A Movement to Build Next-Generation Christian Media For absolutely free, experience high quality content produced by 100s of independent creators OUR NEWEST CONTENT SUPPORT OUR MISSION Learn More New Courses Our New Film A New Book An Film About St. John Paul II's Lasting Legacy Each event tops the records for largest gatherings of people ever. While secular media coverage is scarce, many Christians who have never attended one don't know what the purpose of World Youth Day is either. This film hopes to give you a first-hand experience and show the potential it has for evangelization . This documentary features interviews with people from across the world while showcasing the beautiful country of Portugal, where WYD 2023 took place.

To test this feature, visit your live site. Categories All Posts My Posts Forums Create New Post General Discussion subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 57 Follow Questions and Answers subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 1 Follow Theology and Apologetics subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 3 Follow Saints & Popes subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 9 Follow Culture subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 4 Follow History subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 1 Follow Literature subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 6 Follow Politics subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 1 Follow Bible subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 3 Follow Resources subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 1 Follow New Posts StBecketOraProNobis Dec 16, 2023 Daily Challenge, Monday 11 December General Discussion Hello my siblings in Christ! Today I challenge you to pray for The Holy Souls in Purgatory! May God Bless You And Your Family And Our Lady Keep You All! ❤️🙏✝️ and may your prayers rise like incense! Like 0 comments 0 StBecketOraProNobis Dec 21, 2023 Daily Challenge, Sunday 10 December General Discussion Hello my siblings in Christ! Today I challenge you to pray Psalm 51! May God Bless You and your family and Our Lady keep you all! 🙏✝️❤️ And May your prayers rise like incense! Psalm 50 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 50 Unto the end, a psalm of David, 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bethsabee. 3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. 4 Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. 6 To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged. 7 For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. 8 For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. 9 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 10 To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. 11 Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 12 Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 13 Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 14 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 15 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee. 16 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 17 O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 18 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 19 A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 20 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. 21 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar. Like 2 comments 2 StBecketOraProNobis Dec 10, 2023 Daily Challenge, Saturday 9 December General Discussion Hello my siblings in Christ! Today I challenge you to ask for Saint Benedict's intercession in all your troubles and needs! May God Bless You and your family and Our Lady keep you all! ❤️✝️🙏 And May your prayers rise like incense! Like 0 comments 0 Forum - Frameless

Saints of a New Age A captivating book that investigates the hidden graces helping ordinary Christians persevere in their lives of crosses Out now! As all of our content is released for free as to reach the most people possible, you can enjoy our book for free right now: CLICK HERE TO READ Many decide to accept a cross, few decide to carry it. This is a story that catches a glimpse of grace in the lives of those hidden men and women who are still carrying their particular cross. Though they may have stumbled or collapsed, they have decided to continue their journey down the straight and narrow path. What is inspiring these few faithful to remain steadfast when the waves appear to have conquered the ark? Why do they continue to call upon the name of Christ, amidst the storms? This is a story about picking up those scattered pieces of faith. May these letters help many discover a newfound joy in their souls. May God bless you.

< Proof of the Papacy Tool St. Jerome Keys, Apostolic See, Rock of the Church, Papal Authority, Chief of the Apostles, Peter's Faith, Apostolic Lineage, Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter, Shepherd “Blessed Cyprian attempted to avoid heresy, and therefore rejected the baptism conferred by heretics, sent [the acts of] an African Council on this matter to Stephen, who was then Bishop of the city of Rome, and twenty-second from St. Peter; but his attempt was in vain. Eventually those very Bishops, who had decreed with him that heretics were to be rebaptized, returned to the ancient custom, and published a new decree.” (Against the Luciferians, 23). “[Pope] Stephen . . . was the blessed Peter’s twenty-second successor in the See of Rome” (St. Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church, Against the Luciferians 23 [A.D. 383]). “‘But, you [Jovinian] will say, ‘it was on Peter that the Church was founded’ [Matt. 16:18]: although elsewhere the same is attributed to all the Apostles, and they all receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the strength of the Church depends upon them all alike, yet one among the twelve is chosen so that when a head has been appointed, there may be no occasion for schism.” (Against Jovinian 1:26 [A.D. 393]). “Being informed, then, by a letter of the aforesaid bishop, we inform your holiness that we in like manner who are set in the city of Rome in which the prince of the apostles, the glorious Peter, first founded the church and then by his faith strengthened it; to the end that no man may contrary to the commandment read these books which we have mentioned, have condemned the same; and have with earnest prayers urged the strict observance of the precepts which God and Christ have inspired the evangelists to teach. We have charged men to remember the words of the venerable apostle Paul, prophetic and full of warning:--’if any than preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.’ ” (Letter 95). “A great many years ago when I was helping Damasus bishop of Rome with his ecclesiastical correspondence, and writing his answers to the questions referred to him by the councils of the east and west,” (Letter 123). “The words may be justly applied to him: "Seed of evil-doers, prepare thy children for the slaughter because of the sins of thy father." Jovinianus, condemned by the authority of the Church of Rome,” (Against Vigilantius). “Far be it from me to censure the successors of the apostles, who with holy words consecrate the body of Christ, and who make us Christians. Having the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Letter 14). “I meantime keep crying: ‘He who clings to the chair of Peter is accepted by me.’ ” (Epistle 57). “I think it is my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church (Rome) whose faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for spiritual food to the church whence I have received the garb of Christ.” (Letter 15 [396 A.D). “even before the Apostle Paul, Peter had come to know that the law was not to be in force after the gospel was given; nay more, that Peter was the prime mover in issuing the decree by which this was affirmed. Moreover, Peter was of so great authority, that Paul has recorded in his epistle: “Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” In the following context, again, he adds: “Then, fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles;” proving that he had not had confidence in his preaching of the gospel if he had not been confirmed by the consent of Peter and those who were with him.” (Letter to Augustine). “Simon Peter, the son of John, from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, brother of Andrew the apostle, and himself chief of the apostles, after having been bishop of the church of Antioch and having preached to the Dispersion . . . pushed on to Rome in the second year of Claudius to over-throw Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years until the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero. At his hands he received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.” (Lives of Illustrious Men [c. 396 A.D]). “Clement, of whom the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians says ‘With Clement and others of my fellow-workers whose names are written in the book of life,’ the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter, if indeed the second was Linus and the third Anacletus, although most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle” (Lives of Illustrious Men 15 [A.D. 396]). “I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark of Noah will perish when the flood prevails” (Letters 15:2 [A.D. 396]). “Far be it from me to speak adversely of any of these clergy who, in succession from the apostles, confect by their sacred word the Body of Christ and through whose efforts also it is that we are Christians” (Letters 14:8 [A.D. 396]). “The Church here is split into three parts, each teacher to seize me for its own. . . Meanwhile I keep crying: "He that is joined to the chair of Peter is accepted by me!" Meletius, Vitalis, and Paulinus each claims to be loyal to you, which I could believe did only one make the claim. As it is, either two of them are lying, or else all three. Therefore I implore Your Blessedness by the cross of the Lord, by the necessary glory of our faith, the Passion of Christ -- that as you follow the Apostles in dignity may you follow them also in worth,-- . . . tell me by letter with whom it is that I should communicate in Syria. Despise not a soul for whom Christ died! (Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus, 15, 2 [A.D. 374-379]) “The well-being of a Church depends upon the dignity of its chief-priest, and unless some extraordinary and unique functions be assigned to him, we shall have as many schisms in the Churches as there are priests.” (St. Jerome, The Dialogue Against the Luciferians, ch 9). “This was to prove that among the ancients, priests were the same as bishops; but by degrees, in order that the young shoots of dissensions might be uprooted, the whole solicitude was given to one man. As therefore the priests are aware that by the custom of the Church they are subject to him who is set over them, so let bishops remember that it is rather by custom than by the truth of the Lord's disposition that they are greater than priests, and that they ought to rule the Church in common with them, as Moses, did," etc… “A priest is then the same as a bishop , and before party - spirit in religious matters arose by the devil's suggestion , and it was said among the peoples : ' I am of Paul , I of Apollos , and I of Cephas , ' the Churches were governed by a common council of presbyters . But after each of them came to think that those whom he had baptized were his own and not Christ's , it was decreed in the whole world that one of the priests should be elected to be placed above the others , and that to him the whole care of the Church should belong , and thus the seeds of division should be destroyed.” (Commentary on Ep. of Titus, vol VII, 694-5[597]). “When there has been much disputing, Peter rose up, with his wonted readiness, and said, ‘Men and brethren… we shall be saved even as they’. And to this opinion the apostle James and all the elders gave consent. These quotations should not be tedious to the reader, but useful for to him and to me, as proving that, even before the apostle Paul, Peter had come to know what the law was not to be in force after the gospel was given: nay more, that Peter was the prime mover in issuing the decree by which this was affirmed. Moreover Peter was of so great authority that Paul has recorded in his epistle ‘Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter’…. proving that he would not have had confidence in his preaching of the gospel if he had not been confirmed by the consent