Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 01: 21.02.43 Book VII Part 2

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Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 01: 21.02.43 Book VII Part 2



TOPIC: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 01 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 21.02.43 Book VII Part 2

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6 saying, `Woe unto those who prophesy from their own heart and do not consider the general good.'hyperlink For he did not perceive the general Providence, nor did he look for the judgment of Him who is before all, and through all, and over all. Wherefore he became an enemy of his Catholichyperlink Church, and alienatedand estranged himself from the compassion of God, and fled as far as possible from his salvation. In this he showed the truth of his own name."hyperlink

7 And again, farther on he says: "For Valerian, being instigated to such acts by this man, was given over to insults and reproaches, according to what was said by Isaiah: `They have chosen their own ways and their abominations in which their soul delighted; I also will choose their delusions and will render unto them their sins.'hyperlink

8 But this manhyperlink madly desired the kingdom though unworthy of it, and being unable to put the royal garment on his crippled body, set forward his two sons to bear their father's sins.hyperlink For concerning them the declaration which God spoke was plain, `Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.'hyperlink

9 For heaping on the heads of his sons his own evil desires, in which he had met with success,hyperlink he wiped off upon them his own wickedness and hatred toward God."

Dionysius relates these things concerning Valerian.

Chapter XI. The Events Which Happened at This Time to Dionysius and Those in Egypt.

1 But as regards the persecution which prevailed so fiercely in his reign, and the sufferings which Dionysius with others endured on account of piety toward the God of the universe, his own words shall show, which he wrote in answer to Germanus,hyperlink a contemporary bishop who was endeavoring to slander him. His statement is as follows:

2 "Truly I am in danger of falling into great folly and stupidity through being forced to relate the wonderful providence of God toward us. But since it is saidhyperlink that `it is good to keep close the secret of a king, but it is honorable to reveal the works of God,'hyperlink I will join issue with the violence of Germanus.

3 I went not alone to Aemilianus;hyperlink but my fellow-presbyter, Maximus,hyperlink and the deacons Faustus,hyperlink Eusebius,hyperlink and Chaeremon,hyperlink and a brother who was present from Rome, went with me.

4 But Aemilianus did not at first say to me: `Hold no assemblies;'hyperlink for this was superfluous to him, and the last thing to one who was seeking to accomplish the first. For he was not concerned about our assembling, but that we ourselves should not be Christians. And he commanded me to give this up; supposing if I turned from it, the others also would follow me.

5 But I answered him, neither unsuitably nor in many words: `We must obey God rather than men.'hyperlink And I testified openly that I worshiped the one only God, and no other; and that I would not turn from this nor would I ever cease to be a Christian. Thereupon he commanded us to go to a village near the desert, called Cephro.hyperlink

6 But listen to the very words which were spoken on both sides, as they were recorded: "Dionysius, Faustus, Maximus, Marcellus,hyperlink and Chaeremon being arraigned, Aemilianus the prefect said:

7 `I have reasoned verbally with you concerning the clemency which our rulers have shown to you; for they have given you the opportunity to save yourselves, if you will turn to that which is according to nature, and worship the gods that preserve theirempire, and forget those that are contrary to nature.hyperlink What then do you say to this? For I do not think that you will be ungrateful for their kindness, since they would turn you to a better course.'

8 Dionysius replied: `Not all people worship all gods; but each one those whom he approves. We therefore reverence and worship the one God, the Maker of all; who hath given the empire to the divinely favored and august Valerian and Gallienus; and we pray to him continually for their empire that it may remain unshaken.'

9 Aemilianus, the prefect, said to them: `But who forbids you to worship him, if he is a god, together with those who are gods by nature. For ye have been commanded to reverence the gods, and the gods whom all know.' Dionysius answered:

10 `We worship no other.' Aemilianus, the prefect, said to them: `I see that you are at once ungrateful, and insensible to the kindness of our sovereigns. Wherefore ye shall not remain in this city. But ye shall be sent into the regions of Libya, to a place called Cephro. For I have chosen this place at the command of our sovereigns, and it shall by no means be permitted you or any others, either to hold assemblies, or to enter into the so called cemeteries.hyperlink

11 But if any one shall be seen without the place which I have commanded, or be found in any assembly, he will bring peril on himself. For suitable punishment shall not fail. Go, therefore where ye have been ordered.'

