Thalassius Made Bishop of Caesarea, and the End of the History

About this same time, in the seventeenth consulship of Theodosius, Proclus the bishop undertook something that none of the ancients had ever done. Firmus, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, had died, and the people of that city came to Constantinople to consult Proclus about appointing a bishop. While Proclus was considering whom he should advance to that see, it happened that all the senators came to the church on the Sabbath day to visit him. Among them was Thalassius, a man who had governed the peoples and cities of Illyricum. And since it was reported that the emperor was about to entrust him with the government of the East, Proclus laid his hands on him and ordained him bishop of Caesarea, instead of praetorian prefect. [a]

In such a flourishing state were the affairs of the church at this time. But here we will close our history, praying that the churches everywhere, with the cities and nations, may live in peace; for as long as peace lasts, those who want to write histories will find no material for their purpose. And we ourselves, holy man of God, Theodore, could not have accomplished in seven books the task we undertook at your request, if the lovers of strife had chosen to keep quiet. [d] This last book gives an account of the events of thirty-two years, and the whole history, contained in seven books, covers a period of a hundred and forty years. It begins with the first year of the two hundred and seventy-first Olympiad, in which Constantine was proclaimed emperor, and ends with the second year of the three hundred and fifth Olympiad, in which the emperor Theodosius held his seventeenth consulship. [e]