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Hær. 57.

fication, they imagined' a sow with her litter was seen to A. D. 390. issue from the mouth, and a fire, which did not burn, to 'S.August. enter in. "Thus these thrice miserable beings refuse all tom.8.p.19. "labour (for they call themselves Spiritual), and while they pretend to pray only, sleep away most of the day. Then they pretend that they receive revelations, and they utter prophecies which are falsified by the event. They boast of "seeing with their bodily eyes, the Father, the Son, and the "All-Holy Spirit, and that they receive sensibly the Holy "Ghost, when He comes upon them. They denied that Theod. anything, good or bad, was derived from the Divine Food 4. 11. "of which the Lord Christ said, He that eateth My Flesh and "drinketh My Blood shall live for ever3. They got the name Theod. "of Enthusiasts, from their extravagant transports in prayer.

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Hær. Fab.

4

Hist. 4. 10.

ibid.

They would suddenly leap, and say that they had leaped over the evil spirits; and that they were shooting at them, "while they imitated the action of a man drawing a bow. If Hær. Fab. 66 any one were asked whether he was a Prophet, a Patriarch, "an Angel, or even CHRIST, they would shew at once their puerility and their presumption by affirming it. They "Epiph. § 3. "held that a man might attain perfection so as not only "to resemble, but to equal GoD in virtue and knowledge, "and that in this state a man could not sin even ignorantly "or in thought. They did not separate from the Com- * s. Hier. "munion of the Church'. They concealed their doctrines, and dial, adv. "would deny them when convicted, and even when pressed Pelag. "would anathematize such as held them." The leaders of 8 Hær. Fab. this heresy were Adelphius, who was neither Monk nor Clerk, but a simple layman; Sabas, who had put on the garb of a Monk, and from his treatment of himself was called Apocopus; another Sabas, Eustathius of Edessa, Dadöes, Hermas and Symeones.

Proem. in

Hist. ibid.

ibid.

Their con

9 Hist. ibid.

[ ' ἀρχιε

When Flavian, Bishop' of Antioch, heard of their being at XXVI. Edessa and of spreading their poison in its neighbourhood, demnation. he sent a body of Monks, who brought them to Antioch. They constantly denied the charges brought against them, peùs.] but were convicted in the following manner. Flavian pretended that he was satisfied of the falsehood of the witnesses and the weakness of their cause; he addressed Adelphius (who was a very old man) courteously, placed him at his side, and

A. D. 390. engaged him in a private conversation which the younger, he said, were unfit to hear, but in which they, from the experience which years had given them, both of grace and the stratagems of evil spirits, might fitly join. "Tell me then," said Flavian, "how ye say that the evil spirit departs and the "Grace of the All-Holy Spirit comes upon man." The old man, flattered, emitted all his hidden poison; "Baptism," said he, "is of no avail. Earnest prayer alone drives out the "in-dwelling evil spirit. Each man inherits from his first "parents not only his own nature, but the service of the " evil spirits. When these are banished by earnest prayer, "then comes down the All-Holy Spirit, who makes His "presence sensible and visible, delivers the body from the "motions of the passions, and the soul from all inclination "to evil. Not only so, but the purified man clearly foresees "things to come, and visibly beholds the Divine Trinity." Flavian then turned to the miserable old man, and said to him in the words of Scripture, "O thou that art waxen old in "wickedness, not I, thine own mouth hath convicted thee; "thine own lips have borne witness against thee'."

1 Hist. Susanna, v.52,

55.

No. 52.

He afterwards held a council' with three Bishops, who met Phot.Bibl. apparently at Antioch, with thirty Priests and Deacons. The three Bishops were Bizus of Seleucia, Maruthas of Sopharene near Mesopotamia, and Samus, whose See is unknown. Although Adelphius confessed his repentance, and that he renounced his heresy, the council notwithstanding condemned both him and his accomplices, for they were convicted of insincerity in their abjuration, by being discovered communicating in writing with those whom they had condemned as Massalians, as really holding the same opinions. Flavian wrote a letter to the faithful of the province of Osdroene, in which Edessa was situated, to acquaint them with all that had passed, and how the heretics had been overthrown and anathematized. The Bishops of Osdroene thanked Flavian, and concurred in what he had done. However, there still remained a great number of Massalians in Syria.

The Massalians, after being driven from Edessa, retired

These words are Fleury's: the Fathers draw a distinction between Scripture and Canonical Scripture. St. Ambrose

(Ep. 63. A.D. 396. p. 1026.) says "The

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Scripture saith, Fasting and alms de"liver from sin." Tobit 12. 8, 9.

into Pamphylia. St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, and A. D. 390. [Metropolitan] of Lycaonia, which bordered on Pamphylia, delivered the Province from the contagion, by summoning a Council of five-and-twenty Bishops besides himself, at Sida, the Metropolis of Pamphylia [Prima]. They directed a Synodical letter to St. Flavian, of Antioch, with an account of their proceedings. St. Amphilochius exposed' the error of [1 dornṛltheir doctrine more plainly than had been done before, by τευσεν.] inserting in the Acts of the Council the very words, which the Massalians used', and which plainly shewed their hetero- Hær. Fab. doxy. Letoïus too, Bishop of Melitine in Armenia, wrote to St. Flavian for information on this matter, and was informed of the condemnation of the Massalians. Upon this, full of zeal and shocked at seeing many monasteries infected with this pestilential heresy, he set them on fire and drove the wolves from the sheep-folds. They received, however, some Theod. protection from another Bishop in Armenia, with whom Hist. 4. 10. St. Flavian was, in consequence, obliged to remonstrate1.

4. 11.

4 Phot. No.

6

52.

Schism at

Antioch.

Capua.

Soz. 15.

Hieron. an.

275.

