The auncient ecclesiasticall histories of the first six hundred yeares after Christ, wrytten in the Greeke tongue by three learned historiographers, Eusebius, Socrates, and Euagrius. Eusebius Pamphilus Bishop of Cæsarea in Palæstina vvrote 10 bookes. Socrates Scholasticus of Constantinople vvrote 7 bookes. Euagrius Scholasticus of Antioch vvrote 6 bookes. VVhereunto is annexed Dorotheus Bishop of Tyrus, of the liues of the prophetes, apostles and 70 disciples. All which authors are faithfully translated out of the Greeke tongue by Meredith Hanmer, Maister of Arte and student in diuinitie. Last of all herein is contayned a profitable chronographie collected by the sayd translator, the title whereof is to be seene in the ende of this volume, with a copious index of the principall matters throughout all the histories

CAP. XXX.* 1.1

The crueltie of Macedonius the Arian, and tumults raysed by him at Con∣stantinople and elsewhere.

NOwe that we haue sufficiently discoursed of the West Churches, let vs turne our talke and direct our penne into the East, and there first beginne with the Arians: The Arian Bi∣shops being puffed vp with pride and confidence they put in the Emperours edicts, presu∣med more boldly to bring their purposes to effect, but in what sorte they sommoned the councell I will afterwards declare, when that first I haue runne ouer their lewd practises before the councel. Acaius & Patrophilus as soone as they had deposed Maximus bishop of Ierusalem, placed Cyrillus* 1.2 in his rowme. Macedonius went about vtterly to ouerthrow y^• contries & bordering cities of Con∣stantinople, vsing his seruants & ministers as fit instruments to the defacing of the church of God. he made Eleusius bishop of Cyzicum: Marathonius bishop of Nicomedia, who afore time had bene deacon vnder Macedonius him selfe, & very carefull about the affaires of men & women, y^• were ad∣dicted vnto monasticall & solitary life. But now heare how Macedonius went about to ouerchrow y^• contries & cities within y^• prouince of Constantinople. This man, aspiring (as I said before) vnto y^• bishoprick, plagued infinitely such as were determined to perseuere in y^• opinion contrary to his, & thrust out of the church not only such as in y^• councell seemed to vary from him, but also y^• Noua∣tians (for he knew of suerty that they embraced the creede containing the clause of one substance) & cruelly tormented them. Agelius their bishop was faine to flie away for to saue his life. Many ex∣cellent & notable men were then apprehended, and grieuously plagued, because they refused to be partakers of their communion: yea after torments they were constrayned by force to communi∣cate with them. for they stretched wide open and gagged their mouthes, they popped in the myste∣ries: such as were thus handled tooke it farre more grieuous then all the other torments. they trayled women & children by maine force into their communion. if any refused or gaynesayd their doings, immediatly they were scurged, after stripes imprisoned, and in the ende compelled to en∣dure more bitter torments. Whereof I will alleadge one or two examples, whereby the woodnes and crueltie both of Macedonius, and also of others, who at that time were renowmed and famous for such lewde feates, may euidently appeare vnto the whole worlde. Of the women that denied to* 1.3 communicate with them, some were layd along in chestes and at the lidds, their breastes sawed of: some other had their papps burned with searing irons glowing hott, and with egges laid therunto that were rosted so harde, that they scalded for heate. These newe kinde of torments neuer heard of before among Pagans & Ethnicks were practised of these men which professed christianitie. These things I my selfe haue heard Auxanon (of whome I spake in my first booke) reporte, being a very old man: who though he was a priest of the Nouatian Church, yet suffred he very much of the Ari∣ans, before he had entred into orders. He reported how that together with Alexander Paphlagon, who led a very straict and seuere kinde of life, (after the same sorte with him) he was imprisoned, scurged and endured many torments: that Alexander after the grieuous lashes of the whipp dyed in prison, and was buried nigh the sea shore on the right hand as ye goe to Byzantium hauen, cal∣led Ceras, by interpretation an horne, where there is a Nouatian Church bearing the name of A∣lexander. They destroyed at the commaundement of Macedonius not onely other Churches in o∣ther cities, but also the Nouatian Church within the citie of Constantinople, nigh the signe of the storke. but why I made mention of this seuerally, at this tyme, as I hearde with mine owne eares of Auxanon an olde graybearde: now I am about to declare. By the commaundement of* 1.4 the Emperour, and the cruelty of Macedonius, it was proclaymed that the churches of such as em∣braced y^• creede containing y^• clause of one substance should be throwen downe, euen to y^• foundati∣ons. this law being ioined w^t y^• violēce of Macedonius proceaded to y^• ouerthrow also of this church such as were appoynted to bring these feates to passe, busily occupied their braynes and prompt∣ly

