Athanasius Leaves for the Emperor

But in answering the false charges against Macarius, he made use of legal forms. First, he objected to Eusebius and his party as his enemies, protesting that it was unjust for anyone to be tried by his adversaries. Next, he insisted on proof that his accuser Ischyras had really been made a presbyter, since that is what the indictment called him. But the judges would not allow any of these objections. The case of Macarius was taken up, and when the informers were found to lack proof, the hearing was postponed until some people could go to Mareotis, so that every disputed point might be examined on the spot. Athanasius saw that the very men he had objected to were being sent, for those sent were Theognis, Maris, Theodore, Macedonius, Valens and Ursacius. He cried out that their procedure was both treacherous and dishonest: it was unjust that the presbyter Macarius should be kept in chains while the accuser, together with judges who were his adversaries, was allowed to go, so that a one-sided collection of the evidence could be made. He made this protest before the whole synod and before Dionysius, the governor of the province. When he found that no one paid any attention to his appeal, he quietly withdrew. So those who were sent to Mareotis made a one-sided investigation and held that what the accuser said was true. [a]