Книга 3

1. Such were the events in Judea. The holy apostles and disciples of the Savior were scattered throughout the entire earth. Thomas, as the legend tells, fell by lot to Parthia 542, to Andrew 543 - Scythia 544, to John - Asia 545, he lived there, there in Ephesus 546 and died 547; 2. Peter apparently preached the gospel to the Jews scattered throughout Pontus 548, Galatia 549, Bithynia 550, Cappadocia 551 and Asia. At the end of his life, he ended up in Rome, where he was crucified head down: he considered himself worthy of such an execution 552. 3. Is it necessary to talk about Paul, who proclaimed the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum and suffered under Nero in Rome 553. This is exactly how it is told by Origen 554 in the 3rd volume of his Commentaries on Genesis 555. After the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Linus was appointed by lot as the first bishop of the Roman Church 556. Paul mentions him when he sends him greetings at the end of the Epistle to Timothy from Rome 557. 1. The Epistle of Peter, called the First, is recognized as authentic, and the ancient saints refer to it in their writings 558. The so-called Second is not, as we have heard, numbered among the books of the New Testament, but many consider it useful and diligently read it along with the other scriptures 559. 2. “Acts”, “Gospel” 560, “Sermon” 561 and “Apocalypse” 562, called by his name, are, as we know, not included in Catholic works at all, and neither ancient nor modern church writers use their testimonies 563. 3. In the future, speaking about successively replaced bishops, I will mention by the way which of the church writers of that time used which of the disputed books, what they say about the canonical, recognized books, and about those that do not belong to them. 4. But of the works named by Petrov, I recognize only one thing as authentic; it was also recognized by the ancient saints. 5. Paul's fourteen Epistles are known and undoubtedly belong to him. It should be known, however, that some exclude the Epistle to the Hebrews, citing the Roman Church, which claims that it is not Paul's 564. What our predecessors said about this, I will explain in due time 565. I do not consider the so-called “Acts of Paul” to be indisputable among the books 566. 6. The apostle himself, concluding the Epistle to the Romans 567 with greetings, mentions among others Hermas 568, to whom the book “The Shepherd” 569 is said to belong. You should know that some dispute it too, which is why it is not placed among the generally accepted ones. Others regard it as essential, especially for people who are becoming acquainted with the principles of faith. Therefore, as we know, it is read publicly in churches, and I know that some of the most ancient writers used it. 7. Enough about the indisputable writings and those that are not recognized by everyone. 1. Paul, preaching to the pagans, laid the foundation of churches, starting from Jerusalem and its environs and to Illyricum; this is clear from his own words and from Luke's account in the Acts of the Apostles 570. 2. And Peter himself tells in what areas he preached the gospel of Christ to the circumcision, conveying to them the New Testament word. From the messages of the recognized Epistle (we talked about this) it is clear that he is writing to the Jews who are scattered throughout Galatia, Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia 571. 3. It is difficult to say how many and which of these people became real zealots of the new faith and, after testing, were able to become shepherds of the Churches founded by them; one can only list those whom Paul speaks of. 4. He had many co-workers and, as he himself called them, “comrades-in-arms” 572; most of them are honored with everlasting memory, for Paul repeatedly testifies to them in his Epistles. And Luke in Acts mentions by name the most famous ones. 5. They say that Timothy the first had the lot to be a bishop in the Ephesian Church 573, and Titus 574 - in the Cretan 575 churches 576. 6. Luke, a native of Antioch and a doctor by training, was mostly with Paul and also actively communicated with the rest of the apostles. From them he acquired the ability to heal souls, which he demonstrated in two inspired books: in the Gospel, which he wrote, according to his testimony, “as those who were originally witnesses and ministers of the Word conveyed to him” 577; According to him, he followed them from the very beginning of the book and in the Acts of the Apostles, which he compiled not from stories, but as an eyewitness. 7. They say that it is his Gospel that Paul usually has in mind when he writes about one of his Gospels: “according to my Gospel” 578 . 8. Of the rest of Paul's companions, Criscent 579, according to the apostle's own testimony 580, was sent to Gaul 581, and Linus, who is mentioned in the Second Epistle to Timothy as being with Paul in Rome, was the first after Peter to receive a bishopric in the Roman Church (this was reported above 582). 9 . Clement 583, Paul's brother and associate, according to his testimony, was the third Bishop of Rome. 10. Luke also reported in Acts 584 that a member of the Areopagus 585, Dionysius named 586, who was the first to believe after Paul's speech to the Athenians in the Areopagus, was the first bishop of the Athenian Church. Some other Dionysius 587, one of the elders, was the shepherd of the Corinthian parish. 11. Moving further, we will tell in a timely manner about the successive changes of apostolic successors. Now let's move on to the next events. 1. After Nero's thirteen-year reign in 588, a year and a half passed, while events depended on Galba 589 and Otho 590, and Vespasian, who became famous in the Jewish War, was declared king in Judea itself, for the army stationed there proclaimed him emperor 591. He immediately went to Rome 592, and entrusted the war to his son Titus 593. 2. After the Ascension of our Savior, the Jews, who dared to rebel against Him, began to be zealous in every possible way in their malice against His apostles: first they stoned Stephen, then they beheaded James, the son of Zebedee, the brother of John, and finally, as we have already told 594, they killed James, who was the first to be elected to the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the Ascension of our Savior. Since they attempted in thousands of ways on the lives of the rest of the apostles, the apostles, expelled from the land of Judea, set out with the help of Christ to preach to all nations, for He said to them: “Go, teach all nations in My name” 595. 3. Moreover, the people who belonged to the Church of Jerusalem, obeying the revelation given before the war to the venerable men there, left Jerusalem and settled in Perea, in the city of Pella 596; those who believed in Christ moved out of Jerusalem; in general, all the saints left the capital of Judea and the entire land of Judea. God's judgment finally befell the Jews, for their iniquity was great before Christ and His apostles; The race of these wicked people was wiped out from the face of the earth. 4. How much grief then fell everywhere on the whole people, and especially on the inhabitants of Judea, who had reached the limit of disaster! How many young men in their prime, along with women and children, perished from the sword, hunger, or died in some other way! How many Jewish cities were under siege and in what kind! What horrors and more than horrors were seen by the refugees who rushed to Jerusalem, as if to an impregnable capital. And the whole appearance of the war and what happened in individual cases, and what, finally, according to the word of the prophets 597, the abomination of desolation in the anciently glorified church of God, destroyed and burned to the ground! Anyone who is curious can read about this exactly in Joseph's History. 5. It is especially important to note his own story about how people from all over Judea gathered for the Passover 598 and about three million people were locked in Jerusalem, as if in a prison 599. 6. And they should have been locked up, as in a prison, and suffered death according to God’s judgment precisely in those days 600 when the Savior and Benefactor of all, Christ, the Son of God, was given up to torture. 7. I will pass by those killed and those who perished in some other way, but I consider it obligatory to talk about the suffering from hunger, so that the readers of my work can at least partially know that the Lord did not delay punishment for the iniquities committed against Christ, the Son of God. 1. So, take book 5 of Joseph's History and read about the tragedy of those days. “For the rich,” he says, “to stay in the city meant to die: under the pretext that such and such wanted to run over to the enemy, they killed him - for his wealth. Along with the hunger, the madness of the rebels increased; every day both grew into something terrible. 2. The bread was nowhere to be seen; the rebels broke into houses and tore everything apart; Having found the bread, they beat the owners because they refused to give it up, and finding nothing, they tortured them as malicious concealers. The appearance of the unfortunate people indicated whether they had anything or not. Those who were strong were believed to have food in abundance; they passed by the exhausted people: it was pointless to kill those who were about to die of hunger. 3. Many secretly exchanged their property: those richer - for one measure of wheat, and those poorer - for a measure of barley. And then they locked themselves in the farthest corner of the house and ate: people completely starved - just raw grain; others boiled it as far as necessity and fear allowed. 4. They didn’t set up a table anywhere: they snatched the food from the fire and swallowed it while it was still half-raw. Pathetic food and a spectacle worthy of tears: those who were stronger grabbed more, the weak cried. 5. Hunger overpowered all feelings, but what completely killed it was shame. What was once a matter of concern is now neglected. Food was snatched from the mouths of wives from their husbands, children from their fathers, and—this causes particular sorrow—mothers from their small children. Their own children faded away in their arms, and the crumbs necessary for life were taken from them. 6. But these eaters did not manage to hide. The rebels were active and plundering everywhere. If the house was locked, it was a sign that they were eating; they immediately knocked down the doors, broke in and took away pieces of bread, just missing squeezing them out of their throats. 7. Old people who grabbed food were beaten; women hiding something in their hands were dragged by their hair; there was no pity for either the gray hairs of old age or the age of infancy. The children, holding a piece of food tightly, were lifted up and, swinging, hit the floor. They were especially cruel, as if to their offenders, to those who, preventing their invasion, managed to swallow what they expected to take away. 8. They came up with terrible tortures just to find food. The unfortunate ones had their anus plugged with chin stalks and their buttocks pierced with sharp knitting needles. It’s scary to even listen to the torment they forced to admit that they had hidden one piece of bread or a handful of wheat flour. 9 . The torturers themselves were not at all hungry (cruelty forced by necessity would seem less); in their stubborn madness they prepared supplies for many days. 10. They went out to meet the people crawling at night to the Roman posts to gather wild vegetables and herbs, and when they already thought that they had escaped from the enemy, they took away their burden and, although they begged, conjuring in the terrible name of God, to return at least part of what they had brought at the risk of their lives, they often returned nothing. It would have been good if they didn’t kill the robbed person” 601. 11. Then he says the following: “Together with the hope of leaving the city, all hope of salvation disappeared among the Jews. Hunger grew and devoured entire houses and families. There are heaps of dead women and babies on the roofs, corpses of old people in the streets; 12. swollen youths and youths wandered like ghosts through the squares and fell where death found them. The exhausted did not have the strength to bury their loved ones, and those who were still able were in no hurry to bury them both because there was a lot of work and because their own fate was dark. Many, when buried, died immediately; many went to the cemetery themselves, without waiting for the hour of death. 13. There were no funeral laments or cries; hunger tested feelings: people doomed to a bitter death looked with dry eyes at those who had already found peace. The city was shrouded in deep silence; The darkness of the mortal night became thicker and thicker. 14. But the robbers were worse. They dug under houses, robbed the dead and, tearing off their covers, left laughing. They tested the edges of their swords on the dead: they tested the sword by stabbing into fallen but still living people. They contemptuously left those who begged to help them with hand and sword as prey to hunger. Everyone, dying, did not take his eyes off the church, no longer thinking about the rebels who remained alive. 15. These latter, unable to bear the stench, first gave the order to bury the dead using public money, and then, when there was not enough money, to throw them from the walls into ditches. Titus, walking around them, saw that they were full of dead, rotting bodies, from which ichor flowed in streams; he groaned and, stretching out his hands, calling on God as a witness, exclaimed: “This was not done by me” 602. 16. Then there is the following insertion: “I will not hide what my grief tells me to say: if the Romans had slowed down in punishing the criminals, the city would either have been swallowed up by an opening abyss, or it would have been flooded with a torrent, or struck by the thunders of Sodom. After all, this was a generation much more godless than the one who accepted that execution: for the whole people died from the madness of these people” 603. 17. And in the 6th book he writes like this: “An innumerable number died of hunger in the city, the suffering was unspeakable. In every house where there were some crumbs of food, there was a war; the closest people came to blows with each other, wresting a pathetic means of survival. Even the dying were not believed that they had nothing. 18. The robbers searched those who were still breathing to see if anyone had food in their bosom, and if the person was pretending to die. People, their mouths agape from hunger, stumbling like mad dogs and losing their way, bumped into doors like drunks, and no longer remembered anything, and in an hour they entered the same house two or three times. 19. They were forced to eat everything: they went so far as to collect for food what was not suitable for the unclean animals. In the end they did not disdain belts and sandals, they tore the skin off the shields and chewed it. Pieces of old hay were used for food. Some collected dried stems and sold a tiny quantity of them for four Attic drachms 604 by weight. But what can we say about the fact that hunger does not distinguish between inanimate objects! 20. I'm going to describe one event; Neither the Hellenes nor the barbarians will talk about this; It’s scary to talk about it: you listen and don’t believe it. I, in order not to appear to posterity as a collector of terrible stories, would willingly keep silent about this sad incident if many of my contemporaries had not witnessed it. And I would be doing a disservice to my fatherland if I did not tell about all its sufferings. 21. Beyond the Jordan in the village of Bethezor (which means “house of hyssop” 605) there lived a woman named Mary, the daughter of Eleazar. She was rich and noble; together with a crowd of refugees she came to Jerusalem and found herself in a besieged city. 22. The tyrants plundered her property, brought from Perea to Jerusalem; the remaining jewelry and any food items that were stored were stolen by armed men who broke in every day. This infuriated the woman, but with her scolding and curses she only irritated them. 23. No one, however, killed her either in anger or out of pity; and now she was tired of finding bread for others, and it was difficult to find it, and hunger penetrated into her insides and into her very brain. But even more powerful than her hunger was a frantic irritation. Listening to the advice of need and her own bitterness, she went against nature and, grabbing the child - she had an infant - exclaimed: 24. “Poor little one! There is war, famine, rebellion all around - for which of them am I saving you? For the Romans, even if they leave us alive, slavery awaits us, but only hunger will overcome us before slavery; and rebels are worse than both. Become food for me, for the rebels - a curse, for people - a terrible fairy tale, this is the only thing that was missing among the Jewish disasters.” 25. Saying this, she kills her son; Having fried it, he eats half of it, and hides and stores the rest. The rebels appeared immediately, smelling the smell of this terrible meat, and threatened to kill her immediately if she did not show what she had prepared. Telling them that a good share had been left for them, she revealed the remains of the child. 26. Horror and confusion seized them; they were petrified before this spectacle. And she: “This is my own child and my business. Eat, because I ate too; do not be weaker than a woman and more compassionate than a mother. If you are pious people and turn away from my sacrifice, then I ate for your health, let me have the rest.” 27. The rebels left, trembling; The only time they chickened out and gave their mother this - it’s hard to call it that - food. The city was full of horror and disgust. Everyone, imagining these passions with their own eyes, shuddered, as if he himself had done it. 28. Now starving people dreamed of death and considered those lucky who did not live to see or hear about such things” 606. 1. This is how the Jews paid for their dishonor and for the iniquities committed against the Anointed of God. It is worth citing to them the true words of our Savior, in which all this was predicted: “Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse with breasts in those days. Pray that your flight will not happen in winter or on the Sabbath, for then there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, and let it not happen” 607. 2. Calculating the total number of dead, Joseph says that 20 million people were killed and starved 608; “the remaining rebels and robbers, who betrayed each other after the capture of the city, were executed; young men distinguished by their height and beauty were preserved for triumph; of the rest, those who were over seventeen years old were chained and sent to work in Egypt; an even larger number were distributed among the provinces to die in gladiator matches and fights with animals. Those who were under seventeen years old were taken into slavery and sold” 609; these latter alone numbered ninety thousand 610. 3. This happened in the second year of the reign of Emperor Vespasian 611, in accordance with the prophecies of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by His Divine power, foresaw the future as if it had already happened. The holy evangelists write that He shed tears and cried 612, and cite His words addressed to Jerusalem itself: “Oh, if you, even on this day of yours, knew what serves for your peace! 4. But this is now hidden from your eyes; for the days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with trenches and surround you on every side, and will ruin you and kill your children... 613 5. Great will be the calamity on earth and the wrath of this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be carried away into captivity among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”614 And again: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by troops, then know that its desolation has come” 615. 6. Comparing these words of our Savior with the history of the entire war in Joseph, how can one not be surprised at the Divine, truly supernatural foresight of our Savior and His prophecy? 7. There is no need to tell what happened to all the people after the saving Passion and those cries with which the Jewish crowd rescued the robber and murderer from death and begged to take the Lord of life from them 616. 8. It is fair, however, to say how the philanthropy of the All-Good Providence showed itself: their death was postponed for forty years after the crime committed against Christ. During these years, many apostles and disciples and James himself, the first bishop there, revered as the brother of the Lord, were still alive; the city of Jerusalem was their place of residence, and they were an insurmountable wall for it. 9 . The Lord, in His watch, waited long-sufferingly to see if they would repent of what they had done and would be able to receive forgiveness and be saved. And with such great long-suffering, He also sent them amazing omens of what would happen to them if they did not repent. And since the named writer considered them worthy of mention, it is best to communicate this to those who turn to this work. 1. So, take his “History” and read the following in the 6th book: “The unfortunate people were then led by deceivers who falsely referred to God; therefore, people did not pay attention to the obvious and terrible signs that foreshadowed future desolation and did not believe them. As if struck by lightning, blinded and unconscious, they did not listen to God's broadcasts 2. and then, when a star, similar to a Thracian sword, stood over the city, and a comet did not leave the sky for a whole year. Even before the uprising and the excitement that preceded the war, when the people gathered for the Feast of Unleavened Bread 617, on the eighth day of the month of Xanthica 618, at about the ninth hour of the night, such a light shone on the altar and the church that it seemed like a clear day 619. This lasted for about half an hour. To ignorant people this seemed a good sign; the scribes immediately understood the future, even before it came true. 3. On the same holiday, the cow, which the high priest was leading for sacrifice, buckled in the middle of the church. 4. The eastern inner gate 620, copper 621 and extremely heavy 622, which twenty people, with difficulty closing in the evening, locked with iron forged bolts that went into very deep holes, opened by themselves at about one in the morning. 5. And a few days after the holiday, on the twenty-first day of the month Artemisia 623, they saw a wondrous and incredible sign; the story about it may seem like a fairy tale if eyewitnesses did not report it and if subsequent disasters did not correspond to such signs. Before sunset, all over the country they saw an army in the air, war chariots and armed phalanxes rushing through the clouds and surrounding the city 624. 6. And on the holiday called Pentecost 625, the priests, as was their custom, entered the church at night for worship, and, according to them, caught some noise and movement, and then voices exclaiming in agreement: “Let’s get out of here” 626. 7. But here is an even more terrible incident: a certain Jesus, the son of Ananias, a simpleton, a peasant, four years before the war, when the city lived peacefully in complete prosperity, coming to a holiday when, according to custom, everyone builds tabernacles 627, he suddenly began shouting in the church: “A speech from the east, a speech from the west, a speech from the four winds, a speech to Jerusalem and the church, a speech to both bridegrooms and brides, a speech to all the people.” Day and night he shouted this throughout the streets. 8. Some of the noble people among the people, annoyed by the ominous words, ordered to seize this man and beat him severely. He, without saying anything in his defense and without addressing those present, continued to call out the same thing. 9 . The authorities, having decided - and quite correctly - that this man is possessed by something from above, take him to the Roman governor 628. They tormented him, scourging him to the bone, but he did not beg or cry, but only answered in the most pitiful voice to each blow: “Woe, woe to Jerusalem” 629. 10. The same writer conveys news that is even more surprising. In the Holy Scripture, according to him, there is a prediction that just at this time a certain fellow countryman will rule the world. He himself believes that it was fulfilled on Vespasian 630, 11. but Vespasian did not rule the whole world, but only that part that the Romans owned. It would be more correct to attribute this prophecy to Christ, to whom the Father said: “Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Your inheritance and the ends of the earth for Your possession” 631, and at the same time “the voice of the 632 holy apostles passes throughout the whole earth and their words to the ends of the universe” 633. 1. After all these stories, we should also get acquainted with Joseph, who helped us so much while busy with our work. Where is he from? What kind? He himself speaks about it 634: “I am Joseph, son of Mattathias, priest from Jerusalem 635. At first I fought with the Romans 636, and later I joined them out of necessity” 637. 2. At this time he became the most famous person not only among his fellow Jews, but also among the Romans 638; he was even honored with a statue in Rome, and his works were honored in a book depository. 3. He outlined all Jewish antiquities in as many as twenty books, and in seven – the history of the contemporary war with the Romans. He wrote it, according to his own testimony, not only in Greek, but also in his native language 639 and is worthy of trust, judging by everything else. 4. He has two more worthwhile works: “On the Antiquity of the Jewish People,” where, among other things, he objects to Apion the grammarian 640, who then compiled a book against the Jews, and to other writers who tried to slander the domestic customs of the Jews 641. 5. In the first of these books, he establishes the number of books of the so-called Old Testament and says which among the Jews are not disputed, for they have been handed down from ancient times. He speaks of them in the following words: 1. “We do not have thousands of books that disagree with each other, refuting one another; there are only twenty-two books that cover the entire past and are rightly considered Divine. 2. Of these, five belong to Moses. They contain laws and legends about the generations of people who lived before his death - this is a gap of almost three thousand years 642. 3. The events from the death of Moses to the death of Artaxerxes 643, who reigned in Persia after Xerxes, were described in thirteen books by the prophets who lived after Moses, contemporaries of what was happening 644. The remaining books contain hymns to God and instructions to people on how to live 645. 4. Everything that happened from Artaxerxes to our time is described, but these 646 books do not deserve the same faith as the above-mentioned ones, because their authors were not in strict succession with the prophets. 5. How we treat our books is evident in practice: so many centuries have passed, and no one dared to add anything to them, or take away, or rearrange; Jews have an innate belief in this teaching as Divine: it should be held firmly, and if necessary, then die for it with joy” 647. 6. May the words given here be of benefit. This man also worked diligently on another work worthy of him: “Reason the Autocrat.” Some call it by the name of the Book of Maccabees, because it, like the so-called “Books of the Maccabees,” describes the courageous struggle that the Jews waged for their faith and their God. 7. At the end of the 20th book of Antiquities, he himself declares his intention to set out in four books what, according to the faith of the fathers, the Jews think about God, His essence and laws, why they allow one thing to be done and forbid another 648. He worked diligently on other issues, which he recalls in his writings. 8. In order to establish confidence in his testimony about the events known to him, it is reasonable to add the words he cited at the end of “Antiquities” 649. Reproaching Justus 650 from Tiberias 651, who also tried to write the history of his time, for not writing truthfully, and demanding an account from him in many ways, he concludes with these words: 9 . “I wasn’t afraid, like you, for my essay 652. I handed these books to the emperors 653 almost in view of what was happening. I recognized myself as a guardian of the truth that I communicated to them, and I was not mistaken in expecting confirmation from them. 10. I gave my story to many others, including participants in the war, such as King Agrippa 654 and some of his relatives. 11. And so, Emperor Titus wished that people would become acquainted with these events only through my books. He ordered them to be made public, sealing the order with his own signature. King Agrippa wrote sixty-two letters testifying to the veracity of what was reported.” Joseph gives two such letters. But we have said enough about Joseph. Let's move on to subsequent events. After the martyrdom of James 655 and immediately after the capture of Jerusalem, the apostles and disciples of the Lord who were still alive came together from everywhere, according to legend, along with the Lord’s relatives in the flesh (many of them were still alive at that time) and began to hold a council together on who to consider a worthy successor to Jacob. Everyone unanimously recognized Simeon 656, the son of Cleopas, mentioned in the Gospel 657, as worthy of the local throne. They say that he was the Savior's cousin. Hegesippus writes that Cleopas 658 was the brother of 659 Joseph 660. They say that after the capture of Jerusalem, Vespasian ordered to find all the descendants of David so that no one from the royal family would be left to the Jews. Therefore, a great persecution arose again against the Jews. After ten years of Vespasian's reign 661, he was succeeded by his son Titus. In the second year of his reign, Linus 662, bishop of the Roman Church, who served it for twelve years 663, handed it over to Anacletus 664. Titus, who reigned for two years and the same number of months 665, was succeeded by his brother Domitian 666. In the fourth year of the reign of 667 Domitian, Annianus, the first bishop of the Alexandrian Church, when he had completed twenty-two years of his ministry 668, died. His successor and second bishop was Avilius 669. In the twelfth year of the reign of Domitian 670 Anacletus, who had been bishop of the Roman Church for twelve years 671, was succeeded by Clement, whom the Apostle in the Epistle to the Philippians calls his collaborator: “With Clement and the rest of my collaborators, whose names are in the book of life” 672. There is one large and amazing letter from Clement, which is generally accepted as authentic; it was written on behalf of the Roman Church to the Corinthian Church 673, for there was discord in Corinth at that time. We know that this letter has long been read to the people in many churches; read and now 674. And that Corinth was engulfed in discord is a reliable witness to Egesippus. Domitian was fierce towards many people: he executed many prominent and noble people in Rome without a real trial 675; thousands of famous people, innocent of anything, were sent into exile and their property was taken away 676. In the end, he showed himself to be the successor of Nero in hatred of God and in fighting against God. He was the second 677 to initiate persecution against us, although his father Vespasian did not plot anything bad against us. 1. At the same time, as they say, the apostle and evangelist John, who was still alive, was condemned 678 to live on the island of Patmos 679 for his testimony about the Word of God. 2. Irenaeus writes 680 about the number of the Antichrist 681 name in the so-called Apocalypse of John 682. In Book 5 of Against Heresies he speaks of John word for word like this: 3. “If it were necessary to proclaim the name of the Antichrist at this time, it would be named to the one who was the seer. The revelation was given to him quite recently 683, almost in our century, before the end of Domitian’s kingdom” 684. 4. At the time described, our faith shone so much that writers, far from our teaching, were not slow to talk about this persecution and its martyrs. They accurately indicated its time: in the fifteenth year of 685 of Domitian, Flavius ​​Domitilla 686, the niece of Flavius ​​Clement, one of the then Roman consuls 687, was punished, along with many others, with exile to the island of Pontius 688 for confessing Christ. There is an ancient legend that when Domitian ordered the extermination of everyone from the family of David, one of the heretics pointed to the descendants of Judas (he was the brother of the Savior in the flesh 689) as coming from the family of David and considered relatives of Christ. Hegesippus talks about this verbatim: 1. “There still remained from the line of the Lord the grandchildren of Judah, who was called in the flesh the brother of the Lord. They were pointed out as descendants of David. Evokat 690 led them to Caesar Domitian: he was afraid, just like Herod 691, of the coming of Christ. 2. He asked them if they were from the line of David; they said yes. Then he asked what their condition was and how much money they had at their disposal. They said that they both had only nine thousand denarii, 692 of which each was entitled to half; They do not have them in specie, but are invested in thirty-nine plethra of land 693. They pay taxes from it and live by cultivating it with their own hands. 3. Then they showed their calloused, calloused hands that showed hard work and incessant work. 4. When asked about Christ and His Kingdom, what it is, where and when it will appear, they answered that it is not of the world and will not be on earth, but in heaven with the angels and will appear at the consummation of the age, when Christ, having come in glory, will judge the living and the dead 694 and will reward everyone for his life 695. 5. Domitian, not finding any guilt in them, contemptuously considered them fools and released them, and stopped the persecution of the Church by decree. 6. Those liberated became the heads of the Churches as martyrs and as coming from the lineage of the Lord. Peaceful times came, and they lived until the reign of Trajan" 696. 7. This is what Egesippus writes; recalls Domitian and Tertullian: “He tried to do the same thing, having inherited something from Nero’s cruelty, but, I think, having some common sense, he soon stopped, returning those whom he had expelled” 697. 8. After fifteen years of Domitian's rule in 698, Nerva took power in 699; historians of that time write that, by decree of the Roman Senate, honors to Domitian were canceled 700, and those unjustly expelled by him were returned 701. 9 . At the same time, as our ancient writers report, the Apostle John left the island where he had been exiled and took up residence in Ephesus. After Nerva, who reigned for just over a year in 702, Trajan gained power. In the first year of his reign 703 Avilius, who had ruled the Alexandrian Church 704 for thirteen years, was replaced by Cerdon 705. After Annian, the first bishop there, he was the third. In Rome at this time the Church was ruled by Clement, also the third to receive episcopal dignity there after Paul and Peter. Linus was the first, followed by Anacletus. In Antioch, after the first bishop Euodius 706, Ignatius 707, the second bishop, was famous; Simeon was also the second to rule the Jerusalem Church at that time after James, the brother of our Savior. 1. At this time, the apostle and evangelist John, the same one whom Jesus loved 708, still lived in Asia. Upon his return from exile on the island after the death of Domitian, he took care of the local Churches. That he lived to this time is sufficiently attested by two most faithful witnesses, the leaders of church orthodoxy: Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria. 3. The first of them, in his 2nd book “Against Heresies,” narrates verbatim like this: “All the Asian elders who communicated with John, the disciple of the Lord, testify that he spoke about this; after all, he was with them until the time of Trajan” 709. 4. In the 3rd book of the same work, he writes: “And the Church founded by Paul in Ephesus - John lived there until the time of Trajan - is a truthful witness to the apostolic story” 710. 5. Clement, who also mentions this time, included in his essay entitled “What Rich Man Will Be Saved” this story, very instructive for those who love to hear what is good and useful. Take it and read what is written: 6. “Listen not to a fairy tale, but to the story of the Apostle John. It was handed down to us, and we remembered it firmly. Having returned from Patmos to Ephesus after the death of the tyrant 711, he, by invitation, visited the nearest areas - where to install bishops, where to establish entire Churches, where to introduce into the clergy a person indicated by the Spirit. 7. Arriving in a nearby city (some also call his name), he established calm among the brothers, and, noticing a young man, distinguished, handsome and ardent, the apostle turned to the local bishop, whom he installed: “I entrust him entirely to you in the face of the Church and Christ.” The bishop took the young man and promised everything; and John repeated his words and asked them to be witnessed again. 8. Then he left for Ephesus, and the bishop, taking into his house the young man entrusted to him, supported him, looked after him, protected him, and finally baptized him. Now he became less caring and guarded him less, considering the seal of the Lord to be the surest protection. 9 . The young man, who was prematurely released to his death, was pestered by his peers - notorious slackers, accustomed to bad things. First they took him from one luxurious feast to another, then they took him out at night to steal, and then they considered him capable of participating in great crimes. 10. He gradually got used to it and, by his rich nature, like a powerful, restive horse, he bit the bit, turned off the straight road and rushed straight into the abyss. 11. Having finally despaired of being saved in God, he began to plot things many times to die anyway, so to suffer along with others, having accomplished something big. He gathered a bandit gang from those same comrades and became its true leader: a rapist, a murderer, a villain above all. 12. Meanwhile, John was invited for some necessary business. He, having arranged everything for which he came, says: “Now give us, bishop, the pledge that I and Christ entrusted to you, to which the Church, which you rule, is a witness.” 13. The bishop was at first frightened, thinking that he had been falsely accused of stealing money that he did not take; he could not agree with what did not happen, but he could not help but trust John. “I demand the youth and the soul of your brother,” he said. Then the bishop groaned from the depths of his heart and said: “He is dead.” - “How and by what death?” – “He died for God: a complete scoundrel and, moreover, a robber; instead of the Church, he is now on the mountain with an army of his kind.” 14. The apostle tore his clothes and, groaning loudly, showered blows on his head: “I left a good guard to my brother! A horse for me and someone as a guide.” And right there and then he galloped away from the church as he was. 15. Arriving where they indicated, he was captured by a robber outpost, but did not run away or ask for time off, but shouted: “That’s what I came for: take me to your boss.” 16. He armed himself and stood waiting, but, recognizing John approaching, he began to run away in shame. John, forgetting his years, chased after him as hard as he could, shouting: 17. “Child, why are you running from me, your father, from the unarmed, from the old? Have pity on me, child! Don't be afraid, you still have hope for life. I will answer Christ for you; if necessary, I will accept death for you, as the Lord accepted it for us. I'll give my soul for you. Stop, believe: Christ sent me.” 18. The robber listened, stood, first looking down, then threw down his weapon and, shuddering in bitter sobs, grabbed the approaching old man; His weeping was his protection, and with tears he was baptized a second time. All the time, however, he hid his right hand. 19. The Apostle swore that he had received forgiveness from the Savior; begged him, knelt down and kissed his right hand, as if cleansed by repentance, and thus brought him back to the Church. Constantly praying for him, constantly exercising him in fasting and fasting with him himself, instructing him in every possible way with touching stories, he left him, they say, not before he installed into the Church the one who set a great example of true repentance, a great sign of rebirth and a victorious sign of a visible resurrection” 712. 1. Here is Clement's story, given by me for the information and edification of those who happen to read it. Let us select the undoubted writings of this apostle. 2. Firstly, it is undoubtedly recognized as the Gospel 713, known to all the Churches that exist under heaven. Why the ancients so wisely assigned him fourth place after the other three will now become clear. 3. Wonderful and truly pleasing men to God - I’m talking about the apostles of Christ - who led their lives in perfect purity, adorned their souls with all the virtues, and spoke in simple language 714 . They relied on the Divine and miraculous power bestowed by Christ, but they did not know how, and did not try to talk about the teachings of Christ in a convincing and skillful word. Only with the help of the Spirit of God and according to His instructions, only by the miraculous power of Christ 715 operating in them, did they spread the news of the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the entire universe, not knowing how to carefully select their words, and even worrying little about it. 4. They did this because they carried out a service that was great and beyond human strength. After all, Paul, who surpassed everyone in the wealth of words and abundance of thought, wrote only a few short Epistles, although he could tell about many unspeakable things, for, contemplating the third heaven 716 and touching it, caught up in a wondrous paradise, he was honored to hear unspeakable words 717. 5. They were also known to the rest of the followers of our Savior: the twelve apostles, the seventy disciples and many others, and, however, only Matthew and John left us memories of life with Christ, and even they, according to legend, began to write out of necessity. 6. Matthew originally preached to the Jews; having gathered to other nations, he handed them his Gospel, written in their native language 718. Recalled from them, he left them his Scripture in return. 7. Both Mark and Luke had already given their Gospels to people, and John, they say, preached orally all the time and only at the end of 719 took up writing for this reason 720. When the first three Gospels were distributed everywhere and reached him, he, they say, considered it his duty to testify to their truthfulness, but noticed that they lacked a story about the first acts of Christ, committed at the very beginning of His preaching. And that's true. 8. The three evangelists apparently knew only what the Savior did within a year after John the Baptist was imprisoned. They wrote about this and began their story from there. 9 . Matthew, indeed, after the story of the forty-day fast and the subsequent temptation 721 himself points to the time about which he writes. “When he heard that John had been taken into custody, he withdrew (from Judea) to Galilee” 722. So does Mark: 10. “After John was betrayed, Jesus came to Galilee” 723. And Luke observes approximately the same period: before talking about the deeds of the Savior, he mentions that Herod added one more to his crimes. “I imprisoned John” 724. 11. John, they say, therefore began to beg to tell in his Gospel about that time about which the first evangelists were silent, and about the deeds performed by the Savior then, namely, before the imprisonment of the Baptist. He talks about this himself. “This is how Jesus began the miracles” 725, and, talking about the deeds of Jesus, he remembers that the Baptist was still baptizing in Aenon, near Salem 726, this is clear from his words: “John had not yet been thrown into prison” 727. 12. John in his Gospel tells only about what Christ accomplished before John was thrown into prison; the other three evangelists talk about what happened after the imprisonment of the Baptist. 13. That is why the person who takes this into account will not think that they disagree with each other; The Gospel of John covers the initial activity of Christ, the rest give the history of His last years. John, apparently, kept silent about the genealogy of our Savior according to the flesh because Matthew and Luke had already set it out, and began with the doctrine of His Divinity, which for him, as more worthy, seemed to be protected by the Spirit of God. 14. Enough has been said about the Gospel of John. The reason why Mark wrote the Gospel is indicated by us above 728. 15. Luke, embarking on his creation, himself gave the reason why he began to work on it, since many hastily and thoughtlessly took up the presentation of events known to him exactly, he considered it necessary to save us from disputes and doubts and in his Gospel truthfully spoke about the events, the authenticity of which he became convinced of, talking with Paul and communicating with the rest of the apostles 729. 16. This is what should have been said about the Gospels; We will try, incidentally and more accurately, using the statements of old writers, to present other opinions. 17. Of the writings of John, besides the Gospel, the First Epistle is recognized as indisputable both now and in ancient times. 18. The other two are disputed 730, opinions about the Apocalypse 731 differ to this day 732. In due time they too will be judged on the basis of the testimony of the ancients. 1. Here, by the way, we list the books of the New Testament already known to us. In first place let us, of course, place the holy quartet of Gospels, followed by the Acts of the Apostles; 2. then the Epistles of Paul, immediately after them - First John and the indisputable Peter, and then, if you like, the Apocalypse of John, which we will talk about in due time. These books are undeniable. 3. Among the disputed, but most accepted, Epistles, one called James, the other Judah, 733 and the Second Peter, also the Second and Third John, perhaps they belong to the evangelist, or perhaps to some of his namesakes. 4. The forged ones include: “The Acts of Paul”, a book called “The Shepherd”, “The Apocalypse of Peter”, “The Epistle” recognized by Barnavin 734, the so-called “Teaching of the Apostles” 735 and, as I said, perhaps the Apocalypse of John, which some reject, while others classify as recognized books. 5. Some included among these books the “Gospel of the Jews,” 736 which is most loved by Jews who believed in Christ. These are all rejected books, 6. and we considered it necessary to compile a list of them, believing that we should know which books are genuine, not fabricated and accepted by church tradition, and which, on the contrary, are excluded from the books of the New Testament, although known to most church writers. You should know both these books and those that are known among heretics as the “Gospel” of the apostles: Peter, Thomas 737, Matthias and others, as well as the “Acts” allegedly of Andrew, John and other apostles. These books were never mentioned by any of the church writers. 7. And their speech and style are very different from the apostolic spirit, but their thoughts and the entire teaching as a whole are far from consistent with true orthodoxy: these are clearly inventions of heretics. Therefore, these books should not only be classified as forgeries, but should be completely rejected as completely absurd and impious 738 . 