126 SENTIMENTS OF THE FATHERS. Peter, whose place thebishops supply, ' Whatsoever ye bindon earth shall be bound in heaven. "' "I have the sword of Constantine in my hands, you of Peter," said our great king Edgar.' They, therefore, in this regard, take themselves all tobe successors of St Peter, that his power is derived to them all, and that the whole episcopal order " is the chair by the Lord's voice founded on St Peter." Thus St Cyprian in divers places (before touched) discourses; and thus Firmilian, from the keys granted to St Peter, infers, dis- puting against the Roman bishop. " Therefore," says he, " thepower of remitting sins is given to the apostles, and to the churches which they, being sent from Christ, constituted, and to the bishops which succeed them byvicarious ordination. "' 4. The bishops of any other churches founded by the apostles, in the Fathers' style, are successors of the apostles, in the same sense and to the same intent as the bishop of Rome is by them accounted successor of St Peter; the apostolical power, which in extent was universal; being, in some sense, in reference to them, not quite ex- tinct, but transmitted by succession. Yet the bishops of apostolical churches never claimed, nor allowedly exercised, apostolical jurisdic- tion beyond their own precincts; according to these words of St Jerome, " Tell me, what does Palestine belong to [what has Pales- tine to do with] the bishop of Alexandria? "' This shows the inconsequence of their discourse; for in like man- ner the pope might be successor to St Peter, and St Peter's universal power might be successive, yet the pope have no singular claim thereto, beyond the bounds of his particular church. 5. So again, for instance, St James (whom the Roman church, in her liturgies, avows for an apostle) was bishop of Jerusalem more unquestionably than St Peter was bishop of Rome. Jerusalem also was the root, and " the mother of all churches, ' as the fathers of the second general synod, in their letter to Pope Damasus himself, and theoccidental [western] bishops, called it, forgetting the singular pretence of Rome to that title. Yet the bishops of Jerusalem, successors of St James, did not thence claim I know not what kind of extensive jurisdiction; yea, Quod ex verbis Domini facile intelligi potest, quibus B. Petro, cujus vicem epis- copi gerunt, ait, Quodcunque, &c.Capit. Caroli M., lib. v. cap. 163. , Ego Constantini, vos Petri gladium habitus inmanibis. S Potestasergo remittendorum peccatorum apostolic data est, et ecclesiis quas illi a Christo missi constituerunt, et episcopis qui eis ordinatione vicaria succedunt.Firmik, apud Cypr., Ep. 1xxv. 4 Responde mihi, ad Alexandrinum episcopum Palsestina quid pertinet ?Hier. ad Pammach., Ep. lxi. 15. 5 Tñs lì pcerpót áoraam -v Twr lzzxnaair, sus is 'Ispovo7.úp4o,s. Theodor. v. 9. Mater Christiani nominis.Imper. Just. ad P. Ilormisd., apud Bin., tom. iii p. 794. "'l'he mother of the Christian name."
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