The Faith of Catholics/Section 1
SECTION I.
JUSTIFICATION THROUGH CHRIST, AND THE MERIT OF GOOD WORKS.
PROPOSITION I.
When man has sinned, the remission or pardon of sin is not attainable by him, otherwise than in and by the merits of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, who freely purchased our ransom.
SCRIPTURE.
Rom.[1] c. iii. v. 23, 24, 25. “For all have sinned; and do need the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.”
1 Cor. vi. 20. “For you are bought with a great price.”
Ephes. i. 7. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Coloss. i. 14. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins.” ii. 14. “Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us.”
1 Tim. ii. 5,6. “For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all.”
1 John,[2] ii. 1, 2, “But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just : and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
PROPOSITION II.
It is only through the same merits of Jesus Christ, that the just man can obtain either an increase of holiness in this life, or eternal happiness in the next.
SCRIPTURE.
John xv. 5. “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing."
Rom. v. 9, 10.“ Christ died for us: much more, therefore, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Ephes. ii. 8, 9. “ For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves : for it is the gift of God, not of works, that no man may glory.”
Tit. iii. 7. “That being justified by his grace, we may be heirs, according to hope of life everlasting.”
PROPOSITION III.
The good works of a just man, proceeding from grace and charity, are so far acceptable to God, through his goodness and sacred promises, as to be truly deserving of an eternal reward; “God crowning his own gifts, when he crowns the good works of his servants.”
SCRIPTURE.
Matthew,[3] x. 42. “And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” Ib. xvi. 27. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works." Ib. xxv. 34, 35. “Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand : Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat.”
1 Cor. ix. 24, 25. “Know you not, that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize ? So run that ye may obtain. And every one that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things; they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.”
2 Cor. iv. 17. “For our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." Ib. v. 10. “For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil.”
2 Tim. iv. 8. “As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me at that day; and not to me only, but to them also that love his coming."
Heb. vi. 10. “For God is not unjust, that he should forget your work, and the love which you have shewn in his name, you who have ministered, and do minister to the saints.”
2 Pet.[4] i. 10. “Wherefore, brethren, labor the more, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure."
James,[5] ii. 14, 17, 26. “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him?—Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead in itself. For as the body, without the spirit, is dead : so also faith without works is dead.”
As the doctrine of these three propositions is very generally admitted,—and all controversy on the subject, in regard to the belief of Roman Catholics, has in a great measure ceased,—I shall not insert the passages from the early Fathers, which I had prepared, and which, agreeably to my plan, should be here introduced, in order to show, that, as what our Church teaches is confirmed by the Scriptures, so is its descent from the Apostles also attested by the writings of the ancient Fathers. On man's justification through Christ, they are particularly full. But I must not omit, on this head, the declarations of the Council of Trent, which I wish the reader to compare with the words of the Propositions.
COUNCIL OF TRENT.[6]
Though no man can be just, but he to whom the merits of the passion of Christ are communicated; yet this is done in the justification of the sinner, when, by the merit of that passion, the charity of God is infused into the hearts of them that are justified, and dwells therein ; whence, together with the remission of sins, man receives, through Jesus Christ, the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.” Sess. vi. c. 7, p. 30. “Wherefore, to them who do well unto the end, eternal life ought to be proposed; both as a grace which is mercifully promised to them through Jesus Christ, and as a recompence of their good works and merits, in virtue of this promise.—And as Jesus Christ perpetually sheds his influence on them that are justified; which influence precedes, and accompanies, and follows, all their good works, and without which no works can be pleasing to God, we must believe that nothing is now wanting to render them deserving of eternal life, in reward of their good deeds, provided they depart this life in the grace of God.—Although in the Holy Scriptures good works are so much valued, that Jesus Christ himself promises, that a cup of cold water shall not lose its reward; and that the Apostle testifies, that a momentary pain endured in this world shall produce an eternal weight of glory; nevertheless, God forbid that a Christian should trust or glory in himself, and not in the Lord, whose bounty is so great to all men, that he will have those gifts, which he bestows upon them, to be their merits."—Ib. c. 16, p. 39.
FAITH IN CHRIST: ITS OBJECT AND CHARACTER.
PROPOSITION IV.
The merits of Jesus Christ, though infinite in themselves, are not applied to us, without a right faith in him; which faith is one, entire, and conformable to its object, which object is Divine Revelation, that is, the truths taught by Christ, and to that revelation, or to those truths, Faith gives an undoubting assent.
SCRIPTURE.
Mark,[7] xvi. 15, 16. “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not, shall be condemned.”
Acts,[8] iv. 12. “ Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved."
Rom. iii. 22. “Even the justice of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe in him.” x. 8, 9. “This is the word of faith which we preach: that if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart, that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Heb. xi. 6. “But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and is a rewarder of them that seek him."
COUNCIL OF TRENT.
“When the apostle says, that man is justified by faith, and gratuitously, his words are to be understood in that sense which the perpetual consent of the Catholic Church has held, and expressed; to wit, that therefore is man made just by faith, because faith is the beginning of man's salvation, the foundation and root of all justice, without which it is impossible to please God.”—Sess. vi. c. viii. p. 31.
DIVINE REVELATION.
PROPOSITION V.
The Divine Revelation contains many mysterious doctrines, surpassing the natural reach of the human understanding : for which reason, it became the wisdom and goodness of God to provide some way or means, whereby man might be enabled to learn what those mysterious doctrines are-means apparent to all; proportioned to the capacities of all; and sure and certain to all.
SCRIPTURE.
Matt. xi. 25, 26. “At that time Jesus answered and said: I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Even so, Father, for so hath it seemed good in thy sight.” Ibid. xvi. 17. “ And Jesus answering, said unto him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.”
John xv. 22. “If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin : but now they have no excuse for their sin."
1 Cor. i. 27. “But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise ; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong." 16. ii. 12. 13. “Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the spirit that is of God: that we may know the things that are given us from God: which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
Eph. iv. 11, 14. “And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some other Evangelists, and other some Pastors and Doctors. That henceforth we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive."
THE AUTHORITY AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH.
PROPOSITION VI.
The way or means, by which to arrive at the knowledge of the divine truths, is attention and submission to the voice of the Pastors of the Church; a Church established by Christ for the instruction of all; spread for that end through all nations: visibly continued in the succession of Pastors and people through all ages. Whence the marks of this Church are, Unity, Visibility, Indefectibility, Succession from the Apostles, Universality and Sanctity.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH.
SCRIPTURE.
Matt. xviii. 17. “And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican.” Ib. xxviii. 18, 19. “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth: go ye therefore and teach all nations."
Mark xvi. 15. “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Luke x. 16. “He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me, and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.”
Rom. x. 17, 18. “Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say: have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world."
1 Cor. xii. 28, 29. “And God indeed hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly Teachers. -Are all Apostles? Are all Prophets? Are all Teachers?”
1 John iv. 6. “He that knoweth God, heareth us: he that is not of God, heareth us not: by this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS,[9] of the Latin Church.—“ Things being thus made plain, (the descent of doctrine from the Apostles) it is not from others that truth is to be sought, which may be readily learned from the Church. For to this Church, as into a rich repository, the Apostles committed whatever is of divine truth, that each one, if so inclined, might thence draw the drink of life. This is the way to life: all other teachers must be shunned as thieves and robbers.-For what? Should there be any dispute on a point of small moment, must not recourse be had to the most ancient Churches, where the Apostles resided, and from them collect the truth?” Adv. Hæreses, lib. ii. c. iv. p. 178. Ed. Ben.
“ It is a duty to obey the priests of the Church, who hold their succession from the Apostles, and who, with that succession, received, agreeably to the will of the Father, the sure pledge of truth. But as to those who belong not to that leading succession, in whatever place they may be united, they should be suspected, either as heretics, or as schismatics, proudly extolling, and pleasing themselves, or as hypocrites actuated by vain glory or the love of lucre.But they who impugn the truth, and excite others to oppose the Church of God, their fate is with Dathan and Abiron; while schismatics, who violate the Church's unity, experience the punishment which fell on King Jeroboam.” Ibid. L. iv.c. xxvi. p. 262. See another quotation under the head, The Church always visible.
S. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA,[10] of the Greek Church. - “ Those who seek may find the truth—and clearly learn from the scriptures themselves, in what manner heresies have gone astray; and on the contrary, in what manner accurate knowledge, and the right doctrine is to be found only in the truth (or the true) and ancient Church.'P)—He ceases to be faithful to the Lord, who revolts against the received doctrines of the Church to embrace the opinions of heretics.They (the heretics) make use indeed, of the Scriptures; but then they use not all the sacred books; those they use are corrupted, or they chiefly urge ambiguous passages.—They corrupt those truths which agree with the inspired word, and were delivered by the holy Apostles and teachers, opposing the divine tradition by human doctrines, that they may establish heresy.—But it is clear, from what has been said, that there is only one true Church, that Church which is in reality, the old one;(9) as there is but one God and one Lord.” Strom. I. vii. p. 888, 890, 891, 896, 899. Edit. Oxonii, 1715.
TERTULLIAN,[11] L. C.-" We are not allowed to indulge our own humour, nor to choose what another has invented. We have the Apostles of our Lord for founders, who were not themselves the inventors nor authors of what they have left us; but they have faithfully taught the world the doctrine, which they received from Christ.”—De Præscriptione, c. vi. p. 331. Edit. Pamelii, Rothomagi, 1662.
“Now to know, what the Apostles taught, that is, what Christ revealed to them, recourse must be had to the Churches, (S) which they founded, and which they instructed by word of mouth, and by their epistles. For it is plain, that all doctrine, which is conformable to the faith of these Mother Churches, is true, being that which they received from the Apostles; the Apostles from Christ; Christ from God; and that all other opinions must be novel and false.” 1b c. xxi. p. 334.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN,[12] G. C.-“ As there are many who think they believe what Christ taught, and some of these differ from others, it becomes necessary that all should profess that doctrine which came down from the Apostles, and now continues in the Church. That alone is truth, which in nothing differs from ecclesiastical and apostolical tradition.”[13] Præf. Lib. 1. Periarchon, T. 1. p. 47. Edit. PP. S. Mauri, Paris, 1733.
“Let him look to it, who, arrogantly puffed up, contemns the apostolic words. To me it is good, to adhere to Apostolic men, as to God, and his Christ, and to draw intelligence from the Scriptures, according to the sense that has been delivered by them. — If we follow the mere letter of the Scriptures, and take the interpretation of the law, as the Jews commonly explain it, I shall blush to confess, that the Lord should have given such laws.—But if the law of God be understood as the Church teaches, then truly does it transcend all human laws, and is worthy of him that gave it.” Hom. vii. in Levit. T. 11. p. 224, 226.
“ As often as heretics produce the Canonical Scriptures, in which every Christian agrees, and believes, they seem to say, Lo! with us is the word of truth. But to them (the heretics) we cannot give credit, nor depart from the first and ecclesiastical tradition: we can believe only, as the succeeding Churches of God have delivered."-Tract. xxix. in Mat. T. iii. p. 864.
St. CYPRIAN, [14] L. C.-“ Christ says to his Apostles, and, through them, to all ministers, who, by a regular ordination, succeed to them, he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth me. (Luke x. 16.) And thence have schisms and heresies arisen, when the bishop, who is one, and who presides over the Church, is proudly despised.' Ep. lxix. p. 122. Ed. Ben.—In his treatise, On the Unity of the Church, he says, that men are exposed to error, “because they turn not their eyes to the fountain of truth; nor is the head sought for, nor the doctrine of the heavenly Father upheld. Which things would any one seriously ponder, no long enquiry would be necessary. The proof is easy. Christ addresses Peter: I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it....He that does not hold this Unity of the Church, can he think that he holds the faith? He that opposes and withstands the Church, can he trust that he is in the Church ?" De Unit. Eccl. p. 194, 195.
CENT. IV.
LACTANTIUS,[15] L. C.-“ The Catholic Church alone retains the true worship. This is the source of truth: this is the dwelling of faith: this is the temple of God, into which he that enters not, and from which he that goes out, forfeits the hope of life, and of eternal salvation.” — Inst. L. iv. c. 30. T. 1. p. 354. Edit. Parisiis, 1748.
EUSEBIUS,[16] G. C.-" To what has been mentioned, I shall add my reasoning on the divinity of our Saviour; but nothing newly invented from myself, nothing from my own closet, nor resting on the opinion of my own sagacity. I shall deliver the uncorrupted doctrine of the Church of God, which she received at the beginning, from ear and eye-witnesses, and still preserves inviolate." In proem. de Eccl. Theol. p. 60. Edit. Coloniæ, 1688.
St. ATHANASIUS,[17] G. C.-“If you wish to confound the opinions of the Gentiles, and of the heretics, and to show that the knowledge of God is not to be found with them, but in the Church alone, you may repeat the words of the seventy-fifth psalm.”—Ep. ad Marcel. T. 1. p. 996. Edit. Bened. Parisiis, 1698. “Let us again consider, from the earliest period, the tradition, the doctrine, and faith of the Catholic Church, which God first delivered, the Apostles proclaimed, and the succeeding Fathers fostered and preserved. On these, (that is the tradition, &c.) the Church is founded; and whoever falls from her communion, neither is, nor can be called a Christian."Ep. 1. ad Serapion. T. 1. parte II. p. 676.
ST. HILARY,[18] L. C.—“ Christ (teaching from the ship) intimates, that they who are out of the Church, can possess no understanding of the divine word. For the ship is an emblem of the Church, within which, as the word of life is placed and preached, so they who are without, being as barren and useless sands, cannot understand it." Com. in Matt. c. xiii. p. 675. Edit. Bened. Parisiis, 1693.
St. BASIL,[19] G. C.-" The order and government of the Church, is it not, manifestly and beyond contradiction, the work of the Holy Ghost? For he gave to his Church (1 Cor. xii. 28.) first Apostles; secondly Prophets; thirdly Teachers, &c.”—L. de Spiritu. S.c. 16. T.iii. p. 34. Edit. PP. S. Mauri, Paris. 1721, 1722, 1730.
St. EPHREM OF EDESSA,[20] G.C.-“They again must be reproved, who wander from the road, and run into uncertain and devious tracks; for the way of salvation holds out certain marks, by which you may learn, that this is the path, which the messengers of peace trod; which the wise, whom the Holy Spirit instructed, passed over; and the Prophets and Apostles pointed out to us. My brethren, let us walk in this way, by which the Father sent his divine Son: this royal road, which will lead us all to happiness.” Serm. xxv. adv. Hær. T. v. p. 495. Ed. Quirini, Romæ, 1740.
St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM,[21] G.C.-“ Learn sedulously from the Church, which are the books of the Old and New Testaments.” Cat. iv. n. 33. p. 67. Edit. Parisiis, 1720.“ The Church is called Catholic, because it teaches catholicly, and without any omission, all points that men should know, concerning things visible, and invisible, heavenly and earthly." Ib. Cat. xviii. n. 23. p. 296.—“ Guard the Faith, and that Faith alone, which is now delivered to thee by the Church,(9) confirmed as it is by all the Scriptures.”Cat. v. n. 12, p. 77.
ST. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM,[22] G.C.—“To one indeed, is given the word of wisdom ; to another, the word of knowledge. i Cor. xii. 8. My brethren, let us respect, and guard, and maintain this order. Let some hear, others speak, and others act.” Orat. xxvi. T. 1. p. 450. Edit. Coloniæ, 1690. “ If these heretics may freely teach and promulgate their opinions, who does not see, that the doctrine of the Church will be condemned, as if truth were on their side? But two opposite doctrines, on the same point, cannot possibly be true.”-Orat. xlvi. p. 722.
S. EPIPHANIUS,[23] G. C.-" There is a royal way, which is the Church of God, and the road of truth. But each of these heresies, deserting that royal way, turning to the right or to the left, and trusting to error, is carried away, so as to keep within no bounds. Therefore, ye servants of God, and children of the Church, who follow a sure Rule of Faith, and walk in the way of truth, take care, that you be not deceived by the inconsistent discourses of lying sects.”Hær. xxxix. T. 1. p. 504. Edit. Coloniæ, 1682.
S. AMBROSE, L. C.-“ How can the traveller walk in the dark? His foot stumbles in the night, unless the moon, as it were the eye of the world, point out the way. Thou also art in the night of the world. Let the Church point out the way to thee; let the sun of justice enlighten thee from on high, in order that thou mayest be secure from a fall.” Enar. in Ps. xxxv. T. 1. p.776. Coloniæ, 1616.—“ If devils are cast out by the finger of God, Faith is discovered by the finger of the Church." In Lucam. I. v. T. 1. p. 1378.“ The new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee. ( Cant. vii. 13.) I keep all the commandments of the Old and New Testaments. The Church alone is able to say this." No other Congregation can say so, neither the Synagogue, which does not keep the new commandments according to the letter, nor the old according to the spirit: nor can the Manichæan heresy, which rejects the Prophets, make use of the expression. With reason is she clothed in white, who shines with the grace of both Testaments.”—Serm. xxii. in Psal. cxvii. T. 1. p. 1255.-" The Church also has her walls, and being now grown to a more perfect state, she says, I am a fortified City. This is the wall which has the twelve Apostolic gates, by which the entrance into the Church is thrown open to the Gentiles. As Christ is a door, and says, whosoever shall enter by me, shall be saved ; (John x.) so the Church also is styled a door, because by her, the approach to salvation is thrown open to the world; and, lest she should be corrupted by the moths or worms of heretics, the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, the angels or souls of the just, say; let us join it together with boards of cedar, (Cant. viii. 9.) viz. the good odour of sublime Faith ; for such is its sweetness, that neither moth nor worm can hurt it.-Error had led away one sheep, but the grace of the Lord gathered together a multitude of people. Man erred, but the Church is now become a wall, and a strong wall.”—16.—“ The water knew how to assemble, and to fear, and to fly, when God commanded. Let us imitate this water, and recognise one congregation of the Lord, one Church. The water was gathered of old from every valley, and marsh and lake. The valley is heresy and the errors of the Gentiles, for God is the God of the mountains, and not of the valleys. In fine, in the Church, is joy ; in heresy, and among the Gentiles, mourning and grief. The Catholic people, therefore, is gathered from every valley. There are not now many Congregations, but one Congregation, one Church. Let the water be gathered, it was said, from every valley, and there was formed a spiritual Congregation and one people: from the conflux of heretics and Gentiles, the Church was filled.”—Hexaëm. L. III. c. i. T. 1. p. 33 “ The Lord said to Moses, the place whereon thou standest is holy ground, (Exod. III.) and, stand thou here with me, (Deut. v.) that is, thou standest with me, if thou standest in the Church. That is the holy place, that is the land fruitful in holiness, and rich in harvests of virtue.—Stand, therefore, in the Church; stand where I have appeared to thee; there I am with thee: where the Church is, there is the most secure port for thy mind.” Epist. Lib. III. T. iv. p. 119.
ST. JEROM,[24] L.C.-" The Church, to which you should adhere, is that, which, having been founded by the Apostles, continues to the present day."(d) Adv. Lucif. T. iv. Pars. 2, p. 306. Edit. Bened. Parisiis, 1693.
ST. CHRYSOSTOM, G.C.[25]—He has left us a homily, in which he expressly inculcates the respect and submission due to the Church,“ whose greatness, he says, is such, that when combated, she comes off victorious; when craftily assailed, she gets the better of the conspirators; when slandered, she shines with additional lustre. -For what can be equal in power and strength to the Church of God? Talk not of walls, nor of arms; for walls decay with time; but the Church never grows old with age.—The devils themselves cannot overcome the Church.”(6)-Hom. de non contemnenda Ecclesia. T. xii. p. 491.-Edit. Montfaucon, Paris 1735. year 407.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN,[26] L.C.-“ If you hear him contradicting not one particle, but the whole, and declaring that it is false : what will you do? which way will you turn yourself? The rise of what book, what authority, what series of succession will you cite as a witness ? For if you shall attempt this, you will effect nothing; and you here see, what the authority of the Catholic Church can do, (i) which is confirmed by the series of Bishops, succeeding to one another, from the Sees founded by the Apostles, down to the present day: to this add the agreement of nations.” Contra Faustum L. xi. c.ü. T. viii. p. 219. Edit. PP. S. Mauri, Parisiis 1679, & seq.
“ These, so many and so great ties, bind the believing man to the Catholic Church.—But, unless the authority of this Church induced me to it, I would not believe the Gospel. As then I obey those who say to me-Believe the Gospel ; so, why should I not obey them, when they say: Believe not the Manicheans.” Contra ep. Fundam. c. iv, v. p. 154. Ibid.
“ This Church, moreover, the divine authority commends, and as it cannot deceive us, he, who fears to be imposed on, under the obscurity of the present question, (concerning baptism) will consult the Church, which, without any ambiguity, the Scriptures establish.” Contra Crescon. L. I. c. xxxiii. T. ix. p. 407. “Do thou run to the tabernacle of God; hold fast to the Catholic Church; do not depart from the rule of truth,") and thou shalt be protected in the tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.” Enar. iv. in Psal. xxx. T. iv. p.166
ST. ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM,[27] G. C.—“ Those holy volumes of Scriptures are certain steps, by which to ascend to God. Receive therefore, as pure gold, and purged, as it were, by the Holy Spirit, whatever is proposed to you in the Church. But as to such writings, as are not contained in that holy volume, though they may hold out some good advice, leave them to be discussed and preserved by others.” Ep. 369. p. 96. Edit. Paris. 1638.
St. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA,[28] G.C.—“Though the mind of man, sometimes, from self-love, depart from the right road, and from true belief, yet almost always does it feel oppression, fearing to charge its thoughts with absurdity. But to form itself is easy, if it will but carefully examine what the Fathers have written, whom all esteem for the truth and rectitude of their opinions: and thus will be discovered what true faith is. For men, whose hearts are upright, wish to follow them. They, having stored their minds with the doctrines delivered by the Apostles, and treated the points of belief in a manner void of all blame, became the lights of the world.”- Apol. adv. Oriental. anathem. viii. T. vi. p. 177. Edit. Paris, 1638.
CAPREOLUS OF CARTHAGE,[29] L. C.-“ Though the authority of the Universal Church be amply sufficient, yet that I may not seem to refuse an answer to your request, I will say: we profess that to be the one and true doctrine, which Evangelical Antiquity holds and delivers.”—Ep. ad Vitalem et Constant. Labbe Conc. Gen. T.ü. p. 1691. Ed. Paris. 1671.
VINCENT OF LERINS,[30] L. C.-But, in this Catholic Church, we must be particularly careful to hold fast that doctrine, which has been believed in all places, at all times, and by all." For as the word itself plainly denotes, there is nothing truly and properly Catholic, but that which comprehends all in general. Now it will be so, if we follow universality, antiquity, and unanimous consent. We shall follow Universality, if we believe that doctrine alone to be true, which the Church every where admits. We shall follow Antiquity, if we depart not from the opinions which our Ancestors and Fathers openly maintained. We shall follow Unanimous Consent, if we adhere to the sentiments of all, or of almost all, our Pastors and Teachers.” Commonit. I. n. ii. p. 317. Edit. Paris. 1684.
But,” he proceeds, “what shall the Catholic Christian do, if any portion of the Church fall from the Universal Faith ?—Prefer the sanity of the whole body to the distempered member. Should some novel contagion strive to infect a whole Church?—Then also will he be careful to hold fast to antiquity, which no fraud of novelty can seduce. But if in that antiquity itself should be detected the error of two or three men, or of a city, or a province ?-In that case, the rashness or ignorance of a few must be met by the decrees of some ancient universal Council. Should no such decrees be found, then will he consult and weigh together the opinions of his Elders ; of those, who, though living at different times and in different places, yet abiding in the Communion and faith of the one Catholic Church, were deemed worthy teachers; and what, not one or two only, but all of them shall be found, with unanimity, publicly, frequently, and perseverantly, to have held and taught and written, that, without hesitation, he must embrace.)" Ib. n. iii. p. 318. -These rules, he adds, were practically exemplified in Africa, when the errors of the Donatists[31] had seduced many; and, on a larger scale, through the Christian world, during the great Arian controversy.[32] Ib. v. vi. “Thus," he observes, “ was antiquity preserved, and novelty exploded.” n. vi. p. 323.
“Never was it allowed, never is it allowed, never will it be allowed, to deliver any doctrine to the Catholic Christian, that has not been received ; and it ever has been, is, and ever will be, a duty to anathematize those who introduce any novelty.(w) Who, therefore, shall dare to preach what he has not received? who shall shew himself so easy of belief, as to admit what the Church has not delivered ? So taught the great Apostle. But I hear some vain men cry, and cry to Catholics : 'under our authority, our rule, our exposition, condemn what you held, take up that which you condemned, reject your ancient belief, the doctrines of your Fathers, the institutes of your Elders, and embrace—what?-I shudder to utter it.”—Ibid. n. ix. p. 328. Reflecting often on these things, I am astonished at the madness, the impiety, the lust of error in some men, who, not content with the Rule of Faith once delivered and received, are ever seeking for something new, and are ever anxious to add to religion, to change, or to take away; as if, what was once revealed, was not a celestial dogma, but a human institution, which, to be brought to perfection, required constant emendation, or rather correction. If novelty must be shunned, antiquity must be held fast : if novelty be profane, antiquity is sacred.”(5) Ibid. n. xxi. p. 348.
“What mean those words to Timothy (1 Tim. vi. 20.) Keep that which is committed to thy trust? They mean, that which was entrusted to thee, not what was invented by thee: what thou didst receive, not what thou didst devise : a thing, not of ingenuity, but of doctrine: not of private science, but of public delivery : brought to thee, not arising from thee: a thing, of which thou must be the guardian, not the author: the disciple, not the master: the follower, not the leader. What was entrusted to thee, that retain, that deliver. Thou hast received gold; thou must return gold, no base metal, no counterfeit. O Timothy, if the divine bounty hath given thee the capacity, use it to polish the precious gems of the Divine Word, to arrange them with fidelity, with skill to embellish them: give them splendour, grace, and beauty, what before, though involved in some obscurity, was believed, whilst thou expoundest, be it more clearly understood. Posterity, to thee indebted, may behold in a brighter day, what their fathers venerated in obscurity : but teach what alone thou didst learn; that, while the expression may be new, the thing said be ancient.”(\)—Ibid. n. xxii. p. 350.
Why, then, it may be said :-Is the Church of Christ to make no advance, no proficiency, in religious knowledge ? God forbid! But let it be a real proficiency, not a change.'") By the first is understood, that the thing be improved within itself: by the second, that something be introduced from without. Let intellect, science, wisdom, in all orders of men, and in all ages, receive every possible increase ; but, without any change in the dogma, in its sense, in its acceptation. a) This he illustrates from the growth of the human body, which, through all its changes, from childhood to manhood, retains its identity, and then adds: “So may the dogma of Christian belief follow the same laws of increase; be expanded by age, be consolidated by years; itself ever remaining unchanged and untouched; full and perfect in all its parts and members, without any admixture, any loss of substance, any variation of meaning.”—Ibid. n. xxiii. p. 350, 351, 352.
“Should the license of change be ever allowed, I shudder to think to what danger of utter ruin Religion must be exposed. For, one point of belief being surrendered, another, and a third, will follow, and then more, as by an acquired privilege.) Thus the whole must fall into ruins.”—Ibid. p. 353.
Under the following heads, and particularly under Prop. viii. and ix. will be found many other extracts from the Fathers, attesting the truth of the proposition ; that is, attesting that the Catholic Church is the guide to truth, the expounder of the Scriptures, and the Judge of controversy.
MARKS OF THE CHURCH.
ITS UNITY.
SCRIPTURE.
John x. 16. “And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear ear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.”—Ibid. xvii. 20, 21. “And not for them only do I pray, but for them also, who through their word shall believe in me: that they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee: that they also may be one in us."
Rom. xv. 5, 6. “The God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another, according to Jesus Christ : that with one mind, and with one mouth, you may glorify God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Ibid. xvi. 17. “Now, I beseech you, brethren, to mark them who cause dissensions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and to avoid them.”
1 Cor. i. 10. “Now, I beseech you, brethren,--that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment."
Ephes. iv. 3, 4, 5, 6. “ Careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, one body, and one spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.”
Phil. iii. 15, 16. “Let us, therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded. Nevertheless, whereunto we are already arrived, that we be of the same mind; let us also continue in the same rule.”
Titus iii. 10. A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid : knowing, that he that is such an one is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned by his own judgment.
FATHERS.
CENT. I.
