But he was not a 
 stern father. One of his chorepiscopi^ named 
 
 ^It is one more case of the fatal tendency of eastern bishops 
 to alter ecclesiastical administration according to the changes \ 
 of secular politics. The rise of Constantinople and nearly all ' 
 the troubles of eastern Christendom to this day come from 
 this misguided principle. ^Qreg. Naz. : Oratio xliii, 58 ; Ep. 48. 
 
 ^See pp. 74, 97. 
 
 *Ep. 169, 170, 171. 
 
 ^A chorepiscopus was a person who shared some of the 
 bishop's work without having any jurisdiction — something 'i 
 like our rural deans. They appear sometimes to have had ; 1 
 bishop's and sometimes only priest's orders. ' | 
 
70 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Timothy had mixed himself up in pohtics, and 
 Basil's letter to him contains only the most deli- 
 cate reproach mixed with the kindest advice and 
 the most affectionate interest in his affairs.^ He 
 refused to use torture — the common punishment 
 in those days — and continually, when a robber was 
 brought to him, sent him away with a sermon 
 instead of punishing him.^ He writes constantly to 
 defend an innocent person who had been accused 
 unjustly to the magistrate, to plead for a remis- 
 sion of taxes in favour of poor people, to intercede 
 for a slave with his master, to persuade the 
 governor to build a bridge that the people want, 
 to soften the heart of a pagan father whose son 
 has become a Christian.^ The great collection of the 
 saint's letters shows him always in the same light, 
 stern and unflinching before people in high places, 
 gentle and merciful to the poor. It is from these 
 letters that we know him best, and in them that we 
 see the qualities that make St Basil one of the most 
 attractive and charming of all the fathers. 
 
 He had naturally many friends. We have seen 
 how closely he was allied to Gregory of Nazianzos. 
 Eusebeios, Bishop of Samosata on the Euphrates 
 (in Kommagene) , was also a dear friend to whom he 
 wrote a number of letters; Amphilochios, Bishop 
 of Ikonion, was a disciple to whom he dedicated 
 his treatise on the Holy Ghost (p. 80). Once St 
 Ephrem (f c. 379) came from far Syria to visit the 
 great metropolitan at Csesarea. He could speak no 
 Greek and Basil no Syriac ; when Ephrem came to 
 the church at Caesarea Basil saw him during the 
 ofhce and came up to him afterwards with an inter- 
 preter to say: "Are you Ephrem who have taken 
 
 lEp. 291. 2Ep^ 286. 
 
 "•Ep. 96. 107, 108, 109, Ti, 276, 305, etc. 
 
St Basil 71 
 
 the yoke of salvation so excellently well upon your- 
 self?" "I am Ephrem," he answers, "who walk so 
 unworthily in the way of salvation." And they 
 kissed each other, and Ephrem said: "Father, 
 defend me against laziness and sloth, lead me in 
 the right way, pierce my evil heart." They talked 
 for a long time. Ephrem, when he went home never 
 forgot Basil, and long afterwards wrote a panegyric 
 about him. And Basil, too, remembered the Syrian 
 deacon who had come all that way to see him.^ 
 "From my youth to old age," St Basil writes, "I 
 have had many friends."^ And again: "I have 
 never sinned against friendship."^ But one of 
 these friends gave him great trouble. Eustathios of 
 Sebaste in Armenia had been intimate with him for 
 years. Basil loved Eustathios and at first all went 
 well. Then Eustathios, always shifty and uncertain, 
 gradually went over to the Arians and repaid 
 Basil's friendship with calumnies and accusations 
 during three years. Basil spoke no evil of him, but 
 always tried to make it up and to bring his old 
 friend back to the faith. Only in the case of one 
 flagrant calumny did he justify himself in a letter 
 to the monks of his diocese.* Eustathios died an 
 open heretic in 380; and Basil's brother Peter suc- 
 ceeded him as Bishop of Sebaste. The saint had 
 continual relations with western bishops, too. 
 When Valens was persecuting the Catholics Basil 
 sent to Pope Damasus (366-384), asking him to 
 use his authority to make peace in the east. "The 
 only remedy for these evils," he says, "is a visita- 
 tion from your mercy. "^ He knew quite well that 
 the Roman Bishop has jurisdiction over the whole 
 Church of Christ. He writes at the same time to 
 
 ^Sozomenos, H.E., iii, i6. ^Ep. 272, ^Ib. *Ep. 226. 
 ^Ep. 70. 
 
72 The Greek Fathers 
 
 St Athanasius: "We thought it expedient to write 
 to the Bishop of Rome that he should examine our 
 affairs and to advise him, since it would be difficult 
 to send anyone thence by the common decree of a 
 synod, to use his lawful authority in the matter, 
 choosing men fit to bear the fatigue of a journey 
 and also fit to correct all perverse people in our 
 parts gently and firmly."^ During all this time he 
 was treating with Damasus, continually implor- 
 ing him to send over to help the Eastern Church, 
 and showing in every letter how well he understood 
 that Catholic bishops turn to Rome in time of 
 great trouble. He was angry when he found that 
 all the western bishops took the side of Paulinos 
 in the schism at Antioch, whereas he, as all the 
 easterns, was for Meletios. In one letter he quotes 
 Homer to express his annoyance at Western pride. ^ 
 But his annoyance passed away, and later he shows 
 again how great a regard he has for his distant 
 Latin brothers.^ He was delighted at the election 
 of St Ambrose at Milan (374), the western father 
 whose character is most like his own. When 
 Ambrose wrote to ask him to send the relics of 
 Dionysius of Milan (who had died in exile for 
 the faith in Cappadocia) back, he does so at 
 once and writes him a charming letter full of 
 praise of the Milanese priests w^ho had come to 
 fetch Dionysius' relics, and full of admiration for 
 the bishop who had sent them. "Man of God," he 
 says, "it is not from men that you have learned the 
 Gospel of Christ; it is God himself who took you 
 from the seat of the Roman magistrates to place 
 you on the throne of the apostles. Fight the good 
 fight. Heal the sickness of Arianism among your 
 people. Renew the old paths of the fathers, and do 
 
 ^Ep. 69. 2£p 239. Ep. 265. 
 
St Basil 73 
 
 not forget to write often to me, so that our friend- 
 ship many never become weak. So shall we always 
 be neighbours in spirit although a great distance 
 divides us on earth. "^ One remembers these 
 courteous and friendly relations between the two 
 great fathers at Caesarea and Milan as one of the 
 pleasantest examples of the old good feeling 
 between eastern and western Christendom. How 
 little either Basil or Ambrose foresaw that for 
 eleven centuries a bitter schism could divide their 
 successors. 
 
 During these years of Basil's reign as metropoli- 
 tan then we see in him from every point of view the 
 perfect model of a great Catholic bishop. Standing 
 out valiantly for the faith against the Arians, 
 ruling his province firmly and wisely, leader of his 
 people, proudly conscious of the liberty of the 
 Church against the State, gentle and kind to the 
 poor, courteous, friendly and charming to his 
 friends, best and most entertaining of letter- 
 writers, submitting his difficulties to his rightful 
 chief at Rome, from far Cappadocia he has left an 
 example that any bishop in any land may pray to 
 be worthy to follow. 
 
 8. St Gregory of Nyssa (c.331-c.395) 
 
 Since we left Basil's younger brother Gregory at 
 home as a young man not very fond of prayers, we 
 have almost lost sight of him. His hfe is too much 
 overshadowed by that of his great brother for him 
 to have a chapter to himself. One paragraph will 
 be enough to give a short outline of his career. He, 
 as well as the other brother Peter, had been edu- 
 cated chiefly by Basil, whom he speaks of as his 
 
 ^Ep. 197. 
 
74 The Greek Fathers 
 
 "father and master."^ His friends wanted him to be 
 a priest, but at first he preferred the career of an 
 Orator, so that Gregory of Nazianzos says rather 
 unkindly and unfairly that he "liked the name of 
 orator better than that of Christian."^ There is 
 really no reason why an orator should not be as 
 good a Christian as anyone else. At the same time, 
 Gregory married a lady named Theosebeia.^ She 
 did not die till 381. He had, however, already 
 served in church as a Reader.^ Eventually he made 
 up his mind to forsake the world and leave his wife.^ 
 He went to be a monk, apparently at Basil's 
 settlement at Annesos. In 371 Basil ordained him 
 Bishop of Nyssa, very much against his will, he 
 says.® Nyssa was a little town in Cappadocia on the 
 river Halys, about forty miles west of Caesarea. 
 He was, therefore, a suffragan of his brother. Basil 
 thought he would find in him a valuable help in the 
 affairs of the province. But, on the whole, it was 
 rather a disappointment. No one questioned Gre- 
 gory's virtues or good intentions; but his brother 
 did not think him a success as a bishop. Basil has 
 to complain of his "unwise and uncandid inter- 
 ference"'; he says that by his "simplicity" he gave 
 a great deal of trouble^ and that he w^as "altogether 
 without experience in ecclesiastical affairs."^ It 
 would seem, then, that Gregory was a pious and 
 irreproachable person, who was not, however, 
 specially fitted to rule a diocese. It is his writings 
 that give him a right to be remembered. However 
 he had the honour of suffering for the faith. In 375 
 
 ^De hominis opif. i (M.P. Gr. xliv, 125). ^'E-p. xi. 
 
 ^Greg. Naz. Ep. 197. *Greg. Naz. Ep. 11. 
 
 ^She seems to have joined him again later and to have hved 
 with him Uke a sister (Greg. Naz, Ep. 197). 
 
 ^Basil, Ep. 225 and 345, 'Ep. 58 and 60. 
 
 *Ep. 100. '•'Ep, 215. 
 
St Basil 75 
 
 the Governor, Demosthenes — an Arian, of course, 
 under Valens — deposed him as a Homoiisian and 
 set up an Arian anti-bishop at Nyssa. Gregory of 
 Nazianzos wrote to comfort him.^ For years he 
 then wandered about, "hke a log floating on the 
 water," says the other Gregory.- When Valens 
 died (378) he came back to Nyssa. The next year 
 he was at a synod at Antioch that tried to settle 
 the great schism there (of Meletios). He outlived 
 Basil, and was present at the second general 
 Council (Constantinople I in 381). He was well- 
 known as a staunch Catholic, so much so that the 
 Emperor Theodosius (379-395) ordered that the 
 test of being a Catholic bishop in Pontus was to be 
 in communion with three persons, Helladios of 
 Caesarea (Basil's successor), Otreios of Melitene in 
 Armenia and Gregory of Nyssa. We hear of him 
 last at a Synod of Constantinople in 394 under the 
 Patriarch Nektarios (381-397). Then he disap- 
 pears; he died probably soon after. His last years 
 were troubled by a quarrel with his metropolitan 
 Helladios.^ For the writings that give him an im- 
 portant place among the Greek fathers see pp. 83-85. 
 
 9. St Basil's death (Jan. 1, 379) 
 
 There is little more to tell of Basil but his death 
 and burial. During his last years he had the pain 
 of seeing the Roman arms defeated in a series of 
 bloody battles with the Goths.* On the other hand, 
 the cause he had fought for all his life, that of the 
 Nicene faith against the Arians, triumphed com- 
 
 ^Greg. Naz. Ep. 72. ^E^. 81. ^Qj-eg. Nyss. Ep. i. 
 
 •* Valens allowed the Goths to settle m the empire in ^j6. 
 But they soon began to fight. In ^77 they defeated the Romans, 
 and agam in 378 at Adrianople, Valens himself was killed at 
 this battle, but Gratian and Theodosius restored the honour of 
 the Roman arms and drove back the barbarians for a time. 
 
76 The Greek Fathers 
 
 pletely under Theodosius. He just lived to see this 
 triumph. In 378, only forty-nine years old, but 
 worn out with austerities and the ill-health from 
 which he had suffered all his life, he lay on his 
 death-bed. The whole city was moved by the news 
 of his sickness, and thousands besieged his house 
 to speak to him once more. At the very end they 
 told him that certain persons, who should have 
 been ordained deacon and priest, had waited over- 
 long because of his sickness, so he roused himself 
 once more and held a great ordination. Then he 
 went back to die. On January i, 379, he spoke the 
 words with which we all hope to end our lives: 
 "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit," 
 and went to his reward.^ 
 
 Gregory of Nyssa buried his brother with such 
 pomp as had never been seen before at Csesarea. The 
 whole city accompanied their great bishop to the 
 grave, and every one tried to touch the hem of his 
 vestments as his body was borne on an open bier 
 through the streets. Strangers, Jews and pagans 
 lamented him as much as his own Catholics.^ His life- 
 long friend, Gregory of Nazianzos, was too sick him- 
 self to be able to come ; but two years later (in 381) he 
 preached a great panegyric that is one of the chief 
 authorities for Basil's life and a classical example of 
 this kind of sermon. He remembers the days long ago 
 when they had sat on the same bench as young stu- 
 dents: "O home of our friendship, beautiful Athens, 
 where we loved each other in the comradeship of that 
 really divine life!"^ He wrote a beautiful letter to 
 his namesake of Nyssa: "So I have lived to see the 
 death of Basil and the departure of that blessed 
 soul to the presence of God, to whom he had 
 
 'Greg. Naz. Or. 43. ^Greg. Naz. Or. 43. 
 ^Epitaph 119, 
 
St Basil "]"] 
 
 prayed all through his life."^ "How great now," 
 he says, "is the solitude of the Church that has lost 
 his glory on earth, that is no longer adorned with 
 his crown. "^ And Gregory of Nyssa, however 
 inexperienced he may have been as bishop, during 
 all the rest of his life never ceased honouring the 
 memory of his great brother. He, too, preached a 
 great panegyric about him; and soon afterwards 
 he went out to Annesos, where Makrine still lived 
 as a nun. He found her very sick; they talked 
 about Basil. He could not help weeping when he 
 spoke of him, but she, more firm, gloried in his 
 memory, spoke with pride of his life and would 
 not mourn the brother she was soon to see again 
 before the throne of God. She died very soon after. 
 
 One would like to have a picture of so great a 
 father as was St Basil. Gregory of Nazianzos 
 describes him as tall, pale and thin, with a long 
 beard ; he was always absorbed in his thoughts and 
 very shy.^ 
 
 The great Church he defended during his life has 
 not forgotten him after death. Every year in east 
 and west the memory is kept of the saint whom 
 we agree to call Basil the Great. His own Byzantine 
 Church keeps his feast on the day of his death, 
 January i. On that day the monks who look to 
 him as their founder, the bishops who count him 
 as a chief glory of their order, sing: "The Lord of 
 all receives Circumcision, the Master of Life merci- 
 fully receives the wound and gives salvation to the 
 world. And the high Priest of the Creator rejoices 
 in heaven, the light-bearer and divine Bishop 
 of Christ, Basil."* They have another feast of St 
 Basil, with all his holy relations, the two Makrines, 
 
 lEp. -jG. Hh. ^Qx&g. Naz. Or. 43. 
 
 ^Horologion, Jan. i. Echos of the Feast, 3. 
 
78 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Emmelia, Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste, 
 on May 30^; and they honour him again together 
 with St Gregory ofNazianzos andSt JohnChrysos- 
 tom on January 30. Nor have his Latin cousins for- 
 gotten him. On June 14, the day of his consecra- 
 tion, the Roman Martyrology remembers: "At 
 Caesarea in Cappadocia the ordination of St Basil, 
 Bishop, who, at the time of the emperor Valens, 
 shone with wonderful wisdom and knowledge, was 
 adorned with all virtues, and defended the Church 
 with unchanging constancy against the Arians and 
 Macedonians." And before our altars, white-robed 
 for a Confessor Pontiff, we say on that day the Mass 
 of a Doctor of the Church: In medio Ecclesice 
 aperuit os eius; et implevit eum Domimis spiritu 
 sapienticB et intellecUis: stolam gloricB induit cum. 
 
 10. Table of dates 
 
 330. St Basil horn. 
 c. 331. St Gregory of Nyssa born, 
 c. 345-355. Basil student at Caesarea, Constanti- 
 nople, Athens. 
 
 355. Back home at Neocsesarea in Pontus. 
 
 355-357. Professor of rhetoric at Cappadocia. 
 
 357. Baptized by Dianeios of Caesarea. 
 
 357-358. Journey to monasteries in Egypt, 
 Palestine, Syria. 
 
 358-364. Head of monastic community at 
 Annesos. 
 
 361-363, Julian emperor. 
 
 362. Dianeios of Caesarea f- Eusebeios succeeds 
 him. Julian punishes the city. 
 
 364. Basil ordained deacon and priest by Euse- 
 beios. He goes back to Annesos. 
 
 ^This is a Uniate feast. The Roman Martyrology com- 
 memorates his relations on the same day (Nilles: Kal. Man. 
 Innsbruck, Ed. 2, 1896, I, 167, 168). 
 
St Basil 79 
 
 364-378. Valens Csesar in the east. 
 365-370. Priest at Caesarea. 
 367-368. Famine in Cappadocia. 
 
 370. Basil Metropolitan of Ccesarea. Domitius 
 
 Modest us threatens to banish him. 
 
 371. Cappadocia divided into two civil pro- 
 vinces. Gregory ordained Bishop of Nyssa. 
 
 372 (Epiphany). Valens at Caesarea. 
 
 374. St Ambrose Archbishop of Milan. 
 
 375. Gregory of Nyssa banished. 
 378. Valens f. 
 
 379-395. Theodosius I Caesar in the east (394- 
 
 395 emperor). 
 379 (Jan. i). Death of St Basil. 
 c. 395. Death of St Gregory of Nyssa. 
 
 11. St Basil's works 
 
 If Basil is famous as a saint, as the organizer of 
 eastern monasticism and a great Catholic bishop, 
 he has a further title to fame as one of the chief 
 classical writers of the fourth century. His lan- 
 guage and style are immeasurably better than 
 those of St Athanasius. Athanasius was hardly a 
 stylist at all; but Basil had studied in the best 
 school in the world and had been a famous teacher 
 of rhetoric before he went to be a monk. His 
 writing is less ornate than that of St John Chrysos- 
 tom; perhaps for that reason it is more attractive 
 to modem people. Through all his many works, 
 especially in his sermons and letters, there is a 
 restrained eloquence, a fire controlled by a very 
 dignified and reticent self-command, that makes 
 them, the most sympathetic and pleasant to 
 read of all the works of Greek fathers. He uses, 
 of course, the language of his time. The dual and 
 optative mood had disappeared long ago. It would 
 
8o The Greek Fathers 
 
 have been an absurd affectation to revive them in 
 the fourth century. Nevertheless, his writing is 
 the best answer to the old idea that Greek letters 
 were dead in the first Christian centuries. 
 
 His works were first published in Greek at Basel 
 in 1532, in three folio volumes, reprinted at 
 Venice in 1535 and at Basel in 1551. A learned 
 Jesuit, Fronton le Duc,^ edited them and this 
 edition was published by the Dominican F. 
 Combefis at Paris in 1679, in two volumes. The 
 best edition is still that of the Benedictines of St 
 Maur, three folios at Paris, 1721-1730. L. de Sinners 
 reprinted it at Paris in 1839. In Migne's collection 
 (Patrologia Grseca) his works fill four volumes, 
 xxix-xxxii (Paris, 1857). H. Hurter, S.J., has 
 published a Latin version of the De Spiritu sancto 
 in his S5. Patruni opusc. sel. xxxi (Innsbruck, 
 1875). Various works have been translated into 
 many languages. Rufinus of Aquileia (t4io) did 
 ten sermons and both monastic rules into Latin. 
 There is an old English version of the Hexaemeron 
 (H. W. Norman: The Anglo-Saxon version of the 
 Hexaemeron of St Basil, London, 1848). G. Lewis: 
 The treatise of St Basil on the Holy Spirit (London, 
 1888). 
 
 Dogmatic Works. The Answer to the Apology of 
 
 impious Eunornios ( avaTpeirTiKog tov airoXoyrjTi- 
 Kov TOV Suara-e/BoZ^ Evi^o/ullov, Libri V, quibus impii 
 Eunomii apologeticus evertitur, M. P. Gr. xxix, 
 497-773) was written about the year 363 or 364. It 
 is his chief work against extreme Arianism. Of the 
 Holy Ghost {-n-ep} tov ay lov irpevjuaT , De Spiritu 
 sancto, XXXII, 67-218), written in 375 and dedi- 
 cated to his pupil Amphilochios of Ikonion, con- 
 tains thirty chapters. It is a defence of the equality 
 
 ^Fronto Ducceus in Latin. 
 
St Basil 8 1 
 
 and consubstantial nature of God the Holy Ghost 
 against the later Arians, who had begun to apply 
 their theories about God the Son to the third 
 Person of the Blessed Trinity (the Pneumatoma- 
 chians) . It has always been the standard work on 
 the subject. 
 
 Exegesis. His most famous exegetical books are 
 the nine Homilies on the Hexaemeron {e^ai'iiuLepoi', 
 XXIX, 3-208), that is, on the six days of creation. 
 St Ambrose's Hexaemeron (M. P. L. xiv, 123- 
 274) is practically a compilation from this and 
 from a work of Origeneswith the same title. Basil 
 explains the creation with the strangest theories 
 of physics and many edifying applications. He 
 also wrote fifty Homilies on the Psalms (xxix-xxx) 
 some of which, however, are doubtfully authentic. 
 A commentary on Isaias, i-xvi (xxx) is very 
 doubtful. 
 
 Ascetic Works. His two Monastic Ruleshs-ve the 
 first place here. There is a longer Rule of fifty-five 
 chapters {opoi Kara TrXuTog) and a shorter one of 
 313 chapters {opot kut ' eirLToiJ.ijv. Both in xxxi, 
 Regulae fusius tractatse, Regulae brevius tractatae). 
 The longer rule was written at Annesos, the shorter 
 one — an epitome — later, at Csesarea. He wrote a 
 number of other treatises about the Life of Monks 
 (I3lo^ T(hv yotoraxwi'), de vita monachorum, xxxi), the 
 Judgment of God [irepi: Kpl/uLaro? Oeou, de iudicio Dei, 
 xxxi). Rules of Morals {tu tjOiKa, ethica), eighty 
 principles of virtuous life {opoi, principia), etc., all 
 of which are collected under the general name, 
 Ascetica (aa-Kt^TLKo) in M. P. G. xxxi, 619-1428. 
 
 Homilies. A number of St Basil's sermons, 
 preached on various occasions, have been pre- 
 served. The best known are the ones Against 
 Usurers (/caret tokl^ovtmv, Contra usuriarios, xxix, 
 
 6 
 
82 The Greek Fathers 
 
 263-280), and at the time of the famine in Cappa- 
 docia (367-368, p. 64). Twenty-four others (xxxi, 
 163-618) treat of various questions of dogma, 
 morals and exegesis, or celebrate various saints 
 and martyrs. 
 
 Letters. No one really knows St Basil who has 
 not read his letters. There are 365 altogether (xxxii 
 2 1 9-1 1 10), in which he writes of every kind of 
 subject, details of his own life and events in the 
 history of his time, dogma, polemic, practical 
 advice and controversy. Sometimes he consoles 
 some one for a loss, sometimes he asks a favour or 
 thanks his correspondent for a favour already 
 received. We find in them politics, discussions of 
 points of scholarship, anecdotes of every kind. He 
 corresponded with all sorts of persons from the 
 Pope to heretics; he writes to governors, officers, 
 monks, nuns, bishops, to the great Athanasius, his 
 own relations, his clergy ; most of all to Gregory of 
 Nazianzos; even to ApoUinaris of Laodicea, of 
 unhappy memory. Sometimes he is angry and 
 complains, sometimes he describes the country 
 where he is; he constantly makes quiet fun. In his 
 own time these letters were famous; Gregory of 
 Nazianzos began collecting them at once after his 
 death. ^ There is certainly no collection of Greek 
 letters so entertaining as these. ^ 
 
 Liturgy. The Liturgy of St Basil (xxxi, 1629- 
 1678) is used throughout the eastern world, from 
 Kiew to Alexandria and from Dalmatia to Japan. 
 It is printed first in all the Orthodox and Melkite 
 
 ^Greg. Naz. Ep. 53. 
 
 ^They make a perfect parallel to the Latin letters of St 
 Jerome (t42o) both in their interest, humour and pleasantness, 
 and in their beautiful style. For St Jerome, in spite of the shocks 
 he sometimes gives us in the Vulgate, could write most beauti' 
 ful Latin when he chose. 
 
St Basil 83 
 
 Euchologta. It is not the oftenest used, but the 
 foundation of the Byzantine rite (p. 64 n. i). 
 Liturgically, it occurs in thirteen translations 
 besides the original Greek. How far it is really the 
 saint's own composition is a question that will 
 probably never be settled. 
 
 12. St Gregory Nyssene's works 
 
 St Basil's brother was a prolific writer, though 
 none of his works reach the level of those of Basil. 
 He is a philosopher and an ardent admirer and 
 faithful disciple of Origenes (t254), whom he 
 follows exactly in his interpretation of Scripture. 
 His most characteristic work is philosophical 
 speculation about the Holy Trinity, the immor- 
 tality of the soul, and so on. Needless to say, as a 
 disciple of Origenes he is Neoplatonic. 
 
 The Jesuit Fronton le Duc,first edited his works in 
 two folio volumes at Paris in 1615 ; J. Gretser, S.J., 
 published an additional volume of works omitted 
 by le Due in 1618. The next edition (complete 
 with Gretser's additions) was at Paris in 1638, 
 three volumes. Other works have been discovered 
 by various people since, notably seven more letters 
 by J. Caracciolo (Florence, 1731). Gregory of 
 Nyssa fills three volumes of Migne (Patr. Gr. 
 XLiv-XLVi, Paris, 1858) . The Oxford Select Library 
 of Nicene and Postnicene Fathers contains a selec- 
 tion of his works in English (Ser. II, vol. v). 
 
 Exegesis. He wrote a Defence of the Hexaemeron 
 
 (airoXoyrjTiKO^ irep] rfjg e^arjjULepov, Explicatio apolo- 
 getica in hexaemeron, XLiv, 61-124), ^ vindication 
 and completion of his brother's work, and thirty 
 chapters Of the creation of man (irepl /carao-zceiy?/? 
 avOpwirov, De hominis opificio, XLiv, 125-256), 
 We have also from him a Life of Moses {irepl rod 
 
 6 a 
 
84 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Plov Mcova-ewg tou vojuLoOerov, De vita Moysis, seu de 
 virtutis perfectione, XLiv, 297-430), in which he 
 fills up the Biblical account with allegorical inter- 
 pretations. The point of the life is that Moses 
 should be a model to a friend of Gregory named 
 Kaisarios. Further, an allegorical treatise On the 
 Inscriptions of the Psalms (e/9 t;V eiriypa^ptp' tmv 
 \l/a\jUL(Joi', In psalmorum inscriptionem, libri II, 
 XLIV, 432-608), a Commentary on Ecclesiastes 
 (xLiv, 616-753), in the form of eight homilies, 
 twenty-five Homilies on the Song of Songs (xliv, 
 756-1120), five on the Lord's Prayer (xliv, 1120- 
 II 93) and eight on the Beatitudes (xliv, 1193- 
 1301). 
 
 Dogmatic Works. The most important is his 
 Great Catechism (\0y09 KarrjxiiTiKog 6 jmeyag, Oratio 
 catechetica magna, forty chapters, xlv, 9-105), 
 a defence of the Catholic faith against pagans, 
 Jews and Arians. Then the Twelve Books against 
 Eunomios {ttpo^Yjupojuliop avTipprjxiKoi Xoyoi, Libri 
 XII, contra Eunomium, xlv, 237-1121). Eunomios 
 had answered St Basil's work against him (p. 80) 
 after that saint's death; this is a refutation of the 
 answer. His Refutation of Apollinaris (avripptiriKog 
 irpo<s TO. 'AiroXXLvapiov, Antirrheticus adv. Apolli- 
 narem, fifty-nine chapters, xlv, i 124-1269) and 
 the sequel. Against Apollinaris, dedicated to Theo- 
 philos of Alexandria (/car ' Air oWivaplov, Adv. Apol- 
 linarem ad Theophilum, xlv, 1269-1277), are 
 important authorities for the life and teaching of 
 that heretic.^ Then there are many shorter treatises 
 
 ^Apollinaris (Apollinarios), Bishop of Laodicea in Syria 
 (fc. 392), was a famous heretic who, accepting the Neoplatonic 
 theory that man consists of three elements, body, soul and 
 spirit, taught that in our Lord the Divinity (the Logos, Word of 
 God), took the place of this third element, the spirit. So he 
 was not perfect man ; he lacked one element of our nature, the 
 
St Basil 85 
 
 on various dogmas, such as the Blessed Trinity, 
 the ImmortaUty of the soul and Fate. 
 
 Ascetic Works. He wrote a treatise on Virginity 
 irep\ -jrapOei'la^, de virginitate, XLVi, 317-416), 
 Letters to monks and short treatises on the End of 
 man, the Life of a Christian, and so on, also a treatise 
 Against those who put off their baptism (xLVi). 
 
 Homilies. Many of the works we have aheady 
 noted are written in the form of sermons. There 
 are others preached at Nyssa and Constantinople, 
 Panegyrics of saints, among which we note those 
 on St Gregory Thaumaturgos, St Basil his brother, 
 St Makrine his sister, and the Funeral orations of 
 the princess Pulcheria and the empress Flaccilla. 
 His sermons are very ornate and full of flowers of 
 rhetoric. They cannot be compared to those of 
 St Basil. All are contained in M. P. Gr. XLVi. 
 
 Letters. Migne (P. Gr. xlvi) contains twenty-six 
 letters. The second letter about pilgrimages to Jerusa- 
 lem gives a vivid picture of the abuses and scandals 
 that even then accompanied visits to the holy 
 land. Gregory thinks that if people behave so 
 badly when they get to Jerusalem they had better 
 stay at home. This letter was often used by Protes- 
 tants in the sixteenth century as an argument 
 against all pilgrimages ; a purpose that would have 
 annoyed its author, since he made a very pious 
 pilgrimage to the holy places himself. He is not the 
 only Catholic who has been distressed at the 
 quarrels that go on round our Lord's tomb. 
 
 human spirit. Apollinaris then was a kind of forerunner of the 
 Monophysites. Nearly all the fathers of this time wrote at 
 least one treatise against him. Harnack thinks he was the only 
 reasonable theologian of the fourth century, and he has become 
 a quite appalling obsession to J. Draseke. See my article s.v. 
 Apollinarism in Hastings' Dictionary of Religion and Ethics 
 (T. and T. Clarke, vol. I.). 
 
86 The Greek Fathers 
 
 13. Literature 
 
 St. Basil. C. Klose : Basilius dcr Grosse (Stral- 
 sund, 1835). F. Bohringer: Basilius von Cdsarea 
 (Stuttgart, 1875, in Die Kirche Christi und ihre 
 Zeugen, vii). E. Fialon : Etude historique et Litteraire 
 sur St Basile (Paris, 1869). P. Allard: Saint Basile 
 (Paris, 1899, in Les Saints, V. Lecoffre). H. Weiss: 
 Die gvossen Kappadocier als Exegeten (Braunsberg, 
 1872). A. Bayle: St Basile, archeveque de Cesaree 
 (Avignon, 1878) . H. Doergens : Der hi. Basilius u.die 
 classischen Studien (Leipzig, 1857). E. Scholl: Die 
 Lehre des hi. Basilius von der Gnade (Freiburg, 1881) . 
 
 St Gregory of Nyssa. J. Rupp : Gregors, des Bis- 
 chofs von Nyssa, Lehen u. Meinungen (Leipzig, 
 1834). Fr. Bohringer: Gregor von Nyssa (Stuttgart, 
 1876, op. cit.). H. Weiss, op. cit. Fr. Hilt: Des hi. 
 Gregor von Nyssa Lehre vom Menschen systematisch 
 dargestellt (Koln, 1890). W. Meyer: Die Gotteslehre 
 des Gregor von Nyssa (Leipzig, 1894). J. Bauer: Die 
 Trostreden des Gregorios von Nyssa in ihrem Ver- 
 hdltniss zur antiken Rhetorik (Marburg, 1892). 
 
87 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 ST GREGORY OF NAZIANZOS (330-390) 
 
 GREGORY OF NAZIANZOS, the intimate 
 friend and companion of St Basil, fills a 
 more important place in the consciousness 
 of the eastern Churches than he does with us in 
 the west. We should hardly name him among the 
 very greatest fathers, but in the east his writings 
 are considered so important and so valuable that 
 he is to the descendants of his own people the 
 ^Theologian" in a special and proper sense. That 
 is his surname among them ; they hardly ever speak 
 of him as Nazianzene; when a Greek says "Gregory 
 the Theologian" {Tprjyopiog 6 OeoXoyoi;) he means 
 this saint. The Theologian was one of the three 
 friends who redeemed the once not well-sounding 
 name of Cappadocia.^ He was not only a theologian 
 but a philosopher, poet and a man of public 
 political life as weU. He had a chequered career and 
 several unpleasant adventures before he at last 
 settled down in peace to end his days in his own 
 town. Less great than Basil, more so than Gregory 
 of Nyssa, he has left the memory of an irreproach- 
 able, but not always ver>^ prudent saint, and of a 
 voluminous, orthodox and edifying writer.^ 
 
 ^The three great Cappadocians are St Basil, St Gregory of 
 Nazianzos and St Gregory of Nyssa (Basil's younger brother). 
 
 ^Most saints who were bishops are named after their dio- 
 ceses; thus we speak of St Hilary of Poitiers, St Augustine of 
 Canterbury, St Hugh of Lincoln. This saint is an exception. 
 He was Bishop of Sasima, but is always called after his native 
 town, Nazianzos, 
 
88 The Greek Fathers 
 
 1. Early years (330-^.345) 
 
 Gregory was born in 330 at Arianzos, a propert}^ 
 belonging to his father near Nazianzos. Nazianzos 
 i^a^iav^o^), or DioccBsarea, in Cappadocia, was a 
 small town about sixty-five miles south-west of the 
 capital, Caesarea.^ And of this city his father, also 
 called Gregory, was bishop. His mother, Nonna, 
 was a saint, who brought her son up as carefully 
 and as piously as St Emmelia was bringing up her 
 son Basil at the same time. 
 
 The fact that Gregory's father was a bishop, and 
 a very holy and orthodox bishop, which confronts 
 us at the beginning of this life, will surprise most 
 people, whether Catholic or Orthodox. How, one 
 asks, could a bishop have a wife and family? And 
 how could a bishop's wife be a saint? 
 
 The principle that is at the root of the law 
 of celibacy certainly goes back to the time of the 
 Apostles. St Paul tells us plainly that he considers 
 virginity to be the higher state (i Cor. vii, 28, 32- 
 34, 40), and our Lord himself had taught the same 
 thing (Matt, xix, 12). Inevitably, then, the Chris- 
 tian Church looked upon celibacy as a more holy 
 thing. If anyone is to foUow this higher and more 
 austere path, surely it should be, in the first place, 
 the clergy who are called to minister more closely 
 to God. So clerks, as a general rule, prefer to 
 remain unmarried; then nearly all do so. It begins 
 to be looked upon as unedifying if one does marry ; 
 then as almost, eventually as quite scandalous. It 
 is a typical case of a law obtaining force by pre- 
 scription.^ But the law crystalhzed into different 
 
 ^Now a village, Nenizi. 
 
 2Even in the old law a temporary celibacy was required of 
 priests before they sacrificed (Ex. xix, 15). 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 89 
 
 forms in east and west. In the west, at any rate 
 since the fourth century,^ the law is cehbacy for 
 all clerks in major orders. In the east deacons and 
 priests may keep their wives if they are already 
 married, but bishops must be celibate.^ There is 
 no reason to suppose that the Bishop of Nazianzos 
 ceased being a married man when he was ordained ; 
 on the contrary, our St Gregory had a younger 
 brother, Kaisarios, who must have been born after- 
 wards. We must conclude then from this case that, 
 at any rate in Cappadocia, celibacy was not yet 
 considered a binding law for bishops, although in 
 the fourth century the general feeling on the sub- 
 ject had already very nearly produced a law. The 
 bishops, who took a foremost place at that time, 
 the saints and fathers such as Gregory the son, 
 Basil, Chrysostom, and so on, were celibate as a 
 matter of course. 
 
 The elder Gregory was a well-known man, too, 
 in a way. He had been a pagan and a statesman. 
 His wife, St Nonna, converted him; he was bap- 
 
 ^The first case of a definite law in the west seems to be the 
 letter of Pope Siricius (384-399) to Himerius of Tarracona 
 (Ep. I, c, 7, in the C.I.C. dist. Ixxxii), Innocent I (401-417) 
 repeats it (dist. xxxi) and from that time a number of councils 
 (e. gr., second Council of Carthage in 390, hfth Council of 
 Carthage in 401) down to the first Lateran Council in 1123 
 (can. 21) and the second Lateran Council in 1139 (can. 40) 
 form our present law. 
 
 ^Obviously monks and nuns everywhere have always been 
 bound by the same law. A solemn vow of chastity was always 
 the essence of monastic life. The first Council of Nicsea (325) 
 already maintains the "ancient custom" that forbids marriage 
 after ordination. The Council of Constantinople in 692 (the 
 Quinisextum, Trullanum II) insists on this law and forbids 
 Bishops to be married. There has always been a strong feeling 
 against bigamy for any clerks. Bigamy in Canon Law means not 
 only having two wives at once (bigamia simultanea) , but having 
 two, one after another (bigamia successiva). This is always an 
 impediment against Holy Orders. To marry a widow is a form 
 of bigamy (bigamia interpretativa) , 
 
90 The Greek Fathers 
 
 tized in 328 or 329. Soon after he became Bishop 
 of Nazianzos, succeeding his baptizer, and was a 
 vahant defender of the Cathohc faith against the 
 Arians. His son in after years constantly refers to 
 him with great veneration.^ Our saint was appa- 
 rently the eldest child, then came a sister, Gorgonia 
 and the brother, Kaisarios. The family lived chiefly 
 at Arianzos, on their estate, a few miles south of 
 Nazianzos on the road to Tyana. But they had a 
 house in the city, too, and young Gregory began 
 his education at school there. His mother, Nonna, 
 easily formed his mind to love the Christian faith 
 and the example of Christian saints. The boy was 
 naturally docile and pious from the beginning. 
 When he was quite little he had a dream that two 
 beautiful ladies came to him; their names were 
 Temperance and Virginity.^ And to these two 
 ladies he promised to be true all his life, a promise 
 he very faithfully kept. 
 
 2. Education at Caesarea and Athens 
 (345P-357) 
 
 As soon as they were old enough Gregory and 
 Kaisarios go to Csesarea, the capital of Cappa- 
 docia, to have a better education than could be 
 got in so small a country town as Nazianzos.^ At 
 Csesarea they meet St Basil for the first time: 
 Gregory formed a friendship with him than only 
 one quarrel was to interrupt (p. 97) during all 
 their lives. The friends parted for a time, and 
 Gregory went on to Palestine and Alexandria. 
 Then he sailed to Athens. On the way there was a 
 frightful storm in which he was nearly drowned. 
 
 ^In the Or. xviii especially. 
 ^Greg. Naz. Carm, i, 45. 
 
 ^Sokrates (H.E. iv, 26, 13) says that Nazianzos was quite a 
 small place of no importance, 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 91 
 
 He says afterwards in what terror he was then at 
 the thought that he was still unbaptized; the 
 memory of that danger made Gregory, too, one of 
 the most strenuous opponents of the dangerous 
 custom of putting off baptism till a man is grown 
 up.^ At Athens he met Basil again. Gregory remem- 
 bered their years of friendship and study at 
 "golden Athens" with as much pleasure as did 
 Basil.^ Years afterwards, when his friend was 
 dead and he preached his funeral sermon, Gregory 
 recalls the distant days when they had shared the 
 same lodging, the same studies, the same ideas. ^ 
 He was the older of the two and had arrived at 
 Athens first, so he was able to help his friend with 
 advice about life at a University and to defend him 
 from the practical jokes of the other students.* 
 There was an amusing quarrel with the Armenians. 
 Cappadocians and Armenians, being neighbours of 
 different races, naturally did not like each other. 
 The Armenians set various traps for these new 
 Cappadocians, out of which Gregory assures us 
 that they came victoriously. And he adds (on the 
 word of a Cappadocian) that "the Armenian nation 
 is not noble nor frank ; they are all sly and vicious."^ 
 After four or five years, in 357, Basil went back 
 home to Cappadocia ; Gregory stayed and continued 
 
 ^Carm. de se ipso, i, 324-326; xi, 162-174, etc. 
 
 25eep. 53. 
 
 ^Oratio xliii, in laiidem Basilii (xxxvi, 493-605). 
 
 *Rough practical jokes on a freshman seem to be an inevita- 
 ble element of a University everywhere. At Athens the most 
 brilliant pleasantry was to seize your man and to throw him into 
 the water (Greg, Naz. Oratio xliii, 16). It is also characteristic 
 that the men should form themselves into companies (Student- 
 envereine) according to their nationalities. There were the 
 Cappadocians, Armenians, Syrians, etc. 
 
 ^(Or. xliii). So many people would say still. It is one of the 
 tragedies of that unhappy people that every one seems to hate 
 them, not only Kurds and Turks, but all other Christian 
 
92 The Greek Fathers 
 
 his studies at Athens. But soon after he, too, left 
 the University and started back for home. 
 
 This time, remembering the perils of the seas, he 
 preferred a long journey by land round by Constan- 
 tinople. Here he found his brother Kaisarios, who 
 had studied medicine and was now making a for- 
 tune as a doctor in the capital. Gregory seems to 
 have been all too eager to make every one flee the 
 world, as he himself was about to do. So he per- 
 suades his brother to leave his practice and to 
 come back to Cappadocia with him to be a monk. 
 Kaisarios let himself be persuaded at first, but he 
 never really wanted to change his life. We should 
 say that he obviously had no vocation. So after a 
 short time he went back to Constantinople and 
 looked up his patients again. Gregory was disap- 
 pointed; his disappointment turned into indigna- 
 tion when he heard that his brother still went on 
 with his career under the pagan emperor Julian 
 (361-363). Did not this inevitably mean at least a 
 tacit apostasy? His suspicion was quite unjust. 
 Kaisarios was a perfectly loyal Christian always, 
 and when he found that by staying at the capital 
 his faith was in real danger he again left his prac- 
 tice and went to Cappadocia. The end of Kaisarios 
 was that he came back to Constantinople after 
 Julian's death, became a government official under 
 Valens (364-378), was baptized and died an edify- 
 ing death soon after 368. He is an example of an 
 entirely satisfactory Christian in the world. Gre- 
 gory's everlasting girding that he should be a monk 
 and his attitude of shocked surprise that his 
 brother should choose rather to be a doctor are 
 
 nations in those parts too. When a Syrian's donkey won't go, 
 the Syrian beats him and calls him a Jew; if he still won't go 
 he beats him again and calls him an Armenian, 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 93 
 
 unreasonable and intolerant. Not every one has a 
 vocation to the "angelic life."^ 
 
 3. Gregory's baptism, ordination and 
 flight (357-C.372). 
 
 Meanwhile Gregory, who knew his own mind 
 better than that of his brother, as soon as he came 
 home to Cappadocia (357), began to see about 
 being a monk himself. His father, the bishop, was 
 now an old man, so for a time he stayed with him 
 and looked after the estate at Arianzos. But each 
 day he spent certain fixed hours in prayer and 
 meditation. He was now twenty-seven years old, 
 and it was quite time for him to be baptized, espe- 
 cially as he had not forgotten his narrow escape of 
 death by shipwreck. So he was baptized, apparently 
 by his father,^ soon after he came home. 
 
 Meanwhile Basil was travelling about and learning 
 from monks how to copy their life.^ Soon after the 
 community at Annesos in Pontus had been formed 
 (358)^ Gregory went to join it. He describes this 
 first visit as a short one in which he only just 
 tasted the sweetness of the ascetic life.^ As his 
 father still wanted him at home, he soon went back 
 to Nazianzos. Then happened one of those curious 
 cases of an ordination by force of which we often 
 hear at this time. The people of Nazianzos wanted 
 the bishop's son to be a priest. The father agreed, 
 but Gregory himself was entirely against the plan. 
 
 ^For the story of Kaisarios see Greg. Naz, Orat. vii, Ep. vii, 
 and Carm. ii. 
 
 ^According to our Canon Law a man ought not to baptize 
 his own son, except in case of necessity. But there is no such 
 principle in the east. Besides, our Canon Law does not provide 
 for bishops having sons. 
 
 ^See p. 57. 
 
 'p. 58. 
 sQr. IL 6. 
 
