Bishops of Egypt to Flavius Dionysius, Consul of Tyre (CPG 2123.28)
| Reference: | Mel. 31, CPG 2123.28, CPG 8542, FNS 73 |
| Incipit: | Οὐκέτι νομίζομεν τὴν συσκευήν … φανερὰ γάρ |
| Date: | 335 |
| Greek Text: | Athanasius, Apol. Sec. 78 |
| English Translation: | NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 141-142, adapted for FCC by SMT and JTS |
This letter is nearly identical to Mel. 30, the letter these same bishops of Egypt sent to the Council of Tyre itself. In it, they ask Flavius Dionysius to condemn the group sent to the Mareotis to investigate the matter of the broken chalice. They took issue with the fact that Ischyras, the one bringing these charges against Athanasius and Macarius, was brought along, but not Macarius, the one who allegedly broke the chalice. However, it seems according to Mel. 32 that the Consul of Tyre did not condemn them and in fact allowed them to bring their accusations against Macarius and Athanasius.
The Greek text below is that of Opitz as found in AW 2.4:78. The English translation has been adapted from NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 141-142 by SMT for FCC.
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The derivative translation below is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
| Φλαβίῳ Διονυσίῳ τῷ λαμπροτάτῳ κόμητι παρὰ τῶν ἐπισκόπων τῆς Αἰγύπτου καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν ἐλθόντων εἰς Τύρον. | To the most illustrious Count Flavius Dionysius, from the bishops of the catholic Church in Egypt who have come to Tyre. |
| Οὐκέτι νομίζομεν τὴν συσκευὴν ἄδηλον εἶναι τὴν παρὰ τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον καὶ Θεόγνιον καὶ Μάριν καὶ Νάρκισσον καὶ Θεόδωρον καὶ Πατρόφιλον ἡμῖν γιγνομένην. κατ᾽ ἀρχὴν μὲν γὰρ παρῃτούμεθα πάντες διὰ τοῦ συλλειτουργοῦ ἡμῶν Ἀθανασίου παρόντων αὐτῶν τὴν ἀκρόασιν γενέσθαι εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ἑνὸς μόνου ἐχθροῦ παρουσία, μήτιγε πολλῶν, ταράττειν καὶ βλάπτειν δύναται τὴν ἀκρόασιν. | We suppose that the conspiracy which has been formed against us by Eusebius, Theognius, Maris, Narcissus, Theodorus, Patrophilus and their fellows, is no longer uncertain. From the very beginning we all objected, through our fellow minister Athanasius, to the holding of the enquiry in their presence, knowing that the presence of even one enemy only, much more of many, is able to disturb and injure the hearing of a cause. |
| φανερὰ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἔχθρα αὐτῶν, ἣν οὐ πρὸς ἡμᾶς μόνον ἐσχήκασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ὀρθοδόξους, ὅτι κατὰ πάντα ἐπιφύονται καὶ πᾶσι συσκευάζονται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ θαρροῦντες ἡμεῖς τῇ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖξαι τὴν συκοφαντίαν τὴν κατὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὑπὸ τῶν Μελιτιανῶν γενομένην ἠθελήσαμεν, οὐκ οἴδαμεν πῶς αὐτοὶ οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον ταράττειν τὰ παρ᾿ ἡμῶν λεγόμενα ἐπειρῶντο καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐσπούδαζον τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν λεγόμενα ἐκβάλλεσθαι, τοῖς μὲν ἀκεραίως δικάζουσιν ἀπειλοῦντες, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ὑβρίζοντες, μόνον ἵνα τὸ καθ’ ἡμῶν σπουδοαζόμενον αὐτοῖς γένηται. | For their enmity which they entertain is manifest, not only towards us, but also towards all the orthodox, because they direct their assaults, they form conspiracies against all. And when, being confident in the truth, we desired to show the falsehood which the Melitians had employed against the Church, Eusebius and his fellows endeavored by some means or other to interrupt our representations and strove eagerly to set aside our testimony, threatening those who gave an honest judgment and insulting others, for the sole purpose of carrying out the design they had against us. |
| καὶ ἴσως ἡ χρηστότης σου ἠγνόει τὴν καθ᾽ ἡμῶν γινομένην παρ΄ αὐτῶν συσκευήν, ἀλλὰ νῦν νομίζομεν φανερὰν αὐτὴν γεγενῆσθαι. ἰδοὺ γὰρ φανερῶς αὐτοὶ τὴν συσκευὴν ἐνεδείξαντο. τοὺς γὰρ ἐξ ἑαυτῶν ὑποπτευομένους ἀποστεῖλαι ἠθέλησαν εἰς τὸν Μαρεώτην, ἵνα ἀπόντων ἡμῶν καὶ ἐνταῦθα μενόντων τοὺς μὲν λαοὺς ταράξωσιν, ἃ δὲ βούλονται διαπράξωνται. | Your goodness was probably ignorant of the conspiracy which they have formed against us, but we suppose that it has now been made manifest. For indeed they have themselves plainly disclosed it; for they desired to send to the Mareotis those of their party who are suspected by us, so that, while we were absent and remained here, they might disturb the people and accomplish what they wished. |
