Abstract:
The Cappadocian Fathers, Bishops Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, were known for historiography and patristic literature for being born, living and dying in the Province of Cappadocia, in the east of the Roman Empire, present-day Turkey, during the second half of the 4th century AD. However, the three Nicene bishops did not have their lives connected to historiography just because they were compatriots: they participated in the same politico-religious conflicts, which involved the defense of the Trinity doctrine. The relationship between imperial power and Christian groups, as well as the relationship between Christianity-followers themselves, was one of the leading themes in the 4th century AD. Based on a critical analysis of the Cappadocian Fathers’ testimonies about Emperor Valens (364-378 AD), we intend to emphasize the relationship between Arian Christians and Nicene Christians, since, in their testimonies, these bishops assisted in the construction of Valens’ image as a strictly religious enemy of the Nicenes. Such an image was used by historiography to construct a memory that inserts the death of this emperor as an uncritical historiographic landmark that separates persecution and religious liberty for the Nicenes, which would be ended by Theodosius I officialization of the Nicene Christianity in 380 AD.
Keywords:
Power relationship. Late Antiquity. Cappadocian Fathers. Death; Emperor Valens