384 DISCOURSE ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. were esteemed ipso facto to be cut off and separated who in any point deserted that faith: " Such a one," says St Paul, i éarpaarray " is turned aside," or has left the Christian way of life.' He in reality is no Christian, nor is to be avowedor treated as such; but is to be disclaimed, rejected, and shunned, Tit. iii. 11; Rom. xvi. 17; 2 John 10. " He," says St Cyprian, " cannot seem a Christian who does not persist in the unity of Christ's gospel and faith."' " If," says Tertullian, "a man be a heretic, he cannot be a Chris- tian."' Whence Hegesippus says of the old heretics, that they " divided the unity of the church by pernicious speeches against God and his Christ."' " The virtue," says the Pastor Hermes, cited by Clemens Alex. [Alexandrinus], "which keeps the church together is faith."' So the fathers of the sixth council tell the emperor that " they were members one of another, and constituted the onebodyof Christ, by consent in opinion with him and one another, and by faith."6 " We ought in all things to hold the unity of the catholic church, and not to yield in any thing to the enemies of faith and truth."' " In each part of the world this faith is one, because this is the Christian faith. 8 " He denies Christ who confesses not all things that are Christ's."9 Hence, in common practice, whoever appeared to differ from the common faith was rejected as an apostate from Christianity, and un- worthy the communion of other Christians. There are points of less moment, more obscurely delivered, . . . in which Christians without breach of unity may dissent, about which they may dispute, in which they may err, without breach of unity or prejudice to charity.'o 1 'Etiompaarar ó Toror,TOf 2 Nec Christianus videri potest, qui non permanet in evangelii ejus et fidei veritate. Cypr. de Unit. Eccl. 3 Si hæretici Bunt, Christiani essenon possunt. Tertull. de Prcescr., cap. xxxvii. 4 Oinnnne ifzipreav Tf1v'iva)arv'4 ixx' aíaç Qioprpaaíonc ñ.ÓyalÇ KaTie Tor, Suu, wiz) ,mre TOE; Xpwrar, air, "v. Euseb. Hid., iv. 22. 'H ouv'xavea T47v ixxanoíav áps,A, i arieru 10.1 .-Herm., apud Clem. Strom. ii. p. 281. C HEAL -v 10.a4.l071, ¿,r,, ;71.4;1,, xai Tó Év añipaa ouvroTwvTav Xplomor, LI Tie vrpáç airÓV xai 10.X4T.auç átaobopía; xai cr ri, ç. -ConC. Vi., Act. xviii. p. 271. Per omnia debemus ecclesice catholicn unitatem tenere, nec in aliquo fidei et veri- tatis hostibus cedere. Cypr., Ep. lxxi., adQuint. de Steph. P. 8 Utriusque partis terrarum fides ista una est, quia et fides ista Christiana est. Aug. contr. Jul. i. 2, pp. 203, 2. 9 Negat Christum qui non omnia gumChristi Bunt confitetur.Ambr. in Luc., lib. vi., cap. 9, p. 90; Vid. p. 85. 19 Alia sunt in quibus inter se aliquando etiam doctissimiatque optimi reguhe catho- licae defensores, salva fidei compage non consonant, &c. Aug. contr. Jul. i. 2, p. 205. Totumhocgenus liberas habet observationes. Aug.adTan., Ep. cxviii. lxxxvi., ad Cased.
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