logies of our Saviour, as not agreeing with his extravagant MARCUS theory that Christ did not assume a real body. Montanus and his Schism. A.D. 168. 101. In addition to the sects which united Christianity and philosophy, there arose, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, an illiterate sect, opposed to all learning and philosophy. They took their name from Montanus, an obscure man of weak judgment, who, about the year 168, became notorious at Pepuza, a village of Mysia, on the confines of Phrygia, whence they were sometimes called Phrygians, or Cataphrygians. Montanus was a wild enthusiast, who pretended to an extraordinary degree of inspiration, and affirmed himself to be the Paraclete or Comforter, and that he was sent to perfect the moral doctrines of Christ. He made a distinction between the Comforter promised by Christ to his Apostles, and the Holy Spirit which was shed upon them on the day of Pentecost, and considered the former as a Divine teacher, which character he himself assumed. Averse to the arts which improve and the enjoyments which embellish human life, Montanus and his followers anathematized learning and philosophy, and were distinguished by extreme austerity: they held the heavier sins, as apostacy, murder, and adultery, to be irremissible, and maintained that Christians sinned grievously who saved their lives by flight in the time of persecution. It does not appear that Montanus was heretical in the fundamental articles of our faith; but on account of his practices he was excluded from connection with AURELIUS. 101. When did the Montanists arise? What were the tenets of the Montanists? Were they heretics or schismatics? By what other names were they known? Name some of the principal followers of Montanus. AURELIUS. MARCUS the Church. The severity of his discipline led some persons of no mean condition to put faith in him, especially two ladies of quality, Priscilla and Maximilla, who left their husbands to preach in public, according to the dictates of their prophetic Spirit, which was generally exerted in denunciations of woe to the world, particularly to the Roman empire. Of all his followers, the most distinguished was the learned and austere Tertullian. Miltiades, Apollinaris, Apollonius, Serapion, Caius, Asterius, and Urbanus wrote against the Montanists; and they were condemned by the Council of Iconium, about A.D. 235. Bardesanes his Heresy. A.D. 172. 102. Bardesanes, a native of Edessa, in Messopotamia, a man of great acumen, and distinguished for many learned productions, one of which was directed against the heretic Marcion, flourished also in this reign. Seduced by his attachment to the oriental philosophy, he became infected with Gnostic errors, holding the doctrine of two principles, and with Valentinus denying the resurrection of the dead, an believing that Jesus was a phantom. He acknowledged, indeed, the Law and the Prophets, together with the New Testament, but admitted several Apocryphal books along with them; still he was held to be orthodox* His followers, however, added new errors to his own, and were called Bardesanestes. The case of Bardesanes is cited to prove the prevalence of Gnosticism in the second century, for he was accounted orthodox, although he believed in the doctrine of a good and evil principle. Mention the names of the principal writers against Montanism. By what 102. Who was Bardesanes, and when did he flourish? What was the nature of his heresy? *[Note.] What does the case of Bardesanes prove? The Thundering A.D. 174. 103. The Emperor Aurelius was MARCUS engaged in a war against the Mar- AURELIUS. comanni, a people of Germany, in the year 174. His troops were ready to perish with thirst, when their sufferings were relieved by a sudden shower of rain, at the same time that the enemy was discomfited by a storm of thunder and hail. These occurrences have been accounted miracles wrought by the prayers of the Christian soldiers in one particular legion, which consequently obtained the name of The Thundering Legion. But as no event is to be accounted a miracle if it can be fairly attributed to the ordinary operation of nature, we may hesitate about placing these occurrences in the list of miraculous events. Moreover, it is certain that one of the Roman legions was called The Thundering Legion before the time of Aurelius. Emperor, however, believing in the reality of the, miracle, wrote to the Senate of Rome in favour of the Christians, ordering that those accused as such should be acquitted, and their accusers put to death. The Martyrs at Lyons and Vienne. The 104. In the year 177, a most bloody persecution arose at Lyons and Vienne, in Gaul. The brutal cruelty of the Pagans exceeded all that had been experienced before, as we learn from a letter sent by the Christians of those cities to the Churches of Asia* and Phrygia, and preserved by Eusebius. The A.D. 177. * It is supposed that Polycarp | sent missionaries into Gaul, and 103. Give an account of the Thundering Legion. Was this occurrence miraculous? What was the consequence of it with regard to the Christians? 104. From what source do we derive our information of the persecution at Lyons and Vienne in the reign of Aurelius? Give an account of that persecuWhat was the command of Aurelius upon the subject? Name some of the most distinguished sufferers. *[Note.] From whence is the Church of which Irenæus was Bishop said to have been derived? tion. MARCUS AURELIUS. Christians were hunted from their houses, forbidden to shew their heads, dragged from place to place, plundered, stoned, cast into prison, and there treated with all the marks of ungovernable fury: their slaves, too, were tortured to charge their masters with abominable crimes in private. Numbers who confessed themselves Christians, after undergoing exquisite torments, were put to death, and their mangled remains thrown into the Rhone; and a few who denied their faith, upon witnessing the steadfastness of their brethren recovered their firmness and suffered like the rest. One Attalus endured great torture; but the Governor, upon learning that he was a Roman citizen, became afraid of committing himself with a privileged person, and wrote to know the Emperor's pleasure. Aurelius answered that "those who confessed themselves Christians. should suffer, but those who renounced the faith should be dismissed." Neither age nor sex was spared: Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons, a venerable person of 90 years of age, and an admirable woman named Blandina, were among the most distinguished sufferers. 105. During the persecution at Lyons, Irenæus. } Irenæus, a Presbyter of the Church there, was despatched to Rome* with a letter to Eleutherus, the Bishop of that see, touching his Montanism. To his absence on this mission Irenæus probably owed his life. He was a native of Asia Minor, and a pupil of Polycarp. After his many traces of a connexion be- | Valentinus, against whose errors tween the Christians there and in Asia Minor exist. *Here he probably met with his great work was subsequently directed. 105. Give a biography of Irenæus, with an account of his works. Christianity in return from Rome he was made Bishop of Lyons, in the room of the martyr Pothinus, in which position he acted with so much wisdom and zeal that, according to Gregory of Tours, he made almost all the city Christians. He died, probably by martyrdom, in the year 202. This pious and diligent Prelate composed several works, of which, however, few remain. Parts of the whole of his great work, A Refutation of Knowledge, falsely so called,* ("EXEYXos Kai ̓Ανατροπὴ τῆς ψευδωνύμου Γνώσεως) are extant in the original Greek, and there is an ancient Latin version of the whole. 106. There is a tradition that in the latter part of the second century, probably about the year 178, Lucius, a king or chieftain of Britain, applied to Eleutherus, Bishop of Rome, for assistance with regard to instruction in religion, and that two eminent men were consequently sent over from Rome, by whose means Christianity was widely diffused in this island. Hence Lucius has been called the first Christian king; but we must remember that he and his dominions were dependent upon the Romans, and consequently we cannot regard this as the first establishment of Christianity by human laws. It is probable that Christianity prevailed in Britain before this time, but Lucius may have been the first British chief who embraced it. It would be natural for him A.D. 178. * In this work Irenæus says, we can name the men the Apostles made Bishops in their several Churches,appointing them their successors," whence he shows 106. Who has been called the first Christian king of Britain? Do you consider that he is correctly so called? Why would it be natural for him to apply to Rome for instructions? MARCUS AURELIUS. |