SHORT HISTORY 
 
 OF* 
 
 THE EARLY CHURCH 
 
 JOHN F. HURST, D.D. 
 
 BR 
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 1886 
 
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 BR 165 .H75 T886 
 Hurst, J. F. 1834-1903. 
 Short history of the early 
 church 
 
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 SHORT HISTORY lAR 22 1918 
 
 THE EARLY CHURCH 
 
 JOHN F. HURST, D.D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "short HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION" ETC. 
 
 WITU ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Emblem of the Church — Dove and Sheaf. From n Gem 
 
 2^W YORK 
 CHAUTAUQUA PRESS 
 
 C. L. S. C. DEPARTMENT 
 
 805 Broadway 
 
 1886 
 
The required hooks of the C. L. S. C. are recommended by a Council of six. It 
 must, hoivever, be understood that recommendation does not involve an approval by 
 the Council, or by any member of it, of every principle or doctrine contained in 
 the book recommended. 
 
 Copyright, 1886, by XIarphu & Brotheks. 
 
 AH lightt re»(rvul 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER TAGB 
 
 I. The Church and its History 1 
 
 II. The Scene op the Xabors of the Apostles . 5 
 
 III. The Greek and Roman Conditions .... 9 
 
 IV. The Attitude op Judaism towards Chris- 
 
 tianity 15 
 
 V. The Period op Unitersal Persecution. . . 19 
 
 VI. Christian Worship 23 
 
 VII. The Life op Christians 25 
 
 VIII. Ecclesiastical Organization 27 
 
 IX. Ebionism and Gnosticism 29 
 
 X. The Pagan Literary Attack 35 
 
 XI. The Christian Defenders 89 
 
 XII. The Christian Schools 43 
 
 XIII. Liberation under Constantine 40 
 
 XIV. Reaction under Julian 50 
 
 XV. The Montanistic Reform 54 
 
 XVI. Controversies Concerneng Christ 57 
 
 XVII. The Later Controversies 60 
 
 XVIII. Ecclesiastical Schisms 67 
 
 XIX. The Scriptures and Tradition 70 
 
 XX. Apocryphal Writings 75 
 
 XXI. Theology during the Early Period. ... 78 
 XXII. Ecclesiastical Government and the Roman 
 
 Primacy 86 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 en A ITER PAGE 
 
 XXIII. Sacred Seasons and Public Worship ... 93 
 
 XXIV. Ecclesiastical Discipline 97 
 
 XXV. Christian Life and Usages 100 
 
 XXVI. The Church in the Catacombs 106 
 
 XXVII. MONASTICISM 114 
 
 XXVIII. The Age op Gregory the Great . . . .117 
 
 XXIX. The Expansion of Christlvnity 119 
 
 XXX. The Close op the Early Period. . . . . 125 
 
 INDEX .129 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Constantinople Frontispiece. 
 
 Gnostic Symbols Page 34 
 
 The Labarum ,....,.," 47 
 
 St. Sophia, at Constantinople ...,..,," 49 
 
 Country of the Nestorians To face ** 62 
 
 Roman Catacombs " 109 
 
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SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 ^.r). 30-750. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 THE CHURCH AND ITS HISTORY. 
 
 1. The History of the Church. The visible Church con- 
 sists of the organized believers in Christ and the follow- 
 ers of his life. General history reveals the constant pres- 
 ence of a superintending Providence. The rise and fall 
 of nations is not an idle play of human passions. Schil- 
 ler's aphorism is a just recognition of God's constant 
 watchfulness and justice: "The world's history is the 
 world's judgment." The wild currents have never 
 been permitted to flow on without divine control. 
 When the hour came for the wrong to cease, the con- 
 trolling hand intervened. The result was always the 
 triumph of the right. In the history of the Church 
 the divine superintendence has been far more promi- 
 nent. While, in secular history, the spiritual forces lay 
 largely in the background, in the life o^ the Church 
 they have come out boldly into the clear foreground. 
 Though often in the wrong, and divided in opinions, the_ 
 Church has been saved from fatal error and downfall 
 by divine interposition. Even when it has been grossly 
 superstitious, and the teacher of false doctrine, God has 
 always raised up true servants, who became the heroes 
 
 1 
 
2 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 of a holy cause and the heralds of a brighter day. 
 The champion of a wrong cause has always had his 
 plans fail through the work of some brave and pure 
 oj^ponent. There has been an Athanasius to meet every 
 Arius. To counteract a Leo X., there has always arisen 
 a fearless Luther. To show when the divine force has 
 controlled all human events, and made them subserve 
 the steady progress of God's servants, is the mission of 
 the historian of the Church. His task is not to untie 
 a tangled skein, but to follow the golden thread of the 
 divine presence in all the Christian ages. 
 
 2. The Completion of Christ's Personal Ministry. 
 When our Lord's j^assion had occurred, three important 
 works were accomplished. He had communicated his 
 gospel to men, he had set a spotless example before the 
 world, and he had achieved universal redemption by his 
 voluntary death. His subsequent resurrection and as- 
 cension were the visible proofs of the truth of his doc- 
 trines. They were more than this — they were the two- 
 fold assurance to his followers, then and in all later ages, 
 that they who believe in him, and love him, shall enjoy 
 his constant presence during life, and afterwards enter 
 upon the inheritance of heaven. Christ, immediately 
 before his ascension, commanded his disciples to re- 
 main in Jerusalem until they should be endued with 
 power from on high. Here lay his promise of spiritual 
 preparation for their ministry. It was, at the same 
 time, a direct lesson that a special spiritual preparation 
 and plenitude were, for all time, a requisite for the suc- 
 cessful preaching of the gospel. Without the descent 
 of the Spirit at Pentecost tliere would have been no im- 
 pulsive power in C'hristianity. 
 
 3. The Preaching at Pentecost. The Pentecost was 
 the Jewish national thanksgiving day. It was the 
 
THE CHURCH AND ITS HISTORY. 3 
 
 feast of weeks, or harvest feast-day, which commem- 
 orated the gift of the Law to Moses, and at the same 
 time gave occasion to return thanks for the annual 
 products of tlie soil. Its observance was associated 
 with the most touching memories connected with the 
 founding of the theocracy, and with the subsequent pre- 
 serving care of a bountiful Creator. Jews in all lands 
 united wdth their brethren in Palestine in an annual 
 visit to Jerusalem, to celebrate the day. The first 
 Christian Pentecost came on the fiftieth day after our 
 Lord's resurrection and the tenth after his ascension. 
 There were Jews in the sacred city from all parts of 
 the known world. On that day the promise of the 
 Spirit's descent was fulfilled. Cloven tongues of fire 
 flamed above the heads of the disciples. The miracu- 
 lous gift of utterance was imparted. The multitude of 
 Jews was attracted to the place w^here the disciples 
 were. Each worshipper, whatever his language, un- 
 derstood the preaching. Peter explained to the people 
 the significance of the scene, and applied the descent 
 of the Spirit to the work of our Lord. The result 
 was the addition of three thousand to the body of be- 
 lievers. 
 
 4. The Organization of the Church was the direct re- 
 sult of the remarkable scenes at Pentecost. Measures 
 were soon taken for a unifying ecclesiastical polity. 
 Even before Pentecost a new apostle, Matthias, was 
 chosen in place of the fallen Judas. Orders of minis- 
 ters and lay members were established, for the preach- 
 ing of the gospel, the care of the needy, and the building 
 up of the body of believers. Only a general organi- 
 zation, however, was effected. The most simple ar- 
 rangements were made for government, as the believers 
 were as yet but few, and confined to a narrow area. 
 
4 SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 The more elaborate polity was left for the future needs 
 of the Church, to take its shape according to the ex- 
 pansion of the societies and their individual require- 
 ments. 
 
 5. The Practical Life of the Christians was at once 
 simple and beautiful. It vvas a type of all the essential 
 qualities which Christ had taught, as requisite for 
 pure living and final salvation. There were both a 
 simplicity of faith and that intense brotherly love 
 which had their practical demonstration in the equal dis- 
 tribution of temporal possessions. The community of 
 goods did not arise from a divine command, but was 
 merely the natural effect of that broad charity which 
 arose from the love of Christ and the possession of the 
 Spirit. Its real majesty lay in its spontaneous quality. 
 All thoughts centred in the memory of Christ as a per- 
 sonal Saviour, and in the consciousness of his continued 
 presence. To crown all, there was a fervor in communi- 
 cating the gospel which knew no bounds. The whole 
 world seemed small. Its farthest horizon alone was to 
 be the limit of teaching. What the apostles had felt and 
 knowm w^as now their sole passion. There was little 
 difference between the apostle and the unlettered be- 
 liever. Each, in his own best way, was to preach 
 the new life in Christ, that all men might share its 
 sacrifice here and its holy joy hereafter. Pentecost 
 was the practical divine testimony to the universal 
 adoption of the gospel. The removal of the natural 
 limitations of language was a divine indication of the 
 application of Christianity to every class and condition. 
 It was the divine endorsement of tlie command to the 
 disciples to preach and teach the Word throughout the 
 world. 
 
Chapter II. 
 the scene op the labors of the apostles. 
 
 1. The Acts of the Apostles are the chief source of in- 
 formation concerning the fields of work of the different 
 apostles. But the epistles of Paul and his associates 
 contain frequent statements which serve to supply 
 missing links in that more formal history. To these 
 may be added the supplementary accounts of writers 
 from the second century to the fourth; many of which, 
 however, are only vague suppositions, or impressions, 
 which existed in oral form in the early Church. 
 
 2. Peter represented the Jewish type of Christianity. 
 He was slow to learn that Christianity was designed 
 for all men. Pentecost should have been enough, but 
 even this great lesson did. not satisfy his intensely 
 Jewish character. After important labors in Palestine, 
 extending as far north as Antioch, he came to the coun- 
 cil in Jerusalem, and united with Paul in removing all 
 Jewish ceremonials as a condition of entrance into the 
 Church. Here, at the moment of supreme test, he wise- 
 ly changed his position. Henceforth all bonds with 
 Judaism were broken, and Jews and Gentiles became 
 Christians on precisely the same terms. There are 
 good reasons to suppose that Peter made an evangel- 
 istic tour through portions of Asia Minor, for his first 
 epistle intimates previous labors in Pontus, Galatia, Cap- 
 padocia, Asia (the province), and Bithynia. He also 
 8ays that at the time of writing he was in Babylon. If 
 
6 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 this was the Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates, he 
 was, no doubt, attracted thither by reason of the large 
 Jewish population resident there. It seems to have 
 been understood by him and Paul that he should con- 
 fine his labors to the east, while Paul should occupy 
 himself with the west. 
 
 3. Peter in Rome. There is no historical proof that 
 Peter founded the Church in Rome, or that he was 
 ever there. His residence there is not mentioned by the 
 earliest writers in their lists of the first bishops of the 
 western metropolis. The first mention was by Diony- 
 sius of Corinth, a.d. 170, who speaks of Peter's death 
 in Rome. But while we are without definite proof of 
 Peter's presence in Rome, it is not impossible that he 
 did spend a brief period there, and that he died about 
 the year 67, in the persecution under Nero. 
 
 4. Paul towers far above all the apostles in the maj- 
 esty of his character, the scope of his genius, the depth 
 of his learning, and the sublime quality of his labors. 
 Educated in both Jewish and pagan learning, after his 
 miraculous conversion he became an apostle, in every 
 sense able to cope with the antagonism of the com- 
 bined foes of his age. His call was to the Gentiles. 
 He made three great missionary tours. The first was 
 begun A.D. 44, and embraced Cyprus, and then Asia 
 Minor, where he visited Perga, Pisidia, Antioch, Ico- 
 nium, Lystra, and Derbe. His second began a.d. 48. 
 He went northward through Syria into Asia Minor, 
 and visited Cilicia, Phrygia, Galatia. He then crossed 
 the JEfi-can Sea to Macedonia. He beican his Eu- 
 ropean ministry in Philippi, and went thence south- 
 ward into Greece as far as Corinth. From thence 
 he went to Ephesus, and returned to Jerusalem. He 
 entered upon his third tour a.d. 52. He went again 
 
THE SCENE OF THE LABOES OF THE APOSTLES. 7 
 
 into Asia Minor, taking Galatia, Pbrygia, and Troas on 
 the way. He then crossed into Macedonia and Illyri- 
 cum. He returned to Troas, and, passing by the zEgean 
 iskmds, proceeded back to Jerusalem. Here he was ar- 
 rested, and taken a prisoner to Ccnesarea, where he was 
 two years in confinement. He appealed for justice to 
 Cnssar, and was taken to Rome. He remained there from 
 A.D. 59 to 61. He Avas now released, and, as we believe, 
 entered on a fourth tour, embracing a visit to Crete, 
 Macedonia, Corinth, Nicopolis, Dalmatia, and Asia 
 Minor. He was a second time arrested, and taken 
 to Rome. He suffered martyrdom in Nero's reign, 
 A.D. 66. 
 
 5. John represented the mediating element between 
 Judaism and paganism. His attachment and scene of 
 labor seem to have been, for the first twenty years after 
 Pentecost, chiefly in Palestine. He was present at the 
 council in Jerusalem, a.d. 50. For twenty years, or 
 until A.D. 70, we lose sight of him entirely. The prob- 
 ability is, that he labored in the valley of the Tigris 
 and Euphrates, with Babylon as the centre, and re- 
 turned to Jerusalem, whence he fled to Ephesus on the 
 capture of that city by Titus. We find him now in 
 Ephesus. His residence was intermitted by his exile 
 to the island of Patmos. He died in Ephesus about 
 A.D. 98, when about one hundred years old. 
 
 6. The Labors of the other Apostles are largely matter 
 of conjecture, derived from the writings of Hegesippus, 
 Eusebius, and Nioephorus, who framed their supposi- 
 tions from the floating oral traditions in the Christian 
 communities. James the Elder suffered martyrdom in 
 Jerusalem, about a.d. 44. James, our Lord's brother, 
 preached in Jerusalem, and finally died there a martyr. 
 It was believed that Philip labored in Phrygia; Simon 
 
8 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 Zelotes, in Egypt and the neighboring African coast; 
 Thomas, in India; Andrew, in Scythia, Asia Minor, 
 Thrace, and Greece; Matthias, in Ethiopia; Judas, 
 called Lebbseus or Thaddeiis, in Persia; and Bartholo- 
 mew, in Lycaonia, Armenia, and India. 
 
 7. The uncertainty as to fields of labor of most of the 
 apostles is one of the marvels of the Scriptures. One 
 fact is clear, however, that the trend of the world's 
 Christian life was westward. On the distribution of 
 the gospel into the more stable parts of the Roman Em- 
 pire we have full light in the labors of Paul. All the 
 just and vital interests of Christianity centred in that 
 one man's work. Rome was to be the point of depart- 
 ure for the sowing of the truth in the north and farther 
 west. Here Paul brought his life and labors to a 
 triumphant close. But with his martyrdom he had 
 only begun his work. His example and writings — and 
 the two are inseparable — have been, ever since, the per- 
 manent and necessary treasures of the Church. The 
 present current of the truth is a reversal of the old 
 order. It is from the fields then barbarous, and large- 
 ly unknown to the geography of those times, towards 
 the old East. What the apostles could only begin 
 will bo completed, in the eastern countries, by the 
 laborers sent out from the warm heart of western 
 Protestantism. 
 
Chapter III. 
 
 THE GREEK AND ROMAN CONDITIONS. 
 
 1. The Two Forces. The pagan literature, in the earliest 
 period of Christianity, was a beautiful piece of human 
 workmanship. No temple in stone was so symmetri- 
 cal and elaborate as that of Greek and Roman letters. 
 From rude beginnings, it had grown into such ma- 
 jestic and firm proportions that, to this day, it chal- 
 lenges the admiration of the world. The classic 
 achievements in the whole field of literature, art, phi- 
 losophy, and legislation are the common inheritance of 
 man. When Christianity came forward with its strange 
 claims upon the confidence of men, there was but little 
 in its exterior which could awaken sympathy. The 
 most despised land had produced it. Its founder had 
 suffered death on the ignominious cross. Its first apos- 
 tles were of humble origin, and, with the exception of 
 Paul, not one had drunk at the classic fountains. That 
 a new faith, witli such multiform disadvantages, should 
 venture upon such a hostile field, where the literature 
 and traditions of many centuries held firm ground, 
 seemed a hopeless task. But the heroism of the first 
 preachers of Christianity was not disturbed by the num- 
 ber or strength of the enemy. The promise of success 
 was the basis of their faith. They wrought on, and 
 expected triumph over every foe. Which should win 
 — the obscure Christian, who had never fought a battle, 
 or the cultivated pagan, who had never lost one ? 
 
10 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 2. The Greeks. The path of the Greek to mastery 
 had heen through all fields of intellectual development. 
 Out of the old Pelasgic cradle he had grown to the 
 full grandeur of Attic manhood. The blood of many- 
 tribes flowed through his veins, and he had absorbed 
 the strongest and best elements of all. In epic and 
 dramatic poetry he produced Homer, Hesiod, ^schy- 
 lus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The Greek was a lover 
 of form and color. He caught his inspiration from the 
 wild and beautiful scenery of his islands and broken 
 coast. Apelles and Phidias became the incarnation of 
 his passion. In his long battle for federation he had 
 produced such great law-givers as Solon and Lycurgus. 
 He was of fervent temperament, and, living always in 
 a feverish political atmosphere, he had developed De- 
 mosthenes, ^schines, and Isocrates — orators who have 
 swayed audiences in all later ages. 
 
 3. The Philosophical Systems. In philosophy, the 
 Greeks labored with great industry. The growth of 
 their systems was contemporaneous with their national 
 prosperity. The dealing with the fundamental ques- 
 tions of human being and destiny by Socrates and 
 Plato reveals a deep moral purpose. There are two 
 great periods of Greek philosophy, separated by the 
 downfall of Alexander's empire. The former extends 
 from B.C. 600 to B.C. 324. Within this short space arose 
 all the best thinkers, who founded the Ionic, the early 
 Pythagorean, the Eleatic, the Atomistic, and the So- 
 phist Schools. The culmination was reached in the 
 three systems of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The 
 second period extends from b.c. 324 to a.d. 530. The 
 schools of the decadence rose and fell at this time — 
 the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Sceptics. To this 
 was added Neo-Platonism, founded by Plotinus. The 
 
THE GREEK AND EOMAN CONDITIONS. 11 
 
 most spiritual of the entire circle of Greek philosophers 
 was Plato. In many departments of his philosophy, 
 such as the unity and spirituality of God and the im- 
 mortality of the soul, he made, though unconsciously, 
 very near approaches to the truths of revelation. It 
 was the habit of early Christian teachers to regard 
 his system as kindred to Christianity. Eusebius said : 
 " Plato alone, of all the Greeks, reached the vestibule 
 of truth, and stood upon its threshold." Justin Martyr, 
 Clemens of Alexandria, Origen, and Augustine, in the 
 early period, and Schleiermacher and Neander in the 
 recent period, were led to Christ through Plato as their 
 guide. 
 
 4. The Decay of the Greek Philosophy. The best sys- 
 tems in the group declined with the political suprem- 
 acy of the Greek confederation. Those which suc- 
 ceeded the loss of national independence were the 
 systems of despair. When Christianity arose, the 
 prevailing Greek philosophy was sceptical. The 
 mythology had lost its firm hold, while philosophy, 
 which was the substitute oifered by the profoundest 
 thinkers, proved its own inability to satisfy the crav- 
 ings of the soul for salvation, and the solution of its 
 great problems. Both pagan faith and thought were 
 unavailing to meet the spiritual v/ants of man. The 
 soul could not live on the triumphs of art, or literature, 
 or eloquence, or legislation. Christianity came forward 
 with its sublime truths, and made proffer of them to 
 the world. Paul, preaching Christ on Mars Hill, looked 
 back upon a long pathway of dead systems of Greek 
 genius, and forward upon the rise of Christian creations 
 in their place. Great as had been the thinkers of the 
 Stoa and the Academy, greater still was the messenger 
 of Christ. His system was the permanent truth. 
 
12 SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 5. The Roman Empire. When Christianity began its 
 career for the world's possession, the Roman rule was 
 universal. The literature and religion were shaped 
 from Greek models. But the Romans gave to every- 
 thing a practical direction. Law was their habit, and 
 to govern was their passion. They had no sooner con- 
 quered a rude tribe than they converted the terri- 
 tory into a new province, and gave it all the qualities 
 of a firm part of the empire. Palestine was an in- 
 tegral part of the great domain, governed by Roman 
 deputies, who were closely watched at the same time 
 that they were intrusted with large authority. Paul, 
 the Greek preacher, enjoyed and asserted the rights 
 of Roman citizenship. Great highways, built at great 
 expense for the rapid movement of armies, connected 
 all parts of the broad territory. These made easy the 
 rapid dissemination of the gospel. The apostles could 
 move along these stone roads with ease, and so convert 
 paths for soldiers into highways for the triumphant 
 march of the messengers of the peaceful gospel. 
 
 6. Obstacles. The difficulties confronting the Church 
 throughout the Roman Empire were, however, of formi- 
 dable character. The entire body of the people was hos- 
 tile to any spiritual religion. What did not appeal to 
 the senses had no attraction to them as an object of 
 worship. The hold of the old mythology was lost, and 
 a general scepticism as to all beliefs prevailed. But the 
 emperors regarded the preservation of the ancestral 
 faith as the great bulwark of the throne. Political 
 government and fidelity to the prevailing mythology 
 were held to be inseparable. Hence, Christianity was 
 bitterly opposed, so soon as its antagonism was discov- 
 ered. It was seen to be hostile to the elaborate temple 
 service. The emperor, who was also Pontifex Maxi- 
 
THE GEEEK AND ROMAN CONDITIONS. 13 
 
 mils, or supreme priest, was held responsible for the 
 support of the state religion. The temples and pagan 
 rites must be sustained. The more closely Christianity 
 came into view, the more stringent became the meas- 
 ures for its suppression. The Christians made no con- 
 cealments. They absented themselves from the tem- 
 ples, threw off all faith in the ruling mythology, and 
 openly declared their hostility to it. 
 
 7. Moral Destitution of Paganism. When Christianity 
 appeared the moral depravity of the Roman Empire 
 was at its lowest ebb. The stricter morals of the re- 
 public had disappeared in the wild licentiousness of the 
 empire. It was an age of excesses, which the satirists, 
 with Juvenal and Persius at their head, held up to uni- 
 versal contempt. 
 
 («) The degradation of women was complete. Even 
 in Athens the wife was a slave, and possessed no legal 
 rights. She could bequeath only a measure of barley 
 to her offspring. Her present depression in Turkey is 
 a fair picture of the old pagan conditions. Her mental 
 endowments were declared to be of inferior grade. 
 She was supposed to excel in duplicity and treachery. 
 Marriage was a loose bond, with only the shadow of 
 political institution. 
 
 (b) A low estimate was placed on childhood. In 
 Sparta the maimed children were a burden to the state, 
 because useless as soldiers. Only boys had an impor- 
 tance in the eye of parents. Stealing was a virtue in 
 a boy, provided he could do it so cleverly as not to be 
 detected. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle never went so 
 far as to enforce the element of religion in education. 
 Children were not taught reverence for their parents. 
 Jupiter, the son of Saturn, hurled his father from the 
 throne, shut him up in Tartarus, and j^arcelled out the 
 
14 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 universe between himself and his two brothers, Nep- 
 tune and Pluto. With this picture of filial brutality 
 as the basis of the pagan mythology, what better esti- 
 mate could be expected of childhood ? All the types of 
 parental love were based on admiration of heroic deeds. 
 When Xenophon was told that his son had died in bat- 
 tle, he replied : " I did not request the gods to make my 
 son immortal or long-lived, for it is not clear that this 
 was suitable for him ; but that he might have integrity 
 in his principles, and be a lover of his country, and now 
 I have my desire." Children, according to the pagan 
 thought, were only machines for fighting future battles. 
 Christ achieved no greater revolution than Avhen he 
 elevated childhood into equality with manhood. His 
 one declaration : "Of such is the kingdom of heaven," 
 was a fatal blow at the world's prevailing estimate of 
 children. 
 
 (c) Slavery was universal. It underlay the whole 
 political and social structure. In Attica, as early as 
 B.C. 309, according to Demetrius Phalereus, there were 
 twenty thousand citizens and four hundred thousand 
 slaves. Among the Romans the slaves were not regard- 
 ed as persons (2)erso7ice) , but as things (res). The doors 
 of the wealthy Romans were guarded by ostlariiy or 
 slaves, in chains, who lay like dogs before their kennels. 
 When a gentleman was murdered, and his assassin could 
 not be found, the crime was supposed to have been com- 
 mitted by a slave, and all the slaves, with their wives 
 and children, were put to death, to make sure of the 
 offender. Tacitus says that, wdien Pedanius Secundus 
 was murdered, as many as four hundred innocent slaves 
 were put to death. Slavery extended to all parts of 
 the empire, and the number in Rome was constantly 
 kept \\\) by the inflow of captives in the wars. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 
 THE ATTITUDE OF JUDAISM TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 1. The Jewish Antecedents. The Jev/s regarded 
 themselves as the world's teachers and law-givers. They 
 alone, of all peoples, believed in the unity of God. 
 Their history was a long chapter of splendor and de- 
 feat. When they escaped from Egyptian bondage, and 
 reached Palestine, their first form of government was 
 republican, or the rule of the Judges. From this they 
 degenerated into a monarchy, which, after the death 
 of Solomon, was divided into two kingdoms — Israel 
 and Judah. Unity in both government and faith was 
 gone. Israel was overcome by the Assyrians, and 
 Judah by the Babylonians, and both nations were led 
 off into exile to the valley of the Tigris and the Eu- 
 phrates. Only a small portion of Israel, or the ten 
 tribes, returned. The captives of conquered Judah 
 were cured of their polytheistic tendencies, and, pre- 
 serving their identity under Cyrus and his Persian suc- 
 cessors, returned to Palestine. After the dissolution of 
 the empire of Alexander the Great, who had conquered 
 Palestine b.c. 323, the Seleucidse ruled in Syria and the 
 Ptolemies in Egypt. Between these two the Jews led 
 a subject and timid life, and finally submitted to the 
 Seleucidae. The Greek religion was foisted upon them. 
 l>ut they rebelled, and determined to preserve their old 
 faith, and to conquer their rulers. Mattathias and his 
 three sons led the revolt. For a time they were sue- 
 
16 SHORT HISTOEY OF THE EAELY CHURCH. 
 
 cessful, and hoped to restore the old Davidic splendor. 
 Pompey was at this time in Asia, at the head of the 
 Roman army. He was invited to settle the dispute. 
 He entered the country, besieged Jerusalem b.c. 63, 
 and, as was the Roman wont, took possession of the 
 country, and united it with the Roman Empire. The 
 Jews had now lost all independence. Their later re- 
 A^olts had no other effect than to tighten the Roman 
 hold, and to disperse small bodies of colonists around 
 the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean. 
 
