\\>t*'*^ ^iWitmoimcHt^''/^'^'^ PRINCETON, N. J. '^S. Ske// BR 145 .G75 1834 Gregory, G. 1754- A concise history Christian church 1808 of the A OONOISE HISTORY THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH VBOH ITS FIRST ESTABLISHMENT TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. COMPILED CHIEFLT FROM THE WORKS OP DR. G. GREGORY. By MAETIN KUTEE, D.D. WITH THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO 1865, A COMPLETE INDEX, AND QUESTIONS FOR THE USE OF CLASSES. By CHARLES K. TRUE, D.D. NEW YORK: PHILLIPS & HUNT. CINCINNATI: \ArALDEN & STO>A/-E. " Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1834, by B. Waugh ana T, Mason, in the Clerk's OiEce of the District Court of the Southern District of New-York." PREFACE. The rise, progress, establishment, corruption, and reformation of the Church, are subjects of deep interest to mankind, and especially so to the friends of Christianity. But the voluminous works in which these subjects are exhibited, are to the great mass of community inac- cessible. The want of means to purchase, or of time to read them, has restricted their use to a comparatively small number of readers. Hence the spread of the gospel, and the condition of the Church in different ages since the establishment of Christianity, are by many very imperfectly understood. The object of this work in its original form, as prepared by Dr. Gre- gory, was to furnish a comprehensive abridgment of ecclesiastical history; and thus to place this important branch of knowledge within the reach of multitudes that could not obtain it from larger works. In levising and preparing it in its present form, the same object has been kept in view. The work might have been swelled to a size much beyond iis present limits ; but a general history of the Church in a small compass was deemed preferable, especially in view of the use that may be made of it by the young and rising generation. The history Dv Dr. Gregory does not extend to the close of the last century. Although this is compiled principally from that, it is extended to the present time , has numerous additions and improvements, and is enriched with a view of missions, and other subjects of moral enter- prise, exhibiting the present condition and prospects of the Christian world. In this compendious form it is offered to the public, with the hope that it may be found, in some degree, useful in advancing the great interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. M. RUTER. Pittsburgh, Pa., March 3, 1834. CONTENTS. THE FIRST CENTURY. CHAPTER I. 4ENERAL VIEW OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGIOIJ PREVIOUS TO THB BIRTH OF CHRIST. Two systems of religion prevalent from the early ages — Origin of paganism — Mis- takes concerning the ancient traditions — Worship of the heavenly bodies — Applying the titles of the gods to the early monarchs — Local deities — Idolatry — Nature of the Jewish religion — State of the world at the birth of Christ — Social genius of Polytheism — ■ Grecian philosophy — Epicurean — Peripatetics — Stoics — Platonics — Oriental philoso- phy— Religious state of Judea — Pharisees — Sadducees — Essenes — Civil state — Herod — Profligacy of the nations Page 0 CHAPTER II. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE FIRST CENTURY Character of the evangelists — Miraculous powers — Inspiration — Fates of the apostles — Time and circumstances in which the evangelical writings were com- posed— Destruction of Jerusalem — First persecutions — Under Nero and Domi- tian 19 CHAPTER III. DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. Faith of the primitive Christians — Ecclesiastical government necessary to the support of a visible Church — Bishops, presbyters, deacons, deaconesses — Forms of worship — Sacraments — Excommunication 24 CHAPTER IV. OF THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE FIRST CENTURY. Jewish Christians — Gnostics — Cerinthus — Simon Magus and Menander 28 CHAPTER V. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIRST CENTURY. Little use made of human learning in this century — Clemens — Barnabas — Papias — Ignatiua— Public schools 30 THE SECOND CENTURY. CHAPTER L GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Causes assigned for the rapid progress of Christianity — Translation of the Scriptures mto Latin — Trajan — Platonism — Alexandrian Christians — Origin of Monkery — Perse- cutions— Adrian — Antoninus — Rebellion of the Jews — Martyrs — Inquiry conceniing the ceasing of miraculous powers '. 33 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER II, OF DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, RITES, AND CEREMONIES. Creed of tlie Church in this century — Corruptions — Simple structure of the apostolic Churches — Functions of the bishops — Metropolitans — Mode of adiniristering the sacra- ment— Baptism — Festival of Easter — Christmas — Fast — Marriage — Ecclesiastical cen- eures — Controversy concerning Easter >.. Page 39 CHAPTER HI. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SECOND CENTURY. Gnostic Christians — Marcionites — Encratites — Carpocrates — Valcntinian heresy— Montanus — Praxeas — Jewish Christians — Nazarenes or Ebionites 44 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN. Accession of learned persons to the Cliurch — Justin Martyr — Polycarp^Irenseus— Clement of Alexandria — Hegesippus — Aquila — Theodotion — Symmachus — Dionysius — Theophilus — Tertullian — Pagan writers — Plutarch, Epictetus, Antoninus, Lu- eian -. - .-. 47 THE THIRD CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Rapid succession of the Roman emperors — State of Christianity under Severus- - Persecution — Alexander Severus — Maximin — Philip and Deciu»— Decian persecu- tion— Gallus and Gallienus — Valerian persecution . 49 CHAPTER II. DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH DURING THE THIRD CENTURY. Doctrines — Creed of Tertullian — Platonic Christians — Monkery — St. Anthony — Opinions concerning the state of the soul — Public edifices erected for the Christian worship — Encroachments of the clergy — New orders of clergy — Copiatse — Farabo- lani — Acolythists — Exorcists — Notaries — Catechumens — Baptism, confirmation, &c.— Penitential discipline — Fasts — Accommodation of Christianity to the prejudices of tne people — Mysteries 51 CHAPTER HI. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE THIRD CENTURY. Manichseans — Noetians and Sabellians — Paul of Samosata — Novatians .. 57 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE THIRD CENTURY. Origen — Cyprian, bishop of Carthage — Gregory Thaumaturgus — Dionysius of Alex- andria— Methodius of Tyre — Porphyry — Serapion — Minucius Felix — Julius Africanus — Hcsychius — Lucian — Pamphilus, &c. — Apostolical const tutions — Longinus — Dion Cassius 60 CONTENTS. vii THE FOURTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Diocletian — Gallerius Cesar, his hatred to the Christians — Persecution — Fire in the jnperial palace — Christians protected in Gaul, under Constantius — Death of Gallerius — Coiistantine the Great — Luminous cross — Constantinople — Devotion of Constantino —Sons of Constantino divided in thoir rcliirioiis sentiments— Julian— His bigotry— Jovian — Valentinian — Gratian — Theodosius — Divisions in the Church — Conversion of Ar- menia— Ethiopia — Georgia — Goths — Laws of Constantine Page 6S CHAPTER n, OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Emperor declared head of the Church — Constantine assumes the title of bishop — Bishop of Rome — Of Constantinople — Power and revenues of bishops — Commotions at Rome on the election of a bishop — Popular elections discountenanced on account of their pernicious effects — Metropolitans — Bishops — Functions of these different orders — Revenues of the Church — Ecclesiastical councils — Council of Nice — Attempt to impose celibacy on the clergy — Heresy of Arius condemned — Disputes concerning the hypostatic union — Council of Constantinople — Provincial councils — Nicene creed — Corruptions and superstitions — Increased veneration for saints and martyrs — Relics — Absurd fictions — Discovery of the real cross — Monks — St. Anthony — Their fanaticism extended to the female sex — Hilarion — Basil — Ambrose — Martin of Tours — Different orders — C(pnolpitcs — Eremites — Anchorites — Sabarites — Splendid churches — Lauda- ble zeal of Constantine — Military chaplains — Antiquity of the right of patronage — Ricrhls of sanctuary — Liturgies — Discontinuance of the agapas — Festivals in honour of the martyrs — Abuse of the sacraments — Abuse of abstinence — Penance — Confession — Anecdote concerning the cause of its abolition — Festival of Easter established — Release of prisoners at Easter — Manumission of slaves 70 CHAPTER HL OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Abuse of Mysticism — Eustathians and Messalians — Donatists — Disputes concerning the succession to the see of Carthage — Donatus — Violence of the parties — Rogations —Arius — Principles of the Arians — Arius condemned and exiled — Council of Nice — Arianism condemned there — Arius recalled from banishment by Constantine — Death of Arius — Arianism protected by Constantius — Semi-Arians — Eunomians — Contests between the different branches of Arians — Semi-Arians divided — Macedonians — Mele- tians — Pholinus — Apollinarians — Priscillianists — Antidicomaranites Collyridians — Luciferians — Audeus — iEtius, &c 79 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Constantine not eminent as a patron of literature — Eusebius — Pamphilus — Athana- sius — Basil — Gregory Nazianzen — Gregory of Nyssa — Ambrose, bishop of Milan — Lactantius — Jerome — Rufinus — St. Augustine — Chrysostom — Marcellus — Eustathius -— Victormus — Hilary — Apollinaris — Ephraim of Edessa — Didymus — Diodorus of Tar- sus— Epiphanius — Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem 86 TIU CONTENTS. THE FIFTH CENTURY. CHAPTER 1. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Persecuting edict against heretics — Arcadius and Honorius— -Incursions of the barba- rians— Alaric — Plunder of Rome — Destruction of literature — Respect indicated by the barbarians for every form of Christianity — Progress of the barbarians — Annihilation of the western empire — Odoacer— Christianity received in Persia— Christians there involved by their own imprudence in persecution — Complete conversion of the Goths — Conversion of Ireland — Of Clovis king of the Franks — Title of Most Christian King — Corruptions of the clergy — Their arrogance — Encroachments of the bishop of Rome — Prostitution of holy orders — Impious arrogance of the emperors — Council of Chalcedon — Title of patriarchs — Rivalship between the bishops of Rome and Constantinople — Their intrusion into civil affairs — Restrained by an imperial edict — Virtues of some of the clergy Page 94 CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. Title and dignity of patriarch conferred on five of the principal sees — Increase of monks — Exempted from ecclesiastical jurisdiction — Their immense power — Crimes — Warlike achievements — New order of watches — Absurdities — Savage life — Simeon Stylites — Pillar saints — Fanaticism of Baradatus and James of Syria — Platonism suc- ceeded by the philosophy of Aristotle — Increasing respect for the Virgin Mary — Miracles supposed to be wrought by her — Images of the virgin and the saints — Superstition? reverence for the sacrament — Change of public to private confession — Incense and ta- pers used in the church — Rage for accumulating relics — Seven sleepers — Miracle of the orthodox believers, who spoke after the loss of their tongues — Divination — Feast of the Ascension — Origin of the pope's tiara 100 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. Pelairius and Celestius — Opposed by Augustine and others — Semi-Pelagians — Nes- torians — Opposition of Cyril — Condemnation of Nestorius — Character of Nestorius- - Eutychians — Condemnation in the council of Chalcedon — Decree of union called He- noticon — Monophysites — Peter the Fuller — Theopaschites — Acephali 106 CHAPTER IV. OP LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIFTH CENTURA. Cvril — Theophilis, bishop of Alexandria — Isidore — Theodorus Arnobius — Antiochus, bishop of Ptolemais — Asterius of Amasia — Peter of Ravenna — Gaudentius of Brescia — Severian of Gabala — Leo the Great — Gregentius — Evagrius — Basil — Philostorgius -—Philip Sedetes — Evodius — Orosius — Syagritis — Gennadius — Voconius — Euchenus — Prosper — Diadoculos — Nilus — Maximus of Turin — Cassian — Palladius — Prosper, bishop of Nola — Sidonius — ApoUinaris — Salvian — Spurious productions — Socrates — Sozomen — Theodoret — Publication of the Tal mud Ill CONTENTS. IX THE SIXTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURV. Evil effects of the decisions in the council of Chalcedon — Emperor Anastasius — In- tng'aes of the monks — Two of them appointed to the sees of Antioch and Constanti- nople— Tumults in Constantinople — Vitellianus marches to attack Constantinople — Deceived by Anastasius — Emperor Justin — Eutychians depressed — Justinian — Theo- dora— Riots between the factions — Condemnation of Origen — Of Theodore, Thec- doret, Ibas, &c. — Opposition of the Roman Pontiff Vigihus — General council at Con- stantinople— Vigilius banished — Retracts and is recalled — Disputes whether one of tho Trinity had suffered — Whether the body of Christ was corniptible or not — Justin II. favours the Eutychians — Bishops of Rome claim universal supremacy — Contests for the succession to that see — Rivalship between the bishops of Rome and Constantinople — ■ Mutual persecutions between the Arians and orthodox — Change of religion in barbari- ans— Title of Most Catholic King — England — Saxons converted by Augustine — Arch- bishopric of Canterbury founded — Spirit of the British clergy. Page 117 CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Evils of popular elections of the clergy — Bishop of Rome appointed by tho Gothic princes — Different modes of appointing to clerical offices in different countries — In France — In Spain — Increase of superstition — Donations to monasteries, &c., to obtain the intercession of the saints — Riches of the Church of Rome — Purgatory — Pictures and images venerated — Increasing respect for the Virgin Mary — Celibacy of the clergy much insisted on — Absurdities concerning marriage — Spiritual kindred — Flagellation inflicted in certain female convents — St. Benedict and his order — Pillar monks — Sime- on Stylites, jun. — Introduced into the west — Convents afford a refuge for literature — Conformity of liturgies to those of the metropolitan churches — Roman m!ssal composed by Gregory the Great — Increased veneration for the sacramental elements — Holy water — Tonsure of priests — Controversy concerning the form of the tonsure — Incredible absurdities respecting relics — Festival of the purification 124 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of several sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocitae — Severians — Aorncetae — The- odosians — Tritheists — Philoponites, &c. — Damianists 130 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED flIEN IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of learning — Controversial and party writers appropriate the rewards which ought to be the portion only of useful learning, and true genius — Ruin of Platonism — Succeeded by the philosophy of Aristotle — Boethius— Philoponus — Leontius of Nea- polis — Isidore of Seville — John Scynthopolis — Leontius — Zachary of Mytilene — Fa- cundus — Fulgentius — Maxentius — Eulogius — Theodore — Cassiodonis — Basil of Cilicia — Evagrius — Gregory of Tours — Gildas — Procopius— Agethias — T irtmiatus — Arator — Orontius — Columbanus — Justus — Avitus — Primasius— Victor, »f Capua — Procopius of Gaza — Cassiodorus — Gregory the Great — Justinian — Tril onian— Code Pandects, and Institutes of Justinian 13 CJNTENT8. THE SEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Reiorns of Justin, Tiberius, and Maurice — Phocas — Heracliiis — Monothelite coiitro versy — Vain attempts for reconciling theological differences — Constantine and Hera- clcun — Constans — Silence enjoined concerning theological speculations — Controversy continued, notwithstanding the imperial edict — Persecution of Pope Martin I. — Con- stantine Pocronatus — Sixth generaJ council — Condemnation of the Monothelites — At- tempt to raise a dead man as a proof in favo\ir of Monothelism — Roman poiitifTs — Boni- face III. — Acratho — Pope's claim to infallibility — Controversies in the west — Inflexible rancour of the Jews — Conquest of Jerusalem by Chosroes — Generosity of Heraclius — Jews baptized — Persecution of the Jews in Spain — Laudable and tolerant spirit of the Spanish clergy — Conversion of pagan nations — Mohammed — His origin — Doctrines- ■piiirht — Assumption of regal and sacerdotal power — Conquests — Causes of his suc- cess— Destruction of the Alexandrian Library — Vices of the clergy — Superior clergy whip the inferior ministers — Assume temporal power — Confusions at Rome, occasioned hv the election of a pope — Destruction of the patriarchates of Alexandria, &c., by the Mussuhnen Page 139 CHAPTER n. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. Council assembled for the reformation of the clergy — Clergy permitted to retain their ■vvives Superstitious observances in the celebration of the Lord's supper — Efficacy of masses asserted Piltrrima^es — Divination — Privileges of monks extended — Boniface IV. converts his house into a monastery — Licensed to perform every clerical function Alteration in Nicene creed — Festival of the exaltation of the holy cross — Of the annunciation — Deposition and nativity of the blessed virgin — Church of all saints — lights of sanctuary — Public penance 149 CHAPTER III OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. Monothelites Aginians — Chazinarians — Gnosirnachi — Lampetians— Ercetae — Pau- acians— Their opinions— Persecution— Resistance 153 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. Decline of learning — Greeks fond of intricate theological questions — Timotheus— Anastasius Philoponus — Conon — Eusebius — Nicias — Julian Pomcrius — Thomas, bishop of Hcraclea— Paterius — Hesychius— Isidore — General ignorance of ethics — Antiochus— Leontius— John Moschtis — Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury-:— Tay on, bishop of Saragossa — Ildefonsus — Maximus John, the morJi — Adhelm, abbot of Malmsbury — George Pisides 166 CONTENTS. THE EIGHTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Justinian II. — His licentiousness and cruelty — Philippicus — Profeesse? Monothelisna —Breaks down the images — Anastasius — Leo ihe Isaurian — Iconocjas- Jc controversy renewed — Violent commotions — Constantine Copronymus — Council of Constantinople — Leo in. — Irene — Her vices — Dethrones and murders her son — Council of Nice — Idolatry re-established — Incursions of the Saracens — Conquer Spain, &c. — Increase of the papal authority — Alliance with the Carlovingian family — Unjust deposition of Chil- deric — Charlemagne— His ambition — Declared emperor of the west— Image worship not allowed by the French clergy — Dissensions between the Greek and Latin Churches concerning the possession of the Holy Ghost — Other causes of dissension — Character of Charlemagne Page 158 CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. Nature and limits of the papal authority — National councils — Increase of monkery — Rights and customs of paganism transferred to Christianity — Reverence paid to the bishop of Rome — Military bishops — Images and donations — New rites of communion — Rites respecting the tonsure of children — Marriage 168 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY Albanenses — Ethnophrones — Opinions concerning the nature of Jesus Christ.. 1T8 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. Universal ignorance — JohnDamascenus — Theodulphus — Bartholomew — Etherius— Paulinus — Expositors of Scripture — Alcuin — Ambrose Authert — Homilies — Paul the deacon — The venerable Bede — Byzantine historians — Excellence of the British fathers and missionaries — Boniface — Virgilius, &c 173 THE NINTH CENTURY. CHAPTER L GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Conversion of Jutland — Of part of Sweden — Of Sclavonia — Of Russia — Mr. Gibbon 8 sentiments concerning these conversions— Saracens conquer Sicily, &c. — Incursions of northern barbarians — State of the Church and clergy — Injudicious distribution of pre- ferments— manner of electing popes — Pope Joan — Donations of Lewis the Meek — Dissensions in the Carlovingian family — Increase of the papal power from thi-s and other circumstances — Forgerv of the decretals, &c. — Increase of monkery — Revival o*" the Iconoclastic controversv — Council at Constantinople — Progress of image worship in the wrest- -Final schism between the Greek and Latin Churches 17tt m CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Worship of saints — Multiplication of the celestial advocates — Forgeries of legends- Rage for relics — Apology for this passion — New doctrines concerning the presence of Christ in the eucharist — Controversies on this subject — Abolition of choro-episcopi^ New orders of monks — Festivals in honour of saints — AH Saints day — St. Michael— The cross carried before the pope Page 188 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Predestinarians — Abrahamians — Persecution of the Paulicians 193 CHAPTER IV. OF ] EARNING AND I.EARNED MEN IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Photius — Greek commentators — Moses Barcepha — Munificence of Charlemagne — Christian Driithmar — Bertharius — Rabanus Maurus — Walafrid Strabo — Claudius of Turin — Hiiichmar — Remigius of Auxerre — Agobard — Theodorus Abucara — Contro- versy with the Mohammedans — Eginhard — Theganus of Treves — Anastasius — Alfred the Great — Reform of the laws of Justinian — Basihcan code 193 THE TENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Success of the Nestorians in propagating the Gospel — Conversion of Norway, of the Poles, the Russians, the Hungarians, the Danes, the Swedes, and the Normans — Lux- ury of the clergy — History of the popes from Leo V. to Sylvester IL — Iniquitous dis- tribution of preferments — Monastic institutions — Order of Clugni 196 CHAPTER II. OF THE DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Ardour for accumulating relics — Purgatory — The day of judgment supposed to be at hand — Mode of creating saints — Solemn excommunication — Controversy concerning marriage. 202 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Prevalence of Manicheism — Sect of the Anthropomorphites 205 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Death of literature in the tenth century- — Leo, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and Gerbert — Simeon, Metarhrastes, Eutychius, and Barcepha — Luitprand and Roswida 205 CONTENTS. xiji THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Conversion of barbarous nations — Kingdom of Sicily established — Power of the clergy — Benedict VIII. — John XIX.— Benedict IX. — Sylvester III. — Gregory VI.— Cle- ment II. — Nicholas II. — New mode of electing popes — Alexander II. — Honorius II. — Gregory VIII. — His claims upon England resisted — Sanguinary contest with the emperor — Clement III. — Victor III. — Urban II. — Crusades — Paschal II. . . Page 207 CHAPTER II. OF MANNERS, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Miracles — nagellation for sin — Contests concerning Roman and Gothic Rituals— Carthusian Order — Cistercians 221 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS V'HICH APPEARED IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURT Berenger — Roscelin — Persecution of the Jews — Manicheans — Bulgarians and Catharists 223 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Revival of Letters — Leo the grammarian, Theophylact, Cedrenus, Michael Psellus— • Fulbert, Damianus, Anselm, Lambertus 224 THE TWELFTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. Conversion of Pomerania — Livonia — Calamitous state of Judea — Second crusade Saladin — Third crusade under Frederic Barbarossa — Richard Coeur de Lion — Knights of Malta and Templars — Teutonic knights — Popes, Paschal II. — Alexander III. — Lu- cius III. — Innocent III ^. 226 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES. ^hool divinity— Pretended revelations — Origin and progress of indulgences. .. 23B CHAPTER III. CONCERNING THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY Waldenses — Their tei\ets — Opposition to the Church of Rome — Albigenses. . . 239 KIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. Literature of the Greeks — Anna Comnena — Eustathius, &c. — In the west, St. Bernard — Abelard — Anselm — ^William of Tyre, &c Page 243 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER 1. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Success of the Nestorians in China, &c. — Fourth crusade — Conquest of Constanti- nople by the crusaders — Fifth crusade under Frederick II. — Sixth crusade under Lewis IX. of France — Recovery of Spain by the Christians — Power of the popes increased — Pragmatic Sanction — Innocent III. — Contest with the Emperor Otho — John, king of England — Honorius III. — Gregory IX. — Constantine IV. — Innocent IV. — Celestine v.— Boniface VIII 244 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, CEREMONIES, ETC. Transubstantiation — Auricular confession — Rise of the Dominicans— Of the Francis- cans— Anecdote relating to their wealth — Religious exhibitions — Festival of the holy sacrament — Carrying the host — Jubilee 254 CHAPTER HI. CONCERNING THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Catharists— Waldenses — Petrobrusians — Persecution of heretics — Inquisition- Crusade against the Albigenses — Flagellantes - 257 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Destruction of classical authors — Calamities of Greece prevent the cultivation of letters in the east — Scholastic divinity prevalent in the west — Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, &c. — Roger Bacon, Matthew Paris, &c 263 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Renewal of holy war — Conversion of Lithuania — Success against the infidels m Spain — Efforts for the conversion of China — Decline of the papal power — Contest be- tween Boniface VIII., and Philip the Fair, king of France — Benedict IX.— Clement V. — Gregory XI. — ^Urban VI. — Great western schism 254 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, CEREMONIES, ETC., IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. Alteration respecting the jubilee— Extraordinary festivals — Origin of Annates — Fall •f the Templars — Strange faction concerning certain relics , Page 268 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTUR ' Quietists — Dancers— Albi-Fraters — Beggards — Lollards — Absurdities of the menai- cant orders.... ............ . — .... — .. — — ..... 271 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. Greek literature — Emperors — Elder Andronicus — John Cantachuzene — Manuel Paleologus — Barlaam, &c. — Nicephorus Calistus — Theophanes — Planudes, &c. — Scho- lastic divinity — Duns Scotus — William Ockam, &c. — Nicholas de Lyra — Translation of the Bible into French — St. Bridget and St. Catharine — Dante — Petrarch, &c. . . 273 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER L GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Expulsions of the Moors from Spain — Discovery of America — Extension of the Musselmen empire in Asia — Overthrow of the Grecian empire — Taking of Constanti- nople by Mohammed II. — Continuance of ihe western schism — Council of Pisa — Three popes at one time — Council of Constance — Retrenchment of the papal power — Election of Martin V. — Persecution of heretics — John Huss, and Jerome of Prague — Their per- secution and death — Council of Basil — Eugenius IV. — Wishes to remove the council to Italy — Contest between the pope and the council — E.igenius summons a council at Ferrara — Deposition of Eugenius — Felix V. — Nicholas V. — Alexander VI 276 CHAPTER IL OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Rich donations to the saints — Festival of the transfiguration — Indulgences granted \ej all who should devoutly celebrate the immaculate conception . 285 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Wickliffites — ^Waldenses — Savanarola — Bohemian troubles from the disciples o*" Huss 28ti IVl CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. 01 LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Superiority of Greek literature — Cultivated by Petraich and Boccaco — Greek fro- fessorship established at Florence — Cardinal Basiarion — Ardour of the Latins — Nicho- 0sV. — Cosmo de Mcdicis — Discovery of printing — Nicholas Clcmengis — Laurentius Valla — Aretin and Poggio — English writers — John Wesselus — Jerome Savanarrla — /Kneas Silvius — Thomas a Kempis — Pica dclla Mirandola Page 287 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER 1. GENERAL STATE OF THE OHURCH PREVIOUS TO THE REFORMATION. General tranquillity of the Church — Pius III. — Julius II. — Warlike spirit of the pope — Dispute with Lewis XII. — Leo X. — Popes from Leo X. to Clement VIII. 292 CHAPTER IL OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, ETC., IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Splendid but trifling ceremonies — Scholastic subletics — Sermons — Strange accepta- tion of the term good works — Increase of monkery — Institution of the Jesuits — Their constitution and policy — Capuchins — Recollets — Regular clerks or theatins — Priestsof the oratory — Barefooted Carmelites 294 CHAPTER III. OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY. SECTION I. Indigence of the papal treasury — Sale of indulgences — Tetzel — Luther — Opposes Tetzel in the publication of indulgences — Supported by the Augustine monks, and the elector of Saxony — Contest with Eccius, &c. — At first disregarded by Leo — Afterward summoned to Rome — Appears before Cardinal Cajetan — Appeals to a general council — Zuinglius begins the reformation in Switzerland — Luther excommunicated — Buma the papal bull — Views of the emperor with regard to Luther — Luther summoned to the diet at Worms — Edict against him — Seized and concealed at Wartburgh — Controversy with the university of Paris and Henry VIII., of England — Translate? the Bible — Character of Adrian VI. — List of grievances presented by the diet of Nuremberg — Clement VII. — Marriage of Luther — Reformation in Prussia — Danger of persecution — Contest between the pope and the emperor — Friends of reformation distinguished by the name of Protestants — Confession of Augsburg — League of Smalkalde — N<^gotia- tions of the Protestants with France and England — Treaty with the emperor at Nurem- t)erg — Death of the elector of Saxony 299 CONTENTS. XVn QHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION 'iN GERMANY, ETC. Gradual spread of Luther's doctrines — In Sweden — In Denmark — France- Calvin's Reformation established in all Saxony — Council of Trent — Death and cna- racter of Luther — Decrees of the Council of Trent — Pope excommunicates the archbishop of Cologne — Diet at Ratisbon — War declared against the emperor- Perfidy of Maurice — Seizes the elector's dominions — Elector of Cologne resigas— Elector of Saxony and Landgrave made prisoners — Publication of the Interim — Obnoxious to both parties — Violence of the emperor — Death of Paul III. and ele. ▼ation of Julius III. — Defection of Maurice — Peace of religion Page 316 CHAPTER IV. REfORMATION IN ENGLAND. Unexpectedly favoured by Henry VIII. — Woolsey favours the king's project for obtaining a divorce — The pope embarrassed between the English and Spanish factions — Cardinal Campeggio despatched to England — Cranmer's project — His elevation and the fall of Woolsey — Decisions in favour of the divorce — Henry for. bids his subjects to receive bulls from Rome — Marries Anna Boleyn — Proceedings of the parliament and convocation — The marriage of Catharine annulled — Dis- pleasure of the emperor — The pope asserts the validity of Catharine's marriage — Henry resolves to reject the papal yoke, but treats the reformers with severity — Reformation favoured by the queen, Craniner, and Cromv.'ell — Translation of the Bible — Death of the queen — Entire suppression of the monasteries — Downfall and death of Cromwell — Opposition to the new translation of the Bible — Translation of the prayers — Death of Henry — Edward VI., with the protector, favours the Re- formation— Opposed by Bonner, Gardiner, and the Princess Mary — Marriages «f the clergy declared legal — Liturgy confirmed — Death of Edward VI. — Mary op- poses the Reformation — Restoration of the ancient rites — Degradation of Cran. mer — Treaty between Mary and the pope — Marriage of Mary with the prince of Spain — Proceedings against the reformers — Death of Latimer, Ridley, and Cran- mer — Death of Mary — Completion of the Reformation under Elizabeth 32G CHAPTER V. REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND, IRELAND, THE LOW COUNTRIES, ETC. Doctrines received in the reign of .Tames V. persecuted — ^Hamilton, Seton, and Forest — Cardinal Beaton — Court of inquisition — Persecution — Murder of the cardinal — John Knox — Regent surrenders his power — First covenant — Duplicity of the queen dowager — Reformation established at Perth — Second Covenant — Perfidy of the queen dowager — Hostilities — Third Covenant — Contests with the queen dowager — Expulsion of the regent — Perplexities — Fourth Covenant — Death of the queen dowager — Peace proclaimed — Completion of the Reforma. tion — Stixte of Ireland, Holland, Italy, Spain, and France 334 CHAPTER VL OF THE OTHER SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Causes for variety of opinion among the reformers — Anabaptists, or Menonites— Antinomians- — Unitarians — -Serretus — -Socinians Budneians — Farvonians — . Stancarians — Zuinglians — Schwenkfeldtians — Brownists — lUuminati Familista — Amsdorfians — Osiandrians — Molinists — Svnergists 344 3 XVni CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURT. Multiplication of books — Controversial theology — Dutlier — Calvin — Melanc- thon — Theodore Beza — Erasmus — Sir Tiiomas More — George Buchanan — Cas- talio— Reuclilin— Ludovicus Vives — Budeus— Lipsius— Polydore Virgil— Scaliger— llerormation in Philosophy — Copernicus and Tycho Brahe — The Stephens' Pago 35-1 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. State of Europe with respect to religion — Several of the popes — Labours of the Jesuits — Disputes between the different orders of monks — Efforts to reduce the Protestants within the pale of the Church — Conference of charity, &c. — Persecu. tion in Austria, &c. — War in Germany — Massacre of Valteline — Vaudois — France — Revocation of the edict of Nantz — England — Gunpowder plot — Civil war — Scotland — Irish massacre — Protestant Churches in America — Revolution in England — Schemes for a union of Churches — Change of religion in German Pro- testants 356 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Few alterat.ons in the established doctrines of the Romish Church — New soci- eties and orders — Congregation and Seminary for Propagating the Faith — Visita- tion of the Blessed Virgin — Virgins of love — Fathers of the oratory — Priests of Missions — Abbey of La Trappe — Doctrines of Protestants — Lutherans — Caivinists —Church of England 365 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Jansenists — Quietists — Cartesians or Cocceians — Sublapsarians and Supralap. Barians — Arminians — Pietists — Jacob Behmen — Puritans — Independents — Seek- ers— Ranters — The Fifth-Monarchy Men — Quakers — Sabbatarians — Hattemists — 'Muggletonians, &c S'S CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Golden age of European literature — Bellarmine — Bossuet — Baronius — Riche- lieu— Sirmond — Mariana — Tillemont — Father Paul — Pascal — Fenelon — Claude— — Drelincourt — Cappel — Bochart — The Buxtorfs — Episcopius — Grotius — Laud — The memorable John Hales — Usher — Hall — Taylor — Stillinirfleet — Cudworth — Wilkins — More — Whichcot — Smith — Patrick — Tillolson, Pocock — Cumber land — Barrow — South — Burnet — Castell — Pearson — Beveridge — -Calamy — Bax- ter— Poole — Bacon — Galileo — Des Cartes — Gassendi — Newton — Boyle — Shak. epeare — Milton, &c 381 CONTENTS. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Toleration — Succession of popes -Character of Ganganelli—Pius VI.— Suppression of the Jesuits— In Portugal— In Spain— In France— Revolution in America^— Revolu- tion in France — Infidelity —Revival of religion 385 CHAPTER II. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Moravians — Methodists — Hutchinsonians — Sandemanians — Bunkers — Swedenbor- gians— Modern Socinians or Unitarians — Universalists— Shakers 390 CHAPTER III. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 410 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. The Roman Catholic Church in Italy — In France — In Ireland — The Gernaan Catholic Church — Puseyism — The Roman Church in America — The Oriental Churches — The Evangelical Lutheran Church — The Reformed Church — Influence of the Sensational Philosophy — Transcendentalism— The English estab'ishment — The Presbyterian Churches— The Baptist Churches— The Campbellites— The Independ- ent and Congregational Churches — The Unitarian Church— The Methodist Denomination — The Universalist Church — The Friends — The Swedenborgians — The Shakers — Religion in the United States — The Evangelical Alliance — The Jews 413 CHAPTER II. THE STATE OF THE CHURCH IN REFERENCE TO MISSIONARY AND BENEVOLENT ENTERPRISES. _ Papal Missions— Protestant Missions— Bible Societies— Tract Societies— Educa- tion Societies— The Colonization Society — Antislavery Society — Temperance Cause — Seamen's Friend Society — American and Foreign Christian Union— Suaday- Schools 433 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH HAVE APPEARED IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUItr. Ballouism or Ultra-universalisra — Irvingites— Mormons — Millerites and Second Adventists — Spiritualists — Annihilationists — Socialism — Scepticism 438 QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION -I'l-") HISTORY CHRISTIAN CHURCH. THE FIRST CENTURY. , CHAPTER I. OENBRAL VIEW OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGION PREVIOUS TO THK BIRTH OF CHRIST. Two systems of religion prevalent from the early ages — Origin of paganism — Mistakes concerning the ancient traditions — Worship of the heavenly bodies — Applying the titles of the gods to the early monarchs — Local deities — Idolatry — Nature of the Jewish religion — State of the world at the birth of Christ — Social genius of [lolytheism — Grecian phi osophy — Epicurean — Peripatetics — Stoics — Platonics — Oriental philosophy — Religious state of Jixlea — Pharisees — Sadducees — Essenes — Civil state — Herod — Profligacy of the nations. In the great chain of history, every event is so closely connected ivith that iininedialely preceding, and so much governed by the contin- gent circumstances of manners, time, and place, that an account of any given period, with no retrospect whatever to past transactions, would afford a detail frequently unintelligible, and in general dry and uninte- resting. It appears necessary, therefore, on the present occasion, to lay before the reader a short statement of the progress of religion from the first periods of society, in order to enable him to judge properly of the great importance of the Christian dispensation, and of the causes which impeded or accelerated its progress. The exuberance of human folly and superstition has branched out into innumerable ramifications ; but it vi^ould be neither useful nor convenient to pursue, with a minute attention, all the meanders of ab- surdity. Such a history would be little more than a catalogue of names, or a dull recital of correspondent rites, and similar ceremonies. In this short abstract of religious history I shall, therefore, consider the sub- ject under two divisions ; the religion of the pagans, and that of the Jews. The former will serve to convey a general idea of the natural deviations of the human mind from reason and truth ; the latter will exhibit the miraculous foundations of that majestic structure which was completed in the Christian dispensation. The first principles of religious knowledge, imparted to the fathers of the human race, were few and simple. They were unsupported by the knowledge of letters, and were such as would easily admit of corruption, from the timid and credulous nature of man. One of the first devia- Vions from the truth was, certainly, the worship of the heavenly bodies 10 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I The first men had been accustomed to a direct communication with the Supreme Being; it was, therefore, not unnatural in their offspring lo expect a continuance of the same indulgence. But. in looking around for the visible manifestation of the great Ruler of the universe, to what object would ignorance and superstition so naturally direct themselves as to that glorious luminary whose nature and phenomena must be necessarily so imperfectly understood, and who is the dispenser of light, of warmth, and of cheerfulness to the whole creation ? The sun was, therefore, very early an object of worship with all nations but that singular people to whom the knowledge of the omnipresent God was revealed. From the adoration of the sun, the transition to that of the moon was the most natural that possibly could be imagined. Thus the Egyptians worshipped the sun and moon by the names of Osiris and Isis ; the former of which, in the Egyptian tongue, signified many eyed, from the sun's overlooking all that passes in the world ; the latter signified elievecl to have been composed in the Hebrew tongue, and after- ward translated into Greek. The Gospel of Mark (who was the friend and companion of Paul) has been thought by some to be only an epitome of that of Matthew. Luke, who is said to have been a physician at Antioch, and, as well as Mark and .lohn, is supposed to have been one of the seventy disciples, and who accompanied Paul in his ministration, composed the Gospel which bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles. These three Gospels were succeeded by that of the Evangelist John, who approved of them ; [Euseb. lib. iii, c. 24 ;) but, perceiving that theii accounts were posterior to the imprisonment of John the Baptist, thought it expedient to give to the Church some records of the actions and doctrines of his beloved Master, in the beginning of his ministry. — Besides this, John is also allowed to have composed at least one epistle, if not more ; but the two latter ones, and the book of the Revelations, have excited some controversy concerning their author. These works were quickly dispersed among the Christian believers, and were col- lected and read in their religious assemblies for the confirmation and edification of the faithful. Indeed, such a collection, stamped with apostolical authority, soon became necessary, in order to separate the inspired writings from a number of fraudulent and absurd performances which were circulated as the productions of the apostles. Besides the assistance which was derived to Christianity from the actions, precepts, and zeal of its first teachers, the virtues of the primi- tive Christians afforded a powerful support to the doctrines they pro- fessed, and formed a striking contrast to the depravity and corruption which almost universally prevailed. Nor were the opposition and persecution they met with prejudicial to their cause. They only served to unite more firmly this small, but intrepid band, well convinced of the importance of those truths for which they contended ; and to attract the notice and compassion of all mankind toward a sect distinguished only for its singularity and virtue. Their implacable enemies, the Jews, who saw their own lofty claims to superiority, and their profli- gate conduct, directly attacked and censured both by the tenets and manners of the teachers of Christianity, assaulted them everywhere with unrelenting fury. Their rancour and animosity, however, toward the Christians, only rendered the accomplishment of those terrible predictions which had been denounced against them by Jesus Christ more apparent and remarkable ; and, by these means, rather accelerated than retarded the progress of Christianity. Many of the previous signs and portents which had been foretold concerning the demolition of the temple, had already taken place, and were such as might have in- structed a people less obstinate and perverse, that their destruction was at hand, and might have rendered them cautious of any action which could provoke their enemies against them. Great indeed were the oppressions which they experienced from a corrupt government; and, provoked to fury by its rapacity and violence, in the year 66 they commenced hostilities against the Romans, and the flames of war raged throughout Asia to Egypt and the east. Under the reign of "Vespasian, Jerusalem was besieged for six months by Titus ; during which time everv calainity that Ctm accompany that most afllictive of the Divine visitations, war, was endured by the miserable inhabitants. The city and temple were at length taken by storm ; the conqueror would Cent. I. j kistorv of the rHiRCH. 23 have saved the body of the temple, but a soldier set fire to an adjoining building, and the whole was unfortunately consumed. Eleven hundred thousand of the Jewish people are said to have perished in the siege and in the sack of the city ; many by famine, and many in the flames and by the sword. Ninety-seven thousand were exposed to sale as slaves ; with which the market was at length so glutted, that no pur- chasers could be found. Besides these, multitudes were thrown to wild beasts, or sacrificed as gladiators, in the savage sports of the Romans. The Christians at Jerusalem escaped the horrors of the siege by a timely retreat to Pella, a small town beyond Jordan. The remainder of this devoted nation, weakened by their losses, and dispirited by their dreadful calamities, were not, at the close of this century, in a situation to oppose operdy a sect which they could not however but secretly regard with even additional rancour. Though the absurdities of polytheism were openly derided and ex- posed by the first teachers of Christianity, Acts xix, 26, yet it doea not appear that any public laws were enacted against Christianity till the reign of Nero, in the year 64, by which time it had acquired con- siderable stability and extent. As far the greater number of the first converts to Christianity were of the Jewish nation, one secondary cause for their being so long preserved from persecution may probably be deduced from their appearing to the Roman governors only as a sect of Jews, who had seceded from the rest of their brethren on account of some opinion trifling in its importance, and perhaps difficult to be un- derstood. Nor when their brethren were fully discovered to have cast off' the religion of the synagogue, did the Jews find it easy to infuse into the breasts of the Roman magistrates that rancour and malice which they themselves experienced. But the steady and uniform op- position made by the Christians to heathen superstition could not long pass unnoticed. Their open attacks upon paganism made them ex- tremely obnoxious to the populace, by whom they were represented as a society of atheists, who, by attacking the religious constitution of the empire, merited the severest animadversion of the civil magistrate. — The pure and sublime ideas which they conceived of the Supreme Being could not be comprehended by the gross heatnen, who required the Deity to be represented by some corporeal figure, or visible symbol, and adored with all the pomp of altars, sacrifices, and libations. The supposed guilt which had been contracted by every Christian, in thus preferring his private sentiments to the national religion, was aggravated in a high degree by the number and union of the criminals ; for the Romans were accustomed to regard with jealousy and distrust any associations among their subjects. They became, likewise, farther obnoxious by their cautious method of performing the offices of reli- gion ; which, though at first dictated by fear and necessity, was con- tinued from choice, and it was concluded that they only concealed what they would have blushed to disclose. Horrid tales of their abomi- nations were circulated throughout the empire ; and the minds of the pagans were, from all these circumstances, prepared to regard with pleasure or indifference every cruelty which could be inflicted upon this despised sect. Under these circumstances, it is not wonderful that Nero should select the Christians as a grateful sacrifice to the Roman people, and 24 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. endeavour to transfer to this hated sect the guilt of which he was strongl" suspected, that of having caused and enjoyed the fire which had nearly desolated Rome. With this view, he inflicted upon them the most exquisite tortures, attended with every circumstance of the most refinea cruelty. Some were crucified ; others impaled ; some were thrown to wild beasts, and others wrapped in garments dipped in pilch and other combustibles, and burned as torches in the gardens of Nero and other parts of the city by night. He was far, however, from obtaining lhe object of his hopes and expectations ; and the virtues of the Chris- tians, their zeal for the truth, and their constancy in sufl'ering, must have considerably contributed to the respectability of their sect, and to make their tenets more generally known. Alternate seasons of tran- quillity and persecution succeeded this barbarous attempt, which by uniting the Christians firmly in one common cause, and giving them time to recruit their wearied powers, proved extremely favourable to the support and propagation of Christianity. From the death of Nero to the reign of Domitian the Christians remained unmolested, and daily increasing ; but toward the close of the century, they were again involved in all the horrors of persecution. The death of Domitian, however, soon delivered them from this calamity ; and his successor, Nerva, suffered the Christian Church to enjoy a season of tranquillity, and rescinded the sanguinary edicts of his predecessor. CHAPTER HI. DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. Faith of the primitive Christians — Ecclesiastical government necessary to the support of a visible Church — Bishops, presbyters, deacons, deaconesses — Forms of worship — Sa craments — Excommunication. The whole of the Christian religion is comprehended in two great points, of which the first regards what we are to believe, and the other relates to our conduct and actions ; or to express the matter more briefly, the Gospel presents to us objects oi faith, and rules of practice. The former are expressed by the apostles by the term mystery or the truth; and the latter by {\\-a.\,o{ godliness or piety. The rule and stand- ard of both are those books which contain the revelation that God made of his will to persons chosen for that purpose, whether before or after the birth of Christ. And these Divine books are usually called the Old and New Testament, but more properly Covenants. The principal articles of faith regard the nature of the Divine exist ence, and the person of Jesus Christ. For the original faith of the Christian Church the Scriptures of the New Testament are certamly the only competent authority ; and every succeeding testimony ac- quires weight and importance only in proportion as it harmonizes with ihem. The Christians of the primitive Church believed with their ancestors, the Jews, in the eternal unity of the Supreme Godhead, from whom, and dependant on whom are all things that exist. They considered Christ Jesus as the image of the invisible God, as the first-bora of Cent. I.] history of the church. 25 every creature, by whom are all things ; by whose ministry the world with all that it contains was created, and by whom the redemption and salvation of mankind were effected. The union between the Father and the Son they considered as so strict and indissoluble, that in the language of divines they were de- scribed as con-substantial and co-equal. The Word, or the Son of God, was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. In liim (that is, in Jesus Christ) dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ; through him God was said to be manifested in the flesh ; 1 Tim. iii, 16 ; Heb. i, 8 ; Rev. i, 11, 12, 13 ; Rom. ix, 5 ; Acts xx, 28 ; John xiv, 9 ; John x, 30 ; and the different attributes of the Deity were all ascribed to the Redeemer ; John v, 19; Rev. i, 18. The Holy Ghost, though considered as the spirit, or active essence of the all-governing mind, was yet regarded as a distinct person or character ; and was particularly described as such in the celebrated miracle on the day of pentecost. This unity and co-equality of the three persons or characters of the Godhead was afterward expressed by the word trinity, or trinity in unity. The history of the Divine mission of Christ Jesus, as related in the Gospels of his incarnation, death, and resurrection, was of necessity regarded as an essential article of the faith of the Church. The general resurrection of the whole human race, and the distribu- tion of eternal rewards and punishments, according to the respective deserts of each individual, constituted another most important article of belief; 1 Cor. xv, 22 ; Matt, xxv, 31 ; since upon this point rests the whole moral obligation of the Christian system. Among the direct and positive instructions of Jesus Christ, we find none which describe in specific terms that form of government which in future ages the Church was to assume. Perhaps there is no parti- cular form or regimen which would be applicable to all possible states and circumstances ; though some form of government is absolutely necessary, since without it no discipline or order could be preserved, and no religion could long subsist. From the very first, therefore we find in the Church of Christ a regular chain of authority and subordina- tion. In the appointment of the twelve apostles, and in the ordination of the seventy disciples, we plainly discern a regular and delegated authority, a constitution and a connected body. The authority exercised by the apostles, either collectively, in what may be termed their council or conference, or in their individual capa- city, we find from various passages of the New Testament to have been considerable and extensive ; Acts v, 1 ; vi, 2 ; xv, 6 ; 1 Cor. v, 5, 13; 2 Cor. xi, 6. It has been disputed whether or not the epis- copal form was that which was first adopted in the Church. It has been said that the office of bishop and presbyter was originally the same ; and that the name of presbyter or elder was expressive of their age, or rather of their gravity, wisdom, and delegation. Their number was proportioned to the size of their respective congregations. When, by the addition of new converts, the number of churches and ministers necessarily increased, new regulations became necessary : one, there- fore, from among the presbyters, distinguished for his wisdom and piety, was chosen to preside in their councils, to allot to the rest their respective ofiices, and to be a centre of union to the whole society. 26 HISTtRY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. 1. This dignity was conferred for life, except it was forfeited by some misconduct ; and the presbyter invested with it was generally styled bishop, and sometimes the angel of the church to which he belonged. {See Mosheim, Century I.) The scanty revenues of the ministers arose at first entirely from iheir share of the oblations, or voluntary gifts, which were presented according to the generosity or ability of the congregation. Whenever the episcopal chair became vacant by death, a new president was chosen from among the presbyters, to preside over the ministerial functions. There was but one bishop in each Church, or rather in each district ; but the number of presbyters appears to have been indefinite, probably depending upon the number, the necessities, or other circumstances of the society. Their employments within the church were in general the same with those of the bishops, and they consisted in the admi- nistration of the sacraments and the preservation of the discipline of the Church. In many churches, however, preaching was the pecu- liar office of the bishops. The presbyters were chosen by the united consent of their clerical brethren and the people at large, and ordained by the bishop, assisted by the presbyters. An inferior order of ministers, called deacons, was appointed from the first institution of the Church, whose office it was to assist in the administration of the Lord's Supper, to carry the elements to the sick and absent, to receive the oblations of the people, to rebuke those who behaved irreverently during Divine service, to relieve the distressed, and to watch over the conduct of the people. In some churches they also read the Gospels, and were allowed to baptize and to preach. The number of these ministers was not limited, but was generally in proportion to the wants of the Church. Some, however, after the example of the Church at Jerusalem, confined their number to seven ; and the Church of Rome thought this rule so obligatory, that when the number of presbyters amounted to forty-six, that of the deacons was limited to seven. The order of deaconesses was likewise appointed in the apostolic age. These were generally widows who had only once been married, though this employment was sometimes exercised by virgins. Their office consisted in assisting at the baptism of women, in previously catechising and instructing them, in visiting sick persons of their own sex, and in performing all those inferior offices toward the female part of the congregation, which the deacons were designed to execute for the men. Such was the arrangement which appears to have been adopted in the primitive constitution of the Church. The first century had not, however, elapsed, when an additional order became necessary. The • bishops who resided in large and populous cities, prompted by the neighbouring converts, whose attendance upon public worship was always inconvenient, and sometimes impossible, erected new churches in the adjacent towns and villages ; which naturally continuing under their care and inspection, the districts grew imperceptibly into eccle- siastical provinces, and obtained the name of diocesses. Over the new churches they appointed suffi-agans to instruct and govern them, who ■w ere distinguished by the name of country bishops, and held a middle Cent. I.J history of the church. 27 rank between the bishops and presl)yters. The Christian ministers of every rank, still derived their support from the voluntary ofl'erings of ihe people, which, after providing lor the expenses of public worship, were divided between them and the poor. The first Christian Church established at Jerusalem by apostolical authority, became in its doctrine and practices a model for the greater part of those which were founded in the first century. It may easily be conceived that tliese churches were not superb edifices, purposely erected for the celebration of Divine worship. Assembling at first in small numbers, the places where the primitive Christians met for pious purposes were doubtless sequestered retirements, or the houses of private individuals, which, from various reasons, and by various means, would in time become the property of the community, and be gradually extended and improved. Select portions of Scripture were publicly read in these assemblies, which were succeeded by a brief and serious exhortation to the people. The preacher usually delivered his sermons sitting, while the people stood ; which was, probably, in conformity to the practice of the synagogue. The prayers formed a considerable part of public worship. To this succeeded the oblations, and the dis- tribution of the Lord's Supper ; and the whole service concluded with a social and friendly repast, denominated Agapae, or the feast of love ; to which all who were able contributed, and of which all who were willing partook. During stated intervals of the time allotted to these services hymns were ^ung, not by the whole assembly, but by persons expressly appointed for that purpose. Besides the appointment of the first day of the week, by the apostles, for the public celebration of religious worship, the early Christians are believed to have observed two anniversary festivals ; the one in remem- brance of the resurrection of Christ, and the other to commemorate the descent of the Holy Ghost. From the earliest periods of Christi- anity it however a{)pears, that Divine worship was celebrated in a dif- ferent manner in different places. The external government of the Church was accommodated to the different situations and opinions of the first Christian believers ; and in those societies which were totally or principally composed of the Jewish converts, the Jewish Sab- bath, as well as the first day of the week, was kept, and much of the Jewish ritual allowed and observed. The first fifteen bishops of Jeru- salem were all circumcised Jews, and the congregation over which, they presided united the law of Moses with the doctrines of Christ. With respect to the few and simple rites instituted by Christ, it ap- pears, that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered by the first Christians, whenever they assembled for the purposes of social worship; and so far from being confined to those who had made tho greatest progress in religious attainments, it was equally participated in b} the apostle of Christ and the meanest member of the Church. The initiatory rite of baptism was permitted to all who acknowledged the truths of the Gospel, and promised conformity to its laws. The in- troduction of unworthy and disorderly persons into the Church, from this easiness of admission, naturally narrowed the terms of communion, and baptism was afterward confined to those who had been previously instructed in religious knowledge, and proved the sincerity of their professions by the regularity of their lives. The probationers for 28 HISTORY OF THE C.JURCH. [CeNT. 1 admission into the society of Christians took the humble name of cate chumens, while those who were already consecrated by baptism were distinguished by the superior title of believers. The discipline exercised in the primitive Church was strict, and even bordering on severity. Two kinds of excommunication were practised at this early period. By the tirst, profligate persons, heretics, and apostates were separated both from the civil and sacred communion of the Church, Rom. xvi, 17 ; 1 Cor. v, 7, 9 ; Tit. iii, 10, for a period of thirty days; to be renewed at the discretion of the elders, &c. The other was termed anathema, or " the delivering of a convict to Satan," 1 Cor. V, 5 ; 1 Tim. i, 20, which was a still more complete exclusion ; and it appears that it was thus termed, because the olfender was in that case supposed to be delivered up defenceless to his spiritual enemy, unprotected by the prayers of the Church, or the benefit of the holy sacrament. This last species of excommunication was reserved for very flagrant and obstinate sinners, generally indeed inflicted upOD those who were found incorrigible by the former means. CHAPTER IV. OF THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE FIRST CENTURV. lewish Christians — Gnostics — Cerinthus — Simon Magus and Menander. Were we to expect that so considerable a number of men as those who embraced Christianity in the first century, would be actuated ex- actly by the same opinions, we should form an expectation not war- ranted by our own experience, or the conduct of mankind in every age. The doctrines and precepts of Christianity, so easily to be comprehend- ed and understood, were indeed, at a very early period, blended with the most fantastical opinions. The pure stream of religious truth was polluted by error even during the lives of the apostles, 1 Tim. vi, 20 ; Col. xi, 8. The scrupulous adherence of the Jewish converts to the Mosaical law, occasioned several of them obstinately to contend for the ceremonies of their ancestors, and rendered them desirous of imposing them on the Gentile Christians. A large party separated from the Church, and regarded those whom they had been long accus- tomed to consider as a people rejected by God with a degree of con- tempt and hatred, which naturally produced reciprocal dislike ; each indulged dispositions inimical to brotherly love, together with certain peculiar religious opinions resulting from former practices and opinions. These Judaizing Christians were first known by the general appella- tion of Nazarenes ; but a division of them was afterward distinguished, though it is uncertain at what time, by the name of Ehionues, which according to Origen and Eusebius is derived from Eb/on, a poor or despicable man, from the mean oj)inion they entertained of Christ. — Besides their adherence to the Jewish law, Theodoret ascribes to them other opinions. They contended, it is said, most slrerniously for the unity of the Godhead in the person of the Father, and asserted that Jesus was a mere man, born after the common course of nature, of Cent. I.] history of the church. 29 human parents, Joseph and Mary, but that the Holy Ghost descended upon him at his baptism, and continued to actuate and inspire him till his death. They observed both the Jewish and the Christian Sabbath. From the imperfections of the Jewish dispensation, the Gnostics (wise or knowing) hastily inferred that it was not instituted by the Su- preme Being; and, assuming that pompous appellation, boasted their ability to restore to mankind that knowledge of his nature which had si) long been lost. They blended with the faith of Christ many sublime but oliscure tenets, which they derived from the oriental philosophy. The sages of the east had long expected a heavenly messenger, endued with sufficient powers to release them from their bondage to corrupt matter, which they held to be the source of all evil. The miracles of Christ and his apostles induced them readily to accept him as this heavenly messenger, and they interpreted all the precepts of Chris- tianity in the manner most agreeable to the absurd opinions they had previously conceived. They introduced among their followers a multitude of absurd legends respecting the actions and precepts of Christ, and of the creation of the world by inferior beings. These opinions were so entirely dissonant to many parts both of the Old and New I'estament, that they rejected nmch of these books, though they admitted the validity of a few parts. From the belief that whatever is corporeal is in itself intrinsically evil, they denied that Christ was in vested with a real body, or that he really suffered lor the sake of man- kind. As the Son of the Supreme God, they indeed consented to regard him ; but regarded him as inferior in his nature, and believed that his mission upon earth was designed to rescue the virtuous soul from the tyranny of wicked spn'its, whose empire he was to destroy, and to instruct men to raise the mind from its corporeal impurity to a blessed union with the Supreme God. Far removed from the path of truth, it is not surprising that, having no certain rule to guide their steps, they should separate, and wander into the manifold intricacies of error. Accordingly, we find the Gnostic heretics were not only divided into many sects, differing in their various rules of religious faith, but in matters which related to practice. While the more rigid sects rejected the most innocent gratitications, that the body might not be so nourished as to degrade the soul, their more relaxed brethren considered the soul as entirely unaffected by the actions of the body, asserted the innocence of complying with every dictate of nature, and abandoned themselves without any restraint to the impulse of the passions. Their persuasion that evil resided in matter, led them to reject the doctrine of the resurrection of the body ; and their belief in the power of malevolent genii, the sources of every earthly calamity, induced them to have recourse to the study of magic to weaken or avert the infiuetice of those malignant agents. A very considerable sect of Gnostics distinguished themselves by the name of DoccttE, but their peculiar opinions are not accurately known. Cerinthus, by birth a Jew, was one of the earliest and most distin- guished seceders from the Church. He allowed indeed that the Creator of the world was the lawgiver of the Jews, and a being endued at first with the greatest virtue, but asserted that he derived his power from the Supreme God, and that be had by degrees fallen from his native dignity and virtue. That in order to destroy his corrupted empire, 30 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I the Supreme Being had commissioned one of his glorious Eons, whose name was Christ, to descend upon earth ; that he entered into the body of Jesus which was crucified ; but that the Christ had not suffered, but ascended into heaven. Cerinthus required his followers to retain part of the Mosaical law, but to regulate their lives by the example of Christ ; and taught, that after the resurrection Christ would reign upon earth, with his faithful disciples, a thousand years, which would be spent in the highest sensual indulgences. This mixture of Judaism and oriental philosophy was calculated to make many converts, and this sect soon became very numerous. They admitted a part of St. Matthew's Gospel ; but re- jected the rest, and held the epistles of St. Paul in great abhorrence. The oriental philosophy, that baneful source of prejudice, was so deeply rooted in the minds of great numbers, as to afford a wide extent to the exertions of imposition or fanaticism. Either deceived them- selves by a heated imagination, or desirous to impose upon others, several represented themselves as celestial beings, sent down upon earth to purify corruption and destroy error. Among the most consi- derable of these impostors were Simon Magus and his disciple Menan- der, whose pernicious tenets were similar in many respects. Simon, who taught his doctrines about the year 35, asserted that he was the great power of God, that he descended from heaven to deliver man, that he had assumed the human form, and that, though he had appa- rently suffered death in Judea, he had not in reality. He taught farther, that all human actions are in themselves indifferent, and allowed his followers to indulge themselves in the greatest licentiousness. [Lard- ner's Hist, of Heretics. Euseb. lib. ii, c. 13.) He ascribed to his mistress Helena the production of angels, and to these angels the crea- tion of the world ; and composed books for the use of his followers, which he attributed to Christ and the apostles. Ecclesiastical history presents us with an account of several more absurdities which were blended with Christianity at a very early period. But these different modifications of folly would afford a very tedious and unpleasing, as well as a very unprofitable detail. CHAPTER V. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIRST CENTURY. Little use made of human learning in this century— Clemens— Barnabas— Pap:as- [gnatius — Public schools. The little assistance derived by Christianity from the wealth oi dignity of its first professors has already been observed ; nor, if we except the apostolical writings, were the compositions of the Christian writers in the first century so distinguished, either by their number or eloquence, as to force themselves into the notice, or captivate the taste of mankind. The purity of its doctrines, and the virtues of its pro- fessors, were the instruments for opening the human heart to conviction and to the truth of this revelation. Cent. I.] history of the church. 31 Among the writers of this century, the most distinguished place, after tlie inspired penmen, is due to Clemens, the friend and fellow labourer of St. Paul, who describes him as having " his name written in the book of life." There are extant two epistles to the Corinthians, which are ascribed to him ; but the latter is generally reputed not genuine. Clemens Aiexandrinus seems to acknowledge only one {Strom, lib. i, iv, v, vi.) Eusebius speaks of it in the singular. He is mentioned by Irenaeus as the third bishop of Rome. [Iren. lib. iii, c. 3.) The epistle, which is accounted genuine, is written in a truly apostolic ipirit, and with great simplicity of style. Several spurious compositions were falsely attributed to Clemens. Among others, it was asserted that he assisted the twelve apostles in compiling what are called the apostolic constitutions, and in fact acted as their amanuensis. The constitutions however are, in the judgment of the acute and able Jortin, and in that of other learned men, a despicable forgery. The epistle ascribed to Barnabas was probably written by an unknown author, who assumed the name of that apostle. Of the writings of Papias, the disciple of the Evangelist John, and the first propagator of the doctrine of a millennium, nothing remains but the fragments of an historical performance. The Pastor of Hennas is generally allowed to be genuine, and it is also probable that it was the work of that Hernias who is spoken of by St. Paul, though some have ascribed it to a certain Hermas, or Hermes, brother to Pius bishop of Rome, who lived in the succeeding century. The work is entirely allegorical, consisting of visions and similitudes. Like all works of this nature, it is extremely unequal as a composition, and I confess but little satisfactory to my judgment. It was however in high estimation in the early ages, and is spoken of as Scripture both by Irenaeus and TertuUian. {De Pud. 10.) One of the most excellent and valuable characters in the latter part of this century was St. Ignatius, the second bishop of Antioch, who, as he is considered as one of the apostolic fathers, is classed in this century, though in reality he did not suffer martyrdom till 107. It is to the disgrace of the otherwise moderate and upright Trajan, that by his sentence this venerable man was condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts at Rome ; a sentence which he received without dismay and even with satisfaction. He has left behind him several epistles to the different Churches. It has been thought that the shorter epistles bear stronger marks of authenticity than the larger. They were written in his journey from Syria to the Roman capital, with a spirit and force which never deserted him under the insolent treatment of the band appointed to conduct him, and in the prospect of those cruel suff'erings which terminated his existence. In our account of authors in this century it would be improper to omit noticing two, who however cannot strictly be classed with the Christian writers. The first was Philo, a Jew, who applied the philo- sophy of Plato to the illustration of Scripture, and was m high repute with his countrymen. The other was of the same nation, and, outwardly at least, of the same religion, but still more illustrious as an author. The reader will anticipate the name of Josephus, whose history of the Jews is so uni- rersally popular. Being taken prisoner by Vespasian, he was treated 32 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I. with great kindness by that emperor, and seems to have returned the favour by a profusion of flattery. From some slight but respectful alhi- sions to Christianity, however, which appear in his works, Mr. VVhiston and other learned persons have conjectured that he was in reality an Ebionite Christian, but cautiously concealed his religion both from the jealousy of his own nation and that of the Romans. Foundations for securing a succession of advocates for the truth were very early established. Public schools were erected for instruct- ing children in the Christian faith ; and several seminaries, upon still more extensive plans, were founded in several cities ; in which those who were advanced in years, particularly those who were intended for the ministry, were instructed both in Divine and human erudition. One was erected at Ephesus by St. John ; another by Polycarp, at Smyrna ; and a third, which far surpassed the rest in reputation, at Alexandria is supposed to have been founded by St. Mark. Cr.NT. II.l HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 93 THE SECOND CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Cause? assigned for the rapid progress of Christianity — Translation of the Scriptures nlo Latin — Trajan — Platonism — Alexandrian Christians — Origin of Moniiery — Persecu- oiis — Adrian — Antoninus — Rebellion of the Jews — Martyrs — Inquiry concerning the ceasing of miraculous powers. The Christian religion, during the first century, had acquired con- siderable stability and extent. In the second, its conquests became still farther expanded. Far from being confined to the poor, the illiterate, or the wretched, who sought in the belief of immortality a refuge from the miseries of life, its truths were received and acknow- ledged by the rich, {Plin. Epist. x, 97,) the accomplished, (Aristides,) and the learned, {Justin Martyr, Clemeiis Alexandrinus.) Paganism lamented the desertion of her temples, the neglect of her victims, and the increase of a power which threatened her with unavoidable de- struction. Among the secondary causes for the success of Christianity, none could be more persuasive, none indeed equally powerful with the marked virtues and distinguished purity of its early professors. Re- linquishing the delights and the splendour of vanity, they voluntarily renounced their possessions for the relief of their indigent brethren ; but these renunciations, unlike those of the heathen philosophers, were not sacrifices of sensuality at the shrine of pride ; they pro- ceeded from the purest motives, and were performed with the sub- imest views. This propriety of conduct, so necessary to the credit and support of a rising sect, was attested by their governors, witnesses of indisputable authority, since they regarded the doctrines of this new religion with abhorrence, and its professors with contempt. The con- trast between their resigned and devout manners, and the conduct of the other subjects of the Roman empire, during a season of peculiar calamity, is strongly marked by the discriminating and unprejudiced pen of Marcus Aurelius. {Marcus Aurelius rescript. Euseb. lib. iv, c. 13.) No pretext, except their confirmed abhorrence for the popular superstition, was afforded by them for the persecutions in which they were involved. They could assert with confidence, and the assertion was uncontroverted before the tribunal of their judge, that far from being engaged in any unlawful conspiracy, they were bound by a solemn obligation to abstain from those crimes which disturb the private or public peace of society, from theft, sedition, adultery, per- jury, or fraud. To their freedom from these vices they added a warm and active charity — charity not confined to the particular society to which they belonged, nor even to the whole Christian community, but extending to all, however difTerent in religious opinions. {Plin. Epist X, 97.) 34 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH [CeNT. 11. The validity of the Gospel revelation was, even before the end of the first century, submitted to the general consideration of mankind. Nearly the whole of the Scriptures was before that period translated iiito Laiin, a language so well and so extensively known as to be understood even in the remotest parts of the Roman empire. The reception of these sacred books at a period when from their recent dates the truth of every circumstance might be without difficulty ascer- tained, is one among the numerous proofs of the truth of the Gospel, Nor were the errors of the first sectaries without a beneficial influence upon the Christian Church. The Gnostics, who denied any revelation antecedent to that by Christ Jesus, opened a door of communion to the pagan converts, who, with that pride inherent in man, could not at once be made to conceive that they had haughtily rejected a revelation so long and so fully established. The conduct of the Roman emperors toward the Christians in the second century, though sometimes harsh and cruel, yet upon the whole was mild and tolerant. The decrees of Trajan respecting them were softened by the counsels and influence of the mild and beneficent Pliny. Their enemies were forbidden to produce any anonymous accusations against them, and they were left at liberty to retire from observation. The number of Gentile converts was greatly augmented, and the Christian Church was established in very remote parts of the Roman empire. It is to be lamented, but must not be concealed, that all the members of this communion were not worthy of the advantages they enjoyed. Greatly enlarged in its numbers, it is not indeed wonderful that some should have been admitted into the Christian communion whose virtue melted in the intense heat of persecution, or whose piety had been the transient effect of a momentary impression ; nor could the defection of such of its votaries have materially injured the Christian cause. But the simple and majestic fabric reared by Christ and his apostles was in some degree undermined in its foundation by the prevalence of an opinion which was disseminated in this century, that the whole duties of religion were not equally incumbent upon all, but that a sub- limer degree of virtue was to be pursued and attained by those who in solitude and contemplation aspired to an intimate communion with the Supreme Being, while inferior attaininents were sufficient for men who were engaged in the active employments of life. In consequence of this absurd opinion, the moral doctrines of Christianity were divided into precepts and counsels, the former of which distinguish those laws which are of universal obligation, and the latter those which relate to the conduct of Christians of superior merit and sanctity. These opinions were propagated with great reputation, toward the close of the second century, by Ammonius Saccus, who taught in the school of Alexandria. This person, a professed follower of the Platonic phi- losophy,* maintained not merely with the primitivp Eclectics, that truth and falsehood were blended in the opinions of every sect, but that the great principles of all truth, whether philosophical or religious, * The Platonic philosophy took its rise, not from the doctrines of Plato, but from the belief of its professors, that the sentiments of Plato respecting the Deity and the invisible world were much more sublime and rational than those of the other philo* eophers. CkNT. II.] H'STORY OK THE CHURCH. 35 were equally discoverable in all sects ; and that the only difference between them consisted in a diflerent mode of expression, and in some points of little or no importance. By a proper interpretation of these sentiments, he contended that all sects, whether philosophical or reli- gious, might easily coalesce in this universal philosophy, which, however then perverted, was the great source of all the religious opinions that prevailed in the world ; but thai in order to this the fables of the priests were to be removed from paganism, and the comments. and interpreta- tions of the disciples of Jesus from Christianity. He asserted that the errors of paganism proceeded from the symbols and fictions under which, according to the eastern manner, it had been inculcated by the ancients; that in time these were erroneously understood in a literal sense, whence the invisible beings who were placed by the Deity in different parts of the universe, as his ministers, were converted by the suggestions of superstition into gods, and worshipped as such, though in fact deserving only an inferior kind of homage. Jesus Christ he considered as an excellent being, the friend of the Deity ; but supposed that his design in descending upon earth was not to abolish the worship of demons, but to purify the ancient religion and restore the true phi- losophy— the great path of truth from which all had wandered, but that his disciples had manifestly corrupted the doctrines of their Divine Master. Ammonius adopted the doctrines of the Egyptians concerning the universe and the Deity, as constituting one great whole ; the eternity of the world, the nature uf souls, the empire of providence, and the government of tJie world by demons. These sentiments he associated with the doctrines of Plato, by adulterating some of the opinions of that philosopher, and forcing his expressions from their obvious and literal sense ; and to complete his conciliatory scheme for the restora- tion of true philosophy and the union of its professors, he interpreted so artfully the doctrines of the other philosophical and religious sects that they appeared closely to resemble the Egyptian and Platonic systems. This philosophical system was soon embraced by those among the Alexandrian Christians who were desirous to unite the profession of the Gospel with the dignity, the title, and the habit of philosophers. The school of Ammonius* extended itself from Egypt over the whole Roman empire, but its disciples were soon divided into various sects ; a certain consequence of that fundamental law which all who em- braced it were obliged to keep perpetually in view, that truth ivas to be. pursued with the utmost liberty, and to be collected fro?n the different systems in ichich it lay dispersed. Hence the Athenian Christians rejected the opinions entertained by the philosophers of Alexandria. But all who aspired to rank with the new Platonics agreed in their opinion of the existence of one God, the source of all, the eternity of the world, the dependance of matter upon the Supreme Being, the nature of souls, the plurality of gods, and the method of interpreting the popu- lar superstition. The rules prescribed by this sect were extremely austere ; the people at large were indeed permitted to live conformably ♦ The credit of this school was highly advanced by the profound and inventive genius of Plotinusi, who disseminated its doctrines in Persia, at Rome, and in Cam pania. 36 HfSTOfJY OF THE CHURCH. (CeNT. 11 to the laws of their country, and the dictates of nature , but the vnse .vere enjoined to extenuate by mortification the sluggish body which confined the activity of the immortal spirit, that in life they might enjoy communion with the Deity, and ascend after death, alone and unincumbered, to dwell in his presence for ever. This philosophy, which involved the truth of the Gospel in subtlety and obscurity, and added to the doctrine of Christ the commandments of men, became in time extremely prejudicial to the Christian cause. It will be easily conceived that these opinions produced in time those A'oluntary seclusions from the world which confined or destroyed the utility of a considerable portion of mankind. But its tendency, how- ever injurious, was still less pernicious than an opinion derived from those philosophic sects,* who affirmed that it was not only lawful but laudable to deceive, in order to advance the interests of religion. This detestable sentiment, at first probably very cautiously propagated, and very sparingly used, opened wide the gates of falsehood, and in sue ceeding ages filled the whole system with absurd legends, pretended miracles, and that train of imposture which, while it disgraced human nature, was dignified with the perfidious title of pious fraud. Notwithstanding that during the greatest part of this century the Christians were suffered to remain uimiolested, the sword of persecu- tion was sheathed, but not thrown away ; and it was frequently sus- pended by a single hair over their devoted heads. Their peculiar manners, habits, and the zeal with which they avoided the feasts anxl solemnities of the pagan worship, were occasions of implacable hatred in their heathen brethren, who regarded them as unsocial and austere, considered their claims to superiority as arrogant, and, from not behold- ing any visible object of their worship, treated their pretensions to religion as improbable, if not impious. If they withdrew from them the charge of Atheism, it was only to load them with the imputation of human sacrifices^ and incestuous festivals ; to which practices they could alone ascribe their meeting in solitary places, without any of those appendages to worship which they conceived necessary to render their piety acceptable. The humane interference of the benevolent Pliny was insufficient to put an entire stop to the persecutions against the Christians under Trajan ; and, in the succeeding reign, Adrian was persuaded to mitigate, but not to abrogate, the penalties enacted against them. The calamities sufl^'ered by the Christians were not entirely owing to the instigations of their pagan adversaries. Their Jewish opponents had the address to increase, if not to excite against them, the popular resentment. The seditious spirit of this people was exerted also with e(}ual violence against the Roman government. They were engaged in several revolts, and repeatedly vanquished ; but so little was their rebellious spirit subdued, that, in the reign of Adrian, they openly assembled in very considerable numbers under one who, assuming the title of Barchochebas, [son of a star,] set himself up for their Messiah, and whom they acknowledged as their king. Their effijrts for liberty * See the arguments of Darius. (Herod, lib. iii.) t The fo\indatiori of the atrocious charge of sacrificing children on certain festivals was very acvitelv investigated by some learned men in the last century Some have supposed it to originate from the baptizing of mfants. Cent. II.] history of thi: cnuncn. 37 were however vain. Depressed by all the miseries of war and famine, .hey were, after a rebellion of four years, defeated by the imperial army. Incredible numbers perished by the sword, or were sold into captivity ; their leader, who after his defeat was denominated Bar- chosbeas, [son of a lie,] was publicly put to death, and their ancient city razed to its foundations. The emperor, highly incensed by the repeated seditions of this turbulent people, determined to inflict upon the remaining Jews a severe and continued punishment. For this purpose, after building a new city called yElia Capitolina upon the ruins of Jerusalem, he prohibited the Jews, under the severest penal- ties, from approaching its precincts. Many of them, however, still remained in Palestine, and it was not till after repeated revolts that they were reduced to subjection. In the succeeding reign of Antoninus Pius, the disciples of Christ were again involved in a partial persecution in consequence of an earthquake in Asia, which they were accused of having provoked by their neglect of the gods, and their impious refusal to deprecate their wrath. This persecution was, however, confined to some provinces ; and an apology by Justin Martyr for the Christian religion, which is still extant, being put into the hands of this excellent monarch, he had the good sense and justice to perceive their innocence, atid to publish an imperial edict, prohibiting in future all severities toward them. Antoninus, it is well known, was succeeded by the celebrated Stoic, .Marcus Aurelius. During the dawn of his reign the Christians enjoyed the beneficial influence of philosophy ; but it was soon clouded by his avowed dislike, and numbers of both sexes became the victims of a persecution which, though connived at and even encouraged by the most philosophic and accomplished of the Roman emperors, vied in cruelty with that of Nero. As the character of Trajan is sullied by the martyrdom of Ignatius, so the reign of Marcus is for ever disgraced by the sacrifice of the venerable Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, the friend and companion of St. John. A few days previous to his death he is said to have dreamed hat his pillow was on fire. When urged by the proconsul to renounce Christ, he replied : " Fourscore and six years have I served him, and ne has never done me an injury. Can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour ?" Several miracles are reported to have happened at his death. The flames, as if unwilling to injure his sacred person, are said to have arched over his head ; and it is added, that at length being despatched with a sword, a dove flew out of the wound ; and that from the pile proceeded a most fragrant smell. It is obvious that the arching of the flames might be an accidental effect, which the enthusiastic veneration of his disciples might convert into a miracle ; and as to the story of the dove, &c., Eusebius himself apparently did not credit it, sinco he has omitted it in his narrative of the transaction. Among many other victims of persecution in this philosophic reign we must also record that of the excellent and learned Justin. But it was at Lyons and Vienne in Gaul that the most shocking scenes were acted. Among many nameless sufferers, history has preserved from oblivion Pothinus, the respectal)le bishop of Lyons, who was then more than ninety years of age ; Sanctus, a deacon of Vienne ; Attalus, a native of Pereamus ; Maturus and Alexander ; some of whom were ^ 7 38 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. II devoured by wild beasts, and some of them tortured in an iron chair made red hot. Some females, also, and particularly Biblias and Blandina, reflected honour both upon their sex and their religion by their constancy and courage. The cause of paganism, however, gained not much by these cruel executions. The pious lives, the resigned deaths of several of the professors of Christianity in the second century, cried aloud, and the voice was heard. They had embraced the religion of Christianit} in the prospect of sufferings and death, and they were supported under these sufferings agreeably to the promises of the Gospel. The apolo- gies for their religion, which were addressed by several of the Chris tian writers* to the emperors, were appeals to the reason as well as to the humanity of those for whom they were intended. It is indeed probable that some of them were never honoured by the perusal of the monarch. But as they asserted facts, of which all might easily be convinced ; as the motives, the sufferings, and the conduct of the per- secuted sectaries were by these means more extensively known, it is highly probable that they largely contributed to diffuse the truth of the Gospel. To these causes for the extension of religious knowledge, must be added the forcible argument of miracles, which there is much reason, from the testimony of the writers of the second century, to be- lieve still existed. It does not, indeed, appear at what period of time the miraculous powers which had so greatly assisted the propagation of Christianity were withdrawn, nor is it at all necessary that the pre- cise time should be ascertained. Those who believe that God neither bestows less than is necessary, nor more than is sufficient, will easily conceive, that, when by supernatural means Christianity was widely diffused, and when, from various causes, mankind were disposed to receive the Gospel with less aversion, the powers which were no longer necessary were no longer given. Fraud, fanaticism, and credulity have continued miracles almost to the present time. It appears proba- ble, however, from the silence or the testimony of the ancient fathers, that miraculous gifts been me gradually less frequent, and in a very early period entirely ceased. The same suspicions which have fallen upon the later miracles have justly been applied to the later pretensions to a prophetic spirit. It is, however, probable that the gift of prophecy was conferred, though perhaps in smaller portions, during the second century, as it is mentioned by Justin Martyr, in his dialogue with Trypho. To these causes for the progress of religion must be added the labours of several missionaries, who, warmed with pious zeal, journeyed into remote countries for the propagation of truth ; among whom was the learned Pantaenus, who travelled as far as India. * Quadratus, Aristides, Athenagoras, Melito, Justin Martyr, &c Cent. II,] history of the church. 39 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, RITES, AND CEREMONIES. Creed of the Church in this century — Corruptions — Simple structure of the apostolic Churches — Functions of the bishops — Metropolitans — Mode of administering the saf-a- meni — Baptism — Festival of Easter — Christmas — Fast — Marriage — Ecclesiastical cen- sures— Controversy concerning Easter. Confining himself to those obvious rules of faith and practice which were appointed by Christ, and to the observance of those simple in- stitutions ordained by the apostles, the primitive believer pursued his way with undeviating steps : and, although, as we have already seen, the loquacious and controversial genius of the heathen philosophy had in the second century made some progress even in the body of the Christian Church, still the established creed remained in a great mea- sure undepraved and uncorrupted. In the invaluable remains of Irenseus, the bishop of Lyons, we find a compendium of the Christian faith, as professed in his time. "The Church," says he, " which is dispersed through the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their immediate disciples the belief in one God, the Father almighty, the maker of the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and all that in them is ; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made flesh for our salvation ; and in the Holy Ghost, who by the prophets revealed the dispensation and the coming of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, his birth by a virgin, his passion, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven in the flesh, and his advent from heaven in the glory of the Father to the gathering together of all things, and the rais- ing up of the flesh of all mankind ; that in Christ Jesus our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King, according to the good pleasure of the in- visible Father, every knee should bow of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue should con- fess to him ; and in all things he will execute righteous judgment ; both the evil spirits and the angels who sinned and became apostates, and the impious, the unjust, the breakers of ihe law, and the blasphemers, among men, he will send into everlasting fire ; but to the just, and holy, and to those who keep his commandments, and remain in his love, whether from the beginning, or whether they have repented of their sins, he will give life, and incorruptibility, and glory for ever." (/re- ntBus, lib. i, c. 2, p. 50.) The reader will easily perceive that this early creed has served as the basis of that which is now termed the apostles' creed, and which was probably compiled and digested in the succeeding century. From the writings of Justin, Clement, Theophilus, Irenaeus, Tertul- lian, and others, we have abundant evidence that the doctrine of the trinity was strongly asserted by the Church in this century against the sectaries of every denomination. It is indeed in this age that the word trinity appears to have been introduced. The fathers of this century in general are equally strenuous in maintaining the other articles of faith, as specified in the preceding extract. The moral principles of the Christian religion, however, in this cen- tury, appear to have suffered some in\ asion ; the text of the Scriptures 40 HISTORY OF IHE CHURCH. [CeNT. II, was attempted in some instances to be accommodated to the immoral practices of the heathens ; and the doctrines of different duties being requisite to different orders of Christians, and that it was lawful to deceive in order to advance the interests of religion, were propagated both in the discourses and writings of many of the early professors of Christianity. It is probable that, in the beginning of the second century, many of lh(! immediate successors and disciples of the apostles continued to j>ractise those few and simple rules relative to the government of the (Jhurch, which they had appointed or approved. The bishops and presbyters were still undistinguished by any superiority of station or difference of apparel ; they were still chosen by the people, and sub- sisted upon a proportion of the voluntary offerings which were paid by every believer, according to the exigencies of the occasion or the mea sure of his vi^ealth and piety. The bishop, assisted by the presbyters and deacons, to each of whom he distributed their respective employ- ments, superintended and regulated the ecclesiastical concerns of the society. He was the steward of the Church : the public stock was intrusted to his care, without account or control : the presbyters were confined to their spiritual functions, and the deacons were solely em- ployed under the bishop in the management and distribution of the ecclesiastical revenue. A decent portion of it was reserved for the maintenance of the bishop and his clergy, a sufficient sum was allotted for the expenses of public worship, and the whole remainder was appro- priated to the sick, the aged, the indigent, and the oppressed. Near the end of the second century the Churches of Greece and Asia established as a custom and a law, that the bishops of the Churches should meet in the capital of the province at the stated pe- riods of spring and autumn. Their deliberations at these meetings were assisted by the advice of a few distinguished presbyters, and the utility of them was so apparent that they were universally adopted by all the Christian Churches. The decrees which were enacted there were styled canons, and regarded and regulated every important con- troversy of faith and discipline. A regular correspondence was esta- blished between the provincial councils, which mutually communicated and approved their respective proceedings, and the Church by degrees assumed the form, and indeed acquired the strength, of a great federa- tive republic. It is not to be supposed, in this arrangement, either that the people foresaw the alienation of their rights, or that the clergy looked forward to that power which, in succeeding ages, was obtained by the ecclesias- tical order. The perfect equality of rank which had subsisted among the bishops in these assemblies was diminished at first, perhaps, by the ascendancy that a strong mind naturally obtains over one which is weaker ; and this inferiority was afterward confirmed by the necessity which arose of exalting one to the office of perpetual president, for the preservation of order in the assembly. The time when this dignity was first conferred is not precisely ascertained, but it is probable not till the middle or toward the close of the succeeding century. It was fifiven to the bishop of the principal city in those provinces where the synods were held, who was honoured with the appellation of metro* politan Cent. II. J history of the church. 41 The sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which was celebrated whenever the primitive Church assembled for public worship, was administered not only to the meanest, but to the youngest of the congregation. Its species were common bread and wine, which were consecrated by the bishop or officiating minister. It was given to children under the species of wine, and the observance of it was conceived of such pecu- liar importance that it was sent from the society to all the sick or absent members. Baptism was publicly performed twice a year. The candidates for this ordinance assembled in the church on the festivals of Easter and Whitsimtide ; and after a solemn declaration of their faith, and an assurance that they renounced the pomp and vanities of the world, and that they were determined to live conformably to the Gospel, they received the sacrament of baptism. This rite was admi- nistered without the public assemblies, in places prepared for the purpose, and was performed by an immersion of the whole body in the baptismal font. {Mosheirn' s Eccl. Hist.) It was also performed by aspersion or sprinkling. The sign of the cross was made use of in this rite, and a solemn prayer was uttered on consecrating the baptismal water. Adult persons were prepared for baptism by abstinence, prayer, and other pious exercises. It was to answer for them that sponsors, or godfathers, were first instituted, though they were admitted afterward in the baptism of infants as well as adults. The earliest and most express records testify that infant baptism was usual in the primitive Church. (Bingham's Eccl. Antiq.) Parents were originally sponsors for their infant children, and one sponsor only was required. In case of adults, the sex of the sponsor was the same with that of the person baptized ; but in the baptism of infants no re- spect was paid to this circumstance.* * In reference to the proper subjects of baptism, it may be observed, — that while the generality of Chrisiians agree that adult believers are fit subjects of the ordi- nance most of them admit, and contend, that infants, in conformity with the esta- blished order of the Church, are also equally entitled to the privilege. Though the infidelity and iniquity of parents may constitute a barrier to the Scriptural dedica- tion of their children to God, yet the promise of the Gospel is evidently to children in conjunction with their parents. That the rights of infants were so considered in the primitive Church, we have indubitable evidence from several of the ancient fathers. Justin Martyr, of the second century, when speaking of some who were members of the Church, savs, " A part of these were sixty or seventy years of age, who were made disciples of Christ from their infancy." Irenaeus, who flourished also in the second century, was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John ; and he makes this declaration, viz. : " Christ came to save all persons who by him are born again unto God ; infants and little ones, and children and youth, and elder persons." By being born again, he meant being baptized, as he has elsewhere clearly shown. Tertnllian, who lived in the latter part of the second century, says, " The delay of baptism is more useful according to every person's condition and disposition, and even their age ; but especially with regard to little children." It must be recollected that TertuUian is here opposing the baptism of infants, because he had imbibed the errone- ous opinion, that the administration of this ordinance secured the remission of all sins previously cominitteJ. But this opposition to it shows that it was then in practice. Origen, who wa? born in the second century, and flourished in the third, says, " Infants are baptize 1 for the remission of sins " He also says, "The Church hath received the traditi'-Ti from the apostles, that baptism ought to be administered to iifanls." Cyprian, who wae contemporary with Origen, informs us that sixty-six bishops, being convened in a council at Carthage, having the question referred to them 42 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. II. It is not easy to determine the period when prayers for the dead began first to be offered up in the Christian Church. The first author who mentions this custom is Tertullian. It is probable that this practice, which was followed by the doctrine of purgatory, was not in- stituted from a belief in that state, but from a conviction that all men are sinners ; to implore the Almighty to deal with them in mercy not in justice ; to distinguish between the perfections of men ; and as a testimonial of their belief in the immortality of the soul, which, how- ever, they conceived to exist in but an imperfect state of happiness, or to have its consciousness suspended till the general resurrection. '* whether infants might be baptized before they were eight days old," decided unani niously, "that no infant is lobe prohibited from the benefit ofbaptism, although just born." Gregory Nazianzen, in the earlv part of the fourth century, says, " The whole Church practises infant baptism ; it was not instituted by councils, but was always in use." Peiagius declares, " He had never heard even an impious heretic who asserted that infants are not to be baptized." He also asks, " Who can be so impious as to hinder the baptism of infants'!" Among the arguments in favour of infant baptism the following have been deemed conclusive : — 1. Baptism was evidently placed by Christ and his apostles in the room of circumci- sion, as an initiatory rite into the covenant of grace ; and as the infant children of be- lievers under the Old Testament were entitled to the covenant benefits of circumcision, the infant children of Christian believers are admitted into the covenant of grace by baptism. 2. Infants are declared by our Lord to be members of his Church. Thus Mark X, 14, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God." See also Luke i.x, 47, 48. 3. It is said in the New Testament that the apostles baptized houses, or households, of them that believed. Unless all these cases had reference to families of adults, which would have been most extraordinary, they must have baptized infant children with their parents. This opinion receives additional strength from several declarations in the New Testament, particularly the words of St. Peter, Acts ii, 39, " For the promise is unto you, and to your children." As many of his hearers were Jews, and as Peter himself was a Jew, he must have been aware that they would understand him as offer- ing the same covenant privileges to parents and infant children. The Jews had been accustomed to receive infants by circumcision into their Church. This was done in view of the promise that the Almighty would be a God to Abraham and his seed. They had understood this promise to mean parents and their infant offspring ; and this view had become familiar by the practice of many centuries. What other conclusion could they draw, than that baptism was offered to them and their infant children, when one of their own community said to them, " The promise is unto you, and to your children !" And if Peter was aware that they would so understand him, it is manifest that he intended to be so understood, or he would have spoken in terms in- dicating restriction. This he did not do, and we may, therefore, fairly infer, that he recommended the baptism of parents and infants ; which was evidently practised by this same apostle and his brethren when they baptized households, as well as on other occasions. 4. The antiquity of infant baptism, as proved by the foregoing quotations from the early fathers, furnishes evidence of its divine authority that cannot be successfiill) con- troverted. If the infant children of believers were not baptized in the days of the apos- tles, when did the practice commence 1 If introduced after the apostolic age, it must have been a great innovation. But no mention is made by any writer of its introduc- tion into the Church, nor does it appear that there even was any controversy about it, until it was feebly started by Peter Bruis, a Frenchman af the twelfth century. Ter- tullian opposed it ; but his opposition does not appear to have produced any contro- versy concerning its validity. Its validity he admitted ; but having embraced the opinion that baptism was attended with the remission of all sins previously committed, ho recommended the delay of it in many cases, but more especially in relation to infants. As no mention is made of the introduction of infant baptism into the Church at any time subsequent to the apostolic age, it evidently must have been in practice at that time. See Dwight's Theology, and Watson's Institutes. Cent. II.] history of the church. 43 It is highly probable that Easter was instituted as a festival at an early period in the Christian Church ; but the first observation of that season is very uncertain. The feast of Whitsuntide possibly took its rise in this century, as well as that of Christmas. During the first three or four centuries the nativity of Christ was celebrated on the sixth day, which is now called the Epiphany, in commemoration of the incar- nation ; and under this general name were understood both the nativity and baptism of our Lord, till the Church agreed to observe the nativity on the 25lh of December, when that and the Epiphany came to be consi- dered as distinct festivals. The whole of the time between the cele- bration of Easter and Whitsuntide, which was fifty days, was observed as a festival. It appears, from the authority of a w^riter of this century, that before its close several fasts were observed by some Churches. The Lent consisted of only a few days before Easter, {^Tertul. de Jejun., c. 14,) but to this were added the fourth and sixth days of the week ; the former on account of the Jews' taking counsel together on that day to put Jesus to death, and the latter because on that day he actually suf- fered. The weekly fasts were commoidy observed till the ninth hour, or three in the afternoon, and differed in that respect from the fast be- fore Easter, which lasted the whole day: they were, however, inter- mitted during the season between Easter and Whitsuntide. The union between the primitive Christians was so intimate, that it is probable few transactions of importance in their private concerns would take place, without mutual communication. Thus much, however, is certain, that all who intended to marry acquainted the Church with their design before it was completed. {Ignat. Ep. ad Polycarp, n. 3.) These marriages were preceded by the espousal, which took place a considerable time before the marriage was solemnized, by various cere- monies, and the man presenting his future bride with a ring, a practice which was adopted from the Romans. At the appointed time the mar- riage was solemnized by the priest ; the right hands of the contracting parties were joined together; and the bride, modestly veiled, after re- ceiving the nuptial benediction, was crowned with flowers. {Bing- ham's Ecc. Antiq. xx, 4.) Ecclesiastical censures, which are so necessary for the honour, the order, and even the preservation of a regular society, were publicly denounced against the offender who had relapsed into idolatry, or fallen into gross sin. Whatever his excuses, he was deprived of every part in the oblations, avoided by the whole Church, and excluded from the assemblies of the faithful. In vain he implored for re-admission into the society, till he was humbled by a public confession of his sins, and had given solemn assurances of his intentions to conform to the Chris- tian laws, and undeniable proofs of the sincerity of his repentance. Some of the Churches which affected great austerity utterly excluded the atrocious sinner, the heretic, or the apostate from the hopes of a re-admission into their communion. By degrees, however, this severity universally relaxed, and the gates of reconciUation were again opened to the returning penitent, who, by a severe and solemn form of discipline, had expiated his crime, and who exhibited a scene which might power- fully deter the spectator from an imitation of his guilt. The priest who had committed any notorious offence was no more exempted 44 HISTORv OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. 11 from the discipline of the Church than the most obscure sinner. The arms of mercy might again be extended to him, but not till he had first performed the lowest acts of humiliation and abasement ; had complied with the appointed rules for all excommunicants, prostrated himself in sackcloth at the door of the assembly, humbly implored the pardon «f his oHences, and made a public recantation of his sin. Nor even then was he restored to the honours of which he had been deprived. He was re-admitted indeed as a member of the general society, but his claim to the honours of the ministry existed no more. Besides the observance of the first day of the week, all Christians agreed in celebrating the seventh, in conformity to the Jewish con- verts. It was, however, observed very difi'erently from the Christian Sabbath. An observance of the festivals of Easier and Whitsuntide was esteemed incumbent upon all Christians, though they differed materially in the respect they paid to the lesser rites : while some ab- stained from the flesh of beasts which had been strangled, and from blood, others ate with impunity ; while some solemnized the fourth day of the week, on which Christ was betrayed, others observed the sixth, on which he suffered. Nor does it appear that those different regula- tions occasioned any uneasiness or scandal in the Church. CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SECOND CENTURY. v^rnostic Christians — Marcionites — Encratites — Carpocrates — Valenlinian Heresy — Monlanus — Praxeas — Jewish Christians — Nazarenes or Ebionites. He must be ignorant of the varying dispositions of mankind who can conceive that the difierent opinions which divided the professors of the Gospel, during the second century, into numerous sects, can possi- bly be ascribed to any defect in the doctrines of its Divine Teacher. Man is conthmally the dupe of prejudice and error ; and the various prejudices of Judaism, oriental philosophy, and paganism, may reason- ably be conceived to be almost necessarily blended with the religion of many of the first converts to Christianity. By far the greater part of the heretics of the second century were Gnostics, and derived their errors from the mixture of Christianity with the oriental philosophy. Their tenets are represented as so many different modifications of that fanatical system. The followers of Saturninus and Basilides, who may be considered as heresiarchs, and as having reached almost the summit of absurdity, spread themselves over Syria and Egypt, and propagated the doctrine of a good and evil principle, which was also inculcated by Bardesanes, a Syrian of con- siderable abilities. Basilides asserted that two of the Eons, which were produced by the Supreme Being, were the parents of iimumerable hosts of angels, the inhabitants of three hundred and sixty-five heavens, which were under the dominion of an omnipotent governor, named Abraxas. This word was used by his disciples as a mystical ^erm, Cent. IL] historv of the church. 43 because it contained numeral letters to the amount of 365. This sectary admitted the validity of the New Testament, with such altera- i-rons as he conceived necessary. The condition he required from his followers was a continual silence for five years ; a very proper method, as is observed by Le Cierc, to make an experiment of their folly. The fanciful Cerdon, a native also of the warm climate of Syria, and Marcion, son to the bishop of Poutus, erected on the foundation of the Gnostics a structure of considerable extent. They taught their doc- trines conjointly at Rome. To the two principles, already admitted by the Gnostics, they added a third, whom they conceived to be the Creator of the world, and the God of the Jews, and asserted that he was in a state of continual hostility with the evil principle, but desi- rous of usurping the place of the Supreme Being. Mankind, they asserted, was governed despotically by the two former of these beings, but added that the Supreme had sent down his own Son for the deli- verance of all who, by self-denial and austerity, sought to obtain that happiness. The followers of Cerdon and Marcion were distinguished by the name of the latter. They entirely rejected the Old Testament, and the whole of the New, except part of the Gospel of St. Luke, and ten epistles of St. Paul, which were greatly interpolated. This sect was diffused, not only through Rome and Italy, but extended itself over Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. The austerities of the Encratites, the disciples of the learned Tatian, greatly exceeded even those of the Marcionites. They held matter as the source of all evil, and therefore condemned the most innocent gratifications. They were indeed so abstemious as to give only water in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The creation of the world was considered by them as the work of a deity of an inferior nature to the Supreme Being, and the body of Christ as an appearance, not a reality. Carpocrates, though likewise a convert to the tenets of Gnos- ticism, was distinguished by manners exactly the reverse of the followers of Tatian. He asserted that good and evil were the mere result of opinion ; that faith and charity were alone essential to salvation ; and that the passions being implanted in man by the Supreme Being, obe- dience to their dictates was the duty of all mankind. These opinions, so well calculated to flatter the corrupt propensities of human nature, were extensively received. To these Carpocrates added a disbelief of the resurrection of the body, and many opinions which blended Chris- tianity with oriental philosophy. Perhaps this heretic is the first who asserted the simple humanity of Christ, who, he contended, was only distinguished from the rest of mankind by his superior virtue Whether we consider the greatness of its reputation, tVie numbers of its votaries, or the regularity of its system, the Valentinian heresy holds the most distinguished rank among those which pervaded this century. Its founder, Valentine, incensed at having been refused the rank of bishop, rejected orthodoxy, and taught his doctrines at Rome, whence they were difl^used through Europe, Africa, and Asia. Refining upon the established genealogies of the Eons, he arranged and named them according to his own inventive imagination, aad assigned to each his proper situation and employment. A system which consisted only of a certain arrangement of qualities or attributes which composed the Deity and the inferior beings, admitted of considerable alterations according to 46 HISTORY OF THE CHUKCH. [CeNT. If the caprice of those by whom it was professed ; and among the nume« rous disciples of Valentine there were few who contented themselves with the fancies which were already prepared for their reception. Montanus, a native of Ardabon, in Mssia, affected to believe him- self the paraclete or comforter, and that he was sent to perfect ihe moral doctrines of Christ. He made a distinction between the Com- forter promised by Christ to his apostles, and the Holy Spirit which was shed upon them on the day of pentecost, and considered the former as a Divine teacher, which character he himself assumed. He and his followers pretended to the gift of prophecy, and extraordinary illumina- tion, and were distinguished by their extreme austerity. Not less averse to the arts which improve, than to the iimocent enjoyments which embellish human life, Montanus anathematized all those sciences which have polished or entertained mankind. Not merely the male, but even the female disciples of this heretic pretended to the gifts of inspiration ; among whom two ladies of distinguished quality resigned their husbands, and every delightful domestic connection, to preach in public according to the dictates of their prophetic spirit, which was generally exerted in denunciations of wo to the world, particularly to the Roman empire. The most celebrated of his disciples was the ingenious and learned, but austere and censorious Tertullian. Numerous were the different sects which arose in this century ; but many of them had no other foundation than some variation from the heresies already noticed. Theodotus, a tanner, but a learned and in- genious man, asserted the simple humanity of Jesus Christ; while Praxeas, on the contrary, contended that the union between God and Christ was so intimate that the Supreme Being had suffered with him. The followers of Praxeas were, in consequence of this opinion, styled Patripassians. It has been observed that, on the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the Jewish Christians retired to Pella, a small city of Syria. In this situation, interdicted, along with their brethren of the synagogue, from visiting the holy city, they languished during sixty years in absence from all which their strongest prejudices taught them the most fervently to revere. Wearied at length by the prohibition, which for ever de- prived them of the chance of revisiting the object of their dearest hopes, they evaded the law by electing, for their bishop, Mark, a prelate of the Gentile race, and abjuring the Mosaical law. Thus they obtained ad- mission into the holy city, and the standard of orthodoxy was again erected at Jerusalem.* During their occasional absence, the bishop and Church of Pella had still retained the title belonging to their former situation. A considerable part, however, of the Jewish Christians, still more ardently attached to the Mosaical rites than to Jerusalem, remained behind, and some of them are supposed to have retained the name of Nazarenes, and others that of Ebionites, as described in the preceding century. Abhorred and publicly execrated by their brethren of the circumcision for their attachment to Christianity, and despised by the Christians for their prejudices in favour of the Mosaical law, they were peculiarly oppressed and unfortunate. * It retaiiied, however, the name of iEUa, given to it by Adrian, till the time of Constantiiiu. Cent. II.] history of the church. 47 Traces of this sect appeared so late as tho fourth century ; they were joined by the Elcesaites, an absurd sect, which grafted many opinions derived from the oriental philosophy on this mixture of Juda* ism and Christianity. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN. Accession of learned persons to the Church — Justin Martyr — Polycarp — Irendjus — Clement of Alexandria — Hegesippus — Aciuila — Theodotion — Symmachus — Dionysius — Theophilus — TertuUian — Pagan writers : Plutarch, Epictelus, Antoninus, Lucian. More considerable with respect to situation, to numbers, to rank and influence, than their predecessors, the Christians of the second century acquired an important station in the republic of letters, and diffused or defended the truths of Christianity in compositions which, if not emi- nently correct, were rhetorical, and, if not peculiarly elegant, were learned, forcible, and manly. Succeeding ages have beheld with veneration the spirit, Integrity, and inartificial eloquence of Justin Martyr. This eminent person was born at Sichem, in Palestine ; and after wandering in pursuit of truth through every known philosophical system, he at length embraced Christianity, and, without laying aside his philosopher's habit, taught the doctrines of the Gospel at Rome. His faith, as we have already seen, endured the severe test of persecution, and he received the crown of martyrdom at Rome. Of the venerable and excellent Polycarp we have also already spo- ken. There is an epistle of his to the Philippians inserted among those of the apostolic fathers. Its objects are to enforce the moral duties, and to controvert the opinions of the Gnostics. It is generally allowed to be genuine. Irenseus, the disciple of the illustrious Polycarp, suffered martyrdom about the year 202. This pious and diligent prelate composed several works, of which, however, few remain. Some of the performances of Clement of Alexandria have reached posterity, from which we are jus- tified in believing that his erudition was very extensive, though he is frequently obscure. Hegesippus is placed by Eusebius in the time of Adrian. He was a Jewish convert, and wrote a continuation of the Acts of the Apostles. The Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew into Greek, during this century, by Aquila, a Jewish proselyte, by Theodotion, and by Symmachus, a native of Palestine, from whom the Nazarenes were frequently called Symmachians. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, wrote several epistles to the different Christian Churches ; but they are no longer extant. The same fate attended the voluminous works of Melito, bishop of Sardis. Three books against paganism, written by Theophilus, the seventh bishop of Antioch, and which appear to have been intended as an introduction to a larger work, were more fortunate. Apolinaris, bishop of Hierapolis. also wrote in defence of the Christian religion. But a still more able 48 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. II. defender was Athenagoras. an Athenian philosopher, whose presbia (or mission) in favour of Christianity, addressed to Marcus Antoninus, is still read and admired. The most voluminous Christian author at this period was Tertullian. who lived in the latter end of the second and the beijinning of the third century. He was by birth a Carthaginian, and possessed all the con- stitutional fervour natural to the sons of the warm climate of Africa. Disgusted with some affronts he had met with from the ecclesiastics at Rome, and incited by his own vehement and rigid disposition, he em- braced the opinions of Montanus, and attacked his adversaries with rather more warmth of temper than strength of argument. He was, however, learned, acute, and ingenious ; but severe, enthusiastical, and rather credulous. Among the pagan writers of this century were Plutarch, Epictetus, Marcus Antoninus, and Lucian : the latter of whom, if he did not favour Christianity, was at least a skeptic with respect to the popular religion of his country. In this age many of the Sibylline verses were proba- bly forged. Cent. III.] history of the chxtrch. ♦• THE THIRD CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURy. Rapid succession of the Roman emperors — State of Christianity under Severus — Per- secution— Alexander Severus — Maximin — Philip and Decius — Decian persecution — Gallus and Gallienus — Valerian persecution. Among several causes favourable to the diffusion of Christianity, we are, perhaps, not a little indebted to the quick succession of the Roman emperors. The events attending their lives, their deaths, and the artifices of their successors to obtain the imperial purple, naturally engaged much of the public attention, and suspended the execution of those sanguinary edicts intended for the destruction of the Christians. Several among the masters of the Roman world were also entirely unconnected with their predecessors, unbiased by their prejudices, and averse to their pursuits. In a race of princes, many of whom were accomplished, benevolent, and candid, there could scarcely fail to be some who would respect the abilities and virtue even of the men whose religious opinions they did not approve. A considerable part of the reign of Severus proved so far favourable to the Christians that no additions were made to the severe edicts already in force against them. For this lenity they were probably in- debted to Proculus, a Christian, who, in a very extraordinary manner, cured the emperor of a dangerous distemper by the application of oil But this degree of peace, precarious as it was, and frequently inter- rupted by the partial execution of severe laws, was terminated by an edict which prohibited every subject of the empire, under severe penal- lies, from embracing the Jewish or Christian faith. This law appears upon a first view, designed merely to impede the farther progress of Christianity ; but it incited the magistracy to enforce the laws of former emperors, which were still existing against the Christians, and during seven years they were exposed to a rigorous persecution in Palestine, Egypt, the rest of Africa, Italy, Gaul, and other parts. In this perse- cution Leonides, the father of Origen, and Irenseus, bishop of Lyons, suffered martyrdom. On this occasion Tertullian composed his Apology. The violence of pagan intolerance was most severely felt in Egypt, and particularly at Alexandria ; and among many instances of suffering virtue in that city, Eusebius relates one which is too extraordinary to be passed over in silence. PontamiBena, a woman not less distinguished for her chastity than for her beauty, which was exquisite, was condemned to suffer for her religion. To induce her to abjure her faith she was threatened with prostitution ; but was protected from the insults of the mob by Basilides, soldier to whose custody she was committed ; and impressed with 50 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. III. his kindness and humanity, she promised that after her death she would make intercession for his salvation. Pontamiaena suft'ered the most cruel tortures, and with her mother Marcella was burned to death, boil- ing pitch being poured over their naked bodies. After some time the soldier Basilides was apprehended for not taking the military oath, which was considered by the Christians as an act of idolatry ; and being questioned concerning the motives of his conversion, he replied that Pontamiaena had appeared to him in a dream, and had assured him that her prayers for his salvation were crowned with success, and that he would soon be called to enjoy the reward of his virtue. {Euseb. Hist. lib. vi, c. 5.) The beauty and interest of this narrative are not destroyed, even if we believe the dream of Basilides not to have been miraculous. A still more shocking scene was acted in another part of Africa. Four young men and two women were apprehended as Christians, and condemned to die. One of the latter, Ubea Perpetua, a young widow of a good family, had a child at her breast ; and the other, Felicitas, was brought to bed in prison only three days before her execution. They were, as usual, thrown to the wild beasts ; and the two females in particular, after being tossed by a wild cow and horribly mangled, while the milk was flowing from their breasts, expired with the greatest resignation and the most heroic fortitude. The interval between the death of Severus and the time when Maxi- min assumed the imperial purple, was a season peculiarly favourable to the Christians. They publicly appeared at court, and composed a considerable part of the household and favourites of the amiable Alex- ander, being protected by Mammea, his mother. The severities they endured from his successor, Maximin, were probably to be ascribed more to his displeasure at their attachment to the former emperor, and their having been protected by him, than to their religious principles. From the reign of Maximin to that of Decius, the Christians enjoyed still more favour than they had ever before experienced. The Emperor Philip, stepping beyond the bounds observed by Alexander, who had paid Divine honours to Christ, and had placed his statue or picture along with those of Abraham and Orpheus, in his domestic chapel, was so strongly and openly attached to them as to have given occasion to the belief that he had fully conformed to the doctrines of the Gospel, and had consented to make an humble avowal of his former guilt, and secretly to implore permission to enter the threshold of the sanctuary. That these opinions were fallacious is in the highest degree probable ; but thus much may reasonably be deduced from them that the clemency of the emperor must have been extremely favourable to the reception of Christianity among his subjects, and that the doctrines of the Gos- pel would probably be embraced by many timid but honest minds, whom the dread of a persecuting tyrant would have prevented from making an open profession of their faith in Christ. The accession of Decius to the imperial throne fatally terminated this state of security and peace ; and, during his short reign, the Christians were exposed to greater calamities than any they had hitherto suffered. Considerable numbers were publicly destroyed, several purchased safety by bribes, or secured it by flight ; and many deserted from the faith, and willingly consented to burn incense on the altars of the gods. The city of Cent. III.] history of the church. 51 Alexandria, the great theatre of persecution, had even anticipated the edicts of the emperor, and had put to death a number of innocent per- sons, among whom were some women. Tlie imperial edict for perse- cuting the Christians was published in the year 249 ; and shortly after Fabianus, bishop of Rome, with a number of his followers, was put to death. The venerable bishops of Jerusalem and Antioch died in prison ; the most cruel tortures were employed, and the numbers thai perished are by all parties confessed to have been very considerable. Gallus, the successor of the inhuman Decius, continued, during his transient reign of not quite two years, the severities practised by his predecessor. In 253 Gallus was killed by his soldiers, and was succeeded for a short time by ^milian, who was also soon massacred, and Valerian chosen in his room. The first years of Valerian were favourable to the Christians ; but the emperor was afterward made the dupe of Ma- crinus, a magician ; and in the year 257 issued severe edicts against the Christians, and numbers were sacrificed in different modes — some were scourged to death, some burned, and many perished by the sword. In 260 Valerian was taken prisoner by the Persians, and from that period the tranquillity of the Church was scarcely interrupted during the remainder of the century. CHAPTER II. doctrine, government, and discipline of the church during THE third century. Doctrines — Creed of Tertullian— Platonic Christians — Monkery — St. Anthony — Opi- nions concerning the state of the so\il — Public edifices erected for the Christian worship ^Encroachments of the clergy — New orders of clergy — Cot)iatiB — Parabolani^Acoly- thists — Exorcists — Notaries — Catechumens— Bii[itism, confirmation, &.c. — Penitential discipline — Fasts — Accommodation of Christianity to the prejudices of the people — Mys- teries. In the history of the preceding century the creed of St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, which he affirms to have been the general creed of the Christian Church, was distinctly detailed. The creed which Ter- tullian gives as the system of belief in his time corresponds in most respects with that of Irenfeus ; and it must have been composed at the farthest about the beginning of this century. " We believe," says the father, " in one God, but under this dispen- sation, (which we call Oikonomian,) that to the one God there is a Son, his Word, who proceeded from him, by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made. He, sent by the Father to a virgin, and born of her, became man and God, the Son of man, and the Son of God, and was named Jesus Christ. We believe that he suifered, was dead and buried, according to the Scriptures, and being raised by the Father, and taken up into heaven, that he sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead. Who sent, according to his promise from the Father, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Sanctifier of the faith of those who believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." {Tertul. ad Prax. c 2.) 52 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. Ill The opinions of the Platonic Christians, that the Scriptures were not to be understood according to their literal, but agreeably to their allegorical sense, had at this time deeply pervaded the Christian world. The plainest precepts of the Gospel were supposed to contain some latent meaning, and ample scope was opened to the most absurd and chimerical interpretations. With the opinions, the Christian teachers had adopted the habits and manners of the philosophic school. Thfy assumed the dress of the pompous sophist, and delivered the plain doc- trines of the Gospel with strained and studied eloquence. The belief that solitude, contemplation, and abstinence were necessary to elevate the soul to a knowledge of Divine truth, was derived from this philoso- phy, and was earnestly inculcated during this century. One of the first instances which we find recorded of these voluntary seclusions from the common affairs of life is that of Paul, who retired from the Decian persecution to the deserts of Thebais, where he resided ninety years. His example was not, however, a solitary proof of human folly; many others retired to forests, to caverns, and to dens, where they practised in solitude the most severe discipline, and made pretences, not only to extraordinary devotion, but to extraordinary illumination ; and a voluntary seclusion from secular affairs was commonly inculcated as the perfection of piety and virtue. Anthony, whose eventful, if not miraculous life, has been recorded by the pen of Athanasius, retired at a very early age into the Egyptian deserts ; and the respect which was paid to his character, and his wonderful relations, greatly contributed to extend the ardour for retirement. Some new doctrines concerning the state of the soul after death appear to have made a considerable progress during this century. The undistinguished believer was consigned to purification, and the expia- tion of his sins in a state after this life, and anterior to his partici- pation of the joys of heaven ; but the martyrs were supposed to be received to eternal glory immediately upon the dissolution of the body. The annual commemoration of their sufferings and victory was so- lemnly and fervently observed in the Church. In compliance with the superstitions of their pagan brethren, and with a view to recommend themselves to their favour, the Christians appointed the celebration of these anniversaries on the daj's appropriated to pagan festivals, {Greg. Nysson. Opera, vol. ii, p. 1006,) and introduced into them whatever might captivate the fancy, and recommend these rites to their heathen neighbours. We have beheld the Christians during the two preceding centuries compelled to assemble in the houses, perhaps, of some of the more opulent of their society, or in some secret and sequestered retreat. In the third century their appearance became more respectable, and they were either permitted to erect, or connived at in erecting, convenient edifices for religious worship. This season of external prosperity was improved by the ministers of the Church for the exertion of new claims, and the assumption of powers, with which they had not been previously invested. At first these claims were modestly urged, and gradually allowed ; but they laid a foundation for the encroachments which were afterward made upon the rights of the whole Christian community, and for lofty pretensions to the right of supremacy and spiritual dominion. Those lands which were purchased from the common stock for the Cent. III.] history of the chlrch. 53 benefit of the whole, were in time considered as the exchisive pro perty of the clergy, whose rights were represented as superior to the claims of earthly potentates, since they were derived from Heaven, and entailed upon the ministers of religion as the successors of the holy apostles, and of the Jewish priesthood. Several alterations in the form of Church government appear to have been introduced during the third century. Some degree of pomp was thought necessary to render so singular an institution respectable to the minds of a gross multitude, who are only capable of judging from external appearances. An attention to this circumstance was probably one among many causes for appointing new orders of ministers in the Church ; but Christian societies were not destitute of more cogent rea- sons. As their numbers increased, their labours became proportion- ably greater ; and it was necessary to provide assistance, and, more agreeable to good order, to assign to each his proper function. Infe- rior ministers were therefore instituted, who derived their appellations from the offices they filled. The Copiatae or Fossarii provided for the decent interment of the dead. The Paraobolani attended the sick, particularly in infectious or pestilential diseases. The Acolythists were employed in lighting the candles of the church, and attending the ministers during the celebration of the Lord's Supper ; and to the Exorcists was assigned the office of praying over pos^^essed persons at such times as no public intercession was made for them ; and vvhilc- they relieved the bodily wants of the miserable sufferer, whose chi<' residence was in the church, they relaxed his mind by leading him to some useful or innocent employment. {Bincr. Ecc. Antiq.) The Nota- ries were appointed to record every remarkable occurrence relating to the society of which they were members. The institution of this order is ascribed to Fabian at Rome, under the Decian persecution, at which time they were employed to collect the actions and memorials of the martyrs. These ministers probably derived their emoluments, not merely from the precarious bounty of the society, but from a certain proportion of the fixed revenues of the Church. The principal of them (no longer obliged to depend upon an uncertain subsistence, which was augmented or diminished according to the zeal or opulence of the community) had obtained, before the close of this century, the posses- sion of several considerable estates, which had been bequeathed or presented to the Church. The external dignity of the ministers of religion was accompanied by a still greater change in its discipline. The simple rules prescribed by the apostles for the preservation of good order in the church, branched out into so many luxuriant shoots that it was difficult to recognise the parent stem. In many societies all persons unbaptized or excommunicated were considered as out of the reach of salvation. Nor was the sacrament of baptism administered to any till the humble catechumen had been publicly exorcised, had acknowledged himself under the influence of a malignant spirit, and had submitted to a long preparation. He was then, in the presence of those already initiated, publicly admitted into the Church. This rite was performed in a mode extremely different from that which had been adopted in the two pre- ceding centuries. As the number of converts to Christianity increased, he older Christians, in order more effectually to judge of the religious 54 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ' [CeNT. Ill knowledge of those whom they admitted to communion, very judiciously lengthened their season of probation. The duration of this time dif- fered in different places, and according to the circumstances of the probationers, who, in cases of extreme sickness, or the general con- version of a whole nation, were immediately admitted to baptism. In general, however, a sufficient time was allowed for instructing the catechumens in the doctrines of religion, who were arranged in differ- ent classes, in proportion to the time they had passed in probation, or the progress they had made in religious attainments. The immediate candidates for baptisui registered their own names with those of their sponsors in the public dyptics (or registers) of the Church, after which they were examined respecting their qualifications. These regulations, which were eminently calculated to exclude unworthy members, were however accompanied by some observances highly fantastical and absurd. The catechumen was exorcised for twenty days previous to his baptism, in order to deliver him from the supposed dominion of evil spirits, and during that time was prepared by abstinence, the know- ledge of the Lord's prayer, and the Articles of Belief, for becoming a member of the Church. In imitation of the pagans, the Christians had thought proper to introduce mysteries into the religion of Christ ; and the administration of baptism, confirmation, ordination, the celebra- tion of the Lord's Supper, the Lord's prayer, and a number of other offices, were industriously concealed from the catechumen. The candidates for baptism were divided into classes ; one class was per- mitted to hear the sermon, but not the prayers of the Church ; another was allowed to be auditors of the prayers offered for themselves ; a third was admitted to hear the prayers for themselves and the Ener- gumens, (or Demoniacs,) and then formally dismissed. The catechu- men not only promised, by himself or by his sponsors, to renounce Satan and all his works, but accompanied this renunciation by some action expressing his abhorrence to the devil ; sometimes by stretching out his hands, as if to compel his departure, and sometimes by an ex- sufflation, or spitting, in order to intimate his abhorrence. In the per- formance of these rites, the face of the actor was directed toward the west, which was considered as the abode of darkness and the emblem of the devil ; while the east was regarded as the region of light, and the rising sun as a symbol of the Sun of righteousness. This renun- ciation was succeeded by turning the face to the east, and making a vow to act in conformity to the profession of Christianity, and a public confession of faith. Each of these ceremonies was repealed three limes. {Bingham, Ecc. Antiq. lib. ii, c. 7.) Confirmation immedi ately followed the reception of baptism. This ceremony consisted in anointing them with holy oil and the imposition of hands ; the former of which practices was probably introduced about the beginning of this i'.entury ; and to this unction was ascribed the effect of confirming the soul in all spiritual graces on the part of God and the confirmation of the profession of a Christian on the part of man. White garments were distributed to the neophytes upon their being baptized, which after being worn eight days were deposited in the church. The believer, who by this rite became incorporated into the society of Christians, was congratulated upon his admission with the kiss of peace, and was pre- s>eDted with a mixture of milk and honey, or milk and wine. After a Cent. III.] history of the church. 53 few other trifling ceremonies, he was permitted to partake of the sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper, which began in several of the more opulent societies to be administered with much external pomp. The excessive respect which was paid to baptismal rites was still farther augmented by the disputes which arose concerning it during this century, in which the necessity of rebaplizing heretics, who, after their defection, sought for re-admission into the Church, was strongly contended for, and oc- casioned the convention of several councils, the decrees of which were issued according to the prevailing disposition of the presiding members. A regular form of discipline began to take place during the third century in every matter which fell within the cognizance of the Church. At this time the penitents appear to have been divided into classes , the first of which were the fcntes or mourners, who were stationed in the avenues to the churchi where, in a prostrate posture, they suppli- cated for permission to perform public penance. After obtaining this request, they received the title of audientes or hearers, and had the privi- lege of entering the church, and of hearing the Scriptures and the ser- mon. The third order were denominated gennjlectentes or kneelers, were allowed to unhe in the prayers offered on their account, and stationed in the nave of the church, where they received the benediction of the bishop. The last order was that of the consistentes or bystanders, who were allowed, along with their less guilty brethren, to approach the altar, to join in the common prayer, and be present at the oblations ; but they were excluded from a participation of the Lord's Supper. During the season of penitence, the offenders were compelled to appear in sackcloth, or sackcloth and ashes ; and in some churches the men were obliged to shave their heads, and the women to wear a veil, and either to cut oft' their hair, or wear it in a dishevelled manner, as a token of dejection and repentance. The time which was appointed for penitence was protracted or extended by the bishop, according to the marks of contrition which were distinguished in the penitent, and this was called an indulgmce. He was invested also with authority to alter the nature of the penance. (Bingham, Ecc. Antiq. lib. xviii, c. 4.) At the c]f)se of the Decian persecution, the doors of the church were crowded by suppliants, who, to secure their lives, had consented either to make a tacit renunciation of their faith, by purchasing testimonials, from the magistrates, of their adherence to paganism and retiring from observation ; or who had reluctantly consented to burn incense, or to offer sacrifice upon the altars of the gods. These apostates were called Libellatici, Thurificati, and Sacrificati. Their success was various ; to some the gates of reconciliation were at once opened ; against others they were°securely closed, and that not always in proportion to the guilt of the offender, but to the accus'omed lenity or rigour of the Church to which he belonged. A spirited and rigorous controversy arose on this occasion, particularly in Africa, in which the eloquence and the ardour of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, at length prevailed ; and it was enacted that those who had obtained' testimonials frotn the magistrates of hav- ing offered adoration to the gods of the empire should be admitted to a reconciliation with the Church •, but that such as had publicly burned incense should remain in penance, and should not be restored to com- munion, unless they were in danger of death, and had comnienced penitents orevious to their sickness. A sentence scarcely less rigid was 56 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. Ill, pronounced against the ecclesiastic who had lapsed into idolatry ; he was indeed admitted to hope that in time he might be received into communion with the Church, but he was for ever excluded from all clerical honours. It was, indeed, highly necessary to exhibit such a picture of severity in the Church, and of contrition in the offender, as might effectually deter his brethren i'rom pursuing his footsteps. The Lent we have already seen was observed only a few days before Easter. In the course of the third century, it extended at Rome to three weeks. It did not stop here ; before the middle of the succeeding age it was prolonged to six weeks, and then began to be called Quad- ragesima, or forty days' fast. (Bhighmn, Ecc. Antiq. lib. xxi, 1.) About the time of the council of Eliberis, Saturday was observed as a day for keeping the lesser fast in some of the western Churches, and three days of abstinence were observed in the week. In time, however, the fast on Saturday was observed with greater strictness, and that on Wednesday was wholly disregarded. {Bingham, Ecc. Antiq. lib. xxi, 3.) On the days of humiliation it was customary to pray in a kneeling posture, contrary to the practice of offering their devotions standing, which was usual at those periods when any joyful event was comme- morated, or any festival observed. The increasing passion for austeri- ties which during this century was so observable must be ascribed to the increasing belief in the power of malignant spirits, who were sup- posed to be continually inciting men to the commission of evil, and whose influence was thought to be considerably diminished by absti- nence and mortification. This opinion may easily be traced into the Gnostic philosophy, which insensibly became interwoven with the doctrines of Christianity ; but a great number of those rites which were introduced into the discipline of the Church can onlv be considered as an accommodation to paganism. It would be extremely uncandid to suppose that, in the adaptation of these rites, those by whom they were introduced saw the extent to which they would afterward proceed, or conceived the vast accessions of power and wealth which would accrue from them to the rulers of the Church. Matters apparently trifling in themselves might with pro- priety be conceded to the prejudices of the multitude, and to the inten- tion of making Christianity more acceptable to the new converts. Many of the Jewish and pagan proselytes, who were really convinced of the truths of the Gospel, languished in the absence of ceremonies which are naturally adapted to the taste of the unreflecting multitude, while the insolent infidel haughtily insisted upon the inanity of a religion which was not manifested by any external symbol or decoration. In order to accommodate Christianity to these prejudices, a number of rites was instituted ; and while the dignified titles of the Jewish priest- hood were, through a compliance with the prejudices of that people, conferred upon the Christian teachers, many ceremonies were intro- duced which coincided with the genius of paganism. The truths of the Gospel were taught by sensible images, and many of the ceremo- nies employed in celebrating the heathen mysteries were observed in the institutions of Christ, which soon, in their turn, obtained the name of mysteries, and served as a melancholy precedent for future innova- tions, and as a foundation for that structure of absurdity and supersti- tion which deformed and disgraced the Church. Cent. III.] history of the church. 57 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE THIRD CENTURY. Manichajans — Noelians and SaLellians — Paul of Samosata — Novatians. The catalogue of heresiarclis during the third century is not so ex- tensive as that in the age preceding ; but the absurdity of the doctrines promulgated, and the numbers by whom they were received, are at least equally remarkable. In detailing the history of men whose writings the ill-judged piety of their own or succeeding ages has destroyed, and consequently whose opinions and characters have only reached pos- terity from the suspicious representations of their antagonists, we must however hesitate ; and we are bound to weigh every existing evidence before we pronounce a sentence of condemnation. That many absurd tenets were propagated, and that these were departures from the true faith, we have the most undoubted authority for believing : but when we perceive so many seceders from the Church, while they professed themselves the followers of the pure gospel of Christ, conceiving them- selves warranted in the most impious and profligate conduct, we can- not but regard them as under a mental derangement, and therefore rather objects of compassion than condemnation ; unless we admit that their tenets have been misrepresented, or at least exaggerated. The doctrines of self-indulgence have been ascribed as fundamental errors to few or none of the sectaries who arose in the third century. Their manners were in general austere, and their hopes of future hap- piness greatly dependent upon their rejection of present gratification. Every incitement of pleasure was to be contemned ; every allurement of sense was to be avoided and abhorred. One of the most celebrated sectaries of this period was Manes, by birth a Chaldean, and eminent for his learning, genius, and accomplishments. He was ordained at an early age a presbyter in the Christian Church ; and uniting his philo- sophical doctrines with Christianity, he formed a system compounded of both, which he conceived would meet with a ready acceptance both from the Persian infidels and the Christians. His success at first was, however, by no means adequate to his expectations. The Persian Christians, oiTended by his heretical opinions, excommunicated him from the Church ; and the magi were incensed at his attempt to reform the doctrines of Zoroaster. But notwithstanding this opposition, his opinions were received by considerable numbers in Persia, Syria, Greece, Africa, and Spain. They were indeed so artfully incorporated with the fantastical opinions of several other sectaries, that they found large parties by whom they were at once approved and afterward em- braced. Manes adopted the mystical language of the magi, and taught the Gnostic doctrine of two principles ; the former of which was a living, immaterial Light, existing from all eternity, and surrounded by hosts of pure and immortal spirits, the emanations of his essence ; the latter an evil power, called Darkness, who had resided from eternity in a remote region of infinite space, accompanied by myriads of evil spirits, created out of matter, of which his kingdom was composed. This heresiarch contended that there was a time when these different powers 58 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. III. were unacquainted with each other's existence ; but that the rebellious powers of darkness had, during a sedition in their own regions, advanced beyond their own limits, and, on beholding the delightful realms oi Light, had projected an irruption into his kingdom. God had opposed to these turbulent spirits i\ie first man; but his opposition being loo feeble, he had sent to his aid the living spirit : a part of the celestial substance however being seized by the demons, light and darkness became blend- ed. From this mixture, which was permitted by the Supreme Being, the living spirit separated those parts of the celestial substance which were uncontaminated with matter, and composed from them the sun and moon ; and from those parts which were corrupted only in a small degree, formed the planets. The remainder composed this world, where good and evil are ever blended and incorporated, and which is fitted for the residence of those bodies that were formed by the defeated prince of darkness, and endued with a soul composed of those parts of the celestial substance which he had seized. These beings are con- tinually obstructed in their endeavours to be virtuous, by other beings created by the same hand, but containing souls formed from corrupt matter. This fanciful system was the foundation on which Manes erected a farther superstructure. He asserted, that in order to obviate the power of those malevolent spirits who sought the destruction of virtue, the Supreme Being had produced two superior emanations, the Son and the Holy Ghost, consubstantial with the Father, but subordinate to him, the former of whom resides in the sun and moon, the other in the air ; where they exert their benign influences upon the bodies and souls of men ; but that God sent good angels and prophets upon earth to instruct man, and at length his own Son, who took upon him the exterior, not the nature, of man : that he instructed men in their true origin, the causes of their captivity, and the means of deliverance ; showed them, by his mystical resurrection and ascension, that death destroys not the man, but restores to punished souls the liberty of returning to their heavenly country : that after death the soul passed into other bodies, till they were either sufficiently purified to pass to the moon, whence after a cer- tain lustration they were conveyed for farther purification to the sun ; or else they were delivered to the demons of the air, by whom they were severely chastised, and then were sent to animate other bodies : that when all the parts of celestial substance shall be disengaged from mat- ter, a devouring fire shall burst forth ; the earth shall be cast into utter darkness, where the devils shall dwell for ever, confined with the souls whose indolence has prevented their purification. Austerity and mortification were the leading features in the charac- ter of the Manichaeans. The ecclesiastics and the perfect were strictly- prohibited from marriage, and confined solely to the enjoyment of spi- ritual delights. Every severity which could attenuate and mortify the body was required from all. The fanciful inventor of these fables, after various vicissitudes, is said to have been condemned to a cruel and ig- nominious death, by the command of the Persian king. The sects which were founded by Noetus and Sabellius, during this century, have been frequently considered as much alike in their tenets, and the followers of each have been distinguished by the name of Pa- tripassians ; but the two sects diflfered in several important articles Cent. III.] history of the church. 59 Noetus asserted that the Father had united himself with the man Christ, and was born and crucified witli him ; while Sabellius maintained that the Word and the Holy Spirit were only emanations of the Deity ; and that the former was united to the Son of God, the man Jesus ; and that, having ia him accomplished the salvation of man, he had diffused him- self on the apostles in tongues of tire, and was then called the Holy Ghost. Noetus was excommunicated and condemned in the council of Asia. Tliough the heresy of Paul of Samosata, the metropolitan of Antioch, appears to have been received by considerably fewer numbers than the opinions of many of the other sectaries, yet the distinguished rank of this heresiarch, and the vigorous opposition which he made to the decrees of those councils by which he was deposed, attracted general attention. He asserted the simple humanity of Christ ; but maintained that the wisdom or Spirit of the Father had descended upon him, dwelt within him, and empowered him to work miracles and instruct mankind. The splendour of this prelate's appearance vied with that of a monarch ; and the levity of his manners, it is said, his ambition, and the arrogance with which he propagated his opinions, were as generally detested as the doctrines which he taught. Several councils were convened on this occasion, and by their decrees Paul was degraded from the epis- copal dignity ; but under the protection of the queen of Antioch, he continued to enjoy the emoluments of his station during four years. It is certainly to the credit of Paul to have possessed the patronage and favour of so distinguished a character. The court of Palmyra was the resort of all the learned ; and is consecrated to the latest ages by the presence of the incomparable Longinus, who possibly might imbibe his taste for the Hebrew and Christian writers from the conversation of this distinguished sectary. The defeat of Zenobia was, however, a prelude to that of Paul. The contending parties agreed to submit the decision of their cause to the Emperor Aurelian, by whose sentence the rebel- lious prelate was deposed. The separatists who followed Paul assumed the appellation of Paulians, or Paulianists. The followers of Novatian, a presbyter of the Church of Rome, and of Novatus, a presbyter of Carthage, were distinguished merely by their discipline ; for their religious and doctrinal tenets do not appear to be at all different from those of the Church. They condemned second marriages, and for ever excluded from their communion all those who after baptism had fallen into this sin. They affected very superior purity ; and though they conceived a sinner might possibly hope for eternal life, they absolutely refused to re-admit into their commu- nion any who had lapsed into sin ; and separated from the Church of Rome, because the members of it had admitted into their communion many who had, during a season of persecution, rejected the Christian faith. 60 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. ill CHAPTER IV. OF LEARMNG AND LEARNED MEN IN THE THIRD CENTURY. Origcn — Cyprian, bishop of Carthage — Gregory Thaumaturgns — Dionysius of Alexan Iria — Methodius of Tyre — Porphyry — Serapion — Miiiucius Felix — Julius Africanus — Hesycluus — Luciaii — Painphilus, &c. — Apostolical constitutions — Longinus — Dion Gas )ius. The industry, the erudition, and the accomplishments of Origen justly entitle him to the most distinguished place among the Christian writers of the third century. His attention to the sacred Scriptures was early and indefatigable ; but though the principal, they were not the oidy objects of his studies : he was conversant in philosophy and polite literature, published several doctrinal and moral treatises, and entered the field of controversy with vigour and success. The number of his literary performances exceeds that of any other Christian writer in the early ages, and is indeed very considerable. He composed comment- aries, scholia, and homilies upon the Bible, parts of which still exist ; treatises upon prayer, and on the principles of religion ; and eight books in defence of Christianity against the attacks of Celsus, which are still extant, and are invaluable. His Hexapla was a performance of perhaps more utility than labour : it consisted in placing the Greek versions of the Septiiagint, of Synnnachus, and of Theodotian, against the text in the Hebrew. His greatest work was, however, the conquest of every corrupt propensity. His virtue, his humility, and his amiable manners, together with his eminent abilities, have for ever secured to him the veneration and regard of posterity, though they were insufficient to preserve him from the haired and calumnies of his contemporaries. Of such men every action of their lives, every circumstance in which they are concerned, is interesting. The self-denial so remarka- ble in Origen, throughout the whole of his life, was observable at a very early period. His father suffered martyrdom under Severus ; and the entreaties and even compulsion of his mother were barely suf- ficient to prevent her son, who was then only a youth of seventeen, from suffering in the same cause. When prevented, he wrote to his father, earnestly exhorting him to persevere in the faith, and caution- ing him against the entreaties of his adversaries, though the support of his wife and seven children depended upon his life. His zeal for the truth appears to have been unaffected and unvarying, and the whole of his life to have been employed for the promotion of virtue. Much of it was passed in indigence ; and though his virtues had attracted the notice of Mammea, the mother of the emperor, he died destitute of common conveniences. His early station was that of a teacher of grammar ; he was then chosen to fill the chair of the Alexandrian school, and contributed in a high degree to extend the reputation of that seminary. He was not, however, suffered to enjoy his situation in tranquillity : he incurred, perhaps the envy, certainly the resentment, of Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, by whom he was excommunicated, expelled from his home, and deprived of his rank as presbyter. His active endeavours to promote Christianity rendered him peculiarly ob- noxious to the pagans : in the Decian persecution he endured impri* Cent. III.] history of the church. 61 sonment, torture, and chains. He was at length delivered from perse- ;ution, and died under the reign of Galhis. The character of Origen, though uncommonly exalted and amiable, was not without a few dark shades. Charmed with the subtleties of the Platonic philosophy, he blended it with Christianity ; and main- tained that the Scriptures were not to be literally, but allegorically ex- plained. The celebrity of Origen, which continually increased, ex- tended this mode of explanation to perhaps a culpable excess, till it oecame almost general. Charitable and generous to others, his rigour ~jid self-denial were likewise carried to an extreme which proved pre- judicial to his constitution, and which sometimes extended to absurdity. Cyprian, who in the year 248 attained the episcopal see of Carthage, acquired a degree of admiration and applause from his contemporaries, which has not been denied to him by posterity. Aflable, virtuous, and charitable in his private character, he was zealous, spirited, and active in his public station, and possessed all those qualities which are calculated to attach friends, and excite the jealousy of adversaries. He had attained to manhood, and been some years a teacher of rhetoric, before he embraced Christianity; and his conversion from paganism, and zeal for Christianity, had made him so highly obnoxious to the people, that in the Decian persecution he was repeatedly demanded by them, and must have been sacrificed to their resentment, had he not secured his safety by a prudent retreat. In this concealment, imper- vious to all but a lew of his faithful friends, he contrived to regulate all the affairs of his Church, to which he returned at the close of the per- secution. He then entered into a spirited controversy with Stephen, bishop of Rome, concerning the propriety of re-baptizing heretics. The haughty prelate insisted with extreme arrogance that baptism admin- istered by those who had seceded from the Church was perfectly valid ; but he was resolutely opposed by the inflexible Cyprian, who asserted, on the contrary, that buptisin performed by heretics was null. How far each party was right in this question it is not the object of the present work to determine. The conduct of Stephen during the time of its being agitated was, however, extremely insolent. The severe edicts of Valerian, which were particularly directed against the ministers of the Christian Church, were fatal to the devoted Cyprian : he was first banished to Birtha, where he resided some time, and in the following year was recalled to Carthage, where he was confined to the narrow limits of his own garden. Still inflexible in the faith, he refused to purchase life by sacrificing to the heathen gods. He was then con- demned to be beheaded ; and the cheerful piety with which he encoun- tered death, together with the virtues of his life, occasioned a general lamentation for him, both among his Christian and pagan contempora- ries. Many of his literary performances related to the discipline of the Church, and are, together with a considerable number of moral and theological treatises, composed in a style uncommonly animated and pious. His desire of being rhetorical has, however, and with some reason, subjected him to the charge of turgidity. Gregory, bishop of Neocesarea, and Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, were both disciples of Origen, and each of them among the number of those who retired from the Decian persecution. The miracles which were ascribed to Gregory, and which obtained for him the surname of 6'.i HISTORl OF THE CHVRCH. [CeNT. Ill Thaumaturgiis, have bestowed upon him a degree of celebrity which he would never have derived from his few literary productions. Those fragments which remain of the works of Dionysius are not w ithout a considerable degree of ingeimity and learning : they are chiefly con- troversial, or relating to discipline. The literary abilities of Methodius. bishop of Tyre, are principally remarkable from the celebrity of his antagonist, the learned and sophistical Porphyry, a Syrian, of the school of Ammonius, who attacked the doctrines of Christianity in a voluminous and elaborate work, which was destroyed by an edict of the emperor in the following century. Among the lesser writers were Serapion, bishop of Antioch, Minucius Felix, who opeidy attacked paganism, and Julius Africanus, a man not destitute of erudition ; but the greater part of whose performances are lost. Copies of the Septuagint were diligently corrected by several different writers, pos- sessed of abilities very adequate to their task : among these were Hesychius, the martyrs Lucian and Pamphilus, and Pierius, who ob- tained the name of the younger Origen. The apostolical canons and constitutions, works which it has been pre- tended were composed by the twelve apostles conjointly vviih St. Paul, and copied by Clemens, who acted as amanuensis upon the occasion, have been supposed by some ingenious critics to have been fabricated in the third or fourth century. They affect to establish several points relative to discipline, which were not mentioned in the New Testament. The constitutions appear to be a compilation of old treatises, which con- vert Christianity into a mere ceremonial law. The eighth book has been ascribed to Hippolitus, an Arabian bishop, who composed a work called The Apostolical Tradition concerning Ecclesiastical Offices, and who has been supposed the compiler of the constitutions which he published at Rome. {Bingham. Ecc. Anttq., xiii, 5.) The honour of this impos- ture has not, however, remained with the good prelate, but has been bestowed upon many. Among the profane authors of thS third century Longinus the rhe- torician, and the historian Dion Cas:>ius, are justly entitled to the most distinguished rank Cent. IV.] history of the church. 69 THE FOURTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Diocletian — Gallerius Cesar; his hatred to the Christians — Persecution — Fire in the anperial palace — Christians protected in Gaul, under Constant ius— Death of Gallerius — Constantine the Great — Luminous cross — Constantinople — Devotion of Constantine — Sons of Constantine divided in their religious sentiments— Julian — His bigotry — Jovian — Valentinian — Gralian — Theodosius— Divisions in the Church — Conversion of Armenia — Ethiopia — Georgia — Goths — Laws of Constantine. The events of the fourth century hold a disthiguished rank in the annals of the Christian faith. During this period the trutlis of the Gos- pel were publicly received and professed by a succession of the greal masters of the Roman world. Christianity became the established religion of the empire ; and, in consequence of the contest between the orthodox and Arian parties, the primitive faith of the Church was nicely ascertained, and delivered to posterity in precise and determinate terms. No longer abandoned to the suggestions of fancy, the Christian pro- fessor was expected to conform to that rule of faith prescribed by the great leaders of the Church, or compelled to relinquish his title of an orthodox believer in Christ. The tranquillity which, after the Decian persecution, had with little interruption soothed and recruited the Church, continued during eigh- teen years of the leign of Diocletian, who assumed the imperial purple in the year 284. In this prosperous season the Christians publicly professed their religious sentiments, and were joined by numbers so considerable as to require an addition of several more edifices for the performance of public worship. But this halcyon calm was rudely interrupted. Gallerius Cesar, whose hatred to the Christians had already been manifested by his requisition that they should renounce either their religion or his service, had the address, by fictitious oracles, to terrify and irritate the timid and credulous mind of the emperor against his Christian subjects. Returning victorious from the Persian war, he urged his importunities with accutnulated force ; and after spending a winter at Nicomedia with Diocletian, in which the extermination of the Christians was the object of their consultation, he obtained an edict, enjoining that the churches and writings of the Christians should be destroyed ; all their civil rights and privileges annulled ; and that no pretence nor rank, however exalted, should be sufiicient to excuse them from punish- ment. {Lar.tan.i de Mort. Per/.) The day previous to the appearance of this edict, the persecution comntienced by the demolition of the principal church, which in a few hours was razed to the ground. — Alarmed and irritated at these proceedings, the edict, which was placed in the most conspicuous part of the city, was instantly destroyed by a Christian, who paid for his temerity by being roasted alive. Gallerius, whose, rancour to the Christians could be gratified by nothing short 64 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV of their total extirpation, and whose short-sighted policy did not enable him to perceive that slower and more insidious measures were more calculated to undermine the constancy of the Christians, and destroy their cause, than those violent methods which animated them to action and resistance, had recourse to new projects. A dreadful fire which raged in the imperial palace was attributed to the Christians, who (in order to produce a conl'ession of their guilt) were destroyed in consi- derable numbers, with every refinement of torture which cruelty could suggest. Some were broiled to death on gridirons, after being cruelly scourged, and their wounds washed with brine ; others were tlirown to wild beasts, and others starved to death.* The eflbrt was, however, ineffectual ; and among the various causes assigned for this conflagra- tion, pei'haps the most probable is that it was the act of the crafty and sanguinary Gallerius. This catastrophe was succeeded by numerous edicts against the Christians ; and a furious persecution raged throughout the empire, {Lactant. de Mart. Pcrf.,) except in the provinces of Gaul, under the government of Constantius, the father of Constantine, who protected their persons, though he permitted the demolition of their churches. During a series of years these sanguinary edicts were enforced or suspended according to the caprice of the several masters of the Roman world, or as their recess from the public concerns of an empire distracted by civil commotions afforded them leisure. Great numbers of the Christians suffered the severest tortures in this persecution ; though the accounts given of it by succeeding historians are probably exaggerated. There is, however, a sufficient number of well authenti- cated facts to assure us amply of the cruel and intolerant disposition of the professors of pagan philosophy. The human imagination was in- deed almost exhausted in inventing a variety of tortures. Some were impaled alive ; others had their limbs broken, and in that condition were left to expire. Some were roasted by slow fires ; and some suspended bv the feet with their heads downward, and, a fire being made under them, were suffocated by the smoke. Some had melted lead poured down their throats, and the flesh of some was torn ofi' with shells ; and others had splinters of reeds thrust under the nails of their fingers and toes. The few who were not capitally punished had their limbs and their features mutilated. It would be endless to enumerate the victims of superstition. The bishops of Nicomedia, of Tyre, of Sidon, of Emesa ; several matrons and virgins of the purest character, and a nameless multitude of plebeians, arrived at immortality through the flames of martyrdom. Wearied at length with contention, or moved by the excruciating anguish he himself suffered from a dreadful and loathsome disease, Gallerius indulged his Christian subjects in a transient respite from their sufierings ; which were, however, renewed by his successors, and continued, though with some intermission and mitigation, till the year 325, which restored tranquillity to the Church, and invested Constan- tine with the sole dominion of the Roman world. It is well known that Diocletian, as well as his coadjutor in the em- pire, Maximian, abdicated the empire. This transaction was succeeded * See Euseb 1. vi/i. He was an eye-witness of *' ruelties exercised at Tyro. Cent. IV.] history ok the church. 65 by eighteen years of discord and confusion, and the Roman world at one period was administered by six emperors. The rival princes, how ever, gradually fell before the united arms and superior fortune of Consiantine and Licinius ; and the former, impatient of a partner in the throne, turned at length his arms against the unfortunate Licinius, who was the last competitor that opposed his greatness, and the last captive that adorned his triumph. No character has been exhibited to posterity in lights more contra- dictory and irreconcilable than that of Constantine. Christian writers, transported with his profession of their faith, have perhaps magnified his abilities and virtues to excess, and thrown an almost celestial splendour over every part of the portrait ; while the pagan historians have spread their gloomy shades upon the canvass, and obscured every trait that was great and amiable. The precise date of the conversion of Constantine is, by the disa- greement of the respective historians of that period, involved in consi- derable difficulties. The miraculous circumstances with which it was said to have been accompanied are attended with some doubts to a skeptical mind. His father, Constantius, had shown himself very favourably disposed to the Christian cause, and Constantine gave early indications of a desire to protect and favour its professors. In the commencement of his reign he granted free toleration in religious concerns to all the subjects of his empire, and a full restitution was commanded to be made to the Christians ; but at the same time he liberally enriched the temples of the gods, and publicly worshipped at their shrines. A luminous cross, inscribed with the words, By this con- quer, which, when Constantine was about to engage Maxentius, (one of the rival emperors,) was seen in the air by the emperor and his assembled army ; and a dream, in which the Author of our religion appeared to confirm the prognostic of the luminous phenomenon, have been generally considered as the causes of his conversion ; but it has been objected, that after the date of this event. Polytheism was equally with the Gospel of Christ protected by the master of the Roman world. Great efllarts, indeed, and extraordinary abilities, are necessary to throw oft* at once opinions which have been sanctioned by long use and early prejudices. The political situation however of Constantine was pro- bably not such, while he was shackled with coadjutors, and labouring up the steep of ambition to the summit of human authority, as to enable him to make an open profession of his conversion. Of the sincerity of his attachment to the religion of the Gospel there cannot be a doubt, since it even degenerated into superstition. His temper, indeed, was naturally mild and tolerant ; and if he embraced Christianity with the true spirit of the Gospel, his not persecuting the pagans is the worst argument that could be produced to prove the insincerity of his con- vorsion. So early as the year 313, an edict was issued from Milan by the joint emperors Constantine and Licinius, which maybe considered as highly favourable to the Christians, since it authorized every subject of the empire to profess either Christianity or paganism unmolested; it also secured the places of Christian worship, and even directed the restora- tion of whatever property they had been dispossessed of by the late persecution. [Euseb. 1. x, c. 5.) The abdication and death of his col- 66 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I'V league, which left Constantine in the undisturbed possession of tho dominions of Rome, was soon followed by circidar letters from the em- peror to all his subjects, exhorting them to an immediate imitation of the example of their sovereign, who had embraced the Divine truths of the Gospel. He removed the seat of empire to Byzantium, which he em- bellished, enlarged, and honoured with his own name, and prohibited by a severe edict the performance of any pagan rites and ceremonies throughout the city.* His religious zeal augmented with his years ; and toward the close of his life several imperial edicts were issued for the demolition of the heathen temples, and the prevention of any sacri- fices upon the altars of the gods ; while the reality of his religious ardour was testified by every external observance which could demon i'trate his conviction of its truths, and his zeal for its propagation. Without having received the initiatory rite of baptism, or having been placed in the rank of a catechumen, Constantine performed many of the solemn ceremonies appointed by the Church ; he fasted, observed the 'easts in commemoration of the martyrs, and devoutly watched durirg the whole night on the vigils of the saints. In his last illness, he summoned to the imperial palace at Nicomedia several Christian bishops, fervently requesting to receive from them the sacrament of baptism, and solemnly protesting his intention to spend the remainder of his life as the disciple of Christ. Eusebius, bishop of that city, ad- ministered to him the sacred rite ;f and the emperor expired, after a short illness, on the 22d of May, in the year 337, aged sixty-four. The prosperity and happiness of Constantine were only interrupted by the theological animosity which divided his Christian subjects, and which the well-meant efforts of the emperor were insufficient to com- pose. The account of these contests belongs to a different section of our history ; (see chapter iii, of this century ;) but it is necessary to mention that the schism of the Donatisls, and the still more fatal Arian controversy, which involved the Christian world in contentious disputes concerning the person of Christ, distressed the mind of the monarch, and disturbed the tranquillity of that scene which he had flat- tered himself was to close with triumph the evening of his life. The Christian Church was protected and supported under the domi- nion of the three sons of Constantine, who, with very inferior abilities, divided and governed the Roman world. The religious opinions ( f Arius, which had occasioned such violent dissensions in the Churcli, were warmly espoused by Constantius, while Constantine and Constant, who ruled the western parts of the empire, were zealously engaged in the orthodox cause. After a dreadful scene of fraternal contention, Constantine and Constans were removed by death, and the imperial sceptre was again grasped by one hand, and that the hand of a professed friend to Christianity. But the unhappy disputes concerning the person of Christ, which disturbed the peace of every member of the Church, left them not in a situation io enjoy that blessing which had so ardently been wished for by their predecessors in the faith. The Arian party obtained the vigorous support of Constantius ; and the venerable profes- * Soz. lib. ii, c. 3. This is confirmed by Eusebius and Orosius, but denied by Zosi- mus. , , , J • J + After baptism, he laid aside entirely his purple and regal robes, and continued to wear a white garment till the day of his death. {Euseb. Vit. Const. I. iv, c. 62.; Cent. IV.] history of the church. 67 sors of orthodoxy were involved in calamity and opprobrium, and by threats and punishments were exhorted to violate their integrity, and to embrace the opinions of the emperor and the court. Julian, the nephew of Constantine, who on the death of Constantius ascended the imperial throne, was a steady and insidious enemy to the Christians, whose faith he had abjured, and whose professors he detested and despised. Affecting a liberality of sentiment which extended to every thing within its reach, he avoided an open persecution of the Christians ; but his attacks were artfully directed to undermine the very foundations of the Church. To effect this, he strictly prohibited the Christians from teaching philosophy and the liberal arts ; destroyed the privilege which had been granted to their society ; and exhausted all his powers of wit and sophistical ingenuity to exhibit them in a ridicu- lous and contemptible light. The deserted temples were once more opened for the reception of the multitude, and Polytheism reared her unnumbered heads in every part of the empire. To gratify his rancour against the Christians still more, the emperor protected and favoured the Jews, and resolved to rebuild their temple at Jerusalem. This attempt served only, however, to afford a farther testimony to the truths of the Gospel predictions ; for, considerable balls of fire are affirmed to have repeatedly issued from the foundations, and destroyed the artificers, who, after several attempts, were compelled to desist from their purpose. Had the apparently moderate measures of Julian been directed to an impartial toleration of all religious systems, much praise might be due to a man, who, though mistaken in a very important point, possessed the principles of benignity and candour ; but his rancour toward the Christians was marked and extreme ; he industriously fo- mented the disturbances by which they were separated, and plundered the magnificent church of x^intioch. The disgraceful feelings of re- venge instigated him to oppose a religion which had been so highly indebted for its establishment to a predecessor whose memory he detested. There were, doubtless, many traits of a superior under- standing in Julian ; but his philosophy was disgraced by a servile attachment to popular applause, by profound dissimulation, and by a superstitious regard to magic ; the certain proof of an unenlightened and contracted mind. There is the utmost reason to believe that the emperor's hatred to Christianity would have been still more apparently displayed had he not perished in the Persian war, in the second year of his reign. The death of Julian restored to the Church a protector in the person of the Emperor Jovian, who was raised by the suffrages of the army from a private station to the imperial throne. Jovian had scarcely assumed the purple before the religious commotions, which during the short reign of his predecessor had secretly heated the contending par- ties, burst forth with added impetuosity and strength. Every con- tender hoped to find in the emperor a protector, who, while he elevated their opinions into notice by his own profession, might blast and crush those of their opponents. He embraced the cause of consubstantiality, but without persecuting the Arians. His successor, Valentinian, pur- sued the same line of conduct, and was actuated by sentiments of liberality and toleration, never experienced by his brother Valens, who severely persecuted the consubstantialists in the eastern division 68- HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV of the empire. They again obtained an ascendanc}^ under Gratian, and Tiieodosius the Great; the latter of whom conceived the romantic project of heahng all farther division, by a convention of all the jarring sects, in which the subtleties of these mysteries might be discussed, and the truths of religion defined and established. On a cursory review of the events of the fourth century, it might be conceived, that however it had been afflicted by the severe persecution under Diocletian, the general state of the Christian world must have been more prosperous and happy than at any preceding period. Openly professed by the emperors, established as the religion of the empire, and the interests of the Church by every possible means extended and enlarged, one would naturally expect that this would have been the golden period of the Christian Church ; and that its professors, too near the fountain-head of truth not to imbibe the pure and unpolluted stream, and firmly secured in the possession of their Divine rights, would have enjoyed in tranquillity and innocence those blessings which their pro- genitors had looked for with anxious wishes and trembling hopes. But the unhappy disputes which had arisen concerning points difficult to be understood involved them in domestic evils, scarcely less pernicious to their prosperity and peace than the edicts of the persecutor or the sword of the tyrant. The consubstantialist, who believes Christ to be of one or the same substance with the Father, beheld with haughty contempt, or indignant scorn, the person and the followers of the presbyter Arius, while the Arian returned his disdain with implacable animosity. The historian Sozomen draws a very favourable picture of the general con- duct of the clergy during this period. The bishops, he says, were men of exemplary characters ; and the zeal and virtues of the presbyters were such that they conciliated more and more the affections of the people, and gained converts from paganism every day. As the Church however increased in numbers, we are authorized to believe that its native purity became in some degree contaminated. Calamity and opposition too are favourable to the promotion of virtue ; many of the professors of Christianity would naturally lose in ease and security a part of that integrity which distinguished them in the crisis of danger and of contest ; and the stock of piety would be little augmented by those converts, who now professed Christianity, not from a conviction of its truths, but either from an indifl^erence to any religious system, or a fashionable compliance with the faith of the court. The Diocletian persecution w^as preceded by considerable depravation of manners ; and before that had abated, the Church was a sufferer from internal dissen- sion, from the cabals of ambitious members, and from schism even among the reputed orthodox. From the year 330 to that of 370, the Persian Christians underwent a series of great sufferings, in which considerable numbers perished ; and their calamities "were renewed toward the close of this century. Many bishops and other pious per- sons were sacrificed in this cruel persecution. The extraordinary pains taken by Constantine for the propagation of evangelical truth were attended with uncommon success. It cannot be doubted but a multitude of nominal professors, influenced by the example and authority of the emperor, would enter into the Church. But its limits were extended to remote nations. The inhabitants both of the Greater and Lesser Armenia boasted the having received Cent. IV.] historv of thk ciirRcn. 69 Christianity soon after its pronmlgation ; but in this century iho tnn- narch Tiridates, with his court, puhUcly professed tlie truths of ilie Gospel, and established the Armenian Church. The Abyssinians, or Ethiopians, received the faith fr tacy b}' which it was extensively and deeply injured. Cent. IV.] history of the church. 73 signed to his brother of Constantinople a degree of rank only inferior to his own, and which, with his peculiar advantages, might tend to raise him to an equality with himself. It would be an endless and a useless task to specify all the different local or provincial councils which were held in this century. They were commonly summoned as the diff'erent parties of orthodox or Arians happened to be predominant ; and had for their objects the do- posing of bishops or the censuring of obnoxious opinions. It has been already remarked that, during the fourth century, the do3;rines of the orthodox were more fully investigated, and accurately defined, than they had been in the preceding period. All who assert- ed, with the schismatic Arius, that there was a time when the Son of God was not, that he was created out of nothing, or that he was of a different substance from the Father, were solemnly anathematized by successive councils, and declared the enemies of God. The term con- substantialists was conferred upon the opposers of the Arian doctrines by the council of Nice, the object of whose assembling has been already specified. In this council the Homoousian doctrine, or con substantiality of the three persons in the Godhead, was declared a funda- mental article of the Christian faith, and has been received as such by the Greek, the Latin, the oriental, and the Protestant Churches. Too fatally addicted, however, to verbal disputes, many of the orthodox party were for a considerable time divided concerning the term hy- postasis, which had been used in explaining the nature of the trinity ; and while some considered it as declaratory of one person, others con- tended for its signifying one nature in the Godhead. The use of this word was afterward restricted to person, and the distinction of two entire and perfect natures in Christ was fully proved and established. These doctrines concerning the nature of the trinity, which in prece- ding ages had escaped the vain curiosity of man, and had been left undefined by words, and undetermined by any particular set of ideas, excited considerable contests through the whole of this century. The semi-Arians violently attacked the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, which was in the general council of Constantinople discussed and defined, and the doctrine of three persons in one God established as the ortho- dox belief of the Church. The following may be considered as an exact summary of the orthodox faith at this period. It is a translation of the Nicene Creed, as it stands in the epistle of Eusebius to the Cesareans, in Athana- sius's epistle to Jovian, &c. : — " We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten ; begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God ; begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things wore made, things in heaven, and things on earth ; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down, and was incarnate, and became man, suf- fer»'d and rose again the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and comes to judge the quick and the dead : and in the Holy Ghost. And the catholic and apostolic Church doth anathematize those persons who say that there was a time when he the Son of God was not ; that he was not before he was born ; that he was made of nothing, or of 74 HISTORY OF THE CHURCE. [CeNT. IV another substance or being ; or that he is created, or chrngeable, or convertible." But whatever might be the advantages derivable from this preci- sion respecting doctrines, many of the practices encouraged by the Christians of the fourth century were far from conducing either to piety or good morals. Superstition assumed the venerable form of religion ; abstruse and fanatical explanations of Scripture bewildered the imaginations of the multitude ; and Christianity was defended, not by the invincible arm of simplicity and truth, but by the glittering and brittle weapons of sophistry and invective. An increasing vene- ration for saints and martyrs was greatly promoted, not only by the Christian emperors, who erected superb churches over their remains, but by the exhortations of the fathers of the Church, who inculcated the belief of extraordinary miracles performed by their relics ; and incited a degree of worship toward those departed saints, whom they represented as interceding with God in favour of those by whom they were invoked. About the year 386 the piety of considerable num- bers of the people consisted chiefly in the carriage and preservation of bones and relics ; and extraordinary revelations were pretended to have been made from heaven, for the discovery of the remains of cele- brated martyrs to the faith. Their bodies had commonly been secretly interred by the pious zeal of their followers in some obscure place ; whence, after the persecution ceased, they had been brought forth, and decently buried. This custom, in some measure, gave rise to the translation of relics, which was still farther advanced by a conformity to the practices of the pagans, who carried about the images of their gods with great solemnity. Constantine commanded the bodies of St. Andrew and St. Luke to be conveyed away from the sepulchres where they were deposited to the magnificent church at Constantinople, which he had dedicated to the twelve apostles. The remains of St. Stephen, after they had remained buried and unknown more than three centuries, were said to have been revealed by Gamaliel, the tutor of St. Paul, to the favoured Lucianus, a priest, and being discovered in the place to wliich he had directed the search, were removed with the ut- most solemnity to Jerusalem ; where they became so celebrated from the miracles they were said to have performed, that many devout visiters to Jerusalem enriched their native cities, on their return, with 8mall portions of these surprising remains. An oratory, or chapel, was always erected over this sacred deposit, which was called a me- morial of the martyr whose relics it contained. The tomb of our Sa- viour, at Jerusalem, was held in great estimation, and was resorted to by crowds of pious visiters, who carried away with them large por- tions of holy earth, which was highly prized. One of the most extra- ordinary discoveries of this century was that of the cross on which Christ had sufl^ered ; which was said to have been found by Helena, the mother of Constantine, on her visit to the holy sepulchre. What- ever may be the real history of this transaction, whether any disco- very was made, or whether Helena was a dupe or an associate in find- ing out this treasure, thus much is certain, that pieces of this precious wood were distributed throughout the Christian world, and the cross, according to the testimony of St. Paulinus, containing a vital virtue, in an inanimate and insensible substance, yielded, and c /intinued to CfiNT. IV.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 75 yield almost daily, its precious wood to the desires of an infinite num- ber ot persons, without suffering any diminution, or appearance of having been touched. [Tillemotit. Hist. Eccles., lib. vii, c. 5.) A de- gree of respect, not less superstitious than that paid to the wood of the cross, was demonstrated by Constantine toward the image of Christ, which he commanded to be made of the most precious materials, and to be placed in the most superb apartment of the imperial palace. ( Vit. Constant., lib. iii, c. 49.) The invocation of saints arose in this cen tury, and may probably have originated from apostrophes to the mar tyrs to the faith, similar to those which occur in the funeral orations of the heathen poets atid orators. The belief of a state of temporary punishment after this life, in some respects analogous to the notions of purgatory entertained by the mo- dern Catholics, had been inculcated by Origen in the preceding cen- tury, and was insistt \ upon in this by Gregory Nazianzen, Ambrose, and some others of tiie Christian teachers. Gregory conceived with Origen that the wicked, after remaining a sufficient time in that place of suffering to be purified from sin, would obtain mercy from God, whilu Ambrose contended for the eternity of punishments in certain cases. Another branch of superstition which daily increased was monkery, the actual establishment of which is to be dated from the fourth cen- tury. There were, indeed, several solitaries who, like Paul of Thebes, in the preceding ages, had sequestered themselves from the employments of social life ; but the Egyptian Anthony, already mentioned, appears to have been the first who induced any considerable number to associate with him in the monastic state. Numbers, seized by a fanatical spirit, voluntarily indicted upon themselves the severest sufl^erings, and were content to be deprived of every earthly good. In this solitary state, like their leader the illiterate Anthony, they rejected learning as useless, if not pernicious, and professed to be solely occupied in silence, me"ditation, and prayer. When, however, they were formed into regular societies, they employed some part of their time in study. Their melancholy modes of life prepared and qualified them for all the vagaries of a heated imagination : they had proplietic dreams, saw visions, con- versed with the different inhabitants of the invisible world, and many closed a life of madness in despair. The Emperor Constantine con- tributed greatly to the respect paid to this state, by his attachment to those who devoted themselves to Divine philosophy, or monkery. Considerable numbers of the softer sex forsook their elegant abodes, and all the endearments of domestic life, to dwell in caves and deserts. Among these Paula, a matron, descended from one of the most illus- trious families of Rome, with her daughter Eulalia, rent asunder every delicate domestic tie, and, forsaking her home, her country, and her weeping offspring, she visited Jerome in Palestine, accompanied him in his visit to Epiphanius at Cyprus, and went to Paulinus at Antioch. (Euseb. Vit. Constant., lib. iv, c. 28.) Egypt was the great theatre for monastic action ; and, at the close of the fourth century, it was computed that twenty-seven thousand monks and nuns were to be found in that country. As neither opulence ncr talents were required from these solitary devotees, monkery off^ered an agreeable asylum to the indolent and illiterate, who, if their pretensions to austerity were sufficiently fervent, were at once elevated into stations of peculiar 76 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. lionouv and respectability. The conduct of the monks was agreeable to the different motives of religion, fanaiicism, or hypocrisy, from which they had entered into that state. Many of them were pious, modest, disinterested, and compassionate ; some gloomy, austere, and censo- rious ; and others artfully obtained a considerable part of that pro- perty, the renunciation of which it was their principal employment to inculcate. The fortunate Anthony had the happiness, in traversing the deseits to discover the retreat of Paul, the hermit, whose eyes he piously closed, and resolved to imitate his holy example. His solitude was soon enlivened by numbers, for whose government he composed regu- lations, which were in a short time introduced, by his disciple Hilarion, into Syria and Palestine, and by others into Mesopotamia and Arme- nia. From the east it passed with celerity into the west. Basil intro- duced it into Greece, and Ambrose into Ital . Martin, the cele- brated bishop of Tours, propagated monkery su rapidly in Gaul, that liis funeral is said to have been attended by no less than two thou- sand monks. {Fleury, v. 30.) The numbers of these deluded people, ••ind the veneration paid to them, were such as to induce them some- limes to conceive themselves superior to the laws, the execution of which they frequently suspended, and ventured, with impunity, to snatch criminals from the hands of justice while on their wav to execution. {Sueur, A. D. 399.) The monks were divided into different orders, according to the different modes of life which they were disposed to adopt. The Coenobites were associated under a governor, and dwelt in fixed habitations. The Eremites solitarily resided in deserts, caves, or holes in the earth. The Anchorites wildly wandered in the most sequestered retreats, supporting life by the spontaneous productions of the earth, without any settled places of abode. The Sarabaites were the venders of pretended relics, and the performers of fictitious miracles. All these orders originally in- cluded, equally, both the laity and clergy, but the increasing respect paid to these pretensions of extraordinary sanctity occasioned some of the best ecclesiastical benefices to be offered to the monks, and in time the greater number of them were engaged in the immediate service of the Church. Under the auspices of an emperor who publicly professed the faith of the Church, we naturally expect to see its external respectability increase. Constantine not only greatly enlarged and improved the edifices already erected, but he constructed a considerable number of additional temples, which he dedicated to departed saints, and adorned them with pictures or images, and the most costly magnificence. A very superb structure was reared, by the orders of the emperor, over the sepulchre of Christ at Jerusalem. Constantinople was adorned by the emperor with a superb church, dedicated to the twelve apostles, which he proposed to make his own mausoleum ; not perhaps without a latent hope that his soul might be benefited by his dust being min- gled with the bones of those holy men which he had carefully en- deavoured to collect wherever they lay dispersed. Numberless churches, in different places, were erected over the tombs of the mar- tyrs, which were only used on particular occasions, and were distin- guished by the name of Martyria. The churches appointed for the Cent. IV.] historv of thf. church. 77 constant performance of religious worship oblaiued ilie name of Tituli, and were thus denominated from the presbyters who officiated in them, and who received titles from them which hxed them to their particular situations. This regulation was well adapted for the decent and regu- jar performance of Divine worship. The attention of the Emperor Constantine appears to have been seriously directed to this objec', and to have operated not merely in seasons of leisure and tranquillit)-, but even in tumult and war. When he marched against the enemj, a lent was erected for him in the form of a chapel, which accompanied him in his movements, and in which Divine service was performed by the attending priests and deacons. Hence arose the custom of appointing a chaplain to every legion in the imperial army. Opulent persons, who erected religious edifices, were invested with the right of appointing to them whatever ministers they chose to officiate. The Martyria and Tituli vvere equally decorated with every ornament which formerly embellished the temples of heathenism ; and Christian rites were solemnized with all the pomp of lights, lustrations, and of splendid garments, which had distinguished the pagan ceremonies. In all churches the seats of the women were separated from those of the men, who were not permitted to enter at the same door. The seats for females, however, differed in different churches. In the churches of Anastatia and Sancta Sophia they were placed in porti- coes or galleries, while the men were seated below. In conformity to the practice both of tiie heathens and the Jews, the rights of sanctuary were claimed and allowed to the Christian temples; and, by the laws of the younger Theodosius, malefactors of various descriptions might claim protection from the Church against the civil power, within any of the precincts of consecrated grounds ; the respect for which had become so excessive that none were allowed to administer the sacra- ment beyond the places that were consecrated. The difference which had arisen in the compositions of the Christian preachers was not more remarkable than the manner in which these discourses were received. Those applauses which had formerly been confined to the theatres, or the forum, were now permitted in the Christian church. The preacher was repeatedly interrupted by the cry of " orthodox," and clapping of the hands and feet. Chrysostom was applauded in the great church at Constantinople, by the people's waving their garments, their plumes, and their handkerchiefs ; and by others laying their hands on their swords, and exclaiming, " Thou art worthy of the priesthood." Another mark of admiration consisted hi moving the body like the waves of the sea slightly agitated by the wind. [Bingham, Ecl. Antiq. lib. xir, c. 4.) In some places marks of still greater adulation were paid to the ministers of religion ; and the people sung hosannahs to the bishop, similar to the conduct of the multitude toward our Lord on his entrance into Jerusalem. [Hieron. in Matt, xxi, tom. ix, p. 62.) The liturgies which were adopted in the different churches were far from being composed in the same form. Provided the fundamental doctrines of religion were the same, it was conceived of small import- ance in what manner the ritual was observed. They differed there- fore materially in different churches, according to the circumstances or dispositions of the members. The same license which was given 78 HISTOR-i OF THE CHURCH. |"CeNT. IV to the liturgies, was accorded to the creeds, {Bingham, xi, 6,) which, hough they agreed in doctrine, differed materially in their constructioii. The pomp of worship was greatly augmented in several churches, by an alteration which took place in the singing, particularly in the church of Antioch, where the vocal performers were separated into two divisions, and sung the psalms of David alternately. Constantine commanded the first day of the week to be celebrated with peculiar solemnity ; and, in time, this practice extended over the whole Chris- tian world. The agapee, which for the first three centuries were observed in the Church, owing to some abuses which had insinuated themselves into their celebration, began to be disesteemed, and in time gradually de- clined. There were, however, various other observances to compen- sate, as far as external rites could compensate, for their loss. In this century many new festivals were instituted in honour of the martyrs, and particular respect was paid to the places where they suffered, or where their remains were interred. As baptism and the Lord's Supper were very commonly supposed to impart some spiritual grace, the former of these rites was frequently deferred till the evening of life, and even till the hour of death, that the believer might leave the world with the greater certainty of his sins being forgiven, and before any new guilt had been contracted. Baptism at this period was usually accompanied by the sign of the cross. Many were so desirous of receiving this initiatory rite in the same place with Christ, that they delayed baptism till they could travel into Judea. The Emperor Constantine was among the number of those who fa- voured this species of popular superstition, and earnestly desired to receive the baptismal rite in the waters of Jordan. Among the powers which in the fourth century were granted to the bishops, they appear to have been invested with authority sufficient to appoint fasts in their own churches. {Bingham, xi, 6.) The absti- nence upon these occasions, though strictly observed by great num- bers, was yet by several commuted for by refraining from animal food and the juice of the grape ; so that, in fact, though the nominal fasts were, in conformity to the prevailing austerities, considerably multi- plied, abstinence was less observed by many than when they were less frequent. The use of penance still continued, but the offending clergy were exempted from public humiliation, and silently deposed from their ecclesiastical offices. After the Decian persecution, it was ordained that penitents should make their confession in private to a particular priest appointed for that purpose ; and that those parts of their misconduct which were unfit for the public ear should be sup- pressed. This custom continued in practice till nearly the close of this century, when an unhappy accident, which arose in the Constan- tinopolitan Church, occasioned tlie abolition of this order. An offend- ing female, during the appointed time in which she remained in the Church, to wipe off by fasting and prayer her former offences, had been seduced by one of the deacons to contract fresh guilt. From this period all confession, whether public or private, appears to have been discontinued by the Greek Church ; and it is affirmed that from this period the Greeks make their confessions only to God. {Priestley's Corruptions, vol. ii, p. 146.) L^ENT IV.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 79 The controversy concerning the celebration of Easter, which had perplexed and divided the Church during the preceding century, was decided by the council of Nice, in favour of the western churches ; and all Christians were commanded to commemorate this festival on 'he first Sunday which followed the fourteenth day of the first moon after the vernal equinox. The Emperor Constantiiie watched, in com- mon with the other Christians, on the vigil of this solemn season ; and, in addition to the lights which had been formerly kindled on this occa- sion, commanded not only the whole church, but also the whole city to be illuminated ; which, in consequence of this request, exhibited on that evening a scene of uncommon splendour. This season was ob- served by the generality of Christians with peculiar reverence and marked attention. Valentinian, in the year 367, released from prison, on the occasion of this festival, all such as were not notorious delin- quents ; and established a custom which was imitated by succeeding emperors. Private persons also embraced the occasion which this season aflbrded to evince their beneficence and charity, particulai'y by granting manumission to slaves, as a proper expression of that mercy, commemorated by this festival, which brought ficedom to the captive and happiness to all mankind. {Bingham, lib. xx, c. 5.) CHAPTER 111. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FOURTH CENTURV. Abuse of Mysticism — Euslathians and Messalians — Donatists — Disputes concerning the succession to the see of Carthage — Donatus — Violence of the parties — Rogations — Arius — Principles of the Arians — Arius condemned and exiled — Council of Nice — Arian- ism condemned there — Arius recalled from banishment by Constantine — Death of Arius --Arianism protected by Constantius — Semi-Arians — Eunomians — Contests between the different branches of Arians— Semi-Arians divided — Macedonians — Meletians — Photinus — ApoUinarians — Priscillianists — Antidicomaranites — Collyridians — Luciferians — Au- deus — ^tius, iStc. The doctrines of the Mystics, who assumed a degree of sanctity and perfection unknown to vulgar minds, and affected to elevate the soul by rejecting the gratifications of sense, were adopted by the most considerable part of the Christian world, as the dictates of pure reli- gion, imbibed from the fountain of truth. Among those who carried these doctrines to the greatest excess, the sects of the Eustathians and Messalians were peculiarly distinguished. The followers of Eusta- thius contended strongly for the exercise of the greatest austerities, and not only prohibited the use of wine and flesh, but denounced the connubial state, and prescribed immediate divorce to all who had entered into a married life. This fanaticism was, however, inferior to that of the Messalians, who professed to believe that the soul, by spi- ritual exercises, was enabled to expel the demon by which they con- ceived it to be inhabited, and might then be perfectly united with the Divine essence.* The Messalians affected an air of uncommon * It is more than once necessary to caution the reader to receive all these accounla of the sectaries with great allowance. In ail probability many parts of their creed bor- dered upon absurdity ; but, as we have our accounts only from their adversaries, candoui must induce us to believe them exawgerated. 80 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeN'T. IV. devotion ; and maintained tlieir ground in the eastern empire during a considerable time, in defiance of the decrees of councils, and the pro- scriptions of the emperor. Among the contests which disturbed the peace of the Church in the fourth century, the schism of the Donatists demands, if not the jjrinci- pal, at least a distinguished place. The doctrines of this body were, however, strictly conformable to those of the Church from whicli they separated. Caecilianus, the archdeacon of Carthage, had, on the de- mise of the bishop, been consecrated to the vacant see by some of the African bishops, without waiting for the assent of the bishops of Nu- midia. These ofTended prelates cited Caecilianus to account to them for this omission ; and on his refusal to submit to their authority, a council was convened, consisting of seventy bishops, in which the refractory Caecilianus was deposed, and his deacon, Majorinus, de- clared his successor. This sentence, which divided into factions the Carthaginian Church, and, in fact, gave it two bishops at the same crisis, was occasioned by a variety of causes, independent of the irre- gularity attending the consecration of Caecilianus. There were several competitors for the vacant see, who eagerlv seized the opportunity of removing their fortunate rival ; and all the influence of Lucilla, a rich and superstitious female, was exerted against Caecilianus, who had reprimanded her for her folly. Nor was this all. Felix, of Aptungus, the principal bishop who had assisted at his consecration, was accused of being a traitor, or one who, during the Diocletian persecution, had delivered up the sacred books to be burned ; and who therefore was supposed not competent to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit. To these it was added, that Caecilianus himself had, during the persecution, behaved toward the Christians with inhumanity. Constantine ap- pointed this controversy to be examined by the bishop of Rome, assisted by three others ; and the result of their deliberations was favourable to Caecilianus. Felix of Aptungus was not less fortunate ; his cause was examined by the proconsul of Africa, and by his decision he was absolved. But the restoration of the degraded bishop was not calculated to sa- tisfy the minds of his adversaries, who, headed by Donatus, an African bishop, fomented fresh discontents, and occasioned the emperor to con- ene a council at Aries,* where they were again condemned. Their dissatisfaction still continued ; and two years afterward, Constantine, to whom the different parties had consented to refer their cause, ap- proved the consecration of Caecilianus. The resentment and contumely with which the Donatists received this decision, added to their former behaviour, so much exasperated the emperor, that he deprived them of their churches, banished the seditious bishops, and even condemned «o death some of the party. This violent, and perhaps imprudent resentment, Vfas not calculated to produce peace. The Donatists asserted, that the apostolical succession had been interrupted ; that the whole ecclesias- tical body in Europe and Asia was infected with guilt and schism, since they held communion with the depraved African Church ; that the pre- servation of the Catholic Church was confined to those African believers, * At this council two hundred bishops attended, and among the rest Restitutus, bishop of London. (Priestley'' s Christian Church ^ Cent. IV.] historv of the church. 81 who had preserved their faith and discipline inviolate ; and that al. communion with other churches ought to be avoided, lest they should be contaminated by their impurity. This rigid theory was accompanied by conduct equally austere. Every proselyte was carefully re-baptized and re-ordained. All who had communicated with other churches were obliged to perform public penance previous to their admission into this immaculate Church. But it was not with the pen and the tongue only that the cause of Donatism was supported. The Circumcellians, a body of savage and fanatical persons, exasperated by the severe exe- cution of the laws of Constantino against the Donatists, collected in formidable bodies, assumed the titles of captains and saints, and rushed out as avengers of those who had iieen the victims of the law, spread- ing terror and consternation throughout the African provinces. Ani- mated by implacable hatred against the opposite party, and a fanatical desire for obtaining the honour of martyrdom, they sought death with avidity, and even solicited their enemies to inflict upon them those tem- poral miseries which should introduce them to eternal glory. Constan- tine, hoping that time might be more conducive than force to calm these disturbances, abrogated the laws against the Donatists ; and his son Constans laboured earnestly to heal the divisions of the African Church. But these efforts were in vain ; Donatus the Great, (who had succeeded Majorinus, and from whom the party derived its name,) with the other factious prelates, opposed every attempt toward a recon- ciliation. The whole part) rose in arms, and were defeated by the imperial army : numbers fled, a considerable part were sent into banish- ment, and many were punished with extreme severity. The Donatists divided into many sects, among whom the Rogatians contended that the Church of Christ existed only in their community. The schism of the Donatists was an impetuous torrent, which inun- dated and desolated the adjacent country ; but its limits were prescribed, and its mischief confined to the African provinces. The trinitarian controversy was a deluge which overflowed the whole Christian world. Arius, a presbyter of the Church of Alexandria, acute, eloquent, and subtle, contended, in opposition to his bishop, Alexander, in an assem- bly of the presbyters, " that the Son was essentially distinct from the Father: that he was a dependant spontaneous production, created by the will of the Father out of nothing : that he had been begotten before all worlds ; but that there had been a time when he was not : that the Father had impressed upon him the effulgence of his glory, and trans- fused into him his ample Spirit : that he was the framer of the world, and governed the universe, in obedience to the will of his Father and Monarch." As every innovation will find some favourers, especially if supported by ingenuity, the party of Arius soon became very consi- derable, and was countenanced by two bishops, and by numbers dis- tinguished both by rank and abilities. Alexander, together with the inferior ministers of the Alexandrian Church, exhorted the apostate presbyter to renounce his errors, and return to their communion ; but finding this inefl'ectual, the zealous prelate assembled a council of his brethren, composed of a hundred bishops, who, after hearing Arius persist in his opinions, publicly condemned them. Not discouraged, however, by this act of authority, Arius retired into Palestine, where he was received into communion, and made considerable accessions to hia 82 HISTORY OF THE CHUKCH. [CeNT. IV cause, notwithstanding the excommunications which were fulminated by Alexander against both him and his schismatic followers. These disputes, in which many wise and good men were engaged on both sides, and in which the angry combatants assailed each other with the utmost opprobrium and contumely, attracted the attention of Constantine, who, in order to quiet a disturbance so disgraceful to the Church, wrote both to the bishop and the presbyter, reprimanding them for their intemperance, and exhorting them to peace. But the words of the emperor were not sufficiently powerfid to extinguish a flame which had been too long permitted, and which, at that period, raged with the utmost violence. In the year 325, therefore, he convened the celebrated council at Nice in Bithynia, of which an ample account has already been given. Before this council Arius appeared, declared his opinions, and, with his friends, the bishops of Ptolemais and Marmorica, who refused to subscribe to the Nicene faith, was condemned. The apos- tate presbyter was banished ; his writings were committed to the flames, and capital punishments were denounced against all in whose posses- sion they might be found. {Soc. Hist. 1. i, c. 9.) A party of the bishops, who had assisted at the Nicene council, and subscribed to its creed, secretly favoured the cause of Arius ; and Eusebius, bishop of Nico- media, and Theognis, bishop of Nice, afi'orded protection to the perse- cuted Arians, for which they were banished into Gaul. The faith of Constantine appears, in this instance, to have been rather uncertain and wavering ; he understood not this perplexed controversy, and acted, at different times, as he was influenced by the ecclesiastics of each party, who accused one another not only of heterodoxy, but of disaffection to the emperor. One of the followers of Arius, who, by the dying words of his sister Constantia, had been recommended to the emperor, had the address to persuade him that the sentence of Arius was unjust. The emperor on this, after an exile of three years, recalled the pres- byter, who presented his confession of faith, (which appeared orthodox to Constantine,) and sought to be received into communion in the Alex- andrian Church. Athanasius, who had succeeded Alexander in that see, rejected his application ; but this resistance was so little agreea- ble to the emperor, that the Arian bishops easily procured from him a decree for the banishment of the Alexandrian bishop. Arius and his adherents were received into the communion of the Church at Jerusa- lem ; but were still rejected by that of Alexandria. The emperor, however, sent for him to Constantinople, and issued an absolute com- mand for his admission into the Constantinopolitan Church. This honour was prevented by the unexpected death of Arius, which his enemies ascribed to the judgments of God against him for his impieties: his friends, however, had but too much reason for believing that he had fallen the miserable victim of his implacable enemies. The Arians found in the successor of Constantine a protector and a friend. Their great patron, the bishop of Nicomedia, was promoted to the Constantinopolitan see ; and while the western emperors, steadilj attached to the Nicene faith, were advancing its progress by all possible means, Constantius was no less zealous in his opposition to that, and his attachment to *J:ie Arian cause. During the remainder of this century except in the reign of Julian, the Nicene and the Arian parties were at different limes protected by the different emperors, and the success Cent. IV.] history of the church. 83 ful party invariably and brutally triumphed in the commission of every act of unkindness and severity that could disturb and distress their ad- versaries. But the hatred of the Arians was not confined to the con- substantialists. They divided among themselves, and regarded each other with impkicable aversion. Tlie Homoiousians, or semi-Arians, declared their belief, that the Son was of a similar substance with the Father. The Eunomians, who were the disciples of iEtius and Euno- mius, the latter a man of a restless and aspiring spirit, who had entered into almost every profession of life, opposed their opinion, and contended that the Son teas unlike or unequal to the Father. The Eunomians were condemned in the council of Ancyra, and in the two councils summoned by Constantius, one at Seleucia for the eastern Church, the other at Ariminum for the western. The Eunomians were overpowered at Seleucia ; and the assembly at Ariminum, which was composed of about a fourth part Arians, subscribed to a creed which contained iittle more than the vague proposition, that the Son of God was not a creature like other creatures. The confession of Ariminum was sent througli the empire, and all the bishops were required to subscribe it. But none were allowed lo maintain Arianism, by asserting that the Son of God was of a nature unlike that of the Father, and to rank him in the number of creatures. These subtle and almost imperceptible dis- tinctions divided the Arians into a considerable number of sects, who mutually 'detested and anathematized each other. Toward the close of this century the Arians and Macedonians, a branch from the same stock, were compelled by the imperial laws to have no bishops. This sect, however, flourished considerably for more than three centuries, and was not at length crushed without violence and persecution. Its tenets were received by the Goths, the Vandals, and the Burgundians, and long continued to be professed by those barbarous nations. The semi-Arians, as may be conceived from their name, adopted not all the opinions of their Arian brethren ; but they rejected the doctruie of consubstantialily with equal zeal, though the greater part of them professed to believe the Divinity of the [jogos, or Word ; (the Son of God;) but many utterly denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. Like the Arians, the semi-Arians were divided into sects, the principal of which obtained the name of Macedonians, from their leader Macedonius ; who, while he denied the consubstantiality of the Son, asserted his likeness to the Father ; and affirmed that the third person in the trinity was a Divine energy diffus J throughout the universe, and not a distinct per- son proceeding from (he Father and the Son. Many of the semi- Arian? gradually united tlvemselves to the orthodo.x party, from whom their grounds of difli'erence were, in some instances, scarcely perceptible, and signed the Nicene confession of faith. On the promulgation of the law of toleration by the Emperor Gratian, many of the semi-Arians again seceded from the Church ; but their numbers afterward, from a variety of causes, sensibly declined. It is difficult to determine whether the Meletians should be consi- dered as a distinct sect, or as a society of Arians. The schism was originally produced by the deposition or Meletius, bishop of Lycopolig in Egypt, who was accused of various offisnces, and particularly of sa crificing to idols in a time of persecution. After his deposition by the council of Alexandria, however, Meletius continued to assume the titles 84 HrsTORV OF THE CHURCH. [CkNT. IV and exercise the functions of his office. He afterward united with Arius , but whether previous to the meeting of the council of Nice, or not, is not ascertained. iVt this council the affair of Meletius was com- promised, apparently to his satisfaction : for he was allowed to reiain the title of bishop without the functions. The sect however continued till the fifth century, and professed the doctrines of Arius. Arianism, which engaged the attention of all ranks of the people during the whole of this century, did not so entirely engross them as to prevent the propagation and reception of other opinions which differed from those of the orthodox creed. Photinus, bishop of Sirmium, as- serted that Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and endued with a Divine emanation, or heaveidy ray, which he called the Word ; and that, on account of this union between the Di- vine Word and his human nature, Jesus was styled the Son of God, and even God himself. He denied that the Holy Spirit was a distinct person, and affirmed that he was a celestial virtue, proceeding from the Deity. This prelate was the disciple and friend of Marcellus, the bishop of Ancyra, who had been charged with adopting the errors of Sabellianism, or an attempt to confound the doctrine of three persons in the Godliead. Photinus occasioned his friendly tutor additional censure, whose impieties, according to the charitable spirit of the times, were considerably augmented by his refusal to condemn the errors of Photinus. Private friendship, Christian charity, or the know- ledge that others were ready to involve him in evils similar to those which threatened and surrounded his pupil, were coriceived reasons too weak to deter him from an endeavour to punish the errors of his friend. The efforts of repeated councils, and the efTects of repeated banish- ments were, for a long time, insufficient to destroy the errors of this sectary ; who, though excommunicated by the Church, defended him- self during seven years by the assistance of the people ; but at length died in exile. The Apollinarians asserted, after Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, that the Divinity, joined to the flesh, performed the offices of an intelli- gent soul in Jesus Christ, and received the impression which the soul of man receives. Many of the followers of Apollinaris refined upon tliis, and affirmed that one nature only existed in Jesus Christ, and that the flesh was of the same nature with the Divinity. Others af- firmed, that Jesus Christ had taken his body from heaven, and that it was impassive and immortal ; and his birth, passion, death, burial, and resurrection only illusive appearances. The council of Constantinople condemned these opinions, and many by whom they were professed were reunited to the communion of the Church. The Priscillianists derived their denomination from Priscillian, a man ol rank and fortune in Spain, who was afterward bishop of Abila. A considerable mixture of Gnosticism and Unitarianism appears to hai/e been iniited in this sect, with the tenets of both which, however, they were but imperfectly acquainted. They thought that the devil was not made by God, but arose from chaos and darkness ; [Leo, Opera, p. 167;) said that the bodies of men were made by the devil ; condemned mar- riage, and denied the resurrection of the body ; asserted that the soul was of a Divine substance, which, having offended in heaven, was «^nt into the body as a place of punishment ; that men are subject to CeVT. IV.j HISTORV OF THK CIIUKCH. 85 necessity, to sin, and to the power of the stars ; and our bodies conn- pounded accordino- to the order of the twelve signs ol' the zodiac. — {Aug. de HcRrcs., cap. 70.) 'I'hey agreed that the Son is irlferior to the Father, and that there was a time when the Son was not. {Leo, Opera, c. i, ii, p. ]68.) The ruk^ of manners prescribed by this sect was re- markably austere. Priscillian, their leader, was accused by the other Spanish bishops, in consequence of the increase of his ibllowers ; and he was banished by the Emperor Gratian from Spain. He was agair, however, permitted to return ; but was once more accused by his im- placable enemies, and put to death at Treves, in the year 384, by the perfidious Maximus, at the instigation of Ithacius, bishop of Sossuba ; who, whatever might be the professed purity of his faith, was deficient in every amiable quality of the human heart. The opinions of the Priscillianists did not end with the death of their erroneous and unfor- tunate leader, but extended their influence, and continued during seve- ral succeeding centuries. {SanrJiiis, Hist., p. 127.) The recorder of folly, if he be possessed of humanity, can find little enjoyment in his task, and it is equally uimecessary and unpleasant to dwell upon the opinions and conduct of those sects who differed from the Church only in one or two points of perhaps little importance, or whose errors were received by few, and soon terminated. Among these smaller sects were the Antidicomaranites, who contended that after the birth of Christ the Virgin Mary did not continue in her imma- culate state, but: associated with her husband Joseph ; and the Collyri- dians, who, falling into the opposite extreme, superstitiously worshipped the virgin, and made an offering to her, upon certain appointed days, of a particular kitid of bread. These views were confined to a few ; those of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, were rather more dif- fused. This prelate had been a zealous opposer of Arianism ; he had separated himself not only from communion with all of that sect, but even from all who acknowledged as bishops those who had signed the Ariminum confession of faith, and had written against tlie Arians with great vehemence ; but the purity of his own faith did not continue un- corrupted, and he is accused of asserting that the soul was transfused from the parents to the children, and that it was of a fleshly substance. Amid the time of superstition which had almost overflowed the Church, many lamented its devastations, and some were so confident as to attempt to stop the torrent ; but their courage was not rewarded either with applause or success ; and, independent of the doctrinal errors into which they fell, they were, on account of their opposition to the corrupt and prevailing opinions of the age, loaded with calumny and regarded with abhorrence. One of the principal of these hardy champions for the truth was Audeus, a Syrian, of uncommon virtue, whose zeal against the profligacy of the clergy procured his excommu- nication from the Church. Unmoved by the censures which he had in- curred, Audeus associated himself with a society of Christians, who were distinguished not only by their abhorrence of clerical depravity, but by their attachment to the Jewish time of celebrating Easter, and their belief that the resemblance between God and man consisted in the body, whence they have been charged with believing that the Supreme Being was corporeal. He was banished by the emperor into Scythia, where he continued to make several converts, and established several 13 86 HISTORV OF THE CHURCH, [CeNT. IV monasteries. His zeal against superstitioi) and depravity was seconded by ^Etius, one of the leaders of the seini-Arians ; and Jovinian, an Italian monkt The principal point on which /Etiiis and his adherents differed from the other semi-Arians, appears to have been their belief that there was no distinction I'ounded in Scripture between a presbyter and a bishop. He earnestly condemned prayers for the dead, and se- veral other rites, and attempted to restore the discipline of the Church to its primitive simplicity and excellence. Jovinian, though himself a monk, and continuing in a state of celibacy, took the utmost pains to expose the peculiar doctrines of monachism, though, unlike the other reformers of this time, he continued in the orthodox faith. His doc- trines were so obnoxious to the clergy that he was excommunicated by Siricius, the bishop of Rome, and was condemned by the Emperor Honorius to be whipped, and banished to the small and obscure island of Boa, in Illyricum. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FOURTH CENTURV. Constantine not eminent as a patron of literature — Eiisebius — Pamphihis — Athana- sius — Basil — Gregory Nazianzen — Gregory of Nyssa — Ambrose, bishop of Milan — Lac- tantius — Jerome — Rufinus — St. Augustine — Chrysostom — Marcellus — Eustathins — Vic- torinus — Hilary — Apcllinaris^Ephraim of Edessa — Didymus — Diodorus of Tarsus — Epi- phanius — Cyril, bisliop of Jerusalem. Were we to estimate the learning and abilities of the writers of this century by their numbers or their zeal, our admiration of their talents would not be confined within ordinary limits. But intestine commotions and religious controversies are circumstances not extremely favourable to the most admired blossoms of literature, which expand in the gay sunshine of tranquillity, but close and fold their leaves in the inclement season of turbulence and distraction. The first emperor who professed Christianity had devoted little of his time to literature ; and what- ever favours he might be disposed to bestow upon monks and ecclesi- astics, he does not appear to have greatly signalized himself as a patron of learning. A desire to abolish paganism, which was supported by the wit and talents of some of its professors, and to advance Christianity upon its ruins, rather than a love of literature, induced the emperor to encourage a taste for study, and to erect public libraries for the exten- sion of knowledge. But when honours and preferments were not annexed to excellence in learning, when science was not encoiiragtid either by the favour of the prince or the approbation of the people, and confined to the investigation of obscure scholastic theology, we cannot be surprised to find a rapid decay of the arts and sciences, numbers of the clergy unlearned, and the cell of the monk a fruitful hotbed for the cultivation of isfnorance. Notwithstanding this, there were, among the number of Christian writers in the fourth century, some who may be justly distinguished for their learning and elegance. Eusebius, bishop of Cesarea, in Palestine, claims a distinguished rank in the catalogue, both on account of his Cent. IV.] hisiorv of the church. 87 abilities and virtue. He was a native of Palestine, and obtained his bishopric irj the year 314; but at a very early period was accused of Javouriiig the Arians, and of continuing attached to the bishops of thai sect ; and several of his expressions afford some ground for the beUef that the suspicion was not wholly unfounded. It is probable, however, that the candour and moderation of his temper, rather than any defec- tion from the orthodox faith, might occasion this imputation. In the council of Nice he abandoned the Arian party, but supported them in their eruleavours to deprive Athanasius of the Alexandrian see. n<,- composed an ecclesiastical history, from the commencement of the ('.hurch till the council of Nice ; a chronicle of the principal events from the beginning of the world till the tweruieth year of Constantine ; four panegyrical books of the life of that emperor ; The Preparation and Demonstration of the Gospel, a discourse against the philosopher Hierocles, who compared Apollonius to Jesus Christ ; five books against Marcellus of Ancyra; a commentary on the Psalms; and five books of An Apology for Origen, which he wrote conjointly with his friend Pamphilus, the martyr, from his attachment to whom he received his name. To these he added a sixth book, after the death of his friend, and composed many treatises in divinity and criticism. The amiable- ness of his temper is apparent from no instance being adduced, by his enemies, of his having used any means of depressing others with the emperor, or of acquiring any advantages for himself. A suspicion, however, of a very serious nature has attacked the conduct of Eusebius, while under the apprehension of persecution ; and he was thought to have purchased his retreat from the confinement of a prison by compli- ances which were dishonourable, if not base. The inviolable attach- ment of Eusebius to the amiable and accomplished Pamphilus, pres- byter at Cesarea, does honour to his feelings as a man. He assumed his name, (Eusebius Pamphilus,) and composed an account of his life. This martyr to the faith erected a school at Cesarea ; and, after suffer- ing much during the Diocletian persecution, was at length cruelly put to death. Few rious scpulchie " 122 HISTORA or THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. the contests of rival pontiffs. Symmachus, a deacon of Rome, and Laurentius, who, upon the death of the bishop, Anastasius, had, by dif- ferent parties, been elevated to the vacant see, continued for several years to assert their discordant pretensions. After repeated struggles, and the claim of a prior right, the party of Symmachus at length pre- vailed. They were materially assisted by the pen and abilities of Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, who descended to employ the most abject flattery in the behalf of Symmachus, whom he addressed not with the common adulatory terms appropriated to royalty, but in those which approached to divinity ; asserted that he Wcts judge in the place of God, and vicegerent of the Most High. The Church was again divided by the reciprocal claims of Boniface and Dioscorus : the premature death of the latter terminated, however, this clerical war. But the century did not close without another similar disturbance in this un- happy church. The intrigues of Vigilius procured a secret order from the Empress Theodora to Belisarius, who was then at Rome, for the deposition of the reigning bishop, Silverus, and the investiture of Vi- gilius in all the rights of the deposed prelate. The unhappy Silverus was, in consequence of this command, deprived of his dignities, and banished ; but, upon the interference of Justinian, he returned to Italy, with the delusive expectation of regaining his rights. The good for- tune, however, or the superior artifices of Vigilius once more prevailed ; his antagonist was resigned to his power; and was confined by him in the islands of Pontus and Pandataria, where, in penury and affliction, he terminated his wretched existence. Whether the testimonials which were produced to clear Pelagius, the successor of Vigilius, from the crime of having been accessory to the death of this insolent, versatile, and ambitious prelate, were sufficient to prove his innocence to man- kind, cannot easily be now ascertained. His judges, however, were satisfied ; and posterity will perhaps not disapprove the appearance of that retributive justice which seems to have punished Vigilius by the operation of the very same passions which had produced the misery and death of his predecessor. The advantages attendant upon the acquisition of such enormous power were alloyed by jealousies and apprehensions. The bishops of the Byzantine see, scarcely less arrogant and ambitious than their bre- thren of Rome, refused to acknowledge their pre-eminence, and laid claim to similar authority. The arrogant pretensions of these rival sees involved them in continual dissensions ; which were prodigiously increased by the conduct of John the Faster, a prelate distinguished for his austerity ; who, in a council held at Constantinople in the year 588, assumed the title of cecumenical or universal bishop ; which haa been conferred by Leo and Justinian upon the patriarch of Constanti- nople, though unaccompanied by any accessions of power. Tnis ajv peilation, which implied a pre-eminence difllicult to be endured, was opposed by Pelagius the Second, who was then bishop of Rome ; and earnestly contested by his successor, Gregory the Great, who asserted in lofty terms the rights of the Romish see to an entire supremacy ovei the whole Christian world. The barbarian conquerors of the wes em parts of the empire had, as was before observed, in general adopted the heietical opinions ot Alius ; and they continued with few exceptions, to be for some 'ime CkNT. VI.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 123 hostile to the C;itholic faith. Thrnsimund, king of the Vandals, moro accomplished, hut less tolerant, than tnaiiy ot his contemporary mo- narchs, odered the most liberal incentives to apostacy ; and deprived the African Catliolics of their churches, which he commaTided to h» shut up, and two hundred and twenty bishops to be banished to Sardinia, [Rainart, pp. 570, 571,) where they lanj^uished in exilo during fifteen years. Their restoration to peace and freedom, under his successor, Hilderic, proved only a prelude to that state of authority and consequence which they obtained from the conquest of Africa by the victorious Belisarius, the great and successfid general, but latterly the unfortunate victim, of Justinian. The resumption of their pristine rights was not accompanied with the mild virtues of the primiiive Christian. Still smarting from the severities they had recently e.xperienced, they resolved to inflict equal punishments upon their persecutors ; and the Arians were, in their turn, exposed to the sufleriugs they had inflicted upon the Catholics. The decline of Arianism, in every part of the western empire, was accelerated by hasty steps. Clovis laboured to establish Cliristianity wherever he carried his victorious arms ; and the Gauls, before the close of the sixth century, submitted to the government and to the reli- gion of the Franks. By the natural vicissitudes of humour to which all monarchical governments must be exposed, the inhabitants of Italy were placed alternately under the dominion of an orthodox or an here- tical monarch. Narses, the eunuch, the general of Justinian, and the rival of Belisarius, reduced the country under subjection to the empire ; from which the whole, except the cities of Rome and Ravenna, was again dismembered, and governed by a succession of petty kings. The professors of the Gospel in Italy groaned for several years under the dominion of their pagan conquerors, by whom they were cruelly oppressed; but at length Christianity, according to the faith of Arius, was received and professed by Autharis, the third monarch of the Lombards. The faith of this ferocious people becoming gradually more refined and improved, Theodahnda, the reUct of Autharis, was induced to profess the Nicene doctrines ; and the Lombards gradually assumed, with their greater purity of faith, the more gentle virtues of Christians. The Visigoths of Spain continued their adherence to Arianism till the year 586 ; when, convinced by the powerful argu- ments, or influenced by the authority and example of their monarch, Recared, they abjured these errors, and entered within the pale of the Catholic Church. Recared was honoured, on his conversion to the orthodox faith, with the title of the most CuthoUc kiiig. This mo- narch pleaded to his Arian clergy the testimony of earth and heaven in support of the orthodox cause. The earth had so far submitted to profess the Catholic creed that few of the Christian nations, except the Visigoths, continued to reject its truths ; and the testimony of heaven was apparent from the miracles continually performed by the clergy of the Catholic Church. These arguments were supported by the example of the Suevi, their neighbours, who were settled in Gal- licia, and who had previously rejected the Arian and adopted tht' Catholic creed. Whatever regards a country which early prejudices and deeply rooted attachments have accustomed us strongly to revere, is pecu 124 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI liarly interesting and important to the human mind. England, which during this century was vanquished by the Saxons, at first experienced from her pagan conquerors a severe persecution. Toward the close of this century, however, Bertha, the believing wife of Ethelbert, one of the most considerable of the Anglo-Saxon princes, excited in her husband a favourable opinion of her own religious faith, which was greatly increased by the arrival of Augustine, the monk, who travelled on a mission into Britain, in the year 596. This monk, aided by the labours of his forty companions, whom Gregory the Great had asso- ciated with him in this mission, had the happiness to complete, in Ethelbert, the conversion which Bertha had begun. He preached, he persuaded, he threatened ; and his labours were so successful that Christianity reared her triumphant fabric upon tlie ruins of paganism. Heathen temples were converted into Christian churches ; Christ- church was formed into a cathedral ; and this monk, whom Gregory had invested with full spiritual power over all the British and Saxon clergy, assumed the title of Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon his arrival in Britain, Augustine found the Christians of Britain attached to the tradition of the eastern Churches respecting the time of cele- brating Easter, and differing also from the practices of the Church of Rome in the performance of some baptismal rites. This variation was warmly and haughtily condemned by the arrogant monk ; but he found not in the British clergy a mean and dastardly submission to his imperious decrees. They refused even to acknowledge him as their archbishop, and would not be prevailed upon to exchange their ancient ceremonies. During six hundred years the Britannic Church never acknowledged any subjection to the power of the Romish prelates ; and, for several ages after the mission of Augustine, were so far from conforming to the practices of that Church respecting the paschal con- troversy, that they observed Easter on a different day. CHAPTER H. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Evils of popular elections of the clergy — Bishop of Rome appointed by the Gothic princes — Difterent modes of appointing to clerical offices in dilTereiit countries — In France •^In Spain — Increase of superstition — Donations to monasteries, &c., to oljtain the inter- cession of the saints — Riches of the Church of Rome — Purgatory — Pictures and images venerated — Increasing respect for the Virgin Mary — Celiliacy of tlie clergy much insisted 3n — Alisurdities concerning marriage- — Spiritual kindred — Flagellation inflicted in certain female convents — St. Benedict and his order — Pillar monks— Simeon Stylites, jun. — Introduced into the west — Convents afford a refuge for litrratnre — Conformity of littirgies to those of the metropolitan Churches — Roman missal composed by Gregory the Great — Increased veneration for the sacramental elcnients — Holv water — Tonsure of jiriests — Controversy concerning the form of the tonsure — licredible alisurdities respecting relics — Festival of the purification. The form of church government, which had been established dur- jiig the two preceding centuries, received in this little or no alteration. By the laws of Justinian the inferior ranks of the people were totally Cent. VI. ] history ov the church. 