Eusebius, EH.6.45-46: Dionysius' Letter to Novatus

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 45-46. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters describe some of the pastoral letters written by Dionysius of Alexandria during the Novatian Schism.

Chapter 45 concerns Dionysius’s letter to Novatus (Novatianus) himself.

In this letter which begins with Dionysius addressing Novatus as “brother,” he urges unity at all costs, exhorting, “For a man ought to suffer anything and everything rather than divide the church of God….” He says it is better to be a martyr over schism than idolatry, since refusal to have unity hurts many souls but martyrdom due to idolatry costs only one’s own soul. His final word is a call to cleave to peace.

Chapter 46 describes various other letters written by Dionysius regarding the Novatian Controversy, including letters to churches and individuals on repentance, a key theme in the aftermath of those who had fallen away during the Decian persecution, and to Origen on martyrdom.

Note is also made to his letter to Cornelius of Rome regarding a synod to be held in Antioch by some who were sympathetic to Novatus. He also mentions in this the death of Fabius and his replacement by Demetrian as bishop of Antioch, as well as the death while in prison of Alexander of Jerusalem, whom he calls “that wonderful man.”

Finally, note is made of letters to the church at Rome including a letter on peace and one on repentance, as well as letters to individuals.

Conclusion:

These chapters note the role of Dionysius in exhortation and peace-making in the various Christian communities during the Novatian disruption. He expresses a charitable but firm spirit in addressing Novatian and makes plain that unity should be preserved above all. His work and that of others, no doubt, contained and lessened the schism brought about by Novatus.

This ends book 6.

JTR

Eusebius, EH.6.42-44: The Novatian Controversy

Image: Representations of Cornelius of Rome and Cyprian of Carthage, who opposed the Novatian Schism.

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 42-44. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters address the Novatian Controversy which developed as a result of the Decian persecution.

Chapter 42 continues Dionysius’s account of the Decian persecution. This includes the gruesome description of the martyrdom of Ischyrion by impaling. It also describes those who fled to the Arabian mountains, including aged bishop Chaeremon of Nilopolis and his wife, who were never found again (and who were perhaps sold into slavery by the Saracens).

It also introduces the problem that arose when the persecution had ended as to how to treat those who had offered pagan sacrifices to escape persecution but who now repented.

Some offered leniency, admitting these as consistentes (“bystanders”, the highest order of penitents), admitting them to their prayers and feats but barring them from communion.

Chapter 43, however, describes the harsher response of Novatus [also known in Latin as Novatianus], a presbyter of Rome, who argued that there was no salvation for those who had fallen away during the persecution. This group are referred to as the “Puritans” [katharoi].

A synod was held at Rome which resulted in the expulsion of Novatus.

Eusebius next cites a letter of Cornelius bishop of Rome to Fabius of Antioch concerning the synod on Novatus and his sect. He describes Novatus as an opportunist who exercised “wolf-like friendship” in his desire to serve as a bishop. He manipulated two rural bishops irregularly and falsely to ordain him as a rival to Cornelius. It is also suggested that his conversion was instigated by Satan and he was irregularly baptized on his deathbed. It is even said that when administering communion he required the oath, “I will not return to Cornelius.” He closes by noting that Novatus had become “bare and desolate” as brethren deserted him to return to the church, though he notes that five bishops were allied with him.

Chapter 44 adds one more tale from the letter of Dionysius to Fabius, who, it is suggested, was sympathetic to Novatus, regarding an old believer who had lapsed named Serarpion. Being near death, Serapion sent his grandson for the presbyter. The presbyter sick himself and unable to come, sent the grandson with a small portion of the eucharist. The boy arrived and gave the portion to Serapion, who then died. Dionysius reports this as an example of divine preservation of the man till he could receive communion before death.

Conclusion:

These chapter are an important witness to the Novatian controversy and how the early Christians decided to deal with those who had lapsed during the Decian persecution. It also offers an account of schism within Rome, and how this was addressed in a synod. Eusebius suggests that the church was able to maintain its unity despite these challenges and condemn the Novatian sect.

JTR

The Vision (3.6.20): The Zeal of Jehu and the Zeal of Christ

Image: Latin heading: 2 Kings 10: Jehu orders the killing of all the prophets of Baal in the temple.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 2 Kings 10.

