Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/460
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 describes the intense conflict between
Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril of Jerusalem during the 350s over the rank of their sees
and their theological differences. Following an accusation of selling sacred valuables
of the Church during a famine at Jerusalem, Acacius successfully deposed Cyril in 357
C.E., leading to his first exile, to Tarsus.
Text
(1) Σὺν τούτοις δὲ καὶ Κύριλλον τὸν Ἱεροσολύμων καθεῖλον ὡς Εὐσταθίῳ καὶ
Ἐλπιδίῳ κεκοινωνηκότα, ἐναντία σπουδάσασι τοῖς ἐν Μελιτινῇ συνελθοῦσι, μεθ’ ὧν καὶ αὐτὸς
συνεληλύθει, καὶ ὡς μετὰ τὴν ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ καθαίρεσιν κοινωνίας μετασχόντα σὺν Βασιλείῳ
καὶ Γεωργίῳ [καὶ] τῷ Λαοδικείας ἐπισκόπῳ. (2) ἐπειδὴ <γὰρ> ἐπετράπη τὴν Ἱεροσολύμων
ἐπισκοπήν, περὶ μητροπολιτικῶν δικαίων διεφέρετο πρὸς Ἀκάκιον τὸν
Καισαρείας ὡς ἀποστολικοῦ θρόνου ἡγούμενος· ἐντεῦθέν τε εἰς
ἀπέχθειαν κατέστησαν καὶ ἀλλήλους διέβαλλον, ὡς οὐχ ὑγιῶς περὶ θεοῦ φρονοῖεν· καὶ γὰρ
καὶ πρὶν ἐν ὑπονοίᾳ ἑκάτερος ἦν, ὁ μὲν τὰ Ἀρείου δογματίζων, Κύριλλος δὲ τοῖς ὁμοούσιον
τῷ πατρὶ τὸν υἱὸν εἰσηγουμένοις ἑπόμενος. (3) οὕτως δὲ ἔχων γνώμης Ἀκάκιος σὺν τοῖς τὰ
αὐτοῦ φρονοῦσιν ἐπισκόποις τοῦ ἔθνους φθάνει καθελὼν Κύριλλον ἐπὶ προφάσει τοιᾷδε· λιμοῦ
καταλαβόντος τὴν Ἱεροσολύμων χώραν, ὡς εἰς ἐπίσκοπον ἔβλεπε τὸ τῶν δεομένων πλῆθος τῆς
ἀναγκαίας τροφῆς ἀπορούμενον, ἐπειδὴ χρήματα οὐκ ἦν οἷς ἐπικουρεῖν ἔδει, κειμήλια καὶ
ἱερὰ παραπετάσματα ἀπέδοτο. (4) ἐκ τούτων δὲ λόγος τινὰ ἐπιγνῶναι οἰκεῖον ἀνάθημα
γυναῖκα ἐκ τῶν ἐπὶ θυμέλης ἠμφιεσμένην, πολυπραγμονῆσαί τε ὅθεν ἔχοι καὶ εὑρεῖν ἔμπορον
αὐτῇ ἀποδόμενον, τῷ δὲ ἐμπόρῳ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον. αἰτίαν δὲ ταύτην προϊσχόμενον καθελεῖν
αὐτὸν Ἀκάκιον.1
Textual Note
Ed. Bidez and Hansen 1995Translation
(1) Along with these they also deposed Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem,
because he had admitted Eustathius and Elpidius into communion after they had opposed
those convened at Melitine, among whom was Cyril himself, and because he had also
received into communion Basil and George, bishop of Laodicea, after their deposition in
Palestine. (2) When Cyril was installed as bishop of Jerusalem, he had a dispute with
Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, over his rights as a metropolitan,
claiming that his bishopric was an apostolic see. This dispute stirred up enmity, and
they mutually accused each other of unsound thoughts concerning God. In fact, each one
had been under suspicion before, (Acacius) for embracing the teaching of Arius and Cyril
for following those who instruct that the Son is of the same substance as the Father.
(3) Since Acacius held this opinion, and bishops of the province joined in agreement
with him, he acted first to depose Cyril under the following pretext. When a famine had
taken hold of the country around Jerusalem, the impoverished masses, lacking the food
they needed, looked to their bishop. Since he had no funds to provide assistance, he
sold the (church) treasures and holy curtains. (4) There was a story that a man
recognized his own dedication from among these (treasures) in a woman’s theatrical
costume; investigated where she got it; and determined that a merchant sold it to her,
but the bishop (sold it) to the merchant. This was the charge Acacius put forward to
depose (Cyril).2
Translation Note
Adapted from Hartranft 1890Works 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: 4, ch: 25.1-25.4.
- 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: 321.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/460.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4.” 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/460.About this Entry
Entry Title: Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4
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 editor, “Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Sozomen, Church History 4.25.1-4.25.4”
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
- 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