Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/151
Context
Socrates of Constantinople, the “Scholastic,” was an otherwise unknown
historian of the early 5th century. He wrote his account of the Church from 305 to 439
to continue Eusebius of Caesarea, adopting a particular perspective on the relationship
between Imperial and ecclesiastical authority. In this passage, Socrates narrates the
brief success of the followers of Macedonius, who rejected the divinity of the Holy
Spirit, and so they were called “warriors against the Spirit” (πνευματομάχοι). The
“Macedonians” had bitterly opposed church leaders in and around Constantinople,
including prominently Acacius bishop of Caesarea, and they gained traction at the
semi-Arian Council at Lampsacus in 364 C.E.
Text
Τούτων δὴ γενομένων, οὐδέτερα ἡσύχαζεν οὔτε τὰ δημόσια πράγματα οὔτε μὴν
τὰ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν. Οἱ μὲν οὖν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν σύνοδον συγκροτηθῆναι αἰτήσαντες ἐν
τῇ Λαμψάκῳ συνῆλθον ἐν ὑπατείᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ: τοῦτο δὲ ἦν ἕβδομον ἔτος ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Σελευκείᾳ
γενομένης συνόδου. Κἀκεῖ πάλιν τὴν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ πίστιν ἐπιβεβαιώσαντες, ᾗ καὶ ἐν
Σελευκείᾳ ὑπέγραψαν, ἀναθεματίζουσι τὴν ἐν Ἀριμίνῳ ὑπὸ τῶν πρώην ὁμοδόξων ἐκτεθεῖσαν
πίστιν: καὶ αὖθις καταψηφίζονται τῶν περὶ Ἀκάκιον καὶ Εὐδόξιον, ὡς δικαίως
καθαιρεθέντων. Τούτοις οὐδὲν ἀντιλέγειν Εὐδόξιος ὁ τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐπίσκοπος
ἴσχυεν: οὐ γὰρ αὐτῷ ἀμύνασθαι τούτους ὁ ἐνεστηκὼς δημόσιος συνεχώρει πόλεμος. Διὸ καὶ οἱ
περὶ Ἐλεύσιον τὸν Κυζίκου ἐπίσκοπον ἐπικρατέστεροι τότε πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐγένοντο,
συγκροτήσαντες τὸ χρηματίσαν Μακεδονίου δόγμα, μικρόν τε ἔμπροσθεν καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ κατὰ
Λάμψακον συνόδῳ γενόμενον φανερώτερον. Ταύτην ἐγὼ νομίζω τὴν σύνοδον αἰτίαν γενέσθαι τοῦ
πλεονάζειν ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ τοὺς Μακεδονιανοὺς χρηματίζοντας: ἡ γὰρ Λάμψακος ἐν τῷ στενῷ
τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου κεῖται πορθμῷ. Αὕτη μὲν οὖν ἡ σύνοδος τοιαύτην ἔσχε τὴν ἔκβασιν. 1
Textual Note
Ed. Hussey and Bright 1893 with ref. to Hansen 1995Translation
After these events, neither the affairs of the State nor the affairs
of the Church were at peace. Now those who had been empowered by the emperor to hold a
council assembled at Lampsacus in the consulate just mentioned: this was seven years
after the Council of Seleucia [Isauria]. There, after confirming the Antiochene Creed to
which they had subscribed at Seleucia, they anathematized that which had been set forth
at Ariminum by their former associates in opinion. Moreover, again they condemned the
party of Acacius and Eudoxius, declaring that they had been justly deposed. Eudoxius,
bishop of Constantinople, had no power to refute these (determinations), because the
impending civil war did not permit him to avenge them. For this reason, Eleusius, bishop
of Cyzicus, and his supporters then became the stronger party for a little while, for
they adhered to the teachings of Macedonius, which had been obscure before but had grown
more visible through the synod at Lampsacus. This synod, I think, caused the growth of
the Macedonians in the Hellespont; for Lampsacus is situated in the narrow passage of
the Hellespont. Such was the issue of this council. 2
Translation Note
Adapted from Zenos 1990 and Périchon and Maraval 2004-2007Works Cited
- 1 Socrates of Constantinople, Ecclesiastical History, According to the Text of Hussey, ed. Robert Hussey and William Bright, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1893), bk: 4, ch: 4.
- 2 Socrates of Constantinople, Socrates: Church History from A.D. 305-439, in Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories., trans. Andrew C Zenos, repr. of American ed., A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Churhc. Second Series 2 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890), 1–178, p: 97.
Additional Bibliography
- Socrates of Constantinople, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Günther Christian Hansen, Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte n.F. 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1995), bk: 4, ch: 4.
- Socrates of Constantinople, Socrate de Constantinople: Histoire ecclésiastique, trans. Pierre Périchon and Pierre Maraval, 4 vols., Sources chrétiennes 477, 493, 505, 506 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2004), vol: 3, p: 116-119.
How to Cite This Entry
Joshua Woods et al., “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/151.
Show full citation information...
Bibliography:
Joshua Woods et al., “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/151.About this Entry
Entry Title: Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4”
- Joshua Woods, Eliana Yonan, and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 4.4”
Additional Credit:
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- Electronic text added by Joshua Woods
- Electronic text added by Eliana Yonan
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife