I LINO I S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Brittle Books Project, 2012. COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION, In Public Domain. Published prior to 1923. This digital copy was made from the printed version held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was made in compliance with copyright law. 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I., - . - It7, I I . . , , - 11 , . . ! i , - -1, I , - i"-, 1,' ,:,t- ' , , " I . i . , , . ; . , - t - , - - I '. ; ; . , - - I . I - I 11, - , , , , . . . , l , , , - i. , - , , , , , - --f , _-;j ; , . " , , ,., " I , ., , * , i" - , - -, - , -] 1;:-- 1. _ , .7- ., " .1 . .1 t* ': , I , _. .i, ! : .- I : - I . , - I , : I - . ,..L , . I , - 11 . , .,. .j, , . I. * , . -- .- -1 . : . . , I . I - . , , _ , - . ("i , . . : I , , , v , . - , , , " l : - , .. , ,. , " - , " , - ;- - T, , - , , , ". ';., _.U -_ "t., , : - , : .: , I, ' '.1 t . A , - % , lk t, I , ;. "', , - f.- , , , . , , , , . . . "; c , '. - , - ,;, :-,,. , f ", , -, " , , , , - * L. . t - . I . - I ,- .1. - . , . . , I.. I '. ,. Reil, - . , - _-' _ , I 1. - , - . " I . - I' . - I 1' I - - r -, -,..j;. U -, . 11 , , I f '. , . I ,, , , , " , . , , - , , - . I - ,*:, 1. It ,- . , - , , . 1 - , , __ -, , . . , . , , - - 'j , . ,_1 , - - " . :, , , ,_ I il - !, , , - . , , - - - . I -- I I -.1 . .. .. - ", . I- I ii L .. - - , . . 1, . , - - I I , tt , , , , . ., ,' - , - . 1, I ml! - , . , _ , . ; - I , , 11 I - , , N " " , , . , - , - . , .- -, , - -1 .. I ,. ",_ . . I i . . i. - .A L I .. , ."', - 1. -. , i7 - 1, ,, , -, I . . , , ': __ ,-, . t - 'L.lt , ., f , . . , , _ , " - . , . - .' I.-M -11 - . - THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY 270 5e8Fb HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH FROM THE FIRST PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL TO THE COUNCIL OF NICEA FOR THE USE OF YOUNG PERSONB. BY THE AUTHOR OF " AMY HERBERT." NEW YORK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 448 & 445 BROADWAY. s1867. PREFACE. THIs little history has been compiled solely from English authorities. The writer has no knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages, and would never have undertaken to write a Church History but for the urgent representations of persons whose judgment she valued, and who assured her that, deficient as her work must necessarily be in ori- ginality and depth of research, it might never- theless prove useful to young persons not in a position to refer to the standard authorities. The writer gratefully acknowledges the assistance given her by the friends to whom reference has been made, and without which she would have felt it a presumption to place her history before the public. BoNcouRC n: April th, 1859. 6~7I~_d20 CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. Descent of the HOLY GHOST 1 II. Death of St. Stephen . . . . . \2 III. Conversion of Saul . . . . . 23 IV. Conversion of Cornelius . . . . 30 V. First Council at Jerusalem . . 38 VI. St. Paul at Athens . . . 48 VII. St. Paul at Ephesus . . . . . 56 VIII. St. Paul tried before Felix . 67 IX. Martyrdom of St. Paul 6. X. Destruction of Jerusalem . 86 XI. Death of St. John . . . . . 103 XII. The Government of the Church . . . 112 XIII. State of Society amongst the Romans . . 124 XIV. Martyrdom of St. Ignatius . . 134 XV. Pliny's appeal to Trajan . 146 XVI. Insurrection of Bar-Chochab . . . 152 XVII. Justin Martyr's first Apology . . . 160 XVIII. Death of Justin Martyr . 172 XIX. Martyrdom of St. Polycarp . . . 180 XX. Rise of Montanism ..... 192 XXI. Victor, Bishop of Rome . . . . 202 CHAP. PAGE XXII. Martyrdom of St. Irenseus . . . . 209 XXIII. Origen, head of the Catechetical School in Alexandria . . . . . . 215 XXIV. Origen ordained Presbyter at Casarea . 228 XXV. Gregory Thaumaturgus becomes a pupil of Origen ...... . 241 XXVI. The Decian Persecution . 249 XXVII. Anthony the Hermit . . . . 255 XXVIII. The Novatian Schism . . . . . 268 XXIX. Controversy respecting Baptism between Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and Stephen, Bishop of Rome . . . . . 282 XXX. Martyrdom of St. Cyprian . . . . 292 XXXI. The Council of Antioch condemns and de- poses Paul of Samosata . . . . 301 XXXII. The Diocletian Persecution . . . 307 XXXIII. Conversion of Constantine . . . . 316 XXXIV. Constantine becomes sole Monarch . . 323 XXXV. Council of Nicea ..... 328 XXXVI. General Remarks on the Services, Rites, Man- ners, and Customs, of the Early Christians 344 V111ii CONTENTS. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. First Century. ROMAN EMPERORS. A.D. Augustus Coasar. 1 Tiberius . . . 14 Caligula . . . 87 Claudius . . . 41 Nero . . . . 54 Gal .a Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus . Domitian Nerva . Trajan . 68 69 69 69 q9 81 96 98 ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. Crucifixion of our Blessed Lord, and Descent of the HOLY GHOST . Death of St. Stephen, and Conversson of St. Paul Conversion of Cornelius First Council at Jerusalem St. Paul at Athens St. Paul at Ephesus St. Paul tried before Felix First Persecution of the Christians Martyrdom of St: Paul Destruction of Jerusalem . TO Second Persecution Death of St. John Second Century. Adrian. . . Antoninus Plus . Marcus Aurelius Commodus. . Pertinax . Beverus . . 117 188 161 188 193 199 The Third Persecution, and the Martyrdom of St. Igna- tius . Pliny's appeal to Trajan Fourth Persecution First Apology of Justin Mar- tyr . . . . . Fifth Persecution Death of Justin Martyr Martyrdom of St. Polycarp Rise of Montanism . Victor, Bishop of Rome Clemens Alexandrinus A.D. 33 37 41 48 50 53 56 64 67 90 98 107 111 118 150 162 165 167 171 189 194 -----~1--- -- ---~ Third Century. ROMAN EMPERORS. A.D. ECOLrSIASTICAL AFFAIRS. A.D. I II 20 Caracalla . . 211 Elagabalus . . . 218 Alexander Severus 222 Maximin Gordias Philip . Decius . Gallus . Yalerian , Gallianus Claudius II. . . Aurelian Tacitus Probus . . . Carus Carinus and Nu- merian Diocletian 235 238 244 249 251 253 259 268' 270 276 276 282 284 Sixth Persecution Martyrdom of St. Irenmus Origen Head of the Cateche- tical School at Alexandria Tertullian made Presbyter at Carthage . Origen ordained Presbyter at Casarea Gregory Thaumaturgus be- comes a pupil of Origen . Cyprian chosen Bishop of Carthage . Eighth Persecution under Decius . Anthony the Hermit born' The Novatian Schism Death of Origen . Controversy respecting Bap- tism between Cyprian, Bi- shop of Carthage, and Stephen, Bishop of Rome. Ninth Persecution . Martyrdom of St. Cyprian. Martyrdom of Pope Sixtus and his deacon Laurentius Paul of Samosata made Bi- shop of Antioch The Council of Antioch con- dems and deposes Paul of Samosata . Manichman Heresy springsupI 277 The Tenth Persecution, un- der Diocletian. Pourth Century. Constantius Chlorus and Galerius . . . 304 Constantine the Great 311 Conversion of Constantine 312 Constantine becomes sole Monarch . . . . 325 Council of Nicea . . 325 202 203 203 207 230 235 248 249 251 253 254 256 257 258 259 260 270 300 C)TT HISTORY OF - CHAPTER I. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A. D. 33. THE history of the Christian Church is doubtless the most important which can be written; but it is also in many respects the most difficult. The early period of a nation's existence, obscure as in the generality of cases it must necessarily be, may be set aside with comparatively little notice. Its legends and traditions may amuse us, but the amount of belief which we bestow upon them involves no important consequences, and can safely be left to our own option. In the Christian Church, on the contrary, the whole strength and value of the com- pleted history rests upon the foundation. The structure built upon it is so vast, and involves interests of such overwhelming greatness, that the inquiry as to how it was laid, and from what materials it was formed, becomes important above all others. Trifling incidents, accidentally related, prove the witness to truths of vital consequence; observations made apparently without reference to any but the subject under discussion, serve to il- lustrate and enforce doctrines which lie at the very root of Christian belief; and thus it becomes ne- cessary to gather up every fragment of history, and search with the utmost care into every authentic record, in order to collect from the whole that know- 2 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. ledge which will enable us to feel that the Church to which we belong rests upon " the foundation of Apostles and Prophets," and is a portion of the Spiritual Building of which Christ, Himself, is the "Chief Corner Stone." It may perhaps be said that with the New Testa- ment in our hands,-the divinely inspired record to which all defer,-there can be no need of any further search into the early history of the Christian Church. But we must not forget that the New Testament, including the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles, does not profess to give us any minute and regular account of the formation of the Church. Unquestionably such an account may in a great degree be gathered from it,-but only by a careful comparison of one part with another, and by the aid of other witnesses whose writings throw light upon expressions which would other- wise remain obscure. And thus the object of early Church History is, to a great extent, to serve as a comment on the Sacred Writings, and to show how the allusions made in them to certain institu- tions and forms of government were understood and acted upon by those who were either the con- temporaries of the Apostles, or their immediate successors. Yet there is another point of view, in which the History of the Universal Church is less perplexing than that of the nations of the world. Though it relates to a body of individuals collected out of many nations, and might therefore, at first sight, be supposed to be inextricably entangled with the records of those nations, and to require a separate narrative for each national Church, yet this is not so in reality :-the Christian Church was from the earliest days Catholic or Universal; the same DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A.D. 33. 3 in Africa as in Asia, the same in Jerusalem as in Rome. The life of a Christian in Jerusalem was that of a Jew; and the life of a Christian in Rome, that of a Roman; but these were earthly differences. In faith all were alike, worshipping the same God, believing in the same Saviour, partaking of the same Sacraments, and looking forward with joyful hope to an inheritance in the same glorious King- dom when the trial of earthly existence should be ended. So it was then, over the known world, wherever Christianity had spread; so it is now in those Churches which have preserved the pure faith and practice of the first ages. In the earliest ages of the world, the reve- lation, of true religion was confided to one people, the Jews; and, strictly speaking, it is from them that we must derive the origin of the Church ; but our present object is to trace its course when the Providence of God willed that His Name should be known beyond the narrow precincts of Judea. Although the Jewish and Christian Churches are parts of the same whole, it is only the latter to which our attention is now to be called. The Great Completer of the Jewish Church and the Divine Head of the Christian Church is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal, all Holy Son of God, who " for us men and for our salvation " took upon him our nature, and about four thousand years after the sin of the first man, being " conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, de- scended into Hell, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, and now sitteth at the Right Hand of God." His wonderful History we all profess to know; we have read also of the events which im- mediately followed His Ascension; we have heard 4 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. of the labours of St. Peter and St. Paul, of St. James and St. John; we have been told of the numbers converted to Christianity at one time, and we have an idea that this was the begin- ning of the Christian Church. But it is all so unlike anything which happens in our days that we can scarcely imagine any connection between those times and our own; between persons taught by Apostles, witnessing miracles, and liable to great danger on account of their faith; and ourselves, who are instructed by men in no way distinguished from others except by their office, and who live in a world of common sights and common events, and are able to profess our belief without any thought of peril. We read of the early Christians as of the dwellers in a foreign land, almost as of the in- habitants of another world. Yet they were men,-beings of " like passions with ourselves," and subject to like influences. The government under which they lived, and the laws to which they were subject, must there- fore have had a great influence upon their lives, and the early condition of Christianity cannot be understood without a reference to the political history of the period when it was first preached. The sun, we are told, never sets upon the dominions of the monarch of' England. As it vanishes from our sight beneath the horizon, it rises upon other lands owning allegiance to the same sovereign. And thus in those early Christian days it was- in a still wider degree, so far as the world was then known-with the mighty emperors of Rome. The civilised earth was their kingdom. Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, even to the confines of India-all was subject to them. The Romans were the lords of the earth. DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A.D. 33. 5 When the Jews willed to crucify our Blessed Redeemer, they applied to a Roman governor, because Palestine was subject to Rome; and the Jews, although still retaining their own manners and customs and religion, were, it seems, forbidden to put any one to death, except by permission from their rulers. St. Paul, born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, was a Roman citizen. Asia Minor was but a province of Rome, and laws made in Rome, ex- tended over the whole of the vast empire. The power of the Romans is brought before us con- tinually in the New Testament, and we learn from it how the Providence of God has been pleased to order the affairs of men for the increase of His own king- dom, the Christian Church. Doubtless He could have caused Christianity to take root at any time, and under any circumstances; but He is pleased to work, for the most part, by what are called natural laws; and it must be acknowledged that the state of the world, at the foundation of the Christian Church, was especially favourable to its progress. The Roman empire was at peace, increasing in luxury, outward refinement, and civilisation. Com- munication between different places was compara- tively easy; and the emperors, although many of them fearfully wicked, did not generally trouble themselves with the religion of their subjects, but were willing that all should worship the gods of their own nations, so long as they did not interfere with those which were especially reverenced by the Romans themselves. We shall see this plainly as we examine into the history of the Christian Church from its com- mencement. Heathen persecution was unknown 1 6 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. at first. It began only when the great doctrines of Christianity were spreading far and wide, and men were taught that they could not worship Christ without at the same time renouncing their false gods. The earliest opposition to the Christians arose from the Jews, or, if at any time, as in the instance of the tumults at Ephesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, the heathen population rose up against the professors of the new faith, the excite- ment was caused by peculiar circumstances in some one city or province, and was not the perse- cution of the government. "Gallio cared for none of. these things," is a true description of the feeling entertained by the rulers of the Roman empire, as they first watched the growth of that "grain of mustard seed " which was afterwards to " spring up and overshadow the earth, till the fowls of the air should come and lodge in the branches thereof." If we inquire, then, into the beginning of the Christian Church, we must look at it as it took its rise in Jerusalem, and amongst Jews. The excitement consequent upon the crucifixion of our Blessed Lord was over, Jerusalem was at peace. I-Ier rulers and priests had satisfied their cruel envy; and, although startled by the tidings of Christ's Resurrection, had stopped the witness of the Roman soldiers by bribes. Amongst the thousands who dwelt within and around the city, not many more than five hundred had been per- mitted to see their risen Master, and but eleven- His chosen friends-were witnesses of His wonder- ful ascension. The rest-the multitude-thought not of Him; or, if they did think, if the scenes of His dying agony still haunted them in the watches DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A.D. 33. 7 of the night, and the fearful cry, " His blood be on us, and on our children," still echoed in their ears, amidst the din of the world's business, they had the ,means within their reach for stifling the pangs of conscience. " Eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage," so they woke in the morning, and lay down to rest at night; and Pilate sat again upon his judgment seat, and Herod surrounded himself with his men of war, and the Chief Priests and Scribes followed their schemes of ambition and self-interest, and none probably deemed it worth their while to cast a thought upon the large upper room, (the same, it has been supposed by some, in which the Lord partook of His Last Supper,)where, obedient to the command of their Master not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the fulfilment of His promise,-abode " Peter and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas, the brother of James." Prayer and supplication, we are told, was their occupation, and in these prayers joined also "the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and His brethren," with a small number of disciples, making in all about one hundred and twenty persons. It was a season of patient waiting and preparation; but one other duty was required of them. The liumber of the chosen apostles was broken. The vacant place of the traitor Judas was to be filled from amongst those who had " companied with them all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them, and who had been witnesses with them of His resurrection." St. Peter, first in zeal and energy now, as he had been when following his Lord, was the Apostle 8 HISTORY OF THE EARL-Y CHURCH. who proposed that this important step should be taken, and the rest of the disciples, agreeing with his opinion, two persons, between whom the choice was to be made, were selected ;-" Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou Lord, which know- est the hearts of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place, And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." The first government of the Christian Church was now . therefore established; but the Spirit which was to give it power was yet withheld. And still the Apostles and disciples assembled to- gether in patient expectation, until "the day of Pentecost was fully come." This festival was held seven weeks after the Pass- over, and appears to have been originally instituted as an acknowledgment of the goodness of God in securing to His people the fruits of the barley harvest, which was generally gathered in about that time. But the Jewish Rabbins also called it the day of the giving of the law, it being a received opinion amongst the Jews, that on this day-fifty days that is after the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt-the law was given from Mount Sinai. A new law was now to be given, written not with " the finger of God upon tables of stone," but by the Spirit of God on the hearts of those who were admitted into the Kingdom of Christ. On the festival of Pentecost then, the disciples, we are told, were " all with one accord in one DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A.D. 33. 9 place; and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter- ance." The place must, as it seems, have been one of public resort, for the knowledge of the wonder- ful event was quickly spread abroad, and the multitudes assembled in Jerusalem crowded to the spot to be witnesses themselves of the truth of the report. Amongst them were persons gathered from va- rious countries. .Some Jews by descent, yet born in distant parts of the Roman empire; others, pro- selytes, or persons converted from heathenism to the knowledge of the true God, and joining there- fore in the services of the Jewish religion. Many came from Asia Minor, others from Egypt and Arabia, others from Rome itself, yet each indi- vidual, whatever might be his native language, heard from the lips of those untaught, uneducated Galileans " the wonderful Works of God." The effect of the miracle upon their minds differed according to their natural characters. It was not, as we might at first sight be inclined to think likely, so convincing as to convert them at once to a belief in the Apostles' divine mission. Those most religiously disposed were full of surprise and doubt as to the meaning of what they saw and heard; whilst others, turning the scene into mockery, accused the Apostles of having indulged in wine to a sinful excess, and having lost the use of their reason. Then Peter stood up in the midst of the assembly, and addressed the multitude in the first 10 HISTORY OF ..THE EARLY CHURCH. sermon delivered by a Christian minister to those whom he was sent to win to the service of Christ. The words, as they have been handed down to us by a divinely. inspired writer, are few, simple, and wonderfully calm, but they fell with an awful power upon the hearts- of those who listened to them. Touched by the sudden conviction that one whom they had. rejected and crucified was indeed the Son of the Most High God, and that the offence committed against Him was heinous, and, fearing probably that it was unpardonable, they exclaimed, addressing the Apostles: " Men and Brethren, what shall we do ? " " Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall re- ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Baptism then was the door whereby persons, on their repentance, and having made a profession of their belief, were admitted into the Christian Church. For thus had our Lord commanded when, as He was.about to ascend into heaven, He gave to His disciples that solemn injunction, "Go ye therefore and teach, or (as the words are more properly translated) make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Then they that gladly received St. Peter's words were baptized; " and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." It may be well to pause for a moment and con- sider the astonishing change which this event made in the position of the twelve Apostles, and the few DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. A.D. 33. 11 disciples who had continued with them from the day of their Lord's Ascension. On the morning of the Feast of Pentecost they had risen as usual unnoticed, uncared for, or, if ob- served at all, pointed at, probably, as the despised followers of that Jesus of Nazareth, who had en- deavoured to mislead the people, and had suffered the death of a malefactor. Their small body was but as a drop in the vast ocean of human beings who were then crowding Jerusalem. Before night the Apostles were the leaders and teachers of no less than three thousand followers, collected from various nations, bound to them by the most sacred of all ties, willing witnesses to the fact of the great miracle which gave them their power, and anxious only to follow their commands, and devote themselves to the service of their com- mon Lord. How did the Apostles act under such changed circumstances ? When conversing with their Lord during His sojourn upon earth, they seem to have had conti- nually in their minds the idea of an earthly domi- nion; a power which was to free Judea from its subjection to the Romans, and establish its rule "over the kingdoms of the world. Was there any such thought in their minds now? Did they ga- ther together their followers, and form schemes of worldly advancement, or plans of government for the increase of their own authority ? Scripture gives us the answer when describing the lives of the first converts: " And they conti- nued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fel- lowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and 12 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need, and they continuing daily with one ac- cord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people." Humility, faith, un- selfishness, and charity towards each other, the ob- servance of the Jewish worship in public, and in pri- vate, the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's supper-these were the distinguishing marks of the first Christians. And it was to form such characters that the divine energy conferred upon the Apostles was exerted. Many saw, and wondered, and reverenced, and at length joined them, "And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved." CHAPTER II. THE DEATH OF ST. STEPHEN. A.D. 87. THE spread of the new doctrines could not remain unnoticed. They caused a complete change in the lives of those who received them. With the feeling that all were brothers, the wealthier disciples were anxious to give up any particular claim to their worldly goods, and to share them with those who were in need. But as the number of converts increased, it was felt desirable to distribute the alms more regularly. The money collected by the sale of lands and houses was therefore brought humbly to the Apostles and placed at their disposal. The first person mentioned as adopting this DEAT11 OV ST. STEPHEN. A.D, 37. practice, was Joses, a Levite by descent, but a na- tive of the island of Cyprus. Hie had relations living in Jerusalem, for his sister had a house there, but whether he was himself permanently settled in the city, or only resident for a time, we are not told. It is certain, however, that his benevolence and sympathy had already attracted the notice of the Apostles, for they had bestowed upon him the name of Barnabas, or the Son of Consolation. "He," we are informed, " having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the Apostles' feet." His example was followed by Ananias and Sapphira who,-attempting to practise a de- ception as to the amount which they had received for their property, and to offer a part for the whole, -were, after a solemn warning and prophecy from St. Peter, struck dead. This was the first punishment inflicted by God through the Apostles, and its effects were ext3nsive. Great fear fell upon all. If any had been tempted to profess themselves the followers of Christ merely for the sake of obtaining a share in the common property, they were now warned that they had to deal with persons whom they could not deceive; and the declaration made by St. Peter that Ananias in lying to men gifted with the Holy Ghost was lying unto God, must have been a fresh lesson even to the disciples as to the infinite Majesty of the wonderful Power which was working amongst them., Miracles were now constantly performed by the Apostles, and in the most public place- Solomon's Porch, under the colonnade of which was the common winter walk of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many persons evein " brought forth the sick into -the streets, and laid them on beds and couches that, at least, the shadow of Peter passing 2 13 14 HISTORY OF TIE EARLY CHURCH. by might overshadow some of them." This was easily done, since the beds commonly used by the poorer clsses among the Jews consisted only of mats or skins, with mattresses laid upon them; whilst their upper garment, which was a kind of loose blanket, served them for a coverlid. Multi- tudes also came out of the city around Jerusalem, bringing with them the sick, and persons vexed with unclean spirits, all of whom were healed. That the influence of the Apostles should extend even beyond Jerusalem excited the envy of the High Priest to the utmost degree. He appears to have been inclined, himself, to hold the doctrines of the Sadducees, who denied the possibility of a res- urrection, and must therefore have been especially indignant at the assertion of the resurrection of Christ, and they now joined in supporting his acts however unjust. The Apostles were suddenly seized and committed to the common prison, a place of confinement for the worst kind of offenders. On the following morning the great council of the nation, the Sanhedrim, was assembled; together with the rulers collected from other Jewish cities who were in Jerusalem at, that time. As the Sanhedrim will be frequently mentioned in the history of the A.postles, it may be desirable to describe it more particularly. It is supposed to have been instituted about sixty years before the birth of our Saviour, and was composed of seventy or seventy-two members. The High Priest presided over it, and under him were two vice presidents. One, called the father of the council, sat always on the right hand of the High Priest; the other was placed on the left hand. The remainder of the council consisted of. the Chief Priests, the Elders, and the Scribes. The Chief Priests were persons who had either DEATH :OF ST STEPHEN. A.D. 37. been high priests, or who were princes over the twenty-four classes into which the priests.in general were divided. The Elders are supposed to have been the princes or heads of families, and the Scribes were persons learned in the law. But it does not appear that all the elders and scribes were members of the Sanhedrim; most probably those only belonged to it who were chosen to the office, or appointed by royal authority. The Sanhedrim held its meetings in a council house close to the Temple, forming in fact part of it.; for the Jews tell us that the room was of a circular shape, half built without the Temple and half within; and as it was never permitted to sit down in the Temple, this latter half was for those members of the council who stood up, whilst in the inner portion sat the judges. It has been said that in particular emer- gencies the Sanhedrim was assembled in the High Priest's house, and thus it may have been in the instance of our Lord's trial. The power of the Sanhedrim was very great; but it had become less since the subjection of Judea to the Roman power. It could not now condemn a man to death. The Jews had also other small councils, for judging cases of slight importance; two of these were established at Jerusalem, and there was one also in every city which contained 120 inhabitants. The heads of these smaller councils then present in Jerusalem were probably joined with the Sanhedrim on the day following the seizure of the Apostles, since they would of course be interested in inquir- ing into the spread of the Christian doctrines; and we are particularly told that besides the Council or Sanhedrim, "all the Senate of the children of Is- rael" were assembled on the occasion. 15 16 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Great indeed must have been the astonishment of this large body of princes and rulers when, upon the return of the officers who were sent to bring the Apostles before them, they were told that the prison doors were shut, and the men whom they had so closely confined, were " standing in the Temple and teaching the people." The captain of the guard went himself with the officers to the Temple, and, without violence, sum- moned the Apostles to the Council. On their ap- pearance, the High Priest spoke to them, not so much angrily as reproachfully. He complained that they had neglected the command laid upon them, to desist from teaching the new doctrine, and insinuated that they were bringing upon the Council a false accusation, by suggesting to the people that the sentence of death pronounced against Jesus had been unjust. The reply of Peter and the other Apostles was bold and simple, as it had been when addressing the people. They openly repeated the charge of the murder of their Lord, and insisted upon the duty of obeying God rather than man. And the Council, cut to the heart by the accusation and the defiance, then began to consult together as to the possibility of silencing them by death. The danger of the Apostles' situiation was very great, but help was granted them from a quarter from whence they would have been little likely to expect it. Gamaliel, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrim, seeing the lengths to which the blind rage of his fellow-judges was likely to lead them, insisted upon the Apostles being taken aside whilst some more deliberate consultation was held respecting them. Gamaliel was a man learned in the Jewish law, DEATH OF ST. STEPHEN. A. D. 37. 1 a teacher and director of the most highly gifted young men of the day, and held in such reputation amongst the people that the title of Rabban-given only to seven persons-had been bestowed up6n him. His opinion therefore was received with great deference. The Apostles were put forth, and Gamaliel then addressed the assembly in a cautious speech which showed the natural reverence of his mind, and a decided doubt whether the Christian doctrines were not inideed the Truth. This doubt must have been almost conviction, if it is true, as it has been stated, that he was the son of the aged Simeon who took our Saviour in his arms and blessed Him, and who would naturally have brought up his child in a confident belief in the speedy establishment of the Messiah's kingdom. The Council, he said, should take heed to themselves as to what they intended to do touching these men. In former days, persons had risen up in Judea and stirred up the people to insurrection; but their efforts had come to nought. If, therefore, this work of the Apostles was of men, they might naturally hope it would die away; but if it was of God, it could not be overthrown, and they themselves would be found to be fighting against God. The opinion of Gamaliel,checked the wrathful feelings of the Council; but they could not be pre- vailed upon to give up all thoughts of vengeance. The Apostles were therefore publicly beaten, again commanded "' not to speak in the name of Jesus," and then once more released. " And they departed from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name;" whilst still, in the Temple and in private houses, they continued " to teach and to preach Jesus Christ." 17 18 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. The whole management of the affairs of the Church was at this time entirely in the Apostles' hands; but as the number of Christians increased, the temporal or worldly business connected with them increased likewise, and something of a worldly spirit seemnis for the first time to show itself amongst them. A complaint was made that the alms were not equally distributed. The murmurings arose amongst the Grecians, or Hellenistic Jeiv-s, so called because, although of Jewish origin, they were born, and ge- nerally lived, in foreign countries. A considerable difference of feeling had for many years existed be- tween these two divisions of the Jewish people. The Jews born and educated in Judea, and speak- ing the language of their forefathers, were called Hebrews, and esteemed more honourable than the Hellenists. They considered themselves the especial keepers of the Law; and one cause of complaint against the Hellenistic Jews was that the Scrip- tures were read to them from the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Old Testament. It was natural that the Hellenists should regard with some suspicion the proceedings of persons who had long been taught to look down upon them; and even the feeling, that they were all " one in Christ Jesus " does not seem entirely to have con- quered their distrust. A report was brought to the Apostles that the widows of the Hellenists were neglected in the daily division of alms. The disciples were immediately assembled, and a proposal was made to appoint an order of deacons, similar to one already known in the Jewish Church, whose particular duty it should be to attend to the wants of the poor; the Apostles declaring that it was not reasonable for them to DEATH OF ST. STEPHEN. A.D. 37. give up their higher duty of praying and instruct- ing the people, for the sake of superintending the tables at which the persons requiring alms were accustomed to receive their money. The disciples were therefore desired to choose from amongst themselves seven men of " honest re- port," whom the Apostles might afterwards appoint to this work. The suggestion was approved by every one, and seven persons were elected; all of them, as it has been remarked*, probably Hellen- ists, since the names are Greek. Stephen, " a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," was the most distinguished; the others are named in Scripture, but only one of them is espe- cially brought before us in the history of the Acts of the Apostles. They were set apart for their office by solemn prayers and the laying on of the hands of the Apostles. From the accounts afterwards given, they must have had authority also to teach and to baptize. The Christian doctrines had by this time taken so deep a root, that a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Probably the support given to the Apostles by Gamaliel had influenced them ; certainly it must have given'them confidence by showing that one at least among the chief rulers in Jerusalem was disinclined to treat the new con- verts with severity. The faith, wisdom, and energy of Stephen were especially instrumental in converting others to the truth, and his power of working miracles, which was very great, naturally attracted the people to him, and in the end excited a far fiercer persecution than had yet been endured by the Christians. * See Blunt's " Scriptural Coincidences." 19 20 HISTORY OF THE :EARLY CHURCH. There were at this period in Jerusalem several synagogues intended for the: use of foreign Jews. Amongst these were synagogues for the Cyrenians and Alexandrians, from Africa; and for others who were dwellers in Asia Minor; besides one for per- sons called Libertines, either the inhabitants of the city of Libertina in Africa, or, as is generally sup- posed, a body of Roman Jews or proselytes, who had been freed from slavery, and, a few years be- fore, had been banished from Rome by the com- mand of the Emperor Tiberius. These synagogues were not only places set apart for prayer and the reading of the law, but schools where young persons were instructed; and this circumstance gave occa- sion for public arguments concerning the new doc- trines, to be held by persons belonging to them. Stephen was the great upholder of Christian truth, and his opponents were not able to resist the : wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke." But, instead of confessing' themselves conquered they resolved to destroy him. By working upon the minds of the people, who were jealous of everything likely to interfere with their old customs and traditions, they excited a tu- mult, in the midst of which Stephen was seized and carried before the Sanhedrim. Accusations were made against him by several witnesses, for it was contrary to the Jewish law to receive the evidence of one only. He was said to have spoken blas- phemous words against the Temple and the Jewish law, and to have declared that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs delivered to the Jews by Moses. The same kind of accusation had been made against our Blessed Lord in a yet more fierce and en- raged assembly, and doubtless, we may believe, that. DEATH OF ST. STEPHEN. A.D. 37. the remembrance stirred up the courage of Stephen to bear witness for his crucified and risen Master. The eyes of all in the Council were fixed stead- fastly on him, but he did not shrink. The glori- ous presence of God's Spirit filled his soul, and its brightness rested even on his outward form, and the proud judges of the Sanhedrim, as they gazed upon him, " saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." His defence was long; not confined only to the declaration of his innocence, but going back even to the very fotundation of the Jewish religion, and showing that it was but a forerunner of the Chris- tian dispensation. His feelings seem to have bcen more and more roused as he continued speaking; and at length,--struck apparently by the similarity between the conduct of the ancient Jews in per- secuting the prophets and that of their descendants in murdering Christ,-he burst forth into an in- dignant expostulation, warning them against the indulgence of the same obdurate blindness which their forefathers had exhibited; and reminding them that the law given immediately from heaven, had yet by the Jewish people been rejected. Up to this point, Stephen had been heard pa- tiently, but the keen reproof which now burst from him cut his hearers to the heart, and they gnashed upon him with their teeth. Calm, trustful, and filled with the Holy Ghost, Stephen turned from them and looked up steadfastly into heaven. A won- derful vision was revealed to him. I-e saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the Right Hand of God, and said, " Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing on the Right Hand of God." IIis enemies would hear no more. In the mad- 21 22 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. ness of their rage they stopped their ears, rushed upon him, and without waiting for any further examination, dragged him out of the city, and pre- pared to stone him. Amongst those who followed in the tumult was a young man destined to become one of the most de- voted followers of the Lord. Saul (afterwards the Apostle Paul) was by descent a .iebrew of the tribe of Benjamin, though born in Tarsus, a large commerical city, the capital of Cilicia, in Asia Minor. He was also a Roman citizen, a dignity which con- ferred upon him many privileges that could only be obtained by others for a large sum of money. He had been early brought to Jerusalem, and in- structed in the severe doctrines of the Pharisees, and he followed their customs with the utmost strictness. The teaching he received must in some respects have been good, for he was the pupil of the wise Gamaliel, whose character seems to have been both cautious and gentle. But Saul was by nature fiercely impetuous, though possessing warm affections and being personally self-denying. He was zealous for his principles even to cruelty, and endued with a power of will which carried everything before it. His intercourse with the Pharisees had aroused his zeal against the followers of Christ; and carried away by his strong feeling of indignation against the new doctrine, and probably also remembering the denunciation which Jesus had pronounced against those who had been his teachers and guides, he cast aside every feeling of justice, and joined in the fierce tumult which was to end in the death of Stephen. By the Jewish law sentence against a criminal: could never be carried into execution on the same day on which the trial was held. By the Roman CONVERSION OF SAUL. A.D. 3. law the punishment of death could only be pro- nounced by a Roman judge. Saul knew these things well. He had been versed in the Jewish law from his youth; and the power of Rome was dear to him as one of her noble citizens; but all was forgotten then. The savage cries of the multitude resounded in his ears, the witnesses, who, according to the Law, were the first to cast the stone at him whom their testimony had condemned, were preparing themselves for their fearful office, yet Saul stood by unmoved; so resolute indeed in his fierce deter- mination that when the witnesses threw aside their loose outer garments, that they might be able with greater ease to fulfil their murderous task, they laid down their clothes at his feet, certain that he at least was heartily consenting to Stephen's death. " And they stoned Stephen." The words speak to us of horrible suffering, but the vision vouchsafed to Stephen might well wrap his soul in ecstasy, and steep in insensibility the quick sense of human anguish. As the heavy stones fell upon him with their crushing weight, he called upon God, saying, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this he fell asleep." CHAPTER III. THE CONVERSION OF SAUL. A.D. 37. DEVOUT men carried Stephen to his burial; the first Martyr in the cause of Christ; the first who was laid to rest " in the sure and certain hope of 23 24 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. joyful resurrection." Great were the lamenta- tions over him, but far greater cause had those who bore him to lament for themselves. The persecu- tion which had begun was not to cease as before with the first outbreak. The stormy passions ex- cited by the murder of Stephen raged even after his death, and Saul especially, having joined pub- licly in expressing his enmity to Christianity, was carried on by his blind zeal and made havoc of the Church, " entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison." In the trials that followed his voice was always in favour of the sentence of death, which was often passed against the disciples; and not satisfied with pun- ishing them, he endeavoured to make them, from dread of suffering, blaspheme that Holy Name which was afterwards to be his only hope. The disciples left Jerusalem, the Apostles only remaining behind. Many were scattered abroad in Judea, whilst Philip, one of the seven deacons, who had been appointed with Stephen to the es- pecial charge of the poor, went to the city of Samaria. The Samaritans, from their national enmity to the Jews, were perhaps less likely to have heard of the progress of Christianity than even the dwellers in more distant countries. Samaria had been in- habited now for many centuries by the descendants of the colonists, whom Shalmaneser, King of Assy- ria, placed in the country when the Israelites were carried away captive. The religion of the Samari- tans was a corruption of Judaism. They rejected all the books of the Scriptures except the five written by Moses, but these were regarded with the same reverence by them as by the Jews. But the chief question in dispute between the CONVERSION OF SAUL. A.D. 37. two nations regarded the sacredness of the Tem- ple of Jerusalem. When, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews were allowed t6 return and rebuild their Temple, the greatest opposition was made by the Samaritans, and ever since that time the enmity had continued. The Samaritans held that God might be worshipped on Mount Gerizim as well as on Mount Sion; their preju- dices were less than those of the Jews, and they had not the same overweening idea of their own importance as the peculiar people of God. From these causes, probably, they were more prepared to receive Christianity, and when Philip, the deacon, fulfilling his office, preached the Christian doc- trines, and performed many wonderful miracles, the Samaritans, we are told, heard him with joy, and consented to be baptized. Tidings of this fact were carried to Jerusalem, and the Apostles, putting aside any prejudice which as Jews they might have entertained with regard to the Samaritans, immediately " sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost, for as yet He was fallen upon none of them. Then laid they their hands on them, and they re- ceived the Holy Ghost." The great gift then was only conferred through the Apostles. It is the earliest instance mentioned of the laying on of hands after Baptism, which is the origin of the rite of Confirmation; and with it is connected the first mention of one who after- wards caused many to turn from the faith, and whose name has been transmitted to us by the sin which after him has been termed Simony, or the endeavour to purchase spiritual pow.er by money. 3 25 26 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Simon Magus, or Simon the Sorcerer, who had for a long time deceived the people of Samaria by magical tricks, was so far convinced of the truth of the Gospel that he consented to be baptized. But the spirit of the world was still strong in him, and when he found that the Apostles, by laying their hands on the disciples, could impart to them the power: of speaking with tongues and working miracles, "-he offered them money, saying, Give me also the power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost." Peter gave him a most stern rebuke, exhorting him to repent and "pray God, if perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him," and Simon was for the moment awed; but we shall find from after circumstances, that his repentance had no reality, and was merely the effect of a imomen- tary fear. The Apostles returned to Jerusalem, preaching in several Samaritan villages on their way, whilst Philip, the deacon, was sent by a special: command from God, delivered by an angel, :to the south-west of Judea. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an officer in the service of the Queen of Ethiopia, and a proselyte to Judaism, who had visited Jerusalem for the purpose of joining in the public services. The eunuch was on his journey homewards, and as he travelled he studied the Hebrew Scriptures. Philip by divine direction joined him, and entering into conversation instructed him as to the facts and -doctrines of Christianity. The eunuch pro- fessed his belief, was baptized, and went on his. way rejoicing. Some say he was the first to plant the church in Ethiopia. Philip was caught away by the Spirit, and was found at Azotus, a town on the Mediterranean, about forty or fifty miles from Gaza, CONVERSION OF :SAUL. A.D. 37. from: whence he journeyed to. Casarea preaching the :Gospel. Saul, in the mean time, was bending the whole force of his vehement will to the task of extir- pating the Christians, not only from Judea, but from those more. distant provinces of the Roman empire where they: might have taken refuge. With this view he went to. the High Priest, and entreated that he might be sent to Damascus, where at that period no less than ten thousand Jews were living, in order to make inquiries whether any professing the faith of Christ could be found amongst them. The suspected. persons were to be brought bound to: Jerusalem, there to be punished by the Sanhe- drim;: for .-that council had power: in religious. mat- ters even.over the Jews who were resident in for- eign countries. Letters to the heads of the synagogues in Da- mascus were accordingly given him, and Saul set forth accompanied by several other persons. They had journeyed some days, and about noon had. nearly reached Damascus, when suddenly, a light,. dazzling and glorious above the brightness of the sun, burst upon them; and as they fell to the earth in exceeding terror,: a voice from heaven was heard saying, in the Hebrew tongue: " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me ? It is hard for thee to kick. against the pricks." The words. were understood by none but Saul. Fearful and conscience-stricken, he replied: " Who art Thou, Lord?:" and again he was answered: "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister, and a wit- ness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 27 28 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. delivering thee from the people, and from the Gen- tiles unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me." And he trembling, and astonished, saic, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" And the Lord said unto him, " Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." Saul obeyed; and rose up from the earth blind, but in faith a Christian. They led him into the city, and there for three days he remained in the house of Judas, (probably one of the disciples,) neither eating nor drinking, and in utter darkness. Yet not hopeless, for he prayed. At the expiration of those three days, God had mercy upon him, and sending to him a disciple named Ananias, who laid his hands upon him, restored him to sight. And he " arose and was baptized." The great persecutor of the faith was converted; but it was long before the Apostles at Jerusalem were convinced of the fact. For three years Saul remained in Arabia; either in those parts of the country which were near Damascus, where he may have occupied himself in preaching the Gospel; or else living a life of meditation in the most distant and solitary regions, as a preparation for his com- ing work. Then, returning to the city of Damas- cus, he taught openly in the synagogues, to the great indignation of the Jews, who at length " took counsel to kill him." Day and night they watched at the gates of the city, but the disciples having learnt ingenuity by danger, let him down by the CONVERSION OF SAUL. A.D. 3. wall in a basket, by which means he escaped and hastened to Jerusalem. Here the difficulties and encouragements which were now to be his unceasing companions followed him. The disciples, knowing only what his former disposition towards them had been, shunned him. One friend, however, Barnabas, the Son of Consola- tion, was found to come forward in his support. Barnabas had known Saul before, and could vouch for the sincerity of his conversion. It is not un- likely, indeed, that they had been::acquaintances from boyhood, for Barnabas was a native of Cyprus, an island forming part of that province of Cilicia of which Tarsus, Saul's native place, was the chief city. It would be natural, therefore, for Barnabas to have received his education in some one of the great schools in which Tarsus at that, time abounded. There is a- tradition also that he had Jeen a fellow-pupil, with . Saul, in the school of Gamaliel, at Jerusalem. Either of these reasons would account for the interest in Saul- which Barnabas displayed, on this occasion, and which so satisfied St. :Peter and St. James, who were the only Apostles then in Jerusalem to whom Saul had made. himself known, that they at: once re- ceived him with: confidence, admitted him to their intimacy, and allowed him to preach, and especially to dispute with the Hellenistic Jews; and when his zeal had excited such indignation in Jerusalem as to cause his life to be in danger, they took mea- sures for conveying him to Ccesarea, and .sent him from thence to his native city Tarsus. The perse- cution: which Saul had commenced was by this time stopped, and ":the churches throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had rest, and 3" 29 30 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." CHAPTER IV. THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. A.D. 41. THE events which have been described, including the season of peace, occupied about ten years from the crucifixion of our Lord. During that period, many public changes had taken place, both in Rome and in Judea. The Emperor Tiberius was dead, A.D. 8T. and Caligula, the youngest son of his nephew Germanicus, had succeeded him. Both these emperors were monsters of wickedness, and the Jews suffered from them some of the calamities which they had themselves inflicted upon the fol- lowers of Christ. They had rejected their Lord, and owned no king but Cesar, and Pilate brought the image of Casar into Jerusalem to be worshipped; took the money which they put aside for the service of the Temple, and with it paid the cost of an aqueduct which he had built, and at last provoked them to open rebellion, and excited an insurrection in which very many were killed. The Christians were then too inconsiderable to excite his anger. It is even said that Pilate, look- ing upon our Lord's life and death merely as curious events in the history of the country which he governed, sent an account of them to Tiberius, who would have placed the statue of Christ amongst those of the Roman gods, but that the senate re- fused to permit it. After Pilate had ruled over THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. A.D. 41. 31 Judea ten years, public accusations were brought against him, and the governor of Syria deprived him of his office, and sent him to Rome to answer the charges made against him. This was during the reign of Tiberius, whose death took place the following year. Caligula banished Pilate to Gaul, where we are told that he lived in misery, and at last died by his own hand. The story of his punishment and his fate still lingers amongst the mighty hills which separate France from Switz- erland. The peasants of the district say that he cast himself from the summit of an inaccessible moun- tain, now called Mount Pilatus, and they point to its rocky peaks with awe, and shudder as they whisper that the lost spirit of the murderer of Jesus still haunts the spot where he sought his own destruction. The reign of Caligula was one of peace for the followers of Christ, but for the Jewish nation it was marked by great troubles. The emperor, as insane as he was wicked, commanded the Jews to transfer their worship to him, and to dedicate their Temple to his honour. The Jews scoffed, as justly they might, at the idea of such a divinity, and when complaints were made against them to the emperor, sent the most learned man of their own nation, Philo, a nobleman of Alexandria, skilled in all the points of the Jewish religion as well as the Greek philosophy, to make their de- fence. This, however, only enraged the emperor the more against them, and cruelties were inflicted upon them, which were but the beginning of the calamities that, according to the prophecy of our Lord, were soon to end in their utter ruin. A.D. 41. Caligula died, and Claudius, his uncle, suc- ceeded him. That was a memorable year for 32 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. the Christian Church, the most memorable of all since the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for it was the beginning of the fulfilment of the great prophecy that Christ should be " a light to lighten -the Gentiles" as well as " the glory of His people Israel." Hitherto the Christian disciples had all been either Jews by birth, Samaritans, or proselytes to the Jewish religion. They observed the rites of Moses, kept the :appointed festivals and fasts, assembled in the .synagogues, and joined in the worship of the Temple. In all respects they were like their brethren, except that they believed the Messiah to be come, whilst the others looked for- ward to His future appearance. Even in name they were scarcely distinguished as a distinct people, for they were known only as the sect of the Nazarenes. But the time was at hand when the glad tidings of salvation were to be made known not only to the children of Abraham, but to the farthest king- doms of the earth. For more than ten years salvation had been preached to the Jews. Some had embraced it, thousands had rejected it; now the Apostles were to turn to the Gentiles. Saul was at Tarsus, preaching the faith of Christ iil his native city.; Peter was at Joppa, a city on the shores, of the Mediterranean, where: he had performed the miracle of raising the dead to life; ,and tarrying there many days, lodged in the house of " one" Simon, :a tanner, whose house was by the sea-side. It was -the sixth hour of the day, an, appointed hour for prayer, and Peter, who carefully observed all the outward: rules of the Jewish. religion, went THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. A.D. 41. 33 up upon the flat roof of the house, overlooking the beautiful shores of the Mediterranean, to pray. " And he became very hungry, and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him saying, Rise, Peter, kill, and eat." The command was strange indeed to a Jew, accustomed from his infancy to the most scrupulous distinctions as to food, clean and unclean. But when Peter hesitated, it was given a second time in the form 'of a reproof: "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Whilst Peter was pondering upon the meaning of this vision, three men, strangers, had entered Joppa, and were inquiring for the house of Simon. Even then they stood before the gate. Peter, directed by the Spirit of God, went down to them instantly, and demanded for what cause they had come. They had arrived fronr Casarea, an important city of Palestine, named by Herod the Great, in honour of the Emperor Augustus. A Roman centurion living there, a just and holy man, a worshipper of the true God, and " of good report among all the nation of the Jews," had been warned by an angel to send for Peter to his house, and to hear words of him. And this was the mes- sage brought by the strangers. A few hours before, Peter might have doubted what answer to make. It was unlawful for a Jew 34 HISTORY: OF THE EARLY CHURCH. to " keep company, or come unto one of another na- tion ;:" unlawful, not according to the law of Moses, but according to the :teaching .of the Scribes and the customs of the country. But the vision which he had seen bore a clear meaning. God had showed him that he should not call any man com- mon or unclean. The men:were received and lodged, for it was then too late to set out on the journey; and on the following day Peter and several disciples from Joppa departed for Cmesarea. They reached the city on the succeeding day. Cornelius with his kinsmen and near friends were awaiting their arrival, and on Peter's approach, Cornelius, over- come with awe, and thinking him a heavenly mes- senger, fell 'at his feet and worshipped him. Peter rejected in a moment the undue reverence, and declaring himself to be only a man, inquired further particulars of the reasons which had in- duced Cornelius to send for him. The story was related in detail, and Peter then declared his conviction that God was no " respecter of persons," and turning to the persons assembled, spoke to them of the faith of Christ, and the pro- mise of forgiveness of sins granted through Him. Whilst he was yet speaking, the Holy Ghost fell upon those who listened to him, enabling them to speak in other tongues. No other proof was needed that God had willed that the Gentiles should be admitted to the same privileges as the Jews. Even the Jewish disciples who had accompanied Peter were convinced. And the new converts were forthwith baptized, and re- ceived as living members of that Holy Church which was now indeed to become Catholic. So it has been considered by some that our Lord's THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS..- A.D. 41. 35 promise to St. Peter, " upon this rock I will build my Church," received its chief fulfilment. Through his means especially was the Church built upon its true foundation - faith in the Son of God. He had been the first to preach to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and now he was appointed -to open the gates of salvation to the Gentiles. The :tidings of the conversion of Cornelius were soon carried to Jerusalem, and although at first some of :the strictest of the Jewish disciples ob- jected to -the admission of uncircumcised persons into the Church, yet St. Peter's account of the mi- raculous gift of the Holy Ghost convinced them at last that to :reject them would be to reject the known will of God. But it was long before the Jews could fully overcome their early prejudice; and, the first disputes which disturbed the peace of the Church were as to the necessity that the Gen- tile converts should adhere to the rites and cere- monies of the Jewish law. The tranquillity of the Church was not again interrupted. until about two years after the conver- sion of Cornelius. Up to that time the Gospel had continued to spread principally in Syria and the island:of Cyprus, the birthplace of Barnabas. At Antioch in Syria, especially, the disciples were nu- merous, and both Barnabas and Saul dwelt there for a year to instruct the new converts, who were then for the first time called Christians. The name is supposed to have been given them by the Gentiles, as the Jews were not likely to ap- ply the sacred word Christ or Anointed to those whom they held to be the followers of a false Messiah. The:year 43 was marked by a terrible famine from which Judea especially suffered, and Saul and 36 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Barnabas left Antioch and went up to Jerusalem, carrying with them the contributions which the disciples had collected for the relief of their brethren. And in the same year another persecu- tion was excited against the Christians, not, as before, by the Chief Priests and Scribes, but by Herod Agrippa, the king who then reigned over Judea. This Herod Agrippa was a grandson of Hierod the Great, in whose reign the Saviour of the world was born. Hie had been much in favour with the Emperor Caligula, and was now still more so with Claudius, who, in addition to other gifts, had lately made him King of Judea. He was a prudent, clever, courteous, worldly- minded man, well aware that it was for his own interest to profess himself a zealous observer of the Jewish law. No day, therefore, was suffered to pass without his being present at the sacrifice in the Temple; whilst, in order to gain the favour of the people, he resolved to persecute the Christians, as their doctrines were supposed to be entirely de- structive of the law of Moses. Herod's cruel zeal was first exercised upon the Apostle James, com- monly called the Great, the son of Zebedee and Salome. Salome is supposed to have been a first cousin of the Blessed Virgin, so that St. James was a near relation of our Lord. He was apprehended and brought to trial, and a false accuser stood forth .to witness against him; but the Apostle, sutpported by superhuman power, showed a courage and constancy which even his bitterest enemy could not look upon without wonder. The very man who had publicly testified against him, became in heart his follower, and when, on the morning succeeding his trial, St. James was brought forth to the place of execution, his accuser threw CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. A.D. 41. 37 himself at his feet, and entreated his forgiveness. The Apostle raised and embraced him. "'Peace, my son," he said, "peace be to thee, and the par- don of thy faults." And the blessed words of re- conciliation were followed by the only reward which could then have satisfied the heart of the Apostle;-his enemy professed himself to be a Christian, and both were led away to be beheaded at the same time. Neither baptism nor any other ordinance of the Church was required to testify the sincerity of such a convert, and no doubt could be entertained that God's Grace was with him. The early Chris- tians, indeed, always looked upon martyrdom for the faith of Christ as fully admitting into the Church those who endured it, and were accustomed to call it the Baptism of Blood. The anger of Herod Agrippa was not appeased by the murder of St. James. Peter also was thrown into prison, from whence he was released by the interposition of an angel; and the king's wrath fell upon his keepers, who were put to death. But the punishment of Herod's crimes followed quickly upon their commission. Shortly after the death of St. James, he went down to Caesarea for the purpose of holding a great festival in honour of the Emperor Claudius Cassar. On the second day he came with great state into the theatre, to make an oration to the people. His robe, which was curiously worked in silver, shone with dazzling brightness, and the people, in their impious flattery, proclaimed him a god. Herod received their homage without any mark of displeasure, " and immediately the Angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the Ghost." HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. CHAPTER V. THE FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. THERE is a tradition (entitled to considerable re- spect) that our Lord commanded the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem till after twelve years from His ascension; and traces are to be found in the sacred history tending to support this opinion. It seems indeed to be in a manner confirmed by the fact already mentioned, that at the time of the persecu- tion which followed the death of Stephen, all the Christians, except the Apostles, were " scattered abroad." A residence at Jerusalem did not, however, necessarily imply that they were always stationary in that city, but only that they made it their head- quarters, whilst visiting from time to time the churches established in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. One great reason for this regulation has been suggested, namely, that our Saviour, in His infinite Wisdom, may have seen fit to establish the Gospel firmly in one place, and collect a great body of dis- ciples united around one common centre, so as fully to draw attention to the excellence of the Christian Church, and cause its power to be known and felt, before any attempt was definitely made to spread it in distant lands. Certainly, there is every reason to think that up to this time none of the Apostles had left Palestine. But the promise that in Christ Jesus " all families of the earth" were to be blessed, was now to be stictly fulfilled. Paul and Barnabas had re- turned to Antioch after their mission to Jerusalem, at the period of the fimine, and were continuing 38 FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. 39 their labours, assisted by several prophets and teachers; and amongst them Manaen, the fourth brother of Herod Agrippa, who had been brought up with him. They ministered, it is said, " unto the Lord and fasted "-words which imply some peculiarly solemn religious services ; and whilst en- gaged in them a special intimation of God's Will was given. A great work was to be undertaken, and Saul and his faithful companion Barnabas were to be set apart for it. Whether this communication was made by means of a voice from heaven, or by a vision to some of the prophets, we are not told, but it was instantly obeyed. A. time of fasting and humiliation was observed, and the two friends, now publicly an- nounced as the Apostles of Christ, were ordained by the laying on of hands, and sent forth on their first missionary journey. John, surnamed Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, accompanied them as their minister, or attendant, to assist them probably in their inferior and more mechanical duties, as we find before that there were " young men " ready to carry out the bodies of Ananias and Sapphira. The appointment of Saul and Barnabas is another proof that none took any office in the Church who were not regularly chosen; and that the laying on of hands was the form of ordination, as well as the means by which the gifts of the -Ioly Ghost were conferred. The island of Cyprus and the South of Asia Minor were the regions first visited by the two Apostles; but at the very commencement of their labours they met with a grievous disappointment in their companion. John had, as it seems, gone with them willingly to Cyprus, where, probably, he had relations and friends, since his uncle was by birth a 40 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Cypriote; but when they proceeded to Perga, in Pamphylia, his heart failed him. The journey be- fore him was unknown, and likely to be full of perils, he could not summon up the courage neces- sary to encounter it, and he returned to Jerusalem, leaving the Apostles to pursue their way alone; cast down, doubtless, but not " in despair," at this instance of lukewarmness. Wherever they went, they preached first in the Jewish Synagogue, and then, when persecution met them, turned to the Gentiles. Numbers were converted, and Christian congregations, always termed Churches, were formed in many cities; elders being appointed over them, who were or- dained by the Apostles with prayer and fasting. This journey seems to have occupied about a year, at the expiration of which time the Apostles returned to Antioch, and gathering the disciples around them, rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how He had " opened the door of faith" finto the Gentiles. It was during this journey that Saul is firstmentioned in Scripture by the name of Paul. Some have supposed the change to have arisen from the conversion of the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, in the island of Cyprus, and believe that the name of Paul was adopted by the Apostle in remembrance of the event : but it seems more pro- bable that it was a second name borne by St. Paul from his childhood. Heathen appellations were often adopted by the Jews, sometimes from a special reason, and at others merely from a resemblance in the sound. After this about three years went by, during which time the Christians remained undisturbed by persecution from without. But they were not so free from dissensions within. The reception of FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. 41 the Gentile converts into the Church had caused a controversy, which it required all the inspired wis- dom of the Apostles to set at rest. The dispute was first made public at Antioch. Certain Jews came down from Judea and taught the Gentile converts that unless they observed all the laws of Moses they could not be saved. This was a most important question, for the Mosaic law was full of rites and ceremonies, and minute regulations, which had in themselves a deep meaning, as referring to the sacrifice of Christ, and were sacred to the Jews as the token of their being the peculiar people of God; but the Gentiles knew nothing of them. They had no need of types and figures now that Christ had offered himself as the one atoning Sacrifice, and the customs which the Jews venerated were to them only burdensome. Paul and Barnabas, taking part with the Gentiles, disputed the point warmly, but finding that it could not be settled satisfactorily, they determined to go up to Jerusalem to consult with the Apostles and elders. Titus, afterwards bishop of Crete, went with them. Being a Gentile, he was uncircumcised. This fact was known to some of the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem, and excited considerable indignation amongst them. St. Paul, with the de- termination peculiar to his character; refused to yield for a moment to a clamour which he con- sidered an encroachment upon the liberty of the Christian religion; and the differences between the two parties became more and more serious. Private conferences took place between St. Paul and the most important heads of the Church, St. James, St. Peter, and St. John, and at length it was resolved that a general council-the first council of the 4* 42 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Christian Church-should be held to decide the point. (A. D. 48.) James, commonly called St. James the Less, presided over it. Different opinions have been held as to the parentage of this Apostle. He is called in Scripture the Lord's brother. Several ancient historians say that he was the son of Joseph by a former wife; whilst others, finding that he is also called the Son of Alpheus, suppose that the word brother only implies that he was our Lord's near relation, probably His cousin, the appellation being often used by-the Jews in that sense. The Jewish historian Josephus speaks of James, the brother of Jesus. Little is said of him in the Gospel, though we know from St. Paul that our Saviour vouchsafed to appear to him particularly after His resurrection. He was a man of singular piety, who had been edu- cated in the strictest regard to his religious duties: but his humility was as great as his devotion; and although one of the twelve chosen Apostles, yet in speaking of himself in his Epistle he styles himself only, " the servant of the Lord Jesus." He was, we are told, consecrated to be a Nazarite from his birth, and always lived according to the strict rules given by Moses for those who wished thus to " separate themselves unto the Lord." He never ate meat nor drank wine, walked barefoot, and wore only linen garments. His reputation for sanctity was indeed so great that he was univer- sally styled, James the Just. Many thought that the prosperity of their country depended upon his prayers, and gave him the title of Oblias, or Ozliam, " the defence and fortress of the people." Prayer was his business and delight; he continually re- sorted to the temple that he might pray alone; and we are informed that, from the habit of con- FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. 43 stantly kneeling, his knees becariie worn and hard as those of a camel. St. James the Less is supposed to have been chosen Bishop of Jerusalem on account of his near relationship to our Blessed Lord; some have said that the dignity was conferred on him by Christ Himself, but this fact is doubtful. It is certain, however, that he was considered the head of the Church on the occasion of this first Council. The Apostles and Elders met together at the appointed time, and the discussions began irregularly; but " when there had been much disputing," Peter stood up to state the circumstances which had first proved it to be God's Will-that the Gentiles should be ad- mitted to Christianity; and strongly urged that they should not be called upon to submit to the yoke of ceremonies which neither the Jews themselves, nor their forefathers had been able to bear. He was followed by Paul and Barnabas, who gave their testimony as to the miracles which God had en- abled them to work among the Gentiles, and which plainly showed that His blessing was upon their labours. The account must have been most inter- esting to those who had only known of these great events by hearsay. The multitude kept silence, listening attentively whilst the two missionary Apostles related the history of their wanderings and their success; and when at length they ceased, James, the presiding bishop, gave the decision which was to be from thenceforth the rule of the Christian Church. The gentleness and consideration for the feelings and prejudices of both Jews and Gentiles, shown in the decree which was then set forth, is a most striking lesson to all in every age. Circum- cision, as being only an outward rite, was at once 44 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. declared unnecessary for the Gentiles, and the Apostle-speaking, as he himself said, by the inspi- ration of the Holy Ghost-declared that no greater burden was to be laid upon them than that of lead- ing a life of purity, abstaining from meats offered in sacrifice to idols, and from things strangled, and from blood. These latter orders were no doubt given out of consideration for the national feelings of the Jews. The laws of Moses strictly enjoined that the blood of animals used for food should be drained from them immediately after their death. The custom made a marked distinction between the Jewish feasts and those of the heathen. It formed some- what of the same kind of barrier between them as that of caste does among the Hindoos.- The Jews dwelt amongst the Gentiles, and bought and sold with them, but their family life was quite apart; and they would be the less willing to put an end to this separation, because it was well known that the grossest wickedness was practised at many of the feasts of the Gentiles, especially those connected with their idol worship; whilst the Law of Moses, read continually in the foreign synagogues, proved a perpetual protest against any connection with such guilty festivities. In the same way the Jews felt an utter abhor- rence of things sold for food after they had been offered to idols, whilst the Gentile converts had no such scruples. If, therefore, no regulation was made upon this subject, the Jewish Christians would be liable to be continually shocked by the conduct of their Gentile brethren. The laws laid down were necessary in those days, to preserve the peace of the Church, but they ceased to be requisite in after years, when idolatry was no longer preva- lent througilout the world. FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. 45 At the close of the Council, some other points, more particularly referring to St. Paul himself, were decided. His conduct and that of St. Barnabas, as regarded the Gentiles, was fully approved; and it was settled, with the approbation of St. James, St. Peter, and St. John, that as God had so evi- dently appointed them to the work of preaching to the Gentiles, they should thenceforth devote them- selves to it especially, while St. Peter laboured. am6ngst the Jews. St. Paul himself, when writing to the Galatians of the cordial unanimity of feeling shown on this occasion, says, " they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship." Words especially to be remarked because this occasion is the only one on which we know for certain that the gentle St. John, and the impetuous St. Paul, ever met, whilst it is the last mention made in Scripture of St. John, previous to his' vision in the Isle of Patmos. When the Council broke up, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, accompanied by Judas, sur- named Barsabas, and Silas, "chief men among the brethren." It has also been thought that Mark went with them, as he is soon afterwards spoken of as being at Antioch with his uncle Barnabas. They carried with them letters from the Apostles and Elders, containing the decree which had just been made, and were charged also with a special mission to collect contributions from the Gentile and Jew- ish converts for their poor brethren in Jerusalem; a duty to which several allusions are made in the Epistles of St. Paul. All differences of opinion upon the important question as to the necessity of observing the Jewish ordinances must now have appeared to be entirely set at rest; but religious prejudices are, of all others, 46 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. the most difficult to be overcome. Some time after the decree of the Church was made known, a party of Jewish Christians came from Jerusalem to An- tioch, and disregarding the opinion of the Council, still refused to eat with the Gentiles. The old feeling of distinction between the two parties was revived in consequence; and St. Peter, who about the same time happened to be at Antioch, fearing to shock the Jews, not only yielded to their preju- dice, although he had before mixed freely with all, but induced Barnabas likewise to dissemble his true sentiments, and separate himself from his Gentile brethren. St. Paul only stood firm. The circumstance affords an interesting illustra- tion of the character of the different Apostles,- Peter, we are told, feared " them which were of the circumcision; " so, in other days, had he feared the servants of the High Priest, and denied his Lord. Barnabas, the Son of Consolation, full of gentleness and affection, doubtless dreaded to provoke ill feel- ing, and yielded the point against the better sug- gestions of his reason and conscience,-whilst Paul, steadfast now in the cause of truth, as he had once been in that of error, boldly maintained his ground, declared that such doubleness of conduct was in- consistent with the uprightness of the Gospel ; and addressing Peter openly, before an assembly of their fellow-Christians, exclaimed, with all the ardour natural to him, "If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do ihe Jews ? " St. Paul and St. Peter are, in this instance, strongly contrasted in character, and it may per- haps be interesting to remark that the scene to which allusion is here made, must also, according FIRST COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM. A.D. 48. 47 to the general impression handed down to us from tradition, have exhibited them as strikingly unlike also in personal appearance. St. Paul is said to have been of small stature, and to have suffered from lameness, or some other distortion. He is described likewise as having a bald head, and a beard which was long and thin, a complexion clear, and changing rapidly according to his feelings, bright grey eyes, with thickly overhanging eye- brows, and a manner cheerful and winning to all. He does not appear to have enjoyed very good health, and an ancient writer speaks of his being frequently afflicted with headache. St. Peter is represented as having been a much larger and harsher looking man, with a pale, sallow complex- ion, dark flashing eyes, and black hair curling thickly round his forehead and chin. The result of the Apostles' disagreement at this time we are not directly told; but if the excitable and unstable temperament of Peter led him, even after being strengthened with the Holy Ghost, into conduct inconsistent with the simplicity of Christ's religion, his generous affection and natural candour, doubtless, urged him to acknowledge it; and when we read his reference, many years afterwards, to the " Epistles of his beloved brother Paul," we may find in it the proof of their mutual forgiveness and hearty reconciliation. The tie which united Paul and Barnabas was probably of a yet more tender nature than that which linked together the two great Apostles of the Jewish and Gentile Churches. Barnabas had trusted and welcomed Paul when others had looked upon him with suspicion; and the grateful, noble spirit of the converted Apostle must have clung to that of his earnest and gentle friend with a warmth in- 48 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. creased perhaps by the very contrast in their nat-. ural dispositions. One fault could not destroy a friendship so deeply rooted in the fellowship of Christian love. With a sad yet tender reproach, and offering, incidentally, an excuse for the error, St. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, alludes to the weakness of one whom he must have so dearly loved, "Barnabas also," he says, " was carried away by their dissimulation." It is -but a passing mention required by truth, yet the uncompromising temper of St. Paul must have been sorely tried by the instability of his friend, not only in this instance, but in the circumstances which were shortly to follow. CHAPTER VI. ST. PAUL AT ATHENS. A.D. 50. IT has been said that before the Council at Jerusa- lem broke up, a division was made of the two great branches of the Christian Church; St. Paul and St. Barnabas being especially pointed out as the Apostles who were to labour amongst the heathen. The time was now come when this arrangement was to be carried into effect, and the missionary labours of the Church were again to commence. St. Paul' applied to Barnabas, whom he evidently still considered his chosen companion. " Let us go again," he said, " and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word, and see how they do." The wish was in accordance with St. Paul's natural character, and the deep affection which he appears always to have felt for those who ST. PAUL AT ATHENS. A.D. 50. had been converted by his ministry. But the same human weakness which had induced Barnabas to yield to the prejudices of the Jews, rather than excite their ill will by opposition, now led him to insist upon carrying with them his nephew John, surnamed Mark, who had, on a previous occasion, left them at Perga. A sharp contention followed. Paul could feel no trust in Mark, after his past conduct; Barnabas, probably, forgave everything from the considera- tion that he was his sister's son. Finding it im- possible to agree, they at length determined to separate. Barnabas, taking Mark with him, pro- ceeded to his native island, Cyprus; and Paul, accompanied by Silas, set forth on a journey through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches, and delivering to them the decrees respecting the ob- servance of the Jewish law, which had been ordained by the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem. At Lystra he was joined by Timothy, the son of a Greek who had married a Jewess. Eunice, the mother of Timothy, was remarkable for her un- feigned piety and the care which she had taken of her child's early education. Timothy had been in- structed in the Scriptures from his youth, and his character stood very high with the Christians of Lystra and the neighbouring city of Iconium; but although well versed in the Jewish law he had never been circumcised. His father, being a Greek, probably did not consider it necessary. It is said that the parents of Timothy were converted to Christianity during St. Paul's first journey, when he came with Barnabas to Lystra and miraculously cured the impotent cripple; and we are further told that they received St. Paul into their house, entertained him hospitably, 5 49 50 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. and gave up their son to his care. Whether this was so or not, we kno.w from the sacred writings that St. Paul's affection for Timothy was very great, and that it was his particular desire that -his: young convert should accompany him in his long and dangerous wanderings. Previous to their setting: forth, however, St. Paul required that Timothy should submit to the rite of -circumcision. There were many Jews: dwelling in those- quarters, and it must have appeared unwise to offend their preju- dices; and although, at first sight, when we re- member how firmly St. Paul withstood the circum- cision of Titus, there may. seem some inconsistency in this conduct, yet, when we look into the question carefully, we shall see that it.was the same motive of Christian charity which actuated St. Paul in both instances., : The Jews demanded the circum- cision- .-of Titus, as necessary to his salvation; they said that unless the whole, law of Moses was kept, a Christian could ..not be saved., St. Paul denied this, and firmly refused to, do anything which. might be supposed to sanction the doctrine : therefore. he would not allow Titus. to: be. circum- cised. But in the. case of Timothy no such claim. was made; only, as. he was about to preach in places where there were many Jews, St. Paul, will- ing, as he says, to make himself" all things to all men,"' did not choose to shock them by introducing amongst them, as their teacher, a person who claimed to belong to their nation, and yet would not submit to the rites of their religion. After their sojourn at Lystra, St.. Paul and his two companions passed ,through Phrygia and Ga- latia,-turning aside from, certain other provinces of Asia Minor by the express command of the Spirit of God,-and, journeying toward the sea-coast, ST. PAUL- AT ATHENS.. A.D. 50. :reached Troas, a city of Mysia. Another friend was here added to their party,-Luke, commonly called the Evangelist, a physician by profession, and said tb have been both a learned and accom- plished man, and particularly skilful in painting. He is spoken of as a painter by ancient writers, and a very old inscription, found in a vault under a church at Rome, makes mention of a picture of the Blessed Virgin, as being one of the seven paint- ed by St. Luke. SSt. Luke was a native of Antioch in Syria, and, it is:.supposed, was. converted by St. Paul during his -residence :in that city., His presence at Troas must have been no small comfort to the Apostle, himself :a man of cultivated mind, and accustomed to associate with persons of learning and science; and still greater must have- been his satisfaction when he found that. St. Luke, besides cheering him with his society during the short time that he remained at Troas, was also willing to accompany him into the distant regions where the Providence of God was calling him. For the time was now come when the Gospel was to be preached in Europe. We can scarcely realize the greatness of that fact. Europe is to us now more especially Christen- dom-the land of Christ. We can with difficulty carry back our thoughts to the time when temples thronged with the worshippers of Zeus and Aphro- dite, Apollo and Athene, and the innumerable other deities whom the folly or -the needs of men had in- :vented, crowned the lofty hills, or lay sheltered in the -quiet valleys of Greece. It is an effort to imagine the proud citizens of Rome bowing before the statue of Jupiter, and the noble Roman ladies devoting themselves to the service of Vesta. The 51 52 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. histories of these deities seem to us too monstrous to be believed for a moment by beings on whom God has bestowed the gift of reason. Still less, perhaps, can we imagine the dreary darkness of the few wiser and better heathen, who felt in themselves that craving for perfection and immortality which God has left us as a part of our original nature, yet saw that the gods whom they professed to wor- ship were, like themselves, sinful and miserable,- greater in wickedness as well as in power. Surely when they looked round upon the world lying in sin, and upwards to the heavens so silent, distant, and mysterious, it must have been *vith an intense longing to know the secret of their existence,-why they were born, whence they came, whither they were going.' And the answer was now to be sent to them. In that sea-port town on the coast of Asia Minor, were the men now waiting whom God had destined to throw light upon the questions which sages had for centuries vainly endeavoured to solve. They were sent forth by a special command from Heaven. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: " There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over and help us. And after they had seen the vision, immediately they endeavoured to go into Macedonia; assuredly gathering that the Lord had called them." Neapolis, Philippi, Amphipolis, Apolionia, Thes- salonica, Beroea, heard the word of God. Danger followed the footsteps of the preachers; imprison- ment from the Gentiles at Philippi, and the angry fury of a violent assault from the Jews at Thessa- lonica; yet they went on their way rejoicing, for their labours were blessed. The humble-minded amongst the heathen, the pure-hearted and un- ST. PAUL AT ATHENS.: A.D. 50. prejudiced amongst the Jews, and the Greek wor- shippers of the True God, inquired into the doc- trines-taught by St. Paul, and believed them. Bercea especially was the dwelling-place of many Jews who " received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched- the Scriptures daily whether those things were.so; " and here the Apostle: might for a while have found -rest and sympathy, but that the Jews .of Thessalonica, indignant- at his success, followed him thither, stirred up the people against him, and at length compelled him to flee from the city under! pretence of going towards the sea, but in reality with ::the intention :of travelling to Athens. (A.D. 50.) -This journey was undertaken alone, or at least without the mforting society of -the three friends who had accompanied him from Asia. St. Luke, it appears, had remained behind at Philippi, and Silas and,: Timothy were left at Bercea; perhaps because it was thought: that the departure of the Apostle would in that case be the less marked. The sepa- ration from the :latter, however, was not for long; St. Paul sent them an urgent message-by the friends who, after :conveying him safely to his des- -tination, returned .to Bercea-begging them to join him with all speed; and in the mean. time he waited for them at Athens. No place on the face of the globe could have been found more likely to arouse the excitable tem- perament of St. Paul than this. It was the very metropolis of idolatry; crowded with magnificent temples; frequented by philosophers who prided -themselves upon their human learning; inhabited by a people whose taste and refinement were the admiration of all the civilized world. If idolatry was ever exhibited in a form tempting to the better 5* 53 54 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. feelings of mankind, it must have been at Athens; where all that was gross and sensual was hidden beneath the solemnities of gorgeous ceremonies, and the splendour of buildings which, even to this day, have never been equalled. But St. Paul did not at once and openly declaim against the worship he abhorred. Here, as else- where, he addressed himself first to the Jews in the Synagogue; and, when he did dispute in the market-place, directed his words to the few devout persons whom he daily met there. Yet it was im- possible that he could remain unnoticed in a place where novelty was the great attraction for all. His arguments were heard by certain philoso- phers, Epicureans and Stoics, persons who were ac- customed to think and reason upon subjects con- nected with the destiny of mankind, and the govern- ment of the world, and who listened to the teaching of St. Paul with contemptuous unbelief! "What will this babbler say ?" they exclaimed; " he seem- eth to be a setter forth of strange gods." Yet his startling words could not pass away and be forgotten. The tidings of One who had died, and risen again, and offered immortality to His followers, could not be heard without interest by men accustomed to ponder upon the deep mys- teries of this present life. " And they took him and brought him to Areopagus,"-the great court where all questions of religious difficulty were determined, -and there entreated him to declare more clearly what this new doctrine whereof he spoke was. The judges of the Areopagus sat in the open air: their seats, hewn out of the solid rock, were on a platform forming the summit of a hill known by the name of Mars' Hill. Here it was that St. Paul stood, in the presence of the noblest and wisest ST. PAUL AT ATHENS. A.D. 50. of the Greeks, and entered without hesitation upon the subject of which his thoughts and his heart were full. " Ye men of Athens ! " he exclaimed, " Iperceive that in all things ye are too supersti- tious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devo- tions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you." Strange that seems to us, accustomed from our infancy to address our petitions to the Great God, the Lord of Heaven and earth. Strange, that a people who could think, and talk, and write upon all other subjects so as to be the instructors of the world, should require to be taught the first, simplest truths of religion ! But so it was; and St. Paul, following up his subject, spoke to the proud Athe- nians of Him in whom they lived, and moved, and had their being, even as we speak to the child kneeling to repeat his prayers, of God his Father, by whom he and all the world were made. Still further the Apostle taught his hearers: he warned them of a judgment to come,-a Day in which God would " judge the world in righteous- ness by that Man whom He had ordained," and whom He had raised from the dead, to give assur- ance to all of the truth of this awful doctrine. And then the Athenians would listen to him no longer. That there was a God who created the world, they could believe, for it was a fact set forth by every object in nature; that the spirit might be conscious after death, they hoped, for God had im- planted in their very nature the dread of utter destruction; but that the body-the prey of cor- ruption, the food for worms-should be restored, and again united to the soul, this was above the evidence of their natural senses: and some mocked, 55 56 HISTORY OF. THE EARLY CHURCH. and others isaid, "We will hear thee again of this matter." "So Paul departed from among them." The preaching of the Apostle was not, however, without fruit. " Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman .named Damaris, and others with them," followed him. The former, especially, was a con- vert of great influence, for the members of the .Areopagus -were men of noble birth, wise, and prudent.; and tradition tells us that Dionysius, especially, had travelled to Egypt, and studied philosophy and astronomy in the city of Heliopolis. Ie it was who was afterwards made the first bishop of .the Church at Athens,. and St. Paul himself is said to- have consecrated him to that office. CHAPTER VII. ST. PAUL AT. :EPIIESUS. A.D. 53. CORINTH was the next place visited by St. Paul, and there, being joined by Silas and Timothy, he spent eighteen months, doubtless induced to remain by the fact that the, city was one of the most im- portant and luxurious in all Greece; and encour- aged also by a special revelation assuring him that no man should set on him to hurt him, for that God had much people in the city. But St. Paul's love for his new converts did not render him unmindful of those whom he had left behind him at Thessalonica. His two Epistles to the Thessalonians were written about this period. They contain many allusions to the crcumnstances which had separated him from them, and which have already been mentioned, He speaks of his ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS. A.D. 53. own sufferings at Philippi, and mentions a fact which is not named in the Acts of the Apostles; that he was so anxious to obtain tidings of their well doing, that he had consented to remain at Athens alone, in order to give Timothy an oppor- tunity of going to Thessalonica to obtain tidings of them. This may perhaps account for the circum- stance, that although St. Paul sent at first an urgent message to Silas and Timothy to join him at Ath- ens, yet they did not do so until after his arrival at Corinth. St. Paul probably stayed in Greece for more than a year. He then returned to Asia, aid after a short stay at Ephesus, one of the wealthiest cities of Asia Minor, proceeded to Jerusalem, for the purpose of keeping the feast of Pentecost, and also of carrying to the poor Christians of Judea the con- tributions gathered from their brethren during his journey; and finally, about the end of the year 53, took up his abode at Ephesus. Here he remained for three or four years, occasionally visiting his converts in other parts of the country; and once, it is said, paying a short visit to Corinth. The condition of this city seems to have caused him much anxiety. The first heretical or false doc- trines respecting the nature of Christ had by this time sprung up, and the Church of Corinth was in- fected by them. Simon Magus, the sorcerer, who had desired to purchase from St. Peter the gift of the Holy Ghost, was one of the earliest teachers of these errors. The punishment which had fallen upon him had not really touched his heart, and although de- claring himself a believer in Christ, he turned aside from the faith of the Apostles, and mixed with it false opinions of his own, which he taught, 57 58 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. and which spread widely in the countries where Christianity was preached. Other false doctrines: also, gathered from hea- thenism, were blended with those put forth by Simon Magus, and the whole formed a strange and perplexing. creed, which,- under the name of Gnos- ticism, was one of the greatest evils- with: which the early Christians had to -contend. It may: be desirable to mention some of the leading :features of this heresy, as it will enable us .to understand the allusions which are made. to it in the Epistles. The. Gnostics :then taught that all which we call matter,-such .as our bodies, and -the things which we- touch and feel and see,-was evil, and subject to :an evil being. They believed that Christ our Lord ,proceeded from God, but they would not be- lieve that He really took upon Him our nature; because, they said, that lie, being pure and. spiritual, could not dwell. in a. material or evil body; and therefore they declared that when He appeared among us a man, HIe was not; really a man, but only bore the appearance of one. So also they would not believe that the body would ever rise again. As- they considered it to be in its very nture evil, they could not imagine that it would ever be reunited to a purified spirit. The souls of the good, they said, which were re- stored in baptism, would, after death, be gathered into the Bosom of God, and the souls of those not yet -perfect would undergo a series of changes or transmigrations, until all the remains of evil had- been purged away. The consequences of this doe trine differed- with different persons. Those who were really in, earnest in striving to become holy, endeavoured to live without any regard to the needs ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS. A.D. 53. of the body, and practised the severest personal self, denial.; whilst others took advantage of the idea that matter was in: itself evil to indulge:in every sinful excess, saying that the soul was so superior to the body that it. could not be injured by any- thing done in the: body.* These false doctrines were not filly taught until the second century; but their origin may be:traced back to the time of Simon Magus, and it is evident from the writings of St. Paul to the Corinthians that his converts in that city were in a degree infected by: them. For instance, in the 15th Chapter of the First Epistle, he asks: ':Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead; how say some:among you that there is no resurrec- tion of the dead " And then he goes on to state the doctrine of the resurrection in the most solemn way, and to declare in the words which are a com- fort and warning to: us now, as they were to the Corinthian converts 1800 years ago, that " cor- ruptible must put on incorruption, and mortal: immortality ;" and "then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Again, in the 5th Chapter of his Second Epistle, he says; " We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not that we would be unclothed," or deprived of our bodies, " but clothed upon;": or purified and sanctified, so, " that mortality might be swallowed up of life." And in 'his final ex- hortation he entreats them to examine themselves whether they were in the faith, evidently being aware * The Gnostics had also many strange ideas regarding emanations from the Divine Being, to which they gave the name of .Eons, but their theories were so fanciful and con- fused that it requires much study to understand them. 59 60 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. that error had crept in amongst them; whilst the gross sins for which he reproves them. were such as could scarcely in those early, and comparatively pure, days have been committed by persons calling themselves Christians, unless they had been taught to believe, according to the teaching of the Gnos- tics, that if the spirit was regenerated and united to Christ, the deeds of the body were of no con- sequence. But there were other circumstances in the condition of the Church of Corinth to excite the anxiety of St. Paul. The converts had separated themselves into sects, calling themselves after their several leaders. This brought disunion and jeal- ousy into the Church, and tended to set aside the all important truth that it had but one Head, even Christ Himself. The miraculous gifts bestowed upon some indi- viduals were also a source of dissension. The Apostles, we have seen, were able, through the immediate influence of the Holy Ghost, to speak in strange languages, and this power they conveyed to others, as an evidence to the heathen that they were inspired by God, and therefore that the doc- trines taught by them were to be received as truth. Thus it was that some amongst the Corinthians were enabled to speak foreign tongues with ease, whilst to others was granted the privilege of understanding what was said, and explaining it. This was of course necessary, for it is evident that if none had been present to interpret when a man stood up in the assembly and addressed the people in a new language, the gift would have been use- less. It would have been merely the utterance of sounds, and not the words of some langtage ac- tually spoken in another land, though unknown to ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS. A.D. 53. the inhabitants of Corinth. The Corinthians, it seems, took pleasure in the exercise of' this new power, and esteemed it more than the important gifts of humility, charity, and purity. And St. Paul. hearing, whilst he was at Ephesus, of the disordered state of the Church in consequence, wrote to them strongly upon the subject, warning them that although they were to speak "with the tongues of men and of angels," yet if they had not charity they would be but " as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." Another point of difficulty upon which St. Paul gave his advice to the Corinthian converts, re- gardedthe disputes as to matters of business which mighthappento arise amongst them. These could not' poperly'be decided by heathen courts of jus- tice, because in that case the Christians would have been obliged to take heathen -oaths. The Apostle's advice was given strongly that such dif- ferences should be settled amongst themselves. " Dare any of you," he says, "having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints ?" The word saints here meaning Christians generally, who, because of their pro- fession, were always considered holy. These: and other very important questions which were also discussed by St. Paul in his First Epis- tle to the Corinthians, tend to prove that the Co- rinthian Church was in a state likely to cause the Apostle much uneasiness; and therefore render it the more probable that he visited them for a short time during his stay at Ephesus. The visit is sup- posed to be referred to, when he says, in writing to the Corinthians again: " This is the third time that I am coming to you," implying that he had been with them twice before. 61 62 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. In the conclusion of the Epistle to the Co- rinthians, St. Paul speaks of his intention of soon paying them a longer visit; possibly even of spend- ing the winter amongst them; but he adds, " I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." He did not then see how quickly he should be compelled to flee from Ephesus in order to escape from persecution, though he was evidently aware of the many enemies whom he had made by his bold and persevering teaching. There was indeed no place in which the spread of Christianity could have interfered more with the habits and preju- dices of the people than it did at Ephesus. The Ephesians were the worshippers of the great god- dess Diana. The temple at Ephesus, dedicated to her, was one of the great wonders of those days.* One hundred and twenty pillars, sixty feet high, and each the gift of a king, formed the colonnades that surrounded the sanctuary in which the image of the goddess was kept. The folding doors were of cypress wood, a great portion of the building was roofed with cedar, and the staircase was formed of one single vine, the produce of the island of Cyprus. Moreover, this temple was the treasury in which a great portion of the wealth of Asia was kept. The image which gave to the building its peculiar sacredness in the eyes of the people, was indeed rough and uncouth, being formed of wood, and terminating at its lower ex- tremity in a mere shapeless block; but it was believed to have fallen from the sky, and the ig- See The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, by the Rev. W. Conybeare and the Rev. J. Howson. ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS. A.D. 53. norant multitude lavished all their treasures to do it honour. There was also a more personal interest to ex- cite the indignation of the Ephesians, when their worship was assailed. Many workmen in the city gained their daily bread by making silver shrines for the goddess Diana. These shrines were miniature representations of the temple, in each of which, it is probable, a small image of the goddess was placed. They appear to have been purchased by strangers from curio- sity, or used for purposes of devotion, the fame of the goddess and her image having spread through- out all Asia. But since the preaching of the Apostle, the traffic in silver shrines and the wor- ship of Diana' had visibly decreased. The glory of Ephesus was sinking day by day, for St. Paul had persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they were no gods which were made with hands ; and at length the workmen, excited by Demetrius, a silversmith, rose up in insurrec- tion. " Great is Diana of the Ephesians," was the cry which resounded through the city, and even those who could not understand the reason of the tumult joined in it. The town clerk, the chief magistrate of the city, interfered, and after a while, though with much difficulty, appeased the angry crowds; but the feelings which had been aroused rendered Ephesus no longer a safe residence for St. Paul, and when the uproar ceased he took immediate measures for departure. His feelings as to the danger which he incurred on this occasion may be gathered from his own words, when afterwards writing to the Corinthians. " For we would not, brethren," he 63 64 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. say,, "have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure,. above strength, insomuch that we de- spaired even of life." Europe was the country to which his interest and affections turned at this critical period. He had founded churches there in which he still felt the deepest interest, and after his long absence he might naturally feel anxious to assure himself of their welfare by personal inquiry. In the Acts of the Apostles we read only that "he came into Greece, and there abode three months ;" but by an examination of the Epistles we learn that he left Ephesus, accompanied probably by Tychicus and Trophimus, two of his Ephesian friends, sailed as before from Troas, and landing at Neapolis, proceeded to Philippi. The depression of his spirits at this time is very marked. Tidings had reached him of grievous sins committed amongst the Corinthians, and he had sent Titus to learn the truth of the reports, and expected to meet him at Troas. Titus did not however arrive, and St. Paul's distress was such that, to use his own expression, he had no " rest in his spirit." Even after his arrival at Philippi, "without," he says, " were fightings; within, were fears;" and there are allusions, also, to his bodily infirmity, which make us feel that his health must have been much shaken by all he had undergone. But Titus came at last to Philippi, and the whole tone of the Apos- tle's mind. changed. Earnest desire for reforma- tion, mourning for past sins, and fervent affec- tion for St. Paul himself, filled the hearts of the Corinthians; and as he now assured them, in the Second Epistle which he addressed to them from Philippi, his confidence in them was restored. ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS. A.D. 53. Titus was the bearer of this second letter to Corinth, and at the same time he was commissioned to receive the contributions for the Christians in Judea, which St. Paul, according to the charge specially given him, was earnest in enforcing upon his converts. Besides the actual necessities of the inhabitants of Judea, who were at that time suf- fering greatly from the oppression of their rulers, and the disturbed state of the country, these subscriptions were a- means of softening the preju- dices of the Jewish and Gentile Christians, and making them feel that they had a material interest in each other. St. Paul appears to have been most anxious that the offerings should be made liberally and without delay. After remaining in Greece about three months, the greater part of which time he is sup- posed to have spent at Corinth, he himself under- took to carry to Jerusalem the funds which had been collected. Two Epistles, one to the Galatians, the other to the Romans, are said to have been written during this visit of St. Paul to Corinth. Galatia was the Asiatic Gaul, inhabited ,by the same race which afterwards overran France, and the peculiarities of national character which are remarkable in the French of the present day may clearly be traced in St. Paul's Epistle. The Galatians were quick but changeable, easily adopting impressions, easily giving them up. They had begun to run well, but they were soon hindered in the race. False teachers had appeared amongst them, insisting upon the necessity of circumcision, and an observance of the Jewish rites; and St. Paul, though he must have been well acquainted with their character, marvelled at the suddenness with which they 6* 65 66 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. had so soon shifted their ground; and wrote in the most vehement manner to warn them of the danger they were incurring by listening to the new doc- trines. To the Roman Church he was personally a stranger. Who first preached the Gospel in that great city, we do not know, but St. Paul was evi- dently well acquainted with many individual Christians resident there, as the salutations at the close of his letter are numerous. He expresses the most affectionate interest in the condition of the Church, whose faith, he says, is spoken of throughout all the world; and tells them that he wishes and hopes to visit them after he has trans- acted his business in: Jerusalem, and to proceed from Italy to Spain. But human plans, even those of an Apostle, are formed in ignorance, and St. Paul, though aware that "bonds and imprisonment" awaited him every where, and knowing that there were special rea- sons for dreading the enmity of the Jews, could scarcely'have contemplated the lengthened trials both of body and mind which were to be the result of his journey -to Jerusalem. He refers to it as to a short expedition for a special purpose,' which when accomplished, would leave him free to follow the bent of his own inclinations. " Now," he says, "I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the. saints, for it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at. Jerusalem .... . When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain." The Epistle to the Romans was. given in charge to Phebe, a Christian lady residing at :Cenchrea, the eastern point of Corinth, and who was then ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. 67 about to sail to Rome upon some private business, supposed, from the terms made use of in referring to it, to have been connected with a lawsuit in which she was engaged. Phebe is spoken of as a servant, or deaconess, of the Church at Cenchrea. The persons who were appointed to this office were generally widows, who had been only once married; although sometimes the same employ- ments were entrusted to those who were unmar- ried. -Deaconesses assisted at the baptism of wo- men, and catechised and. instructed them previ- ously.. They were also accustomed to visit sick persons of their own sex, and perform other in- ferior offices which could not so well be entrusted to men. It is probable that they were bles'sed by the laying on of hands, but it is certain that they were not permitted to execute any priestly office. CHAPTER VIII. ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. IT would be needless to describe particularly the loig and eventful journey which preceded the ar- rival of St. Paul for the last time at Jerusalem. We must often have -dwelt upon its details, and imagined ourselves listening to the midnight sermon at Troas, which was followed by the miracle of restoring the dead to life; mingling with the Ephesian elders of the Church when they were summoned. to Miletus to hear the last exhortation of. the great Apostle whose. face they were to behold no more; kneeling on the Tyrian -shore with that loving company of friends, and wives, and children, who hallowed the 68 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. farewells of earth by the prayers which whispered to their hearts of the eternal reunion in heaven; and at length, arriving with St. Paul at the doomed city, which' was to prelude its own destruction by inflicting suffering upon all who would have saved it. When St. Paul entered Jerusalem, at the time of the Feast of Pentecost, the hope which he had once entertained of being permitted after a short sojourn to return free to Europe must have vanished. Hu- manly speaking, indeed, there was no more reason than before to anticipate danger; but the forebod- ings which seem to have oppressed him from the very commencement of his journey were deepened towards its close by a special prediction, delivered at Cesarea by Agabus, a prophet, that he should be bound by the Jews at Jerusalem, and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. He could indeed, from his heart, exclaim, "I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the sake of the Lord Jesus." Yet he was keenly alive to the sorrow which his own trials would bring upon his friends. The sight of their tears broke the heart which would never have trembled for itself. On his arrival at Jerusalem, St. Paul took up his abode at the house of Mnason, a Cyprian by birth, and an old disciple. His first evening was probably one of comfort. Several friends had ac- companied him from Macedonia, and amongst them his favourite companion Timothy. Others also had joined him at Cmsarea, and the brethren at Jerusa- lem received them.gladly. Yet the prophetic voice of Agabus must have been too present to his remembrance to allow him to look forward with any hope of permanent rest. ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. 69 Even amongst the Jews professing Christianity there were many likely to regard him with suspi- cion, for in Judea, especially, the ceremonial law of Moses was strictly observed. St. James, who pre- sided over the Church at Jerusalem as its bishop, was himself in outward respects a strict Jew; and the Jewish Christians would not be likely to un- derstand why St. Paul, a Jew and an Apostle like- wise, should, reject what St. James thought fit to practise. They would not see that St. James, living amongst them, was willing to conform him- self in all lawful ways to their habits and cus- toms; whilst St. Paul, mingling continually with Gentiles, was equally called upon to show that he did, not consider these observances of essential importance. Not a day was lost by St. Paul in endeavouring to soften the prejudices of, those whom he speaks of in his Epistle as "weak brethren." The mor- row after his arrival he had an interview with St. James and the Elders of the Church, and in com- pliance with their advice agreed to take charge of four Jewish Christians, who had bound themselves by the vows of a Nazarite; to accompany them to the temple, and pay the expenses of the offering, required for the fulfilment of their vow. This, it was said, would satisfy the, Jewish party that St.. Paul himself was willing to keep the law of Moses, whilst it would in no way imply that similar observances were to be required of the Gentiles. The suggestion was willingly followed. On the next day, which was the festival of Pentecost, St. Paul proceeded to the Temple, and with his four companions -waited, within its precincts until the necessary rites had been observed. These 70 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. lasted for some time. On the seventh day the Jews, imagining that St. Paul had taken with him into the sacred building Trophimus, an Ephesian and a Gentile, raised a tumult against him. The Roman officer interfered to stop it. St. Paul was seized and put under a close guard, and when it was discovered that the Jews had formed a plot against his life, he was sent to Cmsarea that he might be placed under the safer custody of Felix, the governor of the province of Judea. A long captivity then commenced (A.D. 56). For two years St. Paul remained a prisoner under Felix, yet not shut out from his office as a preacher of the Gospel. In an interview held with the proud and profligate Roman, he so reasoned with him upon righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, that Felix trembled, and struck with awe, sent him from his presence until a more convenient season for repentance should be found. Other interviews followed. But delay had brought its natural consequences; Felix no longer cared for truth, he wished only to discover some means by which the imprisonment of the Apostle might be turned to his own advantage, and imagining that St. Paul would be willing to purchase his freedom, communed with him often. This is the only break in that wearisome impri- sonment, of which we have any certain informa- tion, though it has been supposed, with some de- gree of probability, that St. Luke was with St. Paul, and occupied himself in writing his Gospel under the superintendence of the Apostle. Portius Festus succeeded Felix in the govern- ment of Judea. He appears to have been a man of a far nobler character than his predecessors, and anxious to fulfil his duties with impartiality. The ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. 71 case of St. Paul was one of the first brought before him, for 'the Jews had by no means forgotten their enmity against the Apostle. The same charges which had been alleged before Felix were repeated before Festus. St. Paul was said to be a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, and to have excited disturbances amongst the Jews throughout the Roman empire. Hle was ac- cused also of having profaned the temple at Jeru- salem, and so insulted not only the religion of the Jews, but the authority of the Romans who autho- rised and protected it. These charges involved questions of religious belief of which Festus, a foreigner and a wor- shipper of other gods, could have no knowledge. Hd proposed to decide the case at Jerusalem, where information would be more easily attained; and this idea would probably have been carried out had not St. Paul, to the surprise of all, and doubt- less to the dismay of his enemies, fallen back upon his privileges as a Roman citizen, and insisted upon being heard before the Emperor Nero, the successor of Claudius. The whole proceeding was at once stopped. The Procurator of Judea had full power in the pro- vince which he ruled; but an individual who claiined the honour of being a Roman citizen could at any time appeal from him to the emperor, before whom the cause was then of necessity brought. The custom dated far back from the days when the Roman nobles oppressed the lower orders and drove them to rebellion, and when an officer called a Tribune was chosen from amongst the people, and entrusted with the special -duty of protecting their interests and putting a stop to any law which 72 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. might be enacted for their injury. The Roman emperors, when they seized the chief authority in the state, seized also the public: offices. They were now the tribunes of the people, and an appeal to them made by a Roman citizen could frustrate the proceeding of any provincial court. The immediate difficulty for Festus was thus re- moved, but another still remained. It was unrea- sonable to send a prisoner to Rome without fully stating his offence; yet how could this be done unless the charges were fully understood? An opportunity for a more thorough investigation and comprehension of St. Paul's position soon occurred. Herod Agrippa II., King of Chalcis, the son of that Herod whose horrible death took place at Cesarea, was then in the neighbourhood, and came with his sister Bernice to pay a complimentary visit to the new governor. Agrippa had been from his youth familiar with the customs and feelings of the Jews, and was in some degree considered as their protector. HIe was the superintendent of the temple, and the power of appointing the high priest was also in his hands. His visit, there- fore, was most opportune. Festus took advantage of it to confer with him upon the accusations brought against St. Paul, and interested the king so much by his account of the prisoner and his belief, that Agrippa expressed a desire to hear the statement of the Apostle's faith from his own lips. The interview between Paul and Agrippa is the last great scene of the Apostle's life recorded in Scripture, and it seems scarcely possible to read it attentively without some feelings of awe and admiration. On the one side were the proud Jewish king and his sister, famed equally for her ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. 73 beauty and her crimes, the upright Roman go- vernor, the military officers and chief men of the city, assembled with the pomp which became the importance of the occasion; on the other, the solitary Christian captive, bound ignominiously to the soldier who guarded him, and waiting humbly and silently till it was said, " Paul, thou art per- mitted to speak for thyself." Even then dignity and influence must have been on the side of the Apostle, as, stretching out his hand, he addressed Agrippa with the graceful and noble courtesy which marked the man educated in the habits of refined life, and narrated the circumstances of his conversion. It is a well- known and often repeated history. Yet still,- at this present day,--they are stirring words which tell of the hope of the resurrection of the dead, and the mission so solemnly given " to open the eyes of the Gentiles, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God;" and we can feel little surprise at Agrippa's exclamation when, having listened to the .declarations of the Apostle, made with the calm but intense ernestness of truth, he professed himself" almost" persuaded to be a Christian. The interview over, Agrippa and Festus dis- cussed the case in private. Both agreed that the Apostle had done " nothing worthy of death or of bonds; " and Agrippa asserted positively that he might have been set at liberty if he had not ap- pealed to the emperor. This fact, however, pre- vented any interference on their part; and nothing remained but to take advantage of the first con- venient opportunity for sending their prisoner to Rome. The voyage of St. Paul to Italy, interesting and 7 74 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. eventful though it was, is too well known to be minutely described. Under the care of a Roman centurion, and accompanied by St. Luke and Aristarchus, a Macedonian, he, with other state prisoners, sailed, as it is supposed, in the month of August, in a ship of Adramyttium, a seaport town of Mysia; which, on their arrival at Lycia, was exchanged for a merchant ship, engaged in carrying corn from Alexandria to Italy, and probably a much larger vessel, as it was capable of accommodating two hundred and seventy persons. A violent storm caused the vessel to be wrecked on the shores of Melita or Malta, where St. Paul worked several miracles, especially restoring to health the governor's father; and after a delay of three months the centurion and his prisoners departed in another Alexandrian ship for Italy. They were landed at Puteoli, on the northern shore of the Bay of Naples, and from thence pro- ceeded to Rome, where the charge of the centurion ended, the prisoners being placed under the care of the pretorian prefect, whom we know, from different sources, to have been Burrhus, a man of great influence, the friend of Seneca, and the tutor of the reigning emperor Nero, the successor of Claudius. A marked difference was made in the treat- ment of the Apostle, and that of his fellow-prison- ers. He was suffered to dwell by himself, though the painful and ignominious restraint of chaining him by the hand to a soldier was still thought necessary. In this, his private lodging, after a rest of three days, St. Paul found means to as- semble the chief Jews then resident in Rome ; his ob- ject being to offer his own explanation of the charges ST. PAUL TRIED BEFORE FELIX. A.D. 56. 75 of heresy and treason which had been brought against him by his countrymen, and at the same time to set before them the truths of the Gospel. Christianity, as it has been before stated, was by no means a novelty in Rome; but the Jews seem to have regarded it with the same contemp- tuous suspicion there as elsewhere. In answer to St Paul's address, they replied that no accusation had been brought against him either by letter or by the brethren who had arrived from Judea, but they confessed that the opinion generally enter- tained of the Christians was unfavourable, and they desired, therefore, to hear St. Paul's own state- ment of his doctrines. A day was fixed for the discussion, and numbers were present at it. St. Paul, under the impulse of deep earnestness, expounded, testified, persuaded, from morning till evening, endeavouring to con- vince the Jews that the Redeemer whom he preached to them was the same of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets had spoken. But ancient prejudice was too strong in the hearts of many of his hearers to be subdued, even by the teaching of an inspired Apostle. Some believed the words which were spoken and some believed not; and after much debate the unbelievers de- parted, carrying with them the solemn warning of St. Paul, gathered from their own prophet Esaias: "The heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them." From that time St. Paul's mission in Rome was to the Gentiles. 76 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. CHAPTER IX. MARTYRDOM OF ST. PAUL. A.D. 6T. "AND Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preach- ing the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all con- fidence, no man forbidding him." How often must we have paused after these words, feeling, even if we did not express the feeling in language, a sense of wonder and disap- pointment at the sudden termination of the history of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, and of the book containing the inspired records of the early Christian Church ! Whatever information we may obtain from other sources must appear doubtful and insufficient after such testimony as we have hitherto followed; but God, who governs all with unerring wisdom, must have seen, when direct- ing the pen of the Evangelist, reasons far beyond our comprehension for placing this limit to our certain knowledge. It may be that we have in consequence learnt to look with greater reverence on the wonderful books thus standing apart,-sepa- rated as it were by a gulf of time, from all others; and pleasant though it is to study them minutely, and by the help of profane history to throw light upon the manners and customs to which they allude, and to bring them down in a measure to our daily ordinary life, yet there can be little question that, as regards the greater part of man- MARTYRDOM OF ST.. PAUL. A.D. 67. kind, the authority and influence of St. Paul and his fellow apostles, the founders of the Christian Church, is much stronger from the brief but most impressive witness of Scripture, which leaves so much for imagination to fill up, than it would have been from the lengthened details by which a com- mon writer would have endeavoured to interest his readers in the life of a common man. Why the Bible should be what it is,-why the book of the Acts of the Apostles should end where it does, are questions which can only be properly answered by those who have given up their hearts to the sacred influence of the Word of God, and who will be the first to allow that it contains all things necessary " for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- rection, for instruction in righteousness." Yet it is not forbidden, rather it is commanded, that we should search the Scriptures so thoroughly as to draw from them all the information which may reasonably be deduced from them; and al- though the detailed narrative of St. Paul's life ends with the Acts of the Apostles, some further particu- lars respecting it may be gained from the letters written by him in after years to different churches. St. Luke mentions the period of his imprison- ment as lasting 'two years. This most probably was caused by the delay of his trial. His accusers were to be summoned from Judea, and witnesses would be brought from various parts of Asia Minor to testfy to the charge of sedition; thus necessarily causing the postponement of the inquiry. The charge being a complicated one would also require a sepa- rate hearing for each point, and might be adjourned from time to time as best suited the emperor's con- venience. These circumstances would naturally tend to prolong the Apostle's imprisonment, which, 7* 77 78 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. except for the degradation and annoyance of being chained by the hand, does not seem to have been rigorous. His eagerness to proclaim the glad tidings of Christ must have been gratified by the opportunity afforded him of addressing those who visited him during his imprisonment. Tradition tells us that Pomponia Grecina, the wife of Plautius, the con- queror of Britain, was converted by the preaching of St. Paul; and it speaks also of Claudia, the daughter of Caractacus, as amongst his converts. Both these ladies are said to have been instrumental in introducing Christianity into Britain, but the foundation of the assertion is not to be depended upon. We know, however, by St. Paul's own testimony, that amongst the rough soldiers of the pretorian guard, and in the palace of the emperor himself, were to be found those who had been, by his instrumentality, won over to the doctrines of Christ. His friends appear to have been constantly with him. Timothy, who came to Rome about this time, served with him in the Gospel as a son with a father. Luke was his constant companion. Mark, sister's son to Barnabas, having repented of his former cowardice, was now looked upon as a faithful friend. Demas, for the time, sympathised with him. Aristarchus, a Macedonian, who had shared his travels in former days was now his fel- low-worker, and, together with Justus, a comfort to him. Epaphras, a Colossian, and Tychicus, took part in his sorrows and his labours for a while, and left him only when they were entrusted with a letter to the Church at Colossm, and with an- other, said to have been written to the Ephesians, but more probably addressed jointly to several MARTYRDOM OF ST. PAUL. A.D. 67 churches in Asia Minor. These two epistles bear a great resemblance to each other, especially in the fervent wishes which St. Paul pours forth for the spiritual enlightening of his converts; a resem- blance most natural when we consider that they must have been written very nearly at the same time. Tychicus journeyed to Colossm, accompanied by Onesimus, a runaway slave, converted by St. Paul during his imprisonment, and now sent back to his manster, Philemon, with a letter containing an affectionate and most courteously expressed re- quest that the slave, not now a slave, but "a brother beloved," might for the Apostle's sake be again received into favour. This request was no doubt ginanted, for tradition says that Onesimus became an influential person in the Church, and was made Bishop of Bercea, in Macedonia. Epaphroditus, a dear friend and leading member of the Church of Philippi, arrived after the depar- ture of Onesimus, bearing contributions from the Philippians, which had been liberally offered for the Apostle's support. These tokens of affection were very character- istic of the Philippians, who seem to have been on all occasions foremost in liberality; and the evi- dence of their thoughtfulness for his comfort must have been very soothing to St. Paul, though the severe illness of Epaphroditus on his arrival at Rome caused him the greatest anxiety. The Apostle's feelings as to the issue of the trial which was still pending may be gathered from the tone of the letter to the Philippians, which he en- trusted to the care of Epaphroditus, who, having recovered from his illness, was anxious to return to Philippi. In it he intimates a wish to send Timothy to Pliilippi also, yet desires at the same time to keep 79 80 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCHI. him with him till he should see how it should go with him; and his thoughts evidently dwell upon what we are accustomed to call the chances of life or death; though he cheered the Philippians by the anticipation of his freedom and the prospect of being shortly able to visit them. " I trust in the Lord," he writes, " that I also myself shall come shortly." St. Paul must, as we have seen, have had influ- ential friends in the palace; and there are some circumstances which render it not improbable that he might have been acquainted with the only two persons who retained any influence for good over the mind of the wicked emperor. Burrhus, the tutor of Nero, was, as it has been said before, the chief of the praetorian guard, and as St. Paul was subject to military control he was very likely to have been visited by him. The acquaintance with Burrhus. would naturally have led to that of Seneca, the philosopher, and the intimate friend of Burrhus, who had also taken part in Nero's educa- tion. There certainly was an idea in early times that St. Paul and Seneca knew each other person- ally: some have even stated that Seneca was secretly a Christian; but this is not to be believed, although there are remarkable resemblances be- tween certain expressions to be found in his writings and in those of St. Paul. Seneca was the brother of Gallio, the deputy of Achaia, be- fore whom St. Paul was brought whilst living at Corinth; this also adds in a slight degree to the probability that Seneca had at least heard of the Apostle, and so may have been willing to befriend him. The result of St. Paul's appeal to the emperor is not told us in direct words in his own letters, MARTY-RDOM OF ST. PAUL. A.D. 67. neither is it distinctly mentioned in any other writings which have come down to us. But it was universally allowed by the early Church that the trial ended successfully, that St. Paul was acquitted of the charges brought against him, and that he was at liberty for several years previous to his final imprisonment and death. How those years were spent we cannot positively say, but we have reason to believe that he then fulfilled his intention, so long before expressed, of preaching the Gospel in Spain; and afterwards revisited Asia Minor. Clement, who was Bishop of Riome, and whom St. Paul mentions in the Epistle to the Philip- pians, expressly states that the Apostle preached the Gospel in the east and in the west; that he had instructed the whole world (by which was then meant the Roman Empire), in righteousness, and that he had gone to the extremity of the west be- fore his martyrdom. In a list of the books of the New Testament compiled by an unknown Christian, about A.D. 170, it is also said in the account of the Acts of the Apostles, that " Luke relates to Theophilus events of which he was an eye-witness, but omits the journey of Paul from Rome to Spain." Eusebius, the Church historian, and St. Chrysos- tom and St. Jerome (both reckoned among the fathers of the Church) allude to the same fact. It is at this period, between the first and second imprisonment of the Apostle, that we have reason to believe the Epistles to the Hebrews; and to Titus, and the first Epistle to Timothy, to have been written. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of Timothy as having been imprisoned, but states that he was then at liberty. St. Paul expresses his hope of 81 82 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. being able, with him, to revisit Palestine shortly. It is imagined that this imprisonment of Timothy took place while St. Paul was in Spain. He had most probably been made Bishop of Ephesus some years before. We do not know the date of the appointment of Titus as Bishop of Crete, but it seems likely that it was made shortly before the letter ad- dressed to him was written, and after St. Paul and Titus had been labouring together in the island. These letters to the two bishops - the Pastoral Epistles as they are called-form a most important part of the writings of St. Paul, as from them we learn what the government of the Church was in those early days, and what were the rules laid down for its guidance. The Second Epistle to Timothy, the last written by St. Paul, gives us the only certain information we possess as to the situation and feelings of the Apostle at the close of his long life. From this we learn that, shortly before this letter was sent, he had visited Miletus, in company with Trophimus, and had sojourned for a while at Troas with his friend Carpus, who had charge of his cloak, books, and parchments. Corinth also is mentioned in a manner which gives us reason to believe that he had been there with Erastus, the chamberlain of the city. - Now hie was at Rome, in prison again, and in great danger, and his heart turned lovingly to the friend whose course he had traced from childhood, who had shared his sorrows and his joys, and to whom he had committed the care of the Ephesian Church. " Do thy diligence," he says, " to come shortly unto me, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present. world, and is departed unto Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia." Luke, always devoted to MARTYRDOM OF ST. PAUL. A.D. 6. 8 him, still cheered him with his company, and Mark, esteemed as " profitable for the ministry," St. Paul entreats may accompany Timothy from Ephesus. It is this hoped-for meeting on which he anx- iously dwells. Almost his closing words repeat the earnest request that Timothy would come to him; and the season specified-" before winter." There was no time for delay. St. Paul knew well the more than usual uncertainty of his life, not only from his age, - he must have been then nearly seventy - but from the peculiar circum- standes of his position. "Eubulus," he adds, "greeteth thee, and Pu- dens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren." His friends, therefore, had access to him. Pudens, the son of a Roman senator, and Claudia his wife, the daughter of a British prince, were not ashamed to visit the imprisoned Apostle. It may be - for some records of those early days tell us that St. Paul preached in Britain - that the British prin- cess could cheer him with accounts of his converts in those distant lands. Another is also mentioned,- Onesiphorus,--a name on which the Apostle's grate- ful spirit dwells with a tender recollection of the refreshment received from his friend's visits at Rome, and in former days at Ephesus; and of the noble unworldliness which made Onesiphorus not ashamed to comfort him whilst subject to the painful degradation accompanying his imprison- ment. Onesiphorus appears to have died shortly before St. Paul wrote. Human reward could not reach him, but the Apostle prays that he may find mercy in the Judgment Day; and his family are affectionately remembered, together with Aquila and Priscilla, who appear to have taken up their 83 84 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. abode at Ephesus, since the time when, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, they first visited it in company with St. Paul. From his narrow prison the Apostle could travel in spirit through the greater part of the known world, and everywhere find friends and converts; and great indeed must have been the wonder and thankfulness with which he noted the astonishing success of the Gospel since the days when the small body of disciples, whom he, him- self, looked upon with scorn, had assembled in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, waiting day by day for the coming of the Holy Ghost. Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain, Gaul, Africa, and, it is said, even the countries reaching to the confines of India, had heard the message of salvation. And he, ' the persecutor and injuri- ous," had been, perhaps, the chief earthly instru- ment of its progress. Marvellous indeed was the Providence which had guided the events of his life. Marvellous to himself, and how much more to us who can trace the effects of his conversion through a course of more than eighteen hundred years. At the time when St. Paul wrote to Timothy, he had already been once more brought to trial. An ancient writer asserts that he was not tried before the emperor; most probably, therefore, the presiding magistrate was the city prefect. Alex- ander the coppersmith, it appears, was one of his accusers, or a witness against him; but the charge brought forward is not mentioned. Most likely it was only one amongst many, it being the custom of Nero, and therefore, we may suppose, of his magistrates, to hear and decide each branch of the accusation separately. MARTYRDOM OF ST. PAUL. A.D. 67. On this occasion the Apostle seems to have been left without the support of his friends. " At my first answer," he says, " no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." Yet One, mighty to save, was near. " The Lord stood with him and strengthened him." Publicly before all the Gen- tiles he once more proclaimed the Gospel, and, contrary to all that might have been anticipated, was acquitted. HI-ow little hope, however, he had of final escape may be seen from his own words: " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. Henceforth there is laid up for me a ctown of righteousness, which the Lord the right- eous Judge shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that 19ve His appearing." Glorious was this expectation; calm and certain the confidence of its fulfilment. The Apostle had need of all the comfort which such a hope could give. I-e wrote those words most probably in the spring of A.D. 67. Before the summer was over, he had passed by a violent death to the land "where the wicked cease from troubling." His punishment was one of less lingering torture than that of St. Peter. As a Roman citizen, he was sen- tenced to be beheaded, and was led to execution beyond the walls of Rome, upon the road to the port of Ostia. The sword of the headrnan ended his long toil. The traditions as to his burial are tincertain. Some say that his remains were carried to the subterranean labyrinths called catacombs, which the Christians had by that time begun to use as the place of rest for their dead. Others state that they were interred near the spot where 8 85 86 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. he suffered, there to await the hour when cor- ruptible shall put on incorruption, and mortal im- mortality. Nearly three hundred years after- wards, the Emperor Constantine built a stately church on the Ostian Way in memory of the great Apostle. CHAPTER X. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. OU knowledge of the Apostolic Church is of course chiefly to be gathered from the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul; but a few other events of the same period have been handed down to us by profane history, and, although for the most part merely legendary, it may be inte- resting to know them, as they are often alluded to an ecclesiastical history. Two persons of great note are said to have died shortly before St. Paul closed his labours by the witness of martyrdom. The first of these was St. James, Bishop of Jerusalemn; the other, Mark the Evangelist, often confounded with John surnamed Mark, the nephew of Barnabas. St. James is brought prominently forward in the early history of the Church. The persecution against hirt arose in the short interval which preceded the government of Albinus, who suc- ceeded Festus as procurator or governor of Judea. St. Paul having escaped fromn the malice of his Jewish enemies, it is not surprising that they should have turned their enmity against St. James who still resided amongst them, and had obtained DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 87 great influence by his piety and -self-denial. The $adducees and Pharisees accordingly resolved, if possible, to rid themselves of him before another governor could arrive; and summoning a council, accused the Apostle of being a violator of the Mo- saic law. This was at the time of the Feast of the Passover, when multitudes of strangers were assembled in Jerusalem. The High Priest and his friends, however, being willing, probably, to make a show of mercy and liberality, began the inquiry by flattering St. James, and assuring him that the whole nation looked up to him as a just and holy man; and then they entreated him to undeceive the people, and to make a public declaration that Jesils, whom they regarded as the Messiah, was in reality an' impostor. Hoping that he would consent, they carried him to an elevated part of the temple, from whence he could be seen and heard by all. "Tell us," they exclaimed, " O Justus, whom we have every reason to believe; what is this doctrine of the crucified Jesus ? " The Apostle made reply, in an audible voice, " Why do ye inquire of Jesus the Son of Man ? He sits in Heaven on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High, and will come again in the clouds of Heaven." The testimony was heard below, and.the response broke from the multitude, " Hosanna to the Son of David ! " The Apostle's doom was sealed. His enemies exclaimed that he himself was seduced and become an impostor, and, rushing upon him, threw him from the place on which he stood. The fall bruised, but did not kill him; he raised himself on his knees, and prayed for those who were murder- ing him, and whilst the petitions were yet linger- ing on his lips a shower of stones fell upon him, 88 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. and a blow from a club released him from suffering for ever. Even by his enemies his murder was looked upon as the forerunner of evil to the Jewish nation. The Jews, in their Talmud, make men- tion of him as a worker of miracles in the name of Jesus, his Master; and Josephus, the Jewish his- torian, regards his violent death as a crime which brought down the Divine vengeance upon his land and hastened the ruin of his people. St. James wrote one Epistle; probably not long before his death, as there are passages in it which refer to the judgments coming upon the Jews. It was addressed to the Jewish converts dispersed in the countries of the East.. Less is known of St. Mark than of St. James. He was, we have reason to believe, a Jew by birth, and the constant companion of St. Peter, with whom he is said to have visited Italy, and at the request of the Christians of Rome to have written his Gospel under the immediate superintendence of the Apostle. This Gospel is frequently styled in ancient writings St. Peter's Gospel, and it is re- markable that it contains the fullest account of the Apostle's fall. St. Mark, we are told, was sent by St. Peter to Alexandria and the eastern parts of Egypt, and from thence travelled into Lybia, preaching the Gospel to the barbarous nations of that country. The greater part of his time, however, was spent at Alexandria, and it was there that he died, about the time that St. Peter was enduring his second imprisonment at Rome. The account of his death by martyrdom is given by ancient writers, but we cannot entirely depend upon their truth. It is believed to have taken place DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 89 at the festival of Easter. St. Mark, we are told, was engaged in the celebration of the service suited to that holy season. The Alexandrians were also worshipping with peculiar solemnity their false god Serapis. The minds of the people were in a state of great excitement; and being resolved to assert the dignity of their idol they broke in upon the congregation of Christians, seized St. Mark, and binding his feet with cords, dragged him through the streets, and then thrust him into prison. A heavenly vision is said to have com- forted him as he lay that night in his cell ex- pecting death. The following morning his suffer- ings were renewed. He was again dragged mer- cilessly through the streets, till at length, worn and bruised, his flesh being torn from his body, he expired. His enemies are reported to have burnt his body, and it is added, that the Christians buried the bones and ashes near the place where he was accustomed to preach. Many years after- wards, the Venetians conveyed his remains with great pomp to Venice, where they dedicated a a most splendid church to his memory, and adopted him as the patron saint of their state. The history of St. Peter's life must also- be brought down to this same period. We hear little in Scripture of the labours of this Apostle after his visit to Cornelius and the opening of the door of the Church to the Gentiles; but we learn from other writings that he presided for several years over the Church at Antioch, and some -have de- clared that he was the first bishop of that see. His imprisonment by Herod and his miraculous escape are related in the Acts of the Apostles. He is thought to have visited Rome soon after- wards in company with St. Mark, when he assisted 90 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. in the writing of St. Mark's Gospel; and from thence to have returned to Jerusalem, where we know that he was present at the great council held to determine the necessity of circumcision for the Gentiles. The East, Africa, and Sicily, are said to have been the scenes of his labours afterwards, and it is probable that he visited Corinth and re- mained there some time, as Clemens Romanus, one of the earliest Christian writers, when addressing a letter to the Corinthians, recommends to them the example of St. Peter as.of a person well known to them. About the latter end of Nero's reign, St. Peter returned to Rome. During this period he wrote two Epistles; the first is addressed to the Jewish Christians in Asia Minor, and the second is dated from Babylon. But this name is by some persons imagined to have been typically applied to the city of Rome, and the Epistle is supposed by them to have been written from thence shortly before his death. About the period of St. Peter's second visit to Rome the indignation of the Roman emperor Nero had been strongly excited against the Christians, afid his vengeance was shown in the most cruel manner. A tremendous conflagration had broken out in Rome which destroyed almost half the city. Nero was accused of having caused it himself, and to avert the rage of the people he laid the blame upon the hated Christians. A vio- lent persecution followed. Tacitus, a heathen his- torian, describes its horrors. Some, he says, were crucified; some disguised in the skins of beasts, and hunted to death with dogs; whilst others were clothed with inflammable dresses, and set on fire at night, that they might illuminate the Circus and the gardens of the emperor; Nero himself watching their agonies as he mingled DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 91 with the spectators disguised in the dress of a char- ioteer. A feeling of pity awoke in the hearts of the Roman people at the sight of such sufferilng; but the monster who had caused it seems to have had no space in his heart for repentance, and when St. Peter arrived at Rome, although the violence of the persecution had abated, he must have known that if Nero's attention were once drawn to him there could be little hope of escaping a death of torment. Tradition tells us that the cause of St. Peter's imprisonment was a contest with Simon Magus, who was then at Rome professing to perform mir- acles. The emperor, it is said, upheld Simon, and when the Apostle proved to the people that he was an impostor, and performed himself the miracles in which Simon had failed, Nero, in indignation, commanded him to be apprehended, and thrown into the great Mamertine prison together with St. Paul. It is further stated that whilst in daily ex- pectation of his death he was visited by his fellow Christians, who earnestly entreated him to attempt an escape, so that his life might be prolonged for the service of the Church. The advice was at first rejected ; the bold spirit of the Apostle shrinking from an act which might be deemed cowardice, but the tears of his friends at length prevailed. Having prayed with his brethren, and taken his farewell of them, he succeeded in making his way to the city gate. But as he was about to pass it he met One whom he knew to be his Saviour. " Lord, whither art Thou going ? " asked the Apos- tle. " I am come to Rome to be crucified a second time," was the reply. 92 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. St. Peter's heart smote him. It was as though his Lord was warning him of the necessity of the suffering from which he was endeavouring to flee. He turned back, delivered himself up to the keeper ol the prison, and patiently and cheerfully awaited death. The story is very beautiful, and fully in accordance with St. Peter's impetuous and affec- tionate character; and we would willingly believe it although the testimony is acknowledged to be doubtful. So also it is a satisfaction to think of St. Peter and St. Paul as meeting in these last hours, and consoling and supporting each other. And this is the report of some of the ancient legends, which tell us likewise that the two Apostles suffered mar- tyrdom on the same day. But a more careful ex- amination has led others to place St. Peter's death about a year before that of St. Paul. St. Peter, it is said, endured the agony of mar- tyrdom, not only in his own person, but in the torture of his wife, who was led to execution before him. He it was who encouraged her in her hour of trial, bidding her to be mindful of her Lord, and rejoicing that she was admitted to so great honour, and called to her Eternal Home. Ilis own summons quickly followed. Like his Lord the punishment of a malefactor was assigned him, and he was condemned to be crucified. But the death which was a degradation in the sight of the world, was in the estimation of St. Peter an honour too great for one who had denied his. Sa- viour. At his own request he was crucified with his head downwards. His body having been taken from the cross, is stated to have been entombed after the Jewish manner and buried on the hill of the Vatican, DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 93 where the magnificent church now stands which bears the record of his name. The important question whether St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome has long been a subject of dispute amongst the learned, and must still remain a matter of controversy. Some ancient writers speak of the Church as having been planted at Rome by the joint labours of St. Peter and St. Paul; and the fact of St. Peter having presided over the see is nowhere so distinctly asserted in early records, as to enable us to lay any stress upon it. Linus, mentioned by St. Paul in his Second Epistle to Timothy, is the first Bishop of Rome whose name has been handed down to us by uni- versal testimony, and he is said to have been ap- pointed as early as the year 58, a considerable time before the death of St. Peter. St. Luke the Evangelist, from whom the most important particulars of the lives of the Apostles is obtained, is declared by some writers to have survived St. Paul many years, and to have died at the advanced age of eighty-four; whether he suf- fered martyrdom is uncertain. He is supposed, as it has been before stated, to have written his Gos- pel with the assistance of St. Paul, and the Acts of the Apostles were doubtless compiled at Rome during St. Paul's imprisonment. St. Luke wrote in Greek, and when he quotes from the Old Testa- ment always uses the Greek translation of the Scriptures, commonly called the Septuagint. There are interesting, traditions respecting St. Andrew and St. Thomas, but they must not be entirely relied upon. It has been generally believed that the Apostles 94 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. agreed amongst themselves, probably not without the special guidance of the Holy Spirit, as to the countries they should visit; and Scythia is said to have been appointed for the labours of St. Andrew. On his way thither he is supposed 'to have preached the Gospel along the shores of the Black Sea; and at Sinope we are informed that he met with St. Peter, with whom he remained a considerable time. The author who states this circumstance adds that the chairs made of white stone in which the two Apostles were accustomed to sit when they taught the people were remaining in his time. The inhabitants of Sinope, we are informed, were mostly Jews, very uncivilized and bigoted. The preaching of St. Andrew greatly exasperated them. They plotted together to burn the house in which he dwelt; and, not succeeding in this, treated him in the most cruel manner, throwing him to the ground, stamping upon him with their feet, beating, pelting him with stones, and at length actually biting off his flesh with their teeth. The Apostle was cast out of the town, and left for dead, but he is said to have recovered miraculously, and to have returned to the city, where he converted many by his wonderful deeds. Leaving Sinope, he journeyed along the eastern shore of the Black Sea, and preached successfully to the inhabitants of Sebastopol, which even in those days was a place of note. He then proceeded to Scythia, and returning again to Sinope, founded a Church at Byzantium (since called Constanti- nople), and ordained Stachys (whom St. Paul calls his beloved Stachys) to be the first bishop of that place. Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaia, are said to have been the scene of St. Andrew's later DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 95 labour, and he is stated to have suffered martyrdom at Patre, a town in-Achaia. JEgeas, the Proconsul, alarmed at the spread of Christianity, endeavoured, we are told, by every means, to recall the people to their ancient idolatry, and threatened the Apostle that if he would not offer sacrifice to the gods he would cause him to suffer upon that cross which he so much extolled. The threat was carried into execution the next day. St. Andrew was first scourged, and then ordered to be crucified; not however in the usual mode, by being nailed to the cross. His tormentors desired to make his death more lingering, and they com- manded that he should be fastened to it with cords only. The Apostle went forth to meet death calmly and cheerfully; even the people who fol- lowed him declared that he was an innocent man unjustly condemned. The instrument of his martyrdom, formed of two pieces of timber in the shape of the letter X, still bears his name. St. Andrew's cross has been the token of human honour, when given by kings to their nobles; it has been worn as an ornament by the thoughtless, and introduced as a beautiful figure in public decorations; but never again can it be so honourable or so worthy of admira- tion as it was on the day when the rough wood was made the means of testifying the love of the devoted Apostle to the Saviour who died for him. " 0 Good Cross which hast received glory from the Limbs of the Lord, long longed for, anxiously loved, unceasingly sought, and at last prepared for my longing soul, receive me from men and give me to my Master, that He, Who through thee redeemed me, may through thee receive me." 96 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. These are the words said to have been spoken by St. Andrew at the first sight of the instrument of his death. For two days he hung upon it. Great entreaties were at length made to the Proconsul to spare his life. But the Apostle had only one wish for him- self, that he might at this time depart, and seal the truth of his religion with his blood. It was his earnest prayer, and it was granted as soon as offered. He expired, as it is said, on the last day of November, but the date of the year is uncertain. The body of St. Andrew is stated to have been buried by Maximilla, the wife of the Proconsul, and afterwards to have been removed by Constantine the Great to Constantinople; and some hundred years after, in the time of the Emperor Justinian, the church being under repair, we are told that it was found in a wooden coffin. The history of St. Thomas is still more uncertain. The province given to him was Parthia, and from thence he travelled, as it is said, through Persia to India. The Portuguese, when they first set- tled in India, found a body of Christians already in the country, who called themselves the descend- ants of the persons converted by St. Thomas, and related many traditions of the Apostle's life and labours. They declared that he came first to Socotora, an island in the Arabian Sea, travelled farther into the East, preaching successfully, and returned again to the kingdom of Coromandel, where he began to erect a place for divine worship. Sagamo, the prince of the country, was, they said, converted by the miracles which he witnessed, and many of his friends and subjects followed his example. This excited the fears of the Brabmins, DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 97 and they resolved to stop the new doctrines by putting the Apostle to death. St. Thomas was accustomed to retire to a tomb, not far from the city, for purposes of prayer and meditation. Thither the Brahmins followed him, and whilst he was intent upon his devo- tions, they cast a shower of darts at him, and at last struck him with a lance. -His body was taken up by his disciples and buried in the church which he had himself built. It -has also been stated, that during the government of a viceroy of India, in the time of John the Third King of Portugal, some brass tables were found containing certain inscriptions which could scarcely be read, but which were -translated by a learned Jew, and de- clared to contain the record of a donation made by St. Thomas of a piece of ground for the building of a church. An inscription upon a famous cross was likewise, we are told, discovered in St. Thomas's Church at Malipur, and, being translated by a Brahmin, proved to be an account of the Apostle's martyrdom. Whether these stories are true or not, it is quite certain that Christianity was known in India before the time of the European settlements. The Portu- guese state that they found on their arrival as many as fifteen or sixteen thousand Christian families. The St. Thomas Christians, as they are sometimes called, are very poor, and their churches are gen- erally mean, with no images of saints nor repre- sentations of any kind except that of the cross. They have always been under the government of a pa- triarch of their own, and have never been subject to the Bishop of. Rome. They receive the Holy Coin- munion in both kinds, and observe the seasons of Advent, and Lent, the festivals of our Lord, and of 9 98 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. many of the Saints. The Sunday after Easter is especially kept sacred by them in memory of the famous confession made on that day, by St. Thomas, of his faith in our Blessed Lord. Their Bible, at least the New Testament, is in the Syriac language, and is allowed to be read by the people; their priests are permitted to marry once. In some of these respects a great resemblance may be traced to the customs of the English Church. There are but few traditions of St. Matthew. He is stated to have preached in Parthia and the countries adjacent to India, sometimes called the Asiatic Ethiopia, and there he is supposed to have suffered martyrdom. His Gospel was written, it is said, in Hebrew, at the request of the Jewish con- verts, and afterwards translated into Greek during the lifetime of the Apostles. It is this Greek trans- lation which has been always received as one of the sacred books of Scripture. St. Matthew is said to have been remnarkable for his abstemiousness. Many writings besides the Gospel have been at, tributed to this Apostle, but all have been declared ,false. St. Jude, sometimes called Thaddeus, and other- wise known as Judas, the brother of James, Bishop of Jerusalem, is reported to have preached the Gospel first in Judea and Arabia, and afterwards in Syria and Mesopotamia. The writers of the Latin Church say that he was martyred in Persia; but others declared that he survived most of the other Apostles, and died peaceably at Edessa. He was married, for his grandchildren are mentioned by Eusebius, the Church historian. St. Jude wrote a General or Catholic Epistle, in which he especially warns the Christians of those days against the errors of the Gnostics. DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 99 !St. Simon, who is generally coupled with St. Jude, preached, we are told, in Africa; and there is a tradition, though a very uncertain one, that he even came to Britain, where he was martyred. St. Matthias preached in Cappadocia, and was martyred probably about the year 61 or 64. The traditions of the Greek Church say that he was cruci- fied. His body is declared to have been long kept at Jerusalem, and to have been translated to Rome by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. St. Bartholomew, generally supposed to have been the same person as Nathanael, is said to have preached in the countries bordering upon Judea. The most interesting tradition respecting him is that he left behind him a copy of St. Matthew's Gospel written in Hebrew, which was found many years afterwards, when but few Christians remained in the country. Some of the latter years of his life were, we are told, spent in Phrygia, where he. laboured in company with St. Philip, and narrowly escaped crucifixion. He was at last, it is supposed, martyred in Cilicia. Various accounts are given of his death. Some say that he was crucified with his head downwards, others that he was flayed. St. Philip is thought to have preached in Upper Asia, and to have been martyred at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, at the time when St. Bartholomew escaped. The inhabitants of Tierapolis, were, it is said, de- voted to heathen superstitions, and it was whilst endeavouring to turn them from the worship of a serpent or dragon, that St. Philip excited the in- dignation of the governors of the city, and after being imprisoned and scourged was put to death. Some declare that he was hung by the neck against a pillar, others that he was crucified. Mariamne, his sister, the constant companion of his travels, is 100 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. reported to have:buried him with the assistance of St. Bartholomew. St. John, the only remaining Apostle, outlived all his companions, and saw before his death the fulfilment of his Saviour's prophecies concerning Jerusalem. For several years after the death of our Blessed Lord Judea had been the scene of the greatest con- fusion and distress, the inhabitants being subject to Rome, yet in a continual state of rebellion In the year 66 open war broke out. Vespasian, the Roman general was soon afterwards sent: to com- mand the Roman armies. The Jews fought despe- rately. Town after town was taken, but still they were unsubdued. About three years afterwards, AD. 0. Vespasian was made emperor, and the Roman armies were entrusted to his son Titus, By this time the Jews were reduced almost to, despair. They shut themselves up in Jerusa- lem, abandoning the rest of the country to their enemies; but instead of uniting in one common cause, they separated into parties, each hating the other more than they detested and dreaded their Roman foes. Murder and famine followed. The condition of the city became almost too dreadful to be described; and the words of Moses, uttered more than fifteen hundred years before, were strictly fulfilled: " Thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the strait- ness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee," Deut. xxviii. 53. When Jerusalem was at length taken, the Romans could scarcely believe their own conquest. Titus, beholding the exceeding strength of the city, exclaimed: " We have carried on this DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. A.D. 70. 101 war under the protection of God. It is God alone who has taken away the Jews fiom their strong- hold; for of what service are human means and material engines against such towers ?" The Roman soldiers set fire to the houses, and levelled the wall with the ground. The unfortu- nate inhabitants were carried away captive. Ninety-seven thousand prisoners are said to have been made during the war, and eleven hundred thousand persons perished in the siege. But in the midst of these calamities the Christians were comparatively safe. They had been warned by their Lord of the coming trials, and ordered to quit the city ere the siege began. Before Jerusalem was at all surrounded by armies they fled to Pella, a town on the eastern bank of the Jordan, which had long lost its former connection with Judea, and at that time formed part of the small dominions of Agrippa. Symeon, the brother of St. James, who had succeeded the Apostle as Bishop of Jeru- salem, probably accompanied them. Many, it is supposed, left Palestine altogether, and their dis- persion naturally increased the ill will so generally felt against them in heathen countries. Coming from Palestine, and being Jews by birth, they were con- sidered to be of the same turbulent character as their fellow-countrymen, and their religion was in consequence looked upon with additional sus- picion. The residence of the Christians at Pella was followed by the rise of two sects, whose religious opinions have been the cause of much discussion. These were the Nazarenes and Ebionites. The name of Nazarene was at first a term of reproach given by the Jews to all who believed in Christ, but afterwards it was applied only to a sect whose 9* 102 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. doctrines were a compound of Judaism and Chris- tianity. The Nazarenes, being Jews by birth, were circumcised, and kept the Sabbath and other ob- servances of the Mosaic law. At the same time they received the New Testament, acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the Messiah, practised Christian baptism, and honoured the Lord's Day. After- wards they are said to have held heretical opinions to our Blessed Saviour's divinity. Tertullus, when addressing Felix on the occa- sion of St. Paul's trial, accuses the Apostle of being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes; but this only meant that he was a Christian, for the sect properly called Nazarenes was not then regularly formed. The Ebionites were from the beginning more de- cidedly heretics. They were in fact a branch of the Gnostics, whose opinions have already been stated, but they observed the outward ceremonies of the Jewish law. There was always a danger lest the Jewish converts, from attachment to the law, should become either Nazarenes or Ebionites. But there were many who kept themselves in the true faith, and these seem chiefly to be found amongst the Chris- tians, who after the destruction of Jerusalem re- turned to dwell in the ruined city. To them the downfall of their country, most mournful though it was, could not have been the utter destruction of all hope and interest that it was to the mere Jews. It was the fulfilment of a prophecy which only confirmed them the more strongly in their faith, and bade them turn their eyes from the earthly to the spiritual Jerusalem, - the City " not made with, hands, eternal, in the heavens." There alone could rest be found- and as the little company of DEATH OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 98. Christians gathered together amidst the wreck of their former happiness, they must have seen in the mercy which had guarded them amidst the dangers of that terrible war, the earnest of the Guiding Hand which was to lead them safely through the howling wilderness of life to the glorious land of immortality. CHAPTER XI. THE DEATH OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 9S. THE reign of the Emperor Vespasian and that of A.D. 79. his son Titus were periods of peace for the Christian Church, during which religion must have made much progress. Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria, had by this time become celebrated as the cities where the chief bishoprics were established. Jerusalem and Rome were called the Apostolical Sees, as having been founded by apostles; Jerusalem by St. James, Rome by St. Peter and St. Paul. Symeon, as it has been stated, succeeded St. James at Jerusalem; and Linus, Anacletus, and Clement, are mentioned as having been successively bishops of Rome. The name of Clement deserves particular mention, from the fact of his being called by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Philippians, his fellow-labourer; and also from the letter which he left behind him, written in the name of the Christians at Rome to their brethren at Corinth. .This is the only document, except the Sacred Writings, which has been handed down to us as belonging to the first century of Christianity. It 103 104 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. speaks of a persecution which the Roman Christians had lately endured; and from this some have sup- posed that it was written after the end of Nero's reign, when St. Peter and St. Paul had suffered martyrdom; but others imagine the expressions to allude to a later period of trial, which will pre- sently be mentioned. The Christians at Corinth appear to have been full of dissensions in the days of Clement, as they were in those of St. Paul; for the bishop earnestly exhorts them to peace. HIis letter was always held in great esteem, and was for many years publicly read, not only by the Corinthian Church but by many others. There are several other books professing to belong to the first century of Christian history, but none of them are genuine. Many persons undertook to give accounts of our Lord and of the Apostles; but the stories which were related were evidently for the most part untrue. Some of them appear to have been written by Gnostics ; and notwithstanding our natural desire to learn more particulars of lives so infinitely important to our- selves and to all mankind, we cannot but consider it a most merciful ordering of God's Providence which gave such honour to the true works of the Apostles and Evangelists, and has caused them to be handed down safely through so many ages; whilst those which contained imaginary stories, or were mixed up with false doctrine, are comparatively unknown. Another person of great note livig in the first century 'Was Ignatius, who succeeded Euodius as Bishop of Antioch; but as his death did not take place till the second century, his history must for the present be deferred. Towards the close of the first century the peace DEATH: OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 98. of the Christian Church was greatly disturbed. AD. 81. The wicked Domitian, the half-brother of Titus, who succeeded him in the empire, set on foot a furious persecution, originally directed against the Jews, but falling heavily upon the Christians, who were often confounded with them. After the destruction of Jerusalem, a tax had been demanded of the Jews by Titus, which was exacted by Domitian with great seVerity. A hea- then historian mentions that some persons who professed the Jewish religion endeavoured to con- ceal the fact, in order to evade the tax. These, no doubt, were Christians, who spoke truly as re- garded their religion, but were not believed. The general charge brought both against Jews and Christians was, however, that of atheism, or dis- belief in the gods. Flavius Clemens, the uncle of Domitian, and whose son had been destined to suc- ceed to the empire, was accused of this offence, or, in other words, was discovered to be a Christian, and was in: consequence put to death: whilst his wife, Domitilla, was sent into an exile from which she never returned, even when Nerva, the emperor who reigned after Domitian, and who was famed for his clemency, recalled those who had been ban- ished. But Domitian's enmity against the Chris- tians was'not merely on account of their religion. He suspected them of being disloyal to himself. They refused to worship him as a god, and he might naturally imagine that this implied unwillingness to acknowledge him as king. He had heard also of a report common amongst the Jews at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, that a great prince was expected to appear in Judea, and that he was to come from the house of David. Upon inquiry, he found that some persons professing Christianity, 105 106 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. and who were known as descendants of David, being the grandchildren of the Apostle Jude, were at that time residing in Palestine. He sent for them, and questioned them as to their condition and their belief; but they were poor men, labour- ing for their daily bread; and when Domitian saw their hard toil-stained hands, and heard them speak of their Lord as One who was not of this world and cared nothing for its pomp and its dominion, he foresaw no danger to himself, and allowed them to depart free; little imagining that the power which he thus despised was mighty to overturn the great- est empires of earth, and would one day shine forth triumphant in Heaven. It seems probable from this circumstance that the Christians in Palestine escaped persecution. But the emperor's wrath was severely felt by those who were resident in Asia Minor; and the name of one martyr, Antipas of Pergamos, is mentioned to us in the Book of Revelation. Ephesus, the chief city of Asia Minor, was the most celebrated for its Christian Church, and to- wards the close of the first century it became the residence of the last of the apostles, St. John, who is said to have shared in the sufferings inflicted upon his brethren by the cruelty of Domitian. Of the life of St. John little is told us in Scrip- ture, except in the early chapters of the Acts, where he is mentioned as being the companion of St. Peter, and assisting him in confirming and strengthening the Church in Samaria. Asia fell to his share when the provinces were assigned to the Apostles; but he does not appear to have entered at once upon his charge. Probably he dwelt still in his own house at Jerusalem until after the death of the Blessed Virgin, which is sup- DEATH OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 98. posed to have taken place about fifteen years after our Lord's ascension. St. John's efflrts in Asia were greatly prospered, for he founded the Churches of Smyrna, Perga- mos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and others; and he is supposed to have extended his labours still further to the east. His chief residence however was at Ephesus. Some special incidents of his zeal for truth, and the deep love for the souls of his converts which he exhibited when living there, have been transmitted to us. Whilst visiting the churches near to Ephesus he is said to have met with a young man who excited his peculiar interest, and whom he gave in charge to the bishop of the place to be educated. The bishop did not properly fulfil his office, and his pupil, as he grew up, became in consequence very dissipated, and at last joined a company of highwaymen. St. John, returning to the same place after a lapse of time, was deeply grieved at the report which he received, and, having sharply reproved the bishop, expressed his determination to seek out the young man. and, if possible, bring him to repentance. Unmindful of danger, he set out for the moun- tains, the haunt of the robbers. He was taken prisoner by their sentinel, and brought before their commander. In him he saw the youth whom he had so dearly loved, and who now, conscience stricken at his presence, fled from his sight. The aged Apostle followed, passionately entreating him to stay. "My son," he exclaimed, "why dost thou flee from thy father unarmed and old ? Fear not; as yet there6 remaineth hope of salvation. Believe me, Christ hath sent me." The entreaties pre- vailed. The young man stood still, trembling and 107 108 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH, weeping bitterly. St. John prayed with him, ex- horted him, and succeeded in bringing him to a full sense of his guilt. His repentance was sin- cere and lasting. He went through a course of penance as a proof of his sorrow for his crimes, and was then received again into the communion of the Church, continuing ever after a faithful dis- ciple. St. John's horror of any departure from the true faith is also said to have been exhibited in a memorable instance. Whilst residing at Ephesus, he went one day to the public baths according -to his usual custom, and inquired of the servant who waited there, who was within. He was informed that it was Ce- rinthus, a man %of bad character, who professed himself a Christian, but held most dangerous and heretical opinions, denying the resurrection of our Lord, and declaring that he himself was an apostle, and had received revelations from heaven. St. John instantly turned to his companions, exclaim- ing, " Let us be gone, my brethren, and make haste from this place, lest the bath wherein there is such an -heretic as Cerinthus, the great enemy of the truth, fall upon our heads." The followers of Cerinthus were not the only heretics whom St. John opposed. In the Book of Revelation special mention is made of the Nicolai- tanes, who professed to be the followers of Nicolas, one of the seven men chosen to assist the Apostles in the very first beginning of the Church. Nicolas was a: man of most self-denying habits; but the sect which took his name were noted for wicked self- indulgence. The Nicolaitanes showed the weak- ness of their principles, by consenting in periods of persecution to eat meats which had been offered to DEATH OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 98. idols. This was now the test of -the Christian when brought before heathen magistrates. St. John was dwelling at Ephesus, when the en- inity of Domitian is said to have overtaken him. The proconsul of Asia, we are told, in obedience to the command of the emperor, sent him bound to Rome, where he was cast into a caldron of boiling oil, from the effects of which he was miraculously preserved. The circumstances of the story are not sufficiently attested to be received with positive certainty. We know, however, that the emperor ordered him to be banished, and that he was in consequence conveyed to Patmos, called by one of the writers of his life, " a disconsolate island in the Archipelago." Such, doubtless, it was in the eye of man; but how different in the estimation of the holy Apostle! The Presence of God was with him, in that lonely exile, in a manner which has never been vouch- safed to any other mortal.. The Book of Revelation describes to us the series of stupendous visions which conveyed to him, in figure, the history of the Church throughout all the ages of the world, and placed him in the presence of the ' great White Throne, and H-im that sat upon it, before whose Face the earth and the heavens fled away ;" bidding him rest at last in the vision of the glorious " City which shall have no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the light thereof." "'Even so: come, Lord Jesus !" The words fall upon the ear as the fullest expression of the longing heart. After that sight of glory, what could earth hkve been to the mind of the sainted Apostle ? Yet many years of lingering trial were still before him. He was released from exile by the clemency 10 109 110 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 96. f the emperor Nerva, who succeeded Do- . mitian, and he lived till the time of Trajan. Those latter years were spent, we have reason to believe, in the quiet superintendence of the Asiatic Churches, and in the writing of his Gospel and Epistles,-the First of the Epistles being catholic, or addressed to Christians generally; the Second, to a lady held in high honour in the Church; and the Third to Gaius, the kind friend and hospitable entertainer of the Christians, who had been baptized by St. Paul, and was his host at Corinth. Heresies were by this time abounding in the Church, and the bishops of Asia were earnest that the Apostle should give his own testimony to the true doctrine, received from Christ himself. We are told of the earnest entreaties of the ambassadors from various Churches, and of the great fast which was pro- claimed before so solemn an undertaking as a re- cord of the life and teaching of the Lord of Glory was begun; and, whatever may be the foundation of these traditions, no one can read the opening chap- ters of St. John's Gospel without feeling that he who indited them was favoured with a deep insight into the things of God, and a wonderful nearness to the spirit of Christ. Love to God, and to men for His sake, are the distinguishing features of the writings of him who lay upon his Saviour's Breast, and iwas, of all the disciples, the closest to His Human Affections. And still, when too infirm to give lengthened in- struction in the faith, St. John repeated the gentle exhortation, which had been the rule of his long life. "'Little children, love one another !" wer, the words which he addressed to his disciples at Ephesus, when he was led to the church to join in the public assembly of the Christians. DEATH OF ST. JOHN. A.D. 98. There were those who were wearied with such constant repetition. They could not understand the depth of meaning which it conveyed. "Why," they said, " should they be told always one thing?" " Because nothing else is needed," replied the Apos- tle, And still he repeated, " Little children, love one another !" until the love of men on earth was exchanged for the communion of the saints in Pa- radise. " He died in expectation of his blessedness." It is the expression used by an ancient writer. 1Many were the legends concerning him current in the Church in after ages, founded upon those words of our Blessed Lord, " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ?" St. John him- self seems to have foreseen the erroneous opinion which was to spring from them; for he adds: " Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him he shall not die, but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ?" The words " till I come," meaning probably that coming of our Lord in vengeance upon the Jews which took place at the destruction of Jerusalem. An early writer of St. John's life reports that only one of his disciples was present at his burial, and that he was strictly charged never to discover the sepulchre to any. Yet the Turks imagine him to have been buried in the confines of Lydia, and pay great honour to his supposed tomb. The death of the last of the Apostles must have taken place very nearly at the close of the first century, about A.D. 98. He is supposed to have been ninety-nine years of age when he was sum- moned to his rest. 111 112 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. CHAPTER XII. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCII. WITH the death of St. John, the first remarkable epoch of Christianity ends: and here, therefore, it seems natural to pause, and dwell upon the astonish- ing progress made by the Church since its first foundation. Perhaps the best mode of realising to ourselves its miraculous success is by comparing it with the efforts made to spread the Gospel among the hea- then in our own days. Who does not know how slow, how dishearten- ing, how full of failure, is the work of the Christian missionary now,-though sent forth with all the advantages of learning and civilisation,-when he is called upon to battle with the prejudices of an ignorant and barbarous people ? He may, indeed, be followed, and respected, and admired; he may be looked upon as a being of a higher sphere; he will find men willing to submit themselves to him, to be governed by him, to learn from him; but he cannot persuade them to worship with him. Only by slow degrees, by gaining their affections, watching for opportunities, working upon them through their children, can the minds of those who have grown up in heathen superstition be opened to receive the truths of Christianity. The real work is done by teaching the little ones, who have no knowledge of any other faith; and even with them it is a task of great difficulty, surrounded as they are by evil example, and with all the influence of their nearest and dearest relations leading them astray. .I-uman nature was not different in the time of GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. the Apostles from what it is now. The opposition to Christianity was not less, rather it was far greater, for the preachers were for the most part humble fishermen of Galilee, and the hearers were to be found amongst the enlightened citizens of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. If an English missionary finds it so difficult to convert a Hindoo idolater, how did the followers of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth convert the Roman world ? Many answers, drawn from the condition of heathen society, may be given to this inquiry, but they all relate to the progress of Christianity in after years. When we look at its first triumph there can be but one reply, found in the prayer made by the small company of faithful disciples who met together when the anger of the c ief-priests had followed the healing of the lame man laid at the gate of the Temple, " And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. By stretching forth Thine Hand to heal: and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of thy Holy Child Jesus." If there had been no " signs and wonders," no Divine interposition, Christianity, though the purest, holiest religion the world has ever known, would have had the same difficulty in spreading itself then as it has now. And when we are inclined, as we sometimes may be, to wish that we had lived in the days of miracles, we shall do well to remember that God has given us one continually before our eyes, which only the hardness of our hearts prevents us from acknowledging. The existence of Christianity is the greatest miracle which the world has ever seen. But the new religion was not only intended to 1 0 * 113 114 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. bring back individual men to the service of the true God; it was the establishment of a Divine king- dom. The Church had its own rulers, its own laws and discipline; its influence, humanly speak- ing,' depended greatly on its authority; and the manner in which this authority was from the be- ginning regulated can be traced without difficulty. There is no doubt that at the first foundation of the Christian Church the Apostles themselves were its governors. The title of Apostle was pro- bably first limited to the twelve chosen by our Lord, and to St. Matthias, who was elected in the place of Judas. But St. Paul claimed the same dignity, as being appointed to it by an immediate revelation from Heaven, and St. Luke applies the title to St. Barnabas. These then were the spritual rulers of the Church, who so far differed from the bishops of the present day that they were gifted with miraculous powers, and were not limited to any particular diocese, but were directed to preach 'the Gospel throughout the world. Next in rank to the Apostles were the overseers or elders, often known also by the titles of bishops or presbyters. These are frequently mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. We read that Paul and Barnabas, when proceeding on their missionary journey, ordained them elders in every church (Acts xiv. 23); and the decree respecting circum- cision which was entrusted to them was given by the authority of the Apostles, elders, and breth- ren. The name "elder" was derived from an office common in the Jewish synagogues, and there- fore adopted by the Christian Church in Judea; whilst, among the Gentiles, the title of bishop was more common. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. SThe ct of these different titles having been ap- plied at first to the same office, has caused many mistaken impressions respecting the government of the early Church. Persons who know the Bible only by our English translation, are apt to imagine, when they hear St. Paul's injunctions to Timothy, as to the conduct required of bishops, that these bishops held the same office as those in the present day. And thus they are accustomed, if they meet with persons who dispute the authority of bishops, to say that the office and its duties are mentioned in the Epistles of St Paul, and therefore must be upheld; but this is a wrong argument, and easily disproved. A person acquainted with Greek, and having any knowledge of the history and the writings of the early Christians, can show at once that bishops, elders, and presbyters held originally the same office. The consequence of this is, that those who believe bishops to be necessary, only because they read of them in St Paul's epistles, are perplexed, and perhaps tempted to join some sect of Christians which has renounced Episcopacy, and will only allow the government of elders or presbyters. But all this is merely a question of words. If there is one fact more clearly proved than any other in the history of the Church, it is that in the times of the Apostles there were three distinct orders, answering to our Bishops, Priests, and Deacons; and that the change made afterwards was not in the office but in the names attached to them. If we look at the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, we shall see- clearly that the office con- ferred upon them was superior to that of the elders ; that in fact they held the same position in Ephesus and Crete which we now give to our bishops. St. Paul tells Timothy that he had left 115 116 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. him in Ephesus that he might charge or command others not to teach false doctrine. He gives direc- tions, which it is evident that Timothy is to carry out, respecting public worship, the, character of bishops or elders, and deacons, the instruction of the Church generally, and the relief of widows. Timothy is told not to receive accusations against the elders unless there are two or three witnesses; to lay hands upon, or, in other words, to ordain no one suddenly; with many other warnings and ex- hortations of a similar kind, all of which are indis- putable evidence that Timothy was called upon to act as the head of the Ephesian Church. So again the Apostle opens his letter to Titus, by stating that. he had left him in Crete for the very purpose of ordaining elders in every city; and then he pro- ceeds to describe the duties of such elders or bish- ops, or, as the Greek word would more correctly be translated, overseers. Thus, then, from the Scriptures themselves we learn the fact that during the lifetime of the Apostles, Christian churches were governed by one person holding a position of authority like that of a bishop of the present day, and having a specal charge to ordain elders or presbyters. The fact is confirmed by historical tradition. Dionysius, the Areopagite, converted by St. Paul, is declared to have been the first Head of the Church of Athens; whilst there is common testimony to the fact that Antioch was governed by Euodius, who had probably entered upon his office as early as A.D. 48. Epaphroditus is said to have been the Bishop of Philippi. St. Paul calls him " your messenger," but the word translated " messenger" is more strictly " apostle ;" whilst Zacchaeus, who after his call is believed to have attached himself to the Apostles, is declared GOVERNMENT OF THIE CHURCH. to have been appointed Bishop of Cmsarea by St. Peter. If we wish for still further testimony, we must remember that, with the exception of the books of the New Testament, we have scarcely any writ- ings of the first century after Christ. In the second century every church is spoken of as having its distinct ruler, and the title of bishop is then com- monly given to the person holding that office. The change in the name seems to have been made like many other changes which we read of in history, or even remark in our own day. For in- stance, in the later times of the Roman Republic, distinguished generals were called imperators or emperors. There might then be many imperators, all bearing the same rank; but when Augustus Caesar took the supreme authority in the state he was called especially the imperator, as if there was no other. Thus the title became limited to him, and now we think of an emperor as of one having supreme authority, and quite forget that at first the title was shared in common with many. In the same way in the Christian Church, at first there were many bishops all subject to the Apostles; but when one of these was appointed to rule over the others he was called the bishop, as if there was nro other, and so by degrees the titles of bishop and presbyter were separated; a bishop was understood to mean the ruler of the church, and the presbyter was the elder who acted under him. We do not, therefore, rest the claims of Episco- pacy upon the title given to certain persons in the Sacred Writings; but upon the facts which we may all see for ourselves,-that St. Paul unquestionably addresses Timothy and Titus as having authority over the presbyters;-that historical testimony alludes to other bishops in the first century after 117 118 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Christ ;-and that for fifteen hundred years all great communities of Christians acknowledged the gov- ernment of bishops, and the ordination of elders by them to be essential for the being of a church. The third order, that of deacons, is supposed to have originated from the appointment of the seven ".men of honest report," chosen to assist the Apos- ties in ministering to the poor, soon after the Day of Pentecost. The office of deacon, however, prob- ably existed from the very first in the Church at Jerusalem. It is thought by some that the young men who assisted in the burial of Ananias and Sap- phira were of the number; and that the title of " young men" was given them in contrast with that of elders. In the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, direct mention is made of them, and their duties are clearly pointed out. As regards the manner of ordination, we have no other record of the customs of those early times except the Scriptures. From them we learn that it was always performed by the laying on of hands; and the first rulers of the Church appear to have .been appointed according to some special declara- tion of God's will. Paul and Barnabas were sep- arated for their work, by the command of the Holy Ghost; and it is said of the governors of the Ephesian churches, who met at Miletus, that the Holy Ghost had made them bishops or overseers of the Church. St. Paul may probably allude to this miraculous appointment when, in writing to Timothy, he says, "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare." This mode of election, according to a prophetic revelation, con- tinued, at least, during the time of the Apostles, GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. We are expressly told by some early writers, that " the Apostles constituted their first-fruits to be the bishops and deacons of those who should believe, making trial of them by the Spirit :" and it is par- ticularly reported of St. John, when visiting the churches near to Ephesus, that he ordained bishops, and such as were signified, or pointed out to him "by the Spirit." Prophets and evangelists are also mentioied in the apostolic age, as assisting the Apostles in the work of instruction and guidance. Prophets were sometimes those to whom the will of God was dis- tinctly revealed, and who were, therefore, able to foretell future events; but this was not necessarily the case with all who were called prophets. They were for the most part preachers of the Word of God, who declared and explained the Gospel to their brethren. Evangelists were missionaries, who went from place to place preaching to the heathen. We use the word when we speak of the persons who wrote the history of our Lord's Life, but this could not have been its original meaning, for those to whom the term is applied in Scripture were not the writers of the four Gospels. Philip, one of the seven, first chosen to assist the Apostles, is called an evangelist; so also is Tim- othy. Whilst speaking of the government of the Church under the Apostles, it may be desirable at the same time to mention the Sacraments, which form so prominent a part of our Christian services. Bap- tism we find was considered so absolutely necessary, that it could not be omitted, even in the case of one, like St. Paul, converted by a miraculous interpo- sition. Again and again, we find Sit required of the Christian converts, and St. Paul's mention of 119 120 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. it in his Epistles is almost always accompanied by expressions which show its great dignity and im- portance. There is great reason to believe that a public form of Baptism, including questions and answers such as are now common in the English Church, was used even in the Apostolic times, as it un- doubtedly was afterwards. Many expressions in Scripture favour this idea, particularly Philip's questions to the Eunuch before he baptized him, and the allusion made in the first Epistle of St. Peter, to "the answer of a good conscience towards God," in connection with the sacrament of Baptism. That infants were baptized, 'appears certain, though it is not expressly mentioned. If it had not been so, there must have been some trace of the introduction of infant baptism in after ages, but there is none: the practice is immemoral. None, even in the earliest ages, could remember the time when it had not been. Baptism was ad- ministered by immersion, the convert being plunged beneath the water to represent his death to the life of sin, and then raised again as a sign that he had risen to the life of righteousness. This prac- tice was discontinued as the Gospel spread in colder regions. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper appears to have been celebrated at first daily, and in connec- tion with feasts called Agapm, or Love Feasts, in which rich and poor, masters and slaves, met to- gether as equals. This practice, however, was soon discontinued, on account of' the abuses to, which it led. St. Paul alludes to them in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, when he speaks of the excesses which were committed by those who came together into one place, to eat the Lord's Supper,-- GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. or, as the expression is in that place supposed to mean, partake of the Love Feasts. " One," he says, is hungry, and another drunken," and then he pro- ceeds to remind the Corinthians of the solemn man- ner in which the Sacrament which followed was first instituted, the sacred truths which it sets forth, the blessing it communicates, and the necessity of self-examination, before it can be received without danger. All these warnings being equally applica- ble to ourselves, and, indeed, adopted by the Eng- lish Church in the exhortation used in the Com- munion Service. It appears, upon examination, that the elements of bread and wine were consecrated in the days of the Apostles, as they are now: the consecration being accompanied by a solemn thanksgiving. This has caused the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be called also the Sacrament of the Eu- charist, Eucharist meaning thanksgiving. St. Paul speaks of this consecration, when he says to the Corinthians, " When thou shalt bless with the Spirit, how shall he that occupies the room of the un- learned say, Amen, at the giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest ? "-a pas- sage which is thus explained by persons learned in the Greek language, in which the Epistle was first written: "If thou shalt bless the bread and wine in an unknown language, which has been given to thee: by the Holy Spirit, how shall the layman say, Amen, so be it, at the end of thy thanksgiving or liturgy, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?" It was customary also to symbolise the fellowship and affection of the Christian converts, by interchanging the kiss of peace before partak- ing of the Sacrament. St. Paul, in writing to the 11 121 120 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Thessalonians, says, " Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss." A kiss, we must remember, was, in ancient times, as it is now in many foreign coun- tries, the ordinary mode in which friends saluted each other. The festivals of the Church in the Apostolic times, were at first, for the most part, the same with those of the Jews, although a higher and spiritual meaning was given to them. St. Paul says to the Corinthians, " I will tarry at Ephesus until Pente- cost." He is speaking apparently of a festival, acknowledged and observed by Christians as well as Jews. So, again, he alludes to the Feast of the Passover, as one which they were in the habit of. keeping, and warns them to " keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." The first day of the week was also a festival in memory of our Lord's Resurrection, and was called for the same reason, the Lord's Day, a name which it has retained to the present time. Meetings for public worship, did not, however, take place, only on the first day of the week. We gather from the Acts of the Apostles, that they were often held daily. The Christians in Jeru- salem, at first resorted to the Courts of the Temple, and there the Apostles taught them; but they are often spoken of as meeting in private houses. Very little is told us of the details of their worship. In many respects they must have differed widely from our own, owing to the miraculous gifts bestowed upon the new converts, and the power granted them of speaking in unknown tongues, interpret- ing, and prophesying. St. Paul gives directions to the Corinthians, which show that confusion was GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. sometimes apt to arise from the manner in which these gifts were exercised. He desires that not more than two or three should prophesy in the same assembly; that persons having the gift of tongues should not exercise it, unless some one was present who could interpret what they said. He also: orders that women should not attempt to teach in these public assemblies, and should appear veiled. All these :directions point out a state of things wholly unlike that now existing. Yet there are other allusions which bring back our thoughts to our own times. Prayer and thanks- giving, we know, formed a great part of the public service, and the mention of the Amen, uttered by the unlearned, or the laymen, shows that the people were accustomed to respond. Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, also, we may believe, were used according to the Apostles' recommenda- tions. The Jews chanted their psalms to simple melodies, which. no doubt were dear to the hearts of the Christian converts, and which have, in all probability, been handed down to our own times, in the oldest chants now in use. The ministers of the Church were supported by the voluntary offer- ings of the people. St. Paul asserts their right to be thus maintained, in the very strongest terms. "They who preach the Gospel, have," he says, " a right to live of the Gospel." Yet he himself laboured with his own hands, at the occupation of tent-making, which he had been taught, according to the common custom of Jews of all ranks; being desirous to put his indifference to worldly interests beyond the reach of suspicion. Collections were made on the first day of the week, and out of the funds so raised, it is probable that a fixed' stipend was paid to the clergy. 123 124 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. St. Paul seems to allude to this, when he says, that the elders who rule well are to be "accounted worthy of double honour,"-or pay, as the word used in the Greek not unfrequently means. This, perhaps, is as much as can be gathered from the Books of the New Testament, as to the government and ordinances of the Church in the times of the Apostles, with the exception of the practice of anointing the sick with oil, which has given rise to the rite of Extreme Unction in the Roman Catholic Church. It appears evident from the manner in which this custom is mentioned in Scripture, that it accompanied the miraculous gift of healing. It was first practised by the Apostles when sent forth by our Lord. We are told that they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. And St. James says, " Is any sick among you, let'him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him." The miraculous gift of healing having ceased, the practice of anointing with oil has not been retained in the English Church. CHAPTER XIV. THE STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE ROMANS. THERE is something very dreary in turning from the records of s'acred to those of profane history; yet the two are so intermingled, that it is impos- sible thoroughly to understand either, when taken STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE ROMANS. 125 separately; and as we enter upon the second cen- tury of the Christian history, the first question which presents itself is, what was at that period the condition of the great empire in which the Church had taken root, and over which, in the ordering of God's providence, it was destined to triumph ? The Roman world was heathen. What was a heathen world? What were the principles which guided the persons who composed it ? Where did they find their happiness in life,-and what were their hopes in death? When these inquiries have been answered, we shall better understand the spirit with which the doctrines of Christianity were received by the Gentiles, to whom they were first preached. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of that age was the unbelief of educated and thoughtful men. The old religion still kept its ground amongst the lower orders, but persons whose minds were culti- vated had ceased to have faith in it. The stories of the gods and goddesses which are so shocking to tus, were absurd, if not shocking to them. Even before the time of our Saviour, Lucilius, a clever, satirical writer, wrote an imaginary conversation between the deities, in which he described them as ridiculing amongst themselves the title of " father," which men were accustomed to give them; and at a later period, at the very time of our Lord's Human Life, the speeches and writings of the most distin- guished Romans showed that they considered the monstrous fables of mythology totally unworthy of credit, except by the lowest of mankind. Yet they made no attempt to enlighten the ignorant people. They had learnt to disbelieve,-but they could not go farther. The best and wisest could 11- 126 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. only hope and conjecture; and what that state of mind must be, very few in the present day can imagine. - Even the men who now say that they do not believe, prove by their anxiety to make others think like themselves, that the assertion is not strictly true. It is the fear that the Bible may be, a revelation from heaven, which makes them take so much pains to overthrow it. But the clever Romans had no such feelings respecting the pop- ular religion. They believed it to be a delusion; they scoffed at it, but they made no efforf to up- root it. Rather, knowing that any religion was. better than none, they encouraged the outward cer- emonies, thinking them useful in keeping the lower orders under restraint. For themselves, they were compelled to live and die in darkness. A few lis- tened to the teaching of their consciences, and tried, to regulate theit conduct accordingly; but the mass of the higher classes acted upon the proverb quoted by St. Paul-" Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." And who could expect it to be otherwise ? The universe was to them without a God. Death was the end of their existence. What better could they do than strive to cast away care, and enjoy the few brief hours allotted to them, before they sank into nothinginess ? But it is singular to observe that at this very time the ordinary life of a Roman was full of re- ligious ceremonies, encouraged especially by the Emperor; since, in truth, religion was fast becom- ing not so much a worship of the gods as of the person who sat upon the throne of the Casars. Augustus, the first of the Roman emperors, allowed himself to be called a god. The princes who were in alliance to him erected altars to his honour. STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE ROMANS. 127 In Athens a temple intended for Jupiter was dedi- cated, to him; and after his death the infamous Tiberius offered him sacrifices. And this practice was continued with succeeding emperors in after years. Whilst the goddess Diana was represented on the stage and flogged p'ublicly, and the im- aginary will of the deceased god Jupiter was read aloud for public entertainment, the Romans wor- shipped the miserable monster, Caligula, during his lifetime, and even offered to him human victims. In such a religion there could be no faith. Tem- ples, altars, sacrifices existed, but no reverence was felt for them. The empire was one vast scene of wicked mockery; and the consequences were too terrible to be described. Poets and philosophers tell us that the most atrocious vices were the com- mon occupation of the chief men of their time; and were not hidden in secret, but published and spoken of as the known and remembered events of history. Cruelty naturally followed. Death was constantly mingled with the amusements of the Romans; men were thrown alive into the ponds in which fish were fattened; the pleasure of cutting off a man's head was purchased; and blood flowed at a feast as in the public games in which the gladiators fought. The lower orders were, if pos- sible, even more depraved. They who professed a belief in the gods did not scruple to make use of that belief for the most shameful purposes. The prayers made in the temples were continually for help in the commission of crimes; the offerings brought to the gods were in order to obtain most disgraceful favours. And men's lives were like their prayers: they imitated the vices of the em- peror in order to please him, and this without fear, for the idea of punishment in another world, fol- 128 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. lowing upon guilt, had ceased to exist amongst them. Even the little children, it is said, did not believe in it. Not that the Romans were without any consciousness of an unseen power. As they ceased to be religious they became superstitious. So it has always been, for the belief in a spiritual existence of some kind is a part of man's nature. Tiberius kept an astrologer by him, who pretended to foretell future events by observing the position of the stars. Tacitus, the great Roman historian, relates seriously the miracles of Vespasian. The world was full of predictions and marvels. Magic was: considered a true science; and yet crimes were committed in order to uphold it. A prophecy was often made that a particular person would die at a certain time, and then in order to fulfil it he was poisoned. Thus suspicion filled all hearts, and .peace and safety were banished from the luxurious feasts of Rome. Such was the state of society in the centre of the empire. Amongst the distait nations who formed its utmost limits, there would naturally be found considerable differences both in religion and habits. The Roman emperors, notwithstanding their cruelty, generally discouraged: the barbarous rites of other lands. Each year a human offering was made to the god, Jupiter Latial, in Rome, but in Gaul, Britain, and Germany, such sacrifices were as much as possible prevented. Yet, as the Romans had no true religion to teach, they could never have effected any lasting change fbr the better -even in this respect, if, at the time their power was spreading over the face of the earth, Christianity had not spread also; and it is in order to bring out strongly the true condition, and dan- gers.and .difficulties of the early Christians that the STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE IROMANS. 129 gross corruptions of heathenism have now been alluded to. For a Christian in those early days was a per- son obliged to separate himself from the habits and pleasures of the people amongst whom he dwelt, and to live a life apart.* He did not send his chil- dren to the common schools, for there he knew they would be corrupted by heathen influence. He did not buy meat without first inquiring whether it was intended for the heathen altars; and if meat, which he knew had been offered to an idol, was set before him when he was dining with a heathen friend, he refused to partake of it. He kept aloof from the public games and entertainments: for in the theatre immoral heathen stories were repre- sented; and in the arena men fought to death for the amusement of their fellow-creatures. If his heathen acquaintances invited him to join in social festivities he was obliged often to refuse, lest he might in consequence find himself taking part in heathen rites. Ornaments sought for by others were forbidden to him. The crowns and chaplets, considered tokens of honour, were in his sight sym- bols of disgrace, for they were connected with the ceremonies of heathenism. He could scarcely bor- row, or lend, or make bonds or contracts, because in case of any disagreement he might not appear before a heathen tribunal, to take a heathen oath. In these and in very many other ways the distinc- tion was perceived daily and hourly; even the ring which the Christian wore upon his finger, and the seal with which he secured his letter were marked with devices which had a secret meaning to him, though they were unintelligible to his heathen * See " History of the Church," by the Rev. J. J. Blunt. 130 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. friends. And if we remember that these differences were felt, not merely amongst different families, but amongst the members of the same family, we shall understand more fully the meaning of our Blessed Lord's words, when He said, "I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in- law against her mother-in-law." When the wife was a Christian and the husband a heathen; when the child had given himself to the service of the Pure and Holy God, and the parent was sunk in all the wickedness of idolatry, there could be no union, no happiness. It may easily be imagined with what dislike the heathens would look upon a body of per- sons who thus interfered with their ordinary habits. Whilst religion was only a matter of be- lief they did not trouble themselves about it; it signified not to them whether the god in whom their relations and friends believed was a Grecian, an Egyptian, or a Roman deity; but when their daily life was affected by the change of'faith it became intolerable to them. We find this the case in some respects in our own day. Many there are who do not in the least trouble themselves !about the religious creed of the persons with whom they live, whilst there are no outward differences of conduct; but even a slight alteration in domestic habits becomes a grave offence. And the heathens were not without more decided cause of complaint against the Christians. The most false and horri- ble stories were told of them. When in conse- quence of the persecution raised against them, they were compelled to hold their assemblies at night, it was said that they met to commit atrocious crimes. Amongst other things it was stated that, on STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE ROMANS. 131 the occasion of the initiation of a convert, a child, sprinkled with flour, was presented to him, and that without knowing what he did he pierced it with a knife, after which the blood of the murdered infant was drunk, and the flesh eaten, as a token of union. We can of course trace this story to the rite of the Holy Communion; but the heathens could not thus disprove it. Again, Christians were: considered dangerous citizens.; they were heard to call Christ their King, and to sigh for His Kingdom. They objected to address the emperors by the title of Lord, when the word was used in a religious sense; and they would not swear by the Genius of the emperor - an oath which the heathens deemed so sacred that they built: temples and offered sacrifices to this Genius, whom they reverenced as a deity. The lesser charge brought forward was that they were useless members of the state, because they sought to avoid public employments. Even the miracles which they worked were turned against them, for although not denied, they were attributed to magic. That Christianity should ever have spread amongst a people so corrupted, and when so many difficulties stood in its way, may in itself be con- sidered miraculous. Yet we must not forget that its doctrines, when thoroughly understood, were full of consolation for all persons who were dis- gusted with the wickedness around them, or who longed for a more settled creed and a firmer hope. And there were such even amongst the Romans. Notwithstanding the gross corruptions of the mass, large classes of men were to be found, artizans, husbandmen, slaves, - the latter forming an im- mense proportion of the population, - who were removed from the temptations which beset the rich; 132 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCIl whilst the slaves especially were open to any in- fluence which tended to raise them from their state of degradation, and open to them the prospect of equality and sympathy. The consciences of many of these persons were less blunted than those of their luxurious fellow-countrymen; they could un- derstand somewhat of the guilt of the sins which idolatry permitted and encouraged; their minds were more prepared to receive the truth; and amongst them the religion which told of holiness in life and hope in death, made rapid progress. And others there were, acquainted with all that the philosophy of paganism could teach, but unable to obtain rest for their minds, who were, for that rea- son ready to receive the instructions of Christianity. They inquired after God, but with Job they might have said " I go forward but He is not there, and backward but I cannot perceive Him, on the left hand where He doth work but I cannot behold Him, HIe hideth Himself on the right hand that I cannot see Him." And when they searched into the mys- teries of their own existence, and, taught by con- science that they were sinners, asked how they could appease an offended Deity, no answer was returned. When such persons became Christians all these doubts were cleared up. They were in- structed in the Nature of God, the Atonement made by Christ, the Hope brought to light through the Gospel. The promise of the Holy Spirit was con- firmed to them by the lives of their fellow Chris- tians and the miracles which they witnessed; and by faith and the sacred rites of Baptism and the Holy Communion they were made to realise that sacred and mysterious union with one All-Holy and All-Mighty, for which during their previous lives they had been continually thirsting. STATE OF SOCIETY AMONGST THE ROMANS. 133 That must have been a mighty change. We, who are Christians almost from our birth, can scarcely comprehend it. As a heathen, the Roman looked into futurity with doubt and terror. He longed to know his future destiny by observing the course of the stars, the flights of birds, or the entrails of animals offered in sacrifice. He was a slave to omens and dreams,-the cry of a mouse, or the crowing of a cock, was sufficient to fill him with terror. To have touched a dead body would have haunted his conscience more than the stain of the greatest crime. Now,'he could trust himself to the love of an All-Wise God, without whose permission not even a hair could fall from his head. Fearing Him he knew no other fear. Life was full of hope, and death had lost its terror, for he could look upon it only as the entrance upon an existence of increasing and everlasting happiness. Such were the effects of Christianity when fully taught and understood. But from the beginning it was injured by the corrupt doctrine of heretics, many of whom gave occasion, by their wicked lives, to the scandalous accusations which were brought forward against the truth, and thus increased the hatred of those who would of themselves have striven to uproot it. Persecution indeed was-when the question is fully considered - the natural condition of the Christian Church. The Romans, though admitting the privilege of each nation to worship its own 'deities, allowed no interference with the state reli- gion,' and the first command of Christianity was the destruction of idolatry. It was, therefore, fun- damentally opposed to the worship upheld by the government, and, as such, open to punishment. 12 134 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. From time to. time this punishment was enforced by direct laws which were allowed to remain un- repealed, even when they were not acted upon; and thus the Christians were liable to be summoned before, a magistrate at any moment; and whenever, from local causes, a prejudice was excited against them, it was easy for the rulers of provinces or cities to:treat them with severity. Yet there were undoubtedly seasons when, in consequence of some stringent' imperial. edict, the laws were more rigor- ously executed,,and the sufferings of the Christians increased, and these are more strictly called the times of persecution; ten of which are reckoned from the reign of Nero to the accession of Constan- tine the Great. CHAPTER XV MARTYRDOM OF ST. IGNATIUS.- A D. 107. THERE.- was .no0 public. perseention .,of he Chris- tians in the, reign of the Emperor Nerva. His character was mild and forgiving, he was un- willing to punish even his enemies; and if his reign had been prolonged, the Church might have spread safely. After two years, however, he died, and was succeeded by Trajan, a clever, A.D.98. thoughtful man, and an excellent speci- men of a heathen monarch, but who proved, though almost unintentionally, a greater ehemy to the Christians than many of his wicked prede- cessors. What amount of belief Trajan had' in the gods and goddesses of Roman mythology no one can pretend to say, but he was too wise not to per- MARTYRDOM OF ST. .IGNATIUS. A.Ds 107. 135 ceive that some kind of religion was necessary for the good of. the people, and: he therefore professed the utmost respect for the outward forms of it which were established in the empire. All changes were looked upon by him with suspicion, and in order to prevent any plans which might affect either.religion ror government, an order was sent to the magistrates in different parts of the empire to put a stop to all secret societies. This of course included the Christians, whose meetings were held in secret,. and who were known to be united by laws and -customs which were not revealed to hea- thens.: But. no direct measures were taken for their persecution for some time. The Emperor was engaged- in ::distant wars, and the first accusa- tion- publicly brought forward against any distin- guished Christian was made by some heretics against Symeon, Bishop of Jerusalem. Symeon was now a very old man-it is said that he had reached the age of one hundred and twenty. His holy life left no room for any charge of actual crime, but being the son of Cleopas, he was, accord- ing to human relationship, the cousin of his Blessed Lord, and belonged to the family of David.. This royal descent was sufficient to give rise to suspicion in the minds of the Romans; whilst: the heretics hated him as a supporter of the true faith. When Symeon was --brought before Atticus, governor of Syria, and accused of being a person dangerous to the state, the Roman magistrate, though he must have known how little a person of such a great age could, in any way take part in political aflhirs, commanded him to be put to the torture. For several days the old man was, racked with the most excruciating torments.: The proconsul and 136 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. all present marvelled to see his spirit of endurance, yet no mercy was shown him, and he was con- demned and crucified. His successor in the See of Jerusalem was Justus. But Symeon was not the only martyr at that period whose name was to be remembered in years to come. The Emperor had concluded a war with the Scythians and Dacians successfully. The Parthians and Armenians were, however, still unsubdued, and Trajan came to Antioch to. make preparations for further conquests. Antioch was then the most renowned city of the east-a place of concourse for all kinds of people. By means of the Mediterranean Sea, its inhabitants carried on a trade with the west, whilst the cairavans from Mesopotomia and Arabia, which made their way through the open country behind the mountains of Lebanon, brought them riches from the'south and east. Seleucus, the son of Antiochus, one of the first kings of Syria, founded Antioch soon after the time of Alexander the Great, but since his days it had been much enlarged and increased. It was built on the banks of the river Orontes, at the foot of.a hill called Mount Silphius, and the rugged bases of the mountains had been levelled for a magnificent street, which extended for four miles across the length of the city. The street was a continued succession of colonnades, through which the crowds, sheltered from the glare and heat, could pass from the eastern to the western suburb of the city. Gardens and houses ornamented the banks of the river. Beautiful buildings, groves, fountains, and aqueducts, were provided, for the gratification and comfort of the inhabitants. It was a place of singular enjoyment but also of sin- gular wickedness. MARTYRDOM :OF ST. IGNATIUS. A.D. 107. 137 The people of Antioch were noted for luxury and frivolity. They delighted in public amuse- ments, especially the theatre and race course, and were devoted to magic and superstition; and it has been remarked, that under the climate of Syria, and the wealthy patronage of Rome, all that was beautiful in nature and art, had created a sanctuary for a perpetual festival of vice.* Yet in this city of sin and self-indulgence, Christianity had from the beginning taken root, and now there ruled ovei- the body of true believers who dwelt in it, a man, famed for steadfastness of purpose and purity of life; Ignatius, the friend and disciple of the beloved Apostle St. John. By himself and others he :is often called Theophorus, or " one whose soul is full of God." It is certain that Ignatius had been intimately acquainted with the Apostles, that he had been educated and brought up amongst them, and was chosen by them to be Bishop of Antioch. For forty years he had re- tained this charge. They were stormy years, full of anxiety and danger.. By prayer, and fasting, and 'preaching, Ignatius had kept his people to- gether, and supported them under the terrors of persecution. For himself he had one longing-to be a marytr for his Master's cause. He was now, however, an old man-1" The days of the years of his pilgrimage" seemed to be nearly ended. It may have appeared likely that the aged bishop would be allowed to depart in peace. But the tempest was at hand. Trajan entered Antioch; --he passed through the city with all the pomp * See Howson and Conybeare's Life and Epistles of St. Paul. 12* 138 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. and solemnity of a Roman triumphal procession. Religious ceremonies were parts of these public rejoicings, for Trajan never forgot the claims of the religion he professed. Doubtless the people applauded him, and praised his courage, and jus- tice, and generosity. But there was one man to whom the Emperor's arrival was the signal of death. The shouts of the multitude. as they fol- lowed their sovereign through the, splendid street, were the prelude to the shouts which were soon to accompany the dying agonies of Ignatius. Tra- jan could be just and generous to all except those who opposed him in religion, and these times of public, rejoicing necessarily brought to light the peculiar principles of the Christians ; for they were called upon to join in paying honours to their mon- archs vwhich their faith forbade. So it appears to have been now. The citizens of Antioch were in a state of excitement when they found that the Christians did not unite with them, and the cause was soon made known to the Emperor-; Ignatius also became aware of the danger to which he and his brethren were exposed, and without waiting to be accused, hastened to the presence of Trajan, and declared himself a Christian. The interview which followed will be best told in the words of one who lived not long after the time of the holy bishop, and preserved the account for all succeeding generations. As soon then as Ignatius stood in the presence of the Emperor Trajan, the Emperor said, " Who art thou, unhappy and deluded man, who 'art so active in transgressing our commands, and besides, per- suadest others to their own destruction ?" Ignatius replied, " No one ought to call (one who is pro- perly styled) Theophorus, unhappy and deluded; MARTYRDOM OF ST. IGNATIUS. A.D. 107. 139 for the evil spirits (which. delude me) are departed far from the servants of God. But if thou so callest me, because I am a trouble to those evil spirits and an enemy to their delusions, I con- fess the justice of the appellation. For having (within me) Christ the heavenly King, I loosen all their snares." Trajan replied, " And who is Theophorus ? " Ignatius answered, " He that hath Christ in his heart." Then said Trajan, "Think- est thou, therefore, that we have not the gods within us, who also assist us in our battles against our enemies ?" "Thou dost err," Ignatius replied, "in calling the evil spirits of the heathens, gods. For there is but one God, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that are in them: and one Christ Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, whose kingdom may I enjoy." Trajan said, "Speakest thou of Him who was crucified under Pontius Pilate?" Ignatius answered, " (I speak of) Him who hath crucified my sin, with the in- ventor of it; and hath put all the deceit and malice of th'e devil under the feet of those who carry him in their hearts." Then asked Trajan, " Carriest thou, then, within thee him who was crucified ?" "Yea," relied Ignatius; " for it is written, I will dwell in them, and walk in them." Then Trajan pronounced this sentence: " We decree that Igna- tius, who hath confessed that he carries about within himself Him that was crucified, shall be carried in bonds by soldiers to the great Rome, there to be thrown to the beasts for the gratification of the people." When the holy martyr heard this sentence, he cried out with joy, " I thank Thee, 0 Lord, that Thou hast vouchsafed thus to punish me, out of Thy perfect love towards me, and hast made me to be put in iron bonds, with thine Apostle St. Paul." Having 140 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. thus spoken he joyfully suffered his bonds to be put about him, and having first prayed for the Church, and commended it with tears unto the Lord, like a choice ram, the leader of a goodly flock, he was hurried away by the brutal and cruel soldiers, to be carried to Rome, and there to be devoured by blood-thirsty wild beasts. The journey of Ignatius was long and very fatiguing. At Smyrna he was refreshed by an interview with his beloved friend Polycarp, the bishop of that city, to whom. he commended the charge of his diocese. Polycarp had been his fellow disciple under St. John, and now rejoiced to receive and entertain him. Several neighbour- ing bishops, priests, and deacong, also visited him, greatly desiring his blessing and instruction. The affection shown him was, indeed, so great, that Ignatius feared it might, in some way, be the means of preventing the martyrdom, which he so earnestly desired. lie therefore despatched a letter to Rome, to. prepare the Christians in that place for his ar- rival, and his death. After having .joined with his brethren at Smyrna, in most earnest prayer, and written epistles to several of the churches who had sent friends to meet him, he proceeded to Troas, and from thence to Italy; the soldiers also being very impatient for his journey, as it was feared he might otherwise: arrive at Rome too late for the public shows in the amphitheatre, in which he was to suffer. On arriving within sight of Puteoli, Ignatius wished to land, being desirous to follow the foot- steps of St. Paul, but a violent wind arising, it was found to be impossible, and the vessel sailed on .with a favourable breeze. The friends of Ignatius mouried 'at the thought of the rapidly approach- MARTYRDOM OF ST. IGNATIUS. A.D. 107. 141 ing separation; but the bishop only saw in all which furthered his journey, the accomplishment of his prayer that he might soon depart out of the world. As they approached Rome many of the Christians being prepared for his arrival, went out to meet him, some rejoicing in the opportunity af- forded them, of beholding a man so venerated for his wisdom and piety; others only anxious for his safety, and desirous to take measures to calm the people, that they should not desire his death. Igna- tius, however, soon put a stop to any such intentions. Expressing himself even more fully in his conver- sation than in his letter, he persuaded them not to hinder him who was " hastening to the Lord ;" and kneeling down with them he prayed to his Saviour that He would cause the persecution of the Church to cease, and continue the love of the brethren towards each other. The thirteenth of the calends of January, ac- cording to the Roman reeckoning,-a day of peculiar solemnity,-had now arrived. The people were gathered in crowds and the games were nearly over. No further delay, therefore, was allowed. Ignatius was hurried to the amphitheatre, the wild beasts were let loose upon him, and death soon fol- lowed. One of his chief wishes had been that he might not be burdensome to any of his brethren, by the gathering of his relies, but might be wholly de- voured; and the desire was granted. Only the larger bones were left, and these were carefully col- lected, carried to Antioch, and there preserved. The martyrdom of Ignatius is said by some per- sons to have taken place on the 20th of December, 107; by others it is stated to have occurred in A.D. 116. 142 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. These details have been chiefly taken from the "Acts of Ignatius," written by Philo and Agathopus, who were the companions of the bishop's journey, and were present at his death. Their narrative is concluded in these words, " We ourselves were eye- witnesses of these events, with many tears. And as we watched all night in the house, and prayed God in many words, with bended knees, and sup- plication, that he would give us, weak men, some assurance of what was done, it happened, that having fallen into a slumber for a little while, some of us on a sudden, saw the blessed Ignatius stand- ing by us, and embracing us, and others beheld him praying for us; others saw him, as it were, dropping with sweat, as if he came out of great labour, and standing by the Lord. Having seen these things then with great joy, and comparing the visions of our dreams, we sang praises to God, the giver of all good things, and pronounced the saint blessed, and have now made known unto you both the day and the time: that being assembled together at the season of his martyrdom, we may communicate with the combatant and noble martyr of Christ, who trod under foot the Devil, and per- fected the course which he had piously desired, in Jesus Christ our Lord, by Whom and with Whom, all glory and power be to the Father, with the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen." The name of St. Ignatius has been: handed down to us, not only by the memory of his martyrdom, but by the letters which he wrote, and which are perhaps the most important of all the early records of the Church. . During the course of his long journey, his thoughts seem to have frequently turned to the condition of the different churches in Asia Minor, in which he was interested. When he rested at MARTYRDOM OF ST. IGNATIUS. A.D. 107. 143 Smyrna he took advantage of the opportunity, as it has been stated, to write to them. So again, when he paused at Troas, he wrote to the chuirches of Philadelphia and Smyrna, particularly address- ing himself to St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, his great friend and fellow disciple.* In these letters Ignatius: gives particular warn- ings against the heresies which were then common, and strongly insists upon the duty of obedience to the: Heads of the Church,-urging upon the persons whom he had, addressed, that they should on no account separate themselves from them. " With- out the bishops and presbyters," he says, "there is no Church. He that is within the altar is pure; but he that is without,--that is, who does anything without-the bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, is not pure in his conscience." And again- he adds in his letter to the Ephesians. "'If the prayer of one or two has so much strength, how much more that of the bishop and of the whole church. He who separates from it, is proud and condemns himself ; for it is written God resisteth the proud: let us study therefore obedience to the bishop, that we may be subject to God." These and other similar expressions of Ignatius are so strong, and prove so clearly that immediately after the times of the Apostles it was considered essential for all Christians to be subject to the authority of duly appointed bishops, that many persons who have separated themselves from the Church, or who have not chosen: to consider its form of government of much consequence, have striven to prove that the Epistles themselves were not really written by Ignatius. The attempt was first made * History of the Church, by the Rev. J. J. Blunt. 144 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. many years ago. Bishop Pearson then searched very carefully into the evidence as to the truth of the Epistles, and finding them quoted by the earliest writers, and containing things which ac- corded entirely with the facts recorded of Ignatius, declared that there could be no doubt whatever. of their being the true' letters of the martyred bishop. Almost every one who inquired into the case was satisfied, and it seemed that the question was entirely set at rest. Latterly, however, it has arisen again. A traveller on looking through some old 'manuscripts in a monastery in Egypt, discov- ered copies of three of the Epistles of Ignatius, written in the Syriac language-those before men- tioned were in Greek. The Syriac letters were short; several passages were left out, especially those which spoke of the authority of the bishop; but some persons declared they were the only let- ters which Ignatius really wrote and that the Greek Epistles must have been the same, added to by some other person. The question was very in- teresting, and a great deal of discussion took place in consequence; but the evidence in favour of the Greek Epistles remains untouched. The three letters found in the Egyptian monastery appear to have been abridgments of the original writings. For what reason they were made no one can tell, but such abridgments were not uncommon in early days. St. Polycarp, the friend of Ignatius, himself bears witness to the truth of the Greek letters. He quotes passages from them which are not to be found in the three short Syriac letters. The Greek letters were therefore in existence in his days, and as he was intimately acquainted with Ignatius, he must have known them to be genuine. Polyearp also MARTYRDOM OF ST. IGNATIUS. A.D. 107. 145 alludes to several of the Greek Epistles not to be found in this Syriac version, and others of the Fathers do the same. It has been said that Syriac was the native language of Ignatius, and there- fore he would surely have written in it. But the truth is, we do not know that Ignatius was a Syrian by birth; he was probably a Roman, and sent to Rome for execution because he was a Roman citizen. Questions of this kind may, generally speaking, be left for learned men to settle, whilst other per- sons are not called upon. to trouble themselves about them. But some knowledge of the truth is, in the present instance, desirable for the following rea- sons :-We are very likely, in these days of doubt and argument, to meet with persons who deny that the government of bishops descended from the Apostles is necessary for the Church; Presby- terians, Independents,-all Dissenters, in fact, would do so. Now one of the best proofs that the early Christians were subject to their bishops is to be found in these Epistles of St. Ignatius, which speak so strongly upon the subject. But if we were to say this, the person with whom we were arguing might perhaps reply, " You speak of the Epistles of Ignatius, but they have been lately proved not to be genuine ; the only Epistles he ever wrote.were three written in Syriac, in which there are no passages relating to the authority of bishops." _ This assertion might startle and disturb us,- and we should probably have no means of contra- dicting it. It is well, therefore, to know before- hand that the Syriac Epistles have been examined, and the arguments on both sides carefully pon- defred, the result being that they have been rejected as :only abridgments of the Greek. 13 146 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. We have consequently as much cause as ever to rest on the authority of St. Ignatius, with regard to the obedience that should be paid to duly ap- pointed bishops. CHAPTER XV. PLINY'S APPEAL TO TRAJAN. A.D. 111. UP to this time, although Trajan, as we have seen, allowed the punishment of Christians, he does not appear to have issued any distinct orders to his magistrates concerning them; but the laws made by preceding emperors which remained unrepealed were quite Sufficient to sanction persecution, and the sufferings of the Christians knew no permanent cessation during this and many subsequent reigns; the rage which burst forth against them from time to time being only, as it has before been remarked, a specimen on a larger scale of the enmity which was always at work. In the year 111, the case of the Christians was especially brought to the notice of the Emperor by Pliny the younger, governor of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. Pliny was presiding at a public festival held in honour of the Emperor, when some Christians were required to take part in the sacrifices, and to perform other acts in hon- our of the gods and of Trajan, which were forbid- den by their religion. They refused. This was of course considered a proof that they were discon- tented with the government, and they were seized and brought before the governor. Pliny was a kind and benevolent man, suffering much from ill health, and very fond of study, having been .brought up by his uncle, Pliny the PLINY'S APPEAL TO TRAJAN. A.D. 111. 147 Elder, a celebrated naturalist, who perished in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was not likely to be very severe upon the Christians, especially as his uncle appears to have been equally indiffer- ent to all religions. But he had a belief in Divine Power, and a respect for the pagan rites, and no doubt thought that it would be a great evil if the people were to be left without any restraint from religion. It startled him when he found that the temples were deserted, and that scarcely any one offered sacrifice; yet this was really the case. Men and women of all ages and of all ranks were fast becoming converts to Christianity. Pliny did not know how to put an end to this state of things ; and although not naturally cruel, he could think of no remedy except persecution. The very obstinacy with which the Christians held to their opinions was in his eyes a crime. He consented to examine them three times, and if they did not renounce their faith he ordered them to execution. Still Pliny was not satisfied. He felt that he ought to know more of the crimes alleged against those whom he thus punished; and in order to ob- tain this information, he had recourse to yet greater severity. Two female slaves, deaconnesses amongst the Christians, were seized, and in order to extract from them an account of what was called their su- perstition, they were tortured. The following letter contains the result of this examination, and of other inquiries. It was sent by Pliny td the Emperor. The request for advice how to deal with the Christians for the future, shows that the conscience of the governor of Bi- thynia was ill at ease, and that he was anxious to throw off the responsibility of any further perse- ceution. 148 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Pliny to the Emperor Trajan. " It is a rule, sir, which I inviolably observe, to refer myself to you in all my doubts; for who is more capable of removing my scruples or inform- ing my ignorance ? Having never been present at, any trials concerning those persons who are Christians, I am unacquainted not only with the nature of their crimes, or the measure of their punishment, but how far it is proper to enter into an examination concerning them. Whether, there- fore, any difference is usually made with respect to the ages of the guilty, or no distinction is to be observed between the young and the adult, whether repentance entitles them to a pardon; or, if a man has been once a Christian, it avails nothing to desist from his error; whether the very profession of Christianity, unattended with any criminal act, or only the crimes themselves inherent in the pro- fession, are punishable; in all these points I am greatly doubtful.. In the meanwhile, the method I have observed towards those who have been brought before me as Christians is this: I interro- gated them whether they were Christians; if they confessed, I repeated the question twice, adding threats at the same time; and if they still perse- vered, I ordered them to be immediately punished'. For I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions might be, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved correction. There were others also brought before me po'ssessed with the same infatuation; but being citizens of Rome, I idirected that they should be conveyed thither. But this crime spreading (as is usually the case) while it was actually under prosecution, several instances of the same nature occurred. An infor- PLINY'S APPEAL TO TRAJAN. A.D. 111. 149 mation was presented to me without any name subscribed, containing a charge against several persons; these, upon examination, denied they were, or ever had been, Christians. They repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered religious rites with wine and frankincense before your statue, (which for that purpose I had: ordered to be brought, together with those of the gods,) and even reviled the name of Christ; whereas there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really Christians, into any of these compliances. I thought it proper, therefore, to discharge them. Some among those who were accused by a witness in person, at first confessed themselves Christians, but immediately after denied it; the rest owned, indeed, they had been of that number formerly, but had now (some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years ago) renounced that error. They all worshipped your statue, and the images of the gods, uttering imprecations at the same time against the name of Christ. They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error was, that they met on a certain stated day before it' was light, and addressed themselves in a form of:prayer to.Christ, as to some god, binding them- selves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft,, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to' deliver it up; after which, it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. From this custom, however, they desisted after the publication of my edict, by which, according to your commands; I forbad the meeting of any assemblies. In consequence of this their declaration, I judged it the more necessary to en- 13- 1:50 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. deavour to extort the real truth, by putting two female slaves .to the torture, who were said to officiate in their religious functions; but all I could discover was, that these people were actuated by an absurd and excessive superstition. I deemed it expedient, therefore, to adjourn all further pro- ceedings in order to consult you. .For it appears to be a matter highly deserving your consideration; more especially as great numbers must be involved in the danger of these prosecutions, which have already extended, and are still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks and ages, and even of both sexes. In fact, this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infec- tion among the neighbouring villages and country. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to restrain its progress. The temples, at least, which were once almost deserted, begin now to be frequented ; and the sacred solemnities, after a long intermission, are revived; to which I must add, there is again also a general demand for the victims, which for some time past had met with but few purchasers. From the circumstances I have mentioned, it is easy to conjecture what numbers might be re- claimed, if a general pardon were granted to those who shall repent of their error." To this letter, Pliny received the following reply :- ' Trajan to Pliny. "The method you have pursued, my dear Pliny, in the proceedings against those Christians which were brought before you, is extremely proper; as it is not possible to lay down any fixed rule by which to act in all cases of this nature. But I w ould not have you officiously enter into any in- PLINY S APPEAL TO TRAJAN. A.D. 111. 151 quiries concerning them. If indeed they should be brought before you, and the crime should be proved, they must be punished; with this restric- tion, however,-that where the party denies he is a Christian, and shall make it evident that he is not, by invoking our gods, let him (notwithstand- ing any former suspicion) be pardoned upon his repentance. Informations without the accuser's iiame subscribed ought not to be received in pros- ecutions of any sort; as it is introducing a very dangerous precedent, and is by no means agreeable to the equity of my government." Trajan reigned for six years after the writing of this celebrated letter; but we know no further particulars which would show that he was per- sonally inclined to persecute the Christians. His time was occupied by war. The Jews indeed su8ffered greatly, having risen in rebellion against the Roman power in several countries, and being in consequence slain in great numbers; but it does not appear that the Christians generally were mixed up with them. The chief circumstance vhich would lead us to think to the contrary, is ''the record of the number of bishops who, about this period, succeeded each other as rulers of the Church of Jerusalem. St. James was bishop for thirty years, and Symeon for forty-five years, but after that time we find seven bishops in the space of eighteen years. This seems as if their deaths must have been'hastened by persecution. One fact, however, is quite certain, that Chris. tianity made great progress during the reign of Trajan. A season of war was always advantageous to the Church, because the minds of the heathens were then so occupied that they had less leisure to bestow upon questions of belief. 152 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. CHAPTER XVt INSURRECTION OF BAR-CHOCHAB. A.D. 185. TRAJAN was succeeded by his nephew Hadrian, who was a clever man, kind-hearted, and fond of learning, but extravagant and capri- cious. Like his uncle, he was zealous for the re- ligion of his country; but he allowed the Christians to remain undisturbed for some time. In the present day kings seldom travel far, but the Roman Emperors were continually traversing their vast dominions, and Hadrian especially seems to have taken pleasure in visiting distant lands. Only two years after he came to the throne he visited Judea, but his arrival was a signal of suffering to the Jews. They were still rebellious at heart, and constantly giving proof of their feel- ing. Hadrian came to triumph over them, and to show that he was their master. He erected a town with buildings after the Roman fashion on the site of the ancient Jerusalem, and ordered a temple to Jupiter to be built on the very spot where the glorious temple of the True God had once stood. The indignation of the Jews was roused to the utmost pitch; their hatred of the Emperor knew no bounds; and they waited only for a signal again to rise in every province. From Jerusalem, Hadrian went to Alexandria, in Egypt, where the Jews had also caused great disturbance, quarrelling with the other inhabitants, and nearly causing the destruction of the city. Alexandria was a place likely above all others to be interesting to a thoughtful, clever, and in- quiring prince. The race of the Ptolemies- INSURRECTION OF BAR-CHOCHAB. A.D. 135. 153 kings of Egypt in former generations-had made it their capital, and invited learned men to settle at their courts. They had also collected a mag- nificent library of upwards of 400,000 volumes, and founded an establishment in which persons de- voted to study were maintained at the public cost. Though no longer the metropolis of a separate king- dbm, but subject to the Emperor of Rome, Alex- andria was still the most wealthy and splendid city of the known world, and the resort of distinguished persons from all countries, who came thither either to teach or be taught. Many and strange were the opinions set forth by the philosophers who resided there. HI-eathens, Jews, and professed Christians were to be found amongst them, reasoning, disput- ing, and giving instruction to others. But too many of those who had originally been baptized into the true faith of the Gospel, had mixed up with it the falsehoods of their own imagination. They had lived amongst men who prided them- selves upon their talents, and from them they had learnt to seek after an explanation of the truths of Christianity, instead of humbly accepting them. Alexandria was the great source of heretical doc- trih e in those early days. It would not, however, for that reason have been the less interesting to Hadrian. True doc- trines and false were alike to him, for all religions except that which he professed, appear to have been equally indifferent to him as matters of belief. Yet he liked to inquire into them as we often take an interest in inquiring into the religious creed of Hin- doos or Mahometans. The various doctrines taught in Alexandria must, therefore, have excited his curiosity, but he appears to have gained no fixed idea-of the truths of Christianity. In a letter 154 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. written a few years later he confounds Christians with the worshippers of Serapis, an Egyptian idol, and seems to consider them, as well as the Jews and Samaritans, to be impostors and mountebanks. In all probability, therefore, his information must have been gathered from the heretical teachers, one of whom, Basilides, had some time before the Em- peror's visit, become unfortunately notorious. It would: be painful and unnecessary to enter into the fearful errors of this false teacher, or of those who followed him; but it is good for us to observe how the Providence of God, watching over His Church, brought good out of evil. The wicked- ness of the heretics caused the true believers to write works declaring their real faith; and thus we have a clear idea of the doctrines harrded down from age to age, and can see how entirely they were at the beginning the same in every church and nation. Hadrian left Alexandria apparently ignorant of the true nature of Christianity; but the subject was again brought before him when he visited Athens. There, as we know, the Gos- pel had first been preached by St. Paul. Since his time, the body of Christians had increased. Dionysius the Areopagite, said to have been the first bishop, was dead; Publius, one of his suc- cessors, suffered martyrdom; and when Hadrian arrived at Athens its bishop was Quadratus, a man of great zeal, piety, and influence, not afraid to bring himself before the Emperor's notice by a written defence of the faith which he professed. Many of these defences, or apologies, as they were sometimes called, were written in the second and third centuries; that of Quadratus, which, as being the earliest, would have been peculiarly inter- esting, has unfortunately been lost. One passage INSURRECTION OF BAR-CHOCHAB. A.D. 135. 155 is, however, quoted by Eusebius, the Church His- torian. In it Quadratus speaks of the miracles wrought by our Blessed Lord, which were declared by the heathen to have been the work of magic. "Those," he -says, "who were healed by Him (that is by Jesus Christ) or raised from the dead, lived not only during the lifetime on earth of the Saviour, but for a long period after His departure, so that many of them have come down to my days." Quadratus himself is mentioned as possess- ing some of the supernatural gifts common in the age of the Apostles. A man with such personal knowledge of the facts he asserted must have been well fitted to bear witness to the truth before the Emperor; and Hadrian received also another testimony of the same kind, though probably in a different form, from Aristides, an Athenian philo- sopher, who had been converted to Christianity. But Christianity had no charms for the philoso- phic Emperor. It was put aside as one amongst the many false forms of belief with which he had no concern; while at the same time he could give credit to the most absurd lies of his own religion. When his favourite, Antinous, was drowned in the Nile, he ordered divine honours to be paid him, and placed him among the number of the gods. The Christians, of course, noticed this irrational impiety, but the Emperor was blind to his own folly. Yet he appears to have been influenced in some degree by the representations he received as to the character of the Christians, and the severity with which they were treated. The proconsul of Asia wrote to him saying that it seemed unrea- sonable to put the Christians to death without trial, and without any crime proved against them, merely to gratify the clamours of the people. The 156 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Emperor's reply shows a considerable sense oI justice. It is addressed, not to the governor who wrote upon the subject, and whose rule was ap- parently coming to an end, but to his successor. " To Minucius Fundanus. "I have received the letter written to me by the most renowned Serenius Granianus, whom you succeeded. It seems to me that the matter must not be left without inquiry; lest those men should be troubled, and a means. of evil-doing should be opened to false accusers. If then the people in the provinces are able to advance so far in their accu- sations against the Christians as to answer before the seat of judgment, let them have recourse to these means alone, and not act by vague accusa- tions or mere clamour. For it is far better, if any one wishes to bring an accusation, that you should examine it. If, therefore, any one accuses them, and proves that they have done any thing against the laws, dispose of the matter according to the severity of the offence. But I require you, if any man bring such a charge falsely, deal with him ac- cording to his deserts, and take care that you pun- ish him." If attention had been paid to this edict, the condition of the Christians under Hadrian would certainly have been much improved, but, unfortu- nately, there is good reason to believe that the Emperor's commands were disregarded in the provinces, and that many magistrates considered the mere belief in Christianity to be a violation of the law. Persecution therefore continued, and in its most dreadful form. The ancient lists of mar- tyrs tell of thousands who suffered in Hadrian's INSURRECTION OF BAR-CHOCHAB. A.D. 135. 157 reign. Amongst these a husband and w ife, with their two sons, are said to have been thrown to the lions at Rome, and when the savage animals had spared them, they were ordered to be burnt to death in the interior of a hollow brazen bull. Pro- bably Hadrian's interest was not particularly aroused by those circumstances; another subject engrossed his attention. The Jews had never forgotten the insult shown to their city. Their resentment was for a while hidden, but it was not the less vehement because it smouldered, and at last it broke out in an open insurrection. Bar- chochab, or The Son of a Star-a man reckless and enthusiastic, and well fitted to become the leader of a desperate people, put himself forward as their head, and the Jews followed him as they would have followed their Messiah-for the expectation of that Mighty Deliverer had. never died away. It was a hopeless contest, - a scattered and conquered people rising against the most powerful of earthly monarchs. But the Jews still considered themselves the chosen of God, and forgot that by their own crimes they had withdrawn themselves from that Almighty Protection. For nearly four years the war was carried on. Jerusalem was not now the great fortress and citadel, upon the safety of which everything depended: it was soon in the hands of the Romans. The great struggle was at Bitthera,-a town lying between Jerusalem and the sea,-and for three years and a half the Jews at Bitthera held out against the Roman power. The town fell at length, and the war was ended A.D. 135. But 580,000 Jews are said to have perished during its continuance, and from that time the subjection of the Jewish people may be said to have been complete. 14 158 IIISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Jerusalem, "the holy and beautiful city," was no longer permitted to be their resort, even for a short : time. Only on one day in the year-the anniversary of the taking of the city by Titus, was it lawful for them to approach it. Then for a single hour they were allowed to look upon the walls. . Long years went by after that law was made, - years which brought changes of fortune and varied -hopes and fears to other nations, but the harsh edict against the Jews still remained in force, - unless a special indulgence could be purchased by a large sum. All that was left to them of their ancient home, was the undying memory of its former greatness, clinging to them even as it does to this day. . For still, although no law now forbids them to inhabit their city, the Jews meet at stated periods beneath the walls of Jerusalem, and their sorrowful wailings for its downfall are heard even as when the Psalmist exclaimed in the bitterness of his: desolation, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." Strange though it may seem, the Jewish Chris- tians do not appear to have been involved in this misery. As Jews, they dearly loved the land of their fathers, and were little disposed to submit to the yoke of Rome; but they could not follow an impostor like Bar-chochab, who required them to acknowledge him -as a leader sent from Heaven, and sentenced them to horrible punishments if they refused to deny that Jesus was the Christ. They dreaded the Romans less than their unbeliev- ing comntrymen. Many sought refuge elsewhere; those who remained took no part in the war, and the Romans probably learnt at last the distinction between them and the Jews, and ceased to regard them as possessing the same rebellious spirit. We INSURRECTIN OF BAR-CHOCHAB. A.D. 135. 159 know at least that Ia Christian Church existed in Jerusalem after the reign of Hadrian as well as before it. It has been said that it consisted en- tirely of-Gentiles, and that a Gentile bishop named Marcus, was the first who. presided over it after the edict. of Hadrian had been enforcedw; yet it is difficult to imagine that an entirely new body of Christians. settled in Jerusalem at this period. One great change was made, however, in the name of the Church. Hadrian called Jerusalem .7Elia Capitolina, and the Church of 1Elia continued to hold a. distinguished. place amongst the Eastern Churches; its bishops being ranked in dignity with those of Antioch, Iome, and Alexandria. Hadrian lived for three years after the Jewish war. Although his own feelings were not exactly unfavorable to the Christians, and he passed, as we have seen, some merciful laws respecting them, yet the heathen persecutions were undoubtedly in- creasing in severity under his rule. The Romans were attached to the pomp of their public worship, and many gained their livelihood by its mainten- ance. This alone would have induced them to look with, dislike upon the simple rites of Christi- anity; but they were also becoming more and more addicted to the barbarous spectacles of the amphitheatre. They delighted in seeing men ex- posed to,:fight with wild beasts. The governor of a province knew no surer way of gaining the applause of:the people than by :condemning a constant suc- cession: of Christians- to the lions, whilst the hea- then priests upheld this cruelty! as a tribute of rever- ence to the gods. This was the most obvious form of persecution. Another, which, but for the Prov- idenceof: God,' would have been more fatal to the cause of truth, arose from the attacks of the learned 160 HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. pbilosophers. These men, giving themselves little trouble to learn what Christianity really was, con- founded it with the absurdities of Gnosticism and then argued against it. Celsus, who lived in the reign of Hadrian was one of the most noted amongst them. He wrote a book, called " The Word of Truth," a few fragments of which have been handed down to us by Origen, one of the early Christian writers, who in after years undertook to reply to it. The arguments of Celsus appear to have been chiefly such as infidels of the present day might use, but they bear witness to the fact, that the Divinity of Christ was an admitted doctrine of the Christians, and that His miracles were acknowledged even by His ene- mies, although they attributed them to magic. CHAPTER XVII. THE FIRST APOLOGY WRITTEN BY JUSTIN MARTYR. A. D. 150. THE death of Hadrian brought hope to the Christian . D. 38. Church. Antoninus Pius, his adopted son and successor, was less prejudiced in favour of heathenism, and strongly desirous of acting justly by all men; and when he had reigned about three years, the claims of Christianity were forced upon him in a manner so striking, that although he remained unconvinced of its truth, he yet, as it appears, dared not punish its profession as a crime. Justin Martyr was the person who thus ventured to stand forth indefence of the despised faith. His history is strange and interesting. The time had gone by when Christianity spread chiefly amongst the poor. and ignorant. The power of working FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN MARTYR, A.D. 150. 161 miracles which had attracted them, but had been scoffed at by. the philosophers as the work of magic, had been permitted by the Wisdom -of God to be- come less common:; ;. and now-reason and argument were used to bring -before the minds of the -edu- cated classes the truth of which external signs had failed to convince them. Amongst those -whose conversion, by God's Grace, was effected through these means was Justin Martyr. He was born in Palestine, at Neapolis, the ancient Sichem, in the province of Samaria, it is supposed about the beginning of the second century; his parents were heathens, and he was himself educated in the religion of the, Greeks. God had bestowed upon him by nature -a love of information, and a delight in the search after truth, and these inclinations were early gratified, He was yet, young when he left Palestine, and set out on a journey into distant lands, in the certain ex- pectation of finding in the great schools of philo- sophy, then so highly esteemed, some teacher who should instruct him in the mystery of man's exist- ence, and. the means :by which he might raise him- self to a life of uprightness and purity. Alexandria as being at that time the most learn- ed city in the world, was, the place to which Justin repaired. The many heathen sects to be found there all professed to know the road to happiness, and were willing to. give him instruction. He placed himself at first under the teaching of the Stoics, who appeared to him to hold the, highest position, for they despised the pleasures of the world, and declared themselves. superior to its temp- tations. They knew nothing, however, of the nature of the Deity, the knowledge for which above all other Justin pined; they even pronounced it to 14* 162 HISTORY OF THE .EARLY CHURCH. be unnecessary, and the young man left them in disgust, and turned to another sect--the Peripa- tetics. But here a still greater disappointment awaited him. His instructor was mean and avari- cious, and showed himself so anxious to settle the price of his lectures, that Justin was convinced truth was not to be found with him. His next teacher, a Pythagorean philosopher, had a high reputation for deep thought, and refinement of feeling; but when Justin went to him, he launched out into the praises of music, geometry, and astronomy ; an acquaintance with these sciences he declared to be absolutely necessary for a philoso- pher, and finding that his pupil did not understand them, he sent him away to study them. There was greater hope for Justin in the Platonic philosophy, to which he then turned. Plato, the founder of the sect, was one of the wisest of heathens. His doc- trines approached wonderfully near to those of revealed religion. His disciples were, for the most part, earnest and inquiring men. Justin found great satisfaction in the teaching of the Platonists. lie almost thought that they could solve all his difficulties. He gave himself up to thought and contemplation, and spent his time in retirement, meditating upon the deep mysteries of his own nature and the Being of the Unseen God. A lonely spot on the sea shore was his accus- tomed resort; there undisturbed except by the rush of the waves, he was wont to walk, absorbed in thought. One day as he was thus employed, he hap- pened to look back, and saw coming behind him an aged man, of gentle, venerable aspect. Justin did not wish for interruption, but he could not avoid the meeting, and he stopped till the stranger over- took him. The old man had come down to the FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN MARTYR. A.D. 150. 163 beach to wait for some absent relations, whom he was anxiously expecting. He told this to Justin, who: in reply could not avoid explaining the reason of his own presence in that spot. He had sought it, he said, for the purpose of private meditation, and speculation upon hidden truth. " You are then a lover of discourse," observed the' stranger, " but no lover of deeds, nor of truth; nor do you attempt to be a man of action so much as a clever disputant." This appeared an unfair judgment, and Justin an- swered, that in his opinion no emplyment could be more worthy than that of proving that intelligence was the presiding principle of all things; and teaching people, by means of this intelligence, to discern in every pursuit what was erroneous and undivine. Philosophy, therefore, he thought, ought to be an object of universal attention. ' But does philosophy lead to happiness ? " in- quired the old man, " and how can you define it ?" " Philosophy," answered Justin, " is the science of being, and the knowledge of truth; and happi- ness is the reward of this knowledge and wisdom." The reply was vague, and the stranger took oc- casion from it to enter more deeply into the subject. The knowledge of God, undoubtedly, was the most important that man could have, and the Platonists thought to attain it by their speculations; " but," argued the old man, "such knowledge cannot be acquired, like music, arithmetic, or astronomy, by any human means. No one can really teach any thing concerning the Deity who has not been fa voured himself either with a view of the Divine Nature, or with the instructions of one who has enjoyed such a view. Reason teaches us the ex- istence of God, and gives us certain laws of duty to which we are bound to conform. but it can re- 164 HISTORY OF THE- EARLY CHURCH. veal nothingto us concerning the Essence of God." The doctrines of the Platonists, he declared, were therefore based upon false principles, and he entered into them at length, proving the unsatisfactoriness and uselessness of the whole system, until Justin, whose mind was naturally candid, felt his confidence in the opinions he had embraced painfully shaken. " On what teacher can we rely ? " he exclaimed bitterly, " or to what quarter can we look for aid, if these are not the doctrines which contain the truth? " The stranger knew well how to turn to good account the perplexity he had occasioned. He stated that " in remote ages there had appeared men called Prophets, distinguished above all the philo- sophers