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And first we must speak of Dionysius, who was appointed bishop of the
church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors not
only to his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and
rendered the greatest service to all in the catholic epistles which he
wrote to the churches. Among these is the one addressed to the
Lacedaemonians, containing instruction in the orthodox faith and an
admonition to peace and unity; the one also addressed to the
Athenians, exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed by the
Gospel, which he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had
almost apostatized from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler
Publius, which had taken place during the persecutions of those days.
He mentions Quadratus also, stating that he was appointed their
bishop after the martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his
zeal they were brought together again and their faith revived. He
records, moreover, that Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted
to the faith by the apostle l Paul, according to the statement in the
Acts of the Apostles, first obtained the episcopate of the church at
Athens. And there is extant another epistle of his addressed to the
Nicomedians, in which he attacks the heresy of Marcion, and stands
fast by the canon of the truth. Writing also to the church that is in
Gortyna, together with the other parishes in Crete, he commends
their bishop Philip, because of the many acts of fortitude which are
testified to as performed by the church under him, and he warns them to
be on their guard against the aberrations of the heretics.
And writing to the church that is in Amastris, together with those in
Pontus, he refers to Bacchylides and Elpistus, as having urged him
to write, and he adds explanations of passages of the divine
Scriptures, and mentions their bishop Palmas by name. He gives them
much advice also in regard to marriage and chastity, and commands them
to receive those who come back again after any fall, whether it be
delinquency or heresy. Among these is inserted also another epistle
addressed to the Cnosians, in which he exhorts Pinytus, bishop of
the parish, not to lay upon the brethren a grievous and compulsory
burden in regard to chastity, but to have regard to the weakness of the
multitude. Pinytus, replying to this epistle, admires and commends
Dionysius, but exhorts him in turn to impart some time more solid
food, and to feed the people under him, when he wrote again, with
more advanced teaching, that they might not be fed continually on these
milky doctrines and imperceptibly grow old under a training calculated
for children. In this epistle also Pinytus' orthodoxy in the faith
and his care for the welfare of those placed under him, his learning
and his comprehension of divine things, are revealed as in a most
perfect image. There is extant also another epistle written by
Dionysius to the Romans, and addressed to Soter, who was bishop at
that time. We cannot do better than to subjoin some passages from this
epistle, in which he commends the practice of the Romans which has
been retained down to the persecution in our own days. His words are
as follows: "For from the beginning it has been your practice to do
good to all the brethren in various ways, and to send contributions to
many churches in every city. Thus relieving the want of the needy,
and making provision for the brethren in the mines by the gifts which
you have sent from the beginning, you Romans keep up the hereditary
customs of the Romans, which your blessed bishop Soter has not only
maintained, but also added to, furnishing an abundance of supplies to
the saints,, and encouraging the brethren from abroad with blessed
words, as a loving father his children.'' In this same epistle he
makes mention also of Clement's epistle to the Corinthians, showing
that it had been the custom from the beginning to read it in the
church. His words are as follows: "To-day we have passed the
Lord's holy day, in which we have read your epistle. From it,
whenever we read it, we shall always be able to draw advice, as also
from the former epistle, which was written 'to us through Clement."
The same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own epistles,
alleging that they had been mutilated: "As the brethren desired me to
write epistles, I wrote. And these epistles the apostles of the
devil have filled with tares, cutting out some things and adding
others. For them a woe is reserved. It is, therefore, not to be
wondered at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord's writings
also, since they have formed designs even against writings which are of
less accounts."
There is extant, in addition to these, another epistle of
Dionysius, written to Chrysophora a most faithful sister. In it he
writes what is suitable, and imparts to her also the proper spiritual
food. So much concerning Dionysius.
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