272 the Novatians, whose opinions he favoured, Easter differed, would by himself beforehand fast and keep the watch, and then keep Easter on" his "wonted Sabbath day." Here we see the Novatian Church or sect owning openly an indifference of the time of the feast of Easter (and so of the precurring fast; for so here Sabbatius keeping by him-517 self aforehand the feast of Easter, kept also by himself aforehand the fast and the watch which was to precede). It was now serviceable to the Novatians that their friends and favourers, according to the tenor of this Council and Canon, should plead the small import and indifferency of such matters ; such, suppose a while, was Socrates, who liked rather of the Catholic order, yet pleaded for mutual tolerance, even after the establishment of that matter throughout the Christian Church by the sacred Council of Nice, as well as had been with good cause before. To this purpose plea was made for them, as we read in this chapter of Socrates, σκοπὸς μὲν οὖν γέγονε τοῖς ̓Αποστόλοις οὐ περὶ ἡμερῶν ἑορταστικῶν νομοθετεῖν·—ἐπειδὴ φιλοῦσι τὰς ἑορτὰς οἱ ἄνθρωποι διὰ τὸ ἀνίεσθαι τῶν πόνων, ἐν αὐταῖς ἕκαστοι κατὰ χώρας, ὡς ἐβου λήθησαν, τὴν μνήμην τοῦ σωτηριώδους πάθους ἐξ ἔθους τινὸς ἐπετέλεσαν· οὐ γὰρ νόμῳ τοῦτο παραφυλάττειν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἢ οἱ Απόστολοι ἡμῖν παρήγγειλαν —οὕτω καὶ ἡ τοῦ Πάσχα ἑορτὴ παρ' ἑκάστοις ἐκ συνηθείας τινὸς ἰδιάζουσαν ἔσχε τὴν παρατήρησιν, διὰ τὸ μηδένα τῶν ̓Αποστόλων, ὡς ἔφην, μηδενὶ νενομοθετηκέναι περὶ αὐτῆς· ὅτι δὲ ἐξ ἔθους μᾶλλον ἢ ἀπὸ νόμου παρ' ἑκάστοις ἐξ ἀρχαίου τὴν παρατήρησιν ἔλαβεν, αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα δεικνύει and some other such sayings, with a keen anger at the bishops, are found in him. Now whether Socrates, if he were indeed a favourer of the Novatians in their main error, may not be thought to have written these things to gratify the Novatians, for the reconciling of them one to another in this lesser matter, and reconciling them both to the Church herein, let the prudent judge. I shall proceed to examine whether Socrates were so indeed, a favourer of their main error; wherein I shall not content myself to receive others' accusations of him, such as the learned Greek patriarch Photius, who makes this judgment of Socrates”, ἐν τοῖς δόγμασιν οὐ λίαν ἐστὶν ἀκριβὴς, but shall rather hear himself what he saith, whom you may read "[P. 6. cod. 28.] as appears from his remarks upon 273 much displeased with the holy and famous patriarch of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom, lib. vi. cap. 11*; where he relating of Chrysostom, πολλὰς ἐκκλησίας Ναυατιανῶν καὶ Τεσσαρεσκαιδεκατιτῶν ἀφελὼν, that he took away many of 518 the churches from the Novatians and the Tessarescaidecatitæ, he saith of that holy man in the same chapter, πρὸς ζηλοτυπίαν προήχθη he imputes unto him τὴν γνώμην ὕπουλον, "a subdolous and secretly exulcerate mind;" he says that for his favour to an insolent person, one Serapion, τὸ κατὰ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου μῖσος πλεόν ἐξήπτετο and c. 3. διὰ ζῆλον σωφροσύνης πικρότερος and c. 21. relating St. Chrysostom's death, he leaves this mark upon him', Ἰωάννης δὲ ἐτελεύτησε τῇ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ σεπτεμβρίου μηνός, ἀνὴρ ὡς καὶ πρότερον ἔφην διὰ ζῆλον σωφροσύνης θυμῷ πλέον ἢ αἰδοῖ χαριζόμενος· “ John” as he calls him " died the 14th day of September, a man, as I said before, by reason of his zeal of temperance giving way more to wrath than to modesty." Consider we next as touching the main error itself of the Novatians, wherein as he doth pronounce of Novatus himself, that he died a martyr": Novatus is Socrates' martyr, and the miracles wrought by his followers, as he saith, he is diligent in; but St. Chrysostom even after his death he thus proceeds to censure, because he defended