| εἰδότες γὰρ ὅτι Ἀρειομανῖται καὶ Κολλουθιανοὶ καὶ Μελιτιανοὶ ἐχθροὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας εἰσί, διὰ τοῦτο ἐσπούδασαν ἀποστεῖλαι τούτους, ἵνα παρόντων ἐχθρῶν καττύσωσι καθ᾽ ἡμῶν, ἃ βούλονται. καὶ γὰρ ἤδη οἱ ἐνταῦθα Μελιτιανοὶ ἀπέστειλαν ἐξ αὑτῶν τινας καὶ πρὸ τεσσάρων μὲν ἡμερῶν ὥσπερ εἰδότες τοῦτο τὸ σκέμμα γενόμενον ἔσεσθαι, καθ᾽ ἑσπέραν δὲ δύο βηριδαρίους πρὸς τὸ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰγύπτου Μελιτιανοὺς συναγαγεῖν εἰς τὸν Μαρεώτην, διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἐκεῖ μηδένα καθόλου, καὶ Κολλουθιανοὺς καὶ Ἀρειομανίτας ἀπ᾽ ἀλλων τόπων καὶ καττῦσαι καθ’ ἡμῶν αὐτοὺς λέγειν. | They knew that Arian madmen, Colluthians, and Melitians were enemies of the Church, and therefore they were anxious to send them, that in the presence of our enemies, they might devise against us whatever schemes they pleased. And those of the Melitians who are here, even four days previously (as they knew that this enquiry was about to take place), dispatched at evening two individuals of their own party, as couriers, for the purpose of collecting Melitians out of Egypt into the Mareotis, because there were none at all there, and Colluthians, and Arian madmen from other parts, and to prepare them to speak against us. |
| οἶδε δέ σου ἡ χρηστότης ὅτι αὐτὸς <Ἰσχύρας> ὡμολόγησεν ἐπὶ σοῦ μὴ πλέον ἑπτὰ συναγομένων ἔχειν. ἐπεὶ οὖν μετὰ τὸ αὐτοὺς κατασκευάσαι, ὅπερ βούλονται, καὶ ἀποστεῖλαι τοὺς ὑπόπτους ἠκούσαμεν ὅτι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν ἐπισκόπων περιερχόμενοι ἀταιτοῦσιν ὑπογραφὴν πρὸς τὸ δοκεῖν τῇ πάντων αὐτῶν σκέψει γενέσθαι, τούτου ἕνεκεν ἀνενεγκεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν σὴν λαμπρότητα ἠπείχϑημεν καὶ ἐπιδοῦναι τόδε τὸ μαρτύριον, μαρτυρόμενοι μὲν ὅτι συσκεναζόμεθα καὶ πάσχομεν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ δι’ αὐτῶν ἐπιβουλήν, ἀξιοῦντες δὲ ὅπως ἐν νῷ λαβὼν τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰς εὐσεβεῖς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου βασιλέως ὡς καταγνοὺς ὅτι χωρὶς ἡμῶν οὓς ἠϑέλησαν ἀπέστειλαν, μὴ ἀνάσχῃ αὐτῶν. | And your goodness knows that Ischyras himself confessed before you, that he had not more that seven persons in his congregation. When therefore we heard that after they had made what preparations they pleased against us, and had sent these suspected persons, they were going about to each of the Bishops and requiring their subscriptions, in order that it might appear that this was done with the consent of them all; for this reason we hastened to refer the matter to your honor and to present this our testimony, declaring that we are the objects of a conspiracy, under which we are suffering by and through them, and demanding of you that having in your mind the fear of God, and the pious commands of our most religious Emperor, you would no longer tolerate these persons, but condemn their conduct in sending whom they pleased without our consent. |
| Ἀδαμάντιος ἐπίσκοπος ἐπιδέδωκα | I Adamantius Bishop have subscribed this letter, |
| Ἰσχύρας | Ischyras, |
| Ἄμμων | Ammon, |
| Πέτρος | Peter, |
| Ἀμμωνιανὸς | Ammonianus, |
| Τύραννος | Tyrannus, |
| Ταυρῖνος | Taurinus, |
| Σαραπάμμων | Sarapammon, |
| Αἰλουρίων | Aelurion, |
| Ἁρποκρατίων | Harpocration, |
| Μωυσῆς | Moses, |
| Ὀπτᾶτος | Optatus, |
| Ἀνουβίων | Anubion, |
| Σαπρίων | Saprion, |
| Ἀπολλώνιος | Apollonius, |
| Ἰσχυρίων | Ischyrion, |
| Ἀρβαιθίων | Arbaethion, |
| Ποτάμων | Potamon, |
| Παφνούτιος | Paphnutius, |
| Ἡρακλείδης | Heraclides, |
| Θεόδωρος | Theodorus, |
| Ἀγαθάμμων | Agathammon, |
| Γάιος | Gaius, |
| Πιστός | Pistus, |
| Ἀθάς | Athas, |
| Νίκων | Nicon, |
| Πελάγιος | Pelagius, |
| Θέων | Theon, |
| Πανινούθιος | Paninuthius, |
| Νόννος | Nonnus, |
| Ἀρίστων | Ariston, |
| Θεόδωρος | Theodorus, |
| Εἰρηναῖος | Irenaeus, |
| Βλαστάμμων | Blastammon, |
| Φίλιππος | Philippus, |
| Ἀπολλώς | Apollos, |
| Διόσκορος | Dioscorus, |
| Τιμόθεος Διοσπόλεως | Timotheus of Diospolis, |
| Μακάριος | Macarius, |
| Ἡρακλάμμων | Heraclammon, |
| Κρόνιος | Cronius, |
| Μοῦις | Myis, |
| Ἰάκωβος | Jacobus, |
| Ἀρίστων | Ariston, |
| Ἀρτεμίδωρος | Artemidorus, |
| Φινεές | Phinees, |
| Ψάις | Psais, |
| Ἡρακλείδης | Heraclides. |
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