After our Saviour’s ascension, the Christians of every city lived in common (Acts 4:34⁠–⁠35) upon the money which was made of the sale of their lands and possessions, and laid down at the feet of the apostles, of good will, not of duty; for, “whilst the land remained,” saith St. Peter to Ananias (Acts 5:4), “was it not thine? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power?” which showeth he needed not have saved his land nor his money by lying, as not being bound to contribute anything at all unless he had pleased. And as in the time of the apostles, so also all the time downward till after Constantine the Great, we shall find that the maintenance of the bishops and pastors of the Christian Church was nothing but the voluntary contribution of them that had embraced their doctrine. There was yet no mention of tithes: but such was in the time of Constantine and his sons the affection of Christians to their pastors, as Ammianus Marcellinus saith, describing the sedition of Damasus and Ursicinus about the bishopric, that it was worth their contention, in that the bishops of those times, by the liberality of their flock, and especially of matrons, lived splendidly, were carried in coaches, and were sumptuous in their fare and apparel.