Nothing but the world

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 7 - History of the Papacy: From origin to current oppressive state

19-22 - Recent papal claims contradict Gregory's

19. Rome today claims to have jurisdiction over every case in all the church. The worst is that they say no one has the right to review Rome's judgments.

20. Flimsy forgeries lay claim ("with an unrestrained fury and tyranny like that of barbarian kings") to Rome's jurisdiction over all the church, that the pope cannot err and is above councils.

21. Cyprian said Rome was not bishop of bishops or first bishop. Gregory forbade the very title of universal bishop that Rome now claims. He forbade others to ask him to command them. To other bishops he said, "In degree you are my brothers; in moral character, my fathers."

22. Today's papacy [of Calvin's day] is "a hundred times more corrupt" than in Bernard's day. "What depravity is this," in Rome where there is "no preaching, no care for discipline, no zeal toward the churches, no spiritual activity - in short, nothing but the world." Asserting the papacy is like praising freedom in order to advance tyranny.

Good Gentlemen... not!

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 7 - History of the Papacy: From origin to current oppressive state

11-18 - Fifth and sixth century papal corruption

11. Rome produced a lot of forged documents, trying to prove its authority over other bishops. Most of these are easy to see through. Leo did vaunt himself over other bishops, and "many were offended by his ambition."

12. As the Roman empire became more unstable, bishops in the empire looked to Rome more closely. Gregory said when no bishop is at fault they are all equal, and did not punish those who protested Rome's claim to unique authority.

13. Gregory didn't claim any more authority over other bishops than he put himself under. He was distressed over how much his office was given to secular affairs, unlike the Roman bishops today.

14. Rome and Constantinople fought over primacy. The rule of primacy basically followed whatever city was primary in the empire's civil government. But when this transferred to Constantinople, Pope Innocent changed that, to keep it at Rome.

15. Leo tried to prevent the first council of Constantinople from declaring Constantinople second after Rome. He was the only who protested among 600 bishops. "What but sheer ambition, I pray, could stir the man to trouble the world with such a trifle?"

16. When Constantinople's bishop later called himself "universal bishop," Roman bishop Gregory protested on principle, not just to have the title himself. That phrase, the Roman bishop back then said, is "a word of proud address that I have forbidden."

17. A usurper to emperor-ship in the roman empire gave Boniface III to be head of all the churches. From then on the pope and emperor, like "good gentlemen," carved up unstable parts of the empire and gave them to each other. [Charlemagne was crowned emperor by the pope in 800AD]

18. Things deteriorated from there, with other bishops "did not strive to restrain his ambition as zealously as they should have. And, though they did not lack courage, they were destitute of true learning and knowledge, so that they were quite unfit to attempt so great a task." Bernard shows how bad things got, Rome handing out offices of authority and spoils of them as "the ambitious, the greedy, the simoniacs, the sacrilegious, the keepers of concubines, the incestuous, and all such monsters... converge upon Rome... to obtain or retain churchly honors by apostolic authority."

How far from supreme dominion Rome was

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 7 - History of the Papacy: From origin to current oppressive state

1-10 - Early limited authority

1. Not until the Nicean Council was anything said about Rome's primacy, and there their delegates were not given first position when seated, nor did they demand it.

2. When Rome does first preside, at Chalcedon, its bishop points out this is extraordinary, due to the failings of other bishops. After Chalcedon, other cities' bishops presided.

3. Proud titles like "primate," or "supreme pontiff" were unknown or disapproved in the early church. Jerome said the greatness of the city, wealth or poverty don't make a greater bishop.

4. Gregory resisted the title "universal bishop," since if he fell, the whole church would. It was full of self-exaltation, in his mind.

5. When Athanasius was expelled by the Arians, he appealed to Rome for help. This was a good cause, but set a bad precedent, and bad men continued appealing to Rome when they were justly disciplined. Rome too eagerly took this role.

6. Church authority beyond the local congregation is fourfold: 1. ordaining bishops, 2. calling councils, 3. hearing appeals, 4. censure. On ordination, Rome at first sent delegates to the ordination of other big-city bishops, only out "of fellowship, not of lordship." Rome didn't preside.

7. On censure, bishops gave and received admonition mutually. Rome was no exception.

8. On calling councils, each bishop could call a regional council, but no bishop could call a universal council - only the emperor could do that.

9. On hearing appeals, Rome did hear some brought forward by others. But when Rome over-reached its authority Gaul and Africa especially resisted. Rome even forged council documents, trying to extend its authority!

10. Appeals went to the emperor, not the Roman bishop. The emperor would give it to several bishops in committee, and when Rome had sole appeal once, the emperor had another bishop review Rome's decision.

What they claim concerning Peter

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 6 - Primacy of the Roman See

8-10 - Jesus the only king

8. Peter was first, as a moderator or chairman of the 12 apostles, not over the whole world. Bees and cranes select a natural leader, but only in their small company, not over the whole world of bees or cranes. It is true a kingdom can't have two kings.

9. "Christ is the Head:" Eph 4:15-16. Scripture nowhere transfers this office to a mortal - Eph 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col 1:18; 2:10. So any human vice-regent is excluded, by this.

10. If the papacy were legit, Eph 4:4-5, 11-12 would mention it.

11-15 - Peter and Rome, in history

11. Even if Peter was bishop in Rome, that doesn't mean Rome should be the primary bishopric now.

12. Peter's first location was Antioch, so the papal authority either goes with the person (which they no longer want to claim) or with the place (which it didn't when Peter moved from Antioch to Rome, in their view), or a mixture, arbitrarily.

