The Rise of the Mediaeval Church / And Its Influence on the Civilization of Western Europe from the First to the Thirteenth Century

by Alexander Clarence Flick

6. The growth of conciliar prerogatives tended to advance the development of papal authority. The Council of Nicæa (325) gave the Western Church the Nicene Creed, practically made the Bishop of Rome its defender, and recognised him as the sole Patriarch of the West with ten provinces as his diocese.[171:1] The Council of Sardica (343), in reality only a local Western body, decreed that deposed bishops might appeal to the Bishop of Rome for a new trial, that vacant bishoprics could not be filled till his decision was received, and that he could delegate his power to a local synod. This gave him a kind of appellate and revisory jurisdiction in the case of deposed bishops even in the East.[171:2] It is claimed that this was a new grant for a specific case and in deference to Pope Julian alone. This power was confirmed by Emperors Valentinian I. (364-375) and Gratian (375-383).[171:3] In this manner the Roman Popes were furnished the opportunity to claim universal jurisdiction. The Council of Aquileia (381) begged Emperor Gratian to protect "the Roman Church, the head of the whole Roman world and that sacred faith of the Apostles."[171:4] The African councils of Carthage and Mileve (416) sent their actions against Pelagius to Innocent I., for his approval. The councils of Ephesus

(431) and Chalcedon (451) gave the Bishop of Rome a primacy in rank and honour, which he soon made a primacy in power.[172:1] The latter body recognised the necessity of obtaining the Pope's confirmation to insure legality. Here again the Bishop of Rome had usurped a prerogative claimed by Constantine and his successors. Later the Popes called most of the councils, presided over them in person or through legates, and confirmed their proceedings in order to give them legality.

7. The power of excommunication, an authority inherent in all societies, was early developed and exercised by the Roman Bishop. This right was clearly recognised in the New Testament.[172:2] The power of excommunication was originally put into the hand of the local bishops. They expanded the biblical precepts into a penal code, and assumed the right to act as judges and to pronounce censure or final excommunication. The apostolic constitutions and canons reveal a direct substitution of the authority of the bishops for that of Christ in these particulars. Excommunication, for the first three centuries of the Christian era, was looked upon as a remedial and corrective measure to prevent a breach of discipline, disobedience, and heresy. It is a significant fact, therefore, that the Roman bishops, by the third century, claimed the power to put out of communion, not only individuals, but whole communities, who did not conform to Roman usages and beliefs, even though the sentence could not always be enforced. Innocent I., imbued by the lofty idea of the prerogatives of his office, did not hesitate to pronounce sentence of excommunication

against the heretics, Pelagius and his pupil Cœlestius.[173:1] Thus the right of universal censure grew and Rome came to have her own officers to execute the law.

8. From the fifth century onward the title of "papa" or "pope" was unvaryingly used by the bishops of Rome. This title is an abbreviation of the words "pater patrum"—father of fathers—and was at first given as a title of respect to ecclesiastics generally. In the Eastern churches it has continued to the present day, and in the Roman Church the general use of "father" may be regarded as the continuation of a variation of the original word. The next step in the early Church was the restriction of the term "papa" as a special title for bishops. By the fourth century it had been gradually reserved for the metropolitans and patriarchs. After the fifth century it was claimed and borne as the badge of the supreme rank of the successor of St. Peter among the churches of Christendom. Not until 1073, however, did Gregory VII. formally prohibit the assumption of the title by other ecclesiastics. This unique transfer of a distinction first from all to a few, and then from a few to one, indicates a concentration of rank, dignity, and power in the one thus distinguished. A term, originally one of filial respect and reverence, becomes one of authority. The name and the office react on each other.

9. The letters of the Roman bishops gradually came to be regarded in the Western Church as apostolic ordinances, and laid the foundation for the vast ecclesiastical legal system.[173:2] Siricius (384-398) wrote the first decretal which had the force of law.[173:3] A typical

illustration of the character and power of papal letters is seen in the commanding communication of Pope Celestine sent in 428 to the bishops of Vienne and Narbonne concerning ceremonial abuses in their provinces. "Inasmuch," he wrote, "as I am appointed by God to watch over the whole Church, it is my duty everywhere to root out evil practices and to substitute good ones; for my pastoral superintendence is restrained by no bounds, but extends to all places where the name of Christ is known and adored."[174:1] The Gallic churches received this pronouncement without a whisper of disapproval. The Council of Chalcedon (451) accepted a letter from Leo I., settling a disputed point in theology.[174:2] Gelasius I. (494) instructed Emperor Anastasius on the superiority of the spiritual over the temporal power.[174:3] The decretals of Gregory the Great spoke with a bold, undisputed authority.[174:4]

10. The Edict of Milan in 313 did not make Christianity the state religion, but merely put it on a legal equality with paganism. It was not long, however, until this new status enabled Christianity to outstrip its old rival and actually become the constitutional faith. State patronage prepared the way for a conscious and natural adaptation and assimilation of forms of imperial polity. Accordingly the admonition of the early period assumed the tone of mandates; interferences, whether for advice or arbitration, took the character of appeals, rescripts, and ordinances; and the model of discipline and ritual for all churches emanated from Rome.

11. Constantine, fully aware of the pre-eminence and power of the Roman Church, took special pains to bestow upon it his imperial munificence. The Bishop of Rome was transferred from a humble dwelling to a spacious palace, possibly to the Lateran, owned to this day by the Pope. Confiscated property was restored and money donated. Splendid churches were erected.[175:1] With grateful hearts the Christians gladly accepted the sovereignty of the Emperor. As Roman citizens there was no conception in their minds of the spiritual government of the Church independent of the imperial power. When Constantine called councils like Arles and Nicæa, heard appeals, made appointments, and legislated for the Church it was all accepted as a matter of course. The Church of Rome gained obviously more than any other spiritual body-corporate of the Christian world. This advantage, coupled with the wide-reaching claims set forth for at least two centuries, carried her by a mighty leap far above all other churches and made her head, in theory and fact, if not in name, the Pope. Thus all the contentions of the Petrine claim of ecclesiastical government fell into a natural harmony with the plans of the Empire. The rise of provincial churches corresponded to the provincial system of the Empire. The elevation of the Bishop of Rome to a primacy over all churches created a counterpart to the Emperor. The union of the Empire and Papacy was not only easy and natural—it was inevitable.

12. No sooner did the Church rise from persecution to a great world power than the necessity was felt everywhere of some central authority to preserve its unity. The divisions in the Arian controversy clearly revealed