safeguard his peaceful return, and would see to it that life
return to normal within the Church of Alexandria.
- With all these affirmations ringing in his ears,
Athanasius listened to the call of his heart and left for
Alexandria. Out of propriety and friendliness he passed
by Rome, where he was met by the Bishop and the people
with great joy and hailed as the great defender of
Orthodoxy.
From Rome Athanasius went to Antioch to meet
Emperor Constantius. After the interview, the Emperor
wrote to all the bishops and priests of the Church
Universal declaring to them that Athanasius had been
completely reinstated, and that all his adherents – like
him – should fear no anxiety for the future. He then
wrote a particular letter to the people of the Church
Universal living in Alexandria. Lastly he wrote to the
prefects of Egypt, the Thebaid, and Lybia, informing them
that all the papers written against Athanasius should be
removed from the public annals, destroyed, and
considered as non-existent.
On leaving Antioch, Athanasius went to Jerusalem.
All the bishops of Palestine, with the exception of three,
received him with joy, and assembled in a council to give
him a collective testimony of their sentiments. They also
gave him a letter to the priests, the deacons and the
people of Alexandria, which they all signed.^35 - Jerusalem was his last stop on the way home.
After nine years of exile: nine years of uninterrupted pain,
and growing virtue, Athanasius was finally recompensed
with an unexpected triumph. He returned home with
enhanced rather than diminished prestige, vindicated by
the declarations of four councils, the favour of two