Featured Are some Baptists "historic revisionists " ?

McCree , I've politely have asked that I would appreciate if I could have one or two question at a time, [ no more than three ] For the last few weeks I seem to be one against more than a few anti-Catholics, it is difficult for me to debate and really express my Catholic answers out of fear of being banned. I see strong potent venomous remarks thrown at me, while, it seems like if I apply writing the word Catholic more than twice in a sentence that I am being accused of promoting my Faith.
I hope that the other Catholics haven't been banned, because they really can defend the Catholic Faith with much better tact and wisdom than I, I am not a sit-down at the desk type of guy, I never typed before coming on these forums etc.
I will answer your last post, but please be patient , thank you.

 

McCree, your answers to your post are as follows-

Celibacy and the priesthood------ There are a few priests that are converts being priests in the Anglican church or the EOC. As with the Apostles, once married then wife dies, apostle could never marry again.

Non-Catholics damned,------ no way . Not a doctrine. Never have I ever heard a priest preach anything like that.

Witholding the Communion Cup----- never, You misunderstand ,both Cup and Bread are not necessary to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. If both are presented we may take one or both.

Pre-Communion fast--- it never was Doctrine==== after a retirement age or in the case of a "sickly" person no fasting is necessary, for those that are healthy I believe fasting one hour before Mass is required.

Infallibility of the Pope---- Only when determining Faith or Morals. There is a difference between impeccability and infallibility, this has never changed regardless what anti-Catholics say.

Emerging changed to sprinkling - all three ways are applied. What ever is convienient for the child or adult.

Evil of Democracy as secular government-- sorry, I do not understand question


Several Doctrines pertaining to Mary----Church has never changed, the only change to any word applied to something or some action as been because certain words could never be coined to any action until the advancement of civilization i.e grammar.




The early Church - the Church founded by Christ as promised in Matthew 16:18 - was that which was originally known as “the Way” (cf. Acts 24:14). Later, those individuals who followed Christ began to be called “Christians” beginning at Antioch (cf. Acts 11:26). As early as 107 A.D., those same individuals referred to themselves collectively as the “Catholic Church”. In a letter to the Church of Smyrna, Ignatius of Antioch wrote, "You must all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery (priest) as you would the Apostles. Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, A.D. 107, [8,1])

Notice that Ignatius does not introduce the term "Catholic Church"; instead he uses it in a manner suggesting that the name was already in use and familiar to his audience. This further suggests that the name, Catholic Church, had to have been coined much earlier in order to have achieved wide circulation by the time of this writing. In other words, the Christian assembly was calling itself the Catholic Church during the lifetime of the last Apostle, John, who died near the end of the first century. John, the beloved disciple, may have thought of himself as a member of the Catholic Church!

The Catholic Church began with Peter and the Apostles and continued without interruption or cessation through their disciples (Ignatius, Irenaeus, Polycarp, Clement, Justin Martyr, etc.) down to the present day. As a side note, it appears that the believers in Antioch may have coined both terms still in use today: “Christian” and “Catholic Church” – terms they used to describe the one body of believers in Christ.

Bonus: Protestant Scholar on the use of the Proper Name "Catholic"

One Protestant author who is honest about this history is the renowned Church historian, J. N. D. Kelly. Kelly dates the usage of the name “Catholic” after the death of the Apostle John, but he acknowledges that the original Church founded by Jesus called itself the “Catholic Church”.

"As regards ‘Catholic,' its original meaning was ‘universal' or ‘general' ... As applied to the Church, its primary significance was to underline its universality as opposed to the local character of the individual congregations. Very quickly, however, in the latter half of the second century at latest, we find it conveying the suggestion that the Catholic is the true Church as distinct from heretical congregations. . . . What these early Fathers were envisaging was almost always the empirical, visible society; they had little or no inkling of the distinction which was later to become important between a visible and an invisible Church" (J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 5th ed. [San Francisco: Harper, 1978], 190f).

 

McCree, would you ask me again those two points

 

History

The Baptists in the British Isles

Persons rejecting infant baptism are frequently mentioned in English history in the sixteenth century. We learn of their presence in the island through the persecutions they endured. As early as 1535 ten Anabaptists were put to death, and the persecution continued throughout that century. The victims seem to have been mostly Dutch and German refugees. What influence they exerted in spreading their views is not known; but, as a necessary result, Baptist principles became, through them, less of an unacceptable novelty in the eyes of Englishmen. The first Baptist congregations were organized in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Almost at the very start, the denomination was divided into "Arminian", or "General" Baptists, so named because of their belief in the universal character of Christ's redemption, and "Calvinistic" or "Particular" Baptists, who maintained that Christ's redemption was intended for the elect alone. The origin of the General Baptists is connected with the name of John Smyth (d. 1612), pastor of a church at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, which had separated from the Church of England. About 1606, pastor and flock, to escape persecution, emigrated to Amsterdam, where they formed the second English congregation. In 1609, Smyth, owing possibly in some measure to Mennonite influence, rejected infant baptism, although he retained affusion. In this he was supported by his church. Some members of the congregation returned to England (1611 or 1612) under the leadership of Helwys (c. 1550-1616) and formed in London the nucleus of the first Baptist community. Persecution had abated, and they do not seem to have been molested. By 1626 there were in different parts of England five General Baptist churches; by 1644, they had increased, it is said, to forty-seven; and by 1660 the membership of the body had reached about 20,000. It was between 1640 and 1660 that the General Baptists began to claim that immersion was the only valid mode of baptism. They were persecuted by Charles II (1660-85); but the Act of Toleration (1689) brought relief and recognized the Baptists as the third dissenting denomination (Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists). In the eighteenth century, Anti-Trinitarian ideas spread among the General Baptists, and by 1750, many, perhaps the majority of them, had become Unitarians. As a result of the great Wesleyan revival of the second half of the eighteenth century, new religious activity manifested itself among the General Baptists.

Dan Taylor (1738-1816) organized the orthodox portion of them into the New Connection of the General Baptists. The latter appellative soon disappeared, as the "Old Connection", or unorthodox party, gradually merged into the Unitarian denomination. In 1816, the General Baptists established a missionary society. Their doctrinal differences with the Particular Baptists gradually disappeared in the course of the nineteenth century, and the two bodies united in 1891.

