Works, Part II

DIONYSIUS BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, THE REMAINING WORKS AND EPISTLES, PART II. In which are contained the Epistles or fragments of epistles. EPISTOLA I. — TO DOMITIUS AND DIDYMUS.

(Euseb., Hist. eccl., vii, 11.)

I. It is superfluous to recount our martyrs by name, since they are very many and unknown to you. It is sufficient for you to know in general that men and women, young and old, maidens and matrons, soldiers and civilians—in short, people of every race and age—have carried off crowns after being victorious in the struggle, some through the scourge, others by the edge of the sword, and others by fire. Yet for some, a very long space of time was not sufficient for them to appear acceptable to God; as indeed is the case with me even to this day. ^A For He has deferred me to another opportune time, which is well known to Him, He who says: *In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.*

II. As to our own affairs, since you inquire and wish to be informed of our state; you have indeed heard altogether how I, and Caius and Faustus, along with Peter and Paul, were bound ^B by the centurion and the magistrates and those soldiers and attendants who were with them,

and how some of those from the Mareotis ^A came upon us—and because we were unwilling and not even following, they dragged us off by force. But now I, and Caius and Peter, alone left orphaned of the other brethren, are shut up in a desert and desolate place of Libya, distant by a journey of three days from Paraetonium.

III. And a little while after, he says: "They have hidden themselves in the city in order to visit the brethren secretly; the presbyters, that is, Maximus, Dioscorus, Demetrius, and Lucius—for Faustinus and Aquila, being more in the public eye, wander through Egypt; and of the deacons, those who remain after those who were consumed by the plague ^B, Faustus, Eusebius, and Chaeremon. Eusebius, I say, whom God from the beginning strengthened and prepared to diligently fulfill the ministries for the confessors who were in custody, and to perform the laying out ^C of the bodies of the perfect and blessed martyrs, not without danger to his own head. For even until now the prefect does not cease, putting some to death, as I said, whenever they are brought before him; tearing others with tortures; and wasting others away in prisons and bonds, commanding that no one approach them, and searching to see if anyone appears to do so. And yet God, by the eagerness and persistence of the brethren, provides relief to the oppressed."

^D ...are reported to the centurion; but the attendants and the duumvirs, or magistrates, to whom they were subject. Athanasius also, in his epistle to the solitaries, calls the duumvir or magistrate of the city of Alexandria [to account]. For speaking of the Arians who had brought the presbyters and deacons of Alexandria to trial and punished them with exile, he writes thus: that is, how the duke and the judges worked together to drive them into exile; dragging their dependents from their homes with a military band and with the help of Gorgonius the magistrate. For the translator incorrectly renders Gorgonius as "duke." Yet the duke himself was named Sebastian, as Athanasius witnesses; but Gorgonius was a magistrate or duumvir of Alexandria, whose special duty it was to apprehend the accused and bring them before the higher judges. This is testified to by the petition of protest of the Alexandrian people, which Athanasius appended to his epistle, in these words: and a little later, that is, he sent the executioner of his office, and the magistrate, to remove those weapons from the church. VALES.

[Notes on the text:] (67) *Those from the Mareotis.* These things happened in the first persecution under Decius, at the time when Dionysius was led away to Taposiris by the sentence of Sabinus the prefect, as Dionysius himself writes in the epistle against Germanus, related below. Certainly, whoever compares that epistle of Dionysius against Germanus with this one which was written to Domitius will not doubt that Dionysius is speaking of one and the same matter in both. Wherefore Eusebius is mistaken, who thought that those things were narrated in this epistle of Dionysius to Domitius which pertained to the persecution of Valerian; which is easy to refute from Dionysius himself. For in the persecution under Valerian, Dionysius was not led into exile with a military guard, nor did the Mareotae, having put the soldiers to flight, restore him to liberty by force; nor did Dionysius then have with him the presbyters Caius and Faustus and Peter and Paul. All these things happened to Dionysius in that persecution which began a little before the reign of Decius, as he himself testifies in the epistle against Germanus. But in the persecution under Valerian, Dionysius was accompanied in his exile by Maximus the presbyter, and the deacons Faustus, Eusebius, and Chaeremon, and a certain Roman cleric, as the same Dionysius writes in the epistle against Germanus. ID.

(68) *Dragging us off by force.* It is read more correctly: nor does the Fuketian codex have it written otherwise. ID.

(69) *By the plague.* Rufinus translates: "But of the deacons, that some died on the island after the punishments of their confession." But Dionysius refers to the pestilence which raged throughout the entire Roman world during the times of Gallus and Volusianus, as Eusebius in the Chronicle and others testify. See Aurelius Victor. Dionysius mentions the same disease in his paschal epistle to the Alexandrians, where he also speaks of the deacons whom that plague consumed. Ib.

(70) *Laying out.* Christophorsonus translated this with a long circuit of words: "To prepare the linens with which the bodies of the blessed martyrs now deceased would be wrapped." He had in mind, of course, the custom of our own age, by which we are accustomed to cover the dead with a linen cloth and thus commit them to the earth. But among the ancients (and I speak of the Christians too) there was another custom. For they would clothe the bodies in garments, and indeed in the most precious ones, as Eusebius teaches, book VII, ch. 16, concerning Asturius. If anyone, however, wishes to defend Christophorsonus's version, he has the testimony of Athanasius by which to support it. For he writes thus in the Life of Blessed Anthony: "The Egyptians are accustomed to bury the bodies of the deceased, and especially of the holy martyrs, and to wrap them in linens; but not to commit them to the earth; rather, having placed them on biers, they keep them within their own private walls." Id.

DIONYSIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, EPISTOLA II.—TO NOVATIANUS

^A Dionysius to Novatianus, greetings. If you were led (into this), as you claim, against your will, you will demonstrate it if you return of your own free will. It would have been better to suffer anything whatsoever so as not to rend the Church of God; and the testimony for not causing a schism was no less glorious than that for not sacrificing to idols—or, in my judgment, even greater. For in the latter case one suffers for one’s own soul, but in the former one testifies for the whole Church. And now, if you were to persuade or constrain the brethren to return to harmony, your achievement would be greater than your fault; and the latter shall not be reckoned against you, while the former shall be praised. If, however, they refuse to obey and you cannot succeed, save at least your own soul. I pray that you may fare well in the Lord, intent upon peace.

EPISTOLA III.—TO FABIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH

I. The persecution did not begin with the Emperor’s edict, for it had anticipated it by a whole year. For a certain ill-omened soothsayer and poet, whoever he may have been, had stirred up and incited the crowds of the heathens against us even before that time, inflaming their minds toward their native superstition. ^B By this...

^A they, being stimulated and having taken an opportunity for wickedness from every authority, presumed that this alone was piety and the worship of their demons, to rage against us with slaughter.

II. They first seized an old man named Metras, and commanded him to utter impious words. When he would not be persuaded, they beat his body with clubs, and pricked his face and eyes with sharp reeds, and led him away to the suburbs, where they stoned him to death. After this, they led a faithful woman named Quinta to the temple of an idol and compelled her to worship it. When she turned away and loathed it, they bound her by the feet, and dragged her through the whole city over the rough paving stones, ^B and while she was being dashed against the millstones and whipped, they led her away to the same place and stoned her to death. Then all with one accord rushed into the houses of the pious; and whom each one knew to be their neighbor, they hastened and dragged them out, plundering and spoiling them. They laid aside the more precious of their goods, but the baser ones and those made of wood they scattered and burned in the streets, presenting a spectacle of a city taken by enemies. The brethren receded and withdrew by flight, and they received the plundering of their property, like those of whom Paul has testified, with joy. And I do not know if anyone—unless perhaps some one person falling into their hands—has denied the Lord up to this point.

III. But they also seized the most admirable virgin, now advanced in age, Apollonia; they struck her on the cheeks and knocked out all of her teeth. ^C When they had built a pyre before the city, they threatened to burn her alive unless she would repeat with them the impious words of their ungodliness. She, appearing to ask for a brief respite and having been released, quickly leapt into the fire and was consumed. They also caught Serapion in his own house, and after torturing him with the most cruel torments and breaking all his joints, they threw him headlong from an upper story. There was no road, no public way, no lane that was open to us—not by night, nor by day—for all people everywhere were shouting that unless one would sing the impious words, he must immediately be dragged away. ^D

And these things continued in this manner for a very long time ^A. But then, sedition and civil war taking hold of the wretched, turned upon themselves the cruelty which they had been exercising against us. And we breathed again for a short time, as they had become occupied with their fury against one another ^B.

IV. But immediately the change of that formerly more favorable reign was announced to us; and a great fear of the threat hanging over us was stirred up. And indeed, the decree was present, showing itself to be almost that very thing which was foretold by our Lord, most dreadful—so that, if it were possible, it would cause even the elect to stumble. Yet all were terrified. And many of the more prominent people immediately appeared for fear; some were led by their own actions, while others were dragged along by those around them. Being called by name, they approached the unholy and impure sacrifices; some pale and trembling, as if they were not about to sacrifice, but were themselves to be the victims and offerings to the idols, so that they were mocked by the surrounding crowd, it being plain to all that they were cowardly, both toward dying and toward sacrificing. But some approached the altars more readily, asserting ^C [alt-version omitted] ^D

⟫ that they had never been Christians before—of whom the Lord’s prediction was most true, that they would with difficulty be saved. As for the rest, some followed those we have mentioned; others took to flight; others were seized. And of these, some who had proceeded as far as chains and imprisonment, and some having been confined for many days, then, before they were even led into the judgment hall, abjured their faith. Others, after having endured torments for a time with fortitude, lost heart at the remaining punishments that were threatened.

^B V. But those blessed and stable pillars of the Lord, strengthened by Him, and having received power and fortitude in proportion to the strength of the faith which was in them, became marvelous witnesses of His kingdom. The first of these was Julian, a man afflicted with gout, who was unable to stand or walk; he was brought forward along with two others who were carrying him. One of them immediately denied the faith, but the other, by name Cronion, whose nickname was Eunus, together with the old man Julian himself, having confessed the Lord, were—throughout the whole city, which is, as you know, quite vast—made to ride on camels and were scourged while raised aloft, and finally, they were consumed in an unquenchable fire, while the entire populace poured around them. A soldier stood by while they were being led to punishment, and because he strongly opposed those who were heaping insults upon them, as the crowd clamored against him, he was brought forward; the most valiant combatant of God, Besas, having distinguished himself in the great war for piety, was beheaded. And another, by race a Libyan, and in both name and divine blessing truly Macar, ^C when he had been exhorted in many ways by the judge to deny [Christ], not being at all swayed, was burned alive. After them came Epimachus and Alexander, who, after the long imprisonment in which they had remained chained, and having endured a myriad of sufferings, iron combs, and scourges, were also dissolved in an unquenchable fire.

VI. And along with them four women shared the same fate. Ammonarium, indeed, a most holy virgin, when she had been tortured at great length by the judge with intense obstinacy, because she had openly predicted that she would utter none of the things which he ordered, fulfilling her promise, was led away to punishment. The others, the most venerable elder Mercuria, and Dionysia, ^D who was a mother of many children but for the sake of the Lord loved not her own offspring more [than Him], were also dissolved in an unquenchable fire.

For the commander, feeling ashamed at having tormented them in vain and having been overcome by women, ordered that they should be put to death by the sword without being subjected to further trials of torment. For Ammonarium, their leader and standard-bearer, had already endured the torments for them all.

VII. Heron, Ater, and Isidore, Egyptians, and with them a young boy of about fifteen years, Dioscorus, were brought before the judge. He first attempted to deceive the young Dioscorus with words, as one easily led astray, and to force him with torments, as one easily yielding; but Dioscorus neither was persuaded nor did he yield. Having scourged the others ^B most cruelly, and seeing that they endured it bravely, he handed them over to the fire. But as for Dioscorus, admiring him for having shone forth in the sight of all and for having replied most wisely to all his questions, he let him go, saying he would grant him a respite for repentance on account of his tender age. And now the most godly Dioscorus is with us, having remained for a longer struggle and a more lasting contest. But a certain Nemesion, also an Egyptian, was falsely accused of being a companion and accomplice of robbers. Having cleared himself before the centurion of this most alien calumny against him, he was denounced as a Christian and came as a prisoner before the governor. This most unjust judge, after having ^C afflicted him with torments and scourges twice as severe as those used on the robbers, ordered him to be burned among the robbers; and thus the blessed man was honored in the likeness of Christ.

VIII. A whole company of soldiers, namely Ammon, Zeno, Ptolemy, and Ingenuus, and with them the aged Theophilus, were standing before the tribunal, while a certain man was being tried as a Christian and appeared on the point of denying Christ. They, standing by, began to gnash their teeth, to signal with their faces, to stretch out their hands, and to make motions and gestures with their whole bodies. When they had drawn everyone’s eyes upon them, before they could be seized by anyone, they ran forward to the bench ^D and professed themselves to be Christians, so that the governor and his assessors were struck with fear; and those who were being judged appeared most courageous in the face of what they were to suffer, while those who were judging began to cower. And these men marched forth from the tribunals

^A rejoicing, exulting because God triumphed gloriously through them on account of their confession of faith.

IX. And there were many others who were scattered throughout the cities and villages by the heathen, about one of whom I shall provide an example. Ischyrion was employed by one of the magistrates for pay. His employer ordered him to offer sacrifice; he refused, and was pelted with abuse. When he persisted, he was subjected to further insults; and as he continued to stand firm, his master grabbed a large stake and, driven by rage, pierced him through the middle of his intestines and organs, killing him. And what need is there to speak of the multitude of those who wandered in deserts and mountains, and who perished through hunger, thirst, cold, disease, and at the hands of robbers and wild beasts? Those who survived them are witnesses of their choice and victory. I shall, however, mention one instance to make this clear. Chæremon was a bishop of advanced age in the city called Nilus ^B. He fled with his wife into the Arabian mountain, and did not return. Nor were his brethren able to find him, although they searched extensively; they could find neither them nor their bodies. And many who were in that same Arabian mountain were enslaved by the barbarian Saracens; some were with difficulty ransomed for a great price, while others have not been ransomed to this day. And I have recounted these things not without purpose, most beloved brother, but so that you may know what great and severe evils have befallen us, those of which they who have experienced them more can tell you even more.

X. Furthermore, these divine martyrs who are now assessors of Christ ^C and sharers in His kingdom, and participants in His judgment, and

^A joint judges [(5)] with Him, over those of the brothers who had become liable to the charges of sacrifice, they took them in; and seeing their conversion and repentance—such as was able to be acceptable to Him who desires not at all the death of the sinner, similar to his repentance—having examined them, they admitted them and brought them together and associated them [(6)], and shared with them in prayers and meals [(7)]. What then, brothers, do you advise us concerning these? What must we do? Shall we become of the same vote and the same mind as they are, and keep the grace, and show kindness to those who have been shown mercy by them; or shall we make their judgment unjust [(8)], and set ourselves up as examiners of their opinion, and distress their kindness, and overturn the order?

XI. One example I will set before you, which is with us

faithful, who had lived his long life without reproach, but had fallen in the time of persecution. He often begged for pardon, but no one paid him any heed, because he had sacrificed. Being then seized by a sickness, he remained for three successive days without speech or sense. Recovering a little on the fourth day, he called his grandson and said, "How long, my child, do you hold me? I entreat you, make haste and release me as quickly as you can. Call one of the presbyters for me." Having said this, he again became speechless. The boy ran for the presbyter; it was night, and the presbyter was sick—he was therefore unable to come. But as a command had been given by me that those who were departing this life, if they should ask, and especially if they had previously entreated, should be released, so that they might depart with good hope ^B, [the presbyter gave the boy a small portion of the Eucharist, telling him to soak it and let it fall drop by drop into the old man's mouth].

Concerning the presbyters and the church order

^{C D} As to the question why Serapion did not rather summon the bishop himself, from whom he might receive peace and communion, since the reconciliation of penitents belonged to the episcopal office: I confess, indeed, that this pertained properly to bishops. Yet, since bishops could not be present everywhere, and lest someone positioned in infirmity might depart without peace and communion, they were accustomed to command the presbyters to give peace to those of the sick who requested it. For without the consent of the bishop, no presbyter could give peace to penitents, as we learn from the epistles of Cyprian. And so, since the city of Alexandria was very spacious, the presbyters were disposed throughout the individual regions of the city so that assistance might more easily be brought to those who were dying. Epiphanius in *Adversus Haereses* [on the Arians] says: "For all the churches of the Catholic communion in the city of Alexandria are subject to one archbishop; and priests are appointed to these individually, for the ecclesiastical needs of the inhabitants, near each of their churches and neighborhoods, which are called 'Lauras' in the local dialect by the inhabitants of Alexandria."

