[1]. Hier. ep. 83.

[2]. Bar. ad ann. 405. n. 60.

[N55]. He was, it seems, no Logician; else, to prove his Opinion, he had never made use of Arguments, that equally proved, and had been calculated to prove, an erroneous Opinion, an Opinion long before condemned by all the Bishops of the Catholic Church, and very lately by himself, in a Letter to Alexander Bishop of Antioch, where he maintains the Validity of Baptism conferred by an Arian[[1]].

[1]. Inn. ep. 18.

Which Opinion has
been since declared
heretical.

The Opinion, which he endeavours to establish here, has been since condemned as heretical, by several of his Successors, and is now held as such by the whole Church; which has cut out a great deal of Work for the Champions of Infallibility. They plainly see (and who can read Innocent’s Letter without seeing?), that the Reasons which he made use of were all calculated to prove the Nullity of Ordination by the Hands of an Heretic; but nevertheless pretend, that whatever their seeming Purport may be, Innocent employed them only to prove, that an heretical Bishop had not the Power of conferring Grace, and with it the Right of exercising lawfully the Functions of his Office[[1442]]. But who can believe any Man, endowed with the least Share of common Sense, capable of arguing so absurdly? If his Meaning may be thus wrested, in spite of his Words, to a Catholic Sense, whose Meaning may not?

Innocent owns the
Holy See to have
been imposed upon.

With respect to Photinus, Innocent declares himself very unwilling to blame, or give Occasion to the World to think that he blamed, the Conduct of his Predecessors, who had condemned Photinus; but nevertheless, since so many Prelates had made it appear by their joint Testimonies, that the Holy See had been imposed upon by false and groundless Reports, he agrees to his Promotion. As to the Deacon Eustatius, he lets them know, that, whatever Reports may have been spread to his Prejudice, he is well assured both of his Probity, and the Purity of his Faith, and therefore cannot consent to his Deposition. In the End of his Letter, he complains of the Bishops of Macedon for not paying due Regard to the Testimony of the Roman Church, in behalf of the Two Subdeacons Dizonianus and Cyriacus.

The Misunderstanding between the Eastern and Western Churches continues after the Death of Chrysostom.