Lastly, that they solemnly adopt as their own, opinions which justify: persecution, and allow of even the highest degree of intolerance.

Independently of all this, surely this is a most extraordinary transaction! a most extraordinary scene, however often before exhibited a set of men, subjects of a country, sit in judgment, declaring themselves in these important points, independent of the Sovereign, and not controllable by his Government; and proudly dictating to millions of their fellow subjects in certain cases, with which they have the assurance to say, that the government of the country has nothing to do. And yet one of these very points, thus decided by them, is, whether or not there shall be given to that very government any further security for their allegiance before they shall be admitted to political power!

Is this, or is this not, that "Imperium in Imperio," so constantly and so decidedly reprobated?-Surely, without profaneness; we may say,, "whoso is wise will ponder these things."

MELANCTHON'S FIRST LETTER.
(See page 163.)

The Origin of the Regal and Papal Supremacy in the Christian Church, and their effects respectively on the State of Society.

In the early ages of the Church, Bishops were elected by the Clergy and the People, and were afterwards consecrated by some neighbouring Prelate, who could not require a stronger test of the purity of their lives, than the approbation of their flocks with whom they had lived, and whom they were to instruct; besides, their subsistence depended on the free-will offerings of the faithful. Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, who died in the year 258, declares, in his Epistles, that in all the ordinations which he made, he used to consult with the Presbyters, Deacons and People, and, by their common advice, to weigh every person's merits.-Epist. 38, 40, and 52.

In his Epistle addressed to the people of Carthage, he asks them, whether he was not chosen by their suffrages and the judgment of God?-Idem, Epist. 40.

In his 52d Epistle, he says, that Novatian was made a Bishop by the Clergy and the People. Origen, Bishop of Alexandria, who died in the year 254, says the same of himself.-Hom. 6. in Levit.

The election of Bishops by the People is mentioned in the 2d and 6th Canons of the Council of Nice, 323, Eusebius tells us, that Saint Fabius, Bishop of Rome, was elected by the Clergy and People in the year 236. In this manner were persons raised to the Prelacy in the

early ages of Christianity; but when Constantine the Great embraced it, in the year 320, and gave peace and protection to the Church, which had been previously under the frowns of the imperial government, he and his successors obtained a complete supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs, till it was usurped by Pope Gregory VII. commonly called Hildebrand, in the year 1073.-Spanheim's Ecclesiastical History, p. 1102.

They confirmed or set aside the election of Bishops, and often deposed such of them as were lapsed in heresy; convened and presided in General Councils, either in person or by their representatives; and established the Canons by their edict, for they were invalid without their consent.Justinian Code, 30, de episcopis et clericis, and 23d Novel.

Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea, who wrote the life of the conqueror Constanstine, tells us, that he was called the general Bishop, from his absolute and general supremacy over all Prelates, and that the fathers of the first General Council, convened by him, at Nice, in the year 325, obtained the confirmation of their Canons from him.-Lib. iii. cap. 18.They, by his orders, framed the Nicene Creed, which is the standard of the Christian Faith at this time in the Established Church.

Con

Socrates, in his Ecclesiastical History, says, that the fathers of the 2d General Council, convened at Constantinople by Theodosius the Great, in the year 381, wrote to him, to confirm their Canons; and in their letter to him they say, " that he did honour to them and to their Church, in convening them, and they prayed that he would make their Canons authentic by his seal." The code of that Emperor abounds with laws concerning religion and church-men. Code Theod. lib. xvi. tit. 5, leg. 14. Idem, tit. 4. leg. 2. p. 100. Idem lib. iii. tit. 7. leg. 2. p. 278, The 3d General Council convened at Ephesus, in the year 431, and the fourth at Chalcedon, in the year 451, by the Emperor Marcian, received the confirmation of their Canons from him. The fathers of the 5th General Council, convoked by the Emperor Justinian, at stantinople, in the year 553, pe itioned him to legalise their Canons. His code and novellæ are full of laws concerning the Clergy, their age, their qualifications, their residence, the convocation of Synods and Councils, and the manners and deportment of Priests, Deacons, and Subdeacons. He said of himself" that his greatest care was, about the true doctrines of God, and the good liv s of the Bishops." Novel. 123. c. 10. Under severe penalties, he prohibited them from pronouncing the sen tence of excommunication, unless the cause was first notified to, and approved by him.-Justinian published an edict, by which he ordained "that all the Canons which were made by the four first General Councils should have the force of law." Code, lib. iii. c. 16. and Labb. Tom. v.

