cause some rupture with the Pope Into what confusion and disorder might not so unfortunate an accident cast us †Greg. Naz. Orat. 12. Were we not better to Sacrifice somewhat to the good of our peace which is the greatest Legacy that our Saviour left to his Apostles * Joh. 14.27 Pacem meam do vobis What is there more precious than Union and Concord since that Jesus Christ gave so great a Character of it to his Disciples †Joh. 13.35 In hoc cognoscent omnes quia mei Discipuli estis si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem What is there more prejudicial than disunion and discord which destroy the most flourishing States Omne regnum divisum contra se desolabitur domus divisa contra se non stabit Matt. 12.25 Phila. I agree with you that we ought to do our utmost to obtain Peace that we ought to sacrifice our own Interests nay that for so great a good we ought to relinquish things that seem to us of importance Ipsum enim nomen pacis amabille says St. Austin but you must own too that we ought to do nothing for Peace to the prejudice of Truth St. Paul joyns these one with the other ‖ Eph. 4.15 Veritatem facientes in Charitate And God who calls himself Charity calls himself also Truth I know also that the Fathers of the Church exhort us greatly to avoid Schism as a mortal poison but a Peace made against the interest of Truth is not a real Peace and when we cannot make it and maintain it but at the prejudice of this Trurh it were better that a Scandal should arise than that Truth should be abandoned Satius est says St. Bernard ut scandalum oriatur quam ut veritas disceratur Philér How My dear Philal. Do you think that the Propositions of the Clergies Declaration and of Father Buhi's Thesis contain such essential and such important Truths that it would be a crime not to defend them tho it were to the disturbance of the Publick Peace Phila. Yes Dear Sir I am very well perswaded that all these Propositions are founded upon Texts of Scripture upon the Canons of Councils and upon the perpetual and constant Tradition of the Church principally of the Gallican Church and by consequence I believe that we ought not to depart from them any ways and that we cannot do it without danger But because it will be a matter of long Discourse I shall defer the examining of it to another walk The Second Dialogue PHilalethe and Phileréné who were no less desirous to entertain each other upon the subject whereon they had begun than to enjoy the fine weather of the Spring came the next day to the place appointed for their Conversation Scarce had they walked a turn or two talking of indifferent matters but Philalethe to make good the promise he had made the day before to his dear Friend began thus I told you yesterday says he that the Propositions contained in the Declaration of my Lords the Bishops and in the Thesis maintained by Father Buhi are of greater importance than you thought of and that they contained in them Truths too evident and too necessary to be let go for the motives of a deluding Peace To convince you of it we will make it the subject of our present Discourse I believe that the first and chief of these Questions and which ought to serve as a foundation to all the rest is that which concerns the Authority of Councils which hath ever been most venerable among Christians and which I believe to be of Divine Right and above the Authority of the Pope And in this I rely upon the Scripture and the perpetual and constant Tradition of the Church I believe answered Philéréne as you do That the Authority of Councils is of Divine Right and no Christian that ever I heard of hath yet disputed it But I know not whether you can so clearly prove as you hope for that this Authority of Councils is above that of the Pope for that many Learned men hold the contrary and there seems to be nothing in Antiquity decisive upon this matter The Council of Constance was the first that in this case pronounced in favour of Councils and what that Council declared about it was not in an absolute sence but in some certain respects and for some certain occasions Phila. I acknowledg that there are some famous Doctors who are of this opinion That the Pope is above the Council but it cannot also be denied but that the number of Learned men who hold the contrary Opinion is much the greater and you shall scarce find a Man of Learning in all France but he adheres to their Party Philér I am not for entring upon this particular discourse but you will oblige me to shew me by good Reasons that the Authority of Councils is the supream Authority in the Church and that Believers ought not to acknowledg any other upon Earth in things which relate to Faith and Discipline Phila. To be as good as my word to you then in what I promised you I suppose you know the Original of Councils A Man of your reading in the Divine History cannot be ignorant that God himself established them