A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

JULIUS.

JULIUS, was ordain'd Bishop of Rome, in the Year 334, or 335. He call'd a Council at Rome, in which St. Athanasius was declar'd Innocent; and wrote a Letter to the Bishops of the East, of * 1.1 which we have given an Extract, when we gave an Account of the Works of St. Athanasius. He sent his Legates to the Council of Sardica, and wrote a Letter to those of Alexandria, wherein he Con∣gratulates the return of St. Athanasius to them. These two Letters are genuine, and are to be found in the Works of St. Athanasius. The Eutychians have attributed to Pope Julius, a Letter concerning the Incarnation, address'd to one Dionysius, which Gennadius believ'd to be truly his; tho' he ob∣serves, That tho' it might be useful in the time of this Pope, against those that admitted Two Persons in Jesus Christ; yet it prov'd pernicious after the Heresy of Eutyches and Timotheus, which it very much favour'd. But this Letter has been rejected by Hypatius, in a Conference at Constantinople, with the Acephali; by Facundus, B. VII. Ch. 1. By Eulogius, in his Third Discourse; and by Leontius of Constantinople, Book of Sects, Ch. 8. who have all affirmed, That 'twas written by Apollina∣rius, and by the Eutychians, and falsly attributed to Pope Julius. There is another Letter of Ju∣lius, about the Incarnation, to Docus, which is also cited in the Council of Ephesus, Art. 1. Facundus has acknowledg'd it for Genuine; and Vincentius Lirinensis, says, that in that Council, The Faith of the Church, was confirm'd by the Testimony of Pope Julius. Ephrem has also ac∣knowledg'd it for Genuine, as appears by an Extract out of his Third Book of Laws, related by Photius. Anastasius, has cited it in his Collections about the Incarnation, as written by Acacius. Leon∣tius only has rejected it in his Treatise of Sects, where he affirms, That 'tis the Work of Timotheus, a Disciple of Apollinarius, as was prov'd then by many Copies. He adds, nevertheless, That 'tis not at all contrary to the Faith, and that 'tis no great matter whose it is. In short, the same Leontius, af∣firms, That there were no Writings of Julius in his time (which must be understood with an excep∣tion to those that are extant in St. Athanasius,) and that the Seven Epistles which bear his Name, were Apollinarius's. And truly, there is no probability, that Julius wrote Letters about the Incarnation at a time when there was no Question, but about the Trinity: Besides, 'tis known, that the Euty∣chians, were wont to attribute the Works of Apollinarius, to the Fathers, who had the Reputation of Catholicks, as St. Athanasius, St. Gregory, and St. Cyril, that so they might deceive the People, and engage them unto their Heresy.

I say nothing of the two Decretal Epistles attributed to Pope Julius, because they are plainly sup∣posititious. This Pope died in the Year 352, and was succeeded by Liberius. The Author of Dama∣••us's Pontifical, Usuardus, Ado, and some others, relate, That he was Banish'd for the space of Ten Months, till the Death of Constantius: But this cannot be maintain'd, for Julius never suffer'd any Persecution, nor any Banishment, for the Defence of St. Athanasius, since this Father says not one word of it in his Books, who would never have fail'd to charge the Arians with the Banishment of Julius, as well as with that of Liberius, and other Bishops of his Party.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Julius.