Fragment on early Church government

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: SL255.10, Location Unknown

Published online: April 2012

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Related Texts
- This document is part of SL255
  The previous part of this document is Passage on early Christian sects [SL255.9]

<1r>

VI.

In the first ages of the Christian religion the Christians of every city were governed by a Council of Presbyters \or Elders/ & the President of the Council was the Bishop of the City. And the Bishop of one city medled not with the affairs of another except by admonitory Letters. Nor did the Bishops of several cities meddle \{illeg} to/ meet together in Councils before the reign of the Emperor Commodus. But about that time by \For they could not meet without/ the l\e/ave of the Roman governours of Provinces. \But about that time/ they began to meet in Provincial Councils; \first/ in Asia in opposition to the Cataphrygian heresy, & soon after in other places & upon other occasions. And the Bishop of the head city \or Metropolis/ of the \Roman Roman/ Province was usually made President of the Council. And hence came the authority of Metropolitan Bishops above that of the other Bishops of y^e Province. Hence also it was that the Bishop of Rome in Cyprians days called himself the Bishop of Bishops. And as soon as the Empire became Christian the Roman Emperors \began to/ called General Councills of the out of all the Provinces \of the Empire/ & by prescribing to them what points they should consider & influencing \them/ by their interest \& power they set up what party they pleased & thereby the Greek Empire became the king who {sic} {illeg}/ he became the king who [in matters of religion] did according to his will & [in leg\isl/ature] exalted & magnified himself above every God, & at length in the seventh general Council established the worship of Mahuzzims \the Images & souls of/ dead men, & of their images here called Mahuzzims.

Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical history –