13. Why wouldn't Antioch be second, still, if the principle is the founding apostle of the town? That obviously isn't the principle, as Ephesus (John), and Jerusalem (James) were both passed over for Alexandria (Mark, not even an apostle).

14. But Peter wasn't in Rome long, or early, as Paul says in Gal 1-2 that he was in Jerusalem for at least 20 years after Christ's ascension. And Paul doesn't mention him in Rom 15:25; 16:3-16.

15. If Peter was at Rome when Paul got there and was tried, Peter didn't stand with Paul - 2 Tim 4:16. Peter was apostle to the Jews; Paul to Gentiles, so focusing on Peter is off base - Gal 2:7-9.

16-17 - Rome honored, but not as unifying head

16. It was honored from ancient time as (1) the reputed home of Peter; (2) the capital of the empire, thus surpassing other cities in excellence; and as (3) more calm in doctrine and spirit than Eastern and African cities, making it a haven fled and looked to for guidance.

17. When the patristic fathers appeal to church unity, they do NOT appeal to one bishopric over all others.

Not just Peter

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 6 - Primacy of the Roman See

1-7 - Refuting assumptions about Peter's primacy

1. Primacy of the Roman bishop as pope is central to Rome's view of the church. They define schism as leaving this authority.

2. Rome says Israel's high priest is precedent for a pope. But the high priesthood was a type of Christ (Heb 7:12), not of the pope; Christ alone has this title of high priest, since the role is one of appeasing God.

3. Christ told only Peter to feed His sheep (John 21:15), and that on Peter Christ would build His church (Matt 16:18). But Peter tells all other elders to feed Christ's sheep - 1 Pet 5:2. The power to bind and loose isn't to rule the whole world, but to preach and discipline according to the Gospel - John 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18; 10:6.

4. "Nothing is here given to Peter which was not also common to his colleagues [the apostles]." See Matt 18:18; John 20:23. Jesus didn't speak only to Peter at times in order to prefer him to the others, but to emphasize the unity of them all together.

5. Maybe the honor of first rank was given Peter, but not an authority surpassing the others.

6. Christ is the one foundation of the Church - 1 Cor 3:11.

7. Peter follows the Jerusalem council, and doesn't write alone, or by his own authority, but by the assembly's - Acts 15. His actions in Acts 8:14 show he is "not in authority over against [the other apostles]." Paul's whole point in Galatians 1-2 is that he is Peter's equal, and not subject to him - Gal 1:18; 2:8, 11-14.

A den of robbers; seekers of filthy lucre

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 5 - Papal Corruption of Church Government

11-19 - Corruption prevails among church officers

11. As to bishops and rectors, real offices, they think "that he who has never seen a sheep of his flock is the shepherd of it."

12. Gregory complained of this already, and Bernard did, too.

13. Roman church officers are "a robber's den in which thieves riot... brazenly without law and restraint." "Their rule is the despotism of Antichrist." Bishops are mostly "rude asses who do not grasp even the... rudiments of faith, or sometimes big boys fresh from their nursemaid."

14. They are "notorious in excess, effeminacy, voluptuousness... skillful in every deceit, fraud, treason, and treachery.... arrogance, pride, greed, and cruelty.... The world is so wearied with bearing these abuses that there is no danger that I should seem to exaggerate unduly." 99 out of 100 would be excommunicated or deposed in the ancient church.

15. Deacons served only in trifles around worship ritual, not care of the poor and alms. It's just a "step toward the priesthood.... Today the poor get nothing more of those alms than if they were cast into the sea."

16. They steal from the poor; "the entire administration of church property has plainly turned into sacrilegious plundering."

17. They try to excuse their lavish excess from Ps 72:10-11; Isa 52:1; 60:6-7.

18. Buildings, statues, vessels and vestments come before care of the poor.

19. As Jerome said, "the glory of the bishop is to provide for the poor; the disgrace of all priests, to seek after their own riches."

Idle Bellies

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 5 - Papal Corruption of Church Government

1-3 - Unqualified installed without vote of people

1. Let's consider the state of Rome now in these things. Bishops have little sacred learning today - more legal. The ancient church would have decreed most of these morally unfit. Boys as young as 10 are appointed!

2. Rome no longer presents bishops to the church for approval: "to be adored, not to be examined." They appeal to canon (church) law, but the Word of God should prevail.

3. When the people let the presbyters take over bishops' elections they wrote it inot canon law. Then princes began to intervene, as a power grab, which worked because it only went against church laws, not against the people.

4-7 - Financial Abuses with appointments to clerical office

4. Bishops now say only they can appoint presbyters, and they make "not presbyters to lead and feed the people, but preists to perform sacrifices." Ordination always brings pastoral responsibility, whether elder or deacon, said the Chalcedon Council. But Rom elooks only to the financial support of the priest.

5. Priests are ordained but assigned no people or place to pastor - only to perform sacrifices. They can't translate a single verse, but are approved "proveded they bear some commendation of money or favor."

6. Offices are almost always given through simony, by someone's "indirect commendation," "not to benefit the churches but those men who receive them."

7. Often one man (or boy) holds 5 or 6 offices (church positions). The only care they have for the office is "to receive their revenues." They do this, flouting the Word and common sense.

8-10 - Negligence and idleness of monks, and other clerics

8. They say monks are presbyters, when Gregory and Jerome both denied and resisted this. They don't let monks administer sacraments, and they don't mix with the people, yet they give the the title (and money).

9. Priests are either receiving a livin by simony or hire themselves out to the people, "in the hawking of masses." But "no place is given them for teaching; they have no people to govern."

10. Other offices sing and perform rituals, nothing to do with shepherding people - so we can't call them pastors.