The History of the Church Since the Days of Christ, Book 2 · History of century 1
CENTVRIE I.
Of Apostles.
AFter the Lords resurrection,Apostles. his twelue Apostles were indued with grace from aboue, and sent forth to convert all people to the obedience of Christ: whose travels the Lord so wonderfully blessed, that within a short time many thousands of all Nations & Languages, whom God had appointed to eternall life, were converted to the faith of Christ. This conquest that Christ made by the Ministrie of twelue poore and contemptible men,Note. is more worthie to be called a Conquest; then all the valiant exployts of Cyrus, Alexander, Caesar, and other Conquerours. For he made this conquest by a small handfull of poore and infirme Disciples; also he conquered not onelyonly the bodies of men, but also their hearts to his obedience: and finally, he made this conquest, not by shedding of peoples blood, but by Preaching of his owne death, and bloodshed for the redemption of many. Neither conquered he free men, to make them slaues, as other Conquerours had done: but they who were slaues indeed to Sathan, vntounto them he gaue the libertie of the sonnes of God.
Now these twelue Apostles the more faithfully they laboured in the worke of their ministrie, the worse were they entreated by the vnthankefull world,Ioh. 16. according as Christ had foretold. The most part of them were put to death, the rest were not free of many painefull sufferings and rebukes, which they willingly sustained for the name of Christ. Peter and Paul are supposed to hauehave beene martyred at Rome: Andrew to hauehave beene crucified in Achaia: Mathew beheaded in Ethiopia: Iames the brother of Iohn was beheaded by Herod in Iudea:Act. 12. Iames the sonne of Alpheus, called Iustus, was throwne downe headlong from the Pinacle of the Temple:Euseb. lib. 3. cap. 32. Ierom. Cat. s…rip. eccles. Simon of Canaan was crucified in the dayes of Traianus, being an hundreth and twentie yeeres old, when he suffered Martyrdome. Bartholomew is said to hauehave beene martyred in Armenia: and Simon Zelotes, to hauehave beene crucified in Brittaine: Iohn died at Ephesus: Philip in Hierapolis, Functius calleth the Towne Hierosopolis:Ierom. cat…l. s…r. p. eccles. Iudas Lebbeus, at Edessa: Thomas in India: and Matthias in Ethiopia.
Of Evangelists.
AS concerning the Evangelists,Evangelists. they were fellow-labourers with the Apostles in the worke of Christ, and were also partakers with them of Christs sufferings. The Evangelist Marke died in Alexandria.Func. chron. Ierom. Luke in Bithynia, others say in Constantinople. Philip, who first was a Deacon, and afterward an Evangelist, died in Cesarea. Barnabas in the Isle of Cyprus. Where Timothy and Titus did compleate their dayes, it is not certainly knowne. Chytraeus opinion about Timothy I hauehave alreadie declared. Ierome supposeth that Titus died in Candie. The successours of the Apostles and Evangelists, are not to be reckoned as the successours of Emperours: because he who next obtaineth the Emperiall Diadem and place of gouernment,The true successours of the Apostles. is counted the successour of the last Emperour: but he who obtaineth a faithfull Pastors chaire, and teacheth a doctrine contrarie to that which a faithfull Pastor hath taught, is to be counted a grieuous Wolfe stepped vp into his roome.Act. 20. And Nazianzenus calleth such a man an adversarie, standing vp in the place of a faithfull Pastor, darkenesse succeeding to light, a tempest succeeding to calme weather, and madnesse obteining place where right reason was wont to be.Nazia. in orat. in laudem Athanaf…. And therefore those Bishops and Doctors following, who keepe inviolably that forme of wholesome doctrine which they receiued from the Apostles, these, I say, alone are to be counted true successours of the Apostles.
Bishops of Rome.
OF this number,Linus. was Linus Bishop of Rome, who after the martyrdom of Peter & Paul governed that Church ten yeeres, three moneths, and twelue dayes. Eusebius thinketh this is that same Linus, of whom the Apostle Paul writeth in the last Chapter of his second Epistle to Timothy: Eubulus & Pudens & Linus, Euseb. l. 3. c. 2.and Claudia salute thee.
After him succeeded Anacletus, and gouerned nine yeeres, three moneths, and ten dayes; and after him Cl…mens ruled eleuen yeeres; Eusebius also thinketh, this is that Clemens, of whom the Apostle Paul writeth to the Philippians,Chap. 4. ver. 3. Yea I beseech thee faithfull yoke-fellow, helpe those women that laboured with me in the Gospell, with Clement also and with other my fellow labourers, Ignatius.whose names are in the booke of life. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, had his heart so inflamed with the louelove of Christ, that when his dissolution was neere approaching, he said to the Romanes: now doe I begin to be the Disciple of Christ, I couet for nothing that can be seene with bodily eyes, to the end that I may enioy Iesus Christ: let the fire, the crosse, the beasts, the breaking of bones, convulsion of members, and bruising of the whole bodie, and the torments of the Deuill sease vponupon me, prouided I may be partaker of Iesus Christ. He was deuoured with beasts in the dayes of Traianus, and so patiently indured death for the Name of Iesus, that he allured the deuouring beasts to approach neere vntounto his bodie, that it being ground with the teeth of beasts,Euseb. lib. 3. cap. 36. Papias. he might be found as fine flowre in the house of his Father.
About the same time also flourished Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, who was a man of great authoritie, because of his neerenesse to the Apostles dayes: yet leaning more to the report of the doctrine of the Apostles, then to the certaintie of their owne writings, he fell into the errour of the Chiliastes, who imagined that Christ should raise the godly first, and liue with them a thousand yeeres in this earth, in all kinde of delicate pleasures.Euseb. l. 3. c. 39.