Page 270the justice of God, if He were not merciful; much less one who had notably sinned against His most divine and holy Majesty; which agrees with job 9:2; Ps. 130:3; and 143:2. In the meantime, men had very different views respecting the decease of Berengarius; for some, namely those who were rigid Romanists, and papists, had, it seems, an evil opinion of him; hence they knew nothing:good to say of him, as appears from the account of Papirius Massonius, who, in his history of France, for the year 1088, says, "In this year, on the day of Epiphany... that corrupt arch-heretic, Berengarius, who so often deceived the (Roman) church by feigning to repent of his views, departed this life." Annal. Franc., lib. 3. But others, who were his good friends, had a better opinion of him. Among these, the abovementioned Hildebert was not the least; he, as some have observed, composed a very beautiful epitaph upon his death, the last words of which were as follows, "He (Berengarius) was truly a wise man, and, in every respect, perfectly blessed; who enriched heaven with his soul, and the earth with his body. God grant, that after my death I may live and rest with him, and that my lot or inheritance may be no better than his." See the above cited book, compared with Abr. Mell., fol. 395, col. 1, 2. We will close here, and commit his cause to God. Meanwhile, the church of God, or, at least, the little flock of believers, sustained a great loss in his death. Hence, we may say, as was lamentingly said by one of old, "The day when Bererngarius died was an evil day." Sam. heltius., Geslacht-register, page 128. MANY OF THE FOLLOWERS OF BERENGARIUS, CALLED BERENGARIANS, ANATHEMATIZED BY ORDER OF THE POPE, AT PIACENZA., IN ITALY, A. D. 1095, AND AFTERWARDS PERSECUTED UNTO DEATH, ABOUT A. D. 1100 It is stated that after the death of Berengarius, his doctrine (spoken of above) in reference to baptism and the Supper, against the belief of the Roman church, gained much favor among his followers, who were called Berengarians; so that England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and even part of the Netherlands, became filled with it. A certain writer says, "They did not adhere to Berengarius as to a reed which is swayed by the wind; and their faith did not rest on men, however pious or godly these might have been, but upon the pure Word of God, which abides forever."; Hence, Pope Urban II, A. D. 1095, by constraint as it were, convened a great council against them, in the city of Piacenza, in Italy; to which there came many bishops from Italy, Burgundy, France, Germany, Bavaria, and other countries, so that there was no church large enough to hold all the people, but they had to meet without the city, in an open field. Bertoleus Constantiensis says, that in this council a canon or rule was established, by which the views of Berengarius, which were called a heresy, were again, as had repeatedly been done previously, anathematized or cursed, but the views of the Roman church, confirmed as a precious matter. Compare Bertho. Constant., in Chron., A. D. 1095. Baron. Annal., T. 11, with A. Mell., fol. 395, col. 2, 3. Hence it came, that a great persecution and dire distress arose, particularly about A. D. 1100, over said Berengarians, so that, at first, some were exiled here and there, f rom the Roman dominion, some expelled, and some were punished with death, yea, with death by fire, as shall appear more fully in the account of the martyrs in the following century. In the meantime, see A. M. fol. 395. col. 3, from Thuan., Pref. Also, in Hist. Henr. 4. AN ACCOUNT OF THOSE WHO SUFFERED IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY: SUMMARY OF THE MARTYRS IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY
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