94 The Greek Fathers 
 
 He wanted to be a monk with Basil, and monks 
 were not priests. To be a priest meant to go on 
 living in the world at Nazianzos. He felt unworthy 
 and unfit for so high and difficult a hfe. To flee the 
 world, to meditate in silence and sing hymns at 
 Annesos was easier and safer. So he resisted the 
 proposal with all his might. In spite of his resistance 
 his father took him and ordained him priest by 
 force, apparently on Christmas Day in 361.^ 
 
 The question of these ordinations in which the 
 subject resists and is made a priest by force is a 
 curious one. We should say that a grown-up person 
 cannot receive a sacrament (except, perhaps, the 
 holy Eucharist) validly, unless he has the intention 
 of doing so. These fathers never seem to think 
 of that. We must suppose that, in spite of his 
 resistance, Gregory had, at any rate, that very 
 vague and implicit intention that is needed for the 
 sacrament to be valid. ^ And in any case it is a 
 question of moral force only. 
 
 ^But was Christmas (December 25) kept in Cappadocia in 
 the middle of the fourth century? In 385 it was still unknown 
 at Jerusalem; St Ephrem (t379) does not know it, nor was it 
 yet introduced into Armenia or Mesopotamia. Kellner {Heor- 
 tologie, Freiburg i./Br. 1901) thinks that Christmas was kept in 
 Cappadocia first in 382 (pp. 84-85). St John Chrys. announces 
 it as a new feast at Antioch in 388 (Hom. 171 nat. Chvisti, xlix, 
 351). Before that the memory of our Lord's birth was kept on 
 the Epiphany (January 6). Bardenhewer {Patrologie, P>eiburg 
 i./Br. 1894), who gives Christmas, 361, as the date of this ordina- 
 tion, must mean the Epiphany. See Usener: Religionsgesch. 
 Untersuchungen i, 1889). 
 
 ^People who are not theologians never seem to understand 
 how little intention is wanted for a sacrament (the point applies 
 equally to minister and subject). The "implicit intention of 
 doing what Christ instituted" means so vague and small a 
 thing that one can hardly help having it — unless one deliberate- 
 ly excludes it. At the time when every one was talking 
 about Anglican orders, numbers of Catholics confused inten- 
 tion with faith. Faith is not wanted. It is heresy to say that it 
 is (this was the error of St Cyprian and Firmilian a gainst which 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 95 
 
 As soon as the ordination was over Gregory, 
 still very indignant and determined not to work 
 as a priest even if he had been made one, ran 
 away to Pontus to join Basil again. ^ But by 
 Easter, 362, Basil persuaded him that since he 
 had been ordained he should go back to the world 
 and help his father in the diocese.^ He came back 
 then to Nazianzos and was soon able to put an 
 end to a serious disturbance there. His father, 
 the bishop, was always really Catholic and Ho- 
 moiisian. Only, he had given way once in a 
 moment of weakness, like so many other good and 
 well-meaning bishops in that time of persecution 
 and hopeless confusion, when synods and anti- 
 synods were everlastingly drawing up new for- 
 mulas of various shades of Arianism, when the 
 government was everlastingly demanding the 
 acceptance of some new profession. The formula 
 that Constantius (337-361) had forced on the 
 great Synod of Ariminium (359) was semi-Arian. 
 The emperor insisted that every bishop should 
 sign it. There were very few confessors who had 
 the courage to hold out still, after years of this sort 
 of thing — it was the time of which St Jerome said 
 that "the whole world groaned and shuddered to 
 find itself Arian."^ And old Gregory at Nazianzos 
 gave way like the others and signed. At once there 
 was great commotion in the diocese. The Catholics, 
 
 Pope Stephen I, 254-257 protested). A man may have utterly 
 wrong, heretical and blasphemous views about a sacrament 
 and yet confer or receive it quite validly. 
 
 ^His Apology for his Flight (p. 106) was written in excuse 
 and explanation of this flight to Pontus after his ordination. 
 
 -The conviction of all these fathers that a man simply can- 
 not be both a monk and a priest, that one state necessarily 
 excludes the other, is very curious as showing what monasticism 
 meant in the first stage of its development. 5^6 above, p. 57. 
 
 ^c. Luciferianos, 19. 
 
96 The Greek Fathers 
 
 and especially the monks, broke off all relations 
 with a semi-Arian bishop (363). Gregory, the son, 
 persuaded his father to retract his false step by a 
 public confession of the Catholic faith (Homoii- 
 sianism) ; he then brought all the diocese back to 
 its normal state of obedience. The dates of these 
 events are not certain. Some think that this schism 
 and pacification took place before his ordination 
 and flight.^ During this first time, perhaps while 
 they were both at Annesos, Gregory and Basil 
 composed a selection from the works of Origenes 
 (t 254) that they called the Philokalia ((piXoKoXla 
 = Love of beauty).^ Then for about nine or ten 
 years (362-372?) Gregory stayed at Nazianzos as 
 a priest under his father. In 370 the father ordained 
 Basil Metropolitan of Csesarea^ and the son 
 assisted him, though he does not seem to have been 
 too well pleased at his friend's promotion.^ He had 
 an invincible dread of the responsibility and 
 dangers of such positions. But a very serious 
 breach between the friends came when Basil made 
 Gregory a bishop too. 
 
 4. Bishop of Sasima. His hermitage at 
 Seleucia (372-379) 
 
 Basil had great difficulties with his rebellious 
 suffragan, Anthimos of Tyana.^ In order to resist 
 this person he thought it a good plan to make his 
 two staunchest supporters bishops of dioceses on 
 
 ^So Bardenhewer {Patrologie, p. 264) and Loofs in the Prot. 
 Realencyklopadie (1899, vii, 142). Ph. Clemencet (editor of the 
 Benedictine edition of Greg. Naz. See p. 107) adopts the order I 
 have given. 
 
 ^Ep. 115, Clemencet: Vita Greg. 6$. 
 
 ^See above, p. 66. 
 
 ^Carmen de Seipso, 398 seq. 
 
 5pp. 68, 69. 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 97 
 
 the frontier of Tyana. So he ordained his own 
 brother Bishop of Nyssa^ and then wanted 
 Gregory of Nazianzos to be Bishop of Sasima, a few 
 miles south-east of Nazianzos. If Gregory had dis- 
 Hked the idea of being a priest, he was still more 
 opposed to that of being bishop. So he refused 
 absolutely. In spite of that Basil took him and 
 ordained him (it is another of these astonishing 
 cases of forced ordinations), apparently in 372. 
 Gregory's indignation knew no bounds this time. 
 He absolutely refused to go near Sasima. He 
 describes it as the most odious place in the world, 
 barren, solitary, ugly and generally detestable.^ He 
 had never been there. Indeed, it is more than 
 doubtful if he ever went to his diocese at aU. So 
 he ran away again to be a monk somewhere in the 
 mountains, away from Basil and his father and 
 Sasima.^ He seems to have specially disliked the 
 idea of being set up in a forepost to fight Anthi- 
 mos, although he was so far loyal to Basil that he 
 would not listen to Anthimos' arguments against 
 the metropolitan.* For seven years he bore a 
 grudge against his old friend for this ordination 
 and the plan of sending him to Sasima. It seems 
 that Basil certainly made a mistake in ordaining 
 Gregory against his will and that he expected too 
 much from his friend. On the other hand, it cannot 
 be said that Gregory behaved well in this affair. 
 The old father was very much annoyed at the 
 whole business. He did not at all want his son to 
 be Bishop of Sasima, but he did not want him to 
 be a monk with useless bishop's orders either. He 
 had been very glad to have him at Nazianzos, and 
 now he wanted him back there to help in the 
 
 ^p, 74. ^Carmen, 386-485, Ep. 48 and 50. 
 
 ^Carm. 490 seq. ; 529 seq. *Ep, 48 and 50. 
 
 7 
 
98 The Greek Fathers 
 
 affairs of that diocese. So he wrote and implored 
 his son to come, not to Sasima, but to Nazianzos. 
 He was a very old man now. If Basil had not taken 
 this hasty step, he had hoped that his son might 
 gradually undertake all the work at Nazianzos and 
 eventually succeed him as bishop there. Gregory 
 then gave way to his father and came out of his 
 hiding-place. Although he was still very angry 
 with Basil and still refused to go to Sasima, he 
 came back to Nazianzos and administered the 
 diocese for his father. Old Gregory died in 374; St 
 Nonna soon followed him to the grave. Our Gre- 
 gory then went on taking care of the diocese. But 
 he was still considered bishop of Sasima ; this con- 
 nexion with a place he had never even seen was a 
 trouble to him all his life. Soon afterwards, in 375, 
 the neighbouring bishops began to see about find- 
 ing a successor to the dead bishop. His son, who 
 had so long administered the diocese, was obviously 
 the right man. But he was bishop of Sasima. They 
 were persuading the metropolitan, Basil, who now 
 recognized his mistake, to accept his resignation of 
 Sasima and to acknowledge him as Bishop of 
 Nazianzos, when Gregory fled again, this time to 
 Seleucia in Isauria. He must have had an invin- 
 cible repugnance to be the Ordinary of any place, 
 and he had not yet forgiven Basil. He stayed at 
 Seleucia as a hermit for four years. While he was 
 there he heard the news of his old friend's death 
 (St Basil, t Jan. i, 379). Death ends all quarrels. 
 Gregory now forgot his grievance; all the rest of 
 his life he was the most ardent defender of Basil's 
 memory. He made the first collection of the great 
 metropolitan's letters,^ and later, in 381, he 
 preached a splendid panegyric, in which he passes 
 ^p. 82. 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 99 
 
 over the trouble about Sasima and remembers only 
 the happy years they had spent together at "golden 
 Athens."^ This generous forgetting of his grievance 
 is the pleasantest incident in Gregory's life. If 
 Saints do quarrel sometimes, they make it up 
 again afterwards. 
 
 5. Gregory at Constantinople (379-381) 
 
 If Gregory had made anything clear so far it 
 was that he did not want to be a bishop. He seems 
 to have been quite happy at Seleucia and only 
 anxious to be let alone. But events now again 
 brought him out of his hermitage and called him to 
 use his orders at the capital. Under the Caesar 
 Valens (364-378) the Arians had had it all their 
 own way, especially at Constantinople. The 
 Catholics were reduced to a little handful, who 
 rejected the communion of the Arian bishop 
 Demophilos (369-379). But when Theodosius I 
 (379-395) succeeded as emperor the situation 
 changed. Theodosius was a determined Catholic 
 always. So the faithful Homoiisians in 379 sent to 
 Gregory, asking him to come and take charge of 
 their community, at any rate till a regular bishop 
 could be appointed. He was obviously just the 
 person they wanted. He was a bishop who could 
 use any episcopal function, and he was not engaged 
 at any diocese. He could not resist this appeal, 
 himself one of the first champions of the Nicene 
 faith in eastern Christendom. So again he gave 
 up his ideal of leading a monk's life and came to 
 take charge of the Catholics at Constantinople (379) . 
 Here he arranged everything, restored order, 
 ordained and fulfilled all a bishop's duties till a 
 bishop should be elected in the usual way. 
 
 7^ 
 
loo The Greek Fathers 
 
 For so far, at any rate, he did not consider himself, 
 was not considered by anyone, to be bishop of 
 Constantinople, but rather still titular of Sasima. 
 He also preached ; his sermons were so famous that 
 St Jerome (f 410), already an old man, came to the 
 capital to hear them. Theodosius came to Con- 
 stantinople in 380 and at once restored to the 
 Catholics the chief church of the city (either the 
 Holy Wisdom or the church of the Apostles) that 
 the Arians had seized. Meanwhile the Egyptians — 
 always disturbers of the peace in the Church of 
 Constantinople — irregularly ordained one of them- 
 selves, a certain Maximos, as Ordinary. The greater 
 number of the Catholics refused to acknowledge 
 this person and wanted Gregory to formally resign 
 the see he had never even visited and to accept 
 an election as Ordinary in the capital. He seems to 
 have been disposed to do so; for a time now he 
 apparently claimed to be Bishop of Constantinople. 
 
 6. The second general Council (381) 
 
 At this time came the meeting of bishops at 
 Constantinople that was eventually recognized as 
 the second general Council. Out of the great 
 Arian movement, then dying out fast, two new 
 heresies had grown. Some Arians applied their 
 theories about God the Son to the Holy Ghost too, 
 saying that he, too, is a creature, less than God 
 the Father. These people are the Pneumatomachians 
 (TTi^eiy/xaroVaxof^ fighters against the Spirit). The 
 semi- Arian Bishop of Constantinople, Makedonios 
 (344-348, 350-360), who had been driven out and 
 had come back, was their chief leader; with him a 
 monk, named Marathonios, defended this heresy.^ 
 
 ^From these two people the heretics are also called Mace- 
 donians or Marathonians, 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos^ li)! 
 
 The Pneumatomachians had been condemned by 
 an Alexandrine synod in 362 ; soon afterwards they 
 themselves held one at Zele in Pontus/ in which 
 they separated themselves from both Catholics 
 and Arians to form a sect of their own. They were 
 now disposed to admit the Divinity of our Lord 
 and his equality with God the Father; but they 
 transferred all the Arians' ideas about him to the 
 Holy Ghost. Several Fathers, Didymos the Blind,^ 
 our Gregory^ and others had already written 
 against this heresy. As a result of the opposition 
 to Arianism the famous Apollinaris, Bishop of 
 Laodicea in Syria, had evolved his system, accord- 
 ing to which our Lord had a human body and soul, 
 but no human spirit, since the Word took its place.* 
 In 381 Theodosius summoned all the bishops of 
 the empire to a council at Constantinople, to 
 declare the faith on these points and once more 
 to wipe out whatever was left of Arianism. Only 
 150 eastern bishops came. There were no Latins 
 and no legates from Rome. This is the council, 
 oecumenic neither in its summons nor its sessions, 
 to which the ratification of the Roman See and of 
 the Church long afterwards gave the right of being 
 numbered among the CEcumenical synods.^ At 
 
 ^Its date is uncertain. 
 
 ^Didymos (310-395), a layman, was the leader of the Cate- 
 chetic school at Alexandria. He had become blind when four 
 years old, but was nevertheless one of the most famous 
 scholars of his time, and an ardent Origenist. St Jerome, 
 Rufinus, and other fathers learnt from him. His works in 
 M.P.G. xxxix, 1 31-18 1 8. Against the Pneumatomachians he 
 wrote On the Holy Ghost. Of this work only St Jerome's Latin 
 translation has been preserved (M.P.L. xxiii, 101-154). 
 
 ^In his fifth theological oration (thirty-first Oration). 
 
 ^See above, p. 84, n. i. 
 
 ^That is as far as its dogmatic definitions are concerned. Its 
 four canons were never received in the west. Its third canon 
 is the first step in the advance of Constantinople to patriarchal 
 rank [see Orih. Eastern Church, pp. 32-33). 
 
ic/1 The Greek Fathers 
 
 first Meletios of Antioch^ presided ; he died during 
 the council, and our Gregory of Nazianzos then took 
 his place. If the addition to the Nicene creed was 
 made by this counciP it shows its condemnation 
 of the Pneumatomachians in the clause about the 
 Holy Ghost, "the Lord and Lifegiver, who pro- 
 ceeds from the Father, who, together with the 
 Father and Son, is adored and glorified, who 
 spoke by the Prophets/' The synod refused to 
 acknowledge Maximos at Constantinople, and took 
 the side of Meletios at Antioch. Both decisions gave 
 offence to Rome and the west.^ The fathers of 
 Constantinople then recognized Gregory as bishop 
 of that city. So he must for a short time be con- 
 sidered Ordinary of Constantinople. But his enemies, 
 especially the Egyptians, still used their old argu- 
 ment against him. He was Bishop of Sasima, and 
 no one can hold two sees at once. By this time 
 Gregory must have loathed the very name of that 
 barren and detestable town that he had never even 
 seen. Still no doubt there was something in their 
 argument. He does not seem to have ever formally 
 resigned his old see, or perhaps the Metropolitan of 
 Csesarea (where Helladios had succeeded St Basil) 
 had not accepted his resignation.* No other bishop 
 
 ^The famous bishop about whom the Meletian Schism arose 
 {op. cit., pp. 90-92). 
 
 ^Mgr Duchesne {^glises s^parefes, Paris, 1905, pp. 77-80) and 
 others doubt this. If they are right, the second general Council 
 did nothing at all. 
 
 ^Rome acknowledged Paulinos, Meletios' rival at Antioch. 
 As for Maximos, she was disposed to acknowledge him too. It 
 is another case of that alliance between Rome and Egypt that 
 influences all eastern Church history for centuries [Orth. 
 Eastern Church, p. 92). If ever a philosophical account of eccle- 
 siastical politics in the east is written, the alliance between 
 Rome and Alexandria as against Antioch and Constantinople 
 will be seen to be an important factor throughout. 
 
 *As a matter of fact translations from one see to another 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 103 
 
 of Sasima had been appointed, if that see had an 
 Ordinary at all it was Gregory. 
 
 The saint was further annoyed by the action of the 
 council with regard to the Antiochene affair. He 
 had hoped to arrange matters peaceably now that 
 Meletios was dead ; but the extravagant partisanship 
 of most of the fathers led to the appointment of 
 Flavian as a successor in the Meletian line, whereby 
 the trouble was continued and the friction with the 
 west increased. So Gregory is now only anxious 
 to leave Constantinople and the council. He felt, 
 no doubt, himself the force of the argument 
 against his position there; perhaps he had never 
 really meant to become permanently bishop of the 
 capital. Nektarios was chosen bishop peacefully 
 and canonically (381-397) and Gregory retired. 
 Before he left the council he preached a sermon to 
 the fathers in which he bade them farewell and 
 gave them good advice as to their duties. Then, 
 tired of all these disputes and wishing only to end 
 his days in peace, he went home to Nazianzos. 
 
 7. Last years and death (381-390) 
 
 He ended his days quietly by the city where he 
 had spent his first years. Since his father's death no 
 successor had been appointed at Nazianzos. Our 
 saint did not consider himself to be that suc- 
 cessor — he still bore the burden of that title of 
 Sasima — but he declared that he would administer 
 
 were tlie rarest things at that time. There was for many 
 centuries an idea that the symbohc marriage of a bishop to his 
 see should be as indissoluble as a real marriage — till the see 
 was widowed by his death. The analogy recurs in all kinds of 
 forms. To usurp another man's diocese was adultery. So even 
 in the case of the highest sees, the patriarchates, Rome itself, 
 a vacancy was filled, not by translating a bishop from some- 
 where else, but by ordaining a priest or deacon of the diocese. 
 
104 The Greek Fathers 
 
 the diocese till an Ordinary should be elected. He 
 did so for two years. Then by his advice a certain 
 Eulalios was chosen canonically and consecrated 
 in 383. Gregory then lived in retirement on the 
 estate he had inherited at Arianzos. Here again he 
 was able to realize his old ideal of living like a 
 monk, being as much a monk as a bishop could be. 
 He spent the last seven years of his life in prayer 
 and great mortification, and found a relaxation 
 in writing poetry. Besides various hymns and 
 poems written for edification he composed a long 
 Song of his life (p. 106). He died in peace in 390 
 (others think it was in 389) . 
 
 We have seen that he fills a larger place in the 
 memory of eastern Churches than he does with us. 
 To them he is by a special title the Theologian. We 
 remember him chiefly as St Basil's friend and as a 
 man of strangely uncertain character whose want 
 of consistent purpose was caused mainly by the 
 fact that all his life he could never do as he wanted. 
 It was Basil's ill-considered impulse about Sasima 
 that ruined his life. He is the patron saint of 
 people who do not want to be bishops. The 
 Byzantine Church keeps his feast on Jan. 25, 
 again on Jan. 30 with SS. Basil and John Chrysos- 
 tom/ the Syrian Uniates and Jacobites on Jan. 25 
 and the Latins on May 9. He is a Doctor of the 
 Church. 
 
 8. Table of dates 
 
 330. Gregory born at Arianzos by Nazianzos in 
 Cappadocia. 
 c.345.(?). Student at Caesarea, then at Athens with 
 St Basil. 
 
 ^These three are the "three holy Hierarchs and (Ecumenical 
 Doctors." This feast dates from 1081 or 1084, when it was insti- 
 tuted by the emperor Alexios Komnenos (1081-1118). cfr. 
 Nilles: Kalendarium manuale (ed. 2, Innsbruck, 1896), p. 87. 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 105 
 
 357. Baptized at Nazianzos. Monk at Annesos. 
 
 361. Ordained priest at Nazianzos. He escapes 
 to Annesos. 
 
 362. Priest at Nazianzos. 
 
 363. Schism at Nazianzos. 
 
 372. Ordained Bishop of Sasima. He escapes 
 
 again. Back at Nazianzos. 
 374. Gregory the father f. 
 375-379. At Seleucia in Isauria. 
 379-381. Administers the See of Constantinople. 
 381. Second General Council (First C. of 
 
 Constantinople). Gregory goes back to 
 
 Nazianzos. 
 383. Eulahos Bishop of Nazianzos. Gregory at 
 
 Arianzos. 
 390 (or 389) . Gregory f. 
 
 9. Works 
 
 J. Bilhus and F. Morellus edited the works of 
 St Gregory Nazianzene in two foho volumes at 
 Paris in 1609-1611. The Benedictine edition was 
 begun before the French Revolution (vol. i by 
 Ph. Clemencet, Paris, 1778) and finished after it 
 (ed. A. B. Caillau, Paris, 1840). In Migne's Patrol. 
 grcBca his works fill four volumes (xxxv-xxxviii) . 
 All these editions are in Greek and Latin. J. Gold- 
 horn published selections of St Greg. Naz. with St 
 Basil in the Bibl. Patrum Grceca dogmatica, Vol. 11 
 (S. Basilii et S. Greg. Naz. opera dogm. selecta, Leip- 
 zig, 1854). E. Dronke edited some of his poems 
 {Carmina Selecta S. Greg. Naz.) at Gottingen in 
 1840; another selection in W. Christ and M. Para- 
 nikas: Anthologia grcBca carminum christianorum, 
 pp. 23-32 (Leipzig, 1871). The Oratio apologetica de 
 fuga sua was published separately by J. Alzog in 
 1868 (Freiburg) ; the Oratio in fratrem Ccesarium 
 
io6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 (Paris, 1885), and Or. in laudem MachabcBorum, by 
 E. Sommer (Paris, 1891). Hurler's SS. Patrum 
 opuscula selecta (Innsbruck) contain Latin versions 
 of the five Orationes theologiccB (xxix) and the Or. 
 de fuga sua (xl). Rufinus of Aquileia had already 
 translated some of his sermons into Latin (publ. 
 at Strassburg in 1508). The two Orations against 
 Julian in an English version by C. W. King [Julian 
 the Emperor, London, 1888). 
 
 Orations. There are forty-five Orations or ser- 
 mons spoken by St Gregory Nazianzene on various 
 occasions (xxxv-xxxvi) . Of these the numbers 
 27-31 form a group apart, that he himself describes 
 as Theological Orations [ol tt'/^ OeoXoylag \6yoi, in 
 Or. 28, i). These are often numbered apart, 1-5 
 (as by Huiter, above). They were preached at 
 Constantinople in 379 and 381 to defend the 
 Catholic faith about the holy Trinity against 
 Arians and Pneumatomachians. Among the others 
 the most important are Nos. 4 and 5, two Accusa- 
 tions against Julian (\6yoi arrrjXiTevriKoi Kara 
 'lovXiavov), prudently held after the emperor's 
 death; also No. 20, On the Appointment of 
 bishops, and No. 32, Oji Moderation in dispute. 
 No. 2, the famous Apology for his flight {airokoyr}- 
 TLKo<s Trjg 6^9 TOP UovToi' </>i>yi}? ep€K6P, Oratlo apolo- 
 getica de fuga sua), is not properly an Oration but 
 a treatise. It is his most valuable work. Written 
 about the year 362 as a justification of his flight 
 after he was ordained priest (p. 95) it contains a 
 very ideal and splendid description of the priest- 
 hood; it was probably the model on which St John 
 Chrysostom formed his treatise. 
 
 Poems. The longest poem is the Song of his own 
 life {aa-jma irepl rov ^lov eavrov, Carmen de vita 
 sua, xxxvii, 1029-1166). In this he tells the story 
 
St Gregory of Nazianzos 107 
 
 of his life in a succession of lines in every kind of 
 metre, hexametres, pentametres, trimetres, iam- 
 bic and anacreontic, with many lines that do not 
 scan at all. It is the chief source for his biography. 
 Some of his shorter poems approach nearer to 
 poetry. The Evening Hymn and Exhortation to 
 Virgins (xxxvii, 511-514, 632-640) are in rhythmi- 
 cal prose. In the poem. About his verses (xxxvii, 
 1329-1336) he gives his reasons for writing in this 
 form. The tragedy, Christ Suffering {Xpia-rog 
 iracrxcop, Christus patiens, xxxviii, 133-138) once 
 attributed to him is a late medieval composition.^ 
 
 Letters. Of these 243 are preserved, most of them 
 written at the end of his hfe at Arianzos (383-390) . 
 He began making a collection of them himself for 
 a friend named Nikobolos (Ep. 52, 53, xxxvii). 
 They are contained in Migne, P. Gr. xxxvii. 
 Nearly all are very carefully written, and many 
 are evidently meant to be read by others besides 
 the person to whom they are addressed. They 
 treat of events in his life, and in that of his friends, 
 or they discuss points of theology. 
 
 10. Literature 
 
 Ph. Clemencet wrote a life of Gregory as an 
 introduction to his edition of the works. C. Ull- 
 mann: Gregorius von Nazianz (Darmstadt, 1825) 
 is still the standard work. Fr Bohringer includes 
 Greg. Naz. in Die Kirche Christi u. ihre Zeugen 
 (Bd. VIII, Stuttgart, 1876). A. Benoit: 5. Gregoire 
 de Nazianze (Paris, 1885). L. Montant: Revue 
 critique de quelques questions historiques se rappor- 
 tant a S. Greg, de Naz. et a son siecle (Paris, 1878). 
 
 ^Of the eleventh or twelfth cent. (Krumbacher: Gesch. der 
 Byzant. litt. p. 746 seq.). Naturally Draseke attributes it to 
 Apollinaris, as he does every doubtful work in Greek. 
 
loB The Greek Fathers 
 
 H. Weiss: Die grossen Kappadociev (Braunsberg, 
 1872). J. Draseke: Gregorios von Naz. und sein 
 Verhdltnis zum Apollinarismus (in the Theol. 
 Studien und Kritiken, Lxv, 1892). F. K. Hiimmer: 
 Des h. Gregor von Naz. Lehre von der Gnade (Kemp- 
 ten, 1890). J. Hergenrother : Die Lehre von der 
 gottlichen Dreieinigkeit nach dem Gregor von Nazianz 
 (Regensburg, 1850). 
 
109 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (344-407) 
 
 JOHN of Constantinople, to whom by uni- 
 versal consent has been given the surname of 
 Chrysostom/ "Golden-mouthed," is, perhaps, 
 of all Greek fathers the best known in the 
 west. He is (together with Photius) the most 
 famous Patriarch of Constantinople, one of the 
 only three saints^ who sat on that soul-endanger- 
 ing throne. He suffered persecution and exile, not 
 for the faith, but for the equally sacred cause of 
 morality; he is remembered by his own people as 
 the author of the liturgy they commonly use, and 
 by every one as the most eloquent and perfect 
 orator of the Christian Church. To Catholics as to s 
 the Orthodox he remains for all time the great | 
 model and patron of preachers. 
 
 ^XpvaScTTOfxos {xpvcrovv (TTdfia), Chrys6stomus (proparoxytone 
 in both Greek and Latin). So much has this name been joined 
 to his original one, that his is almost the only case in which 
 a surname occurs in our liturgy. As a rule saints are called 
 by their Christian name only in prayers. Thus we speak 
 of St John Damascene, St Thomas Aquinas, St Francis de 
 Sales; but in their collects they are only "Johannes," "Thomas," 
 "Franciscus." On the other hand on January 27 we pray God 
 to increase by grace his Church "quam beati Johannis Chry- 
 sostomi, confessoris tui atque pontificis illustrare voluisti glori- 
 osis meritis et doctrinis." So again in the secret and post- 
 communion. The only other case of a surname in the text of the 
 Roman Missal is that of St Peter Chrysologus (Golden-speeched) 
 Archbishop of Ravenna (t45o), the western counterpart of our 
 saint (December 4). 
 
 ^The others are St Gregory Nazianzene (390) and St Ignatius 
 of Constantinople ('\87y), the lawful patriarch when Photius 
 was intruded. 
 
no The Greek Fathers 
 
 1. Early years (344-369) 
 
 St John was born about the year 344 in the city 
 which was the centre of the first half of his Hfe, 
 Antioch on the Orontes, the capital of Syria. 
 Antioch in the fourth century was still one of the 
 greatest cities of the empire. Before Constanti- 
 nople arose it had been one of the three chief towns, 
 with Rome and Alexandria. Founded in 301 B.C. 
 by Seleukos I (Nikator), the first of the line of 
 Seleucid Kings of Syria^ and named by him after 
 his father Antiochos,^ under the Romans it still 
 kept its natural place as the head of Syria. It was 
 an enormous city; the great colonnade from the 
 eastern to the western gate was over five miles 
 long. About fifteen miles to the west was the har- 
 bour Seleucia ; four miles further down the Orontes 
 was the sacred grove of Daphne, to which pilgrims 
 came from every part of the empire to the oracle 
 of the far-darting Apollo. But Antioch became a 
 great centre of Christianity too. St Paul and St 
 Barnabas here "stayed the whole year in the 
 Church and taught a great crowd; so that at 
 Antioch the disciples were first called Christians" 
 (Acts, xi, 26). At the time of St John Chrysostom, 
 of its 200,000 inhabitants half were Christians. The 
 Antiochene school of theology was very famous, 
 although suspect as unsafe in doctrine, and the 
 
 ^The empire of Alexander the Great (B.C. 336-323) broke up 
 after his death, and was divided among his generals (the 
 8id5oxoL = successors). Of these successors the chief were 
 Ptolemaios in Egypt, who founded the kingdom of the 
 Ptolemies with Alexandria as capital, and this Seleukos in 
 Syria. Both lines were of course Greek, and their capitals were 
 outposts of Hellenism among barbarians. The Romans con- 
 quered Syria in 64 B.C., and Egypt in 30 B.C. 
 
 ^'AvTidxeto-, Antiochia. 
 
St John Chrysostom 1 1 1 
 
 bishop of Antioch was one of the three older 
 patriarchs. 
 
 The splendour of the great Seleucid capital has 
 gone now. You may ride from the port of Iskanderun 
 to Antakiye in a day, and you will find a little town, 
 half Turkish, half Arab, that does not fill up a tenth 
 part of the space enclosed in the old walls. Among 
 the thick olive-woods around it you will see broken 
 columns, by the mosque in the chief street ruins of 
 the old colonnade. Going out through the Moham- 
 medan tombs you come to the grove of Daphne. 
 Her laurels still tremble in the cool winds as if she 
 feared the god ; but Apollo has gone long ago. Even 
 the Christian memories hardly linger here ; of the 
 five persons who bear the splendid title of Patriarch 
 of Antioch not one now lives here.^ From the tombs 
 across the river you see the town with its minarets 
 and the great wheels that churn up the brown water 
 under the mountains on which you may trace the 
 ruins of the old walls against the sky. You may 
 try to call up the old glory of the "great and God- 
 protected city " in which Chrysostom preached. 
 While the distant wail of the Mu'ezzin tells you 
 that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is 
 the prophet of Allah, you will think that here we 
 first got our name of Christians. 
 
 Our saint's family was very wealthy and power- 
 ful. His father, Secundus, died young, soon after 
 John's birth, so that the child was educated by his 
 mother, Anthusa. St Anthusa is one of the great 
 Christian mothers who brought up their sons to be 
 famous saints. As we who honour St Augustine 
 remember St Monica, as^^the glory of St Gregory 
 
 ^The Orthodox and Melkite patriarchs hve at Damascus, 
 the Maronite at Bkerki in the Lebanon, the Jacobite at Diar- 
 bekr on the Tigris, the titular Latin patriarch at Rome. 
 
1 1 2 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Nazianzene is bound up with that of St Nonna, 
 so does Anthusa share the honour of Chrysostom. 
 He remembered always what he owed to her, and 
 later he quotes the words said to him by one of his 
 pagan teachers: "What wonderful women these 
 Christians have!" Then John went to hear the pro- 
 fessors who made Antioch famous as a centre of 
 education. Of his masters the most famous was 
 Libanios, one of the last of the old pagan philoso- 
 phers and orators, and one of the greatest. 
 Libanios, a worthy and excellent person, who was 
 one of Julian's special friends, still clung to the 
 worship of the dying gods. He shared the feeling 
 of those last Hellenes that this new religion, that 
 glorified asceticism and dreaded the world, would 
 mean the death of everything that is beautiful and 
 pleasant. They could not understand the worship 
 of a crucified God ; all the fasting and flagellations, 
 the black gowns and downcast faces of monks, 
 poverty, chastity and obedience seemed dismal 
 and horrible to them. They loved Hellas and sun- 
 light, the pleasant old feasts that scattered roses 
 over the steps of temples while the glorious statues 
 gleamed in the clear light. And they wanted the old 
 gods, Apollo and Aphrodite and Artemis, the 
 ideals of perfect beauty, and the dear homely gods 
 of wood and fountain and roadside that were so 
 easily pleased and so content to see their children 
 happy. One is not surprised that the mystic glory 
 of the Lord who reigns from the cross, the strange 
 joy of pain for Christ's sake, the silent love of the 
 good Shepherd, were as much beyond them as the 
 awful majesty of the Lord of Hosts reigning alone 
 above the distant heavens. And yet they were not 
 all intolerant, these last pagans, who still pitifully 
 burnt their incense before the dead gods. Some of 
 
St John Chrysostom 113 
 
 them, at any rate, seem to have Hved fairly peace- 
 fully among the growing crowd of Galileans. Even 
 poor Julian, who would have persecuted had he 
 dared, seems sometimes to be reaching out blindly 
 towards the Stranger who draws all things to himself. 
 And Julian's friend, Libanios, was so Uttle preju- 
 diced that it is said that when he saw the genius 
 of his pupil he wanted to resign his chair in favour 
 of John. The story shows, at any rate, that our 
 saint already then was looked upon as the most 
 distinguished student at Antioch. During this 
 time he made friends with a certain Basil, who was, 
 perhaps, the future Bishop of Raphaneia.^ After- 
 wards he began his famous treatise on the Priest- 
 hood by saying: 'T have had many friends both 
 true and dear, who kept the laws of friendship very 
 exactly. But there was one of these who was as 
 much dearer to me than the others as they were 
 dearer than mere acquaintances." This one is Basil. 
 "We followed the same studies," he goes on, "and 
 heard the same masters. We shared the same 
 enthusiasm for our studies, the same cares, the 
 same life in everything."'^ During these first years 
 then he acquired that skill in oratory that made 
 him so famous ; he learned to use the most perfect 
 language in the world as a skilful workman uses 
 a pliant tool, to persuade, frighten, amuse or rouse 
 enthusiasm. He learned, too, to read the Greek 
 classics, as his later allusions, -especially to Plato, 
 show. But John, who is the master of late Greek 
 eloquence, was by no means an unstinted admirer 
 of rhetoric. Later he has very severe things to say 
 against the art of speaking for its own sake,^ and 
 
 ^In any case not to be confused with St Basil the Great of 
 Csesarea. 
 
 ^de Sacerd. i, i. ^In Joannem i, In Genesin 22, etc. 
 
 8 
 
114 The Greek Fathers 
 
 on one occasion at least he even ventures to attack 
 Horner.^ 
 
 During these years in the world his religious 
 education was not neglected either. At first this 
 was the care of his mother, Anthusa. Later he 
 came very much under the influence of two famous 
 bishops. The first of these was the man whose 
 name is connected with a great and lamentable 
 schism — Meletios of Antioch. It would take too 
 long to tell the whole story of the Meletian schism 
 here.^ The Arians had banished Eustathios, the 
 lawful bishop of Antioch, in 330 and had set up a 
 certain Eudoxios as Arian bishop. Eustathios 
 died in 337, so the Catholics were left without a 
 lawful pastor. When Eudoxios also died, in 360, 
 the Arians chose Meletios, Bishop of Sebaste in 
 Armenia, to succeed him. But he turned out to be 
 a Catholic, so they deposed him and set up a real 
 Arian Euzoios instead. Meletios came back claim- 
 ing to be the real bishop, and no doubt all the 
 Catholics would have acknowledged him, had not 
 Lucifer of Calaris (in Sicily) ordained Paulinos as 
 successor to Eustathios. There were then two 
 Catholic bishops, Paulinos and Meletios; after 
 their deaths the rival lines were continued for 
 eighty-five years. Rome and Alexandria were on 
 the side of the line of Paulinos ; most of the Greek 
 fathers stood by Meletios and his successors. But 
 this did not produce any really bad feeling; 
 eventually it was our St John Chrysostom who 
 arranged a reconciliation between the Meletian 
 line and the Pope, after the Eustathian succes- 
 
 ^In Ep. ad Ephes. 21. 
 
 ^The best account of it is F. Cavallera : Le Schisme de M£kce 
 (Paris, Picard, 1906). The author takes Meletios' side through- 
 out. 
 
St John Chrysostom 115 
 
 sion had died out.^ Meletios was undoubtedly a 
 very good and holy person: the Roman Church 
 has admitted him to her Canon of saints. And he 
 was the first teacher and always the devoted friend 
 of Chrysostom. The other master was Diodore, 
 afterwards Bishop of Tarsos (378-394), one of 
 the founders of the famous theological school of 
 Antioch. John's writings, and especially his com- 
 mentaries on the Bible, show how much he was 
 influenced by Diodore. 
 
 Our saint had no period of worldliness to regret 
 in after years. On the contrary, from the begin- 
 ning he was veiy pious and exact in his duties, and 
 already in these first years he felt strongly drawn 
 to join one of the communities of monks that were 
 set up all over Syria. It was his mother, Anthusa, 
 who persuaded him not to leave her "doubly a 
 widow" ^ as long as she lived. John may then have 
 contemplated the career of an orator at first, 
 though it is mxore likely that he was only waiting 
 till Anthusa died to leave the world and be a monk. 
 And all this time he was, according to the strange 
 and dangerous practice of that time, not yet bap- 
 tized. In later years he, too, like aU the Greek 
 fathers, protested against the custom of putting 
 off baptism till a man was grown up.^ 
 
 2. Baptism. Life as a monk (369-380) 
 
 In 369, when he was about twenty-five years 
 old, he was baptized by Meletios, who ordained 
 him Reader (apayvooorr)'!^) soon after. A certain 
 
 ^St John and Theophilos of Alexandria arranged that Flavian, 
 the Meletian bishop, should send an embassy to Pope Siricius 
 (384-399) under Akakios of Berrhoea in 398 and that the Pope 
 should acknowledge him (Sozomenos, viii, 3 ; Sokrates v, 15; 
 Theodoretos v, 23). 
 
 ^de sac. i, 5. ^In Act. Ap. i, In Ep. ad Hebr. 13. 
 
ii6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Karterios at that time had a kind of monastery at 
 Antioch itself.^ Diodore was one of the leaders of 
 this congregation. John was influenced by these 
 holy men, too, and confirmed in his wish to flee the 
 world. Then Anthusa died, apparently about the 
 year 373. At the same time there was a proposal to 
 make both friends, John and Basil, bishops. This 
 scheme led to a quarrel between them. John 
 thought that Basil would make a very good 
 bishop, but was diffident about his own worth. 
 So he let Basil think that he fell in with the scheme 
 and then, as soon as Basil was ordained, John ran 
 away and hid in the mountains.^ Basil was very 
 much annoyed, thinking that his friend had played 
 an unworthy trick on him.^ They made up the 
 quarrel eventually, and St John's treatise on the 
 Priesthood was written as an excuse for what he 
 had done, and dedicated to Basil as an apology. 
 
 He was then able to realize his old wish to be a 
 monk. For four years he lived in a community 
 somewhere in the mountains not far from Antioch ; 
 then he retired still more and spent two years as a 
 hermit quite alone in a cave. During all the rest of 
 his life he suffered from ill-health as the result of 
 his over-great mortifications during this time. But 
 he was not destined to remain a monk always. On 
 the contrary, he was to fill a very important place 
 in the world. These six years must be considered as 
 a time of preparation for the great career that was 
 to follow. In about 380 he came back to Antioch, 
 
 ^Sozomenos, H.E.viii, 2. It would hardly be considered a real 
 monastery since one of the first principles of monasticism then 
 was literally to go away from the world to some place in the 
 desert. And Karterios' establishment was in the middle of the 
 city. At any rate it was a school of perfection in which people 
 lived like monks. 
 
 ^de sac. i, 6. ^Ib», i, 7. 
 
St John Chrysostom 117 
 
 either because his health could not stand a hermit's 
 life or because he understood that he had a work 
 to do in the Church. He has now conquered his 
 former fear of being ordained and takes his place 
 as the most important priest in his own city, till he 
 leaves it to be Patriarch of Constantinople. 
 
 3. Ordination. Preacher at Antioch 
 (381-397) 
 
 In 381 Meletios ordained John deacon. In 386 
 Flavian, successor of Meletios (t386) in that line, 
 ordains him priest. He was then about forty years 
 old. Some of his earliest works, notably his treatise 
 on Virginity (p. 146) were written before he was 
 known, during the very first years of his career as 
 a deacon and priest. Then Flavian gives him a 
 special mission as preacher, and for twelve years, 
 till he goes to Constantinople in 398, he is the most 
 famous Christian orator of Antioch, gradually 
 becoming the most famous preacher in the world. 
 He preached once a week on Sundays, sometimes 
 on Saturdays too. His sermons were held in all 
 the churches of the city, but especially in the great 
 Golden Church built by Constantine.^ During this 
 time then, especially, he earned his name of 
 "Golden-mouthed." And the Antiochenes, eager 
 lovers of eloquence like all Greeks, were in rap- 
 tures about their preacher. We have a long series 
 of homilies on different books of the Bible from 
 these years at Antioch, catechisms addressed 
 
 ^This Golden Church was the chief pride of Christian Antioch ; 
 it was a round, or rather eight-sided building, looked upon as 
 the most splendid church in the empire. The Patriarchs of 
 Antioch still bear a representation of it as their arms. Eastern 
 bishops have no cathedrals in our sense ; or rather every church 
 is their cathedral. Each has a permanent bishop's throne 
 against the south side of the Ikonostasis, facing the people. 
 
ii8 The Greek Fathers 
 
 during Lent to the "competentes," who were to be 
 baptized on Easter eve, and sermons preached on 
 special occasions, of which the most famous is that 
 about the Statues. Gradually he felt his power, and 
 he did not hesitate to allude to it. Every one knew 
 that his sermons were the great events of the week. 
 "You wait for my words like little swallows looking 
 for food from their mother," he says,^ and another 
 time, when he had been away for a short time, he 
 says that it has seemed long to him and he is quite 
 sure it has seemed long to them too.^ It would take 
 much space to tell in detail all the qualities of his 
 eloquence. In splendid and sonorous Greek he 
 produces his effect each time irresistibly. His flow 
 of words is amazing; he adorns his speech with 
 every ornament of rhetoric. Sometimes he is 
 majestic and splendid, and then he suddenly comes 
 down to pleasant familiarity. He is indignant, and 
 the sentences roll like thunder; he is pathetic, 
 and it is all tears and woe. Or he argues subtly, 
 persuasively, he pleads tenderly, he threatens 
 awfully. He weaves chains of argument or paints 
 pictures, teaches, exhorts and carries every one 
 with him up to some crashing climax. One is not 
 surprised that every Greek preacher down to our 
 own time tries to model himself on Chrysostom 
 and that still, on the rare occasions when you may 
 hear a sermon in an Orthodox church, you are sur- 
 prised to notice that the homely language of the 
 preacher suddenly stops, and that under the low 
 cupolas rolls a splendid sentence, pompous and 
 magnificent, that he has learned by heart from 
 Chrysostom. We are told that our saint, in order 
 to have more opportunity for his effects, in order 
 to be seen by every one, instead of standing in the 
 
 ^In. Hoc auiem scitote. ^In. In facie ei restiti. 
 
St John Chrysostom 119 
 
 usual place in the presbytery before the Ikonostasis 
 went up into the ambo. This ambo, degraded from 
 its original use as the place from which the readings 
 are made, has become our modern pulpit. 
 
 His most famous sermons of all are about the 
 Statues. 
 
 4. The affair of the statues (387) 
 
 In 387 happened one of the riots against the 
 government that continually disturbed the Syrian 
 towns, especially Antioch. These Syrians, like the 
 Egyptians, were never very loyal to the empire 
 into which they had been forced. Later, Syria and 
 Egypt fell away at once when the Moslem came 
 (637 and 641). This time it was some grievance 
 about the taxes— probably a very real one — that 
 made the people commit a mad offence. They 
 rushed to the agora, burnt down a part of the 
 town and knocked over the statues of the Emperor 
 Theodosius (379-395), his wife and sons. Now as 
 for burning down houses, that mattered less, but 
 to upset the emperor's statue ! Theodosius was not 
 a man to pass over Icse-majeste lightly. It was sheer 
 high treason. As soon as the people had done so, 
 they seem to have realized their danger. A few 
 years later Theodosius killed every man, woman 
 and child in Thessalonica for a sedition of this kind/ 
 and the Antiochenes seem to have known their 
 master's character. So they go to their bishop's 
 house and implore him to set out at once for Con- 
 stantinople to intercede for them. Flavian, the 
 patriarch, was a very old man, but he did not 
 hesitate to do as they wished. Meanwhile the gover- 
 nor, the ''Count of the East," began to apply the 
 
 ^It was for this crime that St Ambrose made him do pubHc 
 penance. 
 
I20 The Greek Fathers 
 
 punishment. All the members of the Senate who had 
 not fled were at once put in gaol, and awful threats 
 were heard of what Caesar would do to people who 
 upset his statue. To lose their rights as citizens for 
 ever, to have Antioch reduced to a village, and 
 long prison for all the leaders was the very least 
 they could expect. They would be lucky if a troop 
 of soldiers was not sent to hang and burn them. 
 
 During the Lent of 387, while Flavian was away 
 and every one trembled at their danger, John 
 preached his twenty-one homilies on the affair of the 
 statues. He begins by reminding them that he had 
 already complained of their unruly habits. He 
 says that many citizens are decent, law-abiding 
 folk, but that a crowd of lazy riotous strangers has 
 long disturbed the city, and now they see the 
 result. *Tf to-day we are all in such fear, it is the 
 fault of these people. If we had driven them out or 
 made them behave decently, we should not now 
 be in this danger. I know quite well that good 
 manners are practised here, but these strangers,^ 
 a crew lost to all shame, who have long given up 
 trying to save their souls — these are the people 
 who have brought about all this trouble. You 
 suffer for their crimes, and now God has allowed 
 this insult to the emperor in order to punish us for 
 our carelessness."^ But all through that Lent he 
 comforts the people, tells them to bear whatever 
 may happen as a punishment for their sins, but 
 to hope for the best, and, above all, to trust in God. 
 
 ^The strangers are the barbarous Syrians from the country 
 round, the decent citizens are the Greeks of the city Hke him- 
 self. No Greek, not even a Greek saint, could ever stand the 
 native population of the place where he is. This passage is 
 amusingly like the way Macedonian Greeks talk of Bulgars and 
 Serbs and Vlachs. 
 
 ^Hom. i, de StaUtis. 
 
St John Chrysostom 121 
 
 And then at Easter came the most glorious news. 
 Flavian had seen the emperor and had persuaded 
 him to forgive the rebellion. The commissioners, 
 who had already started to inflict a most awful 
 punishment on the city, were recalled; the affair 
 would be passed over this time. The messengers 
 from Flavian arrive as the first dawn of the Easter 
 sun lightens the sky ; he himself is on his way back 
 and will arrive very soon. So on that Easter morn- 
 ing St John went up into his ambo and preached 
 the Homily on the return of Flavian. One would 
 like to quote nearly all of what is the most perfect 
 example of his eloquence and from every point of 
 view his most famous sermon. "With the word with 
 which I began to speak to you during the time of 
 danger I begin again to-day, and I say with you: 
 Blessed be God. Blessed be God who allows us to 
 keep this holy feast with so great joy and delight, 
 who gives the shepherd (Flavian) back to his 
 sheep, the master to his disciples, the bishop to 
 his priests. Blessed be God who has done more 
 than we either asked or even hoped. "^ " Who 
 would have thought," he says, "that our father 
 in so short a time would be able to see the emperor, 
 take away all danger and come back to keep the 
 holy Pasch with us?" "God has used this danger 
 to give greater honour to the city, to the bishop, 
 and to the prince." He develops these three points. 
 The city has acquired honour by the patience and 
 courage of the citizens in so great a danger and 
 because they sought comfort from God. "When 
 those who are in prison heard on all sides that the 
 emperor's fury was growing, that he would destroy 
 the city from top to bottom, they still kept up 
 their courage. They said: *We trust not in man, 
 
 ^In reditum Flav. i. 
 
122 The Greek Fathers 
 
 but in Almighty God. We are sure that all will end 
 well, for it cannot be that this hope be in vain/ " 
 Then comes glowing praise of the bishop who in his 
 great age put aside every fear to try to save his 
 people, as Moses offered himself for the Jews. And 
 the emperor, too, has acquired undying honour. 
 "What has happened gives him more glory than his 
 diadem, for he has shown that he will listen to a 
 bishop where he would not hear any one else, and 
 he has at once forgiven so great an injury and has 
 silenced his own just anger. "^ Then comes an 
 account of Flavian's interview with Theodosius, 
 how he pleaded and how the emperor forgave. 
 And Theodosius, by his noble generosity, has built 
 himself a monument in the hearts of the people of 
 Antioch that no riot can ever overturn, his mercy is 
 mightier than his armies, more precious than his 
 treasures. Never again will the citizens of this great 
 city forget what they owe to so noble a prince. The 
 emperor had told Flavian to hurry back with the 
 good news. "Go,'' he said, "at once and reassure 
 them. I know that they are frightened. When they 
 see you again they will forget the storm. And pray 
 for me that all these wars and troubles may come to 
 an end, and some day I will come to visit Antioch 
 myself." "Let the heathen," says the preacher, 
 "be confounded, or, rather, let them be instructed, 
 now that prince and bishop have shown them 
 what our philosophy is."^ "Now let Antioch adorn 
 her squares with garlands, let torches blaze and 
 green boughs wave throughout the city, rejoice 
 as if it had been founded again!" "Teach this 
 story to your children, and let them tell it to future 
 generations, that all may know for all time how 
 great is the mercy of God to this city." "And let us 
 
 Ub. 3. 2/5. 16. 
 
St John Chrysostom 123 
 
 always give thanks to God the Lover of men^ both 
 for our safety now and for the danger he allowed, 
 since we know that he ordains all things for our 
 good. And may we always taste of his mercy in 
 this world and come at last to the kingdom of 
 Heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom 
 be glory and power for ever. Amen.""^ 
 
 5. Ghrysostom's theology 
 
 During the next ten years St John went on with 
 his ofhce as preacher, and in a long series of ser- 
 mons developed his ideas on every part of the life 
 of a Christian. He preached continually on the duty 
 of helping the poor, he is indignant at the luxury of 
 the rich. He tells his people to be ashamed of pro- 
 perty that they have amassed by pettifogging 
 traffic, by buying cheap and selling dear, or, worse 
 still, by lending out money at usury. ^ He has no 
 tolerance for social distinctions; God gave us all 
 the same father, Adam.* Rich people are worse 
 than wild beasts. "Weep," he says to those who 
 are down in the world, "weep as I do, not for your- 
 selves, but for those who despoil you. Their lot is 
 worse than yours. "^ He wants people who are well 
 off to keep a permanent guest-house for poor 
 travellers. "Have at least such a place by your 
 stables. Christ comes to you in the form of the poor. 
 Let Christ, at least, use your stable. You shudder 
 at such an idea. It is still worse not to receive him 
 at all."^ He does not like slavery, though no one \ 
 then thought it absolutely incompatible with 
 
 ^ 6 dehs 6 cpLXdi'dpcoiros is a favourite expression with Chrysos- 
 tom ; it continually occurs in his liturgy. 
 
 2/6., the end. 
 
 ^E. gr., In Ep. i, ad Thess. lo; In Ep. i, ad Cor. 39; In 
 Matth. 56. 
 
 */« Ep. ad Cor. 34. ^In Ep. i, ad Tim, 12. ^In Act. Ap. 4^. 
 
124 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Christianity. At least persons must treat their 
 slaves justly and kindly. As for the crowd of 
 useless servants who hang round a rich man's 
 house, " teach them a trade by which they can earn 
 their living honestly and buy their freedom."^ 
 
 He has much to say about the sanctity of mar- 
 riage and about the duties of parents towards 
 their children. Marriage should not be put off till 
 too late, because of the danger of such a course 
 to young people. He insists on the equality of 
 husband and wife. Infidelity is just as bad, just 
 as disgraceful in a man as in a woman. ^ He thinks 
 that each have their proper duties. "God has not 
 given the same life to men as to women. The house 
 for the wife, the public square for the husband. 
 The man works in the field, the woman weaves her 
 children's clothes."^ He thinks that a man's wife 
 must have great influence over him; the husband 
 will listen to her when he will not take advice 
 from a stranger. She must use this influence in 
 the right way.^ But he has great and splendid 
 things to say of celibacy and of the higher path of 
 those who give up all these things to live only for 
 God. He wrote, besides his treatise on Virginity, 
 another Against those who attack the monastic life 
 (p. 146). He is indignant against the old pagan 
 customs that still survived at marriages and funerals, 
 and for funerals especially he explains exactly 
 what rites are really Christian, and how people 
 may show their grief without mourning like them 
 that have no hope.^ He preached very strongly 
 against theatres and circuses. It should be added 
 that both at that time were still at the level of the 
 
 ^In Ep. i, ad Cor. 40. ^ad Stagirum. ii. 
 
 ^In Ep. i, ad Cor. 34. */» Joann. 61. 
 
 ^De dormientibus , passim, etc. 
 
St John Chrysostom 125 
 
 late Roman performances, in which the place of 
 the old Greek poetry and skill was taken by luxu- 
 rious extravagance and gross indecency. St John's 
 homily on Shows,'^ even if one allows a margin for 
 rhetoric, contains descriptions of a quite shameless 
 state of things. He sees in the theatre the source of 
 idleness, dissatisfaction with real life and especially 
 immorality. One can then understand how indig- 
 nant he was when on one occasion he found his 
 church almost empty because every one had gone 
 to the circus.^ St John is one of the most enthu- 
 siastic admirers of the Bible. By far the greater 
 number of his sermons are explanations of parts of 
 it; taken together, they form a complete com- 
 mentary on the chief books, from the sixty-seven 
 homilies on Genesis to the thirty-four on Hebrews. 
 In the middle ages his exposition of the Psalms, 
 and especially the thirty-two sermons on Romans, 
 were the most admired. Isidore of Pelusium 
 (fc. 440) says of these: "Had St Paul himself 
 explained his ideas in Attic Greek, he would not 
 have used other language than this."^ Chrysostom 
 had a special devotion to St Paul; it was he who 
 made the saying that became a proverb, "The 
 heart of Paul was the heart of Christ."'* 
 
 Most of the Doctors of the Church have some 
 one point of the faith of which they are the 
 classic exponers ; thus, St Athanasius is the doctor 
 of the Divinity of Christ, St Augustine is the 
 "Mouth of the Church about Grace." By universal 
 consent, St John Chrysostom is looked upon as the 
 great defender of the holy Eucharist. He is the 
 
 ^Contra circenses ludos et theatra (Ivi, 263-270). 
 ^Hom. vi, in Gen. 
 
 ^Isid. Pelus. Ep. v, 32. MPL, Ixxviii, 1348. 
 '^Cov Pauli cor Christi erat is constantly quoted in the 
 Middle Ages. 
 
126 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Doctor Eucharisticus. The blessed Sacrament and 
 the Real Presence are the subjects to which he 
 turns most often ; his writings on this question form 
 a complete defence and exposition of the teaching 
 of the Catholic Church about her most sacred in- 
 heritance. In his Homilies on the sixth chapter of 
 St John he develops the ideas that our Lord has 
 given us "Bread from Heaven, that he who eats 
 it may not perish," that he himself is the ''Living 
 Bread that came down from heaven," that we are to 
 "eat his Body and drink his Blood." "We must 
 listen," says Chrysostom,"to this teaching with fear, 
 because what we have to say to-day is very awful. "^ 
 He points to the altar and says, "Christ lies there 
 sacrificed,"^ "His Body lies before us,"^ "That 
 which is there in the chalice is what flowed from 
 the side of Christ. What is the Bread? The Body of 
 Christ."^ "Think, man, what sacrifice you receive 
 in your hand (people took the blessed Sacrament 
 in their right hands), what altar you approach. 
 Consider that you, dust and ashes, receive the 
 Body and Blood of Christ."^ We not only see the 
 Lord, "we take him in our hand, eat, our teeth 
 pierce his flesh, that we may be closely joined to 
 him."^ "What he did not allow on the cross, that 
 he allows now at the Liturgy ; for your sake he is 
 broken, that aU may receive."' "It is not a man 
 who causes the Offering to become the Body and 
 Blood of Christ, but he himself who died for us. 
 The priest stands there as his minister when he 
 
 ^Hom,, xlvii, i. 
 
 ^Hom. i de prod. Judce. (xlix, 381). 
 ^Hom. L in Matth. n, 2. (Iviii, 507). 
 ^Horn. xxiv in i Cor. 1,2 (Ixi, 200). 
 ^Hom. in nat. D.N.I, ch. 7 (xlix, 361). 
 ^Hom. xlvi in J oh. 3 (lix. 260). 
 'Horn, xxiv in i Cor. 2 (Ixi, 200). 
 
St John Chrysostom 127 
 
 speaks the words, but the power and grace come 
 from the Lord. This is my Body, he says. This word 
 changes the Offering."^ "With confidence we 
 receive your gift," he says in a prayer, "and 
 because of your word we firmly beheve that we 
 receive a pledge of eternal life, because you say so. 
 Lord, Son of God, who live with the Father in 
 eternal life. "^ 
 
 In other points of the faith Chrysostom stands 
 where we should expect an orthodox and Catholic 
 father of the fourth century to stand. One need 
 hardly say that he is uncompromisingly Homousian 
 and that he anathematizes the Arian heresy, which 
 indeed was dying out fast in his time. He was a 
 friend of Theodore of Mopsuestia (I428), who 
 afterwards was looked upon as the father of the 
 Nestorian heresy, but there is no trace of Nesto- 
 rianism in Chrysostom. He beheved that our Lord 
 had two natures as firmly as that he was one per- 
 son. "When I say one Christ, I mean a union, not 
 a mixture, so that one nature was not absorbed 
 in the other, but was united to it."^ One could not 
 wish for a more accurate statement. The two chief 
 heresies in his time were Marcionism and Mani- 
 cheisni, and against both he preached continually. 
 He spoke very strongly against pagan superstitions, 
 amulets, auguries, omens and so on. He honoured 
 saints^ and relics and gave absolution from sins. 
 
 '-' ^Hom. I and 2 de prod. Judce. 6 (xlix, 380 and 389). This text 
 shows plainly that St John beheved that the words of Institu- 
 tion and not the Epiklesis consecrate. 
 
 ^Hom. xlvii in Joh. See also Horn, xxiv in i Cor. i ; De 
 Sacerd. iii, 4 ("You see the Lord lying sacrificed and the priest 
 offering and pra\dng, and the tongue reddened with the 
 Precious Blood" — a favourite expression with Chrysostom), 
 Horn. Ixxxii in Matth. Catech. ii, 2, etc., etc. 
 
 ^Hom. wiiin Phil. 2, 3 (Ixii, 231, 232). 
 
 *For instance in his sermon on SS Berenice and Prosdoce: 
 
128 The Greek Fathers 
 
 When he was accused at the Oak-tree Synod 
 (p. 136) one charge was that he was even too lax in 
 teaching the ease with which sins can be forgiven. 
 "If you sin again," he is reported to have said, "do 
 penance again ; as often as you sin come to me and 
 I will heal you." Only on one point does he some- 
 times use doubtful expressions. He knew nothing 
 of the Pelagian heresy, which did not begin (411) 
 till after his death. He always spoke strongly 
 against the Manichees, who said that all matter is 
 bad, and in his zeal to defend the holiness of 
 nature he sometimes uses expressions that seem 
 to exalt it at the cost of grace. ^ Julian of Eclanum, 
 the Pelagian, afterwards quoted such passages, so 
 as to claim Chrysostom for his side. To whom 
 St Augustine opposes texts from the same saint 
 that prove the contrary, and says very truly: 
 "What is the good of scrutinizing the works of 
 persons who had no need of caution in this difficult 
 question, since they wrote before the heresy had 
 begun. Certainly they would have been more 
 careful if they had been obliged to answer objec- 
 tions in this matter."^ 
 
 "Not only on this their feast, but on other days too, let us 
 cling to them, pray to them, beg them to be our patrons. For 
 not only living but also dead they have great favour with God, 
 indeed even greater favour now that they are dead. For now they 
 bear wounds suffered for Christ, and by showing these there is 
 nothing that they cannot obtain of the King." (Hom. de 
 SS Berenice et Prosdoce, 7). 
 
 ^Hom, in Rom. v, Hom, xii in Hebr. Hom, xlii in Gen. i. I 
 have quoted some such passages in the Orth. Eastern Church, 
 p. 109. 
 
 ^De presdest. SS. xiv, 27. He quotes as anti-Pelagian passages 
 in Chrysostom Ep. iii, ad Olymp. De Resurr. Lazari, Hom. 
 ix in Gen. Hom. de Baptizatis. Hom. x in Rom. It is curious to 
 note that Chrysostom, the Eucharistic Doctor, has some 
 doubtful passages about Grace, and that Augustine, the 
 Doctor of Grace, has some inaccurate places about the 
 Eucharist. 
 
St John Chrysostom 129 
 
 That St John beUeved in the Primacy and uni- 
 versal jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome, he showed 
 very plainly when his own trouble came and he 
 appealed to the Holy See to judge between him 
 and his enemies (below, p. 139). On one point espe- 
 cially his ideas will please a modern reader. He was 
 on the whole tolerant, much more so than anyone 
 else at that time. "Least of all," he writes, "should 
 Christians try to convert sinners by force. Judges 
 punish criminals and make them change their 
 ways, even if unwillingly. But we must call such 
 people to better things, not by force but by per- 
 suasion. The law gives us no right to punish, and 
 even if it did we might not use such a right, 
 because God will not reward people who are com- 
 pelled to change their lives, but only those who 
 freely do so from conviction."^ 
 
 So John spent eleven years preaching as a priest 
 at Antioch. Then came the great change in his life 
 when he was called away to fill what was already 
 practically the chief place in eastern Christendom. 
 
 6. Patriarch of Constantinople (398) 
 
 In 397 Nektarios of Constantinople died. There 
 were several candidates for the succession. Theo- 
 philos of Alexandria, representing the former 
 chief eastern see that had been reduced in rank 
 by the advance of New Rome, who, like all the 
 Egyptians, was jealous of the new patriarchate 
 of Constantinople, had a candidate of his own, 
 through whom he hoped to rule over that see as 
 well as over his own. But John of Antioch was 
 already a very famous man throughout the east. 
 The news of his wonderful power as orator, of his 
 
 '^de Sac. ii. 3. He did not always quite act up to these 
 principles. 
 
 9 
 
i3o The Greek Fathers 
 
 holiness and unquestioned orthodoxy, had long 
 reached the capital; so he was elected by the clergy 
 to fill the place Nektarios had left. Theophilos 
 concealed his annoyance and himself ordained 
 the new bishop on Feb. 26, 398. So popular was 
 John at Antioch that they had to smuggle him 
 away in secret, lest the people should make a rebel- 
 lion rather than lose him. It is curious that the two 
 people concerned in his appointment at Constan- 
 tinople, Theophilos, who ordained him, and the 
 Eunuch Eutropios, the favourite of the Emperor 
 Arcadius, were the very two men who became his 
 chief enemies afterwards. 
 
 As Patriarch of Constantinople^ John continued 
 his work as preacher. He preached here, too, con- 
 stantly ; but from this moment the main interest of 
 his life is no longer in his sermons, but in the grave 
 political troubles that led to his two banishments. 
 Theodosius the Great (379-395) was dead. The 
 empire was divided between his two sons; 
 Arcadius (395-408) ruled in the east, Honorius 
 (395-423) in the west. Theodosius was the last 
 emperor who ruled the whole empire; this 
 division of east and west, first made by Diocle- 
 tian (284-305), joined together again by Constan- 
 tine (323-337), now becomes a permanent state of 
 things. The two halves were never united again. ^ 
 
 ^The title Patriarch was used loosely for a long time {Orth. 
 Eastern Ch., p. 8). Constantinople did not, perhaps, become 
 strictly what we should call a patriarchal see till the Council 
 of Chalcedon (45 1 , Can. 28 ; which even then was not recognized 
 by Rome). But it was already (since Canon 3 of the second 
 general Council, 381) practically the chief see in the east, 
 "having the primacy of honour after Rome." It does not appear 
 that St John ever spoke of himself as Patriarch. 
 
 ^The western half of the empire came to an end with 
 Romulus Augustulus in 476. The right over the whole then fell 
 back on the eastern line at Constantinople. But, in spite of 
 Justinian I (527-565) 's heroic efforts, the emperors never got 
 
St John Chrysostom 131 
 
 There is not much good to be said of Arcadius. 
 He was at the mercy of a succession of court 
 favourites; and his wife Eudoxia, who was tho- 
 roughly bad, gradually got hold of the administra- 
 tion. This Eudoxia became the great enemy of the 
 patriarch. 
 
 7. Eutropios's disgrace (399) 
 
 The first trouble was the affair of the eunuch 
 Eutropios. He was the all-powerful favourite. 
 In 399 he made the emperor name him Consul, and 
 for a time he practically ruled the empire. Like all 
 such court favourites, he ruled abominably badly. 
 He sold offices and justice, robbed the public 
 funds and was an example of every kind of shame- 
 less immorality. The patriarch was not likely to 
 bear with such a person, even if he were a Consul; 
 so soon after John's ordination we find him alluding 
 plainly to these scandals in his sermons.^ He remon- 
 strated with Eutropios personally, but that only 
 led to a greater quarrel. The Consul especially 
 found the right of sanctuary inconvenient. At 
 that time, as still in many eastern lands, certain 
 places of refuge were allowed, so that criminals 
 who could reach them were safe. These sanctuaries 
 had been the temples; then naturally churches 
 took their place. The right was recognized by the 
 government; how far such a chance of escape for 
 criminals would be an advantage to society in a 
 well-ordered state is another question. At any rate, 
 in a troubled and violent time it gave a man a 
 chance of escaping the first burst of rage against 
 
 back any real authority in the west, except intermittently in 
 Southern Italy and Sicily. And in 800 with Charles the Great 
 begins a permanent rival line of emperors in the west. 
 
 ^In the vii Hom. in Ep. ad Coloss. and the second in Ep. ad 
 Philipp. 
 
132 The Greek Fathers 
 
 him. He could take sanctuary, prepare his defence 
 at leisure and then, if he were judged innocent, 
 come out. The right of taking sanctuary existed 
 in the west, too, all through the middle ages. To 
 violate sanctuary and drag a man away from his 
 refuge in the church was a specially heinous form 
 of sacrilege.^ St John then stood out for this right; 
 on several occasions people attacked by Eutropios 
 managed to escape him by taking sanctuary. So Eu- 
 tropios found the law inconvenient and persuaded 
 Arcadius to abolish it. The patriarch refused to 
 recognize its abolition and the question further 
 embittered the Consul against him. Now comes 
 the dramatic moment of this story. Suddenly 
 Eutropios fell, as such favourites do fall. He had 
 offended the empress, the court gave him up and 
 all the long list of his crimes were on his head — 
 treason, bribery, evil administration, robbery, 
 corruption, injustice, violence and murder. He had 
 no chance for his life, except one. He fled from 
 the guards who sought him and took sanctuary 
 in John's church. And the patriarch, true to his 
 principles, in this case, too, defended the right in 
 favour of the man who had abolished it. The sol- 
 diers surrounded the church and clamoured for 
 Eutropios; they did not dare break in. John 
 refused to give him up and protected him till he 
 could get away to Cyprus. The picture of the fallen 
 eunuch, who had abolished sanctuary, cowering 
 at the altar and Chrysostom, his enemy, standing 
 over him and protecting him, is one of the vivid 
 scenes that has taken hold of the imagination of 
 people in those parts. ^ Nor did the saint fail to 
 
 ^Among the forms of sacrilegium locale in the old books of 
 law will be found violatio asyli. 
 
 21 have seen boys at a Greek school playing at this scene; 
 it is constantly reproduced in pictures. 
 
St John Chrysostom 133 
 
 improve the occasion in two Homilies on the fall of 
 Eutropios. 
 
 8. The Synod at the oak tree and first 
 exile (403) 
 
 A more serious trouble was the quarrel between 
 the patriarch and the empress. Eudoxia offended 
 the saint in many ways. She was vain and frivo- 
 lous; she set the fashion of wearing false hair, 
 painting cheeks and aping the manners of a young 
 girl among matrons. These were the very vanities 
 that had long moved the saint's indignation at 
 Antioch. He did not abate a jot of his denunciation 
 of them at Constantinople, in spite of the danger 
 of offending the empress. Worse still, she mis- 
 governed the empire. She had robbed a widow of 
 her field; there were other cases of tyranny and 
 injustice committed by her. Against all these 
 things the patriarch spoke openly. So very soon 
 he knew that he had to count this lady as his 
 enemy. She hated him and began to consider how 
 she could get rid of him. Then came a great quarrel 
 with Theophilos of Alexandria. We have seen that 
 Theophilos had had other plans for the succession at 
 Constantinople. Although he had pretended to give 
 in and had himself ordained John, he was always 
 secretly his enemy. Now his enmity breaks out 
 openly. 
 
 Origenes (f 254), the greatest scholar of the 
 eastern Church, perhaps the most wonderful 
 genius of all Christian writers, was destined to be 
 the source of endless disputes for centuries after 
 his death. He is the father of the fathers of the 
 Church. Every school had learned from him; but, 
 on the other hand, he was more than suspect of 
 various heretical opinions. He had been a Sub- 
 
134 The Greek Fathers 
 
 ordinationist^ and a Chiliast,^ and had taught the 
 pre-existence of souls. So for centuries the fathers 
 were divided between his ardent admirers, who 
 forgave or ignored these errors, and his enemies, 
 who looked upon him as the father of all heresies.^ 
 This question, then, was the immediate ostensible 
 cause of the quarrel between Theophilos of Alex- 
 andria and John of Constantinople. Theophilos 
 had in his patriarchate many monks, and monks 
 were nearly always Origenists. Chief among these 
 Origenist monks were four who were called by the 
 strange name of the "Tall Brothers."^ The 
 
 ^That is that he taught that the Son of God was less great 
 than the Father; Subordinationism was the forerunner of 
 Arianism. 
 
 ^Chiliasm (=:Millennialism) was the beUef in the end of all evil, 
 a reign of Christ for i ,000 years on earth, the conversion of the 
 devil, and all evil spirits, the end of hell, and a final restoration 
 of all things in God. 
 
 ^The question of Origenes comes up again and again, and 
 continually severs the best friends. Gregory Thaumaturgos 
 (1270), Pamphilos of Berytos (fsog) and Dionysios the Great 
 (of Alexandria, 1264) were his most devoted disciples and 
 admirers. In a less degree Basil (t379), Gregory of Nazianzos 
 (t39o). Gregory of Nyssa (tc.395), our John Chrysostom (t407) 
 were counted Origenists, so was the whole school of Antioch, 
 and countless monks everywhere. Among his uncompromising 
 enemies were Methodios of Olympios (fc.312), Theophilos, 
 this Patriarch of Alexandria (f4i2), most of the Alexandrine 
 school, and many Latins. St Jerome (t42o) had been an 
 Origenist, but becam.e a violent partisan of the other side, and 
 had a tremendous quarrel with Rufinus (t4io) about this 
 question. Origenes comes up again all through the troubles of 
 the sixth century, and once more the burning question was 
 whether he should be considered a heretic or a father of the 
 Church. Eventually the fifth general Council (Constantinople II 
 in 553) declared against him (Can, 11). For all that Origenes' 
 influence, on eastern theology especially, has been enormous; 
 all their metaphysic and still more their exegesis can be traced 
 back to him. Even the men who most attacked him (including 
 St. Jerome) owed far more to him than they would ever con- 
 fess. 
 
 *0Z fiaKpol d5eX0ot'. Their real names were Dioskuros, 
 Ammonios, Euscbios and Euthymios. 
 
St John Chrysostom 135 
 
 patriarch held a synod in 399, condemned Ori- 
 genes and forbade his writings. The Tall Brothers 
 then refused to accept his decision. They were 
 joined by a priest named Isidore, who had quar- 
 relled with Theophilos. The brothers and Isidore 
 escape from Egypt, where their patriarch meant 
 to punish them, come to Constantinople and beg 
 John to protect them. St John behaved very 
 prudently. When he had heard their tale he 
 allowed them to lodge in a monastery, but would 
 not admit them to communion till he had heard 
 from their own bishop. So he writes to Theophilos 
 asking him what it is all about. Meanwhile there 
 was already a strong party in his own city against 
 him. The leader was the empress. She was furious 
 because she had heard the patriarch in a sermon 
 speak of Jezebel, and she thought he meant her. 
 Very likely he did. That she was a Jezebel is abun- 
 dantly evident. Then there were three bishops, 
 some monks and a good many ladies who did not 
 like the patriarch's sermons. The bishops and monks 
 thought him too severe, and the ladies could not 
 bear his ideas about wigs and painted faces. Two 
 deacons whom he had suspended for bad conduct 
 joined the party. So the empress persuades Theo- 
 philos to come to Constantinople, on the strength 
 of this affair of the Tall Brothers, and to hold a 
 synod against John. Theophilos came in 403. He 
 had, of course, no shadow of right to judge the 
 patriarch of Constantinople; it was an additional 
 insult to do so in that patriarch's own city. He 
 brought a number of his Egyptians with him; 
 joined with the rebellious Byzantines they held a 
 synod of thirty-six bishops. They sat at Chalce- 
 don,^ across the water, in a property that pos- 
 
 ^Chalcedon, where the fourth General Council was held in 
 
136 The Greek Fathers 
 
 sessed that rare adornment in those parts — a 
 splendid oak tree. This is the famous Oak-Tree 
 Synod [arvvoSog eirl tI}v Spvv, Synodus ad quer- 
 cum) in 403. From the saint's sermon after his 
 return from exile and Photius' collection^ we know 
 what the case against St John was. The points 
 are so absurdly frivolous that it is quite evident 
 that he was condemned really only because the 
 empress wanted to get rid of him. He was charged 
 with having suspended a deacon who had beaten 
 his slave, with being friendly towards pagans, with 
 squandering Church property in almsgiving, with 
 treating his clergy harshly and saying they were 
 not worth three oboles, with being too easy in for- 
 giving sins, eating honey-cakes, making classical 
 allusions in his sermons, exciting the lower classes 
 and interfering in Theophilos' jurisdiction by 
 receiving the Tall Brothers. This last accusation is 
 a most brazen piece of impudence. He had done 
 nothing of the kind, as we have seen. And if Theo- 
 philos was so jealous of patriarchal independence, 
 what was he doing at Chalcedon? Lastly comes the 
 real matter, a vague allusion to treason against 
 the empress. John naturally refused to attend this 
 entirely uncanonical synod. So he was declared 
 contumacious, deposed and sentenced to banish- 
 ment. When he heard his sentence, he preached a 
 famous sermon. "Tell me, what am I to fear? Death? 
 Christ is my life and death my gain (Phil, i, 21). 
 Banishment? The earth is the Lord's and the fullness 
 thereof (Ps. xxiii, i). The loss of goods? Naked I 
 came into the world and naked I shall leave it (Job 
 i, 21)." But still, he says, even in exile nothing 
 
 451, lies opposite Constantinople across the Bosphorus — now 
 Qadi Koi and Haidar Pasha. The Baghdad railway starts here. 
 ^Bibliotheca Photii, 59. 
 
St John Chrysostom 137 
 
 can separate him from the church of which he is 
 lawful bishop, for "whom God has joined together, 
 no man can put asunder" (Matt, xix, 6).^ He 
 gave himself up to the officer who came to take 
 him away and a great crowd of his faithful people 
 accompanied him to the ship on the Bosphorus 
 that was to carry him to Bithynia. 
 
 But this first exile did not last long. Soon after he 
 was gone there was a great earthquake at Constanti- 
 nople, andEudoxia was frightened at what she took 
 to be a judgment of God. Also the people, faithful to 
 their patriarch, began to show signs of revolt. So 
 she sent for him very soon after, inviting him back. 
 At first John declared that he would not return till 
 another and greater synod had pronounced his 
 innocence.^ But the insistence of the empress, who 
 was now as anxious to have him back as she had 
 been to get rid of him, and the rumour of trouble 
 among the people overcame his scruple. He came 
 back in triumph (403), Eudoxia herself came down 
 to the quay to receive him, and this first trouble 
 was over. As usual, he preached his next sermon 
 on the subject, the Homily at his return.'^ He tells 
 the whole story of his trial and banishment, and 
 then praises Eudoxia, for bringing him back, in a 
 way that seems almost too flattering. 
 
 9. The second exile (404-407) 
 
 But the reconciliation did not last long. A few 
 
 ^Hom. ante ex ilium (lii, 427-430). 
 
 ^This was in accordance with the decree of the Synod of 
 Antioch in 341, namely, that if a bishop were deposed by a 
 council, he should not be restored till a larger council had 
 declared for him (Can. 4 and 12). The law did not apply in this 
 case really, because it supposes that the first synod was a 
 canonical one. 
 
 ^Hom. post reditum (lii, 443-448). 
 
138 The Greek Fathers 
 
 months afterwards the quarrel broke out again, 
 and this time, Uke the old disturbance at Antioch 
 (pp. 119-120), it was about a statue. Eudoxia had a 
 silver statue of herself set up just outside the great 
 church of the Holy Wisdom.^ The erection of the 
 statue was celebrated with a great feast, dancing, 
 racing, drinking and play-acting. The patriarch 
 had always hated this sort of thing, especially the 
 acting (p. 124), and now he saw in it, as an addi- 
 tional profanation, a desecration of the church. 
 People trying to say their prayers inside^. were 
 disturbed by ribald choruses and a shouting^ race- 
 course mob. So he protested to the prefect of the 
 city and demanded that the statue should be set 
 up somewhere else, further from the church door. 
 Eudoxia saw in this demand a personal offence 
 against herself and her statue, and was mightily 
 offended. Already she began to think about sending 
 the patriarch back into exile. He heard of her plan 
 and then things came to a climax when he preached 
 a sermon on St John Baptist. For he began his 
 homily by saying: "Once again Herodias rages, 
 once again she screams and dances, again she asks 
 for the head of John."^ The allusion was obvious, 
 not only the Baptist was named John. Eudoxia was 
 furious. She had been called a Jezebel before, and 
 now she is a Herodias. 
 
 So she wrote to Theophilos at Alexandria, to ask 
 him to come back and hold another synod against 
 his brother of Constantinople. Theophilos did not 
 want the trouble of making another long journey, 
 so he answered that John could be got rid of in a 
 
 ^That is, of course, the older church built by Constantine. 
 The present Holy Wisdom at Constantinople was built on its 
 site by Justinian (527-565) after the old church had been 
 burned down in 5 32 ; it was finished in 5 37. 
 
 ^Sokrates, H.E. vi, 18, Sozomenos, viii, 20. 
 
St John Chrysostom 139 
 
 much simpler way. Let the government invoke 
 that very Synod of Antioch about which he had 
 had a scruple^ and, since he had come back without 
 having been restored by a synod, his restoration 
 could be described as unlawful and he could be 
 sent back into exile at once. Eudoxia took this 
 advice. Just before Easter in 404 John was arrested 
 in his own house; all the catechumens who had 
 assembled for their last preparation for baptism 
 were driven away by soldiers. The patriarch was 
 kept a prisoner till after Whitsunday. On June 20 
 he was again put on a ship and sent away. He was 
 taken across the Black Sea and Asia Minor to 
 Cucusus at the extreme end of Cappadocia, near 
 the Cilician frontier, in little Armenia. A certain 
 Arsakios was set up as anti-patriarch of Constan- 
 tinople. St John still had a large following of faith- 
 ful subjects in the city. These people, the "Joan- 
 nites," were then fiercely persecuted; but their 
 lawful bishop kept up relations with them by 
 letter. Eudoxia died soon after she had succeeded 
 in finally banishing her enemy (404) . Arsakios died 
 too in the next year; but the government at once 
 set up another intruder, Attikos (406-425). St John 
 never came back alive from this second exile. 
 
 10. Appeal to the Pope (404) 
 
 Like Athanasius in his trouble, and so many 
 other saints of the eastern Church, Chrysostom 
 then, finding himself banished and persecuted by 
 the empire, solemnly and formally appealed to 
 the great Patriarch at Old Rome, whose rule 
 stretches over the whole Church of Christ.^ St 
 
 ^See above p. i t,j, n, 2. 
 
 ''Palladios : Dial. 9. Hist. Laiis. 121 (xxxiv, 1233). John's 
 letter to the Pope in Palladios: Dial. 10-22. 
 
140 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Innocent I (401-417), a very great and splendid 
 Pope, then held the keys. The saint's enemies had 
 appealed to him, too, asking him to agree in John's 
 deposition and to acknowledge Arsakios. Innocent, 
 having heard both sides, on this occasion, too, 
 stood out firmly for the lawful patriarch ; and this 
 time, too, as in the later affair of Ignatius and 
 Photius (857), when the appeal to Rome went 
 against them, the government and the usurper at 
 Constantinople dragged the eastern Church into 
 formal schism. 
 
 Innocent wrote to John comforting him in his 
 trouble and promising to do all he could for him.^ 
 Then he wrote to Theophilos of Alexandria re- 
 proaching him for his uncanonical proceedings at 
 the Oak Tree and saying that a general Council 
 had better be summoned to settle the affair.^ But 
 the general Council never came about ; there were 
 too many difficulties. So the Pope then wrote 
 again to Honorius, the emperor in the west, ask- 
 ing him to remonstrate with his brother Arcadius. 
 Honorius did so, but only got an offensive answer 
 back, in which he was told to mind his own busi- 
 ness.^ There was no possibility of restoring the 
 patriarch by force; so the Pope refused to admit 
 the usurper to his diptychs. Arsakios and then 
 Attikos retorted by breaking communion with 
 the west, and a schism began that lasted eleven 
 years (404-415). Rome then was not able to help 
 St John materially; the incident would be unim- 
 portant were it not one more example of the 
 acknowledgment of the Primacy by the eastern 
 fathers and one more case in which the Holy See 
 
 ^Dial. 4. 
 ^Dial. I.e. 
 
 ^Honorius' letter in Baronius, Annates ann. 404. §80 seq. 
 (Mansi: iii, 11 22 seq.). 
 
St John Chrysostom 141 
 
 unhesitatingly defended the right side, even at the 
 cost of a schism.^ 
 
 11. Death and final triumph (407, 438) 
 
 We now come to the end. From Cucusus the 
 saint was moved to Arabissos near, and then the 
 government sent him on again to the north of 
 Asia Minor. But on the way, worn out with the 
 privations of his exile in a wild and desert country, 
 he stopped at Romanes in Pontus, too sick to go 
 any further. A martyr of the Diocletian persecu- 
 tion, St Basiliskos, was buried here, and when 
 John arrived and spent the night sleeping by the 
 martyr's tomb he saw Basiliskos in a dream who 
 seemed to say to him, "Brother, take comfort, 
 to-morrow we "shall be together." The next day 
 Chrysostom rose, vested himself and said the holy 
 Liturgy. After his communion he lay down and 
 died (Sept. 14, 407).^ His last words have always 
 been remembered by those who honour his 
 memory. Glory to God for everything, 66 ^a rw Qew 
 iravTOiv ev6Kev. 
 
 And then, as in the case of our St Thomas of 
 Canterbury, God allowed the final triumph of his 
 saint after death. Arcadius the persecutor died in 
 408. His son, Theodosius H (408-450), succeeded 
 him, and Theodosius repented of the harm done 
 by his parents. In 438 he sent for the saint's relics, 
 that they might be brought back to Constanti- 
 nople. He himself went down to the shore to meet 
 them, with all his court. In the evening of Jan. 27 
 
 ^There were four great schisms, making up altogether 203 
 years, between east and west before the greatest of all under 
 Photius. In each of them Rome was right, without any question; 
 see Duchesne: Eglises S^par^es (Paris, 1905), 163, and Orth. 
 Eastern Church, p. 96-97. 
 
 ^Palladios, Dial. c. 11, 
 
142 The Greek Fathers 
 
 the procession of boats came up the Golden Horn, 
 lit by blazing torches that gleamed from the 
 Bosphorus to the Propontis. The emperor kneel- 
 ing before the barge on which the body rested, 
 "asked forgiveness for his parents and for what 
 they had done in ignorance."^ The waves of the 
 Golden Horn, lit up by the light of the torches, 
 flowing out into the Hellespont and into the great 
 sea beyond, are a symbol of the glory of the 
 golden-mouthed preacher that spread out from 
 his patriarchal city to the ends of the Christian 
 world. For not only in his own country is he 
 honoured. Throughout the great Latin Church, too, 
 across the ocean to lands of which he had never 
 heard, wherever a Catholic priest stands before 
 his people to preach, we remember our patron and 
 example, who spoke in season, out of season, 
 reproved, rebuked, exhorted with all patience and 
 learning.^ The day on which his relics were brought 
 back (Jan. 27) is his feast among his own Byzan- 
 tines and to us Latins. They sing: "The holy 
 Church rejoices mystically at the return of thy 
 sacred relics, and receives them as a golden trea- 
 sure. She never ceases teaching her children to 
 sing of thee, and of the grace obtained by thy 
 prayers, John of the Golden Mouth. "^ 
 
 She never does cease. She teaches her Latin 
 children, too, on that day to sing of the "High 
 Priest who in his day pleased God. For there is 
 none other like him who kept the law of the most 
 
 ^Theodoret, H.E. v, 36 (Ixxxii, 1268), 
 
 ^11 Tim. iv, I, 2. 
 
 ^Kontakion (Echos I) in the Byzantine Horologion, Jan. 27. 
 The Byzantine Church honours St John Chrysostom on 
 Jan. 30, with SS Basil and Gregory Nazianzene (these three 
 are the "three holy Hierarchs"), and by himself on Nov. 13 
 as well. 
 
St John Chrysostom 143 
 
 High. Blessed is the man who suffered hardship, 
 because when he has been tried he shall receive a 
 crown of victory."^ And when we sing of Chrysos- 
 tom in our language while they praise him in theirs,^ 
 we may look out across the sea and think of his 
 people, his own Byzantines, cut off from the throne 
 that defended him by this lamentable schism, and 
 groaning under the heel of the unbaptized tyrant 
 whose presence still defiles the city of eighty 
 Roman Caesars. If anything can trouble the peace 
 of the saints, he must be troubled to see his suc- 
 cessors rebel against those of Innocent, and to hear 
 the Mu'ezzin cry from the place he would not have 
 defiled by Eudoxia's statue. And if any saint has a 
 special reason to pray to God for the end of these 
 evils it is John who appealed to Old Rome as 
 lawful Bishop of New Rome, who, where Islam is 
 now preached, spoke for the gospel of Christ with 
 his golden mouth. 
 
 12. Table of dates 
 
 c. 344. St John Chrysostom horn at Antioch. Edu- 
 cated at Antioch. 
 369. Baptism. 
 
 374-380. Monk near Antioch. 
 381. Ordained deacon by Meletios. 
 
 386. Ordained priest by Flavian. 
 386-397. Preacher at Antioch. 
 
 387. Affair of the statues at Antioch. 
 
 398. Patriarch of Constantinople. 
 
 399. Eutropios' disgrace. 
 
 403. Oak Tree Synod. First exile. 
 404-407. Second exile. 
 
 ^Gradual in the Roman Missal, Jan. 27. 
 2It is the same day really, but for the dislocation of the 
 calendar that makes their Jan. 27 come thirteen days after 
 
 ours. 
 
144 The Greek Fathers 
 
 407 (Sept. 14). Death at Komanes in Pontus. 
 438 (Jan. 27). His relics brought to Constanti- 
 nople. 
 
 13. Works 
 
 St John Chrysostom has left more works than 
 any other Greek father. Most of these are Homilies 
 preached at Antioch and Constantinople. Fronton 
 le Due (Fronto Duceus) edited the first complete 
 collection in Greek and Latin in twelve folio 
 volumes (Paris, 1609-1633). An Anglican, H. 
 Savile, published an edition in eight volumes 
 (Greek only) at Eton in 1612, and the Benedictine, 
 B. de Montfaucon, did so at Paris in thirteen 
 volumes (Greek and Latin, 1718-1738). The 
 editions of Le Due and Montfaucon have often been 
 reprinted since. The works fill eighteen volumes 
 of Migne (Patr. Gr. xlvii-lxiv) . Separate treatises 
 have been published on many occasions. Especially 
 the most read work, On the Priesthood, has gone 
 through countless editions. J. A. Bengel edited it 
 in Greek and Latin in 1725 (Stuttgart) ; there is an 
 edition of the Greek text only published by 
 Tauchnitz (1825, often reprinted, last in 1887) 
 and an excellent one in the Cambridge Patristic 
 texts by J. A. Nairn (Cambridge, 1906.)^ H. Hurter, 
 S.J., gives a Latin translation of it in the series, 
 5S. Patrum opuscula selecta, vol. xl (Innsbruck, 
 1879) ; W. R. W. Stephens did it into English for 
 the Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene 
 Fathers (Ser. i, vol. ix, 1892) and T. A. Moxom has 
 done so for the Early Church Classics (S. P. C. K., 
 1907). The Homily on the Return of Flavian was 
 edited in Greek by L. de Sinner (Paris, 1842), the 
 
 ^This is the best modern text. There is a Httle mild Pro- 
 testantism in the introduction and notes. 
 