 2. The Samaritans were a mongrel religious body. 
 They consisted of returned Jews from Assyria, who 
 brought with them those elements of i3agan worship) 
 which they had absorbed during their captivity. They 
 settled in the valley of Shechem, and built their temple 
 on the top of Mount Gerizim. The sect still exists, 
 and consists of about one hundred and fifty people. 
 Their city is Nablus, which lies in the valley between 
 Mounts Gerizim and Ebal. They have a high-priest, 
 and are still in possession of their revered copy of the 
 Pentateuch, believed to be the oldest in the world. 
 
 3. Other Jewish Bodies. The Pharisees were the 
 most educated of all Jewish classes. Their teacliers 
 were versed in the law, and represented the hopes, the 
 narrowness, and the ritualism of the people. They 
 taught a national revival. They originated as a class 
 about B.C. 144, and aimed to restore the waning faith to 
 its old Mosaic strength. Inclined to allegorical inter- 
 pretation, and devoted to traditions, they aimed to 
 supplement the Scriptures by traditional accretions. 
 The Sadducees originated with Zadoc, who lived about 
 B.C. 250. They strove to restore Mosaism, but rejected 
 tradition. They absorbed some of the elements of 
 pagan thought, especially the doctrines of Epicurus. 
 
ATTITUDE OF JUDAISM TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY. 17 
 
 They rejected angels, the resurrection of the body, the 
 immortality of the soul, and the divine interference in 
 human affairs. The Essenes originated about b.c. 150. 
 Their belief was as much Persian as Jewish. They 
 lield the sun to be a living being, and that virtue and 
 vice inhered in matter. They led a monastic life, and 
 practised community of goods. All of these sects were 
 in full strength at the time of Christ. The Essenes 
 were retired, but the Pharisees and Sadducees were 
 strong and prominent. But all the sects disappeared 
 with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, a.d. 10. 
 
 4. The Jews of the Dispersion. The Jews are the 
 wanderers of all history and all continents. From the 
 time of their captivity in Assyria and Babylonia down 
 to the present day, they have held their pilgrim staff in 
 hand. About B.C. 350 we find a large colony on the 
 shore of the Caspian Sea. Syria, under the reign of 
 Seleucus Nicator (b.c. 312-328), received avast Jewish 
 population. In the insecure interval between Alex- 
 ander the Great and a.d. 70, they had gone, in colo- 
 nies, into Assyria, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Asia Minor, 
 Crete, Cyprus, and the ^gean Islands. In Lydia and 
 Phrygia there was a colony of two thousand families. 
 They generally preserved their identity. 
 
 5. The Jews of Alexandria. The most concentrated 
 Jewish population outside of Palestine was in north- 
 ern Africa. Egypt, Lybia, and Cyrene abounded in 
 Jews. Alexandria Avas their chief centre. Even under 
 Alexander, the founder of the city, large numbers set- 
 tled there, while he assigned eight thousand Samari- 
 tans to the Thebaid. Extensive privileges were granted 
 the Jews. They not only thrived in commerce, but 
 developed thorough and broad scholarship. Philo, who 
 attempted to harmonize Jewish theology and Greek 
 
 2 
 
18 SHORT HISTORY OP THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 philosophy, was a Jew, whose learning was profound, 
 and worthy of high praise. The Greek version of the 
 Old Testament, the Septiiagint, was a great triumph of 
 Jewish learning. 
 
 6. The Roman Jews. The first Jewish colony in 
 Rome consisted of captives brought by Pompey from 
 Palestine. They were assigned a distinct part of the 
 city, which they have occupied ever since — the present 
 Ghetto. Julius Ca3sar granted the Jews special favors. 
 They were declared freedmen {libertini), had their syn- 
 agogues, observed their festivals, and held the Sabbath 
 as a sacred day. The cultivated Romans, however, 
 always despised them. They Avere the usual objects of 
 raillery and satire. Juvenal held them up to contempt 
 by saying that they prayed to nothing but the clouds 
 and the empty heavens. 
 
 7. The Jewish Colonies as Apostolic Fields. The apos- 
 tles observed a common plan in preaching the gospel. 
 They went first to the Jews, and then a])pealed to the 
 outlying populations. Paul's success among them was 
 often signal, but from them came also his most bitter 
 foes. There were great advantages in making the Jews 
 his first auditors. They were already familiar with the 
 sacred history antecedent to Christianity. They had 
 heard of the marvellous career of Jesus. Their annual 
 visits to Jerusalem, to attend the festivals, had made 
 them acquainted with the popular estimate of the new 
 gospel. "To the Jew first," was his invariable plan. 
 But there was no long pause. "Also to the Greek," 
 was the next step of the tireless preacher. 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 THE PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PERSECUTION. 
 
 1. The Jewish Hostility. The political prostration 
 of the Jews embittered them against the Christians. 
 There was nothing in common between the Jewish 
 sects and the early Church. The scepticism of the 
 Sadducees and the disappointed hopes of the Pharisees 
 combined to intensify the popular hate. The council 
 in Jerusalem cast Peter and John into prison, and put 
 Stephen to death. A general persecution, under Herod 
 Agrippa, a.d. 44, broke out, and James the Elder fell a 
 victim to its rage. The Christians took refuge in Pella, 
 beyond the Jordan. Bar-cochba led a final popular Jew- 
 ish revolt against the Roman authority, a.d. 132, but was 
 defeated by Julius Severus, and Jerusalem became a 
 heap of ruins. The Roman emperor Hadrian tried to 
 destroy the attachment of the Christians to the sacred 
 associations of the city by erecting on Calvary a tem- 
 ple to Venus, and, over the Holy Sepulchre, a statue to 
 Jupiter. But his efforts, ^vhile pleasing to the Jews, 
 had no material effect. The Jews, now that all hope 
 of national independence was gone, established a school 
 at Tiberias, where they tried to achieve with the pen 
 what they had failed to accomplish by the sword. Their 
 misrepresentations of Christ and his doctrines formed 
 an important element in the general literary attack on 
 Christianity during the first three centuries. 
 
 2. The Outbreak of the Pagan Persecution. Christian- 
 
20 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 ity soon extended beyond Jewish bounds, and became 
 a thing which might well arouse the fears of the whole 
 Roman Empire. In Rome the Christians were regarded 
 as simply a new Jewish sect. And when, in the middle 
 of the first century, a disturbance arose among the 
 Jews of Rome, both Jews and Christians w^ere banished 
 by the emperor Claudius. Nero represented the popu- 
 lar hostility to Christianity. He was believed to have 
 set fire to Rome, where the flames had full sway for 
 nine days. He threw the blame, however, on the Chris- 
 tians, and resorted to the most barbarous methods to 
 show his rage. He even had some Christians smeared 
 with pitch and burned alive, while he caused others to 
 be sewn in the skins of wild beasts and thrown out to 
 the dogs. The persecution continued until his death. 
 Under Domitian (a.d. 81-96) a milder policy of hostil- 
 ity w^is observed, the oppression of the Christians be- 
 ing chiefly confined to exile and the seizure of their 
 property.v 
 
 3. The Grounds of Hostility. The twelve tables of 
 the Roman law forbade the existence of foreign faiths 
 within the dominions, but the habit had been to con- 
 ciliate the conquered provinces by toleration of the 
 existing religions. The appearance of the Christians, 
 however, was the signal for revival of the old prohibi- 
 tion. The bonds uniting the Christians were close. 
 Their separate services were declared an act of hostil- 
 ity to the country. They were accused of disobedience 
 to the laws, and of a spirit ripe at any moment for 
 insurrection. They were charged with immoral prac- 
 tices in their services. All popular calamities, such as 
 earthquakes, inundations, ])estilence, and defeat in war, 
 were attributed to them. A popular proverb ran thus: 
 " Deus non pluit — due ad Christianos !" " It does not 
 
THE PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PERSECUTION. 21 
 
 rain — lead us against the Christians!" Tertiillian has 
 left this record of the Roman habit of charging the 
 disciples of Christ with all possible calamities: "If the 
 Tiber overflow its banks, if the Nile does not water the 
 fields, if the clouds refuse rain, if the earth shake, if 
 famine or storms prevail, the cry always is, * Pitch the 
 Christians to the lions!'" 
 
 4. New Persecutions. Trajan {a.d. 98-117) contin- 
 ued the policy of his predecessors, but in milder form. 
 He gave orders to the proconsul Pliny, in Bithynia, 
 not to seek out the Christians, but, when charges were 
 brought against them, to give them opportunity to 
 recant, and, in case of refusal, to sacrifice them to the 
 gods. The persecution under Trajan extended to Pal- 
 estine and Syria. Under Hadrian (a.d. 117-138) and 
 Antoninus Pius (a.d. 138-161) the popular fury against 
 the Christians increased to great violence. While these 
 emperors granted the Church no favor, their attitude 
 was less hostile than that of some of their predecessors. 
 Marcus Aurelius (a.d. 161-180) was thoughtful and 
 calm. He was a Stoic by profession, and, while he 
 had no warm reverence for the national religion, he 
 showed no sympathy with the Christians. He was re- 
 pelled by their devotion to Christ and their readiness 
 to suffer. He tolerated violence, and under him the 
 persecutions at Smyrna, where Polycarp suffered mar- 
 tyrdom, and at Lyons and V^ienne, in Gaul, took place. 
 
 5. Alternate Rest and Persecution. There was now^ 
 a sliglit relaxation of violence, but under Septimius 
 Severiis (a.d. 193-211) the Christians were treated with 
 cruelty. The persecution was widespread, and the 
 martyrdoms were numerous. Alexander Severus pro- 
 fessed to be an Eclectic in faith, and regarded Jesus 
 as one of the gods. He placed a bust of Christ beside 
 
22 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 those of Abraham, Orpheus, and Apollonius of Tyana. 
 He instituted no active measures of hostility. Decius 
 had but a short reign (a.d. 249-251), and yet he im- 
 proved his time industriously by endeavoring to exter- 
 minate the Christians. His persecution was general, 
 and as violent as that under Nero. 
 
 6. Final Efforts to Destroy Christianity. The reign of 
 Decius was succeeded by a brief interval of peace, 
 which was brought to a close by the hostile attitude 
 of Valerian (a.d. 253-260). Under Aurelian, Diocle- 
 tian, Galerius, and Maximinus the persecution raged 
 with varied fury. Great political complications arose. 
 The changes in the imj^erial succession were frequent, 
 and new methods of repression of the Christians were 
 constantly adopted. During the whole time, however, 
 the Christian Church grew in numbers and aggressive 
 force. From a.d. 64 to 313, when Constantino granted 
 an edict of toleration to the Christians, persecutions 
 prevailed about seventy years. All forms of torture and 
 violent death were adopted. There was no security at 
 home. The exiles were numerous, but the Christians 
 carried their faith and life with them to their new 
 places of abode, where they built up societies, which 
 in turn became centres for the wider dissemination of 
 the gospel. Christianity had conquered in the realm 
 of political life. It was now safe from the hand of 
 any Roman ruler. 
 
Chapter VI. 
 
 CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 
 
 1. Simplicity of Forms. The Christians were at first 
 greatly attached to the temple in Jerusalem. They 
 met within its precincts. There Avas no disposition to 
 erect separate sanctuaries, and, had there been, the 
 means to meet the expense were too limited. In time, 
 however, the hostility of the Jews made it impossible 
 to convene in either the temple or any room near it. 
 The Christians were, therefore, driven to private houses, 
 where one room served the purpose of a sanctuary. A 
 small platform {cathedra) served for the speaker or 
 reader, while a table {ara) was used for the celebration 
 of the Lord's Supper, 
 
 2. Order of Service. The services consisted chiefly 
 of reading selections from the Old Testament, the apos- 
 tolical epistles, and, latest of all, the gospels. The 
 reading was attended with copious exposition. The 
 day of the elaborate homily, with a short scriptural 
 passage as a mere motto, had not yet arrived. All 
 that was said was meant to give to the hearer a deeper 
 knowledge of the divine word. Singing of psalms and 
 hymns was an important part of the service. It might 
 be led by an individual, but the music was by the 
 whole congregation. The Psalms of David and the 
 rhythmic parts of the prophecies furnished the favorite 
 basis. Prayer was connected with the singing, and the 
 congregation responded "Amen" at the close. The 
 
24 SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 concluding part of the service was the Lord's Supper. 
 Until about a.d. 150, the agape, or love-feast, was con- 
 nected with the communion service, but, because of its 
 abuse, was afterwards separated from it. After the 
 prayer the kiss of charity was given, and the apostoli- 
 cal benediction was pronounced. 
 
 3. The Sacraments. There were two sacraments in 
 the early church — the Lord's Supper and Baptism. 
 After the council at Jerusalem, which abrogated the 
 Jewish initiatory ceremonial as necessary for admis- 
 sion to the Church, baptism was held to be the only 
 visible condition of reception. The formula, "In the 
 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," was ob- 
 served from the beginning of the Apostolic Church. 
 
 4. The Sabbath, or seventh day, continued to be ob- 
 served by the Christians who had entered the Church 
 from Judaism. But the Sunday, or first day of the 
 week, was also observed, in memory of our Lord's res- 
 urrection. Gradually the Sunday became more promi- 
 nent, and, finally, the observance of the seventh day 
 was discontinued entirely. Those members of the 
 Church who had been Jews were inclined to regard 
 with reverence the festivals to which they had been 
 accustomed in their former communion. These, how- 
 ever, they relinquished, with the exception of two, 
 Easter and Pentecost, to which also the Gentile Chris- 
 tians adhered, as these festivals commemorated two 
 great events in Christian history — our Lord's resurrec- 
 tion and the descent of the Spirit. 
 
Chapter YII. 
 the life of christians. 
 
 1. Contrast with Paganism. Every part of Christian 
 life was in direct antagonism to that of the pagan 
 Greeks and Romans. The Christians obliterated all 
 social and national differences. No sooner was a new 
 member received than he found himself in the midst 
 of a brotherhood. "These Christians," says Bunsen, 
 " belonged to no nation and to no state ; but their 
 fatherland in heaven was to them a reality, and the 
 love of the brethren, in truth and not in words, made 
 the Christian congregation the foreshadowing of a 
 Christian commonwealth, and a model for all ages to 
 
 2. Care of the Needy. The relief of the poor and suf- 
 fering received early attention. Paul collected contri- 
 butions from the Greek Christians in Asia Minor for 
 the poor in Jerusalem. All his epistles prove that the 
 poor in each society were constantly in his mind. No 
 needy body of believers was forgotten in its silent sor- 
 row. When, later, persecutions becapie violent and 
 widespread, the spirit of apostolic sympathy was sus- 
 tained in all its fervor. The pagans neglected their 
 needy. Their religion had no heart. But the Chris- 
 tians sought out the suffering, and lielped them with 
 lavish hand. During the pestilence in North Africa, 
 in the middle of the third century, the pagans deserted 
 their sick and dying, and stripped their bodies of valu- 
 
26 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 ables, while the Christians divided their means with 
 the suffering, cleared the streets of decomposing bod- 
 ies, and nursed the sick with tenderness and devotion. 
 
 3. Elevation of Woman. The early prominence given 
 to woman was an important factor. Elizabeth, Anna, 
 and Mary the mother of Jesus became early witnesses, 
 however unconscious, to the dignity and worth of 
 woman in the Christian system. The women men- 
 tioned by Paul in his epistles w^ere examples of devo- 
 tion and wisdom in the spread of the gospel. In times 
 of persecution woman presented a sublime spectacle of 
 readiness and composure in the hour of death. Per- 
 petua and Felicitas, who cheerfully welcomed martyr- 
 dom, became types of womanly heroism in every part 
 of Christendom. 
 
 4. The Slave. Christianity applied its humane spirit 
 to the slave. Paul's chart of freedom ran thus: " There 
 is neither bond nor free." The slave, the moment he 
 became a Christian, became a brother with his master. 
 As Christianity expanded, its tendency was to bring 
 the oppressed and the oppressor together, upon a com- 
 mon plane of brotherly equality. Paul's appeal to 
 Philemon, to show kindness to the slave Onesimus, and 
 receive him back again, was an index of the power 
 of Christianity to soften, and even obliterate, all the 
 asperity attendant upon bondage in man. 
 
 5. The Social Revolution. Christianity triumphed not 
 only in the broad field of territorial expansion, but 
 in the more subtile department of the whole structure 
 of social life. Paganism was only a whited sepulchre. 
 Its splendor was an exterior thing alone. It created 
 no happy homes, for woman was without worth, and 
 children were no blessing. Wherever the Christians 
 lived they built up happy households. 
 
Chapter VIII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATIOX. 
 
 1. The Divine and Human Elements. Tlie constitution 
 of the early Church was in part of divine ordering. 
 But this was only in outline. The apostolate was fun- 
 damental and original, but temporary. It was designed 
 as the great introductory force, which should cease so 
 soon as it had served its purpose. From this, as a 
 basis, the permanent orders of presbyter and deacon 
 developed. A large measure of liberty was left to the 
 judgment of the Church, as new exigencies and larger 
 growth might demand. 
 
 2. The Temporary Officers. To these belonged the 
 apostles. The condition was, that the apostle must 
 have seen Christ, in the flesh or in his risen state. 
 Their work was evangelistic and organizing. Then 
 came the prophets. They were inspired by the Holy 
 Ghost for the special work of teaching higher revela- 
 tions. Foretelling events was not their controlling 
 function, but the revelation of God's will, especially in 
 the choice of persons for great service in the Church, 
 The prophet w^as not necessarily an apostle, but the 
 apostle was a prophet. Paul, Agabus, Simeon, Barna- 
 bas, Manaen, Judas the Evangelist, and Silas belonged 
 to the prophetic class. To them came the evangelists. 
 They were preachers without defined limits, and were 
 aids to the apostles, or, as Rothe says, " apostolic dele- 
 gates." Their work was preparatory, — the preaching 
 
28 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 in new societies until organization was established. 
 Philip, Timothy, Titus, Silas or Silvanus, Luke, Joim, 
 Mark, Clement, and Epaphras belonged to the evangel- 
 ist class. 
 
 3. The Permanent Officers, {a) Bisliops and Elders. 
 Here were, first of all, the bishops or presbyters. The 
 word bishop {episcopos) was of Greek origin, and was 
 in common use among both Greeks and Romans as 
 a political supervisor. The societies of the West, 
 which consisted of members from paganism, used the 
 word for the chief or superintending pastor, as they 
 tvere already familiar with it. The converts from Ju- 
 daism naturally took the synagogue as their model, 
 and as the elder pastor (^presbuteros) was the chief 
 or superintending pastor of the synagogue, they ap- 
 plied it to the chief pastor of the Christian Church. 
 There was not the least difference in the original du- 
 ties of the bishop and the j^resbyter. In each case 
 he was the spiritual head of one church or society. 
 Later, when churches increased, and the supervising 
 office was of wider scope, the Western word supplanted 
 the Eastern, and the term bishop was used, while that 
 of presbyter went into the background. But the 
 bishop, in the early and pure period of the Church, 
 was of no higher order than the presbyter. The duties 
 of one were those of both : " To feed the flock of God 
 . . . taking the oversight thereof " (1 Peter v. 2). 
 
 {b) Deacons. These were both an order and an of- 
 fice. The duties are minutely described in the Script- 
 ures (Acts vi. 1-8). They aided the apostles, had care 
 of the poor and sick, assisted in administering the 
 Lord's Supper, and preached. The deaconesses were 
 a special office, designed for caring for the sick, the 
 aged, the female poor, and the instruction of orphans. 
 
Chapter IX. 
 
 EBIONISM AND GNOSTICISM. 
 
 1. Disposition to make Terms. Christianity was mak- 
 ing steady progress in every lield. Some of the more 
 advanced thinkers in both Judaism and paganism saw 
 in the Christian system so much that commended itself 
 to universal confidence that each proposed to adapt it 
 to his own faith and philosophy. This was a new plan, 
 more dangerous to Christianity by far than outward 
 opposition. In each case the overture was strengthened 
 by people within the Christian fold, who responded to 
 the flattering proposition, though without represent- 
 ing the spirit of the whole body. 
 
 2. The Ebionites. After the council in Jerusalem 
 which settled the great Pauline principle of the free- 
 dom of Cliristian converts from the Mosaic law, there 
 remained a body of Christians who would not accept 
 the conclusion. Jerusalem was their centre. They 
 were of two classes — those who saw in Christianity the 
 fulfilment of all that was worthy in Judaism, and those 
 who were more conservative, and refused to acknowl- 
 edge the new faith as the culmination of Mosaism. 
 Out of these two tendencies sprang Ebionism. They 
 held that the Mosaic law was still in force ; its close 
 observance was a necessity for salvation; Christianity 
 fulfilled the law, but did not abrogate it; Christ was the 
 prophet of Israel's deliverance; he was a mere man; 
 his generation was natural; the Divine Spirit entered 
 
so SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 him at baptism; Christ was a good Jew; his piety was 
 bis claim to Messiahship; he performed miracles; and 
 be supplemented the law by his own commands. The 
 Ebionites rejected Paul's writings, as not Jewish 
 enough. They had communities in Asia Minor, Cy- 
 prus, and in Rome, and existed down to the fourth 
 century. 
 
 3. The Nazarseans more nearly approached Christian- 
 ity. They accepted Paul's writings, and held that 
 Christ was the Son of God, and that his generation was 
 divine. They disappeared in the fourth century. The 
 Elcesaites, or Sampsseans, were of similar Jewish pro- 
 clivities, but had a stronger Oriental element in their 
 faith. They kept the Jewish Sabbath, retained sacri- 
 fices, held that oil and salt are emblems of spiritual 
 communication, and prayed with their faces towards 
 the sun. 
 
 4. Gnosticism in General. This system was a combi- 
 nation of the new Platonic philosophy with Oriental 
 theosophy, the two proposing to appropriate certain 
 Christian elements. Philo, a learned Jew of Alexan- 
 dria, born about a.d. 40, furnished the most decided 
 contribution. He aimed to unite Judaism and Pla- 
 tonism. He regarded God and the world as forming a 
 dualism, both finite and infinite. He believed that God 
 could not assume visible form, but can reveal himself 
 to the soul. Tlie Logos is a divine emanation, which 
 the Holy Spirit, tlie Divine Wisdom, imparted directly 
 to the first men, and to all who have since striven after 
 likeness to God. From the fundamental ideas of Philo 
 the great Gnostic system developed into special sys- 
 tems, but all of tiieni were strained accommodations 
 to Christian ider.s. 
 
 5. Jewish Gnosticism. Cerinthus (a.d. 100) was tho 
 
EBIONISM AND GNOSTICISM. 31 
 
 earliest representative. He held that Judaism was the 
 world's preparation for Christianity; that Jesus was 
 the natural son of Joseph and Mary, and arrived at his 
 ])ure state at baptism and by his holy life; that his 
 death was not a mediatorial service; but that he would 
 come again, and establish a vast earthly kingdom. 
 I^asilides taught in Alexandria about a.d. 130. He 
 held that the universe is a dualism — deity and matter. 
 Between these there is a great multitude of aeons, or 
 emanations from God, who record his glory and make 
 it fruitful. Each nation is ruled by an jeon. The 
 Jewish geon taught by means of Moses and the proph- 
 ets. But truth was universal — Greek, Jews, and Per- 
 sians shared it. The highest feon was recorded to 
 Jesus at his baptism. Basilides was cautious, not com- 
 mitting himself to any of the extremes which consti- 
 tuted the body of the Gnostic system. Valentinian 
 (a.d. 138) first taught in Alexandria, but afterwards 
 removed to Rome. He was at first a Christian, but 
 withdrew from the Church. He borrowed his chief 
 ideas from Plato. His fundamental doctrine was 
 emanation. The supreme God lives in silence and sol- 
 itude. But, to be perfect, he must love, and in order 
 to love there must be an object. So he began to em- 
 anate. The feons are personalities, which emanate 
 from him. Man, the Logos, and the Church, are divine 
 emanations. Man is redeemed through the Logos. 
 The crucifixion represented the divine might by which 
 the world is purified from sin. Valentinian was the 
 founder of the largest Gnostic school. His chief dis- 
 ciples were Heracleon, Ptolemaeus, and Bardesanes. 
 
 6. Oriental and Pagan Gnostics. The Ophites (ser- 
 pent worshippers) were the first of this class. They 
 existed as a small sect in Egypt at the time of Christ, 
 
32 SHORT HISTOEY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 and afterwards adopted a perverted type of Christian- 
 ity, but retained a large measure of Oriental theosophy. 
 The pleroma, or highest spirit, develops itself in aeons; 
 and from the fourth one there floats a ray of light, 
 which combines with matter, and becorties the Avorld- 
 soul. Man is created. To defeat his elevation the 
 serpent is prepared. The serpent becomes the type of 
 all wisdom, and is worthy of worship. Man, by his 
 fall, first arrives at the consciousness of freedom and 
 mastery. There were two minor Ophite sects — the 
 Cainites and the Sethians. Carpocrates built his sys- 
 tem out of fragments of Buddhism and Neo-Platonism. 
 He placed all faiths on the same plane — Orpheus, Py- 
 thagoras, Plato, and Christ were quite the same, accord- 
 ing to him. His sect degenerated into wild libertinism. 
 In Mani and the Manichseans we reach the limits of 
 Oriental Gnosticism. Mani made the faith of Zoroaster 
 the basis of his system, but added a superstructure of 
 Buddhism and Christianity. Fatalism pervaded the 
 whole structure. The sect continued down to the end 
 of the third century, when Diocletian issued an edict 
 for its suppression. The Ophites elevated man to su- 
 preme importance. Their estimate has been character- 
 ized in the following lines : 
 
 " thou citizen of Heaven ! 
 Thou much-praised Man ! 
 From thee comes Father, 
 Through thee comes Mother, — 
 Those two immortal names, 
 The parents of the ^ons." 
 
 7. Independent Gnosticism. Saturninus, who died about 
 A.D. 174, lield that the supreme Father has produced, 
 by intermediate archangels and powers, seven angels, 
 who are the sovereigns of the material world. Among 
 
EBIONISM AND GNOSTICISM. 33 
 
 them is the God of the Jews. Man was created, but 
 with infirmities. The Saviour came to aid him towards 
 final development. Tatian was a native of Assyria, 
 but emigrated to Rome. His chief tenet w^as antago- 
 nism to marriage. He died about a.d. 174. The En- 
 cratites and Hudropastrians were followers of Tatian. 
 The tendency to decline w^as manifested in all the 
 Gnostic schools. Marcion and his followers represented 
 the reformatory movement. He lived about a.d. 150. 
 He avoided all the extremes of his predecessors, but 
 leaned towards Christianity. He recognized Paul as 
 the only veritable apostle, admitted one gospel, a dis- 
 tortion of Luke, and rejected all tradition and esoteric 
 doctrines. In his later years he is said to have re- 
 gretted his Gnostic vagaries, and to have sought re- 
 admission to the Church. Of all Gnostics he was the 
 nearest approach to the true Christian. 
 
 8. The Place of Gnosticism. The service which Gnos- 
 ticism rendered to the Church was to make the pagan 
 mind acquainted with some fundamental Christian 
 truths, to disintegrate the fabric of the pagan philosophy, 
 and to prove, by its own fruitless endeavors, the im- 
 possibility of combining any system with Christianity. 
 The Gnostics were a proud class. They set out with 
 claims to all knowledge, approached Christianity as 
 they would any other faith, and proposed to weigh it in 
 their own small balance. They made reason the test 
 of religion, and were devoid of all appreciation of the 
 spiritual life. The danger to Christianity of all the 
 Gnostic systems was in winning Christians to the adop- 
 tion of them. But the Christian teachers were prompt 
 in giving warning of their corrupt nature, and no great 
 secession to them ever occurred. The Christians, as a 
 body, regarded the Gnostics with aversion, because of 
 
34 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 the claim of many of them that they believed in the 
 best part of Christianity. While Marcion was the near- 
 est approach to the Christian, the interview of Polycarp 
 wdth him one day, as the t-wo met in a street in Rome, 
 indicates the Christian hostility to all Gnostics. Poly- 
 carp was stopped by Marcion, who said: "Do you not 
 recognize me?" The father replied promptly: "Cer- 
 tainly I do. I know the first-born of Satan !" 
 
 GNOSTIC SYMBOLS. 
 
Chapter X. 
 
 THE PAGAN LITERARY ATTACK. 
 
 1, The Growing Importance of Christianity, in the 
 mind of the pagan world, became very apparent in the 
 attempts now made in literature to destroy its very 
 foundations. By the beginning of the second century it 
 became evident to the cultivated Romans that some- 
 thing more than imperial opposition was necessary to 
 arrest the new faith. Every persecution left Christian- 
 ity more solid, aggressive, and hopeful than it found it. 
 During the second and third centuries the two hostile 
 forces proceeded together — the sword and the pen. 
 Each pursued its own path, and each hoped to win by 
 help from the other. The Christians met the imperial 
 opposition by non-resistance, but ceaseless evangeliza- 
 tion. They met the antagonism of literature by such 
 bold and masterful logic, and by such strong appeal to 
 facts, that the whole structure of paganism was shaken 
 by their arguments. 
 
 2, The Grounds for Pagan Alarm. The Greek and 
 Roman writers saw in Christianity certain peculiarities 
 well calculated to give them alarm. They had to deal 
 with a new historical phenomenon. They saw, first, 
 that the new religion was based upon certain writings, 
 reaching back to the dawn of history, and culminating 
 later in the life of the Founder and in the exposition 
 of his doctrines; second, that there was an historical 
 basis for Christianity; third, that it dealt with funda- 
 
36 SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 mental moral themes; fourth, that the people profess- 
 ing faith in the doctrines never grew weary of them; 
 fifth, that the doctrines developed pure and heroic 
 lives; sixth, that the scriptural cosmogony was more 
 reasonable and consistent than that of Hesiod; seventh, 
 that the character of Christ was without a blemish; 
 and eighth, that his death had imparted to his follow- 
 ers a zeal which nothing had been able to arrest. To 
 overcome such a system was a serious problem. But 
 both Greek and Roman writers, witli much self-con- 
 sciousness, did not hesitate to undertake the task of 
 demolition. The wise methods by which their work 
 was met by Christian writers, and the fearless spirit in 
 which the latter wrought, was a great surprise. It is 
 one of the wonders of all literature. 
 
 3. General References, The hostile attitude of even 
 general historians can be seen in mere allusions. Tacitus 
 dismisses the subject by saying that Christ was the 
 founder of a new sect, that he had been crucified by 
 Pontius Pilate, that his system was a deadly supersti- 
 tion, and that the Christians were obnoxious to the 
 human race. Antoninus says that the soul must be 
 ready to leave the body by a mere obstinacy. Juvenal 
 sneered at the Christian adoration of the heavens. Ar- 
 rian reports Epictetus as protesting against the Gali- 
 lean fearlessness of danger, and the doctrine that God 
 created all things. Lucian was as severe on Christian- 
 ity as on the other religions, all of which he cast into 
 a common vortex of worthlcssness. He called Christ a 
 magician, and parodied the career of Jonah, our Lord's 
 walking on the Sea of Galilee, and John's description 
 of the New Jerusalem. 
 
 4. Celsus, Porphyry, and Hierocles were the strongest 
 assailants of (Christianity. Celsus lived about a.d. 150, 
 
THE PAGAN LITERARY ATTACK. 37 
 
 He held to a chief deity, a superintending providence, 
 and the immortality of the soul. These views he de- 
 rived from the Platonic philosophy. But when he ex- 
 amined Christianity, he lost sight of the parallel of these 
 fundamental truths with the Christian system. His 
 antagonism was bitter. He assailed the Old Testament, 
 but levelled his attacks chiefly against the alleged 
 weaknesses in the career and character of Jesus. Por- 
 phyry, born about a.d. 233, aimed to show that the 
 pagan world presented higher magical characters than 
 Jesus, and tliat the gospel history abounds in hopeless 
 contradictions. His Candid Treatise against the Chris- 
 tians was an attempt to show a parallel between the 
 sorcery of Apollonius of Tyana ^nd Jesus, with a 
 large balance in favor of the former. 
 
 5. General Charges against Christianity. Obscurer 
 writers followed willingly in the footprints of the 
 leaders. Satire, fiction, poetry, indeed all forms of 
 literary effort, were employed to hold up Christianity 
 to contempt. The principal grounds of hostility were: 
 
 1. The alleged contradictions in the Scriptures. 
 
 2. The uselessness of Christians to the existing state 
 of society. 
 
 3. The philosophical absurdity of the Christian sys- 
 tem. 
 
 4. The claim of the humanity of Jesus at the same 
 time with that of divinity. 
 
 5. The immorality of Christians. This charge was 
 based upon the secret meetings of Christians. It was 
 never seriously believed. On the contrary, the moral 
 life of believers stood out in beautiful contrast to the 
 pagan immorality. That secrecy should be confounded 
 with bad morals was natural to the pagan mind, famil- 
 iar with the nameless licentiousness and wild commu- 
 
38 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 nism connected with the Eleusinian and other mysteries. 
 This and all the other charges were summed up by 
 Tertullian in a single sentence, which he placed in the 
 mouth of universal paganism, as its final argument 
 against the Christians: "You have no right to exist !" 
 6. The Outcome of the Attack. The most Avhich the 
 pagan writers could hope from their attack was to 
 prevent new accessions to the Church. They wrote 
 for the pagan mind, not with any view to disturbing 
 the Christian's faith in his own religion. This they 
 were not so foolish as to imagine possible. The Chris- 
 tian body was too firmly knit to give ground for 
 such a delusive expectation. No serious defection ever 
 occurred because of the pagan attack. On the contrary, 
 the numbers steadily increased. But the main object 
 also failed completely. Paganism was in process of 
 disintegration, and while the assailants flattered them- 
 selves that they were achieving a literary success, the 
 result was a total disappointment. The pagan walls 
 were falling too rapidly to be propped up. It was an 
 effort for the impossible. 
 
Chapter XL 
 
 THE CHEISTIAN DEFENDERS. 
 
 1. The Two Classes. We now come to a brighter 
 picture. The writing in defence of Christianity is 
 called the apology^ and the writer, an apologist. It 
 is from the Greek word apologia^ which meant a work 
 written-for resistance. But the apologies of the early 
 Church were more than this. They were not only 
 counter-arguments, but aggressive weapons. It was a 
 fierce warfare upon the enemy's camp, followed by a 
 hot pursuit. There were two classes of apologists, the 
 Greek and the Latin, according to the territory which 
 they occupied, and the language in which they wrote. 
 But there were further differences. The Greeks be- 
 longed mostly to the second century, and their writ- 
 ings exhibited a profound intimacy with the Greek 
 philosophy. Some of them had studied in the Greek 
 schools, and entered the Church only in mature life. 
 They endeavored to prove that Christianity was the 
 blossom of all that was valuable in every system. 
 They stood largely on the defensive. The Latins, on 
 the other hand, were aggressive. They lived mostly 
 in the third century, were more argumentative, wrote 
 in a clearer and more methodical style, and carried the 
 warfare into the hostile ranks with an energy equal to 
 the Roman soldier on foreign battle-fields. Their per- 
 spective of Christianity was that of universal conquest 
 and permanent dominion. 
 
40 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 2. The Greeks. The principal Greek apologists were 
 Aristo, Quadratus, Aristides, Justin, Melito, Miltiades, 
 Irengeus, Athenagoras, Tatian, Clement of Alexandria, 
 Hippolytiis, and Origen. Aristo's dialogue between 
 Papiskos and Jason was an attempt to prove the truth 
 of Christianity and the messiahship of Jesus as the ful- 
 filment of the Old Testament. Quadratus addressed 
 an aj^ology to Hadrian (a.d. 131), with a view to stop 
 the persecution of the Christians. Aristides proved 
 Christianity the culmination of the best systems in the 
 classic world, and the one which should supersede all 
 else. Justin wrote two apologies (a.d. 136 and a.d. 162), 
 showing that the Christians were not responsible for 
 public calamities; that they were true Roman citizens; 
 that pagan philosophy and mythology abound in false- 
 hood and contradiction; and that tlie only source of 
 truth is the Scriptures. Athenagoras, in his Embassy 
 of the Christians, applied a philosophical method to 
 Christian defence. Tatian, who died about a.d. 1*76, 
 wrote an Address to the Greeks, showing the ridiculous 
 origin of the Greek religion and science. Clement, in 
 liis Pedagogue, and the Stromata, exposed the emp- 
 tiness of the whole pagan fabric. Hippolytus wrote 
 against the pagans, the Phatonic philosopliy, and the 
 Jews. Origen, born a.d. 185, wrote eight books against 
 Celsus, in which he exposed the weakness of the whole 
 pagan structure. 
 
 3. The Latins. Tertullian stands at the head. His 
 Apologeticus, written about a.d. 200, is the most brill- 
 iant piece of apologetic writing in the early Church. 
 He showed that persecution was no final damage to the 
 Christians. His other writings covered nearly every 
 contested point. The supernatural element in Chris- 
 tianity was brought by him into great prominence, and 
 
THE CHEISTIAN DEFENDERS. 41 
 
 defended with masterly skill. Cyprian wrote about the 
 middle of the third century. His attack on pagan idol- 
 atry was merciless, and could not be answered. Arno- 
 bius (a.d. 297) surpassed all the apologists in his use 
 of the miracles of Jesus, as a weapon of Christian 
 attack. Lactantius, the Christian Cicero, wrote his 
 Divine Institutions a.d. 320. His strength lay less in 
 the force of his argument than in the purity and beauty 
 of his style. 
 
 4. The Line of Defence. The objection that Chris- 
 tians were disloyal to the state was met by the answer 
 that they were true to the emperor; obeyed all laws 
 which did not interfere with Christianity; never con- 
 spired against the government; and never produced 
 robbers, assassins, or traitors. Purity of life was 
 proven as the outgrowth of pure doctrines. Tertullian 
 said: "We live a life free from reproach. We live 
 among you. You can see us every day." To the charge 
 that national calamities were produced by the Chris- 
 tians, he replied: "Why do you suffer too? Why do 
 your gods let you have these trials?" The inspiration 
 of the Scriptures and purity of doctrine were funda- 
 mental arguments in all the apologetic writings. To 
 these came the divine character of Jesus. When the 
 assailants repelled the miraculous power of Jesus, the 
 apologists replied: "Do you not say that your ^scu- 
 lapius restores the lame and the halt; that your Or- 
 pheus, Zeno, and Kleanthes knew the Logos; and that 
 Plato, in a letter to Hermeas and Koriskus, speaks of 
 a son of God ?" The purity of Christian morals was 
 held up by the apologists in striking antagonism to 
 the sensuality of paganism, which could produce only 
 caricatures of good morals. The origin of the pagan 
 gods was exposed with fearless skill. The apologists 
 
42 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 said, with Tatian, "What has become of your Juno, 
 that she produces no more gods?" Arnobius said, 
 defiantly: "Your gods abound in passion; some are 
 drunkards, others are murderers, and multitudes are 
 licentious." 
 
 5. The Triumph of the Apologists. When this battle 
 of three centuries was over it was easy to see that the 
 victory of the Christian writers was complete. It began 
 with the pagan expectation of destroying the logical 
 basis of Christianity, but ended by the exposure of the 
 corruption of the Greek and Koman faith and the weak- 
 ness of the boasted philosophy. Every department of 
 Christian truth was defended by the apologists. Their 
 arguments broke down the opposition, while they con- 
 stitute a storehouse of Christian defence to which all 
 later Christian writers have appealed with success. The 
 indirect service of the attacks to the Church was great, 
 in that all Christians w^ere compelled to study the 
 groundwork of Christianity, on every side. The laity 
 were driven to read their Bible. The private member, 
 over all Christendom, could give a reason for the faith 
 that was in him. By the end of the fifth century the 
 conflict was over. The apologists were the last to leave 
 the field. The Christian now lived in a larger place. 
 He was marching on to universal conquest. The words 
 of one of the apologists expressed the attitude of all 
 believers: "Every country is the Christian's fatherland, 
 and every fatherland is the Christian's country." 
 
Chapter XII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 1. Early Attention to Christian Culture. From what- 
 ever side the Christian convert came he brought with 
 him the love of the school. For ministerial training 
 the Jews had, from distant times, the prophetic schools, 
 under the care of their wisest teachers. In Athens, 
 Tarsus, and Alexandria the Greeks possessed celebrated 
 universities, which even Roman students attended, for 
 the completion of studies pursued in Italy. The proper 
 dealing with both Jewish and pagan thought made a 
 thorough ministerial culture necessary. The preacher 
 of the early Church lived in an atmosphere of opposi- 
 tion, and, to succeed, lie must be Avell acquainted with 
 not only the truth he would defend, but with the false 
 system he would combat. 
 
 2. The Elements in Paul's Day. The whole tendency 
 of Paul's character, career, and acquisitions was on the 
 side of careful training. Timothy and Titus repre- 
 sented a group of young men who were inducted into 
 Christianity through the labors of that apostle, and, by 
 personal attendance on his journeys, were prepared to 
 succeed him and the other apostles. It was a beautiful 
 legend of the whole period that the aged John stood 
 at the head of a theological school in Ephesus, whither 
 young men flocked from all quarters to gather from 
 him memo7'aJ)iUa of our Lord's ministry and person- 
 ality. 
 
 3. The Alexandrian School. By the middle of the 
 
44 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 second century there were three great Christian 
 schools. The most important was that of Alexandria. 
 This city was the chief seat of philosophical culture in 
 the world after the destruction of the literary prestige 
 of Athens. All currents of thought, from both East 
 and West, flowed thither for two centuries. Plato, 
 because of the sway of Neo-Platonism, was a familiar 
 name. Here Christianity and pagan learning came into 
 close conflict, and finally the Christian school took the 
 place of the pagan university. The catechetical, or 
 Socratic, element prevailed at first. The most active 
 period of this school covered two centuries, a.d. 200- 
 400. Pantsenus was the founder. He and Clement 
 stood at its head in the second century; Origen, Her- 
 acles, and Dionysius, in the third; and Didymus the 
 Blind, in the fourth. In addition to these we may 
 reckon Gregory Thaumaturgus, Petrus, Pamphilus, and 
 Eusebius, who, though not formally connected with it, 
 yet sympathized with its tendencies. The theological 
 characteristics were sympathy with the better Greek 
 philosophy, an emphasis on intuition and the subjective 
 life, and a disposition to allegorize the Old-Testament 
 narratives. Origen, though brilliant, was an unsafe 
 guide, especially in his adoption of an eternal creation, 
 the soul's pre-existence, a pre-adamite apostasy, and a 
 final universal restoration. 
 
 4. The School of Asia Minor consisted less in a formal 
 educational centre than in a group of theological writ- 
 ers and teachers. The whole region had been a scene 
 of active theological thought since Paul's day. In the 
 second century it leaned towards a literal and Judaistic 
 type of Christianity, but in the third it assumed a broad- 
 er character. It opposed Gnosticism and suppressed 
 Montanism. Polycarp, Papias, Melito of Sardis, and 
 
THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. 45 
 
 Hegeslppus were its leaders in its first period; and Ire- 
 nseus, Hippolytiis, and Julius Africanus, in the second. 
 6. The School of Antioch, in Syria. Its chief pursuit 
 was the criticism of the sacred text and the statement 
 of doctrinal theology. Its founders were Dorotheus 
 and Lukianus. At first it sympathized with the Alex- 
 andrian school, but was alienated on the rise of the 
 Origenistic and ISTestorian controversies. Its most pros- 
 perous period was a.d. 300-342. Theodorus, Eusebius 
 of Emesa, Cyril, Apollinaris, Ephraera, Diodorus, John 
 Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia belonged to it. 
 
 6. The School of North Africa. Its centre was Car- 
 thage. To this place, and not to Rome, Latin Chris- 
 tianity was indebted for its prevailing type. Cyprian, 
 Tertullian, Minutius Felix, Commodianus, and Arno- 
 bius were its leading representatives. It was distin- 
 guished for its heroic zeal for the unity of the Church, 
 for aversion to Gnosticism, for an exact and literal Bib- 
 lical interpretation, for an abhorrence of theological 
 speculation, and for energy in developing the practi- 
 cal and evangelistic side of the Church. Its period of 
 greatest prosperity was a.d. 200-330, 
 
 7. The General Tendency of the Schools was to lead 
 the Church in its doctrinal and general literary develop- 
 ment. They were rallying-points for Christian de- 
 fence, and for broader plans of Christian work. Their 
 influence extended throughout the Christian world. 
 Many men were drawn towards them from the most 
 distant regions, imbibed their spirit, and either went 
 back as preachers and teachers into their own country, 
 or far away, into new regions, to extend Christianity. 
 Some of the teachers, as Origen, were of wonderfully 
 magnetic spirit, and imparted both their energy and 
 doctrines to younger minds. 
 
Chapter XIII. 
 
 LIBERATION UNDER CONSTANTINE. 
 
 1. Political Life and the Church. We now come to 
 consider the outward relations of the Church. What 
 was the bearing of the empire upon Christianity? The 
 period of persecution was passing away. The Church, 
 meanwhile, was not despondent, but making full plans 
 for future triumph. A revolution in the im.perial pol- 
 icy was close at hand, and the forces were in full play 
 which should soon bring about the liberation of all 
 Christendom. This was effected by the military suc- 
 cesses of Constantine, who, a.d. 306, was called from 
 the command of the army in Britain to succeed his 
 father as Roman emperor. But, before getting se- 
 curely in place, he had to conquer five competitors — 
 three in the East and two in the West. It mattered 
 not that some were blood relatives. Kinship was only 
 a trifle in those days, and soon Constantine had made 
 way with all contestants to his claim to his father's 
 crown. 
 
 2. CJonstantine declared himself a Christian, in sym- 
 pathy, early in his reign. Before the decisive battle 
 of the Rubra Saxa with Maxentius, which should secure 
 his rule, he claimed to see in the sky the sign of the 
 Cross, with the words ^^ En touto nika^'' — '*By this con- 
 quer." He accepted the token as an argument in favor 
 of Christianity, gained the battle for the crown of the 
 Roman Empire, and henceforth avowed his belief in 
 
LIBERATION UNDER CONSTANTINE. 
 
 47 
 
 Gbristianity. His vision, though in the line of his 
 sympathies, was probably only a shrewd method to 
 attract the Christians to his support. 
 He carried the labarum, a standard in- 
 scribed with the cross, in all his subse- 
 quent wars. His policy was at first to 
 make all Christians the supporters of 
 his rule, and, by granting concessions, 
 to heal the alienation from the empire 
 which the repressive policy of his prede- 
 cessors had produced. He published 
 (a.d. 313) an edict tolerating Chris- 
 tianity as one of the legal religions of 
 the empire. But in the year 323 he 
 enlarged the scope of his favor, and 
 made Christianity the established faith 
 of all his dominions. 
 
 3. The good and the bad in the impe- 
 rial support. It was a happy day when 
 the Christians could walk abroad with- 
 out fear of persecution. But there were 
 grounds for concern. Constantino left but little for 
 the Church to do for its own government. He claimed 
 the right to supervise religion, as the emperor had al- 
 ways done in the case of paganism. He accounted him- 
 self still the great high-priest, or Pontifex Maximus, 
 and claimed the prerogative to compose differences, 
 decide questions of religious policy, call ecclesiastical 
 councils, and appoint the leading officers. Then, again, 
 he retained many pagan institutions. The heathen 
 temples were supported out of the state treasury, cer- 
 tain respect was paid to the national divinities, and 
 even soothsayers were still used for help in battle, 
 Constantino was a mixed character, not willinor to lose 
 
 THE LABARUM. 
 
48 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 the sympathy of the pagan citizens, and yet clear- 
 headed enough to see that further hostility to Chris- 
 tianity would be fatal to his rule. He had no faith in 
 paganism, but would not suppress it. Plis line of con- 
 duct was, to allow it to go on as he found it, and j'et 
 to help the Christians to conquer it. He was, of all 
 successful rulers, the most successful trimmer. 
 
 4. The Danger to the Church. The course of Constan- 
 tme was attended with serious danger to the Church. 
 This did not arise from the assumption of guardianship 
 over its affairs, but from making the whole Christian 
 body a part of the machinery of the state, and employ- 
 ing the state as the supreme judge of its inner and 
 outward life. Hitherto the Church had been a grand 
 moral unity, held together by ties of love and doctrine. 
 But now it was absorbed by the state. Its framework 
 was lost in the body politic. Freeman says: "The 
 Church conquered the state." This is a great error. 
 Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the state re- 
 ligion was the conquest of the Church by the state. 
 All the moral forces of the Church were now impaired. 
 The bondage of the Church to the state, thus early be- 
 gun, produced the great evils of the following twelve 
 centuries — superstition, the purchase of office, the an- 
 gry controversy about theological trifles, the moral 
 corruption of the clergy, and the ignorance of the 
 masses. Milton, in his translation of a passage of 
 Dante's " Inferno," thus characterizes the evil of Con- 
 stantine's favor : 
 
 " Ah, Constantinc, of how much ill was cause, 
 ^ot thy conversion, but those rich demains 
 That the first wealthy Pope received of thee !" 
 
 Charlemagne, and not Constantine, was the first to 
 confer temporal power on the papacy. Dante was not 
 
LIBEEATION UNDER CONSTANTINE. 
 
 49 
 
 far astray, however, for Constantine's patronage was the 
 entering wedge for Charlemagne's donation. Neander 
 says with truth: "The reign of Constantine bears wit- 
 ness that the state which seeks to establish Christianity 
 by the w^orldly means at its command, may be the occa- 
 sion of more injury to this holy cause than the earthly 
 power which opposes it, with whatever force." Con- 
 stantine could have helped the Church greatly by sim- 
 ply removing all political disabilities, and permitting 
 the Christians to develop their polity and spiritual 
 forces as God might lead. 
 
 5. Direct Favors to the Church. Among the chief spe- 
 cial acts of Constantine in favor of the Church may be 
 mentioned, his ordering the civil observance of Sunday, 
 his confiscation in the East of pagan temples for Chris- 
 tian churches, his emancipation of the slaves, his ex- 
 emption of the clergy from military and municipal 
 duty, and his ardent promotion of Christian education 
 among his subjects. 
 
 ST. SOPHIA, AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 4 
 
Chapter XIV. 
 
 REACTION UNDER JULIAN. 
 
 1. The Three Sons of Constantine divided their father's 
 empii*e among themselves. Not one was his equal, on 
 the battle-field or in government. But they pursued 
 his policy of favoring the Cliristian religion. The 
 Christians were uncertain as to what would be the 
 result when his immediate family should have passed 
 away. The outlook was far from flattering. When 
 Julian came to the throne there were grave apprehen- 
 sions that he would renew the old war upon the Chris- 
 tians. For a time he was silent, but after a while he 
 exhibited a spirit of refined opposition to all Christian 
 institutions and doctrines. 
 
 2. Julian's Antecedents were calculated to prejudice 
 his mind against Christianity. He was a nephew of 
 Constantine, and was practically imprisoned in Cappa- 
 docia, because of supposed danger to the rule of Con- 
 stantine's sons. He Avas educated in the languages and 
 sciences, under the oversight of the Arian bishop, Eu- 
 sebius, and was prepared for clerical service as a lector. 
 But he regarded himself a victim of Christian persecu- 
 tion. In time he acquired liberty, by his brother Gal- 
 lus becoming emperor in the East. He visited Constan- 
 tinople, became acquainted with the pagan pliilosophy, 
 and studied and adopted divination. On the death of 
 Gallus (a.d. 354), ho was carried a prisoner to Milan. 
 On his release he went to Athens, and was initiated 
 into the mysteries of Eleusis. 
 
REACTION UNDER JULIAN. 51 
 
 3. The Rei^ of Julian began a.d. 355. At first he 
 shared the empire with Constantius, but on the latter's 
 death he was declared by his soldiers the supreme ruler 
 of the Roman Empire, on the bank of the Seine, where 
 the Hotel Clugny, the heart of old Paris, now stands. 
 He early developed great military skill, and Avas suc- 
 cessful in war. He here disappointed every one, for 
 he had been supposed to be only a recluse, and a man 
 of books. He regarded Constantino's family as fair 
 Christian representatives, and hence he rejected Chris- 
 tianity, and revolutionized the imperial policy. He took 
 up his abode in Constantinople, and adopted immediate 
 measures to convert it into a pagan city. His one great 
 object was to suppress Christianity, and restore pagan- 
 ism to its old grandeur, but with such improvements 
 as might be derived from Oriental or any sources. He 
 issued no formal edict against Christianity, but raised 
 barriers on every hand. He claimed that his philoso- 
 phy taught him toleration of all faiths. But this was 
 a thin disguise. He was bitter towards the religion of 
 Christ. 
 
 4. Julian's Opposition. The principal measures by 
 which Julian sought to suppress Christianity were : 
 1, His encouragement of schism and strife among Chris- 
 tians ; 2, the prohibition of Christian schools of learn- 
 ing and the study of classic authors by Christians, in 
 the belief that Christianity could not exist without the 
 classic basis ; 3, his removal of disabilities from the 
 Jews, and his proposed, but abortive, restoration of 
 the temple at Jerusalem, that he might prove the fal- 
 sity of Christ's prediction (Matt, xxiii. 38 ; xxiv. 2) ; 
 4, his requirement that the soldiers should attend hea- 
 then worship ; 5, his withdrawal of existing immuni- 
 ties from the clergy ; 6, his failure to punish his hea- 
 
62 SHOKT' HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 then subjects for deeds of violence against Christians ; 
 7, his punishment of Christians for the slig^htest of- 
 fences; his support of pagan services; and the re- 
 building of the ternples, at public expense ; and, 8, his 
 authorship of a work, now lost, in defence of pagan- 
 ism. 
 
 6. Death and Character. Julian's reign was short, 
 lasting only twenty months. He died while on a cam- 
 paign against the Pei*sians (a.o. 363). It was currently 
 believed by the Christians that his last words were : 
 " Tandem vicisti, Galikea *' — " Thou, O Galilean, hast 
 conquered, after all." He was a compound of elements 
 not often found in one individual. He was fanatical in 
 treatment of the Christians, shrewd in political plans, 
 brilliant as a military commander, cultivated in all the 
 learning of his age, vain in the extreme, and wildly su- 
 perstitious. He not only believed that Christianity was 
 sure to die, but that he was the destined instrument 
 to kill it. He had the egotism to believe that he ex- 
 celled in literary work, an infirmity for which royal 
 authors have generally been distinguished. Like Fred- 
 erick the Great, he was never so weak as with pen in 
 hand. His proposed new eclectic religion was hetero- 
 geneous beyond description. It Avas a mixture of Neo- 
 Platonic speculation, the arts of jugglery, the moraliz- 
 insrs of Rome's best Stoic thinkers, and the wild dreams 
 of Persian fire- worshippers. Here and there a grain of 
 the golden truth of the Bible was dropped in, but not 
 enough to cover the glaring shallowness of the general 
 scheme. His god was the Mithra, or Sun-God of the 
 East, beneath whom were numerous tutelary divinities, 
 derived from Grecian paganism and Alexandrian gnos- 
 ticism. His methods of rehabilitating paganism were 
 on the Christian plan. He re-established tho priest- 
 
REACTION UNDER JULIAN. 53 
 
 bood on the basis of the Christian ministry; his pagan 
 bishops preached to the people, and expounded the pa- 
 gan mythologies ; he foisted into pagan use the con- 
 stitution of the Church ; provided for penance, ex- 
 communication, absohition, and restoration; twisted- 
 Christian psalmody into the heathen rites, whei*© choirs 
 chanted and congregations responded, after the most 
 approved ecclesiastical mode; and provided hospitals 
 for the sick, destitute, and orphans, and gave alms after 
 the manner of the Christian diaconate. But all failed. 
 Even an emperor could not mix Christianity and pagan- 
 ism. He was the last ruler on the Roman throne who 
 was hostile to Christianity. He passed into history as 
 Julian the Apostate, The epithet is probably a mis- 
 application, as it is not likely that Julian was ever any- 
 thing else than an enemy to Christianity. 
 
Chapter XV. 
 the montanistic reform. 
 
 1. Reaction against Loose Discipline. During the 
 persecutions of the lirst three centuries some of the 
 Christians relapsed into paganism. A portion of these 
 afterwards regretted their apostasy, and wished to 
 return to the Church, and be received as penitents. 
 Within the Church there prevailed two sentiments con- 
 cerning them — a lax view, which exacted but little more 
 of the penitent than a pledge of future fidelity ; and a 
 severe view, which kept the applicant for readmission on 
 a long probation, and, in many instances, would not re- 
 ceive him at all. These two views, however, took a 
 wider range than the readmission of the lapsed into the 
 Church. The imperial favor was already bringing in 
 disorders of many kinds. Many Christians, both East 
 and West, protested against them, while the more 
 wealthy saw no real danger to vital Christianity by 
 making certain social concessions. The former and 
 stricter class found expression in the life and career of 
 Montanus, a native Phrygian. 
 
 2. The Plan of Montanism. Montanus, like the people 
 among whom he was reared, was fond of the marvel- 
 lous and ecstatic. The old national worship was that 
 of Cybele, who was here honored as nowhere else. 
 Divination and clairvoyance were believed to be priest- 
 ly endowments. Political disaster only fanned the 
 llame of devotion to Cybele. In time, Christianity 
 
THE MONTANISTIC REFORM. 55 
 
 made its way among tlie i:)eople, and here grew up 
 some of those churches of Asia, such as Laodicea and 
 Colosse, to which John addressed epistles. But the 
 natural temperament remained undisturbed, and the 
 people carried into Christianity the same fimi fidelity 
 to their new faith which they had entertained towards 
 paganism. The followers of Montanus demanded a 
 return to the apostolical life of the Church. He had 
 been a priest of Cybele, and, when he became a Chris- 
 tian, he was as warm for his new faith as he had been 
 for his old one. There was not a trace of idolatry 
 left in him ; but his nature was quite the same. He 
 remained the visionary and the prophet. He proposed 
 to regenerate the life of all Christendom. He saw de- 
 partures from the old simplicity and purity, which he re- 
 garded himself as the chosen instrument for removing. 
 His place, therefore, was that of the reformer. It was 
 an obscure region to produce a man of such superior 
 claims. But he stood out before the whole Christian 
 Avorld as the representative of the old and pure faith. 
 
 3. The Opinions of Montanus. He combined the 
 practical and visionary to a remarkable degree. He 
 claimed that there are three persons in the Godhead: 
 Father, Son, and Spirit, and that through himself the 
 third person, the Paraclete, prophesied to the world. 
 The world will speedily end, and then the millennial 
 reign of Christ will begin. The real Church is the 
 pure Church. Nothing but absolute purity must be 
 allowed in it. There is a universal priesthood of 
 believers. Penitence must take place after sin, but 
 sacrificing again to idols should exclude from total 
 restoration to the Church. But God may still forgive. 
 
 4. The Expansion of Montanism went rapidly on. 
 Communities sprang up, not in Phrygia alone, but in 
 
60 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 many other regions. They were small societies in the 
 general Church — ecclesiolm in ecclesia — like the Pietis- 
 tic organizations within the bosom of the German Prot- 
 estant Cliurch, in the seventeenth century. The bishop, 
 Julianus, tried to win them back, but, failing, adopted 
 severer methods. Two councils were held, at both of 
 which the Montanists were condemned. 
 
 Rome favored their cause at first, but afterwards 
 settled down into a sentiment of firm opposition. The 
 looser discipline of the Western Christians was not likely 
 to harmonize with it. But in Gaul there was a close 
 sympathy, where the bonds between the Christians 
 and those of Asia Minor had always been very close. 
 In North Africa the views of Montanus gained new 
 favor and great prestige, through the support of Ter- 
 tullian. He advocated the universal necessity of a 
 stricter discipline, and eliminated some of the vagaries 
 of original Montanism. His name gave it new respec- 
 tability ; but, with even this great advantage, the sys- 
 tem was doomed. The condemnation by the councils ; 
 the visionary speculations of Montanus ; and the promi- 
 nence of ecstasy, vision, and chiliasm in the movement, 
 were as millstones about its neck. Its stronger quali- 
 ties were overlooked in the vigorous warfare upon it. 
 The episcopacy found it an inconvenient thing, as its 
 tendency was to curtail the episcopal prerogative. 
 Montanism was bitterly opposed to all centralization 
 of authority. The Roman emperors opposed it every- 
 where. At last it disappeared, even in Phrygia, and 
 was found only in a sect in North Africa, bearing the 
 name Tertullianists. Justinian issued two edicts against 
 Montanism, a.d. 530-532, after v/hich it sank beneath 
 the waves of more exciting questions. 
 
Chapter XVI. 
 
 CONTROVERSIES ON CHRIST. 
 
 1. The Arian Strife. The principal scene of this im- 
 portant controversy was Alexandria, Palestine, and 
 Constantinople. The question v/as concerning the di- 
 vinity of Christ. Both Jews and pagans very early 
 united in opposing this doctrine, believing that it was 
 vital to the Christians. John's gospel, the inspired 
 apology, proves how early our Lord's divine character 
 was assailed. Later, there came, as accessories towards 
 a low Christological view, the vague teachings of the 
 Antiochian school and the incongruities of the theology 
 of Origen. The period during which the controversy 
 lasted is divided into two parts — a.d. 318-361 and 
 361-381. Arius was a presbyter of Alexandria. He 
 derived his theological ideas from the Antiochian 
 school, which emphasized the unity of the divine nat- 
 ure, and looked with great alarm on any doctrine which 
 would seem to destroy it. 
 
 2. The Outbreak in Alexandria took place a.d. 318. 
 Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, advocated the eternal 
 Sonship of Christ, and his equality with the Father. 
 Arius opposed him, holding that there was a time 
 when the Son did not exist; that, having a beginning, 
 he can not be of the same essence with the Father; 
 that he was a creature, and not Creator; that he was 
 divinely illumined, and therefore the Logos; that he is 
 subordinate to the Father, and that the Holy Ghost is 
 
68 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 subordinate to the Son. The issue was clearly defined. 
 For a time Alexandria was the sole scene of the con- 
 troversy, and the participants were the bishop and his 
 presbyter. Alexander called a synod in Alexandria, 
 when Arius was deposed. But violent opposition arose 
 to this summary dealing with a man of the pure life of 
 Arius. The scene now widened. Constantine, the em- 
 peror, ordered the contestants to stop the quarrel. 
 But no attention was paid to the command. The strife 
 raged with increased bitterness. When the emperor 
 was informed by Hosius, bishop of Cordova, whom he 
 had sent as a special messenger to Alexandria, to in- 
 quire into the state of affairs, that the controversy was 
 no trifling matter, and would not cease at a mere order, 
 he convened a council. 
 
 3. The Council of Nicsea, A.D. 325. This was the 
 most important assembly of the early Church. It was 
 attended by representatives from every part of Chris- 
 tendom. Even India sent its bishop. There were 
 about three hundred bishops, besides many of the in- 
 ferior clergy. Constantine arrived during the session, 
 and presided over the deliberations. Athanasius stood 
 at the head of the orthodox party. The result of the 
 council was the condemnation of Arius and the passing 
 of the celebrated Nicene creed. Arius now became an 
 exile in Illyria. Constantine, influenced by the per- 
 suasions of certain bishops, but particularly by the en- 
 treaties of Constantia, widow of the Emperor Licinius, 
 invited Arius to his court, ordered Athanasius to re- 
 ceive him back into the Church, and threatened de- 
 position and banishment in case of refusal. Athanasius 
 replied, that he could not acknowledge as Christian 
 those whom the whole Church had condemned. The 
 emperor then ceased his importunities. But the Arians 
 
CONTKOYERSIES ON CHRIST. 59 
 
 made Coiistantine believe that Atbanasius was a polit- 
 ical enemy, charging him with preventing the sailing 
 of the Egyptian fleet with supplies for Constantinople. 
 He was thereupon banished to Treves, in Gaul, a.d. 
 336. 
 
 4. The Fortunes of Arianism. The subsequent his- 
 tory of Arian opinions was checkered. Atbanasius 
 and Arius stood before the Christian world as the 
 representatives of orthodoxy and heterodoxy. The 
 changes in imperial sympathy were frequent, the Arians 
 enjoying quite as much the sunshine of the palace as 
 their orthodox adversaries. The general council of 
 Sardica, in Illyria, a.d. 343, renev>^ed the conclusions of 
 Nicsea. But Arian opinions still gained ground in the 
 East, while in the West the opposition was only tacit 
 and negative. When Julian gained the throne he re- 
 called Atbanasius from exile, but afterwards banished 
 him again. That ruler was ready for any measure by 
 which Christians could be pitted against each other. 
 The council of Constantinople, a.d. 381, condemned the 
 Arians once more, and two years later the Emperor 
 Theodosius issued an edict against them. In the re- 
 moter parts of the empire they gained strength. Some 
 of the ruder tribes adopted their view. Ulfilas was a 
 Gothic bishop of Arian views. The celebrated Codex 
 Argenteus, now preserved in the University of XJpsala, 
 Sweden, was his translation of the four Gospels into the 
 Mseso-Gothic language of the end of the fourth cen- 
 tury. The Vandals and Moors of North Africa became 
 Arians, but were conquered, because of a rebellion dur- 
 ing the reign of Justinian. Gradually the heresy dis- 
 appeared alike from the centres and the outlying prov- 
 inces. By the end of the sixth century the only Arian 
 people left were the Lombards, of Italy. 
 
Chapter XVII. 
 
 THE LATER CONTROVERSIES. 
 
 1. The New Issues were largely related to the person 
 of Christ. The Arian strife turned entirely upon his 
 divine nature, but questions connected directly with 
 this doctrine arose, which absorbed universal atten- 
 tion, and continued long after the Arian controversy 
 had ceased to divide the Christian world. These new 
 issues related to the person of Christ in his incarnate 
 existence. The singular characteristic of these collat- 
 eral controversies, which were separate currents flow- 
 ing out of the Arian fountain, lies in the fact that they 
 became permanent factors in the Church. For, from 
 them have come the present Coptic and Nestorian 
 cliurches, with some smaller subdivisions of Oriental 
 Christianity. 
 
 2. Apollinarism. Apollinaris believed that the prev- 
 alent Christian view of the two natures in Christ sa- 
 vored of both Judaism and paganism. He held that 
 the divine Logos first attained a personal existence in 
 the man Jesus; that full divinity and humanity in one 
 were impossible; that Christ's humanity was eternally 
 complete; and that the human is only the organ for 
 revealing the divine. By ignoring the essential feat- 
 ures of our Lord's humanity, and involving it with the 
 divine to such an extent that it became a mixed es- 
 sence, Apollinaris subjected himself to the charge of 
 heresy. His opinions were condemned by the councils 
 
THE LATER CONTEOVEESIES. 61 
 
 of Rome, a.d. 377 and 378; by the council of Constan- 
 tinople, A.D. 381; and by the imperial decrees, a.d. 388, 
 397, and 428. ApoUinaris withdrew from the Church 
 in A.D. 375, and died a.d. 390. 
 
 3. Nestorianism. This controversy raged over a broad 
 territory, and excelled. all othei-s of the time in its vig- 
 orous vitality, and its power to project itself into the 
 later ages. It was another product of the restless and 
 inventive Antioch. Nestorius became bishop of Con- 
 stantinople, a.d. 428. He saw the danger of Arianism, 
 and, in his zeal to defend the full divinity of our Lord, 
 went so far as to do injustice to his humanity. He 
 went beyond ApoUinaris, and yet was in a measure of 
 sympathy with the Pelagians, because of the total ab- 
 sence of fatalism in their system and the large place 
 which they gave to the freedom of the Avill. His opin- 
 ions were, that Christ possessed two natures, the divine 
 and human; that there are not two persons, however, 
 but only one; that there is a perfect union between 
 the perfect God, the Word, and man, which is exj^ress- 
 ed by the word sunaplieia (conjunction) ; that the di- 
 vine so far transcends the human as largely to absorb it; 
 and that God the Son did not endure human suffering, 
 or go through human experiences. Instead of regard- 
 ing Christ as the God-man, Nestorius held that he was 
 the God -bearing man. The body of our Lord was 
 simply the vehicle of the divine, the temple of the 
 Logos. These views attracted profound attention. 
 They were advocated with so much warmth and abili- 
 ty, not only by Nestorius, but by many who rallied 
 to his support, that they spread with marvellous ra- 
 pidity, and extended from the shores of the JEgean Sea 
 to the boundaries of India. They were condemned by 
 several councils. The Emperor Zeno (a.d. 489) dis- 
 
02 SIIOKT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH, 
 
 solved the ISTestorian school of Edcssa, and hoped in 
 this way to arrest the heresy. But here lie failed. It 
 was a system which could live without a theology. The 
 Nestorians can still be found, even in name as well as 
 doctrines, in Koordistan and the valley of the Tigris 
 and Euphrates. Humboldt bears witness to their con- 
 tributions to the arts and sciences in the East, while 
 their schools and hospitals have been of benign influ- 
 ence through all the intervening centuries. 
 
 4. Augustine, born in Tagaste, Numidia, a.d. 354, was 
 led to adopt Christianity while young through the ex- 
 ample of his devout mother, Monica. He afterwards 
 became worldl}^, and wandered far from the principles 
 and example of his early life. When thirty-two years 
 of age he was restored to a pure and happy state, and 
 was baptized by the aged Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. 
 His mother, wlio never lost faith in him, and who had 
 followed him in all his wanderings over many lands, 
 had the great joy of witnessing his restoration to the 
 Church. He became a presbyter in Africa, a.d. 399, 
 was elected bishop of Hippo Regius, in Numidia, and 
 died there a.d. 430. The theology of Augustine was 
 as follows: Man was created pure, in God's image, and 
 possessed of a free will. He was tempted and fell, and 
 in him all humanity sinned. But man was capable of 
 restoration, not of himself, but of God's grace. This 
 grace comes not because man believes, but precedes 
 faith, and is given that he may believe. From this 
 grace all the stages of repentance, conversion, and 
 final perseverance are reached and passed through. 
 Kow, as grace is a free gift of God, and precedes all 
 acts of faith on man's part, and as experience shows 
 that not all men become converted and are saved, it 
 must follow that God absolutely predestinates a cer- 
 
THE LATER CONTROVERSIES. 63 
 
 tain number to salvation {decretum absolutum), and that 
 tiie rest are left to their merited damnation. There 
 were many departments of this new system, and Au- 
 gustine defended them all with fervor and logical skill. 
 His purity of life and noble character added great force 
 to his theology. 
 
 5. The Pelagian Controversy. Out of the Augus- 
 tinian theology sprang the Pelagian controversy. It 
 marked the entrance of the Anglo-Saxon into the broad 
 domain of the general theology of the Christian Church. 
 Pelagius was a monk of Britain, who resided in Rome, 
 and about a.d. 409 began to propagate his doctrines. 
 He attacked the Augustinian system on every side. He 
 controverted the innate depravity of man, and held 
 that man was created mortal ; that Adam's fall has 
 made no change in human nature, and has exerted no 
 influence on his posterity; that the heart is a tabula 
 QXisa, or blank, and has no inclination to virtue or vice; 
 that man's will is perfectly free to choose virtue or 
 vice; that Christ became man, not to save by his aton- 
 ing blood, but to aid us by his doctrine and example 
 to attain to everlasting life; that baptism is a necessi- 
 ty ; and that children dying unbaptized reach a lower 
 grade of salvation than the baptized. 
 
 6. The Spread of the Controversy. Pelagius succeeded 
 while in Rome in winning to his doctrines the acute 
 and learned Ccelestius. Both were of pure life and 
 ascetic tastes. They went to Africa, a.d. 411, and af- 
 terwards Pelagius proceeded to Palestine, while Cceles- 
 tius remained in Africa, and became a presbyter. The 
 deacon Paulinus opposed the Pelagian system, and be- 
 came a strong aid to Augustine. In Palestine it en- 
 countered a strong opponent in Hieronymus, but the 
 synod of Jerusalem (a.d. 415) declined to condemn the 
 
 5 
 
64 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 doctrines of Pelagius, and intimated that the wLole 
 controversy was a Western affair, and was of no special 
 concern to Eastern Christians. The African Church, 
 however, took np the question, and the two synods of 
 Mileve and Carthage (a.d. 416) condemned the Pela- 
 gians. An appeal was made by Pelagins to the Ro- 
 man bishop, Innocent I., but the latter died before it 
 reached him. His successor, Zosimus, espoused the 
 Pelagian cause, and Avrote an endorsement to Africa. 
 But a new synod was called in Carthage (a.d. 417), 
 which confirmed the former action against Pelagius. 
 The Roman Emperor, Honorius, now took part in the 
 strife, and banished the Pelagians from Rome. This 
 brought Zosimus to drop his Pelagianism, and he 
 wrote a circular letter against it. Suddenly the scene 
 of controversy was shifted to the East, with Constan- 
 tinople as the centre. The third general council of 
 the Church was held in Ephesus, a.d. 431, and Pela- 
 gius and Coelestius were condemned, at the same time 
 with Nestorius. The controversy assumed a milder 
 type, later, in the West, under the name of semi-Pela- 
 gianism. The sharpness of both Augustinism and 
 Pelagianism was toned down. The result was the tri- 
 umph of a mild type of the Augustinian theology, adopt- 
 ed by the synod of Aranico (Orange), a.d. 529. 
 
 7. Other Controversies grew out of these larger ones. 
 Each district had its own views, while individual com- 
 munities were distinguished for their espousal of some 
 leader, which meant bitter hostility against his com- 
 petitor. There was no v/ant of hair-splitting. The 
 philosophical terms of the Greek schools, which it was 
 thought were dead, again came to life, and were hurled 
 with energy from man to man and land to land. 
 " Theotokos " — " God born " — a word used by Nesto- 
 
THE LATER CONTROVERSIES. 65 
 
 rius, was heard from Gaul and Italy to the borders 
 of modern Thibet and India. All Christendom was 
 divided by a single letter of the alphabet, one half 
 crying "Homoioiisia" (like essence), and the other 
 half responding with equal fervor, " Homoousia " (same 
 essence). Gregory of Nazianzus bears the following 
 witness to the extent to which the theological discus- 
 sions pervaded all classes. "The city (Constantinople) 
 is full of people, who dogmatize on incomprehensible 
 questions. The streets and market-places are the 
 scenes of discussions of the old-clothes dealers, the 
 money changers, and the venders of green-groceries. 
 If you ask how many oholl he asks for his produce, he 
 will respond by dogmatizing on the Begotten and the 
 Unbegotten. If you inquire the price of bread, you 
 will get for answer, * The Father is greater than the 
 Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father.' If 
 you inquire, 'Is the bath ready?' you will hear, 'The 
 Son was created from nothing.'" 
 
 8. The Results of the Agitations were, on the whole, 
 favorable to Christianity. At the moment they must 
 have seemed not only fruitless, but of infinite damage. 
 This is always the judgment of the age which produces 
 theological discussions. Controversy seems only evil 
 when in progress. But, judged by later generations, 
 one sees the good results. The agitations of the apos- 
 tolic period, and of the four centuries succeeding it, 
 aroused the Christians to a sense of the importance of 
 formulating their doctrines. They were led to meet 
 in great councils, to compare views, and lay down those 
 creeds, one by one, which have served the purpose of 
 doctrinal statement for all later ages. The masses were 
 brought to examine the Scrijitures with great care, and 
 to see how far the prevailing doctrines were supported 
 
66 SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 by them. The average Christian was led to distinguish 
 between truth and error, and to perceive the vast dan- 
 ger which came, in a rude age, from propagating false- 
 hood. It was a time of test. The furnace was at a 
 white heat. Every truth which lay at the foundation 
 of Christianity was subjected to the flames. The pa- 
 gans from without had attempted, by their attacks, 
 to destroy Christianity. But, in the period of contro- 
 versy, the Christians examined their whole body of 
 truth with their own hands. They now gave proof 
 that they could discuss together with as much anima- 
 tion as against their common foe. The Council of 
 NiciBa, A.D. 325, which determined the divinity of 
 Christ, and that of Chalcedon, a.d. 451, which deter- 
 mined the union of the two natures in him, undisturbed 
 and unmixed, made immortal statements. Hence, even 
 in the midst of the controversial period, we can easily 
 see positive advances of the cause of Christianity. 
 
Chapter XVIII. 
 ecclesiastical schisms. 
 
 1. The Schism of Felicissimiis. Division in the Church 
 was intimately connected with the controversies. But 
 the formal secessions did not arise so much from dif- 
 ferences of opinions in theological speculation as in 
 practical life. Felicissimus was the originator of an 
 important schism, which extended from Carthage to the 
 shores of the Atlantic. Cyprian, the Bishop of Car- 
 thage, had dealt leniently with the lapsed Avho sought 
 readmission to the Church. Felicissimus took the 
 stricter view, and opposed Cyprian, first, on the basis 
 of the alleged irregular method of the latter's election 
 to the episcopacy, and then because of his mild meas- 
 ures in restoring the lapsed into the favor of the 
 Church. 
 
 2. The Novatian Schism, a.d. 251, was produced by 
 Novatianus, with Rome as the scene. The origin lay 
 in the corrupt measures by which Callistus, after many 
 adventures, arrived in Rome, and secured election to 
 the episcopacy. Ho granted absolution to all the ex- 
 communicated alike. He permitted a second marriage, 
 and even a third, to his clergy. After his death the 
 lax party continued in force. In a.d. 251 the presbyter 
 Cornelius was chosen bishop, and his methods were 
 similar to those of his predecessor. Novatianus, a pres- 
 byter, opposed him with great spirit. He claimed that 
 the Church consisted of the pure only; that there could 
 
68 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 be no chaff among the good wheat. An important se- 
 cession was the outcome, with Novatianns as leader. 
 It extended into the East, and in Phrjgia received 
 strong support. It lost strength, however, w^ith the 
 death of its leader, and in time went into decay. 
 
 3. The Donatist Schism arose from the same general 
 cause as the other separatistic movements. But it in- 
 volved more serious questions, assumed larger propor- 
 tions, continued longer, and made a more thorough 
 encroachment on the life and organization of the Church 
 than any previous schism. It began with the question 
 of the practical religious life, but soon extended into 
 the domain of ecclesiastical discipline, and then entered 
 the larger sphere of the relation of the Church to the 
 state. In North Africa the spirit of martyrdom, dur- 
 ing the persecutions, assumed, in many cases, the form 
 of a monomania. Christians, in large numbers, thought 
 that by voluntary death they could atone for all former 
 errors. Fanaticism took the place of a calm and re- 
 signed submission to the inevitable. Then came rev- 
 erence for the bones of the martyrs, and for the places 
 of their death. Many Christians thought they saw in 
 special places and relics the abode of sanctity and the 
 source of blessings. The question now became of such 
 interest that elections to the episcopal office turned 
 upon fancies arising out of this fanatical spirit. Dona- 
 tus, a Numidian bishop, appeared at Carthage, opposed 
 the election of Coecilian as bishop on the ground that 
 he had been consecrated by Felix, a traditor, or re- 
 nouncer of the Scriptures, in the time of persecution. 
 Donatus stood at the head of the stricter party, and 
 would surrender nothing to tlie more lax Christians. 
 The entire Church of North Africa was involved in 
 the strife. From words the difference went so far as 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL SCHISMS. 69 
 
 secession. A council at Aries, in France, condemned 
 the Donatists. But tbey had warm supporters, and 
 bore persecution firmly. In the year 321 the Emperor 
 Constantine issued a special edict, granting them full 
 religious liberty. For twenty years they had peace, 
 during which time they built churches, organized socie- 
 ties, built up a vast ecclesiastical system, and were rep- 
 resented by their own bishop in the Nicene council. 
 After the death of Donatus the sect divided into ex- 
 tremists and moderates. In course of time the schism 
 lost its hold upon the favor of the people, and disap- 
 peared. 
 
 4. The Meletian Schism. During the Diocletian per- 
 secution, when Peter was metropolitan of Alexandria, 
 and Meletius was bishop of Lycopolis, in the Thebaid, 
 the latter took advantage of the retirement of the 
 former to ordain ministers in dioceses outside his own. 
 He complained that, as many bishops were absent, the 
 Church was suifering from want of their services. The 
 bishops who were in captivity remonstrated against his 
 course. Meletius held to the stricter view, and Epi- 
 phanius reports that Meletius was the representative of 
 the stricter party in the Church. An Egyptian synod 
 took measures against Meletius, and condemned him, 
 for assuming functions not belonging to him. The 
 schism extended over all Egypt, and was not with- 
 out powerful support in other regions. Twenty-nine 
 Meletian bishops were present at the Council of Ni- 
 cfea. But the schism itself was condemned, though 
 in mild terms. After the council Meletius continued 
 his schismatic course, but without real success. He 
 afterwards combined with the Arians. After the 
 middle of the fifth century the Meletians disappeared 
 from history. 
 
Chapter XIX. 
 
 THE SCRIPTUEES AND TRADITION. 
 
 1. The Old-Testament Canon. The need of a fixed 
 and complete canon of revealed truth was felt by the 
 Church in its earliest period. As to just what writ- 
 ings were canonical, the authority rested first with the 
 Jews. Of these there were two classes — the more ex- 
 act and literal, who lived in Palestine, and preserved 
 most fully the traditions of their ancestors ; and the 
 more free and inexact, who lived in Alexandria, and 
 were inclined to permit doubtful books to enter the rec- 
 ognized canon. The Christians looked to the Palestin- 
 ian Jews as the safer guides, and hence modelled their 
 canon on the more conservative plan. The need of the 
 Scriptures, and of knowing precisely what constituted 
 the canon, was pressed upon the early Church with great 
 force. The apologists heard from all sides the bitter 
 lament, "You are divided as to your sacred books! 
 Tell us what they are!" Hence, every safe means was 
 employed to get at uniformity. Some Christian teach- 
 ers were inclined to admit doubtful books. For ex- 
 ample : Origen defended the narrative of Susanna 
 against the attack of Julius Africanus; he Avas equally 
 energetic in his plea for Tobit and Judith. Barnabas 
 declared the four books of Ezra to be inspired. Tertul- 
 lian attached the same value to the Book of Enoch. 
 Ilermas elevated to similar honor the Book of Eldam 
 and Modal, two men whom tradition alleged to have 
 
THE SCRIPTURES AND TRADITION. 71 
 
 written a prophecy in the wilderness. Melito, bishop 
 of Sardis, visited Palestine (a.d. 170), with a view to 
 getting at the best understanding concerning the Jev/- 
 ish view of the real canon. It may be safely said that, 
 by the beginning of the second century, there was a 
 general understanding among Christians as to the ex- 
 act books of the Old-Testament canon. They are the 
 same which the evangelical Protestant Church of our 
 times regards as inspired. 
 
 2. The New Testament. There was more hesitation 
 and uncertainty in arriving at agreement on the New- 
 Testament canon. The whole period of the early 
 Church was one of intense literary fertility. Many 
 books were written by Christians which the average 
 believer had loved so dearly, and which had been so 
 helpful, that it is not surprising he should place 
 them closely beside the works of Paul and John. The 
 Epistle of Barnabas, Clement's Epistle to the Corin- 
 thians, Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians, the Shep- 
 herd of Hermas, the Gospel of the Hebrews, and the 
 Apocalypse of Peter, had each its friends. The Mu- 
 ratori fragment, which proceeded from the Roman or 
 North African Church, gives the first list of canonical 
 books: — the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen 
 epistles by Paul, the first epistle of John, and the first 
 epistle of Peter. As early as a.d. 170 these were ac- 
 cepted as the canon, but with a general belief that 
 time would show it necessary to make the list larger. 
 There was a difference of sentiment, according to the 
 country, and even the community. The second and 
 third epistles of John, and the Apocalypse, were in 
 general, but not universal, use, for the Peshito is the 
 only collection omitting them. Jude was accepted by 
 the great body of the Church, but James was admitted 
 
'72 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 by the Syrians only. Greek and Syrian Christians ad- 
 mitted the epistle to the Hebrews, but the Western 
 Church repelled it. Second Peter was longer in dis- 
 pute than any of the New-Testament writings. Origen 
 and Eusebius declared against it ; but other teachers 
 were equally warm in their advocacy. 
 
 3. Settlement of the Whole Canon. The Christian 
 scholars were not inclined to hasten towards a conclu- 
 sion. They were not willing to decide in one century 
 what a more thorough scholarship in the next would 
 make it necessary to revoke. But in time they reached 
 a general understanding. The East and the West 
 combined their views, and found that, after all, there 
 was an identity of opinion. By the end of the fourth 
 century there was a general understanding as to the 
 proper books to be classed as the canon. Nothing now 
 remained but to declare this exact canon. This was 
 done by the Synod of Hippo, in North Africa, a.d. 393, 
 under the leadership of Augustine. This list of the in- 
 spired books comprised our present twenty-seven books 
 of the New Testament. The Council of Carthage, a.d. 
 397, adopted tlie same resolution. Shortly afterwards. 
 Innocent, Bishop of Rome, gave his ajoproval to the 
 conclusions of the councils of Hippo and Carthage. 
 From this time forth, for eleven centuries, there was no 
 change in the sentiment of the Church as to its canoni- 
 cal Scriptures. The Council of Trent, which met a.d. 
 1545, to promote the interests of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, against the new and vigorous Protestantism, 
 was the first great body to elevate the Apocrypha 
 into equal honor with those other books of the Old 
 Testament which have never been questioned. 
 
 4. The Force of Tradition. In a time when the copies 
 of the Scriptures were only in manuscript, and of great 
 
THE SCRIPTURES AND TRADITION". 73 
 
 cost, much value was attached to the personal recol- 
 lections of the apostles and their immediate successors. 
 Tradition, or matter handed down from father to son, 
 was rich in reminiscence, and not likely, for two or 
 three centuries, to go very far astray from exact histor3^ 
 That the narratives of aged Christians, which they had 
 heard many years before from their seniors, should pos- 
 sess great interest to the societies where they belonged, 
 and were soon to die, is not surprising. There is a rich 
 glow and delightful fragrance in the words of Irengeus 
 to Florin, in which he repeats what he had heard, 
 when very young, from the lips of the aged Polycarp, 
 who had been taught when young by John, and who 
 had told him much of what the beloved disciple had 
 repeated concerning the miracles, doctrines, and life of 
 our Lord. Irenseus thus continues : " This I, Irenagus, 
 too, heard, at that time, with all eagerness, and Vv^'ote 
 down, not on parchment, but in my heart, and, by 
 God's grace, I constantly bring it up again to remem- 
 brance." 
 
 6. The Later Tradition, as understood many centuries 
 afterwards, and playing an important part in the faith 
 of Christian people, carried with it three elements : 
 Apostolic origin, catholicity, and communication by the 
 bishops. But the early tradition was simply the un- 
 written truth, and orally communicated from one gen- 
 eration to another. It was never, at this early period, 
 clothed with any such force as belonged to the Script- 
 ures. Origen and Irengeus went further than most 
 teachers in the large place they gave to tradition. 
 But theirs was not the prevailing view in the Church. 
 Tradition was regarded a treasure of priceless value, 
 because preserving the golden links by whicli the 
 memorabilia of the apostles and companions of our 
 
74 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 Lord were treasured. But there was no tendency to 
 raise tradition to equality with the Scriptures, much 
 less to lift it above thera. This unliistorical and un- 
 just view was never originated until the sixteenth cen- 
 tury ; nor assumed form until the syncretistic contro- 
 versy of the seventeenth century ; nor was made an 
 argument against the orthodoxy and scholarship of 
 the early Church until the eighteenth, when Semler 
 and Lessing found it serviceable to build up a theory. 
 The precise relation of Scripture and tradition in the 
 early Church was one of friendly, but not equal, jux- 
 taposition. No tradition of the period had the confi- 
 dence of the general body of believers which was not 
 based upon, and in harmony with, the Scriptures. So 
 far as doctrine was concerned, tradition was simply 
 that unwritten construction of doctrine which after- 
 wards assumed fixed form in the great symbols of 
 the Church. 
 
Chapter XX. 
 
 APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS. 
 
 1. The Inventive Spirit of the early Church can be 
 fully seen in the large mass of apocryphal works. 
 While the close of the Scriptural canon sealed the fate 
 of all such writings, there was still a strong local at- 
 tachment to some of them. One of the chief sources 
 of these apocryphal productions was the Ebionitic and 
 Gnostic heresies. The great body of the Church was 
 busied in resisting these heresies, and yet the Ebionites 
 and Gnostics themselves produced many such works, 
 and to the great outlying Avorld the Christian Church 
 had to bear the responsibility for the authorship of 
 works produced by its own heretics. 
 
 2. The Broad Field. The authors of the spurious 
 -writings confined themselves to no narrow territory. 
 The whole realm of thought lay open to them, and 
 they roamed at large. They were as much at home in 
 the patriarchal times as in later periods, and were as 
 skilful in writing works in the name of the Koman 
 Clement as of Paul or Isaiah. The five favorite fields 
 were: 1. Old-Testament history; 2. The life of Jesus; 
 3. The life and labors of the apostles; 4. The Epistles; 
 and, 5. Ecclesiastical polity and discipline. 
 
 3. Particular Books. The Book of Enoch enjoyed 
 large popularity. It w^as a product of the century im- 
 mediately preceding Christ, but in the second century 
 it underwent adaptations to the new Christian con- 
 
1Q SHOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 ditions. It has been preserved in a translation from 
 the Ethiopic MS. The Testimony of the Twelve Pa- 
 triarchs, written by a Jewish Christian, contains proph- 
 ecy and admonition. It claims to have been written by 
 the twelve sons of Jacob, who instruct their posterity 
 on various duties, and foretell our Lord's incarna- 
 tion and the downfall of Judaism. The Apocalypse of 
 Moses, Isaiah's Ascension to Heaven, the Fourth Book 
 of Ezra, and the Prophecies of Hystaspes belong in the 
 same prophetic category. 
 
 4. The Sibylline Oracles. These were in fourteen 
 books, and were in imitation of the Roman Sibyllines, 
 v/hich enjoyed wide popularity. The Christian Sibyl- 
 lines were designed to promote Christian interests. 
 They were prophecies concerning the second coming 
 of Christ, the destruction of Rome, the coming of 
 Nero as antichrist, and the final triumph of Christian- 
 ity. The Christian apologists made frequent appeals 
 to them, though with varying confidence. They claim, 
 in the text, to have been written by a daughter-in-law 
 of Noah. This was certainly far enough back to sat- 
 isfy the most antiquarian taste of the times. 
 
 5. The Apocryphal Accounts of Our Lord were abun- 
 dant. The First Gospel of James the Less was a 
 minute description of the alleged early life of Clirist, 
 and of the personal history of Mary. The Gospel of 
 the Nativity of St. Mary, the History of Joachim and 
 Anna, and of the Birth of Mary and the Infant Saviour, 
 the History of Joseph the Carpenter, the Gospel of 
 the Infant Saviour, and the Gospel of Thomas, fur- 
 nished a vast mass of legendary matter, which, though 
 worse than valueless, shows at least how profoundly 
 the thought of the Church was centred in the life and 
 person of Jesus. The Gospel of Nicodemus, the Acts 
 
APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS. 77 
 
 of Pilate, and the Epistles of Lentulus bear on the 
 Passion of our Lord, and are very minute in legendary 
 details. To the spurious apostolical correspondence 
 belong the Epistle of Barnabas, the Epistle to the Lao- 
 diceans, an Epistle to the Corinthians, in the Armenian 
 language, the correspondence of Paul with Seneca, 
 the Epistle of Ignatius to the Mother of Jesus, and the 
 Epistles of the Holy Virgin to the inhabitants of Mes- 
 sina, Florence, and' other cities. The Apocalypse of 
 Peter, the Ascension of Paul, and the Apocalypses of 
 Thomas and Ste2:)hen, and a second one by John, are 
 only a small portion of this luxuriant department of 
 spurious Christian literature. 
 
 6. The Apostolical Constitutions. This is the most im 
 portant writing on discipline and order proceeding from 
 the early Church. It is a collection of eight books of 
 instruction for both the clergy and laity on practical 
 duties and ecclesiastical usages and polity. They claim 
 to have been written by the apostles, but really arose at 
 different times, no part having existed earlier than the 
 third century. The first six books bear internal evi- 
 dence of having been written in the last quarter of the 
 third century, Avhile the seventh and eighth indicate 
 an origin not earlier than the fourth century. The 
 Apostolic Canons are brief rules for ecclesiastical dis- 
 cipline and law. They were issued by the Roman 
 Clement as an authentic work of the apostles, but 
 were afterwards declared by the Roman bishop Hor- 
 misdas, in the sixth century, to be apocryphal. The 
 second Trullan Council, a.d. 692, recognized them as 
 authority for the Eastern Church. 
 
Chapter XXL 
 
 THEOLOGY DURING THE EARLY PERIOD. 
 
 1 General Agreement. On the fundamental Christian 
 doctrines there was a o-eneral asfreement amono; Chris- 
 tians, both East and West, even before the first formu- 
 la of truth was established: namely, by the Council of 
 Nicsea, a.d. 325. There was a bold discussion of great 
 themes. The daring of those first heroes for the truth 
 is astounding. With only a brief history, and writhing 
 in the agonies of martyrdom, they nevertheless wrote 
 on themes of the broadest character. There was a dif- 
 ference between the Greek and Roman Christian. The 
 Greek was speculative. He caught up the terminol- 
 ogy of Aristotle and the rest, and thrust it boldly into 
 his argument on the eternal generation of our Lord. 
 There was no subject on which he did not enter with 
 boundless enthusiasm. The lioman was more careful. 
 He had less to say, but more to do. He went beyond 
 his pile of manuscripts, and thought of a stronger 
 organization of the Church, a firmer body of believers, 
 a more solid Christian phalanx for the conquest of the 
 world. But, beneath the speculation of the Greek and 
 the practical aggressiveness of the Roman, there was 
 one faith. With all the differences in the schools, 
 there was but little difference in the ruling theology. 
 
 2. The Divine Character lay at the foundation of all 
 doctrine. Here tlie Christian mind came into severest 
 antagonism to the Greek polytheism and the Oriental 
 
THEOLOGY DURING THE EAKLY PERIOD. 79 
 
 dualism. The Christian believer regarded God as 
 Creator and Preserver of the universe. No attribute 
 in modern evangelical theology was denied him in the 
 patristic period. Only when the Christians began to 
 consider the relations of the three persons in the God- 
 head, and God's revelation of himself to the world, do 
 we observe variety. But even here there was essential 
 unity. Tertullian varied from the general view in sup- 
 posing God must have a body. This he did because of 
 the misfortune of his philosophy, which was borrowed 
 from paganism, that corporeity is a necessity of all ex- 
 istence. Origen and the school of Alexandria controlled 
 the Church in avoiding all corporeal representations of 
 deity. The whole patristic Church said, " We accept 
 the divine character. We do not need to prove it. 
 Its proof is in us and beyond us." Arnobius said, 
 " To attempt to prove God's existence is not much 
 better than to deny it." Origen, Clement of Alexan- 
 dria, and Athanasius agreed in saying that the only 
 possible knowledge we can have of God is based on 
 grace and the Logos. 
 
 3. Unity and Trinity, The methods of proving these 
 attributes of the Godhead were not fortunate. In- 
 stead of adhering to the language of the Scriptures, 
 the theologians made use, as well, of the dialectics of 
 Aristotle, and of the example of the elder faiths of 
 India and of Persia, to show a parallelism. Yet there 
 was no compromise ; no disposition to reduce the 
 Christian doctrine to the plane of any other faith. 
 The term triad was first used by Theophilus of Anti- 
 och, while Tertullian was the first to introduce the 
 word trinity into Christian theology. While all the 
 fathers accepted the three persons, there was a differ- 
 ence of method in proving the equality of essence. 
 
 6 
 
80 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 Justin's \iew expressed, however, the general and final 
 belief of the Church: The three persons exist; they 
 are of equal quality ;• beneath all the variety in the 
 universe there is a unity of operation by the one God. 
 4. Christology. This was the most fully developed 
 of all departments of theology. The Logos of Alexan- 
 dria became the Logos of the Christian world. Some 
 teachers proved the incarnation of our Lord by a proc- 
 ess of necessity; that to reveal is a divine necessity, 
 just as the gem must shine. But this was a low plane 
 of logic. The prevailing method was: God is all-loving 
 and all-wise, and he willed the salvation of man, and 
 by the only means possible. God's nature is to bless. 
 He is not an introspective character. His goodness is 
 operative when it is needed. It was the Father's good 
 pleasure to reveal himself. His will absorbed all ne- 
 cessity. Our Lord was generated by the Holy Ghost, 
 born of the Virgin Mary, and led a human life. This 
 life was sinless. Justin, Theophilus of Antioch, Tatian, 
 and the pseudo-Ignatius held that the Son existed from 
 all eternity coequally with the Father, but that, before 
 creation, he proceeded from the Father, and began to 
 lead a separate personal existence. Irena?us taught 
 Christ's separate and personal Sonship with the Father; 
 Tertullian, that the members of the Trinity are of the 
 same substance, but constitute a succession; and Ori- 
 gen, that the Logos was of eternal generation. There 
 was a gradual approach to unity of view, which was 
 finally crystallized in the statement of Nica3a. The 
 Christian thinkers had been in danger, on the one hand, 
 of emphasizing the humanity of our Lord to the detri- 
 ment of his divinity; and, on the other, of allowing 
 his divinity to absorb his humanity. Bat the perfec- 
 tion of each nature finally entered into the permanent 
 
THEOLOGY DUKING THE EARLY PERIOD. 81 
 
 faith of the Church. The final Christology of the pe- 
 riod reduces itself to this: Christ was eternally coex- 
 istent and co-operative with the Father; he permitted 
 the full penalty of sin to be visited upon himself; his 
 death was voluntary, and achieved our redemption; he 
 rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, became our 
 High Priest; in the fulness of time he will come to 
 judge tlie world, when he will reward the righteous 
 and punish the guilty. 
 
 5. The Holy Spirit. The discussions on the Logos 
 threw the consideration of the Holy Ghost into the 
 background. The adversaries of Christianity knew 
 that Christianity must stand or fall with the divinity 
 of Christ. There was no emphatic and general discus- 
 sion of the doctrine of the Holy Ghost before the fourth 
 century. This, however, must not be regarded as an 
 early doubt of the divine character and personality of 
 the third person in the Trinity, as alleged by the Tu- 
 bingen school. On the contrary, it was a doctrine so 
 firmly accepted that the defence of it was not con- 
 sidered a necessity. Later, the separate and divine 
 personality of the Holy Ghost, with ail his divine of- 
 fices, was clearly laid down by Origen and TertuUian, 
 and was formally laid down in the conclusions of the 
 general councils. 
 
 6. Cosmology. Here was a fruitful field of specula- 
 tion. " Is matter eternal ?" was a question which 
 Persia had hurled at the Western mind, and because 
 Christianity answered "No," the whole Oriental phi- 
 losophy opposed the new religion. The Christian 
 claimed that his sacred books taught that only an eter- 
 nal God could create matter. TertuUian spoke for the 
 whole Church when he said, that God did not need the 
 world for his own glory, but that creation was for man. 
 
82 SHOKT HISTORY OF THE EAELY CHtJKOH, 
 
 7. Anthropology. The pagan believed in a past gold- 
 en age. The Christian looked back upon lost Para- 
 dise, but his eye was keen to foresee a perfect restora- 
 tion. He studied man in relation to the future. Sin 
 passed from our first parents upon all humanity. The- 
 ophilus of Antioch and Tertullian taught that man can 
 arrive at spiritual excellence by the development of 
 his spiritual faculties, through his own choice and the 
 quickening power of the Spirit. Three views on the 
 union of soul and body were advocated: 1. Pre-exist- 
 ence of the soul before union with the body. 2. The 
 soul is transmitted through Adam to all generations. 
 3. Each soul is created with the body at birth. Each 
 had its advocates. But the third view finally prevailed. 
 
 8. Doctrine of the Church. The world's social life is 
 impure. Against this stands the Church — organized 
 purity, God's children, his bride, the foreshadowing of 
 his everlasting kingdom. It is a living body of be- 
 lievers. There may be unbelievers in the body, but, in 
 the main, the Church is pure, and God will take care to 
 preserve its character. The object of the Church is 
 the culture of the soul, until released from its bondage. 
 It is the depository of the divine truth. God has fur- 
 nished in the Church, according to Cyprian and Ire- 
 nseus, the universal operation of the Spirit. 
 
 9. The Sacraments. There was a disposition, on the 
 part of some teachers, to associate a sacrificial union 
 of the Holy Ghost with the water in baptism. Origen 
 says that baptism is the beginning and the source of 
 the gifts of the Spirit. Baptismal regeneration, though 
 not taught, had, nevertheless, thus early, its supporters. 
 Gregory of Nazianzus called baptism " the sacrament 
 of the new birth;" Cyprian spoke of the "regener- 
 
 ," and Augustine of "the sacrament of 
 
THEOLOGY DURING THE EARLY PERIOD. 83 
 
 birtli and regeneration." The Greeks were much in- 
 clined to emphasize the spiritual gifts, while the Latins 
 were more cautious, and attached great importance to 
 the previous spiritual state of the baptized. In the 
 general faith of the Church there was no belief in bap- 
 tismal regeneration. The act of baptism, in the adult, 
 was the human sign of a divine act of grace already- 
 performed upon the soul. TertuUian disapproved of 
 infant baptism; Origen favored it, and described it as 
 an existing usage ; Cyprian, speaking for the Western 
 Church, did the same. The usage was universally ac- 
 knowledged by the middle of the third century. The 
 Lord's Supper was the human sign, divinely appoint- 
 ed to keep in mind the death of Christ. Ordinary 
 bread, and wine mixed with water, were employed as 
 symbols. After the second century none but baptized 
 persons could partake of the Lord's Supper. During 
 the whole of the patristic period there was not a trace 
 of the doctrine of transubstantiation, save in a theory 
 stated by the fertile Irenseus, that the elements, after 
 consecration, have the effective power of the body and 
 blood of Christ. All the Christian writers, down to 
 the middle of the fourth century, looked upon the ele- 
 ments solely as symbols of the body and blood of 
 Christ. The words, "This is my body," were con- 
 strued as a liturgical accommodation, meaning the rep- 
 resentation of the body and blood by the bread and 
 wine, and in no sense a substantial transformation. 
 
 10. Eschatology. The Church loved to think of a 
 peaceful and happy future. The early coming of 
 Christ was expected by many of the laity, while some 
 of the more serious teachers and scholars thought they 
 saw in the New Testament abundant warrant for the 
 early introduction of the millennium. But all such 
 
84 SnOET HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 hopes were soon eclipsed in the Christian mind by the 
 broad and white harvest-field to be reaped before his 
 coming. In the Alexandrian theology we find the first 
 traces of a purgatorial fire. Origen made the final 
 fire, which should destroy the world, as the same fire 
 which should purify all souls. During the first three 
 centuries the general Church believed that all who die 
 enter an intermediate state, but after the beginning of 
 the fourth century the opinion prevailed that Hades 
 would be the temporary home of only the wicked, 
 while the righteous would immediately enter into the 
 presence of God. The present life was regarded as 
 the only probationary possibility. The idea of a sec- 
 ond probation was of much later origin, and belongs 
 to the superstitions which grew up, most likely, from 
 pagan and Oriental sources. The final restoration of the 
 wicked was advocated by Origen, who even admitted 
 the devil to its benefits. But here, as in other fields, 
 the Church was slow to be guided by the warm fancy 
 and generous sympathy of the Egyptian enthusiast. 
 
 11. The Effect of the Nicene Council. The process of 
 theological adjustment was slow, and attended with 
 great difiiculty. The differences in race, climate, and 
 intelligence were serious, and, before a theological con- 
 sensus was arrived at, there Avas the appearance of 
 hopeless diversity. But the Council of Nicaea had the 
 great effect, not alone of settling the controversy on 
 the divinity of Christ, and placing it beyond doubt as 
 a fundamental doctrine, but of teaching the Church 
 that there was to be a written standard of universal 
 faith, determined by the Cliurch in its representative 
 capacity; that the doctrines of the Church would not 
 be left to the temporary trium])h of some acute dia- 
 lectician; that an emperor could not make and ordain 
 
THEOLOGY DURING THE EARLY PERIOD. 85 
 
 a Christian creed with any hope of success; and that 
 theology is not a stagnant science, which admits of no 
 enlargement with the flight of centuries and with the 
 growth of the general domain of knowledge. It is not 
 likely that, notwithstanding the controversies on theo- 
 logical questions, the faith of the Christians was seri- 
 ously agitated. The hair-splitting sophistries of Chris- 
 tian debaters, who had brought their pagan dialectics 
 with them into the Christian fold, did not disturb the 
 average Christian. Those men had little to do with 
 the determination of doctrine. The general body of 
 plodding and fervent members, who knew no logic but 
 the facts of the gospels, were the principal agents who 
 kept the Church close to its original moorings. The 
 theology of tlie matter-of-fact believer was exact 
 and closely knit. He was not disconcerted by the 
 jargon on the process of the Logos towards manifesta- 
 tion, or the jyrocession of the Holy Ghost also from 
 the Son, or whether only the wicked enter Hades. He 
 knew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that the Holy 
 Ghost was the divine Comforter, and that his Lord 
 would not inflict on him a long suspense after martyr- 
 dom before permitting him to behold his face. 
 
 The Nicene conclusions, far from being the mere fruit 
 of theologians, were the faith of the great common- 
 wealth of believers throughout Christendom. The real 
 master at Nicsea was neither Athanasius nor Constan- 
 tine, but the humble believer, who might be keeping 
 his flocks beside the Euphrates, or cultivating his patch 
 of lentils in the Thebaid,or singing his psalms beneath 
 his thatched roof on the outskirt of a dark forest of 
 the Germania of Trajan's day. 
 
Chapter XXII. 
 ecclesiastical government and the roman primacy. 
 
 1. Revolution in Cliurch Government. The early pe- 
 riod of the Church was marked by a simple govern- 
 ment. The offices and orders were few, derived from 
 the Scriptures, and administered without ostentation 
 and formality. But the enlargement of territory, the 
 multiplication of societies, the dealing with the lapsed 
 and other classes requiring special dealing, and, above 
 all, the bringing of the Church into union with the 
 state, increased the offices to an alarming extent. The 
 political system of Rome entered more and more into 
 the Christian mind as a model for government. The 
 metropolitan centre and the synodal bond Avere derived 
 directly from the imperial arrangement for the gov- 
 ernment of provinces. Under Con stan tine tlie Church 
 became only the smaller within the larger empire. Sim- 
 plicity of government continued until about the end 
 of the second century, but after that the tendency was 
 towards a complex polity. For at least three quarters 
 of a century before Constantino the new taste had ex- 
 hibited itself, but when he converted Christianity into 
 the state religion all obstacles were removed, and offices 
 multiplied. 
 
 2. The Minor Clergy. These began Avith the sub- 
 deacons, who assisted the deacons in subordinate ser- 
 vices. The acolyths were assistants to the bishops, in 
 many subordinate relations. At the communion ser- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 87 
 
 vice they filled the cup with wine and water, and 
 could administer the elements alone. The lectors, or 
 readers, appear as a clerical order early in the third 
 century. They had charge of the sacred books of the 
 society, read prescribed passages to the congregation, 
 and usually consisted of ministerial candidates. The 
 catechists w^ere only occasionally a special order, their 
 duties being performed by presbyters, deacons, and 
 lectors. When the congregation was very large they 
 were called into exercise, to propose candidates for ad- 
 mission to the Church. The hermeneiitce, or interpret- 
 ers, interpreted the sermon and scriptural selections 
 into the language of the people, when the language 
 was not Greek or Latin. This was the case in the 
 Carthaginian Church, where the language was Punic. 
 Singers or precentors were used in the larger churches, 
 to aid in music. The lowest rank was the ostiarii, or 
 doorkeepers, who served as ushers, preserved order, 
 and had charge of the sacred buildings. These offices 
 were in force by the beginning of the third century. 
 During the following century we find the other sub- 
 ordinate officers: the ecooiomos, or trustee of Church 
 property ; the defensor, or attorney ; the notaruis, or 
 secretary, wlio recorded and preserved official records; 
 the parabolani^ or nurses of the sick; and \\iQ fossores, 
 or grave-diggers. 
 
 3. The Greater Clergy. The chief clerical work de- 
 volved upon the deacons and presbyters, whose func- 
 tions remained the same as at the beginning. When 
 the Roman Clement wrote his Epistle to the Corinthi- 
 ans, A.D. 70, there was no difference between bishop 
 and presbyter. The presbyter was the pastor, with all 
 the sacred ministerial functions. The bishop was, at 
 the beginning, the same. During all the early centuries 
 
88 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 he was only the presbyter, but with a larger govern- 
 ment, embracing a group or territory of separate soci- 
 eties. Originally, the Church or congregation elected 
 the bishop, and invited neighboring bishops to conse- 
 crate him to his new office. Then, in the third century, 
 the bishop was elected by brother bishops in adjoining 
 territory, after the manner of the election of an apos- 
 tle. By the middle of the third century, the election 
 of a bishop was confirmed by the votes of all the bish- 
 ops of the province, in presence of the laity, and by 
 their consent. The Council of Nicaea gave the bishops 
 of the province the right to elect without lay partici- 
 pation — a mode very popular in the West, but not in 
 the East, where the laity continued to exercise the right 
 of both veto and direct election. The bishops were 
 elected sometimes by acclamation of the multitude, as 
 in the case of Cyprian, and the bishops, presbyters, and 
 other clergy were compelled to submit. It is histori- 
 cally true that, in such cases, the choice was generally 
 a wise one. The people knew their man. 
 
 4. Powers of the Bishop. With time the prerogatives 
 of the bishop enlarged. At first his power was limited 
 by dependence on the co-operation of the presbyters. 
 He could nominate the clergy, but could not advance 
 to orders without the vote of the presbyters. He could 
 not determine doctrinal questions, or discipline, or gen- 
 eral administration. He had to summon the clergy of 
 the diocese, and submit the questions, and abide by their 
 vote. The government of the local society was vested 
 in the hands of the laity, and the presbyter was only 
 the spiritual guide. The process by Avhich the bishop 
 became the chief officer Avas this: From the first soci- 
 ety another radiated, and still others from them, until 
 there was a group of churches, which extended even 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 89 
 
 into the suburban parts. The parent Cliurch was held 
 in highest esteem. The bishop's residence was sup- 
 posed to be in connection with it, but over each Church 
 there was a presbyter, and over all the bishop, whose 
 spiritual functions were no greater than those of the 
 humblest presbyter in the diocese. There was some va- 
 riation, according to place, in the independence of the 
 individual society. In Constantinople, for example, 
 the presbyters of the mother Church served the three 
 filial churches in order. There was a tendency of the 
 richer suburban churches towards independence. In 
 time they were grouped, and had their bishop, who was 
 called a chorepiscopos, or rural bishop. This office be- 
 came a source of serious disorder. The rural bishop 
 was not acknowledged to be equal to his brother in 
 office in the city. Several of the provincial synods of 
 the fourth century took from the rural bishops the 
 right of nominating the clergy. Finally, the chorepis- 
 copos was abolished by the council of Laodicea, a.d. 
 341, and of Sardica, a.d. 347. 
 
 5. The Metropolitan Authority was closely related to 
 the diocese. The word 'metropolitan does not appear 
 before the Council of Niccea. But the idea had been 
 in force from the earlier period of the expansion of 
 the Church. The city where the gospel was planted, 
 and from which it extended into other regions of the 
 province, was the maternal city of the Church of tho 
 whole territory. In due time other societies, remote 
 from the centre, were formed, which grew in number 
 and importance, and were grouped into dioceses. But 
 the connections were kept up with the central au- 
 thority. Rome, for example, was the original Italian 
 Church. But other cities in due time received tho 
 gospel, such as Tusculum, Tibur, Velitrae, Ostia, and 
 
00 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 Portus, each of whicli became a diocese, with a sepa- 
 rate bishop. Now the bishop living in the original so- 
 ciety was the metropolitan. He was always regarded 
 with peculiar reverence, because of his supposed at- 
 tachment to the doctrines and usages of the Church. 
 The metropolitan had important rights. He could con- 
 vene provincial synods, preside over them, and see that 
 the conclusions were enforced. There were six metro- 
 politans — those of Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexan- 
 dria, Ephesus, and Corinth. 
 
 6. The Patriarchate. This was a higher office than 
 the metropolitan. The number of metropolitans was 
 reduced to four general patriarchates — Rome, Alexan- 
 dria, Antioch, and Constantinople. This was an imi- 
 tation of the political division by Constantine of the 
 whole Roman Empire into four prefectures. The pa- 
 triarchs consecrated the metropolitans and the bishops 
 of the diocese, summoned the synods of the whole 
 l)atriarchate, had supervision of all general ecclesiasti- 
 cal affairs, even the court of final appeal, and could 
 have legates at foreign courts. The patriarchate of 
 Alexandria comprised six provinces; Antioch, fifteen; 
 Constantinople, twenty-eight; and Jerusalem, three. 
 
 7. The Roman Bishop. Many things contributed to 
 give pre-eminence to the Roman bishop. The Church 
 in Rome was distinguished for its conservatism. It 
 vv^as firm in the midst of many heresies. After the 
 overthrow of Jerusalem it was believed to be the oldest 
 apostolic Church. Its good quality of faith was well 
 known, or, as Paul says, had been "spoken of through- 
 out the whole world." In the giving of alms, in 
 missionary zeal, and in doctrinal purity the Roman 
 Christians had no superiors. Tlie certain residence of 
 Paul in Rome, and the already growing impression of 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 91 
 
 Peter's sojourn there, were important apostolical asso- 
 ciations, which clothed the Roman society with great 
 sanctity. By the middle of the second century there 
 was frequent mention of the primacy of Rome. In 
 the early part of the third century there was a revision 
 of the Recognitions, in which the idea of a Roman 
 primacy was made very prominent. So soon as this 
 intimation was expressed, there were strong views 
 against it. Cyprian declared that each bishop is equal, 
 and that the Church is a unit. "Be it so," cried Ori- 
 gen, when he heard of the new Roman claim to foun- 
 dation by Peter, and therefore pre-eminence; "but if 
 Peter is the only one on whom the Church is built, 
 what becomes of John and the other apostles? Is 
 Peter, forsooth, the only one against whom the gates 
 of hell should not prevail ?" Irenteus spoke in a simi- 
 lar strain. And yet the trend of the general policy 
 was towards Roman centralization. Each new Roman 
 bishop advanced beyond the claims of his predecessor. 
 Zephyrinas held that he alone should be arbiter on 
 the discipline of penitents; Victor assumed the same 
 right on the Easter controversy; and Stephen asserted 
 a similar claim on the baptism of heretics. The re- 
 sisting force lay in the Eastern Church, v>'here Antioch 
 was leader. But there was little cohesion in the East. 
 It was regarded as provincial, while in spiritual affairs 
 Rome came constantly into more prominent leadership. 
 In due time little or no attention was paid to the 
 Eastern protests. When Firmilian, the obscure bishop 
 of Cappadocian Caesarea, dared to charge Stephen of 
 Rome with boasting of episcopal superiority, he was 
 only laughed at in the Western metropolis. 
 
 8. Constantinople was called New Rome. When 
 Constantine made the obscure Byzantium, which had 
 
92 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 been subordinate to Heraclea, the capital of Thrace, his 
 vast capital and the centre of imperial authority, much 
 advantage to the Church was expected. But the result 
 was not satisfactory. When he passed away there was 
 little purity left. The palace became a nest of intrigue 
 and revolution. The Turkey of our times, with its 
 plots and counter-plots, and its nameless corruptions, 
 is only the modern reflection of the depravity which 
 dwelt in the imperial home of the successors of Con- 
 stantine. The members of the court frequently hurled 
 theological terms at each other ; while the wrangles 
 of schismatics w^ere transferred to the homes of the 
 nobility, with little loss of bitterness. As in the Bos- 
 phorus one sees the tumultuous flow of northern and 
 southern waters, so, beside its beautiful and historic 
 banks, in the fourth century, one could see the meeting 
 of all the conflicting thoughts which agitated the 
 whole Eastern Church. Each new party hoped for 
 success from imperial favor. The agitations around 
 the eastern half of the Mediterranean became so seri- 
 ous as to retard missionary operations, to threaten 
 unity, and to promote spiritual decline. In the West 
 the life was more steady. There was no emperor to 
 lean upon. When an Eastern heresy reached Rome, 
 it was generally throttled, or vivisected, without much 
 ado. The Roman Church life had the equipoise of 
 power, and of faith in its high destiny. It was willing 
 to hear any new thing which came to it, but not to go 
 out in quest of novel ideas. It possessed neither the 
 wish nor the talent for theological invention. It was 
 willing to wait, and to profit by blunders elsewhere, 
 but not to look backward, except to gather up support- 
 ing traditions for a steadier and farther march into the 
 future. 
 
Chapter XXIII. 
 
 SACRED SEASONS AND PUBLIC WORSHIP. 
 
 1. THe Weekly Festivals. The festal cycle of the 
 Christian world gradually assumed fixed form. The 
 tendency was towards an enlargement upon the apos- 
 tolic limitation. But each addition w^as achieved after 
 heated discussion. The Jewish Christian, after losing 
 the traces of the Jewish calendar, w^as slow to add any 
 new day ^vhich might be suggested by the Gentile 
 Christian. The first day of the week came constantly 
 into more frequent use than the seventh for sacred 
 services. But the Jewish Christians continued to use 
 both the first and seventh days, until the first genera- 
 tion had disappeared, wdien the influence of Gentile 
 Christianity became predominant. Barnabas, Ignatius, 
 and Justin furnish positive proof of the early substitu- 
 tion of the first for the seventh day. That it was called 
 Sunday because of a Saxon god, is an old error, for 
 which there is no foundation. It w\is a day of gladness, 
 because of the great gift of our Lord's resurrection, 
 the day of new light, the day of the sun (>/ IjXiov fi/jie- 
 pa). Wednesday and Friday w^ere also used as days 
 of service, but never in the high sense of the Sunday 
 service. The Wednesday service was designed to com- 
 memorate our Lord's arrest by the Jewish council, and 
 Friday to commemorate his death. Those days, the 
 fourth and sixth of the week, were called the stations 
 — a military term, as a reminder that the Christian is a 
 
94 SHOUT HISTORY OF THE EAELY CHURCH. 
 
 soldier, and must be on his guard against the enemies 
 of Christ.* 
 
 2. The Yearly Festivals. The Passover was the most 
 important. It signified the festal commemoration of 
 the sparing of the first-born in Egypt, and, in a Chris- 
 tian sense, the memorial celebration of the death of 
 Christ. The great Easter controversy arose on the 
 duration of the Easter fast. It was only a question of 
 a few hours, but the whole Church was divided on the 
 trivial matter. The Western Christians contending for 
 the longer time, and the Eastern for the shorter. From 
 Gaul to Pontus the discussion swept. Synods were 
 called, and the strife became bitter. But the Western 
 view prevailed, and those who held to the Eastern opin- 
 ion either withdrew their opposition or concentrated 
 into a little sect, the Quartodecimanians, whose home 
 was confined to Asia Minor and proconsular Africa. 
 They had but a short existence. The Roman bishop 
 Victor refused to acknowledge as Christians all Avho 
 sympathized with the Eastern view, and excommuni- 
 cated them. Pentecost gained additional strength in 
 the Christian mind. While the Jew celebrated it in 
 thankful commemoration of the harvest, and the gift of 
 the Law on Sinai, the Christian revered it, and placed 
 it very high in his calendar, in commemoration of the 
 outpouring of the Spirit after our Lord's ascension. 
 Epiphany became a holyday in the latter half of the 
 fourth century. The first definite trace of it is a.d. 360. 
 The Cln-istmas celebration does not seem to have been 
 thought of as yet, either in the Eastern or Western 
 Church. 
 
 3. Martyr Days. The growing reverence for the 
 
 * Tertullian says : " Static dc militari nomen accepit, nam et militaria 
 del sumus."— "De Orat." cap. 19. 
 
SACRED SEASONS AND PUBLIC WORSHIP. 95 
 
 martyrs led to special services on the anniversary of 
 their death. By a happy thought, the day of the mar- 
 tyr's death was called his "birthday." Processions 
 were made on these days to the scene of the martyrdom, 
 cliurches were erected over the remains of the martyrs, 
 memorial sermons were preached on the anniversary, 
 and the special day was added to the calendar. This 
 tendency, innocent and natural in the first four centu- 
 ries, afterwards became a superstition, and brought 
 many evils into the Church. On the memorial martyr 
 days the Lord's Supper was celebrated, with a view to 
 continued fellowship with them. It was called an ob- 
 lation or sacrifice for martyrs — sacrificimn pro mar- 
 tyribus. It must be remembered, however, that during 
 the entire patristic period these memorial days for mar- 
 tyrs were no part of the order of the Church. They 
 grew out of the fame and merit of Christians, who died 
 sooner than renounce their faith in Christ. The mar- 
 tyrology of the Roman Catholic Church, the large use 
 of images, and the realistic services, were all of much 
 later and less spiritual origin. 
 
 4. Churches. The church was on the plan of the 
 Jewish temple and the synagogue. It was called the 
 Lord's house, the house of prayer, the house of the 
 Church. The architecture of the first churches was 
 simple, and gave no promise of the subsequent splen- 
 dor of the basilica and the cathedral. The interior of 
 the church consisted of three parts — the vestibule, the 
 nave, and the clioir. The congregation assembled in 
 the nave, and here the pulpit was erected, the Script- 
 ures read, and the sermon delivered. The choir was 
 used alone for the clergy; it corresponded to the holy 
 of holies of the Jewish temple. It was separated from 
 the nave by a lattice or railing, and curtains, and was 
 
 7 
 
96 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 elevated above the nave. In the centre of the choir 
 was the wooden table bearing the symbols of our 
 Lord's death. In the rear, following the semicircular 
 wall, the clergy sat, while the bishop sat on a cathedra, 
 or raised seat. 
 
 5. Images. There was, very early, a distaste for all 
 representations of deity or sacred characters. Clement 
 of Alexandria expressed the sentiment of his age: " The 
 custom of daily looking on the representation of the 
 Divine Being desecrates his dignity." The time had 
 not, as yet, arrived when Christian art was employed 
 to clothe our Lord's person with ethereal beauty and 
 sweetness. The theology of the times attributed to 
 him the sad and homely visage of prophecy,* and it is 
 a quaint fancy of Tertullian that he could never have 
 been despised of men, and have suffered death for 
 them, if in his person he had manifested his heaven- 
 ly glory. Origen held that his whole person was re- 
 pulsive. The Eastern Church has never deviated from 
 this view. In the Graeco-Russian Church of to-day, 
 whether amid the barbaric splendor of the Cathedral 
 of St. Isaac, in St. Petersburg, or in the more ancient 
 Church of the Transfiguration on the Kremlin, it is the 
 same sad and austere countenance which we discover in 
 the ancient frescoes of Ravenna. The Council of El- 
 vira, A.D. 305, declared against the use of all images in 
 sacred buildings. The Western Church was inclined, 
 early, to the use of images, and this preference was 
 one of the causes which finally led to the division of 
 the East and the West. 
 
 * Isa. liii. 2, 3. Cf. Tertullian, " Adv. Judaeos," cap. 14. 
 
ChxVpter XXIY. 
 ecclesiastical discipline. 
 
 1. Careful Training was early observed in the spiritual 
 life of the Church. No sooner was a society organized 
 than the closest attention was paid to the religious in- 
 struction of the young. The converts of Pentecost were 
 immediately received into the fellowship of believers. 
 But the work was only just begun. There must be 
 edification. Each believer was regarded as a temple, 
 not finished, but susceptible of all beautiful and sym- 
 metrical forms. He must be built up. Hence, full 
 provision was made for instruction and training. Paul's 
 epistles abound in intimations that constant attention 
 was paid to the domestic training for Christian life, 
 and for careful instruction in Biblical knowledge. The 
 new adult convert had everything to learn. He had 
 just come in from paganism. No miracle could com- 
 pensate for the previous absence of religious truth. 
 When one embraced the new faith, or, as the phrase 
 of the time went, " laid off the toga for the pallium," 
 he was a blank. 
 
 2. The Catechumens were required to pass through a 
 severe discipline. There was no fixed time for termi- 
 nating the catechumenate. While the apostles bap- 
 tized immediately on profession of faith, the patris- 
 tic Church moved more slowly, for experience taught 
 them that nothing was lost by a longer process be- 
 fore full membership. There were three classes of 
 
98 SHORT HISTOEY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 catechumens — the hearers, the kneelers, and the pe- 
 titioners. The hearers could come to the general ser- 
 vice, and hear the sermon and the lessons, but could 
 not remain for prayers. The kneelers could hear also 
 the prayers, and even the prayer of the imposition of 
 hands. The petitioners could hear the entire service, 
 and petition for baptism at the next public appointing, 
 which was usually Easter Sunday. When the petition 
 was accepted the names of the candidate and his spon- 
 sors were recorded in the diptych, or register. Then 
 came a close examination, or ''scrutiny," which lasted 
 twenty days. When public baptism and reception took 
 place the new member was admitted to the Eucharist. 
 After the period of persecution had closed, the time for 
 the duration of the catechumenate became briefer than 
 before. The Apostolical Constitutions favored three 
 years. The Synod of Elvira laid down two. But the 
 Synod of Agde shortened the time to eight months. 
 
 3. The Apostates were the more difficult class to 
 manage. The temptations to apostasy were numer- 
 ous. In some regions the process of restoration con- 
 tinued for years. In others, when penitents were ready 
 to suffer martyrdom, the ordeal was brief. In the Af- 
 rican Church many apostates secured letters of peace 
 from men just before suffering martyrdom, and with 
 these as authority they boldly demanded admission 
 again into the Church. One man, Lucian, boldly de- 
 clared that he had granted peace to all apostates in 
 North Africa, and had declared their sins absolved; and 
 Cyprian, in a gentle mood, cried aloud that the Church 
 must keep peace with its martyrs. There were two class- 
 es of sins — the venial and the mortal. But martyrdom 
 was regarded as the completion of any penitential experi- 
 ence. In the latter part of the third century the penitents 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE. 99 
 
 were more largely classified: mourners, hearers, kneel- 
 ers, and bystanders. A bystander was the most ad- 
 vanced. He could advance up the nave of the church, 
 join in all the prayers of the Church, and witness the 
 celebration of the Lord's Supper, but not participate 
 in it. During all the stages tovfards restoration the 
 penitent must give practical proof of sincerity by ab- 
 staining from all diversions, by observing all the pub- 
 lic fasts, by giving liberally towards the support of the 
 poor, and by assisting in burying the dead. Restora- 
 tion was completed by admitting the penitent to the 
 Lord's Supper, by the prayer of absolution and rec- 
 onciliation, and by the imposition of hands by the 
 bishop. 
 
 4. The Penitential Presbyter was the special officer 
 who supervised the penitents during all the stages of 
 restoration. It was his duty to see that all require- 
 ments were met, that the bishop was duly notified of 
 the progress made by the penitent, and that the time 
 was fixed for final restoration. This early office in the 
 Church has been wrongly supposed to be a warrant for 
 the modern confessional. But the penitential presby- 
 ter was in no sense a confessor. His duty was to hear, 
 guard, and advise, but never to receive private confes- 
 sion. He was the representative of the Church to im- 
 part, and not to receive. This office was abolished a.d. 
 390, and was never restored until many centuries after- 
 wards, by the institution of the confessional. 
 
Chaptee xxy. 
 
 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND USAGES'. 
 
 1. The Charitable Spirit of the Church in the apos- 
 tolic time took larger form in the patristic period. 
 There was no need of Christians in one place which did 
 not awaken symjoathy everywhere. When Cyprian 
 saw that the Numidian Christians could not pay the 
 required ransom of their captive brethren, he took a 
 large collection in Carthage for that purpose, and sent 
 it to them, with a letter full of fraternal expressions. 
 Dionysius of Corinth lauded the Roman society as 
 the helper of Christians, without distinction, from its 
 very origin. Dionysius of Alexandria, in a letter to 
 Stephen, Bishop of Rome, pays the same tribute. Ba- 
 sil of Cappadocia wrote a letter of thanks to Rome for 
 money sent to him to redeem captive Christians from 
 their barbarous foes. Demetrius drew a striking 
 picture of the sacrifice of Christians during the pesti- 
 lence in Alexandria. Gifts for the support of the 
 Church were made at each service; often these con- 
 sisted in wares, or produce of the soil, according to 
 the pursuits of the people. In the East a fixed sura, 
 or the tithes, was held to be the proper standard of an- 
 nual beneficence. But in the West there was no rule. 
 The great teachers opposed any defined measure, say- 
 ing that the Lord required all that could be spared. 
 A careful record, the matricnla^ was preserved of all 
 the details of the benefactions. 
 
CHRISTIAN LIFE AND USAGES. 101 
 
 2. The Incentives to Knowledge were very great. 
 The transition from paganism to Christianity was a 
 thorough revolution. The field of Christian knowl- 
 edge was a new world. In the schools catechetical 
 exercises prevailed. The secular sciences were sub- 
 ordinated to religion. Christianity had not built up 
 its great libraries, but the books written by the lead- 
 ing Christian thinkers were ah-eady read with profound 
 interest. Each Church was the centre of knowledge. 
 Copies of the Scriptures were expensive, but were 
 multiplied, and each Church possessed several copies, 
 together with expository and other works. All these 
 were for the benefit of the congregation in the inter- 
 vals of service and during the week. There was a 
 special room for the use of books, which was called 
 the Fhrontisterion, or thinking-shop. One of the first 
 impulses of the new Christian who was possessed of 
 means was to employ copyists, and have the entire 
 Scriptures transcribed, for loaning or presenting to 
 either churches or private circles. Even during the 
 time of persecution so many copies of the Scriptures 
 had found their way into private hands that the pagan 
 wrath was aroused. During the Diocletian persecu- 
 tion, especially, their possessors were ordered to deliver 
 up vast numbers of them. Even the pagan enemies 
 secured copies, for the works of Celsus, Porphyry, 
 Hierocles, and others give abundant proof that the 
 authors must have had a personal inspection of some 
 portions of the Bible. 
 
 3. The Domestic Life was in direct contrast with 
 everything pagan. There were, therefore, no remind- 
 ers of the old idolatry. The typical Greek and Roman 
 houses had been profusely adorned with figures, busts, 
 and monograms of favorite divinities. But even this 
 
102 SHORT HISTOEY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 was a decline from the early Roman austerity. For 
 nearly two centuries after the founding of Rome no 
 citizen had so far accommodated himself to the super- 
 stition of Greece or Egypt as to erect a statue to any 
 deity. But the times brought sad changes. The ex- 
 cavations in Pompeii, and the many memorials of art 
 from the Roman ruins, show how thoroughly the later 
 art was superseded by a gross idolatry. The Chris- 
 tian's first impulse was to put away all such things. 
 He lost no time in blotting out every trace of the 
 obedient Mercury, the majestic Apollo, the generous 
 Ceres, and even the omnipotent Jove, from doorway, 
 court, and hall. But he was not satisfied with this 
 severe absence of all symbolism. Even the more cau- 
 tious Christian writers encouraged a safe and proper 
 counterpart to the polytheistic symbolism of their 
 pagan adversaries. Clement of Alexandria urged the 
 use of Christian symbols on seal rings, and named, as 
 proper figures, the dove, as an image of the Holy 
 Gliost; the fish, with reference to the call of Zebedee's 
 sons to be fishers of men ; the ship, as an emblem of 
 the advancing Church; the lyre, as the type of Chris- 
 tian joy ; and the anchor, as an expression of hope. 
 The crucifix was never used. 
 
 4. Epistolary Writings. Eveiy great teacher was an 
 industrious correspondent. Paul had set the example, 
 and it was diligently followed by his successors in 
 evangelization. Epistolary writing had long been a 
 favorite Roman fashion. Cicero, Seneca, Pliny, and 
 many other authors chose the form of the letter to an 
 individual, in order to inform the public of their views 
 on many special subjects. The fathers in the Church 
 chose, therefore, a means of information which they 
 found in use already, both from apostolic and pagan 
 
CHRISTIAN LIFE AND USAGES. 103 
 
 example. The letters of Polycarp and Origen, and the 
 eighty-six warm and nervous epistles of Cyprian, are 
 only a small part of the epistolary inheritance of those 
 times to the later Church. A number of the apologists 
 addressed their works to Roman emperors. The Chris- 
 tians were largely represented among the commercial 
 and laboring classes, and often changed their abodes. 
 They followed the lines of commerce. As in the Uni- 
 ted States the Christian people from the Atlantic sea- 
 board have gone into the far western regions, and 
 taken with them their Christian spirit, and built 
 churches, so, in the third and fourth centuries, the 
 Christians observed the new openings of business and 
 planted Christian societies in the places where they 
 settled. Between the old and new societies a frequent 
 correspondence was maintained. Christians who went 
 upon a journey, for any purpose, Avere often the bearers 
 of letters, to be delivered on the way or on reaching 
 the place of destination. When these letters arrived, 
 being on. a durable fabric, either papyrus or jDarchment, 
 they became the permanent possessions of the society 
 or the individual receiving them. The synodical let- 
 ters, which were written after each session of the pro- 
 vincial synod to similar bodies in other provinces, will 
 convey some idea of the extent to which official rela- 
 tionship was carried. When action was taken on a 
 schism, or on any special subject, the utmost prompt- 
 ness was employed to communicate the fact far and 
 wide, while a bishop, on being chosen to the office, was 
 equally prompt in sending notification of his election 
 to his colleagues in any part of Christendom. 
 
 5. The Travels of the Fathers. The most distant parts 
 of the Church were brought into close relationship, 
 also, by personal visitation. The fathers were busy 
 
104 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 travellers. Many parts of the East were even safer 
 then for the stranger than they are to-day. The Greek 
 and Roman authors were in the habit of visiting places 
 which they described. Homer certainly saw the Troad, 
 for the Iliad bears internal evidence of a personal ex- 
 amination. Herodotus journeyed in many lands, now 
 among the priests of the Upper Nile, and now in Asia 
 Minor, endeavoring to verify the country by contact 
 with the people and their land. Sallust visited Africa, 
 in order to be faithful in his picture of Jugurtha. Je- 
 rome lingered long in Palestine, in order to make sure 
 work in his exegetical studies. Papias, Bishop of 
 Hieropolis, conceived the happy thought of visiting 
 Palestine, and trying to find among the most aged 
 people of different countries some who had seen our 
 Lord in the flesh, "for," said he, "I did not think that 
 I could get so much aid from the books as from the 
 words of those living and remaining." Out of this tour 
 grew his Explanation of the Discourses of our Lord. 
 
