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to the one who succeeded him, the same Dionysius writes a second letter, in which he makes clear the opinion of Stephen and the judgment of the other bishops concerning this same opinion of Stephen, saying: From the same Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, from the second letter to Xystus concerning baptism. For he had previously written concerning Helenus and Firmilianus and all those from Cilicia and Cappadocia and indeed Galatia and all the neighboring regions, that he would not have communion even with them for this same reason, because, he says, they rebaptize heretics. And consider the magnitude of the matter. For indeed decrees concerning this have been made in 462 the greatest synods of bishops, as I learn, so that those coming from heresies, having first been catechized, should then be washed and cleansed of the filth of the old and unclean leaven. And concerning Novatus, I wrote at the request of all. And after other things: And to our beloved fellow presbyters Dionysius and Philemon, who were formerly in agreement with Stephen and who wrote to me concerning the same things, I wrote a few things before, and now I have written more fully. To these things he adds the following concerning Sabellius, the heretic in Libya: For concerning the doctrine now stirred up in Ptolemais of Pentapolis, which is impious and has much blasphemy concerning both the almighty God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, and much unbelief concerning His only-begotten Son and firstborn of all creation, the Word who became man, and insensibility toward the Holy Spirit, when both letters and delegates came to me from both sides, I wrote some things, setting them forth in a more doctrinal manner as I was able, God granting it, the copies of which I sent to you. Having gone through these matters in the second discourse on baptism to Xystus, the divine Dionysius recounts a certain marvelous divine vision in the third discourse on baptism, writing to Philemon, presbyter of Rome: From the third discourse on baptism by Dionysius of Alexandria to Philemon, presbyter of Rome, and concerning his vision. And I have encountered the writings and traditions of the heretics, defiling my soul for a little while with their utterly abominable thoughts, but receiving this benefit from them, of refuting them by myself and abhorring them much more. And when a certain brother of the presbyters was restraining and warning me not to defile myself with the mire of their wickedness (for it will corrupt my soul), and speaking the truth, as I perceived, a vision sent from God came and strengthened me, and a word came to me and commanded me distinctly, saying: Read all 463 that you might take into your hands; for you are capable of evaluating and testing each thing, and this has been for you from the beginning the cause of your faith. I accepted the vision, as it agreed with the apostolic voice that says to the more able: Become approved money-changers. Having said this concerning all heresies, he adds: This rule and model I received from our blessed pope Heraclas. For those who came from the heresies, having apostatized from the church, or rather not having apostatized, but seeming to assemble, yet being denounced as frequenting one of the heterodox teachers, he drove from the church, and when they begged, he did not receive them, until they publicly declared all that they had heard from their opponents, and then he gathered them, not requiring another baptism of them; for they had previously received the holy one from him. Then, having gone through this doctrine in detail, he adds, confirming it: I have learned this also, that not only now have those in Africa introduced this, but also long ago, in the time of the bishops before us, in the most populous churches and in the synods of the brethren, in Iconium and Synnada and by many, this was decreed, of which