when he commanded Moses to take to him Seventy Elders for the Government and Conduct of his Ancient people and you know without doubt that the Jews had not only their Council of Twenty three which they called the Lesser House of Judgment but also their Council of Seventy wherein presided their Anaci which Council was composed of Sacrificers Priests and Scribes of the Law and was called the Greater House of Judgmen Our Councils have been formed after this Model and the Apostles began them at Jerusalem But to remove all difficulty our Question seems to be clearly decided by our Saviour in the 18th of St. Matthew when he referreth them who had any difference to the Church if they could not decide it by another way Dic Ecclesiae you see our Saviour referreth his Disciples to the Church without excepting St. Peter himself for which reason St. Augustin says very pertinently * Ep. 112. Tra. 118. in don lib. 1. pebapt con Donat. cap. 51. That the Church is the last and supreme Judgment that St. Peter signified the Church when our Saviour said to him That whatsoever he should bind on Earth should be bound in Heaven and whatsoever he should loose on Earth should be loosed in Heaven that it is the Church which received the power of the Keys and that if any one despiseth her when she correcteth he ought to be looked upon as a Publican and a Sinner It is furthermore the Church which is called the Support and Pillar of Truth * 1 Tim. 3.15 Columna firmamentum veritatis If you take good heed to this expression of St. Paul and to the Reasons whereon he grounds it you will agree that the Church is
the depositary of Truth and that she hath the supream jurisdiction over her Children for their behaviour for it is certain in this Text that St. Paul alludes either to the Pillars which were erected in the Heathen Temples upon which were fixed the Statues and the Deities which were there worshipped or to the Two Pillars of Solomon's Temple one of which was called Jakin and the other Bohas and that he would have us understand by it that it is the Churches Office to declare to establish and to maintain the Truth Philér I see very well that the Church being the Spouse of Jesus Christ she is made partaker of the advantages and privileges which Marriage endoweth her with and that she being his Body is as it were clothed with his Majesty But St. Peter Was not he made the Head of this Church Did not Jesus Christ make him his Lieutenant and Vicar when he said to him that upon him he would build his Church †Matt. 16.18 19. Tu es Petrus super hanc Petram c. Was it not to St. Peter that he gave the Soveraign Authority when he said to him Dabo tibi claves Regni Coelorum quodcunq ligaveris super Petram c. Phila. It is true that all Catholick Divines do acknowledg St. Peter as the Ministerial head of the Church and Prince of the Society of the Apostles but this was not a principality of Dominion which our Saviour expresly forbiddeth his Apostles ‖ Matt. 16.18 19. Luke 22.25 Item Matt. 20.25 Reges gentium Dominantur eorum vos autem non sic For which reason St. Bernard says in the 3d Book of his Considerations to Eugenius Imperium interdicitur Ministerium indicitur But this is only a Primacy of Order ₠Lib. de unit Eccl. Propter bonum unitatis says St. Cyprian who assures us furthermore that all the Apostles Erant pari consortio Honoris Authoritatis praediti Besides Was not St. Peter a Member of the Church St. Augustine and St. Cyprian says he was and that with a great deal of reason since that all Believers compose but one body to whom Jesus Christ as the Head doth communicate the spirit of Life It is then manifest that the Member dependeth upon the Body and not the Body upon the Member Also St. Ambrose says upon this Subject in his Commentary upon St. Luke That the Church is above St. Peter Ecclesia est super Petrum This evidently appears by what St. Luke says in the 15th of the Acts concerning the first Council that was held among Christians in which Assembly of the Apostles and Ministers of the Church at Jerusalem the question which St. Paul and St. Barnabas related to them on the behalf of the Church of Antioch was decided but they decide it not by the Authority of St. Peter but by that of the Holy Ghost and of themselves Visum est spiritui sancto nobis c. Also in the 21st of the same Book St. James and St. Paul say that they had made this Ordinance St. Jude and St. Silas are sent not on the behalf of St. Peter but of the whole College of the Apostles Add to this That St. Peter himself was sent with St. John by the Apostles to those of Samaria after they had received the Word of God as it is related in the 8th Chapter of the same Book which proves invincibly that St. Peter was not the Soveraign Master of the Society of the Apostles but that he was in some degree their inferior whatsoever the place were that he held amongst them not unlike the first Senator