of Peter and those who were with him… No one can doubt, therefore, that the apostle Peter was himself the author of that rule which he is accused of breaking” (Epistle 112, On the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15). “Since the East, shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, subsisting between its peoples, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the Lord, woven from the top throughout, [John 19:23] since the foxes are destroying the vineyard of Christ, [Song of Songs 2:15] and since among the broken cisterns that hold no water it is hard to discover the sealed fountain and the garden inclosed, [Song of Songs 4:12] I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church whose faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for spiritual food to the church whence I have received the garb of Christ. The wide space of sea and land that lies between us cannot deter me from searching for the pearl of great price. [Matthew 13:46] Wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. [Matthew 24:28] Evil children have squandered their patrimony; you alone keep your heritage intact. The fruitful soil of Rome, when it receives the pure seed of the Lord, bears fruit an hundredfold; but here the seed grain is choked in the furrows and nothing grows but darnel or oats. [Matthew 13:22-23] In the West the Sun of righteousness [Malachi 4:2] is even now rising; in the East, Lucifer, who fell from heaven, [Luke 10:18] has once more set his throne above the stars. [Isaiah 14:12] You are the light of the world, [Matthew 5:14] you are the salt of the earth, [Matthew 5:13] you are vessels of gold and of silver. Here are vessels of wood or of earth, [2 Timothy 2:20] which wait for the rod of iron, [Revelation 2:27] and eternal fire. “Yet, though your greatness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I demand the safe-keeping of the victim, from the shepherd the protection due to the sheep. Away with all that is overweening; let the state of Roman majesty withdraw. My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built! [Matthew 16:18] This is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. [Exodus 12:22] This is the Ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. [Genesis 7:23] But since by reason of my sins I have betaken myself to this desert which lies between Syria and the uncivilized waste, I cannot, owing to the great distance between us, always ask of your sanctity the holy thing of the Lord. Consequently I here follow the Egyptian confessors who share your faith, and anchor my frail craft under the shadow of their great argosies. I know nothing of Vitalis; I reject Meletius; I have nothing to do with Paulinus. He that gathers not with you scatters; [Matthew 12:30] he that is not of Christ is of Antichrist.” (Epistle 15 to Pope Damasus [A.D. 376). “If, then, the apostle Peter, upon whom the Lord has founded the Church, [Matthew 16:18]has expressly said that the prophecy and promise of the Lord were then and there fulfilled, how can we claim another fulfilment for ourselves?” (Letter 41). “The fruitful soil of Rome, when it receives the pure seed of the Lord, bears fruit an hundredfold“ (Epistle 15). “...yet one of them is elected among the twelve, that by the setting up of a head the occasion of schism may be removed. But why was not John, the virgin, elected? Deference was had to age, because Peter was older,” (Against Jovinnius). “I meantime keep crying: He who clings to the chair of Peter is accepted by me. Meletius, Vitalis, and Paulinus all profess to cleave to you, and I could believe the assertion if it were made by one of them only. As it is, either two of them or else all three are guilty of falsehood. Therefore I implore your blessedness, by our Lord's cross and passion, those necessary glories of our faith, as you hold an apostolic office, to give an apostolic decision. Only tell me by letter with whom I am to communicate in Syria.” (Epistle 16 to Pope Damasus). “Whosever you be who assert new dogmas, I beg you to spare Roman ears, spare that faith which was praised by the mouth of the Apostle. Why after four hundred years do you try to teach us what we knew not till now? Why do you produce doctrines which Peter and Paul did not think fit to proclaim? Up to this day the world has been Christian without your doctrine. I will hold to the faith in my old age in which I was regenerated as a boy.” (Epistle 84). "These words are his own, he cannot deny them. The very elegance of the style and the laboured mode of speech, and, surpassing all these, the Christian 'simplicity' which here appears, reveal the character of their author. But there is a different phase of the matter: Eusebius, it seems, has depraved these books; and now my friend who accuses Origen, and who is so careful of my reputation, declares that both Eusebius and I have gone wrong together, and then that we have held correct opinions together, and that in one and the same work. But he cannot now be my enemy and call me a heretic, when a moment before he has said that his belief was not dissonant from mine. Then, I must ask him what is the meaning of his balanced and doubtful way of speaking: The Latin reader, he says, will find nothing here discordant from our faith. What faith is this which he calls his? Is it the faith by which the Roman Church is distinguished? Or is it the faith which is contained in the works of Origen? If he answers the Roman, then we are the Catholics, since we have adopted none of Origen's errors in our translations. But if Origen's blasphemy is his faith, then, though he tries to fix on me the charge of inconsistency, he proves himself to be a heretic." (Contra Rufinus, Book I). “For your admonition concerning the canons of the Church we thank you, for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth... but know that we have nothing more at heart than to observe the laws of the Church, and not to move the landmarks of the Fathers, and ever to be mindful of that Roman faith which the Church of Alexandria boasts of participating.” (Epistle 63 to Pope Theophilus). “Was there no other province in the world to receive this panegyric [gathering] of voluptousness into which this adder could have crept, but that one which was founded on Christ the Rock by