of which an order was made that catechumens should be taught the Nicene Creed, and no other.' The like may be observed in the Edict of the Emperor Basiliscus, mentioned by Evagrius 87, who, speaking of the Nicene Creed, calls it the Creed in which both he and all his ancestors were baptized.' And it is remarked by Epiphanius 8, of the two Creeds which he recites, 'that they were the Creeds which every catechumen repeated at his baptism;' which were nothing but the Nicene Creed, with the addition of such articles as the Church supplied to make it a complete summary of the Faith. So that nothing can be more evident than that the Nicene was the Creed then generally made use of in all the Eastern Churches for the instruction of catechumens at their baptism.

But as yet it was not made a part of the common liturgy of the Church, to be repeated daily in divine service. St. Ambrose 89 indeed speaks of it as used in private devotion, and gives directions to the holy virgins so to use it in their morning retirements, and upon other proper occasions. And Habertus 90 thinks it was also required of bishops at their ordination; which is not improbable, because they were obliged to make a profession of their faith. But all this did not yet make it a part of the daily liturgy of the Church. For it is agreed

πους τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, καὶ τοὺς κληρικοὺς τοῦ κλήρου· εἰ δὲ λαϊκοὶ εἶεν, ἀναθεματίζεσθαι.

66 Act. 2. (t. 4. p. 342 a.) Αὕτη ἡ ἀληθινὴ πίστις· αὕτη ἡ ἁγία πίστις αὕτη αἰωνία πίστις· εἰς ταύτην ἐβαπτίσθημεν· εἰς ταύτην βαπτίζομεν.

87 L. 3. c. 4. (v. 3. p. 335. 44.) ... Θεσπίζομεν τὴν κρηπίδα καὶ βεβαίως σιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης εὐζωΐας, τουτέστι τὸ σύμβολον τῶν τιή' ἁγίων πατέρων τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πάλαι μετὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐκκλησιασθέντων, εἰς ὃ ἡμεῖς τε καὶ πάντες οἱ πρὸ ἡμῶν πιστεύσαντες ἐβαπτίσθημεν, μόνον που λιτεύεσθαι, καὶ κρατεῖν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἁγιωτάταις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκλησίαις τὸν ὀρθόδοξον λαόν.—Ibid. c. 7. (p. 341. 13.) . . . . Εἰς ἣν καὶ ἐβαπτίσθημεν καὶ πιστεύομεν.

88 Anchorat. n. 119. (t. 2. p. 122 b.) Μὴ διαλείπητε, οἱ πιστοὶ καὶ ὀρθόδοξοι, ταύτην τὴν ἁγίαν πίστιν τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας, ὡς παρέλαβεν ἡ ἁγία, καὶ μόνη παρθένος τοῦ Θεοῦ

ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων Αποστόλων τοῦ Κυρίου φυλάττειν· καὶ οὕτως ἕκαστον τῶν κατηχουμένων τῶν μελλόντων τῷ ἁγίῳ λουτρῷ προσιέναι οὐ μόνον ἀπαγγέλ λειν ὀφείλετε τὸ πιστεύειν τοῖς ἑαυ τῶν υἱοῖς ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ διδάσκειν ῥητῶς, ὡς πάντων ἡ αὐτὴ μητὴρ ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἡμῶν, τὸ λέγειν· Πιστεύο ομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν, κ. τ. λ.

89 De Virgin. 1. 3. [c. 4.] p. 115. (t. 2. p. 179 b. n. 20.) Symbolum quoque specialiter debemus, tanquam nostri signaculum cordis, antelucanis horis quotidie recensere. Quo etiam, cum horremus aliquid, animo recurrendum est.

90 Archierat. ad Profess. Fid. Observ. I. (p. 499.) Professionem autem fidei ac symboli pronuntiationem non solum in baptismo, sed etiam in aliis mysteriis; in ordinatione etiam, praesertim pontificia, seu potius ad illam fieri, ut æquissimum, sic solemnem semper in ecclesia Latina fuisse arbitror.

among learned men, both of the Romish and Protestant communions, that the Creed was not used to be repeated in the daily service till about the middle of the fifth century in the Greek Church, and not till some time after in the Latin Church. So Valesius 91, Cardinal Bona 92, Schelstrate 93, Pagi 94, Christianus Lupus 95, Hamon L'Estrange 96, and Vossius 97. Theodorus Lector 98 observes, that Peter Fullo, who was bishop

of Antioch about the year 471, was the first that ordered the Creed to be repeated in that Church, év táoŋ ovvá§el, in every church-assembly. And the same author 99 reports, that Timotheus, bishop of Constantinople, anno 511, was the first that brought in this custom into that Church: which he did in hatred to his predecessor, Macedonius, and with an intent to represent him as disaffected to the Nicene Creed, which before that time was used to be rehearsed in the church only once a year, on the Parasceue, or great day of preparation before the Passover, now called Maunday-Thursday, when the bishop was wont to catechize such as were to be baptized at Easter. From the Oriental Churches the custom was brought into the West, first in Spain and Gallicia, at the petition of king Reccaredus, by the order of the third Council of Toledo1, about the year 589, when those Churches were newly recovered from the inundation of the Arian heresy. This practice was then thought a proper antidote to preserve them from relapsing into their ancient error. Lupus and Pagi say it was not brought into the French Churches till the time of Charles the Great, and then Pope Leo the Third advised them to lay it aside again, because it was not yet the custom of the Roman Church. They concluded yet further, that in the time of Pope John the Eighth, anno 870, it was not yet the practice of the Roman Church. But at last, in the days of Benedict the Eighth, anno 1014, as is collected from Berno Augiensis, the custom was admitted into the Roman Church; for this reason,' to give it in the words of Lupus, since the Roman Church could not bring over the French and Spanish Churches to her own way, she resolved at last to comply with their custom, that there might be no disagreement among them:' and so the Nicene Creed came to be universally read throughout the whole Church.

