Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Series 2 - The Still Small ...

With Anthimus peace was ultimately established. Basil vehemently desired it. 200 Eusebius
of Samosata again intervened. 201 Nazianzus remained for a time subject to Cæsarea,
but was eventually recognized as subject to the Metropolitan of Tyana. 202
The relations, however, between the two metropolitans remained for some time strained.
When in Armenia in 372, Basil arranged some differences between the bishops of that district,
and dissipated a cloud of calumny hanging over Cyril, an Armenian bishop. 203 He also
acceded to a request on the part of the Church of Satala that he would nominate a bishop
for that see, and accordingly appointed Pœmenius, a relation of his own. 204 Later on a
certain Faustus, on the strength of a recommendation from a pope with whom he was
residing, applied to Basil for consecration to the see, hitherto occupied by Cyril. With this
request Basil declined to comply, and required as a necessary preliminary the authorisation
of the Armenian bishops, specially of Theodotus of Nicopolis. Faustus then betook himself
to Anthimus, and succeeded in obtaining uncanonical consecration from him. This was
naturally a serious cause of disagreement. 205 However, by 375, a better feeling seems to
have existed between the rivals. Basil is able at that date to speak of Anthimus as in complete
agreement with him. 206
au contraire, semble prendre à la lettre ce qu’il a lu dans Plutarque et dans Xénophon de l’amitié antique.” E.
Fialon, Et. Hist. In other words, Gregory’s idea of friendship was to sacrifice one’s self: Basil’s to sacrifice one’s
friend. This is an interesting vindication of Basil, but the cause of God was hardly identical with the humiliation
of Anthimus.
200 Ep. xcvii.
201 Ep. xcviii.
202 Greg. Naz., Ep. clii.
203 Ep. xcix.
204 Epp. cii., ciii.
205 Epp. cxx., cxxi., cxxii.
206 Ep. ccx.
The Breach with Gregory of Nazianzus.
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xxvii