St John Chrysostom 145 
 
 one on Eutropios by J. G. Beane (Paris, 1893). 
 Hurler's 5S. Pp. opusc. sel. also include his treatise 
 on the Divinity of Christ (quod Christus sit Deus, 
 vol. xv) and his five Homilies against the Anomeans 
 (de Incomprehensibili, vol. xxix). Most of the 
 Homilies on the N. T. were collected and pub- 
 lished at Oxford in five volumes (1849-1855) by 
 F. Field. Lastly, useful selections are: Johannis 
 Chrys. opera prcBstantissima, by F. W. Lomler 
 (Rudolstadt, 1840, Gr. and Lat.), 5. Joh. Chrys. 
 opera selecta by F. Diibner (Paris, 1861, Gr. and 
 Lat., only one vol. published) and Mary Allies: 
 Leaves from S. John Chrysostom (Burns and Oates, 
 1889). 
 
 Homilies on the Bible. St John preached long 
 courses of sermons on various books of the Bible, 
 so that, taken together, they form a continuous 
 commentary on most of the books. At Antioch in 
 388 he preached sixty-seven Homilies on Genesis 
 (liii-liv) and nine others on Genesis, too (liv, 581- 
 630). Various passages in Kings are explained by 
 eight Homilies (liv, 631-708, at Antioch in 387), 
 and sixty Psalms (lv). The Homilies on Job and 
 Proverbs (lxiv, 503-740) are doubtfully authentic. 
 In 386 he preached on the difficulties in the Pro- 
 phecies (lvi, 163-192), in 386 and 397 on parts 
 of Isaias (lvi, 11-142). Fragments on Jeremias 
 (lxiv, 739-1038) and Daniel (lvi, 193-246) are 
 collected from Catenas. In the year 390 he ex- 
 plained St Matthew in ninety sermons (lvii-lviii). 
 Of his commentaries on St Mark and St Luke only 
 seven Homilies on the Parable of Lazarus (lc, 
 xvi, 19-31, xlviii, 963-1054) are preserved. Eighty- 
 eight sermons on St John (lix) were preached in 
 389. At Constantinople, in 400 or 401, he preached 
 fifty-five Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles (lx) 
 
 10 
 
146 The Greek Fathers 
 
 and he explained all St Paul's Epistles in long 
 series of sermons (lx-lxiv). 
 
 Other Sermons. The most famous are those on 
 the Statues (p. 120, xlix, 15-222) and on Eutropios 
 (p. 133,111,391-414). He preached against the Jews 
 (eight Homilies, xlviii, 843-942), against the 
 Anomeans (extreme Arians, twelve Homilies, 
 XLVIII, 701-812), on the Resurrection (l, 417-432), 
 on Penance (nine Hom. xlix, 2yy-^^o), against Cir- 
 cuses and Theatres (lvi, 263-270) and on most of 
 the great feasts of the calendar (xlix, l, lii, lxiv) . 
 We have seven sermons on St Paul (l, 473-514) and 
 others on Martyrs and various saints (l). The 
 sermons before and after his first exile are famous 
 (lii, 427-430, 443-448). 
 
 OtherWorks. Although preaching was St John's 
 special vocation, he wrote books too. In 382 he 
 composed a treatise Against Julian and the Heathen 
 (Kara 'lovXiavov Kai Trpo? eXX)?i^a?, Adv. Julianum et 
 gentiles, L, 533-572), and in 387 a Defence of the 
 Divinity of Christ against Jews and Pagans (irpo^ 
 lovoaiov? Kai eAAt]va^ airooei^ig otl cctti feo? o 
 XpiG-Tog. Demonstratio qd. Christus sit Deus adv. 
 iudaeos et gentiles, xlviii, 813-838). He defended 
 monasticism in his work Against those who attack 
 the Monastic Life (tt/oo? tov^ iro\eiJ.ovvTa<s Toh ^iri 
 TO /uLovd^cLv evdyova-iv. Adv. oppugnatores vitae 
 monasticae, Liii, xlvii, 319-386), written in 376, 
 and wrote ascetic treatises on Virginity {irepl 
 irapOeviaq, de virginitate, xlviii, 533-596) and 
 on the state of Widows [irep] juovavSpla^, de viduis, 
 xlviii, 533-596). He was rightly indignant against 
 the dangerous and scandalous custom that clerks 
 should live in the same houses as nuns {irpog rovg 
 exovrag irapOevovg crweicra/crou?. de virginibus sub- 
 introductis, XLVii, 495-514 and 514-532). But 
 
St John Chrysostom 147 
 
 the most important of all his ascetic works are the 
 six books on the Priesthood [irepi i€pco(Tvvt]g. de 
 Sacerdotio libri vi, XLVii, 623-692).^ We have seen 
 on what occasion this little treatise was written 
 (p. 116). It is, with St Gregory Fs Regula Pastoralis, 
 the classical work on the dignity of the priesthood 
 and the responsibility and duties of priests. 
 
 Letters. Vol. lii of Migne's Greek series contains 
 238 letters written by Chrysostom to various 
 people, which give a number of valuable details 
 about his own life, as well as a lively and interest- 
 ing picture of society in his time. 
 
 Liturgy. The Service of the holy Eucharist used 
 throughout the Orthodox Church and among the 
 Catholic Melkites for nearly every day in the year^ 
 bears the title: The divine Liturgy of our father 
 among the saints John Chrysostom. It is a shortened 
 form of the older Liturgy ascribed to St Basil. 
 How far it is really the work of Chrysostom is a 
 question that has not yet been settled. We know 
 that at Antioch our saint was much concerned 
 about the right celebration of the holy Liturgy and 
 anxious to make any modifications that would 
 cause a more reverent attendance.^ It is also cer- 
 tain that the Liturgy was very long, and that this 
 form is an abridgement of the older one. As 
 Patriarch of Constantinople John would naturally 
 apply the same principles ; from the chief church in 
 
 ^'lepoj(xvuT]s {sacerdotium) means Bishophood rather than 
 Priesthood. Sacerdos in Latin and kpevs in Greek practically 
 always mean a bishop in the age of the fathers. But most of 
 what the saint says about bishops applies equally to priests. 
 
 ^On some days the older use of St Basil is followed {see 
 p. 64, n. i), and for Lent (except Saturdays and Sundays) they 
 use the Liturgy of the Presanctified that they ascribe to 
 St Gregory Dialogos (our Pope Gregory the Great, 590-604). 
 
 ^In Ep. II ad Thess. In Act. Ap. 29. In Ep. I ad Cor. s^. 
 In Gen. 4. In Matth. "jt,. 
 
 loa 
 
148 The Greek Fathers 
 
 the east his reform would spread very quickly over 
 all those parts. In the Liturgy there are forms and 
 expressions that are evidently his. But whether he 
 really drew up and imposed a complete Liturgy is 
 another question. The first part, the Preparation 
 of the gifts (TrpoG-KOfMiSy), is certainly much later 
 than his time. And for the rest, also, Liturgies are 
 modified too gradually, there are too many 
 influences at work for their final and definite form 
 ever to be really the work of one man.^ 
 
 14. Literature 
 
 We have a contemporary life of the saint 
 written by one of his faithful bishops, who refused 
 to acknowledge Arsakios and Attikos, namely, 
 Palladios {SiaXoyo^ irepi tov /3lov Icoai'i/ou. Dia- 
 logus de vita S. Joannis Chrys. XLVii, 5-82). This 
 dialogue, Chrysostom's o^m works, and references 
 in the contemporary Church historians (Sokrates, 
 Sozomenos, Theodoretos) are the sources from 
 which a very complete account of his life can be 
 drawn up. 
 
 J. Stilting: De S. Joanne Chrys. (in the Acta 
 SS. IV, Antwerp, 1753). A. Neander: Der h. 
 Johannes Chrys. u. die Kirche, besonders des Orients, 
 in dessen Zeitalter (2 vols, Berlin, 1821; still the 
 classical life). F. Bohringer: Chrysostomus {Die 
 Kirche Christi u. ihre Zeugen, vol. i, 4, Ziirich, 1846). 
 Rochet: Histoire de S. Jean Chrys. (2 vols, Paris, 
 1866). F. Ludwig: Der h. J oh. Chrys. in seinem 
 Verhdltniss zum by zantischenH of (Brsiunsbevg, 188^) . 
 R. W. Busch: Life and times of Chrysostom (Lon- 
 don, 1885). A. Puech: Un Reformateur de la societe 
 chrt'tienne au iv^ siccle (Paris, 1891) and 5. Jean 
 
 ^I have given an outline of this Liturgy in the Orth. Eastern 
 Church, pp. 412-41S, 
 
St John Chrysostom 149 
 
 Chrys. (Paris, 1900, in Les Saints, Lecoffre). G. 
 Marshal: S. Jean Chrys. a Antioche (Paris, 1898). 
 P. Albert : 5. Jean Chrys. consider e comme orateur 
 populaire (Paris, 1858). L. Ackermann: Die 
 Beredsamkeit des h. J oh. Chrys. (Wiirzburg, 1889). 
 T. Forster: Chrys. insnem Verhdltniss zur Antio- 
 chenischen Schule (Gotha, 1869). F. Chase: Chry- 
 sostom, a Study in the history of Biblical Interpreta - 
 Hon (London, 1887). 
 
I50 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 ST CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (c. 315-386) 
 
 CYRIL of Jerusalem was one of the many 
 Catholic bishops who suffered persecution 
 and exile for the faith at the time of the 
 Arian troubles. Of the thirty-five years during 
 which he was bishop he spent altogether sixteen in 
 banishment. He was the witness of Julian's 
 attempt to rebuild the temple, and was known to 
 the other Greek fathers of that time as a valiant 
 and steadfast defender of the faith of Nicaea, as 
 well as a zealous and irreproachable bishop; but 
 his chief title to fame is the series of catechisms he 
 held as a priest at the Holy Sepulchre in Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 1. First years (c. 315-345) 
 
 Cyril^ was born in or near Jerusalem about the 
 year 315. We know nothing of his parents, and for 
 these early years of his life we have only one or 
 two passing references and what can be deduced 
 from allusions in his writings. He was evidently 
 brought up as a Christian, but there is no reference 
 to his baptism anywhere. One may conjecture that 
 he was baptized, probably by Makarios, Bishop of 
 Jerusalem,^ as a young man. He seems to have 
 lived alone somewhere as a monk for a time; at 
 
 'KiJpiXXos (Cyrillus) is a common Greek name. It means little 
 Lord (diminutive of Kiyptos). 
 
 ■•^This Makarios was present at the first general Council 
 (Nicsea I, 325) and received a long letter from Constantine 
 about building the church of the Holy Sepulchre (Euseb • 
 Vita Constant. Ill, 29-32). He died between 335 and 345. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 151 
 
 least his repeated references to the monastic Hfe^ 
 seem to imply that he had some experience of it. 
 And he had certainly studied holy Scripture, the 
 older fathers, Origenes (f 254), the teaching of 
 various heretics (notably of the Manicheans^) and 
 to some extent profane letters. It was probably 
 his reputation as an austere and virtuous person 
 and a theologian that induced Makarios to take 
 him away from his solitude and ordain him deacon 
 in 334 or 335. For ten years he then served as 
 deacon in the Church of Jerusalem. Meanwhile 
 Makarios died and was succeeded by Maximos. 
 
 2. Priest and catechist (345-350) 
 
 Maximos ordained Cyril priest in 345 and gave 
 him the important duty of teaching the faith to 
 the catechumens before their baptism, and then of 
 preparing them for their first communion. It was 
 during these five years that Cyril held the series of 
 catechetical instruction that have made him famous. 
 He wrote down what he said, and this series of 
 twenty-three homilies form practically all we have 
 of his works. They were held during Lent and 
 Easter week to the people baptized on Easter eve. 
 In those days the preparation for baptism was a 
 very long and serious business. Practically every 
 one was baptized as a grown person. Many were 
 converts from Jewry or heathendom, and even 
 people born of Christian parents generally waited 
 till they were grown up before they applied for 
 baptism. We have seen how the fathers of just this 
 time were baptized at a late age themselves, and 
 how they afterwards protested against that custom.^ 
 A person then who wished to be a Christian passed 
 
 ^E.gr. Cat. iv, 24, xii, 33, 34, etc, 
 
 ^Catech. vi, 34. ^See above, pp. 55, 91. 115. 
 
152 The Greek Fathers 
 
 through a long time of preparation, divided into 
 stages by solemn rites, before he was immersed in 
 the font on Easter eve. Of this period of prepara- 
 tion with its rites most curious and interesting 
 traces remain in our present rite of baptism^ and 
 in our services for Lent and Holy Week. Natu- 
 rally the arrangements were not everywhere the 
 same. In this matter as in others different churches 
 followed different rites. At Jerusalem, where the 
 use of Antioch prevailed,^ no doubt many things 
 were different from the Roman practice; but the 
 main outline of the long process of Initiation 
 seems to have been much the same everywhere. The 
 convert was first solemnly admitted to the class of 
 catechumens.^ This was done by an exorcism, 
 breathing on his face and the sign of the cross.* 
 He then remained a member of that class for a long 
 time, often for years. Meanwhile he learned the 
 rudiments of the faith, although everything that 
 belonged to the discipline of the secret^ was still 
 
 ' There are two rites of baptism in the Roman ritual. The 
 more primitive one, in which most of the old ceremonies are 
 preserved, is rarely seen now — the Order of the baptism of 
 adults. This service, itself a compendium of the old ceremonies 
 for catechumens, is further abbreviated in the Order of the baf)- 
 tism of infants that we usually see. 
 
 2 The use of Antioch was itself taken from Jerusalem. The 
 parent-rite of this family of liturgies is that of St James in 
 Greek, certainly composed for the city of Jerusalem {Orth. 
 Eastern Chiirch, p. 115). 
 
 ^ Kari-jx^i'tJ-evos is the Pres. Part. Pass, of Karrjxu) (to 
 resound, then bewitch, then teach) and means he who is being 
 taught. 
 
 * This is the first rite of our baptismal service. 
 
 ^The Disciplina arcani was an important elem.ent in the 
 teaching of the Church. In order to shield the most sacred 
 mysteries from profanation they were not revealed till just 
 before or just after baptism. The Jews treated their proselytes 
 in the same way, and the mysteries of the heathen sects from 
 the east that flourished during the first centuries (of Mithra- 
 ism especially) were only revealed gradually to the initiated. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 153 
 
 carefully kept from him. When at last the cate- 
 chumen was considered firmly established in the 
 faith, had shown that he would live like a Christian 
 and himself wished to be baptized^ he was ad- 
 mitted into the next class and became an Elect, 
 or Competent (competens, </)wri4fo//evo9, "being en- 
 lightened"). ^ This was always at the beginning 
 
 The Christian discipHne reserved the baptismal creed and the 
 Our Father till just before baptism; and especially the mystery 
 of the holy Eucharist and the real Presence was not taught till 
 after baptism. The discipline of the secret seems to have begun 
 towards the end of the second century, St Justin's (ti66) clear 
 allusions to the holy Eucharist (Apol. i, 65, 66) argue that 
 he did not know it. But St Iren^us (t202. Adv. haer. iii, 4, i, 2) 
 and still more plainly Tertullian (1240, Apol. vii, i) allude to it. 
 About the sixth century, when there were practically no more 
 heathen in the empire, and the whole process of Initiation had 
 become modified, the practice dies out. Mgr. Batiffol is disposed 
 to minimize its observance {La discipline de l' Arcane, in his 
 Etudes d'Histoire et de Theologie positive, Paris, 1902, pp.3 — 41). 
 We constantly find that the fathers of the fourth and fifth 
 centuries, when preaching to mixed congregations of faithful 
 and catechumens, find that they can only make a mysterious 
 allusion to the holy Eucharist and add "the initiated under- 
 stand what I mean" — norunt initiati. We have a classical 
 example in the Roman breviary (in the eighth lesson for the 
 Finding of the holy Rood, May 3) where St Augustine in his 
 sermon [Tract. II in Joannem) says that if you ask a catechu- 
 men whether he eats the Body of the Son of Man and drinks 
 his Blood the catechumen will not understand what you mean. 
 
 'To be a catechumen involved fewer responsibilities than 
 to be baptized and fewer duties; so many people, as notably 
 Constantine and Constantius the Emperors, preferred to put off 
 baptism to the end of their lives. See Duchesne : Orig. du Culte 
 Chretien (Paris, 1898), chap, ix, L' Initiation chrdienne. 
 
 2 Mgr Duchesne (I.e.) and Dr Funk (Theol. Quartalschr. Tu- 
 bingen, 1883, p. 41 seq.) show that these were the only two 
 classes before baptism — those of the catechumens and com- 
 petents. They were allowed to come to church for the first part 
 of the Liturgy (the Missa catechumenorum) , hut were dismissed 
 by the deacon before the offertory. This dismissal is still a 
 ceremony in all eastern liturgies. In the oldest extant liturgy 
 (of the Const. Apost.) the deacon cries out: "No one of the 
 catechumens, no one of the hearers ( = competents) , no one 
 of the unbelievers, no one of the heretics" (viii, 12). Then 
 begins the Missa fideliiim. 
 
154 The Greek Fathers 
 
 of Lent/ since baptism was administered on 
 Easter eve. Half way through Lent came another 
 service of exorcisms and the first teaching of part 
 of the discipUne of the secret. They learnt and had 
 to repeat the creed and Our Father. ^ At Rome, at 
 any rate, the giving of the salt {sal sapientice, as 
 they learnt the new wisdom) was part of the rite.^ 
 Later came a signing (consignatio) with oil or 
 saliva, a last profession of faith (Dost thou 
 renounce Satan? etc.) and an anointing with the 
 oil of catechumens.* At last, during the long 
 Easter vigil, after the Prophecies had been read^, 
 the bishop blessed the font, and the long line of 
 competents one by one took off their clothes and 
 went down into the font. They were baptized by a 
 triple immersion,® and then confirmed with 
 chrism at once."' When they came out of the font 
 they did not put on their old clothes again, but 
 new white garments. There was a last imposition of 
 
 'There is a very close connexion between the observance 
 of Lent and the preparation of the competents for baptism. 
 See Duchesne, op. cit. and Thurston: Lent and Holy Week 
 (Longmans, 1904), pp. 169 seq. 
 
 ^ This is the traditio symholi that forms the second part of our 
 baptismal service, when the child is brought into the church. 
 
 2 Thurston: op. cit. p. 172. 
 
 ^ It will be seen, then, that we still carry the child through 
 all these stages before baptism. We make it a catechumen, then 
 an elect, and do all the rites that prepare for baptism; 
 though it is now all done in a few minutes, instead of stretching 
 over months. 
 
 ^ These Prophecies on Holy Saturday are considered by some 
 people to be the last instruction of the catechumens before 
 baptism. Father Thurston thinks not {ib. pp. 426 seq.). 
 
 ^In all eastern churches baptism is still administered only 
 by immersion. 
 
 ' Certainly at one time in the west too coniirmation was 
 given at once after baptism. Our ritual contains a curious sur- 
 vival of this in the anointing with chrism that follows baptism. 
 All eastern churches still confirm immediately after baptism. 
 The priest confirms as well as the bishop ; and we acknowledge 
 their confirmation as valid. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 155 
 
 hands and they received each a burning hght. They 
 were now the enhghtened (illuminati, ^wno-^eVres) . 
 For one week they kept their white robes, and 
 meanwhile were taught the last part of the secret 
 discipline — about the holy Eucharist. On Low 
 Sunday they made their first communions and 
 put off their white robes. ^ After this they belonged 
 to the class of the Faithful (fideles, Tnaroi) for the 
 rest of their lives, unless through a grave crime, 
 such as especially murder, idolatry or adultery, 
 they fell from it into that of Penitents. It was then 
 to these competents during Lent and then to them 
 again in Easter week when they had become the 
 "enlightened" that Cyril held his catechetical 
 instructions. The first eighteen are for the com- 
 petents, the last five for the enlightened (p. 167). 
 
 3. Was Cyril ever a semi-Arian? 
 
 That our saint in later years as bishop was a 
 most steadfast defender of the faith of Nicaea, for 
 which he suffered continual persecution, is a fact 
 that no one denies. It has, however, been sug- 
 gested that as a priest he conceded so far to the 
 times as to profess one of the many varieties of 
 semi-Arianism, rather than the whole uncompro- 
 mising Catholic faith. His metropolitan, Akakios 
 of Caesarea, as we shall see, was a bitter and per- 
 sistent Arian ; and Arianism was the religion of the 
 court under Constantius (337-361). Times were 
 bad for Homoiisians. Did Cyril bend to the storm? 
 Or was it even as a semi-Arian that he succeeded 
 
 ' Hence the name Dominica in albis (scil. deponendis) = 
 Sunday of the taking off of white robes. Whatever reasons of 
 sentiment there may be for choosing Corpus Christi or any other 
 feast for the day of general first communion, undoubtedly 
 from the point of view of tradition and antiquity the right day 
 would be Low Sunday. 
 
156 The Greek Fathers 
 
 to the see of Jerusalem when Maximos died? The 
 reason for this theory is that in his catechisms he 
 never uses the word Homoiisios. The fact cannot 
 be said to have no significance. That word was the 
 standard of the Cathohc faith. It is undoubtedly 
 striking that he — evidently purposely — avoids it. 
 That he did so seems to argue a kind of economy 
 on his part. But, on the other hand, although he 
 does not use the term, he teaches what it means 
 so clearly that no one who heard him could have 
 the slightest doubt that he was entirely on the side 
 of the Nicene fathers. He says that Christ our 
 Lord is "God bom of God, Life of Life, Light of 
 Light, like in all things to his Father."^ The 
 allusion to the Nicene symbol is obvious. Again, 
 our Lord has the same glory as the Father,^ he 
 has the "Father's divinity" himself,^ He is "God 
 in nature and truth,"* born "from eternity," "God 
 of God, eternal of the eternal Father,"^ He is 
 "God born of the virgin,"^ has the same divine 
 nature as the Father."^ "A perfect Father begot a 
 perfect Son."^ "From the one perfect Father is one 
 perfect Son."^ And Cyril explicitly rejects the 
 Arian formula: "There was a time when the Son 
 was not. "^^ Whatever reason, then, he may have 
 had for avoiding the word Homoiisios, however 
 much one may think that he would have done 
 better to use it boldly, it is obviously impossible 
 to doubt that he was as much a Catholic and a 
 Homoiisian at this time as afterwards as bishop. 
 Moreover, we may notice that though Akakios of 
 Csesarea was an Arian, his own bishop, Maximos, 
 under whom he taught his catechism, was alto- 
 
 ^Cat. iv, 7, xi, 4. 2Cat, vi, i, ^Ib. vi, 6. 
 
 */fc. vii, 5. ^Ib. xi, 4. ^Ib. xii. i. "76. xi, 18 
 
 ^Ib. vii, 5. ^Ib. xi, 13. i"xi, 17-18. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 157 
 
 gether correct and Nicene. And if a priest has his 
 bishop on his side he need not much trouble to con- 
 cihate a distant metropohtan. Certainly Maximos 
 would not have entrusted this important office of 
 catechist to anyone whose faith was in the least 
 suspect. That he afterwards compromised in 
 order to be ordained bishop is certainly false. 
 The second general Council, that was unswervingly 
 anti-Arian throughout, acknowledged his ordina- 
 tion as lawful and canonical, as we shall see (p. 165), 
 whereas it deposed Arians and semi-Arians. 
 
 4. Cyril's theology 
 
 With regard to other points of theology, we may 
 note that Cyril very strongly insists on the Real 
 Presence and onTransuhstantiation,oi which he gives 
 a most accurate definition: "That which seems 
 bread is not bread but the Body of Christ; that 
 which seems wine is not wine but the Blood of 
 Christ. "1 "It is not ordinary bread (a/)To?XiTo?), but 
 the Body of Christ. "2 "As Christ changed water into 
 wine, so does he change (/xera/SaXXa) wine into his 
 Blood. "^ Christians who receive holy communion 
 become "of one Body and of one Blood with 
 Christ" {(TvcrarcojuoL kol crvvaijuLOi J^pLcrTOv) and are 
 "Christbearers {Xpia-TO(p6poi)."'^ Transubstantia- 
 tion takes place, he says, "by the invocation of the 
 Holy Ghost." ^ The holy Eucharist is a "spiritual 
 sacrifice" and a "sacrifice of atonement."® 
 
 Like all the Greeks, St Cyril insists very much 
 
 'Cat. xxii, 9. ^Ib. xxi, 3. ^Ib. xxii, 3. ^Ib. xxii,3. 
 
 ^Ib. xxi, 3. xxii, 6. This would argue his behef that the 
 Epiklesis consecrates: contrast with this St John Chrysostom, 
 p. 127, n. I. 
 
 ^Cat. xxiii, 8. See also all xxii and xxiii for the real Presence , 
 or the quotations in Bardenhewer : Patrologie (Freiburg i/ Br. 
 1894), PP- 250-251. 
 
158 The Greek Fathers 
 
 on Free Will and the value of good works. ^ But 
 the precious Blood shed on the cross is our 
 Redemption.^ 
 
 5. Bishop of Jerusalem, to Julian's acces- 
 sion (350-361) 
 
 Maximos died in 350 and Cyril was at once 
 elected as his successor. In a letter to Constantius 
 he says that soon after he was consecrated a great 
 shining cross was seen in the sky above the holy 
 city and that every one watched it for several 
 hours. ^ The cross was a fit symbol of his reign as 
 bishop. For almost at once he got into trouble with 
 his metropolitan. The first general Council 
 (Nicaea, 325, can. 7) had given to the see of Jeru- 
 salem a not clearly defined "succession of honour," 
 meaning, apparently, a place of honour next after 
 the patriarchs, because it is the holy city ; but the 
 council had carefully added that the "domestic 
 rights of the metropolis" must be preserved. The 
 metropolitan see over Palestine was Csesarea (Pal.). 
 It was not till the fourth Council (Chalcedon in 
 451) that Cyril's successor Juvenal (420-458) suc- 
 ceeded in getting this vague place of honour 
 changed into a real independent patriarchate.* 
 Meanwhile the purely titular "succession of 
 honour" inevitably led to friction with Caesarea. 
 The metropolitan, naturally, was not pleased to 
 see one of his suffragans placed far above himself 
 in dignity, and the bishops of Jerusalem were not 
 always disposed to obey their metropolitan quite 
 so meekly now that they themselves had so high a 
 rank. This difficult position led to a quarrel 
 
 ^Cat. ii, I. iv, 2, 18-19, etc. ^ii, 5. 
 
 ^Ep. ad Const. M.P.G., xxxiii, 1165-1176. 
 *Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 25-27. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 159 
 
 between St Cyril and his superior, Akakios of 
 Csesarea. A much more important reason for the 
 quarrel was the question of faith. Cyril was a 
 CathoHc and Akakios was a most pronounced and 
 determined leader of the Arians. Akakios had suc- 
 ceeded Eusebeios, the father of Church history, 
 in 340, and had at once distinguished himself by 
 his opposition to Athanasius and the Homoiisios. 
 He was present at the Arian Synod of Antioch 
 in 341 {ev eyKaivlois). Later, in 359, he was the 
 acknowledged head of the forty extreme Arians at 
 Seleucia.^ But it was Akakios who here founded a 
 third party, as a compromise between the Arians 
 and semi- Arians, on the basis of the word similar 
 only — the Son of God is to be called neither **of 
 the same" nor "of a different," nor "of a like sub- 
 stance" with the Father, but only "similar 
 {o/uLOLo?)" in general, without any use of the word 
 "substance" at all. This third party, the Homoians, 
 are also called Acacians after their founder. 
 
 It was then inevitable that there should be trouble 
 between Akakios and Cyril. In 358 Akakios sum- 
 moned a synod at Csesarea, over which he himself 
 presided. St Cyril refused to go to it, either 
 because he thought that his "succession of 
 honour" after the patriarchs gave him a right to 
 
 ^Eusebeios (t34o) was also an Arian, but of a milder kind; 
 had he lived he would have joined the semi- Arian party. 
 Akakios had been his pupil. 
 
 ^Constantius in 358 summoned a synod to Nicsea, and then 
 to Nikomedia. Eventually two synods met, one for western 
 bishops at Ariminium (Rimini in Italy) and the other for 
 easterns at Seleucia in Isauria. Both synods condemned the 
 Nicene faith. This year, 359, marks the height of the Arian 
 flood. "Ingemuit totus orbis et se esse arianum miratus est." 
 (St Jerome, c. Lucif. 19). The tide turned almost at once after 
 this. St Hilary of Poitiers (t366) was present at Seleucia, being 
 then in exile for the faith. 
 
i6o The Greek Fathers 
 
 be judged only by a patriarchal synod, ^ or 
 because he knew that he had no chance with what 
 was a purely Arian assembly. So Akakios and his 
 synod deposed Cyril, in his absence, for these 
 reasons: that he had in some way disobeyed or 
 behaved with insubordination towards his metro- 
 politan,^ that he had sold vestments and vessels 
 belonging to his church in order to feed the poor 
 at a time of famine, that he was a Homoiisian. 
 For these offences he was banished to Cilicia. 
 Cyril appealed to a greater council, according to 
 the right given to deposed bishops by the Synod of 
 Antioch in 341 (can. 4 and 12) ; meanwhile he was 
 hospitably received by Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. 
 The next year the situation was reversed. The 
 Synod of Seleucia, like the twin-assembly at 
 Ariminium, was semi-Arian, disposed to be con- 
 ciliatory and opposed to such extreme people as 
 Akakios. It also made a point of restoring bishops 
 who had been unjustly deposed.^ Akakios and 
 Cyril both attended. Cyril was restored and 
 Akakios deposed; but Akakios went to Constan- 
 tinople, where he had the ear of Const antius, held 
 an entirely Arian synod there in 360, and, by the 
 emperor's favour, again deposed Cyril. 
 
 ^The canon of Nicgea had left the whole question of the 
 place of Jerusalem in a confusion. It certainly meant to leave 
 the canonical rights of Caesarea exactly where they had been 
 before. But the bishops of Jerusalem almost inevitably thought 
 that the situation had changed now that they held so high a 
 place. The further promotion givenatChalcedon was the inevit- 
 able result of Canon 7 of Nicaea. 
 
 ^This is the whole question — which was it? Sozomenos (iv, 25) 
 says it was because he had disobeyed and refused to acknow- 
 ledge Caesarea as his metropolis, in which case he would have 
 been wrong; Theodoretos (ii, 22) says it was only because he 
 had taken precedence, which he had a perfect right to do. 
 
 ^It restored St Hilary to Poitiers. The Roman Breviary on 
 his feast (Jan. 14, Lectio v) is not quite fair about the motives of 
 his restoration. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem i6i 
 
 6. The attempt to build the temple 
 (c. 362) 
 
 Constantius died just as he had set out to fight 
 his cousin in 361. JuHan (361-363) at once pro- 
 claimed the restoration of all banished bishops. 
 Like St Athanasius/ St Cyril, too, profited by this 
 edict and came back to Jerusalem (361). 
 
 The next event in his life was Julian's attempt 
 to restore the temple. Julian, who had been out- 
 rageously treated by his Christian cousin,^ who 
 loathed the endless Arian and semi-Arian quarrels 
 and worshipped the glorious memory of old Greece, 
 spent his short reign in a hopeless attempt to 
 destroy Christianity and restore the old gods. 
 Himself a philosophic pantheist, with a strong ten- 
 dency towards monotheism in the form of Sun- 
 worship and a taste for the mysteries of the eastern 
 religions^ as symbols of profound truths, he did 
 us the unwilling honour of trying to revive his 
 synthetic paganism with specifically Christian 
 ideas,* while he as nearly persecuted Christians as 
 his magnificent and contemptuous principles of 
 tolerance would allow.^ But while he hated Chris- 
 
 ^See above p. 34. 
 
 -Constantius had murdered Julian's father, uncle and two 
 brothers. Julian himself spent the early part of his life in a 
 dreary castle in Cappadocia, as a prisoner in daily fear of 
 being murdered himself. 
 
 ^lithraism especially. He was initiated by the Taurobolion 
 in Gaul in 361, just after he had kept the Epiphany in the 
 Christian church at Vienne. Mithra, identified with Apollo and 
 the Sun, was to him the Logos of the Neo-platonists. 
 
 ^See the fragment of his letter to a heathen priest in Hert- 
 lein's edition (11, 552-555). 
 
 ^For the story of Julian see P. Allard : Jiilien I'apostat (Paris : 
 Lecoffre, 1900, 3 vols. — an exhaustive life) ; G. Negri : L'lmpera- 
 toreGiulianol'apostata (Milan, Hoepli, 1902), Hamack'sadmira- 
 
 I I 
 
1 62 The Greek Fathers 
 
 tianity, that would allow no rival, he gladly pro- 
 tected all the old national religions that were to 
 him simply local expressions of the same philoso- 
 phic truth. The Roman peasant should go on wor- 
 shipping his Roman nature-gods, the Greek found 
 in Apollo, Artemis and Aphrodite externally beau- 
 tiful symbols of the many-sided hidden reality, 
 the Egyptian inherited from an immense age his 
 dark mysteries, the Phrygian turned to Attis and 
 Cybele, the Syrian to Adonis and Astarte, the Per- 
 sian to Ahura-Mazda and the Babylonian to Mar- 
 duk.i If that were so, why should not the Jew turn 
 to the God of Israel. Jews had as much right to a 
 national god as any one else; and although Julian 
 never concealed his contempt for this barbarous 
 sect, although he hated their intolerance and still 
 more the proselytizing spirit of later Judaism, he 
 undertook to protect them as well as all the other 
 religions. Only Christians were too utterly intolerant 
 and arrogant in their claim of being the only 
 
 ble summary in Herzog and Hauck's Realencyklopcidie fiir prot. 
 Theol.u. Kirche {2, edition, Leipzig, Hinrichs, ix, 1901,609-619), 
 Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap, xxii-xxiv, and the excellent 
 monograph by Alice Gardner in the Heroes of the Nations series 
 [Julian, Philosopher and Emperor, Putnam, 1895). 
 
 'For a brilliant summary of these eastern religions that 
 towards the end of paganism had ousted the original Greek 
 and Roman mythologies see F. Cumont: Les Religions Orien- 
 tales dans le Paganisme Rornain (Paris, Leroux, 1905) and Les 
 My stores de Mtthra (Paris, Fontemoing, 1902). It should be 
 remembered that people like Julian who wanted to restore 
 "Hellenism" were as far removed from the old simple poly- 
 theism as their Christian rivals. Philosophy had destroyed the 
 old beliefs among educated people entirely. Their ideal was 
 rather pantheism; and the forms of their religion were these 
 mysteries (Attis, Adonis, Mithra) from Asia that had invaded 
 Rome and Greece. For Julian's own ideas the sources are his 
 Or. iv To King Sun (irpbs rbv ^a<n\ia i)\lov, ed. Hertlein, i, 
 168-205) and To the AI other of th& Gods (Or. v, els ttjv ix-qTcpa. tuv 
 OeCbv, i, 206-233), 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 163 
 
 faith to have any mercy. He wrote a friendly letter 
 to a Jewish high priest, ^ whom he condescends to 
 call his "brother," and in another letter he asks for 
 Jews' prayers and promises to come to Jerusalem 
 after the Persian war and there to pray to their 
 god too. A result of this protection to the Jews 
 was that he ordered the rebuilding of their temple.^ 
 He gave large sums of money for this purpose, and 
 appointed one Alypios of Antioch to superintend 
 the work. And naturally Jews from every part of the 
 empire contributed lavishly to the triumph of their 
 religion. What happened? It is certain that the 
 whole scheme came to nothing and that strange 
 portents put an end to the work. Ammianus Mar- 
 cellinus, the heathen historian, who is, therefore, 
 not suspect in this matter, says that globes of fire 
 burst from the ground and killed the workmen.^ 
 So the temple was never rebuilt. The Christian 
 writers^ naturally saw in this the hand of God 
 against the attempt to falsify his Son's words. 
 
 'The priest's name was Hillel, which JuHan makes into 
 'lov\6s.ed.. Hertlein, ii, 512-514. 
 
 '^Possibly another reason for this scheme was that it would 
 prove our Lord's words false: "not a stone shall be left upon a 
 stone" (Mt, xxiv, 2; Mc, xiii, 2; Le, xxi, 6). All the fathers 
 of this time (Greg. Naz. Invectiv. c. Jul. ii, 4; Sokrates iii, 20; 
 Sozom, V, 22) describe this as his only motive. But none of them 
 are fair to Julian. S. Gregory Nazianzene's two Invectives are 
 simply unrestrained abuse. Julian is one of the people whom no 
 one seems able to treat fairly. Till quite lately every Christian 
 writer poured abuse on the Apostate. Now there is a reaction 
 (since Gibbon especially) and enemies of Christianity make 
 him into a fabulously perfect person. Paul Allard {op. cit.) has 
 set an example of a really scientific, moderate and sympa- 
 thetic treatment of a man who was almost a genius, always 
 extraordinarily interesting, very ideal in his character and 
 irreproachable in his morals, rather mad, and in any case 
 a hopeless failure. If only poor Julian had taken up any 
 less hopeless cause than that of the gods he would have been 
 the greatest emperor sinca Constantine. 
 
 ^Am, Marc, xxiii, i. "^Loc. cit. 
 
 I la 
 
164 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Sokrates says that St Cyril, when he saw the pre- 
 parations, foretold exactly what would happen.^ 
 
 7. From Jovian's accession to Gyril's 
 death (363-386) 
 
 Julian died fighting valiantly against the Per- 
 sians in 363. Jovian (363-364), who succeeded 
 him, was a Catholic. Then came Valentinian (364- 
 375), who named his brother Valens (364-378) 
 Caesar in the east. Valens was an extreme Arian; 
 so he at once ordered that all bishops who had 
 been banished by Constantius and restored by 
 Julian should again go into exile. ^ St Cyril was one 
 of these bishops, so he had to leave Jerusalem in 
 367. He did not come back for eleven years, when 
 Valens died (378) . We do not know where he spent 
 those years of exile. After Valens Gratian (375- 
 383), Valentinian's son, who was already emperor 
 in the west, made Theodosius I (379-395) Caesar 
 for the east. Gratian and Theodosius were Catholics 
 and they ordered that all Catholic bishops, that is 
 those who were in communion with the Pope and 
 the Bishop of Alexandria,^ should be restored. 
 Cyril profited by this and came back to his see, 
 where he ended his days in peace. We hear of him 
 once again at the second general Council (Con- 
 stantinople I, 381),^ at which he was present. 
 
 "Sokr. iii, 20. There is an interesting article about this 
 attempt to rebuild the Temple by INI, Adler in the Jewish 
 Quarterly Review (July, 1893). He thinks that it was never 
 more than a project, and that the whole story of the attempt 
 was made up by Greg. Naz., from whom everyone else (includ- 
 ing Ammianus!) copied it. 
 
 ^See above p. 35. 
 
 ^That is their test of a Catholic: "those who embrace the 
 communion of Damasus and Peter of Alexandria." Theo- 
 doretos, v, 2. cfr Cod. Theod. xvi. Tit. 1, 1, 2. 
 
 *For this council see pp. 100-103. 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 165 
 
 Akakios of Csesarea, his old enemy, was dead; 
 Cyril's own nephew, Gelasios, a firm Catholic, was 
 now metropohtan. The difficult and delicate situa- 
 tion between the metropolitan and the suffragan 
 who had a precedence of honour led to no friction 
 between nephew and uncle. The council acknow- 
 ledged Cyril's ordination as Bishop of Jerusalem 
 as canonical, and praised him for his steadfast 
 opposition to Arianism.^ That is the last event in 
 his life of which we know. That he ruled his see as 
 a zealous and holy Catholic bishop we see from a 
 letter of St Basil, who says that in his time the 
 diocese of Jerusalem had greatly flourished.^ 
 St Cyril died on March 18, 386. March 18 is his 
 feast in both rites, Byzantine and Latin. ^ On that 
 day our Martyrology names: "At Jerusalem St 
 Cyril, Bishop, who, having suffered many injuries 
 from the Arians for the faith, and having been 
 many times driven from his see, at last rested in 
 peace, illustrious with the glory of holiness; of 
 whose untarnished faith the second oecumenical 
 synod, writing to Damasus, gave a splendid 
 witness." And the collect for his Mass, with its 
 allusion to the chief subject of his catechism, is 
 specially beautiful: "Grant us. Almighty God, that 
 by the prayers of blessed Cyril, the Bishop, we 
 may so know thee, the only true God, and Jesus 
 Christ whom thou didst send, that we may 
 always be counted among the sheep that hear his 
 voice." 
 
 ^Theodoret v, 9. ^gas. Ep. 4, ad monach. lapsum. 
 
 3 Also to the Syrians, both Jacobite and uniate, and the 
 ]\Iaronites. The Armenians keep St Cyril of Jerusalem on the 
 second Sunday of Lent, the Copts on March 22 ; the Nestorians 
 on the fifth Friday after the Epiphany, in a very miscellaneous 
 collection of "holy Greek Doctors," who include Nestorius 
 and St Ambrose! 
 
1 66 The Greek Fathers 
 
 8. Table of dates 
 
 c. 315. Cyril horn at Jerusalem. 
 33401335. Ordained deacon. 
 345-350. Priest and catechist at Jerusalem. 
 350. Bishop of Jerusalem. 
 
 358. Akakios of Csesarea's synod. Cyril banished. 
 358-359. First exile at Tarsus in Cilicia. 
 
 359. Restored by the Synod of Seleucia. 
 
 360. Synod at Constantinople under Akakios. 
 
 Cyril's second exile. 
 
 361. Restored by Julian. 
 
 c. 362. Julian's attempt to build the temple. 
 367. Valens banishes Catholic bishops. 
 367-378. Third exile. 
 378. Restored by Gratian. 
 381. Present at the second general Council. 
 386 (March 18). Death at Jerusalem. 
 
 9. Works 
 
 St Cyril's complete woiks were first published by 
 J. Prevot (Paris, 1608, quarto, reprinted 1631 and 
 1640), then by Th. Milles at Oxford in 1703 (folio). 
 W. Morell had already edited the seven first and 
 the five "mystagogic" catechisms (Paris, 1564). 
 John Grodeck made a Latin translation at Koln 
 (1564). The best edition is that of the Benedictine 
 A. A. Touttee (Paris, 1720, folio, with Grodeck's 
 Latin version). This is reprinted by Migne, Patr. 
 Gr. XXXIII (Paris, 1857). W. K. Reischl and 
 J. Rupp published the works in two 8vo volumes 
 at Munich in 1848-1860, and Photios Alexan- 
 drides at Jerusalem in 1867-1868 (two vols, with 
 notes by Dionysios Kleophas). There is a selection 
 in Latin in Hurter's Opuscula SS. Patrum (vii, 
 Innsbruck, 1885) . 
 
St Cyril of Jerusalem 167 
 
 The Catechisms. These are Cyril's only impor- 
 tant work. The twenty-three instructions (M. P. G. 
 xxxiii) were held at Jerusalem to competents 
 and then to the neophytes between 345 and 350 
 (see above, pp.151-155) .The introductory catechism 
 (TrpoKari'ixwi^) is about the great grace his hearers 
 are about to receive (baptism) and the importance 
 of this instruction. The first repeats the same 
 ideas ; the second is about sin and repentance, the 
 third about the effects of baptism; the fourth is a 
 short compendium of the chief points of the 
 Christian faith (avoiding all that comes under the 
 disciplina arcani), and the fifth describes the vir- 
 tue of faith. Catechisms 6-18 give an exact com- 
 mentary on the creed, as professed by the Cate- 
 chumens at their baptism. This is the end of the 
 first part. On Easter eve his hearers were bap- 
 tized and confirmed. The last five instructions 
 (19-23) are addressed to them as neophytes. 
 There is no longer a disciplina arcani to be 
 observed, and they have to be prepared for their 
 first communion on Low Sunday. These five are 
 called the Mystagogic Catechisms {Karuxw^i? 
 jULVG-TayMyiKat), because they treat of the Mysteries 
 (Sacraments). Nos. 19 and 20 explain again the 
 rite of baptism without any reticence, 21 is about 
 confirmation, 22 and 23 about the holy Eucharist. 
 
 This series of catechisms is famous as the most 
 complete ordered course of instructions on the 
 faith we have from the first centuries and as con- 
 taining incidentally very valuable references to the 
 rites of Jerusalem in the fourth century. 
 
