The history of the church from our Lords incarnation, to the twelth year of the Emperour Maricius Tiberius, or the Year of Christ 594 / as it was written in Greek, by Eusebius Pamphilius ..., Socrates Scholasticus, and Evagrius Scholasticus ... ; made English from that edition of these historians, which Valesius published at Paris in the years 1659, 1668, and 1673 ; also, The life of Constantine in four books, written by Eusibius Pamphilus, with Constantine's Oration to the convention of the saints, and Eusebius's Speech in praise of Constantine, spoken at his tricennalia ; Valesius's annotations on these authors, are done into English, and set at their proper places in the margin, as likewise a translation of his account of their lives and writings ; with two index's, the one, of the principal matters that occur in the text, the other, of those contained in the notes.

CHAP. XIX. Serapion's [Opinion] concerning the Heresie of the Cataphrygians.

BUt Serapion, (who, as report says, was a∣bout this time Bishop of the Church of An∣tioch after Maximinus,) makes mention of the writings of Apollinaris against the foresaid he∣resie: he mentions him in that Epistle he wrote to a 1.1 Caricus and Ponticus; wherein, refuting the same heresie, he subjoyns these words;

And that you may see, that the operation of that dis∣sembling party called the b 1.2 New-prophesie is abo∣minated c 1.3 by all the Brotherhood in the world, I have sent you also the Letters of Claudius Apolli∣naris of most blessed memory, who was Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia.

In that same Epistle of Serapion's, are contained the subscriptions of se∣veral Bishops. One of whom has subscribed thus, I Aurelius Cyrenius Martyr wish You health: another, after this manner, Aelius Publius Ju∣lius Bishop of d 1.4 Develtum a Colony of Thracia: As God liveth who is in heaven, Sotas of blessed memory, who e 1.5 was at Anchialus, would have cast out Priscilla's devil, but the Hypocrites would not suffer him. In the said Letters are extant the subscriptions of many other Bishops, written with their own hands, who were of the same o∣pinion with these. And of this sort were the mat∣ters appertaining to the said [Hereticks.]

Notes

• a 1.1

  Eusebius (in his 6^th B. cha. 12.) calls these men [Pon∣tius and Caricus.] Jerom (in Catalogo) calls them Carinus, and Pon∣tius. Vales.
• b 1.2

  So the Ancients termed the prophesie of Montanus and his associates; as may be seen from Tertullian, de Jejuniis; Jerom, in Catalogo; Firmilian, in his Epistle to Cyprian; and the old Authour quoted by our Eusebius, chap. 16. of this B. Vales.
• c 1.3

  The reading of the Maz. Med. Fuk. and Savill M. SS. agrees with our translation, to wit, [by all the Brotherhood in the world.] The Kings M. S. and Robert Stephens read it thus [by all the Brotherhood in Christ, over the whole world.] Vales.
• d 1.4

  Debeltum, or Develtum, a Colony in Thracia, is mentioned by Geographers, and in the old Coyns, which John Tristan put forth. Anchialus also, hereafter named, is a City of Thracia, sufficiently known. But why should the subscriptions of the Bishops of Thracia be put to the Epistle of Serapion Bishop of Antioch? If I may make a con∣jecture, I suppose the Bishops of Thracia had written an Epistle to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia against Montanus's Prophecy; wherein they gave their opinion thereof, after the same manner that those of Vienna and Lyons did, as our Eusebius related before. That these sub∣scriptions were put to the bottom of some Epistle, 'tis apparent from Cyrenus's subscription here mentioned. But 'tis no way likely that those Bishops did subscribe Serapions Epistle; (1) because Eusebius does not say so, but onely that the subscriptions of many Bishops were contained in Serapions Letter, as was also Apollinaris's Epistle to the said Serapion. For Serapion did this with good advisement, that he might confute the heresie of Montanus by the authority of many Bishops. (2) How could the Bishops of Thracia subscribe the letter of a Bishop of Antioch? 'Tis most probable therefore, as I said, that the Bishops of Thracia had with a joynt consent written to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia. Vales.
• e 1.5

  That is, Bishop of Anchialus, a City of Thracia, as we said be∣fore. This Sotas the Bishop, hearing of this new Prophecy, sailed out of Thracia into Phry∣gia, where having seen Priscilla, not filled with the holy Spirit, but actuated by the devill, he undertook to cast him out of her by Exor∣cism. Not onely Sotas, but also many other Bishops went at that time into Phrygia, to examine that new Prophecy, says the Anonymous authour, chapt. 16. of this B. Moreover, we may observe, that Sotas, was dead, when Aelius Julius wrote this; which is shown by the word [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉] a term which the Greeks use when they speak of a dead person: had Sotas been alive; he would doubtless have con∣firmed this thing by his subscription. The same term Serapion uses, when he speaks of Apollinaris, who also was then dead. Vales.