dispatched them. I can not chuse but greatly maruell at the Nouatian secte, to see what singuler affection they bare vnto their Churche: and what charitable minde such as then were deposed by the Arians, but nowe enioy their Churches in peace, shewed towards them. For as soone as the commissioners for the suppressing of Churches had geuen the onsett, immediatly a great number of Nouatians, and diuers others which maintayned the doctrine of one substance, pulled downe that Church, remoued it to an other place, and there erected it againe. The place is situate right ouer against the citie, and at this day called Sycae, it is the thirtenth porcion of the prouince of Cō∣stantinople. The church was remoued in a very short space, by reason that so great a multitude of people with great good will and promptnes of minde sett to their helping handes. for one caryed the tyles, an other the stones, the thirde the timber, others conueyed other stuffe into Sycae. The women also and the children were a furtherance to the buylding, for they thought their prayers woulde be the sooner hearde, and to profitt them selues very much, in that they imployed their la∣bor and industrie to the consecration of buylding vnto the Lorde. In that sorte the Church of the Nouatians was translated to Sycae, but after that, Constantius being dead, Iulianus the Emperour commaunded that the place where the Church aforetime had bene buylded, shoulde be giuen to the Nouatians. The people againe, in such sort as before, went about the buylding of the Church, and the translating of the stuffe into the place where it stoode at the first, and being builded farre more gorgeous then it was at the first, they called it after the name of the resurrection. That Church (as I sayd before) was the thirde time buylded in the raigne of Iulianus. At that time both the true Ca∣tholiks and the Nouatians were a like handled. And because the true christians abhorred the tem∣ples where the Arians frequented, they resorted together with the Nouatians vnto three other Churches (for the Nouatians had so many Churches permitted them in that city,) and there they deuoutly serued God together: litle there was to the contrary but that they had bene linked toge∣ther in the bonde of vnitie and concorde, had the Nouatians not refused to retayne their olde mind, from the which they had fallen. But as toutching other matters ech embraced other, with such sin∣guler affection & entire loue, that one was ready to hazard his life for the other. They were mo∣lested together not onely at Constantinople, but also in other cities and prouinces. In a while af∣ter Eleusius who lately had bene placed Bishop of Cyzicum, imitating the steppes of Macedoni∣us,* 1.5 armed him selfe against the Christians, afflicted them euery where & tormented them grieuou∣sly: he made the Nouatian Church which was at Cyzicum euen with the grounde: and Macedo∣nius gaue the last stroke and finall conclusion to the haynous offences which he committed. For vnderstanding that there were many both at Paphlagonia and Mantinium of the Nouatian opi∣nion, which coulde by no meanes commodiously be remoued by Ecclesiasticall authoritie: he pro∣cured that foure bands of souldiers at the Emperours commaundement should be sent into Paph∣lagonia, to the ende the inhabitants might be terrified with the great shewe of glistering armour, and thereby brought to embrace the Arian heresie. But such as inhabited Mantinium, being kind∣led with an earnest zeale towards Christian religion, went agaynst the souldiers with chearefull mindes and valiant courage: after they had mustred together a greate host, they all marched for∣wards to battell: some had taken in their hande long hedging bills, some axes, some other mett by chaunce with rusty armour. When they ioyned together and came to handygriping, many of the Paphlagonians were beaten downe, the souldiers (fewe onely excepted) were slaine euery one. Al∣though there be many of the Paphlagonians which presently can report y^• same, yet haue I heard it of a certaine husbandman of Paphlagonia, who had bene present him selfe at the skirmishe and borne away many blowes. And though Macedonius had wrought many such notable feates (as he thought) in the behalfe of religion, where slaughter, and battell, and bondage and ciuill dissentions fell out: yet that haynous offence of his procured vnto him and that most iustly, great hatred, not onely among them which then bare away incurable woundes (he being the cause thereof) but also among his owne familiar and deare friendes, so that the emperour also had him in disple asure and alienated his minde from him, partly for this thing, and partly for an other cause, which was as followeth. He went about to pull downe the temple where the tombe of the Emperour Constan∣tine lay, and put the people which prayed within, and serued God deuoutly in great feare of their liues. Macedonius had purposed to translate the Emperours bones, lest the tombe with the falling of the temple should breake, and deface y^• monument. The people vnderstanding of this withstoode* 1.6 his enterprise, affirming it a thinge vnlawfull to translate the Emperours bones, that it was in maner nothing else but the digging of him vp againe, out of his graue. The people was deuided

into two parts: the one iudged the deade carkasse in no wise to be iniuried with remouing: the o∣ther thought that wicked offence might lawfully be done. They which maintained the faith of one substance with generall consent resisted the deede: but Macedonius making no accompt of the gainsayers, translated the carkasse into y^• church where Acacius the martyr had bene buried. This was no soner done, but the multitude of the contrary side ranne thither in all the hast, they set them selues one against the other, & without any delay they went together by y^• eares. so great a slaugh∣ter was committed, that the body of the Church was aflote with streames of blood, and yet not on∣ly there, but also from the Church porch vnto the streete, the way was all blood and deade carkas∣ses crossing one an other. When the Emperour vnderstoode of this woefull and lamentable case, he was wonderfully incensed against Macedonius, partly for that he murthered so many men, and partly also that he durst presume without his consent to translate his fathers bones. After that he had committed the gouernment of the westerne dominions vnto Iulian (whome lately he had made Caesar) he returned into the East. but how Macedonius in a short while after, was depriued of his bishoprick, and receaued so small a punishment for so greate an offence, I will declare in an other place.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cap. 38. in the Greeke.
• * 1.2

  Cyrillus b. of Ierusalem an Arian. The hainous practises of Macedonius the Arian.
• * 1.3

  The cruelty of the Arian hereticks.
• * 1.4

  A lawe a∣gainst the churches of God, made by Arians.
• * 1.5

  Eleusius a cruell Arian Bishop. Macedonius an Arian & a ••reat mur∣therer of the true Christi∣ans.
• * 1.6

  The transla∣tiō of bones and reliques is forbidden as an vnlaw∣full thing by the true chri¦stians, but the Arians did practise it