Eusebius’ Church History 17

Study Guide Questions for Book 6.34-6.46

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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Prudence, Providence, Courage, Recklessness, Cowardice, Appearance vs. Reality

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. “Word has it,” what was true about emperor Philip?

2. Of what did Eusebius say he had “collected as many of these as possible?”

3. What did Decius do “because of his hostility to Philip?”

4. What were some of the errors of the “Helkasite” heretics?

5. How did Dionysius come to avoid the persecution that took place in his day?

6. Name three examples of the kind of tortures Christians faced during the persecution in Alexandria, Egypt.

7. Describe the Novatian heresy, what were the members of this group calling themselves?

8. In what crafty way did Novatus become a bishop?

9. How did Novatus try to trap believers into following him and no other bishop?

10. What bishop “was inclining slightly toward the” Novatian heresy and who wrote to him to pull him back?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why might Origen have been willing to let people record his lectures in his later life when he wouldn’t allow it previously?

2. Why did the “frumentarius” not think to look for Dionysius at home?

3. During the persecution in Alexandria, what did Dionysius mean when he said some came forward “for professional reasons?”

4. The people who knew Novatus said he only gave “wolflike friendship” to those who knew him. What does this mean?

5. When Cornelius writes to Fabius about the character of Novatus he describes the various constituents of a church with “one bishop…forty-six presbyters, seven deacons…” etc. Do you understand Cornelius to be saying that the various offices and roles mentioned are supposed to be the same in kind and number in every church or do you think he is just describing the makeup of one particular church? What would seem to support one interpretation over the other? 

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Dionysius described the death of a man named Serapion who received the Eucharist and “absolution” after having “lapsed” by denying Christ during torture. Dionysius also suggests that God sustained Serapion’s life until he could take the Eucharist (i.e. Lord’s Supper/Communion). How critical is it to the salvation of believers for them to be able to receive the Eucharist? Explain and defend your answer.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and Revelation 9:6-11. How do these passages help combat part of the Helkesite heresy?

2. How can we connect Luke 9:62 to the martyrs we are being told about in this reading?

3. Read Luke 17:1-4. How does this passage address the Novatian heresy?