Letters After the Council of Sardica

When the most religious emperor Constantius heard of these things, he sent for me. He had written privately to his brother Constans, of blessed memory, and to me three separate times, in the following terms. [a]

Constantius, Victor, Augustus, to Athanasius. Our gracious clemency will not allow you to be tossed any longer by the wild waves of the sea. Our tireless piety has not lost sight of you while you have been deprived of your native home, stripped of your goods, and left wandering in savage wildernesses. For a long time I have put off telling you by letter what I have in mind concerning you, chiefly because I expected that you would come before us of your own accord and seek relief from your sufferings. But since fear, it may be, has kept you from carrying out your intentions, we have sent Your Fortitude letters full of our generosity, so that you may come into our presence with all speed and without fear, obtain what you wish, and, having experienced our kindness, be restored again to your own. For this purpose I have asked my lord and brother Constans, Victor, Augustus, on your behalf, to give you permission to come, so that you may be restored to your country with the consent of us both, and receive this as a pledge of our favor.

The second letter. In an earlier letter we made it very plain to you that you may come to our court without hesitation, because we very much wished to send you home. Even so, we have sent this further letter to Your Fortitude to urge you to travel by the public conveyances without any distrust or fear and to hurry to us, so that you may have what you wish.

The third letter. While we were staying at Edessa, and your presbyters were there, it was our pleasure that one of them should be sent to you, and that you should hurry to our court, so that you might see our face and then go straight on to Alexandria. But a very long time has passed since you received letters from us, and you have still not come. So we hasten to remind you again, so that even now you may try to come before us quickly, and so be restored to your country and obtain what you have prayed for. And so that you may be more fully informed, we have sent Achitas the deacon, from whom you will be able to learn what our soul intends, so that you may now secure what you have prayed for.

That was the substance of the emperor’s letters. When I received them, I went up to Rome to say farewell to the church and its bishop, for I was at Aquileia when they were written. The church was filled with all joy, and Bishop Julius shared my joy at my return and wrote to the church. And as we traveled on, the bishops of every place sent us on our way in peace. Julius’s letter was as follows.

Julius to the presbyters, deacons and people living at Alexandria. I congratulate you, beloved brothers, that you now see the fruit of your faith before your eyes. Anyone can see that this is truly so in the case of my brother and fellow bishop Athanasius, whom God is restoring to you again because of the innocence of his life and because of your prayers. From this it is easy to see that you have constantly offered up to God prayers that were pure and full of love. Mindful of the heavenly promises, and of the way of life that leads to them, which you had learned from the teaching of my brother just named, you knew for certain, and understood by the right faith that is in you, that he whom you always held as present in your most devout minds would not be separated from you forever. So there is no need for me to write to you at length. Your faith has already anticipated whatever I could say to you, and by the grace of God it has brought about the answer to the common prayers of you all. Therefore, I say again, I congratulate you, because you have kept your souls unconquered in the faith. And I congratulate my brother Athanasius no less, because, though he has been enduring many hardships, he has never at any time forgotten your love and your earnest longing for him. For although for a time he seemed to be taken away from you in body, he has gone on living as one always present with you in spirit. [f]

That is why he comes back to you now more renowned than when he went away from you. Fire tests and purifies the precious materials, gold and silver. But how can anyone describe the worth of such a man, who has passed victorious through the dangers of so many trials and is now restored to you, declared innocent not by our voice only, but by the voice of the whole council? So, beloved brothers, receive your bishop Athanasius with all godly honor and rejoicing, together with those who have shared so many labors with him. And rejoice that you now have the answer to your prayers, since by your wholesome letter you have given food and drink to your pastor, who, so to speak, longed and thirsted for your godliness. For while he lived in a foreign land, you were his comfort, and in his persecutions you refreshed him by your most faithful minds and spirits. It delights me now to picture in my mind the joy of every one of you at his return, the devout greetings of the crowds, and the glorious celebration of those who run to meet him. What a day that will be for you, when my brother comes back again, and your former sufferings come to an end, and his precious and longed-for return fills you all with the exhilaration of perfect joy! We share that joy in very great measure, since God has granted us the chance to come to know so eminent a man. It is right, then, that I should end my letter with a prayer. May Almighty God, and his Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, give you continual grace, rewarding you for the admirable faith that you showed in your noble confession on behalf of your bishop, so that he may give to you and to those who are with you, both here and hereafter, those better things which “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him,” through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom be glory to Almighty God forever and ever. Amen. Dearly beloved brothers, I pray for your health and strength in the Lord. [h]

