3. The Great Council IN the early summer of the year 325 the Council of Nicaea met: 318 Bishops were present, besides a multitude of priests, deacons and acolytes. It was like the Day of Pentecost, said the people: “men of all nations and of all tongues.” Many bore the glorious marks of the sufferings they had endured for Christ;

4. The Calm before the Storm WITH the enemies of the Church in exile, for a time there was peace. The heathen came flocking from every side to embrace the Faith. Pagan temples were overthrown and Christian churches were erected in their place. The Emperor himself built no less than eight in Rome, under the direction of Pope St. Sylvester,

5. False Witnesses THE storm of persecution which was to fall with such fury upon St. Athanasius was already gathering. Constantia, the Emperor's favourite sister, who had always been strongly in favour of the Arians, became very ill: The priest who attended her on her deathbed, a friend and tool of Eusebius of Nicomedia, induced her to persuade Constantine, who

6. A Royal-Hearted Exile ATHANASIUS had prevailed once more over his enemies, but Eusebius was always at the Emperor's side and knew how to play upon his weakness: Was it possible, he asked, that so many and such various charges could be brought up against a man if he were innocent? Athanasius was clever and had many friends, he continued,

7. The Day of Rejoicing IT was an evil day for Alexandria: Most of the Egyptian Bishops refused to acknowledge Gregory and were instantly arrested. Some were banished, some tortured, some imprisoned. St. Potamon, who had narrowly missed martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian, was scourged with rods until he died. The many cruelties of the usurper made him so

8. The Invisible Patriarch IT was indeed the hour of darkness, and it seemed as if the powers of evil were let loose upon the world: The Arians, with the Emperor on their side, were carrying everything before them. Nearly all the Bishops who had upheld the Nicene faith were in exile or in prison. St. Antony, over a hundred

9. A Short-Lived Peace ATHANASIUS was quick to take advantage of the decree which allowed the banished Bishops to return to their sees. On the way to Alexandria he stopped to talk over matters with other noble exiles who, like himself, had suffered for the Truth: Many of the faithful had been compelled by force or induced by threats or

10. The Last Exile IT was not safe for Athanasius to remain long in the neighbourhood of Alexandria, for the pagans were now having it all their own way. Two of the bravest and most faithful of his clergy had been seized and exiled, and Julian's troops were searching everywhere for the Patriarch. Athanasius made his way to the Thebaid,

11. The Truce of God ATHANASIUS was back once more in the midst of his people. This time they were determined to keep him at any cost, as they gave the Arians to understand a year later when Lucius , the man who had been recommended to Jovian as a suitable Patriarch, ventured to make his appearance in Alexandria. No