VII.

A. D.

688.

promise till he should return from an expedition. CENT. The mischief of procrastination against the light of conscience was never more strongly illustrated. In his absence Geilana, for that was the name of the German Herodias, procured the murder of Kilian and his companions. They were engaged in devotional exercises, and died with the patience of martyrs in the year 688. 688. Gosbert was prevailed on by the artifices of Geilana to suffer the murderers to escape with impunity. But all the actors in this tragedy, Gosbert among the rest, came to an unhappy end; and there is no doubt but that in this case, as well as many others, the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the Church. Numbers of the eastern Franks had embraced Christianity, and sealed the ministry of Kilian. Barbatus, born in the territory of Benevento, in Italy, in the beginning of this century, was also a great ornament to it. Meditation on the Scriptures was his chief delight. He was acknowledged to excel in preaching. He acted as curate of Morcona near Benevento, and gave great offence by his faithfulness. By the malice of the people he was obliged to retire to Benevento. This town was possessed by the Lombards, who were chiefly Arians; many of them were indeed idolaters, though some were of the general Church, with their duke Arichis, a friend of Gregory I. Barbatus labouring there found the Christians, so called, very idolatrous, They worshipped a golden viper, and a tree on which the skin of a wild beast was hung. He preached and prayed a long time: at length the emperor Constans besieging Benevento, the wicked inhabitants were intimidated so far, as to repent of their idolatry. Barbatus was allowed to cut down the tree, and to melt the golden viper, of which he made a sacramental chalice. This man was appointed bishop of Benevento in 663, and destroyed 663. every vestige of idolatry in the whole state. I

VOL. III.

He

A. D.

II.

CHAP. lived afterwards to bear a testimony by his presence in the council of Constantinople, against the Monothelite heresy, and died in 682. See Butler's Lives.

English

ill-treated

Denmark.

Toward the conclusion of the century, Willibrod, an English missionary, and eleven of his countrymissionaries men, crossed over the sea into Holland, to labour in Holland among the Friezelanders. But being ill-treated by retired into the king of Friezeland, who put one of their comA. D. pany to death*, they retired into Denmark. Re693. turning, however, into Friezeland in the year 693, they propagated divine truth with success. Willibrod was ordained bishop of Wilteburg† by the Roman prelate, and laboured in his diocese to his death; while his associates spread the Gospel through Westphalia and the neighbouring countries t

It was in this century, the former part of it, according to the researches of one author §, the latter part, according to those of another ||, that Bavaria received the Gospel from the ministry of Rupert, or Robert, bishop of Worms. He was invited by Thcodo, duke of Davaria. His ministry prospered, and he was appointed bishop of Saltzburg. The increasing harvest required more missionaries: he therefore returned to his own country, and brought twelve assistants: from that time Christianity was established in Bavaria. Corbinian, another Frenchman, watered where Rupert had planted. Duke Theodo received him gladly. His son and successor Grimoald was induced to part

Mosheim, Cent. VII. C. 1. + Now Utrecht.

Disen, an Irish monk, taught the Gospel in Ireland, France, and Germany. His labours were most remarkably crowned with success in the neighbourhood of Mentz.--A. Butler.

§ Velserius Rerum Boicarum, B. IV.

Fleury, B. XLI. 31. If Fleury's chronology be right, the greatest part of the narrative before us belongs to the next Century,

with his wife, whom he had married contrary to the Levitical laws of matrimonial consanguinity; and so far as can be judged from very imperfect accounts, the Gospel was received with great sincerity in this country*.

Some † time after, Emmeram an Aquitanian Frenchman, leaving his country and his large possessions, travelled to Ratisbon, to spread the Gospel. He was well received by another Theodo, duke of Bavaria. He observed, that the Bavarians were, many of them at least, still addicted to idolatrous rites, which they mixed with Christianity. The old inhabitants were particularly guilty of these things. He laboured among them three years, preaching in all the towns and villages, and reserved for himself only the bare necessaries of life. His success was great, and his end was worthy of his profession. Lambert, a son of the duke, murdered him at length with savage barbarity. He had been offered a large revenue and a settlement at Ratisbon by Theodo, which he had refused, declaring that he only wished to preach Christ crucified.

