.—Imperial and Ecclesiastical Acts in Consequence of the Decision of the Council of Sardica.
51. the most
religious Emperor Constantius heard of these things, he sent for me, having written privately to his brother Constans of blessed memory, and to me three several times in the following terms.
Constantius Victor Augustus to Athanasius. Our benignant clemency will not suffer you to be any longer tempest-tossed by the wild waves of the sea; for our unwearied piety has not lost sight of you, while you have been bereft of your native home, deprived of your goods, and have been wandering in savage wildernesses. And although I have for a long time deferred expressing by letter the purpose of my mind concerning you, principally because I expected that you would appear before us of your own accord, and would seek a relief of your sufferings; yet forasmuch as fear, it may be, has prevented you from fulfilling your intentions, we have therefore addressed to your fortitude letters full of our bounty, to the end that you may use all speed and without fear present yourself in our presence, thereby to obtain the enjoyment of your wishes, and that, having experience of our kindness, you may be restored again to your own. For this purpose I have besought my lord and brother Constans Victor Augustus, in your behalf, that he would give you permission to come, in order that you may be restored to your country with the consent of us both, receiving this as a pledge of our favour.
The Second Letter.
Although we made it very plain to you in a former
letter that you may without hesitation come to our Court, because we
greatly wished to send you home, yet, we have further sent this present
letter to your fortitude to exhort you without any distrust or
apprehension, to place yourself in the public conveyances, and to hasten to us, that you may enjoy the fulfilment of your wishes.
The Third Letter.
Our pleasure was, while we abode at Edessa, and
your Presbyters were there, that, on one of them being sent to you, you
should make haste to come to our Court, in order that you might see our
face, and straightway proceed to Alexandria. But as a very long period
has elapsed since you received letters from us, and you have not yet
come, we therefore hasten to remind you again, that you may endeavour
even now to present yourself before us with speed, and so may be
restored to your country, and obtain the accomplishment of your
prayers. And for your fuller information we have sent Achitas the
Deacon, from whom you will be able to learn the purpose of our soul, that you may now secure the objects of your prayers.
Such was the tenor of the Emperor’s
letters; on receiving which I went up to Rome to bid farewell to the
Church and the Bishop: for I was at Aquileia when
the above was written. The Church was filled with all joy, and the
Bishop Julius rejoiced with me in my return and wrote to the Church; and as we passed along, the Bishops of every place sent us on our way in peace. The letter of Julius was as follows.
52. Julius to the Presbyters, Deacons, and people
residing at Alexandria.