St. IGNATIUS,[33] G.C. Having recommended, as he does in all his epistles, concord among themselves, and submission to superiors, he says to the people of Magnesia : “ Be not led astray by heterodox opinions and useless fables,-labour to be strengthened in the doctrines of the Lord and of the Apostles, in order that you prosper in all things, in body and spirit, in faith and charity-together with your respectable Bishop, the united college of Priests, and the holy Deacons. Be submissive to the Bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, was to his Father, and the Apostles to Christ, and to the Father and the Holy Spirit,—that your union be in body and spirit.” --Ep. ad Magnesios: Inter PP. Apost. T. ii. p. 19, 21. Ed. Amstelaedami, 1724.
“ I conjure you to use only Christian food, and to refrain from foreign weed, which is heresy.—Guard yourselves from such, which you will do, if you be not puffed up, but remain inseparably united to Jesus Christ, and your Bishop,) and the ordinances of the Apostles. He who is within the altar is clean ; but he who is without, that is, without the Bishop, and the Priests, and the Deacons, is not clean." Ep. ad Trallianos, p. 23. The same love of unity, and the greatest horror of schism he often repeats : “He who corrupts the faith of God, for which Christ suffered, the same being defiled, shall go into uuquenchable fire, as shall he who heareth him.” Ep.ad Ephes.p.15. “As children of light and truth, avoid the division of unity, and the bad doctrines of heretics." Where the shepherd is, do you, like sheep, follow." Ep. ad Philad. p. 31.
S. CLEMENT,[34] L. C. “Why are there contentions and schisms among you? Have we not one God and one Christ? and one spirit, and one calling in Christ? Why do we divide and sever the members of Christ, and raise sedition against the body? Your schism perverts many: it has cast many into dejection; many it has caused to doubt, and afflicted us all. Notwithstanding this, you desist not." Ep. 1. ad Cor. c. 46. Inter. PP. Apost. T. 1. p. 174. Edit. Amstelædami, 1724.
CENT. II.
HEGESIPPUS,[35] G.C. Eusebius says of him: “In the books which have come down to us, he relates of himself, that, as he went to Rome, he visited many bishops, and heard from all one and the same doctrine. They called the Church (he says) a virgin, because as yet she had not been corrupted by vain opinions. From the heretics who then rose came false Christs, false Prophets, and false Apostles ; and these, introducing counterfeit doctrine against God and against his Christ, severed the unity of the Church." Apud Euseb. Hist. Eccl. L. iv. c. xxii. p. 181. Edit. Cantabrigiæ, 1720.
St. IRENÆUS, L. C. “The Church, extended to the boundaries of the earth, received her faith from the Apostles and their disciples. Having received it, she carefully retains it, as if dwelling in one house, as possessing one soul and one heart: the same faith she delivers and teaches with one accord, and as if gifted with one tongue: for though in the world there be various modes of speech, the tradition of doctrine is one and the same. In the Churches of Germany, in those of Spain and Gaul, in those of the East, of Egypt, and of Africa, and in the middle regions, is the same belief, the same teaching. For as the world is enlightened by one sun, so does the preaching of one faith enlighten all men that are willing to come to the knowledge of truth. Nor, among the Pastors of the Church, does he that is eloquent deliver other doctrine; for no one is above his master; nor he that is weak in speech diminish the truth of tradition. Faith being one, cannot be affected by the powers or the want of utterance.”[36] Adversus Hæreses : L. 1. c. X. p. 48, 49.
“God placed in his Church Apostles, Prophets, Doctors ; and the whole operation of the Spirit, of which they do not partake who are not united to the Church; but by their own bad designs and actions, they deprive themselves of life. For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where this Spirit is, there is the Church and all grace: the Spirit is Truth.” Ibid. L. iii. c. xxiv. p. 223. Vide L. iv. c. xxxiii. p. 272.
About the time of St. Irenæus began the Quartodeciman dispute. This question,—which regarded the time of celebrating the festival of Easter, and which was finally decided against the Churches of Asia Minor by the Council of Nice, - proved the anxious solicitude of the Church to maintain unity in discipline as well as unity in faith. To depart from the Jewish practice, and to avoid some inconveniences that this practice caused, was an additional motive; but uniformity was the leading object, and it was obtained by the decision of the synod.
TERTULLIAN, L. C. “The Apostles, having received the promised assistance of the Holy Spirit, first preached the faith in Judea, and planted Churches; whence going into the whole world, they proclaimed the same doctrine to the nations, and founded Churches. Therefore, the so many and so great Churches are one, from that one of the Apostles, from which are all. And thus all are Apostolic, while all maintain the same unity.” De Præscrip. c. xx. p. 334. “ There is one faith to the Apostles and to us; one God, one Christ, one hope, the same sacraments. Let me say it in one word, we are one Church. Whatever belongs to any among us, is also our own.” De virg. veland. c. 11, p. 309.
ST. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, G.C. “From what has been said, I think it manifest that there is only one true Church, which is alone ancient, to which all the just properly belong. This Church, which is one, is formed into one nature, which unity it is the endeavour of heretics to sever into many. Therefore we say, that the Ancient and Catholic Church alone is one in essence, in opinion, in origin, and in excellence, one in faith.(u) Of this Church, the eminence, as well as the principle of its construction, arises from unity ;(0) by this surpassing all other things, and knowing nothing like or equal to itself. The doctrine of all the Apostles was one; as was one all that they delivered.” Strom. L. vii. n. 17. p. 899, 900. He elsewhere defines the Church to be “a people collected into one faith, from the Jews and Gentiles.” And afterwards adds: “Thus they both arrive at the unity of faith.” Ib. L. vi. p. 736, 793.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G. C. “As they shall not possess the kingdom of God who have been defiled by fornication, other impurities, and the worship of idols; so neither shall heretics." Lib. in Ep. ad Tit. apud Pamphylum Apol. T. v. p. 225. Op. St. Hieron. Paris, 1706. “Should any one be found not hastening, not betaking himself to the walled cities, that is, shall not have entered into the Churches of God, but have remained without, he shall perish in the hands of the enemy.” Hom. v. in Jerem. T. iii. 161.- Edit. Paris. 1733. “Let no one persuade, no one deceive himself: out of this house, that is, out of the Church, is no salvation.s) He that shall go out, becomes guilty of his own death.” Hom. iii. in Josue. T. ii. p. 404.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C. “ The Church is one, widely extended by its fecundity: as there are many rays of light, but one sun; many branches of a tree, but one root deeply fixed; many streams of water, but one source. Take a ray from the sun; the unity of light allows not division : break a branch from the tree; the branch cannot germinate: cut off the stream from its source; the stream dries up. So the Church sends forth her rays over the whole earth : yet is the light one, and its Unity is undivided." De Unitate Ecclesiæ, p. 195.
“ He that does not hold this Unity of the Church, can he think that he holds the Faith? he that opposes and withstands the Church, can he trust that he is in the Church? When the blessed Paul teaches the same thing, and shews the sacred character of Unity, saying, (Ephes. iv. 4, 5, 6.) one body and one spirit, &c. which unity, it is our duty firmly to hold and to vindicate." Ibid.
Whoever, separated from the Church, is joined to an adultress, is cut off from the promises of the Church. Who deserts the Church of Christ, obtains not the rewards of Christ. He is an alien, he is profane, he is an enemy. He cannot have God for a father, who has not the Church for his mother. If excluded from the ark of Noah, any one might have escaped ; so may he if out of the Church.a) The Lord admonishes and says: He that is not with me, is against me. (Mat. xii. 30.) Who violates the peace of Christ and concord, is against him. The Lord says: I and the Father are one. (John x. 30.) And again, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost it is written; And these three are one. (1. John v. 7.) Who holds not this unity, holds not the law of God, nor the faith of the Father and the Son, nor the truth that is to salvation." Ibid.
Having, after this, shewn, that by the seamless garment of Christ, was represented the Unity of the Church, St. Cyprian adds, “Who is so wicked and perfidious, who so transported by the rage of discord, as to think that the Unity of God, the vesture of the Lord, the Church of Christ, may be severed ? Christ tells us in his Gospel: There shall be one flock and one shepherd. (John x. 16) Does any one then imagine, that in the same place, may be many shepherds, and many flocks. The Apostle also, urging the same unity, entreats and admonishes, saying : (1 Cor. i. 10.) Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you.” Ibid.
“God is one, and Christ is one, and his Church is one, and Faith is one, and his people, connected by one solid bond, is
Unity cannot be severed; nor the one body, by laceration, be divided. Whatever is separated from the stock, cannot live, cannot breathe apart: it loses the substance of life.” Ibid. p. 202.
“He is not a Christian, who is not in the Church of Christ.....If he be put to death for the name of Christ, when out of the Church, and separated from Unity and Charity, he cannot be crowned.”')- Ep. lv. p. 108. Oxon. 1682.“ They (schismatics) may burn in the flames, and lay down their lives by fire, or wild beasts; their death will not be the crown of their faith, but the punishment of their perfidy. They may be killed, they cannot be crowned.” De Unit. Eccles. p.114. Ibid.
ST. DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA,[37] G. C.-Writing to Novatian, the schismatic, he says: “You ought rather to have suffered all things, than have raised a schism in the Church. To die in defence of its Unity would be as glorious, as laying down one's life rather than sacrifice to idols; and, in my opinion, more glorious; because here the safety of the whole Church is consulted. If you bring your brethren to union, this will overbalance your fault, which will be forgotten, and you will receive commendation. If you cannot gain others, at least save your own soul.” Apud Euseb. Hist. Eccl. L. vi. c. 45. p. 318. Cantabrigiæ, 1720.
CENT. IV.
LACTANTIUS, L. C.-" The Catholic Church alone retains the true worship.” (See the passage at p. 15.)
St. ALEXANDER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA,[38] G.C. -“ He writes to his “fellow-ministers of the Catholic Church :”—“ As the body of the Catholic Church is one, m) and the Scriptures command, that we maintain the bond of peace and concord, it is proper, that in regard to all things that are done among us, we should condole, or rejoice with one another.” Apud Socrat. L. 1. c. vi. p. 10. Edit. Cantabrigiæ, 1720. Speaking of the Arians, he says: “ That seamless garment, which the murderers of Christ would not divide, these men have dared to rip asunder.” Apud Theodoret. L. 1. c. iv. p. 10. Edit. Cantab. 1720.
COUNCIL OF NICE,[39] G. C.-“But as to those persons, who are found not to have declined to any schism, and to have kept themselves uncontaminated within the Catholic and Apostolic Church, they have a right to ordain,” &c.Gen. Conc. T. ii. p. 250. Edit. Paris. 1671.
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, who himself had called the Bishops together at Nice in Bithynia, in a letter to the Bishops who were not present at the council, says: “What I chiefly proposed to myself was, that one belief, sincere affection, and uniformity of worship towards the Almighty Being, should be maintained.” Ibid. p. 263.-In another letter to the Church of Alexandria, where Arius[40] had first broached his new doctrines, the same Emperor attests, that “ more than three hundred Bishops, who were remarkable for their modesty and learning, proclaimed at Nice, with one voice, one and the same Faith; and that Arius alone was found to dissent from it.” Ibid. p. 62. And yet in a letter to Constantine, this heretic professes his belief, “ in the one Catholic Church of God, reaching from one extremity of the earth to the other.” Ibid. p. 464.
EUSEBIUS, G. C.-Speaking of the deaths of the Martyrs of Lyons, he says: “Having loved peace, and recommended the same to us, they went to God in peace, leaving behind them, not grief to their mother, not discord to their brethren, but joy, and peace, and concord, and charity to all.” Hist. Eccl. L. v. c. 11. p. 212. Edit. Cantab. 1720.--" Then are his garments divided, and lots cast for his coat, when each one corrupts and tears the beauty of his word, that is, the expressions of the Holy Scriptures, and entertains such opinions as are usually advanced by heretics.” Demon. Evan. L. X. p. 506. Paris. 1628.
St. ATHANASIUS, G. C.-“The Gentiles, who disagree among themselves, are deprived of the true doctrine. But the Saints, and they, who are the preachers of truth, are unanimous. They lived indeed, at different times; but the object of all was the same; for they were the Prophets of the one God, and they announced, with one consent,'") the same word of truth.” Ep. de Decret. Nicæn. T. 1. p. 211.
St. HILARY, L. C. “ Though the Church of the world be one; yet every city has its church. It is one in all ; for though there are many, it is one in many.” Comment. in Psal. xiv. p. 62. “Since the Church founded by Christ, and strengthened by the Apostles, is one, ") from which error has madly cut itself off; and it cannot be denied, that the separation has arisen from a sinister understanding, while, what is read, is made subservient to the apprehension, and not this to the words: still a general opposition every where prevails. Wherefore, all heretics advance against the Church; but, while they oppose each other, their gain is nothing. It is the Church that triumphs over all--their mutual opposition strengthens our faith.”
De Trin. L. vii. p. 917.-“ As their mind and heart were one, I ask, did this arise from unity of belief? Truly. Again I ask: is faith necessarily one ? It is; the Apostle teaching, (Ephes. iv.) one Faith, one Lord, one baptism, one hope and one God.” Ibid. L. viii. p.951.
LUCIFER, BISHOP OF CAGLIARI,[41] L. C.-He states that Arius and other heretics, who had preceded him, were cut off from the Church,“ because they left the faith, which the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs had maintained;" and then adds,“ how can we Christians acquiesce with you, and desert what the Apostles delivered ?”—Again afterwards: “From you, not believing, as the people of God believe; not teaching, as the Apostles of Christ taught; not submitting to the sound words of the Lord, we have judged it proper to separate ourselves.” Throughout the whole book, he inveighs with great vehemence, against heresy. Ad Constantium Imp. L. un. Max. Bibl. PP. T. iv. p. 224, 225.
St.Basil, G.C.—“We, indeed, ourselves are of little value, but, by the grace of God, we remain ever the same, unaffected by the common changes of things. Our belief is not one at Seleucia, and another at Constantinople; one at Lampsacus, and another at Rome; and so, different from what it was in former times, but always one and the same." Ep. ccli. ad Evæsenos. T. iii. p. 388. Edit. Bened. Parisiis, 1721.“ As many as hope in Christ, are one people, and they, who are of Christ, form one church, though it be named in many places.” Ep. clxi. ad Amphil. T. iii. p. 252.-“ It is more just to judge of our concerns, not from this or that man, who walk not in truth; but from the number of Bishops, who, in all regions, are united to us. Let those of Asia, the sound part of Egypt, and of Syria, be interrogated. These by letter communicate with us, and we with them. From these you may learn, that we are all unanimous; all think the same thing:-) Wherefore, he who declines our communion, may be considered by you as separated from the universal Church. It is better we should lose our lives, and that the Churches should remain unanimous, than that, on account of our childish feuds, the faithful should be so much injured.”—Ep. cciv. ad Neocæs. T. ii. p.
307. St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G. C.-“ Uphold the faith, and that faith alone, which is now delivered to thee by the Church, confirmed, as it is, by all the Scriptures.” Cat. v. n. xii. p. 77. “ We declare the ways of error, that we may proceed on one royal road." Cat. xvi. n. v. p. 245. “ As far as our time of instruction would allow, we have spoken to you of that holy and apostolic faith, which was delivered to you.” Cat. xviii. n. xxxii. p. 300.
St. EPHREM OF EDESSA, G. C.-“ Blessed is the man, who has chosen the Catholic Church.—They shall be deemed deserving of punishment, who think of sowing the seeds of separation in the breasts of men.-Quit not then this Catholic Faith, nor fall from it, should any question or schism arise.” In Testam. T. ii. p. 242-3. Edit. Quirini.—" The assembly of the good detests those appellations, which are derived from men: wherefore the Sabellians and Arians, and other sectaries, displeased with the names which their respective authors have given to them, craftily aim to decorate themselves with the name of our Church, and to please her. They are aware, who they are whom she loves, and that she rests wholly on Christ. Have they not read, how the Apostle blamed those, who said they were the followers of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Cephas? But a more bitter cause of grief has assailed us, since some of our own standing have given their names to their followers.-Blessed be that name wherein we were called. Consider, therefore, on which side is the doctrine of the Apostles. They gave no names; and where it is done, there is a departure from their rule. On the other hand, we declare, that truth will be found with those, who are known by the name of Christ alone.” Serm. xxiv. Adv. Hæres. p. 493. T. v. Edit. Quirini.
St. PACIANUS,[42] L. C. “ The Church is the body of Christ; (Col. i. 24.) the body, not a member. The body from many parts and many members, formed into one, as the Apostle says, (1 Cor. 12, 14.) for the body is not one member, but many. The Church, therefore, is the complete body, the entire body now diffused through the whole world. As a city, I say, whose parts are united into one; not as you Novatians are,a small but insolent portion, a collection of mushrooms, disjoined from the body. The Church is without spot or wrinkle, that is, not deformed by heresies. It is the heretic that cuts, and disfigures, and rumples the garment of Christ, that is, his Church.”(S) Ep. iii. ad. Sympron. Bibl. Max. Patrum, T. iv. p. 310. Lugduni, 1677.
COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE, G. C. In this century, in the year 381, was celebrated at Constantinople, the second General Council, the object of which meeting was to confirm what had previously been done at Nice in 325, and to condemn the error of Macedonius, who had denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost. To the Creed of Nice they added some clauses, among which is that: “And one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” This was the declared faith of the 150 Bishops there assembled; and though they were all of the Greek Church, yet was their creed received in the west, and it continues to this day, to be recited in all Churches under the name of the Nicene Creed. The Fathers, in giving an account of their proceedings to the Western Church, conclude in these words: “The doctrine of faith being thus established by common consent, and Christian charity ruling within us, let us hence cease to say what was censured by the Apostle: (1 Cor. i. 12.) I am of Paul, and I am of Apollos, and I of Cephas; and having shewn that we are all of Christ, who in us is not divided, we shall preserve inviolate, by the grace of God, the body of the Church, and stand with confidence before the tribunal of the Lord.” Ep. ad Damasum, &c. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 965. Ed. Lutetiæ Parisiorum, 1671.
St. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS,[43] L. C. “ The Church is one,” he says to Parmenianus, the schismatical Bishop, to whom he writes, “ which Jesus Christ calls his dove, his spouse; and this one Church cannot be among all heretics and schismatics.(j) It must then be in one place; and this, you pretend, is where you would have it to be, that is, in one corner of Africa; not with us who occupy the remaining portion; nor, if we pass over all the regions of the earth, can the Church, it seems, be found, but where you are. Then where is the propriety of the word Catholic, which has been given to the Church? And if it must be confined to your narrow limits; if you exclude all nations from it, where is the truth of the promise made to Christ in the psalm : (Ps. ii.) I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession? Allow the Son to enjoy his inheritance; allow the Father to fulfil his promise. Why will you put boundaries, lay down limits? You cannot deny that St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles, established an episcopal chair at Rome: this chair was one, that all others might preserve Unity by the union which they had with it: so, that whoever set up a chair against it, should be a schismatic and an offender. It was in this one chair, which is the first mark of the Church, that St. Peter sat." De Schism. Donat. L. ii. p. 25, 26, 28. Edit. Paris. 1700.
St. AMBROSE,[44] L. C. Commenting on the words of the Apostle to the Ephesians, (c. iv. v. 4.) One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling, he says: “ To promote peace and concord, Paul added this; that as the Church is one body, so the people should cultivate union, for the object of our belief is one : One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Again he commends Unity, that, as we are called to unity, we should dissent in nothing.m) For if there be one Lord, that is, one Christ, one faith, and one baptism; one God and Father of all —the mind also should be one, and the heart of the people one,'n) since all the things that he enumerates are instances of unity; for they agree in all things." Com. in c. iv. Ep. ud Ephes.[45] T. ii. in Append. p. 240.
In a discourse on the death of his brother Satyrus, having related his escape from a storm, and the anxious desire he felt to return solemn thanks to God, St. Ambrose adds: “When he got to land, he sent for the Bishop of the place; but aware that true faith alone was acceptable to heaven, he enquired of him was he in communion with the Catholic Bishops, that is, with the Roman Bishop ? for the country, he knew, was infected with schism. The Bishop, at the time, had withdrawn himself from our communion; and though he was in banishment for his faith, yet in schism there could be no true faith. He had faith towards God, but not towards the Church, whose members he permitted to be torn asunder. For since Christ died for the Church, and the Church is the body of Christ, they by whom his passion is made void, and his body is torn asunder, cannot hold his faith. How desirous soever, therefore, my brother might be to express publicly his gratitude, he chose to defer it; because he knew that true faith was necessary for its due accomplishment.” De Ohitu fratris Satyri: T. ii. p. 1127. I have mentioned this fact because it shews, more than any reasoning on the subject of union could do, how great was the horror then entertained of schism, or of departing from the faith of the Church.
St. EPIPHANIUS, G. C. “For the Church, taking her origin from one faith, and established by the Divine Spirit, is the only child of her mother, who also is only one. They that have come out after her, or even before her, are called harlots; which, though they be not quite cut off from her inheritance, yet they have no dowry from Christ; no influence from the Holy Ghost. There remains only one, namely, the Holy Catholic Church, which is truly called the Christian Religion. To this Church, all they who at any time pleased God, have given their faith.” In exposit. fidei. Ad calcem, L. adv. Hær. T. i. p. 1083. ST. JEROM, L. C. “I know that the Church is founded upon Peter, that is, on a rock. Whoever eateth the lamb out of that house, is a profane man. Whoever is not in the ark, shall perish by the flood.” Ep. xiv. ad Dam. Pars 2. T. iv. p. 19. “I cease not to proclaim, he is mine who remains united to the Chair of Peter.” Ibid. Ep. xvi. p. 22. “The assembly of the One Church has but one faith; nor is she defiled by a variety of doctrines, nor rent asunder by heresies: she remains a virgin.” Adv. Jovinian. L. 2. T. iv. p. 213.
St. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, G.C. Speaking of the Church, so called by St. Paul, he observes : “The Apostle calls it the Church of God, shewing that it ought to be united. For if it be of God, united it is, and is one; is one, not in Corinth only, but in all parts of the earth. The name of Church is not a name of separation, but of union and concord." Hom. 1. in 1. Ep. ad Corinth. T. x. p. 4. Parisiis, 1718-1738. “If it was not allowed (to the Corinthians) to call themselves by the names of Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas, much less can it be allowed on less occasions. If it did not become their master, and the prince of the Apostles, and the instructor of so many people, to give their names to their followers, much less does it become those who are nothing.” Ibid. Hom. iii. p. 16. “The Apostle says: Until we all meet into the unity of faith, that is, till we shew that we have one belief. For that finally constitutes unity of faith when we are all one, and we all acknowledge the same; I therefore solemnly declare, that to disunite the Church is as great a crime as heresy. The Church is our paternal dwelling. It is one body, one spirit.” Hom. xi. in c. 4. ad Eph. T. xi. p. 83, 88.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C. No one has written so much as this learned Father in support of the Unity of the Church, particularly in his works against the Donatists. They had separated themselves, under weak pretences, from the general communion, and continued to disturb the peace of the faithful; insolently maintaining, that by opposing them, all the Churches of the earth had fallen into error, and that the true faith was now only among the followers of Donatus, cooped up as they were in a corner of Africa. This schism, as we have seen, was combated by St. Optatus of Milevis; and St. Augustin now opposed their vain pretensions with fresh powers of argument, shewing, that agreeably to the predictions of the ancient prophets, and the positive declarations of Christ, his Church must ever be an extended society; composed indeed of good and bad livers, but united in the bonds of one faith and one communion; that to this Church had always been given the name of Catholic, which could not, in any sense, be applied to the Donatists; and, that under any pretence, to separate from that Church must be deemed the crime of schism. He introduces the Church thus addressing them : “My children, why do you complain of your mother? I wish to hear why you have deserted me? You accuse your brethren, and I am lacerated by you. When the Gentiles persecuted me, I suffered much. Many left me; but they left me through fear. You, no one forced thus to rebel against me. You say that you are with me, but you know that it is false. I am called Catholic; you are with Donatus.” Psalm. contra part. Donati T. ix. p. 8.
“If it be asked who possess the virtue of the love of God, it will be found that they only have it who adhere to Unity. As we are seeking the Church of Christ, let us listen to him who redeemed her with his blood, and who said to the Apostles, (Acts i. 8.) you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. He that does not communicate with this Church, thus diffused, communicates not with him whose words have been recited. And where can be greater folly than to partake of the sacraments of the Lord, and despise his words? These will say, In thy name we have eaten and drunk; and they will hear the reply, I know you not. In the sacrament they eat and drink the body and blood of the Lord; and they hold not with his members, spread, as the Gospel promises, throughout the world.” Contra Litteras Petilian. L. ii. c. 55. Ibid. p. 256. “The question between us and the Donatists is, where the Church of God is; with us, or with them? This Church is one, denominated by our ancestors Catholic,-) to denote, by the very name, that it is every where diffused. The Greek word signifies this. This Church is the body of Christ, as the Apostle says, (Coloss. 1.) whence it is manifest that he cannot obtain Christian salvation, a) who is not among the members of Christ. But these members are associated by the charity of Unity, and by the same cohere to the head, which head is Christ.” Ep. ad Catholicos, c. ii. Ibid. p. 338. He proceeds to shew, at great length, from all the Scriptures, new and old, that the Church of all nations, that is, the Catholic Church, one in faith wherever it was preached, could alone be the Church of Christ; and that the pretended Church of Donatus, separated from the body, and separated from the head, was schismatical, and in which there was no salvation.
THEODORET, G.C. “The Church through the whole extent of the earth, is one; wherefore we pray for the holy and only Catholic and Apostolic Church. In the islands, and on the continent, are churches innumerable ; but they all constitute one body, united in the profession of the same belief."(2) Interp. in Psal. xlvii. T. 1. p. 580. Paris. 1642. To the Church of God that is at Corinth, &c. (1 Cor. 1.) What the Apostle here mentions, are the remedies of the evil; they serve to unite what was divided. He calls them One Church, and the Church of God, and adds, in Christ Jesus. He likewise calls them elect, and saints, and he joins them to those who had believed in every place; teaching, that not they only should think alike, but all who had received the doctrine of salvation, being one body in Jesus Christ." In 1 ep. ad Cor. c. 1. T. iii. p. 121.
ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, G. C.-" This is the Faith of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which all bishops of the eastern and western world give their assent.” Ep. ad Nest. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 413.
SIXTUS III.[46] L. C.--" Wherefore, since faith, as the Apostle says, is one, let us believe what is taught; let us say what should be believed. There is no further room for novelty ; because nothing must be added to antiquity. The pure and plain belief of our Ancestors must be troubled by no base admixture.” Ep. ad Joan. Antioch. Conc. Gen. T. iii. p. 1262 .
St. LEO,[47] L. C.-“ Entire Faith, true Faith, is a great defence, in which nothing can be added, nothing taken away; for unless Faith be one, it is not Faith; the Apostle declaring, One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, (Ephes. iv.5.) To this unity, my brethren, adhere with unshaken minds.": Serm. iv. in Nativ. p. 156. Edit. Quesnel. Paris. 1675.
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON,[48] G. C.-“ Our Lord, and Saviour, Jesus Christ, confirming the Faith of his disciples, said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you: (John xiv. 27.) that no one differ from his neighbour in religious principles, but that all may conspire together to announce the truth.” Act. v. Conc. Gen. T. iv. p. 561.
THE CHURCH ALWAYS VISIBLE.
The Visibility of the Church follows so evidently from the promises of Christ; from the commission of the Apostles “to teach all nations;" and from the essential character of a divine establishment, which all are bound to embrace ; that little need be said. An invisible Church are words void of meaning.
SCRIPTURE.
Isaiah [49] ii. 2. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”
Daniel[50] ii. 35. “And the stone that smote the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”
Michah[51] iv. 1, 2. “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it.-And many nations shall come and say: come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
Mat. v. 14. “You are the light of the world—a city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.”
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS, L. C.-" The heretics, of whom I have been speaking, came long after those Bishops, to whom the Apostles committed the care of their Churches, and they ran into devious paths, foreign from the truth. But they, who adhered to the Church, continued to profess, with all nations, the doctrine, which the Apostles had delivered, with one and the same Faith, believing in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; meditating on the same precepts, upholding the same ordinances, expecting the coming of the Lord, and the salvation of men. The teaching of the Church is true and stable, shewing to all men the same one path of salvation; for to her has been committed the light and the wisdom of God. As the wise man says: (Prov. c. 1.) she uttereth her voice in the streets: she crieth on the highest walls ; she speaketh without ceasing in the city gates. Every where the Church proclaims the truth; she is the candlestick with the seven lamps; (Exod. xxv.) bearing the light of Christ.” Adv. Hæreses. L. v. c. 20. p. 317.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C.-“The Church, imbrued with the light of the Lord, sends forth her rays over the whole earth; yet is the light one, every where diffused, and its unity undivided : she extends her branches, by the power of her fecundity, into all regions, and her streams are as widely spread; yet the head is one, and the spring is one.” De Unit. Eccl. p. 195.
