13 - Book IV, Part 3

CHURCH HISTORY by EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA by ARTHUR CUSHMAN MACGUIFFERT Book 4, Part 3, Chapters 17-23. Chapter 17. The Martyrs Whom Justin Mentions in His Own Work. The same man, before his conflict, mentions in his first apology others that suffered martyrdom before him, and most fittingly records the following events. He writes thus. A certain woman lived with a dissolute husband, she herself, too, having formerly been of the same character. But when she came to the knowledge of the teachings of Christ, she became temperate, and endeavored to persuade her husband likewise to be temperate, repeating the teachings, and declaring the punishment in eternal fire which shall come upon those who do not live temperately and conformably to right reason. But he, continuing in the same excesses, alienated his wife by his conduct. For she finally, thinking it wrong to live as a wife with a man who, contrary to the law of nature and right, sought every possible means of pleasure, desired to be divorced from him. And when she was earnestly entreated by her friends, who counseled her still to remain with him, on the ground that her husband might sometime give hope of amendment, she did violence to herself and remained. But when her husband had gone to Alexandria, and was reported to be conducting himself still worse, she, in order that she might not, by continuing in wedlock, and by sharing his board and bed, become a partaker in his lawlessness and impiety, gave him what we call a bill of divorce, and left him. But her noble and excellent husband, instead of rejoicing, as he ought to have done, that she had given up those actions which she had formerly recklessly committed with the servants and hirelings, when she delighted in drunkenness and in every vice, and that she desired him likewise to give them up, when she had gone from him contrary to his wish, brought an accusation concerning her, declaring that she was a Christian. And she petitioned you, the Emperor, that she might be permitted first to set her affairs in order, and afterwards, after the settlement of her affairs, to make her defence against the accusation. And this you granted. But he who had once been her husband, being no longer able to prosecute her, directed his attacks against a certain Ptolemaeus, who had been her teacher in the doctrines of Christianity, and whom Herbicius had punished. Against him he proceeded in the following manner. He persuaded a centurion who was his friend to cast Ptolemaeus into prison, and to take him and ask him this only, whether he were a Christian. And when Ptolemaeus, who was a lover of truth, and not of a deceitful and false disposition, confessed that he was a Christian, the centurion bound him and punished him for a long time in the prison. And finally, when the man was brought before Herbicius, he was likewise asked this question only, whether he were a Christian. And again, conscious of the benefits which he enjoyed through the teaching of Christ, he confessed his schooling in divine virtue. For whoever denies that he is a Christian, either denies because he despises Christianity, or he avoids confession because he is conscious that he is unworthy and an alien to it, neither of which is the case with the true Christian. And when Herbicius commanded that he be led away to punishment, a certain Lucius, who was also a Christian, seeing judgment so unjustly passed, said to Herbicius, Why have you punished this man who is not an adulterer, nor a fornicator, nor a murderer, nor a thief, nor a robber, nor has been convicted of committing any crime at all, but has confessed that he bears the name of Christian? You do not judge, O Herbicius, in a manner befitting the emperor Pius, or the philosophical son of Caesar, or the sacred senate. And without making any other reply, he said to Lucius, Thou also seemest to me to be such a one. And when Lucius said, Certainly, he again commanded that he too should be led away to punishment. But he professed his thanks, for he was liberated, he added, from such wicked rulers, and was going to the good father and king, God. And still a third, having come forward, was condemned to be punished. To this, Justin fittingly and consistently adds the words which we quoted above, saying, I too, therefore, expect to be plotted against by some one of those whom I have named, etc. Chapter 18. THE WORKS OF JUSTIN WHICH HAVE COME DOWN TO US This writer has left us a great many monuments of a mind educated and practiced in divine things, which are replete with profitable matter of every kind. To them we shall refer the words of Justin, noting as we proceed those that have come to our knowledge. There is a certain discourse of his in defense of our doctrine addressed to Antoninus, surnamed the Pius, and to his sons and to the Roman senate. Another work contains his second apology in behalf of our faith, which he offered to him who was the successor of the emperor mentioned and who bore the same name, Antoninus Verus, the one whose times we are now recording. Also another work against the Greeks, in which he discourses at length upon most of the questions at issue between us and the Greek philosophers and discusses the nature of demons. It is not necessary for me to add any of these things here. And still another work of his against the Greeks has come down to us, to which he gave the title refutation. And besides these another on the sovereignty of God, which he establishes not only from our scriptures, but also from the books of the Greeks. Still further, a work entitled Saltis and another disputation on the soul, in which after propounding various questions concerning the problem under discussion, he gives the opinions of the Greek philosophers, promising to refute it and to present his own view in another work. He composed also a dialogue against the Jews, which he held in the city of Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man among the Hebrews of that day. In it he shows how the divine grace urged him on to the doctrine of the faith and with what earnestness he had formerly pursued philosophical studies and how ardent a search he had made for the truth. And he records of the Jews in the same work that they were plotting against the teaching of Christ, asserting the same things against Trypho. Not only did you not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but you selected at that time chosen men and you sent them out from Jerusalem through all the land to announce that the godless heresy of the Christians had made its appearance and to accuse them of those things which all that are ignorant of us say against us, so that you become the causes not only of your own injustice, but also of all other men's. He writes also that even down to his time prophetic gifts shone in the church. And he mentions the apocalypse of John, saying distinctly that it was the apostles. He also refers to certain prophetic declarations and accuses Trypho on the ground that the Jews had cut them out of the scripture. A great many other works of his are still in the hands of many of the brethren. And the discourses of the man were thought so worthy of study even by the ancients that Irenaeus quotes his words, for instance, in the fourth book of his work against heresies, where he writes as follows. And Justin Welles says in his work against Marcion that he would not have believed the Lord himself if he had preached another god besides the Creator. And again in the fifth book of the same work he says, and Justin Welles said that before the coming of the Lord, Satan never dared to blaspheme God because he did not yet know his condemnation. These things I have deemed it necessary to say for the sake of stimulating the studious to peruse his works with diligence. So much concerning him. Chapter XIX. THE RULERS OF THE CHURCHES OF ROME AND ALEXANDRIA DURING THE REIGN OF VERUS. In the eighth year of the above-mentioned reign Soter succeeded Anicetus as bishop of the Church of Rome, after the latter had held office eleven years in all. But when Saladion had presided over the Church of Alexandria for fourteen years he was succeeded by Agrippinus. Chapter XX. THE RULERS OF THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH. At that time also in the Church of Antioch Theophilus was well known as the sixth from the apostles. For Cornelius, who succeeded Hero, was the fourth, and after him Eros, the fifth in order, had held the office of bishop. Chapter XXI. THE ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS THAT FLOURISHED IN THOSE DAYS. At that time there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before, and Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinnitus of Crete, and besides these Philip, and Apollinarius, and Melito, and Musanus, and Modestus, and finally Irenaeus. From them has come down to us in writing the sound and orthodox faith received from apostolic tradition. Chapter XXII. HEGESIPPUS AND THE EVENTS WHICH HE MENTIONS. Hegesippus, in the five books of memoirs which have come down to us, has left a most complete record of his own views. In them he states that on a journey to Rome he met a great many bishops, and that he received the same doctrine from all. It is fitting to hear what he says after making some remarks about the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. His words are as follows. And the church of Corinth continued in the true faith until Primus was bishop in Corinth. I conversed with them on my way to Rome, and abode with the Corinthians many days, during which we were mutually refreshed in the true doctrine. And when I had come to Rome I remained there until Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus. In every succession, and in every city, that is held which is preached by the law and the prophets and the Lord. The same author also describes the beginnings of the heresies which arose in his time in the following words. And after James the just had suffered martyrdom, as the Lord had also on the same account, Simeon, the son of the Lord's uncle, Clopas, was appointed the next bishop. All proposed him as second bishop because he was a cousin of the Lord. Therefore they called the church a virgin, for it was not yet corrupted by vain discourses. But Thebuthus, because he was not made bishop, began to corrupt it. He also was sprung from the seven sects among the people, like Simon, from whom came the Simonians, and Cleobius, from whom came the Cleobians, and Docithius, from whom came the Docithians, and Gorthius, from whom came the Gortheni, and Masbothius, from whom came the Masbothians. From them sprang the Menandrianists, and Marcionists, and Carpocratians, and Valentinians, and Basilidians, and Saturnilians. Each introduced privately and separately his own peculiar opinion. From them came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles, who divided the unity of the church by corrupt doctrines uttered against God and against his Christ. The same writer also records the ancient heresies which arose among the Jews, in the following words. There were, moreover, various opinions in the circumcision among the children of Israel. The following were those that were opposed to the tribe of Judah and the Christ, Essenes, Galileans, Hemerobaptists, Masbothians, Samaritans, Sadducees, Pharisees. And he wrote of many other matters, which we have in part already mentioned, introducing the accounts in their appropriate places. And from the Syriac gospel according to the Hebrews, he quotes some passages in the Hebrew tongue, showing that he was a convert from the Hebrews, and he mentions other matters as taken from the unwritten tradition of the Jews. And not only he, but also Irenaeus and the whole company of the ancients called the Proverbs of Solomon all virtuous wisdom. And when speaking of the books called Apocrypha, he records that some of them were composed in his day by certain heretics. But let us now pass on to another. Chapter 23 Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, and the Epistles which he wrote. And first we must speak of Dionysius, who was appointed bishop of the church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors not only to his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and rendered the greatest service to all in the Catholic Epistles which he wrote to the churches. Among these is the one addressed to the Lacedaemonians, containing instruction in the orthodox faith and an admonition to peace and unity. The one also addressed to the Athenians, exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed by the gospel, which he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had almost apostatized from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler Publius, which had taken place during the persecutions of those days. He mentions Quadratus also, stating that he was appointed their bishop after the martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his zeal they were brought together again and their faith revived. He records, moreover, that Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted to the faith by the apostle Paul, according to the statement in the Acts of the Apostles, first obtained the episcopate of the church at Athens. And there is extant another epistle of his addressed to the Nicomedians, in which he attacks the heresy of Marcion, and stands fast by the canon of the truth. Writing also to the church that is in Gortyna, together with the other parishes in Crete, he commends their bishop Philip, because of the many acts of fortitude which are testified to as performed by the church under him, and he warns them to be on their guard against the aberrations of the heretics. And writing to the church that is in Amastris, together with those in Pontus, he refers to Bacchylides and Elpistus as having urged him to write, and he adds explanations of passages of the divine scriptures, and mentions their bishop Palmus by name. He gives them much advice also in regard to marriage and chastity, and commands them to receive those who come back again after any fall, whether it be delinquency or heresy. Among these is inserted also another epistle addressed to the Nocians, in which he exhorts Pinatus, bishop of the parish, not to lay upon the brethren a grievous and compulsory burden in regard to chastity, but to have regard to the weakness of the multitude. Pinatus, replying to this epistle, admires and commends Dionysius, but exhorts him in turn to impart some time more solid food, and to feed the people under him, when he wrote again, with more advanced teaching, that they might not be fed continually on these milky doctrines, and imperceptibly grow old under a training calculated for children. In this epistle also, Pinatus' orthodoxy in the faith, and his care for the welfare of those placed under him, his learning and his comprehension of divine things, are revealed as in a most perfect image. There is extant also another epistle written by Dionysius to the Romans, and addressed to Soter, who was bishop at that time. We cannot do better than to subjoin some passages from this epistle, in which he commends the practice of the Romans which has been retained down to the persecution in our own days. His words are as follows. For from the beginning it has been your practice to do good to all the brethren in various ways, and to send contributions to many churches in every city. Thus relieving the want of the needy, and making provision for the brethren in the mines by the gifts which you have sent from the beginning, you Romans keep up the hereditary customs of the Romans, which your blessed bishop Soter has not only maintained, but also added to, furnishing an abundance of supplies to the saints, and encouraging the brethren from abroad with blessed words, as a loving father his children. In this same epistle, he makes mention also of Clement's epistle to the Corinthians, showing that it had been the custom from the beginning to read it in the church. His words are as follows. Today we have passed the Lord's holy day, in which we have read your epistle. From it, whenever we read it, we shall always be able to draw advice, as also from the former epistle, which was written to us through Clement. The same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own epistles, alleging that they had been mutilated. As the brethren desired me to write epistles, I wrote. And these epistles the apostles of the devil have filled with tears, cutting out some things and adding others. For them a woe is reserved. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord's writings also, since they have formed designs even against writings which are of less account. There is extant, in addition to these, another epistle of Dionysius, written to Chrysophora, a most faithful sister. In it he writes what is suitable, and imparts to her also the proper spiritual food. So much concerning Dionysius.