CHAPTER IX.

"I HAVE NO SUPERIOR BUT CHRIST."

When the council met one morning, Athanasius produced and laughingly read a song, or hymn, which had been written and set to music by the Libyan, for the use of uneducated Christians at Alexandria, in order to enable them to memorize and keep in mind the doctrines of Christianity as he had understood them. This song was part of a little book entitled "Thalia," or "Songs of Joy," which the presbyter had written for sailors and others who had no certain means of attending regular religious services, and in it occurred the following expressions: "God was not always Father; once he was not Father; afterward he became Father; and his only-begotten is Jesus Christ our Lord."

And thereupon Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra, moved the council to declare that this sentiment was heretical; and that the man who wrote it should be expelled from the Church of Christ; and Arius and his friends perceived that the struggle for the destruction of the presbyter had begun. For a while the council-hall was filled with clamorous and bitter denunciations of Arius: "The heretic!" "The atheist!" "The defamer of Christ!" "The polytheist!" "The pagan!" "The Libyan serpent!" "The ram of Baucalis!" and almost every other term of reproach which the vocabulary of ecclesiasticism could furnish, were shouted throughout the hall by the partisans of Constantine. Finally, the clamor seemed to wear itself out, and, order having been partially restored, Potammon of Hierapolis, a confessor whom the pagans had left blind and lame, straightened up himself and with great awkwardness and earnestness cried out: "Brethren, I was reared up in Central Africa, and know nothing of philosophy, but do try to serve the Lord, and to avoid all heresy and false doctrine. I have often sung this song, not knowing it was heresy, with my people! What is there wrong about the song, then? Do any of you deny that Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God? or that he is our Lord and Saviour? or will some of you now pretend to believe that the Son is older than the Father? What is wrong about the song?"

To the same effect spoke many of the friends of Arius; and Maris of Chalcedon said: "The Gospels uniformly call Jesus Christ the only-begotten Son of the Father, and I have never believed it necessary or proper to go any further than the simple, direct scriptural statement."

Finally, Eusebius of Nicomedia obtained a hearing, and, speaking calmly and soothingly, he said: "Brethren, the song which ye have heard read seems to be merely a metrical composition formed to aid the memory of those who were unable to read and write, and those who had no copy of the Scriptures, in keeping in mind certain scriptural phrases and doctrines; and I could not be led to suspect a great and pious presbyter of heresy upon such a cause as that. Let us proceed, then, decently and in order; and if ye would know truly what Arius hath taught as religion, call upon him to declare what he hath so taught. This seemeth to me to be the only fair and honorable course, worthy of a Christian assembly, if any one think there is cause to suppose that he hath taught anything contrary to Scripture."

This reasonable counsel at once prevailed with the greater number, and by a large vote they requested Arius to declare his teachings. Thereupon the old heretic arose, and in his strange, peculiar, fascinating tone and manner, spoke as follows: "Brethren, I have never taught anything concerning our Lord as religion, except that which is expressly laid down in the Scriptures; to wit, that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God, the Saviour of the world. I do not know anything, and have never taught as articles of faith necessary to be believed, anything except what is thus expressly and definitively stated in the Gospels. Of course, like every man who thinks at all, I have meditated often and earnestly about the philosophy of the facts stated, and have formed in my own mind certain speculations in relation thereto which are satisfactory to mine own understanding, and I have not hesitated to declare these opinions in all proper times and places; but I have never said, at any time or place, that these merely philosophical speculations upon the nature of Deity were binding upon any man's conscience, or that they should be taught and believed as the rule of any man's faith and practice; because they have not been revealed or declared as such by the word of God. If any man allege that I have done otherwise, let him make the charge in writing and produce the proof, as was the custom at every Christian council in such cases that hath ever been held upon the motion of the bishops authorized to call a council, as at Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, in Pontus, Gaul, Mesopotamia, and Ephesus."

The presbyter said no more, but quietly resumed his seat, and the calm, grave, and reasonable manner in which he had met and disposed of the vociferations which had assailed him, in the opinion of nearly all, left no course to be pursued with decency except to present written charges against him, and offer proofs thereof. But such a course did not by any means suit the purposes of those who were resolved upon his ruin; and Athanasius, who at all times was able to command a respectful hearing at the hands of the assembly, without seeming to notice the challenge thrown down by the Libyan, said in his own winning and seemingly respectful way: "Hast thou not publicly and customarily, in thy Baucalis church, in Alexandria, preached things that were contrary to the views of the Bishop Alexander--contrary to his interpretation of the Scriptures, for which he did order that thou be suspended from thy ministry; and didst not thou pertinaciously refuse to obey his episcopal order, and obstinately persevere in proclaiming thine abominable heresies? Wilt thou now deny this?"

