he seems to have been quite innocent. If Theophilus really cared
at all about the matter, he was in his heart favourable to Origen. But
he found it convenient to take the opposite side; and he cruelly
persecuted such of the Egyptian monks as were said to be touched with
Origen's errors. The chief of these monks were four brothers, called the
_long_ or _tall brothers_: one of them was that same Ammonius who cut
off his ear, and was ready to cut out his tongue, rather than be a
bishop.[27] Theophilus had made much of these brothers, and had employed
two of them in managing his accounts. But these two found out such
practices of his in money matters as quite shocked them, and as, after
this, they refused to stay with the bishop any longer, he charged them
and their brothers with Origenism (as the following of Origen's opinions
was called). They denied that they held any of the errors which
Theophilus laid to their charge; but he went with soldiers into the
desert, hunted out the brothers, destroyed their cells, burnt a number
of books, and even killed some persons. The tall brothers and some of
their friends fled into the Holy Land, but their enemy had power enough
to prevent their remaining there, and they then sought a refuge at
Constantinople.

[26] See Chapter VII.

[27] See page 65.

On hearing of their arrival in his city, Chrysostom inquired about them,
and, finding that they bore a good character, he treated them kindly;
but he would not admit them to communion until he knew what Theophilus
had to say against them. Theophilus, however, was told that Chrysostom
_had_ admitted them, and he wrote a furious letter to him about it. The
brothers were very much alarmed lest they should be turned away at
Constantinople, as they had been in the Holy Land; and one day when the
empress Eudoxia was in a church, they went to her and entreated her to
get the emperor's leave that a council might be held to examine their
case.

Theophilus was summoned to appear before this council, and give an
account of his behaviour to the brothers; but when he got to
Constantinople, he acted as if, instead of being under a charge of
misbehaviour himself, he had been called to judge the bishop of the
capital. He would have nothing to do with Chrysostom. He spent large
sums of money in bribing courtiers and others to favour his own side;
and, when he thought he had made all sure, he held a meeting of six and
thirty bishops, at a place called