Übersetzung
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Histoire ecclésiastique
CHAPITRE IX : LE BAPTEME IMPIE DES HERETIQUES
[1] La cinquième lettre aussi fut écrite par Denys Xystus, évêque des Romains ; il y dit beaucoup de choses contre les hérétiques et il ajouté n ces termes le fait 311 suivant est arrivé devant lui : « Car en vérité, ό frère, j'ai besoin de ton avis, et je te demande ton sentiment; voici l'affaire qui m'arrive et je crains de me tromper. » [2] En effet, parmi les frères assemblés avant ma consécration, et je crois même avant l'ordination du bienheureux Héraclas, il y en avait un qui était fidèle depuis très longtemps ; il prenait part à la réunion et il se trouvait proche de ceux qu'on était en train de baptiser, écoutant les interrogations et les réponses ; or il vint à moi en larmes et, pleurant sur lui-même, il se jeta à mes pieds, il avoua et affirma avec serment que le baptême administré chez les hérétiques n'était pas celui-là, et qu'il n'avait absolument rien de commun avec lui, car il était rempli d'impiété et de blasphèmes.2 [3] Il disait que son âme était entièrement pénétrée de douleur et qu'il n'avait plus la liberté de lever les yeux vers Dieu après avoir débuté par ces paroles et rites sacrilèges : aussi bien il demandait d'obtenir cette purification très parfaite, cette réception et cette grâce.3 [4] C'est ce que je n'ai pas osé faire, je lui ai dit que la communion prolongée avec l'Église lui suffisait pour cela. Il avait en effet entendu l'eucharistie et il avait répondu amen ; il avait été debout auprès de la table et il avait tendu les mains pour la réception de la sainte nourriture ; il l'avait prise et avait été participant du corps et du sang de Notre-Seigneur pondant un temps prolongé ; je n'aurais pas osé restaurer son âme depuis le début. Je l'excitai à prendre courage et à venir avec une foi ferme et une bonne espérance à la participation des choses 313 saintes.4 [5] Mais lui ne cessait de pleurer et tremblait de s'approcher de la table, et c'est à peine s'il supporte, quand il y cet exhorté, d'assister aux prières.»
[6] En outre des lettres ci-dessus mentionnées il y en a encore une autre du même auteur sur le baptême; elle est adressée par lui et par l'église qu'il gouvernait à Xystus et à l'église de Rome; il s'y étend en un long examen sur la question qui était en discussion. On cite encore après celles-ci une autre lettre à Denys de Rome sur Lucien, mais en voila assez sur ce sujet.5
= FELTOE, 50,7 -59,9. ↩
Sur Héraclas, voy. VI, iii, 2 et la n. Celte date ancienne donne lieu de croire qu'i s'agit dans cet extrait d'autres hérétiques que des Novatiens. — τῶν ἀποκρίσεων, voy. le ch. précédent. ↩
παραδοχῆς peut désigner l'admission dans l'église, ou plutôt, étant donné les deux mots entre lesquels il est placé, la réception du Saint-Esprit. ↩
τραπέζη : voy, Fr. WIELAND, Mensa und Confessio (Munich, 1906), p. 120. ↩
Lucien peut être le confesseur qui causa tant de difficultés à saint Cypricn; mais on n'en sait rien. ↩
Übersetzung
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The Church History of Eusebius
Chapter IX.--The Ungodly Baptism of the Heretics.
1. His fifth epistle 1 was written to Xystus, 2 bishop of Rome. In this, after saying much against the heretics, he relates a certain occurrence of his time as follows: "For truly, brother, I am in need of counsel, and I ask thy judgment concerning a certain matter which has come to me, fearing that I may be in error.
2. For one of the brethren that assemble, who has long been considered a believer, and who, before my ordination, and I think before the appointment of the blessed Heraclas, 3 was a member of the congregation, was present with those who were recently baptized. And when he heard the questions and answers, 4 he came to me weeping, and bewailing himself; and falling at my feet he acknowledged and protested that the baptism with which he had been baptized among the heretics was not of this character, nor in any respect like this, because it was full of impiety and blasphemy. 5
3. And he said that his soul was now pierced with sorrow, and that he had not confidence to lift his eyes to God, because he had set out from those impious words and deeds. And on this account he besought that he might receive this most perfect purification, and reception and grace.
4. But I did not dare to do this; and said that his long communion was sufficient for this. For I should not dare to renew from the beginning one who had heard the giving of thanks and joined in repeating the Amen; who had stood by the table and had stretched forth his hands to receive the blessed food; and who had received it, and partaken for a long while of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But I exhorted him to be of good courage, and to approach the partaking of the saints with firm faith and good hope.
5. But he does not cease lamenting, and he shudders to approach the table, and scarcely, though entreated, does he dare to be present at the prayers." 6
6. Besides these there is also extant another epistle of the same man on baptism, addressed by him and his parish to Xystus and the church at Rome. In this he considers the question then agitated with extended argument. And there is extant yet another after these, addressed to Dionysius of Rome, 7 concerning Lucian. 8 So much with reference to these.
i.e. his fifth epistle on the subject of baptism (see above, chap. 5, note 6). The sixth, likewise addressed to Xystus, is mentioned below in §6. ↩
On Xystus II. of Rome, see chap 5, note 5. ↩
On Heraclas, see above Bk. VI. chap. 3, note 2. ↩
See the previous chapter, note 3. ↩
The reference here, of course, is not to the Novatians, because this old man, who had been a regular attendant upon the orthodox Church since the time of Heraclas, if not before, had been baptized by the heretics long before Novatian arose. The epistle seems to contain no reference to Novatian; at least, the fragment which we have is dealing with an entirely different subject. ↩
Dittrich finds in this epistle an evidence that Dionysius was not fully convinced of the advisability of re-baptizing converts from heretical bodies, that he wavered in fact between the Eastern and the Roman practices, but I am unable to see that the epistle implies anything of the kind. It is not that he doubts the necessity of re-baptism in ordinary cases,--he is not discussing that subject at all,--the question is, does long communion itself take the place of baptism; does not a man, unwittingly baptized, gain through such communion the grace from the Spirit which is ordinarily conveyed in baptism, and might not the rite of baptism at so late a date be an insult to the Spirit, who might have been working through the sacrament of the eucharist during all these years? It is this question which Dionysius desires to have Xystus assist him in answering--a question which has nothing to do, in Dionysius' mind, with the validity or non-validity of heretical baptism, for it will be noticed that he does not base his refusal to baptize the man upon the fact that he has already been baptized, partially, or imperfectly, or in any other way, but solely upon the fact that he has for so long been partaking of the eucharist. ↩
On Dionysius of Rome, see chap. 27, note 2. ↩
So many Lucians of this time are known to us that we cannot speak with certainty as to the identity of the one referred to here. But it may perhaps be suggested that the well-known Carthaginian Confessor is meant, who caused Cyprian so much trouble by granting letters of pardon indiscriminately to the lapsed, in defiance of regular custom and of Cyprian's authority (see Cypriani Ep. 16, 17, 20, 21, 22; al. 23, 26, 21, 22, 27). If this be the Lucian referred to, the epistle must have discussed the lapsi, and the conditions upon which they were to be received again into the Church. That the epistle did not, like the one mentioned just before, have to do with the subject of baptism, seems clear from the fact that it is not numbered among the epistles on that subject, as six others are. ↩