Saint John of Damascus

Saint John of Damascus (also known as Doctor of Christian Art; Jean Damascene; Johannes Damascenus; John Chrysorrhoas ("golden-stream"); John Damascene) was born in 676 A.D. at Damascus, Syria. His father, though a Christian, was esteemed by his Saracen countrymen, and was the chief financial officer for the Muslim caliph, Abdul Malek. 

John was educated by  a captured Italian monk named Cosmas. Between the Christian learning of the monk, and that of the Muslim schools, John became highly educated in the classical fields such as geometry, literature, logic, rhetoric, and more. After his father's death he was made chief councilor of Damascus.

Saint John defended the use of icons and images in churches through a series of letters opposing the anti-icon decrees of Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and retired to the monastery of Saint Sabas, near Jerusalem, where he was ordained priest by John V, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Saint John was anathematized by name by the Council of Constantinople in 754 over his defense of the use of icons, but he was later defended by the Seventh Council of Nicea in 787. 

Saint John of Damascus wrote “The Fountain of Wisdom”, the first real compilation of Christian theology, along with other works defending the orthodox faith, commentaries on Saint Paul, poetry, and hymns. He was a philosopher and an orator, and he was such an excellent speaker he was known as Chrysorrhoas ("golden-stream"). He adapted choral music for use in the liturgy.

Saint John is considered the last of the Greek Fathers of the Church, and he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1890 by Pope Leo XIII.

Saint John of Damascus died of natural causes in 749 in Jerusalem.

Saint Cyprian of Carthage - Bishop, Martyr, and Early Church Father

Saint Cyprian of Carthage (also called Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus) is a Latin Father of the Church.

Cyprian's writings are of great importance and following Tertullian, he was the second great Christian Latin writer. Of his numerous writings, Saint Jerome said “it is unnecessary to make a catalog of the works of his genius, since they are more conspicuous than the sun”.

The persecution of the Church by the Roman Emperor Decius began around 250, and Saint Cyprian lived in hiding. He secretly ministered to his flock and his enemies condemned him for being a coward and not standing up for his faith. Because the persecutions of Decius had been so severe many Christians fell away from the faith. The question of the reconciliation of lapsed Christians with the Church had given rise to the custom of admitting them to Communion if a martyr requested this favor for them. Cyprian at first opposed the practice, but the sincerity of their contrition caused him to relent.

This gave rise to the schism of the deacon Felicissimus who opposed readmitting any who had apostatized. Upon returning to Carthage in 251 Cyprian excommunicated the leaders who opposed reconciliation for those returning to the Church. He supported Pope Cornelius against the anti-pope Novatian.

In the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Valerian, he was exiled to Curubis in 257, then brought back to Carthage and was martyred by beheading in 258. His name occurs in the Communicantes in the Canon of the Mass.

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The following is from Saint Jerome's "Lives of Illustrious Men" in regard to Saint Cyprian:

"Cyprian the Bishop - Cyprian of Africa, at first was famous as a teacher of rhetoric, and afterwards on, the persuasion of the presbyter Caecilius, from whom he received his surname, he became a Christian, and gave all his substance to the poor. Not long after he was inducted into the presbytery, and was also made bishop of Carthage. It is unnecessary to make a catalogue of the works of his genius, since they are more conspicuous than the sun.

He was put to death under the Emperors Valerian and Gallienus, in the eighth persecution, on the same day that Cornelius was put to death at Rome, but not in the same year."

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The following are a few quotations from some writings, a letter, and a sermon by Saint Cyprian of Carthage:

You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother.... God is one and Christ is one, and his Church is one; one is the faith, and one is the people cemented together by harmony into the strong unity of a body.... If we are the heirs of Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ; if we are the sons of God, let us be lovers of peace.

Saint Cyprian, from The Unity of the Catholic Church

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Whatever a man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself.

Saint Cyprian

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Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides of death always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love, that if one of us, by the swiftness of divine condescension, shall go hence the first, our love may continue in the presence of the Lord, and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not cease in the presence of the Father's mercy.

Saint Cyprian from Letters, 253

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You who are envious, let me tell you that however often you may seek for the opportunity of injuring him whom you hate, you will never be able to do him so much harm as you do harm to yourselves.

He whom you would punish through the malice of your envy, may probably escape, but you will never be able to fly from yourselves. Wherever you may be your adversary is with you, your sin rankles within. It must be a self-willed evil to persecute a person whom God has taken under the protection of His grace; it becomes an irremedial sin to hate a man whom God wishes to make happy.

Envy is as prolific as it is hurtful; it is the root of all evil, the source of endless disorder and misery, the cause of most sins that are committed. Envy gives birth to hatred and animosity. From it avarice is begotten, for it sees with an evil eye honors and emoluments heaped upon a stranger, and thinks that such honors should have been, by right, bestowed upon himself. From envy comes contempt of God, and of the salutary precepts of our Savior.

The envious man is cruel, proud, unfaithful, impatient, and quarrelsome; and, what is strange, when this vice gains the mastery, he is no longer master of himself, and he is unable to correct his many faults. If the bond of peace is broken, if the rights of fraternal charity are violated, if truth is altered or disguised, it is often envy that hurries him on to crime.