the doctrine of Peter?" (Contra Jovinian, Book II). “Origen himself in a letter written to Fabian, bishop of Rome, expresses penitence for having made erroneous statements, and charges Ambrose with over haste in making public what was meant only for private circulation.” (Epistle 84). “You [Donatist] know what the Catholic Church is, and what that is cut off from the vine; if there are any among you cautious, let them come; let them find life in the root. Come, brethren, if you wish to be engrafted in the vine; a grief it is when we see you lying thus cut off. Number the bishops even from the very seat of Peter, and see every succession in that line of fathers; that is, the rock, which the proud gates of hell prevail against not” (Psalmus contra partem Donati). “So, you see, the labors of this one man have surpassed those of all previous writers, Greek and Latin. Who has ever managed to read all that he has written? Yet what reward have his exertions brought him? He stands condemned by his bishop, Demetrius, only the bishops of Palestine, Arabia, Phenicia, and Achaia dissenting. Imperial Rome consents to his condemnation, and even convenes a senate to censure him, not — as the rabid hounds who now pursue him cry — because of the novelty or heterodoxy of his doctrines, but because men could not tolerate the incomparable eloquence and knowledge which, when once he opened his lips, made others seem dumb.” (Epistle 33, an account of St. Pope Pontianus (A.D. c. 230) ratifying a condemnation of Origen in Alexandria). “Since the East, dashed against itself by the accustomed fury of its peoples, is tearing piecemeal the undivided tunic of Christ, woven from the top throughout, and foxes are destroying the vine of Christ, so that among the broken cisterns which have no water it is hard to locate the sealed fountain and the enclosed garden, I have considered that I ought to consult the chair of Peter, and the faith praised by the mouth of the apostle, asking now food for my soul, from the place whence I received the garment of Christ. Neither the vast expanse of ocean, nor all the breadth of land which separates us could preclude me from seeking the precious pearl. ‘Wherever the body is, there.’ “...will the eagles be gathered together." Now that evil children have squandered their patrimony, you alone keep your heritage intact. There the fertile earth reproduces a hundredfold the purity of the Lord's seed. Here the corn, cast into the furrows, degenerates into darnel or wild oats. It is now in the West that the sun ofjustice rises ; whilst in the East Lucifer who fell has set his seat above the stars. "Ye are the light of the world." "Ye are the salt of the earth." Ye are vessels of gold and silver. Here the vessels of clay or wood await the iron rod and eternal fire. “Yet though your greatness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I ask the salvation of the victim; from the shepherd, the safety of the sheep. Away with envy! The canvassing of the Roman height recedes. I speak with the successor of the fisherman, with the disciple of the cross. Following none in the first place but Christ, I am in communion with your beatitude, that is with the chair of Peter. On that rock I know the Church is built. Whoever shall eat the Lamb outside this house is profane. If any be not with Noah in the ark, he shall perish in thejood. And because for my sins I have migrated to this solitude, where Syria borders on the barbarians, and I cannot always at this great distance ask for the Holy One of the Lord from your holiness, therefore I follow here your colleagues the Egyptian confessors; and under these great ships, my little vessel lies hid. Vitalis I know not, Meletius I reject; I ignore Paulinus. Whoso gathereth not with thee scattereth, that is, he who is not of Christ is anti-Christ. “Decide, I beseech, if you please, and I will not fear to acknowledge three hypostases. If you order it, let a new creed be compiled after the Nicene, and the orthodox will confess in like words with the Arians. . . . Well might Ursinus 1 be joined to your beatitude, Auxentius2 to Ambrose. Far be this from the faith of Rome. May the devout hearts of the people drink no such sacrilege. Let us be satisfied to say one substance, three persons subsisting, perfect, equal, coeternal. Let us drop three hypostases, if you please, and hold one. It is no use using different words in the same sense. . . . But if you think right that, with explanations, we should say three hypostases, we do not refuse. . . “Wherefore I beseech your holiness, by the crucified Saviour of the world, that you will write and authorize me to say or refuse the hypostases. . . . Likewise inform me with whom I ought to communicate at Antioch; for the Campenses are joined to the heretical Tarsenes, and desire nothing but to preach three hypostases in the old sense, as if supported by the authority of your communion.” (Epistle 15, to Pope Damasus [A.D. 375]). “I therefore, who received Christ's robe in Rome, am now detained in the border waste of Syria. And, lest you think I received this sentence from another, I inflicted my own punishment. But as the heathen poet says : "They change sky, not mind, who cross the sea." The untiring foe follows me behind, so that now I wage fierce wars in the desert. On the one side storm the raging Arians, upheld by worldly power. On the other, a church, torn in three parts, tries to seize me. The authority of ancient monks who dwell around rises against me. Meantime I cry: "He who is joined to Peter's chair is mine." Meletius, Vitalis, and Paulinus say that they adhere to you. If one of them asserted this, I could believe him. Now either two are lying or all. Therefore I implore your blessedness by the cross of the Lord, by the essential glory of our faith, the passion of Christ, that you who follow the apostles in honour will follow them in worth. May you sit in judgement on a throne with the twelve. In old age, may another gird you with Peter : may you gain with Paul the heavenly citizenship, if you write and tell me with whom I ought to communicate in Syria. Despise not a soul for which Christ died.” (Epstle 16), to Pope Damasus). “Liberius was ordained the 34th bishop of the Roman church, and when he was driven into exile for the faith, all the clergy