 Polycarp, in his extreme age, or about a.d. 158, 
 visited Rome, to come to an understanding with the 
 bishop Anicetus, concerning the baptism of heretics 
 and the observance of Easter. Irengeus labored in 
 Asia Minor, Gaul, and Rome. From the journey of 
 Hegesippus to Alexandria came one of the richest 
 points of Christian research, the finding of Manetho's 
 catalogue of the kings of Egypt. In these days we 
 regard the journey to Ararat as an undertaking of re- 
 markable difficulty, but Julius made it, in the interest 
 of sacred science, and identified it as the mountain on 
 which the ark had rested. He also visited the Dead 
 Sea, and located the site of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 Clement of Alexandria was a diligent traveller over 
 three continents. Origen appears to have visited every 
 
CHRISTIAN LIFE AND USAGES. 105 
 
 part of the Christian world, including far-off Persia. 
 Riifinus studied the monastic life, by personal observa- 
 tion among the monks of the Nitrian desert. Hierony- 
 mus was an ideal traveller in the interest of sacred learn- 
 ing. He located himself in Palestine, in order to learn 
 the idiomatic construction of the Biblical text from 
 contact with the people. He employed, as a special 
 teacher in Hebrew, a Jew, who instructed him by 
 night, lest the Christians might learn of it, and take 
 offence. He even visited Cilicia, in order to learn the 
 deep force and subtle meaning of Paul's epistles. It 
 need not occasion surprise that, with such pains, Hie- 
 ronymus should easily stand at the hea-d of the Latin 
 Church, and that to his patient and thorough scholar- 
 ship the world should be indebted for the Vulgate ver- 
 sion. This is the beautiful justification which he gave 
 for his sojourn in Palestine: 
 
 "As the history of the Greeks is better understood 
 by him who has seen Athens, and Virgil's third book 
 by him who has sailed from the Troad to Sicily, and 
 from there to the mouth of the Tiber, so do the Holy 
 Scriptures become clearer to him who has seen Ju- 
 dsea with his own eyes, and has made himself ac- 
 quainted with the recollections of the old cities and the 
 name of the places, whether they are the same or have 
 been changed. Therefore I had it in heart to under- 
 take this work, in connection w4th the most learned 
 Jews, so that I have wandered through the country 
 from which all the churches of Christ take their tone." 
 
Chapter XXVI. 
 the church in the catacombs. 
 
 1. The Roman Catacombs are excavations, often at 
 great depth, made by the Christians for the burial of 
 the dead. The Roman never continued his warfare 
 with other faiths after death. He allowed the Chris- 
 tians every liberty in the disposition of their dead. 
 The catacombs had been already in use by the Jewish 
 residents of Rome. At first they probably made a 
 mere opening in the hillside, or a hollow beneath a 
 shelving wall, as their fathers had done in Palestine 
 from remote times. But, later, the Jewish burial- 
 place became an approach to the Christian catacomb. 
 Some of these Jewish wall catacombs are still in ex- 
 istence ; as, for example, one opposite the catacomb of 
 San Sebastiano, and another nearer Rome, in the Ran- 
 daniani vineyard. The galleries are the same as those 
 of the Christian catacombs, only less ornate and regu- 
 lar. The Jewish type is everywhere recorded by the 
 seven-branched candlestick or other Hebrew symbols. 
 
 2. Roman Burial and Cremation. In the earlier Ro- 
 man times, burial was the method in use. But cre- 
 mation came into use later, probably as a result of the 
 importation of the Persian idea of the evil in matter. 
 But burial was still preferred by many of the older 
 Roman families, as can be seen in the monument of the 
 Scipios, before the Porta Capena, of Rome, now within 
 the walls. The graves of the Nasos, four Italian miles 
 
THE CHUKCH IN THE CATACOMBS. 107 
 
 from Rome, on the Via Flaminia, consist of chambers 
 hewn in the tufa, with horizontal niches for the bodies, 
 in precisely the same Avay as the Christian catacomb. 
 There was one difference, however, between the pagan 
 and the Christian burial-place. The pagan catacomb 
 was exclusive, like the palace, being confined to the 
 family. But the Christian catacomb was for the whole 
 brotherhood of faith. The ties of life were to continue 
 after death. The poor and rich should be together in 
 death, as they had worshipped and suffered side by 
 side in life. No private burial-place in Rome could be 
 alienated by sale. In all deeds the burial-place was 
 exempted in the sale of a villa and grounds. 
 
 3. The Discovery of the Christian Catacomb. The mod- 
 ern discovery of the Roman catacomb took place in May, 
 1578. Some workmen in a field along the Via Salaria 
 came across a mysterious opening in the earth, which 
 led to the finding of passages, frescoes of infinite va- 
 riety, Greek and Latin inscriptions, and several sar- 
 cophagi. From that hour subterranean Rome took its 
 place as a priceless storehouse of Christian science. 
 Until then the burial-places of the early Christians had 
 awakened no interest and possessed no meaning. They 
 had been, practically, unknown since the early Church. 
 Hieronymus relates that, when a schoolboy in Rome, he 
 and some of his companions frequently w^ent down into 
 the graves and looked at the dust of the martyrs, and 
 that they wandered through the long passages and cav- 
 erns, and saw the bodies on either side, and that the dark- 
 ness was so profound that his boyish imagination was 
 strongly excited by the scene, so that he could not help 
 thinking of the words of David, "Let them go down 
 quick into hell," and of the words of Vergil, " Terror 
 surrounds me; even the silence itself is horrible." 
 
108 SHORT HISTORY OP THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 4. Bosio and the Study of the Catacombs. Antonio 
 Bosio, born in 1575, was the first to reveal the rich 
 treasures which had lain concealed for thirteen centu- 
 ries. No difficulty was too great for his tireless spirit. 
 One catacomb after another was opened by him. He 
 created a new science. He devoted thirty years to 
 these explorations and to the preparation of his great 
 work, " Roma Soterranea," and died in 1629. His book 
 did not appear until after his death. John Evelyn, 
 who visited Rome in 1645, and Bishop Burnet, who 
 made a sojourn there forty years later, were the first 
 writers to reveal to the English world the extent and 
 significance of the Christian catacombs. During the 
 time which has since elapsed the catacombs have been 
 emptied of their greatest treasures, which have been 
 deposited in the museum of St. John Lateran, the 
 Vatican, and other places in Rome. Some have drifted 
 into other parts of Europe. The Christian Museum 
 of the Berlin University contains the best collection 
 of memorials from the catacombs to be found outside 
 of Rome. These, with other objects illustrating Chris- 
 tian history, have been gathered through the energy 
 and zeal of Professor Piper. 
 
 6. De Rossi. The descent into a catacomb is through 
 a church or chapel, which has been built over the en- 
 trance. The passages vary in size and length. The 
 aggregate extent is a matter of conjecture. De Rossi, 
 the greatest of all the later explorers and writers in 
 this rich department, supposes the length of the pas- 
 sages of all the catacombs to be equal to the length of 
 the entire Italian peninsula. Marchi reaches an esti- 
 mate of a third larger. It is not likely that all the 
 catacombs have been explored. As late as 1848 the 
 magnificent catacomb of Praetextatus was discovered, 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE CATACOMBS. 
 
 109 
 
 nOMAN CATACOMBS. 
 
 while m 1874 De Rossi discovered the catacomb of 
 St. Petronilla, a small but very rich storehouse of se- 
 jDulchral Christian art. No approach to the probable 
 number of fixed paintings, carvings, and inscriptions 
 which have been taken from the catacombs can be 
 made with safety. In the Lateran Museum, in the sar- 
 cophagi alone, there are two hundred and seventy-six 
 scriptural carvings. 
 
 6. Familiarity with the Scriptures. The catacombs 
 were continued as places of burial down to about a.d. 
 410, when the West Goths plundered Rome. They 
 tell the story of the faith and usages, and especially 
 of the Scriptures, down to that date. Every part of the 
 Old Testament was known to the Christians. The 
 word-pictures of the Old Testament are everywhere 
 reproduced in rude frescoes. Noah in the ark, the of- 
 fering of Isaac, Moses taking off his shoes, the transla- 
 
110 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 tion of Elijah, Daniel in the lions' den, and the three 
 Hebrews in the fiery furnace were favorite topics, as 
 bearing on the tribulations of the Church of the time. 
 The New Testament furnished many themes. No scene 
 in our Lord's ministry remained unnoticed. Such sub- 
 jects as indicated a brighter future, as the ever-grow- 
 ing vine, and the sower and the seed, were special 
 favorites with the rude Christian artist of the earliest 
 period. Many Scriptural citations were employed. 
 The scroll, standing out of a cistus, or manuscript-case, 
 was frequent. Paul was represented in this way, with 
 evident reference to his writings. Where two scrolls 
 lay before a figure, the meaning was that the deceased 
 made no difference between the Old and the New Tes- 
 tament, but accepted both as the equal and inspired 
 word of God. 
 
 7. Orthodoxy and Christian Defence are plainly taught 
 in the symbolism of the catacombs. Christ was every- 
 where mentioned, either by name or rude figure. The 
 humblest grave bore at least the fish, which, in Greek, 
 constituted the monogram of Christ; IX9YS (lesus 
 Christos, Theou Uios, Soter — Jesus Christ, Son of God, 
 Saviour). But no word or picture has been found in 
 these silent passages which calls up any of the violent 
 controversies which swept over the Church. Neither 
 has there been found a suggestion of an heretical vagary. 
 Sometimes pagan pictures were given, but always to 
 teach with greater force the Messiah's kingdom. Three 
 representations of Christ as Orpheus have been found, 
 two by Bosio, in the catacomb of Domatilla, and one 
 by De Rossi, in that of St. Callista. In the two former he 
 sits between two trees, crowned with the Phrygian cap, 
 and playing on a lyre. Beasts come thronging about 
 iiim, and hear his notes, and are charmed and tamed by 
 
THE CHUKCH IN THE CATACOMBS. Ill 
 
 the melody. Doves, peafowl, horses, sheep, serpents, 
 tortoises, a dog, and a hare at a lion's feet, hear the 
 music, and mingle together in Edenic simplicity and 
 peace. The whole is a symbol of our Lord's peaceful 
 empire, and also an indication of the disposition of 
 early Christians at Rome, as in the theology of Al- 
 exandria, to make paganism bring its offering to our 
 Lord's altar. Theseus slaying the Minotaur was made 
 a type of David slaying Goliath. One beautiful fig- 
 ure, gilt on glass, and dating from the end of the fourth 
 century, represents our Lord with radiated head. He 
 holds the globe of universal sovereignty in his hand, 
 while at his feet stands the cistus, containing the gospel 
 scroll. The Trinity was always represented in such a 
 way as to indicate an equality of persons. De Rossi 
 furnishes examples of firm faith in this doctrine, where 
 the monogram of Christ is combined with the triangle. 
 8. The Representations of Christ w^ere all of the cheer- 
 ful, hopeful, and triumphant type. Only twice, among 
 the sculptures of the Lateran Museum, is he repre- 
 sented during his Passion. He everywhere appears as 
 the Good Shepherd. The catacombs received the bodies 
 of martyrs in many a bitter persecution, but the rela- 
 tives and friends of the departed uttered no syllable of 
 sorrow. The word death is always avoided. ''^ In .Pace^^ 
 w^as the universal legend. Rest and triumph were up- 
 permost in the mind. The dead were, at last, at peace. 
 The grave was surrounded with images of beauty, 
 peace, and joy. It was only after the persecutions 
 were over, and the authors had taken their place in 
 oblivion, that any symbol of suffering was placed in 
 a Roman catacomb. The record of martyrdom was 
 studiously avoided, not only that the Christian might 
 give no indication of disputing the "divine pre-emi- 
 
 8 
 
112 SHORT HISTORY OP THE EARLY CHURCH, 
 
 nence of the Man of Sorrows," but that the Christian 
 was not willing to show, even by figures on the wall of 
 a tomb, that he remembered the agony which a perse- 
 cuting hand had produced. Death had no terror to 
 him, and the persecutor only hastened the day of peace. 
 From the symbolism in the catacomb one would think 
 that the Christians were living in palaces, and that 
 kings were their servants. The hare, feeding on grapes, 
 the luxuriant palm-tree, the vase of flowers, the loaf 
 of bread, and the dove with the olive-branch, are met 
 with on tablets taken from all the catacombs. 
 
 9. The Historical Suggestions are sometimes very 
 rich. An epitaph in the cemetery of St. Domatilla, 
 dating from the first century, shows the early entrance 
 of Christianity into the imperial household. The clank 
 of the slave's chain was never heard in a Christian 
 home. So completely and promptly did slavery disap- 
 pear that of the eleven thousand epigraphs from the 
 catacombs, only six, and two of these doubtful, contain 
 any allusion to the evil, and then only in brief and sim- 
 ple language. There is not a trace of Mariolatry in 
 any early inscription or symbol of a catacomb. The 
 word Maria never occurs until a.d. 381, and then only 
 after the word Livia. The earlier inscriptions were 
 brief, like the breathings of the stricken soul, such as, 
 *'To the dearest mother," "To the sweetest child," 
 " God raise thy soul," or " Peace to thy spirit." Later, 
 however, when the catacomb was used only as a ceme- 
 tery, and not also as a place of refuge from the destroy- 
 er, the epigraphs were more fulsome and rhetorical. A 
 beautiful epigraph, " Received to God," dating from 
 A.D. 217, but frequently repeated afterwards, proves 
 that the poor soul had passed through its ordeal here, 
 and needed no purgatory. In De Rossi's compilation, 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE CATACOMBS. 113 
 
 comprising 1374 different epigraphs, there is no exam- 
 ple of prayer for the dead. Clerical celibacy finds no 
 support in the catacombs or any early tombs. An in- 
 scription, found on the Ostian Way, to the wife of a 
 deacon, or sub-deacon, ran thus: 
 
 "Levitse conjunx Petronia forma pudoris 
 His raea deponens sedibus ossa loco. 
 Pascite vos lacrimis dulces cum conjuge natae." 
 
 The word "puer" occurred frequently in connection 
 with mature men. It was an index of the association of 
 perpetual youth with the life of the blessed. Hence 
 the surviving daughter or widow or son could well call 
 the deceased father or husband "boy," in view of 
 the immortal youth on which he had now entered. 
 The old Hebrew names had passed away, and the 
 epitaphs show a transition, as in the Puritan depres- 
 sion in England, and in New England history, where 
 a firm faith in God, and a recognition of his special 
 deliverances in sore need, blossomed out beautifully in 
 the names which rejoicing parents gave their children. 
 Hence, in the epigraphs of the catacombs we find such 
 names as the following: Diodorus (God's gift); Fruc- 
 tuosus (Fruit-bringing) ; Renovatus (Renewed) ; Anas- 
 tasia (Risen); Irene (Peace); Sabbatia (Holy -day); 
 and Concordia (Harmony). But all words in the 
 catacombs abounded in hope and joy. 
 
Chapter XXYII. 
 monasticism. 
 
 1. Early Monasticism. Traces of monasticism can be 
 found in all the great Oriental lands. Long before 
 Christianity, and even before the conquests of Alex- 
 ander in India, the monastic idea had gained great 
 strength. Buddhism and Brahminism made large use 
 of it for extending their doctrines and holding their 
 adherents. The idea of the inherent evil of matter lay 
 at the basis of the monastic principle. It was supposed 
 that contact with society diverted the mind from re- 
 ligious contemplation, and made it less worthy to be 
 the abode of the worshipful spirit. Hence the only 
 safety was to get far from men and their deeds. 
 Nature must be found in her simplicity. The rude 
 elements must be made familiar. These were the 
 thoughts which lay at the bottom of that Christian 
 monasticism which played an important part in the 
 early Church, and extended down to the Reformation, 
 and still holds undisputed sway in the Roman Catho- 
 lic Church. 
 
 2. The Christian Use of Monasticism. Christianity 
 found monasticism already prevalent in the Nazarites 
 of Palestine and the Therai3euto3 of Egypt, and it is 
 not strange that, in an age of great social corruption, 
 which overspread all pagan territory, many Christians 
 should see in the separate life a relief from danger. 
 
MONASTICISM. 115 
 
 Persecution favored the tendency towards monasticism. 
 Exile was only another name for a secluded life. Many 
 Christians went voluntarily into remote regions; dwelt 
 in caves or groves; spent the day in w^orks of charity, 
 and much of the night in vigils; and courted nature 
 in her wildest moods. The first monastic stage was 
 voluntary solitude, without any movement towards a 
 separate order. It was the individual mind, looking 
 for spiritual relief, but with no purpose to introduce a 
 new departure in ecclesiastical practice. The next 
 stage was a habit of removal to certain regions, where 
 the monks lived within reach of each other. The third 
 stage was the sanction and regular organization of 
 orders, which took full shape in the Benedictines and 
 gimilar fraternities. The monks took three vows upon 
 themselves: perpetual fidelity to the life and order; 
 obedience to the abbot, or head of the monastery; and 
 chastity and poverty. A number of the fathers and 
 writers Jed a monastic life, but without advocacy of 
 a separate order. The tendency grew with the times. 
 The Old Testament was searched for support. Elijah 
 and kindred spirits in Jewish history, and John the 
 Baptist, were brought in to support the monastic taste. 
 Egypt became a favorite place for the monks. Rufinus 
 declared that there were nearly as many monks in the 
 deserts as people in the cities. Montalembert says: 
 " It was a land of emigration of towns to the desert, 
 of civilization to simplicity, of noise to silence, of cor- 
 ruption to innocence. The current once begun, floods 
 of men, women, and children threw themselves into it, 
 and flowed thither during a century with irresistible 
 force." 
 
 3. Notable Examples. Paul of Thebes, in Upper 
 Egypt, was the first Christian hermit. He lived dur- 
 
116 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 ing the persecution under Decius. He is said to have 
 withdrawn to a distant Egyptian cave v/hen twenty- 
 two years of age, and to have lived there until a.d. 
 340. Anthony, who followed in Paul's footsteps, lived 
 for a long time in extreme poverty in the Egyptian 
 desert. The fame of the life of these two men went 
 into distant lands, and their self-denial was imitated 
 by many people in the countries lying around the 
 eastern end of the Mediterranean. The Pillar Saints 
 constituted a separate class. St. Simeon was the 
 founder of the group. He stood upon the top of a 
 pillar, and spent his life between leaning on a frail rail- 
 ing and standing erect. The height of the pillar was 
 increased as he advanced in virtue. Tennyson puts in 
 his mouth the following confession, after he had spent 
 many years in this life of torture ; 
 
 *' Lord, Lord, 
 Thou knowest I bore this belter at the first, 
 For I was strong and hale of body then; 
 And though my teeth, which now are dropped away, 
 Would chatter with the cold, and all my beard 
 Was tagged with icy fringes in the moon, 
 I drowned the whoopings of the owl with sound 
 Of pious hymns and psalms, and sometimes saw 
 An angel stand and watch me, as I sang. 
 Now am I feeble grown ; my end draws nigh — 
 I hope my end draws nigh : half deaf I am, 
 So that I scarce can hear the people hum 
 About the column's base ; and almost blind, 
 And scarce can recognize the fields I know. 
 And both my thighs are rotted with the dew, 
 Yet cease I not to clamor and to cry, 
 While my stiff spine can hold my weary head. 
 Till all my limbs drop piecemeal from the stone: 
 Have mercy, mercy ; take away my sin I" 
 
Chapter XXVIII. 
 the age of geegoey the geeat. 
 
 1. Growth of the Roman Episcopate.. The march of 
 the Roman bishop towards priority throughout the Chris- 
 tian world was steady. The divisions of the Eastern 
 Empire, the decline of moral life, the universal spread of 
 controversy, and, particularly, the pre-eminent ability 
 of several of the bishops of Rome, were calculated to 
 advance the claims of that patriarchate above all others. 
 The bishop Leo I. was a man of strong intellect, and 
 he did miich to clothe himself with power and pres- 
 tige. But the most eminent incumbent of the Roman 
 episcopate was Gregory, who was called the Great, 
 and ruled a.p. 590-604. Under him every department 
 of the priesthood and the episcopacy advanced in 
 strength. His claims, artfully disguised, were of the 
 most lofty kind. 
 
 2. Gregory's Character was of striking quality. He 
 was versatile, and strong in everything he touched. 
 In the development of the hierarchical idea, in theol- 
 ogy, liturgical literature, pastoral oversight, monas- 
 ticism, and missions, he w^as a master. His hand was felt 
 in the whole field of the ecclesiastical life of his day. 
 Born at Rome (a.d. 540) and descended from an an- 
 cient patrician family, he had all the advantages which 
 wealth and education could bring. His parents de- 
 signed him for service in the state. But he turned his 
 attention to the Church, and advanced rapidly. Yet 
 
118 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 he showed no disposition to hasten matters. He pos- 
 sessed the virtue of patience in a high degree. Gregory, 
 after his father's death, founded six cloisters, and occu- 
 pied one himself. He dedicated himself to a life of self- 
 denial. He became deacon of the bishop Pelagius, and 
 was sent as his representative to the court of Constan- 
 tinople. He wrote a commentary on the Book of Job, 
 and pursued his studies with great energy. On his 
 return to Rome, and the death of the bishop Pelagius, 
 he was chosen to succeed him. He declined the office 
 at first, but afterwards accepted it, but apparently by 
 pressure. Towards the emperor he manifested the pro- 
 foundest respect, probably with a view to gaining by 
 yielding. He called himself " servus servorum Dei " — 
 " servant of the Lord's servants." He devoted himself 
 to the purification of the life of the Church and the 
 enforcement of monastic discipline. He was especially 
 active in his encouragement of missions. He organized 
 the Anglo-Saxon and other missions, and sought to 
 send the gospel into every part of Europe. Under him 
 the authority of the Roman bishop advanced far be- 
 yond its former dimensions. He created the papacy of 
 history. He preserved amicable relations with the em- 
 peror, though all the while holding firmly his ecclesi- 
 astical independence. 
 
Chapter XXIX. 
 
 THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 1. The Evangelization of the Nations continued with 
 unabated zeal. Whether in persecution, or after the 
 liberty given by Constantine, the work of missions 
 was carried on with equal fervor. There were three 
 such fields: 1. The poor within the central regions of 
 the empire; 2. The population of such farther provinces 
 as were a firm part of the dominions; and, 3. Those 
 more remote tribes which were hostile to Rome, and 
 were awaiting a good opportunity to satisfy their 
 hunger for conquest by feasting on the dying empire. 
 The Church extended its boundaries by exile, and all 
 the other means employed to destroy it. Both in 
 Rome and in the larger provincial towns, the conflict 
 betv/een the gospel and pagan literature was intense 
 and uninterrupted. The doctrines of Jesus gained 
 steadily on the most finished products of pagan thought. 
 Wordsworth's description of the conquest of the mis- 
 sionary over the Druids of Britain applies equally well 
 to the whole battle-field of three continents: 
 
 " Haughty the Bard — can these weak doctrines blight 
 His transports ? wither his heroic strain ? 
 But all shall be fulfilled. The Julian spear 
 A way first opened ; and, with Eoman chains, 
 The tidings come of Jesus crucified; 
 They came — they spread — the weak, the suffering, hear ; 
 Receive the faith and in the hope abide." 
 
120 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHtJKCH. 
 
 When Athanasius was banished from Alexandria to 
 northern Gaul, not only did the young society in the 
 latter country enjoy the presence of an heroic exam- 
 ple, but the exile himself began his organizing work, 
 and established the diocese of Treves, at that time 
 the capital of Gaul. The general expansion Avent on 
 rapidly everywhere. Indeed, during the period of 
 suffering the only safety to the Christians lay in their 
 distance from the persecuting centres. Tertullian said 
 defiantly to the whole Roman world : " We are of 
 yesterday, yet we have filled your empire, your cities, 
 your islands, your castles, your towns, your assemblies, 
 your very camps, your tribes, your companies, your 
 palaces, your senate. Your forum and your temples 
 alone are left you!" 
 
 2. Eastward. Antioch was the centre from which 
 the light of the gospel radiated eastward into the dis- 
 tant parts of Asia, and westward through Asia Minor. 
 The pathway reached from the shore of the ^gean 
 Sea to the west of China — a longer line of march 
 than Alexander had made. Jerusalem lost its hold as 
 a centre of ecclesiastical power, and its spiritual do- 
 minion was divided between Antioch, in the north, and 
 Alexandria, in the south. Cappadocia, and the entire 
 coast of the Euxine Sea east of the Dardanelles and 
 the Bosphorus, were early a mission field. Colchis, 
 Iberia, and Georgia were overspread with missionary 
 laborers. Leontius, bishop of Csesarea, in Cappadocia, 
 was consecrated bishop of Armenia a.d. 302, with the 
 rank of patriarch. The Bible was translated into Ar- 
 menian, and a large Christian literature was created. 
 In the third century Persia had so far become evan- 
 gelized that Ctesiphon became the seat of a flourish- 
 ing society, and a point of departure for the expansion 
 
THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 121 
 
 of Christianity fartlier east. The doctrines of Zoroas- 
 ter were attacked by a converted magian, Mobed, who, 
 in a special work, held np to his countrymen the excel- 
 lence of Christianity. He suffered martyrdom, a.d. 300, 
 but was followed by laborers of equal ardor. Edessa, in 
 Persia, became an important centre of Christian learn- 
 ing. The Nestorian Christians, who were compelled 
 to leave the Roman Empire, took refuge here, and laid 
 the foundations of a rich and influential Syrian litera- 
 ture. Missionary operations were carried on along all 
 the lines of Eastern travel. From the valley of the 
 Tigris and Euphrates the indications are strong that 
 missionaries went far into the interior of India. 
 
 3. Africa. The Church in Africa developed Avith 
 amazing raj^idity. Alexandria was the literary centre 
 for the evangelization of the entire delta of the Nile. 
 Missions were planted along either bank, and soon ex- 
 tended far up towards the first cataract, at Philse, and 
 to the oases on either side of the river. Carthage, the 
 ancient Punic capital, was intimately connected with 
 western Christendom. Many Christians came to both 
 these cities, but in larger numbers to Alexandria, from 
 distant regions, where they became acquainted with 
 the theology and life of the Church, and bore back 
 again the fruits of their study and observation. The 
 whole of proconsular Africa, including Getulia, Mauri- 
 tania, and Numidia, whose western bounds were washed 
 by the waves of the Atlantic, was evangelized by Ro- 
 man and Carthaginian Christians. The great number 
 of bishops in the third century dependent on the pa- 
 triarchate of Carthage furnishes strong evidence of 
 the extent to which Christianity had been propagated 
 in the whole of Western Africa, and of its strong hold 
 upon the people. At the Synod of Labes, near Car- 
 
122 SHORT HISTORY OP THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 thage, A.D. 240 or 242, ninety bishops were present, 
 while two hundred and seventy bishops signed the con- 
 chisions of the Council of Carthage, a.d. 308. Abys- 
 sinia was converted through two young men, Frumen- 
 tius and Nedesius, who alone survived the massacre of 
 the members of a scientific expedition conducted by 
 Meropius, a Syrian philosopher. About the end of the 
 fourth century a translation of the Bible was made 
 from the received Greek Testament of the Alexan- 
 drian Church into the old language of Abyssinia. The 
 Abyssinian Church has always remained in connection 
 with Alexandria, its boast being: "We drink from the 
 fountain of the patriarch of Alexandria." Feeble as 
 Abyssinian Christianity is, it has preserved its exist- 
 ence, through an unbroken succession of Christian 
 governors, from the fourth century to the nineteenth. 
 With all its error, it may in truth be called the Wal- 
 densian Church of the Switzerland of Africa. 
 
