THE POPE IN HIS AUDIENCE-DRESS.

THE POPE IN HIS SEDAN-CHAIR, WEARING HIS TIARA.

CHAPTER III.

THE POPE AND HIS SOVEREIGNTY.

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THE title "pope," now commonly applied to the bishop of Rome, as the head of the Roman Catholic church, is only a different English form of the familiar word "papa (father) - a word which is found in the Latin and various other languages as well as in the English. This title "papa" was applied by the early ecclesiastical writers to any bishop, and is now a common designation in the Greek church for a priest; but in the Roman Catholic church it is applied exclusively to the bishop of Rome, according to an order of Gregory VII., A. D. 1075. The pope is often styled "holy father," or "his holiness," likewise, "Roman pontiff," or "sovereign pontiffa title borrowed, as the catechism of the Council of

THE POPE IN HIS PONTIFICAL DRESS.

Trent allows, from the pontiffs or chief priests of pagan Rome. Gregory I. styled himself "servant of the servants of God," and his successors still use this as an official designation; but

they do not so much imitate him in his maintaining that the title "universal bishop" is "profane, anti-christian, and infernal." The pope is officially declared to be "the successor of the blessed Peter," and "the true vicar of Jesus Christ." The "holy see" or the "holy apostolic see" denotes the bishopric of Rome or the papacy, and figuratively the pope, who is the occupant of this office.

The pope has been for many ages both a spiritual and a temporal sovereign. His spiritual sovereignty or primacy is claimed, as already indicated, in virtue of his being the rightful successor of "St. Peter, the prince of the apostles." The constant appeal in support of this position is to the words of the Lord Jesus in Mat. 16: 18, 19:

"And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Protestants believe this passage fulfilled in Peter's being the first to preach the gospel, or open the kingdom of heaven, to both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 2: 14-40. 10: 1. 11: 18. 15: 7-11, &c.). They maintain that other apostles are just as truly the foundation of the church as is Peter (Eph. 2: 20. Rev. 21: 14), and have just as much authority over the church (Mat. 20: 20-26. 23: 8. 2 Cor. 11: 5. Gal. 2: 11); that the power of binding and loosing (of retaining and remitting sins, of declaring sentence, of exercising churchdiscipline) is given to the apostles and the disciples in a church just as truly as to Peter (Mat. 18: 1, 15-18. John 20: 23); that at the election of Matthias to the vacant apostleship, which took place at Peter's suggestion, the two candidates appear to have been nominated by the whole body

of the disciples, certainly not by Peter alone, nor probably by the apostles alone, while the appointment was "by lot," i. e., by divine selection (Acts 1: 15-26; compare Prov. 16: 33); that in the ecclesiastical meeting at Jerusalem, where Peter was present and took part, it was evidently not Peter, but James, who presided and shaped the decision (Acts 15: 6-29); that no one has the right to be a lord over God's heritage, i. e., the church (1 Pet. 5: 3); that neither in the epistles of Peter (1 Pet. 1: 1.5: 1. 2 Pet. 1: 1), nor in the epistle to the Romans, nor in any other scripture given by inspiration of God, is the alleged supremacy or authoritative primacy of Peter to be found; that it is nowhere taught by any teacher ,sent of God, that the church of Rome is either better or more honorable than other churches, or its bishop more closely connected either with Peter or with Peter's Divine Master than any church which takes the bible alone for an infallible and sufficient guide in religious faith and practice. Protestants believe that the honorable church-the church against which "the gates of hell shall not prevail"-is one whose members search the scriptures daily (Acts 17: 11), and do not teach for doctrines the commandments of men (Mat. 15: 9). In a word, Protestants believe that the Roman church of the present day neither rests on "the blessed Peter," nor derives a shadow of authority from him.

The question, "was Peter in Rome and bishop of the church there?" must be answered in the affirmative by those who support the papacy. Many Protestants also give a general answer in the affirmative, while others answer both parts of the question decidedly in the negative. A negative answer to either part of the question takes away the foundation of the Roman Catholic system; but an affirmative answer to both parts does not endanger Protestantism, nor involve any renunciation of its principles.

The common Roman Catholic account-derived from Eusebius, bishop of Cesarea, who lived about A. D. 270-340-makes Peter to have been bishop of Antioch seven years, and then