56. Church-Hillory of Bifhops and urged to Aurelius, Augufline and the other Africans, as a Canon of the Council of Nice : And vvhenas neither any of thefe Popes, nor the A- ft c anBithops once took notice thatthofewords were in the Council of Sardica ; the Papifts anfwer, i. That the Africans knewnot of this Coun- cils Canons, but had loft them, (though Grams Bifhop of Carthage was one.) 2. And that the Popes took the Canonsof Sardica to be butExpli- cations of the Nicene, and fo they were but as one. (But why did they give no fuchanfwer ? ) Bithops are here condemned that remove to any other Church ; and they that are above three days non-refident ; and efpecially they that go ad. Comitaturn, to the Palaces of Princes or great Prelates ; but if they have juft bufinefs they are ordered tofend it.by a Deacon. $. 29. XLIII. The Oriental Bifhops departing from Sardica came to Philippopolis, and gathered aCouncil by themfelves, and condemned thofe whom the other had abfolved, and others for Communicating with them. Yet they renounced Arius, but all() caft out the word [itzsgn0-, of the 1:1* fame fisbflance] as not Scriptural; and arecalled Semi-Arians. The Perfons excommunicated by them were Athanalius, Ofius, Marcel- lus, Protogenes, ilfclepas,'Gasidentitss, Maximinus, Paulus Confi. and Pope yidius. They write a circular Epiltle, fpecially lent toDonatus Carthag. in which they fo vehemently fpeak for peace and piety, and lay filch Crimes to the charge of Athanafius, Paulus, and Marcellus, as would a- nonifh the Reader, and confound his judgment, whom to believe. Cruel Perfecution, bloudy Murders, Profanenefs, burning a Church, and filch like they charge on Athanafius ; and fay that they offered the Weitern Bithops of Sardica to fend five of their Bithops with fix of theirs to the place where thefe things weredone, and if they prove not true they yield tobe condemned. On Marcellus they charge writtenHerefie (which Bafil, Chryfollom, and others believed.) On Paulus Conll. they charge that he was guilty of flames and Wars, and that he caufed Priefts to be drag'd naked into the Market-place, with the Body of Chrift tyed about their necks ; and that before a concourfe of people he caufed the confecrated Virgins tobe ftript naked in the open Streets, unto horrid flume. And for loch Reafons they require all good Chriftians to abhor their Com- munion. Thus the Reader is called to grief and fhame to hear Bifhops thus odioully reviling each other, and tempting Infidels to take them all for wicked and utterly unpeaceable men. § 3o. XLIV. An. 348 or 349. was a Council at Carthage (called the firft : ) It was gathered agahsft the Donau:/7s, whole Bithops pretended to be the only Catholicks ; and their Circumcellions being violent Refor- mers, taking from the rich that they thought had wronged any, and righting the injured, and unjunly doing juftice , and refining the-Em- perour Conflans his Officers, fo that they were fain by Souldiers to fup- prefs them, and caft out Donato Cart/s. and by gifts reconciled the peo- ple that followed them. Many
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