nstantine was now occupied with the Gothic war,
nothing more could be done till 334. When, however, Athanasius was
ordered to attend a council at Caesarea, he treated it as a mere cabal of
his enemies, and refused to appear.

[Sidenote: The Council of Tyre (335).]

Next year the Eastern bishops gathered to Jerusalem to keep the festival
of the thirtieth year of Constantine's reign and to dedicate his
splendid church on Golgotha. But first it was a work of charity to
restore peace in Egypt. A synod of about 150 bishops was held at Tyre,
and this time the appearance of Athanasius was secured by peremptory
orders from the Emperor. The Eusebians had the upper hand, though there
was a strong minority. Athanasius brought nearly fifty bishops from
Egypt, and others, like Maximus of Jerusalem and Alexander of
Thessalonica, were willing to do justice. Athanasius was not accused of
heresy, but, with more plausibility, of episcopal tyranny. His friends
replied with reckless violence. Potammon aimed a bitter and unrighteous
taunt at Eusebius of Caesarea. 'You and I were once in prison for the
faith. I lost an eye: how did you escape?' Athanasius might perhaps have
been crushed if his enemies had kept up a decent semblance of truth and
fairness. But nothing was further from their thoughts than an impartial
trial. Scandal succeeded scandal, till the iniquity culminated in the
dispatch of an openly partizan commission to superintend the manufacture
of evidence in Egypt. Maximus of Jerusalem and Paphnutius left the
council, saying that it was not good that old confessors like them
should share its evil deeds. The Egyptian bishops protested. Alexander
of Thessalonica denounced the plot to the Emperor's representative.
Athanasius himself took ship for Constantinople without waiting for the
end of the farce, and the council condemned him by default. This done,
the bishops went on to Jerusalem for the proper business of their
meeting.

[Sidenote: Assembly at Jerusalem.]

The concourse on Golgotha was a brilliant spectacle. Ten years had
passed since the still unrivalled assembly at Nicaea, and the veterans of
the last great persecution must have been deeply moved at their meeting
once again in this world. The stately ceremonial suited Maximus and
Eusebius much better than the noisy scene at Tyre, and may for the
moment have soothed the swelling indignation of Potammon and Paphnutius.
Constantine had once more plastered over the divisio