took an oath that they would not recognize any other bishop. But when Felix was put in his place by the Arians, a great many foreswore themselves; but at the end of the year they were banished, and Felix too; for Liberius, giving in to the irksomeness of exile and subscribing to the heretical and false doctrine, made a triumphal entry into Rome.” (Chronicon ad Ann). “ . . . The safety of the church depends on the dignity of the high priest. If to him is not given a certain independence and eminence of power, there will be made in the church as many schisms as there are priests. This is the reason that without chrism and the command of a bishop, neither presbyter nor deacon has the right to baptize. . . . “Cyprian of blessed memory tried to avoid broken cisterns, and not to drink of strange waters ; and therefore, rejecting heretical baptism, he summoned his African synod in opposition to Stephen, who was the blessed Peter's 22nd successor in the see of Rome. They met to discuss this matter, but the attempt failed. At last those very bishops who had together with him determined that heretics must be rebaptized reverted to the old custom, and published a fresh decree. . . “.If, however, those who were ordained by Hilary, and who have lately become sheep without a shepherd, are disposed to allege scripture in support of what the blessed Cyprian left in his letters, advocating the rebaptizing of heretics, I beg them to remember that he did not anathematize those who refused to follow him. . . . “Hilary himself confesses that Julius, Mark, Sylvester,' and the other bishops of old alike welcomed all heretics to repentance ; and further, to show that he could not justly claim possession of the true custom, the council of Nicaea also, to which we referred not long ago, welcomed all heretics with the exception of the disciples of Paul of Samosata. “I might spend the day in speaking to the same effect, and dry up all the streams of argument with the single sun of the Church.” (Contra Luciferianos [A.D. 383]). “We read in Isaiah, "A fool will speak folly". I am told that someone has been mad enough to put deacons before presbyters, that is, bishops. For when the apostle plainly teaches that presbyters are the same as bishops, what happens to the server of tables and widows that he sets himself up arrogantly over those at whose prayers the body and blood of Christ are made? . . . That afterwards one was chosen to preside over the rest, this was done as a remedy for schism, lest anyone should rend the Church of Christ by drawing it to himself. Besides at Alexandria, from Mark the evangelist until the episcopates of Heraclas and Dionysius, the presbyters always chose one of their number, and placing him in a higher rank called him bishop. . . . For what does a bishop do which l a presbyter does not, except ordain? It is not the case that there is one church at Rome, and another in all the world besides. Gaul and Britain, Africa and Persia, India and the barbarians worship one Christ and observe one rule of truth. If you ask for authority, the world outweighs the city. Wherever there is a bishop, whether at Rome or Gubbio, or Constantinople or Rhegium, or Alexandria or Tanis, his worth is the same, and his priesthood is the same.1 The power of riches or the lowliness of poverty does not make him a higher or a lower bishop. But all are successors of the apostles. “But you say, "How is it that at Rome a presbyter is ordained on the recommendation of a deacon?" Why bring forward to me the custom of one city? Why in the laws of the Church do you appropriate a paltry case which has given rise to pride? The rarer a thing is, the more it is sought. In India pennyroyal is more costly than pepper. Deacons, being few, are made honorable; presbyters in the mass are made contemptible. But even in the church of Rome, presbyters sit and deacons stand ; although bad habits have gradually crept in, so that I have seen a deacon, in the absence of a bishop, sit among the presbyters, and at social gatherings give blessings to them. Those who act thus must learn that they are wrong.” (Epistle 45, to Ansella). “It was decreed in the whole world that one of the presbyters should be elected to be placed above the others, to whom the whole care of the church should belong, and the seeds of schism should be destroyed. . . . so let bishops remember that it is rather by custom than by the truth of the Lord's direction that they are greater than presbyters.” (In Epistolam ad Titum). “But you say that the Church was founded upon Peter: although elsewhere the same is attributed to all the apostles, and they all receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the strength of the Church depends on them all alike, yet one among the twelve is chosen so that when a head has been appoint~d, there may be no occasion for schism. But why was not John chosen, who was a virgin? Deference was paid to age, because' Peter was the elder : one who was a youth, I may say almost a boy, could not'be set over men of advanced age ; and that the good Master, who was bound to remove every occasion of strife among his disciples, . . . might not seem to afford a ground for jealousy in appointing the young man whom he had loved. Peter was an apostle, and John was an apostle; the first married, the second a virgin. But Peter was only an apostle, while John was an apostle and an evangelist and a prophet.” (Adversus Jovinianum [A.D. 392]). “Would you know, Paula and Eustochium, how the apostle designates each province by its own qualities? To this day remain the same traces of virtues and of errors. Of the Roman people the faith is praised. Where else do people run with the same eagerness and in such crowds to the churches or to the tombs of the martyrs? Where does the Amen so resound like the thunder of heaven, shaking the empty temples of the idols? Not that the Romans have any other faith than that of all the churches of Christ, but in them is greater devotion and simplicity in believing. Again they are reproved for laxity and I pride. For laxity as follows : "I beseech you, brethren, mark ~ them which are causing divisions.” (In Epistolam ad Galatas). “Was there no other province in the whole world to receive the gospel of pleasure, and into which the serpent might insinuate itself, except that which was founded by the teaching of Peter upon the rock Christ Idol temples had fallen 1 before the standard of the cross and the severity of the gospel ; now on the contrary lust and gluttony try to overthrow the solidity of the cross. Mighty city, mistress city of the world, city of the apostle's praises, show the meaning of your name. Rome is either strength in Greek, or height in Hebrew. Lose not the excellence your name implies : let virtue lift you up on high ; do not let sensuality debase you. (Adversus Jouinianum). “Whoever you are who are thus preaching new doctrines, I beseech you to spare the ears of the Romans, spare the faith of a church which an apostle has praised. Why after 400 years do you try to teach us Romans doctrines of which we have known nothing until now? Why do you proclaim in public, opinions which Peter and Paul refused to profess? Until now, no such teaching has been heard of, and yet the world has become Christian.” (Epistle 84, to Pammachius and Oceanus [A.D. 400]). “When there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, with his wonted readiness, and said, ‘Men and brethren . . . we shall be saved even as they. And to his opinion the apostle James and all the elders together gave consent.’ “These quotations should not be tedious to the reader, but useful both to him and to me, as proving that, even before the apostle Paul, Peter had come to know that the law was not to be in force after the gospel was given ; nay more, that Peter was the prime mouer in issuing the decree by which this was affirmed. Moreover Peter was of so great authority that Paul has recorded in his epistle "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter ". . . proving that he would not have had confidence in his preaching of the gospel if he had not been confirmed by the consent of Peter and those who were with him. . . . No one can doubt, therefore, that the apostle Peter was himself the author of that rule which he is accused of breaking.” (Epistle 112, to St. Augustine [A.D. 404]). “I have all but passed over the most important point of all. While you were still quite small, Bishop Anastasius of holy and blessed memory ruled the Roman church. In his days a terrible storm of heresy came from the East and strove first to corrupt and then to undermine that simple faith which an apostle has praised. However, the bishop, rich in poverty and as careful of his flock as an apostle, at once smote the noxious thing on the head, and stayed the hydra's hissing. Now I have reason to fear-in fact a report has reached me to this effect that the poisonous germs of this heresy still live and sprout in the minds of some to this day. I think, therefore, that I ought to warn you, in all kindness and affection, to hold fast the faith of the saintly Innocent, the son of Anastasius and his successor in the apostolic see; and not to receive any foreign doctrine, however wise and discerning you may take yourself to be. (Epistle 130, to Demetrias [A.D. 414]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Proof of the Papacy Tool Pope St. Dionysius of Rome “Next I naturally turn to those who divide and cut into pieces and destroy that most sacred doctrine of the Church of God, the monarchy. . . . So we may not divide into three god- heads the wonderful and divine unity; nor disparage as a created being the dignity and exceeding majesty of the Lord; but we must believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Christ Jesus his Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and that the word is united to the God of the universe. For he says " I and the Father are I one" and " I am in the Father and the Father is in me ". In this way both the divine Trinity and the holy doctrine of the monarchy will be preserved.” (Adversus Sabellianos, preserved in Athanasius’s De Decretis Nicaenae Synodi [c. A.D. 260]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Proof of the Papacy Tool Possidius Apostolic See “Augustine strove for nearly ten years, writing and publishing books, and frequently speaking about the Pelagian errors. And since these heretics were trying to bring the apostolic see round to their view, African councils of holy bishops also did their best to persuade the holy Pope of the city (first the venerable Innocent, and afterwards his successor, Zosimus) that this heresy was to be abhorred and condemned by catholic faith. And these bishops of so great a see successively branded them, and cut them off from the members of the Church, giving letters to the African churches in the West, and to the churches of the East, and declared that they were to be anathematized and avoided by all catholics. The judgement pronounced upon them by the Catholic Church of God was heard and followed also by the most pious emperor Honorius, who condemned them by his laws, and ordered them to be treated as heretics. Wherefore many of them have returned to the bosom of holy Mother Church, whence they had wandered, and are yet returning, as the truth of the right faith becomes known against this detestable error.” (Vita Augustini, On Augustine and The Council of Milevis [A.D. 437]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Proof of the Papacy Tool St. Stephen the Younger Validating a Council “How can you call a synod ecumenical when the Bishop of Rome has not consented to it, since the Canons forbid ecclesiastical affairs to be settled without the Pope of Rome?” (A monk from Constantinople, Speaking of the Iconoclastic Synod of Hieria, A.D. 753). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Back 10. The Second Council of the Lateran, 1139 A.D. The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-effects of the schism which had arisen after the death of Pope Honorius II in 1130 and the papal election that year that established Pietro Pierleoni as the antipope Anacletus II. Read the Documents of the Council Source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_the_Lateran

< Back to Collection Piano Version of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Category Christmas Composer About Bringing Sacred Music to a new generation of listeners is our mission. Composed of independent musical talent, our team is producing renditions of ancient works while creating pieces for modern times.

