By Water & Blood

On the Meletians in Egypt

In Alexandria by Egypt, at the time when Arius began his blasphemy against the Only-begotten, a certain Meletius, a bishop, revolting against the leadership of the great Alexander, ordained bishops and priests and deacons for many cities—not championing a novel heresy, but holding the same views as the Church, yet receiving the passion of love of rule. The most holy Fathers gathered at Nicaea removed this man from the helm of the Church; and those ordained by him they stripped of what had been given unlawfully. From there the schism of the Meletians in Egypt was constituted. But that man innovated nothing in the doctrines of piety; these, however, seeing the heresy of Arius strengthened by those then reigning, leaned toward it.

But now they say they have been freed from this disease, yet live separately, unwilling to be guided by others, and declining union with the Churches. On this account, as autonomous, they also invented those ridiculous practices: purifying the body with water every other day, and performing the hymnodies with clapping of hands and a kind of dancing, and moving many bells hung from a rope, and the other things like these. For this reason that great Athanasius continued warring against them.