The context shews a regular observance, 229 Lord's day dawning, and continue in watches through the six days." Eusebius also doth testify of the Christian manner, τὰς ἐξ ἔθους εἰσέτι δὲ νῦν πρὸς ἡμῶν ἐπιτελουμένας ἀσκήσεις ἃς διαφερόντως κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους ἑορτὴν, ἐν ἀσιτίαις καὶ διανυκτερεύσεσιν, προσοχαῖς τε τῶν θείων λόγων ἐκτελεῖν εἰώθαμεν " that they were wont to spend more eminently the days near the solemnity of our Saviour's Passion in fastings, in whole night watches, and attention to the word of God." This it seems some too forwardly pressed even throughout all the forty days, and as a duty (for so the words must ἀπὸ κοινοῦ be understood), οἱ δὲ οἴονται δεῖν αὐτοὺς νηστεύειν τεσσαράκοντα· ὥρας τε ἡμερινὰς καὶ νυκτερινὰς συμμετροῦσι τὴν ἡμέραν αὐτῶν.—Now whether we follow this reading or the other, all the definite numbers, as there managed, are recited by Irenæus as deviations from the plain. and simple manner; and both readings suppose the use of forty days' abstinence as being before in the Church. 66 To the rest of your allegations answer shall as fully be made in the eighth chapter; only here because you bid us in 477 your sixty-sixth page' read the rest of the chapter, we have so done; but find nothing that favours your cause, but still against you more than enough; for in the following part of the chapter Irenæus tells Victor that Anicetus his predecessor could not persuade Polycarp, whom above he calls the blessed Polycarp, not to keep Easter according to the tradition in Asia, ἅτε μετὰ Ἰωάννου τοῦ μαθητοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀποστόλων οἷς συνδιέτριψεν ἀεὶ τετηρηκότα, “ as which he had ever kept or observed with St. John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the Apostles with whom he had conversed." Here if the blessed and holy martyr Polycarp be to be believed, as he is by all sober Christians in the world, it is undeniably certain that St. John the Apostle and other Apostles, and Polycarp with St. John the Apostle and with those other Apostles with whom he had conversed, did constantly keep an annual set feast of Easter. And now I leave it to you to tell us who they are that have taught the sectaries to condemn the observation of such anniversary set feasts, and particularly that anniversary day of Easter, as superstitious and not agreeable to the purity of the best Christians; against 230 as founded on apostolical tradition, whom I enter this charge, even against all that so at any time teach Christian people, That they are undeniably found condemners of St. John the Apostle and of other Apostles of the Lord, I add, even in that wherein St. John and those other Apostles of the Lord agreed with St. Peter and St. Paul, in that wherein Polycarp and Anicetus agreed, Polycrates and Victor agreed, and were all of one accord, had one custom, both those Apostles which towards their latter end abode in Europe and those which so abode in Asia, and the bishops their successors in the west and in the east, the first and second age, before and after St. John's death until Polycarp, yea until Victor's time, and it is known even until our time also. For their time so much was pleaded, as may be seen by comparing this of Euseb. v. 25. with cap. 23, and with Sozomen vii. 19. Now how sure a witness this holy Polycarp was in what he said of the Apostles, and said he knew by conversing with them, Irenæus whom you have produced shall tell you; his own Greek words we have in Eusebius, καὶ Πολύκαρπος δὲ οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ ̓Αποστόλων μαθητευθεὶς καὶ συναναστραφεὶς πολλοῖς τοῖς τὸν Χριστὸν ἑωρακόσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ ̓Αποστόλων κατασταθεὶς εἰς τὴν ̓Ασίαν ἐν τῇ ἐν Σμύρνῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐπίσκοπος, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς 478 ἑωράκαμεν—ἐνδόξως καὶ ἐπιφανέστατα μαρτυρήσας ἐξῆλθε τοῦ βίου· ταῦτα διδάξας ἀεὶ, ἃ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ̓Αποστόλων ἔμαθεν, ἃ καὶ ἡ ἐκκλησία παραδίδωσιν, ἃ καὶ μόνα ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ· μαρτυροῦσιν αἳ κατὰ τὴν ̓Ασίαν ἐκκλησίαι πᾶσαι· "Polycarp not only was the disciple of the Apostles and had conversed with many that had seen Christ, but was by the Apostles constituted bishop in Asia of the Church of Smyrna ; whom also we have seen;-he gloriously and most remarkably suffering martyrdom departed out of this life; having always taught those things which he had learned of the Apostles, which also the Church doth deliver, and which only are true; and all the Churches in Asia do bear him this record." And yet either this Polycarp must now be found a false witness of what he had seen done by the Apostles when he conversed with them, and of what he had done and done constantly with them; or else the Apostles did observe some a [P. 250. 241, 6qq.] b [P. 306.] e Lib. iii. c. 3. Lib. iv. c. 11. [p 161.] of Easter, and a fast preceding it. 231 anniversary set holy day and this particularly, and those that have clamoured on this and the like as superstitious are found condemners of the Apostles themselves. This is the charge, let it not be forgot to be wiped off. And since you bid us to read on, we read on still but to the very next words after your direction, and behold the bishops, Narcissus, Theophilus, Cassius, and Clarus, of the same time with Irenæus, and others with them, assembled in Palestina Tepi TS KATEXθούσης εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐκ διαδοχῆς τῶν ἀποστόλων περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα παραδόσεως πλεῖστα διειληφότες, in their writing or decree "discoursing much concerning the tradition of the Apostles touching Easter which had come down to them by succession," and the fast confessedly on all hands was to precede the feast of Easter; and so in cap. 23. we read of an apostolical tradition received and practised also in more than three parts of the world, μηδετέρᾳ παρὰ τὴν τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἡμέραν τὰς νηστείας ἐπιλύεσθαι, "that the fasts should be ended on no other day of the week, than" the Sunday "the day of the Lord's resurrection." And therefore fasts were to have their place and being, as well as their ending, before the day of that feast, according to 479 apostolical tradition, 8 ἐξ ἀποστολικῆς παραδόσεως, τὸ καὶ εἰς dεvρо кратησav eos, "a custom" begun "from apostolical δεῦρο κρατῆσαν tradition, and obtaining even until now." And those fewer Churches which did not so end their fasts as making Easterday only Sunday, yet pleaded tradition also no less ancienth ὡς δέον ἐκ παντὸς μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτηρίου Πάσχα ἑορτὴν τὰς τῶν ἀσιτιῶν ἐπιλύσεις ποιεῖσθαι, " that the dissolutions of the fasts ought to be at Easter," for ending the fasts at Easterday nevertheless on whatsoever day of the week that were. So that the tradition of all the world was for ending certain fasting days at Easter; and for more than three parts of the world it was pleaded in that very place that it was from apostolical tradition that they observed such custom of so ending their fasts. 232 Observance of the forty days of Lent CHAPTER VI. ECCLE IN WHAT REGARD THE FORTY DAYS OF THE QUADRAGESIMA WERE OF APOSTOLICAL RECOMMENDATION, AND IN WHAT REGARD OF SIASTICAL CONSTITUTION. THAT Some Paschal or Lent i. e. spring fast before Easter was ever from the Apostles' time and of apostolical tradition and constitution, hath been sufficiently evinced both in the whole body of the discourse above and also in the whole fourth chapter of this Appendage. We proceed now to the consideration of the forty days, and to the declaration, how the observance thereof was ever in the Christian Church, as a special time of spiritual exercise and abstinence for the generality of Christian people, from recommendation apostolicali; howbeit the precept of such forty days' abstinence, and much more the precept of forty days' fast, as also of other ecclesiastical discipline and ecclesiastical administrations