The Goths Become Christians

The barbarians living beyond the Danube, called the Goths, fell into a civil war among themselves and split into two parties, one led by Fritigern, the other by Athanaric. When Athanaric had gained a clear advantage over his rival, Fritigern turned to the Romans and begged their help against his opponent. This was reported to the emperor Valens, and he ordered the troops garrisoned in Thrace to help the barbarians who had appealed to him against their more powerful countrymen. With this support they won a complete victory over Athanaric beyond the Danube and routed the enemy entirely. This became the occasion for many of the barbarians to turn to the Christian religion. For Fritigern, to show his gratitude for what the emperor had done for him, took up the religion of his benefactor and urged those under his authority to do the same. That is why so many of the Goths are infected even to this day with the errors of Arianism: on that occasion they chose to become adherents of that heresy for the emperor’s sake. [a]

Ulfilas, their bishop at that time, invented the Gothic letters, translated the sacred Scriptures into their own language, and undertook to teach these barbarians the oracles of God. Ulfilas did not confine his labors to the subjects of Fritigern but extended them to those who acknowledged the rule of Athanaric as well. Athanaric regarded this as a violation of the rights of his ancestral religion and punished severely those who professed Christianity, so that many of the Arian Goths of that time became martyrs. Arius, indeed, failing in his attempt to refute the opinion of Sabellius the Libyan, fell away from the true faith and declared the Son of God to be “a new God.” But the barbarians took up Christianity with greater simplicity of mind and despised the present life for the faith of Christ. With these remarks we close our account of the Goths who became Christians.