Volume I—A To Elba (continued 30)

W. Speer, The Oldest and the Newest Empire, chapter 14.

ALSO IN: Treaties and Conventions between the United States and other Powers (1889), page 159 and 179.

{429}

CHINA: A. D. 1884-1885. War with France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1875-1889.

CHINA: A. D. 1892. Exclusion of Chinese from the United States.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.

CHINA: A. D. 1893. The future of the Chinese. A speculation.

"China is generally regarded as a stationary power which can fairly hold its own, though it has lost Annam to France, and the suzerainty of Upper Burmah to England, and the Amoor Valley to Russia, but which is not a serious competitor in the race for empire. There is a certain plausibility in this view. On the other hand, China has recovered Eastern Turkestan from Mahommedan rule and from a Russian protectorate, is dominating the Corea, and has stamped out a dangerous rebellion in Yunnan. No one can doubt that if China were to get for sovereign a man with the organising and aggressive genius of Peter the Great or Frederick the Second, it would be a very formidable neighbour to either British India or Russia. Neither is it easy to suppose that the improvements, now tentatively introduced into China, will not soon be taken up and pushed on a large scale, so that railways will be carried into the heart of Asia, and large armies drilled and furnished with arms of precision on the European model. In any such case the rights which China has reluctantly conceded or still claims over Annam and Tonquin, over Siam, over Upper Burmah, and over Nepaul, may become matters of very serious discussion. At present the French settlements arrest the expansion of China in the direction most dangerous to the world. Unfortunately, the climate of Saigon is such as no European cares to settle in, and the war to secure Tonquin was so unpopular that it cost a French premier his tenure of office. … 'Whatever, however, be the fortune of China in this direction, it is scarcely doubtful that she will not only people up to the furthest boundary of her recognised territory, but gradually acquire new dominions. The history of our Straits Settlements will afford a familiar instance how the Chinese are spreading. They already form half the population predominating in Singapore and Perak, and the best observers are agreed that the Malay cannot hold his own against them. They are beginning to settle in Borneo and Sumatra, and they are supplanting the natives in some of the small islands of the Pacific, such as Hawaii. The climate of all these countries suits them, and they commend themselves to governments and employers by their power of steady industry; and they intermarry freely up to a safe point with the women of the country, getting all the advantages of alliance, yet not sacrificing their nationality. Several causes have retarded their spread hitherto: the regions enumerated have mostly been too insecure for an industrial people to flourish in, until the British or the Dutch established order; the government of China has hitherto discouraged emigration; English administrations have been obliged to be rather wary in their dealings with a people who showed at Sarawak and Penang that they were capable of combining for purposes of massacre; and the Chinese superstition about burial in the sacred soil of the Celestial Empire made the great majority of the emigrants birds of passage. All these causes are disappearing. … Europeans cannot flourish under the tropics, and will not work with the hand where an inferior race works. What we have to consider, therefore, is the probability that the natives who are giving way to the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula will be able to make head against them in Borneo or Sumatra. Borneo is nearly six times as big as Java, and if it were peopled like Java would support a population of nearly 100,000,000. … In the long run the Chinese, who out-number the Malays as sixteen to one, who are more decidedly industrial, and who organise where they can in a way that precludes competition, are tolerably certain to gain the upper hand. They may not destroy the early settlers, but they will reduce them to the position of the Hill tribes in India, or of the Ainos in Japan. Assume fifty years hence that China has taken its inevitable position as one of the great powers of the world, and that Borneo has a population of 10,000,000, predominantly Chinese, is it easy to suppose in such a case that the larger part of Borneo would still be a dependency of the Netherlands? or that the whole island would not have passed, by arms or diplomacy, into the possession of China? … There are those who believe that the Chinaman is likely to supersede the Spaniard and Indian alike in parts of South America. Without assuming that all of these possibilities are likely to be realised, there is surely a strong presumption that so great a people as the Chinese, and possessed of such enormous natural resources, will sooner or later overflow their borders and spread over new territory, and submerge weaker races."

C. H. Pearson, National Life and Character, pages 45-51.

—————CHINA: End—————

CHINANTECS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ZAPOTECS, ETC.

CH'ING OR TSING DYNASTY, The.

See CHINA: A. D. 1294-1882.

CHINGIS KHAN, Conquests of.

See MONGOLS: A. D. 1153-1227; and INDIA: A. D. 977-1290.

CHINOOK, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: CHINOOKAN FAMILY.

CHIOGGIA, The War of.

See VENICE: A. D. 1379-1381.

CHIOS.

The rocky island known anciently as Chios, called Scio in modern times, was one of the places which claimed Homer's birth. It is situated in the Ægean Sea, separated by a strait only five miles wide from the Asiatic coast. The wines of Chios were famous in antiquity and have a good reputation at the present day. The island was an important member of the Ionian confederation, and afterwards subject to Athens, from which it revolted twice, suffering terrible barbarities in consequence.

See ASIA MINOR: THE GREEK COLONIES.

CHIOS: B. C. 413. Revolt from Athens.

See GREECE: B. C. 413-412.

CHIOS: A. D. 1346. Taken by the Genoese.

See CONSTANTINOPLE: A. D. 1348-1355.

CHIOS: A. D. 1681. Blockade and attack by the French.

See BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1664-1684.

CHIOS: A. D. 1770. Temporary possession by the Russians.

See TURKS: A. D. 1768-1774.

CHIOS: A. D. 1822. Turkish massacre of Christians.

See GREECE: A. D. 1821-1829.

—————CHIOS: End—————

CHIPPEWA, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1814 (JULY-SEPTEMBER).

{430}

CHIPPEWAS, OR OJIBWAS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONQUIAN FAMILY, AND OJIBWAS.

CHIPPEWYANS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES ATHAPASCAN FAMILY.

CHITON, The.

"The chiton [of the ancient Greeks] was an oblong piece of cloth arranged round the body so that the arm was put through a hole in the closed side, the two ends of the open side being fastened over the opposite shoulder by means of a button or clasp. On this latter side, therefore, the chiton was completely open, at least as far as the thigh, underneath of which the two ends might be either pinned or stitched together. Round the hips the chiton was fastened with a ribbon or girdle, and the lower part could be shortened as much as required by pulling it through this girdle. … Frequently sleeves, either shorter and covering only the upper arm, or continued to the wrist were added to the chiton. … The short-sleeved chiton is frequently worn by women and children on monuments. Of the sleeveless chiton, worn by men over both shoulders, it is stated that it was the sign of a free citizen. Slaves and artisans are said to have worn a chiton with one hole for the left arm, the right arm and half the chest remaining quite uncovered. … It appears clearly that the whole chiton consists of one piece. Together with the open and half-open kinds of the chiton we also find the closed double chiton flowing down to the feet. It was a piece of cloth considerably longer than the human body, and closed on both sides, inside of which the person putting it on stood as in a cylinder."

E. Guhl and W. Koner, Life of the Greeks and Romans, part 1, section 41.

"The principal, or rather, the sole garment, of the Dorian maidens was the chiton, or himation made of woolen stuff, and without sleeves, but fastened on either shoulder by a large clasp, and gathered on the breast by a kind of brooch. This sleeveless robe, which seldom reached more than half way to the knee, was moreover left open up to a certain point on both sides, so that the skirts or wings, flying open as they walked, entirely exposed their limbs. … The married women, however, did not make their appearance in public 'en chemise,' but when going abroad donned a second garment which seems to have resembled pretty closely their husbands' himatia."

J. A. St. John, The Hellenes, book 3, chapter 6.

CHITTIM.

See KITTIM.

CHIVALRY.

"The primitive sense of this well-known word, derived from the French Chevalier, signifies merely cavalry, or a body of soldiers serving on horseback; and has been used in that general acceptation by the best of our poets, ancient and modern, from Milton to Thomas Campbell. But the present article respects the peculiar meaning given to the word in modern Europe, as applied to the order of knighthood, established in almost all her kingdoms during the middle ages, and the laws, rules, and customs, by which it was governed. Those laws and customs have long been antiquated, but their effects may still be traced in European manners; and, excepting only the change which flowed from the introduction of the Christian religion, we know no cause which has produced such general and permanent difference betwixt the ancients and moderns, as that which has arisen out of the institution of chivalry. … From the time that cavalry becomes used in war, the horseman who furnishes and supports a charger arises, in all countries, into a person of superior importance to the mere foot-soldier. … In various military nations, therefore, we find that horsemen are distinguished as an order in the state. … But, in the middle ages, the distinction ascribed to soldiers serving on horseback assumed a very peculiar and imposing character. They were not merely respected on account of their wealth or military skill, but were bound together by a union of a very peculiar character, which monarchs were ambitious to share with the poorest of their subjects, and governed by laws directed to enhance, into enthusiasm, the military spirit and the sense of personal honour associated with it. The aspirants to this dignity were not permitted to assume the sacred character of knighthood until after a long and severe probation, during which they practised, as acolytes, the virtues necessary to the order of Chivalry. Knighthood was the goal to which the ambition of every noble youth turned; and to support its honours, which (in theory at least) could only be conferred on the gallant, the modest, and the virtuous, it was necessary he should spend a certain time in a subordinate situation, attendant upon some knight of eminence, observing the conduct of his master, as what must in future be the model of his own, and practising the virtues of humility, modesty, and temperance, until called upon to display those of a higher order. … In the general and abstract definition of Chivalry, whether as comprising a body of men whose military service was on horseback, and who were invested with peculiar honours and privileges, or with reference to the mode and period in which these distinctions and privileges were conferred, there is nothing either original or exclusively proper to our Gothic ancestors. It was in the singular tenets of Chivalry,—in the exalted, enthusiastic, and almost sanctimonious, ideas connected with its duties,—in the singular balance which its institutions offered against the evils of the rude ages in which it arose, that we are to seek those peculiarities which render it so worthy of our attention. … The education of the future knight began at an early period. The care of the mother, after the first years of early youth were passed, was deemed too tender, and the indulgences of the paternal roof too effeminate, for the future aspirant to the honours of chivalry. … To counteract these habits of indulgence, the first step to the order of knighthood was the degree of Page. The young and noble stripling, generally about his twelfth year, was transferred from his father's house to that of some baron or gallant knight, sedulously chosen by the anxious parent as that which had the best reputation for good order and discipline. … When advancing age and experience in the use of arms had qualified the page for the hardships and dangers of actual war, he was removed, from the lowest to the second gradation of chivalry, and became an Eseuyer, Esquire, or Squire. The derivation of this phrase has been much contested. It has been generally supposed to be derived from its becoming the official duty of the esquire to carry the shield (Escu) of the knight his master, until he was about to engage the enemy. Others have fetched the epithet (more remotely certainly) from Scuria, a stable, the charger of the knight being under the especial care of the squire. {431} Others, again, ascribe the derivation of the word to the right which the squire himself had to carry a shield, and to blazon it with armorial bearings. This, in later times, became almost the exclusive meaning attached to the appellative esquire; and, accordingly, if the phrase now means anything, it means a gentleman having a right to carry arms. There is reason, however, to think this is a secondary meaning of the word, for we do not find the word Escuyer, applied as a title of rank, until so late as the Ordonnance of Blois, in 1579. … In actual war the page was not expected to render much service, but that of the squire was important and indispensable. Upon a march he bore the helmet and shield of the knight and led his horse of battle, a tall heavy animal fit to bear the weight of a man in armour, but which was led in hand in marching, while the knight rode an ambling hackney. The squire was also qualified to perform the part of an armourer, not only lacing his master's helmet and buckling his cuirass, but also closing with a hammer the rivets by which the various pieces were united to each other. … In the actual shock of battle, the esquire attended closely on the banner of his master, or on his person if he were only a knight bachelor, kept pace with him during the melee, and was at hand to remount him when his steed was slain, or relieve him when oppressed by numbers. If the knight made prisoners they were the charge of the esquire; if the esquire himself fortuned to make one, the ransom belonged to his master. … A youth usually ceased to be a page at 14, or a little earlier, and could not regularly receive the honour of knighthood until he was one-and-twenty. … Knighthood was, in its origin, an order of a republican, or at least an oligarchic nature; arising … from the customs of the free tribes of Germany [see COMITATUS], and, in its essence, not requiring the sanction of a monarch. On the contrary, each knight could confer the order of knighthood upon whomsoever preparatory noviciate and probation had fitted to receive it. The highest potentates sought the accolade, or stroke which conferred the honour, at the hands of the worthiest knight whose achievements had dignified the period. … Though no positive regulation took place on the subject, ambition on the part of the aspirant, and pride and policy on that of the sovereign princes and nobles of high rank, gradually limited to the latter the power of conferring knighthood. … Knights were usually made either on the eve of battle, or when the victory had been obtained; or they were created during the pomp of some solemn warning or grand festival. … The spirit of chivalry sunk gradually under a combination of physical and moral causes; the first arising from the change gradually introduced into the art of war, and the last from the equally great alteration produced by time in the habits and modes of thinking in modern Europe. Chivalry began to dawn in the end of the 10th, and beginning of the 11th century. It blazed forth with high vigour during the crusades, which indeed may be considered as exploits of national knight-errantry, or general wars, undertaken on the very same principles which actuated the conduct of individual knights adventurers. But its most brilliant period was during the wars between France and England, and it was unquestionably in those kingdoms that the habit of constant and honourable opposition, unembittered by rancour or personal hatred, gave the fairest opportunity for the exercise of the virtues required from him whom Chaucer terms 'a very perfect gentle knight.' Froissart frequently makes allusions to the generosity exercised by the French and English to their prisoners, and contrasts it with the dungeons to which captives taken in war were consigned both in Spain and Germany. Yet both these countries, and indeed every kingdom in Europe, partook of the spirit of chivalry in a greater or less degree; and even the Moors of Spain caught the emulation, and had their orders of Knighthood as well as the Christians. But even during this splendid period, various causes were silently operating the future extinction of the flame, which blazed thus wide and brightly. An important discovery, the invention of gunpowder, had taken place, and was beginning to be used in war, even when chivalry was in its highest glory. … Another change, of vital importance, arose from the institution of the bands of gens-d'armes, or men at arms in France, constituted … expressly as a sort of standing army. … A more fatal cause had, however, been for some time operating in England, as well as France, for the destruction of the system we are treating of. The wars of York and Lancaster in England, and those of the Huguenots and of the League, were of a nature so bitter and rancorous, as was utterly inconsistent with the courtesy, fair play, and gentleness, proper to chivalry. … The civil wars not only operated in debasing the spirit of chivalry, but in exhausting and destroying the particular class of society from which its votaries were drawn."

Sir W. Scott, Essay on Chivalry.

ALSO IN: G P. R. James, History of Chivalry.

H. Hallam, State of Europe during the Middle Ages, chapter 9, part 2 (volume 3).

F. P. Guizot, History of Civilization in France, 6th lecture, 2d course (volume 4).

C. Mills, History of Chivalry.

H. Stebbing, History of Chivalry and the Crusades.

L. Gautier, Chivalry.

K. H. Digby, The Broadstone of Honour.

Dr. Doran, Knights and their Days.

See, also, KNIGHTHOOD, ORDERS OF.

CHLAMYS, The.

"The chlamys [worn by the ancient Greeks] … was an oblong piece of cloth thrown over the left shoulder, the open ends being fastened across the right shoulder by means of a clasp; the corners hanging down were, as in the himation, kept straight by means of weights sewed into them. The chlamys was principally used by travellers and soldiers."

E. Guhl and W. Koner, Life of the Greeks and Romans, part 1, section 42.

CHOCIM.

See CHOCZIM.

CHOCTAWS, OR CHA'HTAS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MUSKHOGEAN FAMILY.

CHOCZIM (KHOTZIM, CHOTYN, KHOTIN, CHOCIM, KOTZIM): A. D. 1622. Defeat of the Turks by the Poles.

See POLAND: A. D. 1590-1648.

CHOCZIM: A. D. 1672. Taken by Sobieska and the Poles. Great defeat of the Turks.

See POLAND: A. D. 1668-1696.

CHOCZIM: A. D. 1739. Captured by the Russians and restored to the Turks.

See Russia: A. D.1725-1739.

CHOCZIM: A. D. 1769. Taken by the Russians. Defeat of the Turks.

See TURKS: A. D. 1768-1774.

{432}

CHOCZIM: A. D. 1790. Defeat of the Turks by the Russians.

See TURKS: A. D. 1776-1792.

—————CHOCZIM: End—————

CHOLET, Battles of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (JULY-DECEMBER).

CHOLULA: Pyramids at.

See MEXICO, ANCIENT: THE TOLTEC EMPIRE.

CHOLULA: A. D. 1519. The Massacre at.

See MEXICO: A. D. 1519 (OCTOBER).

—————CHOLULA: End—————

CHONTALS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: CHONTALS.

CHONTAQUIROS, OR PIRU, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS.

CHORASMIA.

See KHUAREZM.

CHOREGIA.

See LITURGIES.

CHOTUSITZ, OR CZASLAU, Battle of.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (JANUARY-MAY).

CHOTYN.

See CHOCZIM.

CHOUANS. CHOUANNERIE.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794-1796.

CHOUT. The blackmail levied by the Mahrattas.

See INDIA: A. D. 1805-1816.

CHOWANS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: IROQUOIS TRIBES OF THE SOUTH.

CHREMONIDEAN WAR, The.

See ATHENS: B. C. 288-263.

CHRIST, Knights of the Order of.

See PORTUGAL: A. D. 1415-1460.

CHRISTIAN I., King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, A. D. 1448-1481.

Christian II., A. D. 1513-1523.

Christian III., King of Denmark and Norway, A. D. 1534-1558.

Christian IV., A. D. 1588-1648.

Christian V., A. D. 1670-1699.

Christian VI., A. D. 1730-1746.

Christian VII., A. D. 1766-1808.

Christian VIII., King of Denmark, A. D. 1839-1848.

Christian IX., A. D. 1863-.

CHRISTIAN COMMISSION, The United States.

See SANITARY COMMISSION.

CHRISTIAN ERA.

See ERA, CHRISTIAN.

[image: DEVELOPMENT MAP OF CHRISTIANITY.]

[image: DEVELOPMENT MAP OF CHRISTIANITY.]

CHRISTIANITY:

"Historical geography has of late years become an integral part of the historical science. Recent investigations have opened up the subject and a solid beginning has been made—but it is only a beginning. It is clearly recognized that the land itself as it appears at different periods is one of those invaluable original documents upon which history is built, and no stone is being left unturned to clear away mysteries and to bring to our aid a realism hitherto unknown to the science. … But the special branch of this vast and complicated theme of historical geography which interests us most and which I desire briefly to bring to your attention is that which deals with the Christian Church. … Our eyes first rest upon that little group at Jerusalem that made up the Pentecostal Church. Its spread was conditioned by the extent and character of the Roman Empire, by the municipal genius of that empire, its great highways by land and sea; conditioned by the commercial routes and the track of armies outside the bounds of civilization; conditioned by the spread of languages— Aramaic, Greek, and Latin,—and, most important of all, conditioned by the whereabouts of the seven million Jews massed in Syria, Babylonia, and Egypt, and scattered everywhere throughout the Empire and far beyond its boundaries."

H. W. Hulbert, The Historical Geography of the Christian Church (American Society of Church History, volume 3).

"When we turn from the Jewish 'dispersion' in the East to that in the West, we seem in quite a different atmosphere. Despite their intense nationalism, all unconsciously to themselves, their mental characteristics and tendencies were in the opposite direction from those of their brethren. With those of the East rested the future of Judaism; with them of the West, in a sense, that of the world. The one represented old Israel groping back into the darkness of the past; the other young Israel, stretching forth its hands to where the dawn of a new day was about to break. These Jews of the West are known by the term Hellenists. … The translation of the Old Testament into Greek may be regarded as the starting point of Hellenism. It rendered possible the hope that what in its original form had been confined to the few, might become accessible to the world at large. … In the account of the truly representative gathering in Jerusalem on that ever-memorable Feast of Weeks, the division of the 'dispersion' into two grand sections—the Eastern or Trans-Euphratic, and the Western or Hellenist—seems clearly marked. In this arrangement the former would include 'the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and dwellers in Mesopotamia,' Judæa standing, so to speak, in the middle, while 'the Cretes and Arabians' would typically represent the farthest outrunners respectively of the Western and Eastern Diaspora. The former, as we know from the New Testament, commonly bore in Palestine the name of the 'dispersion of the Greeks', and of 'Hellenists' or 'Grecians.' On the other hand, the Trans-Euphratic Jews, who 'inhabited Babylon and many of the other satrapies,' were included with the Palestinians and the Syrians under the term 'Hebrews,' from the common language which they spoke. But the difference between the 'Grecians' and the 'Hebrews' was far deeper than merely of language, and extended to the whole direction of thought."

A. Edersheim. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, volume 1, book 1, chapters 2-3, and 1.

"Before Pentecost an assembly of the believers took place, at which the post vacated in the number of the apostles by the suicide of the traitor Judas of Kerioth, was filled up by the election of Matthias by lot. On this occasion the number of the assembled brethren amounted to about 120 men. … At the feast of Pentecost … a very considerable accession was made to the formerly moderate band of believers in Jerusalem; … about 3,000 souls received the word and were joined to the Church by baptism (Acts ii. 41). We must not, however, at once credit the Church in Jerusalem with this increase. For among the listeners to the apostolic discourse there were Israelitish guests and proselytes from near and distant countries (ii. 5, 9-11, 14), whence we may infer that of those newly converted many were not living in Jerusalem itself, but partly in Judæa and Galilee, partly in countries beyond Palestine, who therefore returned home after the feast days were ended. {433} Some of these might, under certain circumstances, form the centre of a small Church in the dispersion, so that gradually Churches may have arisen to which also James may possibly have addressed his Epistle. … So abundantly did God bless with success the activity of the early apostles though limited to the nation of Israel and the land of Canaan, and their fidelity within a circumscribed sphere. Hence there existed at the end of the period of which we treat numerous Christian Churches in Jerusalem and the whole country of Judæa (comp. Galatians i. 22, etc.: Acts xi. 1), also on the coast (Acts ix. 32-35, etc.) in Samaria and Galilee, and finally in Syria, Phenicia, and Cyprus, (Acts ix. 2, 10, 25, xi. 19), some of which were directly, some indirectly, founded by the Twelve, and were, in any case, governed and guided by them.' In the above named districts outside Palestine, it might not, indeed, have been easy to find a Christian Church consisting exclusively of believing Jews, for as a rule they consisted of believing Jews and individual Gentiles. On the other hand, we shall scarcely be wrong in regarding the Christian Churches within Palestine itself as composed entirely of believing Israelites. But even among these there were many distinctions, e. g., between Palestinians and Hellenists."

G. V. Lechler, The Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times, volume 1, pages 30-35.

"We find the early [Jewish] Christians observing the national feasts and holidays (Acts ii. 1: xviii. 21: xx. 6, 16: Romans xiv. 5). They take part in the worship of the temple and the synagogue; they pray at the customary hours (chapters ii. 46; iii. 1; volume 42; x. 9). They observe the fasts, and undergo voluntary abstinence, binding themselves by special vows like all pious Jews (xiii. 2: xvii. 18; xxi. 23). They scrupulously avoid unlawful food, and all legal defilement (x. 14). They have their children circumcised (xv. 5; xvi. 3; 65493 volume 2). … This scrupulous piety won for them the esteem and admiration of the people (chap. volume 13)." At first their creed was "comprised in a single dogma: 'Jesus is the Messiah.' … Their preaching of the Gospel strictly followed the lines of Messianic tradition (i. 7; ii. 36; iii. 20). … But in reality all this formed only the outside of their life and creed. … Herein lies the profound significance of the miracle of Pentecost. That day was the birthday of the Church, not because of the marvelous success of Peter's preaching, but because the Christian principle, hitherto existing only objectively and externally in the person of Jesus, passed from that moment into the souls of His disciples. … And thus in the very midst of Judaism we see created and unfolded a form of religious life essentially different from it—the Christian life."

A. Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, pages 35-36.

"By the two parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven, Christ marked out the two sides or aspects of His truth—its external growth from the least to the greatest, and its internal action on society at large—as setting up a ferment, and making a new lump out of the unkneaded mass of the old humanity. With these two symbols in view we may gauge what the gospel was designed to be and to do. It was to grow into a great outward society—the tree of the Church; but it was also to do a work on secular society as such, corresponding to the action of leaven on flour. The history of Christianity has been the carrying out of these two distinct and contrasted conceptions; but how imperfectly, and under what drawbacks."

Reverend J. B. Heard, Alexandrian and Carthaginian Theology Contrasted, page 186.

"The organic connection of Jewish Christians with the synagogue, which must, in accordance with the facts before us, be regarded as a rule, is certainly not to be taken as a mere incidental phenomenon, a customary habit or arbitrary accommodation, but as a moral fact resting upon an internal necessity, having its foundation in the love of Jewish Christians to their nation, and in the adhesion of their religious consciousness to the old covenant. To mistake this would be to underrate the wide bearing of the fact. But lest we should over-estimate its importance, we must at once proceed to another consideration. Within Judaism we must distinguish not only the Rabbinical or Pharisaic tradition of the original canonical revelation, but also within the canon itself we have to distinguish the Levitical element from the prophetic, … taking the latter not in a close but a wide sense as the living spiritual development of the theocracy."

G. V. Lechler, The Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times, volume 1, page 54.

"Moreover the law had claims on a Hebrew of Palestine wholly independent of his religious obligations. To him it was a national institution, as well as a divine covenant. Under the Gospel he might consider his relations to it in this latter character altered, but as embodying the decrees and usages of his country it still demanded his allegiance. To be a good Christian he was not required to be a bad citizen. On these grounds the more enlightened members of the mother-church would justify their continued adhesion to the law. Nor is there any reason to suppose that St. Paul himself took a different view of their obligations."

J. B. Lightfoot, Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, page 67.

"The term 'Jewish-Christianity' is applicable exclusively to those Christians who really retained, entirely or in the smallest part, the national and political forms of Judaism and insisted upon the observance of the Mosaic Law without modification as essential to Christianity, at least to the Christianity of the Jewish-born converts, or who indeed rejected these forms, but acknowledged the prerogative of the Jewish people also in Christianity."

A. Harnack, Outlines of the History of Dogma, page 75.

CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 33-100. The Rise of the Churches. Jerusalem.

"After the miraculous healing of the cripple and the discourse of the Apostle Peter on that occasion, the historian goes on to say, Many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of the men was about 5,000' (iv. 4). It seems as if in consequence of this event, which made no little stir, a larger number joined themselves to the Church. Nor is it probable that this healing took place until a long time after the beginning of the Church. The miracle, with the effect which it had, serves as a resting place at which the result of the previous growth of the Church may be ascertained. And here the number again incidentally mentioned refers without doubt to the Church at Jerusalem."

G. V. Lechler, The Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times, volume 1, page 32.

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The early history of the Churches "falls into three periods which mark three distinct stages in its progress: (1) The Extension of the Church to the Gentiles; (2) The Recognition of Gentile Liberty; (3) The Emancipation of the Jewish Churches. … And soon enough the pressure of events began to be felt. The dispersion was the link which connected the Hebrews of Palestine with the outer world. Led captive by the power of Greek philosophy at Athens and Tarsus and Alexandria, attracted by the fascinations of Oriental mysticism in Asia, swept along with the busy whirl of social life in the city and court of the Cæsars, these outlying members of the chosen race had inhaled a freer spirit and contracted wider interests than their fellow-countrymen at home. By a series of insensible gradations—proselytes of the covenant—proselytes of the gate—superstitious devotees who observed the rites without accepting the faith of the Mosaic dispensation—curious lookers-on who interested themselves in the Jewish ritual as they would in the worship of Isis or of Astarte—the most stubborn zealot of the law was linked to the idolatrous heathen whom he abhorred and who despised him in turn. Thus the train was unconsciously laid, when the spark fell from heaven and fired it. … Meanwhile at Jerusalem some years passed away before the barrier of Judaism was assailed. The Apostles still observed the Mosaic ritual; they still confined their preaching to Jews by birth, or Jews by adoption, the proselytes of the covenant. At length a breach was made, and the assailants as might be expected were Hellenists. The first step towards the creation of an organized ministry was also the first step towards the emancipation of the Church. The Jews of Judæa, 'Hebrews of the Hebrews' had ever regarded their Hellenist brethren with suspicion and distrust; and this estrangement reproduced itself in the Christian Church. The interests of the Hellenist widows had been neglected in the daily distribution of alms. Hence 'arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews' (Acts vi. 1), which was met by the appointment of seven persons specially charged with providing for the wants of these neglected poor. If the selection was made, as St. Luke's language seems to imply, not by the Hellenists themselves but by the Church at large (vi. 2), the concession when granted was carried out in a liberal spirit. All the names of the seven are Greek, pointing to a Hellenist rather than a Hebrew extraction, and one is especially described as a proselyte, being doubtless chosen to represent a hitherto small but growing section of the community. By this appointment the Hellenist members obtained a status in the Church; and the effects of this measure soon became visible. Two out of the seven stand prominently forward as the champions of emancipation, Stephen the preacher and martyr of liberty, and Philip the practical worker."

J. B. Lightfoot, Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, pages 50-52.

"The Hellenist Stephen roused deep-stirring movements chiefly in Hellenist circles. … The persecution of the Jerusalem community—perhaps specially of its Hellenist part—which followed the stoning of Stephen, became a means of promoting the spread of the Christian faith to … Cyprus, at last to so important a centre as Antioch, the imperial capital of the East. To the winning of the Jews to faith in Jesus there is already added the reception into the Christian community of the pious Gentile Cornelius, a proselyte of the gate. … Though this appears in tradition as an individual case sanctioned by special Divine guidance, in the meantime Hellenist Christians had already begun to preach the Gospel to born Greeks, also at Antioch in Syria, and successfully (Acts xi. 19-26), Barnabas is sent thither from Jerusalem."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, pages 53-54.

"Philip, driven from Jerusalem by the persecution, preached Christ to the Samaritans. … The Apostles who had remained at Jerusalem, hearing of the success of Philip's preaching, sent two of their number into this new and fruitful field of labor. … Peter and John return to Jerusalem while the Deacon Philip is called, by a new manifestation of the will of God, yet further to extend the field of Christian missions. It is not a Samaritan but a pagan, whom he next instructs in the truth. … He was an Ethiopian eunuch, a great dignitary of the court of Meroë, treasurer of the Queen. … This man, a pagan by birth, had taken a long journey to worship the true God in the temple of Jerusalem."

E. De Pressensé, The Early Years of Christianity, pages 71-74.

"For the sake of the popular feeling Herod Agrippa laid hands on members of the community, and caused James the brother of John (the sons of Zebedee) to be put to death by the sword, in the year 44, for soon thereafter Herod Agrippa died. Peter also was taken prisoner, but miraculously escaped and provisionally left Jerusalem. From this time on James the brother of the Lord appears ever more and more as really bearing rank as head of the Jerusalem community, while Peter more and more devotes himself to the apostolic mission abroad, and indeed, more accurately, to the mission in Israel."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, page 55.

"The accounts which we have regarding the apostle Peter, represent him as preaching the gospel from the far east to distant parts of the west. … According to his own words, he founded churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, and according to the testimony of ancient historians of the Church in the east also; in Syria, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Chaldaea, Arabia, Phoenicia and Egypt, and in the west, at Rome, in Britain, Ireland, Helvetia and Spain."

J. E. T. Wiltsch, Hand Book of the Geography and Statistics of The Church, volume 1, pages 19-20.

"Three and three only of the personal disciples and immediate followers of our Lord hold any prominent place in the Apostolic records—James, Peter, and John; the first the Lord's brother, the two latter the foremost members of the Twelve. Apart from an incidental reference to the death of James the son of Zebedee, which is dismissed in a single sentence, the rest of the Twelve are mentioned by name for the last time on the day of the Lord's Ascension. Thenceforward they disappear wholly from the canonical writings. And this silence also extends to the traditions of succeeding ages. We read indeed of St. Thomas in India, of St. Andrew in Scythia; but such scanty notices, even if we accept them as trustworthy, show only the more plainly how little the Church could tell of her earliest teachers. Doubtless they laboured zealously and effectively in the spread of the Gospel; but, so far as we know, they have left no impress of their individual mind and character on the Church at large. Occupying the foreground, and indeed covering the whole canvas of early ecclesiastical history, appear four figures alone, St. Paul, and the three Apostles of the Circumcision."

J. B. Lightfoot, Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, page 46.

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"While Peter (as it appears) is occupied with the work of preaching to the Jews outside of Palestine, the community at Jerusalem, and indeed the Palestinian communities in general, stand under the leadership of the brother of the Lord, James, as their recognised head. They remain strictly in the life of the law, and still hold securely to the hope of the conversion of the whole of God's people (which Paul had for the present given up). The mission to the Gentiles is indeed recognised, but the manner of its conduct by Paul and the powerful increase of Pauline communities excite misgivings and dissensions. For in these mixed communities, in the presence of what is often a preponderating Gentile element, it becomes ever clearer in what direction the development is pressing; that, in fact, for the sake of the higher Christian communion the legal customs even of the Jewish Christians in these communities must inevitably be broken down, and general Christian freedom, on principle, from the commands of the law, gain recognition."

Dr. Wilhelm Moeller, History of the Christian Church, page 73.

"The fall of Jerusalem occurred in the Autumn of the year 70 [see JEWS: A. D. 66-70]. And soon the catastrophe came which solved the difficult problem. … Jerusalem was razed to the ground, and the Temple-worship ceased, never again to be revived. The Christians foreseeing the calamity had fled before the tempest. … Before the crisis came, they had been deprived of the counsel and guidance of the leading apostles. Peter had fallen a martyr at Rome; John had retired to Asia Minor; James, the Lord's brother, was slain not long before the great catastrophe. … He was succeeded by his cousin Symeon, the son of Clopas and nephew of Joseph. Under these circumstances the Church was reformed at Pella. Its history in the ages following is a hopeless blank."

J. B. Lightfoot, Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, page 68.

"While Cæsarea succeeded Jerusalem as the political capital of Palestine, Antioch succeeded it as the centre of Christendom."

A. Plummer, Church of the Early Fathers, chapter 3.

CHRISTIANITY: Antioch.

"Under Macedonian rule the Greek intellect had become the leading intellectual power of the world. The great Greek-speaking towns of the East were alike the strongholds of intellectual power, the battlefields of opinion and systems, and the laboratories of scientific research, where discoveries were made and literary undertakings requiring the combination of forces were carried out. Such was Antioch on the Orontes, the meeting point of Syrian and Greek intellect; such, above all, was Alexandria."

J. J. von Döllinger, Studies in European History, page 165.

"The chief line along which the new religion developed was that which led from Syrian Antioch through the Cilician Gates, across Lycaonia to Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome. One subsidiary line followed the land route by Philadelphia, Troas, Philippi, and the Egnatian Way to Brindisi and Rome; and another went north from the Gates by Tyana and Cæsareia of Cappadocia to Amisos in Pontus, the great harbour of the Black Sea, by which the trade of Central Asia was carried to Rome. The maintenance of close and constant communication between the scattered congregations must be presupposed, as necessary to explain the growth of the Church and the attitude which the State assumed towards it. Such communication was, on the view advocated in the present work, maintained along the same lines on which the general development of the Empire took place; and politics, education and religion grew side by side."

W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, page 10.

"The incitement to the wider preaching of the Gospel in the Greek world starts from the Christian community at Antioch. For this purpose Barnabas receives Paul as a companion (Acts xiii., and xiv.) Saul, by birth a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, educated as a Pharisee; and although indeed as a Hellenist, he had command of Greek and had come into contact with Greek culture and Greek life, yet had not actually passed through the discipline of Greek culture, was introduced by Gamaliel to the learned study of the law, and his whole soul was seized with fiery zeal for the Statutes of the fathers. … After [his conversion and] his stay in Damascus and in Arabia and the visit to Peter (and James) at Jerusalem, having gone to Syria and Cilicia, he was taken to Antioch by Barnabas."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, page 57.

"The strength and zeal of the Antioch Christian society are shown in the sending forth of Paul and Barnabas, with Mark, a cousin of Barnabas, for their companion for a part of the way, on a preaching tour in the eastern districts of Asia Minor. First they visited Cyprus, where Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, was converted. Thence they sailed to Attalia, on the southern coast of Pamphylia, and near Perga; from Perga they proceeded to Antioch in Pisidia, and from there eastward to Iconium, and as far as Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia. Retracing their steps, they came back to Attalia, and sailed directly to Antioch. … This was the first incursion of Paul into the domain of heathenism."

G. P. Fisher, History of the Christian Church, page 22.

"How then should Paul and Barnabas proceed? To leave Syria they must go first to Seleuceia, the harbour of Antioch, where they would find ships going south to the Syrian coast and Egypt, and west either by way of Cyprus or along the coast of Asia Minor. The western route led toward the Roman world, to which all Paul's subsequent history proves that he considered himself called by the Spirit. The Apostles embarked in a ship for Cyprus, which was very closely connected by commerce and general intercourse with the Syrian coast. After traversing the island from east to west, they must go onward. Ships going westward naturally went across the coast of Pamphylia, and the Apostles, after reaching Paphos, near the west end of Cyprus, sailed in one of these ships, and landed at Attalia in Pamphylia."

W. M. Ramsay. The Church in the Roman Empire, page 60.

"The work starting from Antioch, by which access to the faith is opened to the Gentiles, the formation of (preponderatingly) Gentile Christian communities, now introduces into the original Christian development an important problem, which (about the year 52, probably not later), (Galatians ii.; Acts xv.) leads to discussions and explanations at the so-called Apostolic Council [at Jerusalem]. … For Paul, who has risen to perfect independence by the energy of his own peculiar stamp of gospel, there now begin the years of his powerful activity, in which he not only again visits and extends his former missionary field in Asia Minor, but gains a firm footing in Macedonia (Philippi), Athens, and Achaia (Corinth); then on the so-called third missionary journey he exercises a comprehensive influence during a stay of nearly three years at Ephesus, and finally looks from Achaia towards the metropolis of the world."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, pages 57-59.

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"If the heathen whom he (Paul) had won to the faith and received into the Church were to be persuaded to adopt circumcision and the law before they could attain to full participation in the Christian salvation, his preaching had fallen short of his aim, it had been in vain, since it was very doubtful whether the Gentiles gained over to believe in the Messiah would submit to the condition. Paul could only look on those who made such a demand as false brethren, who having no claim to Christian brotherhood had forced themselves into the Church at Antioch in an unauthorized way (Galatians ii. 4), and was persuaded that neither the primitive Church as such, nor its rulers, shared this view. In order therefore to prevent the Gentile Christians from being disturbed on this point, he determined to go to Jerusalem and there to challenge a decision in the matter that should put an end to the strife (ii. 2). The Church at Antioch also recognized this necessity; hence followed the proceedings in Jerusalem [about A. D. 52], whither Paul and Barnabas repaired with other associates (Galatians ii. 1, Acts xv. 2 ff). … It is certain that when Paul laid his (free) gospel before the authorities in Jerusalem, they added nothing to it (Galatians ii. 2-6). i. e., they did not require that the gospel he preached to the Gentiles should, besides the sole condition of faith which he laid down, impose Judaism upon them as a condition of participation in salvation. … Paul's stipulations with the authorities in Jerusalem respecting their future work were just as important for him as the recognition of his free gospel (Galatians ii. 7-10). They had for their basis a recognition on the part of the primitive apostles that he was entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, to which they could add nothing (ii. 6), just as Peter (as admittedly the most prominent among the primitive apostles) was entrusted with that of the circumcision."

Bernhard Weiss, A Manual of Introduction to the New Testament, volume 1, pages 172-175, 178.

"It seems clear that the first meetings of the Christians as a community apart—meetings that is of a private rather than a proselytising character—took place, as we see from Acts i. 13-15, in private apartments, the upper rooms or large guest-chambers in the houses of individual members. Such a room was doubtless provided by the liberality of Titus Justus (Acts xviii. 7), such a room again was the upper chamber in which St. Paul preached at Troas (Acts xx. 7, 8); in such assembled the converts saluted by the Apostle as the church which is in the house of Aquila and Prisca, of Nymphas and of Philemon. … The primitive Roman house had only one story, but as the cities grew to be more densely populated upper stories came into use, and it was the custom to place in these dining apartments, which were called cenacula. Such apartments would answer to the 'upper rooms' … associated with the early days of Christianity. … The Christian communities contained from an early period members of wealth and social position, who could accommodate in their houses large gatherings of the faithful; and it is interesting to reflect that while some of the mansions of an ancient city might be witnessing in suppers of a Trimalchio or a Virro, scenes more revolting to modern taste than almost anything presented by the pagan world, others, perhaps in the same street, might be the seat of Christian worship or of the simple Christian meal."

G. B. Brown, From Schola to Cathedral, pages 38-43.

CHRISTIANITY: Asia Minor and Greece.

"Our knowledge of the Apostle Paul's life is far from being complete. We have only a brief sketch of journeys and toils that extended over a period of thirty years. Large spaces are passed over in silence. For example, in the catalogue of his sufferings, incidentally given, he refers to the fact that he had been shipwrecked three times, and these disasters were all prior to the shipwreck on the Island of Malta described by Luke. Shortly after the conference at Jerusalem he started on his second missionary tour. He was accompanied by Silas, and was joined by Timothy at Lystra. He revisited his converts in Eastern Asia Minor, founded churches in Galatia and Phrygia, and from Troas, obedient to a heavenly summons, crossed over to Europe. Having planted at Philippi a church that remained remarkably devoted and loyal to him, he followed the great Roman road to Thessalonica, the most important city in Macedonia. Driven from there and from Berea, he proceeded to Athens [see ATHENS: A. D. 54 (?)]. In that renowned and cultivated city he discoursed on Mars Hill to auditors eager for new ideas in philosophy and religion, and in private debated with Stoics and Epicureans. At Corinth, which had risen from its ruins and was once more rich and prosperous, he remained for a year and a half. It was there, probably, that he wrote his two Epistles to the Thessalonian Christians. After a short stay at Ephesus he returned to Antioch by way of Cesarea and Jerusalem. It was not long before Paul—a second Alexander, but on a peaceful expedition—began his third great missionary journey. Taking the land route from Antioch, he traversed Asia Minor to Ephesus, a flourishing commercial mart, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. There, with occasional absences, he made his abode for upwards of two years. From Ephesus, probably, he wrote the Epistle to the Galatians. … From Ephesus Paul also wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians he probably wrote from Philippi. … Coming down through Greece, he remained there three months. There he composed his Epistle to the Romans. … The untiring Apostle now turned his face towards Jerusalem. He desired to be present at the festival of the Pentecost. In order to save time, he sailed past Ephesus, and at Miletus bade a tender farewell to the Ephesian elders. He had fulfilled his pledge given at the conference, and he now carried contributions from the Christians of Macedonia and Achaia for the poor at Jerusalem."

G. P. Fisher, History of the Christian Church, pages 27-28.

"We may safely say that if Saul had been less of a Jew, Paul the Apostle would have been less bold and independent. His work would have been more superficial, and his mind less unfettered. God did not choose a heathen to be the apostle for the heathen; for he might have been ensnared by the traditions of Judaism, by its priestly hierarchy and the splendours of its worship, as indeed it happened with the church of the second century. On the contrary God chose a Pharisee. But this Pharisee had the most complete experience of the emptiness of external ceremonies and the crushing yoke of the law. There was no fear that he would ever look back, that he would be tempted to set up again what the grace of God had justly overthrown (Galatians ii. 18). Judaism was wholly vanquished in his soul, for it was wholly displaced."

A. Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, page 69.

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"Notwithstanding the opposition he met from his countrymen, in spite of all the liberal and the awakened sympathies which he derived from his work, despite the necessity of contending daily and hourly for the freedom of the Gospel among the Gentiles, he never ceased to be a Jew. … The most ardent patriot could not enlarge with greater pride on the glories of the chosen race than he does in the Epistle to the Romans. His care for the poor in Judæa is a touching proof of the strength of this national feeling. His attendance at the great annual festivals in Jerusalem is still more significant. 'I must spend the coming feast at Jerusalem.' This language becomes the more striking when we remember that he was then intending to open out a new field of missionary labour in the far West, and was bidding perhaps his last farewell to the Holy City, the joy of the whole earth."

J. B. Lightfoot, Biblical Essays, pages 209-210.

"The Macedonian Churches are honorably distinguished above all others by their fidelity to the Gospel and their affectionate regard for St. Paul himself. While the Church of Corinth disgraced herself by gross moral delinquencies, while the Galatians bartered the liberty of the Gospel for a narrow formalism, while the believers of Ephesus drifted into the wildest speculative errors, no such stain attaches to the brethren of Philippi and Thessalonica. It is to the Macedonian congregations that the Apostle ever turns for solace in the midst of his severest trials and sufferings. Time seems not to have chilled these feelings of mutual affection. The Epistle to the Philippians was written about ten years after the Thessalonian letters. It is the more surprising therefore that they should resemble each other so strongly in tone. In both alike St. Paul drops his official title at the outset, … and in both he adopts throughout the same tone of confidence and affection. In this interval of ten years we meet with one notice of the Macedonian Churches. It is conceived in terms of unmeasured praise. The Macedonians had been called upon to contribute to the wants of their poorer brethren in Judæa, who were suffering from famine. They had responded nobly to the call. Deep-sunk in poverty and sorely tried by persecution, they came forward with eager joy and poured out the riches of their liberality, straining their means to the utmost in order to relieve the sufferers. … We may imagine that the people still retained something of those simpler habits and that sturdier character, which triumphed over Greeks and Orientals in the days of Philip and Alexander, and thus in the early warfare of the Christian Church the Macedonian phalanx offered a successful resistance to the assaults of an enemy, before which the lax and enervated ranks of Asia and Achaia had yielded ignominiously."

J. B. Lightfoot, Biblical Essays, pages 249-250.

At Jerusalem, "the Apostle was rescued by a detachment of the Roman garrison from a mob of Jewish malignants, was held in custody for two years at Cesarea, and was finally enabled to accomplish a long-cherished intention to go to Rome, by being conveyed there as a prisoner, he having made an appeal to Cæsar. After being wrecked on the Mediterranean and cast ashore on the Island of Malta, under the circumstances related in Luke's graphic and accurate description of the voyage, he went on his way in safety to the capital."

G. P. Fisher, History of the Christian Church, page 29.

"Paul's apostolic career, as known to us, lasted … twenty-nine or thirty years; and it falls into three distinct periods which are summarized in the following chronological table:

First Period Essentially Missionary: 35 A. D., Conversion of Paul, Journey to Arabia; 38, First visit to Jerusalem; 38-49, Mission in Syria and Cilicia-Tarsus and Antioch; 50-51, First missionary journey Cyprus, Pamphylia and Galatia (Acts xiii., xiv.); 52, Conference at Jerusalem (Acts xv.; Galatians ii.); 52-55, Second missionary journey Epistles to the Thessalonians (from Corinth).

Second Period The Great Conflicts, and the Great Epistles: 54, Return to Antioch Controversy with Peter (Gal. ii. 12-22); 55-57, Mission to Ephesus and Asia; 56, Epistle to the Galatians; 57 or 58 (Passover), First Epistle to the Corinthians (Ephesus); 57 or 58 (Autumn), Second Epistle to the Corinthians. (Macedonia); 58 (Winter), Epistle to the Romans.

Third Period The Captivity: 58 or 59 (Pentecost), Paul is arrested at Jerusalem; 58-60, or 59-61, Captivity at Cæsarea Epistles to Philemon, Colossians and Ephesians; 60 or 61 (Autumn), Departure for Rome; 61 or 62 (Spring), Arrival of Paul in Rome; 62-63, Epistle to the Philippians; 63 or 64, End of the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles."

A. Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, pages 21-22.

"The impression that we get from Acts is, that the evangelisation of Asia Minor originated from St. Paul; and that from his initiative the new religion gradually spread over the country through the action of many other missionaries (Acts xix. 10). Moreover, missionaries not trained by him, were at work in South Galatia and in Ephesus as early as 54-56 A. D. (Gal. volume 7-10; Acts xviii. 25). … The Christian Church in Asia Minor was always opposed to the primitive native character. It was Christianity, and not the Imperial government, which finally destroyed the native languages, and made Greek the universal language of Asia Minor. The new religion was strong in the towns before it had any hold of the country parts. The ruder and the less civilised any district was, the slower was Christianity in permeating it. Christianity in the early centuries was the religion of the more advanced, not of the 'barbarian' peoples; and in fact it seems to be nearly confined within the limits of the Roman world, and practically to take little thought of any people beyond, though in theory, 'Barbarian and Scythian' are included in it. … The First Epistle of John was in all probability 'addressed primarily to the circle of Asiatic Churches, of which Ephesus was the centre.'"

W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, pages 284, 44, 303.

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"Unless we are prepared to reject without a hearing all the traditions of Christianity, we cannot refuse to believe that the latest years of the Apostle St. John were spent in the Roman province of Asia and chiefly in Ephesus its capital. This tradition is singularly full, consistent and well-authenticated. Here he gathered disciples about him, organized churches, appointed bishops and presbyters. A whole chorus of voices unite in bearing testimony to its truth. One who passed his earlier life in these parts and had heard his aged master, a disciple of St. John himself, recount his personal reminiscences of the great Apostle; another, who held this very see of Ephesus, and writing less than a century after the Apostle's death was linked with the past by a chain of relatives all bishops in the Christian Church; a third who also flourished about the close of the century and numbered among his teachers an old man from this very district—are the principal, because the most distinct; witnesses to a fact which is implied in several other notices of earlier or contemporary writers. As to the time at which St. John left his original home and settled in this new abode no direct account is preserved; but a very probable conjecture may be hazarded. The impending fall of the Holy City was the signal for the dispersion of the followers of Christ. About this same time the three other great Apostles, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. James, died a martyr's death; and on St. John, the lust surviving of the four great pillars of the Church, devolved the work of developing the theology of the Gospel and completing the organization of the Church. It was not unnatural that at such a crisis he should fix his residence in the centre of a large and growing Christian community, which had been planted by the Apostle of the Gentiles, and watered by the Apostle of the Circumcision. The missionary labours of St. Paul and St. Peter in Asia Minor were confirmed and extended by the prolonged residence of their younger contemporary. At all events such evidence as we possess is favourable to this view of the date of St. John's settlement at Ephesus. Assuming that the Apocalypse is the work of the beloved Apostle, and accepting the view which assigns it to the close of Nero's reign or thereabouts, we find him now for the first time in the immediate neighbourhood of Asia Minor and in direct communication with Ephesus and the neighbouring Churches. St. John however was not alone. Whether drawn thither by the attraction of his presence or acting in pursuance of some common agreement, the few surviving personal disciples of the Lord would seem to have chosen Asia Minor as their permanent abode, or at all events as their recognised headquarters. Here at least we meet with the friend of St. John's youth and perhaps his fellow-townsman, Andrew of Bethsaida, who with him had first listened to John the Baptist, and with him also had been the earliest to recognise Jesus as the Christ. Here too we encounter Philip the Evangelist with his daughters, and perhaps also Philip of Bethsaida, the Apostle. Here also was settled the Apostle's namesake, John the Presbyter, also a personal disciple of Jesus, and one Aristion, not otherwise known to us, who likewise had heard the Lord. And possibly also other Apostles whose traditions Papias recorded [see J. B. Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, page 527], Matthew and Thomas and James, may have had some connexion, temporary or permanent, with this district. Thus surrounded by the surviving disciples of the Lord, by bishops and presbyters of his own appointment, and by the pupils who gathered about him and looked to him for instruction, St. John was the focus of a large and active society of believers. In this respect he holds a unique position among the great teachers of the new faith. St. Peter and St. Paul converted disciples and organized congregations; St. John alone was the centre of a school. His life prolonged till the close of the century, when the Church was firmly rooted and widely extended, combined with his fixed abode in the centre of an established community to give a certain definiteness to his personal influence which would be wanting to the wider labours of these strictly missionary preachers. Hence the notices of St. John have a more solid basis and claim greater attention than stories relating to the other Apostles."

J. B. Lightfoot, Biblical Essays, pages 51-53.

"In the parable of Jesus, of which we are speaking, it is said that 'the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself;'—that is, to transfer the Greek term into English, 'automatically.' That epithet is chosen which denotes most precisely a self-acting, spontaneous energy, inherent in the seed which Jesus, through his discourses, his acts of mercy and power, and his patience unto death, was sowing in the world. This grand prophetic declaration, uttered in a figure so simple and beautiful, in the ears of a little company of Galileans, was to be wonderfully verified in the coming ages of Christian history."

G. P. Fisher, The Nature and Method of Revelation, page 47.

CHRISTIANITY: Alexandria.

"Plutarch looked upon it as the great mission of Alexander to transplant Grecian culture into distant countries, and to conciliate Greeks and barbarians, and to fuse them into one. He says of him, not without reason, that he was sent of God for this purpose; though the historian did not divine that this end itself was only subsidiary to, and the means of, one still higher—the making, viz., the united peoples of the East and West more accessible to the new creation which was to proceed from Christianity, and by the combination of the elements of Oriental and Hellenic culture the preparing for Christianity a material in which it might develop itself. If we overlook this ulterior end, and do not fix our regards on the higher quickening spirit destined to reanimate, for some new end, that combination which already bore within itself a germ of corruption, we might well doubt whether that union was really a gain to either party; whether, at least, it was not everywhere attended with a correspondent loss. For the fresh vigour which it infused into the old national spirit must have been constantly repressed by the violence which the foreign element did to it. To introduce into that combination a new living principle of development, and, without prejudice to their original essence, to unite peculiarities the most diverse into a whole in which each part should be a complement to the other, required something higher than any element of human culture. The true living communion between the East and the West, which should combine together the two peculiar principles that were equally necessary for a complete exhibition of the type of humanity, could first come only from Christianity. But still, as preparatory thereto, the influence which, for three centuries, went forth from Alexandria, that centre of the intercourse of the world, was of great importance."

A. Neander, General History of the Christian Religion and Church, volume 1, introduction.

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"The Greek version [of the Old Testament, the Septuagint], like the Targum of the Palestinians, originated, no doubt, in the first place, in a felt national want on the part of the Hellenists, who as a body were ignorant of Hebrew. Hence we find notices of very early Greek versions of at least parts of the Pentateuch. But this, of course, could not suffice. On the other hand, there existed, as we may suppose, a natural curiosity on the part of the students, specially in Alexandria, which had so large a Jewish population, to know the sacred books on which the religion and history of Israel were founded. Even more than this, we must take into account the literary tastes of the first three Ptolemies (successors in Egypt of Alexander the Great), and the exceptional favour which the Jews for a time enjoyed."

A. Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, volume 1, page 24.

CHRISTIANITY: Rome.

"Alongside of the province of Asia Minor, Rome very early attains to an outstanding importance for young Christianity. If, as we have supposed, the community here which emancipated itself from the synagogue was mainly recruited from among the proselyte circles which had formed themselves around the Jewish synagogue, if Paul during the years of his captivity, and Peter also, influenced this preponderatingly Gentile-Christian community, we must, however, by no means undervalue for the Christian community the continuous influence of Judaism on the Roman world, an influence which was not lessened but rather increased by the destruction of Jerusalem. Many thousands of Jewish captives had arrived here and been sold as slaves—Rome was the greatest Jewish city in the Empire, … and in part it was an enlightened and liberal Judaism. Jewish Hellenism had already long availed itself of the weapons of Hellenic philosophy and science … in order to exalt the Jewish faith. … Under this stimulus there was … developed a proselytism which was indeed attracted by that monotheism and the belief in providence and prophecy and the moral ideas allied therewith, and which also had a strong tendency to Jewish customs and festivals—especially the keeping of the Sabbath—but which remained far from binding itself to a strictly legal way of life in circumcision, etc. We may suppose that Roman Christianity not only appeared in the character of such a proselytism, but also retained from it a certain Jewish colouring."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church: A. D. 1-600, pages 83-84.

"The last notice of the Roman Church in the Apostolic writings seems to point to two separate communities, a Judaizing Church and a Pauline Church. The arrival of the Gentile Apostle in the metropolis, it would appear, was the signal for the separation of the Judaizers, who had hitherto associated with their Gentile brethren coldly and distrustfully. The presence of St. Paul must have vastly strengthened the numbers and influence of the more liberal and Catholic party; while the Judaizers provoked by rivalry redoubled their efforts, that in making converts to the Gospel they might also gain proselytes to the law."