 Other Works. Besides the catechisms we have 
 only one complete sermon by St Cyril (M. P. Gr. 
 XXXIII, 1131-1154), on the healing of the man with 
 palsy at the pool of Bethsaida (Joh., v, 1-9), a 
 
1 68 The Greek Fathers 
 
 letter to the emperor Constantius (ib. 1165-1176), 
 about the cross that appeared when Cyril was 
 ordained bishop (p. 158), and three short frag- 
 ments of sermons (1181-1182). 
 
 10. Literature 
 
 There are two good hves of St Cyril of Jeru- 
 salem: G. Delacroix, S. Cyrille de Jerusalem. Sa vie 
 et ses ceiivres (Paris, 1865), and J. Mader, Der h. 
 Cyrillus, Bj. von Jerusalem in seinem Lehen u. 
 seinen Schrijten (Einsiedeln, 1891). Probst has 
 examined the Liturgy of Jerusalem in the fourth 
 century from Cyril's references, in the Katholik 
 (Mainz, 1884, I. 142-, 253-). L. Rochat, Le cate- 
 chumcnat au IV siecle d'apres les catechescs de S. 
 Cyrille de Jer. (Geneva, 1875). P. Gonnet, De S. 
 Cyrilli hieros. archiepiscopi (he was not an arch- 
 bishop) catechesibus (Paris, 1876). I. Plitt, De 
 Cyrilli hieros. orationibus quce exstant catecheticis 
 (Heidelberg, 1855). 
 
169 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 ST CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA (f 444) 
 
 CYRIL, after Athanasius the most famous 
 Patriarch of Alexandria, has incurred an 
 undeserved unpopularity chiefly because 
 during his reign a Christian mob murdered 
 Hypatia. He is not the most attractive of the 
 fathers. He had something of the despotic nature 
 of his uncle, Theophilos; he behaved badly to St 
 John Chrysostom, and in his earlier years espe- 
 cially ruled at Alexandria in a way that gave 
 offence to the civil government ; but he was a very 
 great theologian and the leader of the Catholics in 
 his time. He is the Doctor of the Church against 
 Nestorianism. In his time again, as in that of St 
 Athanasius, orthodoxy reigned from Alexandria; 
 what Athanasius was in Arian times, that was 
 Cyril against the Nestorians. As the last of the 
 chain of fathers who follow each other since his 
 great predecessor^ he is called by Greeks the Seal 
 of the fathers {a-cppayh tmv iraTcpcov). His name is 
 bound up always with that of the Council of 
 Ephesus. If not exactly lovable, he is a most 
 imposing and princely figure, typical of the great 
 line of "Christian Pharaohs"^ who held the second 
 place in Christendom and ruled the mighty 
 Church of Egypt from their throne by the sea. 
 And the chief work of his life was not murdering 
 
 ^St John Damascene (lc.754) comes long afterwards and 
 stands alone in a different age. 
 
 ^This was a common name for the Patriarchs of Alexandria 
 
 {Orth. Eastern Church, p. 13). 
 
I JO The Greek Fathers 
 
 Hypatia, but fighting for the person of Christ and 
 the honour of the Mother of God against the 
 Nestorians. 
 
 1. St Cyril before he was patriarch 
 (—412) 
 
 We do not know in what year Cyril was born. 
 He belonged to one of the greatest of the Greek 
 families in Egypt and he was the nephew of the 
 Patriarch Theophilos, whom we know as St John 
 Chrysostom's enemy. ^ He must have received the 
 education both in sacred and profane letters, of 
 which he made so great use afterwards, at his own 
 city, Alexandria. The Alexandrine schools were still 
 the most famous in the world. During this first 
 period he made friends with St Isidore, Abbot of a 
 great monastery near Pelusium^ (f c. 440). This 
 Isidore had a very salutary influence over Cyril all 
 his life. Cyril calls him his father even when he 
 himself had become patriarch, and it was under 
 Isidore that he spent some years as a monk.^ The 
 first certain date in our saint's life is 403, and here 
 he appears in no saintly light, for he accompanied 
 his uncle to the Oak-Tree syaod and took his part 
 in the deposition of St John Chrysostom.^ For 
 many years after he still had a grudge against 
 St John. It was not till 417 that Isidore persuaded 
 him to add his former victim's name to the dip- 
 tychs of Alexandria.^ This reconciliation after 
 
 ^See above, pp. 130, 133-137. 
 
 ^Pelusium was a town on the most eastern branch of the Nile, 
 just outside the Delta, near where the Suez Canal now is. Isidore 
 of Pelusium was a disciple of St John Chrysostom and belonged 
 to the Antiochene school. About 2,000 of his letters are pre- 
 served inM.P. Gr. xcviii (1273-13 12). 
 
 ^Isid. Pel. Ep. i, 310, 323, 324, 370. 
 
 ^See p. 136. °Cyr. Alex. Ep. i, 370. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 171 
 
 death with Chrysostom is one example of many 
 cases in which Isidore used his influence over 
 Cyril for a good purpose. 
 
 2. Patriarch (before Nestorianism, 
 412-428) 
 
 Theophilos died in October, 412. The govern- 
 ment wanted a certain Archdeacon Timothy to 
 succeed/ but Cyril was elected canonically and 
 became patriarch. The governor of Eg^^pt was 
 Orestes, who pretended to be a Christian to the 
 Christians and talked philosophy to the pagans. 
 And the last remnant of the Hellenism that Julian 
 (361-363) had in vain tried to revive, clustered 
 round the school by the Serapion, where Hypatia 
 taught her Neo-platonism. 
 
 Hypatia^ was the great heathen influence in the 
 city and was believed to be all powerful with Orestes .^ 
 Very soon after Cyril's consecration there was trouble 
 between him and the governor. Orestes feared the 
 patriarch's masterful disposition — for Cyril was like 
 his uncle in many ways — and was annoyed to see 
 that he, the bishop, and not himself, the governor, 
 was the real master of the city. First Cyril shut up a 
 
 ^Sokr. vii, 7. 
 
 ^Hypatia was the daughter of a philosopher named Theon. 
 "She had acquired so great learning that she was far superior 
 to all philosophers of her time. She had been led by Plotinos 
 to the school of Plato, and she taught all the lessons of philoso- 
 phy to her hearers. So students of philosophy crowded to her 
 from all sides. Because of the confidence and authority she had 
 acquired by learning she was able to appear even before 
 governors with great effect. Nor was she ashamed to show 
 herself among a crowd of men; for every one reverenced her 
 and honoured her for her great modesty." (Sokr. vii, 15). 
 
 3"For, since she very often conversed with Orestes, a 
 calumny against her spread among the Christian people to the 
 effect that she hindered a reconciliation between Cyril and 
 Orestes" {ib). 
 
172 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Novatian church at Alexandria and confiscated 
 the goods of the Novatian bishop Theopompos.^ 
 Then he expelled all Jews from the city, appa- 
 rently because they had massacred Christians. 
 Orestes protested against this to the emperor 
 (Theodosius II, 408-450), but Cyril got his way. 
 Lastly came the murder of Hypatia. In March, 
 415, a mob of Christians, led by the Parabolani- 
 and by a Reader named Peter, cruelly tore her to 
 pieces on the steps of a church.^ Various writers 
 have suggested more or less plainly that the 
 patriarch was involved in this crime. Sokrates 
 does not say so plainly, but he implies it, and adds 
 a solemn moral reflection.* As a matter of fact, not 
 
 ^Ib, i, 7. It must be remembered that Sokrates, the authority 
 for all this account, is greatly prejudiced against Cyril. Novatian 
 was an African priest who liad made a schism in Rome at the 
 time of Pope Cornelius (251-253). His followers took a line of 
 extreme strictness. They said the Church consists only of the 
 pure, forbade second marriages, and rebaptized all their con- 
 verts, Novatianism became practically a form of Montanism, 
 of which Tertullian (1240) was the chief defender. 
 
 ^The Paraholani {Trapa^oXdvoi) were people who tended 
 the sick, especially in time of plague, thereby endangering 
 their own lives {Trapa^oXrj ttjs ■^vyjis). They were counted 
 as forming a minor order, like the Fossores, who buried 
 the dead, the Notarii, who wrote down acts of martyrs, and 
 other classes that have since disappeared. They were chosen 
 and ordained by the bishop. Being rough and sturdy fellows 
 of a low class they seem to have often filled up the time 
 between plagues by making political disturbances. At one 
 time they were expressly forbidden to attend political meetings. 
 After Justinian's time (527-565) they disappear {see Kraus: 
 Realenz. II, 582). 
 
 ^"Certain men of fierce character whose leader was a 
 Reader named Peter made a conspiracy and watched the lady. 
 They caught her coming back from some house, tore her from 
 her saddle and dragged her to a church called the Kais avion. 
 Here they stripped her and killed her with broken shells. When 
 they had torn her to pieces they burned her limbs at the place 
 called Kinaron" (Sokr. vii, 15). It will be seen that the Parabo- 
 lani, as a class, were not nice people. 
 
 ^"This aifair brought no small disgrace to both Cyril and 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 173 
 
 only is there no sort of evidence that he had any- 
 thing to do with it, there are positive reasons for 
 knowing that he had not. After the murder a depu- 
 tation of citizens went to Constantinople to peti- 
 tion the emperor to prevent such horrors for the 
 future and to put down the disorderly Parabolani, 
 and the first means they urge for that purpose is 
 that the patriarch should stay in the city (Orestes 
 wanted him banished).^ Moreover, if ever a man 
 had bitter enemies it was Cyril. Wilful murder was 
 considered just as unsuitable conduct for bishops 
 in the fifth century as it is now. Why, during all 
 the fierce conflict with the Nestorians, when they 
 brought every possible charge against him, did no 
 one think of calling him Hypatia's murderer? 
 Although to accuse our saint of this horrid story is 
 a gross calumny, there is no doubt that in other 
 ways he did give annoyance to the government. 
 A number of monks from the Nitrian mountains 
 (Sokrates says 500!) had insulted and wounded 
 Orestes in the streets of Alexandria.^ He had their 
 
 the Church of Alexandria, for murder and slaughter and all 
 such things are altogether opposed to the Christian religion" 
 {ib.). Damaskios, a heathen who wrote a life of Isidore the 
 Philosopher, long afterwards insinuates the same thing (quoted 
 in the notes of Henri de Valois — Henricus Valesius, on Sokr. 
 vii, 15. ed. Gul. Reading, Cambridge, 1720, ii, 361), Charles 
 Kingsley in Hypatia repeats the insinuation, and is responsible 
 for the dislike of St Cyril among many people who have never 
 heard of him nor of Hypatia, except through that singularly 
 silly novel (e.gr., the monk's apology of Christianity to the 
 heroine just before she dies, Raphael's argument against celi- 
 bacy, Hypatia's philosophic discourse, etc.). 
 
 ^Cod, Theod. De episc. xvi, 2 (quoted by Kopallik, Cyr. v. 
 Alex. pp. 20 seq.). 
 
 ^They called him a "sacrificer and a pagan {din-rip Kai eWrjv) 
 and many other offensive names," He declared that he was a 
 Christian, and had been baptized at Constantinople by Attikos. 
 But the monks would not believe him, and began throwing 
 stones, one of which wounded him severely on the head 
 (Sokr. vii, 14). 
 
174 The Greek Fathers 
 
 leader^ seized and tortured, under which torture 
 the monk died. Cyril then brought this person's 
 body to the church and solemnly buried it, while 
 he preached a panegyric on him, declaring him a 
 martyr who had died for the faith and "praising 
 his high soul with many words.'"- "But," says 
 Sokrates, "even the Christians, or at least the 
 more reasonable ones, did not approve of Cyril's 
 enthusiasm for Ammonios, for they understood 
 that this man had paid the penalty of his own 
 folly, and had not suffered because he would not 
 deny Christ. And at last Cyril himself gradually 
 let the whole matter be buried in silence,"^ which 
 was, perhaps, just as well. We hear no more about 
 St Thaumasios the martyr ; but one can understand 
 that Orestes, who heard of the service and the 
 sermon while he was nursing his broken head at 
 home, was annoyed, and that for these various 
 reasons "between him and Cyril an unrelenting 
 feud existed."* 
 
 But the patriarch was not destined to spend his life 
 in a series of petty quarrels with a shuf&ing magis- 
 trate. Soon a cause arose that was worthy of his high 
 spirit, and he was able to direct his restless energy 
 against a danger that threatened the whole Church. 
 
 3. Nestorius and his heresy 
 
 We have seen that when St John Chrysostom 
 was banished (404) the government at Constan- 
 tinople set up first Arsakios (404-405), and after his 
 death Attikos (406-425) as anti-bishops.^ After 
 St John's death (407) Attikos seems to have been 
 generally accepted as lawful occupier of the see 
 till he, too, died in 425. Then came one Sisinios 
 
 ^Named Ammonios. 
 
 ^Ib. He changed the martyr's name to Thaumasios, 
 
 ^Ib.^ *vii, 13. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 175 
 
 (425-427), and after him, not without dispute, 
 Nestorius (Nea-Topiog, 428-431),! the most impor- 
 tant of the many bishops who have left to the 
 Byzantine Church a fame with which their suc- 
 cessors would gladly dispense.^ Nestorius^ was an 
 Antiochene who had been a monk in a Laura out- 
 side the walls of Antioch. He had then been 
 ordained priest and had a great reputation as a 
 preacher. When he became Patriarch of Constan- 
 tinople the people thought they were to have a 
 second Chrysostom as bishop. In his first sermon 
 preached before the emperor he showed his zeal 
 against heretics, "Give me," he said, *'a world free 
 of heretics and I will give you heaven ; help me to 
 destroy heretics and I will help you to destroy 
 Persians" (presumably by his prayers) ."* He fur- 
 ther showed this pious zeal by shutting up an 
 Arian conventicle, attacking Novatians, ApoUina- 
 rists, Quartodecimans^ and all manner of enemies 
 of the true faith. Sokrates says he was a calum- 
 niator and a firebrand^ and that his tongue was 
 unreserved and petulant."^ 
 
 'The story of the quarrels as to the succession after Attikos 
 is told by Sokrates, vii, 26-29. 
 
 ^Among the heretics who occupied the see of Constantinople 
 are Makedonios I (344-348, 350-360) the Pneumatomachian, 
 this Nestorius, Akakios (471-489) who made the Acacian 
 schism, the Monotheletes Sergios I (610-638), Pyrrhos (638- 
 641, 652), Paul II (641-652), a number of Iconoclasts in the 
 eighth century and Cyril I (Lukaris) in the seventeenth 
 century. I count only those whom the orthodox too admit to 
 have been heretics. 
 
 ^He is so well known under this Latin form (for Nestorios) 
 that one must leave it for the present. 
 
 *Sokr. vii, 29 — where the early life of Nestorius is described. 
 
 ^The Quartodecinians (Quattuordecim=: fourteen) were people 
 who, in spite of the decree of the Nicene Council, kept Easter 
 on Nisan 14 instead of waiting till the following Sunday. They 
 made a schism that lasted till the fifth or sixth century, 
 
 Vii, 29. I conceive that HvpKaia. (or livpKaLevsl) means this and 
 not a man who set fire to houses. ^ lb. 
 
176 The Greek Fathers 
 
 y// Very soon after his accession Nestorius began 
 ' to give his favour to the particular heresy that 
 is called after him. At this time Arianism was 
 practically dead and Apollinarism,i too, was 
 universally condemned. Every Catholic believed 
 that the Word of God is equal and consubstantial 
 to the Father and that our Lord had a perfect 
 human nature complete with body and soul. 
 There remained the question how the Logos, the 
 Word, is joined to this hi: man nature. It was, 
 apparently, as a result of Antiochene theology 
 that Nestorius and his friends defended a moral 
 union only.^ The Logos came down from Heaven 
 and dwelt in the man Jesus Christ, very much 
 as the Spirit of God had filled the prophets. 
 Christ was really and wholly a man (this against 
 the Apollinarists) , the Logos was not part of his 
 human nature, but was in some way joined to it. 
 What other way is possible but some close moral 
 connexion, some indwelling of the Divinity that 
 did not affect his person, but made that person its 
 temple? That is the Nestorian heresy. Gradually 
 Nestorius and his party went further, evolved their 
 theory more consistently and so wandered still 
 further from the Catholic faith, as is the way of 
 heretics. Is there any reason for supposing that the 
 Logos dwelt in Christ always? When did the Logos 
 descend into him? Is it not probable that this is 
 what happened at our Lord's baptism when "the 
 Holy Ghost came down on him in the figure of a 
 dove,"^ and "stayed in him,"* so that before his 
 baptism there was no union at aU ? Nor did they 
 fail to produce arguments for their new theory. 
 
 ^See p. 84, n. i, 
 
 ^Nestorius had been a disciple of Theodore of Mopsuestia, 
 who was, perhaps, the original father of this heresy (p. 193, n. i). 
 ^Lc. iii, 21. ^Joh. n. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 177 
 
 Christ was born as a little child, grew in wisdom 
 and age and grace/ was surprised,^ wept,^ suf- 
 fered pain, died. None of these things can be true 
 of God. In the language of our philosophy, Nes- 
 torianism can be put in one very short sentence: 
 there are two persons in Christ, a Divine person, 
 the Logos, dwelling in a human person, the man 
 Jesus. The use of the word Person, or rather of its 
 Greek equivalents Hypostasis {vTroa-Taa-i^) and 
 Prosopon (tt/ooo-wttoi^)* was not technically so clear 
 in the fifth century as it became in scholastic times. 
 The Catholic fathers, St Cyril himself, some- 
 times use the word Hypostasis for what we call 
 nature, and sometimes for person. But the issue 
 is quite clear. The Nestorians divided Christ into 
 two separate beings only joined by a moral tie; 
 the later Monophysites, going to the other extreme, 
 said that Christ's humanity was absorbed and 
 swallowed up by his divinity, so he would not be 
 really man at all. Against both the Catholic faith 
 is that our Lord is really and completely God, 
 really and completely man, and yet he is really, 
 physically, indissolubly one. As we say, he is one 
 person with two natures, the nature of God and the 
 nature of man.^ The Nestorians liked the word 
 
 ^Lc. ii, 52. ^Mt. viii, lo. ^Lc. xix, 41. 
 
 *Since practically the whole controversy was carried on in 
 Greek. 
 
 ^We may as well understand what Nature and Person mean. 
 Our nature is what makes us what we are essentially. If you are 
 a man, that is because you have a human nature, a horse has an 
 equine nature, etc. Since it is naturally impossible for anyone 
 to be two essential things at once, we, and all things, have one 
 nature each. An essential change means a change of nature, the 
 old nature goes and a new one comes. A per son is the individual 
 being who has a rational nature. We do not use the word for 
 beasts nor plants nor stones. But among men (and angels) we 
 are each of us a person complete in himself. I have a human 
 nature, I am a human person. The person is the real me. The 
 
 12 
 
178 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Theophoros (0eo(p6po^) ; it expressed exactly what 
 they meant: the man Christ was "God-bearing" — 
 had God in him. But it was another word that 
 became the standard of either side, according as it 
 was used or rejected, and in this heresy, as on 
 other occasions, the honour of our Lord's mother 
 was the defence of his honour: people who were 
 really attacking him did so by attacking her. 
 What the term Homoiisios had been in Arian times 
 that was the word Theotdkos (OeoroKo^) now. 
 Theotokos means Mother of God, and all Catholics, 
 every one who believes in our Lord's divinity and 
 is not a Nestorian, calls the blessed Virgin so. 
 It follows obviously from the hypostatic union, 
 
 person acts and is responsible. You may always substitute the 
 word person for a proper name or a pronoun. "John does so and 
 so," that is: "that person does so and so." "He is wicked" 5ct7. 
 "a wicked person." You cannot say that of nature. He is not 
 a wicked nature, though you may say (loosely) that he has a 
 wicked nature. Obviously then, since our Lord by the miracle 
 of the hypostatic union is both God and man, he is the only 
 case of two natures in one person. He has both natures, 
 divine and human; but it is the same he, the same person. 
 He died (as man) and he (the same person) is almighty and 
 immortal (as God). So far all Catholics have always agreed, 
 from St Irena^us (•j-20i), who says: Jesus, who suffered for 
 us, he himself is the Word of God (adv. haer. iii, 16, 1-3), 
 or rather from St John, who says: "the Word became (not 
 "took up his abode in") flesh ( = man)," and our Lord himself: 
 "I and the Father are one (Joh. x, 30)" and "I (the same 
 I, the same person) spoke openly to the world (Joh. xviii, 20)." 
 Anyone who is not a philosopher says the whole truth quite 
 accurately by the statement: "He is both God and man." It is 
 the same subject (He, therefore one person), and the two predi- 
 cates express the two natures. It is only when we come to the 
 philosophical terms that we find that they, like all philosophical 
 words, have not always been used in the same sense. Now we 
 say that substance, essence (and in Greek (pvacs, ovaia) mean 
 exactly the same thing as nature. On the other hand, sup- 
 positum, hypostasis and irpoaiioirov mean person. In earlier times 
 the words hypostasis in Greek and substantia in Latin were 
 often ambiguous, meaning sometimes nature and sometimes 
 person. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 179 
 
 She is the mother of Christ, the mother of a person 
 and that person is God. The relation of mother and 
 son concerns persons. The mother of a person who 
 is God is just as much mother of God as the 
 mother of a person who is man is mother of man. 
 The title that expresses the great and unique 
 honour of our Lady was not new in the fifth cen- 
 tury. It was used by all Catholics, and had been 
 used for centuries.^ Here, as always, it was the 
 heretics who were the innovators. They began, as 
 we shall see, to preach against this title and to 
 demand that it should be changed into Chrisiotokos 
 (xptcTTOTOKoy), mother of Christ, which is non- 
 committal either way. And against them the 
 watchword of all the Catholics, led by St Cyril, was 
 that Mary is the mother of God.^ We may then 
 
 ^Origenes (t2 52) uses it: Comm in Ps. i (Sokr. vii, 32), so 
 also Euseb. (•I-C.340) Vita Const, (iii, 43), Athanasius (t397). 
 Or. iii adv. Avian. 14, 29, 33, Cyril of Jer. (t3S6) Cat. x, 19, 
 Didymos (tc.395): de Trin. i, 31, 94; ii, 41, etc. Greg. Naz. 
 (fc.390). Or, xxix, 4, Ep, loi ad Cledon., etc. 
 
 ^It is curious that most Protestants resent this word, 
 apparently from a general dislike to any honour given to Christ's 
 mother. If they knew anything about it, they would realize 
 that by refusing it they are letting themselves in for Nes- 
 torianism as well as their other heresies. I have heard from 
 High-Church Anglicans of that type that loves anything 
 Eastern but hates everything Roman that the word Theo- 
 tdkos is right, but not Mater Dei or Mother of God. Miss I. 
 Hapgood, who has translated a selection of Orthodox services 
 into the funniest mixture of Prayer-book English and American 
 slang [Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic 
 GrcBCo-Russian Church. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 
 1906) puts for Theotokos the portentous form: Birth-giver of 
 God. Such scruples are superfluous. Dei Genitvix is an exact 
 version of deoroKos and genitrix is simply a mother. It is an 
 accident of language that Latin does not lend itself to a 
 compound form so well as Greek in this case. Deipara is not 
 pretty. German Catholics translate the word beautifully: 
 Gottesgebdrerin. On the other hand, in the case of Orthodox 
 who speak a language that does not form compounds, the 
 liturgy puts simply Mother of God, as we do. So Arabic: 
 
 12a 
 
i8o The Greek Fathers 
 
 sum up the Nestorian heresy in these six points: 
 (i) The man Christ is not God, God is not the man; 
 but the man is most intimately joined to God. 
 (2) Therefore the mother of Christ is n6t mother of 
 God. (3) The Word in Christ alone can really be 
 adored; the man receives the name "Only-begotten 
 Son of God" only in an improper sense, by partici- 
 pation. (4) God did not himself become our high 
 priest. (5) God did not suffer nor die. (6) God was 
 in Christ in the same way as he was in the Pro- 
 phets (but rather more intimately) ; God speaks 
 through Christ. The man Christ is the temple, 
 organ, instrument of God. 
 
 4. Before the Council of Ephesus 
 (428-431) 
 
 Having explained the issue we now come back 
 to the history. Soon after Nestorius had become 
 patriarch, one of his followers, a priest named 
 Anastasios, began the fight by preaching a sermon 
 at Constantinople in which he denied our Lady's 
 title. "Let no one call Mary mother of God," he 
 said, "for she was merely a human being and God 
 cannot be born of a human being." He proposed 
 the word Christotokos instead. Then a bishop, 
 Dorotheos of Markianopolis in Asia Minor, who 
 was in the city, preached a sermon of the same kind 
 and excommunicated every one who called Mary 
 the Theotokos. Naturally, people were surprised, 
 
 wdlidat alldh. The Orthodox themselves never conceive the 
 possibility of there being a difference of meaning between these 
 two forms. They constantly say: fi-qrrip rod Oeov in Greek too. 
 This pretended distinction is like that imagined between 
 p.€Tov(Tl(j3(ns and transsiihstantiastio , a figment of the prejudiced 
 mind. If Miss Hapgood were a theologian she would not have 
 troubled about this point, and she would not have put such 
 appalling heresy as: "did lay aside his godhead" for e/cej/wcre 
 creavrdv (p. 103). 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria i8i 
 
 and it was not long before other priests and laymen 
 spoke in defence of the traditional teaching. We 
 notice that at the very beginning, or during the 
 whole time of this dispute, the question turns 
 around our Lady's title of Theotokos. Already 
 people were divided according as they attacked 
 or defended this word. It was when they gave their 
 reasons for what would seem an unimportant 
 detail that the fundamental difference of their 
 views about Christ appeared. Nestorius himself 
 then took the side of his friends Anastasios and 
 Dorotheos and preached a course of sermons 
 against the Theotokos, explaining that it is idola- 
 trous and blasphemous, God cannot have a mother, 
 Mary's son was not the Logos, but a man in whom 
 the Logos dwelled, and so on — in short, explaining 
 and developing the heresy of which from this 
 moment he becomes the champion.^ On Lady-day, 
 429, a Catholic bishop, Proklos of Kyzikos, preach- 
 ing before the patriarch at Constantinople, 
 defended the title that every one was already dis- 
 cussing, and showed that it is only a corollary from 
 the Catholic faith about the hypostatic union. 
 As soon as the sermon was over Nestorius stood 
 up and denied all that Proklos had said. There 
 seems to have been something of the nature of a 
 scene in church. Nestorius further ratified the 
 excommunication against every one who said Theo- 
 tokos. The quarrel now spread all over the east. 
 In Egypt too people began to discuss it; Egyptian 
 monks read Nestorius's sermons, and some of 
 them said they agreed with him. So St Cyril in his 
 
 ^The sermons in Mansi, v, 763: "Has God a mother? Only a 
 pagan [eWrjv) speaks of the mother of the gods without being 
 reproved. Mary did not give birth to the Divinity (of course 
 not; no one said she did), .... but she gave birth to a man 
 who was the organ of the Divinity." 
 
1 82 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Paschal letter of 429^ explained the matter to 
 them and refuted the arguments of the sermons, 
 but without naming Nestorius. Soon after he wrote 
 a long encyclical letter in which he again defends 
 and explains the word Theotokos. Copies of this 
 encyclical got to Constantinople, and the Theoto- 
 kians there comforted themselves by reading it.^ 
 Nestorius was very angry and complained of 
 Cyril's interference.^ Cyril had not interfered at all 
 as yet ; both the Paschal letter and the encyclical 
 were addressed only to his own subjeccs, who were 
 puzzled by the news from Constantinople. But 
 now he writes to Nestorius and remonstrates with 
 him,* to which letter Nestorius sends an un con- 
 ciliatory answer.^ The champions of the two sides 
 have now taken up their arms. The story of the 
 Nestorian heresy becomes one of a conflict between 
 Cyril and Nestorius, and so, incidentally, between 
 the sees of Alexandria and Constantinople. There 
 is that side to the quarrel too. Apart from the theo- 
 logical question this story is one chapter in what was 
 a long history, the mutual enmity of these two sees. 
 xMexandria had been — was still canonically — 
 the second see in Christendom, the first in the east. 
 Since the second general Council (381) Constanti- 
 nople had been scheming and intriguing to get that 
 place herself and to reduce Alexandria to the third 
 rank — a plan in which she finally succeeded, 
 chiefly after the Council of Chalcedon (451) and the 
 
 ^The Paschal letter of the Alexandrine patriarchs was 
 pubHshed each year to announce the day on which Easter 
 would fall ; and at the same time they used the opportunity of 
 discussing any question that concerned their patriarchate at 
 the time. See above, p. 42. 
 
 2Cyr. Ep. xi, 4 (M.P. Gr. Ixxvii, 81). 
 
 3Cyr. Ep. ii (76. p. 81). 
 
 *Ep. ii {lb. p. 40). 
 
 °Cyr. Ep. iii (76. p. 43). 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 183 
 
 fall of Dioskoros of Alexandria (the Monophysite).^ 
 We shall see that Nestorius got sympathy from 
 other bishops in many cases, not because they cared 
 about his views but because they were instinctively 
 on the side of Constantinople against Alexandria. 
 Next certain excommunicate clerks of Egypt, who 
 had run away to the capital, stir up feeling there 
 against their patriarch. Cyril then wrote a second 
 letter to Nestorius in 430. This is known as his 
 Dogmatic Letter, in which he more fully explains 
 the faith ;^ at the same time he wrote sternly to 
 the rebellious clerks who were calumniating him.^ 
 Nestorius wrote to various people too. He tried to 
 persuade Isidore of Pelusium and John, Patriarch of 
 Antioch to take his side. In John's case he appealed 
 of course to the alliance between Constantinople 
 and Antioch against Alexandria. 
 
 Meanwhile the emperor, Theodosius II (408- 
 450), had heard of the matter. Nestorius at the 
 court counted on his support. Cyril wrote to 
 explain the matter to him, to his wife, Eudokia, 
 and his sister, Pulcheria.* The question had now 
 become so important that both sides, following the 
 traditional practice of eastern as well as western 
 Christendom, appeal to tHe"Pope of Rome. It was 
 St Celestin (422-432) who was called upon to settle 
 this matter: he fills the same place as judge in 
 
 ^The quarrel between these two sees is an important element 
 throughout eastern Church history from the fourth century- 
 till the final fall of Alexandria at the Mohammedan conquest 
 of Egypt in 641. See The Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 11-15, and 
 28-46. Three great incidents in that fight were Theophilos' de- 
 position of St John Chrysostom {See above p. 136), Cyril's 
 deposition of Nestorius, and, later, the deposition of Dioskoros. 
 In the first and third our sympathies are with Constantinople, 
 in the second with Alexandria, But they are all parts of one 
 long rivalry. 
 
 ^Cyr. Ep. iv (M.P.G. Ixxvii, pp. 44-50). 
 
 2Ep. X [lb. p. 64 seq.). "*M.S. G. Ixxvi, 11 33-1420. 
 
184 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Nestorian times as does his successor, St Leo I 
 (440-461) in the later Monophysite disturbance — 
 in which, however, the positions were reversed, 
 and Alexandria was wrong. St Cyril then, "com- 
 pelled," as he says, "by the command of God who 
 demands vigilance, and by the ancient custom of 
 the Church," sent a long account of the matter to 
 Celestin by one of his deacons, Posidonios.^ 
 Nestorius also wrote to the Pope, accusing Cyril 
 of Arianism and Apollinarism.'^ Celestin held a 
 synod at Rome (August, 430), in which he entirely 
 approved of Cyril's theology, condemned Nesto- 
 rius, commanded him to receive back into com- 
 munion the Theotokians he had excommunicated, 
 and threatening to excommunicate him unless he 
 drew up a written retractation of his heresy within 
 ten days. The Pope also made Cyril his deputy and 
 legate for the fulfilment of these laws, and sent him 
 a copy of the acts of this council.^ It was on this 
 
 ^Ep, xi, ad Gel. (Ixxxvii, 80). 
 
 ^Apollinarism was the usual accusation of Nestorians against 
 their adversaries. Unless you distinguish two persons in Christ, 
 they said, you confuse his two natures. Just in the same way 
 the Monophysites later accused their opponents of being Nes- 
 torians — unless you identify the two natures you separate his 
 person into two. 
 
 ^The acts in Mansi, iv, 1017, 1025, 1035, 1047. The fact that 
 St Cyril was made Papal deputy is important, because it 
 justifies his interference in the affairs of Constantinople. When 
 his uncle Theophilos interfered in St John Chrysostom's affair, 
 it was an unlawful usurpation (above p. 135). But Cyril had 
 delegate authority from the Pope, which makes all the differ- 
 ence. It has been said that the Pope's attitude is simply 
 another instance of the hereditary alliance between Rome and 
 Alexandria as against Constantinople and Antioch. On the 
 other hand, twenty years later, when Alexandria was heretical 
 (Monophysite under Dioskoros) Rome took just as determined 
 a line against her as now against Constantinople. The explana- 
 tion of the change of ecclesiastical polity is that both times 
 the Roman Church was concerned, not about alliances, but 
 about the Catholic faith. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 185 
 
 occasion that Celestin and a Roman deacon, Leo 
 (afterwards Pope Leo I) , persuaded Abbot Cassian 
 to write his treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord} 
 Before Nestorius heard of this Roman synod he 
 wrote again to the Pope describing the whole 
 quarrel as an aggression on Cyril's part and pro- 
 posing the title Mother of Christ (Christotokos) as 
 a compromise between Mother of God (Theotokos) 
 and Mother of man (Anthropotokos) . He also pro- 
 posed that a general Council should be summoned 
 to settle the question.^ Meanwhile his friend, John 
 of Antioch, wrote to warn him not to make a 
 schism and to accept the word Theotokos. Obvi- 
 ously the Pope and Cyril would have nothing of 
 his compromise. As a century before, in the case of 
 the semi-Arian Homoiusios, Catholics would accept 
 no half-and-half formula. In Nestorius's answer to 
 John of Antioch he dilates on the pride and domin- 
 eering spirit of "that Egyptian," Cyril (this was 
 always his policy, to enlist sympathy at Antioch), 
 and hopes great things from the council for which 
 he is so anxious. St Cyril, as soon as he got the 
 Pope's letter and the acts of the Roman synod 
 held a synod himself at Alexandria (Nov., 430), 
 in which he drew up twelve Anathemas against 
 the new heresy : Anathema to those who deny that 
 Emmanuel is truly God, and that therefore his 
 
 ^ De Incarnatione Domini contra Nestorium (M.P.L., 
 1, 9-272). John Cassian (Cassianus) was Abbot of a monastery 
 at Massilia (Marseilles). His most famous work is the Colla- 
 tiones Patntm (M.P.L. xlix, 477-1328, and in Hurter's Opusc. 
 selecta, series altera, iii), xxiv books of conversations, maxims 
 and principles of the fathers of the Egyptian desert, written 
 down for the edification of the monks at Marseilles. But 
 Cassian in the question of Pelagianism conceived a theory of 
 compromise between Pelagius and Augustine, and so became 
 the father of the Semipelagian heresy. He died in 435. 
 
 ^His letter in Gamier : Prcsf. histor. i, 70. 
 
1 86 The Greek Fathers 
 
 mother is mother of God; Anathema to those who 
 deny that the Logos became man as one Christ; 
 Anathema to those who say that Christ is only a 
 man bearing God (Theophoros), and so on.^ As 
 soon as Nestorius heard of this, not to be outdone, 
 he promptly drew up twelve Anathemas against 
 the Theotokians, which he sent to John of Antioch 
 as his answer to Cyril's synod, adding : "Thou shalt 
 not wonder greatly at this Egyptian's arrogance, 
 because thou knowest of many such examples 
 already." It is still the idea of representing it all 
 as merely one more case of Egyptian pride against 
 Syria and Greece.^ Other bishops of those parts, 
 Andrew of Samosata and Theodoret of Cyrus, 
 wrote angrily against Cyril, too. Everything was 
 now ready for a general Council to settle the ques- 
 tion finally. The emperor (Theodosius II), urged 
 by both sides, especially by Nestorius, in Nov., 430, 
 sent letters to all metropolitans and bishops of 
 the empire, summoning them to a great synod to 
 be held at Ephesus at Whitsuntide, 431. 
 
 5. The Council of Ephesus (June- July, 
 
 431) 
 
 From Smyrna you may go by the Aidin railway 
 in three hours to the village of Ayasoluk.^ From 
 here you ride in an hour to the great plain where 
 stand the ruins of Ephesus; they are being very 
 carefully excavated by a commission sent by the 
 Austrian Government. Looking down from the 
 
 ^The twelve Anathemas in Mansi, iv, 10S2. The decrees of 
 this synod with those of the Roman one were sent by Cyril to 
 Nestorius, John of Antioch and Juvenal of Jerusalem. 
 
 ^Mansi, iv, 754-756. 
 
 ^Ayasoluk is a Turkish attempt at or/ios deoXSyos. The "holy 
 theologian" is St John the Evangelist, first Bishop of Ephesus. 
 Fine tobacco grows here. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 187 
 
 rising ground {Panayir Dagh) to the east you see 
 
 the plain stretch out to the sea between the high 
 
 mountain (BiHbul Dagh — Nightingale hill) and the 
 
 river Kaystros. A canal brings the water up to 
 
 the great Ephesian harbour. At your feet lies a 
 
 glorious and wonderful white Greek city. Standing 
 
 out from the long grass, the olive trees and the 
 
 carpet of many-coloured flowers, are the columns 
 
 of the broad road, the stage of the great library, 
 
 the curve of the theatre — temples and baths and 
 
 colonnades, broken and ruined now, but still 
 
 majestic and splendid in their gleaming white 
 
 marble and all eloquent of the rich and mighty 
 
 city that was the capital of Asia. It would be 
 
 difficult to see without emotion the iDroad street and 
 
 the columns under whose shade St Paul rested, the 
 
 pillars and walls that St John knew. Behind, to the 
 
 right, is the great Artemision, the temple of the 
 
 patron-goddess, sunk in water now and neglected, 
 
 since no longer great is Diana of the Ephesians. 
 
 And over in front you may see the ruin of a later 
 
 building, no less impressive than the others. You 
 
 will walk across the street and clamber over broken 
 
 walls and through thick bushes to stand here, too, 
 
 for this is the double church of Ephesus in which 
 
 the council was held. 
 
 The bishops came in June, 431, from all parts 
 of the empire. Nestorius arrived first with six- 
 teen of his followers and with armed retainers, 
 sure of victory because the emperor was on 
 his side. Memnon of Ephesus had forty suffra- 
 gans. Cyril arrived with fifty Egyptians. Juvenal 
 of Jerusalem and his bishops came late, as did 
 Flavian of Thessalonica with his. Theodosius sent 
 an Imperial commissioner, Candidian, to keep 
 order and to prevent strangers and the great crowd 
 
1 88 The Greek Fathers 
 
 of monks at Ephesus from interfering. And Pope 
 Celestin approved of the summoning of the council 
 and sent his legates, Arcadius and Projectus, both 
 bishops, and a priest Phihp, with letters to thank 
 the emperor for having summoned the council. 
 He had already made Cyril his legate for the whole 
 affair: the synod formally recognized Cyril as 
 Papal legate.^ As legate he presided and the Latins 
 had received instructions from the Pope to acknow- 
 ledge him as such and in all things to be on his side. 
 They waited some time for stragglers to come in. 
 John of Antioch still did not appear, and it was sup- 
 posed that he did not wish to be forced to declare 
 himself openly against his old friend Nestorius.^ 
 At last, on June 22, the synod held its first session 
 in the double church^ that it was to make famous 
 throughout the world as the place of the third 
 general Council. Candidian, who was Nestorius's 
 friend and apparently hoped that John would come 
 soon and vote for that side, wanted to wait for him 
 still. But they had already waited a fortnight, so 
 Cyril refused to put off the synod any longer. 
 
 iThe "Alexandrine Cyril, who also holds the place of Celes- 
 tine, the most holy and most blessed Archbishop of the Roman 
 Church .... being present." (Mansi, iv, 1280) Arcadius and 
 Projectus are also "the most pious and God -beloved bishops 
 and legates," and Philip is "priest and legate of the Apostolic 
 See" {lb. 1281). 
 
 2Two of his metropoUtans (of Apamea and Hierapohs) gave 
 this reason for his delay. But from the beginning there was 
 something not straight about John of Antioch. He wrote to 
 Cyril saying that he was on his way, had already been travelling 
 thirty days and would arrive in five or six more. He could not 
 possibly have taken really thirty days from Antioch to 
 Ephesus if he had any sort of idea of the way (you have only to 
 keep due north-west all the time). In easy horse-stages of 
 30-40 miles a day he could have got there in about a fortnight. 
 His letter is in Mansi, iv, 1 121. 
 
 ^The double church is a building with two churches one 
 in front of the other. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 189 
 
 There were 198 bishops present. Nestorius seems 
 now to have foreseen that things would go against 
 him, so he stayed at home and refused to show 
 himself. In the first session the Cathohc faith 
 was declared, the title Theotokos solemnly recog- 
 nized, Cyril's 12 anathemas confirmed. The next 
 day Nestorius was deposed and excommunicated 
 as contumacious. The second session was held on 
 July 10. The Latin legates, who had not arrived in 
 time for the first, were present at this and con- 
 firmed what had passed. It was then that Philip 
 spoke the famous words about the Primacy: 
 "There is no doubt, indeed it is known to all ages, 
 that the holv and most blessed Peter, Prince and 
 Chief of the Apostles, column of the faith and 
 foundation of the Catholic Church, received the 
 keys of the kingdom, and that the power of for- 
 giving and retaining sins was given to him, and 
 that he till the present time, and always, lives and 
 judge in his successors. Therefore his successor 
 and Vicegerent, our holy and most blessed Pope, 
 the Bishop Celestin, has sent us to this synod to 
 take his place. "^ Firmus of Csesarea in Cappa- 
 docia explained that the council had only carried 
 out the Pope's instructions in its first session. 
 
 Meanwhile John of Antioch had arrived at 
 Ephesus with his bishops. The council at once 
 sent deputies to him and asked him to come and 
 take his place among the other fathers. But he 
 consulted with Nestorius, and his hatred of "that 
 Egyptian" now conquered his scruples about his 
 friend's orthodoxy; so instead of going to the 
 double church he held a private assembly in his 
 own house. Candidian, who had become more and 
 more sulky with Cyril, went there, too, with a few 
 
 ^Mansi iv, I.e. 
 
iQo The Greek Fathers 
 
 Nestorian bishops. John, his bishops and these 
 friends of Nestorius, then proceed to excommuni- 
 cate Cyril, Memnon of Ephesus and all the real 
 council as being Arians, Eunomians and Apollina- 
 rists. They depose Cyril and Memnon and want to 
 ordain a new bishop for Ephesus: the Ephesians 
 themselves prevented this. But Candidian sent his 
 account of the matter to his master, so that Theo- 
 dosius declared himself for John's council and 
 against Cyril's. The fathers of the real council 
 answer the emperor and explain that they have 
 done everything in order and have deposed Nes- 
 torius canonically and in accordance with the 
 decision of the Roman Church. The fourth and 
 fifth sessions (July i6 and 17) again invite John 
 of Antioch to come and take his proper place 
 among the fathers, instead of holding a rival 
 sham-synod at home. As he will not do so, his ex- 
 communication of Cyril and Memnon is declared 
 null and void and he- and his party are, not excom- 
 municated, but suspended for the present. The 
 sixth session (July 22) explained the Nicene creed, 
 and when a member proposed a newsemi-Nestorian 
 symbol as a compromise, it forbade any one to 
 change or alter the old one.^ The seventh and last 
 session arranged some points of discipline, and 
 drew up six canons and an encyclical letter 
 declaring what the council had defined.^ The 
 people of Ephesus had been on the right side 
 
 ^This is the decree the Orthodox quote against us, because 
 we have added the Filioqiie. As the council had in view the 
 original Nicene creed without the enlargement of Constantino- 
 ple I, its law would fall with as much force on them as on us, 
 if it meant what they said. They are enormously wrong in the 
 whole question of this decree of Ephesus [Orth. Eastern Church, 
 pp. 381-384). 
 
 ^The acts of the council are in Mansi, iv-v; a full history 
 of it in Hefele's Conciliengesch (Ed, 2) ii, 141 seq. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 191 
 
 throughout. After the first session they received 
 the decrees, especially the recognition of our 
 Lady's title, with great joy. They accompanied 
 the fathers back to their lodgings [that evening 
 (June 22) with a great torchlight procession. The 
 memory of that procession still clings to the city. 
 The double church was naturally afterwards always 
 called the church of the All-holy Mother of God, 
 the iravayla OeoroKog. The city, famous already for 
 so many reasons, acquired a new title as the city of 
 the Theotokos. Still the Turkish peasants, who all 
 over the Levant surprise one by their curious 
 memories of local Christian events, have kept a 
 vague consciousness of what was done in the 
 double church,^ and still as one looks over 
 Ephesus in the evening one seems to see the gleam 
 of the torches move down the great street among 
 the shadows and the ghosts. 
 