2 Kings 10:16a: And he [Jehu] said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.

2 Kings 10:31: But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.

John 2:17: And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

2 Kings 10 continues to describe how the Lord used Jehu as an instrument of his wrath and judgement on sinful Israel and Judah. The house of Ahab and the brethren of Ahaziah were wiped out, and the prophets of Baal cut down. “Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel” (v. 28).

Still Jehu was a spiritual failure, according to the inspired historian (see v. 31). As one commentator remarked, “unlike surgeons, God has no sterilized instruments…So God uses wicked people to carry out divine designs” (Davis, 2 Kings, 163).

What spiritual lessons can we learn from 2 Kings 10?

First, the Lord will not be mocked. He will overlook wrong for a season, but in the end, he will bring about justice. He is a God of love but also of righteousness. He is a holy God, and he calls his people to be holy.

Second, God’s word will not fail. As Jehu observed, “Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD…” (v. 10).

Third, the Lord hates idols and false gods.

Fourth and finally, we can meditate on Jehu’s failure. He was the means of God’s wrath on evil doers and of Israel’s deliverance, but, in the end, he was a failure. He had zeal in some things, but compromise in others.

The mention of his zeal brings to mind the description of Christ cleansing the temple in John 2. John 2:17 says that Christ’s disciples later remembered that it was written of him: “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” [citing Psalm 69:90].

Jehu had a zeal, but it was an imperfect zeal, an inconsistent zeal, very much like our zeal. Christ, however, had a perfect zeal for the things of his Father.

Jehu spilled the blood of sinners. Christ, however, poured out his own blood, giving his life a ransom for many.

Jehu was an imperfect instrument of God’s wrath. Christ took the wrath of God perfectly upon himself, in order perfectly to bring many sons to glory.

Jehu was a flawed and unrighteous instrument; Christ is the perfect and righteous Son.

To him be the glory.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 161: The Word of God as a Means of Grace

I have posted WM 161: The Word of God as a Means of Grace. Listen here.

In this episode I share my message at the 2018 1689 Conference on "The Word of God as a Means of Grace." The overall conference theme was "The Means of Grace." You can listen to all the conference messages, by various speakers, here.

Blessings, JTR

Eusebius, EH.6.41: Dionysius Describes the Decian Persecution

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History Book 6, chapter 41. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

This chapter continues the report of the Decian persecutions from Dionysius of Alexandria, here citing his letter to Fabius of Antioch.

He notes that the persecution in Alexandria actually began a year before Decian’s edict against Christians and reflected a spiritual battle.

First, an old man named Metras was stoned when he refused to blaspheme.

Next, a woman named Quinta was dragged through the streets and stoned when she refused to participate in pagan worship.

Then, the goods of the Christians were plundered, as the believers mentioned in Hebrews 10:3 had also suffered.

Next, a virgin named Apollonia had her teeth broken by blows and cast herself into the fire prepared for her.

Serapion was tortured, had his limbs broken, and was thrown headlong from upper story to his death.

When news came of the edict, the persecution only intensified.

All were filled with fear; some recanted their faith, but others were faithful to death.

Among the martyrs the first after the edict was Julian, a man unable to walk. He was put to death along with one of the men who helped to carry him, named Cronion Eunus. The two were paraded through town on camels, then beaten and burned in quicklime.

A soldier named Besas, who stood by at the death of these two, also confessed faith and was beheaded.

Three others, Macar [Blessed] of Lybia, and Epimachus and Alexander, were imprisoned and then burned to death alive.

Four women were put to death, including Ammonarion, a “holy virgin,” Mercuria, an older woman, and Dionysia, a mother of many children.

Three Egyptians, Hero, Ater, and Isidore, were seized and tortured, along with a boy of about 15 named Dioscurus. The first three were killed, but the governor released Dioscurus impressed by his character.

A certain Nemesion was falsely accused of being a robber and then of being a Christian. He was tortured worse than robbers and was burnt between them, thus becoming like Christ in his crucifixion between thieves.

When a Christian on trial was wavering, he was encouraged by a group of Christian soldiers, Ammon, Zeno, Ptolemy, and Ingennus, along with an old man named Theophilus. When this prisoner did not deny Christ, thanks to their support, attention turned to these men and they too confessed they were Christians, knowing their suffering, but exulting in their witness.

Conclusion:

This chapter continues to describe the Decian persecution and offers praise to the heroic martyrs. These are described like athletes who engaged in “contests” for the faith, and, though killed, were victorious.

