do adorn other Apostles with the like titles, equalling thofe of St. Peter, and not well confiftent with them, according to that rigour of fenfe which our adversaries affix to the commendations of St. Peter. The Epiftle of Clemens Romanus to St. James, (an apocryphal but ancient writing,) calleth St. James our Lord's brother, the Bishop of Bishops; the Clementine Recognitions call him the Prince of Bishops; Ruffinus, in his tranflation of Eufebius, the Bishop of the Apofiles; y St. Chryfoftom faith of him, that he did prefide over all the Jewish believers; Hefychius, prefbyter of Jerusalem, calleth him the chief Captain of the new Jerufalem, the Captain of Priests, the Prince of the Apostles, the top among the heads, &c. The fame Hefychius calleth St. Andrew, a the first-born of the apoftolical choir, the first fettled pillar of the Church, the Peter before Peter, the foundation of the foundation, the first-fruits of the beginning, &c. St. Chryfoftom faith of St. John, that he was ba pillar of the churches through the world, he that had the keys of the kingdom of heaven, &c. But as occafion of speaking about St. Paul was more frequent, fo the elogies of him are more copious, and indeed fo high as not to yield to thofe of St. Peter. Jacobum Epifcoporum Principem Sacerdotum Princeps orabat. Clem. Rec. i. 68. Apoftolorum Epifcopus. Ruf. Euseb. ii. 1. y It is likely that Ruffinus did call him fo, by mistaking that in the Apoftolical Conftitutions; Ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ἡμῶν Ἰακώβου. Apoft. Conf. viii. 10. Τῶν ἐξ Ἰουδαίων πιςευσάντων προεισήκει πάντων. Chryf. tom. v. Or. 59. 2 Τὸν τῆς νέας ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ ἀρχιςράτηγον, τῶν ἱερέων ἡγήμονα, τῶν ̓Αποςόλων τὸν itugxov, Tòv iv x≤Quλaïs nogupùv, &c. Hefych. Prefb. apud Phot. Cod. 275. (p. 1525.) * Ὁ τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν ̓Αποτόλων πρωτότοκος, ὁ πρωτοπαγὴς τῆς ἐκκλησίας τύλος, ὁ πρὸ Πέτρου Πέτρος, ὁ τοῦ θεμελίου θεμέλιος, ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀπαρχῆ Hefych. apud Phot. Cod. 269. Β Ὁ φύλος τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκκλησιῶν, ὁ τὰς κλεῖς ἔχων τῶν οὐρανῶν, b He was, faith St. Chryfoftom, the ringleader and guardian of the choir of all the faints. He was the tongue, the teacher, the Apostle of the world. He had the whole world put into his hands, and took care thereof, and had committed to him all men dwelling upon earth. He was the light of the churches, the foundation of faith, the pillar and ground of truth. d He had the patronage of the world committed into his hands. e He was better than all men, greater than the Apoftles, and furpaffing them all. f Nothing was more bright, nothing more illuftrious than he. 5 None was greater than he, yea none equal to him: Ὁ Ὁ τῶν ἁγίων χοροῦ κορυφαῖος, καὶ προτάτης. Chryf. in Rom. xvi. 24. Ὁ τῆς οἰκουμένης ̓Απόςολος. Chryf. in 1 Cor. ix. 2. C Ἡ γλῶττα τῆς οἰκουμένης, τὸ φῶς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, ὁ θεμέλιος τῆς πίσεως, ὁ τύλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας. Τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν ἐγκεχειρισμένος. He had the whole habitable world committed to his charge. Τῆς οἰκουμένης διδάσκαλος ἂν τοὺς τὴν γῆν οἰκοῦντας ἅπαντας ἐπιτραπείς. He was the teacher of the world, and had all the inhabitants of the earth committed to his truft. 4 Τὴν τῆς οἰκουμένης προτασίαν ἐγκεχειρισμένος. In Jud. Or. 6. Τῆς οἰκουμένης τὴν προςασίαν ἐπιδέξασθαι. In 1 Cor. Οr. 22. Οὐ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν εἰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ φέρων ἔθηκεν ὁ Θεός ; Tom. vii. p. 20 Did not God put into his hands the whole world? Ὁ πάσης οἰκουμένης κρατήσας. 