was univerfally condemned, efpecially by Irenæus Bishop of Lyons: And the Eastern churches, depifing the Roman Pontiff's Anathema, kept to their old cuftom; and nothing was univerfally agreed on, refpecting this point, till the Council of NICE.

Again, in the third century, we find Stephen, Bishop of Rome, excommunicating the churches of Africa, for holding the opinion that baptifm by Schifmatics and Heretics was invalid; though in this he was generally cenfured; and by none with more firmness than Cyprian Bishop of Carthage, who was himself a great ufurper of power. His words to the Pope are very ftrong: "No Bifhop fhould pretend to be a Bishop of other Bishops, or by a tyrannical fway endeavour to constrain his col"leagues."

Thus may we see that, though the ambition of the Roman hierarchy laid claim to a certain fupremacy, in the second and third centuries, the right was not acknowledged. And to put this matter beyond difpute, the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, established a perfect equality of rights, degree and power, between the Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria: yielding indeed the precedence to the first of these, on account of the dignity of the imperial city; not from the fucceflion to the chair of St. Peter. Because it was not agreed whether St. Peter had ever been at Rome; whereas, it is certain, from the acts of the Apostles, that St. Paul was the first who preached the gofpel and founded a church there.

This is confirmed by the third Canon of the fecond Ecumenical Council held A. D. 381. There we find the See of Conftantinople (which originally depended on that of Heraclea) exalted to the fame rank with Rome, Antioch and Alexandria, and precedence next to Rome given to it, as it was then become a new Rome, or fecond metropolis of the empire. "Cum honoris primatus "Fpifcopo

Epifcopo Romano femper conceffus fit, quod in " urbe imperiali fedes haberet, ita æquum eft ut cum "Conftantinopolis Nova Roma & imperii caput facta "fit, regiæ hujus urbis Epifcopus proximum, poft "Romanum, honoris dignitatis gradum obtineret."

Vain is it then to argue for papal fupremacy, because two Bishops of Rome, one in the second and another in the third century, were so intoxicated by a precedence of dignity and honour as to denounce excommunication against the Bishops of Afia and Africa who, at the time, only laughed at this impotent attempt; but, in the next century, prevailed to have this arrogant claim reprobated, in the strongest terms, at the two first general Councils; as we have just seen.

And fo fully penetrated was the first Gregory, stil ed the Great, with the idea of his own parity of rank with the other Patriarchs, about the beginning of the seventh century, that the then afpiring ambition of the Bishop of Conftantinople has made him leave frequent acknowledgments of it, under his own hand. To which it will not be amifs here

to recur.

Conftantinople having become not only a fecond Rome, but the metropolis of the Empire, the Bishops of that See began to confider themselves as intitled to the fame pre-eminence with their city, and invested with ecclefiaftical dignity co-extended with the empire, as paramount heads of the Church. Accordingly, John, who was cotemporary with Gregory, affumed the title of univerfal Bifhop.This was deemed a fcandalous ufurpation by Gregory, who could bear an equal, but could not brook a fuperior; and would not tamely fubmit to part with that precedence, which his predeceffors had enjoyed, and which had been confirmed to them by the Councils of Nice, Conftantinople and Chalcedon.

But obfervable it is, that Gregory was too good a Courtier to fupport his title to precedence upon

the

the ground of Rome's being the imperial city, as that plea might have been offenfive to the Emperor; he in his letter to Mauritius Auguftus, reforts to the pretenfion of the Bishops of Rome to be the lineal fucceffors of St. Peter, the first of the Apostles, and the paffage of St. Mathew, chap. xvi. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 'church, &c.' and then he adds, "Cura ei (Petro) "totius ecclefiæ & principatus committitur & tamen "univerfalis Apoftolus non vocatur. At vir fanctifli"mus con-facerdos meus Joannes vocari Univerfalis Epifcopus conatur. Exclamare compellor ac dicere: "O tempora, O mores! Sed abfit a cordibus Chrif "tianorum nomen iftud blafphemiæ, in quo om"nium facerdotum honor adimitur, dum ab uno fibi "dementer arrogatur:" The care and government of the whole church was committed to Peter; who • nevertheless is not called the Univerfal Apostle, yet John, my fellow-Prefbyter, wants to be called • Univerfal Bishop; fuch is the depravity of the times. But far be it from the hearts of all Christian men to affume that blafphemous title, which being madly arrogated by one, deprives all the reft of their due 'honour.'

To the fame purpofe Gregory writes in his letters to Conftantia Augufta, to Eulogius Bishop of Alexandria, and to Anaftafius Bishop of Antioch. In the courfe of which he arraigns the ambition of John, in affuming the title of Univerfal Bishop, as heretical, blafphemous and antichriftian. And in his epistle to the Patriarch of Conftantinople himfelf, he asks him: "What will you be able to an"fwer, on the last day's trial, to Chrift the head of "the Universal Church, for endeavouring to fubject "to yourself every member of it, by ufurping the ti"tle of Univerfal? Whom do you initate in this "but that arch-fiend, who defpifing legions of affo"ciate angels, would be fubject to none, and would put all things under his feet, faying I will afcend

❝ into

SECT. VII.

O barren are the times, fubfequent to our Irish Apostle, of juft information, that not only the ftate of the church, but of the nation, must be gleaned from the lives of Saints, and those lives disfigured with relations the most unimportant, and miracles the most unmeaning. To the last of thefe I fhould not even allude, did not entire filence fupprefs the fact that fuch things are recorded, and thereby give a falfe glofs to the manners and opinions of thefe times.

The firft writer whofe works are extant and whom Ireland can boaft of, is Calius Sedulius. He compofed an heroic poem on the life of Chrift; with an acroftic hymn; both of which, Du Pin fays, we have, and gives the author, whom he calls a Scot, a very high character. "He had, fays he, a genius; the ftile of his poem is noble and grand, his images are poetical, and his verfes very paffable." Stanihurst fpeaks thus of him, Calium Sedulium, poetam nobilem, Hibernum fuiffe perfpicuum eft. That he could not be an Albanian Scot is virtually admitted by Mr. James McPherson, (who cannot be offended at being called author, not tranflator, of Offian in English) in his preface to his namefake the Doctor's Diflertations: "The Seminary of Monks, he fays, established by "Columba, an Irishman in the island of Jona, in the "fixth century, feem to have been the only perfons "within the territories of the Scots, that could record " events." Confequently, as Sedulius flourished before this epoch, when the Albanian Scots first learned to record events, it cannot be fuppofed that a country