visiting Bishop Alexander at Constantinople. Both
Bishops found solace in each other's companionship, and
both resorted to prayer and fasting that God may show
them a way out of this dilemma. It was Thursday when
the ultimatum had been received. Throughout Friday,
they both supplicated God in great earnestness; Saturday
wore on while the two Bishops still prayed and fasted
unwaveringly.
Now Arius, in anticipation of his triumph, strutted
haughtily among his friends, while his followers paraded
the streets in smug arrogance. At three o'clock on
Saturday afternoon, while Arius stood in the main square
of Constantinople, he was suddenly seized with severe
colic. He asked for a place of rest, and was directed to a
nearby one behind the Forum. While inside, a sudden
sickness gripped him, and he bled profusely. Some time
later, his friends missing him, and worrying about his
delay, went in to see him, and to their horror found him
dead.
The death of Arius relieved the strain in the city
and was considered an act of divine intervention. All the
Churches were opened in an instant, and people thronged
them to offer their thanks. The people's emotions were
deeply stirred-not only in Constantinople, but throughout
the Christian world. The Arian faction became stupefied
and Constantine regarded the incident as another sign
which seemed to lead him to greater attachment to the
Creed of Nicea.^24
- In the meantime, Abba Athanasius met Constantine
the Younger at Traves. After the meeting, the prince
wrote to his father, Constantine the Great, inspiring him
with the thought of ordering the Pope's return to
Alexandria. The Emperor had actually exiled Abba