1n 2 Tim. ii. 1. He had the charge of the whole world. • Πάντων ἀνθρώπων κρείττων. De Sacerd. 4. Τίς οὖν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀμείνων ; ́ τίς δὲ ἕτερος, ἀλλ ̓ ἢ ὁ σκηνοποιὸς ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τῆς οἰκουμένης διδάσκαλος—εἰ τοίνυν μείζονα τῶν ̓Αποσόλων λαμβάνει τέφανον, τῶν δὲ ̓Αποςόλων ἴσος οὐδεὶς γέγονεν, οὗτος δὲ κἀκεῖνων μείζων, εὔδηλον ὅτι τῆς ἀνωτάτω ἀπολαύσεται τιμῆς καὶ προεδρίας. Tom. v. Or. 33. Who then was better than all other men? who elfe but that tent-maker, the teacher of the world? If therefore he receive a greater crown than the Apoftles, and none perhaps was equal to the Apoftles, and yet he greater than they, it is manifeft, that he shall enjoy the higheft honour and preemi nence. § Παύλου λαμπρότερον οὐδὲν ἦν, οὐδὲ περιφανέσερον. Tom. v. Or. 47. 8 Οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐκείνου μείζων, ἀλλ ̓ οὐδὲ ἴσος ἐςί. Tom. vi. Or. 9. Οὐδεὶς Παύλου ἴσος ἦν. 2 Tim. iii. 15. Ὁ πάνσοφος, ὁ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἄριτος ἀρχιτέκτων. Theod. Ep. 146. The Pope Gregory I. faith of St. Paul, that he h was made head of the nations, because he obtained the principate of the whole Church. These characters of St. Paul I leave them to interpret, and reconcile with thofe of St. Peter. 8. That the Fathers, by calling St. Peter prince, chieftain, &c. of the Apoftles, do not mean authority over them, may be argued from their joining St. Paul with him in the fame appellations; who yet furely could have no jurifdiction over them; and his having any would destroy the pretended ecclefiaftical monarchy. St. Cyril calleth them together, i Patrons, or Prefidents of the Church. St. Austin (or St. Ambrofe or Maximus) calleth them The popes Agatho and Adrian (in their general fynods) call them 1the ringleading Apofiles. The popes Nicholas I. and Gregory VII. &c. call Nicol. I. them Princes of the Apoftles. Ep. 7. Plat. in Greg. St. Ambrofe, or St. Austin, or St. Maximus Taur. VII. &c. (choose you which,) doth thus speak of them; m Blessed Peter and Paul are most eminent among all the Apostles, excelling the rest by a kind of peculiar prerogative: but whether of these two be preferred before the other is uncertain; for I count them to be equal in merit, because they are equal in fuffering, &c. The moft wife, and beft architect, or chief builder of the churches. 119. The bleffed Apoftle, the father of the fathers. h Caput effectus eft nationum, quia obtinuit totius Ecclefiæ principatum. Greg. M. in 1 Reg. lib. 4. Videfis. Paulus Apoftolorum Princeps. Ep. Spalat. in Lat. Syn. fub P. Jul. II. Seff. i. p. 25. · Πέτρος καὶ Παῦλος, οἱ τῆς ἐκκλησίας προςάται. Cyril. Cat. 6. * Ecclefiarum Principes. Aug. de San&t. 27. 1 Kogupało 'Arosóλwv. P. Agatho, in 6 Syn. A&. iv. p. 35. P. Adrian in 7 Syn. A&. ii. p. 554. Beati Petrus et Paulus eminent inter univerfos Apoftolos, et peculiari quadam prærogativa præcellunt; verum inter ipfos quis cui præponatur incertum eft, puto enim illos æquales effe meritis, quia æquales funt paffione, &c. Ambr. Serm. 66. Aug. de San&t. 27. Max. Taur. Serm. 54. To all this difcourfe I fhall only add, that if any of the Apostles, or apoftolical men, might claim a prefidency or authoritative headship over the reft, St. James feemeth to have the best title thereto; for Jerufalem was the mother of all churches, the fountain of the Chriftian law and docLuke xiv. trine, the fee of our Lord himself, the chief Paftor. Ifa. ii..3. 