Marinus and Anian, two Egyptians, came into Bavaria, and were very successful in the same cause. But the excessive austerity, which they brought with them from the east, must have been detrimental to their work. The former at length was murdered by robbers; the latter died a natural

This missionary was remarkable for private devotion, as well as public labours, and reserved to himself a considerable portion of time every day for prayer and meditation. But from Alban Butler's account I learn, that Grimoald persecuted Corbinian on account of his faithfulness, and that Biltrude the relict of Grimoald's brother, hired assassins to murder him. Both Grimoald and Biltrude perished miserably. If the former was induced to repentance at all, he seems to have relapsed. After the deaths of his persecutors, Corbinian returned to Frisingen, and laboured till his death, which happened in the year 730.

+ Velser. Id.

CENT.

VII.

CHAP.

11.

death. Eloi, bishop of Noyon, carefully visited
his large diocese, especially the pagan parts of it,
and was very successful among the Flemings, the
Antwerpers, and the Frisons. At first he found
them fierce and exceedingly obstinate. But God
was with him both in life and doctrine. Every
Easter he baptized great numbers, who had been
brought to the knowledge of God in the preceding
year. Very aged persons, amidst crowds of chil-
dren, came to be baptized, and there is the fairest
evidence of his evangelical success. This is all that

I can find, with certainty, of the propagation of the
Gospel in the seventh century in Germany and the
neighbouring countries. The censures of Mosheim,
as if the greatest part of the missionaries were not
sincere, or as if many of the monks covered their
ambition with the cloak of mortification, appear to
me illiberal and unfounded*, and would have been
more worthy of a modern sceptic. Superstition
and an excessive attachment to the Roman See is
very visible among them.
them. But the little account
of facts, which we have, bears testimony to their
uprightness. Where is that charity which hopeth
all things, if we are to suppose men to be wrong,
against all appearances? If ecclesiastical historians
had delighted as much in recording good as they
have in recording evil, it is probable a more ample
refutation of the inconsiderate aspersions of this
author might have been exhibited to the reader.

Mosheim, Id. I find no just reason to suspect any of them except Wilfrid, bishop of York, mentioned in the last Chapter.

CHAP. III

THE GENERAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN
THIS CENTURY.

VII.

Phocas put

PHOCAS, the Greek emperor, was deposed and put CENT. to death by Heraclius in the year 610. He was one of the most vicious and profligate tyrants, and may be compared with Caligula, Nero, and Domitian. to death by Since the days of Constantine such characters had Heraclius." been exceeding rare. For such was the benign A. D. influence of the Gospel, that even amidst all the 610. corruptions and abuses of it, which were now so numerous, a decency of character and conduct, unknown to their Pagan predecessors, was supported by the emperors in general. Heraclius, the successor of Phocas, reigned thirty years. In the beginning of his reign the Persians desolated the eastern part of the empire, and made themselves masters of Jerusalem. While Asia groaned under their cruelties and oppressions, and was afflicted with scourge after scourge, for her long abuse of the best gift of God, an opportunity was given for the exercise of Christian graces to a bishop of a Church, which had long ceased to produce Christian fruit.

This was John, bishop of Alexandria, called the Almoner, on account of his extensive liberality. He daily supplied with necessaries those who flocked into Egypt, after they had escaped the Persian arms. He sent to Jerusalem the most ample relief for such as remained there: he ransomed captives; placed the sick and wounded in hospitals, and visited them, in person, two or three times a week. He even seems to have interpreted too strictly the sacred rule, "of giving to him that asketh of thee." His spirit * Fleury, XXXVII. 10.