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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.
Eusebius 7.12-14: The End of the Valerian Persecution & Peace Under Gallienus
Series Eusebius, Church History
| Sermon ID | 47202223162350 |
| Duration | 08:09 |
| Date | |
| Category | Podcast |
| Language | English |
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