he at

the emp

vital ste

ment.

XXII.

and ortho

of Theo

Feb. 28.

had exposed him to the fatal effects of their resent- CHAP. The orthodox bishops bewailed his death, and their own irreparable loss; but they were soon Baptism comforted by the discovery, that Gratian had com- dox edicts mitted the sceptre of the East to the hands of a prince osius, whose humble faith, and fervent zeal, were supported A. D. 380, by the spirit and abilities of a more vigorous character. Among the benefactors of the church, the fame of Constantine has been rivalled by the glory of Theodosius. If Constantine had the advantage of erecting the standard of the cross, the emulation of his successor assumed the merit of subduing the Arian heresy, and of abolishing the worship of idols in the Roman world. Theodosius was the first of the emperors han baptised in the true faith of the Trinity. Although he was born of a Christian family, the maxims, or at least the practice, of the age, encouraged him to delay the ceremony of his initiation; till he was admonished of the danger of delay, by the serious illness which threatened his life, towards the end of the first year of his reign. Before he again took the field against the Goths, he received the sacrament of baptism from Acholius, the orthodox bishop of Thessalonica: and, as the emperor ascended from the holy font, still glowing with the warm feelings of regeneration, he dictated a solemn edict, which proclaimed his own faith, and prescribed the religion of his subjects. "It is our pleasure (such is the Imperial style) that "all the nations, which are governed by our clemency " and moderation, should stedfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Ro66 mans; which faithful tradition has preserved; and "which is now professed by the pontiff Damasus, "and by Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apo"stolic holiness. According to the discipline of the apostles, and the doctrine of the gospel, let us be"lieve the sole deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; under an equal majesty, and a pious

he Nit

Theodes

ot ther

Maxi

hear

Lifties

bleed

the

66

CHAP.
XXII.

Arianism of Constantinople.

A.

380.

D. 340

Trinity. We authorise the followers of this doe "trine to assume the title of Catholic Christians; "and as we judge that all others are extravagant madmen, we brand them with the infamous nam of Heretics; and declare, that their conventi "shall no longer usurp the respectable appellation "churches. Besides the condemnation of Divine "justice, they must expect to suffer the severe penal. "ties, which our authority, guided by heavenly m “dom, shall think proper to inflict upon them. The faith of a soldier is commonly the fruit of i struction, rather than of inquiry; but as the emper always fixed his eyes on the visible land-marks of orthodoxy, which he had so prudently constituted his religious opinions were never affected by the spe cious texts, the subtle arguments, and the ambiguous creeds of the Arian doctors.

Constantinople was the principal seat and fortres of Arianism; and, in a long interval of forty years the faith of the princes and prelates, who reigned in the capital of the East, was rejected in the purer schools of Rome and Alexandria. The archiepis copal throne of Macedonius, which had been polluted with so much Christian blood, was successively filled by Eudoxus and Damophilus. Their diocese enjoyed a free importation of vice and error from every province of the empire; the eager pursuit of religious controversy afforded a new occupation to the busy idleness of the metropolis. The heretics, of various denominations, subsisted in peace under the protec tion of the Arians of Constantinople; who endea voured to secure the attachment of those obscure sectaries; while they abused, with unrelenting se verity, the victory which they had obtained over the followers of the council of Nice: During the partial reigns of Constantius and Valens, the feeble remnant of the Homoousians was deprived of the public and

* Codex Theodos. 1. xvi. tit. i. leg. 2.

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

XXII.

421

e authors thrivate exercise of their religion; and it has been CHAP. ne the tik labserved, in pathetic language, that the scattered re that all lock was left without a shepherd to wander on the and themountains, or to be devoured by rapacious wolves. zd declare, tir But, as their zeal, instead of being subdued, derived surp the rtrength and vigour from oppression, they seized the the condirst moments of imperfect freedom, which they acexpect toquired by the death of Valens, to form themselves brity, into a regular congregation, under the conduct of an roper to piscopal pastor. Two natives of Cappadocia, Basil,

r is common

Nazianzen

nd Gregory Nazianzen, were distinguished above all Gregory inquiry; he heir contemporaries, by the rare union of profane in the rise eloquence and of orthodox piety. These orators, who ad so prud night sometimes be compared, by themselves, and re never af by the public, to the most celebrated of the ancient Tuments, and reeks, were united by the ties of the strictest friend

IS.

