Introduction to This Volume
How this book is arranged
This is the sixty-seventh volume of a series that gathers the writings of the early Church in order of date, from the generation after the apostles down to the eighth century. This volume holds Theodoret, Philostorgius, Gelasius and the Eastern Saints, from the period about AD 425 – 480.
Within each work the text is divided into chapters and numbered sections, so that any passage can be found again and cited. The small bold figures in the text are the section numbers.
The translations
The text is in English only. Wherever a modern English version has been prepared for SermonIndex it is used here; otherwise the book prints an older public-domain translation. In both cases the wording is the translator’s own: older translations have not been altered beyond dividing them into sections. The sources for every work are listed at the back of the book, together with the licence under which each text is released. The modern English version prepared for SermonIndex is used for Ecclesiastical History of the Council of Nicaea (Anonymous of Cyzicus) and Letters of Besa, from the Sahidic Coptic (Besa of Atripe); the other works are printed in older public-domain translations.
In this volume
Theodoret was born at Antioch about AD 393 and became bishop of Cyrrhus in Syria about AD 423, a see he held until about AD 457. He was a great commentator on Scripture and a historian, and he argued against Cyril of Alexandria in the controversy with Nestorius. He was deposed at the council of Ephesus in AD 449 and restored at Chalcedon in AD 451.
Philostorgius was born in Cappadocia about AD 368 and held the teaching of Eunomius on the Son. His history in twelve books ran from the rise of Arius to AD 425. It is lost, and what remains is the epitome made by Photius in the ninth century, with a few other fragments. Because he was a heretic by the standard of his time, the epitome is often hostile, and it is read with that in mind.
The History of the Council of Nicaea was long ascribed to a Gelasius of Cyzicus, but its author is now called the Anonymous of Cyzicus. He wrote about AD 475 and drew on older sources, some of which are otherwise lost. The speeches and debates he reports are better read as later reconstruction than as minutes of the council.
Philip of Side was a deacon at Constantinople who lost the contest for the see to Sisinnius in AD 426. His Christian History in thirty-six books is lost, and only fragments of it remain.
Rabbula was bishop of Edessa from AD 411 until his death in AD 435. He was a strict ascetic and a supporter of Cyril against Nestorius.
Besa was the disciple and successor of Shenoute at the White Monastery near Atripe in Upper Egypt. His letters are in Coptic and show the discipline of a large monastic community.
Dioscorus succeeded Cyril as patriarch of Alexandria in AD 444. He was deposed at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 and died in exile in AD 454.
Timothy, called Aelurus, was patriarch of Alexandria from AD 457 to 460 and again from AD 475 to 477. He was a leading opponent of the Council of Chalcedon.
The writers of this volume cover the Church of the East in the fifth century, from several points of view. Theodoret’s history and the history of the Council of Nicaea represent the Nicene tradition. Philostorgius wrote as a follower of Eunomius, and we hear him only through the epitome of Photius, who read him with disapproval. The fragments of Philip of Side belong to a history that is lost. The short pieces at the end come from Syria, Egypt and the monasteries of the East.
Dates and authorship
Dates are approximate and are debated by scholars. Each work begins with a short introduction that states what is known about its author and its date, and what is uncertain.