THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE PAPAL POWER TO ITS PRESENT EMINENCE,
ATTENDED WITH THE LOSS OF LIBERTY TO THE CHURCH, AND THE RUIN OF ALL
MODERATION.
In support of the antiquity of the primacy of the see of Rome, there is
nothing to be found anterior to the decree of the Council of Nice, by
which the bishop of Rome is allotted the first place among the
patriarchs, and is directed to superintend the neighbouring Churches.
When the council makes a distinction between him and the other
patriarchs, so as to assign to all their respective limits, it clearly
does not constitute him the head of them all, but only makes him one of
the principal. Vitus and Vincentius attended the council on the behalf
of Julius, who at that time presided over the Church of Rome. They were
seated in the fourth place. If Julius had been acknowledged as the head
of the Church, would his representatives have been degraded to the
fourth seat? Would Athanasius have presided in a general council, where
the form of the hierarchical system ought most particularly to have been
observed? In the council of Ephesus, it appears that Celestine, who was
then bishop of Rome, made use of a disingenuous artifice to secure the
dignity of his see. For when he sent his legates thither, he requested
Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, who was otherwise to preside, to act on
his behalf. For what purpose could this request be made, but that his
name might, at any rate, occupy the first place? For his legates sat in
a lower station, were asked their sentiments among others, and
subscribed in their order; at the same time the patriarch of Alexandria
united Celestine’s name with his own. What shall I say of the second
Council of Ephesus, where, though the legates of Leo were present, yet
Dioscorus, patriarch of Alexandria, presided as in his own right? They
will object, that this was not an orthodox council, because it condemned
Flavianus, a holy man, bishop of Constantinople, and acquitted Eutyches,
and sanctioned his heresy. But when the council was assembled, and the
bishops took their respective seats, it is certain that the legates of
the Roman Church were present among the others, as in a holy and
legitimate council. Yet they contended not for the first place, but
yielded it to another, which they would not have done if they had
considered it as belonging to them. For the bishops of Rome have never
been ashamed of raising the greatest contentions for their dignity, and
they have not hesitated, on this account alone, to harass and agitate
the Church with various and pernicious controversies. But because Leo
saw that it would be too presumptuous a demand to require the first
place for his legates, therefore he waived it.
II. Next follows the Council of Chalcedon, in which, by the permission
of the emperor, the legates of the Roman Church occupied the first
place. But Leo himself confessed that this was an extraordinary
privilege. For when he requested it from Marcian the emperor, and
Pulcheria the empress, he did not pretend it to be his right, but only
alleged, in support of his claim, that the Eastern bishops who presided
in the Council of Ephesus had thrown every thing into confusion, and
abused their power. Since it was necessary, therefore, to have a
discreet moderator, and it was improbable that those who had once been
so unsteady and disorderly would be fit for the office, he requested
that, on account of the misconduct and incompetence of the others, the
task of presiding should be transferred to him. That which is sought as
a special privilege and an exception to a common custom, certainly does
not arise from a general rule. Where the only pretext is, that it was
necessary to have a new president, because the former ones had violated
their duty, it is evident that this had not been the case before, and it
ought not to be perpetual, but was merely done in the contemplation of
present danger. The bishop of Rome, therefore, had the first place in
the Council of Chalcedon, not because it was the right of his see, but
because the council was in want of a discreet and suitable president, in
consequence of those to whom that honour belonged having excluded
themselves from it by their own intemperance and violence. And what I
say was proved, in fact, by Leo’s successor. For when he sent his
legates to the fifth Council of Constantinople, which was held a
considerable time after, he contended not for the first seat, but
without any difficulty suffered it to be taken by Menna, patriarch of
Constantinople. So in the Council of Carthage, at which Augustine was
present, the place of president was filled by Aurelius, archbishop of
that city, and not by the legates of the Roman see, though the express
object of their attendance was to support the authority of the Roman
pontiff. And, moreover, there was a general council held in Italy, at
which the bishop of Rome was not present. This was the Council of
Aquileia, at which Ambrose presided, who was then in high credit with
the emperor. There was no mention made of the bishop of Rome. We see,
therefore, that the dignity of Ambrose caused the see of Milan at that
time to have the precedence above that of Rome.
III. With respect to the title of primacy, and other titles of pride, of
which the pope now strangely boasts, it is not difficult to judge when
and in what manner they were introduced. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage,
makes frequent mention of Cornelius, who was bishop of Rome. He
distinguishes him by no other appellation than that of _brother_, or
_fellow bishop_, or _colleague_. But when he writes to Stephen, the
successor of Cornelius, he not only treats him as equal to himself and
others, but even addresses him with considerable severity, charging him
at one time with arrogance, and at another with ignorance. Since the
time of Cyprian, we know what was the decision of the whole African
Church on this subject. For the Council of Carthage prohibited that any
one should be called “the prince of priests,” or “the first bishop,” but
only “the bishop of the first see.” But any one who examines the more
ancient records, will find that at that time the bishop of Rome was
content with the common appellation of _brother_. It is certain that as
long as the Church retained its true and uncorrupted form, all those
names of pride, which in succeeding times have been insolently usurped
by the Roman see, were altogether unknown: nothing was heard of a
supreme pontiff or a sole head of the Church upon earth. And if the
bishop of Rome had been presumptuous enough to make any such assumption,
there were judicious men who would immediately have repressed his folly.
Jerome, being a Roman presbyter, was not reluctant to assert the dignity
of his Church as far as matter of fact and the state of the times
admitted; yet we see how he also reduces it to an equality with others.
“If it be a question of authority,” he says, “the world is greater than
a city. Why do you allege to me the custom of a single city? Why do you
set up a few instances, which have given rise to pride, against the laws
of the Church? Wherever there is a bishop, whether at Rome, at Eugubium,
at Constantinople, or at Rhegium, he is of the same dignity and of the
same priesthood. The power of riches, or the abasement of poverty, makes
no bishop superior or inferior to another.”
