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- Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
"The Sacred Writings Of ..." provides you with the essential works among the Early Christian writings. The volumes cover the beginning of Christianity until before the promulgation of the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea. Sozomen's 'Ecclesiastical History' was written in Constantinople, around the years 440 to 443 and was dedicated to Emperor Theodosius II. The work is structured into nine books, roughly arranged along the reigns of Roman Emperors: Book I: from the conversion of Constantine I until the Council of Nicea (312-325) Book II: from the Council of Nicea to Constantine's death (325-337) Book III: from the death of Constantine I to the death of Constans I (337-350) Book IV: from the death of Constans I to the death of Constantius II (350-361) Book V: from the death of Constantius I to the death of Julian the Apostate (361-363) Book VI: from the death of Julian to the death of Valens (363-375) Book VII: from the death of Valens to the death of Theodosius I (375-395) Book VIII: from the death of Theodosius I to the death of Arcadius (375-408). Book IX: from the death of Arcadius to the accession of Valentinian III (408-25). Book IX is incomplete. In his dedication of the work, he states that he intended cover up to the 17th consulate of Theodosius II, that is, to 439. The extant history ends about 425. Scholars disagree on why the end is missing. Albert Guldenpenning supposed that Sozomen himself suppressed the end of his work because in it he mentioned the Empress Aelia Eudocia, who later fell into disgrace through her supposed adultery. However, it appears that Nicephorus, Theophanes, and Theodorus Lector did read the end of Sozomen's work, according to their own histories later. Therefore most scholars believe that the work did actually come down to that year, and that consequently it has reached us only in a damaged condition.
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The Sacred Writings of Hermias Sozomen
Contents:
Salminius Hermias Sozomen – A Biography
The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen
Introduction.
Salaminius Hermias Sozomen.
Part I.—The Life.
Part II.—Sozomen as Author.
Part III.—Bibliography.
Part IV.—Conclusion.
Prefatory Remarks by Valesius Concerning the Life and Writings of Sozomen.
Memoir of Sozomen.
Address to the Emperor Theodosius by Salaminius Hermias Sozomen, and Proposal for an Ecclesiastical History.
Book I.
Chapter I.—The Preface of the Book, in Which He Investigates the History of the Jewish Nation; Mention of Those Who Began Such a Work; How and from What Sources He Collected His History; How He Was Intent Upon the Truth, and What Other Details the History Will Contain.
Chapter II.—Of the Bishops of the Large Towns in the Reign of Constantine; And How, from Fear of Licinius, Christianity Was Professed Cautiously in the East as Far as Libya, While in the West, Through the Favor of Constantine, It Was Professed with Freedom.
Chapter III.—By the Vision of the Cross, and by the Appearance of Christ, Constantine is Led to Embrace Christianity.—He Receives Religious Instruction from Our Brethren.
Chapter IV.—Constantine Commands the Sign of the Cross to Be Carried Before Him in Battle; An Extraordinary Narrative About the Bearers of the Sign of the Cross.
Chapter V.—Refutation of the Assertion that Constantine Became a Christian in Consequence of the Murder of His Son Crispus.
Chapter VI.—The Father of Constantine Allows the Name of Christ to Be Extended; Constantine the Great Prepared It to Penetrate Everywhere.
Chapter VII.—Concerning the Dispute Between Constantine and Licinius His Brother-In-Law About the Christians, and How Licinius Was Conquered by Force and Put to Death.
Chapter VIII.—List of the Benefits Which Constantine Conferred in the Freedom of the Christians and Building of Churches;andother Deeds for Tile Public Welfare.
Chapter IX.—Constantine Enacts a Law in Favor of Cellbates and of the Clergy.
Chapter X.—Concerning the Great Confessors Who Survived.
Chapter XI.—Account of St. Spyridon: His Modesty and Steadfastness.
Chapter XII.—On the Organization of the Monks: Its Origin and Founders.
Chapter XIII.—About Antony the Great and St. Paul the Simple.
Chapter XIV.—Account of St. Ammon and Eutychius of Olympus.
Chapter XV.—The Arian Heresy, Its Origin, Its Progress, and the Contention Which It Occasioned Among the Bishops.
Chapter XVI.—Constantine, Having Heard of the Strife of the Bishops, and the Difference of Opinion Concerning the Passover, is Greatly Troubled and Sends Hosius, a Spaniard, Bishop of Cordova, to Alexandria, to Abolish the Dissension Among the Bishops, and to Settle the Dispute About the Passover.
Chapter XVII.—Of the Council Convened Atnicaea on Account of Arius.
Chapter XVIII.—Two Philosophers are Converted to the Faith by the Simplicity of Two Old Men with Whom They Hold a Disputation.
Chapter XIX.—When the Council Was Assembled, the Emperor Delivered a Public Address.
Chapter XX.—After Having Given Audience to Both Parties, the Emperor Condemned the Followers of Arius and Banished Them.
Chapter XXI.—What the Council Determined About Arius; The Condemnation of His Followers; His Writings are to Be Burnt; Certain of the High Priests Differ from the Council; The Settlement of the Passover.
Chapter XXLI.—Acesius, Bishop of the Novatians, is Summoned by the Emperor to Be Present at the First Council.
Chapter XXIII.—Canons Appointed by the Council; Paphnutius, a Certain Confessor, Restrains the Council from Forming a Canon Enjoining Celibacy to All Who Where About to Be Honored with the Priesthood.
Chapter XXIV.—Concerning Melitius; The Excellent Directions Made by the Holy Council in His Complications.
Chapter XXV.—The Emperor Prepared a Public Table for the Synod, After Inviting Its Members to Constantinople, and Honoring Them with Gifts. He Exhorted All to Be of One Mind, and Forwarded to Alexandria and Every Other Place the Decrees of the Holy Synod.
Book II.
Chapter I.—The Discovery of the Life-Bringing Cross and of the Holy Nails.
Chapter II.—Concerning Helena, the Mother of the Emperor; She Visited Jerusalem, Built Temples in that City, and Performed Other Godly Works: Her Death.
Chapter III.—Temples Built by Constantine the Great; The City Called by His Name; Its Founding; The Buildings Within It; The Temple of Michael the Archsoldier, in the Sosthenium, and the Miracles Which Have Occurred There.
Chapter IV.—What Constantine the Great Effected About the Oak in Mamre; He Also Built a Temple.
Chapter V.—Constantine Destroyed the Places Dedicated to the Idols, and Persuaded the People to Prefer Christianity.
Chapter VI.—The Reason Why Under Constantine, the Name of Christ Was Spread Throughout the Whole World.
Chapter VII.—How the Iberians Received The, Faith of Christ.
Chapter VIII.—How the Armenians and Persians Embraced Christianity.
Chapter IX.—Sapor King of Persia is Excited Against the Christians. Symeon, Bishop Ofpersia, and Usthazanes, a Eunuch, Suffer the Agony of Martyrdom.
Chapter X.—Christians Slain by Sapor in Persia.
Chapter XI.—Pusices, Superintendent of the Artisans of Sapor.
Chapter XII.—Tarbula, the Sister of Symeon, and Her Martyrdom.
Chapter XIII.—Martyrdom of St. Acepsimas and of His Companions.
Chapter XIV.—The Martyrdom of Bishop Milles and His Conduct. Sixteen Thousand Distinguished Men in Persia Suffer Martyrdom Under Sapor, Besides Obscure Individuals.
Chapter XV.—Constantine Writes to Sapor to Stay the Persecution of the Christians.
Chapter XVI.—Eusebius and Theognis Who at the Council of Nice Had Assented to the Writings of Arius Restored to Their Own Sees.
Chapter XVII.—On the Death of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, at His Suggestion, Athanasius Receives the Throne; And an Account of His Youth; How He Was a Self-Taught Priest, and Beloved by Antony the Great.
Chapter XVIII.—The Arians and Melitians Confer Celebrity on Athanasius; Concerning Eusebius, and His Request of Athanasius to Admit Arius to Communion; Concerning the Term “Consubstantial”; Eusebius Pamphilus and Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, Create Tumults Above All the Rest.