"And he hastened me away, though I was sick, not granting even a day's respite. What opportunity then did I have, either to hold assemblies, or not to hold them?"hyperlink Farther on he says: "But through the

12 help of the Lord we did not give up the open assembly. But I called together the more diligently those who were in the city, as if I were with them; being, so to speak,hyperlink `absent in body but present in spirit.'hyperlink But in Cephro a large church gathered with us of the brethren that followed us from the city, and those that joined us from Egypt; and there `God opened unto us a door for the Word.'hyperlink

13 At first we were persecuted and stoned; but afterwards not a few of the heathen forsook the idols and turned to God. For until this time they had not heard the Word, since it was then first sown by us.

14 And as if God had brought us to them for this purpose, when we had performed this ministry he transferred us to another place. For Aemilianus, as it appeared, desired to transport us to rougher and more Libyan-like places;hyperlink so he commanded them to assemble from all quarters in Mareotis,hyperlink and assigned to them different villages throughout the country. But he ordered us to be placed nearer the highway that we might be seized first.hyperlink For evidently he arranged and prepared matters so that whenever he wished to seize us he could take all of us without difficulty.

15 When I was first ordered to go to Cephro I did not know where the place was, and had scarcely ever heard the name; yet I went readily and cheerfully. But when I was told that I was to remove to the district of Colluthion,hyperlink those who were present know how I was affected.

16 For here I will accuse myself. At first I was grieved and greatly disturbed; for though these places were better known and more familiar to us, yet the country was said to be destitute of brethren and of men of character, and to be exposed to the annoyances of travelers and incursions of robbers.

17 But I was comforted when the brethren reminded me that it was nearer the city, and that while Cephro afforded us much intercourse with the brethren from Egypt, so that we were able to extend the Church more widely, as this place was nearer the city we should enjoy more frequently the sight of those who were truly beloved and most closely related and dearest to us. For they would come and remain, and special meetingshyperlink could be held, as in the more remote suburbs. And thus it turned out." After other matters he writes again as follows of the things which happened to him

18 "Germanus indeed boasts of many confessions. He can speak forsooth of many adversities which he himself has endured. But is he able to reckon up as many as we can, of sentences, confiscations, proscriptions, plundering of goods, loss of dignities, contempt of worldly glory, disregard for the flatteries of governors and of councilors, and patient endurance of the threats of opponents, of outcries, of perils and persecutions, and wandering and distress, and all kinds of tribulation, such as came upon me under Decius and Sabinus,hyperlink and such as continue even now under Aemilianus? But where has Germanus been seen? And what

19 account is there of him? But I turn from this great folly into which I am falling on account of Germanus. And for the same reason I desist from giving to the brethren who know it an account of everything which took place."

20 The same writer also in the epistle to! Domitius and Didymushyperlink mentions some particulars of the persecution as follows: "As our people are many and unknown to you, it would be superfluous to give their names; but understand that men and women, young and old, maidens and matrons, soldiers and civilians, of every race and age, some by scourging and fire, others by the sword, have conquered in the strife and received their crowns.

21 But in the case of some a very long time wasnot sufficient to make them appear acceptable to the Lord; as, indeed, it seems also in my own case, that sufficient time has not yet elapsed. Wherefore he has retained me for the time which he knows to be fitting, saying, `In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee.'hyperlink For as you

22 have inquired of our affairs and desire us to tell you how we are situated, you have heard fully that when we - that is, myself and Gaius and Faustus and Peter and Paulhyperlink - were led away as prisoners by a centurion and magistrates, with their soldiers and servants, certain persons from Mareotis came and dragged us away by force, as we were unwilling to follow them.hyperlink But

23 now I and Gaius and Peter are alone, deprived of the other brethren, and shut up in a desert and dry place in Libya, three days' journey from Paraetonium."hyperlink

24 He says farther on: "The presbyters, 24 Maximus,hyperlink Dioscorus,hyperlink Demetrius, and Luciushyperlink concealed themselves in the city, and visited the brethren secretly; for Faustinus and Aquila,hyperlink who are more prominent in the world, are wandering in Egypt. But the deacons, Faustus, Eusebius, and Chaeremon,hyperlink have survived those who died in the pestilence. Eusebius is one whom God has strengthened. and endowed from the first to fulfill energetically the ministrations for the imprisoned confessors, and to attend to the dangerous task of preparing for burial the bodies of the perfected and blessed martyrs

25 For as I have said before, unto the present time the governor continues to put to death in a cruel manner those who are brought to trial. And he destroys some with tortures, and wastes others away with imprisonment and bonds; and he suffers no one to go near them, and investigates whether any one does so. Nevertheless God gives relief to the afflicted through the zeal and persistence of the brethren."