IV. Respecting the title of _universal bishop_, the first contention
arose in the time of Gregory, and was occasioned by the ambition of
John, bishop of Constantinople. For he wanted to make himself universal
bishop—an attempt which had never been made by any one before. In that
controversy Gregory does not plead against this as the assumption of a
right which belonged to himself, but resolutely protests against it
altogether, as a profane and sacrilegious application, and even as the
forerunner of Antichrist. He says, “If he who is called _universal_
falls, the foundation of the whole Church sinks at once.” In another
place: “It is a most melancholy thing to hear with any patience, that
our brother and companion in the episcopal office should look down with
contempt on all others, and be called _sole bishop_. But what does this
pride of his indicate, but that the times of Antichrist are already at
hand? For indeed he imitates him, who, despising the society of angels,
endeavoured to usurp supreme power to himself.” In another place,
writing to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, and Anastasius, bishop of
Antioch, he says, “None of my predecessors would ever use this profane
word. For if one patriarch be called _universal_, the name of patriarch
is taken away from all the rest. But far be it from any Christian heart
to wish to arrogate to himself any thing that would in the least degree
diminish the honour of his brethren. To consent to that execrable term
is no other than to destroy the faith. Our obligation to preserve the
unity of the faith is one thing, and to repress the haughtiness of pride
is another. But I confidently assert, that whoever calls himself
_universal bishop_, or desires to be so called, in such aggrandizement
is the precursor of Antichrist, because he proudly sets up himself above
all others.” Again, to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch: “I have said that
the bishop of Constantinople can have no peace with us, unless he would
correct the haughtiness of that superstitious and proud title which has
been invented by the first apostate; and to say nothing of the injury
done to your dignity, if one bishop be called _universal_, when he
falls, the whole Church sinks at once.” But his assertion that this
honour was offered to Leo in the Council of Chalcedon has not the least
appearance of truth. For there is not a word of this in the acts of that
council. And Leo himself, who in many of his epistles censures the
decree passed there in favour of the see of Constantinople, would
certainly not have passed over this argument, which would have been the
most plausible of all, if that honour had really been offered to him,
and he had refused it; and, having otherwise an immoderate thirst for
honour, he would not readily have omitted a circumstance so much to his
praise. Gregory was mistaken, therefore, in supposing that title to have
been given to the see of Rome by the Council of Chalcedon. I forbear to
remark how ridiculous it is for him to assert that the holy council
conferred such a title, which he at the same time declares was profane,
execrable, abominable, proud, and sacrilegious, and even invented by the
devil, and published by the herald of Antichrist. And yet he adds that
his predecessor refused it, lest, by the dignity given to one
individual, all other bishops should be deprived of the honour due to
them. In another place he says, “No one has ever wished to be called by
such a name; no one has arrogated to himself this presumptuous title;
lest, by assuming to himself the exclusive dignity of supreme bishop, he
might seem to deny the episcopal honour to all his brethren.”
V. I come now to the jurisdiction which the Roman pontiff asserts that
he indisputably holds over all churches. I know what violent contentions
there were in ancient times on this subject. For there has never been a
period when the Roman see did not aspire to some authority over other
Churches. And it will not be unsuitable to the present occasion to
investigate the means by which it gradually rose to some power. I am not
yet speaking of that unbounded empire which it has more recently
usurped; that I shall defer to its proper place. But here it will be
necessary to point out in a few words in what manner and by what methods
it formerly exalted itself, so as to assume any jurisdiction over other
Churches. When the Eastern Churches were disturbed and divided by the
factions of the Arians, in the reign of Constantius and Constans, sons
of Constantine the Great, and Athanasius, the principal defender of the
orthodox faith, was driven from his see, that calamity constrained him
to go to Rome, in order that, by the authority of the Roman see, he
might in some degree repress the rage of his enemies, and confirm the
faithful, who were in extreme distress. He was honourably received by
Julius, then bishop of Rome, and prevailed on the bishops of the West to
undertake the defence of his cause. Thus the pious in the Eastern
Churches, finding themselves in great want of foreign aid, and seeing
that their principal succour was to be obtained from the Church of Rome,
readily ascribed to it all the authority that they possibly could. But
all this amounted to nothing more than that communion with it was held
in high estimation, and it was accounted ignominious to be
excommunicated from it. This dignity was afterwards considerably
augmented by men of wicked and abandoned lives; for to escape the
punishments which they deserved, they resorted thither as to a common
asylum. Therefore, if a priest was condemned by his bishop, or a bishop
by the synod of his province, they immediately appealed to Rome. And the
bishops of Rome received such appeals with culpable eagerness,
considering it as a kind of extraordinary power to interfere in the
concerns of distant Churches. Thus when Eutyches was condemned by
Flavianus, patriarch of Constantinople, he complained to Leo that he had
been treated with injustice. Leo, without any delay, but with equal
temerity and expedition, undertook the patronage of a bad cause, issued
bitter invectives against Flavianus, as if he had condemned an innocent
man without hearing his defence, and by this ambitious conduct he for
some time afforded considerable support to the impiety of Eutyches. It
appears that similar circumstances frequently happened in Africa. For as
soon as any wicked man was convicted before the ordinary tribunal, he
flew to Rome, and brought various false accusations against his
superiors; and the see of Rome was always ready to interpose. This
presumption constrained the African bishops to pass a decree that no one
should appeal beyond the sea on pain of excommunication.
VI. But however this might be, let us examine what jurisdiction or power
the Roman see then possessed. Now, ecclesiastical power consists in
these four things—the ordination of bishops, the calling of councils,
the hearing of appeals, or jurisdiction, and corrective admonitions, or
censures. All the ancient councils command bishops to be ordained by
their own metropolitans; and they never direct the bishop of Rome to be
called to this office except in his own province. By degrees, however, a
custom was introduced for all the bishops of Italy to go to Rome to be
consecrated, except the metropolitans, who did not suffer themselves to
be subjected to this bondage. But when any metropolitan was to be
ordained, the bishop of Rome sent one of his priests to assist at the
ceremony, but not to preside. There is an example of this in an epistle
of Gregory, respecting the consecration of Constantius, archbishop of
Milan, after the death of Laurentius. I do not suppose, however, that
this was a very ancient practice. It is probable that at first they sent
legates to each other, from a principle of respect and affection, to
witness the ordination, and testify their mutual communion; and that
what was originally voluntary, was afterwards considered as necessary.
However this may be, it is evident that in ancient times the bishop of
Rome did not possess the power of consecrating bishops, except in his
own province, that is, in the Churches dependent upon his see; as is
declared by one of the canons of the Council of Nice. Consecration was
followed by the sending of a synodical epistle; and in this the bishop
of Rome had no superiority over others. It was the custom of the
patriarchs, immediately after their consecration, to make a solemn
declaration of their faith in a written communication to their brethren,
professing their adherence to the doctrine of the holy and orthodox
councils. Thus, by making a confession of their faith, they mutually
approved themselves to each other. If the bishop of Rome had received
such a confession from others, and not given it to other bishops in his
turn, this would have been an instance of acknowledged superiority; but,
as he was under the same obligation to give it as to require it, and was
subject to the common law, it was certainly a token of equality, and not
of dominion. We have examples of this in the epistles of Gregory to
Anastasius and Cyriacus of Constantinople, and to all the patriarchs
together.
VII. Next follow admonitions or censures, which, as the bishops of Rome
formerly employed them towards others, they also received from others in
their turn. Irenæus, bishop of Lyons, sharply reproved Victor, bishop of
Rome, for having raised a pernicious dissension in the Church on
subjects of no importance. Victor submitted to the reproof without any
opposition. It was a liberty at that time commonly used by the holy
bishops to exercise the privilege of brethren towards the bishop of
Rome, by admonishing and reproving him whenever he committed any fault.
He, in like manner, when occasion required, admonished others of their
duty, and reproved them for their faults. For Cyprian, when he exhorts
Stephen, bishop of Rome, to admonish the bishops of France, argues not
from any superior authority, but from the common rights which priests
enjoy among each other. If Stephen had then possessed any authority over
France, would not Cyprian have said, You should chastise them, because
they are subject to you? But he expresses himself in a very different
manner. “This fraternal union,” says he, “by which we are connected
together, requires us to administer to each other mutual admonition.”
And we see with what severity of language, though otherwise a man of a
mild disposition, he censures even Stephen himself, when he considered
him assuming too much consequence. In this respect, also, there is yet
no appearance of the bishop of Rome having been invested with any
jurisdiction over those who were not of his province.