1. Now let's move on to a description of further events. Menander, the successor of Simon Magus, turned out to be the second instrument of the devil, and no worse than the first. He was also a Samaritan; having risen as a teacher to the heights of sorcery, he amazed even more with his tricks, saying that he was a savior sent to save people from somewhere above, from the region of invisible eons 739. 2. He taught that none of the angels, the creators of the cosmos, could achieve perfection until he experienced the magic that he, Menander, taught, and received baptism from him. Those who are worthy of it will live this very life forever, will never die, and will remain forever young and immortal. You can easily find out about this from Irenaeus 740. 3. And Justin, remembering Simon, says, among other things, the following: “We know that Menander, also a Samaritan from the village of Caparatea, a disciple of Simon, also incited by demons, while in Antioch, deceived many with his magical art. He convinced his disciples that they would not die 741. And now there are his followers who think the same way." 742 4. What was at work here, of course, was the devil, who, through these charlatans who took the name of Christians as magic, tried to slander the great mystery of faith and discredit the church teaching about the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead. Those who chose these saviors for themselves have lost true hope. 1. The crafty demon, powerless to destroy the love for Christ, the Son of God, found a weak side in people and took them into his possession. The first Christians aptly called them Ebionites 743. Their idea of ​​Christ was miserable and base. 2. They considered Him a simple man, like everyone else, who was recognized as righteous for his moral height alone. He was born from the marriage of Mary and her husband. The rites required by the Law must be fully observed; in their opinion, they will not be saved by faith in Christ and life by faith alone. 3. Others, along with them bearing the same name, avoided the above-mentioned absurdities. They do not deny that Christ was born of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit, but at the same time as the first, they do not recognize the eternal existence of Christ, the Word and Wisdom of God; these also turned the first into wickedness, especially since they just as diligently fulfilled all the requirements of the ritual Law. 4. They believed that the Epistles of the Apostle Paul should be completely rejected, and called him an apostate; they read only the so-called “Gospel of the Hebrews”, and neglected the rest of the books. 5. They kept the Sabbath and other Jewish customs, like the Jews, but they honored, almost like us, the days of the Lord and the memory of the Resurrection that saved us. 6. That is why they received the nickname “Ebionites,” indicating the poverty of their minds: after all, among the Jews this is the name of beggars 744. 1. We know that the head of another heresy, Cerinthos 745, also lived at this time. Guy, whose words I quoted earlier, writes about him in his discussions.” 2. “And Cerinthus, in revelations supposedly written by the great apostle 746, places false stories about miracles shown to him by angels; he says that after the resurrection the earthly kingdom of Christ 747 will come and people in the flesh, who again settled in Jerusalem, will be slaves of desires and pleasures. The enemy of Scripture, he, wanting to deceive people, says that the millennium will pass in a wedding celebration” 748. 3. And Dionysius 749, who was in our time the bishop of Alexandria, in the 2nd book “On the Promises,” speaking about the Revelation of John, remembers this man this way, following the ancient tradition: 4. “Cerinths, the creator of the heresy, called after his name “Kerinthian,” prefaced his inventions with a name that inspires confidence. This is the main thing in his teaching: the kingdom of Christ will be earthly; what he himself was striving for would come true - and he loved the flesh and was very sensual - and it would be possible to live as he dreamed: the stomach and what is below it will be completely satisfied with food, drink and marital cohabitation. He thought to ennoble all this, calling it festivals, offerings, sacrifices.” 6. So says Dionysius. Irenaeus, in the 1st book of his work “Against Heresies,” provides details about his vile false teaching, and in the 3rd book he conveys a story that does not deserve oblivion. Referring to Polycarp 750, he says that the Apostle John once came to wash himself in the bathhouse, but, having learned that Cerinthus was also there, he jumped up and ran out: he could not stay under the same roof with him. And he persuaded his companions to do the same: “We run, as if the bathhouse does not collapse, because the enemy of truth, Kerinth, is there” 751. 1. At the same time, there existed - very briefly - the so-called heresy of the Nicolaitans 752; she is also mentioned in Revelation of John 753. Her followers boasted that Nicholas 754 was one of the deacons, Stephen's companions, appointed by the apostles to serve the poor 755 . Clement of Alexandria in the 3rd book of Stromatus 756: 2. “...He had a wife in her prime. When, after the Ascension of the Savior, the apostles began to reproach him for being jealous of his wife, he brought her to the middle and offered to take her as a wife to anyone who wished. This behavior, they say, was consistent with his saying: “the flesh should not be spared.” And so his actions and his words began to be followed directly and without reasoning: the followers of his heresy indulged in shameless debauchery 757. 3. I heard that Nikolai did not know a single woman except his wife, that his daughters grew old virgins, and his son remained unspoiled. If this is so, then bringing his beloved wife to the apostles meant trampling on passion, and the words “the flesh should not be spared” called for abstinence from desired pleasures. I think he did not want, according to the Savior’s commandments, to “serve two masters” 758: pleasure and the Lord. 4. So, they say, Matthias also taught: “We must fight the flesh and not spare it, succumbing to pleasure: we must cultivate the soul through faith and knowledge” 759 . Enough has been said about the people who then had a hand in condemning the truth and disappeared without a trace before the word was spoken.” 760 1. Clement, whose words we have just read, having mentioned those who deny marriage, lists the apostles of whom it is precisely known that they were married. He says: “Or will they not even consider the apostles? Peter and Philip had children; Philip also gave his daughters in marriage; Paul does not hesitate in one of his Epistle 761 to greet his wife, whom he did not take with him 762 so as not to complicate his work of ministry” 763 . 2. Since we remembered this, it is worth citing another memorable story of his, placed in the 7th book of his “Stromat”: “They say that blessed Peter, seeing how his wife was being led to death, was glad that she was called and she was returning home. He called her by name, convinced and consoled her, saying: “Remember the Lord!” These blessed people lived in such a marriage, so impeccable were the relationships between the closest people” 764. These stories, which fit this narrative, are placed here by the way. 1. As for the death of Paul and Peter, we said even earlier 765 when and how they died and in what place their bodies were buried. 2. The time of John’s death is also said 766; the place of his burial is named by Polycrates (he was a bishop in Ephesus) 767 in his letter to Victor, Bishop of Rome 768. There he also mentions the Apostle Philip 769 and his daughters. He writes: 3. “In Asia rest the great luminaries who will rise on the last day, when the Lord will descend from heaven in His glory and seek out all the saints: Philip, one of the twelve, who rests in Hierapolis, his two daughters, who grew old in virginity, and another daughter, who was guided by the Holy Spirit and who rests in Ephesus. And John, who reclined on the chest of the Lord 770 , the priest who carried the golden tablet 771 , the martyr 772 and teacher, rests in Ephesus.” 4. Here is information about their death. In the dialogue of Guy, whom we recently recalled, Proclus, against whom this study was written, speaks of the death of Philip and his daughters in accordance with the above: “After him, four prophetesses, the daughters of Philip, lived in Hierapolis 773, an Asian city. Their father’s grave is also there.” 5. That's what he says. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles mentions the daughters of Philip: they lived with their father in Caesarea Judea and were awarded the gift of prophecy. Here is his story verbatim: “We came to Caesarea 774 and, entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, stayed with him. He had four daughters, maidens of prophecy" 775. We have set out in order in these chapters all the information that has reached us about the apostles, the apostolic times and the sacred books that they left us; about books that are disputed, but in the majority of Churches are publicly read, and finally, about books that are obviously forged and have departed from apostolic orthodoxy. Let us now move on to the story of further events. 1. After Nero and Domitian, under the emperor 776, whose time we are now describing, partial persecutions against us in the cities were carried out by the rebel mob 777. In such persecution, as they say, Simeon, the son of Cleopas, who, as we said, was the second bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, ended his life as a martyr. 2. This is attested by the same Egesippus, from whom we previously drew various information. So, talking about various heretics, he reports that Simeon was accused by them; accused of being a Christian and tortured in various ways for many days, he shocked the judge and those around him and earned an end to his life that was reminiscent of the suffering of Christ. 3. It is best, however, to listen to the writer himself; Here is his story verbatim: “Some of these heretics reported against Simeon, son of Cleopas, that he was a descendant of David and a Christian. So he suffered, at one hundred and twenty years of age, under the emperor Trajan and the consul Attica" 778. 4. He says that when they were looking for the descendants of the kings of Judah, the accusers were also seized as coming from the royal family. We can conclude that this Simeon was one of those who personally saw and listened to the Lord, and in confirmation we can refer to his age and the mention in the Gospel of Mary, the wife of Cleopas 779; this Simeon was his son, this was said earlier 780. 5. That hedgehog writer says that the descendants of Judas, one of the mentioned brothers of the Savior, lived to see this reign; how they confessed the faith of Christ under Domitian was told earlier 781. And he writes like this: 6. “They come and become the head of the entire Church, as witnesses and relatives of the Lord. In the midst of deep peace in the Church, they lived until Caesar Trajan, until the time when the son of the Lord's uncle, the aforementioned Simeon, son of Cleopas, slandered by heretics, was also accused of the same thing under the consul of Atticus. Tormented for many days, he shocked everyone with his unshakable confession of Christ, and especially the consul, who asked himself: how can an old man of one hundred and twenty years endure all this torment? He was crucified." 7. In conclusion, the same writer, outlining contemporary events, says that until that time the Church was like a pure, immaculate virgin; those who tried to destroy the sound and saving gospel, if there were any, then sat huddled in their dark corners and remained in obscurity. 8. When the holy apostolic person ended his life in one way or another and the generation passed away, worthy to hear with its own ears the voice of Divine Wisdom, then, under the influence of false teachers, with their deceptions, confusion and atheism began. Since none of the apostles remained alive, they decided to openly oppose the preaching of the truth with their false knowledge (gnosis) 782. 1. At that time, many places were seized by such persecution against us that Pliny Secundus 783, the most famous of the governors, alarmed by the large number of martyrs, wrote to the emperor about the large number of people dying for the faith 784, and immediately reported that he could not convict them of wickedness or anything illegal; rising at dawn, they sing of Christ as God; prohibit adultery, murder and other similar offenses 785; They act in everything according to the laws 786. 2. In response, Trajan issued a decree: Christians should not be sought; caught - punish 787. The threat of terrible persecution hanging over us had to some extent dissipated, but there were no fewer opportunities left for people who wanted to harm us; in one place the mob was plotting an evil deed, in another it was being prepared by the local authorities; there were no obvious persecutions; partial ones arose in the provinces, and many believers were tortured in various ways in the struggle for the faith. 3. The story about this is taken from the Latin Apology of Tertullian (we talked about it above), which in translation reads like this: “However, we discovered that it was forbidden to search for us. Pliny Secundus, the governor of the province, sentenced Christians and deprived them of the title of citizens; Confused by their multitude, not knowing what to do from now on, he wrote to Emperor Trajan: he did not find any wickedness among them, except perhaps an unwillingness to serve idols. He also pointed out that Christians, rising at dawn, praise Christ as God and, observing their teachings, forbid killing, adultery, profiteering, stealing and generally doing anything similar. Trajan replied that there was no need to look for Christians; but punish the one who gets caught” 788. That's how it was then. In the third year of the reign of the said emperor 789, Clement, bishop of Rome, died 790, transferring his ministry to Evarest 791. For nine years he led the teaching of the Divine Word 792. After the death of Simeon, which we described 793, the episcopal throne in Jerusalem was occupied by the Jew Just 794; at that time there were already many circumcised who believed in Christ 795; Justus was one of them. 1. Particularly remarkable at that time in Asia was Polycarp, the interlocutor of the apostles, who was appointed bishop of the Smyrna 796 Church by those who saw the Lord and served Him. 2. His contemporaries are also known: Papias, also a bishop in Hierapolis; Ignatius, still glorified by many, is the second bishop of Antioch after Peter. 3. They say that he was sent from Syria to Rome and given to be devoured by wild beasts for confessing Christ 797. 4. Walking through Asia under the supervision of the strictest guards, in cities at stops he strengthened the believers with conversation and exhortations, persuaded first of all to beware of heresies, which had just come into the light of God, and urged them to hold fast to the Apostolic Tradition, which he, going to martyrdom, considered it necessary to consolidate in writing. 5. Thus, being in Smyrna, where Polycarp 798 was, he wrote a letter to the Ephesian Church, mentioning its shepherd Onesimus 799; another - to Magnesia 800 on Meander 801 (here he mentions Bishop Damasus 802) and another - to Tralli 803, where, according to him, Polybius ruled 804. 6. He also wrote to the Roman Church, begging them not to intercede for him and not to deprive him of hope for the desired martyrdom. It is worth giving a short excerpt to confirm what has been said. Here is his message word for word: 7. “On the way from Syria to Rome, I fight day and night, on land and sea, with wild beasts, ten leopards, in other words, a detachment of ten warriors 805 who, if you do good to them, become even worse. I even learn from their grievances, but this “does not justify me” 806. 