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Officers.

Cent. 3.

deacons occasionally being called to act in a higher and more sacred department, presently assumed a spiritual character, and the spirit of the times favouring these encroachments, they were ranked as inferior clergy. This century also produced a train of other officers, such as subdeacons, who were all that to the deacon which the presbyters were to the bishop; acolyth, persons to attend at service-time on the ministers; ostiarii, door-keepers; readers, men who were appointed to read the scriptures in public; exorcists, officers of weak and superstitious appointment, whose business was to pretend to expel the Devil from the candidates for baptism. All these encroachments and changes mark, strongly mark, a great decline in the spirit and power of primitive Christianity.

With such an increase of church officers, rites and ceremonies were necessarily increased. The two sacraments had lost some of their glory in losing some of their simplicity; the wine was mixed with water, and the consecrated elements were made in some cases a passport to heaven. Baptism was performed with too much ceremony, and considered more efficacious on particular days. In commemoration of the resurrection, and other great events, festivals were appointed: fasting and penance also gained repute. Celibacy in the clergy, though not enjoined, was considered a mark of superior sanctity. Reading the scriptures, praying from the heart, and preaching and expounding, formed the ritual of publie worship.

*Tertullian relates a curious circumstance on the subject of possession: "A woman," saith he, "went to the theatre, and came home possessed by a devil; the exorcist who endeavoured to cast him out, asked him how he had the assurance to enter into a Christian? Why not?" said the demon, 'I found her at my own house."

Chap. 6.

Review.

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SCIENCE and LEARNING were not very general qualifieations in church ministers: Origen, Cyprian, and some few others were men of letters; but the far greater number were simple plain men, who, understanding the word of God, and apt to teach it, were considered public work. In this century some schemes of scholastic instruction were on foot. Origen taught several, who by his means were introduced to the ministry; but most frequently men rose into the pastoral office by medium of humbler stations, or through the choice of the church.

quite equal to the

THIS CENTURY, UPON REVIEW, furnishes an abundance of character. The church has waded through FOUR GENERAL PERSECUTIONS, during which she never lost so much of her glory as in times of peace and prosperity. Such was the spread and establishment of Christianity, that paganism saw its achievements with great jealousy and fear. The whole Roman empire is filled with ehurches, and some of their ministers are men of family and renown. A crisis is evidently at hand, Christianity or paganism must triumph. The beginning of the ensuing period will furnish the great and decisive battle.

FOURTH CENTURY.

CHAPTER 1.

THE DIOCLESIAN PERSECUTION.

Marcellus-Peter-Constantius-Constantine.

AT the commencement of this era Dioclesian had reigned sixteen years; during which the church had enjoyed considerable rest. The character of this prince, like that of his predecessors, was not to be reckoned upon beforehand. For a while he favoured the profession of Christianity, but it was evident that his gentle conduct was an imperial favour not a moral principle. Had his behaviour been the result of pure conviction, there could have been no allowance of partial persecution during the former part of his government, nor could that dreadful change for the worse have taken place, which so shamefully disgraced the latter. The spirit of the emperor, as it militated against Christianity, appeared first in the army; orders were given that all who would not sacrifice should be deprived of their dignity. Under these circumstances many left their rank, and retired to more private stations in life. In order to bring the soldiers to the test, festivals in honour of the gods were appointed. On one of these occasions, at Tangier, in Mauritania, while the sons of Mars were in the midst of their mad devotions, MAR

Chap. 1.

Dioclesian.

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CELLUS, a centurion distinguished himself from the erowd, took off his belt, threw down his vine-branch and his arms, and exclaimed, "I will not fight any longer under the banner of your emperor, nor will I serve your gods of wood and stone; if the condition of a soldier be such, that he is obliged to sacrifice to gods aud emperors, I abandon the vine-branch and the belt, and quit the service." The consequence was, he was sentenced to lose his head.

Such things as these, were sufficient to unfold the designs of the court: but the church was not, as might have been expected, apprized of her danger. The ministers in general were slothful and worldly, and the people had partaken too much of the same spirit; the piety, the wisdom, the zeal of a Cyprian, were not found to rest on any in this day: the declension was deep and awful; and the fires of persecution were necessary to burn up the dross and to purify the genuine metal. e At this time the whole Roman empire was not governed by one sovereign. A practice had been introduced for the prince to associate with him in government a partner bearing the same title and the same honours. Each of these again had his first officers of state, who stood in the character of heir apparent. The partner of Dioclesian was Maximian, and their two cæsars were Galerius and Constantius. The last of these personages was a man of urbanity and honour; the former three were "monsters of horrible ferocity," and of these Galerias was the chief. He had been brought up by 1: his mother, a woman extremely bigotted to paganism, and had imbibed all her prejudices with a furious hatred to the Christians. Dioclesian usually kept his court during the winter at Nicomedia. Here Galerius met the chief emperor, and resolved to spend some time with

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Persecution.

Cent. 4.

him in order to stir him up against the church. Diocle sian was not wanting in hatred to Christianity, but he wished to extirpate rather by fraud than by violence. But the furious disposition of Galerius at length prevailed, and Nicomedia was sentenced first to feel the sad consequences of this blood-thirsty collusion.

Accordingly, on the feast of Terminalia, early in the morning, an officer with a party of soldiers proceeded to the great church, and bursting open the doors, they took from thence the sacred writings, which they burnt, and plundered the place of every thing valuable or useful. The church, by order of the emperors, was in a few hours levelled to the ground. The day following, an ediet was issued, in which, "Men of the Christian religion, of whatever rank or degree, were deprived of all honours and dignities, were exposed to torture; every one might have justice against them, while they were debarred the benefit of the laws in all cases whatever." And in order to prevent the possibility of Christians obtaining justice, altars were placed in the courts, at which plaintiffs were obliged to sacrifice before their cause could be heard. Thus were Christians laid open to all possible injury and insult without any means of redress.

Various were the measures employed to excite rage from all classes against the religion of Christ. The palace was twice set on fire by the instigation of Galerius, and the charge laid to the Christians. Great was the destruction through this means, and by similar artifices. Dioclesian was at length wrought up to as high a pitch of rage as was his prompter Galerius. Great was the wrath against the church; so that all ministers, who could be hunted out, were seized, and executed immediately. Persons in high offices in the court were slain without scruple, and all persons, without regard

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