it a place of Christian pilgrimage. For this purpose the stones of the Temple were employed to build a theatre, a temple of Venus was erected on the sacred Mount of Calvary; a statue of Jupiter was placed over the Holy Sepulchre, and the grotto of Bethlehem was consecrated to Adonis.

PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH.

It is believed that the faith was preached in Britain dur ing the Apostolic age. The Church was, however, really planted in the island A. D. 183, when Pope St. Eleutherius sent missionaries thither at the request of Lucius, one of the petty kings of the country.

THE

THIRD CENTURY.

`HE fifth general persecution took place under Septimus Severus. It was most severe at Lyons, where nineteen thousand men, women, and children perished in a general massacre.

The persecution in Carthage was rendered memorable by the martyrdom of St. Perpetua and her companions. Perpetua, a noble matron of twenty-two, wrote a history or journal of the imprisonment and trial of herself and her companions, continued almost to the eve of execution. There is nothing in profane literature which can compare in interest with this touch. ing narrative. It was concluded by those who were eye-witnesses of the heroic death of the martyrs.

The sixth general persecution took place under Maximin. The martyrdom of St. Cecilia occurred some time before. Cecilia had been married against her will to a young

When was the Church planted in Britain? What do you say of the fifth persecution? Of St. Perpetua? Relate the martyrdom of St. Cecilia.

patrician named Valerian. By the grace of God, she won hei husband to respect the vow of virginity which she had made, and converted him to Christianity. Valerian was put to death with his brother Tiburtius, and Cecilia was brought herself before the tribunal. She was condemned to be suffocated in a bath in her own house. The order was executed, but the heroio virgin, like the Hebrews in the Chaldean furnace, walked unharmed amid the fiery vapors singing the praises of God. She was at length beheaded.

The seventh general persecution under Decius was most severe in Africa, and the Church was called, for the first time, to mourn over the weakness of her children. The wealthier classes had relaxed in piety, and in the time of trial a great number apostatized.

The eighth general persecution under Valerian was rendered memorable by the glorious martyrdom of Pope St. Sixtus, and his deacon St. Lawrence. The latter having refused to deliver up the sacred vessels and treasures of the Church, was bound upon an iron grate or gridiron, and consumed by a slow fire.

The ninth general persecution under Aurelian lasted but a short time.

MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS.

From the earliest days there were men and women who consecrated themselves to God in an especial manner, but no regular communities were formed. The ordinary life of the early Christians was so devout and regular, that consecrated virgins could live secluded in their families without fear of the distractions of the world.

St. Paul, a native of Alexandria, was the first Christian

What was there peculiar in the persecution under Decius? How was the eighth persecution rendered memorable? Under whom was the ninth persecution? How did consecrated virgins live in the early days? Who was the first hermit?

hermit.

ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS.

233

His example was followed by others; communities were formed, and rules were composed by St. Pacomius and others. Later, when the persecution began to abate, convents of women rose, whose members followed, as far as their sex permitted, the same monastic rules.

ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS.

The most famous writers of this century were Tertullian and Origen. The first served the Church with zeal and ability, and his earlier works are admired and quoted to the present day. Unfortunately he fell into error, and his proud and stubborn temper led him to refuse submission to the decisions of the Church. There is every reason to fear that he died impenitent.

Origen was remarkable for his learning, eloquence, and the austerity of his life. He suffered much during the different persecutions, and although some portions of his writings were afterwards condemned, it is not believed that he erred wilfully.

THE

FOURTH CENTURY.

PERSECUTIONS.

'HE tenth persecution under Diocletian, was the last and most terrible effort made by the powers of darkness to destroy the Church by open violence. Among the most illustrious martyrs was St. Sebastian, the captain of the imperial guard, who was condemned to be shot to death with

arrows.

What do you say

When were convents of women established? of Tertullian? Of Origen? What do you say of the tenth persecution?

Maximian and Galerius, the colleagues of Diocletian in the empire, were still more cruel, and the persecution which commenced A. D. 302, raged with unprecedented fury. In many places the Christians could neither buy nor sell, transact any business, nor even draw water at the public fountains, unless they had first offered incense before the images of the gods placed everywhere for the purpose. By the order of Maximian, a body of troops known as the Theban Legion, numbering six thousand, were surrounded and massacred for refusing to sacrifice.

It would be impossible to name the illustrious martyrs who suffered at this time. Sts. Cosmas and Damian, St. Agatha, St. Anastasia, St. Lucy of Syracuse, St. Agnes, the virgin martyr of Rome, and St. Catherine of Alexandria and others, are names familiar to us in the litanies of the Church.

The triumph of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, who were left to perish on a frozen lake, belongs to this period.

THE CATACOMBS.

The Greeks and Romans were accustomed to burn their dead, preserving the ashes in funeral urns. It does not appear that the Christians ever conformed to this practice. The mode of interment in use from patriarchal times, and followed in the burial of our divine Lord, seems to have served them as a rule.

There were in the neighborhood of Rome ancient quarries which served the faithful not only as places of burial, but of concealment in time of persecution. The rock was soft and it was easy to cut galleries and chambers, also vaulted apartments which were used as churches.

What is related of the Theban Legion? Name some of the martyrs of this time. What mode of burial was observed by Greeks and Romans? What by the people of God? What do you say of the catacombs ?

TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY.

235

TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY.

Diocletian resigned the supreme power A. D. 302. During the ten succeeding years the empire was distracted by civil wars, which ended in leaving Constantine sole emperor.

Constantine was the son of Constantius Chlorus, whose reign was too short to permit the Christians to profit by his favorable dispositions. Constantine was, like his father, opposed to persecution, and he granted full liberty to the Church many years before he was himself a Christian. When marching against Maxentius, the last of his enemies, the young conqueror was encouraged by a wonderful vision. At noon-day, and in sight of the whole army, a luminous cross appeared in the heavens with these words: "In hoc signo vinces." (In this sign thou shalt conquer.) This prodigy was followed by a complete victory, and the submission of Rome and Italy soon followed.

Those among the persecutors who had escaped the sword of the conqueror, perished by the manifest judgment of God. Diocletian died miserably, and Galerius suffered all the torments by which Antiochus was punished for similar cruelties. His flesh was devoured by worms, and the unhappy physicians who failed to relieve his dying agonies were thrown, one after the other, to the beasts of the amphitheatre.

Constantine, now master of the world, hastened to give peace to the Church. The Christians were recalled from banishment, and churches were rebuilt, Constantine contributing largely to the expenses. He appointed the Lateran palace as the residence of the bishops of Rome, and an adjoining palace was converted into a church, now known as the church of St. John of Lateran.

Who was Constantine? By what vision was he encouraged What is said of the persecutors? What did Constantine hasten to do?