EQUALITY OF THE APOSTLES. 49 purposely enumerating the chief officers instituted by God in his church, places apostles in the highest rank. " Our Lord," says St Paul, "gave some, apostles; some, prophets; some, evangelists; some, pastors and teachers," Eph. iv. 11. to And God hath set some in his church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers," 1 Cor. xii. 28. IIp írov chroo'r6Xoaç, why not first a pope, an universal pastor, an oecumenical judge, avicar of Christ, a head of thecatholic church? Could St Paul be so ignorant, could he be so negligent or so envious, as to pass by without any distinction the supreme officer, if such a one then had been? As put case, [suppose] that one should under- take to recite the officers in any state or republic, would he not do strangely if he should pretermit the king, the duke, the consul, the major thereof? Would not any one confiding in the skill, diligence, and integrity of such a relater, be induced from such an omission to believe there was no such officer there? St Chrysostom, therefore, hence very rationally inferred, that the apostolical office was the supreme in the Christian state, having no other superior to it. St Peter, therefore, was no more than an apostle; and as such he could haveno commandoverthose who were in the same highest rank, co-ordinate to him, and who as apostles could not be subject to any. 6. Our Lord himself, at several times, declared against this kind of primacy, instituting equality among his apostles, prohibiting them to affect, to seek, to assume, or admit a superiority of power one above another. There was, says St Luke (chap. xxii. 14, 24) of "the twelve," at the participation of the holy supper, " a strife among them who of them should be accounted the greatest," zíç cei - v 8oxs7 sisar or who had the best pretence to superiority. This strife our Lord presently checked and quashed; but how? Not by telling them that he already had decided the case in appointing them a superior, but rather by assuring them that he intended none such to be, that he would have no monarchy, no exercise of any dominion or authority by one among them over the rest; but that, notwithstanding any ad- vantages one might have before the other, as greater in gifts, or as preceding in any respect' (so does St Clemens interpret ps*dv, al- luding to this place), theyshould be one as another, all humbly con- descending to one another, each being ready to yield help and ser- vice to one another. "The kings of the Gentiles," said he, Luke MFPw ?IÇ 770.74, 3117w 41a714 Tyler, IgEr9rET,, f¡rw COOÓÇ ÉY. LeMpíaEI .lóywv, ;arm yopyóç iv ipyora, reaorprrp pamalov $axai Faxxov ffvgmv Eivar' xai Y'vvv-v7v ßrá zolvwpExì, 9rmarv, W>i tó 6.,,- Z Clem. ad Corinth., i. 48, apud Clem. Alex., Strom. vi. p. 647. " Let a man be faithful, let him be powerful in declaring knowledge, let him be wisein discovering reasons, let him bestrenuous inworks ; by so much themoreought he to be humble-minded, by how much themore he seems to be greater than others: and to seek the common benefit of all, and not of himself." VOL. L 4
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