VIII. With respect to the calling of councils, it was the duty of every
metropolitan, at stated seasons, to summon a provincial synod. There the
bishop of Rome had no authority. But a universal council could only be
called by the emperor. For if any one of the bishops had attempted this,
not only he would not have been obeyed by those who were out of his
province, but such an attempt would have led to immediate confusion.
Therefore the emperor sent a summons to attend to all of them alike.
Socrates, indeed, in his Ecclesiastical History, states that Julius,
bishop of Rome, expostulated with the Eastern bishops, for not having
invited him to the Council of Antioch; whereas the canons had forbidden
that any thing should be decreed without the knowledge of the bishop of
Rome. But who does not see that this is to be understood of those
decrees which bind the universal Church? Now, it is no wonder if there
was so much respect paid to the antiquity and eminence of the city, and
to the dignity of the see, as to determine that no general decree
respecting religion should be passed in the absence of the bishop of
Rome, unless he refused to be present. But what is this towards dominion
over the whole Church? For we do not deny that the bishop of Rome was
one of the principal, but we will not admit, what the Romanists now
contend, that he had the authority over all.
IX. There remains the fourth kind of ecclesiastical power, which
consists in appeals. It is evident that he possesses supreme authority,
to whose tribunal appeals are made. Many often appealed to the bishop of
Rome; and he also attempted to assume the cognizance of causes; but he
always became an object of derision whenever he exceeded his proper
limits. I shall say nothing of the East, or of Greece; but it appears
that the bishops of France strenuously resisted him, when he discovered
an inclination to usurp authority over them. In Africa, this subject
occasioned a long controversy. For when the Council of Milevum, at which
Augustine was present, had denounced excommunication against all who
should appeal beyond the sea, the bishop of Rome endeavoured to get this
decree rescinded. He sent legates to state that this privilege had been
given to him by the Council of Nice. The legates produced certain acts
which they alleged to be the acts of the Council of Nice, and which they
had brought from the archives of their Church. They were resisted by the
Africans, who denied that the bishop of Rome ought to be credited in his
own cause. They therefore determined to send to Constantinople, and
other cities of Greece, to obtain copies liable to less suspicion. It
was found that these copies contained no such passages as the Roman
legates had pretended. So the decree was confirmed, which had taken the
supreme cognizance of appeals from the bishop of Rome. This transaction
discovered the scandalous impudence of the Roman pontiff. For when he
had fraudulently substituted the council of Sardis for that of Nice, he
was disgracefully detected in a manifest falsehood. But still greater
wickedness and effrontery were betrayed by those who added to the acts
of the council a forged epistle, in which a bishop of Carthage condemns
the arrogance of his predecessor, Aurelius, for having dared to withdraw
himself from obedience to the apostolic see, presents the submission of
himself and his Church, and humbly supplicates for pardon. These are the
glorious monuments of antiquity upon which the majesty of the Roman see
is founded; while, under the pretext of antiquity, they advance such
puerile falsehoods, as require not the least penetration to detect.
“Aurelius,” says this famous epistle, “elated with diabolical audacity
and obstinacy, was a rebel against Christ and St. Peter, and therefore
deserved to be anathematized.” But what said Augustine? What said all
the fathers who were present at the Council of Milevum? But what
necessity is there for spending many words to refute that stupid
fabrication, which even the Romanists themselves, if they have any
modesty left, cannot look at without being exceedingly ashamed? So
Gratian, the compiler of the decretal,—whether from wickedness or
ignorance I know not,—after having recited that canon, that those who
appealed beyond the sea should be excommunicated, adds this exception,
unless they appeal to the see of Rome. What can be done with such men,
who are so destitute of common sense as to make that one case an
exception to a law, to guard against which every one sees that the law
was made? For the council, in condemning appeals beyond the sea, only
prohibited any one from appealing to Rome; and this admirable expositor
excepts Rome from the general prohibition!
X. But to put an end at once to this question, a single transaction,
related by Augustine, will be sufficient to show what kind of
jurisdiction was anciently possessed by the bishop of Rome. Donatus,
bishop of Casæ Nigræ, had accused Cæcilianus, bishop of Carthage. The
accused was condemned without a hearing; for, knowing that the bishops
had conspired against him, he would not appear. The matter was then
brought before the Emperor Constantine. With a view to have the cause
decided by an ecclesiastical judgment, he referred the cognizance of it
to Melchiades, bishop of Rome, with whom he associated some other
bishops from Italy, France, and Spain. If it was part of the ordinary
jurisdiction of the see of Rome to hear an appeal in an ecclesiastical
cause, why did Melchiades suffer any colleagues to be appointed with him
at the pleasure of the Emperor? and, moreover, why did he himself
undertake the business rather at the command of the Emperor than from
his own authority? But let us hear what took place afterwards.
Cæcilianus was victorious. Donatus of Casæ Nigræ was convicted of
calumny. He appealed. Constantine referred the appeal to the bishop of
Arles. He sat in judgment on the decision of the bishop of Rome. If the
Roman see possessed the supreme jurisdiction, subject to no appeal, how
did Melchiades submit to such an insult, as for the bishop of Arles to
be preferred before him? And who was the Emperor that did this? It was
Constantine the Great, of whom they boast that he not only devoted all
his attention, but employed almost all the power of his empire, to exalt
the dignity of their see. We see, then, how very far the bishop of Rome
was at that time from that supreme dominion which he pretends to have
been given him by Christ over all Churches, and which he falsely boasts
of having exercised in all ages with the consent of the whole world.
XI. I know what numerous epistles, and rescripts, and edicts, there are,
in which the pontiffs have confidently advanced the most extravagant
claims respecting this power. But it is also known to every person,
possessed of the least sense or learning, that most things contained in
them are so extremely absurd, that it is easy to discover at the first
glance from what source they have proceeded. For what man of sound
judgment, and in his sober senses, can suppose that Anacletus was the
author of that curious interpretation, which Gratian quotes under his
name—that Cephas means a head? There are many such fooleries collected
together by Gratian without any judgment, which the Romanists in the
present day employ against us in defence of their see; and such phantoms
with which they used to delude the ignorant in the darkest times, they
still persist in bringing forward amidst all the light of the present
age. But I have no intention to devote much labour to the refutation of
such things, which manifestly refute themselves by their extreme
absurdity. I confess that there are also genuine epistles of the ancient
pontiffs, in which they extol the majesty of their see by the most
magnificent titles. Such are some epistles of Leo; who, though he was a
man of learning and eloquence, had likewise an immoderate thirst for
glory and dominion; but whether the Churches at that time gave credit to
his testimony when he thus exalted himself, is a subject of inquiry.
Now, it appears that many were offended at his ambition, and resisted
his claims. In one epistle he deputes the bishop of Thessalonica to act
as his representative in Greece and other adjacent countries; in another
he delegates the bishop of Arles, or some other bishop, to be his vicar
in France. So he appoints Hormisdas, bishop of Seville, his vicar in
Spain. But in all cases he mentions, by way of exception, that he makes
such appointments on condition that they shall in no respect infringe
the ancient privileges of the metropolitans. But Leo himself declares
this to be one of their privileges, that if any difficulty should arise,
the metropolitan was to be consulted in the first place. These
delegations, therefore, were accompanied with this condition—that there
was to be no interference with any bishop in his ordinary jurisdiction,
with any metropolitan in hearing appeals, or with any provincial synod
in the regulation of the Churches. Now, what was this but to abstain
from all jurisdiction, and only to interpose for the settlement of
disputes, as far as was consistent with the law and nature of
ecclesiastical communion?
