Part I, Chapter 14, 3

Gregory Nyssen, another eminent Monk and Bishop, in the life of Ephræm Syrus, tells how a certain man returning from a far country was in great danger, because all the roads were held by the armies of barbarous nations; but upon calling on Ephræm by name, and saying, "Holy Ephræm, assist me," he escaped the danger, set aside his fear of death, and beyond his hope got safely home. At the end of this Oration Gregory calls upon Ephræm in these words: "But you, O Ephræm, assisting now at the divine altar, and sacrificing to the Prince of life, and to the most holy Trinity, together with the Angels, remember us all, and obtain for us the pardon of our sins, that we may enjoy the eternal happiness of the kingdom of heaven." The same Gregory, in his Oration on the Martyr Theodorus written A.C. 381, thus describes the power of that Martyr, and the practice of the people. "This Martyr," he says, "last year quieted the barbarous tempest, and put a stop to the horrid war of the fierce and cruel Scythians. If any one is permitted to carry away the dust with which the tomb is covered, in which the body of the Martyr rests, the dust is accepted as a gift, and gathered to be laid by as a thing of great price. For to touch the relics themselves, if that happy fortune should ever befall anyone, how great a favor that is, and not to be obtained without the most earnest prayers, they know well who have obtained it. For as with a living and flourishing body, those who look it embrace it, applying to it the eyes, mouth, ears, and all the organs of sense; and then with affection pouring tears upon the Martyr, as if he were whole and had appeared to them, they offer prayers with supplication that he would intercede for them as an advocate, praying to him as an Officer attending upon God, and invoking him as receiving gifts whenever he will." At length Gregory concludes the Oration with this prayer: "O Theodorus, we want many blessings; intercede and beseech for your country before the common King and Lord: for the country of the Martyr is the place of his passion, and his citizens, brethren and kindred, are those who have him, defend, adorn and honor him. We fear afflictions, we expect dangers: the wicked Scythians are not far off, ready to make war against us. As a soldier fight for us; as a Martyr speak boldly on behalf of your fellow servants. Pray for peace, that these public meetings may not cease, that the furious and wicked barbarian may not rage against the temples and altars, that the profane and impious may not trample upon the holy things. We acknowledge it as a benefit received from you, that we are preserved safe and whole; we pray for freedom from danger in time to come: and if there shall be need of greater intercession and deprecation, call together the choir of your brethren the Martyrs, and in conjunction with them all intercede for us. Let the prayers of many righteous ones atone for the sins of the multitudes and the people; exhort Peter, excite Paul, and also John the divine and beloved disciple, that they may be solicitous for the Churches which they have established, for which they have been in chains, for which they have undergone dangers and deaths; that the worship of idols may not lift up its head against us, that heresies may not spring up like thorns in the vineyard, that tares grown up may not choke the wheat, that no rock void of the fatness of true dew may stand against us, and leave the fruitful power of the word without a root; but by the power of the prayers of yourself and your companions, O admirable man and eminent among the Martyrs, the commonwealth of Christians may become a field of corn." The same Gregory Nyssen, in his sermon upon the death of Meletius Bishop of Antioch, preached at Constantinople the same year, A.C. 381, before the Bishops of all the East assembled in the second general Council, spoke thus of Meletius: "The Bridegroom," he says, "is not taken from us: he stands in the midst of us, though we do not see him: he is a Priest in the innermost places, and face to face intercedes before God for us and the sins of the people." This was no oratorical flourish, but Gregory's real opinion, as may be understood from what we have cited from him concerning Ephræm and Theodorus: and as Gregory preached this before the Council of Constantinople, you may know from it, says⁶ Baronius, that he professed what the whole Council, and with it the whole Church of those parts believed, namely, that the Saints in heaven offer prayers for us before God.

