The Council of Ariminum Writes to Constantius

The synod chose twenty bishops and sent them as an embassy to the emperor with the following letter, which has been translated from Latin into Greek: [a]

“We believe that it is by the command of God, as well as by the arrangement of Your Piety, that we have been brought together from all the cities of the West to Ariminum, to declare the faith of the catholic church and to expose those who have put forward heresies against it. After a long examination we have concluded that it is best to keep the faith which has continued from ancient times, and which was preached by the prophets, the evangelists and the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Guardian of your empire and the Protector of your strength, by holding fast to it and guarding it to the end. “It would have been absurd, as well as unlawful, to make any change in the doctrines so rightly and so justly set out by the bishops at Nicaea, with the agreement of the most illustrious Constantine, the emperor and your father. His teaching and thought have gone out and been proclaimed in the hearing and the minds of all people; and it is the opponent and destroyer of the Arian heresy, and through it not only that departure from the faith but all others have been destroyed. There is great danger in adding to these doctrines or taking away from them, and not the slightest change can be made in any one of them without giving the adversaries an opportunity to do as they please. “Ursacius and Valens, having been suspected of sharing in the Arian doctrine and of advising it, were cut off from communion with us. In the hope of being restored to communion, they confessed their error and obtained forgiveness, as their own writings testify; through these they were spared and pardoned of the charges. The occasion on which this pardon was granted was the Council of Milan, when presbyters of the Roman church were also present. [b]

“We know that the statement of faith issued at Nicaea was compiled with the greatest care and accuracy in the presence of Constantine of worthy memory, who held to it throughout his life, at his baptism, and when he departed to enjoy the peace of heaven he had earned. So we judge that it would be absurd to attempt any change in it, and to disregard so many holy confessors and martyrs, and the writers and authors of this teaching, who gave it much thought and handed on the ancient decree of the catholic church. God has passed on the knowledge of their faith down to your own time, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom you reign and rule the world. “Yet these wretched men, pitiable in our view, have once again proclaimed themselves heralds of an impious opinion with unlawful rashness, and have tried to overturn the whole system of truth. For when the synod was convened at your command, these men laid bare the purpose of their own deceit. They attempted an innovation, bringing it in with trickery and disturbance, and they found some companions whom they captured for this wicked business, namely Germinius, Auxentius and Gaius, who caused strife and discord. The teaching of these men, though it was uniform, went beyond the whole range of blasphemies. When they saw that they were not, after all, of the same heresy, and did not think alike on any point of their evil proposals, they went over to our creed, so that it might appear to be some other document. The time was short, but it was enough to refute their opinions. “So that the affairs of the church might not be wrecked by them, and the disturbance and tumult that were tossing everything to and fro might be checked, it seemed the safe course to keep the ancient and unmovable definitions, and to put these men out of communion with us. For this reason we have sent our deputies, fully instructed, to Your Clemency, and have given them letters declaring the mind of the council. We have especially charged these deputies to uphold the truths which the founders rightly defined, and to inform Your Holiness that Valens and Ursacius are wrong to claim that a few changes in righteous truths would bring peace to the church. For how can peace be restored by those who destroy peace? They would sooner bring strife and disturbance into the other cities and into the church of Rome. “We therefore entreat Your Clemency to receive our deputies with a gentle hearing and a kindly look, and not to allow the dead to be dishonored by any new changes. We ask you to let us remain in the definitions and decrees we received from our forefathers, who, we would affirm, did their work with ready minds, with wisdom, and with the Holy Spirit. For these innovations not only lead believers into unbelief, but also mislead unbelievers into immaturity. We also entreat you to order that the bishops now absent from their churches, some of them burdened with the weakness of old age and others with the hardships of poverty, be given the means to return to their own homes, so that the churches may not be deprived of their ministry any longer. [c]

“Again we beg you that nothing be taken away from the former decisions or added to them. Let everything remain unchanged, just as it has been kept from the time of your father’s piety to the present day, so that in future we may not be worn out and forced to become strangers to our own parishes, but that bishops and people may live together in peace and be free to give themselves to prayer and petition for your own salvation, your empire and your peace. May God graciously grant them to you without interruption. [e] “Our deputies will show you the signatures and names of the bishops, and some of them will instruct Your Holiness from the Sacred Scriptures.”