CENT. IV.
St. HILARY, L. C.—“ The light or lamp of Christ is not to be hidden under a bushel, nor concealed by any covering of the synagogue; but hung, as it were, on the wood of the passion, it will give light for ever to those that dwell in the Church. The Apostles shone with a like splendour, in order, that, by the admiration of their work, praise might be given to God.” Com. in Mat. c. iv. p. 624.
St. John CHRYSOSTOM, G. C.-“ Sooner shall the sun be extinguished, than the Church be obscured.” Hom. iv. in c. 6. Isaiæ. T. vi. p. 122.
CENT. V.
St. Augustin, L. C.-“Good men (still addressing the Donatists) are every where spread in that city, which cannot be hid, because it is seated on a mountain; I mean that mountain, whence, as Daniel says, this stone was cut without hands, that filled the whole earth. Through all that city, boundless in its extent, the good mourn on account of the iniquities that are in the midst of them.-But, for the preservation of Unity, there is no security, only from the promises of Christ to his Church, which, placed on a mountain, cannot be hidden : therefore, it is necessary, that this Church should be visible to all the parts of the world.”(!) Contra. ep. Parmen. L. iii. c. v. T. ix. p. 74-75.—“When the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples, it denoted, that all nations should believe, and that the Gospel should be preached in all tongues, which the Psalmist had long before predicted, saying (Ps. 18.) there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. And because it signified that the Gospel should be every where sounded, therefore was it added : their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the earth. (Ibid.) Hence it is plain, that the true Church can be hidden from none.") And the Gospel itself says: (Mat. v. 14.) A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.” Contra Litteras Petil. L. ii. c. xxxii. Ibid. p. 240—“ I understand, indeed, very little of the Greek language, but I can safely say, that the word Catholic, derived from it, signifies universal, agreeably to what our Saviour said: you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. (Acts i. 8.) Hence is this Church named Catholic. But you Donatists, with your eyes shut, run so blindly against the mountain, which, as the prophet Daniel says, hath filled the whole earth, as to assert, that we are a party; that we belong not to the whole; while our communion is diffused through all nations." xxxviii. p. 247.—“May God withdraw thee from the side of Donatus, and recall thee to the Church. You are not on the mountains of Sion, because you are not in the city seated on a mountain, which has this sure mark, that it cannot be hidden. It is, therefore, known to all nations: the party of Donatus is unknown to many; wherefore, it is not that city.” Ibid. L. ii. c. civ. p. 293.
THE CHURCH CANNOT FAIL.
If the Church, as we have now seen, be always visible, it is plain, that it cannot fail; for if it failed, it would cease to be visible, as it would cease to be.
SCRIPTURE.
Mat. xvi. 18. “And I say to thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Ibid. xxviii. 18, 19, 20. And Jesus coming spoke to them, saying: all power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."
John xiv. 16, 26. “ And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever; the spirit of truth. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your minds, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Ibid. xvi. 13. But when he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you.”
1 Tim. iii. 14, 15. “These things I write to thee, hoping that I shall come to thee shortly.--But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know, how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
Sr. IRENÆUS, L.C.—“ Things being thus made plain," &c. See the quotation p. 11. “The Church, receiving her doctrine from Christ and his Apostles, and alone preserving it through all regions, delivered it down to her children. Hence it becomes our duty, to afford every assistance against the assaults of heretics; to withdraw those that are in error, and to strengthen the weak; in order that they hold fast the Faith, which they received from that Church, which has preserved it inviolate.” Adv. Hær. Præf. Lib. v. p. 291.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C.-“ Christ addresses Peter (Mat. 16, 18.) I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.—He that does not hold this Unity of the Church, can he think that he holds the Faith? He that opposes and withstands the Church, can be trust that he is in the Church?” De Unit. Eccles. p. 194, 195.-—“Let no one imagine, that the good can depart from the Church. The wind blows not away the corn; the storm overturns not the tree, that is fixed by a firm root. Light straws are dispersed by the tempest; weak trees give way, and fall. Such men as these are severely censured by the Apostle John: (1 John ii. 19.) They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us. Hence heresies often are, and often have been, while the perverse mind has no peace, and discord rejects unity.” Ib. “ Then what peace can these men promise to themselves? What sacrifices do they pretend to offer? Do they fancy, when they are assembled, that Christ is with them while they are not in his Church? They may offer up their lives, confessing Christ: but he cannot be a martyr, who has deserted the Church; he cannot arrive at the kingdom, who quits her that is to reign. Christ gave us his peace : he commanded us to be of one mind, and to preserve inviolate the bonds of charity; and shall he be a martyr, who violates fraternal charity?” Ibid. p. 198.-" The faith and constancy of the Apostles failed not, because Judas fell: so, at this time, because the faith of some has given way, the character of those that stand is not injured. The greater part remains firm. They forfeit not the peace of the Church, and even render their own faith the more conspicuous, because they have escaped the contagion.” Ibid. p. 202.
CENT. IV.
ST. ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA, G.C.-“We confess one, and only one Catholic and Apostolic Church, never to be overcome, though the whole world assail it. She surmounts all the attacks of heretics.—This we teach; this we publicly declare. These are the doctrines of the apostolic Church, in defence of which we willingly die.”—Ep. apud Theodoret. Hist. Eccl. L. 1. c. iv. p. 19.
EUSEBIUS, G. C. “The Lord foretold not only that his doctrine should be preached wherever man was, but that his Church should be overcome by no assaults. The event has proved the truth of this prediction, silencing the tongues of insolent scoffers. The fame of the gospel has reached to every country which the sun illumines; it is familiar with all people; while its preaching, by a method agreeing with its words, is daily more widely diffused.” Præp. Evang. L. 1. c. iii. p. 7. Edit. Paris, 1628.
ST. ATHANASIUS, G. C. “ The Church is invincible, though hell itself should be set in motion against it." Orat. quod unus sit Christus, T. i. p. 51.
St. HILARY, L. C. “This is the characteristic of the Church: then to conquer when she is injured; to be understood when she is accused; when she is deserted, then to prevail.” De Trin. L. vii. p. 917.
St. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L. C. This saint, whom I have quoted to prove the Unity of the Church, in his seven books against the Donatists, labours to shew that their schism was highly criminal, in having separated from the Catholic Church, to which the promises of Christ evidently applied, as having been founded by the Apostles; teaching the doctrine which they had delivered, and exhibiting all the marks of a divine origin. It is unnecessary to offer extracts.
ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G.C. “When the Jews, owing to their treatment of Jesus Christ, had forfeited the favour of Heaven, he established our Holy Christian Church, of which he said to Peter: Thou art Peter; and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt. xvi. 18.) Of the two Churches David prophesied : of that which was to be cut down, saying, I have hated the assembly of evil doers: (Psal. xxv.) but of the second he adds: I have loved the beauty of thy house, O Lord; and again : In the assembly will I bless thee. (Ibid.) For that in Judea being cast off, the Churches of Christ were extended through all the earth,'”) of which the Prophet again says: Sing to the Lord a new song; let his praise be in the assembly of the saints. (Psal. cxlix.) And of this second Catholic Church, St. Paul writes to Timothy: That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Tim. iii. 15) Catech. xviii. N. XXV. p. 297.
St. EPIPHANIUS, G. C. “Truly all heresies are the gates of hell,'s) which cannot prevail against the rock.” In Ancorat. T. ii. p. 14.
St. AMBROSE, L. C. “ Zabulon, it is said, shall dwell near the sea, that, himself free from danger, he may see the shipwrecks of others, and behold them floating about in the sea of this world, which is carried about with every wind of doctrine ; (Ephes. iv.) whilst he remains firm by the root of faith. Thus it is with the Holy Church; rooted and founded in faith, she beholds the storms of heretics, and the shipwrecks of the Jews. She dwells in the neighbourhood of the waves, but she is not moved by them, being rather prepared to render assistance, than herself obnoxious to danger: so that if any, tossed about by violent tempests, wish to take refuge in the port, the Church may be at hand, a port of safety, with outstretched arms to call the sufferers into the bosom of her tranquillity, and to afford to them a safe haven.” De Bened. Patr.c. v. T. 1. p. 521. Coloniæ, 1616. “ The Church is shaken by the waves of worldly care, but she is not overwhelmed; she is assailed, but not overturned ........Herself exempt from danger, she beholds the shipwrecks of others." De Abraham, L. ii. c. 3. T. 1. p. 318. “ The Church appears, like the moon, to wane; but, in fact, she does not. She may be overshadowed, but she cannot fail." Hexaëm. L. iv. c. 2. T. 1. p. 65. “Although it (the Church) is often tossed about by waves and storms, it can never suffer shipwreck, because Christ is raised upon its mast, which is the Cross; the Father sits as the pilot at the stern; and the Holy Ghost watches the prow. Through the narrow straits of this world, twelve rowers, that is the twelve Apostles, and an equal number of Prophets, bring it into port.” De Salom. c. iv. T. ii. In Append. p. 453.
ST. JEROM, L. C. “Hence we plainly understand that the Church may be assailed to the end of the world, but not be overturned; may be tried, but not conquered ;(C) and this because the Almighty, the Lord of the Church, has so promised, whose promise is a law.” In c. ix. Amos. T. iii. p. 1454.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, G. C. “If you wage war against man, you may conquer, or be overcome; but if you wage war against the Church, to conquer is impossible. 1) The Church is much stronger than the earth; even stronger than heaven: for heaven and earth shall pass away. (Luke xxi. 33.) What words are these: The gates of hell shall not prevail against her? (Matt. xvi. 18.) But if you doubt the word, give credit to the things themselves, to facts. How many tyrants have assailed the Church of God? How many torments ? What persecutions, what fires ? They could effect nothing." Homil. Ante Exilium, T. iii. 415. this rock will I build my Church. (Matt. xvi. 18.) Consider what this means, and you will discover its evident truth; for it is not alone wonderful that Christ built his Church in all parts of the earth, but that he rendered her invincible, and invincible against all attacks. b) This is the meaning of the words, The gates of hell shall not prevail; that is, no dangers, not those that produce death, and lead to hell. Have you witnessed the truth of the prediction ? Have you beheld the certitude and strength of the event? Have you seen the words manifested in the facts and the power, that, without arms, accomplishes all things?" Lib. quod Christus sit Deus, T. i. p. 575.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN, L. C. As I remarked of St. Optatus, it is here likewise unnecessary to repeat the various arguments of St. Augustin against the Donatists, who maintained that the universal Church had failed, and that they alone were the true believers : but I will quote a few passages from his other works.
The enemy may rage; he may assail me; he may prepare his snares; he may afflict my heart; still I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever. The Church shall not be overcome; it shall not be rooted up; nor shall it give way to any temptations: it shall endure to the end of the world, when we shall be translated from this temporal to an eternal habitation. If the duration of the Church were of a few days, the time of temptation would soon have an end. But how then would she draw to her all the children of the earth? She must be here long; she must continue to the end.” Enarrat. in Psal. lx. T. iv. p. 587. “Some, who are not in the Church, are heard to say, her Unity is gone, the Church of all nations has disappeared. What insolence! Is she no longer, because thou art not a member? She shall be, though thou be not. This presumptuous saying, resting on no truth, upheld by no wisdom, full of vanity and rashness, the spirit of God foresaw. But the way and the truth has announced (Matt. xxviii. 20.) Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” Ibid. Ser. ii. In Psal. ci. p. 1105.—“Let us contemplate the things within our reach, and from these learn to praise and to love God. He has laid the foundations of the earth, the prophet says, by which I understand the Church. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof : (Psal. xxii.) here again I see the Church, but what is the foundation on which the Church is laid? The Apostle says: other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. iïi. 11.) On this we are fixed, and we shall not be moved for ever. Than that foundation nothing is more firm. Thou art weak, but thou restest upon a rock; from which if thou departest not, nothing can ever shake thee. She shall not be moved ;(k) for the Church is foretold to be the pillar and ground of truth.” Ibid. Serm. i. In Psal. ciii. p. 1141-1142. . -“ This is the Holy Church, the One Church, the True Church, the Catholic Church, which, contending against all heresies, may herself be assailed, but cannot be overcome. All heresies have gone out from her, like useless branches cut off from the vine; she herself remaining fixed to the root, fixed to the stock, fixed in charity, and against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.” Lib. 1. de Symb. ad Catech. c. 6. T. vi. p. 554.
St. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, G. C. “The Church is a fortified and safe city. For the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, as our Saviour promised. (Matt. xvi. 18.) The Church is surrounded as with a double wall, by the guardianship of angels, and the supreme defence of God.” Comment. in Esaiam, Lib. iii. Tomo i. T. ii. p. 358. .
ST. VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C. “ But in this Catholic Church,” &c. See the Extracts, p. 24, and seqq.
ST. LEO, L. C. “ Think not that the divine protection is or can be wanting to his Church.(m) When the filth of error is removed, the purity of faith shines forth.” Ep. xlv. Al. xxii. ad Constantinopolitanos, p. 517.
SUCCESSION FROM THE APOSTLES.
SCRIPTURE.
Matt. xxviii. 19, 20. “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations: baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
Acts ii. 41, 42. “There were added to them about three thousand souls; and they were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles.”
Ephes. iv. 11, 12, 13, 14. And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and other some Evangelists, and other some Pastors and Doctors : for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all meet into the Unity of Faith. That henceforth we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”
Heb. xiii. 7, 17. “Remember your Prelates, who have spoken to you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.-Obey your Prelates, and be subject to them. For they watch, as being to render an account of your souls.”
FATHERS.
CENT. I.
ST. CLEMENT OF ROME, L.C. “Under this Clement,” observes St. Irenæus, “a great dissension having arisen among the brethren at Corinth, the Roman Church addressed a strong epistle to the Corinthians, inviting them to concord, renovating their faith, and declaring the delivered doctrine (or tradition) which they had recently received from the Apostles.” L. iii. c. iii. p. 202.-Of the same Clement he had just said, and Eusebius observes the same, that“ with his own eyes he had seen the Apostles; had conversed with them on the concerns of faith; and retained fresh in his memory what they had taught; having, as it were, in his sight, all their doctrine. Nor did he here stand alone; for many then were living, who had received instruction from the Apostles.” Euseb. Hist. Eccl. L. v. c. 6, p. 217.
St. IGNATIUS, G. C.—“Be not led astray by heterodox opinions,” &c.—See the passages, p. 33. CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS, L. C. “The Apostolic Faith, manifested to the whole world, they, who would behold truth, may see in every Church ; and we can enumerate those Bishops who were appointed by the Apostles and their successors, down to ourselves; none of whom taught, or even knew, the wild opinions of these men (heretics). Had the Apostles really possessed any secret doctrines, which the perfect only were to hear, surely they would have communicated them to those to whom they entrusted their Churches. However, as it would be tedious to enumerate the whole list of successions, I shall confine myself to that of Rome; the greatest, and most ancient, and most illustrious Church, founded by the glorious Apostles Peter and Paul; receiving from them her doctrine, which was announced to all men, and which, through the succession of her bishops, is come down to us. Thus we confound all those, who, through evil designs or vain-glory, or perverseness, teach what they ought not. For to this Church, on account of its superior headship, every other must have recourse, that is the faithful of all countries; in which Church has been preserved the doctrine delivered by the Apostles. They, therefore, having founded and instructed this Church, committed the administration thereof to Linus. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in his Epistle to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus; then, in the third place, Clement, who had himself seen and conversed with those Apostles, at what time their preaching yet sounded in his ears. Nor was this alone true of him; as many at that time were living whom they had taught. To Clement succeeded Evaristus; to him Alexander; and then the sixth from the Apostles, Sixtus; who was followed by Teleophorus, Hyginus, Pius, and Anicetus. But Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius, the twelfth from the Apostles, now governs the Church. By the same order and succession, has the doctrine delivered by the Apostles in the Church, and the preaching of truth descended to us; and the proof is most clear that it is one and the same vivifying faith, which coming from the Apostles, is at this time maintained and taught.” Adv. Hær. L. iii. c. 3. p. 175.
“So also Polycarp, instructed by the Apostles, and having conversed with many who had seen the Lord, was appointed by them bishop of Smyrna. Him we knew in our youth. The doctrine which he had learned from the Apostles, he uniformly taught and delivered to his Church: and this doctrine is alone true.(p) To this all the Churches of Asia, and they who have succeeded to Polycarp, bear testimony. Surely, he was a witness of the Truth, more credible and more faithful, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and others of the like perverse opinions.” Ib. p. 176.—“ Things being thus made plain, it is not from others that truth is to be sought, which may be readily learned from the Church. For to this Church, as into a rich depository, the Apostles committed whatever is of Divine Truth; that each one, if so inclined, might thence draw the drink of life. This is the way to life, all other teachers must be shunned as thieves and robbers. For what? should there be any dispute on a point of small moment, must not recourse be had to the most ancient Churches, where the Apostles resided, and from them collect the truth? And had these Apostles left us nothing in writing, must not we then have followed that rule of doctrine which they delivered to those to whom they entrusted their Churches? To this rule many barbarous nations submit, who, deprived of the aid of letters, have the words of salvation written on their hearts; and carefully guard the doctrine which has been delivered.” Ibid. c. iv. p. 178.
TERTULLIAN, L.C. “We are not allowed to indulge our own humour, nor to choose what another has invented. We have the Apostles of our Lord for Founders, who were not themselves the inventors nor authors of what they have left us; but they have faithfully taught the world the doctrine which they received from Christ. Therefore, if an Angel from heaven should preach another gospel, we would say anathema to him. Heresies have arisen from philosophy and from human wisdom, which is different from the spirit of Christianity. What is there common between Athens and Jerusalem? Between the academic groves and the Church? Our lessons come from the porch of Solomon, which teach us to seek the Lord in simplicity of heart. Having learned Christ and his Gospel, we must indulge no curiosity, no farther enquiry. We believe: that suffices. Our first maxim is, that nothing more is necessary.” De Præscriptione, c. vi. vii. viii. p. 331.—“What will you gain by recurring to Scripture, when one denies what the other asserts ? Learn rather who it is that possesses the faith of Christ; to whom the Scriptures belong; from whom, by whom, and when that faith was delivered by which we are made Christians. For where shall be found the true faith, there will be the genuine Scriptures; there the true interpretations of them; and there all Christian traditions. Christ chose his Apostles, whom · he sent to preach to all nations. They delivered his doctrine and founded Churches, from which Churches others drew the seeds of the same doctrine, as new ones daily continue to do. Thus these, as the offspring of the Apostolic Churches, are themselves deemed apostolical. Now, to know what the Apostles taught, that is, what Christ revealed to them, recourse must be had to the Churches which they founded, and which they instructed by word of mouth, and by their epistles. For it is plain that all doctrine which is conformable to the faith of these Mother Churches, is true; being that which they received from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God; and that all other opinions must be novel and false." Ibid. c. xvii. xix. xx. xxi. p. 334.
“ It is a maxim not to be controverted, that what was first delivered is evangelical and true; and what was afterwards imported is extraneous and false." By this rule all future heresies may be tried. But should they dare to arrogate to themselves the name of Apostolic, because at that time they may have been in existence, let them produce the origins of their Churches, the regular succession of their Bishops; so that the first in that order should have been an Apostle, or one constantly united with the Apostles. For in this manner the Apostolic Churches deduce the order of their successions. Smyrna has her Polycarp, appointed by St. John; Rome her Clement, ordained by St. Peter; and so the other Churches. Let the heretics shew this. And should they invent something like it, they will have gained nothing; since their doctrine, compared with that of the Apostles, by its diversity and contrariety will shew, that it came not from any Apostle nor apostolic man. For as the Apostles would not have taught discordant doctrines, so neither would their immediate followers have taught differently from them. To this rule those Churches appeal ; which, being of a much later foundation, as daily rising, claim not for their first Bishop either an Apostle or an immediate disciple; but maintaining the same faith, they may be deemed apostolic. Thus, on all sides are these heretics refuted.” Ibid. c. xxxi. xxxii. p. 337. “Now, would you exercise your curiosity to better purpose in the business of salvation, run through the Apostolic Churches in which the chairs wherein the Apostles sat, are now filled; where their authentic epistles are read, which seem to convey the voices and figures of their authors. Achaia is at hand; so is Corinth. If you are not remote from Macedonia, you have before you Philippi and Thessalonica. Pass into Asia, there is Ephesus; in Italy, Rome: an authority to which we can readily appeal. Happy Church! which the great Apostles fully impregnated with all their doctrine and with their blood. Ibid. c. xxxvi. p. 338. “If the truth then be adjudged to us who embrace the rule which the Church received from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, and Christ from God; heretics, it is plain, cannot be allowed to appeal to the Scriptures, in which we prove they have no concern. They are not Christians; and therefore to them we may say, Who are you? When, and whence came ye? What business have you on my estate, you who are none of mine? Marcion, by what right do you cut down my wood? Or you, Valentinus, do you turn my streams? Or Apelles, do you move my boundaries? The possession is mine. What right have any others to sow and feed here as they may choose? The possession, I say, is mine; has been long mine; mine first: the title-deeds are in my hands, derived from them whose property it was. I am the heir of the Apostles. As they settled it by will, on the conditions they prescribed I hold it. You they disinherited as aliens and enemies. And why are you such, but by the diversity of the doctrine which each one of you, as he was disposed, produced or received against those Apostles? Where this diversity of doctrine is, there will the Scriptures, and the expounding of them be adulterated." Ibid. c. xxxvii. xxxviii. p. 338.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C. To the question of Christ, (John vi. 68) Will you also go away? "Peter, upon whom the Church had been built by our Lord, speaking in the name of all, and with the voice of the Church, answered: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Signifying and shewing that they who depart from Christ perish through their own fault; but that the Church, which believes in Christ, and holds to that which it once learned, never departs from him; moreover, that they compose the Church who remain in the house of God; and that the plant is not planted by the Lord, (Matt. xv. 13.) which is not firmly rooted, but is blown about like straw by the breath of the enemy.” Ep. lv. ad Cornelium. p. 83. "The Novatian is not in the Church; nor can he be deemed a Bishop, who despising evangelical and apostolical tradition, and succeeding to no one, is sprung from himself. One not ordained in the Church has no Church.(u) Ep. lxxvi. ad Magnum,
“The power of remitting sins was given by Christ to the Apostles whom he sent, and to the Churches which they founded; and to the Bishops who succeeded them in a regular succession.") Inter Cyprian. Ep. lxxv. p. 148. p. 152.
CENT. IV.
The Nicene Council, that of Constantinople, and that of Chalcedon, denominate their Faith and their Church “ Catholic and Apostolical.” Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 27 & 953, & T. iv. p. 564.
St. ATHANASIUS, G.C. “Let us again consider,” &c. See the passage, p. 16.
ST. HILARY, L. C. “From the One Church of the Apostles proceed many others, and many tents ; but in all these is the same heavenly repose.” In Psal. cxxxi. p. 452.
LUCIFER, BISHOP OF CAGLIARI, L. C. See p. 39.
ST. BASIL, G.C. “ If we depart from the life-giving root, the faith in Christ; like withered branches, we are cast out and committed to the flames. For if we do not rest on the foundation of the Apostles, being unsupported, we are lost." Com. in Isaiam. T. 1. p. 391.
ST. EPHREM, G.C. “ The heretics should here be urged each one to shew the time of his origin ; which can plead the highest antiquity. And when they shall have settled this dispute, let them be distinctly asked from whom they received the imposition of hands? If from us, and they afterwards rejected it, more need not be known. And if they took it from themselves, we may be satisfied, and they may well blush. Thus to acquire the priesthood, any one may impose hands on himself.” Serm. xxii. adv. Hæres. T. v. p. 487. Edit. Quirini. “The twelve Apostles cultivated the world, and no part of it was called by the name of the husbandman; but when they were dead, tares sprung up, and these communicated their names.” Ibid. Serm. xxiii. p. 489.
St. OPTATUS, L. C. “We prove to you (the Donatists) that the Catholic Church is that which is diffused through the whole earth ;” and then observing that the fact of having possessed a chair in which an Apostle sat, is a sure mark of that Church, he instances Rome, where Peter, the head of all the Apostles, sat; and proceeds to enumerate the succession of Bishops from him to Siricius, “ with whom,” he says, “we and all the world are united in communion.” Then he addresses the Donatists: “ You, who would willingly be thought to be the Holy Church, shew us the origin of your chair.” He presses this point with great force, as they pretended to have some intercourse with Rome; having sent to that city a person who was to represent their African Church. De Schism. Donatist. L. ii. p. 27, 28.
ST. JEROM, L. C. “I could have easily silenced all their assertions; but because we have now discoursed long, and prolixity is tiresome, you shall have my opinion in few words. -The Church to which you should adhere, is that, which having been founded by the Apostles, continues to the sent day.” Adv. Lucif. Pars ii. T. iv. p. 306.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN, L.C. “In the Catholic Church, to omit that spirit of sincere wisdom which you (the Manichean heretics[52])) do not believe that she possesses, many are the considerations which must keep me in her bosom. The assent of nations; her authority first established by miracles, cherished by hope, extended by charity, strengthened by the lapse of years; the succession of pastors from the chair of Peter, to whom the Lord committed the care of feeding his flock, down to the present Bishop; lastly, the name itself of Catholic. These, so many and so great ties, bind the believing man to the Catholic Church.” He afterwards adds: “But unless the authority of this Church induced me to it, I would not believe the Gospel. As then I obey those who say to me-Believe the Gospel ; so why should I not obey them when they say-Believe not the Manicheans ?” Contra Ep. Fundam. Ep. liii. T. ii. p. 120. See also Ep. clxv. ad Generosum, T. viii. p. 153. In this he gives the succession of Roman Bishops from St. Peter to Anastasius.
ST. VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C.-“ This was ever practised in the Church, that whoever was most attached to Religion, the same was most active in opposing novelties. Examples are numberless. One may suffice, taken from the Roman See, from which it will evidently be seen, with what earnestness and zeal, that apostolical succession of Bishops maintained the integrity of the Faith, which they had once received." He recounts the circumstance of the African bishops, among whom was St. Cyprian, introducing the novel opinion, that heretics returning to the Church should be rebaptised, “ against the rule of the Universal Church, the sentiments of their fellow ministers, and the established maxim of their ancestors. While a general reclamation was raised against the novelty, Pope Stephen of blessed memory, and bishop of the Apostolic See, together with his colleagues, deeming it just, that he who was above others by the authority of his chair, should be foremost in attachment to the Faith, addressed an epistle to the African Church, and defined; That no innovation be made; that what had been delivered down should be followed :(a) rightly judging, that it belonged to Christian prudence, not to impose our opinions on posterity, but to hold what had been received. And what ensued? Antiquity was upheld; novelty was exploded.”(6) Common. n. vi. p. 322, 323.
St. LEO, L. C. “So should priests and people be instructed by you, shewing them that you teach nothing new; but instilling into their breasts what our venerable Fathers unanimously taught. With them, in all things, this my epistle agrees. Moreover, this should be pointed out, not in words only, but by stating and expounding what formally was taught; that the faithful may understand that what they now hear, those Fathers received from their predecessors, and delivered to their successors." Ep. ciii. ad Proter. Episc. Alex. p. 645.
THE CHURCH CATHOLIC, OR UNIVERSAL.
SCRIPTURE.
Malachi[53] i. 11. From the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean offering; for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts."
Matt. xxiv. 14. “ And this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the consummation come.” Ibid. xxviii. 19. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations."
Mark xvi. 15. “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Acts i. 8. “You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.”
Rom. x. 17, 18. “ Faith then cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world.”
FATHERS.
If the reader will look back to the passages already adduced to prove the other marks of the Church, he will see that many of them, in express words, speak of its Catholicity. A few more authorities, though not necessary, shall suffice.
CENT. I.
ST. POLYCARP,[54] G. C. The Church of Smyrna, after the death of Polycarp their bishop, wrote a letter the faithful of Philomelia and “of the holy Catholic Church,” wherein they give an account of all that had happened to him, and say, “After he had finished his prayer, in which he made mention of all those with whom he had ever had any connection, and of the whole Catholic Church diffused throughout the world,” &c. Apud Euseb. L. iv. c. xv. p. 162, 165.
CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS, L. C. “The Church, spread through the whole world, to the boundaries of the earth, received the faith from the Apostles and their disciples.” Adv. Hæres. L. i. c. X. p. 48.—“Having received this faith, though thus extended, the Church preserves it with great care.” Ibid. c. iii. p. 49. .