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διαδεξαμένῳ δευτέραν ἐπιστολὴν ὁ αὐτὸς ∆ιονύσιος γράφει, ἐν ᾗ τὴν γνώμην Στεφάνου καὶ τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν ἐπισκόπων περὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ Στεφάνου γνώμης ἐπίκρισιν δηλοῖ λέγων· Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ∆ιονυσίου ἐπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Ξύστον δευτέρας ἐπιστολῆς περὶ βαπτίσματοσ Ἐπεστάλκει μὲν οὖν πρότερον καὶ περὶ Ἑλένου καὶ περὶ Φιρμιλιανοῦ καὶ πάντων τῶν τε ἀπὸ Κιλικίας καὶ Καππαδοκίας καὶ δηλονότι Γαλατίας καὶ πάντων τῶν ἑξῆς ὁμορούντων, ὡς οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις κοινωνήσων διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην αἰτίαν, ἐπειδὴ τοὺς αἱρετικούς, φησίν, ἀναβαπτίζουσι. καὶ σκόπει τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ πράγματος. ὄντως γὰρ δόγματα περὶ τούτου γέγονεν ἐν 462 ταῖς μεγίσταις τῶν ἐπισκόπων συνόδοις, ὡς πυνθάνομαι, ὥστε τοὺς προσ ιόντας ἐξ αἱρέσεων προκατηχηθέντας εἶτα ἀπολούεσθαι καὶ ἀνακαθαίρε σθαι τὸν τῆς παλαιᾶς καὶ ἀκαθάρτου ζύμης ῥύπον. καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ναυάτου πάντων δεόμενος ἐπέστειλα. καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· καὶ τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς δὲ ἡμῶν καὶ συμπρεσβυτέροις ∆ιονυσίῳ καὶ Φιλήμονι, συμψήφοις πρότερον Στε φάνῳ γενομένοις καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν μοι γράφουσι, πρότερον μὲν ὀλίγα, καὶ νῦν δὲ διὰ πλειόνων ἐπέστειλα. τούτοις ἐπάγει καὶ περὶ τῶν κατὰ Σα βέλλιον τὸν κατὰ Λιβύην αἱρετικὸν ταῦτα· περὶ γὰρ τοῦ νῦν κινηθέντος ἐν τῇ Πτολεμαΐδι τῆς Πενταπόλεως δόγματος ὄντος ἀσεβοῦς καὶ βλασφη μίαν πολλὴν ἔχοντος περί τε τοῦ παντοκράτορος θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀπιστίαν τε πολλὴν περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς παιδὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ πρωτοτόκου πάσης κτίσεως τοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσαντος λό γου, εἰς ἀναισθησίαν δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐλθόντων ἑκατέρωθεν πρὸς ἐμοῦ καὶ τῶν γραμμάτων καὶ τῶν διαλεξομένων ἐπέστειλά τινα, ὡς ἠδυνήθην παρασχόντος τοῦ θεοῦ διδασκαλικώτερον ὑφηγούμενος, ὧν τὰ ἀντίγραφα ἔπεμψά σοι. ταῦτα ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ διεξελθὼν περὶ βαπτίσματος λόγῳ πρὸς Ξύστον ὁ θεῖος ∆ιονύσιος θαυμαστήν τινα θεοπτίαν ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ περὶ βαπτίσματος διέξεισι, πρὸς Φιλήμονα πρεσβύτερον Ῥώμης γράφων· Ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς Φιλήμονα πρεσβύτερον Ῥώμης γʹ λόγου περὶ βαπτίσματος ∆ιονυσίου Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν ὁράσεωσ Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῖς συντάγμασι καὶ ταῖς παραδόσεσι τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἐνέτυ χον, χραίνων μέν μου πρὸς ὀλίγον τὴν ψυχὴν ταῖς παμμιάροις αὐτῶν ἐν θυμήσεσιν, ὄνησιν δὲ ταύτην ἀπ' αὐτῶν λαμβάνων, τοῦ ἐξελέγχειν αὐτοὺς παρ' ἐμαυτῷ καὶ πολλῷ πλέον βδελύττεσθαι. καὶ δή τινος ἀδελ φοῦ πρεσβυτέρων ἀπείργοντος καὶ δεδιττομένου συμφύρεσθαι τῷ τῆς πονηρίας αὐτῶν βορβόρῳ (λυμανεῖται γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ) καὶ ἀληθῆ λέγοντος ὡς ᾐσθόμην, ὅραμα θεόπεμπτον προσελθὸν ἐπέρρωσέ με, καὶ λόγος πρός με γενόμενος προσέταξε διαρρήδην λέγων· πᾶσιν ἐν 463 τύγχανε οἷς ἂν εἰς χεῖρας λάβοις· διευθύνειν γὰρ ἕκαστα καὶ δοκιμάζειν ἱκανὸς εἶ καὶ σοὶ γέγονε τοῦτο ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς πίστεως αἴτιον. ἀπεδεξά μην τὸ ὅραμα, ὡς ἀποστολικῇ φωνῇ συντρέχον τῇ λεγούσῃ πρὸς τοὺς δυνατωτέρους· γίνεσθε δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται. πρὸς τοῦτοις εἰπὼν περὶ πα σῶν αἱρέσεων ἐπάγει· τοῦτον ἐγὼ τὸν κανόνα καὶ τὸν τύπον παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου πάπα ἡμῶν Ἡρακλᾶ παρέλαβον. τοὺς γὰρ προσιόντας ἀπὸ τῶν αἱρέσεων καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀποστάντας, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδ' ἀποστάντας, ἀλλὰ συνάγεσθαι μὲν δοκοῦντας, καταμηνυθέντας δὲ ὡς προσφοιτῶντάς τινι τῶν ἑτεροδιδασκαλούντων, ἀπελάσας τῆς ἐκκλησίας, δεομένους οὐ προσήκατο, ἕως δημοσίᾳ πάντα ὅσα ἀκηκόασι παρὰ τοῖς ἀντιθεμένοις ἐξέφρασαν, καὶ τότε συνήγαγεν αὐτούς, οὐ δεηθεὶς ἑτέρου βαπτίσματος ἐπ' αὐτῶν· τοῦ γὰρ ἁγίου πρότερον παρ' αὐτοῦ τετυχήκεσαν. εἶτα λεπτῶς περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ δόγματος διεξελθὼν ἐπιφέρει βεβαιῶν αὐτό· μεμάθηκα καὶ τοῦτο ὅτι μὴ νῦν οἱ ἐν Ἀφρικῇ τοῦτο μόνον παρεισήγαγον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ πολλοῦ κατὰ τοὺς πρὸ ἡμῶν ἐπισκόπους ἐν ταῖς πολυανθρωποτάταις ἐκκλησίαις καὶ ταῖς συνόδοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ἐν Ἰκονίῳ καὶ Συνάδοις καὶ παρὰ πολλοῖς τοῦτο ἔδοξεν, ὧν