Then with an effort to preserve his self-control that sent a strange shiver creeping over his gaunt and mighty frame, the presbyter made answer: "It appeareth, brethren, that this gifted youth hath been taught to believe that it is heresy to differ in opinion with the learned and pious brother, Alexander! It is very true that I and my brother Alexander have somewhat differed in opinion, but I am not advised that he hath any more authority to dictate my opinions than have I to dictate his; and I am very certain that, wherein the bishop hath differed with me, he is in error."

But Constantine cried out, "Answer thou whether thou hast preached in spite of the order of suspension made against thee by thy superior!"

And the old heretic arose again, and answered: "I had supposed that the answer already made would be sufficient for any bishop, but being commanded by an unbaptized emperor to answer yet further, I have to say that I have no 'superior' but Christ; as for the order of brother Alexander 'suspending' me from the exercise of the functions of a presbyter, all the clergy here assembled well know that it is void. The day hath not yet come when any one brother in the Church can 'suspend' another. I suppose that, under the legal religion which is to replace the gospel of Christ, a bishop will have some such authority over a presbyter as a legionary hath over a centurion, or a centurion over a soldier; but we have not quite reached that condition! As to the differences of opinion between myself and the brother Alexander and others, I will simply state that our good city of Alexandria hath a population marvelously intellectual, and greatly addicted to the study of philosophy. Hence it hath happened that many of the brethren, and some even of the bishops and presbyters, have added, unconsciously perhaps, to their faith in the facts set forth in the Gospels certain philosophical notions intended for the explanation of these facts, which notions they have derived from many teachers--chiefly from the great heathen Plato, and from his followers, the neo-Platonists, and from the school of Philo the Egyptian. The learned and pious Bishop Alexander derived from some such source (I know not what) certain philosophical views which seemed to deny utterly the separate existence of the Son of God; and which savored strongly of the heresy of Sabellius that had been condemned by more than one Christian council, and which did tend directly to the subversion of the primitive Christian communities, and to the overthrow of 'the kingdom of heaven' which Jesus did ordain, and to the substitution therefor of some such ecclesiastical system as I am told the emperor hath established in the Western Empire, in which the emperor, not Christ, is head of the Church, and in which the law prescribes what a man may believe or not believe (just as the pagan laws have always done), instead of the Scriptures. So long as brother Alexander held these erroneous opinions privately, I meddled not with them; but when he afterward saw proper to come and preach these heresies to mine own congregation, I guarded my community against this pernicious philosophy; for the Gospels and the Acts furnish the only authority concerning Christ and faith in him; and not the opinions of Sabellius, Alexander, Hosius, or Constantine. As for mine own philosophical opinions concerning Deity, I never learned them of Plato, nor of Philo, nor of Sabellius, but of the most wise and pious Am-nem-hat, who was for many years high-priest of the pagan temple at Ombos, holding there the same position which the Emperor Constantine as Pontifex Maximus hath so long held at Rome; but Am-nem-hat was afterward a glorious Christian, and a holy martyr, at our city of Alexandria, as many of you know. But no man hath ever heard me claim that these philosophical opinions constituted any rule of faith or practice, or were binding upon any man's conscience; although I doubt not that the theological opinions of a most ancient and learned Egyptian high-priest are entitled to as much respect as those of the flamen of Jupiter, at Rome, who is now the Emperor Constantine."

And again the old heretic resumed his seat, having created a strong impression in his favor in the minds of all who were not committed to the task of destroying him, although many of them trembled for his safety on hearing his bold and ingenious assault upon the emperor. But Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra, sprang to his feet, and in loud and threatening tones cried out: "O thou most insolent and abusive heretic, darest thou to call the most Christian emperor a pagan?"

But Maris, Bishop of Chalcedon, stretched forth his hand and answered: "The presbyter Arius hath said that the great emperor is yet unbaptized, and that he is, by the law of the Roman Empire, Pontifex Maximus, and flamen of Jupiter! I understand that all this is true; and, if it be not true, no man will more rejoice than I would to hear the emperor now declare that he hath been baptized into the faith of Christ, and that he is no longer high-priest of pagan Rome."