The Particular Baptists originated shortly after the General Baptists. Their first congregation was organized in 1633 by former members of a London "Separatist Church", who seceded and were re-baptized. Mr. John Spillsbury became their minister. In 1638 a second secession from the original church occurred, and in 1640 another Particular Congregation was formed. The opinion now began to be held that immersion alone was real Baptism. Richard Blunt was sent to the Netherlands to be duly immersed. On his return he baptized the others, and thus the first Baptist church in the full meaning of the term was constituted in 1641. In 1644 there were seven Particular Baptist churches in London. They drew up a confession of faith (1644), which was republished in 1646. The Particular Baptists now rapidly increased in numbers and influence. Some of them held prominent positions under Cromwell. With the latter's army Baptists came to Ireland, where the denomination never flourished, and to Scotland, where it took firm root only after 1750 and adopted some peculiar practices. Wales proved a more fruitful soil. A church was founded at or near Swansea in 1649. In the time of the Commonwealth (1649-60), churches multiplied owing to the successful preaching of Vavasour Powell (1617-70); and the number of Baptists, all Calvinistic, is today comparatively large in Wales and Monmouthshire. One of the prominent men who suffered persecution for the Baptist cause under Charles II was John Bunyan (1628-88), the author of "The Pilgrim's Progress". In the first part of the eighteenth century the Particular Baptists injured their own cause by their excessive emphasis of the Calvinistic element in their teaching, which made them condemn missionary activity and bordered on fatalism. The Wesleyan revival brought about a reaction against the deadening influence of ultra-Calvinism. Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) and Robert Hall (1764-1831) propounded milder theological views. The Baptist Home Mission Society was formed in 1779. In 1792 the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society at Kettering, Northamptonshire, inaugurated the work of missions to the heathen. In this undertaking William Carey (1761-1834) was the prime mover. Perhaps the most eminent Baptist preacher of the nineteenth century in England was C.H. Spurgeon (1834-92), whose sermons were published weekly and had a large circulation. In recent years, the Baptists created a "Twentieth Century Fund," to be expended in furthering the interests of the denomination.

 

Not one Catholic Doctrine has changed in the past 2000 years.

 

Most people, particularly your average Catholic or even Protestant, consider "doctrine" to be something that the Church has defined. Often people use it interchangeably with "dogma." For Catholics it is standard to make definitions with some language like "We declare and define, etc..." Any matter of faith or morals which the Church has defined has never been revoked. (now you can get into more scholarly theology to get to the nuances between doctrine and dogma, but I think your purposes here is to ask if something the Church has defined can change).

It is possible to better and more deeply understand a previously defined dogma. One of the more common ones is the Church has ever held is "no salvation outside the Church." The dogma remains true. We have also developed a better understanding of extenuating means by which a person can be united to the Church. The original dogma did not "change" in the sense that it was discarded or rejected, but understood in a superior way.

Remember, the faith is built upon a foundation of the Apostles with Christ as the cornerstone. A foundation is to be built upon. Doctrine can develop. Stones of dogma put into place aren't removed if you follow my metaphor---they are built upon and give a more complete picture of the structure.

 

False religious denominations

through out history



first century


simonians , cerintheians

second century


basilidians, carpocratians, valentinians, marcionites, cerdonians, ebionites, docetae, montanists, encratites, alogi, monarchians, adoptionist, adamites, antidicomarianites

third century


tertullianists, origenists, novatians, manicheans, millenarians

fourth century


donatists, audaeans, arians, macedonians, massalians, aerians, apollinarists, priscillianists, jovinians, vigilantians

fifth century


pelagians, semipelagians, nestorians, predestinarians, monophysites

seventh century


monothelites, paulicians

eighth century


iconoclasts, adoptionists

ninth century


greek-russian

eleventh century


bogomilists, berengarians

twelfth century


petrobrosians, henricians, waldenses

thirteenth century


albigenses, fraticelli, flagellants,

fourteenth century


lollards

fifteenth century


hussites , anabaptists, osiandrists, zwinglians, presbyterians, lutherans, sacramentarians, mennonites, episcopalians or anglicans, calvinists ,unitarians, socinians, huguenots, reformed dutch, congregationalists

seventeenth century


baptists, jansenists, universalists, muffletonians, quakers

eighteenth century


moravians, methodists, shakers, swedenborgians, michaelians

nineteenth century


german reformed, disciples of christ, true reformed dutch, hicksites, mormons, catholic apostolical church, perfectionists, adventists, seventh-day adventists, salvation army, christian scientists, old catholics, modernists, dowieites, jehovah’s witnesses, church of god in christ, church of christ, holiness churches, church of god

twentieth century


pentecostal, united unitarian universalist association

 

FIRST CENTURY

SIMONIANS: Followers of Simon Magus, a magician of Apostolic times who claimed to be a sort of emanation of the Eternal. Since he was the first to oppose the teachings of the Apostles he is sometimes called "The Father of Heretics". According to St. Justin, Simon came from Gitta in the country of the Samaritans. He was baptized a Christian, but his conversion was evidently not sincere as he attempted to purchase from the Apostles what he regarded as their magical power. Hence the word "simony" signifying traffic in sacred things. According to St. Ambrose, St. Augustin and others, Simon died in Rome as the result of an attempted ascent to hea

CERINTHEIANS: Disciples of Cerinthus, a contemporary of St. John against whose errors on the divinity of Christ the Apostle is said by some to have written the Fourth Gospel. According to Theodoret, Cerinthus was an Egyptian. In Asia he founded a school and gathered about him a number of disciples. Of these we know almost nothing except that they flourished in Asia and Galatia.

The Cerinthians denied that God was the creator of the world; asserted that the Law of Moses was necessary for salvation; held that after the Resurrection Jesus Christ would establish a terrestrial kingdom where the just would spend a thousand years in the enjoyment of sensual pleasure; and denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.


SECOND CENTURY

BASILIDIANS: So-called after Basilides, a native of Alexandria who flourished under the Emperors Hadrian and Antonius Pius from about 120 to 140. Of his life we know nothing except that he had a son Isidore who followed in his footsteps. One of the maxim of Basilides was: "Know others, but let no one know you".

The Basilidians held fabulous views on the Deity; rejected Revelation and claimed the God of the Jews to be only an angel; held that angels created the world; denied the humanity and miracles of Jesus; denied the resurrection of the body , and believed that Simon of Cyrene was crucified in place of Christ who returned to His Father unharmed.

CARPOCRATIANS: Followers of Carpoerates, an Alexandrian philosopher, who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138). They are also called "gnostics", that is learned or enlightened.

