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It is also said that Philo in the reign of Claudius became acquainted
at Rome with Peter, who was then preaching there. Nor is this
indeed improbable, for the work of which we have spoken, and which was
composed by him some years later, clearly contains those rules of the
Church which are even to this day observed among us. And since he
describes as accurately as possible the life of our ascetics, it is
clear that he not only knew, but that he also approved, while he
venerated and extolled, the apostolic men of his time, who were as it
seems of the Hebrew race, and hence observed, after the manner of the
Jews, the most of the customs of the ancients. In the work to which
he gave the title, On a Contemplative Life or on Suppliants, after
affirming in the first place that he will add to those things which he
is about to relate nothing contrary to truth or of his own invention,
he says that these men were called Therapeut' and the women that were
with them Therapeutrides. He then adds the reasons for such a name,
explaining it from the fact that they applied remedies and healed the
souls of those who came to them, by relieving them like physicians, of
evil passions, or from the fact that they served and worshiped the
Deity in purity and sincerity. Whether Philo himself gave them this
name, employing an epithet well suited to their mode of life, or
whether the first of them really called themselves so in the beginning,
since the name of Christians was not yet everywhere known, we need not
discuss here. He bears witness, however, that first of all they
renounce their property. When they begin the philosophical mode of
life, he says, they give up their goods to their relatives, and
then, renouncing all the cares of life, they go forth beyond the walls
and dwell in lonely fields and gardens, knowing well that intercourse
with people of a different character is unprofitable and harmful. They
did this at that time, as seems probable, under the influence of a
spirited and ardent faith, practicing in emulation the prophets' mode
of life. For in the Acts of the Apostles, a work universally
acknowledged as authentic, it is recorded that all the companions of
the apostles sold their possessions and their property and distributed
to all according to the necessity of each one, so that no one among
them was in want. "For as many as were possessors of lands or
houses," as the account says, "sold them and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet, so
that distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."
Philo bears witness to facts very much like those here described and
then adds the following account: "Everywhere in the world is this
race found. For it was fitting that both Greek and Barbarian should
share in what is perfectly good. But the race particularly abounds in
Egypt, in each of its so-called nomes, and especially about
Alexandria. The best men from every quarter emigrate, as if to a
colony of the Therapeut''s fatherland, to a certain very suitable
spot which lies above the lake Maria upon a low hill excellently
situated on account of its security and the mildness of the atmosphere"
And then a little further on, after describing the kind of houses
which they had, he speaks as follows concerning their churches, which
were scattered about here and there: "In each house there is a sacred
apartment which is called a sanctuary and monastery, where, quite
alone, they perform the mysteries of the religious life. They bring
nothing into it, neither drink nor food, nor any of the other things
which contribute to the necessities of the body, but only the laws,
and the inspired oracles of the prophets, and hymns and such other
things as augment and makeperfect their knowledge and piety." And
after some other matters he says: "The whole interval, from morning
to evening, is for them a time of exercise. For they read the holy
Scriptures, and explain the philosophy of their fathers in an
allegorical manner, regarding the written words as symbols of hidden
truth which is communicated in obscure figures. They have also
writings of ancient men, who were the founders of their sect, and who
left many monuments of the allegorical method. These they use as
models, and imitate their principles." These things seem to have
been stated by a man who had heard them expounding their sacred
writings. But it is highly probable that the works of the ancients,
which he says they had, were the Gospels and the writings of the
apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient prophets, such
as are contained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many others of
Paul's Epistles. Then again he writes as follows concerning the new
psalms which they composed: "So that they not only spend their time
in meditation, but they also compose songs and hymns to God in every
variety of metre and melody, though they divide them, of course, into
measures of more than common solemnity." The same book contains an
account of many other things, but it seemed necessary to select those
facts which exhibit the characteristics of the ecclesiastical mode of
life. But if any one thinks that what has been said is not peculiar to
the Gospel polity, but that it can be applied to others besides those
mentioned, let him be convinced by the subsequent words of the same
author, in which, if he is unprejudiced, he will find undisputed
testimony on this subject. Philo's words are as follows: "Having
laid down temperance as a sort of foundation in the soul, they build
upon it the other virtues. None of them may take food or drink before
sunset, since they regard philosophizing as a work worthy of the
light, but attention to the wants of the body as proper only in the
darkness, and therefore assign the day to the former, but to the
latter a small portion of the night. But some, in whom a great desire
for knowledge dwells, forget to take food for three days; and some are
so delighted and feast so luxuriously upon wisdom, which furnishes
doctrines richly and without stint, that they abstain even twice as
long as this, and are accustomed, after six days, scarcely to take
necessary food." These statements of Philo we regard as referring
clearly and indisputably to those of our communion. But if after these
things any one still obstinately persists in denying the reference, let
him renounce his incredulity and be convinced by yet more striking
examples, which are to be found nowhere else than in the evangelical
religion of the Christians. For they say that there were women also
with those of whom we are speaking, and that the most of them were aged
virgins who had preserved their chastity, not out of necessity, as
some of the priestesses among the Greeks, but rather by their own
choice, through zeal and a desire for wisdom. And that in their
earnest desire to live with it as their companion they paid no attention
to the pleasures of the body, seeking not mortal but immortal progeny,
which only the pious soul is able to bear of itself. Then after a
little he adds still more emphatically: "They expound the Sacred
Scriptures figuratively by means of allegories. For the whole law
seems to these men to resemble a living organism, of which the spoken
words constitute the body, while the hidden sense stored up within the
words constitutes the soul. This hidden meaning has first been
particularly studied by this sect, which sees, revealed as in a mirror
of names, the surpassing beauties of the thoughts." Why is it
necessary to add to these things their meetings and the respective
occupations of the men and of the women during those meetings, and the
practices which are even to the present day habitually observed by us,
especially such as we are accustomed to observe at the feast of the
Saviour's passion, with fasting and night watching and study of the
divine Word. These things the above-mentioned author has related in
his own work, indicating a mode of life which has been preserved to the
present time by us alone, recording especially the vigils kept in
connection with the great festival, and the exercises performed during
those vigils, and the hymns customarily recited by us, and describing
how, while one sings regularly in time, the others listen in silence,
and join in chanting only the close of the hymns; and how, on the days
referred to they sleep on the ground on beds of straw, and to use his
own words, "taste no wine at all, nor any flesh, but water is their
only drink, and therelish with their bread is salt and hyssop." In
addition to this Philo describes the order of dignities which ists
among those who carry on the services of the church, mentioning the
diaconate, and the office of bishop, which takes the precedence over
all the others. But whosoever desires a more accurate knowledge of
these matters may get it from the history already cited. But that
Philo, when he wrote these things, had in view the first heralds of
the Gospel and the customs handed down from the beginning by the
apostles, is clear to every one.
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