that repentance was not to be denied to those that fell after baptism more than once, alleging against him an ancient more severe discipline of a synod of bishops; as if the following bishops had not power in their times, seeing cause, to relax such severity of discipline. His words of Chrysostom are, Θαν μάσαι δέ μοι ἔπεισι, πῶς τοσοῦτον ζῆλον σωφροσύνης ἀσκῶν ἐν προσομιλίαις αὐτοῦ καταφρονεῖν τῆς σωφροσύνης ἐδίδαξε μιᾶς γὰρ μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα παρὰ τῆς συνόδου τῶν ἐπισκόπων μετανοίας τοῖς ἐπταικόσι δοθείσης, αὐτὸς ἀπετόλμησεν εἰπεῖν, χιλιάκις μετανοήσας εἴσελθε· “ it is matter of admiration to me, how he" John, as above he calls him, "shewing so great a zeal of temperance, should in his discourses teach men to despise temperance; for, repentance being granted by a synod of bishops to such as had fallen once after baptism, x [P. 317.] GUNNING. T a Lib. iv. c. 28. [p. 216.] 274 Novatus himself, and his opponents he was bold to say, If thou hast repented a thousand times enter hither;" surely not far off from his Lord's merciful sense, Luke xvii. 3, 4, 5. "Take heed to yourselves; if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him and if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the Apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith ;” they say not, our charity only, but our faith. Compare this also with Matt. xviii. 15-18. Surely this was no argument of πικρότης or bitterness of Chrysostom, whereof Socrates hath accused him. But is 519 Socrates more favourable to the more ancient bishops who opposed Novatus? that you may read in his fourth book, c. 28,c where having related Novatus's letters, he then speaks of Cornelius's contrary letters (who was a holy bishop and martyr of Rome), τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Κορνηλίου γράμματα, καὶ τοῖς μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ἡμαρτηκόσιν ἐπαγγελλόμενα τὴν συγχώρησιν· οὕτω δὲ ἀμφοτέρων ἐπιστέλλοντων τὰ ἐναντία, κ. τ. λ. " both” saith he, "confirming their opinion from the Holy Scriptures," k τῶν θείων ὀχυρούντων ἃ ἑκάτερος ἔλεγεν, he adds, ὅσοι φιλαμαρτήμονες, δραξάμενοι τῆς τότε δοθείσης συγχωρήσεως, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον ἐπὶ πάσης ἁμαρτίας αὐτῇ συνεχρήσαντο φαίνεται δὲ τὰ Φρύγων ἔθνη σωφρονέστερα εἶναι τῶν ἄλλων ἔθνων· καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ σπανιάκις Φρύγες ὀμνύουσιν,—οὐδὲ γὰρ ἱπποδρομίαι, οὐδὲ θέατρα σπουδάζονται νῦν παρ' αὐτοῖς· διό μοι δοκεῖ μᾶλλον ἐπινενευκέναι τούτους τὲ καὶ τοὺς οὕτω φρονοῦντας πρὸς τὰ παρὰ Ναυάτου τότε γραφόμενα· ὡς μύσος γὰρ ἐξαίσιον παρ' αὐτοῖς ἡ πορνεία νομίζεται· καὶ γὰρ τοὺς οἱασδήποτε ἄλλης αἱρέσεως σωφρονέστερον βιοῦντας Φρύγας καὶ Παφλαγόνας ἐστὶν εὑρεῖν· τὴν δὲ αὐτὴν αἰτίαν καὶ περὶ τοὺς οἰκοῦντας τὰ ἑσπέρια μέρη καὶ Ναυάτῳ πειθαρχήσαντας εἶναι νομίζω “ for as many as were lovers of sin, laid hold of that concession which was granted" viz. by Cornelius the holy and true bishop of Rome, "and so for time to come used that concession for all manner of sin; but the manners of the Phrygians appear to be more sober than other nations'; for they indeed seldom swear,-with them there is no running after horse-races, nor theatres; wherefore it is, as it seems to me, that these, and those which were so affected, inclined * [Ρ. 245.] St. Chrysostom and Cornelius. 275 rather to the things then written by Novatus; for fornication is counted with them as a detestable abomination; for why? you may find the Phrygians and Paphlagonians living more soberly than any other sect whatsoever; and there is the same reason, I suppose, of them also who live about the western parts, and hearken unto or obey Novatus." Whoever hath read in story the sound and Catholic faith, and 520 holy life, and martyrdom, of Cornelius, St. Cyprian's dear friend; and hath read in St. Cyprian the lewd and wicked life of Novatus, and his factious schism, and heretical teaching, let him judge of these words of Socrates which he would leave behind him in his history to the world. Lastly, when St. Chrysostom was driven in banishment, he saith thus, “Others have said that John suffered in his deposition justly, because he had taken away many Churches from the Novatians and the Quartadecimani and certain others; but whether that abdication of John was just, according to the saying of those that had been grieved by him, God, who knoweth the secrets and the truth itself in that matter, is a just Judge." These things have I let you hear Socrates speak from himself, not to withdraw any due regard to his labours and history, except only wherein things regarding some part or other of the Novatians' singularity, and his thence detracting from the holy Catholic bishops, such as Cornelius the martyr and St. Chrysostom, and from the honour of the Church's holy fasts and feasts; wherein I deem that he ought not to be heard against the consent of the Catholic Doctors and Fathers of all ages, without great injustice to the Church.-I conclude this chapter with this double item; first, that allowing all that which our brethren the presbyterians brought out of Socrates for themselves, it hath been shewn above that it profits not their cause at all, nor hurts ours; secondly, that all other loose sayings of Socrates, removing from the Apostles all care of any such thing as the feast of Easter, or the fast preceding, or other holy days, are but the effects of his Novatian infection, a pursuance of that Canon of Indifferency which his friends the Novatians assembled in Council had decreed at Angar in Bithynia. d [Lib. vi. c. 19. p. 828.] e Socrat. lib. v. c. 21. [vid. p. 271. sup.] 276 Lent service of our Church CHAPTER VIII. AN ANSWER TO THE OTHER OBJECTIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIANS, AND TO THEIR PRETENCE FROM AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT. THE fifth proposal of our brethren the presbyterians, as they have published it now themselves in their Grand Debate p. 44. was this, "That nothing should be in the Liturgy, which so much as seems to countenance the observation of Lent as a religious fast." This by them propounded and desired of the king and bishops and the Church of England is, that nothing may be left even of that which is extant in our public Liturgy; wherein is no one word of the choice of meats, but only first, of prayers and services to Almighty God at that time before Easter; and secondly, of such abstinence, that our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey the godly motions of the Lord in righteousness and true holiness, to His honour and glory; and thirdly, a grateful remembrance and mention that the Lord for our sakes did fast forty days and forty nights; with a prayer, fourthly, particularly on the first day of Lent, that God would make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Him, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ; and fifthly, on Passion week, and on Good-Friday, a holy and humble memory of our Lord's being betrayed and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross for His family the Church, with a prayer for the whole body of that Church, and for all the enemies thereof, all Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics (on that day on which Christ prayed for His enemies on the cross); and sixthly, a narrative that in the primitive Church there was a godly discipline (the restoring whereof the Church desires) that at the beginning of Lent such persons as were notorious sinners were put to open penance and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord; and that others admonished by their example might be the more afraid to offend; with the read f [Vid. p. 31.] 521 |