The Carpocratians held that everyone has two souls; believed in the transmigration of souls; maintained that the world was created by angels; denied the divinity of Christ, and advocated the practice of immorality as a means of union with God.

VALENTINIANS: A sect named after Valentine, an Egyptian, who separated himself from the Church because he was disappointed in not obtaining a bishopric. He came to Rome during the pontificate of Hyginus (136-140) and remained until the pontificate of Anicetus (155-166). At first he abjured his errors but again embraced them, and persevered in them until his death, which occurred in Cyprus about 160. The religious system of Valentine was extremely comprehensive and the most widely diffused of all the forms of Gnosticism. His school was divided into two branches, the Oriental and the Italian. The former was spread through Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor; the latter in Rome, Italy and Southern Gaul.

Valentine invented an absurd genealogy of Eons and gods; denied that Mary was the Mother of God; taught justification by faith alone; held matter to be eternal, and denied free-will and the resurrection of the body.

MARCIONITES: Followers of Marcion, the son of the Bishop of Sinope in Pontus, born about 110. For some fault not definitely known to history he was excommunicated by his father. At this time it appears that he was suffragan bishop to his father, to whom he appealed for re-admission into the Church. Reconciliation being refused him, he traveled to Rome where he united with Cerdo and began propagating heretical doctrines. Tertullian relates in 207 that Marcion professed penitence and accepted as condition for his readmission into the Church that he should bring back to the fold those whom he had led astray. But he died before he could carry out his good intentions.

Marcion taught the existence of two gods, the one good and the other evil; denied the Incarnation of Christ, and rejected the Old Testament.

CERDONIANS: Disciples of Cerdo, a Syrian, who came to Rome about the year 139 under the pontificate of Hyginus (136-140).

He taught that there were two gods, one good, the other evil; denied the resurrection of the body, and prohibited marriage, wine and the eating of flesh.

EBIONITES: Followers of what modern critics hold to be a suppositious character know as Ebion. It is doubtful whether such a person ever existed.

The Ebionites denied the divinity of Christ; rejected all the New Testament except the Gospel of St. Matthew, which they mutilated; taught that some men were created by good angels, others by bad ones; considered St. Paul a heretic, and practiced free-love.

DOCETAE: According to Clement of Alexandria a distinct religious sect founded by one Julius Cassianus, about whom little in known except that he was a disciple of Valentine.

They practically denied the Incarnation of God in Christ Some affirmed the body of Christ to have been a mere deceptive appearance, others only denied its fleshly character, but the object of all was render the conceptions of Christ life on earth less material and more spiritual.

MONTANISTS: So-called after Montanus, a Phrygian who appears to have been a priest of Cybele. He was converted about the year 150 and soon after began to fall into fits of ecstacy and to utter "prophecies". Maximilla and Priscilla, who deserted their husbands and became "prophetesses". Expelled from the Church, Montanus set up for himself, organizing a body of preachers to be supported by the voluntary contributions of his followers. Eusebius says that he died miserably by hanging himself.

Montanus claimed to have received a new revelation from God, the Mosaic and Christian dispensations having failed. He prescribed at first two, and afterwards three, annual fasts of a week instead of one such fast; forbade all second marriages; refused restoration to all such as had been guilty of murder, adultery or idolatry; required the veiling of virgins in the assemblies of the Church. The novelty of Montanus’ teaching was not so much in the things themselves as his prescribing them under obedience to a new express revelation.

ENCRATITES: A religious sect supported by Tatian, a Christian apologist, who was born in Assyria about 110. Later he went to Rome where he taught rhetoric. He enjoyed the friendship of Justin Martyr and was converted by him to Christianity about 152. His work, "An Address to the Greek", is one of the earliest apologies directed against the pagan philosophers. After the death of Justin, about 167, Tatian returned to the East and adopted very strange ideas of the gnostic variety, identifying himself with the Encratites. One of his best known disciples was Severus, Bishop of Gabala in Spain, who added new life and strength to the sect as well as differed from his master in a few essential points. Due to him the Encaratites are sometimes called "Severians".

They held that matter was uncreated and eternal; attributed creation of some thing to God, but only through the instrumentality of an inferior Eon; denied the resurrection of the dead and free-will; rejected the Law of Moses; condemned matrimony, the use of flesh and wine and used only water in the Eucharistic rite. For this reason they are sometimes called "Aquarii."

ALOGI : The members of this sect rejected John’s authorship of the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse, and in general all writings in which the Logos is mentioned. Hence their name, which according to their enemies, also proclaimed them to be without reason. It is difficult to trace their origin to any one individual.

MONARCHIANS: The word "Monarchian" was first used by Tertulian as a nickname for a group of heretics known as Patripassionists in the West and Sabellians in the East, but was seldom used by theancients. In modern times it has been extended to include an earlier group of heretic known as Theodotians. Thus there are two branches of what are now known as Monarchians, the Theodotians and the group comprised of the Patripassionists and the Sabellians. These two branches are also sometimes classified as Dynamistic and Modalist Monarchians respectibely, and at other times are united under the single name of Antitrinitarians. Their founder was Praxeas, a native of Phrygia and an early anti-Montanist. He is known to us only through Tertullian’s book "Adversus Praxeam", where he is described as being inflated with pride as a Confessor of the Faith because he had spent a short time in prison. He was probably the first of the Monarchians to visit Rome, where he was well received by the Pope about 190-198, with whom he used his influence against the Montanists.

The Modalist Monarchians, the Monarchians properly so-called denied the Mystery of the Trinity, and held that God the Father and God the Son were one and the same person.

ADOPTIONIST: The sect originally called Theodotians after their leader, a leather-seller of Byzantium, who came to Rome under Pope Victor about 190-200, or earlier. In later years they have been called "Adoptionists", or, as stated under "Monarchians", are sometime classed as Dunamistic Monarchians, though they have no logical claim to the latter title. The Adoptionists denied the divinity of Christ and apparently made a distinction between Jesus and Christ.

 

The Modalist Monarchians, the Monarchians properly so-called denied the Mystery of the Trinity, and held that God the Father and God the Son were one and the same person.

ADOPTIONIST: The sect originally called Theodotians after their leader, a leather-seller of Byzantium, who came to Rome under Pope Victor about 190-200, or earlier. In later years they have been called "Adoptionists", or, as stated under "Monarchians", are sometime classed as Dunamistic Monarchians, though they have no logical claim to the latter title. The Adoptionists denied the divinity of Christ and apparently made a distinction between Jesus and Christ.

