Constantius Recalls Athanasius

When he received this message, the emperor of the East did not know what to do. He at once sent for most of the Eastern bishops, told them of the choice his brother had put before him, and asked what ought to be done. They answered that it was better to give up the churches to Athanasius than to take on a civil war. So the emperor, forced by necessity, summoned Athanasius and his friends to come to him. Meanwhile the emperor of the West sent Paul to Constantinople with two bishops and an honorable escort, strengthened with his own letters and with those of the synod. But Athanasius was still afraid and hesitated to go to him, for he dreaded the treachery of those who slandered him; and the emperor of the East invited him to come not once only, but a second and a third time. This is clear from his letters, which, translated from Latin, are as follows:

Letter of Constantius to Athanasius. [a] Constantius Victor Augustus, to Athanasius the bishop. Our merciful clemency cannot allow you to be tossed and troubled any longer, as it were, by the stormy waves of the sea. Our tireless devotion has not forgotten you, driven from your native home, stripped of your property, and wandering in trackless wilds. I have put off too long telling you by letter what I have in mind, expecting that you would come to us of your own accord to seek a remedy for your troubles. But since fear has perhaps kept you from carrying out your wishes, we have sent your reverence letters full of goodwill, so that you may hurry without fear to appear before us; and so, having experienced our kindness, you may gain your desire and be restored to your proper place. For this reason I have asked my Lord and brother, Constans Victor Augustus, to give you permission to come, so that with the consent of us both you may be restored to your country, having this assurance of our favor.

Another letter to Athanasius. Constantius Victor Augustus, to the bishop Athanasius. Although we made it abundantly clear in an earlier letter that you could come to our court with confidence, since we are most eager to reinstate you in your proper place, we have nevertheless written this letter to your reverence again. We therefore urge you, without any distrust or fear, to take a public carriage and hurry to us, so that you may obtain what you desire. [b]

Another letter to Athanasius. Constantius Victor Augustus, to the bishop Athanasius. While we were staying at Edessa, where your presbyters were present, we decided to send one of them to you to hasten your coming to our court, so that after being brought into our presence you might go on at once to Alexandria. But since a long time has passed since you received our letter, and you have still not come, we now hasten to remind you to present yourself before us quickly, so that you may return to your country and obtain your desire. To assure you more fully of our intention, we have sent you Achetas the deacon, from whom you will learn both our mind toward you and that you will be able to obtain what you wish; that is, our readiness to further the things you have in view.

Athanasius received these letters at Aquileia, for he had stayed there after leaving Sardica. He immediately hurried to Rome and showed them to Julius the bishop, which brought the greatest joy to the Roman church; for it seemed that the emperor of the East too had acknowledged their faith, since he had recalled Athanasius. Julius then wrote to the clergy and laity of Alexandria on behalf of Athanasius as follows: [c]

Letter of Julius, bishop of Rome, to those at Alexandria. [d] Julius the bishop, to the presbyters, deacons and people living at Alexandria, beloved brothers: greetings in the Lord. I too rejoice with you, beloved brothers, because at last you see before your eyes the fruit of your faith. Anyone can see that this is truly so in the case of my brother and fellow bishop Athanasius, whom God has given back to you, both because of the purity of his life and in answer to your prayers. From this it is clear that your prayers to God have been offered without ceasing, pure and full of love. For you remembered the divine promises and the love that goes with them, which you learned from my brother’s teaching; and you knew for certain, and by the sound faith that is in you clearly foresaw, that your bishop would not be separated from you forever, since you held him in your devout hearts as if he were always present. So there is no need for me to use many words in writing to you, for your faith has already anticipated whatever I could have said, and the common prayer of you all has been fulfilled by the grace of Christ. I therefore rejoice with you, and I say again that you have kept your souls unconquered in the faith. And I rejoice equally with my brother Athanasius, because, while suffering many afflictions, he has never forgotten your love and longing for him. For though he seemed to be taken away from you in person for a time, he was always present with you in spirit. [e]

Moreover, beloved, I am convinced that none of the trials he has endured has been without glory, since both your faith and his have been tested by them and made plain to all. If so many troubles had not happened to him, who would have believed either that you had such great esteem and love for this eminent bishop, or that he had such outstanding virtues? For these virtues he will by no means be cheated of his hope in heaven. So he has gained the testimony of a confessor, glorious in every way, both in this present age and in the age to come. For having suffered so many and such varied trials by land and by sea, he has trampled on every scheme of the Arian heresy. Though he was often in danger because of envy, he despised death, protected by Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ. He always trusted that he would not only escape the plots of his enemies but also be restored to comfort you, and would bring back to you at the same time greater trophies from your own conscience. In this way he has become known as glorious even to the ends of the whole earth, his worth proven by the purity of his life, the firmness of his purpose and his steadfastness in the heavenly teaching, all of it confirmed by your unchanging esteem and love. So he comes back to you more illustrious now than when he left you. For if fire tests the precious metals, I mean gold and silver, to purify them, what can be said worthy of so excellent a man, who has overcome the fire of so many disasters and dangers and is now given back to you, declared innocent not only by us but by the whole synod?

Receive, then, with godly honor and joy, beloved brothers, your bishop Athanasius, together with those who have been his companions in hardship. And rejoice that you have gained what you prayed for, you who by your letters of support have given food and drink to your pastor, hungering and thirsting, so to speak, for your spiritual welfare. Indeed, you were a comfort to him while he was living in a foreign land, and you cherished him in your most faithful affection when he was plotted against and persecuted. As for me, it makes me happy even to picture in my mind the delight of each one of you at his return: the devout greetings of the crowds, the glorious celebration of those gathered to meet him, and indeed what the whole look of that day will be when my brother is brought back to you again, when past troubles will be at an end, and his prized and longed-for return will unite all hearts in the warmest joy. This feeling will reach us too in very great measure, since we count it a sign of God’s favor that we have been allowed to come to know so eminent a man.