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< Proof of the Papacy Tool Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Apostolic See, Papal Authority, Chief of the Apostles, Universal Jurisdiction, St. Peter “The Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian [the third] to Aetius, Master of the Military and Patrician. It is certain that for us the only defence lies in the favour of the God of heaven; and to deserve it our first care is to support the Christian faith and its venerable religion. Inasmuch then as the primacy of the apostolic see is assured, by the merit of S. Peter, who is chief of the episcopal order, by the rank of the city of Rome, and also by the authority of a sacred synod, let no one presume to attempt any illicit act contrary to the authority of that see. For then at length will the peace of the churches be maintained everywhere, if the whole body acknowledges its ruler. Hitherto these customs have been observed without fail ; but Hilary of Arles, as we are informed by the trustworthy report of that venerable man Leo, Pope of Rome, has with contumacious daring ventured upon certain unlawful proceedings ; and therefore the churches beyond the Alps have been invaded by abominable disorders, of which a recent example particularly bears witness. For Hilary who is called bishop of Arles, without consulting the pontiff of the church of the city of Rome, has in solitary rashness usurped his jurisdiction by the ordination of bishops. He has removed some without authority, and indecently ordained others who are unwelcome and repugnant to the citizens. Since these were not readily received by those who had not chosen them, he has collected to himself an armed band and in hostility has either prepared a barrier of walls for a blockade or embarked on aggression. Thus he has led into war those who prayed for peace to the haven of rest. Such men have been admitted contrary to the dignity of the empire and contrary to the reverence due to the apostolic see ; and after investigation they have been dispersed by the order of that pious man the Pope of the city. The sentence applies to Hilary and to those whom he has wickedly ordained. This same sentence would have been valid through the Gauls without imperial sanction; for what is no allowed in the Church to the authority of so great a pontiff? Hilary is allowed still to be called a bishop, only by the kindness of the gentle president ; and our just command is, that it is not lawful either for him or for anyone else to mix church affairs with arms or to obstruct the orders of the Roman overseer. By such deeds of daring, confidence, in, and respect for, our empire is broken down. Not only then do we put away so great a crime ; but in order that not even the least disturbance may arise amongst the churches, nor the discipline of religion appear in any instance to be weakened, we decree by this eternal law that it shall not be lawful for the bishops of Gaul or of the other provinces, contrary to ancient custom, to do aught without the authority of the venerable Pope of the eternal city. And whatever the authority of the apostolic see has sanctioned, or may sanction, shall be the law for all; so that if any bishop summoned to trial before the pontiff of Rome shall neglect to come, he shall be compelled to appear by the governor of that province. Those things which our divine parents conferred on the. Roman church are to be upheld in every way. Wherefore your illustrious and eminent magnificence is to cause what is enacted above to be observed in virtue of this present edict and law . . .” (Certum Est [A.D. July 8, 445]). “Your piety therefore will do well, as soon as the approaching feast of Easter shall be passed, to repair to Ephesus so as to be ready by the day of Pentecost; you will bring with you such bishops as you shall think necessary, providing that a sufficient number remain to conduct the business of the province, and that so many as shall be sufficient may come to the council. . . . In the meantime no one shall introduce privately any innovation until the holy synod be assembled and until the common sentence of the same is given by all. . .” (Epistle to Cyril). “. . We wish the sacred doctrine to be discussed and examined in a holy synod, and that which seems to conform to the right faith to be ratified, whether those who are defeated are granted indulgence by the fathers or not. Further we by no 1 means permit the cities and churches to be disturbed ; but since we do not allow the doctrine to remain in dispute, they ought to be judges of this affair who preside over the priesthood everywhere, and through whom we ourselves are or shall be professing the truth.” (To Cyril and to all Metropolitans. Constantinople, Mansi 4.11 [A.D. November 19, 430]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Back 17. The Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, 1431-45 A.D. The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. At stake was the greater conflict between the conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismund's death in 1437. Pope Eugene IV translated the Council to Ferrara on 8 January 1438, where it became the Council of Ferrara and succeeded in drawing some of the Byzantine ambassadors who were in attendance at Basel to Italy. Some Council members rejected the papal decree and remained at Basel: this rump Council suspended Eugene, declared him a heretic, and then in November 1439 elected an antipope, Felix V. After becoming the Council of Florence (having moved to avoid the plague in Ferrara), the Council concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a political coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismund's successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel; the rump Council reconvened in Lausanne before dissolving itself in 1449. Read the Documents of the Council Source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence

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< Proof of the Papacy Tool Council of Aquileia, 381 Shepherd “We recognize in the letter of your holiness [Pope Siricius] the vigilance of the good shepherd. You faithfully watch over the gate entrusted to you, and with pious care you guard Christ’s sheepfold [John 10:7], you that are worthy to have the Lord’s sheep hear and follow you.” (The Synod of St. Ambrose, Synodal Letter to Pope Siricius [A.D. 389]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