XII. In the time of Gregory, this ancient custom had already undergone a
considerable change. For when the empire was convulsed and torn asunder,
when France and Spain were afflicted with repeated and numerous wars and
distresses, Illyricum laid waste, Italy harassed, and Africa almost
ruined with incessant calamities,—in order to preserve the unity of the
faith amidst such a violent convulsion of civil affairs, or at least to
prevent its total destruction, all the bishops round about connected
themselves more closely with the bishop of Rome. The consequence was,
that the power as well as the dignity of that see was greatly increased.
I am not much concerned, however, respecting the methods by which this
was effected. It is at least evident, that it was greater at that period
than in the preceding ages. And even then it was very far from an
unlimited dominion, for one man to govern all others according to his
own pleasure. But the see of Rome was held in such reverence, that its
authority would repress and correct the refractory and obstinate, who
could not be confined to their duty by the other bishops. For Gregory
embraces every opportunity of protesting, that he as faithfully
maintained the rights of others, as he required them to maintain his.
“Nor under the influence of ambition,” says he, “do I withhold from any
one that which is his right; but I desire to honour my brethren in all
things.”—There is not a sentence in his writings which contains a
prouder boast of the majesty of his primacy than the following: “I know
no bishop who is not subject to the apostolic see, when he is found in
fault.” But he immediately adds, “Where there is no fault to require
subjection, all are equal by right of humility.” He attributes to
himself the authority to correct those who have transgressed; if all do
their duty, he places himself on an equality with them. But he assumed
this authority to himself, and they who were willing consented to it,
while others, who disapproved of it, were at liberty to oppose it with
impunity; and this, it is notorious, was the conduct of the majority.
Besides, it is to be remarked, that he is there speaking of the primate
of Constantinople, who had been condemned by a provincial synod, and had
disregarded the united judgment of the assembly. His colleagues
complained to the emperor of his obstinacy. The emperor appointed
Gregory to decide the cause. We see, then, that he made no attempt to
interfere with the ordinary jurisdiction; and that the very thing which
he does for the assistance of others, he does only at the command of the
emperor.
XIII. This, therefore, was all the power which was then possessed by the
bishop of Rome,—to oppose rebellious and refractory persons, in cases
which required some extraordinary remedy, and that in order to assist,
not to hinder, other bishops. Therefore he assumes to himself no more
power over others than he grants to all others over himself, when he
professes that he is ready to be reproved by all, and to be corrected by
all. So in another epistle he commands the bishop of Aquileia to come to
Rome to plead his cause in a controversy which had arisen between him
and his neighbours, respecting an article of faith; nevertheless he
gives this command, not from his own authority, but in consequence of
the mandate of the emperor. Nor does he announce himself as the sole
judge, but promises to assemble a synod to judge of the whole affair.
But though there was still such moderation, that the power of the Roman
see had its certain limits, which it was not permitted to exceed, and
the bishop of Rome himself no more presided over others than he was
subject to them, yet it appears how very displeasing this situation was
to Gregory. For he frequently complains, that under the name of being a
bishop, he was forced back to the world, and that he was more involved
in secular cares than ever he had been while he was a layman; so that in
that honour he was oppressed with the tumult of worldly business. In
another passage he says, “Such a vast burden of occupations presses me
down, that my mind is incapacitated for any elevation towards things
above. I am tossed about with numerous causes, like so many waves; and
after my former seasons of retirement and tranquillity, I am disquieted
with the tempests of a tumultuous life; so that I may truly say, I am
come into the depth of the sea, and the tempest has drowned me.” Judge,
then, what he would have said, if he had fallen upon these times. If he
did not fulfil the office of a pastor, yet he was employed in it. He
refrained from all interference in the civil government, and
acknowledged himself to be subject to the emperor in common with others.
He never intruded into the care of other Churches, except when he was
constrained by necessity. And yet he considered himself to be in a
labyrinth, because he could not wholly devote himself to the exclusive
duties of a bishop.
XIV. The bishop of Constantinople, as we have already stated, was at
that time engaged in a contest with the bishop of Rome, respecting the
primacy. For after the seat of the empire was fixed at Constantinople,
the majesty of the government seemed to require that Church to be the
next in dignity to the Church of Rome. And indeed at the beginning
nothing contributed more to establish the primacy in the Church of Rome
than the circumstance of that city being then the capital of the empire.
Gratian recites a rescript under the name of Pope Lucinus, in which he
says that the distinction of cities appointed to be the residence of
metropolitans and primates, was regulated by no other rule than the
nature of the civil government previously established in them. There is
another similar rescript, also, under the name of Pope Clement, in which
he says, that patriarchs had been appointed in those cities which had
anciently been the stations of arch-flamens. This statement, though
erroneous, approaches to the truth. For it is certain, that in order to
make as little change as possible, the provinces were divided according
to the existing state of things, and that primates and metropolitans
were placed in those cities which had precedence of the rest in dignity
and power. Therefore, in the Council of Turin, it was decreed, that
those which were the chief cities of the respective provinces in the
civil government, should be the principal sees of bishops; and that if
the honour of the civil government should happen to be transferred from
one city to another, the seat of the metropolitan should be removed to
the same place. But Innocent, the Roman pontiff, seeing the ancient
dignity of his city beginning to decline, after the translation of the
seat of the empire to Constantinople, and trembling for the honour of
his see, enacted a contrary law; in which he denies the necessity of a
change of the ecclesiastical capitals, in consequence of a change of the
imperial capitals. But the authority of a council ought to be preferred
to the sentence of an individual, and we may justly suspect Innocent
himself in his own cause. He proves by his decree, however, that the
original regulation had been for the seats of metropolitans to be
disposed according to the civil rank of the respective cities.
XV. According to this ancient ordinance, it was decreed in the first
Council of Constantinople, that the bishop of that city should have the
next rank and dignity to the bishop of Rome, because that was a new
Rome. But when a similar decree was passed long after in the Council of
Chalcedon, Leo strenuously opposed it. And he not only took the liberty
of pouring contempt on what had been decided by upwards of six hundred
bishops, but likewise heavily reproached them with having taken from
other sees the honour which they had ventured to confer on the Church of
Constantinople. Now, what could incite him to disturb the world for so
insignificant a cause, but mere ambition? He says, that what had once
been determined by the Council of Nice, ought to have been maintained
inviolable. As if the Christian faith were endangered by the preference
of one Church to another, or as if the patriarchates had been
distributed by the Council of Nice with any other view than the
preservation of external order. Now, we know that external order admits,
and even requires, various changes, according to the various
circumstances of different periods. It is a futile pretence, therefore,
of Leo, that the honour, which the authority of the Nicene council had
given to the see of Alexandria, ought not to be conferred on that of
Constantinople. For common sense dictates, that this was such a decree
as might be abolished according to the state of the times. And besides,
the repeal met with no opposition from the bishops of the East, who were
most interested in the matter. Proterius, who had been appointed bishop
of Alexandria instead of Dioscorus, was present; as were other
patriarchs, whose dignity was lessened by this measure. It was for them
to oppose it, and not Leo, who retained his original station unaltered.
