The auncient ecclesiasticall histories of the first six hundred yeares after Christ, wrytten in the Greeke tongue by three learned historiographers, Eusebius, Socrates, and Euagrius. Eusebius Pamphilus Bishop of Cæsarea in Palæstina vvrote 10 bookes. Socrates Scholasticus of Constantinople vvrote 7 bookes. Euagrius Scholasticus of Antioch vvrote 6 bookes. VVhereunto is annexed Dorotheus Bishop of Tyrus, of the liues of the prophetes, apostles and 70 disciples. All which authors are faithfully translated out of the Greeke tongue by Meredith Hanmer, Maister of Arte and student in diuinitie. Last of all herein is contayned a profitable chronographie collected by the sayd translator, the title whereof is to be seene in the ende of this volume, with a copious index of the principall matters throughout all the histories

CAP. XXIII.

The censure of certaine byshops toutching this controuersie.

IMmediately vpon this, Victor Bishope of Rome, goeth aboute to seuer from the vnitie in the communion, all the churches of Asia together with the adioyning congregations, as sauoring not aright, and iuueyeth againste them in his epistles, & pronounceth flattly, all the brethren there for excōmunicated persons. but this pleased not al the bishops, for they exhorted him to seke after those thinges which concerned peace, and vnitie, and loue betwene brethren. * 1.1 Their words are at this daye extant that sharpely reprehended Ʋictor, of which number, Irenaeus, in the name of all the brethren in Fraunce that were vnder his charge, wrote and allowed the same sentence, to wete: The mysterie of the resurrection of our Sauiour to be celebrated on the sondaye onely. Yet as it was very meete he put him in remembrance at large of his dutie that he shoulde not e∣straynge or cut of all the churches of God, whiche retayned the tradition of olde custome. his wordes are these: Nether is this controuersie onely of the daye, but also of the kinde or maner of fasting. Some thinke they ought to faste one daye, some tvvo, some more, some fortie, and tel∣ling the houres throughout day and nyght they counte a daye. nether beganne this varietie of fa∣stinge in our tyme, but longe before, through them vvho then bare rule, and as it is very likelye, through their double negligence, they despised and altered the simple and common custome retayned of olde. yet for all this vvere they at vnitie one vvith an other, and as yet vve retayne it, for this varietie of fastinge commendeth the vnitie of fayth. After this he adioyneth a certeine hi∣storie, whiche I will alleage as peculierly incident to this place▪ They (sayeth he) that vvere bi∣shops before Soter, of that sea vvhich novve thou gouernest, I meane▪ Anicetus, Pius, Hyginus, Telesphorus and Xystus, nether did they so obserue it them selues, nether did they publishe anye suche president vnto the posteritie, & for all that, they (though not obseruing the same custome) vvere at vnitie neuerthelesse vvith them, vvhich resorted vnto them from other churches, and did not obserue the same, although their obseruation vvas contrary to the mindes of suche as obser∣ued it not. nether vvas the like euer heard of, that any man, for suche kind of fasting vvas excō∣municated. yea the bishopes them selues vvhich vvere thy predecessours, haue sent the Eucharist vnto the brethren of other churches, that obserued a contrary custome. And Polycarpus beinge

at Rome, in the tyme of Anicetus, they both varied among them selues about trifling matters, yet vvere they soone recōciled, & not a vvord of this matter. Neither vvas Anicetus able to persvvade Polycarpus that he should not retaine that, vvhich he had alvvaies obserued, vvith Iohn the disci∣ple of our Lord, & the rest of the Apostles, vvith vvhome he had bene cōuersant: neither did Po∣lycarpus persvvade Anicetus, to obserue it, but told him, that he ought to obserue the aunciēt cu∣stome of the elders, vvhome he succeeded. These thinges being at this poynt, they cōmunicated one vvith an other. & in the churche* 1.2 Anicetus graunted the Eucharist vnto Polycarpus, for reue∣rēce he ovved vnto him. in the end they parted, one from an other in peace. and al such as retay∣ned cōtrary obseruations throughout the vvhole vniuersal churche, held faste the bonde of loue & vnitie. Thus Irenaeus not degenerating from the etymologie of his name, passing all other in y^e gyft of reconciling the brethren practised for the ecclesiasticall peace. he wrote not only to Victor, but also to sundrye gouernours of diuers other churches, in seuerall epistles, concerninge the sayde controuersie.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ca. 26. after the Greeke. where then was the say∣ing that the bishope of Rome muste iudge all and be iudged of none? Irenaeus bi∣shop of Liōs. Victor bi∣shop of Rome.
• * 1.2

  Ruffinus trāslatīg these wordes vn∣derstandeth that Anice∣tus graunted the ministra∣tiō of the cō∣munion vnto Polycarpus, which is very like to be true. Irenaeus signi¦fieth a peace maker.