204 GROUND OF THE PRECEDENCE GIVEN TO ROME. That church, in the very times of severest persecutions, "by the providence of God," as Pope Cornelius said in his epistle to Fabius, " had a rich and plentiful number, with a most great and innumer- able people; "' so that he reckons forty-four presbyters, seven dea- cons (in imitation of the number in the Acts), seven sub-deacons, forty-two acoluthi, fifty-two others of the inferior clergy, and above fifteenhundred alms people. To that church there must needs have been a great resort of Chris- tians going to the seat of the empire in pursuit of business, as in proportion there was to each other metropolis, according to that canon of the Antiochene synod, which ordered that " the bishop of each metropolis should take care of the whole province, because all that had business resorted to the metropolis."' That churchwas most able to yieldhelp and succour to them who needed it; and accordingly used to do it, according to that of Diony- sius, bishop of Corinth, in his epistle to bishop Soter of Rome. "This," says he, " is your custom from the beginning, in divers ways to do good to the brethren, and to send supplies tomany churches in every city; so refreshing the povertyof those who want."3 Whence it is no wonder that the head of that church got most re- putation, and the privilege of precedence without competition. " To this church," said Irenaeus, " it is necessary that every church (that is, the faithful who are all about) should resort, because of its more powerful principality. "' What is meant by that " resort" will be easy to himwho considers how men here are wont to go up to London, drawn thither by interests of trade, law, &c. What he un- derstood by " more powerful principality" (Auvarwripav &py)v, I con- jecture he said), the words themselves signify, which exactly agree to the power and grandeur of the imperial city, but do not well suit to the authority of a church, especially then, when no church ap- peared to have either principalityor puissance. And that sensemay clearly be evinced by the context, in which it appears that St Ire - meus does not allege the judicial authority of the Roman church, but its credible testimony; which therebybecame more considerable, because Christians commonly had occasions of recourse to it. i tia Pñç Taú®soú arpovoiaç vrxoúoYÓç Ts 'cal arxnAúav a'pA¡aóç /Apra pcsyluTOu zee; ávapAtoñTOu xaoíï.Euseb. vi. 43. Et quanquam seism, frater, promutua dilectione quam debemos et exhibemus invicem nobis fiorentissimo illic clero tecum præsidenti, et sanctissimx atque amplissimm plebi, legere te semper literas nostras, &c.Cypr., Ep lv. ad Corn. Y Kai Tñv OpowriSa çivaSíxsoAas aáonç Tñç lvrapxíaç. Ará Td iv Tñ p<nTpovróxu ouvTpíxsn STaivTaÇ To!/Ç Ta Tpáy/.caTZ [xavTxç.Syn. Ant., can. ix. 3'E; ápxñç yap úfaïv $Aaç íeTi TovTo, TE arávTaç dx0eúç S{ox(xólç pyeTS'v, ezlnoiaiç AxxafÇ Tai's xaTa JrlOav í0a Jli(Lars(V, r:SE (.eÉV 1-6 TNY 8s51aíYalv TsYI[GY a'Va\PÚ- xovTaç, &c.Dionys. Corinth., apud Euseb. iv. 23. t Ad banc ecclesiam, propter potentiorem principalitatem, necesse est omnem con- venire ecclesiam, hoc est, eos qui stint ubique fideles.Iren. iii. 3.
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