in the Body of a Senate it being the right of a Superior to send an Envoy Philér I apprehend very well what you say But can it be denied but that Jesus Christ promised somewhat particularly to St. Peter in the 16th of St. Matthew when he said to him in particular Ego vero dico tibi c. Phila. I could tell you as a great many Catholick Divines do That St. Peter having answered in the name of all the Apostles Jesus Christ gave him nothing in particular but what he received he received in the name of all the Apostles and of the whole Church of which he was then the Type as St. Austin says in the 1st Book of his Retractations Cap. 21. speaking of St. Peter Typum gerebat Ecclesiae cui sunt traditae claves which is founded upon the Text of the 20th of St. John where Jesus Christ gives equally to all his Apostles the power of forgiving and of retaining Sins I could say with St. Chrisostome upon this passage and with (a) De Verb. Dom. Serm. 13. Tract in Joh. 12.4 Serm. de divers 118. in Psal 86.97 c. St. Augustine That this Rock whereon Christ promiseth to build his Church was that firm and solid Confession of Faith which St. Peter had just then made or else Jesus Christ himself who was this Corner-stone whereon was placed the mystical building of the Church Et super hanc Petram quam cognovisti says St. Augustin dicens tu es Christus Filius Dei viventis edificabo Ecclesiam meam id est super me ipsum Filium Dei edificabo Ecclesiam meam super me edificabo te non me super te (a) Cyril lib. 4. de Trinit St. Cyril (b) Hil. lib. 2. 6. de Trin. St. Hilary (c) Amb. in c. 2. de Episto St. Ambrose and (d) Hiero. lib. cont Jov. c. 19. St. Hierom are of this opinion but to deal freely with you it is none of mine For I had rather take this Text as (e) Tert. lib. 1. de pud cap. 21. Tertullian and St. Cyprian and say with these other Doctors That Jesus Christ spoke in particular to St. Peter and promised him some Prerogatives above his Colleagues And to justify my Opinion I observe first That St. Peter answers in particular concerning his Faith. Now Faith is so internal a thing that nothing but the Conscience of each particular person can answer for it and by consequence we cannot say that this Apostle answered in the name of the whole Society of the Apostles When it concerned some outward thing which was obvious to the senses this Apostle might answer in the name of all his Brethren as when he says to our Saviour We have left all to follow thee Omnia c. But when the question was concerning a motion of the heart he could not answer for any but himself Secondly You must observe that our Saviour promiseth a particular recompence to the Faith of Peter for which after that the Apostle had said Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi He Answers him Ego vero dico tibi quia tu es Petrus beatus es Simon Barjona to make him know that he would reward particularly the strength of his Faith and the fervency of his Zeal For this reason he puts him in mind of the new name he had
of Judging Soveraignly in all Ecclesiastical Affairs they in their 4th Session made this following Canon The General Council lawfully Assembled in the name of the Holy Ghost and representing the Catholick Church militant holdeth immediately its power from Jesus Christ to which Council all manner of Persons of what estate or quality soever nay the Pope himself is bound to obey in things which concern the Faith the extirpation of Schisms and the General Reformation of the Head and Members And for as much as in the 39th Session this Council did ordain that for time to come there should be held a General Council at the end of every Ten years and that the next Council should be called in Five years and the following one in Seven the Council accordingly was called together at Pavia where it began and was afterward continued at Siena and finally in 1431. it was transferred to Basil where it was decided according to the Council of Constance that it was a most Catholick truth that Councils were above Popes and that Popes could not by their own wills either dissolve or prorogue Councils from place to place P. Have you no other proof which justifieth this Opinion And have not there been Popes who have acknowledged the superiority of Councils Phil. There are many other proofs which might be made use of which are even of the same kind as those whereof we have already spoken for we might remember several examples of the Ancient Bishops of Rome who have suffered their judgments to be examined in General Councils and have submitted themselves to their Decrees nay there are some who have desired that the Decrees which they had made might be examined in Council and amongst others Leo the Great who demanded of Theodosius that what he had decreed as well as what had been decreed in the pretended Council of Ephesus should be examin'd in a Gen. Council There have been also many other Popes