The Sons of Theodosius and Sisinnius the Novatian

Such was the death of Theodosius, who had done so much to build up the church. He died in the sixtieth year of his age and the sixteenth of his reign. He left his two sons to succeed him: Arcadius, the elder, reigned in the East, and Honorius in the West. Both held the same religious beliefs as their father. [a]

Damasus was dead, and at this time Siricius led the church of Rome, Nectarius the church in Constantinople, Theophilus the church of Alexandria, Flavian the church of Antioch, and John that of Jerusalem. Armenia and the eastern provinces were overrun at this time by the barbarian Huns. Rufinus, the prefect of the East, was suspected of having secretly invited them to lay waste the Roman territories to further his own ambitions, for he was said to be aiming at the throne. For this reason he was killed soon afterward. When the troops came back from their victory over Eugenius, the emperor Arcadius went out from Constantinople to meet them, as the custom was, and the soldiers took the opportunity to cut Rufinus down. These events did much to spread religion. The emperors put down to their father’s piety both the ease with which the usurper had been beaten and the defeat of Rufinus’s plot to take their government. They readily confirmed all the laws their predecessors had passed in favor of the churches, and added gifts of their own. Their subjects followed their example, so that even the pagans turned to Christianity without difficulty, and the heretics joined the catholic church. [b]

Because of the disputes that had arisen among the Arians and the Eunomians, which I have mentioned already, these heretics grew fewer every day. Many of them, seeing how many different opinions were held among people of their own party, judged that the truth of God could not be with them, and went over to those who held the same faith as the emperors.

The Macedonians of Constantinople were badly hurt by having no bishop at that time. Ever since Eudoxius had taken their churches from them in the reign of Constantius, they had been governed by presbyters alone, and they stayed that way until the next reign. The Novatians, on the other hand, had been shaken by the controversy over the Passover, an innovation brought in by Sabbatius. Even so, most of them kept quiet possession of their churches, and they were not troubled by any of the penalties or laws enacted against other heretics, because they held that the three Persons of the Trinity are of one substance. The goodness of their leaders also did much to keep them in harmony. After Agelius had presided over them they were governed by Marcian, a good man, and when he died, a little before the time I am now describing, the bishopric passed to Sisinnius. [c]

Sisinnius was a very eloquent man, well versed in the teachings of philosophy and in the Holy Scriptures, and so skilled in debate that even Eunomius, who was highly regarded in that art and effective at it, often declined to debate with him. His way of life was prudent and beyond the reach of slander. Yet he lived in luxury, even in excess, so that those who did not know him found it hard to believe he could stay self-controlled amid such plenty. His manners in company were gracious and agreeable, and for this he was respected by the bishops of the catholic church, by the rulers, and by the learned. His jokes were full of good nature, and he could take ridicule without showing the least resentment. He was very quick and witty in his replies. Once he was asked why, being a bishop, he bathed twice a day. He answered, “Because I do not bathe three times.” Another time a member of the catholic church made fun of him for dressing in white. He asked where it was commanded that he should dress in black, and when the other hesitated for an answer, he went on: “You can give no argument for your position. But I refer you to Solomon, the wisest of men, who says, ‘Let your garments always be white.’ What is more, Christ is described in the Gospel as having appeared in white, and Moses and Elijah showed themselves to the apostles in white robes.”

The following reply also seems to me very clever. Leontius, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, had taken their churches from the Novatians in his province and then settled in Constantinople. Sisinnius went to him to ask that the churches be given back. Far from agreeing, Leontius abused the Novatians and said they were not fit to hold churches, because by abolishing the practice of penance they cut off God’s love for humankind. To this Sisinnius replied, “No one does penance as I do.” Leontius asked him in what way he did penance. “In coming to see you,” Sisinnius answered. Many other witty sayings are credited to him, and he is even said to have written several works with some elegance. But his speeches won greater applause than his writings, since he was at his best speaking aloud and could hold a hearer by his voice, his look and his pleasing face. This brief sketch may serve to show the character and way of life of this great man.