Heretical Bishops at Antioch after Eustathius Is Banished

Eulalius was the first to be consecrated in place of Eustathius. But Eulalius lived only a short time after his elevation, and then it was intended that Eusebius of Palestine should be moved to this bishopric. Eusebius, however, refused the appointment, and the emperor forbade it to be given to him. Next Euphronius was put forward; he too died, after only a year and a few months, and the see was given to Placitus. All these bishops secretly held to the Arian heresy. That is why most of those, both clergy and laity, who valued true religion left the churches and held their own gatherings among themselves. They were called Eustathians, since it was after Eustathius was banished that they began to meet. The wretched woman mentioned above was soon afterward struck by a severe and long illness. Then she admitted the fraud she had taken part in and revealed the whole plot, not to two or three only, but to a great many priests. She confessed that she had been bribed to bring this false and shameless charge, but said that her oath was not entirely false, since a certain Eustathius, a coppersmith, was the baby’s father. Such were some of the crimes committed in Antioch by this most excellent faction. [a]