e did not enter. He wrote against the
Arians, Eunomians, Macedonians, and Manichees; against Origen and
Marcellus; and in defence of the Millenarians. Portions of these
doctrinal writings are still extant, and display a vigour and elegance
of style not inferior to any writer of his day.

Such a man seemed to be raised up providentially for the Church's
defence in an evil day; and for awhile he might be said resolutely and
nobly to fulfil his divinely appointed destiny. The Church of Laodicea,
with the other cities of Syria, was at the time in Arian possession;
when the great Athanasius passed through on his return to Egypt, after
his second exile (A.D. 348), Apollinaris communicated with him, and was
in consequence put out of the Church by the bishop in possession. On the
death of Constantius (A.D. 361), the Catholic cause prevailed; and
Apollinaris was consecrated to that see, or to that in Asia Minor which
bears the same name.

2.

Such was the station, such the reputation of Apollinaris, at the date of
the Council thereupon held at Alexandria, A.D. 362, for settling the
disorders of the Church; and yet, in the proceedings of this celebrated
assembly, the first intimation occurs of the existence of that doctrinal
error by which he has been since known in history, though it is not
there connected with his name. The troubles under Julian succeeded, and
diverted the minds of all parties to other objects. The infant heresy
slept till about the year 369; when it gives us evidence of its
existence in the appearance of a number of persons, scattered about
Syria and Greece, who professed it in one form or other, and by the
solemn meeting of a Council in the former country, in which its
distinctive tenets were condemned. We find that even at this date it had
run into those logical consequences which make even a little error a
great one; still the name of Apollinaris is not connected with them.

The Council, as I have said, was held in Syria, but the heresy which
occasioned it had already, it seems, extended into Greece; for a
communication, which the there assembled bishops addressed to Athanasius
on the subject, elicited from him a letter, still extant, addressed to
Epictetus, bishop of Corinth, who had also written to him upon it. This
letter, whether from tenderness to Apollinaris, or from difficulty in
bringing the heresy home to him, still does not mention his name.
Another work written by Athanasius against the her