heard of till that time. Indeed the court of Rome was amazingly fplendid by the great number of officers belonging to it, and the many rites and ceremonies that were obferved in all their public acts of religion.

The ninth general council was held at Lateran, A. D. 1123, wherein they granted remiffion of fins to fuch who went a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, or in aid to the catholic Chriftians against infidels, and excommunicated fuch as, having been croffed by the pope for that purpofe, relinquished their pilgrimage. And the tenth general council, 1139, was only, or principally, to declare the decrees of pope Peter of Leon null and voidu foni o

In this century feveral inftitutions took place: two military orders of monks were appointed, viz. thofe of St. John of Jerufalem, who were to take care of the pilgrims who went to, that city: the other were the templers, whofe office it was to provide for the fafety of pilgrims, by fighting in their defence against fuch as oppofed or molefted them *.-The Benedictine order of monks, which had been introduced in the Eaft, prevailed in the Weft, and were, by permiffion of the pope, become almoft independent of their bifhops. The bifhops had in almost all churches their officials to perform divine fervice for them: academies were gene-. rally established throughout Italy and France to qualify for the office of the priesthood:- the canonization of faints was appropriated to the pope by Alexander III. 1160, and the remiffion of certain fins referved to the pope: others were pardonable by the bishops in general communion in both kinds was yet retained: baptifm was chiefly adminiftered on folemn days: but what is more remarkable, the holy inquifition, as it is impioully called, with all the train of the most arbitrary and tyrannical perfecutions and torture, generally fol

1 Dupin, Century XII.

Dupin.

lowed

lowed by the most inhuman and cruel deaths, was erected, A. D. 1198*, but according to others, it did not commence, or be put in full force till the year 1204, against the Albigenfes.

CENTURY THE THIRTEENTH.

In the Thirteenth Century we see the power of the popifh prelates at its greatest height; but withal fa ftrained, that it was natural for the cords to break. That fummit of power feems to terminate with pope Boniface the VIIIth, towards the clofe of this century, who arrogated to himself the power of depofing princes by divine right-published a bull, by which he forbid all princes to exact any thing out of the ecclefiaftical revenues. He likewife inftituted a jubilee, whereby he granted plenary indulgences to all who fhould visit the church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, and ordained the fame should be observed every century. The opening of this jubilee brought vaft numbers to Rome, and pope Boniface, to fhew his fovereign authority in temporals as well as fpirituals, appeared at the public folemnities, fometimes in his pontificals, and at others in an imperial drefs, with this motto, Ecce duo Gladii. Indeed, in respect to the pope of Rome's fupremacy over the whole church, the ancient maxims were still retained, and instances are not wanting of their putting them in practice when they had opportunity

Father Paul gives us a compendium of thefe matters: he fays, "By various methods the popes drew to themselves a great part of the collation of benefices in all the Chriftian kingdoms in the weft; but, in the eaftern churches, they were not allowed to difpofe of one benefice. In Italy, indeed, they met with fuch great fuccefs, that they flattered themselves they should impofe on all Europe.

dw

In England, where the benefices are very rich, the Roman courtiers made fuch mighty acquifitions, that,

+ Blair.

Walch's Hiftory.

in

in the year 1232, the clergy and military men of the kingdom formed a confederacy or affociation, and pil laged all the goods and revenues of the beneficed Roman clergy throughout the island. The pope com manded the king, under pain of excommunication, to chastise them with his temporal arms, and the bishops to excommunicate them; but the confederacy was too strong, either for the king to punish, or the bishops to excommunicate them.

Pope Innocent IV. fomewhat incenfed at it, fent one Martin, a kinfman of his, to renew the pretenfions of the court of Rome. The English complained to the king, that the Italians had got poffeffion of all the be nefices, and the king drove Martin out of the kingdom; and, making a computation of the revenues, which the pope drew out of the kingdom, found that they were equal to his own revenues, which amounted to 60,000 marks: and, upon his laying these griev ances before the pope, in the council of Lyons, where he prefided, he was answered, that the council was not affembled for that affair, nor was that the season to remedy it. He had called it, he pretended, to give fuccours to the Holy Land; but his true motive was, to excommunicate the emperor Frederic *.

