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DiONYsius of Rome. A. D. 259. 129
of Alexaiulria. In another work he says; ' Wlien^ some
' brought accusations to the bishop of" Rome, against the
' bishop of" Alexandria, as if he had said the Son Mas a crea-
' ture, and not consubstantial to the Father, the synod at
' Rome was offended, and the bishop of Rome sent the judg-
' ment of them all to his namesake. lie afterwards vindi-
' cated himself,entitlinghisbook,AConfutationand Apology:
' and thus he writes to him ;' that is, to Dionysius of Rome.
Theie was therefore a synod at Rome, which had some
concern in this business : but, whether it was convened upon
occasion of the accusations brought against Dionysius of
Alexandria, or whether his accusers found it assembled, and
laid their charges against him before Dionysius of Rome, and
the whole synod, is not clear. Hence also we perceive that
Dionysius of Rome wrote in that controversy ; but whether
one piece only, or a treatise, and an epistle besides to Dionysius
of Alexandria, is not certain. A large fragment of what
he wrote upon this point remains cited in a work of Athanasius.
1 shall transcribe a part of it presently.
It should be observed, that Dionysius, whilst presbyter
only,'' Mrote to his namesake of Alexandria upon the question
of the baptism of heretics. And now, I think, we have mentioned
all the works of this bishop of Rome, of which Ave
have any certain notice: I mean, the letter just named, the
letter to the Ctesareans mentioned by Basil, and what he
wrote in the Sabellian controversy: for Jerom has not allotted
him any distinct article in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical
Writers : and as for decretal, or other epistles ascribed
to him, they are allowed' by learned men to be spurious:
nor does there remain any thing* of his genuine writings,
beside the fragment just mentioned.
To this Dionysius was sent one of the letters about baptism,
written by Dionysius of Alexandria, as'' shown formerly:
as also another letter by the same person concerning one'
Lucian. To him likewise were'" addressed the four books
concerning Sabellianism, written by the same Dionysius of
Alexandria, as we are assured by Eusebius ; with whom
Athanasins agrees when he says, the vindication which that
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de Synodis, p. 757. F. >> Vid. Ens. lib. vii. cap. 5. 252. C.
' Vid. Pagi Cr.t. in Baron. 2G9. n. iii. Ba?n. 259. n. ix. TiUeni. Mem. St.
Denys Pape. p. 701, 702. ^ See before, ch. xliii. n. vi. vol. iii.
' See the same, ibid. "" See the same, numb. vii.
VOL. III. K