Chapter XIX.—Synod of Antioch; Unjust Deposition of Eustathius; Euphronius Receives the Throne; Constantine the Great Writes to the Synod and to Eusebius Pamphilus, Who Refuses the Bishopric of Antioch.
Chapter XX.—Concerning Maximus, Who Succeeded Macarius in the See of Jerusalem.
Chapter XXI.—The Melitians and the Arians Agree in Sentiment; Eusebius and Theognis Endeavor to Inflame Anew the Disease of Arius.
Chapter XXII.—The Vain Machinations of the Arians and Melitians Against St. Athanasius.
Chapter XXIII.—Calumny Respecting St. Athanasius and the Hand of Arsenius.
Chapter XXIV.—Some Indian Nations Received Christianity at that Time Through the Instrumentality of Two Captives, Frumentius and Edesius.
Chapter XXV.—Council of Tyre; Illegal Deposition of St. Athanasius.
Chapter XXVI.—Erection of a Temple by Constantine the Great at Golgotha, in Jerusalem; Its Dedication.
Chapter XXVII.—Concerning the Presbyter by Whom Constantine Was Persuaded to Recall Arius and Euzoius from Exile; The Tractate Concerning His Possibly Pious Faith, and How Arius Was Again Received by the Synod Assembled at Jerusalem.
Chapter XXVIII.—Letter from the Emperor Constantine to the Synod of Tyre, and Exile of St. Athanasius Through the Machination of the Arian Faction.
Chapter XXIX.—Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople; His Refusal to Receive Arius into Communion; Arius is Burst Asunder While Seeking Natural Relief.
Chapter XXX.—Account Given by the Great Athanasius of the Death of Arlus.
Chapter XXXI.—Events Which Occurred in Alexandria After the Death of Arius. Letter of Constantine the Great to the Church There.
Chapter XXXII.—Constantine Enacts a Law Against All Heresies, and Prohibits the People from Holding Church in Any Place But the Catholic Church, and Thus the Greater Number of Heresies Disappear. The Arians Who Sided with Eusebius of Nicomedia, Artfully Attempted to Obliterate the Term “Consubstantial.”
Chapter XXXIII.—Marcellus Bishop of Ancyra; His Heresy and Deposition.
Chapter XXXIV.—Death of Constantine the Great; He Died After Baptism and Was Buried in the Temple of the Holy Apostles.
Book III.
Chapter I.—After the Death of Constantine the Great, the Adherents of Eusebius and Theognis Attack the Nicene Faith.
Chapter II.—Return of Athanasius the Great from Rome; Letter of Constantine Caesar, Son of Constantine the Great; Renewed Machinations of the Arians Against Athanasius; Acacius of Berroea; War Between Constans and Constantine.
Chapter III.—Paul, Bishop of Constantinople, and Macedonius, the Pneumatomachian.
Chapter IV.—A Sedition Was Excited on the Ordination of Paul.
Chapter V.—The Partial Council of Antioch; It Deposed Athanasius; It Substituted Gregory; Its Two Statements of the Faith; Those Who Agreed with Them.
Chapter VI.—Eusebius Surnamed Emesenus; Gregory Accepted Alexandria; Athanasius Seeks Refuge in Rome.
Chapter VII.—High Priests of Rome and of Constantinople; Restoration of Paul After Eusebius; The Slaughter of Hermogenes, a General of the Army; Constantius Came from Antioch and Removed Paul, and Was Wrathfully Disposed Toward the City; He Allowed Macedonius to Be in Doubt, and Returned to Antioch.
Chapter VIII.—Arrival of the Eastern High Priests at Rome; Letter of Julius, Bishop of Rome, Concerning Them; By Means of the Letters of Julius, Paul and Athanasius Receive Their Own Sees; Contents of the Letter from the Archpriests of the East to Julius.
Chapter IX.—Ejection of Paul and Athanasius; Macedonius is Invested with the Government of the Church of Constantinople.
Chapter X.—The Bishop of Rome Writes to the Bishops of the East in Favor of Athanasius, and They Send an Embassy to Rome Who, with the Bishop of Rome, are to Investigate the Charges Against the Eastern Bishops; This Deputation is Dismissed by Constans, the Caesar.
Chapter XI.—The Long Formulary and the Enactments Issued by the Synod of Sardica. Julius, Bishop of Rome, and Hosius, the Spanish Bishop, Deposed by the Bishops of the East, Because They Held Communion with Athanasius and the Rest.
Chapter XLI.—The Bishops of the Party of Julius and Hosius Held Another Session and Deposed the Eastern High Priests, and Also Made a Formulary of Faith.
Chapter XIII.—After the Synod, the East and the West are Separated; The West Nobly Adheres to the Faith of the Nicene Council, While the East is Disturbed by Contention Here and There Over This Dogma.
Chapter XIV.—Of the Holy Men Who Flourished About This Time in Egypt, Namely, Antony, the Two Macariuses, Heraclius, Cronius, Paphnutius, Putubastus, Arsisius, Serapion, Piturion, Pachomius, Apollonius, Anuph, Hilarion, and a Register of Many Other Saints.
Chapter XV.—Didymus the Blind, and Aetius the Heretic.
Chapter XVI.—Concerning St. Ephraim.
Chapter XVII.—Transactions of that Period, and Progress of Christian Doctrine Through the Joint Efforts of Emperors and Arch-Priests.
Chapter XVIII.—Concerning the Doctrines Held by the Sons of Constantine. Distinction Between the Terms “Homoousios” And “Homoiousios.” Whence It Came that Constantius Quickly Abandoned the Correct Faith.
Chapter XIX.—Further Particulars Concerning the Term “Consubstantial.” Council of Ariminum, the Manner, Source, and Reason of Its Convention.
Chap XX.—Athanasius Again Reinstated by the Letter of Constantius, and Receives His See. The Arch-Priests of Antioch. Question Put by Constantius to Athanasius, the Praise of God in Hymns.
Chapter XXI.—Letter of Constantius to the Egyptians in Behalf of Athanasius. Synod of Jerusalem.
Chapter XXII.—Epistle Written by the Synod of Jerusalem in Favor of Athanasius.
Chapter XXIII.—Valens and Ursacius, Who Belonged to the Arian Faction, Confess to the Bishop of Rome that They Had Made False Charges Against Athanasius.
Chapter XXIV.—Letter of Conciliation from Valens and Ursacius to the Great Athanasius. Restoration of the Other Eastern Bishops to Their Own Sees. Ejection of Macedonius Again; And Accession of Paul to the See.
Book IV.
Chapter I.—Death of Constans Caesar. Occurrences Which Took Place in Rome.
Chapter II.—Constantius Again Ejects Athanasius, and Banishes Those Who Represented the Homoousian Doctrine. Death of Paul, Bishop of Constantinople. Macedonius: His Second Usurpation of the See, and His Evil Deeds.
Chapter III.—Martyrdom of the Holy Notaries.
Chapter IV.—Campaign of Constantius in Sirmium, and Details Concerning Vetranio and Magnentius. Gallus Receives the Title of Caesar, and is Sent to the East.
Chapter V.—Cyril Directs the Sacerdotal Office After Maximus, and the Largest Form of the Cross, Surpassing the Sun in Splendor, Again Appears in the Heavens, and is Visible During Several Days.
Chapter VI.—Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium. His Heresy, and the Council Convened at Sirmium in Opposition Thereto. The Three Formularies of Faith. This Agitator of Empty Ideas Was Refuted by Basil of Ancyra. After His Deposition Photinus, Although Solicited, Declined Reconciliation.
Chapter VII.—Death of the Tyrants Magnentius and Silvanus the Apostate. Sedition of the Jews in Palestine. Gallus Caesar is Slain, on Suspicion of Revolution.
Chapter VIII.—Arrival of Constantius at Rome. A Council Held in Italy. Account of What Happened to Athanasius the Great Through the Machinations of the Arians.
Chapter IX.—Council of Milan. Flight of Athanasius.
