at Rome, where this fupremacy was confirmed, and by whom it was decreed, that bishops fhould be chofen by the clergy and people, approved by the prince of the city, and ratified by the pope with thefe words, volumus et jubemus, for this is our will and command. To reward Phocas for the grant of the primacy, he approved the murder of Mauritius, and very honourably received his images, which he fent to Rome; and, having thus wickedly poffeffed themfelves of this unrighteous power, the popes as wickedly ufed it, foon brought almoft the whole Chriftian, world into fubjection to them, and became the perfecutors general of the church of God, proceeding from one ufurpation to another, till at laft they brought emperors, kings, and princes, into fubjection, forcing them to ratify their unjuft decrees, and to punifh, in the fevereft manner, all that should prefume to oppose and contradict them, till fhe became drunken with the blood of the faints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Fefus; Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth +. Pretty early in this century perfecutions recommenced at Rome against the Manichees.

The cuftom of anathematizing perfons after death was introduced from aprefumption, that all those whom they anathematized, and condemned as heretics, their fentence would be confirmed by the Supreme Being; but others more modeftly pleaded only for its being their duty to fhew their difapprobation of heretics, as well dead as living.

This was one part of the conteft called, the Three Chapters, which occafioned the meeting of feveral councils in this century. The fecond was concerning the writings of Theodoret against Cyril; and the third was concerning the letter of Ibas to the pope, whether orthodox or not*.

The dignity of the clergy of all ranks was a point much infifted on. Pope Felix, A. D. 528, afferted, + Chandler's Hiftory of Perfecution, p. 55. *Bower's Hiftory of the Popes, vol. II. p. 401.

that

that the clergy were by divine right exempted from the power of the civil magiftrate, and their misconduct only cognizable by, and liable to, the cenfure of the church, and the fynods of each diocefe and province §. It likewife became a difpute, whether a pope, who is not true (that is, rightly elected and conftituted) can be infallible. This was occafioned by two popes being chofen at the fame time, viz. Boniface II. and Diofcorus, A. D. 530; but the great quarrel was terminated by the death of Diofcorus |..

Praying to the virgin Mary was received as a laudable practice by the Romish church, and many attributes afcribed to her t

Purgatory was a device of St. Auftin's in this century; but he both faid and unfaid it, and at last, like a wife fchoolman, -left it doubtful. The papifts were greatly divided about it; and it is more properly faid to be a new doctrine ftarted by him, than received, as an article of faith in the Romish church in this century..

Praying for the dead was a practice that prevailed at the latter end of this century, a novelty of pope Gregory I. who likewife introduced the proceffion of the hoft, A. D. 592. Indulgences were alfo granted by him in the year 600, but not in the manner or for the purposes as they were foon after, and now in general, underftood, being then occafionally granted to Chriftians, when they had fallen into any heinous crime, either in denying their faith, or facrificing to idols, through the 'fear of, or actual fuffering, perfecution; and for which, being enjoined a long penance, the pope had power to mitigate, which power of mitigation was called indulgence +.

The author of the History of Popery, fpeaking of the progrefs of popish doctrines and ceremonies, fays, $ Bower's Hiftory of the Popes, vol. II. p. 325.

II Ibid. 327.

Hift. Popery, vol. I. p. 87. See alfo The Bleffed Virgin's Pfalter, as it is called, compofed by Bonaventure, a cardinal of the Romish church.

+ Dupin.

In two vol. 4to. printed in 1735, vol. I. p. 134. Vol. I. No. 2.

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"that

that hitherto papal indulgences, as now understood, were not fo much as heard of purgatory fire was unkindled their mass was yet unmoulded tranfubftantiation unthought of the doctrine of merits untaught— the cup in the facrament not denied to the laity; and not till long after that prayers were made with the people in an unknown tongue: but from hence we behold the church in her declining ftate; knowledge decayed, fuperftition ufurped the place of zeal, and both princes and prelates were more bufied in ornamenting churches, or building nunneries, &c. than in raifing up living ftones, and edifying God's fpiritual temple.*

