1 France; Toledo, in Spain; and York, in the diocese of Britain. The greatest part of these, if not all, were real patriarchs, and independent of one another, till Rome, by encroachment, and Constantinople by law, got themselves made superior to some of their neighbours, who became subordinate and subject unto them. The ancient liberties of the Britanic Churches, as also the African, and Italic diocese, and their long contests with Rome, before they could be brought to yield obedience to her, are largely set forth by several of our learned writers in particular discourses on this subject. I only here note that the eastern patriarchs, Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Cæsarea, and Constantinople, were never subject to Rome, but maintained the ancient liberty which the canons gave them. For though Cæsarea and Ephesus, were made subordinate to the patriarch of Constanstinople, and any one might appeal from them to him; yet the appeal was to be carried no further, unless it were to a general-council. Which shows the independency of the greater patriarchs one of another. SECT. 21.-The Patriarch of Constantinople dignified with the Title of Ecumenical, and his Church Head of all Churches. The patriarch of Constantinople had also the honourable title of oecumenical or universal patriarch given him; probably in regard of the great extent of his jurisdiction, Thus Justinian styles Menas, Epiphanius, and Anthemius, archbishops and oecumenical patriarchs, in several of his Rescripts; and Leo gives the same title to Stephen,—archbishop and universal patriarch, in ten laws, one after another. So that it was no such new thing, as pope Gregory made it, for the patriarch of Constantinople to be styled œcumenical bishop; for that title was given him by law many years before, even from the time of Justinian: and it is a vulgar error in history to date the original of that title from the time of Gregory I. which was in use at least a whole century before. But Justinian, in another Re 'Brerewood Patr. Gov. Q. 2 et 3. Cave Anc. Ch. Gov. c. v. the Authorities cited before, § 14. Leo. Imp. Constit. Novel. 2. 3, &c. 2 See 3 See Justin. Novel. 7. 16. 42. "that script, goes a little further, and says' expressly, Constantinople was the head of all Churches;" which is as much as ever any council allowed to Rome, that is, a supremacy in its own diocese, and a precedency of honour in regard that it was the capital city of the empire. Equal privileges are granted to Constantinople, upon the same ground, because it was new Rome, and the royal seat, as the councils of Constantinople and Chalcedon, with some others, word it. So that they had privileges of honour, and privileges of power; the first of which were peculiar to those sees; the other, in a great measure, common to them and all other patriarchal Churches, except those of Ephesus and Cæsarea, which, as I have often observed, were legally made subordinate to that of Constantinople. SECT. 22. Of subordinate Patriarchs. What Figure they made in the Church, and that they were not mere titular Patriarchs. Some here may be desirous to know what authority those patriarchs had in the Church after their subordination to the other. There are who tell us that they were sunk down to the condition of metropolitans again, by the council of Chalcedon; but that is a mistake. For, 1st, they retained the name of exarchs of the diocese still, and so subscribed themselves in all councils. As in the sixth generalcouncil, Theodore subscribes himself metropolitan of Ephesus, and exarch of the Asiatic diocese; and Philalethes, metropolitan of Caesarea, and exarch of the Pontic diocese. 8 2dly. They always sat and voted, in general-councils, next immediately after the five great patriarchs, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, who, by the canons, had precedence of all the rest. Next to these, before all the metropolitans, the bishops of Ephesus and Cæsarea took place, as may be seen in the subscriptions of the fourth and sixth general-councils. 3dly. They had power to receive appeals from metropo Just. Cod. lib. i. tit. 3. c. 24. aliarum est Caput. Con. Trull, can. 36. 5 Constantinopolitana Ecclesia omnium Con. Chalced. Act. i, ct iji. Con, 6, Gen. Act. 18. litans, which is evident from the same canons of Chalcedon,' which give the patriarch of Constantinople power to take appeals from them. So that they were not mere titular patriarchs, as some in after-ages, but had the power as well as the name; the right of ordaining metropolitans, and receiving ultimate appeals, only excepted. But how long they or any others retained their power, is not my business here any further to inquire. CHAP. XVIII. Of the Αυτοκέφαλοι. SECT. 1.-All Metropolitans anciently styled 'Avroképaλoi. AMONG other titles which were anciently given to some certain bishops, we frequently meet with the name 'AvroKépaλoi, absolute and independent bishops; which was not the name of any one sort of bishops, but given to several, upon different reasons. For, first, before the setting up of patriarchs, all metropolitans were 'Avroкépaλoɩ, ordering the affairs of their own province with their provincial bishops, and being accountable to no superior but a synod; and that in case of heresy, or some great crime committed against religion and the rules of the Church. SECT. 2.