Chapter X.—Divers Machinations of the Arians Against Athanasius, and His Escape from Various Dangers Through Divine Interposition. Evil Deeds Perpetrated by George in Egypt After the Expulsion of Athanasius.
Chapter XI.—Liberius, Bishop of Rome, and the Cause of His Being Exiled by Constantius. Felix His Successor.
Chapter XII.—Aetius, the Syrian, and Eudoxius,the Successor of Leontius in Antioch. Concerning the Term “Consubstantial.”
Chapter XIII.—Innovations of Eudoxius Censured in a Letter Written by George, Bishop of Laodicea. Deputation from the Council of Ancyra to Constantius.
Chapter XIV.—Letter of the Emperor Constantius Against Eudoxius and His Partisans.
Chapter XV.—The Emperor Constantius Repairs to Sirmium, Recalls Liberius, and Restores Him to the Church of Rome; He Also Commands Felix to Assist Liberius in the Sacerdotal Office.
Chapter XVI.—The Emperor Purposed, on Account Ofthe Heresy of Aetius and the Innovations Inantioch, to Convene a Council at Nicomedia; But as an Earthquake Took Place in that City, and Many Other Affairs Intervened, the Council Was First Convened at Nicaea, and Afterwards at Ariminum and Seleucia. Account of Arsacius, the Confessor.
Chapter XVII.—Proceedings of the Council of Ariminum.
Chapter XVIII.—Letter from the Council at Ariminum to the Emperor Constantius.
Chapter XIX. Concerning the Deputies of the Council and the Emperor’s Letter; Agreement of the Adherents of Ursacius and Valens Afterwards with the Letter Put Forth; Exile of the Archbishops. Concerning the Synod at Nicaea, and the Reason Why the Synod Was Held in Ariminum.
Chapter XX.—Events Which Took Place in the Eastern Churches: Marathonius, Eleusius of Cyzicus, and Macedonius Expel Those Who Maintain the Term “Consubstantial.” Concerning the Churches of the Novatians; How One Church Was Transported; The Novatians Enter into Communion with the Orthodox.
Chapter XXI.—Proceedings of Macedonius in Mantinium. His Removal from His See When He Attempted to Remove the Coffin of Constantine the Great. Julian Was Pronounced Caesar.
Chapter XXII.—Council of Seleucia.
Chapter XXIII.—Acacius and Aetius; And How the Deputies of the Two Councils of Ariminum And of Seleucia Were Led by the Emperor to Accept the Same Doctrines.
Chapter XXIV.—Formulary of the Council of Ariminum Approved by the Acacians. List of the Deposed Chief-Priests, and the Causes of Their Condemnation.
Chapter XXV.—Causes of the Deposition of Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem. Mutual Dissensions Among the Bishops. Melitius is Ordained by the Arians, and Supplants Eustathius Inthe Bishopric of Sebaste.
Chapter XXVI.—Death of Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople. What Eudoxius Said in His Teaching. Eudoxius and Acacius Strenuously Sought the Abolition of the Formularies of Faith Set Forth at Nicaea and at Ariminum; Troubles Which Thence Arose in the Churches.
Chapter XXVII.—Macedonius, After His Rejection from His See, Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit; Propagation of His Heresy Through the Instrumentality of Marathonius and Others.
Chapter XXVIII.—The Arians, Under the Impression that the Divine Meletius Upheld Their Sentiments, Translate Him from Sebaste to Antioch. On His Bold Confession of the Orthodox Doctrines, They Were Confounded, and After They Had Deposed Him They Placed Euzoius in the See. Meletius Formed His Own Church: But Those Who Held to Consubstantiality Turned Away from Him Because He Had Been Ordained by Arians.
Chapter XXIX.—The Partisans of Acacius Again Do Not Remain Quiet, But Strive to Abolish the Term “Consubstantial,” And to Confirm the Heresy of Arius.
Chapter XXX.—George, Bishop of Antioch, and the Chief-Priests of Jerusalem. Three Chief-Priests Successively Succeed Cyril; Restoration of Cyril to the See of Jerusalem.
Book V.
Chapter I.—Apostasy of Julian, the Traitor. Death of the Emperor Constantius.
Chapter II.—The Life, Education, and Training of Julian, and His Accession to the Empire.
Chapter III.—Julian, on His Settlement in the Empire, Began Quietly to Stir Up Opposition to Christianity, and to Introduce Paganism Artfully.
Chapter IV.—Julian Inflicted Evils Upon the Inhabitants of Caeesarea. Bold Fidelity of Maris, Bishop of Chalcedon.
Chapter V.—Julian Restores Liberty to the Christians, in Order to Execute Further Troubles in the Church. The Evil Treatment of Christians He Devised.
Chapter VI.—Athanasius, After Having Been Seven Years Concealed in the House of a Wise and Beautiful Virgin, Reappears at that Time in Public, and Enters the Church of Alexandria.
Chapter VII.—Violent Death and Triumph of George, Bishop of Alexandria. The Result Of Certain Occurrences in the Temple of Mithra. Letter of Julian on This Aggravated Circumstance.
Chapter VIII.—Concerning Theodore, the Keeper of the Sacred Vessels of Antioch. How Julian, the Uncle of the Traitor, on Account of These Vessels, Falls a Prey to Worms.
Chapter IX.—Martyrdom of the Saints Eusebius, Nestabus, and Zeno in the City of Gaza.
Chapter X.—Concerning St. Hilarion and the Virgins in Heliopolis Who Were Destroyed by Swine. Strange Martyrdom of Mark, Bishop of Arethusa.
Chapter XI.—Concerning Macedonius, Theodulus, Gratian, Busiris, Basil, and Eupsychius, Who Suffered Martyrdom in Those Times.
Chapter XII.—Concerning Lucifer and Eusebius, Bishops of the West. Eusebius with Athanasius the Great and Other Bishops Collect a Council at Alexandria, and Confirm the Nicene Faith by Defining the Consubstantiality Of the Spirit with the Father and the Son. Their Decree Concerning Substance and Hypostasis.
Chapter XIII.—Concerning Paulinus and Meletius, Chief-Priests of Antioch; How Eusebius and Lucifer Antagonized One Another; Eusebius and Hilarius Defend the Nicene Faith.
Chapter XIV.—The Partisans of Macedonius Disputed with the Arians Concerning Acacius.
Chapter XV.—Athanasius is Again Banished; Concerning Eleusius, Bishop of Cyzicus, and Titus, Bishop of Bostra; Mention of the Ancestors of the Author.
Chapter XVI.—Efforts of Julian to Establish Paganism and to Abolish Our Usages. The Epistle Which He Sent to the Pagan High-Priests.
Chapter XVII.—In Order that He Might Not Be Thought Tyrannical, Julian Proceeds Artfully Against the Christians. Abolition of the Sign of the Cross. He Makes the Soldiery Sacrifice, Although They Were Unwilling.
Chapter XVIII.—He Prohibited the Christians from the Markets and from the Judicial Seats and from Sharing in Greek Education. Resistance of Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Apolinarius to This Decree. They Rapidly Translate the Scripture into Greek Modes of Expression. Apolinarius and Gregory Nazianzen Do This More Than Basil, the One in a Rhetorical Vein, the Other in Epic Style and in Imitation of Every Poet.
Chapter XIX.—Work Written by Julian Entitled “Aversion to Beards.” Daphne in Antioch, a Full Description of It. Translation of the Remains of Babylas, the Holy Martyr.
Chapter XX.—In Consequence of the Translation, Many of the Christians are ILL-Treated. Theodore the Confessor. Temple of Apollo at Daphne Destroyed by Fire Falling from Heaven.
Chapter XXI.—Of the Statue of Christ in Paneas Which Julian Overthrew and Made Valueless; He Erected His Own Statue; This Was Overthrown by a Thunder-Bolt and Destroyed. Fountain of Emmaus in Which Christ Washed His Feet. Concerning the Tree Persis, Which Worshiped Christ in Egypt, and the Wonders Wrought Through It.
