Epistulae

VI. LETTERS OF LUCIFER AND OTHERS. I. LETTER OF LUCIFER, PANCRATIUS, AND HILARIUS TO BISHOP EUSEBIUS. To the most honorable Lord Bishop Eusebius, from Lucifer, Bishop, Pancratius, Presbyter, and Hilarius. The head of the devil and his wicked suggestions having been trampled underfoot, holy lord, we beseech you not to neglect the grace granted to you by our Lord, but to deign to hasten now, so that the Arian dogma may be driven out as quickly as possible by your intervention. For the Lord and his Christ know that just as the name of God was glorified in the advent of the most blessed apostles through the ruin of Simon, so, with Valens expelled, may the machine of the blaspheming Arians be destroyed and dissolved by your coming. We, most holy lord, from the first day we came to Vercellae until today, have desired your piety and pray to the Lord that in this church all the saints may praise a perpetual restoration and follow your spiritual virtue with due praise. We believe this will come to pass, because we trust that the passion of the Savior cannot be overcome. May the Lord Christ preserve you glorious, most holy and most blessed.

II. LETTER OF POPE LIBERIUS TO LUCIFER IN EXILE. LIBERIUS, BISHOP, TO HIS MOST BELOVED BROTHER LUCIFER. Although under the guise of peace the enemy of the human race seems to have raged more violently against the members of the Church, nevertheless your most acceptable faith in the Lord, O distinguished and singular priests, has shown you to be approved by God here and has already marked you out for future glory as martyrs. Therefore, with what praise, with what exultation of voice I might set forth the merits of your virtue, placed as I am between the sorrow of your absence and the joy of your glory, I cannot find, except that I know I offer you more acceptable consolation if you believe that I have been thrust into exile together with you. Indeed, I am still hanging in expectation, and I am greatly saddened that a harsher necessity for the moment separates me from your company. For I had wished, most devoted brothers, to be offered up first for all, so that your beloved might obtain the example of glory more through me. But this palm has been of your merits, that you have come first to the illustrious glory of confession through perseverance of faith. I therefore beseech your beloved selves: believe that I am present with you, and feel that I am not absent through that affection, and understand that I grieve greatly that I am for the moment separated from your company. How great a glory you have attained, you can know all the more from this.

if any who were crowned in persecution were able to feel only the bloody swords of the persecutor, you, devoted soldiers of God in all things, have also experienced false brothers as enemies, and have borne away victory from their perfidy. The more their violence was able to increase in the world, the more it is found to confer rewards of praise upon holy priests. Therefore be secure in the heavenly promise, and because you have been made closer to God, lift me up, your fellow priest and servant of God, to the Lord by your prayers, so that we may be able to bear with tolerance the oncoming assaults, which day by day inflict heavier wounds as they are announced, and so that the Lord may deign to make me equal to you in preserving the inviolate faith and the safe state of the Catholic Church. And because I desire to know more faithfully what was done in that very conflict, I beseech your holiness to deign to relate everything faithfully in a letter, so that either my mind, which is tormented by various rumors, or the strength of my body itself, which is already weakened, may be able to feel a greater addition from your exhortation. [and in another hand] May God keep you safe, lord brothers.

III. FLORENTIUS'S LETTER TO LUCIFER. To the most kindly lord Lucifer, Florentius. A certain person presented a codex in your name to our lord and Augustus; he ordered it to be brought to your holiness and wishes to know whether that same codex was sent by you. Therefore, you must write back what is true in the matter of faith and send back the codex, so that it may be offered again to his eternity. IV. LUCIFER'S LETTER TO FLORENTIUS. To Florentius, Master of the Offices, Lucifer, Bishop. The bearer of the codex whom your honor mentions approached the emperor in my name, having been sent by my mediocrity; and that same codex, as you deigned to advise, was carefully inspected and handed over to Bonosus, who is acting in affairs, to be delivered. This was to be shaped by your religious prudence, dearest son. It will now be for your generosity to defend, once recognized by me, without any hesitation. For we, with God propitious, are joyful to stand against those things that are prepared for our destruction; when he begins to examine the reasons why I wrote in such a manner, he will find them.

V. ATHANASIUS'S LETTER TO LUCIFER. To the most beloved lord brother Lucifer, bishop and confessor, Athanasius sends greetings in the Lord. With God's favor, being in good bodily health, we have even now sent our dearest Eutyches the deacon, so that your religious holiness too may deign to make us more certain, as is to be wished and desired by us, concerning your safety and that of all yours. For we believe that through you confessors and living servants of God the state of the catholic church is renewed, and that what the heretics have attempted to tear apart, our Lord Jesus Christ is restoring to wholeness through you. For although the forerunners of antichrist have done everything through the power of this world to extinguish the lamp of truth, yet the divinity, through your confession, shows its light more clearly, so that their deceit can lie hidden from no one. Before, they could pretend; now they are called antichrists. For who does not execrate them? Who does not flee their communion as a stain and the venom of a serpent? Everywhere the whole church mourns, every city groans, aged bishops labor in exile, and the heretics dissemble, who, while denying Christ, have made themselves publicans, sitting in churches and exacting taxes. O new kind of men and of persecution, which the devil has devised, that he might use the very ministers for doing evil and with such great cruelty!

