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and asperity. The diversity of sentiment that prevailed on the latter subject occasioned the most rancorous discord. Those who held the institution of bishops to be of divine right treated their opponents as slaves who had ignobly sold themselves to do the will of the Pope; while they themselves were regarded as malcontents or rebels, for opposing the just rights of Christ's vicar on earth. Various formulas were prepared, in the hope of uniting the two parties without compromise of principle on either side; but the attempt was wholly unsuccessful, and at last the council terminated without any authoritative declaration on a point of so great importance.* The question of residence was disposed of in a similar way, the decree on that subject consisting of vague generalities, and

* Pallav. 1. xix. c. 12. Sarpi, 1. vii. s. 46, 50. Le Plat, v. pp. 537, 584, 644. While the French and Spanish prelates laboured to establish the divine right of episcopacy, meaning thereby that bishops derived both their office and their power immediately from Jesus Christ, the Pope strove to enact a distinction between their order and their jurisdiction, affirming, that the former was derived from Jesus Christ, but the latter from the Roman Pontiff. A canon sent to the legates, but not passed by the council, was thus expressed :-"Whoever shall affirm, that blessed Peter was not appointed by Christ the chief of the apostles, and his vicar on earth; or, that it is not necessary that there should be in the church one Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and equal to him in the power of government; or, that his lawful successors in the Roman see from that time to the present have not possessed the primacy of the church, and were not the fathers, pastors, and teachers of all Christians, and that full power to feed, rule, and govern the universal church was not committed to them by our Lord Jesus Christ: let him be accursed."

The Cardinal of Lorraine said, that if such a canon were proposed, he would protest against it, in the name of the King and of all the prelates of France. On another occasion he said, in the presence of several bishops, "It is as true that the council is above the Pope as it is true that the word was made flesh." Visconti says, that this "sent l'impieté." "The bishops are Christ's vicars, not the Pope's," said the Archbishop of Granada; and again, "Let him give us our rights, and we will give him his."-Visconti, t. i. pp. 9, 167; ii. p. 53.

Peter Soto, the Dominican, whose name often appears in the history of the council, died at Trent, in April, 1563. On his death-bed he wrote to the Pope, earnestly entreating his holiness to allow the declaration of the divine right of episcopacy and of residence. By some means this letter got abroad, notwithstanding the endeavours of Visconti to suppress it, and made considerable impression.-Pallav. 1. xx. c. 13. Sarpi, l. vii. s. 83. Le Plat, vi. p. 14. Visconti, t. i. pp. 237, 245.

Reform shared its usual fate.
The Pope contrived to pacify

provisions easily to be evaded. Much was asked; little given. the Emperor and the King of France; and the prelates, worn out by opposition, reproach, and ill-usage, were forced to yield to superior power.* Even the Cardinal of Lorraine saw, or affected to see, the necessity of retracing his steps; his pompous pretensions evaporated and vanished; and he tamely acquiesced in such reformation as the Roman Pontiff chose to grant, though, for the sake of consistency, he recorded his protest against it, and declared that he only accepted it because he found it impossible to procure more liberal concessions.†

The treatment of the Bishop of Guadix was most disgraceful. "The Bishop of Guadix (says a Spanish prelate who was present) said, that the bishops had their sole authority de jure divino; and that even without the confirmation of the Pope they would be true bishops, since there is no proof that either Chrysostom, or Basil, or Gregory of Nice, received such confirmation, or indeed anything at the hands of the Roman Pontiff.

"When he began to utter this sentence, Cardinal Simonetta desired him to have care to his words, for what he said was scandalous; especially in such times.

"Upon this there was a stir among the prelates, and they began to make a great noise; and the Patriarch of Venice, rising out of his place, called the bishop a schismatic, and declared that he must recant. It is said that the Archbishop of Granada, who was near, told those who had risen that they themselves were the true schismatics, since, without listening to the Bishop of Guadix, they made that uproar, and used words so offensive and outrageous against so orthodox a man. I did not hear this, though I was at no great distance; for at this time, the uproar being great, I had also stood up, declaring that it was a shame they should run him down in that manner; that he ought to be allowed to finish his speech, and then it would be time to ascertain whether he had uttered anything worthy of reproof or punishment."