26 Thus far Dionysius. But it should be known that Eusebius, whom he calls a deacon, shortly afterward became bishop of the church of Laodicea in Syria;hyperlink and Maximus, of whom he speaks as being then a presbyter, succeeded Dionysius himself as bishop of Alexandria.hyperlink But the Faustus who was with him, and who at that time was distinguished for his confession, was preserved until the persecution in our day,hyperlink when being very old and full of days, he closed his life by martyrdom, being beheaded. But such are the things which happened at that timehyperlink to Dionysius.

Chapter XII. The Martyrs in Caesarea in Palestine.

1 During the above-mentioned persecution under Valerian, three men in Caesarea in Palestine, being conspicuous in their confession of Christ, were adorned with divine martyrdom, becoming food for wild beasts. One of them was called Priscus, another Malchus, and the name of the third was Alexander.hyperlink They say that these men, who lived in the country, acted at first in a cowardly manner, as if they were careless and thoughtless. For when the opportunity was given to those who longed for the prize with heavenly desire, they treated it lightly, lest they should seize the Crown of martyrdom prematurely. But having deliberated on the matter, they hastened to Caesarea, and went before the judge and met the end we have mentioned. They relate that besides these, in the same persecution and the same city, a certain woman endured a similar conflict. But it is reported that she belonged to the sect of Marcion.hyperlink

Chapter XIII. The Peace Under Gallienus.

1 Shortly after this Valerian was reduced to slavery by the barbarians,hyperlink and his son having become sole ruler, conducted the government more prudently. He immediately restrained the persecution against us by public proclamations,hyperlink and directed the bishops to perform in freedom their customary duties, in a rescripthyperlink which ran as follows: "The Emperor Caesar Publius Licinius

2 Gallienus, Pius, Felix, Augustus,hyperlink to Dionysius, Pinnas, Demetrius,hyperlink and the other bishops. I have ordered the bounty of my gift to be declared through all the world, that they may depart from the places of religious worship.hyperlink And for this purpose you may use this copy of my rescript, that no one may molest you. And this which you are now enabled lawfully to do, has already for a long time been conceded by me.hyperlink Therefore Aurelius Cyrenius,hyperlink who is the chief administrator of affairs,hyperlink will observe this ordinance which I have given." I have given this in a translation from the Latin, that it may be more readily understood. Another decree of his is extant addressed to other bishops, permitting them to take possession again of the so-called cemeteries.hyperlink

Chapter XIV. The Bishops that Flourished at that Time.

1 At that time Xystushyperlink was still presiding over the church of Rome, and Demetrianus,hyperlink successor of Fabius,hyperlink over the church of Antioch, and Firmilianushyperlink over that of Caesarea in Cappadocia; and besides these, Gregoryhyperlink and his brother Athenodorus,hyperlink friends of Origen, were presiding over the churches in Pontus; and Theoctistushyperlink of Caesarea in Palestine having died, Domnushyperlink received the episcopate there. He held it but a short time, and Theotecnus,hyperlink our contemporary, succeeded him. He also was a member of Origen's school. But in Jerusalem, after the death of Mazabanes,hyperlink Hymenaeus,hyperlink who has been celebrated among us for a great many years, succeeded to his seat.

Chapter XV. The Martyrdom of Marinus at Caesarea.

