Athanasius Restored, and the Hymns at Antioch

When Constans learned what had been decided at Sardica, he wrote to his brother asking him to restore Athanasius and Paul and their followers to their own churches. When Constantius seemed to hesitate, he wrote again and threatened him with war unless he agreed to receive the bishops. Constantius consulted the bishops of the East on the matter and judged that it would be foolish to stir up the horrors of civil war over it. So he recalled Athanasius from Italy, sent public carriages to bring him home, and wrote several letters urging him to return quickly. Athanasius, who was then living at Aquileia, received the letters of Constantius and went to Rome to take leave of Julius and his friends. Julius parted from him with great signs of friendship and gave him a letter addressed to the clergy and people of Alexandria. In it he spoke of him as a wonderful man, worthy of fame for the many trials he had endured; he congratulated the church of Alexandria on the return of so good a priest, and urged them to follow his teaching. [a]

Athanasius then went on to Antioch in Syria, where the emperor was living at the time. Leontius presided over the churches of that region. For after the flight of Eustathius, those who held heretical views had seized the see of Antioch. The first bishop they appointed was Euphronius; after him came Placitus, and then Stephen. Stephen was deposed as unworthy of the office, and Leontius obtained the bishopric. Athanasius avoided him as a heretic and held communion with those called Eustathians, who met in a private house. Athanasius found that Constantius was well disposed and agreeable, and it looked as though the emperor would give him back his own church. But Constantius, at the urging of the leaders of the opposing heresy, said to him: “I am ready to do all that I promised when I recalled you. But it is only fair that you grant me a favor in return: that you give up one of the many churches under your authority to those who refuse to hold communion with you.” Athanasius replied: “Emperor, it is entirely right and necessary to obey your commands, and I will not speak against them. But since in the city of Antioch there are many who shun communion between the unorthodox and us, I ask a like favor: that one church be granted to us, where we may meet in safety.” [d]

The emperor thought the request of Athanasius reasonable, and the unorthodox judged it wiser to let the matter drop. For they reflected that their own opinions could never gain any ground in Alexandria because of Athanasius, who was able both to hold those who thought as he did and to win over those of the opposite opinion. They reflected, too, that if they gave up one of the churches of Antioch, the Eustathians, who were very numerous, would gather together and then probably attempt changes, since they could then without risk hold on to those they already had. Besides, the unorthodox saw that although the government of the churches was in their hands, not all the clergy and people agreed with their doctrines. When they sang hymns to God, they were divided into choirs, according to custom, and at the end of the songs each one declared his own particular belief. Some gave praise to “the Father and the Son,” regarding them as equal in glory; others glorified “the Father through the Son,” to show by the added preposition that they considered the Son inferior to the Father. While this was going on, Leontius, the bishop of the opposing party, who then presided over the see of Antioch, did not dare to forbid the singing of hymns to God in keeping with the tradition of the Council of Nicaea, for he was afraid of stirring up a revolt among the people. It is told, however, that he once raised his hand to his head, whose hair was completely white, and said: “When this snow melts, there will be plenty of mud.” By this he meant that after his death the different ways of singing the hymns would lead to great uprisings, and that his successors would not show the people the same consideration he had shown them.