Barrow - BX1805 .B3 1852

116 HISTORICAL DIFFICULTIES. Christ, one bishop." And whereas Felix soon after that died, the historian remarks it as " a special providence of God, that Peter's throne might not suffer infamy, being governedunder two prelates."' He never considered that St Peter and St Paul, St Peter and Linus, had thus governed that same church. Upon this account St Augustine, being assumed by Valerius to be with him bishop of Hippo, afterward discerned and acknowledged his error.' In fine, to obviate this practice, so many canons of councils, both general and particular, were made, which we before mentioned. 4. In sum, when St Peter ordained others, as story [history] ac- cords inaffirming, either he retained the episcopacy, and then, beside [against] need, reason, and rule, there were concurrentlydivers bishops of Rome at one time; or he quite relinquished and finally divorced himself from the office, so that he did not die bishop of Rome; the which overturns the main ground of the Romish pretence.' Or will they say that St Peter, having laid aside the office for a time, after- ward, before his death, resumed it? Then what became of Linus, of Cletus, of Clement? Were they dispossessed of their place, or de- posed from their function? Would St Peter succeed them in it? This, in Bellarmine's own judgment, "had been plainly intolerable."' 5. To avoid all which difficulties in the case, and perplexities in story [history], it is reasonable to understand those of the ancients who call Peter bishop of Rome, andRome the place, the chair, the see of Peter, as meaning that he was bishop or superintendent of that church in a large [general] sense; becausehe foundedthe church by converting men to the Christian faith; because he erected the chair by ordaining the first bishops; because he, in virtue both of his apostolical office and his special parental relation to that church, maintained a particular inspection over it whenhewas there ;which notion is not new, for of old Rufinus affirms that he had it, not from his own invention, but from tradition of others. " Some," says he, " inquire how, seeing Linus and Cletus were bishops in the city of Rome before Clement, Clement himself, writing to James, could say that the see was delivered to him by Peter; whereof this reason has v Theod. Hist. ii. 17. Taúrp am raî eu; h vxñaavro wave r ;v ntrpov 49póvov pañ (.30 iv óa'ó óóo v`y¢¡/áow lAv,í,,,y,,. 2 Adhuc in corpore posito beat memorise patre et episcopo meo sane Valerio epis- copus ordinatus sum, et sedi cum ilk ; quod concilio Niceno prohibitum fuisse nescie- bam, nec ipse sciebat. Aug., Ep. cx. a While my father and bishopof blessed memory, old Valerius, was yet living, I was ordained bishop, andheld the see with him; which I knew not, nor did he know, to be forbidden by the Council of Nice." 3 Ipse sublimavit sedem, in qua etiamquiescere, et praesentem vitam finire dignatus est.Greg. L, Ep. vi. 37; Innoc. I., Ep. xxi. ; P. Nic. I., Ep. ix. p. 509; Grat. Caus. viii. q. i. cap. 1. " He advanced that see, wherein he vouchsafed both to set up his rest and also to end this present life." + Bell . ii. 12, §. At vero, &c. Petrum apostolum successisse in episcopatu Antio- cheno alicui ex discipulis, quod est piene intolerandum.Bell. ii. 6.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=