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This chapter examines the moves toward a second Ecumenical Council in the years after the second depositions of Athanasius and Marcellus. Constantius’ brother, Constans, is presented as a central figure in the negotiations, perhaps from as early as 340. It is argued that the decisions of the Synod of Rome, here dated to Spring 341, were not intended to be binding on the East in the absence of any Eastern bishops, but merely addressed the local problem of whether or not to continue to treat Athanasius and Marcellus as bishops in the absence of convincing evidence that they had been validly deposed. The works written by Athanasius and Marcellus in Rome at this time, the First Oration against the Arians, the Letter to Julius, and probably On the Holy Church (De Sancta Ecclesia), are examined. It is argued that all draw on a statement agreed between the two concerning a heresy, which Athanasius calls the Arian heresy and Marcellus calls Ariomania. The signatories and documents of the Eastern and Western synods of Serdica are minutely examined, and argued to show that the two alliances were now in a process of realignment. Marcellus and Athanasius were in fundamental disagreement over whether or not to issue a statement adding to the Nicene Creed, and most of the Easterners were not in as intransigent a mood as the letter written in their name might suggest. Marcellus withdrew from public engagement with the controversy shortly afterwards to obviate the need to choose between a breach with Athanasius or with his own pupil Photinus of Sirmium. He died nearly 30 years later in communion with the former, without ever having condemned the latter.

This chapter examines the influence of Athanasius’ polemic upon the western Church in the period 339-46. This influence is particularly visible in two texts quoted by Athanasius in his Apologia Contra Arianos: the letter of Julius of Rome in 340/1, and the letters of the Western Council of Serdica in 343. All these letters endorse Athanasius’ construction of the ‘Eusebians’ and seek to impose this construct upon his eastern foes.

The failure of the attempted settlement of the dispute over the teachings of Arius by the Council of Nicaea in 325 resulted in intense turmoil within the Church during the decades to follow, and this was greatly exacerbated by the division of the Empire after the death of Constantine and the differing ecclesiastical policies of his heirs. Following the deposition of Athanasius and other bishops by the partisans of Arius and their restoration by a council at Rome in 341, a council to resolve the doctrinal differences and personal grievances was convened by permission of the emperors to meet at Serdica in 343. Upon arrival at Serdica, the Eastern bishops, largely sympathetic with the anti‐Nicene party, refused to meet with the Westerns, and two rival councils were held. The Western council confirmed the restoration of Athanasius and his companions at Rome in 341, considered but rejected a new creed, wrote an encyclical and other letters, resolved a dispute over the dating of Easter, and enacted the canons that we are here considering; the Eastern council reapproved the Fourth Creed of Antioch, drafted a paschal cycle, wrote an encyclical condemning Athanasius and his associates and all who had entered into communion with them. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the life of Ossius of Cordova, who presided over the Western council and was also the leading figure in the framing of the Serdican canons.

The council held at Serdica (modern Sofia) in the 340s on the initiative of the emperors Constans and Constantius II was meant to be an ecumenical gathering, but split into an eastern synod and a western synod, meeting separately. The emperors' plans for reconciliation were destroyed by western intransigence and the eastern refusal to hold communion with Athanasius and Marcellus. The western statement of faith exacerbated disagreement on the nature of the Trinity and the authority of Rome. A synod at Milan in 345 confirmed that for Rome and the west the Nicene Creed had become the crucial test of orthodoxy.

Focuses on the period between 340 and 350. It begins by considering how Athanasius drew on some previous tradition to create the category ‘arian.’ Also considers the theology of Athanasius’ Orations Against the Arians and the success of Athanasius in getting some significant support in the West. The categories ‘east’ and ‘west’ are brought under suspicion, however, in discussion of the council of Serdica in 343. The ‘western’ members present included a large number of Greek and Balkan bishops. Ends by considering attempts at rapprochement between ‘east’ and ‘west’ in the later 340s and the ‘Macrostich’ creed.

This chapter discusses Pope Nicolas I's support to Ignatius. Nicholas suspended any decision on recognition in the canon of the western Council of Serdica against elevating laity to be bishops without having been presbyter or deacon, and wished to await the reports of his legates on the moral character of Photius. In facing the question of canonical qualification for consecration to episcopal orders, Photius was not unwilling to make concessions to Nicolas. At a synod he arranged for a canon to be enacted for the Greek churches that in future a layman or monk should not be elevated to the episcopate without having passed through the diaconate and presbyterate. In response to Pope Nicolas' reservations about his ejection, the proceedings for reviewing Ignatius' case began.

This chapter presents the Western Council of Serdica and its canon law as a response to the Dedication Council and the canons of Antioch. It sets out the two opposing views, of East and West, about how decisions should be made in the Church: individual episcopal authority through a developing hierarchy, or conciliar consensus. The Serdican canons expose the significance of the actions and ambitions of individual bishops in shaping canon law and ultimately the Church’s approach to decision-making, as well as the ease by which unfounded accusations of the Arian heresy became a new weapon in the struggle between leading bishops of East and West. The chapter addresses the association of the Serdican canons with the Nicene, exploring the significance of this for the bishop of Rome, as well as for understanding synodical structures in the period. It also begins a broader discussion around the status and power of early canon law.