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Aristides, one of the most eloquent Athenian philosophers, a disciple of Christ, who also retained his philosophical baggage, presented his work to Hadrian at the same time as Square presented his. This work contained a systematic presentation of our teaching, that is, an apology for Christians; it still exists and is considered by philologists to be the pinnacle of his genius. Agrippa, surnamed Castor, a very learned man, created a convincing refutation of the twenty-four volumes written by the heretic Basilides against the Gospel, revealing all its secrets and naming the prophets - Barkabas and Barhoband and all other barbarian names that terrify the one who hears them, as well as his supreme god Abraxas; Moreover, according to the calculations of the Greeks, the sum of the numerical values ​​of the seven Greek letters included in the word “Abraxas” should be three hundred sixty-five - the number of days in a year. Basilides, the founder of the Gnostic school, died in Alexandria during the reign of Hadrian. During these turbulent times, Kocheb, the head of the Jewish community, sentenced Christians to torture and death. Hegesippus, who lived in times not far from the apostolic times, describing the history of all church events from the Passion of the Lord to his time and collecting a lot of information useful to the reader, created five volumes written in simple language, trying to reproduce the style of speech of those about whom he spoke. He said that he went to Rome in the time of Anicetus, the tenth bishop after Peter, and remained there until the time of Eleuther, bishop of the same city, who had previously been a deacon under Anicetus. Moreover, speaking against idolatry, Hegesippus wrote a history explaining the reason for its occurrence and from which it is clear when he lived. He says: "They erected monuments and churches, which we can see to this day, to their mortals, such as the servant of the Emperor Hadrian Antinous, in whose honor festive games were held and a city was founded that bears his name, and a church with priests." Emperor Hadrian reportedly admired Antinous. Justin, a philosopher from Naples, a city in Palestine, son of Priscus Bacchius, worked diligently for the benefit of the teachings of Christ. He presented his work, written against the pagans, to Antonin Pius, his sons and the Senate. In another book, he addressed the heirs of this Antoninus - Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. His next book, directed against the pagans, has also reached us: in it he discusses the nature of demons. The fourth is called "Refutation", the fifth - "On the Sovereignty of God"; and further - under the titles “Psalter”, “On the Soul” and “Dialogue against the Jews”, directed against Tryphon, the head of the Jews, as well as the famous works “Against Marcion”, which Irenaeus mentions in the fourth book “Against Heresies”, and another one - “Against all heresies”, which he mentions in the “Apology” addressed to Antoninus Pius. Having delivered a sharp indictment in Rome against the cynic Crescentus, who poured out blasphemy against Christians, he convicted him of fear of death, gluttony, desire for luxury and adultery. In the end, Justin, accused of being a Christian, through the efforts of Crescent, shed his blood for Christ. Melito, Bishop of Sardia, wrote a book in defense of Christian teaching and addressed it to Emperor Mark Antoninus Verus, a student of the orator Fronto. Many of his other works are known, including “On the Jewish Passover” - two books, one book on the life of the prophets, “On the Church”, “On the Day of the Lord”, “On Faith”, “On the Psalms”, “On the Senses”, “On the Soul and Body”, “On Baptism”, “On the Truth”, “On the Coming of Christ”, “On the Prophecy of Christ”, “On Hospitality”, “The Key”, “On the Devil”, “On the Apocalypse of John”, “On the Corporality” God" and six books of the Eclogue. Tertullian, in his seven books written in defense of Montanus, speaks satirically of Melito's oratorical talent and the prophetic abilities attributed to him. Theophilus, the sixth bishop of the Church of Antioch, during the reign of the emperor Marcus Antoninus Vera wrote a book against Marcion, which has come down to us, as well as three volumes of To Autolycus, works against the heresy of Hermogenes, and other short and elegant works that fit well with the instructions of the church. I read commentaries on the Gospel and on the Proverbs of Solomon, signed with his name, which, in my opinion, do not correspond in style and language to the elegance and expressiveness of the above-mentioned works. Apollinaris, bishop of Hierapolis in Asia, lived in the time of Marcus Antoninus Verus, to whom he appealed in a famous work in defense of Christianity. Five of his books “Against the Pagans” and two “On the Truth” and “Against the Cataphrigians”, written at the time when Montanus created the “first cause” together with Prisca and Maximilla, have also survived. Dionysius, bishop of the church of Corinth, had such eloquence and industriousness that through his epistles he taught the inhabitants not only of his hometown, but also of other cities and provinces. Of these, one was addressed to the Spartans, another to the Athenians, the third to the Nicomedians, the fourth to the inhabitants of Crete, the fifth to the church of Amastrina and other churches of the Pontic kingdom, the sixth to the Gnosians and Pinitus, the bishop of the same city, the seventh to the Romans, addressed to Sorerus, their bishop, the eighth to Chrysophorus, a holy woman. He shone during the reigns of Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Pinitus of Crete, bishop of the city of Gnossus, wrote to Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, a very elegant letter in which he teaches that people should never be fed with milk, lest the last day should overtake them in infancy, but they should be fed on solid food so that they can live to spiritual old age. He lived during the reign of Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Tatian, who taught people the art of oratory and won considerable fame in the art of rhetoric, was a follower of Justin the Martyr. But later, filled with the greatness of eloquence, he created a new heresy, which is called the heresy of the Encratites, subsequently strengthened by the North, so that the members of this sect are called Severians to this day. In addition, Tatian wrote countless books, one of which, “Against the Pagans,” has reached us and is considered the most significant of all his works. He lived during the reign of Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Philip, bishop of the Cretan city of Gortyn, whom Dionysius mentions in a letter he wrote to the church of the same city, created a wonderful work “Against Marcion.” Verus and Lucius lived during the time of Marcus Antoninus. Aurelius Commodus. Musanus, one of the important authors who wrote on religious doctrine during the reign of Marcus Antoninus Verus, composed a book for the brothers who turned away from the church and turned to the heresy of the Encratites. Modest, who also lived during the time of Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, wrote a book “Against Marcion”, which has come down to us. Other works under his name are also known, but many scientists consider them to be fake. Bardesan from Mesopotamia is among the prominent people. At first he was a follower of Valentin, and later his opponent and he himself created a new heresy. Vardesan is revered among the Syrians for his brilliant talent and passion in argument. He wrote many works against almost all heresies that arose at that time. His most significant and powerful work is considered to be the book “On Fate,” addressed to Mark Antonin. His followers translated many other works on the persecution of Christians from Syriac into Greek. Truly, if there is so much power and splendor in the translation, how great must be the original! Victor, the thirteenth bishop of Rome, wrote the treatise “On the Easter Dispute” and some other small works. He led the church for ten years during the reign of Emperor Severus. Irenaeus, a presbyter under Bishop Pofinus, who headed the church of Lyon in Gaul, delivered letters from the clergy of the town of Ibis to Bishop Elevtherius in Rome. Subsequently, when Pofinus, at almost ninety years of age, was crowned with the crown of martyrdom for Christ, Irenaeus took his place. It is also known that he was a student of Polycarp, the priest and martyr mentioned above. Irenaeus wrote five books against heresies and a small opus against pagans, as well as a work on penance, a letter to his brother Marcian “On the Apostolic Preaching”, a book “On Various Treatises”, a letter to Authority “On Schism”, a letter to Florinus “On unity of command, or that God is not the author of evil”, and the magnificent “On the Osmerice”, at the end of which it is noted that he was close to the apostolic period. Irenaeus wrote: “I pray to you, whoever will ever copy this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and his majestic coming, at which he will judge quickly and perfectly, that you copy as diligently as possible and, after carefully checking with the model, make corrections.” There are also his other books: “Epistle to the Roman Bishop Victor” - about the Easter dispute, in which Irenaeus warns against a rash rupture of the united brotherhood because of Victor’s conviction that many bishops of Asia and the East, who, together with the Jews, celebrate the Jewish Passover on the fourteenth day of the new moon, should be condemned. Irenaeus lived during the reign of Emperor Commodus, who inherited power from Marcus Antoninus Verus. Panten, a philosopher of the Stoic school, where, according to some ancient Alexandrian tradition, from the time of the Evangelist Mark, the clergy were always doctors, had great intelligence and erudition both in the Holy Scriptures and in secular literature. Therefore, when necessary, he was sent by the Bishop of Alexandria Demetrius to India, where he met with Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, who preached the coming of Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew, and returned to Alexandria with records of these sermons in Hebrew. Many of his commentaries on the Holy Scriptures survive to this day, but he served the church more by the spoken word than by the pen. Panten lived during the reign of Emperor Severus and Antoninus, nicknamed Caracalla. Rodon, a native of Asia, studied the Scriptures in Rome with Tatian, mentioned above, wrote many works, of which stands out the work "Against Marcion", where he explains how the Marcionists differ from each other, and also from the church, and tells how the elderly Apelles, a heretic, was once drawn into a dispute with him, and that he, Rodon, exposed Apelles to ridicule, declaring that he did not know the God to whom he prayed. In a book addressed to Callistion, Rawdon mentioned that he was a student of Tatian in Rome. He owns the elegant treatises “On the Six Days of Creation” and the famous book against the Phrygians. Lived during the time of Commodus and Severus. Clement, a presbyter of the Alexandrian church and a student of Panten, mentioned above, headed the theological school in Alexandria after the death of his teacher and was a famous catechist. He produced wonderful works, eloquent and scientific, both on the Holy Scriptures and on the world. Among them are "Stromata" - eight books, "Brief Explanations" - eight books, "Against the Gentiles" - one book, "Pedagogue" - three books, "On Easter", "Studies on Fasting" and a book called "Which Rich Man Will Be Saved?", on slander - one book, on religious canons and against those who follow the error of the Jews - one book, which he addressed to Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem. He also mentions in his work "Stromata" the work of Tatian against the pagans, which we called, and the Chronography of Cassian, which I could not find. He also lists there some Jewish authors who wrote against the pagans, among them Aristobulus, Demetrius and Eupolemus, who, following the example of Joseph, asserted the primacy of Moses and the Jews. There is a letter from Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, who later headed the church together with Narcissus, about the ordination of Asclepiades the Confessor, addressed to the inhabitants of Antioch, in which Alexander, congratulating them, at the end says: “These works, venerable brothers, I sent to you through the blessed presbyter Clement, an enlightened and venerable man, whom you know and with whom you will now become better acquainted, a man who, having come here through God's providence, strengthened and expanded the church of God." It is known that Origen was his student. Clement lived during the reign of Severus and his son Antoninus. Miltiades, whom Rawdon talks about in his book written against Montanus, Prisca and Maximilla, wrote a significant work against Montanism, as well as other books against pagans and Jews, and addressed the Apology to the then reigning emperors. He lived during the reigns of Marcus Antoninus and Commodus. You might be interested in: