Theodosius Made Emperor, and His Dream

The great general stayed where he was, and then he saw a wonderful vision, clearly shown to him by the very God of the universe himself. In it he seemed to see the divine Meletius, the head of the church of Antioch, clothing him in an imperial robe and covering his head with an imperial crown. The morning after the night of the vision, he told it to one of his close friends, who pointed out that the dream was plain and had nothing obscure or doubtful about it. A few days at most had passed when the officers sent to investigate the battle came back and reported that vast numbers of the barbarians had been shot down. Then the emperor was convinced that he had done very well in choosing Theodosius for the command. He made him emperor and gave him the rule of Valens’s share of the empire.

After this Gratian left for Italy and sent Theodosius to the lands committed to his charge. No sooner had Theodosius taken up the imperial dignity than, before anything else, he turned his attention to the harmony of the churches, and he ordered the bishops of his own realm to hurry to Constantinople. That division of the empire was now the only region infected with the Arian plague, for the West had escaped the taint. This was because Constantine, the eldest of Constantine’s sons, and Constans, the youngest, had kept their father’s faith whole, and because Valentinian, emperor of the West, had also kept the true religion undefiled. [a]