respecting penitents or catechumens, respecting public penances, absolutions, catechisings, solemn baptism, synods of bishops, and other the like, specially affixed and determined to that time, may well be allowed to be of ecclesiastical constitution. But 480 it is meet to begin with that which is, even in this of forty days also, of apostolical recommendation. For the proof whereof I might permit it to the judgment of any reader whether a great and sufficient number of the authorities by me above produced, though brought only to prove some Paschal or Lenten fast before Easter to have been of tradition and institution apostolical, have not evidenced that forty days abstinence, within which also we might best choose to us days for proper fasting, according to the measure of our bodily strength and devotion of our minds, comes unto us fairly recommended from tradition apostolical. In a word, this is proved from every author that hath given in testimony of the original apostolical of Teσσapakoσтǹ, or Quadragesima; which I have shewed never was understood in the Church of forty hours, and yet was for certain an aiming at least at some number of forty, within which Christian abstinence i Ab Apostolis traditum et commendatum, [vid. p. 101. sup.] how far of apostolical recommendation; 233 should especially be exercised; but if not forty hours, there is nothing next that can be imagined less, nor indeed was it more, than forty days. Amongst such testimonies already produced there need be nothing asked for elder than the practice of the Religious in St. Mark's time, witnessed by Philo, who saw them and lived among them ; by Eusebius, who saw and cites many ancient records and monuments ecclesiastical which now are no where extant; and by St. Hierome, who made most curious search into the ascetical observances of the primitive religious Christians in Egypt, and wrote exactly the lives of many of the chief of them. All these three, Philo*, Eusebius', and St. Hieronem, do together make up this complete testimony", that far within the times of the Apostles, while yet St. John, yea St. Peter and St. Paul were alive, in the Church where St. Mark was set bishop by St. Peter, the religious Christians did διὰ ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδων by the space of about seven weeks, speaking popularly, exercise special abstinence and devotions; not of precept indeed to all Christians, for we speak not now of that, but of recommendation certainly from their spiritual guides, which were apostolical persons sent to them from the Apostles, 481 and particularly St. Mark, a teacher inspired of God. For the time, Philo's words are, οὗτοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀθροίζονται δι ̓ ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδων-οἶνος ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις οὐκ εἰσκομίζεται·—καὶ τράπεζα καθαρὰ τῶν ἐναίμων, ἐφ ̓ ἧς ἄρτος μὲν τροφή, προσόψημα δὲ ἅλες· —ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ διὰ τριῶν ἡμερῶν οὐχ ὑπομιμνήσκονται τροφῆς,—καὶ μόλις δι' ἓξ ἡμερῶν ἀπογεύ‐ εσθαι τροφῆς ἀναγκαίας—ἁγνὴν γὰρ καὶ ἀειπάρθενον αὐτὴν [ἑβδομάδα] ἴσασιν· ἔστι δὲ προεόρτιος μεγίστης ἑορτῆς ἣν πεντηκοντὰς ἔλαχεν, &c. μετὰ δὲ τὸ δεῖπνον τὴν ἱερὰν ἄγουσι παννυχίδα· “ these assemble themselves especially by the space of seven weeks;-wine in those days is not brought in unto their tables;-and their table hath not any thing of that which had" sensitive life, or "blood, but bread for their food, and salt for that which they eat with their bread;-some 66 * In his book περὶ τοῦ βίου θεωρητικοῦ, ἢ ἱκετῶν, [vid. p. 24, sqq. sup.] In lib. ii. Histor. Ecclesiast. c. 17. - In lib. ii. advers. Jovinian. c. 39. n Add to these Sozomen, lib. i. c. 12. [p. 26.] Τοιαύτην παρίστησιν, οἵαν καὶ ἡμεῖς νῦν παρὰ τοῖς Αιγυπτίων μοναχοῖς πολιτευομένην ὁρῶμέν — καὶ ὁ μὲν φίλων ὡδέπη ἱστορῶν ἔοικεν ὑποφαίνειν τοὺς κατ ̓ αὐτὸν ἐξ Ἑβραίων χριστιανίσαντας· —παρ ̓ ἄλλοις γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ταύ την τοῦ βίου τὴν διαγωγήν. |