Chapter XXII.—From Aversion to the Christians, Julian Granted Permission to the Jews to Rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem; In Every Endeavor to Put Their Hands to the Work, Fire Sprang Upward and Killed Many. About the Sign of the Cross Which Appeared on the Clothing of Those Who Had Exerted Themselves in This Work.
Book VI.
Chapter I.—Expedition of Julian into Persia; He Was Worsted and Broke Off His Life Miserably. Letter Written by Libanius, Describing His Death.
Chapter II.—He Perished Under Divine Wrath. Visions of the Emperor’s Death Seen by Various Individuals. Reply of the Carpenter’s Son; Julian Tossed His Blood Aloft to Christ. Calamities Which Julian Entailed Upon the Romans.
Chapter ILI.—The Reign of Jovian; He Introduced Many Laws Which He Carried Out in His Government.
Chapter IV.—Troubles Again Arise in the Churches; Synod of Antioch, in Which the Nicene Faith is Confirmed; The Points Which This Important Synod Wrote About to Jovian.
Chapter V.—Athanasius the Great is Very Highly Esteemed by the Emperor, and Rules Over the Churches of Egypt. Vision of Antony the Great.
Chapter VI.—Death of Jovian; The Life of Valentinian, and His Confidence in God; How He Was Advanced to the Throne and Selected His Brother Valens to Reign with Him; The Differences of Both.
Chapter VII.—Troubles Again Arise in the Churches, and the Synod of Lampsacus is Held. The Arians Who Supported Eudoxius Prevail and Eject the Orthodox from the Churches. Among the Ejected is Meletius of Antioch.
Chapter VIII.—Revolt and Extraordinary Death of Procopius. Eleusius, Bishop of Cyzicus, and Eunomius, the Heretic. Eunomius Succeeds Eleusius.
Chapter IX.—Sufferings of Those Who Maintained the Nicene Faith. Agelius, the Ruler of the Novatians.
Chapter X.—Concerning Valentinian the Younger and Gratian. Persecution Under Valens. The Homoousians, Being Oppressed by the Arians and Macedonians, Send an Embassy to Rome.
Chapter XI.—The Confession of Eustathius, Silvanus, and Theophilus, the Deputies of the Macedonians, to Liberius, Bishop of Rome.
Chapter XII.—Councils of Sicily and of Tyana. The Synod Which Was Expected to Be Held in Cilicia is Dissolved by Valens. The Persecution at that Time. Athanasius the Great Flees Again, and is in Concealment; By the Letter of Valens He Reappears, and Governs the Churches in Egypt.
Chapter XIII.—Demophilus, an Arian, Became Bishop of Constantinople After Eudoxius. The Pious Elect Evagrius. Account of the Persecution Which Ensued.
Chapter XIV.—Account of the Eighty Pious Delegates in Nicomedia, Whom Valens Burned with the Vessel in MID-Sea.
Chapter XV.—Disputes Between Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, and Basil the Great. Hence the Arians Took Courage and Came to Caesarea, and Were Repulsed.
Chapter XVI.—Basil Becomes Bishop of Caesarea After Eusebius; His Boldness Towards the Emperor and the Prefect.
Chapter XVII.—Friendship of Basil and of Gregory, the Theologian; Being Peers in Wisdom, They Defend the Nicene Doctrines.
Chapter XVIII.—The Persecution Which Occurred at Antioch, on the Orontes. The Place of Prayer in Edessa, Called After the Apostle Thomas; The Assembly There, and Confession of the Inhabitants of Edessa.
Chapter XIX.—Death of the Great Athanasius; The Elevation of Lucius, Who Was Arian-Minded, to the See; The Numerous Calamities He Brought Upon the Churches in Egypt; Peter, Who Served After Athanasius, Passed Over to Rome.
Chapter XX.—Persecution of the Egyptian Monks, and of the Disciples of St. Antony. They Were Enclosed in a Certain Island on Account of Their Orthodoxy; The Miracles Which They Wrought.
Chapter XXI.—List of the Places in Which the Nicene Doctrines Were Represented; Faith Manifested by the Scythians; Vetranio, the Leader of This Race.
Chapter XXII.—At that Time, the Doctrine of the Holy Ghost Was Agitated, and It Was Decided that He is to Be Considered Consubstantial with the Father and the Son.
Chapter XXIII.—Death of Liberius, Bishop of Rome. He is Succeeded by Damasus and Syricius. Orthodox Doctrines Prevail Everywhere Throughout the West, Except at Milan, Where Auxentius is the High-Priest. Synod Held at Rome, by Which Auxentius is Deposed; The Definition Which It Sent by Letter.
Chapter XXIV.—Concerning St. Ambrose and His Elevation to the High Priesthood; How He Persuaded the People to Practice Piety. The Novatians of Phrygia and the Passover.
Chapter XXV.—Concerning Apolinarius: Father and Son of that Name. Vitalianus, the Presbyter. On Being Dislodged from One Kind of Heresy, They Incline to Others.
Chapter XXVI.—Eunomius and His Teacher Aetius, Their Affairs and Doctrines. They Were The First Who Broached One Immersion for the Baptism.
Chapter XXVII.—Account Given, by Gregory the Theologian, of Apolinarius and Eunomius, in a Letter to Nectarius. Their Heresy Was Distinguished by the Philosophy of the Monks Who Were Then Living, for the Heresy of These Two Held Nearly the Entire East.
Chapter XXVIII.—Of the Holy Men Who Flourished at This Period in Egypt. John, or Amon, Benus, Theonas, Copres, Helles, Elias, Apelles, Isidore, Serapion, Dioscorus, and Eulogius.
Chapter XXIX.—Concerning the Monks of ThebaÏs: Apollos, Dorotheus; Concerning Piammon, John, Mark, Macarius, Apollodorus, Moses, Paul, Who Was in Ferma, Pacho, Stephen, and Pior.
Chapter XXX.—Monks of Scetis: Origen, Didymus, Cronion, Orsisius, Putubatus, Arsion, Serapion, Ammon, Eusebius, and Dioscorus, the Brethren Who are Called Long, and Evagrius the Philosopher.
Chapter XXXI.—Concerning the Monks of Nitria, and the Monasteries Called Cells; About the One in Rhinocorura; About Melas, Dionysius, and Solon.
Chapter XXXII.—Monks of Palestine: Hesycas, Epiphanius, Who Was Afterwards in Cyprus, Ammonius, and Silvanus.
Chapter XXXIII.—Monks of Syria and Persia: Battheus, Eusebius, Barges, Halas, Abbo, Lazarus, Abdaleus, Zeno, Heliodorus, Eusebius of Carrae, Protogenes, and Aones.
Chapter XXXIV.—Monks of Edessa: Julianus, Ephraim Syrus, Barus, and Eulogius; Further, the Monks of Coele-Syria: Valentinus, Theodore, Merosas, Bassus, Bassonius; And the Holy Men of Galatia and Cappadocia, and Elsewhere; Why Those Saints Until Recently Were Long-Lived.
Chapter XXXV.—The Wooden Tripod and the Succession of the Emperor, Through a Knowledge of Its Letters. Destruction of the Philosophers; Astronomy.
Chapter XXXVI.—Expedition Against the Sarmatians; Death of Valentinian in Rome; Valentinian the Younger Proclaimed; Persecution of the Priests; Oration of the Philosopher Themistius, on Account of Which Valens Was Disposed to Treat Those Who Differed from Him More Humanely.
Chapter XXXVII.—Concerning the Barbarians Beyond the Danube, Who Were Driven Out by the Huns, and Advanced to the Romans, and Their Conversion to Christianity; Ulphilas and Athanarichus; Occurrences Between Them; Whence the Goths Received Arianism.
Chapter XXXVIII.—Concerning Mania, the Phylarch of the Saracens. When the Treaty with the Romans Was Dissolved, Moses, Their Bishop, Who Had Been Ordained by the Christians, Renewed It. Narrative Concerning the Ishmaelites and the Saracens, and Their Goods; And How They Began to Be Christianized Through Zocomus, Their Phylarch.
