Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 1 (Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine)

...placed upon the correctness of any of these lists, the last two may at any rate be set against the first. We may conclude that there exists no ground for assuming that Agapius, who is the last Cæsarean bishop mentioned by Eusebius, was not the latter’s immediate predecessor. At what time Agapius died, we do not know. That he suffered martyrdom is hardly likely, in view of Eusebius’ silence on the subject; it seems more probable that he outlived the persecution. However that may be, Eusebius was already bishop at the time of the dedication of a new and elegant church at Tyre under the direction of his friend Paulinus, bishop of that city. Upon this occasion, he delivered an address of considerable length, which he has inserted in his Ecclesiastical History, Book X, chapter 4. He does not name himself as its author, but the way in which he introduces it—and the very fact that he records the whole speech without giving the name of the man who delivered it—make its origin perfectly plain. Moreover, the last sentence of the preceding chapter makes it evident that the speaker was a bishop: “Every one of the rulers (archons) present delivered panegyric discourses.” The date of the dedication of this church is a matter of dispute, though it is commonly placed in the year 315. It is plain from Eusebius’ speech that it was uttered before Licinius had begun to persecute the Christians, and also, as Görres remarks, at a time when Constantine and Licinius were at least outwardly at peace with each other. In the year 314, the two emperors went to war, and consequently, if the persecution of Licinius began soon after that event (as it is commonly supposed to have done), the address must have been delivered before hostilities opened—that is, at least as early as 314. This is the year in which Görres places it (Critical Investigations Regarding the Licinian Persecution, p. 8). But if Görres’ date (319 A.D.) for the commencement of the persecution be accepted (and though he can hardly be said to have proved it, he has urged some strong grounds in support of it), then the address may have been delivered at almost any time between 315 and 319. As Görres himself shows, Licinius and Constantine were outwardly at peace during the greater part of that time (ibid., p. 14 sq.). There is nothing in the speech itself which prevents this later date, nor is it inherently improbable that the great basilica reached completion only in 315 or later. In fact, it must be admitted that Eusebius may have become bishop at any time between about 311 and 318.

The persecution of Licinius, which continued until his defeat by Constantine in 323, was merely local and seems never to have been very severe. Indeed, it did not bear the character of a bloody persecution, though a few bishops appear to have met their death on one ground or another. Palestine and Egypt seem not to have suffered to any great extent (see Görres, ibid., p. 32 sq.).

About the year 318, while Alexander was bishop of Alexandria, the Arian controversy broke out in that city, and the whole Eastern Church was soon involved in the strife. We cannot enter here into a discussion of Arius’ views; but in order to understand the rapidity with which the Arian party grew, and the strong hold which it possessed from the very start in Syria and Asia Minor, we must remember that Arius was not himself the author of the system we know as Arianism. Rather, he learned the essentials of it from his instructor, Lucian. The latter was one of the most learned men of his age in the Oriental Church and founded an exegetical-theological school in Antioch. For a number of years, this school stood outside the communion of the orthodox Church in that city, but shortly before the martyrdom of Lucian himself (which took place in 311 or 312), it made its peace with the Church and was recognized by it. He was held in the highest reverence by his disciples and exerted a great influence over them even after his death. Among them were such men as Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Asterius, and others who were afterward known as staunch Arians. According to Harnack, the chief points in the system of Lucian and his disciples were the creation of the Son, the denial of his co-eternity with the Father, and his immutability through persistent progress and steadfastness. His doctrine, which differed...