production of the evil principle-that baptism and the Lord's supper were useless institutions and that human souls, endued with reason, were shut up by an unhappy fate in the dungeons of mortal bodies, whence only they could be delivered by fasting, mortification, and continence of every kind. Hence they exhorted all who embraced their doctrine to a rigorous abstinence from animal food, wine, and wedlock; and recommended to them in the most pathetic terms the most severe acts of austerity and mortification.

This denomination treated all the books of the old testament with the utmost coutempt, but expressed a high veneration for the new, particularly for the four evangelists.*

CERDONIANS, a branch of the Gnostics in the second century, which derive their name from Cerdo. They are also called Marcionites, from Marcion, who propagated his doctrines with astonishing success throughout the world.

The sentiments taught by this denomination were as follow:-That there are two principles, the one perfectly good, and the other perfectly evil and between these there

deity, neither perfectly good nor perfectly evil, but of a mixed nature; and so far just and powerful, as to administer rewards and inflict punishments. This middle deity is the creator of this inferior world, and the god and legislator of the jewish nation. He wages perpetual war with the evil principle: and both the one and the other aspire to the place of the supreme Being, and ambitiously attempt subjecting to their authority all the inhabitants of the world.

The jews are the subjects of that powerful genius who formed the globe. The other nations, who worship a variety of gods, are under the empire of the evil principle. Both these conflicting powers exercise oppressions upon rational and immortal souls, and keep them in a tedious and miserable captivity. Therefore the supreme God, in order to terminate this war, and to deliver from their bondage those souls whose origin is celestial and divine, sent to the jews a being most like to himself, even his Son Jesus Christ, clothed with a certain shadowy resemblance of a body, that thus he might be visible to mortal eyes. The commission of this celestial

messenger was to destroy the empire both of the evil principle, and of the author of this world, and to bring back wandering souls to God. On this account he was attacked with inexpressible fury by the prince of darkness, and by the god of the jews, but with out effect; since, having a body only in appearance, he was thereby rendered incapable of suffering. Those who follow the sacred directions of the celestial conductor, mortify the body by fasting and austerities, call off their minds from the allurements of sense, and, renouncing the precepts of the god of the jews and of the prince of darkness, turn their eyes towards the supreme Being, shall after death ascend to the mansions of felicity and perfection.

This denomination denied the resurrection of the dead: they rejected all the old testament, and received only part of Luke's gospel, and ten of Paul's epistles, in the new.* See Gnostics.

CERINTHIANS, a denomination which arose in the first century; so called from Cerinthus, who taught that the creator of the world, whom he considered also as the sovereign and law-giver of the jewish people, was a being endowed with the greatest vir

tucs, and derived his birth from the supreme God-that this being fell by degrees from his native virtue and his primitive dignity-that the supreme God, in consequence of this, determined to destroy his empire, and sent upon earth for this purpose one of the ever-happy and glorious aions, whose name was Christthat this Christ chose for his habitation the person of Jesus, a man of the most illustrious sanctity and justice, the son of Joseph and Mary; and descending in the form of a dove, entered into him while he was receiving the baptism of John in the waters of Jordan-that Jesus, after his union with Christ, opposed himself with vigour to the god of the jews, and was by his instigation seized and crucified by the hebrew chiefsthat when Jesus was taken captive, Christ ascended up on high, so that the man Jesus alone was subjected to the pains of an ignominious death.

Cerinthus required of his followers that they should worship the Father of Christ, even the supreme God, in conjunction with the Son; that they should abandon the lawgiver of the jews, whom he looked upon as the creator of the world; that they should retain a part of the law giver.

P

by Moses, but should never theless employ their principal attention and care to regulate their lives by the precepts of Christ. To encourage them to this, he promised them the resurrection of this mortal body, after which was to commence a scene of the most exquisite delights, during Christ's earthly reign of a thousand years, which was to be succeeded by a happy and neverending life in the celestial world. See Gnostics.

CHAZINZARIANS, a denomination which arose in Armenia in the seventh century they are so called from the Armenian word chazus, which signifies a cross, because they were charged with adoring the cross.t

CHILIASTS. See Mille

narians.