Chapter XXXIX.—Peter, Having Returned from Rome, Regains the Churches of Egypt, After Lucius Had Given Way; Expedition of Valens into the West Against the Scythians.
Chapter XL.—Saint Isaac, the Monk, Predicts the Death of Valens. Valens in His Flight Enters a Chaff-House, is Consumed, and So Yields Up His Life.
Book VII.
Chapter I.—When the Romans are Pressed by the Barbarians, Mavia Sends Assistance, and Some of the Populace Effect a Victory. Gratian Commands Each to Believe as He Wishes.
Chapter II,—Gratian Elects Theodosius of Spain to Reign with Him, Arianism Prevails. Throughout the Eastern Churches Except that of Jerusalem. Council of Antioch. The Settlement of the Presidency of the Churches.
Chapter III.—Concerning St. Meletius and Paulinus, Bishop of Antioch. Their Oath Respecting the Episcopal See.
Chapter IV.—Reign of Theodosius the Great; He Was Initiated into Divine Baptism by Ascholius, Bishop of Thessalonica. The Letters He Addressed to Those Who Did Not Hold the Definition of the Council of Nice.
Chapter V.—Gregory, the Theologian, Receives from Theodosius the Government of the Churches. Expulsion of Demophilus, and of All Who Deny that the Son is “Consubstantial” With the Father.
Chapter VI.—Concerning the Arians; And Further, the Success of Eunomius. Boldness of St. Amphilochius Toward the Emperor.
Chapter VII.—Concerning the Second Holy General Council, and the Place and Cause of Its Convention. Abdication of Gregory the Theologian.
Chapter VIII.—Election of Nectarius to the See of Constantinople; His Birthplace and Education.
Chapter IX.—Decrees of the Second General Council. Maximus, the Cynical Philosopher.
Chapter X.—Concerning Martyrius of Cilicia. Translation of the Remains of St. Paul the Confessor, and of Meletius, Bishop of Antioch.
Chapter XI.—Ordination of Flavian as Bishop of Antioch, and Subsequent Occurrences on Account of the Oath.
Chapter XII.—Project of Theodosius to Unify All the Heresies. The Propositions Made by Agelius and Sisinius, the Novatians. At Another Synod, the Emperor Received Those Only Who Represent Consubstantiality; Those Who Held a Different View He Ejected from the Churches.
Chapter XIII.—Maximus the Tyrant. Concerning the Occurrences Between the Empress Justina and St. Ambrose. The Emperor Gratian Was Killed by Guile. Valentinian and His Mother Fled to Theodosius in Thessalonica.
Chapter XIV.—Birth of Honorius. Theodosius Leaves Arcadius at Constantinople, and Proceeds to Italy. Succession of the Novatian and Other Patriarchs. Audacity of the Arians. Theodosius, After Destroying the Tyrant, Celebrates a Magnificent Triumph in Rome.
Chapter XV.—Flavian and Evagrius, Bishops of Antioch. The Events at Alexandria Upon the Destruction of the Temple of Dionysus. The Serapeum and the Other Idolatrous Temples Which Were Destroyed.
Chapter XVI.—In What Manner, and from What Cause, the Functions of the Presbyter, Appointed to Preside Over the Imposition of Penance, Were Abolished. Dissertation on the Mode of Imposing Penance.
Chapter XVII.—Banishment of Eunomius by Theodosius the Great. Theophronius, His Successor; Of Eutychus, and of Dorotheus, and Their Heresies; Of Those Called Psathyrians; Division of the Arians into Different Parties; Those in Constantinople Were More Limited.
Chapter XVIII.—Another Heresy, that of the Sabbatians, is Originated by the Novatians. Their Synod in Sangarus. Account in Greater Detail of the Easter Festival.
Chapter XIX.—A List Worthy of Study, Given by the Historian, of Customs Among Different Nations and Churches.
Chapter XX.—Extension of Our Doctrines, and Complete Demolition of Idolatrous Temples. Inundation of the Nile.
Chapter XXI.—Discovery of the Honored Head of the Forerunner of Our Lord, and the Events About It.
Chapter XXII.—Death of Valentinian the Younger, Emperor in Rome, Through Strangling. The Tyrant Eugenius. Prophecy of John, the Monk of Thebais.
Chapter XXIII.—Exaction of Tribute in Antioch, and Demolition of the Statues of the Emperor. Embassy Headed by Flavian the Chief Priest.
Chapter XXIV.—Victory of Theodosius the Emperor Over Eugenius.
Chapter XXV.—Intrepid Bearing of St. Ambrose in the Presence of the Emperor Theodosius. Massacre at Thessalonica. Narrative of the Other Righteous Deeds of This Saint.
Chapter XXVI.—St. Donatus, Bishop of Euroea, and Theotimus, High-Priest of Scythia.
Chapter XXVII.—St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, and a Particular Account of His Acts.
Chapter XXVIII. Acacius, Bishop of Beroea, Zeno, and Ajax, Men Distinguished and Renowned for Virtue.
Chapter XXIX.—Discovery of the Remains of the Prophets Habakkuk and Micah. Death of the Emperor Theodosius the Great.
Book VIII.
Chapter I.—Successors of Theodosius the Great. Rufinus, the Praetorian Prefect, is Slain. The Chief Priests of the Principal Cities. Differences Among the Heretics. Account of Sisinius, Bishop of the Novatians.
Chapter II.—Education, Training, Conduct, and Wisdom of the Great John Chrysostom; His Promotion to the See; Theophilus, Bishopof Alexandria, Becomes His Confirmed Opponent.
Chapter III.—Rapid Promotion of John to the Bishopric, and More Vehement Grappling with Its Affairs. He Re-Establishes Discipline in the Churches Everywhere. By Sending an Embassy to Rome, He Abolished the Hostility to Flavian.
Chapter IV.—Enterprise of GaÏnas, the Gothic Barbarian. Evils Which He Perpetrated.
Chapter V.—John Swayed the People by His Teachings. Concerning the Woman, a Follower of Macedonius, on Account of Whom the Bread Was Turned into a Stone.
Chapter VI.—Proceedings of John in Asia and Phrygia. Heraclides, Bishop of Ephesus, and Gerontius, Bishop of Nicomedia.
Chapter VII.—Concerning Eutropius, Chief of the Eunuchs, and the Law Enacted by Him. On Being Turned from the Church, He Was Put to Death. Murmurs Against John.
Chapter VIII.—Antiphonal Hymns Against the Arians Introduced by John. The Interests of the Orthodox are Much Augmented by the Teachings of John, While the Wealthy are More and More Enraged.
Chapter IX.—Serapion, the Archdeacon, and St. Olympias. Some of the Celebrated Men Solently Bear Down Upon John, Traducing Him as Impracticable and Passionate.
Chapter X.—Severian, Bishop of Gabales, and Antiochus, Bishop of Ptolemais. Dispute Between Serapion and Severian. Reconciliation Between Them Effected by the Empress.
Chapter XI.—Question Agitated in Egypt, as to Whether God Has a Corporeal Form. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, and the Books of Origen.
Chapter XII.—About the Four Brothers, Called “The Long,” Who Were Ascetics, and of Whom Theophilus Was an Enemy; About Isidore and the Events Which Came About Through These Four.
Chapter XIII.—These Four Repair to John on Account of His Interest; For This Reason, Theophilus Was Enraged, and Prepares Himself to Fight Against John.
Chapter XIV.—Perversity of Theophilus. St. Epiphanius: His Residence at Constantinople and Preparation to Excite the People Against John.
Chapter XV.—The Son of the Empress and St. Epiphanius.conference Between the “Long Brothers”And Epiphanius,and His Re-Embarkation for Cyprus.epiphanius and John.
Chapter XVI.—The Dispute Between the Empress and John. Arrival of Theophilus from Egypt. Cyrinus, Bishop of Chalcedon.
Chapter XVII.—Council Held by Theophilus and the Accusers of John in Rufinianae. John is Summoned to Attend, and Not Being Present, Was Deposed by Them.
Chapter XVIII.—Sedition of the People Against Theophilus; And They Traduced Their Rulers. John Was Recalled, and Again Came to the See.
Chapter XIX.—Obstinancy of Theophilus. Enmity Between the Egyptians and the Citizens of Constantinople. Flight of Theophilus. Nilammon the Ascetic. The Synod Concerning John.
Chapter XX.—The Statue of the Empress; What Happened There; The Teaching of John; Convocation of Another Synod Against John; His Deposition.
Chapter XXI.—Calamities Suffered by the People After the Expulsion of John. The Plots Against Him of Assassination.
Chapter XXII.—Unlawful Expulsion of John from His Bishopric. The Trouble Which Followed. Conflagration of the Church by Fire from Heaven. Exile of John to Cucusus.
Chapter XXIII.—Arsacius Elected to Succeed John. The Evils Wrought Against the Followers of John. St. Nicarete.
Chapter XXIV.—Eutropius the Reader, and the Blessed Olympian, and the Presbyter Tigrius, are Persecuted on Account of Their Attachment to John. The Patriarchs.
Chapter XXV.—Since These Ills Existed in the Church, Secular Affairs Also Fell into Disorder. The Affairs of Stilicho, the General of Honorius.
Chapter XXVI.—Two Epistles from Innocent, the Pope of Rome, of Which One Was Addressed to John Chrysostom, and the Other to the Clergy of Constantinople Concerning John.
Chapter XXVII.—The Terrible Events Which Resulted from the Treatment of John. Death of the Empress Eudoxia. Death of Arsacius. And Further Concerning Atticus, the Patriarch, His Birthplace, and Character.
Chapter XXVIII.—Effort of Innocent, Bishop of Rome, to Recall John Through a Council. Concerning Those Who Were Sent by Him to Make Trial of the Matter. The Death of John Chrysostom.
Book IX.
Chapter I.—Death of Arcadius, and Government of Theodosius the Younger. His Sisters. Piety, Virtue, and Virginity, of the Princess Pulcheria; Her Divinely Loved Works; She Educated the Emperor Befittingly.
Chapter II.—Discovery of the Relics of Forty Holy Martyrs.
Chap III.—The Virtues of Pulcheria; Her Sisters.
Chapter IV.—Truce with Persia. Honorius and Stilicho. Transactions in Rome and Dalmatia.
Chapter V.—The Different Nations Took Up Arms Against the Romans, of Whom Some Were, Through the Providence of God Defeated, and Others Brought to Terms of Amity.
Chapter VI.—Alaric the Goth. He Assaulted Rome, and Straitened It by War.
Chapter VII.—Innocent the Bishop of the Presbytery of Rome. He Sent an Embassy to Alaric. Jovius, Prefect of Italy. Embassy Dispatched to the Emperor. Events Concerning Alaric.
Chapter VIII.—Rebellion of Attalus and His General Heraclean; And How He Eventually Craved Forgiveness at the Feet of Honorius.
Chapter IX.—The Disturbance Which the Greeks and Christians Had About Attalus.the Courageous Saros; Alaric, by a Stratagem, Obtains Possession of Rome, and Protected the Sacred Asylum of the Apostle Peter.
Chapter X.—A Roman Lady Who Manifested a Deed of Modesty.
Chapter XI.—The Tyrants Who in the West at that Time Rebelled Against Honorius. They are Wholly Destroyed on Account of the Emperor’s Love of God.
Chapter XII.—Theodosiolus and Lagodius. The Races of the Vandals and Suevl. Death of Alaric. Flight of the Tyrants Constantine and Constans.
Chapter XIII.—Concerning Gerontius, Maximus, and the Troops of Honorius. Capture of Gerontius and His Wife; Their Death.
Chapter XIV.—Constantine. The Army of Honorius and Edovicus His General. Defeat of Edovicus by Ulphilas, the General of Constantine. Death of Edovicus.
Chapter XV.—Constantine Throws Aside the Emblems of Imperial Power, and is Ordained as Presbyter; His Subsequent Death. Death of the Other Tyrants Who Had Conspired Against Honorius.
Chapter XVI.—Honorius the Ruler, a Lover of God. Death of Honorius. His Successors, Valentinian, and Honoria His Daughter; The Peace Which Was Then Worldwide.
Chapter XVII.—Discovery of the Relics of Zechariah the Prophet, and of Stephen the Proto-Martyr.
The Sacred Writings of Hermias Sozomen
Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck
86450 Altenmünster, Germany
ISBN: 9783849621322
www.jazzybee-verlag.de
Cover Design: © Sue Colvil - Fotolia.com
Salminius Hermias Sozomen – A Biography
By Patrick J. Healy
One of the famous historians of the early Church, born at Bethelia, a small town near Gaza in Palestine, in the last quarter of the fourth century; died probably in 447 or 448. What the epithet Salaminius means cannot be determined. The supposition that it had some connection with Salamis in Cyprus has no foundation. On the authority of Sozomen himself ("Hist. eccl.", V, xv) we learn that his grandfather became a Christian through witnessing miracle wrought by St. Hilarion. Through many years of persecution the family remained faithful, and Sozomen thus enjoyed the advantage of being trained in a Christian household. His early education was directed by the monks in his native place. It is impossible to ascertain what curriculum he followed in these monastic schools, but his writings give clear evidence of the thoroughness with which he was grounded in Greek studies. A reference to Berytos has led to the mistaken supposition that he pursued legal studies in the famous law school of that place. Wherever his professional training was acquired, he settled in Constantinople, probably about the beginning of the fifth century, to commence his career as a lawyer. While thus engaged he conceived the project of writing a history of the Church. A preliminary study containing a summary of the history of Christianity from the Ascension to 323 had been lost. He purposed to continue the history of Eusebius, and to deal with the period between 323 and 439. The period actually covered in his work ends at 425. Sozomen dedicated his work (Historia ecclesiastica) to Theodosius the Younger. It is divided into nine books, distributed according to the reigns of Constantine (323-37); III and IV the reigns of his sons (337-61); books V and VI the reigns of Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I, and Valens (361-75); books VII and VIII the reigns of Gratian, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius (375-408). Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius (375-408). Book IX deals with the reign of Theodosius the Younger (408-39). As the work of Socrates appeared at the same time as that of Sozomen and dealt with the same subject and the same period, an important question arises as to the relation, if any, which existed between the two authors. There can be no doubt that the work of Socrates antedated that of Sozomen, and that the latter made use of the work of his predecessor. The extent of this dependence cannot be accurately determined. At most it would appear that, while Sozomen used the work of Socrates as a guide, as well in regard to materials as to order, and while at times he did not hesitate to use it as a secondary source, he was, nevertheless, neither an indiscriminate borrower nor a plagiarist. In some matters, however, as in regard to the Novatians, Sozomen is entirely dependent on Socrates. The ninth book, which Sozomen expressly declared would terminate at the year 439, is manifestly incomplete. There is no reason to think that portion of it has been lost. It is more likely that, because of advancing age or some other cause, he was unable to carry the work to the date he had set before himself. Internal evidence points to the fact that Sozomen undertook to write his history about 443, and that what he succeeded in doing was accomplished in a comparatively short time.
