The Dark Ages Collection. David Hume
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and devoted counsellor, but his influence was not always wisely exerted. He had no judgment, and instead of trying to restrain the impetuous temper of Chrysostom, encouraged or incited him to rash acts.
With the common people the Patriarch enjoyed great popularity. He was no respecter of persons, and he interpreted Christianity in a socialistic sense which has not generally been countenanced or encouraged by the Church. Though it was not political but social inequality that he deprecated, and nothing was further from his thoughts than to upset the established order of things, the spirit of his teaching certainly tended to set the poor against the rich. On the occasion of an earthquake he said publicly that “the vices of the rich caused it, and the prayers of the poor averted the worst consequences.” It was easy for his enemies to fasten upon utterances like this and accuse him of “seducing the people.” His friendships with Olympias and other women whom he sometimes received alone supplied matter for another slander. Having ruined his digestive organs by excessive asceticism, he made a practice of not dining in company, and in consequence of this unsocial habit he was suspected of private gluttony.
For three years Chrysostom and Eudoxia were on the best of terms. Chrysostom owed his see, Eudoxia her throne, to Eutropius, and they both refused to be his creatures. But early in A.D. 401 she did something which evoked a stern rebuke from the Archbishop, and the consequence of his audacity was that he was not received at Court. We learn of this in connexion with an episode which reveals Eudoxia herself in an amiable light.
Porphyrius, the bishop of Gaza, with other clergy of that diocese, visited Constantinople in the spring of A.D. 401, to persuade the government to take strong measures for the suppression of pagan practices. For the citizens of Gaza still obstinately held to the worship of their old deities, Aphrodite, the Sun, Persephone, and above all Marnas, the Cretan Zeus. When the clergy reached the capital and secured lodgings, their first act was to visit Chrysostom. “He received us with great honour and courtesy, and asked us why we undertook the fatigue of the journey, and we told him. And he bade us not to despond but to have hope in the mercies of God, and said, ‘I cannot speak to the Emperor, for the Empress excited his indignation against me because I charged her with a thing which she coveted and robbed. And I am not concerned about his anger, for it is themselves they hurt and not me, and even if they hurt my body they do the more good to my soul… . To-morrow I will send for the eunuch Amantius, the castrensis (chamberlain) of the Empress, who has great influence with her and is really a servant of God, and I shall commit the matter to him.’ Having received these injunctions and a recommendation to God, we proceeded to our inn. And on the next day we went to the bishop and found in his house the chamberlain Amantius, for the bishop had attended to our affair and had sent for him and explained it to him. And when we came in, Amantius stood up and did obeisance to the most holy bishops, inclining his face to the ground, and they, when they were told who he was, embraced him and kissed him. And the archbishop John bade them explain orally their affair to the chamberlain. And Porphyrius explained to him all the concealment of the idolaters, how licentiously they perform the unlawful rites and oppress the Christians. And Amantius, when he heard this, wept and was filled with zeal for God, and said to them, ‘Be not despondent, fathers, for Christ can shield His religion. Do ye therefore pray, and I will speak to the Augusta.’
“The next day the chamberlain Amantius sent two deacons to bid us come to the Palace, and we arose and proceeded with all expedition. And we found him awaiting us, and he took the two bishops and introduced them to the Empress Eudoxia. And when she saw them she saluted them first and said, ‘Give me your blessing, fathers,’ and they did obeisance to her. Now she was sitting on a golden sofa. And she said to them, ‘Excuse me, priests of Christ, on account of my situation, for I was anxious to meet your sanctity in the antechamber. But pray God on my behalf that I may be delivered happily of the child which is in my womb.’ And the bishops, wondering at her condescension, said, ‘May He who blessed the wombs of Sarah and Rebecca and Elizabeth, bless and quicken the child in thine.’ After further edifying conversation, she said to them, ‘I know why ye came, as the castrensis Amantius explained it to me. But if you are fain to instruct me, fathers, I am at your service.’ Thus bidden, they told her all about the idolaters, and the impious rites which they fearlessly practised, and their oppression of the Christians, whom they did not allow to hold a public office nor to till their lands ‘from whose produce they pay the dues to your Imperial sovereignty.’ And the Empress said, ‘Do not despond; for I trust in the Lord Christ, the Son of God, that I shall persuade the Emperor to do those things that are due to your saintly faith and to dismiss you hence well treated. Depart, then, to your privacy, for you are fatigued, and pray God to co-operate with my request.’ She then commanded money to be brought, and gave three handfuls of money to the bishops, saying, ‘In the meantime take this for your expenses.’ And the bishops took the money and blessed her abundantly and departed. And when they went out they gave the greater part of the money to the deacons who were standing at the door, reserving little for themselves.
“And when the Emperor came into the apartment of the Empress, she told him all touching the bishops, and requested him that the heathen temples of Gaza should be pulled down. But the Emperor was put out when he heard it, and said, ‘I know that city is devoted to idols, but it is loyally disposed in the matter of taxation and pays a large sum to the revenue. If then we overwhelm them with terror of a sudden, they will betake themselves to flight and we shall lose so much of the revenue. But if it must be, let us afflict them partially, depriving idolaters of their dignities and other public offices, and bid their temples be shut up and be used no longer. For when they are afflicted and straitened on all sides they will recognise the truth; but an extreme measure coming suddenly is hard on subjects.’ The Empress was much vexed at this reply, for she was ardent in matters of faith, but she merely said, ‘The Lord can assist his servants the Christians, whether we consent or decline.’
“We learned these details from the chamberlain Amantius. On the morrow the Augusta sent for us, and having first saluted the bishops according to custom, she bade them sit down. And after a long spiritual talk, she said, ‘I spoke to the Emperor, and he was somewhat displeased. But do not despond, for, God willing, I cannot cease until ye be satisfied and depart, having succeeded in your pious purpose.’ And the bishops made obeisance. Then the sainted Porphyrius, moved by the spirit, and recollecting the word of the thrice blessed anchoret Procopius, said to the Empress: ‘Exert yourself for the sake of Christ, and in recompense for your exertions He can bestow on you a son whose life and reign you will see and enjoy for many years.’ At these words the Empress was filled with joy, and her face flushed, and new beauty beyond that which she already had passed into her face; for the outward appearance shows what passes within. And she said, ‘Pray, fathers, that according to your word, with the will of God, I may bear a male child, and if it so befall, I promise you to do all that ye ask. And another thing, for which ye ask not, I intend to do with the consent of Christ; I will found a church at Gaza in the centre of the city. Depart then in peace, and rest quiet, praying constantly for my happy delivery; for the time of the birth is near.’ The bishops commended her to God and left the Palace. And prayer was made that she should bear a male child; for we believed in the words of Saint Procopius the anchoret.
“And every day we used to visit John, the archbishop, and had the fruition of his pious discourse, sweeter than honey and the honey comb. And Amantius the chamberlain used to come to us, sometimes bearing messages from the Empress, at other times merely to pay a visit. And after a few days she brought forth a male child [April 10], and he was called Theodosius after his grandfather Theodosius, the Spaniard, who reigned along with Gratian. And the child Theodosius was born in the purple, wherefore he was proclaimed Emperor at his birth. And there was great joy in the city, and men were sent to the cities of the Empire, bearing the good news, with gifts and bounties.
“But the Empress, who had only just been delivered, sent Amantius to us with this message: ‘I thank Christ that God bestowed on me a son, on account of your holy prayers. Pray, then, fathers, for his life and for my lowly self, in order that I may fulfil those things which I promised you, Christ himself again consenting through your holy prayers.’ And when the seven days of her lying-in were fulfilled, she sent for us and met us at the door of the chamber, carrying in her arms the infant in the purple robe. And she inclined her head and said, ‘Draw nigh, fathers, unto me and the child which the Lord granted