But even though they have done such great things and have extended their pride and blasphemies, your confession, religion, and wisdom are not a small but a very great solace and a great consolation to the brotherhood. For it has reached us that your holiness has written to Augustus Constantius, and we marvel more and more that, dwelling in the midst of scorpions as it were, you nevertheless use the freedom of your spirit, so that by admonishing, teaching, or correcting the erring, you lead them to the light of truth. I therefore ask, and all the confessors join me in asking, that you deign to send us a copy, so that not only by hearsay but also from your letter all may be able to perceive the virtue of your soul and the confidence and freedom of your faith. Your holiness is greeted by those who are with me; I greet all who are with you. May the Divinity always keep you safe, vigorous, and mindful of us, most beloved lord and true man of God. VI. ATHANASIUS'S LETTER TO LUCIFER.

To the most glorious and deservedly most desired fellow bishop Lucifer, Athanasius sends greetings in the Lord. Although I believe that news of the persecution, which even now the enemies of Christ have attempted to wage against the brotherhood, seeking our blood, has also reached your holiness, yet our dearest ones can also report it to your reverence. For they have dared to extend their rage through the soldiers to such an extent that they not only drove out the clergy of the city but also went out to the hermitages and launched their deadly hands against them. Hence it happened that I also withdrew myself farther, lest those who received us should suffer trouble from the same men. For whom would the Arians spare, who have not even spared their own souls? But when can they withdraw from their nefarious deeds, as long as they persist in denying the Lord Christ, the only Son of God? This is the root of their depravity; on this sandy foundation they build their perverse ways, as we find written in the thirteenth psalm: "The foolish man said in his heart: There is no God," and soon follows: "They are corrupted and have become abominable in their works." Hence the Jews, denying the Son of God, were worthy to hear: "Woe, sinful nation, a people full of crimes, evil seed, lawless children." Why lawless? Precisely because you have abandoned the Lord. Hence the most blessed Paul, when he began not only to believe in the Son of God but also to preach his divinity, wrote: "In nothing do I have evil...

I am aware. Thus, in accordance with your confession, we also desire, holding to the apostolic tradition, to live according to the commands of divine law, so that we may be found with you in that choir in which the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs now rejoice. Although the Arian madness, with its foreign power, so stirred itself that it was not permitted for brothers, so great was their savagery, even to see the air freely, yet, thanks to your prayers and with God’s favor, even if with labor and danger, I was able to see the brother who is accustomed to send both such necessary items as letters from both your sanctity and others. We have therefore received the letters and books of your most religious and most wise soul, in which we have perceived the apostolic image, prophetic confidence, the magistracy of truth, the teaching of the true faith, the heavenly way, the glory of martyrdom, triumphs against the Arian heresy, the complete tradition of our fathers, and the correct rule of ecclesiastical order. O truly Lucifer, who, bearing the light of truth according to your name, have placed it upon the candelabrum so that it may shine for all. For who, except the Arians, does not perceive from your teaching the true faith, and the stain of the Arians? You have, greatly and admirably, as light is from darkness, so separated truth from the cunning and hypocrisy of the heretics, defended the Catholic Church, proved that the words of the Arians are nothing but a phantasm, and taught that the diabolical gnashings are to be trampled underfoot.

How good and joyful are your exhortations to martyrdom, how you have shown death for Christ, the Son of God, to be most desirable, how you have manifested love for the future age and for heavenly life! You appear to be a true temple of the Savior, who, dwelling in you, speaks these very things through you—He Himself who has bestowed such grace upon your words. For although you were already beloved by all, now such great love of your affection has been placed in the hearts of all that they call you Elijah in our times. And it is no wonder; for if those who seem to please God are called sons of God, it is all the more fitting to call confessors and especially participants of the prophets. Believe me, Lucifer, it is not you alone who have spoken these things, but the Holy Spirit with you. Whence such great memory of the Scriptures, whence such sound sense and understanding of them? Whence such a well-ordered composition of speech? Whence such great exhortations to the heavenly path? Whence such confidence against the devil and such proofs against heretics, unless the Holy Spirit were placed in you? Rejoice, therefore, in that you already see yourself to be in that place where your predecessors, the martyrs, now are—that is, in the choir of angels. We also rejoice, having in you an example of virtue, patience, and freedom.

For concerning those things you have written about my name, I blush to say anything, lest I seem a flatterer; but I know and believe that the Lord Himself, who has revealed all knowledge to your holy and religious soul, will also render to you a reward for this labor in the kingdom of heaven. Since, therefore, you are such a one, we ask that you be an intercessor for us through prayers to the Lord, that He may deign to look upon, as He is merciful, the Catholic Church and rescue all His servants from the hands of the persecutors, so that even all those who, because of temporal fear, have fallen may at last be able to lift themselves up and return to the path of justice, from which, led astray, they wander, not knowing in what pit they are wretched. But I especially ask, if anything has been said by me less than it should, that you deign to forgive; for from so great a fountain my inexperience could scarcely draw. Concerning our brothers, if I was less able to see them, I again ask you to forgive. For the truth itself is witness that I wished and desired to obtain this and had such great sorrow that I could not; for neither tears have ceased from my eyes nor groans from my heart, because we are not even permitted to see our brothers. And it is witness that I have not been able to see even the parents I have, since they persecute us. For what do the Arians not do?

they watch the roads, they set legs in motion for those departing and leaving the city, they seek out ships, they go around the corners, they disturb houses, they shake the brothers, they stir up business for individuals, but thanks be to God, while they do these things, they are all the more and increasingly execrated by everyone and are truly recognized, as your holiness said, as slaves of the Antichrist; and these wretches themselves, while they are held in hatred, persist in their wickedness until, by the death of their Pharaoh, they too are condemned. Those who are with me greet your reverence; deign to greet those who are with you. May the divine grace of God preserve you safe, mindful of us, always blessed, O man of God, servant of Christ, sharer of the apostles, comfort of the brotherhood, teacher of truth, and in all things most beloved. VII. LETTER OF LIBERIUS. TO THE MOST GLORIOUS CONSTANTIUS AUGUSTUS, LIBERIUS BISHOP. I wish, most tranquil emperor, that your clemency might grant me a kind hearing, so that I may open the intention of my mind to your gentleness. For from a Christian emperor and son of Constantinus of holy memory, I might deserve to obtain this very thing without hesitation; but I understand that I am laboring in this, because, even with repeated satisfaction, I cannot recall your mind, which is placable even toward the guilty, into my favor.

For the sermon of your Piety, already sent some time ago to the people, greatly lacerates me—who indeed must bear everything patiently—but that your mind, which is always devoted to gentleness, which never, as it is written, keeps anger until the setting of the sun, should retain indignation against me is a miracle to me. For I, most religious Emperor, seek with you a true peace, one not composed of words with internal deceit of disposition, but rationally confirmed by the precepts of the Gospels. Not only the business of Athanasius, but many other matters have come to light, on account of which I had entreated your Clemency that a council be held, so that above all—what the sincere devotion of your mind toward God especially desires—when the cause of the faith, in which our first hope toward God lies, had been diligently treated, the affairs of those who ought to admire our observance toward God could be concluded. And it had been worthy of a worshiper of God, worthy of your empire, which is ruled and increased by the piety of Christ, that your Clemency, specifically for this itself out of reverence for the holy religion to which you are prudently devoted, grant us these things.

But many are eager to tear apart the members of the Church, who have fabricated that I suppressed letters, lest the crimes of the one they were said to have condemned be known to all—as if those letters of the Eastern and Egyptian bishops, in which the same charges against Athanasius were contained. Yet it is clear to all, and no one denies, that we made known the letters of the Easterners. The Church read them, the council read them, and we also replied to the Easterners, to whom we did not lend our own faith and judgment, because at the same time the judgment of the seventy-five Egyptian bishops concerning Athanasius was opposed, which we likewise recited and presented to the Italian bishops. Hence it seemed contrary to divine law, even when the number of bishops in favor of Athanasius was greater, to lend consent to any party. These writings, if he owes faith to God, Theosebius, who had been sent in haste to Africa, left with us; yet afterward, so that nothing would be lacking for obtaining a council, Vincentius, who had been sent as legate with the others, carried them all to Arles.

Your prudence therefore sees that nothing has entered my mind which it was not fitting for those serving God to contemplate. Moreover, God is my witness, the whole Church with its members is my witness, that I, in faith and fear of my God, have trampled and do trample all worldly things, just as evangelical and apostolic reason commands; not with reckless fury, but according to established and observed divine law, and living in another ecclesiastical ministry, I have fulfilled nothing pertaining to the law through boastfulness or through desire for glory; and to this office, my God is my witness, I came unwillingly, in which I desire, indeed, without offense to God, as long as I shall be in this world, to remain, and I have always ensured that my decrees, but apostolic ones, were confirmed and preserved. Following the custom and order of my predecessors, I have added nothing to the bishopric of the city of Rome, nor have I allowed anything to be diminished, and preserving that faith which has run through the succession of so many bishops, from whom many emerged as martyrs, I always desire it to be kept undefiled. Finally, ecclesiastical concern and devotion itself now persuade me to open my case to your Piety. The Easterners indicate that they wish to be joined to our peace. What peace, most clement emperor, when from those very regions there are four bishops—Demophilus, Macedonius, Eudoxius, and Martyrius—who eight years ago, when at Milan they refused to condemn the heretical opinion of Arius, left the council with angry minds?

if it is permissible to judge by the hour what sort of thing it is or what benefit it might have to lend consent, your equity and clemency will be able to assess. It is not new what is now being attempted subtly and under the pretext of the name of Athanasius; the letters of Alexander, bishop of blessed memory, once sent to Silvester, still exist, in which he indicates that before the ordination of Athanasius he had expelled from the church eleven men, both presbyters and deacons, because they followed the heresy of Arius, from among whom some, now said to be outside the Catholic Church, are reported to have formed conventicles for themselves, with which it is asserted that George also communicates in Alexandria by letter. What peace, then, can there be, most tranquil emperor, if bishops, as has now been done throughout Italy, are compelled to obey the sentences of such men? Accept another point, since your tranquility patiently allows it. The letters of the legates who had been sent to your clemency, which recently arrived, still exist, in which they indicate that, on account of the disturbance of all the churches, they indeed wished to submit to the sentences of the Easterners, but they had set a condition: that if the same men had condemned the heresy of Arius, they would in this manner have been inclined to obey their sentences. The agreement, as they themselves indicate, is confirmed by a written document. They go to the council; they receive, after deliberation, the response that they cannot condemn the doctrine of Arius, and that Athanasius, which alone they demanded, must be deprived of communion.

Hence your clemency should also consider this: whether, with the right of the catholic religion preserved, the case of Catisa ought to be diligently and thoroughly examined. Therefore, again and again I entreat your gentleness, your mind devoted to God, through the power of Him who has proven to all mortals how great He is in your defense, keeping before your eyes the benefits of Him who governs your empire in all things: have these matters diligently examined in a council of bishops with all due consideration, so that, with peaceful times granted by you with God’s favor and with your tranquility consenting, everything may be discussed in such a way that whatever has been confirmed by the judgment of the priests of God, once it is established that all have agreed in the exposition of the faith which was confirmed among so many bishops at Nicaea in the presence of your father of blessed memory, may be preserved as an example for the future, so that the Savior Himself, who from above beholds the purpose of your mind, may rejoice that in such a great undertaking you have not undeservedly placed the cause of faith and peace even before the necessities of the state. Therefore, to beseech your gentleness that you may deign to hear our allegations with a benevolent mind, it has pleased us that my brother and fellow bishop, the holy man Lucifer, should set out with my presbyter Pancratius and the deacon Hilary, whom we believe can, through your clemency, obtain a council for the peace of all catholic churches without difficulty.

May the clemency of almighty God preserve you for us, most clement and most religious Augustus. VIII. LETTER OF ATHANASIUS. Athanasius to the students of the solitary life and to the brothers most beloved in the faith of God and most dear in the Lord, greeting. I give thanks indeed to the Lord, who has granted you to believe in him, so that together with the saints you also may have eternal life. But because there are some who hold the opinions of Arius, going around monasteries for no other reason than to seduce the simple, as if coming to you and returning from us, and there are some who affirm indeed that they do not hold the opinions of Arius, yet go and pray together with them, I have necessarily, at the urging of the most sincere brothers, taken care to write, so that, preserving the pious faith which the grace of God works in you sincerely and without deceit, you may not give occasion for scandal to the brothers; for when someone sees you, faithful in Christ, communicating with such men or praying together with them, they will certainly, thinking this to be indiscriminate, fall into the mire of impiety. Therefore, that nothing of the kind may happen, let it be your care, dearest brothers, to turn away those who hold the opinions of the impiety of Arius, and to avoid those who are thought indeed not to hold the opinions of Arius, but pray with the impious, and especially because we abhor the sentiments of those whose communion it is also fitting to flee.

If, therefore, someone comes to you, if indeed he brings right doctrine according to blessed John, say to him "Ave" and receive such a one as a brother; but if someone pretends to confess the right faith, yet appears to communicate with those others, exhort such a man to abstain from that custom, and if he promises, hold him also as a brother. But if he persists with a contentious spirit, avoid him as well. It was possible for me to extend the letter with many things, adding from the divine scriptures the pattern of such doctrine, but since you, being prudent, anticipate those who write and, being more intent on abstinence, are fit also to teach others, therefore I have dictated briefly, as a diligent man to diligent men, trusting that, living thus, you will preserve a pure and sincere faith, and that those others, seeing that you do not pray with them, will perceive the benefit, fearing lest they be reckoned as impious and as those who hold their opinions.