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. XXIX.

The Epistle of certaine byshops contayninge the Actes of the Synode helde at Antioch* 1.1 against paulus Samosatenus and of the heretickes life and trade of liuing.

WIth vniforme consent of all the byshops then gathered together they wrote an epistle vnto Dionysius byshop of Rome & Maximus byshop of Alexandria, & sen•• it abrode into all prouinces, in the which they reuealed vnto the world their great labor & industry, the peruerse variablenes of Paulus, the reprehensions and obiections proposed against him, his conuersation & trade of liuing. whereof for memories sake I thinke it not amisse to alleage some part for the posterity which is thus written: Vnto Dionysius & Maximus, and all our fellowe by∣shops,* 1.2 elders & deacons throughout the worlde, & to the whole, vniuersall & catholicke church vnder heauen: Helenus, Hymenaeus, Theophilus, Theotecnus, Maximus, Proclus, Nicomas, Aemilia∣nus, Paulus, Bolanus, Protegenes, Hierax, Entychius, Theodorus, Malchion, Lucius, with all the o∣ther byshops who with vs inhabite the borderinge cyties and ouersee the nations, togetherwith the elders and deacons, and holy Churches of God: to the beloued brethren in the Lord sende greeting. Vnto this salutation after a fewe lines they added as followeth: VVe haue cited hy∣ther many byshops from farre, to salue and cure this deadely and poysoned doctrine, as Diony∣sius byshop of Alexandria, & Firmilianus byshop of Caesarea in cappadocia, men blessed in the Lord, whereof the one writinge hither to Antioch, voutchsafed not once to salute the author of error, for he wrot not to his person but to the whole congregation, the coppy whereof we haue here annexed. but Firmilianus came twise, and condemned his straunge doctrine as we knowe very well and testifie which were present, together with many other besids vs, for when Paulus* 1.3 promised to recante, & this man beleeued and hopped he woulde redresse and preuent this oc∣casiō without all contumely & reproch which might redound vnto the true doctrine, he differ∣red & posted ouer his opiniō from time to time, being seduced no doubt by him which denied God & his Lord & swarued frō the faith he held at the beginning. This Firmilianus in his iour∣ney to Antioch came as farte as Tarsus, hauing experimēt in Christ of his malicious spite, wher∣with he denied God, but whilest that we assemble together, whilest we summone him, & waite for his comming he departed this life. againe of the life of Samosatenus, and his conuersation they* 1.4 write thus in the same epistle: After that he forsooke the ecclesiasticall canon he fell vnto vn∣lawefull & forged doctrine. neither is it behoueable for vs nowe to iudge of an aliene, ether to descant howe at the first he was poore & nothing bequeathed him of his parents, & that neither by art, trade or exercise he attayned vnto the aboundāce of welth, which he enioyned, but with lewdacts & sacriledge, by iniurious & tyrannicall oppressiō of the brethren, whom he made to tremble for feare, with his guyleful gaine & wilie promise of hired patronship, by which subtle∣ty & deceate he gayned so much that he procured the geuers to be liberall, to thend they might* 1.5 be deliuered from their aduersaries, and so he turned godlines into gaine. neyther neede vve to speake here of hovve that he being puffed vvith pride vsurped seculer dignities, & vvould rather be called a vvarlicke captaine then a byshope of the Churche, vvalkinge stately throughout the streets, and market place, reading letters & vvithall openly enditing, maintaining about him a great troope to gard his person, some going before & some coming after, so that our faith & re∣ligion runne to great spite, sclaunder and hatred by reason of his svvellinge pride & hautye dis∣dayne. neither vvill vve reherse the monstrous figmentes vvhich he fayned, his glorious braggs, the vglesome spectacles he deuised to amaze the minds of the simpler sort. he made for him self* 1.6 a lofty seate & high throne, not like the disciple of Christ but seuered in shevve & title, after the manner of the princes of this vvorlde smyting, the thighe vvith the hand, pouncinge the foote∣stole vvith his feete. If any extolled him not as the vse is vpon theatres, vvith clappinge of theyr handes, vvith shoutinge and hurlinge of theyr cappes: if any also both of men and vvomen had not skipped to and fro vvith busie bodies, & vndecent obeysance: if any as in the house of God had behaued themselues honestly and decently the same he checked and all to be reuiled. He inueyed vvithout all reason in the open assemblyes against the expositors of holy scripture, vvhich then vvere departe to rest: he auaunted him selfe more like a sophister and sorcerer then a byshop: the psalmes song in the Church to the laud of our Lord Iesus Christ, lie remoued coū∣ting them nevve found figments of late vvriters, in stede vvvherof, in the middest of the church vpon the high feast of Easter he suborned certaine vvomen vvhich sounded out sonnets to his

praise, the which if any now heard, his heare woulde stand staringe on his head. he licenced the bishops & ministers of the adioyning villages & cities which honored him, to preache vnto the people. he staggereth at confessing with vs that the sonne of God descended from heauen. And that we may borowe somwhat of that which hereafter is to be spokē of vs, it shall not be barely •…•…ch••d, ••••t 〈◊〉〈◊〉 out of the cōme••ari•••• published by vs vnto the whole worlde specially where he sayth that Christ Iesus is of the earth. They which sound out his cōmendation & extoll him among the people, affirm•• this wicked & most detestable var••ett to be an angell that came •…•…uē. neither forbiddeth he these things, but stādeth arrogātly to the things spokē of him▪ what shall I speake of his entertainmēt of associated & closly kept womē as they of An∣••••oth terme 〈…〉〈…〉 & of the 〈…〉〈…〉 & deaco•• which accōpany him, wherwith w••••tingly he clo∣••••th this & sundry other haynous, incurable, & well knowen offences, to the ende he may with∣hold them also ••••••lty together with him in those things the which both in word & deede he of∣••••ideth in, daring not to accuse him insomuch they thē selues are gilty in their cōsciences of the same crime. for he enritcheth thē, wherfore he is both beloued & honored of thē that gape after the like gudgins. we knowe beloued brethrē that a bishop and the whole order of priesthoode ought to be a paterne of good works vnto the cōmō people, neither are we ignorāt of this, that many are fallē because of the closly kept women, & many againe are subiect to suspiciō & slaū∣der. wherfore admitt that he cōmitted no lewde wantones vvith thē, yet should he haue feared the suspiciō & surmise vvhich riseth therof, lest that either he shold offend any, or bolden any to the ••••itatiō off••levvde an exāple for hovv cā hereprehend & admon••she an other, that (as it is vv••••••••en) he 〈…〉〈…〉 lōger the cōpany of an other vvoman, & that he take heede he fall not. vvhich novv abstaineth from one, & in stede therof, retaineth tvvo lustier & liuelyer peeces at home, & if he trauell anyvvhither, he leadeth thē vvith him being al set vpon the full & delicate pleasure. For vvhich 〈◊〉〈◊〉 cūstance, all do sobbe & sighe secretly, trē••ling at his povver & tyrannie, & dare nor accuse him, but these things as vve haue sayd before are of such importāce that they vvould cause a catholicke person vvere he neuer so deare a frende vnto vs, to be sharply rebuked. As for him vvhich fell from the mysterie of our faith, & discried the det••stable heresie of Artemas (no∣thing amisse if novv at lēgth vve name the father of the child) we thinke him neuer able to rēder accōpta of his mischeuous actes. Againe about the end of the epistle they write thus: * 1.7 vvherfore necessitie cōs••taining v•• so to do vve excōmunicated the svvorne aduersary of God vvhich yel∣ded not a lote, & placed in his rovvme Dōn••s a mā bedecked vvith allgifts required in a bishop, sōne to Dem••••ri••••us of vvorthy memory the predecessor of Paulus, & him as vve are pesvvaded, by the prouidēce of God, vve ordained bishop, & certified you to vvrite vnto him, to the ende ye like vvise might receaue from him againe letters of friendly cōsent, & amitie. novv let Paulus vvrite to Artemas, & let the cōplices of Artemas cōmunicate vvith him. But of these things thus farre. Paulus together with his right faith was depriued also of his bishoprike, & Domnus (as it is written before) succeeded him, being chosen by the synode bishop of Antioch. & whē Paulus would not depart the church, neither voyde the house, the emperour Aurelianus being besought, decreed very well, & cōmaūded by edi••••▪ the house should be allotted for such as y^• bishops of Italic & Rome with vniforme cōseut in doctrine▪ appointed for the place. After this sort was Paulus with greate shame, vanished y^• church by secular power. & thus was Aurelianus thē affected towards vs, but in processe of time he so e••••raunged him selfe, that welnygh through the lewde motion of some men he moued persecution against vs, & much talke was blased farre & nygh toutching him. * 1.8 but whē he had raysed persecution against vs, & now welnygh subscribed to a publicke edict preiudicial to our affaires, the iust iudgement of God ouertooke him & hindred his purpose, crāping as it were his knuckles, making manifest vnto all men, that the princes of this world, haue neuer any power to practise ought against the church of God, vnlesse the inuincible myght of God, for discipline & conuersion of his people according vnto his deuine & celestiall wisdome graunt pardon or licence to bring any thing about, in what time it shall please him best. When Aurelianus had held the im∣periall scepter the space of sixe yeares, * 1.9 Probus succeeded him. And agayne after sixe yeares Ca∣rus came in his place, together with Carinus and N••••erianus his sonnes. Againe when these had continewed scarse three yeares Diocletianus was chosen emperour. and by his meanes they were promoted, vnder whome persecution and the ouerthrow of the churches preuayled. a little before the raygne of this Dioclet••••••, Di••••y••••••s byshop of Rome dyed, when he had gouerned the church nyne yeares, whome Feli•• succeeded.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cap. 30. after the greeke.
• * 1.2

  The byshops assembled at Antioch vn∣to Dionysius b. of Rome, and maximus b. of Alexandria.
• * 1.3

  The subtle••y of the here∣ticke.
• * 1.4

  Samosetenus the hereticke is here pain∣ted in his co∣lours.
• * 1.5

  1. Timoth. 6.
• * 1.6

  Such a proud preacher was Herod in the actes. 12.
• * 1.7

  Paul{us} Samo¦satenus was excommuni∣cated by the councell and Domuns pla¦ced in his rowme.
• * 1.8

  Aurelianus was not able to subscribe to an edict a∣gainst the Christians. Tacitus was emperour 6. moneths, & Florianus 80▪ daies althogh there is here no mention made of thē.
• * 1.9

  Probus was crowned em∣perour Ann. Dom. 279. Carus began to raigne an. Dom. 285. Diocletian was chosen emperour ann. Do. 287. vnder whom the tenth persecution of the primi∣tiue church•• was raysed against the churche of God. Cap. 31. in the Greeke.