Ephræm Syrus, another eminent Monk, who was contemporary with Basil, and died the same year; at the end of his Encomium or Oration upon Basil then newly dead, invokes him in this way: "Intercede for me, a very miserable man; and call me back by your intercessions, O father; you who are strong, pray for me who am weak; you who are diligent, for me who am negligent; you who are cheerful, for me who am heavy; you who are wise, for me who am foolish. You who have treasured up a treasure of every virtue, be a guide to me who am empty of every good work." At the beginning of his Encomium upon the forty Martyrs, written at the same time, he thus invokes them: "Help me therefore, O Saints, with your intercession; and O beloved, with your holy prayers, that Christ by his grace may direct my tongue to speak," etc. And afterwards, mentioning the mother of one of these forty Martyrs, he concludes the Oration with this prayer: "I entreat you, O holy, faithful, and blessed woman, pray for me to the Saints, saying: Intercede, you who triumph in Christ, for the lowliest and most miserable Ephræm, that he may find mercy, and by the grace of Christ may be saved." Again, in his second Sermon or Oration on the praises of the holy Martyrs of Christ, he thus addresses them: "We entreat you most holy Martyrs, to intercede with the Lord for us miserable sinners, beset with the filthiness of negligence, that he would infuse his divine grace into us," and afterwards, near the end of the same discourse: "Now you most holy men and glorious Martyrs of God, help me a miserable sinner with your prayers, that in that dreadful hour I may obtain mercy, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest. I am today become to you, most holy Martyrs of Christ, as it were an unprofitable and unskillful cup-bearer: for I have delivered to the sons and brothers of your faith a cup of the excellent wine of your warfare, with the excellent table of your victory, replenished with all sorts of dainties. I have endeavored, with the whole affection and desire of my mind, to refresh your fathers and brothers, kinsfolk and relations, who come daily to the table. For look they sing, and with exultation and jubilee glorify God, who has crowned your virtues by setting on your most sacred heads incorruptible and cefor fear thatial crowns; they with excessive joy stand about the sacred relics of your martyrdoms, wishing for a blessing, and desiring to bear away holy medicines both for the body and the mind. As good disciples and faithful ministers of our gracious Lord and Savior, bestow therefore a blessing on them all: and on me also, though weak and feeble, who having received strength by your merits and intercessions, have with the whole devotion of my mind sung a hymn to your praise and glory before your holy relics. Therefore I beseech you stand before the throne of the divine Majesty for me Ephræm, a vile and miserable sinner, that by your prayers I may deserve to obtain salvation, and with you enjoy eternal felicity by the grace and goodness and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit be praise, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

By what has been cited from Basil, the two Gregories and Ephræm, we may understand that Saint-worship was established among the Monks and their admirers in Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Cappadocia before the year 378, this being the year in which Basil and Ephræm died. Chrysostom was not much later; he preached at Antioch almost all the time of Theodosius the great, and in his Sermons are many exhortations to this sort of superstition, as may be seen at the end of his Orations on S. Julia, on St. Pelagia, on the Martyr Ignatius, on the Egyptian Martyrs, on Fate and Providence, on the Martyrs in general, on St. Berenice and St. Prosdoce, on Juventinus and Maximus, on the name of Coemetery, etc. Thus in his Sermon on Berenice and Prosdoce: "Perhaps," he says, "you are inflamed with no small love toward these Martyrs; therefore with this ardor let us fall down before their relics, let us embrace their coffins. For the coffins of the Martyrs have great virtue, even as the bones of the Martyrs have great power. Nor let us only on the day of this festival, but also on other days apply to them, invoke them, and beseech them to be our patrons: for they have great power and efficacy, not only while alive, but also after death; and much more after death than before. For now they bear the marks or brands of Christ; and when they show these marks, they can obtain all things of the King. Seeing therefore they abound with such efficacy, and have so much friendship with him, we also, when by continual attendance and unceasing visitation of them we have won our way into their familiarity, may by their assistance obtain the mercy of God."

Constantinople was free from these superstitions till Gregory Nazianzen came there A.D. 379; but in a few years it too was inflamed with them. Ruffinus⁷ tells us that when the Emperor Theodosius was setting out against the tyrant Eugenius, which was in the year 394, he went about with the Priests and people to all the places of prayer; lay prostrate in haircloth before the shrines of the Martyrs and Apostles, and prayed for assistance by the intercession of the Saints. Sozomen⁸ adds that when the Emperor had marched seven miles from Constantinople against Eugenius, he went into a Church which he had built to John the Baptist, and invoked the Baptist for his assistance. Chrysostom⁹ says: "He that is clothed in purple approaches to embrace these tombs; and laying aside his dignity, stands supplicating the Saints to intercede for him with God: and he who goes crowned with a diadem offers his prayers to the tent-maker and the fisherman as his advocates." And in¹⁰ another place: "The cities run together to the tombs of the Martyrs, and the people are inflamed with the love of them."