When I came to the emperor with these letters, he received me kindly and sent me off to my country and my church, addressing the following to the bishops, presbyters and people. [j]

Constantius, Victor, Maximus, Augustus, to the bishops and presbyters of the catholic church. The most reverend Athanasius has not been abandoned by the grace of God. For a short time he was put to the kind of trial to which human nature is liable, but he has received from the all-seeing Providence the answer to his prayers that was fitting. By the will of the Most High and by our sentence he is restored at once to his country and to the church over which, by divine permission, he presided. Accordingly, it is fitting that our clemency should provide that all the decrees passed until now against those who were in communion with him now be consigned to oblivion, that all suspicion about them be laid to rest from now on, and that the immunities which the clergy associated with him formerly enjoyed be duly confirmed to them. Moreover, to our other favors toward him we have thought good to add this: all who are on the sacred roll should understand that a pledge of safety is given to all who hold to him, whether bishops or other clergy. And union with him will be enough to guarantee, in anyone’s case, an upright intention. For whoever follows a better judgment and side and chooses to be in communion with him, we order, in imitation of the Providence that has already gone before, that all such should have the benefit of the grace which, by the will of the Most High, is now offered them by us. May God preserve you.

The second letter. Constantius, Victor, Maximus, Augustus, to the people of the catholic church at Alexandria. Having your welfare in view in every respect, and knowing that you have for a long time been without a bishop’s oversight, we have thought good to send back to you your bishop Athanasius, a man known to everyone for the uprightness that is in him and for the goodness of his personal character. Receive him in a fitting manner, as you are accustomed to receive everyone. Use his advocacy as your support in your prayers to God, and try always to keep that unity and peace, according to the order of the church, which is both becoming in you and most advantageous for us. For it is not fitting that any dissension or faction should be raised among you, against the prosperity of our times. We want this offense to be removed from you altogether, and we urge you to continue steadfastly in your usual prayers, and to make him, as we said before, your advocate and helper with God, so that, beloved, when this resolve of yours has influenced the prayers of all people, even those heathen who are still devoted to the false worship of idols may eagerly desire to come to the knowledge of our sacred religion. So again we urge you to continue in these things and gladly to receive your bishop, who is sent back to you by the decree of the Most High and by our decision; and resolve to greet him warmly with all your soul and with all your mind. For this is both becoming in you and agreeable to our clemency. So that every occasion of disturbance and rebellion may be taken away from those who are maliciously inclined, we have commanded by letter the magistrates who are among you to bring the vengeance of the law on all whom they find stirring up faction. So bear in mind all these things together: our decision, made in accordance with the will of the Most High; our regard for you and for harmony among you; and the punishment that awaits the disorderly. Observe what is proper and suitable to the order of our sacred religion, and receive the bishop already named with all reverence and honor. Take care to offer up your prayers to God, the Father of all, together with him, on behalf of yourselves and for the well-being of your whole lives.

When he had written these letters, he also commanded that the decrees he had earlier sent out against me, because of the slanders of Eusebius and his party, should be canceled and struck out of the orders of the Duke and of the Prefect of Egypt. Eusebius the decurion was sent to remove them from the order-books. His letter on this occasion was as follows. Constantius, Victor, Augustus, to Nestorius. (And in the same terms to the governors of Augustamnica, the Thebaid and Libya.) Whatever orders are found to have been passed until now to the injury and dishonor of those who are in communion with Bishop Athanasius, we wish them now to be erased. For we want his clergy to have once again whatever immunities they had before. And we wish this order of ours to be observed: when Bishop Athanasius is restored to his church, those who are in communion with him are to enjoy the immunities which they have always enjoyed, and which the rest of the clergy enjoy, so that they may have the satisfaction of standing on an equal footing with others. [m]