J. B. Lightfoot, Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, page 94.

"Historical information of any certainty on the latter period of Paul's life is entirely wanting. While the epistles require this unknown period, and a second captivity, as a basis for their apostolic origin, on the other hand, the hypothesis of a second captivity scarcely finds any real foundations except in the three Pastoral letters."

A. Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, page 269.

It only remains for us, returning to the close of the apostle's life, to put together the slender indications that we have of its date. He embarked for Rome in the autumn of 60 (or 61) A. D.; but was compelled by shipwreck to winter in the island of Malta, and only reached the Eternal City in the spring of 61 (62). Luke adds that he remained there as a prisoner for two years, living in a private house under the guard of a soldier; then his narrative breaks off abruptly, and we are confronted with the unknown (Acts, xxviii. 30). Paul is supposed to have perished in the frightful persecution caused by the fire of Rome in July 64 A. D. All that is certain is that he died a martyr at Rome under Nero (Sabatier).

[The purpose of what follows in this article is to give a brief history of Christianity in some of its relations to general history by the method of this work, and in the light of some of the best thought of our time. The article as a combination of quotations from many authors attempts a presentation of historic facts, and also a positive and representative view, so far as this may be obtained under the guidance of ideas common to many of the books used. Some of these books have had more influence on the development of the article than others: entire harmony and a full presentation of any author's view would manifestly be impossible. Nevertheless, the reader may discover in the article principles and elements of unity derived from the literature and representing it. Unfortunately, one of the essential parts of such a history must be omitted—biography.]

CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 100-312. The Period of Growth and Struggle.

"Christian belief, Christian morality, the Christian view of the world, of which the church as a religious society and institution is the focus, as fluid spiritual elements permeate humanity as it becomes Christian, far beyond the sphere of the church proper; while conversely the church is not assured against the possibility that spiritual elements originally alien to her may dominate and influence her in their turn. … In this living interaction the peculiar life of the church is unfolded, in accordance with its internal principles of formation, into an extraordinarily manifold and complicated object of historical examination. … For this purpose it is necessary to elucidate the general historical movement of the church by the relative separation of certain of its aspects, without loosening the bond of unity."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church: A. D. 1-600, pages 1-3.

"Such, in fact, has been the history of the Faith: a sad and yet a glorious succession of battles, often hardly fought, and sometimes indecisive, between the new life and the old life. … The Christian victory of common life was wrought out in silence and patience and nameless agonies. It was the victory of the soldiers and not of the captains of Christ's army. But in due time another conflict had to be sustained, not by the masses, but by great men, the consequence and the completion of that which had gone before. … The discipline of action precedes the effort of reason. … So it came to pass that the period during which this second conflict of the Faith was waged was, roughly speaking, from the middle of the second to the middle of the third century."

B. F. Westcott, Essays in the History of Religious Thought in the West, pages 194-197.

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"Philosophy went on its way among the higher classes, but laid absolutely no hold on men at large. The reformation which it wrought in a few elect spirits failed utterly to spread downward to the mass of mankind. The poor were not touched by it; society was not helped by it; its noblest men, and they grew fewer and fewer, generation by generation, bewailed bitterly the universal indifference. The schools dwindled into a mere university system of culture; Christianity developed into a religion for the civilised world. … New ideas it had in abundance, but new ideas were not the secret of its power. The essential matter in the Gospel was that it was the history of a Life. It was a tale of fact that all could understand, that all could believe, that all could love. It differed fundamentally from Philosophy, because it appealed not to culture, but to life. … It was the spell of substantial facts, living facts, … the spell of a loyalty to a personal Lord; and those who have not mastered the difference between a philosopher's speculations about life, and the actual record of a life which, in all that makes life holy and beautiful, transcended the philosopher's most pure and lofty dreams, have not understood yet the rudiments of the reason why the Stoic could not, while Christianity could and did, regenerate society."

J. B. Brown, Stoics and Saints, pages 85-86.

The "period, from the accession of Marcus Aurelius (A. D. 161) to the accession of Valerian (A. D. 253) was for the Gentile world a period of unrest and exhaustion, of ferment and of indecision. The time of great hopes and creative minds was gone. The most conspicuous men were, with few exceptions, busied with the past. … Local beliefs had lost their power. Even old Rome ceased to exercise an unquestioned moral supremacy. Men strove to be cosmopolitan. They strove vaguely after a unity in which the scattered elements of ancient experience should be harmonized. The effect can be seen both in the policy of statesmen and in the speculations of philosophers, in Marcus Aurelius, or Alexander Severus, or Decius, no less than in Plotinus or Porphyry. As a necessary consequence, the teaching of the Bible accessible in Greek began to attract serious attention among the heathen. The assailants of Christianity, even if they affected contempt, shewed that they were deeply moved by its doctrines. The memorable saying of Numenius, 'What is Plato but Moses speaking in the language of Athens?' shews at once the feeling after spiritual sympathy which began to be entertained, and the want of spiritual insight in the representatives of Gentile thought."

B. F. Westcott, Essays in the History of Religious Thought in the West, pages 196-197.

"To our minds it appears that the preparation of philosophy for Christianity was complete. … The time was ripe for that movement of which Justin is the earliest [complete] representative."

G. T. Purves, The Testimony of Justin Martyr, page 135.

"The writing in defense of Christianity is called the apology, and the writer an apologist. … There were two classes of apologists, the Greek and the Latin, according to the territory which they occupied, and the language in which they wrote. But there were further differences. The Greeks belonged mostly to the second century, and their writings exhibited a profound intimacy with the Greek philosophy. Some of them had studied in the Greek schools, and entered the church only in mature life. They endeavored to prove that Christianity was the blossom of all that was valuable in every system. They stood largely on the defensive. The Latins, on the other hand, were aggressive. They lived mostly in the third century. … The principal Greek apologists [were] Aristo, Quadratus, Aristides [A. D. 131], Justin [A. D. 160], Melito [A. D. 170], Miltiades, Irenaeus, Athenagoras [A. D. 178], Tatian, Clement of Alexandria [A. D. 200], Hippolytus, and Origen [A. D. 225]."

J. F. Hurst, Short History of the Christian Church, page 33.

Lightfoot assigns to about A. D. 150 (?) the author of the Epistle to Diognetus. "Times without number the defenders of Christianity appeal to the great and advantageous change wrought by the Gospel in all who embraced it. … 'We who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not receive into our houses men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them. We pray for our enemies, we endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the beautiful precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God, the Ruler of all.' This distinction between Christians and heathen, this consciousness of a complete change in character and life, is nowhere more beautifully described than in the noble epistle … to Diognetus."

Gerhard Uhlhorn, The Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism, page 166.

"For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language, nor practise an extraordinary kind of life. … But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvellous, and confessedly contradicts expectation. They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. … Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men and they are persecuted by all. … War is urged against them as aliens by the Jews, and persecution is carried on against them by the Greeks, and yet those that hate them cannot tell the reason of their hostility."

J. B. Lightfoot, Translation of the Epistle to Diognetus (The Apostolic Fathers, pages 505-506).

"These apologists rise against philosophy also, out of which they themselves had arisen, in the full consciousness of their faith open to all and not only to the cultured few, the certainty of which, based upon revelation, cannot be replaced by uncertain human wisdom, which, moreover, is self-contradictory in its most important representatives. On the other hand, they willingly recognise in the philosophy by means of which they had themselves been educated, certain elements of truth, which they partly derive from the seed-corns of truth, which the divine Logos had scattered among the heathen also, partly externally from a dependence of Greek wisdom on the much older wisdom of the East, and therefore from the use of the Scriptures of the Old Testament. To the reproach that they had deserted the religion which had been handed down from their ancestors and thereby made sacred, they oppose the right of recognised truth, the right of freedom of conscience; religion becomes the peculiar affair of personal conviction, against which methods of force do not suffice: God is to be obeyed rather than man."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church: A. D. 1-600, page 179.

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"Such a morality, as Roman greatness was passing away, took possession of the ground. Its beginnings were scarcely felt, scarcely known of, in the vast movement of affairs in the greatest of empires. By and by its presence, strangely austere, strangely gentle, strangely tender, strangely inflexible, began to be noticed. But its work was long only a work of indirect preparation. Those whom it charmed, those whom it opposed, those whom it tamed, knew not what was being done for the generations which were to follow."

R. W. Church, The Gifts of Civilization, page 159.

"The more spiritual and profound historians of the Church recognize it as a manifestation of this divine life flowing into human history. But this is true of the organized church only with important qualifications. The life must manifest itself in an organization; but the organization is neither the only nor the complete exposition of the life. … The life which creates the organization penetrates and purifies also the family and the state, renovates individuals, and blooms and fructifies in Christian civilizations; and these are also historical manifestations."

S. Harris, The Kingdom of Christ on Earth, page 87.

It was the great formative period of the world's new life, and all streams tended to flow together. The influence of Greek thought on Roman law had led, under the circumstances of Roman commercial life, to the development of an ideal "jus gentium," a kind of natural law discovered by the reason. This conception transformed the Roman law and brought it into touch with the new sense of human relations. "It was by means of this higher conception of equity which resulted from the identification of the jus gentium with the jus naturale—that the alliance between law and philosophy was really made efficient."

W. C. Morey, Outlines from Roman Law, page 114.

"There were three agencies whose influence in working simultaneously and successively at this identical task, the developing and importing of the jus gentium, was decisive of the ultimate result. These were the praetorian edict [which reached its climax under the Republic and was completed under Hadrian], Roman scientific jurisprudence [which developed its greatest ability about A. D. 200] and imperial legislation."