Nevertheless, the court ceafed not to make new attempts in the year 1253, requiring the bishop of Lincoln to confer a benefice upon a Genoefe; which he rejected, at it was against the canons of the church: but he was nevertheless excommunicated by the pope. However, this good man died before the fentence could be executed, and the pope was fo malevolent, that he ordered a procefs against him, to take him out of his grave, and fent it to the king to execute.

In the year 1258, Alexander IV. his fucceffor, on the like occafion, excommunicated the archbishop of York, who withstood, the profecution with great

Matt. Paris, anno 1245. §i.

Father Paul of neficiary Matters, p. 147.

fortitude;

[13th fortitude; and, drawing near his end, wrote a very pious letter to the pope, exhorting him to fupprefs these innovations fo injurious to the church, and fo dangerous to the fafety of his own foul.

As for cardinals, nothing can be furprifing that is faid of them, when one confiders the ftile of the court of Rome, regibus æqui parantur : whence they conclude, faith he, that no revenue is too great for them, that is not fuper-abounding for kings themfelves, and it is for this reafon, that popes have granted them the privilege of being capable of holding all forts of benefices, either fecular or regular. But is there any thing in this that exceeds the ordinary terms of fpeaking on this fubject, feeing it is the tenet of every canonift, that the pope can grant difpenfations for holding as many benefices as he pleafes ? and this was fometimes done contrary to the letter of the law, and therefore, in fome parts of Europe, treated with marks of de

teftation.

But, at length, this fupremacy became greatly curtailed by fome of thofe advocates and champions for truth, who, notwithstanding any or all the difcouragements, dared to affert the fcriptures as the only rule of faith*.

The popes themfelves gave many flagrant inftances of their fallibility, even in doctrine, crowned heads opposed their infolence, and publicly declared them beretics, and that too with the approbation of many eminente divines. But the great blow to this fupremacy was the maxim firft reduced to practice,mby the councils of Pifa, Conftance, and Bafil, and by the two last established as an article of faith. That the pope is fubject to a general council, and bound to obey their decrees; and that, in cafe of neceffity, he is even obliged to apply to them for their judgment band protection. Which doctrine proved the more fatal at Rome, as it has been received by the Gallican church, who Gaouignoni nested your Vide Nicol. de Clemangis corrupto Ecclefie Státu, cixir G See Rolt's Hiftory of the Reformers.

have

have ever fince strictly adhered to the two following maxims, always looked upon in France as indifputable.

The firft is, that the pope has no authority or right to command or order any thing, either in general or particular, in which the temporalities or civil rights of the kingdom are concerned.

The fecond is, that, notwithstanding the pope's fu premacy is owned in matters purely fpiritual, this is to be understood as under the regulation, and fubordinate to, the decrees of councils, canons, &c. and the ancient and present privileges of that nation. This was further ratified in the fifteenth century.

But we nevertheless find, that they retained a veneration for the holy catholic father, and adhered to as many of his favourite tenets and cuftoms, as confifted with their civil establishment.

CENTURY THE FOURTEENTH.

圈

This century affords many dreadful examples of the popes and bishops exciting and inflaming catholic princes against the Albigenfes, and all others, whom they ftigmatifed with the name of heretics, either by public crufades, or private tribunals before inquifitors to destroy them. Accordingly feveral religious orders were inftituted in this century, viz. of the preaching brothers, whose office and business was to be zealous declaimers against the Albigenfes. They had a monaftery at Paris, in St. James's houfe, thence called Jacobins another order of minims-of Auguftine hermits Carmelites the order of Maria de la Merciof fervites and celeftins: thefe grew fo numerous, that Gregory X. at the general council, forbid eftablishing any new ones § Bowing at the name of Jefus was introduced into the church, by the decree of the

to The particulars of thofe privileges, &c. included in twenty articles, may be feen in Broughton's Dictionary.

§ Dupin's History of the Church, vol. IV. p. 319.

fecond