What happiness can such a man enjoy in this world? To be envious or jealous of another, because such a one is virtuous and happy, is to hate in him the graces and blessings God has showered down upon him.

Does he not punish himself when he sees the success and welfare of others? Does he not draw down upon himself tortures from which there is no respite? Are not his thoughts, his mind, constantly on the rack?

He pitilessly punishes himself, and, in his heart, performs the same cruel office which Divine Justice reserves for the chastisement of the greatest criminal.

Saint Cyprian

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Lastly, the following is from the "Acts of the Martyrdom of Saint Cyprian" by Saint Pontius:

On the morning of the 14th of September, a great crowd gathered at the Villa Sexti, in accordance with the order of the governor Galerius Maximus. That same day the governor commanded Bishop Cyprian to be brought before him for trial. After Cyprian was brought in, the governor asked him, "Are you Thascius Cyprian?"

The bishop replied, "Yes, I am."

The governor Galerius Maximus said, "You have set yourself up as an enemy of the gods of Rome and our religious practices. You have been discovered as the author and leader of these heinous crimes, and will consequently be held forth as an example for all those who have followed you in your crime. By your blood the law shall be confirmed." Next he read the sentence from a tablet. "It is decided that Cyprian should die by the sword."

Cyprian responded, "Thanks be to God!"

After the sentence was passed, a crowd of his fellow Christians said, "We should also be killed with him!" There arose an uproar among the Christians, and a great mob followed after him. Cyrprian was then brought out to the grounds of the Villa Sexti, where, taking off his outer cloak and kneeling on the ground, he fell before the Lord in prayer. He removed his dalmatic and gave it to the deacons, and then stood erect while waiting for the executioner. When the executioner arrived, Cyprian told his friends to give the man 25 gold pieces.

The most blessed martyr Cyprian suffered on the 14th of September under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus, in the reign of our true Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong honor and glory for ever. Amen.

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop, Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a Latin Father of the Church, and Doctor of the Church, was born in Poitiers, Gaul (France), around 300-315 A.D (sources vary, many say his birth year cannot be accurately determined, yet was near the end of the third century A.D.). His parents were wealthy pagan nobility and Hilary was raised as a polytheist. He apparently received a good education, which included the study of Greek, which was a rare thing in the education of someone from the west. Hilary is sometimes referred to as “Hammer of the Arians” and “Athanasius of the West”.

Hilary's early life was uneventful as he married, had children (including Saint Abra), and studied on his own. He began to realize the absurdity of polytheism, and through his studies he came to believe in salvation through good works, and then monotheism. He set about learning what God is, and after some research into the nature of God, he was convinced that there can be only one God. His studies led him to read the Bible for the first time, where he literally read himself into the faith, and was converted by the end of the New Testament. He was baptized, and by his endeavors to confirm others in the faith and to encourage them to virtue, though a layman, that he seemed already to possess the grace of the priesthood. Saint Hilary lived the faith so well he was made bishop of Poitiers in 353, even though he was married and a father (the concept of clerical celibacy was just beginning to emerge in the west). Hilary is the only Doctor of the Church to have been married and a father.

Being aware of the rampant success of the Arian heresy in the eastern Church, Hilary opposed both the introduction of Arianism into Gaul and the emperor's attempt to run Church matters. He was exiled by Emperor Constantius II to Phrygia (present-day west central Turkey) in 356. There he assisted at the synod of Seleucia (Asia Minor) in 359, and he did so well in defending the Church against the Arians, that the heretics had him sent back to Gaul in 361. Hilary introduced Eastern theology to the Western Church.

Saint Hilary was a prolific writer, and Saint Jerome mentions several of his works including: “twelve books Against the Arians and another book On Councils ”, Commentaries on the Psalms, a valuable commentary On Matthew, and many others.

Saint Hilary died in Poitiers in 368 of natural causes. His feast day is January 13.

Saint Jerome wrote that the Church had two “fair cedars” to oppose Arianism, Saint Hilary of Poitiers in the west, and Saint Athanasius the Great in the east.

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Saint Jerome mentions Saint Hilary of Poitiers in his book “Lives of Illustrious Men” as follows:

Hilary the bishop

Hilary, a bishop of Poitiers in Aquitania, was a member of the party of Saturninus bishop of Arles. Banished into Phrygia... he composed twelve books Against the Arians and another book On Councils written to the Gallican bishops, and Commentaries on the Psalms that is on the first and second, from the fifty-first to the sixty-second, and from the one hundred and eighteenth to the end of the book. In this work be imitated Origen, but added also some original matter. There is a little book of his To Constantius which he presented to the emperor while he was living in Constantinople, and another On Constantius which he wrote after his death and a book Against Valens and Ursacius, containing a history of the Ariminian and Selucian Councils and To Sallust the prefect or Against Dioscurus, also a book of Hymns and mysteries, a commentary On Matthew and treatises On Job, which he translated freely from the Greek of Origen, and another elegant little work Against Auxentius and Epistles to different persons. They say he has written On the Song of Songs but this work is not known to us. He died at Poitiers during the reign of Valentinianus and Valens.

Below are some quotations from Some of Saint Hilary of Poitiers' works which can be read online in full by clicking here:

From On the Trinity, Book I:

While my mind was dwelling on these and on many like thoughts, I chanced upon the books which, according to the tradition of the Hebrew faith, were written by Moses and the prophets, and found in these words spoken by God the Creator testifying of Himself I Am that I Am, and again, He that is hath sent me unto you. I confess that I was amazed to find in them an indication concerning God so exact that it expressed in the terms best adapted to human understanding an unattainable insight into the mystery of the Divine nature. For no property of God which the mind can grasp is more characteristic of Him than existence, since existence, in the absolute sense, cannot be predicated of that which shall come to an end, or of that which has had a beginning, and He who now joins continuity of being with the possession of perfect felicity could not in the past, nor can in the future, be non-existent; for whatsoever is Divine can neither be originated nor destroyed. Wherefore, since God's eternity is inseparable from Himself, it was worthy of Him to reveal this one thing, that He is, as the assurance of His absolute eternity.

From a Homily On Psalms by Saint Hilary of Poitiers:

We have been promised, and he who made the promise is trustworthy: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Yes, in our poverty we will pray for our needs. We will study the sayings of your prophets and apostles with unflagging attention, and knock for admittance wherever the gift of understanding is safely kept. But yours it is, Lord, to grant our petitions, to be present when we seek you and to open when we knock.

Impart to us, then, the meaning of the words of Scripture and the light to understand it, with reverence for the doctrine and confidence in its truth. Grant that we may express what we believe. Through the prophets and apostles we know about you, the one God the Father, and the one Lord Jesus Christ. May we have the grace, in the face of heretics who deny you, to honor you as God, who is not alone, and to proclaim this as truth.

Saint Jerome: Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Saint Jerome (also known as Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius; Girolamo; Hieronymus; Man of the Bible) is a Latin Father of the Church and a Doctor of the Church. Saint Jerome was born to a rich pagan family in 347 A.D. at Strido, Dalmatia. He led a misspent youth. He studied in Rome, Trier, and Aquileia, and he became a lawyer.

He converted in theory, and was baptized in 365. He then began his study of theology, and had a true conversion. He visited Rome, studied at Trier and Aquileia, and in 373, Jerome set out on a journey to the East.

From 374 to 379 he led a life of seclusion and prayer in the desert of Chalcis. Jerome lived for years as a hermit in the Syrian deserts. He was reported to have drawn a thorn from a lion's paw, and the animal stayed loyally at his side for years. Traveling to Antioch, he was ordained a priest. He was a student and friend of Saint Gregory Nazianzus, and through him came to study the Scriptures.

Jerome was secretary to Pope Damasus I who commissioned him to revise the Latin text of the Bible. After visiting Rome, and journeying through the Holy Land, he retired to a monastery in Bethlehem. There he prayed, fasted and labored on the Latin edition of the Bible. The result of his 30 years of work was the Vulgate translation, which is still in use.

He also engaged actively in controversy with Bishop John of Jerusalem, opposing the doctrines of Origen and Pelagius. Saint Jerome was the friend and teacher of Saint Paula, Saint Marcella, and Saint Eustochium. Saint Jerome's friendship with Saint Eustochium was an association that led to so much gossip, Jerome left Rome to return to the desert solitude. Saint Eustochium had traveled with Paula and Jerome to the Holy Land where she helped with the Vulgate Bible translation, working as Jerome's housekeeper, and by reading and writing for him when his eyesight began to fail.

Saint Jerome lived his last 34 years in the Holy Land as a semi-recluse. He wrote translations of Origen, biographies, histories, and much more. Saint Jerome died of natural causes in Bethlehem in 420, his remains are interred in the church of Saint Mary Major at Rome, and his relics are in the Sistine chapel of Saint Mary Major.

Saint Jerome is the patron saint of archaeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students, and translators.

You can read Saint Jeromes "Book of Illustrious Men" by clicking here. He wrote about a large number of ecclesiastical writers in this volume, and it is an interesting read.

Saint Augustine of Hippo once wrote of Saint Jerome: "What Jerome is ignorant of, no man has ever known."

Below are some quotes from Saint Jerome:

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: "Search the Scriptures," and "Seek and you shall find." For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.

No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of the prophet Isaiah in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvelous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Savior of all men. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah.

Saint Jerome from a commentary on Isaiah 

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In the remotest part of a wild and stony desert, burnt up with the heat of the scorching sun so that it frightens even the monks that inhabit it, I seemed to myself to be in the midst of the delights and crowds of Rome. In exile and prison to which for the fear of hell I had voluntarily condemned myself, I many times imagined myself witnessing the dancing of the Roman maidens as if I had been in the midst of them: in my cold body and in my parched-up flesh, which seemed dead before its death, passion able to live. Alone with this enemy, I threw myself in spirit at the feet of Jesus, watering them with my tears, and I tamed my flesh by fasting whole weeks. I am not ashamed to disclose my temptations, but I grieve that I am not now what I then was.

Saint Jerome's letter to Saint Eustochium

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The measure of our advancement in the spiritual life should be taken from the progress we make in the virtue of mortification; for it should be held as certain that the greater violence we shall do ourselves in mortification, the greater advance we shall make in perfection.

Saint Jerome

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You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no person for another can be heard.... But if the apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, at a time when they ought still be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victories, and triumphs?

Saint Jerome from Against Vigilantius, 406AD

Saint Gregory the Great: Pope, Early Church Father, and Doctor of the Church

Pope Saint Gregory the Great (also known as Gregory I; Gregory Dialogos; Father of the Fathers) was born in 540 A.D., at Rome, Italy. Saint Gregory is a Latin Father of the Church, and Doctor of the Church. He is also one of the four Traditional Doctors of the Latin Church (along with Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Jerome).

Gregory was the son of a wealthy Roman senator and Saint Silvia. He also was the nephew of Saint Emiliana and Saint Tarsilla, and the great-grandson of Pope Saint Felix III. Gregory was educated by the finest teachers in Rome. He was prefect of the city of Rome for one year, then he sold his possessions, turned his home into a Benedictine monastery, and used his money to build six monasteries in Sicily and one in Rome, and he entered the Benedictine Order, where he was a monk.

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He was appointed cardinal-deacon, and then sent to the Byzantine court to secure aid against the Lombards. The result of his six year sojourn was a conviction that Rome must not rely on the East for help. After his return he saw English children being sold in the Roman Forum, and he wanted to become a missionary to England. The people of Rome would not allow him to leave. His desire was realized when he sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury, with a band of missionaries to England in 590.

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Gregory was elected 64^th Pope by unanimous acclamation on September 3, 590, and was the first monk to be chosen as pope. With his election to the papacy, he published a work on episcopal duties, which was used for centuries. He enforced the celibacy of the clergy, and supervised church funds. 

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He strengthened the prerogatives of the papacy by demanding supreme authority over all churches, judging bishops, and hearing the complaints of prelates. He established the system of appeals to Rome, and is recognized as an administrator and lawyer. Gregory collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chant. He also sent missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa.

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Pope Saint Gregory the Great died of natural causes on March 12, 604 at Rome, Italy.

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• "As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.  "
  
  
  Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Sacred Tradition

Is It Really From the Apostles? ....Yes!

In an earlier comment some months back, a person asked the following question:

“Can you explain why the Catholic Church claims that the doctrines of Sacred Tradition were handed down from the apostles when there appears to be no record of it?”

Now, I don’t know why this is a common thought among many people, but, there are records of the Sacred Traditions having been handed down from the apostles, and the evidence for such is found in the writings of the early ecclesiastic writers and the Early Church Fathers.

We must realize and understand, that it was the apostles who first spread the Christian faith throughout the world. Jesus Christ had chosen the Twelve Apostles as we learn from the sixth chapter of The Gospel According To Saint Luke:

12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and he passed the whole night in the prayer of God. 13 And when day was come, he called unto him his disciples; and he chose twelve of them (whom also he named apostles). 14 Simon, whom he surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon who is called Zelotes, 16 And Jude, the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, who was the traitor.

So Jesus chose the Twelve, and later He ordained them as we can see from the ninth chapter of The Gospel According To Saint Luke:

1 Then calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. ...6 And going out, they went about through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Jesus also instructed the Twelve to spread the good news of His Kingdom as we see in the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles:

6 They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 But he said to them: It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: 8 But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.

So, the Apostles followed the commandment of the Lord, and went throughout the “uttermost part of the earth” and led many people to Christ and established churches throughout the known world. From Asia Minor to Northern Africa to Europe the faith was spread, by the Twelve and then by their disciples and followers whom they ordained as deacons, bishops, and presbyters. The Sacred Tradition was most definitely handed down by the Apostles, and we must remember that what the churches established by them, taught by them, and handed down through their successors, were the oral traditions that they received as well as written traditions.

We know that the Apostles went to various regions of the then known world (from both Holy Scriptures and from the traditions of those areas), such as follows:

Saint Andrew - Asia Minor, Greece, and possibly in areas of modern Russia and Poland.

Saint Bartholomew - Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India and Armenia.

Saint James the Greater - Samaria, Judea, and Spain.

Saint John - Asia Minor, Jerusalem, Samaria, Ephesus

Saint Jude - Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia

Saint Matthias - Judea, Cappadocia, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Saint Matthew - Palestine, Ethiopia

Saint Philip - Greece and Asia Minor.

Saint Simon the Zealot - Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iberia

Saint Simon Peter - Palestine, Syria, and Rome

Saint Thomas - Parthia (western Asia), Persia and India

Saint Paul - Greece, Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, Rome, and Spain

We also know, that in the early Church, there was a disagreement on the date for celebrating Easter. It seems that the eastern Church celebrated Easter according to the Jewish date for celebrating the Passover, which was the fourteenth day of the Jewish month Nisan, regardless of what day of the week it fell on. Several Early Church Fathers (Saint Polycarp for one) defended their choice of that date, saying that it was the tradition handed down to them by the Apostles.

