Greetings, this is Jeff Riddle, pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia. This is another in this occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea's The Ecclesiastical History. Here is Book 7, chapters 12 through 14. Chapter 12. So it happened to Dionysius at that time. But during the persecution of Valerian, of which we are speaking, three persons at Caesarea in Palestine, conspicuous for their confession of Christ, were adorned with a divine martyrdom, becoming food for wild beasts. Of these, one was called Priscus, the second Malchus, and the name of the third was Alexander. It is said that these men who were living in the country at first reproached themselves for their carelessness and sloth. Because instead of hastening to secure the crown of martyrdom, they were proving contemptuous of prizes, though the present opportunity was bestowing them upon such as yearned with a heavenly desire. But that when they had taken counsel thereon, they started for Caesarea, appeared before the judge, and met the above-mentioned end. Moreover, they relate that besides these, a certain woman, during the same persecution and in the same city, endured to the end a like conflict. But it is recorded that she belonged to the sect of Marcion. Chapter 13. But not long afterwards, Valerian underwent slavery at the hand of the barbarians. And his son, succeeding to the sole power, conducted the government with more prudence and immediately, by means of edicts, put an end to the persecution against us. He granted free power to those who presided over the word to perform their accustomed duties by a re-script which runs as follows. the Emperor, Caesar, Publius, Licinius, Gallienus, Pius, Felix, Augustus, to Dionysius and Penus and Demetrius and the other bishops. I have given my order that the benefit of my bounty should be published throughout all the world to the intent that they should depart from the places of worship, and therefore ye also may use the ordinance contained in my rescript so that none may molest you. And this thing, which it is within your power to accomplish, has long since been conceded by me. And therefore Aurelius Quirinius, who is in charge of the exchequer, will observe the ordinance given by me. Let this, which for the sake of greater clearness was translated from the Latin, be inserted. And there is also extant another of the same emperor's ordinances, which he addressed to other bishops, giving them permission to recover the sites of the cemeteries as they were called." Chapter 14. At that time, Kistos was still ruling the Church of the Romans, Demetrian, who came after Fabius, the church at Antioch, and Vermilion at Caesarea in Cappadocia. And moreover, Gregory and his brother, Athenodorus, were ruling the churches of Pontus, pupils of Origen. As to Caesarea and Palestine, On the death of Theotistus, Domnus succeeded to the Episcopate, but after he had continued in office a short time, Theoteknus, our contemporary, was appointed to succeed him. He also was of the school of origin. But at Jerusalem, when Mazobanes had entered into his rest, Hymenaeus succeeded to the throne, the same who was distinguished for very many years in our day. Here ends book 7 and chapters 12 through 14, and we'll proceed to some notes and commentary. These chapters describe the end of the Valerian persecution and a new period of peace for the churches that came under the rule of Valerian's son, the Emperor Gallienus. Chapter 12 describes three martyrs at Caesarea in Palestine, Priscus, Malchus, and Alexander. These men lived in the country and had escaped persecution But stirred in conscience, they sought the crown of martyrdom, presenting themselves to the magistrate in Caesarea and meeting their end, apparently being fed to the wild beasts. Mention is also made of a certain woman who was put to death at the same time, but it is noted she was from the sect of Marcion, and so she was not counted among the Orthodox martyrs. These would have been some of the last ones put to death at the end of the Valerian persecution. Chapter 13 then relates how Valerian was captured and enslaved by the barbarians, or the Persians, and he was succeeded to the Roman throne by his son, Gallienus, who put an end to the persecution of Christians. An ordinance or a letter translated from Latin to Greek from the emperor to the bishops Dionysius and Penus and Demetrius is cited, which announced this reprieve for the Christians. It is also noted by Eusebius that the emperor also wrote another letter to certain bishops allowing them, quote, to recover the sites of the cemeteries, end quote. And these were places, no doubt, where the Christians gathered to remember the martyrs or to commemorate the anniversaries of their deaths. Chapter 14 surveys the bishops and their succession. Kistos was ruling in Rome, Demetrian following Fabius was at Antioch, Vermilion was at Caesarea in Cappadocia, Gregory or Gregory Thaumaturges, Gregory the Wonderworker and his brother Athenodorus were ruling the churches of Pontus. And it is noted by Eusebius that they were pupils of origin. Caesarea in Palestine, Domnus succeeded Theoktistus. After Domnus then came Theoteknus, who is also noted to have been a student of origin. In Jerusalem, Mazabanes was succeeded by Hymenaeus, who Eusebius says was distinguished for many years, even to his own day. In conclusion, these chapters describe the restoration of the general peace of the church, which came with the end of the Valerian reign and the rise of Gallienus. As is customary for Eusebius, we've become accustomed to this in reading through the history, he accompanies or tags the succession of the imperial leaders with a parallel description of the succession among the bishops of the prominent churches. The descriptions of these men, these bishops, include a number who, it is pointed out, were students of Origen, showing the continuation of Origen's influence among the early Christians even after his death. Well, this brings this episode to a conclusion. I hope that this has been helpful and edifying, and we will look forward to speaking to you in the next episode. Till then, take care and God bless.