The bishop sat down, and every eye was at once turned upon Constantine. But the emperor neither spake nor moved; and almost immediately his partisans began to cry out that Arius should declare to the council what were those philosophical opinions to which he referred, which thing they did to cover up the failure of the emperor to respond to Maris the bishop; and the friends of the Libyan joined in the same cry, because they did believe that the philosophy of Arius would be found to be correct, and not heretical. And thereupon, being pressed upon all sides at once, the presbyter again arose and spoke in the following manner: "I suppose, brethren, that there hath never been any difficulty in the mind of any Christian as to the simple declarations of the gospel concerning our Lord; and that the faith of all Christians in the divinity of our common Saviour is founded upon the gospel narrative. The difficulties arise only when the mind passes on beyond the plain teachings of the gospel, and attempts to comprehend how these things may be, and to formulate for itself some creed upon the nature of the Deity. In this regard there have been maintained three great philosophical opinions, as ye do know, which may be very briefly stated as follows:

"1. That the Son of God must be a dependent and spontaneous being, created from nothing by the will of the Father, by whom also all things were made.

"2. That the Son possessed all of the inherent, incommunicable perfections which religion and philosophy appropriate to the supreme God. So that there are in the Godhead three distinct and infinite minds or substances, three co-equal and co-eternal beings, composing the divine essence, three independent Deities as to whom an effort is made to preserve the unity of the first cause by assuming the perpetual concord of their administration, the essential agreement of their will; and this I understand to be the philosophy of Hosius, Alexander, the emperor, and others for whom Athanasius is spokesman.

"3. Three beings who, by the self-derived necessity of their existence, possess divine attributes in perfect degree, who are eternal in duration, infinite in space, intimately present to each other and to the universe; and are yet one and the same being, manifesting himself in different forms, and considered in different aspects: so that the Trinity becomes a trinity of names and abstract manifestations existing only in the mind; they are not persons at all, but only attributes.

"This is the heresy of Sabellius, which Christian councils have condemned. It differeth from Athanasius in degree, but not, I think, in kind.

"Not one of these three opinions satisfieth my mind and heart. The martyr Am-nem-hat taught me when I was a boy that the original faith, which long ages ago preceded the polytheism of Egypt, Assyria, India, China, Greece, Rome, and all other heathen nations, uniformly represented the one God to be a dual, spiritual Being, and that the Divine nature must be a Triad, or Trinity, completed by the birth of a son of this double-natured spiritual God. In the gospels I read that Christ is 'the only-begotten Son of God': a Father begets. He was 'conceived' of the Holy Ghost: a Mother conceives. He was 'born' of a virgin, and for our salvation did live among men. The same holy martyr called my attention to the fact, which I have since carefully verified, that while the Scriptures in no place apply the word 'mother' to the Holy Ghost, the words 'Holy Ghost' are used in them two hundred and twelve times, and were uniformly in the Greek neuter gender, which affirmeth nothing as to sex. He also showed me that Moses called the one God by a name which is the plural number of a Hebrew noun. It hath, therefore, appeared to me to be true that, as far as anything concerning Deity can be expressed in human language, the sacred use of the words 'Father,' 'Son,' 'Holy Ghost,' 'begotten,' 'conceived,' were intended to convey to our minds the idea that in some spiritual sense of sexhood the nature of Deity is that in the likeness and image whereof man was created; and signify a divine family, so far as earthly things can typify spiritual truth. Hence, as I did set forth in my letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia, and to Alexander of Alexandria, as the Church knoweth, I have always taught that the Son is not unoriginate, nor part of the unoriginate, nor made of things previously existing; but that by the will and purpose of God he was in being before time, perfectly divine, the only-begotten; that before his generation he was not; that we believe in one God alone without birth, alone everlasting, alone unoriginate. We believe that God gave birth to the only-begotten Son, before eternal periods, making the divine family a Triad, through whom he made these periods and all else that was made; that he gave birth to the Son, not in semblance, not in idea, but in truth giving unto him a real existence; and we have refused to profess faith in the teachings of Bishop Alexander, that 'as God is eternal, so is his Son'; 'where the Father, there the Son'; 'the Son is present in God without birth'; 'ever-begotten'; 'an Eternal God, an Eternal Son'; 'the Son is your God himself.'

"But I have never taught this philosophy as an article of faith, binding upon the conscience of believers; and have required of them to profess faith in nothing except what the gospels declare."

The philosophy of Arius struck many as a novel thing. To some of them it seemed to be a rational and beautiful solution of problems which they had pondered long and regarded as insoluble, and had abandoned in despair. To none of them did it seem to be at all tainted with heresy.

But Athanasius had a definite end in view, which closed his ears to any statement the presbyter might make, although he waited courteously until Arius had concluded his remarks, and then exclaimed, "Hast thou not taught that the Son of God was created out of things not existing?"

"Never," said Arius. "Thou knowest I have taught that he was not 'created' at all, but 'begotten'; 'conceived,' not made."

"Hast thou not taught that there was a time when the Son was not?"

"Nay, verily! The word 'time' is thine own, not mine. But I have said 'God was, when he was not.' I have said that 'before he was begotten he was not.' Else how could God beget him? But this was in the beginning, before 'time' was."

"Hast thou not taught that the Father was superior to the Son, and the Son inferior to the Father?"

"Nay, verily! I can not conceive of the words 'superior' and 'inferior' as applicable to the divine nature, or family, any more than I can conceive of thy word 'time' as applied to the divine existence. If thou canst do so, O Athanasius, thou or thy friends, and furnish a definition of the Trinity that does not deny the separate existence of the Son; nor imply identity of person in Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; or which does not set up three distinct, co-equal Gods, or which does not degrade the Son to the condition of a created Being, made, not begotten, except the definition which I quoted from the philosophy of Am-nem-hat the martyr, and have adopted as mine own, announce thou now, or when thou wilt, such a definition of the Trinity, and, if I can at all comprehend it, I will follow thee to death, if need be, in defense thereof: for lo! these many years have I sought for such a definition and found it not, except in Am-nem-hat's profound aphorism that the true and only idea of Trinity subsisteth in family--Father, Mother, Son: the Father-Ghost, and Christ!"

Then answered Athanasius: "Verily I would not dare to utter a formula of faith upon so high a theme in any hasty or inconsiderate manner. So for the present let that question rest, and I doubt not that the learned bishops who defend the deity of Christ will soon frame out of the Scriptures a definition of the Catholic faith which shall both satisfy all orthodox souls and bring thine own God-dishonoring heresies to light."

"If it come out of the Scriptures, friend Athanasius, they must omit therefrom thy newly-coined word 'Catholic,' for that word is not scriptural, nor is the idea which thou signifiest by it therein. The Scriptures speak not of the 'Catholic' Church at all, but of 'the common church,' 'the common faith,' 'the common salvation,' 'the common hope,' 'the common Saviour'; and thou well knowest that 'common' pertaineth only to the common or communal organization of Christ's kingdom. Yet, perhaps, it is natural that one so young, so beautiful, so gifted as thou art, should prefer the imperial and aristocratic designation which hath been recently adopted in the Western Empire, and despise the plebeian, scriptural name 'common' or 'communal.' For two Christians might both belong to thy 'Catholic' Church, while one of them might be a prince and the other a pauper; but the two Christians who belong to the primitive 'common' church must be brethren, equal, free, fraternal; and the difference, friend Athanasius, between 'common' ([Greek: _koinos_]) and 'catholic' ([Greek: _kata holos_]) is just the difference between the Christian Church and that of Constantine. I know not what the martyrs would have said of it, nor what the steadfast confessors here present may think of it; but I prefer the ancient, scriptural term 'common,' 'communal,' 'communistic' church of which Jesus Christ only is King, and in which all men are brethren, to the new 'Catholic' establishment which has come in with our unbaptized emperor."

There was not a confessor present but what would have applauded these bold and truthful sentiments, the force of which we can at this day with difficulty realize; but Constantine bit his lip to restrain a terrible oath, and his face darkened ominously as he glared upon the audacious presbyter. Hosius, Marcellus, Alexander, and others of the same party, seemed to have been stricken dumb by the clear, incisive, fearless, and uncompromising declarations of Arius. Only Athanasius seemed to preserve his marvelous self-possession, and laughed musically, while, in order to distract attention from the dangerous question which the old heretic seemed determined to bring up at every possible turn of the discussion, he cried aloud: "But hast thou not commonly taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three, and not one God, and thereby made thy heresy assume the complexion of polytheism? Hast thou not done that?"

"I have taught," answered Arius, "and I think that the Scriptures teach, that the three are not one person, but three persons; and that the Trinity is one family, in likeness whereof man was created. Eve, the first mother, was not created out of things not existing, but she proceeded out of the first man's side; not above him, not below him--equal with him, bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh; and the first human son was born of them. This to my mind in some way typifies the divine family, except that the idea of creation applies not to it. This I have stated as mine own conception of the matter, not as an article of faith. If thou knowest any better idea, state it plainly, I pray thee: I am not yet too old to learn."

Then said Athanasius, triumphantly, "I supposed, indeed, that God would presently lay bare thy heresy; for thou dost deny the express words of Scripture that these three are one; and thus thou art convicted!"

Once more the dangerous light gleamed in the old man's somber eyes, and that nervous twitching, which his enemies likened to the wriggling of a serpent, passed over him; but he controlled himself wonderfully, and calmly enough inquired: "What scripture, then? Wilt thou read it; or tell us in what place it may be found?"

Then said Athanasius: "I read from the first letter of John as follows: '_For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one._' How, then, sayest thou that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are not one, in the very teeth of the Scriptures, O thou subtle heretic?"

The reading of this scripture produced a profound sensation in the council. Many turned to their copy of John's letter to read the words for themselves, the greater number using the new and beautiful manuscripts which the munificent liberality of the emperor had caused to be transcribed and distributed among the bishops some time before; but many also had ancient copies written in the uncial text. But Arius said unto Athanasius, "Wilt thou give to me thy book?"

And Athanasius sent it to him by one of the pages in attendance. The grim old presbyter received the parchment, and looked at it, and handled it, and turned it over and over in his hands with a strange, sarcastic smile, and then said in that peculiar, sibilant tone which cut and tingled like a serpent's hiss: "I perceive, brethren, that this beautiful manuscript is one of those copies which hath been supplied to many bishops and presbyters by the zeal and benevolence of our most Christian, but unbaptized, emperor; and the book is beautifully written in the new, running Greek text which hath lately come into use. I have but one objection to it, brethren; and the objection is, that the words '_in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth_'--these words were never written by John, but by some one else; they have been added to the text within the last ten years!" And then the tall form reared itself to the full height of its gigantic stature; the long, thin right hand swayed to and fro with a strange rhythmic motion, the huge, rough, noble head seemed to start forward upon the long, bony neck, as a cobra thrusts it forward; the strange, mesmeric light burned in the somber eyes, and, fastening his gaze full upon the emperor, he cried out in tones that rang through every corner and crevice of the vast hall, shrill, incisive, penetrating: "These words are forgeries--every one of them! What John wrote was this: '_For there are three that bear record, the spirit, the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one._'"

The effect was electrical. Many trembled for the bold and eloquent man whose words and manner seemed to charge upon the emperor himself the guilt of sacrilege in forging the sacred writings; although, perhaps, none doubted that the words were forged. But Athanasius gazed upon him haughtily, and demanded: "Who art thou, madman, that dost so boldly assail the genuineness of a scripture that suiteth not with thy notorious heresy? How knowest thou that the words were never written by John?"

The presbyter's fierce excitement had almost immediately faded away, and he quietly answered: "Brethren, I know that the words are forgeries, because the rank Sabellianism which they teach is contrary to John's spirit, and would better suit the views of certain persons who desire to confound the Son with the Father in order to abolish the sovereignty of Christ over his earthly kingdom by placing some one else in his rightful place. Secondly, because ye can not find the words in any copy written in the uncial text, before the recent, running Greek text came into common use. Ye have many uncial copies here: see whether any of them contain the words. Thirdly, because, more than thirty years ago, the learned martyr Am-nem-hat, in our city of Alexandria, had in his possession the original letter of John"; and, with tremulous and mournful cadence that brought tears into the eyes of all who knew his history, he continued: "Am-nem-hat abode in the house of his great-grand-niece, the holy, the beautiful, the martyred Theckla. This blessed virgin did carefully copy the letter upon vellum, and sent it to Antioch as a gift even unto me, by the hands of Bishop Peter." Taking the book from a cedar box on the seat beside him, he continued: "Here is the copy of John's letter, written by the hand of one martyr, under the supervision of another, and delivered by a third martyr unto me, that am ready to follow them upon the glorious way whenever God so will! Search and see whether ye can find these forged words in this thrice-sacred book!"

A moment of profound silence followed. Constantine, Athanasius, Hosius, and all of their faction, perceived that this assault also had not only failed, but had left the powerful heretic in full possession of the field of battle; and, at a sign from the emperor, the bishops immediately adjourned the council until the following day.