resigning, to the orthodox believers, the use and possession of the
episcopal palace, the cathedral of St. Sophia, and all the churches of
Constantinople. The zeal of Damophilus, which in a Catholic saint
would have been justly applauded, embraced, without hesitation, a life
of poverty and exile, and his removal was immediately followed by the
purification of the Imperial city. The Arians might complain, with
some appearance of justice, that an inconsiderable congregation of
sectaries should usurp the hundred churches, which they were
insufficient to fill; whilst the far greater part of the people was
cruelly excluded from every place of religious worship. Theodosius was
still inexorable; but as the angels who protected the Catholic cause
were only visible to the eyes of faith, he prudently reënforced those
heavenly legions with the more effectual aid of temporal and carnal
weapons; and the church of St. Sophia was occupied by a large body of
the Imperial guards. If the mind of Gregory was susceptible of pride,
he must have felt a very lively satisfaction, when the emperor
conducted him through the streets in solemn triumph; and, with his own
hand, respectfully placed him on the archiepiscopal throne of
Constantinople. But the saint (who had not subdued the imperfections
of human virtue) was deeply affected by the mortifying consideration,
that his entrance into the fold was that of a wolf, rather than of a
shepherd; that the glittering arms which surrounded his person, were
necessary for his safety; and that he alone was the object of the
imprecations of a great party, whom, as men and citizens, it was
impossible for him to despise. He beheld the innumerable multitude of
either sex, and of every age, who crowded the streets, the windows,
and the roofs of the houses; he heard the tumultuous voice of rage,
grief, astonishment, and despair; and Gregory fairly confesses, that
on the memorable day of his installation, the capital of the East wore
the appearance of a city taken by storm, and in the hands of a