Church History 5.18.7

Summary: Apollonius: contrary to Christ's command, the Montanist prophets and martyrs extort money even from the poor, orphans, and widows.

Greek text · Dindorf 4:222–223

τίς οὖν τίνι χαρίζεται τὰ ἁμαρτήματα; πότερον ὁ προφήτης τὰς λῃστείας τῷ μάρτυρι, ἢ ὁ μάρτυς τῷ προφήτῃ τὰς πλεονεξίας; εἰρηκότος γὰρ τοῦ κυρίου ‘μὴ κτήσησθε χρυσὸν μήτε ἄργυρον μήτε δύο χιτῶνας οὗτοι πᾶν τοὐναν- “τίον πεπλημμελήκασι περὶ τὰς τούτων τῶν ἀπηγο- “ρευμένων κτήσεις. δείξομεν γὰρ τοὺς λεγομένους “παρʼ αὐτοῖς προφήτας καὶ μάρτυρας μὴ μόνον “πλουσίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ πτωχῶν καὶ ὀρφανῶν καὶ “χηρῶν κερματιζομένους.

English · Claude translation

Who, then, forgives the sins of whom? Does the prophet forgive the martyr his robberies, or the martyr the prophet his covetousness? For though the Lord said, ‘Do not acquire gold or silver or two tunics,’ these have done the very opposite in acquiring these forbidden things. For we shall show that those whom they call prophets and martyrs gather their pennies not only from the rich but also from the poor and orphans and widows.

About this passage

Source

Dindorf 4:222–223 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Scripture

Matt 10:9 · quotation, high confidence

Extrabiblical texts

Apollonius (Apollonius, Against the Montanists) · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Heresy, Ethics

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.18.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/5/18/7/).

Plain text

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.18.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/5/18/7/).

Greek text · Dindorf 4:222–223

English · Claude translation

About this passage

Notes

Translation notes

Cite this passage