JTR

WM 160: Interview:" Doug Barger, Crown and Cross Books, & "The London Standards"

I have posted WM 160: Interview: Doug Barger, Crown and Cross Books, & "The London Standards." Listen here.

In this episode I interview my friend Pastor Doug Barger of Christ Reformed Baptist Church (nice name!) in New Castle, Indiana.

Besides covering part of Doug's testimony and history, he shared about his publishing ministry, Crown and Cross Books (visit the website here).

He shared, in particular, about a new project in pre-publication, titled "The London Standards." This volume will include the Second London Baptist Confession (1689), the Baptist Catechism (1693), and the Orthodox Catechism (1680). The Orthodox Catechism is a Particular Baptist revision of the Heidelberg Catechism, completed by Hercules Collins. RB historian James Renihan has referred to these three documents as providing "something of a 'Three Forms of Unity' for Baptist churches" (Forward to An Orthodox Catechism, 8). Soon all three confessional statements will be available in one volume for personal, family, and church use.

Enjoy this conversation!

JTR

The Vision (2.28.20): The Instrument of God's Wrath

Image: Gustave Doré, “The Death of Jezebel” (1866)

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 2 Kings 9.

2 Kings 9:6b ….Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have appointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of the servants of the LORD, at the hands of Jezebel.

The apostle Paul taught: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom 12:9).

2 Kings 9 illustrates that point, as it describes how Jehu was appointed as an instrument of God’s wrath to punish evil doers.

I want to suggest three applications:

First, this chapter ought to bring comfort to those who have suffered at the hands of the wicked.

Dale Ralph Davis observed, “Sometimes it seems that throughout their blood-red history [Jehovah’s] worshippers have been bludgeoned into oblivion, but the text says that there is an eye that sees and a Judge who takes note” (2 Kings, 153).

One day the Lord will set all things right!

Second, this chapter ought to bring fear and dread to those who have committed injustices.

Those who have brought pain and suffering to God’s servants should read with trembling. One day the piper will have to be paid.

Third, this chapter ought to bring joy to the heart of the believer.

The commentator Davis notes that after he shared the story of the death of Jezebel at the hands of Jehu in 2 Kings in devotions with his family that one of his sons prayed, “Dear God, thank you for letting Jezebel die” (2 Kings, 158)!

Every time we read a chapter like this one, we should remember that we are sinners who deserve God’s wrath and punishment. In Colossians 3:6 the apostle said that because of their sin, “the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”

In Acts 17:31, Paul told the men of Athens that God had appointed “a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by than man whom he hath ordained.”

But the good news is that this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, “he that believeth on him is not condemned” (John 3:18).

Every time a believer reads an account of divine wrath and judgement rightly poured out on sinners like the wicked kings of Israel and Judah, and upon wicked women like Jezebel, he ought to think, “There but by the grace of God in Christ go I.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 159: The Confessional Text Position: A Succinct Statement

Image: Beza's 1582 NT, title page (part)

I have posted WM 159: The Confessional Text Position: A Succinct Statement. Listen here.

In this shot episode (just over 8 minutes in length) I offer a brief and succinct statement on what I have come to call the Confessional Text position.

This statement is taken from some brief introductory comments I made as part of a discussion on Josh Gibbs’s “Talking Christianity” podcast where the subject was different approaches to text criticism. The podcast took place on January 29, 2020. In the discussion I was a guest (representing the Confessional Text position) along with two other guests: Dr. Peter Gurry of Phoenix Seminary (representing an evangelical modern text criticism position) and Pastor James Snapp, Jr. of Curtisville Christian Church of Elwood, Indiana (representing a variety of the so-called Majority Text position).

I did not feel too great about this discussion overall, since it sort of ran off the rails, but my friend Howie Jones suggested that it might be helpful to share just the opening statement as a succinct summary of the Confessional Text position, so that is what I have done. The sound quality is not that great but hopefully listeners will be able to hear it well enough.

Blessings, JTR

Eusebius, EH.6.39-40: The Decian Persecution and the Sufferings of Origen and Dionysius

Image: Coin with image of the Roman Emperor Trajan Decius (c. A.D. 201-251).

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 39-40. Look here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters describe the Decian persecution and the sufferings endured by men like Origen and Dionysius during this time.

Chapter 39 describes the rise of the emperor Decius (c. 201-251; ruled 249-251) and his persecution of Christians. Eusebius says this came from Decius’s enmity toward Philip, who was either a Christian or sympathetic to them, and who had members of his household who were Christians.

Fabian became a martyr at Rome and was succeeded as bishop by Cornelius.

Alexander of Jerusalem made confession before the Roman court at Caesarea for a second time and died in prison as an elderly man, being succeeded by Mazabanes.

In Antioch, Babylas, likewise, died in prison. He was succeeded by Fabius.

Origen also fell under “special attack.” He was imprisoned, chained, and tortured, including having his feet stretched In the stocks. A reliable first hand account, says Eusebius, is available in his letters.

Chapter 40 turns to describe the persecution of Dionysius of Alexandria, a drawing from his letter against a certain Germanus.

He describes how a frumentarius (officer) was sent to search for him for four days, but, in the providence of God, he had simply remained at in his home and had not been discovered.

After these four days, Dionysius, his “boys” (sons or pupils or servants), and some of the brethren took flight. They were then arrested and taken to the town of Toposiris.

A brother named Timothy told a group at a marriage feast of the bishop’s arrest and they rushed the guards to deliver a  somewhat reluctant Dionysius from his captors.

Conclusion:

These chapter describe the beginnings of the Decian persecution and the martyrdoms and sufferings of some the prominent leaders, including Origen, who had written about and urged martyrdom and faithfulness under persecution upon others and now experienced the same, as well as Dionysius. Rather than frustrate the movement, these persecutions seemed to embolden and encourage the early Christians, who could now look back at those who suffered as heroes of the faith.

JTR

WM 158: "If the Text-Critics Went to Lunch and Didn't Come Back"

I have posted WM 158: "If the Text-Critics Went to Lunch and Didn't Come Back." Listen here.

In this episode I do something a little bit different in that I offer a spoken word version of an article by Taylor DeSoto (TD), an elder at the Agros RBC in Gilbert, AZ. This article was posted to Taylor’s blog “Young, Textless, and Reformed” on January 23, 2020.

In this article Taylor puts forward a humorous hypothetical to make some serious points: What would happen if all the evangelical text critics went to lunch and never came back?

You can read Taylor's article here.

What do I like about this article?

First, I like the way TD uses humor here to make some serious points.

Second, I like the way TD turns on its ear the modern evangelical text critic’s argument that all his changes to the text of Scripture do not, in the end, affect any major doctrines by asking, why, then, if this is so, he wants to continue tinkering with our Bible.

Third, he makes the great point that if evangelical text critics ceased their tinkering we’d still have a stable text (the TR) upon which to base study and scholarship, and the people in the pews would have translations that are not having to be replaced by the newest updated edition every few years.

Fourth, he makes the point that if modern evangelical text critics walked away from their work, they would then be able to give their time to exegesis of the text and perhaps even to pastoral ministry within the church.

This raises a not so subtle point about evangelical academics who see themselves as “elite” teachers, but who rarely serve as elders in local churches.

As one such scholar recently told me, he sees himself and his colleagues as doing the same exact work that Origen and Jerome did in the early church. He asked why we should accept the providential editorial work of the men of the Reformation period when we could be doing exactly the same thing in our day to create a “new and improved” text.

As Grantley McDonald, however, pointed out in recent work on the reception history of the CJ, those men were operating under what McDonald (borrowing from Foucault) calls a “pre-modern episteme” while modern evangelicals are working under an Enlightenment influenced “modern episteme.” Here’s how EH Hills put it: “During the Reformation period the approach to the New Testament was theological and governed by the common faith in Holy Scripture, and for this reason even in those early days the textual criticism of the New Testament was different from the textual criticism of other ancient books.”

One of the unspoken ironies of Taylor’s hypothetical rests on his use of the adjective “evangelical” before “text critics.” The truth is that if all the “evangelical” text critics went to lunch and never came back not only the church but the academy also would hardly be affected. The modern-historical-critical, secular academic study of the Bible would not skip a beat. The Liste would continue to be updated, the Editio Critica Maior would still be published, the Institute for New Testament Textual Research and the United Bible Societies would still produce the next editions of their handbooks, based on their application of the CBGM, and the Society of Biblical Literature would continue to host academic conferences where papers would be produced and presented on the minutia of scholarly research. What is more, “evangelicals” would be spared the embarrassment of, on one hand, “debating”, writing apologetic books or giving apologetic talks critical of Bart Ehrman, while, at the same, on the other hand, continuing to approve and make use of his scholarly research and adopt his identical method.

The central point the article makes is simply this: The supposedly “vital” work of evangelical modern text criticism, is not, in the end, all that vital to the church if it believes that it already has the Bible, and is not waiting on scholars possibly to give it a near approximation [reconstruction] of the Bible (perhaps someday).

JTR

Eusebius, EH.6.33-38: Origen's Refutation of Various Heresies & the Emperor Philip

Image: Bust of Philip the Arab (c. 204-249). The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 33-38. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters continue the account of the life of Origen, with some special emphasis on his refutations of heresies, his interaction with the imperial family, and his writing.

Chapter 33 describes how Beryllus, bishop of Bostra in Arabia, denied the pre-existence and divinity of Christ and was corrected in his views by Origen in a synod.

Chapter 34 describes how the emperor Philip succeeded Gordian as Roman emperor. Marcus Julius Philippus (c. 204-249), also known as Philip the Arab, was the emperor from 244-249. Eusebius claims that he was a Christian. If true, he would have been the first Christian emperor (pre-dating Constantine). Later historians have suggested he was not a Christian but only that he was sympathetic with and lenient toward the Christians. Eusebius says the emperor wished to join the Christians on the last day of the paschal vigil, but he was not permitted to do so by the presiding officer (the bishop), till he confessed his sins and was placed with the penitent. It is said that he readily obeyed this order.

Chapter 35 notes the death of Heraclas of Alexandria and his replacement by Dionysius as bishop.

Chapter 36 notes that Origen, now over 60 years in age, allowed “short-hand writers” to take down his public discourses.

In this time, he composed his response to the anti-Christian work True Discourse of Celsus the Epicurean, as well as his commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, and on the Twelve Prophets (the Book of the Twelve).

Eusebius also notes a collection of more than a hundred of Origen’s letters, including ones written to the emperor Philip, to Philip’s wife Severa, to Fabian of Rome, and to other church leaders.

He adds that more information on Origen is supplied in his Apology on the life of Origen.

Chapter 37 notes another heresy that arose in Arabia, which taught that the soul perishes at death and is only revived at the resurrection. Origen also refuted this view in a synod.

Chapter 38 describes another heretical movement, the Helkesaites, refuted by Origen in an address on Psalm 82. The errors of this group included its rejection of “the Apostle” (presumably, the writings of Paul), its suggestion that one could deny the faith with his mouth but not in his heart, and its claim to have a book “fallen from heaven” which taught a means of forgiveness other than through Christ.

Conclusion:

These chapters present Origen as the premiere “orthodox” theologian of his time, an effective teacher and writer, called upon to refute and correct various errors. It also describes the rise of Philip and claims that he was a Christian and corresponded with Origen. These claims about Origen are striking given that some of his own teaching came under suspicious in later generations and were denounced as heterodox.

JTR

WM 153-157: 2019 Text and Canon Conference Audio

Many who have been following the development of the Confessional Text movement are already aware of the Text and Canon Conference, held on October 25-26, 2019 at Christ Reformed Church in Atlanta.

For those who have not yet listened to the lectures I gave at that conference, I have now posted them to CRBC's sermonaudio.com page, along with the Q & A session. Here are links:

WM 153: Text and Canon Conference.Lecture One: The Emergence of the Confessional Text

WM 154: Text and Canon Conference.Lecture Two: The Emergence of the Confessional Text (Continued)

WM 155: Text and Canon Conference.Lecture Three: The Triumph of the Traditional Text

WM 156: Text and Canon Conference.Lecture Four: The Case for the Confessional Text

WM 157: Text and Conference.Q & A

Blessings!

JTR

The Vision (2.21.20): Yet the LORD would not destroy

Image: Winter sunset, February 2020, North Garden, Virginia

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 2 Kings 8.

Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him always a light, and to his children (2 Kings 8:19).

2 Kings 8 is not an easy chapter to preach. As far as dynamic, easy to perceive spiritual truths, this chapter offers slim pickings. I am very doubtful that many Christians would list 2 Kings 8 as their favorite chapter in the Bible or claim that any verse within it is their favorite verse, or their “life verse.”

It is an overall depressing and discouraging chapter, because it describes the degeneracy, the depravity, and the wickedness of the circumstances into which both Israel and Judah fell during the time of the kings.

