im over the
almshouse or hospital of the see. A quarrel followed, from whatever
cause; Aerius left his post, and accused Eustathius of covetousness, as
it would appear, unjustly. Next he collected a large number of persons
of both sexes in the open country, where they braved the severe weather
of that climate. A congregation implies a creed, and Aerius founded or
formed his own on the following points: 1. That there was no difference
between bishop and presbyter. 2. That it was judaical to observe Easter,
because Christ is our Passover. 3. That it was useless, or rather
mischievous, to name the dead in prayer, or to give alms for them. 4.
That fasting was judaical, and a yoke of bondage. If it be right to
fast, he added, each should choose his own day; for instance, Sunday
rather than Wednesday and Friday: while Passion Week he spent in
feasting and merriment. And this is pretty nearly all we know of
Aerius, who flourished between A.D. 360 and 370.

2. Jovinian was a Roman monk, and was condemned, first by Siricius at
Rome, then by St. Ambrose and other bishops at Milan, about A.D. 390. He
taught, 1. That eating with thanksgiving was just as good as fasting. 2.
That, _caeteris paribus_, celibacy, widowhood, and marriage, were on a
level in the baptized. 3. That there was no difference of rewards
hereafter for those who had preserved their baptism; and, 4. That those
who had been baptized with full faith could not fall; if they did, they
had been baptized, like Simon Magus, only with water. He persuaded
persons of both sexes at Rome, who had for years led a single life, to
desert it. The Emperor Honorius had him transported to an island on the
coast of Dalmatia; he died in the beginning of the fifth century.

3. Vigilantius was a priest of Gaul or Spain, and flourished just at the
time Jovinian died: he taught, 1. That those who reverenced relics were
idolaters; 2. That continence and celibacy were wrong, as leading to the
worst scandals; 3. That lighting candles in churches during the day, in
honour of the martyrs, was wrong, as being a heathen rite; 4. That
Apostles and Martyrs had no presence at their tombs; 5. That it was
useless to pray for the dead; 6. That it was better to keep wealth and
practice habitual charity, than to strip one's-self of one's property
once for all; and 7. That it was wrong to retire into the desert. This
is what we learn of these three (so-called) reformers, from the writings
of Epiphanius