I.—To Alexander, Bishop of the
City of Constantinople.
To the most reverend and like-minded brother, Alexander, Alexander sends greeting in the Lord:
1. ambitious and
avaricious will of wicked men is always wont to lay snares against
those churches which seem greater, by various pretexts attacking the
ecclesiastical piety of such. For incited by the devil who works
in them, to the lust of that which is set before them, and throwing
away all religious scruples, they trample under foot the fear of the
judgment of God. Concerning which things, I who suffer, have
thought it necessary to show to your piety, in order that you may be
aware of such men, lest any of them presume to set foot in your
dioceses, whether by themselves or by others; for these sorcerers know
how to use hypocrisy to carry out their fraud; and to employ letters
composed and dressed out with lies, which are able to deceive a man who
is intent upon a simple and sincere faith. Arius, therefore, and
Achilles, having lately
entered into a conspiracy, emulating the ambition of Colluthus, have
turned out far worse than he. For Colluthus, indeed, who
reprehends these very men, found some pretext for his evil purpose; but
these, beholding his
battering of Christ, endured no longer to be subject to the Church; but
building for themselves dens of thieves, they hold their assemblies in
them unceasingly, night and day directing their calumnies against
Christ and against us. For since they call in question all pious
and apostolical doctrine, after the manner of the Jews, they have
constructed a workshop for contending against Christ, denying the
Godhead of our Saviour, and preaching that He is only the equal of all
others. And having collected all the passages which speak of His
plan of salvation and His humiliation for our sakes, they endeavour
from these to collect the preaching of their impiety, ignoring
altogether the passages in which His eternal Godhead and unutterable
glory with the Father is set forth. Since, therefore, they back
up the impious opinion concerning Christ, which is held by the Jews and
Greeks, in every possible way they strive to gain their approval; busying themselves about all those things which they are wont to deride in us, and daily stirring up against us seditions and persecutions. And now, indeed, they drag us before the tribunals of the judges, by intercourse with silly and disorderly women, whom they have led into error; at another time they cast opprobrium and infamy upon the Christian religion, their young maidens disgracefully wandering about every village and street. Nay, even Christ’s indivisible tunic, which His executioners were unwilling to divide, these wretches have dared to rend.