Athanasius of Alexandria, in his History of the Arians, describes how in c. 355 Eusebius, a prominent courtier of the emperor Constantius II, tried to donate gifts from the emperor to the shrine of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036) after they were rejected by Liberius, the bishop of Rome. Written in Greek at an unknown location in Egypt, 357.
E08618
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Athanasius of Alexandria (see also COPTIC)
Athanasius, History of the Arians 37.1
Athanasius has described (§ 35.4-5) how Constantius sent the eunuch Eusebius, a major figure in his court, to Rome with rich gifts, in the hope of bribing Liberius to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and adhere to the emperor's doctrinal line. Instead, Liberius defends Athanasius and condemns the emperor's actions (§ 36).
Ὀ μὲν οὖν ἐπίσκοπος Λιβέριος τοιαῦτα, ὁ δὲ εὐνούχος λυπηθεὶς οὐ τοσοῦτον, ὅτι μὴ ὑπέγραψεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι τῆς αἱρέσεως ἐχθρὸν αὐτὸν εὗρεν, ἐπιλαθόμενός τε ὅτι πρὸς ἐπίσκοπον ἦν μεγάλως ἀπειλήσας ἐξήρχετο μετὰ τῶν δώρων. πράττει δέ τι παράνομον Χριστιανών μὲν ἀλλότριον, σπαδόντων δὲ τολμηρότερον. τὴν γἀρ παράβασιν τοῦ Σαοὺλ μιμησάμενος ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὸ μαρτύριον Πέτρου τοῦ ἀποστόλου τὰ δῶρα αὐτῷ ἀνέθηκεν. ἀλλὰ μαθὼν ὁ Λιβέριος πρὸς μὲν τὸν τηροῦντα τὸν τόπον καὶ μὴ κωλύσαντα μεγάλως ἠγανάκτησεν, αὐτὰ δὲ ὡς ἄθυτον θυσίαν ἀπέρριψε, καὶ τοῦτο μᾶλλον εἰς ὀργὴν ἐκίνει τὸν θλαδίαν.
'After Bishop Liberius said this, the eunuch became distressed, not so much because the bishop had not subscribed against Athanasius, but because he himself had discovered that Liberius was hostile to the heresy. Then, having forgotten that he was addressing a bishop, he spoke in a very threatening manner and went off with his gifts. Next he did something unlawful that was not only inappropriate for a Christian, but extremely audacious even for a eunuch. Imitating the wrongdoing of Saul, he entered the martyrion of the apostle Peter and dedicated the gifts to him. When he learnt about this, Liberius was very displeased with the overseer of the place for failing to prevent this, while he threw out the gifts themselves as an unfit sacrifice, thereby enraging the eunuch still further.'
Text: Opitz 1935-41, 203-4.
Translation: Flower 2016, 70.
Martyr shrine (martyrion, bet sāhedwātā, etc.)
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - Popes
Eunuchs
Source
Athanasius' History of the Arians is a polemical account of events in the church from the 330s up to the time of composition, designed to justify Athanasius' own position and to place Constantius' regime in the worst possible light. It was written when Athanasius was in hiding following attempts by Constantius to have him arrested in Alexandria. On the basis of its references to contemporary events, it can be dated to around the end of 357 (Barnes 1993, 126; Flower 2016, 25 and 42).Discussion
Liberius, bishop of Rome since 352, was a leading opponent in the West of Constantius' ecclesiastical policies and came under intense pressure to follow the emperor's doctrinal line. This incident can be dated to 355, since in Athanasius' narrative it comes just before Liberius' exile, which took place in that year. The eunuch Eusebius (PLRE I, 'Eusebius 11') is a very well known figure, whose power and influence are depicted across a whole range of sources for Constantius' reign. Athanasius' reference to 'the wrongdoing of Saul' appears to be an allusion to 1 Samuel 15 (Flower 2016, 70, n. 137).Though Athanasius gives no details about the 'martyrion' where Eusebius attempted to leave his donation, it can only be the shrine of Peter in St Peter's basilica.
Bibliography
Editions and translations:Opitz, H.-G., Athanasius Werke. Zweiter Band, Erster Teil. Die Apologien (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1935-41), 183-230.
Flower, R., Imperial Invectives against Constantius II: Athanasius of Alexandria, History of the Arians; Hilary of Poitiers, Against Constantius; Lucifer of Cagliari, The Necessity of Dying for the Son of God (Translated Texts for Historians 67; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2016), 39-114.
Further reading:
Barnes, T.D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1993).
David Lambert
14/02/2026
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Πέτρος | Certain |
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