60S 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



r ,-., 



the 

 rhy, 



The bishop 

 becomes a 

 metropoli-' 



Reasoning 

 TtheCa- 

 :.ttlic in 

 ivi>ur of 

 lie papacy, 



people attached to tliein. The whole society was join- 

 ed together in otic principle uflovt 1 , and its members 

 distinguished by a " simplicity and godly since- 

 rity," which wt shall look for in vaiii in the succeeding 

 !' tin- church. 



of this priincv.-il simplicity, the hierarchy and 

 the pap.ooy arose ; but they arose by gradual steps, and 

 i -o.n.-tiiiic* imperceptible donations, 

 from the apoctolical pattern. \crno Jit rr/ienle turpis- 

 simus, is a maxim which applies not only to individuals, 

 but to The interest and the splendour of an 



order of men may be promoted and secured by unjusti- 

 fiable mean*, as well as the interest and the. splendour 

 of any one man. But in both cases, the clump 

 commonly slow, and the encroachments gradual and 

 successive. Let us tr.icc, as shortly and distinctly as 

 we can, the step-- by which the usurpations of the hierar- 

 chy reached their unwarrantable and criminal height. 



l-'irst of id], the distinction between the bishop and 

 his assistants was rendered more obvious and consider- 

 able. Next, an idea began to prevail, that these assist- 

 ants were only the representatives of the bishop, deri- 

 ving their powers exclusively from him, and subject, in 

 the exercise of those powers, to his superintendence, in- 

 spection, and controul. He ordained the functionaries 

 in question to the clerical office, and they were tried in 

 what may be called, even at this early period, his con- 

 sistory court. The property of the church, arising 

 from the liberal donations of the Christian brethren, 

 was now regarded as belonging, in a great degree, to 

 the bishop, and in the disposal and use of it, he not un- 

 frequcntly consulted his own importance and splendour. 

 This property was sometimes in land ; but whether in 

 land, or in money, or in cups and vestments, when once 

 consigned to the church, it remained for ever in her 

 possession. She could acquire property, but she could 

 not lose it ; no individual could deteriorate it to the in- 

 jury of his successor ; no deed or settlement could alie- 

 nate it, to the injury of the community. 



The next step seems to have been taken by the bishops 

 residing in large towns. In those towns, the ecclesiasti- 

 cal assemblies were usually held; the bishop, always on 

 the spot, and growing daily in wealth and influence, was 

 commonly chosen president of these assemblies. When 

 once chosen, he would not easily be prevailed upon to 

 resign his place. In a short time, he would claim it as 

 his right. Prescription woidd sanction what usurpa- 

 tion had begun. And thus the bishop, once upon a 

 level with his presbyters, or at most upon a level with 

 iiis brethren of the episcopate, would be established in 

 precedency and splendour, as the metropolitan of the 

 province to which he belonged. His powers were then 

 extended and confirmed ; new claims were made and 

 allowed ; the civil polity of Constantino afforded an 

 example ; the ecclesiastical constitution was made to 

 approximate to the political ; the rulers of the church 

 corresponded to the lu'gh officers and governors of the 

 state ; their provinces were of similar extent, and though 

 their functions were different, then- authority was near- 

 ly the same. The metropolitan now became a patri- 

 arch, and in process of time the patriarch became a pope. 



This last change, however, the completion of sacer- 

 dotal aggrandizement, was the result of other circum- 

 stances and considerations, besides those which we have 

 mentioned above. It had been observed, that in the 

 enumeration of the apostles, give~n by the sacred wri- 

 ters, Peter held the first place, probably on account of 

 his age, and personal respectability. " Now the names 

 of the twelve apostles," says St Matthew, " are these, 

 iirst, Simon, who is called Peter, 



rii?( :" fir.\t /',/,/. tl.it is, as Or CampU-ll seems to 

 think, " Peter, occupying thelii>t place." It had been ' d ' 

 remarked likewise, that this apostle is represented by "^"'~~* 

 Christ himself as tin- nc!%. on which the church 

 tu l>e founded. " Thou art Peter," says he to him, 

 ' i-nd on this rock, (alluding to the name.) will I build 

 my church," that is, in consequence of thy miniilrx 

 apostolical labours, shall the religion which 1 am com- 

 mNsioned to teach, be introduced into the world, and 

 finally established. Accordingly, the apostle Peter 

 the Iirst who preached to the Jews the doctrine of our 

 Saviour's resurrection as a tenet of the Christian faith : 

 and he was the first al-o u ho ; nnounccd to the ( leiitilc-. 

 that they were admitted into the covenant of Abraham, 

 and entitled to all its privileges and blowings. I>y the 

 bishop of Koir.i-. however, and his adherents, these pas- 

 sages of hoi}' writ were understood in a very different 

 sense. In their apprehension, St Peter occupied tin- 

 first place, not on account of his years, and his pcr-on.d 

 respectability, but solely on account of those powcr> 

 and dignities which were conferred upon him by Christ. 

 He was the rock, they affirmed, on which the church 

 was built, the foundation and support of the whole. 

 And in their zeal for their own aggrandizement and 

 interest, they forgot the declaration in which we are 

 assured that the church is built on " the apostles and 

 prophets" generally, " Jesus Christ himself being the 

 chief corner-stone." 



But it would be of no consequence to invest St The pope 

 Peter with powers and dignities, unless the bishop P rctcn ds t 

 of Rome could prove himself to be the legitimate ^ 

 successor of that venerable apostle. This, of course, p e t cr . 

 he attempted. It was given out, and very soon be- 

 lieved, that the see of Rome was founded by the 

 apostle alluded to ; though it does not appear from any 

 historical document, that he ever visited the capital of 

 the Roman world. There was a prevalent tradition, 

 however, that such had been the case. The claim once 

 made, was not to be abandoned. It was affirmed more 

 loudly than ever, that St Peter, the first and chief of all 

 the apostles, was the founder of the holy see. And it 

 was no less pertinaciously maintained, mat the powers 

 originally conferred on this distinguished individual, 

 had descended by regular devolution upon his succes- 

 sors in office. The inference was plain. The bishop 

 of Rovuo, like St Peter himself, was the rock on which 

 the church was built, the foundation and basi-i oi tlie 

 whole superstructure, without which it could not stand 

 together for a moment, but must instantly (all into 

 ruins. The powers of the church were invested in him 

 alone, laid up as it were, and condensed in his sacred 

 person. If others were the branches, he was the root ; 

 if others might be permitted to call themselves the 

 streams, he was the inexhaustible fountain which sup- 

 plied the whole. In one word, he was constituted by 

 Christ himself the supreme legislator and judge 

 of the universal church ; and all bishops, metropolitans, 

 and patriarchs, were subject to his authority, and de- 

 pendent on his sovereign will. 



This it must be owned was a sweeping conclusion ; TI U . , 

 but the premises were received as good, and the conse- an-h <>t' 

 quence appeared to be unavoidable. The value of the <'nM;mti. 

 new logic, however, was not universally allowed. The ^j C *S. 

 patriarch of Constantinople in particular was extremely "' 

 dissatisfied with it. There were other churchc 

 said, which were founded by the apostle 1'eter, u wrll 

 as that of Rome. Hy the consent of all antiquity, the 

 church of Antioch was one of these. And he insinuated 

 in a way which could not be misunderstood, that as 

 Constantinople ws the scut of empire, the place where 