TERTULLIAN, L. C. “We are but of yesterday ; but we fill your cities, your islands, your castles, your towns, your camps; we are in your palace, your senate, your forum : the temples alone are yours.” Apol. adv. Gentes, c. xxxvii. p. 67.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L.C. “The Chuch, imbrued with the light of the Lord, sends forth her rays over the whole earth.” De Unit. p. 195. See the whole passage, p. 52.
CENT. IV.
St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G. C. “The Church is called Catholic, because it is diffused over the whole earth. Likewise, because it teaches catholicly, and without any omission, all points that men should know concerning things visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly; and because the human race, princes and private men, are subjected to its controul. All kinds of sin, also, and the operations of mind and body, engage its care. In this same Church is every virtue found by whatever name it may be called, in actions, and in words, and in spiritual gifts. Properly it is named the Church, that is, a convocation; because all men are called and assembled together.—The authority of kings is restricted to certain limits and nations: that of the Catholic Church has no bounds.” Catech. xviii. n. xxiii. xxvii. p. 296, 298.
ST. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L. C. - See the quotation, p. 43.
St. EPIPHANIUS, G.C.-“Now, let me ask : who is the best informed? An insignificant mortal, who made his appearance yesterday, and may be seen to-day? or the witnesses who lived before us, and who held that doctrine in the Church, which they had received from their predecessors, and these from their predecessors, in the same manner as the Church continues, to the present day, to maintain that true and genuine faith which came to her from her Fathers.” Hær. lv. sive lxxv. T. 1, p. 910.-—“These heretics dwell in a small region of Phrygia, Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then, is the Church, which extends to the ends of the earth, utterly destroyed; and the sound of the Apostles no longer gone forth into all the world ?”—Hær. xli. sive lxi. T. 1, p. 507.
St. JEROM, L. C.—“And where are those men, falsely religious, who assert that there are more synagogues than Churches?-If Christ has not a Church every where diffused, or has one in the island of Sardinia only, truly his poverty is great.” Adv. Lucif. T. iv. Pars ii. p. 298.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C. “The Church fructifies and increases through the world. For this there is yet room, until that be fulfilled which, under the figure of Solomon was foretold of Christ; (Ps. 71.) He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. (Ps. 85.) All nations which thou hast made, shall come and worship before thee, O Lord. The Prophet (Sophonias ii. 11.) moreover saith: And they shall adore him, every man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles. All the islands, he says, as if he should say, even all the islands; shewing by this that there shall be no quarter of the world where the Church shall not be." Ep. cxcix. T. ii. p. 758.
“ If therefore, as prophecy cannot fail, it be necessary, that all nations worship him: how can this be unless they invoke his name? In what nations then there is now no Church, at some future time there must be, though all its natives may not believe. The prophecy comprises all nations, not all the individuals in them: For all men have not Faith.(2 Thess. iii. 2.) Ibid. n. 48.-"Consider how great is the folly of heretics. Severed from the Church of Christ, holding a part, and letting go the whole, they refuse to communicate with the whole world, over which the glory of Christ is spread. But we Catholics are in every nation ; for in whatever land is the majesty of Christ, there we hold communion.” In Psal. lvi. T. iv. p. 537.—“ A heretic comes forward, and says: I have people in Africa; and I, says another, elsewhere; whilst a third refers you to Galatia. Thou hast them in Africa; and he in Galatia : I look for a man, who can reckon believers with himself in every country. You dare to raise your heads, when you hear the words of the Psalmist : Let people confess thy praise, O God: but listen to the remainder: Let all people confess thy praise. (Ps. lxvi.) Here is no exception. Walk in the way with all nations; walk with all people: ye children of peace, ye children of the one Catholic Church, walk in this way, and as you walk, sing. Travellers do this to ease their labour.” Enarrat. in Psal. lxvi. Ibid. p. 659.—“ When it was said, that he should rule from sea to sea, then were pointed out the boundaries of his Church-His doctrine is extended to the uttermost parts of the earth, when his Gospel is every where preached to nations.” In Psal. lxxi. Ibid. p. 749.In reasoning against the Donatists, he enforces the same point of Catholicity, from various passages in the books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, [55] which he interprets, as referring to the future state of the Christian Church, and then asks : “What will these men say to this? They dare not assert that they are false : so ponderous is their authority.” He next adduces the words of Christ, addressed to his disciples at the moment he was departing from them: Ye shall be witnesses to me, even to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Beginning at Jerusalem, his Church was thence to spread among all tongues: and this was prefigured in those, who, receiving the Holy Ghost, began to speak with divers tongues.” Contra Donatistas, passim.
St. OPTATUS, L. C.-In the preceding century, had urged many similar arguments. De Schism. Donat.
THEODORET, G. C.-" The Jews are now dispersed : but the Church of the Gentiles has been called together from the four quarters of the earth, and her assemblies may be seen wherever there is land and sea." Com. in Psal. cvi. v. 3. T. 1. p. 832.
ST. VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C.-See the quotations p. 24 and seqq.
SANCTITY OF THE CHURCH.
SCRIPTURE.
Ephes. v. 25, 26, 27. “ Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it: That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: That he might present it to himself, a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
1 Pet. ii. 9. “But you are a chosen generation, a kingly Priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: That you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his admirable light.”
FATHERS.
So diffuse are all the early Fathers on this article of the Sanctity of the Church of Christ, in its doctrine, its moral precepts, and in the lives of many of the faithful, that to offer any extracts, on a point so generally established, must be thought a useless labour. And while here they are unanimous in praise, they are equally, at the same time, unanimous in condemning, not the opinions only, but the lives and conduct of those who departed from the Unity of belief. To many it may, perhaps, seem hardly credible, that the heretics of those days should have been so strangely perverse and wicked, as they are represented to have been. The horror, at all events, which their defection from the plain evidences of the Christian Establishment, excited, even in the minds of the warmest charities, is too faithfully described, not to have been real and universal. St. Irenæus relates, that Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, had been heard to repeat, that, on a certain occasion, when the Apostle, at Ephesus, had gone to the baths, and discovered Cerinthus, the heretic, there, he started back, and withdrew, saying: “Let us fly, for the enemy of truth is there, and the roof may fall upon us.” The same Polycarp, meeting Marcion, was accosted by him thus : “Dost thou know us?”—“ Know thee !" replied the Saint; “Yes, I know thee, the first-born of Satan.”“So careful,” adds Irenæus,“ were the Apostles and their Disciples not even in word to hold the least intercourse with those who had adulterated the truth." - Adv. Hæreses, L. iii. c. iii. p. 204.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
PROPOSITION VII.
The Church, above described, thus established, thus continued, thus guided, in one uniform faith, and subordination of government, is that which is termed the Roman Catholic Church: The qualities just mentioned, Unity, Visibility, Indefectibility, Succession, Universality, and Sanctity, being evidently applicable to her.
The early Fathers, as we have seen, when speaking of the Christian Church, in contradistinction or opposition to every separate society, invariably denominate it Catholic, as it is called in the Creed ascribed to the Apostles. I will add a few more authorities on the distinctive name of Catholic, which we have always retained.
THE NAME OF CATHOLIC.
FATHERS.
CENT. I.
ST. POLYCARP, G. C.-The Church of Smyrna, in their letter to the faithful of Philomelia, and “ of the Holy Catholic Church,” distinctly say, that this illustrious disciple of St. John offered up his prayers for the members of the whole Catholic Church diffused throughout the world.” See p. 74.
CENT. IV.
St. Cyril OF JERUSALEM, G. C.—“Avoid the conventicles of those heretics : persevere in the Catholic Church[56], in which you were baptised. Should you come into a city, do not enquire merely for the House of God, for so heretics call their places of meeting ; nor yet ask merely for the Church; but say, the Catholic Church,—for this is the proper name."–Catech. xviii. n. xxvi. p. 297.
St. PACIANUS, L. C.-“ In the time of the Apostles, you will say, no one was called Catholic. Be it so: but when heresies afterwards began, and under different names, attempts were made to disfigure and divide our holy religion, did not the Apostolic People require a name, whereby to mark their Unity; a proper appellation to distinguish the head? Accidentally entering a populous city, where are Marcionites, Novatians, and others who call themselves Christians, how shall I discover where my own people meet, unless they be called Catholics? I may not know the origin of the name; but what has not failed through so long a time, came not surely from any individual man. It has nothing to say to Marcion, nor Apelles, nor Montanus. No heretic is its author.-Is the authority of Apostolic men, of the blessed Cyprian, of so many aged Bishops, so many Martyrs and Confessors, of little weight?-Were not they of sufficient consequence to establish an appellation, which they always used ? Be not angry, my brother: Christian is my name, Catholic is my surname."(!)--Ep. 1, ad Sympronian. Bib. PP. Max. T. iv. p. 306.
St. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM, G. C.-He signs himself in the document, entitled his Will,“ Gregory, bishop of the Catholic Church of Constantinople;” and the same form is observed by six other Bishops, who witnessed the deed: thus,“ Optimus, Bishop of the Catholic Church of Antioch, &c.” T. 1, in Appendice.
ST. EPIPHANIUS, G. C.-He relates, That those schismatics, who adhered to Meletius at Alexandria, in order to distinguish themselves from the Catholics, gave the name of “ the Church of Martyrs,” to their Church; while they who continued to occupy the ancient places of Worship, retained the appellation of the “ Catholic Church."--Hær. xlviii. sive lxviii. n. iii. T. 1, p. 719.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C.-“The heretics do not communicate with us: but, wherever they are, there is also the Catholic Church ; they, however, or any other heresy, are not, wherever that Church is. Hence it appears, which is the tree, that extends its fruitful branches over the earth, and which are the broken branches, deprived of all nourishment from the root, and withering on the ground.” Contra Crescon. L. iv. c. lxi. T. ix. p. 521.-" It is our duty to hold to the Christian Religion, and the communion of that Church, which is Catholic, and is so called, not by us only, but by all its adversaries. For whether they be so disposed or not, in conversing with others, they must use the word Catholic, or they will not be understood.” De vera Religione, c. vii. T. i. p. 752.-Among the many considerations that bind me to the Church, “is the name of Catholic, which, not without reason, in the midst of so many heresies, this Church alone has so retained, u) that, although all heretics wish to acquire the name, should a stranger ask where the Catholics assemble, the heretics themselves will not dare to point out any of their own places of meeting” Contra Ep. Fundam. c. iv. T. viii. p. 153.
CONFERENCE OF CARTHAGE, L. C.-In this Conference, held in 411, to terminate the long-existing schism between the Donatists and the Catholics, the main question to be decided was: Where was the Catholic Church? The Donatists allowed, that that was it, which was spread throughout the world. It remained, therefore, to be shewn which party was united to all other Churches; and this the Catholics easily proved to be on their side. In this conference the great St. Augustin manifested his learning and his eloquence, and above all his zeal for the Unity of the Church; when the two hundred and eighty-six Catholic bishops, with one voice, offered to resign their sees to the Donatists, would these return to the Church, and the measure be agreeable to the people. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 1463.
At what time, to this primitive appellation of Catholic, was superadded that of Roman, is of little moment: suffice it, that the thing itself was at all times implied; that is, communion with the See of Rome, was at all times deemed essential, and the primacy of its Bishops acknowledged.
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
St. IRENEUS, L. C.-" To this Church (of Rome) on account of its superior headship, every other must have recourse, that is, the faithful of all countries; in which Church has been preserved the doctrine delivered by the Apostles.” Adv. Hær. L. iii. c. 3. p. 175.
TERTULLIAN, L. C.-“ In Italy you have Rome; an authority to which we (Africans) can readily appeal.”(o) De Præscrip. p. 338.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C.-In a letter to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, having stated the irregular conduct of certain African schismatics, who had gone to Rome, he says—“After these attempts, having chosen a Bishop for themselves, they dare to sail, and to carry letters, from schismatics and profane men, to the chair of Peter and to the principal Church, whence the sacerdotal Unity took its rise; not reflecting, that the members of that Church are Romans, (whose Faith was praised by Paul) to whom perfidy can have no access.”(w) Ep.lv. p. 86.
CENT. IV.
St. JULIUS I. L. C.[57]—About the year 341, during the by all. heat of the Arian controversy, the enemies of St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, having appealed against him, to Julius, the Roman Bishop, the latter, in a letter addressed to them, when they had declined appearing at Rome, has these words:-“If Athanasius and others, as you say, were guilty, the matter should have proceeded according to the Canons, and not as it did: we all should have been apprized by letter of it, that a just sentence might have been pronounced
For Bishops and Churches suffered; not common Churches, but such as the Apostles themselves had taught. And why did you not write principally to us concerning the city of Alexandria? Were you ignorant, that it was customary that we should be written to first, that hence the first decision might issue ? If, therefore, suspicions were there (in the East) entertained against that bishop, they should have been reported to us. Now, having done what they pleased, they require that we, without any previous information, should approve their sentence. Such are not the ordinances of Paul : such is not the tradition of our Fathers : it is a new and unexampled conduct." Ep. Julii, Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 511.-As this epistle is addressed to many Eastern Bishops, it may be presumed to contain the admitted opinions, at this time, of all the Churches.
COUNCIL OF SARDICA,[58] G. C.-A few years after this, in 347, twenty-two years after the Council of Nice, a Synod, assembled at Sardica,-considered sometimes as an appendage to that of Nice-enacted a Canon, which enforces the same jurisdiction of the Roman Bishop.—“But if a Bishop, having been condemned in any suit, esteems his cause so good, as to wish to have it revised, let us so honour, if it please you, the memory of the Apostle Peter, that the judges of that cause be ordered to write to Julius, the Roman Bishop; in order, that if it be necessary, the judgment may be renewed by the neighbouring Bishops, and that He may appoint judges. If he think, there is not cause for a revision, let things remain as they were decided.” Can. iii. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 630.
St. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L. C.-“You cannot deny," he says to the schismatic Parmenianus, that St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles, established an episcopal chair at Rome: this chair was one, that all others might preserve Unity by the union which they had with it: so that whoever set up a chair against it, should be a schismatic and an offender. It was then in this one chair, which is the first mark of the Church, that St. Peter first sat; to St. Peter succeeded Linus, and after him others till Damasus, who is now our colleague ; by whose means all the Churches of the world are united with us in the same Communion, keeping correspondence by circular letters:(0) As to your party, which would willingly be thought to be the Church, shew us the origin of your chair : You tell us, that you are a part of the Roman Church; but this is a branch of your error, which proceeds from the root of falsehood, and not from the stock of truth.” De Schism. Donat. L. ii. p. 28, 29.
I do not quote some expressions and some facts in the three general Councils, of Constantinople in 381; of Ephesus in 431 ; and of Chalcedon in 451; which expressions and facts go to prove the deference which, on those great occasions, was shewn, by the Prelates of the Eastern Churches, to the name and authority of the Roman Bishop. See Prop. xüi.
ST. JEROM, L. C.—“I am,” he says in a letter to Pope Damasus, written from the deserts of Syria; “I am following no other than Christ, united to the Communion of Holiness, that is, to the chair of Peter. I know, that the Church is founded upon that Rock. Whoever eateth the Lamb out of that House, is a profane man. Whoever is not in the ark, shall perish by the flood. But forasmuch as being retired into the desert of Syria, I cannot receive the Sacrament at your hands, I follow your colleagues, the Bishops of Egypt. I do not know Vitalis ; I do not communicate with Meletius; Paulinus is a stranger to me (men of suspected faith): He that gathereth not with you, scattereth.”rd) Ep. xiv. ad Damasum. T. iv. p. 19.—In a second letter to the same Damasus, he repeats the same assertion : “I cease not to proclaim : He is mine, who remains united to the chair of Peter.”(6) Ep. xv. Ibid. p. 22.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN, L. C.-See the passage, p. 71.
COUNCIL OF MILEVIS, L. C.-In the year 416, a Synod having been assembled at Milevis, in Africa, to oppose the errors of Pelagius, the Fathers, sixty-one in number, (among whom was the great St. Augustin,) wrote to the Roman Bishop, Innocent I. in the following words:"Since it has pleased God, by his special grace, to seat you in the apostelic chair, and so to qualify you in these our times, that it would be criminal, not to lay before you what is for the Church's interest—we do beseech you to use your pastoral care in looking after the infirm members of Christ. For a new heresy is lately broached.-But we hope by the mercy of our Lord, who helps you in the discharge of your duty, and hears your prayers, that the abettors of this pernicious doctrine will submit to the authority of your holiness, which authority is derived to you from the authority of the Scriptures."' Conc. Gen. T. 11. Conc. Gen. T. 11. p. 1545-6.
St. Leo, L. C. In conformity with this sentiment of the African Church, St. Leo, who in the year 439 was raised to the pontifical chair, and who on his accession had received complaints from that Church; in his answer, having spoken “of the care of the universal Church laid on him by the divine institution," observes: “But if other causes should arise appertaining to the state of the Churches and the concord of the Priesthood, it is our will that they be examined by you, and that a full relation be sent hither; in order that my sentence may confirm what you, agreeably to ecclesiastical custom, shall have equitably adjusted.” Conc. Gen. T. iii. p. 1394. In 455 he writes to the Bishop of Alexandria : _“You and I should think and act together. For as the blessed Peter received the Apostolic Headship from the Lord, and the Roman Church adheres to his institutions, it is not allowable to believe that his holy disciple Mark, who first governed the Church of Alexandria, should have regulated his ordinances by other rules of tradition. Doubtless, the spirit of the Disciple, and of the Master, drawn from the same source, was one.—Let us not then suffer, professing as we do to be of one faith and one body, that we differ in any thing, and that the institutes of master and scholar may seem to vary.” Ibid. p. 1374. To some Gaulish Bishops, in the same year, he writes thus :—“You will acknowledge that the Apostolic See has, by innumerable references, been consulted by the Bishops of your province—such was the respect they shewed it—and that several of your judicial sentences have been annulled or confirmed, as the ancient custom of appeals demanded.” Ibid. p. 1396.
VALENTINIAN III. L. C. To enforce the authority of the Roman See on the present occasion, the Emperor Valentinian issued a rescript, which thus begins:-“As the merit of the blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and the dignity of the Roman city, and the authority of the sacred Synod (of Nice) have confirmed the Primacy of the Apostolic Chair ;(3) let no one presumptuously attempt any thing against the authority of this See.” Baron. Annal. T. vi. p. 40. an. 435. Moguntiæ, 1601.
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON, G.C. When this Council, held in 451, had closed, during the celebration of which, by his delegates and in many previous transactions, Leo maintained a conspicuous part, and upheld the jurisdiction of the Roman See; the eastern Prelates there assembled, addressed an epistle to him, wherein, after extolling him as the interpreter of Peter, who had nourished them by his writings, and to whom, they observe,“ had been committed the charge of the Lord's vineyard,”(h) they relate their proceedings in the Council, and then add:-“We signify to you, also, that we ordained some other things to promote good order, and to strengthen the statutes of discipline ; persuaded, that when you were informed of it, you would approve and confirm the same.- We confirmed the Canon of the Council of Constantinople, which ordained that its Bishop should hold the prerogative of honour after your most Holy and Apostolic Chair; convinced, that as, without jealousy, you distribute your favours to your brethren, you would extend, as usual, your care to the Constantinopolitan Church, and enlighten it with your apostolic ray. Vouchsafe then, most holy Father, to admit what we have decreed. Your delegates, it is true, strenuously opposed the measure, willing, doubtless, to leave the honour of it to you; that the cause of order, as well as of faith, might be indebted to you. In what we did, we listened to the voice of the Emperor, of the senate, and of our imperial city. We entreat you, therefore, to honour our sentence by your sanction; and that, as we agree with the head in good things, so the head may fulfil for the children what is becoming The Emperor will be gratified, who gave to our decision the force of law; and the Chair of Constantinople, by its union with you, and by its zeal, will on every occasion attest its gratitude.” Conc. Gen. T. iv. p. 836-7.
St. LEO, L.C. In 453, he writes to the Bishop of the Apostolic See of Antioch :-“ It behoves you attentively to consider over what Church the Lord has appointed you to preside, and to recollect the doctrine which the blessed Peter, the chief of all the Apostles, established; indeed, in the whole world, but by an especial instruction in the cities of Antioch and Rome. It behoves you often to inform us of what is doing. Being engaged in this solicitude with our Chair, take care that the privileges of the third See be infringed by the ambition of no man; for so great is the respect I bear to the Nicene Canons, that I will not permit, nor suffer them to be violated by any innovation. The merits of ministers may vary; but the rights of Churches remain.- Wherefore should any thing be necessary for the defence of the privileges of your Church, let me be informed by yourself, that I may be able to reply positively, and with precision." Ep. xcii. al. lxii. p. 621,622. Edit. Paris. 1675. -About the same time, writing to Theodoret, the learned Bishop of Cyrus in Syria, he says :-“ To this we entreat your attention, that you will speedily inform us of the progress of divine truth in your churches, in order that we may lend our assistance as it may seem necessary.”[59] Ep. xciii. al. lxiii. p. 627.
As the marks or qualities of the Church of Christ, above recited, have been shewn, on the authority of the early Fathers, to belong to that Church which unanimously they denominate Catholic; and as this Church, on the evidence of the same authority, is evinced to be that which holds communion with, and acknowledges the jurisdiction of the Roman See; the truth of the second part of the Proposition is proved, which states—That to the Roman Catholic Church are applicable the qualities Unity, Visibility, Indefectibility, Apostolical Succession, Universality, and Sanctity.
THE SCRIPTURES.
PROPOSITION VIII.
From the testimony and authority of the Catholic Church we receive the Scriptures, and believe them to contain the rerealed word of God.
From the Jews, who had preserved them with religious care, the Christian Church received the Books of the Old Testament. But it was not at once that the Canon of these was fixed. For as the Jews had not admitted some-such as the Book of Esther, of Tobit, of Judith, of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, and the Books of the Maccabees--their authority was long questioned; and it was not till after mature deliberation, that they were universally acknowledged.
The Books of the New Testament, after the ascension of our Saviour, were written under various circumstances, and on various occasions: the Gospels, to satisfy the laudable wishes of many, who were naturally desirous to be informed of the facts of our Saviour's life; to impress his admirable lessons on their minds: to perpetuate his words; and to oppose the wild conceptions of some dissatisfied men. The Acts of the Apostles were written to record the first preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles, and the interesting events of the labours of St. Paul; and the Epistles, for the further instruction of those who had been converted to Christianity, and to strengthen them in the arduous duties of their new calling
These writings, historical and moral—the latter addressed to particular societies—from a limited circulation, at first, would be, and were, gradually more and more extended, and more and more read in the different assemblies of the faithful When the names of the authors were known, as it generally happened, the authenticity or genuine character of their writings would be at once admitted; when this was not the case, or any doubt prevailed, as it did in regard to the Book of Revelations and the Epistle to the Hebrews, some hesitation in admitting them as genuine would necessarily ensue.
But as these several works appeared, the Pastors of the New Churches, in recommending them to their flocks, were in possession of an infallible rule by which to judge of the truth of the facts related, and of the soundness of their doctrines. For some of those Pastors would be the Apostles themselves, who had received their faith from the mouth of Christ, together with the commission of preaching that faith to all nations;” while others would be the disciples of these men, and instructed by them in all truth. With the knowledge which they had just acquired, they would compare the relations of the Evangelists and the lessons of the various Epistles; and finding them to accord, they could confidently pronounce that as those several writings, given under the respective names of their authors, were genuine or authentic, so were their contents true; in other words, that those contents were divine, or the Word of God; for they conveyed, they would say, the very truths that Christ had himself delivered. Thus, in the probable interpretation of the clause of the last chapter of St. John's Gospel, the Asiatic Bishops, at whose entreaty it was written, recommend it to the acceptation of other Churches in the following words: (chap. xxi. 24.) This is that Disciple who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. They had often heard from his mouth what he had written in his Gospel; others, probably, had attested the same; and therefore they declared his testimony to be true.
As on this principle of conformity with what Christ had done and taught, the writings, of which we are speaking, were admitted as sacred and divine; so, at the same time, for want of that conformity, were other writings, under the names also of Gospels and Epistles, which then appeared, rejected, as spurious and unworthy of belief.—The progress, however, of these researches was, in some instances, slow and deliberate.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G. C.--He reckons twenty-two books in the Old Testament, “ beside which are those of the Maccabees." Then speaking of the New, he says: “ The Gospels are but four, as I have received from tradition, which alone are admitted, without controversy, in the universal Church of God.”—St. Paul, he observes, wrote not to all the Churches which he had instructed, while Peter, he adds, “ on whom was built the Church of Christ, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, left but one Epistle, which is received by all.” The second, however, he says, may be admitted as genuine, though some doubt it. He mentions the book of Revelations, as ascribed to St. John, but seems rather to hesitate about the three Epistles, now acknowledged to be the genuine work of the same Apostle.— Of James and Jude he is silent; and then treats of the Epistle to the Hebrews; which, from the elegance of its style and composition, he thinks, may not have been written by St. Paul: “
My opinion is that the thoughts are his; but that the diction and composition are from some other person, who was willing to record what he had heard from the Apostle. If any Church, therefore, receive it as his, it will be praiseworthy; for our forefathers, did not from light motives, deliver it to us as the work of St. Paul.” Apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles. L. vi. c. xxv. p. 290, 291. Ed. Cantab. 1720.
SERAPION, G. C.[60]“ We receive Peter and the other Apostles, as we receive Christ himself. But as to writings, which falsely bear their names, them we reject; because we are well aware, that we have them not from our ancestors.” Apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. vi. c. 12. p. 270.
CENT. IV.
COUNCIL OF LAODICEA, G. C.- About the beginning, or rather, as it is thought, about the middle of the fourth century, was assembled a Council at Laodicea, in Asia Minor, which, in its Canons, having regulated many points of ecclesiastical discipline, and forbidden private psalms to be recited in the Churches, or any books to be read there which are not canonical, but only the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, it proceeds, in its sixtieth and last Canon, to enumerate these books. In the catalogue are included Esther and Ruth, but not Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, nor the books of the Maccabees. In the New Testament, the canonical books are the four Gospels, the Acts, the seven canonical Epistles, and the fourteen of St. Paul, but not the book of Revelations. Conc. Gen. T. 1. p. 1507.
EUSEBIUS, G. C.-“I therefore deemed it necessary to draw out a list of the Sacred Books, that, as from the tradition of the Church, we distinguish the true and genuine Scriptures, from those which are of doubtful authority, and not admitted into the body of the New Testament, though received by most ecclesiastical writers; we may, by this means, more easily ascertain what are genuine, and mark those which heretics circulate under the names of some Apostles; such as the Gospels of St. Peter, and of others.” Hist. Eccl. L. iii. c. 25. p. 119.
St. ATHANASIUS, G. C.—“The Canons of the holy Catholic, and Apostolic Church have confirmed to us the four Gospels.” In Synops. T. 11. p. 202.
St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G. C.-“ Learn sedulously from the Church,'") which are the books of the Old and New Testament, and have nothing to do with such as are apocryphal (spurious).-Meditate on the former alone, with confidence, which we read in the Church. The Apostles, and the ancient Prelates, who delivered them to us, were much wiser than thou art. As then thou art a child of the Church, pass not over her boundaries.” Cat. iv. n. xxxiii, xxxv. p. 67, 68.—He then reckons twenty-two books of the Old Testament, and of the New, the usual number; and remarks, that, at that time, there were Gospels, written under false names, which were to be shunned as pernicious: he concludes: “What is read in the Churches, read; what is not there read, read not.” Ibid. n. xxxvi. p. 69.
COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE, LC.-In the same century, a Council held at Carthage, in 397, enacted, that the canonical Scriptures alone should be read in the Churches, the books of which it enumerates. In this catalogue are the five books of Solomon, Tobit, Judith, Esther, two books of Esdras, and two of Maccabees. In the New Testament is the book of Revelations. Conc. Gen. T. 11. p. 1177.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L.C. He lays down some rules whereby canonical books might be distinguished :-“In this enquiry, the authority of the greater part of the Catholic Churches must be followed, and particularly of those that hold apostolical Sees, and received epistles from the Apostles. Among the books, those that are admitted by all Churches, must be preferred before those that are rejected by some. Again, among these we should pay a greater regard to those that are acknowledged by a great number of Churches, and by the most considerable, than to those that are admitted only by a few Churches, and those of no great authority. And if some have been received by the greater number of Churches, and rejected by those that have greater authority; though this can hardly happen, they must hold the same rank.”—He then states the catalogue of the canonical Scriptures :-the five books of Moses: one of Joshua: one of Judges: one of Ruth: four of Kings: two of Chronicles : Job, Tobias, Esther, Judith, and two of Maccabees: two of Esdras : one of Psalms: Proverbs, Canticles, Ecclesiastes: Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus. “ These two, (though doubts may be entertained of their author) yet, because they were deemed worthy to be received into the Canon, may be reckoned prophetical.” Next, are the twelve Prophets, and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.-In the canon of the New Testament are all the books which are now admitted.De Doctrina Christiana, Lib. 11. c. viii. T. 111. p. 23. “ If you hear him contradicting," &c. See the whole, p. 22.