R. Sohm, Institutes of Roman Law, page 46.

"The liberal policy of Rome gradually extended the privileges of her citizenship till it included all her subjects; and along with the 'Jus suffragii,' went of course the 'Jus honorum.' Even under Augustus we find a Spaniard consul at Rome; and under Galba an Egyptian is governor of Egypt. It is not long before even the emperor himself is supplied by the provinces. It is easy to comprehend therefore how the provincials forgot the fatherland of their birth for the fatherland of their citizenship. Once win the franchise, and to great capacity was opened a great: career. The Roman Empire came to be a homogeneous mass of privileged persons, largely using the same language, aiming at the same type of civilisation, equal among themselves, but all alike conscious of their superiority to the surrounding barbarians."

W. T. Arnold, The Roman System of Provincial Administration, page 37.

"As far as she could, Rome destroyed the individual genius of nations; she seems to have rendered them unqualified for a national existence. When the public life of the Empire ceased, Italy, Gaul, and Spain were thus unable to become nations. Their great historical existence did not commence until after the arrival of the barbarians, and after several centuries of experiments amid violence and calamity, But how does it happen that the countries which Rome did not conquer, or did not long have under her sway, now hold such a prominent place in the world—that they exhibit so much originality and such complete confidence in their future? Is it only because, having existed a shorter time, they are entitled to a longer future? Or, perchance, did Rome leave behind her certain habits of mind, intellectual and moral qualities, which impede and limit activity?"

E. Lavisse, Political History of Europe, page 6.

Patriotism was a considerable part of both the ancient religion and the old morality. The empire weakened the former and deeply injured the latter by conquest of the individual states. It had little to offer in place of these except that anomaly, the worship of the emperor; and a law and justice administered by rulers who, to say the least, grew very rich. "The feeling of pride in Roman citizenship … became much weaker as the citizenship was widened. … Roman citizenship included an ever growing proportion of the population in every land round the Mediterranean, till at last it embraced the whole Roman world. … Christianity also created a religion for the Empire, transcending all distinctions of nationality. … The path of development for the Empire lay in accepting the religion offered it to complete its organisation. Down to the time of Hadrian there was a certain progress on the part of the Empire towards a recognition of this necessity."

W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, pages 373, 191-192.

The relations of the laws of the Empire to Christianity may be briefly stated, but there are differences of opinion which cannot be noted here: "A. D. 30 to 100, Christians treated as a sect of the Jews and sharing in the general toleration accorded to them. A. D. 100 to 250, Christians recognized, … and rendered liable to persecution: (1st) For treason and impiety. (2nd) As belonging to illegal associations, but at the same time protected in their capacity of members of Friendly or Burial Societies of a kind allowed by the law. A. D. 250 to 260, Christianity recognized as a formidable power by the State. Commencement of an open struggle between Christianity and the secular authority. … The cemeteries of the Christians now for the first time interfered with and become places of hiding and secret assembly. A. D. 260 to 300, Persecutions cease for a time, 40 years Peace for the Church. Time of much prosperity when, as Eusebius writes, 'great multitudes flocked to the religion of Christ.' A. D. 300 to 313, Last decisive struggle under Diocletian."

G. B. Brown, From Schola to Cathedral.

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"The judges decided simply in accordance with the laws, and, in the great majority of cases, did so coolly, calmly, without passion, as men who were simply discharging their duty. … Not the priests, but the Emperors led the attack. … It is true the Christians never rebelled against the State. They cannot be reproached with even the appearance of a revolutionary spirit. Despised, persecuted, abused, they still never revolted, but showed themselves everywhere obedient to the laws, and ready to pay to the Emperors the honor which was their due. Yet in one particular they could not obey, the worship of idols, the strewing of incense to the Cæsar-god. And in this one thing it was made evident that in Christianity lay the germ of a wholly new political and social order. This is the character of the conflict which we are now to review. It is a contest of the spirit of Antiquity against that of Christianity, of the ancient heathen order of the world against the new Christian order. Ten persecutions are commonly enumerated, viz., under Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Maximinus the Thracian, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian. This traditional enumeration is, however, very superficial, and leaves entirely unrecognized the real course of the struggles. … Though times of relative tranquillity occurred, Christianity remained, notwithstanding, a prohibited religion. This being the case, the simple arrangement of the persecutions in a series makes the impression that they were all of the same character, while in fact the persecution under Nero was wholly different from that under Trajan and his successors, and this again varied essentially from those under Decius and Diocletian. The first persecution which was really general and systematically aimed at the suppression of the Church, was the Decian [see ROME: A. D. 192-284]. That under Trajan and his successors [see ROME: A. D. 96-138, 138-180, and 303-305] consisted merely of more or less frequent processes against individual Christians, in which the established methods of trial were employed, and the existing laws were more or less sharply used against them. Finally, the persecutions under Nero and Domitian [see ROME: A. D. 64-68, and 70-96] were mere outbreaks of personal cruelty and tyrannical caprice. … Christianity is the growing might; with the energy of youth it looks the future in the face, and there sees victory beckoning onward. And how changed are now its ideas of that triumph! The earlier period had no thought of any victory but that which Christ was to bring at his coming. … But in the time of Cyprian the hopes of the Christians are directed towards another victory: they begin to grasp the idea that Christianity will vanquish heathenism from within, and become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. … It is true that the Christians were still greatly in the minority. It is generally assumed that they formed about one-twelfth of the whole population in the East, and in the West about one-fifteenth. Even this is perhaps too high an estimate. But there were two things which gave a great importance to this minority. First, that no single religion of the much divided Heathenism had so many adherents as the Christian. Over against the scattered forces of Heathenism, the Christians formed a close phalanx; the Church was a compact and strongly framed organization. Second, the Christians were massed in the towns, while the rural population was almost exclusively devoted to Heathenism. There existed in Antioch, for instance, a Christian church of fifty thousand souls."

G. Uhlhorn, The Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism, book 2.

"The Encyclopedia of Missions" on the authority of the late Professor R. D. Hitchcock states that there are on record "the names of churches existing at this period [at the close of the persecutions] in 525 cities: cities of Europe 188, of Asia 214, of Africa 123." (See Appendix D.) There were tendencies at work in many of these against that toward general catholic (universal) organization, but in suffering and sympathy the Christian Churches formed a vast body of believers. "Such a vast organisation of a perfectly new kind, with no analogy in previously existing institutions, was naturally slow in development. … The critical stage was passed when the destruction of Jerusalem annihilated all possibility of a localised centre for Christianity, and made it clear that the centralisation of the Church could reside only in an idea—viz., a process of intercommunication, union and brotherhood. It would be hardly possible to exaggerate the share which frequent intercourse from a very early stage between the separate congregations had in moulding the development of the Church. Most of the documents in the New Testament are products and monuments of this intercourse; all attest in numberless details the vivid interest which the scattered communities took in one another. From the first the Christian idea was to annihilate the separation due to space, and hold the most distant brother as near as the nearest. A clear consciousness of the importance of this idea first appears in the Pastoral Epistles, and is still stronger in writings of A. D. 80-100. … The close relations between different congregations is brought into strong relief by the circumstances disclosed in the letters of Ignatius: the welcome extended everywhere to him; the loving messages sent when he was writing to other churches; the deputations sent from churches off his road to meet him and convoy him; the rapidity with which news of his progress was sent round, so that deputations from Ephesus, Magnesia, and Tralles were ready to visit him in Smyrna; the news from Antioch which reached him in Troas, but which was unknown to him in Smyrna; the directions which he gave to call a council of the church in Smyrna, and send a messenger to congratulate the church in Antioch; the knowledge that his fate is known to and is engaging the efforts of the church in Rome."

W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, pages 364-366.

"The fellowship … thus strongly impressed by apostolic hands on the infant Church, is never wholly lost sight of throughout all the ages, and its permanent expression is found in the synod, whether œcumenic, provincial, or diocesan. This becomes fainter as we reach the age in which a presbyter, told off from the body to a distinct parish, attains gradual isolation from his brethren. But this comes some centuries later. … Everywhere, till that decline, the idea is that of a brotherhood or corporate office, a unity of function pervaded by an energy of brotherly love. … It is no mere confluence of units before distinct."

H. Hayman, Diocesan Synods (Contemporary Review, October, 1882).

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"It is the age when the New Testament writings begin to come together to form a generally recognized canon. The opposition too to the sovereign spirit of Montanist prophecy undoubtedly increased the need for it. … After the example of the Gnostics, a beginning is also made with exegetical explanation of New Testament writings; Melito with one on the Revelation of John, a certain Heraclitus with one on the Apostles. … Finally, in this same opposition to the heretics, it is sought to secure the agreement of the different churches with one another, and in this relation importance is gained by the idea of a universal (Catholic) Church. So-called catholic Epistles of men of repute in the church to different communities are highly regarded. As illustrations take those of Bishop Dionysius of Corinth to Lacedæmon, Athens, Crete, Paphlagonia, Pontus, Rome (Euseb. 4, 23)."

W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, pages 183-184.

"This period [100-312] may be divided into the Post-Apostolic Age which reaches down to the middle of the second century, and the Age of the Old Catholic Church which ends with the establishment of the Church under Constantine. … The point of transition from one Age to the other may be unhesitatingly set down at A. D. 170. The following are the most important data in regard thereto. The death about A. D. 165 of Justin Martyr, who marks the highest point reached in the Post-Apostolic Age and forms also the transition to the Old Catholic Age; and Irenaeus, flourishing somewhere about A. D. 170, who was the real inaugurator of this latter age. Besides these we come upon the beginnings of the Trinitarian controversies about the year 170. Finally, the rejection of Montanism from the universal Catholic Church was effected about the year 170 by means of the synodal institution called into existence for that purpose."