The work of Sozomen suffers in many ways by comparison with that of Socrates. Though the style is reputed to be better, the construction of the work is inferior, and the author's grasp of the significance of historical movements is less sure. Nevertheless, Sozomen made a painstaking effort to be acquainted with all the sources of information on the subjects which he touched, and he had a passionate desire for the truth. He was filled with a profound conviction of the Providential purpose of Christianity, and of its mission, under Divine guidance, for the regulation of the affairs of mankind. In doctrinal matters he aimed constantly at being in thorough accord with the Catholic party, and was a consistent opponent of heresy in all its forms. But, while he maintained a constant attitude of hostility to Arianism, Gnosticism, Montanism, Apollinarianism, etc., he never assailed the leaders of these heresies or allowed himself to indulge in bitter personal attacks. "Let it not be accounted strange", he says, "if I have bestowed commendations upon the leaders or enthusiasts of the above-mentioned heresies. I admire their eloquence and their impressiveness in discourse. I leave their doctrine to be judged by those whose right it is" (III, xv). The work of Zosomen is interesting and valuable for many reasons. In the first place he pays more attention than any of the older historians to the missionary activity of the Christians, and to him we are indebted for much precious information about the introduction of Christianity among the Armenians, the Saracens, the Goths, and other peoples. The history is especially rich in information regarding the rise and spread of monasticism. His account of the labours of the early founders of monasteries and monastic communities, though sympathetic, cannot be said to be overdrawn. The history as a whole is fairly comprehensive, and though his treatment of affairs in the Western Church is not full, his pages abound in facts not available elsewhere and in documentary references of the highest importance. In his attitude towards the Church, in his treatment of the Scriptures, and in his views of the hierarchy and ecclesiastical order and dignity, he is always animated by feelings of submission and respect. There are many faults and shortcomings in his work. Of many of these he himself was conscious, but it was not in his power to correct them. Frequently it was hard for him to know the truth because of the mass of divergent evidence with which he had to deal, frequently there was not enough evidence, but in every case he aimed at expressing the truth and at making his work serve some useful purpose in the defence or elucidation of Christian ideas. The work of Sozomen was printed at Paris in 1544. There are later editions by Christophorson and Ictrus (Cologne, 1612) and be Valesius (Paris, 1668). The text of Valesius was reprinted by Hussey (Oxford, 1860), and by Migne (P. G., LXVII). There is an excellent English translation by Hartranft, with a learned though somewhat diffuse introduction, in the "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers", II (New York, 1890).
The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen
Introduction.
Salaminius Hermias Sozomen.
Part I.—The Life.
Thename is an unusual and difficult one. It seems desirable to give preference to the order which Photius adopts, but to preserve the spelling in Nicephorus Callistus, and in the captions of the chief manuscripts, and therefore to call him Salaminius Hermias Sozomen. What the term Salaminius indicates, cannot yet be accurately determined. There are no data to show any official connection of Sozomen with Salamis opposite Athens, or Salamis (Constantia) in Cyprus; certainly there is no record of any naval service. In vi. 32, where he speaks of the greater lights of monasticism in Palestine, Hilarion, Hesychas, and Epiphanius, he remarks, "At the same period in the monasteries, Salamines, Phuscon, Malachion, Crispion, four brethren, were highly distinguished." In the tart controversy between Epiphanius and the empress, the latter had said, “You have not power to revive the dead; otherwise your archdeacon would not have died.” Sozomen explains, “She alluded to Crispion, the archdeacon, who had died a short time previously; he was brother to Phuscon and Salamanus, monks whom I had occasion to mention when detailing the history of events under the reign of Valens” (viii. 15). The readings in the first citation fluctuate between the forms Salamines and Salamanes. Since these monks were of the family of Alaphion, intimate friends and neighbors of the grandfather of Sozomen (v. 15), it might be conjectured that Salamines stood in some relationship with Sozomen, such as sponsor or teacher, and that the cognomen might have its origin from such a connection. It seems strange in such a case that he would not have dwelt upon the bond, or at least have emphasized the life of this particular brother by a special note; but he simply avers, “Some good men belonging to this family have flourished even in our own days; and in my youth I saw some of them, but they were then very aged.” Nor in the other passages (vi. 32, viii. 15) is there any hint of intimacy. At the same time, this seems as yet the most warranted explanation of the epithet. Hermias was quite a common name even among Christians. It was originally connected with the household or local worship of Hermes, as the giver of an unexpected gift, or it may be as the utterance of a parental wish for the future success of the newcomer. Although it contained a heathen reminiscence, it was probably conferred in this case because it was ancestral. The name Sozomen itself is documentarily a very unusual one; and was probably bestowed upon the child by the father as a devout recognition of deliverance for himself and his boy, and in contrast with the family surname. A certain Praefectus domestico, to whom Isidore of Pelusium addresses a letter (i. 300), was also so called; he must have been a cotemporary. It would be a pleasant surprise could he be identified with the historian; and it would not be at all impossible, for Evagrius, the advocate and historian, was so promoted (H. E. vi. 24). The biographical hints in Sozomen’s surviving work are of the smallest; and outside tradition has preserved absolutely nothing. His ancestors were apparently from early times inhabitants of the village of Bethelia, in the territory of Gaza, and near to that important city. By race, they were probably of Philistine rather than Jewish descent; for they were pagans (Hellenists) up to the time of Hilarion, in the second quarter of the fourth century, and our historian contrasts them with the Hebrews. The family was one of distinction, belonging to a sort of village patricianate. That of Alaphion was of still greater dignity. The village of Bethelia was populous with a mixture of Gentiles and Jews; the former, however, largely predominating.Its name appears to have been derived from the Pantheon, erected on an artificial acropolis, and so overlooking the whole community, whose universalistic religious zeal was thus symbolized. The term Bethel was first given to the temple, and then was transferred to the town as Bethelia; and the use of such a form indicates that the prevailing dialect was a variation of Syriac or Aramaic. It is also spelled Bethelea (vi. 32). Hilarion was born in Thabatha, another village near Gaza, to the south, on a wady of the same name. He became a student in Alexandria, but adopted the monastic discipline, through the example of Antony; on returning to his home, he found his parents dead. He distributed his share of the patrimony to his family and the poor, and then withdrew to a desert by the sea, twenty stadia from his native village, and began his career of monastic activity as the founder of that ethical system in Palestine. Before his flight to other and distant seclusions, he came in contact with Alaphion, the head of a noble family in Bethelia, seemingly on very friendly footing with Sozomen’s grandfather. Alaphion was possessed of a demon; neither pagan formularies nor Jewish exorcists could relieve him; Hilarion had but to invoke the name of Christ, and the malignant agent was expelled. The healed man became at once a Christian; the grandfather of Sozomen was won to the same profession by the care of his friend. The father, too, adopted the new faith; many other relatives joined the ranks of the believers, in this intensely pagan community and region; for Gaza, as the chief city, displayed a decided hostility to the Gospel. The grandfather was a man of native intelligence, and had moderate cultivation in general studies, and was not without some knowledge of arithmetic. His earlier social and intellectual position made him at once prominent among the converts, especially as an interpreter of the Scriptures. He won the affections of the Christians in Ascalon and Gaza and their outlying regions. In the estimation of his grandson, he was a necessary figure in the religious life of the Christian communities, and people carried doubtful points of holy writ to him for solution; yet it does not appear that he held any clerical function.
While the ancestor of Sozomen was conspicuous as the religious teacher of Southwestern Palestine, the old Philistine region, Alaphion and his family were distinguished for works of a practical quality: they founded churches and monasteries; they were active in the relief of strangers and the poor; some adopted the new philosophy; and out of their ranks came martyrs and bishops. Sozomen says nothing of his father, excepting that he was originally a pagan, and therefore born before Hilarion’s mission. The edicts of Julian caused a sudden revival of the old state religion, and led to many local persecutions, where the pagans were the stronger party: Gaza and its dependencies were of this number, and some of the tragedies of that unhappy time are recorded by our historian. The families of Alaphion and of Sozomen were compelled to flee, to what place is not told us; probably the southernmost monastic retreats: the exiles certainly returned (v. 15), not unlikely after the accession of Jovian. We can only guess at the date of Sozomen’s birth, and somewhat in this wise. Hilarion’s activity in Palestine was after the council of Nice, and before the accession of Julian; we may say about a.d. 345. The grandfather at his conversion may have been about forty, since he had become a conspicuous local figure; the father, in all likelihood, was but a lad when this change came over the domestic worship. The exile under Julian took place very nearly in 362, and the return in 364, when the patrician of Bethelia was verging on sixty, and the lad had become a young man. We may place the date of Sozomen’s birth somewhere between 370 and 380. Hilarion passed away about 371: Ephraim Syrus, in 378; Gratian was emperor of the West; Theodosius the Great was just about to succeed Valens in the East. Ambrose was the most imposing ecclesiastic of the Occident; Gregory Nazianzen and Epiphanius were the leaders of orthodoxy in the Orient.
