The Letter of Athanasius to Rufinianus

The letter begins with the Greek words “Su men ta huio,” and so on. [a] It is the letter numbered fifty-five among the letters of Athanasius.

Synods in Greece, Spain and Gaul have decided that those who have fallen, or who have been leaders of the ungodliness, that is, of Arianism, are to be pardoned on their repentance, but are not to have the place of clergy. But those who were only carried away by force, or who went along with it for fear that the people would be corrupted, are to have the place of clergy as well. Let the people who have been deceived or forced be pardoned, on their repentance, and on their pronouncing anathema against the false belief of Eudoxius and Euzoius, ringleaders of the Arians, who assert that Christ is a creature; and on their professing the faith of the fathers at Nicaea, and that no synod can override it. [b]