X HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. OF THE CHURCH, FROH ITS ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PRESENT CENTURY. Et portae inferi non prse valebunt adversus earn. Matth. XTJ. 18. Non te deserimus, quam primis hausimus annis, Relligi'J, Sacri custos saactissima veri, Fida comes, tutcla, et pectoris hospita nostri. Santeuil. BY THR REV. CHARLES CONSTANTINE PISE. VOL. I. JJaltfmorc : PUBLISHED BY P. BLENKINSOP, 1827. ■■iuragtment of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the autliors and proprittors of such co- pies, during the limes therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thertof, to the arts of de- sigiUng, engraving, and etching historical and other prints. PHI LIP MOORE, Clerk of the District of Maryland. ^n^ TO THE MOST REV. AMBROSE MARECHAL, ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE, TVVis Work is Respect^uW^ Dedicatee), BY THE AUTHOR. ;i^% CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. From the establishment of the church., to the death of St. Peter and St. Paul. Anno 69. •Appendix to Chapter I. CHAPTER II. From the death of St. Peter and St. Paul, Anno 69, to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jeics. Ainio 137. CHAPTER III. From the dispersion of the Jews, Aono 1 37, to the end of the fifth persecution. Anno 211. CHAPTER IV. From the end of the fifth persecution, Anno 211, /o the JVovatian schism. Anno 251. INDEX TO VOLUME I. CHAPTER I. PAGE. Joseph Barsabas, . 36 Matthias chosen, ib. Apostles, the ....... 37 Holy Ghost, descent of ... . ib. Apostles speak various tongues, 38 Peter, his Sermon, 39 cures the man at the beautiful gate. ib. converts five thousand, 42 Christians the first, live in common. . 45 Ages primitive, discipline of . , . 47 Bishops, duties of • . ib. Joseph, a Levite, ..... 48 Annanias and Sapphira, ..... . 49 Jews, stubborness of . 50 Peter delivered from prison, .... . 51 defends the Divinity of Christ, ib. Gamaliel, . 52 Proselytes, number of. ib. Stephen, Philip, Timon, &c. ordained deacons, . . 53 Stephen's discourse, ..... 54 his vision and death. . ib. Saul, ......... ib. Gamaliel buries Stephen, .... . ib. Disciples, dispersion of the .... 55 Saul persecutes the Christians ib. Philip preaches to the Samaritans, . 56 Simon Magus, ....... ib. his heresy, ...... 57 Saul goes to Damascus, his conversion, 58 Pilate's death, ....... 59 Cornelius, conversion of . 60 Antioch, church of 61 VIU. INDEX. James St. beheaded, .... Peter in chains, his delivery, Herod, death of ... . Claudius, ..... Peter transfers his see to Rome, Evodius left by St. Peter at Antioch, Mark St. founds the church of Alexandr writes iiis Gospel at Rome, Therapeutae .... Apostles, dispersion of the Paul rebukes Peter, Jerusalem, council of Peter presides, form of the decree, Luke St. . . Phillippi, Paul at, Athens, do. . . . Areopagus, Paul before the . Denis, conversion of Corinth, Paul at, . Thessalonians, epistles to the Ephesus, arrives at, Corinthians, first Epistle to the Excommunicates the incestuous man, Apollonius Tyana3us, Corinthians, second Epistle to the Corinth, Paul returns to Romans, Epistle to the Gallatians, Epistle to the Timothy, first Epistle to the Titus, Epistle to . . . Troas, arrives at . .Terusalem, he proceeds to Felix, Paul before Caesar, he appeals to Piiblius's father cured by Paul, Puozzoli, Paul lands at la. INDEX- IX. PAGE. Rome, arrives at 95 Luke St. death of .97 James St. persecution against ... - ib. Philippians, Epistles to the 103 Philemon, Epistle to • . • . . 104 Colossians, Epistle to the . • . - . ib. Mark St. cousin to Barnabas, . . . 105 Ephesians, Epistle to the 106 Hebrews, Epistle to the ..... ib. Peter's journeys, . . . . . .109 His Epistles, 110 Paul imprisoned, . Ill Timothy, second Epistle to ib. Simon Magus arrives at Rome. His death, . 112 113 St. Peter and St. Paul, martyrdom of . . . 114 APPENDIX. Ecclesiastical offices, .... Churches, Fountains in the churches, Custom of receiving the Blessed Eucharist, Confession of sins, .... Excommunication, .... Indulgences, ..... Abstaining from meat, Observance of Sunday, Sign of the Cross, .... Holy water, .... Ringing of bells, .... Mode of praying, . . . , The Mass, Purgatory, Celibacy of the clergy, CHAPTER II. Jews, condition of the, near Babylon, Seleucia and Jeru salem, Sicarii, 117 120 122 123 125 127 129 130 131 133 134 137 ib. 139 140 142 147 148 X. IINDEX. PAGE. Albinus. Cestius Florus, 149 Phenomena, alarming, 151 Jesus son of Ananus, ib. Syrians, the 154 Cestius Gallus, 157 Vespasian conducts the Jewish war, . . .158 Jotapat, capture of ib. Nero, cruelties of 159 Galba, 161 Otho and Vitellius, 162 Vespasian flattered with the title of Messiah, . 163 Zelotae, . .164 John and Simon, 165 Eleazar, 166 Titus commences his operations, . . . . 167 Jerusalem, locality of 170 famine in 171 Mary the Jewess, 175 Temple consumed, 179 Ebion. Cerinthus. Nestorianism, germ of . . 182 183 Menander, 185 Hermas, " of the pastor," ib. Linus St , . 186 Clctus St. ib. Clement St. Epistle to the Corinthians, ... ib. Titus emperor, 190 Domitian, 191 John St. condemned to the caldron, . . . .192 bani.sbed to Patmos. Apocalypse, . . ib. Nerva, 193 John St. writes his Gospel. His Epistles, . . 196 his death, 1 97 B. V. Mary, assumption of 1 98 Simeon bishop of Jerusalem, 199 Trajan, ib. Ossenians. Nicholaites, 202 Gnostics. Pliny's letter to Trajan, . . . 303 INDEX. XI. PAGE. 204 210 ib. ib. ib. ib. 211 212 213 214 216 217 219 221 215 Ignatius, martydom of ... . ^nacletus St. Evaristus St Alexander, St. ...... Sixtus I. St. . Telesphorus, ...... Onesimus, martyrdom of . Syria, persecution in. Earthquake in Milleaian system. Millenarian errors, Hadrian, .... ... Saturninus, Basilides, Carpocras, Adamites, Valentinians, Sethians, Cainites, Ophitg, Quadratus, apology of. Aristides, Mark bishop of Jerusalem, CHAPTER III. Antoninus Pius, 223 Justin St. his dialogue with Tryphon, . . 224 Hyginus St 232 Pius I. St. ib. Anicetus St. ....... ib. Soter St. ....... ib. Eleutherius St. ....... ib. Hegesippus St. ...... ib. Antoninus, death of. Aurelius and Lucius Verus, . 233 Marcion, 234 Polycarp St. ib. Felicitas and sons, ....... 241 Justin, second apology of. Martyrdom and works, 243 244 245 Montanus . ' ib. Theodotus of Byzantium, 247 Theodotus author of the Melchisedekians, . • 248 Praxeas. Hermogenes, 249 Denis bishop of Corinth, ..... 250 MelitoSt. 251 Athanagoras St • ib* Legion, " the thundering" . . . , • 253 Pothinus St. ....... 254 i Xll. INDEX. PAGE. Irenaeus St — his works 258 262 Commodus, . 265 Apolloiiius St . 266 Theophilus St. ....... 267 Pertinax. Didius Julian. Severus, .... 270 Victor St . 271 Serapion bishop of Antioch, ..... ib. Pantaenus St. ib. Coadjutor bishop, first example of .... 274 Easter celebration, 275 Zephyrinus St 279 Severus, edicts of ...... ib. Leonides St. Origen, 280 281 PotamiaenaSt 282 Perpetua and Felicitas S. S 284 Gaul, persecution in . . • . . , . 289 Tertullian. Apologetic. His death, . . 291 292 293 Caracalla and Geta, 298 CHAPTER IV. Minutius Felix, . 299 Octavius. Caecilius, 300 Caius, a Roman priest. Callixtus. Julius Africanus. 302 Macrinus, 303 Heliogabalus, 304 Alexander, 306 Origen, Hexapla and Octapla of ... , 313 Gregory Thaumaturgus St 317 Maximinus, 323 Urban St. Pontian St. Anterus St. Fabian St. . 326 Maxinius and Balbinus. Gordian, . . . 328 Philip, 329 Alexander Carbonarius, 330 Cyprian St 335 -Sleepers, seven holy, 340 Paul the first hermit, 343 Libellatici. Felicissimus, 344 Novatus, 345 PREFACE. The History which I now venture to lay before the public, was begun above five years ago, in conjunction with a young gentleman of eminent talents, and considerable at- tainments. At first, it was our design merely to gather notes, and collect facts, with a view to acquire a thorough know- ledge of ecclesiastical history : it was not our intention, at that time, nor had we the least idea, to publish our writings. The undertaking had not proceeded far, before my compa- nion quitted America, and went to Europe, to pursue his theo- logical studies. His departure did not discourage me : for some time I continued my labour, on the original plan : but afterwards by the advice of friends, I was persuaded to re- trace my course, and model my notes into the shape of a regular history: I at first shrunk from the trouble: for I did not deem myself adequate to the task: but reflecting that my efforts, whatever they may be, might perhaps prove use- ful to the public, I determined to encounter, with courage, every new difliculty, and continue my undertaking with the design of publishing it, provided it should meet the encou- ragement of my superiors. By them my attempt was viewed with peculiar complacency. For though aware that it could not be a perfect history, still they believed that, as the plan is much more extensive than that of any other in the English language, it might be of use: they knew that it was not in \1V. PREFACE. my power to enter profoundly into the subject: to consult all the original works : to verify all the references which I have collected from various authors: but still I had before me the principal writers: such as Baronius, Spondanus, Fleury, Berii, &c. &c. from whom I endeavoured to extract what I considered to be most interesting, and authentic. Ma- ny facts, no doubt, I have omitted: perhaps some important ones: others I may not have represented in their most proper colours: the style in many particulars may be defective: several typographical inaccuracies may have escaped. Upon the indulgence of the reader I rely: it is my first, and a very considerable, attempt. I trust, however, notwithstanding all its defects, that it will not be unworthy the patronage, or dis- appoint the expectations, of my friends. I. For greater perspicuity, I remarked in the adver- tisement, that 1 should divide the whole work into four pe- riods. Considering the first (I mean the primitive ages) in its proper light: that is, as a source of virtue and science, and the basis of religion and piety, I shall endeavour to col- lect some few of the treasures scattered in profusion, through the ancient monuments: I do not, however, mean to make particular mention, much less to give the analysis, of the voluminous writings with which the early ages abound. The most comprehensive work could scarcely do justice to so boundless an undertaking. Nor do I mean to interrupt the career of history by my own remarks: but to afford abundant matter to interest the attention, and awaken the reflections, of the reader. II. In the history of the second period which comprises the middle ages, I shall be still more succinct. I will not at- tempt to dispel the gloom which has been thrown, by many PREFACE. XV. popular writers, over this period : nor will I deny that the torch of human science was very dim in some parts, and al- most totally extinguished in others: but it must be remem- bered, that during these obscure ages, the church of Christ was not less under the protection of the Holy Ghost, than in its brightest and serenest days. The church, like the sun, may occasionally be enveloped in clouds: but she will emerge from them at length with a renovated lustre. III. The history of the third period will be a history of revolutions: which were naturally followed by a relaxation of discipline and morals. It must, however, be carefully remarked, that the doctrine and morality of the church were always delivered pure and invariably the same: far from being able to cite a single canon to countenance depravity or error, the great body of the pastors insisted on Christian ho- liness; and the lives of many, even of the laity, presented examples of the austerest virtue. IV The history of the fourth and last period, as it ap- proaches nearer our own times, is of all others, the most in- teresting: the monuments it presents are more numerous, and perhaps too, more satisfactory, than those of any other. It will consequently demand, and is entitled to, particular at- tention. In concluding this introduction, I may be allowed to indulge one reflection: there are not wanting, writers, who appear to triumph in exaggerating the vices of some of the popes. The vices of a few unworthy pontiffs, reflected dis- grace merely on their own persons: they were not the result of their belief: the church rests not on the virtues of men, but on the power of God. Scandals are inevitable: this the Redeemer had long before declared. When they occur in the sanctuary, they are lamentable indeed: but amidst them XVI. PREFACE. all, the church j)rescrvcd the palladium of failh unaltered and inviolate. This, therefore, is the object of the present, and should be of every church history: to shew the unceasing protection of the Almighty over the great body of his people: the sanc- tity, as well as indefectibility of his church: her beauty and splendour, even during the darkest and most gloomy periods. Nothing is better calculated to strengthen our faith and en- kindle our fervour, than to contemplate the invariable provi- dence of the Almighty over his church: against which the powers of darkness may contend, but " the gates of hell shall nerer prevail." Baltimore, Saratoga st. June 5, 1827. PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. The origin of religion is coeval with that of mankind: and the church of Jesus Christ, considered in its widest extent, commences with the fall of Adam; or the pro- mise made to him, of a Redeemer, after having forfeit- ed by sin, his claim to future happiness. Sinful man, much more fortunate than the rebellious angels, was elevated, by the infinite bounty of his Creator, to a rank, superior to that from which his fall had degraded him: from his seed was to be born, in the plen jtude of time, a son like unto himself in every thing but sin: and, at the same time, perfectly equal to God; that is true God, and true man. Uniting in one, undivided person, the divine and human nature: who having a natural right to the inheritance of Heaven, by dying on a cross for the salvation of his brethren, according to the flesh, commu- nicated to them, a participation of his glorious privileges. Thus, man, fallen from the eminent holiness, to which the Creator had exalted him, at his birth, becomes, by the medi- ation of a God- man, not only the friend, but the child of God, and co-heir of Jesus Christ. At this memorable epoch, was established in its essence, the church: an institution, more wonderful and more honourable to the human kind than that state of innocence, in which Adam had been originally created. For man to profit by so great a benefit, one condition was, however, indispensable, viz: that all, as well under the na- tural, as under the Jewish law, should believe in the expect- ed Redeemer: and hope from him, and from their works in conjunction with his merits, the forgiveness of sin, and ever- lasting happiness. The holy ^.atriarchs transmitted the saving tradition to their children: God himself frequently re- VOL. I. — 2 XVm. PREFAKATORV DISCOURSE. mi.ided llicm of his promises: and through the organs of" men, inspired by himself, and by means of types and emblems, ex- pressive of the truth; he, one while, represented the eter- nal Pontift", the "Conciliator" of heaven and earth, under the character of the priest and peaceful king of Salem; another while, by the sufferings of the just man Job, he designated the great model of all justice, covered with opprobrium, and transfixed with sorrow. In the mean time, the posterity of Adam, growing up, in the midst of darkness and corruption, instead of making use of the remedy offered them, augmented, by their actual crimes, the blindness which they had inherited from their fallen progenitor: abandoned themselves to every excess: and erected temples to the infernal author of their de- gradation. The most shocking profanations were substitut- ed in lieu of the hallowed practices of genuine religion; and the name and worship of the living God were almost forgot- ten in the world, which his power, and his wisdom had crea- ted. To save, from entire ruin, the seeds of future sanctity; to preserve the memory of the expected Saviour of mankind, and to keep the image of the God-head, effectually imprint- ed on the human soul; it became necessary to separate, from the carnal and corrupted mass, a chosen people: and to con- sign to their care, the preservation of those sacred traditions the accomplishment of which was, to annul the ceremonies and sacrifices of the Jewisii law. The father of the faithful, in compliance with the commands of God, quitted the land of his birth, and proceeded to that, which had witnessed the origin of the human race; and which, better than any other, could present to his contemplation, a vivid memorial of the mercies of the Creator. The promises of God were there renewed, either in words, or by figures adapted to the genius of the time and country; and calculated to make the deepest impressions on the human mind. To the son of Thare a promise was made, that he should not only become the father of a people, more numerous than the stars of heaven, or the PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XIX. Sands of the sea, but that, in him, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. The former of these promises can be but imperfectly applied to the Hebrews, circumscribed, as they were within the narrow boundaries of Palestine: the glory of the latter, can be ascribed to Jesus Christ alone: for, in him, the descendant of Abraham, according to the flesh, all the nations of the earth have been blessed. Abra- ham, as the Lord commanded, imprinted on his own flesh the seal of the divine covenant, and the symbol of that indeli- ble character, which the sacrament of regeneration was, one day, to engrave on the Christian soul. In his son Isaac, born contrary to the common laws of nature, of an aged father, bent under the weight of years, and a mother, who had been all her life time, barren: in Isaac, that child of benediction, who was commanded to carry the wood for his sacrifice, on his own shoulders, to the figurative mount, was represented the Messiah: born of a virgin mother, (whose virginal integ- rity remained nevertheless, after her maternity,) and bearing to mount Calvary the cross, on which he was to die, and atone for the sins of mankind. When the posterity of Abra- ham were to be delivered from Egyptian bondage, it was the blood of a lamb, a figure of him " that taketh away the sins of the world," that saved each family from the exterminating angel; the multiplied sacrifices, prescribed by the Jewish laws, derived their virtue from the adorable victim, whom they prefigured. Who cannot see, in the emissary goat, load- ed with the sins of Israel, him, who was, one day, to be dragged to the hill of Calvary; to be immolated, for the in- iquities of his people.'' Who does not perceive him in the bra- zen serpent, raised up to the view of the Hebrew people, in the desert, that they might be healed by looking on it.'' In the wonderful person of Sampson, who fought, like a host of men, against his enemies, and, in an instant, saved his nation, by sacrificing his own life. In a Jonas, swallowed by a whale and re-appearing, alive and sound at the expiration of the third day.? XX. Pl{i:i»ARAlORY UISCOUUSK. If obscurity still linger on those tyi)es, which were, in truth, hut the shadows of "future good things;" what a flood of liglit is poured on thcrn by the revelations, and the oracles of the prophets? The Jewish legislator, (1) did not fail to admonish the ])rople, that the reign of servile observances was to continue only for a while; and that the Lord was, one day to raise up a great prophet " who should be heard forever.'" The prophets (2) specify the time, place, and circumstances of his coming: The lowly village of Bethlehem, which was to be exalted, by his birth, above the wealthiest cities of Is- rael: the tribe of Judah and the " root of Jesse," from which his origin was to be derived: the precise epoch of his coming pointed out, by an event, no other, than the translation of the sceptre of Juda, into foreign hands. The exact number of years, at the close of which, he was to appear; and the very period, (3) in which he was to be denied and crucified, by his people. David (4) beheld the Son of God, whom he called also his Lord, issuing, before the birth of the morning star, from the bosom of the eternal; and sitting in the splen- dour of the saints, at the right hand of his father, on a throne more shining, and immoveable than the pillars of heaven. He heard the most High, addressing him from all eternity, in this sublime language: (5) " Thou art my beloved Son: this day have I begotten thee." His empire is as extensive as the earth; his people He shall govern, in sweetness and truth, and justice, and (G) " of his kingdom, there shall be no end." (1"; PUOPHETAM de geiite tua et de fratribus tuis ficut me, suscitabit tibi Domimis Dens tuns, ipsiim audies. Dent. cap. 18. (2) F.T TUBEIHLEHKM Ephra'a, paiviilus es in millibus Juda : ex te mibi eg;redietur qui fit doniinatop in Israel, et egressus ejus ab initio, a diebiis ?eteriiitatis. Mich. cap. 5. (j) Scito egro, et aniniadverte: Ab exitii sermonis, lit iteriim Kdifice- tur Jerusalem; iisqae ad Christum ducem, bebdomacics septem, et heb. domades sexaj^inta dufe erunt: et rursum atdificabilur platea, et muri in angustia teniporum; Ki post hebdoniades sexaginta dua>i occidetur Christus, 8cc, Dan.cap.9, (4) Ps. 71 vide tolum. (5) Ps. 2. 7. (6) Et reg-ui ejus non eiit finis. PKEFAliATOUY DIBCOUHSE Xii. riie prophets have, in every age, published the same won- 'lers: (l)aiKl it is remarkable, that, in the tlccline of the Jewish empire, when the administration of affairs devolv- ed on Simon, the only surviving brother of Judas MachabKus, the act of investiture specifies, "that neither he, nor his des- cendants, should retain it longer, than the coming of the ex- pected Messiah." The knowledge of this great future event, was not confined to the country in which the God of Isaac had thought fit to reveal it, in a special manner. Holy Job, (2) in the midst of the pagan world, clearly professed his belief in the coming of a God-man: and, in the plainest terms, informs us, that he firmly hoped one day, to contemplate his God, his Redeemer, living and visible, even to his human eyCt As this is not meant to be the history of the religion of God from its earliest institution, I shall not attempt to unra- vel the long unbroken series of prophecies: what I have hither- to enlarged on, was only to prepare the reader for the pub- lication of the Gospel; or rather for the establishment and propagation of the church, properly so called. As however, the errors of the Arian heresy have, after the sleep of so many ages, been resuscitated in our days, and in our country, it may perhaps be useful to the reader, to enter more at length on the discussion of a subject, which is of the first importance to the Christian world. We shall, therefore, present a few striking traits of Christ's divinity, from the prophet Isaiah; who seems to be rather the historian, than the prophet, of the Redeemer. From the commencement of iiis prophecy, he represents the Son of God in all his grandeur and divinity, as he is from all eter- nity in the bosom of his father. " Who" (3) he exclaims, "shall tell his generation, more bright and more ancient than the (1) Bossuet Hist univer. 2 I'art. 5. (2) Scio enim quod Redemplor mens vivit, et in novissimo die de terra surrecturus sum: Et rursum circumbador pelle mea, et in came mea videbo Deum meum. Quern visurus sum ego ipse, et oculi mei couspecturi svint, et non alius: reposita est haec spes inea in sinu meo. .lob, cap. 19. (3j Isaiah 53. XXII. PREPAnATORY DISCOURSE. morning star! As to his temporal ti^encration, he continues (1) a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Son, the Prince of Peace, the Son of David, whose name is Emmanuel; that is, God with us: or, at once, both God and Man. (2) Darkness, he continues, shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: nations shall be wrapt in gloom: but when the splendour that is to illumine the birth of the Messiah, when the miraculous star of Jacob shall appear, the princes of the Gentiles shall commence their journey to adore him: they shall come from Saba, bringing gold and the rich presents of the east: With these, they shall load the drome- daries of Madian and Epha; kings shall feci honoured to be his fosterers, and, with their heads bowed down to the earth, " shall adore him." In these sublime figures, he presents, in a no less striking manner, the wonders, which the desired OF NATIONS was to Operate In the moral, as well as in the physical, world. (3) " When our God shall appear, then shall the eyes of the blind be opened; and the ears of the deaf unsealed. The lame man shall leap as the hart; and the tongue of the dumb shall be loosed: for '' waters are bro- ken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness. And again: the Redeemer of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion, with praise; everlasting joy shall be on their heads, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away — the wolf shall forego his natural ferocity: the tiger and the Iamb shall range the plains together, and the sting of the asp be blunted on " the sacred mountain;" that is cruelty, perfidy and crime, in every shape, shall be proscribed by the Gospel. Thus has the prophet himself explained it, in the astonishing cause, which he assigns to this new order of things. This prodigy, he adds, shall take place; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. He marks, still more clearly, the establishment and the holy fecundity of the church; the (1) Isaiah 7. 14, (2) Isaiah 60, 2, 3. (3) Isaiah a5« PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XXlIf mother of all nations: " Give (I) praise, O thou barren one that bearest not! sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise thou that didst not travail v^^ith child, for many are the chil- dren of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord. Thou shalt pass on the right hand and the left; and thy seed shall inheritthe Gentiles: for he that made thee, shall rule over thee. The Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the holy one of Israel shall be called the God of all the earth. In a moment of indignation, I have hid my face from thee, a little while, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Re- deemer. I shall found, for thee, a new habitation: It shall be more solid and more durable than the mountains: for the mountains shall be moved, and the hills tremble, but my mercy shall not be moved from thee; and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: thy bulwarks shall be of jasper: thy gates more shining and impenetrable than the saphire and the diamond: but the strongest pillar of thy power and happi- ness shall be justice, on which thou shalt be founded, and the discipline of truth which thy children shall be taught by the Holy one of IsraeV^ To these features of grandeur and sublimity, the prophets add the picture of the sorrows and opprobrium, with which the Messiah was to be surrounded: it was necessary that the portrait should present a faithful likeness of the Re- deemer's ministry. Our Heavenly Father, offended by the sins of mankind, had consented to pardon them, but he had not promised to do so, without an adequate reparation. On the contrary, he resolved, while signalizing his mercy, to vin- dicate his majesty and justice, more terribly than he had done by the punishment of the rebel angels. No creature, how- ever perfect, could of himself, make that adequate satisfaction: and man, without being at the same time God, could never have effected it. But God, unless at the same time, man, (1) John 54, 60. XXIV. PKEPARATORY DISCOURSE, could not suffer; could not be subject to contempt and humili- ation; ami consequently could not make the necessary satis- faction. A God-man was, therefore required: and had the Messiah been any thing less, he would have been utterly in- adequate to the great function of atonement and redemption. Deeply impressed with this idea of the Saviour, Isaiah and David omit not to join the sufferings of the son of man, >vith the attributes of the Deity: and this even in detail, and with circumstantial minuteness. The royal prophet had foreseen the dislocation of the Messiah's limbs: the perforation of his hands and feet: his tongue dipped in vinegar and gall: his seamless vestment torn, and divided among the soldiers. He had heard the savage joy, expressed by his enemies, at his sufferings: and had seen them, like wild beasts slaking their thirst in his blood. Isaiah beheld "the man of sorrow" (1) stricken by the hand of God, treated as the last of men, and reduced to a kind of annihilation: he saw, and represented him, scourged, disfigured, like a leper: pierced with nails, crowned with thorns: and covered with so many wounds, that, from head to foot, there remained of him, scarcely one feature of his divinity, or even his humanity; he appeared less a man, than a worm, trampled under foot, says the prophet; and yet, guilty of no crime! The Lord had laid on him the burden of our iniquity; and to expiate our sins, subjected him to ig- nominy and death: it is by his bruises; by his generous obla- tion, that we are healed. He was immolated, because himself had wished it. Like an innocent lamb, he was dragged to the slaughter, without complaining under the hand that be- reaved him of his life. Isaiah takes notice of his prayer for his crucifiers; his death in the company of two thieves; and his burial in the tomb of the rich man, or of Joseph of Arimathea. But what he pub- lishes with peculiar triumph, is the glory of that sepulchre, (1) Isaiah 53- PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XX V- SO honoured, in after ages, by the homage of the greatest po- tentates, by the concourse of princes from the north and the south, the east and the west. Thus it is, that that sublime prophecy has explained, how, from the blood he was to shed for the sins of others, was to spring a long posterity; that he was to annihilate the power of the enemy of souls; and in a most glorious manner, " lead captivity captive." Let any one who denies the divinity of Christ, take up the sacred text in which are found these oracles of truth, pro- nounced by different men, at different times, so many ages be- fore the event took place: and let him then say whether the features of the prophetic picture are not distinctly and most accurately delineated, by the evangelists. I shall point out those passages, in the life of the " Word made flesh," which require to be dwelt on, with a more particular atten- tion. It is worth remarking, that notwithstanding the miraculous and glorious circumstances of his birth, his infancy and his youth, were spent in obscurity; unnoticed by the world. At the age of thirty years, he caused liimself to be announced by the precursor, whom Isaiah had called " the voice of one that crieth from the wilderness." (1) Shortly after this, he ap- peared in public: he openly exercised the ministry of the word: he removed every veil that still concealed the meaning of the prophecies: he made the synagogue echo to the sound of truths, which it never before had heard: such grace and light did his language diffuse, that all who heard him exclaimed with astonishment: (2) " Is not this the son of the carpenter, Joseph !" Whence comes this depth of learn- ing, seeing that he has never been taught! The world, in fact, had never witnessed any thing like the di- vine facility with which he unfolded the sacred mysteries; the purity and sublimity of the doctrine which he announced; and the power which he exercised over the evil spirits. Passing . (1) Isaiah 40. (2) Luke 4. 22. Joan. vi. 42, XXVI. PREPARATORY DISCOURSK, near tlie lake of Galilee, he saw two fishermen:^ Simon, afterwards surnamed Peter, and Andrew, his brother, em- ployed in mendini^ their nets: he said to them, " follow me:" (1) and they abandoned all things, and followed him. He associated to himseif, in the same manner, all his disciples: and sometimes with such promptness, as not even to allow them time sulficient, to render the last rites of sepulture to a parent: and with such perseverance, as never to look back after having once put the hand to the sacred work. Multi- tudes of people flocked to him, with a similar ardour. He directed their hearts: enlightened their minds: and exer- cised the ministry of the word, in a manner, evidently supe- rior to the limited power of the scribes and pharisees. What admirable lessons did he teach: did he not infinitely exceed, the expectations of the multitude, in his first sermon on the mountain! (2) What ideas of virtue and perfection! elevated above the maxims of the wisest legislators, or the most austere reformers. Whence did he derive that sublime, that pure, that original morality, of which he gave the first striking lesson, in the discourse of which we are now speak- ing. In the midst of a carnal people, who seemed to attach their salvation to their material temple, and the observances of a ceremonious and external worship: at a time, when the doctrine handed down by Moses, had become vitiated by traditions, which had been multiplied and confused by dif- ferent sects: he delivered the sublimest lessons: which mani- festly prove, that he who announced them, could have derived them from himself alone. " If your justice, said he to his disciples, exceed not that of the scribes and pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven: you have heard it said; " You shall love your brother, and hate your enemy; but / say to you, bless them that curse, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you. It is written, 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I command you to carry (I) Matthew, 4 19. (2} Job, 5. PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XXVir. your perfection so far, as to turn the left cheek to him, who strikes you on the right; and to him who taketh away your cloak, give up your coat also. In the law of Moses, you were forbidden to put away your wives, without first ob- taining a bill of divorce: but, I say to you, whoever, hence- forth, shall abandon his wife, or marry a woman so repudiat- ed, shall be guilty of adultery. Know that he who looks on a woman, wnth an evil intention, has already committed adul- tery with her, in his heart You have, hitherto, been for- bidden to profane the name of God : but I forbid you every unnecessary oath; or to swear, even by creatures: for in Ihem, you must reverence the Creator. You must not only abstain, exteriorly, from evil, but even from the thoughts and affections of evil: for they stain the soul of him, who indul- ges them. Even in your deeds of piety, do not think that you are innocent, if your motives be not diligently purified. When you give alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as hypocrites; but rather let not your right hand know what is done by the left: seek not that vain recompense, which this world can bestow; but the regard of Him, whose eye sees your most hidden actions. Be not solicitous for riches, which rust can destroy, and which can fall into the hands of rob- bers: but, let your treasures, your hearts, and your affec- tions be all centred in heaven. In a word, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." How sublime are the maxims of this legislation.'' but what is more striking still is, that whilst other legislators only trace out speculative rules of virtue, without giving the means of reducing them to practice, the Christian law-giver affords us grace to follow his sublimest lessons; and renders public sinners, the masters and models of perfection. At his first invitation, Matthew, (1) a publican, abandons all things and becomes one of his most zealous co-operators. The chief of the publicans, Zacha^us, (2) rivals in piety, the (1) Matt. 9 9. (2) Luke 19 5. XXVIII. PUEPAKA roUY DISCOURSE. CM most fervenl. amou!,' tlic people of God: and 1)y Ins generous charity, confounds the ostentation of the piiarisees. The sinful woman (1) of Jerusalem performs an exemplary pen- ance, and holds a conspicuous rank among the saints that have been formed in the school of Jesus. The prostitute of Sa- maria, (2) not only forsakes her schism, and voluptuous life, but becomes an apostle among her countrymen. The thief is converted on the cross, (3) so miracuously, that the same day which saw him condemned for his crimes, to loose his life upon a gibbet, witnessed his enrolment among the bles- sed in heaven. The divine author of the law of grace, gives to the weak- est souls a more than merely human perfection: and imparts to the dullest capacities a profound knowledge of the things of God. The greater number of the Jews, notwithstanding their prophets and the law they had received, could not even name the first of our mysteries. If, when they styled the God of Israel, him that is, they knew how to express, in a general manner, the independence and attributes of his being, at least they knew not, how to specify the precise manner of his being, in Three Persons, all equally endowed with un- limited perfection. In the happiest days of the Hebrews, Solomon put to them iliis singular question; " Tell unto me the name of God, and the name of his Son, if you know it."" (4) But Jesus Christ informs us that this mysterious name is that of Father: but of a father, who, from all eternity, engenders a son, co-equal to himself; and that the name of tliat son, tlie image of tlie eter- nal Father's substance and perfections, is no other than " The Word." With the Father and the Son reigns also the Holy Ghost; the substantial love of both, and the eternal bond of their inseparable union. It was for this Son, who resided in (1) Lvike 7.38. (2) Joan 4. 7, &.C. (3) Joan 23, 43. (4) Prov. 3U. '^- ' PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XXIX. the bosom of the Father, and, at the same time, dwelt among us; it was for him "that shineth in darkness" (1) to manifest to the Aiithful in general, what had hitherto been known only to the special friends of God, to the patriarchs and prophets; and which created astonishment in the cherubim themselves. It was for him to teach us that the Messiah, the Saviour of men, himself a man, should at the same time, be announced under the unalienable appellation and attributes of the Deity; whence it is, that he is God, " and the Son of God;'''' and at the same time, man arid " the son of man.'''' In a word, it was re- served for him alone to teach us, that he is an incarnate God; and that, in order to reconcile all things in himself, he unites, in his person, the divine and human natures. He performed in like manner, the wonders of an omnipo- tent being, during many successive years; he travelled through Palestine, working the most extraordinary miracles in behalf of the people, and he alone appeared insensible to the senti- ment of wonder wliich his prodigies excited. The raising of Lazarus from the dead, he styles the waking of one wiio had been asleep; (2) to the paralytic, who had been alflicted thirty-eight years, he says witliout the least emotion, " take up thy bed and vv^alk;" (3) with equal composure and effect, he commands every species of sickness: and all the powers of hell. The principle of liis divine operations is in his own power: they flow from that scource, and sometimes appear to anticipate his orders. When the woman, afllicted for so many years, with an issue of blood, (4) had merely touched the hem of his garment, " I feel, said he, that virtue has gone out from me; and that virtue, says the evangelist, went forth abundantly; and multitudes were healed. He proves him- self no less the model of perfection, than the teacher of truth, and Lord of nature. " Which of you can convince me of sin," (1) Joan 1.5. (2) Joan. xi. 9. (:i) Malth 9. 6. (4j Matth. 20. XXX. PREPAKATOUY DISCOURSE. (1) did he say to a multitude of his enemies who watched, with censorious jealousy, all his actions, Not one among them could reproach him with the slightest fault, for which there was the least foundation. If they pretended to be scandalized, at his keeping company with publicans and sin- ners, the scandal existed only in the minds of the pharisees; whose pride and envy gave utterance to such reproaches against him, who was, at once, the most innocent, and the greatest of the children of men. But the more than angelic purity of his manners the darkest malice never dared call in question: He openly gloried, and no one could convince him of the contrary, that his sole occupation was to do the will of his Heavenly Father. What assiduity in the temple, his only residence in Jerusa- lem, on all the festivals, and at all exercises of a religion which was merely figurative, and on the eve of being abolish- ed; but which he honoured, to the moment, marked out, by the Lord, for the exaltation of his Christ.'' What zeal for the house of God: it was like a devouring fire. The prince of peace, in his whole life, never expressed a sentiment, of an- ger, except against the profane men, who made the house of prayer a den of thieves. (2) What reverence did he not testify for the chair of Moses, notwithstanding the unworthi- ness of those who sat in it.-* (3) What deference did he pay to the priests ? To them he sends the lepers whom he had healed, and submits his divine works to their examination. What generosity ! what disinterestedness ! what an entire de- tachment from the desires and pleasures of this life! More destitute than the beasts of the forest, he knew not where to rest his head: (4) king of kings, in as much as he was God; and as man, heir to the throne of David, the peo- ple, at one time, penetrated with veneration for the august (1) Joan 8.46. (2) Matth. 21. 13. (3) Job 25. 2 and S. (4) Matth. 2. 80. PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XXXl. majesty of his person, wished to establish him in the posses- sion of his rights, and he flies from among them as if from some impending calamity. (1) He is scrupulously exact in the payment of the tribute; and if he wishes us to render unto God, the things that are God's, he also requires a pro- found respect for, and obedience to, the laws of the country, in which we live. (2) How great is his charity and his love of doing good: of such virtues, his whole life was a perpetual series. That no country might be excluded from his benedictions, he travelled, without ceasing, over Judea and Galilee, to the confines even of Tyre and Sidon; though not directly sent to those idolatrous cities. He did good to the jealous phari- sees, as well as to the faithful Israelites: wrought miracles, and displayed his glory only when conducive to the advantage of his people. If he refused to work in the heavens those signs, which the Jews required as the test of his divinity: he delivered those possessed by the evil spirit: cured the sick, raised the dead to life: converted sinners and imparted vigor both to soul and body. No envy, nor ingratitude; neither dangers nor treachery could check the progress and extent of his charity. His own disciples were astonished at the in- trepidity, with which he returned to the places where his life had been endangered: and where but a few days before, his enemies had nearly succeeded in effecting his death. In fine, what strength, and what divine fortitude in the consummation of his sacrifice! here his virtue is supported by itself alone: no comfort from his friends: no applause from the multitude. The people witnessed the greatness of his soul, but blasphemed his heroism. The most vaunted of the phi- losophers of old, (3) seeking an idea of perfect virtue, dis- covered, that as there could be no mortal, more odious than the wicked man, who, by his hypocrisy, could succeed in at- (1) Joan 6. 15. (2) Matt. 22. 21. (3) Plato de Repub.L2. WXil, PREPARATORY DISCOUllSE. ladling to hiinscirall the reputation and esteem of virtue; so the most estimable would be the unfortunate just man, who thouijh worthy of all the recompense of virtue, should be covered with the shame of guilt: in such a manner, that hav- ing no other friend than his conscience, he should see him- self condemned to suffer death, by all who knew him. Just and admirable idea, with which the pagan philosopher was, as many fathers have observed, inspired, only to shew how it was exemplified in the Saviour of the world: with this ad- ditional circumstance, that he was not only to die without osten- tation but also without fear. Such virtue could belong to him alone, who was, at once, both God and man. A virtue, which appears with greater splendour through the opprobrium with which his enemies endeavoured to conceal it, at his death, than in the brightest actions of his life: and which, not- withstanding the scandal of the Jew, and the sneers of the gentile, imprints on the mystery of the cross, the seal of the power and the wisdom of God: The august victim under- went a voluntary sacrifice; he had foreseen that death which so many prophets had announced: he had foretold all the circumstances of it: he delivered himself up, when the "hour" of the powers of darkness liad arrived: and, in surrendering himself to his enemies, had forbidden them to attempt the life or liberty of his disciples: he was silent, in his own defence: he, whose divine eloquence had so often confounded the envy and malice of his enemies, disdained the protection of the Roman governor; who, for a single answer, would have set him at liberty. Pilate felt, for such supernatural magnanimity a sentiment of admiration, mingled with fear: Christ refused to work one of those miracles, which were so familiar to to him, to satisfy the curiosity of Herod; whose first expres- sions of good will, were turned into an affectation of com- passion, as false as it was contemptible. He opened not his mouth, but to pardon the outrages committed against him ; to pray for his enemies; to accomplish the prophecies, until all was consummated. In the mean time, the earth trembles: PREPARATORY DISCOURSE. XXXIII. the rocks burst asunder: the tombs fly open: the veil of the temple is rent: the sun, shrouded by no natural cause, leaves the world in darkness, for three hours. The disorder of na- ture does homage to the divinity of Jesus Christ: and he himself, to prove that his death was not the eiFect of weak- ness, uttered a groan, so loud and extraordinary, that the centurion, as well as some of the guards, returned striking their breasts, and exclaiming, " truly, this man was the son of God." (1) The third day after he was crucified, he raised himself from the dead : appeared to his disciples: con- firmed his apostles, the pillars of that church which was one day to embrace all the nations of the earth : and caused Peter to be acknowledged as prince of the apostles. To him and to his colleagues in the apostleship, he confided the power, given him by his Father; promising to be with them all days, even to the consummation of the world. (2) At the same time he forbade them to commence their ministry, until they should have received the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost. Remain, he said to them before his ascension in- to heaven, remain at Jerusalem, until you shall be clothed with strength from on high. In fine, the fortieth day after his resurrection, he blessed his disciples, to the number of five hundred, and in their presence, ascended triumphantly into heaven. The disciples, as he had commanded them, re- turned to Jerusalem, and continued in prayer and recollection expecting the fulfilment of his promise. (1) Matt. 27- 54. Marc. 15 39. (2) Matt. 16. 18. 19. &c. Id. 28. VOL. I.— 3. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. CHAPTER I. emperors of rome. Caligula. Claudius. Nero. POPE. S. Peter. From the establishment of the church, to the death of S. Peter and S. Paul. Anno 69. 1 the pen of an inspired writer we are in- debted for the history of the first estabhshment of the church. From the acts of the apostles we learn, that Peter, theheadof the apostolic college and vicar of the Redeemer, proposed, in the 33d year of Christ, (1) to fill up the place of the traitor Judas. In virtue of the su- (1) This is the ordinary calculation. 