A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

§ 27. The Apostolic Tradition and the Episcopate 127of bishops. It also throws some light on the methods of dealingwith the new prophets.Serapion, who, according to report, became bishop of Antioch atthat time, after Maximinus, mentions the works of Apollinarius [111]against the above-mentioned heresy. And he refers to him in aprivate letter to Caricus and Pontius, in which he himself exposesthe same heresy, adding as follows: “That you may see that thedoings of this lying band of new prophecy, as it is called, are anabomination to all the brethren throughout the world, I have sentyou writings of the most blessed Claudius Apollinarius, bishopof Hierapolis in Asia.” In the same letter of Serapion are foundthe signatures of several bishops, of whom one has subscribedhimself as follows: “I, Aurelius Cyrenius, a witness, pray foryour health.” And another after this manner: “Ælius PubliusJulius, bishop of Debeltum, a colony of Thrace. As God livethin the heavens, the blessed Sotas in Anchialus desired to cast thedemon out of Priscilla, but the hypocrites would not permit him.”And the autograph signatures of many other bishops who agreedwith them are contained in the same letter.§ 27. The Apostolic Tradition and the EpiscopateThe Gnostics claimed apostolic authority for their teaching andappealed to successions of teachers who had handed down theirteachings. This procedure forced the Church to lay stress uponthe obvious fact that its doctrine was derived from the Apostles,a matter on which it never had had any doubt, but was vouchedfor, not by obscure teachers, but by the churches which hadbeen founded by the Apostles themselves in large cities and bythe bishops whom the Apostles had instituted in those churches.Those churches, furthermore, agreed among themselves, but theGnostic teachers differed widely. By this appeal the bishopcame to represent the apostolic order (for an earlier conception