1.

422. Pope Gelasius tells us, that it was customary for those who were to be raised to the Popedom, to give a public profession of their religious principles, lest schisms should take place in the Church. Epist. 2d ad Laurent. Pope Gregory I. who was raised to the Pontificate in the year 590, in giving an account of his faith, praised in a very high strain the four first General Councils, and declared, that he reverenced them as much as the four books of the Holy Gospel. Lib. i. epist. 24.

*

It is well worth the reader's notice, that the four first General Councils, thus extolled by Gregory I. who was denominated Gregory the Great, for his piety and learning, were made the standard of the Christian Religion in England, by the first act of Elizabeth, which unquestionably proves, that the doctrines of the Established Church are consonant to the pure and primitive principles of Christianity. So sensible was that illustrious Prelate Gregory I. that no person could be raised to the See of Rome, without the imperial sanction, that he, not wishing to fill the pontifical chair, wrote the Emperor Mauritius, to annul his election; but he refused, and confirmed it. Gregor. epist. lib. i. epist. 94. He also said, agnosco imperatorem a Deo concessum non militibus solum, sed sacerdotibus imperari. "I acknowledge, that a Prince appointed by the Lord, has a right to govern, not only the Military, but the Priesthood." He also gave the following unquestionable proof, that he condemned the pretensions of any Prelate to a supremacy in the Christian Church. When the Bishop of Constantinople assumed the title of general or œcumenical Bishop, Gregory I. declared in a letter to the Emperor Mauritius, "that it was a blasphemous title, and that none of the Roman Pontiffs had ever dared to assume so singular a one." Greg. epist. lib. iv. ind. 13. p. 137.

1

In a letter to the Bishop of Constantinople, he said, "what wilt thou

say to Christ, the head of the Universal Church, in the day of judgment, who thus endeavourest to subject his numbers to thyself, by this title of universal? Who, I ask thee, dost thou imitate in this but the Devil." Idem epist. 38. In a letter to the Empress, he said, his pride, in as

suming this title, shewed that the days of Anti-Christ were at hand."Idem. p. 36.

The claims of the Roman Bishops, at first, to a precedence in the Christian Church, arose from the grandeur of the Imperial City, in which they resided; and from the august presence of the Emperor. For as Guicciardini observes, in the 7th book of his history," the seat of Religion followes the seat of Empire." As there was a rivalship between the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople, it was ordained by the 3d Canon of the 2d General Council," that the Bishops of Constantinople, on account of its being new Rome, should have the privilege of honor next

t

to the Bishop of Rome." This Canon deciares what kind of primacy the Bishop of Rome had above other Bishops, and on what ground it stood, viz. a Primacy of Honour; and the reason assigned is, that Rome had been the Imperial City, and that the Bishop of Constantinople should have the same honor next to him, for the same reason, because Constantinople was new Rome; that is, the seat of the Empire was removed there.

By the 28th canon of the general Council, held at Chalcedon, in the year 451, it was decreed, "that the Bishop of Constantinople should enjoy equal privileges with the Bishop of Rome, there being the same reason for one as the other, Constantinople being then the imperial seat as Rome had been." By the 8th canon of the 3d general Council it was decreed, "that the same course be observed in all dioceses and provinces, that none of the holy Bishops seize upon another diocese, which was not of old and from the beginning, under his power, for that doing so was the pride of wordly ambition; but if any one have done so, he should be compelled to restore it." This decree is in general words, without any reservation for the Bishop of Rome.