8. It would be good if the animals were already ready for me; I pray that they will be ready to serve me. I will caress them and persuade them to eat me quickly (they did not touch some of them out of fear), and if they do not want to, I will force them. 9 . Forgive me, I know what is good for me. I am now beginning to be a student; Nothing brings me joy - neither visible nor invisible, just to meet Jesus Christ. Let fire, and the cross, and a pack of animals; let them scatter my bones, cut off my limbs, grind my whole body into flour; let the torment of the devil come upon me - just to meet Jesus Christ" 807. 10. Thus he wrote to the listed Churches from the specified city 808. Being already outside Syria, he wrote from Troas to the inhabitants of Philadelphia 809 and to Smyrna - to the Church and especially to its leader Polycarp. Knowing him well as an apostolic man, he, a good, true shepherd, entrusted his Antioch flock to him and asked him to zealously take care of it 810. 11. In a letter to the residents of Smyrna, he speaks about Christ (I don’t know where he got this information from): “I know and believe that after the resurrection He appeared in the flesh. And when He came to Peter and those with him, He said: “Touch Me, you will see that I am not an incorporeal spirit.” They immediately touched Him and believed" 811. 12. Irenaeus also knew about his martyrdom; he mentions his messages and says: “As one of our people 812 said, condemned for confessing God to be devoured by wild beasts: “I am the wheat of the Lord 813 , and the teeth of beasts grind me so that I become pure flour” 814 . 13. And Polycarp recalls the same thing in his Epistle to the Philippians. Let us quote his words: “I persuade you all to obey and endure. You saw with your own eyes how not only blessed Ignatius, Rufus 815 and Zosima endured, but also your other people, Paul himself and the rest of the apostles. Believe that they did not walk their path in vain 816, but with faith and truth, and are now in the place prepared by the Lord 817, with whom they suffered, for they loved not the present world 818, but the One who died for us and was resurrected by God for our sake” 819. And further he adds: 14. “You, like Ignatius, wrote to me that if anyone goes to Syria, then let him take your letters too. I will do this on occasion, either myself or through a person who will also be your messenger. 15. I sent the letters of Ignatius, which he wrote to me, and others that were in my possession, to you, as you ordered: they are attached to this letter. You can receive great benefit from them: in them is faith, patience and instruction in how to serve the Lord" 820. Here is information about Ignatius; his successor in Antioch in the episcopacy was Eros 821. 1. Among the famous people of that time was Kodrat 822, who, like Philip’s daughters, was distinguished by the gift of prophecy. Many other of their contemporaries are also known - a number of men who came to replace the apostles. Worthy disciples of such men, they continued to establish churches everywhere, the foundations of which were laid by the apostles 823, went further and further with their preaching and sowed the saving seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the entire width of the universe. 2. Many of the then disciples, whose souls were struck by the word of God with great wisdom, fulfilled first of all the saving commandment 824: they distributed their property to the poor, and then set off to travel and carry out the work of the evangelists, hastening to teach the word of faith to those who had not heard of it at all, and to convey the books of the Divine Gospels. 3. Having laid only the foundation of faith somewhere in a foreign land, they appointed other people as shepherds, entrusted them with the newly acquired field, and they themselves, accompanied by God’s grace and help, went to other countries and to other peoples. Many miracles were performed by them then by the power of the Spirit of God, so that after the first sermon, every single person readily accepted in their souls faith in the Creator of the whole world. 4. We cannot list by name all the apostolic successors who became shepherds of the Church and evangelists throughout the universe. We remember by name only those who are mentioned in the apostolic records of the apostolic teaching preserved to this day. 1. Of course, these include Ignatius, mentioned in the aforementioned Epistles, and Clement; He wrote his Epistle, recognized by all, to the Corinthian Church on behalf of the Roman Church. In it he cites many thoughts from the Epistle to the Hebrews, writing out some verbatim, 825 and clearly proves that this scripture is not new. 2. Therefore, naturally, he decided to classify it with the rest of the Epistles of the Apostle. Paul wrote to the Jews in his native language, and some say 826 that the evangelist Luke, and others that Clement himself translated it into Greek. 3. The latter seems more probable both from the similarity of language in the Epistle of Clement and in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and from the slight difference between the thoughts of both scriptures. 4. It should be known that another Epistle is also attributed to Clement, but we know that it is not as famous as the first, and it was not known in ancient times. 5. Recently, the verbose, long dialogues of Peter with Appion 827 began to be attributed to him. None of the ancients mentions them, and there is no pure apostolic orthodoxy in them. So, the undoubted Epistle of Clement is clearly stated, as well as the Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp. 1. Papias 828 is credited with five works entitled "Interpretation of the Lord's Sayings." Irenaeus also mentions them as his only works, saying: “Papias, who listened to John, a friend of Polycarp, one of the ancient Christians, testified to this in writing in his fourth book, for he composed five books” 829. 2. This is what Irenaeus says. Papias himself, in the preface to his work, does not at all pretend to be a person who personally saw and heard the holy apostles, but says that he was introduced to the faith by people known to the apostles. Here are his own words: 3. “I will not hesitate to fill out my interpretations with what I learned well from the elders and what I remember well, to confirm the truth. I listened with pleasure not to talkative teachers, but to those who taught the truth, not to those who repeat the commandments of other people, but to those given by the Lord about faith, emanating from the Truth itself. 4. If a person came who communicated with the elders, I asked about their conversations: what Andrew said, what Peter, what Philip, what Thomas and James, what John and Matthew, or whoever else of the Lord’s disciples; listened to what Aristion or Presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, said. I understood that books would not bring me as much benefit as a living voice remaining in my soul.” 5. It should be noted that Papias mentions two people with the name John: one, whom he mentioned earlier along with Peter, James, Matthew and the other apostles, he undoubtedly considers the evangelist John; another John 830 places among the people who stood next to the apostles, puts Aristion in front of him, directly calling him a presbyter. 6. The veracity of this message is confirmed by the fact that in Asia there were two people with this name, and in Ephesus there are still two tombs, and each is called John's 831. It is necessary to pay attention to this: if we do not consider the author of the Revelation, known as John, the first John, then it means that all these visions were to the second. 7. Papias, about whom we are now talking, admits that he heard the words of the apostle from people who communicated with him; He listened to Aristion and Presbyter John personally. Often, by mentioning them by name in his books, he conveys their stories. 8. I say this not in vain: to the words already cited by Papias it is worth adding his other stories, in which he talks about some miracles and what he learned from legend. 9 . We have already said 832 that the Apostle Philip lived in Hierapolis with his daughters, and now we will tell how Papias, their contemporary, recalls the amazing story he heard from the daughters of Philip about the resurrection of the dead, which then happened 833, and about the miracle with Justus, nicknamed Barnabas, he drank a deadly poison and, by the grace of the Lord, did not suffer any harm. 10. After the Ascension of the Lord, the holy apostles placed this Justus together with Matthias and prayed that the lot would fall on the one with whom, instead of the traitor Judas, they would replenish their number. In the Acts it is written like this: “And they appointed two: Joseph, called Barnabas, who was called Justus, and Matthias, and having prayed, they said...” 834. 11. He also conveys other stories that came to him through oral tradition: some strange parables of the Savior, some rather fabulous. 12. So, for example, he says that after the resurrection of the dead there will be a thousand-year and carnal Kingdom of Christ on this very earth 835. I think that he poorly interpreted the apostolic words and did not understand their transformative and mysterious meaning, for he had a small mind 836. 13. This is clear from his books, although most church writers who lived after him greatly respected him as an old writer, and his opinions were shared, for example, by Irenaeus and others. This refers to the Parthian kingdom, which at the time described included Mesopotamia and Iran. Andrew the First-Called - one of the twelve apostles; son of Jonah, brother of Simon Peter; a native of the Galilean city of Bethsaida; disciple of John the Baptist; one of the first two apostles called by Jesus; according to legend, after the Ascension he preached in Greece, Macedonia, Thrace and the northern lands and suffered martyrdom on November 30, 60 in Patras in Achaia, crucified on an oblique cross (St. Andrew's cross). Scythia is the ancient name of the regions north of the Danube and the Black Sea, inhabited by nomadic tribes (Scythians). According to legend, the Apostle Andrew in his missionary wanderings reached the place where Kiev would later arise (here on a hill he erected a cross with a prophetic prediction) and even to the region of the future Novgorod. During the persecution under Domitian, John was arrested and sent to Rome; then he was exiled to Fr. Patmos. In 98, after the death of Domitian, he returned to Ephesus and spent the last years of his life there. According to the apocryphal tradition (the Greek “Acts of John” and the Syrian “History of the Death of St. Johann, Apostle and Evangelist”), John, having reached the age of 99, gathered the people on Sunday in the church erected in his honor and addressed them with a sermon; after that, he ordered a quadrangular hole to be dug next to the altar, went down into it, spread his arms and read a prayer; then a light illuminated him and he disappeared. Pontus is a region on the northeastern coast of Asia Minor; from 40 BC e. to 64 AD e. was an independent kingdom, then turned into a Roman imperial province. Galatia is a region on the Anatolian plateau in the very center of Asia Minor; received its name from the Celtic Galatian tribe, which occupied this territory in the 70s. III century BC e. In 25 BC. e. Emperor Augustus turned Galatia into a Roman imperial province. Bithynia is a region in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, washed by the Marmara and Black Seas. In 74 BC. e. King Nicomedes IV bequeathed Bithynia to Rome. Since then it has been a Roman Senate province. Cappadocia is a region in the east of Asia Minor between Halys and Euphrates; from 18/19 – Roman imperial province. See: Passion... P. 268,295; The teachings of Simon Cephas... P. 378. Origen (c. 185 - c. 254) - famous Christian theologian and exegete of Holy Scripture; born in Alexandria into a Christian family; studied with the Neoplatonist philosopher Ammonius Saccas and later with Clement of Alexandria; in 203–231 headed the Alexandria Catechetical (Catechetical) School; in 231 he settled in Caesarea, in 235–237. during the persecution of Christians under Maximinus the Thracian, he hid in Cappadocia; in 251 under Decius he was thrown into prison and tortured; After the death of Decius, he was released and soon died in Tire. The author of numerous works (tradition attributed to him up to six thousand “books”) of a biblical-critical, exegetical, dogmatic, apologetic and moral-edifying nature. The most famous are Origen's treatises “Against Celsus” and “On the Principles”. Eusebius talks more about Origen and his writings in the Sixth Book (VI. 1–3; 8. 1–6; 14. 10 – 19. 19; 21.3; 23–28; 30–33; 36–38; 39. 5). For the works of Origen, see: Origenes. Werke/Hrsg. P. Koetschau et al. Bd. 1–12. Berlin, 1899–1941. Russian translations: Origen. About prayer. An exhortation to martyrdom. Samara, 1993; Origen. About the beginnings/Trans. L. I. Pisareva. Kazan, 1899; Origen. Against Celsus. Book 1–4/Trans. L.I. Pisareva. Kazan, 1903. About Origen, see: Hier. Vir. ill. LIV; Epiph. Adv. omn. haer. LXIV. 3; Phot. Cod. 118. From domestic research literature, see: Bolotov V.V. Origen’s Teaching on the Holy Trinity. St. Petersburg, 1879; Bychkov V.V. Origen’s informal gnosis // Social philosophy and philosophical anthropology. M., 1995. S. 103–125; Karsavin L.P. Decree. op. pp. 63–76; Lebedev N.I. Origen’s work “Against Celsus”. Experience of research on the history of the literary struggle of Christianity with paganism. M., 1878; Mayorov G. G. Decree. op. pp. 91–100; Prokopyev S. M. The emergence of Christian historical thought: Origen of Alexandria. M., 2010; It's him. Historical concept of Origen in domestic and foreign literature // World of Orthodoxy. Vol. 1. Volgograd, 1997. pp. 9–13; It's him. The history of the salvation of mankind in Origen’s treatise “On the Beginnings”: from understanding to depiction // Historical thought in Byzantium and the medieval West / Ed. I. V. Krivushina. Ivanovo, 1998. pp. 7–22; It's him. The order of ethnohistory and the problem of the effectiveness of God's revelation in the Old Testament era according to Origen // Problems of ancient and medieval history / Ed. N.V. Revyakina. Ivanovo, 1999. pp. 26–37; Savrey V. Ya. Alexandrian School... P. 419–547; It's him. Philosophical foundations for the interpretation of Holy Scripture by Origen // Questions of Philosophy. 1998. No. 6. pp. 120–132. See also: Heine R. E. Origen: Scholarship in the service of the Church. Oxford, 2010; Küng H. Große christliche Denker. München, 1994. S. 45–78; Trigg J. W. Origen. New York, 1998; Williams R. Origen: between orthodoxy and heresy // Origeniana Septima: Origenes in den Auseinandersetzungen des 4. Jahrhunderts /Hrsg. von W. A. ​​Bienert and U. Kuhneweg. Louvain, 1999, pp. 3–14. See: Junod E. Origène, Eusèbe et la tradition sur la répartition des champs de mission des apôtres // Les actes apocryphes des apôtres. Christianisme et monde païen/Ed. F. Bovon. Genève, 1981, pp. 223–248. Linus, according to legend, was the Bishop of Rome in 68–80. Clement of Rome, Polycarp of Smyrna, Irenaeus of Lyons. The Second Epistle of Peter was included in the New Testament canon only in the 4th century. It was written, apparently, in the 20s. II century According to the testimony of Blessed Jerome, doubts about the authenticity of this work were caused by the difference in its style from the style of the First Epistle of Peter (Hier. Vir. ill. I). The Gospel of Peter, apparently written in Syria in the first half of the second century, was widely circulated in early Christian communities, but later fell out of favor and was lost. Only in 1886, during excavations at Akhmim in Egypt, was it possible to discover an excerpt from this Gospel in Greek. For the text see: Évangile de Pierre/Ed. M.