THE EMPEROR ALONE COULD ENACT LAWS. 277 orthodox church, and the spouse of his own see, entirely represents the person of our Saviour, so generally no bishop ought pragmati- cally to act any thing in another's diocese."' 13. In the times of Pope Nicholas I. the Greeks did not admit the Roman decrees; so that pope, in an epistleto Photius, complains (circa an. 860) "that he did not receive the decrees of the popes, whenas yet they ordained nothing but what the natural, what the Mosaical, and what the law of grace required."' And in another epistle he expostulates with him for saying that "theyneither had nor did observe the decrees made by the holy popes of the prime see of the Roman church."' 14. That which greatly advanced the papal jurisdiction, and intro- duced his usurpationof obtruding new decrees on thechurch, was the venting of the forged Decretal Epistles under the name of old popes (Vid. Hinom.) ; which when thepope alleged for authorizing his prac- tices, the French bishops, endeavouring to assert their privileges, alleged that "they were not contained in the whole body of their canons."4 15. The power of enacting and dispensing with ecclesiastical laws touching exterior discipline of old belonged to the emperor. And it was reasonable that it should, because old laws might not conve- niently suit with the present state of things and the public welfare; because new laws might conduce to the good of church and state, the care of which is incumbent on him; because the prince is bound to use his power and authority to promote God's service, the best way of doing which maybe by framing orders conducible thereto. Accordingly, the emperors enacted divers laws concerning eccle- siastical matters, which we see extant in the codes of Theodosius and Justinian. "These things," say the council of Arles, "we have decreed to be presented to our lord the emperor, desiring his clemency, that if any thing be defective, it may be supplied by his prudence; if any thing be unreasonable, it may be corrected by hisjudgment; if any ' Licet namque pontifex Romana ecclesia ob dignitatem apostolica sedis ceeteris in orbe constitutis reverentior habeatur, non tarnen ei licet transgredi in aliquo canonici moderaminis tenorem; aient enim unusquisque orthodoxes ecclesia pontifex ac sponsus proprise sedia uniformiter speciem gerit Salvatoris, ita generaliter nulli convenit quip- piam in alteriusprocaciter patrare episcopi dieecesi.Glab. Rod. 2, 4. Vid. Baron., ann. 996, § 22, 23. 2 Noli quia decreta ipsorum non susceperis amplius asseverare, cum ipsi nihil nisi quod naturalis, quod Mosaica, necnon et gratia lex jussit, instituant. P. Nie. I., Ep. xi. ad .Phot. s Decretalia autem, qua a sanctis pontificibus prima sedia Romana ecclesia sunt instituts. cur vos non habere vel observare dicitis l Id., Ep. vi. ad Phot. 4 Quamquam quidam vestrum scripserint hand ills decretalia priscorum pontificum in toto codicis canonum corpore contineri descripta, &c. P. Nie. I., Ep. xlii. ad Gallia Episc,
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