ₗAₗ and as they were migrating from this life; he delivered a small portion of the Eucharist to the boy, bidding him to soak it in water and drop it into the old man’s mouth. The boy returned, therefore, bringing the morsel. And as he approached, before he could enter, the old man, refreshed once more, said: "You have come, my son; and though the presbyter could not come himself, you do quickly what was commanded, and release me." The boy immediately soaked the morsel and poured it into the old man’s mouth; and having swallowed a little, he straightway gave up his spirit. Does it not clearly appear that he was preserved and remained alive for just so long as it was necessary for him to be reconciled, and, his sin having been blotted out, that he might be acknowledged and heralded by Christ for the many good works he had performed?

EPISTLE IV. — TO CORNELIUS, BISHOP OF ROME

Dionysius writes further to Cornelius, the bishop of the city of Rome, whose letters written against Novatian he had received. In this same epistle he signifies that he had been urged by Helenus of Tarsus in Cilicia and the others who were with him, Firmilian of Cappadocia... ^{B C D}

[The remainder of the left and right columns consists of scholarly notes by Valesius, Gallandius, and others regarding the interpretation of these passages, specifically concerning the practice of providing the Eucharist to the sick via lay persons, the specific phrasing of the Greek text in various manuscripts, and historical canons of the Church.]

[index: entries preserved]

of the bishop of Cilicia and of the others who were with him, [FirAmiliano, that is, of Cappadocia, and of Theoctistus of Palestine, that he might attend the synod at Antioch, where some were endeavoring to confirm the schism of Novatus. He writes also that it was reported to him that Fabius had indeed reached his end, and that Demetrianus had been appointed successor to him in the bishopric of the Church of Antioch. He makes mention also of the bishop of Jerusalem in these words: "As for what concerns Alexander, he was cast into prison and departed with a blessed end."

EPISTLE V. — WHICH IS OF BAPTISM, TO POPE STEPHEN.

Know then, brother, that all the Churches throughout the East and further afield, which were previously divided, have now at last been restored to unity; and that all the overseers of the Churches everywhere are of one mind, and rejoice beyond measure at the peace, which has come about beyond all expectation: Demetrianus in Antioch; Theoctistus in Cæsarea; Mazabanes in Ælia, after the death of Alexander; Marinus in Tyre, after the passing of Alexander; Heliodorus in Laodicea, after the rest of Thelymidris; Helenus in Tarsus, and all the Churches of Cilicia; Firmilianus, and all Cappadocia. For [he mentions] only the more prominent [bishops], in order not to add length to the letter or burden to the discourse ^B toward the Achaeans and Epirotes, and those even further ^C remote than these. ^D

I have named the more illustrious bishops, lest I should happen to make our letter longer and our discourse more burdensome. Yet all the Syrian provinces, together with Arabia, to which you provide aid from time to time, and to which you have now written; Mesopotamia also, and Pontus, and Bithynia—to sum it up in a word, all are rejoicing everywhere in harmony and brotherly love, and glorifying God. ^A

LETTER VI. WHICH IS THE SECOND ON BAPTISM, TO POPE XYSTUS II.

LETTER VII. WHICH IS THE THIRD ON BAPTISM, TO PHILEMON THE PRESBYTER OF XYSTUS.

LETTER VIII. WHICH IS THE FOURTH ON BAPTISM, TO DIONYSIUS, AT THAT TIME PRESBYTER OF XYSTUS, AND AFTERWARD HIS SUCCESSOR.

LETTER IX. WHICH IS THE FIFTH ON BAPTISM, TO POPE XYSTUS II.

LETTER X. AGAINST GERMANUS THE BISHOP.

1. But I speak before God, and He himself knows that I do not lie; I have not fled in any way on my own impulse ^B or without the will of God. Rather, even before the decree of the persecution under Decius was published, Sabinus sent a *Frumentarius* at that very moment to search for me. And I for my part remained ^{C D}

^A at home, awaiting the arrival of the *Frumentarius*. He, however, went around searching everything: the roads, the rivers, the fields, wherever he suspected I might be hiding or traveling. But a certain blindness had taken hold of his vision, so that he did not find the house. For he did not believe that I would remain at home while the persecution was raging against me. And with difficulty, after the fourth day, when God had commanded me to depart and had paradoxically opened a way, I and the servants ^B and many of the brethren went out together; and that this was a work of God’s providence, the outcome of events later declared; for perhaps we were not entirely useless to some.

II. Then, having said a few things in between, he reveals what happened to him after the flight, adding these words: “For I, indeed, toward sunset, having been taken by the soldiers together with those with me, was led to Taposiris. But Timothy, by the providence of God, happened not to be present, and was not caught; but having arrived later, he found the house empty and the guards who were watching it; while we had been taken off into bondage.”

III. And after other things he says: “And what was the manner of his wonderful dispensation? For the truth shall be told. A certain rustic ^C met Timothy as he was fleeing and was in distress, and he inquired the cause of the haste. He told the truth. And he, having heard—for he was going to celebrate a wedding, for it is their custom to spend the whole night in such gatherings—went in and told those who were reclining at the table. They, at one impulse, as if from a signal, all stood up; and rushing at full speed, they arrived; and pressing toward us, they raised a shout. And the soldiers who were guarding us immediately taking to flight, they came upon us as we were lying on the uncovered pallets; and I, God knows, at first thinking that they were robbers who had come for the sake of plundering and seizing, while remaining on the couch where I was lying, naked in a linen garment, I reached out to them the rest of my clothing which was lying beside me. But they ordered me to get up and depart with the utmost speed. And then, realizing for what purpose they had come, I began to shout, begging and beseeching them to go away and leave us alone; but if they desired to do something good, to ^D release those who were taking me away,

and they insisted on cutting off my head themselves. While I was crying out such things, as those who were my companions and partners in all things know ^A well, they raised me up by force. And I let myself fall backward upon the ground. But they, laying hold of me by the hands and feet, dragged me out. And there followed me those who were witnesses to all these things: Gaius, Faustus, Peter, and Paul; who also took me up, and carrying me off, they led me out of the small town; and placing me upon a bare donkey, they led me away.

IV. Indeed, I fear that I may seem to have fallen into foolishness and insensibility, in that I am compelled to narrate the wonderful providence and dispensation of God toward us. But since, as it is written, it is good to conceal the secret of a king, but it is glorious to show forth the works of God, I will engage ^B with the violence of Germanus. I did not come to Aemilianus alone, but there followed me Maximus, my fellow-presbyter, and the deacons Faustus, Eusebius, and Chaeremon. And one of the brothers who was present from Rome also came in with us. Aemilianus did not say to me at the outset: "Do not hold gatherings." This would have been superfluous for him, and a last thing to revert to first. For his argument was not about my not gathering others, but about our not being Christians at all; and this he was ordering me to cease from, thinking that if I myself were to change, the others would follow my example. I answered not unreasonably, nor at any great distance from the truth: "We must obey God rather than men." I testified ^C plainly and openly that I worship the God who is, and no one else, and that I would not be changed, nor would I ever cease to be a Christian. Thereupon, he ordered us to go away to a village near the desert called Cephro.

V. Now, hear the very words which were spoken by both of us, as they were recorded in the official minutes. Upon the entrance of Dio^D

^A Dionysius, Faustus, Maximus, Marcellus, and Chaeremon, Aemilianus the prefect said: "I have spoken with you not only in writing, but also by word of mouth, concerning the humanity which our lords exercise toward you. For they have given you the power to preserve your own safety, provided that you are willing to turn to that which is according to nature, and to worship the gods who are the guardians of their empire, and to forget those things which are contrary to nature. What, then, do you say to this? For I hope that you will not be ungrateful for their clemency, inasmuch as they strive to lead you to better things." Dionysius replied: "Not all men worship all gods; but individuals worship those whom they deem to be gods. We, for our part, worship and adore the one God, the Maker of all things, who has entrusted the empire to the most God-beloved Augusti, Valerian and Gallienus. To Him we offer continuous prayers for their empire, that it may remain unshaken and firm." Aemilianus the prefect said again: "But who truly prohibits you from worshipping this one, if indeed he is God, along with those who are gods by nature? For you were ordered to worship gods, and those gods whom all men acknowledge." Dionysius replied: "We worship no one else." Aemilianus the prefect said: "I see that you are at once ungrateful and senseless, for you do not perceive the clemency of our Augusti. ^B Wherefore you shall not remain in this city, but you shall be sent to the parts of Libya, to a place called Cephro. For I have chosen this place by the command of our Augusti. And it shall in no wise be lawful for you, nor for any others whatsoever, to hold assemblies or to enter into those places called cemeteries. But if anyone should be found not having gone to this place which I have ordered, or if he be found in any assembly, he shall bring danger upon himself. For there shall be no lack of fitting punishment. Depart, therefore, where you have been commanded." And though I was ill, he urged me on, not giving me a reprieve of even a single day. ^C How, then, did I have any leisure, either to hold an assembly or not to hold one?

VI. Then, after some other matters, he adds: "But not even..." ^D

^A from the congregation of the Lord have we stood apart, but I gathered those in the city with greater zeal as though I were with them; absent, indeed, in body, as I said, but present in spirit. But at Cephro, a great multitude of the faithful also accompanied us; some of them had followed us from the city, others arrived from the rest of Egypt. There, too, God opened for us a door for the preaching of His word. At first, indeed, we were persecuted and stoned; but later, some few from among the Gentiles, having abandoned their idols, turned to God. For they had not received the word before, and it was then first dispersed among them through us. And it was as if God had led us to them for this very purpose; for when we had fulfilled this ministry, He led us away again. For Aemilianus intended to transfer us to areas that were harsher, as it seemed, and more Libyan; and he commanded all those gathered from everywhere into the Mareotic prefecture to betake themselves, assigning the villages scattered throughout that region to individuals. But he placed us, rather, near the public road, so that we might be seized first; for he was planning and contriving this specifically, that whenever he wished, he could easily capture us all."

VII. "As for me, when I was first ordered to depart to Cephro, although I did not know where that place was situated—since I had scarcely ever heard its name before—nevertheless, I went with a cheerful and steadfast mind. But when it was announced to me that I was to migrate to the region of Colluthion, those who were present then know how I was affected in my mind. For here I will accuse myself: at first ^C I was very troubled and vexed. For although that region was better known and more familiar to us than Cephro, yet the place was said to be destitute of brethren and upright men, and was exposed to the disturbances of travelers and the incursions of robbers. But it brought me much consolation that the brethren reminded me that the place was nearer to the city. And although Cephro had brought us a very great multitude of brethren gathering from Egypt, so that we could hold ^D our assemblies more spaciously, yet they said that there, on account of the proximity to the city, we would enjoy the sight of our most dear and closely united friends more frequently. For they would come and stay there; and as if in more remote suburbs, there would be particular assemblies there. And thus it came to pass."

VIII. And after other things, he writes to him again concerning the things that befell him: ^A “Germanus indeed prides himself on many confessions; he has many things to mention that happened to him, as many as he can enumerate concerning us: judgments, confiscations, proscriptions, plundering of goods, depositions from honors ^B, disregard of worldly glory, indifference to the praises of prefects and councilors; and, on the contrary, the endurance of threats, outcries, dangers, persecutions, wanderings, distress, and various afflictions—such as happened to me in the time of Decius and Sabinus, and what has come upon us to this very day under Aemilianus! But where did Germanus appear? What mention is made of him? But I desist from that great folly into which I fall because of Germanus; wherefore I leave it to the brethren who know the events to tell the tale.”

EPISTLE XI. — TO HERMAMMON

I. But neither did Gallus understand the wickedness of Decius, nor did he foresee what had ultimately ruined him; but he stumbled on the same stone that was placed before his own eyes. For when his empire was in a prosperous state and his affairs were proceeding according to his wishes, he ^C... ^D

^A persecuted the holy men who were beseeching God for his peace and health. Consequently, together with them, he also banished the prayers that were being offered on his own behalf.

II. To John, likewise, ^B it was similarly revealed. For he says: "And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority, and forty-two months." One may well marvel at how both of these things were fulfilled in Valerian, and above all, one must consider what manner of man he was before the persecution, and how gentle and kind he was toward the servants of God. For no other of the emperors before him was so favorably and kindly disposed toward them—not even those who were said to have been openly Christian—in the way he, at the beginning of his reign, appeared most familiar and most friendly in his reception of them; and his whole house was filled with pious men, and it was a church of God. But the master ^B and archisynagogue of the magicians from Egypt finally persuaded him to abandon this course.

^A He commanded that the chaste and holy men be arrested and persecuted, as they were adversaries and obstacles to [his] most impure and detestable incantations. For there were, and still are, those present who, merely by their presence, their gaze, or even by breathing and speaking, are able to disperse the plots of the wicked demons. He counseled him to perform unclean rites, abominable sorceries, and unholy sacrifices; to slaughter wretched children; to sacrifice the offspring of hapless parents; to rip open the bowels of the newborn; and to cut up and mince the creatures of God, [believing] that by such things he would achieve happiness. ^B

III. Afterwards he adds: "Macrianus, then, offered these acts as thanks for the hoped-for empire. He who formerly was called the collector of universal accounts for the emperor, held no reasonable or universal thought, but..." ^C

Notes by Valesius

(59) *Merely by breathing*. "Breathing" signifies what Prudentius used in his *Agon Romani*. For Christians were accustomed to breathe out—to "puff at"—demons and their illusions, temples, and idols, declaring by this sign that they abhorred this filth. Regarding this custom, Brissonius made many notes long ago in his commentary *ad tit. cod. Theod. de feriis*, and after him Heraldus in his notes on Minucius Felix. To this, I think, we should refer the passage of Dionysius in Eusebius, Book VI, ch. 41 (see above, epist. 3 to Fabius, no. 1), concerning Quinta, a Christian woman whom the pagans had dragged to the temple of idols, "turning away and spitting, etc." Similar to this are those words of Tertullian in his book *De anima*: "How much more worthy and constant is the assertion of Christian wisdom, to whose breath the whole power of demons yields?" And in his book *De idololatria*, ch. 11; finally, in *Apologeticus*, ch. 23.

(60) *Achieve happiness*. Our Mazarine and Medicean codices, along with Fuk. and Savil., read *εὐδαιμονήσοντας* more correctly, provided that one writes in the singular number *εὐδαιμονήσοντα*. For Dionysius here speaks only of Valerian.

(61) *Macrianus provided these gifts*. *Well, then, to them Macrianus*. "To them"—meaning to the demons, not to the emperors, as Christophorson thought. For this discourse is only about Valerian, as I have already said. Add that all sense of this passage perishes if Christophorson’s interpretation is retained. In our own version, the meaning is most clear: Macrianus, he says, when he had come to the hope of empire through the predictions and presages of demons, returned this favor to them, that he should arm Valerian against the Christians. Furthermore, in our codices Maz., Med., and Fuk., it is written *Μακριανός*, which is more correct. For thus do the writers of the *Historia Augusta* and ancient coins call this tyrant. Moreover, in an ancient Vatican codex which, at my request, the most learned Lucas Holstenius consulted, it is written *Μακριανός*, both in this place and in ch. 23.

(62) *Collector of universal accounts* (or "rationalis"). The Greeks use the term *καθόλου λόγων*, whom the Latins call *rationales*, or stewards of the chief account, as I have noted long ago in the excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus from Dio Cocceianus, p. 112. It is not necessary to repeat these things here. We will only add a notable passage of Porphyry in his *Life of Plotinus*, which has not been understood by the most learned interpreter. For Porphyry, speaking of a certain Thaumasius, says: "So that when a certain Thaumasius entered, who managed the *καθόλου λόγους* (universal accounts)." Furthermore, of which emperor Macrianus was the procurator is uncertain. For beware of thinking that he was Valerian's procurator.

(63) *Nor universal* (or "catholic"). Dionysius [uses this] in the name of *catholicos*, by which both the office of *rationalis* and the Christian religion are designated. Whence Optatus, in Book I, asserts that the Catholic faith is so named because it is *rationalis* (reasonable): "Where then will be the propriety of the name 'Catholic' when the Church is said to be Catholic because it is *rationalis* and diffused everywhere?" Although I am not easily persuaded that the Catholic religion is so called because it is *rationalis*. Nor does *καθολικός* simply and absolutely signify 'rational' unless the word *λογικός* (logical/rational) is understood. Furthermore, it is difficult to say when the name 'Catholic' first attached to the Church of God. In the letter of the Smyrnaeans concerning the martyrdom of the blessed Polycarp, mention is made of the 'Catholic Church.' Likewise in the Acts of the Passion of the martyr Pionius, who suffered in the reign of Decius Augustus: "Then Polemo said, 'Are you a Christian?' Pionius answered: 'I am indeed.' Polemo asked, 'Of what Church are you?' Pionius answered: 'Catholic: for there is no other with Christ.'" It appears, therefore, that this name was bestowed upon the Church around the first succession of the apostles, when heresies arose in many places and attempted to subvert the true faith of Christ and the tradition of the apostles. For then, as

^A he fell under the prophetic curse which says: *Woe to those who prophesy from their own heart, and who do not see the whole* (64). For he did not understand the universal Providence; nor did he consider in his mind the judgment of Him who is before all, and through all, and in all. Therefore, he became an enemy of His catholic Church; he alienated and estranged himself from the mercy of God; and he banished himself as far as possible from his own salvation (65), by this very act confirming the truth of his own name (66).