-G. Mara. Paris, 1973. Rus. trans.: Apocrypha of ancient Christians: Research, texts, comments. M., 1989. pp. 94–97. About him, see: Sventsitskaya I.S. Decree. op. pp. 93–102; Crossan J. D. The Gospel of Peter and the Canonical Gospels. Independence, Dependence, or Both? // Forum. NS. Vol. 1.1998. P. 7–51; Head P. M. On the Christology of the Gospel of Peter // Vigiliae Christianae. Vol. 46. ​​1992. P. 209–224; Henderson T. P. The Gospel of Peter and Early Christian Apologetics. Tübingen, 2011; Kirk A. Examining Priorities: Another Look at the Gospel of Peter's Relationship to the New Testament Gospels // New Testament Studies. Vol. 40. 1994. P. 572–595; McCant J.W. The Gospel of Peter: Docetism Reconsidered // New Testament Studies. Vol. 30.1984. P. 258–273. Petruskerigma // Kleine Texte für theologische Vorlesungen und Übungen. Bd. 3. Leipzig, 1908. S. 13–16. The Apocalypse of Peter, probably created at the beginning of the 2nd century, was very popular among early Christians (Clement of Alexandria considered it a particularly authoritative source). Lost during the Byzantine era, it was found in 1886–1887. (Greek fragments) and 1910 (complete Ethiopian version). See: Lods A. L'évangile et l'apocalypse de Pierre. Paris, 1893; James M.R. A new text of the Apocalypse of Peter. II // Journal of Theological Studies. Vol. 12. 1911. No. 47. P. 367–369; Grébaut S. Littérature éthiopienne pseudo-Clémentine // Revue de l'Orient Chrétien. NS. Vol. 15.1910. P. 198–214,307–323. Rus. trans.: Revelation of Peter // Apocryphal Apocalypses/Trans. M. G. Vitkovskaya and V. E. Vitkovsky. St. Petersburg, 2000.0 German see: Sventsitskaya I. S. Decree. op. pp. 102–108. This is not entirely true. Origen, for example, refers to the Gospel of Peter as a completely authoritative work (Orig. Comm. Mth. 1.17). The Apocalypse of Peter was included in the oldest known list of sacred books of the New Testament - the Canon of Muratori (came down to us in a Latin translation). Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews is first mentioned in the First Epistle of Clement of Rome. This work was considered reliable primarily by the Eastern fathers - Panten, Clement of Alexandria and Origen. In the IV-V centuries. under pressure from the Eastern Churches, the canonicity of the Epistle to the Hebrews was also recognized by the Western Churches. These apocryphal Acts have not reached us. According to legend, Erma (Herma) was the first bishop of the Thracian city of Philippopolis, where he died a martyr’s death. In the Canon of Muratori he is named as the brother of the Roman Bishop Pius. Written, according to most researchers, in the 2nd century, the “Shepherd” of Hermas appears in the oldest uncial parchment manuscript of the New Testament - the Codex Sinaiticus. In the Muratori Canon, however, his sacred nature is called into question. At the same time, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen considered The Shepherd to be a very authoritative work. For the text see: Hirt des Hermas/Hrsg, von M. Leutzsch // Schriften des Urchristentums. Bd. 3: Papiasfragmente. Hirt des Hermas/Hrsg, von U. H. J. Körtner und M. Leutzsch. Darmstadt, 2004, pp. 107–497. Rus. Transl.: “Shepherd” by Herma/Ed. I. S. Sventsitskaya. M., 1997. About him, see: Sventsitskaya I.S. Decree. op. pp. 108–114; Hellholm D. Das Visionenbuch des Hermas. Lund, 1980; Osiek S. “Shepherd of Hermas”: A Commentary. Minneapolis, 1999; Idem. The “Shepherd” of Hermas in Context // Acta Patristica et Byzantina. Vol. 8.1997. P. 115–134; Rüpke J. Apokalyptische Salzberge: Zum sozialen Ort und zur literarischen Strategie des “Hirten des Hermas” // Archiv für Religionsgeschichte. Bd. 1. 1999. S. 148–160; Idem. Der Hirte des Hermas: Plausibilisierungs- und Legitimierungsstrategien im Übergang von Antike und Christentum // Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum. Bd. 8.2004. S. 276–298. Συστρατιῶται. In the Synodal translation - “companions” (Phil.2:25; Phil.1:2). 1 Timothy 1:3. This happened during the third missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. Titus is a Greek pagan who converted to Christianity and became a disciple and ally of the Apostle Paul; participated in the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, which discussed the issue of circumcision of converted pagans; then sent by Paul to Corinth to settle affairs in the local community; later became the first bishop of Gortyn on Fr. Crete, where he died. He is the addressee of one of Paul's letters. Crete is a large island in the southern Aegean Sea; captured by the Romans in 69–67. BC uh According to legend, Crescent suffered martyrdom under Trajan. Most extant manuscripts of 2 Timothy speak of Galatia. Clement of Rome - Bishop of Rome in 91–100, unanimously elected by the Roman presbyters after the death of Anacletus; According to legend, he suffered martyrdom under Trajan. Considered the author of two letters to the Corinthian church; in ancient times, several other works were associated with his name (the so-called “Clementines”). Eusebius (see below: III. 15), following Origen (Orig. Comm. loan. 1.29), identifies him with the colleague of the Apostle Paul mentioned in the Epistle to the Philippians (Phil. 4:3). For the works of Clement, see: Clemens von Rom. Epistola ad Corinthios/ Brief an die Korinther/Übers, von G. Schneider. Freiburg, 1994; Epistula II ad Corinthios // Die Apostolischen Väter / Hrsg. von K. Bihlmeyer und W. Schneemelcher. Tübingen, 1970, pp. 71–81. Rus. Transl.: Scriptures of the Apostolic Men in Russian translation. M., 1863. pp. 101–158,169–180.0 Clemente, see: Hier. Vir. ill. XV. See also: Petrushevsky P. St. Clement, bishop. Rimsky // Missionary Review. 1897. Book. 2. pp. 482–498; Book 3. pp. 599–614; Savvaitov P.I. Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome. Patrological experience. St. Petersburg, 1852; Sagarda A.I. St. Clement of Rome // Parish Reading. 1915. No. 15. P. 497–506; No. 17. P. 603–610; No. 18. pp. 652–656; No. 19. pp. 710–715; Hofmann J. Unser heiliger Vater Klemens: ein römischer Bischof im Kalender der griechischen Kirche. Trier, 1992; Warns R. Untersuchungen zum 2. Clemensbrief: Dissertation. Marburg, 1985. The Areopagus was the supreme court in Athens, which had jurisdiction over, among other things, cases of sacrilege. The Apostle Paul appeared before him, denouncing the idolatry of the Athenians. Dionysius the Areopagite is an educated Athenian who converted to Christianity under the influence of the preaching of the Apostle Paul. According to legend, he became the first bishop of the Athenian Church and suffered martyrdom during the reign of Domitian. For a long time he was credited with the authorship of the so-called. "Areopagitiki" - a corpus of works that were very popular in Byzantium, starting from the 7th century. (thanks to the scholia of St. Maximus the Confessor), and in the West since their translation into Latin by John Scotus Erigena in the 9th century. See: Corpus Dionysiacum. Berlin; New York, 1990–1991. Bd. 1–2. Rus. that:. Dionysius the Areopagite. Essays. Maxim the Confessor. Interpretations/Trans. G. M. Prokhorova. Ed. 4th. St. Petersburg, 2010. Dionysius of Corinth. See note above. 1 on p. 108. Theophilus of Antioch calculates the duration of Nero's reign at 13 years, 6 months and 29 days (Theoph. Ad Aut. III. 27), Josephus at 13 years and 8 days (Jos. Bell. Jud. IV. 9.2), Eutropius at 14 years (Eutr. VII. 15.3). In reality, Nero reigned for 13 years, 7 months and 26 days. Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68 in a villa near Rome, where he fled after the decision of the Senate, which declared him an enemy of the fatherland, and the transition of the Praetorian Guard to the side of Galba, who was proclaimed emperor by the Spanish legions (Suet. Ner. 49; Jos. Bell. Jud. IV. 9.2). Servius Sulpicius Galba (3 BC - 69 AD) - comes from an ancient patrician family; praetor, then legate of Aquitaine; consul '33; under Caligula, legate of Upper Germany; in 45–47 Proconsul of Africa; in 61–68 legate of Tarraconian Spain; became Roman Emperor June 8, 68; killed at the Forum on January 15, 69 as a result of the uprising of the Praetorians, who proclaimed Otho the new emperor. About Galba see: Suet. Gal.; Tac. Hist. 1.1–49; Cass. Dio. LXIII-LXIV. Marcus Salvius Otho (32–69) – came from a noble Etruscan family; friend of Nero; in 58–68 Legate of Lusitania; became Roman Emperor on January 15, 69; having been defeated in the struggle for the throne with Vitellius, he committed suicide on April 16, 69. For Otho, see: Suet. Otho.; Tac. Hist. 1.13; 1.21 – II. 50; Cass. Dio. LXIV. On July 1, 69, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions at Caesarea after receiving news of Vitellius's accession to the throne. The initiator of Vespasian's proclamation was the legate of Syria, Licinius Mucianus. See: Jos. Bell. Jud. IV. 9.2–5; Suet. Vesp. 6; Tac. Hist. II. 73–78. Wed: Jos. Bell. Jud. IV. 11. 5. In fact, Vespasian first moved to Syria and then occupied Alexandria; He sent Mutian to Italy with the eastern legions. Vespasian went to Rome only at the beginning of 70, as soon as he learned of the death of Vitellius. See: Jos. Bell. Jud. IV. 11.1 –5; Suet. Vesp. 7; Tac. Hist. II. 82–83; IV. 38, 81–82. Titus Flavius ​​Vespasian (39–81) - the eldest son of Emperor Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla; served as a military tribune in Germany and Britain; during the Jewish War he was appointed commander of the legion; in the summer of 69 he led an army that fought in Judea and besieged Jerusalem, which he captured and destroyed in 70; in 71 he became co-ruler with his father; Roman Emperor 79–81 About him see: Suet. Tit. Pella (or Peleia) is one of the cities of Decapolis (Decapolis), a union of ten cities (mostly Hellenistic) east of the Jordan. Pella was located on the border with Perea. Now located in Jordan. According to J. Verheyden, the testimony of Eusebius about the flight of Christians to Pella before the Jewish War has no historical value (Verheyden J. The flight of the Christians to Pella // Ephemerides Theologicae Lovaniensis. Vol. 66. 1990. P. 368–384). Passover is the most important Jewish holiday in memory of the Exodus of the ancient Jews from Egypt, which was celebrated in the month of Nisan (mid-March - mid-April). On the tenth day of Nisan, a lamb was slaughtered, the blood of which was smeared on the doorposts; the meat of the lamb was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; the remains were burned. Then for seven days the Jews ate unleavened bread (Ex. 12:2–27; see also: Lev. 23:5) Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 9.3. According to Tacitus, 600,000 people were besieged in Jerusalem (Tac. Hist. V. 13). Jesus died during the Passover festival on Nisan 14 (John 18:28; 19:14.31.42) or Nisan 15 (Mk.14:12; Matt.26:17; Luke 22:7). Jos. Bell. Jud.V. 10.2–3. Jos. Bell. Jud. V. 12. 3–4. The Euboean-Attic drachma is an ancient Greek silver coin weighing 4.36 grams. Beth Ezob, a village in Perea. Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 3.3–4. More precisely, one million one hundred thousand killed (Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 9. 3). Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 9.2. Josephus states that the number of all Jews captured during the war amounted to 97,000 people (Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 9. 3. According to Josephus, Jerusalem was taken by the Romans in the second year of the reign of Vespasian on the eighth day of the month Harpeus (Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 10), i.e. in September 70. Luke 19:42–44. Compare: Isa.29:3; Jer.6:6; Ezek.21:22 Luke 21:23–24. Compare: Zechariah 14:2. Matthew 27:17–25; Mark 15:6–14; Luke 23:13–25; John 18:38–40. Unleavened bread is flatbread made from unleavened dough. According to the Old Testament, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was established by God himself: “Keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” the Lord said to Moses and the people of Israel at Sinai, “for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib (Nisan. - I. K.); for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt” (Exodus 34:18). See also: Lev.23:6–8. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, as we said above, was associated with the Feast of Passover. Xanthic is a month of the Syro-Macedonian calendar, approximately corresponding to April. We are talking about the Nikanor Gate between the husbands' courtyard and the women's vestibule. The Nicanorian Gate was made of “Corinthian copper” (Jos. Bell. Jud. V. 5.3), an extremely expensive alloy of copper, gold and silver in antiquity. The height of the gate exceeded 13 m, the width of each of the two doors reached 6.5 m (Jos. Bell. Jud. V. 5. 3). Artemisium is a month in the Syro-Macedonian calendar, roughly corresponding to May. Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is a harvest festival among the ancient Jews, occurring 50 days after Easter. According to the Old Testament, it was established by God’s command to Moses at Sinai: “And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest” (Ex. 34:22). See also: Deut. 16, 9–10. According to Tacitus, a non-human voice said: “The gods are leaving,” and then footsteps were heard leaving the church (Tac. Hist. V. 13). Tabernacles are tents made of green tree branches in which the Jews lived during the Feast of Tabernacles. This holiday, like the Passover holiday, was established in memory of the Exodus: “that your generations might know,” said the Lord, “that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Lev. 23:43). It began on the 15th day of the month of Tisri (second half of September - first half of October) and lasted 7 days. See: Lev. 23.34–43; Deut.16:13–15. Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 5.3. Procurator Albinus, having achieved nothing from Jesus Ananias, ordered his release. After this, Jesus, according to Joseph, continued to prophesy for another 7 years and 5 months, until finally, during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, he was killed by a missile. Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 5.4. See also: Suet. Vesp. 4; Tac. Hist. V. 13. Jos. Bell. Jud. Prooem. 