ADAMITES: A very immoral sect whose origin is traced to a certain Prodicus. They rejected the worship of an invisible God; practiced idolatry condemned marriage and believed their church to be Paradise.

ANTIDICOMARIANITES:An eastern sect which has been so designated because they were opponents of Mary. It is difficult to trace their origin to any particular individual. They denied that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ.


THIRD CENTURY

TERTULLIANISTS: A sect that flourished in Carthage for 200 years after the death of Tertullian, whom they claimed as their founder. This man was the most eminent Latin ecclesiastical writer of the early Church. He was born at Carthage about 160, was converted to Christianity and later ordained to the priesthood. His over-severe views and austerity caused him to break with the regular Church authorities and he fell into the errors of Montanism. He is famous for many works, apologetical, doctrinal and ethicopractical, and is considered the most fecund, original and powerful genius in all the history of Christian Latin literature. He was a priest for 40 years and died at a very advanced age.

The errors of Tertullian were a belief that the Church could not absolve adulterers; that those who married a second time were adulterers, and that it was not lawful to fly from persecution.

ORIGENISTS: Named after Origen, one of the most learned and spirited men of his time, born at Alexandria in 185. His father was St. Leonidas, the martyr, who had him educated in every branch of sacred and profane literature. So great was the zeal of Origen for Christianity that he besought his mother to allow him to join his father when he was in prison during the persecution that he too might shed his blood for Christ. His earlier years were devoted to intensive study and successful teaching, and as time went on his fame for learning and wisdom grew so that all the priests and doctors consulted him in any difficult matter. He was one of the most voluminous writers the world has ever seen. He was ordained to the priesthood at Caesarea, but the Bishop of Alexandria, provoke for some reason or other, refused to recognize him. In spite of his deposed and excommunicated by an Alexandria council. He success. During the persecution under Maximinus he fled to Cappadocia where he lived for two years. Under Gordianus he returned and continued his activities, but the suffering and torture he endured under the Decian persecution broke his strength, and he died at Tyre in 254.

Origen held that from their beginning all rational creatures were pure spirits; taught that after the universal restoration, which was to be accomplished by a second crucifixion of Christ, all, even the damned in hell, would be pure spirits; and believed that the blessed in heaven could be expelled from that abode for faults committed there. There errors were condemned by Second Council of Constantinople in 553.

NOVATIANS: A schismatical sect which took its name from Novatus (Novatian), a Roman priest who made himself anti-pope. He was a learned and eloquent man but of a melancholy temperament, and, according to St. Cyprian, was turbulent, seditious and avaricious. St. Cornelius states that Novatus was possessed by Satan for a season, apparently while a catechumen. He was baptized by aspersion as he lay on a bed of sickness, but apparently was never confirmed. How he became a priest is not clear. He was accused by Cornelius of cowardice during the persecution of Decius. At the beginning of 251 the persecution relaxed and St. Cornelius was elected Pope. Some days later Novatus set himself up as a rival pope and had himself consecrated bishop. A council of sixty bishops was assembled under Pope Cornelius before the end of 251 in which Novatus was excommunicated.

The Nobatians held that idolatry was an unpardonable sin, that confirmation was no sacrament, that mortal sins committed after baptism could not be forgiven; condemned second marriages, and refused Communion to those who had contracted them, even at the time of death.

MANICHEANS: Follower of Manes (Mani), a Persian, born in 216 in the village of Mardinu in Babylonia. IN 242 he stood before the people of his native village as a religious teacher, but being unsuccessful there, he lived the life of a wanderer for forty years. He announced himself as the "Messenger of the True God", and amongst Christians as the promised Paraclete. Returning to Persia, he mad a first a favorable impression upon the king, Ormuzd I. Ormuzd’s favor, however, as of little avail, as he occupied the Persian throne only a single year, and Bahram I, his successor, caused Manes to be crucified, had the corpse flayed, and the skin stuffed and hung up at the city gate as a terrifying spectacle to his followers, whom he persecuted with relentless severity. Manes’ death is fixed at about 276-277.

The Manicheans believed in a plurality of gods; rejected the Old Testament absolutely, and of the New they retained only what had been revised and redacted by Manes; they held that Christ had no real body; denied free-will; recognized no baptism or marriage; believed in the transmigration of souls, and held that each man had two souls.

MILLENARIANS: Advocates of an old heresy that was revived by Nipos (Nepos), Bishop of Egypt during the third century. His energy in defending the doctrines of this third century. His energy in defending the doctrines of this sect nearly brought about a schism in the Church, but unity was preserved by the Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria.

The fundamental idea of millenarianism may be set forth as follows. At the end of time Christ will return in all His splendor to gather together the just, to annihilate hostile powers, and to found a glorious kingdom on earth for the enjoyment of the highest spiritual and material blessings. He Himself will reign as its King, and all the just, including the Saints recalled to life, will participate in it. At the close of this kingdom the Saints will enter heaven with Christ, while the wicked, who have also been resuscitated, will be condemned to eternal damnation. The duration of this glorious reign of Christ with His Saints on earth is frequently given as 1000 years. Hence the name Millenarianism.


FOURTH CENTURY

DONATISTS: Heretical followers of Donatus the Great, an African Bishop, who played a prominent part in the Donatist schism (named after another Donatus) of the fourth century, which preceded and paved the way for the heresy of the same name. He succeeded Majorinus in 315 as Bishop of Carthage, and being a man of forceful character gave a great impetus to the Donatist movement. They held that the true Church consisted only of the elect, and declared baptism to be invalid unless conferred by a Donatist.

AUDAEANS: A sect that took its rise and name from Audaeus, a native of Mesopotamia, who was banished to Scythia in 338 and died about 370 in the country of the Goths. He incurred the enmity of the clergy by censuring their luxuries and vices. The Audaeans held that God has a human form, and taught erroneous opinions concerning the administration of the Sacrament of Penance.

 

ARIANS: The strongest heretical sect with which the early Church had to contend. Its leader was Arius, an Alexandrian priest, theologian and controversialist. Arius was ordained deacon by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, but was subsequently excommunicated by him for joining in with the Meletian schism. He later repented and was restored, being advanced to the priesthood and given sole charge of a Church. After some time he was excommunicated again for his heretical views. He was a rigorous ascetic, a persuasive speaker and ardent propagandist. Tall, gloomy, fanatical, with down-cast eyes and tangled hair, he went about singing his doctrines, which he had set to the music of the theaters. Before long they were being sung by priests, boatmen, bakers and all sorts of people. The first ecumenical council, that of Nicea, was convened to condemn the heresy. Arius was banished to Illyria but later succeeded in returning in order to replace Athanasius, his chief opponent, as Bishop of Alexandria, but the popular up-roar did not allow him actually to do so. He died in his errors. The Arians denied the divinity of Christ, and taught that God the Son was not eternal, Christ being made the partaker of the divine nature as a reward for the work of the redemption.