This practice of sending relics from place to place to work miracles, and by that inflaming the devotion of the nations toward the dead Saints and their relics, and setting up the religion of invoking their souls, lasted only till the middle of the reign of the Emperor Theodosius the great; for he then prohibited it by the following Edict: "Let no one move a buried body to another place; let no one divide a Martyr, let no one buy one. But where any saint lies buried in any place, they shall have power, in honor of him, to add whatever buildings they wish, so that it may be called a Martyrium. Given four days before the Kalends of March at Constantinople, Honorius, noble youth, and Evodius being Consuls, A.C. 386." After this they filled the fields and highways with altars erected to Martyrs, which they claimed to have discovered by dreams and revelations: and this occasioned the making of the fourteenth Canon of the fifth Council of Carthage, A.C. 398. "It has likewise been decreed that altars, which are set up everywhere through fields or roads as memorials of Martyrs, and in which no body or relics of Martyrs are shown to be buried, be thrown down by the Bishops who preside over those places, if this can be done. If this is not allowed because of popular tumults, yet the people are to be warned not to frequent those places, so that those who think rightly may not be held bound by any superstition there. And in general no memorial of Martyrs shall be accepted as genuine, unless either there is a body or some certain relics there, or unless the origin of some dwelling, or possession, or passion is handed down from a most trustworthy source. For altars set up everywhere through dreams, and through empty pseudo-revelations of any men whatever, are to be rejected entirely." These altars were for invoking the Saints or Martyrs buried or pretended to be buried under them. First they filled the Churches in all places with the relics or pretended relics of the Martyrs, for invoking them in the Churches; and then they filled the fields and highways with altars, for invoking them everywhere: and this new religion was set up by the Monks in all the Greek Empire before the expedition of the Emperor Theodosius against Eugenius, and I think before his above-mentioned Edict, A.C. 386.

The same religion of worshiping Mahuzzims quickly spread into the Western Empire as well: but Daniel in this Prophecy describes chiefly the things done among the nations comprehended in the body of his third Beast.

Notes to Chap. XIV.

1 Chap. xi. 38, 39

2 Orat. de vita Greg. Thaumaturg. T. 3. p. 574.

3 Vide Hom. 47. in. S. Julian.

4 Epist. 27. ad Eustochium.

5 Edit. Frontonis Ducæi, Tom. 1.

6 Ad. an. 381, Sect. 41.

7 Hist. Eccl. l. 2. c. 23.

8 L. 4. c. 24.

9 Hom. 66. ad. populum, circa finem. & Hom. 8, 27. in Matth. Hom. 42, 43. in Gen. Hom. 1. in 1 Thess.

10 Exposit. in Psal. 114. sub finem.

The end of the first Part.

PART II.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE APOCALYPSE OF St. JOHN.

Gregory Nyssen, another well-known monk and bishop, tells in the life of Ephræm Syrus how a certain man returning from a far country was in great danger, because all the roads were blocked by the armies of barbarian nations. But when he called on Ephræm by name and said, "Holy Ephræm, help me," he escaped the danger, put the fear of death behind him, and got home safely against all hope. At the end of this speech Gregory calls on Ephræm in these words: "But you, O Ephræm, who assist now at the divine altar, and sacrifice to the Prince of life, and to the most holy Trinity, together with the Angels, remember us all, and win for us pardon of our sins, that we may enjoy the eternal happiness of the kingdom of heaven." The same Gregory, in his Oration on the Martyr Theodorus, written A.C. 381, describes the power of that Martyr and the practice of the people in this way. This Martyr, he says, last year calmed the barbarian storm and put a stop to the horrid war of the fierce and cruel Scythians.—If anyone is allowed to carry away the dust that covers the tomb where the body of the Martyr rests, the dust is accepted as a gift and gathered up to be kept as something of great value. For to touch the relics themselves, if that good fortune should ever happen, how great a favor that is, and how impossible to get without the most earnest prayers, they know well who have obtained it. For just as with a living, healthy body, those who look it embrace it, bringing to it their eyes, mouth, ears, and all the organs of sense; and then pour tears of affection on the Martyr, as if he were whole and had appeared to them: so they offer prayers, asking him to intercede for them as an advocate, praying to him as an officer attending upon God, and calling on him as one who receives gifts whenever he will. At length Gregory ends the Oration with this prayer: "O Theodorus, we are in need of many blessings; intercede and plead for your country before the common King and Lord: for the country of the Martyr is the place of his suffering, and they are his citizens, brothers and kindred, who have him, defend, adorn and honor him. We fear afflictions, we expect dangers: the wicked Scythians are not far off, ready to make war against us. As a soldier fight for us, as a Martyr speak freely for your fellow servants. Pray for peace, that these public meetings may not stop, that the furious and wicked barbarian may not rage against the temples and altars, that the profane and impious may not trample on the holy things. We take it as a benefit received from you, that we are kept safe and whole; we pray for freedom from danger in time to come: and if a stronger plea is needed to turn away the harm, gather the choir of your brethren the Martyrs, and together with them all intercede for us. Let the prayers of many righteous ones pay for the sins of the multitudes and the people; urge Peter, stir up Paul, and also John the divine and beloved disciple, that they may care for the Churches which they have planted, for which they have been in chains, for which they have undergone dangers and deaths; that the worship of idols may not lift its head against us, that heresies may not spring up like thorns in the vineyard, that tares grown up may not choke the wheat, that no rock lacking the richness of the true dew may stand against us, and leave the fruitful power of the word without a root; but by the power of the prayers of you and your companions, O admirable man and eminent among the Martyrs, the community of Christians may become a field of corn."