Following are some of the things written by the Early Church Fathers, other ecclesiastical writers of the early Church, and firstly from some of the Epistles of Saint Paul:

Saint Paul the Apostle:

I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you (1 Cor. 11:2)

So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter (2 Thess. 2:15)

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us (2 Thess. 3:6).

Pope Saint Clement I from his Epistle to the Corinthians: 

The Apostles preached to us the Gospel received from Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ was God's Ambassador. Christ, in other words, comes with a message from God, and the Apostles with a message from Christ. Both these orderly arrangements, therefore, originate from the will of God. And so, after receiving their instructions and being fully assured through the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as confirmed in faith by the word of God, they went forth, equipped with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to preach the good news that the Kingdom of God was close at hand. From land to land, accordingly, and from city to city they preached, and from among their earliest converts appointed men whom they had tested by the Spirit to act as bishops and deacons for the future believers. And this was no innovation, for, a long time before the Scripture had spoken about bishops and deacons; for somewhere it says: I will establish their overseers in observance of the law and their ministers in fidelity.

Our Apostles, too, were given to understand by our Lord Jesus Christ that the office of the bishop would give rise to intrigues. For this reason, equipped as they were with perfect foreknowledge, they appointed the men mentioned before, and afterwards laid down a rule once for all to this effect: when these men die, other approved men shall succeed to their sacred ministry. Consequently, we deem it an injustice to eject from the sacred ministry the persons who were appointed either by them, or later, with the consent of the whole Church, by other men in high repute and have ministered to the flock of Christ faultlessly, humbly, quietly and unselfishly, and have moreover, over a long period of time, earned the esteem of all. Indeed, it will be no small sin for us if we oust men who have irreproachably and piously offered the sacrifices proper to the episcopate. Happy the presbyters who have before now completed life's journey and taken their departure in mature age and laden with fruit! They, surely, do not have to fear that anyone will dislodge them from the place built for them. Yes, we see that you removed some, their good conduct notwithstanding, from the sacred ministry on which their faultless discharge had shed luster.

It is our duty, then, my brethren, to follow examples such as these. For the Scripture says: Follow the saints for such as follow them shall be sanctified. And again, in another passage, it says: With an innocent man Thou wilt be innocent and with an elect Thou wilt be elect, and with one perverted Thou wilt deal perversely. Let us, therefore, associate with the innocent and law-abiding; these are God's elect.

These items below come from Saint Jerome’s “Lives of Illustrious Men” :

Saint Quadratus the bishop of Athens:

Quadratus, disciple of the apostles, after Publius bishop of Athens had been crowned with martyrdom on account of his faith in Christ, was substituted in his place, and by his faith and industry gathered the church scattered by reason of its great fear. And when Hadrian passed the winter at Athens to witness the Eleusinian mysteries and was initiated into almost all the sacred mysteries of Greece, those who hated the Christians took opportunity without instructions from the Emperor to harass the believers. At this time he presented to Hadrian a work composed in behalf of our religion, indispensable, full of sound argument and faith and worthy of the apostolic teaching. In which, illustrating the antiquity of his period, he says that he has seen many who, oppressed by various ills, were healed by the Lord in Judea as well as some who had been raised from the dead.

Pantaenus the philosopher:

Pantaenus, a philosopher of the stoic school, according to some old Alexandrian custom, where, from the time of Mark the evangelist the ecclesiastics were always doctors, was of so great prudence and erudition both in scripture and secular literature that, on the request of the legates of that nation, he was sent to India by Demetrius bishop of Alexandria, where he found that Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, had preached the advent of the Lord Jesus according to the gospel of Matthew, and on his return to Alexandria he brought this with him written in Hebrew characters.

Papias

Papias [A.D. 120], who is now mentioned by us, affirms that he received the sayings of the apostles from those who accompanied them, and he, moreover, asserts that he heard in person Aristion and the presbyter John. Accordingly, he mentions them frequently by name, and in his writings gives their traditions [concerning Jesus]. . . . [There are] other passages of his in which he relates some miraculous deeds, stating that he acquired the knowledge of them from tradition" (fragment in Eusebius, Church History 3:39 [A.D. 312]).

The remainder here come from the writings of just a few more of the Early Church Fathers and Ecclesiastical writers:

Eusebius of Caesarea

At that time [A.D. 150] there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before, and Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinytus of Crete, and besides these, Philip, and Apollinarius, and Melito, and Musanus, and Modestus, and, finally, Irenaeus. From them has come down to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from tradition" (Church History 4:21).

Saint Irenaeus

"As I said before, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although she is disseminated throughout the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she occupied but one house. She likewise believes these things just as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart; and harmoniously she proclaims them and teaches them and hands them down, as if she possessed but one mouth. For, while the languages of the world are diverse, nevertheless, the authority of the tradition is one and the same." (Against Heresies 1:10:2 [A.D. 189]).

"That is why it is surely necessary to avoid them [heretics], while cherishing with the utmost diligence the things pertaining to the Church, and to lay hold of the tradition of truth. . . . What if the apostles had not in fact left writings to us? Would it not be necessary to follow the order of tradition, which was handed down to those to whom they entrusted the churches?"

