Sacred Texts  Christianity  Early Church Fathers  Index  Previous  Next 

Chapter XXX.—George, Bishop of Antioch, and the Chief-Priests of Jerusalem. Three Chief-Priests successively succeed Cyril; Restoration of Cyril to the See of Jerusalem.

During this period, 1357 Athanasius was obliged to remain in concealment, and George returned to Alexandria, and commenced a cruel persecution against the pagans, and against the Christians who differed from him in opinion. He compelled both parties to offer worship in the mode he indicated, and where opposition was made, he enforced obedience by compulsion. He was hated by the rulers because he scorned them and was giving orders to the officers; and the multitude detested him on account of his tyranny, for his power was greater than all the rest. The pagans regarded him with even greater aversion than the Christians, because he prohibited them from offering sacrifices, and from celebrating their ancestral festivals; and because he had on one occasion, introduced the governor of Egypt 1358 and armed soldiery into the city, and despoiled their images, votives and temple ornaments. This was, in fact, the cause of his death, on which I will dwell.

On the deposition of Cyril, Erennius obtained the church of Jerusalem; 1359 he was succeeded by Heraclius, and to Heraclius succeeded Hilarius; for we have gathered from tradition that in that period these persons administered the church there, until the reign of Theodosius, when Cyril was once more restored to his own see.

Footnotes

Soc. ii. 45. Soz. has some order, but varying points.

Namely, Artemius, who was afterwards martyred under Julian. Am. Marcel. xxii. 11. 3–8.

Soc. iv. 25. Epiphanius (adv. Hæres, ii. 3, 10; Hæres, lxvi.), places another Cyril after Herennius. Soc. calls Erennius, Arrenius.