CHAPTER VIII

THE ASSEMBLY WAS COMPOSED, AS IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, OF INDIVIDUALS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS

FOR it is said that in the Apostles’ age, devout men were gathered from every nation under heaven; among whom were Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene; and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians. Now the defect of that assembly was, that not all who composed it were ministers of God: but in the present company, the number of bishops exceeded two hundred and fifty, while that of the presbyters and deacons in their train, and the crowd of acolytes and other attendants was altogether beyond computation.