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< Proof of the Papacy Tool St. Theodoret of Cyrus Apostolic See, Chief of the Apostles, Foundation of the Church, St. Peter, Shepherd “I therefore beseech your holiness to persuade the most holy and blessed bishop (Pope Leo) to use his Apostolic power, and to order me to hasten to your Council. For that most holy throne (Rome) has the sovereignty over the churches throughout the universe on many grounds.” (Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria, Tom. iv. Epist. cxvi. Renato, p. 1197 [A.D. 450]). “If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, hastened to the great Peter, to convey from him the solution to those in Antioch, who were at issue about living under the law, how much more do we, poor and humble, run to the Apostolic Throne (Rome) to receive from you (Pope Leo) healing for wounds of the the Churches? For it pertains to you to have primacy in all things; for your throne is adorned with many prerogatives. For other cities get a name for size or beauty or population, and some that are devoid of these advantages are compensated by certain spiritual gifts: but your city has the fullest abundance of good things from the Giver of all good. For she is of all cities the greatest and most famous, the mistress of the world and teeming with population. And besides this she has created an empire which is still predominant and has imposed her own name upon her subjects. But her chief decoration is her Faith, to which the Divine Apostle is a sure witness when he exclaims your faith is proclaimed in all the world Romans 1:8; and if immediately after receiving the seeds of the saving Gospel she bore such a weight of wondrous fruit, what words are sufficient to express the piety which is now found in her? She has, too, the tombs of our common fathers and teachers of the Truth, Peter and Paul, to illumine the souls of the faithful. And this blessed and divine pair arose indeed in the East, and shed its rays in all directions, but voluntarily underwent the sunset of life in the West, from whence now it illumines the whole world. These have rendered your See so glorious: this is the chief of all your goods. And their See is still blessed by the light of their God's presence, seeing that therein He has placed your Holiness to shed abroad the rays of the one true Faith. “After such toils and troubles I am condemned without a hearing….However, I wait for the verdict of your apostolic throne, and beg and pray your holiness to help me, when I appeal to your right and just tribunal, and to bid me come to you and show that my teaching follows in the apostolic track. . . . I beseech you not to spurn my petition, nor to overlook the insults heaped upon me. “Before all, tell me whether I ought to acquiesce in this unrighteous deposition or not. I awaityour verdict; and if you bid me abide by my condemnalion, I will do so, and will trouble no one hereafter, but await the unerring verdict of our God and Saviour. . . “. . . . I entreat your holiness . . . to consider my slandered position, so falsely attacked, to be worthy of your protection. Above all I beseech you to defend with all your might the faith that is now plotted against, and to keep the hereditary doctrine intact for the churches. So shall your holiness receive from the bountiful Master a full reward.” (Theodoret Epistle to Pope Leo, preserved in the 52 Epistle of Leo the Great.) “For that all holy throne has the office of heading the Churches of the whole world, for many reasons; and, above all others, because it has remained free of the communion of heretical taint, and no one holding heterodox sentiments ever sat in it, but it has preserved the Apostolic grace unsullied.” (Theodoret, Epist Renato) “Hasten to your Apostolic See in order to receive from you a cure for the wounds of the Church. For every reason it is fitting for you to hold the first place, inasmuch as your see is adorned with many priviledges. I have been condemned without trial. But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore Your Holiness to succor me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal. Bid me hasten to you and prove to you that my teaching follows in the footsteps of the Apostles.” (Theodoret to Pope Leo, Ep. 113). “The great foundation of the Church was shaken, and confirmed by the Divine grace. And the Lord commanded him to apply that same care to the brethren. ‘And thou,’ He says, ‘converted, confirm thy brethren.’”(Tom. iv. Haeret. Fab. lib. v.c. 28 (A.D. 450)) “‘For as I,’ He says, ‘did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou was saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, thus through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed.’ So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God’s sheep. ” (Theodoret, Oratio de Caritate in J. P. Minge, ed., Partrologiae Curses Completus: Series Graeca). “The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries, and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men's salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings. But, besides that reverence which today's festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end. For these are the men, through whom the light of Christ's gospel shone on you, O Rome, and through whom you, who was the teacher of error, was made the disciple of Truth. These are your holy Fathers and true shepherds, who gave you claims to be numbered among the heavenly kingdoms, and built you under much better and happier auspices than they, by whose zeal the first foundations of your walls were laid: and of whom the one that gave you your name defiled you with his brother's blood. [Romulus was the traditional founder of Rome. He murdered his brother, Remus.] These are they who promoted you to such glory, that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state 1 Peter 2:9, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter's holy See you attained a wider sway by the worship of God than by earthly government. For although you were increased by many victories, and extended your rule on land and sea, yet what your toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.” (Sermon 82). “But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore your holiness to succour me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal.” (Letter 113 to St. Pope Leo the Great). With these and similar arguments, they attacked the vacant mind of the emperor and persuaded him to expel Athanasius from the Church. But he, having discovered the plot, withdrew and went to the West. The Eusebians had falsely accused Athanasius to the bishop of Rome (just then Julius was shepherding that church). He therefore, obtying the law of the Church, summoned the accuselrs to come to Rome, and called the devout Athanasius to trial. And he, accepting the call, set out at once ; but the false accusers, seeing that the lie would easily be detected, did not go to Rome. (Church History, Book 2). “Twenty-six years I have been a bishop ; I have undergone countless labours ; I have struggled hard for the truth; have freed tens of thousands of heretics and brought them to the Saviour, and now they have stripped me of my priesthood, and are exiling me from the city. They have no respect for my old age, or for my hairs grown grey in the truth. Wherefore I beseech your sanctity to persuade the very sacred and holy Archbishop Leo to bid me hasten to your council. For that holy see has precedence of all churches in the world, for many reasons; and above all for this, that it is free from all taint of t heresy, and that no bishop of false opinions has ever sat upon its throne, but it has kept the grace of the apostles undefiled.” (Ep. 116, to Renatus thepresbyter [A.D. 449). “Dioscorus is turning the see of blessed Mark upside down ; and this he does, well knowing that the metropolis of Antioch possesses the throne of the great Peter, who was teacher of blessed Mark, and first and leader of the choir of the apostles.” (Epistle 86, to Flavian). [Quoting Luke 22. 31, 32.1 "For as I ", he says, " did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou wast saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, [thus] through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed." So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God's sheep. (Oratio de Caritate). Proof of the Papacy Tool