CHRISTIANS OF ST. JOHN, so called because (they say) they received their faith, books, and traditions, from John the Baptist. They always inhabit near a river, in which they baptize; for they never baptize but in rivers, and only on Lord's days. Before they go to the river they carry the infant to church, where there is a

bishop, who reads certain prayers over the head of the child; thence they carry the child to the river, with a train of men and women, who, together with the bishop, go up to the knees in water. Then the bishop reads again certain prayers out of a book; which done, he sprinkles the infant three times, saying, In the name of the Lord, first and last of the world and paradise, the high Creator of all things. After that the bishop reads again in his book, while the godfather plunges the clild allover in the water; after which they all go to the parent's house to feast. They have no knowledge of the doctrine of the trinity; only they say that Christ is the Spirit and Word of thé eternal Father. They confess that he became man to free us from the punishment of sin: but when the jews came to take him, he deluded their cruelty with a shadow.

They believe the angel Gabriel is the Son of God, begotten upon light; and that he undertook to create the world, according to the command which God gave him; and took along with

+ History of Religion, vol. iv.

him three hundred and thirtysix thousand demons, and made the earth so fertile, that it was but to sow in the morning and reap at night; and that the same angel taught Adam all the necessary sci

ences.

In reference to the life to come, it is said, they believe that when any one lies at the point of death, three hundred and sixty demons come and carry his soul to a place full of serpents, dogs, lions, tygers, and devils. If it be the soul of a wicked man, they tear it in pieces; but, being the soul of a just man, it creeps under the bellies of those creatures into the presence of God, who sits in his seat of majesty to judge the world; and that there are angels also, who weigh the souls of men in a balance, who, being thought worthy, are admitted immediately into glory.

They have no canonical books, but a number full of charms, &c. Their chief festivals are three: one in the winter, which lasts three days, in memory of our first parents and the creation of the world;

the other in the month of August, which is called the feast of St. John; the third, which lasts five days, in June, during which time they are all re-baptized.

In the eucharist, they make use of meal, or flour kneaded, with wine and oil. They add oil to signify the benefit we receive by the sacrament, and put us in mind of our love to God and our neighbour. The words of their consecration are certain long prayers, which they make to praise and thank God, at the same time blessing the bread and wine. After all the ceremonies are ended, the priest takes the bread; and having eaten some of it, distributes the rest to the people. -These christians reside in Persia and Barsora.*

CHRISTIANS OF ST. THOMAS, a denomination in the peninsula of India, on this side the gulph. They are called Christians of St. Thomas, because that apostle preached the gospel and suffered martyrdom in that peninsula; and for whom those christians have a peculiar veneration. They admit of no

images, and receive only the cross, to which they pay a great veneration. They affirm that the souls of the saints do not see God till after the day of judgment. They acknowledge but three sacraments; viz. baptism, orders, and the eucharist. They make no use of holy oils in the administration of baptism; but after the ceremony, anoint the infant with an unction, composed of oil and walnuts, without any benediction. They have no knowledge of confirmation or extreme unction, and abhor auricular confession. In the eucharist, they consecrate with little cakes, made of oil and salt; and in stead of wine, make use of water in which raisins have been infused.*

CIRCUMCELLIANS, (in latin, Circumcelliones) a branch of the Donatists. They a bounded chiefly in Africa. They had no fixed abode; but rambled up and down,begging, or rather exacting a maintenance from the country people. It was from this wandering course of life they had their name.t

COCCEIANS, a denomination which arose in the seventeenth century; so called from John Cocceius, professor of divinity in the university of Leyden. He represented the whole history of the old tes

tament as a mirror, which held forth an accurate view of the transactions and events that were to happen in the church under the dispensation of the new testament, and unto the end of the world. He maintained that by far the greatest part of the ancient prophecies foretold Christ's ministry and mediation, and the rise, progress, and revolutions of the church, not only under the figure of persons and transactions, but in a literal manner, and by the very sense of the words used in these predictions; and laid it down as a fundamental rule of interpretation, that the words and phrases of scripture are to be understood in every sense of which they are susceptible, or, in other words, that they signify in effect every thing that they can possibly signify.

Cocceius also taught, that the covenant made between God and the jewish nation, by the ministry of Moses, was of the same nature as the new covenant, obtained by the mediation of Jesus Christ. In consequence of this general principle, he maintained that the ten commandments were promulgated by Moses, not as a rule of obedience, but as a representation of the covenant of grace-that when the jews