Constantine’s Letter to Alexander and Arius

When the emperor learned of these disorders, he was very deeply grieved. Regarding the matter as a misfortune of his own, he at once set himself to put out the fire that had been kindled, and he sent a letter to Alexander and Arius by a trustworthy man named Hosius, who was bishop of Cordova in Spain. The emperor loved this man greatly and held him in the highest esteem. It will not be out of place to give here a part of this letter; the whole of it is given in Eusebius’s Life of Constantine. [a]

Victor Constantine Maximus Augustus, to Alexander and Arius. [b]

I am told that your present controversy began in this way. You, Alexander, asked your presbyters what each of them thought about a certain passage of the written Word that cannot be explained, or rather about a subject that ought not to be discussed; and you, Arius, rashly gave voice to a view of the matter that either should never have been conceived at all, or, once it had come into your mind, should have been buried in silence. This dispute having been stirred up among you, communion has been refused, and the most holy people, torn into two factions, have broken away from the harmony of the common body.

So let each of you, showing consideration for the other, listen to the impartial advice of your fellow servant. And what advice does he give? It was not wise in the first place to raise such a question, nor to answer such a question once it was raised. No law requires the investigation of such subjects; it is the idle, useless talk of people with time on their hands that gives rise to them. And even if they are to be pursued for the exercise of our natural powers, we ought to keep them to our own thinking, and not carelessly bring them out in public assemblies or thoughtlessly trust them to everyone’s ears. For how few are able either to explain matters so vast and profound adequately, or even to understand their meaning accurately!

And even if someone were thought able to do this well, how many of the people would he succeed in convincing? Or who can wrestle with the fine points of such inquiries without danger of falling into error? On such subjects, then, we should hold back our talk, lest through the weakness of our nature we prove unable to explain the subject proposed, or the slow understanding of the hearers keeps them from grasping clearly what we try to teach; and if either of these happens, the people will inevitably be drawn either into blasphemy or into schism. Therefore let the careless question and the thoughtless answer on the part of each of you win equal forgiveness from the other. The difference between you has not arisen over any important command contained in the law, nor has either of you brought in any new heresy concerning the worship of God. You both hold one and the same judgment on these points, which is the creed. Moreover, while you stubbornly contend with each other over matters of small or hardly the least importance, it is not fitting for you to have charge of so many of God’s people, since you are divided in opinion; and not only is it unfitting, but it is believed to be altogether unlawful. [c]

To remind you of your duty by an example of a lesser kind, I may say this: you know well that even the philosophers are united in one school. Yet they often differ from one another on some parts of their teaching; but although they may differ on the very highest branches of learning, they still agree to hold together in order to keep their body united. Now if this is done among them, how much more right it is for you, who have been appointed ministers of the Most High God, to be of one mind with one another in such a religious profession! [d]

But let us examine what has already been said with closer thought and deeper attention. Is it right that, because of petty and empty quarrels between you about words, brothers and sisters should be set against one another, and the honorable communion torn apart by unholy dissension, through our striving with one another over things so unimportant and in no way essential? These quarrels are vulgar, more in keeping with childish thoughtlessness than fitting for the intelligence of priests and sensible men. We should turn aside of our own accord from the temptations of the devil. The great God and Savior of us all has given the common light to all. Under his providence, allow me, his servant, to bring this effort of mine to a successful end, so that by my urging, my service and my earnest warning I may lead you, his people, back to unity of communion.

For since, as I have said, there is one faith among you and one understanding of your religion, and since the command of the law in all its parts joins all in one purpose of soul, do not by any means let this difference of opinion, which has stirred up dissension among you, cause discord and schism, since it does not affect the force of the law as a whole. I say these things not to force you all to see exactly alike on this very trivial question, whatever it may be; for the honor of the communion can be kept unharmed, and the same fellowship with all be kept up, even if there is some difference of opinion among you on unimportant matters. For of course we do not all want the same thing in every respect, nor is there one unvarying nature or standard of judgment in us. So, concerning divine providence, let there be one faith, one understanding, and one covenant of the Godhead; but those minute inquiries that you carry on among yourselves with such precision, even if you do not come to one judgment about them, should stay within the bounds of your own thinking, kept in the hidden places of the mind.

Then let an inexpressible and choice bond of friendship toward all, with faith in the truth, reverence for God and devout keeping of his law, remain unshaken among you. Take up again your friendship and kindness toward each other; give back to the whole people their accustomed, familiar embraces; and you yourselves, having purified your own souls, recognize one another again. For friendship often becomes sweeter once enmity has been removed. So give me back peaceful days and nights free from care, so that I too may keep some joy in the pure light and a cheerful calm for the rest of my life. Otherwise I must groan and be wholly given over to tears, and the rest of my earthly life will not be lived in peace. For while the people of God (I mean my fellow servants) are cut off from one another by so unworthy and harmful a contest, how can I keep my usual calm?

But to give you some idea of my great grief over this unhappy difference, listen to what I am about to tell you. When I recently arrived at the city of Nicomedia, I intended to go on into the East immediately afterward. But while I was hurrying toward you, and had gone a good distance on my way, the news of this affair completely reversed my plan, so that I should not be forced to see with my own eyes a state of things whose mere report I could scarcely bear. So by your reconciliation open to me from now on the road into the East, which you have blocked by your quarrels with one another; and let me soon see both you and all the rest of the people rejoicing together, and give due thanks to the Divine Being for the general harmony and freedom of all parties, together with the heartfelt expression of your praise.