Arius the Libyan: A Romance of the Primitive Church

by Nathan C. Kouns

But to Athanasius and others who urged the necessity of temporizing with Arius, and avoiding all discussion of the vital points which the heretic lost no opportunity of forcing upon them, Constantine finally said: "I will make no compromise with the Libyan; it is necessary to crush that serpent's head, and I will do it! He hath certainly evinced marvelous skill, intelligence, and daring, in forcing an issue upon us which we do not desire to determine; he would have made a magnificent general; but I will ruin him to-day. Rest ye all in peace."

And when the council assembled, all of them filled with anxiety as to what might occur, and many of them determined, even at the risk of martyrdom, not to take any further part in the deliberations of an imperial conclave such as they clearly perceived that one to be, the emperor arose first of all, and, with wonderful grace and ease, addressed them as follows: "Ye know my love for all of you, my friends, and my zeal for the cause of Christ. But some among you have taken offense, and have even doubted the propriety or binding force of your own decrees upon the conscience of Christians, because it hath appeared to you that the emperor hath assumed authority over you in regard to matters of faith. This is surely a grave mistake. To correct this false and injurious impression, I here commit to your presiding bishops my ring, my sword, and my scepter; and unto you I give power this day over mine empire, to do in it whatever you think fit for the promotion of religion and for the advantage of the faithful. Ye are the law-makers of the Church of Christ, and not him whom God hath made Emperor of Rome. Proceed with your sacred business in your own time and way. If ye shall deem it to be necessary to remove even the most intangible objection of the cavilers to do so, ye can dissolve the council, return to your homes, and let the bishops reassemble when and where ye will. But if, being already assembled at some expense of time and trouble, ye deem it more expedient now to constitute yourselves into a church council, do so in your own time and manner. Farewell!"

And, having so spoken, the emperor bowed gracefully to the admiring assembly and withdrew. But almost immediately Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, proposed, and without a dissenting voice the council voted, that a deputation of bishops be appointed to inform the emperor that the Church had met in council, and to request him to return and bestow upon them the benefit of his great wisdom and Christian zeal, in aid of their deliberations; and smilingly the emperor returned.

The action of the emperor was just that of the pre-eminently greatest politician; and Arius, then first fully realizing the vast intellectual resources of the most consummate statesman whom the world has seen, murmured unto himself, "Again is Christ betrayed into the hands of wicked men!" And thenceforward calmly, almost indifferently, he looked forward to what he supposed to be his own impending doom; for he well knew that Constantine spared no human life that, even by chance, might seem to stand in the way of his self-aggrandizement: and if his marvelous sagacity could conceive and execute such an act as he had just accomplished, what was there of which he could be incapable?

Then the bishop Hosius of Cordova said: "Brethren, it is manifest that the technical objections which found place in the consciences of some among us, based upon the seeming authority of our most glorious and Christian emperor over us, have been thoroughly eradicated by his own most wise, pious, and unsolicited condescension, and that we sit now as an absolutely independent body for the consideration of the business and doctrines of the Church of Christ, as much as if we had come of our own motion originally from the ends of the earth, without the generous and Christian liberality of our royal friend and protector. Let us, therefore, proceed with our deliberations to secure the prosperity of the Church of our blessed Lord!"

In this sentiment all concurred; and even the dullest among them immediately perceived that the crafty act of Constantine had cut out from under the great heretic the only sure foundation upon which he might have builded, and had left him at the mercy of the emperor.

For many days the great council proceeded with its business, and sometimes their differences gave rise to excited and earnest debate, in which the easy, marvelous, persuasive eloquence and irresistible manners of Athanasius raised the brilliant youth to the highest place in the opinions of all; in which the magnificent Spaniard Hosius fully maintained the almost apostolic reverence that had long been given to his great age, vast erudition, and grand character; and in which both the Eusebii added to their former wide-spread reputation for learning, piety, and influence. Many other names, before that time almost unknown beyond the local limits of their own churches and bishoprics, became celebrated throughout Christendom for various excellences or for striking characteristics. Only the sad-eyed and seemingly broken-hearted presbyter Arius appeared to be indifferent to the course of business, and silent during the discussion of questions upon which all knew he might have brought to bear an unequaled mass of erudition, illumined by the strong light of genius, if he had cared to do so.

Gradually, little by little, no one knew how, the conviction spread throughout the great assembly that the man Arius was doomed, and that there was no possibility of escape for him; and day by day they were awaiting the institution of proceedings against him which would be the beginning of the end anticipated. None knew whence this weird impression arose, and few ever spoke of it: for no man that ever ruled on earth knew better how to create or how to guide for his own purposes that intangible, remorseless, and murderous influence to which in later times we have applied the expression "public opinion" than did the wonderful Emperor Constantine, ages before other statesmen recognized even the existence of such a force. And through the more gifted agents, lay and clerical, who were devoted to him heart and soul, the impression that the Libyan must be condemned grew imperceptibly but unceasingly stronger. Without knowing why, the enemies of the great presbyter became daily more self-confident and aggressive; without knowing why, the lukewarm and undecided souls that form a considerable segment of every large assembly, insensibly withdrew themselves from his support, and drifted more and more into the sentiment of his foes; and, without knowing why, the few, strong, brave, earnest men, who decidedly clung to his opinions and unswervingly loved the man, began to concentrate their forces and husband their resources for some desperate and decisive struggle which they instinctively felt to be approaching.

The Libyan himself had long regarded his fate as decisively settled. He had interpreted the Apocalypse as referring to Constantine, and did not doubt either the temporary overthrow of Christianity by the emperor, or the fact that he would be involved in its ruin. He looked without fear, perhaps more with a feeling of curiosity than anything else, for signs which might enable him to form a conjecture as to how long the kingdom of heaven might be banished out of the world: its ultimate restoration and final triumph over human governments he never doubted; but he would hardly have turned his hand, or raised his head, to avoid the death which he supposed Constantine had determined to bring upon him. "If," he said unto his intimate friends, "the emperor's council carry out his wishes, I desire ye all to remember, in the future, that no Christian council hath, or hath ever attempted, to exercise authority to put any man to death for heresy. The only punishments the Church hath ever imposed stop with the refusal to fellowship an unbeliever or a wrong-doer. If Constantine condemn me, remember that he is not a bishop, hath never even been baptized, and hath no authority to decide upon what is or what is not heretical; and the Roman law hath never, so far at least, attempted to define what a Christian may lawfully believe. Ye see, therefore, that the fact of my destruction illustrateth well the character of the council, and showeth that even the magnificent spectacle of his resignation which he so well enacted can not convert Constantine's meeting into a council of the Christian Church. And I suppose that this will more plainly appear as the matter proceedeth further."

Then answered the Bishop of Nicomedia, saying: "Brother, if thou must perish for the cause of Christ, I perish also with thee. I am an Arian, and shall claim the right to die with thee if any murder shall be done."