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IN the country of Egypt this custom is by ancient tradition observed
that--when Epiphany is past, which the priests of that province regard as
the time, both of our Lord's baptism and also of His birth in the flesh,
and so celebrate the commemoration of either mystery not separately as in
the Western provinces but on the single festival of this day,--letters
are sent from the Bishop of Alexandria through all the Churches of Egypt,
by which the beginning of Lent, and the day of Easter are pointed out not
only in all the cities but also in all the monasteries. In accordance
then with this custom, a very few days after the previous conference had
been held with Abbot Isaac, there arrived the festal letters of
Theophilus the Bishop of the aforesaid city, in which together with the
announcement of Easter he considered as well the foolish heresy of the
Anthropomorphites at great length, and abundantly refuted it. And this
was received by almost all the body of monks residing in the whole province
of Egypt with such bitterness owing to their simplicity and error, that the
greater part of the Elders decreed that on the contrary the aforesaid
Bishop ought to be abhorred by the whole body of the brethren as tainted
with heresy of the worst kind, because he seemed to impugn the teaching of
holy Scripture by the denial that Almighty God was formed in the fashion of
a human figure, though Scripture teaches with perfect clearness that Adam
was created in His image. Lastly this letter was rejected also by those who
were living in the desert of Scete and who excelled all who were in the
monasteries of Egypt, in perfection and in knowledge, so that except Abbot
Paphnutius the presbyter of our congregation, not one of the other
presbyters, who presided over the other three churches in the same desert,
would suffer it to be even read or repeated at all in their meetings.
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