principal set

g interval f

prelates, wh

rejected in

ndria. Thes hich had be

hip. They had cultivated, with equal ardour, the
same liberal studies in the schools of Athens; they
had retired, with equal devotion, to the same solitude
in the deserts of Pontus; and every spark of emula-
tion, or envy, appeared to be totally extinguished in
the holy and ingenuous breasts of Gregory and Basil.
But the exaltation of Basil, from a private life to
the archiepiscopal throne of Cæsarea, discovered to
the world, and perhaps to himself, the pride of his
character; and the first favour which he condescended
to bestow on his friend was received, and perhaps
was intended, as a cruel insult. Instead of employing
the superior talents of Gregory in some useful and

was success

Their de

nd error fr

pursuit of

ation to

eretics,

under conspicuous station, the haughty prelate selected,

le; mb

₤ those

mrele

medi

ble re

among the fifty bishoprics of his extensive province,
the wretched village of Sasima, without water, with-
out verdure, without society, situate at the junction
of three highways, and frequented only by the in-
cessant passage of rude and clamorous waggoners.
Gregory submitted with reluctance to this humiliating
exile: he was ordained bishop of Sasima; but he

f

XXII.

CHAP. solemnly protests, that he never consummated his spiritual marriage with this disgusting bride. He afterwards consented to undertake the government of his native church of Nazianzus, of which his father had been bishop above five-and-forty years. But s he was still conscious that he deserved another auaccepts the dience, and another theatre, he accepted, with Constanti- unworthy ambition, the honourable invitation, which A. D. 378. was addressed to him from the orthodox party f November. Constantinople. On his arrival in the capital, Gre

mission of

nople,

gory was entertained in the house of a pious and charitable kinsman; the most spacious room was con secrated to the uses of religious worship; and the name of Anastasia was chosen, to express the resu rection of the Nicene faith. This private conventio was afterwards converted into a magnificent church. The pulpit of the Anastasia was the scene of the labours and triumphs of Gregory Nazianzen; and in the space of two years, he experienced all the spiritual adventures which constitute the prosperous or adverse fortunes of a missionary. The Arians, who were provoked by the boldness of his enterprise, represented his doctrine, as if he had preached three distinct and equal Deities; and the devout populace was excited to suppress, by violence and tumult, the irregular assemblies of the Athanasian heretics. From the cathedral of St. Sophia, there issued a motley crowd "of common beggars, who had forfeited their "claim to pity; of monks, who had the appearance "of goats or satyrs; and of women, more terrible "than so many Jezebels." The doors of the Ana stasia were broke open; much mischief was perpetrated, or attempted, with sticks, stones, and firebrands; and as a man lost his life in the affray, Gregory was summoned the next morning before the magistrate. After he was delivered from the fear and danger of a foreign enemy, his infant church

as

XXII.

was disgraced and distracted by intestine faction. A CHAP. stranger, who assumed the name of Maximus, and the cloak of a Cynic philosopher, insinuated himself of Narita into the confidence of Gregory; deceived and abused e firead his favourable opinion; and forming a secret conthat he nexion with some bishops of Egypt, attempted, by a bra clandestine ordination, to supplant his patron in the beer episcopal seat of Constantinople. These mortificaTo the tions might sometimes tempt the Cappadocian misasionary to regret his obscure solitude. But his fatigues hr were rewarded by the daily increase of his fame and his congregation; and he enjoyed the pleasure of observing, that the greater part of his numerous audience retired from his sermons, satisfied with the This eloquence of the preacher, or dissatisfied with the manifold imperfections of their faith and practice.

Arianism

The Catholics of Constantinople were animated Ruin of with joyful confidence by the baptism and edict of at ConTheodosius; and they impatiently waited the effects stantinople, of his gracious promise. Their hopes were speedily Nov. 26. accomplished; and the emperor, as soon as he had finished the operations of the campaign, made his public entry into the capital at the head of a victorious army. The next day after his arrival, he summoned Damophilus to his presence; and offered that Arian prelate the hard alternative of subscribing the Nicene creed, or of instantly resigning, to the orthodox believers, the use and possession of the episcopal palace, the cathedral of St. Sophia, and all the churches of Constantinople. The zeal of Damophilus, which in a Catholic saint would have been justly applauded, embraced, without hesitation, a life of poverty and exile, and his removal was immediately followed by the purification of the Imperial city. The Arians might complain, with some appearance of justice, that an inconsiderable congregation of