1 At this time, when the peace of the 1 churches had been everywherehyperlink restored, Marinus in Caesarea in Palestine, who was honored for his military deeds, and illustrious by virtue of family and wealth, was beheaded for his testimony to Christ, on the following account. The vine-branchhyperlink is a certain

2 mark of honor among the Romans, and those who obtain it become, they say, centurions. A place being vacated, the order of succession called Marinus to this position. But when he was about to receive the honor, another person came before the tribunal and claimed that it was not legal, according to the ancient laws, for him to receive the Roman dignity, as he was a Christian and did not sacrifice to the emperors; but that the office belonged rather to him. Thereupon the judge, whose name was

3 Achaeus,hyperlink being disturbed, first asked what opinion Marinus held. And when he perceived that he continually confessed himself a Christian, he gave him three hours for reflection. When he came out from the tribunal, Theotecnus

4hyperlink the bishop there, took him aside and conversed with him, and taking his hand led him into the church. And standing with him within, in the sanctuary, he raised his cloak a little, and pointed to the sword that hung by his side; and at the same time he placed before him the Scripture of the divine Gospels, and told him to choose which of the two he wished. And without hesitation he reached forth his right hand, and took the divine Scripture. "Hold fast then," says Theotecnus to him, "hold fast to God, and strengthened by him mayest thou obtain what thou hast chosen, and go inpeace." Immediately on his return the

5 herald cried out calling him to the tribunal, for the appointed time was already completed. And standing before the tribunal, and manifesting greater zeal for the faith, immediately, as he was, he was led away and finished his course by death.

Chapter XVI. Story in Regard to Astyrius.

1 Astyriushyperlink also is commemorated on account of his pious boldness in connection with this affair. He was a Roman of senatorial rank, and in favor with the emperors, and well known to all on account of his noble birth and wealth. Being present at the martyr's death, he took his body away on his shoulder, and arraying him in a splendid and costly garment, prepared him for the grave in a magnificent manner, and gave him fitting burial.hyperlink The friends of this man, that remain to our day, relate many other facts, concerning him.

Chapter XVII. The Signs at Paneas of the Great Might of Our Saviour.

1 Among these is also the following wonder. At Caesarea Philippi, which the Phoenicians call Paneas,hyperlink springs are shown at the foot of the Mountain Panius, out of which the Jordan flows. They say that on a certain feast day, a victim was thrown in,hyperlink and that through the power of the demon it marvelously disappeared and that which happened was a famous wonder to those who were present. Astyrius was once there when these things were done, and seeing the multitude astonished at the affair, he pitied their delusion; and looking up to heaven he supplicated the God over all through Christ, that he would rebuke the demon who deceived the people, and bring the men's delusion to an end. And they say that when he had prayed thus, immediately the sacrifice floated on the surface of the fountain. And thus the miracle departed; and no wonder was ever afterward performed at the place.



Footnotes



60 Ezek. xiii. 3.



61 kaqolikhj, "catholic" in the sense of "general" or "universal," the play upon the word still continuing.



62 Makrianoj. The Greek word makran means "far," "at a distance."



63 Isa. lxvi. 3, Isa. lxvi. 4.



64 i.e. Macrianus.



65 Valerian reposed complete confidence in Macrianus and followed his advice in the conduct of the wars against the Persians. The result was that by Macrianus' "weak or wicked counsels the imperial army was betrayed into a situation where valor and military skill were equally unavailing." (Gibbon.) Dionysius, in chap. 23, below, directly states that Macrianus betrayed Valerian, and this is the view of the case commonly taken. Valerian fell into the hands of the Persians (late in 260 a.d.), and Macrianus was proclaimed emperor by his troops, and on account of his lameness (as both Dionysius and Zonaras put it) or his age, associated with him his two sons, Quietus and Macrianus. After some months he left his son Quietus in charge of Syria, and designing to make himself master of the Occident, marched with his son Macrianus against Gallienus, but was met in Illyrium by the Pretender Aureolus (262) and defeated, and both himself and son slain. His son Quietus meanwhile was besieged in Edessa by the Pretender Odenathus and slain. Cf. Tillemont's Histoire des Empereurs, III. p. 333 sq. and p. 340 sq.



66 Ex. xx. 5.



67 hutuxei. Three mss., followed by Stephanus, Valesius, Burton, Stroth (and by the translators Closs, Crusè, and Salmond in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, VI. p. 107), read htuxei, "failed" ("in whose gratification he failed"). hutuxei, however, is supported by overwhelming ms. authority, and is adopted by Schwegler and Heinichen, and approved by Valesius in his notes. It seems at first sight the harder reading, and is, therefore, in itself to be preferred to the easier reading, htuxei. Although it seems harder, it is really fully in accord with what has preceded. Macrianus had not made himself emperor (if Dionysius is to be believed), but he had succeeded fully in his desires, in that he had raised his sons to the purple. If he had acquired such power as to be able to do that, he must have given them the position, because he preferred to govern in that way; and if that be so, be could hardly be said to have failed in his desires.



