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other times general councils, said what they should not have said, or did what obscured and compromised revealed truth; while, on the other hand, it was the Christian people, who, under Providence, were the ecclesiastical strength. of Athanasius, Hilary, Eusebius of Vercellæ, and other great solitary confessors, who would have failed without them.

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On the one hand, then, I say, that there was a temporary suspense of the functions of the Ecclesia docens.' The body of Bishops failed in their confession of the faith. They spoke variously, one against another; there was nothing, after Nicæa, of firm, unvarying, consistent testimony, for nearly sixty years. .

"We come secondly to the proofs of the fidelity of the laity, and the effectiveness of that fidelity, during that domination of Imperial heresy, to which the foregoing passages have related."

The three clauses which furnished matter of objection were these:- -I said, (1), that "there was a temporary suspense of the functions of the 'Ecclesia docens ;'" (2), that "the body of Bishops failed in their confession of the faith." (3), that "general councils, &c., said what they should not have said, or did what obscured and compromised revealed truth."

(1). That "there was a temporary suspense of the functions of the Ecclesia docens " is not true, if by saying so is meant that the Council of Nicea held in 325 did not sufficiently define and promulgate for all times and all places the dogma of our Lord's divinity, and that the notoriety of that Council and the voices of its great supporters and maintainers, as Athanasius, Hilary, &c., did not bring home the dogma to the intelligence of the faithful in all parts of Christendom. But what I meant by suspense" (I did not say suspension," purposely,) was only this, that there was no authoritative utterance of the Church's infallible voice in matter of fact between the Nicene Council, A.D. 325, and the Council

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of Constantinople, A.D. 381, or, in the words which I actually used, "there was nothing after Nicea of firm, unvarying, consistent testimony for nearly sixty years." As writing before the Vatican Definition of 1870, I did not lay stress upon the Roman Councils under Popes Julius and Damasus. 5 (2). That "the body of Bishops failed in their confession of the faith," p. 17. Here, if the word "body" is used in the sense of the Latin corpus," as corpus" is used in theological treatises, and as it doubtless would be translated for the benefit of readers ignorant of the English language, certainly this would be a heretical statement. But I meant nothing of the kind. I used it in the vague, familiar, genuine sense of which Johnson gives instances in his dictionary, as meaning "the great preponderance," or, " the mass' of Bishops, viewing them in the main or the gross, as a cumulus of individuals. Thus Hooker says, "Life and death have divided between them the whole body of mankind;" 'Clarendon, after speaking of the van of the king's army, says, in the body was the king and the prince:" and Addison

5 A distinguished theologian infers from my words that I deny that "the Church is in every time the activum instrumentum docendi." But I do not admit the fairness of this inference. Distinguo: activum instrumentum docendi virtuale, C. Actuale, N. The Ecumenical Council of 325 was an effective authority in 341, 351, and 359, though at those dates the Arians were in the seats of teaching. Fr. Perrone agrees with me. 1. He reckons the "fidelium sensus" among the "instrumenta traditionis." (Immac. Concept. p. 139.) 2. He contemplates, nay he instances, the case in which the "sensus fidelium" supplies, as the "instrumentum," the absence of the other instruments, the magisterium of the Church, as exercised at Nicæa, being always supposed. One of his instances is that of the dogma de visione Dei beatificâ. He says: "Certe quidem in Ecclesiâ non deerat quoad hunc fidei articulum divina traditio; alioquin, nunquam is definiri potuisset: verum non omnibus illa erat comperta : divina eloquia haud satis in re sunt conspicua; Patres, ut vidimus, in varias abierunt sententias; liturgiæ ipsæ non modicam præ se ferunt difficultatem. His omnibus succurrit juge Ecclesiæ magisterium; communis præterea fidelium sensus." p. 148.

speaks of "navigable rivers, which ran up into the body of Italy." In this sense it is true historically that the body of Bishops failed in their confesson. Tillemont, quoting from St. Gregory Nazianzen, says, “La souscription (Arienne) etait une des dispositions necessaires pour entrer et pour se conserver dans l'episcopat. L'encre était toujours toute prête, et l'accusateur aussi. Ceux qui avaient paru invincibles jusques alors, céderent à cette tempête. Si leur esprit ne tomba pas dans l'heresie, leur main néanmoins y consentit. Peu d'Evêques s'exemterent de ce malheur, n'y ayant eu que ceux que leur propre bassesse faisait negliger, ou que leur vertu fit resister genereusement, et que Dieu conserva afin qu'il restât encore quelque semence et quelque racine pour faire refleurir Israel." T. vi. p. 499. In St. Gregory's own words, πλὴν ὀλίγων ἄγαν, πάντες τοῦ καιροῦ γεγόνασι· τοσοῦτον ἀλλήλων διενεγκόντες, ὅσον τοὺς μὲν πρότερον, τοὺς Se vσTEρOV тOÛTO Tаleîv. Orat. xxi. 24. p. 401. Ed. Bened.