The thesis statement might well be found in v. 1: “for the LORD hath called for a famine.” 2 Kings 8 describes the spiritual wasteland that results when men walk away from the Lord and his ways.

The brightest point of light comes in v. 19, which begins, “Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake….”

The remainder of the verse makes clear the reason for this mercy. It was because of the covenant promise that the LORD had made to David: “as he promised him to give him always a light, and to his children” (v. 19b).

The Lord had promised, through Nathan the prophet, “But my mercy shall not depart away from him” and that David’s house and his kingdom would be established forever (2 Sam 7:15-16). David became known as the “light of Israel” (see 2 Sam 21:17).

Despite Judah’s faithlessness, the point is that God remained faithful. The promise that was made to David would not be broken. But how was that promise ultimately fulfilled? Not in national Israel, but in spiritual Israel. Not in the kings of Judah, which would fall, but in a descendant of David, from the tribe of Judah, who would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David.

The apostle Paul in Galatians 6:16 would write to the churches of Galatia, “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” The promise would be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ to the new “Israel of God.”

2 Kings 8:19 points then toward the mercy of God given to sinners for the sake of Christ. In 2 Timothy 2:13, Paul wrote: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” NKJV: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

This is God’s Word to his people today. We do not have faith in our faith. We have faith in a God who will not destroy us when we are faithless, for the sake of his faithful Son. Thanks be to him.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Eusebius, EH.6.26-32: Origen's Transition to Caesarea & Continuing Influence

Image: Modern view of the Roman amphitheater in Caesarea

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 26-32. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters continue to describe the life of Origen, focusing especially on his transition from Alexandria to Caesarea, noting various significant persons, places, and events of the times.

Chapter 26 describes Origen’s transition from Alexandria to Caesarea c. AD 232. He was succeeded as head of the Catechetical School by Heraclas, and when Demetrius died, Heraclas also became bishop of Alexandria.

Chapter 27 describes the esteem in which Origen was held by the bishops, including Firmilian of Cappadocian Caesarea, Alexander of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus of Palestinian Caesarea.

Chapter 28 turns to the Roman imperial succession. Alexander was succeeded by Maximin [Maximinus] Caesar. Maximin lead a persecution against Christians, many of whom were in the household of Alexander, and he ordered leaders of the church to be put to death. Among those who suffered in this persecution were Ambrose of Alexandria and Prototectus of Caesarea. At this time Origen wrote On Martydom and described the persecution in his exposition on the Gospel of John.

Chapter 29 begins by noting that Gordian succeeded Maximin as emperor.

In the church at Rome, meanwhile, Pontianus was succeeded by Anteros. When Anteros died a month later, he was succeeded by Fabian, whose appointment to the office came after a dove mysteriously flew down upon his head, a sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit, as when Christ was baptized.

In Antioch, Zebennus was succeeded by Babylas.

In Alexandria, again, Demetrius was succeeded by Heraclas as bishop. In the Catechetical School, Heraclas was succeeded by Dionysius, who also had been a student of Origen.

Chapter 30 describes the students, local and foreign, who flocked to Origen at Caesarea. They included two brothers: Theodore (later known as Gregory Thaumaturgus, or the “Wonder Worker”) and Athenodore. Origen taught them for five years and lead them from a love of secular philosophy to a love of divine truth, and both became bishops as young men.

Chapter 31 describes Africanus, author of the Cesti [literally “embroidered girdles,” like Stromateis, meaning a collection of varied works].

He is said to have written to Origen and been answered by him regarding the authenticity of the story of Susanna, an apocyryphal addition to Daniel.

He also wrote the Chronographies.

He is said to have traveled to Alexandria on hearing of the fame of Heraclas.

Eusebius notes that another of his letters to Aristides is extant in which he offered a harmony of the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, and to which Eusebius had referred earlier in the EH.

Chapter 32 describes Origen’s commentaries on Isaiah, Ezekiel (a work completed while Origen visited Athens), and the Song of Songs (begin in Athens and finished in Caesarea).

Eusebius notes that in his life of his mentor Pamphilius he had described Pamphilius’s great library and his list of the works of Origen and other church writers. He says he has no need to list Origen’s complete works here, since it appeared in the other work.

Conclusion:

These chapters continue the life of Origen, noting how in his transition from Alexandria to Caesarea his influence was not lessened, as he continued to teach, write, and exert his influence upon many.

JTR