68 On Germanus, and Dionysius' epistle to him, see above, Bk. VI. chap. 40, note 2.



69 Literally "it says" (fhsi), a common formula in quoting from Scripture.



70 Tob. xii. 7.



71 This Aemilianus, prefect of Egypt, under whom the persecution was carried on in Alexandria during Valerian's reign, later, during the reign of Gallienus, was induced (or compelled) by the troops of Alexandria to revolt against Gallienus, and assume the purple himself. He was defeated, however, by Theodotus, Gal-lienus' general, and was put to death in prison, in what year we do not know. Cf. Tillemont's Hist. des Emp. III. p. 342 sq.



72 Maximus is mentioned a number of times in this chapter in connection with the persecution. After the death of Dionysius he succeeded him as bishop of Alexandria, and as such is referred to below, in chaps. 28, 30, and 32. For the dates of his episcopate, see chap. 28, note 10.



73 On Faustus, see above, Bk. VI. chap. 40, note 10.



74 In regard to this deacon Eusebius, who later became bishop of Laodicea, see chap. 32, note 12.



75 Chaeremon is mentioned three times in the present chapter, but we have no other reliable information in regard to him.



76 We may gather from §11, below, that Germanus had accused Dionysius of neglecting to hold the customary assemblies, and of seeking safety by flight. Valesius, in his note ad locum, remarks, "Dionysius was accused by Germanus of neglecting to hold the assemblies of the brethren before the beginning of the persecution, and of providing for his own safety by flight. For as often as persecution arose the bishops were accustomed first to convene the people, that they might exhort them to hold fast to their faith in Christ. Then they baptized infants and catechumens, that they might not depart this life without baptism, and they gave the eucharist to the faithful, because they did not know how long the persecution might last." Valesius refers for confirmation of his statements to an epistle sent to Pope Hormisdas, by Germanus and others, in regard to Dorotheus, bishop of Thessalonica (circa a.d. 519). I have not been able to verify the reference. The custom mentioned by Valesius is certainly a most natural one, and therefore Valesius' statements are very likely quite true, though there seems to be little direct testimony upon which to rest them.



77 Acts v. 29.



78 We learn from §10, below, that Cephro was in Libya. Beyond this nothing is known of the place so far as I am aware.



79 This Marcellus, the only one not mentioned in §3, above, is an otherwise unknown person.



80 twn para fusin. That the twn refers to "gods" (viz. the gods of the Christians, Aemilianus thinking of them as plural) seems clear, both on account of the qeouj just preceding, and also in view of the fact that in §9 we have the phrase twn kata fusin qewn. A contrast, therefore, is drawn in the present case between the gods of the heathen and those of the Christians.



81 koimhthria; literally, "sleeping-places." The word was used only in this sense in classic Greek; but the Christians, looking upon death only as a sleep, early applied the name to their burial places; hence Aemilian speaks of them as the "so-called (kaloumena) cemeteries."



82 See above, note 9.



83 wj eipein, a reading approved by Valesius in his notes, and adopted by Schwegler and Heinichen. This and the readings wj eipen, "as he said" (adopted by Stroth, Zimmermann, and Laemmer), and wj eipon, "as I said" (adopted by Stephanus, Valesius in his text, and Burton), are about equally supported by ms. authority, while some mss. read wj eipen o apostoloj, "as the apostle said." It is impossible to decide with any degree of assurance between the first three readings.



84 1 Cor. v. 3.



85 Col. iv. 3.



86 Libukwterouj topouj. Libya was an indefinite term among the ancients for that part of Africa which included the Great Desert and all the unexplored country lying west and south of it. Almost nothing was known about the country, and the desert and the regions beyond were peopled by the fancy with all sorts of terrible monsters, and were looked upon as the theater of the most dire forces, natural and supernatural. As a consequence, the term "Libyan" became a synonym for all that was most disagreeable and dreadful in nature.



