Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume II/Sozomen/Book VI/Chapter 13
Chapter XIII.—Demophilus, an Arian, became Bishop of Constantinople after Eudoxius. The Pious elect Evagrius. Account of the Persecution which ensued.
About this time the Emperor Valens went to Antioch on the Orontes; while he was on his journey Eudoxius died, after having governed the churches of Constantinople during the space of eleven years.[1]
Demophilus was immediately ordained as his successor by the Arian
bishops. The followers of the Nicene doctrines, believing that the
course of events was in their power, elected Evagrius as their bishop.
He had been ordained by Eustathius, who had formerly governed the
church of Antioch in Syria, and who having been recalled from
banishment by Jovian, lived in a private manner at Constantinople, and
devoted himself to the instruction of those who held his sentiments,
exhorting them to perseverance in their view of the Divine Being. The
Arian heretics were stirred to revolt, and commenced a violent
persecution against those who had participated in the ordination of
Evagrius. The Emperor Valens, who was then at Nicomedia, on being
apprised of the occurrences that had taken place in Constantinople
since the death of Eudoxius, was fearful lest any interest of the city
should suffer by sedition, and therefore sent thither as many troops as
he thought requisite to preserve tranquillity.
Eustathius was arrested by his command and banished to Bizya, a city of Thrace, and Evagrius was exiled to some other region. And such was the manner of this event.
Footnotes
[edit]- ↑ Soc. iv. 13–15; Philost. ix. 4–10.