Constantius Writes against Eudoxius

“Constantius Augustus, the Conqueror, to the holy church at Antioch. [a]

“Eudoxius came without our authority. Let no one suppose that he had it, for we are far from looking on such people with favor. If they use deceit with others in dealings like these, they show that they will refine away the truth in still higher matters. For what will they willingly hold back from, who for the sake of power go the round of the cities, leaping from one to another like wanderers, prying into every corner, driven by the desire for more? “It is reported that there are among these people certain quacks and sophists whose very names are hardly to be tolerated, and whose deeds are evil and most impious. You all know which set of people I mean, for you are all thoroughly familiar with the doctrines of Aetius and the heresy he has cultivated. He and his followers have devoted themselves wholly to corrupting the people, and these clever fellows have had the audacity to publish that we approved of their ordination. That is the report they spread, after the manner of people who talk too much; but it is not true, and indeed it is far from the truth. “Call to mind the words we used when we first declared our belief; for we confessed that our Savior is the Son of God, and of like substance with the Father. But these people, who dare to set forth whatever comes into their heads about the Godhead, are not far from atheism, and they are also trying to spread their opinions among others. We are convinced that their wicked doings will fall back on their own heads. Meanwhile it is enough to shut them out of synods and of ordinary fellowship; for I will not now speak of the punishments that must overtake them later, unless they give up their madness. “How great is the evil they commit, when they gather the most wicked people together, as if by an edict, and choose the leaders of heresy for the clergy, debasing the reverend order as though they were free to do whatever they please! Who can bear people who fill the cities with impiety, who hide impurity away in the most distant regions, and who delight in nothing but harming the righteous? What an evil-working unity this is, which limps forward to enthrone itself in the holier seats! “Now is the time for those who have taken in the truth to come forward into the light. Whoever was held back before by fear, and would now escape from conformity, let him step into the open; for the tricks of these evil men have been thoroughly exposed, and no device can be invented that will save them from acting impiously. It is the duty of good men to keep the faith of the Fathers and, so to speak, to increase it, without busying themselves with other matters. I earnestly urge those who have escaped, though only recently, from the precipice of this heresy to agree to the decrees that the bishops who are wise in divine learning have rightly laid down for the better.” [b]

So we see that the heresy commonly called Anomoean came within a little of gaining the upper hand at this time. [c]