All schisms were referred to, and decided by, the Emperors and Kings of Italy. Thus when there was a competition for the Popedom, between Boniface and Eulalius, who were elected by different factions, their pretensions were referred to the Emperor Honorius, in the beginning of the 5th century, and he determined in favour of Boniface: at whose instance he passed a law, that when two Popes were elected, neither should enjoy the Pontificate, but that a new election should be held. Rescrip. Hon. ad Bonif. Concil. tom ii. p. 1513.

Odoacer, King of the Heruli and Thuringii, who conquered Augus tulus, the last Roman Emperor of the West, in the year 476, and reigned over Italy fourteen years, maintained an absolute supremacy over all the Popes and Bishops thereof. He was advised by Pope Simplicius, on his death-bed, to see that no election was made without his advice and direction. Concil. Roman. sub. Symmac. cap. i. benef. lib. 3.

Theodoric, first monarch of the Ostro-Goths, who conquered Odoacer, and was crowned King of Italy, in the year 493, would not allow any person to be chosen for the government of the Church, that was not distinguished for probity and learning. Cassiodor. Lib. viii. cap. 14. This monarch determined the schism between Laurentius and Symmachus, competitors for the Popedom, and declared in favour of the latter. Gian none's History of Naples, lib. iii. cap. 6. sec. 3. Athalric, successor of Theodoric, alarmed at the scenes of discord which arose from competi tions for the Popedom, passed a rigorous edict for regulating the election

of Popes and Bishops, which was drawn up by Cassiodorus, reputed a saint for his sanctity. Cassiod. lib. ix. c. 15.

Platina, an eminent Roman Catholic writer, of the 15th century, who was librarian of the Vatican, and wrote the lives of the Popes, tells us, that the Emperor's consent was necessary to the appointment of the Roman Pontiffs. Plat. in Pelag. II. and Guicciard. Hist. lib. iv.

Onuphrius, a learned Romish Divine, of Verona, who wrote the continuation of their lives, tells us, that by a Decree of Pope Vigilius, in the middle of the 6th century, and during the reign of Justinian, it was ordained, that the Pope should not be consecrated till the Emperor had confirmed his election by letters patent. (In vita Silverii.) While the Emperors of the East reigned over Italy, no person dared to assume the Popedom without their consent, or that of their Exarchs, who resided at Ravenna; and this uniformly continued till the Popes renounced their allegiance to their sovereign, and became independent of him. Guicciard's Hist, lib. iv.

In the 6th general Council, assembled at Constantinople, in the year 680, all the canons of the preceding Councils were confirmed. In like manner, all the canons of the six general Councils, were ratified by the seventh, assembled at Nice, in the year 787. By its 13th canon, the practice of imposing celibacy on priests and deacons is condemned. The 19th says, "Scripture is not to be interpreted by the Pope, but by the writings of the Fathers, whenever any controversy arises.”- The 36th canon confirms the former ones, which gave the See of Constantinople equal privileges with the See of Rome. It is thus declared in the be ginning of every act of this Council," the general Council convened by God's grace and the religious command of their sacred Majesties."Act. i. p. 39 et passim.They read over to the Empress Irene and her son, who presided in it, all the canons which they had framed, and prayed that they would confirm them with their pious subscriptions, which they accordingly did.-Act. viii. p. 59. 1. b.-The same proceedings took place in the 8th general Council, convened in the year 869, at Constantinople, when they ratified all the preceding canons, and particularly that enjoining the Nicene creed, which continued to be the standard of the Christian Faith, (as it is now used in the Established Church), till the 10th century, when Pope Pius IV. by order of the Council of Trent, framed a new Confession of Faith, consisting of twelve new articles, which were never beard of before in the Church. It must be considered as a new Faith, and it makes the Romish to be a new Church; which falsely calls itself the antient, Catholic, apostolic Church, a title to which it has no just preten

• We shall not c: these new articles ere long.-Edit. VOL. I. [Prot. Adv. Jan. 1813.] 2 F