Having been sent on my way like this, as I passed through Syria I met the bishops of Palestine. They had called a council at Jerusalem, and they received me warmly, and they too sent me on my way in peace, and addressed the following letter to the church and the bishops. [p]

The holy council assembled at Jerusalem, to our fellow ministers in Egypt and Libya, and to the presbyters, deacons and people at Alexandria, brothers beloved and greatly longed for: greetings in the Lord. We cannot give worthy thanks to the God of all, dearly beloved, for the wonderful things that he has done at all times, and especially at this time for your church, in restoring to you your pastor and lord, our fellow minister Athanasius. For who ever hoped that his eyes would see what you are now actually receiving? Truly, your prayers have been heard by the God of all, who cares for his church. He has looked on your tears and groans, and so he has heard your petitions. For you were like sheep scattered and fainting, without a shepherd. That is why the true Shepherd, who cares for his own sheep, has visited you from heaven and has restored to you the one you long for. See, we too, being ready to do anything for the peace of the church, and moved by the same affection as you, have greeted him before you did. And being in communion with you through him, we send you these greetings and our offering of thanksgiving, so that you may know that we too are united in the bond of love that joins you to him. You ought also to pray for the piety of our most God-beloved emperors, who, when they learned of your earnest longing for him and of his innocence, decided to restore him to you with all honor. So receive him with uplifted hands, and take good care to offer up due thanksgiving on his behalf to God, who has given you these blessings; so that you may rejoice continually with God and glorify our Lord, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom be glory to the Father forever. Amen.

I have set down here the names of those who signed this letter, though I have mentioned them before. They are these: Maximus, Aetius, Arius, Theodorus, Germanus, Silvanus, Paulus, Patricius, Elpidius, Germanus, Eusebius, Zenobius, Paulus, Macrinus, Petrus, Claudius.

When Ursacius and Valens saw all this, they at once condemned themselves for what they had done. They went up to Rome, confessed their crime, declared that they repented, and asked for forgiveness, addressing the following letters to Julius, bishop of ancient Rome, and to me. Copies of them were sent to me by Paulinus, bishop of Trier. [r]

A translation from the Latin of a letter to Julius, about the recantation of Ursacius and Valens. Ursacius and Valens to the most blessed lord, Pope Julius. It is well known that in the past we laid many serious charges against Bishop Athanasius in letters, and that when we were corrected by the letters of Your Goodness, we were unable to give an account of what we had stated. We now confess before Your Goodness, and in the presence of all the presbyters, our brothers, that all the reports which have reached your ears until now about the case of the said Athanasius are lies and fabrications, and wholly foreign to his character. So we earnestly desire communion with the said Athanasius, especially since Your Piety, with your usual generosity, has seen fit to pardon our error. But we also declare that if at any time the Eastern bishops, or even Athanasius himself, should ungenerously wish to bring us to trial over this matter, we will not depart contrary to your judgment. And as for the heretic Arius and his supporters, who say that once the Son did not exist, and that the Son was made from what did not exist, and who deny that Christ is God and the Son of God before the ages, we declare them anathema, both now and forever, as we also set out in our earlier declaration at Milan. We have written this with our own hands, and we profess again that we have renounced forever, as we said before, the Arian heresy and its authors. I, Ursacius, have signed this confession of mine in person; and likewise I, Valens.

Ursacius and Valens, bishops, to their lord and brother, Bishop Athanasius. Since we have the chance to send this by our brother and fellow presbyter Musaeus, who is coming to Your Love, we greet you affectionately through him, beloved brother, from Aquileia, and we ask you, trusting you are in good health, to read our letter. You will also give us confidence if you send us an answer in writing. For know that we are at peace with you and in communion with the church, and the greeting at the head of this letter is proof of it. May divine Providence preserve you, my lord, our beloved brother!

Such were their letters, and such the sentence and the judgment of the bishops on my behalf. But to prove that they did not act this way to win favor, or under pressure from any quarter, I want, with your permission, to tell the whole matter from the beginning. Then you will see that the bishops wrote as they did with upright and just intentions, and that Ursacius and Valens, though they were slow to do so, at last confessed the truth.