"Having assembled together, and having searched into the words of salvation, we have been convinced that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are con-substantial. It is right that we should communicate with you by letter, not for the purpose of explaining the mystery of the Trinity by sophistical reasoning, but in order to advert to the subject with humility, in the hope of grace being accorded to us. We have sent this letter by Elpidius the presbyter, our beloved brother and fellow-labourer. The following are words not to be found in the volumes written by men, but in the book of our Saviour Jesus Christ: 'I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ. Was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?' (1 Cor. i. 12, 13.) We might have omitted writing to you on account of the horror which was felt throughout all the provinces, when you proclaimed that the Holy Ghost is separate from the Father and from the Son; but we deemed it requisite to send to you from the metropolis of the Roman empire our fellow-labourer the lord Elpidius, for the purpose of delivering this letter2 to you, and of ascertaining whether this doctrine is really preached by you. For whoever does not preach that the three Persons of the Trinity are con-substantial, let him be anathema. And whoever holds communion with those of such sentiments, let him also be anathema. But those are the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven who preach at all times, and in every place, that the three Divine Persons are con-substantial. We exhort you then, brethren, not to hold or teach any other doctrine, but always to preach that the three Persons of the Trinity are of the same substance, in order that you may be the inheritors of the kingdom of God.

1

'Having written these things, we proceed to speak about the election of bishops. On the death of a bishop, if any one of his family be capable of the office, the vacant appointment

1 Baronius considers that this Elpidius was a Roman presbyter, but Valesius imagines that he was one of the Illyrian bishops, and probably the same Elpidius to whom Basil the Great addressed his 322nd Letter.

The epistle of the synod held at Rome and of Pope Damasus, which they had given with their own letters to Elpidius, that he might go on his embassy into Asia duly fortified with authority. For this embassy, adds Valesius, could not have been undertaken without the authority of the Roman pontiff. The epistle itself is to be found above, book ii. chap. 22

must be given to him; but otherwise one of the presbytery must be elected to fill it. In the same way the offices of presbyter and of deacon must be conferred only on the clergy, in order that they may be irreproachable. Such appointments must not be given to those who belong to the court or to the army. We have not written to you at greater length because we have sent our colleague, the lord Elpidius, who will ascertain what doctrine is preached by you, and whether it be that which was intimated to us by Eustathius our lord and fellowminister. If you were then deceived, throw off now the old man, and put on the new. Elpidius, our brother and fellowminister, will teach you how to declare the true faith, which is, that the holy and con-substantial God the Father, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is sanctified, glorified, and manifested the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father, with the Holy Ghost, unto all ages. When this doc

trine has been made evident to you, we shall all agree in confessing that the three Persons of the Holy Trinity are con-substantial, according to the ancient formulary of the faith drawn up at Nice, and established by the fathers. By preaching this doctrine we shall escape the snares of the evil demon. When we have overcome him, we will keep up a friendly intercourse with you by letter, and we will live in peace. We subjoin for your information the names of those who have been deposed on account of Arianism, for they would not confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to be con-substantial. Their names are as follows: Polychronicus, Telemachus, Faustus, Asclepiades, Amantius, and Cleopater.2

We

"May all things be to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever, Amen. pray to the Father, and to the Son our Saviour Christ, with the Holy Ghost, that you may enjoy prosperity and health for many years to come.'

1 The text and meaning here are both ambiguous: we have given the version to which Valesius is disposed to adhere, as being the simplest and best.

It is supposed by Valesius that these were all bishops of Illyria.

CHAP. X.-HERESY OF THE AUDIANS.

THUS did this emperor, who was so worthy of the highest praise, endeavour to preserve the purity of the apostolical doctrines. About the same period, Audius, a native of Syria, promulgated some new doctrines. He had devised these depraved doctrines some time previously, but now, for the first time, he made them public. Having never rightly under

stood these words, "Let us make man in our own image and in our likeness," he took it for granted that God had a human form and a body consisting of parts. In the Holy Scriptures the names of various parts of the human body are often given to the Divine modes of acting; but this is in order to meet the feebleness of men's minds, and to render the providential care of God more intelligible. To this impiety he added other errors. He adopted some of the foolish opinions of Manes, affirming that God, the Creator of the universe, made neither fire nor darkness. But the members of this and of similar sects keep their opinions concealed. They allege as a reason for having separated from our ecclesiastical assemblies, that some among us demand the most hateful usury, and that others carry on an illicit intercourse with unmarried women; while those, they say, who are free from these particular vices, admit all who practise them to communion. Such are the reasons which they advance to account for their schism, and to conceal the blasphemy of their doctrines. But this pretext is full of pride, and is derived from the doctrine of the Pharisees. These latter accused Him who was the Physician of the soul and of the body, and said to the holy apostles, Why doth your Master eat with publicans and sinners ?" (Matt. ix.) Of such men God thus spoke by the mouth of the prophet: "Those who say, Come not near to me, I am holier than thou, these are the smoke of my fury." (Isa. lxv.) But this is not the time to dwell upon their folly. I must proceed to the relation of the remainder of the narrative.

CHAP. XI.-HERESY OF THE MESSALIANS.

ABOUT the same time the heresy of the Messalians sprang Those who have rendered their name into Greek call them Euchites. Besides the above, they bear other appella

up.

tions. They are sometimes called Enthusiasts, because they regard the agitating influences of a demon by whom they are possessed as indications of the presence of the Holy Ghost. Those who have thoroughly imbibed this heresy shun all manual labour as a vice; they abandon themselves to sleep, and declare their dreams to be prophecies. The following were the leaders of this sect; Dadoes, Sabbas, Adelphius, Hermes, Symeon, and many others. They never seceded from communion with the church, because they believed that the holy food there provided was innoxious although useless. Whereas Christ the Lord, in allusion to this food, says, "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood shall live for ever." Their great desire of concealing their error leads them shamelessly to deny it, even when convicted of it, and induces them to condemn in others the very sentiments which they hold themselves. Letoius, bishop of the church of Melitene, on finding that these errors were entertained in numerous monasteries, which were, in reality, so many caverns of robbers, set fire to them all in the plenitude of his zeal, and chased the wolves far away from the sheepfold. The celebrated Amphilochus was the bishop of the metropolis of Lycaonia, and therefore ruled over the whole province on being apprized of the extension of this heresy, he preserved, by his vigilance, the flock committed to his care free from the contagion. The renowned Flavian, who was afterwards bishop of Antioch, hearing that these sectarians were at Edessa, and that they disseminated their corrupt opinions throughout the neighbourhood, sent a body of monks to bring them to Antioch. They there denied the fact of their being infected with these doctrines, and declared that their accusers calumniated them, and bore false witness against them. Flavian requested Adelphius, who was an old man, to come to him; and, after desiring him in a kindly manner to sit down beside him, said to him, "We, O old man, who have lived a long time, must be better acquainted with human nature and with the inimical machinations of demons, and must also have learnt more respecting the supply of Divine grace, than the other persons of the assembly, who, being young, and not having yet acquired accurate information, are not capable of understanding spiritual discourses. Tell me, then, what you mean by saying, that the

hostile spirit departs when the Holy Spirit comes with grace?" The old man being gained over by these words, disclosed the hidden poison of this heresy: he said, that the holy rite of baptism was of no benefit to those who received it, and that perseverance in prayer alone could expel the demon which dwells within us; "because," said he, "every one who is born is, by nature, as much the slave of the demons as he is the descendant of the first man. When the demons are driven away by the fervency of prayer, the most Holy Spirit visits us, and gives sensible and visible signs of his own presence, by freeing the body from the perturbation of passion, and the soul from evil propensities; so that, henceforth, there is no more need of fasting for the subjugation of the body, nor of instruction for the restraint and direction of the soul. Whoever has enjoyed this visitation is delivered from all inward struggles; he clearly foresees the future, and gazes with his own eyes upon the Holy Trinity." Flavian, having thus discovered the fetid fountain-head of error, and having detected the evil streams which issued from it, said to this wretched old man, "You, who have grown old in sin, have convicted yourself by your own mouth, without any interposition on my part. Your own lips have borne witness against you." The unsound principles of these sectarians having been thus detected, they were expelled from Syria. They went to Pamphylia, and propagated their injurious heresy throughout the province.

CHAP. XII.-THE MODE IN WHICH VALENS WAS SEDUCED

INTO HERESY.

I SHALL now proceed to relate the rest of the history; and shall describe the commencement of that tempest which excited so many evils in the church. Valens held the doctrines of the apostles when he was first put in possession of the imperial power. The Goths having passed the Danube and invaded Thrace, be raised an army, intending to march against them. But he reflected, that he ought not to rush into danger destitute of the protection of Divine grace, but that he ought first to obtain the complete armour of God, by means of the holy rite of baptism. This was a wise and prudent reflection. See Ammianus Marcellinus, b. xxvii. chap. 5.