places of worship at the same time, each congregation would naturally be
anxious to preserve as much as possible its existing unity, in spite of its acci-
dental separation. This was accomplished by retaining a common connec-
. tion with the presbyter who had previously presided over them. But by
this means his jurisdiction became much enlarged and strengthened. The
name Over.seer was especially applied to the peculiar office which such a
presbyter filled, (a) As soon as this name became thus appropriated to de-
signate a superior dignity in the larger cities, those presbyters who stood
alone in the smaller tOAvns would naturally prefer the original Greek appella-
tion which was common to them all. Hence Irenaeus continued to use
both names interchangeably, and this memento of the original equality of
presbyters and bishops remained firmly in the Church for a long time after
new relations entirely inconsistent with it had become established, (b) At
the same time also those Elders of the former age who had been distinguished
for their personal character were always spoken of under the name of Bish-
ops. The complete realization of the Episcopate may be seen in the Epistles
of Cyprian. The Bishop, as the successor of the apostles, there appears as
the representative of bis Church, and at the same time to the Church itself
he is the vicar of Christ ; he is espoused to the local congregation, and also
to the general Church ; he is responsible to God alone, and yet is an indi-
vidual organ of the whole episcopate, (c) He possessed supreme power in
the Church, and yet in im{)ortant matters was to do nothing without the
counsel of his presbyters, {d) All ordinations proceeded from him. At first
a) In Justin'(ApoI. I. c. 65.) still called TraptcTTws.
b) Hieron. ad Tit I, 7. Ep. 101. (al. 65.) ad Evangelutn. AmhrosiaH'er. (Ifilarius Diac.) ad Eph.
IV, 11. ad I. Tim. Ill, 10. Chrysosi. Horn, in Pliil. I, 1. (Th. XI. p. 195.) Botli passages of Jerome
In Gratian: o. 5. D. XCV. and 24. D. XCIII. [also in Gieseler Ecc. Hist. vol. I. p. IOC. note 2.] But
Urhan II. in Com: Benevent. can. 1. {^Mansi. Tli. XX. p. 738.) can bo appealed to on this subject
only when the context is disregarded.
c) Cypr. OraUo ad Cone. Carth. (p. 44-3.) Ep. 72. § 3. ad Stephan. Ep. 67. § 8. Do unitato Ecc. c. 4.
d) Cijpr. de aleator c. 1. Ep. 69. § 7. Ep. 6. § 5. Ep. 2S. § 2. coinp. Cone. CarVutg. IV. a. 419. can.
34, 35. {Mami, Th. III. p. 954.)
60 ANCIENT CIIURCn HISTORY. PER. I. DIV. II. A. D. 100-312.
he was himself ordained by the imposition of the hands of the presbyters,
but afterwards by the neighboring bishops. Every translation of a bishop
appeared of doubtful propriety, although it was often necessarily conceded to
the demands of ambition and of higher powers, as well as to the common
welfare. Many of the bishops of the country congregations (p^copfTrto-KOTrot)
continued from the very commencement of their existence dependent upon
those bishoprics in the city from which they sprung, and others originally
independent gradually submitted to the influence of the neighboring city
bishop. In Africa alone no distinction between the names ever appears. The
bishops of the larger cities in like manner became exalted in power and au-
thority above the others. But all bishops possessed the right of perfect
equality among themselves since their prerogatives depended not upon the
transitory possessions of this world, but upon the common investiture which
they had all received from Christ.
§ CO. Synods.
Ziegler, pragm. Darst, des Ursprungs d. Synoden u. d. Ausbildung d. Synodalverf. (Henke's N.
Mag. vol. I. p. 1256S.
Ever since the latter part of the second century a number of assemblies,
composed of bishops residing near each other, had been held to obtain the
highest possible authority for a decision of the controversies which had
sprung up. (ff) But in the commencement of the third century the provin-
cial synods, at first in Greece, (Jb) and soon afterwards in the whole Eastern
world, became the formal basis of an ecclesiastical constitution, as the su-
preme courts of legislation, administration and jurisdiction. Their meetings
were held either annually or semi-annually, and every bishop in the province
had a seat and a voice in them, and as exceptions to the rule, even presbyters
and confessors. The bishops were heard not as representatives of their
churches but in their own name, in consequence of a right received from the
Holy Ghost, (c) The meetings however were public, and the people who
were present made their influence felt. The possession of infallibility was
never thought of, and their decisions had no authority beyond their respec-
tive provinces, {d) The ecclesiastical provinces which in this way appear as
communities, to which all individual bishops were amenable, generally cor-
responded with the provinces of the empire.
§ 61. Metropolitans.
The natural presidents of the ecclesiastical provinces were the bishops "
of the principal cities (^»;rpo7roXfif). The grounds on which their pre-emi-
nence was founded were generally the apostolical origin of their churches,
the wealth of their congregations, and their frequent opportunities of assist-
ing those who resided in the provinces. The Metropolitans therefore, as the
first among their equals, soon obtained the right of convening and' conduct-
«) Euseb. H. ecc. V. 16. 23. h) Tertul. dejejun. c. 13.
c) Cypr. Ep. 54. § 5. Coinp. Cone. Arelat. a. 314. (^Mansi, Th. II. p. 469.)
d) Cypr. Ep. 14. § 2. Ep, 54. § 5. Ep. 72, § 3,
CHAP. II. COXSTITrTIOX. § Gl. METKOPOLITANS. § C2. GKKAT BISHOPS. 61
ing the proceedings of the Synods, and of confirming and ordaining the pro-
vincial bi.-^hops. But it was only in the East that this Metropolitan system
was completely carried out. The Bishop of Carthage sometimes claimed the
right of a Metropolitan over the churches in Maurita!)ia and Xumidia, where
there was no great city naturally possessing the right of i)recedence, but the
presidency in their synods was always given to the oldest bishop (Senex).
§ 62. The Three Great Bishops.
The same causes which produced the elevation of the metropolitans, op-
erated in a still higher degree to give the largest metropolitan diocese to the
bishops of the three principal cities of the empire, Jiome, Alexandria, and
Antioch. Rome obtained Middle and Lower Italy with uncertain limits,
and by means of a colony of bishops sent into Southern Gaul (about 250) an
indefinite influence was secured in tlie aftairs of that region, {a') Alexandria
obtained possession of Egypt, and Antioch of Syria. The successor of St.
Peter received an honorable rank above all other bishops, on account of the
majesty of the eternal city, and the vast and skilfully used wealth at his dis-
posal even when Laurentius could present to the avaricious magistrate the
poor of the city as the itreasure of the Roman Church. Qi) Roman bishops
of that period have since been canonized, who were great only in their
deaths. No extraordinary individuals were concerned in laying the founda-
tions of her subsequent empire. The first presage of its future position was
afforded in two attempts which it made to impose its usages upon other
churches. These were sternly repelled by the Asiatic and African bishops. {<•)
The thought of a Bishop of bishops was first advanced in favor of James,
about the middle of the second century, by a Jewish part}* in Rome, and was
regarded in Africa as equivalent to an ecclesiastical tyrannj-. {(T) The first
voluntary recognition of Roman authority in matters of faith, was occa-
sioned by the report that the apostolical traditions had been preserved with
especial purity in the "West, {e) Cyprian saw in the pre-eminence of Peter a
symbol of the unity of the Church. (/) Even when Marcellinus offered in-
cense to the gods (302), the very infirmity of a Roman bishop has been made
a) Cijpr. Ep. 67. comp. Oregor. Turon. H. Francor. I, 28.
l) The proofs are collected by Tillemont. Th. IV. p. 41. c) § 69. 84.
d) Ep. dementis ad Jac. in Clem. Ilomil. (P. app. ed. Coteler. Th. I. p. 605). Cypr. in Cone. Car-
thag. {liouth, Keliq. sac. III. p. 91) conf. Tertul. de pudic. c. 1.
«)//•«'«. Ill, 3, 2: ".\dhanc Ecclcsiam propter potiorem (potcntiorom) principalit.atcm neeesse
est omnem convcnire Ecclesiain, hoc est eos qui sunt undiqiic fideles, in qua semper ab his, qui sunt
undiqne, conservata est ca quae est ab Apostolis traditio. {Xlphs tui'/ttji' eK/cArjffiof 5ia TrjV
LKavtisTtpav apxV omyK-Tj Truaav erv/xPalveiv rrjv eKic\7)alav, roiir eVrt tovs xai'Taxodey
iriffTous, tV 1) ael virh ruiv -navTaxi^iv <Tvvrerr,py)rai j] a-nh twv 'Awocrr6\(»f Trapdooais.)
Comp. Tertul. tie praescr. c. 36. 20s.— Grieshacfi, do potentiorc Eccl. Kom. principalitatc. Jen. 1778,
(0pp. ed. Gahler, Th. II. p. 136s.s.). Puitlus in the Sophronizon. 1SI9. P. 3. On the other side : Kii-
terkamp, u. ti. Primat Mimst. 1S20. p. 30ss. Itoskovariy, de primntu Pv. Pontif. Aug. V. 1S:?4. p.
28ss.— y/tier«c7t. in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1S42. P. 2. comp. Neander, [Church Hist. vol. I. pp. 20;j-205.]
/) De unit Ecc. c. 8. Here, even in the genuine text, and often in the ejiistles (.W. 55), he ac-
knowledges Rome as the ecvlesia principalis, without, however, conceding to it a supremacy in-
consistent with the pjirity of all bishops (Ep. 71). Antirom. interpretation of Malt. 16, 13. in Orig,
in Mt. torn. 12. § 10s. 14.
62 ANCIENT CnrilCH HISTORY. PKR. I. DIY. II. A. I). 100-312.
to wear such an aspect in popular reports, as to promote the. glory of the Eo-
man see. (y)
§ 63. The Catholic Cliurch and its Various Branches.
The internal and essential unity of the Church as the kingdom of God on
earth, suggested the idea of an external unity also. The effort to attain this
"was much favored by the political unity of the whole civilized Avorld. The
religious consciousness which prevailed in the Christian Church with more or
less distinctness, when assailed by theological or moral elements inconsistent
■with itself, was accustomed to appeal to the apostolical traditions which re-
mained in the churches founded by the apostles. From this sprung up the
Great or Catholic Churchy (a) in distinction from the heretics who defended
these foreign elements, and who were disunited among themselves. By the
former term was meant the great body in which all the congregations found-
ed by the apostles, and such as were connected with them, had hitherto felt
conscious of a unity through faith and love, and which was the only source
of true Christianity, of grace, and of salvation. The first hint of this repre-
sentation was given by Ignatius, but it was further developed by Irenaeus,
and was completed by Cyprian, (h) This unity was realized in many transac-
tions in which the bishops and churches held intercourse with each other.
But without detracting from it, a Church of the Bast and a Church of
the West began to be distinguished from each other with respect to lan-
guage, customs, and theological tendencies. Peculiar usages, in fact, some-
times became permanent even in different parts of the same metropolitan
diocese, especially in those ecclesiastical provinces whose boundaries corre-
spond with old national limits. Accordingly, in addition to the dioceses
of the three great bishops, the first outlines of national churches were formed
in correspondence with local attachments and interests. Thus the African
Church., connected with Eome by feelings of free mutual sympathy, and ex-
hibiting its peculiar spirit in the writings of Tertullian, sprung up, and com-
pleted an appropriate code of laws after the middle of the third century, in
the provincial synods of Carthage, (c) Thus, also, the Armenian Church was
originated, on which Gregory the Enlightener., who by his family connec-
tions had been deeply involved in the political disorders of his country, and
when Christianity triumphed had been brought out of a long night of im-
prisonment to be made a metropolitan (302), so deeply imprinted his own
spirit, that for a long time the superior bishop or Catholicus was selected
from his family. (J)
g) TTarduhi, Acta Concill. vol. I. p. 217ss. £aron, ad a. 302. N. SSss.
a) The former term may be found in Celsus (Orig. c. Cels. V. 59) and Constitt. app. II. 25, and
the latter occurs in Ignnt. ad Smjrn. c. 8. and in the Epistle to the Church of Smyrna respecting the
death of Polycarp, in Euftcb. II. ecc. IV, 15.
