Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/383
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 describes the
tumultuous aftermath of a synod at Antioch in ca. 328 C.E., when the powerful bishop
Eustathius was deposed on the grounds of adultery. The city was violently divided
between the supporters of Eustathius, the defender of Nicaea and zealous anti-Arian and
anti-Origenist, and the supporters of Eusebius of Caesarea, whom they sought to install
in the see.
Text
(5) Τότε δὲ ἐν τῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ δεινὴ στάσις ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ καθαιρέσει
γεγένηται, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πολλάκις περὶ ἐπιλογῆς ἐπισκόπου τοσοῦτος ἐξήφθη πυρσός, ὡς
μικροῦ δεῆσαι τὴν πᾶσαν <ἐκ βάθρων> ἀνατραπῆναι πόλιν, εἰς δύο τμήματα διαιρεθέντος
<τοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας> λαοῦ, τῶν μὲν Εὐσέβιον τὸν Παμφίλου ἐκ τῆς ἐν
Παλαιστίνῃ Καισαρείας μεταφέρειν φιλονεικούντων ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν, τῶν
δὲ σπευδόντων ἐπαναγαγεῖν Εὐστάθιον. (6) Συνελαμβάνετο δὲ ἑκατέρῳ μέρει καὶ τὸ κοινὸν
τῆς πόλεως, καὶ στρατιωτικὴ χεὶρ ὡς κατὰ πολεμίων κεκίνητο, ὡς καὶ ξιφῶν μέλλειν
ἅπτεσθαι, εἰ μὴ ὁ Θεός τε καὶ ὁ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως φόβος τὰς ὁρμὰς τοῦ πλήθους
ἀνέστειλεν. (7) Ὁ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς δι’ ἐπιστολῶν τὴν γεγενημένην στάσιν κατέπαυσεν,
Εὐσέβιος δὲ παραιτησάμενος· ἐφ’ ᾧ καὶ θαυμάσας αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς γράφει τε αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν
πρόθεσιν αὐτοῦ ἐπαινέσας μακάριον ἀποκαλεῖ, ὅτι οὐ μιᾶς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ πάσης ἁπλῶς τῆς
οἰκουμένης ἐπίσκοπος ἄξιος εἶναι ἐκρίθη. (8) Ἐφεξῆς οὖν ἐπὶ ἔτη ὀκτὼ λέγεται τὸν ἐν
Ἀντιοχείᾳ θρόνον τῆς ἐκκλησίας σχολάσαι· ὀψὲ δέ ποτε σπουδῇ τῶν τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν
παρατρέπειν σπουδαζόντων χειροτονεῖται Εὐφρόνιος.1
Textual Note
Ed. Hussey and Bright 1893 with ref. to Hansen 1995Translation
(5) At that time there was a terrible uprising at Antioch on account
of (Eustathius’) deposition, and thereafter such great dissension flared up time and
time again over the choice of a bishop that the whole city came close to being destroyed
down to its foundations. The people of the Church were divided into two factions, those
striving to transfer Eusebius Pamphili from Caesarea in Palestine
to Antioch and those promoting the reinstatement of Eustathius. (6) The civic government
was providing assistance to each side, and a military force was mobilized as though
against enemy combatants even to the point of taking up arms, if God and fear of the
emperor [Constantine I] had not repressed the violent impulses of the multitude. (7) For
the emperor stopped the uprising from happening through letters, and Eusebius by
refusing (to accept the episcopate). For this reason the emperor in admiration of
(Eusebius) wrote him and, after praising his decision, called him blessed, because he
judged him worthy to be bishop not just of one city but of almost the entire world. (8)
Consequently it is said that the see at Antioch was vacant for eight years. At a later
date Euphronius was ordained by the efforts of those working to subvert the Nicene
Creed.2
Translation Note
Adapted from Zenos 1890 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: 1, ch: 24.5-24.8.
- 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: 27.
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: 1, ch: 24.5-24.8.
- 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: 1, p: 214-217.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/383.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8.” 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/383.About this Entry
Entry Title: Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8
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 editor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.24.5-1.24.8”
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- 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
- 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