When they all suffered it to pass without any objection, and even
assented to it, and the bishop of Rome was the only one who resisted it,
it is easy to judge by what motive he was influenced. He foresaw, what
actually came to pass not long after, that as the glory of Rome was
declining, Constantinople would not be content with the second place,
but would contend for the primacy. Yet all his clamour was unavailing;
the decree of the council was confirmed. Therefore his successors,
seeing themselves vanquished, peaceably refrained from such obstinacy;
for they decreed that he should be accounted the second patriarch.
XVI. But a little while after, John, who presided over the Church of
Constantinople while Gregory was bishop of Rome, had the arrogance to
assume the title of universal patriarch. Gregory, not afraid of
defending his see in a good cause, resolutely opposed this assumption.
And certainly it betrayed intolerable pride and folly in John to wish to
make the limits of his bishopric the same with those of the empire. Now,
Gregory did not claim to himself what he denied to another; but
execrated the title, by whomsoever it might be usurped, as wicked and
impious. In one of his epistles he expresses his displeasure with
Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, for having complimented him with such a
title. “Behold,” says he, “in the preface of the epistle which you have
directed to myself, who have forbidden it, you have taken care to
introduce that appellation of pride, by calling me universal pope. Which
I entreat that your holiness will not do any more; because all that you
give to another beyond what is reasonable, is deducted from yourself. I
consider nothing an honour to me, by which I see the honour of my
brethren diminished. For my honour is the honour of the universal
Church, and the perfect vigour of my brethren. If your holiness calls me
universal pope, this is denying that you have any share in that which is
wholly attributed to me.” Gregory’s was a good and honourable cause; but
John, being supported by the favour of Mauritius the emperor, could not
be diverted from his purpose; and Cyriacus, his successor, was equally
inflexible.
XVII. At length Phocas, who ascended the throne after the murder of
Mauritius, being more favourable to the Romans,—for what reason I know
not, unless because he had been crowned at Rome without any
difficulty,—granted to Boniface the Third what Gregory had never
demanded,—that Rome should be the head of all Churches. Thus the
controversy was decided. Yet this grant of the emperor could not have
been so much to the advantage of the see of Rome, if it had not been
followed by other things. For Greece and all Asia soon after separated
from its communion. France reverenced it only so far as not to carry its
obedience beyond its inclinations; nor was it reduced to entire
subjection, till Pepin had usurped the crown. For after Zachary, the
Roman pontiff, had assisted Pepin in the commission of treason and
robbery, in deposing his lawful sovereign, and taking possession of the
throne, he was rewarded by having the see of Rome invested with
jurisdiction over the Gallican Churches. As robbers are accustomed to
divide their common booty, so those worthy persons concerted together,
that Pepin should have the temporal and civil sovereignty after the
deposition of the rightful monarch, and that Zachary should be made the
head over all bishops, and enjoy the spiritual power. At first this was
feeble, as is generally the case with new establishments; but it was
afterwards confirmed by the authority of Charlemagne, and almost from a
similar cause; for he also was indebted to the Roman pontiff, for his
exertions in raising him to the dignity of emperor. Now, though it is
probable that the Churches, before that time, had in general been
greatly disfigured, it is evident that in France and Germany the ancient
form of the Church was then entirely obliterated. The archives of the
parliament of Paris still contain brief registers of those times, which,
in relating ecclesiastical events, make frequent mention of the treaties
both of Pepin and Charlemagne with the Roman pontiff; from which it may
be concluded that an alteration was then made in the ancient state of
the Church.
XVIII. From that time, as things daily became worse and worse, the
tyranny of the Roman see was gradually established and increased, and
that partly through the ignorance, and partly through the indolence, of
the bishops. For while the Roman pontiff was usurping every thing to
himself, and proceeding from one assumption to another, without any
limits, in defiance of law and justice, the bishops did not exert
themselves with the zeal which became them to repress his cupidity, and
where there was no want of inclination, they were destitute of real
learning and knowledge, so that they were not at all equal to such an
important undertaking. We see, therefore, what a horrible profanation of
every thing sacred, and what a total disorganization of the Church there
was at Rome in the days of Bernard. He complains that the ambitious, the
avaricious, the simoniacal, the sacrilegious, the adulterous, the
incestuous, and all who were chargeable with the most atrocious crimes,
from every part of the world, resorted to Rome, in order to procure or
to retain ecclesiastical honours by the apostolical authority; and that
fraud, circumvention, and violence, were generally practised. He says,
that the judicial process which was then pursued was execrable, and not
only unbecoming of the Church, but disgraceful to any civil court. He
exclaims, that the Church is full of ambitious men, and that there is
not one who is any more afraid of perpetrating the most flagitious
crimes, than robbers in their den when they are distributing the plunder
which they have seized on the highway. “Few,” he says, “regard the mouth
of the legislator; they all look at his hands, and that not without
cause, for those hands transact all that is done by the pope. What a
business it is, that they are bought with the spoils of the Church, who
say to you, Well done, well done! The life of the poor is sown in the
streets of the rich; silver glitters in the mire; people run to it from
all parts; it is borne away, not by the poorest, but by the strongest,
or perhaps by him who runs fastest. This custom, or rather this mortal
corruption, commenced not with you; I wish it may end with you. In these
circumstances you, a pastor, are proceeding, covered with abundant and
costly attire. If I might dare to use the expression, these are rather
the pastors of devils than of sheep. Did Peter act in this manner? Was
Paul guilty of such trifling? Your court has been accustomed to receive
men good, more than to make them so. For the wicked are not improved in
it, but the good are corrupted.” The abuses of appeals which he relates,
no pious person can read without the greatest horror. At length,
respecting the insatiable cupidity of the see of Rome in the usurpation
of jurisdiction, he concludes in the following manner: “I speak the
murmur and common complaint of the Churches. They exclaim that they are
divided and dismembered. There are few or none of them who do not either
bewail or dread this plague. Do you inquire what plague? Abbots are torn
away from their bishops, bishops from their archbishops. It is wonderful
if this can be excused. By such conduct you prove that you have a
plenitude of power, but not of justice. You act thus because you can,
but the question is whether you ought. You are appointed to preserve to
all their respective honour and rank, and not to envy them.” These few
passages I have thought proper to recite, out of a great many, partly
that the readers may see how sadly the Church had then declined, and
partly that they may know into what sorrow and lamentation all good men
were plunged by this calamity.
XIX. But though we should grant to the Roman pontiff in the present day
the same eminence and extent of jurisdiction which this see possessed in
the middle ages, as in the times of Leo and Gregory, what is that to the
Papacy in its present state? I am not yet referring to the temporal and
secular power, which we shall afterwards examine in its proper place;
but the spiritual government itself of which they boast, what
resemblance has it to the condition of those times? For the Romanists
designate the pope no otherwise than as the supreme head of the Church
on earth, and universal bishop of the whole world. And the pontiffs
themselves, when they speak of their authority, pronounce with great
superciliousness, that they have the power to command, and that to
others is only left the necessity to obey; that all their decrees are to
be received as if they were confirmed by the voice of St. Peter; that
for want of their presence, provincial synods have no authority; that
they have the power to ordain priests and deacons for all the Churches,
and to summon to their see those who have been elsewhere ordained. In
the Decretal of Gratian there are innumerable pretensions of this kind,
which I forbear to recite, lest I should be too tedious to my readers.