that have acknowledged the Tribunal of particular Councils and amongst others the Pope Damasus who disputing with Vrsicinus concerning the Pontificate submits himself to the judgment of a Synod which decided this Affair and when this Pope was accused of Adultery by two Deacons Concordius and Castorius he justified himself before a Council of 44 Bps. Assembled at Rome in the year 378. I could add the evidence of several Popes upon this subject and amongst others that of Zozimus who in his 1st Ep. says That the Authority of his See cannot add nor change any thing against the Ordinances of the Holy Fathers which is a mark of subjection and of dependence And also that of Gregory the Great who in some place protested that he reverenced the Authority of the four Great Councils like that of the four Gospels Philér Were I not afraid of trespassing upon your patience I would desire you to give me some particular account of our Gadican Church and to let me know whether she always believed the Superiority of the Councils above the Popes Phila. I will do it my dear Philéréne but it shall be but very short that I may not tire you It cannot be doubted but that in the first Centuries our Churches of France acknowledged the Authority of Councils as superior to all others since that in the question concerning the day of Celebrating Easter our Prelates without the knowledg and participation of the Pope called a Synod wherein St. Irenaeâ—s presided who by order of the Synod wrote a Letter extreamly pressing to Pope Victor about this Affair as may be seen in Eusebius which this Bishop would never dare to have done if the Pope had been considered in the Gallican Church as the Supreme Magistrate of the Church and the Decretal Epistles attributed to the first Bishops of Rome cannot be objected to the contrary because that these Epistles have such visible characters of being counterfeited that it is beyond all doubt And in the Council of Arles above mentioned our Bishops of France shewed sufficiently that the Pope was subject to the Authority of Councils since that they examined an Appeal brought before them from the Popes Sentence Since that time divers Synods have been held in France by the order and permission of our Kings to treat of things concerning the Faith or Discipline of the Church wherein they judged of â—aith by the Oracles of the Scripture and by Tradition and of Discipline by the Canons of the Church that is to say of Councils Such was for example that which was held in the reign of our K Clovis at Orleance c. Also the second Council of Mascon Ordained that Provincial Councils should be called by the Metropolitans and that of the whole Kingdom by the Bishop of Lions with the Kings permission It is true that the Gallican Church received a great abridgment of its Liberties in the year 445 by the Ordinance of Valentinian the 3d who made the judgments of all the French Prelates subject to the Pope But this Ordinance of Valentinian received divers oppositions in France as it were easie to justifie by many famous examples In the 8. Century the Churches of France received another blow by introducing the Code of the Roman Canons which Charlemaign obliged himself to receive in France as well as the Roman Office in acknowledgment of the good turns which Po. Adrian had done him who in an Assembly of 15 Bishops and many Abbots declared Charlemaign Patrician or a Nobleman of Rome and acknowledged that it was in his power to Elect Popes to regulate the Apostolick See to institute through all the Provinces Archbishops and Bishops in a word he invested him with all the Rights which the Roman Emperors enjoyed Nevertheless this great Prince found in the exceution of his promise great opposition from the Clergy whom he forced to receive the Code of these aforesaid Canons by constraint Minis Suppliciis says the Original nor were these Canons received but by the Authority of our Kings having been published but under the name of Charlemaign and as Ordinances made by him His Successors have trod in the same footsteps always ordering that the Laws which they made by the advice of the Prelates of their Kingdoms and which are to be read in their Capitulars should be published under their Majesties Names and that the Popes themselves should be subject to them C. de Capi destin 10. and C. nos de Compet 2. Quest 7. But whatever increase the Authority of the Pope had gained in France by this Ordinance of Valentinian and by this Introduction of Charlemaign this did not hinder our Bishops from shewing upon all occasions a great deal of vigor in maintaining their Privileges and the Authority of the Church It is manifest by divers Examples which History affordeth and chiefly by that of Hincmare B. of Laon this Prelate was censured and condemned for his ill actions by a Synod held at Vervins he would have appealed to Rome but far from having any regard to his appeal