Marcellus, Photinus, and Athanasius

After some time had passed, Athanasius found that Marcellus was by no means sound in the faith, and suspended him from communion. And Marcellus was modest enough, when censured by the judgment of so great a man, to give way of his own accord. But since he, though innocent before, afterward admittedly became a heretic, we may conclude that he was really guilty even then, when judgment was passed on him. [a]

So the Arians, finding an opening of that kind, plotted to overturn the decrees of the Synod of Sardica altogether. They seemed to be given some color of right by this fact: the favorable judgment on Athanasius’s side had been as unjust as the improper acquittal of Marcellus, since now, even in the opinion of Athanasius himself, Marcellus was held to be a heretic. For Marcellus had come forward as a champion of the Sabellian heresy. Photinus, on the other hand, had already put forward a new heresy. It differed from Sabellius about the union of the divine persons, but it proclaimed that Christ had his beginning in Mary. So the Arians cunningly mixed what was harmless with what was blameworthy, and took in the condemnation of Photinus, Marcellus, and Athanasius under one and the same judgment. No doubt they did this to lead the minds of the ignorant to conclude that those who had admittedly given a well-founded opinion about Marcellus and Photinus had not judged wrongly about Athanasius.

At that time, however, the Arians kept their treachery hidden. Not daring to proclaim their errors openly, they professed to be catholics. They thought that their first great aim should be to drive Athanasius out of the church, since he had always stood like a wall against their efforts; and they hoped that if he were removed, the rest would go over to their evil opinion. Now the part of the bishops that followed the Arians accepted the condemnation of Athanasius with delight. Another part, forced by fear and party spirit, gave in to the wishes of the Arian side. Only a few, to whom the true faith was dearer than anything else, refused to accept their unjust judgment. Among these was Paulinus, bishop of Trier. It is said that when a letter on the matter was placed before him, he wrote that he consented to the condemnation of Photinus and Marcellus, but did not approve that of Athanasius.