IV. And again, after some other things, he says: For Valerian, having been urged on to such deeds by this man, and having been given over to insults and reproaches according to what was said to Isaiah: *And they chose their own ways and their abominations, which their soul desired; and I will choose their mockeries, and I will repay them for their sins.* But he, having become frantically obsessed with the imperial power beyond his worth (67), and being unable to take up the imperial regalia because of his crippled body (68), set up his two sons as leaders, who took upon themselves the sins of their father; for the prophecy which God spoke is clearly fulfilled in them: *Repaying the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.* For he took his own ^B evil desires—which he had not been able to satisfy—and cast them upon the heads of his sons, wiping off upon them his own wickedness and his hatred toward God.

V. He (Macrianus) therefore, truly distinguished from the ^C true and genuine Church of Christ by the adulterous assemblies of the heretics, was deprived of the title of "catholic," which is attributed only to the orthodox Church.

EPISCOPI DIONYSII AD HERMAMMONEM

(64) *Woe to those who prophesy from their own heart, and who do not see the whole.* This passage exists in the book of Ezekiel cap. XIII. Which Jerome interprets thus: Woe to those who prophesy from their own heart, and see nothing at all. But our Dionysius explains the words of the prophet, or rather of the LXX interpreters, accommodating them to his own argument.

(65) *As far as possible from his own salvation.* So indeed Robertus Stephanus: who, although he is accustomed to follow the scripture of the King’s codex almost everywhere, nevertheless in this place preferred to follow the corrupted reading of the Medicean codex. But beyond doubt it should be written, as the Maz., Fuk., and Savilian codices prefer besides the King’s codex. Christophorsonus also reads it thus.

(66) *Confirming the truth of his own name.* Dionysius alludes to the name of Macrianus. For *Makran* means the same as "far off."

(67) *Having become frantically obsessed with imperial power beyond his worth.* Christophorsonus translates this passage very poorly, as he thought these things were spoken of Valerian, whereas they are spoken most clearly of Macrianus. For he previously said "Valerian, etc.," and then follows "and he, etc.," by which particles it is sufficiently declared that the discourse is about two men. Add to this that it cannot be said of Valerian that he was unworthy of an empire for which he so greatly longed. For Valerian was a most noble man, and prince of the city: and before he ruled, he was considered by the consensus of all ^D most worthy of the empire, as historians record. But Christophorsonus’s faulty version led Baronius into error as well.

(68) *With his crippled body.* Indeed John Zonaras writes in his Annals that Macrianus was lame: whom it would by no means be useless to consult in the history of those times. For he alone among the writers who have come down to us has accurately commemorated the deeds of Macrianus and his sons.

(69) *Which he had not been able to satisfy.* Thus the King’s codex has it, which Stephanus followed almost everywhere. In the remaining, Maz., Med., and Fuk., it is read more correctly, if I am not mistaken. For in truth Macrianus had attained that for which he had so greatly longed, namely, the empire. But since he was little suited for wearing the imperial insignia on account of his bodily weakness, he raised his sons to the empire. Deservedly, therefore, Dionysius says of him that he was *of which he had attained*, that is, he was master of his desires. But after these words of Dionysius concerning Macrianus, there followed immediately that passage which is read in the chapter of this book, etc. For both passages are transcribed from the epistle of Dionysius to Hermammon, written in the ninth year of the reign of Gallienus. To which should be added and prefixed the other passage from the same epistle, which is referred to in the chapter of this book. And thus, with all the fragments collected and rejoined, we shall have nearly the entire epistle of Dionysius to Hermammon.

(70) *He.* Writing to Hermammon and the brothers living in Egypt (Dionysius), after he discussed the wickedness of the emperor Decius and his successors, he makes mention of the peace that flourished during the reign of Gallienus with these words: *And that man, etc.* Regarding this kind of fragment, consult the observation of the illustrious Valesius on this passage.

(71) *Therefore.* Christophorsonus correctly observes that Macrianus is understood here, by whose treachery Valerian came into the power of the Persians.

having betrayed one of his own, and having brought war upon the other, he perished root and branch, and his entire family was quickly annihilated. Gallienus, however, was proclaimed and approved by the general consent of all, being at once an old emperor and a new one; prior to them, and surviving them even now. Just as it was said to the prophet Isaiah: ^A *The things from the beginning, behold, they have come; and new things which now shall arise* (Isa. XLII, 9; XIV, 19). For just as a cloud, passing under the rays of the sun and overcasting them for a little while, shadows it and appears in its place, but then, when the cloud has passed by or dispersed, the sun which had risen before appears again, having risen once more—so Macrianus, who had set himself ^B and approached the governing sovereignty of Gallienus: the one now does not exist, since he never really existed at all; but the other is the same as he was. And the sovereignty, as if it had put off old age and cleansed itself of the prevailing wickedness, now blooms more vigorously; it is seen and heard further away, and spreads everywhere. Then he signifies the time at which he wrote these things through these words: *And it comes to me again to consider the days of the imperial years. For I see that those who were named most impious, not long after have become nameless; ^C but the holier and more God-loving one, having passed the seven-year period, now completes the ninth year, in which we shall celebrate the Feast.*

EPISTLE XII. — TO THE ALEXANDRIANS.

^D To other men, this present time would not seem [index: entries preserved]

^A to be a season of festivity. Nor is it one for them, nor is any other, not only for those who are bereaved, but—I would venture to say—not even if one were particularly joyous. At present, everything is full of lamentation; everyone is mourning; and wailings resound through the city daily, because of the multitude of the dead and those who are dying. For as it is written concerning the firstborn of the Egyptians in the holy books, so too now has a great cry arisen; for there is no house in which there is not a corpse. And would that there were but one in each house!

II. ^B Many and grievous things indeed have happened to us before this calamity. First, they drove us out; and although we were being persecuted and put to death by all, even then we kept the feast. And every place where each of us suffered affliction became a festival site for us: field, desert, ship, inn, prison. But the perfect martyrs celebrated the most joyful feast of all, having been banqueted in heaven. After this, war and famine overtook us, which we endured in common with the heathen; we were the only ones who both suffered all that they did to us, and partook as well of what they did to and suffered from one another; and yet we were gladdened again by the peace of Christ, which He gave to us alone.

III. ^C When we and they had regained our breath for the briefest space, suddenly this pestilence swooped down upon us—a thing more fearful to them than any fear, and more miserable than any disaster; and as one of their own writers has said, it was the only thing of all that surpassed every hope and expectation. To us, however, it was not that; rather, it was an exercise and a testing, no less than all the others.

^A Nor did this plague abstain from us, but it spread most abundantly among the Gentiles. Regarding these, he adds: "Most of our brethren, through excessive love and brotherly affection, sparing not themselves and clinging to one another, visited the sick without fear, and diligently ministering to them, attending to them in Christ, they died together with them. Most willingly they took upon themselves the sickness of others, drawing the disease toward themselves from their neighbors, and voluntarily echoing their pains. And many who had cared for others, helping them to recover their health, died themselves, transferring the death of others to their own selves; and the common saying, which before seemed merely an expression of courtesy, they then fulfilled in action, departing as the offscouring ^B of all. In this manner the very best of our brethren—some of whom were presbyters, some deacons, and others highly praised from among the laity—departed this life; so that this manner of death, because it resulted from great piety and strong faith, was considered in no way inferior to martyrdom."

IV. ^C These, then, received the bodies of the saints in their open hands and on their laps, closing their eyes and mouths, carrying them upon their shoulders, composing their limbs, clinging to them, embracing them, and adorning them with washings and burial garments; shortly afterward, they themselves received the same services from others, as the survivors always followed the footsteps of those who had departed before them. But the Gentiles acted in the directly opposite manner; for they, as soon as those among them began to grow ill, ^D

themselves they were thrusting away, and they were fleeing from their dearest ones, and in the streets they were casting [their] half-dead, and they were casting out [their] unburied dead, averting themselves from the participation and society of death; which, however, despite using manifold caution and diligence, they could not avoid. ^A

EPISTOLA XIII. — TO HIERAX, BISHOP IN EGYPT.

I. But what is surprising, if it is grave and difficult for me to speak to men who are far removed even by letters, when it is also difficult for me to converse with myself and to counsel my own soul? Certainly, I have need of letters to be sent to my own viscera—to the companions and like-minded brethren and fellow-citizens of the same Church; and how I am to transmit them, I scarcely find. For it is easier for one—I will not say to travel outside the borders of the province, but to journey from the East to the furthest regions of the West—than to pass from the city of Alexandria itself to Alexandria. For that vast and pathless solitude, which the Israelites traversed in two generations, ^B is more vast and more pathless than the central street of the city. But those quiet and placid ports of the city exhibit an image of that sea which, once cleft and strengthened on either side like two walls, provided a passage for the Israelites, but engulfed the Egyptians in that very path. For, on account of the frequent slaughters of men perpetrated there, they were like that Red Sea. But the river which washes the city itself sometimes appeared drier and more squalid than that thirsty desert, through which the Israelites journeyed, *being so oppressed by* such *thirst, that they did not cease to cry out against Moses,* until, by the power of Him who alone does wonders, out of a jagged rock water ^C burst forth for them[.]

had flowed forth for drinking. Sometimes, however, it surged to such a degree that, pouring over the surrounding region and all the roads and fields, it seemed to threaten a deluge of waters of the sort that occurred in the times of Noah.

^B Furthermore, it is always being defiled by murders, killings, and submergings, just as it was once rendered by Moses to Pharaoh, having been turned into blood and having become putrid. And what water could exist to purify water, by which all things are purified? How could the vast and infinite ocean, if poured upon men, wash away this bitter sea? Or how could that great river which flows out of Eden—even if it were to channel into the single bed of the Gihon the four branches into which it is divided—wash away such gore? And when will the air, clouded from all sides by wicked fumes, finally be restored to purity and serenity? For such are the vapors from the earth, the winds from the sea, the breezes from the rivers, and the miasmas from the harbors that scent the air, that the very dews are like the putrefaction of corpses rotting in all the elements beneath. And after these things, men wonder and are at a loss as to whence come the continuous plagues, whence the grievous diseases, whence the sundry corruptions, and whence the manifold and great destruction of mankind; why the greatest city no longer bears so great a multitude of inhabitants, starting from infants up to those who have reached old age, as many as it formerly nurtured and called "raw-elders." But those of forty and up to seventy years of age were so much more numerous then, that their number now cannot be filled, although those from fourteen years old up to eighty are also enrolled and reckoned for the public grain dole. And those who are in appearance quite young have now become in a certain way the equals of those who were once called elders. And seeing the human race upon the earth so greatly diminished and consumed, as their destruction increases and grows day by day, they do not tremble. ^C

LETTER XIV

Dionysius of Alexandria, from the fourth festal epistle.

^D Charity is prompt to benefit all, and [alt-version omitted]