after the refurrection, and defcribed the happiness of faints as much confifting in corporeal enjoy. ments. Dionyfius thought the notion danger ous, yet his candour inclined him to entertain a good opinion of Nepos on the whole. He commends his faith, his diligence, his skill in Holy Scripture, and his agreeable pfalmody, with which many of the brethren were delighted. As however he thought his opinions dangerous, he oppofed them. When he was at Arfenoita he spent three days with the brethren infected with the views of Nepos, and explained the subject. He speaks with much commendation of the candor and docility of the people, particularly of Coracion their leader, who owned himself brought over to the fentiments of Dionyfius. The authority of Dionyfius feems to have quafhed the opinions of Nepos in the bud. The confequence of an injudicious and unfcriptural view of the Millennium, rejected and refuted by a bishop of candor, judgement, and authority, was, that the doctrine itielf continued for ages much out of repute. The learned reader need not be told with how much clearer light the doctrine has been revived and confirmed in our days.

Dionyfius finding how much ufe had been made of the Revelation of St. John in fupport of the doctrine of the Millennium, gives his thoughts on the book, confeffing with much modefty his ignorance of its fcope, owning that he did not understand, though he reverenced it.

The fubtilty and reftlefs fpirit of those who corrupted the doctrine of the Trinity have ever had this advantage, that while they without fear or fcruple could say what they pleafe, its defenders are reduced to the neceffity either of leaving the field to them entirely, or of expofing themselves to

the

the fpecious charge of human inventions, or even of fome herefy oppofite to that which they are oppofing. This laft was the cafe of Dionyfius on account of his oppofition to Sabellianifm. The fcantinefs of our ideas, and the extreme difficulty of cloathing with proper expreffions thofe very inadequate ones which we have on a subject fo profound, naturally expofe us to this charge, from which yet the charitable zeal of those who fee through the defigns of heretics, and who love truth, mixt with fome neceffary confufion, above error, though it were the garb of fimplicity, will not be difpofed to fhrink on a proper occafion. Sabellius had taken pains to confound the perfons of the Father and the Son. Dionyfius fhewed, by unequivocal testimony, that the Father was not the fame as the Son, nor the Son the fame as the Father. Dionyfius, bishop of Rome, being informed of these things, affembled a council, in which the doctrine attributed to his name-fake of Alexandria was disapproved, and wrote to him with a view to give him an opportunity of explaining himself.

The bishop of Alexandria with great clearness, candour, and moderation, explained himself at large in a work which he entitled a Refutation and Apology*. In the fmall remains of this work it appears, that he held the confubftantiality of the Son with the Father, and he defcribed the Trinity in Unity, equally fteering clear of the rock of Sabellianifm, which confounds the perfons, and that of Arianifm, which divides the fubitance. And it appears that his teftimony may be added to that of the primitive fathers all along on this fubject.

"The Father, fays he, cannot be feparated from the Son, as he is the Father; for that name at the

* Athan, de Sent.-See Fleury, L. iv. book 7.”

fame

fame time establishes the relation. Neither can the Son be feparated from the Father; for the word Father implies the union; and the Spirit is in their hands, because it cannot exift without him who fends it to him who bears it. Thus we understand the indivifible Unity of the Trinity; and we comprehend the Trinity in the Unity without any diminution." This account was fatisfactory to the whole church, and was allowed to contain the fenfe of chriftians on the doctrine.

In the year two hundred and fixty-four the herefy of Paul of Samofata began to be famous, and a degeneracy both in principle and practice, hitherto very uncommon within the pale of chriftianity, attracted the notice of all who wifhed well to the fouls of men. Paul was the bishop of Antioch: it gives one no very high idea of the ftate of ecclefiaftical difcipline in that renowned church, that fuch a man fhould ever have been placed at its head at all. But it is no new thing for even fincere chriftians to be dazzled with the parts and eloquence of corrupt men. The ideas of this man feem to have been perfectly fecular, and Zenobia of Palmyra, who at that time tiled herfelf Queen of the Eaft, and reigned over a large part of the empire, which had been tora from the indolent hands of Gallienus, defired his inftructions in chriftianity. It does not appear that her motives had any thing in them beyond philofophical curiofity. The mafter and the fcho-. lar were well fuited to each other, and Paul taught her his own conceptions of Jesus Christ, that he was by nature a common man as we are. The disorders of his life and the heterodoxy of his doctrine could no longer be endured. There is in fact more neceffary connection between thefe

Athan. tom. 11, p. 857. Fleury, Euseb. vii. chap. 6, &c.

thefe two than the world is ready to believe; because holiness can only be the effect of chriftian truth. The bishops met at Antioch to confider his cafe; among thefe particularly Firmilian of Cæfarea in Cappadocia, Gregory * Thaumaturgus, and Athenodorus, who were brethren and bishops in Pontus, and Theotecnes of Cæfarea in Palestine. A number of minifters and deacons befides met together on the occafion. In feveral feffions the cafe of Paul was argued. Firmilian feems to havé prefided, and Paul was induced to recant, and gave fuch appearances of fincerity that Firmilian and the council believed him. The matter flept therefore for the prefent, and Paul continued in his bishopric.

It was in this year two hundred and fixty-four, the twelfth of Gallienus, that Dionyfius of Alexandria died, after having held the See feventeen years. He had been invited to the council; but pleaded in excufe his great age and infirmities: he however fent a letter to the council containing his advice, and addreffed the church of Antioch without taking any notice of her bishop. This was the laft fervice paid by this great and good man to the church of Chrift, after having gone through a variety of hardships, and dif tinguished himself by his fteady piety in the cause of Chrift. His having been a pupil of Origen in his younger years was no great advantage to his theological knowledge; but there are in him the strongest marks of unquestionable good fenfe and moderation, as well as of genuine piety, and it is to be regretted that our materials concerning him are fo defective.

Gallienus having reigned fifteen years, Claudius fucceeded, and after a reign of two years, in which

See his Life in Chap. below.

he

he continued the protector of chriftians, Aurelian became emperor. Under him a fecond council was convened concerning Paul of Samofata. His diffimulation was apparent, and the fame intolerable corruption appearing both in his doctrine and in his morals, it behoved the friends of Chrift to fhew that all regard for his perfon and precepts was not loft in the chriftian world*. Seventy bishops appeared at the fynod, among whom Theotecnes of Cæfarea in Palestine was ftill one of the principal. They waited fome time for the arrival of Firmilian of Cappadocia, who had been invited, and was on his way notwithstanding his great age; but he died at Tarfus in the year two hundred and fixty-nine. He had been one of the greatest luminaries of the day, and fo had Gregory Thaumaturgus of Pontus, who died in the interval between the first and fecond council. It was not in the power of every one, who really believed and loved the truth as it is in Jefus, to confute and expofe in a proper manner the artifices of Paul.

Whoever has feen the pains taken at this day by men of Paul's perfuafion, to cover their ideas under a cloud of ambiguous expreffions, and to represent themselves, when attacked, as meaning the fame thing with real chriftians, while at other times they take all poffible pains to undermine the very fundamental doctrines of the gofpel, will not be furprised that Paul, artful, eloquent, and deceitful as he was, fhould be able to give a fpecious colour to his ideas. But there was one Malchion a prefbyter in the council, who added to the foundnefs of chriftian faith great skill in the art of reafoning, having been a long time governor of the school of humanity at

* Athan. de Syn. Eufeb. 28, &c.

Antioch,