It is fitting, then, to close this letter with prayer. May Almighty God and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, give you this grace continually, rewarding with a glorious testimony the admirable faith you have shown toward your bishop: that the most excellent things, which ‘eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him,’ may await you and yours in the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom be glory to God Almighty for ever and ever. Amen. I pray that you may be strong, beloved brothers.

Relying on these letters, Athanasius arrived in the East. The emperor Constantius did not receive him with hostility at that time; but at the urging of the Arians he tried to outmaneuver him, and spoke to him in these words: “You have been reinstated in your see by the decree of the synod and with our consent. But since some of the people of Alexandria refuse to hold communion with you, allow them to have one church in the city.” To this demand Athanasius promptly replied: “You have the power, my sovereign, both to give orders and to carry out whatever you please. So I too would ask you to grant me a favor.” The emperor readily promised to agree, and Athanasius at once added that he wanted the same thing granted to him that the emperor had asked of him: that in every city one church should be assigned to those who refused to hold communion with the Arians. The Arians, seeing that Athanasius’s aim worked against their interests, said that this matter could be put off to another time; but they let the emperor do as he pleased. [h]

So he restored their sees to Athanasius, Paul and Marcellus, and also to Asclepas, bishop of Gaza, and Lucius of Adrianople. For these too had been received by the Council of Sardica: Asclepas, because he produced records showing that Eusebius Pamphilus, together with several others, had investigated his case and restored him to his former rank; and Lucius, because his accusers had fled. Then the emperor’s edicts were sent to their cities, ordering the people to receive them readily. At Ancyra, when Basil was put out and Marcellus was brought in in his place, there was a considerable riot, which gave his enemies an occasion to slander him; but the people of Gaza gladly received Asclepas. At Constantinople, Macedonius gave way to Paul for a short time, holding assemblies on his own in a separate church in the city. Moreover, the emperor wrote on behalf of Athanasius to the bishops, clergy and laity, telling them to receive him gladly; and at the same time he ordered by other letters that whatever had been decreed against him in the law courts should be cancelled. The letters on both these matters were as follows:

The letter of Constantius on behalf of Athanasius. [i] Victor Constantius Maximus Augustus, to the bishops and presbyters of the catholic church. The most reverend bishop Athanasius has not been forsaken by the grace of God. Although for a short time he was put to the test as far as men were concerned, he has received from a Providence that knows all things the clearing of his name that was his due; and by the will of God and by our decision he has been restored both to his country and to the church over which, by divine permission, he presided. It was therefore fitting that our clemency should take due care of what follows from this: that all decisions made in the past against those who held communion with him should now be cancelled; that all suspicion against him should cease from now on; and that the exemption which the clergy who are with him formerly enjoyed should, as is right, be confirmed to them. Moreover, we thought it just to add this to our favor toward him: that the whole body of the church should understand that protection is extended to all who have stood by him, whether bishops or other clergy, and that union with him shall be sufficient proof of each person’s right intention. We have therefore ordered, following the pattern of our earlier provision, that all who have the wisdom to enroll themselves with the sounder judgment and party and to choose his communion shall enjoy the favor which we have now granted in accordance with the will of God. [j]

Another letter, sent to the Alexandrians. [k] Victor Constantius Maximus Augustus, to the people of the catholic church at Alexandria. Making your good order in every respect our aim, and knowing that you have long been without a bishop’s oversight, we thought it right to send Athanasius your bishop back to you again, a man known to all for the uprightness and holiness of his life and character. Receive him with your usual and fitting courtesy, make him the helper of your prayers to God, and strive to keep at all times, according to the church’s canon, harmony and peace, which will bring honor to yourselves and be pleasing to us. For it is unreasonable that any quarrel or faction should be stirred up among you, hostile to the prosperity of our times; and we trust that such a misfortune will be wholly removed from you. We urge you, therefore, to keep on diligently in your accustomed devotions with his help, as we said before; so that when this resolve of yours becomes generally known and enters into the prayers of all, even the pagans, who are still enslaved in the ignorance of idol worship, may hurry to seek the knowledge of our sacred religion, most beloved Alexandrians. Again, then, we urge you to pay attention to these things: welcome your bishop heartily, as one appointed to you by the will of God and by our decree, and count him worthy to be embraced with all the affection of your souls. For this becomes you, and agrees with our clemency. But to check every tendency to riot and disorder among people of a factious temper, orders have been given to our judges to hand over to the severity of the laws all whom they find to be seditious. Bearing in mind, therefore, our resolve and God’s, as well as our anxiety to secure harmony among you, and remembering also the punishment that will fall on the disorderly, make it your special care to act in keeping with the laws of our sacred religion, honoring your bishop with all reverence; so that together with him you may offer your prayers to the God and Father of the universe, both for yourselves and for the orderly government of the whole human race. [l]

A letter cancelling the decrees against Athanasius. Victor Constantius Augustus, to Nestorius, and in the same words to the governors of Augustamnica, the Thebaid and Libya. [m] If it is found that any decree has at any time in the past been passed that harms or disparages those who hold communion with Athanasius the bishop, our pleasure is that it should now be wholly cancelled, and that his clergy should again enjoy the same exemption that was granted to them before. We require strict obedience to this command, so that, since the bishop Athanasius has been restored to his church, all who hold communion with him may have the same privileges as they had before, and such as other clergy now enjoy; and so that, their affairs being happily settled, they too may share in the general prosperity.