The Death of Arcadius, and Pulcheria

Such is the account that has come down to us about John. Not long after his death, three years after Atticus was raised to the bishopric of Constantinople, and in the consulship of Bassus and Philip, Arcadius died. He left his son Theodosius, who had only just been weaned, as heir to the empire. He also left three young daughters, named Pulcheria, Arcadia, and Marina. [a]

It seems to me that God meant to show by the events of this time that godliness alone is enough to save rulers, and that without godliness, armies, a powerful empire, and every other resource are of no use. The divine power that guards the universe foresaw that the emperor would be known for his godliness, and so determined that his sister Pulcheria should be the protector of him and of his government. This princess was not yet fifteen years old, but she had been given a mind most wise and godly beyond her years. First she dedicated her virginity to God, and she taught her sisters to follow the same way of life. To avoid every cause of jealousy and intrigue, she let no man enter her palace. To confirm her resolve, she took God, the priests, and all the subjects of the Roman empire as witnesses of her dedication. As a token of her virginity and of her brother’s rule, she dedicated a holy table in the church of Constantinople, a remarkable piece of work and very beautiful to see. It was made of gold and precious stones, and she had these things inscribed on the front of the table so that everyone might see them. [b]

After she had quietly taken up the care of the state, she governed the Roman empire excellently and in very good order. She planned her measures so well that whatever had to be done was quickly decided and carried out. She could write and speak both Greek and Latin with perfect accuracy. She had all business conducted in her brother’s name, and she took great care to bring him up as a prince in the best possible way, with such learning as suited his age. She had him taught horsemanship, the use of arms, and letters by the most skilled men. But it was his sister who carefully taught him to be orderly and princely in his manners. She showed him how to gather up his robes, how to take his seat, and how to walk. She trained him to hold back laughter, to put on a gentle or a stern look as the occasion required, and to inquire courteously into the cases of those who came before him with petitions. Above all she worked to lead him into godliness and into constant prayer. She taught him to go to church regularly and to honor the houses of prayer with gifts and treasures. She filled him with reverence for priests and other good men, and for those who, following the law of Christianity, had given themselves to philosophy. She took zealous and wise care that religion should not be endangered by new and false doctrines. That new heresies have not prevailed in our time we will find to be owed above all to her, as we will see later.

It would take anyone a long time to tell with how much fear she worshiped God, how many houses of prayer she built magnificently, and how many guesthouses and monastic communities she founded, with the arrangements she made for their expenses and lasting support, and the provision for those who lived in them. If anyone wishes to test the truth from the facts themselves, and not to be convinced by my words, he will find that I have not described them falsely to curry favor. Let him look into the records written up by the stewards of her household, and let him find out from the true accounts whether the facts agree with my history. If these proofs alone do not satisfy him and make him believe, let God himself persuade him. God favored her altogether and everywhere because of her conduct, so that he heard her prayers readily and often directed beforehand what ought to be done. Such signs of God’s love are not given to people unless they have earned them by their works. But for now I gladly pass over the many separate signs of divine favor granted to the emperor’s sister as proofs that she was loved by God, so that no one may blame me for setting out to do one thing and then turning to writing praises. One incident about her, however, seems so fitting in itself and to my church history, and so clear a proof of her love for God, that I will tell it here, although it happened some time later. It is this: