v . V i -'' A HISTORY OF THE HOLY EASTERN CHURCH. patrfarcftate of RIVINGTONS 3LonUon .... Waterloo Place . . . High Street . . . . Trinity Street A HISTORY OF THE HOLY EASTERN CHURCH Cfte patriarchate of Snttocfc. BY THE REV. JOHN MASON NEALE, D.D. 3Late raattom of 5acfcS)tIie CoUcge, (tot (Srinstrtr, ^ f (A POSTHUMOUS FRAGMENT}', TOGETHER WITH - .< MEMOIRS OF THE PATRIARCHS OF ANTIOCH BY CONSTANTIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK; AND THREE APPENDICES, REGIS EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION'S^. COLLEGE BY THE REV. GEORGE WILLIAMS, B.D. VICAR OF RINGWOOD, LATE FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE 85427 RIVINGTONS Honfcon, ©xfortr, anlr ODambrfoge M DCCC LXXIII PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND EDWARD HAROLD, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF HIS UNDEVIATING KINDNESS FOR MANY YEARS PAST, AND AS A PLEDGE OF FILIAL DUTY AND REVERENCE FOR THE TIME TO COME; THIS VOLUME IS, WITH HIS PERMISSION, INSCRIBED BY HIS FAITHFUL AND AFFECTIONATE SERVANT THE EDITOR. ADVERTISEMENT. I HAVE to acknowledge with gratitude the kind assist ance of the following friends in preparing this Volume for publication, and in passing it through the Press. First of these is Gregory, the very learned and Most Reverend Metropolitan of Chios, who may be regarded as having contributed to the Volume, not only the docu ments contained in the first Appendix from the Archives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, of which he was once Chief Secretary, but also the continuous Catalogue of the Patriarchs of Antioch, by Constantius Patriarch of Con stantinople, which forms the sequel to Dr Neale's His torical Fragment. These documents and the Third Appendix were trans lated for me — the former from the Greek, the latter from the Russ — by Olga, the eldest daughter of my old and valued friend Admiral Count Poutiatine. The Second Appendix was carefully revised and com pared with the original Russ by the Deacon Basil PopofF, son of the Very Reverend Arch-Priest, whose name is so well known by all interested in the Russo-Greek Church. The Rev. Dr Lightfoot, Hulsean Professor in the University of Cambridge, and Canon of S. Paul's, was so good as to read the proofs of the fragment of Dr Neale's Work, and to verify the quotations and references — often, I fear, at the sacrifice of much of his valuable time, so fully employed in the service of the Church, and in the promotion of theological learning. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE Dr Neale's Historical Works . . . . . . . ix Discovery of this Fragment xi Other materials for the Volume . , . . . . . xiv Ecclesiology of Central Syria six Ruined Cities and Churches xxi Church of S. Symeon Stylites . . • xlix Modem Antioch lvii HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH, BY THE REV. JOHN MASON NEALE, D.D. BOOK I. S. James, Bishop of Jerusalem . ... . < 33 S. Peter, Founder of the Church of Antioch 3 40 Succeeded by Euodius ...... 4 S. Thomas evangelises Persia and India .... 5 S. Thaddseus, one of the Seventy . . . . . 7 His disciples Achi and Mari 8 The Martyrdom of S. James the Just . » . . . K) S. Symeon succeeds him as Bishop of Jerusalem . J 1 S. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch if>. Trajan's Expedition to Parthia i;j Martyrdom of S. Symeon . 14 Martyrdom of S. Ignatius ....... 15 VI CONTENTS. A.D. PAGE His Epistles, and their teaching . 17 Episcopal Succession at Antioch and Jerusalem . . 21 Revolt of the Jews under Hadrian . . . . . 23 Theophilus of Antioch, and his Writings . . . . 25 Episcopal Succession in Seleucia 29 Episcopal Succession in Jerusalem ..... 30 The Paschal Controversy .31 198 The Council of Ceesareia 32 Narcissus, Bishop of Jerusalem 34 199 Serapion, Bishop of Antioch ...... 35 212 S. Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem 37 Episcopal Succession in Seleucia 38 Pantaenus, his Mission to India . .... 40 249 Martyrdom of S. Alexander of Jerusalem . . . . 41 251 Martyrdom of S. Babylas of Antioch ..... 42 252 Council of Antioch against Novatus . . , . . 44 260 Paul of Samosata — his Heresy ...... 46 Condemned in a Council at Antioch .":••". . . . 49 269 Deposed in a second Council . . . . ". '. 52 Supported by Zenobia ........ 53 Eusebius and Anatolius of Laodiceia » . . . 54 266 — 298 Episcopal Succession in Jerusalem .... 56 303 The Tenth Persecution - „ . . . . . . 57 Martyrs of Syria 58 The Crimea evangelized 61 Martyrs of Tarsus and Palestine 62 S. Pamphilus, Bishop of Csesareia ..... 69 311 Martyrdom of S. Luciau of Antioch . . . . • . 71 The Conversion of Armenia ... . . . . 74 Eusebius of Csesareia — his Writings ..... 78 S. Helena, the Mother of Constantino, in the East . . 81 Persecution under Licinius .83 319—325 Episcopal Succession in Antioch . . ... 84 325 The Council of Nicsea .85 The Arians persecute the Church ..... 87 331 Sufferings of S. Eustathius of Antioch . ., . ."-•'. 88 Maximus II. succeeds Macarius at Jerusalem 91 CONTENTS. vil BOOK II. A. D. PAGE Episcopal Succession in Antioch .'.,;.- * , • » f 95 Dedication of the Church at Jerusalem . .... , 97 341 Council of Antioch . . . . . . . . 99 The New Creed of the Arian Party 103 Marcellus of Ancyra . .. . » . ». . . .105 The Canons of Antioch .'-'.. . . . . . 107 329 S. Hilarion of Palestine— his Miracles . -.- > . ' $ 111 340 Persecution in Persia under Sapor ;. . . .-. x . 114 The Acts of the Martyrs .121 338—35J) Three , Sieges of ^isitys , . ,....'. 131 Arian Mission to Arabia . : . . .. . . . » 132 S. Gregory, the Illuminator, in Armenia . , . . . 133 Episcopal Succession in Antioch ..,.-. . . ib. 345 Stephen, the Arian — his vile plots . . . . .134 The Catholic Leaders, Flavian and Diodorus . » . 137 349 S. Athanasius at Antioch and Jerusalem . + . . 138 351 S. Cyril, of Jerusalem, succeeds Maximus . ...:,.., . 141 The luminous Cross ^ „ . . . . 142 The Progress of Arianism 143 c. 355 S. Cyril tried and deposed at Antioch . . . . .145 354 Persecution still raging in Persia .» ... 146 Sapor invades the Roman Empire . . . . ' . 147 Besieges Amida 149 THE PATRIARCHS OF ANTIOCH, By CONSTANTIUS, Patriarch of Constantinople . . 153 — 190 APPENDIX I. Extracts from the Archives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, relating to the Sees of Antioch and Aleppo 193—198 Vlll CONTENTS. APPENDIX II. PAGE Memoir concerning the Patriarchate of Antioch, published at Moscow in A.D. 1845. (Translated from the Russ) 199—212 APPENDIX III. State of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1850. (Translated from the Russ.) Sketch of its History 213 Power of the Patriarch . . . 215 The Bishops . . , . . . . . . .216 The Monasteries 218 The Parochial Clergy 222 The Schools 224 The Orthodox people in Syria . . . . . . 226 Their Number , 228 INTRODUCTION. BY all who are interested in the fortunes of the much-enduring portion of the Church of Christ com prehended within the limits of the four Eastern Patriarchates, the death of the gifted author of the great Work, under the general title of which this present volume appears, was regarded as an irre parable loss to this branch of Sacred Literature; at least so far as this generation is concerned. Dr Neale had devoted the best years of his la borious life to the accumulation of materials for this, which he evidently designed to be the chief monu ment of his industry, and a /cr^/xa es aei to the Church ; specially to that cause which had early en gaged his warmest sympathies, and to which he con secrated his matured powers with an enthusiasm thoroughly characteristic of the man. That sacred cause was, the gradual approxima tion and ultimate reconciliation of the long-estranged families of Catholic Christendom, on the basis of a better mutual understanding; which he hoped might X DR NEALES SERVICES result in a more just appreciation of the comparative unimportance of the points of difference, when viewed in relation to the vast heritage of Divine Truth which all hold in common. And although he was not permitted to see the consummation of his ardent desires, yet his latter years were gladdened by the unmistakeable evidences of a wider and constantly- increasing interest — both at home and abroad — in the cause of a reunited Christendom, which had been for many years the day-dream of a small and un- influential section of Anglican Churchmen. How largely his indefatigable industry had contributed to this hopeful progress of opinion, was known to others better than to himself; and I can myself bear wit ness to the fact that, while his zeal provoked very many in our own Communion, the exhibition of it in its results, in Russia and the East, was effectual in stimulating a reciprocal interest in various parts of the Orthodox Church. His chief contribution to this cause, and to that of Sacred Literature, was undoubtedly the great His torical Work above referred to ; two instalments of which he was permitted to complete ; the first, in the History of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, pub lished in 1847, the second in the General Introduc tion, published in 1850. In both these works the most striking features to those who had known the author as a writer of life like fiction, and the uncom promising champion of distinctive Catholic teaching, TO SACRED LITERATURE. xi were, first, the complete subordination of his exube rant poetical imagination to the strict requirements of historical accuracy; and then the rigid impartiality of his estimate of moral worth, unbiassed by theolo gical prejudices and predilections : — a rare quality it will be admitted, whether in ecclesiastical or civil historians, within the domains of religious or political controversy ; but indispensable in one who would fairly represent the various phases of thought that have been developed within the Church during the long centuries of her chequered history. It was, therefore, with no ordinary satisfaction that I learnt, some two years after the death of the au thor, that his literary executor had discovered among his papers a considerable fragment of what appeared to be a continuation of the " History of the Holy Eastern Church." This pleasing intimation was ac companied with the gratifying .request that I would examine, and (if I thought it worth publishing), un dertake the editorship of the manuscript ; which was accordingly submitted to me for that purpose. A cursory glance at the sheets sufficed to convince me that the " History of the Patriarchate of Antioch" had been undertaken with the same conscientious care that had distinguished the preceding volumes ; while it was natural to conclude that the experience obtained in the progress of the work would give ad ditional value to the later production of the author. Unfortunately, however, there was no opportunity of Xii HISTORY OF THIS POSTHUMOUS WORK. testing the authority of the work ; for, while the text was largely interspersed with numerals of reference, the corresponding notes were not forthcoming. On pointing out this fatal defect to Mr Haskoll, I was informed that the missing notes could nowhere be found ; and it was feared that this must have been the manuscript, the accidental destruction of which Dr Neale had deplored some years before his death. As I felt that it would be impossible for anyone but the author himself to supply the verifications and references to authorities, and that the absence of these would detract seriously from the historical value of the work, I was reluctantly obliged to decline the responsibility of editing it. Many months after this unsatisfactory termination of our first negotiations, the correspondence was re opened by Mr Ilaskoll, informing me that he had reason to believe that the missing Notes were at last discovered, and renewing his previous request; with which I could no longer hesitate to comply. True indeed it is that any posthumous work must appear at a disadvantage ; as the " limse labor" can never be regarded as complete until the last revise has left the writer's hand, and consequently the com position must not be too severely criticised. I have not felt at liberty to depart a hair's breadth from the manuscript, except where it was hopelessly illegible. Happily these exceptional instances are very rare, and are confined to a few words or phrases, which it ITS FRAGMENTARY CHARACTER. xiii was not difficult to supply conjecturally from the context. The fragmentary character of the work was not, in my opinion, any serious objection to its publica tion : for nothing is more common than for writers — whether of civil or ecclesiastical history — to select some portion of the wide field of study for special illustration ; as, notably, the periods of the First Three Centuries of the Church, and of the Eeformation, have been frequently handled by writers of various schools. This fragment then may be regarded as a monograph of the History of the Church of Antioch during the first four centuries of its existence ; and J when it is considered how very important a role that Church was called upon to play in the Ecclesiastical History of the early ages ; how prominently the names of some of the most distinguished Martyrs and champions of the Faith, as well as of some of its most notorious heretical impugners, are exhibited in its annals ; particularly while it comprehended within its limits the Churches of Palestine, subse quently to be formed into a distinct patriarchate ; it will be seen that the History of the Patriarchate of Antioch is in fact the History of Eastern Christi anity; and however we may regret that the author was not spared to complete what was to him indeed a labour of love, we shall congratulate ourselves that his masterly hand was permitted to strike off the life-like portraits of some of the most renowned of xiv OTHER MATERIALS FOR THE WORK. the Church's worthies, which will be found in the fol lowing pages. Having thus narrated the circumstances under which this work is now published, and the causes which have delayed its publication, I may be per mitted to mention some motives which strongly in fluenced me to accept the office which Mr Haskoll was so good as to press upon me, — independently of the deep interest which I have long taken in the for tunes of the great Eastern Church, and of my high appreciation of the value of Dr Neale's Historical Researches. That interest has naturally led me to avail myself of such opportunities as have presented themselves to me of procuring information on sub jects connected with the Christian East; and two visits to Russia and two to Syria, at different times and at long intervals, have placed in my hands ma terials which I hoped might prove serviceable for the illustration of the " History of the Patriarchate of An- tioch." It has also been my good fortune to make the acquaintance of some of the best learned of the ecclesiastics of the Orthodox Church, whose aid has been very valuable in the production of the supple mentary portion of this Volume ; and although this cannot be said of the present Patriarch of Antioch, yet the fact that I have had a personal knowledge of him for some thirty years has given me an additional interest in the fortunes of his Church, which ought to be reflected in these pages. NO ARCHIVES OF THE SEE. XV When I first became acquainted with Hierotheus in 1842 he was Bishop of Mount Tabor, but was better known by the title of d AiaSo^o? — "the suc cessor" i. e. of the Patriarch of Jerusalem ; having been nominated to that dignity by the then occupant of the see, in accordance with the prevailing prac tice. On the death of the Patriarch, however, in 1845, the Porte refused to confirm the nomination of Hierotheus, who was suspected of Russian proclivities ('Paxro-o^pcDv) ; and Cyril, Metropolitan of Lydda, was chosen by a free election of the Council of Ha- giotaphitae. When, however, the Patriarchal See of Antioch became vacant some few years later, Hiero theus was elected to that dignity ; and the Porte confirmed the appointment. I have twice seen the Patriarch since his elevation, the last time on August loth, 1866, when I passed a night in his Monastery of Mar Elias, in the Lebanon, some four hours dis tant from Beyrout. On that occasion I made en quiries of him concerning any materials that might exist in the Archives of the Patriarchate for a history of his Church, and was disappointed to learn that nothing of the kind was to be found in his house at Damascus ; which had then been recently destroyed by fire — not for the first time within recent memory. This may account for the disappearance of all docu mentary annals of the Church of Antioch. When I made that enquiry, I little expected that it would ever devolve upon me to edit a history of the Patri- XVI CATALOGUE OF PATRIARCHS OF ANTIOCH archate. It was made solely in the interests of Dr Neale, and, as I discovered afterwards, within a very few days after his death, on the Festival of the Transfiguration, August 6th. But although I thus signally failed in my en deavours to procure information concerning the Patri archate of Antioch at the fountain-head, my disappoint ment was partially compensated by obtaining valuable assistance from a most unexpected quarter. Soon after I had undertaken the editorship of Dr Neale's fragment at Mr Hask oil's request, I received from my revered friend, the Metropolitan of Chios, a col lection of Greek books and pamphlets bearing chiefly upon the recent history of the Orthodox Church. Among these were two volumes of the Minor Works of Constantius, Patriarch of Constantinople ; an au thor well known and highly esteemed in the East for his learned historical, archaeological, and topographi cal works on Constantinople, and on Egypt. This learned man, born in 1770, was educated in the Pa triarchal School of Constantinople, from which he passed first to Jassy in Moldavia, and afterwards to Kieff in Russia. Having been elected Archbishop of Mount Sinai in 1805, he was raised to the (Ecu menical Throne of Constantinople in 1830. He oc cupied it only four years, when he was deposed, and joyfully returned to his literary pursuits in the island of Antigonus ; where he survived his fall twenty -five years. The collection of his Minor Works was pub- BY CONSTANTIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. xvii lished in Constantinople in 1866. Among the in teresting contents of these volumes I was not a little gratified to find a Treatise entitled, " Concerning the Patriarchs of Antioch until this day," i. e. " until Methodius, the immediate predecessor of Hierotheus, the present Patriarch." This very opportune con tribution to my subject enabled me to append to the original fragment of Dr Neale's work a con tinuous Catalogue of the Patriarchs ; and, in some places, something more than a bare Catalogue ; for the incidents connected with some of the Patriarchs are full of interest, and narrated in a very graphic style. I am further indebted to the Metropolitan of Chios for some extracts from the Archives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (of which he was formerly Secretary), in illustration of the aggressions of the Latin Missionaries in the East, frequently mentioned by Constantius in the biographical notices of later Patriarchs of Antioch. But besides these unexpected and most opportune contributions to my Volume, I found that I had been unconsciously collecting materials for my unfore seen and unsought-for task, in two Russian Pamph lets, which I have had by me for so many years, that I had actually forgotten the existence of one of them until it came to the surface in the surge of an accumulation of papers, at the very time that it was wanted. These two pamphlets, which are given in xviii COUNT DE VOGUE'S DISCOVERIES. the Appendix, furnish a very excellent conspectus of the present condition of the Orthodox Church in Syria ; for little change has taken place in it during the last thirty years. Such is a brief account of the Supplementary portion of this Volume. It remains to offer some explanation, or apology, for the Introduction ; and to bring it into harmony with Dr Neale's monograph ; the nucleus round which so much apparently extra neous matter has formed. That it is not really irrelevant, it will not be difficult to show. A very considerable portion of that marvellous Repertory of Oriental Ecclesiology which his unwearied industry accumulated in the " General Introduction," is de voted to the Church Architecture of the Orthodox Communion and its offshoots. It was many years subsequent to the publication of that work that the enterprize of a French nobleman — whose name, after having been long before the public as a Christian savant, has lately obtained a wider and nobler cele brity in connection with his devoted services as Head of the Ambulance Department on the bloody field of Worth, where his brother met a soldier's death — the Count Melchior de Vogue, now French Ambassador at the Porte, discovered and explored a mine of Christian antiquities within the Jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch, which would have furnished Dr Neale with materials for another important and interesting Chapter on the Eastern Ecclesiology. ECCLESIOLOGY OF SYRIA. XIX Very inadequate as I am to the task of ex panding his work, I feel that I ought not to let slip this opportunity of introducing to the notice of the English reader those very large remains of piety and civilization which illustrate in so remarkable a man ner the religious life of the Asiatic Christians in the palmy days of the Church of Antioch, during the life time of S. John Chrysostom and other eminent lights of the Christian East ; particularly as I can do this from my own actual observation : for shortly after I had heard from the Count de Vogue of the discovery of these Christian cities, I was presented with an op portunity of visiting them, of which I gladly availed myself. That visit too is closely associated in my mind with the memory of the lamented Dr Neale ; for it was in the midst of these noble memorials of the Orthodox Faith, and on the eve of our visit to the grandest monument of one of its most remarkable phases, that the intelligence of his death reached us ; and his name was uppermost in our thoughts on the following day, as, amid the ruins of the magnificent Church of Symeon the Stylite, we commemorated, in the Scottish Liturgy, all those " lights of the world in their several generations," who, " having finished their course in faith, do now rest from their labours." Neither is the subject irrelevant to the History contained in the following pages; for the vast ex panse of ruins of which I am to speak is situated in XX CHKISTIAN REMAINS IN SYRIA. the very centre of the Patriarchate of Antioch, and most of the towns represented by them were, doubt less, subject to the episcopal jurisdiction of the Patri arch himself; and, further, it is highly probable that they were standing in their integrity at a time covered by the narrative contained in Dr Neale's Memorials ; for the dated monuments range from the 3rd to the 6th century; and it is almost certain that they were abandoned by their Christian inhabitants early in the following century; if not on the irruption of the Persians under Chosroes I. in A.D. 574, or under Chosroes II. A.D. 611, or, at the latest, on the Sara cenic invasion of Syria under Abu Bekr, A.D. 632. Then there is a melancholy interest in contrast ing the ancient dignity and grandeur of the Church in Syria as witnessed to by these stately ruins, with its present deep decline and degradation as ex hibited among the scattered remnants of the flock of Christ which still exist in the city where the disciples were first called Christians, and in the Eparchy once subject to the fourth See in Christen dom : and I am in a position to exhibit both sides of the picture from my own actual observation. This perhaps will best be done by extracting a few leaves from my Journal of a visit to Syria in the autumn of 1866, when I have first given a general view of this rich field of ecclesiological re search in a graphic summary of my friend the Count THEIR GENERAL DESCRIPTION. xxi de Vogue, whose general description of these ruins, which he has fully delineated in his great work on the " Civil and Religious Architecture of Syria/' first inspired me with a longing desire to follow in his wake. They are situated " in the mountains which lie between Antioch, Aleppo, and Apameia, on the right bank of the Orontes, and which are known in the country under the names of Jebel Biha, Jebel Ala, Jebel Alaqua and Jebel Sema'an. I am almost tempted to refuse the name of ruins to a series of towns almost untouched, or, of which, at least, all the elements are found; sometimes overthrown, never dispersed ; the sight of which transports the travel ler into the midst of a civilization now lost, and reveals to him, so to say, all its secrets. In passing through these deserted streets and forsaken courts, these porticos where the vine entwines itself round mutilated columns, one experiences an impression analogous to that which is felt at Pompeii — less complete, perhaps, for the climate of Syria has not preserved its treasures as the cinders of Vesuvius ; but more novel; for the civilization which one con templates here is less known than that of the Augustan age. In fact, all these cities, which exist to the number of more than a hundred and fifty in a space of thirty or forty leagues, form a whole from which it is impossible to detach any part ; where all is bound and chained together ; belonging XX11 GENERAL DESCRIPTION to the same style, and to the same system ; in short, to the same epoch; and that the epoch of primi tive Christianity ; which is hitherto least known in an artistic point of view, viz. that which extends from the fourth to the seventh century of our era. We are here transported into the middle of the Christian society ; we come upon its life — a life not hid in the catacombs ; an existence not of depres sion, timidity, suffering, as it is commonly pictured ; but a liberal, opulent, artistic life ; — in large houses, built of huge blocks of squared stone ; perfectly arranged, with covered galleries and balconies ; beautiful gardens, planted with vines; wine-presses, cellars, and stone jars for preserving wine ; large sub terranean kitchens, and stables for horses ; in squares surrounded by porticos ; elegant baths, magnificent churches supported by columns, flanked with towers, surrounded by splendid tombs. Crosses, and mono grams of Christ are sculptured on most of the doors; numerous inscriptions may be read on the monu ments. These, through a sentiment of Christian humility which contrasts with the boastful emphasis of pagan inscriptions, contain no proper names. Pious sentences, passages of Holy Scripture, mono grams, dates — that is all : but the tone of these inscriptions marks an epoch not far removed from the triumph of the Church ; for there reigns throughout an accent of victory, which sets off still more the humility of the individual ; and which OF THE RUINED CITIES. xxiii animates the least line, from the verse of the Psalmist engraven in beautiful red letters* on a lintel covered with sculpture, to the scribbling of an obscure painter, who, while engaged on decorating a tomb, in order to try his chisel traced on the wall of rock some monograms of Christ, and, in his enthu siasm as an emancipated Christian, paraphrasing the Labarum, wrote — Tovro VLKO, — 'Tins CONQUERS!' " By one of those phenomena of which the East offers frequent examples, all these Christian towns were abandoned on the same day, probably at the time of the Mussulman invasion ; since which time they have not been touched. But for the earth quakes, which have thrown down many walls and columns, nothing would be wanting but the roofs and floors of the buildings." If this description should appear highly coloured, it will be found from the more detailed descriptions which follow, that it is not at all exaggerated. By commencing my Ecclesiastical and Ecclesio- logical Survey of Syria at Horns, and continuing it to Antioch, we shall pass over the whole district indicated in the foregoing summary, and shall be presented with some remarkable examples of those contrasts between the ancient and modern phases of its Christianity, of which I have already spoken. HOMS, the ancient Emesa, reckoned the metro polis of Phoenicia Secunda, in the Notitia of Hie- rocles, is situated near the river Orontes, on its right, XXIV CHURCH OF HOMS. or eastern bank. It was noted in pagan times for its magnificent Temple of the Sun; the youthful priest of which, Bassianus, at the early age of four teen, was raised to the imperial purple by the Roman legionaries in Syria (A.D. 218), which he wore under the name of Heliogabalus for less than four years. It was, perhaps, in rivalry of this temple of the Syrian Sun-god that, under the Emperor Constan- tinus, a splendid Church, renowned for its beauty, was erected in this city1. This church, there can be no doubt, occupied the present site of the great mosk of Horns ; so that here, as at Damascus, Jerusalem, and in so many other places in the East, the Christian edifice was adapted to the worship of the followers of Islam. Indeed, it retained, until within three years of my visit, a character that admitted of its being identi fied with the grand Church mentioned by Sozomen : for it was described to me as having been divided longitudinally by a double row of columns ; and this account is confirmed in a very interesting manner by a large fragment of the original building excluded from the modern mosk, because happily the funds were insufficient to assimilate the whole to the modern style. This fragment is, in fact, the east end of a noble Basilica ; consisting of five bays divided by double columns in the side walls, and 1 Sozomen singles it out for special mention, //. E. Lib. in. cap. 17: a£io$eaTOS KCU KaAXet aotSi/xo? 'E/xea^s ' ITS PRESENT CONDITION. XXV distributed into three walks, of which the middle is 32 feet 9 inches wide, and the side aisles 15 feet 8 inches each ; giving a total width of 64 feet. The columns, of which some few are in situ, are all of red granite, about 16 feet in height, exclusive of the capitals, which are of a very debased classical, or early Byzantine, type. Besides the 5 bays in the old church, I counted in the north wall of the modern ized mosk, which is built into the ancient arcading, 1 6 other bays ; and, as each bay was 1 1 ft. 2 in. wide, this gives a total length of 276 feet — about the interior length of King's College Chapel ; nor is it at all certain that this was the extreme length ; for there is nothing to mark its termination either to the east or to the west. This noble church is said to have been dedicated to S. John Baptist, whose head was found here in the time of Theodosius1; as was the grand Basilica now forming the mosk at Damascus — for the same reason ! And now for the present condition of the Church of Emesa. Dionysius the Bishop had only been two or three months at his post, at the time of my visit. He was advanced in years, and had been a parish priest in the church of S. Nicolas at Constantinople, until he was appointed to this See ; which he ac cepted only at the earnest solicitation of the Pa triarch of Antioch. He presides over a small flock, and the Church is a poor and mean building. 1 Pococke, Description of the East, Vol. u. Pt. 1, p. 141. XXVI RESTEN. RESTEN. — About three hours north of Horns are the ruins of a large Church, originally built in the form of a Greek Cross, with a semicircular apse to the east. A story connected with this Church, which fills a bloody page of the annals of Islam, and of the Church of Syria, — may here be told. When Abu Obeideh was subjugating the Valley of the Orontes from the south, he arrived before Resten, which was so well fortified and garrisoned that it refused his summons to surrender. The General promised not to attack it, on condition that he was permitted to deposit there some of his heavy baggage, which impeded his march* Having obtained the governor's consent, Abu- Obeideh chose twenty of his bravest soldiers, whom he shut up in twenty large cases, which opened from within, and had them conveyed into the citadel. Then leaving Khaled, with some armed troops, in a wood near the town, he continued his march to the north. Scarcely was he out of sight, with the bulk of his army, when the inhabitants of Resten congre gated in their Church, to return thanks to God for their deliverance. The Arabs, emerging from their concealment, took advantage of this opportunity to seize the wife of the governor, whom they forced to deliver up the keys of the town. Thus they opened the gates to Khaled, and fell upon the un happy townsmen in their Church, still singing praises to God for their deliverance ; whom they butchered HAMAH PAST AND PRESENT. XXV11 in an indiscriminate massacre at the very altar ! This place is called Restam by Pococke1, who notices these ruins of the Church under the description of a "very large convent," and thought the place might represent "the Arethusa of the Itinerary of Anto ninus and the Peutinger Tables; though the dis tances do not well correspond." HAMAH is the Hamath of the Bible; afterwards named Epiphaneia from Antiochus Epiphanes, and known under that description in the Ecclesiastical annals; which represent its bishop as subject to the jurisdiction of the metropolitan of Apameia. Its bishop, Maurice, sat in the council of Nicaea ; and several of his successors appear in Ecclesiastical history2. Here, as at Horns, was a noble Church, now converted into a mosk ; from the interior of which all traces of its Christian origin and use have been obliterated, with the exception of two columns in its eastern wall. Externally, on the west, a large central gate and two side portals, all with semicircular arches, still retain their original cha racter ; and a Greek inscription over a window in the south wall, unhappily illegible from the ground, affords further evidence of its original desig nation. Tradition says that this Church also was dedicated to S. John Baptist. The Christians of Hamah are, with very few 1 Description of the East, Vol. n. p. 145. 2 Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, Tom. n. col. 915 — 918. XXV1U THE BISHOP OF HAMAH. exceptions, of the orthodox Greek rite, and number about 1 500 souls ; with a church, a school, four priests and a bishop, of whom more presently. There are about 6000 orthodox in the diocese, of whom Edlip (to be noticed below) contains about the same number as Hamah. The worthy Bishop Germanus has a melancholy history, which may be recorded as a specimen of the life of an Eastern Prelate, which it is often thought must be very monotonous and uneventful. He is a native of Damascus, where his family has resided for several generations. Having passed through the inferior grades of the ministry, he was ordained priest, and in due time became Archiman drite at Tyre. His father and brother were mur dered in the massacre of the Damascene Christians in 1860. He was at Jerusalem at the time, and only learnt of this domestic bereavement on his return to Beirout some time after. His grief was so intense that his health became seriously affected, and he procured the permission of the Patriarch to absent himself from his post and to travel for a twelvemonth; which he passed chiefly at Athens. At this time the See of Epiphaneia became vacant, and was so strongly urged upon his acceptance by the patriarch, that, unwilling as he was to settle again in Syria, he felt that he must not refuse this providential call ; and here he had been for four or five years, far removed from the sympathies of civil- RUINS AT EL-HASS. XXIX ized society, to which he had been accustomed; living in the midst of a semi-barbarous people ; but having this inestimable advantage over his episcopal brother at Horns, that, as a native Syrian, he is familiar with the language and manners of his people. The church at Hamah is but a poor modern build ing ; also dedicated to the Forerunner. About six hours north of Hamah is a large Mos lem village named Khan Sheikhur, which I am un able to identify with any ancient site, although a remarkable mound outside the village, apparently in great part artificial, would seem to indicate here, as elsewhere in this part of Syria, that it was formerly occupied by a town. This village is just on the con fines of the district occupied by the ruined Christian towns, to the description of which I now proceed. EL-HASS is situated about four hours north of Khan Sheikhur, on the left of the direct road to Aleppo. It consists of a vast expanse of ruins, which gives promise of the architectural treasures beyond. Most conspicuous among these ruins is the Church, of a design which we afterwards found to be typical of the general character of the ecclesiastical buildings of central Syria; while the variations in detail are infinite. The south wall and the south east tower were well preserved ; and enough remained of the rest of the building to shew what was its ori ginal plan. It was built of stone quarried on the spot, beautifully squared and fitted. It was of an d XXX CHUKCH OF EL-HASS. oblong form, with a porch between two towers at the west, and a semicircular apse, also flanked by two towers on the east. It had been divided by columns into a nave and side aisles, over which latter was the gyniceeum or women's gallery. The entrance to the porch was by two doors, and from the porch was an ascent on either side, by the towers, into the galleries, which were also connected by a western gallery. The purpose of the eastern towers, flanking the apse, was also well defined. On the ground-floor was the diaconicon on the South side, and the pro- thesis on the North ; the latter communicating both with the apse and the aisle, the former with the aisle only. The Church had two side doors to either aisle, besides the great west door opening from the porch ; and these doors, as well as the windows, pre sent that combination of the arcuate and trabeate construction which may be said to be the distinctive characteristic of the Syrian school of architecture, though by no means confined to that country. I have given a full description of this first Church, which I explored, in order to be able to refer to it hereafter, and to obviate the necessity of frequent repetition. Next to this Church, which the natives dignify- by the name of "Ed-deir," the Convent, the most striking objects in the extensive ruins of El-Hass are the tombs. They vary very much in character, and many of them are exceedingly handsome. Some have been excavated in the live rock, in the walls of TOMBS AND OTHER BUILDINGS. XXXl the quarries out of which the buildings have been erected. Others are solid square structures, some times in two stories, covered in some instances with massive semicircular covers, in others with pyramidal roofs, very similar to Absalom's pillar at Jerusalem. On one of these latter is a long Greek inscription, beautifully carved, running along the cornice ; part of which I deciphered1, and found it to contain pas sages from Psalms cxvii. ver. 26, 27, and Ixiv. 10 (Sept.) — " Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us. Thou hast visited the earth, and watered it abundantly," &c. To the north of the modern village and the tombs just described, are very extensive ruins of the ancient town, situated in a rocky district ; so that the building materials were close at hand. This is called Khirbet-d-IIass, "the Hums of Hass;" and conspicuous among them are two large public build ings, one of which may have been a civil Basilica, the other was undoubtedly a church, similar in plan to the one called Ed-Deir, which has been already described. EL-BAKA is about an hour north of El-Hass, and there the ruins are even more extensive than at Hass, and not less important ; for although the prin- 1 More fully given in Capfc. Burton and Mr T. Drake's Unex plored Syria (Vol. n. p. 2 of the plates), the decipherments in which (p. 380) are, however, frequently very unfortunate. XXXli RUINS AT EL-BARA. cipal Church is not so well preserved, the streets of the town, and the dwelling-houses, with their courts arid offices and wine-presses, are more clearly defined, and reveal more of the domestic life of the ancient Syrian Christians. This is the Elbarraw of Pococke1, to which he seems to have paid only a hasty visit, and dismisses the description of it in very few words : " Here there is a ruinous well-built castle and some decayed houses, which are of no mean structure; there is likewise a well cut down through the rock." This was, Count de Vogue informed me, the only place, of all the ruined sites in the district, of which he had been able to identify the name in any his torical monument ; and that was in one of the chro nicles of the Crusades, to which period the fine mediaeval castle mentioned by Pococke probably be longed. Its name among the natives is Kala'at Saphian. Many masons' marks chiselled on the walls are in excellent preservation, and might possibly throw light on the date and origin of this building. In this place we noticed for the first time those sacred inscriptions upon the houses, which no doubt suggested to Symeon Stylites the talisman that he recommended the inhabitants to adopt as a pre servative against earthquakes : " Christ is with us. Stand !" We did not discover any copy of that iden tical inscription ; but many were precisely to that effect. A few examples from El-Bara and elsewhere 1 Description of the East, Syria, p. 147. INSCRIPTIONS AT EL-BARA. XXX111 may be given, as they are curious, not only as illus trating the pious practice of the age to which they belong, but also as throwing additional light upon the question of the pronunciation of the ancient Greek. The first carried my thoughts to Castle Ashby, where the Latin version of the same inscription, wrought in the open battlement, " welcomes the coming, and speeds the parting, guest." AnDTDYNYNKAIELUC...AIUJN... "The Lord preserve thy coming in and thy going out from this time forth and for evermore." This was on the lintel of a small house. At El-Bara was the only Latin inscription which we discovered throughout this region. It was well carved on the wall of a wine-press, over the aperture — much resembling a gigantic letter-box — through which the grapes were emptied into the cellar. It read as follows : *...ARensSUCCaSBACCH€IAMDNeRAC€MIS ...BITISCeNUITAPRICDSDLEREFeCTA Not the least striking feature in the ruins, here as at Hass, are the sepulchral monuments, exhibit ing, as they do, a vast variety of plan and detail, some of very beautiful design and execution in the elaborate carvings of the cornices, and doors, and windows. Some of these tombs are excavated in the rock and have a descent by steps into the subter^ XXXIV THE TOMBS OF EL-BARA. ranean chambers ; others are sunk in the perpendi cular side of a smooth wall of live rock, on a level with the soil ; others, again, are massive stone erec tions, generally square in plan, arranged in two stories and covered with a pyramidal roof of great elevation. One striking fact in connection with these sepulchral monuments deserves special notice for its bearing upon ancient Syrian Christianity. It is the absence of anything like a necropolis. These tombs are not all grouped together in any particular quarter of the city or its suburbs; nor are they gathered round the Churches. They are scattered all about the town, sometimes in vineyards and olive-yards ; sometimes in the courts and gardens of the larger houses, with which they were connected by terraced walks. Thus the tombs themselves and their posi tions strikingly illustrate the remarks of the Count de Vogue touching the type of Syrian Faith preva lent at the time when this district was teeming with civilized life. He, indeed, dwells on the. triumphant tone of the inscriptions and emblems carved on the civil, ecclesiastical and sepulchral buildings, and con trasts the Christian humility of these nameless monu ments with the vainglorious emphasis of pagan in scriptions. But the contrast is most striking between the different aspect which death wears in these days and that in which it was regarded when these cities were inhabited; and a most striking illustration is thus obtained of much of the language of S. Chrysostom THE TOMBS. THEIR LESSON. ." XXXV and other Greek and Latin Fathers concerning the faithful departed : for that language is here seen not to have been rhetorical and unreal, as is sometimes supposed, but the genuine expression of the practical belief of the time — breathing "a hope full of immor tality." For here was no attempt to hide the memo rials of the departed out of sight, or to associate those memorials with all that was gloomy and repul sive. The " coverlids" — (some of these tombs were called calyces from KaXvirTa* to cover) — of those who slept in the Lord were bright and cheerful as art could make them ; and conveniently placed, where the survivors might often resort to them, to cherish the fond memories of their beloved ones, and to continue their pious offices to the mortal remains of those whom they considered as " not lost, but gone before," — regarding them still as members of the same family and household of the faith. On the outskirts of the town of Bara are the remains of a large villa, in so complete a F-tate of preservation as to admit of an accurate architectural restoration, which is given in M. de Vogue's great work. To this the inhabitants still give the name of " the House of the Lady Elizabeth," and we liked to believe this to be the name of its last Christian inhabitant. In the neighbourhood of El-Bara are the following : MOUDJLEYEH is not more than half an hour distant to the South-East. It contained a great number of XXXVI MOUDJLEYEH. private houses, surrounding the Church, of which large ruins still remain. But here again the most striking and impressive of the Christian remains is a fine sarcophagus in excellent preservation, with an inscription boldly carved on its side from Psalm xci. 9, 10 : a most convincing evidence that for the Chris tians of those days death had lost its sting, the grave its victory. For thus it speaks of the departed, and to the survivors : TDNYH'ICTDNeenYKATA^YrHNCn YnYnPDC€A6Y W C€T€nPdC€KA KAIMACTI fri • ^ ZDYK€ISITII€NT LUCKHNLJJMATICD A Y " Thou hast made the Most High thy Eefuge — no evil shall approach thee — no plague come nigh thy dwelling." Another sepulchral epitaph roughly carved on the side of a rock-hewn cave, and which had escaped the notice of Count de Vogue, was not less striking. It was surmounted by the cross, with the XP. and A.H. so universally prevalent in these towns; and read as follows : KEXEBDHOI IDYAIANDN KAI AHMHTPIDN DTI €T€A€CAN " Lord Christ, succour Julian and Demetrius; for they are dead." BETEYRSEH. SERJILLIA. DELL LOUZEH. XXXVli BETEYRSEH is half a mile south of Moudjleyah, with a small Church very much ruined, and at the same distance is Rubeyah, where was the only ex ample of a secular monument to be found among these ruins. It was an equestrian figure carved in deep relief on a large slab of stone, almost the size of life. The rider carried a wreath in his hand, but the carving was too much decayed by exposure to allow us to judge of the execution, though it appeared not to be devoid of spirit. SERJILLIA, about half an hour to the east. Here the buildings are better preserved than in most of the other towns, some of the private houses having their porticos and balconies perfect, with the steps leading up to them. Here too is a large bath-house, and a Church of the normal type ; all carefully figured by Count de Vogiie'. DELL LOUZEH is a ruined town about one hour east of El-Bara, where are the remains of a fine Church, and several houses in fair preservation, with their colonnades of debased Corinthian columns still standing. From one such portico I copied the two following inscriptions : * €l0€DCYn€PYMLiJNTICnKA0YMLUN ADZAAYTLLinANTDTe. " If God be for you who can be against you ? Glory to Him always.'1 XXXV111 DEIR SAMBIK. * KYPIEBQH0ITLLiniKLUTnYTLJJKAITni ZYKQYZINENAYTUJAMHN. "Lord, succour this house, and those who dwell therein. Amen." On a smaller house was an abbreviated and de based repetition of the former of these two inscrip tions, with the date, thus : * ElOEWCYnEPHMDNTICKAOHMDXMr* " If God be for us, who can be against us ? 643." The date indicated by the last three letters, whose numerical value is equivalent to 643, is pro bably to be reckoned by the sera of Antioch, and would so correspond with A.D. 595, for the sera of the Seleucidse, which would give A.D. 331, is too early a date to assign to these buildings. DEIR SAMBIR is about half an hour east of Dell Louzeh, and contains a Church of which the three west doors remain, but all vestiges of the portico — if ever it had one — have disappeared. Here we ob served on the wall of a house, sculptured on a large stone, the Agnus, bearing a Cross on its back, figured by the Count de Vogue ; and a handsome tomb, well preserved, with the following Inscription running round a semi-circular arch1, 1 On the side wall, in the porch 'of this tomb, is a device of the labarum with A and Q, twice repeated, and the paraphrase (as M. de Vogue happily calls it) of its motto — Tovro vtKa, This conquers. KOUEIA. DESCRIPTION OF RUINS. xxxix I TDYKYPIDYHrHKAITanAHPLUMAAYTHCKAl nANTECDIKATOIKYNTECENAYTH * XMT I " The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof and all that dwell therein. + 643 "- the same date, be it observed, as that on the house above copied. Another remark of some interest occurs in connection with this epitaph : this opening verse of the 24th Psalm is the Stichos peculiar to the Burial Service of a priest in the Greek Church, introduced near the beginning of the office. ROUEIA is situated about two hours from Deir Sambir, in a south easterly direction, and covers as large an area as El-Bara. This important ruin is the only one described in any detail by Pococke, whose account it may be well to transcribe. " Rouiah is near the plain that leads from Marrah to Aleppo. This is a more magnificent place than the others : there are in it about six or seven fine palaces, some of which are almost entire, and there are almost as many Churches. The houses are built round courts with porticos all round within, supporting a gallery, which communicates with the rooms above, there being a door from it to every room. The capitals of the pillars, which are no bad work, are of the Corin thian and Ionic orders. The Churches seem to have been more magnificent than the houses, especially three or four, which are built with three naves [i. e. a nave and side aisles], the arches of which are sup- xl POCOCKE'S DESCRIPTION. ported by pillars, and the largest has great pillars in it of an oblong square figure, and a portico before it ; on one side there is an open building with a dome supported by columns, which seems to have been a baptistery : on the north side of the Church there is a building like a small ancient temple, with an angular pediment at each end ; the corners are adorned with Corinthian pilasters, not of the best workmanship. The whole building is raised on a fine basement, and before it there is a portico, consisting only of two pillars, which are in the front between the side walls that support the pediment : * this seemed to have been a family Chapel, and under it is a vault with stone-coffins or graves cut in the rock. There is another of the same kind near one of the palaces, with an unintelligible Greek inscription on the pediment*. There are ruins of great buildings all round the large Church, where probably many persons might live in a sort of community ; and this possibly might be the first beginning of that sort of retirement in these parts, which was afterwards intro duced and settled in public communities in the mo nastic life. One of these Churches was dedicated to St Peter and Paul, and has on it this inscription : riETPDC A^Cnj FIAYADC 'f The passage between asterisks has evidently got transposed. It belongs, not to the great Church, but to the small building similar to a pagan temple on the north side of it, described just above. RUINS OF ROUEIA. xll " There is one sepulchre here of a very particular kind ; two arches are turned at proper distances, and about six or seven feet above the ground a very large stone coffin is placed on them, which is nine feet long, four feet ten inches wide, and five feet ten inches deep ; the part below, which is enclosed, has in it two graves cut down in the rock1." Thus far Pococke, whose description answers very well at this day, except that another century of exposure to climate and earthquakes have brought down more of the stately buildings of Roueia. The do mical building on the south, and the small pagan-like temple on the north side of the grea.t Church — both which I take to have been sepulchral monuments- remain in their integrity, as does also the second temple of the same kind mentioned by Pococke. The Church deserves some further notice, as it varies somewhat from the normal type already described at El-Hass, of which also a fine example is found among the ruins of Roueia. This is a more unusual type, having the aisles separated from the nave — not by rows of columns, but by massive piers, carrying arches of wide span, dividing the Church lengthways into three bays. The aisles are much wider than in the columnar Churches. The west end of this Church is very fine, with its portico between the flanking towers, and the west wall of the Church rising into a 1 Description of Syria, p. 148. xlii MODERN VILLAGE OF EDLIB. lofty gable pierced by a circular window, with mul- lions forming a bold cross. To the east of Roueia are the important remains of Dana ; and half an hour to the west are large heaps of ruins, named Jeradi, neither of which have yet been properly explored. The region in which the ancient towns hitherto described are situated, is named Jebel Riha, from a large village of that name on the road northward from El-Bara to EDLIB, about an hour south of the latter place, which must now be described, in the pitiful contrast which the Church there exhibits to its ancient condition, in the palmy days of which the massive monuments of the past, above enume rated, still bear witness. The Christians of EDLIB number about 400 souls, and have one Priest, a Church and a School of some 50 boys and as many girls. The priest is a dyer by trade, and still pursues his avocation as a means of livelihood. The Church is a miserably poor building, and the iconostasis and all the appointments are in keeping with the fabric. The Christians, however, had for a few months past enjoyed unwanted peace and security under the pro tection of an Armenian Catholic from Aleppo, named Ouanes Effendi, who held the important office of District Collector for the Turkish Government, in whose service he has been for forty years. The Orthodox Christians were loud in his praises, and through his influence their condition was much ame- A RIGHTEOUS PUBLICAN. xliii liorated from what it was in the year 1845, when the place was visited by Dr Thompson, the American Missionary from Beirout1. Before the appointment of this worthy man there was no justice to be had by the Christians in any suit against a Moslem : but now a Council of Ten has been established — five for the town, and as many for the country — in which the Christian community is represented by a brother of the priest. But, besides this, the shameful extor tions to which the members of the tolerated creeds are subjected in Turkey, have been put an end to by this righteous publican. Not one para in excess of the legal contribution of one-tenth can now be de manded, and altogether this excellent officer's ap pointment is hailed as a blessing by the poor Chris tians. They spoke gratefully also of the help they had received from the former bishop of Aleppo ; but the present bishop of Hamah, in whose diocese they are, is not able to do much for them. Edlib appears not to have any Christian, or other, remains of antiquity : but it is remarkable as forming a kind of boundary line between two styles of domestic architecture — in one striking particular. All the columns supporting the porticoes in the towns south of Edlib have a marked architectural type, approximating to the Doric. North of that, this column disappears altogether, and is replaced by plain square blocks, without either base or capital, 1 Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. v. p. 071, 2, A.D. 1848. Xliv CHURCH AT ARSHIN. carried to the requisite height. This deterioration is confined to the secular buildings ; the northern Churches are perhaps richer in architectural detail than the southern. Jebel Biha, which has now been described, is separated from Jebel A'ala by a wide plain called Saal-er-Bouj, and Jebel A'ala is continued northward by Jebel Seman. The following Ecclesiological Notes relate to Jebel A'ala. ARSHIN is situated in a hill above the modern village of Harbanoush — a stiff climb of half an hour — and has a very handsome Church in a good state of preservation. The vaulted apse at the east is still perfect, with a very massive parapet, supported by heavy corbels, carried round it and its two invari able accessories, the diaconicon (with its upper floor entire) on the south, and the prothesis on the north of the apse. The west end is also complete, having its entrance porch flanked by two massive towers, with some very handsome carving over the door which opens from the porch into the Church. A feature peculiar — so far as I know — to this Syrian style, is exhibited in such profusion here, that this seems to be the proper place to describe it. It consists of a broad band of moulding running continuously round the windows externally ; so as to embrace the sills, the jambs and arches in one flowing line from one end of the Church to the other ; as likewise round the windows of the apse. It is not elegant in effect, KORAN A YA. .' DOWAR. BAKOtfSA. xlv but decidedly original, and therefore worthy of re mark. DEIR ZEITA, about an hour north-east of Arshin, has the remains of a large Church, of which the north wall was entire, and the lower part of an apse of noble proportions. This Church was connected, to wards the west, .by a paved court, with an octagonal building, which may have been a baptistery. KOKANAYA, about one hour and a half north of Deir Zeita, is a large heap of ruins, with two wide streets, very well defined, leading to the principal gate ; great part of which is still preserved. The only Church we saw was small and insignificant for so important a town. A dated sepulchral inscrip tion, however, is deserving of notice, for its eloquent simplicity. It is carved in the rock over a semicir cular loculus, in a subterranean tomb : + EYCEBIO) + XPICTIANO) + AOtAnATPIKAIYIOOKAIAriOOriNEY TI€TOYCZIYMHNIAO)OYKZ i.e. Aug. 27, 369. DOWAR is twenty minutes distant south-east of Kokanaya, across a valley; and ten minutes east of that Kusr-el-Bendt, probably a nunnery; and ten minutes east of that the large remains of Bcikousa, with a noble Church, situated on a hill, the apse of which, and the north wall, are in excellent preservation. It is of the usual type, and presents nothing remark able except its very superior and massive masonry. xlvi BAHAKU. KULB LOUZEH. KUSR EL-BENAT. Proceeding northward by the modern village of Maaret esh-Shilf we come to another village named Sardin, above which rises a hill surmounted by a ruined site and church named Bahaku, but formerly • — the inhabitants told us — Milieh. Here the Church presents the rare exception of a square east end, both in its external and internal plan. On the top of the same range of hills, and at no great distance to the north, is Kulb Louzeh, commanding a fine view of the Lake of Antioch and all the surrounding country. Here is a grand Church, in a remarkably perfect state, even to the vault over the noble apse. It was dedicated to the Archangels, as is indicated by their names over the easternmost door on the south side + MIXAHArABP...This Church is divided into three bays by massive square piers, supporting round- headed arches of very wide span. The faces of these arches are carved with bands of rich mouldings, but that of the apse is most profusely ornamented. The wall- space above the arches is pierced with twelve clerestory windows. Leaving now a large number of ruined sites un explored, I proceed to the most important of all these Ecclesiastical remains, when I have briefly noticed an ancient nunnery which I visited at the special request of the Count de Vogue, as he had not had time to do so. This is Kusr el-Bendt, on the old Roman road between Aleppo and Antioch, which is here very well defined; but is not that now usually HOSTELRY AT TOURMANIN, xlvii followed. The ruins are situated at the west end of a pass cut through the rock, and are very extensive. The Church, however, is. a complete ruin, with the exception of the lower part of the apse, which was carved in the live rock, and some few courses of stone above it. The convent stood on the north side of the Church, and formed three sides of an irregular quadrangle. The building was three stories high, and the massive character of the masonry gives it an imposing appearance, as in many parts the facade remains entire. In the court stands a tower still six stories high, although from the present appear ance of the summit, as well as from the debris at the base, it would seem to have been carried higher. This is probably of later date than the Church and Convent ; added, perhaps, when the buildings were converted into a fortress, as its name inti mates that it was, probably during the time of the Crusades. TOURMANIN is situated at the southern base of Jebel Siman, and through it lies the road from Antioch to Aleppo, now usually followed. Here is a noble building, which seems formerly to have served as a caravanserai; but its architecture claims for it a date anterior to the Mohammedan occupation of Syria. We probably have in it an example of the guest houses (fe^oSo^eta) of which we read e.g. in Pro- copius's account of the buildings of Justinian, which e2 xlviii DISAPPEARANCE OF A CHURCH. were built on a very large scale, particularly at places of pilgrimage; and as Tourmanin must have been always the junction — so to speak — on the main line of commerce, for pilgrims to the shrine of the popu lar saint, this building was erected for their accom modation. It is indeed called Deir—i.e. Convent, but this name does not necessarily imply that it was a religious house. It consisted of a large hall, with other buildings and offices attached to it; well sup plied with cisterns for rain-water, formed in the rock out of which the stones for the buildings were quarried, — a method very usually adopted in this country for economising both labour and materials But here a sad disappointment awaited us. One of the most imposing churches in Count de Vogue's collection of drawings was that of Tourmanin, the facade of which was complete only three years before our visit. Now, not a vestige of that stately ele vation was to be seen, and the explanation of the utter ruin which had been wrought in so short a time was to be found in the fresh chips of stone around the spot ; indicating that the Church had been converted into a quarry for the citizens of Aleppo; from which it is some six miles distant. And thus these noble monuments of ancient Chris tian piety, which have resisted the shocks of earth quake and tempest for fourteen hundred years, are disappearing under the axes and hammers of modern civilization. CHURCH OF S. SYMEON STYLITES. xlix KULAAT ES-SiMAN, is situated on the top of a hill of the same name, and is reached by a steep rocky path, in about two hours from Tourmanin. It is, even in its deep decay, a most imposing pile, and in its palmy days might vie with any ecclesiastical establishment of East or West for the extent and grandeur of its buildings, the ruins of which cover many acres. It consists of a large transeptal Church, built round an octagonal hypsethral court, in the centre of which once rose the pillar of S. Symeon of the Column; whose eccentric piety and devotion this Church was built to commemorate, very shortly after his death. And it is a happy fact for the eccle- siology of this building that we have preserved to us a particular description of it, by one who may have visited it only a few years after its erection ; as may be inferred from the following facts. Symeon Stylites died under the Emperor Leo, while Martyr- ius was Bishop of Antioch, i.e. between 461 and 465. Evagrius Scholasticus was born A.D. 536, and he describes the Church precisely as it may be seen (in ruins) at this day. A very good idea may be formed of its general plan from a comparison with Ely Cathedral, which I refer to as an illus tration in preference to any other transeptal Church, on account of its octagonal lantern, in which it resembles its Syrian prototype ; except that we learn from Evagrius that the central court of Symeon Stylites was open to the heavens, with the column ITS OCTAGONAL COURT. rising in the middle ; the rocky base of which, rudely shaped, is still remaining. This octagonal court was encircled by eight noble arches, of which five still remain, supported by massive piers with detached columns of the Corinthian order; and wonderfully pure in architectural detail considering the time when they were executed. The alternate arches of this arcade — those i.e. facing the cardinal points — open into the middle walk of the four arms of this transeptal Church ; the intermediate arches into the side aisles, and into semicircular apses formed in the angles of the outer walls (a very beautiful and novel feature of this most interesting Church), pro bably presenting a specimen of the exedrce of the basilican churches, such as are described by Eusebius in his account of the Sepulchre Church at Jerusalem. The purpose which these alcoves were designed to serve may be gathered with great probability from the description of Evagrius Scholasticus, who speaks of the pilgrims encircling the pillar in a continu ous procession, some on foot, others mounted on horses and mules, in order to do honour to the memory of the saint ; whose visible shade, according to the same authority, continued to flit about his accustomed column. These apsidal recesses would form a secure retreat from which to witness the stream of pilgrims, or a quiet resting-place for the pilgrims themselves when wearied with their gyra tions round the pillar. CHOIR, NAVE AND TRANSEPTS. li Whether the four arms of the cross were sepa rated from the octagonal court — or, if so, how — there remains nothing to shew: a solid stone wall built into the eastern arch, so as to isolate the choir, is evidently modern. The apse of the choir is very fine ; its vault remains almost complete, the face of the arch being richly carved. It has its two inva riable adjuncts on either side, also apsidal, — the pro- thesis and diaconicon. The west member of this cruciform Church, which would be represented by the nave of an English cathedral, is a perfect triumph of engineering skill as well as of architectural in genuity. In this direction the rocky ridge on which the Church is built falls away in a steep declivity, so the building could only be extended in this direc tion by supporting it on solid substructions. This was accordingly done, and the crypt of S. Symeon Stylites far surpasses in solidity and grandeur any of our cathedral crypts of the middle ages ; and so solid was its structure that nearly all the arches remain entire, notwithstanding the frequent earth quakes to which this region has been subjected. A grand doorway with side portals opening on an elevated terrace terminated the Church in this direc tion. The main entrance to the Church was, how ever, through the south transept, the south front of which is covered with a stately porch, in a wonder ful state of preservation. The northern transept calls for no special remark ; but it may be observed Hi CHURCH OF S. SYMEON STYLITES. that the four members of this Church were treated as so many separate churches ; each of them having the two doors on either side, covered by porches, which has been noticed as a normal feature of these Syrian churches. The side aisles are divided from the middle walk by rows of columns ; of which there were nine on a side in the choir, and six on a side in the nave and transepts. In the side walls the mixture of trabeate and arcuate construction is here found in its fullest development. Such is a brief description of the interior of this great Church. The exterior calls for no special remark, except at its east end, where the wall is ornamented with two tiers of columns of the Corinth ian order, supporting a bold corbel table, and is an exquisite architectural composition. The Church is surrounded on three sides by courts ; and large remains, which at first suggest the idea of conventual buildings, are to be seen to the south-east. Possibly, however, it was nothing but a huge caravan serai, built for the accommodation of the pilgrims who flocked hither from all quarters; though a small chapel, communicating with the south-eastern apse of the great Church, rather countenances the former notion of a monastery of Regulars, whose oratory this may have been. The ground-plan of the Church and contiguous buildings contained in the work of the Count de Voglie will best serve to illustrate the preceding description. OCTAGONAL DOUBLE CHURCH. liii We have not yet exhausted the marvels of this fer tile field of architectural and ecclesiological research. A hundred yards or so to the south of the main pile of buildings, with which it is now connected only by heaps of less considerable ruins, is a Church of pecu liar design, very richly ornamented, which demands a brief notice. It is in fact a double Church. On the north is a small Church on a square plan, rising into an octagonal lantern, with a narthex and side aisles. On the south of this is a small Church of the more usual type; the middle walk being divided from the side aisles by five columns; the east end distributed into a semicircular apse and rectangular side chambers. The north and west fronts of these churches were covered by a portico, and to the east were a series of chambers covered by a cloister. It is difficult to conjecture what purpose these twin churches were designed to serve ; but this is only part of the puzzle presented by these complicated ruins, in the absence of all monumental records of the site — with the excep tion of the notice of Evagrius Scholasticus, which, however, refers only to the transeptal Church. The absence of all inscriptions from this Church and its surrounding buildings is a noteworthy fact, contrasting, as it does, with the usual practice which, as we have seen, prevailed at the period, both in ec clesiastical and civil buildings. We only discovered indications of one inscription in all this vast ex panse of buildings. That was carved over the western liv EXTENSIVE RUINS. portal of the south transept, within the porch ; but it was so damaged by exposure as to be illegible. To the south of the octagonal Church is a hand some gateway with its side portals, which seems to have been the main entrance to the Precinct or Close ; evidently designed by the architect of the great Church ; for it has detached columns of precisely simi lar design to those which have been noticed as flanking the piers round the octagonal court of the great Church. Outside this gate are extensive ruins of a large town, built on the two sides of the rocky valley which has been noticed as bounding the ridge on the west. Among these are the remains of two churches, the roof of one of which, and the mosaic pavement, still exist ; some fine tombs ; and a large Pandocheion, or hostelry, with a solidly constructed stone viaduct across the valley, connecting it with a court surrounded by handsome tombs and a kind of mortuary chapel. This hostelry is dated, and the date is interpreted by Count de Vogue as equivalent to A.D. 477; when the building was completed by Simeon, on the I2th of July. This town bears the name of Deir Siman — the Convent of Symeon, and no doubt owed its origin to the devotion which the Stylite attracted: so that here, as in so many cases in western Christendom, the shrine of a saint became the nucleus of a large town and the centre of a busy population. This was eminently the case in this instance, for SYMEON STTLITES JUNIOR. Iv the hills for many miles around are covered with ruins, and the sole denizen of Kulaat Siman gave me the names of some twenty sites in its immediate neigh bourhood, which would, I have no doubt, well repay the labours of the ecclesiologist and the antiquarian. I must now quit the precincts of the Church of S. Symeon Stylites, to which I have devoted so much space ; for this is not the place to discuss either the religious or the historical bearings of that very curious phase of Eastern Christianity of which it presents the most remarkable, but not the only surviving memorial : for I afterwards visited the ruins of another large Church celebrated for the asceticism of another Symeon Stylites (the Younger), a contemporary of Evagrius Scholasticus, wbo has recorded some particulars of his personal intercourse with "this admirable man." This Church is situated between three and four hours north-east of Antioch, on the summit of a mountain, synonymous with this — u Jebel es-Siman ;" which rises abruptly from the narrow plain which here skirts the Mediterranean, and in which the modern village of Souadieh is situated. The ruins are inconsiderable in comparison with those which have been above described, but the remains of the pillar, cut out of the live rock, with rude base- mouldings, are much more pronounced; while the ground-plan of the Church is peculiar, and would repay the outlay of much more time than I was able to devote to it. Ivi S. CHRYSOSTOM ON THE STYL1TE. With regard to the state of Christianity which could not only produce, but admire and repeat, such a type of sanctity as Symeon of the Column, it is not without interest to find a kind of anticipatory con demnation of it, in the language of one of the most eminent of the Greek Fathers, whose life and cha racter, not less truly ascetic than that of his eccentric countryman, presents a marked contrast to it ; while the Church has tacitly disallowed it; for, al though she canonised the Syrian FaJceer, the example of his peculiar form of devotion was soon suffered to fall into disuse, nor have any attempts been since made to revive it. It were an anachronism to suppose that the follow ing passage from a Homily of S. Chrysostom, delivered probably at Antioch, could have any personal reference to the eccentric hermit of the Mandra in the neigh bouring mountains : but it certainly has a close, and even literal, bearing on his case. The preacher is de ploring the general decay of ancient piety among the Christians of his day; which he ascribes to the re laxation of the wholesome discipline of former times, and the consequent enervation of Christian energy, through the love of money and worldly conformity. He adds : " And if one be found having a vestige of the ancient philosophy, leaving the cities, and the market-places, and the society of his fellows, and the direction of others, he betakes him to the mountains: and if asked the reason of this retire- MODERN ANTIOCH. Ivil ment, he invents a pretext which cannot be allowed. ' For/ he says, ' I start aside lest I also perish, and my virtue lose its edge.' But how much better were it for thee to lose the edge, and gain others, rather than remaining on high to neglect thy perishing brethren l ! " But I must proceed with my contrasts ; and turn from the vision of the Church in the zenith of its power, which has been conjured up by these ruins, to its actual material degradation as witnessed by the present aspect of the once proud capital of the East, which claimed for itself the somewhat pre sumptuous designation of " the City of God," but is ever glorious for the memories of the apostolic and early Christian ages with which it is associated. No ancient city of any consideration has more utterly perished than Antioch. It once boasted a population of little short of half a million ; and its public buildings, civil and sacred, vied with those of imperial Rome herself in their magnificence; and though frequently desolated by earthquakes, yet under the fostering care of successive Emperors it rose again and again phcenix-like from its ruins. Now not a single vestige of its ancient magnificence is to be seen in its squalid streets. Not even the fragments of a column or capital or cornice or frieze are to be seen built into modern hovels, as in most other ancient cities ; even the mediaeval castle, 1 St Chrysost. in 1 Ep. ad Cor. Cap. i. Horn. vi. ap. fin. Iviii ORTHODOX; CHURCH RESTORED. crowning the height, preserves but scanty traces of the Crusaders' or of Saracenic architecture. As regards the present condition of the Ortho dox community in Antioch it is somewhat amelio rated from what it was thirty years ago, as described in the second Appendix to this volume, when their only place of worship was a natural cave in the rock, which they shared with the flocks and herds of the Moslem shepherds. This cave they disposed of, about ten years since, to the Latins, and an in scription records that the present Pope has re stored it to public worship1. The marble columns of this old church were used in the construction of the handsome and spacious Church in which the Greeks now worship, erected on the site of an old one, after centuries of desecration. The permission to restore the building was obtained from Ibrahim Pasha, during his temporary occupation of Syria,— that golden era for the Christians and other op pressed nationalities of this part of the Turkish Empire — but it was not completed until some twenty years ago, under the present Patriarch. The icons, lamps, church-books and vessels are the gifts of the Emperor of Russia. A handsome throne is pro vided for the Patriarch in the middle of the apse, 1 This inscription runs as follows: "Honori S. Petri, Quod Antiochise ministerium gerens, illic sacra officia obivit, Ecclesiam, loco a dominis redempto, Pius IX., P.M. sua munificentia re- paravit, et cultui publico restituit, Anno MDCCCLXII." . CONCLUSION. lix and another at the side of the iconostasis, likewise facing west, but neither of them had been occupied by Hierotheus for more than ten years before our visit, although the numbers of the believers of the Orthodox Greek rite in and about Antioch might justly claim more frequent visits from their chief Pastor, even if the greater importance of Damascus makes that modern capital of Syria more eligible for his permanent official residence. By a census taken in the year 1865 it was ascertained that the Chris tians of the Orthodox rite in Antioch and the neigh bourhood numbered 17,000 souls, of which the num ber in the city itself were variously computed by three several informants, at 1800 souls, all told; 1000 males — men and boys; and 800 families. They are ministered to by three priests and a deacon. Such then are the past glories, and such the pre sent state of decay, of the capital and central district of that vast diocese of Antioch which once em braced within its ample limits — according to its ambitious title — "all the East;" conterminous with the second Patriarchate of Christendom, that of the New Borne, towards the west ; with the third Patri archate, that of the Evangelical Alexandria, on the south ; and of illimitable extent towards the east ; out of which were carved the Patriarchate of Jeru salem, and the autocephalous Churches of the Arme- nias, Georgia, Seleucia, and others. This volume, it is true, travels over a very small part of this wide Ix CONCLUSION. field, whether in its geographical extent or its chro nological limits : but it is hoped that the cunabula, of the Catholic Church, and the chequered fortunes of its earliest champions, sketched by the graphic pen of one who so thoroughly appreciated the his torical, theological, and ecclesiastical importance of Eastern Christianity, may not be without value as a contribution to a revived branch of sacred litera ture, to which the enlarged and ever- widening sym pathies of the Anglican Church, reanimated from her long and death-like lethargy, have given a fresh impulse — the evidence of a new and vigorous life, the quickening spirit of which is Love of -the Brother hood. The Feast of the Transfiguration, 1873. THE PATRIABCHATE OF ANTIOCH. BOOK I. 1. IN commencing the History of the Great Patriarchate Difficulty of of the East, I cannot conceal from myself how far more for midable is the task than was the compilation of the Annals of Alexandria. We shall no longer be confined to one land, to a Church, if patriarchal in power, yet metropolitical only in extent. The throne to which we are now to direct our attention, claimed, in itself or by its offshoots, the spiritual dominion of well-nigh the whole of Asia, We shall trace the rise of a smaller Patriarchate in the centre of its elder sister: we shall see a Catholicos thrown off into the far east: in Antioch we shall find, almost always a double, frequently a triple, succession of bishops: we shall see the Catholic Faith engaged in conflict at once with Nestorians, Jacobites, and Monothelites ; we shall follow heretical missions into the territories of the Lama, into the strongholds of Buddhism, into the foul abominations of Schamanism: we shall finally see both the Catholic and heretical communions well-nigh overwhelmed by the scimetars of Mahomet, and the tremen dous hordes of Tatar invasion. We must at once embrace the half of Asia Minor, Persia, Arabia, India and China, if we would have a clear idea of the history of the Patriarch ates of the East. 1 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. s. ja-vos, 2. With respect to the Church of Jerusalem, ecclesias- of Jemsa-p tical tradition unhesitatingly1 asserts that its first bishop was James, the LORD'S brother, surnamed the Just. Abun dant traces of this may be found in the Acts of the Apostles. When S. Peter had been miraculously set free from prison, and had visited the saints assembled in the house of Mary the mother of Mark: "Go," said he, "shew2 these things unto James, and to the brethren." When S. Paul first visited Jerusalem3, S. Peter and S. James only were seen by him; the one probably as the chief of the Apostles: the other as diocesan bishop. In the Apostolic Council4 it is James who sums up the arguments, and pronounces the definition of faith. As diocesan bishop it probably is that S. Paul, writing of those that " seemed to be pillars5," names him be fore S. Peter : lastly, when the same Apostle came up for the last time to Jerusalem, it was to James6 that he made his report, and to James that he looked for advice. May we not connect this prerogative of S. James with the appearance of our LORD to him when apart from the other Apostles7? 1 Eusebius, H. E. n. 1, where he is quoting the Hypotyposeis of S. Cle ment. UtTpov Kal 'Id.Kw(3ov KaVlutiv- v-rjv ft,-?! eTTidiKdfcffSat 56^?, d\X' rbv diKaiov eiriffKoirov 'lepoao- 2\€<r6ai. — So again, H. E. vn. 19. So S. Epiphanius, Hasres. 78, and the Apostolic Constitutions, vm. 35. It is beyond my plan to enter into the much-disputed question, whether James was the son of Joseph by a former wife, as Eusebius, S. Epiphanius, S. Gregory Nyssen, and Hippolytus assert ; — or of Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin, as S. Jerome, S. Chrysostom, and Theo- doret hold. Dositheus (p. 2) inclines to the latter opinion, but in such a manner as to shew that his Church had no tradition on the subject : modern scholars seem generally to prefer the former. Nor shall I enter into the question whether he were the son of Alphreus, or not ; — and if so, how far this parentage is reconcilable with either of the foregoing state ments. The Bollandists, Hensche- nius on May 1, and Papebroch in the Historia Chronologica Pattr. Hierosolym. (which will be a house hold word in this history) follow S. Epiphanius, and stoutly deny that he was an Apostle, till made so by our Lord's appearance to him after His Resurrection (and as they will have it, after His Ascension). I con fess that to this the election of S. Matthias appears an insurmount able opposition. Baronius dwells at length on this point, Tom. i. 2 Acts xii. 17. 3 Galat. i. 18, 19. 4 Acts xv. 13. 5 Galat. ii. 9. 6 Acts xxi. 18. 7 I Cor. xv. 7. FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH. 3 Thus much of the First Bishop of Jerusalem. We now turn to Antioch. 3. It is thus that S. Luke introduces us to that great city1: "Now they which were scattered abroad ur>on the standing _. . the account persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as ?iven by T~V . . S. Luke of Phcenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to itsiiiumina- none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to An tioch spake unto the Grecians, preaching the LORD JESUS. And the hand of the LORD was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the LORD. Then tidings of these things came uato the ears of the Church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch." After describing his joy at the suc cess of the Faith, S. Luke proceeds: "Then departed Bar nabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." 4. Notwithstanding this account of the Evangelist, acknow- Ecclesiastical History asserts nothing more positively than s. Peter as that S. Peter2 was the Founder of the Church of Antioch. Dismissing the chronological enquiry to an Appendix, I will here merely give the most probable3 opinion as to the date 1 Acts xi. 19. schenius and Papebrochius, and de- 2 So S. Jerome, in his Commen- fended at length in the 29th of the tary on the second chapter of the Bollandist June. Le Quien, on the Epistle to the Galatians, mentions, contrary, O. C. n. 675, defers the as one of the things not alluded to commencement of S. Peter's pon- by S. Luke in the Acts ; "Primmn tificate at Antioch till A. D. 44. I will Episcopum Antiochenae Ecclesise only observe that the early tradi- Petrum fuisse, eumque Romas trans- tion, preserved by Apollonius, who latum." So the Eusebian Chronicle : wrote against the Montanists in IT^rpos 6 Kopv<pcuo$ TTJV £v ' AvTiox^iy. the second century, and which repre- TrpuTov 6ffj,e\iu<ras eKK\Tj<riai>. So again, sents our LORD as commanding the Eusebius, H. E. in. 36. Apostles to remain twelve years in 3 Here I follow the same system Jerusalem, is scarcely opposed to the as in the History of Alexandria; Cathedra of S. Peter at Antioch at a namely, that propounded by Hen- much earlier period, since his tem- 1—2 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. and first Bishop, A.D. S3— A.D. 40 ; he con secrates EUODITJS 2nd Bishop of Antioch, A.D. 40. of this event. Assuming that our LORD suffered four years before the period which the Vulgar Era would fix, that is in A.D. 29, and that S. Paul was converted in the following year, we know from the testimony of that Apostle that three years elapsed before he "came to Jerusalem to see Peter:" and, alone of the remaining Apostles, saw James, the LORD'S brother. Immediately after this, and while Peter passed through all quarters, we may imagine that he visited An tioch, and formed there a Church of Jewish converts. Over this Church he presided, according to ecclesiastical tradition, seven years: that is, till A.D. 40. In his frequent absences from Aritioch he is said to have constituted S. Euodius his vicar; it is more certain that he ordained him his successor1. porary absences there are scarcely more than his "passing through all parts " in Palestine. At all events, the chronology I have adopted has the authority of the Paschal Chroni cle, and of Joannes Malalas, himself an Antiochene: — rerdpr^ tret, says the Chronicle, r??s et? ovpavovs di>a\ri- if/ews TOV Kupfou, Il^rpos 6 'A7r6(TToAos dirb 'l€poffo\vfji.<j)i> £v 'Ai/rtoxeip rrj jj.e- yd\y rbv \oyov TOV Qeov ?, lK€iae eavrbv tvedpovLcrev ireiadels rots dirb 'lovSatw yevoftfrois X/ncr- K0.1 roi)s $• edvuv TTKTTOVS OVK , ovre Tjydira, dXX' ourws tao~a.s The Festival of the Cathedra of S. Peter at Antioch is of consider able antiquity. It had its rise, as was natural, in that city: and has never been adopted by any other Church in the East. S. Jerome first inserted it in his Martyrology under the title of the Birthday of Antioch ;— S. Ambrose received it at Milan, and composed those prayers for it which are now also in the Roman Missal; — 8. Augustine thence introduced it into Africa, and we have a Homily of his on the Festival. The S. Maur editors believe this sermon not to be Augus tine's, in which supposition they were preceded by Verlinus and Vin- dingus. But their case does not seem made out. Delpezzo, La difesa de' libri Liturgici, Cap. 2. It was also inserted in the Gotho-Hispanic Calendar: and at least as early as the eighth century. The second Council of Tours, A.D. 567, forbids a heathen custom of offering bread and wine on the tombs of the departed on this day, whence, according to Beleth and Durandus, it was some times known as the Festum S. Petri Epularum. In the sermons of S. Augustine before alluded to mention is made of the same prac tice : and we find S. Monica rebuked by S. Ambrose for so far condescend ing to it as to distribute bread to the poor in memory of the departed. |The Cathedra of S. Peter at Rome Iwas unknown to the Roman Breviary, Itill inserted by Paul IV. in 1557. 1 Euseb. H.E. in. 22. Nicephorus Callistus, H.E. in. 11, and S. Igna tius himself, writing to the Antio- chenes, fjt.vijfj.ovevffaTe IHvoSlov TOV ETJODIUS SECOND BISHOP. 5 He it was, if we may believe Joannes Malalas, himself an Antiochene, who first invented that name of Christians which was adopted during the visit of S. Paul and S. Bar nabas to Antioch. It is probable that he ended his course by martyrdom. 5. It is impossible to trace the progress of the Gospel in Palestine, Syria, or Cilicia, further than the scanty notices in the Acts of the Apostles may open a path to conjecture. Tyre1 and Sidon claimed S. Peter as their founder. The Apostolic Constitutions2 make him to have consecrated Zac- chseus first bishop of Caesarea. The fertile invention of pseudo- Dorotheus of Tyre supplies a long list, from the Seventy disciples, and from3 names mentioned in the Epistles, of the earliest prelates of the Churches round Jerusalem and An tioch. But we shall be content to hold nothing as certain beyond the fact that Euodius was already second bishop of Antioch before the miraculous liberation of S. Peter from the prison of Herod. 6. While the Gospel, by the preaching of Apostles and Apostolic men is thus spreading in Western Asia, while S. James at Jerusalem, S. Euodius at Antioch, S. Barnabas in Cyprus, are feeding the Church of GOD, while S. Paul is labouring more abundantly than they all, in journey ings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the wilderness, we must glance East ward to watch the further triumphs of the Faith. 7. It appears, from the universal consent of Eastern wri- s. Thomas' ters, that to the Apostle Thomas, also named Judas4, fell the Persia, ov iroifJitvos u/tw//, os irpu- that no such list was extant in his TOJ ivextLpiaQri irapb, T&V 'ATrooroXwj/ time, H. E. i. 12 : T&V 5£ ff^v vftertpav irpocrTa.ffia.v. Ka.Ta.\oyos ptv oOSeis ovdafJLTj 1 So the Liber de Gestis Petri, 4 Eusebius expressly, i. 13 : 'lou- which though apocryphal is ancient, 5cts 6 /cat Qu/j.as. Valesius says, "Ju- and contains apparently a good deal dam esse cognominatum, alibi quod of truth. sciam non reperitur. Itaque et hoc 3 Constit. Apostol. vu. 47. nomine narratio ista in suspicionem 8 An irrefragable proof of the false- venit." Heinichen (i. 82) does not hood of these lists of the Seventy is correct him. But S. Ephraim ex- the express assertion of Eusebius pressly says the same thing :— Assem. G PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Malabar, Coroman- del, and Cam- bala; preaching of the Gospel in Parthia1, and the further East. He extended his labours through Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia, till he reached the borders of India. Here he first evange lised the coast of Malabar, where multitudes received the Faith. He then crossed over to that of Coromandel, and there pursued his labours with equal success. In Malabar, the churches2 of Angamala, afterwards metropolitical Cran- ganor, and Coulan, were more especially flourishing; — in Coromandel, that of Meliapore, where the king and all his people believed. Hence it seems matter of certainty that the blessed Apostle passed eastward; but whether to China3, or merely to Siam and Cochin China, is a question of more difficulty. At Cambala4, however, wherever the exact posi- B. 0. i. 101: "Weigh both in the balance, — the Centurion, who be lieved, and Judas Thomas, who de sired to touch and investigate." See also B. 0. i. 318. 1 Euseb. H. E. in. 1 : Ow/zas V<tv, ws i] Trapadocris irepi^xet, Trjv HapOiav etX-rjXev. Fortunatus : Bellica Persidis Thomse subjecta vigori ; Fortior efficitur victa tiara Deo. The Menolog. for Oct. 6 : OVTOS MT?- Sots teal Il^pcrats, HdpOois KOL 'Ij>5cns rbv \6yov TOV Qeov Krjpij^as. 2 The traditions of the country at the arrival of the Portuguese are best given by Ant. Gouvea, Hist. Orient. 3 It is very certain that S. Thomas preached to some nation called Chinese. In the Malabar office for his day we have, "By the blessed S. Thomas the illumination of the life-giving doctrine arose upon all the Hindoos. By the Blessed S. Thomas the Kingdom of Heaven was opened to the Chinese." It appears, from the records of the church of Angamala, on the Malabar coast, as quoted in Gouvea, that it formerly used to send a suffragan to the Island of Socotra, the other to S. China. The official title of the Arch bishops of Malabar is Metropolitan of India and China. — There are innu merable other proofs that some China was early evangelised:— but as Cochin China and Pegu were called by the same name, this does not absolutely settle the question. The probability, however, is, that S. Thomas did vJ sit the actual China. — 1. It is not likely that the Apostle's zeal should have led him to Pegu or Siam and there have stopped short, when he must have heard of the vast empire that stretch ed, at comparatively so short a dis tance, to the N. E. 2. Du Haldc has shewn that Quan-yem-Chang, who lived in the beginning of the second century, certainly had a know ledge of our LORD. This throws the introduction of the Gospel very nearly to the time of S. Thomas. 3. Though this China certainly may mean the Indian peninsula, no argu ment has been adduced to shew that it has that signification. 4 Cambala, as Hyde has shewn, simply means ia Mogul Tatar, the imperial city. It seems probable that Pekin is intended. To imagine that Cambala is the same with Cam- MARTYRDOM OF S. THOMAS. 7 tion of that city may have been, he founded a church, and thence returned to Meliapore. Here the innumerable con versions which he effected excited the indignation of the Brahmins; — a popular commotion was easily raised; — the Apostle was stoned, two1 Brahmins being the principal ring leaders in the attack: a third, observing some signs of life in the battered form, thrust it through with a lance, and thus dismissed the Apostle to his crown. This occurred, £ is Mar- according to Indian tradition, in the year 68, and in the Jj11^01^' reign of Saliochan, king of Meliapore, The remains of the martyr were carried to a hill near the city, then called Calamina, but afterwards S. Thomas's Mount ; ever since that period a place of frequent pilgrimage. But in the year 380 2 the relics, — or as the Indian Church will have it — the coffin only, were translated to the cathedral of S. Thomas, in Edessa: thenceforward regarded with the highest degree of veneration. His translation is not only commemorated and tnms- •' lation. as a festival by the Indian Church at the present day, but even by their Pagan neighbours. 8. The Eastern Church, however, regards Mar-Addai, His disciple, or S. Thaddseus3, one of the Seventy, as its especial Apostle, dams, of the He is by some regarded as the same with Nathanael, and is said to have been the son of Tolmai: hence may have arisen the tradition which makes S. Bartholomew the Apos tle the same person with " the Israelite indeed in whom was no guile." It was this Thaddaeus who is represented by tradition as sent, after our LORD'S Ascension, to Abgarus boja, as Yeates does, because there Saiov TOV avoffroXov, %va. r&v ^/35o- is some little similarity in the name, /*?? /copra. S. Jerome read the first is quite arbitrary. three words hastily, and made the 1 The Greek account is different, messenger the same with Lebbaeus the and evidently less authentic. The Apostle — as is noticed by V. Bede. Stichos of the Synaxarion, however, See Asseman. B. 0. i. 10. So Bar agrees with the account of the lance : Hebraus in his Catalogue of Jacobite 6 xe?pa Tr\evpq. <rrj j3a\eiv fijTuy TruXat Patr. B. 0. n. 391 : — and the four TrXevpav virtp aov vvrrerai Genets, Aoye. Nestorian Catalogues, those of Solo- 2 Chronic. Edessen. ap. Asseman. mon of Bostra, Annus Bar Matthew, B. 0. i. 395. Elias of Damascus, and an anony- 3 Eusebius, H. E. i. 13 : ©a3. mous one. 8 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. preaches at Edessa, Nisibis, and Mozul ; reckoned the fir.st Catholicos of the East. Labours of Mar-Achi, his mar tyrdom, A.D. 51. King of Edessa. The genuineness of this history will pro bably remain a disputed point for ever: to my own mind the evidence1 slightly preponderates in its favour. Nesto- rian addition asserts that Thaddasus, after healing Abgarus, refused the money offered by that prince, with the words, "Freely we have received, freely we give." He thence, accompanied by his two disciples, Mar Mari and Mar Achi, went to Nisibis, and there dismissed his associates to their separate labours. He fyimself, after discipling the country round Mozul, returned to Edessa, where, twenty-two years after the com mencement of his mission, he received the crown of mar tyrdom from Maan, the son of Abgarus2, who was attached to the old superstition. He is reckoned the first Patriarch of the East. 9. His disciple, Achi3, preached Christ, on leaving Nisibis, in Bezabde; on learning the death of his master, he went to Edessa to console the faithful, and to settle the 1 Heinichen says, "Nunc quidem nemo vindicare conabitur." Never theless Cave, Pearson, and, to a certain degree, Asseman, believed in it : — the latter holding that the letter of Abgarus is absolutely genuine, while that of our LORD, though not of His own writing, was the sub- Btance of the message He sent. The three arguments principally which are against the authenticity of the Epistles are: 1. That S. Gelasius in the Council of Rome, 594, denied it; 2. That Abgarus calls himself roTrdpxw, instead of by the title which every petty Eastern prince used, /3a<ri- Xerfs ; 3. That to keep Abgarus wait ing so long would have been contrary to our LORD'S goodness (!). The folly of this last kind of argument is evi dent, and reflects nearly as much on the history of the Syro- Phoenician woman as on the present story. It is presumptuous to say whether any composition like this is, or is not, worthy of our LORD : but the quota tion seems just in the style of those in the N. T. "For it is written concerning Me, that they which have not seen should believe on Me, to the intent that they who have not seen, they may believe and live." This is precisely the way in which the N. T. quotes the sense rather than the words, and mixes up two pas sages in one: as here, Isaiah vi. 9 and lii. 15. Surely a forger would have made a more literal reference. 2 This is the account of Gregory Bar Hebrams, B. 0. n. 391; and it agrees best with the chronology. But Maris Bar Salomon makes him to have died in peace, while Abgarus was yet reigning. 3 B. 0. Chronic. Edessen. i. 421, and ii. 394. LABOURS AND DEATH OF MAR MARTS. 9 affairs of the Church. Here he also suffered martyrdom about the year 51 *. 10. Mar Maris, after leaving Nisibis, betook lumsetf JJXjJtS to Ctesiphon2, a city which will play no small .part in these annals of the East, Situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris, it was the winter-quarters of the kings of Parthia. On the opposite bank stood the city of Seleucia, which owed its origin to Seleucus Nicator. By degrees these towns stretched their suburbs along the banks of the river, till they formed one large city: and hence, the aggregation was in after times called by the Arabs Almodani, the double city, evangelises Here Mar Maris fixed that see which afterwards became and EI the head of the vast Patriarchate of the East: he is reckoned its second, though, in point of fact, its first Catholicos. At this time it was the seat of the Parthian monarchy, and inhabited chiefly by Magi. He then discipled Doorkan, Cashgar, the two Iraks, El Ahwaz, Yemen, and the island Socotra, and returned to Ctesiphon. Two of his miracles are recorded. In Doorkan a woman named Kani, griev ously afflicted with the leprosy, received in baptism bodily as well as spiritual health. In Ctesiphon itself the master of a feast, where Maris was invited, was seized with sudden illness, and healed by him with the sign of the Cross. At Cascar he consecrated a bishop; and that see became, in after ages, protothronus of Seleucia, and its prelate guardian of the vacant patriarchate. At length, full of years and and death, good works, Mar Maris departed to his reward after an episcopate of thirty-three years. To his disciples, who anxiously enquired as to his successor, the dying prelate is reported to have said, "Seek him at Jerusalem." 11. The Apostolic Council of Jerusalem, the visits of S. Paul both to that city and to Antioch, and other matters narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, it does not fall within my purpose to relate. S. James presided with increasing 1 The length of the episcopate of died dr. 52. He was succeeded how- S. Thaddasus requires us to place ever by a brother of the same name, the martyrdom of S. Achius as late as under whom it is possible that S. we can in the reign of Maan. But Achius suffered. he, according to the Chron. Edess. 3 Le Quien, Or. Christ, n. 1094. 10 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. reputation for sanctity ; — he was venerated by the Jews as well as by the Komans, and received from both the name of Reputation the Just. Oblias is also recorded to have been one of his ' surnames, in what sense the learned are not agreed1. The year in which his Epistle was written cannot be determined ; we may, however, safely consider it as but little anterior to the close of his life. Ananus (the son of that Annas who has an immortality of infamy from the New Testament, but whom the Jews regard as the happiest of men, because his five sons attained to the pontifical dignity which he had himself enjoyed) was raised to the High Priesthood by Agrippa in the interval which elapsed between the death of Festus and the arrival of Albinus, his successor. Ananus, whose influence was more considerable on account of the absence of the governor, desired to signalise the commence ment of his pontificate by some act of vengeance on the Church. S. Paul was beyond his power ; but S. James would be a victim hardly less illustrious. Josephus assures us that, having been accused to, and sentenced by the Sanhedrim, he was stoned to death ; but Hegesippus, a better-informed historian, gives a more circumstantial ac he is count of his martyrdom. Brought before the Sanhedrim, at brought be- J fore the the time of the Passover, he was commanded to ascend the Sanhedrim; ' terrace of the temple, and thence to disabuse the people ol the worship of CHRIST. He mounted that august erection, and from the summit, glittering with snow-white marble, looked down on the vast multitude below. " Tell us, O just one," demanded the Scribes and Pharisees, "what we are to believe touching that JESUS, whom this people ignorantly worship." " Why ask ye me," replied the Apostle with a w°itnesssto ^OU(^ v°ice> " concerning JESUS the Son of Man ? He sitteth Christ, jn heaven at the right hand of God, and will come again in the clouds of heaven." The multitude cried, "Hosannato the Son of David!" The Scribes and Pharisees, after regretting the error which had thus produced another testimony to the CHRIST, and crying out, "The Just one too hath gone 1 Sherva ebn Johanna, MS. (See the Preface) Maris Bar Salomon. MARTYRDOM OF S. JAMES. 11- astray," mounted the terrace, cast S. James down from the summit, and bade stone him. Falling on his knees, while a shower of stones was rained in upon him, he cried, " I beseech Thee, LORD GOD and Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do." A man of the house of Rechab, g1^™"* who stood by, exclaimed, " What do ye ? the Just one prays toP of tho for you." A fuller, fearing, it should seem, that, after all, the Apostle should escape, struck him on the head with a club, and thus dismissed him from his sufferings to his crown. So great was the horror which this deed caused among the more moderate part of the Jews, that Josephus unhesitatingly ascribes the destruction of the city to the just vengeance of GOD on so barbarous a murder. 12. Such of the Apostles as were able to be present, s. symeon, , . ..,.., , Patr. II. of and other surviving disciples of our LORD, elected Symeon Jerusalem. the son of Cleophas to the vacant throne. He is mentioned in the New Testament, where the Jews asked concerning CHRIST, "Is not this the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon ?" His relationship to our LORD according to the flesh, no less than his eminent holiness, pointed him out as a fit successor to the Apostle : and he administered the affairs of the infant Church during the tremendous storm that burst over the land. The history of the siege of Jerusalem, the recognition by the Christians of the Roman standards as the abomination of desolation, the retreat of Cestius Gallus, the flight of S. Symeon and his Church to Pella, and their preservation there during the war, fall beyond the limits that I have proposed to myself in this work. 13. The period during which S. Euodius held the see of Antioch is uncertain : there is a tradition that he suffered martyrdom1 under Nero. Nor can we positively assert whether his successor, the glorious martyr Ignatius, was s. consecrated by S. Peter2, S. Paul3, or merely by some Apos- UL/rf Antioch. 1 Bollandus, Feb. 1. 18 D, unhesi- eulogising him (see p. 4, n. 1) does tatingly adopts this account. It not speak of him as a martyr. seems strange, however, on this sup. 3 Theodoret. Dialog. "Immutabilis," position, that S. Ignatius when Op. iv. ad fincrn, &KrJKoat 52 iravrut 12 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. tolic prelate. It has been asserted, on doubtful authority, that he sat at the same time with Euodius, the one as bishop of the Jews, the other of the Gentiles. A better supported belief makes him to have been the child whom our LORD set before his disciples as a pattern of himself. That he was the disciple of S. John the Evangelist is certain, and these are all the particulars recorded of his earlier life. During his episcopate he suffered much both by exile and imprisonment ; and it has been supposed that it was the persecution under Domitian which gave him the opportunity of thus playing the man for CHRIST. Of his other acts, corndTtlonUof Curing the ^onS period that he governed the see of Antioch, the Church. we know little; learning only, in general terms, that the faith grew and prospered, and that multitudes were added to the LORD. 14. In compliance with the injunctions of the dying Maris, a prelate for the East was demanded at Jerusalem1. Successors Abres, who is said to have been a kinsman of S. Joseph, in the Ca- •*• chaidsea °f was se-^ec^e<^ ^or *na* purpose by Symeon the son of Cleophas. During his episcopate of sixteen years he is said to have consecrated a large number of bishops, and to have been greatly beloved for his charity. His successor Abraham2, of the same family, was consecrated at Antioch ; and had to contend against the inveterate enmity which the Parthian king evinced towards the true Faith. The persecution is said to have ceased in consequence of the deliverance of that monarch's daughter from an evil spirit. But all these accounts must be received as extremely doubtful : though it would seem that the succession of names is tolerably certain. Abraham3 was succeeded by James, also of the same family, and also consecrated in the same city. To what extent the Faith, during these successive episcopates, had penetrated v, oj 5id TTJSTOV /ueyaXou s So the Apostolic Constitutions: Kfrpov Se£tas 7-775 apxtepu<njvr]s rrjv VII. 45. xdpw <?5<^aro. And Felix III. writing * So says Amrou. But Bar He- to the Emperor Zeno against Peter braeus (B. 0. n. 395) will have him to the Fuller : sanctamque sedem pon- have been consecrated at Antioch. tificatus Ignatii Martyris, qui Petri 2 Bar. Hebr. B. O. n. 395. dextra ordinatus est, polluisse. * Bar. Hebr. Ibid. PERSECUTIONS UNDER TRAJAN. * 13 the East, it is hopeless to enquire. There is a strong tra dition, however, that Jundishapoor, in the modern province of Khuzistan, was one of the earliest of Chaldsean sees1 : and its proximity to Bosrah, which we know to have been a bishoprick of Apostolic foundation, renders the account suf ficiently probable. 15. The degeneracy of the Parthian empire opened an easy passage to the Eastern expedition of Trajan. On his march through Antioch it does not appear that he offered any molestation to S. Ignatius or to his flock : and his conquest of Bosporus, Colchos, Iberia, and Albania, afforded him no opportunity for persecution. In Osrhoene, however, the case was different. Barsumas, bishop of Edessa2, had converted a large number of heathen to the faith of Christ ; and had baptized, among others, Sarbel, a priest, and his sister Beba3a. They received the crown of martyrdom, and Martyrdom are — so far as records go — the protomartyrs of the Patri- bei, Bebsea, archate of Antioch. Sarbel, probably as an apostate priest, sumas. suffered fearful tortures, and was finally beheaded in com pany with his sister. Barsumas himself confessed CHRIST under Lysias the prefect (of what place is not told), but survived the blows to which he was exposed, and at a subsequent period departed this life in peace. 16. Trajan, prosecuting his Eastern conquests, became master of Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Babylon. On a general review of his troops, eleven thousand3 soldiers, who professed The 11,000 themselves Christians, were banished into Armenia. Romu- Armenia, lus, prefect of the Horse, having expostulated, and owned himself a worshipper of the Crucified, was scourged and beheaded. The soldiers are probably the same who are 1 But at that time, under the title Menasa, which are here likely to be a of Laphat, or Beth Laphat. The better authority, say (Jan. 30) — & TT; metropolitan of Jundishapoor is pro- ISlq. yev6(j.€vos ^KK\rjaL^ xa.1 T$ 9e$ tothronus of the Catholic of Seleucia, ctia.p€<TTri<Tas (leg. ff>xaPia"r^ffas) fr'ct- sits at his right hand in synods, and p^vy Trpds avrbv ^eST/^cre, which is a consecrates him. rifacimento of the account given on 3 Le Quien (0. C. in. 955), fol- Jan. 29. lowing the Roman Martyrology, ex- 8 Baron, and Bollandist in d. 2 pressly calls him a martyr ; but the Jan. '1$ PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. commemorated in the Marty rologies as the Eleven Thousand crucified in Mount Ararat. Their passion is indeed fixed under Hadrian; and it may possibly have been procrasti nated to that period. Notwithstanding the fables with which it has been adorned, and the difficulties which some details present, there seems no reason to doubt of the main historical fact. 17. The Eastern expedition of Trajan added two illus trious martyrs, and, as it would seem, in the .same year, to the catalogue of the Church. Symeon, bishop of Jerusalem, now one hundred and twenty years old, was accused to Martyrdom Atticus, proconsul of Syria, of being descended from the ofS.Symeon, . _ . , t Vr- • T i • • the kinsman royal house of David . His accusers were certain Judaisms of CHEIST. * -. , i *" • teachers, who probably counted on the nervous apprehension with which the Romans regarded any descendant of the kingly line, as having suffered so much from pretended chiefs and Messiahs. His relation to the family of David could not be denied : as the son of Cleopas, the brother of Joseph, his descent from that monarch was perfectly clear. What ever might have been his fate, could nothing else have been laid to his charge, the boldness with which he testified to the Son of David was not to be forgiven. After enduring the most cruel tortures for several days, with a firmness that, joined to his great age, elicited the admiration of his judge and of the bystanders, he was crucified, and thus ended his course. S. Symeon was probably the last survivor of those who had seen our LORD in the flesh2 ; and it is the mourn ful complaint of the earliest church historian, that the hearers of His doctrine, and the eye-witnesses of His acts being now removed, heresies began to shew themselves more boldly, and to draw away greater numbers from the faith. p. Judas, In his place Judas, surnamed the Just, was elected bishop. ienferusa~ ^ a Prmcety Jewish family, he is said to have been con- 1 Euseb. H. E. in. 32, who does was set before the disciples, he was little more than quote Hegesippus. a still later survivor than S. Symeon. 2 Judas, another of our LORD'S But had he remembered our LORD as " brethren," lived, according to Euse- man, he could hardly have failed to bius into the reign of Trajan, and if say so in his epistles. S. Ignatius were the little child who S. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH. 15 verted by S. James, and baptized by S. Symeon. He held the see three years. Thebuthis, a competitor for the see, revenged himself for, and justified his rejection, by em bracing heresy : his followers were not numerous. 18. But the glory of the bishop of Jerusalem is eclipsed by that of his brother of Antioch. Of the persecutions which in the year 115 and the following spring vexed that city we have no particulars. The number of Christians was so large that danger was apprehended ; and it was thought that to remove Ignatius would effectually crush the strength and spirit of the Nazarene sect. He was accordingly pre sented before Trajan, then in Antioch, and on being interro gated as to his name, replied by that of Theophorus. The ancient Acts thus continue1. "Trajan said: And who is he Examina tion of S. that carries GOD ? Ignatius said : He that hath CHRIST in his breast. Trajan said : And think you not that we have the gods in oar breast, finding them, as we do, our helpers against the enemy? Ignatius said: And do you call the divinities of the heathen, gods ? You err. For there is One God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is: and JESUS CHRIST, His Only-Begotten SON, whose friendship I have gained., Trajan said : Do you mean Him that was crucified under Pontius Pilate ? Ignatius said : I mean Him that hath crucified sin and its author, and who justifieth not the slaves of idols2, but them only who bear Him in their heart. Trajan said : Do you, then, carry CHRIST within you ? Ignatius said : Yea : for it is written : I will dwell in them, and walk in them. Trajan said : We ordain that Ignatius, who affirms that he carries CHRIST within him, shall be bound in chains, and conducted to Rome by soldiers, there to be devoured by beasts for the diversion of the people. Ignatius cried out : I render hearty thanks to Thee, 0 LORD, for that Thou hast honoured me with perfect love to Thee, so that I am bound with chains of iron, as Thine Apostle Paul." He was given in charge to ten 1 Act. ap. Bolland. Feb. 1, p. 29. servitutem, sed qui in corde suo liunc 2 The very ancient Latin Acts have sapit ;" but Trajan's reply shews the " ilium qui non justificat idolorum clause to be corrupt. 16 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. soldiers, "ten leopards," as he terms them in the Epistle to the Komans : and thus left Antioch about the middle of the summer. 19. His journey to Smyrna, whatever his sufferings from the cruelty of the guard, of which he more than once complains, was nevertheless a kind of triumphal progress. Gavias1 and Agathopus accompanied him from Syria: in Cilicia he was joined by the Deacon Philo, whom he mentions with great affection ; and as he passed on his way the prin cipal cities vied with each other in welcoming this athlete of CHRIST, if honoured by receiving him, or saluting him by embassies of their bishop and priests, if he passed at a little distance. He reached Smyrna partly by water, partly by land, in August ; and there had the satisfaction of being \welcomed by Polycarp, his fellow-disciple under S. John. and°thearp j Polycarp, primitive as the times still were, was fifth bishop Srnyrna.°f °f that se^2. Stratseas, the second, was nephew of Eunice, the daughter of Lois, and thus cousin to Timothy. Bucolus, the fourth, retains no small reputation in the Eastern Church as a holy prelate; and at his dying wish Polycarp was named his successor. To Smyrna also came Onesimus, bishop of Ephesus, without doubt the same in whose behalf the Epistle to Philemon was written, and the successor of Timothy, when his course had been ended by martyrdom. He was accompanied by his priests, Burrhus, Euplus, Fronto, anc^ Crocus. Tralles and Magnesia sent their bishops Poly- bius and Damas ; and how much the spirit of the aged cham pion was refreshed by their exhortations and prayers, his epistles amply testify. For, while his escort was waiting for a convenient passage, he employed his leisure time in the beginning of September, in addressing the churches which had thus consoled him : and these most precious 1 Ad Philadelph. Sect. 11. coins is named by Suidas, though * The Apostolic Constitutions give mistakenly, as the first Bishop. S.Bu- the first three, Aristo, Strataeas, colus is named on the 6 of February : Aristo II. (vn. 47). The relation of his stichos is : Stratasas to Timothy is mentioned S/ifyj/Tjs 6 TTOI^V, Bowc6Xos in the Acts of S. Polycarp. S. Bu- "Ay/wwoj l<rrt Ka.1 Qwuv voln EPISTLES OF S. IGNATIUS. 17 monuments of Christian antiquity, so often attacked as supposititious, so often proved genuine, rendered his enforced sojourn at Smyrna, however tedious to his desire of martyr dom, a happy event to the whole Church. " I do not pre tend," writes he to the Ephesians, " to give you instructions as if I were something; for, though a prisoner for the sake of JESUS CHRIST, I am not yet perfect. I am only beginning to be a disciple, and I speak as to those who are as much masters as I am : for need were that you should pre pare me to the conflict, and inspire me with faith, patience and courage." " I am bound," he says to the Trallians, " for the name of CHRIST, but not even so am I worthy of CHRIST ; but when I shall be offered up, then perchance I shall be worthy." Again st*heresy he again and again exhorts : "Be deaf," he tells the Trallians, "when any man speaks to His epistles, you without JESUS CHRIST, who is of the seed of David, who was truly born of Mary, who ate and drank, who was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate ; who was truly crucified and died in sight of all that are in heaven and in earth ; who was truly raised again by the power of the Father, and who will raise us up in like manner, if we trust in Him. If He only suffered in appearance, as some wicked men say, I mean them that believe not, why am I bound ? Why do I desire to fight with the wild beasts ? I should die in vain. No, most surely : I lie not against the Lord." " I write to all the churches," he says to the Romans, to whom he sent an Epistle by an accidental opportunity, " that I shall die of my own free will, if ye prohibit me not. I beseech you welcome me not with unseasonable kindness. Suffer me to become the food of wild beasts, by means of whom I may obtain the fruition of GOD. I am the com of GOD : I must be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of GOD." 20. It is, however, the abundant testimony which the Martyr-Bishop bears to the honour and divine institution of the episcopate, which has made his works the objects of such bitter attacks in former times from the sworn defenders 18 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. of the Presbyterian theory, who held them as false, and, in our own days, from ingenious litterateurs, who regard them and testi- as bigoted. " Ye must be Christians," he says to the Magne- monyto episcopacy, sians, not in name only, as they are who recognise the name of bishop, and do everything without him." "All," writes he to the Trallians, "must respect the deacons, as established by the order of JESUS CHRIST : the bishop, as him who is the image of the FATHER : the priests, as the Senate of GOD, as the company of the Apostles. Without them there can be no such a thing as a Church." " Let us take care not to resist the bishop," is his exhortation to the Ephesians, " to the end we may be obedient to GOD. It is plain that we should honour the bishop as the LORD Himself." "As JESUS CHRIST," lie tells the Magnesians again, " did nothing either by Himself or His Apostles with out the Father, with whom He was one, so do nothing with out the bishop and the priests." 21. At length the aged bishop was apprised that his journey must be continued; and his next resting-place was in Troas. Here the bishop of Philadelphia came to do him honour: it is useless to enquire why this duty of love was postponed till the martyr had reached so much greater a distance from the place whence it was paid. Hence, too, he wrote to the Ephesians, to the Trallians, to the Smyrnseans, and a second time, it would appear from these, to the Mag nesians. It cannot but be regarded as by the special provi dence of GOD that these letters were in the first place writ- His clear ten, and in the next, have come down to us : so marvellous a to the testimony do they afford to the faith and doctrine of those teaching of . . . ' the church primitive ages, at a time only twenty years subsequent to the conclusion of the Canon of Scripture: and had S. Poly- carp rendered no other service to the Church than the care with which he collected and preserved these most precious monuments of antiquity, his name would deserve to be had on the vin everlasting remembrance. So, of the Blessed Eucharist: Blessed Eucharist, '" Obedient to the bishop and the presbytery, with undivided heart, breaking the one Bread, which is the medicine of im- TEACHING OF S. IGNATIUS. 19 /mortality, the antidote of death, obtaining life in GOD through JESUS CHRIST, the remedy which purges vices, and chases away all ill." And again : " I rejoice not in corruptible nourishment, nor the pleasures of this life : I desire the Bread of GOD, the Heavenly Bread, which is the Flesh of JESUS CHRIST the SON of GOD; Who in these last days was made of the seed of David and Abraham: and I desire the drink of His Blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life." So the Eccie- of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy : " Do nothing without the Hierarchy, bishops: for they are priests, and thou" — he is writing to the deacon Heron — "the minister of priests." "They bap tize, they minister, they elect, they lay on their hands : and thou art their servant, as blessed Stephen was to James." So again of those who, even in these primitive ages, had the merit of learnt the excellence of the place and the name better than of sons and daughters.: where he most distinctly asserts the superiority of chastity to marriage, yet guards himself against all heretical suspicion on the subject of the latter. " Let the wives be subject to their husbands in the fear of GOD : the virgins to CHRIST in all purity : not abominating marriage, but embracing that which is more excellent: not as casting reproach on matrimony, but that they may be at leisure, with hearts more free for meditation on the Divine Word." 22. No sooner had this illustrious Martyr left Antioch, than the Church was left in peace. Heron, a deacon who had distinguished himself by his courage and zeal, seems to have exercised the principal authority in ecclesiastical mat ters. Meanwhile, Ignatius was again on his journey to Rome. Before leaving Troas he besought Polycarp to take charge of his widowed Church, and then, accompanied by most of the bishops who had visited him on his journey, he sailed to Neapolis, and thence proceeded to Philippi, whence he again addressed his beloved church of Antioch. Hence he passed through Epirus, and so, taking ship, landed, after a circuitous voyage, at Puteoli. Here he had desired, after the example of S. Paul, to disembark. But the wind was unfavourable, and then having veered round, speedily 2—2 20 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. brought them to the port of Rome. Here a vast multi tude of Christians of all ranks and ages met him : sorrowing that their first acquaintance with him in the flesh was but the prelude to their eternal separation from him in this world. He, it is said, knew all their names by inspiration : consoled them, exhorted them, besought them, as he had done in his letter, not by their prayers to impede his passage to his LORD ; and so, amid mingled tears and re joicings, he went towards Rome. 23. It was the twentieth of December, the Feast of the Sigillaria. The amphitheatre, 'tier behind tier, row beyond row, full, crowded, overflowing : the consuls, with the lictors, in their places, the centre of the podium; crowds pressing up from the Suburra and the Via Sacra, from the Forum of Augustus and the Mount Palatine : the designators showing spectators to their places : the alytes describing the victo ries of Trajan, and the progress of the execrable supersti tion ; patricians complaining of the press and heat ; a soft December breeze chasing some few white clouds over the intense blue of the sky; sometimes a roar or snarl from some of the wild beasts in the dens under the cavese. Igna tius comes forth : eighty-seven thousand heads are turned towards him: he stretches forth his hands with a holy joy towards the den : the gate flies open : a long roar, a spring, and then there is nothing but the crunching and crashing of the martyr's bones, and the savage exultation of the lion as he stands above him. Only some of the larger bones remained. It had been the desire of the martyr that his relics should not be collected : they were wrapped in linen, and sent as a precious treasure to Antioch. But that night, as the brethren after long watching slept through sorrow, the martyr appeared to them in various ways — as standing by them, as embracing them, as praying for them, as entering into the joy of his LORD. " And these things," they say in their encyclic Epistle, " filled us with gladness : therefore, glorifying GOD and praising His saints, we declare to you the day and year of his martyrdom, to the end that we may EPISCOPAL SUCCESSION AT JERUSALEM. 21 have part with the noble athlete, glorifying in his holy memory our LORD JESUS CHRIST1." They are noble words in which S. Chrysostom speaks of the martyr's triumph, and the return of his relics. " Short was the time for which GOD took him from you, and with greater grace hath He restored him to you again. And as they who borrow money return that which they have borrowed with usury, so GOD, taking from you this precious treasure for a little while that He might display it at Rome, returned it to you with the greater glory. Ye sent him forth a bishop, ye received him back a martyr; ye sent him forth with prayers, ye welcomed him home with crowns ; and not ye only, but all the cities in the intervening lands." 24. Heron, the friend and deacon of Ignatius, was his HEROX, iv. „ TT . . Patriarch of successor . His episcopate of twenty years has left no Antioch. materials for ecclesiastical historv3. The successors of S saie ^ r/ Justus in the see of Jerusalem have, in like manner, left ckwra, iv. TOBIAS, V. their names, but no record of their actions4. Zacchaeus, or BENJAMIN, Zacharias, followed Justus : next came Tobias : then Benja- s0§I'JIL min, after him John, and then Matthias. The last-named THIA8«vin- 1 Baronius had fixed 110 as the also in his Chronicon. date of the martyrdom of S. Igna- 3 The address of Heron to S. Ig- tius ; but Pagi, understanding that natius, given from a Vatican MS. by fuller information was given on the Baronius (A. 110, vn.), though not subject in the then unpublished Chro- without beauty, is so manifestly of a nicon of John Malelas, — the same later age that it is wonderful how the Chronicle which was afterwards to graat annalist could have believed it lay the foundation-stone of Bailly's genuine. reputation — wrote to Bishop Lloyd 4 This dry list is from the Chroni- for particulars. Lloyd, in his answer, con of Eusebius. S. Matthias is the which Pagi has inserted in his Criti- subject of eulogium by Usuard, in ca, under the year 109, so irrefragably his Martyrology, under Jan. 30, who demonstrates the true date to be 116, says that he had read " mira et fide that the matter has not since been digna" about this prelate. — Pape- questioned. The Eastern Church broch suspects these wonderful things celebrates this great Martyr on the to have been adopted from the apo- day of his passion. The Canon, cryphal acts of S. Matthias the apo- however, is of the Proeortia of the stle. The bishop of Jerusalem is Nativity. In the Roman Church, however named in the Roman Mar- the Festival is transferred to Feb. 1. tyrology : in the Eastern he finds no 2 Euseb. H. E. in. 36, ad fiuem, place. 22 PATKIAKCHATE OF ANTIOCH. PHILIP, ix. prelate is said, by an uncertain tradition, to have confessed JUSTUS 2, ' under Hadrian, but to have ended his life in peace. Then LEVI, xn. came in order: Philip, Seneca; Justus II.; Levi ; Ephres ; xiii. Joseph ; Judas : with him, as we shall hereafter see, ended JOSEPH, X1V- v,r the bishops of the Circumcision in A.D. 135. J UDAS, XV. 25. We must bear in mind how different was the con dition, at this early period, of the later patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem from that which we found to be the case at Alexandria. The Pope of Alexandria had, from the very beginning, a definite and acknowledged headship over his patriarchate ; which was, in fact, merely his province. The position of Antioch was far different. The prelate un doubtedly took the lead among the churches that were after wards his suffragans; but the larger cities, Damascus, Apamea, Tyre, Edessa, and others, as yet owned no decided inferiority. The prelates of Seleucia did indeed come to Antioch for consecration, but in their missionary enterprises eastward they were already autocephalus. It would be interesting, in these primitive times, to know how far the heralds of the Cross had won their way eastward; how far that church of Malabar, triumphant for five or six centuries, was then bearing plenteous fruit ; how far the light of the Gospel had dawned on China. This only is evident, that even in the second century vigorous efforts were made for the propa gation of the faith eastward, from Seleucia and Edessa : and that, at that epoch, central Asia afforded a far brighter promise of an evangelical harvest than central Europe. Jerusalem, of which we must next speak, was a mere provin cial church of comparatively small importance : willingly acquiescing in the primacy of Caasarea, and asserting no other pre-eminence than that which attached itself to the place where the salvation of the world had been wrought, and where the Holy Ghost had descended on the birthday of the Catholic Church. Whether the rapid succession of bishops in this see argues — as some have imagined — a savage persecution, seems doubtful. If the dates we have assigned be correct, thirteen prelates sat in nineteen years ; let the widest limits be assigned, and their united episcopates REVOLT OF THE JEWS. 23 only occupied forty1. Still, it seems hardly credible that the church of Jerusalem should have been honoured by the successive, or nearly successive martyrdoms of so many of her bishops, while ecclesiastical history remains silent on the fact : especially when the glorious passion of S. Symeon and the names of his successors are equally known. 26. Hadrian, in the eleventh year of his reign, passed Revolt of , T Barchoche- some time at Antioch. The fatal and final vengeance de- bas. nounced on the Jews was now come to the full. The emperor had refounded Jerusalem by the title of ^Elia Capi- tolina, had forbidden circumcision, and had raised a temple to Jupiter on Mount Moriah. The famous revolt of Barcho- chebas, 'the Sun of the Star,' was the consequence. In Judaea first, and then, but almost simultaneously, through the whole Roman Empire, that miserable people arose in their last and bloodiest rebellion : perpetrating in every country of their dispersion the most horrible atrocities, mas sacring their Gentile fellow-subjects by tens and hundreds of thousands, sawing their victims asunder, drinking the warm blood, and girding themselves with the entrails of the mur dered men. Turnus Rufus, the general first charged with 1 The earliest date. assigned to the tile, from its founder Mark. If we martyrdom of S. Symeon is A.D. 107, are to take 116 as the date of the but Dodwell, and Bishop Lloyd, fol- martyrdom of S. Symeon, and 138 lowed by Pagi, seem to have made it as that of the death of Judas, it clear that 116 is the correct epoch. does seem incredible that in twenty The year of the death of Judas, the years thirteen bishops should have last bishop of the Circumcision, is succeeded. At the time when the po- more uncertain. Eusebius (H. E. iv. 5) sition of Koman Pontiff was the most seems to assert that the line of the dangerous in the Church, thirteen first fifteen Bishops came to an end prelates were never compressed into in the time of Adrian, that is before a century, If we procrastinate the A.D. 138. But Epiphanius (Haer. 66. death of Judas till A.D. 148, we lessen 20) says that it lasted til* the eleventh the difficulty, — and if, notwithstand- year of Antoninus Pius, A.D. 148. iug the great authority of Lloyd and And it is very conceivable that, after Dodwell, we might take the old date the edict which forbade the Jews to of A.D. 107 for the martyrdom of S. enter Jerusalem, there might have Symeon, we should still further ob- been for some few years two succes- viate it. S. Judas is celebrated in sions ; the one, specially Hebrew for some Martyrologies on May 4, under the exiled Hebrews, the other, Gen- the additional name of Quiriacus. PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. MARK, Patr. XVI. of Jeru salem. S. CORNE LIUS, Patr. VI. of Antioeh, A.IX 136. S. EROS, Patr. VII. of Antioeh, A.D. 149. S. THEO PHILUS, Patr. VIII. of Antioeh, A.D. 177. the war, was unequal to the emergency : Severus, called from Britain, brought it to a final and terrible termination. Five hundred and eighty thousand Jews perished : nine hun dred and eighty-five cities were levelled with the ground: it was forbidden to a Jew to reside in, or even to look from a distance at, Jerusalem, and the image of a swine was erected over the gate that led to Bethlehem. This annihila tion of the Jews as the natives of Palestine, spoke to the Church in terms which could not be misunderstood; that now the last relic of the law was to be done away ; now the rite of circumcision was no longer to be practised on any Christian ; now evangelical liberty was to be fully and finally proclaimed. Accordingly, on the death — it would seem by martyrdom — of the last bishop of the Circumcision, Judas, Mark, a gentile, was elected in his place ; and after fulfilling every duty of a good shepherd, gloriously accom plished his course as a martyr1. 27. S. Heron, having sat twenty years, finished his course2 by a glorious martyrdom. Cornelius3 was elected in his place : and to him succeeded Eros4. His successor, Theophilus5, who flourished under Aurelius Verus has left a somewhat more illustrious memory in the Church. The 1 S. Mark is celebrated in the Eoman Martyrology on October 22. 2 Boschius of course fixes the mar tyrdom of S. Heron to A.D. 128. Ado and Usuardus give Oct. 17 as the day of his triumph. He does not appear to be mentioned in the Mar tyrology. 3 Eusebius, H. E. iv. 20. Terzi in the Syria Sacra affirms that this prelate governed his church admira bly by word and deed : on which I can only say with Boschius, " non dubito equidem, sed tamen id alibi nusquam reperi." 4 Eusebius, u. s. I suppose that this is the same Eros who is men tioned in the Menaea (Cod. Clifford) on the 24th of June : — it is strange that Boschius does not allude to the commemoration. ' EpcDf VTTTJPXCV ovpavuv Kd\\ovs "Epwy, Upbs ovs jmeraaTas, uairep ypa p^cu/o^rw. 5 Eusebius, H. E. u. s. He is mis taken in the date, as given in his Chronicon, assigning the death of S. Theophilus to A.D. 177, which was, in fact, the year of his accession. Le Quien vindicates the date given in the text, which, on the whole, though not without difficulties, seems the most satisfactory. Those difficulties may be seen in Boschius, pp. 11, 12, who fixes the date 181. It is also disputed by Halloix and Tillemont, and perfect certainty is unattainable in the matter. William of Tyre ab surdly makes this Theophilus the same with him to whom S. Luke wrote. THEOPH1LUS AND HIS WRITINGS. 25 doctrine of Marcion was at this time troubling the East. The son of a bishop of Sinope in Pontus, he had sullied a youth of purity and religion by the violation of a consecrated virgin. To all his prayers and tears his father, with a sternness which resembled that of a Brutus rather than that of a Christian prelate, was inexorable ; and the Roman priests, when the offender had betaken himself to that city, refused him their communion, unless he could produce the dimissory letters of his father. " I will rend your church in pieces/' was the reply of the enraged man ; — and he founded a heresy which extended far and wide, and lasted for centuries. Embracing the doctrine of a good and evil prin ciple, he rejected the Old Testament, and the GOD of the Jews: he held the innate evil of matter, condemned mar riage, encouraged voluntary death, fasted on Saturday in hatred of the Creator of the world, refused the use of meat and wine, and celebrated in water only. A little condescen sion and tact might, at the outset, have stifled this heresy: but it soon assumed formidable proportions, and ravaged the diocese of Antioch. Theophilus composed1 a treatise, in three books, against the new doctrine, which is much praised by S. Jerome. He also confuted the errors of Herrnogenes, an African heretic, who joined the teaching of the Porch to that of the Church : he affirmed the eternity of matter, and taught that the Body of JESUS CHRIST was in the sun. These treatises of Theophilus were distinguished by their elegance ; a quality which did not attach to his com mentaries on Proverbs and on the Gospels. 28. His principal work, however, and that which has His Treatise alone come down to us, is his Treatise to Autolycus, a book lycus, of singular elegance2, and which, considering its extreme 1 A list of the works of S. Theo- 2 The editions of Bishop Fell (Ox- philus is given byEusebius, H. E. iv. ford, 1684), Wolf (Hamburg, 1724), 24, and Nicephorus, iv. 9: see Grabe, and the Benedictine (1722, Paris), are Spicileg. ii. 220, 221. The four books all good; but the best and most con- of Allegorical Commentaries on the venient is that of Mr Humphry (Cam- Gospels, extant under the name of bridge, 1852). There is an English S. Theophilus, seem to be considered translation by Joseph Betty (Oxford, by Grabe as probably genuine. 1722). 26 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. antiquity and its intrinsic merits, has scarcely obtained the attention which it deserves. The three books of which it is composed were not written at the same time : the third is clearly, from its very commencement, of a later date, and is referred to as a separate treatise by Lactantius. Autolycus, it seems, had been amusing himself with some of the usual jokes against the name and the tenets of Christians : and, more particularly had made the usual heathen demand, " Shew me your God." — Hence the bishop takes occasion to commence his treatise. He demonstrates that GOD cannot be seen with the bodily eye, nor yet by the mental vision, unless it be purged and purified from sin : that to image Him under any form would be to be guilty of a representa tion which must necessarily do Him dishonour: that although GOD cannot be discerned by the eye, even in this world He can be perceived by His Providence and by His works : and that He will then be seen perfectly and eye to eye when this mortal shall have put on immortality. Hence arises the question of the Resurrection of the Dead. Faith, argues the bishop, is necessary in the pursuance of human art and science : how much more is it due to GOD by whom we are created ? — " Are you not aware that faith precedes as leader in all things ? What husbandman would ever reap, unless he first committed the seed to the earth ? who could pass the sea, unless he first trust himself to the bark and to the' pilot ? What sick man can be healed, unless he first confide himself to the physician 1 Who can learn any art or science> unless he first give himself over to, and trust, the master ? If then the husbandman trusts the earth, the voyager the ship, the patient the physician, will not thou trust in GOD, from whom thou hast so many pledges?" Hence he takes the opportunity of relating the characters and enormi ties of the gods, — and more especially the superstitions of Egypt : and contrasts them with the character, as allowed by all, of Christianity. Autolycus had said that, could he see any one who had risen from the dead, then, and not till then, would he believe. Theophilus expresses his doubt whether, even in that case, belief would be the result : THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS. 27 reminds him of the legends of Hercules and ^Esculapius, and argues from the analogy of the changes of night and day, the reflorescence of trees, the renewal of flowers, the waning and waxing of the moon, the restoration of the sick to pristine health and vigour. "Be not thou," he says, "faith less, but believe. I once disbelieved that this would ever take place : but now, after having diligently considered it, I believe, at the same time having happened upon the holy writings of the Divine Prophets, who through the HOLY GHOST related in what way things past took place, in what way things present are being done, in what way things future shall be completed. When therefore I have received a demonstration from the occurrence of those things which were predicted, I disbelieve not : but I believe in obedience to GOD ; to whom do thou also, if thou wilt, obey, lest if thou shouldest be unbelieving now, thou shouldest believe hereafter in eternal punishment." A clear proof that the eloquent bishop of Antioch had himself been a convert from heathenism. 29. In the second book our author returns to the follies Book n. of Gentile superstition : and remarks that, as statuaries attach no especial reverence to their work while in hand, but, when once it is placed in a temple, they fall down and worship it; so mythologists confess that the beings whom they have set forth as gods were originally mortals like our selves. Why, — he argues, — has the generation of Divine beings ceased ? Why are the ravines and peaks of Ida silent and solitary, when they ought to be alive and peopled with divinities ? Thence he turns to the self-contradictions of poets and philosophers : some denying the very existence of a God, some affirming that every man's only god was his own conscience. This discrepancy he compares with the one and uniform tenor of the sacred narrative ; which, com mencing with Adam, he follows to the curse of Cain and the inventions of his posterity. He dwells on the historical and geographical knowledge which we obtain from Holy Scrip ture, and that at a time when the narratives of profane writers are a chaos of contradictory accounts. He dwells on 28 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the maxims of the prophets as indicative of Divine wisdom, and quotes the Sibylline Oracles in further illustration of his subject. Book in. 30. In the third, which, as I said, appears a later pro duction, and of which one MS. only is extant, Theophilus proceeds to the defence of Christian doctrine. Autolycus fluctuated between a truer belief and the assertions of those who charged it with promiscuous concubinage and banquets of human flesh. Both charges he retorts on heathen phi losophers : Zeno, Diogenes, Cleanthes, had taught the latter eminently : Plato, a community of wives : Epicurus had de fended and even applauded incest. After dwelling on the various abusive theories, he next comes to Christian doctrine : the Unity of the Godhead : the Providence by which He supports, and the laws by which He rules the world: the Ten Commandments : the injunction of hospitality : the com mendation of penitence, justice and charity : and, in the New Testament, the avoidance of vainglory, and the duty of obedience being exhorted. Could men, living in obedience to such laws, be guilty of the horrible crimes vulgarly laid to their charge ? Next follows a long chronological dissertation, — not always perfectly accurate — that the superior antiquity of the Christian Scriptures may be demonstrated; — and the work is concluded with an attempt to assign the reasons why the Hebrew writings have found so little mention in Grecian literature. The date of the work is sufficiently settled by a passage in this last book : where the chronology ends with the death of Verus. It was therefore published, in all probability, at the commencement of the reign of Commodus — or in A.D. 181. 31. The mystical meanings in which, even in addressing a heathen, our bishop delights, are still more prominently brought forward in the fragments which we possess of his commentary1 on the Gospels, and of the Song of Solomon. He seems to have survived the publication of his treatise to Autolycus about five years. From his own writings we 1 Grabc, Spicileg. n. 228. THEOPHILUS, HIS WRITINGS. 29 learn that he was1 a native of Chaldsea ; he nowhere men tions his bishoprick : hut accidentally mentions another work of his, a "First Book on Histories2." Baronius speaks of his books as altogether divine. Natalis Alexander calls them a treasure-house of profane and divine learning3. His acquaintance is profound with the heathen poets and phi losophers : and his love of mystical interpretations gives a peculiar charm to his style4. It must be confessed, however5, that some passages regarding the eternal generation of the SON OF GOD have what would now be called an unorthodox sound, although he no doubt taught the same doctrine, though in a more loose and less theological language, which the Arian heresy obliged the Church to express in more definite and formal terms. Yet he is clearly one of the authors who stood in need of the greatest amount of cha ritable explanation from our own Bull6. So far as the remains of antiquity enable us to discover, S. Theophilus is the first writer who employed the term of the Trinity. The Church celebrates him7 on the 18th of October. He was MAXIMI- succeeded in the see of Antioch by Maximinus8, of whom Patr. ix. nothing is recorded but that his episcopate lasted thirteen A.D.mc '' years. 32. The deepest uncertainty rests over the early bishops of Seleucia, so far as the dates of their accession and the period of their episcopates are concerned. James was suc ceeded by Achadabues9, who is said to have been his son. This, if we may believe Amru, — and I confess that his ex planation appears to me as probable as any — was in A.D. 190. Achadabues was sent, along with an ecclesiastic by name Kam-Jesus, after the ancient rite, to Antioch, with a request that the bishop of that see, who must, according to our 1 Lib. ii. 24. OVTOI (the Tigris and 6 Lib. in. Cap. 7. Euphrates) yetTviu<riv e'ws ruv rjfj.€T^- 7 So the Martyrologies of Ado and puv K\i/j.dTwv. Usuard ; by the Eastern Church he 2 Lib. ii. 30. does not seem to be commemorated. 3 Vol. v. p. 46. s Euseb. H. E. rv. 24. 4 Tillemont, Vol. in. p. 51. 9 Assem. B. 0. n.396. J. A. Assem, 6 Petavius, Theolog. Dog. Vol. ii. Cath. Chald. 5. Cap. 3. 30 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Succession of Bishops at Jeru salem. chronology, have been none other than Maximin, would ordain whichever of the two he thought most worthy of the dignity for which they were selected. They were arrested, by the vigilance of the Roman prefect, as Persian spies. Kam-Jesus, with his host, was crucified : Achadabues made his escape to Jerusalem, and was there ordained — as we should now speak — on letters dimissory from the bishop of Antioch. But the imminent dangers by which this journey was beset induced the bishop of Antioch to abdicate his right of ordination ; and thus the see of Seleucia became auto- cephalus. How far this step opened the door to the heresies by which the Catholicate of Chaldsea was afterwards infected ; how far it was one of those necessary concessions which, if not granted to entreaty, will be taken violently, are ques tions which we need a better history of these early times to determine. Achadabues appears to have held his dignity for fifteen years : he was succeeded by Shachlupha : whose pontificate of twenty years was equally glorious to himself, and beneficial to the Church. 33. The succession at Jerusalem again presents a mere catalogue of names *. To write of Cassian, Publius, Maxi- mus, Julian, Caius, Symmachus, Caius II., Julian II, Capito, Maximus II., Antoninus, Valens, Dolichianus, must be to write of many a glorious athlete of JESUS CHRIST, of great things done and suffered for His sake, of the increase of the faith, and the edification of the Church : but the fifty years occupied by their episcopates are unmarked by any recorded event in the annals of the Church. The 1 These Bishops are known from the Chronicon of Eusebius, and his H. E. v. 12. Of the separate dates of each, we find from this writer that Capito' s episcopate lasted till the consulate of Maternus and Bradua, A.D. 185; while Epiphanius (Hares. 66. 20) tells us that the episcopate of Caius II. ended in the 8th year of Verus (A.D. 168) ; Maximus II. to A.D. 176; Dolichianus to A.D. 180. So un certain are these dates, it is fortunate that they are equally unimportant. The first Caius is also called Gaia- nus, and Capito is sometimes named Apion. Boschius doubts whether Maximus II. be not the same who is commemorated in the Roman Mar- tyrology on the 8th of May, with the title of Confessor. He does not seem mentioned in the Mensea. THE PASCHAL CONTROVERSY. 31 successor of Dolichianus, Narcissus, has left a more dis tinguished memory. 34'. In the year 198, the question of Easter, never yet settled, again vexed the Church. The greater part of the churches in Asia observed it on the 14th day of the moon, whatever day that might be : the West kept it by the same rule as that which now appropriates to it the Sunday. The question had lately assumed a practical importance at Rome, where the schism of Blastus had principally based itself on this question, and S. Victor, who then held the chair of S. Peter, requested the celebration of councils through the whole Church, in order that, if possible, the question might be settled at once and for ever. Among the prelates to whom he wrote was Theophilus of Cassarea1 — and under his presidency, and that of S. Narcissus of Jerusalem, a synod was held in the former city. It is singular that the only detailed account we have of the acts of this assembly has been preserved to us by our own Bede in his treatise on the Vernal Equinox ; and there have not been wanting learned men who have denied its genuineness. But it was likely that s. Theo- in a country where the Paschal controversy raged so long and furiously as in our own, a document of this kind should have been preserved with more than usual care : while the ecclesi astical intercourse between Britain and the East adds a still greater probability to the authenticity of the document. To me, however, its acts seem to have the very appearance of genuineness, apart from every other consideration; and I shall therefore insert them. In the first place, I would observe that the church of Jerusalem had, in all probability, symbolized with the Jews in observing the fourteenth day of the moon, during the line of bishops of the Circumcision. But nothing is more likely than that, in disconnecting itself as far as possible from the Jews, that church should have adopted the Western and more distinctively Christian Easter : — whether Csesarea had preceded or anticipated Jerusalem in the change, we have no data to determine. Ven. Bede speaks 1 V. Bede gives the acts of the noctio Vernali. Baronius transcribes Council in his Commentariut dc Jfiqui- it at length, Vol. n. p. 371. 32 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. of the letter of S. Victor, as if that pontiff had appointed Theophilus his legate for the convocation of the Church : with how little accuracy, the celebrated reply of Polycrates, who had received a similar letter, may sufficiently show. Of the other prelates present we only know the names of two, — Cassius of Tyre, and Clarus of Ptolemais. The Acts, as given by Bede, run thus : Acts of the 35. " When all that multitude of priests had assembled, Council of Caesarea. the bishop Theophilus produced the authority sent to him self by Pope Victor, and explained the task which had been enjoined them. The bishops said unanimously: Unless we first investigate in what way the world was created in the beginning, we cannot satisfactorily ordain anything respect ing the observance of Easter. The bishops therefore said ; What day should we believe to have been the first, except the Lord's Day? Theophilus said: Prove what you declare. The bishops replied according to the authority of Scripture: The evening and the morning were the first day ; then the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh ; in which seventh day GOD rested from all his works ; and which day He called the Sabbath. Since, therefore, the Sabbath is the last day of the week, what except the Sunday can be the first ? 36. "Theophilus the bishop said: You have proved that the Lord's Day is the first ; — what say you with respect to the time of year ? We usually reckon four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Which of these was first made ? The bishops answered, Spring. Theophilus the bishop said, Prove what you say. And they answered, It is written: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-trees yielding fruit after his kind ; but this takes place in spring. Theophilus said : When do you believe the world to have been created ? In the beginning, middle, or end of the year ? The bishops replied ; In the equinox on the 25th of March. Theophilus the bishop said : Prove what you say. And they answered : It is written that GOD made the light and called it Day ; and made the dark ness and called it Night : and divided equally between the light and the darkness. Theophilus said : You have proved THE COUNCIL OF C^SAREA. 33 with regard to the day and the year ; what do you believe about the moon ? Was it created by GOD a crescent, or full, or waning ? The bishops answered : Full. And he : Prove what you say. They answered : And GOD made two great lights, and set them in the firmament of heaven : the greater light for the beginning of the day : the lesser light for the beginning of the night : this could not have been unless the moon were full. We have therefore investigated the manner in which the world was created : that is, on Sunday, in the ver nal equinox, on the 25th day of March, and at the full moon. 37. " Theophilus said : We must now discuss the manner in which we ought to celebrate Easter. The bishops said : Is it possible to pass by the Lord's Day, so as not to celebrate Easter on it, when it has been sanctified by so many and such benedictions ? The bishop Theophilus said : Tell me what benedictions it has received, that I may write them. The bishops said : Its first benediction was that on this day the darkness was removed and the light was made. Its second, that the people were liberated from the land of Egypt, as from the darkness of sin, by means of the Red Sea, as by the fountain of baptism. Its third benediction, that on the same day celestial food, namely manna, was given to men. Its fourth, that Moses commanded the people, Let this day be observed by you. Its fifth, that which is written in the 117th Psalm, They came about me like bees, and are ex tinct, even as the fire among the thorns. For he speaks of the Resurrection of the Lord, when he says, This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, even to the horns of the altar. Its sixth benediction is that the Lord on that day arose. You see then that the day of the Lord's Resurrection ought most emphatically to coincide with Easter. 38. " Theophilus said : God commanded Moses respecting the time on this wise : This month shall be unto you the beginning of months : keep the Passover therein. Therefore all its thirty days were consecrated to the Lord. The bishops said : We have already replied that the world began at the equinox on the 25th of March : and we read that 3 34 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the days from the 25th of March to the 24th of April were consecrated. Theophilus said : Would it not be im pious that the Passion of the Lord, the mystery of such a sacrament, should be excluded from these limits ? For the LORD suffered on the 22nd of March, on the night of which He was betrayed by the Jews, and rose again on the 26th. How then should these three days be excluded from the limit ? All the bishops said : The time of this Sacrament should in no wise be excluded : but those three days should be included within the limit above mentioned." importance 39. The care with which the records of this Council were of their acts. . . preserved in Britain, where the (juartodeciman controversy raged more fiercely and for a longer period than in any other portion of the Church, sufficiently shows its importance, and the esteem in which the prelates who composed it were held. The violence of Victor, his threatened excommunication of the bishops of Asia Minor, and the final settlement of the question at NicaBa, are not matters on which it is necessary for me at present to enlarge. How long Theophilus sur vived the synod, we have no means of ascertaining: — he is reckoned by the Western Church among the saints1. His co adjutor in the Council of Cresarea, S. Narcissus, stands forth as one of the more prominent heroes of those early times, s. Nams- 40. We find him presiding over the Church of Jeru- Jerusaiem° salem2 with great reputation towards the close of the second century3. On an Easter Eve it happened that the oil for the lamps in the church failed, and the people were distressed by the occurrence. "Draw water," said Narcissus to one of the acolytes, "from yonder well," — pointing at the same time to one within the precincts of the building, " and bring it to me." He prayed over it, and then commanded the bystanders to pour it, with earnest faith, into the lamps : it was at once converted into oil. A portion of this oil was not unnaturally preserved among the treasures of the Church; and was seen, as we are informed by Eusebius, by several of 1 S. Hieronym. de Script. Ecclesiast. ology on the 5th of May. 43; Niceph. CaJlistus, iv. 19,36. He 2 Euseb. H. E. vi. 9. is celebrated in the Roman Martyr- * Tillemont, Vol. in. p. 178. S. NARCISSUS OF JERUSALEM. 35 the brethren in his time, — a hundred and twenty years sub sequently to the miracle. The sanctity of this eminent prelate raised up against him a band of calumniators. He was accused of a sin of impurity ; and three witnesses stood forth to lay it to his charge. " If I speak not the truth," said the first, finding the people incredulous, "may I be burnt alive !" "And I," cried the second, " may I perish of the leprosy1!" " And may loss of sight," exclaimed the third, " be my fate, if my words are not the very truth !" The accusation remained unbelieved ; but such was its effect on Narcissus that he left the city, and betook himself into the wildest part of the desert. He was long sought in vain : till at length the neighbouring bishops, unwilling to leave the Church of Jerusalem in longer widowhood, raised Dius to that see. Ere long, divine vengeance fell on the persecutors of Narcissus. The first, with all his family, was burnt at night, — the origin of the fire never being explained. The second died miserably of the leprosy which he had invoked. The third repented, publicly confessed his crime, and lost his sight with continual and bitter weeping. S. Dius2 is praised for the excellent management of his Church : his episcopate, however, must have been of the very shortest duration. To him succeeded Germanus, or Germanion, and to him Gordius. During the prelature of the last, S. Narcissus, his innocence being now made clear, reappeared from the desert : and, at the instance of all, resumed the government of his Church. 41. On the death of Maximin, S. Serapion succeeded the see of Antioch, and claims no mean place among ose early theologians. He distinguished3 himself by a •eatise against Montanus, addressed to Pontius and Caricus ; y a letter to one Domninus, who in the time of persecu- ion had embraced Judaism ; and by a treatise on the so- ed Gospel of Peter, in which he pointed out its mistakes. is was addressed to a diocese within his own jurisdiction, S. Dius, Patr. Jeru- saLXXXI. Germanus, Patr. Jeru- sal. XXXII. Gordius, Patr. Jeru- sal. XXXIII. S. Narcis sus again. S. Serapion, Patr. of Ant. IX. A.D.199. 1 See Valerius's notes on the of Eusebius. It is odd to see le literal translation, sccevo morbo, riven in Baronius as savo morbo. 2 Euseb. H. E. u. s. See his eulogy in the Horarium, which fixes Jan. 11 as his festival. 3 Euseb. H. E. vi. 12. 3—2 34 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the days from the 25th of March to the 24th of April were consecrated. Theophilus said : Would it not be im pious that the Passion of the Lord, the mystery of such a sacrament, should be excluded from these limits ? For the LORD suffered on the 22nd of March, on the night of which He was betrayed by the Jews, and rose again on the 26th. How then should these three days be excluded from the limit ? All the bishops said : The time of this Sacrament should in no wise be excluded : but those three days should be included within the limit above mentioned." importance 39. The care with which the records of this Council were preserved in Britain, where the Quartodeciman controversy raged more fiercely and for a longer period than in any other portion of the Church, sufficiently shows its importance, and the esteem in which the prelates who composed it were held. The violence of Victor, his threatened excommunication of the bishops of Asia Minor, and the final settlement of the question at Nicsea, are not matters on which it is necessary for me at present to enlarge. How long Theophilus sur vived the synod, we have no means of ascertaining: — he is reckoned by the Western Church among the saints1. His co adjutor in the Council of Ca?sarea, S. Narcissus, stands forth as one of the more prominent heroes of those early times. s. Narcis- 40. We find him presiding over the Church of Jeru- Jemsaiem salem2 with great reputation towards the close of the second century3. On an Easter Eve it happened that the oil for the lamps in the church failed, and the people were distressed by the occurrence. "Draw water," said Narcissus to one of the acolytes, "from yonder well," — pointing at the same time to one within the precincts of the building, " and bring it to me." He prayed over it, and then commanded the bystanders to pour it, with earnest faith, into the lamps : it was at once converted into oil. A portion of this oil was not unnaturally preserved among the treasures of the Church; and was seen, as we are informed by Eusebius, by several of 1 S. Hieronym. de Script. Ecclesiast. ology on the 5th of May. 43; Niceph. Callistus, iv. 19,36. He 2 Euseb. H. E. vi. 9. is celebrated in the Roman Martyr- * Tillemont, Vol. in. p. 178. S. NARCISSUS OF JERUSALEM. 35 the brethren in his time, — a hundred and twenty years sub sequently to the miracle. The sanctity of this eminent prelate raised up against him a band of calumniators. He was accused of a sin of impurity ; and three witnesses stood forth to lay it to his charge. " If I speak not the truth," said the first, finding the people incredulous, "may I be burnt alive !" "And I," cried the second, " may I perish of the leprosy1!" " And may loss of sight," exclaimed the third, " be my fate, if my words are not the very truth !" The accusation remained unbelieved ; but such was its effect on Narcissus that he left the city, and betook himself into the wildest part of the desert. He was long sought in vain : till at length the neighbouring bishops, unwilling to leave the Church of Jerusalem in longer widowhood, raised Dius to that see. Ere long, divine vengeance fell on the persecutors of Narcissus. The first, with all his family, was burnt at night, — the origin of the fire never being explained. The second died miserably of the leprosy which he had invoked. The third repented, publicly confessed his crime, and lost his sight with continual and bitter weeping. S. Dius2 is praised s. for the excellent management of his Church : his episcopate, si xxxi" however, must have been of the very shortest duration. To him succeeded Germanus, or Germanion, and to him Gordius. Germanus, During the prelature of the last, S. Narcissus, his innocence salxxxii. being now made clear, reappeared from the desert : and, at Patr. je'ru- the instance of all, resumed the government of his Church, xxxm. 41. On the death of Maximin, S. Serapion succeeded sus again. , i f, . , . , , , . S. Serapion, to the see of Antioch, and claims no mean place among Patr. of Ant. those early theologians. He distinguished3 himself by a treatise against Montanus, addressed to Pontius and Caricus ; by a letter to one Domninus, who in the time of persecu tion had embraced Judaism ; and by a treatise on the so- called Gospel of Peter, in which he pointed out its mistakes. This was addressed to a diocese within his own jurisdiction, 1 See Valerius's notes on the <TKCU£ 2 Euseb. H. E. u. s. See his eulogy i/oVy of Eusebius. It is odd to see in the Horarium, which fixes Jan. 11 the literal translation, sccevo morbo, as his festival, given in Baronius as sacvo morbo. s Euseb. H. E. vi. 12. 3—2 36 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Khossus1, on the gulf of Cilicia. "We, my brethren," thus he wrote, "receive Peter and the rest of the apostles as we receive CHRIST : but writings which falsely bear their name, we, as having skill in the matter, repudiate : knowing that we never received such things by tradition. When I came among you, I imagined that you were all conversant with the orthodox faith. And not having as yet perused the Gospel offered me under the name of Peter, I said, — ' If this is the only matter which excites ill feelings among you, let it be read/ But now, when from what was then read there, I plainly perceive that their minds contained a hidden heresy, I will hasten to you. Therefore, brethren, you may expect me shortly." The extract is remarkable, as shewing the power yet possessed by individual bishops in the settle ment of the Canon of Scripture2. The letter of Serapion against the Montanists or Cataphrygians would appear to have been a circular, and was signed by other prelates as well as the writer. Thus: "Aurelius Cyrenius, martyr: I bid you GOD speed. ^Elius Publius Julius, bishop of the colony of Debeltus in Thrace : I do you to wit that blessed Solas of Anchialus desired to cast out the dsemon of Priscilla, but the hypocrites suffered him not." The personal influence of Serapion must have been widely extended, when the bishops of the far distant province of Thrace were found following his lead. — In the time of S. Jerome 3 many letters of Serapion were extant, answerable to his reputation and the holiness of his life*. s.Aiexan- 42. The growing infirmities of Narcissus at Jerusalem der, Patr. of it* i i 1111 • Jerusalem rendered it necessary that he should be provided with a A.D.212* coadjutor. Alexander6, a Cappadocian bishop6, who had 1 Introduction to Eastern Church, hence that at that time the Church i. 134. of Antioch had ecclesiastical rights 2 Euseb. H. E, v. 19. over Cilicia. There can be no doubt 3 Catalog. Script. Eccles. that from the very beginning the 4 Tillemont. Vol. in. p. 168. I case always was so. do not understand what this author 6 Euseb. H. E. vi. 8. means when speaking of S. Serapion' s 6 None of the ancient writers men- letter to the inhabitants of Rhossus ; tion the city of which Alexander had he says that it would appear from been bishop. Some of the modern ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM. 37 gloriously confessed in the persecution of Severus, happened to visit Jerusalem for the sake of a pilgrimage to the holy places ; — and its aged prelate was miraculously warned to adopt the stranger as his present assistant and future successor1: the same revelation is also said to have been made to others of the brethren. A letter of Alexander to the inhabitants of Antinous was extant in the time, of Eusebius, in which he said : " Narcissus salutes you, who held this episcopate before me, and now, having passed his hundred and sixteenth year, is joined with me in prayer, beseeching you with me to be of one mind." It would seem that at the very commencement of his episcopate the valiant confessor was again thrown into prison. For on the death of S. Serapion of Antioch, S. Asclepiades2, himself a confessor in the per- |- secution of Severus, having succeeded, Alexander wrote to £nt. x- A-D- express his congratulations : " Alexander a servant and pri soner of JESUS CHRIST, to the most blessed church of the An - tiochenes, greeting in the LORD. The LORD hath made my bonds during the time of my imprisonment light and easy, since I have heard that Asclepiades, a man most fitting on account of his faith, has been, by the divine providence, charged with the episcopate of your holy Church." The letter was sent by a priest named Clement, — no other than the celebrated S. Clement of Alexandria, who, it would seem, had governed the Church of Jerusalem during the imprisonment of its prelate; to whose zeal and piety the writer bears ample testimony. It was S. Alexander who — injudiciously, to say the least — elevated Origen to the priesthood, and who was thus involved in a dispute with S. Demetrius of Alexandria, as I have related in the Annals of that Church3. Greeks will have it to have been Fla- appointment of a coadjutor with viopolis, in Cilicia Secunda ; and he right of future succession during the is thus mentioned in the Jus Graeco- life-time of a prelate. Dr Routh, Romanum, Lib. iv. p. 295, as an early however, very justly, remarks that example of translation of one church the intimation of S. Alexander's sue- to another. This subject is dis- cession is expressly said to have cussed by Dr Routh, Reliq. Vol. n. been miraculous: and therefore can- p. 178. not be brought within the strictness 1 Valesius observes, there were of Canon law. two infringements of the Canons : 3 Euseb. H. E. vi. 11. the fact of a translation, and the 3 Hist. Alex. i. p. 27. 38 PATRIAKCHATE OF ANTIOCH. 43. We must now, despite the exceeding difficulty of their chronology1, turn to the affairs of the far East. Jacob, 1 The extreme difficulty of arrang ing anything like an accurate chrono logy of these early patriarchs may be seen by a comparison of the dates as given by Gregory Bar-Hebrseus and by Amrou. (Compare J. A. Assemann, de Catholicis Commentarius ; J. S. Assemann, Bill. Orient, (n. 390), and Le Quien, n. 1103, sq.) Bar-Hebrasus. Amrou. Mares died 82 82 Abres 98 99 Abraham 110 152 Jacob 128 170 Achadabues... 133 220 Shachlupha... 156 244 The dates, sufficiently perplexed in themselves, are still further confused by J. A. Assemann, who follows nei ther one computation nor the other, but yet, it seems to me, a very con sistent one of his own. Papas, who is given as the suc cessor of Shachlupha, died in A.D. 326, having sat 70 years, and therefore succeeded in 256. According to the account of Amrou, 12 years remain unaccounted for; according to that of Bar-Hebraeus, 74. But the periods assigned by Amrou seem far too great for a reasonable episcopate, and it is more than probable that several names have been lost, just as Elias of Damascus inserts a certain Tomarsa between Achadabues and Shachlupha, whom the other Catalogues omit. It will be worth while to give here three other lists discovered by Assemann. The first is by Salomon, bishop of Bostra ; the second, by an anony mous writer (Cod. Anod. vn.) in hepta-syllabic verse ; the third, by Elias, Bishop of Damascus. They here follow down to the period at which we have arrived. Salomon. Anonymous. Elias. 1. Adaus and Mares. Adieus 1. The first in order the 1. Adceus. was buried at Edessa; Ma- most blessed Thaddaus 2. Mares. res in Dair-Kuni. and Mares of the 70. 2. Abres, who is called in Greek Abrosius. The place of his sepulture is uncer tain. He was ordained at Antioch. 3. A braham received imposi tion of hands at Antioch. He came of the race of Jacob the son of Joseph. His sepulchre is in the city of Ctesiphon. 4. Jacob received imposition of hands at Antioch. He also was of the race of Joseph the husband of Mary, and his sepulchre at Ctesiphon. 2. Abres, full of all sanctity 3. Abres. and kinsman of the bless ed Virgin. 3. MarAbrahamoi Cascara, 4. Abraham. who appeased the king of the Persians, and deliver ed his daughter from the possession of the devil. 4. Mar Jacob the athlete, 5. Jacob. the kinsman of Joseph the carpenter. SUCCESSION OF CATHOLICS OF SELEUCIA. 39 fifth Catholic, was succeeded by Achadabues1 : he was sent, with one Jabjesus, or Kamjesus, to Antioch; the bishop of VL A.D.?' that city being requested to elect him whom he considered the fitter candidate of the two for the episcopate of Seleucia. Jabjesus took up his abode in the house of a friend, in company with whom he was arrested on a charge of Chris tianity, and crucified. Achadabues fled to Jerusalem ; was there consecrated, and filled the episcopal throne for twenty years. On his death, one of the catalogues represents him Tomarsa, J . Cath. VII. as succeeded by a certain Tomarsa : — the rest name, as his A.D. ? immediate successor, Shachlupha. At the time of his acces- shachiupha, sion war was raging between the Roman emperor Aurelius and Vologeses II.2 of Parthia ; and access to Antioch was thus rendered impossible. Hence, but not till after a delay of three years, a synod of oriental bishops was assembled at Seleucia, and the prelate-elect there received the imposition of their hands. Thus the link between the ancient metropolis and her eastern daughter was finally severed ; the various * Salomon. 5. Achadabues received im position of hands at Anti och. His sepulchre is at Ctesiphon. 6. Shachlupha received im position of hands at Cte- siphon, and was there bu ried. Anonymous. Elias. 5. Achadabues verily intro- 6. Achadabues. duced salvation to the East. 6. Shachlupha, of Cascar, 7. Tomarsa, instructed with doctrine, enlightened the countries of the East, and was illus trious with spiritual mer- 8. Shachlupha. chandise. 1 J. A. Assem. De Cath. p. 6. B. 0. 396. 2 This was commenced in A.D. 161. The chronology therefore of Amrou, who makes Shachlupha to have suc ceeded in 244, is manifestly absurd, nor can that of Bar-Hebraaus be en tirely reconciled with history. Bar- Hebrseus makes the liberation of the see of Seleucia to have been occa sioned by the murder of Kam Jesus, and affirms that the Western bishops, i.e. the other three Patriarchs, gave a Systaticon by which that liberation was confirmed, — and the names of ' Catholic ' or ' Patriarch ' conferred on the Bishop of Seleucia, 'which/ says he, 'was displeasing to the Pa triarch of Antioch.' — A manifest fa ble, yet offering a certain confirma tion to the fact that Seleucia was independent of Antioch as early as the second century. 40 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCK. inconveniences and risks of so anomalous a separation came to an end; and the delay between the vacancy of the see and the appointment of a new prelate ceased to be a necessity. With the death of Shachlupha a gloom of eighty years settles down on the history of the see of Seleucia. The political circumstances of that city may in great part account for this silence. The capital of the Macedonian conquests, it had a population of six hundred thousand citizens, and formed an independent government, under a senate of three hundred nobles, in the very heart of the Parthian empire. In the wars of Aurelius1 it opened its gates to the Roman generals : in base violation of treaties it was sacked and burnt ; and three hundred thousand of the citizens fell victims in a general massacre. From this blow it never recovered : and Ctesiphon, previously a dangerous rival, now succeeded to its wealth and importance. In the same war, Edessa, of which we shall have more to say in the sequel, was wrested from the feeble grasp of its native princes, and became a constituent portion of the Roman empire. 44. But in these obscure times the first light breaks in to India, on the vast peninsula of India. Pantsenus, who had taught Christian philosophy with no small reputation at Alexandria2 under S. Julian, bishop of that see, conceived the idea of preaching the Gospel to the Indians. It is said that a deputation of Brahmins requested from S. Demetrius, suc cessor of S. Julian, a missionary, and that the philosopher was nominated by that prelate to the arduous task. He under took the task ; and found, it is said, that S. Matthew's Gospel, in Hebrew, was not unknown to the Indians, and that it had been introduced to them by the preaching of S. Bartholomew. It gives us but small reason to admire the zeal of Pantsenus, when we find that, after having laboured some years in that evangelical field, he returned to the literary ease and philosophic indulgence of Alexandria. Not by such apostles has the Catholic Faith been livingly and substan tially propagated. 1 Eutropius, viii. 10; Dion. 71. xxxn. 4. S. Hieronym. Epist. ad 2 Euseb. H. E. v. 10. Niceph. Magn. (84). MARTYRDOM OF S. ALEXANDER. 41 45. The episcopate of Alexander was eminently bene ficial to the Church of Jerusalem. We read of a library1 founded by his care, and possessing, in the days of Eusebius, a rich treasure of ecclesiastical writings. In remarkable contrast with the shortlived rule of his predecessors, he occupied the episcopal throne thirty-eight years. A few fragments of his epistles2 remain, as if to make us sensible of the injury which we have sustained from the loss of his works. In that dreadful persecution of Decius, when it seemed as if the elect, were it possible, must fall away, he confessed with great constancy at Csesarea3. Neither the weakness of his Martyrdom old age, nor the tortures of the persecutor, had any other ander^A.!). effect than to cover the venerable prelate with honour, and 24 to magnify, through him, the name of his LORD. The Mensea tell us that he was exposed, in the theatre of Csesarea, to the wild beasts : that his prayer was, "LORD, if it be Thy pleasure that my life is to end now, Thy will be done :" and that the animals let loose against him licked his feet, and crouched down before him. Cast into prison, he thence departed to his reward, and though not actually undergoing a violent death is most rightly reckoned4 among the martyrs. His successor was Mazabanes5. Maza- 46. S. Asclepiades presided over the church of Antioch xxxv. of r* i • i i 111 -r-n -i Jerusalem only eight years ; and was succeeded by Philetus. After an A.D. 250. episcopate of eleven years, he was followed by Zebennus ; — and he, after ruling the Church eight years, by the more famous S. Babylas. These catalogues of dates and names, |a?raxiii' of Aatiochl 1 Euseb. H E. vi. 20. 6 'AXtfavSpos e?s TJV TUV 0vr)Tr6\wi>, 2 They have been published by &vtv a'^aros e?s &t> KO.I rwv Maprvpuv. Gallandius, Biblioth.Tom.n. 301: and 5 The fragments of S. Alexander's by Routh, Reliquiae, n. 159. writings are given by Dr Routh in 3 Euseb. H. E. vi. 46, where the his Reliquiae Sacrae, Vol. n. p. 165 — historian is quoting a letter of S. 179. They consist of a few sentences Dionysius of Alexandria to S. Corne- of his Epistles to the Antiochenes, lius of Rome. to the Antinoites, to Origen, and to 4 By the Latins he is celebrated S. Demetrius of Alexandria. on March 18 : by the Greeks on Dec. 6 Baronius has reckoned S. Ascle- 12 (Papebroch, by a misprint, I piades among the martyrs ; but it suppose, and Le Quien copying him, would seem without sufficient reason, say the 22d). His stichos is : Tillemont, Vol. in. p. 648. 42 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. wearisome to the writer to enumerate, more wearisome to the reader to peruse, what deeds of honour do they not, in all likelihood, contain ! what noble confessions ! what acts of faith and patience ! written, indeed, in the Book of Life, but unrecorded by the Church militant ! It may easily be that the first two centuries and a half was the period in which Antioch brought forth a more abundant harvest than in all the other ages of her existence together : and yet how brief the mention of the former, compared with the detailed ex tent of baneful prosperity or beneficial reverses, of heresies, schisms, and divisions in the latter. Martyrdom 47. In his pontificate of fourteen years S. Babylas saw ?as,' Jan. 24, Antioch taken by the Persians. If we are to believe the account of S. Chrysostom, that the emperor Philip was put by him to public penance, we should have an action of heroism which might vie with the courage which S. Ambrose displayed in his treatment of Theodosius after the massacre of Thessalonica. It is not to be wondered at that the elo- qence of S. Chrysostom should have been excited by the acts of this noble-minded prelate : but even in his time the actual facts of his history were so much corrupted that already a considerable degree of obscurity hung over them. After fourteen years pontificate, S. Babylas was honoured with confessing the name of CHRIST ; whether by death in prison, or by actual martyrdom, it is impossible to affirm with cer tainty. Eusebius clearly asserts the former : S. Chrysostom is no less positive that the saint was dragged from the prison into which he had been thrown and beheaded. It would seem more probable — however much we might wish to believe the other account — that Eusebius is right : and that S. Chrysos tom, misled as he certainly is in part by falsified memoirs, mistook the term martyr, — applied in those early ages more vaguely,— as if our prelate had actually suffered death for CHRIST'S sake. With him, either in the prison, or in the amphitheatre, suffered three children, whom the Latin martyrologies name Urbanus, Prilidianus, and Epulonius. Meletius, who was bishop of Mopsuestia about 430, wishes for the courage of that child, seven years old, who suffered MARTYRDOM OF S. BABYLAS. 43 with S. Babylas1. The dying request of the bishop, to have the chains of his imprisonment interred with him, seems well authenticated. We shall have occasion, at a later period, to speak of the removal of his relics from the grove of Daphne, and the world-famous miracle which accompanied that event. And the Mensea thus celebrate him : Himself the Lord's anointed, who of old To GOD'S Anointed Son his mortal frame Had sacrificed, through torments manifold The Prelate Babylas to glory came2. 48. S. Babylas having thus accomplished his course, Fabius3 was chosen his successor in the widowed Church. It was to him that S. Dionysius of Alexandria addressed the celebrated letter on the effects of the Decian persecution, which I have given at length in my history of that Church. He was however involved in a longer and more important correspondence. The schism of Novatus and Novatian had broken out at Rome ; and it was of the greatest importance 1 S. Babylas is celebrated by the Eastern Church on the 4th of Sep tember with the three children who are mentioned in Western Martyro- logies. The Menology says of him, but with manifest incorrectness, "Who when the Emperor Nume- rianus entered into his own church, drove him therefrom, on account of his having put to death the son of the Persian king whom he held as a hostage. Wherefore, he was bound in iron fetters, was publicly mocked, and had his head struck off with the three children." But on the same day they keep the Festival of another S. Babylas, a teacher at Antioch, who is said to have suffered with eighty- four of his scholars under Galerius, who was present at the martyrdom. The account, which is very long, seems of later date, and altogether uncertain. The story of the three children is confirmed by S. Chrysos- tom, who, in an Antiochean story, has more than usual authority; by Suidas, and by the Arian historian Philostorgius. The testimony of Meletius is to be seen in the Epis- tolse of Christianus Lupus, page 355. 2 Bollandus, under the 24 of Janu ary, gives three lives of S. Babylas ; of which Tillemont very truly says, that "the first, which is the most simple, is the best, or rather the least bad." This depreciatory criticism highly offends the Bollandist Boschius, who in his Chronological History of the Antiochene patriarchs, endeavours, but not very successfully, to defend their authenticity. 3 He is called by Ruffinus, Fa bian; by Eutychius and S. Jerome, Flavian : by Georgius Syncellus, sometimes by one name, sometimes by the other; by S. Nicephorus of C. P. and the Chronicon Alexandrinon , Flavius. 44 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. to S. Cornelius, the canonically-elected bishop of that see, to obtain the support of the most influential prelates in his struggle. Fabius, from whatever cause, had imbibed1 a pre judice in favour of Novatus, and Cornelius in a series2 of four letters, fragments of which are preserved by Eusebius, set forth at length the history of the schism. S. Dionysius of Alexandria also addressed the bishop of Antioch ; and though the latter does not seem to have acted decidedly against the party of Novatus, he, at all events, convoked a synod at Antioch for the discussion and settlement of the question. Deprecating, as I always would do, the introduc tion of controversy into pure history, I cannot but observe that the ipse dixit of the Roman pontiff did not satisfy the Church of Antioch ; and that, as many a council assembled in Rome to discuss the affairs of other bishoprics, here an Eastern synod was convened to take into consideration the internal dissensions of Italy. The letter which invited Dio nysius3 of Alexandria to attend this council was subscribed by Helenus bishop of Tarsus, as one of the chief suffragans of Antioch, by Theoctistus of Cassarea, whom we have already seen engaged in the Quartodeciman controversy, and by S. Firmilian of Caesarea in Cappadocia, whom we shall hereafter find one of the most distinguished supporters of the Eastern dogma on the subject of re-baptism. By the same letter, however, he received intelligence of the death of Fabius, who had held the episcopate for less than two years. He is described as a man of spirit and courage, as indeed his acceptance of the throne yet reeking as it were with the blood of Baby las, proves him to have been : but neither by the East nor by the West is he reckoned among the saints, s. Deme- 49. The convocation of the Council was probably felt to trian, Patr. . r J xv. of Ant. be a cause why the vacant see should be filled up without A.D. 252. . J loss of time. Deme trian4, a priest of Antioch, succeeded: 1 Eusebius expressly says so: VTTO- 2 They are given in H. E. vi. 43. /caret KXti/o/x^y TTUJS r$ ffxi^an. H.E. See also S. Nicephorus, vi. 3. vi. 44 : words which I cannot conceive 3 Euseb. H. E. vi. 46. why Valesius should omit in his * Euseb. H. E. vi. 46. translation. FIRST COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH. 45 and his first care was the celebration of the synod. A vigorous effort was made by the partizans of Novatus to pro cure his recognition ; but the synod unanimously determined against his claims, and intimated in a similar synodal letter to S. Cornelius their rejection of the schismatic. The acts of Council of this council have perished ; but it has been spoken of in the March, I.D. highest terms of commendation, and evidently exercised no small influence on the final settlement of the question. The episcopate of Demetrian was distinguished by no other event of importance. An obscure tradition reckons him among the martyrs, but the general silence of contemporaries, the fact that when a subsequent synod of Antioch2 are speak ing in his praise, they say nothing of his martyrdom3, and the time of his death, which took place in a period of peace, render it more probable that he has no real claim to that highest of honours. His successor, Paul of Samosata, Paul of Sa- the celebrated heresiarch, will unfortunately afford us larger Patr. xvi. of Ant. A.D. materials for history. 260.4 50. Of all the great sees, Antioch was the first which fell into heresy. The elevation of Paul to that throne had 1 Pagi seems to me to have set- that the Demetrius who is commemo- tled this date beyond the possibility rated in the Menaea is our bishop, of doubt. His whole chronology of He, at all events, is honoured as a the schism of Novatus exhibits more martyr. But it is worth notice that even than his usual ingenuity. a Demetrius who suffered under 2 In the second synod convoked Maximian, is commemorated on againt Paul of Samosata, the fathers November 15 ; and on the same day speak of "Demetrian the bishop of a martyr named Eustochius. Is it blessed memory, who governed this possible that Usuard should have Church with great praise." derived a mistaken account from 3 His name is in the Martyrology these Mensea, and thence taken the of Usuard; whence it found its way name of Eustosius, a name which I into the Eoman. Blasius Terzi, in do not remember to have met with his Syria Sacra, positively affirms elsewhere? Demetrian to have been a martyr, 4 In this date, I follow Pagi, (i. 33) ; Baronius (n. 62. 70) is con- though it is not absolutely certain, tent to leave it uncertain. Usuard, George Syncellus and S. Nicephorus who calls him Demetrius, gives him give only four years to the episco- as his companion Anianus a deacon, pate of Demetrian ; Scaliger, six ; Eustachius a layman, and twenty the Chronical of Eusebius, in the others. There is no reason to think edition Pontao, seven. 46 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. His luxury not been brought about without simony. Originally1 of low birth, and miserably poor, he had employed his powers, which were considerable, in the acquisition of wealth ; and in the possession of the see at Antioch he appears to have beheld nothing more than a profitable speculation. His riches and luxury were thought remarkable, even in the wealthy and luxurious city of Antioch. The clergy were kept waiting in his outer chambers; he affected a retinue and an attendance which might almost vie with those of the prefect of the East ; his harangues to the people were rather the glittering declamations of a sophist than the addresses of a Christian bishop; and it is particularly re corded of him that he abolished the ancient hymns of his Church, and in their stead introduced new and florid compo- mnova- sitions of himself and his followers. On a certain Easter-day rites of MS he filled his church with a choir of women, who desecrated Unurcn. the festival by odes in praise of the many virtues of their bishop — an angel, they said, descended from heaven for the protection and sanctification of happy Antioch. His private life was notoriously immoral : and yet in his discourses he made a point of speaking in a slighting manner of his pre decessors, even of those whose names were as household words in the universal Church, — S. Euodius, the great Igna tius, and S. Babylas. His arrogance and effeminacy were no less offensive to the pagans than to his own flock. It was intolerable, they said, that such a man should be a preacher of the law of humility, of temperance, and of purity. But the political circumstances of the East were destined to elevate the bishop of Antioch to yet higher power, and to prepare the way for his ruin. 51. For now the empire of Palmyra had blazed out in all its short-lived splendour. Odenathus, remarkable for his own vigour and talents, still more remarkable in his wife, the celebrated Zenobia, had raised himself from a humble situation to the virtual empire of the East. Twice he had 1 This account of the misdeeds of Second Council of Antioch summon- Paul is given by the Fathers of the ed against him: Euseb. H. E. vn. 80. PAUL OF SAMOSATA. 47 driven the Persian monarch to the gates of Ctesiphon; and was not less successful in his encounters with the Roman legions. His murder by a nephew only gave a greater opportunity for the display of the talents of Zenobia. From that city of Zenobia re- palaces, Tadmor in the wilderness, she ruled not Syria only, struction J . J> from Paul of but obtained influence nearly supreme in Armenia and Samosata. Arabia. She ruled the empire of the . East as far as the borders of Bithynia : Antioch opened its gates to her : — and she added Egypt to her other conquests. A Jewess by edu cation, though deriving her descent from Cleopatra, she expressed a wish to be instructed in the principles of the Christian religion^ and Paul of Samosata, not only as the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the East, but as the most fashionable preacher in Asia, was selected for her teacher. The scheme of religion which he presented to her was cer tainly one which she could adopt without surrendering any essential portion of her former belief1. He taught that character of Christ had no existence before He took flesh of S. Mary : that from the instant of His Incarnation, the Word and the Eternal Wisdom dwelt in Him, but only at that instant began to have a hypostatical existence, distinct from the everlasting Father : that yet, though a new divinity, CHRIST, having been eternally predestined to that dignity, might in some sort be Himself called Eternal. Consequently that there were two distinct persons united in CHRIST : the one by nature the Son of GOD, who existed before the worlds; the other the Son of David, born in the world, and no otherwise the Son of GOD than as Jerusalem might be called the city of GOD. With this, Paul united many of the opinions of Sabel- lius ; denying the separate existence of the Persons in the ever-blessed Trinity, and making the LORD and the HOLY GHOST the mere prolations or efficiencies of the FATHER. 1 The heresy of Paul of Samosata siarch himself. See what I have may be best learnt from the afore- said in my Hist, of Alexandria, i. said letter of the Fathers of Antioch, p. 81, note 4. Natalis Alexander sums S. Epiphan. Haeres. 65 ; S. Augustin, up the teaching of Paul as briefly de Hseres. 44 : and the Epistle of S. and lucidly as his custom is. Dionysius of Alexandria to the haere- 48 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Leontius in his work on the sects states clearly and accu rately the difference between the doctrine of the followers of Paul, who assumed the name of Paulianists, and those of Sabellius and Nestorius. "There existed," says he, u in these times another sect, that of Paul of Samosata, who erred both concerning the Divinity and concerning the In carnation. Concerning the Divinity, in acknowledging the FATHER alone ; concerning the Incarnation, because he af firmed that CHRIST was pure and simple man, in whom the Word of GOD did not exist" (that is, did not exist as a dis tinct hypostatical essence), "herein differing from Nestorius: because Nestorius, although affirming CHRIST to be pure man, affirmed also that the self-existent Word and Son of GOD abode in that man. For the doctrine of Nestorius, with regard to the Trinity, was not erroneous. But Paul of Samosata taught that the self-existent Word of GOD was not in CHRIST ; but that the expression Word signified a certain order or command ; that is, as he expressed his own meaning, that GOD commanded that which He willed to be done, that GOD made that which He willed to be made by that man. Nor was the teaching of Paul with regard to the Trinity the same with that of Sabellius. For Sabellius taught that the same person was FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST: calling GOD an existence with three names, and utterly abolishing the Trinity. Paul, on the contrary, did not teach this, but asserted that the FATHER was the GOD that had created all things ; the SON, that pure man of whom we have already spoken ; the HOLY GHOST, that grace which descended upon the apostles." To this we must add, that, according to this heresiarch, the Word, though it wrought in the man CHRIST, did not suffer in Him — another variation from the schism of Sabellius: and that the Paulianists, at least, though per haps not their leader, made some alteration in the form of baptism which compelled the Council of Nicsea to decree that, on their reception into the Church, such heretics should be re-baptized. 52. It was not to be expected that such heretical teach ing would pass unnoticed by the Church. A council, prin- FIRST COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH. 49 cipally convoked by the assiduous efforts of Dionysius of First Alexandria — though he himself was prevented by declining health from attending it, met at Antioch. Among those A.D.2G*.au who were present, were S. Firmiliaii of Csesarea1, one of the most illustrious prelates of the East, S. Gregory the Wonderworker, and his brother Athenodorus, also reckoned among2 the saints, and bishop of Amasea in Helenopontus, and Nicomas of Iconium : these, though not in the diocese of Antioch, were probably invited on account of their great reputation : for the same reason, Hymenaeus, bishop of Jeru salem, and Theotecnus of Csesarea, were also summoned. Among the most illustrious suffragans of Antioch, were Helenus, bishop of Tarsus, who had been present in the for mer synod against Novatus, and Maximus of Bostra, whose administration of that Church is mentioned in terms of the highest praise. Besides these, there were a vast number of other bishops, priests and deacons, and the followers of Paul mustered in some force. That prelate used every art of sophistry and eloquence for the good of his cause : he was pursued from one hiding-place to another by the theo logical skill of Fermilian, who seems to have presided in the council3. This synod is remarkable, in the history of con troversy, by its rejection of that word "Consubstantial," which was afterwards made an article of faith at Nicaea. " Our Lord," said Paul, " had no existence before Mary : from her He derived His being, and from being man, He became GOD ; were it not so, He would not be consubstantial with the FATHER, but it would follow that there were three sub stances ; the one superior, the other two inferior." In order it* rejection _ . IT- -, i - of the word to expose this sophism , and taking the word in its grosser irom sense, the fathers of Antioch denied the consubstantiality of 1 Euseb. H. E. vn. 28. He is are related both by Euseb. H. E. vn. commemorated in the Menoea under 22 ; and by Theodoret, Haeret. Fab. Nov. 7th, with this Stichos : 2. 8 : also by S. Athanasitis, De Syuotl. tKyfjsKa.Xovaiv'AOtjvodupoi'j'oes 4 The rejection of the term con- Trpos raj vorjTas Selects TOV Kvpiov. substantial by the fathers of Antioch 2 Euseb. H. E. vi. 39. S. Epiphan. is admirably explained by our own Haer. LXVI. 20. Bishop Bull, Drf. Fid. Nic. 2. 13. 3 The proceedings of this council 4 50 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the SON with the FATHER. It was not to be expected that the Arians would allow the verbal discrepancy between the two synods to pass unnoticed ; and S. Athanasius exerts himself to shew that the difference was simply one df words, and that the dogmatic teaching of the synod of Antioch, touching the divinity of the SON of GOD, was the same with that of the three hundred and eighteen who inflicted the deathblow on Arianism. Paul had no mind to be a martyr to his own tenets ; and after defending them as long as the patience of the council lasted, avowed himself convinced by ^6 arguments of its president and gave in his nominal Paul- adherence to the Catholic faith. How far the temporal power of his protectress Zenobia induced the council to leave him undisturbed in the possession of his see, is a point which we have not data to determine. 53. No sooner, however, had the council dispersed, than £?ynandd ^e bisn°P of Antioch returned to his former teaching. De- immoraiity. pending on the protection of the Queen of the East, from whom he obtained the title of Ducenarius1, or Imperial Pro curator, — a title which he is said to have prized beyond his episcopal dignity, — he added to his perversion of the faith, more scandalous immorality than before. Constantly enter taining two of the most beautiful women of Antioch as the companions of his leisure, he connived at any amount of irregularity or vice in his priests, so they only would profess themselves supporters of his doctrine. It is not clear whe ther any synods of inferior note2 had been previously assem bled : but the heterodoxy and crimes of Paul becoming more notorious, another council assembled at Antioch in the autumn of autumn of 269. The numbers are variously reckoned; S. 269- Athanasius assumes that there were but seventy : S. Hilary counts them at eighty; while Basil, the deacon in the council of Ephesus, makes the number to have amounted to ISO3: a reckoning which appears manifestly exaggerated- 1 The office of Ducenarius was there were three councils in all, worth 200 sestertia. See Suetonius, Mem. Ecc. rv. 297; but does not al- Aug. cap. 34. lege any absolute proof. 2 Tillemont expressly asserts that » So Tillemont very justly ob- SECOND COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH. 51 The fathers postponed the opening of the synod for some time, in hopes of the arrival of S. Firmilian, who had been the presiding spirit of the former assembly. At the begin ning of November, however1, a despatch arrived at Antioch2, with the news of the death of that illustrious prelate. Not withstanding his great age and infirmities, he had com menced his journey and had advanced as far as Tarsus. There, worn out with years and labours, he departed to his reward on the 28th of October, A.D. 269. 5-4. S. Firmilian having thus been taken to his rest, Helenus3 of Tarsus, whom I have mentioned as having been present at the first council, presided in his place. Among the other principal prelates were Hymenseus of Jerusalem, to \vhom I shall presently have occasion again to refer, Theo- tecnus of Csesarea, and Theophilus, whose see is unknown ; Maximus of Bostra, and Mcomas of Iconium were also there ; and a certain Theodoras, whom I should like to believe none other than S. Gregory the Wonderworker. The opening of the council presents a remarkable contrast to the vehe mence with which some of the synods had proceeded against a suspected heretic. Six of the principal bishops — it would appear, during the interval while the fathers were expecting the arrival of S. Firmilian — addressed a letter4 to Paul, in Letter ari. which they gently but clearly laid down the Catholic faith ; Paul such, they say, as they had received it by tradition, such as it had been handed down from apostolic times ; and they invite the bishop of Antioch, by affixing his signature to it, to render further proceedings unnecessary. They laid down the union of the divine and human natures in the One Per- serves; though he charges a blunder 3 Euseb. H. E. vn. 30. on the document itself, which is 4 The authenticity of this letter, only a printer's error in the edition (printed in the third Vol. of the Bib. of Labbe, as Boschius points out in Max.) has been contested by no one his Hist. Chron. with the single exception of Dupin, 1 All these particulars are given in who however gives no reasons for his the synodical letter of the council, opinion; it is received unhesitatingly Euseb. H. E. vn. 30. by Tilleniont, by Yalesius and by 2 So Pagi very clearly demon- Pagi,272. iv. strates, 272. n. 4, o T: — 52 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. son of the Incarnate Word, while they as clearly establish the personal distinction of the FATHER and the SON, in one and the same Essence. This epistle, however, re mained without effect ; the synod was duly opened and its acts were preserved at least till as late as the eighth century, though they have now perished. Malchion1, a priest of Antioch, distinguished himself above the rest in exposing the subterfuges of the heretic, pursuing him to his last shifts, and reducing his dogmas to their naked deformity. The crimes of Paul were also objected against him, and the His deposi- council unanimously pronounced his deposition, and substi- tion, and e- , . -, • , » •£ ,. T . lection of s. tuted in his place Domnus, the son of his predecessor, S. Domnus. % i • • . . Demetrion. By this action they manifestly violated the rights of the clergy and people, by depriving them of the power of election ; and the fact that they thus infringed on a custom, nev^r before violated at Antioch, seems to prove s. Domnus that Paul had very numerous partizans, and that the assem- I., Patr. of J Ant. xvii. bled fathers feared the re-election of the deposed bishop. 55. They announced their proceedings in a synodal letter, addressed to S. Dionysius3 of Rome, and Maximus of Alexandria. A large portion has been preserved by Euse- bius ; other fragments by Leontius. It is signed by sixteen 1 Malchion is by the Eastern lem, Theophilus, whose see is un- Church reckoned among the saints, known, and about whom Tillemont and celebrated with S. Firmilian on offers no conjecture; he may have the 28th of October. Their Stichos been bishop of Apamea, and the is : same who is mentioned by S. Epi- In peace those sons of peace to GOD phaiuus as having so entirely con- are gone, futed the sect of heretics called Firmilian and the sophist Malchion. Angelici, as to put an end to their existence. Blondel (Primaute en 2 Euseb. H. E. vn. 30. Zonaras VEglise, p. 544) makes him bishop xii. 25. Gibbon of course makes the of Tyre ;— a pure guess. Next come most of the irregularity by which S. Theotecnus of Ciesarea, Maximus of Domnus was substituted for Paul, Bostra, Proculus, whose see is un- Vol. ii. p. 456. (Edition 1807, which known, Nicomas of Iconium,^lianus, I always quote.) Bolanus, Paulus, Protogenes, Hierax, 3 This is the letter preserved by Eutychius, Theodoras, the same who Eusebius, H. E. vn, 30. See also is aUuded to in the text, Malchion, S, Nicephorus, vi. 29. 30. The names and Lucius. Of these Malchion was of the bishops who sign it are, Hele- only a priest ; the case was therefore nus of Tarsus, Hymenasus of Jerusa- probably the same with Liicius. INTERFERENCE OF THE CIVIL POWER. 53 prelates, and is said to have been composed by Malchion. Although the term consubstantial had been condemned by The term consuh- the first council, the greater favour of this synod has caused it more usually to be cited as having authorized that condemn ation. S. Athanasius and S. Hilary1 have well shewn that there was no real difference of doctrine between the fathers of Antioch and those of Nicasa. The former intended to condemn a gross and corporeal sense attached to the word "substance," which the latter rejected in that phrase of the Creed, Light of Light ; and in a similar manner, the Arians afterwards accused the Catholics of Sabellianism, from their adoption of the term in question. The synodal letter was, as I said, addressed to S. Dionysius of Rome ; but that pon tiff had already been taken from the world (Dec. 26, 269). His successor, S. Felix, replied to Maximus, and acquiesced in the deposition of Paul. That deposition, however, was easier to pronounce than to execute. The favour of Zenobia supported her Ducenarius in his see ; and the irregular con secration of Domnus indisposed many of the catholic party to render him assistance. For two years Paul retained pos session of the episcopal house ; at the expiration of that period the victories of Antioch and Emesa made Aurelian master of the crown and person of Zenobia. Antioch readily opened her gates to the victor; and a representation was made by the catholic bishops to Aurelian, in order that the secular2 arm might be called in for the expulsion of the deposed prelate : — a fatal precedent, and one not forgotten when subsequent emperors were endeavouring to Erastianize the Church ! The spectacle of rival bishops pleading their cause before a heathen Augustus, afforded a fair subject of raillery to the sophists and rhetoricians of Antioch. Aure- lian, with the good sense and love of justice which distin guished him, professing his entire ignorance of the point in 1 See this point discussed with his to spare the reputation of the fathers, usual ability by Tillemont, Mem. makes, without a shadow of authority, Ecc. iv. 301 ; also by Bishop Bull, Paul to have been the first to corn- Book n. Cap. 1. plain to the emperor. 2 Theodoret, n. 8. Godeau, anxious PATRIAKCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Decline of the Pauli- anists. dispute, resolved on referring it to a party unconcerned in the quarrel ; and accordingly decreed that the bishop's house at Antioch should belong to him of the two rivals with whom the prelates of Italy would communicate. This deci sion sealed the fate of Paul, who was ignominiously chased from his see, and Domnus, in a method which all must pro nounce unsatisfactory, substituted in his stead. 56. The followers of Paul did not return to the com munion of the Church1. S. Lucian, afterwards a martyr — the same who is commemorated in the English Calendar on the 8th of January — was for awhile one of Paul's favourite dis ciples, and remained in heresy during the episcopate of the three succeeding prelates. The Paulians or Paulianists ex isted in considerable strength at the Council of Nicaea, by which, as I have said, their baptism was declared invalid ; could exhibit some poor remains in the later years of S. Athanasius ; were not absolutely extinct at the beginning of the fifth century ; but when Theodoret2 wrote, about 450, their very name had almost been forgotten, s. Eusebius 57. Among those who had been present was S. Euse- and S. Ana- . -1- toims, bish- bius, bishop of Laodicea next-the-sea. His history is some- ops of Lao dicea. what remarkable ; and though I have already related it in part when writing of the Church3 of Alexandria, it must be repeated here. During the civil war which devastated that city, in the local rebellion of ^Emilian, this devoted Chris tian followed the party of the emperor Gallienus, while his friend Anatolius ranked himself in the faction of ^Erni- lian. By their mutual charity, they greatly mitigated the horrors of that war, as they had already by their mutual co-operation assisted the sufferers in the fierce persecution of Decius. When the first council was summoned at An tioch against Paul of Samosata, the great Dionysius of Alexandria, unable, as we have seen, to be present himself, dispatched Eusebius as his deacon to the synod. On its conclusion, the see of Laodicea happened to be vacant. This 1 See on this, Tillemont, iv. 303, and Natalis Alexander, vi. 35. - Theodoret, Hseret. Fab. 2. 11. 3 See my History of Alexandria, Vol. i. p. 77. SS. EUSEBIUS AND ANATOLIUS. 55 city, situated on a bluff promontory that overlooks the Mediterranean, extended its diocese to the very suburbs1 of Antioch. The Alexandrian deacon on his return to Egypt had reached this point, when he was seized almost by force arid ordained bishop. In this character he was present at the council by which Paul was deposed, when he had the pleasure of again meeting his friend Anatolius, sent from Egypt to attend the synod. The two2 returned together to Laodicea, where, very shortly after, Eusebius was taken to his rest. Anatolius who had already been consecrated bishop by Theotecnus of Csesarea, and had acted as his coadjutor for some time with him, was now elected by the people. He governed this church with considerable reputation ; and here it was that he composed his celebrated work on Easter3. In that work he mentions that in Laodicea and the adja cent country, the festival was still observed on the four teenth day of the month ; though that custom did not as yet prevail in Syria. His own opinion would appear to have been in favour of it, and his eminent authority as a mathe matician, joined to the prestige which he enjoyed as coming from the great school of Alexandria, probably assisted in maintaining the quarto-deciman observance throughout Asia till it was finally abolished by the Council of Nica?a. S. Anatolius was living as late as the reign of Carus, 282 or 283, after which he disappears4 from the page of ecclesi astical history. 1 S. Epiphanius, Heresy 73, where on the 4th of October; the title is, he speaks of a bishop of Laodicea "Faustus, Gaius, Eusebius and Chte- and Daphne. remon, deacons and martyrs," and 2 For the lives of S. Eusebius, they are said to have been disciples and S. Anatolius, see more especially of the great Dionysius. Tillemont Tillemont, Mem. Ecc. iv. 304. unhesitatingly makes this Eusebius 3 S. Hieronym. Descript. Ecc." the same with our bishop ; but surely Cap. 73. the double mistake of reckoning him 4 S. Anatolius is celebrated in the among the martyrs, and not reckoning Roman martyrology on the 3rd of him among the bishops, must make July. The Menaea celebrates in- the point very doubtful; and Euse- deed an Anatolius, but not this. bius is far too common a name to The saint of that day is Anatolius, render it impossible that Dionysius patriarch of Constantinople. S. should have had two pupils so Eusebius is celebrated in the Menaea called. 56 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. 58. We must now return to Jerusalem. The persecu tions of Decius and Valerian have left no traces in the history of that Church1. Mazabanes would appear to have held his see in peace for sixteen years. He was succeeded oflrenwal. ' by Hymenseus2, the same whose presence at the council of A.I).J266.' Antioch I have already mentioned. He held the see for thirty-two years, during the last fourteen of which Diocle tian was emperor. Jerusalem, however, either enjoyed sin gular tranquillity during that persecution, or ecclesiastical annalists have remarkably neglected its martyrs. It would appear that to this prelate is due the conversion of S. Maurice, and the ever-memorable Theban legion3. They had been sent for by Maximian from Asia into Europe to put down the revolt of the Bagandse : and it is expressly related in the acts of their martyrdom that they had re- s. zabdas, ceived the faith from the bishop of Jerusalem. His successor, Patr. of Je- was Zabdas4, called by some, Bazas, who would appear to .- . A.D. 298. have held the see for four years only. His successor, elected just before the outbreak of the tenth persecution, was S. Her- mon 5. This prelate distinguished himself by his missionary 1 Hieronym. Chronic. He is call- of Zabdas as the patriarch to whom ed Flavius in the MS. of Rulaeus ; the Theban legion were indebted for which induced Papebroch at one the faith. A comparison of dates, time to imagine that a prelate of this however, as Legmen and Papebroch name must have held the see of shew, makes this impossible. The Jerusalem as successor of Mazabanes revolt of the Bagandae, a rebellion whose name had been accidentally very strongly partaking of the charac- omitted by other historians. He is ter of the rising of our own Jack also mentioned by S. Epiphanius : Straw and Wat Tyler, and the Haeres. 66. cap. 20 ; and in the peasant war which desolated France letter from S. Dionysius of Alexan- in the fourteenth century, gave dria to S. Stephen of Rome, a frag- Maximian a triumph on April 1, ment of which is preserved by Euse- 286 : the martyrdom of the Thebau bins, H. E. vn. 5, he is spoken of legion must therefore have taken as successor to S. Alexander. place in the preceding September. 2 Euseb. H. E. vii. 14. With this 4 Hieron. Chron. Euseb. H. E. prelate the catalogue of S. Epipha- vn. 32. S. Zabdas is commemorated nius ends, Haeres. 66. 20 ; though under the name of Zambdas by the he afterwards accidentally mentions Roman Martyrology,'on the 19th of some of the succeeding bishops. February. 3 TheodoricusPauli, and the author « Euseb. H. E. vn. 32; S. Nice- pf the Florarium Sanctorum, speak phorus, vi. 34; S. Hicron. Chron. MELANCHOLY STATE OF THE CHURCH. 57 zeal ; he consecrated several bishops for the wild region of Tauric Scythia, and sent them forth to preach the faith to its barbarians. 59. The pontificate of Domnus was of no long duration; it is variously reckoned as having occupied five, or three years1, manifestly as the historians fixed its commencement at the de jure deposition of Paul, or else his de facto expul sion from the episcopal mansion. His successor was Timasus2, whose actions were equally destitute of materials for history, tioch. To him succeeded S. Cyril ; his pontificate appears to have A.D. 274. been rendered comparatively obscure3 by the superior lustre Patr.of An- of his namesakes of Jerusalem and Alexandria. A-D- Wfr. 60. It is a most melancholy picture that Eusebius draws Woridimess of the state of the Church in the years which immediately church, preceded the breaking out4 of the great tenth persecution. He is writing of the East, and his words no doubt apply more especially to the dioceses of Antioch and Jerusalem. Mutual dissensions and follies of bishops ; illegal and simon- iacal ordinations; ambitious endeavours of rival churches for the pre-eminence; schisms originated or fomented by the con fessors themselves ; innovations on the ancient canons by relaxations of ancient discipline ; luxury and effeminacy pre vailing to an extent till then unknown ; these were the cha racteristics of the Church at the time she was called to meet the greatest storm that ever imperilled her existence. 61. S. Cyril had almost concluded his pontificate ofcommence- i n TT 111- 11 merit of the twenty years, and S. Hermon had but lust commenced his GreatTenth Persecution, episcopate at Jerusalem, when on the Feast of the Termi- Feb. 23, A.D. nalia, Tuesday, Feb. 23, A.D. 303, went forth at Nicomedia Lequien, 354, says that S. Hermon is the time of his accession I follow commemorated in the Mensea on the Lequien rather than Boschius. Eu- 7th of March ; I can find no reference tychius calls him Timotheus. to him on that day. 3 Euseb. H. E. vii. 32. Boschius 1 Eusebius gives him five years ; fixes the accession of S. Cyril in 280, S. Nicephorus, two. There is a tra- and his death, therefore, in 300. dition that he died a martyr, to This would make his martyrdom less which Tillemont seems to attach likely. He is celebrated in the Koman some credit. martyrology on the 22nd of July. 2 Euseb. H. E. vn. 32; Zonaras. 4 Euseb. H. E. vm. 2; and De 12. 30; S. Nicephorus, vi. 34. For Martyribus Palestine, Cap. vm. 58 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the ever-memorable edict of Diocletian and Galerius for the destruction of the Christian religion. From the emperor's palace the persecution gradually spread with greater or less severity in every direction ; churches were thrown down ; the sacred books ordered to be delivered up, and committed to the flames ; priests and bishops either obtained the crown of martyrdom by refusal, or became libellatics by acquies cence ; and thus, about Easter- tide — Easter-day in that year fell on the 18th of April — the wave of persecution approached Antioch and Palestine. The first martyrdom in the former city was attended with some remarkable circumstances. A passion of deacon and exorcist, by name Romanus1, attached to the S. Rom anus, J April, A.D. church of Csesarea, happened to be on a visit at Antioch. Indignant at seeing the churches everywhere demolished, and the edict of persecution carried out by the prefect Asclepiades with the more energy because the emperor Galerius was himself in the city, he endeavoured, without any regard to his own safety, to animate the dismayed spirits of his brethren, to keep up the congregations which the fury of the persecutors threatened entirely to disperse, and to supply, as far as in him lay, the lack of the priests — there were many in this great and luxurious city who had aposta tized. Eusebius enters into a long detail of the • agonies which the saint endured on the rack, by the leaded scourges; how the flesh was not only torn from his sides and back, but from his forehead and cheeks ; and how all that art could 1 Tillemont relates the history of hymn, the tenth of the Peristepha- S. Romanus with his usual fulness non:,it runs to the length of 1140 and accuracy. The original authori- lines, and is the weakest of all the ties for it are Eusebius in his account compositions of that poet. Euse- of the Martyrs of Palestine, and at bius and S. Chrysostom say nothing greater length in his work on the of S. Barulas. They are celebrated Resurrection ; a sermon of S. Chry- in the Mensea on the 18th of Novem- sostom delivered on the festival of ber : the name of S. Barulas is not the saint; and another printed mentioned, and S. Romanus is com- among his works, but apparently memorated twice ; a similar account supposititious ; it is probably of the being given of his martyrdom in end of the fourteenth century. Be- both cases. The Mozarabic office sides which, Prudentius has cele- commemorates him on the same day. brated him in a long and tedious MARTYRDOM OF SS. BARULAS AND ROM ANUS. 59 invent was put in practice to shake the constancy of so courageous a confessor. In the midst of his tortures the martyr, upbraiding his judge with the folly of worshipping those idols which "have mouths and speak not, eyes have they and see not," offered to take the decision of a child on the question between the one GOD of the Christians and the gods many and lords many of their persecutors. A child who happened to be in the court, and whose name was Barulas, was by order of the judge brought forward ; and being interrogated as to his faith, answered boldly, There is but one true and living GOD, and He is JESUS CHRIST. Furious at being thus baffled, the prefect summoned the mother of the child, and gave orders that in her presence he should be scourged almost to death. While many of the spectators wept, the Christian mother exhorted her child to remember the crowns bestowed on the infants at Bethlehem, and was with him committed to prison; whither also Romanus, after having been subjected to fresh torments, was sent as their companion. A few days later, the prefect gave orders that Barulas should be beheaded, and Romanus burnt at the stake. The martyr child, unable through weakness to walk, was carried by his mother to the place of execution : the deacon, on his arrival there, expressed his joy at suffering in such a cause. " And yet," said he, " not for my own sake, but for the weakness of the faith of many among my brethren, I appeal to our LORD to give us such a sign of His presence and support as our enemies shall not be able to gainsay." Barulas was first beheaded, after his mother had recommended herself to his prayers, and requested him to become her patron instead of her son. But just as the faggots were a,bout to be lit, there arose so fearful a tempest of wind and rain that the execution was necessarily postponed ; and the wood was then so thoroughly drenched, that while fresh faggots were being procured, it was thought proper to request the further instructions of Galerius. " Since GOD has so manifestly interfered," said the emperor, " to set the prisoner free, let us not be found fight ing against His will : let him be set at liberty." Asclc- GO PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. piades, however, though not daring so far to disobey as to take the life of the martyr, attributed his deliverance to magic, and gave orders that his tongue should be cut out by the roots. Unhappily for himself, one Ariston, a Christian who had fallen away through fear, happened to be present : he was a surgeon and had the instruments of his profession about him; and now he was induced, under a threat of immediate execution, to obey the command of the prefect. As in the more celebrated instance of the confessors in the Arian persecution of the savage Huneric, Romanus retained s. Romanus the use of his voice. He was remanded to prison, and lay in prison,6 there for several months, his feet being stretched to the BOS*' D' fifth hole of the stocks. In this torture he remained till, on the 18th of November, every other prisoner in Antioch was set at liberty in honour of the completion of the 20th year of Diocletian. On that day S. Romanus was strangled as he lay in the stocks ; and thus entered into the possession of a more glorious liberty than that which was bestowed on his fellow-prisoners. Martyrdom g2. It would appear that S. Cyril's1 death took place somewhere in the course of this year ; and the obscure tradi tion, that he received the crown of martyrdom, seems likely Tyrannus, enough. In his place Tyrannus2 was elected bishop : his Patr.ofAnt. - ., ~» . ,, . , , „ « ' . , . xx. A.D. acceptance of the office in the midst of so fiery a trial is enough, did we know nothing further of him, to stamp him at once as a Christian hero. That he suffered, however, or that Antioch was severely visited by the persecution, is His death, perfectly uncertain. We only know that he survived till A.D. 314. * peace was restored to the Church. Some of those, however, who confessed at Antioch have left a name in the annals of their Church. Some were broiled on gridirons : some, of their own accord, stretched forth their right hand to the 1 I do not exactly see why the acts attributes to him a twenty years' given by the Bollandists (July 16) of a episcopate, from the 4th of Probus S. Cyril, called "a bishop from An- (A.D. 283). S. Nicephorus gives him tioch," in Pannonia, should not apply fifteen only. to the present prelate : but Boschius 2 Euseb. H. E. iv. 32. Eutychius unhesitatingly ascribes them to some calls him Euris. one else. The Chronicon of Eusebius THE CRIMEA EVANGELIZED. 61 flames : some, resolved to avoid temptation, in order to escape from their persecutors, precipitated themselves from a high cliff. S. Augustine1 would excuse them by supposing, in their case, a special inspiration of the SPIRIT of GOD. Of Antioch's most famous martyr, S. Lucian, we shall here after have to tell. 63. The mission despatched by Hermon, bishop of Jerusalem, into the Chersonnesus, was not without its fruit. Ephraim was sent into Scythia — by which we are probably to understand Russia — Basil into the Crimea. The latter preached CHRIST in " the city " — no other name is given to it — without any immediate effect ; and being expelled thence, as a setter forth of strange doctrines, betook himself to some of the caves with which that region abounds, probably those of Inkermann, which we know to have been famous a few years later. In the meantime, the son of the prince or chief of the Crimea, fell sick and died. As his relations were keep ing watch at his tomb, the spirit of the deceased appeared to them, and besought them, if they would have him restored to them, to call the stranger preacher, and to believe his doctrine. They did so ; and being instructed by him, professed that JESUS CHRIST was the SON of GOD. On this, he called for water, and poured it on the grave, and the child arose2. 64.. But, if we are taught but little regarding the imme diate martyrs of Jerusalem and Antioch, we may expatiate with greater fulness on those glorious athletes whom Syria, Cilicia and Palestine offered to GOD. Of these3, the twenty 1 De Civitat. Dei, i. 26. Sed quae- potest ut ita sit. Quid si enim hoc dam, inquiunt, sanctae feminae tern- fecerunt, non humanitus deceptas, sed porepersecutioiiis,utinsectatoressuae divinitus jussae ; nee errautes, sed pudicitiae devitarent, in rapturum obedientes? atque enecaturum se fluvium pro- 2 The history of the mission iu jecerunt ; eoque modo defunctae sunt : the Crimea is given in the Menroa, earumque martyria in Catholica EC- under March 7 : the narrative is sim- clesid veneratione celeberrima fre- ply written, and seems trustworthy, quentantur. De his nihil temere au- — and is so judged by Papebroch in deo judicare. Utrum enim ecclesiae his Hist. Patr. Hierosl. aliquibusndedignistestificantibus,ut 3 Act. Bolland. May 14. See also earum memoriam sic honoret divina the notes of Baronius to the Roman pcrsuaserit auctoritae, nescio ; et fieri martyrology on the same day. He is 62 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Martyrs of Tarsus claim the first place. Even now, the passion for relics was attaining a considerable height; so much so, that more worldly feelings were brought into play by the search directed over them, and they were beginning to become the regular subjects of merchandize. No marvel, when the healing powers bestowed on them were as yet such objects of every day experience ; and that GOD, always wonderful in His saints, was still marvellous in the cures and miracles wrought by their ashes. The cruelty and ferocity of Simplicius, Proconsul of Cilicia, had made Tarsus a very slaughterhouse of martyrs ; and its convenient maritime situation rendered it a commodious emporium for the traffick ers in relics. 65. There dwelt at Rome a lady by name Aglais, a Christian by profession, but disgracing that name of purity by gross and open immorality. The partner of her sin was named Boniface, her slave, but supported in luxury by her as the minister of her infamous enjoyments. Whether by the increase of the severity of the persecution, or by the unas sisted grace of GOD, her heart was touched, and she resolved that her repentance, so far as might be possible, should equal her crime. And nothing doubting but that her prayers would speed the better for the intercession of the martyrs, she employed Boniface to procure, at whatever cost, the relics of those who had suffered for the faith of CHRIST. Hearing of the multitudes that were confessing at Tarsus, he sailed thither ; and arrived there in time to be a spec tator of the tortures and of the triumphs of twenty valiant athletes of their LORD, in whom Simplicius had exhausted the science and the perseverance of cruelty. Changed by the sight into another man, he embraced the corpses, and ex pressed his envy of their happiness, who by hours of misery obtained eternal years of glory. Apprehended himself, he was exposed to the severest tortures: his nails were torn May 14, A.D. from the flesh, he was tormented with boiling pitch and with molten lead ; and, constantly persevering in his profes- celebrated in the Menaea with this 7^rCov B(m0cb-tos 6<rrd epigraph, on Dec. 19 : 'Eavrbv evpe Mdprvpa. MARTYRS OF TARSUS. 63 sion, he was beheaded. His companions, after long search ing for him in vain, were amazed on learning the truth. They satisfied themselves by redeeming his body, and con veyed it to Rome. Here it was received with rapture by Aglais ; and by her honourably interred in the Latin Way. 66. Tarsus was also illustrious for other martyrs. The Martyrdom virgin S. Pelagia1 was shut up in a brazen bath, which was acnsand heated red hot. S. Cyriacus and S. Julitta require a more especial notice. Julitta, a young widow, in order to escape the persecution then raging in Cilicia, made her way to Tarsus, thence intending to escape by sea. She took with her her young son Cyriacus2, a child of three years old. Arrested, and carried before the Proconsul, they were asked if they were Christians ; and both replying in the affirma tive, Julitta was ordered to the torture of the leaden whips, while Cyriacus was fondled by the persecutor, as too young to be aware of the meaning of his words. But the child, with courage beyond his years, upbraided the cruelty of the persecutor, and Simplicius, yielding to his rage, dashed the martyr infant against the steps of the tribunal. The blow sent him to glory ; and his mother, giving thanks to GOD, endured her own torments valiantly, and so entered into rest. In the same presence, Chemas and his companions triumphed gloriously, and at Pompeiopolis, Sozon3 in like manner obtained the martyr's crown. 67. But the martyrs of Palestine, as the most illustrious, Martyrs of so they have been also the most fortunate in finding a chron icler. Eusebius of Csesarea, however much we may revolt from his time-serving and worldly character, is at all events an unexceptionable witness of that which he had seen him self; and the very coldness and scepticism of his natural disposition gives additional value to his accounts. S. Proco- pius was the first among these martyrs. A native of 1 She is celebrated in the Mensea 3 Menaea : Sep. 7 : on May 4 : direl^e "Zufav (rw/xaros ?rpos ai/c/as, dd\ov TrAcryos £/j.Tr\tei He\ayia, 717)0$ TOV jj.6vov a&^ovra, rrjv vewpiq vvv ffdpKa dovffa Kd/mtvov. jSXtirwv. 2 Martyrolog. Roman. , June Ifi. 64 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Capitolina, he was at this time attached to the church of Scythopolis, otherwise known as Bethshan. He united in himself the offices of reader, of Syriac interpreter — turning the Greek of the New Testament into the vernacular lan guage of his countrymen — and exorcist. He had grown up in the practice of virginal purity ; he tasted nothing but bread, and that only every second or third day ; and applied himself entirely to the study of Holy Scripture. Sent to Csesarea, he was commanded to sacrifice to the gods, and to offer an oblation to the four Emperors; he amused himself by quo ting the verse of Homer : OVK dyaObv iTO\VKOip(ivi^' el? Koipavos e July?, A.D. and was beheaded on Wednesday, July 7th. At the same time several bishops of Palestine were exposed to the tor ture. Some yielded ; some were dragged to the altar, obliged by main force to throw on incense, and then treated as if they had done so willingly. None received the crown of martyrdom, which was however attained by S. Alphseus and NOV. 17. S. ZacchaBus : the latter a deacon of the church of Gadda. This was on the same day that S. Romanus triumphed at Antioch. Martyrdom 68. I have related, in the History of Alexandria, the theus,m " passion of the Egyptian martyrs at Tyre. The martyrdoms eight others, of Palestine we will relate by themselves, following the in valuable work of Eusebius as our guide. In the second year of the persecution at Gaza, Timothy, whether a layman or in orders is not certain, after suffering lengthened and excru ciating tortures, was at last roasted at a slow fire. Agapius and Thecla, the latter no unworthy follower of the virgin martyr, confessed with him, and were condemned to the wild beasts. As the show in which they were to be exposed was one of unusual solemnity and grandeur, six Christian youths generously resolved to dare the rage of the persecutor ; and, though with a zeal not according to knowledge, confessed themselves worshippers of the Crucified. They were : Timo- laus, a native of Pontus ; Dionysius, from Tripolis in Phoe nicia ; Romulus, a subdeacon of the church of Diospolis or THE MARTYRS OF PALESTINE. 05 Lydda; two Egyptians, Pausis and Alexander; and another Alexander, a native of Gaza. They were committed to prison, where they were confined for some days; during which period a second Agapius, who had already suffered cruel torments, was added to their little band, and another Dionysius gladly ministered to their wants. Finally they were beheaded together at Csesarea on the 24th of March1; the first Agapius being reserved for another fate. 69. Apphian, a native of the small but flourishing town0fp. AP- of Pagae in Lycia, and the son of rich parents, was sent to P Berytus in order to complete his education. Here he set an edifying example of Christian life and conversation. Dis gusted, on his return home, with the paganism of his father's house, he came to the resolution of leaving it and of return ing to Csesarea. Here he was instructed by the friends with whom he lodged in the deeper mysteries of his religion ; and was stimulated with the desire of martyrdom. Leaving the house without their knowledge, he went boldly to the pro consul Urbanus, who happened to be engaged in a sacrifice ; laid hold on his arm, and conjured him to desist from the folly of those rites, and worship the true GOD, who had made heaven and earth. The soldiers of the guard threw them selves furiously on the youthful confessor, and almost tore him to pieces on the spot. Rescued from them, he was com mitted to gaol, and there remained a day and a night with his legs stretched in the stocks. On the following morning, dragged before the tribunal, and refusing to sacrifice, his back and sides were lacerated with the iron hook, until the flesh hung down in slips ! linen was then dipped in oil, ap plied to the wounds, and set on fire. Remanded to prison, and brought up half dead for judgment on the third day, he was condemned to be thrown into the sea. The miracle which accompanied the execution of this sentence is evi dently related by Eusebius with hesitation. He speaks of a loud sound and roar which appeared to arise from the sea i They are thus noticed in the Swr^poj 6KTa.pL0fj.os tr/n^dr] <j>d\ay£, Menrea: . ToO irplv 66 PATRIARCHATE OF AXTIOCH. and to be echoed by the sky ; and that at the same moment the body of the blessed Martyr was ejected close to the city gate. He suffered in the twentieth year of his age, on s. JEdesius, Friday the 2nd of April1. A brother of Apphian, by name plan;' ^Edesius, suffered some little time after at Alexandria, and by the same kind of death. At Tyre, Ulpian, after suffering dreadful agonies, was sewn up in a leathern sack with a dog and an asp, and also thrown into the sea. 70. In the fourth year of the persecution, towards the middle of November, Maximin was himself at Caesarea, and on the twentieth of that month gratified the people, in honour of his birth-day, with a spectacle of more than ordi nary splendour. Beasts from Ethiopia were exhibited, and received with great applause : after which two malefactors were introduced; — a slave who had murdered his master, and that Agapius whom I have recently mentioned. The slave was pardoned by the emperor ; the amphitheatre rang with the applauses of his generosity: — a spectacle, remarks Eusebius, resembling that of Barabbas. Life and liberty were ofs.Aga- offered to Agapius, if he would renounce his faith; on his quietly refusing, he went forward to meet the she-bear that straddled towards him, and presently hugged him in her terrible embrace. He was dragged half dead from the arena, and surviving, the next day was thrown, stones having been attached to his feet, into the sea. 71. On Easter-day — it was the second of April, in the si ^A^Z" ^k ^ ear °^ ^e persecutions — Theodosia, a girl of eighteen A.D. so;. years of age, a native of Tyre, paid a visit to some of the confessors then in prison at Cassarea, for the sake of enquir ing after their welfare, and, the historian adds, probably also for the purpose of imploring their remembrance when they should be before the throne of GOD. The soldiers on guard reported her to the pro-consul, by whom she was arrested, 1 The Menaea : tyrdom took place in the second or Tov ' Ajj.<t>ia.v6i> bpCiv \a.pbvTa. ffrtyos, third years of the persecution. But "E<rir€v5ev AlSteios Oave'tv Trpo8vfj.ws. the date, Friday April 2, gives the I cannot reconcile the dates of Dominical letter C, and the year Eusebius. He implies that the mar- 303. THE MARTYRS OF PALESTINE. 67 and her sides and breasts having1 been lacerated to the very bone with iron hooks, she was thrown, as the others, into the waves. The confessor whom she had visited was imme diately condemned to the mines at Phaenon in Palestine, 72. The cruelties exercised by the pro-consul Urbanus were such as to give him a peculiar notoriety among his fel low-ministers of Satan. He sentenced three Christians to gladiatorial combat ; how the compulsion was carried out is not related : a venerable old man, by name Auxentius, was R tius. given to the beasts; and Pamphilus, of whom more presently, was exposed to the most cruel tortures. But GOD'S righteous vengeance overtook this man ; the very city, Caesarea, which had beheld so many of his iniquitous sentences, saw himself stripped of rank and power, a miserable suppliant to the Emperor for life, and even that boon denied him. He was succeeded by Firmilian, before the sixth year of the per secution. Under this judge, a meeting of the Christians at Gaza was discovered, and many of those present arrested. The women among them suffered with more than manly courage. While one was undergoing the torture of the Little Horse, a woman in the crowd, by name Valentina, of insig nificant outward appearance, but who had dedicated her virgiiiit}^ to GOD, exclaimed with a loud voice, " How dare you torture my sister in so barbarous a manner ?" Dragged to the altar, she spurned it with her foot, and was tortured in a more barbarous manner than any other, the flesh being torn from her in slips. After this, manacled to her whom she had called ' sister,' both were thrown into the fire. Paul suffered on the 25th of Julv. Condemned to be behead- . J 25, A.D. SOS. ed, he requested a short time for prayer. That granted, he interceded for the restoration of peace and security to the Church ; for the conversion of the Jews and Samaritans ; for the illumination of the Gentiles ; for the judge under whom he was suffering, and lastly, for the Emperors : his prayer ended, his head was struck off. 73. Injunctions for greater severity having been issued 1 She is called Theodora in the Se/ivoirap^or /cai Mdprw QcoSupa, Menppa : Ilpo/nfix^*] rtpirvov d>s &u>pov r$ Kvply. 0—2 68 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Martyrdom by Maximin, and willingly obeyed by the prefects, Firmilian phiius, and was engaged in some sacrificial rites, when three Christians other*, presented themselves to him, and exhorted him to desist: Antoninus, a priest, Zebinas of Eleutheropolis, and Ger- manus. They were simply beheaded, without being exposed to any previous tortures. But on the same day, Nov. 5, a virgin, by name Ennathas, was arrested and scourged ; and then, given over to one Maxys, a subordinate official, was by him stripped naked, and led about through the city, scourged by him as she went. Returned to the judge, she was sen tenced to be burnt alive. Those who suffered were no longer allowed to be burned, so that the streets of Caesarea were a pitiable spectacle from the putrefying and lacerated bones dragged hither and thither at random by jackals and birds of prey. Multitudes were deprived of their eyes and feet, or of one eye and one foot. At Ascalon, Ares perished at the stake ; Probus and Elias at the block. Peter, a hermit, otherwise called Apselamus, a native of Anea, near Eleuthe ropolis, though exhorted by the judge to pity his own youth, suffered at the stake ; after him Asclepius, a bishop of the Marcionites : it may be hoped that his martyrdom was ac cepted in atonement of his heresy. 74. A more celebrated martyr was Pamphilus, the friend and tutor of Eusebius, who from him assumed his second name. A priest, and possessed of a considerable for tune, he devoted himself most energetically to the study of sacred literature, and founded a school at Csesarea for its promotion. With him was Valens, a deacon of the Church of Jerusalem; a venerable old man, he had the whole of Holy Scripture by heart, and could as easily recite it from memory as read it from the book in the divine office. The third was Paul, of the city of Jamnia ; already a confessor ; for he had previously endured the torture of red hot iron. These three had been in prison two years, when certain brethren from Egypt, on their way to visit the confessors condemned to the mines in Cilicia, entered Csesarea. Interrogated as to who they were, and what was their errand, and frankly confess ing the truth, they, to the number of five, were thrown into S. PAMPHILUS OF C^ESAREA. 69 prison. On the following day, which was the 16th of March, they, together with Pamphilus and his original companions, were set before the judge. It seemed the Egyptian comers had at their baptism received the names of Jewish prophets ; and their interrogatory not a little enraged and vexed the judge ; as did the reply that they were citizens of Jerusalem. It would appear that the original name of JElia Capitolina was so entirely forgotten, that Firmilian could obtain no satisfactory reply to his questions. The Egyptians were the first to receive the crown of martyrdom, and the like sentence had been passed on Pamphilus and his companions, when a young man, by name Pbrphyrius, upbraided the wickedness and cruelty of the judge. Cruelly tortured, he was burnt alive ; and Seleucus, Theodulus, and Julianus, arrested on different pretexts, completed the apostolic number of twelve ; all crowned on the same day as Pamphilus. Left unburied for four days, their corpses were not touched by birds or beasts, and at length received Christian sepulture from the hands of their friends1. 75. And here the historian takes occasion once more to dwell on the ambition, sloth, and negligence of the bishops, and the quarrels between the confessors themselves. One of the most illustrious prelates who suffered in the 8th year of the persecution, was Silvanus of Gaza; he had been a con fessor before he was raised to the episcopate. As many as forty suffered at Caesarea in that and the last year, before it pleased GOD to give peace to His afflicted Church. 76. The name of Pamphilus is not only glorious for his s martyrdom, but illustrious as one of the early writers and leading divines of the primitive Church. His theological li brary is the first on record : and is mentioned by S. Jerome in terms of the highest praise. Among its contents were the works of Origen, written out by the collector's own hand; a treasure, S. Jerome observes, beyond the riches of Croesus. 1 These as well as the following A«7r«ri /x^raXXa, Kal ^eraXXarrei ptov. martyr, S. Silvanus, are commemo- *„ 9afu£ed,, K*i ^ T*j, rated in the Mensea on Nov. 5 : ,., Ifoci, 'Ev rots /ieraXXot? StX/Sam fie j8Xi7,u&»o?, AtTrXoiV \d8ot Udfj.<pt\os e^/corcos 70 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. For if one letter of a Martyr be of such inestimable value, what his library, must be the price of so many thousand lines traced by the hand that afterward sealed its testimony with its blood ? An Apology for Origen1, extant in the time of S. Jerome, went under his name; but whether his or not, or whether com posed by Eusebius and attributed to him, is doubtful. S. Pamphilus was probably ordained by S. Agapius of Ca3- sarea. His name has undoubtedly been injured by its close juncture with that of Eusebius: the ecclesiastical historian, while intending to honour himself, by the distinctive title of Eusebius Pamphili, has rather dishonoured his friend. Martyrs in 77. We may now take a glance at the other martyrs of CHRIST, who glorified the provinces of Antioch with their blood. Though no catalogue of those who suffered in Isauria and Cilicia and the adjacent parts have reached us, we know enough to be sure that the persecution there raged fiercely. s.Tation; In Isauria we find the martyr Tation2, and the 'Wonder- s. Azas, with worker' Azas. The latter was a soldier, who having em- panions. braced the faith, betook himself3 to the conventual life, and was honoured by an especial gift of miracles. Betrayed to the prefect Aquilinus by certain hunters, he was accompanied in his confession by 150 of his late comrades. They were confined in prison till they could be set before the tribunal; and, on their suffering from thirst, Azas, by his prayers, pro cured a plentiful supply of water. The legend proceeds to relate his sufferings on the wheel, by the scourge, by the iron hooks, and his being cast into the fire, which was at once extinguished; he was afterwards beheaded, the hundred and 1 Of. S. Hieron. de Scriptor. EC- Nov. 19. The Stichos for him and cles. in Pamphilo et Epist. LXV. his companions: See also Baronius, 256, xxxvm. and Ai^rim} TIS ws 2Xa$os eis vdwp 308, xv. "Afys 6 Maprus frpex6 ^pos TO £i'0os. 2 Named in the Menaea on August and 24. I do not understand to what Ter/x^^as rpets, X/HOT*, irtvT-r)Kov- his travels, mentioned in the Stichos raSas rpiTrfj <TTf(f)(Jov ytpaipe irevTrjKOVTadi. "EX£ei /^erpTjo-as TroXXa TroXXa, 7175 The conversion of the wife and ir\tdpa daughter of the prsefect appears to 'E5£/t Xd/3ots dnerpa ir\tdpa, TcmW. me to have somewhat of a fabulous s His history is in the Menaea for appearance. S. LUCIAN OF ANTIOCH. 71 fifty soldiers, and the wife and daughter of the prefect, hav ing first received the crown of martyrdom. To these we must add SS. Cleonicus1, Eutropius, and Basiliscus; who con fessed under Asclepiades. All were cruelly tortured with burning pitch; the two former were then crucified; the latter was remanded to prison, and finished his course. Apollos, Isaac2, and Quadratus, were, the first starved, the two others beheaded. 78. I have related in my History of the Church of Alex andria, and I expect the reader to keep in mind here, the various political events which occurred in this persecution; — the death of Maximian Herculius, the illness of Galerius, the edict, extorted by agony from the tyrant, in favour of the Christians ; his death, and the renewal of the persecution, by Maximin. The sufferings of S. Lucian are the most illus- of S. Lucian, trious at this epoch. He was the most learned priest in the Oct. i5,A.c. city of Antioch ; and devoted his talents and erudition to the completion of an edition of Holy Scripture, as celebrated as that of Pamphilus in Palestine, or Hesychius in Egypt. His teaching, however, was unfortunate enough to incur suspicion, as tainted with the heresy of Paul of Samosata; and three successive bishops separated him, justly or unjustly, from their communion: these must have been S. Domnus, Timasus, and S. Cyril. He was, it appears, restored to the church by Tyrannus; and having attracted the notice of the Emperor by his writings, he was set before Maximin at Nicomedia. Having presented to the governor of that city an Apology for Christianity, he was cast into prison; and there, as an early3 writer says, making good his name, derived from light, — and shining in his life, shining in his faith, shining in his perseverance, he endured many bitter torments. From Nicomedia he wrote a letter to the Church of Antioch, in which he communicates the intelligence that " the Pope An- 1 They are commemorated in the 3 Pseudo-Origen in Job. n. As Mensea on March 3. Baronius well observes, this very 2 They are in the Menaea for April citation proves that the commentary 21. Baronius gives their names in- in question is wrongly attributed to correctly, as Apollos, Isacius and Origen, who had deceased long be- Crotates. fore. 72 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. thimus" had finished his course by martyrdom. Exposed for a long time to the torments of hunger, and then offered meat that had been dedicated to an idol, he still remained firm; thus several days he uttered no other words than his usual phrase, "I am a Christian." And with these, he gave up the ghost1, when the officials came to see whether he were still living. Orthodoxy 79. There seems no reason to doubt the orthodoxy of n< S. Lucian. Like S. Dionysius of Alexandria, carried away by his energy in attacking Sabellius, he used here and there an incautious phrase, which seemed to encourage the Arians, and of which they were not slow to take advantage. S. Alex ander of Alexandria2 even called those heretics by the name of Lucianists; and Arius termed his followers3 " Collucianists." But the positive testimony of S. Athanasius, who had no need to go out of his way in defending a priest of Antioch, is amply sufficient. In his Synopsis that great Father men tions the address of S. Lucian with the highest eulogium on his faith and perseverance to the end. It cannot, however, be denied that Lucian's disciples4 did somewhat to blemish his fame. Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis of Nicsea, Marinus of Chalcedon, Antonius of Tarsus and others, called him their master; and all, more or less, gave in to the teaching of the arch-heretic Arius. In point of fact, the rationalistic cha racter of Antiochene teaching, which I have5 already had occasion to notice, in contradistinction with the mystical dog matism of Alexandria, as inclining the one Church rather to Arianism, the other preferably to Sabellianism, may probably have left its impress on the teaching of Lucian ; but in no such degree as to render him unworthy of the place which he holds among the martyrs6 of JESUS CHRIST. 1 Symeon Metaphrastes gives the Lib. i. acts of this blessed Martyr at great 3 Ap. S. Epiphan. Hares. LXIX. length, and Baronius copies them 4 S. Niceph. Hist. Lib. vm. 31. from him. I wish I were able to 5 Hist. Alexandr, Vol. i. p. 37. believe them, and the story of the 6 The Latin Church commemorates Dolphin, genuine. him in the 7th, or (as our own Calen- 2 Epist. ad Alexandr. Pap. And dar) as the 8th, of January: the so Marius Victorious, adv. Arianos, Menaca on October 15, which is THE CHURCH AT REST. 73 80. S. Lucian was one of the last among the Martyrs Restoration of the East. It is not my duty to repeat the already told the Church. tale of the gradual steps by which Constantine rose to the purple; his war with Maxentius; the miraculous Cross; the battle by the Pons Milvius ; the defeat and death of Maxen tius ; the edict of Constantine and Licinius in favour of the Christians; the war between the latter and Maximin, the battle of Heraclea, the victorious entry of Licinius into Nico- media, and restoration of peace to the Church, and the mise rable despair and death of Maximin Daia. Henceforth, Antioch will take a more definite place in the annals of the Church; we shall be able to pursue, with less doubtful hand, the clue of the history ; and her patriarchs, instead of being little more than names, will be living and acting realities. As may be gathered from a preceding section, when the edict of pacification went forth from the palace of Nicomedia, Tyrannus held the See of Antioch, and S. Hermon that of Jerusalem. Neither of them, however, very long survived the commencement of happier times. Tyrannus was suc ceeded by Vitalis ; Hermon by the more celebrated S. Maca- of Ant. 314 81. I have already mentioned the mission of certain E"P' Pat.r- J of Jerusal. bishops, by Hermon to Tauro-Scythia. The legend, and I see no reason to doubt it, is in substance as follows2. The names of these evangelizers of that savage region were — Ephraim, Basil, Eugenius, Agathodorus, and Elpidius. Ephraim is vaguely said to have gone into "Scythia," Basil into the Crimea. Here, obtaining no success in the principal city of those barbarians, he concealed himself in a cave; probably one of that series of caves now made illustrious by Inker- probably the right date, with this the name of Vitalis appears in the Stichos : Synod of Ancyra, A. D. 314. "Aprov <rT6pr]<rei AOVKICLVOS dvT^xft 2 It ig given in the Mensa under TOV fu)j>Tos "Aprov fj.ij (TTepydrjvai d£\wv. March 7. Papebroch's opinion is 1 This date may be ascertained by that these Acts are "relata stylo sim- two circumstances. Theodoret says plice et perquam accurate." He that Tyrannus saw peace restored to has a parergon on the subject, but the Church, that is, he survived the it only relates to certain Spanish death of Maximin, August 31 : while fragments connected with it. 74) PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. mann, then named Parthenium. The eldest son of the petty king of the Chersonnese happened to die, and was about to be interred with the ordinary funeral ceremonies. The pre ceding night his spirit appeared to the mourners. " If," said the spectre, " you would recall me to life, go to the Christian emissary now residing in the southern caves, and implicitly follow his advice." Basil sprinkled the corpse with conse crated water, in imitation, says the Menology, of baptism. The young prince was restored to life; and his parents with their dependents believed and were baptized. But — remark ably enough — the Jews interfered, stirred up a popular sedition, and induced the barbarians to drag Basil through the streets until he gave up the ghost. His companions are said to have suffered on the same day in a different year. ^Etherius was subsequently despatched from Jerusalem, and though at first unsuccessful, obtained assistance, in course of time, from Byzantium, and planted the gospel in the Cher sonnese. In his further missionary travels ^Etherius was drowned by the Pagans whom he was seeking to convert, in the Danube. Any further account of this mission belongs to the annals of Russia, and consequently, of Constantinople. 82. But a greater harvest was now about to be reaped by the Church. The introduction of the gospel into Ar menia will require a longer narrative. Duriug the reign of Valerian, Artaxerxes king of Persia, and his son Sapor, had bent their efforts to the conquest of Armenia. Chosroes, king of that country, of the house of Arsacidse, made a noble resistance, till assassinated by the emissaries of Sapor, who had now succeeded to the Persian crown1. The aris tocracy of Armenia implored the assistance of Rome in Tiridates, behalf of Datad, or Tiridates, the infant heir of the murdered Prince of monarch. The young prince was by the fidelity of a servant Armenia: J J J hisvcmint?m removecl to Italy; Valerian perished in the attempt to restore him, and Tiridates was educated under the protection of the emperors. In a luxurious age, he is described as the model of every manly virtue ; in a sedition, he had saved the life of Licinius, and the gratitude of Galerius restored him to the 1 Moses Chorenensis, n. 76. See also Gibbon, n. 139. TIRIDATES KING OF ARMENIA. 7,5 throne of Armenia. As soon as, after living six years in exile, he appeared on the borders of his native country, the inhabit ants, in a fever of patriotism, flew to arms. The nobility vied with each other in offering their services to the exile; Artavasdes, whose father had preserved the infant prince, and whose family had been in consequence massacred, was appointed commander-in-chief. Garrison after garrison yield- restored : ed; the Persian archers were overthrown; the perpetual fire of Ormuzd, kindled on the summit of Mount Bogaven, was extinguished; and for some time the kingdom of Tiridates appeared secure. But civil broils had distracted Persia; these were at length composed; and then the whole force of that kingdom was turned against Armenia. The odds were again con- too great : Tiridates fled, but returned with Galerius, who the Per sians : resolved to attempt another Persian war. Narses, the monarch of the consolidated Persian empire, gave him battle on the plains of Mesopotamia; two desperate contests were without decisive result; but the third, fought on the very ground that had witnessed the death of Crassus, and the slaughter of ten legions, again saw the defeat of the Roman defeat, armies. Tiridates with difficulty escaped; and Galerius was disgraced in the presence of his whole army, by the anger of Diocletian. Persuaded, however, to undertake a second expe dition, he was completely successful ; Diocletian was enabled Final vic- ' 3 toryofthe to dictate his own terms, one of which provided for the resto- Romans, i A.D. 297. ration of Tiridates, and enlarged the frontiers of Armenia. The triumph on account of this expedition was the last that Rome ever beheld. 83. A nobler triumph, in the land which was the prize of the victor, awaited the Church. At the time when the infant Tiridates had been snatched from the victorious Per sians, a young prince of the royal house, by name Gregory1, Prince also escaped, and took refuge at Csesarea in Cappadocia. He was there converted by S. Leontius, one of the most is converted eminent prelates in those parts, and afterwards one of the tius. Fathers of Nicsea. At the first restoration of his kinsman Tiridates, he offered his services to the national party; and 1 Act. Bolland. Sept. 30. Nicon. Ep. ad Enclyst. 76 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. remained high in the monarch's favour, till his refusal to attend a sacrifice of Diana revealed the fact that he was a Christian. On this he was, the legend says, flung into a lake, weights being attached to his hands and feet; but, miraculously delivered from destruction, was confined for thirteen years in a dungeon. The persecution, however, con- Martyrdom tinned. The protomartyr of Armenia was S. Hripsime, a of S. Hripsi- * . me and maiden of noble birth and great beauty, who remained firm S. Gayane. . . -, against all tortures in her refusal to wed Tiridates till he should embrace the true faith. Her commemoration on the 3rd of June is a national festival to the present day; while S. Gayane, her nurse, is commemorated with nearly equal honour. A more uncertain legend assigns thirty-three virgin companions to the triumph of the protomartyr. The church, erected on the scene of her passion, is the oldest in Armenia, and the prototype of that style. After the second restoration of Tiridates, he is said to have been seized with madness; and on its removal by the prayers of Gregory, ^e king not only embraced the Christian religion him self, but resolved on propagating it through his country. Gregory was therefore despatched to his old friend Leontius, with a letter from the king, requesting from him episcopal consecration. I should be glad to be certain of the genuine ness of this letter; but as eminent critics have admitted its authority, I proceed to give it1. 84' "The dark snad<>ws both of other sins, but chiefly tol.irLeone-s of °PeD un^en'e^ long time surrounded us: hence it came tius- to pass, that we were neither able to look to the truth, nor to understand the common Maker of all things. But when He exhibited to us Gregory, another illustrious sun in the earth, and the holy virgins with him, that by these means we might attain to the knowledge of his own goodness and clemency, we, blinded by fury, persecuted them in a most savage manner. The virgins— woe therefore !— were miser ably slain by us. Gregory, strengthened by the unconquerable 1 It is to be seen in the Acts, and pression of a doubt, I cannot believe in Baronius, 311, xxv. Though the it genuine, historian receives it -without the ex- THE CONVERSION OF ARMENIA. 77 might of GOD, survived our cruelty and snares. But not even so did that abyss of mercy, that infinite sea of clemency, despise us when we lay perishing; but by the doctrine and prayers of this divine Gregory, and by the intercession of those glorious virgins and martyrs" — (this phrase makes the letter grievously suspicious) — "removed that black darkness from the eyes of our mind, and brought us to the light of truth, and the recognition of, and belief in Himself. Him therefore who was the author of so much good to us, and the certain leader and dispenser of our salvation, we have not only ourselves chosen to be the teacher and pastor to others of life and virtue, but a vision from heaven has confirmed us in our resolution. And for this cause, having obtained also his own leave, we have sent him to your holiness, that he may be consecrated bishop, and speedily returned to us his flock." 85. S. Leontius gladly complied with the request : and Ordination S. Gregory returned with the episcopal dignity, and on his way gory. back destroyed a temple of Hercules. That he consecrated a church on the same spot, with relics of S. John the Baptist, and S. Athenogenes, Bishop of Sebaste in Lesser Armenia, a martyr in the persecution of Diocletian, may be more doubtful. He shortly afterwards erected his episcopal see at Vagarsch'nebad, in a vast plain about thirty-five miles north of Ararat ; and named the church Etchmiadzine, or the Foundation of Etchrai- Descent of the Only Begotten : a Vision of the LORD having adzine. there been vouchsafed to him. After the revolutions of dy nasties, and the convulsions of empires, the monastery of Etchmiadzine still remains the shrine and sanctuary of the Armenian Nation and of the Armenian Faith1. Still the spring of S. Gregory is shewn, the water of which, wherever it is sprinkled, is said to bring the tettigush*, the bird that destroys the locusts which infest those parts. Well did Gregory deserve the title by which he is universally known 1 Parrott's ascent of Mount Ararat, I am acquainted. Etchmiadzine is and Mouravieff's tour in Armenia derived from two Armenian words, supply the best accounts of this signifying, descent and Only Begotten. most venerable monastery with which 2 Parrott, 143. REGIS BIBL. MAX- 78 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. in Armenia — Lorisaforich1 , the Illuminator. The true faith rapidly spread over the country : bishopricks were estab lished everywhere ; and the family of Gregory — for he was a married man — were the principal disseminators of the truth. consecra- 86. It was natural that the province of Antioch, as Church at the richest and most luxurious of those belonging to the Church, should be the first to feel the influence of revived Christian art, and to vest the daughter of the King with cloth ing of wrought gold. Paulinus of Tyre had seen his church ruined, and turned into a place for painting during the per secution : he now raised it gloriously from the dust, and its description is the first bright light which is thrown on the subject of Christian Ecclesiology. We find the Bema, the Synthronus, the Iconostasis, the Narthex, and all the other divisions which are so familiar to the student of ecclesiastical buildings. The dedication-sermon, preached by Eusebius of CaBsarea, is a florid, jejune, artificial composi tion ; worthy of the man2, but not of the occasion. Paulinus himself, whatever were his exertions here, was to acquire an unhappy after-reputation as the favourer of Arius. Eusebius of 87. Eusebius was more worthily employed in his Evan gelical Preparation, dedicated to Theodotus, probably Bishop of Laodicea in Syria. It is a body of evidence for Christi- e anity both against Jews and Pagans ; — and, though abun dantly endued with that coldness which seems insepara ble from Apologies and Evidences3, contains a most valuable re'sume of the dogmas and artifices of Phoenicians, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans, of the Jewish religion, its external and internal proof, — and then enters into the promises and obligations of Christianity. And here, at the very first libera tion of the Church from her heathen persecutors, we hear it distinctly stated, that the religious is preferable to the secu lar life ; — that evangelical counsels recommend a higher his work, state than that of marriage and implication in worldly cares ; in short, we have the whole monastic system in the bud, — and nothing but the new breath of a genial atmosphere 1 From the Armenian. s gee more "especially Demonst. 2 EusebhiH, H. E. x. 3. Lib. i. 8. THE WORKS OF EUSEBIUS. 79 breathed in all its beauty. It will be convenient here1, as elsewhere under similar circumstances, to give a brief sketch of the principal works of this author. 88. The Evangelical Preparation consists of fifteen, the The Evan- Evangelical Demonstration of twenty books, of which the last paration. five have perished. In the first three of the Preparation, he ridicules the vast number of gods in whom popular credulity believed ; and not only shews that the accounts of their various actions are mere fables, but enters into a description of the meaning of some of those which are best worthy of study. In the next three books he applies himself, and he evidently considered this the most difficult part of his task, to a con sideration of the heathen oracles. I cannot but think that a little more faith, a little more willingness to allow them the supernatural assistance of evil spirits, would have made this part of the work more convincing to the readers, as well as more satisfactory to the author. The seventh, eighth, and ninth books, contain the history of the Jews, not only related from their own writers, but confirmed by the testimonies of Greek authors. The superior antiquity of Hebrew to Grecian theology is demonstrated in the tenth book. The five concluding books shew that all which is best and holiest in the writings of the philosophers is consentaneous with the teaching of the Jews : — and that where, for example, Aristotle departs from Moses, he departs from Plato also. The enor mous amount of reading these last books shew, would be wonderful in an age of printing : how is it to be characterized in a period of MSS. — however much we take into considera tion that, to the friend of Pamphilus, the library of Caesarea 1 It may seem almost presump- I shall be more likely, by a fresh tuous in me, after the admirable ab- epitome, to consult the taste of my stracts which Lumper at length, and readers, than were I merely to re- Fleury, briefly, have given of the produce an old one. In some in- works of the Fathers, to insert new stances, such an abstract must neces- abstracts in this history. I think, sarily be new, as in the Theophania however, that, as the points which and Ecloga? of our present author, are most interesting in the present which, in Fleury's time had not been age may not always be those which published, would be most salient to historians. 80 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. The Evan gelical De monstra tion. was " open with every advantage ? The very names, much more the several dogmas, of many ancient philosophers would be unknown to us were it not for the extracts preserved in, and information given by, this precious work. 89. The Evangelical Demonstration is a lengthened argument, from the Hebrew Scriptures themselves, that Christ was the Messiah, and that none other is to be ex pected. The first three books contain the argument which has since become so hackneyed (and which even then was perhaps scarcely novel, although we have no earlier example of it in existence), on the impossibility that the Apostles could have been deceived, or could wish to deceive others. He then enters on the question of the Incarnation ; proves that it also was foretold by the prophets ; substantiates the pre- existence of the Divine Word, and discusses the prophecy of Daniel concerning the Seventy Weeks. Hence he considers, by the light of prophecy, our LORD'S Nativity, Life, and Passion : and the fifteenth book ends with an interpretation of the 22nd Psalm. The Holy 90. The twentieth year of Constantine, a length to Jerusalem, which the reigns of few Roman emperors had extended, reminded him that some testimony of gratitude was due to the Power by whom kings rule. It was in the Holy Land1 that he extended his most remarkable liberalities. Macarius of Jerusalem had distinguished himself at Nicsea, and was one of the most illustrious among the Eastern prelates; and to him the emperor addressed a letter, preserved to us by Eusebius, commanding the erection of a basilica which should excel every similar structure, and should be reared without any regard to expense. " Tell me what you would wish," Constantine says in fact, "arid my business shall be to carry out your desires; — what marble you consider preferable for the piers; whether you would have the roof vaulted, and if so, whether you would have gold employed in the work." Dracilian, prefect of the province, was charged to give every possible assistance to the work ; which, with such assistance, soon began to rise majestically from 1 Euseb. Vit. Constantin. Lib. in. cap. 26—40. THE MARTYRY OF THE RESURRECTION. 81 the ground. Eustathius, a priest of Constantinople, was the architect, and the work occupied ten years. Of the dedication of the church we shall speak in due time. At the same time two other churches, though on a less enormous scale, were in progress, — the one at Bethlehem, the other at the Mount of Olives. To expedite these erections, as well as to satisfy her earnest desire to visit in person the scenes of our redemption, Helena, the mother of the Emperor, came into Palestine. 91. Helena had, at an advanced1" period of life, been converted by her son to the true faith. She was at this time in the eightieth year of her age, and had devoted herself for some years to works of piety and mercy alone. Whatever was the guilt of Constantine as regards other branches of his family, to his mother, at least, he ever displayed the most touching filial piety : he conferred on her the title of Augusta, and her effigy was impressed on the public money. She was more especially desirous of visiting the scene of the crucifixion — a task not to be accomplished without great dif ficulty. The pagans had already, it would seem, under the orders of the Emperor Hadrian, resolved to consign the locality of our redemption to oblivion, and had heaped over it a vast quantity of earth and rubbish, which they paved with stone ; and on this a temple to Venus had been erected. One shudders to think that the spot where the Consummatum est was heard, should have been so long profaned by the foul abominations of the goddess of impurity. 92. It would seem that no great hopes were entertained of discovering the Holy Sepulchre, which, it was supposed, had been levelled by the impious hand that endeavoured to conceal its locality. Let S. Ambrose relate the feelings of the pious queen. "Helena arrived2; she began to visit the holy places ; the SPIRIT put it into her heart to seek the Wood of the Cross. She came to Golgotha, and said, There is the place of the battle ; — where is the victory ? I seek the Banner of Salvation and find it not. I sit on the throne, shall the Cross of the LORD be in the dust ? I am in the 1 1. c. cap. 42. a S. Ambros. Orat. de Obitu Theodos. sect. -13. seqq. 6 82 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. royal halls, and shall the temple of CHRIST be in ruins ? How shall I believe that I have been redeemed if the instrument of redemption cannot be discovered ? I see, 0 Satan, what has been thy craft, to conceal the sword that destroyed thee. But Isaac removed the rubbish from the wells that had been stopped up by the Philistines ; and suffered not the water to remain hidden. Let the heaps of ruins, then, be taken away, that Life may appear. Let the sword be drawn forth, where with the head of Goliath was struck off. Let the ground be opened, that salvation may shine out. In hiding the Tree, O Satan, what doest thou, but prepare another defeat for thyself? Mary shall conquer thee ; she, the mother of Him that tri umphed; who without loss of virginity brought Him forth, that crucified He might conquer thee, and dead He might subdue thee. To-day, too, thou shalt be vanquished, and a woman shall discover thy snares. She, as a saint, bare the LORD : I will seek for His Cross. She taught that He was born ; I will teach that He is risen. She opens the ground ; she unpiles the rubbish, she discovers three crosses in a con fused heap ; overwhelmed with ruins, concealed by the enemy. But the triumph of CHRIST could not be obliterated. She seeks the midmost tree : but it might have happened that ruins should confuse, accident misplace the three." 93. We must honestly confess that, in a matter of such deep interest to the Church, and among writers who nourished so short a time after the events they described, the varia tions and contradictions of accounts is marvellous. S. Am brose affirms that the cross was known by its title ; Paul- linus1 of Nola relates the usually received story, that by the advice of S. Macarius, the three crosses were applied to a recent corpse ; and that the LORD'S vindicated its authen ticity by restoring him to life. Ruffinus2, instead of the corpse of a man, speaks of a lady of rank, in the very agony of death. S. Ambrose wrote sixty-nine years after the event ; Ruffinus, at about the same distance of time; but most remarkable of all is the total silence which Eusebius, in his 1 S. Paullin. Epist. xi. 2 jj. E. i. 17. VEXATIOUS EDICTS OF LICINIUS. 83 Life of Constantine, preserves as to the story. He seems, in deed, elsewhere to refer to it, but we might well have expected that so illustrious a miracle, and one, too, which so much re dounded to the glory of his hero, could not have been passed over by him without notice. Two things, however, notwith standing the disagreement of historians, we may assume as certain. The one, that the real spot of the sepulchre was discovered by S. Macarius, and that that spot1 is the same which is received as such at this day. The other, that by some kind of miracle the "invention of the cross" was decided ; and that the real tree whereon the Redemption of the world was wrought thenceforth remained in the treasury of the church of Jerusalem. 94. The Councils of Ancyra and Neocsesarea, though presided over by Vitalis of Antioch, will better fall into my history of Constantinople. The persecution of Licinius had, however, its glorious Martyrs within our province. After embroiling himself with, and having been defeated by, Con- stantine, a hollow peace was made: Crispus and the younger Constantine, sons of the latter, Licinianus, son of the former, being raised to the dignity of Caesar. Licinius then com menced a series of irritating laws; — as that no conversions were to be made by the Christian clergy ; no communications to be held between neighbouring churches ; no councils to be held. Then, that men and women were not, from motives of delicacy, to assemble at the same time for prayer. Then, that no church was to be erected except in the country : the city air might be injurious to the worshippers. These injunctions meeting with no great obedience, the emperor next commenced an open persecution, though he would not permit it to be called so. It was principally directed against bishops who in deed appear in some instances to have indiscreetly given cause of offence by their panegyrics on the superior qualities of Con stantine. Blasius2, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, was one of 1 See this point admirably proved the Latin Church on the 3rd, by the and illustrated in Mr Williams's Eastern on the llth of February, classical work on Jerusalem. A S. Blase is indeed celebrated in 2 S. Blasius is commemorated by the Menaea on the 3rd: but this was 6—2 84 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the most distinguished Martyrs. He was distinguished for his medical skill, as well as for his ardent piety : and his cures, whether natural or miraculous, or both, made him a con spicuous object of persecution. Arraigned before the prsefect Agricola, he was scourged, hung up to a transverse beam, and tortured with a wool -comb (whence he has been, in all ages, the patron of wool-combers). He was then thrown into prison, where seven women and two children, known to be Christians bv collecting the blood of the martyrs, were also thrown. And here they were all beheaded together. In the same persecution, Paul, bishop of Neocsesarea, had the honour of confessing : his hands were so injured by red hot iron that he never recovered their use1. Second War, 95. The unquiet disposition of Lieinius soon engaged him in a second war with Constantine. The battles of Hadrian- ople and Chalcedon, with the sea-fight off Byzantium, declared in favour of Constantine. Besieged in Nicomedia, Lieinius came forth as a suppliant; was pardoned and exiled to and death of Thessalonica. Here he again commenced intriguing; and his successful rival, now become master of the world, gave, in the next year, orders for his death. s.Phiiogo- 96. Vitalis held the see of Antioch only for six years: Ant.'xxii. and was succeeded by Philogonius2. He had been married3, and was the parent of daughters. While in the world, he carried on the profession of an advocate : and was especially noted for the zeal and tenderness with which he undertook the cause of the poor. Kaised to the episcopate, he com pleted the church in Old Antioch which had been commenced by his predecessor : and was one of the prelates whom Arius Dies, Dec. reckoned his most determined opponents. Reckoned among the saints, he has been honoured by a sermon of S. Chrys- ostom, preached on his " birthday " by him. His successor was Paulinus4, a very different character ; being none other a shepherd. I have, by mistake (In- 2 S. Jerome, Chron. Theodoret troduct. H. E. Church, i. 32. note 1), H. E. in. 1. referred the Stichos to the bishop, 3 So we learn from a sermon of which indeed belongs to the less dis- S. Chrysostom on his festival, Dec. tinguished sufferer. 20. 1 Theodoret, H. E. i. 7. * S. Jerome's Chroii. THE COUNCIL OF NIC^A. 85 than that bishop of Tyre whom I mentioned not far back, Pauimus, and who is mentioned by Arius, in the letter which I have just xxin. 324. quoted, as one of his friends. It seems that he was a native of Antioch1; and the citizens, says Eusebius, claimed him as their own. However, he could have held the see but a few months, for at the Council of Nicsea it was represented by a far worthier prelate, S. Eustathius. This noble con- s Eusta- «. r*. i . T* IT i thius, Patr. fessor was a native of bide in Pamphylia, and was raised Ant. xxiv. to the bishopric of Berrhoea in Syria. Here he confessed, either under Diocletian or Licinius, and S. Chrysostom has celebrated his suffering and his victory. He had but just ascended the throne of Antioch, when this Council of Nica3a2 commenced. 97. In commencing my History of the Eastern Church on its present plan, I foresaw the difficulty which would beset its earlier portions — owing to my having to relate, or refer to, the same event. Such is the case with Arianism now. I have already narrated its rise in Egypt, its rapid spread both in the East and West : the vain attempts of the im becile Constantine to regard the controversy between S. Alexander and Arius as a strife about words : the convocation Council of of the ever-memorable Council of Nicsea : the adoption of the Homoousion, the obstinacy of the five prelates, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognius of Nicsea, Maris of Chalcedon, and the Egyptians, Secundus and Theonas : the constrained sub mission of the three former, the banishment of the two latter with the arch-heretic : the sum and substance of the principal canons of discipline. 98. Of the Canons, those which more immediately con cern us, are the sixth, which confirms Antioch in its exarchal authority : and the seventh, which vindicates an especial 1 Euseb. in Marcell. I. 4. originated a translation, when, in 8 Sozomen asserts that he was their 15th Canon, the fathers so translated to Antioch by the fathers strenuously opposed the practice : of Nicaea. But S. Theophanes, with while it might well have confirmed greater probability, tells us that he a recent translation like that of S. was merely confirmed by that synod Eustathius, though in contravention (KO.I tKvpw<re) : indeed it is hardly of its own rule, likely that the Council would have 86 PATRIAKCHATE OF ANTIOCH. honour to ^Elia, though it is to be without prejudice of the metropolitical rights of Csesarea. 99. The prelates, who were entrusted with the publication of the decrees of the Council in the dioceses of Antioch and Jerusalem and the dependencies of the former, were S. Ma- carius of Jerusalem, and Eusebius of Csesarea, for Palestine, Arabia, Phoenicia ; S. Eustathius of Antioch for Ccelosyria, Cilicia and Mesopotamia ; John for Persia and the far East. 100. To the affairs of that far East I must now turn. In the former half of the third century, Shachlupha was, as we Papas, Ca- have seen, Catholicos of Seleucia. In the year 256, Papas, of Arakan, was raised to that dignity. He held it during the unprecedented length of seventy years ; but his longevity was the only noteworthy feature of his administration. Some writers affirm that he was himself present at the Council of Nicsea : but it seems more probable that he merely dis patched to it his archdeacon Symeon, afterwards the cele- Synodof brated Martyr, and Saadost. In the year 314 a synod of Oriental prelates was held at Seleucia, in which, among others, S. Milles of Susa, of whose martyrdom I shall ere long have to tell, was present. The immediate cause was a schism between the Churches of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, originating in the intolerable arrogance of Papas. " Consider, brother," said Milles, " that our LORD Himself, the Bishop and Shep- 11 herd of us all, has left us a command not to domineer over " the Church : He that will be great among you, saith He, " let him be as the least" And so saying, he placed the open codex of the Gospel before the Catholicos. Papas, in a frenzy of rage, struck it with his fist. " Speak, book," he said ; " speak, book, as my defence : I have no words from " indignation." S. Milles seized the volume, pressed it to his heart, and then denounced the Divine vengeance on Papas1, 1 The details of the life of Papas are uncertain. Thus Amru gives the to be learnt, unsatisfactorily enough, Council of Seleucia (J. A. Assemani, from Maruthas,theNestorian annalist, p. 7) as I have given it in the text: as quoted by Assemani, B. 0. i. 186 : but Bar-Hebrams postpones it till from Bar-Hebrseus, B. 0. n. 397: 334, and places the death of Papas and from J. A. Assemani, De Catho- in 335. So uncertain is early Syrian lids, p. 6. But the dates are very history! AIUAN INTRIGUES. 87 in recompence of so ungovernable a rage. At the same mo ment the right side of the offender was struck with palsy. It would seem, however, that the guilt of the prelate was not universally allowed: and others tell of the insubordination of his suffragans. A letter of S. James of Nisibis is extant in MS. to this synod, exhorting to brotherly love, and to humility. It was moved that Papas should be deposed ; but gentler counsels prevailed, and the punishment inflicted by GOD was considered sufficient to obviate the necessity of any ecclesiastical animadversions. S. James of Nisibis and S. Ephraem consoled the aged prelate under his afflictions, s. Symeon 0 Bar-Saboe, Papas died in the year following the Council of Mcaea; and Catholic of was succeeded by his celebrated archdeacon S. Symeon. x. 101. Eustathius, whether he filled the office of president of the great (Ecumenical Synod or not, was at all events a man of too much mark long to escape the persecution of the Arians. That sect was gathering numbers and acquiring influence daily; and Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Theognius Eusebius of Nica?a resolved on an united effort to remove the great nius supporters of the Catholic faith in the East1. The former prelate, then high in the emperor's favour, was seized with a sudden desire of visiting a magnificent church nearly finished at Antioch, in part through the munificence of Constantine himself, and of the consecration of which we shall have more to say2 ; and having obtained from the imperial liberality the carriage and its expenses, necessary to reach that city, he invited his brother bishop to share his pious expedition. Eustathius, the most simple-hearted of men, received them with open arms; accompanied them to every spot most worthy of note — the " Confession " of Babylas, the church of S. Euodius, and, more especially, that which was the particular object of their journey. In the meanwhile they were not losing time. They enquired into the numbers, resources and influence of the Arians of Antioch; obtained an' introduction to the prin- 1 Theodoret, H. E. i. 21. church of Jerusalem, at the dedica- 2 For this, as Baronius observes, tion of which he had already been is much more likely than, as Theo- present, that Eusebius now desired doret tells us, that it was the new to see. 88 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. intrigue at ciml leaders of that sect ; and with their assistance framed \llti(X'll the plot that was to deprive Eustathius of his reputation and of his throne. 102. From Antioch Eusebius and Theognius proceeded to Jerusalem, whither they summoned Eusebius of Csesarea, Patrophilus of Scythopolis or Bethshan, Aetius of Lydda, obtain as- Theodorus of Laodicea, all Arians of the deepest dye, and Jerusalem^ having settled with them a plan of operations, the whole party returned to Antioch. Under what colour we are not informed, they proceeded to hold a synod; but some whisper of their intentions had gone abroad, and several of the near est Catholic prelates came into the city, and insisted on their A.D.S31; own right of assembling with the others in synod x. The pro ceedings having been opened, strangers were commanded to withdraw, and a wretched prostitute was introduced to the and in the fathers with an infant at her breast. By her Eustathius was Council of accuse s named as the father of the child ; and summary punishment Eustathius was demanded bv his adversaries for so great a crime. " What of fornica tion, witnesses have you to the fact?" it was next enquired. "I have none," replied the woman, "save GOD, who knoweth all things." "Let her then be sworn," said Eusebius of Nicomedia. But here a great tumult arose. "Against a presbyter," exclaimed the Catholic portion of the assembly, "receive not an accusation, save by two or three witnesses;" how much more against a bishop ! how, most of all, against one of the first bishops of the church! and a man against whom calumny had never dared to breathe a whisper. The 1 Few dates are more difficult of Antioch had spoken harshly of the satisfactory settlement than this. licentious life of Fausta his mother. Baronius places it in 340: Pagi, in As it is impossible to believe S. 327; Cartagorius in 330; Le Quien Athanasius on such a point mistaken, and Tillemont in 331; and with them, we must conclude with Tillemont, as out of a choice of difficulties, I that S. Eustathius, having been de- am inclined to agree. But S. Atha- posed in 331, endeavoured to reas- nasius, in his History of the Arians, cend the throne of Antioch in 340: § 5, expressly says that S. Eustathius that then this charge about Fausta was deposed under Constantius, and was made, and that Constantius con- adds, that one accusation employed firmed the deposition pronounced to embitter the emperor against him first by his father, was the charge that the bishop of S. EUSTATHIUS OF ANTIOCH. 89 woman, however, was sworn; but it would seem that the Catholics commanded a majority in the synod, and the bishop came scatheless from its investigation. The old accusation of Sabellianism was attempted with as little effect; and the Arians saw that they must have recourse to a different method of attack. 103. The Emperor happened to be in that part of Asia ; and to him the chiefs of the fathers instantly repaired. The He is de- imbecile Constantine forthwith gave orders for the deposition constan- of Eustathius, and he was accordingly exiled to Trajanopolis1. It will be well to finish the history of this great confessor here, as he was never restored to the episcopal throne of which he had been so unjustly deprived. He appears to have spent many years in the place of his banishment; but at length, when the Catholic church seemed almost extinct at Constantinople, he was requested by the few remaining be lievers in the faith of the Consubstantial, to perform episcopal offices for them. He led a concealed life in that city till the year 370 2, when an opportunity seeming open for the conse cration of a Catholic bishop, he raised Evagrius — it would appear somewhat irregularly, but the exigencies of the times excused much — to that dignity. The immediate result was His banish- the banishment of the good man to Bizua in Thrace, whence he appears to have removed to Philippi3, and to have ended and death, his long and afflicted life in that city. The exact year of his death is uncertain; but a century afterwards, his remains were translated by Calandion, patriarch of Antioch, to that city. Calandion sat, as we shall see, from A.D. 482 to 486; S. Eustathius therefore must have died, in extreme old age, about 380. 104. The enforced leisure of the latter part of the life of His works. 1 S. Hieronym. Apolog. n. adv. translated from PhiKppi, that we Kuffin. must suppose S. Jerome to have 2 Socrates, H. E. iv. 14. Sozomen. concluded too hastily that the aged H. E. vi. 12. bishop would return, at the conclu- 3 S. Jerome says that he was sion of his life, to the place where the buried at Trajanopolis : but Theodo- longer part of his exile had been rus, and after him S. Theophanes, spent. say so clearly that his remains were 90 PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Eustathius gave him leisure for the composition of various works, almost the whole of which have perished. His address to Constantine after the Synod of Nicaea, if it be indeed his, has been preserved to us by Gregory of Neocsesarea. In his treatise on the Witch of Endor1 against Origen, he denies with some vehemence that the phantasm was in very deed the soul of that prophet. Satan, he argues, has no power whatever over the spirits of the just; it was a diabolic appa rition which the sorceress invoked. If it were really Samuel, he argues, was he in, or out of, the flesh? and he endeavours to reduce either hypothesis to an absurdity. The prophecy was either a guess of the woman herself — or a permitted vaticination of the evil one, undoubtedly sometimes allowed by the Lord of all things to foretell future events. I must confess that, notwithstanding a certain neatness in the lan guage, the arguments of this little work appear to me unsatis factory, and its perpetual sneer against Origen unpleasing. The Commentary on the Six Days' Work, which has been published under the name of S. Eustathius, is, undoubtedly, supposititious. Fragments remain to us of his Discourse on the Soul2, of his sermon on the verse The Lord possessed thee in the beginning of His ways3, clearly composed against the Arians ; of another on Come, eat of My Bread 4; several sen tences from various treatises against the Arian heresy, and of Expositions on the loth5 and 2nd Psalms6. In the time of S. Jerome7 a very large number of his letters were extant; 1 The Kara 'fipiyevovs diayvwaTiKos Damascene in his Sacred Parallels. els TO rrjs eyya.ffTpifj.v6ov 6e&pTj/j.a was, 3 Also preserved by Theodoret, •with the work on the Creation, first H. E. i. 8. published by Leo Allatus (Lyons, 4 In the 6th Action of the u. Coun- 1629), and the latter treatise was cil of Nicaea. thence reprinted by Bishop Pearson 5 By Facundus Hermianensis, in in the Critic. Sacr. (1660). S. Je- his defence of the three Chapters: rome refers to the Engastrimythus. by S. Eulogius of Alexandria, as 2 Quoted by Theodoret, by Eustra- quoted in the Myriobiblion of Photius, tius of Constantinople (the treatise of and by S. John Damascene in his this writer, who lived in the 6th cen- Sacred Parallels. tury, is printed at the end of the Occi- 6 By Theodoret in loc. dent, et Orient, perpetuus de igne Pur- 7 Extant ejus infinite Epistolae: gatorio consensus, 1655) and S. John enumerare longum est. DEATH OF MACARIUS OF JERUSALEM. 91 they would doubtless have thrown much light, had they reached us, on the controversies of his day. Sozomen1 highly commends the beauty of his language, and the elegance with which the basis of his ideas is carried out2. 105. How long Macarius of Jerusalem survived the In vention of the Cross is a point which we cannot accurately determine. Sozomen mentions his death between the depo sition of Eustathius, which, as we have seen, occurred in A.D. 331, and the Council of Tyre, which was held in A.D. 335. Let the precise year be what it may, the good old man was happily taken away from the evil3 times to come, in which he could hardly have escaped deposition. A few short treatises of his against the Arians are referred to by S. Atha- nasius. In his place Maximus4 succeeded; an arrangement to that effect having been made in the deceased bishop's lifetime. This priest, who had confessed in the persecution of Licinius, had been consecrated by Macarius, bishop of Dios- polis (or Lydda) ; but the laity of Jerusalem, with whom he was a great favourite, were so unwilling to lose him, that another bishop was appointed to the inferior see, and he himself appointed as a kind of associate in the capital city. Macarius, who was fearful lest the Arian faction should seize on Jerusalem after his death, gladly regarded Maximus as Maximus n. his successor; and accordingly, on the decease of the vener- Jerusai. 11! . . , !• • AJX 33L able preJate, he was unanimously raised to the vacant dignity. His subsequent conduct unhappily belied the fairer promises of his youth. 1 H. E. ii. 19. 4 Sozomen, H. E. n. 20. But later 2 S. Eustathius is celebrated in than the 12th century, Latin writers some of the Menasa with this Stichos have been pleased to insert a certain on July 7; S. Cyriacus as bishop of Jerusalem 7ry>os ev<TTd8etai> Kapdias Efrrra0lov, between Macarius and Maximus. Ka.1 irvp ffvptfav •fjpe/j.ovv irdvTws vdup. He was, they say, advanced by Euse- 3 S. Macarius is celebrated in the bius of Home (who had been dead Western Church on March 10. It is many years), and was a martyr under singular that his name should not Julian the Apostate. The whole thing occur in the Eastern Menaea. is a mere figment. BOOK II. THE GREAT SCHISM OF ANTIOCH FROM. THE DEPOSITION OF S. EUSTATHIUS, A.D. 331, TO THE DEATH OF EVAGRIUS, A.D. 392. BOOK II. 1. ON the departure of Eustathius, great was the fer- A.D.331. ment at Antioch. The Catholics resolved to hold no com munion with an intruded bishop, and accordingly convened their assemblies apart ; the larger portion of the inhabitants wished for Eusebius of CaBsarea, and requested the Emperor's interference. That crafty person, who had sufficient oppor tunities of becoming acquainted with the internal state of the capital of the East, had no mind to exchange his present comfortable position for greater splendour accompanied by a seat of thorns. GOD forbid, he wrote to Constantine, that he should violate the canons which forbade translation ! Many a priest must exist worthy of the dignity to which their kindness, rather than the good judgment of the citizens, had invited himself. He obtained his reward : — a fulsome * letter from the weak Constantine, which he has taken care to preserve, and great reputation as, in degenerate times, a staunch upholder of the canons. Constantine addressed ano ther epistle to the Antiochenes, in which, while applauding their wish to possess Eusebius, he exhorted them not to rob another church in order to advantage their own. Another letter is addressed to Theodotus, Theodorus, Narcissus, Aetius, AlphaBus, and the other bishops at Antioch ; — the relics, ap parently, of the council which had condemned S. Eustathius. Alphseus was of Apameia2; he had been at Nicsea, and we shall meet him again at the great Council of Antioch. Theo- 1 Vit. Const, in. 61. 2 Le Quien. n. 911. 96 THE GREAT SCHISM OF ANTIOCH. Eulalius, Patr. of Ant. XXV. Euphronius, Patr. Ant. XXVI. Placillus, Patr. Ant. XXVII. A.D. 333. dorus1 seems to have been of Sid on. Narcissus2 was of Irenopolis, and a man of some note among the Arians ; S. Athanasius tells us that he was thrice deposed by Catholic Synods. Theodotus3 was of Laodicea, and a determined Arian; of Aetius I know nothing. These prelates are in formed by the emperor that he is acquainted (partly by them, partly through Acacius, Count of the East, and Strategius, the imperial commissioner for the suppression of the tumults excited by the deposition of Eustathius) with the state of affairs at Antioch. It recommends two priests, Euphronius of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and George of Arethusa, both ordained by S. Alexander of Alexandria, as well qualified for the vacant see. Euphronius did eventually succeed to it. , 2. But the election seems to have been entirely free, for notwithstanding the recommendation of the Caesar, one Eula lius4 was elected. All that is known of him is, that he was an Arian, and that he survived only three months. He was followed by Euphronius5, the Emperor's candidate, who held the see a year and a quarter. These two poor shadows passing, Placillus6, an Arian of greater name, appears on the stage. 3. Having triumphed at Antioch, and to a, certain ex tent established their party there, the Arians next resolved to carry Alexandria. For this purpose the Council of Tyre with its sixty prelates was convoked, and those proceedings, which terminated in the deposition of Antioch, and the tem- 1 Le Quien. n. 812. 2 Le Quien. n. 897. Nicetas Cho- niates, v. 7. He signed at Aneyra and Neocaesarea, and was at Philip- popolis. 3 Le Quien. n. 792. This man has had a singular fate. Deceived by the eulogy pronounced on him by Eusebius (vn. 32), V. Bede and Adon inserted him in their Marty ro- logies, and Baronius thence placed his name in the Eoman Martyrology. But Saint Theodotus was a vigorous Arian; claimed by Arius himself at once as his chief partizan, and suf ficiently exposed by Theodoret, H.E. v. 7. 4 My numbers of the patriarchs of Antioch henceforth differ from those of Le Quien by one; as he, following S. Jerome, counts Eusebius as bishop of that see, merely because a strong party wished to have him. 5 Euseb. Vit. Const, in. 62. Theo doret, i. 22. 6 So S. Jerome calls him. Sozomen names him Placetus : but in another place (H.E. in. 5.) Plautus. DEDICATION OF S. SEPULCHRE'S CHURCH. 97 porary triumph of Arianism, I have related at large in the history of Alexandria. Athanasius took refuge at Ca3sarea Philippi ; the bishops, summoned by Constantine to Jeru salem, in order to dedicate the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, now complete, obeyed the command, and were conveyed to the city in carriages belonging to the State. Arrived there, The bishops thev found a considerable number of prelates awaiting them ; moned to J Jerusalem. a vast assembly of all ranks had come up to the festival ; and the gorgeous character of the building, united to the splendour of the office itself, must have made this an epoch in the a?sthetical history of the Church. Pity only that here, as on other occasions, her truth was trampled under foot when her external beauty was at the highest ! The greater part of the prelates present at the solemnity seem to have been men disposed to go with the wind; the few leading spirits were those of the Arianising party : Eusebius of Caesarea, Ursacius and Yalens from Thrace, Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognius. There were, however, men of a different stamp ; as for example, S. Alexander of Thessalonica, — a de termined opponent of heresy; and S. Milles1 of Persia, whose glorious martyrdom I shall ere long have occasion to record. 4. Eusebius, who was present at the Encaenia, has left us a gorgeous, though somewhat confused description of the new basilica2. The rock itself, which had been sanctified to all ages by the Three Days' Repose, seems to have been pared down, and encrusted on the exterior with marbles and such substitute for enamel as the art of the age afforded. We read of the great court, cloistered on three sides, the church forming the fourth, or eastern. The height and length were of as yet unrivalled magnitude ; the interior, lined with marbles of different colours ; the exterior of stone, but so admirably polished, and so marvellously fitted together, that it might well be mistaken for marble. Three gates, turned to the east, gave admission ; the long nave had double aisles ; the piers were apparently square, the vaulting gilt. The apse was surrounded with twelve piers, after the numbei, 1 Sozomen, H. E. n. 13. also Willis's Architectural History, 2 Vit. Constantin. in. 31—39. See p. 116. 7 98 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. says the historian, of the apostles ; the capitals were of silver, a special gift of the Emperor. The external covering was of lead. 5. Of the act of dedication we have no account; per haps, strictly speaking, there was none. The days of the festival were employed in sermons and expositions ; those of the bishops who laid claims to learning1 — and Eusebius hints that a certain prelate who afterwards related the proceedings was none of the least distinguished — explained the mystical depth of Holy Scripture; others, whose taste led them to more worldly subjects, panegyrized the Augustus ; others, who felt themselves unequal to such tasks, offered the un bloody sacrifice for the stability of the throne, and for the peace of the Church. This dedication took place on or about the 13th of September, then, as still, the festival of the Holy Cross. 6. Well for all had the solemnities ended here ; but Arius presented himself to the assembled fathers, demand ing re-admission to their communion. He with Euzoius had memoralized Constantine in the city of Byzantium, then rising under a thousand architects to be the mistress of half the world. The Emperor graciously received a petition which, in effect, constituted him the final judge of doctrines, approved of the protest it contained against useless defini tions, the ' Consubstantial ' being one of these ; — was pleased with the heretic's declarations — as decided heretics never fail to declare — that he believed the teaching of Holy Scripture on the point ; — and finally, sent him to Jerusalem, with a civil conge ffelire, reception and Communion being substi tuted for election to a see. It would be interesting to know how the few Catholics in the assembly behaved. Marcellus of Ancyra was not there — at least not when this business wa,s debated : S. Milles, as coming from so great a distance and speaking another language, might have been unacquainted with the subject-matter of the debate ; but what did Maxi- mus do ? He had been at Tyre, and had there been saluted by S. Paphnutius with the bitter question: "Did we not 1 Lib. iv. 45, 46. ARIAN DOMINATION. 99 " each suffer mutilation for our LORD, and is one now in the "seat of the scornful?" — and, better instructed, had re mained firm to S. Athanasius : what he did at Jerusalem no records exist to tell. The Council, however, was again broken up by Constantine, who summoned it to Constanti nople. The Arians, instead of obeying the order, dispatched six deputies, fiercely bigoted to their own communion, to the imperial city. They there deposed Marcel] us of Ancyra, and there also witnessed the awful death of the arch-heretic Arms. But these things are beyond our present scope. 7. The baptism and death of Constantine, the threefold division of his empire between Constantine the younger, Constans and Constantius ; the murder of the former by his brothers, and the deep wound which the Church sustained by the death of so zealous a Catholic, the entire absorption of Constantius into the Arian sect, and the death of Eusebius of Cassarea, remotely connected with our immediate history, bring us to the most celebrated Council which Antioch ever knew. 8. The nominal occasion, as so frequently during that council of age was the case, was the dedication of the magnificent church commenced by Constantine ten years before. At least ninety bishops were present, of whom we know sixteen to have been Ensebians, or semi- Arians. The Metropolitans on both sides were these : Of the Catholic party, Marcellus of Ancyra, whose orthodoxy remains an open question to this day, and who was bitterly accused by semi- Arians, and by some Catholics, of a modified Sabellianism : Agapius2 of Seleucia, metropolitan of Isauria; he had been at Nicaea : 1 Every ecclesiastical student is marvellously full of learning; and aware that the very learned Belgian, though, I think, failing to shew that Emanuel a Schelstraate, who was a the council was not an Arian, or canon of Antwerp in the 17th century, rather Eusebian conciliabule, afford- published a monograph on this Coun- ing the greatest assistance to the his- cil under the title of "Sacrum An- torian of that synod, tiochenum Concilium nunc primuin 2 In some MSS. he is called, in auctoritati sua3 restitutus." His im- the Nicene list, Agapetus : but the mediate object was the somewhat same prelate was undoubtedly in quaint one of procuring its confirma- both councils, tion by Innocent XI. It is a book 7—2 100 THE PATKIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. Magnus of Damascus, of Phoenicia Secunda: he had also been at Nicaea; Aitallahas1 of Edessa, of Osrhoene, and Mennachos of Bostra, of Arabia : of both of whom the same thing may be said. Besides these, there are three bishops who have since been reckoned among the saints : S. James of Nisibis: S. Paul of Neocaasarea : and S. Theodulus of Trajanopolis2, at that time a simple bishopric, afterwards metropolis of Khodope. 9. The Metropolitans who were of the Eusebian party, were : Gregory, the intruded patriarch of Alexandria : Placil- lus, patriarch of Antioch : Dianseus3 of Cassarea, exarch of Patris, a good but weak man, by whom S. Basil was baptised, and held in great respect by that saint. Theodoras of Heraclea4, exarch of Thrace, also a good man, though sadly mistaken in siding with the semi-Arians; praised by S. Jerome as an elegant commentator on Scripture, and whose notes on the Psalms5 we still possess: Eusebius of Nicomedia, Acacius of Cassarea in Palestine, of whom we shall hear much more : Maris of Chalcedon, and Patrophilus of Scythopolis, names of infamy : Theophronius6 of Tyana, metropolitan of Cappadocia Secunda : Alpheus of Apamea7. — Among the other bishops, I may notice Macedonius of 1 At Nicasa lie is called Etholius, 3 He is called Damns in the list of also Etholicus, in Schelstraate's list Schelstraate, who does not seem to 2Etherius. The ChroniconEdessenum have been aware of his history, gives us his right name : which, com- 4 Le Quien, i. 1103. pounded of Aiti, "he brought," and 5 Published in his Catena of Greek Aloho, " GOD," comes pretty near to fathers, by the Jesuit Corderius. Deusdedit. He built the south side 6 Schelstraate has strangely in- of the cathedral of Edessa, Assem. scribed this bishop among his list of B. 0. i. 394. Catholics. Whereas, in the diptychs 2 Schelstraate leaves his see uncer- presented by Euphratas of Tyana in tain; but (cf. Le Quien, i. 1190) there the 5th General Council, his name is is no reasonable doubt that he is that omitted on account of his heresy. Le Theodulus whom S. Athanasius men- Quien, i. 396. tions in his Epistle to the Monks, 7 He also is reckoned by Schel- and again in his Apology for his straate among the Catholics ; but the flight, as falsely accused, and narrowly position we have already seen him escaping with life. Socrates (H. E. occupy in the deposition of S. Eusta- ii. 26) seems to say that he did thius renders it next to certain that afterwards die a martyr. he was an Eusebian. COUNCIL OF ANTIOCH. 101 Mopsuestia, who had been a confessor under Diocletian, and who was one of the few whom the party could boast1 ; Mark of Arethusa, who at first one of the deepest dyed of the semi-Arians, and apparently not far removed from pure Arianism, gradually drew nearer and nearer to the Catholic Faith, though he never professed it, and suffered a most fear ful and glorious martyrdom under Julian the Apostate : the eastern Church reckons him among2 the saints : Eudoxius of Germanicia, a determined semi-Arian, but a learned man3, whom we shall find subsequently bishop of Antioch, and then of Constantinople. George of Laodicea, originally a proselyte of Alexandria, who appears at this time4 to have been little better than a pure Arian : but who afterwards at tached himself to the semi-Arians, and was subsequently in the communion of S. Cyril of Jerusalem : — he was a learned man, and had written well against the Manicha3ans5: Eusebius of Emesa, at this time not uninfected with semi-Arian senti ments, but afterwards one of the ablest theologians, and best esteemed commentators6 of his age. It is to be observed that Macarius of Jerusalem, acknowledging himself to have been previously deceived by the Arians, refused to be present, and that Julius of Rome sent no legate to the Council. 10. There is no doubt that, during the whole of the Synod, both parties — or, to speak more correctly, all three parties — communicated with each other: and the Emperor Constantius seems to have played much such a part, though with far less worthy intentions, which was afterwards as sumed by Sigismund of Germany at the Council of Con stance. They first agreed on a formula of faith, which seems to have been intended as a basis of communion, and which ran thus : 1 He is called so with great em- Viraypvirviiffas TrptSra TroXXcus phasis by the prelates of Philippe- vvvutre Map/cos 0etoj> dpr/vys virvov. polis, in their letter to Daretus of 3 See S. Niceph. Callist. ix. 14. Carthage. 4 Le Quien, u. 791. 2 March 29. The greater part of 5 S.Epiph.Haer. Lxvi.21: Sozomen. Mark's life is ingeniously left by H. E. iv. 24. the Synaxarion. The Stichos is 6 Sozomen. H. E. in. 6. S. Hiero- pretty : nym. Script. Eccles. 102 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. "We have neither been followers of Arius — for how, being bishops, should we follow a presbyter ?— nor have we received any other faith than that which we have acquired from the beginning. But, having been investigators and provers of his belief, we have rather received him than fol lowed him. And ye shall know from that which is now said : for we have learnt from the beginning to believe in One GOD of all, the Maker of, and provider for, all things intelligent and sensible : and in One Only Begotten SON of GOD, existing before all the ages, and remaining together with the FATHER that begat Him : by Whom all things were made, both visible and invisible : who also in these last days descended, and received flesh of the Holy Virgin : and having accomplished all His Father's counsel, that He suf fered and arose and ascended into Heaven ; and sitteth on the right hand of the FATHER; and that He cometh to judge the quick and the dead, and remaineth King for ever. And in the HOLY GHOST. And if it is meet to add it, We believe also concerning the Resurrection of the Flesh, and Life Everlasting." 11. This formula, then, was drawn up at the commence ment of the synod by the Arianising bishops, and was in tended to be, and actually received as, a passport to the communion of the Catholics. The terms are carefully se lected from Scripture, and from Scripture only ; there is no assertion, but neither is there any condemnation of the Homoousion : and we cannot wonder that, fuller consideration pending, the Catholic prelates, to whom it was earnestly recommended, received it. But a certain suspicion con tinuing to attach itself to the Eusebian party, from the omission of the Consubstantial, they hit, with all the ingenuity which characterized their clique, on a formula which could not, they thought, be rejected by their oppo nents, while it contained nothing obnoxious to themselves. Their new creed was attributed — and apparently with truth — to the martyr S. Lucian, of whom I have already spoken. Whatever might have been the sentiments of that saint, had he lived after the Arian controversy had broken CREED OF THE COUNCIL. 103 out, and whether he is rightly or wrongly charged with inclining, at least, to a belief which would afterwards have seemed semi-Arian — it is clear that no blame can attach to him for not employing the term Homoonsion, at a period antecedent to the Council of Nicsea; the rather (as we have seen) that term had been actually condemned by a Council of Antioch against Paul of Samosata. The new document was as follows. 12. "We believe, in accordance with Evangelic and Apostolic tradition, in One GOD the FATHER Almighty, the Creator and Maker of all things ; and in One LORD JESUS CHRIST His SON, the Only Begotten GOD, by whom all things were : begotten of the FATHER before all worlds : GOD of GOD : whole of whole : only of only : perfect 01 perfect : King of King : Lord of Lord : Living Word, Wis dom, Life, Very Light, Way of Truth, Resurrection, Shep herd, Gate, inconvertible and unchangeable, the immutable Image of the Divinity, Essence, and Power, and Will and Glory of the FATHER. The First-born of all creation : Him that was in the beginning with GOD, the WoRD-GoD (ac cording to that which is said in the Gospel : and the Word was God) : by Whom all things were made, and in Whom all things consist ; Who in the latter days came down from above, and was born of a Virgin, according to the Scriptures ; and became Man ; the Mediator of GOD and men ; and the Apostle of our faith : and the Prince of Life : as He saith, 1 have come down from heaven, not to do Mine own Will, but the Will of Him that sent Me : and suffered for us, and rose again for us on the third day : and ascended into Heaven, and sat on the Eight Hand of the FATHER: and shall come again with glory and power to judge the quick and the dead. And in the HOLY GHOST, Who is given for comfort and sanc- tincation and perfecting, to them that believe : as also our LORD JESUS CHRIST commanded His disciples, saying: Go ye, and disciple all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : mani festly of the FATHER, as being verily FATHER ; and of the SON, as being verily SON; the names not being employed 104 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. loosely, nor idly: but signifying in very exactness the pecu liar Person, and Order, and Glory of those that are na,med : so that in Person they are Three, but in agreement, One. Having therefore this faith before GOD and CHRIST, we anathematise every heretical heterodoxy. And if any one teaches at variance with the wholesome faith of the Scrip tures, saying that there is or was a time or age before the SON of GOD was, let him be anathema. And if any one says, that the SON is a creature as one of the creatures, or a pro duction as one of the productions — and not as the Holy Scriptures have handed down to us regarding each of the aforesaid things — or if any one teaches aught else, or evan gelises at variance with that which we have received, let him be anathema. For we truly and manifestly both believe and follow all things which have been handed down by the Divine writings, and by prophets and apostles." 13. This creed, whatever authority it might derive from the name of S. Lucian, seems not to have been satisfactory to the Synod. Accordingly Theophronius, bishop of Tyana, and consequently metropolitan of Cappadocia Secunda, made another attempt, which appears to have been received with greater applause. This formula was conceived in the fol lowing terms : " GOD knoweth, whom I call as a witness upon my soul, that I thus believe : in GOD the FATHER Almighty, the Creator and Maker of the universe, of Whom are all things ; and in His only begotten SON, GOD the WORD, Might and Wisdom, our LORD JESUS CHRIST : through Whom are all things ; begotten of the FATHER before the worlds ; perfect COD of perfect GOD, and existing with GOD in hypostasis : but in the latter days descending, and born of the Virgin according to the Scriptures. Who was Incarnate, suffered, and rose again from the dead; and ascended into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of His Father : arid coming again with glory and might to judge the quick and the dead ; and Who remaineth to all ages. And in the HOLY GHOST, the PARACLETE, the Spirit of Truth : Whom also by the prophet GOD promised to pour forth upon His Servant ; MARCELLUS OF ANCYRA. 105 and the LORD promised to send to His Disciples, and also sent, as the Acts of the Apostles witness. And if any one teacheth, or believeth in himself, aught in opposition to this faith, let him be anathema; or [the doctrine] of Mar- cellus of Ancyra, or Sabellius, or Paul of Samosata, let him be both anathema himself, and all that communicate with him." 14. With these attempts, miserable indeed when com- Heresy of pared to the simple and comprehensive majesty of the Con- M stantinopolitan, or even of the Nicene Symbol, the creed- making of the Synod of Antioch came to an end. But the first anathema of the last creed requires that I should now enter into the history of Marcellus of Ancyra. This pre late, metropolitan of Galatia, distinguished himself in the first outbreak of the Arian troubles by his zeal for the Catholic faith. One Asterius, a sophist of Cappadocia, an apostate in the persecution of Diocletian, wrote a work on the Divinity of CHRIST, in which he expressed the broadest Arian tenets. Marcellus entered the lists against this per son, and, judging from the testimony of impartial writers, expressed himself in a way which gave rise to a suspicion that he was infected with Sabellianism. The comparison is both interesting and instructive, which may be drawn be tween the Galatian bishop and S. Dionysius the Great. The latter, as I have shewn in the History of Alexandria, when Sabellius first began to propagate the poison of his doctrine in the Pentapolis — in attacking that heretic scandalised his Patriarchate by phrases akin to that which was afterwards Arianism, and expressly and pointedly denied the Consub- stantiality of the SON. Marcellus, on the contrary, in attack ing the Arian, did really, or was supposed to, give way to the Sabellian dogmas. His treatise was condemned by the bishops ; first at Jerusalem, in the Synod of the Dedication, and afterwards at Constantinople. He was shortly afterwards, by the intrigues of the Eusebians, sent into exile. 15. On his return (how brought to pass we know not), he found his Church torn asunder by the intrusion of one Basil, an Arian bishop. Hence he betook himself to Antioch, 106 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCB. where, as we have just seen, he was condemned. On this he went to Rome, and presented his Confession of Faith to Julius I., by whom he was received as orthodox. The Euse- bians, however, refused to acknowledge this sentence of Rome, and the question came before the Council of Sardica, and its rival conciliabule of Philippopolis. By the latter, Marcellus was again condemned as " an impudent Galatian, who had turned aside after another Gospel, and had mingled together the heresies of Paul of Samosata, Sabellius, and Montanus." The fathers of Sardica, on the other hand, absolved, and dis missed him with honour. Still, however, his see continued in the hands of the Arians, and he remained in the West. Photinus, bishop of Sirmiuin, had been his pupil ; and the notorious heresy of this prelate undoubtedly tended to in crease the suspicion which attached to Marcellus. He was at length dropped by S. Athanasius and S. Hilary, whose com munion he had in vain endeavoured to secure ; though the orthodox part of his own Church remained attached to him to the last. He seems to have departed this life A.D. 372, and it must have been in extreme old age, since he had sub scribed the canons of the Synod of Ancyra fifty-eight years before. 16. It would be presumptuous to express a decided opi nion as to the orthodoxy of Marcellus of Ancyra, after the learning which has been expended in considering both sides of the question. Schelstraate seems to have regarded him with almost a personal dislike : Baronius, though a little, in different parts of his annals, varying from himself, pro nounces a more favourable, though still not an exculpatory, judgment ; and the same thing may be said of Montfaucon in his diatribe de Mar cello Ancyrano. Natalis Alexander inclines to the side of acquittal ; and 1 think that truth, no less than charity, would bring us to that conclusion. It must be remembered that the confessions of faith which the bishop presented were never accused of heresy : it was only said— a thing always so easy to assert, and so impos sible to disprove— that his heart did not go with his words. His condemnation, so far as it is implied in withdrawal of VINDICATION OF MARCELLUS. 107 communion — by Athanasius, is of less moment than at first sight it appears. Absorbed in the great battle he was fight ing, that patriarch's was exactly the character to drop an individual for the purpose of assisting a cause. Marcellus had, undoubtedly, been suspended; a sense of injustice had probably not improved his temper ; he seems to have be- become more reckless in his assertions after his acquittal at Sardica, and he was doing harm to the cause which Hilary and Athanasius would have laid down their lives to render victorious. S. Epiphanius is too inaccurate a writer to render his verdict of very great weight ; while S. Basil's judgement is accounted for with ease. I have already had occasion to observe, that the leading minds of the Church have from the beginning divided themselves into two classes — the mystical and the rationalistic ; the former, in its ex cess, Sabellian or Monophysite — the latter, Arianising or Nestorianising. Marcellus holds a marked place in the first class; undoubtedly the tendency of S. Basil's teaching — GOD forbid that I should seem, in saying so, to disparage in the slightest degree a glorious saint — was to the latter. The two, then, were from the first unlikely to agree ; and if we remember the excessive jealousy which Basil evinced towards Roman interference, we shall still less wonder that he should incline to be unjust towards a protege of Pope Julius, and of the Western Council. 