But the sum of them all comes to this; that the Roman pontiff alone has
the supreme cognizance of all ecclesiastical causes, whether in judging
and determining doctrines, in enacting laws, in regulating discipline,
or in exercising jurisdiction. It would also be tedious and superfluous
to enumerate the privileges which they assume to themselves in
reservations, as they call them. But what is the most intolerable of
all, they leave no judgment on earth to curb or restrain their cupidity,
if they abuse such unlimited power. “It cannot be lawful,” they say,
“for any one to reject the judgment of this see, on account of the
primacy of the Roman Church.” Again: “The judge shall not be judged,
either by the emperor or by kings, or by all the clergy, or by the
people.” This is arrogance beyond all bounds, for one man to constitute
himself judge of all, and to refuse to submit to the judgment of any.
But what if he exercise tyranny over the people of God, if he divide and
desolate the kingdom of Christ, if he disturb and overturn the whole
Church, if he pervert the pastoral office into a system of robbery? Even
though he should go to the greatest extremes of profligacy and mischief,
he denies that he is at all accountable for his conduct. For these are
the very words of the pontiffs: “God has been pleased to decide the
causes of other men by the judgment of men, but the prelate of this see
he has, without all question, reserved to his own judgment.” Again, “The
actions of our subjects are judged by us; but ours by God alone.”
XX. And that such edicts might have the more weight, they have falsely
substituted the names of ancient pontiffs, as if things had been so
regulated from the beginning; whereas it is very certain, that every
thing, which attributes to the Roman pontiff more than we have stated to
have been given him by the ancient councils, is a novel and recent
fabrication. They have even gone to such a pitch of impudence as to
publish a rescript, under the name of Anastasius, patriarch of
Constantinople, which declares that it had been ordained by the ancient
canons, that nothing should be done even in the remotest provinces,
without being first reported to the Roman see. Beside the notorious
falsehood of this, what man will think it credible, that such a eulogium
of the Roman see proceeded from the adversary and rival of its honour
and dignity? But it was necessary that these Antichrists should be
carried to such an extreme of madness and blindness, that their iniquity
may be evident to all men of sound understanding, who only choose to
open their eyes. But the Decretal Epistles, complied by Gregory the
Ninth, as well as the Constitutions of Clement the Fifth, and the
Decrees of Martin, still more openly and expressly betray, in every
page, the inhuman ferocity and tyranny of barbarous kings. But these are
the oracles from which the Romanists wish their Papacy to be
appreciated. Hence proceeded those famous axioms, which at the present
day are universally received by them as oracles: That the pope cannot
err; that the pope is superior to all councils; that the pope is the
universal bishop of all Churches, and supreme head of the Church upon
earth. I pass over the far greater absurdities, which foolish canonists
maintain in their schools; which, however, the Roman theologians not
only assent to, but even applaud, in order to flatter their idol.
XXI. I shall not treat them with all the severity which they deserve. To
this consummate insolence, another person would oppose the declaration
of Cyprian among the bishops at the Council of Carthage, of which he was
president: “No one of us calls himself bishop of bishops, or, by
tyrannical fear, constrains his colleagues to the necessity of obeying
him.” He would object what was decreed at Carthage some time after,
“That no one should be called _prince of priests, or first bishop_.” He
would collect many testimonies from histories, many canons of councils,
and various passages from the writings of the fathers, by which the
Roman pontiff would be reduced to the rank of other bishops. I pass over
these things, however, that I may not appear to lay too much stress upon
them. But let the most able advocates of the Roman see answer me, with
what face they can dare to defend the title of _universal bishop_, which
they find to have been so often anathematized by Gregory. If the
testimony of Gregory be entitled to any credit, they cannot make their
pontiff universal bishop without thereby declaring him to be Antichrist.
Nor was the title of _head_ any more in use at that time; for in one of
his epistles he says, “Peter is the principal member in the body; John,
Andrew, and James, were heads of particular people. Yet they are all
members of the Church under one head. Even the saints before the law,
the saints under the law, the saints under grace, are all placed among
the members, and no one ever wished himself to be called _universal_.”
The arrogant pretensions of the pontiff to the power of commanding are
very inconsistent with an observation made by Gregory in another
passage. For when Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, had represented
himself as commanded by him, he replies in the following manner:—“I
beseech you, let me not hear the word _command_ mentioned again; for I
know what I am, and what you are. In station, you are my brethren; in
holiness, you are my fathers. Therefore I gave no command, but intended
to suggest to you such things as appeared to be useful.” By extending
his jurisdiction, as he does, without any limits, the pope does a
grievous and atrocious injury, not only to other bishops, but to all
other Churches, which he distracts and divides by such conduct, in order
to establish his own see upon their ruins. But when he exempts himself
from all the judgments of others, and determines to reign in such a
tyrannical manner as to have no law but his own pleasure, this is
certainly so unbecoming, and foreign from the order of the Church, that
it is altogether intolerable, and incapable of any defence. For it is
utterly repugnant, not only to every sentiment of piety, but even of
humanity.
XXII. But that I may not be obliged to pursue and discuss every
particular point, I again appeal to those of my contemporaries, who
would be considered as the most able and faithful advocates of the Roman
see, whether they are not ashamed to defend the present state of the
Papacy, which is evidently a hundred times more corrupt than it was in
the times of Gregory and Bernard, but which even then so exceedingly
displeased those holy men. Gregory every where complains, that he was
excessively distracted with occupations unsuitable to his office; that
under the name of being a bishop, he was carried back to the world; that
he was involved in secular cares, to a greater extent than he could
remember to have been while he was a layman; that he was oppressed with
the tumult of worldly business, so that his mind was incapacitated for
any elevation towards things above; that he was tossed about with
numerous causes like so many waves, and disquieted with the tempests of
a tumultuous life, so that he might justly say, “I am come into the
depth of the sea.” Amidst these worldly avocations, however, he could
still instruct the people by public preaching, give private admonition
and reproof to those who required it, regulate his Church, give advice
to his colleagues, and exhort them to their duty; beside these things,
he had some time left for writing; yet he deplores his calamity, in
being plunged into the depth of the sea. If the administration of that
age was a sea, what must be said of the Papacy in its present state? For
what resemblance is there between them? Here we find no sermons
preached, no attention to discipline, no concern for the Churches, no
spiritual function performed; in a word, nothing but the world. Yet this
labyrinth is praised, as though nothing could be found better
constituted, or better administered. What complaints are poured out by
Bernard, what lamentations does he utter, when he beholds the vices of
his times? What would he say, then, if he could behold this our iron,
or, if possible, worse than iron age? What impudence is it, not only
pertinaciously to defend as sacred and Divine what all the holy fathers
have reprobated with one voice, but also to abuse their testimony in
vindication of the Papacy, which it is evident was utterly unknown to
them! In the time of Bernard, however, I confess the corruption was so
great that there was no great difference between that age and the
present; but those who adduce any plea for the existing state of things
from the time of Leo, Gregory, and others in that middle period, must be
destitute of all shame. This conduct resembles that of any one, who, to
vindicate the monarchy of the Roman emperors, should commend the ancient
state of the Roman government; which would be no other than borrowing
the praises of liberty to adorn a system of tyranny.
