time feveral other churches were founded, as at Tours, Arles, Narbonne, and Paris. The bishops ́of Toulouse and Paris afterwards fuffered for the faith of Chrift; but they left churches, in all pro bability, very flourishing in piety. And France in general was bleffed with the light of salvation. Germany was alfo, in the courfe of this century, favoured with the fame bleffing, especially thofe parts of it which are in the neighbourhood of France. Cologne, Treves, and Merz, particularly were evangelized.

Of the British ifles little is recorded, and that little fo obfcure and uncertain, that we rather believe that the Divine Light must have penetrated into our country, by this time, from the naturai course of things and analogy, than from any pofitive unexceptionable teftimony.

The Goths being fettled in Thrace, during the miferable confufions of this century, fome teachers from Afia went to preach the gofpel among them. Their holy lives and miraculous powers were much refpected by thofe barbarians, and many of them, from a ftate perfectly favage, were brought into the light and comfort of chriftianity +.

The goodness of God made the temporal miferies which afflicted mankind, in the reign of Gallienus, fubfervient to the unspeakably more important concerns of his creatures. The barbarians who ravaged Afia carried away with them into captivity feveral bifhops, who healed difeafes, expelled evil fpirits in the name of Chrift, and preached christianity. The barbarians heard with refpect and attention, and numbers of them were converted,

Book 1, Greg. Tours France, C. 30, Fleury 13, book 6.

See Mosh. 3d Century.

* Sozomen, book 13. 11.

converted. This is all that I can collect of the extenfion of the gofpel among the barbarian

ravagers.

CHA P. XX.

A SHORT VIEW OF THE EXTERNAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.

I

T is the duty of chriftians to fhine as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. That this was actually the cafe, even in the third century, though much lefs fo than in the two former, and with very rapid diminution of its glory toward the latter end of it, the course of the foregoing narrative has, I truft, made apparent.

Those with whom the idea of the ftate of the reft of mankind is familiar, will fee this in the ftrongest light. For three centuries luxury and every abominable vice that can be conceived had been increafing in the Roman empire. There want not lamentable proofs that the fevere fatires of Juvenal were but too well founded. All flesh bad corrupted their way. With the lofs of civil liberty, even the old Roman virtues of public fpirit and magnanimity, though no better than fplendid fins in their nature, as Auguftine fays, had vanished. Civil broils and diftractions continually prevailed, for the greateft part of this time, and increafed the quantity of vice and mifery. The beft time was doubtless during the reigns of Trajan, Adrian, and the Antonines.

* Sozomen, book 2, chap. 5.

But

But what was the virtue of thofe times? Even the moft fcandalous and unnatural vices were practifed without remorfe. Men of rank either lived atheistically, or were funk in the deepest fuperftition. The vulgar were perfectly ignorant, the rich domineered over the poor, and wallowed in immenfe opulence, while the provinces groaned under their tyranny; philofophers prated about virtue, without either understanding or practifing it; and by far the largest part of mankind, the flaves and the poor, were in remedilefs indigence, and no methods at all were ftudied for their convenience or relief. In the mean-time the pleafures of men, the ftage, and the amphitheatre were full of obfcenity, favagenefs, and cruelty.

This was the Roman world; we know much lefs of the reft of the globe; it was however funk in ferocious wickedneis and ignorance, much below thofe nations that bowed under the yoke of the Cæfars.

Behold! In the midft of all this chaos arofe out of Judea a light of doctrine and practice fingularly diftinct from the whole of it. A number of perfons chiefly of low life, the difciples of Jefus of Nazareth, live as men ought to do, with a proper contempt of this vain life, with the fincereft and most fteady ambition for another; true philofophers, if real love of wifdom confift, as it muit, in the jufteft views and worship of their Maker, and an actual acquaintance with him, in real moderation of their paffions and defires, and in unfeigned benevolence to all, even to their enemies.

How is it poffible that all this could be of man? It was the work of God. This out-pouring of his Holy Spirit lafted for three centuries, debased indeed toward the end of that period, but not extinguished.

This people, diverfe from all others, must have a government and an external order among themfelves. I am not going to involve myself in the endless mazes of controverfy on this point; nor do I fee any certain divine rule on the fubject. It might, and it naturally would be, various in various places. Men may ferve God acceptably under very different modes; yet I think I fee fome rude outlines of what most commonly obtained in the primitive ages, whence a fketch may be drawn extremely different from most, if not from all the modes which now prevail in the christian world.

The first teachers, the Apoftles, who planted the first churches, ordained fucceffors, as far as appears, without any confultation of the people. It was not to be expected that any fet of perfons after them fhould be regarded as their equals, nor was it reafonable that it fhould be fo. Undoubtedly the choice of bifhops devolved on the people. Their appearance to vote on these occafions, their fometimes forcing of perfons to accept the office against their will, and the determination of Pope Leo, long after, against forcing a bishop on a people against their confent, demonftrate this. The perfons to be elected to this office were very ftrictly examined. Public notice was given, that any one might inform against them, if they were vicious and immoral. The judgment of life was left to the people, that of doctrine belonged more to the other bishops, who ordained them. For the power of ordination belonged properly to bishops alone, though prefbyters, a fecond order of men, 'who feem to me diftinct all along from them, - concurred with them and with the people. The fame power of electing, in fome degree and in fome

* Bingham, book 4, chap. 11. Antiquities. Du Pin, end of third Century.

fome inftances, the people had with refpect to thefe prefbyters; but the cafe is by no means fo uniformly clear, and in the lower offices of the church the bishop acted ftill more according to his difcretion.

The use of deacons, the third order in the church, is well known. Thefe three obtained very early in the primitive churches The epiitles of Ignatius (I build only on those parts that are undoubtedly genuine) demonftrate this, and in general the diftinction of these offices was admitted through the chriftian world.

Yet if a chriftian people were grown very heretical, the bishops thought themselves bound in duty to provide for the inftruction of the smaller number, who, in their judgment, loved the truth, as it is in Jefus, by both electing and ordaining a bishop for them. Likewife in fending miffionaries to the barbarous nations, it would be abfurd to suppose that they waited for the choice of the people. They deputed and ordained whom they approved of for that end.

There were a number of lower offices, doorkeepers, fub-deacons, acolyths, or attendants, readers, who by degrees grew up in the chriftian church. These appear in the third century. A much more candid and true account of them may be given, than what has been impofed on us, with fufficient malignity. It could not be to adminifter to the pride and floth of the higher clergy, that thefe offices were inftituted. Chriftians increased in number, and more labourers were required. Befides, as they had not then any feminaries, the ferving of the church in thefe lower offices (I have the pleasure to see the judicious Calvin unite with Bingham in his fentiments here*) was made an introductory step M m 2

Bing. book 3, chap. 1. Calv. Inítitutes, book laft.

to