36 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. preme di^jnity witli wliich he was invested, he addressed his colleagues, and tlie disciples, to the number of about an hundred and twenty; and insisted on the necessity of appointing a substitute in the room of the unfortunate trai- tor. He was heard, with the respect due to the first pastor: all submitted to his judgment: and immediately took measures to carry his pro- posal into execution. Two candidates were no- minated : Joseph, called in Hebrew, Barsabas, which signifies the just ; and Matthias. The necessary qualifications and eminent virtues of each, were so balanced, that it was deemed proper to leave the choice to the will of Provi- dence : that choice was to be determined by lot; it fell upon Matthias: who was immediate- ly raised from the condition of a simple disci- ple, to the sublime dignity of an apostle. Thus were filled, witliout exception, the twelve thrones, on which, according to the expression of Jesus Christ, were to be seated the pastors, sent to the twelve tribes of Israel. Besides Peter, their chief, and Matthias, whose lot we have just seen determined, the ten other apostles were : — John and James, the sons of HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 37 Zebedee ; Andrew, the brother of Peter, and the first called ; Philip, Thomas, Bartholo- mew ; Matthew or Levi, who had been a pub- lican ; James, called the less, son of Alpheus, and of Mary sister or cousin german to the blessed Virgin ; Simon of Cana ; and Jude or Thaddeus brother to James the less. These were the ministers chosen by the Almighty, for the execution of the most noble and won- derful designs. All, with the exception of Matthew, selected from the lowest orders of society : possessing neither learning nor for- tune : and brought up, from their earliest youth, in the meanest occupations. They con- tinued in recollection and prayer, during the space of ten days, until the first day of Pente- cost, or of the offering of the first fruits of the harvest ; one of the three principal feasts of the people of God. About the ninth hour of the morning, (1) "there was heard a loud noise, as it were of a mighty wind." In a mo- ment they were changed ; elevated above all human things, and replenished with light and knowledge. In a word, they became courage- (1) Acts. ii. 38 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ous apostles, and wortyiy ministers of God. Unable to contain within themselves, the sa- cred ardonr with which their hearts were in- flamed ; they sallied forth from their retreat, and rendered public testimony of the divinity and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was perceived that they spoke various languages: the solemnity which the Jews were then celebrating had gathered, at Jeru- salem, strangers, from almost every region : Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and in- habitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappa- docia ; Pontus and Asia ; Phrygia and Pam- philia ; Egypt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene ; and strangers of Rome, Jews also and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians ; that is to say, Jews born in these several countries. Never before, had there met together such a numerous concourse for the celebration of the passover, and the succeeding festivals. If we may credit Josephus, the Jewish historian, (1) the whole world was persuaded, that the time marked out by the prophecies had arrived ; and the Messiah about to appear. The apos- (1) Joseph, lib. Bell. vii. 12. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 89 ties announced the gospel to the assembled multitudes. They replied to the questions and difficulties proposed to them : and the stran- ger from every country was addressed by them in his native language. Never before had the world witnessed, or heard of, such a prodigy : the fact was evident. Peter, the chief of the apostolic college, addressed himself, to the people : he shewed in the clearest manner, how all the prophecies had been accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ : that he, whom they had a few weeks before, crucified, was in reality the Son of God, and the Messiah. At his first sermon, three thousand Jews be- lieved, and were baptized. Sometime (1) af- terwards, as Peter and the " beloved disciple" were going, about the hour of prayer, to the temple ; (for the circumcised faithful, wishing to shew their respect for the synagogue until its total extinction, still observed the exer- cises of the Mosaic law,) they met at the gate of the temple, called the beautiful, a beg- gar, who had been born lame ; and who, for many years, was accustomed to sit at this (1) Jos. Ant, xiv. 8. 40 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, gate, soliciting alms from those who passed by: he was known to all the city. He exposed his miserable condition to the apostles, and besought them to relieve him. The spirit of God inspiring them, they said to him, with one voice: "Look upon us;" he obeyed, with all the eagerness of hope : " Silver and gold we have none," resumed Peter, " but what we have, that will we give to thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." The lame man, was cured on the spot. After this, they all three advanced to the porch of Solomon : the people collected from every direction : and Peter soon saw himself surrounded by an immense multitude, impa- tient to hear the particulars of the miracle, which had just been operated. Peter said to them : " Ye men of Israel, why wonder you at this ? And why look upon us, as if by our own power, we had made this man to walk ? The God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus Christ, whom you, indeed, delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged he should be released. But you denied the Holy and the Just One ; and de- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 41 sired a murderer to be granted to you; but the Author of Ufe you killed; whom God hath rais- ed from the dead, of which we are witnesses, and his name, through the faith of his name, hath made this man strong, whom you have seen and known: and the faith which is by him, hath given this perfect soundness, in the sight of you all : and now brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance, as also your rulers ; but those things which God had foretold, by the mouth of his prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye, therefore, and be converted ; that your sins may be blotted out ; and that you be not ex- cluded from the benedictions, promised to our fathers, and in the race of Abraham, to all the earth. Behold we have reached the time predicted by all the prophets, and of which Moses in particular, has said : " A prophet shall the Lord your God, raise up unto you, out of your brethren, like unto me ; him you shall hear according to all things, whatsoever he shall speak to you ; and it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." 42 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Five thousand persons, exclusively of wo- men and children, were converted by this dis- course; (1) in defiance of the tumults excited by the priests, the ministers of the temple, and a crowd of anjj^ry saducees. This sect, though divided among themselves, became united when there was question of persecuting the disciples of Jesus Christ. The priests could not endure to witness so glorious, and so pub- lic a testimony rendered to the Saviour ; and the latter, disbelieving the resurrection of the body, were fired with rage, at the proof deriv- ed from the resurrection of Christ, in favour of the future resurrection of the dead. They seized upon the two apostles, as also the beg- gar who had been healed. As it was now late, they put them under a strong guard, until (2) the following day. In the morning, the San- hedrim was assembled : Annas, the father- in-law of Caiphas, presided over this supreme council of the Jews ; which consisted of seven- ty-one members : of which twenty-four were chiefs of the priesthood, and the rest doctors and levites, chosen from the several tribes. (1) Acts. iv. (2) Thai. Cod. Sanh. C. 1 et Seq. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 43 It assembled only on business of the first im- portance. The apostles, being conducted in- to the synagogue, were asked, in what name, or by what virtue, they had wrought so great a miracle ? Peter fearlessly replied, that it was in the name of Jesus, whom they had crucified : and that nothing should ever pre- vent him from referring the glory of the mira- cle to its proper author. That this same Al- mighty benefactor, the foundation stone, men- tioned by the prophets, though rejected by men, was still the basis of the great edifice of man's salvation : and that there was no other name under heaven, except the name of Je- sus, by which mankind could be saved. Such firmness and knowledge of the scrip- tures, in men, who, but a few days before, were so cowardly and ignorant, awakened the astonishment of the Sanhedrim. They saw, standing near them, the lame man, who had been healed by the apostles : and they knew not to what pretended cause to attri- bute the fact, in order to compass, with de- cency, the object of the council. For the present, they remanded the prisoners to 44 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. their confinement ; and, after a long delibera- tion, contented themselves with forbidding them to preach for the future, in the name of Jesus. Such an order, replied the apostles, we will not obey. Judge of it, by that law which we mutually revere. " Is it just to hear men, rather than God ?" Again did the mem- bers of the Sanhedrim threaten the apostles: but as they feared the people, who were pub- lickly giving glory to the Lord, for what they had seen, they found it necessary to set the prisoners at liberty. Peter and John recounted to the faithful what had taken place : all blessed God, whose power nothing can resist : but prudently fore- seeing, that the peace, granted by the syna- gogue, would be of short duration, they be- sought the Almighty to give to the preachers of his name, together with the gift of mira- cles, the grace to make them tend to his greater glory. Heaven showed, in a sensi- ble manner, that their prayer was heard. The place in which the apostles and disciples were assembled, was shaken ; and all present HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 45 received, with still more abundance, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The deep impressions which the divine word made on the hearts of those, to whom it was announced, and who received it with humility, were still more salutary, than the gifts of tongues and miracles. The whole city of Jerusalem was struck at the pious and recollected demeanour of the first Christians. But what principally arrested the notice of a people, so proverbially carnal, and singularly attached to the good things of this life, was the disinterestedness which they observed among the followers of the new law; who indeed resembled angels, rather than men. The community of the faithful had but one heart and one soul : no individual possessed any thing which was not at the same time common to all. They sold their possessions and laid the price of them at the feet of the apostles ; who distributed it to all, as from a common fund. Thus, for the first time, were to be seen, men equally removed from riches and poverty. The days of this blessed so- ciety flowed happily away, in innocence, and virtue, and undisturbed tranquillity. 46 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. The idea of such a community of goods, (1) and detachment from the world, was present- ed to the primitive Christians by tlie Esseni- ans; a sect of Jews, who had the reputation of being more holy than their brethen : but who, at the same time, were more proud and superstitious. They were jealous of a certain independency, which taught them to acknow- ledge no superior but God ; and ready to sa- crifice their hves, rather than submit to the commands of men, no matter how just. This shows how far removed they were from the pure and solid virtues of the Christians : who were not less humble than disinterested : and while they were the most edifying, were, at the same time, the most charitable and useful members of society. The apostles were careful to cultivate these first fruits of grace ; especially in the prose- lytes, whose numbers were every day increas- hig : they scrupulously attended to their dis- cipline and morals; and regularly convened the brethren, at the house of some of the dis- ciples of distinguished virtue. (1) Jos. Bell. 2. 12. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 47 Thus they assisted at the adorable myste- ries: received the sacraments, and were in- structed in the doctrines and counsels of the Redeemer. One house not being sufficient to contain all, they were obliged to divide in- to separate communities : which formed as it were, so many congregations, in the different quarters of Jerusalem. They were under the direction of at least one priest, ordained ac- cording to the ceremonies of the new law, with some inferior ministers. We learn from St. Epiphanius, that, in the first age of the church, the apostles established as well bish- ops and deacons without priests, as priests and deacons, without bishops. But as for the first order of the hierarchy, I mean bishops, their ordinary functions were like those of the apostles, viz : to announce the gospel, with more dignity and authority : to confound the incredulous : to visit the rising churches : to strengthen the faithful in their belief, and to disseminate the principles of the Christian religion. This discipline, and the usages of the pri- mitive church, necessarilv differed from those 48 IIISTORV OP THE CHURCH. of our time : though in matters of only se- condary importance. The empire and the different kingdoms were distributed into fixed and hmited diocesses, only in proportion as na- tions and provinces embraced Christianity. But before imparting it to the Gentiles, the first ministers of the gospel had to communi- cate its saving light to that portion of the chil- dren of Israel, whose eyes were not obstinate- ly closed against it. Such was the progress of the apostles and their co-operators ; and in some measure, the origin of that apostolic dis- cipline, which, thenceforth marked the dis- tinction between things of strict obligation, and those of mere counsel or perfection. Of the latter kind, was the entire renunciation of their personal property. Sincerity was ri- gorously insisted on, in all who made profes- sion of this alienation from earthly goods. And it was deemed an act of mere hypocrisy to pretend to make a public sacrifice of their property, if, at the same time, they reserved any part of it for their private use. Among those who were conspicuous for this detachment, we find the name of Joseph, a Le- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 49 vite, originally from Cyprus : he sold his estate and delivered up the price of it to the apostles. They gave him the surname of Barnabas ; that is, child of consolation ; and made him par- taker, with themselves, of the functions and dignity of the apostleship, in which he soon became distinguished. Another disciple, named Ananias, under- took, together with his wife, Saphira, to de- ceive the prince of the apostles. They re- tained a part of the sum, for which their pro- perty had been sold ; and presented the rest to be added to the common funds. God reveal- ed the criminal dissimulation to the head of the church ; and punished it with more than ordinary rigour. The precedent was neces- sary to confirm the authority of the apostles, and maintain the purity of the rising church. Ananias, said Peter, you have lied to God, and not to man. Struck with these words, as with a thunderbolt, Ananias fell dead at the apostle's feet. Three hom's after, Saphi- ra made her appearance : she, unacquainted 'with the fate of her unfortunate husband, an- swered as he had done, to the questions of St. VOT-. T. — 4. 50 lilSTORY OF THE CHURCH. Peter : and shared the same fate. This ter- rible visitation of the Almighty's anger, pro- duced the most salutary effects, not only among the faithful, but even among strangers: who conceived an exalted idea of the power of that God, who thus watched over and vin- dicated the glory of his church. Numerous and extraordinary wonders were wrought by the apostles : every species of sick- ness obeyed their voice: multitudes of maim- ed, or infirm, or helpless beings, lined the ways where Peter passed, and by virtue of his very shadow, were restored to health and sound- ness. These miracles rapidly augmented the numbers of the faithful, and the carnal Jews, who still refused to believe in a crucified God, were unable to weaken the faith, or diminish the fervour, of the Neophytes. The sacrilegious envy of the enemies of Christ could not, how- ever, be at rest, and to humble his followers in the public opinion, they resolved to give a ju- dicial form to a persecution, the most unjust and the most cruel. The principal agents, in this cabal, were the high-priest, and the mem- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 51 bers of his council. They seized on the apos- tles, and threw them into prison ; but an an- gel of God, during the night, loosened their chains, and they walked unmolested through the sentinels that surrounded them. The apostles, as their celestial envoy had directed, went immediately to the temple, and fearless- ly announced the word of life. The high- priest and council beheld them with surprise, and embarrassment : but could devise no ar- tifice to cover their confusion. At length they concluded on again summoning the apos- tles before them : when they appeared, the high priest asked, why they had again, in con- tempt of his orders, preached the divinity of a dead man, whom they pretended to be the Christ, the Son of God ? Peter answered as before, that it was better to obey God, than man : and with more energy than ever, added that Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified, but who had been gloriously raised to life, was the Saviour, from whom all Israel was to expect the pardon and remission of their sins. Tli^ courage and intrepid zeal of Peter, aroused the jealous indignation of the hi^li priest ; and 52 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the council was on the point of ac^ain proceed- ing to extremities, against him and his col- leagues, when a venerahle doctor, named Ga- mahel, checked their fin-y by an advice, mark- ed ahke with wisdom and simphcity. " Why" said he, " disturb these men ? if their under- taking be a human one, it will fall of itself : but if it be the work of God, in vain will you oppose it." On hearing this, their indigna- tion partially subsided. The apostles, after being ignominiously scourged, were dismissed, with a strict injunction never again to preach in the name of Jesus. They retired, full of joy for having been accounted worthy to suf- fer for the name of Christ : and, far from be- ing intimidated, appeared to breathe an unu- sual ardour, and preached Christ crucified, not only in the temple, but in the private houses of Jerusalem. The number of proselytes had so much in- creased, that the apostles were miable to dis- charge all the various functions of their minis- try. They were therefore obliged to choose, from among the faithful, seven men, of irre- proackable lives, and in a special manner, filled HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 53 with the Holy Ghost. They accordingly elect- ed Stephen, a man distinguished for his ardent charity: Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Finian, Parmenas, and Nicholas. The apostles, by the imposition of hands, conferred on them the holy order of deaconship : to them was assigned the office of distributing alms, and administering the sacrament of the Eucha- rist, in the different quarters of Jerusa- lem. Stephen was soon engaged in dispute with the doctors of the synagogue. The whole city admired the strength of his reasoning; his eloquence; and above all, the miracles, which he continually wrought before the peo- ple. The doctors finding it impossible to re- sist the force of his arguments, suborned wit- nesses to accuse him of blasphemy. He was accordingly arrested, and brought before the high priest ; who, for the express purpose of interrogating the holy deacon, ascended the tribunal. Stephen, appeared with dignity, and spoke with freedom : He reproached them with the murder of the prophets ; and accused them of having sacrilegiously put to 54 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. death the Son of God. His discourse fired the members of the synagogue with anger and indignation : but Stephen calmly looking up to heaven, from whence he expected his reward, beheld the divine humanity of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father. — "Behold, he exclaimed: (1) I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Unable, any longer to restrain their fury, they rushed upon him in a body, without the formality of a trial, dragged him out of the city, and laying down their gar- ments at the feet of a young man named Saul, they stoned him. Saul, at this period, de- ceived by the fanaticism and prejudice of the Jews, became afterwards the " vessel of elec- tion," so conspicuous among the other apos- tles. His conversion is attributed to the prayers of the holy martyr. The body of Ste- phen, contrary to the custom observed with regard to criminals legally condemned, was buried by the pharisee Gamaliel ; who after- wards removed the relic to a country mansion, which he had built, about eight leagues from (1) Acts. vii. 55. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 55 Jerusalem ; he himself was afterwards inter- red on the same spot, together with his ne- phew, Nicodemus, who had formerly embalm- ed the body of the Redeemer. The perse- cution raised against the faithful in Jerusalem, served only to diffuse more widely, the light of the true religion. Whilst the apostles care- fully guarded the first converts from the dan- ger of seduction, the other evangelical la- bourers dispersed through those parts of Pales- tine, more immediately subject to the Roman governor, and soon after through Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. The disciple Ananias penetrated even to Damascus ; where he founded a church, composed exclusively of converted Jews ; for the gospel had not yet been announced to the gentiles. In the mean time, the faithful were imprisoned, and put to death, at Jerusalem, where Saul became more furious than ever. He had received a special commission from the magistrates, to do all manner of evil to the Christians: and he seized indiscriminately, on men and wo- men, all of whom were scourged by order of the synagogue. 56 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. While the Jews, dweUmg in Jerusalem, continued blind and obstinate, the Samari- tans, another portion of the house of Israel, received the gospel with very different dispo- sitions. The doctrine of salvation was an- nounced to this people by Philip, one of the seven deacons, with great success, and con- firmed by many striking miracles. At this period, (I) there dwelt in Samaria a man, named Simon ; a native of Giton, in the same country. So great was the reputation which he gained by the art magic, that he was surnamed, " the virtue of God." Unable to resist the arguments of the holy Levite, he pretended to be a proselyte ; and desired to receive the sacrament of baptism. Mean- while, St. Peter and St. John had left, for a time, the brethren of Jerusalem, to adminis- ter confirmation to the Neophytes of Sama- ria. The gift of tongues, and of miracles, al- most invariably, accompanied the reception of this sacrament. Thinking that it might be purchased, Simon offered a sum of money for this sublime prerogative. But Peter, with (I) Just. ap. 2. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 57 a holy indignation, replied : "Thy money be with thee to perdition." He, however, ad- vised him to repent : Simon affected to do so ; but it appears, that his repentance was no- thing more than a hypocritical humility, caused by the presence of the minister of the Lord. The shame of his infamous traffic has remained stigmatised on his name : and both shall ever be identified with sacrilege. In concert with an infamous prostitute (1) from Tyre, he broached the first heresy ; a shock- ing compound of the mythology of the pa- gans, the errors of the Jews and Saducees, and adulterated passages from the Holy Scrip- ture. This heresy, the first that ever appear- ed in the church, continued till the close of the second century, when it was utterly ex- tinguished. Peace was still reigning among the faithful at a distance from Jerusalem ; and the gos- pel was, every day, making extensive progress. Saul, fired with indignation at its triumph, re- ceived authority from the high pontifi', to per- secute the faithful : and, immediately, went (1) Ir. 1. 1. c. 20. 58 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. towards Daiii.asciis, where Ananias had per- suaded a number of the Israehtes to embrace the faith. But, on his way to Damascus, Saul was suddenly enveloped in a celestial light ; prostrated to the ground, with all that followed him, and at the same instant, heard a voice saying to him, in the Hebrew tongue: " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?'* Saul answered, " Lord, who art thou ?" I am, replied the Saviour, " Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Lord, he returned, " what wilt thou have me do ?" And Jesus said to him : " go into the city, and there thou shalt receive my orders. But know, that, hence- forth, thou shalt be a preacher of the wonder thou hast witnessed ; not only to the Jews, but also to the gentiles." Saul, (he had been struck blind during this mysterious interview,) was conducted to Damascus by his astonish- ed companions, where he remained, three days, in prayer and meditation ; until Anani- as healed him of the twofold blindness, of soul and body. After he was baptized, he appeared In the midst of the synagogue, pro- claiming and vindicating the divinity of Jesus HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 59 Christ. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Jerusalem, where he spent fifteen days in the house of St. Peter ; from whom, it is beheved, he received tlte priestly and episcopal ordina- tion ; his mission having been already derived from Jesus Christ himself. In the mean time, Pilate was banished to Gaul, where, after a variety of misfortunes, he put an end to his own existence. Similar to his was the fate of Antipas, the son of the murderer of the holy innocents. He was de- nounced to Caligula, as a traitor, and an ac- complice of Sejanus, in the preceding reign. In consequence of which, after the loss of all his property, he fled with his wife, the infa- mous Herodias, to Spain, where they both miserably perished. In the mean time, Peter, having visited the distant churches, greatly augmented the num- ber of the proselytes, by his miracles, of which two are peculiarly striking, viz : the healing at Lydda, of a paralytic, named iEneas, who had been eight years confined to his bed : and the raising to life the charitable Tabitha, at Joppa. For a minute narration of these, as GO HISTORY OF THE CHUUCH. well as many other miracles, the reader is referred to the acts of the apostles. At this epoch, the first of tlie gentiles was brought to the faith, at Joppa, in the person and family of a Roman centurion, named Cornelius : In the midst of idolatry he had merited by the purity of his life, and his sin- cerity in quest of truth, to be favoured with a vision from heaven : in which he was com- manded to send for the prince of the apostles. Peter, at the same time, had a similar vision: which was scarcely over, when the messen- gers of Cornelius came to inquire for him. He departed with them the following morn- ing; and on his arrival at the centurion's house, instructed him in the mysteries of the gos- pel. But the Holy Ghost, becoming himself his teacher, conferred on him, in a miracu- lous manner, the gift of tongues. It was ex- tremely difficult for the faithful who followed St. Peter, to divest themselves of their pre- judices against the gentiles. They had, hitherto, believed them for ever excluded from the church of God : but the vicar of Jesus Christ felt it wrong to refuse the sacrament HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 61 of regeneration to him who had, ah*eady, re- ceived the Holy Ghost. This circumstance diminished the prejudices of the converted Jews ; and offered a boundless fiekl for the la- bourers of the gospel, hitherto confined to the narrow limits of Judea. After this event, the gospel made great progress among the inha- bitants of Antioch, the capital of Syria, and of all the East. The two apostles selected for the mission of the gentiles, were Barna- bas and Paul. Under their direction the church of Antioch became so flourishing, in a single year, that it was styled the cradle of Christianity: it was there, that the faithful first assumed the name of Christians. (1) But while the gentiles were submitting with docility to the yoke of the gospel, and listening to the voice of truth, the unhappy children of Israel, were accelerating, by their stubborness, their own ruin, and reprobation. The Roman emperors, on whom Judea de- pended, did not suffer them to indulge to its (1) They were also called Fratres, or Brethren, Tertul. Apol.C. 39; Sancti or Saints, Phil. 4 ; Credentes or Be- lievers, FiDELEs or Faithful, Eph. 1. By the Jews, they were called, through contempt, Nazareni. Hier. in Is. 29. 62 IllSTOIIY OF THE CHURCIf. full extent, their fury against the Christians, whom they felt it a duty to protect, as loyal and dutiful subjects. But the rulers of the synagogue, profiting by the dispositions of Herod Antipas, the worthy grand-son of the nnudererof the holy innocents, induced him to behead St. James, the son of Zebedee, and bro- ther of John. This apostle was particularly odious to the Jews ; and on account of his ardent zeal, received the surname of "Thun- der." He was the first of the twelve that sealed the faith with his blood ; in his suf- ferings he exhibited such fortitude, that his accusers was converted on the spot; and, likewise, received the crown of martyrdom. Herod, perceiving how much his execution had gratified the sanguinary jealousy of the Jews, resolved to sacrifice to their cruelty, the head of the universal church ; according- ly. Saint Peter was arrested, and loaded with chains ; but was liberated by an angel, who, irradiated with light, descended into the pri- son, and conducted him in safety to the house in which the disciples were assembled. The tvrant condemned the guards to death, on the HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 63 ground of negligence, of which they were not guilty : and shortly after, he himself suffered the punishment which his crimes had so long deserved. This happened at Caesarea, the theatre of his vanity. Having had some mis- understanding with the Tyrians and Sido- nians, (1) he was compelled, very soon, to re- deem his friendship by sequestering (2) the grain of the rich province of Galilee, on which a numerous population depended for subsist- ence. He was celebrating the most splendid games, in testimony of joy for the restoration of the emperor's health, when ambassadors from those nations arrived. On the second day of the solemnity, escorted by an obsequious retinue of the most distinguished Jews and Romans, he moved in triumph, to the theatre, covered with a royal mantle ; and took his seat on a throne, sparkling with gold and jewels, and began to address the assem- bled multitudes ; his person, of which he was extremely vain, was equal to his magnificent decorations ; the people from every side ex- claimed, " It is the voice of a God, and not of (1) Acts 12. (2) Jos. Ant. xix. 7. G 1 IIISTORV OF THE CHURCH. ii man!" llorod listciiotl with impious com- placency to this profane adulation : but his trium|)h was momentary : he was smitten by an angel of the Lord; lie writhed with inter- nal excruciation ; and shame and confusion succeeding to vanity, he sighed to his flatter- ers, " Behold your God about to expire !'* He was carried to his palace, where he linger- ed five days in the greatest agony, and at length died, devoured by swarms of vermin. Before this remarkable event, and in the se- cond year of the reign of Claudius, who had succeeded his nephew Caligula in the year for- ty, the prince of the apostles transferred his pontifical see, from Antioch, to Rome ; (1) and (2) from this year, (3) the forty-fourth of the Christian era, we are to date the five and twenty years of his pontificate assigned him by the chronicle of Eusebius. (4) He had al- (1) Orig. in Genes. (2) Just. ap. 2. (3)Hier. do Scrip. Ecc. (4) Euseb. chron. an. 44. Of this great event there can be no room to doubt, when we consider the authorities on which it is grounded. Besides tlie authors already quoted, we might adduce among the Latins: Tertullian, de prescrip. Hippolytus, ap. Prud. in Perist. Cyprian, de unit. eccl. Ar- nobius, ad vers. gent. Lactantius, lib. 4. c. 21. Optatus, lib. 2. cont. Parm. Among the Greeks: Papias, ap. Euseb. 2 hist. 13. Caius, ibid 2. 24. Chrysostom, hom. de Pet. et Paul. &c. &c. To these may be added Severus, Prudentius, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 6/» ready sat seven years, in quality of sovereign pontiff at Antiocli ; the first among the churches of the gentiles. He had not, how- ever, permanently fixed his residence in any particular place : having, notwithstanding his special and pre-eminent character, carried the faith into Pontus, and many other pro- vinces of Asia. On his departure for the capital of the world, where he was to fix his pontifical chair, and es- tablish his apostolic supremacy, he placed over the church of Antioch his disciple Evo- dius: (1) who governed that flourishing church for five and twenty years. To Rome, he took with him Mark, and many other disci- ples, whom he had himself instructed. Mark went from Rome, to found in the name of his Philastrius, Orosius, Prosper, Maximus, Peter Chrysologus, Arator, Dionysius of Corinth, Peter of Alexandria, Theodo- ret, Sozomen, &c. &c. &c. Vide. Spond. ad. ann. 44. x. (1) That Evodius was made the successor of St. Peter in the see of Antioch, appears to be disputed: the more pro- bable opinion I have followed; I found it on the authority of Origin, (Horn. 6. in Luc.) Eusebius, (in Chron. et 3 hist. 16.) and St. Jerome (de script. Eccles. in Ignat.) St. John Chrys- ostom, in his Homily de translat. S. Ignat. relates, that the first bishop of Antioch, after S. Peter, was S. Ignatius: but Ignatius himself writing to the people of Antioch, express- ly says, that Evodius first sat in the chair of Antioch, after S. Peter. Vide Spond. p. 55. VOL. I. — 5. * ()6 HISTORY OF TflK CHURCH. master, the church of Alexandria. Such i» the origin of the two first patriarchal churches: the one governed for some years by the prince of the apostles : the other founded under his auspices, by one of his own disciples. St. Mark established several other churches in Egypt; among which were many of the Thera- peutse, whom he converted, and who afterwards (1) retained their original apellation. Be- fore entering on his apostolic commission, St. Mark passed some time at Rome, as interpre- ter to St. Peter. It was there, that he wrote his gospel : in which, without confining him- self to the order of time, he committed to writing what he had heard from St. Peter. Some of the fathers, from tliis circumstance, have attributed this gospel to the holy apos- tle himself. The eulogium pronovmced by the Son of God on his vicar, was through hu- (1) Concerning the Therapeutae, there is much doubt and obscurity: Eusebius lib. 2. Hist. Eccles. cap. 17, says that they are mentioned by Philo the Jew, and were Christians. Scaliger in his work, "De Emmendatione Morum" lib. 6, and Valesius in his notes on Eusebius lib. 2. C. 17, are of opinion that they were Jews. Perhaps it is more probable that they were, indeed, Jews, but living secluded from the world, and practising more than ordinary austerities. That they re- tained their original name, after their conversion, appears not to be called in question. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 67 mility, omitted in the gospel, while, on the contrary, it presents at full length, his three- fold denial of his divine master. (1) This gos- pel, according to the general opinion, was written in Greek, the commercial language of all the East : and so much in use, at Rome, that even the women spoke it with facility. St. Mark, besides, translated the first epistle of St. Peter, addressed to the faithful of Pon- tus, Bithynia, and Cappadocia. We discover in this epistle, an elevation and dignity, wor- thy the head of the apostles. It was about the time when Saint Peter transferred his see to Rome, that the disper- sion of the apostles, throughout the universe, took place. Before their separation, they agreed on a symbol, or common formula of faith : which serving as a bond of unity, distinguished the (1) S. Jerome and S. Augustine were of opinion that S. Mark's gospel was written in Greek: An ancient work en- tituled "de Romanis Pontificibus," which goes under the name of S. Damasus, (but which, according to Baronius, was written by Anastasius Bibliothecarius,) affirms that St. Mark wrote in Latin: this appears to have been the common opinion of the Greeks and Syrians; which also is followed by S. Gregory of Nazianzen. Vide. S. Aug. de Conf. Evang, lib. 1. cap. 2. Hier.ad Damas. ep. 123. and Greg. Na^. Com. de quat. Evang. 68 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. faithful believers from the Jews and heretics. St. James the less, remained at Jerusalem ; of which he had been constituted the first pas- tor, by St. Peter ; St. Andrew having preach- ed the gospel to the Scythians, afterwards re- turned to Achaia, where he suffered martyr- dom. He is still held in veneration by the inhabitants of the country, once peopled by the ancient Scythians. St. Philip, after having preached in Upper Asia, died at Hie- rapolis in Phrygia. It is uncertain whether like the rest of the apostles, he had the honour to shed his blood for the faith which he so zealously laboured to propagate. St. Thomas carried the gospel into Parthia, and even to the Indies ; where the Portuguese imagined that they had dis- covered his relics. St. Bartholomew exercised his zeal in Armenia Major, and in the Western parts of India. Thither he carried the gos- pel of St. Matthew, the first written, of which he, as well as most of the apostles made use. It was, it is thought, originally composed in Hebrew ; and afterwards translated into HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 69 Greek. St. Matthew preached to the ^Ethio- pians. St. Simon, called the Cananean, laboured in Mesopotamia and Persia, St. Jude or Thaddeeus carried the gospel into Arabia and Idumea. This apostle must not be confoun- ded with a disciple of the same name, who converted Abgarus, king of Edessa. The former Thadaeus or Jude, wrote the epistle, which goes under his name, and which forms a part of the canonical books. Of the la- bours of these illustrious envoys of the Re- deemer, we can give no certain, or detailed account ; and must therefore be content with the general narration transmitted to us, by the evangelical writers. Paul and Barnabas were called by a special revelation, to the mission of the gentiles : the former, in order to adapt himself to the places in which he preached, (they were subject to the Roman empire) having Latinized his name, (1) they set out for Paphos, and after travel- (1) To me this seems the most probable opinion. TJic precise cause, however, of the change of bis name, lias not been ascertained. For the amusement of the reader, I may be allowed to enumerate several opinions. St. Ambrose be- lieves that when he was baptized by Ananias, he took the 76 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. lin^ through many of the Grecian islands, and suffering a variety of hardships for the name of Jesus, returned to Antioch. Here they met with St. Peter, who had left Rome, for reasons of which we are ignorant ; and it was here that St. Paul, zealously devoted to whatever could further the conversion of the gentiles, openly rebuked St. Peter for the repugnance which he had evinced to commu- nicate with them. In this aversion to the gentiles, he was seconded by nearly all the faithful from Judea. In reproving St. Peter, Paul merely exercised a right, with which, as an apostle, he was vested, and which any bishop may claim, even with regard to those name of Paul, Amb. serm. 51. edit. Rom. St. Augustine concurs in this opinion, and adds: "thathe who from a proud, was converted into an humble man, forsaking the name of a proud king, assumed the apellation of Paulus, or the little: Pauli quod idem est ac Parvi." Aug. tract. 72. sup. Psal. 4. S. Jerom says, that as it was customary for Roman generals to adopt the name of a conquered people, as Africanus, Asiaticus, &c.; so Saul took the name of Paul from the first distinguished gentile, whom he converted in Cyprus, viz: Sergius Paulus, the proconsul. Hier. ep. ad. Philem. S. Chry- sostom, on the contrary was of opinion that that name was given him, by God himself, as that of Simon was changed, by Christ, into Peter. Chrys. de Com. Pauli. The reader may weigh these several opinions, and judge for himself Baronius inclines in favour of that of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. See the Dissertation in Spondan. p. 42. viii. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 71 who hold the liighest places in the hierarchy; when through mistake or inadvertency, they expose the interests of the church : and when silence would only serve to augment the evil. To the admonition of his inferior, the prince of the apostles modestly submitted ; and retracted a principle which, not his own inclination, but the fear of offending the Jews, had induced him to embrace. Of the disciples who had come from Judea, many continued mitractable. The prince of the apostles quitted Antioch for Jerusalem : meanwhile, the dispute between the Jews and the gentiles, becoming every day more serious, it was agreed that the only means of terminating a difference, which must have been productive of dangerous consequences, would be to obtain a solemn decision from the apostolic college, with Peter at its head. It was accordingly determined, that Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by a few chosen per- sons of the opposite opinion, should re- pair to Jerusalem, in order to consult the Holy Spirit ; whose will, as the Saviour had promised, should be made known through the organ of the chief pastors. 72 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. In the fifty-first year of the Christian era, the first and most ancient council was con- vened ; which has served as a model for all succeeding councils. Peter, the vicar of Je- sus Christ, convoked the assembly : it con- sisted of all his apostolic colleagues, together with the priests and elders. Whether any of the faithful laity were present, appears doubtful : however, if there were, it is certain that they had neither a decisive voice, nor the right of judgment ; for this prerogative was attached, by its divine author, exclusively to the apostolic character. The council ex- amined the traditions, and maturely delibe- rated : every one was at full liberty, before the decision was given, to express, and ex- plain, his sentiments : all evinced a perfect submission, and a readiness to observe and enforce, the verdict of the council. Peter presided: (1) explained the object of the meet- ing : and first delivered his opinion. He re- minded his brethren, how the Lord had en- joined him, after announcing the gospel in Judea, to instruct the gentiles, in the person (1) Act ap. 15. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 73 of Cornelius ; whence he concluded : " That it would be tempting God to impose on them a yoke, which, though retained through re- spect or condescension, was no longer neces- sary for salvation, even among the Jews them- selves." With this opinion, Paul and Barna- bas coincided ; recounting what the Lord, had through their means effected in favour of the gentiles. St. James, bishop of Jerusa- lem, a church composed exclusively of Chris- tians of the circumcision, not only subscrib- ed to the liberty of the gentiles, but formally declared that such was his conviction ; and that to him it appeared strictly conformable to the sacred writings. The council express- ed the same opinion : and nothing now re- mained, but to make known the result to the churches, in which the difference had origi- nated. The form of the decree was accord- ingly drawn up and expressed in the follow- ing terms : (1) "It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us," to oblige you only to those observances, which we deem necessary, viz : to forbid you the use of meats, sacrificed (1) 1 Act. 15. 