tholic and apostolic collection of Scriptures (see, on the
contrary, the use of Scripture in the Didaskalia), apostolic rule of
faith, and apostolic episcopacy attained supremacy in Antioch; but that
they began to be introduced into that city about the time of Serapion's
bishopric (that is, during the Easter controversy). The old records of
the Church of Edessa have an important bearing on this point; and from
these it is evident that her constitution did not begin to assume a
Catholic form till the beginning of the 3rd century, and that as the
result of connection with Rome. See _the Doctrine of Addai_ by Phillips,
p. 50: "Palut himself went to Antioch and received the hand of the
priesthood from Serapion, bishop of Antioch. Serapion, bishop of
Antioch, himself also received the hand from Zephyrinus, bishop of the
city of Rome, from the succession of the hand of the priesthood of Simon
Cephas, which he received from our Lord, who was there bishop of Rome 25
years, (sic) in the days of the Caesar, who reigned there 13 years." (See
also Tixeront, _Edesse_, pp. 149, 152.) Cf. with this the prominence
given in the Acts of Scharbil and Barsamya to the fact that they were
contemporaries of Fabian, bishop of Rome. We read there (see Rubens
Duval, Les Actes de Scharbil et les Actes de Barsamya, Paris, 1889, and
Histoire d'Eclesse, p. 130): "Barsamya (he was bishop of Edessa at the
time of Decius) lived at the time of Fabian, bishop of Rome. He had
received the laying on of hands from Abschelama, who had received it
from Palut. Palut had been consecrated by Serapion, bishop of Antioch,
and the latter had been consecrated by Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome." As
regards the relation of the State of Rome to the Roman Church, that is,
to the Roman bishop, who by the year 250 had already become a sort of
_praefectus urbis_, with his district superintendents, the deacons, and
in fact a sort of _princeps aemulus_, cf. (1) the recorded comments of
Alexander Severus on the Christians, and especially those on their
organisation; (2) the edict of Maximinus Thrax and the banishment of the
bishops Pontian and Hippolytus; (3) the attitude of Philip the Arabian;
(4) the remarks of Decius in Cyp. ep. 55 (see above p. 124) and his
proceedings against the Roman bishops, and (5) the attitude of Aurelian
in Antioch. On the extent and organisation of the Roman Church about 250
see Euseb., H. E. VI. 43.]

[Footnote 339: The memorable words in the lately d