So wrote the Bishop of Salamanca; others have stated the matter still more strongly; even Pallavicini confesses that the prelates not only made a great clamour, but that some exclaimed, "curse him-burn him—he is a heretic!" —Lib. xix. c. 5. Sarpi, l. vii. s. 36. Le Plat, v. 577. Practical and Internal Evidence against Catholicism, p. 335.

On one occasion the Bishop of Verdun had inveighed severely against the court of Rome. "How the cock crows," (nimium gallus cantavit-the reader will observe the allusion,) said a prelate who sat near him. Upon which the Bishop of Lavaur immediately rejoined, "Would that at the crowing of the cock, Peter would repent and weep bitterly."

† One would not have expected this after reading the following extract from a letter to his secretary and agent at Rome:

"Le Seigneur Dieu est grandement courroucé contre nous et est à

The dissensions of the fathers were so violent that the session had been prorogued no fewer than ten times.* During the interval (ten months) two of the legates, the Cardinal

craindre, s'il n'appaise sa fureur, que nous voyions bien-tost un grand schisme, et ruine és ministres de l'eglise, sur lesquels avec grande occasion, tournera toute la vengeance divine. Utinam hæc non sint ea tempora, de quibus 2. ad Thessalon. 2. D. Paulus loquebatur-nisi venerit (inquit) discessio primum, &c. Or Dieu nous en garde, et est grand besoin que sa saincteté y pense bien: car tous ceux qui se veulent nommer et à Rome, et icy grands defenseurs du S. Siège apostolique, et sous ce manteau se perdent, pensans plus les uns à un chapeau de cardinal, les autres par ces tumultes et facheries à abreger les jours de sa saincteté, et à un nouveau papat qu'à appaiser l'ire de Dieu, retenir les provinces qui branlent, revoquer celles qui sont perdues, et rendre par ce moyen les jours à sa saincteté longs et bien heureux, pleins de gloire et de louange immortelle. Je prié Dieu qu'il preserve sa saincteté, et la nous garde longuement, cui Sirenarum cantus et adulatores valde debent esse suspecti."-Le Plat, v. pp. 653–658.

Count de Luna, the Spanish ambassador, wrote thus to his sovereign, Philip II., Oct. 16, 1563 :—

"They [the legates] have endeavoured, and are still trying, to keep the council oppressed and controlled by authority, by a multitude of votes, and every possible artifice and contrivance. This was resisted for a time without much difficulty, as long as the Cardinal of Lorraine conducted himself with the proper zeal which he shewed when he arrived, so that the business went on almost fairly, and they (the Pope's party) could not manage it as they pleased.

"But since he, owing to his private views, allowed himself to be won over by the legates, who went about it with all industry and diligence, their party has gained strength; and, from the last session to this moment, a great union has been observed between the cardinal and the ministers of his holiness.

"The least yielding would, no doubt, bring the council to an abrupt conclusion; for of the Italian prelates, except a few honest men, they dispose as they please.

"We must be careful not to fall into a great evil; such as there would be in the world's knowing that the council is held rather for private objects, than for the sake of religion and the public good."-Practical and Internal Evidence against Catholicism, p. 332.

The addresses delivered by the legates at these prorogations have been preserved. They were generally couched in language of disappointment and anger. For instance :-"To-morrow, venerable fathers, according to our decree, the session should be held. Some will blame us for postponing it; we are compelled to say that the fault is your own. As for ourselves, we will endeavour to shew the whole Christian world, that we do not walk after the flesh, but after the spirit. Small hope will there be of correcting abuses, if time, the most precious of all gifts, is thus wasted by you upon insignificant

of Mantua and Cardinal Seripand, had died ;* and two others had been appointed in their places, the Cardinals Navagier and Moron. But no change proved beneficial to the interests of truth and liberty. The legates ruled the council, the Pope directed the legates. Divines, bishops, ambassadors, and sovereigns, were expected to submit and obey. Remonstrance was unheeded, and opposition fruitless.

