When Jesus Became God by Richard Rubenstein

Author:Richard Rubenstein
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

1 he violence in the Eastern cities ended for the time being with the forcible eviction from their sees of Athanasius, Marcellus of Ancyra, Paul of Constantinople, and several other anti-Arian bishops, and their exile to the West. Many were now arriving in Rome, where Athanasius had already fled, to seek the protection of Bishop Julius and the emperor Constans. The Arians congratulated themselves on ridding the East of their most potent adversaries. But the uncalculated effects of these deportations would be to make the Roman pontiff a major participant in the controversy, to embroil the Western bishops, and, finally, to drive a great wedge between the Christian churches of the Greek East and Latin West.

Eight

East against West

When athanasius reached Rome after his escape from Egypt, he went immediately to seek refuge with Bishop Julius. He spoke to Julius as one pontiff' to another, aware that the Roman prelate was passionately committed to the principles of Nicaea, and determined to impress him with the atrocities perpetrated by the Arians on faithful Christians. He found Julius an apt and highly sympathetic listener. Perhaps the Roman bishop would consider playing a more active role in the controversy, for example, by calling a great council of his own to vindicate true Christian doctrine and help end the violence in the East. Julius considered the matter . . . and hesitated.

The pope had reason to hesitate; even for bishops in the relatively peaceful West the situation was dangerous. All three of Constantines sons, of course, were Christians. Each was courted bv Church leaders hoping for imperial favor. In the Christian empire the great bishops had become courtiers, and religious matters had become so entangled with imperial politics that taking one side or the other in a theological dispute might imply choosing one member of the royal family over another. Such choices were not made lightly. When emperors came to blows, blood flowed in rivers, and backing the wrong man (that is, the loser) could in retrospect be considered treason.

Who among the three emperors was the “right" man? Athanasius had been careful not to criticize Constantius directly, but it was clear that the Eastern ruler was primarily responsible for the exiles’ plight. Constantius could be considered an “oppressor.” but he was also Constantine the Great’s favorite son: a clever, determined strategist who could be subtle or ruthless, depending on what the situation required, and who had the long memory characteristic of Homan rulers. He was not a person one would want to offend unnecessarily.

In contrast to Constantius, whose gravity belied his youth, juliuss own sovereign, Constans, seemed flighty and irritable. 1 his may have been a result of his tender age and precocious experience; now sixteen, he had been named Caesar at the age of ten and was fourteen when his father died. His relations with his older brothers were strained; at the division of the empire, Constantius had insisted on adding European Thrace to his own domains, and Constantine II, at twenty-four the eldest son, was known to be discontented with his relegation to the backward Atlantic provinces.

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