Documents of the Early Arian Controversy – Chronology according to Rowan Williams (2002)
See William’s book, Arius: Heresy and Tradition pp. 58-9; 67-81.
William’s most notable deviation from Opitz’s chronology is that he reverses the order of Alexander’s two longer letters (Henos sōmatos/urk. 4b/doc. 2.2 and Hē philarchos/urk. 14/doc. 17). He also shortens the span of time from the outbreak of the controversy to the Council of Nicaea, allowing for about 4 years instead of 6. We end the chart at 325, after which Williams seems to follow Opitz’s chronology. We have only included dates mentioned in Arius, or dates that seem to fit with the other dates he gives. Fragments have been excluded.
| Chart: | |
| W- date: | The date Williams assigns to the document, if listed in Arius: Heresy and Tradition |
| ancient source: | gives the location in the sources from which we have taken the document. |
| translations: | gives the location of translations. FCC translations may be accessed by clicking the link |
| doc | the document number in the 2007 edition of Athanasius Werke |
| 2007 date | the approximate date of in the 2007 edition of Athanasius Werke |
| urk.: | provides the document number (Urk.) in Opitz’s Early Arian Documents (German: Urkunden). See the contents of this volume by page number |
| Opitz date | the date assigned by Opitz. Click here to see the issues related to chronology. |
| CPG: | Clavis Patrum Graecorum reference number. |
| extra space |
| W-date | description | ancient sources | translations | doc. | 2007 date | urk. | Opitz date | CPG |
| 321 | Arius and his followers to Alexander of Alexandria | Athanasius, De synodis 16; Epiphanius, Panarion 69.7; Hilary, De Trinitate 4.12 |
FCC; CLA no. 22; Hanson, pp. 7-8; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 458; NPNF2 vol. 9, p. 74; New Eusebius, no. 284 |
1 | 318-320 | 6 | c. 320 | 2026 |
| 321 | Summary of letter of a council in Palestine reinstating Arius | Sozomen, Historia ecclesiastica 1.15.11 | FCC; NPNF2 vol. 2, p. 252 | 8 | 320-322 | 10 | c. 321/2 | – |
| 321/2 | Alexander of Alexandria to Alexander of Byzantium | Theodoret, Historia ecclesiastica 1.4 (1.3 in the NPNF) |
FCC; CLA no. 21; NPNF2 vol. 3, pp. 35-41; Discussed in Hanson, p. 141-2 Discussed on New Eusebius, no. 285 |
17 | 323-324 | 14 | 324 | 2002 |
| 321/2 | Arius to Eusebius of Nicomedia | Epiphanius, Panarion 69.6; Theodoret, Historia ecclesiastica 1.5 (1.4 in the NPNF) |
FCC; New Eusebius, no. 283; Sections 2-8: Hanson, p. 139, Sections 4-5: Hanson, p. 6; NPNF2 vol. 3, p. 41 |
15 | 323-324 | 1 | c. 318 | 2025 |
| 321/2 | Fragment of a letter from Eusebius of Nicomedia to Arius | Athanasius, De synodis 17.2 | FCC; Hanson, p. 31; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 459 |
16 | 323-324 | 2 | c. 318 | 2046 |
| 321-323 | Eusebius of Caesarea to Euphration of Balanea | Sections 1-3: Council of Nicaea, Session 5: Labbe vol. 7, col. 365; Sections 1-2: 2nd Council of Nicaea, Session 5: in Mansi vol. 13, col.176, 317; Sections 4-5: Eusebius, Contra Marcellum1.4.40-41, 57; Athanasius,De synodis 17.3 |
FCC | 10 | 320-322 | 3 | c. 318 | 3500 |
| 321-323 | Athanasius of Anazarbus to Alexander of Alexandria | Athanasius, De synodis 17.4 | FCC; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 458; Discussed Hanson, p. 42 |
11 | 320-322 | 11 | c. 322 | 2060 |
| 321-323 | Priest George to Alexander of Alexandria | Athanasius, De synodis 17.5 | FCC; Hanson, p. 44; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 459 |
6 | 318-320 | 12 | c. 322 | 3555 |
| 321-323 | Priest George to the Arians in Alexandria | Athanasius, De synodis 17.6 | FCC; Hanson, p. 44; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 459 |
7 | 318-320 | 13 | c. 322 | 3556 |
| 323 | Fragment of a letter of Alexander of Alexandria to all bishops | Greek: Schwartz, pp. 265-7; Syriac: Pitra, vol. 4, pp. 196-7 |
FCC | 14 | 320-322 | 15 | 324 | 2003 |
| 323 | Eusebius of Nicomedia to Paulinus of Tyre | Theodoret, Historia ecclesiastica 1.6 (1.5 in the NPNF) |
FCC; NPNF2 vol. 3, p. 42 | 4 | 318-320 | 8 | c. 320 | 2045 |
| 324 | Summary of letter of a Council in Bithynia | Sozomen, Historia ecclesiastica 1.15.10 | FCC; NPNF2 vol. 2, p. 252 | 3 | 318-320 | 5 | c. 320 | – |
| 324Dec. | Emperor Constantine to Alexander of Alexandria and Arius | Eusebius, Vita Constantini, 2.64; Sections 6-15: Socrates, Historia ecclesiastica 1.7; Sections 6-15: Anonymous Church History 2.4 |
FCC; New Eusebius, no. 287; Coleman, no. 47; NPNF2 vol. 1, pp. 515-8; Sections 6-15: NPNF2 vol. 2, p. 6-7 |
19 | 323-324 | 17 | 324Oct | 2020 |
| 325Jan./Feb. | Alexander of Alexandria to his clergy | Athanasius, De decretis 34 | FCC; NPNF2 vol. 4, p. 69 | 2.1 | 318-320 | 4a | 318/9 | 2001 |
| 325early | Alexander of Alexandria’s encyclical letter on Arius‘s deposition | Athanasius, De decretis 35; Socrates, Historia ecclesiastica 1.6.; Anonymous Church History 2.3.1-21 |
FCC; New Eusebius, no. NPNF2 vol. 4, pp. 69-72; NPNF2 vol. 2, pp.3-5; 282;Sections 2-3: Hanson, p. 16 |
2.2 | 318-320 | 4b | c. 318 | 2000 |
| 325 | Eusebius of Caesarea to Alexander of Alexandria | 2nd Council of Nicaea: Labbe, vol. 7, col. 496 and Mansi, vol.13, coll. 316-7 |
FCC | 9 | 320-322 | 7 | c. 320 | 3501 |
| 325early | Letter of the Council of Antioch (325) | Greek and Syriac: Schwartz, pp. 271-9; Syriac: Schulthess, pp. 160-2 |
FCC; New Eusebius, no. 288; Sections 8-11: Hanson, p. 149 |
20 | 325 | 18 | 325early | 8509 |
Click to see Documents of the Early Arian Controversy
Documents of the Early Arian Controversy according to Sarah Parvis (2006)
Documents of the Early Arian Controversy according to Athanasius Werke – Urkunden vol. 3.3 (2007)
No Responses yet