At length, July 15, 1563, the twenty-third session was held. The following decree was passed on the sacrament of orders ::

"CHAP. I. Of the institution of the priesthood of the new law.

"Sacrifice and priesthood are so joined by the ordinance of God, that both are found together in every dispensation. Since, therefore, under the New Testament, the Catholic church has received, by divine institution, the holy and visible sacrifice of the eucharist, it must be acknowledged that she has a new, and visible, and external priesthood, in the place of the old. Now, the sacred scriptures shew, and the tradition of the Catholic church has always taught, that this priesthood was instituted by the Lord our Saviour, and that to his apostles and their successors in the priesthood, the power was given to consecrate, offer, and minister his body and blood, and also to remit and retain sins.†

and useless questions.".... " Above all things, let the fathers study brevity in speaking. On this subject we have often admonished your lordships, but admonished in vain. Nevertheless, we will not cease to say to you, in the words of the preacher, 'In the assembly of presbyters, be not loquacious.””. "The appointed time for the session has arrived; but concord, which ought to precede the session, is not yet attained." "Nine months have elapsed since a session was celebrated, to the great grief and scandal of all Christians," &c.—Le Plat, v. pp. 542, 564, 580, 596, 620, 659, 672; vii. 21, 63,108. * The former, March 2; the latter, March 17, 1563.

+ “The faithful are to be made acquainted with the exalted dignity and excellence of this sacrament in its highest degree, which is the priesthood. Priests and bishops are, as it were, the interpreters and heralds of God, commissioned in his name to teach mankind the law of God, and the precepts of a Christian life; they are the representatives of God upon earth. Impossible, therefore, to conceive a more exalted dignity, or functions more sacred. Justly therefore, are they called, not only 'angels,' but 'gods,' holding, as they do, the place, and power, and authority, of God, on earth. But the priesthood, at all times an elevated office, transcends in the new law all others

U

"CHAP. II. Of the seven orders.

"As the ministry of so exalted a priesthood is a divine thing, it was meet, in order to surround it with the greater dignity and veneration, that in the admirable economy of the church there should be several distinct orders of ministers, intended by their office to serve the priesthood, and so disposed as that, beginning with the clerical tonsure,* they may ascend gradually through the lesser to the greater orders. For the sacred scriptures make express mention of deacons as well as of priests, and instruct us in very serious language respecting those things which are to be specially regarded in their ordination; and from the beginning of the church, the names and appropriate duties of the following orders are known to have been in use, viz., sub-deacons, acolytes, exorcists, readers, and porters. Although they are not all of equal rank; for subdeacons are placed among the greater orders by the fathers and holy councils, in which also we very frequently read of other inferior orders.+

in dignity. The power of consecrating and offering the body and blood of our Lord, and of remitting sins, with which the priesthood of the new law is invested, is such as cannot be comprehended by the human mind, still less is it equalled by, or assimilated to, anything on earth.”—Catechism, p. 304.

* "As persons are prepared for baptism by exorcisms, and for marriage by espousals, so those who are consecrated to God, by tonsure, are prepared for admission to the sacrament of orders. Tonsure declares what manner of person he should be who desires to receive orders; the name of 'clerk,' which he receives then for the first time, implies that thenceforward he has taken the Lord for his inheritance. In tonsure, the hair of the head is cut in form of a crown, and should be worn in that form, enlarging the crown according as the ecclesiastic advances in orders." The meaning of the tonsure is variously given. Some say that it was instituted by Peter, "in honour of the crown of thorns which was pressed upon the head of the Redeemer." Others assert that it is an emblem of the royal dignity, because the ministers of the church are a "royal priesthood." "Others are of opinion that tonsure, which is cut in form of a circle, the most perfect of all figures, is emblematical of the superior perfection of the ecclesiastical state; or that, as it consists in cutting off hair, which is a sort of superfluity, it implies a contempt of worldly things, and a detachment from all earthly cares and concerns."Ibib. pp. 310-312.

The number of orders is therefore seven,-viz., porter, reader, exorcist, acolyte, sub-deacon, deacon, and priest. "Of these some are greater, which are also called 'holy;' some lesser, which are called 'minor orders.' The

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