"It is possible, then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors to our own times—men who neither knew nor taught anything like these heretics rave about.

"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles.

"With this church, because of its superior origin, all churches must agree—that is, all the faithful in the whole world—and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition".

Clement of Alexandria

"Well, they preserving the tradition of the blessed doctrine derived directly from the holy apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, the sons receiving it from the father (but few were like the fathers), came by God’s will to us also to deposit those ancestral and apostolic seeds. And well I know that they will exult; I do not mean delighted with this tribute, but solely on account of the preservation of the truth, according as they delivered it. For such a sketch as this, will, I think, be agreeable to a soul desirous of preserving from loss the blessed tradition" (Miscellanies 1:1 [A.D. 208]).

Origen

"Although there are many who believe that they themselves hold to the teachings of Christ, there are yet some among them who think differently from their predecessors. The teaching of the Church has indeed been handed down through an order of succession from the apostles and remains in the churches even to the present time. That alone is to be believed as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition" (The Fundamental Doctrines 1:2 [A.D. 225]).

Cyprian of Carthage

"The Church is one, and as she is one, cannot be both within and without. For if she is with Novatian, she was not with [Pope] Cornelius. But if she was with Cornelius, who succeeded the bishop Fabian by lawful ordination, and whom, beside the honor of the priesthood the Lord glorified also with martyrdom, Novatian is not in the Church; nor can he be reckoned as a bishop, who, succeeding to no one, and despising the evangelical and apostolic tradition, sprang from himself. For he who has not been ordained in the Church can neither have nor hold to the Church in any way" (Letters 75:3 [A.D. 253]).

Athanasius

"Again we write, again keeping to the apostolic traditions, we remind each other when we come together for prayer; and keeping the feast in common, with one mouth we truly give thanks to the Lord. Thus giving thanks unto him, and being followers of the saints, ‘we shall make our praise in the Lord all the day,’ as the psalmist says. So, when we rightly keep the feast, we shall be counted worthy of that joy which is in heaven" (Festal Letters 2:7 [A.D. 330]).

"But you are blessed, who by faith are in the Church, dwell upon the foundations of the faith, and have full satisfaction, even the highest degree of faith which remains among you unshaken. For it has come down to you from apostolic tradition, and frequently accursed envy has wished to unsettle it, but has not been able".

Basil the Great

"Of the dogmas and messages preserved in the Church, some we possess from written teaching and others we receive from the tradition of the apostles, handed on to us in mystery. In respect to piety, both are of the same force. No one will contradict any of these, no one, at any rate, who is even moderately versed in matters ecclesiastical. Indeed, were we to try to reject unwritten customs as having no great authority, we would unwittingly injure the gospel in its vitals; or rather, we would reduce [Christian] message to a mere term" (The Holy Spirit 27:66 [A.D. 375]).

Epiphanius of Salamis

"It is needful also to make use of tradition, for not everything can be gotten from sacred Scripture. The holy apostles handed down some things in the scriptures, other things in tradition" (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 61:6 [A.D. 375]).

Augustine

"The custom [of not rebaptizing converts] . . . may be supposed to have had its origin in apostolic tradition, just as there are many things which are observed by the whole Church, and therefore are fairly held to have been enjoined by the apostles, which yet are not mentioned in their writings" (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5:23[31] [A.D. 400]).

"But the admonition that he [Cyprian] gives us, ‘that we should go back to the fountain, that is, to apostolic tradition, and thence turn the channel of truth to our times,’ is most excellent, and should be followed without hesitation" (ibid., 5:26[37]).

"But in regard to those observances which we carefully attend and which the whole world keeps, and which derive not from Scripture but from Tradition, we are given to understand that they are recommended and ordained to be kept, either by the apostles themselves or by plenary [ecumenical] councils, the authority of which is quite vital in the Church" (Letter to Januarius [A.D. 400]).

John Chrysostom

"[Paul commands,] ‘Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter’ [2 Thess. 2:15]. From this it is clear that they did not hand down everything by letter, but there is much also that was not written. Like that which was written, the unwritten too is worthy of belief. So let us regard the tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief. Is it a tradition? Seek no further" (Homilies on Second Thessalonians [A.D. 402]).

Vincent of Lerins

"With great zeal and closest attention, therefore, I frequently inquired of many men, eminent for their holiness and doctrine, how I might, in a concise and, so to speak, general and ordinary way, distinguish the truth of the Catholic faith from the falsehood of heretical depravity.

"I received almost always the same answer from all of them—that if I or anyone else wanted to expose the frauds and escape the snares of the heretics who rise up, and to remain intact and in sound faith, it would be necessary, with the help of the Lord, to fortify that faith in a twofold manner: first, of course, by the authority of divine law [Scripture] and then by the tradition of the Catholic Church.

"Here, perhaps, someone may ask: ‘If the canon of the scriptures be perfect and in itself more than suffices for everything, why is it necessary that the authority of ecclesiastical interpretation be joined to it?’ Because, quite plainly, sacred Scripture, by reason of its own depth, is not accepted by everyone as having one and the same meaning. . . .

