Abstract

This study aims to delineate some aspects relating to Hosius of Corduba, especially in regard to the nexus between ecclesiastical politics and faithfulness to Nicene orthodoxy found on the margins of the often discussed concessions by the Spanish bishop to the pressures of Emperor Constantius II, when the former signed the homoiousian formula of the Council of Sirmium in 357. Through an analysis of the ancient historiographical witnesses, one notes a clear divergence between the Eastern and Western sources. While Hosius’s orthodoxy and sanctity are a given in the tradition of the Greek Church, Latin historiography considered him a crazy old man and traitor of the Nicene faith. These contrasting judgments come from the differing evaluations attributed to the Spanish bishop’s concessions when he was confronted by Constantius II: for those of the East, it is simply a question of ecclesiastical politics; for the West, faithfulness to Nicene orthodoxy involved taking a much greater risk. This note wishes to foster a reading of the Orthodoxy of Hosius that is more juridical than doctrinal.