There are but few details concerning his education. That it was directed by the monks is sure; in fact, the only form of Christian life known in that region was of the ascetic type; the rery bishops and clerical functionaries were selected from the ranks of the practical philosophers. There was a succession of pious men in the line of Alaphion, and with the elders of the second generation, Sozomen, as a youth, was more or less acquainted. The names of some of them have already been mentioned : all had been pupils of Hilarion. The fourth of the brothers, Melachion by name, must have already passed away, and legends had speedily transfigured his memory. The influence of Epiphanius throughout Palestine, and particularly in its southern slopes and shepheloth, was dominant in shaping the quality of devotional thought and feeling: its force was scarcely spent when Sozomen was a boy.
This accounts for the exaggerated value he puts upon the monastic discipline as the true philosophy, and why he desires not to appear ungrateful to its cultivators, in the writing of his history; for he purposes to keep in mind that tremendous movement, and to commemorate its eminent leaders under different reigns; in fact, he decides to make it a feature of his treatment of church life and history. There is no warrant, however, for stating that he himself became a monk. With all his admiration for their spiritual superiority, he does not lay claim to any direct fellowship, but rather denies his right or competency to invade their domain. We may be sure that he received the ordinary education imparted in the monastic schools of the time, approximating that of similar institutions near Alexandria. In a degree it was narrow, and growingly hostile to pagan literature; moreover, it was apt to be provincial, if patriotic in its tone. This will account for his desire to elevate the importance of Palestine over against the supercilious tendency which centralized all culture in Constantinople. The main body of his studies was conducted in the Greek language, of which he is no slight master; indeed, he became one of the best imitative stylists of his time, according to so good a judge as Photius. His familiarity with the Syriac and Aramaic names, the exactness of their transliteration, and his larger acquaintance with the history of the Syrian church, point to a likely knowledge of at least a dialect of that widely diffused speech; indeed, he could hardly have escaped the patois, which seems to have predominated over the Greek in Bethelia. In iii. 16, he allows for the loss of force and original grace in every translation, but states that in Ephraim’s works, the Greek rendition made in Ephraim’s own day, suffered nothing by the change, and he institutes such a comparison between the original and its version, that one is inclined to think he could read both. So his effort to keep a balance in writing between the central and border lands of the empire, and indeed outside of it, would indicate a broader linguistic sympathy. In vi. 34, he speaks familiarly of Syrian monks, who had survived to his own period; the wider range of his knowledge may have been due also to the practice of his profession, or to Syrian cases brought to Constantinople, each of which would involve a comprehension of the language; nor less his use of the records written by the Christians of Persia, Syria, and particularly Edessa, to preserve the story of the Persian church and its many martyrs, whose material he used so copiously (ii. 9–14). It is difficult to be sure of his proficiency in Latin; on the one hand, as an advocate it would be absolutely necessary for him to understand that language of jurisprudence; for all edicts, laws, rescripts, were written therein: the Theodosian code itself was so compiled in his own day. On the other hand, where he quotes Latin documents, he invariably does it from translations into Greek made by other hands; thus in iii. 2, of Constantine’s letter to the Alexandrians, he says, " I have met with a copy translated from the Latin into the Greek; I shall insert it precisely as I find it." So in iv. 18, the letter of the Synod of Ariminum to Constantius; and in viii. 26, the two epistles of Innocent. Probably his second-hand report about Hilary of Pictavium, v. 13, leans the same way. But on the whole we must allow his profession, which necessitated a knowledge of the law language, to outweigh the lack of original versions in his book.
It is difficult to judge from a solitary work what the degree of an author’s general culture is. Clemens Alexandrinus has multitudinous quotations; it would be easy to conclude that he was a scholar of universal reading, and a genuine polyhistor; but their inaccuracy and frequent infelicity make them rather appear as the excerpts from some florilegium or some rhetorical hand-book. The classical allusions in Sozomen are not very many; and he might well have considered it out of place to indulge in overmuch reference in such a record as he presents; the quality of what appears would not compel a wide range of reading; the dedication is most fertile in familiar illustrations, poetical, historical, and mythological. In i. 6, because of his mentioning Aquilis, he drags the Argonauts in by the ears, hardly from Pisander, but rather from Zosimus, who does the same in mentioning the progress of Alaric. When he describes Constantine’s tentative search for a favorable site on which to rear his new capital, the mention of the plain of Ilium moves the historian to relate a little tradition about the Trojan town (ii. 3). He mentions Aristotle, in whose philosophy Aetius was versed (iii. 15); and to whose dialectic work Theophronius composed an introduction (vii. 17). When he dwells on the imitative literature produced by Apolinarius, he alludes indirectly to the Homeric poems, and mentions outright his writing “comedies in imitation of Menander, tragedies resembling those of Euripides, and odes on the model of Pindar” (v. 18). In narrating the history of Daphne under Julian (v. 19), he gives the myth of Apollo and Daphne. Such hints and others are no proof or disproof of any extensive reading, and yet the way in which he alludes to some is more after a cyclopaedic fashion than any profound study of the authors themselves. In fact, his confession in the instance of the Apollo and Daphne myth is naive, “I leave this subject to those who are more accurately acquainted with mythology.” This acknowledgment is not born of any puritanic hesitancy,—for he had ventured into the sensual bog a little way already,—but is rather a genuine declaration of his ignorance, and that in the capital where Anthemius and Synesius were authorities. Probably we have a little light in the limitations and illiberality of his early training, by recalling his attitude toward the imitative writings of Apolinarius, which sprang up to countervail the Julian edict, which the Christians interpreted as a prohibition to their enjoyment of the Hellenic culture. While Socrates whole-souledly and forcibly advocates the humanizing effect of the ancient literature (iii. 16), Sozomen says, “Were it not for the extreme partiality with which the productions of antiquity are regarded, I doubt not but that the writings of Apolinarius would be held in as much estimation as those of the ancients,” and he rather sides with the monks in their contempt for classic studies (i. 12). He does not wholly commit himself; he is a bit hesitant,—a characteristic of his make-up. This was an absorbing question in that and previous days, as it has continued to agitate the church, more or less, until our own time. In his time the influence of the monks and the clergy, who were pervaded with the ascetic spirit, was more and more against the humanities; the court fluctuated, while the training of the Valentinian and Theodosian succession had been decidedly monastic, and its sympathies were mainly with the intolerant tendency, the necessities of their position, and the splendid and overshadowing political abilities of men like Libanius, Themistius, Anthemius, Troilus, could not be set aside. Some of them, too, had proved themselves to be the saviours and uplifters of the state.The learning and grace of Eudocia, the empress, the spirit of her early training as the daughter of an Athenian philosopher, and her own poetic gifts, were persuasive agents in sustaining a classical survival among the Christians at the court, before she fell under the blight of her husband’s jealousy. Cyrus, the restorer of Constantinople, filled his verses with the same antique flavor. The clergy, whose preliminary training had been in the schools of the sophists, or at the Universities, could not wholly bury their sympathy, although they went through casuistic struggles such as that of Jerome. The Arians, too, were frequently of a larger culture, and on the Germanic side, of signal military skill and political sagacity, whose services the state could not dispense with. The University which even the monastically drilled Theodosius the Younger organized in Constantinople) while seeking to give a Christian tone to the higher education, previously controlled by Athens, made very liberal provision for the languages, if not so much for philosophy. Sozomen, as we see, inclined to a less generous view, and thought Apolinarius had such a universal genius, that his numerous originals might be dispensed with; Homer, Menander, Euripides, Pindar, but for an affectation, need not have been missed. This shows the thin quality of his reading, if not- the restricted quantity of it, and lays bare the impotence of his critical faculty. These limitations were doubtless due in large measure to the shrunken ideals of his Palestinian education: it savored of Epiphanius’ temper and impress.
