A TREATISE ON THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. PART VII. ON THE ROMAN PONTIFF. CHAPTER I. ON THE PREEMINENCE OF ST. PETER. : THE doctrine of the primacy of the bishop of Rome over the universal church, is the point on which all other controversies between the Roman and other churches turn for if our Lord Jesus Christ instituted any official supremacy of one bishop in the catholic church, to endure always; and if this supremacy be inherited by the bishop of Rome, it will readily follow, that the catholic church is limited to those of the Roman obedience; and that the councils, doctrines, and traditions of those churches are invested with the authority of the whole christian world. The argument on which Roman theologians endeavour to establish the primacy of the Roman pontiff as jure divino, is as follows. (1) St. Peter was given by our Saviour a primacy or supremacy of official dignity and power in the church beyond the other apostles. (2) This primacy was an ordinary office designed to be permanent in the church. (3) The Roman pontiff alone has a just claim to this primacy, manifested by the continual possession and exercise of its rights from the earliest periods. The different members of this argument will form the subjects of the present and the three following chapters. That St. Peter was in a certain sense the first of the apostles may be readily conceded. His zeal, his love of Christ, and the many and great labours to which they prompted him, seem to have exceeded those of the other apostles. This would sufficiently account for his being generally placed first by the sacred writers, when his name occurs with those of other apostles; and it would also account for our Lord's distinguishing him above the rest, by addressing him peculiarly on several occasions, when he intended to convey directions, or give powers to all the apostles. Such is the opinion of St. Augustine and St. Cyril". Several of the fathers however were of opinion, that Peter had this preeminence in consequence of his age, being the eldest of the apostles. This doctrine is taught by Jerome, Chrysostom, and Cassianus. Others, as Epiphanius, Cyprian, Hilary, Basil, Gregory the great, and Chrysostom in another place, suppose that Peter was first of the apostles, because he was first called. Others, as Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Epiphanius, Optatus, Ambrose, suppose that he was given the preeminence in consequence of his public confession of Christ. It appears from this, that catholic tradition does not enable us to determine with certainty the reasons for which St. a Du Pin, De Antiqua Ecclesiæ Disciplina, p. 312. ed. Paris. 1686. b Du Pin, ibid. Tournely, De Eccl. t. ii. p. 11. Barrow, Treatise of the Pope's Supremacy, Works, vol. i. p. 560. ed. 1722. Du Pin, ibid. Tournely, ibid. Barrow, ibid. d Tournely, ut supra. p. 12. Barrow, ibid. Peter had a personal preeminence of honour among the apostles. But I now proceed to show that this apostle had no official supremacy or jurisdiction over the other apostles. I. According to scripture the apostles were all equal and supreme in authority. Our Lord said to all the apostles collectively and individually, "Whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words; . . . it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." "I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth f." "He will guide you into all truth "." After his resurrection he said to them, "As my Father hath sent me, so send I you. He breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained "." "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 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 lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world." From these passages I argue, that all the apostles were invested with equal and SUPREME authority in the church. For our Lord's words were addressed to all the apostles: no distinction was made: all were alike addressed, and all were therefore given the same apostolical authority. And the authority thus given was SUPREME. Every apostle was to be heard under the Matt. x. 14, 15. f John xiv. 16. s John xvi. 13. h John xx. 21-23. penalty of eternal death: every apostle was guided by the Holy Ghost into all truth: every apostle was sent as Jesus Christ was sent by the Father; that is with the plenitude of supreme power: every apostle was authorized to remit sins, and to teach all nations. Nothing conceivable by human imagination, can surpass the grandeur and the magnitude of this mission and these powers; and therefore St. Peter could not have exceeded the other apostles in power or official dignity; but could only have excelled them in personal respects. And accordingly we find that St. Peter was always superior to the other disciples in zeal and activity; but never do we find an instance of his exercising authority over them. In fact scripture plainly teaches us that "God hath set some in the church: FIRST apostles, secondarily prophets," &c. * Therefore the twelve apostles were FIRST in the church: not the apostle Peter alone. II. The same conclusion is supported by tradition. Tertullian says: "We have the apostles of Christ for our authors." Cyprian: "Certainly the other apostles were what Peter was, endowed with an equal plenitude both of honour and power: but the beginning takes its rise from unity, that the church may be demonstrated to be one "." Ambrose: "When Peter heard, 'But what say ye that * 1 Cor. xii. 28. "Apostolos Domini habemus autores."-Tertull. De Præscript. adv. Hæres. m"Quamvis apostolis omnibus post resurrectionem suam parem potestatem tribuat et dicat: Sicut misit me Pater et ego mitto vos: Accipite Spiritum sanctum : si cui remiseritis peccata remittentur illi: si cui tenueritis tene buntur:' tamen ut unitatem manifestaret, unitatis ejusdem originem ab uno incipientem sua auetoritate disposuit. Hoc erant utique et cæteri apostoli quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio præditi et honoris et potestatis; sed exordium ab unitate proficiscitur, ut ecclesia una monstretur."Cypr. De Unit. Eccl. |