Fourth Century Christianity

The headings of the chapter sections provided below are translations of the Greek headings found in the 1918 edition of Heinemann and Loeschcke. It is unlikely that any of these are original to the anonymous author. However, the manuscript evidence suggests that the headings from Book 3 may be older than the ones from the first two books. This page provides links to the individual sections of our translation as they are completed. PDF versions of Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3 are also available.

Book 1

• 1.0 Introduction
• 1.1 The rule of Emperor Constantine
• 1.2 Constantine’s co-emperors, Maxentius and Maximinus
• 1.3 The tyrant Maxentius
• 1.4 Emperor Constantine’s war against the tyrant Maxentius
• 1.5 Constantine’s vision of the cross in the sky
• 1.6 The replica of the cross in the sky which Emperor Constantine made
• 1.7 The victory of the godly Emperor Constantine over the ungodly Maxentius
• 1.8 The godly Constantine sends Licinius out against the tyrant in the east
• 1.9 The madness of the tyrant Maximinus in the east
• 1.10 The restoration of the churches
• 1.11 Licinius’s evil ways
• 1.12 The victory of the God-loving Emperor Constantine over the ungodly Licinius

Book 2

• 2.1 The peace of the churches of God and the sovereignty of Emperor Consantine after the ungodly Licinius was destroyed
• 2.2 The heresy invented by Arius, the fighter-against-God
• 2.3 Bishop Alexander’s decree pronouncing the deposition of Arius and those on his side, which was sent to all the bishops everywhere
• 2.4 Emperor Constantine’s letter to Alexander and Arius, which was sent through Hosius, the Bishop of Cordova
• 2.5 The most God-loving Emperor Constantine calls for a council of bishops to be held at Nicaea
• 2.6 The emperor takes part in the council with the bishops
• 2.7 The public address of the Emperor Augustus to the holy council
• 2.8 The emperor receives the petitions of the bishops
• 2.9 The holy Paphnutius
• 2.10 The holy Spyridon
• 2.11 Spyridon’s dead daughter is raised to life on account of a traveler
• 2.12 Why it is necessary to think and believe that the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, inseparable, indescribable deity
• 2.13 One of the philosophers on Arius’s side speaks out very strongly against that holy synod of the apostolic priests of God
• 2.14 The refutation of another philosopher named Phaedo, who also argued on behalf of Arius, who fought against God, and on behalf of the blasphemy Arius invented
• 2.15 The philosopher’s counter-argument on behalf of Arius
• 2.16 The philosopher’s counter-argument
• 2.17 The philosopher’s counter-argument concerning the phrase from Solomon’s proverbs:  “The Lord created me as the first of his paths for his works”
• 2.18 Another counter-argument of the philosopher
• 2.19 The philosopher’s counter-argument
• 2.20 The philosopher’s counter-question
• 2.21 The philosopher’s counter-argument against the Holy Spirit
• 2.22 The philosopher’s response to the shared belief of the holy bishops
• 2.23 The holy fathers continue to speak to the philosopher about a fount and river and water through Bishop Leontius
• 2.24 And the philosopher
• 2.25 Everyone is in harmony concerning the homoousius
• 2.26 The synod jointly agrees to excommunicate the ungodly Arius and those on his side
• 2.27 The publication of the catholic and apostolic faith set forth by the Council of Nicaea, at the time of the most God-loving Emperor Constantine, during the consulate of the illustrious Paulinus and Julian, 636 years after Alexander [the Great], on the 19th day in the month Desios, 13 days before the Kalends of July, in Nicaea, the metropolis of Bithynia
• 2.28 The bishops’ descriptions of the faith
• 2.29 The emperor rises from the throne and offers up words of thanksgiving to God
• 2.30 Acesius, a Novatian bishop and those on his side
• 2.31 The instructive message of the ecclesiastical principles
• 2.32 The ecclesiastical standards of the holy and great synod assembled at Nicaea
• 2.33 Concerning the need to not depose those who are priests and have their own wife
• 2.34 Concerning the unholy Melitius
• 2.35 A general letter written by Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea Palestine
• 2.36 The great Victor August Constantine to the bishops and people
• 2.37 Emperor Constantine’s letter against Arius to the Alexandrians and all the orthodox
• 2.38 A catalogue of the holy bishops through whom the holy and great and ecumenical synod sent out the things decreed in it through them by the Holy Spirit to all the churches of God throughout the entire world

Book 3

• 3.1 The things which were treated/written after the great synod
• 3.2 The most God-loving Emperor Constantine’s unyielding haste concerning godly things
• 3.3 The emperor’s letter to Eusebius Pamphili about the building of churches
• 3.4 The emperor’s letter concerning the construction of holy books
• 3.5 The emperor’s letter to Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem about the Savior’s tomb
• 3.6 The blessed Helen’s journey to Jerusalem
• 3.7 The discovery of the holy cross of Christ
• 3.8 The godly Constantine’s tribute
• 3.9 Frumentius and Edesius and those in the middle of India
• 3.10 The Iberians and Lazi and the holy captive woman among them
• 3.11 Emperor Constantine’s Letter to Sapor, King of the Persians, concerning God’s providence for his people
• 3.12 Concerning Constantia, the sister of the all-praiseworthy Emperor Constantine and the Arian presbyter whom she entrusted to his safekeeping
• 3.13 The message of feigned repentance of Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea
• 3.14 Part of Emperor Constantine’s letter to Athanasius
• 3.15 The most God-loving Emperor Constantine’s letter to Alexander the bishop of Alexandria
• 3.16 Part of the letter of Emperor Constantine written on behalf of Athanasius to the church of Alexandria
• 3.17 Emperor Constantine’s letter to the synod which had gathered together at Tyre
• 3.18 The God-loving Emperor Constantine’s letter to the bishops regathered at Tyre from Aelia

Created by NJ 2-13-17; Last updated by RR 6-20-22

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