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Histoire ecclésiastique
CHAPITRE VII : QUE JUSQU'A CETTE ÉPOQUE DES POUVOIRS MERVEILLEUX ÉTAIENT EXERCÉS PAR LES FIDÈLES
Irénée, d'accord avec les récits que nous avons faits précédemment, indique ceci brièvement dans les livres, au nombre de cinq, qu'il a intitulés : Réfutation et destruction de la science au nom mensonger. Dans le second livre de ce même ouvrage, il montre qu'il existait encore de son temps, en certaines églises, des exemples du pouvoir divin et merveilleux ; il s'exprime en ces termes1 : « [2] Il s'en faut bien qu'ils ressuscitent un mort comme l'ont fait le Seigneur et les apôtres par la prière et comme il est arrivé souvent parmi les frères : dans le cas de nécessité, toute l'église d'une contrée le demandait avec beaucoup de jeûnes et de supplications, et l'âme du défunt revenait et l'homme était l'objet de cette faveur grâce à la prière des saints. »
[3] Plus loin il ajoute encore : « S'ils disent que 63 le Seigneur lui aussi a fait de pareilles choses en apparence, nous les conduirons aux écrits des prophètes et nous leur montrerons d'après eux, que tout ce qui concernait ainsi le Christ a été annoncé d'avance et absolument réalisé, et que lui seul est le Fils de Dieu. C'est pourquoi ses vrais disciples, ayant reçu de lui ce pouvoir, accomplissent aussi cela en son nom, pour rendre service aux autres hommes, chacun selon le don qu'il a obtenu de lui. [4] Les uns en effet chassent les démons d'une façon réelle et véritable, si bien que souvent ceux-là mêmes qui ont été délivrés de ces esprits immondes croient et demeurent dans l'Église. Les autres ont aussi une prescience des choses qui doivent arriver, des visions et des paroles prophétiques. D'autres guérissent les malades par l'imposition des mains et les rétablissent en santé. Du reste actuellement, comme nous l'avons dit, des morts mêmes ont été ressuscites et sont restés avec nous un bon nombre d'années, Eh quoi donc ! [5] Il n'est pas possible de dire le nombre des charismes que, dans le monde entier, l'Église reçoit chaque jour de la part de Dieu, au nom de Jésus-Christ crucifié sous Ponce Pilate, pour secourir les gentils d'une façon efficace : elle ne trompe personne et ne demande d'argent à personne: comme elle a reçu le don de Dieu, elle le distribue, »
[6] Le même Irénée écrit encore en un autre endroit : « Ainsi que nous avons aussi entendu dire, beaucoup de frères ont dans l'Église des charismes prophétiques; ils parlent, grâce à l'Esprit, toutes sortes de langues : ils 65 mettent au jour les secrets des hommes, quand cela est utile, et ils expliquent les mystères de Dieu. »
Voilà encore ce qui concerne la permanence des divers charismes parmi les saints même aux temps dont il s'agit.
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Ἐλέγχου. Le génitif s'explique par le fait que le litre complet avait : Βίβμοι ε', paraphrasé dans ce qui précède. ↩
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The Church History of Eusebius
Chapter VII.--Even down to those Times Miracles were performed by the Faithful.
1. These things Irenaeus, in agreement with the accounts already given by us, 1 records in the work which comprises five books, and to which he gave the title Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So-called. 2 In the second book of the same treatise he shows that manifestations of divine and miraculous power continued to his time in some of the churches.
2. He says: 3
"But so far do they come short of raising the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles through prayer. And oftentimes in the brotherhood, when, on account of some necessity, our entire Church has besought with fasting and much supplication, the spirit of the dead has returned, 4 and the man has been restored through the prayers of the saints."
3. And again, after other remarks, he says: 5
"If they will say that even the Lord did these things in mere appearance, we will refer them to the prophetic writings, and show from them that all things were beforehand spoken of him in this manner, and were strictly fulfilled; and that he alone is the Son of God. Wherefore his true disciples, receiving grace from him, perform such works in his Name for the benefit of other men, as each has received the gift from him.
4. For some of them drive out demons effectually and truly, so that those who have been cleansed from evil spirits frequently believe and unite with the Church. Others have a foreknowledge of future events, and visions, and prophetic revelations. Still others heal the sick by the laying on of hands, and restore them to health. And, as we have said, even dead persons have been raised, and remained with us many years.
5. But why should we say more? It is not possible to recount the number of gifts which the Church, throughout all the world, has received from God in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and exercises every day for the benefit of the heathen, never deceiving any nor doing it for money. For as she has received freely from God, freely also does she minister." 6
6. And in another place the same author writes: 7
"As also we hear that many brethren in the Church possess prophetic gifts, and speak, through the Spirit, with all kinds of tongues, and bring to light the secret things of men for their good, and declare the mysteries of God."
So much in regard to the fact that various gifts remained among those who were worthy even until that time.
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In the various passages referred to in the notes on the previous chapter. ↩
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elenchou kai anatropes tes pseudonumou gnoseos (cf. 1 Tim. vi. 20). This work of Irenaeus, which is commonly known under its Latin title, Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies), is still extant in a barbarous Latin version, of which we possess three mss. The original Greek is lost, though a great part of the first book can be recovered by means of extensive quotations made from it by Hippolytus and Epiphanius. The work is directed against the various Gnostic systems, among which that of Valentinus is chiefly attacked. The first book is devoted to a statement of their doctrines, the second to a refutation of them, and the remaining three to a presentation of the true doctrines of Christianity as opposed to the false positions of the Gnostics. The best edition of the original is that of Harvey: S. Irenaei libros quinque adv. Haereses., Cambr. 1857, 2 vols.; English translation in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, I. p. 309 ff. For the literature of the subject, see Schaff, II. p. 746 ff. On Irenaeus himself, see Book IV. chap. 21, note 9. ↩
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Adv. Haer. II. 31. 2. The sentence as it stands in Eusebius is incomplete. Irenaeus is refuting the pretended miracles of Simon and Carpocrates. The passage runs as follows: "So far are they [i.e. Simon and Carpocrates] from being able to raise the dead as the Lord raised them and as the apostles did by means of prayer, and as has been frequently done in the brotherhood on account of some necessity--the entire Church in that locality entreating with much fasting and prayer [so that] the spirit of the dead man has returned, and he has been bestowed in answer to the prayer of the saints--that they do not even believe this can possibly be done, [and hold] that the resurrection from the dead is simply an acquaintance with that truth which they proclaim." This resurrection of the dead recorded by Irenaeus is very difficult to explain, as he is a truth-loving man, and we can hardly conceive of his uttering a direct falsehood. Even Augustine, "the iron man of truth," records such miracles, and so the early centuries are full of accounts of them. The Protestant method of drawing a line between the apostolic and post-apostolic ages in this matter of miracles is arbitrary, and based upon dogmatic, not historical grounds. The truth is, that no one can fix the point of time at which miracles ceased; at the same time it is easy to appreciate the difference between the apostolic age and the third, fourth, and following centuries in this regard. That they did cease at an early date in the history of the Church is clear enough. Upon post-apostolic miracles, see Schaff, Ch. Hist. II. p. 116 ff., J. H. Newman's Two Essays on Biblical and Eccles. Miracles, and J. B. Mozley's Bampton lectures On Miracles. ↩
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See the previous note. ↩
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Adv. Haer. II. 32. 4. ↩
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Cf. Matt. x. 8 ↩
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Adv. Haer. V. 6. 1. ↩