may we who are Baptized die from Sin, and rife again unto Righteoufnefs, continually mortify, ing all our Evil and corrupt Affections, and daily proceeding in all Vertue and Godliness of living. [Then all ftanding up, and turning to the East, the Bishop or Presbyter fhall conclude with the Lord's Prayer; adding the ufual Bleffing.] The Grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghoft be with you all evermore. A Collect to be us'd next after the Lord's Prayer, by fuch Adult Perfons as are newly Baptiz'd; which is proper for Confirmation, as to thofe that are Baptized in their Infancy; taken out of the Conftitutions.] Almighty God, the Father of thy Chrift, thine Only-begotten Son, Grant to me a Body undefil'd; an Heart pure; a Mind watchful with the fure Knowledge of thee, and the Affiftance of thy Holy Spirit: that I may fully underftand and be eftablifh'd in thy Truth: through thy Chrift. By whom, Glory be to thee, in the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. About the fame Time that this Sacred Office was drawn up, I happen'd to read over the Learned Monfaucon's Accurate Account of the Life of Atha hafius, which appear'd to me a very remarkable One,and fuch an One as defery'd aNicerReview, efpecially as compar'd with other Facts and Obfervations belonging to him and indeed fuch an one as afforded Sufpicions of not a few Inftances of Infincerity, if not of direct Forgery alfo. Upon this I read it over again more carefully, and with a watchful Eye upon feveral Particulars therein related; which did now more plainly appear lyable to the fame Sufpicions. This occafion'd my drawing up the following Paper upon that Subject, which I fhall here therefore offer to the farther confideration of the Learned; as being wholly New; and highly worthy of the moft exact Examination of the Church of Christ. SUSPICIONS concerning Athanafius. It is well known, that no fmall Part of the Hiftory of the Church, fo far as belongs to the Fourth Century, and fo far as the Chriftian Faith is therein concern'd, relies mainly upon the Writings and Hiftory of Athanafius; and that the Truth and Certainty of very many important Facts depend entirely, as to us, on the Integrity and Veracity of the fame Athanafius. Now the Reasons why I dare not in fuch Matters believe Things on his fole Authority are these. (1.) Athanafius was plainly a violent PartyMan, and the known Head of a Party, and is therefore to be no more depended on in Matters wherein himself and his own Affairs were peculiarly concern'd than others, the like PartyMen, and Heads of Parties are to be in parallel Cafes. And I need not tell the Honeft and Impartial, especially in this Age of Division and Faction, how little Regard is to be given to fuch Teftimonies. (2.) Athanafius was peculiarly the Author of a New Syftem of Divinity, or the Author of a New Sect in the Church; whofe Language, at least, and Practices, if not Notions, were most certainly unknown unknown to the earlier Ages of Chriftianity. This is too plain to be deny'd; and Monfaucon does in a Manner confefs it: Indicare ne pigeat, Praf. pag. fays he, cum nibil periculi ex indicio fit; falvis fem- 17. per & integris rebus, ac fide nihil mutata, multa Athanafiii avo, ejufque ope inducta Verba fuisse, & ad certam formam reducta fidei capita ; ut Pater hodiernæ Theologiæ jure ille vocare poffit. "Give me "leave, fays he, freely to Declare, fince there is no Danger in fuch a Declaration, that "while the Things themselves and the Church's "Faith have ever continued immutably the fame, there were many new Words or Terms "of Art introduc'd into the Church in the Age "of Athanafius, and by his Means; and thence cc the Articles of our Faith became fix'd and "determinate. Infomuch, that Athanafius may "juftly be ftil'd The Father of the Modern System “ of Divinity. And Gregory Nazianzen fays thus, in his Panegyrick upon our Athanafius: Trov Op.Vol. II νόμος αὐτοῖς ὅ, τι ἐκείνῳ ἐδόκει, καὶ τότο ο πώμονον πάλιν Ρ.385. ὃ μὴ ἐδόκει καὶ πλάκες μωϋσέως αυτοῖς τὰ ἐκείνο δόγματα. καὶ πλεῖον τὸ σέβας ἢ παρᾳ ἀνθρώπων τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐφείλεται. 