INNOCENT I.[61] L. C. In an epistle to Exuperius, Bishop of Toulouse, he gives a catalogue of the Sacred Books, which corresponds with that of the Carthaginian Synod, and of St. Augustin. He then adds, that all other writings, which are circulated under the names of some of the Apostles, are not only to be rejected, but to be condemned.” Conc. Gen. T. 11. 1256.
ST. ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM, G. C. “Those holy volumes of the Scriptures are certain steps, by which to ascend to God. Receive, therefore, as pure gold, and purged as it were, by the Holy Spirit, whatever is proposed to you in the Church. But as to such writings, as are not contained in that holy volume, though they may hold out some good advice, leave them to be discussed and preserved by others.” Ep. 369, p. 96. Ed. Paris, 1638.
ST. GELASIUS,[62] L. C. In 494, Pope Gelasius, aided by a council of seventy Bishops, at Rome, published a decree concerning canonical and uncanonical or apocryphal books. The canonical form the same catalogue, as that which we have seen, and the Roman Catholic Church admits; save that he reckons but one book of the Maccabees. This is followed by a declaration of the authority of the Roman Church and its Primacy; an enumeration of the four first General Councils, and of the works of the most celebrated Fathers; and some critical reflections on the Acts of Martyrs and other writings, which should be received with caution. Then comes a list of the spurious or apocryphal works, which the Church condemns; comprising false gospels and other similar writings, the works of heretics, and of some orthodox authors, who, in some points, had departed from the doctrines of the Church. Conc. Gen. T. iv. p. 1260.
While Councils and Popes were thus laudably employed in fixing the genuine Canon of the Scriptures, and transmitting them to the Churches, St. Augustin, as we have seen, was labouring in the same cause; and before him, Origen, in the third century, had collected, in separate columns, the various Greek versions of the Old Testament, and written commentaries on many books of the Old and New; and St. Jerom, at the end of the fourth century, had translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew, into Latin, and the New from the Greek, or rather corrected the old translation of the latter-and, besides, published various commentaries. Other Fathers, at the same time, in the Eastern and Western Churches, particularly St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustin, in their sermons to the people, and in writing, expounded many passages and often entire books of the Scriptures. By such various means were emendations often made in the text, or its purity preserved ; and thus have authentic copies of the Scriptures, in the great points of faith and morality, been transmitted to us by the Church; which applauded and sanctioned the successful labours of those learned men in the cause of religious truth.
COUNCIL OF TRENT.
THE CHURCH IS THE EXPOUNDER OF THE SCRIPTURES.
PROPOSITION IX.
As the Church can assuredly tell us, what particular book is the word of God; so can she, with the like assurance, tell us the true sense and meaning of it, in controverted points of faith: the same Spirit, which directed the writing of the Scriptures, directing the Church to understand them, and to teach all mysteries and duties as are necessary to salvation.
SCRIPTURE.
Acts, xv. 1. “ And some coming down from Judea, (to Antioch) taught the brethren: That except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved."-St. Luke then proceeds to relate, that the Apostles and ancients came together to consider of this matter; and that when there had been much disputing, Peter and James delivered their opinions; and Barnabas and Paul told what great signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.Ibid. 22.-" Then it pleased the Apostles and Ancients with the whole Church, to choose men of their own company, and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. -Ibid. 23, 28, 29.“ Writing by their hands-It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to Us, to lay no farther burden upon you than these necessary things-that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.”—Ibid. 41.-" And he (Paul) went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches; commanding them to keep the precepts of the Apostles and the Ancients.”
See also the texts quoted under the head, “The Church cannot fail,” p. 54.
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS, L. C. “ Paul says : 'God appointed in his Church Apostles, Prophets, and Doctors.' Where therefore are the holy gifts of God, there must the truth be learned : with them is the succession from the Apostles; and there is the society, whose communication is sound and irreprove able, unadulterated and pure. These preserve the faith of one God, who made all things; increase our love towards his divine Son; and expound, without danger, the Scriptures to us, not blaspheming the name of God, nor dishonouring the Patriarchs, nor contemning the Prophets.” Adversus Hær. L. iv. c. xxvi. p. 263.—“To him that believeth that there is one God, and holds to the head, which is Christ to this man all things will be plain, if he read diligently the Scriptures with the aid of those who are the priests in the Church, and in whose hands, as we have shewn, rests the doctrine of the Apostles. Ibid. c. xxxii. p. 269, 270.
TERTULLIAN, L. C. “We are not allowed to indulge our own humour, nor to choose what another has invented. We have the Apostles of our Lord for Founders, who were not themselves the inventors nor authors of what they have left us ; but they have faithfully taught the world the doctrine which they received from Christ.” De Præscrip. p. 331. See the quotation, p. 66.
ST. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, G. C. " Those who seek,” &c. See p. 12.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G. C. “ Let him look to it," &c. See p. 14.
CENT. IV.
Sr. HILARY, L. C. “ Christ (teaching from the ship) intimates, that they who are out of the Church, can possess no understanding of the divine word. For the ship is an emblem of the Church, within which, as the word of life is placed and preached, so they who are without being as barren and useless sands, cannot understand it." Com. In Matt. c. xiii. p. 675.
COUNCIL OF TOLEDO, L. C. This Council, held in the year 400, thus defines against the prevailing heresies : “ If any one shall assert or believe, that any other Scriptures, besides those which the Catholic Church receives, are to be esteemed of authority, or to be venerated, let him be anathema.". Conc. Gen. T. 11, p. 1228.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN, L. C. “Should the heretic (Faustus) produce other works, which he insists, were written by some of the Apostles, by what means will he be able to give them an authority, which has not come down to him through those Churches, which the Apostles themselves founded.” Lib. xiii. c. 4. Contra Faustum. T. viii. p. 253 thority of our Sacred Books, confirmed by the consent of nations, through the succession of Apostles, Bishops, and Councils, is against you, Manicheans: while the authority of your pretended books is null; being maintained by such small numbers, and by those who blaspheme the name of God.” Ibid. c. 5, Ibid. c. 5, p. 254.- “Will you assert, that that passage is not in the gospel of Matthew, which the Universal Church has received through the succession of her Bishops ?--From the time that Evangelist lived, that book, through an uninterrupted series of ages is brought down to us; but you, perhaps, will produce another copy, under the name of some one of the Apostles, in which you may read that Christ was not born of Mary. As one of these books must lie, which, think you, should be credited ? That, which the Church, founded by Christ, propagated by the Apostles, spread through the world, received and has preserved : or that which the same Church rejects as unknown to her? Ibid. L. xxviii. c. 2, p. 440.—“If every art, how. ever low and easy of attainment, still, to be acquired, demands a teacher; what can be more arrogant, than not to be willing to learn those books of divine mysteries from their proper interpreters, and to condemn what is not understood.” L. de utilitate credendi, c. 17, T. viii. p. 69. “ For my part,” he says to a Manichean heretic, “ I would not give credit to the Gospel, unless the authority of the Catholic Church induced me to it.” Contra ep. Fundam. Ibid. p. 154.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C. But some may say: If the devil and his disciples, and in general all heretics, use the Scriptures for their own purposes, how are Catholics to discern truth from falsehood in the holy writings?—This they will do, by studiously following the method handed down to us by the holy and learned men, who are gone before us; that is, by interpreting the Scriptures according to the traditions of the Universal Church, and the rules of Catholic faith; in which Catholic and Apostolic Church, they must also be guided by universality, antiquity, and unanimous consent." Com. c. xxvii. p. 360.
As the subject will be continued in the ensuing article, and the reader will have seen what was stated under the heads, Authority of the Church, Indefectibility, and Apostolical Succession, more authorities cannot here be necessary.
PRIVATE JUDGMENT.
SCRIPTURE.
I Cor. xii. 28, 29. “ And God indeed hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly Teachers. Are all Apostles? are all Prophets? are all Teachers?” Ephes. iv. 11, 12, 14. “And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and other some Evangelists, and other some Pastors and Doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: that henceforth we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive.” 2 Pet. iii. 15, 16, 17. “ As also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, hath written to you; as also, in all his Epistles, speaking in them of these things: in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed, lest being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness."
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
St. IRENÆUS, L.C. “And not only from the Evangelical and Apostolical Writings, which they perversely interpret and wickedly expound, do these (heretics) attempt to prove their assertions, but also from the law and the Prophets. For as there are in these many parables and allegories which may be forced into various meanings, them they craftily fit to their own purpose, and thus draw from the truth those who have not a firm faith in one God, the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ.” Adv. Hær. L. 1. c. iii. p. 17. “Such being their positions, which the Prophets never preached, nor Christ taught, nor the Apostles delivered, they boast their own superior knowledge, and attempt to make it seem credible; forming, as it were, a rope of sand, by adducing some words from the parables or sayings of the Prophets, or of Christ, or of the Apostles; but so as to violate the arrangement and order of the Sacred Writings, and, as far as in them lies dissolve the whole connection of truth.” This he illustrates by examples, Ibid. c. viii. p. 35. Afterwards, speaking of the same heretics, he observes, that they agree not in any opinion among themselves : “so varying are their notions drawn from the Scriptures ; and when a discourse has been read, shaking their heads with great gravity, they pronounce that its secret meaning is above the capacity of all, and that silence is the proof of wisdom. When, therefore, they shall be agreed among themselves on what they draw from the Scriptures, it will be our time to refute them. Meanwhile, thinking wrongfully, and not agreeing in the meaning of the same words, they convict themselves; but we, having one true and only God for our master, and making his words the rule of truth, always speak alike of the same things ; all acknowledging one God, the Creator of the Universe, who sent his Prophets, and in the latter times, manifested his Son, to confound the incredulous, and draw forth the fruit of justice.” L. iv. c. xxxv. p. 277.
TERTULLIAN, L. C. “And why are heretics aliens and enemies to the Apostles, but from the diversity of doctrine which each one of them, as he likes best, has himself advanced or received in opposition to them? Where, therefore, this diversity of doctrine is, there will the Scriptures, and the expounding of them, be adulterated. For they who proposed to themselves to teach differently, would see a necessity of altering the instruments whence that teaching is derived. They could not otherwise advance their opinions. And as they could alone succeed by such means; so we, to maintain the integrity of our doctrine, must preserve its sources pure. In our Sacred Writings what is there adverse to us? What have we imported that we must amend, by making some change in the Scriptures, because something adverse is found in them? What we are, they are. From them we were formed, before there was any thing different from what we are.” This reasoning he pursues with great ingenuity, shewing that the heretics Marcion and Valentinus erased passages, or altered the sense, of the Scriptures, as their respective views required. He then adds: “ I am much deceived, if these men even agree in their own rules, while each one, according to his own fancy, modifies what he has received, as he did, who delivered it. What Valentinus might do, that might his followers; that might Marcion and the Marcionites; that is, change their belief as they liked In one word, view narrowly all these heresies, and you will find that, in many things they differ from their founders. Most of them indeed have no Churches, and wander far and wide, like solitary and selfish exiles, void of faith and without See or Mother-Church." De Præscrip. c. xxxviii. xlii. p. 338, 339.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G. C. “He, who, reading the Gospel, applies to it his own interpretation, not understanding it as the Lord spoke it, truly he is a false prophet, uttering words from his own mind. These words may fairly be understood of heretics, for they apply their own fables to the Gospels, and the writings of the Apostles; expounding by their own judgment, and not according to the sense of the Holy Spirit.” Hom. 11. in Ezech. T. iii. p. 362.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C. “ And let not some men deceive themselves by an idle interpretation of the words of Christ, when he said: Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am with them. (Matt. xviii. 20.) Corrupting the Gospel and interpreting falsely, they take the last words, and omit what goes before; retaining one part, and craftily suppressing the other. As they are cut off from the Church, so do they cut off the words of the Scripture. For, recommending to his disciples unanimity and peace, the Lord said to them: If two of you shall agree upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father ; for where there are two or three gathered, &c. shewing, that much is granted, not to the number, but to the unanimity of the supplicants. If two of you, he says, shall agree upon earth: he gives the first place to unanimity, to peaceful concord: on this he insists. But how shall he agree with another, who has dissented from the body of the Church and from the whole fraternity? Can two or three be gathered together in the name of Christ, who, it is plain, are separated from him and his Gospel? For we did not leave them, but they us. Choosing for themselves separate conventicles, they quitted the head and the fountain of truth.” De Unit. Eccles. p. 198.
EUSEBIUS OF CÆSAREA, G. C. He thus addresses a heretic, who rested his faith on his own interpretation of Scripture: “Where hast thou learnt these things? Who was thine informer? What Bishop? What Councils? What ecclesiastical writer?” Contra Marcellum, L. 11. c. 4. p. 54. - “ Then are his garments divided, and lots cast for his coat, when each one corrupts, and tears the beauty of his word, that is the expressions of the Holy Scriptures, and entertains such opinions as are usually advanced by heretics." Dem. Evang. L. X. p. 506.
St. HILARY, L. C. “ When once they began (the Arians) to make new confessions of faith, belief became the creed of the times, rather than of the gospels. Every year new creeds were made, and men did not keep to that simplicity of faith, which they professed at their baptism. And then what miseries ensued! For soon there were as many creeds as might please each party; and nothing else has been minded, since the Council of Nice, but this creed-making. New creeds have come forth every year, and every month. They have been changed, have been anathematized, and then re-established; and thus by too much enquiring into the faith, there is no faith left.-Recollect that there is not one of the heretics who does not now impudently assert, that all his blasphemies are derived from the Scriptures.They all urge the Scriptures, without any knowledge of them, and without faith, talk of their faith. For it is not by reading, but by comprehending their sense, that the Scriptures should be weighed.” Ad. Constant, L. 11. p. 1227. 1228, 1230.
St. BASIL, G. C. He addresses a heretic: “ What is it you say? Shall we not allow more to antiquity? Does not the multitude of Christians claim respect, who now are, as well as those who went before us? These abounded in every grace, and must we disregard them, against whom you have lately brought out your impious discoveries ? Must we shut our eyes, and suppressing all recollection of every holy man, submit our understandings to your deceits and idle sophistries? Truly, your influence must be great, if, what the devil could not effect by his wiles, we should concede to your dictation; that is, persuaded by you, we should prefer your inventions to that tradition of belief, which, in all former times, prevailed under the direction of so many holy men.” L. 1. Adv. Eunom. T. 1. p. 210.
St. EPHREM, G. C. “ Heretics, willing to give strength to their error, endeavour to extract passages from the Scriptures, by which to pervert the minds of those who may listen to them. Of them Irenæus has well said: Such being their positions, which the prophets never preached, &c. As page 105.” De Virtute c. 8. T.1, p. 224. Edit Quirini.
Rufinus[63] relates of SS. Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, that, “ during the thirteen years they spent at Athens, laying aside all profane words, they applied solely to the sacred writings, explaining them, not from their own presumption, but by the authority of those ancient Fathers," who, it was plain, had received the rule of interpretation, from apostolical succession.” Hist. Eccles. L.ll. c.9. p. 256. Ed. Basil. 1562.
St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G. C.-“If thou learnest the Faith, thou shalt possess the promise ; but thou must hold fast to that Faith which the Church alone teaches, confirmed as it is by all the Scriptures. For as all persons are not able to read those Scriptures; and some from ignorance, some from occupation, are withheld from acquiring knowledge: that thou mayest not through ignorance, lose thy soul, we have comprised, in a few lines, the Sum of Christian doctrine, which, as it is read to you, we would have you to retain, inscribing it on your minds, not on paper.-Admit no other doctrine than this, even though we, by some change in ourselves, or an angel from heaven, as the Apostle says (Gal. 18), should teach otherwise. --When a proper occasion offers, you may draw from the sacred Scriptures such proofs as are contained in them: for the things of Faith were not composed by men, but the Unity of doctrine, in all points of moment, is from the Scriptures.” Catech. V. n. xii. p. 77.—“ Who but the Divine Spirit, whose word the Scriptures are, can understand the hidden things of God? But even that Spirit has not spoken in the Scriptures, of the generation of the Son of God from the Father. Then why will you enquire into that which is not there written? You that do not know what is written, be not curious in other things. Many points are there delivered, which we comprehend not: what is not delivered, we should not attempt to know.” Catech. xi. n. xii. p. 154.
ST. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM. G. C. To one indeed, is given the word of wisdom: to another the word of knowledge. (1 Cor. xii. 8.) My brethren, let us respect, and guard and maintain this order. Let some hear, others speak, and others act.-We must not all exercise the office of the tongue, which is the most prompt and ready member; for all are not Apostles, nor Prophets, nor Expounders.— To teach is great and eminent: but to learn is void of danger. You that are a sheep, why do you arrogate the function of the shepherd? Being the foot, why will you be the head ? Why do you pursue the great but uncertain and perilous gains of the ocean, when you may till the earth in safety ?" Orat. xxvi. T. 1. p. 450.-“ Truly, there should have been a law among us, whereby-as among the Jews, young men were not allowed to read certain books of Scripture-not all men, and at all times, but certain persons only, and on certain occasions should be permitted to discuss the points of Faith.” Ibid. p. 462.--" If these heretics may freely teach and promulgate their opinions, who does not see, that the doctrine of the Church will be condemned, as if truth were on their side? But two opposite doctrines on the same point, cannot possibly be true.” Orat. xlvi. p. 722.
ST. EPIPHANIUS, G.C.-See the passage, p. 19.
ST. JEROM, L. C.—“These things (some passages of Scripture) I have lightly touched on, that you may be convinced how necessary a guide is, when you enter on the study of the Scriptures. I say nothing of grammarians, rhetoricians, philosophers, and of other learned professions, the knowledge of which is so useful, and the rules of which are laid down. Let me speak of menial arts, such as are learnt not by lectures, but by practice. In all these, however, there must be some one to shew the way.—The art of understanding the Scriptures alone is open to every reader! Here, learned or unlearned, we can all interpret. The tattling old woman, the doating old man, the wordy sophist, all, all here presume; they tear texts asunder, and dare become teachers before they have learned. Some you may see, surrounded by a female circle, weighing out with a solemn brow their pompous phrases, and discussing the import of these sacred oracles; while others, oh shame! are taking lessons from the women, that they may be able to instruct the men. I speak not of those who, like myself, coming to the study of the holy Scriptures from profane authors, and the exercises of worldly eloquence, vainly fancy all they utter to be the law of God; not deigning to learn what the
Prophets, and what the Apostles thought. In support of their own conceptions they adduce incongruous proofs; not aware, that, to distort sentences and to force the reluctant Scripture to bend to their own wishes, argues not a superior understanding, but is a mode of teaching the most faulty." Ep. L. T. iv. Pars. 11. p. 571.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C. So great is the depth of the sacred writings, that I might daily advance in them, if, from youth to old age, I were to endeavour, in the midst of leisure, with incessant application, and with greater talents, to learn them only: not that, in those points that are necessary to salvation, the difficulty be so great: but when a man has acquired that faith, which is necessary to form a good and holy life, then so much remains involved in obscurity, such depth of wisdom in the expression, and in the thing signified, that, after the most acute and ardent mind has given all its days to the study, it finds the truth of the saying; When a man hath done, then shall he begin.” (Eccles. c. xviii. 6.) Ep. cxxxvii. ad Volusianum. T. 11. p. 402.-"Heresies have not arisen, nor certain pernicious doctrines, but from the Holy Scriptures being ill understood, and when rash and bold assertion has been the consequence. Wherefore, my brethren, what we are little able to comprehend, let us listen to with great caution, and, with humble deference, holding the sound rule, that we use that as food, which, according to the faith that is in us, we understand; and what we do not thus understand, still believe without doubting, that it is good and true.” Tract xviii. in Ioan. Evang. parte 2, T. iii. p. 430.-“ All these silly heretics, who wish to be called Christians, varnish over their wild fancies with the words of Christ, when he said to his disciples : (John xvi. 12.) I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; as if the imaginations of these men were the things which the disciples could not then bear. ") This the Apostle foresaw: (11 Tim. iv. 3, 4.) For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine, but, according to their own desires, they will keep to themselves teachers, having itching ears: and will turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned to fables.” Tract. xcvii. in Ioan. Ibid. p. 738.
Wherefore, though on this subject (concerning baptism) there should not be any clear decision from the Scriptures, yet, even here, the truth of those Scriptures is held by us, when we do that which the Universal Church approves. This Church the divine authority commends, and as it cannot deceive us, he who fears to be imposed on, under the obscurity of the present question, will consult the Church, which without any ambiguity, the Scriptures establish.) Contra Crescon. L. 1. c. xxxiii. T.ix. p. 407.—“No one, certainly, can attribute to the sacred writings, the many and various errors of heretics; though they all endeavour to rest their false and fallacious opinions on that authority.” De Trinit. L. 1. c. iii. .T viii. p. 753.—“ Whence came Donatus ? From what country did he spring ? Out of what sea did he rise? From what sky did he descend? De Bapt. L. iii. Con. Donat. T. ix. p. 109.
Notwithstanding the caution which this great man recommends to all readers of the Scriptures, on account of the bad use that has been made of them, he is ever earnest in pressing their perusal; while no one has written so much to elucidate their contents, and to establish their authority. So have written St. Jerom of the Latin Church, and among the Greeks, St. John Chrysostom.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C.—“ Often having enquired, with much earnestness, from many holy and learned persons, by what certain and general rule, I might distinguish truth from error, this answer I received from all That if I or any other person, would detect the frauds of heretics, avoid their snares, and stand stedfast in the true Faith, we must ground ourselves on two principles—the authority of the Scriptures, and the tradition of the Catholic Church.cp) Common. n. ii. p. 316.—“ But some, perhaps, may ask:-The Canon of the holy books being perfect, and more than sufficient for itself, why should the authority of the Church be joined to it? I answer: Because the Scripture, having a sublime sense, is differently expounded. By one person it is interpreted in one sense, by a second in another sense: so that there are almost as many opinions about its meaning, as there are persons. Novatian, Sabellius, Donatus, Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinaris, Priscillian, Jovinianus, Pelagius, Celestius, and finally Nestorius, admit no common interpretation. It is therefore wholly necessary, on account of so many subtle evasions, to take the sense of the Catholic Church for our rule.9) Ibid. n. ii. p. 317. It may be asked : Have heretics recourse to the authority of the Scriptures?Yes, truly, and with great eagerness. You may see them running over all the volumes of the divine law, from the books of Moses, through those of Kings, the Psalms, the Prophets, the Evangelists, and the Apostolic Epistles. In the presence of their followers, or their adversaries; publicly or in private; in their sermons, or in their writings; at the table, or in the streets; they seldom utter any thing from themselves, that is not carefully disguised in Scripture language.—But the more artfully they conceal themselves in the shade of the divine writings, the more carefully are they to be avoided and dreaded."") For well they know, were their errors plainly announced, they would give satisfaction to very few: they sprinkle them, therefore, with the odour of celestial eloquence, that he, who would reject a human error, may be allured by the divine oracles.” Ibid. n. xxv. p. 356. -“Should any one enquire,—while they advance their errors,—what proof have you? Whence do you learn that it is my duty, as you say, to depart from the Universal and Ancient Faith of the Catholic Church ?(6)— Without hesitation they reply: So it is written. (Mat. iv. 6.) And at once they have ready a thousand testimonies, a thousand examples, and a thousand authorities from the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets, the Apostles; which, interpreted after a new and evil fashion, may cast the unhappy soul from the Catholic rock, into the abyss of heresy.”(!) Ibid. n. xxvi. p. 359.
APOSTOLICAL TRADITIONS.
By Apostolical Traditions are understood such points of Catholic belief and practice, as, not committed to writing in the Holy Scriptures, have come down in an unbroken series of oral delivery, from the Apostolic ages. Among many of these traditions, which will be seen, may be placed, in the first place, and by way of illustration, the authentic Canon of the books of the Old and New Testament, carefully separated from all apochryphal admixture, preserved in the Church, and transmitted to us.
SCRIPTURE.
2 Thess. ii. 14.—“ Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.”—iji. 6.-“ And we charge you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly, and not according to the tradition which they have received of us.”—1 Cor. xi. 2.—“Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me: and keep my ordinances as I delivered them to you.”—23.-“ For I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night, in which he was betrayed, took bread.”—34.—“And the rest I will set in order when I come.”—1 Tim. vi. 20.—“ O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called.”. 2 Tim. i. 13.—“Hold the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me in Faith, and in the love which is in Christ Jesus.”—ii. 2.-—“ And the things which thou hast heard of me before many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also.”-iii. 14. -“But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and which have been committed to thee: knowing of whom thou hast learned them."
FATHERS.
CENT. I.
St. IGNATIUS, G. C.-Eusebius, the Father of ecelesiastical history, and who died early in the fourth century, speaking of St. Ignatius, the disciple of St. Peter, and who, after him, was the second Bishop of Antioch, says: “ As he was led through Asia under a strict guard of soldiers, and entered the several cities, in his exhortations to the Churches, he admonished them in the first place, to be aware of the false doctrines of the heretics, which now began to emerge into light, and to spread themselves widely. He then exhorted them to hold fast to the tradition of the Apostles, which tradition, confirmed by his own testimony, for the more sure information of posterity, he deemed it necessary to commit to writing.” Hist. Eccles. L. iii. c. 36. p. 130.
CENT. II.
Sr. IRENÆUS, L. C.—“ When these heretics are convicted from the Scriptures, they begin to accuse the Scriptures themselves, as not being accurate, and void of authority, and so variously expressed, that from them truth cannot be discovered by those who are ignorant of Tradition. For that truth came not by writing, but by the living voice: wherefore Paul said: (1 Cor. ii. 6.) Horobeit we speak wisdom among the perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world. —Now this wisdom each one of them pretends to possess, as he has drawn it from himself. For each one in his own perversity, perverting the rule of truth, blushes not to vaunt himself. On the other hand, when we appeal to that Tradition, which, coming from the Apostles through the succession of Ministers, is preserved in the Churches, they object to it, observing, that, being themselves wiser than those Ministers, and the Apostles themselves, they have discovered the genuine truth.Thus they assent neither to the Scriptures, nor to Tradition." Adv. Hær. L. iii. c. 2. p. 174, 175.—“ And had these Apostles left us nothing in writing, must not we, in that case, have followed the rule of doctrine, which they delivered to those to whom they entrusted their Churches? To this rule many barbarous nations submit, who, deprived of the aid of letters, have the words of salvation written on their hearts, and carefully guard the doctrine which has been delivered.” Ibid. c. iv. p. 178.
In a letter preserved by Eusebius, he says: “Polycarp, (Bishop of Smyrna and the disciple of St. John) agreeing in all things with the holy Scripture, spoke of the miracles and the doctrine of our Lord, just as he had heard them related by those, who had themselves seen the Lord of life. Those same things, by the divine goodness, I also heard (from Polycarp) impressing them, not on paper, but on my heart; and I constantly revolve them in my mind.” Hist. Eccles. L. v. c. 20. p. 238.—“ This Polycarp,” Irenæus relates himself, “always taught what he had learnt from the Apostles, delivering it to the Church; and these things alone are true. To them all the Churches of Asia, and they who, down to this day, have succeeded to Polycarp, bear testimony. He was a man of much greater authority, and a witness of truth more faithful, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and such perverse thinkers. Coming to Rome, in the time of Anicetus, he converted many heretics to the Church of God, announcing the one and only truth, which he had received from the Apostles, and which he delivered to the Church.—There is an epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, from which may be collected, what was the character of his Faith, and the Truth which he preached. Moreover, the Church of Ephesus, which Paul founded, and where John resided to the time of Trajan, is itself a witness to the doctrine delivered by the Apostles.” Adv. Hær. L. iii. c. 3. p. 176, 177.–See more on this subject, from this Father, under, The Marks of the Church. p. 32.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, G. C.-" They, who preserved the true Tradition of blessed doctrine, receiving it from Peter, and James, and John, and Paul, as a son from his father, have come to us, here to deposit the Apostolic seeds received from their elders. — Christ did not reveal to many, what did not appertain to many; but to a few, whom he thought proper; that they receiving it might communicate what they had received to others.” Strom. L. 1. p. 322, 323.—“ They are instigated by a love of false glory, who, by other Traditions, corrupt those truths, which agree with the inspired word, and were delivered by the Holy Apostles and by Teachers, opposing the divine Tradition by human doctrines, that they might establish heresy. For among those learned ornaments of the Church, what was left for Marcion, or for others who entered not by the right road? In wisdom they could not surpass their predecessors, so as to add any thing to what they had truly taught. It would, indeed, have been well for them, could they have acquired what had been delivered.” Strom. L. vii. p. 896.
TERTULLIAN, L. C.-“ With this design Marcion dared reject so many original documents of Christ, that the reality of his body might not be proved. And by what authority? I ask thee.- If thou art a Prophet; foretel us something ; if an Apostle; publicly proclaim it: if of apostolic origin; think as the Apostles thought: if a Christian only; believe what has been delivered: but if thou art none of these; why, I say, die: for, in truth thou art now dead, not being a Christian, by having rejected that belief which makes a Christian. Wherefore, rejecting what thou didst believe, thou shewest thy want of Faith ; but this proves not that thou didst it properly. Rather it evinces, that what thou hast rejected was before otherwise believed. So it had been delivered: but what was delivered, was true, coming from them whose duty it was to teach it. Rejecting then what had been delivered, thou hast rejected what was true. Thou hadst no right to do it." De carne Christi. c. 11.
-“ If Scripture has here defined nothing, surely usage has ; which usage has arisen from Tradition. For had it not been delivered, how could it have obtained practice? But you say, even in speaking of Tradition, some written authority is necessary. Let us then enquire, whether no Tradition should be admitted, unless it be written a) I will allow, that it should not, if no examples of other practices can be adduced, which we maintain on the sole title of Tradition, and the strength of custom, without the smallest written authority." He proceeds to mention certain practices in the administration of Baptism and in other rites, and then adds :-“ Of these and other usages, if you ask for the written authority of the Scriptures, none will be found. They spring from Tradition, which practice has confirmed, and obedience ratified.” De corona Militis, c. iii. iv. p. 289.
“To the Scriptures, therefore, an appeal must not be made ;(c) on them no contest should be instituted, where victory is uncertain. And should the issue prove more favourable, another rule should rather be pursued. The question is :-to whom was that doctrine committed, by which we are male Christians? For where this doctrine and this Faith shall be found, there will be the truth of the Scriptures, and their expositions, and of all Christian Traditions.” De Præscrip. c. xix. p. 334.-See other passages from the same Tertullian, under, The Marks of the Church, p. 33.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G.C.—“ The Church, by Tradition, has received from the Apostles, to give Baptism to infants.” In c. vi. ad Rom. T. 11. p. 543. Ed. Basil. 1571.—“As often as heretics produce the Canonical Scriptures, in which every Christian agrees and believes, they seem to say: Lo, with us is the word of truth. But to them, (the heretics) we cannot give credit, nor depart from the first and ecclesiastical Tradition : we can believe only, as the succeeding Churches of God have delivered.” Tract. xxix. in Matt. T. iii. p. 864. Ed. Bened.
ST. HIPPOLYTUS,[64] G. C.-“ Let us believe, brethren, according to apostolical Tradition, that God the word descended from heaven.” Contra Noetum, p. 243. Ed. Hamburgi, 1716.
St. CYPRIAN, L.C.-“Know then, that we are instructed to observe what Christ delivered, in offering the chalice, and to depart from nothing of which he set us the example. The chalice, which is offered up in remembrance of him, must contain wine and water."[65] Ep. lxiii. p. 104.—“ It is easy to minds that are religious and simple, to lay aside error, and to discover truth: for if we turn to the source of divine Tradition, error ceases.” Ep. lxxiv. ad Pompejum, p. 141. -On this passage St. Augustin observes : “ The advice which Cyprian gives to recur to the Tradition of the Apostles, and thence to bring down the series to our own times, is excellent, and manifestly to be followed.” De Bapt. Contra Donatistas, L. v. c. 26. T. ix. p. 158.
ST. STEPHEN,[66] L.C.-In his letter to the Church of Africa, which is recorded by Vincent of Lerins in his Commonitorium, he thus decrees: “Let no innovation be introduced; but let that be observed, which is handed down to us by tradition. Com. n. vi. p. 323.
CENT. IV.
EUSEBIUS OF CÆSAREA, G.C.—“The Disciples of Christ, following the practice of their Master, and accommodating their instructions to the capacities of their hearers, delivered what was perfect to those who were in a condition to receive it: but to the greater part, letting themselves down to their weakness, some things to be observed, they delivered in writing, some things by an unwritten rule.” — Dem. Evang. L. 1, c. 8, p. 29.--" These are the things which we briefly propose to the consideration of the Galatians, from the Epistle addressed to them by Paul, in which is contained the mystical regeneration of saving faith, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Which truths, though they be consigned to the sacred writings, are still, in a fuller manner, confirmed by the Tradition of the Catholic Church, which Church is diffused over all the earth. This unwritten Tradition) confirms and seals the testimonies of the holy Scriptures.” Ibid. L. 1, cont. Marcellum, c. 1, p. 9.
St. ATHANASIUS, G. C.—“But you, resting on the foundation of the Apostles, and holding the traditions of the Fathers, pray, that all animosity may cease.” De Synodis, T. 1, parte ii. p. 767.-“If the Arians allow, that these things are new, they will not deny, that this heresy is something foreign, and not received from the Fathers. But what is not thus received, but newly discovered,") of what nature, I beg, is it, but of that, of which the Apostle spoke: In the last times some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to spirits of error? (1 Tim. iv. 1.) Orat. 1, cont. Arianos, T. 1, p. 412. -That is the true doctrine, as the Fathers delivered, (m) that the sound judgment, when all agree among themselves, not differing in anything that has been received.” De Decretis Nicænis, Ibid. p. 211.
St. BASIL, G. C..-“ Among the points of belief and practice in the Church, some were delivered in writing, while others were received by apostolical tradition in mystery, that is, in a hidden manner; but both have an equal efficacy in the promotion of piety ;(n) nor are they opposed by any one who is but slightly versed in ecclesiastical rites. For if we attempt to reject, as matters of little moment, such points as were not written, we shall, by our imprudence, offer a signal injury to the Gospel, confining the whole preaching of faith to a mere name.” He instances many practices, then in use in the Eastern Churches, and asks in what part of Scripture they can be found? “But by tradition,” he adds, “they have been brought down to us. And the day would not suffice me, were I to enumerate all those points which have been thus delivered.” He chiefly alludes to the use of the sign of the cross, and many ceremonies in the administration of the Sacraments. “De Spirit. Sanct. c. 27, T. iii. p. 54.“If nothing else that is unwritten, be received, then this may not. But if the greater part of our sacred rites is unwritten, together with many others, let us receive this. In my opinion, it is apostolical to adhere to unwritten traditions." Ibid. c. 29, p. 60.—“Separate not the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son : let tradition deter you. For so the Lord taught, the Apostles preached, the Fathers maintained, the Martyrs confirmed. Be satisfied to speak, as you were instructed.” Hom. xxiv. adv. Sabel. T. ii. p. 194.“Some turn to Judaism on account of the apparent confusion in the Divine Persons, and others to paganism from other motives : so that neither the divinely inspired Scripture has any effect on them; nor can the apostolical traditions compose their differences." De Spirit. Sanct. c.xxx. T.iii. p. 66. _“Let us now consider, what are our notions concerning the divine Spirit, as well those which we have drawn from the Scriptures, as what we have received from the unwritten tradition of the Fathers." Ibid. c. ix. p. 19.—“ It is the common aim of all the enemies of sound doctrine, to shake the solidity of our faith in Christ, by annulling apostolical tradition.” He adds: “They dismiss the unwritten testimony of the Fathers as a thing of no value." Ib. c. x. p. 21.
St. GREGORY OF Nyssa,[67] G. C.—“It is sufficient for our purpose to be in possession of a tradition coming down from our Fathers as an inheritance transmitted from the Apostles, through a succession of holy men.” Orat. 111, contra Eunom. T. ii. p. 126. Edit. Paris. 1615.
St. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM, G.C.—“I wish, to the last breath of life, that deposit should be confessed of those holy Fathers, who lived nearest to Christ and to the origin of our Faith, and that profession maintained, which we imbibed with our milk, which we uttered with our first speech.” Orat. vi. T. 1, p. 141.-“ My sheep hear my voice, that voice which was instructed by the sacred oracles, and the writings of the holy Fathers. What I have learnt from them, I shall always teach, not varying in a single point as the times may vary. In that profession I was born: in that I will die.” Orat. xxv. p. 440.
ST. EPIPHANIUS, G. C.-“We must look also to tradition: for all things cannot be learned from the Scriptures. For which reason, the holy Apostles left some things in writing, and others not. Which Paul himself affirms, (1 Cor. c. xi.) As I delivered them to you, he says; and in another place: So I teach, and so I delivered to the Churches. And again : If you remember: unless you have believed in vain.” Adv. Apostolicos. Hær. xli. sive lxi. T. 1, p. 511.-“ Our boundaries are fixed, and the foundation and the structure of Faith. We have the traditions of the Apostles, and the holy Scriptures, and the succession of doctrine and truth diffused all around."--Hær. xxxv. sive lv. T. I, p. 471.
ST. JEROM, L. C.—“Now, though there were no Scripture authority, the consent of the whole world would carry with it the weight of a command. For many things, that, by tradition, are observed in the Churches, have acquired the authority of a written law.” He then instances certain practices. Adv. Lucif. T. iv. Pars. ii. p. 294. The above observation is made by the Luciferian; but it is expressly admitted by the orthodox interlocutor in the dialogue.
Sr. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, G. C.-Commenting on the passage to the Thessalonians; (2 Thess. ii. 14.) Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle; he says: “Hence it is plain, that all things were not delivered in writing, but many without writing; yet the latter are to be believed in like manner as the former. Wherefore, let us hold fast to the traditions of the Church. It is Tradition : seek nothing more.”_Hom. iv. in 2 Thess. T. si.p.532.—“Not by his Epistles only, but by word of mouth, Paul delivered to his Disciple (Timothy) what he would have him do. This he shews in many other places, saying: whether by word, or by our Epistle. But particularly on this occasion. Lest, therefore, we should think, that his doctrine has less weight, he delivered many things to him unwritten, which calling to his recollection, he adds: Hold the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me.” Hom. 1ll. in c. i. 2 Tim.-Ibid. p. 672.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C.—“What the holy Fathers found in the Churches, that they held: they taught what they learned; what they received from the Fathers, they delivered to the children.” - Contra Julianum, L. ii. c. 10. T. x. p. 549. “The Church observed a most salutary practice (alluding to the repetition of baptism) to correct in schismatics and heretics what was wrong; not to repeat what had been given. Which practice, I believe came down from apostolical tradition:(a) as many things, which are not found in their Epistles, nor in later Councils, and yet because they are observed through the Church, are believed to have descended from the Apostles.” De Baptismo, contra Donatistas, L. ii. c. 7, T. ix. p. 102.-“ What the whole Church observes, what was not decreed by Councils, but always retained, is justly believed to be of apostolic origin.) Ibid. L. iv.c. xxiv. p. 140.—“The custom of the Church in baptising infants, is not to be disregarded, nor to be deemed superfluous; but were it not of apostolical Tradition, it should not be admitted.” De Gen. ad lit. L. x. c. 23. P. 1. T. iii. p. 272.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C.-See the quotations p. 24, and seqq.
St. Nilus,[68] G. C. “You ask me, if we should believe, that the Holy Ghost is of the same nature with the Father and the Son? So we hold ;- so we believe; having been taught by the Holy Fathers.”(d) T.11, L. ii. ep. ccx. p. 229. Ed. Rom. 1668.
Not only then, agreeably to these various opinions, so fully expressed, has the authentic body of our Scriptures been preserved by Tradition; but, by the same rule, has the expounding of those Scriptures been invariably directed: otherwise, how is it, that the washing of feet, so expressly enjoined by our Saviour, has not been received and observed as a sacramental institution? Why do we not abstain from blood and from things strangled, as the Apostles themselves ordained ? In the first case, (John c. xiii.) having washed the feet of his disciples, Christ says to them: If then, I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet: you ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. The injunction is positive. In the second case, (Acts c. xv.) when difficulties were raised by the Jews against the Gentile converts, in favour of the law of Moses, the Apostles met in council at Jerusalem; and after due deliberation, came to the following decision: It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us, to lay no further burden upon you than these necessary things : That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled. Here also is the ordinance positive.—But by Tradition we know, that, in the first case, no obligation of compliance was ever imposed on the faithful; and by Tradition again we know, that, in the second, the ordinance was understood to be temporary. Every difficulty is thus removed, and the authority of Apostolical Traditions clearly ascertained.- From the same Tradition we learn the lawfulness of infant Baptism ; the validity of Baptism given by heretics; and the observation of the Christian Sabbath.
THE OFFICE OF COUNCILS.
PROPOSITION X.
The Pastors of the Church, either dispersed, or convened in Council, have received no commission from Christ to frame new articles of Faith, but to define, explain, and propound, to the faithful, what anciently was, and is, received and retained, as of Faith in the Church, when debates and controversies arise about them. These definitions, in matters relating to faith only, and proposed as such, oblige all the faithful to a submission of judgment.
SCRIPTURE.
See the texts quoted in page 10, and under the different Marks of the Church. Also Acts, xv. which relates the celebration, by the Apostles, of the first Council at Jerusalem.
FATHERS.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C.-On the subject of Councils, he thus enforces the doctrine of the Proposition. “The Church of Christ, the careful and cautious guardian of the doctrines committed to her, never in them makes any change, --not diminishing—not adding-she cuts not off things necessary; adds not things superfluous; adheres to her own; usurps not what belongs to others. Her only solicitude is, in treating what is ancient, should there be any points not fully before expressed, them to open and improve ; what have been unfolded and distinctly announced, them to strengthen and confirm; what have been defined and ascertained, them to guard. By the decrees of her Councils, what more has the Church, at any time, laboured to accomplish, than that, what before was simply believed, should acquire a fuller credence; what was preached with some caution, should be urged with confidence; what was more remissly handled by the Fathers, should be more accurately treated by their successors. This, and this only, urged by the innovating attempts of heretics, has the Church by her Councils effected. The doctrines which, by Tradition alone, she had received from her Elders, she, in writing, consigns to her children; comprising in few words the great substance of belief, and, not unfrequently, to remove obscurity, conveying in some more expressive term the unchanged point of Faith.” Commonit. c. xxiii. p. 353.
As the Christian faith spread, and Churches were formed, no sooner was that Faith endangered by innovation, the order of discipline disturbed, or other controversies excited, than recourse was had to Synods or Councils. In these, the convened Ministers of religion, by deliberation and an united effort, were enabled to oppose the progress of error, and to re-establish or to maintain concord and the order of discipline. But it was not before the fourth century, when Constantine had embraced the Christian belief, and the Arian controversy had convulsed the Christian world, that a general meeting of distant Prelates was deemed necessary, or could have been accomplished, though necessary. At all times, provincial Synods had met; an intercourse among the Churches was maintained; the Apostolic Faith, through a succession of Pastors, was preserved inviolate; and error was successfully opposed.
CENT. IV.
COUNCIL OF NICE, G.C.-In 325, the first general Council, summoned by Constantine, met at Nice, in Bithynia, composed of 318 Bishops, wherein Arius was condemned ; a profession of Faith enacted; the time of celebrating Easter determined ; and several Canons of discipline passed. Into the profession of Faith or Creed, against the error of Arius, was introduced the new word consubstantial : thus “conveying,” as Vincent of Lerins observed,“ by a more expressive term, the unchanged point of Faith.” And to signify that nothing new, beside the word itself, was intended, the Creed is thus prefaced, as St. Athanasius, who was present, notices:
Behold, what is the Faith of the Church.” Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 27.—The same Athanasius adds, “In the question concerning the time of celebrating Easter, because the matter regarded practice, the Fathers (at Nice) in deciding, said: It has seemed good to us. But, in speaking of Faith, they said : So the Catholic Church believes : to which was immediately added the confession of Faith. This they did, to shew, that their doctrine was not new, but Apostolic; and that the confession which they committed to writing, contained nothing invented by themselves, but the very doctrines which the Apostles had taught.” Ep. de Syn. Arim. et Seleuciæ. T. 1, parte ii. p. 719.
COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE, G. C.-In 381, the se. cond general Council, convened by the Emperor Theodosius, met at Constantinople, to confirm the decisions of Nice; to condemn the error of the Macedonians, who denied the Di. vinity of the Holy Spirit; and to enact some regulations. To meet new difficulties that had been raised, the Creed of Constantinople, in some points, is a little more ample than that of Nice; while the 150 Prelates, who formed the Council, in giving an account to the Western Bishops of what had been transacted, observe: “We maintained the Faith of Nice; which Faith, as most ancient and consentaneous to our baptismal profession, must be approved by us, and by you, and by all who pervert not the word of true belief." Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 964.
CENT. V.
COUNCIL OF EPHESUS, G.C.-When the heretic Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople-asserting that in Christ were two Persons, and that the Virgin Mary was not the Mother of God—had widely disturbed the Christian Faith; the third general Council, composed of more than 200 Bishops, was assembled at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, in 431, by the command of Theodosius the younger. In the various publications that preceded the meeting of the Council, which are numerous, and in which the Roman Bishop Cælestine, and Cyril of Alexandria, bore the principal part, one point universally prevails. That it was the duty of all “ to maintain the Faith that had been delivered;" which Faith, Nice and Constantinople had confirmed by their decisions, and which, by introducing novelties, Nestorius was aiming to subvert.“ He,” says Cyril,“ when by pious exhortations he should have instructed others, was solicitous only to advance absurd opinions, contrary to that Faith which our Ancestors received from the Apostles, which they retained with firmness, and which, as a precious jewel, they delegated to us.” Ep. Cyril. Conc. Gen. T. iii. p. 341.—“And why,” says his friend the Bishop of Antioch to Nestorius, “why, if your sentiments coincide with those of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, as we hear you say, do you decline to profess a word,“ that properly expresses that sentiment ?” Ibid. P. 389.
In the Council the same principle directed all the proceedings, in which Faith was concerned; for the Creed of Nice being read, as containing the acknowledged belief of the Christian Churches, by this rule was judgment pronounced severally by the Fathers present, as well on the writings of Cyril and Cælestine, as on the opinions of Nestorius. “The Epistle of Cyril,” they declare,“ differs in nothing from the Nicene formulary: it expresses only more diffusely, what that Canon conveys in few words.” Ibid. p. 461, and seqq.But before they proceeded to pronounce sentence on Nestorius, passages from twelve Doctors of the Church were read, in order still further to shew, what had been the Faith of their predecessors. A letter also from the absent Bishop of Carthage, Capreolus, was here read, wherein are the following words: “ Most holy brethren; for an example to posterity, in order that what you now define, may be firm and permanent, the former constitutions of our Fathers must remain unshaken and unaltered. For whoever wishes to give stability to decisions concerning Faith, must proceed, not by his own authority, but, drawing strength from the doctrines of antiquity, make it manifest, that he teaches and holds that one Catholic Faith, which has come down from the beginning to the present time, in simple purity, unmoved stability and power.” Ibid. p.531.—“It is the wish,” here interposed Cyril, who presided in the Council, “ of our Carthaginian brother, that the ancient points of Faith be confirmed: and that novelties be reprobated.” The whole assembly exclaimed: “We have here but one voice: we all say the same: This is our only wish !” They then anathematised and deposed Nestorius. Ibid. p. 533.-Things had proceeded thus far, when deputies arrived from Rome, bearing a letter to the Council from Celestine. In it, having attested the dignity of Councils guided by the Holy Spirit, and declared, that the charge of teaching, delivered to the Apostles, descended to all their successors, he adds: “By an hereditary right we are all engaged; we who, in their place, announce the Lord through the different regions of the earth. Observe that we received a general command, which we must all execute,-and, by a joint concurrence, uphold what was delivered, and maintained, by apostolical succession to our days." Ibid. p.614.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C. Having laid down the principle, which is the principle of the Proposition, that Councils frame no new articles of belief, but explain only and define what anciently was received, he proceeds to verify his doctrine by what was done at Ephesus, where the Synod had been assembled about three years before he compiled his Treatise,“Nor have I ceased to wonder, how great was the humility and piety of those Prelates, who, though so numerous, and by their learning qualified to discuss points of doctrine, and even confidently to advance opinions, yet presumed not; arrogated nothing to themselves: but, with the greatest caution, were careful to deliver nothing to their Successors that themselves had not received. Thus not only was the business before them well conducted, but to posterity was an example given, that the Faith of sacred antiquity must be reverenced, and the inventions of novelty be rejected.” Common. 11. c. 31. p. 367.
St. LEO, L. C. The Christian world had not reposed from this controversy, when Eutyches, the abbot of a numerous convent in the neighbourhood of Constantinople, in his zeal to oppose Nestorianism, fell into the opposite error; maintaining, that as in Christ there was one person, so was there but one nature. When a drop of water, he said, falls into the ocean, it is lost; so is the human absorbed in the Divine nature. The novelty of the expression, as it had always happened, gave the first alarm; and soon a very general reclamation was heard through all the Churches. Leo, then Bishop of Rome, entered the lists, and in an admirable epistle, explained the point of doctrine. Speaking of Eutyches, he says: “What can be more wicked, than to entertain impiety, and not to give ear to those who are more learned and more wise than himself? But they fall into this folly, who, meeting with some difficulties in the search after truth, turn not to the words of the Prophets, nor the epistles of the Apostles, nor the authorities of the Evangelists, but to themselves. And thus, because they refuse to be the disciples of truth, they become the teachers of error. What knowledge in the Sacred Writings can he pretend to claim, who understands not the first elements of our Creed? And what is heard from the mouth of every believer, has not yet entered the mind of this old man.” Ep. xxiv. al. x. ad Flavianum, Ep. Constan. p. 478.
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON, G. C. When no remonstrance could check the progress of this error,—for Eutyches was powerfully patronised,-the Greek emperor Marcian, in 451, was induced to convene the fourth General Council, which met at Chalcedon, composed of more than 500 members. In it the same order was observed as at Ephesus, and, in the various letters that were read, and in all the proceedings, the same principle of religious adherence to the Faith that had been received, was universally acknowledged. In the second session, when it was proposed to settle the question of Faith, and the Imperial moderators had declared : “As to ourselves and the Emperor, we hold the Faith delivered at Nice and at Constantinople, and as it had been taught by the other Holy Fathers :” the Bishops exclaimed, “No one gives another exposition; we attempt it not; we dare not : the Fathers so taught; their expositions are written; we cannot pronounce against them.” Conc. Gen. T. iv. p. 337. And when the Creeds of Nice, and Constantinople, and the letters of Cyril, were read, the Council again exclaimed: “ This is the belief of the orthodox; so we all believe: in this Faith we were baptised: in this Faith we baptise. As the letter of Cyril contains, so we think; so we believed; so we believe." p. 341, 344. The letter from Leo to Flavian, and several passages from more ancient Fathers, in confirmation of the same doctrine, were then read, and again the unanimous voice was heard : “ This is the Faith of our Fathers; the Faith,of the Apostles: we all thus believe; the orthodox so believe; anathema to him that believes otherwise.” P. 368.
After various transactions, and before the Council separated, they addressed an Allocution, as it is termed, to the Emperor, wherein they praise his zeal and that of Leo: they shew that, in their Council, they had trodden in the steps of their predecessors; refuting new errors, as they rose, by new definitions, without innovating in Faith: at great length they explain the doctrine of the Incarnation: they vindicate the celebrated epistle of the Roman Bishop from the charge of novelty, with which it had been attacked, and attest its conformity with the holy Scriptures, the Symbol of Nice, and the doctrine of the Fathers; “ Were men satisfied,” they say, “with the point of Faith, and troubled not the path of rectitude by innovation, it would be the duty of the ministers of the Church to add nothing to what had been received. But because many deviate into error, forming new ways to themselves, it becomes necessary to oppose them by fresh statements of truth, and by just means to repel their inventions, not as if religion necessarily demanded such aids, but 'because they are efficacious against the inroads of error.” Then apostrophising Marcian, they entreat him to “protect the Faith of him (Leo) by whom the Council had been so signally benefitted ;” and they close their address by a list of passages from the Greek and Latin Fathers, in proof, that envy alone had attempted to depreciate the epistle of Leo. Ibid. T. iv. p. 821, 828.
These four Councils were celebrated in the East, where the errors, which they combated, had arisen ; but delegates from the Roman See assisted at them, and their decisions, when canonically presented, were accepted by the Western Churches; not as new articles, but as agreeing with what, in the sum of doctrine, they had before implicitly believed, but which, till error called for refutation, had not been thus explicitly expounded.
EXTENT OF THE INERRANCY OF THE CHURCH.
PROPOSITION XI.
It is no Article of Catholic Faith, that the Church cannot err, either in matters of fact not relating to Faith, or in matters of Discipline, things alterable by the circumstances of time and place, or in matters of speculation or civil policy, depending on mere human judgment or testimony. These things are no revelations deposited in the Church, in regard of which alone, she has the promised assistance of the Holy Spirit.
PRIMACY OF SAINT PETER AND HIS SUCCESSORS.
PROPOSITION XII.
Catholics believe, that peculiar and superior powers were given to St. Peter, and that the Bishop of Rome, as his Successor, is the Head of the whole Catholic Church; in which sense, as already stated, this Church may therefore fitly be styled Roman Catholic; being an universal body, united under one visible head.
PRIMACY OF SAINT PETER.
SCRIPTURE.
Matt. xvi. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.-"Jesus saith to them: but whom do you say that I am?- Simon Peter answered and said : Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.-And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon BarJona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.-And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be also loosed in heaven.”
Luke xxii. 31, 32.--" And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.—But I have prayed for thee, that thy Faith fail not: and thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren.”
John xxi. 15, 16, 17."—“So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter : Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs.He saith to him again : Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs.—He saith to him a third time: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said to him the third time; Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep. See Mark i. 36. Luke ix. 32. Acts ii. 14.
FATHERS.
CENT. II.
ST. IRENÆUS, L. C.-See the quotation p. 64.
TERTULLIAN, L. C.-" If thou thinkest heaven is still closed, recollect, that the Lord left the keys thereof to Peter, and through him to the Church.” Scorpiaci c. X. p. 830. See also the quotation p. 66.
CENT. III.
ORIGEN, G. C.-“ Consider what was said by the Lord, to that great foundation of the Church, and that most firm rock, on which Christ built his Church, O thou of little Faith, why didst thou doubt?” Matt. xiv. 31.-Hom. v. in Exod. T. 11. p. 145.—“ What before (Matt. xvi. 19.) was granted to Peter alone, here (Matt. xviii. 18.) seems to have been granted to all who should have thrice reproved any sinners: but as something peculiarly excellent was to be given to Peter, it was given singly to him: I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. This was done before the words, whatsoever you shalt bind on earth, $c. were, in the eighteenth chapter, uttered. And, truly, if the words of the Gospel be attentively considered, we shall there find, that the last words were common to Peter and the others; but that the former, spoken to Peter, imported a great distinction and superiority.” Tom. xii. Com. in Matt. T. iii. p. 613.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C.-“ For the Lord, in the first place, gave to Peter, on whom he built his Church, and where he instituted and shewed the origin of Unity, the power that, what he loosed on earth, should be loosed in heaven. And after his resurrection, he speaks also to the Apostles, saying: (John xx. 21.) As the Father sent me, I send you ; receive the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive, &c.” Ep. lxxiii. ad Jubaianum, p. 131.-“ Nor did Peter, whom the Lord chose the first, and on whom he built his Church, when afterwards he disagreed with Paul concerning circumcision, arrogate anything to himself, saying, that he held the priтасу, and that he ought to be obeyed by those who came after him. He despised not Paul, because he had persecuted the Church, but listened to the voice of truth, and assented to reason.” Ep. lxxi. ad Quintum, p. 127. He repeats in many other places, that the Church was built on Peter.
“ The Lord speaks to Peter, I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon that rock I will build my Church, &c. And again, after his resurrection, he says to the same Peter: Feed my sheep. Upon that one he builds his Church. And although he gives an equal power to all the Apostles, saying; As the Father sent me, I also send you ; receive ye the Holy Ghost, 8c. Yet to manifest Unity, he authoritatively ordained the origin of Unity to spring from one. What Peter was, that, indeed, were the other Apostles ; endowed with an equal consortship of dignity and power; but the beginning is from Unity, that the Church may be shewn to be one.” De Unit. Eccl. p. 194.-It is the Unity of the Church, however, that St. Cyprian, in this Treatise, labours principally to establish.
CENT. IV.
EUSEBIUS, G. C.-" The kind providence of God conducts Peter to Rome; that powerful and great Apostle, and by his deserts, the chief of all the rest. Hist. Eccles. L. 11. c. 14. p. 63.-" Peter, the disciple of Christ, preferred before all the other Apostles.” Demon. Evang. L. 111. p. 123. - Peter the head of the Apostles, denied his master thrice.” Com. in Psal. lxix. T. 1, p. 373. N. Collect. Montfaucon. Paris. 1706.
St. HILARY, L. C.-“ On the rock of the confession of Peter the Church was built.” De Trin. L. vi. p. 903.-—“ Peter believed first, and he is made the chief of the Apostleship.” Comment. in c. vii. Matt. p. 642.
St. BASIL, G. C.-“ Peter, from being a fisherman, was called to the Apostleship; and from the eminence of his Faith, received on himself the building of the Church." Adv. Eunom. L. 11. T. 1. p. 240.
St. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, G. C.-“ Peter, the supreme head of the Apostles, thrice denied his Master, but he repented, and wept bitterly; on which account, he not only obtained pardon, but received an apostolic dignity, not to be taken from him." Cat. 1l. n. xix. p. 31.-" When the rest were silent, (Matt. xvi. 16.) for the doctrine surpassed human power; Peter, the head of the Apostles, and the leading minister of the Church, enlightened by the Father, answered: Thou art the Christ; not simply this, but, the Son of the living God.” Cat. xi. n. 111. p. 150.--.“ Peter, the head of the Apostles, and who holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” &c. Cat. xvii. n. xxvii. p. 277.
ST. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUM, G. C." You see, how Peter, among the disciples of Christ, all great and all worthy of choice, is called a rock, and to his care is intrusted the foundation of the Church; while John is particularly beloved, and rests on the breast of Christ; and the other disciples bear this preference without repining.” Orat. xxvi. T. 1. p. 453.-In his seventh oration, he styles Peter," the pillar of the Church." Ib. p. 142.
ST. JAMES OF NISIBIS, G.C. “Simon, the Chief of the Disciples, who denied Christ, swearing that he knew him not, the Lord received when he had washed away his sin in his tears, and made him the foundation, calling him the rock on which he built his Church.” Serm. vii. P. 243.
ST. EPHREM, G.C. “I know in what manner Peter the Prince and Head of the Apostles,' by weeping bitterly, obtained pardon and retained the headship.” De compunct. T. 1. p. 151. Edit. Vossii. “Peter, thou art happy, who didst obtain, in the body of thy brethren, the place of the head and tongue ; which body was composed of the Disciples and Children of thy Master.” Assemani, T. 1. Bibl. Orient. p. 95. Edit. Romæ, 1719.
ST. GREGORY OF Nyssa, G.C. “The memory of Peter, the Head of the Apostles, is celebrated, and with him that of the other members of the Church. But the Church of God is firmly built on him. For he, according to the prerogative granted to him by the Lord, is that firm and solid rock upon which the Saviour built the Church.” Orat. ii. De S. Stephano. Apud Zacagnium Collect. Monum. Eccl. Græcæ. Romæ 1698. p. 343.--He had before called him“ the principal and supreme of the Apostolic choir.
ST. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L.C. “ The blessed Peter, to whom pardon, after his denial, might have sufficed, was thought worthy, for the promotion of Unity, to be preferred to the other Apostles; and he received singly the keys of the kingdom of heaven to be communicated to the others.” De Schism. Donat. Lib. vi. p. 104. Edit. Parisiis, 1700. See also p. 86 of this work.
ST. EPIPHANIUS, G.C. “Peter, the Chief of the Apostles, truly became, by his faith, that solid rock on which the Church was built.” Hær. xxxix. sive lix. T. 1. sive li. p. 440. “The Lord appointed Peter, the first of the Apostles, the firm rock on which the Church of God was built, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; for the gates of hell are heresies and heresiarchs.” In Anchorat. T. ii. p. 14.
St. AMBROSE, L.C. “By temptation we are improved, so that he who was found weak acquires strength, and is able to instruct others. Peter, after his fall, is appointed the Ruler of the Church ; and the Lord before signifies why he afterwards chose him to conduct his flock. For he said to him, And thou being converted, confirm thy brethren." In Psal. xliii. T. 1. p. 904. “Christ did not doubt, neither did he ask to learn, but to teach who it was that he would leave behind him as vicar of his love. Because he alone, amongst all, confesses Christ, he is preferred before all." He is commanded to feed not his lambs only, but his sheep; that So, he being the more perfect, might govern those that are more perfect.” L. x, in Luc. Ibid. p. 1542. “ It was worthy of Paul, when he went up to Jerusalem, (Gal. c. i.) to wish to see Peter, because he was the first among the Apostles to whom the Saviour had delegated the care of the Churches; not, indeed, to learn any thing from him, because he had already received instruction from him who had instructed Peter; but from his regard to the Apostleship, and that Peter might know that the same power had been given to him which he himself had received." Com. in c. 1. ad Gal. T. 11. in Append. p. 213. see Note, p. 44.
St. John CHRYSOSTOM, G. C. “Did not Peter, that pillar of the Church, that foundation of the faith, that head of the choir of the Apostles," deny his master three several times?" Hom. 11. in Psal. 1. T. v. p. 589. (Inter spurias.) “How zealous is Peter! How sensible that the flock was by Christ committed to his charge! How does he shew himself the Chief in this Council ! (Acts xv.) As having received from Christ the charge of the flock; as being the first of the choir, he is the first to speak with authority on the question; because to him all had been made subject. For Christ says to him: Do thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren.” Hom. iii. in Acta. T. ix. p. 23, 26. “For what reason did Christ shed his blood ? Certainly to gain those sheep, the care of which he committed to Peter and his suc e Sacerd. L. ii. c. 1. T. 1. 372. "Why, on this occasion, (John xxi.) passing over the other Apostles, does Christ address Peter alone? Because he was the chosen one of the Apostles, the mouth of the disciples, and the head of the choir; and for this reason Paul went up to Jerusalem principally to visit him.” (Gal. i. 18.) Hom. lxxxvii. in Joan. T. viii. p. 525. “Though all were Apostles, and all were to sit on twelve seats, all left what they had, all were together ; Christ took with him three. (Matt. xvii.) Again, of these three all were not of equal rank. Placing Peter over the rest, he said to him, Lorest thou me more than these?” (John xxi.) Hom. xxxi. in c. xvi. ad Rom. T. ix. p. 750. "I say to thee, thou art Peter,” &c. He here raises his mind to higher thoughts, and appoints him the Pastor of his Church. What God alone can grant, that is, the pardon of sins, and that his Church should remain unshaken in the midst of storms, under the guidance of a fisherman, this God promises. The Lord said to Jeremiah, (i. 18.) I have placed thee as an iron pillar, and as a wall of brass; but this regarded a single nation : Christ appointed Peter over the whole world.” Hom. liv. in cap. 16. Matt. T. vii. p. 548. “If you ask why James received the throne (the See) of Jerusalem, I answer that Christ appointed Peter, not the teacher of this throne, but of the whole world.” Hom. lxxxviii. in Joan. T. viii. p. 527.
ST. JEROM, L.C. “You affirm,” he says to Jovinian, “ that the Church is founded on Peter; although, in another place, it is said to be built on all the Apostles; and that all of them received the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and have the Church established equally upon them; nevertheless, one of the twelve is chosen, to the end that a Head being appointed, the occasion of schism be taken away. But why was not the unmarried John chosen? Respect was shewn to age; Peter was the elder.” Adv. Jovinian. L. 1. T. iv. Pars ii. p. 168. “What is there common between Aristotle and Paul ? between Plato and Peter ? But as Plato was the prince of the philosophers, so was Peter of the Apostles, upon whom the Church of Christ was firmly built." Adv. Pelag. L. 1. Tiv. Pars ii. p. 491. “When Peter had done speaking, (Acts xv.) the multitude was silent, and James and the other Elders went over to his opinion. Hence we learn, that before Paul, Peter was not ignorant that the law had now ceased to be binding. In short, so great was the authority of Peter, that to the Galatians (c. i.) Paul writes: Then, after three years, I went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and tarried with him fifteen days. Again, he afterwards says: (Ibid. ii.) Then fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem-and I went up according to revelation; and communicated to them the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles : signifying, that in preaching the Gospel he was not secure, unless that preaching were sanctioned by the judgment of Peter, and of the other Apostles who were with him." Ep. lxxiv. ad August. T. iv. Pars ii. p. 621.
St. ASTERIUS,[69] G.C.--" When Christ had ascended into heaven, Peter assumed the office of preaching the Gospel, and speaking in the name of all the rest, manifested the courage of a bold mind. When I say this, let it not be thought, that I compare the servant with his master: but I mean that God, to shew his own power by his servants, on none of his disciples bestowed so many of his gifts as on Peter. By these he raised him above the rest ; and such he was shewn to be by the power of the Divine Spirit.” Hom. in SS. Pet. et Paul. T. 1. p. 130, 135. N. Auct. Combefis. Paris. 1648.--" John, who rested on the breast of Christ, was great; so was James. Philip also was renowned, but still they all gave way to Peter, and accepted the second place.” Ibid. p. 142. “When our Saviour, by his death, proposed to sanctify the human race, he commits to Peter the Universal Church, as a most excellent deposit. Having asked him thrice, Lovest thou me? (John xxi.) and Peter, having as often, with great readiness, replied ; he received the world, as a flock committed to a shepherd, hearing the words, Feed my lambs. The Lord, in the place, it may be said, of himself, appointed this faithful Disciple to be the Father, the Shepherd, and the Instructor of his followers." Ibid. p. 146.
CENT. V.
St. AUGUSTIN, L. C.-“ But if we are to consider the series of Episcopal successions, with how much greater certainty we number from Peter, to whom, as representing the whole Church, Christ said : on this rock I will build my Church. To Peter succeeded Linus,” &c. T. 11. p. 120.-“For who can be ignorant, that the most blessed Peter is the first of the Apostles?" Tract. lvi. In Evang. Ioan. Pars 2. T. III. p. 656.-“ The Apostle Peter, on account of the Primacy of his Apostleship, represented the Church. As to himself, by nature he was one man; by grace a Christian; but by a more abundant grace, the first Apostle.” 16. Tract. cxxiv. p. 822.-“ Peter, among the Apostles the first, the most ardent in his love of Christ, often answered for the rest. When Christ asked, what men said of him? and when others mentioned their various opinions; to the question ; but who do you say that I am ? Peter answered: Thou art Christ, the Son of God. One answered for many." De Verbis Dom. Serm. lxxvi. c. 1. T. v. p. 415.
St. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, G. C. “ Christ predicts, that not Simon, but Peter, shall be his name; by the word opportunely signifying, that on him, as on a firm rock, he was about to build his Church.” Com. Joan. Lib. 11. T. iv. p. 131.—He calls him on other occasions, “ The Chief of the Disciples." Ibid. p. 1064.—“The head of the Apostles.” Hom. de Myst. Cæna, T. v. par. 11. p. 376.
COUNCILS OF EPHESUS AND CHALCEDON, G. C. “The passages from these Councils may be seen under the following head, p. 153, 154.
St. LEO, L.C. “Peter is alone chosen to preside over the Apostles, and all the Pastors of the Church; that whereas there are many Priests, and many Ministers, he may govern these, while Christ himself is the Lord of all.” Serm. iii. in Anniv. Assump. p. 107.
St. PROCLUS,[70] G. C. Speaking of St. Peter, he calls him: “ The Chief of the Disciples, and the Head of the Apostles." Orat. viii. p. 391. T. 1. N. Auct. Combefis, Paris. 1648.
St. ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM, G. C. He uses the same words as Proclus, calling Peter “ The chief of the Disciples.” L. 1. Ep. 142. p. 44.
PRIMACY OF THE SUCCESSORS OF ST. PETER.
CENT. II.
St. IRENEUS, L. C. “As it would be tedious to enumerate the whole list of successors, I shall confine myself to that of Rome, the greatest, and most ancient, and most illustrious Church, founded by the glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, receiving from them her doctrine, which was announced to all men, and which, through the succession of her Bishops, is come down to us. To this Church, on account of its superior headship, m) every other must have recourse, that is, the Faithful of all countries. They, therefore, having founded and instructed this Church, committed the administration thereof to Linus. To him succeeded Anacletus; then in the third place, Clement. To Clement succeeded Evaristus, to him Alexander; and then Sixtus, who was followed by Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, and Anicetus. But Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius, the twelfth from the Apostles, now governs the Church.” Adv. Hær. L. iii. c. iii.p. 175.
TERTULLIAN, L. C. “ Let them (the heretics) produce the origin of their Churches; the regular succession of their Bishops. Smyrna has her Polycarp, appointed by St. John: Rome her Clement, ordained by St. Peter: and so the other Churches.—Run through the Apostolic Churches, in which the chairs, wherein the Apostles sat, are now filled.--Achaia is at hand: so is Corinth. If you are not remote from Macedonia, you have before you Philippi and Thessalonica. Pass into Asia : there is Ephesus. In Italy, Rome: an authority to which we can readily appeal. Happy Church! which the great Apostles fully impregnated with all their doctrine, and with their blood.” De Præsc. c. xxxii. xxxvi. p. 337-8.
CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C. Writing to Cornelius, who then sat in the chair of St. Peter, he states the improper conduct of certain schismatics, who had gone from Africa to Rome, and says:
“ After these attempts, having chosen a Bishop for themselves, they dare to sail, and to carry letters from schismatics and profane men to the chair of Peter, and to the principal Church, whence the sacerdotal Unity took its rise; not reflecting, that the members of that Church are Romans, (whose Faith was praised by Paul) to whom perfidy can have no access.” Ep. lv. p. 86.
CENT. IV.
EUSEBIUS, G.C. “The kind providence of God conducts Peter to Rome, that powerful and great Apostle, and by his deserts, the chief of all the rest.” Hist. Eccl. L. ii. c. 14. p. 63.-“ Linus was the first, who after Peter, obtained the See of Rome. Clement was chosen the third Bishop of Rome. -Linus consigned his Church to Anacletus, who left Clement his successor, and Clement, Evaristus, and he Alexander,” &c. Ibid. L. iii. c. iv. xiii. xv. xxxiv. L. v. c. 1.
THE COUNCIL OF SARDICA, G. C. “If a Bishop, &c. (See p. 86.)—“ This shall seem most proper, if, from all the provinces, the priests of the Lord, refer themselves to the head, that is to the See of Peter." Ep. Synod. ad Julium Rom. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 661.
ST. ATHANASIUS, G.C. “For this reason Christ appointed you and your predecessors, the Apostolic rulers, in the highest post; and wished you to have the care of all the Churches, that you might assist us.” Ad Fel. Rom. Pont. Ibid. p.845.
St. JULIUS, BISHOP OF ROME, L. C. See his letter, p. 85; and as it is addressed to many Eastern Bishops, it may be presumed to contain the sentiments of the other Churches.
St. BASIL, G. C. He writes to the Roman Bishop Damasus, on the distressed state of his Church :
“ We ask nothing new; we ask only what other good men have done, and particularly those of your Church. From documents, preserved among us, we know that the blessed Dionysius - who with you was eminent for his Faith and other virtues, visited by his letters our Church of Cæsarea; gave comfort to our forefathers, and rescued our brethren from slavery. But our condition is now much more lamentable.- Wherefore, if you are not at this time, induced to aid us, soon, all being subjected to the heretics, none will be found to whom you may stretch out your hand.” Ep. lxx. ad Damasum, T. iii. p. 164. He writes again to the Bishops of the West : “ Eustathius of Sebaste, being deposed at Melitina, devised himself the means whereby to procure his restoration. He went to you. What was proposed to him by the Roman Bishop, and to what he agreed, we know not. We know only, that he brought a letter, which, when he had shewn to the Synod of Thyana, he was reinstated in his See." Ep. cclxiii. al. lxxiv. T. iii. p. 406.
St. DAMASUS,[71] BISHOP OF ROME, L. C. He writes to the Eastern Bishops, assembled at Constantinople: “It redounds much to your own honour, thus to have shewn due respect to this Apostolic See. But why do you again demand from mers) the deposition of Timotheus, who, together with his master, the heretic Apollinaris, was here deposed by the sentence of our See, in the presence of the Bishop of Alexandria?” Ep. ii. Conc. Gen. T. ii. p. 866.
St. OPTATUS OF MILEVIS, L. C. “ You cannot deny," he says to Parmenianus, “that St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles, established an episcopal Chair at Rome: this Chair was one. It was in this one Chair, which is the first mark of the Church, that St. Peter first sat; to St. Peter succeeded Linus, and after him others, till Damasus, who is now our colleague, by whose means all other Churches of the world are united with us in the same communion, keeping correspondence by circular letters.” De Schism. Donat. L. ii. P. 28.
ST. JEROM. L. C. See the quotation at p. 87.
St. John ChrySOSTOM, G. C. He writes to Innocent, the Roman Bishop, after many proceedings against himself: “I beseech you to direct, that what has wickedly been done against me, while I was absent, and did not decline a trial, should have no effect; and that they who have thus proceeded, may be subjected to ecclesiastical punishment. And allow me, who have been convicted of no offence, to enjoy the comfort of your letters, and the society of my former friends.” Ep. 1. ad. Innoc. T. iii. p. 520.-“ For what reason did Christ shed his blood ? Certainly, to gain those sheep, the care of which he committed to Peter and his successors. De Sacerd. L. ii. c. 1. T. 1. p. 372.
CENT. V.
ST. AUGUSTIN, L. C. “ In the Catholic Church—many are the considerations which must keep me in her bosom. The assent of nations; her authority first established by miracles; the succession of Pastors from the Chair of Peter, to whom the Lord committed the care of feeding his flock, down to the present Bishop; lastly, the name itself of Catholic.” Contra ep. Fundam. c. iv. T. viii. p. 153. _“If we come now to the successsion of Bishops, how much safer is it to adhere to that, which we can trace from the Apostle St. Peter ?-For to Peter succeeded Linus; to Linus, Clement; to Clement, Anacletus; and to Siricius, Anastasius. In all this succession of Bishops, no Donatist is to be found, and the schismatics never had at Rome any other Bishop than the one they sent thither ; having first ordained him in Africa." Ep. liii. ad Generosum, T. ii. p. 120.
COUNCIL OF MILEVIS, L. C. See their letter to Innocent I. who then sat in the Chair of Peter at Rome, p. 87.
COUNCIL OF EPHESUS, G. C. In the Council of Ephesus, in the presence of the Eastern Bishops there assembled, Philip, one of the delegates from Pope Cælestine, thus addressed them: “We thank you for the acclamations which we have heard, for the praises you have given to your holy head (Cælestine) : for you know, that the blessed Peter was the head of the Faith and of the other Apostles.” Act 11. Conc. Gen. T. iii. p. 619.-Again, the same delegate after wards added : “No one doubts; indeed it has been known to all ages, that the most holy Peter, the prince of the Apostles, the pillar of the Faith, and the foundation of the Church,' received from our Lord, the keys of the kingdom, and the power of binding, and of loosing sins. He lives unto this day in his successors, and always exercises that judgment in them. Our holy Father, Cælestine, the regular successor of Peter, and who now holds his place, has sent us in his name to this sacred Council, a Council convened by our most Christian emperors, for the conservation of the Faith received from their fathers.” Ibid. Act. iii. p. 626.
St. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, G.C. “That this is so, I will produce as an ample witness the most holy Cælestine, the Archbishop of all the world," and the Father and Patriarch of the great Rome, who himself thrice exhorted you by letter to desist from that mad blasphemy; and you obeyed him not." In Encom in St. Mariam Virg. T. v. par. 11. p. 384.-"All by Divine right bow the head to Peter, and the Princes of the world obey him as they would the Lord Jesus. We, also, who are members, ought to adhere to our Head, the Roman Pontiff, and Apostolic See.”
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON, G.C. In the Council of Chalcedon, when the famous epistle of the Roman Bishop had been read, as before stated, the Fathers exclaimed: “This is the Faith of our Fathers ; Peter has thus spoken by Leo; the Apostles so taught." Ibid. Act. ii. T. iv. p. 368.-In the third session, after the condemnation of Dioscorus, Bishop of Alexandria, the Synod wrote to Pulcheria the Empress : “ The Governors (the Bishops) have now resumed the management of their ships, Christ being the Pilot, who, through the admirable Leo, pointed the way to truth. As he made use of the wisdom of Peter, so has he used the wisdom of Leo.' Ibid. Act. iii. p. 464.-—After the Council, they addressed Leo, the Bishop of Rome : “ In the person of Peter, appointed our interpreter, you preserved the chain of Faith, by the command of our Master, descending to us. Wherefore, using you as a guide, we have signified the truth to the faithful, not by private interpretation, but by one unanimous confession. If, where two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, he is there in the midst of them, how must he have been with 520 Ministers ? Over these, as the head over the members, you presided by those who held your rank; we entreat you, therefore, to honour our decision by your decrees; and as we agreed with the Head, so let your eminence complete what is proper for your children.-Besides this, Dioscorus carries his rage against him, to whom Christ entrusted the care of his vineyard, that is, against your apostolic holiness. Ibid. p. 834, 835, 838.
Some time after this, speaking of the Council of Chalcedon to the learned Bishop Theodoret, Leo has the following observations: “We rejoice, that what truths had been first defined by our ministry, should be confirmed by the irrevocable assent of the brethren there assembled, shewing that to be Divine, which, proceeding from the first of all the Sees, received the sanction of the Christian world. And lest the assent thus given to that See, which the Lord ordained to preside over all others, shall appear the effect of flattery, or to be otherwise suspiciously construed, it so happened, that our judgment was at first controverted by some. Truth shines more clearly, and is more strongly retained, when, what faith at first taught, is confirmed by examination : and the sacerdotal ministry also becomes more resplendent, when, without infringing the liberty of their inferiors, the authority of the first order is maintained, and discussion promotes the glory of God.” Ep. xciii. al. lxiii. p. 624.
THEODORET, G. C. Being much persecuted, he writes to a Western Priest : “I entreat you to prevail on the most holy Archbishop (of Rome), to use his Apostolic power, and command me to hasten to your Synod. For, that most holy See has the headship over all the Churches of the world, and for this principal reason, that it was never infected by any one heretical taint, nor was ever occupied by any one holding adverse doctrine, but remaining always true to its apostolical institution. Ep. cxvi. ad Renat. T. iii. p. 989.
VINCENT OF LERINS, L. C. “Pope Stephen, of blessed memory, and Bishop of the Apostolic See, together with his colleagues, deeming it just, that he who was above others by the authority of his Chair, should be foremost in the attachment to the Faith, addressed an Epistle to the African Church, and defined, that no innovation be made; that what had been delivered down should be followed.” Common. C. vi. p. 323.
COUNCIL OF FLORENCE.
On this head of the primacy of the Roman Bishop, the Council of Trent issued no decree; but, because in the general Council of Florence, convened in 1439, in order to unite the Greek and Latin Churches, the point had been fully decided, I shall here insert the decree over, we define that the Holy Apostolic See, and the Roman Bishop, has the primacy over all the earth ; and that he is the successor of the blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, the true Vicar of Christ, the Head of the whole Church, and the Father and Teacher of all Christians; and that to him, in the person of the blessed Peter, was committed by our Lord Jesus Christ the full power of feeding, directing, and governing the universal Church, in such manner as it is contained in the Acts of General Councils, and in the Holy Canons.” Definitio. S. Ecumen. Synod. Florent. Conc. Gen. T. xiii. p. 515.
PROPOSITION. XIII.[72]
The Bishops of Rome have ever been acknowledged, from the earliest ages of Christianity, as the supreme Rulers on earth of the whole Church of Christ; and have exercised an acknowledged Primacy of Spiritual Jurisdiction, as of Divine Right, over all other particular Christian Churches.
The truth of this proposition will be shown by well attested acts of the acknowledged exercise of this superior jurisdiction.
St. VICTOR, POPE.[73] - In order to maintain Unity of discipline in the Church, he insisted on the Churches of Lesser Asia conforming to the observance of the Church of Rome, and of other Christian Churches, respecting the time of celebrating Easter. Several Councils held at Rome, in Palestine, in Gaul and other places, had unanimously determined the point, according to the Roman custom. Polycrates, and other Asiatic Bishops, were determined to adhere to their own custom. Pope Victor at last threatened to cut them off from the Communion of the Church. St. Irenæus in 200, wrote a letter to the Pope, in his own name and in that of his brethren in Gaul, recommending a toleration of the custom for some time longer, and advising him not totally to cut off so many Churches from the body of the Universal Church. But neither the Asiatic Bishops, whom Victor had threatened with excommunication, if they refused to comply with his requisition; nor those who endeavoured to dissuade him, out of motives of prudence and charity, from carrying his threat into execution, are known to have ever questioned his right to enforce his requisition. What could have given the Bishop of Rome jurisdiction over the Churches in Asia, but the Character of Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church? See Eusebius Eccl. Hist. L. v. c. 24. Polycrates' Letter to Victor. Ibid.
ST. STEPHEN,[74]—About the year 255, St.Stephen, Bishop of Rome, condemned the practice of rebaptising those, who had been otherwise, in due form, baptised by heretics. He required that St. Cyprian of Carthage, and Firmilianus of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, should conform to the Tradition of the Church in that respect; and threatened them with Excommunication if they did not comply. By what authority did Pope Stephen act? By the supreme authority of the Apostolic See, as Firmilianus insinuates in his Epistle to St. Cyprian. Conc. Gen. T.i. p. 757.–St. Vincent of Lerins observes on this subject,—“ Then Stephen of blessed memory, Bishop of the Apostolic See, made resistance, together with his other colleagues, to the erroneous practice of St. Cyprian, distinguishing himself above the rest by his zeal, and deeming it just, I conceive, that he who was above others by the authority of his Church, should be foremost in attachment to the Faith.” Commonitorium, c. 6.–St. Cyprian himself, in his letter to Pope Cornelius, calls the Church at Rome, the chair of Peter and the principal Church, whence the Sacerdotal Unity took its rise, &c. Ep. lix. p. 135. .
ST. DIONYSIUS, POPE.[75] - About the year 269, some of the Faithful of Alexandria, suspecting St. Dionysius, the Patriarch of that See, of entertaining opinions against the consubstantiality of the Son, laid an accusation against him, before St. Dionysius, Bishop of Rome. The Pope called upon the Patriarch, to give to him an account of his Faith. The Patriarch cleared himself by the letter wliich he accordingly wrote to refute the charges and defend his character. St. Athanasius bears testimony to this fact, De Synodis Arim. et Seleuciæ, T. i. Pars 2. p. 757.—Why did the Catholics of Alexandria carry their charge against their Patriarch to the Bishop of Rome? Why did the Patriarch of Alexandria submit to justify himself before the Bishop of Rome, but because they acknowledged in his See a superior Tribunal and Jurisdiction, even over the Patriarchs of the East?
St. JULIUS, POPE.[76]—When St. Athanasius was expelled from his See of Alexandria by the Arians, Pope Julius cited him and his enemies before the Tribunal of the Apostolic See. Why did this Patriarch and other bishops of the East submit to these citations ? Was not this an acknowledgment of their subordination to the superior authority of the Bishop of Rome? Pope Julius in his celebrated Epistle to the Eusebians, in 341, says that he had cited to a Synod at Rome, Athanasius, whom they had accused.-—" He came, says the Pope, not of his own accord, but after he was sent for, and had received our letters. If Athanasius and others,” &c. See the passage, p. 85.—“The rule” he concludes,“ which I give you, is that which we have received from the blessed Apostle Peter, and I believe it to be so well known to every body, that I should not have mentioned it, had I not been thrown into such a state of anxiety by what had taken place.”
From this letter of Pope Julius, which St. Athanasius himself inserted in his second apology, (T. i. Pars 1. p. 153) it appears that St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, obeyed the citation of the Pope ; that what the Pope did on this occasion, was not a novel act, but an ancient custom; and that in following it, he proceeded according to the rule of government received from St. Peter.—“ The Eusebians,” says Theodoret,“ sent to Julius, the Roman Bishop, the calumnies which they had got up against Athanasius; Julius, following the ecclesiastical rule, commanded them to come to Rome, and appointed a day for the hearing of Athanasius.”—Hist. Eccl. L. 11. c. 3.
POPE JULIUS, in 341, by his Apostolical authority, restored St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, Marcellus, Bishop of Anacyra, Asclepas, Bishop of Gaza, and Lucius, Bishop of Adrianople, to their Sees, of which they had been deprived by the Arians. “When the Bishop of Rome ” says Sozomen, “ had heard the accusations against them, and had found that these Bishops all adhered to the Faith of the Council of Nice, he received them to his Communion, and as, by the Dignity of his See, he was charged with the care of all, he reinstated each one in his respective Church.” Hist. Eccl. L. 111. c.7. Socrates also states, “that Athanasius, Paul, Asclepas, Marcellus, and Lucius, went to Rome and exposed their case to Julius, Bishop of that city. He, by virtue of the prerogative of his See, sending them with letters full of vigour, to the Bishops of the East, restored to each of them his respective See.” Hist. Eccl. L. 11. c. 15.-It was by the supreme Authority and prerogative of the See of Rome, that this jurisdiction was exercised over 'Bishops and Patriarchs in Asia and Egypt.
LIBERIUS, POPE.[77]—When Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, in Armenia, had been condemned and deposed by a Council of Arians, held at Melitina, in 360, he appealed to Pope Liberius. The Pope restored him to his See, after he had complied with the proposals made to him. Eustathius produced the letters of the Pope before the Bishops assembled in Council at Thyana, in Cappadocia; and in consequence, without any question about the authority of Pope Liberius, he was put in possession of his Church. This is stated by St. Basil the Great. Ep. cclxiii. ad Epis. Occid. T. 111. p. 406. See p. 152.
ST. INNOCENT, POPE.[78]-In 403, St. Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, was unjustly condemned and deposed by a Synod of 36 Bishops, held in a Church at Chalcedon, called the Synod at the Oak; where Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, presided. St. Chrysostom wrote to Pope Innocent, entreating him to declare null and void, all that had been done, as no injustice could be more notorious. His letter is conceived in these words: “I beseech you to direct &c. See page 153.–Surely this appeal from this illustrious Patriarch of Constantinople to the Pope, was a strong testimony of the Authority of the Tribunal of the Apostolic See, and of the superior jurisdiction of the Bishops of Rome over even the Patriarchs of the East. The ancient custom of appealing to Rome had been confirmed by the 3d, 4th, and 7th Canons of the general Council of Sardica, in 347.-See the passage at p. 86.
COUNCIL OF MILEVIS, IN AFRICA.-When this Council had, in 416, condemned the Pelagian errors, St. Augustin wrote a letter to Innocent I. in the name of the Council, in these words: “Since it has pleased God, &c.” See the passage at p. 88.
Could Innocent have exercised his Apostolical Authority in the Churches of Africa, in suppressing the Pelagian errors, if he had not been the supreme Pastor of the whole Church? Could St. Augustin, and the Bishops of this African Council, have declared that this Authority, which they invoked, was derived from the Authority of the sacred Scriptures, if they had not acknowledged it to be of Divine institution, and Divine right? In his answer, Innocent says: " that all ecclesiastical matters throughout the world, are, by divine right, to be referred to the Apostolic See; that is, to Peter, the Author of its name and honour.”—He commends the Bishops of this Council for so doing : “following” he says, “ the ancient rule, which you know with me, has been always observed, by the whole world.” Ibid. p. 1287.
The confirmation given by St. Innocent to the Council of Milevis, and also to that of Carthage, held the same year, being brought to Africa, St. Augustin said: “The decisions of the two Councils having been already sent to the Apostolic See, the rescripts are also come from thence. The cause is now finished, would to God that the error may at last have an end.” Serm. 11, al. cxxxi. n. 10. T.x. p. 95. Paris, 1586.
St. CELESTINE,POPE.[79]—Being well informed that Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, taught false doctrine in his Church, he commissioned St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, in his name, to proceed against him, and to deprive him of the communion of the Church, unless he retracted his error. “Wherefore you,” says the Pope, “with the Authority of this See, and acting in our name, place, and power, shall execute this sentence, with the utmost rigour, viz.; that if, within ten days, to be counted from the day on which this our admonition is signified to him, he does not in express terms anathematise his wicked doctrine, your Holiness shall immediately provide for that See, and he shall know that he is excommunicated.” Ep. ad Cyrillum, Conc. Gen. T. iii. p. 349.
The Bishops of the general Council of Ephesus, more than 200 in number, thought it their duty to comply with the injunction of Pope Celestine. “Compelled ” they say, “ by the sacred Canons, and by the Epistle of our most Holy Father, and Fellow-Minister, Celestine, Bishop of the Church of Rome, bathed in tears, we proceed to pronounce this doleful sentence against him.” Act. 1. Conc. Gen. T. 111. p. 533 See p. 153.
JUVENAL, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM, spoke thus in the 4th Action.—“It was the duty of John, the most Reverend Bishop of Antioch, considering this holy, great, and general Synod, to come without delay, and clear himself of those things which are laid to his charge, before the Apostolic See of Rome, which is with us here; and to shew obedience, and to do honour to the Apostolical Holy Roman Church of God, by which the Church of Antioch must be directed and judged, as custom, derived from the Apostolic rule and Tradition, particularly requires.” Ibid. p. 642.—This is the language of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, proclaiming, before a General Council held in the East, the superior judicial Authority of the Bishop of Rome, over the Patriarch of Antioch.
ST. LEO THE GREAT.- In the General Council at Chalcedon, held in 451, the Legates of Pope Leo pronounced sentence against Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, in these words: “Wherefore the holy and most blessed Pope Leo, Head of the Universal Church, invested with the dignity of the Apostle Peter, who is named the foundation of the Church, and the rock of the Faith, and the keeper of the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven, hath, by us his Legates with the consent of the Holy Synod, stripped him (Dioscorus) of his Episcopal Dignity, and removed him from every sacerdotal function.” St. Leo Ep. ad. Episc. Galliæ. T. 1. Operum, p. 1143. Venetiis, 1753.- In this instance, Pope Leo exercised a high act of his Primacy, in the General Council of Chalcedon; when, in his name, and by his Authority, as Head of the Universal Church, and as invested with the dignity of Peter, sentence was pronounced against the second Patriarch of the Church, with the consent of the whole Synod, acknowledging this right and authority in the Bishop of Rome.
The above testimonies afford sufficient proof of the acknowledged exercise of the supreme jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, over the Bishops and Patriarchs of the East, and many instances might he cited of the same in the West, were they necessary. This supreme jurisdiction was a jurisdiction derived from the Authority of the sacred Scriptures, as St. Augustin and the African Bishops at Milevis, declared. It was a supreme judicial and governing authority, which descended to the Bishops of Rome, in succession from St. Peter; it was that same authority, which was originally given by Christ to St. Peter, who lives, and exercises judgment in his successors, according to the language spoken in the Council of Ephesus. The exercise of this same supreme Authority, by which the true Church of Christ is held together in Unity, may be traced through all ages to the present time.
Thus the sacred Scriptures and the genuine records of ancient usage and practice shew us that all particular Churches are subordinate to the supreme authority of the chair of Peter and of the principal Church, whence the sacerdotal Unity took its rise, as St. Cyprian says; and that they are subject to the legitimate successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome, as members to the Head of the visible Church of Christ on Earth.
PROPOSITION XIV.
It is no article of Catholic Faith to believe that the Pope is in himself infallible, separated from the Church, even in expounding the Faith: by consequence, Papal definitions or decrees, in whatever form pronounced, taken exclusively from a General Council or acceptance of the Church, oblige none, under pain of heresy, to an interior assent.[80]
PROPOSITION XV.
Nor do Catholics, as Catholics, believe that the Pope has any direct or indirect authority over the temporal concerns of states, or the jurisdiction of princes. Hence, should the Pope pretend to absolve or to dispense with his Majesty's subjects from their allegiance, on account of heresy or schism, such dispensation they would view as frivolous and null.
On the two points contained in these Propositions, that is, the personal infallibility and the temporal power of the Roman Bishops, I pretend not to adduce any authorities against them from the early ages of the Church ; because in those ages, when the just limits of ecclesiastical power were well understood, and fewer occasions prompted their transgression, the Bishops of Rome acted more in concert with their fellow Bishops ; though by these, as we have seen, the primacy of the Apostolic See was at all times acknowledged and respected; and, as to temporal power, none could be exercised, when as yet,-which was its origin,-no territory was possessed; and the positive declaration of Jesus Christ, (John xviii. 36.) “ that his kingdom was not of this world," remained strongly impressed on the minds of those who professed themselves, and were believed to be his Vicars.
To the doctrine of the two Propositions a general assent is given by the catholic teachers; while writers in all languages, and of great authority, may be consulted. But as on points avowedly undefined by the voice of the Church, the opinions of men are not restrained, it proves our liberty, but touches not the substance of faith, if on such questions discordant notions have been entertained.
PROPOSITION XVI.
It is a fundamental truth in the Catholic Religion, that no licence can be given to men to lie, to forswear, or perjure themselves; to massacre their neighbours, or disturb their country, on pretence of promoting the Catholic cause or religion: furthermore, they believe that all pardons or dispensations granted, or pretended to be granted, in order to such ends or designs, could have no other validity or effect, than to add sacrilege and blasphemy to the above crimes.
PROPOSITION XVII.
Detesting the immoral doctrine of equivocation and mental reservation, the Catholic Church ever inculcated, and inculcates, that simplicity and godly sincerity are truly Christian virtues, necessary to the conservation of justice, truth, and common security.
Of the truth of these two Propositions I shall again offer no proof. They stand on the eternal basis of right and wrong, which no authority—if any such were pretended ;no usage—if any such were claimed-could ever violate without a crime. The Roman Catholic Church we have shewn to be Apostolical and Holy. And here likewise modern authorities may be consulted.
- ↑ St. Paul, of a persecutor, became an Apostle of Jesus Christ, in the year 34. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and city of Tarsus, in Cilicia. He wrote fourteen epistles, which he addressed to the Thessalonians, the Galatians, the Corinthians, the Romans, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Hebrews, Philemon, Timothy and Titus. He suffered martyrdom at Rome, about the year 66.
- ↑ St. John was the son of Zebedee, and the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. He wrote his Apocalypse, or book of Revelations, in the year 95; and his gospel, not before the year 97,—that is, not before the gospel had been preached and delivered by the apostles for the space of forty-four years. He wrote also three epistles, and died at Ephesus, in the year 100, or 101.
- ↑ St. Matthew, of a publican, became an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He was the first who committed to writing an account of our Saviour's life. His gospel was written in the language of his country, that is, the Syro-Chaldaic; the time is uncertain. Some think about the year 39;—Dr. Lardner, about the year 64.
- ↑ St. Peter was the son of Jona, and the chief of the Apostles. He wrote two epistles to the Jewish converts, who were dispersed over Asia Minor; the first about the year 50, and the second a little before his death. Having governed the church at Antioch for some years, he established his apostolic chair at Rome, where he suffered martyrdom about the year 66.
- ↑ St. James was the brother of St. Jude, and bishop of Jerusalem, which church he governed twenty-nine years. He has left us one epistle.
- ↑ This council, which opened in 1545, and closed in 1563, was convened against the errors of Luther and other innovators, and for the reform of abuses; and as it is the last general one that has been held, and its decisions on doctrinal points are universally admitted by the Latin Church,—these decisions may be considered as forming a complete statement of the doctrines which the prelates, assembled at Trent, had received from their predecessors. On the subject of Justification they say :—"This holy Synod means to expound to the faithful that true and sound doctrine, which Christ, the author of our faith, taught, which the Apostles delivered, and which the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has ever retained.”—Sess. vi. Proem. p. 24. Edit. Antwerpiæ, 1640.
- ↑ St. Mark was the disciple of St. Peter, and the founder of the church of Alexandria. It is generally believed that he wrote his gospel at Rome, under the eye of St. Peter, and about the year 45, if not later.
- ↑ The Acts of the Apostles, which contain the history of the Church for about 30 years from the ascension of Christ, were written by St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul, about the year 63. His gospel was written a few years sooner.
- ↑ St. Irenæus, though by birth a Greek, was bishop of Lyons, in the second century; and, in his youth, had lived with St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, the disciple of St. John the evangelist. This brings him near to the apostolic times. In what year he died is not ascertained ; probably, about the close of the century, leaving behind him a Treatise in five books, “ against the Heresies” of the age. Of this work, which contains much that is highly valuable, and which was written in Greek, a Latin version, of great antiquity, but harsh, and often obscure, alone remains, some passages excepted, which have been preserved in their original language. Some fragments also are extant.
- ↑ He was a disciple of the learned Pantænus, and, after his death, master of the school of Alexandria, at that time highly celebrated for its philosophical and other studies. He was also Catechist, or instructor of the Catechumens belonging to the church of that city. He flourished towards the close of the second, and died early in the third century, and has left various treatises.
- ↑ Contemporary with St. Irenæus, but who survived the latter, was Tertullian, a native and citizen of Carthage. The zeal and talents with which he defended the Christian cause, and vindicated its faith and discipline, have immortalized his name, which however has suffered by his defection to the errors of the Montanists. His genuine works are not few, written with great erudition, but of which the style, resembling the asperity of his mind, is inelegant and rude, and often intricate, though always nervous and impressive.
- ↑ He was contemporary with St. Clement of Alexandria, and many other learned men, and succeeded to him, as Catechist or teacher, in the celebrated school of that city. Few men, from a variety of causes, have left behind them a greater name, applauded and opposed, admired and persecuted. His works, as we have them, are imperfect; as written, they were almost without number. Origen died about the year 254.
- ↑ Except a few fragments of the original Greek, only a Latin translation of these works of Origen remains.
- ↑ He was bishop of Carthage, and died a martyr in the year 258. Actively concerned in the affairs of his own and of other churches, he corresponded widely, and has left us eighty-one epistles on various ecclesiastical subjects, and several Tracts; among which is one on the Unity of the Church, written against the Novatian schismatics, who disturbed the peace of the Church.
- ↑ He was converted in his youth to the Christian religion, and became the most accomplished and elegant scholar of the age. The emperor Constantine chose him to be tutor to his son, Crispus. In what year he died, is uncertain. Of his works, that remain, the principal are, Divine Institutions, in seven books, and, The Deaths of the Persecutors. From the classical purity of his language, he has acquired the name of the Christian Cicero.
- ↑ Besides his Ecclesiastical History in ten books, he is the author of other valuable works, some of which are extant. He was bishop of Cæsarea in Palestine, the confidential friend of the Great Constantine, and died in the year 338.
- ↑ He succeeded St. Alexander in the patriarchal chair of Alexandria, and also in his zeal against the Arians, in 326. He was one of the most eloquent Fathers of the Church, and the most strenuous supporter of her faith during a period of 47 years. He died about the year 373, leaving us many monuments of his erudition, piety, and zeal.
- ↑ He was Bishop of Poitiers, a city of France, and the great champion of the orthodox faith, in the Western Church, against the Arian heretics. He wrote a work, in twelve books, on the doctrine of the Trinity; a treatise on Synods, or Councils; and three Discourses against the Arians, addressed to the Emperor Constantius. St. Hilary died in the year 367.
- ↑ Surnamed the Great, for his admirable eloquence and profound erudition. He was raised to the See of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, and died about the year 379, leaving many valuable works.
- ↑ Contemporary with the learned men of this age was St. Ephrem, a deacon of Edessa in Syria. He wrote many volumes in the language of his country, which were translated into Greek, during his life; and were in such estimation, that in many churches, as St. Jerom testifies in his catalogue, they were publicly read, after the canonical books of Scripture. They were published in Latin by Gerard Vossius, at Rome, in 1589; and in Greek, by Twaites, at Oxford. In 1732, and seqq. Cardinal Quirini, with the help of Joseph S. Assemanni, gave a new and splendid edition of his works, in six volumes folio. The three first contain the works which had before been published in Greek and Latin; the three latter, those which he found in the Vatican library, in Syriac, with a Latin translation. St. Ephrem died about the year 378. He was the disciple of St. James, Bishop of Nisibis, in Mesopotamia, and his life was written by St. Gregory of Nyssa, brother of St. Basil.
- ↑ He was Patriarch of Jerusalem, and died about the year 386. The works, which he has left, in twenty-three Catechetical Discourses, form a full and very accurate abridgment of Christian doctrine.
- ↑ He was the friend of St. Basil, with whom he studied at Athens, and became Bishop of Constantinople; which See he afterwards relinquished, retiring to Nazianzum in Cappadocia, near which city he was born, and where he died about the year 389. He was much celebrated for his eloquence, in which he is said to have excelled the greatest orators of the age; and of that eloquence many samples are yet extant in the various discourses or sermons, which form the principal body of his works.
- ↑ He was chosen Bishop of Salamis, in the Isle of Cyprus, in 368, and was the author of many works, against the reigning heresies particularly. The unity of faith was never more zealously supported than in these early ages. He died very early in the fifth century.
- ↑ He was the most eloquent, the most learned, and the most accomplished scholar of an age, which, in every branch of science, could boast of its great men. His life, which began in 329, was protracted to 420, a space filled by him in various offices, in travelling, in retirement, and in unceasing application. His works are numerous, and marked by a peculiar elegance of style. He never rose above the order of priesthood.
- ↑ He was Bishop of Constantinople, and styled Chrysostom from the golden stream of eloquence with which he spoke. His works are numerous, as there is hardly any subject, connected with religion, that he has not illustrated. His Expositions of Scripture are peculiarly valuable. He died in the beginning of the fifth century, about the year 407.
- ↑ St. Augustin was Bishop of Hippo in Africa, and himself an African. His works are very numerous, and his name, on account of the erudition of those works, their vast researches, and their deep insight into all the ways of the divine economy, has ever borne the greatest weight in the Christian Churches. He illustrated the close of the fourth, and the beginning of the fifth, century, in the Latin Church, while St. John Chrysostom slone in the East. He died in the year 430
- ↑ A Priest of Damiata, anciently called Pelusium, in Egypt. He flourished from the beginning of the fifth century, till towards the year 435, or 440, and has left us 2,012 letters, written in Greek. one of the most illustrious disciples of St. John Chrysostom, and corresponded with St. Cyril of Alexandria.
- ↑ He succeeded Theophilus, in the patriarchal See of Alexandria, in 412, and was the active and successful opponent of Nestorius; against whom was called, in 431, the Council of Ephesus, in which St. Cyril presided. He died in 444. The best edition of his works, in Greek and Latin, is that of Paris, in 1638, in six volumes, by John Aubert.
- ↑ He succeeded Aurelius in the See of Carthage, and in 431 sent his deputies to the Council of Ephesus, with a letter, which is extant in the Acts of that Council.
- ↑ He acquired the name of Lerinensis from the Isle of Lerins, in the south of France, where was a celebrated monastery, in which he was a monk. The only work which he has left, is a small unfinished treatise, entitled Commonitorium ; but though small, it is replete with excellent matter, not inelegantly expressed. The principles which he establishes, and the rules which he lays down, whereby Christian truth may be securely ascertained, and the plausible artifices of heretics may be detected, are admirable. The reader shall himself judge. Vincent died about the year 445. The best edition of his treatise is that of Baluze, in 1684.
- ↑ The Donatists were schismatics in Africa, in the fourth century, and maintained that the true Church was only to be found among themselves, and that baptism, and the other sacraments, were nulì, when conferred by any others. Their excesses are described, and their errors are refuted, by St. Optatus of Milevis, and by St. Augustin.
- ↑ The Arians denied that the Son of God was of the same substance with the Father.
- ↑ He was Bishop of Antioch, the second from St. Peter; and having governed that Church about forty years, suffered martyrdom at Rome, by the command of the emperor Trajan, in the beginning of the second century, leaving behind him seven Epistles, addressed to different Churches, and acknowledged to be genuine. He had been the disciple of St. John; and his letters breathe the whole spirit of that Apostle.
- ↑ St. Clement, the disciple and coadjutor of the Apostles, as he is styled by St. Paul to the Philippians (iv. 3.) was the third bishop of Rome; if not the immediate successor of St. Peter. The only work, which remains, that is certainly genuine, is an epistle to the Corinthians, written in Greek, in which he exhorts them to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It was always ranked next to the apostolic writings, and read after them in many Churches. St. Clement died, or suffered martyrdom, at the close of the first century; and his testimony ought to have preceded that of St. Ignatius, yet the latter had been sitting full twenty years on the chair of Antioch, when St. Clement was placed on that of Rome.
- ↑ He was a native of Palestine, and belonged to the Church of Jerusalem; though he resided near twenty years at Rome. St. Jerom says, that he lived near to the Apostolic times, and compiled a history, in five books, of all that had passed from the death of our Saviour to bis own days. A few fragments are preserved by Eusebius. He died about the year 180.
- ↑ This passage is preserved in Greek, and, when compared with the Latin, it causes regret, that the whole is not extant in that language.
- ↑ He was Catechist of the same Church of Alexandria, as St. Cle. ment had been, and succeeded to the See about 247. He is spoken of by the early ecclesiastical writers, as highly illustrious for his learning, and the zeal with which he defended the Catholic cause. Of his works, however, which were numerous, enough only remains, chiefly in fragments, to make us regret their loss. He died about the year 264.
- ↑ He succeeded Achillas in 321, if not in 315. He vigorously opposed the heresy of Arius from its birth, and excommunicated its author, and his åbettors. He assisted at the Council of Nice, in 325, and died in 326.
- ↑ Held in 325, to declare the faith of the Church, in opposition to the errors of Arius. About 318 bishops assisted at it, besides priests and deacons.
- ↑ A priest of Alexandria, whose followers were called Arians.
- ↑ He flourished about the middle of the fourth century, and was one of the most zealous defenders of St. Athanasius. He died in 370.
- ↑ He was Bishop of Barcelona in Spain, and died about the year 380, leaving some tracts, principally against the Novatian heretics, who denied to the Church the power of forgiving sins, and of receiving sinners, who had fallen during persecution, however penitent they might be. St. Jerom says of him, that he was famous for the purity of his manners, and the eloquence of his discourses.
- ↑ Milevis was a city of Africa, of which St. Optatus was Bishop, about the middle of the fourth century. The work I quote was written against the Donatists, in seven books, addressed to Parmenianus, a Bishop of that sect. It abounds with innumerable passages in favour of the Unity and other marks of the true Church.
- ↑ He died in the year 397, having held the See of Milan twenty years, with great profit to the Church; he edified by his exalted virtues the western provinces, and instructed them by his writings. These are numerous, comprising Commentaries on many parts of Scripture, and Moral Treatises.
- ↑ This Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, though published among the works of St. Ambrose, is generally believed not to have been written by him, but by his contemporary Hilarius, a Roman deacon.
- ↑ He is best known as the author of the Ecclesiastical History, which begins, where Eusebius ends, in 322, and comes down to 428. Theodoret was Bishop of Cyrus, a city of Syria; was connected with many great men of the age, and with them was involved in various controversies. He found time, however, for study; for few men have written more, and this with so extensive a knowledge of all the subjects which he treats, scriptural, moral, and historical, that it has been said of him, he equally deserved the praise of an able interpreter of Scripture, a profound divine, an acute controvertist, a learned apologist, and an accurate and elegant historian. He died in an advanced age, about the year 457, if not much later.
- ↑ His exalted qualities and signal government of the Church, acquired for him the appellation of Great ; while the works which he has left, comprising many sermons and letters, prove the solidity of his judgment, the extent of his acquirements, and the firmness of his courage on many trying occasions. His style is at once elevated and elegant. He died in 461.
- ↑ This was the fourth General Council; and was held in 451, against the Eutychians and Nestorians.
- ↑ The prophet Isaiah flourished more than half a century, during the reigns of Ozias, Joatham, Achaz, and Ezekiah, kings of Judah; and died about 681 years before the coming of Christ.
- ↑ The prophet Daniel began to prophecy while the Jews were captives in Babylon, 606 years before the Christian æra, and flourished for almost 70 years.
- ↑ The Prophet Michah, or Micheas, was cotemporary with Isaiah, under Joatham, Achaz, and Ezekiah.
- ↑ Their chief error, and that, which was the source of many others, was the admission of a good and of a bad principle; from which, respectively, proceeded, what good and evil is found in the world.
- ↑ Malachi was the last of the Prophets, and flourished after the building of the second temple, and about 400 years before Christ.
- ↑ He was one of the most illustrious of the Apostolic Fathers, and the disciple of St. John, by whom he was appointed Bishop of Smyrna, in Asia Minor, about the year 96, and governed that See about seventy years ; suffering martyrdom in 167. We have an abridgment of his Acts in Eusebius.
- ↑ Gen. xxii, 17, 18.—Isaiah xi. 9, 10.--xxvii. 6.—xli. 5.--xlii. 4. -xlix. 6, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23.—Psal. ii. 8.—xxi. 28.--xviii. 5.-xlix. 1.-lvi. 6, 12.-lxxi. 8, &c.—xliv. 10, &c.
- ↑ Dr. Bull, in his Judicium Eccl. Cathol. c. vi. p. 53, observes, that from this letter of the Church of Smyrna,“ it is clear that the surname of Catholic was given to the Church of Christ, even in those times, which immediately followed the age of the Apostles.”
- ↑ He succeeded St. Mark in the See of St. Peter in 337, and died in 352. We have two letters of this Pope in favour of St. Athanasius;
- ↑ This Council, at which nearly 300 Bishops were present, was called at the earnest solicitation of St. Athanasius, persecuted by the Arians and Eusebians, who had placed Gregory upon his patriarchal chair of Alexandria. Sardica was a city of Thrace.
- ↑ It must be admitted, agreeably to the received rules of human testimony, that the assertions of a Roman Bishop, however exalted his character, taken singly in the cause of his own prerogative, should be listened to with much caution : but when those assertions, as in the present case, not only are not contradicted by other Churches, who all were interested in opposing every undue assumption of power, but were explicitly avowed by some, and acquiesced in by all, they form a body of irresistible evidence, and exhibit the real sentiments of the age.
- ↑ He was the eighth Bishop of Antioch, and governed that Patriarchal See from 191 to about 213.
- ↑ St. Innocent I. succeeded Anastasius in 402, and governed the Church of Rome till 417. Thirty-three of his letters are extant.
- ↑ He succeeded to Felix II. in 492, and held the Roman See about five years.
- ↑ A priest of Aquileia, who flourished from the year 372 to about 410. He translated, or rather paraphrased, several of the works of Origen, and the history of Eusebius, adding two books, and bringing the history of the Church down to the death of Theodosius.
- ↑ He flourished in the beginning of the third century; but of what See he was Bishop, is uncertain. Of the many works he wrote, only fragments remain, which were published by Fabricius in 1716. He suffered martyrdom about the year 230.
- ↑ This is known only by tradition.
- ↑ St. Stephen succeeded St. Lucius in the chair of St. Peter, in 253. In the controversy concerning the rebaptization of heretics, he maintained against the Africans, on the authority of tradition, that baptism, given in the name of the three persons of the holy Trinity, is valid, though conferred by a heretic. He died, or suffered martyrdom, in 257.
- ↑ He was the younger brother of St. Basil; like him highly celebrated for his acquirements, and Bishop of Nyssa, on the confines of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. His writings are numerous. He died very late in the fourth century. From his great age, as well as from his learning, he was called the Father of the Fathers.
- ↑ St. Nilus had for his master the great Chrysostom. After having been governor of Constantinople, he retired into the desert of Sinai, and there led a solitary life. He flourished under the emperors Arcadius and Theodosius, and died about 451. He has left us several treatises, and a great number of letters on religious subjects.
- ↑ St. Asterius was Bishop of Amasea, in Asia Minor, and contemporary with St. John Chrysostom. He wrote many Sermons, some of which are extant.
- ↑ He was the disciple of St. John Chrysostom, and was placed on the Patriarchal chair of Constantinople in 434. He died in 447. Several of his homilies and letters are still extant.
- ↑ He succeeded Liberius in 366, and died in 384. He is placed by St. Jerom in his catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers; but little remains of his works besides some letters.
- ↑ This Proposition, and the following proofs, are taken from Dr. Poynter's “ Christianity, or the Evidences and Characters of the Christian Religion."
- ↑ He succeeded Pope Eleutherius, in 193; and was put to death for his faith in Christ, under Severus, in 202.
- ↑ He succeeded Lucius in 253; and suffered martyrdom in 257, in the persecution of Valerian.
- ↑ He governed and edified the Church for more than ten years, being chosen Pope after the death of St. Sixtus, in 259, and dying, Dec. 26, 269. Dom. Coustant has published some of his letters against Sabellius, in his Epistolæ Romanorum Pontificum. We have a Canonical Epistle of St. Dionysius of Alexandria, in Labbe's Concilia Generalia.
- ↑ He governed the Church from 337 to 352.
- ↑ He was chosen Pope on the death of Julius I, in 352, and died in 366.
- ↑ He succeeded Anastasius in 402. We have many of his letters to divers Bishops, who consulted him respecting Ecclesiastical discipline, which may be seen, as well as those of Liberius, in the Collection of Dom. Coustant. He died in 417.
- ↑ He succeeded to the Chair of St. Peter on the death of Boniface I, in 422, and governed the Church nearly ten years. His letters are found in Dom. Coustant's Collection, and in Labbe's Councils.
- ↑ See Dr. De la Hogue, De Ecclesia, p. 376, Dublini, 1809, and the writers quoted by him.