87 Mareotis, or Mareia, or Maria, was one of the land districts into which Egypt was divided. A lake, a town situated on the shore of the lake, and the district in which they lay, all bore the same name. The district Mareotis lay just south of Alexandria, but did not include it, for Alexandria and Ptolemais formed an independent sphere of administration sharply separated from the thirty-six land districts of the country. Cf. Bk. II. chap. 17, notes 10 and 12, above. Mommsen (Roman Provinces, Scribner's ed. Vol. II. p. 255) remarks that these land districts, like the cities, became the basis of episcopal dioceses. This we should expect to be the case, but I am not aware that we can prove it to have been regularly so, at any rate not during the earlier centuries. Cf. e.g. Wiltsch's Geography and Statistics of the Church, London ed., I. p. 192 sq.



88 hmaj de mallon en odw kai prwtouj katalhfqhsomenouj etacen.



89 ta Kollouqiwnoj (sc. merh), i.e. the parts or regions of Colluthion. Of Colluthion, so far as I am aware, nothing is known. It seems to have been a town, possibly a section of country in the district of Mareotis. Nicephorus spells the word with a single l, which Valesius contends is more correct because the word is derived from Colutho, which was not an uncommon name in Egypt (see Valesius' note ad locum).



90 kata meroj sunagwgai, literally, "partial meetings." It is plain enough from this that persons living in the suburbs were allowed to hold special services in their homes or elsewhere, and were not compelled always to attend the city church, which might be a number of miles distant. It seems to me doubtful whether this passage is sufficient to warrant Valesius' conclusion, that in the time of Dionysius there was but one church in Alexandria, where the brethren met for worship. It may have been so, but the words do not appear to indicate, as Valesius thinks they do, that matters were in a different state then from that which existed in the time of Athanasius, who, in his Apology to Constantius, §14 sq., expressly speaks of a number of church buildings in Alexandria.



91 Sabinus has been already mentioned in Bk. VI. chap. 40, §2, from which passage we may gather that he held the same position under Decius which Aemilianus held under Valerian (see note 3 on the chapter referred to).



92 We learn from chap. 20, below, that this epistle to Domitius and Didymus was one of Dionysius' regular festal epistles (for there is no ground for assuming that a different epistle is referred to in that chapter). Domitius and Didymus are otherwise unknown personages. Eusebius evidently (as we can see both from this chapter and from chapter 20) supposes this epistle to refer to the persecution, of which Dionysius has been speaking in that portion of his epistle to Germanus quoted in this chapter; namely, to the persecution of Valerian. But he is clearly mistaken in this supposition; for, as we can see from a comparison of §22, below, with Bk. VI. chap. 40, §6 sq., Dionysius is referring in this epistle to the same persecution to which he referred in that chapter; namely, to the persecution of Decius. But the present epistle was written (as we learn from §23) while this same persecution was still going on, and, therefore, some years before the time of Valerian's persecution, and before the writing of the epistle to Germanus (see Bk. VI. chap. 40, note 2), with which Eusebius here associates it. Cf. Valesius' note ad locum and Dittrich's Dionysius der Grosse, p. 40 sq.



93 Isa. xlix. 8.



94 See above, Bk. VI. chap. 40, note 10.



95 See ibid. §6 sq.



96 Paraetonium was an important town and harbor on the Mediterranean, about 150 miles west of Alexandria. A day's journey among the ancients commonly denoted about 180 to 200 stadia (22 to 25 miles), so that Dionysius retreat must have lain some 60 to 70 miles from Paraetonium, probably to the south of it.



97 On Maximus, see above, note 5.



98 Of Dioscorus we know only what is told us here. He is not to be identified with the lad mentioned in Bk. VI. chap. 41, §19 (see note 17 on that chapter).



99 Of Demetrius and Lucius we know only what is recorded here.



100 Faustinus and Aquila are known to us only from this passage.



101 On these three deacons, see above, notes 6-8.



102 See below, chap. 32, §5.



103 See chap. 28, note 8.



104 That is, until the persecution of Diocletian, a.d. 303 sq.



105 That is, according to Eusebius, in the time of Valerian, but only the events related in the first part of the chapter took place at that time; those recorded in the epistle to Domitius and Didymus in the time of Decius. See above, note 25.