The same Gregory Nyssen, in his sermon on the death of Meletius Bishop of Antioch, preached at Constantinople the same year, A.C. 381, before the Bishops of all the East assembled in the second general Council, spoke thus of Meletius: "The Bridegroom, he says, is not taken from us: he stands in the midst of us, though we do not see him: he is a Priest in the innermost places, and face to face intercedes before God for us and the sins of the people." This was no display of eloquence, but Gregory's real opinion, as may be understood from what we have quoted from him about Ephræm and Theodorus: and since Gregory preached this before the Council of Constantinople, you may know from it, says⁶ Baronius, that he professed what the whole Council, and with it the whole Church of those parts believed, namely, that the Saints in heaven offer prayers for us before God.

Ephræm Syrus, another well-known monk, was a contemporary of Basil and died the same year; at the end of his Encomium or Oration upon Basil, then newly dead, he calls on him in these words: "Intercede for me, a very miserable man; and call me back through your intercessions, O father; you who are strong, pray for me who am weak; you who are diligent, for me who am lazy; you who are cheerful, for me who am downcast; you who are wise, for me who am foolish. You who have treasured up a store of every virtue, be a guide to me who have no good work in me." At the beginning of his Encomium upon the forty Martyrs, written at the same time, he calls on them in this way: "Help me then, O Saints, with your intercession; and, O beloved, with your holy prayers, that Christ by his grace may guide my tongue to speak," etc. Later, mentioning the mother of one of these forty Martyrs, he ends the Oration with this prayer: "I beg you, O holy, faithful and blessed woman, pray for me to the Saints, saying: You who triumph in Christ, intercede for the lowliest and most miserable Ephræm, that he may find mercy, and by the grace of Christ may be saved." Again, in his second Sermon or Oration on the praises of the holy Martyrs of Christ, he addresses them in this way: "We ask you most holy Martyrs to intercede with the Lord for us miserable sinners, covered in the filth of negligence, that he would pour his divine grace into us:" and later, near the end of the same speech: "Now you most holy men and glorious Martyrs of God, help me a miserable sinner with your prayers, that in that dreadful hour I may obtain mercy, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made plain. I have become today to you, most holy Martyrs of Christ, like a useless and unskillful cup-bearer: for I have handed to the sons and brothers of your faith a cup of the excellent wine of your warfare, with the excellent table of your victory, filled with all kinds of delicacies. I have tried, with all the affection and desire of my mind, to delight your fathers and brothers, kindred and relations, who come daily to the table. For see, they sing, and with joy and celebration glorify God, who has crowned your virtues by setting on your most sacred heads incorruptible and heavenly crowns; they stand around the sacred relics of your martyrdoms with great joy, wishing for a blessing, and wanting to carry away holy medicines both for the body and the mind. As good disciples and faithful ministers of our kind Lord and Savior, give therefore a blessing to them all: and to me also, though weak and feeble, who having received strength by your merits and intercessions, have with all the devotion of my mind sung a hymn to your praise and glory before your holy relics. So I beg you to stand before the throne of the divine Majesty for me, Ephræm, a vile and miserable sinner, that by your prayers I may deserve to obtain salvation, and with you enjoy eternal happiness through the grace and kindness and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be praise, honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

