(The novel by Nicée 2/7) to meet Areios

Episode 2

Spring 325. Alexandros, the bishop of Alexandria, and the young scribe Demetrios set out to Nicaée. Meanwhile, in Antioch, the bishop Ossius, adviser to the Emperor Constantine, comes to discreetly meet the Areios priest whose homilies begin to sow disorder in Christian communities.

“The only Son of God is the path. His father is the truth. And his mind life ”. Once again, Ossius hums this chorus. On board the ship that led him to Antikheia*, the sailors were constantly sanging him. Some were proud to have heard it from the very mouth of Areios*, in Alexandreia*. They told what fervor and what the old priest was led by the small community of Bacaulis, on the port. With such ambassadors, the good news spread throughout the Empire.

The fame of Areios too. In recent days, at the general assembly of managers of Christian communities, when we had to discuss how to name the bishops and the obedience that we owe them, we only talked about him. Of his authority, his ambitions, but also and above all what he says of Christ: for him, the Son would not completely share the divine nature of the father … It is to put an end to this quarrel that the emperor commissioned him.

The sun is high now above Mont Staurin. Ossius left Antikheia behind him following the banks of the Oronte river. By distracting distracting the caravans of Persian merchants loaded with silk, he thinks of his next interview with Areios. They have an appointment with one of his old friends, a former Centurion to whom Rome entrusted, as a reward for his loyal service, a large agricultural property. He crosses olive fields and arrives for the house, from which two servants come out. “The master is traveling and regrets that he could not welcome you,” says the oldest who is also the intendant in the domain. But his home is at your disposal. “Then, away, he adds:” Your guest is already waiting for you on the terrace. Let me drive you. »»

“Areios, beloved brother!” I give thanks to the Lord for our meeting on this day. Areios got up. Vaulted, the sweet gaze under his thick white eyebrows, he helps a cane to move towards ossius, which he greets with warmth, as is suitable for brothers in Christ. Then, they sat down and contemplate without saying anything the workers who are busy in the fields below. It is Ossius that breaks the silence: “I was told a lot about you. »Areios pouts and asks for an amused voice:

” – Good or bad?”

– During my trip, I stopped in Kaisareia*, on the Syrian coast, at the bishop Eusebios. It was he who encouraged me to come and listen to you with kindness. He told me what he knows about your life, how of your distant Cyrenaica (1), you came to train here in your youth, before being welcomed as a deacon, then as a priest by the patriarchs of Egypt. Not easily if I understood correctly … “

Areios no longer smiles, absorbed in his thoughts. Has it not been excluded from this church by a bishop before being reinstated, a few years later, by his successor? And isn’t that what Alexandros tries to make him undergo once again? But Ossius resumes: “Eusebios praised me. And I was able to measure how effective your preaching was. Your choruses have reached me. “And he begins to sing:” The only Son of God is the path. His father is the truth. And his mind life. Surprised, Areios takes up the chorus with his host. Then, in turn, he speaks: “Venerable Ossius, thank you. You, it is by advising the emperor that you use the good news. A task not easy when you come from the distant Hispanie to put yourself at the service of the Empire. I know you come to bring me back to a conception of the Trinity which is not mine.

– To keep you, above all, in the communion of the church.

-How can we claim communion when Alexandros himself false my words? Areios Cup. I am in communion! I believe in Jesus, the only son of the Father. But I assert that the son was created by the father, who is alone beyond everything, and source of everything. »»

Areios left, ossius writes his report. “His passion for Christ is beautiful but prevails offshore, like these swimmers who no longer know how to return to the shore, carried away by a too strong swell. »Ossius shivers. Will he be able to avoid drowning him?

(1) Roman province of western Egypt, located today in Libya.