Church and State as Seen in the Formation of ChristendomAllies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Religion
Church and State as Seen in the Formation of Christendom
Allies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Church and state; Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600; Religion and state
What we have just said amounts to this, that the whole life of man,
whether single or in society, while he lives upon earth, is subject to
the life which he hopes for in heaven as its supreme purpose and end; and
that being so subject, as there is a society to aid him in attaining the
goods of his natural life, so much more is there a society to aid him in
attaining that supernatural good to which the natural goods are
subordinate. We have next to compare the regimens of these two societies
with each other in regard to their completeness.
The analogy between the Two Powers is full of instruction; but it is to
be remembered that as, since the coming of Christ, the Spiritual Power
is one in all countries and in all times, whereas the Temporal Power is
one only in each country and at each time, the comparison of the two can
only take those points which belong to the Temporal Power alike in all
countries and times; and this will be found sufficient for our purpose.
We have just seen the conception of spiritual jurisdiction as wielding
the priesthood and the teaching: it corresponds in this respect to
secular sovereignty, under which is ranged on the one hand authority in
every degree, as held by all officials in administration, by all
councillors in legislating, by all judges in their several tribunals, by
all officers in the public force. Whoever in the public service holds a
portion of the public authority may be ranged under the general head of
magistrate, and stands herein to the sovereign power in the same relation
as the priest to the bearer of supreme spiritual jurisdiction. On the
other hand, whoever is engaged in the whole circle of human arts and
sciences, which comprehends the vast domain of human knowledge as
acquired by learning, answers to the spiritual teacher. This triple
division runs through every state, at every time, whatever may be its
relative advancement in the scale of government. And the comparison as to
both Powers is exhaustive with regard to their range, since in both, man,
individual or collective, is a being who acts because he first knows and
then wills. Sovereignty, presiding in the various kinds of magistracy
over all who command, and over all in the various arts and sciences who
teach, because they have first learned, covers that triple domain in the
one case, and in the other spiritual royalty, which acts through the
priest and the teacher. But the society is knit together in a much
stricter bond, by a far more perfect interaction of forces, in the
spiritual than in the temporal order; and this arises from the fact that
all spiritual power in its triple range actually descends from the
spiritual head through every degree, which is far from being the fact in
temporal sovereignty. That is the pre-eminence of Christ in His spiritual
kingdom; and it is the perfection of the Divine Legislator that He
exercises His royalty by the indivisible action of His Jurisdiction,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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