V) Ci/pr. de unitate Ecc. especially c. 4, 5, 21. Ep. 47. § 2.
c) SchehtraUn, Ecc. afric. sub primatu Carthag. Par. 1G79. 4. M. LeydecJcer, Hist. Ecc. afric.
Utraj. 1694. 4. MorceUi Africa christ. Brix. 1816. 3 Th. Miinter, Primordia Ecc. afric. Hafn. 1S29. 4.
d) Agathangdi (revised). Acta 8. Grcgor. (Acta Sanctor. Sept Th. YIII. p. 321si;.) Mosis
Choronensia (about 440), Ilist. Armen. 1. III. ed. Whiston. Lend. 1736. 4. Mai. SMnueljan, Be-
kehr. Arracn. durch den h. Greg. 111. Wien. 1S44. — Suint Martin, Memoires snr TArmenie. Par.
ISIS. 2 Th. Chamich, History of Armenia, t.ransl. by Audall. Calcutta. 1827. 2 Th.
CHAP. III. ECCLES. LIFE. § G4. CnKISTIAN MOEALa
CHAP. III.— ECCLESIASTICAL LIFE.
§ 6-4. Christian Morals.
Those gifts which the Spirit of God had bestowed as first-fruits in the
early periods of the Cliurch,.had how been expended, altliough Irenacus tes-
tifies that the power of prophesying, of speaking witli tongues, of heaUng
diseases, and even of raising the dead, remained in his time. Neither of
these, however, were common, except that method of healing the sick which
consisted in the expulsion of demons, (a) Abstinence from blood and from
things strangled may have been occasioned by the decree of the apostles, as
it obtained prevalence with the writings of Luke. (J)) Tlie i)rivate life of
Christians was regulated by principles directJy opposed not only to the sen-
suous, but to the intellectual pleasures of heathenism, (r) In their estimation,
the earth was a vale of tears, and the predominant feeling of the noblest
minces was an ardent longing for their home in another world. Joy in death
and love toward his brethren continued still to be the distinguishing badge
of a follower of Christ. ('/) This spirit became peculiarly powerful in times
of persecution, but in the longer pei'iods of tranquillity, envy and strife, cov-
etousness and love of pleasure gained the ascendency. The more earnest of
the public teachers, therefore, regarded the persecutions in the reigns of De-
cius and Diocletian as divine judgments to arouse a slumbering Church, {e)
A pious abandonment even of *the innocent enjoyments of the world
(lia-Krja-is) became a prevalent characteristic of the times, but among some
individuals in the Church it was regarded as the ultimate object of all gene-
ral effort. Although marriage had been exalted by Christianity to its true
spiritual meaning, (/) vows of perpetual chastity Avere looked upon as mer-
itorious, (fj) and many virgins (a-wfla-uKToi, sorores) undertook the often un-
fortunate, and therefore gradually discountenanced task, of exhibiting the
power of a holy will as brides of the Lord in most intimate companionship
with the clergy, (h) These vows were not absolutely irrevocable, but the re-
cantation of them was threatened with the severest penances. An entrance
into the marriage state after consecration as a Deacon, Avas regarded as of
doubtful propriety, and was limited by special restrictions. (/) In the ex-
treme West, one Synod had already forbidden the clergy to enter the mar-
riage state, and even the lower clergy were prohibited all connubial inter-
course during seasons of public duty, (k) On the other hand, all attempts to
a) Iren. IT, 57. Y, 6. {Emeh. IT. ccc. V, 7.) TeHul. aU Scapul. c. 2. Apolog. c. 28. Orig. c. Cols.
I, T. VII, 4. (Th. I. p. 325. 1C96.)
6) Tertid. Apolop. c. 9. Only the Greek Church however has actually adhered to it.
c) E. G. Terliil. de spectaculis, c. 23. de cultu femui. II. 2. — ITe/ele, u. d. Rigorism d. alien Chris-
ten (Tub. Quartalschr. 1S41. P. 3.)
d) Mimic. FA. c. 8. Emeh. II. ecc. VIT, 22.
«) Cypr. de laps. (0pp. Ainstel. 70it. p. 88.) Euki^}). II. ecc. VIH, 1.
/) Tertul. ad uxor. II, 8. comp. Orig. in Num. lioni. G (Th. II. p. 288.)
(7) I'"or heatlicn testimony, Gulen in AhidfeJa, Hist. Anteisliim. ed. Fleischer, p. 109.
A) The first trace occurs as early as in Ilermae Pastor III. Sim. 9, 11. — Ci/i^i'. Ep. C2. Cone.
Ancyr. c. 19. A^/c. c. 3.
i) Oonatitt. app. VI. 17. Cone. Aneyr. c. 10. Neocaes. c 1.
*) Cone. lUiberit. (805-809.) c. 33. comp. c. 05.
64 ANCIENT CUUnCn IIISTOEY. per. I. DIV. II. A. D. 100-312.
impose a rigid system of asceticism as a matter of universal obligation, were
discountenanced by tbe Clmrcli. In consequence of this, the Church frequent-
ly came into colli.'^ion with the various classes of Encratitcs^ some of -whom
rejected the use of wine even in the Lord's Sapper {Ibponapaa-TtiTai, aquarii.)
§ G5. St. Ahthony.
Athanasius, Vita S. Antonii. (Tb. II. p. 4o0ss.) Sozom. IT. ecc. I. 13. Ilieron. catal. c. SS. Otli-
er things: TiUemont, Th. VII. p. lOlss. [IT. liuffner. The Fathers of the Desert. New York.
1S50. 2 vols. 12.]
The more rigid ascetics in Egy])t lived as hermits, although, during the
third century, most of them continued near their own homes. Elias and
John were their predecessors, and the Therapeutae their countrymen. A
complete withdrawal from the world seemed the necessary consequence of
the rupture between Christianity and the world. This philosophical mode of
life received its permanent form through the influence of Anthony. "When
a mere youth, he had become independent and wealthy by the early death of
his parents. On one occasion he stepped into the temple, and heard read
from the gospels the word of the Lord to the rich young man. This, like the
voice of God to him personally, decided his future course of life. He dis-
tributed his goods among the poor (about 270), and betook himself iirst to a
tomb, and then to a dilapidated castle in the mountain, there to wage a fear-
ful conflict with himself under the idea of an encounter with Satan. The
visible form in which his adversary assailed him, was sometimes that of a
beautiful woman, and at other times that of wild beasts and monsters. His
friends, who brought him bread once in sis months, heard his wild shrieks, or
found him powerless and prostrate on the ground. The report of a persecu-
tion of the Christians (311) allured him from his solitude. The Alexandri-
ans gazed upon this man of the desert with amazement. In the very courts of
justice, he encouraged the confessors and waited upon the prisoners, but found
not a martyr's death. From that time his fame spread abroad, the desert
became peopled with his disciples, whom he directed to engage in prayer,
and manual labor for their own support and for the relief of the poor. He
himself would watch through many nights in succession ; bread and salt was
his only food, and of this he partook only once in three days, ashamed that
an immortal spirit should need even that. He was without human learning,
but endowed with eminent natural abilities, and in the service of the King
of kings was exalted above the fear, as he was afterwards above the favor of
eai'thly monarchs. His word healed the sick and cast out devils. T\"hen his
prayers were answered, as they not unfrequently were, he boasted not of his
power, nor did he murmur Avhen they were unheard, but in both cases he
gave praise to God. No angry person went from his presence unreconciled
with his adversary, and no mourner uncomforted. lie seemed to have been
provided by God to be a physician in bodily and spiritual things for the
whole land of Egypt. In the blissful enjoyment of this earthly poverty, it
was revealed to him that there was one man more perfect than himself.
Since the Decian persecution, Paul of Thebes had resided in a cave of the
desert, with a single palm-tree to give him provision, shelter, and clothing.
CHAP. III. ECCLES. LIFE. § 6.".. ANTHONY. § G6. DISCIPLINE. 65
Ninety years liad passed away since tiuings of Iiim liad reached a human ear.