XXIII. Lastly, though all these things were conceded to them, they would
be called to a new controversy, when we deny that there exists at Rome a
Church in which such privileges can reside, or a bishop capable of
exercising these dignified prerogatives. Supposing, therefore, all these
things to be true, which, however, we have already refuted,—that, by the
voice of Christ, Peter had been constituted head of the universal
Church; that the honour vested in him he had committed to the Roman see;
that this had been established by the authority of the ancient Church,
and confirmed by long usage; that all men, with one consent, had
invariably acknowledged the supreme power of the Roman pontiff; that he
had been the judge in all causes and of all men, and had been subject to
the judgment of none;—though they should have all these concessions, and
any more that they wished, yet I reply in one word, that none of them
would be of any avail, unless there be at Rome a Church and a bishop.
They must of necessity allow, that Rome cannot be the mother of
Churches, unless it be itself a Church, and that he cannot be the prince
of bishops, who is not a bishop himself. Do they wish, then, to make
Rome the apostolic see? Let them show me a true and legitimate
apostleship. Do they wish to have the supreme pontiff? Let them show me
a bishop. But where will they show us any form or appearance of a
Church? They mention it, indeed, and have it frequently in their mouths.
But the Church is known by certain marks, and a bishopric is a name of
office. I am not now speaking of the people, but of the government
itself, which ought always to appear in the Church. Where is the
ministry, such as Christ’s institution requires? Let us remember what
has already been said of the office of presbyters and bishops. If we
bring the office of cardinals to that rule, we shall confess that they
have no resemblance to presbyters. And I should wish to know what
resemblance the pontiff himself bears to a bishop. The first duty of the
episcopal office is to instruct the people from the word of God; the
second duty, closely connected with the first, is to administer the
sacraments; the third is to admonish, exhort, and reprove those who
offend, and to regulate the people by holy discipline. Which of these
duties does he perform? Which of them does he even pretend to perform?
Let them tell me, then, upon what principle they require him to be
considered as a bishop, who never, even in appearance, with his little
finger touches the least portion of the duty.
XXIV. The case of a bishop is different from that of a king, who still
retains the honour and title of a king, though he execute none of the
royal functions. But in judging of a bishop, regard is to be paid to the
commission of Christ, which ought always to continue in force in the
Church. Let the Romanists, therefore, furnish me with a solution of this
difficulty. I deny that their pontiff is the chief of bishops, because
he is not a bishop himself. Now, they must prove this second member of
my position to be false, if they will obtain the victory in the first.
But what must be the conclusion, if he not only has no characteristic of
a bishop, but every thing contrary to it? But here where shall I begin?
with his doctrine, or his conduct? What shall I say? What shall I omit?
Where shall I stop? I will make this assertion—that as the world is at
present filled with so many corrupt and impious doctrines, loaded with
such various kinds of superstitions, blinded with such numerous errors,
and immerged in such profound idolatry,—there is not one of these evils
which has not originated from the see of Rome, or at least been
confirmed by it. Nor is there any other cause for the violent rage of
the pontiffs against the revived doctrine of the gospel, and for their
exertion of all their power to crush it, and their instigation of all
kings and princes to persecute it, but that they see that their whole
kingdom will decline and fall to the ground, where the primitive gospel
of Christ shall be received. Leo was cruel; Clement was sanguinary; Paul
is ferocious. But it is not so much that nature has impelled them to
impugn the truth, as that this was the only way to defend their power.
As they cannot be safe, therefore, without ruining Christ, they labour
in this cause as if it were in the defence of their religion, their
habitations, their lives. What, then, shall we consider that as the
apostolic see, where we behold nothing but a horrible apostasy? Shall he
be regarded as the vicar of Christ, who, by his furious exertions in
persecuting the gospel, unequivocally declares himself to be Antichrist?
Shall he be deemed Peter’s successor, who rages with fire and sword to
demolish all that Peter built? Shall we acknowledge him to be head of
the Church, who, after severing the Church from Christ, its only true
Head, divides and tears it in pieces? Though it be admitted that Rome
was once the mother of all Churches, yet from the time when it began to
be the seat of Antichrist, it has ceased to be what it was before.
XXV. Some persons think us too severe and censorious, when we call the
Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not
consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul
himself, after whom we speak, and whose language we adopt. And lest any
one should object, that we improperly pervert to the Roman pontiff those
words of Paul, which belong to a different subject, I shall briefly show
that they are not capable of any other interpretation than that which
applies them to the Papacy. Paul says, that Antichrist “sitteth in the
temple of God.”[893] In another place, also, the Holy Spirit, describing
his image in the person of Antiochus, declares that his kingdom will
consist in “speaking great words,” or blasphemies, “against the Most
High.”[894] Hence we conclude, that it is rather a tyranny over the
souls of men, than over their bodies, which is erected in opposition to
the spiritual kingdom of Christ. And in the next place, that this
tyranny is one which does not abolish the name of Christ or of his
Church, but rather abuses the authority of Christ, and conceals itself
under the character of the Church, as under a mask. Now, though all the
heresies and schisms which have existed from the beginning belong to the
kingdom of Antichrist, yet when Paul predicts an approaching apostasy,
he signifies by this description that that seat of abomination shall
then be erected, when a universal defection shall have seized the
Church, notwithstanding many members, dispersed in different places,
persevere in the unity of the faith. But when he adds, that even in his
days “the mystery of iniquity” did “already work”[895] in secret what it
was afterwards to effect in a more public manner, he gives us to
understand that this calamity was neither to be introduced by one man,
nor to terminate with one man. Now, when he designates Antichrist by
this character,—that he would rob God of his honour in order to assume
it to himself,—this is the principal indication which we ought to follow
in our inquiries after Antichrist, especially where such pride proceeds
to a public desolation of the Church. As it is evident therefore that
the Roman pontiff has impudently transferred to himself some of the
peculiar and exclusive prerogatives of God and Christ, it cannot be
doubted that he is the captain and leader of this impious and abominable
kingdom.
XXVI. Now, let the Romanists go and object antiquity against us; as if,
in such a subversion of every thing, the honour of the see could remain,
where no see exists. Eusebius relates that God, in order to make way for
his vengeance, removed the Church from Jerusalem to Pella. What we are
informed did happen once, may have happened oftener. Therefore to attach
the honour of the primacy to any particular place, so that he who is in
fact the most inveterate enemy of Christ, the greatest adversary of the
gospel, the desolater and destroyer of the Church, the most cruel
murderer and butcher of all the saints, must nevertheless be accounted
the vicar of Christ, the successor of Peter, the chief prelate of the
Church, merely because he occupies what was anciently the first see, is
a thing extremely ridiculous and absurd. I forbear to remark the immense
difference between the pope’s chancery, and a well regulated
administration of the Church; though this one thing is sufficient to
remove every difficulty on this subject. For no man in his sound senses
will include the episcopal office in lead and in bulls, much less in
that school of frauds and chicaneries, in which the pope’s spiritual
government consists. It has justly been remarked, therefore, that the
Roman Church which is boasted of, has long ago been converted into a
secular court, which is all that is now to be seen at Rome. Nor am I
here accusing the vices of individuals, but proving that the Papacy
itself is diametrically opposite to the legitimate order of the Church.