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(3). That "general councils said what they should not have said, and did what obscured and compromised revealed truth." Here again the question to be determined is what is meant by the word "general." If I meant by "general" ecumenical, I should have spoken as no Catholic can speak; but ecumenical Councils there were none between 325 and 381, and so I could not be referring to any; and in matter of fact I used the word "general" in contrast to "ecumenical," as I had used it in Tract No. 90, and as Bellarmine uses the word. He makes a fourfold division of "general Councils," viz., those which are approbata; reprobata ; partim confirmata, partim reprobata; and nec manifeste probata nec manifeste reprobata. Among the "reprobata " he placed the Arian Councils. They were quite large enough to be called "generalia;" the twin Councils of Seleucia and Ariminum numbering as many as 540 Bishops. When I spoke then of "general councils compromising revealed truth," I spoke of the Arian or Eusebian Councils, not of the Catholic. I hope this is enough to observe on this subject.

NOTE VI.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE COUNCILS.

(Vide supra, p. 271.)

As the direct object of the foregoing Volume was to exhibit the doctrine, temper, and conduct of the Arians in the fourth century rather than to write their history, there is much incidental confusion in the order in which the events which it includes are brought before the reader. However, in truth, the chronology of the period is by no means clear, and the author may congratulate himself that, by the scope of his work, he is exempt from the necessity of deciding questions relative to it, on which ancient testimonies and modern critics are in hopeless variance both with themselves and with each other.

Here,

Accordingly, he has chosen one authority, the accurate Tillemont, and followed him almost throughout. however, he thinks it well to subjoin some tables on the subject, taken from the Oxford Library of the Fathers, which delineate the main outline of the history, while they vividly illustrate the difficulty of determining in detail the succession of dates.

PRINCIPAL EVENTS BETWEEN A.D. 325 AND A.D. 381, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDer.

A.D.

I.

From 325 to 337.

(Mainly from Tillemont.)

325. (From June 19 to August 25.) COUNCIL, of Nicæa. Arius and his partisans anathematized and banished,

338

Arius to Illyricum. The Eusebians subscribe the
Homoüsion.

326. Athanasius raised to the See of Alexandria at the age of about 30.

328-9. Eusebius of Nicomedia in favour with Constantine. 330. An Arian priest gains the ear of Constantine, who recalls Arius from exile to Alexandria.

331. Athanasius refuses to restore him to communion. Eustathius deposed by the Eusebians on a charge of Sabellianism; other Bishops deposed.

334. Council of Cæsarea against Athanasius, who refuses to attend it.

335. Council of Tyre and Jerusalem, in which Arius and the Arians are formerly readmitted. Athanasius, forced by the emperor to attend, abruptly leaves it in order to appeal to Constantine. THE EUSEBIANS DEPOSE ATHANASIUS, AND CONSTANTINE BANISHES HIM TO TREVES.

336.

337.

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Eusebians hold a Council at Constantinople to condemn Marcellus on the ground of his Sabellianism; and to recognize Arius. DEATH OF ARIUS.

DEATH OF CONSTANTINE.

The Eusebian Constantius

succeeds him in the East, the orthodox Constans and Constantine in the West

2.

From 337 to 342.

Exiles recalled by the three new Emperors.

(End of June.) Athanasius leaves Treves for Alexandria.

(From Valesius, Schels- | (From Baronius and (From Tillemont and

trate, Pagi, Montfaucon and S. Basnage.) Eusebius sends to Pope Julius for a Council.

COUNCIL OF ALEXANDRIA
DEFENDS ATHANASIUS
TO THE РОРЕ.

Petavius.)

Eusebius, &c.

COUNCIL OF ALEXAN-
DRIA DEFENDS ATHA-
NASIUS TO THE POPE.

Papal Legates sent to

Antioch from Rome. (Early in year) Athanasius goes to Rome.

Papebroke.)

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1 The events in italics are grounded on an hypothesis of the authors who introduce them, that Athanasius made two journeys to Rome, which they adopt in order to lighten the difficulties of the chronology.

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