FIRST VATICAN COUNCIL (1869-1870)
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This council was summoned
by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of 29 June 1868. The first session
was held in St. Peter's basilica on 8 December 1869 in the presence and under
the presidency of the Pope.
The purpose of the
council was, besides the condemnation of contemporary errors, to define the
Catholic doctrine concerning the Church of Christ. In fact, in the three
following sessions, there was discussion and approval of only two
constitutions: Dogmatic Constitution On The Catholic Faith and First Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church of Christ, the latter dealing with the primacy and
infallibility of the bishop of Rome. The discussion and approval of the
latter constitution gave rise, particularly in Germany, to bitter and most
serious controversies which led to the withdrawal from the Church of those
known as "Old Catholics".
The outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian war led to the interruption of the council. It was in fact
never resumed, nor was it ever officially closed. As in other councils at
which the Pope was present and presided, the decrees were in the form of
bulls, at the end of which was the clear declaration: "with the approval
of the sacred council". Very large numbers attended this council,
including, for the first time, bishops from outside Europe and its
neighboring lands. Bishops from the eastern Orthodox Churches were also
invited, but did not come.
The decrees of the
council were published in various simultaneous editions. Later they were
included in volume 7 of Collectio Lacensis (1892) and in volumes 49-53 of
Mansi's collection (1923-1927). The collection which we use is that entitled
Acta et decreta sacrosancti oecumenici concilii Vaticani in quatuor prionbus
sessionibus, Rome 1872. Comparison with other editions reveals no
discrepancies, indeed absolute agreement.
Decree of opening
of the council
Pius, bishop, servant of
the servants of God, with the approval of the sacred council, for an
everlasting record. Most reverend fathers, is it your pleasure that, to the
praise and glory of the Holy and undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, for the increase and exaltation of the Catholic faith and religion,
for the uprooting of current errors, for the reformation of the clergy and
the Christian people, and for the common peace and concord of all, the holy
ecumenical Vatican council should be opened, and be declared to have been
opened?
[They replied: Yes]
Pius, bishop, servant of
the servants of God, with the approval of the sacred council, for an
everlasting record. Most reverend fathers, is it your pleasure that the next
session of the holy ecumenical Vatican council should be held on the feast of
the Epiphany of the Lord, that is 6 January 1870?
[They replied: Yes]
Profession of faith
1. I, Pius, bishop of the
Catholic Church, with firm faith believe and profess each and every article
contained in the profession of faith which the Holy Roman Church uses,
namely: I believe in one God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all things seen and unseen. And in one Lord Jesus Christ the only-begotten
Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God from God, light from
light, true God from true God. Begotten not made, of one substance with the
Father: through whom all things were made. Who for us humans and for our
salvation came down from heaven. He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the
Virgin Mary: and became man. He was crucified also for us, he suffered under
Pontius Pilate and was buried. The third day he rose again according to the
Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.
He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and of his
kingdom there shall be no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the lord and the giver
of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who together with the
Father and the Son is adored and glorified: who spoke through the prophets.
And one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the
remission of Sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life
of the world to come Amen.
2. Apostolic and
ecclesiastical traditions and all other observances and constitutions of that
same Church I most firmly accept and embrace.
3. Likewise I accept
Sacred Scripture according to that sense which Holy mother Church held and
holds, since it is her right to judge of the true sense and interpretation of
the Holy Scriptures; nor will I ever receive and interpret them except
according to the unanimous consent of the fathers.
4. I profess also that
there are seven sacraments of the new law, truly and properly so called,
instituted by our lord Jesus Christ and necessary for salvation, though each
person need not receive them all. They are:
1. baptism, 2. confirmation,
3. the Eucharist, 4. penance, 5. last anointing, 6. order and 7. matrimony;
and they confer grace. Of these baptism, confirmation and order may not be
repeated without sacrilege.
5. I likewise receive and
accept the rites of the Catholic Church which have been received and approved
in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid sacraments.
