Peter to the brethren in the Lord, beloved and established in the faith of God, peace. Since I have discovered that Meletius acts in no way for the common good, for he does not approve the letter of the most holy bishops and martyrs, and invading my parish, has assumed so much to himself as to endeavor to separate from my authority the priests and those who had been intrusted with visiting the needy, and, giving proof of his desire for pre-eminence, has ordained in the prison several unto himself; now take ye heed to this and hold no communion with him, until I meet him in company with some wise men, and see what designs they are which he has thought upon. Fare ye well. (_d_) _Epitaph of Eusebius, Bishop of Rome._ _Cf._ Kirch, n. 534. Schism of Heraclius. The following epitaph was placed on the tomb of Eusebius, bishop of Rome (April 18 to August 17, 310 A. D.), by Damasus, bishop of Rome (366-384.) I, Damasus, have made this: Heraclius forbade the fallen to lament their sin, Eusebius taught the wretched ones to weep for their crimes. The people was divided into parties by the increasing madness. Sedition, bloodshed, war, discord, strife arose. At once they were equally smitten by the ferocity of the tyrant.(92) Although the guide of the Church(93) maintained intact the bonds of peace. He endured exile joyful under the Lord as judge, And gave up this earthly life on the Trinacrian shore.(94) THE SECOND DIVISION OF ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY: THE CHURCH UNDER THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE: FROM 312 TO CIRCA 750 The second division of the history of ancient Christianity, or Christianity under the influence of the Græco-Roman type of culture, begins with the sole rule of Constantine, A. D. 324, or his sole reign in the West, A. D. 312, and extends to the beginning of the Middle Ages, or that period in which the Germanic nations assumed the leading rôle in the political life of western Europe. The end of this division of Church history may be placed, at the latest, about the middle of the eighth century, as the time when the authority of the Eastern Empire ceased to affect materially the fortunes of the West. But it is impossible to name any year or reign or political event as of such outstanding importance as to make it a _terminus ad quem_ for the division which will command the suffrages of all as the boundary between the ancient and the mediæval epochs of history. The second division of ancient Christianity may be subdivided into three periods: I. The Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or until the Death of Theodosius the Great, or to 395. II. The Church in the Divided Empire until the Collapse of the Western Empire and the Schism between the East and the West arising out of the Monophysite Controversies, or to circa 500. III. The Dissolution of the Imperial Church of the West and the Transition to the Middle Ages.