and became idolatrous, was worn away by continual wars and borne down by the weight of its sins, (although Elijah and Elisha shone there like two great luminaries in a dark place,) it was given to the nations, and was cast outside, in punishment of its fornications and idolatry, by which it separated itself from the Lord. But if the church of the Greeks considers that she has the authority of Paul, let her show it, or recognise him when shown with Peter, by the successor of Peter, and the vicar of Jesus Christ, in the church of the apostles, built by Constantine. It has also denoted the mystery of his office, although, in your letter it is mentioned as a cause of reproach, that Peter was thrice aroused and awoke at the crowing of the cock, and was made the porter of paradise, in order that he, who was to have command, might know how to suffer and to sympathize, and by virtue of his authority, thrice repeated,' Feed thou,' not 'Feed ye, my sheep,'-not the sheep of others,―he might transmit to his successor the example of the true shepherd, and the spirit of lenity, correct the excesses of the people, returning to the unity of the Church; deliver to Satan those that wander, and bring back the sheep, however unwilling, to the true fold. But if, from compassion, you return like a true Israelite to the primate of the Apostolic See; and if your bowels are moved by contrition for the rending of the seamless garment of Joseph, we compassionate your suffering, and, together with the apostle, condole with you in your grief; and we rise to give thanks to him who has opened the eyes of a blind son; and humbly beg of him who restored sight to the eyes of Tobias by means of salve made from the gall of a fish, to enlighten the hearts of the followers of the Greek church, as well as your own, and by his divine providence in our time and yours to bring us back to one fold and one shepherd. Receive, therefore, dear brother, the book of which mention has been made by John in the Revelations, and look earnestly into it; and although it may embitter your stomach, by the pricks of contrition, which pierce in the beginning of it, nevertheless, it will be sweet as honey in your mouth, according to the words of the betrothed, in the Psalms, 'Thy words shall sound in my ears; for they are sweet.' Consult, then, the dictates of your wisdom without any superstition; and when enlightened, you

will find that the Roman church, which is the head and mistress of all churches, finds nothing in the mirror mentioned by you, namely, in the Gospel, the epistles, or the doctrines of other learned men, which, taken either interpretatively or dispensatively, does not agree, according to the statutes of the holy fathers, with the unity of the spirit. On opening this book, you will find that the Roman pontiff is become all things to all men, that all may be safe, and is called to his station, not for the sake of filthy lucre, or of his own wish, but by his brethren, through divine inspiration; and at once becoming a servant of the servants of God, he, together with his brethren, places himself forward as a wall for his brethren and fellow-bishops, and those subject to them, in, opposition to heretics, schismatics, and tyrants, and for the defence of ecclesiastical liberties. And although there may be some exceptions, yet the church of Rome in modern times breathes freely from the incursions of all parties. But if the Greek church can (to use your own words) patiently endure words which nettle it, besides the dangers to souls which arise from their secession, these troubles ought to have given them sufficient sense, for in their hands the ecclesiastical order being divided out in various parts of opposing nations of the East, is put in confusion, the liberty of the Church is oppressed, and the dignity of the priesthood is trampled under-foot, and there is not one of its dear children to console it, since, being as it were, without a head, they refuse to return to the head of the Church: Return, therefore, oh! Shunamite, return, that we may look upon thee;' for then indeed can brother be assisted by a brother. If the son who by dissolute living has consumed all his substance, shall, by the Lord's inspiration, arise and say, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants;' then the father runneth to meet him, not as a servant, but as a returning son, and bringing forth the best robe, will kill the fatted calf,' and making a general feast for all the faithful followers of Christ, will announce with all exultation and joy that the brother and son who was dead, has come back to life; the piece of money which was lost, is found; and thus will we receive you in the bosom of the Church, your mother; and you will plainly see the truth in

6

the mirror of purity, which does not receive stain or blemish. Given at Reate, &c., in the sixth year" [of our pontificate.]

Another letter from the Pope.

Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the venerable archbishop of the Greeks, Health and the apostolic benediction. Whereas, according to the testimony of the truth, errors may occur, and there may be an ignorance of the Scriptures, it is expedient for all to read or to hear them, because, whatever the divine inspiration has inserted in them for the instruction of after-ages, it has wished to hand down as a caution to people of modern times. The division of the tribes, in the time of Jeroboam, who, as we read, 'caused Israel to sin,' plainly signifies the schism of the Greeks; and the multitude of the abominations of Samaria, denote the various heresies of the multitude who have now seceded from their worship of and reverence for the true temple, namely, the church of Rome. That Chrysostom, Nazianzen, the great Basil, and Cyril, were distinguished in the councils of the dissentients, was as much a proof of the heavenly wisdom, as the residence of Elijah and Elisha, and the sons of the prophets, amongst idolaters. Since in the letter which we lately sent to you we more fully explained to you this authority and other matters of the reasons which favour the primacy of the Roman church, we now add only this, namely, that, according to the reading of the Gospel, we hold, that both swords belong to the Roman pontiff. When Jesus was speaking to his disciples of the possession of the spiritual sword, they showed him two swords which were placed there, and these our Lord considered to be sufficient for the coercion of both spiritual and corporal offences. Since you allow that the material sword pertains to temporal power, listen to what our Lord says to Peter in the Gospel of St. Matthew: 'Put up thy sword into its place. By saying 'thy sword,' he meant the material sword with which Peter smote the servant of the high priest as to the spiritual sword, no one can doubt, since the Lord, by the authority of a sort of spirituality, intrusted to him (that is, to Peter), the power of binding and loosing. Both of these swords are intrusted to the Church; but by it one only is used; the other is to be drawn on

behalf of the Church by the secular power; one is applied by the priests, the other, at the will of the priests, by the soldiers. Owing, therefore, to these and other circumstances, which, after a careful examination of the truth, may bring about a proper affection, instead of schism, we have thought proper to send to you, as bearers of these presents, the brothers Hugh and Peter, of the order of Preachers, and Haymon and Ralph, of the order of Minorites, men conspicuous for their religion and virtue, renowned for the probity of their morals, and endowed with a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, according to the tenor of the abovenamed letters; so that if you discuss boldly, and converse sociably with them on all points that concern the matter in question, you may hear the sound of thunder in the wheel which appeared below the wheel of Ezekiel, and observe in the glassy sea, that one Adam was placed in Paradise, to enjoy and take care of it; that he took to himself one wife; that our Lord Jesus Christ was created in one justice, and took his one spouse, the church; that Lamech, which means humble, whilst he divided one wife into two, became a bloody man, and killed a man to his hurt; that we read of only one ark, which was steered safely over the deluge by one patriarch, saving alive a small but chosen number of souls; how the Lord gave a law a second time to be different, yet the same; how the faces of the two cherubims, which overshadow the mercy-seat, are not turned away from it, but look on each other; that Joseph had one garment reaching to his feet, and our Lord had one seamless garment. However, if your belief is different from ours, and attributes a sense of duality to the sacrament of the Eucharist, consider that the Greeks and Latins celebrate the mystery of our salvation in the same manner, through one Lord Jesus Christ, who was subject to human passions when he took on himself human nature for our sake, but after his death was free from all passions. The Greeks, following the example of the younger disciple, and not unmindful of such mercy, daily commemorate God's mercy in becoming subject to human passions, use a host of leavened bread, in order that, according to the apostle, the leaven may typify the corruption to which, before his resurrection, our Lord was subject. But the Latins, after the example of the elder apostle, St. Peter, who was the first to enter the

tomb, look rather to the linen clothes which had enveloped his sacred body, that is, the Church, and the napkin which was about his head, and celebrate the sacrament of his glorified body more wonderfully by the unleavened bread of sincerity. Both, however, are plain bread before the sacrifice, and, therefore, cannot be distinguished as leavened or unleavened; but one of these is rather believed to have been the living bread which descended from heaven, and gave life to the world. Such are the doctrines which the Holy Spirit and sound reason have taught the Holy See; and I pray that you, following the example of the younger disciple, who saw and believed, may at length enter in also, and, comprehending everything, may sing with us that psalm of David, Behold how good and joyful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.' Given at the Lateran, the 17th of May, &c. &c."

How the Greeks seceded from all obedience to the Roman church.

The Greeks, although they heard these salutary warnings, paid no heed to them, nor did they submit themselves to the Roman church, perhaps, either through fear of its tyranny and avarice, or else, being contumacious, according to the words of the Evangelist, that those who were invited to the supper would not come, "but all with one consent made excuses," being humble in their excuses, but proud and contumacious in the performance of their work. On this, the pope and his cardinals held a deliberate discussion on this matter, and determined to send the whole army of the crusaders against them; and, accordingly, a crusade was preached, and some assumed the cross to proceed against the Greeks, and especially the Constantinopolitans. The origin of this schism and dispute between the Greek and the Roman churches was as follows:-A certain archbishop, having been canonically elected to a noble archbishopric in Greece, or having been nominated thereto, went to Rome to be confirmed, but could not obtain a hearing there, without a promise of an immense sum of money, in return for obtaining what he demanded; but he, detesting the simony of that mercenary court, went away without effecting his purpose, and told the circumstance to all the Greek nobility; evidence was also given by others who had gone to Rome, of similar