6. I embrace and accept
the whole and every part of what was defined and declared by the holy Council
of Trent concerning original sin and justification. Likewise
7. I profess that in the
mass there is offered to God a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice for
the living and the dead; and that in the most Holy sacrament of the Eucharist
there is truly, really and substantially the body and blood, together with
the soul and divinity, of our lord Jesus Christ; and that there takes place
the conversion of the whole substance of the bread into his body, and of the
whole substance of the wine into his blood, and this conversion the Catholic
Church calls transubstantiation.
8. I confess that under
either species alone the whole and complete Christ and the true sacrament are
received.
9. I firmly hold that
purgatory exists, and that the souls detained there are helped by the
suffrages of the faithful. Likewise, that the saints reigning with Christ are
to be honored and prayed to, and that they offer prayers to God on our
behalf, and that their relics should be venerated.
10. I resolutely assert
that images of
1. Christ and
2. the ever Virgin Mother of God, and likewise those of 3. the other saints, are to be kept and retained, and that due honor and reverence is to be shown them.
11. I affirm that the
power of indulgences was left by Christ in the Church, and that their use is
eminently beneficial to the Christian people.
12. I acknowledge the
Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, the mother and mistress of all
the Churches [1].
13. Likewise all other
things which have been transmitted, defined and declared by the sacred canons
and the ecumenical councils, especially the sacred Trent, I accept
unhesitatingly and profess; in the same way whatever is to the contrary, and
whatever heresies have been condemned, rejected and anathematized by the
Church, I too condemn, reject and anathematize.
This true Catholic faith,
outside of which none can be saved, which I now freely profess and truly
hold, is what I shall steadfastly maintain and confess, by the help of God,
in all its completeness and purity until my dying breath, and I shall do my
best to ensure [2] that all others do the same. This is what I, the same
Pius, promise, vow and swear. So help me God and these holy gospels of God.
Dogmatic
constitution on the Catholic faith
Pius, bishop, servant of
the servants of God, with the approval of the Sacred Council, for an
everlasting record.
1. The Son of God,
redeemer of the human race, our lord Jesus Christ, promised, when about to
return to his heavenly Father, that he would be with this Church militant
upon earth all days even to the end of the world [3]. Hence never at any time
has he ceased to stand by his beloved bride, assisting her when she teaches,
blessing her in her labors and bringing her help when she is in danger.
2. Now this redemptive
providence appears very clearly in unnumbered benefits, but most especially
is it manifested in the advantages which have been secured for the Christian
world by ecumenical councils, among which the Council of Trent requires
special mention, celebrated though it was in evil days.
3. Thence came 1. a
closer definition and more fruitful exposition of the holy dogmas of religion
and 2. the condemnation and repression of errors; thence too, 3. the
restoration and vigorous strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, 4. the
advancement of the clergy in zeal for learning and piety, 5. the founding of
colleges for the training of the young for the service of religion; and
finally 6. the renewal of the moral life of the Christian people by a more
accurate instruction of the faithful, and a more frequent reception of the
sacraments. What is more, thence also came 7. a closer union of the members
with the visible head, and an increased vigor in the whole mystical body of
Christ. Thence came 8. the multiplication of religious orders and other
organizations of Christian piety; thence too 9. that determined and constant
ardor for the spreading of Christ's kingdom abroad in the world, even at the
cost of shedding one's blood.
4. While we recall with
grateful hearts, as is only fitting, these and other outstanding gains, which
the divine mercy has bestowed on the Church especially by means of the last
ecumenical synod, we cannot subdue the bitter grief that we feel at most
serious evils, which have largely arisen either because the authority of the
sacred synod was held in contempt by all too many, or because its wise
decrees were neglected.
5. Everybody knows that
those heresies, condemned by the fathers of Trent, which rejected the divine
magisterium of the Church and allowed religious questions to be a matter for
the judgment of each individual, have gradually collapsed into a multiplicity
of sects, either at variance or in agreement with one another; and by this
means a good many people have had all faith in Christ destroyed.
6. Indeed even the Holy
Bible itself, which they at one time claimed to be the sole source and judge
of the Christian faith, is no longer held to be divine, but they begin to
assimilate it to the inventions of myth.
7. Thereupon there came
into being and spread far and wide throughout the world that doctrine of
rationalism or naturalism,—utterly opposed to the Christian religion, since
this is of supernatural origin,—which spares no effort to bring it about that
Christ, who alone is our lord and savior, is shut out from the minds of
people and the moral life of nations. Thus they would establish what they
call the rule of simple reason or nature. The abandonment and rejection of
the Christian religion, and the denial of God and his Christ, has plunged the
minds of many into the abyss of pantheism, materialism and atheism, and the
consequence is that they strive to destroy rational nature itself, to deny
any criterion of what is right and just, and to overthrow the very
foundations of human society.
8. With this impiety
spreading in every direction, it has come about, alas, that many even among
the children of the Catholic Church have strayed from the path of genuine
piety, and as the truth was gradually diluted in them, their Catholic
sensibility was weakened. Led away by diverse and strange teachings [4] and
confusing nature and grace, human knowledge and divine faith, they are found
to distort the genuine sense of the dogmas which Holy mother Church holds and
teaches, and to endanger the integrity and genuineness of the faith.
9. At the sight of all
this, how can the inmost being of the Church not suffer anguish? For just as
God wills all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth [5],
just as Christ came to save what was lost [6] and to gather into one the
children of God who were scattered abroad [7], so the Church, appointed by
God to be mother and mistress of nations, recognizes her obligations to all
and is always ready and anxious to raise the fallen, to steady those who
stumble, to embrace those who return, and to strengthen the good and urge
them on to what is better. Thus she can never cease from witnessing to the
truth of God which heals all [8 ] and from declaring it, for she knows
that these words were
directed to her: My spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put
in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth from this time forth and
for evermore.[9]
10. And so we, following
in the footsteps of our predecessors, in accordance with our supreme
apostolic office, have never left off teaching and defending Catholic truth
and condemning erroneous doctrines. But now it is our purpose to profess and
declare from this chair of Peter before all eyes the saving teaching of
Christ, and, by the power given us by God, to reject and condemn the contrary
errors. This we shall do with the bishops of the whole world as our
co-assessors and fellow-judges, gathered here as they are in the Holy Spirit
by our authority in this ecumenical council, and relying on the word of God
in Scripture and tradition as we have received it, religiously preserved and
authentically expounded by the Catholic Church.
Chapter 1
On God the creator of all things
1. The Holy, Catholic,
Apostolic and Roman Church believes and acknowledges that there is one true
and living God, creator and lord of heaven and earth, almighty, eternal,
immeasurable, incomprehensible, infinite in will, understanding and every
perfection.
2. Since he is one,
singular, completely simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, he must be
declared to be in reality and in essence, distinct from the world, supremely
happy in himself and from himself, and inexpressibly loftier than anything
besides himself which either exists or can be imagined.
3. This one true God, by
his goodness and almighty power, not with the intention of increasing his
happiness, nor indeed of obtaining happiness, but in order to manifest his
perfection by the good things which he bestows on what he creates, by an
absolutely free plan, together from the beginning of time brought into being
from nothing the twofold created order, that is the spiritual and the bodily,
the angelic and the earthly, and thereafter the human which is, in a way,
common to both since it is composed of spirit and body [10].
4. Everything that God
has brought into being he protects and governs by his providence, which
reaches from one end of the earth to the other and orders all things well
[11]. All things are open and laid bare to his eyes [12], even those which
will be brought about by the free activity of creatures.
Chapter 2
On revelation
1. The same Holy mother
Church holds and teaches that God, the source and end of all things, can be
known with certainty from the consideration of created things, by the natural
power of human reason : ever since the creation of the world, his invisible
nature has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. [13] 2.
It was, however, pleasing to his wisdom and goodness to reveal himself and
the eternal laws of his will to the human race by another, and that a
supernatural, way. This is how the Apostle puts it : In many and various ways
God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he
has spoken to us by a Son [14].