'Theod. 5.

23.

The schism at Antioch still continued. Bishop Paulinus XXVII. died about the year 389, but his adherents still refused to acknowledge Flavian. They had another Bishop, viz. the Council of Priest Evagrius, a friend of St. Jerome, and son of Pom-Soc. 5.15. peianus, of an illustrious family at Antioch. Paulinus had Chron. established him during his lifetime by himself, thereby violating several canons, those namely which prohibited a Bishop's consecrating his successor, required all the Bishops of the province to be summoned to the ordination, and three at least to assist at it. However the Western Church did [VideCan. not scruple to acknowledge Evagrius as Bishop of Antioch, l. 75.) et Apost.1,67. and to correspond with him as they had done with Paulinus, Conc. Nic. whose adherents still reproached Flavian for having violated Respons. 8. his oath, pretending that when a Priest he had sworn with S. August. the rest, not to appoint a successor to Meletius during the Cantuar.] lifetime of Paulinus. Thus on both sides each relied more on the invalidity of his rival's ordination, than on the validity of his own. A Council was held at Capua' in Italy, where all those who professed the Catholic faith, were admitted to communion, and as to the dispute between Evagrius and 3 p. 65.

y Descendant of Pompeianus, for the S. Hier. Chron. ubi in marg. laud. latter fought against Zenobia, A.D. 275.

c. 4. vide

S. Greg. ad

S. Ambr. Ep. 56. § 5. [Vid.Mans.

3.

A.D. 391.] 1 Ibid. § 2.

A. D. 391. Flavian, it was referred to Theophilus of Alexandria and the Egyptian Bishops, who were presumed to be unbiassed, from not having embraced the communion of either2.

1 Ep. ap. S. Ambr. P. 1008.

not. and

de Instit.

Dissert, de

cum not. Bened.

4 Gennad.

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The same Council of Capua referred' the judging of Bonosus Bishop of Sardica to the neighbouring Bishops, particularly to those of Macedonia, with Anysius of ThessaIbid. c. 4. lonica their Metropolitana. Bonosus attacked', as did JoviS. Ambr. nian, the perpetual virginity of St. Mary, pretending that she had had other children after the birth of our Saviour. He Virg. § 35. not. tom. 2. even denied our Lord's Divinity in the same manner as P: 257. Mar.Marc. Photinus, so that the Photinians were afterwards called 12. Anath. Bonosiacs'. The Bishops of Macedonia would have referred $15.p.128. the judging of Bonosus to the Bishops of Italy; but the [165.] S. Ambr. latter answered them thus: "Since the Council of Capua ibid. § 65. "has nominated you to be judges, it is no longer in our power to act in that capacity; you alone are invested with ap. S. Hier. "the authority of the Council." We here see an instance of ad Audent. the deference which Bishops paid to their brethren, and how Cf. Conc. fearful they were of encroaching upon each other's authority; and this example is so much the more remarkable, as some even among the Roman party ascribe this letter of the Italian Rom.p.169. Bishops to the Pope Siricius. At last Bonosus' cause was judged by Anysius of Thessalonica and the rest of the MaceEp.Innoc. donian Bishops, by whom it was decreed that all those whom 1. 22. [17.] § 5. he had ordained, since and notwithstanding his suspension, should be acknowledged as duly ordained. The Macedonian Bishops by this decree acted against the common practice, but they were obliged to do it, lest the clerks, ordained by Bonosus, by continuing with him, should increase the scandal.

Catal. c. 15.

tom.5. p. 30.

Arelat.A.D.

451.c.16,17.

$ Holst. Collect.

6

Evagrius was urgent to have the decree of the Council of

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S. Ambr. Ep. 56. [A.D.392.]

Capua put into execution; but Flavian would not submit to A. D. 391. it, nor to the judgment of the Egyptian Bishops; on the contrary he again began to present petitions to the Emperor, and seek protection from him. Theophilus of Alexandria wrote to St. Ambrose upon this subject, who answered him in these terms: Evagrius' has no reason to be so urgent, and "Flavian has cause to fear, and therefore avoids the trial. "Let our brethren pardon our just grief; the world is "troubled on their account; yet they do not sympathize "with our grief, nor choose what appertaineth to the peace "of CHRIST." He proceeds: "Again must the aged' Bishops § 3. "be distressed, again must they leave the Holy Altars to cross "the seas: again must crowds of indigent Bishops, whose "poverty used not to oppress them, be reduced to want "themselves, or at any rate to use for their journey, what "else had fed the poor. Meanwhile Flavian alone fancies § 4. "himself exempt from the laws; neither the decrees of the "Emperor nor the assembly of the Bishops can prevail upon "him to appear in person. However we do not upon that '§ 5. "account consider our brother Evagrius to be altogether in "the right; it is with grief that we perceive that each lays "greater stress upon the invalidity of his opponent's ordina"tion, than on the validity of his own." He goes on: "You "must therefore again urge our brother Flavian, and if he 3 § 6. persists in his refusal, we must then take measures for "the preservation of peace among all, pursuant to the "Council of Capua, whose decree must not be rendered "ineffectual by the attempts of either party to avoid it. "Moreover we are of opinion, that it would be proper for § 7. you to refer your decision to our holy Brother the Bishop "of Rome; for we do not doubt but that the judgment you "shall pronounce, will meet with his approbation; and the "only means of establishing a solid peace, will be for us all "to concur in what you shall decide and he approve."

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7

Hist. 5. 23.

The Pope also complained to the Emperor of the con- Theod. duct of Flavian. "You humble," he says, "those tyrants "who rise against you, but those who assail the laws of "Christ you leave unpunished." Theodosius immediately on his return to Constantinople in November, A. D. 391, had sent for Flavian, and commanded him to go to Rome;

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