A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

244 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[221]“But since they bring forward a certain work of Nepos, onwhich they rely confidently, as if it proved beyond dispute thatthere will be a reign of Christ upon earth, I confess that inmany other respects I approve and love Nepos for his faith andindustry and his diligence in the Scriptures, and for his extensivepsalmody with which many of the brethren are still delighted;and I hold the man in the more reverence because he has gonebefore us to rest.… But as some think his work very plausible,and as certain teachers regard the law and the prophets as of noconsequence, and do not follow the Gospels, and treat lightly theapostolic epistles, while they make promises as to the teachingof this work as if it were some great hidden mystery, and donot permit our simpler brethren to have any sublime and loftythoughts concerning the glorious and truly divine appearing ofour Lord and our resurrection from the dead, and our beinggathered together unto Him, and made like Him, but, on thecontrary, lead them to a hope for small things and mortal thingsin the kingdom of God, and for things such as exist now—sincethis is the case, it is necessary that we should dispute with ourbrother Nepos as if he were present.” Farther on he says:“When I was in the district of Arsinoe, where, as you know,this doctrine has prevailed for a long time, so that schisms andapostasies of entire churches have resulted, I called together thepresbyters and teachers of the brethren in the villages—suchbrethren as wished being present—and I exhorted them to makea public examination of this question. Accordingly when theybrought me this book, as if it were a weapon and fortress impregnable,sitting with them from morning till evening for threesuccessive days, I endeavored to correct what was written init.… And finally the author and mover of this teaching, whowas called Coracion, in the hearing of all the brethren presentacknowledged and testified to us that he would no longer holdthis opinion, nor discuss it, nor mention it, nor teach it, as he wasfully convinced by the arguments against it.”