125 excluded from any share in the appointment of their ministers, the choice of whom was restricted to tlie optimates, or superior orders and to the clergy. (Juslin. Novel, cxxiii, c. 1.) The power, indeed, originally exercised by the people appears never to have so universally obtained tiiat on certain occasions it could not be restrained or varied according to dillerent situations and circumstances. {Bingham Eccles. Antiq. b. iv, c. 2.) While it continued to be exercised it was fre- quently so grossly abused, and produced such disturbances in the Church, as to afford a very reasonable pretext for withdrawing it. The evils of a popular election were, as was formerly stated, prevented at Rome after Italy was subjugated by the Gothic princes, who them- selves appointed the bishop. In the different kingdoms of the west- ern empire ditrerent modes were adopted for adjusting the appoint- ments to clerical offices. A custom prevailed in France for the mo- narch to dispose of ecclesiastical appointments by sale. [Fleunj, 354.) In Spain a new regulation for this etl'ect was passed in the council of Barcelona, in the year 599, which ordained that when a bishopric was vacant two or three candidates should be chosen, and elected by the consent of the clergy and people, who should formally present them to the metropolitan and his assistant bishops. This assembly, having pre- viously lasted, was to cast lots for the candidates, leaving the determi- nation to Christ the Lord. [Bing., h. iv, c. 1.) These regulations were far from being favourable to the interests of literature, or even of virtue. The Gothic princes appeared indeed desirous to nominate the worthi- est candidate to the pontificate ; but they were indifferent judges of learning, and not very likely to esteem in others those qualities which they did not possess themselves, and of which they could scarcely conceive the necessity. The sale of benefices was still more perni- cious ; and the method of choosing a spiritual guide by lot, even if fairly conducted, was injudicious. More firmij^ 'ooted each succeeding year, the noxious plants of superstition continued to throw out a number of strong and vigorous branches, which were carefully encouraged and cultivated. They were indeed an unfailing source of profit to the corrupt ministers of the Church. The people were instructed that by their liberality to the clergy or to the monastery they conciliated the favctur of Heaven, and obtained the intercession of departed saints. Some of the churches were possessed of very considerable estates ; but that of Rome, ac- cording to Theodorus Lector, in the year 520, chose not to keep any immoveable possessions ; and, if it was presented with such, immedi ately sold them, and the purchase money was divided into three parts, one of which was appropriated to the use of the Church, the second to the bishop, and the third in appointed portions to the inferior clergy. Where the revenues were thus divided, the power of the bishop must have been very considerable. Several councils, indeed, appointed persons to be associated with him in the distribution of ecclesiastical property ; but even then the share which was allotted for the exigences of the Church would be distributed chiefly by his direction, and in such a manner as to extend his influence, if it was not appropriated lo the indulgence of a baser passion. The property, which had been giadually acquiring by the clergy, had been considerably augmented oy the laws of Constantine, (which encouraged bequests to the 126 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. fCsNT. VI. Church,) and by an allowance from the public revenue. Constantine also instituted the Church successor to all martyrs or persecuted per- sons who died without heirs. Upon the deuioliiiou of the heathen tem- ples, the buildings, statues, and revenues were sometimes presented to the clergy ; and Honorius enacted that the property belonging to all heretics and conventicles should be appropriated to the same use.* The revenues of the Church continued to receive fresh augmentations from the zeal of Justinian, who confiscated to its use the estates and property of all the clergy or monks who forsook the Church or monas- tery to lead a secular life. The corrupted doctrines of religion received, if no improvement, no very considerable alterations, in the sixth century. The torments of an intermediate state were indeed loudly insisted upon to the ignorant multitude at this time by the superstitious Gregory, whom the Romish Church has chosen to distinguish by the appellation of Great. This prelate is supposed, by some, to have laid the foundation of the modern doctrine of purgatory, which supposes a punishment to take place im- mediately after death, and previous to the station assigned as the eter- nal residence of the soul ; but his opinions differed very little from those of Augustine, who preceded him near a century ; ;ind Greoory must be regarded as the promoter, not the instituter, of the doctrine. Various have been the opinions respecting the seat of purgatory. Vol- canoes, or the ocean, the torments of conflicting elements, or the violent convulsions of hope and fear, have, by the profound explorers of Divine truth, been at different times assigned to the departed soul of man ; and the ministers, who inflict punishment, have by some been believed to be angels, and by others demons. The wonderful efiicacy of pictures and relics was loudly insisted upon ; and the utmost reverence incul- cated for the Virgin Mary, around whose head new honours were per- petually gathering. In the reign of Justinian it became common to join the Virgin Mary and the archangels Michael and Gabriel in solemn oaths. The esteem of celibacy so much increased that, though the Arian clergy of the western parts of the empire were in general married, the Latin bishops of the Catholic Church extended in some places the obligation of celibacy to sub-deacons. These regulations made it necessary to renew or enforce with vigour those laws which prohibited the clergy from entertaining in their houses any female who came not within the degrees of near consanguinity. From imposing restraints upon the marriages of the clergy, some marriages which had hitherto been regarded as lawful were discouraged and interdicted among the laity. In the reign of Justinian, in certain degrees of spiritual relationship persons were prohibited from contracting marriages with each other, particidarly in that between a godfather and god- daughter, which was supposed to unite their soids in a divine maimer, and to induce a paternal affection. Succeeding councils advanced u])on these doctrines ; and the canon law extended the relationship to the baptizer and baptized, the catechist and catechumen, and ingeniously discovered several degrees of spiritual kindred. The primitive doctrines of the Gospel were so entirely obscured by superstition, and so imperfectly understood, that great numbers began to conceive that the profession of religion was alt that was necessary • An admirable expedient for promoting unarmnitv. Cent. VI.] nisToay of the church. 127 for acceptance with God. Provided they were enrolled among ihe sacred numbers who sought to procure heaven by the neglect of their duties on earth, or believed they performed a full expiation for the most atrocious oflences by the infliction of voluntary personal punishment, or the institution of novel rites, or added pomp, in the worship of the monastery, they conceived their salvation most certainly attained Early in this century, Sigismund, king of Burgundy, who, at the insti- gation of his mother, had cruelly murdered his own son, attempted to appease the vengeance of the Supreme Being, by liberal donations to the monastery of St. Maurice, in Vallais, (which he had founded in honour of the celebrated Theban Legion,) by the institution of a full chorus of perpetual psalmody, and by an assiduous practice of the most austere devotions of the monks. Several new orders were instituted, and exact rules prescribed for their conduct. Cesarius, bishop of Aries, founded, in the year 507, a monastery for women, and distin- guished himself among the number of those who composed regulations for the monastic life. In these, the offending nun, who was insensible to the milder punishments of reprimands, or a separation from the social and religious exercises of the society, was condemned to the severe discipline of flagellation, in which, however, the punishment was mercifully confined to forty stripes, save one. Benedict, the founder of an order which through successive ages is still distinguished by his name, was a monk of Sublaquam, in the dio- cess of Tyber, where he erected in the adjacent wilderness twelve monasteries, each containing twelve monks ; one of which, from a va- riety of causes, increased so much in splendour and reputation as to be not only exempted from episcopal power, but to hold fourteen villages under its peculiar jurisdiction. The rules prescribed by this monk, for the regulation of his disciples, were milder with respect to discipline, and more reasonable in their tendency, than those of any of his prede- cessors ; and his order acquired a degree of reputation so favourable to its increase, that it nearly absorbed all the other monastic institutions of the western empire. Some of them indeed were distinguished by the diflierent appellations of Cistercians, Grandimontenses, and several others ; but twenty-three monastic orders have been traced to this source. From the newly-peopled wilderness of Sublaquam, Bene- dict departed to Mount Cassian, where he employed his time in the arrangement and perfecting of his rules, and where he died about the year 545. To expatiate upon the extravagances and absurdities practised by the different orders of monks, — either in the glootny cloisters of their convents, or in their dreary retreats in the deserts, or to recount the artifices practised by them in their commerce with the world, — would afford a detail liitle edifying or agreeable. Pillar monkery continued to seduce its votaries, not oidv in the east, where Simeon Stylites, junior, in imitation of his fanatical predecessor, lived sixty-eight years upon different pillars, but it extended to the west, which in general appears to have been more distinguished by the knavery than the fana- ticism of its monastic disciples. Vulfilaic, however, a monk of Lom- bardy, ascended a pillar at Treves, where he endured the inclemencies of the winter ; and with apparent reluctance obeyed the commands of the bishops, who represented to him that the cold climate of Germany 128 HISTORY OF THE CHURCF. [CeNT. VI. was not calculated for these devotional exertions. A number of the austere penitents, whose madness had probably occasioned their severi ties, and whose fanaticism in return heightened their mental imbecility, obtained a safe retreat from the world, in a hospital established in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, for the reception of those moidis who, in rashly attempting to pursue the lives of hermits, had sustained a depri- vation of reason, which they had afterward recovered.* Degraded by superstition and ignorance, as the cloistered retreats certainly were, they however became almost the only refuge to which learning and philosophy could retire from the tumults of war and the desolations of barbarism. The founders of many orders had extorted from their followers a solemn obligation to employ a certain portion of their time in the daily study of those treatises of celestial wisdom which were deposited in the rich mines of ancient theology. An accu- mulation of absurdity would, in an ignorant age, be necessarily admitted at the same time : but this obligation occasioned the reception of a fund of genuine knowledge into these gloomy repositories ; and perhaps prevented the very faculty of interchanjfins our ideas by writing, or of increasing our stores of knowledge by the perusal of books, from being once more sunk in oblivion. That a zeal for discipline was not totally extinguished among all the members of the Christian Church appears from the frequency of parti- cular councils for its enforcement during this century. The various abuses they endeavoured to rectify, and the restraints they attempted to impose, would, if no other monument existed, convince us that there were few crimes of which a minister of religion might not be supposed to be guilty. The arrogance and profligacy of the clergy have been already remarked ; their hospitality may in some degree be conceived by a canon of the council of Maccon, in the year 585, which enacts that bishops shall not keep mastiffs to worry beggars. Toward the close of the preceding, or the commencement of the sixth century, the bishops, who had hitherto exercised the power of forming their own liturgies, agreed to conform to that of the metropolitan Church. The national liturgies, in the western empire, commenced upon its being divided into different kingdoms. In these liturgies diff'erent creeds were used, varying in expression, though agreeing in doctrine, previous to the formation of the Nicene creed. Creeds were not, for a consi- derable time, introduced into the daily worship of the Church. In the year 515, Timothy, the successor of Macedonius, bishop of Constanti- nople, to demonstrate his detestation of his predecessor, whom he con- sidered as an enemy to the Nicene faith, commanded the Nicene creed to be repeated every time Divine service was performed in the church. Previous to this time, it had only been recited on Maundy Thursday when the bishop catechised those who were to be baptized at Easter ; and was repeated at Antioch whenever the sacrament was administered. Gregory the Great composed the Roman mass, or missal, distinguished by his name, which at first was intended for the particular use of the Romish Church, but was afterward enlarged, improved, and admitted into other churches. Superstitious practices had crept even into the performances of the connnon devotions of the Church : and it was ♦ The loss, says Dr. Jortin, is not to be questioned ; the recovery is more que&- tionablo Gent. Vl.J history of the church. 129 ordered by Vigilius, that those who celebrated mass should always direct their faces toward the east. The rite of baptism does not appear to have been administered with any variations from the forms of the preceding century ; but material alterations in the celebration of the Lord's Supper took place during the pontificate of Gregory the Great, who introduced a number of cere- monies into almost every part of religious worship. Frequency of communion, from the superstitious opinions which prevailed respectin» this rite, had abated by degrees : it appeared, indeed, in some places, in danger of being wholly laid aside. In a council at Aries, in the year 506, the laity were commanded to communicate three times annually, on the three great festivals of Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas. A reverence for the sacramental elements was strongly insisted upon by the clergy ; and as it was customary to consecrate a larger portion than was immediately necessary for the communicants, in order that it might be in readiness to be distributed to the sick, it was, in the year 567, enacted in the council at Tours, that it should no longer be deposited in a chest, but upon the ahar, to excite the devotion of the people. The holy water, or a mixture of salt and water, which was made use of for sprinkling those who entered into or departed from the church, is first mentioned in an edict of Vigilius, in the year 538, but was probably introduced anterior to that period. The tonsure of the priests, among other ceremonial observances, was very generally enforced in this cen- tury, and became indeed an essential part of the ordination of the clergy. This practice occasioned in the Church nearly as violent disputes as those concerning the celebration of Easter. The question agitated was, whether the hair of the priest and monks should be shaven on the forepart of the head, from ear to ear, in the form of a semicircle ; or on the top of the head, in the form of a circle, as an emblem of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ. The sects usually shaved ac- cording to the former, and the Romish missionaries conformably to thfc latter practice ; but the time when the custom was introduced is un- known. The early fathers of the Church had endeavoured, by their exhortations, to prevent the extremes of cutting the hair like the priests of Isis and Serapis, and that of wearing long hair in imita- tion of the luxurious manners of the barbarian soldiery. Their fol- lowers had, however, in this, as in many other instances, no reluctance to the imitation of foreign superstition ; and that mark, which once distinguished the priests of the F^gyptian deities, has since that period marked the heads of Christian prelates ; and has obtained the name of the Roman tonsure. Every superstitious practice of this period met with a steady and zealous patron in Gregory the Great, who encouraged the use of pic- tures and images in churches, and strongly insisted upon the efficacy of relics. Gregory refused, however, to transport any part of the lody of St. Paul to Constantinople, since he asserted that this sacred relic was endued with powers so formidable that the temerity of those who dared to approach it was punished by their being seized with terror, or perhaps visited with a frightful apparition. He graciously sent to the empress, who had preferred this request, a portion of the filings of St. Paul's chain, to place in the church then building at Constantinople in honour of that apostle. The ingenuity of the relic-mongers favoured 130 HISTORY OF I'HE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. them with a happy device for muUiplying the virtues of relics, without a muhiplicalioa of the relics themselves. Instead of distributing the pious remains of a saint, they touclied the body with a piece of cloth, called brandeum, which immediately received the wonderful power of healing diseases, and even sometimes of working still more extraordi- nary miracles. Some impious Greeks, having dared to doubt of the efhcacy of such relics, were convinced of their inlidelity, by Leo, bishop of Rome, who took a pair of scissors, and cut the sacred cloth, from which drops of blood are said to have immediately gushed out. As pomp and splendour were affected in the performance of every religious rite, the churches vied wi(h each other in magnificence. A curious altar was presented to the church of St. Sophia, by Justinian and Theodora, composed of every material which could be procured. Gold and silver, every kind of precious stone, wood, and metals, were blended together ; and the table composed of this mass was adorned with an inscription, in which the royal donors solemnly made an offer- ing of it to Christ, and entreated him, that they, together with the em- pire, might be preserved in the orthodox faith. Many festivals were, during this century, introduced into the Church, the most considerable of which was the feast of the puritication of the blessed virgin. The lupercalia, or feast of Pan, which was constantly celebrated by the pagans, with burning tapers, was succeeded by the Christian festival of the purification. Like its predecessors, this feast was solemnized with a blaze of tapers ; and was called candlemas, from the lights used on that occasion. The day of consecrating a church was also in many places observed as an anniversary festival. CHAPTER IIL OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of several sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocilae — -Severians — Agnostae — Theodo Elans — Trilheisls — Philoponites, &c. — Darnianists. National wars for the extension of dominion, and continual attempts to enforce obedience to spiritual authority, were circumstances little favourable to the tranquillity of the Christians, during the sixth century. Fewer sects, however, arose during this than at any preceding period ; and some of those divisions which had most successfully assailed the peace of the Christian world were nearly terminated. Donatism breathed her expiring sighs; and the doctrines of Arius, which were so extensively embraced, were forsaken by an immense number of those by whom they were professed, and have ever since been confined to comparatively a very inconsiderable number of Christians. Eutychianism, favoured by the imperial smiles, was, however, revived from the languor and obli- vion into which it had been visibly sinking. But it owed still more to the conduct of Jacob Baradaeus. By his activity and eloquence this drooping sect was restored to life and vigour; its votaries were numberless ; its different factions were reconciled ; and its credit and authority were extended through Egypt, Abyssinia, Mesopotamia, and \rmenia. The newly-revived sect assumed the name of their new Cent. Vt.J history of the church. 13! chief: they arx .till distinguished by the appellalion of .Jacobites ; and to this day consiitute the bulk of those Christians who reside within the jurisdiction oi' the bishops of Antioch and Alexandria. The doctrine ooncerning the incorruptibility of the body of Christ, though espoused by the emperor, was slea lily opposed by the orthodox party, wlio bestow«?d upon their adversaries the names of Aphthartodo- citae, Phantasiasts, and Manicheans, from some real or fanciful re- semblance to that sect. Among the most zealous of these defenders of the faith was Se^'erus, bishop of Atitioch, who asserted the corrupti- bility of the body of Christ. The adherents of Severus were, in con- sequence of this opinion, stvled Corrupticohe, Phthartolatra;, and Se- verians. Themistius, a deacon, and one of the Severian sect, pursuing still farther these fiivolous speculations asserted that Jesus Christ, as man, might be ignorant of certain things. They who adopted this sentiment were disnnguished by the name of Agncetae, or by that of their leader. The doctrines of Themistius were opposed by the Theo- dosians, the followers of the degraded patriarch of Alexandria. The Eutychian controversy produced, toward the close of this cen- tury, a new sect, called the Tritheists. This sect, which taught that the Father, Son, and Spirit, were three coequal, distinct beings, who partook of one common, undivided nature, divided into the Philopo- nists, and Cononites, according to the names of their respective lead- ers, who agreed in the doctrine of the three persons in the Godhead, but differed in some opinions concerning the resurrection of the body. Peter Dainian, the patriarch of Alexandria, in attacking their errors, proceeded too tar on the other side, and incurred the charge of Sabel- lianism. The Damianists distinguished the Divine essence from the three persons, and denied that each person was God, when considered abstractedly from the other two ; but asserted that there was a common Divinity, by the joint participation of which each person was God. The Tritheists, together with the other sects of the Eulychians, fell into that of the Jacobites, a denomination which is common to them all ; although some, from the countries they inhabit, are distinguished by the names of Copts and Armenians. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of learning — Controversial and party writers appropriate the rewards which ought to ije the portion only of useful learning and true genius — Ruin of Platonism — Succeeded liy thf philosophy of Aristotle — Boethius — Philojionus — Leontius of Neapolis — Isidore of Seville — John Seynthojiolis — Leontius — Zachary of Mytilcne — Facundus^ Fulsentius — Maxenlius — Eulojiius — Theodore — Cassiodorus — Basil of Cilicia — Ev;igriua — Giegoryofl'ours — Oildas — Procopius — Agathias — Forlun itus — Arator — Oroiituis — Co- limbanus — Justus — Avitus — Primasius Victor of Capua — Procopius of Gaza — Cassiodo- rus--Gregory the Great — Justinian — Tribonian — Code, Pandects, and Institutes of Jus- tinian. If, in traversing the obscure and mazy paths of superstition and ignorance, which distinguished this century, we take only a cursory view of surrounding objects, we shall probably be excused by our fel- low-travellers who will find few refreshing and cultivated shades to 132 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT, VI. invite their stay, few blooming and elegant productions to arrest iheir attention. The dreary night of ignorance began to gloom ; and the road to truth, no longer pleasant and cheerful, was pursued through dismal and inextricable labyrinths. The interests of real learning and philosophy arc so necessarily connected with truth, that in an age when duplicity and falsehood were so generally employed in the propagation of all opinions, we cannot be surprised to observe the dominion of real science nearly destroyed. The liberal rewards and honours which were offered by the emperors for the encouragement of learning, were coimteracted by their attachment to theological disputation, which naturally contracts the faculties of the human mind. Those bounties which should have been directed to the reward of ingenious exertions were conferred upon the subtle disputant, and the nice investigation of absurd and unmeaning terms. Nor were the schools erected under the jurisdic- tion of cathedrals and monasteries calculated for inculcating and disseminating knowledge, since their unskilful and illiterate teachers considered philosophy and literature as not oidy unnecessary, but pernicious. The later Platonism, or that compound of Pythagorean, Platonic, and Chaldaic principles, which had been so popular among the pagan phi- losophers, received a severe blow from the exertions oi' Justinian against paganism, and his imposition of perpetual silence upon the Athenian schools. Seven philosophical teachers of the Grecian super- stition, with grief and indignation, agreed to depart from the empire, and to seek in a foreign land the freedom which was denied in their native country. They had heard, and they credulously believed, that the republic of Plato was realized in the despotic government of Per- sia ; but they were soon convinced of their mistake. The monarch, Chosroes, concealed the most savage dispositions under the disguise of philosophy ; and they were extremely scandalized by the licentious practices of an eastern nation, so different from the Christians, whose doctrines they affected to despise, but whose precepts they could not but approve. They made a precipitate retreat, but they returned not to their former reputation : their numbers had declined, and their fol- lowers disappeared. They terminated their lives in peace and ob- scurity ; and with them ended the long list of Grecian philosophers. To this sublime and ingenious, but in many respects fanciful system, that of Aristotle soon succeeded, which was introduced into the theo- logical disputes ; and, like its precursor, served to confound and per- plex the reasonings of the Christian world. Boethius, a senator of Rome, and an admirer of that wisdom which illuminated ancient Greece, was the most distinguished person who introduced the Aristotelian philosophy into the explanation of the doc- •lines of Christ.' The abilities of Boethius gave celebrity to evei/ opinion he eujbraced ; and a few were disposed to dissent from the sen- timents of the first philosopher, orator, and theologian of the sixth century. His misfortunes were not less remarkable than his literary abilities. Born to the possession of an ample fortune, and descended from one of the noblest families at Rome, Boethius prcsecutf d, in ease and independence, the most abstruse or the most elegant studies, and adorned all the duties of public and private life by his strict regard to CkNT. VI. J HISTORY OF THK CMUKCH. 133 justice ; by his eloquence, which was always exerted in tlie cause of humanity and innocence ; and by his liberality to the distressed. Such conspicuous merit was felt and rewarded by the discerning Tlieodoric, who honoured this illustrious senator with the titles of consul and mas- ler of the offices ; and afterward gratified his paternal ambition, by creating his two sons consuls at the same time, and at an early age. " Prosperous in his fame and fortunes, in his public honours and private alliances, in the cultivation of science, and the consciousness of virtue, Boethius might have been styled happy, if that precarious epithet could be safely applied before the last term of the life of man. " A philosopher, liberal of his wealth and parsimonious of his time, might be insensible to the common allurements of ambition, the thirst of gold and employment: and some credit maybe due to the asseve- ration of Boethius, that he had reluctantly obeyed the divine Plato, who enjoins every virtuous citizen to rescue the state from the usurpa- tion of vice and ignorance. For the integrity of his public conduct he appeals to the memory of his country. He had always pitied, and often relieved, the distress of the provincials, whose fortunes were ex- hausted by public and private rapine ; and Boethius alone had courage to oppose the tyranny of the barbarians, elated by conijuest, excited by avarice, and, as he complains, encouraged by impunity. In these ho- nourable contests, his spirit soared above the coi-.sideration of danger, and perhaps of prudence. The disciple of Plato miglit exaggerate the infirmities of nature and the imperfections of society ; and the mildest form of a Gothic kingdom, even the weight of allegiance and gratitude, must be insupportable to the free spirit of a Roman patriot. But the favour and fidelity of Boethius declined in just proportion with the public happiness; and an unworthy colleague was imposed, to divide and control the power of the master of the offices. In the last gloomy season of Theodoric, he indignantly felt that he was a slave ; but as his master had power only over his life, he stood, without arms and without fear, against the face of an angry barbarian, who had been provoked to believe that the safety of the senate was incompatible with his own. The senator Albinus was accused, and already convicted, of the presumption of hoping, as it was said, the liberty of Rome. ' If Albinus be criminal,' exclaimed the orator, ' the senate and my- self are all guilty of the same crime. If we are innocent, Albinus is equally entitled to the protection of the laws.' These laws might not have punished the simple and barren wish of an unattainable blessing; but they would have shown less indulgence to the rash confession of Boethius, that, had he known of a conspiracy, the tyrant never should. The advocate of Albinus was soon involved in the danger, and perhaps the guilt of his client: their signature (which they denied as a forgery) was affixed to the original address, inviting the emperor to deliver Italy from the Goths ; and three witnesses of honourable rank, perhaps of infamous reputation, attested the treasonable designs of the Roman patrician. Yet his innocence nmst be presumed, since he was de- prived by Theodoric of the means of justification,, and rigorously con- fined in the tower of Pavia ; while the senate, at the distance of ^\\e hundred miles, pronounced a sentence of confiscation and death against the most illustrious of its members. At the command of the barba- rians, the occult science of a philosopher was stigmatized with the 19 134 HISTORY OF THE chur::h. [Cent. VI names of sacrilege and magic. A devout and dutiful attacliment to the senate was condemned as criminal, by the trembling voices of the senators themselves; and their ingratitude deserved the wish or pre- diction of Boethius, that after him none should be found guilty of the same offence. " While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment ihe sentence or the stroke of death, he composed, in the tower of Pavia, the Co/isolation of Philosophy ; a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or TuUy, but which claims incomparable merit, from the barbarism of the times, and the situation of the author. Tho celestial guide whom he had so long invoked at Rome and at Athens now condescended to illumine his dungeon, to revive his courage, and to pour into his wounds her salutary balm. She taught him to com- pare his long prosperity and his recent distress, and to conceive new hopes from the inconstancy of fortune. Reason had informed him of the precarious condition of her gilts ; experience had satisfied him of their real value ; he had enjoyed them without guilt ; he might resign them without a sigh ; and calmly disdain the impotent malice of his enemies, who had left him happiness, since they had left him virtue. From the earth, Boethius ascended to heaven, in search of the su- preme good; explored the metaphysical labyrinth of chance and destiny, of prescience and free-will, of time and eternity ; and attempted to re- concile the perfect attributes of the Deity with the apparent disorders of his moral and physical government. Such topics of consolation, so obvious, so vague, or so abstruse, are ineffectual to subdue the feelings of human nature. Yet the sense of misfortune may be diverted by the labour of thought ; and the sage who could artfully combine in the same work the various riches of philosophy, poetry, and eloquence, must already have possessed the intrepid calmness which he affected to seek. Suspense, one of the worst of evils, was at length determined by the ministers of death, who executed, and perhaps exceeded, the inhuman mandule of Theodoric. A strong cord was fastened round the head of Boethius, and forcibly tightened, till his eyes almost started from their sockets ; and some mercy may be discovered in the milder torture of beating him with clubs till he expired. But his genius survived, to diffuse a ray of knowledge over the darkest ages of the Latin world : the writings of the philosopher were translated by the most glorious of the English kings ; and the third emperor of the name of Otho removed to a more honourable tomb the bones of a Catholic saint, who, from his Arian persecutors, had acquired the honours of martyrdom, and the fame of miracles." (Gibbon, iv, p. 36.) The crimes committed by this illustrious senator against the mo- narch of Rome were not confined to the treasonable wish of restoring the liberty of the people and the power of the senate ; Boethius had •written in defence of the Catholic doctrine of the trinity, and, in his zeal for religion, had attacked, not only the Nestorians and Euty- chians, but even Arianism itself, though professed by Theodoric. A knowledge of all the arts and sciences was diffused by the indefati- gable pen of Boethius. In the celebrated work, De Consolatione Phi- losophies, he has exhausted every topic of consolation which the philo- sophy of the Grecian schools could suggest ; but has entirely omitted tlie firmer supports which are afforded by Christianity under the afflic- Cent. VI.] history of the church. 13.1 tions of the present state. It has been conjectured, and probably the conjecture may be well founded, that Boethius intended to have per- fected his treatise by the addition of a sixth book, on the topic of Christian consolations. As it is evidently transmitted in an imperfecl state, it is not reasonable to suppose, from the omission, that Boethius was more sensible to the consolations of a philosopher than to those of a Christian, or was a firmer believer in the doctrines of Stoicism than in those of the Gospel. The various controversies which engaged the attention of the Chris- tian world produced a multitude of writers, more considerable indeed from their numbers than their abilities. The errors of the pagans were attacked by Philoponus, and those of the Jews by Leontius of Neapolis, and Isidore of Seville. The names of Anastasius, John Scynthopolis, Leontius, Zachary of Mytilene, Facundus, Gulgentius, Maxentius, and Eulogius, are distinguished among the controversial writers of this century. But the greater part of them, in detailing their own perplexed opinions, were little calculated to convert theii readers ; and must, by the substitution of rancour and vehemence io the place of argument and reason, have induced disgust rather thart conviction. Like the controversialists, the historical writers of this century are little distinguished for their excellence. A collection of the histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, was compiled by Theodore, who continued the historical accounts to the reign of the elder Justin. A compilation of the same materials was made by Cassiodorus, to which he added a short chronicle. Basil, of Cilicia, wrote also an ecclesiastical history, which was continued by Evagrius, but greatly corrupted by faI)ulous accounts. The annals of France, by the fa- mous Gregory of Tours, are written in a style utterly devoid of sin> plicity and elegance ; and his eight books of the lives of the saints are replete with weakness, superstition, and credulity; nor do the incon- sistent accounts in the work Concerning the Destruction of Britain, by our countryman, Gildas, deserve a much higher character. Those historians who were the most deserving of attention were Procopius and Agathias, the former of whom accompanied Belisarius in the Italian and African wars ; and acquired so considerable a share of reputation under the successive emperors that he was honoured with the office of quaestor, and with the important station of praefect of Constantinople. He composed two books concerning the Persian war, two books of the Vandalic, and four of the Gothic. In these performances, wher- ever he has occasion to mention Justinian or Theodora, he always speaks of them in the most honourable terms ; and, in his account of the edifices of Justinian, extols the emperor for his devotion and libe- rality, his mildness and magnificence, and the empress for her piety and zeal. But the external professions of courtiers do not always accord with their real sentiments ; and Procopius, if he be, as there is much reason to believe, the author of the Secret Anecdotes, has more than unsaid every thing he had advanced in favour of his bene- factors, and has left a perpetual record of their dishonour and of his own duplicity. The historical accounts of Procopius terminated in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Justinian ; but were continued by Agathias, who published his history in the year 593. Each of these 136 HISTORY OF THE CHORCH. [CeNT. VI writers has been charged with paganism ; and, however this accusa- tion may have been controverted in favour of the former, against the latter it remains in full force. If the charge against both be true, they are distinguished by being the two last pagan historians who have written in Greek, and of whose works there are any considerable re- mains. Religious poetry was, during this century, cultivated for very diflerent purposes : for that of giving popularity to the fabulous miracles of the saints ; and in the more laudable view of endeavouring to em- bellish the truths of the Gospel. Fortunatus composed in verse the Life of St. Martin ; and Arator made a poetical translation of the Acts of the Apostles. Among the other religious poets of this century were Orontius, who wrote a Warning to the Faithful ; and Columbanus, the disciple of the British abbot, Congal, whose ardent zeal for monachism was attended with such success that his followers were dispersed through Ireland, Gaul, Germany, and Switzerland. Were we to judge of the excellence of the commentators of this pe- riod by the number of their expositions, we should form an exalted idea of their value. But they were, with few exceptions, an ill-disciplined band, little calculated for the performance of important actions. Com- mentaries upon Scripture were composed by Justus, who wrote upon the Song of Solomon ; by Avitus, upon the Apocalypse ; by Prima- sius, upon the Epistle to the Romans ; and by Victor, of Capua, who composed the Harmony of the Gospels. The most distinguished expositors of the sixth century were Procopius, of Gaza, upon the book of Isaiah ; Cassiodorus, who commented upon the Psalms, the Canticles, and other parts of Scripture ; and Gregory the Great, who expounded the book of Kings, and the Song of Solomon. To the merit of being a firm consubstantialist, Cassiodorus added those vir- tues which recommended him to the most exalted approbation of the Arian monarchs under whom he lived, who rewarded his distinguished excellence by the gift of some of the most considerable offices in their disposal. After the enjoyment of several public honours, Cassiodorus, at the advanced period of one hundred years, closed his life in a mo- nastery, where, in tranquillity and retirement, he had long employed himself in the pursuits of literature, which were enlivened by his know- ledge of philosophy and mechanics. Gregory, whose birth, rank, advancement of the papal power, and whose literary abilities, acquired him, in this age of ignorance, the ap- pellation of Great, was descended from an illustrious patrician family. His rank and abilities, at a very early age, procured him the office of prsefect of Rome ; but he relinquished all the pleasures and all the employments of a secular life, to devote himself to retirement in one of the monasteries which he had erected with his ample patrimony. His retreat was, however, distinguished by his reputed talents, and by the circumstances with which it was accompanied : and Gregory was soon summoned from his retirement, by his appointment as deacon of the Church, and his subsequent office of nuncio from the apostolic see to the Byzantine court. In this situation he boldly assumed, in the name of St. Peter, a tone of independent dignity which would have been criminal and dangerous in the most illustrious layman. He also en- gaged in a dispute with the patriarch of Constantinople, whether the bodies of the just, at the general resurrection, were to be really solid, Cent. VI.] history of the church. 137 or thinner than air. He returned to Rome with increased reputation ; and on the de;ith of l^elagius II., for whose recovery he had distin- guished himself by the frequency of his public intercessions, he was dragged from the cloister to the papal throne, by the unanimous voice of the clergy, the senate, and the people. He resisted, however, or appeared to resist this elevation, and secretly conveyed himself to the neighbouring woods and mountains. This retirement might perhaps afTord leisure for the abatement of his dread of the pontifical dignity; or, as security naturally renders men fearless, he might become less cautious in concealing his retreat : however this may be, the abode of Gregory was discovered, as it was reported, by a celestial light ; he was brought forth from his concealment, consecrated, and invested with the full possession of the Roman see. In this station, which he enjoyed more than thirteen years, his labours were invariably directed to what he conceived the benefit of religion, or to the aggrandizement of the Church of Rome. His inordinate ambition he endeavoured to conceal, perhaps from himself, under a mask of the most profound humility ; and condemned, in his rival, the patriarch of Constantinople, the title of universal bishop, which he was too haughty to concede, and too feeble to assume ; and which he contrasted and opposed, by styling himself servus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God. Super- stition received, in Gregorj^ a potent and zealous auxiliary ; his at- tachment to relics, to ceremonies, to a splendid variety and change of sacerdotal garments, and to pomp in public worship, was ex- treme. Till the last days of his life, he officiated in the canon of the mass, which continued above three hours, and which was rendered more splendid by music, and by the introduction of solemn and pomp- ous rites in its celebration. The liberality and moderation of the Ro- man bishop were very conspicuous in his behaviour toward the Jews who resided within the limits of his jurisdiction ; but his pious hatred was strongly exerted against the Christian sectaries, who dared to question the validity of the doctrines of the Church. The numerous publications of Gregory rank him among the most voluminous authors of the sixth century: yet he decried human learning; and, with some justice perhaps, showed his dislike of those who must have contemned him, by committing the works of a number of classical writers to the flames, among which was the historian Livy. He is charged with having still further evinced his zeal against every species of pagan excellence, by the demolition of several valuable monuments of ancient magnificence, lest those who visited Rome might be induced to pay more attention to triumphal arches, and profane productions, than to sacred things. Gregory was a rigid disciplinarian, and loudly insisted upon the perfect celibacy of the clergy, which he took the utmost pains to ascertain. The judgment he has shown, in some instances, in his literary performances, is debased by the most excessive credulity and weakness ; and his dialogues contain a multitude of absurd and ridicu- lous fables, which are dignified by the names of miracles, and the lives of the saints, and confirmed by the credulity or the craft of this pious pontiff, in order to advance the credit of his religion. Posterity has paid to the memory of Gregory a return of the same tribute which he liberally granted to the virtues of his own or the preceding generations i and, after his death, those celestial honours, which at all times have t38 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. been freely bestowed by the authority of the popes, were paid to Gre- gory the Great ; who, however, is the last of that order whose name is inscribed in the calendar of saints. Among the patrons and encouragers of literature during this century must be enumerated the Emperor Justinian, to whom several literary performances have been ascribed. At a very early period of his reign, this monarch projected a reformation of the Roman jurisprudence ; and, in conjunction with nine others of the most celebrated professors of the civil law, the learned Tribonian at length accomplished this arduous, but necessary task, which Justinian had prescribed. The new Code was perfected in fourteen months, and honoured by the name and signature of the emperor. A more arduous operation still remained ; to extract the spirit of jurisprudence from the decisions and conjec- tures, the questions and disputes, of the Roman civilians. Seven- teen lawyers, with Tribonian at their head, composed from these materials the Pandects, which were accomplished in three years. To these were added, by the command of the emperor, and the diligence of the imperial delegates, the Institutes, which are divided into an ele- mentary treatise, comprised in four books ; and, like the Code and Pandects, to which they were designed as an introduction, are honoured with the name of the emperor. The Code made its appearance in the year 528, and the Institutes in 533, a month before the publication of the Pandects, which had however been previously compiled. In 534, the emperor published a more accurate edition of the Code, which he enriched with several of his own laws, and some decisions in the most intricate and difficult points of jurisprudence ; and gave to this per- formance the title of Novels. In a rescript of Justinian, dated in the year 541, no mention is made of the consuls ; and from this period the custom of counting years from the consulates, which had prevailed from the time of the Roman republic, entirely ceased ; and the year of the reigning emperor was introduced, and continued to be used ; though some years previous to this Dionysius Exiguus, in his Cyclus Pascha- lis, had introduced the mode of computation now generally used in the Christian world, from the birth of Christ. CVKT. VU.j HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. 139 THE SEVENTH CENTURV. CHAPTER I GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Reigns of Justin, Tiberius, and Maurice — Phor.as — Heraclius — Monolhelite controvei'sy —Vain Httenipts for reconciling Uieoiogical differences — Constantine and Heracleon — Constans — Silence enjoined concerning theological speculations — Controversy continued, notwithstanding the imperial edict^Perseculion of Pope Martin 1. — Constantine Pogo- natus — Sixth general council — Condemnation of the Monotheliles — Attempt to raise a dead man as a proof in favour of Monothelism — Roman pontiff's — Boniface III. — Agatho — Pope's claim to infallibility — Controversies in the west — Inflexible rancour of the Jews — Conquest of Jerusalem iiy Cliosroes — Generosity of Heraclius — Jews baptized — Persecu- tion of the Jews in Spain— Laudalile and tolerant spirit of the Sjjanish clergy — Conver- sion of pagan nations — Mohammed — His origin — Doctrines — Flight — Assumption of regal and sacerdotal power — Compiests — Causes of his success — Destruction of the Alexan- drian Library — Vices of the clergy — Superior clergy whip the inferior ministers — Assume temporal power — Confusions at Rome, occasioned by the election of a pope — -Destructioi> of the patriarchates of Alexandria, &c., by the Mussulinen. The reigns of Justin, Tiberius, and Maurice, the immediate suc- cessors of Justinian, were distinguished by a rare but happy cahn in the ecclesiastical aflairs of the east : nor did the iinperial interference occasion any alteration during the reign of the ambitious Phocas, the murderer and successor of the amiable and unfortunate Maurice. On his ascension to the throne he made a solemn promise to ihe Bvzan- tine patriarch to defend and to preserve inviolate the orthodox faith of the councils of Nice and Chalcedon ; and in this solitary instance the perfidious prince was firm to his engagement : nor did he concern himself more with the doctrines than with the practice of religion. The enormities of his conduct soon deprived him of a sceptre which he so unworthily retained. Exasperated by injuries, the people of Constan- tinople were easily induced to forget their allegiance to a cruel and insidious prince ; and Heraclius, the African praetor, had little difliculty in obtainiitg possession of the imperial throne. The orthodox zeal of the new emperor did not permit him to be an indifl^erent spectator of religious afiairs. He engaged with warmth in the nice decisions of theology ; and his ardour for religion was rewarded by the gratitude of the people and clergy, who, in his war against the Persians, recruited his exhausted treasury with a considerable sum, derived from the sale of the magnificent gold and silver vessels wliich had been appropriated to the decoration or to the uses of the church. {Gibbon, vol. v, p. .510.) On his victorious return from the Persian war, Heraclius entered into the theological question, which for some years had been much agitated, concerning the existence of t'vo vnlls in Christ. The orthodox belief consisted in his possessing the wills and operations peculiar both to his divinity and humanity. The doctrine oi one will was, however, strongly insisted upon by many of the clergy. 140 HISTORY OF THE OHURCH. [CeNT. VI. and was adopted by the emperor, who conceived that the profession of a doctrine, certainly harmless, and possibly not quite without founda- tion, might reconcile the Jacobites of Egypt and Syria (whose opinions it approached) to the orthodox faith. Heraclius, therefore, indulged the laudable but impracticable design of effecting ecclesiastical union Zeal for religion might perhaps instigate him to this measure ; but pro- babl}" policy had some share in a design which was intended to pie- vent the defection of numbers, who, like the Nestorians, might secede, not only from the Church, but from the empire. Promjited by these motives, the imperial theologian, by the advice and concurrence of several of the Monophysite party, published an edict which asserted that after the union of the two natures in Jesus Christ there existed oidy one will and one operation. Athanasius, the Armenian bishop of the .Monophysites, and Sergius, the Byzantine patriarch, who favoured that sect, had laboured to persuade the empe- ror that this declaration would induce the Monophysite party to receive the Chalcedonian decrees ; and, provided it were assented to by the orthodox, would terminate the controversy. Cyrus, bishop of Phasis, a zealous Monothelite, or asserter of one will in Christ, was promoted by the emperor to the vacant see of Alexandria, and confirmed the favourite opinion of his benefactor by the decrees of a provincial coun- cil. This perplexed doctrine, illustrated and modified according to the opinions or ingenuity of its difl^erent adherents, was explained by them in terms which admitted of such various significations that it was accepted by considerable numbers who were restored to communion with the church. But however acceptable this romantic project for the restoration of union, among a people who delighted in controversial disquisitions, might be to many, still, although it was supported by the efforts of Honorius, the Roman pontiff^, and of the Byzantine patriarch, it met with a violent opposition, and occasioned contests not less pernicious to the tranquillity of the Church than those which it was designed to prevent. The emperor and the heads of the eastern and western Churches were regarded as the betrayers of the orthodox faith ; and the heretical Monothelites, and the schismatical asserters of two wills, regarded each other with mutual distrust and implacable aversion. Disappointed in these endeavours for ecclesiastical harmony, Heraclius had recourse lo another method, and published the Ecthesis, or Exposition of the Faith ; in which all controversies upon this subject were strictly prohi- bited. This exposition was the production of Sergius, bishop of Con- stantinople, and was approved by his successor, Pyrrhus, and several ol the eastern bishops. But it met at Ro?rie with a very different reception. On the decease of Honorius, the more orthodox Severian had obtained the pontificate, who continued warmly to condemn the Monothelite doctrine, and to oppose the Ecthesis ; and it was openly condemned in a council by his successor, John the Fourth, and by Theodore, who, in the year 642, succeeded to the papal see. The short and tumultuous reigns of Constaiuine and Heracleon admitted not of the imperial interference in religious disputes , they still continued, however, to disturb the peace of the Christian world ; and Constans had scarcely assumed the purple before he published Cent. VII.] history of the church. 141 he Type, an edict of a similar nature to that of his grandfather Hera- clius, Which enjoined profound silence ui)on this long-disputed ques- tion. This proclamation might suppress, but could not extinguish, the heated passions of the theological disputants. Sophronius, bishop of Jerusalem, had been among the most zealous opposers of Mono- thelism, and had condemned this heretical opinion in a provincial coun- cil. His labours in the cause of orthodoxy ended not with the subju- gation of his see by the Saracens, in the year 636 ; he still continued, by his writings and example, to animate the clergy and the monks. They detected a latent heresy in the language, and even in the silence of the Greeks ; they were joined by the Latin Churches ; the obedi- ence of Pope Honorius was retracted and censured; and the execra- ble heresy of the Monothelites, which was said to have revived the errors of Manes, ApoUinaris, and Euiyches, was formally condemned. As the representative of the western Church, Pope Martin I., in his Lateran synod, anathematized the perfidious and guilty silence ot the Greeks. One hundred and five bishops, chiefiy the inhabitants of those parts of the western empire which remained in subjection to Constans, presumed to reprobate his execrable Type, no less than the impious Ecthests of Heraclius. Such an insult could not pass with impunity. Martin was removed from Rome, and was afterward exiled to Naxos, a small island in the Archipelago ; and his oracle, Maximus, a seditious m(mk, of the same party, was banished to Bizyca. Whatever had been the perverseness and obstinacy of this pontiff and his associate, humanity must, notwithstanding, recoil at their suf- ferings. Martin was, after a series of expedients in order to escape punishment, taken prisoner by the exarch, Calliopas, and sent to his place of banishment. His voyage, which was imbittered by apprehen- sion, captivity, disease, and insult, was succeeded by a year's impri- sonment, in which he endured extraordinary hardships. Nor were his suflerings mitigated at the expiration of that period : on his return to the imperial court, he was exposed to the insults of the populace, by whom he was reviled and contemned as a rebel, and was confined in a common prison. After a captivity of more than three months, during which he was oppressed with a violent dysentery, and denied the com- forts of suitable food, he was summoned before the senate ; refused the indulgence of a seat, though from disease and weakness he was unable to stand ; and was charged with treason against the stale. His asseverations of innocence, and the powerful plea he exhibited of the impossibility of his committing the crime, were inefTectual. The un- happy pontiif was divested of his sacerdotal garments, loaded with chains, was ordered to be led through the city, preceded by the exe- cutioner bearing a drawn sword, and at length to be cut in pieces. Immediate death was not, however, inflicted upon the miserable Martin ; he was thrown into successive prisons, and sent into banishment on the iidiospitable shores of the Tauric Chersonesus ; where a famine, and the inattention of his friends, who neglected, or who perhaps feared, to administer to his relief, added extreme penury to the overflowing cup of his sufl'erings, and he died amidst these calamities in 656. {Bower's Hist, of Popes, vol. iii, p. 55.) Though the spirit of discord was, by these severe proceedings, in some degree repressed, it was not overcome. The bishops of Rome 142 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH [CeNT. VII successively adhering to the decrees of the Latevt-n council, and the example of Martin, continued in a state of scpara.ion from the Greek Church. In order to \mite, and if possible to restore peace to the Church, the Emperor Constantine Pogonalus, by the advice of Agatho, the Roman pontiff, convened at Constantinople a general council, which is called the sixth. This assembly commenced in November, 680 ; and, after eighteen meetings, terminated in the following September, after having confirmed the decrees of the Romish synods by the con- demnation of the Monothelites, and of the deceased pontiff, Honorins. The emperor presided personally in this convention, and the argu- ments or the persuasions of the Duothelites were of sufhcienl efficacy to induce the son of Constans to relinquish his infant creed, while the example, or perhaps the influence, of the royal proselyte converted the Byzantine pontiff and a majority of bishops. The Monothelites, with their chief, Macarius, bishop of Antioch, were condemned to the tem- poral and spiritual pains of heresy. The eastern provinces conde- scended to accept the documents of the west : the creed which teaches that two wills, and two operations, were existent in Jesus Christ, was finally determined ; and the articles of the Catholic faith irrevocably defined. During the debates of this synod, the aged and fanatical Polychronius was called upon to declare his faith ; who proposed a more summary decision of the orthodox belief than the controversies of this assembly, by offering to restore to life the body of a dead man. Many of the judges in this cause were too well acquainted with the na- ture of modern miracles not to have some reason to be apprehensive of this mode of decision : they probably took care, however, that the body was actually dead ; and consented to the trial. But in vain did Poly- chronius deposit his written confession of faith upon the body ; in vain did he whisper, during several hours, into the ears of the deceased : the vital spark was totally extinguished ; and the insane ecclesiastic, who, notwithstanding the failure of this proof, still persisted in the doctrine of one will and one operation in Christ, was degraded from his sacer- dotal function, and anathematized by the clergy and people. The state of religion in the western parts of the empire underwent few alterations during this century. Those claims to dominion and supremacy which at first were but faintly urged by the Roman pontiffs, were continually extending, and as continually successful : new titles, and even those which had occasioned the warmest opposition from the followers of St. Peter, when conferred upon their brethren of Constanti- nople, were eagerly sought for, and gratefully received by the bishops of Rome for themselves. The artful Boniface III., who had for some years resided as nuncio at the imperial court, did not disdain to insinu- ate himself into the good opinion of the infamous Phocas, nor to receive with gratitude the effects of his favour. The Romish patriarchs were permitted in future to assume the title of oecumenical or universal bishops : this title, however, was unaccompanied by any new powers, and only served to increase the animosity which invariably subsisted between the patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople ; the latter of whom saw with extreme uneasiness the deprivation of his own dignities and the accumulation of those which were possessed by his haughty rival. The title of pope, which in fact merely signifies the name of father, was equally bestowed upon the bishop of Rome and those who Cent. VII.] history of the church. 143 possessed the other considerable sees ; and Cyprian had been compli- mented with the title of pope of Carthage, by Cornelius, bishop of Rome. About the seventh century the prelates of the Roman see began, how- ever, to appropriate this title to themselves. But the demands of ambition and vanity are insatiable : and the leaders of the Romish Church were so little contented with the honours they had already acquired, that Agatho laid claim to a privilege never yet enjoyed by man ; and asserted that the Church at Rome never had erred, nor could err in any point, and that all its constitutions ought to be as im- plicitly received as if they had been delivered by the divine voice of St Peter. [History of Popery, vol. ii, p. 5.) These insolent preten- sions to infallibility, when they were first asserted, were resisted by many bishops of the western churches, and by several princes. The Spanish monarchs, particularly, chose not to consider the Roman pontiff even as the head of the Church ; but claimed nearly the same degree of supremacy over the churches in their dominions, which the kings of England since the reign of Henry VIII. have exercised over theirs. The rage for religious disputation, which was so general in the east- ern parts of the empire, extended, though in an inferior degree, its influ ence to the west. The Pelagian controversy was warmly agitated both in Gaul and Britain ; and considerable numbers of the Lombards, uninfluenced by the example of the court, still continued their attach- ment to the doctrines of Arius. The sceptre, no longer swayed by the hands of a firm consubstantialist, was transferred to the valiant Rotharis, a zealous Arian. His regard to justice was not, however, in this instance, less conspicuous than in the other transactions of his reign : he forebore to compel his Catholic subjects to the violation of their consciences by an external profession of his own religious creed ; but in all the cities of his dominions permitted the appointment of two bishops, an Arian, and a consubstanlialist. The other barbarian princes continued in a firm adherence to the decrees of the council of Nice. They presided in the ecclesiastical councils, entered into every debate concerning faith or discipline, and their barbarian subjects were admit- ted to the performance of the sacred functions of religion. The increase of Christianity was beheld by the Jews with the utmost rancour of which the human mind is susceptible ; and this passion was continually augmented by the severe edicts which at various times had been promulgated against them by their Christian rulers. The wars between the Persians and the Roman emperor aftbrded them an oppor- tunity for the gratification of their revenge. The conquest of Jerusa- lem was meditated and achieved by the zeal and avarice of Chosroes, who enlisted for this holy warfare an army of six and twenty thousand Jews : these saw with exultation the capture of the city ; the flames bursting out from the stately churches of Helena and Constantine ; the demolition of the sepulchre of Christ ; and the precious relic of the cross conveyed, together with its sacred guardian, the Christian patriarch, into Persia. The massacre or captivity of ninety thousand Christians was the consequence of the conquest of Chosroes. Many of them were disposed of by the inhuman Persian to his Jewish adhe- rents, and in their subjection to these masters endured evils which were poorly compensated by the gift of life. The victories of Heraclius restored them once more to the enjoyment of their rights ; but his 144 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VII conduct toward the Jews was marked by a spirit of revenge, unworthy of a conqueror who had generously set at liberty fifty thousand Persian captives. These unhappy people were destined to experience the severe ven- geance of the exasperated monarch; they were ignoniiniously banished from the seat of their fondest wisiies, from the holy city ; and the miserable captives were compelled to a punishment, the greatest that could be conceived, that of receiving the sacred rite of baptism in the Christian Church. The unhappy situation of this people was considerably increased by the punishments which their factious and seditious conduct excited not only in the eastern but western parts of the empire. Their wealth, however, rather than their contumacy, or their attachment to the Mo- saical rites, might occasion many of the evils for which their religion was the avowed pretext. Sisebut, the Gothic monarch in Spain, suddenly attacked his Jew- ish subjects ; compelled the timid to receive the sacrament of baptism, and confiscated the effects of the obstinate. The Spanish clergy had not, however, so far forgotten the benevolent doctrines of the Gospel as to regard this circumstance with approbation, or even with indiffer- ence. They openly opposed the cruelty and folly of these severe pro- ceedings : in their provincial council they forbade the forcible imposi- tion of the holy sacraments ; but their superstition, and mistaken zeal for the honour of the Church, permitted them not to liberate from this most cruel slavery those who had been partakers of the initiatory rite of Christianity, and who had been, though by the most unworthy means, enrolled among the professors of the Gospel. They decreed that those who had already been baptized should still be constrained to the exter- nal profession of the Christian religion. The decrees of this council were probably mollified by the influence of the president, Isidore, bishop of Seville, who dared to condemn the mode of conversion prescribed by the Gothic monarch. ( Chron. Goth. p. 728.) The decree of the council of Toledo, in the year 633, was, however, less favourable to this persecuted people. A decree passed that the children of the Jews should be forcibly taken away from their parents, and placed in monasteries, or in the hands of religious persons, where they might be instructed in the principles of Christianity. [Fleury, Hist. Ecc. viii, p. 367.) Toward the close of this century a charge was exhibited against them which afforded a pretext for additional severity: they were accused of treason against the state ; and in the council of Toledo their possessions were confiscated ; their persons condemned to perpetual slavery to the Christians, who were earnestly exhorted not to tolerate them in the exercise of their religion ; and their children were doomed to be taken from them, at the age of seven years, to be educated in the Christian faith, and to be afterward married to Chris- tians. {Fleury, Hist. Ecc. ix, 125.) The boundaries of Christianity were, in this century, still farther expanded by the assiduity of the Nestorians in the east, and the zeal of several monks in the west. Missionaries from the monastic orders of Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, travelled into Germany, with the de- sign of propagating or preserving the knowledge of Christianity. The Frieslanders were converted ; and the Picts in England, together with Cent. VII.] history of the church. 145 the monarchs of the Saxon Heptarchy, acknowledged the truths of the Gospel. But Christianity received, at an early period of this century, a most fatal blow from the doctrines and conquests of Mahomet, or Mohammed, the archimpostor of the east. Descendeil from the most illustrious tribe of the Arabians, and from the most illustrious family of that tribe, Mohammed was, notwithstanding, reduced by the early death of his father to the poor inlieritance of five camels and an Ethio- pian maid-servant. In his twenty-fifth year he entered into the service of Cadijah, an opulent widow of Mecca, his native city. By selling her merchandise, in the countries of Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, Mo- hammed acquired a considerable part of that knowledge of the world which facilitated his imposture and his conquests : and at length the gratitude or affection of Cadijah restored him to the station of his an- cestors, by bestowing upon him her hand and her fortune. " According to the tradition of his companions," says Mr. Gibbon, " Mohammed was distinguished by the beauty of his person, an out- ward gift which is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has been refused. Before he spoke, the orator engaged on his side the affections of a public or private audience. They applauded his com manding presence, his majestic aspect, his piercing eye, his gracious smile, his flowing beard, his countenance that painted every sensation of the soul, and his gestures that enforced each expression of the tongue. In the familiar offices of life, he scrupulously adhered to the grave and ceremonious politeness of his country; his respectful atten- tion to the rich and powerful was dignified by his condescension and affability to the poorest citizens of Mecca : the frankness of his man- ner concealed the artifice of his views ; and the habits of courtesy were imputed to personal friendship, or universal benevolence. His memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his ima- gination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid, and decisive. He pos- sessed the courage both of thought and action ; and, although his designs might gradually expand with his success, the first idea which he entertained of his Divine mission bears the stamp of an original and superior genius. The son of Abdallah was educated in the bosom of the noblest race, in the use of the purest dialect of Aral)ia ; and the fluency of his speech was corrected and enhanced by the practice of discreet and seasonable silence. With these powers Mohammed was an illiterate barbarian ; his youth had never been instructed in the arts of reading and writing ; the common ignorance exempted him t'rom shame or reproach ; but he was reduced to a narrow circle of exist- ence, and deprived of those faithful mirrors which reflect to our mind the minds of sages and heroes. Yet the book of nature and of man was open to his view ; and some fancy has been indulged in the political and philosophical observations which are ascribed to the Arabian traveller. He compares the nations and religions of the earth ; discovers the weakness of the Persian and Roman monarchies ; be- holds, with pity and indignation, the degeneracy of the times ; and resolves to unite, under one God and one king, the invincible spirit and primitive virtues of the Arabs. Our more accurate inquiry will sug- gest that, instead of visiting the courts, the camps, the temples of the east, the two journeys of Mohammed into Syria were confined to the fairs of Bosra and Damascus ; that he was only thirteen years of 146 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH [CeNT. VII age when he accompanied the caravan of his uncle ; and that his duty compelled him to return as soon as he had disposed of the merchan- dise of Cadijah. In these hasty and superficial excursions, the eye of genius might discern some objects invisible to his grosser companions ; some seeds of knowledge might be cast upon a fruitful soil : but his ignorance of the Syriac language must have checked his curiosity ; and it cannot be perceived, in the life or writings of Mohammed, that his prospect was far extended beyond the limits of the Arabian world. From every region of that solitary world, the pilgrims of Mecca were annually assembled, by the calls of devotion and commerce. In the free concourse of multitudes a simple citizen, in his native tongue, might study the political state and character of the tribes, the theory and practice of the Jews and Christians. Some useful strangers might be tempted, or forced, to implore the rites of hospitality : and the enemies of Mohammed have named the .lew, the Persian, and the Syrian monk, whom they accused of lending their secret aid to the composition of the Koran. Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius ; and the uniformity of a work de- notes the hand of a single artist. From his earliest youth, Mohammed was addicted to religious contemplation : each year, during the month of Ramadan, he vvitlidrew from the world, and from the arms of Cadi- jah : in the cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca, he consulted the spirit of fraud or enthusiasm, whose abode was not in the heavens, but in the mind of the prophet. The faith which, under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and nation, is compounded of an eter- nal truth, and a necessary fiction : That there is only one God, and that Moham/ned is the apostle of God." The doctrhies of Mohammed were artfully adapted to the prejudices of the Jews, the several heresies of the eastern Church, and the pagan rites of the Arabs. To a large proportion of mankind they were ren- dered still more agreeable by the full permission of all sensual gratifi- cations, which were not only allowed to the faithful believer in this world, but his share of enjoyment, as well as his capacity for it, were promised to be increased in the groves and fountains of paradise, where- seventy-lwo houris, of resplendent beauty, were allotted to the embraces of the sincere, though most insignificant believer. In order to prove that Jesus Christ was the prophet, not the Son of God, and endued only with powers a little superior to those of Moses, the impostor had recourse to the assertion that all texts to the contrary were interpolations in the sacred Scriptures, the validity of which, with these alterations, he fully allowed. In the retreats of Hera, Moham- med professed he had the felicity of communing with the angel Gabriel, who revealed to him those sentiments concerning the nature, the will, and the attributes of the Supreme Being, which compose the Koran. This system, which was slowly formed, and gradually pro- mulgated, was at first probably inspired by fanaticism, and was after- ward perfected by artifice. The first proselytes of Mohammed were his faithful wife Cadijah, his servant Zeid, his pupil Ali, and his t'riend Abubeker. His religion slowly advanced within the walls of his native city, Mecca, during ten years. In this situation, the prophet was sur- rounded by enemies jealous of the power of his family, and incensed at his pretensions ; and his death, which was resolved upon by the Cent. VII.] history of the church. 147 princes of Mecca, was only prevented by a nocturnal and precipitate flight to Medina ; the memorable era of the Hegira, which happened in the 622d year of the Christian era, and still discriminates the lunar years of the Mohammedan nations. The fame of Mohammed had preceded his flitrht ; and the profession oi Islam had already been acknowledged at Medina, where the prophet was received with the loyal and devout acclamations of five hundred of the citizens. From the time of his establishment at Medina, Mo- hammed assumed the exercise of the regal and sacerdotal functions, and was invested with the prerogative of forming alliances, and of waging war. He urged the command of Heaven to propagate his religion by every possible means : thousands enlisted under his warlike banner, who were gratified with the distribution of the spoil, which was regu- lated by a Divine law ; a fifth was reserved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses, and the remainder was shared in adequate portions by the soldiers. These rewards, the eternal recompenses of paradise, and the persuasive tenets of fate and predestination, induced the com- panions of Mohammed to face danger, and to meet undauntedly that death which they believed it impossible to shun. Encouraged by the conquest of his own country, the victorious prophet carried his arms into the Roman territories, with invincible courage and astonishing success. In the sixty-third year of his age, the happiness of his faithful disciples was imbiltered by the indisposi- tion of their master, who believed himself poisoned through the revenge of a Jewish female ; and, after a lingering disease, the prophet termi- nated his existence in the year 632. Of the issue of his twelve wives Fatima, the wife of Ali, alone remained ; and the sceptre of Arabia wag transferred from the family of Mohammed into the hands of Abubeker who assumed the title of caliph, a name which equally implies a spi- ritual and a temporal command. The successors of the prophet propa- gated his faith, and imitated his example ; and such was the rapidity of their progress that, in the space of a century, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain, had submitted to the victorious arms of the Arabian and Saracen conquerors. That the Christian subjects of those countries should submit to the dominion of these barbarians is not wonderful : they had little power to resist ; and the forces of the empire, attacked in various places, could afford little opposition to the incursions of these powerful invaders. — But that their Ibrced profession of the Mohammedan faith should soon become so generally acceptable to the professed believers in a Gospel of peace and purity, may excite more surprise. Let it, however, be remembered, that Christianity no longer retained the same form it had assumed in the primitive Church ; the substance had been lost in pur- suing the shadow. Weakened and divided by their absurd controver- sies, and no longer united iiy the virtues prescribed in the Gospel, the Christians of the seventh century became an easy prey to the victorious followers of Mohammed, whose tenets concerning the lawfulness of bloodshed, rapine, and violence, in the propagation of religion, could not be very obnoxious to the feelings of those who had viewed, without abhoirence, the same means employed in the propagation of opinions they had themselves approved. Adapted as the doctrines of the great eastern impostor were to the jarring sectaries, the warmest contenders 148 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CEiN P. VII in Christian theology were among the foremost of the apostates. Un- willing to relinquish any abstruse nicety, or unreasonable scruple, for the peace of the Church, they surrendered the whole of their religion at the mandate of their barbarian conquerors ; at least the whole which remained to them, — the profession and appellation of Christians. The Nestorians and Monophysites, abhorred and detested by their orthodox brethren, were eagerly received and protected by the saga- cious impostor ; and repaid this service by bearing arms for the exten- sion of his power over their oppressors. Under the successors of Mohammed, the Christians, who were averse to his faith, suffered incredible hardships, and devastation and blood- shed marked the footsteps of the professors of the faith of Islam. In the victorious progress of Amrou, a Saracen general, Egypt was the fruit of his conquests ; and a circumstance which arose after the cap- ture of Alexandria is strongly expressive of the character of the first caliphs. Amrou had, in his leisure hours, amused and improved him- self by the conversation of John Philoponus, a celel)rated grammarian of that city, and a polite scholar. Philoponns earnestly besought his patron to gratify him with the present of the Alexandrian library; but the request of a favourite was not sufficient to make the victorious ge- neral forgetful of the obedience which was due to the caliph. The request was therefore preferred to Omar, who replied with the spirit of a fanatic, "If these writings of the Greeks agree with the book of God, they are useless, and deserve not to be preserved ; if they disagree, they are pernicious, and ought to be destroyed." The sentence was executed with blind obedience ; and such was the incredible number of the volumes, that, during six months, they supplied fuel for the baths, which contributed to the health and convenience of the populous capital of Egypt. The heretical opinions of those who had asserted that Jesus Christ was possessed of only one will and one operation, proved so much more obnoxious to the members of the Church, convened at the third general council of Constantinople, than the increasing immoralities of the clergy, that the synod was dismissed, if not without any person ad- verting to the necessity of discipline, at least without having enacted a solitary canon for the regulation of clerical conduct. The enormities which were, however, committed, demanded instant regulation ; and several provincial conventions attempted to remedy the disorders which threatened the dissolution of Christianity itself. Almost every crime which disgraces humanity entered into the dark catalogue of clerical vices, which were augmented by the arrogance and cruelty of their conduct toward the inferior clergy. The coimcil of Prague, in the year 675, passed a public censure upon those of the sup<>rior clergy who whipped, as slaves, the inferior ministers of the Church; or who compelled their deacons to perform the menial office of carrying the bishop upon their shoulders. [Fleury, viii, 680.) The authority exercised by the clergy extended as well to the superior as to the inferior classes of mankind ; and the twelfth council of Toledo, in the year 681, presumed to release the subjects of VVamba from their allegiant;e to their sovereign. In vain did the deposed monarch endea- vour to regain his kingdom, by the plea that the habit of a monk, with which he had been invested, had been put upon him, under the pretence Cent. VII.] history of the church. 149 of his being a penitent, at a time when his disorder had rendered hiin insensible. But the two characters of a monk and a king were deemed incompatible by his hanghty and arrogant judges. Ervige was declared to have a lawful claim to the allegiance of the people ; and the unfor- tunate VVamba was f)rohibited from the exercise of temporal jurisdic- tion, which was not adapted to the situation of a king who was con- demned to perform penance. At a time when the manners of the ecclesiastics were so extremely corrupt, we can scarcely be surprised at any instance of atrocity. The Romish see was a prize worthy of the utmost ambition and avarice, and it was eagerly aspired after by various contenders. The intrigues of Peter and Theodore for the pontificate had scarcely ceased, by the appoinlment of Conon to that see, when the early death of the Romish patriarch afforded a new opportunity for contention between Theodore (who seized upon the Lateran palace) and Paschal. Each contender being elected by his own party, the magistracy and the people were obliged to interfere ; in consecpience of which, the election of Sergius to the unoccupied see destroyed the pretensions of the two competitors. The submission of Theodore soon followed ; but his rival, the Arch- deacon Paschal, was with great difficulty compelled to resign his pre- tension. An accusation of magic was, however, soon preferred against the turbulent priest, who was, in consequence of the charge, deposed from his station in the Church, and condemned to spend the remainder of his life in a monastery, forgotten, or remembered with abhorrence, by a credulous and superstitious people. The patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, which had already suffered repealed defalcations of power, were during this cen- tury abolished by the conquests of the victorious Saracens. Nominal bishops* were indeed appointed to those sees, which had been sub- jected to the power of the Mussulmen : but toleration was not the virtue of the followers of Mohammed ; and, however the Arabian caliphs might be disposed to favour those sects by whom their conquests had been originally advanced, the orthodox Christians were severely op- pressed, and the prelates strictly prohibited from the exercise of the episcopal function in their diocesses. CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. Council assembled for the reformation of the clergy — Clergy permitted to retain theli wives — Superstitions oljservance in the celeliration of the Lord's Supper — Efficacy o! masses asserted — Pilgrimages— Divination — Privileges of monks extended — Boniface IV. ccivertshis house into a monastery — Licensed to perform every clerical function — Al- tcr