74 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. to idols ; tlie blood, the flesh of strangled ani- mals, and fornication. Although the last mentioned crime was forbidden by the law of nature, yet in consequence of the corruptions of paganism, which had so obscured the light of reason, it became almost necessary to re- new the prohibition, in a formal and positive manner. The church of Antioch received with profound respect, the apostolic letters: and universal tranquillity and satisfaction ensued. After harmony had been restored to the church of Antioch, St. Paul left his favourite city to visit the churches, which he had found- ed, and to ascertain, what fruits had been produced by the seed which he himself had sown. He travelled through Syria and Cili- cia : it is believed, that during this journey, he associated to the ministry, his relative, St. Luke ; who, at this epoch, makes his appear- ance, for the first time, in the acts of the apos- tles ; of these acts, he himself is the author* He was a physician of Antioch, of some learning, and wrote more purely, than the other apostles. His affection for St. Paul was un- alterable : his gospel like that of St. Mark, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 75 comprises the particulars which he had learn- ed from his Master ; and so faithful was the copy, that the apostle, instructed by our Lord himself, after his ascension, adopted the work and refers to it in his epistles, under the ap- pellation of his own gospel. (1) St. Paul, having seen in a vision, a Mace- donian, inviting him to preach the gospel to his countrymen, embarked at Troas, and ar- rived at Phillippi ; where, as we learn from the acts of the apostles, he gained over many distinguished proselytes. From Phillippi, he proceeded, after some stay, to Athens. This city, once the most powerful in Greece, re- tained few vestiges of its pristine greatness, except the cultivation of the arts, and an ex- traordinary thirst for the refinements of lite- rature and philosophy. Of this place, the two leading sects were the stoics and epicu- reans : with these St. Paul was soon engaged (1) The opinion, that S. Paul alludes to the gospel of S. Luke when he says, " according to my gospel," 1 Tim. 2. is founded on the authority of Tertullian and S. Jerome. (Tert. cont. Marc. lib. 4. Hier. de script. Eccles. in Luc.) It was to refute the fables disseminated through Greece by Cerinthus, Merinthus, and such heresiarchs, that S. Luke composed his gospel. This is the general opinion of the fathers: of S. Ambrose, venerable. Bede. S. Epiphanius, &c. 76 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ill dispute. The novelty of his doctrines, and the knowledge which he displayed, ex- cited their curiosity, as well as admiration : that they might hear him more at length, they conducted him to the Areopagus : The apostle, standing in this august assembly, which was considered the oracle of all Greece, thus addressed them : Athenians, in passing through your city, I every where observed, that your superstition distinguished you from all other nations. Noticing the several ob- jects of your rehgious veneration, I found one altar having these words inscribed on it, ' to THE UNKNOWN GOD.' What therefore you worship without knowing, that do I preach to you. He then spoke of the creation of the world ; the crimes in which mankind were immerged ; the general judgment and resurrection of the dead. At first, he was listened to with attention ; but when he came to speak of the resurrection of the dead, some derided his doctrine : others exclaimed that he had said enough for the present, that they would take another opportunity to hear iiim farther, on the same subject. We are in- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 77 formed of two only, who were converted on this occasion : Denis, one of the judges of the Areopagus, who afterwards became bish- op of Athens, and a woman, whose name was Damaris. Immediately after this, Paul went to Co- rinth ; the most flourishing city of Greece, since the decay of Athens and Lacedsemon ; and abounding with all the luxuries of life. St. Paul remained there eighteen months ; announcing the gospel in the synagogue, and to the more docile gentiles. The Jews of this city evinced such obduracy, that, according to the counsel of the Saviour, Paul shook the dust from his feet, as a testimony against them ; and from that moment, turned his whole attention to the gentiles. These af- forded him great consolation ; and he con- tinued subsisting by the labour of his own hands at Corinth ; where he wrote his epis- tle to the Thessalonians. This body of the faithful, constituted one of the fairest portions of the rising church ; his first epistle testifies the joy which he felt in witnessing the fer- vour of their faith and piety. The second 78 HISTORY or THE CHURCH. epistle was written to console them for the grief they had conceived at his first letter, which they interpreted in a sense very dif- ferent from that, which the apostle had in- tended to convey. The epistles of St. Paul are ranged in the sacred volume, according to the rank held by the churches to which they were addressed ; but the two written to the Thessalonians, are the first in the order of time. To abridge them would be to di- minish their beauty ; and the historian can only refer those who are desirous of perusing them, to the sacred text itself. St. Paul, having departed from Corinth, and visited many of the churches which he had founded in Asia, at length arrived at Ephesus ; where he remained from the fifty-fourth, till the fifty-seventh year of the Christian era. Ephesus was the most commercial city of Asia Minor ; the residence of a proconsul, and famous for the temple of Diana, whose magnificence, and pompous ceremonies at- tracted the attention of the curious, from every quarter of the world. To preach the religion of the Son of God at Ephesus, was HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 79 therefore to announce it to the whole conti- nent of Asia, and to all the Grecian islands. The zeal of the holy apostle was quickened at the prospect of so abundant a harvest ; he entered on this mission with his wonted courage ; preached and exercised the gift of miracles, with great success. The Ephesians were given to magic ; but all who were convert- ed, delivered up their books on that subject, which were publicly burned, to the value of fifty thousand pieces of silver. From this city, St. Paul wrote his first epis- tle to the Corinthians. The object of which was to remove some scandals, which had found their way amongst them: he severely re- proaches them with the profanation of the holy eucharist. He tells them, in the most forcible language, that they distinguished not the bread of angels from ordinary food ; and that by receiving unworthily, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, they ate and drank their " own condemnation." These expres- sions of the apostle, are so precise, so ener- getic, and so terrible, that he never would have made use of them if the bread, thus profaned 80 HISTORY OF THE CHUUCH. were not, in reality, the llesli of Jesus Christ ; and it is violating all the received usages of language, to distort them into a figurative sense. Even in this fervent church which he had fostered with so nuich care, and " solicitude" were to be found some shame- ful vices, at which even the pagans themselves had reason to be scandalized. Among others, that of the incestuous man living in a criminal connexion with his father's wife, is peculiarly marked : The apostle commanded, that de- generate Christian to be given over to Satan, " for the salvation of his soul ;" that is, to be excluded for a time, from the communion of the faithful ; so that, humbled by his fall and punishment, he might have recourse to hea- ven for forgiveness : and by his rigorous pen- ance, deserve to be re-admitted among the brethren. The Christian reader is afflicted, and the infidel rejoices, at meeting with such an example of corruption in the most fervent times, and in one of the most flourishing of the apostolic churches. But we have much more reason to be as- tonished at the change, which was so sud- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 81 denly effected among men, born and educated in the midst of crimes ; and at the eminent sanctity to which most of them attained, un- der the instructions of the great apostle of the gentiles. This sentiment of wonder will be still more increased, if we reflect, that Corinth, at this era, presented a scene of lewdness and debauch, unparalleled in the annals of pa- gan history. A thousand female slaves were publicly devoted to the worship of Venus. To that impure goddess, the whole city was dedicated; (1) and yet this reformer did not confine his instructions to the essential laws of conjugal fidelity, he conducted them to the highest perfection of virginal and Chris- tian purity. In a word, the first epistle to the Corinthians, is a model of the most active and enlightened zeal : severity, tempered with mildness ; reproof with encouragement; and pastoral solicitude with paternal tender- ness. But while St. Paul was thus employed in preaching the name, and diffusing the spirit (l)Strab. 1. 8. Athen. 1. 13. VOL. I. — 6. 82 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH- of Jesus Christ, the infernal powers attempt- ed to raise up a rival not only to the apostle, but even to his adorable Master. This was the famous Apollonius Tyanoeus, the most illustrious advocate of paganism and profane philosophy. His (I) birth was noble ; his genius transcendant; the powers of his me- mory unexampled. He was skilled in all the arts and sciences of Greece, and to the em- bellishments of his mind were added the ex- terior advantages of a tall and dignified sta- ture, and a countenance of more than hu- man comliness. He professed the severe philosophy of Pythagoras, and affected the most rigorous austerity of manners. With all his zeal or affected wisdom, he testified an extreme devotion to the popular worship of the gods. He came to Ephesus in the be- ginning of the reign of Nero, and practised a thousand crafty impositions, which the cre- dulous multitude mistook for so many un- doubted miracles. The test by which such pretended miracles can be established, is that which the Son of God himself has given us; (1) Philostr. 1. 1 et seq. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 83 ** by their fruits, you shall know them." Were they wrought to disseminate the truth ; or to increase the blindness and follies of man- kind ? But who can vouch for the authenticity of the facts, recorded in the life of the apostle of paganism ? It was written by Damis, who associated himself to Apollonius in the East; one of those disciples, whom Lucian stigmatizes, as unworthy the least respect. Even this work is lost ; and all that remains isian indigested fragment, which the sophist Philostratus gathered from hearsay, to gratify the prejudices of queen Julia, the avowed enemy of the Christian name. However, the fact may be, the prophet of idolatory was forced to yield to the apostle of Christ : and the work of the living God subsists to this day, in the very place, where, after two centu- ries, the name of Apollonius was forgotten. St. Paul was at Macedonia when he heard of the good effect, produced by his first epis- tle to the Corinthians ; he wrote them a se- cond, to comfort them in their affliction, which his reproof had occasioned : and in consider- 84 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. atiou of his penance, absolved the incestuous man. The apostle was pleased to remit, in his favour the severity of the penitential in- stitutions : and by this judicious clemency, to save the sinner from despair. Some time after writing his second epistle, St. Paul revisited the church of Corinth. He spent the winter in that city, to console the children of Jesus Christ, and re-established in its perfection, their former discipline. From thence, he addressed an epistle to the Romans, while preparing to visit the faithful of Judea, with the charitable contributions which he had obtained for them, in Achaia and Macedonia. This epistle was written in Greek ; and translated into Latin by Tertus. Its object was to remove the differences that had taken place between the gentiles and the Israelites. The gentiles he humbled ; by shewing them the pusillanimity and duplicity of their philosophers, who knowing the true God, from the light of nature, had not dared to honour him as such ; and the frightful and unnatural crimes to which, in punishment of their pride, and their adherence to the folHes HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 85 of paganism, they had been abandoned by Ahnighty God. The Jews he reminded of their obstinate resistance to those heavenly favours, which had been gratuitously confer- red on them : and lest they should be puffed up by the great benefits which distinguished them, as a chosen people, from the rest of mankind, he proves to them, that these graces were to be attributed to the pure and unmerit- ed goodness of an all-wise God, and not to the faithful observance of the old law. It was about this same time also, that St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians, a por- tion of the faithful, remarkable for their fer- vour ; but whose simplicity had been imposed on by certain false teachers, the object of whose schismatical mission, was not so much to propagate the gospel as to keep up the ceremonial law, the necessity of which they ceased not to inculcate. The apostle re- futes the doctrine of these seducers; and re- pels the calumnies which they had diffused, against his mission and apostleship. When St. Paul perceived, from the flourish- ing condition of the Grecian churches, that 86 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. his personal residence among them, was no longer necessary, he departed with the alms which had been collected for the faithful in Palestine. Mindful on his way, of the dan- gers to which his zeal for the gospel was likely to expose his beloved disciple Timothy, whom he had made bishop of Ephesus, he sent him those divine, and evidently inspired instructions, contained in his first epistle, for the wise and prudent government of the house of God. This epistle is considered as the basis of ecclesiastical discipline. It com- prehends a complete abridgement of the du- ties of a bishop : of those of all orders of the clergy ; and even of the different condi- tions among the simple faithful. The epistle to Titus was written some time after that to Timothy : and as both were charged with the same offices, we find nearly the same instructions conveyed in each. St. Paul permits Titus to raise married men to the priesthood, on account of the difficulty of finding, especially among the Cretans, men, who had lived to an advanced age in celibacy: but he always required, that they should be HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 87 the husband of only one wife : as we can find nothing in the writings of St. Paul to afford a reasonable presumption, that he had dis- pensed with the discipline of the church, in favour of the Cretans, we must conclude that the sacred ministers of the flock, entrusted to the care of Titus, lived with their wives, after ordination, as with their sisters ; and that, to have acted otherwise, would have brought on them the censures and odium of the other churches. St. Paul, even on his journey, forgot not, as St. Chrysostom remarks, the respect due to the great festivals : and accordingly re- paired to Phillippi to celebrate the solemn feast of the pasch, or caster. After six days, during which the feast of the azymes, or un- leavened bread, continued, he embarked, with St. Luke, and arrived, in five days, at Troas ; where the faithful were expecting him, to re- ceive his instructions and celebrate the holy mysteries. ^According to the narration given of his voyage by the sacred writers, we find that the faithful had already begun to sanctify the first day of the week, or Sunday. As the fes- 8§ HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tival commenced on the evening of the pre- ceding day, there was a number of lamps Hghted, as well to dispel the darkness, as to add solemnity to the holy sacrifice. (1) From Troas, St. Paul proceeded to J erusalem ; oc- casionally stopping to visit the churches on his way ; experiencing marks of the tenderest attachment ; and witnessing scenes of the most affecting nature. The faithful clung round his neck and wept bitterly at parting with him : nothing, however, could shake the resolution which he had taken, to propagate the gospel, and suffer for the name, of Jesus Christ. His holy companions participated in the same sentiments : and he departed with them from Csesarea, his last resting place, in order to reach Jerusalem before the feast of Pentecost, which he wished to celebrate in the holy city. All the faithful, with the holy bishop, St. James, at their head, received him, on his arrival ; and informed him of the hatred, which his fellow citizens had con- ceived against him. Nothing, however, could prevent the generous apostle from visiting (1) See Appendix to the first age. HISTORY OP' THE CHURCH. 89 the several quarters of the city, and adminis- tering reUef to the afflicted. He was, on all occasions, accompanied by the deputies whom he had brought with him from the Eastern churches : and among the foreign Jews who had lately come to Jerusalem, there were some Ephesians, who recognized their coun- tryman, Trophimus, among the followers of the holy apostle. They took their resolution on the spot : and only waited a favourable moment to carry it into execution. Meeting St. Paul in the temple, they fell upon him, and with brutal violence, dragged him out of the holy place, lest they might stain its pave- ment w ith his blood. The apostle must have sunk under their repeated blows, had not the commander of a Roman cohort, which kept guard round the temple, rescued him from their fury. The tumult increasing, the tri- bune caused him to be conducted to the cita- del. From the steps that led to it, and which were crowded with the infuriated populace, Paul asked permission to address the people. It was granted : but such were the clamours of the fanatical multitudes below, that Lycias 90 HISTORY OP TlfE CHURCH. (this was the name of the tribune,) forced him to retire into the castle. To gratify the Jews, Lycias condemned the apostle to be scourged, and put to the torture : every thing was prepared, when Paul demanded of the centurion, who was to preside at the execu- tion, whether it was lawful to scourge a Ro- man citizen ? The centurion instantly went to the tribune, and informed him of what Paul had said. Lycias returned, heard the saint repeat, and prove, that he was, by birth, a Roman citizen. The executioners were alarmed ; and immediately unbound the pri- soner. The following day, the council of the Jews was convoked: and St. Paul, conducted by Lycias, into the midst of the assembly. He had scarcely begun to speak, when the high priest Ananias, treating the disciple as he had formerly done the master, command- ed him to be struck on the face. " The Lord shall strike thee, thou whited wall," replied the apostle, not knowing him to be the high priest. But when informed of it, he repaired his involuntary fault upon the spot : and ren- dered to the chair of Moses, the respect which HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 91 it deserved. The Saducees offended at tlie conclusion of Paul's discourse, relating to the future resurrection, which they disbelieved, formed a conspiracy to assassinate him ; but his nephew, having informed the tribune of their intention : the apostle was sent, during the night, to Caesarea, under a strong guard of Roman soldiers. Felix, the governor treated the holy apostle with respect : not to incur, at once, the displeasure, and expose himself to the malice of the Jews, who had followed the object of their fury from Jerusa- lem, he put off from day today, the investiga- tion of the matter. In the mean time, at the request of his wife, Drusilla, (1) he had many private conferences with St. Paul. Drusilla, being of the Jewish religion, seem- ed desirous of bringing over Felix to the same belief. But when the apostle spoke of the general judgment, and painted in lively co- lours, the terrible chastisements, reserved for those who had infringed the sacred laws of justice, and chastity, Felix turned pale on his (1) Drusilla had divorced her legitimate husband, Asis, king of Emesa, and married Felix, who, though a mere ple- beian, was honoured with the confidence of the emperor. 92 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tribunal ; and so great was his terror, that he requested St. Paul to be silent for the present, saying, that he would take another occasion to hear him. Felix resisted the first grace ; and was never after converted. Two years passed ; and Felix was succeeded by Fortius Festus, who was immediately, solicited by the high priest Ananias, and other Jews, to send back the prisoner to Jerusalem : but St. Paul, aware of the abuse which the syna- gogue would make of their authority, appeal- ed to Caesar : his appeal was admitted by the governor : and nothing now remained, but to transfer the prisoner to Italy. St. Luke who had always accompanied him, and Aristarchus of Thessalonica, one of the deputies, who brought the contributions made in Greece and Asia, for the relief of the faithful in Judea, who had associated himself to St. Paul, with singular fidelity, embarked with the suffering- apostle. The passage was long, and tem- pestuous: St. Paul earnestly advised the commander of the vessel, to discontinue, for a time, the voyage ; his advice was scorned ; but they soon had reason to repent it. A vio- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 93 lent storm arose : the heavens, for several days, were shrouded in dark clouds : the sea was unusually agitated : and after throwing overboard the merchandise, they were com- pelled to abandon the vessel to the mercy of the waves. Whilst they were thus oscilla- ting between life and death, the Lord reveal- ed to his servant, that the vessel should be lost ; but none on board should perish : the prediction animated the spirits of the des- ponding crew. It was verified soon after by the safe arrival of the passengers, (the vessel having been cast away) on the island of Malta. The Maltese, sympathising with their misfor- tunes, kindled a fire to warm their frozen limbs : St. Paul, whose benevolence and charity were ever active, was gathering fag- gots, when a viper, concealed under them, fas- tened on his hand, and remained suspended. The islanders, feeling that horror for guilt, which is impressed, by the law of nature, on the heart of every human creature, and which nothing can efface, imagined that he was some criminal wretch whom the vengeance of heaven pursued, even after his escape from 94 lilSTORY OF THE CHURCH. shipwreck. 8t. Paul sliook the viper into the flames : while they expected each moment, to see him swell and fall dead before them. But such not being the consequence, passing from one extreme to another, they imagined that he was a God. Publius, one of the most distinguished men of the island, dwelt near the spot where this extraordinary circuni- stance had taken place : wishing to entejrtain the friend of heaven, he invited him to his house ; and, during three days, left nothing undone to relieve his necessities, and those of his companions : his generous hospitality was not left unrewarded : St. Paul restored to health and vigour, the father of Publius, who had been reduced to the last extremity, by a dysentery, and a burning fever. The fame of the miracle soon spread through the whole island : and multitudes of sick persons collect- ed round the apostle ; all of whom he healed, without distinction. These miraculous cures, while they disposed the hearts of the island- ers to receive the faith, greatly enhanced the authority and credit of the apostle, almost on the confines of Italy. The end of their voy- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 95 age was as prospeious as its commencement Lad been unfortunate : the apostle landed at Puzzoli, in the territory of Naples, with the view of prosecuting the remainder of his jour- ney by land. By the Christian inhabitants, he was welcomed with the liveliest demon- strations of respect, and affection: many of them accompanied him even to his journey's end : and their numbers increased, the near- er he approached the place of his destination. The faithful of the city of Rome, filled with gratitude for the letters which they had re- ceived from him, and the happy effects they had produced, came out to meet him ; some the distance of thirty, others even of fifty leagues. Thus, about the beginning of May, in the year 59, he arrived, in a kind of tri- umph, at the capital of the empire; the see of the head of the church : and the metropo- lis of the whole Christian world. It was customary, at Rome, to allow certain prisoners the liberty of the city, at least du- ing the night, but chained and watched by a soldier ; this favour was not refused to St. Panl : he passed two years in this manner. 96 HISTORY OF THE CHtRCH. He was not desirous of farther liberty, than was necessary for the preaching of the gos- pel. We find, on the contrary in the differ- ent epistles which he addressed to the faith- ful from Rome, that he esteemed himself hap- py in his chains, provided he could labour in the propagation of the true religion. After convening an assembly of the principal Jews, dwelling in the city, he informed them of the nature of his appeal to Csesar, and convinced them, that in taking this necessary step, no- thing was more foreign from his intentions, than to injure the Jewish nation, or even the most undeserving of his brethren. They ad- mitted his justification : and requested him to appoint a day for the discussion of their religious differences. To this he cheerfully consented : on the appointed day, he treated the question of the Redeemer's coming ; analysed, and expatiated on the several pro- phecies relating to Jesus of Nazareth, at such length, that his discourse continued from morning till evening. Of the Jews many were converted : but the greater number grew only the more obstinate ; this induced St. Paul to HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 97 take the resolution to extend the Hght of truth to those, who were more disposed to profit by it. He did so : and proselytes, without number, were added to the communion of the faithful. It is to the evangelist St. Luke, we are indebted for this information concerning the apostle of the gentiles. In the acts of the apostles, he dwells with peculiar complacency, on the labours of his Master : the Holy Ghost, by whom the Sacred Narrative was inspired, left our curiosity, re- specting the other apostles, unsatisfied ; pre- senting in the person of St. Paul, abundant matter for instruction and imitation. As for St. Luke himself, he preached the faith in Gaul, Italy, and Macedonia, passed his whole life in celibacy, and died at the age of eighty- four years, in Achaia. The Jews, disappointed in their attempts on the life of St. Paul, in the city of Jerusa- lem, directed their fury against St. James, the bishop of that city, and in the interval be- tween the departure of Festus, and the ar- rival of his successor Albinus, the priests and leading men summoned St. James before VOL. T. 7. 9$ HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the Sanhedrim. Aimnus, son of the infa- mous Annas, and brother-in-law to Caiphas, was the master-spring of this resolution : To compass, more effectually, their object, they, at first, extolled the virtues of the holy bish- op, and so great, indeed, was his merit, and so universal his reputation, that he was sur- named the "just," and the " supporter of the people." In consideration of the purity of his life, he was allowed to enter into that part of the temple, whither the priests alone were ad- mitted, when in the actual exercise of their functions: he prayed without intermission; and, almost always, with his face prostrate on the earth; so that his forehead, as well as his knees, were, as the ancient writers inform us, "callous as the camel's skin." To this angelic fervour, were united a virginal integri- ty of manners, and rigorous austerities ; he never drank wine, nor other inebriating li- quors ; never entered the bath ; nor made use of animal food: his garments were ex- clusively of linen, and these so light, as neither to defend him from the burning rays of a summer sun, nor the piercing cold of winter. HISTORY OP TH"E CHURCH. 99 When he appeared in the assembly, the peo- ple redoubled their professions of respect : his opinion of the doctrine of Jesus was de- manded : he expressed his conviction, and defended the religion of the Son of God, with such undaunted courage, that by his zeal, he converted many foreign Jews, who had assembled to celebrate the pasch. — The scribes, pharisees, and Saducees, ex- cited a violent sedition ; and, insisting that he should publicly retract his opinion, and disabuse the people of their errors concern- ing Jesus Christ, they conducted the holy confessor to an elevated part of the temple. The multitude from below, cried out, with a great, perhaps exaggerated, appearance of respect: "Just man, what is your belief con- cerning Jesus, who was crucified?" There could not have been a more favourable op- portunity to declare the truth. How far the holy man took advantage of it, his answer will decide : " Why, said he, with a loud voice, do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man, and, at the same time. Son of God ? In vain do you pretend to dOubt my 100 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. faitli, in this tiiic Redeemer ; I declare unto yoH ; that he is sittin*]^ in the lieavens, at the riglit hand of the Ahnighty; from whence he shall come to judge the universe." By some, a cry of " Glory to the Son of David" was raised, as he pronounced these words; others, on the contrary, exclaimed : " The just man himself has erred : and the holy apostle and venerable bishop was precipitated amid the confusion, to the ground. By the fall he was not instantly killed ; but as he was praying for his enemies, after the ex- ample of his Divine Master, a fuller, depriv- ed him of the last remnant of life, by striking him on the head with a mallet. The holy martyr was buried on the spot which was stained with his blood : and a monument erected to his memory, of which one pillar was standing, as we are informed by Euse- bius, in the fourth century. St. James, wrote an epistle, addressed to the faithful, converted from the different tribes of Israel, and spread throughout the whole world : on this account, it has received the naitie of Catholic or universal: in his time HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 101 some passages from the epistles of St. Paul, misunderstood, liad given rise to the errone- ous doctrine, that good works were not neces- sary for salvation : the first object of this epistle was to combat and refute that princi- ple of relaxation, and corruption ; he also gives a most precise idea of the sacrament of extreme unction. The heretics, called sa- cramentarians, as well as those who maintain- ed that faith, without good works, is suf- ficient for salvation, for some time, rejected tliis epistle from the number of canonical books : but the power of truth compelled them, after a short time, to reinstate it among the sacred writings: a doubt, it is true, was at first entertained, respecting the author of it ; but we find it cited as one of the inspired writings, by all the holy doctors, at the close of the fourth century, and by those who came after them ; and if, in the preceding ages, it had not been held by all, in equal esteem, it was only because the doubt concerning its authenticity, had not been set at rest. (1) (1) That this epistle was ultimately considered canonical by the whole church, is manifest from the writings of Euse- 102 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. The same may be said of the epistle of 8t. Jude : hke that of St. James, it was address- ed to all the faithful in general ; and was di- rected against the same errors, which were every day becoming more prevalent : that is, the corrupt principles of the Nicholaites, the Simonians and Gnostics, who were satisfied with a barren and speculative, and denied the necessity of a lively and active, faith. St. James, St. Jude, and St. Simeon, were brothers, and cousin-germans to our Lord ac- cording to the flesh ; they were still more closely united to him, in a spiritual sense, by their extraordinary virtues. Simeon, after the death of his brother, was raised to the see of Jerusalem : and notwithstanding the malevolent exertions of the Jews, the episco- pal ministry was triumphantly continued, in the very capital of Judea. In the mean time, St. Paul not only main- tained at Rome, his ascendancy over the Jews, bius, (Hist. 22. in fin.) S. Jerome, de script. Eccles. in Jacob. Tertullian, (adv. Jud. c. 2.) and Origen (ho. 7 in Jos.) To these may be added the authority of S. Epiphanius, S. Athanasius, S. Gregory Nazianzen, Pope Damasus, S. Au- gustine, Cassiodorus, S. Isidore, and in a word, of all who have since written on the subject. Vide. Baxon. ad ann. 63. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 103 but acquired great celebrity even in the court of Nero, and modelled into sincere and fer- vent Christians, some of the ministers of that voluptuous emperor. In his letter to the Philii)pians, (who, on hearing of the imprison- ment of St. Paul, had sent their bishop Ep- aphroditus, to Rome, with presents to the holy apostle,) he commends the docility with which they listened to the voice of truth: their respect for its teachers ; and the spirit of charity, which the gospel had diffused amongst them. After having informed the Christians at Phillippi, of the progress of the faith, not only in the pagan city, but in the imperial pa- lace itself, he fortifies them against false teachers and seducers, whom he calls " ene- mies of the cross of Christ." These enemies of the cross, were the hardened Jews, and some few heretics, such as Simon, the magi- cian, and perhaps the apostate Cerinthus, who maintained that Christ had been crucified only in appearance : this is the reason why that eloquent epistle exalts, with such subli- mity, the great mystery of redemption by the cross. In this letter, we begin to be acquaint- 104 niSTORY OF THE CHURCH. ed with the virtues of St. Clement : his at- tachment to the doctrine and person of the apostle ; and with all those rare and excel- lent qualities which afterwards raised that il- lustrious man to the chair of Peter. In the epistle to Philemon we are informed of the con- version of Onesimus: who, from a fugitive slave became one of the most illustrious con- verts of St. Paul, during his captivity. Onesi- mus had belonged to a Christian, by the name of Philemon; an inhabitant of Colossus, in Phrygia ; a man distinguished for his piety : and who, a few years later, under the reign of Nero, was crowned with martyrdom. Paul, in chains, advanced the interests of the church, by the superior talents of this penitent slave ; and made him the bearer of two letters : the one to Philemon, the other to the church of the Colossians. The former epistle, short as it is, is a master piece of eloquence, flowing from the abundance of an inspired heart. It produced the desired effect. The master of Onesimus, not only pardoned, but emancipated his slave ; and sent him back to HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 105 the apostle. Under the direction of such a teacher, Onesimus made rapid progress in virtue and perfection, and became one of the ornaments of the church, in its purest and brightest times. In the epistle to the citizens of Colossus, he dwells, with equal force and dignity, on the greatness of the power of Jesus Christ; for there were, in this city, false teachers ; who maintained that God should not be ad- dressed through Jesus Christ, (as he is so far above us,) but through the angels. In the third chapter, he enforces the necessity of true and unaffected piety: and gives an excellent abridg- ment of all the duties of a Christian life. Anionji; the disciples of whom, the apostle makes men- tion, we find the name of Mark, cousin of Bar- nabas, who had formerly been an associate in the labours of St. Paul. St. Mark, liad im- bibed the evangelical spirit of his teacher : and so great were his zeal, constancy and fer- vour, that we find him numbered with the three principal co-operators of the apostle of the gentiles. 106 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. That the epistle to the Ephesians, was writ- ten from Home ahout the same time, and sent by the same opportunity, is highly probable : for the ordinary road to Colossus, ran through the city of Ephesus. As these two churches were in the same country, their wants simi- lar, and their manners congenial, the instruc- tions conveyed, are in substance the same. One point, however, we discover in the epis- tle to the Ephesians, which is not mentioned in that to the Colossians : I allude to marriage, as raised to the dignity of a sacrament. The sacred writer not only speaks in commenda- tion of matrimony, but even compares the union of husband and wife, to that of Jesus Christ with his church. From Rome, he also wrote his epistle to the Hebrews ; that is, to the converted Jews of Palestine : to strengthen them against the seductive attempts, or envy of the other Jews. Although the gentiles constituted the special object of the mission of St. Paul, yet he em- braced all the world in his unbounded charity: In writing to the Jews, he endeavours to disabuse them of their attachment to circum- HISTORY OF THE CHUKCH. 107 cision, and to convince them of the inutihty of the law of Moses, whose types were all realized in the rehgion of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this, with more efficacy, he insists tipon the superabundant virtue of the sacri- fice of the incarnate word, and the pre-emi- nence of his priesthood, and shows how the multiplied sacrifices of the ancient law, having no longer any eiFect to produce, were therefore rendered void and unnecessary. Of the authenticity of this epistle, some doubts have been entertained, on account of the re- markable dissimilitude of style between it and the other writings of St. Paul ; but of this, the cause is obvious : St. Paul was writing to a church, in which there were numerous pro- selytes from Judaism, who though converted, could not lay aside the prejudices which they had conceived against his person. It may be through fear of oftending these, that he did not, according to his usual custom, prefix his name to the epistle. The substance, notwithstanding the differ- ence of expression, speaks the nervous and dignified manner of the great teacher of the 108 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ' gentiles. (1) St. Luke soon after the publica- tion of this epistle, departed, for a time, from the city of Rome : and this is the reason why the acts of the apostles, do not continue to the time, when St. Paul after two years of imprisonment obtained his freedom. In following the order of the sacred writings, we find that St. Paul, soon after this event, fulfilled the promise which he had made, in his epistle to visit the Hebrews : after which he went to the different churches of Asia Mi- nor, and extended still more widely the king- dom of Jesus Christ. In the discharge of his duties, during these (1) The authenticity of this epistle was denied by the Marcionites, and Arians ; by some it was attributed to Bar- nabas; by others to S. Clement, or S. Luke. The grounds on which they rejected it, were as I remarked in the text: 1. Because the name of Paul is not expressed: 2. On account of the dissimilitude of style, between this and the other writings of S. Paul. I. To the first objection S. Clement, (ap. Eus. 6. h. 11.) S. Jerome, (de script. Ecc.) and others, give the answer which the reader saw above : as he was sent more especially to the gentiles, he did not style himself the apostle of the Hebrews. II. As to the dissimilitude of style, the cause of it is ob- vious: his other epistles being directed to the Greeks, were written in the Greek language : That to the Hebrews, he wrote in the Hebrew tongue : that it was translated into Greek either by S. Luke or S. Clement, was the common opinion of the ancients. (Orig. ap. Eus. 6 hist. 19.) (Eus. 3 Hist. 33 et alii.) Thus Spondanus ep. an. Baron, ad. ann. CO. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 109 zealous excursions, he suffered many hard- ships, privations, and trying persecutions ; his heahh was now extremely weakened, by ex- cessive labour, and though, only sixty years old, he was bending under a premature de- crepitude. Having learned by a special re- velation, as we are informed by St. Athanasi- us, that he was to suffer martrydom at Rome, far from being terrified at the idea of death, he hastened back to the second " Babylon" which was soon to be stained with the blood of the saints. Then it was that St. Paul met at Rome for the last time, the prince of the apostles, whose pastoral duties, even after the establishment of the apostolic chair, had of- ten caused him to absent himself from the great metropolis. It is certain, that after the translation of the holy see, the vicar of Jesus Christ, made fre- quent excursions into the East, and even as far as Palestine. We are assured by tlie sa- cred writings, that he presided at the council of Jerusalem, after that event : and by some it has been conjectured, that he travelled in- to Judea, to consecrate St. Simeon bishop of 110 IliSTORV OV THE CHUUCII. Jerusalem, after the martyrdom of St. James. On his return to his see, he was warned that the period of his immolation was drawing nigh, and even in the manner foretold by Jesus Christ, during his mortal life. He took advantage of the short time which was yet allotted him, to transmit in writing, to the faithful Israehtes, those lessons, which they had before received, with docility and gratitude, from him, who was, in a pecu- liar manner, their apostle. In his epistles, he warned them against the false doctrines, which began to be disseminated ; reminding many, that they had been eye witnesses of the miracles and ascension of the Redeemer. To St. Peter, are attributed several prophecies which it is said he published in concert with St. Paul, before their martyrdom : that in these were predicted all the eventful circumstances of the ruin of Jerusalem : and that on hearing thein the faithful abandoned in time, the de- voted city. The holy apostles, it would appear, had now consummated their mission : Peter had courageously preached the necessity of justice, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Ill and chastity to the flatterers of the most san- guinary and impure of the Caesars ; and Paul, having converted the chief cup-bearer, and one of the concubines of the emperor, was by the ferocious tyrant, indignantly consigned to a dungeon. But their zeal and solicitude were still active. During his (1) imprison- ment, which continued a year, Paul, though treated at first with the utmost rigour, had found means to put the last stroke to the work of his ministry. He wrote his second epistle to Timothy, to inspire him with fresh courage in the discharge of his various func- tions, and to request his presence in the impe- rial city, to comfort the faithful in the affliction which his approaching death, and that of St. Peter, would necessarily cause. This epistle furnishes, besides, one of the strongest proofs in favour of tradition : "The things, says the apostle, which thou hast heard of me before many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also." Here we find, that be- sides the written word, there were truths no less certain and salutary, to be transmitted (1) Chrys. in Vitap. Mon. Ambr. in Aux. 112 IIISTOKV or THE CHURCH. by word of inoutli, from geiienitioii to geiif!;- ration, to the end of time. Tliis epistle is the last which St. Paul wrote : in it we clear- ly discover a peculiar force, and ardour of zeal, excited in the breast of the holy apostle, by his approaching martyrdom. This event was accelerated by the arrival of Simon the magician, at Rome. This enthusiast had easily insinuated himself into the corrupt heart of Nero : who himself pretended to be skilled in the art of magic. To gratify the puerile curiosity of the emperor, Simon un- dertook to fly to heaven, (1) and occupy (2) the throne which was there prepared (3) for him. (4) An immense multitude assembled, to witness the scene : and among others, the two apostles made their appearance on the occasion ; having previously prepared them- selves for the combat against the prince of darkness, by fasting, and the prayers of the faithful. Simon Magus appeared: and after publicly declaring himself the rival of Jesus Christ, whose ascension he denied, he gradu- (1) Arnob.in. gent. 1. 2. (2) Cyril. Catech 6. (3) Suet, hist. 1. 2. (4) Aug. hser. 1. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 113 ally mounted into the air above the wonder- ing mukitude. But his triumph was moment- ary : he rose to fall : and on a sudden he tumbled from his elevation ; and his limbs were broken : he was instantly conveyed to a neighbouring house, but ashamed to survive so public a disgrace, he precipitated himself from a window, and died upon the spot. This event rekindled all the hatred and jealousy of Nero, against the holy apostles. He ordered them both to be thrust into the prison of Mamertinus, at the foot of the capi- tolinehill, and condemned them to die. The >sentence was (1) executed by the Roman governors, in the absence of the emperor, who had left Rome on an expedition into Greece. St. Peter, no longer the pusillani- mous man who denied his Divine Master, suf- fered with immoveable courage : He was crucified according to the prediction of the Redeemer : but requested through humility, and obtained, the favour of hanging with his head towards the ground, for he esteemed himself unworthy to be assimilated even in (1) Clem. ep. ad cor. VOL. I. — 8. 114 mSTORYOl THE CHURCH. his torments to the Son of God. Death, by crucifixion, could not be inflicted on St. Paul, who was a Roman citizen ; he was according- ly beheaded, on the same day. Their mar- tyrdom occurred on the twenty-nintli day of June ; and most probably in the sixty-ninth year of Jesus Christ. St. Paul was executed about the distance of three miles from Rome, at a place called " The Salman fountains,'^ (1) St. Peter was crucified on mount Janicu- lum ; but his body was entombed in the Va- tican. The faithful had the precaution to have the portraits of the holy apostles taken before their death ; and these were carefully preserved for more than two centuries at Rome. St. Peter was represented of low stature : his head bald, and having an acqui- hne or Roman nose. These particulars of the vicar of Jesus Christ, cannot but prove interesting to the reader. His wife (he had been married before his vocation to the apos- tleship,) suffered martyrdom before him : and Petronilla, his daughter, lived a virgin, and died at Rome, in the odour of sanctity. (1) Eus. xix. 18. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 115 Such were the first victims of the persecu- tion of Nero ; a persecution the more fatal, as it served as a model to those of the suc- ceeding ages ; but infinitely advantageous to the church of Rome, where, by the death of the vicar of Jesus Christ, the apostolic supre- macy was established for ever. TO CHAPTER I. I PURPOSE to lay before the reader, by way of appendix to the first chapter, some of the practices and customs, of the first Christians. To the primitive times, we cannot but recur with a reverential sense : and it is gratifying, as well as consoling to discover, that the prac- tices of the first, are still respected and some even continued in the eighteenth century. II. The ecclesiastical oflices were divided into various grades ; according to the de- mands of the churches. These grades are called Ordines, not only by the ancient wri- ters, but also in the Testament : to mark the distinction between the clergy and the laity. As not only among the Jews, but among the pagans, a line of demarcation was drawn be- tween things sacred and profane, the same dis- tinction was also observed in the church; 118 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. It was first established by Jesus Christ himself, when he selected twelve apostles and seventy-two disciples from the multitude : and afterwards by the apostles when they or- dained bishops, presbyters, and deacons. And though of these grades alone, mention is made in the New Testament, yet that other orders were also instituted by the apostles, cannot be called in question. For this, we have the testimony of S. Ignatius, Denis the Areopagite, and Clemens Romanus. The first author makes mention of presbyters, deacons, sub-deacons, lectors, chanters, door- keepers, labourers, and exorcists. (1) Of these grades, he not only mentions the names, but the duties. In one of his epistles, (2) he speaks of choosing a cursor, whose office was to carry letters from the bishops to the churches. This office afterwards devolv- ed on the lectors, acolytes, and sub-deacons.(3) Of the labourers, the office was, as S. Epipha- nius testifies, (4) to bury the dead : They were called also fossarii, or diggers. (5) The orders (1) Ign. Ep. ad Antioch. (2) Ep. ad Polycarp. (3) Cyp. Ep. 24 and 50) (4) Epiph. in Comp. (5) Ep. ad Rust. Narb. ap.Hier. to. 9. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 119 distinct from these ecclesiastical offices, were seven in number, viz : door keepers, lectors, exorcists, acolytes, sub-deacons, deacons and presbyters; all of them with the exception of the acolytes, are mentioned by lonatius : the ac- olytes, however, are mentioned by Gelasius. (1) (2) (3) All are enumerated in the Roman council held under Sylvester, (4) and the fourth coun- cil of Carthage. (5) The institution of sa- cred orders, is called, not only by the more recent, but by the most ancient fathers, a sa- crament. (6) (7) (8.) The ceremonies by which this sacrament was conveyed, are sha- dowed out (9) by S. Luke, when he shews that the ordination of Paul and Barnabas was preceded by /«s/m^ mu\ jn-ai/er : after which the ordination was consunnnated by the im- position of hands : that the Holy Ghost was given by the imposition of hands, was not a secret to Simon Magus, since he attempted to purchase it by money. The ceremony of (1 ) Ep. ad Epis. Lucan. C. 3 and hist. 77 de relig. et seq. (2) Ap. Euseb, (3) Ep. 55. (4) Cone. Rom. (5) Can. 2. con. earth. (6) see Tertull. de praesciip. C. 40. (7) Cypr. de ablut. ped. (8) Aug. 2. cont. Farm. 13. de bon. con- jug. 24. (9) Acts. 3. 120 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. imposing hiuids was derived from the ancient Testament ; as appears from Exod. 29. Besides deacons, there were also deacon- esses. Of these, the primitive office was simi- lar to that of the door-keepers : The latter opened the door for the men ; the former for the women. Whence they are called by Igna- tius guards of the sacred vestibules. (1) Afterwards, they assumed other occupations^ teaching, visiting sick women, washing, &c. &c. It is certain that they did not receive the imposition of hands. For the council of Nice numljers them among the laity : (2) Besides deaconesses, there were also presby- terae or priestesses : so called, either because they presided over the deaconesses, or on ac- count of their age ; or because they assum- ed their name from their husbands, who were chosen to be presbyters ; and afterwards lived incontineucy (3) (4) (5.) III. From the epistle of St. Paul to the Corin- thians, it is manifest that there were in the times of the apostles, places called church- (1) Ep. ad Antioch. (2) Can. 19. (3) Cone. Laod. C, lilt. (4) Athan. ad virg. (5) Cone. Ter. 2 c. 20. &c. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 121 cs, in wliich the Cliristians assembled to pray. Of this the writings of 8. Ignatius bear testi- mony : (1) those places were called churches, first by the apostle, and afterwards by all. (2) They were originally private houses : but edifices were afterwards erected, as appears from the edict issued by the pagan emperors, to demolish them. (8) Eusebius also relates that the churches which had been erected long before the reign of Dioclesian, and had fallen to ruin or been destroyed, were rebuilt by the Christians. The word church taken in this sense, is frequently mentioned by Ter- tullian. (4) And before his days, it is known from the acts of Pudens, a Roman senator, and disciple of St. Peter, that his house, as also tliat of Euprepia, a matron, were con- verted into churches. (5) Evaristus, the fifth pontiff, after S. Peter, divided the church among the presbyters. (6) The churches were so situated, that thev faced the East ; as is evident from Clement, (l)Ign. ep. 6. 11.23. (2) Aug. qu. sec. 59. citatur a Bed. iu 1 Cor. (3) Euseb. lib. 8. (4) de Cor. Mil. C. 3 &c. &c. (5) Act. Pud. et ep. Pii P. P. ad Just. (6) Anast. de Rom.' Pont. 122 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. (l)Tertiillian, (2) and Paulinus. (3) Either in imitation of Solomon's temple, which, as Aristeas testifies, looked towards the East ; (4) or because the Christians were accus- tomed to pray towards the East. Each church had its portico, atrium, sancta, and sancta sanctorum : the first was assigned to peni- tents and others, who were not admitted into the church : the second to* the people, the third to the priests, and the last set apart for the celebration of the sacred mysteries. This form of structure was observed as well in the East, as in the West ; as appears from Euse- bius. (5) Gregory Nazianzen, &:c. &c. (6) There were, besides, rooms which are now called chapels, and pastophorii or secretatHa, which were similar to our sacristies. In every church, near the door, there was a fountain : in which the faithful were accus- tomed to wash their hands and faces, accord- ing to the admonition of the apostle, (7) (8) (9) Each church was decorated with (1) 2. Cons. 62. (2) Advers. Valent. C. 2. (3) Paul ep. 12 ad Sever. (4) Arist. de 73 Intrep. (5) 10 hist. 4. et in vitCon. (6) Orat. in fun. pair. (7) 1 Tim. 2. (8) Clem. 8. (9) Const. 38. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 128 an image of the Redeemer, as we learn from the seventh canon of the council of Antioch, cited in the Nicene council. (1) Eusebius testifies that he saw the images of Christ, as also of Peter and Paul, which had been paint- ed long before his time, (2) and Tertiulian says, that it was customary to have the im- age of Christ, representing the good shep- herd, impressed on the sacred chalices. (3) That ornaments and precious vases of gold and silver were used in the primitive churches S. Optatus, and S. Augustine bear witness, (4) (5) Pope Urban, who lived before them, used none but silver vases. (6). IV. The custom of assembling together, and receiving the blessed eucharist in the church, is of the remotest anticpiity. (7) The rite observed in receiving the sacrament was established by Paul himself, in the church of Corinth: though on the particular ceremonies, S. Luke is silent. S. Augustine testifies that they were handed down by tradition. (8) (1) 2 Act. 1. (2) 7. hist. 14. (3) Tertull. de pudic. cap. 6. et 10. (4) Opt. lib. Cont. Farm. (5) Aug. 3. Cont. Cres- con. 29. (6) Anast. de Rom. Pont. (7) 1 Cor. I. (8) Aug. ep. 118. ad Jan. 124 lIISTOrtY OF THE ciiukcii. JVine mixed icith icater was offered in the chalice. (1) (2; It was offered and taken by persons fasting. (3) (4) (5) It was offer- ed for the living and the dead. Tlie bles- sed sacrament was kept on the aUar, in a oolden dove, as we read in the acts of S. Basil. And though, in the churches, the faithful received under both kinds, it is cer- tain that in their private houses and wlieii they received in the church, otherwise than in the time of the sacrifice, they received onlj/ under one kind. (6) Concerning the prayers, liymns, and sacred conferences, which attend- ed these holy banquets ; the sobriety and mo- desty, and mutual charity, which were observ- ed. (7) Minutius Felix, Clement of Alex- andria, (8) and others have left the plainest and most incontrovertible testimonies. Hence these banquets were called agape s, that is, feasts of love. These banquets were according to S. Gre- gory, of Nanzienzen, (9) celebrated on three (1) Cyp. ep. 63 ad Caecil. (2) Just. apol. ad. Anton. (3) Aug. ep. 118. (4) Cyp. ep. p. 3. (5) Tertull. ad. uxor. 1 8. c. 3. (6) Ana. Sin. de Sac. Syn. (7) vid. Baron, ad an. 57. XLIV. see Tertullian, apol. C. 19. (8) Minut. in Oct. (9) Clem. 2pcedag. 12. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 125 principal occasions : on birth-days ; funerals, and marriages. Besides these, they might be celebrated also in the dedication of churches; as appears from S. Gregory Pope. (1) III. Before receiving the sacred body and blood of Christ, the faithful were accustomed to purify their hearts, by a confession of their sins. They were aware that the power of forgiving sins had been conferred on the apos- tles : and that it was only by confessing, that they could obtain pardon for their sins. That this was the universal practice of the primitive Christians, is manifest from the writings of the most ancient fathers ; such as S. Irenaeus, Dionysius, &c. From Euse- bius we learn, that the heretic Natalius made his confession to pope Zephyrinus. (2) This confession was called exomoloiresis : that ex- omolegesis was the same as confession, is ma- nifest from Tertullian, S. Cyprian, and others. Exomolegis, says the former, est petitioveniae, quia qui petit veniam, delictum confitetur, (3) The latter declares that the " fallen" are- (1) Greg. 1 ep. 54. (2) Eus. 5. liist;26. (3) de orat. C. 6. 12G HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. not to be received back into the church, with- out making an cromolegesis. (1) It must not be thought, that it meant only a pubhc confession of sins. From Tertul- lian and Origen, it is clear, that it meant se- cret confession also. (2) (3) Of the necessity of confession, we have innumerable testimonies; such as S. Basil, S. Gregory of IVyssa, both Anastasii, Nicephorus, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, pope Celestine, and all who after- wards treated of ecclesiastical affairs, as well Greeks as Latins. That there were, during the persecution of Decius, presbyteri pcenitentiarii, whose office was to hear the private confessions of the faithful, is manifest from Socrates and Sozomon. (4) (5) It is probable that these poenitentiarii, were instituted before the reign of Decius : but on account of the great num- ber of those who fell during the persecution the number of poenitentiarii, became also aug- mented. That not one alone, but several of •these were placed in the same church, ap- (1) Cyp. de laps. 1. (2) Tertull. de lap. c. 20. (3) Orig.' hom. 2. in psal. 38. (4) Socr. lib. 5. c. 19. (5) Sozom. 1. 7. c. 16. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 127 pears from the epistle of Dionysius of Alex- andria, to Fabius of Antioch. (1) IV. When a member of the Christian com- munity, proved publicly scandalous and in- corrigible, he was expelled from the pale of the church : this expulsion was called excom- munication. The reader saw, when treating of the epistle to the Corinthians, that St. Paul excommunicated the incestuous man. That the unfortunate was not only possessed and tormented by the evil spirit, but also cut off from the body of the church, all the fathers agree : (2) (3) (4) St. Paul, in like man- ner, delivered over to Satan, Alexander and Hymenceus, who had apostatized from the faith. Writing to the Galatians, he pronoun- ces anathema against all who broach new doctrines, (5) a similar mode of excommu- nication was in use among the Jews : and Jo- sephus testifies that it was severely inflicted among the Essenians. (6) Among the Ro- mans, and other pagan nations, incorrigible persons were devoted to Pluto, and the infer- (1) ap. Euseb. 9. hist. 29. (2) Amb. 1 de paen. 14. (3) Aue^. tie fid et op c. 26. (4) Tertiill. de pud. 13. 20. (5) Gal. 1. (6) Jos. 2. de bell. 128 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. nal deities : (1) among the Gauls, whoever did not obey tlie decrees of the druids, were excluded from the sacrifices, and forbidden to hold any communication with their fellows. (2) Excommunication is mentioned by the fa- thers, under different appellation^ : by Tertul- lian it is styled divina censura : (3) by S. Cyprian, sometimes abstentio, at other times GLADius spiritualis, a spiritual sword : (4) by St. Jerome, spiritualis mucro, and vir- GA ferrea, or an iron rod. (5) Whoever fell under this censure, was de- prived of the ' holy eucharist : and rejected from the assemblies of the faithful. (6) They were said to be given up to Satan ; first, be- cause such was the form used by St. Paul : and secondly, because the obdurate sinner is the enemy of God, and the captive of the in- fernal powers. Besides excommunication, there was also another censure, called degradatio, exauc- TORATio, or depositio : which was inflicted (1). Dionys. Italic lib. 2. hist. Rom. (2) Cr^s. de bell. Gal. lib. 6. (3) Tertull. apol. C. 39. (4) Cyp. ep. 38 et 62 (5) Hier. ep. 1 et 53. (6) Cyp. de orat. Dom. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 129 on the minister of the church, when guihy of an enormous crime. By it, he was deposed as well from his office, as from his order. Similar to this was the censure of suspensio : which was incurred by the minister, who pre- sumed to officiate, without due faculty from the bishop. (1) This censure was very com- mon: (2) by it, the name of the delinquent was expunged from the registers of the church ; or at least, if the minister were only suspect- ed, suppressed ; in order that it might not be called over in public with the others. V. The incestuous man was, after a short penance, absolved by the apostle : in virtue of this example, the church claimed, and exer- cised, the right of granting indulgences : of this, we find numerous instances in the pri- mitive ages : especially in the time of perse- cution, when the fallen returned to the church, made their exomologesis or confession, and were dispensed from a part of the penance which they otherwise would have been oblig- ed to undergo. In the great council of Nice, we find a canon authorising the bishops, ac- (1) Cyp. ep. 65 ad Rogat. (2) Aug. ep 136. 137. 130 lIlSTOItY OF THE CHURCH. cording to the contrition which the penitent evinces, to grant indulgences. (1) VI. The practice of abstaining from meat, on certain days, claimsthedignity of an apos- tolical institution : of the abstinence of the apostles, many examples might be adduced : By S. Gregory Nazianzen, we are informed that Peter was accustomed to satisfy his hun- ger with herbs. (2) Hegesippus affirms, that James, the brother of our Lord, never used flesh or wine : (3) That Matthew abstained from flesh, is asserted by Clement of Alexan- dria : (4) That Timothy was not in the ha- bit of drinking wine is plain from S. Paul. That the Christians were, at certain times, prohibited the use of flesh, and bound to fast, is evident from many testimonies : S. Igna- tius, who was contemporary with the apostles, and of whose epistles no doubt was entertain- ed, zealously recommends the fast of lent : (quadragesim^) that this great fast was an apostolic institution, was never questioned in the church : Tertullian says, that the fast (1) Can. 11. 12. (2) de am. paup. (3) ap. Eus. 2 hist. 22. (4) 2paidag. 1. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 131 of lent, (he called it the caster fast, Paschatis,) was prescribed as well by the scripture, as by by tradition : (1) S. Basil declares, that that solemn fast was proclaimed on land and sea, that the whole world might observe it. Besides the quadragesimal fast, we find, in the most ancient authors, that also of the four seasons. " Quatuor temporum." So distri- buted, says S. Leo, that during the revolution of the year, the law of abstinence may be ob- served at every change of season. (2) That this fast also took its origin in the days of the apostles, the same author proves beyond a doubt : that it was observed in the Greek, as well as in the Latin church, Athanasius inti- mates, when treating of the fast after pente- cost. (8) VIL The observance of the Sunday, in the place of Saturday, derives its origin also from the apostles : Ignatius, their contemporary, mentions it : (4) That collects or collections were made on Sunday, we learn from Cypri- an, Chrysostom, Leo, and others. By Igna- (1) Tertull adv. Psych. C. 73. (2) in Jej. mens, sep. &c. (3) Ath. apol. de fug. sua. (4) Ign. ep. ad Philip. 132 HISTOIIY OF THE CHURCH. this, it is styled, Reginam et principeni omni- um dieriim: the queen and chief of all days: (1) and is called sometimes Dies panis, the day of bread , and at other times, Dies lucis the day of light. St. Augustine, after prov- ing that the observance of Sunday, had been instituted by the apostles, says, that on that day, masses should be heard : (2) that this was the persuasion not only of Augustine, but of all the w^orld, is proved from the most ancient councils, (3) Besides the Sunday, many other days were appointed to be kept holy : such as the nati- vity of our Lord ; the epiphany, and ascen- sion. Of these festivals, the ancient fa- thers speak, as being of long standing. (4) With respect to the feasts of the saints called NATALiTiA, wc tiacc them up to the remotest antiquity : a short time after the apostles, the church of Smyrna instituted the feast of S. Polycarp, and other martyrs. (5) Origen, who flourished under the emperor Severus, says, in his third homily on St. Matthew, " that the (1) Ep. ad Mag. (2) Ser. 25. (3) Syn. Agch. C. 47. (4) Paulin. Natal. 9 S. Felix. (5^ Ap. Eus. lib. 4 hist. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 133 fathers had ordained, according- to the will of God, that the memory of the holy innocents should be celebrated for ever." Of the alacrity and devotion with which our Christian forefathers celebrated all festi- vals, Dionysius of Alexandria, and S. Cypri- an bear ample testimony: The sermons of S. Gregory of Nyssa, will perpetuate to the last age, the solemnity observed on the feast of S. Theodore, and the forty martyrs. In the Western church, it was esteemed, according to Galla Placidia, (1) a sacrilege, not to assist at the NATALiTiUM of the apostles ; a custom prevailed, of writing congratulatory letters on the great festivals : saluting one another, and communicating with fervour and holy joy. (2) VIII. The reader was before informed, that on the chalices and sacred vases, it was usual to imprint the effigy of the good shejiherd : it was also customary, in the primitive ages, not only to have crosses of wood or me- tal, but also to make upon themselves, their food, and other objects, the sign of the cross, (\) Gal. imp. ad Imper. (2) Theodoret. 134 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. By this practice, it was their intention to arm themselves against the evil spirit; and to in- voke upon the object over which they made the sign of the cross, the blessing of heaven. Of this custom, we have the most irrefragable proof: from Tertulhan, (1) S. Cyril, (2) S. Basil, (3) S.Jerome, (4) Theodoret, (5) &:c. &c. IX. I remarked above, that at the entrance of the churches, there was a fountain of wa- ter : besides this, the faithful made use of holy water : From the book De Romanis Pontificibus, we learn that the water was bless- ed with salt : " aqua aspersionis cum sale henediceretur in hahitaculis hominum. This appears to have been also an apostolical in- stitution : it is mentioned by S. Clement. (6) That this water was used against the ef- fects of magic, and other diabolical arts, we are informed by many illustrious authori- ties. (7) (8) It was besides, used for many other purposes : by it diseases were some- (1) de. cor. mil. 3. (2) Cyr. Hier. Catech. 13. (3) de Sp. Sa. C. 1. (4) ep. 22 ad Eust. (5) 3 hist. 10, &c. &c. (6) Clem. 8. Const. 35. (7) Hier. in vit. Hil. (8) Theo- doret. 5 hist. &c. &c. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 135 times cured ; and virtue strengthened in temptation ; as appears from S. Basil. (1) Of this water, S. Cyprian, (2) S. Cyril, (3) of Je- rusalem, (4) S. Ambrose, (5) and S. Augus- tine, (6) make mention. X, Another point of ceremony, among the first Christians, was the use of lamps and other lights : the lighting of lamps was among the Jews a sign of joy : as Persius remarks in his fifth satire : and that they were used also as a mark of religion, is manifest from Josephus. (7) This practice was admitted into the earliest church : I before shewed the institution of acolytes : whose office it was, to carry lighted torches, to add to the pomp of the ceremo- nies. S. Jerome testifies, that in the East it was customary, even in the broad day, to make use of lights, at the singing of the gospel : (8) and that there were lights burning before the relics of the martyrs, we may gather from S. Epiphanius in his letter to John, bishop of Jerusalem. (1) de spirit Sanct. cap. 27. (2) ep. 70. (3) Catechis 3. (4) de sacram. (5) 6 Cont. Julian. (6) 8 Antiquit. 6. (7) Cont. Vig. (8) Catech. 5. 136 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Though the same ciistoin was found among the gentiles, it must not be thought, as Vigihm- tius affirmed, that it was from tliem that the church derived it : she derived it from the Jews : but granting that it was taken from the pagans, why could not those things made use of for idolatrous purposes be converted to a holy use ? If on certain days, lights were burning in the fanes and temples ; " not says Seneca, that the gods stand in need of light, but for the sake of religion," why could hghts not be placed in honour of the virgin Mary ? This is the reasoning of St. Jerome. Be- sides the oil used in the lamps, there were other kinds, of which one is mentioned by S. Mark ; which, blessed by any of the faithful, was applied to the sick : and another is men- tioned by S. James, and constituted the sacra- ment, called EXTREME UNCTION : of the latter and its efficacy as a sacrament, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, (1) S. Augustine, (2) S. Innocent Pope, (3) have treated. XI. When peace was restored to the church, the faithful were convened by the somid of a (1) Catech. 5. (2) inps. 33. (3) ep. I. c. 8. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 137 bell : By a similar sonnd, the 'gentiles were accustomed to be called together to the baths, theatres, &c. (1) (2) That a trumpet from a high tower, was sounded every Sabbath among the Jews, we have the testimony of Josephus. (3) During the persecutions, the Christians were not allowed to have any signal by which to designate the hours for meeting; but notice was given by an officer, of whom I before spoke, called cursor. This is the opinion of Baronius, which he founds upon the highest authority. (4) XII. When convened, the Christians invari- ably prayed with their faces towards the East; hence the pagans accused them of adoring the sun. (5) That this mode was delivered down from the apostles themselves, is proved by the testimony of many fathers. (6) (7) (8) There were different rites of prayer: some- times they knelt, at other times prostrated themselves on the ground : on Easter Sunday it appears from Tertullian, they prayed (1) Mart. epig. 4. (2) Juven. Sat. 6. (3) de bell. 9. (4) Vid. Bar. ad. ann. 58. (5) Tertull. ap. C. 1 6. (6) Orig. horn. 3 in num. (!) Athan. lib. 9. (8) Basil de Sp. S. 5. 13S HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. standing: (1)^(2) This mode they observed from Easter to Pentecost: they never sat at prayer. The women had their heads cover- ed : the men bare : that the practice of striking the breast was a laudable one, ap- pears from the example of the publican : (3) that it obtained among the Christians, appears from the instructions of pope Nicholas to the Bulgarians. That the faithful were accustomed at cer- tain times, to visit in a body the tombs of the martyrs, praying as they moved along, is clear from Tertullian (4) and St. Jerome, (5) of PROCEssioivs, the council of Laodicea, makes mention. (6) That they were called by the fathers LiTAiviiE or litanies, because they were enjoined as an expiation, at certain peniten- tial times, is shewn from many authorities. (7) These processions were common alike in the Eastern and Western churches. That they were held at Neocgesarea, in the time of Gregory Thaumaturgus, we are assured by S. Basil. (8) But the most celebrated were (1) decor, mil. C. 3. (2) Tertull. de orat. (3) Luc. 18. (A) Tertull. ad ux. lib. 2. C. 4. , (5) Hier. ep. 22 ad Euseb. (6) C. 17. (7) Greg. PP. lib. 2. Regist. in pr. lib. 11. C. 2. ep. 45 ind. 4. (8) ep. 63 ad Neocses. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 139 those which were estabhshed at first in Gaul, by S. Mamertus, bishop of Vienna, and after- wards admitted by the whole church : and were called rogationes, or rogations. XIII. Of all the ceremonies and rites of the early Christians, that of the sacrifice of the MASS, was justly regarded as the most es- sential and august : It derives its name from the Hebrew word Missah, which signifies ohlatio spontanea ; or voluntary offering. (1) That the sacrifice assumed the name of mis- SA or MASS in the very beginning of the church, is certain. Pope Pius, uses the term ; (2) as also Cornelius and other Roman pontifls of the earliest times. (3) We find it besides, in the Roman council, held under Sylvester (4) in the second council of Carthage : (5) in St. Augustine, (6) S. Ambrose, (7) &c. &c. There can be no doubt, but that imleaven bread was made use of, in the mass : and that this custom was always observed in the church we have the authority of S. Epiphanius. In some churches, it was customary to celebrate (1) Duter. 16. (2) ep.ad Just. vien. (3) Corn. ep. ad Sulpic. (4) in fin. (5) 2. C. 3. (6) Serm. de temp. 251. (7) ep. 33 ad Marcel. 140 HISTORY OF TIIID CHURCH. mass in the eveninj^, the priest Jiowevcr was fasting; that this custom obtained in the Af- rican church, 8t. Augustine testifies. (1) XIV. Among the most consohng usages of the primitive church, that of praying for the dead, must claim our special notice : it was soothing to the heart of a parent, a relation, or afriend, when they visited the graves of the de- ceased, to reflect, that though separated, they might nevertheless kneel and pray for the repose of the departed souls. Hence, they believed, on the surest grounds, that there was a middle state : a place of purgation, to which those souls which should depart in the state of venial or lesser sins, were con- demned for a time. That the faithful sung canticles at funerals, and offered the sacrifice for the dead, is manifest from 8. Jerome, (2) S. Augustine. (3) And that on the eighth, twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth, and sixtieth day, the same sacrifice was repeated for the dead, the ancient rituals testify: that it was offered especially on the anniversary day, we have the most indubitable testimonies of the (1) ep. 18. ad Jan. (2) ep. 27. (3) 9 Conf. 13. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 141 ancient fathers : (1) (2) The custom of of-* fering suffrages for the dead, was derived from the apostles themselves, as S. Augustine proves : (3) and still more ancient monu- ments of this apostolical tradition are found in TertuUian, Origen, S. Cyprian, S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Epiphanius, S. Chrysostom, and many others, as well Greek as Latin. (4) XV. That the primitive Christians believed that guardian angels have charge over each in- dividual, and deserve his veneration : that the saints may be invoked : that in God there are three persons : that the pope is the chief (1) Tertull.de cor. mil. etlib. dc monog. (2) Orat. funeb. Ca3s. and many others (3) Serm. 32 de verb. apos. (4) The reader might perhaps be pleased to sec one or two samples of the inscriptions on the tombs of the primitive Christians : OC. TAVL^ MA. TRONiE V-I-DUiE DEI. PAX. CHRISTI. Alexander mortuus non est sed vivit super astra, ET corpus in hoc TUMULO aUIE.SCIT; VITAM EXPLEVIT CUM ANTON. IMP. aUI UBI MULTUM BENE! ICII ANTEVENIRE PRiE- VIDERET PRO GRATIA ODIUM REDDIT. GeNUA CUM FLECTENS VERO DEO SACRIFICATURUS AD SUPPLICIA DUCITUR. O TEMPORA INFAUSTA aUIBUS INTER SACRA ET FESTA IN CAVER- NIS aUIDEM SALVARI POSSIMUS ! aUID MFSERIUS VITA ! SED aUID MISERIUS IN MORTE CUM AB AMICIS ET PARENTIBUS SE- PELIRI NEaUEAMUS. TaNDEM IN C^ELO CORUSCAT, PARUM vixiT aui vixiT IV. X. Temp. 142 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. bishop of the church : that images and relics may be venerated : and that the councils of the church arc infallible, we learn I. from Sozomen 2 hist. 2. II. Theod. ver. evang. lib. 8. in fin. III. Aug. Cont. ep. Parm. lib. 1. C. 69. IV. Cypr. de unit. eccl. Optat. lib. 1 et 2. Aug. in Joan, tract 50 et 124. V. Tert. de pudic. cap. 6. et 10. S. Paulin. ep. 12 ad Sev. S. Basil, or. in S. Barlah. Greg. Nyss. or. in Theo. VI. Greg. pap. 1 ep. 4. et 24. XVI. I shall conclude these remarks, with adducing authorities shewing the celibacy of the clergy, and the high repute in which Virgin- ity was held, among our Christian forefathers. That the apostles, after their vocation to the apostleship, lived in celibacy, S. Jerome infers from the words of the Redeemer : "all who leave house, father, mother or wife, for my sake shall receive a hundred fold and possess life everlasting." The example of the apostles was followed by their successors: and though it sometimes happened, that married men were raised to the dignity of priests ; still, it first became necessary to have the C4>nsent of both parties ; and after the ordi- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 143 nation, the man could have no conjugal com- munication with his former wife. This is plainly shown from S. Jerome. (1) That this was the invariable custom of the primitive ages, we learn from the second council of Carthage. (2) And this ancient observance, was confirmed by Siricius (3) and Innocent, (4) Popes, and by the council of Aries, (5) Tours, &c. (6) That the same custom prevailed in the East, Epiphanius, (7) (8) and St. Jerome (9) abundantly testify. The first oecumenical council of Nice, clearly prohibits the use of marriage to the clergy ; even though they should have been married before their ordi- nation. That this prohibition extended even to the Lacedemonians, is evident from the epistle of S. Leo to Anastasius. To this it has been objected, that 8. Paul did not live in celibacy : for in his epistle to the Corinthians, he asserts that he had a right to carry about with him a woman : but that (1) advers. Jov. 1. 1. (2) 2. C. 2. (3) ep. ad Himen. C. 7. (4) Inn. ep. 3 ad Exup. (5) Con. arl. C. 2. (6) Tur. 2 C. 20. (7j in comp. (8) ep. 17 ad Perag. (9) in Vigil, et Jovin. et ep. 50, 141 HISTORY OP Tin: church. he meant merely a sister, and not a wife, is proved from the earliest fathers. (1) (2) (3) (4) 2. That tliere were, in the very times of the apostles, commmiities of virgins, similar to those which are now called monasteries , S. Ignatius of Antioch, (.5) and Clement Ro- manus (6) bear ample witness. The primi- tive fathers extol in the highest terms, this sublime state : even amongst pagan nations, the virgin was held sacred: though the flower of virginity but rarely appeared, before the estab- lishment of the pure and holy religion of Christ. This sketch of the customs of the primi- tive Christians, short as it is, will not, I trust, be deemed out of place, or unsatisfactory, by the reader. To enter into all the details, and expatiate upon all the authorities from which we derive the proofs, of these customs, would be a voluminous task ; greatly exceeding the . limits, which I have marked out for this work. Should the reader desire to make a more serious study of the primitive manners, cere- monies, and doctrines, let him consult the venerable chronicler Baronius. (1 ) Ter. de Monog. C. 8. (2) S. Jer. ad. Jov. (3) S. Aug-, de oper Monach. C. 4. (4) S. Chyrsos. in 1 Cor. 9. (5) ep. 10. 12. 13. (6) ap. Epiph. haer. 30. CHAPTER n. EMPERORS. POPES. Nero, continued. St. Linus. Galea. St. Cletus. Otho. St. Clement, VlTELLIUS. St. Anacletus. Vespasian. St. Evaristus. Titus. St. Alexander. DOMITIAN. St Sixtus. Nerva. St. Telesphorus. Trajan. Hadrian. From the death S. S, Peter and Paul, anno 69, to the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews. Anno 137. More than thirty years had now elapsed, since Jesus Christ had pronounced the fate, and foretold the destruction, of Jerusalem : and the obdurate inhabitants of that devoted city took no means to avert the calamities which vol. l — 10 M() HISTORY OF Tin: (JIIIJIICII. were 80011 to h(i(n\ fliein. liMjiicty, in its dark- est attire, succeeded to a long series of crimes: and all restraint, holli liunian anerish- ed by their murderous weapons : armed with daggers, they every where commingled with the crowd, and gratified, at an unexpected moment, the dark revenge of those, by whom they were kept in pay. In a short time, their HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 149 numbers so rapidly increased, that they be- Heved themselves able to take the field even against the Romans: and accordingly, excited an insurrection among their countrymen : chastising and plundering such as continued faithful to the connnon enemy. Accident, too, contributed to render this commotion more terrible : Albinus, the suc- cessor of Felix, wishing to conciliate the fa- vour of the Jews, took a census of all the prisoners at Jerusalem, and set at liberty those, whose crimes were not too enormous to be forgiven. The number of these culprits, in consequence of the almost entire suspen- sion of legitimate authority, was greater than can easily be imagined : and uniting with the Sicarii, it seemed as if no human power could break the violence of their depredations. The next governor, Cestius Florus, passed to the opposite extreme. He treated the pro- vince with all the cruelty, that a wicked heart, could devise, or unlimited power in- flict. He aojreed to connive at the robberies of the Sicarii, on condition that they should divide w ith him, their plunder : he took no 150 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. pains to conceal his o^uilt. Cestius Gallus i^o- vernor of Syria, on wliich the province of Ju- dea depended, having tarried, for a few days, at Rome, three milhons of tlie Jews, it is said, drew up a memorial, imploring him to free them from the tyrannic yoke laid on their nation, by the relentless Florus. Their request was treated with contempt : and, avarice and poli- cy combining, the evil was increased ; the yoke made more galling, and their calamities augmented. Such a complication of miseries, was, however, no more than a faint prelude to the terrible disasters that were soon to folloAV. The malediction had been pronounced by the Jews themselves, when insisting on the death of the Son of God, they exclaimed : "his blood be upon us and upon our children :" this im- precation was soon to have its effect : and ter- rible signs announced that the w oes of Judea were approaching to their consummation. On the eighth of April, in the year of Jesus Christ 69, the anniversary of the passover, a resplendent light surrounded the temple at midnight, and shone afar through the sur- rounding darkness. The Eastern gate, w hich HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 151 was of massive brass, and so ponderous that it required several men to move it on its hinges, opened of itself; though fastened with enormous bolts, and iron bars which entered far into the walls. Shortly after the feast, on the twenty-first of May, towards evening, just as the last rays of the sun were fading on the horizon, there appeared in the heavens, in- auspicious fires, and other alarming phenome- na, for which no natural cause could be as- signed. (1) But a circumstance still more astonishing (2) was the prophetic and warning cry of a Jew, whose name was Jesus, son of Ananus, which he repeated during the four years that imme- diately preceded the ruin of Jerusalem. This man had come to the feast of the tabernacles : and suddenly breaking the silence of the cere- monies, he exclaimed, "Woe to the temple! Woe to the temple ! A voice from the East, and from the West, and from the four winds of heaven, pronounces woe against the tem- ple, and Jerusalem." Running from street to street, he repeated these denunciations in- (1) Jos. bell. 7. 13. (2) Idem. ibid. 152 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. cessantly, hotli night and day ; the magistrates inflicted on him rigorous punishments, but instead of offering any excuse, or uttering tlie least complaint, he cried out the louder : " Woe to the temple! Woe to Jerusalem!" At length, the Roman governor ordered him to be scourged, till all his ribs were bared : un- der this barbarous torture, he shed not a tear ; but repeated at every stroke, in a tone, still more lamentable and denunciatory : " Woe, woe to Jerusalem !" They urged him to in- form them whence he had come, and to ex- plain the meaning of his cries : but they could elicit no other answer, than the repeated woes which he pronounced with redoubled vehemence. It was observed that his violent and continual exertions weakened not his voice : on the contrary, the more he exclaim- ed, the louder and stronger it became : and three years after, when he saw Jerusalem in- vested by the Romans, going round the walls and ramparts of the city, he cried out, without ceasing, in the same manner; till the moment of his own death having arrived, he exclaim- ed, ' Woe to myself!' And was that instant, pierced by an arrow shot from the enemy. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 153 The Jews, becoming every day more blind, rushed, with a fury bordering on insanity, to tlieir own destruction. They massacred the Roman garrison at Massada; and for- bade the usual sacrifices to be offered for the emperor. This was the signal of an open and avowed rebellion. Some robbers from the surrounding country, uniting with the Sicarii, attacked, and made themselves masters of, the fort Antonia. The Romans, every where surprised, were driven to their last hold : and their provisions being soon ex- hausted, were compelled to surrender to the Jews : who, in violation of their promise, put all, w ithout distinction, to the sword. On the same day, twenty thousand Jews were put to death by the Romans at Ca^sarea, the rendezvous of the imperial armies. On receiving this intelligence, the whole Jewish nation were seized with a kind of phrenzy. They took possession of every town and city which they could enter: demolished, or set fire to, the houses ; and murdered the in- habitants. 154 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. The Syrians, on tlie other hand, were no less cruel, in the retahation which they inflicted on the Jews. They fell on them wherever they discovered that they were too feeble to resist, and massacred all without mercy or distinction. Even the Jews residing at Scythopolis, in or- der to purchase the favour of the Syrians, who were more numerous than themselves, treach- erously engaged to fight against their bre- thren, who were laying waste the country. The Syrians, pretending to distrust the sin- cerity of this promise, required that all the Jews, with their families, should repair to a neighbouring wood. They did so : and more than thirteen thousand were indiscriminately butchered. Simon who had been the princi- pal instigator of the base conduct of the Scy- thopolitan Jews, on witnessing the tragical ef- fects of Ids perfidy and ingratitude, abandon- ed himself to despair. " I have deserved this punishment," he exclaimed, " l)y my treacherous advice ; and I alone shall inflict upon myself the chastisement I deserve." — Uttering these words, he seized hold of the HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 155 grey hairs of his father, and pierced him with his sword; his mother, wife, and children shared the same fate : and then with a hi- deous and haggard look, raising on high his dagger, still reeking with the blood of his pa- rents and children, he plunged it into his own breast, and expired. All the cities of Syria, except those of An- tioch, and Sidon, treated the unfortunate Jews with similar inhumanity. The streets were choked up with their carcasses : the old and the young; the armed and the defenceless, were confounded in the jj^eneral carnaafc : and the bodies deprived of their clothes, were publicly exposed, to the mockery of the i)eo- ple. In Egypt they experienced a still greater cruelty. The citizens of Alexandria were, on a certain occasion, assembled in the amphi- theatre: it chanced that some Jews made their appearance ; the enemies of their nation vociferated that they were spies, and traitors. The Jews began, immediately, to fly : three were made prisoners : and the Alexandrians were preparing to satisfy their animosity and 156 HISTORY OF TIIF CHURCH. savage revenge, by l)iirniii<» tlicm alive, wiien the otlier Jews ran from every quarter of tlie city, to the succoiu' of their brethren : each came armed with a burning torch, with which it was tlieir intention to set fire to the amphi- theatre in which the multitude was assem- bled. Two Roman legions, and an army of five hundred African veterans, were instantly ordered under arms, with a command, not to shew any quarters to the Hebrews : to pillage their houses; and consign to the flames the section of the city, which they inhabited. The Roman troops attacked them in an iso- lated place. They met with desperate re- sistance ; but at last sinking under the fierce and resistless shock of the enemy, the Jews gave way: and their quarter of the city was literally deluged in blood. The reader will deem this no exaggeration, when he learns, that the dead bodies being afterwards num- bered, amounted to fifty thousand. The governor appalled by the horrid spectacle, commanded the legions to retire : but it was impossible to check the fury of the undiscip- lined barbarians ; much less of the populace, HISTgRY OF THE CHURCH. 157 who after putting to the sword all whom they could reach, gratified their dark revenge, by insulting and lacerating the bodies of the dead. In the meantime, Cestius Gallus, governor of Syria, with an army of legionary and auxili- ary troops, invested the capital and the tem- ple, of which the rebels had at first taken pos- session. He vigourously assaulted them : and then feigned a precipitate fiight : this strata- gem had its effect : the Jews emboldened by their apparent success, made a furious sally on the troops of Gallus, and pursued the fugi- tive enemy to the distance of several leagues. After this specious advantage, it was in vain to think of inducing them to submit to the Ro- mans : on the contrary, they assumed a bold stand : and determined to make preparations for a long and serious war. The Israelites, who had been converted to Christianity, took no part, it must be observed, in this insurrection : mindful of the terrible predictions of the Son of God, and in pursu- ance of his admonition, they fled towards the mountains, and took refuge in the little town of Pella, on the frontiers of Syria. 158 HISTORY OF Tin: cwuucii. In this conjuncture, when the fate ol' Jeru- salem was to be iletermined, the conduct of the war was transferred from Cestius G alius to Vespasian. Every thing now began to assume a diiferent aspect. That celebrated general, having collected an army of more than sixty thousand men, marched through Galilee; reducing to his obedience, without any resistance, every place, except the city of Jotapat ; of which, the historian Josephus, a brave and experienced officer, commanded the garrison. This place held out a siege of for- ty days; at the expiration of which, it was ta- ken and destroyed. Of the besieged army, nearly half perished : the remnant was com- j)elled to ily for refuge into caverns, where they fell by each other's hands. Josephus chose rather to throw himself on tlie mercy of the conqueror : and calculating as well on the military talents and superior valour of Vespasian, as on the peculiar condition in which the empire then was, he is said to have observed: that the general, "would restore him to liberty, after being made emperor of Rome: and that event, he added, is not far distant." HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 159 Affairs were in this posture, when the Romans, disgnsted and wearied with the tyranny and brutish excesses of Nero, dis- patched that bane of the empire and of man- kind : that imperial monster, the enemy ahke of heaven and earth, was the first to un- sheath the sword of persecution against the peaceable and inoffensive Christians : not sa- tisfied with imbruing his hands in their guilt- less blood, he even published against them a formal edict. "Surely, says Tertullian, (1) speaking on this subject, that religion must have had some- thing in it more than human, against which, a Nero raised the first signal of persecution." Even pagan historians speak with execration, of the cruelties, which this tyrant inflicted on the followers of Christ ; especially on the occasion of the conflagration of Rome : of which he was the sole author. This awful spectacle was to him, at first, a subject of sa- vage exultation ; but dreading the resentment of the people driven to desperation by such an act of wanton wickedness, he accused the (1) Tert. Apol. 160 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. Christians of that crime, says Suetonius, (1) and condemned them to suffer unheard of torments. Tliey were, continues that Ijisto- rian, not only fastened to crosses, but some were covered with the skins of beasts, and mangled by dogs ; (2) some were steeped in large caldrons of melted pitch, and after- wards set on fire like torches, to disperse the darkness of the night. This was the kind of tyranny in which Nero took most delight. Dressed in the habit of a charioteer, he re- galed himself, from his gardens, with the sight of their torments, and gratified the vengeance of the people, with the horrid spectacle. The • persecution was not confined to Rome : at Mi- lan, Saints Gervasius and Protasius, Celsus and Nazarius, suffered martyrdom. Nero was the more prodigal of the blood of the Chris- tians, as he had nothing to fear from men, « whose only study it was to suffer with pa- tience, and obey with resignation. But his idolatrous subjects were not so in- sensible to the sufferings of this life : a gene- ral discontent soon appeared among them : (1) Suet Ner. c. 16. (2) Juv. Sat. 1 and 8. Sen.ep. 14. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 161 they openly rebelled, and proclaimed Galba emperor. Nero, whose mind was as weak as his heart was cruel, was paralysed, and driven almost to insanity by excessive fear; he bewail- ed, but took no measures to avert, his fate ; at length, awakened from his lethargy by the ap- proach of death, he fled, under the disguise of a tattered cloak, to the country seat of his freed- man Pliaon : parched with thirst, he was re- duced to the necessity of drinking ditch wa- ter, from the hollow of his hands. In the mean time, the senate had condemned him to be scourged to death: and soon after his arrival at the country seat, hearing the sound of the horses' hoofs, as the executioners of the sen- tence were approaching, he pierced his own throat, with a poignard which he had provided, in case of necessity, for that purpose. He died in the year of Christ seventy ; on the ninth of June, the anniversary of the day on which he imbrued his hands in the blood of his own mother. Galba, was acknowledged emperor by all orders of the people. On his accession, he was seventy years of age: he wielded the VOL. I. — 11 1G2 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. imperial sceptre only nine months, and was assassinated by his soldiers, at the instigation of Otho, who was immediately raised to the throne. Otho, however, found a competitor in Vitellius : the army of the Lower Rhine, declared at the same time, in favour of his ri- val ; a battle was fought in Italy ; Otho was defeated : and put an end to his life, after a reign of three months. On the other hand, the legions of Syria hearing of the death of the last emperor of the blood of the Caesars, and of the attempt and success of the German armies, forced their general Vespasian to ac- cept the sovereign power. He accordingly set out from Palestine, leaving his son Titus to prosecute the siege of Jerusalem. As soon as the news of this event was heard at Rome, Vitellius was murdered by the people ; and his body flung into the Tiber. His victorious rival, assured of the esteem and aff'ection of the whole empire, only waited a favourable opportunity to embark for Rome. He was then at Alexandria. The superstitious citizens believed that Vespasian possessed the power of working HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 163 miracles ; so that, by some, he was mistaken for the Messiah : his power daily increased : not only the Jews, but all the Eastern nations, according to Suetonius (1) and Tacitus, (2) were impressed with a conviction, originating in the holy scriptures, that, at this epoch, was to rise out of Palestine a conqueror, who should rule the universe. Thus did they con- found the temporal, with the spiritual, reign of the Messiah. The Israelites understood these prophe- cies, as applicable, in a carnal sense, to the Redeemer : and the courtiers of Vespasian complimented him with the title of the "Great Conqueror of Nations," foretold by the pro- phets and oracles ; even Josephus (3) was not ashamed, though a Jew, to stoop to this sacri- legious and unmeaning flattery. Meantime the conduct of Titus, who re- mained in Palestine, was characterised by that clemency, and wisdom, which afterwards made him the delight of Rome. He was se- conded, in his love for peace, by all the vir- tuous and judicious personages, who were (1) Suet. Vesp. c. 4. (2) Tac. Hist. 5. (3) Jqs. liell. iii. 21. 164 HISTORY OF THE CHURCir. still to be found among the Jews : but the in- fatuated multitude were determined to resist, and if possible, to annihilate the power of Rome ; impiously grounding their hopes of success in Him, whom their impieties had out- rageously offended. A set of impostors called Zelotae, from the zeal which they affected for religion, flocked to Jerusalem, from the neighbouring villages, and made every quarter of the city a scene of tumult and of plunder. The pontiff Ananias, who was still reverenced by the people, for his age and experience, excited the great body of the citizens to oppose them ; but all his ef- forts were unable to dislodge them from the temple, of which they had taken possession. They confederated with the Idumeans : and these barbarians, to the number of twenty thousand, soon appeared before the gates of the city. They united together under the covert of a dark and tempestuous night, and rushed upon their unsuspecting enemies. Five hun- dred perished amidst the horrors of that fatal night. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 165 The Idumeans, after this, spread themselves through the city : and their steps were every vi^here marked with human blood. After this success, the tyranny of the fac- tion was excessive. They accused all who were obnoxious to their party, of being favour- able to the Romans : and this accusation was invariably followed by death. Death itself did not screen the victims of their fury : they for- bade them the rights of sepulture : and rather than mitigate the rigour of that inhuman mea- sure, suffered their bodies to rot in the pub- lic streets, and spread infection through the city. At last, these wretches split into two fac- tions : at the head of one stood a fanatic, whose name was John. The other was head- ed by one Simon ; who gathering together a multitude of robbers and murderers, plunder- ed the adjoining towns, and reduced all Idu- mea under his subjection. The Sicarii, at first, endeavoured to oppose his progress: but having defeated them, in several battles, he encamped before the gates of the capital with thirty thousand men. 166 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. There could not have occurred a conjunc*- ture more agreeable to his wishes. The pub- he hatred for John had reached its summit. Besides his own jiersonal ferocity, he was un- able to restrain that of the banditti, which had placed him at their head : cruel to excess, and not less voluptuous than cruel, they abandon- doned themselves to acts of shameless impu- rities. After violating the chastity of the most respectable ladies of Jerusalem, they as- sumed their dress and imitated their deport- ment, and abandoned themselves to crimes which history would blush to mention. The people deemed any resource expedient in these calamitous circumstances ; opened their gates to Simon, and delivered themselves up to the mercy of his ruthless followers. The city then saw itself harrassed, at once, by three factions: two of the Zelotre, led on by John and Eleazar ; and that of Simon to whose standard the Sicarii had again re- sorted. These factions waged against one another an exterminating warfare : burned the greater part of the outer buildings of the temple ; and consimied, together with HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 167 them, the corn which was there laid up in abund- ance : and thus cut ofif the only means wliich remained of holding out an obstinate siege. But when there was question of opposing the Romans, all parties became united : and the Zelotae, Sicarii, and Idumeans, with a devotion, which fanaticism alone could inspire, offered sacrifice together at the same altar. But this union was soon to be dissolved : and this de- votion only served to profane a sacrifice, on which tlie Almighty no longer looked with complacency. During the ceremony a misun- derstanding occurred : and jealousy kindling into rage, they fell upon one another ; and the blood of men, priests and victims, flowed in one copious stream. Tlie Romans, apprised of these disorders, did not immediately direct their attack against the capital : but contented themselves with ravaging the country and cutting off from the city, all means of subsistence. After spread- ing devastation in every direction, Titus, at length, commenced his operations, at the dis- tance of about six furlongs from the city : he was at the head of four Roman legions, and 168 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the auxiliary troops of Agrippa ; together with those of tlie kings of Emesa and Arabia. He pitched his camp on mount Ohvet: it was from this very mountain that Christ surveyed Je- rusalem, and wept over it. In consequence of the solemnity of the pass- over, the city was thronged with a vast multi- tude of people, who had assembled to celebrate that great festival. The Romans ascertained that the number of lambs consumed at the last celebration of that festival, exceeded two hundred and fifty thousand. The multitude that attended it must consequently have been immense : (1) famine soon began to make its ravages : and the infection, caused by the dead bodies which were left unburied in the streets, rendered the horror of the scene inde- scribable. In the year 72, on the feast of Azymes, which fell, that year, on the fourteenth of April, the Zelotee having possession of the in- (1) It is not difficult to imagine the number,, of persons at this period, within the walls of Jerusalem. I'here were, as the reader saw in the text, more than two hundred and fifty thousand lambs: allowing tlien ten persons to each lamb, there will be two millions five hundred thousand souls. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 169 terior of the temple, opened its gates to the people, who had come to offer their adora- tions. John, stationed in the first enclosure, despatched, through the city, a body of his followers, with daggers concealed beneath their garments : in an unexpected hour, they fell upon the partizans of Eleazar; slew many and made themselves masters of the interior, as well as the exterior, of that vast edifice. After this, the faction of Elea- zar became extinct : and there remained but one portion of the Zelotge, headed by the im- placable John : but the Sicarii, stimulated by the ambitious Simon, continued the work of discord and desolation. Titus, at the head of six hundred horse, approached the city to reconnoitre. He im- agined, and hoped, that the Jews, agitated by intestine commotions, and harrassed by do- mestic quarrels, would gladly open their gates, and hail him as their deliverer ; but instead of this, the besieged made a sudden and despe- rate sally on the Roman troops : and Titus narrowly escaped with his life. The follow- ing day, he approached with greater circum- 17U IILSTOKV OF THE CHURCH. spection, and drew up his army ahnost under the very walls of the city. The local situation of Jerusalem was pe- culiarly adapted to hold out a siej^e : it was fortified both by art and nature : the city was built on two hills, and defended by a triple wall, wherever an assault was practiea])le. On the third of May the siege commenced : fifteen days after, the Roman army forced their way through the first enclosure and took pos- session of the Northern part of the city, as far as the valley of Cedron : beyond which there were two other walls to be broken down, be- fore they could enter the heart of the city. Hoping and believing that the Jews would ca- pitulate, Titus remained, for some time, inac- tive : but after an interval of five days, he forced the second wall, not without several desperate conHict*. : he there allo^d his ar- my a short time to breathe : and during this period of repose, he eaniestly exhorted the Jews to submit; for his humane and benevo- lent heart shiuldcred at the idea of their total destruction. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 171 The better to accomplish this end, he de- spatched Josephus into the city, to expostu- hite with his obdurate countrymen : but not- withstanding his pathetic and cogent persua- sions, he was loaded with reproaches, and sent back with scorn. The two tyrants, John and Simon, redoubled their vigilance : and deliberately put to death all who dared to ap- proach the gates, without their special per- mission. In the meantime the famine increased: spread through every quarter of the city, and made a general havoc : the wretch, whose misfortune it was to be in good health, and in vigour, was instantly put to the torture, and forced to disclose where his j)rovisions were concealed. The horror of their situation was aggrava- ted by the licentiousness of the factious sol- diers. The house wliose doors were closed, was immediately destroyed : the women were dragged from their last morsel, trampled un- der foot, or dashed against the pavemeiit, !»y the ferocious intruders. They even tore from the unfortunate wretehes, tfie Tew roots ^vhich 172 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tliey had collected, out of the walls of the city, at the peril of their lives: for all who were apprehended without the city, were cru- cified as a terror to the rebels. Sometimes more than five hundred suffered this kind of death in a single night : so that, after some- time, crosses were wanting on which to sus- pend the stragglers. Thus by a terrible, but just judgment, did that deicidal nation suffer a chastisement, analagous to the crime, to which, as to its primitive cause, all their ca- lamities may be traced. The Romans erected several batteries, which were, immediately, destroyed by the besieged : emboldened by this success, the Jews made a vigorous sally on the besiegers, and having destroyed a considerable number of them, retreated back to the city. Titus then resolved to surround with a trench, six miles in circumference, that part of Jerusa- lem which still remained in possession of the Jews; thus literally fulfilling, without knowing it, the prediction of Jesus Christ. After this circumvallation, the ravages of famine and pestilence converted the whole HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 17^ city into one vast charnel house. The streets were filled up with dead bodies : through a single gate, in the space of ten weeks, sixteen thousand corpses were carried out ; a regular account was kept; that the men, commission- ed to bury them, might be paid. In a short time, it became impossible to remove them: the air was impregnated with pestilential vapours : the infection reached even to the camp of Titus : who raising his eyes to hea- ven, with a deep sigh, solemnly called God to witness, that the calamities and woes of the Jews were not to be attributed to his army, but to their obduracy. The deep despair, the sullen repinings, the anguish, the melan- choly, and confusion of the Jews, may be more easily conceived by the reader, than described by the historian. The garrison, however, still continued to deceive themselves with the fond hope of ul- timate success ; and many false prophets de- luded the mass of the people with a promise of the divine assistance. As many of the more rational, as could es- cape, took refuge in the Roman camp : where 174 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. several died by overcliarginSt . CIctus, (1) successor of St. Linus, about ^ia^-two years after the death of St. Peter : and in the year of Christ ninety-three. Under this pontiff a dangerous cabal was formed at Corinth : some priests having been deposed by the laity, appealed to the Ro- man church, " the mother and mistress of all others." In reply to the appellants, Cle- ment wrote an epistle directed to the Corin- thians : the bearers of which were some of the distinguished members of the Roman church. This letter was of so conciliating a nature, that it not only put an end to the di- visions, but was held in such high veneration, that it was publicly read in the churches of Corinth, for more than two centuries after. (2) It will perhaps not be useless to observe, (1) By some writers it is believed, that St. Clement suc- ceeded not Cletus but Linus : and they maintain their opinion on the authority of S Optatus Milevitanus, lib. 2, and of S. Augustine, ep. 162. By the ancient monuments of tlie Ro- jaian church, Clement is made the fourth in order. The for- mer opinion may have originated in the similitude of names, and confounded Cletus with Anacletus. Some heretics have asserted that Cletus and Linus sat together. The assertion is false ; repugnant alike to tradition, the ancient catalogues, and the unity of the apostolic see. The following is the or- der of Pagi: Peter, Linus, Clement, Cletus, Anacletus, Eva- ristus. I have followed that of Baronius. (2) Eusebius testifies that even as late as his own times, the epistle of S. Clement was publicly read in many churches Eus. 3 hist. lib. 4. C. 22. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 187 that although we do not find hi this epistle, the elevation, and divine sublimity of the in- spired writings, it is nevertheless remarkable for a singular perspicuity, purity, and elegance of style : the reasoning is cogent and convinc- ing. To inspire the faithful of Corinth, with a horror for the divisions, occasioned by a few interested individuals, " it is, he says, a shame, my dear brethren : it is unworthy the disciples of the gospel, that the scandals of your church, the ancient and respectable church of Corinth, should be heard of, not only by us, but by those who make of them a subject of malicious triumph against the truth: by your inconsiderate respect for a few rash and seditious men, the name of the Lord is blasphemed among the gentiles." After re- minding them of their primitive virtues, and their faith which hitherto had continued un- changed, " we should, he observes, perform with regularity, whatever the Lord has com- manded us to do : he has specified the time and manner of our obligations : he has him- self determined when, and by whom they should be offered. In the Mosaic law, there 188 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. were functions peculiar to the sovereign pon- tiff: the sacrificcrs had a special ministry to fulfil ; the Levites too were charged with particular duties. The people were also bound to the observance of certain precepts, suitable to their condition. Each one of you, my dear brethren, should humbly keep him- self in his proper place : without transgres- sing the limits marked out for him. The Father has sent Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ has sent the apostles, who according to his order, have announced the gospel in pro- vinces and cities ; and have established bishops and deacons to direct and govern such as were converted. By the light of the Holy Spirit, they foresaw that there would be contentions about the dignity of bishops, and therefore after the institution of the first pastors, they decreed, that, those pastors should be succeeded in the ministry, by men of approved virtue. Such as were thus ap- pointed by the apostles, or by their successors with the approbation of the church, and who have governed the floCk of Jesus Christ with- out reproach, cannot iviihout injustice be de- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 189 posed from the ministry." Snch is the doc- trine contained in the letter of St. Clement to the Corinthians : had its counsels been at- tended to in succeeding ages ; had bishops been suffered to govern their flocks undis- turbed by the irregular interference of lay- men, history would not have to lament the schisms which have divided so many of the fairest portions of the church. By some judicious modern critics, it is be- lieved that Clement is the author of a second epistle, of wliich considerable fragments are still extant : by others equally judicious it is rejected. But the itinerary of St. Peter, is by all admitted to be suppositious. As for the apostolic constitutions which were made up of collections of the various regulations of church discipline, as established in several councils of the second and third centuries, they are considered apocryphal. (1) (1) This epistle is exploded, as not genuine, by Eusehius, 3. hist. 32. S. Jerome, de scrip. Ecc. in Clem, and Pliotius in biblioth. It is remarkable that S. Jerome cites a passage from one of the epistles of S. Clement, in which he speaks de mundis trans oceamim positis : of worlds lying beyond the ocean. Hier. in Eph. 2. See Baron, ad ann. 95. 190 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. St. Clement in his letter to the Corinthian!!^, bears formal testimony to the martyrdom ol* S. Peter and S. Panl: and informs them, that these holy apostles were piit to death through the intrigue of false brethren, by whom they had often been persecuted during life. Clement occupied the pontifical chair nine years : that is, from the year ninety-three to the end of the first century. From what source a circumstantial account of his exile and martyrdom have been derived, remains a subject of conjecture. The emperor Vespasian died in the eighty- first year of the Christian era. He is not numbered on the catalogue of the persecutors of the church : during his reign, however, a great number of Christians were put to death. They were confounded with the Jews: and treated with the same contempt and cruelty, which that unfortunate people ex- perienced. He was succeeded by his son Titus, whose humane disposition, has been celebrated, even by Christian writers. Re- ilecting one night, that he had not granted any favor, or contributed in a direct manner HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 191 io the happiness of any subject, my friends, he sighed, I have lost a day. He continued but two years on the throne ; and was succeeded by his brother Domitian. Domitian was a second Nero. He rivalled that monster in his immoralities, cruelty, and hatred for the Christians. He had not worn the crown two years, before he issued against them a sanguinary edict. Flavins Clemens, his cousin german, who had been converted to Christianity, with all his household, was put to death, by his express command. Fla- via Domitilla, the consul's wife, and who was also related to the emperor, was condemned to exile. Another Ffcivia Domitilla, niece to Clemens, shared the same fate, though ban- ished to a different region. Achilleus and Nereus, two of her eunuchs, accompanied her in her exile : and were both beheaded for their attachment to the Christian faith, St< John, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ, and the only survivor of those who had seen, and conversed with tlie Redeemer, was ar- raigned before this tyrant. He had returuecT to Ephesus, almost worn out by his labours in 192 HISTORY or the cuurcii. prcacliiiig the gospel through Upper Asia. The tyrant, without any regard to his vene- rable age, condemned him, as Tertullian re- lates, to be plunged into a caldron of boiling oil, near the Latin gate: but the apostle emerg- ed from it without receiving any injury. (1) The relentless Domitian, banished him to the Isle of Patmos, in the Archipelago. In this desolate abode, he was favoured with the mysterious revelations, contained in the apo- calypse ; and which he addressed to the seven churches of Asia, which had been in a special manner committed to his care, viz: the church- es of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. He ad- dresses himself in a prophetic manner, to the angels of these several churches ; that is to their bishops : but his reproaches were direct- (1) Of this miracle, Tertullian de praescrip. C. 36; Eusebi- Hs 3", S. Jerome in Jovin lib. 1 et in Matt. 20, bear witness. The church has instituted a festival in remembrance of the fact; that it occurred under Domitian, all writers, as well Greek as Latin, excepting only S. Epiphanius, assure us. This father I know not on what grounds, says that he was banished to Patmos, (and consequently since his banishment Avas posterior to his being plunged into the caldron of oil, that he was condemned to that punishment,) under Claudius. (Hier 51) Victorinus Pictaviensis and Primasiiis affirm that he was banished to Patmos to work in the mines. See Spon- dan. ad ann. 92 I. and II. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 193 eel rather to the flock in general, than to the pastors themselves. Carried off by a divine en- thusiasm, and full of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he soars witli the flight of an eagle to heaven, and is lost in mystery, and signs, and prophetic emblems, which relate to the de- struction of idolatry and the world ; and the glory of the saints. It is in vain to attempt to explain the book of revelations : if we except the prophecies relating to the first persecutions, the apoca- lypse has been, and will continue to be, a seal- ed book : all that we can with certainty learn from it is, that Christ shall defeat all his adversaries : that there will be confusion and withering away in the last days ; that the whole world shall be consumed by fire ; and that after all these calamities, the general judgment will take place : and the church, represented under the name of Jerusalem, shall triumph over her enemies, and flourish for all eternity. Domitian died in the year ninety-eight, and was succeeded by Nerva. At his ac- cession, a general amnesty was proclaimed, VOL. I. — 13 194 iiisTOKV or THE church. and St. John returned to Epiiesus. Ti- niotliy, who liad been bishop of that church, had fallen a victim to his zeal in reproving the vices of the idolaters. St. John was now ninety years old ; and regardless of his ex- treme age, he not only undertook the govern- ment of the church of Ephesus, but visited the neighbouring provinces ; and consecrated with his own hands, his disciple Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. In one of those excursions, he met with a young man, whose appearance and deport- ment indicated that he was of no ordinary cast. Conceiving a peculiar attachment to the youth, St. John committed him to the care of the bishop of the place to be instruct- ed and baptized. The bishop neglected his trust : the season for administering the sacra- ment arrived : but the young Neophyte did not appear : carried away by wicked com- pany, he not only forgot the precepts of Chris- tianity, but became a robber on the highways. The apostle, on returning, demanded of the bishop, the youth whom he had intrusted to his care. Alas! replied the bishop, he is HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 195 dead : dead to God and to religion : he has left me : forsaken Christianity, and joined a band of robbers on the mountains. The venerable apostle was overwhelmed with grief. Forgetting his feebleness and age, he called for a horse, and hastened away in pursuit of the unfortunate young man ; with sighs and tears he sought him amidst the mountains and woods, and, at length, discovered the lost sheep. The young robber, recognised his benefactor, and covered with confusion, began to fly; but the apostle pursued him, exclaiming: my son, why do you fly from me ? I am ready to sacrifice my life for yours : return to your father : or rather return to Jesus Christ. It is he who stretches out his arms to receive you, he addresses you by my mouth. The young man melted into tears, stopped, and embraced his tender father : but his right hand, which had been the instrument of so many crimes, he concealed : S. John seized and kissed it : and having earnestly prayed for him, brought him back to the church. The young man lived and died a penitent. 196 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. After his return from exile, S. John wrote his gospel, at the sohcitation of the Asiatic churches. (1) llis principal ohject was to es- tahlish the divinity of Jesus Christ : and then to refute the errors of Ebion, and the Nicho- laites. Of all the gospels, this is the most sub- hme : it diffuses throughout the ardours of that sacred charity, which was kindled in the heart of the evangelist, when he reposed on the bosom of his God. The same spirit pervades his epistles : in them he insists on charity, as the great law and characteristic fea- ture of Christianity, without which, the mere profession of religion would be vain. Of his epistles, the first was written to the Parthians : the other two were addressed to his particular friends. Gains and Electa. To- wards the end of his life, he was extremely feeble ; unable to walk, he was carried on a (1) That S. John wrote his gospel at Ephesus, after his re- turn to Patmos, S. Athanasius assures us. Ath. in Synop. S. Epiphanius affirms the same: Haer. 51. as also S. Irenseus. lib. 3. cap. 1. et ap. Euseb. 5. hist. 8. By others it is said that he wrote it in the island of Patmos, but that it was pub- lished at Ephesus. Metaphr. ap. Lipo torn. 1 . Doroth. in Synops. That his object in writing his gospel was to refute and confound the enemies of Christ's divinity, we learn from S. Irenaeus, de Scrip. Eccl. in Joan. S. Epiphanius, Hair. 51 and others. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 197 litter to the assemblies of the faithful ; whom he exhorted to love one another: (1) "my little children, he would say, love one another :" his auditors, tired of hearing continually the same thing, asked why he repeated those words so often ? Because, he replied, charity is the precept of the Lord : with which, if you com- ply, you fulfil the law. He died in the hun- dredth year of his age : and was buried at Ephesus : (2) several miracles were wrought at his tomb. With the name of St. John, the Greeks have associated the epithet of "The Divine :" on account of the majestic dignity with which he expresses himself concerning the incarnate word. We are informed, that he was accustomed to wear a plate of gold, upon his forehead. A similar plate was worn by St. James, bishop of Jerusalem ; and proba- bly by all the first pontiffs, after the example of the high priest of the ancient law. With (1) Hieronym. de scrip. Sacra. (2) Hier. de Scrip. Eccl. in Joan. Polycrates ap. Euseb. 1 Hist. 25. TertuU. de anima. cap. 50. There were not want- ing some to imagine that S. John did not die : but was taken away with Enoch and Elias : but Eusebius and S. Chrysos- tom completely refute this opinion when they assert that his tomb was to be seen in their times. 198 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. St. John, the apostoHc times conchidc : all the other apostles having died before him. The blessed virgin, who had been entrust- ed by Christ to his peculiar care, had quitted this world many years before him : but the precise time, and other circumstances of her death are unknown: her assumption into hea- ven, a few days after her decease, was univer- sally believed, in the first age of the church. St. Epiphanius clearly professes this belief: and it has been embraced alike by all the Greek and Latin fathers. A solemn festival was instituted in commemoration of it, and celebrated through all the East : that festival is still solemnized by the whole church, on the fifteenth of August. (1) (1) Concerning the "transit" of the blessed virgin, much has been written: of the opinions of various authors, some have been rejected by tlie Catholic church, as erroneous; others as apochryphal and visionary; and others, in fine, have been admitted. The church rejects especially the reveries of the Collyridiani and Antidicomarianitae: of which, the former maintained that the blessed virgin was not human, but divine; and therefore exempt from death: the latter that like Enoch and Elias, she was translated, without dying, from earth to heaven. That she was subject to the common lot of all human kind, and died, was never doubted; that she was taken up into heaven with her body and soul after her death, was universally admitted by the church. This translation the Greeks called, "a sleep:" the Latins "assumptio," as appears from the most ancient martyrologies, the sa- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 190 There w,as still remaining on earth a rela- tive of the Saviour : this was Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem. He was the last of the disci- ples, who had conversed with the icord made flesh ; and learned from him personally, the evangelical doctrine. He was of eminent service to the church ; on account of the au- thority which he possessed; and the zeal which he exercised for the purity of faith, and rigour of discipline. But it was not long before he fell a victim to the persecution. Nerva died after a reign of sixteen months : and was succeeded by his adopted son Trajan, on the twenty-seventh of January, in the year of Christ one hundred. This prince, not- withstanding his many good qualities, was the author of the third general persecution. His attachment to the laws and superstitions of cramentary of S. Gregory, and other ancient missals and rituals. That this festival was celebrated in the primi- tive ages, is plain from an epistle of pope Nicholas to the Bulgarians; in which, enumerating the fasts observed in the Latin church, he mentions the fast before the solemnity of the assumption of the blessed virgin Mary. There is, besides, extant, a sermon, attributed to S. Athanasius, in which the assumption is extolled in the highest strains. That the festi- val was admitted into Gaul in the time of Charlemagne, we learn from his celebrated Capitulary 1. 1 c. 163. It was call- ed by excellence Dies DoMiNae. Cartuit. vit. S. Steph. Reg. 200 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Rome, and the marked aversion which he testified for such as refused to conform to them, encouraged the idolatrous magistrates, unauthorized by any formal decree, to perse- cute the Christians. The faithful having returned from Pella to Jerusalem, were permitted, under the direc- tion of 8. Simeon, to establish themselves again amid its ruins. Jealous of the privi- leges which they enjoyed, the Ebionites and Nazareans soon found means to introduce themselves among them. The Nazareans were originally circumcised Christians : but in consequence of their ob- stinate attachment to the observances of the old law, to which they wished to oblige even the gentiles themselves, they were separated from the church in the reign of Domitian. So great was their animosity against the fol- lowers of the new law, that they caused many to be apprehended and condemned to death. Among the victims of these fanatics was the venerable Simeon. He was denounced under the two-fold character of a Christian, and cousin-german to Jesus Christ. He was in HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 201 his hundred and twentieth year : but his ex- treme age excited no pity in the ferocious governor : he was treated with the utmost cruehy, during many days in succession. The object of his executioner was to induce him by dint of torture, to sacrifice to the pagan gods : but Simeon not only continued reso- lute, but cheerful, in the most excruciating- pain. Despairing of ever shaking his reso- lution, the governor condemned him to be crucified. Thus did the last eye witness of the Redeemer undergo a death similar to that of his Divine Master. (1) His successor in the see of Jerusalem, was of Jewish extraction : his name was Justus. A certain Thebulis had aspired to that dig- nity, and when he saw the preference given to Justus, his disappointment and chagrin, prompted him to abandon the church. Many other heretics appeared at the same epoch : to enter into a detail of all their visionary tenets, would be both useless and tedious : I may, perhaps, however, be allowed to (1) Euseb. in chron. Idem. 4 hist. 1. 202 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. give a few particulars of the sect called Osse- niatis. These heretics spread through Arabia, to the confines of Palestine. The person who reduced their reveries into a system was a Jew, by name Elxai. This man affected to have a more perfect knowledge, than any other mortal, of Jesus Christ : he drew a mon- strous picture, in which he measured the ex- tent of Christ's virtues, by the vast dimensions and strength of body, which he assigned to him. The moral conduct of this heretic was, in every respect, accordant with the principles of his doctrine : he was the avowed enemy of virginity and continence : and the apolo- gist of fraud and dissimulation; he held him- self free to profess, exteriorly, whatever re- ligion he thought proper : to offer incense even to idols, provided his heart took no share in the prevarication. (1) The disciples of Elxai united with the Ebionites, and Nicho- laites. (1) Epiph. hier. 19 et 53. Philast. de hier. 82. Euseb. 6. hist 31. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 203 All these sects soon amalgamated into one: and became better known under the general denomination of Gnostics; which signifies men versed in the things of God. Their impious maxims were of infinite prejudice to the true religion : as they all bore the name of Chris- tian, they were frequently confounded by the idolaters with the true children of the church: so that the most enlightened and liberal among the pagans could scarcely rise superior to the vulgar prejudices, unjustly conceived against Christianity, on account of the horri- ble dogmas of the Gnostics. Pliny, the younger, found a great number of the faithful in Bithynia, when appointed to the administration of that province: he scrutin- ized their conduct, and watched their proceed- ings with a censorious eye. The result of his observation is contained in his letter to Trajan: " he found them guilty, he says, of no other crime than of assembling at certain hours, to sing the praises of Christ, and to bind them- selves never to be guilty of theft, adultery, or perjury." To this epistle, the emperor re- 204 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH, turned a most inconsistent and cruel answer : "If, said he, the Christians are brought before you, and refuse to offer incense to the gods, let them suffer death : otherwise let them live unmolested." Of this inconsistency, Ter- tullian, in his apology, did not fail to take ad- vantage. (1) If the Christians are guilty, this is his reasoning, why should they be permit- ted to live unmolested : but if innocent, why make them suffer death ? Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, suffered mar- tyrdom, during the reign of Trajan : (2) he was the successor of Evodius, who had been appointed to the see of Antioch, by the prince of the apostles. During forty years, he had been the edification of his flock : his extraor- dinary solicitude and zeal had preserved the purity of their faith, during the persecution of Domitian. The merit of Ignatius dif- fused itself from the bosom of his own church over all the East : and his authority defended (1) Tert. apol. (2) Euseb. in chron. et 3 hist. 30. Hieron. de script. Ec- cles. in Ignat Methaphr. ap. Sur. 1 feb. Ado. in martyr. 1. Feb. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 205 the Christian societies, in those quarters, against the seductions of false brethren. Not- withstanding his great virtues, he had the most humble opinion of his own merit, and deemed himself unworthy of martyrdom, though it had been the object of his most fer- vent prayers, during two successive persecu- tions. Trajan, in the eighth year of his reign, made an expedition into the East, against the Parthians : as his devotion to the gods was well known, particularly at a juncture when he believed their i^rotection necessary, Igna- tius trembled for the church. When the em- peror arrived at Antioch, the " good shep- herd" took the generous resolution to lay down his life for his flock ; hoping that a prince, so renowned for his clemency and humanity, would consider the death of their pastor a sufficient expiation for the aversion which the Christians evinced towards the gods of pagan- ism. He, therefore, took no measures to con- ceal himself: and was soon brought before the emperor. 206 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. As soon as he appeared, " Wretch, cried Trajan, is it you, who, hke an evil demon, se- duce the citizens, and excite them to vio- late my orders?" " The name of demon, Igna- tius cahnly rephed, has never, until now, been given to Theophorus ; whose presence puts tlie demons to flight. If you call me a wicked demon because I am insupportable to demons, I will glory in the name. By the virtue of Jesus Christ, whom I carry in my heart, while he is at the same time, enthroned in the high- est heaven, we dissipate the illusions of hell." And who is this Theophorus, resumed the emperor ? " It is he, replied Ignatius, to whom that title has so often been given : a title so conformable to the fervour of faith and charity, which he professes : it is he, who car- ries in his heart, Jesus Christ, the true Son of God." You persuade yourselves, then, said Trajan, that we do not feel in our souls the impressions of those great divinities, who ren- der us victorious over all our enemies. It is a pernicious error, rejoined the saint, to mis- take for gods, those evil spirits, whom the Greeks have deified. There is but one God : y HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 207 who created the heavens and the earth : and whose only Son is Jesus Christ. What! ex- claimed Trajan, do you mean him, whom Pi- late crucified, at Jerusalem ? The very same, answered Ignatius : but by his crucifixion, he overcame sin, and the devil the author of sin. Trajan then pronounced the following sen- tence. It is our will, that Ignatius, who says he carries the crucified man in his heart, be put in irons and conveyed to Rome, to be devoured by wild beasts, for the amusement of the people. On hearing the sentence, Ignatius said : I give thee thanks, God of love, for granting me the privilege of suffering for thy name, like thy holy apostles. He then offered up a short prayer for the church ; and presented his hands to be fettered by the guards. He was compelled to set out for Rome without delay. During the voyage he was treated with extreme cruelty. At Smyrna, he had the consolation to meet St. Polycarp bishop, who had also been a dis- ciple of St. John. Of the epistles which he wrote during his voyage, seven are still extant: 208 HISTORY OF THE CHUUCH. and are among the most precious fragments of sacred antiquity. (1) On tlie arrival of the venerable bishop at Rome, the faithful went out in crowds to meet him. When they heard of his impending fate, they wept bitterly, and earnestly intreat- ed him to allow them to petition the emperor for a reprieve. But the saint with a holy severi- ty reproved their mistaken affection, and con- jured them not to wrest from him that great- est of all favours, for which he had sighed so long. (2) Approaching the amphitheatre, he (1 ) Some errors had crept into these epistles, through the neglect of copyists: but they were restored to their original purity by two celebrated protestant divines, Daille a Cal- vinistic minister of Charenton and doctor Pearson, the learn- ed bishop of Chester. The original text discovered by Vos- sius, in the library of Florence, was found to be perfectly conformable to the British versions. (2) The following is an extract from the letter addressed to the faithful, on this occasion: " I dread your charity: and fear lest your compassion in my regard, be too tender. It may perhaps, not be difficult for you to prevent my death ; but in opposing my death, you oppose my happiness. If you have a sincere charity for me, you will let me go and enjoy my God. Never shall / have a more favourable occasion, than that which is now presented, of uniting myself to him : nor you of performing a good work: to perform that good work, you need only remain quiet. If you make no exertion to rescue me from the hands of the executioner, I will soon be united to my God. But if you suffer yourselves to be actuated by a false compassion for this miserable flesh, you \\'\\\ force me to return to my former career of labour and cares. Suffer me to be immolated HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 209 heard with firmness and composure, the roar of the impatient beasts. His sufferings were soon over : the hons devoured him in a mo- ment, and no rehes, except a few of his larger bones, were saved. His martyrdom ♦?"'' place in the year one hundred and ten, on the twentieth of December. " We have been ourselves spectators of that heroic deatli, say the witnesses of the acts of his martyrdom, now that the altar is prepared : unite with me in the sacrifice, singing canticles to the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son, while I am offering it. You have never borne envy against any one: could you now envy my felicity: rather obtain for me by your prayers, the courage necessary to resist the as- saults of within, and to repel those of without. It is little to appear to be a Christian, if we are not so in effect; a Christian looks not for favourable appearances, but for magnanimity and solid virtue. I have written to the churches, that I may meet death with joy, provided you do not oppose it. Suffer me to be the food of lions and bears: it is the short- est way to heaven: rather sharpen their appetite, that they may leave nothing of me that can fall into the hands of any one. When the world shall see no remnant of my body, then shall I be in truth the disciple of Jesus Christ. Obtain for me the grace to be received by the Lord as a pleasing victim. Nothing makes any impression on me: every thing I regard as perfectly indifferent, except the hope of possessing God. Let the fire reduce me to ashes: let me die a slow and pain- ful death upon a cross: let my limbs be ground to dust, let my body be boiled; I will sufler all with patience, provided I can enjoy Jesus Christ. The possession of all the kingdoms of the earth could not render me happy; and it is infinitely more glorious to die for Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the world." VOL. I. — 14 ^1^ 210 HISTOKY OF THE CHURCH. but not without shedding torrents of tears and beseeching the Lord to support our weak- ness." Tlie chair of St. Peter, was now filled by St. Evaristus, successor to S. Anacletus. To this pontiff some ecclesiastical writers attri- bute the establishment of regular parishes in Rome. (1) He was succeeded by St. Alex- ander, who was in his turn succeeded by St. Sixtus, and St. Sixtus by S. Telesphorus, a Greek, who, according to the express testi- mony of St. Irenaeus, suffered martyrdom. This order of succession appears certain, but the duration of the several pontificates is un- known^ Of the church of Jerusalem, there were six bishops, in the short space of thirteen years. From this circumstance we may form an idea of the character of Trajan's persecution. (1) In the book de Rom., Pontif. we read that Evaristus "Titulos in urbe Roma divisisse Presbyteris. By Titulos must be understood certain specified churches. The same book adds "Evaristum Septem Diaconos instituisse qui custo dirent episcopum prsedicantem." They were afterwards called Di AGO ]s I regionarii, as it was their duty to preside over seven separate districts, and in the Roman council held under S. Sylvester, they are styled Diaconi CARDisAtES Cone. Rom. 3. cap. 7. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 211 The heads of the churches were, every where, sought after, and punished with unrelenting cruelty. In this persecution St. Onesmus, bishop of Ephesus and disciple of St. Paul, re- ceived the crown of martyrdom. (1) Although the oriental provinces were the principal theatre of the sufferings and death of the Christians, in every other part of the empire, thousands were, at the same time, crowned with martyrdom. St. Crescens, disciple of the apostles, was martyred at Vi- enna, in Gaul : and St. Zacharias, his successor, in the same place : in the environs of Rome, St. Hyacinthus, and many other Christians fell victims to the rage of the idolatrous people. It is probable, that St. Caesarius, deacon of Taragona, suffered at the same time; as also Zozimus and Rufus, who had accompanied St. Ignatius to Rome. In Syria, the blood of the Christians was shed more copiously. St. Barsimaeus, bishop of Edessa, suffered with S. S. Sarbelius and (1) Martyr. Rom. 10 Feb. 212 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Barbca, (1) wliom he had converted. St. Eudoxia suffered at IleHopolis in Phoenicia. The Greeks record an infinite number of mi- racles, wrought through her intercession. There occurred, at this epoch, in Syria, a tre- mendous earthquake, which arrested, for a a time, the fury of the persecution. (2) A more alarming or destructive shock has perhaps never been recorded in the annals of nations. The description of it given by Dio, is truly terrific: the capital of Syria was buried under its ruins : and of the many thousand inhabitants which it contained, but few individuals escaped uninjured. Every circumstance connected with this terrible ca- tastrophe, was impressed with the seal of the Divine vengeance. The historian makes no particular mention of the fate of the Chris- tians of Antioch. It is probable that having been prophetically warned of the impending danger, they fled, like their brethren of Jeru- salem: it is at least certain, that Hero, bishop of Antioch, survived, and continued (1) Martyr, et Mono!. 29 et. 30 Jan. (2) Dio in Traj. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 2lS to govern his church many years after this calamitous event. The millenian system still continued to be popular : and was, in some degree, sanctioned hy St. Papias, a man of rare simplicity, and his disciple St. Irenseus. (1) From some mis- understood or misapplied passges of the apo- calypse and the epistles of St. John, they con- eluded that the just, after the general resur- rection, should reign a thousand years on earth : being in a kind of noviciate for im- mortality; and gradually preparing themselves for the intuitive fruition of God. (2) In this sense, the error had not yet been condemned by the church. By the millenarian heretics it was understood in a gross and voluptuous sense : repugnant alike to the spirit of reli- gion and the holiness of God. In rejecting the former error, the church has taught us (1) Gibbon, whose language on the subject of religion appears to be that of a pagan rather than a Christian, inadvertently drops a sentiment which I think ought to be frequently incul- cated, and never forgotten: " It is an honourable circum- stance, he says, for the morals of the primitive Christians, that even their faults, or rather errors, were derived from an excess of virtue." This was certainly the case with S. Pa- pias and S. Irenaeus, with respect to the millenium. (2) Euseb. 3 hist, 33. 214 HISTORY OF f HK CHURCH. that the traditions even of tlie saints tiieni- selves should not be admitted indiscriminate- ly : that none should be adopted, but such as are stamj)cd with the seal of her approbation. Towards the close of the reign of Trajan, the East was thrown into confusion by a des- perate insurrection of the Jews. Under the conduct of a daring leader, they spread devas- tation around; massacred many of the pagans^ and burned or pillaged their houses. The emperor gave orders to Lucius Quin- tus, governor of Mesopotamia, to quell the re- volt, in that quarter : and a vast multitude of Jews in Mesopotamia paid the forfeit of their daring attempt, by a cruel death. Thus, while the church was every day becoming more flourishing, in the midst of persecution and tribulation, the synagogue was hurrying fipace to inevitable destruction. Shortly after these disastrous events, Tra- jan died : and was succeeded by Hadrian his C(msin-german, in the year of Jesus Christ 119. This emperor was not more favourable to the Jews, than his predecessor; but the power of that expiring nation, presenting no HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 215 eause of alarm or mieasiness to the Roman people, the desire of revenge was forgotten in contempt. It was a great misfortune to the church, that the Romans confounded the Jews with the Christians. It was this mista- ken notion which proved the principal cause of the persecution, in the reign of Hadrian. If this emperor has not been reckoned, by Eu- sebius, among the persecutors of the church, it is because he published no formal edict against it : (1) but merely suffered the flame to be fanned, which had been kindled in the preceding reign. The aversion which Ha- drian entertained for any other than the popu- lar religion ; his passion for divination, astro- logy, and magic, exceedingly prejudiced him against the sincere adorers of the true God : especially as they were also confounded, not only with the Jews, but also with the different sects of Gnostics. A swarm of fanatics, under this appella- tion, had lately spread themselves through the empire, authorising and encouraging the most shocking vices. Saturninus, Basilides, (l)Tertul. ap. c. 3. 216 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. and Carpocras, three celebrated heresiarclis, began to dogmatize at the same time : they had been formed by Menander, tlie disciple of Simon Magus : and blended in one mon- strous compound the dogmas and morality of the gospel, witli the chimeras and immorali- ties of paganism. (1) Saturninus maintained, that the union of marriage was impure and damnable : (2) Basilides advanced, that the body of Jesus Christ was incorporeal : and that he was not truly crucified. (3) Carpocras regarded the Saviour as a mere man, distin- guished only by his eminent virtues. (4) All these different sects of Gnostics or lUuminati, as they sometimes called themselves, laid it down as a fundamental principle, that it is use- less, and even forbidden, to resist concupi- scence : they adduced passages of scripture to justify their crimes : insisting that the flesh was an enemy, to which we should yield, in the course of this life. Carpocras had a disciple named Prodicus, who became the father of the sect of the Adam- (1) Vide Euseb. 3 hist. 26. (2) Iren. lib. 1 c. 12. (3)Iren. lib. 1 c. 23. (4) Euseb. 4. hist. 7. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 217 ites : (1) they pretended to imitate the life of Adam and Eve, during their innocence in the garden: and hved in criminal connexions. Carpocras had a son, who, though he Hved on- ly to his eighteenth year, was far more infa- mous and abandoned than his father. After his death he was honoured as a God : and in a temple, erected to him, sacrifices and liba- tions were offered in his honour. The Gnostics soon branched out into innu- merable sects ; of these the principal were the Valentinians : who, besides a visionary system of religion compiled from the philosophers, and especially from Plato, maintained the in- amissibility of grace : the Sethians, from the respect they evinced for Setli, the son of Adam : the Cainites who professed to ho- nour Cain, and the bad men whom the scrip- tures condemn : in fine, the Ophits, who paid supreme honours to the serpent as to the Saviour of mankind. All these sects are a lamentable proof of the weakness of the hu- man mind, and the corruption of the human heart. (1) Theodor. I hser. Epiph. haer. 52. 