"Thus, because of so many distortions of such various errors, it is highly necessary that the line of prophetic and apostolic interpretation be directed in accord with the norm of the ecclesiastical and Catholic meaning" (The Notebooks [A.D. 434]).

Pope Agatho

"The holy Church of God . . . has been established upon the firm rock of this Church of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, which by his grace and guardianship remains free from all error, [and possesses that faith that] the whole number of rulers and priests, of the clergy and of the people, unanimously should confess and preach with us as the true declaration of the apostolic tradition, in order to please God and to save their own souls" (Letter read at fourth session of III Constantinople [A.D. 680]).

Saint Theophilus of Antioch

Bishop, Martyr, and Early Church Father

Saint Theophilus of Antioch, is one of the Greek Fathers of the Church, and one of whom was a great apologist, an apologist in truth, as great as Justin Martyr or Irenaeus of Lyons in his understanding and reasoning. Born a pagan in the second century, he was originally a philosopher in the eastern Roman Empire, and he began studying the Scriptures with the intent of attacking Christianity. However, his study of the Scriptures demonstrated the absurdity of the pagan gods, and convinced him of the truth of Christianity, and so, he converted.

Little is known of the early life of Theophilus, other than that he came from that part of Syria which bordered upon Mesopotamia. Theophilus received a Greek education and seems to have had some knowledge of Hebrew. Eusebius in his History of the Church (Ch.4,20), wrote that Theophilus was the sixth bishop of Antioch from the apostles, the names of his predecessors being Eros, Cornelius, Hero, Ignatius, and Euodius. We also learn from Eusebius, that Theophilus succeeded to the bishopric in the 8^th year of the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, which would have been about 168 A.D. There is some disagreement as to when Theophilus died, some sources saying his episcopate lasted 13 years until 181 A.D, others indicating his episcopate lasted 21 years until his death in 189 A.D.

Saint Theophilus was apparently a prolific writer, and Eusebius, Saint Jerome, and others mention his numerous works against the prevailing heresies of the day. The only work which survives, is his three volume “Apology” or “Defense of Christianity” to his friend Autolycus, a pagan. In this three volume work, Theophilus has the distinction of his being the earliest writing to contain the Greek term “triados” (Book 2, Chapter 15) which is the equivalent of the English word Trinity. It would be 1 or 2 decades later before we find in the North African writer Tertullian's writings, the Latin equivalent "Trinitas" for the first time. Eusebius mentions other writings of his, a work against the heresy of Hermogenes, another against Marcion, and a few books for the instruction and edification of the faithful. St. Jerome mentions a Commentary on the Book of Proverbs and Commentaries on the Gospel. Of all these works, there remain but the fragments of the Commentaries cited by St. Jerome.

Some believe that Theophilus' Apology was written in response to a published work against Christianity written by Autolycus, but, Theophilus himself indicates in his work, that what he writes is in response to disparaging remarks Autolycus made to him in conversation. Indeed, at the very beginning of his Apology, Theophilus wrote:

A fluent tongue and an elegant style afford pleasure and such praise as vainglory delights in, to wretched men who have been corrupted in mind; the lover of truth does not give heed to ornamented speeches, but examines the real matter of the speech, what it is, and what kind it is. Since, then, my friend, you have assailed me with empty words, boasting of your gods of wood and stone, hammered and cast, carved and graven, which neither see nor hear, for they are idols, and the works of men's hands; and since, besides, you call me a Christian, as if this were a damning name to bear, I, for my part, avow that I am a Christian, and bear this name beloved of God, hoping to be serviceable to God. For it is not the case, as you suppose, that the name of God is hard to bear; but possibly you entertain this opinion of God, because you are yourself yet unserviceable to Him. (Book 1, Chapter 1)

Theophilus is severe, yet also gentle is his dealings with his antagonistic friend, and his contempt with the pagan heathenism is apparent, and he even repudiates Plato and Socrates, and stressed his maxim, "The world by wisdom knew not God." The entire work is well suited to lead an intelligent pagan to at least a cordial acceptance of Christianity. The three books are not however, as one might suppose, one work, but, were three distinct works which were joined together. This was done because there is a very real connection between the three books, in that all three are addressed to the same person, Autolycus, and all three deal with almost the same topics.

The first book has 14 chapters, and is a response to Autolycus who had asked Theophilus to show him his God, had praised the pagan gods, and had mocked the name Christian. Theophilus explains the nature of God who is invisible to the eyes, but, who's presence is known to us:

