Главы 60–79

Berylus, Bishop of Bostria in Arabia, after his glorious but short-lived reign over the church, fell into a heresy denying the fact of the existence of Christ before his incarnation. Subsequently guided by Origen on the true path, he wrote various works, especially letters in which he thanked his mentor. Origen's letters to him survive to this day, as does their dialogue discussing heresies. He rose to prominence during the reign of Alexander, son of Mamaea, and his successors Maximinus and Gordian. Hippolytus, the bishop of a certain church (I don’t remember the name of the city), described the Easter festivities and compiled chronological tables up to the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander. He also considered the sixteen-year cycle and suggested the idea to Eusebius, who, based on the same Easter celebrations, compiled a nineteen-year cycle. Wrote interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, in particular, on the six days of creation, on the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, on the Song of Songs, on the book of Genesis, on Zechariah, on the Psalms, on Isaiah, on Daniel, on the Apocalypse, on the book of Proverbs, on Ecclesiastes, on Saul, “On the Prophets”, “On the Antichrist”, “On the Resurrection and Incorruption”, “Against Marcion”, “On Jewish Passover", "Condemnation of all heresies", as well as a sermon in praise of our Lord and Savior, in which he makes it clear that he delivered it in church in the presence of Origen. Ambrose, who, as we have said, was delivered by Origen from the heresy of Marcion and converted by him to the true faith, persuaded Origen to write, in opposition to Hippolytus, an interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, offering him seven or more secretaries and a corresponding number of copyists, taking upon himself all the expenses, and, moreover, with incredible zeal, demanded work from him every day, in connection with which, in one of his notes, Origen calls him his "overseer." Alexander of Cappadocia. Alexander, bishop of Cappadocia, wishing to visit the holy land, arrived in Jerusalem at a time when the bishop of this city, Narcissus, already an old man, was at the head of the church. Narcissus, like many priests around him, was informed that the next morning a bishop would enter the city, who would become his assistant on the priestly throne. Everything happened as predicted, and in the presence of all the bishops of Palestine, Alexander accepted joint government with Narcissus of the church of Jerusalem. At the end of one of his letters to the Antinoites about peace in the church, he says: “Narcissus, who had the rank of bishop before me, is now with me. he who makes prayers, being one hundred and sixteen years old, greets you and, together with me, asks you to unite in your thoughts.” He also wrote to the Antiochians, led by Clement, the presbyter of Alexandria, whom we talked about above, he also wrote to Origen, and in defense of Origen he spoke out against Demetrius, which was caused by the fact that, according to Demetrius, he ordained Origen as a presbyter. There are other messages of his to different persons. During the seventh persecution under Decius, when Babylus of Antioch was executed, Alexander was taken to Caesarea, imprisoned, and received the crown of martyrdom for the veneration of Christ. Julius Africanus, whose five volumes of “On Chronology” have come down to us, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who inherited power after Macrinus, was given the task of restoring the city of Emmaus, which was later named Nicopolis. His letter to Origen “Concerning Susanna” has been preserved, where it is stated that this episode is not in the Hebrew books, and the play on words and does not agree with Hebrew etymology; Origen responded with a letter. There is another letter from Julius to Aristides, which discusses in detail the differences in the records of Matthew and Luke regarding the genealogy of the Savior. Geminus, a presbyter of the church at Antioch, who left several monuments of his genius, lived during the time of the emperor Alexander and Zevinus, bishop of that city. He especially came to the fore at the time when Hercules was ordained as high priest of the church in Alexandria. Theodore (Gregory of Neocaesarea). Theodore, later called Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, while still a young man, together with his brother Athenodorus, went from Cappadocia to Beritus and from there to Caesarea Palestine to study Greek and Latin literature. When Origen saw the outstanding natural abilities of these people, he encouraged their interest in philosophy. Teaching this science, he gradually explained to them the essence of faith in Christ and made them his followers, and after five years of training he sent them back. Before leaving, Theodore wrote a eulogy of thanks to Origen and read it before a large gathering. Origen himself was present. This eulogy still exists today. Theodore also made a short but very valuable paraphrase of Ecclesiastes; Various of his messages and messages have reached us. He was especially famous for the signs and wonders that he performed during his bishopric to the great glory of the churches. Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, eight letters of Cyprian to whom have survived to this day, wrote a letter to Fabian, bishop of the church in Antioch, about the Roman, Italian and African Sanhedrin, a second letter about Novatian and those who departed from the faith, a third letter about the decrees of the Sanhedrin, a fourth, very detailed, to the same Fabian describing the reasons for the appearance of Novatian's heresy and its anathema. He governed the church for two years under Gallus and Volusian. Received the crown of martyrdom for Christ. He was replaced by Lupius. Cyprian the African, known at first as a teacher of rhetoric, later, under the influence of the presbyter Caecilian, from whom he received his nickname, became a Christian and distributed all his property to the poor. Soon after this he was inducted into the presbytery and later consecrated bishop of Carthage. There is no need to list the works of this genius, for they shine brighter than the sun. Cyprian was put to death under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus during the eighth persecution, on the same day that Cornelius was executed in Rome, but in a different year. Pontius, Cyprian's deacon, who shared his exile until his death, left behind him an outstanding work on the life and death of Cyprian. Dionysius of Alexandria. Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, as presbyter was in charge of the school for converts under Hercules and was Origen's most distinguished student. Supporting the teaching of Cyprian and the African Synod on the re-baptism of heretics, he sent many letters to various people, which have survived to this day. One of the letters - “On repentance” - he wrote to Fabian, the bishop of the church in Antioch, another to the Romans through the messenger Hippolytus, two letters to Xystus, who inherited power from Stephen, as well as two letters to Philemon and Dionysius, presbyters of the church in Rome, and another to the above-mentioned Dionysius, later bishop of Rome, as well as Novatian, expressing his attitude towards statements about Novatian's involuntary consecration to the rank of Bishop of Rome. Here is the beginning of this message: “Dionysius to Novatian, greeting his brother. If you were initiated against your will, as you say, you will prove it by voluntarily leaving." There is another letter of his to Dionysius and Didymos and many solemn messages on the occasion of the Jewish Passover, written in a sublime style. There are letters to the Alexandrian Church “On Exile”, a letter to Bishop Hierax of Egypt and other letters: “On Death,” “On the Sabbath,” “On the Gymnasium,” as well as a letter to Hermammon and others about the persecution of Decius, two books against Nepos, the bishop who wrote about the advent of the thousand-year kingdom [of Christ] on earth. Other topics he carefully considered included the Apocalypse of John. He also opposed Sabellius, wrote to the bishop of Berenice Ammon, Telesphorus, as well as Euphranor, four books to the Bishop of Rome Dionysius, the Laodiceans - “On Repentance”, Origen - “On Martyrdom”, the Armenians - “On Repentance” and “On Sins”, Timothy - “On Nature”, Euphranor - “On Temptation”, many letters to Basilides, in one of which he claims to have begun to write interpretation on Ecclesiastes. A remarkable letter directed against Paul of Samosat, written by him a few days before his death, has also survived. Dionysius died in the twelfth year of the reign of Gallienus. Novatian, a presbyter of Rome, attempted to usurp the priestly throne occupied by Cornelius, and proclaimed the dogma of the Novatians, or, as they are called in Greek, Cathars, which forbade the admission into the fold of the church of repentant apostates, in opposition to the doctrine of Novatus, a presbyter under Cyprian. Novatian wrote such works as “On Easter”, “On the Sabbath”, “On Circumcision”, “On the Clergy”, “On Prayer”, “On the Food of the Jews”, “On Diligence”, “On Atallah” and much more. Among his works, the most notable is On the Trinity, a kind of summary of the work of Tertullian, which many erroneously attribute to Cyprian. Malchio, a highly gifted presbyter of the church in Antioch, taught rhetoric very successfully in that city, and held a discussion with Paul of Samosata, who, being bishop of the church in Antioch, introduced the doctrine of Artemon. A record of this dialogue has survived, as has a lengthy letter written by Malchio on behalf of the Sanhedrin and addressed to Dionysius and Maximus, bishops of Rome and Alexandria. Malchio lived during the reign of Claudius and Aurelius. Archelaus, bishop of Mesopotamia, created a book in Syriac containing a discussion with Manichaeus when he came from Persia. This book, translated into Greek, is owned by many people. Archelaus lived during the reign of Emperor Probus, who succeeded Aurelius and Tacitus. Anatoly of Alexandria. Anatolius of Alexandria, bishop of Laodicea in Syria, who lived during the reign of the emperors Probus and Carus, was a man of outstanding learning in arithmetic, geometry, grammar, rhetoric and dialectic. We can get an idea of ​​the greatness of this genius from his book on the Jewish Passover and ten volumes on the fundamentals of arithmetic. Victorinus, bishop of Petavia, was not equally fluent in Latin and Greek. Therefore, his works, although excellent in content, are weak in style. These are “Comments on the Book of Genesis”, “On the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt”, “On Leviticus”, “On Isaiah”, “On Ezekiel”, “On Habakkuk”, “On Ecclesiastes”, “On the Song of Songs”, “On the Apocalypse of John”, “Against All Heresies” and much more. He was awarded the crown of martyrdom. Prester Pamphilus, patron of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, was so passionate about spiritual literature that he copied most of Origen's works in his own hand, and they are still preserved in the library of Caesarea. I have, written in his hand, twenty-five volumes of commentaries on Origen and On the Twelve Prophets, which I treasure with care and delight, considering myself as rich as Croesus. And if the possession of even one message of a martyr causes delight, then how much more if you have many thousands of lines that seem to me written in his blood. He wrote the Apology of Origen before Eusebius did. He was executed in Caesarea Palestine during the years of persecution under Maximinus. Pierius, presbyter of the church at Alexandria during the reigns of Carus and Diocletian, during the time when Theon was bishop in the same church, taught the people successfully and achieved such elegance in language and published so many treatises (all of which survive) on a variety of subjects that he was called the Younger Origen. He stood out for his self-discipline, dooming himself to voluntary poverty, and was fluent in dialectics. After persecution he spent the rest of his life in Rome. His large treatise “On the Prophet Osip” has been preserved, which was created, as can be seen from the work itself, on the eve of Easter. Lucian, a man of great talent, presbyter of the church at Antioch, was so diligent in the study of the Holy Scriptures that even now some copies of the Scriptures bear his name. His book “On Faith” and short messages to various people have been preserved. He was executed in Nicomedia for his faith in Christ during the years of persecution under Maximinus and was buried in Helenopolis in Bithynia. Fileus, a resident of the Egyptian city of Tmuit, came from a noble family and possessed considerable wealth. Having become a bishop, he wrote a sublime essay in praise of the martyrs and entered into an argument with a judge who tried to force him to sacrifice. He was beheaded for his faith in Christ during the same persecution when Lucian was killed in Nicomedia. Arnobius was one of the best teachers of rhetoric at Sicca in Africa during the reign of Diocletian and wrote widely known books against the pagans. You might be interested in: