imes great Church
movements, such as the Montanist and Novatian, only succeeded in
attaining local or provincial importance. See the movement at Rome at
the beginning of the 4th century, of which we unfortunately know so
little (Lipsius, Chronologie der roemischen Bischofe, pp. 250-255), the
Donatist Revolution, and the Audiani in the East.]

[Footnote 253: It is a characteristic circumstance that Tertullian's de
ieiun. does _not_ assume that the great mass of Christians possess an
actual knowledge of the Bible.]

[Footnote 254: The condition of the constitution of the Church about the
middle of the 3rd century (in accordance with Cyprian's epistles) is
described by Otto Ritschl, l.c., pp. 142-237. Parallels to the
provincial and communal constitution of secular society are to be found
throughout.]

[Footnote 255: To how great an extent the Church in Decius' time was
already a state within the state is shown by a piece of information
given in Cyprian's 55th epistle (c. 9.): "Cornelius sedit intrepidus
Romae in sacerdotali cathedra eo tempore: cum tyrannus infestus
sacerdotibus dei fanda adque infanda comminaretur, cum multo patientius
et tolerabilius audiret levari adversus se aemulum principem quam
constitui Romae dei sacerdotem." On the other hand the legislation with
regard to Christian flamens adopted by the Council of Elvira, which, as
Duchesne (Melanges Renier: Le Concile d'Elvire et les flamines
chretiens, 1886) has demonstrated, most probably dates from before the
Diocletian persecution of 300, shows how closely the discipline of the
Church had already been adapted to the heathen regulations in the
Empire. In addition to this there was no lack of syncretist systems
within Christianity as early as the 3rd century (see the [Greek: Kestoi]
of Julius Africanus, and other examples). Much information on this point
is to be derived from Origen's works and also, in many respects, from
the attitude of this author himself. We may also refer to relic- and
hero-worship, the foundation of which was already laid in the 3rd
century, though the "religion of the second order" did not become a
recognised power in the Church or force itself into the official
religion till the 4th.]

[Footnote 256: See Tertullian's frightful accusations in de pudic. (10)
and de ieiun. (fin) against the "Psychici", i.e., the Catholic
Christians. He says that with them the saying had really come to signify
"peccando promeremur," by which, howeve