Gregory at the Anastasia, and Demophilus Leaves the Churches

Soon after this law was enacted, Theodosius went to Constantinople. The Arians, under the leadership of Demophilus, still held the churches. Gregory of Nazianzus presided over those who hold that the Holy Trinity is of one substance. He gathered them in a little dwelling that people of the same beliefs and the same form of worship had altered into the form of a house of prayer. This later became one of the most conspicuous churches in the city, and it is so now, not only for the beauty and number of its buildings but also for the benefits that come to it from the visible appearances of God. For the power of God was shown there, and it brought help both in waking visions and in dreams, often to relieve many diseases and to aid those struck by some sudden reversal in their affairs. This power was credited to Mary, the Mother of God, the holy virgin, for she does show herself in this way. The name Anastasia was given to this church. I believe this was because the Nicene doctrine, which had fallen out of use in Constantinople and had been, so to speak, buried by the power of the heterodox, rose from the dead and was brought to life again through Gregory’s sermons. Or, as I have heard, some state with confidence that one day, when the people were gathered for worship in this building, a pregnant woman fell from the highest gallery and was found dead on the spot; but at the prayer of the whole congregation she was restored to life, and she and the infant were saved. Some say the place got its name because of this divine wonder. [a]

The emperor sent orders to Demophilus to accept the doctrine of Nicaea and to lead the people to the same belief, or else to give up the churches. Demophilus called the people together, told them of the imperial edict, and announced that he meant to hold church the next day outside the walls of the city. This, he said, was in keeping with the divine law, which commands us, when we are persecuted in one city, to “flee to another.” From that day on he always held church outside the city together with Lucius, who had formerly been the bishop of the Arians at Alexandria. Lucius had been expelled from that city, as told above, and had fled to Constantinople and settled there. When Demophilus and his followers had left the church, the emperor went in and prayed. From then on those who hold that the Holy Trinity is of one substance possessed the houses of prayer. These events took place in the fifth consulship of Gratian and the first of Theodosius, after the churches had been in the hands of the Arians for forty years. [b]