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314
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appropriated room, (see Acts xx.,) where St. Paul , on thefirst day of the week, preached to an immense multitude, andcontinued his discourse till midnight, when a young man,named Eutychus , sitting in the window where the lattice wasopen, being overcome by sleep, fell from the upper story, andwas taken up dead, but whom St. Paul again restored to life.That there were devotional places, or oratories, set apartexpressly for Christian worship in the first century, I thinkwe have sufficient evidence ; whether we call these placeschurches ornot. The following«Century is, however, more clear,where they are called sometimes by the name of Coenaculum ;at others, by that which we have before mentioned, as Hype-roon. Thus we find Lucian , a pagan, or whoever was theauthor of the dialogue called Philopatris , about the time ofTrajan , one of the pagan emperors, bringing in one Cretias,telling how the Christians carried him into a HyperSon, theplace of their assembly, with a design of making him a pro-selyte to their religion. He argues further, from the tradi-tion of the church, derived from the ancient author of theRecognitians, under the name of Clemens Romanus , whichsays, that Theophilus, to whom St. Luke is supposed to haveinscribed his Gospel at Antioch, where the name of Christians was first given to the followers of Christ, did convert hishouse into a church; and the like is reported of the houseof Pudens, a Roman senator and martyr, in the Acta Puden-tis, that it was turned into a church after his martyrdom. Heconcludes this first century with the testimony of ClemensRomanus , in his genuine epistle to the Corinthians, whosays, that God has ordained well-appropriate places, whereat appointed times and seasons he would be solemnlyserved, so that all things might be done religiously andorderly.
“ In the second century, while the persecutions were stillrife against the Christians , more cruel acts were passed underTrajan, a.d. 107, and Marcus Aurelius , atd. 166, againstthem, by which it became necessary for them to act withfirmness, and in compact. Thus Ignatius , in his epistle tothe Magnesians, exhorts them to meet together in one place,which he calls to vaov 0£», the temple of God , and, in hisepistle to the Philadelphians, he informs us, that at this timethere was one altar in every church, and one apostolic bishop,or head, appointed with his presbytery and deacons. Thepresent Greek copies, indeed, read it a little different fromDr. Mede, leaving out the word church, but the mentioningone altar is sufficient to intimate they had then a stated placefor their ecclesiastical or Christian assembly. Tertullian ,who lived in the following century, has clearly intimatedthat the Christians , at this time, had churches, when, com-plaining against those who followed the trade of idol-making,( for the Gentiles excused themselves, that they did not wor-ship them,)—he says, ‘the zeal of faith cannot declaim allthe day long upon this point, bewailing that any Christians should come into the house of God from the shop of theenemy, and lift up their hands to God the Father, whichwere the mothers or makers of idols.’ In another place hecalls the church Domus Columbw, the house of the dove,meaning either Christ, or his dove-like religion. And again,he expressly distinguishes between the baptistry and thechurch, which in those days were places separate from eachother. In this age, Pius, bishop of Rome, wrote two shortepistles to Justus, bishop of Vienne in Gaul; in the first ofwhich is mentioned one Euprepia, a pious matron, who issaid to have consigned the title of her house over to thechurch, in which was to be celebrated Divine offices of war-ship. And in the other epistle is named one Pastor, a pres-byter, who is commended for erecting a titulus, that is, asmall Christian church ; .Clemens Alexandrinus , towards the
end of this century, also uses the name Ecclesia, f°*of the assembly, as well as the congregation; fo r > S P ‘ ^ tl' 1 ^the church, he says, ‘ I call not now the place alo* 1 ’
name, but the congregation of the elect people, thand so, in his famous homily, Quis dives Salvetur, y 0 u"Sjin the Asian bishop, to whom St. John committed ) a ini | ’»man to be trained up in the Christian discipline) c ° »i |1 ’
r , ...... 1 1 „
that the youth was become a villain and a
instead of following the church, had now betaken 1 ^ jt 15the mountains, with a company like himself. ■*t 8 kehplain, that, in his time, the word Ecclesia "' a3 . rl ass elll _ ta church, or sacred place, as well as for the Chn» piU Bbly themselves, and that such a building as a cl t |, ehave been known and understood. We have also
If
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t^ c rir
ture accounts of the seven Apocalyptic churches. 1 ofMinor, to whom St. John the Divine, wrote from tlie p oi ai'i atmos, where he was banished by the enipe>'° r p e r-tian, a.d. 96. These churches were Ephesus , Smy* D ,o e ve'gamos, Thyatii-a, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea , Klation h. and iii.) ; some of whose ruins, as travellers
^r T [; 0 a >
he churches of the p;l5 j-of Roman emperors 1 ,yit 1
t-uei nat°re. r3
the exception of that of Nero ’s. The persecuting ;„irof this century were Septimius Severus , A-D* 203 ; q53 1
nus Thrax, a.d. 236 ; Decius , a.d. 250 ; Gallus, *■ £•Vulerianus’ a.d 258 ; and lastly, Diocletian , A.D- fir. ‘ We have a testimony, in this age, of the existence o t j,«
tian churches, from a heathen author. Lamp 1 * 1 ’ 0 jiig 11life of Alexander Severus , reports, ‘ that there hapF g ce rdispute between the Christians and victuallers a? 0 g9 { be"tain noted public place, each party challenging g a*' 0
own, the emperor’s rescript determined it thus, m , v o>''the Christians: that it was better that God slim* beshipped there after any manner, than that it shou p e ri° 1 'up to the victuallers.’ About the middle of th*Vyim* 1 'lived the famous Gregory of Neocassarea, su } n ^ e0 cie s#* - *^
us, now remain.
“ In the third century, the testimonies are ° OLI “*pos- ,ous and certain respecting the churches of the , -vis= eChristians , though a successionedicts against them of a more severe and cr
l ref"of
tli«
churches m
Mhislife. J St r part ® of Pontus, a s Gregory Nysse°
place where thechn™!*”’ alj0llt tl)e sa,ne t ‘ me ’ sP rnon‘> I,r
cun *. the Lord's 1 a9sembI cd, under the name of rC h
and the capitol th S ? ’ and ’ in another, opposes th ;
of ifflages fnd to???** ° f lord's b °nZ ^
some that had 1 g°j S> to 0De another; for, speakmg * fotIntruding themself ’- a ” d ’ witi)out due contrition, '' ef e
once pemitted . a 3 l nto the &
church should o-ive^ ^ * wdlu£ t,len remains w itl *'
draw and take give way to the capitol , and the P ries£ * n J
the images and ITT ^ j :dtar °f the Ford with tben> ’ i
° andtd °l-gods, with their altars, succeed 0 l
anctuary, where the venerable ujgbcp
Vloay* . a te >apP*'°P Iia
tl*«
possession of the _ ,
our clergy sit ?’ About this time, also,of Alexandria, speaks of the churches asservice of God . .
“It appears further, from the rescript^® tl* e ^,oi'
t l*e
of
lOh
tains their > y Eusebius , where he restore*
shipping places ’l nder tbe name roiroi
of Zhn^-Tt- A J r ° m what has been noted t de>
ring about on „T urel,aD , which chides the senate lh ,
also that othm- Ki ca P Ito] > but in a Christum ‘
^ the coZi Tr Pt .° C his ’ in Fusebius, that the t* t o
turned m+ l •^■ n ^och ordered Paulus ^ aVaoSmony ofj™ , of th * house of the church. Bat f* p.y ot Eusebius goes further beyond all othert,
on* [ j