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We have now described the various usages that prevailed in the
celebration of the Passover. It appears to me that Victor, bishop
of Rome, and Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, came to a very wise
decision on the controversy that had arisen between them. For as the
bishops of the West did not deem it necessary to dishonor the tradition
handed down to them by Peter and by Paul, and as, on the other
hand, the Asiatic bishops persisted in following the rules laid down
by John the evangelist, they unanimously agreed to continue in the
observance of the festival according to their respective customs,
without separation from communion with each other. They faithfully and
justly assumed, that those who accorded in the essentials of worship
ought not to separate from one another on account of customs. For
exactly similar traditions on every point are to be found in all the
churches even though they hold the same opinions. There are, for
instance, many cities in Scythia, and yet they all have but one
bishop; whereas, in other nations a bishop serves as priest even over
a village, as I have myself observed in Arabia, and in Cyprus, and
among the Novatians and Montanists of Phrygia. Again, there are
even now but seven deacons at Rome, answering precisely to the number
ordained by the apostles, of whom Stephen was the first martyr;
whereas, in other churches, the number of deacons is a matter of
indifference. At Rome hallelujah is sung once annually, namely, on
the first day of the festival of the Passover; so that it is a common
thing among the Romans to swear by the fact of hearing or singing this
hymn. In that city the people are not taught by the bishop, nor by
any one in the Church. At Alexandria the bishop of the city alone
teaches the people, and it is said that this custom has prevailed there
ever since the days of Arius, who, though but a presbyter, broached
a new doctrine. Another strange custom also prevails at Alexandria
which I have never witnessed nor heard of elsewhere, and this is,
that when the Gospel is read the bishop does not rise from his seat.
The archdeacon alone reads the Gospel in this city, whereas in some
places it is read by the deacons, and in many churches only by the
priests; while on noted days it is read by the bishops, as, for
instance, at Constantinople, on the first day of the festival of the
resurrection. In some churches the interval called Quadragesima,
which occurs before this festival, and is devoted by the people to
fasting, is made to consist of six weeks; and this is the case in
Illyria and the Western regions, in Libya, throughout Egypt, and
in Palestine; whereas it is made to comprise seven weeks at
Constantinople, and in the neighboring provinces as far as
Phoenicia. In some churches the people fast three alternate weeks,
during the space of six or seven weeks, whereas in others they fast
continuously during the three weeks immediately preceding the festival.
Some people, as the Montanists, only fast two weeks. Assemblies
are not held in all churches on the same time or manner. The people of
Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the
Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is
never observed at Rome or at Alexandria. There are several cities
and villages in Egypt where, contrary to the usage established
elsewhere, the people meet together on Sabbath evenings, and,
although they have dined previously, partake of the mysteries. The
same prayers and psalms are not recited nor the same lections read on
the same occasions in all churches. Thus the book entitled "The
Apocalypse of Peter," which was considered altogether spurious by
the ancients, is still read m some of the churches of Palestine, on
the day of preparation, when the people observe a fast m memory of the
passion of the Saviour. So the work entitled "The Apocalypse of
the Apostle Paul," though unrecognized by the ancients, is still
esteemed by most of the monks. Some persons affirm that the book was
found during this reign, by Divine revelation, in a marble box,
buried beneath the soil in the house of Paul at Tarsus in Cilicia.
I have been informed that this report is false by Cilix, a presbyter
of the church in Tarsus, a man of very advanced age, as is indicated
by his gray hairs, who says that no such occurrence is known among
them, and wonders if the heretics did not invent the story. What I
have said upon this subject must now suffice. Many other customs are
still to be observed in cities and villages; and those who have been
brought up in their observance would, from respect to the great men who
instituted and perpetuated these customs, consider it wrong to abolish
them. Similar motives must be attributed to those who observe
different practices in the celebration of the feast which has led us
into this long digression.
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