Marianus Welcomes the Bishops and Gives to the Poor

The director and head of these officers was a most useful servant of the emperor, a man outstanding for faith and godliness and thoroughly familiar with the word of God. He had won honor by openly confessing his godliness in the days when the tyrants were in power, and so he was rightly entrusted with arranging the present proceedings. Faithfully obeying the emperor’s orders, he received the gathering with courteous hospitality and entertained them with feasts and banquets of great splendor. He also handed out lavish supplies of money and clothing to the naked and destitute, and to the crowds of men and women who lacked food and the ordinary necessities of life. Finally, he enriched and beautified the church itself throughout with offerings of imperial magnificence, and so fully carried out the service he had been commissioned to perform. [a]