XXVII. But if we proceed to persons, it is well known what kind of men
we shall find sustaining the character of vicars of Christ. Julius, and
Leo, and Clement, and Paul, will be pillars of the Christian faith, and
the principal oracles of religion, who never knew any thing of Christ,
except what they had learned in the school of Lucian. But why do I
enumerate three or four pontiffs, as though it were doubtful what kind
of religion the pontiffs and the whole college of cardinals have
professed long ago, and profess in the present day? For of the secret
theology which prevails among them, the first article is, that there is
no God; the second, that all that is written and preached concerning
Jesus Christ is falsehood and imposture; the third, that the doctrine of
a future life, and that of the final resurrection, are mere fables. This
opinion, I confess, is not entertained by all, and is expressed by few
of them; yet it long ago began to be the ordinary religion of the
pontiffs. Though this is notorious to all who are acquainted with Rome,
yet the Roman theologians persist in boasting that the possibility of
error in the pope has been prevented by the privilege of Christ, because
he said to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not.”[896] What can they gain by such impudent mockery, except it be to
convince the whole world of their having arrived at such an extreme of
presumption, that they neither fear God nor regard men?
XXVIII. But let us suppose the impiety of those pontiffs, whom I have
mentioned, to be concealed, because they have not published it by
sermons or by writings, but only betrayed it in their chambers and at
their tables, or at least within the walls of their palaces. But if they
wish to establish this privilege to which they pretend, they must
expunge from the number of the pontiffs John the Twenty-second, who
publicly maintained that souls are mortal, and that they perish together
with the bodies till the day of resurrection. And to show that the whole
see, with its principal pillars, was then entirely overturned, not one
of the cardinals resisted this capital error; but the university of
Paris urged the king of France to compel the pope to a retraction. The
king interdicted his subjects from all communion with him, unless he
should speedily repent; and he caused this to be proclaimed, in the
usual manner, by a herald. Compelled by necessity, the pontiff abjured
his error. This example renders it unnecessary for me to dispute any
longer against the assertion of our adversaries, that the see of Rome
and its pontiffs cannot err respecting the faith, because Christ said to
Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” John certainly
fell from the true faith in so disgraceful a manner, that he might
furnish to posterity a signal proof, that those who succeed Peter in his
bishopric are not all Peters. The argument itself, however, is too
puerile to need any answer. For if they are determined to apply to
Peter’s successors every thing that was said to Peter, it will follow
that they are all Satans, because the Lord also said to Peter, “Get thee
behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me.”[897] It will be as easy
for us to retort this passage against them, as it is for them to object
the other against us.
XXIX. But it affords me no pleasure to contend with them in such
fooleries, and therefore I return from the digression. To confine
Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the Church, to one particular place, so
that whoever presides there, even though he be a devil, must,
nevertheless, be deemed the vicar of Christ, and the head of the Church,
because that place was formerly the see of Peter, I maintain to be not
only impious and dishonourable to Christ, but altogether absurd and
repugnant to common sense. The Roman pontiffs for a long time have
either been totally indifferent to religion, or have shown themselves
its greatest enemies. They are no more made the vicars of Christ,
therefore, by the see which they occupy, than an idol is to be taken for
God, because it is placed in his temple. Now, if a judgment is to be
formed on their conduct, let the pontiffs answer for themselves in what
part of it they can at all be recognized as bishops. In the first place,
the mode of life generally pursued at Rome, not only without any
opposition from them, but with their connivance, and even tacit
approbation, is altogether disgraceful to bishops, whose duty it is to
restrain the licentiousness of the people by a rigid discipline. I will
not, however, be so severe against them as to charge them with the
faults of other persons. But while both themselves and their families,
with almost the whole college of cardinals, and the whole host of their
clergy, are so abandoned to all kinds of debauchery, impurity, and
obscenity, and to every species of enormity and crime, that they
resemble monsters rather than men, they prove themselves to have no just
claim to the character of bishops. They need not be afraid, however,
that I shall proceed to a further disclosure of their turpitude. For it
is unpleasant to meddle with such abominable pollution, and it is
necessary to spare chaste ears. Besides, I conceive, I have more than
sufficiently proved what I intended, that even if Rome had anciently
been the head of all Churches, yet at the present day she is not worthy
of being accounted one of the smallest toes of the Church’s feet.
XXX. With respect to the cardinals, as they are called, I know not how
it has come to pass that they have so suddenly risen to such high
dignity. In the time of Gregory, this title was exclusively applied to
bishops; for whenever he mentions cardinals, he speaks of them not only
as belonging to the Church of Rome, but to any other Churches; so that,
in short, a cardinal priest is no other than a bishop. I find no such
title at all in the writers of any preceding age; and at that time, I
observe, they were far inferior to bishops, to whom they are now so far
superior. This passage of Augustine is well known: “Though, according to
the titles of honour which have long been used in the Church, a bishop
is superior to a presbyter, yet Augustine is in many things inferior to
Jerome.” He clearly makes not the least distinction between a presbyter
of the Roman Church and those of other Churches, but places them all
alike below the bishops. And this order was so long observed, that in
the Council of Carthage, when two legates attended from the Roman see,
one a bishop, the other a presbyter, the presbyter was obliged to take
the lowest seat. But not to go too far into antiquity for examples, we
have the acts of a council held under Gregory at Rome, at which the
presbyters sat in the lowest place, and subscribed separately; and the
deacons were not allowed to subscribe at all. And, indeed, the priests
had no other office at that time, than to attend and assist the bishop
in the ministry of the word and the administration of the sacraments.
Now, their condition is so changed, that they are become the cousins of
kings and emperors. And there is no doubt but they rose by degrees,
together with their head, till they reached their present high dignity.
This also I have thought proper to suggest by the way in a few words,
that the reader may more fully understand, that the Roman see, in its
present circumstances, is widely different from its ancient state, under
the pretext of which it is now maintained and defended. But whatever
they may have been in former times, since they have now no true and
legitimate office in the Church, and only retain a mere name and useless
mask of one, and since every thing belonging to them is quite contrary
to it, it was necessary that what Gregory often forebodes should
actually befall them: “I say it with tears, I denounce it with groans,
that since the sacerdotal order is fallen within, it will not long be
able to stand without.” Or rather it was necessary that what Malachi
declares of similar characters should be fulfilled in them: “Ye are
departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye
have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore
have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people.”[898]
I now leave it to all pious persons to consider the nature of the lofty
fabric of the Roman hierarchy, to which the Papists, with nefarious
impudence, and without any hesitation, sacrifice even the word of God
itself, which ought to have been held venerable and sacred by heaven and
earth, by men and angels.
Footnote 893:
2 Thess. ii. 4.
Footnote 894:
Dan. vii. 25.
Footnote 895:
2 Thess. ii. 7.
Footnote 896:
Luke xxii. 32.
Footnote 897:
Matt. xvi. 23.
Footnote 898:
Mal. ii. 8, 9.