You will say, then, to me, "Do you, who see God, explain to me the appearance of God." Hear, O man. The appearance of God is ineffable and indescribable, and cannot be seen by eyes of flesh. For in glory He is incomprehensible, in greatness unfathomable, in height inconceivable, in power incomparable, in wisdom unrivaled, in goodness inimitable, in kindness unutterable. For if I say He is Light, I name but His own work; if I call Him Word, I name but His sovereignty; if I call Him Mind, I speak but of His wisdom; if I say He is Spirit, I speak of His breath; if I call Him Wisdom, I speak of His offspring; if I call Him Strength, I speak of His sway; if I call Him Power, I am mentioning His activity; if Providence, I but mention His goodness; if I call Him Kingdom, I but mention His glory; if I call Him Lord, I mention His being judge; if I call Him Judge, I speak of Him as being just; if I call Him Father, I speak of all things as being from Him; if I call Him Fire, I but mention His anger. You will say, then, to me, "Is God angry?" Yes; He is angry with those who act wickedly, but He is good, and kind, and merciful, to those who love and fear Him; for He is a chastener of the godly, and father of the righteous; but he is a judge and punisher of the impious. (Book 1, Chapter 3)

Theophilus goes on to explain in the first book, that we can only contemplate God when we are clothed in incorruptibility. He then denounces the pagan gods, the worship of the emperors and extols the Christians:

Wherefore I will rather honor the king [than your gods], not, indeed, worshiping him, but praying for him. But God, the living and true God, I worship, knowing that the king is made by Him. You will say, then, to me, "Why do you not worship the king?" Because he is not made to be worshiped, but to be reverenced with lawful honor, for he is not a god, but a man appointed by God, not to be worshiped, but to judge justly. For in a kind of way his government is committed to him by God: as He will not have those called kings whom He has appointed under Himself; for "king" is his title, and it is not lawful for another to use it; so neither is it lawful for any to be worshiped but God only. Wherefore, O man, you are wholly in error. Accordingly, honor the king, be subject to him, and pray for him with loyal mind; for if you do this, you do the will of God. For the law that is of God, says, "My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and be not disobedient to them; for suddenly they shall take vengeance on their enemies."

And about your laughing at me and calling me "Christian," you know not what you are saying. First, because that which is anointed is sweet and serviceable, and far from contemptible. For what ship can be serviceable and seaworthy, unless it be first caulked [anointed]? Or what castle or house is beautiful and serviceable when it has not been anointed? And what man, when he enters into this life or into the gymnasium, is not anointed with oil? And what work has either ornament or beauty unless it be anointed and burnished? Then the air and all that is under heaven is in a certain sort anointed by light and spirit; and are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? Wherefore we are called Christians on this account, because we are anointed with the oil of God. (Book 1, Chapters 11 and 12)

The second book of Theophilus' Apology to Autolycus contains 38 chapters, and more fully develops the thoughts and ideas expressed in the first book. Theophilus exposes the insufficiency and childishness of the pagan teachings, and contrasts those teachings with those of Holy Scripture concerning the origin of the world, the worship due to God, and the moral life man should lead:

When we had formerly some conversation, my very good friend Autolycus, and when you inquired who was my God, and for a little paid attention to my discourse, I made some explanations to you concerning my religion; and then having bid one another adieu, we went with much mutual friendliness each to his own house although at first you had home somewhat hard upon me. For you know and remember that you supposed our doctrine was foolishness. As you then afterwards urged me to do, I am desirous, though not educated to the art of speaking, of more accurately demonstrating, by means of this tractate, the vain labour and empty worship in which you are held; and I wish also, from a few of your own histories which you read, and perhaps do not yet quite understand, to make the truth plain to you. (Book 2, Chapter 1)

The third book in Theophilus' Apology to Autolycus, contains 30 chapters, and is a response to Autolycus' charge that “your religion is new, and your Scriptures are recent writings." The first 15 chapters Theophilus devoted to showing the futility of the accusations brought against Christians concerning immorality and cannibalism, and in the remainder he takes up the chronological discussion and gives a resume of Jewish history, and concludes that Moses must have lived from 900 to 1000 years before the Trojan War. He counts 5695 years from the beginning of the world to the death of Marcus Aurelius. He begins:

Theophilus to Autolycus, greeting: Seeing that writers are fond of composing a multitude of books for vainglory,--some concerning gods, and wars, and chronology, and some, too, concerning useless legends, and other such labour in vain, in which you also have been used to employ yourself until now, and do not grudge to endure that toil; but though you conversed with me, are still of opinion that the word of truth is an idle tale, and suppose that our writings are recent and modern;--on this account I also will not grudge the labour of compendiously setting forth to you, God helping me, the antiquity of our books, reminding you of it in few words, that you may not grudge the labour of reading it, but may recognise the folly of the other authors. (Book 3, Chapter 1)

Theophilus was a most patient man, who took a great deal of time and care in his defense of the true faith. He had an intimate knowledge of Holy Scripture, and was very apt at demonstrating the truth of God and His Church as compared to the absurdities and childishness of the pagan gods and their followers. The Apology to Autolycus can be read in it's entirety online.

From Saint Jerome's “Lives of Illustrious Men”:

Theophilus the bishop

Theophilus, sixth bishop of the church of Antioch, in the reign of the emperor Marcus Antoninus Verus composed a book Against Marcion, which is still extant, also three volumes To Autolycus and one Against the heresy of Hermogenes and other short and elegant treatises, well fitted for the edification of the church. I have read, under his name, commentaries On the Gospel and On the proverbs of Solomon which do not appear to me to correspond in style and language with the elegance and expressiveness of the above works.

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