1. According to Joseph himself in his Biography, his family belonged to the priestly aristocracy of Judea; he also proves that on his mother's side he is a descendant of the Hasmonean royal dynasty. On the genealogy of Joseph, see: Rajak T. Decree. op. pp. 27–33. After the unsuccessful attempt of the Syrian legate Cestius Gallus to capture Jerusalem in 66, Josephus was appointed commander of the Jewish troops in Galilee. During the invasion of Galilee by Vespasian's legions in 67, Joseph showed indecision and, after the capture of Jotapata (Yodfat) by the Romans, surrendered. After the fall of Iotapata in July 67, Joseph, along with forty noble Jews, took refuge in a cave, but three days later this refuge was discovered by the Romans, who invited Joseph to surrender. In his own words, he preferred captivity to death, because he considered it his duty to reveal to Vespasian the future announced to him in dreams: the inevitable defeat of the Jews, Vespasian’s accession to the Roman throne and his dominion over all nations. See: Jos. Bell. Jud. III. 8. Joseph received Roman citizenship and the name Flavius, as well as a house, money and lands in a fertile part of Palestine. That is, in Aramaic. The Aramaic version of the "War of the Jews" has been lost. About her, see: Rajak T. Decree. op. pp. 195–205. Therefore, this work has another name - “Against Apion”. Manetho, Posidonius of Apamea, Apollonius Molon, Lysimachus and Chaeremon. The so-called books of the Law (Pentateuch of Moses). We are talking about the Persian king who took Esther as his wife. Josephus (Jos. Ant. XI. 6.1) identifies him with Artaxerxes I (464–425 BC). Apparently, it was not Artaxerxes I, but his father Xerxes (486–465 BC). The so-called chronicle books of the Old Testament. The so-called prophetic and edifying books of the Old Testament. We are talking about the four books of the Maccabees, which describe the struggle of the Jews with the Seleucids in 170-142. BC e. In fact, in the "Biography". Apparently, Joseph did not consider the “Biography” as a separate work, but planned it as an expanded appendix to the “Antiquities of the Jews.” Apparently the title "Life of Joseph" was added in later manuscripts. See: Rajak T. Decree. op. pp. 25–26. Justus of Tiberias - a Jew from Galilee; participant in the Jewish revolt, who fled after the defeat to Agrippa II and became his secretary; author of a historical work, a significant part of which is devoted to the Jewish War; Joseph's main opponent. See: Phot. Cod. 33. See also: Luther H. Josephus und Justus von Tiberias: Dissertation. Halle, 1910; Rajak T. Justus of Tiberias // Classical Quarterly. Vol. 23.1973. P. 344–368. Tiberias is a city on the western shore of Lake Gennesaret, built in 17 AD. e. Herod Antipas as the capital of his tetrarchy and named after the Emperor Tiberius. Vespasian and Titus, who were in 71–79. co-rulers. Simeon (13 BC - 107 AD) - second bishop of Jerusalem (70-107); was crucified during the persecution under Trajan. Memory January 4 and April 27. Cleopas is a disciple of the Savior, to whom He appeared on the way to Emmaus. According to legend, he was killed by the Jews for preaching the teachings of Christ. Memory January 4. This version is based on the identification of Bishop Simeon's father with Cleopas, brother of Joseph the Betrothed and husband of Mary, sister of the Mother of God. According to the calculations of St. Theophilus of Antioch, Vespasian reigned for 9 years, 11 months and 22 days (Theoph. Ad Aut. III. 27; cf.: Aur. Vict. Caes. X. 5; Epit. IX. 1). As Suetonius reports, he died of fever in the 70th year of his life (Suet. Vesp. 24). The second year of Titus's reign is from June 24, 80 to June 23, 81. Anenklit (Anacletus) - Bishop of Rome in 80/81–92/93. Memory 13 July. Compare: Theoph. Ad Out. III. 27. Titus died on September 13, 81, having reigned, according to Suetonius, for 2 years, 2 months and 20 days (Suet. Tit. 11; see also: Eutr. VII 22. 1; Epit. X. 1). Titus Flavius ​​Domitian (51–96) - the youngest son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla; took an active part in the Flavian war with Vitellius; in 70 praetor with consular power; in 71 consul; Roman emperor from September 14, 81 to September 18, 96. About him, see: Suet. Dom. The fourth year of the reign of Domitian is from September 14, 84 to September 13, 85. See also: Chron. Olymp. 209. Avilius - Bishop of Alexandria in 84/85–98/99. Memory 22 February. The twelfth year of the reign of Domitian - from September 14, 92 to September 13, 93. This refers to the First Epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians. This message has long been recognized as authentic and was even read in churches after the canonical books of the New Testament. According to Suetonius, Domitian executed many senators and several consulars (Suet. Dom. 10–11). He even dealt with his cousins ​​Titus Flavius ​​Sabinus and Flavius ​​Clement (Ibid. 10, 15). Domitian is also called the second persecutor of Christians by Melito of Sardis (see below: IV. 26. 9) and Lactantius (Lact. De mort. pers. III. 1. 2). See also: Sulp. Sev. IL 31.1; Aug. Civ. Dei. XVIII. 52; Greg. Tur. 1.26. Roman historiography, however, makes no mention of this persecution. Suetonius and Dio Cassius speak only of the persecution of Jews and those “who imitated Jewish customs” (Suet Dom. 12; Cass. Dio. LXVII. 14). During the Domitian persecution, John the Theologian was sent to Rome in chains. There they tried to poison him, but the poison miraculously did not work; then he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but he also came out of it unharmed. Then the emperor ordered John to be exiled to the abandoned island of Patmos. Patmos is a small rocky island in the southeastern Aegean Sea; belongs to the Sporadic archipelago. Iren. Adv. haer. V. 29.2 – 30.4. Antichrist is the “adversary of Christ” in the final confrontation before the end of the world. According to Holy Scripture, he will try to seduce the Savior’s disciples and destroy Christianity, but he himself will die in a terrible way. See: Rev. 13:2–10; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–10. Rev. 13:18: “Let him who has understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; its number is six hundred and sixty-six.” According to St. Irenaeus, “the identical repetition of the number six indicates the restoration of all the apostasy that was in the beginning and in the middle and will be at the end of times” (Iren. Adv. haer. V. 30. 1). John the Theologian received a revelation during his stay on Patmos, i.e. in 95-96. See: Open. 1, 9. Iren. Adv. haer. V. 30. 3. The fifteenth year of the reign of Domitian - from September 14, 95 to September 13, 96 Flavia Domitilla III - daughter of Flavia Domitilla II, sister of Emperor Vespasian; was not only the cousin of Flavius ​​Clement mentioned below, but also his wife. Flavius ​​Clement, the son of Flavius ​​Sabinus, Vespasian's brother, was consul of 95. According to Cassius Dio, he was executed for his adherence to Judaism (Cass. Dio. LXVII. 14); Suetonius limits himself to the remark that Domitian dealt with Clement “because of the most insignificant suspicion” (Suet. Dom. 15). Pontia is the largest of the Pontic Islands, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea west of Naples. According to the testimony of Dio Cassius, Flavia Domitilla was exiled to another island in the Pontic archipelago - to Pandateria (Cass. Dio. LXVII. 14). See: Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3. This Jude, whom church tradition calls the author of the Epistle of Jude, is sometimes identified with the Apostle Jude (Thaddeus). Evocati (evocati) - a detachment of Domitian’s bodyguards, recruited from the equestrian class (Suet. Dom. 10). The silver denarius is a Roman coin equivalent to the drachma; a gold denarius was equal to 25 silver. Plethra is an ancient Greek measure of area equal to 2518.88 square meters. m.; equivalent to the Roman iuger. Wed: Acts 10:42; 2Tim.4:1. Wed: Matthew 16:27; Rom.2:6. Marcus Ulpius Trajan (53–117) – came from a noble family in Southern Spain; son of a senator; rose to the rank of commander of the legion, in 91 he became consul, in 96 - legate of Upper Germany; in the fall of 97 he was adopted by Emperor Nerva; ascended the Roman throne on January 28, 98. See also: Suet. Dom. 17; Eutr. VII. 23.6; Aur. Vict. Caes. XI. 7; Epit. XI. 1. More precisely, 15 years and 4 days. St. Theophilus of Antioch erroneously calculates the duration of Domitian's reign at 15 years, 5 months and 6 days (Theoph. Ad Aut. HI. 27). Domitian was killed on September 18, 96 as a result of a palace coup organized by his inner circle (Suet. Dom. 17; Cass. Dio. LXVII. 15). Marcus Coccei Nerva (30–98) – comes from a senatorial family in Umbria; consul '71 and '90; was proclaimed Roman Emperor by decision of the Senate on September 18, 96. According to Suetonius, the Senate decided to erase the inscriptions with the name of Domitian and destroy all memory of him (Suet. Dom. 27). See: Ρlin. Jun. Er. IV. 9.2; 11.14 According to St. Theophilus of Antioch and Aurelius Victor, Nerva ruled for 1 year, 4 months and 10 days (Theoph. Ad Aut. HI. 27; Aur. Vict. Caes. XII. 1), according to Eutropius - 1 year, 4 months and 8 days (Eutr. VIII. 1.2). He died on January 27, 98. See also: Chron. Olymp. 215. Kerdon - Bishop of Alexandria in 98–109. Euodius (Evod) - the first bishop of Antioch after the Apostle Peter. According to legend, he suffered martyrdom during the persecution under Nero, i.e. in 64–68. Memory of January 4 and September 7. St. mentions him. Ignatius the God-Bearer in his Epistle to the Antiochians, calling him “their first shepherd.” Ignatius the God-Bearer - a prominent figure in the early Christian Church; a native of Syria; disciple of John the Theologian; Bishop of Antioch since the late 60s. until 107. According to legend, he suffered martyrdom in Rome (torn to pieces by wild animals). Memory 20 December. Author of seven epistles to various church communities and to St. Polycarp of Smyrna. For the text, see: Die sieben Ignatius Briefe // Die apostolischen Väter/Hrsg, von J. A. Fischer. 10. Aufl. Darmstadt, 1993, pp. 109–225. Rus. trans.: Epistles of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer/Trans. P. Preobrazhensky. St. Petersburg, 1902. Eusebius says more about Ignatius below: III. 36. 2–15. See also: Hier. Vir. ill. XVI. From the research literature, see: Meyendorff I.F. The Teaching of Christ and the Church by St. Ignatius of Antioch // Bulletin of the Russian Student Christian Movement. T. 4. 1956. No. 43. P. 17–23; Petrushevsky P. P. St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, Bishop of Antioch (Exposition of his teaching as applied to the denunciation of heretics of our time) // Supplement to the magazine “Missionary Review”. 1898. Book. 1. pp. 71–87; Book 2. pp. 274–293; Runkevich S. Holy Martyr Ignatius the God-Bearer and his creations // Parish Reading. 1913. No. 46. P. 1357–1364; Brent A. Ignatius of Antioch: a martyr bishop and the origin of episcopacy. London, 2009; Idem. Ignatius of Antioch and the Second Sophistic: a study of an early Christian transformation of Pagan culture. Tübingen, 2006; Hübner R. M. Thesen zur Echtheit und Datierung der sieben Briefe des Ignatius // Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum. Bd. 1. 1997. S. 44–72; Paulsen H. Studien zur Theologie des Ignatius von Antiochien. Gottingen, 1978. John 13:23; 19:26; 21:7.20. Iren. Adv. haer. II. 22.5. Clem. Alex. Quis dives saluetur. XLII. This story is also reproduced in the Syriac “History of Johann the Apostle, son of Zebedee” (E. N. Meshcherskaya, op. cit. pp. 348–351). Before Irenaeus of Lyons, the attribution of this Gospel to the Apostle John was disputed (see: Iren. Adv. haer. III. 1.1), especially by the Roman Church. Wed: Acts 4:13; 2 Corinthians 11:6. In the New Testament the “third heaven” is called heaven. According to St. Irenaeus, “John, the disciple of the Lord, reclining on His chest, also published the Gospel during his stay in Ephesus of Asia” (Iren. Adv. haer. HI. 1.1). Most modern researchers place the creation of the Gospel of John in the last decade of the 1st century. In the apocryphal tradition, there is a legend that the apostles Peter and Paul, who came to John in Ephesus, urged him to write the Gospel for five days, but he refused, saying: “When the will of the Holy Spirit is done, I will write”; The Holy Spirit descended on John on the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, and he wrote the Gospel in one hour. See: The History of Johannan... P. 351. According to Clement of Alexandria, John decided to write a “spiritual Gospel”, different from the other Gospels, which told only about the physical (see the corresponding quote below: VI. 14. 7). John 2:11. This refers to the first miracle of Jesus - turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-10). John 3:23. Aenon (“spring”) is a place near the Jordan River near the village of Salem in northern Samaria. A free transcription of the opening phrase of the Gospel of Luke: “As many have already begun to compose narratives about events that are completely known among us, as those who from the very beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word conveyed to us, I also decided, after carefully examining everything first, to describe to you in order, most venerable Theophilus, so that you would know the solid foundation of the teaching in which you were instructed” (Luke 1:1-4). The Second and Third Epistles of John were finally recognized as canonical only in the rules of the Council of Laodicea in 363. The Apocalypse differs significantly in theme, style and language from the Gospel and the Epistles of John, which undoubtedly belong to the same author. See about this: Kümmel W. G. Einleitung in das Neue Testament. 14. Aufl. Heidelberg, 1965, pp. 344–346. The Apocalypse of John is mentioned among the canonical books already in the “Canon of Muratori” (although it says that not everyone agrees with this). Moreover, his authority was finally recognized only in 419 at the Council of Carthage. The Syrian church, even after this, continued to dispute its authenticity for some time. St. played a major role in recognizing the Apocalypse as a canonical work. Athanasius of Alexandria. See: Excerpt from the 39th Feast Epistle // St. Athanasius the Great. Creations. In 4 vols. T. 3. M., 1994. pp. 371 – 372. On Eusebius’s attitude to the Apocalypse, see: Mazzucco S. Eusèbe de Césarce et l'Apocalypse de Jean // Studia Patristica. Vol. 17. Part 1.1982. P. 317–324. Eusebius himself denied the authenticity of these messages. See above: II. 23.25. The Epistle of Barnabas enjoyed great authority in the early Christian era, and in the codices it was placed immediately after the canonical books of the New Testament. Apparently, it was written either at the end of the 1st century, or at the very beginning of the 2nd century. “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” (“Didache”) is an essay written either at the end of the 1st century or in the first half of the 2nd century. In the early Christian era it enjoyed great authority, was used in worship and in the instruction of catechumens, but ultimately was not recognized as part of the New Testament canon. For a long time it was considered lost, but in 1873 it was discovered (as part of the Jerusalem Codex) by Philotheus Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia. For the text see: The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary/ Ed. A. Milavec. Collegeville (MN), 2003. Russian. translations: The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles/Trans. Abbot Innocent (Pavlova). M., 1996; The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles/Trans. A. I. Sidorova // Symbol. T. 29. 1993. pp. 275–305. On this work, see: Del Verme M. “Didache” and Judaism: Jewish Roots of an Ancient Christian-Jewish Work. New York, 2004; The "Didache" in Modern Research/Ed. J. A. Draper. Leiden, 1996; The “Didache” in Context: Essays on Its Text, History, and Transmission/Ed. With N. Jefford. Leiden; New York; Köln, 1995. The Gospel of the Jews, one of the oldest Judeo-Christian Gospels, has not reached us. His authority was recognized by Clement of Alexandria (Clem. Alex. Strom. II. 9.25) and Origen (Orig. Comm. loan. XI. 12; Orig. Comm. Mth. 15). See also: Hier. Comm. Eph. III. 4; Hier. Vir. Ill. II–III. XVI; Hier. Comm. Mth. VI. 11; XII. 13; XXVII. 51; Hier. Adv. Pel. III. 2. Two apocryphal Gospels are associated with the name of the Apostle Thomas - the Gospel of Thomas in Coptic, found in Henoboskion (Upper Egypt), which, obviously, is what Eusebius means, and “The Tale of Thomas, the Israeli philosopher, about the childhood of Christ” (the so-called “Gospel of Childhood”). See: Sventsitskaya I.S. Decree. op. From 158–175. For a Russian translation of the text from the Henoboskion, see: Apocrypha... pp. 250–262. On the formation of the New Testament canon, see: Sventsitskaya I. S. Decree. op. pp. 18–25; Harnack A. Die Entstehung des Neuen Testaments und die wichtigsten Folgen der neuen Schöpfung. Leipzig, 1914; Zahn T. Grundriss der Geschichte des Neutestamentlichen Kanons. Eine Ergänzung zu der Einleitung in das Neue Testament. 2. Aufl. Leipzig, 1904. Aeon (“age”) is an eternal invisible entity in Gnosticism. On the use of this term by Eusebius, see: Braginskaya N.V. Aeon in “Commendation to Constantine” by Eusebius of Caesarea // Antiquity and Byzantium. M., 1975. S. 286–306; Piccinini P. Ideologia e storia in termini del lessico politico eusebiano: il tempo eterno délia basileia di Costantino // Costantino il Grande dall'Antichità aÚUmanesimo: Colloquio sul Cristianesimo nel mondo antico, Macerata 18–20 December 1990/ A cura di G. Bonamente e F. Fusco. T. 2. Macerata, 1993. P. 769–790. Iren. Adv. haer. 1.23. 5. According to St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Menander taught that “his disciples through baptism from him receive resurrection and cannot die, but remain ageless and immortal” (Iren. Adv. haer. 1.23. 5). Just. Apol. 1.26.0 Menander is also mentioned by Tertullian: Ten. Res. earn. 5 The Ebionites are a Gnostic sect that sought to maintain a close connection between Christianity and Judaism and therefore rejected the teachings of the Apostle Paul; The Ebionites recognized the creation of the world by God, but considered Jesus Christ a simple man who differed from others only in that the spirit of God dwelt in Him; later the idea spread among them that Jesus was an angel incarnate. The Ebionites demanded strict adherence to the Law of Moses and the Jewish way of life. About them see: Iren. Adv. haer. 1.26.2; V. 1.3; Tert. Praes. haer. 33; Tert. Cam. Chr. 14, 18, 24; Epiph. Adv. omn. haer. XXX. The views of the Ebionites are set out in the speeches of Peter in the “Pseudo-Clementines” and in the Gospel of the Ebionites (Apocrypha... P. 66–67). See: Sventsitskaya I.S. Decree. op. pp. 83–92; Daniélou J. Théologie du judéo-christianisme. Paris, 1958; Goulder M. D. Hebrews and the Ebionites // New Testament Studies. Vol. 49. 2003. P. 393–406; Gregory A. Prior or posterior? The “Gospel of the Ebionites” and the Gospel of Luke // New Testament Studies. Vol. 51.2005. P. 344–360; Strecker G. Das Judeochristentum in den Pseudoklementinae. Berlin, 1958. Tertullian gives another version of the origin of the name of this sect. In his opinion, it comes from the name of its head, Ebion, who allegedly wrote the essay “Instruction to Timothy.” See: Tert. Praes. haer. 33. However, the name “Evion” itself may not be a proper name, but only a nickname. Kerinths - heresiarch of the late 1st - early 2nd centuries; received his education in Egypt; founded one of the first Gnostic sects; preached chiliastic ideas (the millennial kingdom of God on earth); proved the identity of Christian teaching with the Law of Moses; distinguished between Jesus, an ordinary man with the highest morality and wisdom, and Christ, who descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, preached the Word and performed miracles. See below: VII. 25.3. See also: Hipp. Philos. VII. 33; Iren. Adv. haer. 1.26.1; III. 3.4; Epiph. Adv. omn. haer. XXX. Modern research on this issue see: Hill Ch. E. Cerinthus, Gnostic or Chiliast? A New Solution to an Old Problem // Journal of Early Christian Studies. Vol. 8.2000. No. 2. P. 135–172; Markschies Ch. Kerinth: Wer war und was lehrte er? // Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum. Bd. 41.1998. S. 48–76. Wed: Rev. 19, 7. 9; 21.2.9; 22, 17. St. Dionysius of Alexandria - church leader and writer of the 3rd century; the most famous of Origen's students; Bishop of Alexandria in 246–264/265 He was the first in the history of the Church to receive the title “Great”. Under Decius he was forced to hide; under Valerian he was in exile for several years. A staunch defender of Origen, Dionysius fought with the chiliasts and disputed the attribution of the Apocalypse to the Apostle John. The author of numerous works, which Eusebius widely uses in the Sixth and Seventh Books. The main ones - “Books on Nature”, “On Promises”, “Reproof and Justification” - have survived only in fragments. See: Works of St. Dionysius the Great, Bishop of Alexandria/Trans. A. Druzhinina. Ed. 2nd. St. Petersburg, 2010. About him, see: Hier. Vir. ill. LXIX. See also: Druzhinin A.I. Life and works of St. Dionysius the Great, bishop. Alexandria. St. Petersburg, 2007; Ackermann A. Derhl. Dionysius, Bischof und Märtyrer: Ein Glaubens- und Charakterbild. Lehr- und Gebetbüchlein. Freiburg, 1960; Bienert W.A. Dionysius von Alexandrien: Zur Frage des Origenismus im dritten Jahrhundert. Berlin; New York, 1978; Quasten J. Patrology. Vol. 2. P. 101–109. Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna (80/81–166/167) - a prominent church figure of the 2nd century; an orphan raised by a wealthy Christian, Callista; after her death, he began to engage in charity work and take care of the poor; ordained deacon of the Smyrna Church, then bishop; ended his life as a martyr (burned at the stake). Memory 23 February. Author of several epistles, of which the Epistle to the Philippians has been preserved. About him see: Hier. Vir. ill. XVII. See also: Petrushevsky P. P. St. Polycarp of Smyrna and his letter to the Philippians // Supplement to the magazine “Missionary Review”. 1899. Book. 1. pp. 84–100; Book 2. pp. 163–176; Hartog P. Polycarp and the New Testament: The Occasion, Rhetoric, Theme, and Unity of the “Epistle to the Philippians” and Its Allusions to New Testament Literature. Tubingen, 2002. Iren. Adv. haer. HI. 3.4. This event took place in Ephesus, where Cerinthus apparently lived for some time. The Nicolaitans are a Gnostic sect that is harshly condemned in the Apocalypse of John. It arose in the earliest period of the history of Christianity, apparently in the middle. I century The theological system of the Nicolaitans was based on the distinction between God the Father and the Demiurge (Creator of earth and heaven), as well as Jesus, the son of the Demiurge, and the heavenly Christ, who (as later with Cerinthos) descended on Jesus and then returned to the absolute fullness of being - to the Pleroma. See: Iren. Adv. haer. III. 11.1. Nicholas of Antioch, whom the Nicolaitans called the founder of their sect (Iren. Adv. haer. I. 26. 3), was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the only one among the first seven deacons who converted to Christianity from paganism (Acts 6:5). St. also testifies to this. Irenaeus (Iren. Adv. haer. 1.26. 3) The apocryphal Gospel of Matthias has not reached us. Clem. Alex. Strom. III. 6. Polycrates - Bishop of Ephesus at the end of the 2nd century; the head of the party of Asian bishops who defended the celebration of Easter according to the Jewish model (on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, which could fall on any day of the week). This is precisely what is discussed in the Epistle of Polycrates to Victor mentioned by Eusebius (V. 24.1–8). About him see: Hier. Vir.ill.XLV. Victor is from Africa; bishop of Rome in 189–200; led the bishops who defended the celebration of Easter on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, defined as the day of the full moon after the spring equinox. About him see: Hier. Vir. ill. XXXIV. Polycrates writes about Philip because the Christians of Asia Minor, celebrating Easter according to Jewish custom, referred to the authority of this apostle. A polished gold tablet with the inscription “Holiness to the Lord,” as commanded by God at Sinai, was to be attached with a blue cord to the front of the high priest’s turban (festive headdress). See: Exodus 28:36–38; Lev.8:9. The expression “priest who wore a golden tablet” in this case has a metaphorical meaning, emphasizing the special role of John the Theologian in the history of the Christian Church of the second half of the 1st century. This refers to the trials that the apostle had to endure in Rome under Domitian. Hierapolis ("holy city") is a Hellenistic city in southwestern Phrygia between the Meander River and its tributary Lycus. In Hierapolis of Phrygia, according to legend, the Apostle Philip was crucified by order of the city prefect Antipatos and buried there by his sister Mariamne. This is the last stage of Paul's third missionary journey. The Acts of the Roman Martyrs blame the persecutions of the early 2nd century. not against the “rabble,” but against the rulers of the Roman state - Emperor Trajan and Master of the Offices Publius Torquitianus. This refers to Sextus Attius Suburan Aemilianus, praetorian prefect and consul of 101 and 104. Term from the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Tim. 6:20). Gaius Pliny Caecilius Secundus the Younger (61/62–113) – Roman statesman and writer; came from a noble Italian family; nephew of Pliny the Elder; in his youth he was involved in judicial activities, and then chose a political career; was praetor, quaestor; in 97–100 was in charge of the state treasury; in 101 he became consul, and was then sent as legate to the provinces of Bithynia and Pontus. A large corpus of letters from Pliny the Younger and his Panegyric to Emperor Trajan have been preserved. For the text see: S. Plini Caecili Secundi Epistularum libri novem/Hrsg. von M. Schuster und R. Hanslik. Stuttgart; Leipzig, 1992. Rus. trans.: Letters of Pliny the Younger: Books 1-X/Ed. A.I. Dovatura. Ed. 2nd. M., 1984. About Pliny the Younger, see: Sokolov V. S. Pliny the Younger: Essay on the history of Roman culture during the empire. M., 1956; Beutel F. Vergangenheit als Politik. Neue Aspekte im Werk des jüngeren Plinius. Frankfurt am Main, 2000; Plinius der Jüngere und seine Zeit/ Hrsg. von L. Castagna und E. Lefèvre. Munich; Leipzig, 2003; Ludolph M. Epistolographie und Selbstdarstellung. Untersuchungen zu den "Paradebriefen" Plinius des Jüngeren. Tübingen, 1997; Sherwin-White A. N. The Letters of Pliny: A Social and Historical Commentary. Oxford, 1966. Plin. Jun. Er. X. 96. 9. Pliny says that among Christians there are people of very different ranks, ages and sexes, and that Christianity has already penetrated into the countryside. Pliny writes that he “discovered nothing but immense, ugly superstition” (Plin. Jun. Ep. X. 96. 8). Tert. Apol. II. 6. See also: Sulp. Sev. II. 31.2. The Acts of the Roman Martyrs tells us that Clement was very popular in Rome not only among Christians, but also among Jews and pagans. He even managed to convert the emperor's friend Nerva Sisinnius and his wife Theodora to the Christian faith. When the persecution began, Mamertine, prefect of Rome, arrested Clement and exiled him, by order of Emperor Trajan, to Tauride Chersonese, where he continued his missionary work. Her successes forced the local president, Avfidian, to order the execution of the bishop - he was thrown into the sea so that the remains of the saint would not become an object of worship for Christians. The waves, however, carried the body ashore. The version of the death of Clement in Chersonesos is not confirmed by non-Christian sources, which makes modern scientists doubt its reliability. See: Dufourcq A. Étude sur les “Gesta Martyrum romains”. Paris, 1900. P. 160–162. Evarest (Evarist) - a Greek from Syria who occupied the episcopal throne of Rome in 100–109; died a martyr's death. See also: Chron. Olymp. 217. Justus - Bishop of Jerusalem in 107-110. Smyrna is one of the largest cities in Asia Minor, located on the coast of the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Germ River. For a description of the martyrdom of Ignatius the God-Bearer, see: Martyrium Ignatii Antiocheni // PG. T. 5. Col. 980–988 (Russian translation: Christian Reading. 1822. Part 8. pp. 340–356). There is an opinion that the martyrdom of Ignatius took place not in 107 (under Trajan), but in 135 (under Hadrian). See: Munier S. À propos d'Ignace d'Antioche. Observations sur la liste épiscopale d'Antioche // Revue des Sciences Religieuses. Vol. 55.1981. P. 126–131. Ibid. 1,2,6. Onesimus († c. 109) - Bishop of Ephesus at the beginning of the 2nd century; apparently installed by the Apostle John. Tradition identifies him with the New Testament Onesimus, the servant of Philemon of Colossae, converted to Christianity by the Apostle Paul (Phil. 1:10–20). Memory of January 4 and February 15. Magnesia is an ancient Ionian city in northern Caria (Asia Minor). From the beginning of the 2nd century. residence of bishops. At the time described, it belonged to the province of Asia. The Meander is the longest river in the western part of Asia Minor, flowing into the Aegean Sea. Thralls is a city on the Meander in northern Caria. From the beginning of the 2nd century. residence of bishops. Belonged to the province of Asia. We are talking about the soldiers who were tasked with delivering Ignatius the God-Bearer from Antioch to Rome. Philadelphia is a city in eastern Lydia southeast of Sardis. At the time described, it belonged to the province of Asia. In the Gospel of Matthew, the expression “wheat of the Lord” is used as an image of God’s chosen ones (Matthew 3:12). Iren. Adv. haer. V. 28.4. St. Irenaeus quotes the words of Ignatius from the Epistle to the Romans (Ign. Ad Rom. 4). Perhaps this refers to Rufus, whom Paul mentions in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:13) and who was the first bishop of Thebes in Boeotia. Expression from Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (Phil. 2:16). Wed: Clem. Rom. I Er. ad Cor. 5. Below (IV. 20) Eusebius calls Eron the fourth Bishop of Antioch, and Eros only the sixth. In the Chronicle of Eusebius-Jerome, Eron is also called the heir of Ignatius (Chron. Olymp. 221). Judging by the Chronicle, Eron ruled the Antiochian Church for 20 years, that is, until 127. See: Chron. Olymp. 221, 226. Kodrat (Square) - the first Christian apologist; “disciple of the apostles”, who lived at the end of the 1st - first half of the 2nd century; Bishop of Athens at the beginning of the 2nd century. (after the death of Puplius). Author of the "Apology for Emperor Hadrian", which he wrote in the mid-20s. II century (see below: IV. 3). According to legend, he died a martyr's death in Magnesia. Memory of January 4 and September 21. About him see: Chron. Olymp. 226; Hier. Vir. ill. XIX–XX; Hier. Er. 70 Ad Magnum. On the “Apology” see: Andriessen P. The Authorship of the “Epistula ad Diognetum” // Vigiliae Christianae. Vol. 1.1947. P. 123–136. Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22. Clem. Rom. I Er. ad Cor. 17, 21,27,36. This is the view of Clement of Alexandria. See below: IV. 14. 2. Wed. opinion of Origen, cited by Eusebius in VI. 25. 11–14. This refers to the “Conversations” of Clement of Rome (“Pseudo-Clementines”), which tells about the travels of the Apostle Peter and his disputes with various heretics, including Appion. Papias (before 70 - ca. 155) - Christian writer; Bishop of Hierapolis. Author of the work “Interpretation of the Lord’s Sayings,” preserved in fragments. See: Papiasfragmente/Hrsg. von U. H. J. Körtner // Schriften des Urchristentums. Bd. 3: Papiasfragmente. Hirt des Hermas/Hrsg, von U. H. J. Körtner und M. Leutzsch. Darmstadt, 2004. S. 3–103. About him see: Baum A. D. Papias als Kommentator evangelischer Aussprüche Jesu. Erwägungen zur Art seines Werkes // Novum Testamentum. Vol. 38. 1996 P. 257–276; Körtner U.H.J. Papias von Hierapolis. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des frühen Christentums. Göttingen, 1983. Iren. Adv. haer. V. 33.4. Of the early Christian authors, Papias is the only one who mentions Prester John, a disciple of the Savior. This is confirmed by St. Dionysius of Alexandria in the second book of his work “On Promises”. See below: VII. 25. 16 Apocryphal literature tells of the Jew Hananiah, who was baptized by the Apostle Philip. The Carthaginian Jews killed Hananiah and buried him in the synagogue, but Philip miraculously carried the body of the martyr to the site of the murder and resurrected him, which led to the mass conversion of Carthaginian Jews and pagans to Christianity. See: Acts of the Apostle Philip // Osogorev A.P. Decree. op. pp. 330–358; The story of Philip, the apostle and evangelist... P. 389–405. Papias was the most prominent representative of the chiliastic movement in early Christianity. His faith in the coming thousand-year Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth was shared by the entire Asia Minor church tradition right up to St. Irenaeus of Lyons. For the interpretation of Papias in Eusebius’s “Ecclesiastical History,” see: Grant R. M. Papias in Eusebius’ “Church History” // Melanges d’Histoire des Religions offerts à H.-Ch. Puech. Paris, 1974. P. 209–213; Lawlor H. J. Eusebius on Papias // Hermathena. Vol. 43. 1922. P. 167–222. For this testimony of Papias, see: Baum A. D. Der Presbyter des Papias über einen "Hermeneuten" des Petrus. Zu Eusebius, Hist. eccl. III, 39, 15 // Theologische Zeitschrift. Bd. 56.2000. S. 21–35; Körtner U. H. J. Markus der Mitarbeiter des Petrus // Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche. Bd. 71. 1980. S. 160–173. 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