106 Of these three men we know only what is told us in this chapter.



107 Marcionitic martyrs are mentioned by Eusebius in Bk. IV. chap. 15, and in Martyrs of Pal. chap. 10. In H. E. V. 16, it is stated that the Marcionites as well as the Montanists had many martyrs, but that the orthodox Christians did not acknowledge them as Christians, and would not recognize them even when they were martyred together. Of course they were all alike Christians in the eyes of the state, and hence all alike subject to persecution.



108 Valerian was taken captive by Sapor, king of Persia, probably late in the year 260 (the date is somewhat uncertain) and died in captivity. His son Gallienus, already associated with him in the empire, became sole emperor when his father fell into the Persians' hands.



109 Eusebius has not preserved the text of these edicts (programmata, which were public proclamations, and thus differed from the rescripts, which were private instructions), but the rescript to the bishops which he quotes shows that they did more than simply put a stop to the persecution,-that they in fact made Christianity a religio licita, and that for the first time. The right of the Christians as a body (the corpus Christianorum) to hold property is recognized in this rescript, and this involves the legal recognition of that body. Moreover, the rescript is addressed to the "bishops," which implies a recognition of the organization of the Church. See the article of Görres, Die Toleranzedicte des Kaisers Gallienus, in the Jahrb. für prot. Theol., 1877, p. 606 sq.



110 antigrafh: the technical term for an epistle containing private instructions, in distinction from an edict or public proclamation. This rescript was addressed to the bishops of the province of Egypt including Dionysius of Alexandria). It was evidently issued some time after the publication of the edicts themselves. Its exact date is uncertain, but it was probably written immediately after the fall of the usurper Macrianus (i.e. late in 261 or early in 262), during the time of whose usurpation the benefits of Gallienus' edicts of toleration could of course not have been felt in Egypt and the Orient.



111 Eusebhj, Eutuxhj, Sebastoj.



112 Of Pinnas and Demetrius we know nothing. The identification of Demetrius with the presbyter mentioned in chap. 11, §24, might be suggested as possible. There is nothing to prevent such an identification, nor, on the other hand, is there anything to be urged in its favor beyond mere agreement in a name which was not an uncommon one in Egypt.



113 opwj apo twn topwn twn qrhskeusimwn apoxwrhswsi. This is commonly taken to mean that the "Christians may come forth from their religious retreats," which, however, does not seem to be the sense of the original. I prefer to read, with Closs, "that the heathen may depart from the Christians' places of worship," from those, namely, which they had taken possession of during the persecution.



114 The reference is doubtless to the edicts, referred to above, which he had issued immediately after his accession, but which had not been sooner put in force in Egypt because of the usurper Macrianus (see above, note 3).



115 So far as I am aware, this man is known to us only from this passage.



116 o tou megistou pragmatoj prostateuwn. Heinichen, following Valesius, identifies this office with the o epi twn kaqolou logwn (mentioned in chap. 10, §5), with the o twn kaqolou logwn eparxoj (mentioned in Bk. IX. chap. 11, §4), &c. For the nature of that office, see chap. 10, note 8. The phrase used in this passage seems to suggest the identification, and yet I am inclined to think, inasmuch as the rescript has to do specifically with the Church in Egypt, that Aurelius Cyrenius was not (as Macrianus was under Valerian) the emperor's general finance minister, in charge of the affairs of the empire, but simply the supreme finance minister or administrator of Egypt (cf. Mommsen's Provinces of the Roman Empire, Scribner's ed., II. p. 268).



117 The use of their cemeteries, both as places of burial and as meeting-places for religious worship, had been denied to the Christians by Valerian. On the origin of the word koimhthria, see chap. 11, note 14.



118 On Xystus II., see chap. 5, note 5.



119 On Demetrianus, see Bk. VI. chap. 46, note 12.



120 On Fabius, see Bk. VI. chap. 39, note 7.



121 On Firmilianus, see Bk. VI. chap. 26, note 3.



122 Gregory Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neo-Caesarea in Pontus from about 233-270 (?). Upon Gregory, see Bk. VI. chap. 30, note 1.



