Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/456
Context
Salaminius Hermias Sozomenos, or Sozomen, was an ecclesiastical
historian of the first half of the 5th century. Born to a wealthy Christian family in
the region of Gaza, he learned classical and sacred literature under the guidance of
local monks, studied law at Beirut, and spent his career at Constantinople during the
reign of Theodosius II. His extant history, which depends significantly on the works by
Eusebius, Rufinus, and Socrates, surveys the events of the church from the conversion of
Constantine to the accession of Valentinian III, but the ending is either unfinished or
possibly damaged. In this passage, Sozomen recounts the conflict between Arius and
Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria, in the years immediately leading up to the Council
at Nicaea. After his exile in 321 C.E., Arius gained support on the one hand from
Eusebius of Nicomedia, who called a council in Bithynia to settle the differences, and
on the other from Eusebius Caesarea and other eastern bishops, who endorsed his
formation of a church.
Text
(10) … καὶ σύνοδον ἐν Βιθυνίᾳ συγκροτήσαντες γράφουσι τοῖς ἁπανταχῇ
ἐπισκόποις ὡς ὀρθῶς δοξάζουσι κοινωνῆσαι τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἄρειον, παρασκευάσαι δὲ καὶ
Ἀλέξανδρον κοινωνεῖν αὐτοῖς. (11) ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττον παρὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς ἐχώρει ἡ σπουδὴ
Ἀλεξάνδρου μὴ εἴκοντος, πρεσβεύεται ὁ Ἄρειος πρὸς Παυλῖνον τὸν Τύρου ἐπίσκοπον καὶ
Εὐσέβιον τὸν Παμφίλου, ἐπιτροπεύοντα τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τῆς ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ
Καισαρείας, καὶ Πατρόφιλον τὸν Σκυθοπόλεως, καὶ ἐξαιτεῖ ἅμα τοῖς ἀμφ’
αὐτὸν ἐπιτραπῆναι ἐκκλησιάζειν τὸν μετ’ αὐτοῦ λαόν, ὡς πρότερον τὴν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
τάξιν ἐπέχοντας. (12) εἶναι γὰρ ἔθος ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ (καθάπερ καὶ νῦν) ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ
κατὰ πάντων ἐπισκόπου τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἰδίᾳ τὰς ἐκκλησίας κατέχειν καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐταῖς
λαὸν συνάγειν. οἱ δὲ ἅμα καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπισκόποις ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ συνελθόντες ἐπεψηφίσαντο τῇ
Ἀρείου αἰτήσει, παρακελευσάμενοι συνάγειν μὲν αὐτοὺς ὡς πρότερον, ὑποτετάχθαι δὲ
Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ ἀντιβολεῖν ἀεὶ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρήνης καὶ κοινωνίας μετέχειν.1
Textual Note
Ed. Bidez and Hansen 1995Translation
(10) … After they had convened a synod in Bithynia, they wrote to
all the bishops to hold communion with the party of Arius as with the Orthodox, and to
require Alexander likewise to hold communion with them. (11) Since nevertheless their
zeal did not come to their liking because Alexander was unwilling, Arius sent messengers
to Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, to Eusebius Pamphili, who presided over the church of
Caesarea in Palestine, and to Patrophilus, bishop of
Scythopolis, requesting permission for himself and for his adherents to assemble the
people who were with them into a church, because they had previously held the rank of
presbyters. (12) For it was the custom in Alexandria, as it is also today, that all the
churches should be under one bishop, but that each presbyter should have his own church
in which to assemble the people. These three bishops, together with the others gathered
in Palestine, voted in favor of the petition of Arius, and permitted him to assemble the
people as before. But they enjoined submission to Alexander, and commanded Arius always
to strive for peace and communion with him.2
Translation Note
Revised from Hartranft 1890Discussion Note
Works Cited
- 1 Sozomen, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Joseph Bidez and Günther Christian Hansen, 2nd ed., Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1995), bk: 1, ch: 15.10-15.12.
- 2 Sozomen, Sozomenus: Church History from A.D. 323-425, in Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories., trans. Chester David Hartranft, repr. of American ed., A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Second Series 2 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890), 179–427, p: 252.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/456.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12.” 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/456.About this Entry
Entry Title: Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12
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, “Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Sozomen, Church History 1.15.10-1.15.12”
Additional Credit:
- 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
- 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