Bishops of Hierusalem.
TO Thermon succeeded Macarius, anno 318. about the 7. yeere of the reigne of Constantine: In his time it is thought, that Helena, the mother of Constantine, founde the Crosse of CHRIST: but Ambrose writes, that shee worshipped it not, for that, saith he, had beene Gentilis error, & vanitas impioram, that is, an errour of Pagans, and vanitie of vngodly people. But now to lay aside the inexcusable fault of adoration of the tree where∣vpon our LORD suffered, What necessity had Helena to bee so serious to seeke out this tree. and to commit it to the custodie. of all posterities? seeing that Ioseph of Arimathea, who sought the body of IESUS at the hands of Pilate, to the end he might burie it honourably, yet sought he not the tree whereon CHRIST was crucified, which with little adoe might haue bene obtained. Se∣condly, during the time that the Crosse was easie to bee found, and e•…•…sie to haue bene discerned from other crosses, How could the blessed virgine the mother of the LORD, and holy Apostles, haue committed such an ouersight, in not keeping that precious treasure, if so be in the keeping of it there be so great deuotion, as the Romane Church now talks of? Thirdly, what is the cause, that the Romane Church brags so much of antiquity? when as the worshipping of the crosse, one of the maine points of their Reli∣gion was vnknowne to the first 300. yeeres of our LORD: & now in the 4 Cent. the crosse is found, but not worshipped yea, and the adoration of it is detested & abhorred, as an error of Pagans.
To Macarius succeeded Maximus, who had be ne his fellow∣labourer, as of old Alexander was to Narcissus. Macarius gouerned the Church of Hierusalem, in the peaceable dayes of Constan∣tine, but Maximus gouerned that same Church himselfe alone, in the dayes of Constantius. Hee was present at the Councill of