[527:3] See Period I. sec. i. chap. 10. p. 157.

[527:4] Thus Dr Burton says that “the Epistles of St John were composed in the latter part of Domitian’s reign.”—­Lectures, i. 382.  Jerome was evidently of this opinion, for he says that, in his First Epistle, he refers to Cerinthus and Ebion, who appeared towards the close of the first century.  “Jam tunc haereticorum semina pullularent Cerinthi, Ebionis, et caeterorum qui negant Christum in carne venisse, quos et ipse in Epistola sua Antichristos vocat.”—­Proleg. in Comment, super Matthaeum.

[528:1] 2 John 1.

[528:2] 3 John 1.

[528:3] Epist. ci.  “Ad Evangelum.”

[528:4] Period II. sec. iii. chap. 5. p. 500.

[528:5] Sec. 1.

[528:6] The reader may find the quotations in the preceding chapter, pp. 501, 502.

[528:7] Thus Milner says that “so far as one may judge by Clement’s Epistle,” the Church of Corinth, when the letter was written, had Church governors “only of two ranks,” presbyters and deacons.—­Hist. of the Church, cent. ii. chap. 1.

[528:8] As the letter supplies no trace whatever of the existence of a bishop in the Church to which it is addressed, Pearson is sadly puzzled by its testimony, and gravely advances the supposition that the bishop of Philippi must have been dead when Polycarp wrote!  “Vindiciae Ignatianae,” pars ii. cap. 13.  Rothe is equally perplexed by the Epistle of Clement.  He says that “in the whole Epistle there is never any reference to a bishop of the Corinthian community,” and he admits that, when the letter was written, “the Corinthian community had no bishop at all;” but, to support his favourite theory, he contends, like Pearson, that the bishop of Corinth must also have been dead!  “Die Anfange der Christlichen Kirche,” pp. 403, 404.  Strange that the bishop of Corinth and the bishop of Philippi both happened to be dead at the only time that their existence would have been of any historical value, and that no reference is made either to them or their successors!

[529:1] See Euseb. iv. c. 11.

[529:2] Euseb. in. 32, and iv. 22.

[529:3] Euseb. iii. 32.  It was probably immediately after the election of Marcus, as bishop of Jerusalem, that Thebuthis became a heretic.  See Euseb. iv. 22.  About that time the sect of the Nazarenes originated.

[530:1] Origen, “Contra Celsum,” iii.  Sec. 10, Opera, i. 453, 454.

[530:2] “Dialogue with Trypho,” Opera, p. 253.

[530:3] “Contra Haeres.” i. 27, Sec. 1.

[530:4] “Strom.” p. 764.

[530:5] Epist. lxxiv.  Opera, p. 293.  The ancient writers speak of all the early schismatics as heretics.  Thus Novatian, though sound in the faith, is so described.  Cyprian, Epist. lxxvi. p. 315.  When, therefore, Jerome speaks of the early schismatics he obviously refers to the heretics.  Irenaeus says of them—­“Scindunt et separant unitatem ecclesiae.”—­Lib. iv. c. xxvi.  Sec. 2.  In like manner Cyprian represents “heresies and schisms” as making their appearance after the apostolic age, and as inseparably connected.  “Cum haereses et schismata postmodum nata sint, dum conventicula sibi diversa constituunt.”—­De Unitate Eccles., Opera, p. 400.