According to the ancient historian Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, Pulcheria took a vow of virginity when she became Augusta, and her sisters followed suit.

Pulcheria ’ s reason for a vow of virginity may have been her deeply religious virtue as recorded by Sozomen: “ She devoted her virginity to God, and instructed her sisters to do likewise.

According to ancient historians Sozomen, Socrates, and Theodoret, Pulcheria had a deep dislike for Anthemius, the former guardian of Theodosius ; the reasons may have been his distaste for her immense power within the empire and her unwillingness to allow Anthemius to gain power amongst the imperial court.

She had built many churches in and around the city of Constantinople, she had also built many buildings for the poor in the city " Sozomen writes that it would take too much time to describe all the churches Pulcheria built, as well as hospitals and inns for the poor.

Under the influence of Pulcheria, Theodosius sent troops into battle against Persia, the fanaticism over the war by the people of the empire was described by Sozomen as " ready to do anything for the sake of Christianity.

For example in the mid 350 ’ s the city of Jerusalem was hit with drastic food shortages at which point church historians Sozomen and Theodoret reported “ Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments of the church and a valuable holy robe, fashioned with gold thread that the emperor Constantine had once donated for the bishop to wear when he performed the rite of Baptism ”.

" According to the ancient historian Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, Sozomen claims that much of the rivalry was based on an ornate statue made in the honor of Eudoxia which Chrysostom condemned, “ The silver statue of the empress ... was placed upon a column of porphyry ; and the event was celebrated by loud acclamations, dancing, games, and other manifestations of public rejoicing ... John declared that these proceedings reflected dishonor on the church .” According to Sozomen, John had also condemned the empress for her grandiose style of ruling over the empire and condemned her in the church, this of course enraged the empress and John was immediately disposed of.

Albert Guldenpenning supposed that Sozomen himself suppressed the end of his work because in it he mentioned the Empress Aelia Eudocia, who later fell into disgrace through her supposed adultery.

( Sozomen wrote about the time of Pope Xystus III ) Thomassin's explanation of Sozomen's statement is that there was no preaching in the sense of an elaborate or finished discourse before the time of Pope Leo — with the exception, perhaps, of the address on virginity by Pope Liberius to Marcellina, sister of St. Ambrose, on the occasion of her taking the veil, which is regarded as a private discourse.

Sozomen reports her preventing a conference between Theodosius and Eunomius of Cyzicus who served as figurehead of Anomoeanism, a distinct sect of Arians.

Sozomen provides even more detail on Mavia, referred to in his text as Mania, describing her rule, and the history of her people, whom he calls " Saracens ".

Of battle with " Mania, who commanded her own troops in person ," Sozomen writes that it was considered " arduous " and " perilous ", and that the general of the entire cavalry and infantry of the East had to be " rescued with difficulty " from battle against her and her troops by the general of the troops of Palestine and Phonecia.

Socrates Scholasticus ( born c. 380 ), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a full description of the discovery ( that was repeated later by Sozomen and by Theodoret ) which emphasizes the role played in the excavations and construction by Helena ; just as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ( also founded by Constantine and Helena ) commemorated the birth of Jesus, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre would commemorate his death and resurrection.

In the 5th century, Sozomen ( Ecclesiastical History, Book VII ), referencing Socrates Scholasticus, added to this description:

In Emperor Theodosius's edict De fide catholica of 27 February 380, enacted in Thessalonica and published in Constantinople for the whole empire, by which he established Catholic Christianity as the official religion of the empire, he referred to Damasus as a pontifex, while calling Peter an episcopus: "... the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria ... We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians ..." Some see in this an implied significant differentiation, but the title pontifex maximus is not used in the text ; pontifex is used instead: "... quamque pontificem damasum sequi claret et petrum alexandriae episcopum ..." ( Theodosian Code XVI. 1. 2 ; and Sozomen, " Ecclesiastical History ", VII, iv.

Socrates Scholasticus ( born c. 380 ), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a full description of the discovery that was repeated later by Sozomen and by Theodoret.

Sozomen ( died c. 450 ), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives essentially the same version as Socrates.

The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from A. D. 324 to A. D. 440.

The Church History of Theodoret, which begins with the rise of Arianism and closes with the death of Theodore in 429, falls far behind those of Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen.

They arrived just in time, for the emperor had been lending his ear to an Eudoxian, but he now veered round, issuing a letter ( Sozomen, IV, xiv ) declaring the Son to be " like in substance " to the Father, and condemning the Arians of Antioch.

According to Valesius these were mainly Socrates and Sozomen ; Albert Guldenpenning's thorough research placed Rufinus first, and next to him, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Sozomen, Sabinus, Philostorgius, Gregory Nazianzen, and, least of all, Socrates.

As for the East, the Greek ecclesiastical historians Socrates and Sozomen, who wrote a century after the event, reported that the First Council of Nicaea ( 325 ) considered ordering all married clergy to refrain from conjugal relations, but the Council was dissuaded by Paphnutius of Thebes.

Sozomen made a painstaking effort to be acquainted with all the sources of information on the subjects which he touched, and he had a passionate desire for the truth.

Socrates of Constantinople, also known as Socrates Scholasticus, not to be confused with the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, was a Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret, who used his work ; he was born at Constantinople c. 380: the date of his death is unknown.

His Historia Ecclesiastica, in eighteen books, brings the narrative down to 610 ; for the first four centuries the author is largely dependent on his predecessors, Eusebius, Socrates Scholasticus, Sozomen, Theodoret and Evagrius, his additions showing very little critical faculty ; for the later period his labours, based on documents now no longer extant, to which he had free access, though he used them also with small discrimination, are much more valuable.

** Fuller advises for authorities, consult the scattered notices in Socrates, Sozomen ; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, i .; the usual Church histories and HOLY GHOST in D. C. B.

Rufinus is the original ; Socrates expressly states that he follows Rufinus, while Sozomen knows Socrates ' version, but is not satisfied with it and follows Rufinus more closely.

The historical exposition is altogether impersonal ; Sozomen assumes ( III. xv ) that the task of history is to assemble facts without adding anything to them, hence he indulges in little criticism and usually adopts the views of his sources.

According to Sozomen, at this point pope Liberius was released from exile upon signing three formulæ combined by Basil ; against this story see LIBERIUS, POPE.

St Basil's influence, and the greater suitability of his institute to European ideas, ensured the propagation of Basilian monachism ; and Sozomen says that in Cappadocia and the neighboring provinces there were no hermits hut only cenobites.

The historians Sozomen and Theodoret did not included Eudocia in their history because they were written after Eudocia had fallen into disgrace.

According to various sources of that time, including Sozomen ( c. 400 – 450 ) in his Historia Ecclesiastica and the pagan historian and close friend of Julian, Ammianus Marcellinus, the project of rebuilding the temple was aborted because each time the workers were trying to build the temple, using the existing substructure, they were burned by terrible flames coming from inside the earth and an earthquake negated what work was made:

Beyond notices in his extant writings, the major sources are the 5th-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, and the 4th-century Christian author Jerome.

The ecclesiastical records used by Sozomen are principally taken from Sabinus, to whom he continually refers.

The fifth century Christian historian Sozomen claimed that the relics of Habakkuk were found at Cela, when God revealed their location to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis, in a dream.

The contemporary historians Sozomen and Theodoret were combined with Socrates in a sixth-century compilation, which has obscured their differences until recently, when their individual portrayals of the series of Christian emperors were distinguished one from another and contrasted by Hartmut Leppin, Von Constantin dem Großen zu Theodosius II ( Göttingen 1996 ).

Sozomen wrote that his grandfather lived at Bethelia, near Gaza, and became a Christian together with his household, probably under Constantius II.

Sozomen attributes the mass conversion primarily to Ulfilas, though he also acknowledges the role of Fritigern.

He also adds that it was said ( by whom he does not say ) that the location of the Sepulchre was " disclosed by a Hebrew who dwelt in the East, and who derived his information from some documents which had come to him by paternal inheritance " ( although Sozomen himself disputes this account ) and that a dead person was also revived by the touch of the Cross.

Sozomen appears also to have consulted the Historia Athanasii and also the works of Athanasius including the Vita Antonii.

A comparison with Zosimus, who also made use of Olympiodorus, seems to show that the whole ninth book of Sozomen, is mostly an abridged extract from Olympiodorus.

It also explains the strange statement made by Sozomen ( Hist.

There is also mention of a procession accompanied by hymns, organized at Constantinople by St John Chrysostom ( c. 390-400 ) in opposition to a procession of Arians, in Sozomen.