114 νομοθετεῖ δέ οικεμένη. What Athanafius deter- Pag. 392 "min'd was a Law to the reft, and what he dif allowed was rejected by them. Nay, his Do"&trines were the very Mofaick Tables of the "Law to them. The Honour that was paid "him was greater than what is due from Men. sc to the Saints themselves. Indeed, He gave "Laws to the whole World. Now certainly, when fo bold and daring a Perfon appears, who is not afraid to innovate fo vaftly in the Chriftian Religion as this amounts to, all true Lovers of the Antient Faith once deliver'd to the Saints fhould be upon their Guard, and not rafhly believe all he fays, left he fhould prove to be one of the Forerunners and Introducers of that An(h3) tichriftian Pag 1. tichriftian State whom the Scriptures have fo fully caution'd us againft, and of whom they give fo difmal an Account before-hand. (3.) A Perfon of his general Character, which I take to be that of one Refolute, Ambitious, and Tyrannical; of admirable Parts, but little Learning, and fmall Appearance of Sincerity; who would never fubmit to either Emperor or Council; and who would rather fet the Chriftian World in a Combuftion on all Occafions than recede in the leaft from his Pretenfions; who reafons generally very weakly; yet treats his Adverfaries with the most unchriftian Names of Reproach and Scorn poffible; and who ftill alter'd his Notions, or at leaft his Language as he faw Occafion, and as Matters would bear, and yet us'd plaufible Words and Infinuations all along; a Perfon, I fay, of this general Character cannot but afford great Room for Sufpicion to confidering Men. (4) Athanafius's reproachful Account of the Origin of the Meletians, who afterward join'd with the Arians against him, is fo entirely different from that which Epiphanius gives us to their great Advantage, while yet Epiphanius was certuinly Honeft and Orthodox enough not to be fufpected of any Partiality to them, that we have great Reafon to queftion Athanafius's Fidelity in this Matter. And the Council of Nice it felf are known to have dealt fo much more gently with thefe Meletians than they did with the Arians, and than Athanafius would have had Vit Athan, them done, that the Sufpicion is confirm'd that his Account was rather the Effect of Hatred and Ill-will, than the real and exact Truth of their Cafe. 2. 10. (5.) Atha (5.) Athanafius's Works drawn up before the Rife of the Arian Controverfy are fo very dif ferent from thofe written afterward, as fhew that Oppofition and Difputation had quite alter'dand fpoil'd the Man ; and that his later Writings are of fmall Authority. I wish, the Honeft Reader, that defires to fee the true Doctrines of the Church, nay even of Athanafius himself, as they were taught and believ'd in his younger Days, and to adjust them with the other broach'd afterwards, would carefully compare his youthful nobleft Treatifes Contra Gentes. & De Incarnatione Verbi, with the reft. Those containing, fo far as I can judge, in a Manner the fame Doctrines that he afterwards fo violently oppos'd under the Notion of Arianifm. Nor need the Reader go elsewhere than to thofe Treatifes of Athanafius himself to be fatisfy'd what a mighty Change the fame Perfon made in Chriftianity. This is certainly a Matter that highly deferves every good Chriftian's ferious Confideration. (6.) Athanafius and others from him tell us an incredible Story about the Meletian Bishop Arfenius, viz. That when Athanafius had been folemnly and publickly accus'd of killing this Arfenius, and of the cutting his Hand after he was dead, which dead Hand was fhew'd publickly alfo; yet that he produc'd the Man alive before his Judges with both his Hands unhurt; a Letter of which Arfenius to Athanafius we have in his Works: whilft the Arians did ftill all his Life notwithftanding accufe him publicly upon all Occasions of the fame Murder. This feems to me utterly incredible, that he fhould ever be charg'd with the Murther of a Perfon, who yet, if Athafius fays true, must have been known by all the World to be ftill alive. Nor does his Introduction of the Emperor's Letters, which (h4) implys |