 6. After the council (431-439) 
 
 It was some time before the emperor was per- 
 suaded to accept the decrees of the real council. 
 Candidian had poisoned his mind against it, and 
 at first he was disposed to take the side of John 
 and Nestorius. Both synods sent deputies to Con- 
 stantinople, each accusing the other. Theodosius 
 then thought of a master-stroke and meant to 
 satisfy every one by punishing them all. So he 
 sent his treasurer to Ephesus with a message that 
 he had deposed John and Nestorius, and Cyril and 
 
 ^The jnukari who went with me and pretended to talk Greek, 
 but couldn't, when we stood in the double church became tre- 
 mendously excited, and for the first time said something in- 
 telligible : fxaXiara, ixaXLara, iravayia deordKOS ! All the Turks in 
 Asia Minor call our Lady Panayia. But he did not know what 
 deoTOKos means. 
 
192 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Memnon.^ Then he found that they were still not 
 satisfied, and he further examined the case, having 
 ordered eight representatives from either council 
 to come to him and explain their views. Eventu- 
 ally he was persuaded that Cyril was right, so he 
 allowed him to go back to Egypt, and he let a new 
 Bishop of Constantinople, Maximian (431-434) be 
 ordained on Oct. 25, 431, in place of the deposed 
 Nestorius. St Cyril arrived at Alexandria on 
 Oct. 30, where he was received in triumph as a 
 second Athanasius. 
 
 But the bad feeling between Alexandria and 
 Antioch lasted for a long time. John of Antioch 
 had gone home, too, and he was still full of indig- 
 nation against the Egyptian. In two councils at 
 Tarsus and Antioch the Syrian bishops declared 
 that Nestorius had been unjustly deposed and 
 that Maximian was a schismatical intruder.^ It 
 was not till 433 that John accepted the legitimate 
 Council of Ephesus and Cyril was able to write to the 
 Pope (Sixtus III, 432-440) that peace was restored 
 between them. 
 
 But the Nestorians always kept a strong party 
 in Syria. Their leader, Nestorius himself, retired to 
 a monastery, where he diedquietly about the year 
 439.^ We hear nothing more of him. But the Syrian 
 
 ^For some time the fathers were kept prisoners at Ephesus. 
 
 ^One expression used by Cyril especially scandalized the 
 Syrians. It was fxia (pvais rod deou aeaapKiofievrj — one incarnate 
 nature of God. This seemed to them patently Apollinarist. It 
 had, however, already been used by St Athanasius (cfr. Mansi, 
 iv, 689). St Cyril himself explained that by <f>vaLs he meant 
 the same thing as inroaTacns (Ep. i, ix, etc.; Ixxvii, 232, 241, etc. 
 
 ^The latest writer on the subject, J, F. Bethune-Baker 
 [Nestorius and his teaching, Cambridge, 1908), disputes this, 
 and maintains that the heretic lived till the Council of Chalcedon 
 (451), and warmly approved of its teaching. Many modern 
 writers, in Germany especially, deny that Nestorius really 
 meant the heresy of which he was accused. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 193 
 
 Schools still taught his heresy, defending it as the 
 teaching of their two chief theologians, Diodore of 
 Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia.^ They trans- 
 lated the works of Diodore and Theodore into 
 Syriac, Persian and Aimenian. These two persons 
 have always been the fathers read and admired by 
 Nestorians. 
 
 The centre of Nestorianism was the school of 
 Edessa,^ under a priest Ibas, who became Bishop 
 of Edessa (435-457). In 489 the emperor Zeno 
 (474-491) closed the school and banished the 
 Nestorians from the empire. They fled across the 
 Persian frontier to Nisibis.^ Here the bishop, 
 Barsumas (Barsumah, 453-489), became their 
 champion. The Persian king protected them, 
 as being enemies of the Roman empire, and 
 at Nisibis they spread the Nestorian Church 
 that sent missions eastward right across China. 
 Its history forms one of the most curious and 
 romantic, as well as one of the least known, 
 chapters of Church history. There or thereabouts, 
 among the mountains of Kurdistan and in the 
 valley of Urmiah, they still remain, a pitiful 
 
 '^Diodore, Bishop of Tarsus (fc.394), was a leader of the 
 Antiochene school, and a defender of the faith against the 
 Arians. He was a Meletian at the time of that schism, and was 
 present at the second General Council. His works in M.P.Gr. 
 xxxiii. His pupil Theodore (fc. 428), a friend of St John 
 Chrysostom, became Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia in 392. 
 Both were representative of the Antiochene school that 
 undoubtedly paved the way for Nestorianism {see above 
 p. 176). Afterwards they were especially attacked by the 
 Tvlonophysites and for centuries the question of their ortho- 
 doxy was the burning one in the east. The condemnation of 
 Theodore was the first of Justinian's Three Chapters in 553 
 {Orth. Eastern Church p. 82), Theodore of Mopsuestia is the 
 Exegete to the Syrians. His works in M.P.G. Ixvi. 
 
 ^Edessa is now Urfa, three long days' march north-east 
 of Aleppo. The INIoslems say Abraham was born here. 
 
 ^i^ow Nesibin, five days north-west of Mosul. 
 
 13 
 
194 / The Greek Fathers 
 remnant/ under a Katholikos, who bears the title 
 of Mar Simeon, calKng themselves Meshihaye 
 (people of the Messias), or Syrians or Nasrani 
 (Nazarenes) } They remember little of the old heresy 
 that cut them oh from the rest of the Christian 
 world,^ and only as a general inheritance from 
 their fathers do they remember in their liturgy, 
 among the other saints, St Diodore, St Theodore 
 and St Nestorius. 
 
 7. The end of St Cyril (431-444) 
 
 Meanwhile, in the great Catholic Church, that is, 
 the Church of the Roman empire, Nestorianism 
 soon became a thing of the past. Maximian of Con- 
 stantinople was recognized by every one, and he 
 was a determined Theotokian. Our Lady's title 
 was accepted and used triumphantly in every 
 liturgy as a continued protest against the dead 
 heresy, and there is no more trouble about Nesto- 
 rianism, till the extreme opposite side, the Mono- 
 physite party in Egypt, twenty 3^ears later 
 remember it as a convenient accusation against 
 their opponents. 
 
 With the triumph of the Council of Ephesus St 
 Cyril's work was done. He lived three more years 
 at Alexandria, the acknowledged hero of the 
 Catholics. He spent those years in removing the 
 last traces of the schism and in gradually pacifying 
 the Syrian bishops who were still sore at what they 
 looked upon as a trimuph of Egypt over Syria. One 
 
 ^There were about 70,000 in 1833 (Smith and Dwight: 
 Researches in Armenia, Boston, 1833). 
 
 ^They appear to call themselves Nastoriye occasionally, too. 
 
 ^But they did not quite forget it. In 1247 in answer to one of 
 the many attempts at reunion made by the Pope, they sent 
 a profession of faith to Rome which was quite orthodox, except 
 that they changed the word Tlico tokos into Christotokos. 
 
St C3Til of Alexandria 195 
 
 of his last acts was a prudent and charitable one. 
 He stopped an agitation among Catholics to have 
 Theodore of Mopsuestia condemned too. It is true 
 that Theodore had been Nestorius' master and 
 that the root of the heresy can be traced back to 
 him. On the other hand, the cause had triumphed 
 so completely that there \vas no need further to 
 condemn a dead man, especially as Theodore was 
 so enormously admired by the Syrians that any 
 attack against him would have hurt their feelings 
 very much and would have m.ade their recon- 
 ciliation and acceptance of the council still more 
 difficult. St Cyril died at Alexandria on June 27, 
 444. He was succeeded by his Archdeacon, 
 Dioskoros. Almost at once the Monophysites 
 trouble began, in which Dioskoros and the 
 Egyptians, pushing the teaching of their hero to 
 an extreme, fell into the opposite heresy. 
 
 The Orthodox remember St Cyril of Alexandria 
 as the Seal of the fathers (p. 169). He was the 
 last of the great group that begins with his pre- 
 decessor, St Athanasius ; he was also the most syste- 
 matic and complete in his theology. For he not 
 only wrote against Nestorianism ; in all theological 
 questions he for the first time drew up an orderly 
 system of dogma, arranging all the points of the 
 faith logically and tersely in a harmonious whole, 
 so that he disputes with St John Damascene the 
 place as systematic theologian among the Greeks 
 that St Thomas Aquinas holds amongst us. The 
 Byzantine Church keeps the memory of "Cyril, 
 Pope of Alexandria,"^ on June 9, and again with 
 
 ^Tlie Patriarchs of Alexandria very commonly used the 
 title Pope (TrdTras) as well as the Roman Pontiffs. Another 
 title, still officially used by them (both Orthodox and Copt), 
 is Judge of the world {difcaaTrjs rou koxXjiov), cfr. Orth. Eastern 
 Church, pp. 13, n. 2 and 349 n. 3. 
 
196 The Greek Fathers 
 
 the other great Egyptian, Athanasius, on Jan. 18. 
 He is "the defender of the true and unspotted 
 faith,"^ and she remembers him as "a most learned 
 man and splendid fighter for the Catholic faith, 
 whom the Supreme Pontiff, Celestin, thought 
 worthy to take his place as legate at the Council 
 of Ephesus."^ Before the Byzantine mitre, which 
 is shaped like a crown, was worn by all B3^zantine 
 bishops the Patriarch of Alexandria used it as a 
 special privilege. Greek writers explain this and 
 that patriarch's titles of Pope and "Judge of the 
 World" as a legacy from the time when Cyril was 
 legate of the Roman Pope at Ephesus. So Nike- 
 phoros KaUistos: "Celestin, the Bishop of Rome, 
 did not himself come to the synod because of the 
 difficulty of the journey. So he wrote to Cyril, 
 telling him to take his place. And it is said that 
 from that time he (Cyril) received the mitre and 
 the titles of Pope and Judge of the whole world, 
 which rights then descended to all the holy bishops 
 who lawfully occupy the throne of Alexandria."^ 
 
 Pope Leo XIII declared St Cyril of Alexandria 
 a Doctor of the Church, We keep his feast on 
 Feb. 9, and he, too, like his namesake of Jerusa- 
 lem, has a very beautiful collect alluding to the 
 work of his life: "God, who didst make thy holy 
 Confessor and Pontiff, Cyril, a victorious defender 
 of the divine motherhood of the most blessed 
 Virgin Mary, grant by his prayers that we who 
 believe her to be really mother of God may be 
 saved by her protection as our mother." And just 
 as the memory of Athanasius lives in our churches 
 each time we say the Nicene creed, so do we echo 
 
 ^So the Council of Chalcedon (451) Act. 3, 
 ^Menaia for June q. 
 
 "Nik. Kail. Hist. Eccl. xiv, 34 (M.P.G. cxlvi, cfr. Theodore 
 Balsamon in Goar: Euchologion (Venice, 1720), p, 259. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 197 
 
 the voice of Cyril and of the Council of Ephesus 
 every time we sing in the litany, Sancta Dei 
 genitrix, and every time we say, "Holy Mary, 
 mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the 
 hour of our death." 
 
 8. Table of dates 
 
 c. 380 (?). Cyril born. 
 
 403. Oak-tree Synod, Cyril present with his 
 uncle, Theophilos. 
 
 412. Patriarch of Alexandria, 
 
 415. Hypatia murdered. 
 
 428-431. Nestorius Patriarch of Constantinople. 
 
 429. Beginning of Nestorianism at Constanti- 
 nople. 
 
 429. Cyril's Paschal letter against the heresy. 
 
 430. His dogmatic letter to Nestorius. 
 
 430. Synod of Rome, Nov., Synod of Alexan- 
 dria. 
 
 431. Third general Council at Ephesus 
 
 (June-July). 
 
 433. John of Antioch accepts the councii. 
 c. 439. Death of Nestorius (?). 
 
 444 (June 27). Death of St Cyril. 
 
 489. Zeno closes the school of Edessa. The 
 Nestorians go to Persia. 
 
 9. Works 
 
 J. Aubert, a Canon of Paris, published the com- 
 plete text of Cyril of Alexandria in Greek in six 
 folio volumes (Paris, 1638). This is the only com- 
 plete edition. It is reprinted with a Latin transla- 
 tion in Migne P. Gr. lxviii-lxxvii. Cardinal Mai 
 edited a number of addenda {Bihl. nova Patrum) 
 that are included in Migne. R. P. Smith (5. Cyr. 
 Alex. arch, commentarii in Lucae evang. qiice 
 
198 The Greek Fathers 
 
 super sunt syriace, Oxford, 1858), Ph. E. Pusey 
 {S. P. N. Cyr. arch. Alex, in XII Prophctas, Oxford, 
 1868, 2 vols; In D. J oh. Evang. Accedunt frag- 
 menta varia, Oxford, 1872, 3 vols, and other 
 works, Oxford, 1877), and C. J. Neumann (Cyr. 
 Alex, lihrorum ctra Juliamwt fragmenta grceca et 
 syriaca, in Juliani imp. lihrorum ctra Christianos 
 qiicB super sunt, Leipzig, 1880) have collected 
 other works and fragments for a future complete 
 edition. 
 
 R. P. Smith translated A Commentary on the 
 Gospel ace. to St Luke by S. Cyril (Oxford, 1859, 2 
 vols, 8vo), and W. Wright, Fragments of the 
 Homilies of Cyril of Alex, on the Gospel of S. Luke, 
 edited from a Nitrian MS. (London, 1874, 40), 
 both from the Syriac. There is an English trans- 
 lation (anonymous) of Cyril's Commentary on 
 St John (London, 1880-1886). H. Hurter includes 
 the Encomium in S. Mariam (the xi homily, fourth 
 preached at Ephesus) in his series, S5. Patrum 
 opuscula selecta (Innsbruck, 1894, vol. xii: De 
 glor. Dei gen. Maria ss. PP. opusc. sel., pp. 39-52). 
 
 Polemical Works. Most of these are written 
 against Nestorianismx. First come two works on the 
 holy Trinity against the Arians, The Book of 
 treasures about the holy and consubstantial Trinity 
 [}) fBl^Xo? Twv OrjaravoMV Trepl r?/? ay Lag Kai o/moovcriov 
 TpiaSog. Thesaurus de seta et consubstantiali 
 Trinitate, lxxv, 9-656) in thirty-five discourses 
 (Xoyof), and Seven dialogues about the holy and con- 
 substantial Trinity {-Trepl ayla'? re koi ojuloovo-lov 
 TpiaSog \6yoi eirrd. De S. et consubst. Trin. dia- 
 logi VII, LXXV, 657-1124) — dialogues with his 
 friend Hermias. 
 
 The chief anti-Nestorian works are three books 
 addressed to the emperor Tlieodosius H, to his 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 199 
 
 younger sisters, Arkadia and Marina, to his elder 
 sister, Pulcheria, and wife, Eudokia — Defences of 
 the tviie faith {^oyoi ir poa-cftiavriTiKOL irep\ Tfj<? opOijg 
 iTLarreoig. De recta fide, LXXVi, 1 133-1200, 1201- 
 1336, 1336-1420). Tlien, An answer to the blas- 
 phemies of NestoriliS [icara rchv l^lea-ropiov Svcr(p}]iuiiov 
 irevTu l3i/3\og ' avTippw'^^- Contra blasphemias Nes- 
 torii l.v., LXXVI, 9-248). He wrote a Defence of the 
 twelve points^ to the eastern bishops {' ATroXoyrjriKog 
 virep Twv SwSeica Ke(paXca(av irpog Toug Tijg avaTOATJg 
 e^irrfcoTTovg. Apologia de XII capitibus, Lxxxvi,3i5- 
 386), and defended them again in his Letter to Evop- 
 tios against the answer of Theodoret^ to the twelve points 
 {'eTTKTToXtj irpog^voiTTiov K.T.X. Ep. ad Evoptium, 
 LXXVI, 385-452) and in a httle Explanation of the 
 Twelve Points {'eirlXvG-ig toov SoiSeica Ke(paXdion'. 
 Expositio XII capit. Lxxvi, 293-312). After the 
 Council of Ephesus Cyril wrote an Apology to the 
 emperor Theodosius (Xoyo? aTroXoyijriKog. Apologia 
 ad Theod. Imp. lxxvi, 453-488), a treatise On the 
 Incarnation of the Word of God (ire pi tj}? evavOpM-rr- 
 ijo-em Tou Oeov Xoyov. De incarnatione Verbi 
 divini, Lxxv, 1413-1420), a work. That Christ is 
 one (oTL eh o xp^^Tog. Quod Christus unus sit, 
 LXXV, 1253-1362), a Conversation against Nes- 
 torius {SidXeiig irpog l^lecrropioi'. Tract, adv. Nest. 
 LXXVI, 249-256) and a book Against those who will 
 not call the holy Virgin Mother of God (/caret twu 
 yujy jSovXojuei'oov ojmoXoyeiu QeoTOKOV t>]p ayiav irap- 
 
 ^That is: of the twelve anathemas (pp. 185-186). 
 
 ^Theodoret (386-458) was a disciple of Theodore of Mopsues- 
 tia. He became Bishop of Cyrus {Kvpos), two days' journey 
 from Antioch, and for a time defended Nestorius. At the 
 Council of Chalcedon he condemned both Nestorianism and 
 Monophysism and died in the communion of the Church. 
 He was one of the most learned men of his time, and a very 
 good and holy bishop. His best known work is a Church 
 history in five books, a continuation of Eusebeios (from 
 323 to 428). 
 
200 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Oevop. Adv. eos qui nolunt vocare s. virginem 
 genitricem Dei, Lxxv, 255-292). Lastly, there is an 
 Apology for the holy Christian religion against the 
 hooks of the godless Julian [v-wep rtj? rwv xp^^'^'-'^^'^'^' 
 evayovq Optja-Kela^ tt/jo? to. tou ev aOeoig 'lovXiavov. 
 De seta religione christ. adv. atheum Julieaium 
 Lxxvi, 503-1064), an answer to Julian's three 
 books Against the Christians. 
 
 ExEGETiCAL WoRKS. These take up the most 
 place among Cyril's works. He wrote seventeen 
 books 071 the worship and adoration of God in spirit 
 and truth {irepl r?}? ey irvevjULari Km aXr^Oeia irpocncvv- 
 ya-ecog Km Xarpelag. De adoratione Dei in spiritu et 
 veritate, Lxviii, 133-1126), in which he explains 
 that, although the letter of the old law is abolished, 
 its spirit remains. Then there are the Or?iaments 
 {yXa^vpd. Dicta elegantia, LXix,g-678) in thirteen 
 books, a commentary on select texts of the 
 Pentateuch, commentaries on Isaias (lxx, 9-1450), 
 the Minor Prophets (lxxi, lxxii, 9-364), and frag- 
 ments of commentaries on other books of the Old 
 Testament (lxix-lxx). We have a long com- 
 mentary on St John's Gospel (lxxiii-lxxiv, 
 9-756), parts of that on St Matthew (lxxii, 365- 
 474) and St Licke (lxxii, 475-950) and on Rom. 
 I and 2 Cor. and Hehr. (lxxiv, 773-1006). 
 
 Homilies. Twenty-nine Paschal letters are pre- 
 served, sermons preached at the Council of 
 Ephesus, of which the fourth (lxxvii, 991-996) on 
 our Lady's title as Theotokos is the most famous, 
 and others preached on various occasions. All are 
 in M. P. Gr. lxxvii. 
 
 Letters. Vol. lxxvii (9-390) of Migne contains 
 eighty-eight letters written by or to St Cyril. The 
 three addressed to Nestorius (Nos. 2, 4 and 17) were 
 solemnly approved by the Council of Chalcedon. 
 
St Cyril of Alexandria 201 
 
 The thirty-ninth (to John of Antioch), sometimes 
 called the symbol of Ephesus, was approved in the 
 same way. 
 
 10. Literature 
 
 J. Kopallik, Cyrillus von Alexandrien (Mainz, 
 1881), is the standard life. N. Ilay/oa?: ILvpiWog 
 o AXe^avSpelag apxteirLCTKOTrog, Leipzig, 1884. A. 
 Largent, St Cyrille d'Alex. et le concile d' Ephcse 
 (Paris, 1892). J. Kohlhofer, S. Cyr. Alex, de 
 Sanctificatione (Wiirzburg, 1866). The source for 
 the history of the Nestorian heresy is Liherati 
 hreviarium causoe Nestorianorum et Entychianiorum 
 (in M. P. L. Lxviii). See also Sokrates, vii, 29 seq. 
 Theodoret, Hcer. fab. iv, 12. Hefele, Conciliens- 
 geschichte (ed. 2), 11, 141 seq. 
 
202 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 ST JOHN OF DAMASCUS (f c 754) 
 
 OHN of Damascus, surnamed Chrysorroas,^ 
 monk and priest near Jerusalem, is in most 
 ways unlike any other father of the Church. 
 Unless we count St Bernard (t 1153) one, John is 
 the last of the fathers. In any case, he is the last 
 Greek father, coming long after the others, alone 
 in a very different age. He spent all his life under 
 the government of a Mohammedan khalifah. His 
 work as a writer was rather to compile and arrange 
 what the older fathers had said than to add to it. 
 He is the first of the long line of Christian Aristote- 
 lians, and one of the two greatest poets of the 
 eastern Church.^ He was (with St Theodore of Stu- 
 dion) the chief defender of images during the 
 Iconoclast troubles, and he is more than any other 
 author the theologian studied in Orthodox colleges. 
 His treatise Of the orthodox faith is the standard 
 text book in their schools still, as St Thomas 
 Aquinas' Summa theologica is in ours. And he is 
 to them the last court of appeal in theological ques- 
 
 ''■XpvaoppSas, Gold-flowing, is the old Greek name of the chief 
 river of Damascus (in Arabic Nahr harada) ; see p. 204. 
 r 2Xhe other poet is Romanos the Singer (6 fieXcpSos), a deacon 
 of Beirut (f c. 565). He wrote 1,000 liymns, of which the 
 Byzantine hturgical books have preserved about eighty. 
 Krumbacher (Byz ant. Litter., Munich, 1891, pp. 30S-300) thinks 
 that some day Romanos Avill perhaps be counted greatest of all 
 Christian poets. His most famous hymn is one for Christmas, 
 beginning: To-day the Virgin (7; irapOlvo^ arj/mepov) which was 
 sung very solemnly while the emperor sate at dinner on 
 Christmas day. The Orthodox (and Melkites) keep the feast of 
 St Romanos the Singer on Oct. i, on which day the Meno- 
 logion tells his life. 
 
St John of Damascus 203 
 
 tions. No Orthodox Christian would dare contra- 
 dict St John Damascene, though occasionally they 
 have to explain what he really meant — as when he 
 writes of the procession of the Holy Ghost from the 
 Father through the Son. We know too little of his 
 life; but to us also he is a very interesting and 
 sympathetic person whose life and times form a 
 singularly picturesque chapter of eastern Church 
 history. 
 
 1. The City of Syria 
 
 The real eternal city is Damascus, the head of 
 Syria. Centuries before Rome was founded it was 
 great and flourishing, the greatest city of western 
 Asia. When Solomon reigned at Jerusalem Razon, 
 his rival, ruled over a great kingdom at Damascus ;^ 
 even then it was an ancient place, beside which 
 Jerusalem was a city of yesterday. Far back in the 
 days when the Chananaean was in the land, 
 Abraham took with him "this Damascene Elie- 
 zer."^ Josephus says Damascus was founded by 
 Uz, the grandson of Sem.^ Who can say how old it 
 is? Far back as you can trace into the mists that 
 hang over the first age of Syrian history, through 
 them you always see this gleaming white city by 
 the river, at the head of the caravan roads. Tens 
 of centuries ago Damascus was queen of Asia. 
 Through all the changes since, whatever rulers may 
 reign, whatever religion may be taught, nothing 
 has displaced her. The Egyptian ruled here seven- 
 teen centuries before Christ, the Assyrian came 
 and the Chaldee, the Persian, the Macedonian, 
 the Roman and the Arab, and always Damascus 
 was the head of Syria. 
 
 To-day still it is the chief town between Constanti- 
 
 ^3 Kings, xi, 23. ^Gen. xv, 2, ^Auf. Jud., J, 6, 4. 
 
204 The Greek Fathers 
 
 nople and Cairo in one direction, between Rome and 
 Bombay in the other. For whatever else may change, 
 nothing can affect its superb position. What a great 
 harbour is, at the point where all ships must pass, 
 that is Damascus at the head of the great roads of 
 western Asia. Still, as for untold centuries, it is 
 from Damascus that the long lines of caravans 
 start. One great route goes across the Syrian desert 
 to Baghdad, another, the Pilgrims' way, due south 
 through Palestine to Mecca; northward the roads 
 lead to Hama, Aleppo and across Asia Minor to 
 Stambul, north-east to Mosul and on to the 
 Caspian Sea ; to the west across the Anti-Lebanon 
 in one day^ you may reach Beirut and take ship for 
 any part of the world. 
 
 At the edge of the great desert Damascus stands 
 like a heavenly city. Water is the one thing needful 
 in these parts, and Damascus has water in abun- 
 dance. It is the water and its position that explain 
 how this city must always be the chief place of 
 western Asia. From the Anti-Lebanon streams flow 
 down to the gardens of Damascus; there is the 
 Nahr harada (Cold River), the old Golden Stream 
 (Chrysorroas) of the Greeks, and countless other 
 waters that flow round and through the city in a 
 silver network. One can understand Naaman's 
 indignant question : "Are not Abana and Pharphar, 
 rivers of Damascus, better than aU the waters of 
 Israel?"^ For seven miles these rivers flow through 
 gardens and orchards around the city. Looking 
 down from the Salihiye height you may see the 
 bright green of the apricot groves (rarest sight in 
 Syria), a broad girdle around the city whose domes 
 and minarets stand up white and palest gold or 
 flushed with the faintest red, all iridescent with 
 
 ^In nine hours by the railway now. ^4 Kings, v, 12. 
 
St John of Damascus 205 
 
 subtle suggestion of many colours in its gleaming 
 whiteness, like a pearl set in emeralds. To come 
 back to Damascus from the hideous rocks of the 
 Hauran is like going up to the gates of heaven after 
 hell. After the parched sand and burning rocks you 
 walk among green rushes under showers of apricot 
 blossom and hear the water trickling beneath the 
 cool damp banks ; and all through the shady bazaars 
 where you look up and see the minarets, pencils 
 of dazzling white against the blue, you hear the 
 fountains plashing in the courts of the houses. No 
 wonder that the Bedawin from their sultry tents 
 look across to the green patch on the horizon and 
 tell you that there certainly is the most beautiful 
 place on earth; no wonder that every Arab poet 
 sings of the glories of the City of Syria; and no 
 wonder that Mohammed the Prophet when he 
 looked over Damascus said he dared not go down 
 into it, since a man only once may enter heaven. 
 
 Naturally every one who set out to conquer Syria 
 thought first of taking the City of Syria. ^ Since the 
 khalifahs reigned there splendidly in the first and 
 best age of Islam (a.h. 41-137, a.d. 661-753) people 
 have almost forgotten that Damascus was for cen- 
 turies a great Christian town. It was on the way to 
 Damascus that St Paul was converted, and in a 
 house in the street that is still called straight at 
 Damascus that he was baptized.^ From the time the 
 empire became Christian to the Arab conquest of 
 
 ^Madfnat ash- Sham (or SJidm alone) is the name that in 
 Arabic has almost displaced the old Dimishk (Demeshek). 
 Damascus is called Sham (Syria), just as Cairo is Alisr (Egypt). 
 To distinguish the city from the land you must say IMadTnat 
 ash-Sham (city of Syria) and Bildd ash-Sham (land of Syria). 
 
 ^Act. Ap. IX, i-ig. The Silk at-TawTle from the Bdb Sharki 
 (Eastern Gate) by the Melkite patriarchal church, right 
 through the town (east — west) is still called Darb al-Mitstakiyn 
 (Straight Street). Carpets and silk arc sold here. 
 
2o6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Syria Damascus rivalled with Antioch as the chief 
 town of Christian Syria. It had a great and splendid 
 church, that of St John, in which was kept the 
 Baptist's head.^ This church, built on the site of a 
 heathen temple, is one of the famous basilicas of 
 Justinian (527-565). The bishop of Damascus took 
 the second place after his patriarch (of Antioch), 
 and the city was an important frontier-fortress of 
 the empire over against the desert. After the battle 
 of Yarmuk (634) at which the Romans lost Syria, 
 'Omar, the second khalifah (a.h. 11-23, a.d. 632- 
 644) sent Abu-' Ubaida to take Damascus. Since then 
 it has been under Moslem rule. The Crusaders never 
 succeeded in taking it, though in 11 26 they came 
 up to its walls. 
 
 It was from the time Mu'awiya, the first Om- 
 meyade (a.h. 41-60, a.d. 661-680) set up his 
 capital here till his race was dethroned (a.h. 132, 
 A.D. 750)^ that Damascus reached its greatest 
 prosperity as centre of the Mohammedan world. 
 The Ommeyade khalifahs spent enormous sums 
 on adorning the city and building mosques. They 
 were neither unjust nor harsh to their Christian 
 subjects. At first they allowed them to keep half 
 of the great church, while the other half was made 
 a mosque;^ and the Christians had fifteen other 
 churches. Although Sj^ia was then full of Mono- 
 physites,* the inhabitants of the great cities, who 
 
 ^Now the mosque of the Ommeyades (Jami' al-'Umawi). 
 The samt's head is still kept here with great honour, and 
 Damascenes swear by "the head of Yahya," which is what 
 they call St John Baptist. 
 
 ^In 750 Marwan, the last Ommeyade in Syria, was defeated 
 and killed by Abu '1- Abbas, called as-Saffah, who founded the 
 Abbasside line. As-Saffah's brother, Abu-Ja'far, called Al- 
 Mansur, removed his capital to Baghdad in a.h. 150, a.d. 753. 
 
 ^Walid (a.h. 86-96, A.c. 705-715) took away their share from 
 the Christians. Since his time the whole church is a mosque. 
 
 ^Since the Council of Chalcedon (451), Monophysism had 
 
St John of Damascus 207 
 
 were Greek by blood and spoke Greek, were 
 mostly Orthodox.^ And we find that the tolerance 
 of these khalifahs, though it did not go as far as 
 putting unbelievers on an equal footing with 
 Moslems, allowed both Christians and Jews to fill 
 important places and often to amass great for- 
 tunes. The Rayahs had to pay their poll-tax, and 
 to submit to all the other humiliating conditions 
 appointed by Moslem law, of course. But the 
 Commander of the Faithful was glad to make use 
 of their superior skill in most arts, and since his 
 religion taught him perfectly correct principles of 
 justice,^ if he was an honest and decent person 
 (as many of these Ommeyades certainly were), he 
 paid his servants liberally and allowed them to 
 profit by their service. Jews had a great reputation 
 for medicine, so the khalifah's doctor was nearly 
 always a Jew, and Christians were employed as 
 architects,^ scribes and administrators. The life 
 of our saint will show us the curious sight of a 
 Christian father of the Church protected from a 
 Christian emperor and able to attack that 
 emperor's heresy without fear, because he lived 
 under a Moslem khalifah. 
 
 become a national cause with western Syrians, as was Ncs- 
 torianism in the eastern part. The real ► national church of 
 native Syrians is the Jacobite sect. 
 
 ^And, of course, Catholic till the schism of the ninth and 
 eleventh centuries. 
 
 ^It is only fair to remember that the Rayahs were enor- 
 mously better off than Jews or heretics under mediaeval Chris- 
 tian kings. Our complaint now is that whereas Christendom 
 has at last learned tolerance, INIohammedan governments 
 have changed nothing since they began. 
 
 ^A great number of "Saracen" buildings in Syria, Egypt and 
 Spain were, as a matter of fact, built by Christian Rayahs. 
 
2o8 The Greek Fathers 
 
 2. Before Iconoclasm (c. 68o-726) 
 
 At the end of the seventh Christian century, 
 during the years 65-86 of the hijrah (a.d. 684-705) 
 Abdul-Mahk, son of Marwan, the fifth prince of 
 the house of 'Ummeyah, reigned at Damascus. 
 He cleared Syria of his domestic enemies, the 
 avengers of Hussain,^ who still rebelled against the 
 Ommeyades, made himself master of Arabia, Irak, 
 Chaldea and all Northern Africa. At his court was 
 a Christian named John "who kept the flower of 
 piety and the fragrance of Christian knowledge in 
 the midst of thorns."^ This John is the father of 
 our saint. He held an important place under the 
 Mohammedan government, being the chief officer 
 in the revenue department. This place seems to 
 have been hereditary in the family. They were all 
 good Christians; "God blessed them as he had 
 blessed Daniel among the Assyrians (he means 
 Chaldeans) because of his piety and Joseph among 
 the Egyptians, although they were captives in a 
 strange and hostile land."^ The Arabs gave John 
 an Arabic name, Al-Mansur,^ which seems to have 
 become a kind of family surname, since our saint, 
 the son, is commonly called John Mansur too. The 
 father then was an excellent man who spent all his 
 money on redeeming Christian captives and other 
 works of charity. He was very rich and had pro- 
 
 ^Hussain, the younger son of 'Ali Ibn Abu Talib and grand- 
 son of the Prophet, was barbarously killed (680) at Kerbela, 
 twenty-five miles north-west of Kufa in Mesopotamia, by 
 command of Yazid I (a.h. 40-64, a.d. 661-683), the second 
 khalifah of the Ommeyade line. The story is well-known from 
 Gibbon, chap. 1. 
 
 2Johannis Hieros, Vita 5. P. N. Joh. Damasc. v (ed, Lequien, 
 p. 3). This is the work from which we know the story of St John 
 Damascene {see p. 247). I quote from it throughout. 
 
 ^Ib. p. 4. 
 
 ^Meaning: He who is helped, Adiutus, 
 
St John of Damascus 209 
 
 perty all over Judea and Palestine.^ He was, of 
 course, a Greek by blood, or, at any rate, his family 
 had long been completely hellenized. St John 
 wrote always in Greek. 
 
 The saint was born at Damascus towards the end 
 of the seventh century. We do not know the date of 
 his birth, and can only conjecture that it was pro- 
 bably between 680 and 690. He was baptized as a 
 baby,- and was carefully educated in all suitable 
 knowledge. His biographer gives an amusing de- 
 scription of what he did not learn : "His father then 
 took care to teach him, not how to ride horses, not 
 how to wield a spear, not to shoot arrows, not to 
 hunt wild beasts and change his natural mildness 
 into beastly cruelty, as happens to many who com- 
 monly lose their tempers (in hunting) and rush about 
 in a furious rage. John, his father, a second Chiron,did 
 not teach him all this, but he sought a tutor learned 
 in all science, skilful in every form of knowledge, 
 who would produce good words from his heart; 
 and he handed over his son to him, to be nourished 
 with this kind of food."^ Then he was able to pro- 
 cure another teacher for the boy. The Arabs carried 
 on plundering excursions along all the Mediter- 
 ranean coasts and always came back with a number 
 of prisoners, whom they made slaves. From one 
 of these raids on the coast of Sicily they brought 
 back a monk named Cosmas.* This monk was 
 * 'beautiful in appearance and more beautiful in his 
 soul."^ When the Arabs were about to murder 
 some of the captives who were no good as slaves, 
 
 ^ Vita J oh. p. 4. 
 
 ^The practice of putting off baptism, of which we have seen 
 many examples, had altogether come to an end by now. 
 ^Vita, vii, p. 5. 
 *He was a Greek, of course. Sicily was still part of Greater 
 
 Greece. 
 
 ^Vita, viii, p. 5. 
 
 14 
 
2IO The Greek Fathers 
 
 these martyrs threw themselves at the feet of 
 Cosmas and asked his blessing. The Arabs, seeing 
 this, think he must be a great prince in his own 
 country and ask him what his rank is. Cosmas 
 answers : "I have no worldly dignity, but only that 
 of a priest.^ Otherwise I am only a useless monk 
 who have studied philosophy, not only our philo- 
 sophy which consists in the love of God, but also 
 that which makes men in the world wise. " Having 
 said this his eyes were filled with tears, ^ a natural 
 result under the circumstances. 
 
 The author of the Life tells us great things of 
 Cosmas's learning. He knew grammar and logic, as 
 much arithmetic as Pythagoras and as much geo- 
 metry as Euclid; and he had studied music and 
 poetry and astronomy. "Such was Cosmas, but I 
 leave others to praise him. My intention here is to 
 tell the fame of John."^ The father of our saint 
 bought Cosmas for a great price from the govern- 
 ment, and from that time the learned monk becomes 
 his son's tutor and master. They study all these 
 sciences dihgently, but especially theology, with such 
 good result as St John's later fame as a theologian 
 shows. While he was learning from the Sicilian monk 
 in his father's house his studies were shared by a 
 friend who seems to have been an adopted son of 
 the older John and an adopted brother of our 
 saint. This friend was also named Cosmas. He 
 eventually accompanied St John to the monastery 
 in which they both became monks, and became a 
 saint and a poet — St Cosmas the Singer* — only 
 less famous than St John Damascene. 
 
 ^The old idea that a monk could not be a priest had disap- 
 peared by now, and a certain number of monks were regu- 
 larly ordained to give sacraments to the others. These are the 
 iepo/jidvaxoi, that still form a special class in eastern monas- 
 teries, ^Vita, viii, p. 5. ^Vita, xi, pp. 7, 8. ^Kocr/aSj 6 /uLeXipSd^. 
 
St John of Damascus 2 1 1 
 
 In spite of his theological training John did not 
 at first propose for himself any other career than 
 that of his father. This place as minister of the 
 revenue department seems to have been hereditary 
 in the family ; so when the father died the son took 
 his place and served for a time mider the khalifah. 
 In 705 Walid I (a.h. 86-96, a.d. 705-715) suc- 
 ceeded his father, Abdul-Malik. He was the best of 
 the Ommeyade sovereigns, humane, charitable, 
 just, and a splendid patron of letters and arts. He 
 built hospitals, schools and granaries; he enlarged 
 and beautified the great mosque at Damascus,^ 
 the Dome of the Rock- at Jerusalem and the mosque 
 over the Prophet's tomb at Madinah. Since he was 
 tolerant and just there w^as no special difiiculty for 
 a Christian in serving his government, and John 
 already during this first part of his life practised 
 in a Moslem court all Christian virtues. His 
 biographer tells of his goodness in general and 
 specially praises his humility. Although he was 
 so learned he was not puffed up, "but just as the 
 branches of a noble tree, when they are laden with 
 precious fruit, bend down towards the ground, so 
 he, bearing a great weight of learning and scholar- 
 ship, bowed down in meekness."^ The comparison 
 is a pretty one and suggests the branches heavy 
 with golden apricots that shade the walls of 
 Damascus. It seems that St John lived at the 
 capital and filled his post in the government till 
 about the year 730. Then he went to be a monk.^ 
 
 ^This is the old church of St John, from which he finally- 
 expelled the Christians. 
 
 ^Qubbat as-Sachrah. the beautiful mosque that stands in the 
 middle of the place of the old temple. Although it is commonly 
 called the mosque of 'Omar, it was built by Abdul-AIaUk, 
 Walid's father. 
 
 ^Vita, xii, p. 8. 
 
 ^The khahfahs under whom he served after Walid's death 
 
212 The Greek Fathers 
 
 But already, before he left the world, he had begun 
 the great work of his life, the refutation of Icono- 
 clasm. 
 
 3. The Iconoclasts (726-842) 
 
 The Iconoclast heresy was the last of the series of 
 storms that swept over the eastern Church since 
 Arianism. It lasted altogether ii6 years, from 726 
 to 842. Almost immediately after it came the 
 schism of Photius (857) that cut her away from the 
 rest of the Christian world, and left her too dead 
 even for a great heresy. 
 
 Iconoclast means an Image-breaker} The issue 
 was this. Since the days when they had hidden in 
 catacombs Christians had painted pictures of their 
 mysteries, of our Lord and of his saints. Every one 
 who has seen a catacomb has been shown the rude 
 wall-paintings of scenes in our Lord's life, alle- 
 gorical representations of the holy Eucharist, 
 pictures of the good Shepherd, of the holy mother 
 with her Child, of the apostles. As soon as the 
 Church was free and more prosperous, naturally 
 these representations became more artistic, richer, 
 more elaborate. It was a difference of taste rather 
 than of principle that led to the greater use of 
 carving and of solid statues in the west, and of 
 flat paintings, mosaics and bass-reliefs in the east. 
 There is no theological difference between a solid 
 representation and a fiat one ; moreover, the diver- 
 gence is only a very general one. There were plenty 
 of statues in the east before the Iconoclast 
 troubles. 
 
 The Lateran m,useum contains what is, per- 
 haps, the most beautiful Christian statue ever 
 
 are Sulaiman (715-717), 'Omar II, the Pious (as-Salah, 717- 
 720), Yazid II (720-724), Hisham (724-743). 
 ^elKOvoKKacTTri^. 
 
St John of Damascus 213 
 
 made, a Good Shepherd of the fourth century.^ 
 The well-known bronze St Peter m his basilica at 
 Rome is of the fifth century. Obviously the sign of 
 the cross was from the beginning the Christian 
 standard, long before Constantine put it on his 
 banner.^ There are numbers of crosses in the cata- 
 combs.^ It was a natural development to add to 
 the cross a figure of our Lord. The mock-crucifix 
 on the Palatine shows that the crucifix was known 
 before Constantine.^ The first certain evidence we 
 have of a representation of our Lord's death does 
 not occur till some time later. In the time of 
 Justinian (527-565) there was a picture of the 
 crucifixion in a church at Gaza in South Pales- 
 tine, and Anastasios Sinaitikos (c. 550) painted one 
 in a book. Venantius Fortunatus (f 603) saw an 
 embroidered crucifix at Tours and Gregory of 
 Tours (c. 593) refers to a statue of the crucifix at 
 Narbonne.^ It is probably merely by chance that 
 we do not find a plain reference to it earlier, 
 though possibly before Constantine the shameful 
 nature of death by crucifixion may have made 
 Christians shy of putting such pictures in public, 
 
 ^This statue has been often photographed. A print of it may 
 be seen on p. 227 of F. X. Kraus: Gesch. der christl. Kunst I 
 (Freiburg, Herder, 1896), and it forms the frontispiece to 
 S. Beissel, S.J.: Altchristl. Kunst u. Liturgic in Italian (Herder, 
 1899). 
 
 ^Constan tine's cross was formed by the inonogram of Christ: 
 XP. ^See Kraus, op. cit. i, pp. 130-133. 
 
 *The mock-crucifix is a caricature of a man worshipping a 
 crucified figure with an ass's head, and the inscription, in 
 Greek: Alexamenos worships God. It was scratched by a pagan 
 soldier on the wall in mockery of a Christian comrade. Its date 
 is the beginning of the third century. At one time it was dis- 
 puted whether the thing was meant for Christianity at all: 
 I believe that practically everyone now admits that it was. See 
 Garrucci: II crocifisso graffito (Rome, 1857), Kraus, op. cit. i, 172 
 seq.,2ind. his Das Spottcrucifix vom Palatin (Freiburg i/Br. 1872). 
 
 ^Kraus, op. cit. i, 173. 
 
214 The Greek Fathers 
 
 where pagans could see them. For the same reason, 
 apparently, our Lord was long represented as alive 
 on the cross, not dead, generally fully robed and 
 without any appearance of pain. People insisted 
 more on the triumph of the cross, the idea ex- 
 pressed by the line, Regnavit a ligno Deus, than on 
 the pathetic and tragic side of Christ's death. In 
 eastern Christendom a much more popular picture 
 was that of our Lord enthroned in glory, sur- 
 rounded by his court of saints and accompanied 
 by very beautiful and subtle mystic symbols. 
 So in east and west for centuries pictures and 
 representations of holy things had formed a normal 
 and prominent part of Christian life. 
 
 Naturally these pictures and statues were treated 
 with respect. A sign inevitably shares in the honour 
 of its archetype. No one had ever thought that we 
 adore these things. Every Christian knew the first 
 commandment quite well, and when we come to 
 the first Christian centuries it is rather late to sup- 
 pose that anyone really believed he could pray to 
 a painting.^ On the other hand, paintings and 
 statues form as right and as natural a visible sign 
 of things unseen as motions of our body, kneeling, 
 standing, lifting up hands are of invisible attitudes 
 of mind. And to insult them is to insult the persons 
 they represent, to honour the real thing involves a 
 delegate honour paid to its picture. It was a waste 
 of time in the eighth century, as it would be now, 
 
 ^The pagans did not adore their statues at that time either. 
 It is only in a very low state of civilization that anyone can do 
 so stupid a thing. To suppose that Julian and the Greek philo- 
 sophers really thought that their statues could hear them is 
 either a ludicrous error or a gross calumny. To them, too, 
 statues were signs and types only. What was wrong with pagans 
 was that their idols were signs of false gods. To honour a 
 statue of your god is perfectly reasonable, but it must not be a 
 statue of Apollo nor Athene. 
 
St John of Damascus 215 
 
 to explain to Catholics that their statues are really 
 only wood or stone, and that they can neither see 
 nor hear nor help us. 
 