Anthony visited him in season to witness liis deatli (340);^ In the evening
of his life, and annoyed by the honors and interruptions of men, Anthony
withdreAV still further into the desert, where he cultivated the fruit needful
for his food, and presenting himself only occasionally among men, to contend
for tlic true faith, or to protect the oppressed. lie finally attained the age
of a hundred and five years, when he expired (35G). His glory sprung
ft'ora no books, worldly wisdom, or work of art, but only from his piety ; and
he de^jarted childless indeed, but the father of an innumerable spiritual family,
§ C6. Ecclcahistkul Discipline.
I. Tertul. de poenitentia. Cypr. de lapsis. Epp. canonicae Dlonysii Aleasandrini (about 202),
Oregorii T.'ifimntrturgi, Petri Alevnndrini (oOG), Canones Cone. lUiberitani.
II. Tol. r/iinner, de catcchnmenis antiquao Ecc. Francof. 16SS.— /o. Miirini, Commentr. hist, de
disciplina in administr. sacraiii poenitonliae XIIL priniis Saec. Par. 1G51. Antv. 16S1. Ven. 1702. f.
Flugge, Beitr. z. Gcsch. d. Tlieol. u. Kel. ITitS. vol. II.
Candidates for admission to the Cliurch (KaTrj^ovfievoi) were first careful-
ly instructed, and rigidly examined in all the studies of the several stages of
their education. They were then admitted by baptism and confirmation to
all the rights and privileges of a Christian citizen. Such a process was re-
garded as important, because real goodness of heart and a good character were
then of far greater value than numbers. A high degree of public morality
■was upheld by a rigid discipline. Only public scandals, or offences voluntari-
ly confessed, Avere subjected to its penalties. All who appeared unworthy of
Christian fellowship on account of adultery, murder, or apostasy from Chris-
tianity, were immediately excommunicated. These could be restored to their
former position in the Church oidy after a series of penances adjusted to the
nature of the offence by the various codes of discipline, and sometimes pro-
tracted to the end of hfe. The power of a disturbed conscience, and the
terrors of an exclusion from the Church, in which alone salvation was
thought to be attainable, induced many to undergo the most fearful penances.
At that time, few could perceive a distinction between an abandonment by
God and an exclusion from his Church. The power to relax the severity of
tlie penitential laws in particular instances, w^as indispensable in times of per-
secution, on account of the multitude of those who fell away and subsequent-
ly returned Avith sorrow. It was usually exercised by the churches and the
bisliops witli scrupulous restrictions, but by the confessors and martyrs with
so much indiscretion, that tlie discipline of the Church was in danger of be-
coming ineffectual. In general the principle was conceded, that every actu-
al penitent, at least in the hour of death, should be admitted to reconciliation
for aU his offences. As a mere outward form in connection with excommu-
nication, particular bishops or synods withdrew ecclesiastical fellowship
from whole churches or parties, on account of what was regarded as un-
christian sentiments.
* Jlieron. Yita Pauli Eremitae. Instances more like that of the shoemaker at Alexandria, In
Vitae Pair. P. II. § 121. comp. Apologia Cvnf. Aug. p. 2S5.
66 ANCIENT CHURCH HISTORY. PER. I. DIV. II. A. D. 100-312.
§ 67. The Montanists.
L Euseb. H. ecc. V, 3. 14-19. Epiphan. liaer. 4Ss. Kindred matters, and a treatment of the
subject which frocs much beyond ordinary views of it in all the writings of Tertidlinn. IL G.
Wernsdorf, de Montanistis, Gedani. 1751. 4. E. Jfiaiter, Effata ct orac. Montanistar. Ilavn. 1S29.
C. M. Kirchner, de Montanist Ds. I. Jen. 1S32. F. C. A. Schwegler. d. Montflnismus, n. d.
Kirchc des 2 Jahrh. Tub. 1S41. See also his Nacbapost. Zeitalt. vol. II. p. 259ss.
In an excitement which originated in Phrygia, and extended over all the
churches of Asia Minor, not only the rigor of ecclesiastical morals and disci-
pline, but the extraordinary zeal which prevailed in the apostolic Church,
was revived and even exceeded. It was there maintained, that the life of a
true Christian was a continual self-denial, that he should find pleasure in
nothing but God and a martyr's death, and that all earthly delights, even
those which science affords, are sinful. Murder, lewdness, and apostasy sub-
jected those who were guilty of them to a hopeless exclusion from the