St. Peter, His Name and His Office, as Set Forth in Holy ScriptureAllies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Religion
St. Peter, His Name and His Office, as Set Forth in Holy Scripture
Allies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Peter, the Apostle, Saint
Moreover, if it was necessary for the production and maintenance of
unity in particular Churches to set bishops over them, with
authority superior to that of presbyters; if reason demands that it
being Christ's will for particular Churches to live in unity, He
should likewise have instituted the power which distinguishes
bishops from presbyters; can we suppose either that it was not
necessary for the production and maintenance of unity in the
Catholic Church, to commit its government to an universal superior,
or that reason does not _equally_ require, that Christ, who enjoined
the Catholic Church to maintain unity, should have instituted the
universal Pastor? Nay, as the necessity is not equal on the two
sides, but so much stronger on the side of unity in the _Catholic_
Church, as it is more difficult to hold together in one an
innumerable than a limited number, men scattered over the globe than
men within a narrow region, nations differing in genius, habits, and
laws, than those who resemble each other in these; so reason, which
for particular Churches requires their respective bishops, _much
more_ requires the institution of a _universal_ superior, lest the
end should appear to have been devised without the means, and the
divine work of Christ be deficient in wisdom. What, then, are
Anglicans about in dividing these two doctrines, and contending for
the institution of bishops, while they obstinately deny the
institution of the Primacy? They strip of its authority the very
truth which they defend, and by severing doctrines which derive
their consistency from their cohesion, put weapons in the hands of
presbyterians to assault and even overthrow the very dogma from
which they take their name of episcopalians. Accordingly the
evidence derived from the _subject matter_ is much clearer in those
texts which are alleged for Peter's Primacy, than in those by which
the superiority of bishops over presbyters, the real presence, and
the divine person of Christ, are proved.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account