 4. The Balkan Peninsula. The central field of in- 
 terest was the continent of Europe. Christian mission- 
 aries continued the labors of Paul, and carried the 
 gospel througli Mojsia to the Danube. Macedonia had 
 numerous Christum societies, while even Illyricum had 
 two dioceses. By a.d. 310 three bishops lived in Phil- 
 ippopolis, in Thrace. The contact of the Goths north 
 of the Danube, in Dacia, with Christianity, was a most 
 important event. It was the opening of a new field 
 of evangelistic labor, and had the important effect of 
 bringing the gosp-l into relation with the many Teu- 
 tonic tribes which constituted the eastern Germany of 
 those times. A Gothic bishop, Theophilus, was a mem- 
 ber of the Nicene Council. It was, however, through 
 the labors of Ulfilas, a Gothic convert to Christianity, 
 that the gospel spread widely among his people. He 
 
THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 123 
 
 invented the Gothic alphabet, brought the Goths into 
 literary relations with Roman culture, and opened up 
 the pathway for Christian truth into all parts of the 
 Ostrogothic territory. In Greece, it was not Athens, 
 but Corinth, which became the ecclesiastical centre of 
 operations. Athens, however, constituted a diocese, 
 and the third bishop resident there suffered martyr- 
 dom A.D. 179. Aquileia, at the head of the Adriatic 
 Sea, became a point of influence for the propagation 
 of Christianity among the peoples of the eastern Alps. 
 
 5. Rome was the heart and hand of a vigorous and 
 aggressive Christianity. The entire Italian peninsula 
 had grown into episcopates. The first provincial synod 
 was A.D. 303, but before this there had been seventeen 
 smaller synods and councils, attended by bishops of all 
 Italy. Rome converted all Spain and Gaul into a mis- 
 sionary field. The Roman bishop was supreme. As 
 early as the end of the second century Christian socie- 
 ties existed throughout Spain, and by the beginning of 
 the fourth century churches had been established in 
 all the Gallic provinces. Vienne was an episcopal resi- 
 dence, A.D. 118; Lugdunum (Lyons), about a.d. 179; 
 and Treves, in the first half of the fourth century. 
 
 6. Germany. Christianity was at first communicated 
 to Germany, most likely, by the soldiers in the Roman 
 army. Where colonies were planted, as a provincial 
 centre of Roman authority, the gospel soon acquired a 
 foothold. Colonia (Cologne) became a bishopric about 
 the end of the third century. At the same time the 
 gospel was introduced into Rh?etia by the bishop Nar- 
 cissus. Christianity was also planted far in the north, 
 along the coast of the North Sea. The apostle to Scan- 
 dinavia was Ansgar, who was born a.d. 801, and whose 
 remarkable triumphs belong to the mediaeval period. 
 
124 SilOKT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 7. Britain. It cannot be doubted that the gospel 
 entered Britain at an early period, or about the mid- 
 dle of the second century. Rome, under Julius Caesar, 
 had conquered the country, and brought it into close 
 relationship with Italy. In the Council of Aries, a.d. 
 314, three bishops from Britain signed the decrees — 
 Eborius, of Eboracum (York), Restitutus, of Londunum 
 (London), and Colonia Londiniensium (Lincoln). The 
 location of these bishops proves that the Avhole of Eng- 
 land was organized into a complete ecclesiastical sys- 
 tem. Succat, the original name of St. Patrick, or Pa- 
 tricius, Av^as born about a.d. 400, of Christian parents, 
 and was originally a slave. He devoted himself to the 
 evangelization of Ireland. Through his influence so- 
 cieties were planted, schools were organized, Christian 
 literature was cultivated, and missionaries went out 
 from that island to the Continent. Columbanus, with 
 twelve companions, went to France, a.d. 580, and be- 
 gan a thorough evangelistic work in the neglected 
 parts of Gaul. Gallus made Gaul the field of his la- 
 bors. Willibrod, an Englishman, went to Ireland for 
 his Christian education, and then gave his life to mis- 
 sionary labors among the Frisians, along the coast 
 of the North Sea. Boniface, born near Exeter, about 
 A.D. 680, went to Germany and spent his life in that 
 country. 
 
Chapter XXX. 
 
 THE CLOSE OF THE EARLY PERIOD. 
 
 1. This Rapid Extension of Christianity was the most 
 notable characteristic of the border-land between the 
 early Church and the mediaeval period. Missions were 
 promoted by the very growth of the papacy. The bish- 
 ops saw that their hopes of territorial power could 
 be realized in the West and North rather than in the 
 East, and each strove to surpass his predecessor in the 
 good work. Missionaries and church officers were 
 sent out from Rome with authority to plant missions, 
 build up a literature, and indoctrinate the people in 
 the truths of Christianity. In many instances these 
 attempts failed, the missionaries were killed, and the 
 old heathenism of the provinces triumphed over the 
 young Christianity. But the tide of religious truth 
 was too strong for final resistance. New efforts were 
 made, and finally the old idols were removed, the tem- 
 ples were destroyed, and Christian chapels were erected 
 in their place. 
 
 2. Scholarship. Christianity carried with it the dis- 
 position to create a literature. The missionary was 
 often a man of ardent theological tastes, and immedi- 
 ately began to adapt the growing literature of Chris- 
 tianity to the new people. Schools, as at Fulda, in 
 Germany, were at once organized. Here the Script- 
 ures were copied, elementary books were written, and 
 small libraries were collected. Centres of theoloe:ical 
 
126 SHORT HISTOKY OF THE EAKLY CHUECH. 
 
 learniDg were thus formed. The development of a 
 literary taste was never interrupted, even amid the 
 convulsions of the Middle Ages. The Christian pen 
 and school were never disturbed by the storms of war- 
 fare with false faiths. 
 
 3. The Venerable Bede represented the patient and 
 scholarly class of his whole age. He was born in Dur- 
 ham, England, about a.d. 673, spent his laborious life 
 of a century at the monastery of Wearmouth and Yar- 
 row, and reared a literary monument of forty different 
 works, twenty-live of which were on Biblical subjects. 
 History and kindred topics were treated in the re- 
 maining fifteen. He died in great joy, singing 
 psalms with his pupils, immediately after concludmg 
 his Anglo-Saxon translation of John's gospel. Words- 
 worth, in a beautiful fancy, thus rebukes the idler by 
 presenting the picture of the toiling Bede : 
 
 " But what if one, through grove or flowery mode, 
 Indulging thus at will the creeping feet 
 Of a voluptuous indolence, should meet 
 Thy hovering shade, Venerable Bede ! 
 The saint, the scholar, from a circle freed 
 Of toil stupendous, in a hallowed seat 
 Of learning, where thou heardst the billows beat 
 On a wild coast, rough monitors to feed 
 Perpetual industry. Sublime Recluse ! 
 The i^ccreant soul, that dares to shun the debt 
 Imposed on human kind, must first forget 
 Thy diligence, thy unrelaxing use. 
 Of a long life ; and, in the hour of death. 
 The last dear service of thy passing breath." 
 
 4. Doctrines. Christian doctrines assumed, by the 
 close of the early period, a settled condition. The 
 Church had elaborated its theological standards, while 
 its creeds were now repeated from the deserts of Africa 
 
THE CLOSE OF THE EAKLY PERIOD. 127 
 
 to the forests of Britain and the shores of the North 
 Sea. The Uxrger heresies had still a constituency, but 
 were in rapid process of disintegration. They throve 
 only in the remoter provinces, more especially in the 
 East, and were alienated from the sympathy of the 
 great body of Christian people in all lands. When 
 the Middle Ages began, other controversies arose, which 
 were largely speculative, and had but little relation to 
 the Arian and other great struggles. 
 
 5. Roman Centralization constantly gained strength. 
 Church offices multiplied rapidly, and the close of the 
 early period was the signal for larger measures for Ro- 
 man primacy. The bishops of Rome were the real 
 rulers of southern Europe, from the Constantinian 
 dynasty to the reign of Charlemagne. The great 
 wealth which had been at the command of the empire 
 was now largely diverted into ecclesiastical channels, 
 and was used to build vast churches, organize missions, 
 support a rapidly growing clergy, found schools, and 
 create a literature. 
 
 6. Superstition was tlie darkest color in the picture of 
 the Church at this transitional period. Miraculous pow- 
 ers were attributed to the overthrow of the dust of the 
 saints. The places where they died were hallowed, and 
 were regarded as most fit sites for stately sacred build- 
 ings. The saintly calendar increased rapidly. Festivals 
 were organized in memory of each one who had risen 
 above the surface of his times as an exemplar of piety, 
 devotion, and sacrifice. The condition of the people may 
 account in large measure for the prevalence and force 
 of the tendency towards superstition. When Constan- 
 tine made Christianity the state religion the many 
 millions of the Roman empire were thrust upon the 
 Church for training and development. The burden 
 
128 SHORT IIISTOEY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 was altogether too great. The people of the centres 
 were still beneath the spell of the pagan traditions and 
 gross superstitions which had grown out of polytheis- 
 tic systems. The populations of the provinces were in 
 even worse plight. Their ancestral faiths were a rude 
 conglomeration of fetichism. There was not even a 
 social elevation on which to build. It is not a matter 
 of wonder, therefore, that when such heterogeneous and 
 untrained multitudes were thrust suddenly upon the 
 Church, for its care, the superstitious habit should be 
 slow to yield to the new Christian conditions. When 
 the Church passed into the darkness of the Middle 
 Ages the question was, could it endure the ordeal of 
 vast wealth, superstition, and clerical assumption? 
 When the Reformation came the question was an- 
 swered. Much was lost during the long night, but 
 light came at last. The power of the Church to purify 
 itself is the greatest proof of its divine origin, and the 
 clearest prophecy of its certain conquest of the world. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abyssinia, converted through Frnmcntius and Nedesius, 122. 
 
 Africa, Western, evidence of extent of propagation of Christianity, 121. 
 
 Alexandria, literary centre for evangelization, 121. 
 
 Anthony the hermit, UG. 
 
 Anthropology', pagan and Christian, 82. 
 
 Antiochian school, vague teachings of, 57. 
 
 Apocryphal writings : apostolical constitutions, 76 ; chief sources of pro- 
 duction of, 75 ; field of, 75 ; particular books, 76 ; sibylline oracles, 76. 
 
 Apollinarism, 60, 61. 
 
 Apologists: two classes, 39 ; Greek, 40; Latin, 40; defence, 41; triumph, 42. 
 
 Apostates, management of, 98. 
 
 Apostles, the : apostolical constitutions claimed to have been written by, 
 77 ; deacons assistants to, 28 ; elements of Christian schools in days 
 of, 43 ; evangelists assistants to, 28 ; fervent in communicating the 
 gospel, 4 ; fields of work of, 5 ; uncertainty as to fields of work of, 8 ; 
 James, brother of Christ, 7; James the Elder suffers martyrdom, 7; 
 John, probable fields of labor of, 7 ; John, sketch of, 7 ; minor labors 
 of, 8 ; of humble origin, 9 ; Paul, missionary tours of, G ; Paul the 
 great apostle, 6 ; Peter possibly visited Rome, 6 ; Peter represented 
 Jewish type of Christianity, 5 ; Peter, evangeliatic tour of, 5 ; scene 
 of the labors of, 5-8 ; were prophets, 28. 
 
 Arianism, history of, 59. 
 
 Arian strife, 57. 
 
 Arias, 57 ,• representative of heterodoxy, 59. 
 
 Athanasius, representative of orthodoxy, 59. 
 
 Augustine : life of, 62 ; theology of, 62. 
 
 Baptism : sacrament of, 82 ; infant, 83. 
 
 Basilides, the Gnostic, 31. 
 
 Bede, the Venerable : sketch of, 126 ; his translation of John's gospel, 126. 
 
 Benefactions, record of details of, kept, 100. 
 
 Bishops : and elders, 28 ; powers of the, 88 ; Roman, 90. 
 
 Books, room for, in churches, called Phrontisterion, or thinking-room, 101. 
 
 Britain, entry of the gospel into, 124. 
 
 Callistus, corrupt measures of, cause Novatian schism, 67. 
 
 Canon : New Testament, 71 ; Old Testament, 70 ; final settlement, 72. 
 
 Canonical books : Council of Carthage adopt list of, 72 ; Council of Hippo 
 
130 INDEX. 
 
 declare list of, 72 ; Council of Trent include Apocrypha in list of, 72 ; 
 first list of, given by Muratori fragment, 71 ', no cliange in, for eleven 
 centuries, 72 ; Peshito omits some of the, 71. 
 
 Carthage: Western Christendom, 121; patriarchate of, 121. 
 
 Catacombs, the : Ifesio's explorations of, 108 ; Church in the, 106 ; discov- 
 ery of Christian, 107 ; De Rossi's explorations of, 108; frescoes in, 109 ; 
 historical suggestions of, 112 ; inscriptions in, 112; representations 
 of Christ in, 111 ; Roman, 106 ; symbolism of, teach orthodoxy, 110. 
 
 Catechumens : severely disciplined, 97 ; three classes of, 98. 
 
 Celibacy, clerical, no support for, in catacombs, 113. 
 
 Cerinthus, the Gnostic, 30. 
 
 Charges against Christianity, 37. 
 
 Children, pagan estimate of, 13. 
 
 Christ : apocryphal accounts of, 76, 77 ; completion of his personal minis- 
 try, 2 ; controversies on, 57-66 ; divinity of, opposed by Jews and 
 pagans, 57 ; divinity of, upheld by Council of Nicaea, 66 ; eternal Son- 
 ship of, 57 ; representations of, in catacombs, 111 ; two natures of, 66. 
 
 Christian defenders, the, 39. 
 
 Christian life and usages, 101-105. 
 
 Christian worship, 23, 24. 
 
 Christianity : attacks on, compel Christians to study groundwork of, 42 ; 
 attitude of Judaism towards, 15; Celsus, Porphyry, and Hierocles 
 strong assailants of, 36; close of the early period of, 125-128; Con- 
 stantine declares himself a convert to, 46 ; contact of the Goths with, 
 122; disseminated by Roman highways, 12; doctrines of, 126; Ebion- 
 ism and Gnosticism attempt to make terms with, 29 ; edict of Con- 
 stantine tolerating, 47 ; elevation of woman by, 26; extends help to 
 the sutferiug, 25, 26; final efforts to destroy, 22; general charges 
 against, 37; Greek defenders of, 40; grounds of Roman hostility to, 
 20; growing importance of, 35; heroism of first preachers of, 9; hos- 
 tility of Jews to, 19: hostility of pagan authors to, 36; humane spirit 
 of, applied to slaves, 26 ; impulse to literature of, 101 ; its relief of the 
 poor, 25; Julian's measures to siippress, 51; Latin defenders of, 40; 
 liberation of, under Constantine, 46 ; line of defence of, 41 ; opposition 
 to, in Roman Empire, 12 ; outcome of pagan attack on, 38 ; pagan 
 alarm at bases of, 35 ; persecutions leave it more powerful, 35 ; planted 
 along the coast of the North Sea, 123; rapid extension of, 125; reha- 
 bilitation of paganism on plan of, by Julian, 52, 53 ; results of theolog- 
 ical controversies favorable to, 65 ; scholarship of, 125 ; social revolu- 
 tion accomplished by, 26 ; transition to, from paganism, a thorough 
 revolution, 100; triumph of defenders of, 42; two classes of defenders 
 of, 39 ; unselfishness of early, 25, 26. 
 
 Christians: attacks on the Church compel them to study groundwork of 
 Christianity, 42 ; antliropology of, 82 ; boldly discuss great themes, 
 78; community of goods among, effect of charity, 4; cosmology of, 
 82 ; domestic life of, 101 ; discussions on the Logos by, 80, 81 ; general 
 agreement among, as to doctrines, 78 ; Greek and Roman, dilfercnce 
 
INDEX. 131 
 
 between, 78; persecutions of, 19-22; practical life of, 4, 25, 100; re- 
 lapse of, into paganism, 54; their relief of the poor, 25; formulation 
 of doctrines, G5; torture of, 22; unselfishness of, 25, 26. 
 
 Cliristology, development of, 80, 81. 
 
 Clmrch, the : Abyssinian, 122 ; bishops and elders of, 28, 87, 90 ; buildings 
 for worship, 95 ; carefid training of young in spiritual life of, 97 ; 
 catechumens of, 97; charitable spirit of, 100; condition of, in Con- 
 stantinople, 92 ; conquest of, by the state, through Constantino, 48 ; 
 constitution of, partly of divine ordering, 27; danger to, under Con- 
 stantine, 48; deacons of, 28, 86; direct favors of Constantine to, 49; 
 divine and human elements in organization of, 27 ; divine superin- 
 tendence of, 1; doctrine of, 82; each, a centre of knowledge, 101; 
 evangelists of, 28; beneficence, 100 ; growth of, 22; in the catacombs, 
 106; in the darkness of the Middle Ages, 128; increase of offices in, 
 86 ; liberation of, under Constantine, 46 ; minor clergj' of, 86; mission 
 of the historian of, 2 ; Montanistic reform in, 54-56; of North Africa 
 involved in Donatist schism, 68; obstacles to, throughout Roman Em- 
 pire, 12 ; officers of, 87 ; organization of, 3 ; period of early, one of 
 intense literary fertility, 71 ; permanent officers of, 28 ; political life 
 and, 46 ; power of, to purify itself, 128 ; revolution in government of, 
 86; Koman centralization in, 127; of Rome, claim to pre-eminence 
 of, 91 ; of Rome, the original Italian, 89 ; sacraments of, 82 ; super- 
 stition in, 127 ; temporary officers of, 27 ; the Western, inclined to use 
 images, 96. 
 
 Clergy: the greater, 87; the minor, 86. 
 
 Close of the early period, 125-128. 
 
 Constantine the emperor: claims the right to supervise religion, 47; dan- 
 ger to the Church from his course, 48 ; declares himself a Christian, 
 46; edict of, tolerating Christianity, 47; favors the Church, 49; di- 
 vision of empire, 50; liberation of Church. 46; vision of, 46, 47. 
 
 Constantinople : called New Rome, 91 ; condition of the Church in, 92. 
 
 Controversies, 64 ; on Christ, 57-59 ; later, 60-66 ; other, 64, 65 ; Pelagian, 63. 
 
 Corinth an ecclesiastical centre, 123. 
 
 Cosmology, a fruitful field of speculation, 82. 
 
 Council : of Carthage, adopt list of canonical books, 72 ; of Chalcedon, de- 
 termines union of two natures in Christ, 66; of Constantinople, con- 
 demns Arians, 59 ; of Elvira, forbids use of images, 96 ; of Hippo, 
 declare exact canon, 72; of Nicaja, first formula of Christian truth 
 established by, 78 ; of Nicaia, passes Nicene Creed, 58 ; of Nicasa, up- 
 liolds divinity of Christ, 66; of Nicaea, word "metropolitan" first 
 appears at, 89 ; canon of Trent, includes Apocrypha, 72. 
 
 Creed, Nicene, 58. 
 
 Defenders of Christianity, two classes of, 39. 
 
 Depravity of paganism, 13. 
 
 Discipline : of catechumens, severe, 97; reaction against loose, 54. 
 
 Divine character, foundation of all theology, 78. 
 
132 INDEX. 
 
 I'^nrly period, close of tlic, 125-128. 
 
 Eastci-ii Church, tithes the standard of annual beneficence, 100. 
 
 Ebiouisra disposed to make terms with Christianity, 29. 
 
 Ecclesiastical discipline, 97-99; ecclesiastical government, 86-92. 
 
 Ecclesiastical organization: deacons, 28; divine and human elements in, 
 
 27 ; permanent officers, 28 ; temporary officers, 27. 
 Ecclesiastical polity, measures taken for a unifying, 3. 
 Epistolary writings, 102. 
 Essenes, the, 17. 
 Evangelists, 27, 28. 
 Expansion of Christianitv, 119; to Africa, 121; to Balkan Peninsula, 122; 
 
 to Britain, 124; to Germany, 123. 
 Exploration of catacombs, 108. 
 
 Faith, written standard of universal, 84. 
 
 Fathers, travels of the, 103-105. 
 
 Festivals, 24; weekly, 93. 
 
 Frescoes from Scripture subjects in catacombs, 109. 
 
 Gnosticism : disposed to make terms with Christianity, 29 ; independent, 
 32; in general, 30; Jewish, 30; Oriental and pagan, 31; the place of, 33. 
 Gospel, reception of, in Italian cities, 89. 
 Government: ecclesiastical, 86-92; revolution in Church, 86. 
 Gregory the Great, the age of, 117; character of, 117. 
 
 Heresies, Eastern, throttled at Rome, 92. 
 Historical suggestions of the catacombs, 112. 
 Holy Ghost, doctrine of, 81, 
 
 Images: distaste for, 96; Western Church inclined to use, 96. 
 Italian Church, Rome the original, 89. 
 
 James the Elder suffers martyrdom at Jerusalem, 7. 
 
 James, brother of Christ, 7. 
 
 Jews, the: antecedents of, 15; Alexandrian, 17; colonies of, as apostolic 
 fields, 18; hostility of, to Christianity, 19; of the dispersion, 17; revolts 
 of, 16, 19; Romaii, 18; sects of, 16, 17. 
 
 Julian the Apostate: antecedents of, 50; death and character of, 52; oppo- 
 sition of, to Christianity, 51; rehabilitates paganism, 52, 53; reign of. 51. 
 
 Language, removal of natural limitations of, 4. 
 Literature, Greek and IJoinan, 9, 10, 
 Logos, the, discussions on, 80, 81. 
 
 Marcion, interview of Rolycarp with, 34. 
 Matthias chosen as an apostle, 3. 
 Metropolitan authority, 89. 
 
INDEX. 133 
 
 Missionaries sent out from Rome, 125. 
 
 Monasticism : an emigration of towns to the desert, 115; Christian use of, 
 
 114; notable examples of, 115, 116. 
 Montanism: disappearance of, 5G; expansion of, 55; plan of, 54. 
 Montanus, opinions of, 55. 
 Miiratori fragment gives first list of canonical books, 71. 
 
 Nazaneans, 30. 
 Nestorianism, spread of, 61. 
 Nica3a, Council of, 58. 
 
 Nicene conclusions not fruit of tlieologians, but faith of commonwealth of 
 believers, 85. 
 
 Origen : defends narrative of Susanna, 70 ; incongruities of theology of, 57. 
 Orthodoxy and Christian defence taught in symbolism of catacombs, 110. 
 Outbreak: in Alexandria, 57; of pagan persecution, 19. 
 
 Pagan alarm at bases of Christianity, 35. 
 
 Paganism: attempts to adopt Christianity, 2J); Christianity contrasted 
 with, 25; degradation of women by, 13 ; depravity of, wlien Christian- 
 ity appeared, 13; disintegration of, 38; low estimate of childhood under, 
 13; slavery universal under, 14; transition from, to Christianity, 
 101. 
 
 Patriarchate, the, 90. 
 
 Paul of Thebes, 115. 
 
 Pelagians: Nestorius in sympathy with, 61; spread of their doctrines, 
 63, 64. 
 
 Pelagius, 63; his appeal to Innocent I., 64. 
 
 Penitential presbyter supervised penitents, 99. 
 
 Pentecost: divine endorsement of command to preach, 4; feast of, 3; 
 preaching at, 2. 
 
 Persecutions of Christians under Eoman emperors, 19-22. 
 
 Pharisees, the, 16. 
 
 Piienomenou, a new historical, 35. 
 
 Philosophy, (Jrecic, 10; decay of, 11. 
 
 Political life anil the Church, 46. 
 
 Polity, ecclesiastical, measvires taken for a unifying, 3. 
 
 Poor,tl)c, Christian care of, 25. 
 
 Power of the Church to purify itself, 128. 
 
 Prayer for the dead, none found in epigraphs of the catacombs, 113. 
 
 Presbyters, 28, 87. 
 
 Pome : bishop of, 90, 91 ; claim of Church of, to pre-eminence, 91 ; Eastern 
 lieresies throttled at, 92; its highways help to spread the Gospel, 12; 
 missionaries sent out from, 125 ; opposition of, to Christianity, 12; per- 
 secution of Christians in, 20; rule of^ universal at dawn of Christian- 
 itv, 12. 
 
134 INDEX. 
 
 Sacred seasons and public worship, 93. 
 
 Sadducees, the, 16. 
 
 Samaritans, the, IG. 
 
 Schisms: Donatist schism, G8; Meletian schism, 69; Novatian schism, 
 
 caused by Callistus, 67 ; schism of Felicissimus, 67. 
 Schools, the Christian, 43-45 ; elements of, in Paul's day, 43 ; tendency of, 45. 
 Schools, pagan : Atomistic, Eleatic, Pythagorean, Sophist, 10. 
 Scriptures: and tradition, 70-74; each Church possessed copies of, 101. 
 Seasons, sacred, 93. 
 Sects, Jewish, 16, 17. 
 Slavery universal under paganism, 14. 
 Slaves, humanity of early Cliristians to, 26. 
 St. Patrick, evangelical work of, 124. 
 St. Simeon, the pillar saint, 116, 
 Symbolism of the catacombs, 110-112. 
 Synod: of Hippo declare exact canons, 72; of Labcs, 121. 
 Systems of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, 10. 
 
 Theological controversies, wide spread of, 64, 65. 
 
 Theology: anthropology, pagan and Christian, 82; Christology, develop- 
 ment of, 80, 81 ; cosmology a fruitful field of speculation, 82; divine 
 character, foundation of all, 78; during the early |>eri<)d, 78; effect of 
 Niccne Council upon adjustment of theological questions, 84; escha- 
 tology, doctrine of, 83; Holy Ghost, doctrine of, 81; Logos, the, dis- 
 cussions on, 80, 81 ; of the matter-of-fact believer, 85; sacrament of 
 baptism, 82 ; imit}' and trinity, methods of proving, 79. 
 
 Thinking-room, or book-room in churches, 101. 
 
 Tradition: and Scriptures, 70-74; force of, 72; raised above Scriptures in 
 sixteenth century, 74; rich in reminiscences, 73 ; the later, 73. 
 
 Transition from paganism to Christianity a thorough revolution, 101. 
 
 Transubstantiation, no trace of doctrine of, in patristic period, 83. 
 
 Unity and trinity, methods of proving, 79. 
 Unsellishness of early Christians, 25, 26. 
 
 V.ilcnliuian, the (luostic, 31. 
 
 \'aii(lals and ]Mo(»rs of Nortli Africa become Avians, 50. 
 
 Western Cliurch: inclined to use images, 96; no rule in, concerning benef- 
 icence, 100. 
 
 Women, degradation of, by paganism, 13. 
 
 Worship. Cliristian : festivals, 24, 93, 94 ; martyr days, 94 ; order of ser- 
 vice, 23; simplicity of forms, 23; the Sabbath, 24; the sacraments, 24. 
 
 Writings, ajiocryplial, 75, 76 ; epistolary, 102. 
 
 THE END. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
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