studies of the works of St. Augustine. A man of great humility and simplicity, he little thought that St. Augustine himself was little in favour with the churchmen of that day, who were statesmen, lawyers, warriors, anything but priests.[1]
The principal ideas contained in the treatise De Ecclesia may be briefly summarised thus: All men are divided into two classes, those who are—either conditionally or unconditionally—predestined (predestinati) to eternal bliss, and those who are foreknown (presciti) to damnation. The mass of the predestinati form the true Holy Catholic Church, but the church as at present constituted includes the presciti as well as the predestinati. Of the true church Christ is the only head. As man He is “head of the church within it” (caput intrinsecum), as God He is its “head without” (caput extrinsecum). Christ is the true Roman pontiff, the high priest, and the bishop of souls. The apostles did not call themselves “Holy Father” or “Head of the Church,” but servant of God and servant of the church. A change came with the “donation of Constantine.”[2] Thenceforth the pope considered himself as head (capitaneus) of the church and Christ’s vicar upon earth. It is not, however, certain that the pope is Christ’s successor in this world. Only then is he Christ’s representative and the successor of St. Peter, and only then are the cardinals successors of the apostles, when they follow the examples of faith, modesty, and love which St. Peter and the apostles gave. Many popes and cardinals have not done this, and indeed many saintly men, who never were popes, were truer successors of the apostles than, for instance, the present pope (John XXIII.) St. Augustine did more for the welfare of the church than many popes, and studied its doc-
- ↑ This interesting subject into which I cannot enter is very clearly expounded by Dr. Harnack (Dogmengeschichte, iii. pp. 434–439). Dr. Harnack writes: “Die Geschichte der Kirchenlehre im Abendlande ist eine vielfach verdeckte Geschichte des Kampfes gegen Augustin.”
- ↑ Hus of course believed in the authenticity of the “donatio” as did all mediæval writers before its exposure by Laurentius Valla.