47. Gal. ii. 9. P He therefore, who, as the Fathers tell us, was by our Lord himself constituted bishop of that city, and the first of all bishops, might best pretend to be in special manner our Lord's vicar or fucceffor; 9 He, faith Epiphanius, did first receive the epifcopal chair, and to him our Lord first did intruft his own throne upon earth. He accordingly did firft exercife the authority of prefiding and moderating in the firft ecclefiaftical fynod, as St. Chryfoftom in his notes thereon doth remark, He therefore probably by St. Paul is first named in his report concerning the paffages at Jerufalem; and to his orders it feemeth that St. Peter himself did conform; Gal. ii. 12. for it is faid there, that before certain came from St. James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew. Hence in the Apoftolical Conftitutions, in the prayer prescribed for the Church, and for all the governors of it, the bishops of the principal churches being specified by name, St. James is put in the first place, before the bi n Hæ voces Ecclefiæ, ex qua habuit omnis ecclefia initium. Iren. iii. 12. These are the words of the Church, from whence every church had its beginning. • Ecclefia in Hierufalem fundata totius orbis ecclefias feminavit. Hieron. in Ifa. ii. The church founded in Jerufalem was the feminary of the churches throughout the whole world. Theod. v. 9. Vide Tert. de Præfcr. cap. 20. Επειτα ὤφθη Ιακώβῳ, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ· αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν λέγεται κεχειροτονηκέναι, καὶ ἐπίσκοπον ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις πεποιηκέναι πρῶτον. Chryf. in 1 Cor. Or. 11. After that he was seen of James, I fuppofe to his brother; for he is said to have ordained him, and made him the firft bishop of Jerusalem. 9 Πρῶτος οὗτος εἴληφε τὴν καθέδραν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, ᾧ πεπίτευκε Κύριος τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πρώτῳ. Epiph. har. 78. r fhops of Rome and of Antioch; Let us pray for the whole epifcopacy under heaven, of those who rightly dif penfe the word of thy truth; and let us pray for our BiShop James, with all his parishes; let us pray for our BiShop Clemens, and all his parishes; let us pray for Euodius, and all his parishes.— Hereto confenteth the tradition of thofe ancient writers aforecited, who call St. James, the Bishop of Bishops, the Bishop of the Apofiles, &c. SUPPOSITION II. I proceed to examine the next Suppofition of the Church Monarchifts, which is, That St. Peter's Primacy, with its rights and prerogatives, was not perfonal, but derivable to his fucceffors. AGAINST which Suppofition I do affert, that admitting a primacy of St. Peter, of what kind or to what purpose foever, we yet have reason to deem it merely perfonal, and not (according to its grounds and its defign) communicable to any fucceffors, nor indeed in effect conveyed to any fuch. S It is a rule in the Canon Law, that a perfonal privilege doth follow the perfon, and is extinguished with the perfon; and fuch we affirm that of St. Peter; for, 1. His primacy was grounded upon personal acts, (such as his cheerful following of Chrift, his faithful confeffing of Chrift, his refolute adherence to Chrift, his embracing special revelations from God;) or upon perfonal graces, (his great faith, his special love to our Lord, his fingular zeal for Christ's fervice;) or upon perfonal gifts and endowments, (his courage, refolution, activity, forwardness in apprehenfion and in speech ;) the which advantages are τὙπὲρ πάσης ἐπισκοπῆς τῆς ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τῶν ὀρθοτομούντων τὸν λόγον τῆς σῆς ἀληθείας δεηθῶμεν· καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ἡμῶν Ἰακώβου, καὶ τῶν παροικιῶν αὐτῶ διηθῶμεν· ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ἡμῶν Κλήμεντος, &c. Conf. Ap. viii. 10. Privilegium perfonale perfonam fequitur, et cum perfona extinguitur. |