From what has been quoted from Basil, the two Gregories and Ephræm, we may understand that the worship of Saints was established among the Monks and their admirers in Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Cappadocia before the year 378, this being the year in which Basil and Ephræm died. Chrysostom was not much later; he preached at Antioch almost all the time of Theodosius the great, and his Sermons contain many encouragements to this kind of superstition, as may be seen at the end of his Orations on S. Julia, on St. Pelagia, on the Martyr Ignatius, on the Egyptian Martyrs, on Fate and Providence, on the Martyrs in general, on St. Berenice and St. Prosdoce, on Juventinus and Maximus, on the name of Coemetery, etc. Thus in his Sermon on Berenice and Prosdoce: "Perhaps, he says, you are inflamed with no small love towards these Martyrs; therefore with this ardor let us fall down before their relics, let us embrace their coffins. For the coffins of the Martyrs have great virtue, just as the bones of the Martyrs have great power. And let us not only on the day of this festival, but also on other days turn to them, call on them, and beg them to be our patrons: for they have great power and effect, not only while alive, but also after death; and much more after death than before. For now they bear the marks or brands of Christ; and when they show these marks, they can obtain all things from the King. Since then they abound with such power, and have so much friendship with him; we also, when by steady attendance and constant visits we have won a place in their friendship, may by their help obtain the mercy of God."

Constantinople was free of these superstitions until Gregory Nazianzen came there A.D. 379; but in a few years it too was caught up in them. Ruffinus⁷ tells us that when the Emperor Theodosius was setting out against the tyrant Eugenius, in the year 394, he went around with the Priests and people to all the places of prayer; lay prostrate in haircloth before the shrines of the Martyrs and Apostles, and prayed for help through the intercession of the Saints. Sozomen⁸ adds that when the Emperor had marched seven miles from Constantinople against Eugenius, he went into a Church he had built to John the Baptist, and called on the Baptist for his help. Chrysostom⁹ says: "He who is clothed in purple comes to embrace these tombs; and laying aside his dignity, stands begging the Saints to intercede for him with God: and he who goes crowned with a diadem offers his prayers to the tent-maker and the fisherman as his advocates." And in¹⁰ another place: "The cities run together to the tombs of the Martyrs, and the people are inflamed with love for them."

This practice of sending relics from place to place to work miracles, and so inflaming the devotion of the nations towards the dead Saints and their relics, and setting up the practice of calling on their souls, lasted only until the middle of the reign of the Emperor Theodosius the great; for he then banned it with the following Edict: "Let no one move a buried body to another place; let no one break up a Martyr, let no one buy or sell one: but they shall have the power, if any saint is buried in any place, to add to it, in his honor, whatever buildings they wish, to be called a Martyr's shrine. Given at Constantinople on the 4th before the Kalends of March, Honorius, our noble boy, and Euodius being consuls, A.C. 386." After that they filled the fields and highways with altars set up to Martyrs, which they claimed to have found through dreams and revelations: and this led to the making of the fourteenth Canon of the fifth Council of Carthage, A.C. 398: "It was also agreed that altars set up everywhere through fields or roads, as if they were memorials of Martyrs, in which no body or relics of Martyrs are shown to be buried, shall be torn down by the bishops in charge of those places, if it can be done. If this is not allowed because of uproar among the people, the people shall at least be warned not to visit those places, so that those who think rightly are not held bound by any superstition there. And no memorial of a Martyr shall be accepted as genuine unless there is a body or certain relics there, or unless the origin of some dwelling, possession or suffering is passed down on the most trustworthy account. For altars set up everywhere through dreams and empty, seeming revelations of any people whatever are to be rejected entirely." These altars were for calling on the Saints or Martyrs buried, or claimed to be buried, under them. First they filled the Churches everywhere with the relics, or pretended relics, of the Martyrs, to call on them in the Churches; and then they filled the fields and highways with altars, to call on them everywhere: and this new religion was set up by the Monks in all the Greek Empire before the expedition of the Emperor Theodosius against Eugenius, and I think before his above-mentioned Edict, A.C. 386.

The same religion of worshiping Mahuzzims quickly spread into the Western Empire too: but Daniel in this Prophecy describes chiefly the things done among the nations included in the body of his third Beast.

Notes to Chap. XIV.

1 Chap. xi. 38, 39

2 Orat. de vita Greg. Thaumaturg. T. 3. p. 574.

3 Vide Hom. 47. in. S. Julian.

4 Epist. 27. ad Eustochium.

5 Edit. Frontonis Ducæi, Tom. 1.

6 Ad. an. 381, Sect. 41.

7 Hist. Eccl. l. 2. c. 23.

8 L. 4. c. 24.

9 Hom. 66. ad. populum, circa finem. & Hom. 8, 27. in Matth. Hom. 42, 43. in Gen. Hom. 1. in 1 Thess.

10 Exposit. in Psal. 114. sub finem.

The end of the first Part.

PART II.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE APOCALYPSE OF St. JOHN.