George of Laodicea Writes to the Bishops at Ancyra

After Eudoxius had brought in these new doctrines, many members of the church of Antioch who opposed them were excommunicated. George, bishop of Laodicea, gave them a letter to take to the bishops whom Basil had invited from the neighboring towns to Ancyra in Galatia, to consecrate a church he had built. This letter read as follows: [a]

“George, to his most honored lords Macedonius, Basil, Cecropius and Eugenius, greeting in the Lord. [b] “Nearly the whole city has suffered from the shipwreck of Aetius. The disciples of this wicked man, whom you scorned, have been encouraged by Eudoxius and promoted by him to offices among the clergy, and Aetius himself has been raised to the highest honor. So come to the help of this great city, or by its shipwreck the whole world may be sunk. Gather together, and ask for the signatures of other bishops, so that Aetius may be thrown out of the church of Antioch, and his disciples, whom Eudoxius has maneuvered ahead of time onto the roll of the clergy, may be cut off. If Eudoxius goes on asserting with Aetius that the Son is unlike the Father, and goes on preferring those who uphold this teaching to those who reject it, the city of Antioch is lost to you.” Such was the tenor of George’s letter.

The bishops gathered at Ancyra saw clearly, from what Eudoxius had enacted at Antioch, that he intended to bring in new doctrines. They informed the emperor of this, and begged him to confirm the doctrine established at Sardica, at Sirmium and at other councils, and especially the teaching that the Son is of like substance with the Father. To present this request to the emperor, they sent him a delegation made up of the following bishops: Basil, bishop of Ancyra; Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste; Eleusius, bishop of Cyzicus; and Leontius, the presbyter of the imperial bedchamber. When they reached the palace, they found that Asphalius, a presbyter of Antioch and a zealot for the heresy of Aetius, was just about to leave, having finished the business he had come for and having obtained a letter from the emperor. But when Constantius received the news about the heresy brought by the delegation from Ancyra, he condemned Eudoxius and his followers, took back the letter he had entrusted to Asphalius, and wrote the following one: [c]