No Voice of Reason: Socrates of Constantinople's Adaptation of Athanasius of Alexandria as a Source for his Ecclesiastical History

Abstract:This article explores Socrates of Constantinople's literary strategies in his use of Athanasius of Alexandria as a source for his Ecclesiastical History against the contemporary ecclesiastical and political background. Contrary to the prevailing view which sees Socrates as a blind copyist of Athanasius, this article argues that Socrates deliberately abandoned or altered aspects of his source as a criticism of Athanasius's depiction of the fourth-century "Trinitarian Controversy." Focusing on two case studies—the Melitian Schism and the Council of Serdica—I suggest that Socrates was unsettled by the way in which Athanasius had dealt with dogmatic disputes and dogmatic conflict. Athanasius exemplified the same irreconcilability that Socrates deemed responsible for the severity and longevity of the divisions caused by the "Trinitarian Controversy." Accordingly, Socrates adjusted Athanasius's narrative, investing his (often hostile) interpretations of events with a new, irenic message which he hoped would serve as a clarion call for conciliation at a time when ecclesiastical unity and peace were again threatened by the simmering "Nestorian Controversy."