MACEDONIANS: The followers of Macedonius, who was intruded into the See of Constantinople by the Arians (342) , and enthroned by Constantius, who had for the second time expelled Paul, the Catholic Bishop. Macedonius is known in history for his most cruel persecution of the Catholics and Novatians. Subsequently he fell into disgrace. Constantius caused him to be deposed and succeeded by Eudoxius in 360. He died about 364. The Macedonians denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost.

MASSALIANS: A sect founded by a native of Mesopotamia named Adelphus. They were a kind of vagrant quietest. Sacraments they held to be useless, though harmless, the only spiritual power being prayer, by which one drove out the evil spirit which baptism had not expelled, received the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and arrived at union with God, becoming so perfect that the passion ceased to trouble. They disregarded regulations in the matter of fasting; wandered from place to place, and in summer were accustomed to sleep in the streets. They engaged in no occupations.

AERIANS: Adherents of Aerius, a priest ordained by Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste (355) and placed over the hospital or asylum in that city. He soon fell out with Eustathius, began to preach a doctrine of his own and for a time had many followers. He insisted that there was no sacred character distinguishing bishops and priests from laymen taught that the observance of the feast of Easter was a Jewish superstition; that it was wrong to prescribe fasts or abstinence by law, and held that it was useless to pray for the dead.

APOLLINARISTS: The sect started by Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea. At first this prelate was highly esteemed by such men as St. Athanasius, St. Basil, and St. Jerome for his classical culture his biblical learning, his defense of Christianity and his loyalty to the Nicene faith. But later, having fallen into heresy, he failed to submit to the solemn condemnation of his doctrine by the Council of Constantinople in 381, and died in his error about 392.

Apollinaris taught that Christ had a human body and a human sensitive soul, but no human rational mind, the Divine Logus taking the place of this last; held that there were three different degrees of dignity in the Trinity itself; and maintained erroneous views on the Incarnation, on of which was that the Divine Substance of the Word was converted into flesh.

PRISCILLIANISTS: A sect originally founded by an Egyptian from Memphis by the name of Mark. One of his early disciples was Priscillian, a man of noble birth, great riches, bold, restless, eloquent, learned and ready at debate and discussion, who soon became leader of the sect which now bears his name. He was ordained to the priesthood and appointed Bishop of Avila by his heretical followers, among whom were two bishops. About 383 he was condemned to death. His errors were condemned in the Council of Saragossa by St. Damasus.

The Priscillianists held that angels and the souls of men were severed from the substance of the Deity; that Christ only appeared to be a man and that His death was only apparent; prohibited meat; rejected the narrative of creation in the Old Testament, and denied the Trinity.

JOVINIANS: Followers of Jovinianus, a monk for a while but subsequently an advocate of anti-ascetical tendencies. His views, promulgated mostly by writing, were condemned by Pope Siricius in a Council held at Rome in the year 390, and soon after in another Council held by St. Ambrose in Milan. In the end Jovinianus was exiled by the Emperor Theodosius, and after by Honorius, to Boas, a maritime town of Dalmatia, where he died in misery in the year 412.

He taught that a virgin, as such, is no better in the sight of God than a wife; held abstinence to be no better than the taking of food in the proper disposition; that a person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin; that all sins are equal; that there is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state, and denied the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

VIGILANTIANS: A sect started by Vigilantius, a Gallie writer and priest of the last years of the fourth century. He was born in Western Gaul and became an inn-keeper, but about 395, through the influence of Sulpicius Severus, was ordained to the priesthood. He went to visit St. Jerome and immediately quarreled with him on religious matters, accusing him of being a heretic. St. Jerome later refuted his errors.

Vigilantius condemned the veneration of images and relics; the invocation of the Saints; the celibacy of the clergy; and monasticism: and held it useless to pray for the dead.


FIFTH CENTURY

PELAGIANS: Followers of the doctrines of Pelagius, about whom little is known. He is spoken of by several of his contemporaries as a Briton. In 409, to avoid Alaric’s siege of Rome, he escaped with his convert and pupil, Caelestius, to Northern Africa, and had gone from there to Palestine before the meeting of the Council of Carthage in 411, which condemned Caelestius. Pelagius is not heard of after 418, but there is a tradition that he was 70 years of age when he died in some obscure town in Palestine. He appears to have been a very good man (St. Augustin called him "saintly") , of more than common moral strictness and purity, if not a man of any great spiritual depth or intellectual grasp. He fell into heresy through contact with a Syrian priest named Rufinus; not, however Rufinus of Aquilea who disputed with St. Jerome.

The heretical doctrines of Pelagius, condemned at the Council of Ephesus, 431, were: Adam would have died if he had not sinned; Adam’s sin injured himself only, not the race; children are born as pure as Adam was before he fell; men neither die because Adam fell, nor rise again in consequence of Christ’s resurrection; unbaptized as well as baptized infants are saved; the Mosaic Law is as good a guide to heaven as the Gospel; even before Christ’s advent there were sinless men.

SEMIPELAGIANS: A sect traced to John Cassianus, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Victor, a celebrated and holy man, who, although never formally canonized, was venerated as a Saint, and whose name appears as such on the Greek Calendar. He was the first to introduce the rules of Eastern monasticism into the West. Being the son of wealthy parents, he received a good education. He first entered a monastery in Bethlehem but later withdrew into the Egyptian desert, being attracted by the holiness of the hermits there. During a visit to Rome he was elevated to the priesthood, and subsequently founded two monasteries at Marseilles, one of which he ruled as Abbot.

The errors of the Semipelagians were condemned in the year 432 by Pope Celestine I; in 529 by Pope Felix IV, in the Synod of Orange and the Synod of Valence, both of which Councils were confirmed by Pope Boniface II. These errors were: the beginning faith depends on man’s free-will, while faith itself and its increase depend absolutely upon God; nature has a certain claim to grace; final perseverance is not a special gift of grace but depends upon man’s own strength; some children die before baptism, and others after on account of the foreknowledge God possesses of the good or evil they would have done if they had lived; some are predestined to heaven, other to hell.

 

SEMIPELAGIANS: A sect traced to John Cassianus, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Victor, a celebrated and holy man, who, although never formally canonized, was venerated as a Saint, and whose name appears as such on the Greek Calendar. He was the first to introduce the rules of Eastern monasticism into the West. Being the son of wealthy parents, he received a good education. He first entered a monastery in Bethlehem but later withdrew into the Egyptian desert, being attracted by the holiness of the hermits there. During a visit to Rome he was elevated to the priesthood, and subsequently founded two monasteries at Marseilles, one of which he ruled as Abbot.

The errors of the Semipelagians were condemned in the year 432 by Pope Celestine I; in 529 by Pope Felix IV, in the Synod of Orange and the Synod of Valence, both of which Councils were confirmed by Pope Boniface II. These errors were: the beginning faith depends on man’s free-will, while faith itself and its increase depend absolutely upon God; nature has a certain claim to grace; final perseverance is not a special gift of grace but depends upon man’s own strength; some children die before baptism, and others after on account of the foreknowledge God possesses of the good or evil they would have done if they had lived; some are predestined to heaven, other to hell.

NESTORIANS: Nestorius, the founder of this sect, was born at Germanicia, Syria Euphoratensis. He was living as a priest and monk in the monastery of Euprepius near the walls, when he was chosen by the Emperor Theodosius II to be Patriarch of Constantinople. He enjoyed a great reputation for eloquence, and after his consecration in 428, displayed great zeal and energy in opposing heretics of his time. Towards the close of the same year his own doctrine was protested against, and later condemned by a Council. He refused to abide by this decision and was thrust out of his See by the Emperor. Nestorius retired to his monastery at Antioch, but a few years later was banished to the Oasis. He was at one time carried off by the Nubians in a raid, and was restored to the Thebaid with his hand and one rib broken. He died there about 451.

The heretical doctrines of the Nestorians were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431. They taught that there were two separate persons in Christ, one divine and the other human; and claimed that Mary was the mother of the human person only, not of the divine.

PREDESTINARIANS: A heresy which was defended by Lucidas, a priest of Gaul, towards the middle of the fifth century. About his life in other respects, history is silent. The heresy was condemned in 475 in the Council of Lyons.

Lucidas taught that God absolutely and positively predestined some to eternal death and others to eternal life, in such a manner that the latter have not to do anything in order to secure salvation, divine grace of itself carrying them on to their destiny; that Christ did not die for the non-elect, since they are destined for hell.

MONOPHYSITES: Sometimes called Eutychians, after Eutyches, their founder, who flourished during the fifth century and gave his name to an opinion to which his teaching and influence contributed little or nothing. He was not a learned man but very much respected and had influence. In 448 Eutyches was 70 years of age, and had been for 30 years archimandrite of a monastery outside the walls of Constantinople, where he ruled over 300 monks. He was a bitter opponent of Nestorianism and the other heresies. At a synod convened by St. Flavian, Bishop of Constantinople about 448, he accused Eusebius, Bishop of Dorylaeum, of teaching false doctrine, and the accused answered by launching a counter-charge of heresy against Eutyches. Not being able to answer satisfactorily he was condemned and exiled in 450.

The doctrines of the Monophysites, that Christ had only one nature, was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451.


SEVENTH CENTURY

MONOTHELITES: An heretical sect that owed its origin to Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who was assisted in great measure by Cyril (Cyrus), Bishop of Phasis and later Patriarch of Alexandria.

The doctrine of the Monothelites, who held that there were two natures, but only a divine will in Christ, was condemned by the Council of Constantinople in the year 680.

PAULICIANS: Constantine of Mananalis, called himself Silvanus, founded what appears to have been the first Paulician community at Kibossa, near Colonia in Armenia. He began to teach about 657. He wrote no books and taught that the New Testament, as he presented it, should be the only text used by his followers. After preaching for 27 years and having spread his sect into the Western part of Asia Minor, he was arrested by the Imperial authorities, tried for heresy and stoned to death.

The Paulicians believed in a plurality of Gods; held all matter to be bad; rejected the Old Testament; denied the Incarnation; held Christ to be an angel, and his real mother the heavenly Jerusalem: taught that faith in Christ saves from judgment; denied the sacraments and apparently believed in the transmigration of souls; condemned all exterior forms of religion and refused to honor the Cross since they maintained that Christ had not been crucified.


EIGHTH CENTURY

ICONOCLASTS: A sect stirred up and supported by Leo the Isaurian who used his influence and power Emperor to wage a bitter war against the veneration of sacred images of all kinds. This outbreak commenced about the year 723 and led to much violence.

The Iconoclasts held that the veneration of sacred images was idolatry. This error was condemned by thee Second Council of Nice in the year 787.

ADOPTIONISTS: A sect whose origin is attributed to Elipandus Archbishop of Toledo, Spain.

They held a double son ship in Christ; one by generation and nature, and the other by adoption and grace. Christ as God is indeed the Son of God by generation and nature, but Christ as man is Son of God only by adoption and grace. Hence they maintained "The Man Christ" to be the adoptive, and not the natural, Son of God.


NINTH CENTURY

GREEK-RUSSIAN: This independent church is the result of what is known in history as the "Greek Schism". Its origin dates from the time of Photius, a high official in the civil service of the Byzantine government, distinguished for his learning and literary taste. In 858, on the deposition of Ignatius, he was hurried through all the ecclesiastical degrees and installed by the Emperor Michael III as Patriarch of Constantinople. Pope Nicholas I objected to the irregularities of Photius’ elevation, and convoked a council at Rome which deposed and excommunicated him. Photius then gave the conflict a doctrinal turn and brought about conditions that paved the way for the Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches. Photius was deposed and sent into exile several times, the last being in 886, and a few years later died in an Armenian monastery. The schism commenced by him, although suppressed several times, continues to the present day.

The Greek Orthodox Church or, more correctly, the Orthodox Eastern Church, denies the supremacy of the Pope; holds that the Catholic Church erred in prescribing celibacy for the clergy, and teaches that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father alone.

 

ELEVENTH CENTURY

BOGOMILISTS: An heretical sect started by Basil, a monk and physician, who gathered about him twelve "apostles" and made his presence felt at Constantinople about the year 1118. The Emperor Alexis I, having received a frank exposition of the doctrine of this sect, demanded that they should retract their errors. Some who would not comply were thrown into prison, but Basil was condemned to death (1118) and burned.

