Nicaea - The Rise of the Imperial Church. William Speir

prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ And in the first epistle of John, it says, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ I think that the answer might be in these three passages.”

      “Go on,” Hosius said, still not clear on what Athanasius was proposing.

      “According to the first epistle of John, all men are sinners. Matthew says that Jesus came to call the sinners to repentance. Both James and John mention that confessing sins is the first step in the removal of sin. So what if we make the confession of sins a duty of every Christian – part of the way they reach salvation through the church? Each Christian must confess his sins on a regular basis to earn and retain God’s favor, the priest will test him by giving him some sort of task to be sure that he is truly repenting from his sins, and then the priest can forgive the sin in the name of God. The church has called the sinner to repentance, and the priest now knows the secrets of every Christian in the congregation. The more that the members of the congregation confess, the more the priest learns. Information that’s of value to the Emperor can be passed along. We can also have the priest assign tasks that benefit either the Emperor, the empire, or the church as part of achieving forgiveness and salvation. That’s how the church can control the congregations, and by extension, the empire!”

      “Wouldn’t there have to be some expectation of privacy between the person confessing and the priest?” Hosius asked. “Would people be willing to confess their sins if they learned that their confessions were being used against them?”

      “The information would never leave the church,” Athanasius replied. “It would just be provided up the chain of command within the church.”

      “To the Emperor…” Hosius began.

      “Who is the secular head of the church,” Athanasius finished.

      Hosius laughed. “It’s brilliant! The people will think that they’re attaining salvation for this life and for the afterlife, but they’re actually giving the church what it needs to control them on behalf of the empire. And the priests become the eyes and ears of the empire and the church.”

      “In places where we have churches,” Athanasius added. “But we might want to think about how to get the same information in territories where there are no churches.”

      “Territories outside of the empire? Couldn’t we just build new churches in those territories?” Hosius asked.

      “Yes, but it would take time to build churches in those territories and in territories of the empire that have not yet been converted to Christianity. Just as governments send spies into foreign lands, we may have to do the same by sending missionaries to lands where the church has no influence.”

      Alexander climbed the stairs to his chamber. The wall sconces at the top of the stairs illuminated the way through the darkness of the early evening.

      Alexander reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner to enter his chamber. Wine and food were waiting for him on his desk. He closed the door, sat down, and poured himself a cup of wine.

      Athanasius has been gone for over three weeks. If he found Hosius quickly, he should be back here in two weeks with Hosius’ reply to my letter. I’m anxious to read what he suggests that I do. I don’t want to strip Arias of his post, but I can’t have his open defiance disrupt the other churches in this region. Something must be done.

      Alexander took a sip of the wine. I wonder if I should visit Arias at his church and try to resolve our differences directly. My letters aren’t working, and he’s always defensive when I summon him here. Perhaps if I go there, he’ll feel comfortable enough to reason with me. Maybe that’s what I should have done in the first place.

      Alexander thought about this, and then he thought about the last letter he received from Arias. No, I guess we’re past the point where he and I can work through our disagreements privately. Athanasius is right; Arias is beyond reasoning with. He’ll never change, he’ll never see reason, and he’ll never abandon his beliefs. He’ll have to be removed from his post and banished from preaching but in a way that won’t disrupt his congregation or force his followers to come after me.

      A servant knocked on the door and brought a fresh flagon of wine to replace the one that Alexander had nearly emptied. This is why I need to wait for Hosius’ reply. He’ll know how to get Arias out of the way without creating a situation that’ll split the church apart.

      Arias watched his acolytes leave his chamber. He had spent three hours with them, teaching them The Way. They’re good students. They’ll make fine priests one day.

      Glancing at the window, he noticed that it was dark. Hosius should have received my letter and sent back his reply already. It should be here in a matter of days. I’m curious to read what he says about how I should work with Alexander to resolve our differences.

      Arias stood up and crossed over to the window overlooking the courtyard. Alexander and I don’t agree on many things, but I know that we both have what’s best for the churches in our hearts. We can build on that. No matter what we disagree upon, we’re still brothers in Christ, and that’s a bond that can survive any disagreement. I’m sure that we can resolve our differences – or at least find a way to live with them for the good of everyone. I don’t want our disagreements to cause a rift between the churches; I could never allow that. Alexander is my brother, and I am his. Our Master would never want our problems to disrupt our mission to teach The Way to the faithful. He commanded us to love one another, and I intend to do just that.

      Arias closed the shutters, sat down on the side of his bed, and prayed. Heavenly Father, I know that Your will is supreme. Help me to know Your will so that I may obey and embrace it. You see Your creation as very good, and I must do the same. Alexander is part of that creation. You see him as good, and so must I. I don’t want my problems with Alexander to jeopardize Your churches. Help me to remember that it’s not the man Alexander that I oppose, it’s his beliefs and the doctrine that he’s attempting to force on all true believers and followers of our Master, Jesus. Give me the strength to put aside my own wants and do what You need me to do. This I will do willingly. Thank You for the opportunity to serve You and to guide others to serve You. Being in Your service is my greatest joy. I exist only to serve You. Guide my thoughts and actions so that my service is according to Your divine purpose. And help me to show Alexander and his followers the errors of their ways so that all of the churches may return to the true faith and proper worship of You and Your son Jesus. Strengthen me in this endeavor so that I do not fail You. Amen.

      Chapter 5

      Late in the afternoon on the eighth day of their journey from Gades, the two warships steered into Portus, the great port just south of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River. From where he stood on the upper deck of the galley, Athanasius saw a series of walls being built to provide greater protection to the sprawling central hub of Roman commerce.

      The size of the port was impressive. For centuries, Rome had wanted a deep water port, and in the end, the Emperor Claudius had it dug in one of the greatest engineering triumphs that the empire had ever seen. Two man-made basins and a man-made island for the harbor’s lighthouse made up the bulk of the harbor, and the warehouse district that surrounded the harbor was so vast that it could easily be mistaken for Rome herself.

      Athanasius and Titurius remained on board the galley while Hosius and Sebastian went ashore to meet with Sylvester, the Bishop and Patriarch of Rome. The eight-day journey to Thessalonika required extra supplies, and it would take time for the crew to procure and load the supplies. The warships would be docked all night, all of the next day, and the next night, leaving Portus the following morning.