-Some Metropolitans independent after the setting up of Patriarchal Power, as those of Cyprus, Iberia, Armenia, and the Church of Britain. And even after the advancement of patriarchs, several metropolitans continued thus independent, receiving their ordination from their own provincial synod, and not from any patriarch; terminating all controversies in their own synods, from which there was no appeal to any superior, except a general-council. Balsamon reckons among this sort of 'Avroкépaλor, the metropolitans of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Iberia. And his observation is certainly true of the two last, who were only metropolitans, yet independent of 'Con. Chalc. can. 9, et 17. VOL.I. Balsam. in Con. Constant. 1. can. 2. Z any patriarchal or superior power. For, though the bishop of Antioch laid claim to the ordination of the Cyprian bishops, in the council of Ephesus, yet the council, upon hearing the case, determined against him, making a decree,' "That, whereas, it never had been the custom for the bishop of Antioch to ordain bishops in Cyprus, the Cyprian bishops should retain their rights inviolable, and, according to canon and ancient custom, ordain bishops among themselves." And this was again repeated and confirmed by the council of Trullo, even after the Cypriots were driven into another country by the incursions of the barbarians. Others observe the same privilege in the Iberian Churches, now commonly called Georgians; that they never were subject either to the patriarch of Constantinople, or any other; but all their bishops, being eighteen in number, profess absolute obedience to their own metropolitan, without any other higher dependance or relation. And this was the case of the Armenian Churches in the time of Photius, as appears from an ancient Greek Notitia Episcopatuum, cited by Peter de Marca, which says it was an 'AVTOKépaλoç, and not subject to the throne of Constantinople, but honoured with independency in respect to St. Gregory of Armenia, their first Apostle. And this was also the ancient liberty of the Britannie Church, before the coming of Austin, the monk, when the seven British bishops, which were all that were then remaining, paid obedience to the archbishop of Caer-Leon, and acknowledged no superior in spirituals above him. As Dinothus, the learned abbot of Bangor, told Austin," in the name of all the Britannic Churches, "That they owed no other obedience to the pope of Rome, than they did to every godly Christian, to love every one in his degree in perfect charity: other obedience than this they knew none due to him whom he named pope, &c. But they were under the government of the bishop of Caer-Leon, upon Uske, who was their overseer under God." 1 Con. Ephes. Act. vii. Decret. de Cypr. Epis. 3 Brerewood Inquir. c. 17. Chytræus de Statu. Eccles. &c. de Primat. n. 27. p. 122. 2 Con. Trull, can. 39. + Marca Spelman. Con. Brit, an, 601, tom. i. p. 108. SECT. 3.-A Third sort of 'Avroкipaλo, such Bishops as were subject to no Metropolitan, but only to the Patriarch of the Diocese. Besides all these there was yet a third sort of 'AUTOKέpaλo, which were such bishops as were subject to no metropolitan, but immediately under the patriarch of the diocese, who was to them instead of a metropolitan. Thus for instance in the patriarchate or large diocese of Constantinople, the ancient Notitia, published by Leunclavius,' reckons thirtynine such bishops throughout the several provinces; that published by Dr. Beverege counts them forty-one; and the Notitia, in Carolus à Sancto Paulo augments the number to forty-six. The bishop of Jerusalem is said to have had twenty-five such bishoprics in his patriarchate, and the bishop of Antioch sixteen; as Nilus Doxopatrius, a writer of the eleventh century, in his book of the patriarchal sees, informs us. But what time this sort of independent bishoprics were first set up in the Church, is not certain; for the earliest account we have of them is in the Notitia of the emperor Leo Sapiens, written in the ninth century, where they are called archbishoprics, as in some other Notitia they are called metropolitical sees; though both these names were but titular, for they had no suffragan bishops under them. SECT. 4.-A Fourth Sort of 'AUTOKέpaλoi. Valesius mentions another sort of 'AUTOKépaλo, which were such bishops as were wholly independent of all others; as they had no suffragans under them, so neither did they acknowledge any superior above them, whether metropolitan, or patriarch, or any other whatsoever. Of this sort he reckons the bishops of Jerusalem, before they were advanced to patriarchal dignity; but in this instance he plainly mistakes, and contradicts St. Jerom, who says expressly, "that the bishop of Jerusalem, was subject to the bishop of Cæsarea, as the metropolitan of all Palæstine, and to the 'Leunclav. Jus. Gr. Rom. tom. i. lib. ii. p. SS. dect. tom. ii. Not. in Can. 26. Concil. Trull. pend. ad Geogr. Sacr. p. 10, Varia Sacra. tom. i. chap. 17. sect. 7. 2 Bevereg. Pan3 Car. à S. Paulo Ap Nilus Doxopatr. ap. le Moyne 5 Vales. Not. in Euseb. lib. v. c. 23. See |