They held that there two fundamental principles, one of good, the other of evil; taught that God the Father was incorporeal but had a human appearance; that He had two sons, one of whom had creative power; that man has two creators; rejected the Old Testament in parts; did away with baptism by water; denied the Real Presence; condemned marriage; rejected images, and prohibited the eating of meat.

BERENGARIANS: Followers of Berengarius, who was born at Tours about 999. He received a good education, became distinguished for learning and intelligence, and soon had a considerable following. Later he became Archdeacon of Angers. Errors crept into his doctrine which were condemned by the Church in numerous Councils, and Berengarius himself was for a while imprisoned. He retracted these, however, before his retirement to St. Cosme, near Tours, where he died in union with the Church in the year 1088.

Berengarius taught that the Body and Blood of Christ were really present in the Holy Eucharist, but only by a spiritual or intellectual presence; that the substance of bread and the substance of wine remain unchanged in their nature, but by consecration become spiritually the very Body and Blood of Christ.


TWELFTH CENTURY

PETROBROSIANS: Followers of a monk, Peter de Bruis, who, tired of the restraint of the cloister, apostatized, and fled to the province of Arles, where, about 1118, he began to preach his errors Twenty years later the populace of St. Gilles, near Nimes, exasperated by his burning of cross, cast him into the flames.

He rejected the baptism of infants; condemned altars and churches; prohibited the veneration of the Cross; rejected the Mass and Holy Eucharist; and denied the utility of prayers for the dead. These errors were all condemned by the Second Council of the Lateran in 1139.

HENRICIANS: So-called after Henry of Lausanne, a cluniac monk who left his monastery and began to preach to the people. He joined in with the Petrobrosians in Provence, was arrested and confined to a cell as a heretic. Subsequently release, he was again arrested and died in prison in 1149.

His doctrine mainly insisted upon personal responsibility as opposed to authority in religious matters and the rejection of the rites and authority of the Church.

WALDENSES: Founded by Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant of Lyons, who carried out literally the counsel of Christ: "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast and give to the poor". In 1176 he completed the distribution of all his earthly possessions and took a vow of poverty shortly afterwards. This action of his created a great stir in Lyons and he soon had imitators, many of whom began to preach in the streets. They soon fell into error an were condemned as heretics by numerous synods and councils, but especially by the Third Council of the Lateran in 1179.

Their errors were: the Catholic Church erred in accepting temporal property; they condemned tithes; believed in only two sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist; held that layman could absolve from sin, but that a sinful priest could not; rejected indulgences, fasts and all the ceremonies of the Church; made no distinction between mortal and venial sins; claimed the veneration of sacred images to be idolatry, and condemned all oaths to be unlawful.


THIRTEENTH CENTURY

ALBIGENSES: Traced to one Constantine of Samosata and so-called because they first spread themselves in the city of Albi, or that part of Gaul called Albigensum, and subsequently in the Province of Toulouse. The errors of all other heresies were joined in this one sect. They were condemned in numerous synods, and especially by the Third Council of the Lateran in 1179.

They believed in tow Gods; held only the New Testament to be inspired; reject infant baptism; declared marriage sinful; that it was wrong to obey and support the clergy; held that everyone has the power to forgive sins; denied the Trinity, Incarnation, Redemption and the Sacraments; declared all penance useless, and held that an unworthy priest lost the power of consecrating the Holy Eucharist.

FRATICELLI: One sect by this name may be traced to Gherardo Segarelli, a laboring man Parma, who organized his followers as an "apostolic order", and made considerable noise in upper Italy. From 1260 to 1307. Another such sect was started by tow apostate Franciscan Friars, Peter of Macerata and Peter of Fossombrone.

In general these heretics held that there were tow churches, one carnal, the other spiritual; that only the spiritual church has the true Scriptures and divine power, and that in them alone was the Gospel of Jesus Christ fulfilled. They were condemned in 1318 by a Bull of Pope John XXII.

FLAGELLANTS: A sect which was the offspring of an ill-judged piety and can not be traced to any one individual.

The advocated excessive self-flagellation; confessed sins to laymen; believed that penance helped the damned; denied the Sacraments, and taught that one month’s penance was necessary for the forgiveness of sins. They were formally condemned as heretics by Pope Clement VI (1342-1352).


FOURTEENTH CENTURY

LOLLARDS: The name applied to the followers of John Whclif, who was born at Ipreswel (now Hispwell) near Richmond, Yourkshire, England, probably some years earlier than 1324. He studied at Oxford and in 1356 began to publish his works. His doctrines were condemned in 1382 by a synod of twelve theologians, and two years later Wyclif died. He was formally declared a heretic by the Council of Constance (1414-1418).

The Lollards held that the universe and God are one; that creation was an emanation of God; believed in predestination; denied the Real Presence; held the veneration of sacred images to be unlawful, and rejected the episcopacy of the Church.


FIFTEENTH CENTURY

HUSSITES: Founded by Peter Chelczicky, a layman of the Bohemian nobility.

They denied the doctrine of Transubstantiation; rejected tradition and held the Bible to be the only guide to heaven.

ANABAPTISTS: Nicholas Stork, a weaver (d. 1525), and Thomas Munzer, a Lutheran preacher and priest (c. 1490-1525), made, at the time of the so-called reformation, the first attacks on infant baptism, and thus launched the Anabaptist movement.

They denied the validity of infant baptism; practiced communism and polygamy; and condemned oaths and warfare as unlawful.

OSIANDRISTS: Disciples of a German reformer, Andreas Osiander, who was born Dec. 19, 1498, at Gunzenhausen, near Nuremberg. His real name was Hosemann. He was educated at Ingolstadt and Wittenberg, and became a preacher at Nuremberg in 1522, where he was conspicuously active in introducing the Protestant Reformation.

He taught that Christ was the justifier of mankind, not according to the human, but according to the divine nature.

 

ZWINGLIANS: Disciples of Ulric Zwingli, a contemporary of Luther, born at Wildhaus, Canton of St. Gall, Jan. 1 1484. In 1506 he became parish priest at Glarus, and later began preaching erroneous doctrines. In 1524 he married. He was killed in 1531 in the religious strife he had helped to stir up.

The Zwinglians believed in predestination; that marriage was suited to all; that it was presumption to take a vow of chastity; denied the authority of the Pope, free-will, the Sacraments, good works, purgatory and the forgiveness of sin.

