he were coerced, then he would have no share at all in the deed; but if he acted of his own free will, then obedience to him would be conceivable, disobedience to him would be conceivable, his being rewarded would be conceivable, and his being punished would be conceivable—and this is the most shocking assertion of all.

He continued:

He answered them yet again, saying, ‘If the Creator fashioned His creation only through a created being, then that created being is unquestionably other than the Creator. You have therefore claimed that the Creator acts through something outside Himself; but anyone who can accomplish an act only by means of another stands in need of that other to complete it, and whoever is dependent on another is deficient. The Creator—exalted is He—transcends every kind of deficiency.’

He went on:

When the Patriarch of Alexandria had refuted the arguments of those opponents and everyone present could see the falsehood of their position, they became bewildered and ashamed. They rushed at the Patriarch of Alexandria and struck him until he was on the verge of death, but Constantine’s nephew rescued him from their hands. The Patriarch—who had argued against the followers of Arius—fled to Jerusalem without any bishop accompanying him. There he prepared the chrism oil (duhn al-mayrūn), consecrated the churches, and anointed them with the chrism. He then travelled to the emperor, informed him of what had happened, and the emperor sent him back to Alexandria.