17. We have now to consider the Canons of Antioch; which, whatever were the character of the prelates that composed them, form a not unimportant part of Church law. I. Renews the decree of the Council of Nicaaa respecting the time of Easter. II. Has given rise, especially in these latter times, to much discussion. It excommunicates those who go into church, and hear the Scriptures, but after that refuse to communicate, Kara riva ara^lav. It has been endeavoured to shew that this canon forbids the habit of assisting at, without communicating in, the celebration. But, whatever particular reference might have been intended at the time, and whatever be the 'irregularity' referred to, a comparison with the 9th Apostolic Canon, on which it is 108 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. evidently based, and the unbroken tradition of all commen tators, shews distinctly that it was not intended to forbid a custom which the East, no less than the West, has always practised. III. Forbids priest, deacon, and any one ' of the sanctuary,' if he shall leave his parish, and go into another diocese, so as to take up his abode there, there to celebrate; and if his Bishop shall recall him, and he shall refuse to obey, orders him to be deposed. IY. If bishop, priest, or deacon, having been deposed by a synod, shall, without absolution, continue to celebrate the Liturgy, he shall never be reinstated in his office. This canon was undoubtedly di rected against S. Athanasius, who had, notwithstanding his so- called depositions at Tyre and Jerusalem, continued his epis copal functions ; and it is this intention which has inflicted a deeper wound on the character of the council than any other of its proceedings. Yet, considered in itself, it is not unjust; and contemplating, as it does, a regular and organized system of appeals, till the appellant reaches that (Ecumenical tribunal, which cannot err, it could not, except in a corrupt state of affairs, involve any mischievous effects. In fact it is only a repetition, as Balsamon has observed, of the 29th Apostolic Canon. It was quoted, by the eastern bishops, against Timothy the Cat; in Africa it was recognized by the Council of Hippo, in Portugal by S. Martin of Braga, in France by S. Csesarius of Aries, and in Italy by Pope John II. So that, with whatever sinister intention it was carried at Antioch, it is now a part, and a very wholesome part, of the Code of Ecclesiastical Law. The Yth canon is again di rected against schism ; it condemns those presbyters, who, in defiance to the authority of their bishop, set up altar against altar; and concludes remarkably by calling in against such an one, should he obstinately persist, the secular arm. I am inclined to think that it was this canon which interested so deeply the feelings of Schelstraate in defence of the Synod of Antioch. VI. Those who are excommunicated by their own bishop, not to be re-admitted to communion by another, till they have first satisfied the former. VII. Strangers not to be received to communion without the letters termed pacific, DISCIPLINARY CANONS OF ANTIOCH. 109 or commendatory. VIII. Such letters cannot be given by country presbyters, except it be to the neighbouring bishop. IX. Defines the rights of metropolitans and bishops. X. For bids Chorepiscopi to ordain to any ecclesiastical office but that of the subdiaconate. XL Forbids, under pain of depo sition, private appeals to be made to the Emperor by an in dividual bishop, or priest, without the privity and consent of the metropolitan and his comprovincials. This canon too was undoubtedly directed against S. Athanasius; but in itself it must be confessed admirable. XII. Is to much the same effect: that a clerk, condemned by a council, and seeking restoration from the Emperor, should be incapable for ever of returning to his office. XIII. Forbids one bishop to offi ciate in the diocese of another, unless requested. XIV. In case of the trial of a bishop, where the numbers for his con demnation or acquittal are evenly balanced, the metropolitan shall invite the prelates of a neighbouring province to decide the cause. XV. A bishop, unanimously condemned by his comprovincials, to have no appeal to the synod of another province. XVI. A bishop without a See, intruding himself into a see that has no bishop, without a "perfect council/' to be ejected, though the people unanimously wish for him : a " perfect council," that in which the metropolitan is present. XVII. A bishop, elected and consecrated, but refusing to undertake his office, to be excommunicated till he shall con sent. XVIII. But if prevented by the dislike of the people, or by any other cause, not his own fault, to be treated with all the honour due to, and to exercise, his ministry. The possible election of a bishop, who should be obnoxious to the people, in this canon, and the ejection of one (without any fault of his own), to whom they were attached, in the XVIth, shew a considerable variation from the primitive discipline as regards the election of bishops. XIX. A bishop only to be ordained in the presence of a provincial synod, summoned by the Metropolitan. XX. Provincial councils to be sum moned twice in the year; once in the fourth week after Pen tecost, once on the fifteenth of October. XXI. Forbids the translation of bishops. XXII. One bishop not to exercise 110 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. any episcopal functions in the "parish" of another; if he does, to be punished by the provincial synod. XXIII. A bishop not to appoint his own successor. XXIY. Distinguishes, in case of a bishop's death, between his own property and the goods of the Church; so that his family may not, on the one hand, be impoverished, nor, on the other, the Church lose that which belongs to her. XXV. Gives the dispensation of Church property to the bishop; but with an appeal to the provincial synod. 18. These are the celebrated Canons of Antioch, which may be regarded, on the whole, as possessing the authority of the whole Church, by her adoption of them; though some, as for example, that against translations, have undoubtedly fallen into abeyance. Those who have undertaken to defend the authority of the Council itself, have proposed the hypo thesis, that, when the Catholic bishops returned to their several homes, the Eusebian fathers remained, and turned the canons just made, and undoubtedly good in themselves, against Athanasius, whom they accordingly deposed. I con fess that I can see ho reason for such a belief. It would seem far more credible, that while the Arians did not pos sess an absolute majority in the council, they formed a very formidable minority; that the moderate party were ready to throw" an individual overboard, in the vain hope of appeasing a troublesome adversary, and, by sacrificing a person, of maintaining a principle. Such proceedings we have seen again and again in our own times; and human nature was the same at Antioch in the 4th century, as it is among ourselves now. Certain it is that, in consequence of the 4th and 12th canons, the Emperor's ratification was pro cured to the deposition of S. Athanasius, and Gregory intruded at Alexandria, as I have related at length in my history of that Church. Thus ended the Council of Antioch. 19. While the dicecese of Antioch was the scene of end less disputes between Arians and semi- Arians, and of the unfailing contest of the Church of GOD against both, Palestine was filled with the sanctity and miracles of another Antony. S. HILARION. Ill Hilarion1 was bora at Tabatha, a little town in that portion Birth of s. of the Holy Land which had formed the tribe of Judah. HSrS?* Sent by his parents, who were idolaters, to Alexandria for the purpose of education, he there became converted to the true faith; and hearing much of the reputation of S. Anton}^, he sought him out in the desert, and became one of his dis ciples, and studied under him two months. There, wearied out by those who sought to be cured of their diseases, or who were possessed of devils, he returned to his own country. His father and mother were dead ; he divided his property he retires among his brothers and sisters, and then took up his abode desert, 307. in the desert, about seven miles from Majuma, in that which had once been the territory of the Philistines. Warned that the locality abounded with robbers, he opposed his poverty to their rapaciousness : "And if they take my life," said he, " death is the aim of my wishes." His earliest diet was a daily fast till sunset, and then a supper of fifteen figs: but finding that not even thus was he secured from the tempta tions of the flesh, he diminished his quantity of food, till he satisfied himself daily with six ounces of barley bread, a few wild herbs, and a farinaceous drink. He was frequently obliged to change his abode, compelled by the irruptions of the soldiers: his employment was basket-making, after the fashion of the Egyptian monks. His dwelling was so small as rather to resemble a tomb. His garments, a piece of sackcloth, which was never washed, and a sheepskin which he had received as a present from Antony. He had resided in the desert twenty-two years, when he first became cele- A.D. 329, brated for his miracles. 20. One of the first of these was the cure of the three his miracles sons of Elpidius, prefect, at a later period, of the praatorium. He, with his wife Aristasneta and these children, had been paying a visit to S. Antony; on their return, the youths were seized at Gaza with so violent a double tertian ague, on the 59118 , , . , . i , T i • • rrn • that they were given over by the physicians. I heir mother 1 See the relation of these particu- residence in Palestine, the biographer lars in S. Jerome's very entertaining was in a position to speak of many life of the saint. From his long anecdotes of this kind. 112 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. went to S. Hilarioii, and conjured him, by that LORD Who in the same country had rebuked many fevers, to come and heal her children. The saint had resolved never to enter a city: but, overcome by her prayers, he accompanied her home. He prayed over the youths; and forthwith so abundant a sweat burst forth over their burning bodies, that they seemed three fountains : entire health followed. At A lady of Facidia, near Rhinocorura in Egypt, lived a lady of consider able property, who, blind from the age of ten years, had spent a large portion of her wealth among physicians, but to no purpose. " Had you given the same amount to the poor," said the saint, " JESUS CHRIST, the True Physician, would have healed you." He spat on her eyes, and immediately Orion. restored her sight. One Orion, tormented by a legion of demons was brought to him for cure; and, after the expul sion of his persecutors, came, with his wife and children, to the abode of the saint, in order to request his acceptance of rich presents. "Gehazi endeavoured to sell, Simon to buy, the gifts of the HOLY GHOST," returned Hilarion; "and do not you tremble ? " " At least," pleaded the other, " take them for the poor." "You yourself can judge better than I can of their needs," said Hilarion ; " the name of poverty is too often an excuse for avarice." And finding that the poor man remained disconsolate : " I do it for your sake, my son," he continued ; " were I to act otherwise, I should offend God, and the legion of devils would return to their old dwelling- place." The horses 21. The story of Italicus is still more remarkable. A ofltalicus. citizen of Majuma near Gaza, he was compelled, by the law of the land, to contend in a public chariot-race. His com petitor, a duumvir of Gaza, dedicated his horses to the popular idol Marnas, " lord of men : " and the contest was generally regarded in the city as one between the true and the false GOD. Hilarion was at first unwilling to inter fere : but when convinced that this was the case, he ordered a bowl of water to be brought, and drank from it ; he then directed that the remainder should be sprinkled over the horses and their stalls. On the appointed day, anxiety was MIRACLES OF S. HILARION. 113 at the height. The heathens insulted, with loud outcries, Italicus and his friends. But, the signal being given, his horses seemed to fly towards the goal, while those of his rival crept rather than raced ; and even the Pagans cried out, "Marnas is conquered by JESUS CHRIST!" 22. The fame of S. Hilarion reached the ears of Con- A Frank . ~ n~ T-I i i • Candidatug- stantius : and, having a favourite officer, a Frank by nation, among his Candidati1, who was possessed by an evil spirit, he recommended him to consult the great hermit. Furnished with conveyance by the imperial bounty, the poor man arrived at Gaza, and applied himself to the Consular of Palestine for directions. A guard having been given him, and many of the inhabitants accompanying him from curiosity, they astonished the saint by the appearance of so numerous a band. Obliging the greater part to retire, Hilarion re tained the Frank, his slaves, and brother officers. Pie thus interrogated the patient — who spoke no language but his own — in Syriac : and the replies were given in the purest dialect of that tongue. He continued the questions, for the benefit of the interpreters, in Greek : — and the demon an swered that he had been forced to enter by art magic. " I care not," said Hilarion, " how thou didst enter ! but now, " in the name of JESUS CHRIST, I command thee to depart." The Frank, in his ignorance, offered ten pieces of gold; Hilarion made him a present of a piece of barley bread : and, " of what value," asked he, " can gold be to those who are accustomed to food of this kind ? " 23. From Hilarion, the monastic life took root inPales - His visita- . . •!! • ^on °^ *h.e tine, and if it never attained there the same importance monasteries . . . . of Palestine. m which it culminated in Egypt, it nevertheless produced marvellous fruits. He was accustomed2 to visit all the monasteries in the late summer before the vintage, and was sometimes accompanied by as many as 2000 of his brethren. Before one of these visitations, he drew up a programme of his route, and of the places in which he intended to lodge : and the piety of the inhabitants provided for himself and his 1 Vit. Cap. 17. - Cap. 20. 114 OF ANTIOCH. retinue, food as well as shelter. On one of these occasions he entered the town of Elusa in Idumsea: the townsmen were assembled in the temple of Venus, whom they adored in connection with the planet that bears her name. As they tumultuously crowded around him, and demanded his bless ing — for he had delivered several of their fellow-countrymen from unclean spirits — "Only/' said he, "believe in Jesus Christ, and I will visit you again and again." He traced for them the plan of a church, admitted a multitude to the catechu minate, and among these the idol priest himself, still wearing his garland of flowers. church of 24. I now turn to a most edifying subject, the great persecution under Sapor of Persia. Of the first introduction of the true Faith into that region, I have been able to say little ; and the settlement of the various sees, of which we shall speak hereafter at more length, is in its commencement utterly unknown. Though the distinction of metropolitan jurisdiction was now only beginning to make itself felt, we see enough, through the darkness of early Persian history, to per ceive that, next to Ctesiphon, the strength of the young Church Shiraz. radiated, as it were, from four nuclei. 1. SniRAz1, in the very cradle of the kingdom, and which still retains the name of Farsistan. Here were the sees of Istakhr, the ancient Persepolis, and of Darabgherd ; both, even at the present day, cities of considerable importance ; to this also belonged the Hoiwan. island of Socotra, so famous for its export of aloes. 2. Hoi- wan, on the eastern boundary of the territory of Irak, and Mosul. ' about a hundred miles N. E. of Bagdad. 3. Mosul, of which Meru. I shall have much to write hereafter. 4. Meru, as it is now called, then Maru, in the N. E. of Khorassan, a place now hardly marked in our maps: then the locality of a very flourishing church. At the period at which we have arrived, it was, I take it, the furthest advanced part of the Church in that direction. It was this Church which was now to undergo a tremendous conflict with Satan. 25. The throne of Persia was at this time filled by 1 See Le Qiiien, n. 1247—1264. Assemani, B. 0. rii. 126. PERSECUTION UNDER SAPOR. 115 Sapor, who was to make to himself a name scarcely second to that of Pharaoh or Antiochus Epiphanes, in the persecu tion of the Church. On the death of his father Hormuz, whom the Greek historians classicize into Hormisdas, the queen was left pregnant. If the future child were of the female sex, the house of the Sassanida3 would claim the crown ; if the child were a -male, it was to be expected that the loyalty of the magi would preserve for him the throne of his fathers. The consentient voice of the whole college of priests prophesied that a boy-king would be vouchsafed to the Persians. On this a royal bed was prepared with great Coronation pomp in the royal hall of the palace ; and in the midst of the A.D. 309.' attendance of nobles, pontiffs and the most distinguished in habitants of the metropolis, the diadem was1 placed on the spot which might be supposed to conceal the future heir of the kingdom of Persia, It thus happened that, throughout his long reign of seventy years, the years of Sapor's royalty always preceded those of his birth. When he had attained The acts of the age of 18 he was incited by the magi to commence that martyrs persecution of the Christians which sent such an innumer able host of martyrs to glory. The names of 16,000 were preserved in the diptychs of the Persian Church ; and it was well known that these were but a very small portion of those who fell for the true faith. The persecution did not indeed commence till the thirtieth year of the monarch's reign ; but before that period many had here and there dispersedly laid down their lives for the sake of CHRIST. And it happens, remarkably, that none of the great histories of the Church have yet contained a detailed account of this persecution. To Baronius, to Fleury, to Cabassutius — even to that patient chronicler of martyrdoms, Ruinart — it was only known through Greek versions, themselves very imperfect always, and often very inaccurate. It was left to the munificence of Clement first cor- XI., to the enterprise of Elias Assemani2, and to the learning ted by of Stephen Evodius, of the same family, to render accessible to Evodius J ' Assemani. 1 Agathias, Lib. iv. circ. med. See ing negotiations, see the preface of also Gibbon, in. p. 135. Stephen Evodius to the Acta SS. 2 For an account of these interest- Martyrum, pp. xxix — xxxin. 8—2 11G THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. the scholars of Europe the manuscripts which relate the en durance and the victories of these heroes of CHRIST. What ever, therefore, the reader may find in the following pages which is not to be found in the great masters of Church history, is due either to that source immediately, or to enquiries originating in that source. Anticipation 26. I have already related how, after the death of the persecu-ea wicked Papas, S. Symeon Bar-Saboe — "the son of the tions fuller" — succeeded to the throne of Seleucia. He must have seen, during the years of the childhood of Sapor, the efforts of the Magi directed to induce him to exterminate the very existence of the Church ; and must have learnt that the young king was but too willing to obey their instruc tions. The first martyrs, however, so far as we know, did not suffer till two years after the Council of Nicsea. It would appear that, at the commencement of the persecution, apostasies w^ere not unfrequent ; nor, when we consider the character of Papas, does it seem wonderful that a low ss. Brich- state of religion should have generally been prevalent. There ZeWnas, was in the city of Beth- Asa, in the province of Adiabene panions. (a province, the deep-seated Christianity of which I shall hereafter have cause to explain), and at no great distance from Mosul, two brothers, by name Jonas1 and Brich- Jesus. Having heard that in the city of Hubaha an unusual num ber of apostasies had occurred, they determined themselves to travel thither, and to endeavour, so far as might be in their power, to strengthen their brethren. Their efforts were crowned with much success ; and besides a larger number of confessors, they had the satisfaction of reckoning nine martyrs among their pupils: the names of the latter were Zebinas, Lazarus, Maruthas, Narsetes, Elias, Mahares, Abibus, Sabas and Shembaitas. The governor of the city, hearing of the arrival, and of the enthusiasm of the strangers, summoned them before his tribunal ; and endeavoured at first with kindness to bend them to his will. Refusing to worship the sun, the moon, fire and the holy water, they were scourged with orange 1 Assemani, Act, SS. Martyr, pp. 215—224. PERSIAN MARTYRS. 117 boughs, from which, says the historian, the knots and buds had not been removed ; and were then confined in separate prisons, under the idea that, if divided, each might be more easily overcome. Jonas was the first who was again called before the magistrate ; and, on his second refusal, was scourged more severely than before ; his weight being sus pended in the mean time on a blunted point, put under the centre of the stomach. The annalist, who was present, and who seems to have taken down what he uttered, gives his word as follows : " I yield Thee thanks, GOD of Abraham, our FATHER, who didst of old time call him by Thy grace from this place" — the city in which he suffered was the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, — "and hast made me worthy by the mysteries of faith to know some few things out of many concerning Thee. And now I pray Thee, 0 LORD, give me to make good that which the HOLY GHOST of old time spake by the mouth of David : I will offer unto Thee fat burnt sacrifices with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks and goats. O come hither and hearken ye that fear GOD, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul." And one verse which seems to have been continu ally in his mouth was : " One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I require." It were endless to go through with the torments by which this martyr of Christ was tried. It is said that being thrown into a caldron of boiling pitch, he came forth unhurt. Finally, he was cut in pieces, his remains being thrown into a well, and a guard of soldiers set over them to preserve them from the adoration of the Christians. 27. On this Brich-Jesus was set before the tribunal, and when desired to spare his own body : " It was not I who made it," said he, "neither will it be I that destroy it. GOD, who gave it to me, will restore it ; will reward me and punish you." Hormisdatshir, one of the principal magi, forthwith gave orders that the martyr should be scourged, should then be stuck full of sharp reeds, and afterwards cast into a tank of liquid sulphur. The bodies of the martyrs were afterwards ransomed for five hundred drachmae and 118 THE PATRIAKCHATE OF ANTIOCH. their silk vestments by an old friend, Abtushata. Their A.D.S27, victory was gained on the 24th day of December, 327; and the details of their martyrdom were written by Isaiah of Erzeroum. 28. We read no further details of any persecution during a space of twelve years. In the thirtieth of Sapor two Martyrdom bishops were called to the crown of martyrdom. These were andisaa<rr Sapor1 of Bethnicator, a small town on the river Capros, and Isaac of Bethseleucia, called also Carcha : they were accom panied by three others who appear to have been laymen — ofss. Ma- Mahanes, Abraham, and Symeon. The king was about to hanes, . ' Abraham, undertake a journey to rersepohs ; but was wrought on by the magi personally to superintend the examination of the prisoners. Then, as all through the acts of the Persian martyrs, one cannot but be struck with their method of ad dressing those in authority ; they seem to have endeavoured to aggravate, rather than to conciliate, and to state necessary truths with very unnecessary harshness. At the same time we must remember that their acts were, to a certain extent, dressed up to please the popular taste; and to this, rather than to any desire of their own to offend, it may be owing that one generally finds somewhat to regret in their replies during examination. We find from the questions addressed to Isaac, that even under Sapor church building went on. " How did you dare," enquired the monarch, " to erect any new temples?" "And when do you suppose," rejoined Isaac, "that I could find leisure for such a work?" This prelate was stoned to death : Sapor, committed to prison after being scourged, gave thanks to GOD for the victory of his friend, and two days after rejoined him in glory; dying, it was said, partly of his wounds, partly from the intolerable stench of the dungeon in which he was confined. Their followers were tried by even more cruel deaths. Mahanes was skinned alive ; Abraham had red hot nails thrust into his eyes ; and Symeon, buried to the waist in a pit excavated for that pur pose, was shot to death with arrows. 1 A. A. S. M. i. pp. 226- 280. THE GREAT PERSECUTION. 119 29. I now come to the great persecution of Sapor ; one The great of the four which may claim the chief place among those of Sapor: which the malice of Satan has excited against the Church : four most the other three being that of Diocletian ; that of Huneric, the Arian in Africa ; and that of Taycosama and his sue- JJ cessors in Japan. Not to interrupt the thread of my narra tive, I shall venture to go somewhat beyond the epoch which we have already reached ; and shall for the present leave the schism of Antioch to maintain itself in its double succes sion, and S. Cyril of Jerusalem to free himself by degrees from the Arian teaching of his youth; while I tell of the noble deeds done by CHRIST'S servants in the far east. I have already said that S. Symeon Bar-Saboe was at this time Bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and primate with autocephalous power in the Chaldean Church. He, too, had been at NicaBa1; and probably the prerogatives of his see had been there acknowledged ; though the thirty-third — others reckon it the thirty-eighth — Canon of that synod seems of very doubtful authenticity. After speaking of the Patriarchs, if the words be genuine, the fathers thus proceed : "Let the ctesiphon prelate of the see of Seleucia be honoured in a similar man- ledgedauto- ner, which is in the region of the East, and is called Modain ; i?nPthe°us and he shall be called by the appellation of Catholicos, and Nit-sea, shall henceforth have the power of ordaining metropolitans." At all events he was a marked man throughout the whole Persian empire, and could hardly expect to escape unnoticed whenever the storm should burst. In this he was happy, that he was surrounded by so excellent a staff of suffragans. The martyrdoms of S. Sapor and S. Isaac we have already seen ; that of S. Milles, whom we noticed on the dedication of the Holy Sepulchre, is to follow. 30. The acts of his martyrdom were written by S. Maru- The acts of thasa, who lived about eighty years later, but who had con- written by versed with some of the actors in the scenes which he tims. describes. I cannot commend his style ; it abounds in figures of speech rather than in facts, and intersperses scenes, 1 Assemani, Bibl. Or. i. p. 9. § Quien, n. p. 1080, x. xiv. Procop. Bell. Persic, n. 25. Le 8 A. A. S. M. i. p. XLYIII. seq. 120 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. which ought to be told with the greatest simplicity, with the flowery eastern rhetoric. Instead of a pompous eulogy on Judas Maccabseus, and a comparison between that chieftain and the Bishop of Seleucia, I would rather have been in formed what were the reasons which, in the thirtieth year of his reign, induced Sapor to commence so savage a persecu- A.D. 340. tion. Undoubtedly hatred to the Romans had a consider- Causes of ahle share in influencing him ; the persecution must be con- tion: poiiti- lSidered political as well as religious; the two nations hated cal as well as religious. eacn other with a border ferocity ; and the ebb and flow of successes on both sides kept every feeling of ambition, emula tion and rancour alive both in princes and people. Add, too, that S. James of Nisibis was he who, beyond all other, kept that border city firm in its allegiance to Constantius ; in the two sieges which it had already suffered from the Persians, he was the soul of the defence, and in that which we have yet to relate, he was the defender of the place by miracle. Actuated then by the Magi on one side, to whom he owed his infant crown, impelled on the other by the natural hatred which a corrupt heart bears to a purer system, he was further incited by beholding his Christian subjects vassals in will of the Roman emperor, and resolved, at whatever expense of depopulation, to rid Persia of them root and branch. mencement: S1' ^ie metno^ by which he commenced the attack was not without its ability. He declared that all who were called ^J tne name of CHRIST should be subject to a very heavy tax — our author has unfortunately not considered it worth his while to inform us of what kind. Symeon, in the name of his people, replied to this tyrannical edict. " CHRIST1," he said, " Who had freed the Church by His death, would not permit his people to bow the neck to such a yoke. While He remained their king, His servants were resolved not to 1 A. A. S. M. i. p. 17. Stephen Evo- scholar some little warmth in defence dius has a very long and angry note of that great light of the Syrian (17, p. 38) in defence of S. Symeon, Church : but for an ecclesiastical and against Tillemont, who seems to writer to accuse Tillemont, the first me to take the Christian view of the of Church historians, of inaccuracy subject. One can forgive a Syriac and ignorance, is surely unpardonable. PERSECUTION IN PERSIA. 121 contribute a tax which they neither could, nor ought to pay." I confess that I cannot admire the spirit of this, which the Syrian writers term the Golden Letter. It was not so that the Apostles had learned CHRIST. Over their faith Caesar should have no power; the perishable dross of their earthly goods, — if he demanded it, let it go. Certainly, the servants of the poor king had no right to commence a virtual rebel lion on such grounds. The king's indignation was, as might s. to resists, be expected, violently excited ; and, incited by the Jews, he gave orders for the arrest of the archbishop, and two of his priests, Ananias and Abdechala (if the Grecized form be preferred, Hierodulus). Taken into custody in Seleucia, they i were conducted to the king at Ledan, an episcopal city near Susa. Here he again gave offence by refusing the accus tomed adoration of the king — which, up to that time, it seems, he had paid. He was urged by every argument to adore the sun, but in vain. While we read the florid declamations which S. Maruthas puts into the mouth both of the king and of the archbishop, we cannot but wish that the authentic reports, which bring a western martyrdom so vividly before us, had been known in the East. The facts, no doubt, related of the Syrian martyrs are authentic : the speeches must be regarded as a spiritual romance. The archbishop was re manded to prison, when an eunuch, by name Guhshataza- des, in rank an Arzabedes, or chief of the white eunuchs, and formerly a Christian, saluted him. The archbishop turned his face from an apostate : " If," said the wretched man, " Symeon, once my friend, now turns from me, and refuses to refuses to , . , T , , . notice the acknowledge me, because I have denied my LORD and his, g how shall I be received at the latter day by the GOD whose faith I have thus betrayed ?" Resolved, even now, to take the kingdom of heaven by violence, he arrayed himself in mourning apparel, and presented himself in the palace. 32. So flagrant a breach of etiquette could not but excite the royal attention ; and with the sarcastic observa tion that the delinquent could not plead — what it seems could alone have been alleged with propriety — the death of wife or child, he demanded the cause of these signs of grief? postate uhslmla- THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. widow, nobleman of high reputation, was now a widow, and had bound herself by a vow of chastity. These two, with their 34i <; ay> servant, also consecrated to GOD, were arraigned before the judge. In vain they expressed the horror which all Chris tians entertained to the practice of witchcraft ; in vain they quoted the divine laws by which it is forbidden; in vain they asked what injury they had to avenge, who believed that their dear brother had been sent by the sword of the headsman from death to life, from sorrow to joy, from a vale of misery to a paradise of immortality. They were remanded to prison ; where Tharba received an offer of life for herself and her companions, if she would become the wife of the judge by whom they had been questioned. This offer being rejected with scorn, the three martyrs were led to the place of punishment. Each of them, after being stripped of her garments, was tied to two posts, erected for that purpose, and cut into fragments; and between these yet reeking por tions the queen, by the prescription of the magi, was led, followed by the whole of the forces then in the city. She shortly after perished miserably1. 36. In the same year another illustrious martyr glorified ^OD. Milles2, whom we have already seen present in the Council of Jerusalem, was born at Maheldagdar, the principal town of Kazichitis3; and a place of some importance. He followed, in his youth, the life of a courtier; and, while in that position, he received baptism. We find him first resi dent at Beth-Lapet (it is marked in our maps by its Arabic name of Ahwaz, more properly Suk-Ahuaz, i.e. 'the town of the Huzites,' or Oxii4,) where he probably was instructed in 1 In the Jewish faith, says Sozomeu. Persian Gulf. The Menaea will have it that she re- 4 The note 3, p. 80 of the A. A. S. M. covered. is here particularly to be observed. 2 The life of S. Milles has never Note: that the four ancient people, yet been related in English; nor is it the Susiani, Oxii or Uxii or Husitse, to be found, of course, in Baronius, Chusreni and Elymasi all occupied Fleury, &c. The original Acts are iu the territory now called Khuzistan. the A. A. S. M. Tom. i. pp. 66—79. Though Stephen Evodius always dis- 3 Or, as the Arabs call it, Eamani- tinguishes them, I can hardly think tis: it lies between Susa and the that the Oxii, who fas he says, note 2 LIFE OF S. MILES. 125 the faith by SS. Gadiabes and Sabinus, who, as we have seen, were resident in that city. Hence he removed to Elam, the head of the region called Ilamitis, or Elymaitica, on the Persian Gulf, and now forming a part of the modern Khuzis- tan; the seat of the Elamites mentioned as present at Jeru salem on the day of Pentecost. Here, it would seem, he went through the inferior orders, and especially distinguished himself by his sermons ; but, in process of time, he was raised by S. Gadiabes to the episcopate, and became Bishop of he becomes _/ ... . , bishop of Susa. Here, however, he was ill-received, and worse Susa: treated; and at length left the city, after denouncing GOD'S extreme vengeance on its impiety. Only three months had elapsed, when a conspiracy having been formed in it against Sapor, that monarch dispatched a sufficient military force, with a body of three hundred elephants, against the rebels; and Susa was laid in ruins. Hence, carrying nothing with is exiled ; him but a copy of the New Testament, Milles visited Egypt, with the especial intention of seeing Ammon, a favourite dis ciple of S. Antony. Here he remained two years; arid, on his return, led for some time an eremetical life, in company with a certain monk, whom he found thus engaged. He *oes to next paid a visit to S. James of Nisibis, whom he found busy in the erection of the church which is standing at this day; and on his return to Adiabene, sent that holy prelate a considerable weight of silk, as a contribution to defray his expenses. Hence he paid a visit to Ecbatane, then suffering under the tyranny of the Catholicus Papas, to which I have already alluded1. In Maisan2, whither he next bent his steps, he found the petty prince of the country suffering from a severe disease, which, for two years, had made him a prisoner to his house. " Return," said Milles to the messen- hi ger, "enter the chamber of thy lord, and proclaim aloud, ' Thus saith Milles : In the name of JESUS of Nazareth be thou healed, rise, and walk.'" The messenger obeyed; and perfect health followed. Several other miracles of his in the of the same page) were the same as l See Book i. § 95. the Husitae, are really different from 2 Or, as the Latins call it, Mesene, the Chusoai. It is now Bosra or Bassora. 120 THE PATKIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. same place, are related by the biographer. While thus en gaged, Hormisdas Guphrez, governor of the province, and a man of intolerable pride, arrested our prelate, together with his arrest, Abrosimus a priest, and Sinas a deacon, and sent them to the tribunal at Maheldagdar. Here they were twice scourged, and then imprisoned for some time, till the commencement of the ensuing year. Brought then before Hormisdas, and his brother Narses, who were prepared for a hunt on a grand and death, scale, but wished first to dispose of this, Milles1 was stabbed by the two brothers, and died, predicting their fate, at the same hour on the following day. The priest and the deacon were stoned. The next day, on the very same spot where S. Milles had breathed his last, Hormisdas and Narses, who had been, by one of the accidents of the chase separated, Fate of his met in pursuit of the stag, galloping furiously in different directions, and pierced each other mortally. The bodies of the three martyrs were buried in a hill-fort named Malcan — thenceforth, it was observed, secure from the attacks of the Sabseans. Martyrdom 37. The place of S. Svmeon Bar-saboe was filled by his of S. Shah- J J R of nephew Shahdust2. Born at Beth-garma, he was sent by his uncle to Nic^a, to represent him in the synod; and now succeeded in the episcopate, after a vacancy of three months. It is said that he beheld his predecessor in a vision, who 1 See Sozomen, H. E. n. 14. S. But by some mistake the same Miles, or, as he is there called, Milles, martyr is again commemorated under is celebrated in the Koman Martyro- the name of Sadoc, on Feb. 20. When logy on April 22 ; in the Menaea on we remember the developments of Nov. 10, but not as the principal recent Ultramontanism, and more saint, with this Stichos: especially some authorized Franciscan M£Xos 6 ^TTtV/coTros (ri/v /itfoTcus 5i5w devotions in connection with the rpnr\ovi> ?Xa/3e TOV dpbvov ev r$ TroAy. Portiuncula, it is singular to read in 2 A. A. S. M. pp. 84 — 92. It is the Assemani the following: "Praeterea same whom Le Quien calls Sadost: nee ab haeresi quam S. Sciahdusto (0. C. ii. 1108). He is commemorat- impingit ipse purgatur, quum eundem ed in the Menasa on Oct. 19, with this S. Martyrem exhibeat de se dicentem, Stichos: Quicunque Deum in nomine meo in- 2a5w0 6 0e?os TTJV Kdpav r/x^ets £t'0« vocaverit. salutem inveniet: in solo Geou 2a/3atb0 vvv TrapttrraTcu dpovq namque J. C. nomine invocari posse Aeneas 5eKair\rj fj.apTvpwv <rv/m,}j.apTup<j}v Deum, et salutem invenire, docet ex Kal 5i$ 5<f/ca 6vrj<rKov<rt TrX^j/rej £t'0et. Evangeliis Catholica Ecclesia." MARTYRS OF PERSIA. 127 informed him that his own martyrdom was at hand, and ex horted him to play the man for the name of Christ. With 128 companions he was arrested and imprisoned for five months, besides being more than once during that period horribly tortured. At length, condemned to be beheaded, they were led, heavily fettered, to the place of punishment; and there gave up their souls to GOD, while singing the 43rd Psalm. The scene of their triumph was Beth-Lapeth, or Ahwaz. 38. About the same time, an abbat of eminent piety, of s. Baisa- . . J' bias, abbat: named Barsabias , resident somewhere near Istakhr, the town which sprang up from the ruins of the ancient Perse- polis, was accused, with ten of his monks, to the governor of that town. After suffering divers torments, they were con demned to lose their heads; and, while the bloody tragedy was acting, a magi, with his wife, happened to pass. Struck by the calmness and courage with which the abbat, himself reserved to be the last victim, animated the rest; and seeing, as he affirmed, a cross of light that shone over the bodies of each of the martyrs, the traveller professed himself a Chris tian on the spot, and suffered with the others. 39. At Shaharcadata, a city in the province of Beth- °[ S0/ garma, the bishop, Narses2, and a disciple, Joseph, were ar- arcadata; rested, and carried before the king. He was at the moment in a caravariseray called Septa; and, after a few questions, ordered them to capital punishment : a vast number of peo ple witnessed the unconquered courage of their deaths. Two bishops in the territory of Beth-Seleucia sealed the faith ^ with their blood; John, slain at Beth-Haserta, by command bishops of the ruler of Adiabene ; Sapor, who sank under the miseries of a dungeon. Another bishop, Isaac, was put to death at a caravanseray, which took its name from Seleucus Nicator. In the same territory, at Hulsar, Isaac, a priest, was stoned; 1 A. A. S. M. i. pp. 92—96. of Stephen Evodius, my own pages 2 A. A. S. M. i. pp. 96 — 102. In- contain the fullest account that ec- accurate accounts are given by Sozo- clesiastical histories have yet given men, H.E. n. 13, and in the Menaea, of these glorious athletes of JESUS Nov. 20. Still, thanks to the labours CHRIST. 128 THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH. and others. Papa, pastor of a village called Helmin, was slain at Galul; Uhanam, a young clerk, was stoned by matrons, calling themselves Christians, compelled by threats of the most fear ful tortures, if they refused to play the part of executioners; Guhshatazades, an eunuch in the service of the governor of Adiabene, was killed by an apostate priest — his name Var- tranes. The little town of Lashuma sent four laymen to the noble army of martyrs: Sasannes, Mares, Timaeus, and Zaron. Near this place a noble matron, by name Bahutha, and six virgins, Tatona, Mama, Mazachia, Anna, Thecla, and Dan- acha, received the same crown; the four former outside a little town called Burcatha, or by others Hevara. A fig-tree sprang up on the scene of their triumph, the fruit of which was held to be possessed of supernatural medical efficacy. Many years afterwards, a Manichaean, envious of the glory of the martyrs, rooted it up. He was immediately seized with a particular species of plague — called by the Persians the lion's breath — from which many of that sect died. Sapor, about the same time as the last-mentioned martyrdom, hap pening to pass through the province of Beth-Garma, put to death three other virgins — Abiatha, Hathes, and Mamlacha1- S thejperr- ^* ^° came on the fifth year of the persecution. Does SSfaSSmw- ^e recital of so many names, and a story so little varied by martyr? °f anv striking features, weary my reader? Besides the feeling that those names which have been so gloriously enrolled in the book of life ought also to be precious on earth for ever, I would have him bear in mind that in no English work has any account of these saints hitherto appeared; that the brief annals of the Saporean persecution given even by such writers as Baronius, Fleury, Tillemont, and Ruinart, are ne cessarily very imperfect, and equally incorrect, taken as they are from the Greek Acts, instead of the authentic Syriac. The proceedings in the case of the most illustrious among them are related, in most cases, with more or less accu racy; but the very names of any but the brightest stars in 1 This virgin martyr is in the that of Mamelcht'in the Menasa on Koman Martyrology on Oct. 17, under Oct. 5. the name of Mamelta, and under MARTYRS OF PERSIA. 129 this constellation of saints would be looked for in vain in any, even the largest, Church History. 41. We have seen how many of the martyrs were na~ lives of Adiabene. It would seem that, at this time, the province, greater number of the inhabitants of that country were Christians. In the first century, Helena1, then Queen of that province, gave her name to CHRIST, and her son Izates, with most of his successors, had held the same faith. Hence the worship of the true GOD had taken deep root in that part of Persia. Daniel, a priest, and Uarda, or as the name might be more properly translated, Rose2, a consecrated virgin, after suffering the worst of torments during three months — their feet having been bored with sharp irons — were kept in freezing water for five days, and then beheaded. From the same province one hundred and twenty Christians, A.D.344, nine of whom were consecrated virgins, the rest ecclesiastics of different ranks, were cast into prison in a filthy dungeon at Seleucia. Here they received such comfort and assistance as the times allowed from one Jardundocta3, a noble Chris tian matron, a native of Arbela. Nor was she less earnest Courage of J ardun- in exhorting the weaker among them to constancy, than she docta- had been in supplying their bodily necessities; and, on the morning which admitted them into glory, she commended herself to their prayers, made preparation for their honour able interment, and was privileged to see them victorious. 42. In the sixth year of the persecution, Barbasimen*, A.D.S45, a nephew of S. Simeon Barsaboc, and who had succeeded s.-Barba-' his cousin Sciahdust in the see of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, of seieucia, was delated to Sapor. Sixteen of his clergy, priests or deacons, or of inferior orders, were arrested with their pre late. For eleven months they were kept in the strictest con finement ; and then removed to Ledan, near Ahwaz, the place which I have before mentioned. I still notice, in the