Columbia 5Bnt»er^ftp THE LIBRARIES wf the REV? MEINTRT ^EBBli:^' C'hU.l y The- muter able fazfur fisited^ tAe/ I'rison at niaht- -/"aZi and' a^ain. besoiu/Tct J'erpetuxv : of Terp/tu/Ls 'Ma^t^ r i)K i.c)^,(,.MA^. Ki;i;s. OUMt.. BROWii. GBJCES * LIDJGMAN. l'An-:HN() AiiD JOHN TAYT.OK. LIU'KK GOWiHi SlUKin . 1833. TABLE, ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL, TO THE FIRST V0LU3IE OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. CHAPTER I THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. ITS EXTENSION. LA- BOURS OF ST. PAUL. FIRST PERSECUTION. RUIN OF THE JEWS. STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS AFTER THE REIGN OF NERO. Commencement of the Christian Church . - . 1 Outpouring of the Holy Spirit ^ - - - 2 Its Effects - . - .3 Increase of the Disciples - - - 4 Imprisonment and Release of the Apostles • - 5 31. Martyrdom of St. Stephen . . .6 Persecution of the Church . _ - 6 Preaching; of. Philip, and Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch . , . . - 6 Character of Saul of Tarsus _: - - - -7 35. His miraculous Conversion - . - 9 .40. Cornelius ; Admission of the Gentiles into the Church - "10 44. Herod Agrippa persecutes the Faithful j Death of James ; Dehverance of Peter - - - 11 Preaching of Paul and Barnabas; the Disciples first called Christians at Antioch - - - - 11 Controversy respecting Circumcision decided by the first General Council - - - - - 12 Labours and Journeys of the Apostle Paul ; his Separation from Barnabas - - - - 13 Paul at Athens ; carried a Prisoner to Rome - - 14 Labours of the other Apostles - - - 16 63. Extensive Diffusion of Christianity within forty Years after Our Saviour's Ascension - > - 17 64 First Persecution under Nero • • - - 19 Tolerance of the Romans - « • - 21 VOL. I. A «) '} f^ /v» V> i*»i i / VI ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. ». D. Page Causesof the Persecution - - - - 22 Remarksof heathen Authors; Tacitus, Seneca, Juvenal 24 66. Revolt of the Jews - - - - 26 Vespasian reduces Galilee . - - 27 70. Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus . . - 28 The Security of the Christians during the Ruin of the Jews; their Return to ^lia - . . - 29 95. Domitian persecutes the Church ; Tranquillity restored by his Successor, Nerva - - . .30 CHAP. II. INSTITUTION OF RULES OF DISCIPLINE. RITES OP THE PRI- MITIVE CHURCH. ■ — • INTRODUCTION OF HERESIES. WORKS OF THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. Utility of Discipline ; necessary in the Regulation of Christian Societies ? - - - - 31 Baptism and the Communion - - - 32 Equality among the Members of the Church ; Bishops, Deacons, and Presbyters - - - - 33 Public Service of the Congregations ; miraculous Powers 34 Disorders in the Church of Corinth ; State of Discipline in the Primitive Times - - - - 35 Divisions on Points of Doctrine - - - 36 Simon Magus - - - - 37 Apollonius of Tyana - - . _ 38 Heresies of the Nicolaitans, Ebionites, and Nazarenes ; the heretic Cerinthus - - - - 40 Early Writers ; the Pastor of Hermas ; Epistle of Clemens Romanus - - - - 41 The Recognitiones dementis, and the Apostolical Constitutions, not written by Clemens Romanus - • - 43 Works ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite . - 44 Circumstances which prove them to be spurious - - 45 The Epistle of Barnabas - - - - 46 Fragments of Papias - - - - 47 Epistle of Agbarus, King of Edessa ; Letters of the Virgin Mary 48 Counterfeit Gospels and Revelations - - 49 Gospel according to the Egyptians, and the Gospel according to the Hebrews - - - - 49 Fabulous Gospels of Philip, Thaddeus, Barnabas, Andrew, and Judas Iscariot - - - - 49 Liturgies ofthe Apostles - - - 50 The Apostles' Creed - - - - 50 Its Authenticity controverted - - - 51 The Teachers of the Primitive Church not distinguished by their Activity, Power, or Learning - - 52 Christianity manifestly established by the Work of the Spirit and the Power of God - - - - 52 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Vli CHAP. III. STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS DURING THE REIGN OF TRAJAN. MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS. REIGN OF ADRIAN. HIS CONDUCT TOWARDS THE CHRISTIANS. INSURRECTION OF BAR- CHOCHEBAS. ANTONINUS PIUS. REFLECTIONS ON HIS CHA- RACTER. MARCUS AURELIUS. PERSECUTION. JUSTIN MARTYR. POLYCARP. THE GALLIC PERSECUTION. CHANGE IN THE EMPEROr's DISPOSITION. COMMODUS. INTERNAL STATE OF THE CHURCH. HERESIES. A. D. Page 96. The Christians increase in Number during the Reign of Nerva 54 98. Hostility of Trajan - - - - 54 107. Roman Intolerance ; Sentiments of Maecenas, Cicero, and Julius Paulus - - - -55 The Christian Religion not recognised by the State - - 56 The celebrated Letter of the younger Pliny - -56 Trajan's Answer . - . - 57 Simeon, the second Bishop of Jerusalem, • condemned on the Testimony of the Jews - - - 58 117. Martyrdom of Ignatius - - - 59 118. Adrian continues the Persecution begun by his Predecessor, Trajan - - - - 64 Quadratus presents his Apology for the Christians to the Emperor 64 Apology of the Philosopher Aristides ; Letter from the proconsul Serenius Granianus - - - 64 Adrian prohibits the further Punishment of the Christians - 64 1.30. Rebellion of the Jews under Barchochebas « - 65 138. Clemency of Antoninus Pius - - - 65 Remarks on the.Conduct of that Emperor - - 66 161. Character of his Successor Marcus Aurelius - - 68 163. The fourth Persecution — - - - 69 History of Justin Martyr - - - 70 His first and second Apologies - - - 72 Is condemned to Death - -• - 73 Peculiar'Opinions entertained by Justin - - - 74 Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna - - - - 75 Singular Circumstances attending his Martyrdom - - 78 The Empire afflicted by Pestilence - - - 79 174. The thundering Legion - - - - 79 Change in the Emperor's Disposition towards the Christians - 80 177. Persecution rages in France - . - 81 SufferingsofPothinus, Bishop of Lyons - - - 82 Fortitude of the Slave Blandina - - - 83 180. On the Accession of Commodus.Tranquillity is restored to the Christians - - - - 84 The internal State of the Church - - - 85 Each Congregation had its Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacons - 86 Election and Authority of Bishops - - - 86 The Laity divided into Classes; the Faithful and the Cate- chumens - - - - 87 VIU ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. Page Imposition of new'Rites and Ceremonies - - 87 Cause of the great Increase of heretical Opinions - 88 Doctrines of Basilides, the Nicoliatan - - - 88 Heretical Notions of Cerdon - - - . go Marcion, the Founder of the Marcionites - - 90 Heresy of the Montanists - - - - 91 History of Manes ; Opinions of the Manichees - - 91 Carpocrates and Valentine - - - 93 ThePaulicians - - . . _ 93 CHAP. IV. GENERAL CAUSES OF THE OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY. — > PER- SECUTION UNDER SEVERUS. MARTYRDOMS OF FOUR CATE- CHUMENS AND OF VIVIA PERPETUA AT CARTHAGE, HER NARRATIVE. REIGN OF MAXIMIN. PERSECUTIONS UNDER DECIUS AND VALERIAN. DEATH OF CYPRIAN. THE DEACON LAURENTIUS. CYRILLUS. The human Mind naturally opposed to Christianity - 94 The Apostles and their immediate Followers viewed as Re- formers - . - . 95 202. Fifth Persecution, under Severus - - 96 204. Arrest of four Catechumens at Carthage - - 96 Imprisonment of Vivia Perpetua - - - 96 Her Narrative - - . - 97 Her extraordinary Resolution - . . 97 And singular Vision . - . - 98 Martyrdomof Perpetua and the Slave Felicitas - -101 211. The Death of Severus puts a stop to the Persecution - 103 235. It is renewed by Maximin - - - 103 250. The Church enjoys Peace after his Death for ten Years, when Deicus begins the seventh Persecution - - 103 The celebrated Origen tortured in this Reign - - 103 History and Character of that Christian Philosopher - - 104 Paul, an Egyptian, flies to the Desert ; Origin of Monachism 106 Sufferings and Death of St. Agatha - - - 107 257. Accession of the Emperor Valerian, who puts a stop to the Perse- cution, but renews it in the fourth year of his Reign - 108 Character of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage - - 109 He receives the Crown of Martyrdom . - _ 113 Death of the Bishop Sixtus - - -115 Singular Fortitude and Death of Laurentius - - 116 Martyrdom of Cyrillus - - - -. 118 Anecdote of Sapricius and Nicephorus - . - 119 Decay of Piety in the Church - - - 120 303. Persecution under Dioclesian - - - 121 Edict of Nicomedia ascribed to the Persuasions of Galerius - 122 Extent of the Persecution - - - - 123 Accession of Constantius who favours the Christians - 124 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. IX Page Maximian decimates tlie Thcban Legion - - 125 Remonstrance of the Commantier Mauritius - - 125 The entire Legion put to the Sword - - - 126 The Fortitude and Devotion of the Christians - - 127 Martyrdom of the Child Barillus - - - 128 Peculiar Nature of the Persecutions of the early Christians 129 Their Submission to the reigning Powers - - 130 The pacific Spirit of the Gospel in after Ages became mixed with the Turbulence of human Passions - . 132 Heresies of the Noetians, Sabellians, and Novatians - 132 CHAP. V. CONVERSION OF CONSTANTINE. CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING IT. — STATE OF THE CHURCH AT THE TIME. THE SCHISM OF ARIUS. — THE EMPEROR INTERFERES. COUNCIL OF NICE. • PRINCIPAL EVENTS O^ ITS SESSION. ARIUS AND ATHANASIUS. CHARACTER OF THE LATTER. INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. REMARKS UPON IT. CONSTANTINe's SUCCESSORS. 325. Constantine ascends the imperial Throne - - 133 Accountof his Conversion; the miraculous Cross - -134 Effects of his Conversion - - - -136 State ofthe Church at this Period - - -140 Revolution in the Government ofthe Christian Church - 142 It declines in Faith and Piety after this Change - 143 Origin of the Arian Heresy - - - .143 Excommunication of Arius, by the Bishop of Alexandria . 144 Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia - - - 144 The EmperDr attempts to heal the Schism , - - 145 The Council of Nice - - . . 146 Nicene Creed - - - - 150 Arius and his Followers expelled the Synod - - 151 The Festival of Easter fixed for Sundays - - 151 Acts and Constitutions of the Council • ^ -151 Introduction of penal Punishments for religious Errors - 152 Exertions of Constantine in favour of Christianity - - 153 Destruction of the heathen Idols - . -153 The Empress Helena - - - 155 337. Death of Constantine • - . - 156 Recal of the exiled Arius -' - -157 Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria " - - -158 Accused by the Arians _ ; . . -159 His Innocence proved - - ' • - liO Is again brought to Trial - - - 161 And banished to Treves in Gaul - - - 162 Constantine II. restores Athanasius to his Bishopric - - 163 340. Death of Constantine, and Flight of Athanasius to Rome - 164 Constans determines to restore him by force _ « - 164 X ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. Page oaO. Persecution of the Orthodox by the Arians, who are favoured by Constantius, after the death of Constans - - 16S Athanasius narrowly escapes from their Violence, and takes Refuge in the Deserts of Thebais - - - 166 360. Returns to Alexandria on the Death of Constantius - - 169 £61. Is again expelled by Julian, but returns on the Accession of Jovian - - . . 169 364. Valentinian protects him ; but Valens forces him to leave his Flock - - - - 170 373. Valens reverses his Edict, and Athanasius at last dies in peace at Alexandria - - - 170 Character of Athanasius - - - 170 Liberius, Bishop of Rome - - - 171 Proceedings of the Emperor Julian . - .175 Imitations of the Classics, by ApoUinarius - - 176 Basil and Nazianzen - - - 177 Julian persecutes the Christians at Antioch - - 177 Miraculous Occurrences - - - 178 Death of Julian - - - 178 Reign of Jovian ; of Valentinian and Valens - - 179 Ambrose elected Bishop of Milan - -180 Heresies of the Messalians and Audians - - 181 Valens embraces the Arian Creed, and persecutes the Or- thodox - - - -181 Sufferingsof the Novatians - . - 182 378. Death of Valens, and Accession of Gratian and Theodosius - 183 The Church recovers from the Confusion produced by the Hos- tility of Valens - - - 183 The Empress Justina attempts to restore the Arian Heresy, but is opposed by Ambrose - - - 183 381. Theodosius summons a general Council at Constantinople - 184 The heathen Temples closed by the Emperor . - 185 Attempt to conciliate the various Parties - _ - 186 Intolerant Spirit of the Bishop of Milan - - 186 Theodosius massacres the Inhabitants of Thessalonica - 188 Conduct of Ambrose on that Occasion - . 189 Deprivations of the Arians - - -190 Infallibility assumed by the Emperors before it was claimed by the Roman Pontiffs - . 191 CHAP. VI. NUMEROUS HERESIES. OPINIONS OF THE FATHERS ON THE MARTYRDOMS OF HERETICS. CONTROVERSIES ON THE SUB- JECT. ACCOUNT OF THE DONATISTS. THEIR SUPERSTITION AND VOLUNTARY SUFFERINGS. THE PRISCILLIANS. WRITERS OF THIS AGE. DISCIPLINE. Arians, Semi-Arians, and Eunomians . - -191 The Macedonians, or Pneumatomachians ^ . . 192 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XI A. D. Page Opinions of ApoUinarius - . - 192 Heresy of Photinus - - - 193 Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, and Lucifer of Cagliari - - 193 Controversy on'the Martyrdom of Heretics - - 194 Account of Donatus - - - 202 Persecution of the Donatists. — The Circumcelliones - -' 203 Optatus, Bishop of Milevi, writes against them - -203 St. Augustine opposes the Donatists in a Conference at Car- thage - - .205 Madness and Folly of the Donatists - - 206 The Donatist Bishop, Gaudentius - - - 208 Vandal Persecution - - - 211 384. Tiie Priscillianists persecuted by the Orthodox - - 213 Irenaeus and Tertullian - - - 213 Other Writers of this Age - - -214 Works of St. Ambrose - - - 214 Account of St. Basil . - 215 Gregory Nazianzen . - - 216 Epiphanius - - - 217 Lactantius and Eusebius the Historian . » -. 218 State of Discipline at this Period - 218 CHAP. VII. ASCETICISM AND MONACHISM. ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE SYSTEMS. ACCOUNT OF ST. ANTHONY. SIMEON STYLITES AND OTHER CELEBRATED ANCHORITES. THEIR INFLUENCE. Causes of Superstition - . _ 220 Distinction between Monachism and Asceticism . - 220 St. Pachomius the first who erected Monasteries - - 221 PaulofThebais the first Christian Hermit - -221 St. Anthony the Patriarch of Monks . . 221 His Self-denial and Austerity - - - 223 Simeon Stylites - - . 225 His extraordinary Fasts . . - 227 His Cell becomes the Resort of the Pious from distant Lands - 228 Has a Column erected, on which he passes the Remainder of his Life - .... 229 His Death and Character - . - 230 St. Nile, the Hermit of Sinai - - - 231 His Poverty and Learning - . . 232 The Hermits of Sinai dispersed by the Saracens - - 233 The Hermit Marcianus - . ■ . 233 Eusebius and Agapetus - . 234 Miraculous Powers attributed to Marcianus . - 235 Anecdote of Avitus - . *" » 237 Account of the Anchorite Zeno - - 238 Influence of the Ascetics in the Church • - 240 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. CHAP. VIII. REIGN OF ARCADIUS AND HONORIUS. STATE OF MANNERS. — CHARACTER OF THE EMPERORS. THEIR SUCCESSORS. ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. — TROUBLES. NESTORIAN AND EUTYCHIAN CONTROVERSY. COUNCILS HELD IN REFERENCE TO THAT DISPUTE. —THE FATE OF NESTORIUS AND EUTYCHES. A. D. ' Page 395. Approaching Decay of the Roman Empire - - 241 Character of the Emperors Honorius and Arcadius - - 242 The Sermons of Chrysostom - - - 242 Corruption of Manners - - . . 243 Conformity of Christians to the World - - -244 Treason of Ruffinus - • - S44 Invasion of the Huns and Goths - - -244 The Eunuch Eutroprius - - - 245 The Empress Eudoxia - - - 245 The Fate of St, Chrysostom - . -246 40S. Accession of Theodosius the younger - - 251 450. Pulcheria and her Husband Marcian - - 252 Character of Leo - - - -252 474. Excesses of Zeno and Basihcus - - - 252 482. The Henoticon, or Edict of Union - - 253 Progress of the Gospel among the Barbarians - - 253 Jews in Crete converted to Christianity - - 253 St. Patrick converts the Irish - . 254 Baptism of Clovis, King of the Franks - 254 Trouble^ in the Church . - -254 421. Persecurion of the Christians in Persia - - 255 Arianism established in the African Provinces - [- 256 Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, Founder of the Nesto- rians - - - - 256 The Presbyter Anastasius ... 258 Cyril of Alexandria - . - . 258 430. Pope Celestine assembles a Council, and condemns the Doc- trines of Nestorius - - . 259 431. Council of Ephesus - - -260 J The Parties of Cyril and Nestorius excommunicate each other - - - -263 The Emperor Theodosius deprives them of their Bishoprics - 263 Nestorius retires to a Monastery - - - 265 His Banishment and Death - . .266 Attempts to explain the Divine Mysteries - - 267 Eutyches, the Abbot - . .269 Summoned before the Synod of Constantinople - - 270 His Opinions ... 270 Is excommunicated, and appeals to the Pope - . 273 Character of Pope Leo - - - 274 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XUl A. D. Page 449. Second Council of Ephesus - - - 274 Eutychian Controversy - - - - 275 Dioscorus, Bishop of Alexandria - -275 Increase of the Papal Power under Leo - - 277 451. Council of Chalcedon - - -278 Its Decisions - - - - 279 Tumults at Alexandria - - - 281 Murder of Proterius, Bishop of that City - ' - 282 Peter the Fuller raised to the Bishopric of Antioch . - 282 Rejects the Decrees of the Council of Chalcedon •> - 283 Divisions of the Eutychian Party - "' - 284 Remarks on the Uselessness of fhe Controversy - i £ - £85 CHAP. IX. HERESY OF PELAGIUS. OPPOSED BY JEROME AND AUGUSTINE. DOCTRINES OF THE LATTER. The Doctrines of Peiagius - ^- -'287 His Companion Celestius - - 287 Celestius excommunicated at Carthage - - 288 415. Peiagius arraigned at Diospolis for his Opinions, and acquitted - 288 St. Jerome attacks Peiagius - - - 289 Account of St. Augustine - -^-^ ■ -289 He opposes the Pelagian Heresy • Ll IZ - 290 General View of his Doctrines '- ■ -290 Pope Zosimus espouses the Cause of Peiagius - ' -294 But afterwards anathematises him and Celestius - - 295 Opinions of the Monk Cassian - ». ■ -296 The Predestinarians - . - 296 CHAP. X.' REVIVAL OF THE EUTYCHIANS UNDER THE EMPEROR ANA- STASIUS, THE REIGNS OF JUSTIN, JUSTINIAN, AND THEIR SUCCESSORS. DISORDERS IN THE CHURCH. LABOURS OP GREGORY ; OF BENEDICT ; OF AUGUSTINE. Error and Heresy ought not to shake our Belief In the Divine Origin of Christianity . - - 297 Violent Proceedings of the Emperor Anastasius, w#io favours the Eutychians - - - 298 Is opposed by Vitalian the Goth - . -'299 ; 518. Accession of Justin, who is attached to the Orthodox - 300 527. Justinian succeeds to the Throne , » - 300 He attempts to reconcile the Factions - - 301 Origenism and Anti-Origenism - - - 301 Justinian interferes in Matters of Faith - - 302 His celebrated Code of Laws - • - 302 565. Character of his Successor Justin - , - 303 Xiv ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. Page 578. The Emperor Tiberius recalls the Patriarch Eutychius from Banishment - - - - 304 'Progress of Nestorianism . - - 305 "Wars and Persecutions in Christendom - - 305 Superstition in France ; St. Severin ; St. Genevifeve - 306 Equivocal Conversions of Barbarians - - - 307 Increase of Pomp and Ceremony in the Church of Rome - 308 Character of Gregory the Great . . - 308 He attempts the Conversion of the English - - 309 : 590. He is elected to the papal Chair - - - 310 Composes the Sacramentary - - - 311 Description of the Mode in which he celebrated Mass - - 312 Remarks on the Effects of religious Pomps on the Human Mind - - - -316 Gross Superstition of Gregory - - - 317 History of St. Benedict - -- - 318 His Interview with Totila, the Gothic King - - 320 Rule of St. Benedict for the Government of the Monks - 321 Monastic Institutions - - - 322 Boethius and Cassiodorus - ,.,- -325 Employment of Monks as Copyists - - 325 Christian Philosophers - - - 327 Controversialists ; Fulgentius and Anastasius - -328 The Scale of St. John Climacus - - 328 Monasteriesof Sinai; Austerities of the Ascetics - 329 Commentators on the Scriptures ... - 329 Augustine and several Monks are sent by Gregory to Eng- land - - - - 330 Conversion of Ethelbert and his Nobles . - 331 Spread of the Gospel in various heathen Countries - . 332 CHAP. XI. INCREASE OF PAPAL AUTHORITY. STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE EAST. RISE OF MAHOMETANISM. INCREASE OF SU- PERSTITIOUS PRACTICES AMONG CHRISTIANS. THEODORUS OF CANTERBURY. HERESIES. COLLISION BETWEEN THE POPE AND THE EMPEROR. COUNCIL IN TRULLO. Hespect paid to the Bishops of Rome in early Times - - 333 ; Increase of their Authority - - '333 Their Struggles with their Brethren and with the State - 334 Origin of their sovereign Influence - -334 Troubles of the Empire - - - 334 Reign of Phocas - - - 335 610. Dethroned and murdered by Heraclius - - 335 668, Constantine Pogonatus assembles a Council at Constantinople to heal the Disorders of the Church - - 336 Examination of the principal Heresies • - -337 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XV 612. The Appearance of Mahomet - - - 387 Circumstances favourable to the Establishment of his Power - 338 632. His Death - - - 339 Success of his Followers - i - i* -339 Aboubeker, Omar, Amrou - ly'i . ' f - 340 Dissensions of the Christians ' - - - 341 Theodorus, Archbishop of Canterbury, on Penitence - 343 Columbanus, an Irish Monk, draws up Rules of Discipline and Penance - - - - 345 The Spiritual Meadow, by Joannes Moschus ~ - - 345 Chrodebert, Archbishop of Tours - - -347 Sermons of Eligius, Bishop of Noyon - - - 348 Julian of Toledo's Treatise on Prognostics - - - 350 Taio, Bishop of Saragossa - - - 352 Maximus the Confessor, Ildefonso, and Paterius - - 353 Rise and Progress of Monothelism - - 354 Opposed by Sophronius, a Monk of Syria - - 355 Edict of Heraclius, called the Ecthesis - - 357 642. A new Edict called the Type published by Constans . - 358 649. Pope Martin I. calls a Council, and condemns the Principles of the Monotheiites - - . .359 Collision between the Pope and the Emperor - -360 Sufferings of Martin - - - 361 Banishment and Death of Maximus and Anastasius - -363 668. Death of the Emperor Constans - - -365 680. His Successor Constantine Pogonatus summons a general Coun- cil at Constantinople - - -355 The Heresy of the Monotheiites condemned - -366 Respect paid by the Council to the Pope - -367 692. Another Council summoned by Justinian II. to revise the Eccle- siastical Laws - - - . 367 RiseofthePaulicians » - \ .369 cct..coJX^ HISTOBIY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. ITS EXTENSION. LA- BOURS OF ST. PAUL. FIRST PERSECUTION. RUIN OF THE JEWS. STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS AFTER THE REIGN OF NERO. We regard the history of the Christian church as properly commencing with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The language of Scrip- ture is strikingly distinct in the introduction to the wondeifful narrative of this event; and the great founder of the evangelical kingdom is seen writing down the era, and preparing the solemnities_, for the consecration of the living temple. '■^ When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." The members of the infant church were thus gathered together by a common hope ; they were soon to be bound to each other by the communion of one spirit. They had till this hour possessed no other tie but bap- tism into the same faith, the feelings which had been inspired by the sight of the same miracles, the affection which a fellowship in danger and contumely instils, or the love which they all felt for the meek and crucified Saviour ; and it is likely that this tie would have kept them together through all persecutions and afflictions. y 2 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. till they had been cut off, one after the other, by the sword of violence ; but, so far, it was formed of human thoughts and principles — the strongest, it is true, that ever bound men together, but still human; and the Son of God would not let the first stone of his temple be laid on earthly foundations. '' They were all fiUed with the Holy Ghost." * This was the founding and esta- bUshment of the church of Christ. The living stones of the temple had been prepared ; this built them up. They had been gathered together out of the quarry; this formed them into the indestructible house of God. To the strength of human love was added the illumin- ation of the Spirit ; to the light of human reason were added its softening and purifying graces. The chosen members of the new communion were thus formed into one body, essentially distinguished from the world. A sign was written upon them which could not be counterfeited. A circle was described around them which could not be broken. They were before objects of wonder for the miraculous powers they were seen to exercise ; but now they were stiU more so, for they had been made the subjects of one great and particularising dispensation. They could not be con- founded with the rest of men ; they could not be lost sight of by the flowing in of the multitude. There they stood, bowing under the same mighty awe ; sha- dowed by the same encircling glory. The church haying been set up, its heavenly Founder, as if to show this its distinctness from the world, or- dered it so that great numbers of people should assemble to wonder at its glory ; and, as if, moreover, to give an assurance of its future universality, he summoned re- presentatives of aU nations of the earth to witness its establishment. " Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, be- cause that every man heard them speak in his own lan- guage. And they were all amazed, and marvelled, saying one to another. Behold, are not all these which • Acts of the Apostles, ch. ii. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH. 3 speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue^ wherein we were born ? Parthians^ and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another. What meaneth this ? " Such is the grand spectacle which the history of the church of Christ presents at its commencement; and none can be more fitted to awaken a long train of solemn recollections. We may meet with others, in our pro- gress down the stream of time, more filled with splendid accompaniments, more calculated for description, and better adapted to rouse the passions ; but we shall find nothing in the whole narrative more suited to inspire veneration and confidence towards God. The divine economy is shown to us under a new light. The Almighty Father, if it had been his will, might have effected the designs he had in view, by the sole exercise of his providence. He might have set up his church, and, instead of endowing its members with the strength and graces of his spirit, have left it weak and comfort- less ; bringing to pass his own purpose by a separate act of his power. By making kings bow at his com- mand, by forcing the events of all ages to aid its im- mediate enlargement; by making, in short, his provi- dence the only safeguard of the church, it would still have been established according to his will. But he chose to glorify his mercy. He endowed the church of his redeemed people with light and strength, whereby it might contend with its enemies. He gave it to have hght in itself, and to spread and enlarge by the quick- ening of the divine energy with which he first esta- blished it. The church, of which the foundation was thus laid, consisted of the twelve apostles, the seventy disciples 4 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. who had followed Christ at an early period of his mi- nistry, and the few who had since been converted, either by his own preaching or by that of his messen- gers. No sooner, however, had St. Peter demonstrated to the multitude, that the miraculous effusion of the Holy Spirit was in conformity with the predictions of the old prophets, than 3000 persons acknowledged themselves convinced by what had taken place, and gladly accepted baptism. The circumstances under which the little community found itself were of the most remarkable kind. New hopes and new duties had suddenly supplied the place of all the customary objects of thought. Another world was disclosed to them, which threw a shadow over every thing present and temporal; and, while their own spirits were thus elevated above sublunary cares, they felt themselves inspired with an anxiety, till now unknown, for the improvement and delivery of their fellow-beings. The immediate consequence of this state of mind was that ready charity and sacrifice of selfish feeling, which led the converts to offer whatever they possessed for the general use of their brethren. The next was a constant and fervent attendance on all the offices of devotion. Awe and wonder occupied every avenue of the mind. The apostles continued to enlarge the series of miracles begun by their master ; and the fear which came upon those who witnessed them, was connected with the holy confidence which led them to celebrate the new rites of the faith with praises to God, and with gladness and singleness of heart. The preaching and miracles of the apostles, on the one side, and the active zeal and charity of the dis- ciples, on the other, led to the daily increase of the church ; and especially on one occasion, when Peter and John addressed about 5000 persons with exhortations to repentance, not less successful than energetic* But this rapid augmentation of the believers both alarmed • Acts, iv. INCREASK OF THE DISCIPLES. 5 and enraged the Jews; and the influential orders united in determining upon measures for the suppression of the sect. Peter and John were accordingly apprehended, and kept for one night in prison. This, however, was only productive of fresh manifestations of the divine authority whereby they spoke ; for the next day, on being set free, they returned to their companions, and, the whole company praying with great devotion, an- other effusion of the Holy Spirit was granted, and the power and zeal of the disciples received a further acces- sion of strength. * The converts thus newly made were as ready to bestow their possessions on the community to which they had become united as their predecessors; but, even at this early period, hypocrisy and falsehood began to appear among the professors of Christ's re- ligion, and the death of Ananias and Sapphira pro- claimed to the members of the infant church the heavy penalty which would be enacted for such sins against the Holy Ghost. Soon after this event the apostles were again cast into pri- son ; but being, during the night, miraculously dehvered, they were the next day found, by the priests, teaching, according to their custom, in the temple. In conformity with the counsel of Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, and a man whose reputation among the people was consider- able, the rulers, after inflicting a slight punishment^ were induced to dismiss them, and they immediately resumed the exercise of their functions. The increase which had taken place in the number of the converts, and, consequently, in that of the claimants on the charity of the wealthy, as well as in the sums at the disposal of the apostles, rendered it neces- sary that proper persons should be appointed to super- intend the equable distribution of the alms. This was the more requisite, as some jealousy had arisen, on the part of those who were strangers in Jerusalem, respect- ing the superior favour which they supposed was be- stowed on the poor of the city, in preference to others. • Acts, V. B 3 O HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. To prevent, therefore, the possibility of disorders, seven prudent and pious men were chosen, in whom both parties could place the utmost confidence. Of these the devout Stephen rendered himself the most con- spicuous by his labours among the people, and the miracles he wrought for their conviction. He was not long allowed to exercise his zeal uninterrupted. Having provoked the rancour of certain foreign Jews, by the power with which he argued against their errors, they arraigned him for blasphemy before the tribunal of the high priest, and, his eloquent defence only serving to increase their rage, he was thrust out of the city, and stoned to death as a blasphemer.* The vindictive passions of the persecutors appear to have received a sudden accession of strength on the oc- currence of this event ; for the sacred historian of the Acts expressly records, that at that time there was a great persecution against the church at Jerusalem, and that the members of it, with the exception of the apostles, who thereby appear to have been resolved upon en- countering every peril that might occur, were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. As wiU be found to have been the case with the later persecutions, this early trial of the church was pro- ductive of important benefits. Philip, one of the dea- cons, emulating the zeal of the martyred Stephen, preached in Samaria with such success that the people gave heed to him with one accord, while even a sorcerer who had obtained great reputation in the city by his magical arts, acknowledged himself con- vinced by the miracles of the preacher, and received baptism, with those whom he had been employed in deceiving, t Another remarkable conversion, the fruit of the same teacher's united zeal and devotion, was that of the Ethiopian eunuch, after baptizing whom Philip proceeded from Azotus, whither he appears to have been miraculously carried, and preached in a variety of cities, * Acts, vi. vii. t Ibid. viiL CONVERSION OF SAUL. 7 till he came to Cesarea, where we find, from a passage in the latter part'of St. Luke's history, that he remained stationed for many years. In the mean while, another most efficient minister was added to the church, in the person of Saul of Tar- sus *, a young man distinguished for his ardent devotion to the rehgion in which he had been brought up, and highly accomplished in all the learning of his age and country. The first mention made of him in the apo- stolic history occurs in the narrative of saint Stephen's martyrdom, where he is described as taking charge of the garments belonging to the persons who stoned the innocent sufferer to death. Whatever, therefore, were the natural endowments of his mind, or the advantages he had derived from his learned education, it is evident that the fervour of youth, and a blind zeal for the re- ligion of his fathers, had hitherto prevented his em- ploying those strong reasoning powers which characterise the productions of his pen. He was too honest, too elevated in his character as a man, to have persecuted the followers of Christ from the same motives as those which instigated the Scribes and Pharisees in general. The violence, consequently, which he allowed himself to commit, is to be attributed chiefly to his ignorance of the religion which he sought to exterminate ; and ignorance, in such characters as his, usually begets prejudices of the most obstinate kind. Bold, passionate, and enthu- siastic, he saw nothing but the glory of Israel, as it had been represented to him in the teachings of his rabbini- cal masters; and, in the hurry and ardour with which he sought to promote the cause of his people, he had no time to consider the claims of the innovators to his at- tention. Like the rest of the Jews, he did not regard an apparent alteration in the laws or operations of nature as a necessary or incontrovertible proof of the divine presence. With the same readiness as the most virulent and uninformed of his countrymen, he could answer the argument of Christ's miracles with '' he * Acts, ix. B 4 8 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. casteth out devils through the prince of the devils." To one who was too impatient to perform *the duty of en- quiring on what grounds he acted, this was a s'ufficient reply to the observation^ that it had never before been " so seen in Israel ;" and to the other evidences of the divinity of Christ, the same zeal and impatience were a still more effectual blind. The purest morality of sen- timent and action can obtain no credit when it is sup- posed to be employed only as an instrument of decep- tion ; and though Saul could not but have admired the precepts which Jesus taught;, nothing was easier for him, in the prejudiced state of mind under which he acted, than to ascribe their delivery to a wrong motive. In the same manner, the charity, the self-denying meekness, and other virtues of the Saviour, so con- spicuous to those who viewed them without prejudice, would lose all merit in the eyes of one who regarded him who practised them as a false pretender to • divine authority. Saul started with this belief in the allega- tion of the rulers that Christ was an impostor; to this he referred whatever was told him respecting either his actions or his sayings ; and being neither of an age nor a temperament to sit down and quietly examine the mat- ter, he at once embraced the side of the persecutors, and began a career of which the termination was as unfore- seen as it was strange. In almost every remarkable proceeding of divine Pro- vidence, we may not merely discover the value and im- portance of the design, but may delight ourselves with contemplating a visible fitness in the means by which it is effected. None of the other apostles were miraculously converted to the faith ; there was nothing, it would seem, in then- situation or personal characters to render an extraordinary display of the divine presence necessary to their conviction. They were men of simple manners, ingenuous minds; poor, unlearned, and unambitious. Their reason had not been blinded by sophistry, they had little to do with the rulers of their nation, and they were far more likely to have the simple sense of the an- CONVERSION OF SAUL. y cient Scriptures deeply impressed on their minds^ than the wealthier or more erudite of their countrymen. With men of this character the doctrines of Christ would operate powerfully and effectually : his miracles would carry conviction to their minds that he taught with au- thority ; and the unprejudiced view they took of his actions, character, and discourse, compared Avith what they had read in the prophets, Avould satisfy them, without a particular miracle, wrought for their private conviction, that he was indeed the Messiah. Saul was differently circumstanced ; was of a different character; and, considering his situation, and the dispositions by which he was actuated, there seems little reason to sup- pose that he would ever have given heed to the evidence which convinced those who were apostles before him. His conversion, therefore, was miraculous, because it was necessary that it should be so. At the same time, the solemnity of the circumstances which attended the event was in the highest degree fitted to prefigure the triumphs by which it was to be followed. It wsls right that he, who had been chosen to bear the name of the Redeemer, not only to the children of Israel, but before nations and their kings, should be inaugurated with ex- traordinary solemnity. The light which had shone from heaven when the jMessiah was born, might well be looked for again when he was consecrating the first of his messengers to the world at large ; and the stern but affecting appeal made at once to his soul and his reason, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It is hard to kick against the pricks/' was a fitting address to one whose commission would oblige him to contend with the most powerful of adversaries, who would often have to rouse the indifferent and oppose the perverse by sudden displays of divine authority, or the voice of indignant rebuke or pathetic persuasion.* The conversion of Saul preceded that of the first Gentile convert, Cornelius t, whose divinely authorised admission into the church was the earliest intimation the * Acts, ix. t Ibid. x. 10 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. apostles received, that the religion of Christ, with all its benefits, was intended for mankind at large. It was to St. Peter that the vision was granted, which thus widened, to an unUmited extent, the boundaries of the Christian church ; an honour which we might have supposed would have been vouchsafed to the newly ordained apostle, whose office it so especially was to labour in the Gentile world. But Saul had not yet sufficient authority in the church to fit him for making known a doctrine at first sight so starthng to Jewish prejudices. A proposition to admit the Gentiles into communion with the faithful, coming from him, might have rendered him an object of lasting suspicion to many; whereas the respect in which Peter was held enabled that apostle to publish the commands he had received, without any fear of their being controverted by the most suspicious even of his associates. A most important change was produced in the ap- pearance of the new community by the breaking down of the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles. The stream of divine mercy was then let loose to flow unrestrainedly through the world ; the star in the East became a sun, to enhghten the whole earth ; and the law of righteousness, to secure its universality, was to be written on the hearts of men in every quarter of the globe. With this enlargement of the field over which the doctrines of Christ were to be diffused, an explana- tion was given of the true character of his religion, and of some of his precepts, the full force of which could scarcely have been previously comprehended. It required the operation of the Holy Spirit to lead his disciples into all truth ; it was equally required to fill them with the comprehensive grace of charity. They had their possessions in common immediately after the first effusion of the day of Pentecost; and the most con- spicuous sign which they gave of the change which had taken place in their views and dispositions was the in- fluence of this most benign and social virtue on their actions. But we do not find that they had formed any PERSECUTION OF THE DISCIPLES. 11 idea of communicating the blessings they enjoyed to Gentiles, till a direct and positive command was given them to that end ; nor was it till after Peter had seen an extraordinary vision, and had the object of it dis- tinctly placed before him by the address of the devout Cornelius, that he exclaimed, ^'^ Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is ac- cepted with him." Every year thus brought some increase to the church, and tended to fix more firmly the doctrines of Christ in the minds of those who had received them. But, though thus prospering, through the aid of its Almighty Pro- tector, it was not permitted by its enemies to flourish without severe trials. Herod Agrippa, whom the Roman emperor had placed in the government of Judea, desirous of securing his popularity with the Jews, commenced a persecution of the faithful, in which one of the first victims was James the brother of John. From the manner in which the mention of the persecution is in- troduced by the sacred historian, it appears to have been chiefly intended to cut off' the leaders of the com- munity; and we accordingly find, that no sooner had James been put to death than Peter was apprehended and cast into prison, where he was to have been kept till some popular festival should afford occasion for his pubhc execution. His miraculous delivery, and the awful death of the persecuting prince, were new proofs of the care with which God watched over the concerns of his people.* The increase, however, in the numbers of the con- verts, and more especially the admission of Gentiles into the church, gave rise to questions which threatened for a time the disturbance of its internal tranquillity, Saul, having most effectually commenced his arduous labours, was, at the period of which we are speaking, preaching with his companion Barnabas at Antioch. It was in this city that the followers of our Lord were * Acts, xii. Josephus, Antiq., lib. xvLi. c.6. 8.5. 12 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, first called Christians *, and so important a station was it considered^ that Barnabas, and Saul (who, in the course of an extensive journey over the neigh- bouring territory, had adopted the name of Paul), deemed it the most proper place in which to esta- blish their residence. But while they were there, some persons arrived from Jerusalem, whose object it was to promulgate the doctrine that the Gentiles ought not to be admitted into the church without having pre- viously submitted to the rite of circumcision. So serious were the dissensions created by this anti-evangelical attempt, that Paul and Barnabas, with others engaged in the controversy, found it necessary to go- to Jerusalem, in order to consult with the other apostles and principal members of the church. On the arrival of the deputies from the congregation of Antioch at Jerusalem, the apostles and elders imme- diately assembled, and entered on the solemn consider- ation of the question so important in aU respects to the character of the community. This, it appears, was the first occasion in which a general meeting of the faithful had been summoned, and it is sometimes placed at the head of the Hst of those councils which make so con- spicuous a figure in the history of the Christian church. The dispute was determined in a manner befitting the wisdom and the spirit with w^hich the apostles uniformly acted ; and the Gentiles were declared to be thenceforth free to enter the community of the faithful, whenever they felt themselves ready to obey, from their hearts, the law of the Gospel. It is not unworthy of remark, that St. Peter, who had acted so conspicuous a part in the introduction of the Gentiles, was the first to address the assembly; and that he called the attention of his brethren to the circumstance, that God elected him especially to proclaim the Gospel to the heathen. Paul and Barnabas confirmed his observations, by recounting * The primitive Christians received various other appellations, and it is said were originally called Jessians : their enemies termed them Nazarenes and Galileans. — Bingha?n, Origines Ecclcsiast.^ book i. PAUL AND BARNABAS. 13 the miracles which they had been enabled to perform for the same purpose; while St. James, the president or bishop of the church at Jerusalem, after showing that God had from the beginning intended the calling in of the Gentiles, closed the deliberations by proposing that their new converts should be left wholly unburdened by the Mosaic law, and that epistles should be addressed to them respecting the particular rules they would be called upon to obey.* From this period the scene presented for our con- templation becomes continually more varied and exten- sive. Paul and Barnabas had already preached the Gospel with distinguished success at Seleucia and at Salamis, in the island of Cyprus, in Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Lycaonia. On leaving Jerusalem, they returned, in company with Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, to Antioch, and soon after determined on revisiting the various churches which they had planted in their pre- ceding journeys, f A slight difference, however, oc- curred between them respecting the propriety of taking Mark, who it appears had left them while they were travelling in Pamphylia ; and the contention ended with Paul's resolving to pursue the route of Syria and Cilicia with Silas for his associate, while Barnabas proceeded in company with Mark to Cyprus. J In the course of this journey the indefatigable apostle of the Gentiles visited Phrygia, Galatia. Mysia, and Macedonia, whither he was sent by a divine command given him in a vision while in the city of Troas. Nearly the whole of Asia jNIinor was made acquainted with, and to a considerable extent received, the Gospel. At Philippi and Thessalonica churches were formed, which, though they cost the preachers much labour and suffer- ing in their establishment, were regarded by them as * Basnage obsenes, in speaking of this assembly, that Baronius is pro- bably the only author who has stated that our Lord held councils with his disciples ; one on matters of faith, another on discipline. — L'Hist. de I'Eglise, lib. x. c. i. p. 492. s. 1, t Acts,xiv. X Ibid. XV. 14 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the noblest evidences of the power of the Spirit, and the surest seal of their apostleship. The success which attended his labours in Macedonia encouraged St. Paul to extend his journey into Achaia *, the capital of which had so long been the nurse of phi- losophy and the arts ; and which, though now deprived of much of its ancient splendour, was still the favourite resort of learned and inquisitive scholars from every quarter of the globe. Paul had been highly educated, and was of all the apostles the best qualified, in a human point of view, for pubUshing the doctrines of the Gospel at a place like Athens. But too much stress ought not to be laid upon the circumstance of his learning and accomplishments ; since a little consideration will con. vince us that the advantage he might thence derive bore no proportion to the difficulties with which he had to contend. His youth had been spent at the feet of Ga- mahel, a man of learning no doubt, but one who had, it appears, taken greater pains to imbue the mind of his pupil with rabbinical knowledge and pharisaic su- perstitions, that to quicken or enlarge it by the general study of science and philosophy. The first act in which we see him engaged was that of a zealot, an act befit- ting the favourite pupil of a Jewish doctor; and we find that, for some time after, he was chiefly occupied in performing the will of his bigoted and persecuting superiors. However powerful, therefore, his mind might naturally be, and however carefully it had been culti- vated, he had reached manhood without acquiring any of those profound and enlarged views of either nature or religion, which might fit him for reasoning with success in the midst of men who were accustomed to regard the faith he professed as made up of unchari- table, superstitious severities. We cannot for a mo- ment suppose, that, had he visited Athens previously to his conversion, his learning would have enabled him to attract the bold, acute freethinkers of Greece to reason * Acts, vii. PAUL AT ATHENS. 15 and meditate on his opinions. The accomplishments and advantages, therefore, which he had derived from his education, ought not to be regarded, as they com- monly are, of such prime importance to the success of his mission in Greece ; for, if we may form an opinion of the state of his mind from his actions in the early period of his career, we are bound, we see, to confess that his learning had contributed httle to the enhghtenment of his understanding, or the real enlargement of his reason: while, on reading his addresses, or his epistles, we can- not fail of perceiving that the grandeur of thought, and the noble, elevated spirit of charity which fill them with all the affecting beauty of the most genuine elo- quence, spring direct from the knowledge and the feelings he had acquired since he became a Christian. It was to these, in fact, that he owed the strength with which he entered the arena ; it was these which gave him respectabihty in the eyes of scholars and philoso- phers, and not the learning he had acquired from his human tutors. Had that been his trust, whatever might be his talents, the men of Athens were not of a cha- racter to attend to one whose zeal was of so blinding a nature as to make him a persecutor; and though his discourse might have gained him a momentary atten- tion by its vehemence, he would have been listened to with disdain, and would have gained neither converts nor admirers. But supposing that St. Paul had enjoyed the advan. tages of an education less confined, or less leavened by the fierce spirit of prejudice which prevailed among his countrymen, still the situation in which he stood at Athens would have presented difficulties in the highest degree discouraging to any unassisted efforts. His learning would naturally provoke the opposition of those who prided themselves on their erudition ; his novel doctrines would be regarded, perhaps, as curious, by those who loved novelty, but they wanted the authority of well-known names to recommend them ; and when he asserted that he required for his opinions a place in the innermost hearts of those who heard them ; that 1^ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. they were of infinitely greater value than any that had ever been promulgated by the profoundest philosopher ; and that the fruits they produced^ wherever fairly planted, were a wisdom and a happiness hitherto unknown to the world, his audience would naturally listen to him with a wondering and satiric incredulity, and censure him as much for his arrogance as they applauded him for his eloquence. It is to the power, therefore, with which he was endued from on high, that we can alone ration- ally ascribe his success. He had not been made a phi- losopher ; and it was only by his having been a most skilful logician, that he could have stood forth with the mere human instruments of his warfare, and found the sHghtest chance of success. But he had the mighty minister of truth on his side. A force was given to the words he spoke, which sent them straight through the labyrinth of men's hearts to their consciences ; and he was heard with attention, because his reasoning and doctrines were clothed with a brightness that outshone the purest light of philosophy, and possessed an interest which the loftiest intellects had been incapable of giving to the fairest of their inventions. From Athens Paul proceeded to Corinth *, a city little inferior in reputation to the former. His preaching there was attended with numerous conversions. Ephesus, Csesarea and Antioch, were next visited in succession ; after which he traversed the whole district of Galatia and Phrygia. He continued thus to travel, diffusing the Gospel over an immense extent of country, till he went up to Jerusalem for the fifth time since his con- version ; when those circumstances occurred which in- duced him to appeal for justice to the emperor, and led to his being carried a prisoner to Rome.-f- Much less is known respecting the labours of the other apostles, and their associates, in preaching the Gospel. X St. Andrew, however, is said to have made known its truths among the Scythians, and to have sub- * Acts, xviii. + Ibid. xxii. J Mosheim, De Rebus Christ, ante Constant, cap. i. sect. 15. LABOURS OF THE APOSTLES. 17 sequently taught in Epirus and Greece. St. Mark es- tablisheil the church of Alexandria. St. John proceeded into Asia Minor^ and took up his residence at Ephesus. * St. Thomas is recorded to have laboured among the Parthians and Indians, and St. Bartholomew among the Armenians. St. Jude had his province in Meso- potamia, Arabia, and Idumea ; and St. Philip his in Upp#r Asia ; while St. Simon the Canaanite traversed various parts of Persia and ^Mesopotamia, and St. Mat- thias the country of iEthiopia.t St. Paul is supposed to have been liberated from his imprisonment at Rome in the year 63, but it is un- certain to what district he then directed his steps. Tradition mentions, that he visited both Spain and England, but not much faith is placed in this assertion by the more sober-minded of critics. The most cre- dible opinion is, that he employed the liberty he en- joyed in revisiting the districts in which he had for- merly laboured with such glorious success. But however this may be, it is well ascertained that he was scarcely absent from Rome more than two years, at the end of which period he appears to have been again labouring with his wonted zeal in that capital. St. Peter also, it is commonly believed, was there at the same time, after having diligently laboured among his Jewish brethren dispersed through the several districts named at the commencement of his first epistle. ^^'^e may perceive, even from the slight intimations which remain respecting the wide-extended labours of these first preachers of Christianity, that the seed of the gospel, in less than forty years after the ascension of its Divine Author, had been spread over the most important regions of the civilised world. St. Paul, some years before his exertions terminated, was able to say that he had preached from Jerusalem, round about into Illy- ricum, — a wide sphere through which to diffuse intelli- gence, but the extent of which appears still more im* • Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib iii. c. 23. Ibid. lib.ivL c. 18. + Cave's Lives of the Apostles. VOL. I. IS HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. posing when it is recollected that within its circuit lay many of the wealthiest and the most highly polished cities of the world. There is no doubt but that the doctrines of the gospel had been heard also at Alex- andria, a place which abounded ahke in the riches of commerce and the long accumulated stores of learning; and which, by the extent of its population, the luxury and intelligence of its inhabitants, might almost be regarded as the rival of Rome. The mere mention of Parthians, Medes, Jilthiopians, indefinitely as the names of those ancient people are employed in early writings, inspires us with a deep feeling of admiration for the courage and perseverance of the men whom various concurrent testimonies represent as proclaiming to them the truths of their faith. In all respects, the progress which the religion of Christ had thus rapidly made is worthy of being contemplated with the most fervent sentiments of gratitude ; first towards Him who gave the strength and the light by which it was effected, and next towards those who so well obeyed his will. We have no particular relation of the several events which attended the exertions of the apostles or their associates in general ; but the simple record of the circumstances under which they appeared among the people whom they addressed is sufficient to convince us, that the difficulties and dangers which they had to en- counter could be neither slight nor of rare occurrence. To the Greeks their wisdom at first appeared foolish- ness ; to the barbarians they would seem to be speaking of things as hard to be understood as they were incre- dible; and in both cases they would have to offend the prejutlices of the people, to incur the dire resentment of priests and their dependents, to resist with simple truth and meek persuasion tumultuous assemblies, and find themselves sufferers from the sudden impressions of popular dislike, as well as from the secret machinations of their more interested opponents. Nor had they those means of lightening the toil of their undertaking which wealthier teachers wouM have possessed: they depended. FIRST PERSECUTION. 19 for the most part, on creating a tolerant or charitable feehng among those whom they visited ; food and shelter^, therefore, it is probable, were not always to be obtained by the primitive missionaries of the gospel ; and the equally noble and pathetic exclamation of St. Paul, ^' Every where, and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry ; both to abound and to suffer need*," was, doubtlessly, the frequently repeated sentiment of his fellow-labourers in the same calling. But the hardships which awaited these self-deny fng men in their various journeyings were confined, for the most part, to themselves. No edicts had yet been passed to make the Christians amenable to public law : they were the objects of dislike to both Jews and heathens ; and the effects of this, though only an occasional ex- posure to danger, must have been a very frequent one to annoyance and abuse. Two only of the most active, even of those who were appointed to preach the gospel, had, according to historical testimony, perished by the sword. They fell, too, among the Jews, the most virulent of their enemies ; and thus it appears, that, by the providence of the great Ruler of the church, the labourers whom he had chosen to work in his vineyard were preserved, though not from danger, yet from death, till they had fairly planted it, while the rest of his people were saved from violent trials of their faith till they should become better prepared for its endurance. The period, however, was now arrived when the re- straint which had hitherto kept back the hand of power was to be removed ; and Nero, who had already dis- graced himself by the commission of almost every crime that a human being can perpetrate, " added," says Eusebius, '' to his other titles of infamy, that of being the first of the emperors w^ho deluged the church with blood." f The number of Christians at Rome was con- siderable, and embraced several persons of opulence and distinction. That they were not originally regarded with any very strong feelings of enmity, may be conjectured * Epist. to Philip, iv. YZ. f HisL Eccles. lib. ii. c. 25. n 9 20 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. from the circumstance of St. Paul's havinj^ been al- lowed to remain uninjured during his confinement,, and being afterwards set free wdthout punishment. Had either Nero or his courtiers conceived at that period much dislike towards the Christians^ of whom he was 'the recognised teacher, this would scarcely have been the case. So little prejudice, in fact, had at first existed at Rome respecting the character of Christ and his followers, that it is related, that the emperor Tiberius, struck with even the imperfect accounts which he had received of our Saviour, proposed to the senate to have him enrolled among the gods whom the Romans wor- shipped.* Whatever may be the foundation of this story, it is sufficient to show that no such rancorous feeling originally existed in the breasts of the Roman magistrates as that which now began to display itself with so terrible a force. That things remained in this state till very near the breaking out of the first perse- cutions is also rendered highly probable, not only from the indulgent manner in which St. Paul was treated, but from the fact that there is no mention in his Epistle to the Romans, or in those which he wrote while at Rome to other churches, of any troubles brought on himself, or his brethren, through the interference of persons in authority. On the contrary, it deserves to be noticed, that there is more than one passage in his writings from which we may fairly suppose, that he had a high opinion of the justice and integrity of the magistrates ; and that he thought there was little to fear for his converts, so far at least as persons in authority were concerned, and so long as they were careful and correct in their conduct. One of these passages occurs in the thirteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and certainly merits consideration. '' Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers ; for there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves * Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c, 18. Mosheim, de Rebus ante Cons, eec. 22. TertuUian, Apol. c, v. TOLKRANCE OP THE ROMANS. 21 damRation ; for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same ; for lie is the minister of God to thee for good," &c. It is scarcely to be supposed that St. Paul would have written the last two or three sen- tences to the Roman Christians, had he received any intelligence from them which could have led him to apprehend they were in danger of unjust treatment from the emperor or his ministers. In the Epistle to the Philippians, which was written during his captivity, and, it is generally supposed, towards its close, passages occur which imply that he was uncertain what Avould be his fate in his examination before the emperor, which was then, it is probable, near at hand. But its general tone, as respects the affairs of the Christian brotherhood, would not lead us to suppose that he feared the ap- proach of any general persecution ; on the contrary, he informs the Philippians that there was an increase of zeal and boldness in the preachers of the gospel ; and, which deserves particular attention, that there were some who exercised the office, " even of envy and strife," contentiously, and not sincerely, — a circumstance not common in times when any peril is approaching, and when more evil than advantage is to be looked for by a pretended zeal for religion. At the end of this epistle also occurs that remarkable line, '' All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Cssar's household," — a hopeful testimony to the tolerance of the Roman court up to that period. In comparing these epistles, which were written during St. Paul's first captivity at Rome, with the second Epistle to Timothy, which, it is generally allowed, was written in his second captivity in that city, few readers can fail of being struck with the difference between the style of these addresses. It is evident, from the tone of the latter, that the apostle saw troubles near at hand ; that the prospects of him and his brethren had under- gone a considerable change since he formerly wrote, and c 3 29. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. that evil men were '' waxing worse and worse." From his desiring Timothy, however, to be with him before winter, and to bring Mark with him, we learn that the danger was not immediate or pressing. It is, therefore, probable, that the epistle was writteh at the period when the signs of persecution began to appear, but some short time before violence was actually committed. As there is no mention, moreover, of any of the brethren having been put to death, which he would hardly have omitted to record had such an event occurred, we have a further proof that the epistle was written before the general persecution by Nero ; at the very commencement of which so many of the Christians suffered death as ma- lefactors, and as the incendiaries of the city, Rome was set fire to in the year 64 ; and the emperor, it is well known, to clear himself of the odium which he suf- fered from being regarded as the author of that calamity, ascribed it to the Christians. Some time, however, must have elapsed before the reports of his guilt could have become so loud and general as to reach his ears ; and still further time must have been expended before he could so arrange his wretched defence as to give it a fitting air of plausibility in the eyes of his people. Taking this into consideration, it is probable that the brethren were not violently assailed till somewhat more than a year after the conflagration occurred ; which, if we re- ceive the date usually affixed to this epistle, that is, the year Q5, would allow of its having been written on the eve of the troubles, but before their actual occurrence. But the point to which attention is more particularly invited, is the remarkable change which had evidently taken place, in a comparatively very short period, in the position of the Christians at Rome. Nero found it politic and expedient to fix the calumny of his guilt on them : but he would not have ventured to do so had he not had reason to believe that the public would easily give into the idea ; nor would he have continued his barbarities to such an extent as he did, had he not had other motives for persecuting the innocent suf- ferers than the mere attempt to clear himself of sus- CAUSES OF THE PERSECUTION. 23 picion. What had produced this great increase of enmity towards the Christians it is impcssiblc precisely to determine. It is not unlikely, however, that the very increase in their numbers was one cause, for the more they multiplied and spread among the great mass of the people the more numerous would be the in- stances of opposition to the corrupt morals and prac- tices of those among whom they lived ; and thus irri- tation and dislike would be diffused through many a private circle into the common mass of popular feeling. Equally probable is it, that Nero, sunk as he was in horrible licentiousness, might have more than once caught the sound of severe censures passed on his con- duct by those who professed the pure and holy doctrines of the gospel. The very knowledge, even, that their whole system of belief and practice was based on prin- ciples that condemned such guilt as his to the severest punishments, must have naturally inclined him to re- ceive with a favourable ear whatever slanders either his courtiers or the populace could invent against them; and it is not impossible but that St. Paul, when he spoke of the evil men who were "^ deceiving and being de- ceived," might have expressly in view the emperor and his counsellors. But with the feelings of indignation, which so readily rise in the minds of tyrants when their vices are reproved even by hearsay, resolutions would be formed to stop the mouths of those who ven- tured on the dangerous task of rebuking imperial sins , and thus the Christian preachers were no doubt pro- hibited, some time before the breaking out of the per- secution, from exercising their office with the liberty which became their calling. This would at once bring them into collision with the authority of the magis- trates, and if they persevered in their usual course, their conduct would be interpreted into a flagitious and obstinate contempt of their rulers. The tolerant spirit with which they had at first been regarded, as it had had no proper foundation, would at once give way to these causes of iiislike ; the better orders of society who re- c 4« 24 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. garded the coinmon belief with sceptical levity would now join their hatred of the Christian morality to the popular hatred of Christian theology. Thus the be- lievers would every day become more and more separ- ated from the community in which they lived : they would begin to be regarded as low^ unlicensed cen- surers ; and in proportion as they found themselves obliged to retire more completely within the circle of their own society, to arm themselves with all those severe virtues necessary in great trials of fortitude, and to watch as men who had hourly to expect insult and suffering, they would be considered as more schismati- cai and i loomy in their notions ; would be suspected of hatred towards the rest of mankind ; and in a short time be believed guilty of all those vices to which such feelings lead, not only by the unthinking and prejudiced multitude, but by whoever had not the patience or the honesty to give their system and general character a fair examination. There is no particular account of the persecution which the Roman people were thus prepared to see perpetrated by their infamous sovereign, in the ancient historians of the church. From Tertullian, however, we learn that it was not commenced without the formal sanction of certain laws which, according to that writer, were enacted against the Christians by Nero ; and it has hence been supposed, with great appearance of probability, that the faithful not merely of Rome but of all the provinces shared in the calamity.* In con- firmation of this idea, a celebrated Spanish inscription, in which Nero is praised for having "'cleared Spain of the new superstition" is often cited; but its authenticity is now generally disputed.t Fortunately for the pur- poses of history, though little to the praise of those writers, we possess the undoubted remarks of more than one heathen author to prove the unjust manner in which the persecuted people were regarded. Tacitus, * IMosheim de Reb. ante Cons. sec. 3.5. Teitullian de Preescriptione Heretic, c xxxvi. t Mosheim, cent. 1. c. v. Eccies. Hist HATRED AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS. 25 the acute, philosophic Tacitus, allowed himself, nor is he the only instance of a man of genius being deceived by popular prejudices, to fall into the common error respecting the Christians. According to him their reli- gion was " a detestable superstition* ; " and in describing its progress he is guilty of the inconsistency of allow- ing the extent of its conquests, and of condemning it without examining its dogmas. " It was at first sup- pressed," says he, '^ but afterwards broke out afresh, and spread not only through Judea, in which the evil had its origin, but also tlirough the metropolis, the common sewer, in which whatever is noisome and flagitious is gathered together and increases." In speaking of those who were brought before the tribunals, he says, " that some confessed themselves Christians, and thereby led to the discovery and apprehension of several others;" and further, that " they were condemned not so much for the burning of Rome as for being the enemies of mankind." t Xot less worthy of attention are the passages in which Seneca and Juvenal allude to the mode in which the unfortunate sufl^erers were put to death with a refinement of barbarity which almost exceeds belief. Nero directed his victims to be covered with wax, or other substances of the same kind, and having been thus carefully prepared, to be placed in conspicuous parts of the imperial gardens, with sharp stakes set under their chins to keep them in an upright position while they were burning, and make them serve as torches. As cruelty is seldom in want of devices, those who were not burnt or crucified were sewn up in the skins of wild beasts, and then exposed for the amusement of the spectators to be worried by dogs. Even the multitude who hated the Christians, and were passionately fond of spectacles, are said to have expressed disgust at the barbarity of the tyrant. But for three or four years he continued his oppressions without interruption, and would in all probability have * " Superstitio exitiabilis." Anna!, lib. xv. c. xHv. f " Superstitio nova ac malefica" is the description given of it by Sue- tonius, Vit. Nero, 26 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. pursued them further, had he not been driven at the end of that period to terminate his' existence, in order to avoid the punishment and disgrace which awaited him from his subjects. St. Peter and St. Paul, it is gene- rally supposed, both perished in this persecution, the former by crucifixion, the latter on the block ; but no records remain to determine how many of the faithful were cut off, or whether . the church suffered in other provinces of the empire as it did at Rome.* The death of Nero, and the commotions with which it was attended, by drawing the attention of all classes of persons to the distracted condition of the state, pre- served the Christians for a time from the calamities of which they had just experienced the bitter commence- ment. But while history is silent respecting them at this period, one of its chapters, the darkest to be found in its whole vast volume, is filled with a melancholy detail of the miseries which now burst like a torrent upon the reprobate and devoted Jews. Tidings of re- volt had of late been brought by every messenger sent by the governors of Judea to Rome. The deeds and characters of those who fomented these troubles were of a different kind to those described in the official re- ports from other parts of the empire. The Romans had been long accustomed to hear of the fierce conflicts between their legions and the fiery spirits of the East ; but the narratives which described to them the conduct of the Jews were filled with incidents as gloomy and mysterious as they were indicative of deep and lasting hatred. Pride, gathering strength from calamities ill borne, had given birth to the wildest species of fana- ticism ; and a real, overwhelming sense of coming deso- lation rendered the people as reckless as they were haughty and passionate. There was a something in the daring spirit of rebellion which they thus exhibited, and in their wtII -known pretensions to an inalienable superiority over the rest of the world, well calculated to rouse the pride of the Romans and their sovereign ; * Eujebius, lib. ii. c. xxv. FALL OF JERUSALEM. 27 and in addition, therefore, to the ordinary motives which "vvould always lead them to chastise a refractory province, they had, in the case of Judea, many of a new and peculiar nature, and such as would impress them -with a fixed determination to repress its insur- rections. Vespasian, with his son Titus, had been sent by Nero with a powerful army into Jutlea, in the year 66; and in the course of a few months all the chief places of Galilee were in the hands of the enemy.* But in proportion as the cloud which hung threatening over their nation grew darker, the unfortunate people became more and more the prey of internal disorders. A class of fa- natics, who assumed tlie name of zealots, resisting the advice of the more prudent of their countrymen, took up arms with the professed rc\;olution of opposing the further progress of the Romans. But they had scarcely assembled in sufficient numbeis to appear formidable in their own eyes, when they began the work of pillage ; and, marching to Jerusalem, took possession of the temple, and conducted themselves with all the insolence and barbarity of tyrants just possessed of power. The attempt which the high priest, Ananus, and others made to repress the fury of these abandoned men only gave rise to fresh and worse outrages. The zealots, finding themselves in danger, called in the Idumeans, by night, to their assistance ; and a conflict took place in the very precincts of the temple, at the end of which between 8000 and 9000 persons lay slaughtered under its walls. Encouraged by their success in this attack^ the Idumeans immediately proceeded to plunder the city, and slay the few persons of distinction who had not fallen in the previous conflict. The high priest, Ananias, the chief object of their hatred, was killed without delay. The observations which Josephus makes in recording this event are deserving attention. " I should not mistake," he remarks, "■' if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of * Josephus, De Bell. lib. iii. c. vii. x. 28 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the city ; and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her walls, and the ruin of her affairs, when they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the midst of their city." After praising the great prudence of this person, and mentioning another, named Jesus, also highly distin- guished for similar good qualities, he continues to remark; '^ I cannot but think it was because God had doomed this city to destruction as a polluted city, and was re- solved to purge his sanctuary by fire, that he cut off these their great defenders and wellwishers; while those who a little before had worn the sacred garments, and had presided over the public worship, and been esteemed venerable by those that dwelt on the whole habitable earth, when they came into our city were cast out naked, and seen to be the food of dogs and wild beasts. And I cannot but imagine that virtue itself groaned at these men's cases, and lamented that she was here so terribly conquered by wickedness."* The strongest expressions are chosen by the indignant historian to describe the horrible excesses to which the zealots proceeded after they had thus removed the few men who had sufficient courage and authority to stem for a while the torrent of their wickedness. Vespasian was persuaded by the chief ofiicers of his army to proceed at once to Jerusalem, and strike the final blow while the people were in this state of confusion : but prudently observing, that a too hasty attack would only serve to re-unite the several parties, he contented himself with following up the cautious system with which he had commenced the campaign. In the midst, however, of his proceedings, intelligence was brought him of the death of Nero, which was fol- lowed by his own election to the imperial throne. As this obliged him to depart immediately for Rome, Titus was left in command of the army, which had shortly before been set in order for commencing its march to- * De Bell, lib, iv, c. iii, iv. REIGN OP DOiMITIAN. 29 wards the holy city. The perils which awaited them at this juncture had no otiier effect on the Jews than that of increasing the licentiousness which raged among them. Those Avho possessed some degree of prudence and fortitude were overpowered by the zealots on the one side, and by the despairing or too blindly courageous on the other. The enormities daily practised in the streets are too horrible for description, where the subject does not demand it ; and when the Roman army took up its position against the devoted city, its population exhibited the melancholy spectacle of a people that seemed to have been simultaneously struck with frenzy. It does not come within our province to follow the course of the siege, or the almost inconceivable miseries endured by the inhabitants of Jerusalem during its contiimance. But not a tittle of Christ's prophecy was left unfulfilled. War, plague, and famine were united to execute the judgments of the Almighty. On the 10th of August the temple was set on fire, and on the 8th of September Titus was master of the desolated city.* In answer to the question, what became of the nu- merous Christians of Jerusalem during these calamitous events, we are informed that by a divine intimation, given shortly before their occurrence, to some of the most holy men among them, they were directed to leave the city, and take up their abode at Pellat, a small town on the other side of the river Jordan. There, it is re- ported, they continued till the- emperor Hadrian built the town of ^lia, on the ancient site of Jerusalem;};, when they returned to that spot which so many recol- lections had rendered above all others sacred to the fol- lowers of Christ. As no mention is made in history of its struggles dur- a.d. ing the intervening period, it may be supposed that till ^^' the latter end of the reign of Domitian the church was suffered to remain unmolested by any serious attack. Suspicion, however, was awake, and both Vespasian and * .Tosephus, De Bell. lib. vi. c. ix. x. Eusebius, lib. iiL c. v. — ix. t Eusebius, lib. iii. c. v. t Ibid. lib. iv. c. vi. 30 HISTORY OF THE CHHISTIAN CHURCH. Domitian, influenced by reports respecting the Messiah of the Jews^ made diligent enquiry after all individuals of that nation who had any pretensions to the honour of a royal descent. The latter of these emperors had the opportunity, in the early part of his reign, of examining some persons who acknowledged themselves descended from David. They are commonly supposed to have been grandsons of Jude the apostle, but their poverty and the unaffected simplicity of their manners convinced Domitian that he had nothing to fear from their preten- sions to royalty, and he dismissed them without injury.* Their answers, it is said, inspired him with the utmost contempt ; and he is stated to have issued thereupon an order prohibiting the further persecution of the Chris- tians. There is some contradiction in the statements of ancient authors on this point, but it is generally known that, not long after, the barbarities which disgraced the reign of Nero were renewed. Among those who fell in this persecution were many persons of distinction. At the head of the list stands Flavins Clemens, the cousin of Domitian, and whose two infant sons he had himself nominated his successors. Domitilla, the wife of Cle- ment, and also a relation of the emperor, was banished to the Isle of Pandataria, while the niece of Clement was Sent to the Isle of Pontia, and lodged in a dungeon. Happily for the church, the reign of Domitian was at its close when he commenced this persecution of the faithful ; and his successor Nerva, who ascended the throne in the year Q6, was endowed with quali- ties both of mind and temper which strongly inclined him to the practice of tolerance. One of the first acts of his government was to rescind the edicts which his predecessor had published against the Christians. Those who had been condemned for any supposed religious offence were freed from punishment, and the exiles were restored to their homes. Among the latter was St. John, who had been banished to the Isle of Patmos, and now returned to end his long and useful course * Eusebius, lib. iil c. xix, xx. DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. 31 among his brethren at Ephesus. General tranquillity was thus^ for a season, granted to the church, and the first eventful century of its existence was closed in peace. CHAP. II. INSTITUTION OF RULES OF DISCIPLINE. RITES OF THE PRI- MITIVE CHURCH. INTRODUCTION OF HERESIES. WORKS OF THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. It is commonly the case with new societies that those who are concerned in their formation institute, at the beginning, a system of rules in order to secure exertion in the proper line of duty, and to impress a deep sense of the importance of the object which it is the purpose of their association to fulfil. This, however, is principally to be considered as the practice of societies formed for a well ascertained and definite purpose. When the object for which a set of persons unite toge- ther is less distinct and obvious than the principles, and the internal feeling which dispose them to unite, are strong, the society is for the most part left to depend, in the earlier period of its existence, on the fraternal sentiments, the uninfluenced sense of duty, or the enthusiasm of its members. But as none of these principles of union are unassailable by the world, asso- ciations, which have no other security for their perma- nence, are in most instances dissolved after a brief existence, or are lost to all practical purposes in the mass of general society. In contemplating the union which existed from the first between the disciples of Christ, we see a society formed of men who were evidently drawn together more from community of sentiment, and reverence for the same master, than from the notion that they were to associate in order to labour as a body in 32 HISTOllY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. effecting a particular purpose. The feelings which thus brought them together were sufficient, both in their strength and nature, to keep those united who experi- enced them in their full and genuine force ; and sup- posing that it had been the design of Divine Providence to inspire all to whom the Gospel was offered with an immediate and fervent love of the system, the society which the first disciples of Christ formed among each other, would have extended with the propagation of his doctrine, and have been kept entire and active with- out the addition of any external rules. But the few chosen were to be of the many called ; and with the earliest enlargement of the infant church, the necessity would become apparent of watching the characters and conduct of those who entered its communion. The same circumstance would also render it necessary to institute regulations, respecting the mode and times in which they were to assemble, for the purposes of mu- tual instruction and social worship. From this found- ation, namely, from the necessity of using great circum- spection in admitting persons into the church as worthy of the Christian brotherhood, and of providing for the or. derly arrangement of its proceedings, both internally and externally, rules would spring up from time to time, and the Christians would be formed into a society compacted together by outward ordinances as well as by commu- nity of spirit. Baptism, as the sign of the new covenant, figured in the most striking manner the spiritual nature and object of the dispensation ; but from the very circum- stance that Christ directed an outward rite to be per- formed as significant of their union with him, his followers might learn that the impulses, whether of the spirit or of natural feeling, were not to be regarded as the sole test of their union. Had the contrary Deen the case, the society of Christians would have been merely temporary and nominal ; and we accordingly find that, in the earliest meetings of the faithful, they indi- cated their communion and brotherhood in Christ by the breaking of bread together religiously. Thus bap- DISCIPLINE OF THE CHUnCH. 33 tism^and the Communion, were established from the first as rites of tlie church, and for both these there was the authority of the Lord himself. Tliey were necessary to typify the change which his religion, by its privi- leges and graces, was to effect in the heart; and to preserve the members of the church together as one sanctified body, nourished from the same divine source. But Jthey were also sufficient for these purposes ; and so clearly did the apostles consider them to be so, that there is no mention in Scripture of their having added to them any others. It was their practice, indeed, in admitting certain of their number to exercise the more important functions of teachers, to lay their hands upon them, and to pray; but praying was their common prac- tice on all solemn occasions, and the laying on of hands was the general and long established mode of bestowing a blessing. Thus, while the church was provided with useful and befitting ordinances, its sacred simplicity as a spiritual institution, as one which was to renovate men's hearts, not by external shows, but by the direct appeals of truth to their consciences, was for some years preserved un- injured by any vain attempt to increase its dignity by pomp and ceremony. That the apostles, however, and the principal persons associated with them, considered they had authority to institute measures for regulat- ing the affairs of the church, appears from the account given of their proceedings immediately after the effusion of the Holy Spirit. The institution of the order of deacons was the work of their authority, founded on the evident want of such an order of men in the in- creasing community; while the council held at Jeru- salem shows them publishing an ordinance of great importance, but at the same time deeming it necessary to consult with each other generally on the subject. It hence appears that none had yet either assumed to themselves, or received from their brethren, authority to act individually as rulers in the community. " It pleased the apostles and elders, loith the whole churchy' VOL. I. D 34 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. to follow the advice of James : and it is evident that it was in the mystical and spiritual body of the church, that the chief powe?- was believed to reside; for it is represented as subject to no one but Christ, of whom it is termed the fulness and the body. It is clear, how- ever, that the administration of this power was deputed to the ministers in their several degrees, who had been set apart from the rest of the brethren for this object. St. Paul speaks of himself as endowed with an authority to exhort, rebuke, and direct individuals, and particular churches, in a manner which belonged to him in virtue of his office. The same is intimated in his address to Timothy respecting the different ministers of whom he speaks in his epistle; and though it is a matter of con- troversy with men of the greatest learning, whether the order of bishops existed as at present in the infant church, it is clear, by whatever name we call them, that as there were deacons and presbyters, so there were certain of the most distinguished teachers who presided over the faithful in different districts, and who were principally charged with their instruction.* Of the mode in which the public service of the con- gregations was conducted we have no precise account ; but from occasional intimations on the subject, we may gather that prayer and prophesying, — by which latter term, as used in the New Testament, preaching is to be generally understood, — formed the chief part of the service. The instructions which St. Paul gives to the church of Corinth, while it affords a very unfavourable view of the state of discipline among the professors of Christianity there, presents us with the remarkable picture of an assembly formed of persons, a large portion of whom were endowed with miraculous powers. From the directions of the apostle we may reasonably suppose, that the greatest confusion had prevailed. at their meet- ings, and that this resulted from two causes : an abuse, * The flistinction between the laity and clergy is supported by numerous passages in the apostolic fathers. It has been stated, that it arose in the days of Tertullian and Cyprian ; but Clemens Alexandrinus and Clemens Roraanus both state the distinct ordination of the clergy. DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. 3o in the first place, of that charitable principle by wliich the celebration of the communion of the Lord's Supper was converted into a feast for those who needed food ; and, in the second place, from the inconsiderate zeal, or the unholy vanity, with which many of those who were possessed of miraculous endowments sought to display their powers. To correct these errors, St. Paul strives to convince the Corinthians that the communion ought to be celebrated solely for the devout remembrance of their Lord, and thus to render it a pure and wholly religious rite. In regard to the disorders which oc- curred in the congregation from the improper display of the gift of tongues, he wisely argues, that the proper object of their assembling is the edification of ail pie- sent; and that for this purpose the gift of tongues should only be exercised, when it could be done consistently with order, and be rendered profitable to the hearers. From the allusions made by the apostle to other cir- cumstances which had occurred among the converts, it is still further evident that Christianity had already begun to be professed by those who were unimpressed with the vital power of its doctrines. In giving his opinion on this subject, St. Paul plainly declares the necessity of estabhshing a system of discipline which should meet the evils that might be apprehended from the falling away of unconverted brethren. The chief object, indeed, of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, is to settle questions, and correct disorders, which it might almost be expected would arise in a church con- stituted like that of Corinth. It is, therefore, a portion of the New Testament Scriptures from which we are able to derive much valuable knowledge respecting the state of the Gentile congregations : and the sum of the information to be gathered from this and similar portions of the apostolic epistles is, that the general assemblies of the believers took place on the first day of the week ; that they then celebrated the communion, offered up prayers, listened to the exhortations of those who were quahfied either by the particular inspiration of the Holy D 2 S6 HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Spirit, or by a recognised authority in the church, to address them ; displayed the signs which indicated their election to perform a certain portion in the common work of edification, and, lastly, contributed, as their means enabled them, to the collections which were necessary for the support of their brethren in other provinces. But Avhile it is evident, from the brief notices we possess of the state of discipline in these primitive churches, that it required all the wisdom and spiritual power of their guides to preserve them from confusion, it is equally well known, that while those who had re- ceived their com.mission from Christ himself, and tlie perfection of their knowledge from the Spirit of truth, were still upon the earth, divisions were fomented on points of doctrine, which threatened materially to affect the peace and prosperity of the church. The authors of these heresies were men of subtle, inquisitive minds, fond of disputation and theorising ; deceiving themselves, probably, into the belief that they were lovers of truth ; but too proud, self- trusting, and speculative, to receive the word of God, till they had given it a form cor- responding to their preconceived notions of what it should be. It was chiefly from the ancient philosophy, or rather theology, of the East, that these disputatious sectaries derived their fundamental dogmas ; and the errors of the gnostics, the parent sect, were intermin- gled with the stream of divine truth almost the moment it left its source. It was not, however, till the second century, that the heresies of which the seeds were thus early sown, began to assume a distinct form in opposition to the doctrines of the church. Independent of the disadvantages which a sectarian would feel v/hile tampering with persons taught by the apostles, or their immediate followers, it was requisite for his purpose that the community in which he wished to labour should be composed of con- siderable numbers of persons, otherwise there could be little chance of his forming a party sufficiently strong to uphold his sentiments against those of the orthodox. SIMON MAGUS. 37 In proportion, therefore, to the increase of the church in the number of its members, the temptations were augmented which call forth the pride and energies of those who delight in controversy, and are ambitious of the distinctions which it sometimes bestows. But though it is to a later period than that which we are at present contemplating, that we must refer the rapid growth of heresy, it was sufficiently apparent, even in this century, to create serious uneasiness in the minds of the apostles and other teachers of the church.* Simon Magus, at a very early period, had endeavoured to convert the doctrines and the graces of the Gospel into a means of gain. Were nothing further recorded of him than what we find in sacred history, we should be disposed to regard him as little better than a vulgar impostor ; but, according to very ancient tradition, he had studied at Alexandria, the principal seat of oriental philosophy, and had there become deeply versed in the occult sciences.f The belief in the power of magic was then very general, and Simon was only one of many who made it a source of profit. It is evident, from the answer he offered to the severe rebuke of St. Peter, — "^Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of those things which you have spoken come upon me," — that he was strongly impressed with a conviction of the divine au- thority of the apostles ; but there is no foundation on which to rest the belief that he repented and became a real convert to the Christian faith. Tradition, on the contrary, says, that he subsequently exerted his magical arts with more assiduity than ever, and that he became a deep and inveterate enemy of the believers. There is every reason to suppose that this was the case ; and if it were, it is not improbable but that he endeavoured to lessen the influence which the preaching and miracles of the Christian teachers might have among his coun- trymen, by endeavouring to explain them away on the principles of his own philosophy. It is said, that * The number of heresies stated by ancient authors will surprise the reader : one names a hundred and fifty ; another, eighty, t Beaujsobre, Hist, des Manich. D 3 38 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. among the chief tenets of this system was the doctrine that matter is eternal ; and that from its eternal and self-generated or necessary motion^ spring that evil principle, with its various dependent agents, to the power of which it has been ever since subject. But this was the common source of other doctrines that led immediately to the most dangerous results ; and Simon's character and profession, it seems, induced him to carry the most noxious part of his system to the highest point of error and impiety. If the account given of his career be true, his opposition to the Christians was not con- fined to those of Judaea or Samaria, but displayed itself at Rome, where, it is reported, he exhibited his magical powers before the emperor Nero. Circumstances, how- ever, of so fabulous a character are appended to the story of his life, that it would be next to impossible to decide how much of what is said respecting him de- serves credit. It has been gravely asserted, that having undertaken to fly from a steep precipice, in order to amuse the emperor, he was, at the earnest prayer of the two apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, dashed to pieces in the depth below. Of a similar description, almost, is the tradition that the Romans held him in such re- verence that they raised a statue to his memory.* Jortin shrewdly observes on this subject, that it is hardly to be credited, that the proud Romans would have ever dei- fied a Samaritan knave, and a strolling magician ; that it seems more probable that they would have sent him to the house of correction, or have bestowed transportation upon him, or a stone doublet, sooner than a statue.t But the celebrity of Simon was surpassed by that of another impostor of the same class, Apollonius of Tyana. He was born in the town by the name of which he is distinguished, and enjoyed all the advantages which his descent from a noble and opulent family, and great na- tural talents, could bestow. His mind appears to have been bold, ardent, and inquisitive; but sufficiently tinged with superstition to lead him from scepticism * Eusebius, Eccles. Hist lib. ii. c. 13. f Remarks on Eccles. Hist. vol. i. p. 337. APOLLONIUS OF TYANA. 39 into the darkest and abstrusest paths of philosophy. After having gained considerable reputation for wisdom, he travelled into Persia and India, in which countries he conversed w^ith the Brahmins and Magi on the mys- tic doctrines of their religions. In the various places which he visited in the course of his active life, the profoundest reverence was paid to his instructions ; and he seems, in many instances, to have acted the part of a severe moral teacher, rather than that of a money- getting empiric. Thus, on observing the pride with which the people of Smyrna regarded their city, and with what pains they adorned it, he exhorted them to respect themselves rather than their town. At Athens he boldly reproved the efFeminant and luxurious customs which prevailed there, and endeavoured to rouse the spirit of the people by reminding them of the deeds of their ancestors. He acted in a similar manner in other cities of Greece ; after traversing which, he went to Rome. Such was the respect in which he was held, that in many places deputations waited on him from the inhabitants, requesting the aid of his wisdom ; and even the mechanics would leave their occupations to listen to his addresses. It is not, however, to be sup- posed that this popularity was obtained by Apollonius through the simple exercise of his wisdom. He pre- tended to the power both of prophesying and curing diseases ; and, even from the scanty notices which re- main of his career, there is sufficient evidence to prove, that he was in these respects not less an impostor than Simon Magus. The exertions of such men as these had, there is little doubt, their full influence on the popular mind ; and, as they are said to have opposed the preachers of Christianity with all the power of their arts, it is not improbable, but that, in several instances, they increased the obstacles to conversion, or aided the return of the weak and ignorant to paganism. But it has been justly observed, that neither they nor Menander, who, like Simon Magus, was a native of Samaria, and prac- D 4 40 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tised similar arts, can be properly called heretics : it is extremely improbable that they ever made any approach to the real profession of Christianity; and it is certain that they were, in the sequel, among its bitterest ene- mies. Heresy, therefore, is to be ascribed to a differ- ent source ; but it is sufficiently clear, from numerous passages in the New Testament, that it not only sprung up at a very early period, but produced, from its first appearance, many of the evils of which it was so fruitful a parent in later days. The disputes between those who desired to make Jews of the converts before they allowed them to become Christians, were the earliest that occurred ; but they were quickly followed by those against which St. John is supposed to have written many passages in his Gospel, and which he again alludes to in the Apocalypse. The Nicolaitans were repre- sented as deriving their tenets from the one common source which supplied the gnostics in general with their theology ; but from the allusion made to them in the Revelations, we find that they were infested not merely with theoretical errors, but with the grossest licentious- ness of manners. The Ebionites, the Nazarenes *, and other sects, may be traced to a similar origin, but they did not appear in any formidably body till the second century.;}; Men- tion is also made of the heretic Cerinthus, in a manner which points him out as one of the most conspicuous actors among the schismatics of this early period ; but, according to Tertullian, the chief heresies of the first century may be classed under the two heads of the Ebionites and the Docetae.t While schism, however, was thus beginning its v/ork, the supreme head of the church was providing fit defenders of its doctrines, and such as should be es- teemed worthy of succeeding his immediate followers in the labour of establishing his kingdom. The want of men to uphold the purity of the faith by their writings, was at first not great or general. To believe, to * These heretics derived their chief errors from Jewish corruptions. f De Prescript. Heretic, c. 33. EARLY WRITERS. 41 suffer, to love, not to write, it has been observed, " was the primitive taste ;" and, accordingly, there are but a very few works, which can be properly regarded as the composition of Christians contemporary with the apos- tles. Of these, that known under the title of the Pastor of Hermas has been generally reputed the most an- cient ; and the common opinion is, that its author was the Hermas mentioned by St. Paul in concluding his epistle to the Romans. These notions, however, of its antiquity, have not secured for it a continuance of the respect which it obtained in earlier eras of the faith. In some churches it was received as a por- tion of the canonical scriptures, and both Irenaeus and Origen cite it under that character.* But this idea of its inspiration and divine authority appears to have given way to the cautious enquiries which were early instituted respecting the Sacred Canon ; and the rejection of such works, after they had been incautiously received by some as divine, affords a most valuable proof of the care with which the writings permanently acknowledged as Scripture, were admitted as a rule of faith. The Pastor of Hermas is chiefly taken up with the relation of visions ; and is, therefore, too enigmatical to be generally useful. It thus yields the palm, in many respects, to a work of the same date, the Epistle, namely, universally attributed to Clemens Romanus, who is mentioned by St. Paul in the epistle to the PhiHppians, and was appointed to the bishopric of Rome in the year 9^. The occasion of its being written is supposed to be described by Irenaeus, when he says that, in the time of Clement, the church of Rome addressed a pa- thetic letter to the Corinthians, the object of which was to restore them to peace, by strengthening their faith, and recalling to their mind the traditions they had re- ceived from the apostles. In conformity with this account of the origin of the epistle, we find that it commences with an exhortation to the Corinthians to recollect the felicity they enjoyed before they were so • Dnpin. Bibl'.oth. Pat. cent. i. t Ibid. Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 38. 42 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. divided among themselves by quarrels and dissensions ; and to take warning, from the miseries which have ever attended such errors, to correct their conduct, and appease the anger of God by a speedy and sincere re- pentance. The most forcible language is employed to prove the guilt of those who ventured to oppose their pastors, chosen, as they had been, by the apostles, or by the faithful men who succeeded them; and the epistle concludes with an earnest entreaty, that the schism may be healed by a return, on the part of those who had thus grievously erred, to the general commu- nion of the believers. Many passages of this epistle are exceedingly elo- quent, and exhibit the feelings of the writer as strongly moved by the most earnest desire of restoring union among his distracted brethren. " Once," says the venerable bishop, " ye all manifested a humble spirit, free from boasting and arrogance, and more willing to obey than command, and readier to give than to re- ceive. Content with the divine allotments, and dili- gently attending to the word of Christ, ye were enlarged in your bowels of love, and had constantly before your eyes his sufferings on the cross. Hence a profound and happy peace possessed all your hearts; you were in- spired with an unwearied desire of doing good, and en- joyed the plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost. Full of counsel, and with all readiness of mind, and the godly assurance of faith, ye stretched forth your hands to the Lord Almighty, if in any matter ye had unwillingly offended him, and implored his mercy. Your care was, day and night, for all the brethren, that the number of his elect might be saved by grace and a good conscience. Sincere, and harmless, and forgiving one another, dis- sension and schism in the church would have seemed an abomination to you. Instead of allowing such evils to exist among you, ye mourned for the errors of your neighbours; ye sympathised with their infirmities as if they had been your own : ye were unwearied in holi- ness, and were ready to every good work ; for adorned EARLY WRITERS. 43 With a venerable and uprip^ht conversation, and having tlie law of God deeply engraven on your hearts, ye per. formed all things in his fear " The epistle contains several allusions to points of apostolical doctrine, which serve considerably to increase its value; and few readers will be inchned to dispute the opinions Avhich the learned Dupin has expressed re- specting it, when he says that, after the Holy Scriptures, it is one of the most valuable records of antiquity. This observation is borne out by the concurrent testimonies of the earliest writers of the church. Eusebius terms it a great and wonderful composition * ; and if Ave con- sider not only its intrinsic value, but its importance as one of the very earliest uninspired compositions we possess on the state of doctrine and discipline in the church, we shall not fail to perceive how much its value is increased to us by its antiquity. Several other works have been attributed to the same author. Besides a second epistle, which goes under his name, but of which the authenticity is much doubted, he is said to have written an account of the disputes be- tween St. Peter and Appian, of the occurrence of which, however, it is acknowledged, there is no mention in any very early author. The Recognitiones Clementis are equally unworthy of being ascribed to the wise and eloquent author of the epistle to the Corinthians ; and the celebrated Apostolical Constitutions, though of great antiquity, are shown, in the clearest manner, to have been falsely attributed to that writer .f The mis- takes which have been made in ascribing these com- positions to Clemens Romanus, have been committed in regard to other writers; and there is, consequently, but little faith to be placed in the titles which ascribe several productions of the first three centuries to the companions of the apostles. In some instances, the errors thus com- mitted are attributable to the names of the real authors having been the same as those of distinguished men in the church who lived before them. In others, they may * Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 16. + Dupin. cent. i. Cave, Script. Eccles. Lit. 44 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. be accounted for, perhaps, by supposing that tradition having ascribed certain opinions, or actions, to the primitive fathers of the church, the works in which those opinions were expounded or insisted upon, or in which .their rule of conduct was set forth, might per- haps be circulated under the authority of their names. In other instances, the errors of which we are speaking are evidently the result of the injudicious desire, of which many enquirers have been guilty, of discovering a name for every anonymous work, and of using every means in their power to fix that upon it to which their fancy has led them. The Canons and Constitutions, said to have been the composition of the apostles themselves, may be men- tioned in illustration of these remarks. AccorcUng to the author of the work entitled Apostolical Constitutions, and which, as we have seen, was falsely ascribed to Clemens Romanus, not only these canons, but several other writings, were the production of the apostles. This assertion gained credit with some persons; but there is sufficient internal evidence to prove the falsity of the opinion thus advanced, The works which bear the name of Dionysius the Areopagite afford a similar illustration of the hasty or, in this instance, perhaps, fraudulent manner in which theological treatises were palmed upon men whose authority was likely to be of use in determining a particular question. Thus the works alluded to appear to have been never heard of till the Severians, in a sharp controversy with the Or- thodox, brought them forward in defence of their opinions. They were then generally circulated as the production of the learned Athenian convert, and great numbers of persons gave a willing assent to the assertion of their authenticity. As soon, however, as they were examined by men properly qualified to detect their in- congruities, it was discovered that they abounded in proofs of their, comparatively speaking, modern origin. Dupin * has given an excellent summary of the chief points in the argument ; and it may not be uninterest- * Biblioth. Pat, cent, i. EARLY WRITERS. 45 ing to the reader to see the mode in which contro- versies of this kind are conducted. In examining the work De Divini.s Honiinibu.s, it is proved to be not the production of Dionysius, from the following cir- cumstances : — 1. It is dedicated to Timothy, but the author quotes from the epistle of Ignatius, who did not write till some time after the death of Timothy, whom he moreover terms his son, whereas Dionysius was certainly the younger. 2. He quotes and explains St. John's Gospel, and the Revelations, which were scarcely written while Dionysius was living ; and yet, in this book, he calls himself a young man ; and he also cites more than one portion of the Canon which, at that early period, was not admitted among the Scriptures already universally received. 3. He regrets the opinions of the Millenarians, who, it is well known, did not appear till long after the apostolic age; and extracts passages from the epistle which Ignatius addressed to the Romans a short time before his martyrdom, while Ignatius was not put to death till the reign of Trajan, and Dionysius suffered martyrdom in that of Domitian. The author also asserts that he was present at the death of the Virgin Mary ; but Dionysius was not then converted, if the common account be received, that she died fifteen years after the crucifixion of our Saviour. But it is not only thus made evident that the work in question was not written at the early period claimed for its appearance, but that it was not composed till after the fourth cen- tury. For, in the first place, the Trinity and the In- carnation are spoken of in terms not used till after the fourth century. Secondly, Infant baptism is advocated on the foundation that there are ancient traditions in its favour : " We declare," remarks the author, " that which our bishops taught us, according to an ancient tradition ; " an expression which, it is argued, could scarcely have been made use of by a person living at the period when Dionysius flourished. Thirdly, the admi- nistration of baptism is described as accompanied with those ceremonies which were not added to the simple rite till after the cessation of persecution. Fourthly, 46 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Churches are spoken of, and their sanctuaries mentioned, and various regulations are alluded to, in a manner which could not have been done by any writer of the apostolic age. Fifthly, the author speaks of Therapeutse, or monks, and distinguishes them according to their different orders; Avhereas it is well known that such classes of men did not exist till long after the time of Dionysius. And, lastly, he quotes Clemens Alexan- drinus, who lived in the third, and alludes to subjects which were not the object of discussion before the fourth century. The epistle of Barnabas rests its claim to authenticity on far better grounds than any other of the writings purporting to be of an antiquity as early as the apostolic age, with the exception, perhaps, of the Pastor of Her.- mas, and the epistle to the Corinthians by Clemens Ro- manus. The earliest ecclesiastical authors ascribe it to Barnabas, the companion of St. Paul ; and it was by some persons regarded as of considerable authority. This opinion, however, was very properly rejected by the most learned of the fathers ; and those who bear the plainest testimony to the propriety of its being attributed to Barnabas, explicitly deny its right to a place among the inspired writings. It has not been without con- troversy, indeed, that this epistle has come down to our times under the name which it bears ; and though it is now generally allowed to exhibit aU the proofs of authenticity that can be fairly demanded, it is unknown, owing to the want of the title, to whom it was addressed. From the contents, however, it appears to have been dedicated to certain Jewish converts, who, in conformity with the general prejudice of their brethren, placed an improper reliance on the efficacy of the law of Moses. Thus the former part of the address is occupied Vv^ith observations intended to demonstrate the inadequacy of the old dispensation to save men from the effects of their sins, and the consequent necessity of the incar- nation of Christ ; and the second part consists of va- rious useful instructions, and rules for the conduct of * Cave, Script. Eccles. Hist. Lit. EARLY WRITERS. 4? life, both as to the practice of the chief virtues, and the avoiding of their corresponding vices. The above-mentioned writings are the only produc- tions of importance or deserved credit which have de- scended to us from the first century. There are some fragments remaining of Papias, who is said to have been the disciple of St. John, and who long enjoyed a certain species of celebrity from having originated the doc- trine of Christ's temporal reign upon earth. According to the account given of his writings by Eusebius, he appears to have sought for information with great dili- gence among the companions of the apostles, and to have gathered from their lips the elements of that know- ledge which he subsequently mixed up with the opinions to which he was led through a less certain track. Thus, in the quotations taken by the historian from the proe- mium of his writings, we find him saying, — '' I have not, like many, followed those who abound in words, but those rather who teach the truth ; nor those who deliver strange and novel precepts, but those who pub- lished the commandments of the Lord delivered in parable, and proceeding from truth itself. WTierefore, if I met any one who had conversed with the elders, I cautiously enquired of him what had been the sayings of those elders? What Andrew, what Peter, what Philip, what Thomas, what James, what John, what Matthew, what the other disciples of the Lord, had been wont to say ? What Aristion and John the Presbyter preached ? For I did not think that any such profit could be de- rived from the reading of books as from the hving voices of men yet on the earth." Many, however, of the tra- ditions which he thus received are regarded as apocry- phal ; and Eusebius observes respecting his assertion, that there was an unrecorded prediction of Christ's which referred to his temporal reign, that he fell into this opinion from imperfectly understanding the apostolic narratives, and that his works afford proofs of his being deficient in strength of mind.* * Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 9. 48 KISTOTIY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The fathers who lived in the latter portion of this cen- tury were destined, both by their actions and writings, to take a far more conspicuous part in the affairs of the church than any of the above : but it was not till the succeeding age that their virtues or their talents were put to the severe trial which awaited them ; and, there- fore, though they are ranked among the fathers of the first century, both by Dupin and others, it is not till we come to describe the events in which they were so deeply concerned, that we shall allude to their writings. Before, however, passing from this part of the subject, a class of works is to be named, which, though worse than valueless in themselves, are yet of seme use, as affording indications of the danger to which the church in its infancy was exposed, not merely from open enemies, but from the weak, superstitious, and fraudulently disposed persons who entered its communion, without having any idea of the sublime and unsullied ttuth which should form the basis of Christian morals. Allusion has already been made to the apostolic Canons; but this was only one of a large series of similar productions, all of which claimed the most sacred origin. Thus, there is a letter said to have been written by Christ himself to Agbarus king of Edessa, who, in his epistle to our Lord, which called forth the reply in question, declared, that having heard of his miracles, he was persuaded that he was God, or the Son of God. In answer to wdiich, Christ is reported to have said, — " Thou art happy, Agbarus, for having believed in me, without seeing me ; for it is written of me, that they that see me shall not believe in me ; to the end that they that believe in me without seeing me may receive eternal life." A narrative ac- companies the letter, which adds considerably to the evident grossness of the forgery ; but, notwithstanding the plainest proofs of its fictitious character, it has not been without believers in its authenticity. As the sacred name of the Saviour was thus employed, the reader will not be surprised to hear that there are some letters of which the Virgin Mary is the reputed author ; and EARLY M'RITINGS. 49 still less that there is a series of counterfeit Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelations. Among the most ce- lebrated of these apocryphal books, are the Gospel ac- cording to the Egyptians, and the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Both appear to have obtained credit with some persons in the church; and the former is said to have been generally quoted by the Sabellians, as proving the truth of their doctrines : Jerome regarded the latter so highly, that he translated it from Syriac into Greek and Latin ; and has left it on record, that an opinion was entertained by some that it was the original of St. jNIatthew's Gospel, which, it has been so frequently conjectured, was written originally in Hebrew. This idea, however, is unsupported by any valid argument ; and the spuriousness of the work was, at a very early period, acknowledged by the church at large. But besides these Gospels, which, by the general nature of their contents, were less offensive to the com- mon sense and knowledge of the faithful than such forgeries usually are, there were several others, in favour of the authenticity of which there was not even the shadow of an argument. Such were the books which pretended to give an account of the infancy of our Lord; the Gospels of Philip, of Thaddeus, Barnabas, and An- drew ; and, yet more marvellous, the one attributed to the traitor Judas himself. Nothing can exceed in ab- surdity many of the stories recounted in these supposi- titious scriptures. The most extravagant imaginations, and the weakest intellects, seem to have been employed in their fabrication ; and every portion of their narratives affords the most striking illustration of the important distinction which exists between that which is above, and that which is contrary to, reason. Thus, in the relation of Christ's appearance before Pilate, in the Gospel of Nicodemus, it is said that the ensigns or ban- ners bowed themselves twice before him when the soldiers came to apprehend him ; and wherever any comparison can be instituted between the facts recorded in the real word of Scripture, and the inventions wliich fill up the VOL. I. JB 50 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. pages of these false Gospels^ it is impossible for the mind not to be impressed in the liveliest manner with the simple sublimity, the pure and luminous truth_, of the sacred history, rendered so much more obvious and calculated to inspire admiration, when thus placed in opposition to its counterfeit. Nor did the apostles confine themselves to the com- position of narratives or epistles, if any credit could be given to some early authors and their followers. Ac- cording to them, the primitive age of the church was not only fruitful in histories of every kind, but liturgies were composed by the apostles with as much care and particularity as if the church had been furnished, in their time, with all the various external rites and cere- monies, and with the same means of performing them, which it acquired in the times of its advancing pros- perity. St. Peter, St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. James, are all of them said to have composed liturgies ; but, unfortunately for the credit of those who ventured to adopt so absurd a supposition, the forms of prayer, the subjects, and the expressions, are of such a nature as to preclude the possibility of their having been set forth at the period alleged. Thus, in the liturgy to which the name of St. Matthew is affixed, there are prayers, not only for kings, in conformity with the apostolic maxim, but for archbishops, patriarchs, and popes. The same circumstance occurs in the com- pilations ascribed to St. Mark and St. James ; evidently showing that there was not even the pretence of any very remote antiquity to favour the supposition of their sacred origin. There is one production, however, purporting to be the joint work of the apostles, of a very different cha- racter to any of those above mentioned. The origin of the Apostles' Creed has been a subject of long and dif- ficidt controversy ; but the strictly scriptural nature of its several articles leaves no doubt that it was com- piled by persons deeply interested in establishing the simple truths of the Gospel. Those,, therefore^ who THE APOSTLES CREED. 51 are least inclined to allow its direct origin from the apostles, admit that its conformity with their doctrines, and the usefulness of such a compendium, justify its being denominated their Creed. But many writers of eminence have contended for the truth of the tradition which affirms, that it was the actual production of the inspired teachers of the Gospel, and that they each of them contributed to its composition : some even have gone so far as to suppose the particular v;ay in which it was put together; one party contending that each of the apostles pronounced an article, others that all the disciples took part in its construction, and another party that it was compiled by the apostles after a solemn conference held for the purpose of determining the rule of faith. The arguments by which these opinions respecting the immediate apostolic origin of the creed in question have been rebutted, are clear and convincing. It is very properly observed, that there is no mention made in the Acts of the Apostles, of their having met in conference for the purpose alluded to ; that the fathers of the first three centuries, in their various disputes with heretics, though they frequently observe that the doc- trines of the Apostles' Creed are the same as those de- livered by the apostles, do not assert that it was actually composed by those holy men ] and lastly, that if they had indeed prepared such a profession of faith, it, would have been universally received, and would have existed in precisely the same form in all churches ; the contrary of which is the case. From these consi- derations, the most learned theologians have embraced the opinion, that the apostles did certainly never compile any form of profession ; but that having, with great zeal and labour, diffused the knowledge of the. doctrines contained in the creed which goes by their name, some of their early followers disposed the truths they had received from their lips into the sentences which form the admirable summary of Christian belief on which we are speaking. £ 2 52 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. From what has been now related^ it will appear that a very high idea Avas formed^ in the age which imme- diately succeeded the primitive and apostolic era, of the activity, the power, and learning, which characterised the teachers of that period. It need scarcely be said, that such a notion must lead to very false vieAvs of the character of the infant church ; and that it has ar'sen from an injudicious desire of ascribing to it honours of a kind which it did not require, or of making use of its authority to support opinions or practices which had not their origin till a later age. The establishment of the Gospel was to be manifestly the work of the Spirit and the power of God ; human agency was, therefore, to be kept, in the strongest sense of the term, subor- dinate to the divine interference ; and not only by the positive employment of miracles, but by the general operation of the Spirit, converting or influencing every species of agent, whether near or remote, the foundations of the church were laid without any human help that could make the men of that generation suppose, for an instant, that it was not altogether the work of God. The estabhshment of showy ceremonies, or the in- troduction of those exterior ornaments of worship which were, some time after, employed on the specious but weak plea of interesting the vulgar, was as unnecessary at this period as it would have been mischievous : it would have spoken of the wisdom and ingenuity of men ; and to this was opposed the whole ceremony of the divine procedure. The same may be remarked respecting the support of the Gospel by the arguments or writings of uninspired authors. The only men employed to defend its truth, or propagate its doctrines, at its first pub- lication, were specially chosen to the office, and then endowed with a power which they could not but acknow- ledge to be divine. And not only were they thus chosen, but they had also particular appointments ; their lines did not interfere with each other, nor did they extend indefinitely over the whole space to be cultivated by their labours : even St. Paul, extensive as was the REIGN OF TRAJAN. Oo course marked out for him, only wrote, except in one instance, for single congregations. This is sufficient to indicate that the ciicumstances of the Christian com- munity were not as yet such as to call for written de- fences of the Gospel ; that the time was not come for its being advocated by human eloquence or ingenuity ; and that, therefore, it would be absurd to suppose that general constitutions and canons, professions of catholic faith, and histories and epistles, were multiphed ac- cording to the rate in which they are reported to have been, in the apostolic age. In concluding these remarks, it may be briefly said, that the history of the first century of the Christian church, while it offers few of those positive statements which may be found in the records of later ages, is yet sufficiently distinct, as to all the most important cha- racteristics of liistory, to satisfy the fair and honest en- quirer. It plainly exemplifies the ruling spirit of the period, and the motives by which the chief actors in the events which occurred were influenced ; it sets forth a sufficient number of circumstances to account for the results to which it leads us in the sequel ; and it all along shows, in the most distinct manner, the conflict which was going on between the two great powers then contending for mastery — between the upper and the nether currents, the virtues and vices of our nature. CHAP. III. STATE or THE CHRISTIANS DURING THE REIGN OP TRAJAN. MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS. REIGN OF ADRIAN. HIS CONDUCT TOWARDS THE CHRISTIANS. INSURKECTION OF BARCHOCHEBAS. ANTONINUS PIUS. REFLECTIONS ON HIS CHARACTER. MARCUS AURELIUS. PERSECUTION. JUSTIN MARTYR. FOLYCARP. THE GALLIC PERSECUTION. — CHANGE IN THE EMPEROr's DISPOSITION. COMMODUS. INTERNAL STATE OF THE CHURCH. HERESIES. The calm in which the preceding century closed was of short duration. At the death of Nerva^ the Chris- E 3 54' HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tians saw a monarch ascend the throne, from whose general character they might cherish the expectation that justice would be administered with an impartial hand^ but whose education as a soldier and a politician had badly prepared him for investigating with fairness the nature of their doctrines^ or the views by which they were directed. The tranquillity of the late reign had contributed gi-eatly to the increase of their numbers; and the church, both at Rome, and in other parts of the empire, continued to present every day a more for- midable appearance to its suspicious enemies. This was probably the main reason of the hostility with which Trajan, from the very commencement of his reign, regarded the Christians ; but he was a stern lover of discipline, and the state of the empire taught him to look with severity on any violation of established order. It has been asserted by writers of eminence, that there were no laws in force against the Christians at this time * ; but expressions have been pointed out in the works of Tertullian, which render this opinion exceedingly doubtful t; and even supposing there were no particular edicts then in force against the church, this would scarcely serve to support the notion that its members were not still exposed to the danger of per- secution. The tolerance of the Roman government could never be trusted while those general laws against new religions were unrepealed, which might so easily be applied to the punishment of Christians. It has been observed by the historian of the Decline and Fall, that " the policy of the emperors and the senate, as far as it concerned religion, was happily seconded by the reflec- tions of the enlightened, and by the habits of the su- perstitious part of their subjects ; that the various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true, by the philosopher as equally false, and by the magistrate as equally useful ;" and that '' this toleration produced not * Mosheim, cent. ii. part i. c. 2. + Bishop Kaye's Hist, illust. from Tertullian, c. ii. p. IM. ROMAN INTOLERANCE. 55 only mutual indulgence^ but even religious concord." * But in making these observations, the author would have better enabled the reader to form a correct view of the subject, had he modified his eulogy of Roman tolerance, by giving the actual opinion of both a well- known philosopher and magistrate on the subject. The sentiments attributed to Msecenas in Dio Cassius are, " that the gods should by all means be honoured according to the customs of the country ; and that those who did not, should be forced so to honour them, and that such persons as were for ever introducing something novel in religion should be hated and punished, not only because of the gods, but because they who intro- duce new divinities mislead others into receiving foreign laws, the fruitful source of conspiracies and secret meet- ings, which are dangerous above all things to the monarchy." Cicero, moreover, says, " that no man should have separate gods for himself, nor worship by himself new or foreign gods, unless they had been pub- licly recognised by the lawst;" and still further, it is distinctly stated by another distinguislied civilian, Julius Faulus, that those who introduced new religions, or the tendency and nature of which were unknown, should, if of the other classes, be degraded, and if of the lower, be punished with death." [j: W^hile such were the opinions of the most enlightened men of the nation, it is not difficult to conjecture what must have been the dispositions of that large class of persons who, possessing far less philosophy or intel- ligence, enjoyed situations of considerable power as priests or magistrates. Without those motives to tole- rance which learning and reflection supply, and urged to favour persecution by their own private interest, the provincial governors and their subordinate officers would, with few exceptions, not fail to uphold the ancient precepts of the law against innovations. The * Decline and Fall,ch. xvi. Dr. Neander has some useful observations ,on this subject, and concludes against Musheim. See his Hist, of Three First Cent, by Rose. t De Leg. iL 8. X Neaiider, i. 81. 56 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. mildness of Nerva had protected the Christians^ as far as a benevolent system of policy^ founded on the temper of the chief magistrate^ not on the laws, can effect such an object ; but Christianity still came under the class of religions not recognised by the state, " non publice adscitos." Those, therefore, who professed it, neces- sarily stood exposed to oppressions against which they could offer no resistance ; and for which they could find no rehef in the laws. It accordingly appears, that Nerva was no sooner dead, than the persecutions of the former reign were recommenced, before any thing, as it seems, could have occurred to injure the Christian character. The measures, moreover, which Trajan undertook, were evidently pursued by his ministers, and by the populace in general, with a ready violence, which exceeded the wishes of the monarch. Of this fact, and of the inoffensive conduct of the believers, we have a striking proof in the well know^n letter of Pliny the younger, then proconsul of Pontus and Bithynia, who, unwilling to indulge the populace in their passion for persecution, and yet feeling obliged to punish, found a species of responsibility imposed upon him_, from which he would wiUingly have escaped. A.D. " I have never personally assisted," says the pro- 104. consul, in the above mentioned letter to the emperor, " in any trial of the Christians, and therefore cannot tell on what the information against them rests, nor to what degree they merit punishment. I am much influenced by difference of age ; and the following is the method I have pursued with regard to such as have been brought before me as Christians. I have asked them whether they were really Christians. On their con- fessing that they were, I have questioned them a second and a third time, threatening tKem with punishment ; and on their persevering in the confession, I have com- manded them to be led forth, not doubting but that inflexible obstinacy ought to be punished. Nothing can compel those to adore thy image with incense, or to call on the gods, or to curse Christ, who are really Christians. This is the sum of their error. They are TRAJAN AND PLINY. 57 accustomed to assemble on a stated day before light ; to sing a hymn to Christ among themselves by turns; and to bind themselves by an oath^ to commit no wick- edness, — neither fraud, nor robbery, nor adultery, — and never to violate faith. These things having been done, it is their custom to depart, and assemble again to take meat, but promiscuously and without offence. Many persons, of all ages, of all orders, and of either sex even, are placed in peril ; for the contagion of this superstition has invaded not only the towns, but even the villages and fields. It is sufficiently evident, indeed, that our temples are almost deserted, that our sacred rites have been for a long time intermitted, and that there is rarely to be found a purchaser of the vic- tims." * The answer of Trajan exhibits that mixture of cle- mency and injustice, of tolerance and tyranny, which can only be accounted for on the supposition that he had no clear or fixed notions of justice, and that he was willing to remain wholly ignorant of the real nature of Christianity. — " You have done perfectly right, my dear Pliny," he says, " in your proceedings against the Chris- tians who have been brought before you ; it being im- possible to establish any regular or general form in affairs of this kind. No search should be made after thein; but if they are accused and convicted, they must be punished. Should the accused, however, deny that he is a Christian, and prove that he is not by invoking the gods, then let him be pardoned, whatever may have been his former profession. But in regard to no crimes, ought accusations to be received which are not signed by some person, for the contrary would be a very dan- gerous course, and would little become our reign." The consequence of the emperor's entertaining these ideas on the subject, was a temporary pause in the pro- ceedings of the persecutors. His directions to Pliny * Plin. lib. X. ep. 103. Lardner argue.s, from the former part of the letter, against the existence of edicts again.st the Christians ; supposing, he a^ids, that the edicts of Nero and Domitian had been abrogated.— Testimonies of Ancient Heathens, c. ix. 58 HISTORY OF THE CPIRISTIAN CHURCH. passed into a decree, and the odious system of anony. mous accusation was suppressed. But it is easy to perceive tiiat this could not long protect the Christians. 1'hey could not conceal their conversion without much difficulty, nor at all times without endangering their ho- nesty. The hatred with which they were regarded was seldom so lukewarm that open accusers were wanting to satisfy the conditions of the law ; and thus the appa- rent clemency, and^ so far as it went, praiseworthy caution, of the emperor, would merely have the effect of driving their merciless enemies to throw off the little shame which had made them prefer ruining their vic- tims in secret, to meeting them face to face at the tri- bunals. That this was really the case, appears from the ac- counts we possess of what occurred in the provinces soon after Trajan's opinion became known. In Pales- tine, for example, the Jews came forward with the ut- most readiness to prefer accusations against the Chris- tians ; and so far was the governor from rejecting their suspicious evidence, that Simeon, the second bishop of Jerusalem, was condemned to death on their testimony. This venerable man was 120 years old when he was thus called to martyrdom ; but his age afforded him no protection, and he was for several days subjected to the most cruel tortures, before he was led forth^ like his Lord, to crucifixion.* But the punishments of the Christians did not always depend on vulgar accusations, or on the judgments of magistrates who might be supposed to have acted with- out attention to the spirit of the emperor's decree. In the year 106, Trajan passed through Antioch, on his way to the seat of the Parthian war ; and during his stay in that city, one of the most revered and enlight- ened men that the church possessed became the object of his bitter and unrelenting persecution. This was the pious and eloquent Ignatius, surnamed Theophorus^ who had been appointed to the bishopric of Antioch, * Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 32. Fleury, Histoire Ecc. L iii. n. 1. MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS. 59 as early as the year 70.* On the first intelligence of the emperor's arrival_, he had trembled Avith the anxiety of a parent for the safety of his people ; and hoping that by coming forward himself he might avert the threatened danger, he sought the monarch, openly confessed his faith, and denounced the gods to whom the world so bhndly paid homage. According to the account given of this interview in the ancient treatise entitled " The Acts of his Martyrdom +," Trajan said to him, as he approached the tribunal, '' Art thou he who, like a bad demon, goest about violating my com- mands, and leading men to perdition?" — "Let no one," he replied, " call Theophorus a bad demon, for- asmuch as all wicked spirits are departed far from the servants of God ; but if you call me impious because I am hostile to evil demons, I am content with the name, for I dissolve all their snares through the inward sup- port of Christ, the heavenly king." — *' And pray who is Theophorus?" said Trajan. " He who has Christ in his breast," rejoined the bishop. " And thinkest thou not," continued the emperor, " that the gods, who fight for us against our enemies, reside in us ?" — " You err," answered Ignatius, boldly, '' in calling the demons of the nations gods : for there is only one God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is ; and one Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, whose kingdom be my portion!" — '^•' His kingdom, do you mean ? " said the emperor, '' who was crucified under Pilate, " — "^ His," was the reply, "who crucified my sins with its author, and has put all the sin and malice ol Satan under the feet of those who carry him in their hearts." — " Dost thou, then," pursued Trajan, "carry him who was crucified within thee?" — " I do," said Ignatius; "for it is written, ' I dwell in them, and walk * Eusebius, lib. iii. c. 22. According to this author (c.36.) he succeeded St. Peter: others dispute this point j but allow that he was acquainted with several of the ai)ostles. t This doruint-nt is (jiioted bj' Floury and others ; but its authenticity is much doubted. Jortin, " Ilemarks on Ecclt-s. Hist." says it has the appear- ance of being genuine, except the last section. Lardner is of a contrary opinion. 60 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. in them : ' " on hearing which^ the emperor exclaimed, ^' Since Ignatius confesses that he carries within him- self him that was crucified, we command that he be carried, bound by soldiers, to great Rome, there to be thrown to wild beasts, for the entertainment of the people." The orders of the emperor were immediately put in execution. The aged bishop was seized and car- ried to Smyrna ; during his short stay in which city he held many discourses with Polycarp, the bishop there, and who had been the disciple of St. John. The con- versation of these venerable men contributed to their mutual support and comfort ; and Ignatius, anxious to avail himself of the httle time which remained to him, had interviews with the deputies of various churches, to whom he communicated consolation and instniction ; and before his departure wrote letters to the Christians of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome. These epistles, with the others subsequently written, are highly valued for the pure and earnest devotion which they throughout exhibit, and are considered as one of the most precious relics of antiquity.* They abound in passages which show with what resignation, and even desire, Ignatius awaited the time for demonstrating his faith in the doc- trines he preached. That to the Romans is a continued appeal against the tenderness of those who would have used their efforts to save him, and has rarely been equal- led in sentiment by any thing proceeding from the mouth of man. '^ I dread," says he, " your charity, and fear that you have too much compassion for me. It would be easy for you, perhaps, to save me from dying, but in opposing my death you oppose my happiness. If you have a true love for me, you will suffer me to depart to the enjoyment of my God. I can never have a bet- ter occasion for returning to him than the present ; and you may perform a good work by leaving me in the * The shorter epistles of this father are generally allowed to be genuine : those which he wrote to the churches above-named are mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome. See Du Pin, Bibliotheca Patrum, cent. ii. And Cave, Hist. Lit, MARTYRDOM OF IGXATIUS. 6'l hands of my enemies, and suffering me without inter- ruption to rejoin the Lord. But if you permit your- selves to be touched by a false compassion for this mi- serable body, you will be sending me back to labour, and forcing me to begin my course afresh. Suffer me, then, to be sacrificed now that the altar is prepared ; in- terfere not with the sacrifice, but in singing hymns of thanksgiving to the Father and the Son while I am offered up. You have never been guilty of envy to- wards others ; why should you be envious of my felicity ? Seek rather to obtain for me, by your prayers, strength to resist and repel whatever attacks I may suf- fer, whether from within or without. It is of little use to seem Christians, if we be not so in reality ; and that which makes a man a Christian is not a fair appearance and fine words, but grandeur of soul and established virtue. M'rite to the churches, informing them that I go joyfully to die, if you do not oppose yourselves. I beseech you then, yet again, not to noiu-ish a tenderness which would injure me. Suffer me to become the food of bears and lions ; it will afford a very short passage to heaven : I am God's wheat ; it is necessary that I should be ground, that I may be made bread fit to be offered to Jesus Christ. Excite, rather, the beasts which are to be set against me, that they may wholly devour me, and that nothing may remain of my body to be chargeable to any one. AVhen the world shall see no part of my frame remaining, it will then be known that I am a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Pray to the Lord that I may be to him an acceptable sacrifice." Thus far the sentiments of Ignatius are not more ar- dent than we might expect to find them, proceeding as they thd from the mouth of a man animated with the most anxious desire to confirm the professors of Chris, tianity in zeal and resolution, and supported by a faith which glowed with suflicient intenseness to throw every object but the hope of heaven and eternity into shade. There are some parts, however, of the letter, which have 62 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. been read with regret by persons^ of the warmth of whose devotion there can be no doubt^ but who have questioned the propriety of such language as that em- ployed by Ignatius, when he expresses an unwillingness to be spared, and great anxiety to find every thing at Rome prepared for his martyrdom.* But much of the seeming extravagance may be explained away, when it is remembered, that the aged bishop was writing to a people in whom there was probably little appearance of that zeal and self-devotion so necessary to a church placed in the midst of enemies, and, humanly speak- ing, solely dependent for support on the readiness of its members to defend their principles at the expense of personal suffering. The conclusion of the epistle, also, is in a style of such deep humility, that it is possible Ignatius, while urging the Romans not to interfere for his sake, might be trembling lest his own resolution should fail, and thus think it necessary to employ the most powerful language to put a stop to communications which tended to make him hesitate in his course. " The flame which animates and impels me forward," he says, '^ cannot suffer any alloy, any mixture which might enfeeble it. He who lives and speaks in me, whispers continually in the recesses of my heart, ' Has- ten to come to my Father.' If, therefore, when I arrive among you, I be found to express other senti- ments, attend not to them, but to those only which you now see me write. I do it with a mind entirely free, and I employ these last moments of my life to let you know, that I desire nothing so much as its speedy ter- * mination. I have no longer any relish for what men usually seek ; the bread which I desire is the adorable flesh of Jesus Christ, and the wine which I demand is his precious blood, — that celestial wine which hghts in the soul the living and immortal fire of an incorruptible charity. I belong no longer to the world. I no longer regard myself as living among men. Remember;, in • Milner, Hist, of Church of Christ, i. 166. MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS. 63 your prayers, the church of Syria, which, deprived of its pastor, rests all its hopes on Him who is the sovereign Pastor of all the churches." On the arrival of Ignatius in the neighbourhood of Rome, the Christians went out in a body to meet him ; and many, notwithstanding the sentiments expressed in his letter, continued to entreat him that he would not prohibit their employing whatever interest they possessed to save his valuable life. But he persisted in his reso- lution not to suffer any compromise whatever to take place on his account ; and, after a short interval had been allowed him for praying with and addressing the people, he was conducted to the amphitheatre, and being placed in the arena, was speedily devoured by the wild animals let loose upon him, — a fragment or two of his bones being all that was left for his friends to collect 9vd convey to Antioch. The feelings of the Christians were strongly excited by the devotion which Ignatius had manifested in all his conduct, and by the almost supernatural fortitude with which he met his death. At the conclusion of the awful spectacle, those who had attended him on his journey retired to the house in which they lodged, and prostrating themselves before God, passed the night in prayer and watching. But some among them, it is said, overpowered by the violent emotions they had experi- enced, sunk at intervals into slumber, and imagined, while in that state, that Ignatius appeared to them, entering the room as it were in haste, and tenderly embracing them. Others dreamt that they heard him praying, and giving his benediction ; while some believed that he appeared to them as a person just escaped from a long and violent struggle, and standing in the presence of God, crowned with glory. It was felt by the trembling Christians, that these were but imaginations, and that they might be ascribed to the scenes of the past day ; but they allowed themselves to draw consolation from their dreams, the strongest faith being as willing as sus- 64 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. picion to receive confirmation from any circumstance whatever which harmonises with its own suggestions.* A.n. 'f hg martyrdom of Ignatius took place on the 20th of December, 107 f, and it was followed by numerous others, so little did the justice or clemency of Trajan serve to protect the Christians. He was succeeded by Adrian, during the first six years of whose reign they suffered severely from the continued operation of his p^-p- decessor's edict. But towards the end of that period, the emperor visited Athens ; and, though chiefly occupied while there with his initiation into the mysteries of Eleusis, he admitted an apology to be presented to him for the Christians by the learned Quadratus, a pious and eloquent man, who is said to have been a disciple of the apostles, and to have possessed the gift of prophecy. The apology of Quadratus was followed or accompanied by another from Aristides, an Athenian philosopher, who still retained the garb of his early profession. Happily for the church, the arguments of these two enlightened champions, combined with Adrian's per- sonal aversion to violence, produced a change in his mind greatly to their advantage.^ This was farther promoted by a letter from the proconsul of Asia, Serenius Granianus, who reasoned with him in the strongest manner on the injustice of allowing the Christians to perish as they did, — mere victims of popular hate and violence. An order was, therefore, issued, prohibiting their further punishment, unless regularly convicted before the proper judges of breaking the laws. Tran. quillity was thus restored to the church at large ; but in Judea it was broken by the frantic proceedings of the impostor Barchochebas, who pretended to be the mighty deliverer whom Balaam had described under the figure * Many circumstances recorded in the ancient documents of ecclesias- tical history may be explained on this principle ; and the apparent marvel- ousness of a narrative be rendered thereby less objectionable in the eyes of critics. t Ten years later is the date assigned by Le Clerc, &c. j Quadratus was most probably the first of the Christian apologists. Eusebius si)eaks of his work with great praise, Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 37 He also bears testimony to the worth of Aristides, Id. lib. iv. c. 3. BARCHOCHEBAS. 65 of a star. Having succeeded in gathering together a large body of his deluded countrymen, he laid the coun- try waste with havoc and confusion. The Christians were the especial objects of his fury, and many perished at the hands of his sanguinary followers. The atten- tion, however, of Adrian was at length drawn to the distracted province ; and, after a short conflict, the rebels were defeated. What few relics of Jerusalem still existed were destroyed, and the ploughshare was drawn over the soil on which the holy city had once stood, that not an object of the minutest kind might remain to awaken any dangerous recollection in the minds of the fierce but unfortunate Jews. A new town, under the name of Elia Capitolina, soon arose on the spot. The Christians were allowed t^ -em.ain there uninter- rupted, and seem to have enjoyed not only security, but prosperity ; the emperor's relation, Aquila, who had been appointed governor of the new city, becoming him- self a faithful member and supporter of the church.* No other event of importance appears to have oc- *'^ curred in the reign of Adrian, which lasted above twenty years ; during the last fourteen of which he was, to a certain degree, the protector rather than persecutor of the Christians. His directions, however, it has been justly observed t, were not sufficiently definite to form a solid barrier for them against their enemies ; and had not his successor, Antoninus Pius, been a man of enlightened mind and amiable disposition, they would have been of little more use than the orders of Trajan. It is apparent, from the letters which he sent to the magistrates of several provinces on the subject, that it required all his clemency and authority to suppress the persecuting pro- pensities which infected the minds of his pagan subjects. '' I am convinced," says he, in addressing the magis- tracy of Asia, " that it is for the gods themselves to take care that men of this kind should not escape ; for * Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 6. + Neander. Like the edict of Trajan, the rescript of this emperor must have had a very different interuretation, according to the mildness or severity of thie magistrates. VOL. I. P 38. 66 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. it is much more fitting that they should punish these who refuse to worship them^ than that you should. But while you accuse them as impious, you in many instances confirm the opinions and sentiments of those against whom you rise so tumultuously. It is, in fact, much more desirable for them to he condemned, and to seem to suffer death for their God, than to remain safe ; for thus they become victors, proving that they prefer sacrificing their lives to doing those things which you command. Concerning the earthquakes which have oc- curred, or are even now taking place, it is not improper to admonish you, who lose your fortitude when such things occur, and yet compare your principles with theirs. They, in such circumstances, place a greater confidence in God, while you, failing through want of knowledge, as it seems to me, neglect the gods and your othei" duties, and the service of the immortals. But the Christians, who worship Him, you expel and persecute unto death. Many of the governors of pro- vinces formerly addressed our most sacred father con- cerning them ; and he wrote in reply, that they were not to exercise force against them, unless they appeared to he undertaking any thing against the Roman govern- ment. And many persons have also brought inform- ation to me respecting them, and the informants I have answered according to the decision of my father ; but if any one should still be determined on troubling these persons on account of their profession, let the accused be set free, although he should be proved a Christian, and the accuser punished." * There is an earnestness in the spirit of this epistle which does honour to the writer, and carries conviction to the mind of the reader, that it was dictated from the most enlightened view of religious liberty that men were capable of taking in the age when it was produced. How is it, we feel prompted to ask,- that one who both felt and reasoned so rightly did not himself become a Christian ? A very simple answer will suffice. There * Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 13. ANTONINUS PIUS. 67 were but two ways by which conversion could be brought about ; that is, by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit, or by such a fair and reasonable study of the evidences as would, by the ordinary processes of argumentation, produce a conviction of the truth. The almighty Head of the church did not see fit to make the rulers of the world, at this early period, the fosterers of his people ; and Antoninus was therefore left, like the rest of men, to employ or neglect the means he possessed for acquiring a knowledge of the new rehgion, and of the proofs on which its divine origin was established. But the elevated situation of Antoninus, by placing the cares of government above every other consideration, would, in the first instance, indispose him to separate the idea of religion from the political influence which that of his country had long exercised on the state. There was thus an obstacle to his conversion by the ordinary means of conviction, greater than those which opposed the conversion of most other men. His fine moral principles, the excellency of his character, and the elevation of his mind, may be supposed, it is true, to have more than counterbalanced both this and every other adverse circumstance; but it is to be recollected, that the purest moral feehng, unless accompanied with a considerable portion of intellectual activity and inqui- sitiveness, will not always dispose its possessor to under- take the investigation of truth, however it may fit him to enjoy it when he sees it in its full and unclouded light. There is a certain species of self-satisfaction in the profession of particular sentiments, which lulls the mind into tranquillity; and, while it renders the heart and the tongue eloquent, satisfies the reason without calling it into exercise, and thereby greatly contributes to incapacitate as well as indispose it for the vigorous exercise of enquiry. A man, whose mental constitution is thus characterised, is usually highly deserving of respect and veneration as an example in the conduct of life, but is seldom conspicuous as a logician, or as one who may be safely followed as a guide in the adop- F 2 68 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tion of unexamined opinions. Neither his rejection, therefore, nor his hehef of a particular system, ought to be considered as of importance in our estimation of the evidences by which others adopted or rejected it ; and the conduct of Antoninus Pius affords only one, among numberless instances, in which men of the most admirable m_oral characters have proved but indifferent enquirers after truth. The benevolence, however, and love of justice, which formed so conspicuous a part of this monarch's cha- racter, proved, for above twenty years, a safeguard to his Christian subjects. His successor, Marcus, was theoretically, and in the general conduct of public affairs^, equally a lover of justice ; but his mind was in other respects differently constituted. He possessed a dispo- sition for enquiry ; and there is reason to believe that he valued intellectual endowments sufficiently to make him regard truth as the great object after which he should strive ; but his pride was equal to his acuteness, and his love of the system he professed was at least equal to his love of truth. Christianity, rising as it appeared to do from among the multitude, would have all the prejudices of such a man against it. The time was not yet come, when either physical or moral philo- sophy could discover that its noblest triumphs were to be effected by the simple investigation of facts ; and Marcus Aurelius, and many other men of the same cha- racter, satisfied with the moral theory they had wrought out for themselves, believed, as we are told the astro- nomers did with their circles and circular motions, that it included the idea of perfection, and that whatever did not tally with it must of necessity be wrong. Thus prepared for viewing the Christians with contempt, the good reported of them would go but a short way towards persuading him that their system was true ; and so long as he believed it false, and was continually receiving prejudiced accounts of its effects from bigoted philo- sophers and popular magistrates, he would have two of the strongest motives to punish its professors that OPPRESSIONS RENEWED. 6*9 could meet in the same mind. As an emperor, he would feel it to be a matter of policy to repress such a sect; as a philosopher^ proud to exercise his power for his theory against all hostile systems, he would per- secute from the impulse of a blinded conscience. The church by this time numbered among its mem- bers several men of great learning, and the custom was becoming pretty general of defending the truth of the Gospel by written apologies. From one of these* we learn, that so entirely had Antoninus withdrawn the protec- tion of the laws from the Christians, that their enemies, taking advantage of his decrees, attacked them both by day and night, and robbed and otherwise injured the most inoffensive persons. ^' If we are thus treated," says the apologist, " by your command, let these things be done rightly ; for a just monarch should counsel nothing unjustly ; and we willingly bear the gift of such a death. This only we beg of thee, that you would your- self first examine the men who appear endowed with such a love of strife, and that you would justly deter- mine whether they are worthy of death and persecution, or of safety and tranquillity. But if this counsel and new decree, which ought not to have been issued even against hostile barbarians, be not yours, much more do we beseech you not to suffer us to be exposed any longer to daily violence." Neither this, however, nor any of the other addresses which were sent to the emperor, had the effect of in- ducing him to suppress the sanguinary proceedings of which the Christians complained. The scenes which had disgraced the reign of Nero were again acted in that of the philosopher Antoninus. t The common laws of jus- tice and humanity were equally despised; virtue and learn- ing, if combined with the name of Christian, were treated with the same contempt; and the pride of the reasoning Stoic was every where seen developing itself in the same effects as the flagitious hate of the abandoned sensualist. * That of Melito, bishop of Sardis, quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 26. t Fleury, Histoire Eccli^s. lib. iii. n. 45. F 3 70 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Among those who suffered in this persecution were two of the most distinguished ornaments of the churchy — the erudite Justin Martyr^ and the venerable Poly carp. The former of these celebrated men was a native of Neapolis^ or Sichem^ in Samaria. His father, whose name was Priscus, was a Gentile, and seems to have been a person of some consequence, his property enabling him to bestow on his son a learned education. * The mind of Justin was early imbued with the love of philosophy; and, while still a youth, he proceeded to Alexandria, where he became acquainted with all the principal systems which then occupied the attention of scholars and theologians. His fondness for study, however, was accompanied with an anxiety to satisfy the craving of his mind after some positive knowledge of the Deity, v/hich speedily rendered him dissatisfied with the in. structions he received from the Stoic under whom he had placed himself. It was not necessary, his tutor in- formed him, to labour for knowledge of this kind; and Justin sought out a Peripatetic from whom he hoped to derive more satisfaction on the great subject which so deeply interested his heart. But, to the disappointment of this ardent and devout worshipper of truth, the phi- losopher appeared far more intent on settling the price of his lectures, than anxious about communicating clear ideas on the subhme topics about which he was ques- tioned. Disgusted with this appearance of sordid care in one whom he had expected to see wholly intent on contemplation, Justin next applied to a Pythagorean, But it required, he found, a long course of preparatory study before he could approach even the threshold of the mystic temple in which his master described truth to be enshrined. The sciences of harmony, geometry, * Tillemont, Memoires Ecclt^siastiques, t. ii. p. 11. Cave's Lives of the Primitive Fathers, art. Justin. These authors have collected with great care the notices of his life to be found in his own works. His works, as enumerated by Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. lib. iv. c. 1 1—18., are certain treatises against Marcion, Apologies to the Emperor Antoninus Pius and his Suc- cessor ; two books against the Gentiles ; a discourse on the Monarchy of God ; another on the soul ; and the celebrated Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. Others are alluded to, but not named. JUSTIN 3IARTYR. 71 and other studies of the same nature, were to furnish him, it was said, with the golden key to the sanctuary ; and it is not Hkely that Justin would have sickened at the idea of any exertion, had he placed faith in the assurance that the knowledge he required was to be gained by such means. But he had imperceptibly, or witliout a mas- ter, acquired sufficient acquaintance with his own nature, and that of truth, to perceive that this method promised no satisfactory results, and he attached himself to a Platonist. The great advantage he derived from this change of masters was the freedom he now enjoyed from the trammels of either a selfish or a material phi- losophy. His mind was fairly let loose : and though he felt as bewildered as ever, when striving from the infinity of the universe to abstract the idea of a God, whom he might not only adore, but know and hold com- munion with, and love; there was a consciousness in his mind that, though he could discover nothing satis- factory without greater helps than he possessed, he was not altogether wrong; and that solitude and reflection were every day preparing his heart for the better appre- ciation of the truth, should he ever discover it. It was while his mind was in this state, that, as he was one day wandering on the sea-shore, wrapped in deep meditation, his attention was attracted by the ap- pearance of an aged man, whose dignified and venerable countenance inspired him with prolcund respect. They entered into conversation ; and, in answer to Justin's expression of his desire to become acquainted with the Deity, the old man warned him against the fallacy of resting his hopes on any system taught by the philoso- phers, and directed him to study the Hebrew prophets, and the doctrines of Christianity, and to pray with earnestness that light might be given him to understand these things, which could only be comprehended by the assistance of God himself, and the Saviour. Having thus counselled him, the venerable old man took his leave, and Justin never again saw him. He had heard, how- ever, sufficient to guide him to the truth and his con- F 4f 72 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. version to Christianity afforded the church a species of defence, which its present exposure to the taunts and sophisms of the pagan philosophers was daily rendering more necessary. Justin is stated to have become a Christian about the thirtieth year of his age. From that period he ap- pears to have constantly employed himself in expound- ing or supporting the doctrines he had embraced. In Egypt, and various provinces of Asia, he proclaimed them with a zeal becoming one who had embraced them from conviction, and whose mind was taught continually to venerate them more and more from the influence he beheld them exerting on those who not only professed them, but suffered for their sake. While at Rome, in the reign of Antoninus Pius, he undertook a confutation of the Marcionites and others, who were then disturb- ing the peace of the church; and, in the year 140, addressed to the emperor his celebrated Apology for the Faith. He soon after this returned into Asia; and, at Ephesus, held that conversation with Trypho the Jew, in which we are m.ade acquainted with the circumstances that led, as above related, to his conversion. But his duty again called him to Rome, where he disputed with the philosopher Crescens, and wrote a Second Apology, which he presented to the emperor Marcus Antoninus^ who was now pursuing those measures against the Christians which were in vain opposed either by the suggestions of justice, or by plain and honest argument- ation. Justin had continued to wear the habit of a philosopher, and it might have been expected that the emperor would have paid seme respect to his character and learning ; but the disputants whom he had defeated were not likely to represent him in the most favourable light to their master, and he was apprehended on the charge of being a Christian, soon after presenting his Second Apology. The prefect Rusticus, before whom he was carried, asked to what species of study he had apphed himself. " I have endeavoured," was the reply, *' to acquire every species of knowledge, and have. JUSTIN MARTYR. 73 at last, embraced the doctrine of Christianity, — re- jected though it be by those who are in blindness and error." — " AV^hat, wretch ! " exclaimed the prefect, '"'■ you follow that doctrine.''" — " Yes," replied Justin, *' and with joy, because I know it to be true." The magistrate then enquired where the Christians were ac- customed to assemble } " Where they wish, and where they can," was the firm and prudent reply : '^^ do you think we always assemble in the same place ? The God of the Christians is not confined within an enclo- sure ; but, as He is invisible, and fills heaven and earthy the faithful praise and adore Him in every place." Rusticus then turned to those who had been appre- hended with Justin; and, their replies tending to the same end, he exclaimed, — "^^ Sacrifice, then, and obey, or I will order you to be tormented without mercy." — "Our only desire," replied Justin, " is to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ. We shall thereby obtain salvation, and derive confidence to appear before the terrible tri- bunal of the Lord, to which all men, at his appointed time, will be summoned." These sentiments were re- peated by the rest, and the prefect immediately directed that " those who had refused to sacrifice to the gods, and to obey the edict of the emperor, should be scourged and beheaded, as the laws ordained." * The piety of Justin is unquestionable, and there can be little doubt but that he greatly contributed to bring the doctrines of Christianity under the notice of men who had before regarded it with contemptuous indiffer- ence. Doubts, however, have been justly entertainetl, whether he did not allow his habits of philosophising to interfere sometimes v.ith that simplicity of doctrine which it was of the utmost importance to preserve un- injured. In his style, on the conirary, he was remark- ably free from the shghtest tendency to affect wisdom of speech ; and it has been observed of him, that though he was perfectly skilled in every species of knowledge, he took no care to adorn the natural beauty of philo- * Fleury, Histoire Ecck's. lib. iii. n.57. 74 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. sophy with the artificial ornaments of eloquence, and that his discourses, in consequence, ^' though very learned, have little eloquence or grace." In the summary given of his doctrines, the points to which our attention is chiefly drawn are, that in his explication of the doctrine of the Trinity, he was con- siderably influenced by the Platonic notions ; that he believed the souls of men would not enter into their final state of happiness or misery till the day of judg- m.ent ; but that they would, to a certain degree, be conscious, during the interval, of the rewards or pu- nishm.ents they were destined to receive ; and that he advocated the opinion, that the redeemed would, after the resurrection, dwell for 1000 years in Jerusalem. In addition to this, it is observed, that " he seems to have thought that the souls of the wicked should at last become capable of dying, although, in other places, he afllirms that their torments shall be eternal ; that he has a peculiar opinion concerning the souls of the right- eous, which he afiirms to have been, before the coming of Jesus Christ, under the power of the devil, who could cause them to appear whenever he should think fit ; that, according to Irenaeus, he has asserted, that the devils were ignorant of their damnation until the coming of our Saviour, and even goes so far as to say that they are not yet thrust down into eternal flames ; and, lastly, that he seems not to despair of the salvation of those among the Gentiles who have lived virtuously, though they had not the knowledge of Jesus Christ, but only of God."* Many of these opinions, however, were not pecuhar to Justin, but were beginning to form part of the general creed, and may, in some respects, be regarded as the consequence of that natural disposition in the human mind to make whatever knowledge it pos- sesses a stepping-stone to farther enquiries, without paying due attention to the circumstances of the case ; or questioning, whether, as in natural science, there * Du Pin, Bibliothpca Patrum, art. Juslm. POLYCARP. / O be any possibility of discovering, from what God has revealed, that which He has not revealed. Polycarp had been instructed in the knowledge of the gospel by St. John, and was appointed by him to pre- side over the church of Smyrna. On the death of the apostle, his acquaintance with the truth, and his ex- perience, pointed him out as the chief person whom the Christians of Asia had most reason to look up to as their father and counsellor. About the year 16'0 he proceeded to Rome^ to confer with Anicetus, the bishop of that see, respecting the fit time for keepir.g the fes- tival of Easter, and though they could not come to the same conclusion on the subject, their respect and affection for each other v.ere exhibited in every possible manner^ and their moderation and charity presented an example which it would have been well for the church of Christ had their successors followed. The labours of this ve- nerable man were duly appreciated by the people over whom he was placed ; and Irena^us, who owed to him the instructions by which he was himself rendered a distinguished ornament of the church, has left an affect- ing record of his virtues. " I have yet present to my mind," says that father, " the gi'avity of his demeanour^, the majesty of his countenance, the purity of his life^ and the holiness of the exhortations w^ith which he fed his flock. I almost think that I can still hear him re- lating how he had conversed with St. John, and with many others who had seen Jesus Christ, and repeating the words he had received from their lips, and the ac- counts they had given him of the Saviour's miracles and doctrines, while his zeal for the purity of the faith was such, that when any error was advocated in his presence, he was wont to close his ears and to retire, exclaiming, ' Merciful Lord, for what times hast Thou reserved me.^*' Although I was then young," con- tinues Irenajus, " I remember the blessed Polycarp so distinctly, that 1 could still point out the place where he was seated when he preached the word of God. Through the mercy of the Lord, I heard even 76 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. then with extreme attention the weighty things which he uttered. I engraved them not on any tablets_, but in the depth of my heart_, and God has ever given me grace to remember them_, and to recall them often to my mind." At the period when the persecution which had been excited by the emperor threatened the Christians of Smyrna^ Polycarp must have been in extreme old age_, and had, it is supposed, presided over that people be- tween sixty and seventy years. Of the noble manner in which this venerable ser- vant of Christ ended his days, a particular account exists in the letter written by the church of Smyrna to that of Philomehum, a city of Lycaonia.* From this valuable document we learn, that shortly before his apprehension, several of the Christians, inflamed with indiscreet enthusiasm, voluntarily presented them- selves before the heathen governor ; and that, while some suffered the extreme penalty of confession, others found their faith give way in the dangers they had pro- voked, and apostatised. The aged bishop, more in- fluenced by this circumstance than by the persuasion of his friends, consented to retire to a small country-housej a short distance from Smyrna, where he spent his time in prayer, and in exhorting those who visited him to preserve their piety and fortitude unshaken. But, at length, the passions of the populace, inflamed at the re- solution with which many of the Christians suffered, prompted them to demand the sacrifice of the bishop ; and one of his attendants, having been tortured into discovering the place of his retreat, a strong party of guards was sent to seize his person, and bring him to the stadium. They did not reach his dwelling till late in the evening, and after he had retired to bed, but on being informed of their arrival, rejecting the intimation of his attendants that he might still escape, he went down stairs, and addressed them with so much kindness and * Ensebius quotes Irenaeus for the principal circumstances vihirh he mentions respecting Polycarp, Hist. Eccles. lib, iv. c. 14.; see also Dupin, Bibliotheca Patrum, art. Polycarp, and Fleury, Hist. Ec. Ub. ill n. 49. MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP. 77 suavity that they repented, it is said, having undertaken the office, and observed that it was a useless thing to apprehend so aged a person. After having received them in this charitable temper, he ordered refreshments to be brought, and requested that they would suffer him to spend one hour in un- interrupted prayer. This desire was granted ; and, en- feebled as he was with age, he continued standing for two hours pouring forth his devotions in a strain which deeply affected and strengthened most of those who heard him. His prayers being ended, he was put upon an ass, and conducted towards the city, but was met on the way by one of the magistrates, who, knowing some- thing of his virtues, pitied his situation, and invited him into his carriage. The compassion, however, of the heathen was quickly dissipated ; for finding the bishop persist in rejecting to acknowledge the gods, he pushed him violently to the ground, and left him to his fate. Polycarp had his thigh severely injured by the fall, but showing no mark of resentment, he once more quietly resigned himself to his guards, and continued his journey to the stadium. The greatest excitement was manifested on his ap- pearance ; but in the midst of the deafening clamour which arose, some of the Christians heard, it is said, a voice which they believed to come from heaven, and which said, " Polycarp, be strong and endure unto death ! " When he approached the tribunal, the pro- consul asked him whether he was Polycarp ; and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, he began to ad- vise him to have pity on his own great age, and to invoke the gods, or swear by Csesar, or exclaim (allud- ing to the Christians whom the heathen so named), '^ Take away the atheists." To which the bishop replied with a grave aspect, by waving his hand towards the pagan multitude, and saying, '' Take away the atheists." Not deterred by this, the proconsul continued, " Swear, and I will release thee; curse Christ!" — " Eighty and six years," replied the venerable man, " have I served him. /6 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. and he hath never injured me. How can I blaspheme him to whom I owe my salvation ? " Some farther conversation of the same kind took place between the bishop and his judge, but it ended by the proconsul's directing the herald to proclaim that Polycarp had confessed himself a Christian. On hearing this, the multitude, among which were a large body of Jews, expressed their desire that he should be ex- posed to the wild beasts ; but, as it was not the season of the public games, that wish was not granted them. They then exclaimed, " Let him be delivered to the flames !" to which the judge assenting, both Jews and heathens ran immediately to the baths, and to different shops in the city, to obtain wood for the pile, which was constructed with almost incredible haste. All things being thus prepared, Polycarp divested him- self of his robe, and cheerfully ascended the pile, observ- ing to those whom he saw preparing to nail him to the stake, that such precautions were unnecessary, as He who gave him strength to endure the fire would enable him to remain firm at the post. His hands, therefore, having been simply bound behind him, he prayed with great energy that God would be pleased to accept the sacrifice he was there offering, thanking him at the same time for his having counted him worthy of receiving his portion among the martyrs. When he had said, '' Amen," light was set to the wood, and the fire ascended with great fury ; but, according to the relation given by the persons who wrote the Epistle from the church of Smyrna, and who were present at the spec- tacle, the flames swelled round the martyr in the form of an arch, or of a sail filled with wind, and were as a wall around him, his body having the appearance not of burning flesh, but of gold and silver refined in the fur- nace ; while a fragrant smell, like that of frankincense, or some other precious perfume, filled all the air. On witnessing this singular circumstance, the pagans de- sired the men who had charge of the execution to de- spatch the martyr with a sword ; which being done, the THE THUNDERING LEGION. i^ blood which flowed from the wound extinguished the fire^ and the body of the holy bishop remained uncon- sumed. The Jews and others, however, suggesting that his people might come and take it, in order to honour it as they did that of Christ, the centurion ordered it to be burned : but the bones were collected from the ashes of the pile, and being regarded, it is said, by the faithful of Smyrna as more precious than gold or jewels, they were deposited in a proper place, " where, if it be possible," continue the authors of the letter, " we shall meet, and the Lord will grant us in joy and gladness to celebrate the birthday of his mar- tyrdom, both in commemoration of those who have wrestled before us, and for the instruction and confirm^ ation of those who comie after us." * In the midst of the barbarous persecution thus carried on against the Christians, from one quarter of the empire to another, a pestilence broke out which desolated the provinces of both the East and the 'VFest. Many regarded this affliction as a visitation of divine justice. It produced, however, no change in the dis- position of Marcus ; but a circumstance occurred, in the year 17-i, to which tradition has ascribed the alteration in favour of the Christians, which, it appears, un- doubtedly took place about this period. During his campaign against the Quadi, a people of Germany, he one day found himself surrounded by the enemy in a situation from which retreat was impossible. t At this * The interesting document which has furnished the above particulars is universally allowed to be genuine ; as is also his epistle to the Philippians, his only remaining production. The greater part of the former is given by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 1.^. ; but it is to be found complete in Le Clerc's Patrcs Apostolici. Jortin has examined, with his usual acuteness, the several particulars of the narrative. He admits the probability that so holy a man would be prepared for his sufferings by a vision ; but expresses doubt as to the miraculous nature of the yielding of the flames, the sweet smell. Sec. Remarks on Eccles. Hist. vol. i. p. 310. t Eusebius says, Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. 5., that this occurrence was related by several authors worthy of credit; and not only by Christian but heathen authors, who acknowledge the wonder, though they did not attribute it to the prayers of the Christians. Valesius, in his notes on this passage, invali- dates the testimony of his author ; showing that there was no authority for tracing the name of the thundering legion to this event. Mention, how- ever, is made of the occurrence in so many author.*, that the substance of the relation as above given is no doubt correct. Mosiieim has summed up the arguments with great care, and is followed by Lardner. Le Clerc itrongly opposes the narrative. Eccles. Hist. 80 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Juncture, some Christian soldiers, who formed part of the Legio Melitina, fell on their knees, and prayed for delivery to the true God. Their supplications were answered. The enemy was discomfited by a fierce storm of hail and lightning, beating full in their faces, while the fainting legions recovered strength and spirit from the copious rain w^hich supplied them with re- freshing moisture. The victory which followed appears to have been on all sides ascribed to divine interference ; but, while the Christians believed it to be the conse- quence of their faith and devotions, the pagans praised their gods for their triumph ; and the monument which was raised to commemorate the event bore the figure of Jupiter Pluvius. A story was fabricated from the simple relation of the event;, which gave an air of absurd fiction to an occurrence about which there seems no reasonable cause for doubt. Not satisfied with allowing that the sudden storm might discomfit tlie Germans, the authors of this new version of the history pretended that they were dispersed by an army in the air, to which they thence gave the significant title of the thundering legion. The probability is, that the emperor v/as not less struck by the suddenness of his delivery than the army ; and, disposed as he was to piety, he would not un- willingly ascribe it to divine interference. Imperial vanity, even without any aid from religion, might have led Marcus Aurelius to this belief; but with that vague feeling which the worshipper of many gods must ever have when he would be grateful for assistance, it was natural for him to place some credit to the side of the Christians, and to make them, for a while, less ob- noxious to public justice. Some doubt is entertained respecting what is related of the mode in which he relieved the Christians from the oppressions they had so long suffered. The common account is, that he passed the law by which to accuse a Christian was made a capital crime ; and a well authenticated instance is on record illustrative of its practical effects. A person of GALLIC PERSECUTION. 81 rank, named Apollonius, was, a few years after, accused by his slave of being a Christian, and, according to the law just mentioned, the slave was condemned to death. So imperfect, however, was the protection whi(?h Apol- lonius himself derived from the law, that, being ques- tioned as to his faith, and acknowdedging that he was a Christian, he was straightway ordered for execution. It has been justly observed, that it is scarcely cre- dible a prince Uke Marcus Aurelius should have passed so absurd an edict, when he might have made an effective one in four words, '' Nolumus Christianos amplius vexari ;" and that the same surprise may be reasonably expressed at the informer's having ventured to accuse his master, knowing, as he must have done, had the law stood as is represented, that death would be the consequence. There seems reason, therefore, to believe, that some mistake must have been committed on this subject ; that the slave fell by a law which had been for some time in existence to prevent the increase of delators, or informers; and that Apollonius himself was convicted on the strength of the unrepealed edicts of Trajan. Certain it is, that JNIarcus renewed his perse- cution of the Christians, and that, for some time previous to his death, they suffered the same oppression which they had experienced before the German war.* About the year 177, we find the scourge of perse- cution carried into France, where the infant churches of Lyons and Vienne were exposed to as severe a trial as any that had been experienced by their brethren in the East. It is remarked, throughout the early history of Christianity, that the populace formed, in the several countries where it was estabhshed, the fiercest and most * Le Clerc, Hist Eccles. p. 744., has controverted the greater part of this statement : and Tcrtullian, from a passage in whose Apology the suppo- sition of the emperor's clemency has been mainly taken, is said to have confounded the edict of Antoninus I'ius with the ordininces of Marcus. Jortin considers that the death of Apollonius is itself a j)roof that the Epistles of neither Antoninus Pius nor of Marcus Aurtlius are any thing but forgeries. Tillemont also rejects that ascribed to the latter ; and though there appears reason to believe, that for a short time there was a nause in the persecution, the renewal of it with so much fierceness and i)erslv'erance is an incontrovertible proof that Marcus had formed no real plan of toler. ation. VOL. I. G 82 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAX CHUUCH. unrelenting of persecutors. In the instance of Lyons and Vienne this was so conspicuously the case^ that the pagans would not suffer a Christian to enter the haths, to appear in any public place^ or even to remain undis- turbed in private houses. Their next step was to stone them wherever they could be found ; and this was quickly succeeded by their hurrying them before the tribunal of the magistrate. The manner in which they were interrogated by this officer was in perfect harmony with the treatment they received from the populace ; and so manifest was the injustice of his proceedings, that a young man of rank and fortune, Vettius Epi- gathus, who stood by, came forward and boldly offered to defend the Christians against their adversaries. The magistrate, conscious of his injustice, and knowing the respectability of Epigathus, was somewhat confused at this interruption ; but, instead of allowing the young man to say a word in favour of the unfortunate pri- soners, he coldly asked him if he were himself a Christian, to v,^hich Epigathus answered, with a loud voice, in the affirmative, and was immediately con- demned to death. Among the sufferers in this GalUc persecution par- ticular mention is made of Pothinus, bishop of Lyons, who, at the age of ninety years, willingly resigned himself to the fury of the mob, which, not content with the certain prospect of his being condemned by the magistrate, dragged him round the city, and inflicted so many blows on his feeble and emaciated frame, that he died in two days. jMaturus Sanctus, Attains, and Blandina underwent sufferings too appalhng in their nature to be described; and were the annals of the world not so darkly crowded as they are with similar relations, we should at this time reject most of the nar- ratives of ancient martyrdoms, as representing human nature too grossly abandoned on the one side, and, on the other, as more capable of enduring suffering than it can be proved to be by later experience. Blandina was a female slave; but neither her sex nor her low condition GALLIC PERSECUTION. 83 prevented her from exhibiting a heroism in the defence of her faith which the noblest matrons of Rome might have been proud to imitate. From morning to night this admirable woman endured unrepiningly the tortures to which she was subjected, only repeating_, as they were tearing her frame, "'I am a Christian, and no evil is done among us." Even those who inflicted on her these tortures could not refrain from expressing their astonishment at her fortitude, and, at last, confessed that they had exhausted every mean of inflicting agony, and to no purpose. It is not the least revolting of the circumstances attending persecution on account of religion, that we never meet with any instance of those sudden bursts of generous feeling which occasionally cast a gleam over conflicts between man and man undertaken from other causes. Fortitude, valour, and fidelity, exemplified in civil strifes, have more than once made resentment turn from her purpose, and won the praises of an enemy. But the same virtues exhibited in support of rehgious truth have only served to augment the virulence with which the strong have oppressed the weak, and to make power appear, in such cases, the more decided enemy of truth and justice. This was strikingly shown in the case of the slave Blandina. Though her fortitude had extorted something hke admiration from her persecutors, and they acknowledged that never before had they seen a woman so suffer, she was put into a net and cast before a wild bull, by whom, after some minutes of ad- ditional torture, she was at last destroyed. Nor did the painful deaths to which they put their victims satisfy them ; but, enraged, as it seemed, that they could no longer make them feel torture, they ex- posed their bodies to the dogs, and, gnashing at them with their teeth, cimployed all the arts which an im- potent fury could invent to insult those who remained to mourn over them. The writers of the epistle from the churches of Vienne and Lyons to their brethren in Asiaj speak in a deeply pathetic manner of this circum- G 2 A.D 84 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. stance. '' As for ourselves," say they, '' the sorrow we felt was considerably increased by our being deprived of the melancholy satisfaction of interring our friends. Neither did the darkness of night, nor our prayers, nor offers of reward, avail us. They watched the bodies with unremitted vigilance, and seemed to consider the depriving them of sepulchre as an object of importance. The bodies of the martyrs, therefore, having for six days been treated with every mark of contempt, were at last consumed by fire, and their ashes scattered upon the Rhone, that not the least particle of them might appear on the earth any more. And they did these things," conclude the writers, '' as if they could prevail against God, and prevent their resurrection, and that they might deter others, they said, from indulging the hope of a future Mfe." Com.modus, the son and successor of Marcus Au- 180. relius, presented a strange contrast to his father. He was as vicious in his conduct as his predecessor had been virtuous ; but, guided by tlie persuasions of his fa- vourite Marcia, prevented the enemies of the Christians, to the utmost of his power, from doing them injury. The church was hereby blessed with a tranquillity which it had rarely enjoyed, and its boundaries were con- siderably enlarged. Many men of distinction owned their conversion to its tenets ; and such was the im- portance and respectability which it now daily acquired, that the contempt with which the pagan multitude had hitherto regarded it every where began to give way to a strong feeling of fear and jealousy. But the reign of Commodus was too short to confirm this promise of peace. That licentious prince was murdered in the year 192 j and the venerable Pertinax, cut off, after the reign of a few months, by the haughty pretorians, left the empire to be desolated by an obstinate civil war. Of the four claimants to the imperial throne, Severus was the '^successful aspirant. The agitation of civil strife prevented for a while any systematic attention to religious affairs : there were parts, however, of the em . INTERNAL STATE OF THE CHURCH. 85 pire in which private malice and magisterial tyranny still glutted themselves with Christian suffering, and continued to warn the followers of the Redeemer, that many trials would yet have to be endured before their faith should be seen triumphant over pagan cruelty and superstition. But the internal state of the church at the close of the second century could not present any discouraging prospect, when the spirit of faith and devotion were sufficiently strong to produce such examples of con- stancy as those just contemplated. We find many of its pastors and rulers joyfully resigning their lives for the sake of their flocks, and the glory of their great Master. Their moderation was known to all men ; and their ready self-denial exhibited itself in their un- ostentatious mode of living, and the charitable zeal with whish they ministered to the wants of the ne- cessitous. A communion of faith and spirit was to the whole body of Christians a bond of brotherhood. It w^as not yet forgotten that love was the keystone of the evangelical system, and that the ornaments of the temple were to consist solely in the instances and manifestations of that divine grace. But grateful as is the general prospect presented to the eye of the Christian, it is not free from indications of a decline in purity and sim- plicity. A disposition to contentiousness is discoverable in the writings of several of the fathers ; while the in- stitution of ceremonies, for the purpose of conciliating the world, proves that the energy and blessing of the Divine Spirit were no longer trusted as alone sufficient to produce conversion. Several of the heretics, of whom mention is hereafter to be made, boldly accused the orthodox of being lax both in discipline and morals ; and though it is to be remembered that the accusation comes from an enemy, it is plain that they considered the church could no longer oppose them on the plea of primitive sanctity. With respect to the government and general service of the church, we learn from the writings of Tertullian, G 3 »0 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. and other ancient fathers^ that each congregation had its hishop or president, its presbyter and deacons. How the former was appointed has been the subject of many and long controversies ; but the best-supported opinion seems to be, that he was elected by the clergy and people conjointly. That the bishop was distinct, both in rank and office, from the presbyters, appears proved by the almost universal testimony of antiquity*; but, on the other hand, nothing can be more jejune or false in principle than the use which has been sometimes made of this fact. The head of a small independent body of Christians, whose only allowable claim to the office was superior wisdom and spirituality ; who had no revenues to look for but the contributions of his people ; who received his authority from them by a free election, and had no dignity among men, no desire or prospect of advancement, ought surely not to be considej-ed in any other light than that of an example of grave and simple virtue. And here it is to be considered, that, in pro- portion to the weight of the arguments by which the possessors of the episcopal office are proved to be the successors of the apostles, and on which argument rests their main title to veneration, in the same proportion is their dignity proved to be wholly spiritual, claiming as its proper adjuncts perfect humility of heart, singleness of purpose, and intimate communion with Christ. To employ the expressions of ancient authors respecting the episcopal office, for the object of establishing the claims of its later possessors to temporal honours or authority, is a wilful perversion of the truth ; and it is scarcely too much to say, that the eagerness to exalt the episcopal office in worldly respectability has been one of the prime, and most influential, causes of the miseries and decline of the church. In addition to the three orders of the clergy, there * Tertulliin (De Prsescript. Heret. c. 32.) says, that the order of bishops may be traced up to the apostles as its originators. Irenreus states, that there were bisiiops as well as presbyters in the days of the apostles, lib. iii. c. 14. Bingham (Origines EcclesiasticEe) shows, that anciently they were some, times called apostles, angels of the churches, princes of the people, patri- archs, and papse. Book iL c. 2. INTERNAL STATE OF THE CHURCH. 87 was an order of readers ; mention is also made of deaconesses, and an order of widows. The laity in general were divided into two classes, the faithful and the catechumens, or candidates for baptism, who were not allowed at one period to say the Lord's prayer *, or to be present at discourses on the deeper mysteries of the gospel. To the rites of the church, as received from Christ, were now added such rules of discipUne as appeared necessary to preserve its regularity and purity. Penance was exacted from every ofFendin{», member^ and was rigorously inflicted. Sackcloth and ashes, fasting and watching, days and nights spent in vreeping, were essential to his re-instatement in the pri- vileges of a believer ; and when the day was come for his new admission into the church, he was obliged to make a pubHc confession of his sins, and await his ab- solution from the presiding minister. t But there were rules made in reference to public congregational worship, which were regarded even at that time by the more sensible of Christians as vain and superstitious: such was that which prescribed putting off the cloak, and washing, the hands before praying ; turning the face toward the east ; and giving the kiss of peace, at the conclusion of the service. ^ The festivals of Easter and ^V^hitsuntide were observed with great solemnity ; but the question respecting the proper period of keeping the former, led to a dispute scarcely less violent than those which arose from the most obstinate controversies on points of doctrine. To the faithful at large it ap- peared right to keep the paschal feast on the eve of Easter-day ; but the Christians of Asia Minor con- tended for the propriety of celebrating it on the same day as the Jews did the passover ; and it was not till the council of Nice interposed its authority, that the dispute was settled in favour of the western churches. * Bingham, Origines Eccles. i. 25., quotes St. Chrysostom in p'-oof of this singular rcfiulation. t Tertullian de Foenitentia, and I)e Pudicitia, passim. Cave's Primitive Christianity, part iii. c. ."., anii I'iiiyharn. t Tertuliian de Oratione, c. 14. G 4 88 HISTORY OF TPIE CHKISTIAN CHURCH. Heresy, as it has been stated, had made its appearance in the church at a very early period ; but it was in the present century that the seeds were sown of those numerous errors and controversies which agitated for so many hundreds of years the professors of Christianity. The gospel is only simple in its doctrines and precepts to the eye of profound and spiritual faith. When ap- proached by a proud or curious reason, it presents a field abounding in objects calculated to excite specu- lation ; and no surprise, therefore, is to be felt at find- ing that, as it attracted the attention of mere scholars and men of che world, of speculators and enthusiasts, it furniohed a foundation for many novel systems, more or less diverse from the rule of Divine Revelation. Our space will not allow of more than a brief mention of the errors which w^ere thus introduced into the world under the apparent sanction of inspired truth ; but a bare enu- meration even of the names of the sects which appeared in the first three centuries, would convey to the reader a painful conviction that it was not persecution alone which the church, or its sincere supporters, had to fear. Little is really known of the opinions of those who are named as the originators of heretical divisions. Simon^ •Menander, Saturninus, Basilides, and Carpocritus, com- pose the list of primitive schismatics, as it appears in the writings of Irena?us * ; while to these Epiphanius and Augustine add the sects of the Nicolaitans_^ and the Gnostics. Of the former, the best known is Basi- lides, who lived in the time of Adrian ; and from the account of whose opinions, in the works of ancient authors, it appears that they sprung immediately from a philosophical theory badly interpreted by Christian ex- pressions. " Extending his doctrine beyond all bounds," says Irenaeus, " he stated that Noics, or the Intellect^ was born from the Eternal Father ; that from this sprung Logos ; from Logos, Phronesis or Prudence ; from * Irenfeus, lib. i. c. 23. Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c.7. Tillemont, Eccles. Mem. Beausobre, Histoire des Manichees, torn, iu c. 32. o7. Lard ner's Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. 1. HERESIES. 89 Phronesis, Sophia and Dunamis, or Wisdom and Power ; from \\'isdom and Power, Virtues, Principalities, and Angels, which he terms primary, and says, that from them the first heaven was made ; that they also sprung from them, and another heaven like the first ; that from the last was derived a third heaven, and thence a fourth, new heavens and new races of angels arising from these in 365 progressions. But Basihdes did not stop with this metaphysical speculation. He affirmed that the Eternal Father was not the God of the Jews, but that their supreme ruler was only the chief of the angels who upheld the lower sphere ; that Christ, the son of the Eternal, did not suffer ; but that Simon of Cyrene, who bore the cross, was crucified in his stead, having been transformed into his likeness^ while he also took the ' shape of Simon.' "* The doctrines of Basilides have been differently viewed by different scholars, and some of the apparent ab- surdities explained away t ; but it is plain that they had little connection with the truths of the gospel, and that their author derived his chief dogmas from the ancient philosophers^ only blending them, as he saw fit, with Christian theology. Cerinthus is placed by theologians in the first century ; but he appears to have held some opinions very similar to those of Basilitles, as that the world was not created by the Supreme Godj but by an inferior power ; while, in respect to the person of the Saviour, he supposed that the Christ and Jesus were two separate persons ; that it was only Jesus who suffered, and that the Christ who had de- scended upon him in the shape of a dove at baptism departed before his crucifixion. ^ Of the errors, or rather follies, of the Adamites, the Marcosians, the Cainites, the Ophians, and others of the same class, it is not requisite to say more than that they sprung up in the early part of this century, and * Irenaeus, lib. i. c. 24. + Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. t. ii. p. 9. Lardner's History of Heretics, *)Ook ii. sect. 2. X Lardner, Flfury, 90 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. were distinguished by superstitions and practices the offspring of weak reasonings and prurient imagiua- tions. Cerdon, hke the heretics already mentioned, beheved that the God of the Jews was net the Supreme Deity^ rejected the Old Testament, and asserted tliat the body of Christ was not a real body. Ke was succeeded in the support of these opinions by Marcion, who lived before the middle of the century, and was a native of Sinope, in Pontus, of which place his father was bishop. On account of seme indiscretion committed in his youth, his father excommunicated him ; and, not- withstanding many evidences of repentance, refused to remove the ban. This drove him to Rome, where he endeavoured, it is stated, to raise himself to the epis- copal office ; but having failed, joined the party of Cerdon.* Some particulars in this statement are con- troverted by writers on the subject of his heresy t ; but from the account given of his doctrines, it appears that he believed that the maker of the world was infe- rior to the Eternal Father ; that he defended the notion of two, three, or four independent principles, and espe- cially the eternity and independence of God the Father, and of matter. ;{: Respecting the person of Christ, he taught that he had only the appearance of a man, and that he showed himself for the first time in Galilee, in full growth. To this he added, that the Christ who came for the salvation of the world was not the same as the prophets foretold should come for the delivery of the Jews ; but he allowed the reality of his miracles, and of his resurrection. It is generally admitted, that the morals of the Mar- cionites were unobjectionable ; and that they even con- tended for a system of discipline more strict and adverse to human passion than was received by the generality of Christians. The same may be said of the IVIon- tanists, who arose about the year 170, and owed their * Epiplianius, contra Oct. HEercses, ^ 42. Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. tf)m. ii. )). 77. f Lardner, Hist, of Heretics. X See Tertullian's account of this heresy, adv. Marcion. HERESIES. 91 origin to MontanuSj a native of Ardaba, in Mysia. This celebrated heretic assumed to himself not merely the character of a prophet, but that of the Paraclete or Comforter. The doctrines he taught do not appear to have materially contradicted those of the church ; but he pretended that neither in its fasts^ penances, nor general discipline, it came up to the rule of the gospel. Tertullian, who joined this sect, has warmly defended its principles ; and from his works the fairest judg- ment may be formed of its pretensions. * But of all the ancient heresies, the most celebrated, and the most extensive in its ramifications, was that of the IManichees. This remarkable sect had its origin with Manes, who is stated to have been a Persian, and a slave by birth, but to have received a liberal education through the kindness of a widow woman to whom he belonged. Having been made free, and endowed with a considerable fortune by his benefactress, he began to teach a new system of religion, and succeeded in at- tracting numerous followers. The king of Persia, im- pressed by his learning and eloquence, received him at court, and his doctrines had spread far and wide, when his bad success in attempting to cure one of the young princes brought upon him the displeasure of the monarch, and he was thrown into prison. He escaped from the punishment which awaited him with gi-eat dif- ficulty, and made his way into Turkestan. According to another account, it was from fear of his doctrine that the Persian monarch persecuted him ; but all agree in stating, that he was in the end put to death by the most barbarous arts that his enemies could invent. f Unlike many other authors of heretical notions. Manes was a man of great learning and very superior abilities. Nor is any charge made against his moral character ; and it is highly probable that those parts of his system which stand opposed to the sublime truths of the gi.^^ si were the consequence of his study of * Eusebius, lib. v. c. Ifi Tortul. Opera, t Beausobrc, Hist, de Manich. 92 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Eastern philosophy^, and the imperfect channels through which he had originally become acquainted with Chris- tianity. He supported the doctrine of two principles^ perfectly opposed to each other, '^'^eternal and co-eternal;" and "^ two natures and substances_, one good the other evil."* The existence of the world, he stated, was owing to a conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light ; the human body to the laws of matter, or to the devil ; and there were in it, he added, two souls. Like several of the heretics before mentioned, the Manichees rejected a large portion of Scripture, and thereby left themselves free to form what notions they pleased on many subjects, which those who yield imphcit assent to the divine word approach with reverential caution. The doctrine of fate and free-will makes a conspicuous figure in their writings ; but in juxtaposition with dogmas on this mysterious subject stand those in which they profess their belief in the transmigration of souls, and deny the resurrection of the body. Respecting our Lord, they asserted that he was truly God, but man only in appearance; and that, consequently, he neither died nor rose, except in vision. But, composed as their system was of many wild, and some very dangerous errors, they numbered in their ranks several men of profound ability ; and among others the great Augustine, who, discovering as he be- came more mature in mind and learning the falsity of the system, renounced its doctrines, and joined the church. From his writings we learn the true bear- ings of the heresy, and are guarded against the danger to which the mind is naturally exposed'when viewing a system, so attractive in itself to the imagination, set forth with many graces of eloquence, and not obviously offending any moral principle. How ardently attached the favourers of the sect were themselves to their modes of worship, may be learnt from a passage in the writings of Faustus, one of their most learned associates.t " Instead," says he, '' of worshipping God * August, de Heer. c. 46. f August, contra Faust, lib. xxix. c. 2. HERESIES. 93 as do the heathens^ with ahars^ temples, images, victims, and incense, I serve him as a creature, who, if worthy, is himself a reasonable temple of God. I receive Christ his Son as a living image of his living majesty ; and his altar is the mind imbued with liberal knowledge and discipline." * The members of the community were di- vided into the auditors and the elect ; and at their general meetings, prayer, reading the Scriptures, and the dis- courses of Manes, formed the sum of their religious observances. Baptism and the Lord's supper were also performed in their assemblies, and seem in the main to have been administered according to the rule adopted by the church. Carpocrates and Valentine, the authors of heresies which, at a very early period, obtained a standing in the world, appear to have been not less bold than Manes in their speculations, but far less powerful in intellect or acquired endowments. They were both of them Egyptians ; both professed many things in com- mon with the Gnostics, and both mixed up with their dogmas principles essentially opposed to the practice of morality. The Paulicians approached the Manichees so nearly in opinions and customs, that they have been considerel a branch of that sect + ; but they up- held certain rules of discipline and church government Avhich sufficiently distinguish them from other schis- matics : as, for example, they divided the whole sect into six churches, which they named respectively the church of Macedonia, Achaia, Philippi, Laodicea, Ephesus, Colosse, and, on joining the fraternity, the members changed their names for that of some apostle, or other celebrated Christian.;}: We may conclude these notices with the remark, that the errors of the early heretics were of two classes ; those, namely, which sprung from a mistaken view of the Jewish dispensation, and those which had their found- * Faust, lib. xx. c. 3. t Beaii.<:obre points out many circumstances to show that the general opinion on this subject was not correct. Hist, de Manich. t. ii. p- 765. t Photius, lib. i. c. 14. 9^ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ation either in Oriental or Platonic philosophy. Their existence and increase indicate the interest which men of the acutest minds took in the subjects which the Gospel propounds for our examination; and lamentable, there- fore, as were their effects in many respects, the history of their rise and progress proves, in the most convincing manner, that wherever the religion of Christ became fairly known, there were always men of ability ready to acknowledge the sublime mystery of its doctrines. That which Tacitus had contemptuously, and without enquiry, described as an execrable superstition *, thus became the most venerated of all systems in the eyes of philosophers ; and before it had conquered the pre- judices of monarchs, it had made learning, though its pride was unsubdued, a willing and constant tributary. CHAP. IV. GENERAL CAUSES OF THE OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY. PERSECUTION UNDER SEVERUS. MARTYRDOMS OF FOUR CATECHUMENS, AND OF VIVIA PERPETUA AT CARTHAGE. HER NARRATIVE. REIGN OF MAXIMIN. PERSECUTIONS UNDER DECIUS AND VALERIAN. DEATH OF CYPRIAN. THE DEACON LAURENTIUS. CYRILLUS. Christianity is so perfect a combination of every pure and holy principle, that no imaginable evil can exist to which it is not essentially opposed. As a de- velopement of the divine mind, so far as its attributes can be comprehended by human thought, it is neces- sarily contrasted with that great principle of ill which we find diffused through a thousand different channels, and which, more or less, infecting whatever we behold, has no perfect contrast in any thing but the spirit which • See page 25, CAUSES OF PERSECUTION. Q5 inspires Christianity. Thus in itself the antagonist of evil, it is not easy to imagine how it could have been made known to a world in which evil is prevalent with- out provoking opposition ; or how^ if human beings were intrusted with its publication, they should escape the enmity and violence of their corrupted fellow-crea- tures. The preachers of such a system would ne- cessarily be few ; the progress they made in the world would be slow and uncertain ; and the infant establish- ments would every where appear strangely opposed to the reigning institutions of the world. To suppose that the contrary could have been the case, would be to lose sight of the distinguishing fea- tures of the religion, or to neglect the due consideration of the circumstances under which it was published. Had large and powerful bodies of men come forward at the first call of the Divine Author, the change would have been already effected in the world which was to be brought about by the operation of the new religion: but this miraculous conversion of the world was not intended by the Deity, and the promulgation of the faith being an undertaking confined to the very small body of men who willingly and thoroughly embraced its doctrines, they were necessarily exposed to the resentment of those whose principles the truths they taught were intended to uproot. But besides these general causes of opposition, which were to be found equally in force in one part of the world and in another, the first preachers of Christianity had to encounter difficulties peculiar to their age and country, and which added considerably to the dangers with which such an office must be attended, when or wherever it is exercised. The apostles and their im- mediate followers, it is worthy of being noticed, appeared in Jerusalem not simply as the teachers of a new re- ligion, but as rcformerfi, a character which history will show it to have been at all times more perilous to as- sume than to broach a new system of belief. Had this not been the case, they would, it is probable, have met i)(l ii!M(iiiY 01' 'Mil'; (itniH'iiAN «;in iHii. with II iiiti(-li less M'vcrc IrciihiM'iil,; and vvr cfiii KCfirt'cly help (liKcovcriiip;, <-iiliii- in tlicir ()|>|ircHHii)iiH, or in ihe bitter K(-<>(liiif.^s vvitli wliicli llic hiiil aiul i-xcciilioii of our Saviour wrvv acc,oin|)aiii<'(l, (lit* worKiii^.' of piivaU' frcliiif-'H, of olll'lulcd |»ri(lf, of iiialicc wliicli had iiol yet (li^rHlt'd tlw rchukcH whii^li |Mil. Iiypocrisy (o Hliainc, or tin* Htripcs with wliicli avarice vvat. piiiiihlird I'oi- |tol_ luliiif;; (he lioiiHc oC piayer. Tlic emperor SeveniK waH liiiiiKeH" iiol. iinravoorahle to the (.'hriMtiaiiH *; hut the time was |)aHt when u llo- itum Hovereiini eoidd venUire on a('liii|;; wi(h juHtice, if juHticc inlerfered with (he paHsionft of the nndtitude. 'i'lie Kucrilire oC an innocent people in the favourite oll'er- \U[f from a weak and tyriinnical monarch to fi turtiuient po|)uiace, a Htrikinji; instance of wliich '\h preHimted in the circumHtancen of (he pr<'h<*nt emperoi'h reijj;n. (liv- ing way to all the paHsions ol'liiH ignonint and prejudiced huhjectH, he allowe«l a jxrHecution to take plac<', which not only o|>|iosed the common principIcK of juHtic(' hut hirt own jierception of rip;ht. I''ew placcH in the empire wt're free from the Hcourge ; hut it wiiH lelt nM)Ht weverely in the dillirent provinccH of Africii; and from the nu- merouH incideiitH with which the memorials of this per- H(;cution ahoundH we neiect the followinf^.f Ahout this period, four young profcHsorH vv<'re a,rn'st«'d at. ( 'ardiage, who had Juht entered tlu' (tongregation of the faithfid aH calechumeuH. ;j; Their names w«'re llt'vo- cutuH and l''elicita,H, who were HlavcH helonging to the name maKter, and SaturninuH and SeconduluH, and with tlicHC perHOUH was a young and iiohle la