ordered the banishment of Abba Petros II, once more
imposing an intruder on St. Mark's Chair by the name of
Lucius. To safeguard his minion, he sent with him a
contingent of soldiers in addition to the any in Egypt. Lucius
thus entered into the Egyptian metropolis with confident
pomposity.
History repeated itself, and the Copts and their Pope
were again subjected to persecutions and to the harshest kind
of treatment.
But once more St. Mark's Successor managed to
elude his would-be persecutors and to hide in the home of
one of the faithful, from whence he could undertake his
ecclesiastic duties.
- During this period, it seemed to many that Arianism
was once more on the ascendance. Appearances, however,
were illusory: the Arians, in spite of their political triumph,
were far short of victory. "Now the Church knew herself
better; and the Formula of Nicea was acknowledged to be
the expression of the True Faith even by those who yielded
to fear of constraint."^1 - Frustrated by his inability to lay hands on Abba
Petros, Emperor Valens ordered the banishment of all the
bishops who confessed the Consubstantial Redeemer.
Among these Orthodox bishops was Abba Melas of
Rhinocorrura.^2 The soldiers sent to escort him to exile
arrived one evening when the venerable man of God was in
Church cleaning the lamps and lighting them. Deeming this
work below the dignity of a bishop, the soldiers asked him to
lead them to Abba Melas. He took them to his house,
assuring them that the bishop will be duly told of their
arrival. He prepared supper for them and waited on them
himself. When they had eaten to satiety, he disclosed to