 However, at this time suddenly a storm of per- 
 secution burst against holy pictures and all who used 
 them ; and a succession of emperors suddenly dis- 
 covered that all such pictures were idolatrous and 
 that the Church must go back to a purer faith and 
 keep the first commandment. The question at issue 
 then was not in itself an absolutely essential one. 
 Pictures and statues are not essential. But it was 
 naturally one that made more disturbance than 
 would a greater, but less obvious, controversy. 
 Simple people might spend their lives in peace and 
 go to church regularly without ever understanding 
 much about the mysteries of nature and person in 
 Christ; but the poorest peasant understood what 
 was happening when the government sent soldiers 
 to tear down and break up the holy pictures. And 
 all Catholics, not only the simple people but 
 theologians, and philosophers, monks, bishops, 
 patriarchs and popes, stood out to the end for 
 the pictures, and martyrs shed their blood for 
 them. They could not let a venerable and ancient 
 practice go at the command of a secular tyrant, 
 they could not admit that the whole Church had 
 practised idolatry till now, nor even seem to 
 acknowledge the heretical confusion and calumny 
 that was the argument against the holy eikons. 
 , Iconoclasm was a heresy because it involved a 
 heretical argument ; and any point of Church disci- 
 pline is worth dying for, if it is attacked by a 
 government that claims the right to make laws 
 for the Church. 
 
 The movement against the eikons seems to 
 have begun through Mohammedan influence. No 
 
2i6 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Moslem will ever have a picture of any living 
 thing; that is a fundamental point of his law.^ 
 The khalifahs Yazid I (680-683) and Yazid II 
 (720-724) made a crusade against pictures, con- 
 sidering them to be idols. It seems strange that 
 Christians should have followed the hereditary 
 enemies of their faith in such a matter as this ; but 
 there were some who did so. A Nestorian bishop, 
 Xenaias of Hierapolis (Ba'albek in Syria), took up 
 the idea,^ and gradually a party was formed of 
 people who wanted to do away with all holy pic- 
 tures. Their arguments were, first that such pic- 
 tures are idolatrous and forbidden by the first 
 commandment, and secondly that they scandalize 
 and frighten away Jew^s and Moslems from Chris- 
 tianity. Then the government took up the cause of 
 these people and the Iconoclast persecutions began. 
 "At that time Leo the Isaurian ruled the Roman 
 empire, who raged like a furious lion against the 
 venerable eikons^ and against the orthodox con- 
 gregation of the Church."* Leo III, the Isaurian^ 
 
 ^The Shiahs have modified this, and the Shah of Persia puts 
 his head on stamps. But any sort of picture of a man is still an 
 abomination to the Sunni. In Turkey the Sultan's autograph 
 takes the place of his portrait on coins or stamps ; it is treason 
 to have a picture of him. He is the only sovereign who has 
 never been photographed, or, at least, whose photograph no 
 one has ever seen. This hatred of pictures has produced one 
 good effect among Moslems. Since they have strong natural 
 artistic feeling they express it in the only way they may, by 
 writing texts. Most mosques are adorned with superbly beauti- 
 ful inscriptions, and the artist in Islam is the scribe. So they 
 have always taken that art very seriously and have kept a 
 tradition of beauty in writing that no one else has. The Arab 
 is the only man who can write really beautifully, 
 
 ^Hardouin, Concil. Coll. iv, 306. 
 
 ^Eikon {elKwv) is Greek for an image. It is a convenient 
 word, first because it became a kind of technical name used in 
 Latin too (Icon), and also because it covers both pictures and 
 statues, '^Vita, Joh. Dam. xiv, p. 9. 
 
 ^Isauria, his birthplace, is in the south of Asia Minor. 
 
St John of Damascus 217 
 
 (717-741), who is remembered in Church history 
 as the Iconoclast persecutor, was, in spite of that, 
 a very vahant and heroic prince. In his reign for 
 the first time the Moslems came to the gates of 
 Constantinople (717), and Leo drove them back and 
 then carried on a victorious war against the 
 enemies of Christendom, till he utterly routed them 
 at Akroinos in 740. But he was t3^rannical to his 
 own subjects. In 722 he wanted to force all Jews in 
 the empire to be baptized, and he cruelly perse- 
 cuted the remnant of the old Montanist heresy. 
 It is said that the khahfah 'Omar II (717-720) 
 tried to convert him to Islam. He only succeeded 
 up to the point of persuading Leo to abhor eikons. 
 In 726 the emperor made his first proclamation, 
 forbidding anyone to keep or honour an eikon and 
 ordering those in all churches to be destroyed. 
 Outside his palace was a famous miraculous pic- 
 ture of Christ called the "Answering Christ " 
 {XpicTTo? avTi(powt]T7'i?) . Thls was removed in 
 spite of the open indignation of the people. Ger- 
 manos I, Patriarch of Constantinople (715-730), 
 steadfastly withstood the tyrant and defended the 
 eikons. He was made to resign and died soon after. 
 Then the emperor wrote to Pope Gregory II (715- 
 731), telling him to destroy all his images, other- 
 wise, says Leo, "I will send an army to break your 
 idols and to take you prisoner." Gregory answered 
 sternly reproaching the emperor for his new law, 
 and expressing his astonishment that the ruler of 
 the Roman world does not yet know the difference 
 between a statue and an idol. In 730 a new edict 
 against eikons appeared and new laws were made 
 against image- worshippers. Gregory III (731- 
 741) excommunicated the emperor in 732. 
 
 Constantine V (Kopronymos, 741-775), who sue- 
 
21 8 The Greek Fathers 
 
 ceeded his father Leo, carried on the war. The monks 
 were specially devout to the holy eikons, so they 
 were most persecuted. Their monasteries were burnt 
 down and numbers of them were martyred. John 
 of Monagria and Abbot Stephen are the most 
 famous of these martyrs. In 754 Const antine sum- 
 moned a pretended oecumenical synod at Con- 
 stantinople that forbade the use of images. The 
 patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and 
 Jerusalem refused to send legates to it. The great 
 church of the blessed Virgin at Constantinople 
 was stripped of its eikons and painted in a new 
 style, which people said made it look like a bird- 
 cage and a fruit shop. Pope Stephen III (768-772) 
 held a synod at the Lateran in 769 and excom- 
 municated the Image-breakers. Under the emperor 
 Leo IV (775-780) the persecution was less sharp; 
 when he died his wife Irene, who became regent 
 for her son Constantine VI (Pophyrogennetos, 780- 
 797) , arranged with the patriarch Tarasios of Con- 
 stantinople (784-806) for the restoration of the 
 eikons. 
 
 In "]%"] the second Council of Niccea (the 
 seventh general Council) met. Pope Adrian I (772- 
 795) and the other patriarchs sent their legates.^ 
 About 300 bishops were present. They declared 
 accurately the difference between the honour paid 
 to images {-wpoa-Kvvrjcn'i) and adoration {Xarpela), 
 commanded aU eikons to be restored and hon- 
 oured, and they drew up twenty-two canons in 
 defence of them, as well as to arrange other points 
 of discipline.^ The last session was held at Constan- 
 
 ^The Pope sent an Archpriest Peter and an Abbot Peter of 
 St Sabas' monastery at Rome, Politianos of Alexandria, Theo- 
 doretos of Antioch and Elias of Jerusalem were represented by- 
 monks. 
 
 2The Acts of Nicaea II in Mansi, xiii, 442-458. See also Hefele: 
 Conciliengesch. ill, 460, seq. 
 
St John of Damascus 219 
 
 tinople in the presence of the empress and her son 
 with great pomp ; it seemed as if the whole trouble 
 had passed over. It broke out again later, however, 
 under the emperor Leo V (the Armenian, 813- 
 820), who renewed the old laws against the eikons. 
 St Theodore, Abbot of the Studion monastery at 
 Constantinople (t826), was a great defender of the 
 Catholic practice at this time. Michael II (the 
 Stammerer, 820-829) recalled the banished image- 
 worshippers and wanted to make peace. But his 
 son Theophilos (829-842) began the persecution 
 again and ordered fearful punishments against 
 every one who painted an eikon. 
 
 At last the final peace was restored to the Church 
 after his death by his widow Theodora, Regent 
 during the minority of her son Michael III (the 
 Drunkard, 842-867).^ This lady annulled all the 
 Iconoclast laws and declared her acceptance of the 
 second Council of Nicaea. On Feb. 19, 842, the holy 
 eikons were brought back in solemn procession 
 through the streets of Constantinople and set up 
 again in the great church of the Holy Wisdom. 
 It was the first Sunday of Lent. The Byzantine 
 Church still remembers that final triumph and 
 peace after the long storm ; every year on the first 
 Sunday of Lent she keeps the feast of Orthodoxy 
 on which the eikons are carried in procession round 
 the churches and a hymn (ascribed to St Theodore 
 of Studion) in their honour is sung.^ 
 
 ^The end of the Iconoclast trouble brings us to the eve of the 
 great schism. It was this Michael III, the Drunkard, who 
 intruded Photius at Constantinople in 857. 
 
 ^ KvptaKT] TTJs opdodo^las, ijyovv dvacrrTjXibcreuis tCjv ayiiov elKdvojv. 
 The Sunday of orthodoxy, that is, of the restitution of the 
 holy eikons. Both Orthodox and Melkites keep this feast. 
 Because of the name Orthodoxy, that originally referred 
 only to this question (against Iconoclasm) they have gradu- 
 ally made the feast apply to true belief in general, and on 
 
2 20 The Greek Fathers 
 
 4. Revenue-officer and theologian 
 (726-730) 
 
 St John did not live to see that feast of Ortho- 
 doxy, but from the beginning of the trouble till his 
 death (c. 754) he was the chief defender of the 
 faith against the image-breakers. No one will dis- 
 pute that he and Theodore of Studion were the 
 leaders of the Catholics in their writings, and John 
 was the greater of the two. So in this case again 
 we have a father of the Church whose great title 
 to fame is his opposition to a contemporary heresy ; 
 the name of John of Damascus is always bound 
 up with the story of Iconoclasm. He did not suffer 
 for the faith. All the time he was safe from the 
 
 it they read a long Synodikon containing Anathemas against 
 a most varied collection of heretics (in Russia they add curses 
 against revolutionaries) and blessings on defenders of the 
 faith, from Constantine and Helen to Photius and Cerularius. 
 The names of heretics are read out and to each the choir 
 answers "thrice accursed"; to the names of Orthodox heroes 
 the answer is "thrice eternal memory." The latest develop- 
 ment is that Sunday of Orthodoxy has become the great day 
 for declaring their hatred of Latin heresies. This is very far 
 from the original idea of keeping the memory of the triumph 
 of the eikons, which triumph was almost entirely the Pope's 
 work against the Byzantine court. In Iconoclast days, as so 
 often before, Rome never swerved, and all the image-wor- 
 shippers looked to the Pope as their leader (Theodore of Stu- 
 dion especially), while the Patriarchs of Constantinople 
 wavered backwards and forwards at the emperor's command. 
 The Melkite Synodikon naturally only condemns people that 
 Catholics consider heretics, and the list of heroes has been 
 purified. The Canon (wrongly) ascribed to St Theodore is a 
 very splendid poem. It begins: "Let us sing a hymn of thanks- 
 giving to God the giver of all blessing, who has raised up to us 
 a horn of salvation defending the orthodox faith." A version in 
 English rhymes by Dr Neale is in his Hymns of the Eastern 
 Church, No. 40 (ed. Hatherly, J. T, Hayes, 1882, p. 102-103). 
 For Sunday of Orthodoxy and its Synodikon, see N. Nilles: 
 Kalend. Manuale (Innsbruck, 1897), pp. 103-118, and Prince 
 Max of Saxony: Praslectiones de Liturgiis orientalihus, i (Frei- 
 burg, Herder, 1908), pp. 91-100. 
 
St John of Damascus 221 
 
 emperor's vengeance under the protection of the 
 khahf ah ; but from this shelter he wrote the works 
 that became at once what they are still, the 
 classical apology for the use and worship^ of holy 
 images. As soon as Leo the Isaurian published his 
 first edict against the eikons (726), St John 
 answered it with his first treatise Against the 
 destroyers of holy eikons (p. 244) ; he was probably 
 still at Damascus when he wrote the second 
 treatise {ib.). 
 
 A story is told by his biographer that forms 
 the fourth lesson of the Roman breviary on his 
 feast. The emperor Leo is said to have tried to 
 punish his opponent by guile, since he could not 
 seize him himself. So he, Leo, forged a letter pur- 
 porting to be addressed to himself by John, in 
 which the saint tells him that Damascus is ill- 
 defended and that the Romans can easily come 
 and take it, and that the writer is willing to help 
 this invasion by treachery. The emperor then 
 sent this forgery to his enemy the khalifah, 
 adding a note of his own, to the effect that he 
 hates treachery and could not think of breaking 
 the peace he had concluded with the Moslems ; so 
 he thinks it best to let his noble ally know how his 
 revenue officer is behaving. It was, indeed, as the 
 life says, "a snake-like wile." The khalifah reads 
 Leo's note and the enclosure, and is, of course, 
 furious. He sends for John Mansur, will listen to 
 no denial, and has his right hand cut off as a 
 
 ^Worship, of course, does not mean the adoration paid to 
 God, nor even necessarily the honour paid to saints. It is a 
 general word for reverence of any kind (' 'with my body I thee 
 worship," in the marriage-service; magistrates and such 
 people are "worshipful"). As long as people understand the 
 right use of common words, worship is an accurate rendering of 
 TrpocTKvvrjaLs, and image-worshipper is the natural opposite of 
 image-breaker. 
 
2 22 The Greek Fathers 
 
 punishment for such treason. One wonders why he 
 did not have him put to death. So St John is crip- 
 pled and "the hand that was generally stained 
 with ink as it wrote defences of the holy eikons 
 was now stained with blood. "^ John goes home 
 and then sends a message to the khalifah implor- 
 ing him not to leave his hand "hung up in the 
 market-place," but to send it to its original 
 owner. The khalifah sees no harm in this, the hand 
 was not much use now, but John may keep it if he 
 likes. The saint receives it and carries it into his 
 private chapel, where he has a picture of the holy 
 Theotokos, prostrates himself and says this 
 prayer in hexametres: "Lady and purest mother, 
 who didst give birth to my God, because of the 
 holy eikons my right hand is cut off. Thou knowest 
 well the cause, that Leo the emperor rages; so 
 help me at once and heal my hand by the power 
 of the Most High, who became man from thee, 
 who works many wonders by thy prayers. May he 
 now heal this hand through thy intercession, and it 
 shall in future always write poetry in thy honour, 
 O Theotokos, and in honour of thy Son made man 
 in thee and for the true faith. Be my advocate, 
 for thou canst do anything, being mother of God."^ 
 Such was the prayer and the poem that our Lady 
 could not resist. At once his hand was joined again 
 to the arm ; he used it first to write a thanksgiving. 
 And "all the barbarians admitted the miracle and 
 were convinced of his innocence," though they 
 do not seem to have been converted to John's 
 religion.^ 
 
 ^Vita J oh. Dam. xvii, p. 1 1. ^Ih. xviii, p. 12. 
 
 ^The whole story in the Vita, xv-xx, pp. 10-13. Both the 
 Latin rehgious houses at Damascus are on the sites of great 
 events. The Franciscans near the Bah Tuma, who were tliere 
 first, show tlie place where St Paul was baptized in Ananias' 
 
St John of Damascus 223 
 
 The next step in our saint's life was that he and 
 his foster-brother Cosmas left the radiant city of 
 Syria to be monks in a horrible wilderness near 
 Jerusalem. The khalifah let them go, after a 
 struggle, for he valued his revenue officer. John 
 gave all his goods to the poor and set out for the 
 monastery of St Sabas. 
 
 5. Monk at Mar Saba (c. 730-c. 734) 
 
 St Sabas (Mar Saba) was then, as now, the chief 
 monastery in Palestine. It had been founded by 
 St Euthymios in the fifth century. His more 
 famous disciple, St Sabas, a Cappadocian and a 
 defender of the faith against the Monophysites 
 (t 531) had left his name to the great Laura. His 
 tomb^ and that of St John Damascene are still its 
 chief treasures. 
 
 From Jerusalem you cross the valley of the 
 Cedron and take the road towards the Dead Sea. 
 In about three hours you will have left the green 
 valley and will come out into the burning desert 
 whose barren rocks slope down towards Jericho. 
 And here you find one of the most wonderful 
 sights of Palestine, Mar Saba. The monastery is 
 not wtII seen from the road, only a great tower 
 and a wall appear. One must go in at the gate, 
 through the court past St Sabas' miraculous palm- 
 tree, down into the wadi and along the bed of the 
 dried-up torrent. Here you pick your way among 
 burning rocks and climb up the other side. It is 
 
 house. The Jesuits across the road have the next best thing, 
 St John Damascene's house, where this miracle happened. You 
 may see a picture of it in their church; but tliey represent 
 St John kneehng before a statue, whereas it was certainly a flat 
 picture. 
 
 ^Now empty. The Venetians stole his relics, as they stole 
 St Mark from Alexandria. 
 
2 24 The Greek Fathers 
 
 from here that, looking back, you may see the 
 strange and wild beauty of Mar Saba. 
 
 Against a sky that is at once deep blue and yet 
 glowing with hot light^ every tint of white and 
 yellow, from dazzling dead white through pearl grey 
 to warm brown, is piled up in a savage kind of order. 
 Rocks, sand, white earth and cliffs are heaped to- 
 gether like a gigantic fortress. And climbing up 
 the side of the wadi is the fortress-monastery. Its 
 walls rise out of the rocks so naturally that you 
 cannot see where they really begin, its terraces are 
 hewn out of the cliff and its towers mount but- 
 tressed in tiers up into the sky. Its balconies are 
 bridged over frightful chasms and its walls lie in 
 winding curves up and down the ground like mon- 
 strous snakes. The whole makes the most incredi- 
 bly picturesque group of buildings that one could 
 conceive, all carved and fretted in dazzling white 
 and shining gold as the heart of a superb and 
 awful scene. Two notes of green alone relieve the 
 barren splendour, the miraculous palm-tree planted 
 by St Sabas, whose dates have no stones, and the 
 bright green copper dome of the church. It is now a 
 place of punishment for refractory monks of the 
 Orthodox Church. They feed doves and tame 
 jackals in their courtyard and throw bread from 
 the strong ramparts to the Bedawin who ride up 
 and demand it with awful threats. All night the 
 wolves howl and the jackals bark outside; and the 
 wailing chant of the kalogeroi, the "good old men," 
 comes from the beautiful church, where they stand 
 
 ^The sky is generally the most wonderful part of any Syrian 
 landscape. In summer it is often almost indigo, deeper in tone 
 than the shadows, so that everything stands out against a dark 
 background ; and yet those dark skies give one an impression of 
 glowing heat that is even greater than that of the dazzling 
 whites and yellows of the earth. 
 
St John of Damascus 225 
 
 under stern Byzantine frescoes and sing their 
 hours. And when they do the honours of their 
 laura they take you to make the great salam 
 before the now empty tomb of our Father among 
 the Saints, John Mansur, called Chrysorroas. 
 
 It was soon after the year 730 that John and 
 Cosmas^ came to this monastery. As monks they 
 went on writing pious books, and especially hymns. 
 But the community, true to the ideas that still rule 
 every eastern monastery, did not approve of 
 this at all. These newcomers, instead of fleeing the 
 world and accepting the proper ideal of the angelic 
 life, namely, to fast, pray, and do nothing else at all, 
 were introducing disturbing elements into the 
 monastery. To write books was bad, to sing hymns 
 or compose verses was very much worse. Monks — 
 it is the unchanging idea in the east — must not do 
 anything at all. So there was great discontent. 
 Things came to a climax when St John wrote a 
 poem about death, though one would think that, 
 at any rate, this subject would not seem too 
 worldly. One of the monks died and his brother, 
 very much distressed at his loss, came to John, 
 who was already a famous poet, and asked him to 
 compose a Canon that could be sung by the mourner 
 to comfort his soul. John said he would do so and 
 wrote the verses that are still famous : 
 
 All human things are foolish, 
 
 For death destroys them all. 
 
 We keep no wealth nor glory 
 
 That death shall not recall. 
 
 So we in Christ confiding, 
 
 Our one immortal King, 
 
 Pray that he grant us mercy, 
 
 Who takes from death its sting. 
 ^Cosmas the Singer, John's fosterbrother. The Roman 
 breviary confuses him with Cosmas, the old SiciUan monk, who 
 had been John's master (S. Joh. Dam. 27 martii, lect. iv). 
 
 15 
 
2 26 The Greek Fathers 
 
 And when the hour determined 
 Shall bring us to the grave, 
 May he in heaven receive us, 
 Who died our souls to save.^ 
 
 The Latin reader will not consider the composition 
 of this hymn scandalous for a monk. He does not 
 know the good old men. It is scandalous to do any- 
 thing at all in a Byzantine laura. John, having 
 written his hymn, proceeded to compose a tune for 
 it, and he sang it "with a sweet sound"^ in his 
 cell. An old monk who was passing heard him and 
 was perfectly furious. "Is this the way you forget 
 your vows," he said, "and instead of mourning and 
 weeping you sit in joy and give yourself delight 
 by singing?"^ This old monk was John's "master," 
 that is, the person whose cell he shared and from 
 whose teaching and example he was to learn the 
 angelic life.^ The master then, having reproached 
 him, turned him out of the cell and refused to allow 
 him back. After some days he relented and said he 
 would forgive aU, on condition that John went 
 round the whole laura and cleared up all the filth 
 with his own hands. Of course John did so at once, 
 "and he did not hesitate to stain that very right 
 hand that Christ had healed."^ The end of the 
 story is that the all-holy Lady appears to this old 
 monk and tells him to let his disciple write books 
 and poetry as much as he likes. So from this time 
 
 ^This is the hymn: llavra [xaraLor-qs tcl avdpojwLva, composed 
 by St John on this occasion. It does not, I beheve, occur 
 in any part of the Byzantine Hturgical offce, but it is still a 
 well-known hymn among Greeks. The Greek text is printed by 
 Le Quien in a note to the Vita, xxvii, p. i6. 
 
 ^Vita, xxviii, p. 17. ^Ib. 
 
 *This was the regular system. Each new arriver put himself 
 under obedience to an old and experienced monk who became 
 what we should call his novice master. 
 
 ^Vita, XXX, p. 1 7. 
 
St John of Damascus 227 
 
 the saint spends time in study and writing — an 
 almost unique case in the long history of eastern 
 monasticism. We hear of him being sent to 
 Damascus to sell baskets, too; his biographer is 
 duly impressed by the fact that he was not ashamed 
 to do so in the very city in which he had once held 
 so great a place. ^ His chief works, the logic, the 
 "fount of knowledge," etc., and most of his poems 
 were written at this time. St Cosmas, too, was 
 writing his odes. And then a great change came for 
 both of them. 
 
 6. St John ordained priest {c. 734) 
 
 The Patriarch of Jerusalem, John V (t 735) had 
 heard of the fame of these two friends, and he 
 thought he would like to have them among his 
 clergy instead of at Mar Saba. First he took 
 Cosmas and ordained him bishop of Maiumas, the 
 port of Gaza in Southern Palestine, on the road to 
 Egypt. We are told that Cosmas gave way and was 
 ordained, "not freely but by force. "^ However, 
 once he was ordained, he became a very good 
 bishop, "ruled his flock admirably, as is pleasing 
 to God, and in a good old age went to rest with his 
 fathers, or rather went to God."^ St Cosmas the 
 Singer apparently outlived his friend. The date of 
 his death is not known. 
 
 The same patriarch ordained John priest, and 
 brought him to Jerusalem, that he might fill some 
 place in that church. But the saint did not stay long 
 in the world; he went back almost at once to his 
 
 ^Ib. xxvi, p. 15. 
 
 ^Vita, xxxiv, p. 20. This fear of ordination is the com- 
 monest feature among holy men in the eastern Church at all 
 times {see above, pp. 94, 97, etc.). It seems to be part of the 
 normal programme that they should resist and be compelled 
 to be ordained. ^Ib. 
 
228 The Greek^Fathers 
 
 monastery, "this eagle flying away sought his old 
 nest."^ The only difference in his position now was 
 that he had become a Hieromonachos, a Priest- 
 monk. The old idea that a monk could not be a 
 priest^ had quite died out by now and there were, 
 as a matter of course, a certain number of priest- 
 monks in each laura who celebrated the holy 
 Liturgy and administered sacraments to the others. 
 On the other hand, our western principle that 
 every choir-monk should be a priest is unknown to 
 this day in the east.^ St John as a hieromonachos 
 thought that " priests must practise double 
 humility and must do all their religious duties with 
 double zeal."* He revised all his writings carefully, 
 "and wherever they flourished with blossoms of 
 rhetoric or seemed superfluous in style he prudently 
 reduced them to a sterner gravity, lest they should 
 have any vice of display or levity or want of dig- 
 nity."^ By this time his works in defence of the 
 eikons were known and read everywhere ; the faith- 
 ful Catholics in the empire found in them comfort 
 and arguments against the image-breakers. So natu- 
 rally the persecuting emperors hated John Man- 
 sur. Leo Ill's attempt to have him killed by the 
 khalifah had failed, he never put himself in the 
 power of the Roman government by crossing the 
 frontier of the empire, so they could not really 
 hurt him. However, they showed their hatred by 
 cursing him copiously. It was an age of playful 
 nicknames. Const antine V (741-775) was called 
 Kopronymos because of an accident at his bap- 
 
 1/6. XXXV, p. 21. ^See-p.S?- 
 
 ^When a Kalogeros tells you he is a monk, he is not a priest; 
 if he were he would describe himself as a Hieromonachos. You 
 should say irdrep /xov to a monk, aidea-ifjuvTare irdrep to a priest- 
 monk and (Te^aa-fxiLOTare irdrep to the Hegumenos. In Arabic 
 (they speak both at Mar Saba) A bilna will do for anyone. 
 
 */6. XXXV, p. 21. ^/&. xxxvi, p. 22. 
 
St John of Damascus 229 
 
 tism/ and he shared the general taste. So he 
 changed John's name from Mansur and called him 
 Manzeros, which is a very bad attempt at the 
 Hebrew for bastard.^ It was a little far-fetched, 
 perhaps, but (when explained) agreeably offensive. 
 
 7. St John's philosophy and theology 
 
 Our saint, the last of the Greek fathers, had the 
 mission of collecting and classifying what had been 
 said by the others. He is the most systematic of 
 all. His only original contribution to theology was 
 his defence of holy images, and that defence is, per- 
 haps, his chief title to fame. But it is not his only 
 one. He was a poet of very rare merit, an ardent 
 Aristotelian philosopher and a theologian who 
 wrote of every question of theology that had been 
 raised before his time. Since his works contain very 
 complete courses of philosophy and dogmatic it is 
 easy to understand his view on each point. In 
 philosophy he is entirely a disciple of Aristotle 
 (t B.C. 322). He wrote a treatise of logic (p. 243), 
 which in his time included a great deal of meta- 
 physic and psychology. He has an unbounded 
 respect for science and no sympathy with people 
 who despise it in the name of faith and Christian 
 simplicity. "Science is the light of the reasonable 
 soul as ignorance is its darkness." "Nothing is 
 better than knowledge."^ "Philosophy is the science 
 of beings, inasmuch as they are beings, that is, of 
 their nature."* But since we live not only in our 
 
 ^KoTrp6vv/xos, Dirt-named. When he was baptized as a baby 
 he had dirtied the font. 
 
 ^Mamzer. One wonders how many Greeks would have even 
 seen the joke. 
 
 ^Dialectic (the first part of his fount of knowledge), i (M. P. G. 
 xciv, 529). 
 
 */6. LXix {ih. 669). 
 
230 The Greek Fathers 
 
 soul, but also in a body, we have no philosophy 
 from ourselves, so we need a master. The master 
 is infallible Truth, Christ himself, who is sub- 
 sist en t wisdom and truth, in whom are hidden all 
 treasures of knowledge.^ 
 
 Although John is peripatetic, he proposes to 
 take what is good from ail Greek philosophers,^ and 
 he "will say nothing of his own but only gather 
 up what has already been said by approved 
 teachers."^ That is an exact account of his method 
 in general. He distinguishes four kinds of logic — 
 division {SiaiperiKi'/), definition {opia-TiKi')), analysis 
 (i\vaXvTiK}]) and demonstration {airoSeiKTiK)})} In 
 metaphysic the root of his system is Aristotle's 
 distinction of actus {epepyeia) and potentia {SwajuiLg), 
 with which St Thomas Aquinas has made us 
 familiar. Essence (ovcrla) does not exist in itself but 
 in a hypostasis (our suhiectum)} Nature {(pva-ig) is 
 the principle of movement and rest.^ Form {/mopcpy, 
 forma substantialis) gives to each being its specific 
 nature, the being then is an informed essence {ova-la 
 jUL€juLop(pcoju€vr]).'^ Esseucc, nature and ultimate actual 
 species are the same thing. ^ Evil is nothing but 
 the privation of Good.® Real being is either sub- 
 stance (arva-racri^) ov accident {a-v/m/Se^tjKo^)}^ He dis- 
 tinguishes these two exactly according to Aristo- 
 tle.^^ Hypostasis, person (irp6(TMTrov) and individual 
 [arojiiov) are the same thing. ^^ 
 
 In psychology he distinguishes four internal 
 faculties — Imagination ((pavTaarriKoi^) , memory (juvrj- 
 juLovevTiKov) , reason (SiavotjriKov) and will {OeXrjjuLo). 
 The reason generates a word (Xoyo?, our verbum 
 
 1/&. i {ib. 529). ^Introd. to the fount (524). ^Ib. (525). 
 
 ^Dial. Ixviii (672). ^De fide orth. iii, 6 (xciv, 1004). 
 
 «£>«a/. xl(6o5). WiaLxliiOoS). ^Ib. 
 ^Ctra manich.-id\\ (M. P. G. xciv, 1517). 
 ^•^i^ifl/.i^xxix (xciv, 605). "/t. xlvii {621). 
 
 12/6. xlin (613). 
 
St John of Damascus 231 
 
 mentale).^ Like all Greeks, John Damascene insists 
 very much on jree will; man is free because he is 
 reasonable, all actions that depend on us are free.^ 
 It is also characteristic of his nation that John 
 is little concerned about the mysteries of God's 
 co-operation (in philosophy) and predestination 
 (in theology). Tn all his philosophy, then, we see 
 a faithful reflection of Aristotle, who has become 
 through him the "master of them that know,"^ to 
 Greeks and the Orthodox Church as much as he 
 has to Latins and Catholics through St Thomas. 
 
 In St John's theology we find that he produces 
 three of the five scholastic arguments for the exis- 
 tence of God, namely, those from motion, from 
 the conservation of the world and from the order 
 of nature.* The attributes of God, his unity, sim- 
 plicity, perfection, immensity, etc., are demon- 
 strated as in our schools.^ God can be known, but 
 not comprehended by us.® 
 
 The Arian and Pneumatomachian controversies 
 had left a very clear consciousness of their faith in 
 the holy Trinity to Greeks as to Latins: *T believe 
 in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, one 
 consubstantial Trinity and Unity in three Persons, 
 one principle, having no principle, one wiU, one 
 action, one power, one royalty, three hypostases 
 (persons) having no difference except that one is 
 unborn (ay eVi^>?T09), one born and one proceeding."^ 
 The Incarnation was the redemption of man from 
 sin, especially from original sin.^ Here, too, one sees 
 that St John knew about the Pelagian heresy and 
 definitely defends the faith against it. It is because 
 
 '^De fide orth. ii, 17-20 (933-940). ^Ib. 26-27 (957-960). 
 
 ^Dante, Inferno, iv, 131. ^De fide orth. i, 3 (796-797). 
 ^Ib. i, 1-5 (789-801). 6/&. i, I (789). 
 'Libellus de recta sent, i (xciv, 142 1). 
 ^De fide orth. iv, 13 [lb. 1 137). 
 
232 The Greek Fathers 
 
 his date is so late and because all the great contro- 
 versies had already taken place that he is able to 
 write so clearly and systematically on each point. He 
 argues at length against the Chris tological heresies. 
 He defends the word Theotokos against Nestorians, 
 the blessed .Virgin is "truly mother of God, 
 because she gave birth to the true God made 
 flesh from her; "^ he wrote a whole treatise against 
 that heresy.^ He also wrote a book against the 
 Monophysites^ and another against the Mono- 
 theletes.* It is, therefore, hardly necessary to 
 insist on his orthodoxy on these points. 
 
 He has very little, hardly anything, to say about 
 the Church, an omission that can only be an accident 
 in the eighth century, but he writes at length on 
 baptism,^ speaks in passing of confirmation with 
 chrism,^ and has much to say about the holy 
 Eucharist:^ "the bread and the wine are not 
 figures of the Body and Blood of Christ, God forbid, 
 but the divine Body of the Lord, for he said : This 
 is — not the figure of my Body but — my Body, and 
 — not the figure of my Blood, but — my Blood. "^ 
 And he teaches Transubstantiation : "We may say 
 that just as bread and wine are changed by diges- 
 tion into the body and blood of him who eats and 
 drinks them and they become, not a different body 
 but his very body, so the bread, the wine and the 
 water of the oblation^by the invocation and power 
 of the Holy Ghost are changed supernaturally into 
 the Body and Blood of Christ ; and they are not a 
 different thing, but one and the same thing. "^ 
 
 ^De fide orth. in, 12 (1028-1032). 
 
 ^Against the heresy of the Nestorians {see p. 245). 
 
 ^To the Jacobite Bishop of Daraias (p. 246). 
 
 *0f the two wills in Christ (ib.). 
 
 ^De fide orth. iv, 9 ( 1 1 1 7-1 1 2 1 ) . 
 
 ^Ib. iv, 9 (i 125). '/&. iv, 13 (i 137-1 149). 
 
 «/i. (1148). 9/6.(1144). 
 
St John of Damascus 233 
 
 The honour we pay to saints is part of the theo- 
 logy of the holy eikons of which St John was the 
 chief defender, so naturally he explains and 
 proves the rightness of this at great length/ as also 
 the use of relics.^ 
 
 He is always very uncompromising in his resist- 
 ance to the interference of the secular government 
 in affairs of the Church. One of the worst features 
 of the Iconoclast persecution was that it was a 
 shameless attempt of the emperors to dictate to the 
 Church. "The emperors have no power to make 
 laws for the Church. Listen to what the Apostle 
 says : God placed in the Church, first apostles, then 
 prophets, thirdly shepherds and teachers to make 
 the Church perfect. He does not say emperors. . . . 
 We will obey you, O emperor, in the things of 
 this world, in paying taxes and duty-money, in 
 accepting your office and in those things in which 
 our affairs are committed to you ; but for the things 
 of the Church we have shepherds who speak the 
 word and give us ecclesiastical laws."^ 
 
 Two points, lastly, that will interest CathoUcs 
 are his attitude towards the Roman Primacy and 
 about the Procession of the Holy Ghost. Concern- 
 ing the Primacy, he says practically nothing. The 
 omission is less to be regretted since he lived in an 
 age when no one disputes that it was acknowledged 
 by all the Orthodox in the east, and since he was a 
 leader of those image-worshippers who looked up 
 to the Pope with special reverence as their head 
 and champion against the Iconoclasts.^ There is, 
 
 ^De fide orth. iv, 15 (xciv, 1164-1165). De Imaginibus, Orat. 
 iii, 7,2, {lb. 1352-1353)- 
 
 ^De fide orth. iv, 15 (1165). 
 
 ^5^6 the whole passage, de S. Imag. ii, 12 (xciv, 1295-1298). 
 
 *On the other hand his fellow defender of the eikons, St 
 Theodore of Studion, has the plainest things to say about the 
 Pope's authority and primacy (cfr. Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 
 
234 The Greek Fathers 
 
 however, one place in which he speaks plainly of the 
 Primacy of St Peter. ^ About the Procession of the 
 Holy Ghost he repeats what he has learned from 
 St Basil and other Greek fathers, and so sums 
 up that attitude that was characteristic of the 
 Byzantine Church before the schism, that the Coun- 
 cil of Florence (1439) accepted as correct and 
 Catholic.^ Namely, God the Father is the cause 
 (aiTta) of the other Persons and the Holy Ghost 
 proceeds from the Father, through the Son.^ 
 St John Damascene explains many other points of 
 philosophy and theology at length, giving for each 
 the arguments he has learned from Aristotle and 
 the fathers. There is not space to quote more here, 
 but a glance at his works, especially the Fount of 
 Knowledge and quite especially its third part, Of 
 the Orthodox Faith, will show that his people have 
 done well in taking them as the standard work of 
 theology, and that it is by a very right comparison 
 that he is called the Aquinas or the Peter Lom- 
 bard of the eastern Church. 
 
 8. St John's poetry 
 
 Our saint has a further title to fame as a poet. 
 Both he and his friend St Cosmas wrote a great 
 quantity of poetry, and that of John is certainly 
 the better. He uses sometimes the old measure of 
 quantity, as in his poems for Christmas, the Epi- 
 phany and Whitsunday,^ and sometimes the 
 
 65-66) and the Council of Nicaea in 787 that was the triumph 
 of St John's side and declared his orthodoxy (see below p. 240) 
 also declared its belief that "The see of Peter shines as hold- 
 ing the primacy over the whole world and stands as head of 
 all the Churches of God" {op. cit. p. 81). 
 
 ^Sacra par all. (but see below p, , about this work), iii (150). 
 
 ^Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 379-380. 
 
 ^'Ek' Trarpbs fxh 8l v'lov eKTropeverai. Defide orth. i, 12 (xciv,849). 
 
 ^They are in Iambic Trimetres. 
 
St John of Damascus 235 
 
 new rhythm of stress-accent. Nearly all his poems 
 are hymns in honour of feasts of the Church or 
 about points of the Christian faith. He wrote, 
 besides poems strictly so called, a great number 
 of canons, that is, pieces in rhythmical prose to be 
 sung in the Byzantine office. The Orthodox 
 ascribe the whole of the canons in their Oktoechos^ 
 to him. 
 
 Dr J. M. Neale, in his Hymns of the Eastern 
 Church,^ has translated twelve Odes, a Sticheron, 
 and an Idiomelon of St John. Dr Neale is less happy 
 as a translator of Greek than of Latin poems. The 
 task in the case of Greek chants is also very con- 
 siderably more difficult. In order to make them 
 acceptable and fit for singing in English, he turned 
 their prose into English metres with rhjmies. His 
 metres when compared with the originals seem, as a 
 rule, undignified ; and his versions are so free that in 
 many cases he has practically written a new poem on 
 the same subject. For people who wish to see his 
 translations the book is easily accessible. I will give 
 a more exact idea of one or two of St John's most 
 famous odes by translating them into the same 
 sort of rhythmical prose as the originals. 
 
 The most famous of all are those of his Golden 
 
 ^The Oktoechos is the book that contains the offices for the 
 Sundays from All Saints' Sunday (first after Pentecost) to the 
 tenth before Easter, arranged according to the eight modes 
 (o/v'TW i'lX^^'-)- 
 
 ^First edition, 1862, and often reprinted. I have the fourth 
 edition with music by S. G. Hatherly (London: J. T. Hayes, 
 1882). 
 
 ^A Canon is divided into nine Odes (of which the second is 
 left out except on Tuesdays in Lent), the Odes into Troparia. 
 A Troparion {rpoirdpLov) is a short verse. The first is called 
 Heirmos {elpfj.6s) because it fixes the mode and drags the others 
 after it. A Sticheron {(Ttlxvpov) is a longer poem modelled on a 
 verse (crri'xos) of a Psalm. An Idiomelon {idi6fj.e\ov) does not 
 follow a Heirmos, but has its own melody. All are composed in 
 rhythmic prose. 
 
236 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Canon (for Easter day). During the holy night, 
 between Easter eve and Easter day, the clergy of 
 the Byzantine Church assemble with their people 
 and wait with unlit candles for midnight. As soon as 
 midnight strikes the metropolitan or chief priest 
 lifts up a cross and cries out: Christ has risen 
 (XpicTTo^ avecTTL), the cry is taken up by every one, 
 the candles are lit and a sea of fire spreads over the 
 crowd. Then St John Damascene's Paschal ode is 
 sung, announcing the feast of feasts, as the three 
 Alleluias on Holy Saturday do to us. It is the 
 dramatic moment of the year in the Byzantine 
 Church, the sudden glare of the candles, the shout 
 of Christos anesti, and then the rolling chant of 
 this glorious canon^ make an impression as great 
 as that of our Gloria and bells and organ at the 
 first Easter Mass. The first ode is : 
 
 The day of Resurrection, 
 
 Let us make glorious the Pasch, the Pasch of the Lord. 
 
 From death to life, from earth to heaven Christ our 
 
 God has led us, 
 As we sing his victory. 
 
 Let us cleanse our senses, 
 
 And we shall see Christ radiant in the glorious light of 
 
 his Resurrection, 
 And we shall hear him greet us clearly, 
 As we sing his victory. 
 
 The heavens rejoice and the earth is glad, 
 
 All the world both seen and unseen keeps this feast, 
 
 ^The first Easter hymn at midnight is, however, not this 
 canon (which is sung rather later) but the short verse, repeated 
 continually throughout the feast : 
 
 " Christ has risen from the dead ; 
 By death he trampled on death 
 And to those who are in the tomb 
 He gives back life." 
 
St John of Damascus 237 
 
 For Christ who is our everlasting joy 
 Has come back to Hfe.^ 
 
 There follow then the other odes, from iii to ix 
 (No. II being left out). It would be too long to 
 quote all. The ninth is : 
 
 Be enlightened, new Jerusalem, be enlightened, for the 
 
 glory of the Lord has risen in thee. 
 Sion, leap and rejoice, 
 And do thou exult, all holy Theotokos, 
 For thy Child has risen again. 
 
 Oh blessed, holy and most sweet promise, 
 That thou wilt be with us all days to the end, 
 These are thy words, Christ, who canst not deceive, 
 And we, trusting to them, with firm hope rejoice. 
 
 Oh, great and most sacred Pasch of Christ, 
 Do thou. Wisdom, Power and Word of God, 
 Grant that we may see thy presence in thy kingdom, 
 In that day that has no evening.^ 
 
 There is a beautiful canon for Lady-day, of which 
 the first troparia end with the first line of the 
 Benedicite, and the last with St Gabriel's greeting : 
 
 Listen, maiden, purest Virgin, Gabriel tells of God's 
 
 high counsel. 
 And thou art ready to receive thy Lord, 
 Through thee the Almighty comes down to mortal 
 
 men. 
 Wherefore I sing: Bless the Lord, all ye his works! 
 
 and further down (Trop. vii) : 
 
 ^These irregular lines give, I think, very nearly the effect 
 of the original. For instance, the first troparion is : 
 'Avacrrdcrews ij/xepa, 
 
 \a/jiTrpvvd(j)fJi€P Xaol iro.cfx'^ Kvpiov, Trdcrxct, 
 iK yap da.va.Tov irphs ^(jJ7]v /cat iK 777$ Trpbs ovpavbv Xpiarbs 6 debs ij/xas 
 
 die^i^acrev, 
 iTTLuiKLOv adopTas 
 
 l^s^xhe whole Golden Canon will be found among St John's 
 works. In Lequien's edition (Venice, 1748) it comes in vol. i, 
 pp. 685-686. 
 
238 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Living Ark that shelters God, 
 
 No impure hand shall dare to touch thee,^ 
 
 But the lips of the servants of the Theotokos always 
 
 sing the Angel's words, 
 Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. 
 
 A number of these canons and poems are ana- 
 grams, so arranged that the initial letters of each 
 line, if read downwards, make a verse. Thus the 
 poem for Christmas mentioned above (p. 234) 
 begins : 
 
 The Lord has saved his people ; God's own Son, 
 Who dried for them long years ago the sea. 
 Born of a Virgin greater things has done 
 Who coming down to earth has set us free. 
 
 And the first letters of the lines make this verse : 
 
 With joyful sound this canon tells the birth 
 Of Christ the Son of God, who came to bring 
 Salvation to his people here on earth ; 
 And may he bless us while we gladly sing. 
 
 As a last specimen of St John's poetry, this is a long 
 rhyme in short Anacreontic verse, expressing con- 
 trition, shame for sin and hope of forgiveness : 
 
 Christ, from a wicked tongue, 
 
 From a heart that yet may dare 
 
 With shame and sorrow wrung 
 
 To turn to thee in prayer. 
 
 Receive my humble cry. 
 
 Nor turn away thy face. 
 
 And when I mourn and sigh 
 
 Refuse me not thy grace. 
 
 My soul with sin is black, 
 
 I have no right to plead, 
 
 Yet, Saviour, take me back 
 
 And pity my great need. 
 
 ^A reference, of course, to Oza, who touched the Ark of the 
 Covenant and was struck dead (2 Kings, vi, 6-7) . Their canons 
 are full of such allusions to the Old Testament, as types, many 
 of them being very far-fetched. 
 
