bishops would not believe that Julius was the interpreter of the Western Church, as he claimed in the answer which he addressed to them.[1]
For this reason the bishops of that part of the Catholic Church were convoked, that they might decide between the Eastern bishops and the Bishop of Rome in the case of the persecuted bishops — especially St. Athanasius. That was the object of the Council of Sardica, (A.D. 347.)[2]
This fact alone is sufficient to prove that the universal authority of the Bishop of Rome was not then recognized, and that his ecclesiastical prerogative was subordinate to the judgment of the council.
Julius wrote to the Council of Sardica, excusing himself from personally responding to the letter of convocation that had been addressed to him. He sent two priests and a deacon to represent him, and the assembly was presided over by Hosius, Bishop of Cordova.
The cause of Athanasius and that of the other bishops deposed in the East by the Arian faction, with the support of the imperial power, was examined. Their innocence and orthodoxy were established, and they were confirmed as legitimate bishops of their respective sees. A council assembled at Rome by Julius had already pronounced a similar sentence, but that had been found insufficient. Another council of the West, held at Milan, requested the Emperor Constans to make arrangement with his brother, who resided at Constantinople, to assemble the bishops of the two empires. It was then that the two emperors convoked the Council of Sardica, where the Eastern clergy were to meet the Western, and terminate the discussion. The Arian bishops, finding themselves in the minority, pleaded some technical objection for not attending the council, which held its ses-