99 Ibid. p. 563. (p. 578. 17.) Tiμόθεος τὸ τῶν τριακοσίων δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ πατέρων τῆς πίστεως σύμβολον, καθ ̓ ἑκάστην σύναξιν λέγεσθαι παρεσκεύασεν, ἐπὶ διαβολῇ δῆθεν Μακεδονίου, ὡς αὐτοῦ μὴ δεχομένου τὸ σύμβολον, ἅπαξ τοῦ ἔτους λεγόμενον πρότερον ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ παρασκευῇ τοῦ θείου πάθους, τῷ καιρῷ τῶν γινομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου κατηχήσεων.

BINGHAM, VOL. III.

1 C. 2. (t. 5. p. 1009 e.).... Petitione [al. consultu] Reccaredi Regis constituit Synodus, ut per omnes ecclesias Hispaniæ et [vel Galliciæ, secundum formam Orientalium ecclesiarum, Concilii Constantinopolitani.. Symbolum Fidei recitetur: et, priusquam Dominica dicatur Oratio, voce clara populo prædicetur, [al. decantetur], &c.

Nn

Of the
Athanasian
Creed.

18. There is but one Creed more, which I need to stand to give any account of, and that is the Creed which is commonly received under the name of the Athanasian Creed. Baronius 2 is of opinion that it was composed by Athanasius, when he was at Rome, and offered to Pope Julius as a confession of his faith; which circumstance is not at all likely, for Julius never questioned the faith of Athanasius. However, a great many learned men have so far embraced the opinion of Baronius, as to believe this Creed to be of Athanasius's composing; as Cardinal Bona3, and Petavius1, and Bellarmin3, and Rivet, with many others of both communions. Scultetus leaves the matter in doubt. But the best and latest critics, who have examined the thing most exactly, make no question but that it is to be ascribed to a Latin author, Vigilius Tapsensis, an African bishop, who lived in the latter end of the fifth century, in the time of the Vandalic Arian persecution. The learned Vossius 7 and Quesnels have written particular dissertations upon this subject. Their arguments are: First, because this Creed is wanting in almost all the manuscripts of Athanasius's Works. Secondly, because the style and contexture of it does not bespeak a Greek, but a Latin author. Thirdly, because neither Cyril of Alexandria, nor the Council of Ephesus, nor Pope Leo, nor the Council of Chalcedon, have ever so much as men

2 An. 340. n. 11. (t. 3. p. 528 c.) ...Quum Romæ esset, illud quoque insigne fidei suæ reliquit Occidentalibus monumentum, nempe Symbolum, quod hactenus Athanasii nomine in ecclesia Catholica publice recitatur.

3 De Psalmod. c. 16. n. 18. (p. 469.) Hic [Athanasius] teste Baronio, cum esset Romæ anno quarto Julii summi pontificis, symbolum scripsit, suæ fidei memorabile documentum, quod Latino idiomate coram pontifice recitavit.

4 Animadvers. in Epiphan. Hær. 72. (pp. 304, 305.) Quin etiam Athanasii Symbolum, quum sit quædam fidei expositio ab eo edita, qui τὸ ὁμοούσιον acerrime propugnaret, ejusdem vocabuli mentionem omisit. 5 De Scriptor. Eccles. p. 81. (Oper. t. 7. p. 53 d.) Præter libros, quí in his quatuor tomis continen

tur, exstat seorsim Vita Sancti Antonii, et Symbolum, quod incipit; Quicumque vult salvus esse; quæ Sancti Athanasii opera esse vera et germana, non dubitamus.

6 Critica Sacra, 1. 3. c. 4. p. 240. (t. 2. p. 1103. col. sinistr.) Symbolum Quicumque vult salvus esse, in multis codicibus MSS. non repertum est inter Athanasii opera: in uno legitur; sed autoris nomine suppresso. Invenitur in Fragmentis Hilarii Historicis. Est tamen orthodoxum, et in ecclesia magnæ autoritatis. Athanasii esse, mihi per

suasum est.

7 Dissert. 2. (t. 6. pp. 516, seqq.) de Symbolo Athanasio.

8 Dissert. [12. s. 12.] de Variis Fidei Symbolis in antiquo Codice Romano. (ap. Oper. Leon. M. Lugdun. 1700. t. 2. p. 384.) De Symbolo Athanasio conjecturæ,

tioned it in all that they say against the Nestorian or Eutychian heresies. Fourthly, because this Vigilius Tapsensis is known to have published several others of his writings under the borrowed name of Athanasius, with which this Creed is commonly joined. These reasons have persuaded such men as Bp. Pearson, Archbishop Usher 10, Hamon L'Estrange11, Dr. Cave 12, Schelstrate 13, Pagi14, and Du Pin 15, critics of the best