218 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. In consequence of the shameful excesses of the Gnostics, the most unjust calumnies were every where propagated against the Chris- tians ; for the pagans knew not how to dis- criminate between them, and the wicked sects, who had assumed the same denomination. They charged them, (and the Jews were the principal authors of this new calumny) with laying on a table, and covering with flour, an infant, which the proselyte, on his initiation, was obliged to kill ; and from motives of inter- est, induced not to reveal the ceremony. The credulous multitude readily believed the im- putation : and men who should have been su- perior to prejudice, contributed to increase it. In this reign, according to some authors, t)ut, according to others, in that of Trajan, St. Eustachius, with all his family suffered for the faith: (1) St. Sophia, so famous in the East, was martyred with her three daughters : St. Faustinus, priest, and St. Jovita, dea- con, were immolated, about the same time, with a number of other Christians. St. Symphorosa, with her seven children, ren- (1) Act. Eustach. et. Socior, ap. Sur. torn. 5. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 219 dered heroic testimony of the faith, in pre- sence of Hadrian, and were all put to death. The bodies of the seven brothers were thrown into a deep pit. When the persecution ceased, these martyrs were transferred from Tivoli, where they had suffered, to Rome; and buried within eight miles of the city. The many and grievous calumnies circu- lated, and the ferocious and unrelenting cruel- ty exercised, against the Christians, elicited several apologies in their defence and vindi- cation. Of these, the first was written by Quadratus, a disciple of the apostles. It was addressed to Hadrian: its principal object was to prove, that the miracles of Jesus Christ, the certainty of which was seldom disputed, were not the effect of magic and sorcery : and that the sick whom he cured, and the dead he raised to life, lived long after the death of their adorable benefactor. Throughout this excel- lent production, we cannot but admire the deep and elegant reasoning of Quadratus. A second apology was presented by Aris- tides, an Athenian philosopher : this, accord- 220 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ing to the opinion of contemporary writers, was still more eloquent and erudite than the former. It is not extant. The proconsul of Asia remonstrated with the emperor on the injustice of putting to death peaceful citizens, without a crime : after which the persecution began to relent. The woes of the Jewish people were, about this period, brought to their consummation. The emperor Hadrian conceived the design to raise Jerusalem from its ruins : and accord- ingly rebuilt it, under the name of iElia, which was that of his family. On the site where the Jewish temple had formerly stood, he erected an altar to Jupiter : (1) and for- bade any Jew, who would not dispense with circumcision, to dwell in Judea. This condir tion roused the indignation of the Jews : they soon collected together from every quarter of the East, and stimulated by some daring and rapacious adventurers, broke into open insur- rection. Rufus, the governor, marched against them at the head of his disciplined troops ; (l)DioinHad. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 221 and every engagement strewed the fields with the bodies of the unfortunate IsraeUtes. (1) Their lands were confiscated ; Israel, as the prophet had foretold, was literally without a " vineyard and a harvest," as well as without a " temple and a pontiff." Julius Severus put the finishing stroke to this war. Five hundred and eighty thousand perished by the sword ; and the number of those who were carried off by famiiie and other calamities, is incalculable. The wretched survivors were sold like beasts, in the valley which Abraham, the father of Israel, had once inhabited. — Thus did this unfortunate nation find their grave in the very place which had been the cradle of their ancestors. They were dis- persed ; without, however, being confounded with other nations : without liberty ; without laws ; without an altar ; and without a sacri- fice. After the entire reduction of Palestine, the church of Jerusalem enjoyed tranquillity and peace. Mark, a gentile, was consecrated (1) Euseb. in chron. et. 4 hist. 6. 222 HISTORY OF TFIE CHURCH. bishop of tliat see ; and was the sixteenth in succession, after the estahHslnnent of Chris- tianity. (1) This great event took place to- wards the close of Hadrian's reign, in the year of Christ 137. For the greater confusion of the Jews, the Romans placed a marble hog, in derision of their abstinence from the flesh of that animal, over the gate of the city that looked towards Bethlehem. (2) They also erected a statue of Venus, on Mount Calvary, on the very spot where the Redeemer was crucified : an idol of Jupiter over the tomb from whence he had arisen ; and another of Adonis in Bethlehem. But this was a tran- sient triumph for idolatry ; the standard of the cross soon waved over the thrones of the Caesars, and the mighty capital of the pagan world. (3) (1) Euseb. in chron. et. 4 hist. 4. (2) Hier. ep. 13 ad Paul. Ambr. in Ps. 43. (3) Paulin ep. 1 1 ad. Lev. CHAPTER m. emperors. Antoninus Pius. Marcus Aurelius. Lucius Verus. commodus. Pertinax. julianus. Severus. Caracalla. Geta. POPES. St. Telesphorus, continuep^- St. Hyginus. St. Pius. St. Anicetus. St. Soter. St. Eleutherius. St. Victor. St. Zephyrinus. From the dispersion of the Jeics^ anno 137, to the end of the fifth persecution. Anno 211. The emperor Hadrian died at Tivoli, on the tenth of July, in the sixty-second year of his age, and in the year of Christ 140 : he was succeeded by Antoninus, who was a phi- losopher ; and having more accurate ideas of the Supreme Being, than the other pagans, he esteemed the purity of the Christian wor- 224 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. ship, and the great virtues which it produced, St. Justin, who was also a philosopher, but had been converted to the true faitli, present- ed to this emperor an apology, in favour of the Christian religion. St. Justin was born in Palestine ; had re- ceived a finished education, and was versed in every science. He himself informs us of the manner of his conversion, in a dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, after having long devoted himself to the investigation of truth, and sought it in vain, among the different pagan sects. He was one day musing on the sea shore, in silent meditation, when he perceived by his side, a venerable old man, upon whose countenance was blended suavity with majes- ty. I stopped, says Justin, and looked at him, without daring to address him. He express- ed his surprise at the notice I seemed to take of him ; and soon entered into a very interest- ing conversation. After praising the zeal which I had evinced in the search after truth, he reproached me with preferring speculation to practice : I respectfully asked what he would have me do : you must, he replied, HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 225 meditate on the books of the Jewish prophets, the only true philosophers : and implore without ceasing, the Supreme Being to open to you the gates of light and truth." The study of the sacred books soon convinced Jus- tin, of the follies of paganism : he compared them with the sanctity of the religicm of the Christians ; and disabused of the calumnies published against the truth by the idolaters, he embraced the faith of Jesus Christ with his whole heart. He retained, after his conver- sion, the philosopher's gown : and made fre- quent excursions to the East to diffuse the light with which his own soul was replenished: he opened a school for religious disputa- tions, at Rome : and invited both Jews and ff entiles to attend his instructions. In addressing his apology to the emper- or, the senate, and the Roman people, he omitted no circumstance by which he might be recognised : so firmly was he attached to his principles, so superior to all the dangers, to which his faith might expose him. Of this contempt for the opinions of men, he gave a striking proof in his apology : " You are call- VOL. T. 15 226 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ed," said he, addressing liiHiself to Autoniniissi and his presumptive heirs, Aurehus and Yerus, "You are called " Pious" and " Philosophers," by the whole world ; that is, lovers of truth and justice : and youf conduct will soon prove how far you are deserving of these titles. We demand justice, not so much for our own sakes, as for your real interest; to us the loss of hberty or life will be no real detriment; whilst you, though masters of the world, will tarnish the lustre of your virtues, and be condemned at the judgment seat of the Eternal, if you punish us through passion or through prejudice. The legal forms of justice require, that an exact investigation be made into the conduct of the accused, and that sovereigns pass sen- tence according to the invariable rules of equity and wisdom ; not on mere presump- tion, or through caprice, or through arbitrary power. It is, therefore, our duty to explain our manner of life and doctrines : if not to es- cape death, which the Christian regards as a blessing, at least not to be accomplices in your criminal ignorance ; for which we should be responsible, if when we have it in oiu' power, we neglect to enlighten you." BISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 227 He then dwells, at full leno^th, on the eon- duct of the faithful: the angelic purity of their manners, and the holy simplicity of their reliffious observances. The Christians were accused of atheism : this charge he refutes ; and shews that atheism consisted, not in refusing incense and adoration to a plurality of absurd divinities, but to the One, supreme and eternal being, creator and preserver of the universe ; whom the Christians more than any other people, endeavoured to honour as he deserves to be honoured ; and in that man- ner which he has taught them by means of his Son, eternal and omnipotent like himself, but clothed in human flesh for man's instruc- tion and redemption. Here to convince the pagans of the neces- sity of revelation, tlie holy apologist employs the testimony of the prophets, and the sibyls ; with other proofs adapted to his subject, and the genius of the age in which he lived. Pre- judice in particular he labours to remove : as it formed the greatest obstacle to the pro- gress of Christianity. To elfect this He en- ters into an explanation of the religious cere- 228 HISTORY OF TIIli: CIIUKCII. monies and even of the sacraments; although it was forbidden to speak of them to the idolaters. He clearly and explicitly defines the sacrament of the eucharist ; as the shafts of calumny and ridicule had principally been levelled at that article of the Christian faith. " Behold," said he, " the manner, in which we admit those whom you call the initiated : when the catechumen has been washed in the regenerating water, as an emblem of that in- terior purity with which his soul is adorned by celestial virtue, v^e conduct him to the place where the brethren are assembled in prayer. The prayer being ended, we salute him with the kiss of peace : then we present him who officiates, with bread and a chalice containing wine mingled with water. He offers it to the eternal Father in the name of the Son and the Holy Ghost : the deacons, after this, dis- tribute the bread and wine to every one of the faithful, which they receive under the species of ordinary food : for as we know, that the Son of God has clothed himself with flesh and blood, so do we also know, that this nourish- ment, consecrated by the sacred formulas, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 229 which he himself has trans^iitted to us, become the flesh and blood of Christ, made man through love of us. Because the apo- stles teach, in their writings, that he com- manded them to do with that bread and wine as he had done, when after having taken the bread and blessed it, he said, this is my body; and the wine, saying, this is my blood ; he added, do this in commemoration of me. "But why so much pains to justify our con- duct ? Those very persons who load us with criminal imputations, do not themselves be- lieve these charges grounded : they tolerate religions the most foolish and corrupt, whilst they enkindle against us the fires of persecu- tion : they do not punish the adorers of stones, of cats, and of crocodiles: no, not even wicked Christians, who are unworthy the name : the followers of Simon Magus, of Menander, of Marcion. What injury does our doctrine bring upon the state, that you should resem- ble, in your hatred of our religion, those wicked demons, to whom weare insupportable? If it appear to you absurd, let it fall of itself: if it be pure, and holy, and divine, how rash, 280 mSTORY OF THE CHURCH. how dangerous to oppose it. You have it in your power to persecute us : and when the decree is passed, we shall patiently reply : "The will of God be done :" for this is the re- spect which our religion teaches us to render to our legitimate rulers. But we must first declare to you, and that too in the name of the sove- reign King of kings and emperors, whose throne is in the heavens, that you shall not escape the rigour of his judgments, if you per- sist in acting towards his disciples, with such glaring injustice." We are informed by Orosius, one of the most ancient ecclesiastical writers, that this apology made a deep impression on the mind of Antoninus : and induced him to favour Christianity. He wrote to the governors in the East, against whom the faithful had sent their complaints, ordering him to suspend the persecution of the Christians. The letters which he sent to his lieutenants in Asia, have been preserved by (1) St. Melito and Euse- bius. It is gratifying to the Christian reader (1) Mel. ap. Euseb. iv. 26. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 281 to reflect on the encomiums which he bestows on the bishops of the church. He reproached the idolaters with the cow- ardice which they manifested, when visited by any pubhc calamity, such as earthquakes or pestilence : and when they imputed these mis- fortunes to the vengeance of the gods against the Christians, Antoninus vindicated the lat- ter, and spoke with great respect of their de- votion to the cause of virtue and religion. If these representations, added he, be not sufficient, I decree in confirmation of the or- ders of my illustrious predecessor and father, that whoever is accused for no other crime than his religion, shall not only be acquitted, but his accuser be punished, according to the ordinary forms. This rescript was published throughout all the provinces of Asia : the persecution abated, but was not entirely extinguished. There were so many motives for continuing the cry of persecution against the Christians, that they enjoyed a respite only in particular places: and we find many martyrs, even in the reign of Antoninus Pius. 232 HISTORY OF the church. St. Telespliorus, tlie ninth ponlitit of tlie Roman church, suffered martyrdom inider tills emperor. He occupied the pontilical chair ten or eleven years: (I) and was succeeded by St. Hyginus : St. Hygimis by S. Pius : and S. Pius by S. Anicetus. Under tlie last mentioned pontiff, S. Hegesippus went to Rome, where he continued during the pon- tificate of S. Soter, until that of S. Eleutherius, which commenced in the year 179. He there wrote the history of the church from the pas- sion of Christ down to his own times. It was composed in the style of the apostolic writings: some fragments are preserved by Eusebius : the work itself is lost. It appears that S. Hege- sippus had made frequent excursions to the distant churches to ascertain their discipline, maxims and doctrine: and that he, every where, found them conformable to all the usages, and doctrines, handed down by the apostles. " From the first pillars of the church, (these are his words) to the present time, there is ( 1 ) Iren. lib. 3. cap. 3. Tertul. carm. cont. Marcion lib. 3. m fin. Aiiast. de Rom. Pontif. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 233 no episcopal see, which has not kept, with in- violable fidelity, what the prophets had pre- scribed, and what the Lord himself had preached." The emperor Antoninus, after having re- stored peace to the church, died at the age of seventy-four years, A. D. 163. He was suc- ceeded by his two adopted sons Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Verus, after a reign of eight years, died, and left Marcus Aurelius sole master oi the empire. Whether viewed in the light of an emperor or a philosopher, Aure- lius was deemed one of the greatest characters that Rome ever produced. He prided himself on being descended from Numa : and like his illustrious ancestor, professed an extreme at- tachment to the superstitions of paganism. Notwithstanding his wonted clemency, he treated the Christians with severity, and suf- fered them to be insulted and oppressed with impunity, in many of the Roman provinces. Quadratus, proconsul of Asia, caused Eu- manias and ten other Christians to be devour- ed by wild beasts, in the amphitheatre at Smyrna. The sight of blood whetted the 234 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. appetite of the populace : tliey cried aloud that the enemies of the gods should be exter- minated, and Polycarp be immolated to their vengeance. This apostolic and venerable man, the disciple of St. John, did not confine his zeal to his own church of Smyrna, but visit- ed the churches in Asia, and had travelled as far as Rome itself, to settle the time for the paschal celebration, and to oppose the heresy of Marcion, which was then making dange- rous inroads into the capital of the universe. This arch-heretic was the more to be dread- ed, as he pursued a different plan from all other false teachers, who had preceded him. He affected great austerity: obliged his follow- ers to abstain from wine and flesh meat, and to perform frequent and rigorous fasts. He admitted no disciple, who did not make pro- fession of continence ; and marriage he posi- tively condemned. He believed in the two principles of good and evil ; afterwards more fully developed in the errors of the Mani- cheans, but which were first invented by this heresiarch. Marcion was the son of a bishop: but being excluded from the church for a sin HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 235 against chastity, and refused absolution when he sought it, he pubhcly vowed to destroy, if possible, the religion which had treated him with so much rigour. His first teacher was Cerdon, from whom he borrowed his sacrilegious notions of the Divinity. He denied the resurrection of the body : saying, that the body of Jesus Christ had been composed of particles or ingredients, taken from every planet. His principal disci- ple was Apelles : who was induced, from a similar cause, to abandon the church and at- tack the truth : conscious of his miserable con- dition, he knew no better consolation, than to draw after him, into the same abyss, as many victims as possible. Pressed by the argu- ments of one Rhodonius, an orthodox doctor, he asserted that it was useless to investigate the subject of religion. Marcion was at Rome, when S. Polycarp arrived : (1) meeting the holy bishop, he ask- ed whether he knew him : yes, replied Poly- carp, I know thee to be the eldest son of Sa- (1) Iren. lib. 3. cap. 3. 236 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. (an; (1) and lie immediately left thelicrcsiarcli, exclaiming : " For what times, O Lord, hast thou reserved me !" Valentinus was also at Rome, at this same period. So great was the authority, so extraordinary the virtues, of Po- lycarp, that many, at his solicitation, abjured their errors, and returned to the bosom of the church : even the two heresiarchs did pe- nance, and were received into the communion of the faithful : but were soon rejected again? on account of their crimes. When the presence of S. Polycarp was no longer necessary at Rome, he returned to Smyrna : a cruel persecution was now waged against his flock : and scarcely had he arrived, than Quadratus, the consul, sent a body of cavalry to arrest him : the faithful com- pelled him to retire into the country. But God had revealed to his servant the death that awaited him. Three days before he was taken, he told the disciples who accompanied him, that he should soon consummate his sa- (1) Idem. ibid. Euseb. 4. hist. 13. The precise year in which S. Polycarp went to Rome is not known: according to Pearson it was in 142; according to Tillemont in 164; but according to Eusebius in 157. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 237 crifice by fire. The soldiers commissioned to arrest him, arrived at his retreat, at night, af- ter the saint had laid down to rest. He had still an opportunity of escaping : but saying : " The will of God be done," he went out to meet them with a cheerful countenance. Struck at his venerable appearance, and the meekness with which he addressed them, the soldiers whispered, that it was pitiful to think, that they should have come in such numbers, and with such haste, to arrest so good an old man : he had supper prepared for them : and while they eat, he was absorbed in prayer. He was then put upon an ass, and conduct- ed to the city. On his way, he was met by a magistrate by the name of Herod, who took him into his chariot, and endeavoured to persuade him to sacrifice: or at least call the emperor " lord." Polycarp, at first, was silent ; but, after a few moments, re- turned this answer: "I cannot do what you desire me : a Christian renders to princes, the respect which is due to their character : but never will he give them an epithet which belongs to God alone." At these words. He- 238 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. rod, throwing off the mask of friendship, thrust him from the chariot, with such violence, that his lejr was mucli bruised by the fall. This did not [)revent the holy bishop from advan- cing cheerfully to the amphitheatre, where the people were assembled. On entering it, he heard a celestial voice, saying, " Polycarp act courageously." (1) He was presented without delay, before the proconsul, who exhorted him to respect his old age; to swear by the genius of Ca?sar ; and to cry aloud, away with the impious; meaning the Christians. Turning towards the pagan people, the saint exclaimed; 'Away with the impious !' The proconsul repeated: swear by the enemies of Caesar ; blaspheme Christ. Polycarp answered with a smile : " I have served him these four score and six years, and he has never done me any harm ; but much good : how then could I blaspheme my King and Saviour ? I am a Christian." The proconsul threatened him with wild beasts and lire. Polycarp replied : bring your fire, it (1) FORTIS ESTO POLYCARPE ET EXCELSO ANIMO REM G-ERE. Spond. p. 156. iii. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 239 soon goes out : but there is a fire which is never extinguished : and in that shall the wicked be tormented. In a few moments a large pile was erected ; the Jews were par- ticularly active on this occasion ; and when the executioner was about nailing the gene- rous confessor to the stake, allow me, he said, to remain as I am : he, for whom I suffer, will give me grace and power to stand without being bound : they therefore contented them- selves with tying his hands behind his back ; and in this posture looking up to heaven, he prayed in the following manner: 'O Almighty God, I bless thee for having preserved me to this hour, that I may be numbered with thy martyrs and drink of the chalice of thy beloved son : wherefore, for all things, I praise and glorify thee, through the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy Son, with whom, to thee and to the Holy Ghost, be glory now, and for ever. Amen." Scarcely had he ended this prayer, than the fire was applied to the pile ; but the flames forming an arch, encircled, without injuring, the body of the martyr: and such was the fragrance, which was diffused 240 HISTORY OP TIIK CHURCH. aroHHcl, that it seemed as if spices had been scattered in profusion on the flames. The exasperated idolaters pierced his body with a spear : it was then burned by the centu- rion. The rehcs of the holy martyr, " more precious than gold or the richest jewels," in the language of the acts of his martyrdom, were carefully gathered up, and deposited in the church of Smyrna, where his tomb is still shown and venerated in a little chapel. The reason assigned by the centurion for consum- ing the body, is remarkable : lest the Chris- tians should adore it, instead of Jesus Christ! "not knowing, say the writers of these acts, that if we adore Jesus Christ, it is only be- cause he is the Son of God ; and that we love and respect the holy martyrs merely because they were the friends and imitators of Jesus Christ." Such were the sentiments of the primitive church on the nature of the venera- tion paid to the martyrs and their relics. The principal disciples of St. Polycarp, were St. Pothinus, and St. Irseneus, whom he sent, ac- companied by some other disciples, to preach the gospel in Gaul. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 241 Of the epistles of St. Polycarp, that to the PhiUppians is the only one now extant; and is a standin^proof of the apostoUc spirit with which he was ammated. He exhorts them to " be watchful in prayer lest they be led into tempt- ation ; to be constant in fasting, glorifying by their sufferings, the Lord Jesus Christ,'* So great was the respect in which it was heldj that after his death it was publicly read in the Asiatic churches. (1) St. Felicitas and her seven sons received the crown of martyrdom in the same reign. In vain did Publius, prefect of the city, endea- vour by threats and promises, to induce her to offer sacrifice. " No," said the holy wo- man, "the spirit of God renders me superior to seduction; you may deprive me of my life, but death is the road to victory." On the follow* ing day, the prefect ascended the tribunal, and Felicitas was brought before him. He con- jured her to have pity, at least on her children, if she was insensible to her own suffering;? t ''such compassion," she replied, "would be the worst of cruelty." Then turning to her chil» "f^ (l)Hier. in Polycarp VOL. I. — 16 242 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. dren, she pointed to heaven, saying: it is there^ that Jesus Christ expects you with his saints, who liave traced out that path, and consecra- ted it with his blood." Her seven children were then put to death before their eyes; and after them she crowned, by her own martyr- dom, the glorious sacrifice. (1) St. Ptolomseus and St. Livius suffered about the same time. Justin, who was then at Rome, indignant at the crying abuse of justice, (since it had been made by the emperor a capital crime to denounce the Christians, merely on account of their religion) drew up a second apology, which he addressed to the emperor, the senate, and the Roman people. If they persisted in their ancient prejudices, he en- treated them at least to give the Christians an opportunity to prove their innocence, and to read before the people, the sacred book in which their doctrine was contained. " This doctrine," continues the apologist, " has no- thing in it that deserves to be condemned : it is very different from the lessons of Epicurus, and other pagan writers, the reading of which is permitted to the whole world." (1) Ap.Sur. 10 Jul HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 248 This second apology did not experience the same favourable reception as the first. M.Aurehus was, to an unusual degree of weak- ness, attached to the philosophers of his sect : and one of them, Crescens, a cynic, mor- tified by his defeat, in a conference which he had with St. Justin, exerted all his in- fluence with the emperor, to have the defenders of the truth condemned. St. Justin had bold- ly confessed in his apology, that he expected death as his recompense ; and in a few days after, was apprehended, with a great number of Christians, his disciples and fellow labourers. They were brought before Rusticus, prefect of Rome, who said aloud : — " Justin, obey the gods, and comply with the edicts of the emper- or." Justin answered : — " No one can be blamed for obeying our Lord Jesus Christ." Rusticus : " What religion do you profess ?" Justin : " I was born a pagan, I have tried all sects, and have finally preferred the Chris- tian religion, so much despised by those who are unacquainted with it." Rusticus : " Art thou then infatuated with that supersti- tion ? Justin : " Certainly; it is the only true 244 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. path to happiness." Riisticus : " What are the tenets of the Christian rehgion ?" Justin: '' Christians beUeve in one God, Creator of the universe, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, foretold by the prophets, the Au- thor of salvation, and Judge of mankind." Rustrcus : " Where do the Christians assem- ble ?" Justin : " Wherever they can ; God is not confined to any place." Rusticus : '' You are then, indeed, a Christian ?" Justin : " I am." The judge then put the same questions to each of his companions. They all answered^ that they w^ere Christians. The prefect again addressed Justin : Do you who are so famed for eloquence, and who think that you possess the true philosophy, flatter yourself, that after being scourged from head to foot, you will as- cend to heaven ? "I know it, he replied, I cannot doubt it." The martyrs were then led to execution, and with hymns of praise and thanksgiving, cheerfully made the sacri- fice of their lives. (1) (1) Martyrol. Rom. et alia 13 April. Menal. and Kal. Jun. Epiph. haer. 46. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 245 St. Justin is one of the most ancient, and most venerable of the fathers of the church. His two apologies ; the second part of his treatise on the unity of God ; two discourses to the gentiles, and his interesting dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, are still extant. At this period, the church was disturbed by the extravagant doctrines of the heretic Montanus. (1) He was a native of Phrygia ; and had been instructed in the Christian re- ligion: he was ambitious of the episcopal dig- nity, from which, being at once a eunuch, and a Neophyte, he was excluded. His pride was bounded : and joining with two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, he broached the most absurd doctrines. The female associ- ates were rich, and soon debauched a number of avaricious and unprincipled followers. The first use which they made of the pretended gifts of the Holy Spirit, w£is to separate from their husbands. They preferred themselves to the prophets and apostles ; and gave Montanus the name of the Paraclete ; asserting that he was the (1) Euseb. in chron. 246 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tliird person of tlie Holy Trinity. They car- ried tlieir impiety so far, as to maintain, that God, having failed to save the world, by the propliets, and even by the Incarnate Word, had descended into Montanus, Priscilla, and Max- imilla. The Montanists, affecting an extreme aus- terity of morals, scarcely admitted any sin- ners to penance : (1) their numbers increased in several parts of Asia ; to check its progress effectually, the church condemned the new heresy. After which, impelled by the evil spirit, Montanus and Maximilla hanged them- selves. Their errors still survived, and were embraced, as shall soon appear, by some of the most learned men. This sect, hke all others, built on the passions of men, branch- ed out into several ramifications : some of the followers of Montanus became attached to one Proculus ; others to ^schines, and many to a woman, named Quintilla, who carried the artifice of seduction so far, as to admit women to the priesthood and episcopacy. (I) Tertull. adv. Prax. c. 1. Philast. de haer. cap. 50. Epiph. haeio 48. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 247 At this same ej30cli, the impieties of Ceren- thns and Ebion, a«ainst the Incarnate Word, were revived, by Theodotus of Byzantium. He had apostatized, during the persecution, and fled to Rome, where he hoped to conceal himself. But he was soon recognised : and when asked how a man, as learned as he was, could betray the truth ; he replied : that he had not denied God, but Jesus Christ; who, he said, was, by nature, a man like himself. He was soon surrounded by a crowd of dis- ciples, who vvere called Alogi, or rejecters of the Word. They maintained that the apostles had transmitted this doctrine : that it was preserved in the church, till the time of pope Victor : and that the truth was corrupted by Zephyrinus, the fourteenth sovereign pontifl*. This is the account, given by a contem- porary author, as Eusebius, whose testi- mony is unquestionable, assures us. (1) /That author, whos^ name is at present un- known, proves the Divinity of the Incarnate Word, from that very tradition which the Alogi asserted to militate in their own fa- (l)Euseb. 5. hist. 15. 248 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. voiir. " Have we not, he says, innumerable hymns and canticles, which honour Jesus Christ, as the Word of God, and as God him- self ? Can our adversaries dare impute their doctrine to the very pontiff, who con- demned Theodotus, the father of these apos- tates? And why do they quote the sacred scriptures, when they adulterate those oracles of truth, under pretence of correcting them ? But, he continues, to cover them with confu- sion, it will be sufficient to compare the seve- ral copies which they have made : not only do these copies disagree with that which they all received, in the bosom of the true church, but they are even at variance with each other." By such invincible arguments, did he con- found those innovators, who pretended that the Christian faith was not then such, as it had been, from the commencement of the church. Another Theodotus, posterior to him of By- zantium, was the author of the sect called Mel- chisedeckians, from their having raised Mel- chisedeck into a celestial virtue ; the interces- sor of angels, and superior to Jesus Christ, who, HISTORY OP f HE CHURCH. 249 they said, was only the mediator between God, and men. (I) Praxeas gave birth to the sect of Patripas- sionists, who attributed the passion and the sufferings of the cross to the Father, as well as to the Son. (2) Hermogenes, a painter and philosopher, gave a still wider range to the flights of his im- agination. He left the church, and main- tained that matter was eternal ; that the de vils would be one day re-united to this almost spiritual substance ; and that the body of Je- sus Christ was in the sun. He dogmatized in Africa. In Galatia Hermias and 8eleucus supported the same opinion of the co-eternity of matter with God, with all the consequences which necessarily flowed from so absurd a theory : and that the soul of man was a va- pour, created by the angels. For souls of such a texture, they concluded that the baptism of water was useless ; and conse- quently adopted, in its literal sense, the pas- sage of St. John : " He will baptize you in spirit and in fire." They maintained, in like (1) Tertull de praescript cap. ult. (2) Id. Ado. Prax. cap. 1. 250 HISTORY OF THE CHURCIT. manner, that this world is hell, and that hu- man generation is to be considered the only resurrection. (1) Such errors and impieties roused all the zeal of the pious and learned teachers of the truth, so fully adequate to the task of arrest- ing the progress of seduction. To the here- sy of the Montanists we are indebted for the epistles of St. Denis, bishop of Corinth. Besides that addressed to the Romans, he wrote many edifying letters to his suffragan bishops who ruled the churches of Gortyna, Lacedaemon and Athens; but his pen was prin- cipally employed against the errors of Mar- cion. The bitter complaints which the holy bishop makes of the heretics, who corrupt- ed his writings to give a sanction to their own errors, is a striking testimony of the esteem, in which this learned father was held. (1) St. Jerom tells us, that he shewed, with as mucli eloquence as erudition, from what sect of philosophy every heresy broached in the church, had derived its origin. (1) Orig. periar. lib. 1. et 2. Euseb. de praep. evang. lib. 7. cap. 8. 9. (2) Euseb. 4 hist. g. 22. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 251 8t. Melito, bishop of Sardis, rendered him- self equally illustrious in Asia, by a number of learned works : (1) all of which, with the exception of a few fragments, have been unfor- tunately lost. He gave a catalogue of the sa- cred books : the first noticed by ecclesiastical writers, in an address to Aurelius the Roman emperor; whom he conjured to put an end to the countless martyrdoms, caused by the indis- criminate fury of the pagans : he also remind- ed him that no edict had ever been published against the Christians, except by the w orst of tyrants, Nero and Domitian. St. Athenagoras, a celebrated apologist of Christianity, flourished at the same period. He had been converted from paganism to the true faith, and his piety extorted great respect, even from his calumniators, for the Chris- tian virtues. His apology is characterized by strong reasoning, and noble eloquence : it con- tains an accurate and profound explanation of the most sublime mysteries of religion. Whether such powerful arguments made any impression on the emperor's mind, is not (1) Euseb. 4 hist. c. 25. 252 HISTORY OF THE CHURCIf. known. An astonisliins^ event, however, took place a few years after, which is fully authen- ticated by Eusebius, (1) and DionofHali- carnassus. (2) The emperor was engaged in a w^Y with the Germans and Sarma- tians ; his army surrounded on the arid mountains of Bohemia, by the Quadi, one of the tribes of those nations, was redu- ced by heat and thirst to the last extremity. There were in the Roman army many Chris- tians, who addressed their prayers to heaven for relief, in sight of the enemy, who mocked, and were preparing to attack them. Their prayers were not disregarded : rain fell in torrents, on the side of the Romans, who re- ceived the refreshing shower in their helmets ; whilst whole battalions of the barbarians were beaten down, by hail and thunder. The Ro- mans gained a decisive victory ; to perpe- tuate the remembrance of which they erected at Rome, a magnificent monument ; which is standing at the present day, and is called the pillar of Antoninus. The pagans, it is true, generally attributed the miracle to the (1) Euseb. chron. an. 174. (2) Dioft. epitom. in. M. Aur. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 253 Gods ; but the emperor, ascribed it exclusive- ly to the prayers of the Christians. His let- ters to the Roman senate, which were extant in the time of Tertullian, sufficiently attests his conviction of the power of Jesus Christ. He gave the name of the " thundering legion" to the Christians who had gained him so ex- traordinary a victory ; and forbade any one, under the severest penalties to accuse, perse- cute, or molest them, in any way. This did not, however, prevent the death of many Christians in a general commotion, ex- cited three years later, by the pagans. Of these, Gaul was the principal theatre. The faith had been carried to that country in the first age by the disciples of the apostles. St. Crescens, who, as St. Epiphanius and The- odoret assure us, was sent by Saint Paul to preach the gospel in Transalpine Gaul, was the first bishop of Vienna. The foundation of an episcopal church at Aries, by Trophimus, a disciple of St. Paul, was prior to that of Vi- enna, and rests on authority still more un- questionable. From that city, which received its first bishop from the aj^ostles themselves, 254 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tlie light of faith was comiiiunicated to the other provinces. (1) Towards the middle of the second century, St. Pothinus, a disciple of St. Polycarp, pasS' ed from Italy into Gaul, and fixed his see in the city of Lyons. The progress of the gos- pel under this saint, and those that accompa- nied him, soon attracted the attention, and inflamed the jealousy, of the pagans. They waited an opportunity to wreak their ven- geance on the professors of the new religion ; and this Avas furnished by the concourse as- sembled at Lyons, according to custom, every fifth year, to celebrate the public games. They began by imputing the most horrid crimes to (2) the Christians, and forbidding them to enter any public, or even private houses, except such as belonged to them- selves, or those of their own communion. From this, they advanced to still more heinous insults. They plundered the houses of the Christians : and seized, with rapacious hands, and indiscriminate rage, on their possessions. (1) Vid. Spoftdan. p. 58. an 46. 1. (2) Ep. Mart. Vien. et Ludg. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 255 'To every outrage, the Christians opposed meekness and patience ; this return so en- raged their persecutors, that they threw many ii;ito confinement, until the arrival of the go- vernor : who caused the Christians to be tor- mented, on the bare suspicion of the crimes, with which the idolaters had charoed them. A young Christian, named Epagathus, un- dertook to plead in behalf of the holy confess- ors. But the crowds which surrounded the tribunal, raised an unanimous cry against him '. and the governor demanded whether he too were a Christian ? Epagathus openly confess- ed his belief, and was soon added to the other sufferers for the faith. The fury of the people, and the governor, was principally di- rected against the deacon Sanctus, the Neo- phyte Maturus, and a female, by name Blan- dina. Several weak and pusillanimous bre- thren had scandalized and afflicted the holy confessors, by cowardly yielding in the hour of trial : and they trembled for this pious fe- male. Her features were beautiful ; her figure and whole person peculiarly interesting. But the generous girl notwithstanding her ex- 256 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. qiiisite sensibility, and the torments inflicted on her, astonished all by her constancy : her execntioners, exhausted by fatigue, were ob- liged, to relieve each other, several times, du- ring her long sufferings. They laboured to extort from her a confession of some or other crime which could reflect disgrace upon the Christians: but her only reply was : "lama Christian : the Christians commit no crimes." The firmness of the deacon Sanctus pro- voked, no less, the rage of the unrelenting governor. Heated plates of copper were ap- plied to his naked body : but amid all his suf- ferings, he remained immoveable without ut- tering a groan. In this mangled condition he was thrown into prison : and after a few days, the same inhuman process was repeated on him. But he continued resolute: and by a manifest interposition of heaven, his wounds became suddenly healed. (1) After this, all the prisoners were thrown into a deep and filthy dungeon, where many of them perished in extreme misery. (1) Greg. Tur. de glor. Martyr, cap. 4^♦ HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 257 The venerable Pothinus was next appre- hended. He was eighty years old ; sick, and so feeble, that he was obliged to be carried to the tribunal. The governor asked him who was the God of the Christians. To this ques- tion the aged bishop replied : if you were worthy, you should know. Immediately the blows of the by-standers felled him to the ground: and being drawn, half dead, from the hands of the infuriated multitude, he was thrown into prison, where he expired two days after. The other martyrs were then tortured with the refinements of the most wanton cruelty : and Blandina, having been long tormented, and borne her sufferings with a heroism for which the pagans could find no parallel, was at last burned: and her ashes, with those of for- ty-eight others, were cast into the Rhone. The remains of the amphitheatre in which they were martyred, are still to be seen on Mount Forviere, which derives its name from the latin words Forum Vetus. The ancient city of Lyons was built on this mountain, and the Christians who suffered on this occasion VOL. I. — 17 258 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. were called the martyrs of Aisnay. Towards the year 120 St. Irenaeus succeeded St. Po- thinus, in the see of Lyons. (1) He was born in Asia, and placed by his parents, under the direction of St. Polycarp. He likewise re- ceived lessons from Papias, a holy and cele- brated teacher, though one of the principal authors of the Millenian system. Irenaeus made a deep study of the profane writers, in order to combat the pagans with their own weapons ; or to confound the here- tics, who were constantly appealing to the works of the philosophers. Though worthy, on account of the sweetness of his disposition, of the epithet " pacific ;" which the word Irenaeus implies ; he made the enemies of the faith tremble by his words and works. Never was there a juncture in which a pastor stood more in need of talents and virtue. The storm which had spread de- vastation through the church he was appoint- ed to govern, was only slumbering ; it soon broke forth with increased fury. (1) Euseb. 5 hist. 8. Hier. ep. 84 ad Mag. et de scrip. Eccl. in Iren. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 259 Two young men, Epipodius and Alexander, were its first victims. In their boy-hood, they had contracted an intimate friendship, which the striking resemblance of their vntues ce- mented and increased. They were arrested together, continued firm under their torments, and received, on the same day, the palm of martyrdom. S. Marcellus and Valerian suffered about the same time, and in the same place ; S. Seve- rinus, S. Exuperius, and S. Felician, at Vienna. But no martyrdom reflected more honour on the church, than that of a young man named Symphorian. He was descended from an illustrious Christian family ; and had re- ceived an education suitable to the nobility of his birth. His fellow citizens had assembled to celebrate the feast of Cybele ; for which im- pious worship, he openly testified his marked aversion. He was instantly carried before Heraclius, who held the office of judge. He- raclius asked if he were a Christian ; and when he boldly confessed the faith, the judge demand- ded why he had dared to express his disrespect for the mother of the gods ? I have already '260 HISTORY OF THE CHtlRCH. told you, answered Syrnphorian, I am a Chris- tian, and adore but one true and living God, who reigns in heaven : as to the idol of Cy- bele, I would trample it in the dust. Herac- lius being informed that he was a Roman ci- tizen, ordered the decree of the emperor to be read. It was as follows ; " The empe* ror Aurelius to all his officers and governors : we have learned that the laws are despised by those who are called Christians. Let such persons be arrested ; and if they persist in their impiety, let them be put to death." The judge then said, what do you think of this, Sym- phorian ? If you do not submit to the orders of the emperor, your disobedience to him, and the immortal gods, can be atoned for, only by your blood. The martyr replied, that he should never consider the idols in any other light, than as instruments used by Satan for the perdition of souls. Heraclius instantly commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and then remanded to prison. Two days after he was brought out of his dungeon, and despis- ing every offer and every bribe held out to him by the judge, he was condemned to die HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 261 by the sword. Symphorian heard the sen- tence with the hvehest joy. As he passed out of the town to the place of execution, his mo- ther standing on the walls of the city, cried out to him : " My son, Symphorian, remem- ber the living God. Look up to heaven where God, who reigns for ever, waits for you." He suffered with courage ; tlic faithful interred his body near a fountain, out of the common field of execution. His tomb became famous for miracles, and Euphonius, who, about the middle of the 5th century, became bishop of Autun, built over it a church, which he dedi- cated to God, under the patronage of the martyr. St. Benignus, another disciple of St. Poly- carp, who carried the faith into the West, to- gether with Andochius, a priest, and Thyrses,a deacon, passed some years at Autun. — Both he and his fellow labourers terminated their apostolic career by a cruel and lingering martyrdom. An almost countless multitude of other martyrs fertilized that country with their blood, and imparted to its soil that spiritual fecundity which has since given birth to so many illustrious men. 262 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. The eflfoi ts of the heretics asjainst the true rehirion, were still more fatal than the most bloody persecution. A set of Gnostics, head- ed by Blastus and Florinus, disciples of Val- entinian, carried their errors into Gaul. (1) St. Ireneeus exerted all his zeal, and all his talents, to oppose their progress. He com- posed two excellent treatises against Florin- us. The object of the first was to prove a unity of principle ; or that God was not the author of sin. The second was against the system of spiritual or aetherial being, invented by Valentinian. (2) This celebrated father published many other works, which have not come down to us ; and of the former, only a few fragments are remaining. His work against heresies is extant only in a transla- tion : but, though it must lose much of its ori- ginal merit, it is nevertheless an invaluable treasure. It opens with a review of the vi- sionary systems of Valentinian. Having laid down a profession of faith, in all its purity, such as was received from the (1) Euseb. 5. hist. 14. Theodor. haer. fab. lib. 1. (2)Euseb. cap. 19, HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 268 immediate discijiles of the Saviour ; the sym- bol or creed drawn up by the apostles, and believed by all the Christian churches of the w^orld ; he contrasts in a luminous manner, the uniformity of this faith, with the innumera- ble variations of the doctrines of all heretics, from Simon Magus down with Valentinian. Of all the heresies which he enumerates in the course of the work, he subjoins a refuta- tion : shews the source from which error most commonly springs ; and proves, from experi- ence, that heresy is generally the offspring of corrupt morals : he speaks of the regular suc- cession of bishops ; and dwells particularly on the prerogatives of the see of Rome ; with which he says, on account of its pre-eminence, and supremacy, the faithful, of every country, should be strictly united. Here he enumerates all the popes who had presided over that first and greatest of all sees. S. Peter, S. Linus, S. Cletus, S. Clement, S. Anacletus, S. Evaristus, S. Alexander 1, S. Sixtus 1, S. Telesphorus, S. Hyginus, S. Pius 1, S. iVnicetus, S. So- ter, and S. Eleutherius, who then filled the apostolical chair. He proves, by a series of 264 HISTORY or THE CHURCH. conclusive arguments, the unity of God, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. In fine, he establishes lucidly, the different tenets of our faith : such as original sin, free will, and the real presence of Jesus Christ in the eucharist. The belief of the real presence is so clearly and distinctly shewn by him, that he considers it as a point altogether incontest- able : and resting on this, which even his ad- versaries were obliged to admit, he confounds, with more facility the errors contrary to the other dogmas of faith. " How, says the holy doctor, will they be convinced that the eucha- ristic bread is the body of oar Lord, and the chalice his blood, if they confess^ him not to be the son of the Eternal. And against the Mar- cionites he says : " If the Saviour be not the son of the Almighty, how could he have de- clared that the bread was his body, and that the wine of the chalice was changed into his blood. All the other fundamental truths of re- ligion, attacked in that, as well as in succeed- ing ages, are established with equal learning and precision in five books ; which prove the HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 265 uniformity of the Catholic faith in every age. With so many precious testimonies are, howev- er, commingled some errors, flowing from re- mote principles, on which the church had not yet decided. He imagined, with the Milleni- ans, that after the first resurrection, the souls of the just were to reign a thousand years on earth with Jesus Christ : the same zeal which urged him to combat and refute the allegori- cal explanations given to certain parts of scripture by heretics, led him into the oppo- site extreme ; and induced him to interpret too literally, those texts, which relate to the glory of the church, and the happiness of the saints in heaven. The emperor Marcus Aur^lius survived the martyrs of Lyons, only two years. The de- cline of his life was saddened by the inhuman disposition of his son Commodus, which now began to develope itself: and the inde- cent joy which that unnatural prince testified at the death of his father, seems to justify the suspicion of his having poisoned him. Aurelius died in the 59th year of his age, and the 19th of his reign, A. D. 182, Commo- 266 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. dus, though otherwise a second Nero, was fa- vourable to the Christians. (1) A Courtezan by the name of Marcia, was the instrument which Providence made use of, to procure peace for the Christians, under a tyrant, who had spilled so much blood. This woman, notwithstanding the lewdness of her charac- ter, had a singular respect for Christianity, and swayed, at will, the heart of Commodus. Though the tempest darkened round them, the faithful daily multiplied. Not only the com- mon people were converted ; the most illus- trious Romans were no longer ashamed of a crucified God. The senator Apollonius rendered heroic tes- timony to the cause of truth in the Roman senate. (2) One of his slaves had accused him of being a Christian : and though the slave was put to death in virtue of the decree, passed by the emperor M. Aurelius, Pereni- us, the prefect of the city, judged it expedi- ent that the case should be referred to the de- cision of the senate. The illustrious defend- (1) That he not only tolerated the Christians, but enforced the laws against their accusers, we learn from Euseb. lib. ^ cap. 21. (2) Hier. de script. Eccles. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 267 aut was permitted to plead his own cause. He composed a beautiful apology, not only to make profession of, but to vindicate, the Chris- tian faith. This apology he pronounced in pre- sence of the assembled senators. As he could not be prevailed upon to abjure or disguise his sentiments, the senate by a solemn decree, con- demned him to loose his head. The sentence was executed in the eighth year of the reign of Commodus. Another senator, by name, Ju- lius, suffered under the same emperor. Du- ring this reign, Lucius, king of Great Britain, sent two deputies to Pope Eleutherius for missionaries. The Pope despatched Dumi- anus and Fugatius, by whom Lucius and his queen were baptized. At this period also, flourished St. Theophilus bishop of Alexan- dria, author of several works, highly esteem- ed for their erudition and elegance. Besides the treatise addressed to Autolycus, the only one now extant, he composed commentaries on the four principal prophets, and the four gospels, with a refutation of the errors of Mar- cion and Hermogenes. Autolycus was a (1) Gild, de vict. Aurel. 268 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. learned pagan : and much prejudiced again^ the Christian rehgion. Theophilus, who had also been a pagan, wished to instruct, or silence him by this work. He divided it into three books ; which shew the follies of idolatry, while they establish the existence, providence, and infinite perfection, of the true God. " When, he says, we behold a vessel sailing on the ocean or entering into port, we do not doubt that it is guided by a pilot, though we cannot discern him : so should we believe, that a superior and infinitely wise being pre- sides over the affairs, and regulates the desti- nies, of the universe, although this first mo- ver is invisible to mortal sight. All believe there is an emperor, though many do not see him ; for his laws, his officers, and his images, make him known : and you refuse to believe in a God, announced by his works and by the splendid and multiplied effects of his power ! You are unwilling to believe what you cannot see : but does not every man rest satisfied in such belief, in the most important concerns of life ? What would the husbandman reap if he did not blindly commit his grain to the History of the church. 269 earth ? How could men cross the seas, with- out trusting to a pilot ? How could despe- rate maladies be cured, did not the patient subject himself to the skill of the physician ? What art, what science could be learned, if we did not begin with believing him who teaches us ? In the second book, S.Tlieophilus relates, and defends the history of the creation given by Moses. As a living monument of the primi- tive and universal practice, he observes that all nations counted the week after the manner of the Jews : although this cycle of seven days was not founded on the revolution of any of the planets. In the same book, speaking of the nature of the divine persons, he makes use of the word Trinity ; to mark the distinction of the three adorable persons. His third book eloquently and forcibly re- futes the calumnies circulated by the idola- ters, against the Christians. In the wide field opened by this subject, Theophilus takes the noblest flights; and proves triumphantly, that the prophets and apostles of Christianity were superior to the superstitious mytholo- 270 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. gists of paganism. He ended liis career in peace under the emperor Commodus. The emperor perished by the hands of the cele- brated Marcia, and some other accompHces, whose death he had meditated. Pertinax, a venerable old man, was raised to the throne : and was murdered three months after, by the Praetorian soldiers, whose licentious manners he had attempted to reform. After this outrage, they published that the empire was offered to the highest bidder : and the supreme power was actually purchased by Didius Julian, whose title was confirmed in the camp, contrary to the will of the peo- ple, and senate. He soon lost the dominion which he had so unworthily acquired. The soldiers themselves, disgusted with his avarice, proclaimed Severus, emperor: and Didius was accordingly put to death, by order of the se- nate : the promotion of Severus was disputed by two competitors for the empire : after a long civil war^ he entered the capital in tri- umph. Severus, in the commencement of his reign, was favourable to the Christians: (1) they (l)Tertull. ad Scap. cap. 4. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 271 had taken no share in the divisions which con- vulsed the empire : and he himself often be- came their advocate with the mutinous peo- ple. Victor, who had succeeded St: Eleutherius, was, at this period, sitting in the tihair of Peter. His pontificate, which commenced in the year 194, was distinguished by many iUustrious and holy men: Serapion bishop of Antioch, acquired the highest celebrity by his writings ; espe- cially by a treatise against a gospel falsely at- tributed to St. Peter, by the Docitae. (1) These heretics taught that Christ's body was fantastic : and that the mystery of the incarnation |iad taken place only in appear- ance. Their gospel contained nothing that was not conformable to the morality of the Redeemer : but what principally ex- cited the zeal of Serapion to condemn it, was its not having been transmitted by a le- gitimate tradition, or by the general and con- stant approbation of the Christian churches. To St. Pantaenus, a native of Sicily, was confided the government of the famous acade- (1) Euseb. in chron. 272 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. my of Christian learning, established in the time of St. Mark, in the chmch of Alexan- dria. His zeal was equal to his erudition : and by following the example of the apostles, and propagating the gospel through Asia, he acquired the title of " Evangelist." — It is said, that in India, St. Pantsenus found the gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, which the apostle St. Bartholomew had carried to that country. (1) He revived the faith of the Christians, and converted many infidels. His school was conducted, in his absence, by St. Clement ; a man distinguished among the nu- merous illustrious scholars whom he had formed. (2) Some of Clement's works are still extant : in which, though otherwise held in the highest estimation, it is to be regretted that he made too much use of the philosophy of his times ; to the study of which, he had in his youth (3) been devoted. The same erro- neous taste he kept up in the Alexandrian school, into which it had been introduced be- fore him ; and which caused too many of (1) Euseb. 5. hist. 10. (2) Idem. 6. hist. 3. (3) Vid. Bar. ad ann. 196. i. et. ii. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 273 the most estimable and enlightened members, to deviate from the simplicity of the Christian faith. Among the miiny other great men who edified the church at this period, was St. Nar- cissus, bishop of Jerusalem. Some vicious men whom this zealous father attempted to reclaim from their disorders, conspired together, and accused him of a shameful sin. Three of these impostors confirmed their calumny by oaths, and terrible imprecations against them- selves. The first wished that fire might con- sume him ; the second devoted himself to a distemper of the most shocking nature ; and the third to the loss of his sight, if they did not speak the truth. Narcissus, exhausted under the burden of his episcopal duties, had * sighed during many years after the sweets of solitude : and profited by this opportunity to conceal himself from his flock. He passed, a long time, in unknown retreats, and left to Providence the vindication of his character. He was soon revenged, in a manner which he himself was far from wishing. The three per- jured accusers experienced the evils which they had invoked upon themselves. The first VOL. I— 18 274 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. was consumed with his whole family in his own house. The second, covered from head to foot with ulcers, was devoured by vermin. The third, terrified by the fate of the two others, repented, wept for his crime, and lost his sight. (1) These exemplary punishments served not so much to prove the innocence of Narcissus, of which no doubt was entertained, as to aug- ment the grief of his flock for his absence ; nor could they be prevailed upon, 'till after the most urgent solicitations of the neighbouring bishops, to submit to the administration of any other prelate. Towards the end of his life, Narcissus re-appeared in Jerusalem : the public affection was as ardent as ever : and notwithstanding his great age and infirmities, he was compelled to resume his former see. He consented, on condition that Alexander, a pious bishop of Cappadocia should be appoint- ed to share with him the duties of his diocess. His condition was immediately complied with: and this is the first instance, in record, of a co- (1) This fact is recorded by the gravest authors : even Baronius relates it, and gives for his authority Eusebius P hist. 8. 9. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 275 adjutor bishop, as well as of the translation of a prelate from one see to another. St. Narcis- vSus presided with Theophiliis, bishop of Csesa- rea, at the council held in that city, on the subject of the paschal celebration. This famous question had already been agi- tated under the pontificate of Anicetus ; and had assumed so serious an aspect as to draw St. Polycarp from Antioch to Rome. The Roman church and many others, from time immemorial, had celebrated the feast of East- er on the first Sunday after the fourteenth day of the new moon, in the month of March. The churches of Asia Minor on the contrary, on the fourteenth day of the same moon, on what ever day it should happen to fall. S. Amce- tus observed the former, S. Polycarp the lat- ter, usage : and though they could not bring themselves to agree on this subject, their union in every other respect, was preserved. (1) And it must be remembered, that the question as yet, was a free one ; as the dis- pute was carried on by Catholics alone. But under the pontificate of St. Victor, this diflfer- (1) Ex. ap. Euseb. 5. hist. 23. ^- ■iftf" 276 HISTORY OF the church. ence of discipline began to assume the fea- tures of schism and heresy. The Montanists began to teach that the paschal festival could not l)c celebrated on any other than the fourteenth day of the moon, because their pa- raclete had so commanded it. Blastus, a Ro- man priest, had formed a schism in favour of the Montanists, and seduced a great number of persons. The pope, persuaded that there was no longer any room for indulgence, re- solved to have recourse to rigourous measures ; and assembled a council at Rome ; and ano- ther at Csesarea; as we are informed (1) by venerable Bede, or rather by a fragment of that council cited in his works. Theophilus, bishop of that place, and the holy bishop of Je- rusalem presided. The authority of those councils regulated the discipline, in Pontus, in Achaia, and in Gaul. The bishops of Asia, (2) with Polycrates of Ephesus at their head, refused to submit to the decree of the council. Polycrates, in a letter addressed to St. Victor, evinced a deter- mination not to yield. He defended the tra- (1) Cone. Pal. circ an. 195. (2) Eus. hist. c. 23 et 29. HISTORY OF TIIK CHURCH. 277 dition of his church, which he traced up to St. Polycarp, and even to St. John the evangehst. He then continues: "I who have spent sixty-five years, in the service of the Lord ; who have been united in communion with the brethren, spread through the whole world, and who have profoundly studied the holy scriptures, am not to be dismayed by menaces : For they who were greater than we are, have said, " we must obey God rather than men." Were I to add a catalogue of the bishops, which, in pursuance to your request I convened, you would be astonished at their numbers ; and all have given their approbation to the letter addressed to you. For although they are aware of my being otherwise so contemptible, they also know that I carry not these grey hairs in vain. And that I have lived accord- ing to the model of Jesus Christ." (1) This pompous declaration could not fail to be ill received by the pope, who answered it with the severity he thought it deserved : for it looked like something more than mere at- tachment to an ancient custom. He refused (1) Ex. ap. Euseb. 5. hist. 23. 278 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. thenceforth, to commiinicate with the disobe»r dient Asiatics : and was about to cut them off from the communion of the church, when re- clamations were sent to him by several bi- shops, who, though their opinions coincided with his, disapproved of his punishing with such extreme severity, an attachment to a usage, rendered venerable by time. The holy and learned bishop of Lyons, St, Irenaeus, wrote with most warmth, on this oc- casion : that he was actuated by no other mo- tive than that of peace and union, cannot be doubted. (1) In his letter he observes that his colleagues themselves could not approve of his excommunicating whole churches, for a custom, which they had received from their predecessors in the faith : that the pontiffs Anicetus, Pius I., Telesphorus, and Sixtus, of blessed memory, had not on that account, broken the bond of union with the Asiatic bishops : that disputes would never end, if he pretended to reduce private usages to uniform- ity : that the pontiff himself had sanctioned certain practices with regard to fasting in the (I) Ibid. cap. 25. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 279 Gallic, which were not followed in the Ro- man, church. It appears, that pope Victor felt and submitted to the cogency of these rea~ sons ; he was martyred soon after, in the year 208 : Zephyrinus succeeded him ; and each church retained for a time its ancient customs. During the civil wars, and for some time af- ter them, Severus allowed the free exercise of their religion to the Christians : but when he saw himself in quiet possession of his throne, he forgot their former services, and published the most sanguinary edicts : (1) for- bidding them to hold their religious meetings or to profess the name of Christ. For so sud- den a chancre no cause can be assisfued : un- less we suppose that he was alarmed for the safety of the state, by the rapid decline of idol- atry ; for nearly half the empire was already converted to Christianity. The pagan philo- sophers and priests, who had no idea of the supernatural effects of grace, believed and per- suaded the emperor, that the Christians had an infallible charm, by which they lured over whomsoever they pleased to their religion. (1) Tert. apol. cap. 26. et ad Scap. cap. 2. 280 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Whatever might have been the cause, it is certain, that a most violent persecution broke out in the tenth year of his reign ; and raged with so nuich fury, that the faithful began to fear that the time of Antichrist had arrived., (1) It commenced in Egypt, and soon extend- ed itself to the other provinces. The cele- brated school of Alexandria furnished many distinguished martyrs: among whom were some from Egypt, Thebais, and the remot- est parts of Africa. Clement, the head of that school, following the injunction of the gospel, had fled from the fury of the persecution to Cappadocia : where he devoted his time and zeal in instructing the ignorant, and re- lieving the wants of the church, whose bishop was imprisoned for the faith. Leonides, Origen's father, was arrested at Alexandria, and crowned Avith martyrdom. (2) This holy man had discharged, with fideli- ty, all the duties of his station in life : and par- ticularly that of attending to -tjie education of his son. He appeared to have a presenti- ment of the wonders to be effected by that (1) Spondan. ad ann. 204. 1. (2) Euseb. hist. 6.#e{c. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 281 *' child of benediction ;" and often kissed, with rehgious respect, his bosom, destined to be the temple of tlie Holy Ghost. The youthful Origen would have surren- dered himself to the persecutors before the sacrifice of his father, had he not been pre- vented by his friends : but not being able to visit his father in prison, he wrote him a let- ter, which breathes the most refined senti- ments of religion ; conjuring him to think on- ly of the crown that awaited him in heaven.(l) Care not for us, said the generous youth, (meaning his brothers,) God will take care of us : we are too happy in having a martyr for our father. Leonides was beheaded ; his property confiscated ; and his family reduced to extreme indigence. Origen found a tem- porary asylum in the house of a rich lady. But to free himself from a precarious depend- ancy upon others, he opened a grammar school: (2) his talents and learning soon shone forth with great lustre ; and, in a short time, he was promoted to the catechetical school of Alexandria. His disinterestedness, (1) Euseb. iv, 1 and 2. (2) Idem. 6. hist. 3. 282 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. his genius, and the charms of his conversa- tion, attracted round him a crowd of admirers, pagan as well as Christian : of whom many be- came illustrious saints : and some shed their blood for the faith, in the persecution, then raging. A young and beautiful female slave, by name Potamisena, was one of the most illustrious martyrs of Alexandria. Her master, not suc- ceeding either by threats or promises to se- duce her virtue, accused her of being a Chris- tian. The pagan magistrate blushed not to persuade the virtuous female, to yield to her master's desires : Potamiaena disdained his persuasions : he threatened to plunge her alive into a caldron of pitch : plunge me, she replied, into the caldron, and see if the God whom I adore will not triumph over all the in- ventions of your cruelty. She was taken, at her w ord ; and immerged so gradually in the boiling pitch, that her torments lasted three hours. Her mother Marcella, was also burned to death. (1) (l)Ap. Siir. 14 Deo. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 288 The soldier Basilides one of Potamitena's gnards, treated the holy virgin with respect, and defended her from the insults of the populace. She promised to intercede for him with the King of heaven. Scarcely had she expired, when Basilides confessed the name of Jesus Christ, and, after a few days of imprisonment, during which he was favour- ed with a vision of his holy advocate, he re- ceived baptism and was beheaded. Many others were converted in the same manner ; and by a similar death obtained the palm of martyrdom. , The persecution was no less violent, in the other parts of Africa. It had commenced two years previously to the edict, by the cruel dispo- sition of Vitellius Saturninus, the proconsul ; the first that drew the sword in that pro- vince. (1) The first victims of his cruelty were apprehended and sent, to the number of twelve, of both sexes, toCarthage, where they were put to death. Their acts are extant and well au- thenticated : they inform us that when sum- moned before the tribunal of Saturninus, they (IjVid. Spondan.201.i. 284 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. severally (xint'cssed the religion of tlie Son of God : and having- generously despised the promises and threats of the pagan magistrate, they were led to the place of execution ; and after returning thanks to Jesus Christ, they were decapitated. Their names, as extract- ed from the pagan register, and preserved by the pious authors of the acts of their martyr- dom, were as follows : Speratus, Narzal, Cit- tinus, Veturius, Felix, Acillynus, Lsetantius, Januaria, Generosa, Vestina, Donatus, and Secundus. Tertullian celebrates their praises with enthusiasm ; they have been particular- ly venerated in Africa ; and honoured by the whole Christian church. Six others, four young men, by name Re- vocatus, Saturninus, Satur, and Secundulus, and two females in the flower of their youth, whose names were Perpetua and Felicitas, were denounced as Christians in the same city. Of the women, the former was of noble birth ; and had an infant at her breast : the latter was at the time she was arrested, far advanced in pregnancy. The inhuman ty- rant equally insensible to the respect due to HISTORY OP TFIE CHURCH. 285 their sex, and the dehcacy of tJieir situation, condemned them to be exposed to wild beasts, in the amphitheatre, for the amusemeut of the populace. They were kept in close con- finement, until the day appointed for their execution. In the meantime, they earnestly joined in prayer, that Feiicitas might be brought to bed, before the day of combat. As the law forbade women in her condition, to be put to death. (1) Their prayers were heard ; (2) she was safely delivered of a daughter, whom she placed in the hands of a Christian nurse. Perpetua had more than one conflict to un- dergo ; she had the tender feelings of a mo- ther to sacrifice : she had to contend with al- ternate grief and anger : the prayers ^nd re- proaches of a pagan father : she had conti- nually before her mind tlie terror of l)eing mangled and devoured by ferocious beasts ; but from the midst of earthly tribulations, she (1) This law was not peculiar to Rome: it was common to the Egyptians: and from them was transmitted to the Greeks, as Plutarch testifies. De serv. num. vind. (2) Of this Bode and Ado make mention. Vide. Spond. p. 175. V. 28G HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. looked up to heaven and was comforted. God, who from that moment became the sole object of her hope and her love, held forth the crown to his servant, and strengthened her by his special graces. The day was now at hand ; the jailor summoned the martyrs to appear : they joyfully advanced to the tribu- nal, as to a place of triumph, to hear the final sentence. At that moment, the father of Per- petua, piercing through the crowd, with her infant in his arms, fell round his daughter's neck exclaiming : " My daughter, have pity on this hoary head : have pity on your father, if you have ever found him worthy of that name. If I have reared you with so much care and tenderness, and loved you more than all my other children, do not expose me to public shame ! Or if you have no regard for me, think at least of your afflicted relations : your mother ; your aunt ; your little babe, al- ready languishing for want of a mother's care. As he spoke these last words, says Perpetua, who herself relates the affecting tale, he caught hold of both my hands, kissed them, and bathed them, with his tears. He then HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 287 threw himself at my feet, and pierced my heart with the most tender cries. I felt the more compassion for him, as he was the only one of our family that continued so strangely blind to the truth. Without suffering my re- solution to be shaken by his tears, I gave him the most expressive marks of affection, and ended by telling him that our lives were not at our disposal ; and that God, to whom every thing was subject, would accomplish his holy will." Her father then retired inconsolable. The judge, continues Perpetua, advised me to reverence the grey hairs of my father, and to pity the tender age, and the innocence of my son. Be not insensible he said, to the cries of your unhappy infant, and to the tears of your afflicted father. What will it cost you to throw a few grains of incense on the fire, in honour of the gods and for the safety of our emperor. Never, I replied ; no human inducement shall ever separate me froni the Lord, and the society of the saints. You are a Christian then, he rejoined. Yes, I again replied, I am. My companions made the same confession: and we were all condemned to be devoured 288 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. by wild beasts. St. Perpetua tlien relates two visions, which animated her to consum- mate her sacrifice with courage. (1) The martyr Satur, likewise mentions in his own acts, the history of a vision with which he him- self was favoured. The day of combat at length arrived : and the martyrs, with the exception of Secundu- his, who had died in prison, went joyfully from their dungeon to the amphitheatre. When they reached the gate, the sentinels offered them superstitious dresses : to the men a red mantle usually worn by the priests of Saturn : to the women, a white fillet sacred to Ceres, to be tied round their heads : they scornfully rejected these trappings of idolatry ; and the tribune permitted tiiem to [)ass on in their common dress. Difierent kinds of wild ani- mals were let loose uj)on the men. Perpetua and Felicitas were at first stripped of all their clothes, but the peopte cried out to have them covered. They were then shut up in a net and thrown to be lacerated by a wild cow. (1) Tertiill de anima S. S. S. Aug. de anim. 18. et lib. 8. c. 9. Id. de temp. barb. c. 10. c. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 289 From this animal, they received no mortal in- jury ; but they sunk under the repeated wounds inflicted by the inexperienced gladia- tors. The pains which she suffered on this occasion caused some agitation in the delicate Perpetua, but she soon resumed her wonted tranquillity,and showing the executioner where to strike, she received the final blow and crown- ed her heroic sufferings by a glorious death. In Gaul the persecution raged with peculiar fury. Severus, perceiving that the number of Christians had increased, in such a manner, at Lyons, as to threaten the destruction of idolatry in that city, ordered some of his troops to surround the town, while the rest broke in- to the houses, and massacred, indiscriminate- ly, all that professed the Christian faith. The streets were deluged with blood: for according to an inscription on an ancient monument still extant, nineteen hundred, exclusive of women and children, perished on this occasion. The venerable bishop, Irenaeus, (1) was brought be- fore the tyrant, who condemned him to death, and boasted that he had, at once, despatched (1) Euseb. 5. 20. VOL. I, — IP 290 HISTORY or THE CHURCH* the shepherd and the flock. (1) A holy priest named Zacharias, who escaped the general carnage, administered the rights of sepnhnre to the body of the martyr, and succeeded hiiii in the episcopal see of Lyons. In the capital of the empire, the Christians suifered much, from the avarice and impiety of Plautian. This man, by birth a plebian, but immensely rich, (2) had married his daugh- ter to the son of Severus. The emperor, hav- ing marched into the East on an expedition against the Parthians, appointed Plautian ad- ministrator of affairs, during his absence. Raised to such an elevation, he soon forgot the meanness of his birth: and resolved to im- prove the auspicious opportunity of aggrandiz- ing his fortune by rapine, violence, and confis- cation ; on the ground that the Christians rendered not due honour to the emperor. He condemned as many as were unable, or un- willing to redeem their lives by money, to suf- fer a cruel death. The ancient calumnies, so often, and so forcibly refuted, were now reviv- ed : and to bear the name of Christian was (1) Martyr. Rom. 21 Jul. (2) Dio in Sever. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 291 made a capital crime. Of the faithful, some were fastened to crosses : others were thrown as food to wild beasts. To be condemned to servitude or to the mines, was considered as an act of clemency. Rome streamed with blood ; the ordinary executioners were una- ble to dispatch the accumulated victims : old age received no indulgence, and the modest virgin was condemned to public prostitution. When the cause of Christianity was thus at- tacked by calumny and persecution, the Al- mighty, in his mercy, raised up a powerful advocattc in he person of Tertullian, a priest of Carthage. (1) He was born a pagan: and before his conversion to Christianity, as he himself in- forms us, indulged in the vices and disorders to which the African youths were addicted. He was deeply skilled in Grecian literature, and jurisprudence : audit is also observable in his writings, how carefully he had studied the works of St. Justin, and St. Irenaeus. The most celebrated of his writings is his Apolo- getic. He begins it, by complaining that the Christians were condemned to the severest (1) Ther. de scrip, eccles. in Tertull. 292 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. torments, without being permitted to speak in their own defence ; a privilege granted to the most criminal malefactors. To vindicate them for not adoring the gods of the empire, he exposes the base origin of the pagan dei- ties; the absurdity of their worship; the inde- cency of their ceremonies ; and, in a flow of brilliant eloquence, expatiates on the holy and sublime prerogatives of the Christian dispen- sation. The object of the Christian worship, says the learned apologist, is one only God, whose power, by a single word, created the universe out of nothing : whose wisdom has arranged it in its beautiful order, and whose providence preserves, and governs it, through all its parts. The earth, the sea, the planets, and the fir- mament announce the glory, the wisdom and the power of this Supreme Creator. He is the God, who, giving the most authentic testimo- ny of himself by word and work, has inspired the ancient prophets to foretel the mysteries of future times. The authenticity of their writings is unquestionable : and therefore ac- knowledged even by the Jews, our enemies. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 29S> The antiquity of these writings cannot be dis- puted : for Moses, the first of the inspired penmen, Hved long before there was any men- tion of Greek or Roman authors. The ve- racity of their writings is incontestable : for, the predictions, verified by events which no human mind could have foreseen, attests the divinity of the inspiration. One of these re- markable events, is the catastrophe which we have seen befall the Jewish nation, once the cherished people of the most high God. Their city is in ruins, and themselves, stripped of their national existence by the Romans, are driven, like herds of slaves from their native soil : they are immersed in deep, and lasting misery ; they wander through the world without laws, without protection, without an altar, and without sacrifice. The same divine ora- cles that foretold the dispersion of the Jews, indicate, at the same time, a more faithful race of believers, whom God had decreed to gather from all nations, and to give the inheritance of those blessings, which the Jewish nation had ungratefully rejected. These believers are the converted gentiles : who, obedient to 294 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the voice of the hving God, forsake their idols, and profess the faith of Jesus Christ, the foun- der of the Christian reUgion. The mention of Jesus Christ gives the eloquent apologist an opportunity of informing the heathen read- er of the nature of the Messiah : he speaks of his eternal existence, and his having assumed human flesh, in the womb of a virgin, as the prophet Isaiah had announced seven hundred years before the event took place. Jerusa- lem, says he, and all Judea witnessed the hu- manity of the Son of God; his divinity is in- vincibly proved by his miracles, and his resur- rection from the tomb. The account of all the circumstances of his death, addressed by Pon- tius Pilate to Tiberius, have been deposited in the Roman archives : and Tiberius would have professed his belief in the divinity, and religion of Jesus Christ, if that profession could have been reconciled with his temporal inte- rest. Having established the divine origin of Christianity, Tertullian refutes the slanders propagated by the idolaters against his Chris- tian brethren. He alleges the respectability HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 295 of their numbers in the city, in the towns, in the army, in the navy, and in the very senate of Rome. He solemnly appeals to the public: and defies them to prove a single criminal charge against the fidelity of the Christians to their lawful sovereign; their peaceful demean- or in society ; and the morality of their con- duct in private life. He then shews the in- justice of persecuting such men, merely on the ground of their religion. Such is an imperfect analysis of that long and beautiful apology ; superior to any thing that had appeared, on the same subject, during the two first centuries of the church. The violence of the tyrant relented soon after ; whether or not in consequence of the apology, it is impos- sible to determine: happy for the author had he persevered in the same principles, which he so strongly and eloquently enforced. (1) But with his talents and his virtues, Tertullian did not possess humility: his severe and morose disposition led him into a system of rigour, repugnant to the gospel : (2) and betrayed him into the errors of the Montanists : (8) he (1) Ap. Amb. in 1. Cor. 13. (2) Hier. de Script, eccles. in Tertull. (3) See Baron, ad ann. 201. iv. 296 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. maintained, with those heretics, that second marriages were unlawful : and that sinners, who had fallen into certain grievous faults should be denied the grace and privilege of penance. These errors had been condemn- ed by St. Zephyrinus : and the justness of the condemnation was universally admitted by the Christian bishops, in communion with the ho- ly see. Tertullian, unacquainted with the first virtue of the gospel, felt himself involved in the censure : roused to indignation by the charitable tenderness which they evinced in his behalf, he grew violent and refractory : and, in dark resentment, embraced the here- sy, which maintained the contrary opinion. He is thought to have died in his errors : a melancholy instance of the fatal effects of pride. The hand of God fell heavily on the perse- cutors of his church : Plautian, convicted of having aspired to the empire, and treacher- ously designed the murder of the emperor, was stabbed by Caracalla, son of the emperor Severus. (I) The emperor himself, having (1) Herod, lib. 3. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 297 undertaken an expedition into Britain ac- companied by his sons Caracalla and Geta, soon forced the Caledonians to sue for peace. Severus advanced, on horseback, between the two armies, and was preparing to ratify the conditions, when Caracalla, who was riding by his side, checking in his horse, drew and raised his sword to strike the emperor, his father. A cry of alarm was instantly rais- ed. The disconcerted parricide was unable to perpetrate his crime. In mournful silence, he returned his sword to the scabbard, while a look of embarrassment and confusion gave evidence of his guilt. The heart-broken Se- verus, dissembled his anguish, and preserved an appearance of tranquillity until evening. Having retired to bed, he called to his cham- ber his son, with the praetorian prefect, and presenting him a sword, " my son," he said, " if you are weary of a father's life, either pierce me yourself with this sword, or com- mand the prefect to give the fatal stroke. He perhaps will spare you the horror of the deed." Caracalla did neither: but the emperor after 298 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. lingering a few days, died of grief (1) at York. Caracalla and Geta being acknowledged emperors, by the army, manifested a mutual hatred for each other, even before they had arrived in Italy. On their return, Caracalla, affecting a wish to be reconciled to his brother, requested queen Julia to invite them both to her apartment. As soon as Geta entered, Caracalla, accompanied by a band of ruffians, rushed in, and slew him, in his mother's arms. Julia herself was wounded, and sprinkled with the blood of her murdered son. Such was the emperor, to whose mercy the Roman empire, and the defenceless Christians who already filled the provinces, were committed. But the blood of the martyrs was the seed of Christianity : and the church, supported by her divine spouse, came forth more bright and triumphant, from every persecution. (1) Herod, lib 4. CHAPTER IV. bmperors. Macrinus. Heliogabalus. Alexander. Maximinus. Maximus and Balbinus. GORDIAN. Philip. Decius. POPES. St. Zephybinus, continued. St. Callixtus. St. Urban. St. Pontian. St. Anterus. St. Fabian. From the fifth persecution, anno 211, to the JVovatlan schism. Anno 251. Under the pontificate of Zephyrinus, flourished Miniitius Fehx, a Roman counsel- lor. (1) That celebrated man was warmly at- tached to a certain Octavius, who, like him- self, had been converted from the errors of paganism. Before their conversion, they had been inseparable friends : during their child- hood they had been bosom confidants. After (1) Hier. de Script, Eccles. in Minut. 300 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. a long absence from each other, Octavius re- turned to Rome, wlien FeHx had least expectation of meeting him. This happened at that season, when gentlemen engaged in the pursuits of the bar, were accustomed to leave the city to unbend their minds, and re- pose from their forensic labours. Felix quit- ted Rome with Octavius, and another of his friends called Csecilius, who still adhered to paganism : they retired to Ostia. One day as they were musing together on the sea shore, Caecilius perceived an idol of Serapis, and immediately, in testimony of his adora- tion, applied his hand to his mouth. " Is it possible," exclaimed Octavius, addressing him- self to Minutius, " that so wise a man and en- lightened a scholar can remain benighted in error." He said no more : and they con- tinued their walk. Csecilius, from that moment, fell into a pro- found reverie, and appeared extremely deject- ed. Felix enquired the cause : he acknow- ledged that he had been struck by the lan- guage of Octavius. It was then proposed to investigate the important question of religion : HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 301 which being assented to, they sat down upon the banks of the sea, with Fehx in the mid- dle, as umpire. Caecihus spoke first; inveigh- ed, with the wonted prejudices of the times, against Christianity : Octavius never once in- terrupted the chain of his invective : but after he had conchided, refuted every imputation with equal mildness and force, and dilated with peculiar emphasis, on the maxims which the gospel inculcates. He supported his as- sertions with solid proofs ; to authority, he added the more convincing argument of ex- ample : and turned upon the pagan those very weapons, which he had attempted to wield against the truth. Minutius, whose duty it was to pronounce on the merits of the controversy, applauded the reasoning of Oc- tavius. Cascilius was defeated : and feeling the grace of God, " We have both triumphed, he suddenly cried : Octavius over me, and 1 over the spirit of error. I am a Christian ! This generous candour was crowned with perseverance. Csecilius became a zealous Christian, and was of signal service to the faith which he embraced. To his exertions 80^ HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the church is indcl)ted for the conversion of St. Cyprian. (1) Caius, a priest of the Roman church, at the same time, had a pubhc conference with Proclus, a celebrated advocate of Montanism : the fame of whose learning and wisdom con- tributed, in a great degree, to dazzle and se- duce the unfortunate Tertullian. Caius brou«:ht forward irrefutable testimonies against the errors of that sect: pope Ze- phyrinus did not any longer hesitate to ex- communicate them. A short time after, this pontiff died, having sat seventeen years : and was succeeded by Calixtus, who occupied the chair five years. Under his pontificate, flourished Julius Africanus, one of the most learned Christians of that age : (2) he was, if we credit Suidas, a native of Nicopolis, in Palestine. He com- posed a chronological work, of which the ob- ject was to prove the antiquity of the true re- (1) Vehemens me conjectura adducit, says Baronius, ut ex- istimem Caecilium ilium insignem eruditione virum Cypriani Carthageniensis magistrum a quo honoris causa Caecilii no- men accepit. (2) Euseb. in chron. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 303 liffion. He was the first clironoloo^ist that ever flourished in the Christian church. His celebrated work has not come down to us ; at least, under the name of its illustrious author. Julius likewise addressed a letter to Aristides, with the view to reconcile the apparent contradictions of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, by St. Matthew and St Luke. The writings of this great man were highly valued and esteemed by the ancient doctors : St. Jerome, in partfcular, panegyrizes them, as replenished with erudition ; adorned with philosophy ; and enlightened with the science of the sacred scriptures. Caracalla, by a violent death, lost the em- pire and his life, on the eighth of April, A. D. 219. Macrinus, one of the prsetorian pre- fects, dreading the caprice and cruelty of so lawless a master, resolved to cut him off. He jjained over a centurion to assassinate him. After two days of trouble and ferment, the au- thor of this crime succeeded in being proclaim- ed emperor. (1) But he abandoned himself to pleasure and drunkenness, and their insepa- (1) Lamprid. inDiadum. Capitol, in Macrin, 304 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. rable attendant, inactivity. Instead of pro- ceeding to Rome, he remained at Antiocli, buried in Asiatic voluptuousness, which made him contemptible in the eyes of the soldiery : and by an ill-timed severity, which he did not know how to enforce, he rendered himself universally detested. Msesa, a spirited and en- terprising woman, sister to the late empress, deemed this the proper moment to vindicate the death of her nephew Caracalla. Macri- nus, dreading her power, Banished her to Eme- sa, the place of her birth, whither she con- ducted one of her grandsons, a prince then but fourteen years of age ; but of a stature far superior to his years, and a person, which none could behold, without feeling a sympathy for his fate. The inhabitants of Emesa im- mediately created him pontiff of their temple, dedicated to the sun, under the name of Ela- gabalus, from which circumstance, the young prince derived the name of Heliogabalus. They invested him, not without some design, with a purple garment, embroidered with gold, and with a crown sparkling with pre- cious stones. His pontifical dignity threw a HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 305 colouring over their intentions. So great was the elegance with which he discharged his functions, and the luxury with which he ac- companied the bacchanal dances, that he ex- cited the admiration of the people, and won the applause of the soldiers. The latter aban- doned the camp, which was situated near the city of Emesa, to witness the magnificence of Heliogabalus : the opportunity of inspiring them with the idea of raising him to the throne, seemed favourable to his am- bitious grandmother : all were disgusted with Macrinus : and ready to sacrifice him to their caprice : being seconded by the prin- cipal oflicers, Maesa left tlie city about sun- set, and retired with all her family, to the camp. Heliogabalus was robed in the gar- ment which Caracalla had often worn. By the troops he was received with shouts of ac- clamation, and declared emperor on the spot. Msesa bestowed vast donatives from the trea- sures, amassed in the preceeding reigns ; the garrisons of the neighbouring cities ran to participate in the distribution : and the forces of Emesa became very strong, and able to con- voL. I. — 20 306 HISTORY or THE feHUilCH. tend, if necessary, for their new master. But far from making any opposition, the rest of the army deserted the cause of Macrinus; who was put to death, after a reign of fourteen monllis. It was soon perceived that the new emperor was more fit to act as the high priest of a vo- luptuous rehgion, than to wield the Roman sceptre. By his vices and superstition, he soon rendered himself more despicable than his predecessor : he removed from Emesa to Rome the flint which he pretended had fall- en from heaven : to this absurd deity he made the gods of the empire subservient : and erected to his honour a magnificent tem- ple on the Palatine mount. Cruelty, the predominant passion of his na- ture, soon began to make its a(»pearance. Maesa discovered it, and trembled : to avoid the consequences which she anticipated, she persuaded him to adopt Alexian, son of her daughter Mamaea. She succeeded : changed the name of Alexian into Alexander, and caused him to be created Caesar. But the emperor soon repented this measure. Alex- ander was adorned with dispositions which HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 307 could not but excite the jealousy of an unde- serving rival. Heliogabalus had recourse to various artifices to rid himself of Alexander, and at length ordered him to be assassinated a a year after he had been created Caesar. But the command was not executed : the emperor himself fell a victim to the resentment of the soldiery : they slew him after a reign of three years and nine months, and cast his body into the Tyber. On the same day, Alexander re- ceived the homage of the senate, soldiers and people. (1) He was then but fourteen years old. Mamaea, the emperor's mother, was a friend to the Christians. The young emperor himself was singularly struck with the evange- lical maxim which forbids us to treat another otherwise, than we would wish to be treated. (2) He ordered it to be engraven in frequented places, and in his palace : and when he felt himself obliged to inflict punishment, he caused the sentence to be announced by the public crier. He was scrupulously exact in choosing governors of provinces, and other im- portant officers. Born with virtuous ijiclina- (1) Lamprid. in Alex. (2) Idem. ibid. 308 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tions, he felt a natural propensity to venerate the power of the Deity : but had not the dis- cernment to distinguish the true science of religion from the vain observations of astrolo- gers and augurs. He had a private temple, fill- ed with the statues of virtuous emperors, and personages renowned for their piety : but he confounded together Abraham and Orpheus, Jesus Christ and Apollonius Tyanaeus. Ma- maea's idea of religion was (1) more enlighten- ed: it has been affirmed, that on hearing from Origen of the miracles of Jesus Christ and the maxims of the gospel, she became a Christian : it is certain, that she despatched from Anti- och, the seat of the court, a body of soldiers to Alexandria, to conduct Origen to her palace : and it is moreover certain, that the Roman court was never so favourably inclined towards the Christian religion as under the present reign. Origen, at this period, stood on the pin- nacle of fame. He was distinguished by eve- ry science, and adorned with every virtue. The number of prelates whom he had formed, and whom the discretion of the church had elevated to the highest distinctions, appeared (l)Eus. iv. 31. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 309 already incalculable. Of his disciples many had suffered martyrdom in the persecution of Severus. He experienced no greater conso- lation, than when he saw arrested for their re- ligion, those whom he had formed to know- ledge and virtue. He visited them in their chains ; assisted at their trials ; accompanied them to the places of execution ; encouraged them by his presence, and when necessary, by the most animated persuasion. In conse- sequence of his zeal, he was obliged to fly from the city of Alexandria ; wandered from pro- vince to province ; was several times appre- hended, and even put to the torture. His ideas of chastity he carried to such an extreme, that not content with preserving it from any thing that might sully its purity, he resolved to ensure himself against the dan- gers of concupiscence : he interpreted to the letter that passage of the holy scriptures which speaks of those who make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven; and, with, his own hands put the mystic counsel into ex- ecution. (1) The fact reached the ears of (1) Euseb. 6. hist. 7. 310 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Demetrius his bislioj), who rebuked him for his imprudence, hut hoped that the rectitude of his intentions would atone for tlie indiscre- tion of the deed. In the forty-fifth year of his age he was ordained priest in Palestine, by Theodistus of Csesarea, and Alexander of Je- rusalem. He conferred on the schools a celebrity, which before his days, they never had attain- ed. Blessed with universal talents, and skilled in every department of science, he taught the belles-lettres and philosophy, whilst he ex- plained the sacred writings : and attracted, by the charms of his eloquence, multitudes of in- fidels, whom he then had a favourable opportunity of disabusing of their prejudices against Christianity. So great was the con- course that attended his lectures, that unable to do them all equal justice, he was obhged to divide the honours and the labour, with his par- ticular friend Heraclas. To him, he intrust- ed the care of the whole school, when he re- tired from Alexandria: of which city Heraclas was afterwards created bishop. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 311 It was said, that there was not a good work to be done in the church, (at least in the oriental church) for which this celebrated doctor was not competent. Beryllus, bishop of Bostra, who, for some time, had governed his diocess with edification, and acquired a name by some learned productions, had fallen into heresy. He expressed his ideas on (1) the subject of the incarnation of the Word, in terms equally dangerous and novel ; over which however he threw a veil of obscurity : but the substance of his doctrine was, that Jesus Christ be- came God when he was born of the vir- gin : and that he was God only, inasmuch as the Father resided in his person. His system destroyed, at once, the Trinity of the God- head, and the Divinity of Christ. Many zealous prelates met in council to prevent the evil consequences, of which this scandalous doctrine might be productive : they reasoned with Beryllus, but could not bring him to a sense of his duty. Origen was called for: he judged it more prudent to have a private in- terview with the unfortunate t>ishop and sound (1) Eus. vi. 33 Id. 6. 14.26. 312 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. the depth of the wound, before applying a remedy. By this means he discovered, that it was not a controversy about expressions merely, hazarded witliout any vicious inten- tion ; but that the author really held and de- fended the erroneous doctrine, contained in his writings. Origen not only refuted the doc- trine, but seasoned his argument with so much temperance and charity, that he forced him to acknowledge the truth, and make an open recantation of his errors. A few years after, another council was convened in Arabia, against a set of heretics called Arabs, who held that the soul dies, and revives with the body. About the same time, also, and in the same country, appeared the Valesian heretics ; the followers of Valesius, an Arabian philosopher. (1) They considered the liberty of man, in- compatible with concupiscence. Notwithstanding the imprudence of his youthful fervour, Origen declared against these erroneous maxims, and opposed them with great success. But it was not only his pro- found learning that achieved such glorious (1) Epiph. haer. 58. Aug. de hcer. c. 37. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 313 conquests ; his mildness, modesty, and disin- terestedness were so fascinating, that it seem- ed next to impossible, not to yield to him, either in public or in private. He attained to a very advanced age, notwithstanding the frequent persecutions raised against him, and the formal edict of Decius, by which all who taught in the church, were made guilty of death. Among other works, he composed an in- finite number of learned letters, and more than a thousand sermons ; not through the vain mo- tive of displaying his talents, but at the solici- tation of his friends, and particularly of one by name Ambrose, who incessantly reminded him of the account which he one day should have to render to the Creator, of the talents which had been intrusted to him. It was not, however, till he had reached his seventieth year, that he consented to have his homilies or his discour- ses transcribed. Moved by the wants of the church, and afflicted at seeing the faith exposed by spurious translations of the scripture, he published an edition, in six columns, from which it took the name of Hexapla. (1) The first (1) Ephiph. de mensur. 314 HISTORY OF THE CHUIICU. column contained the Hebrew text, in He- brew characters, and the same text in Greek characters, for the benefit of those who could understand the Hebrew language without be- ing able to read it, with facility. For, the Greeks, extremely attached to their own lan- guage, seldom applied to any other" and Origen has been highly applauded for having, at least in his more advanced years, stu- died the Hebrew language, in order to explain the scriptures with more precision and facili- ty. It is, however, said, that his knowledge, in this tongue, was not profound. The third column of the Hexapla contained the version of Aquila, who forsook the errors of paganism, and became a Christian: but afterwards turn- ing a Jew, he translated the Bible with tlie in- tention of supplanting the Septuagint, and w eakening those passages which make men- tion of Jesus Christ. The fourth column con- tained the version of Symmachus, composed in the preceeding century. Born a Samaritan, Symmachus embraced Christianity, and then associated himself to the sect of Ebion. The fifth column contained the translation of the HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 315 Septuagint, made under Ptolomy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, more than two hundred and fifty years before the birth of Christ. The sixth contained the version of Theodotion, who from a disciple of the heretic Tatian, turned Marcionite, and then embraced Juda- ism. Though the work of an apostate, it was not without some merit ; and accorded much better with the Septuagint, than that of either Aquila or Symmachus. Origen considered the Septuagint the best of all translations : and only added the three others, the better to explain some obscure and mysterious passa- ges. (I) This indefatigable doctor, published, also, a book entitled the Octopla: which, besides those versions we have already mentioned, contained two others, by unknown authors. One of which was found at Jericho ; the other at Ni- copolis, near Actium in Epirus ; these, how- ever, were only partial translations of the holy book. The Octopla is still extant. (1) This work was not only esteemed, but followed, by S. Jerome, in his latin translation of the Septuagint. Hier. praef in pentateuch. Ep. 104 et 39. ad Aug. &c. &.c. 316 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. He wrote, also, against almost all heretics ; but especially the Marcionites and Valentini- ans. He answered the work of Celsus, a pagan philosopher, against the Christian religion : this answer has always gone under the title of the " Apology for Christianity ;" the best that antiquity ever produced, whether in re- gard to profane and sacred learning ; or ele- gance and chastity of diction; or arrange- ment and order of the subject ; or strength and power of argumentation. Such was the opinion which Eusebius formed of this ex- traordinary production, that he directed all who wished to acquire a sound and perfect knowledge of religion, to peruse the apo- logy of Origen. But none of his works can stand in compa- rison with his commentaries on the scripture. The gospel of St. Matthew alone, comprised twenty-five volumes : and it is to be remarked, that he is the first writer that ever engaged in that difficult career. But of his commen- taries or sermons, none in the original, and but few, translated into Latii^ by Ruflinus, have reached our days. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 817 The works of Origen are not without their faults : but the one in which he has erred most, is his treatise " on principles." His design in this work was to establish the prin- ciples to which man must adhere in matters of religion : and thus to give the death-blow to the heresies of Valentinus, Marcion, and other sectarians. But, led astray by the spe- cious maxim of Platonism, that the punish- ment inflicted by the Deity, was merely me- dicinal, he asserted that the damned would, one day, cease to be objects of the Divine vengeance, and be admitted to a participa- tion of the joys of heaven. This is the chief error of that extraordinary man : which, however, he advanced merely as an opinion ; without supporting it as a certain truth. To the doctrines of the church, he al- ways evinced an unqualified submission. One of the most illustrious disciples of Ori- gen was Gregory, surnamed Thaumaturgus, or the worker of prodigies. (1) He was born at Neocsesarea in Pontus, of a noble and wealthy family. At the age of fourteen he (1) Greg. Nyss. in vit. Greg. Thaumaturg. 318 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. lost his father. His mother watched, with spe- cial care, over his edncation : and used every means to facilitate his exertions in the study of literature and eloquence. Blessed with superior talents, he made rapid progress : and promised not to disappoint the hopes of an anxious parent. There was at Berytha in Phoenicia, a cele- brated school of Roman jurisprudence, to which Gregory was sent ; on his way thither he passed through Ca?sarea, where he had an opportunity of hearing the lectures of Origen. His quick and penetrating mind knew well how to appreciate the merit of so great a master. He was pleased with Ca^sarea : contracted an intimate friendship with the head of its school, and relinquished the idea of proceeding to Berytha. Origen, convinced of the excellent qualities of his new disciple, omitted nothing that could tend to form him. But his principal aim was to open his. eyes to the follies of paganism, and the beau- ties of the Christian religion. He expressed a longing desire to procure for him true and substantial happiness : and after gradually HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 31 D preparing the way, endeavonred to inculcate in his disciple the principles of true philoso- phy. He taught him logic, or the art of rea- soning solidly : natural sciences, or the study of the works of creation : geometry and astro- nomy which serve to elevate the ideas, and instruct the heart : and philosophy ; which teaches the mind to reflect on itself, subdue its passions, and reduce to practice the real and unsophisticated virtues which it recom- mends. After this he turned his attention to the study of theology, and the scripture : expounded all that the ancient poets and phi- losophers, both Greek and foreigners, had written on divine things : but carefully kept from his view those who taught direct athe- ism, by denying the existence of a Divinity and a providence. This is the method which Gregory (1) informs us was followed by his master. He gives us a glowing picture of the goodness of Origen's heart ; the purity of his style ; and the perfection of his mind, in the discourse delivered immediately after his bap- tism. For, as soon as he became acquainted (1) Greg, in Orig. 320 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. with the principles of Christianity, he did not hesitate to abandon the pagan system. Gre- gory's purity, even from his earliest infancy, was a subject of admiration : on this head, he enjoyed an unsulhed character, even before his conversion to Christianity. After the completion of his studies, he re- turned to Neocaesarea, where his family en- joyed great wealth, and occupied the highest stations. But the love of prayer and the stu- dy of the science of salvation, inspired him with a predilection for solitude : distributing all his wealth among the poor, he took the resolution of passing in holy obscurity the re- mainder of his life. His shining virtues could not, however, but attract the attention and admiration of the world : he was soon elevated to the episcopal dignity, notwithstanding all his exertions to escape from the honour, and the responsibility of such a promotion. (1) The faith continued to make rapid progress under the propitious reign of Alexander. The ceremonies of the church became every day more magnificent, and its doctrine more res- (1) Vid. Baron, ad. ann. "233. viii. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 321 pected. The faithful, however, did not ne- glect to stand prepared against the days of trial, which were soon to return. Pope Callixtus constructed, on the Appian way, a subterraneous cemetery which bears his name. There the faithful were buried : and there, in the ensuing persecution, they took refuge from the sword. (1) Even at this epoch, not- withstanding the benevolence of Alexander's disposition, the faithful did not enjoy entire security. The sovereign pontiff himself was apprehended ; thrust into prison ; bruised many days successively with cudgels ; and precipitated from a window into a well. He sat little less than four years, (2) and was suc- ceeded by St. Urban. Many other martyrs fell by the swords of intriguing politicians. These men, who were in high repute at this period, looked upon the Christian religion as a no- velty, incompatible with the laws of Rome. Ulpian, one of the most celebrated of them, published a treatise on the duty of proconsuls, (1 ) On the interesting subject of the catacombs or ceme- teries, see Baronius ad. ann. 226. iii. iv, (2) Martyr. Rom. et alia. voii. I. — 21 822 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. in which he collected all the opinions of for- mer princes respecting the Christians ; and attempted to prove that they were subject to the severest penalties. Raised to the dignity of prefect, or governor of Rome, he treated with extreme rigour the faithful, whom he conceived to be nothing better than malefac- tors. (I) He himself, however, fell a victim to the fury of the praetorian guards. The church was soon entirely deprived of the hopes held out by the moderation, and natural benevolence of the emperor Alexan- der. His zeal for public order and strict dis- cipline, notwithstanding the respect which it could not fail to command, imposed on the people a burden for which their degeneracy was unetjual. He had recently obtained a signal victory over the mighty Artaxerxes ; who had subjugated the Parthians, and re-es- tablished the Persian monarchy. He was now obliged to march to the extremity of the empire, against the Germans; who, having passed the Rhine, and the Danube, inundated and carried devastation through the pro- (1) Lactant. lib. 5. cap. 11. 12. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 323 vinces. Alexander had already reached the vicinity of Moguncia : and the barbarians had fled beyond the Rhine, when a tumult breaking out among the legions, he was massacred in the year 237, the fourteenth of his reign. Mamaea, who accompanied him in this expedition, was likewise put to death. This bold attempt seemed, at first, nothing more than a paroxysm of fury : but when it was discovered, that the chief conspirator was raised to the imperial throne, it assumed the appearance of a premeditated plot. This con- spirator was Maximinus : a man, whose cha- racter bore all the rough traits of the barba- rian ; none of the refinements of the Roman. He was born in Thrace : (1) his father was a Goth ; his mother an Albanian: both his man- ners and his figure plainly spoke his origin. His stature was gigantic. He was originally a herdsman ; then a common soldier : but his military prowess soon raised him to the high- est honours. When on the throne, his first study was to inspire his subjects with teriiror : (1) Capit. in Maxim. 324 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. he put to death four thousand men, without trial or distinction, of whom the greatest crime was, that they bewailed the death of the humane Alexander. The Christians had every reason to regret the fate of that benevo- lent prince ; and therefore incurred the odium of the imperial assassin. This was the cause of the sixth persecution. To them every ca- lamity and misfortune was attributed. The decree of Maximinus was particularly aimed against the bishops, whom he considered the supporters of Christianity. (1) The cities, the country, the fortifications and the camps, were crowded, according to Tertullian, with the fol- lowers of the Christian religion. They were at the bar ; in the palace of the Caesars ; every where, except in the temples of the pagan gods: and had they been put to death or exiled, the empire must have been left a wilderness ; a prey to the first bold invader. But what gave a greater latitude to the persecution, was the untoward zeal of a Christian soldier: which eli- cited the celebrated work of Tertullian, enti- tled the " Soldier's Crown." Maximinus, on (1) Euseb. 6. hist. 21. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 82»5 ascending the throne, distributed among the troops the usual donatives: it was customary for each soldier to present himself with a wreath of laurel on his head. Among the crowd appeared one, with his head uncovered, and carrying the wreath in his hand : being asked why he did not wear it, " it is" he re- plied, " because I am a Christian ; and my re- ligion forbids me to be crowned with your lau- rels." He was, immediately stript of his uni- form, deprived of his arms, and sent to prison. The great majority of the Christians censured his imprudence. But Tertullian contended, that the crown was a token of pagan super- stition : and that in refusing to wear it, the soldier only complied with his strict duty. It was asked in what part of the sacred writings such practices were condemned. Tertullian attempted to prove that they were condemn- ed by tradition. (1) Though at this time a Montanist, his notions are generally correct; and the authority of tradition is solidly estab- lished : but, in the direct point in question. (1) See the dissertation in Spondanus p. 172. v. LaureuiKi acestare licitum. 326 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. his rigour is extreme, and his opinions erro- neous. He pubHshed, at the same time, a treatise on persecution : in which he main- tains, that no Christian in the time of danger, can save his hfe by flight, or redeem it by mo- ney. St. Barba, whom the Greek church holds in great veneration, and who, it is said, was instructed by Origen, received the palm of martyrdom at Nicomedia, during this persecu- tion. St. Pontian, pope, successor to St. Ur- ban, was exiled to Sardinia, where he was put to death, after a pontificate of five years. (1) Of this persecution, which continued three years, we have few details, except that the churches erected in the preceding reign were burned, and every species of cruelty practised against the Christians. In the room of Pon- tian, St. Anterus, a Greek, succeeded ; who, in all probability, died a martyr, one month after his election. (2) He was, eight days after, succeeded by St. Fabian, whose election was esteemed miracu- (1) Martyr. Rom. 19. nov. {2) Euseb, in chron. et hist. 6. 22, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 327 lous. Fabian had just arrived from the country, when the clergy were assembled, to elect their chief pastor : he was confounded in the mul- titude ; but a dove was seen to descend and repose over his head. (1) This excited uni- versal attention : all, with one voice, ex- claimed, he is worthy of the episcopacy : and he was immediately raised to the pontifi- cal chair. He sat fourteen years, without ever degenerating from his miraculous voca- tion. The Roman empire was, at this period, in a critical situation ; Maximinus was growing every day, more odious : the yoke was in- tolerable: Africa displayed the signal of re- volt: Gordian was made proconsul, and his election was ratified at Rome, by the people and senate : he associated with himself his son, whose name was also Gordian : both were, three months after, defeated by the partisans of Maximinus. The son fell in battle *, the father strangled himself in despair. The senate dreading the resentment of Maxi- minus, raised to the throne, Maximus and (1) Euseb 6. hist. 328 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. Balbinus. (1) But the people were not satis- fied with a choice, in which they had no share : to appease them, it became necessary to dig- nify with the title of Csesar, Gordian, grand- son of the proconsul, then only eleven years old. Preparations for war were made, by both parties : Maximinus sat down before Aquilea, and made upon it many bold, but vain assaults. In consequence of his ill success, his fury was roused up to insanity : he threw himself into the midst of his own soldiers, pierced them ^t random : and sacri- ficed to his phrenzy a host of faithful warriors. Fired with indignation, a band of soldiers fell upon him in broad day, and massacred him in his tent. His head was despatched to Rome, where it was received with loud acclamations. A calm ensued : but it was of short duration. The soldiery could feel no attachment to em- perors who were not of their own creation: Maximus and Balbinus had not reigned a year, before the army mutinied, and put them to death. The young Gordian, (2) was pro- (1) Herod, lib. 7. i. capitol. in Maxim, et in Gordian. (2) Herod, lib. 7. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 329 claimed emperor : he blessed the empire with a tranquil reign ; and the Christians with a season of repose. He was assassinated, and succeeded, by Philip. The church still continued to make many important conquests. The bishops took ad- vantage of the calm, to elect worthy co-ope-^ rators in the ministry. Phaedimus, bishop of Amasea, a man distinguished by the gift of prophecy, succeeded in placing Gregory Thaumaturgus on the episcopal chair of Neo- csesarea ; a city, which at that time, contained but seventeen Christians. Gregory submit- ted to the divine call, was consecrated with the accustomed ceremonies ; but requested a longer time to instruct himself thoroughly in the mysteries of religion. It chanced, that having spent a whole night in meditation, he was favoured with a vision of the Blessed Virgin and St. John, who explained to him the mystery of the Trinity. (1) (1) The instruction which he received on this occasion, he committed to writing : S. Gregory of N}'ssa, makes men- tion of it. It has been cited in the iifth oecumenical council: as also by S. Basil the Great, and Leontius Scholasticus. Basil de Sp. S. c. 29. et ep. 64 ad. Neocses. Leont. de sect, act. 8. 330 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. After this vision, the holy bishop set out for the diocess which he was appointed to govern. The people flocked from the city to meet him : before night many embraced the truth : and on the succeeding day his door was besieged by muhitudes of the poor and afflicted. He cured the sick, and by the influence of his miracles persuaded thousands to beHeve in Jesus Christ. Among the bishops whom he appointed in different places, the most re- markable is St. Alexander, bishop of Co- mana. When there was question of choosing a prelate for that church, S. Gregory recom- mended the clergy to regard neither wealth nor nobility, but pure merit. In the crowd was confounded a man, whose occupation was to work in coal. (1) This was Alexander : by a special inspiration, he was deemed the most proper person, to be raised to the bishop- rick of Comana : he was accordingly chosen : received with loud applause by the people, and governed the church of Comana, until the persecution of Decius, when he was crowned with martyrdom. (1) Bolland. vit. S. Greg. Thaumal. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 331 St. Babylas, bishop of Antioch, terminated, at this same time, by a glorious martyrdom, his mortal career. (1) Of the miracles oj^erated at his sepulchre, St. John Chrysostom, (in a dis- course which is generally attributed to him,) speaks with enthusiasm. The emperor Philip wishing to enter his church, on the vigil of Eas- ter, to participate in the prayers of the faithful, was, according to this father, refused admission, until he performed the penance which his sins deserved. Philip promised to submit to whatever penance he should inflict ; and for a time proved that he was in earnest. But it does not appear that he persevered to the end. Of his having been converted to the Christian religion, there can be little doubt: (2) the only argument against it, is, that he was ranked, after his death, among the gods. But this argument is a feeble one : since it is well known that the Roman people conferred this absurd honour on all the emperors, without any regard to their individual characters. (1) Euseb. in chron. (2) Euseb. 6. hist. 27, Vincent. Lerin. cap. 23. Orosius 1. 7. Cassiod. in chron. &c. 3^2 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. During his reign, many martyrs sufifered at Alexandria. Of these, the most celebrated is the Virgin Apollonia, who, in an advanced age, signalized herself, and honoured the church, by her courage and virtues. Menaced by the pagan multitude with the fagot, if she refused to comply with their proposals, she courageously leaped into the flames which liad been enkindled to alarm her. (1) This epoch is marked in a singular manner, by the death of the celebrated, but unfortu- nate, Tertullian. It was the general per- suasion among the ancients, that he died in the stern profession of heresy : and the sect of Tertullianists, which was not extinct in the days of St. Chrysostom, confirms this probable opinion. He was, without doubt, a man of profound and general erudition : notwithstanding the unfavourable account which he himself has left us, of his studies : his genius was ardent and glowing ; his in- tellect penetrating and subtle : but his fre- quent deviations from sound doctrine, gave room to suspect, that he possessed more of (1) Euseb. 6. hist. 34. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. SSS vivacity than of solid judgment. Of his Apo- logetic we have already spoken. His books on baptism, penance, prayer and patience, on female dress and shows, were composed while yet in the bosom of the true religion. That on prescriptions expressly declares, that he then lived in communion with all the apostolic churches, particularly that of Rome, which he extols «in the highest terms. Al- most all his other works, were written after his fall: of these, some are professedly directed against the Catholic church : and others are in- terspersed with excellent preservatives against the heresies, which the Montanists condemned. The treatises against Marcion and Praxeas contain many precious fragments. Of his works which are purely heretical, the princi- pal are his treatise on monogamy ; those on impurity, and that on the soul. His work, entitled the Robe, in which he adduces the reasons which caused him to take the philo- sopher's gown, is a rare example of decay of taste and degeneracy of style. It is difficult to conceive how so futile a production could 334 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. have emanated from the pen of the author of the celebrated Apologeticus. (1) Some years after TertulHan, died, in the fif- ty-ninth year of his age, the celebrated Origen : it is to be hoped, that this extraordinary man did not persist in error ; his memory is not, however, entirely free from suspicion : there was current among the ancients a proverb which is applied to Origen by Cassiodorus : " When good, none better : when bad, none worse." (2) The number of his writings ac- cording to Ruffinus, amounted to six thousand : he dictated at once without any perplexity, to seven amanuenses : this circumstance may account for many of the errors which are to be found in his works (3) Soon after Tertullian and Origen, another great luminary arose in the person of Thas- (1) Of Tertullian S. Jerome was accustomed to say: " Laudo ingenium hominis, damno hceresesy Hier- apol. adv. Ruff. (2) Ubi bene, nemo melius: ubi male nemo pejus. Cassiod. inst. div. lect. (3) Origen has had several apologists: the first is said to have been Pamphilus, martyr; St. Jerome was, at first, of this opinion; but afterwards retracted it, and attributed the apology to Eusebius — Ruffinus also wrote in defence of Ori- gen: but his work was censured by St. Jerome. See Spon- danus p. 1 96. iv. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 335 cius Cyprian, a Carthagenian ; of a senatorial family, conspicuous for its opulence and no- bility. He applied himself with equal suc- cess to the belles-lettres and profound sci- ences : and became well acquainted, not only with eloquence, but also with the different branches of literature. (1) He was born and educated in idolatry ; and continued in it for a long time, in despite of the expostulations of his friend Caecilius. His lively imagination, his soft and voluptuous habits, exaggerated the sacrifice that Christianity would require at his hands ; and it was not till after a hard struggle that he could burst his fetters. " At that time," he writes in a letter to Donatus, " tossed upon the stormy sea of the world, and having no beacon to direct my way, I could hardly be persuaded, that God, in his mercy, would save me : I was not then aware, that a person may be born a second time ; and that by being regenerated in baptism, the old man is laid off, and a new one put on." But Cyprian was sincere and resolute : regardless of the censure of his pagan friends, (1) Lactant. lib. 5. c. 1. Greg. Naz. orat. in laud. Cypr, 336 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. and the raillery of his enemies, he sold his possessions ; distributed the price among the poor ; embraced the state of celibacy ; lived in retirement ; and occupied his time in me- ditating, and studying the holy scriptures. He had a peculiar admiration for Tertullian : and was accustomed to style him his master. But the master was soon surpassed by the disciple : who, while he possessed an imagi- nation equally strong and brilliant, displayed, at the same time, more taste, and solidity of judgment. He is generally esteemed the greatest orator among the Latin fathers. " He possesses, says Lactantius, (1) such elegance of genius to adorn, and such neatness of dic- tion to express, his sentiments, that it is hard to say in which he is more excellent." Such extraordinary merit and virtue could not be long unobserved or unrewarded. From a Neophyte he was raised to the dignity of a priest : and Donatus dying a short time after, he was promoted to the episcopal chair, to the universal satisfaction of the people. His episcopacy, which commenced under such (1) Lact. ut sup. HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 337 happy auspices, presented an unbroken series of ecclesiastical virtues. He diligently stu; died the public good : sanctity was depicted upon his countenance : and his whole person marked with dignity. He was engaging without obsequiousness ; reserved, without sullenness ; modest, without singularity ; and serious, without sadness. These qualities won the affection, and secured the veneration, of all who knew him. Tranquillity had now continued during five years. But Philip was not of a character to maintain a long and settled calm : new diffi- culties began to appear : dissension tore the provinces : Decius, the descendant of an ancient family, in Pannonia, was sent to his native country, where the troops had thrown off all military discipline, and roved at large, in a general relaxation and licentiousness. Decius was a man of talents and integrity : and possessed a cultivated mind. With a view to escape his animadversion, the soldiers strove to conciliate his favour by raising him to the imperial throne. He was, accordingly, proclaimed emperor : and Philip, vanquished VOL. I. — 22 338 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. by him in a battle, wan slain by his own sol- diers. A short time after this event, St. Fabian consecrated seven bishops, and sent them, to- gether with a great number of inferior minis- ters, into the provinces of Gauh these bishops were, according to St. Gregory of Tours, (1) Trophimus of Aries ; Paul of Narbonne ; Di- onysius of Paris ; Gratian of Tours ; Saturni- nus of Toulouse ; Martial of Limoges ; and Austremonius of Auvergne. St. Fabian, having sat fourteen years, suf- fered martyrdom under Decius. After his death, the holy see remained a year and a half vacant : it being impossible, on account of the persecution which broke out, at this epoch, to choose a supreme pastor. The edict for the persecution (2) was pub- lished to all the provincial governors : the rigour with which it was executed, is almost incredible : all the powers of invention, and all the refinements of barbarity, were exer- cised against the faithful: martyrs were torn (1) 1 hist. Trac. 63. (2) Oros. lib. 7. cap. 21. HISTORY OF THECIIURCH. 339 under the scorpion : and then having their wounds dipped in honey, exposed in the burning sun, to be tormented to death, by flies, gnats, or hornets. St. Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, (1) St. Sabina of Smyrna, and S. Ambrose the friend of Origen, received, at the same time, the palm of martyrdom. Optimus, the proconsul, exercised through all Asia, the most inhuman cruelty. He ex- amined a merchant by name Maximus, and would assist in person at his execution : after the saint had endured the torture for some time, the proconsul bade him acknowledge the folly of his obstinacy, and sacrifice to the gods. " Neither your iron hooks, nor heated plates, returned the martyr, will overcome him who is animated by the grace of God." Optimus then commanded him to be stoned. Many others fell victims to the cruel super- stition of these times : St. Quadratus at Ni- comedia; S. S. Tryphon and Respicius at Nice ; St. Christopher in Lycia ; St. Mercury at Csesarea of Cappadocia ; and seven young (1) Acta sine. mart. 340 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. men at Ephesus, commonly styled the Seven Sleepers, (1) The triumph of St. Agatha, at Catana hi Sicily, was not less renowned. Of her acts few seem properly authenticated: but the hymn composed in her honour by St. Dama- sus, and a preface by St. Gregory, prove her claim to the highest celebrity. At Nicomedia there were many mar- tyrs ; of whom the most celebrated were Lu- cian and Marcian. In the West, besides St. Agatha, the most illustrious were Tusca and Maura, at Ravenna, Abdon and Sennen, at Rome. In Africa the persecution raged with more violence, after the arrival of the proconsul. Every refinement of cruelty was exercised against the faithful : they were torn until no part of their bodies remained un- (1) These seven young men, shutting themselves up in a cave, to escape the fury of the persecution, died there: they derived the name of SleeperSj from the common Latin term used among the Christians: Dormierunt in Domino : they slept in the Lord. Another reason has been given for their appellation: by some it is said that they actually slept during two hundred years: and it may surprise the reader when he is informed, that for the latter opinion there are many authori- ties: Harum sententiarum, says Baronius, quaenam praeferen- da sit non equidem definio: he, however, inclines in favour of the former. Vide. not. Bar. in Martyr. Rom. 27. Jul. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 341 mangled : and the prisons, though crowded, could not contain the number of confessors, who died unpitied, of hunger and thirst. St. Cyprian, who, we have seen, was one of the most illustrious of the Christian teachers, was peculiarly obnoxious to the pagans. They saw him employed in defending a religion, which it was their aim to annihilate : stung with jealousy and transported with rage, they made the amphitheatre ring with their vo- ciferations : " Cyprian to the lions," " Cyp- rian to the lions." (1) His own personal safety did not occupy his thoughts : but his solicitude for the church induced him to fly from the dangers which encompassed him. He retired into solitude : but did not there lead an inactive life. (2) He wrote frequent exhortatory letters to his priests, and the con- fessors in prison : " I conjure you, he says in a letter to the clergy of Carthage, to redouble your fervour ; and since I am forced to be absent, while you do your duty, discharge mine also. Let not the present calamities be an excuse for any irregularity in ecclesiastical (1) Cypr. ep. 55. ad Cornel. (2) Pont, in, vit. Cypr. 342 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. tliscipline, or for neglecting the suffering members of Jesus Christ ; not those only who are in chains, but all who still preserve the faith. Have a still more special care of widows, strangers, and the infirm. Yet a little courage, and peace will soon be restored to us." In writing to the confessors the vi- gilant pastor expresses his eagerness to enjoy once more, if possible, their blessed company. " Nothing," he assures them, " would be more agreeable to him, than to kiss their pure hands, loaded with chains, for having refused to sacrifice to idols : and their lips, consecrat- ed by the confession of the adorable name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The holy bishop, Gregory Thaumaturgus, also retired only to exhibit to his flock an ex- ample of Christian prudence. As he had given them all birth in Jesus Christ, and knew that they were still " infants in religion," he took care not to expose them to the dan- gers of being apprehended, unless, by a pe- culiar indication, he knew it to be the will of Providence. His discretion was blessed in a striking manner : for during the whole of the HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 343 persecution of Decius, history does not men- tion a single apostate at Neocaesarea. Of the faithful, many, to avoid the calami- ties of the times, took refuge in solitary places; some fled even to the frightful wilds of Arahia, where they perished with hunger and thirst. Numbers fell victims to the rapacity of barbarians^ or the depredation of robbers. Thousands flocked from Alexandria and all Egypt, into the solitudes of Thebais, from which the eremitical institution took its origin. The first of those illustrious solitaries, was St. Paul, a native of lower Thebais. In his youth, neither wealth nor temptation could lure him into any disorder : his fondest study was virtue : but too humble to expose himself to death, he fled into the desert, where he found in the meditation of " eternal things," more substantial felicity, than he could have en- joyed in his earthly possessions. His dwelling was a cavern cut by the hand of nature, out of a rock, near which there was a stream of water. His grot was shaded by a palm-tree : which nourished the saint with its fruit, until the raven supplied him with miraculous food. 344 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. In this deep solitude, with no companions but the monsters of the desert, Paul passed nine- ty-two years. After spending whole nights in prayer, he often complained that the morn- ing rose too soon to disturb his heavenly joys. God did not make his servant known to any one except St. Anthony, a little before his death : which took place in the hundred and thirteenth year of his age. (1) Notwithstanding the remonstrances and zeal of virtuous prelates, many abuses pre- vailed at Carthage, which were productive of fatal consequences. Multitudes of Christians, led astray by the temptations that surrounded them, abandoned the faith : and to avoid the shame of a public apostacy, they sent a written retractation of the faith to the gover- nor : (2) thence they took the name oi Libel- latici. This degeneracy was to St. Cyprian a source of unspeakable grief. But the conduct of Felicissimus, a priest, pierced his soul with sorrow. This man, for a long time, lost no opportunity of afflicting the holy prelate. Not (1) Hier. in chron. (2) S. Cypr. de Cap. ep 52. ad Anton, ep 68. ad Hisp. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 345 succeeding in a design which he meditated regarding the Libellatici, he broke out into open schism : raised up altar against ahar : and led his followers upon a mountain, near the city, from which he hurled down his anathe- mas against all who refused to join his stand- ard. The holy bishop finding it necessary to put a check to the growing evils, excommu- nicated Felicissimus. The public conduct of this man did not, like that of most impos- tors, assume the appearance of sanctity. (1) He was notorious for his extortions, and in- famous for liis immoralities. Novatus, a priest of Carthage, associated himself with Fe- licissimus : and became the principal author of the mischief. Novatus, to the darkest vices of the heart, added cruelty and rapacity : he is said to have plundered orphans, widows, and even the very churches : and after having starved to death his father, refused him the common tribute of sepulture. The voice of the public was raised against him ; the faith- ful demanded an exemplary punishment, for those crying vices. He was to have been de- (1) Cypr. ep. 38. 39. 40. 346 HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. posed, perhaps excommunicated ; but the ca- lamities ot the times prevented the promul- gation of the sentence. Not content with having distracted the church of Africa, he re- paired to Rome, where he immediately formed many strict connexions. At Carthage he sup- ported the faction of Felicissimus : at Rome, he embraced the system of Novatian : accord- ing to which, the Christian who once had the misfortune to apostatize, was for ever excluded from the communion of the faithful. Such was the origin of the first schism that ever disturbed the peace, or broke tKe unity, of the Roman church. END OF VOL. I. {/ r UNIVERSITY OF C;AL1F()RNIA LIBRARY Los Aiigfles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 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