PRESBYTERIANS: A religious denomination that owes its formation to John Knox, who was born at Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland, in 1505. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1530. In 1542 he sided with Protestant movement, and thereafter, until his death at Edinburgh in 1572, was most active in attacking the Catholic Church.

The Presbyterians believe in predestination; deny the authority of the Pope, free-will, the Sacraments, purgatory, good works and the forgiveness of sin.

LUTHERANS: The name of an heretical sect founded by Martin Luther, who was born at Eisleben, Germany, Nov. 10, 1483; attended a Catholic Latin school at Mansfeld, and in 1497, when fourteen years old, entered another Catholic University of Erfurt in Thuringia, in 1501, where he became a Master of Philosophy at the age of twenty. On July 17, 1505 he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, and in 1507 was ordained a Catholic priest. In 1508 he was made professor of philosophy at the new Catholic University of Wittenberg, visited Rome in 1510 or 1511 on business of his Order, and sometime after his return began to lecture on the Scriptures. On Oct. 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 theses against indulgences to the door of the church in Wittenberg. On Sept. 21, 1520 he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. Later he married an ex-nun, Catherine von Bora, and finally died in 1546.

Luther denied tradition; the divine authority of the Papacy; that councils were infallible; that original justice was a supernatural gift; that human nature remained essentially the same in its powers after the fall of Adam; that man, after the fall, can produce any good works; held that man sins in whatever he does; that the sins of the just are covered by faith and not done away with; maintained that all works of sinners are sins; denied free-will; all the Sacraments except Baptism and the Eucharist; transubstantiation; the Sacrifice of the Mass; purgatory and the utility of praying to the Saints; he maintained that vows are made to the devil; that concupiscence is invincible; that the sensual instincts are irrepressible, and held that the gratification of sexual propensities is as natural and inexorable as the performance of any of the physiological necessities of our being.

Lutheranism in general and all the Protestant sects that developed from it were condemned by the Council of Treat (1545-1563).

SACRAMENTARIANS: A sect started by Andreas Karlstadt, whose real name was Andreas Rudolf Bodenstein, at first a friend, but later an opponent of Luther. He was born at Karlstadt, Franconia, about 1480. After a stormy career, during which he was driven out of Saxony several times, and after much wandering about preaching Protestantism, he settled down as professor of theology at Bazel, where he died in 1541.

The Sacramentarians rejected the doctrine of a corpora presence in the Holy Eucharist, but admitted the spiritual presence of Christ.

MENNONITES: Founded by Menno Simons, who was born in 1492, at Witmarsum in Friesland, and ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1516. He became an Anabaptist elder in 1536, and during the rest of his life devoted himself to the sect that now bears his name. He died in 1559 at Wustenfelde in Hostein.

The Mennonites condemned infant baptism; oaths law suit; civil office holding; the bearing of arms; the Sacraments; and held a doctrine of non-resistance to violence.

EPISCOPALIANS: Members of the Church of England, which was founded by Henry VIII and established as the national church of that country in 1534 by an act of Parliament. Henry decided to establish his own church because the Catholic Church would not allow him to divorce his wife and remarry. In his Bull "Apostolicae Curae" published Sept. 18 1896, Pope Leo XIII declared Anglican Order to be invalid.

The Anglicans, as they are commonly called, believe in justification by faith alone ; hold that the Bible is sufficient for salvation and that it is to be interpreted privately; deny the supremacy of the Pope and hold the King supreme in spiritual matters; deny the doctrine of Transubstantiation, purgatory, and condemn the Veneration of the Saints.

CALVINISTS: Disciples of John Calvin, who was born at Noyor in Picardy, France, on July 10, 1509. He was undoubtedly the greatest of Protestant divines. He preached and taught his heretical doctrines until he died at Geneva, May 27, 1564.

Calvin held the doctrine of predestination; denied the supremacy of the Pope; free-will; good works; purgatory; the Sacraments; and the forgiveness of sin.

UNITARIANS: Martin Cellarius is commonly regarded as the first writer of the Unitarian movement. He was born in 1499 and, although a friend of Luther, differed from him on the fundamental position of the authority of Scripture. Is death occurred in 1564.

The Unitarians deny the divinity of Christ; accept or reject the Bible according to private judgement; deny the doctrine of Atonement and original sin; reject all but two of the Sacraments and deny the grace-conferring power and necessity even of these.

SOCINIANS: A sect which owes its origin to Laelius and Faustus Socinus. Laelius, born in 1525, was a priest of Sienna and intimate friend of Calvin. He was forced to flee to Poland at one time, but appears to have spent most of his life at Zurich. He died in 1562. Faustus, born in 1539, was a nephew of Laelius, and it is to him that the sect bearing his name owes its individuality. After his uncle’s death he succeeded in reuniting and reorganizing the Socinians who had scattered. He died in 1604.

The Socinians insisted on private judgment and the free use of reason; rejected authority, and some went so far as to reject all natural religion; discarded mysteries; denied Adam to have been endowed with peculiar gifts; set aside the doctrine of original sin; admitted only two sacraments; rejected baptism, and denied the existence of hell, holding the wicked to be annihilated.

HUGUENOTS: The name commonly given to the French Protestants who owe their origin to a great extent to William Farel. This man was born of a noble family at Fareaux, near Gap, Dauphine, in the year 1489. He was a friend of Calvin, studied in Paris, and later became a Professor in the College Le Moine, and was distinguished for his zeal for the Catholic Church. Contract with the Waldenses infected him with erroneous ideas, and he was soon involved in the Protestant movement. He died at Neuchatel, Sept. 13, 1565.

The Huguenots held the doctrine of predestination; denied the supremacy of the Pope; free-will; good works; purgatory; the Sacraments and forgiveness of sin.

REFORMED DUTCH: Guido de Bres, a Dutch reformer of Brabant, together with others, wrote in 1561 the statement of faith, called the Belgic Confession, which formed the doctrinal foundation of the Reformed Dutch Church.

These heretics believed in predestination; denied the supremacy of the Pope; free-will; the Sacraments; good works; purgatory; the forgiveness of sin, and considered the Scriptures the only rule of faith.

CONGREGATIONALISTS: Organized by Robert Browne, who was born of a good family in Rutlandshire, England, in 1550. He studied at Cambridge, and in 1580 began a propaganda against the Anglican State Church, which brought him many followers but compelled him to migrate to Holland.

The Congregationalists hold the doctrine of predestination; deny free-will; good works purgatory; the Sacrament and forgiveness of sin.