A Fear of Sabellianism

“It has, indeed, been supposed by some, that the old heresies have died out ; and, as such, that there is no further use in denouncing them. Others have thought that they have never died out, but are always re-appearing, though, it may be, under new names ; thus, for instance, that what is called Swedenborgianism is nothing more than a new name for the old Sabellianism ; and as some of the clauses of the Athanasian Creed were introduced for the express purpose of condemning Sabellianism, the disuse of the Creed, it is thought, would tend to remove the only bulwark against this heresy ; and therefore, says Mr. Maccoll — ‘I trust that the Athanasian Creed will be neither abolished nor altered. To do either would be to abandon the Faith, and to commit the Church of England to Sabellianism.’”

(Augustus Clissold, The Creeds of Athanasius, Sebellius, and Swedenborg, Examined and Compared with Each Other, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1873, e-book; from Preface, v)