Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire

by Timothy D. Barnes

Overview

As the high-ranking Bishop of Alexandria from 328 to 373, Athanasius came into conflict with no fewer than four Roman emperors—Constantine himself, his son Constantius, Julian the Apostate, and the “Arian” Valens. In this new reconstruction of Athanasius’s career, Timothy D. Barnes analyzes the nature and extent of the Bishop’s power, especially as it intersected with the policies of these emperors.

Repeatedly condemned and deposed by church councils, the Bishop persistently resurfaced as a player to contend with in ecclesiastic and imperial politics. Barnes’s work reveals that Athanasius’s writings, though a significant source for this period, are riddled with deliberate misinterpretations, which historians through the ages have uncritically accepted.

Untangling longstanding misconceptions, Barnes reveals the Bishop’s true role in the struggles within Christianity, and in the relations between the Roman emperor and the Church at a critical juncture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674005495
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/16/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Timothy D. Barnes is Professor of Classics at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chronology of Athanasius' Career and Writings

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

2. Bishop Alexander

3. Athanasius and Constantine: History and Apologia

4. A Journey to Cappadocia

5. Arhanasius in Rome

6. Julius and Marcellus

7. The Intervention of Constans

8. The Council of Serdica

9. Athanasius and the Martyrs of Adrianople

10. Return to Alexandria

11. The Condemnation of 349 and Its Context

12. The Usurpation of Magnentius

13. Sirmium, Ark, and Milan

14. Apologia, Polemic, and Theology

15. New Theological Controversies

16. The Homoean Creed

17. The Elder Statesman

18. The Emperor and the Church, 324-361

19. Bishops and Society

20. Epilogue

Appendices

1. TheFestal Letters

2. The Composition of the Defense against the Arians

3. TheDefense before Constantius

4. The Date of On the Council of Nicaea

Editorial Reviews

An indispensable chart for the tricky waters of fourth-century history. [Barnes] has written another classic.

The Historian - John F. Drinkwater

Barnes’s contribution to late Roman studies has been of the first importance. He often plays the role of devil’s advocate, scrutinizing our preconceptions about the period and provoking us to think again about issues of central importance… Barnes has provided us with another masterpiece of historical reconstruction. A lucid narrative is supported by appendices and notes so detailed that they take up more than one-third of the book… No review can really do Barnes’s work justice and it is impossible not to admire its richness… At a time when such studies are unfashionable, it is good to know that they have a defender of remarkable calibre.

Classical Review - Mark Humphries

An indispensable chart for the tricky waters of fourth-century history. [Barnes'] has written another classic.
— John F. Drinkwater

The Historian

Barnes's contribution to late Roman studies has been of the first importance. He often plays the role of devil's advocate, scrutinizing our preconceptions about the period and provoking us to think again about issues of central importance...Barnes has provided us with another masterpiece of historical reconstruction. A lucid narrative is supported by appendices and notes so detailed that they take up more than one-third of the book...No review can really do Barnes's work justice and it is impossible not to admire its richness...At a time when such studies are unfashionable, it is good to know that they have a defender of remarkable calibre.
— Mark Humphries

Classical Review