123 On Athenodorus, see ibid. note 2.



124 On Theoctistus, see Bk. VI. chap. 19, note 27.



125 Of the life and character of Domnus we know nothing. So far as I am aware he is mentioned only here. His dates are uncertain, but his predecessor, Theoctistus, was still bishop in the time of Stephen of Rome (254-257; see above, Bk. VI. chap. 19, note 27), while he himself became bishop before the death of Xystus of Rome, as we may gather from this chapter, i.e. before August, 258 (see chap. 5, note 5), so that between these dates his accession must be placed. Eusebius' words in this passage will hardly admit an episcopate of more than one or two years; possibly he was bishop but a few months.



126 The dates of Theotecnus are likewise uncertain. Eusebius in Bk. VII. chap. 32, says that he was acquainted with Pamphilus during the episcopate of Agapius (the successor of Theotecnus), implying that he first made his acquaintance then. It is therefore likely that Agapius became bishop some years before the persecution of Diocletian, for otherwise we hardly allow enough time for the acquaintance of Pamphilus and Eusebius who did so much work together, and apparently were friends for so long a time. Pamphilus himself suffered martyrdom in 309 a.d. Theotecnus was quite a prominent man and was present at the two Antiochian synods mentioned in chaps. 27 and 30, which were convened to consider the heresy of Paul of Samosata.



127 On Mazabanes, see Bk. VI. chap. 39, note 5.



128 According to the Chron. of Eusebius, Hymenaeus was bishop of Jerusalem from 265-298. It is expressly stated in the Chron. that the dates of the earlier Jerusalem bishops are not known (see Bk. V. chap. 12, note 1); but with the dates of the bishops of the latter part of the third century Eusebius can hardly have been unacquainted, and that Hymenaeus was bishop at any rate as early as 265 is proved by chaps. 27 and 30 (see the note on Mazabanes referred to just above). The dates given in the Chron. may therefore be accepted as at least approximately correct.



129 The martyrdom of Marinus after the promulgation of Gallienus' edict of toleration and after peace had been, as Eusebius remarks, everywhere restored to the churches, has caused historians some difficulty. It is maintained, however, by Tillemont and others, and with especial force by Görres in the Fahrbücher für prot. Theol., 1877, p. 620 sq., that the martyrdom of Marinus took place while the usurper Macrianus, who was exceedingly hostile to the Christians, was still in power in the East, and at a time, therefore, when the edicts of Gallienus could have no force there. This of course explains the difficulty completely. The martyrdom then must have taken place toward the beginning of Gallienus' reign, for Macrianus was slain as early as 262. Of the martyr Marinus we know only what Eusebius tells us here.



130 to klhma. The centurion received as a badge of office a vine-branch or vine-switch, which was called by the Romans Vitis.



131 Achaes is an otherwise unknown person. That he was governor of Palestine, as Valesius asserts, is apparently a pure assumption, for the term used of him (dikasthj) is quite indefinite.



132 On Theotecnus, see above, chap. 14, note 9.



133 We know nothing more about this Astyrius than is recorded here. Rufinus, in his H. E. VII. 13, tells us that he suffered martyrdom at about this time; but Eusebius says nothing of the kind, and it is therefore not at all probable that Rufinus is correct. He probably concluded, from Eusebius' account of him, that he also suffered martyrdom.



134 Burton and Crusè close the chapter at this point, throwing the next sentence into chap. 17. Such a transposition, however, is unnecessary, and I have preferred to follow Valesius, Heinichen, Schwegler, and other editors, in dividing as above.



135 Caesarea Philippi (to be distinguished from Caesarea, the chief city of Palestine, mentioned in previous chapters) was originally called Paneas by the Greeks,-a name which it retained even after the name Caesarea Philippi had been given it by Philip the Tetrarch, who enlarged and beautified it. The place, which is now a small village, is called Banias by the Arabs. It lies at the base of Mt. Hermon, and is noted for one of the principal sources of the Jordan, which issues from springs beneath the rocks of Mt. Hermon at this point. The spot is said to be remarkably beautiful. See Robinson's Biblical Researches in Palestine, Vol. III, p. 409 sq.



136 Valesius remarks that the heathen were accustomed to throw victims into their sacred wells and fountains, and that therefore Publicola asks Augustine, in Epistle 153, whether one ought to drink from a fountain or well whither a portion of sacrifice had been sent.