St John of Damascus 239 
 
 For lowly, poor and meek, 
 I come to thee in fear ; 
 Teach me then how to speak 
 So that thou mayest hear. 
 Let me thy mercy feel 
 When I come to entreat 
 Before thy throne to kneel 
 And kiss thy sacred feet.^ 
 
 9. St John's death (c. 754) 
 
 There is nothing more to say of our saint's life. 
 He spent the rest of it in his monastery, writing 
 theology and poetry. Here at Mar Saba he died, 
 sometime not long before the year 754, and here 
 he was buried. His relics were taken to Constanti- 
 nople in the fourteenth century; but the tomb, 
 though now empty, that once held them is still the 
 chief treasure of the laura. He had been the great 
 defender of the holy eikons, so it was natural that 
 the eikon-breakers should hate and revile his 
 memory. The Iconoclast Synod of Constantinople 
 in 754 (p. 218) curses him at great length. It 
 remembers three defenders of the images specially, 
 the Patriarch Germanos of Constantinople (p. 217), 
 a certain George of Cyprus, and John Mansur of 
 Damascus; and it declares that "the Trinity 
 destroyed these three. "^ Our Saint receives a special 
 series of curses : "To Mansur of evil name, Saracen 
 at heart,^ Anathema. To Mansur, the image-wor- 
 shipper and writer of falsehoods, Anathema. To Man- 
 sur, who denied Christ and betrayed his sovereign, 
 Anathema. To Mansur, the teacher of impious doc- 
 
 ^There are over loo lines altogether. In Lequien's edition, 
 i, 691-693. 
 
 ^i] Tptds roi)s rpets KadelXev (quoted by the second Synod 
 of Nicaea, Act. 6, Mansi xiii, 356. 
 
 ^This is preposterous. It was the Iconoclasts who got their 
 ideas from the Saracens. 
 
240 The Greek Fathers 
 
 trine and the perverter of holy Scripture, Anathe- 
 ma/'^ It is equally natural that all image-worship- 
 pers should look upon John of Damascus as their 
 great hero. The seventh general Council,^Jthat 
 restored the honour of the eikons, was also con- 
 cerned to restore his honour. The fathers expressly 
 repudiate the anathemas of the Iconoclast synod, 
 declare in opposition that "the Trinity made these 
 three glorious,"^ and proclaim that "John, who 
 has been called Mansur in scorn,* imitating 
 Matthew the Evangelist, left all and followed 
 Christ, counting the reproach of Christ as better 
 than all the treasures of Arabia, choosing rather 
 to suffer with the people of God than to enjoy 
 worldly pleasure."^ 
 
 And since the image-breakers disappeared, 
 together with the triumph of his cause, the honour 
 of his name has spread throughout Christendom. 
 Theophanes^ says that John is rightly surnamed 
 Chrysorroas, after the chief river of his city, 
 "because in his life and in his teaching gold- 
 gleaming spiritual graces shine. ""^ This name, 
 however, has not become the common one. It is 
 rather as John Damascene {Sujuaa-Ktjvo^, damas- 
 cenus) that he is known and honoured in east and 
 west. We have seen how important his writings 
 are in eastern theology. His own people keep his 
 feast on Dec. 4;^ on that day they sing: "Let us, 
 
 ^Mansi, lb. ^jsjicaea, ii, in 787 ; see p. 
 
 'r/ Tptds Toiis rpels ido^aaev (Mansi, loc. cit. p. 400). 
 
 ^This is a mistake; it was an honourable name inherited 
 from his father. Possibly the council has Constantine V's 
 nickname in mind (above, p. 229). 
 
 ^Mansi, ih. 
 
 ®Theophanes, surnamed the confessor, was a chronicler who 
 died about 817 (Krumbacher: Byz. Litt. 1891, pp. 120-124). 
 
 ''Chronogr. ad ann. 734. 
 
 ®With St Barbara, the Megalomartyr. 
 
St John of Damascus 241 
 
 oh faithful people, praise the venerable John, the 
 hymn-writer, teacher and light of the Church, our 
 defender against enemies ; for lifting up the cross of 
 Christ with this weapon he defeated all wiles of 
 heresy, and now as a true intercessor with God 
 he obtains forgiveness for all our sins."^ St John 
 is remembered in the Roman martyrology on 
 May 6^: "At Damascus the birth of blessed John 
 Damascene, famous for his piety and learning, 
 who valiantly strove against Leo the Isaurian by 
 word and writing for the worship (cultus) of holy 
 images, who, when his right hand had been cut off 
 by this man's order, praying for himself before the 
 image of the blessed Virgin Mary which he had 
 defended, straightway received it back cured and 
 whole. "3 
 
 Pope Leo XIII declared St John Damascene a 
 Doctor of the Church and appointed March 27 as 
 his feast. The gospel (in allusion to the story of 
 the saint's right hand) is Luke vi, 6-1 1, about the 
 healing of the man whose hand was withered ; and 
 the collect is: "Almighty and eternal God, who 
 didst give to blessed John heavenly knowledge and 
 admirable strength of mind to defend the worship 
 of holy images ; grant by his prayers and example 
 that we may copy the virtues and enjoy the pro- 
 tection of those whose pictures we honour." 
 
 10. Table of dates 
 
 661. The Ommeyade khalifahs set up their 
 throne at Damascus. 
 
 ^In the Horologion for Dec. 4, Kontakion to the fourth 
 authentic tone. 
 
 2It is the feast of St John (the Evangehst) before the Latin 
 Gate. 
 
 ^Martyr. Rom. ad 6 maii. 
 
 16 
 
242 - The Greek Fathers 
 
 68o-69o(?). St John Damascene born. Cosmas 
 the Monk from Sicily his teacher. Cosmas 
 the Singer his foster-brother. John revenue- 
 officer at Dajnascus. 
 
 717-741. Leo III the Isaurian. 
 
 726. Leo Ill's first edict against eikons. St 
 John's first treatise against the Icono- 
 clasts. 
 
 730. Leo's second edict. The story of John's 
 right hand. He and Cosmas the Singer go to 
 Mar Saba. 
 
 732. Leo III excommunicated by Pope Gre- 
 gory III. St John ordained priest. 
 
 741-775. Constantine V, Kopronymos. 
 Death of St John. 
 
 754. Iconoclast synod at Constantinople. 
 
 769. Roman synod against Iconoclasm under 
 Stephen III. 
 
 775-780. Leo IV emperor. 
 
 780-797. Constantine VI, Porphyrogennetos. 
 Irene regent. 
 
 787. Seventh General Council (Nic^a II). 
 
 813-820. Leo V, the Armenian. Second Icono- 
 clast persecution. 
 
 842-867. Michael III, the Drunkard. Theodora 
 regent. 
 
 842 (Feb. 19). First Sunday of Lent, Feast of 
 Orthodoxy. 
 
 11. Works 
 
 The first complete edition of St John Damascene 
 was made by the learned Dominican, Michael le 
 Quien^ (Paris, 1712, two folio volumes), with a 
 parallel Latin version (reprinted at Venice, 1748). 
 Migne reprints this in his Patrol. GrcBca, xciv-xcvi 
 
 ^Le Quien is the author of the great Oriens Chrislianus 
 (Paris, 1740). 
 
St John of Damascus 243 
 
 (Paris, 1864), with a supplement containing 
 additions since discovered, most of which are 
 spurious or at least doubtful. Hurter has published 
 the De fide orthodoxa in his 55. Patrum opuscula 
 selecta, vol. XLi (Innsbruck, 1880) and seven 
 sermons about the blessed Virgin in the same 
 series, vol. xxxiv (pp. 4-156). 
 
 Dogmatic Works. The great compendium of St 
 John Damascene (the summa theologica, and 
 philosophica too, of the Byzantine Church) is his 
 Fount of Knowledge {irriyi] yvcoareojg, fons scien- 
 tice, xciv, 517-1228), dedicated to his friend, 
 Cosmas the Singer, Bishop of Maiumas. It has 
 three parts. The first is entitled Chapters of 
 Philosophy {K€(pd\aia (})l\o<to(J)lku, capita philoso- 
 phica), but is generally known as the Logic 
 (pioXeKTiKi), dialectica). This part contains, not 
 only what we call logic, but a complete course of 
 Aristotelian ontology as well. The second part 
 is A Compendium about heresies {-Trepl aipecrewv ev 
 a-uvTovia, de haeresibus compendium), arranged 
 under their names, giving in each case an account 
 of their teaching. Most of this part is only a new 
 edition of the Panarion {iravdpiov, "Haereses") 
 of Epiphanies (t403) ; but at the end St John adds 
 paragraphs about Mohammedans, Iconoclasts 
 and other later heretics. The third part is the most 
 important; it is his great work On the Orthodox 
 Faith {eKSoarig dKpi/3j]<? t>/? opOoSo^ov ifLcrTea)^, 
 Expositio accurata fidei orthodoxoe, quoted 
 always as de fide orthodoxa). This is the classical 
 compendium of theology in Greek. The Latins have 
 divided it into four books, in imitation of Peter 
 Lombard's four books of sentences.^ 
 
 ^Peter Lombard (f 1164) knew the de fide orih. in a Latin 
 version made by Burgundio of Pisa (f 11 94) ; he used it as his 
 model for the Sententice. 
 
244 The Greek Fathers 
 
 The first book (nineteen chapters) treats of God, 
 the second (thirty chapters) of creation, angels and 
 demons, nature, man and Providence, the third 
 (twenty-nine chapters) of the Incarnation and its 
 consequences (against Nestorians, Monophysites, 
 etc.), and the fourth (twenty-seven chapters) of 
 various other questions in no very definite order, 
 namely, of the glory of God the Son, of sacraments, 
 saints, relics, and images, of the canon of holy 
 Scripture, of the problem of evil, of the last things. 
 The Fount of Knowledge was written towards the 
 end of St John's life. It is, as he declares (Prolog.), 
 a gathering up of tradition on these subjects. 
 Earlier and shorter dogmatic works are : A treatise 
 about right opinion (X//3eXXo? irep] SpOov (ppoinj/maTog, 
 Libellus de recta sententia, xciv, 1421-1432), 
 which is a short profession of faith, an Elementary 
 Introduction to dogmas {elia-aycoyri SoyinaToov cttol- 
 X€ueSi]g, Institutio elementaris ad dogmata (xcv, 
 99-112) addressed to John, Bishop of Laodicea in 
 Syria. It is another work on logic and meta- 
 physic, covering the same ground as Part I of the 
 Fount of Knowledge. Three more dogmatic works 
 should be mentioned: Of the Holy Trinity {irepl 
 rf/? ay/a? TpLuSo^, de S. Trinitate, XCV, 9-18) in 
 the form of a dialogue, a Treatise on the Trisagion 
 ijlepi Tov Tpicraylov vjulpov, de hymno Trisagio, XCV, 
 21-62), in the form of a letter to an Archimandrite 
 Jordanes, in which he declares that theTrisagion is 
 sung of the Holy Trinity and not of the second Per- 
 son only ; wherefore the Jacobite addition about the 
 Crucifixion should not be made.^ Lastly, there is a 
 
 ^The Trisagion is the verse: "Holy God, Holy Strong One, 
 Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us." We sing it in Latin 
 and Greek on Good Friday; it occurs often in the Byzantine 
 rite. Peter the Dyer of Antioch, a Monophysite (470-488), had 
 added to the form the words, "who wast crucified for us." 
 
St John of Damascus 245 
 
 short treatise On Confession [irep] eiojuLoXoy/icrem 
 de confessione, xcv, 283-304), of doubtful authen- 
 ticity, written to defend the practice (that occurred 
 intermittently in both east and west for a long 
 time) of confessing one's sins to a holy man (gene- 
 rally a monk),^ who is not a priest and therefore 
 cannot absolve. 
 
 Polemical Works. The most important of these 
 are the three Treatises against those who destroy 
 holy Images {\6yoi ciTroXoyrjTiKoi irpog rot/? Sia/SaX- 
 XoPTG^ rag aylag eiKova^, orationes apologeticse adv. 
 eos qui sacras imagines abiiciunt, xciv, 1231- 
 1420, generally quoted as: Pro sacris Imaginihus). 
 The first was written in 726 before St John be- 
 came a monk, the second about 730, the third a 
 few years later. They are the classical apology 
 for the use of images and for reverence paid 
 to them, with a clear distinction between the 
 adoration due only to God (Aarpe/a) and worship 
 in the sense of cultus {irpoa-Kvvtja-is). Other pole- 
 mical works are a Dialogue against the Mani- 
 chcBans (/cara juLavixaicov SidXoyog, ctra manichaeos 
 diaJogus, XCIV, 1505-1584), the Argument of John 
 the Orthodox against a Manichcean {SLaXe^i^ 'lomvvou 
 opOoSo^ov 7rpo<s ^lavLXGLLov, disquisitio J oh. orthod. 
 adv. Manichaeum, xcvi, 1319-1336), a Disputatiorv 
 
 This addition was considered unsound, if not heretical, as 
 implying that the Divinity itself was crucified. It was very 
 much discussed during the Monophysite controversy, and is 
 still a speciality of the Jacobite rite. 
 
 ^In the west confession to a deacon was a not uncommon 
 practice at one time, especially in England. It is referred to in 
 synods at York in 1195, London 1200, Rouen 1231, and Can- 
 terbury 1236. There does not seem to be any mistake as to the 
 power of absolving. It was merely an act of humility and 
 protest of contrition. The deacon then prayed for the peni- 
 tent's forgiveness without any idea of conferring a sacrament 
 (cfr. J. N. Seidel: Der Diakonat, ^t,!, Bei der Bussdisciplin, 
 Regensburg, 1884, pp. 141-144). 
 
246 The Greek Fathers 
 
 between a Saracen and a Christian (SiaXe^ig a-apaKrjvod 
 KOI xp^o-rmi/oi^, disceptatio Saraceni et Christiani, 
 xciv, 1585-1598, another text in xcvi, 1335-1348), 
 two treatises Against the Nestorians (/caret t>7? aipe- 
 aewg twv vecrropLavwv, adv. hser. Nest. XCV, 187-224, 
 andTre/oi (TvvOirov (pvcrecog, de natura composita, 
 XCV, 111-126), a Letter to a Jacobite Bishop {irpog 
 Tov eTTLCTKOirov SfjOev TovSapia^ tov laKOj/BiTiji', 
 ad episcopum Tudarioe jacobitam, xciv, 1435- 
 1502), Of the two wills in Christ (Trepl raw ev rw 
 'XpicFTip ovo OeXtjjuidTwp, de II voluntatibus Christi, 
 XCV, 127-186), and a curious fragment On dragons 
 and witches {irep]. SpaKovrwv Ka\ (rrpvyyMv, de dra- 
 conibus et strygibus, xciv, 1599-1604) that con- 
 tains a great deal of information as to the habits 
 of these Httle understood creatures.^ 
 
 ExegeticalWorks. St John wrote a Commentary 
 on St Paul's Epistles, that is a compilation from 
 Theodoret of Cyrus, St Cyril of Alexandria, and 
 especially St John Chrysostom (xcv, 441-1034). 
 
 Ascetic Works. The Sacred Parallels (ra lepa 
 -TrapdWtjXa, sacra parallela, XCV, 1039; XCVI, 
 442) is a long collection of texts and quotations 
 from the Bible, the fathers, and even heathen 
 philosophers, arranged to illustrate various points 
 of faith and morals. The collection was made 
 before the time of our saint; there are many 
 editions of it, of which he made the one included 
 among his works. He wrote treatises On Fasting 
 {Trep} TMv aytwv v)](TTeiwv, de s. jeiuniis, XCV, 63-78), 
 On the eight evil spirits {irepl tmv Sktw Tij<i Trovrjplag 
 TrvevjuLclrMP, de VIII spiritibus nequitiae, xcv, 79-86), 
 
 ^He says that dragons never turn into men, they have no 
 poison and are not Uable to be killed by lightning. Witches 
 cannot go through closed doors nor fly about in the air, nor do 
 they eat babies. On the whole, both dragons and witches turn 
 out to be much less harmful than one had thought. 
 
St John of Damascus 247 
 
 and On Virtues and Vices {irepl apercov kol KaKiwu, 
 de virtutibus et vitiis, xcv, 85-98). 
 
 Homilies. Thirteen sermons of John Damascene 
 are preserved, of which three are about the Falling 
 asleep of the holy Theotokos (elg rt^v kol/uli](tii^ t?/? 
 cty/a? OeoTOKov, de dormitione S. Dei genitricis, 
 xcvi, 699-762) , all preached on one day. There are 
 others on her Birth (xcvi, 661-698) and Annuncia- 
 tion (xcvi, 643-662). 
 
 Hymns and Canons. We have already seen 
 specimens of these; they are collected in M. P. Gr. 
 XCVI, 817-856, 1363-1408. Some of them are of 
 doubtful authenticity. 
 
 The Life of Barlaam and Joasaph, in which J. 
 Robinson discovered the lost Apology of Aristides 
 (in the second century) , is included (in one version) 
 among St John Damascene's works (xcvi, 859- 
 1240). It was not composed by him, but by 
 another monk of Mar Saba, also named John. It is 
 a novel about the conversion of an Indian prince, 
 named Joasaph, through the discourses of a hermit, 
 Barlaam, that had a very great vogue in the 
 middle ages, and it is a most curious and valuable 
 example of a legend that has travelled all over the 
 world. The original story was an Indian legend 
 about Buddha; it was altered and re-edited to 
 form a Christian one. 
 
 12. Literature 
 
 The source for our saint's life is the Life of our 
 holy Father John Damascene by John, Patriarch of 
 Jerusalem (in Migne, P. Gr. xciv, 429-490), 
 written apparently in the tenth century. This is 
 the work I have quoted throughout. It contains, 
 however, much that is legendary, and many of its 
 stories must not be taken seriously. J. Langen: 
 
248 The Greek Fathers 
 
 Johannes von Danmskus (Gotha, 1879). V. Ermoni: 
 S. Jean Damascene (Paris, Bloud, La Pensce 
 chretienne, 1904). J. H. Lupton: St John of Damas- 
 cus (London, S.P.C.K. The Fathers for English 
 Readers, 1882) . Mary H. Allies : St John Damascene's 
 Treatise on Holy Images, Burns & Oates, 1898. Le 
 Quien adds a series of dissertations on various 
 points concerning St John (Dissertationes damas- 
 cenicae) to his edition of the works (Venice, 1748, 
 pp. 1-127). See also Krumbacher: Gesch. der 
 Byzantinischen Litter atur (Munich, second edition, 
 1897), pp. 68 seq. and 6745^^. 
 
 This brings us to the end of the great Greek 
 fathers. The line that began in Greek Egypt with 
 the mighty Athanasius and the thunder of the Arian 
 storm led us for two centuries through Asia Minor, 
 Constantinople and Palestine through the chain of 
 heresies that rent the eastern Church. Now, after 
 a break, we leave it at the close of the last of those 
 heresies in Moslem Syria. 
 
 The age of the fathers is over. The khalifah sits 
 at Damascus, a new line of emperors will begin at 
 once in the west, Photius is a promising cavalry 
 officer with a grudge against Ignatius, the long ships 
 of the Northmen have begun to be a terror to all 
 the coasts of Europe, people are just discovering 
 that what they talk is no longer Latin — we have 
 reached the great turning-point. The old world is 
 dead and the middle ages have begun. 
 
INDEX 
 
 ACHILLAS, Pt of Alexan- 
 dria before Alexander, 4 
 Adrian I, Pope (t795). 218 
 Actios, leader of Arians, 20 
 Akakios, (340) Metropolitan 
 of Caesarea, 20, 155, 156, 
 
 158, 159 
 
 Alexander, Patriarch of Alex- 
 andria (f 328), 3, 7, 10, II, 
 12, 13, 14, 16 
 
 Alexander, Bishop of Con- 
 stantinople, 24 
 
 Alexander III, Pope (f 1181), 
 ix 
 
 Alexandria, 13, 37, 52, 57, 90, 
 102, no, lion, 114, 182, 
 
 ' 183,184,218 
 
 Ambrose, St (t397). 72, 71, 
 iign 
 
 Ammonios, 174 
 
 Amphilochios, Bp of Ikonion, 
 70, 80 
 
 Anastasios, Nestorian leader, 
 180, 181 
 
 Anastasios Sinaitikos, 213 
 
 Andrew of Samosata, 186 
 
 Ankyra, 20n; Synod of, ^^^ 
 
 Annesos, Basil's monastery, 
 
 58, 59, 74, 77,93,94 
 
 Anomoios, 19 
 
 Anthimos, 68, 69, 96, 97 
 
 Antioch, 65, 66, I02n, no, 
 113, 115, 119, 120, 122, 129, 
 I34n, I52n, i84n, 206, 218 
 
 Antony, St, the hermit, 11,33, 
 42, 56 
 
 Anthusa, St John Chrysos- 
 tom's mother, in, 112, 
 114-1 16 
 
 Apollinaris of Laodicea, here- 
 tic (f c. 392), ix, 36, 82, 84n, 
 85n, loi; Apollinarists, 
 176 
 
 Arcadius, Emperor (395- 
 408), 130, 132, 140, 141 
 
 Arcadius, Papal legate at 
 Ephesus, 188 
 
 Arianism, gradual develop- 
 ment, 4; extreme sub- 
 ordinationism, 6 ; con- 
 demned by Nicsea I, 15; 
 favoured by Constantino 
 and Constantius, 18, 26; 
 Arian sects, 18-21; down- 
 fall, 35, 36 
 
 Arians, the antagonists of St 
 Athanasius, i, 2; depose 
 and banish Athanasius, 
 22-24, 27, 29, 31, 35 ; 
 evaded synod of Rome, 
 27, 29; synods of, 22, 27, 
 29, 30, 31, 33; persecution 
 by, 32 
 
 Arius (293-336), early his- 
 tory of, 3, 4, 6; excom- 
 municated, 7, 11; makes 
 converts in Asia Minor, 1 2 ; 
 defies Alexander, 13; Con- 
 stantino tries to pacify, 
 1 3 ; excommunication con- 
 firmed by Nicaea I, 15; 
 banished, 15; triumphant 
 return, and death, 24, 25 
 
 Armenia, 65, 66; Armenians, 
 91, 92n 
 
 Arsakios, anti-Patriarch of 
 Constantinople (404-405), 
 139, 140, 174 
 
 Arsenios, of Hypsele, 22, 23 
 
 Athanasius, St (293-373), 
 birth and education, 8-10; 
 ordained reader, then dea- 
 con, 10, 11; at synod of 
 Alexandria, 7,11; Patriarch 
 of Alexandria, 16; trial at 
 Tyre, 22; deposed and ban- 
 
250 
 
 Index 
 
 ished, 22-24, 27, 29, 31, 35, 
 last years and death, 35, 
 36, 37; defends Divinity of 
 Christ, I, 16, 65, 125 ; dates, 
 38-40; works, 40-44; liter- 
 ature, 44, 45 
 
 Athens, 50-54, 90 
 
 Attikos, anti-Patriarch of 
 Constantinople (406-425), 
 139, 140, I73n, 174 
 
 Augustine, St, Bp of Hippo, 
 (354-430), 125, 128 
 
 Auxentius of Milan, semi- 
 Arian leader, 20 
 
 BASIL, St (330-379), l^is 
 family, birth and early 
 years, 46-49 ; description 
 of, 46, Tj; at Athens, 50- 
 54; and St Gregory of 
 Nazianzos, 51, 70, 82, 90, 
 91, 96-99; teaches rhetoric 
 at Caesarea, 54; his bap- 
 tism, 5 5 ; studies monasti- 
 cism, 55-57; founds mon- 
 astery at Annesos, 58, 59; 
 fixes the monastic rule, 60; 
 ordained by Eusebeios, 62 ; 
 defends Caesarea against 
 Arian influence, 63-65 ; re- 
 forms the liturgy, 63, 82; 
 consecrated Metropolitan 
 of Caesarea, 64; represses 
 the Arians, 6'^, 65, 66, 68; 
 his struggle with Anthimos, 
 69, 96, 97 ; his friends, 70- 
 73; 90, 96-99; letters, 70- 
 73; his death and burial, 
 76, TT, dates, 78, 79; works, 
 79-85 ; literature, 86 
 
 Basil, St Basil's father, 47, 49, 
 50 
 
 Basil, friend of St John 
 Chrysostom, 113, 116 
 
 Basil of Ankyra, 20 
 
 Basiliskos, St, 141 
 
 Barsumas, Bp of Nisibis 
 
 (453-489), 193 
 Baukalis Church at Alexan- 
 dria, 4, 6 
 
 Berenice, St, I27n, I28n 
 Bernard, St (f 11 53), x 
 Byzantine Church, 46, 60, 
 ^l^ 77, 83, 104, 142, 1420, 
 165, 195, 219, 234, 236 
 
 C^SAREA, in Cappado- 
 cia, 49, 65, 158 
 
 Caecilian, Bp of Carthage, 14 
 
 Candidian, Theodosius' emis- 
 sary at Ephesus, 187-191 
 
 Cappadocia, 65 
 
 Celestin, St (422-432), Pope, 
 183, 184, 185, 188, 189 
 
 Celibacy of clergy, 88, 89, 124 
 
 Chalcedon, Council of (451), 
 i3on, 158, 182, 192, 2o6n 
 
 Chiliasm, I34n 
 
 Christmas, date of, 94n 
 
 Chrysostom, St John (344- 
 407), birth, no; family, 
 in; studies, 113; Meletian 
 schism, 114; baptized and 
 ordained reader, 115; Doc- 
 tor Eucharisticus, 125, 126, 
 1 28n ; Patriarch of Constan- 
 tinople, 109, 129-131; and 
 Eutropios, 131, 132; Oak- 
 Tree Synod, 1 3 3-1 36; exiles, 
 137-139; appeals to Rome, 
 1 39-140; death, 141 ; honour 
 after death, 141-143; his 
 liturgy, 94; sermons, 117— 
 127; dates, 143; works, 144— 
 148; literature, 148, 149 
 
 Constans, Emperor in Illyri- 
 cum and Italy, 26, 29 
 
 Constantia, Constantine's sis- 
 ter (t 328), 18 
 
 Constantine, Emperor (306- 
 ^2)7) > edict of Milan, 23; 
 writes to Alexander and 
 Arius, 13, 14; summons 
 council of Nicaea, 14; ban- 
 ishes Arius, 1 5 ; favours 
 Arianism, 18, 23, 24; builds 
 Constantinople, 49n, 117; 
 baptism and death, 2 5 , 1 5 3n ; 
 honoured as saint by Ortho- 
 dox Church, 25 ; division of 
 
empire after his death, 26; 
 cross of, 2 1 3n 
 
 Constantine II, Emperor in 
 Gaul, 26 
 
 Constantine V, Emperor (741- 
 775), 217, 218 
 
 Constantine VI (780-797), 
 218 
 
 Constantinople, 49, 65, 69n, 
 loin, no, i3on, 133, 183, 
 i84n, 217 
 
 Constantinople I, Council of, 
 65n, 75, 100-103, 157, 164, 
 
 Constantius, Emperor (353- 
 361), 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 
 35, 61, i53n, 161, i6in 
 
 Cosmas, St John Damas- 
 cene's master, 209, 210, 
 225n 
 
 Cosmas the Singer, St John 
 Damascene's foster-bro- 
 ther, 223, 225, 227, 234 
 
 Councils, General, Nicaea I 
 (325), 11-19, 24, ison, 158; 
 Constantinople I (381), 75, 
 100-103, 157. 164, 182; 
 Ephesus (431), 169, 186- 
 192; Chalcedon {451), i3on, 
 158, 182, 192, 2o6n; Con- 
 stantinople II (553), I34n; 
 Nicaea II (787), 218, 219, 
 234n, 240, 243 
 
 Cyprian, St, 94n 
 
 Cyril of Alexandria, St 
 (■f-444), and Nestorians, 
 169, 179-192; influenced 
 by Isidore of Pelusium, 
 1 70 ; and Orestes, the gover- 
 nor, 1 71-174; Paschal let- 
 ter (429), 182; accused of 
 Arianism, 184; Legate at 
 Ephesus, 188-192; returns 
 to Alexandria, 192; paci- 
 fies Syrians, 194, 195; 
 death, 195; dates, 197; 
 works, 197-201; literature, 
 201 
 
 Cyril of Jerusalem, St (c. 315- 
 386), early years, 150; or- 
 dained deacon, 151; teaches 
 
 Index 251 
 
 catechism, 151; anti-Arian, 
 156, 157; on Holy Eucha- 
 rist, 157; Bishop of Jeru- 
 salem, 158; friction with 
 Akakios, 158, 159, 166; 
 deposed and banished 
 twice by Arians, 160, 164; 
 at second general Council, 
 164; death, 165; dates, 
 166; works, 166-168; liter- 
 ature, 168 
 
 DAMASCUS, 203-207 
 Damasus, St, Pope 
 
 (1384), 36,71-72 
 Demophilos, Arian Bishop of 
 Constantinople (369-379), 
 
 99 
 Demosthenes, Governor of 
 
 Caesarea (375), 75 
 Dianeios, Bp of Caesarea, 55, 
 
 61 
 Didymos the Blind (310- 
 
 395). loi 
 Diodore, Bp of Tarsus (378- 
 
 394), 115, 116, 193, 194 
 Dioskoros, INIonophysite Pa- 
 triarch of Alexandria, 183, 
 i84n, 195 
 Domitius Modestus, Valens' 
 
 prefect, 66 
 Dorotheos of Markianopolis, 
 180, 181 
 
 EASTER, date settled by 
 Nicaea I (325), 15 
 
 Edena, centre of Nestorian- 
 ism, 193 
 
 Emmelia, St Basil's mother, 
 47,48, 58, 59, 78 
 
 Ephesus, 65, 169, 186; coun- 
 cil of (431), 169, 187-191, 
 194 
 
 Ephrem, St, 70, 71, 94 
 
 Eudokia, Theodosius Il'swife, 
 183 
 
 Eudoxia, Arcadius' wife, 131- 
 
 139. 143 
 Eudoxios, Arian bishop 
 (I 360) of Antioch, 20, 1 14 
 
252 
 
 Index 
 
 Eulalios, Bp of Nazianzos, 
 
 104 
 Eunomios of Kyzikos, Arian 
 
 leader, 20 
 Eusebeios of Csesarea, St 
 
 Basil's Metropolitan (1370), 
 
 61-64 
 Eusebeios, Metropolitan of 
 
 Caesarea, the father of 
 
 Church history (| 340), 13 
 Eusebeios, Bishop of Nico- 
 
 media, 12, 16, 23, 25 
 Eutropios, Eunuch, fall of 
 
 (399), 130-133 
 Eustathios, Pt of Antioch 
 
 (banished 330), 14, 22, 114 
 Eustathios, Bp of Sebaste, 71 
 
 FATHER of the Church, 
 title of, ix 
 Flavian, Pt of Antioch (f 386), 
 103, ii5n, 117, 119-122 
 
 GALATOS, son of Valens, 
 67 
 Gelasios, Metropolitan of 
 
 Csesarea, 165 
 Germanos I, Patriarch of 
 
 Constantinople (715-730), 
 
 217, 239 
 George, Arian usurper at 
 
 Alexandria, 32, 34 
 George of Laodicea, semi- 
 
 Arian leader, 20 
 Glykeros, deacon at Csesarea, 
 
 69 
 
 Gratian, Emperor (375-383), 
 75. 164 
 
 Gregory the Great, St, Pope 
 (590-604), 63, 64n 
 
 Gregory II, Pope (715-731). 
 217 
 
 Gregory III, Pope (731-741), 
 217 
 
 Gregory of Nazianzos, St 
 (330-390), birth and fa- 
 mily, 88, 89, 112; studied 
 at Athens, 51-54, 90, 91; 
 Kaisarios, his brother, 92 ; 
 baptized, 93 ; at Nazian- 
 
 zos, 95, 96; monk at Anne- 
 sos, 58, 59, 93, 95; urges 
 St Basil to go to Caesarea, 
 62, 63 ; struggle with Anthi- 
 mos, 69; bishop of Sasima, 
 69, 87, 97 ; and St Basil, 46, 
 51, 70, 76, 77, 82, 87, 90, 
 91. 97. 99; and St Athana- 
 sius, ^7) and St Gregory of 
 Nyssa, 74, 75; and Ori- 
 genism, I34n; at Constan- 
 tinople, 100, i09n; Second 
 general Council, 100-103; 
 returns to Nazianzos, 103 ; 
 retirement and death, 104; 
 his feast, 78; dates, 104; 
 works, 105-107; literature, 
 107 
 
 Gregor}'-, Bp of Nazianzos 
 (f 374), father of the Saint, 
 66, 88, 90, 93-98 
 
 Gregory of Nyssa, St (c. 331- 
 c- 395), birth and family, 
 48, 78; education, 51-53, 
 7:^; an orator, 54, 74; mar- 
 ried, 74; ordained by St 
 Basil, 69, 74, 97; buries 
 St Basil, 76, 77; visits 
 Annesos, 77 ; his feast in 
 Eastern Church, 7S ; and 
 Origenism, I34n; dates, 78; 
 works, 83-85 ; literature, 86 
 
 Gregory, Arian usurper at 
 Alexandria, 27, 29, 30, 34 
 
 Gregory Thaumaturgos, St 
 (t270),48,49, 85, i34n 
 
 Gregory of Tours, St (c. 593), 
 213 
 
 Goths, 75 
 
 HELLADIOS, Metropoli- 
 tan of Caesarea after 
 Basil, 75, 102 
 Himerios, professor at Athens 
 
 53 
 Honorius, Emperor, in the 
 
 West (395-423). 130, 140 
 Hosius of Cordova, 13, 14, 15 
 Hussain, 208 
 Hypatia, 169, 170-173 
 
Index 
 
 253 
 
 IBAS, Bp of Edessa (435- 
 457)- 193 
 Iconoclasts (726-842), 15, 
 
 212, 218, 233 
 Ignatius of Constantinople 
 
 (t877), 109, 140 
 Innocent I (401-417), 140 
 Irenaeus, St (f 202), 153, 178 
 Irene, Empress, 218 
 Ischyras, 22, 23 
 Isidore of Pelusium (f c, 440), 
 
 125, 170, 171, 183 
 Isidore, Origenist, 135 
 
 JEROME, St, (t4io), 34, 
 36, 100, loin, I34n 
 
 Jerusalem, 17, 65, 94n, 152 
 
 John of Damascus, St (f c. 
 754, last of the Greek 
 Fathers, x, i69n; his 
 father, 208, 211; early- 
 years, 209; and the Icono- 
 clasts, 212-220, 240; monk 
 at Mar Saba, 223-227; or- 
 dained and sent to Jerusa- 
 lem, 227; returns to desert, 
 227; philosophy, 229-234; 
 poetry, 234-239; death, 
 239; dates, 241-242; works, 
 242-247 ; literature, 247,248 
 
 John the Evangelist, St, ist 
 Bp of Ephesus, i86n, 187 
 
 John, father of St John Dam- 
 scene, 208, 209 
 
 John V, Patriarch of Jerusa- 
 lem (t735). 227 
 
 John, Patriarch of Antioch, 
 Nestorius' friend, 183, 185- 
 186, 188-192 
 
 John of Monagria, martyred 
 by Iconoclasts, 218 
 
 Jovian, Emperor {;^6;^-s64), 
 35. 164 
 
 Julian, Emperor (361-363), 
 34, 35, 50, 53, 54, 61, 62, 
 92, 113, 161-164, 2i4n 
 
 Julius'I, (337-352), 27-29 
 
 Justin, St (f 166), I53n 
 
 Justinian I (527-565), i3on, 
 I93n, 2o6_ 
 
 K 
 
 AIS ARIOSof Nazianzos, 
 St Gregory's brother, 
 16, 90, 92 
 
 LEO I, St, Pope (t46i), 
 1S5 
 Leo III, the Isaurian (717- 
 
 741), 216, 217, 221, 228, 
 
 241 
 Leo IV, Emperor (775-780), 
 
 218 
 Leo V, Emperor (813-820), 
 
 219 
 Libanios, philosopher, Juli- 
 an's friend, 112 
 Liberius, Pope, 31, 33 
 Lucian of Antioch (1311), 6, 
 
 12 
 Lucifer, Bishop of Calaris, 3 1 , 
 
 114 
 
 MAGNENTIUS, 26 
 Makarios, Bishop of 
 Jerusalem, 14, 150, 151 
 Makedonios, semi-Arian 
 
 Bishop of Constantinople 
 (t 360), 100 
 Makrine, St, St Basil's sister, 
 
 47, 54. 55, 58, 77,85 
 
 Makrine, St Basil's grand- 
 mother, 47, 49, 54, yy 
 
 Manicheism, 127 
 
 Marathonios, a Pneumato- 
 machian monk, 100 
 
 Marcionism, 127 
 
 Markellos of Ankyra, 23, 24 
 
 j\Iar Saba, 223, 239 
 
 Maximian, Bp of Constanti- 
 nople (t434), 192 
 
 Maximos, bishop at Constan- 
 tinople, 100, 102, 151, 157 
 
 Maximinus, Bishop of Trier, 
 26 
 
 Meletios of Antioch, 4, 102, 
 103, 114, 115, 117 
 
 Meletios of Lykopolis, 4, 1 1 1 ; 
 Meletians, 12, 15 
 
 Melkites, 15, 38n, 6on, iin, 
 219, 220 
 
 Memnon of Ephesus, 187, 190 
 
Index 
 
 stammerer 
 
 Michael II, the 
 
 (t829), 219 
 Milan, edict of, 2, 3 
 Mithraism, 161 n 
 Modalism, 5 
 Monophysites, 38n, 44, 8511, 
 
 206 
 
 NAUSIKRATES, or Nau- 
 kratios, 48, 54 
 
 Nazianzos, 88; see Gregory, 
 St, of 
 
 Nektarios of Constantinople 
 (t397). 75. 103. 129, 130 
 
 Nestorius, Patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople, 175-192; Nes- 
 torianism, 6n, 44, 127, 169 
 
 Nicaea, Council of (325), sum- 
 moned by Constantine, 14; 
 declares Christ equal to the 
 Father, 1 5 ; excommuni- 
 cates Arius, 15; St Atha- 
 nasius the Catholic leader, 
 II, 16; refuses Jerusalem 
 rank of a metropolitan see, 
 17, 158; settles the time of 
 keeping Easter, 15; the 
 validity of doubtful bap- 
 tism, 1 5 
 
 Nicaea, 2nd Council of, 18, 219, 
 234n, 240 
 
 Nonna, St, mother of St Gre- 
 gory of Nazianzos, 88-90, 
 98, 112 
 
 Novatian, I72n; Novatians, 
 
 175 
 Nyssa, 74; see St Gregory of 
 
 OMMEYADES, 206, 208 
 Orestes, Governor, 171- 
 
 174 
 Origenes (f 254), x, 6, 83, 133 
 
 I34n, 151 
 Orthodox Church, 15,63,111, 
 195, 202n, 203, 2i9n 
 
 PARABOLANI, 172 
 Paphnutios of the The- 
 bais, 14 
 Patripassianism, 5 
 
 no, 125, 187, 
 
 Paul, St. 
 
 205 
 Paul of Samosata, 6, 12 
 Paulinos, 72, I02n, 114 
 Paulinus of Trier, St, 3 1 
 Pelagius, i85n; Pelagianism, 
 
 128, 231 
 Peter, St, Bp of Sebaste, St 
 
 Basil's brother, 48, 54, 58, 
 
 71. 73. 78 
 
 Philip, Legate at Ephesus, 
 188, 189 
 
 Photius, Patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople (857), 109, 140, 
 I4in, 212, 248 
 
 Pistos, Arian anti-bishop at 
 Alexandria, 27 
 
 Pneumatomachians, 100-102, 
 231 
 
 Politianos of Alexandria, 218 
 
 Potamon of Herakleia, 14 
 
 Prohairesios, 53 
 
 Proklos of Kyzikos, 181 
 
 Projectus, Papal Legate, 188 
 
 Prosdoce, St, 127, 128 
 
 Pulcheria, Theodosius' sister- 
 in-law, 183 
 
 Q 
 
 UARTODECIMANS, 
 
 175 
 
 ROME, 
 218; 
 184, 218 
 
 no, 114, i84n, 
 synods at, 28, 
 
 S ABAS, St (t 531). 223 
 Sabellius, 5, 6 
 Sacraments, intention in, 10, 
 
 94. 94n 
 Sanctuary, right of, 132 
 Secundus, St John Chrysos- 
 
 tom's father, 1 1 1 
 Secundus of Ptolemais, 7 
 Seleucia, port of Antioch, t 10. 
 
 159 
 
 Seleukos I, founder of Anti- 
 och, no 
 
 Semi-Arianism, compromise 
 between Catholicism and 
 Arianism, 13, 20 
 
Index 
 
 255 
 
 Stephen III, Pope (768-772), 
 
 218 
 Stephen, Abbot, martyr, 
 
 218 
 Subordinationism, 4, 6, 12 
 Sylvester I, St Pope (314-335), 
 
 24 
 Synods — Alexandria (321), 
 74; Antioch (330), 22; 
 Tyre (335), 22; Constanti- 
 nople (335), 24; Antioch II 
 (340), 27; Rome (341), 28; 
 Antioch III, " in encaeniis " 
 (341), 29, I37n, 159, 160; 
 Sardica (343), 29; Philip- 
 popolis (343), 29; Laodicea 
 (345), 30; Antioch IV (344), 
 30; Milan (345), 30; Sir- 
 mium I (351), 30; Aries 
 (353). 30, 31; Milan (355), 
 31; Sirmium II (357), 33; 
 Ankyra (357), 33; Sir- 
 mium III (358), 33; Caesa- 
 rea (358), 159; Sirmium IV 
 (359). 33 J Seleucia in Isau- 
 ria (359), 159, 160; Arimi- 
 nium (359), 33, 61, 95, 
 I59n; Constantinople (360) 
 160; Alexandria (362), 10 1 ; 
 Zele c. 363), loi; Antioch 
 {379). 751 Constantinople, 
 (394), 75; Constantinople 
 (399), 135 ; of the Oak Tree 
 (403), 135, 136; Rome 
 (430), 184, 185; Alexan- 
 dria (430), 185; Tarsus 
 (c. 431), 192; Antioch (c. 
 431), 192; Constantinople 
 (754), 218, 239; Lateran 
 (769), 218 
 
 TALL BROTHERS, the, 
 134 
 Tarasios of Constantinople, 
 
 218 
 Tertullian, ix, 153, I72n 
 Theodora, Empress, Theo- 
 
 philos' wife, 219 
 Theodore of Herakleia, semi- 
 Arian leader, 20 
 
 Theodore of Mopsuestia 
 (t428), 127, I76n, 193, 194 
 
 Theodore of Studion, St. 
 (f 826), 202, 219, 220, 233n 
 
 Theodosius I, Emperor (379- 
 
 395). 75. 76, 99. loi, 119, 
 
 122, 130, 164 
 Theodosius II, Emperor (408- 
 
 450), 141, 172, 183, 186, 
 
 187, 190, 191, 192 
 Theon, Hypatia's father, 17 in 
 Theonas of INIarmarica, Arian 
 
 leader, 7 
 Theophilos, Emperor (829- 
 
 842), 219 
 Theophilos of Alexandria 
 
 (t4i2), 115, 129, 130, 133, 
 
 134, I34n, 135, 136, 140, 
 
 169-171, 183, i84n 
 Theopompos, the Novatian 
 
 bishop, 172 
 Theosebeia, St Gregory of 
 
 Nyssa's wife, 74 
 Theotokos, 180-182; Theo- 
 
 tokians, 184 
 Timothy, St Basil's chorepis- 
 
 copus, 70 
 Trier, St Athanasius ban- 
 ished to, 24, 25, 26 
 Tyana, 68, 90, 97 
 
 u 
 
 RANIOS of Tyre, Ho- 
 moian leader, 21 
 
 VALENS, Caesar (364- 
 378). 35.63. 66-68, 75, 
 92. 99, 164 
 Valentinian I, Emperor (364- 
 
 375). 35. 164 
 Venantius Fortunatus (I603), 
 213 
 
 X 
 
 216 
 
 Y 
 
 ENAIAS, the Nestorian 
 bishop of Hierapolis, 
 
 ARMUK, Battle of (634), 
 206 
 
 ENO, Emperor (474- 
 r49i). 193 
 
PRESS 
 
 W. H. SMITH AND SON 
 
 FETTER LANE LONDON EC 
 
 AND LETCHWORTH 
 
RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 University of California Library 
 
 or to the 
 
 NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 BIdg. 400, Richmond Field Station 
 University of California 
 Richmond, CA 94804-4698 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling 
 (510)642-6753 
 
 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing 
 books to NRLF 
 
 • Renewals and recharges may be made 
 4 days prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AUG 3 1 2005 
 
 F^B G 2008 
 
 DD20 12M 1-05 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKEL 
 
 BDDD3M27b7