39

In this century we meet with many remarkable occurrences. At the beginning of it, Mellitus, the firft bishop of London, in confequence of the high dignity to which he was advanced, went to Rome, as Bede informs us, to confult with the pope concerning the affairs of the English church; on which occafion Boniface called a council of the Italian bifhops, at which the bishop of London attended or affifted, and when it broke up, returned to London with the decrees of that court.02. ased bed do de

Pope Boniface fhewed no fmall zeal in propagating the Chriftian religion in Great Britain but, at the fame time, he took care to introduce an undue veneration for the papal robes, for the authority and dignity of the fovereign pontiff, and for a variety of ceremonies which 'defaced the fimplicity of the golpel. This pope's pall was first sent into England to Juftus, who, in the year 624, fucceeded Mellitus in the fee of Canterbury, and the number of bishops were greatly increafed, as well as of inferior clergy, who received their ordination from the bishop of Canterbury, by virtue of that great dignity which had been delegated to him by the pope.

Another point aimed at was, to increase a veneration for the clergy, infomuch that pretty early in this century

tury the clergy acquired a very great afcendancy over the people, and they voluntarily imparted a confiderable thare of their worldly fubftance, efpecially in fome of the capital cities, as well as Rome, which in each city made one capital ftock; and this was not divided between them and the poor, but was appropriated to the prieft, and other collections were made for the poor : thefe capital ftocks were called Patrimonies; a name not denoting any dominion or jurisdiction belonging to the Roman church, or the pope, but to fignify the eftate of every church, and was distinguished from the patrimonies of private men, as we find in many places of the 12th book of the Code*.

And to create a greater respect for the eftates belonging to the church, it was ufual to annex the name of fome favourite faint which that church held in great veneration; fo the estates of the church of Ravenna were called the patrimony of St. Apollinare; that of Milan, the patrimony of St. Ambrofe; and the estates of the Roman church, the patrimony of St. Peter in Am, bruzzo, nosoco no

The bulk of ecclefiaftical hiftorians fix the year 606 for the title of universal bishop, being conferred by way of pre-eminencen on the pontiff of Rome, a dignity which had been affumed by the bishop of Conftantino ple, and by others in the last century, but was now confirmed to pope Boniface III. who, being elected pope, prevailed on the emperor Phocas to take the title of univerfal bishop from the bishop of Conftantinople, and to grant it to him, and his fucceffors, by his abfolute decree, which paffed for that purpofe. His taking upon him this authority, or dignity, was thought the more dextraordinary, as his immediate predeceffor butsones and probably, the best and the greateft, fo often condemned it in any bishop whatsoever,and rejected it with indignation, when offered to himself, as vain, proud, impious, blafphemous and antichriftian. But 1909 & staeton of enwog scili Father Paul of Beneficiary Matters, p.

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no fooner had they brought that ecclefiaftical power to its highest pitch, than they began to extend their views, to join infenfibly the temporal and the fpiritual power; nor did their boundless ambition allow them, or the world, any reft, till they got themselves acknowledged for univerfal monarchs, as well as univerfal bishops, over all where they had any jurifdiction.

The church of Scotland were much divided in their fentiments concerning the time of keeping Eafter, and were with much difficulty reduced to the celebration of it according to the practice of the church of Romes sa

About the year 634 commenced that grand difpute, which made fo much noise in the Eaft, whether there were in Chrift two operating wills, the one human, the other divine, or only one will and one operation: this occafioned a general diffention, and the convention of feveral councils, and in the fifth and laft feffion of the Lateran, A. D. 637, under the more immediates direction of pope Honorius, it was concluded in favour of one will. But this did not terminate the difpute.

However, about the year 646 another difpute intervened in regard to the titles and authority of the pope, the African bifhop having addreffed Theodore the pope in a very high ftile, calling him father of fathers and the fupreme pontiff of all bifhops: the new primate of Conftantinople wrote to him as his brother, and concluded with faying, the apoftles had all an equal fhare of power and of honour. This difpute fubfided for a time, and gave place to the revival of the former.

A

In 649 a council was called by Martin, bishop of Rome, concerning the two natures and two operations in Chrift, and the doctrine of one will and one operation condemned and anathematized. The form as follows: I Martin, by the mercy of God, bishop of the holy catholic and apoftolic church of the city of Rome, have figned as judge this definition, con

JA

Bower's Hiftory of the Popes, v. ii. p. 550.

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 49.

firming