Saturday, 3 August 2019

In Constantinople And East Residence

In 325 Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, was seething with discussion. The buzz in the city was not about a sports team or about an election. People were talking about the doctrine of the Trinity. One church leader said, if in this city you ask someone for change, he will discuss with you whether God the Son is begotten or unbegotten. If you ask about the quality of the bread, you will receive the answer that ‘God the Father is greater, God the Son is less. . .
"So Constantinople called a council of the Church..."
-copied from here.

"Raj remembered an ancient chronicle he had read, of a previous synod: a Sysup from the provinces had said, In East Residence, if you ask a baker for bread he will tell you that the Spirit proceeds from the Stars; if you inquire of the bath attendant whether the water is hot, she will reply that the Spirit proceeds from the Man of the Stars."
-SM Stirling and David Drake, The Forge IN Stirling and Drake, Warlord (Riverdale, NY, 2003), pp. 1-305 AT CHAPTER ELEVEN, p. 187.

Constantinople (scroll down) is nothing if not important. And it turns out to be the source of this passage in The Forge.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I remember his incident, both from one of the books I've read quoting the bishop and from Drake/Stirling's use of it in THE FORGE. Unfortunately, I don't recall the bishop's name. Obviously, the Arian heresy had aroused passionate interest!

Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
Not many military sf fans will know that there is a source for this passage.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I did! I know I read a translation of this bishop's complaint of how the passions roused by the Arian controversy was affecting the small details of everyday life. Maddening how I can't remember this man's name.

Sean