3. It is indeed thanks to
this divine revelation, that those matters concerning God which are not of
themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state
of the human race, be known by everyone without difficulty, with firm
certitude and with no intermingling of error.
4. It is not because of
this that one must hold revelation to be absolutely necessary; the reason is
that God directed human beings to a supernatural end, that is a sharing in
the good things of God that utterly surpasses the understanding of the human
mind; indeed eye has not seen, neither has ear heard, nor has it come into
our hearts to conceive what things God has prepared for those who love him
[15].
5. Now this supernatural
revelation, according to the belief of the universal Church, as declared by
the sacred Council of Trent, is contained in written books and unwritten
traditions, which were received by the apostles from the lips of Christ
himself, or came to the apostles by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and
were passed on as it were from hand to hand until they reached us [16].
6. The complete books of
the old and the new Testament with all their parts, as they are listed in the
decree of the said Council and as they are found in the old Latin Vulgate
edition, are to be received as sacred and canonical.
7. These books the Church
holds to be sacred and canonical not because she subsequently approved them
by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill, nor
simply because they contain revelation without error, but because, being
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their
author, and were as such committed to the Church.
8. Now since the decree
on the interpretation of Holy Scripture, profitably made by the Council of
Trent, with the intention of constraining rash speculation, has been wrongly
interpreted by some, we renew that decree and declare its meaning to be as
follows: that in matters of faith and morals, belonging as they do to the
establishing of Christian doctrine, that meaning of Holy Scripture must be
held to be the true one, which Holy mother Church held and holds, since it is
her right to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of Holy Scripture.
9. In consequence, it is
not permissible for anyone to interpret Holy Scripture in a sense contrary to
this, or indeed against the unanimous consent of the fathers.
Chapter 3
On faith
1. Since human beings are
totally dependent on God as their creator and lord, and created reason is
completely subject to uncreated truth, we are obliged to yield to God the
revealer full submission of intellect and will by faith.
2. This faith, which is
the beginning of human salvation, the Catholic Church professes to be a
supernatural virtue, by means of which, with the grace of God inspiring and
assisting us, we believe to be true what He has revealed, not because we
perceive its intrinsic truth by the natural light of reason, but because of
the authority of God himself, who makes the revelation and can neither
deceive nor be deceived.
3. Faith, declares the
Apostle, is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen [17].
4. Nevertheless, in order
that the submission of our faith should be in accordance with reason, it was
God's will that there should be linked to the internal assistance of the Holy
Spirit external indications of his revelation, that is to say divine acts,
and first and foremost miracles and prophecies, which clearly demonstrating
as they do the omnipotence and infinite knowledge of God, are the most
certain signs of revelation and are suited to the understanding of all.
5. Hence Moses and the
prophets, and especially Christ our lord himself, worked many absolutely
clear miracles and delivered prophecies; while of the apostles we read: And
they went forth and preached every, while the Lord worked with them and
confirmed the message by the signs that attended it [18]. Again it is
written: We have the prophetic word made more sure; you will do well to pay
attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place [19].
6. Now, although the
assent of faith is by no means a blind movement of the mind, yet no one can
accept the gospel preaching in the way that is necessary for achieving
salvation without the inspiration and illumination of the Holy Spirit, who
gives to all facility in accepting and believing the truth [20].
7. And so faith in
itself, even though it may not work through charity, is a gift of God, and
its operation is a work belonging to the order of salvation, in that a person
yields true obedience to God himself when he accepts and collaborates with
his grace which he could have rejected.
8. Wherefore, by divine
and Catholic faith all those things are to be believed which are contained in
the word of God as found in Scripture and tradition, and which are proposed
by the Church as matters to be believed as divinely revealed, whether by her
solemn judgment or in her ordinary and universal magisterium.
9. Since, then, without
faith it is impossible to please God [21] and reach the fellowship of his
sons and daughters, it follows that no one can ever achieve justification
without it, neither can anyone attain eternal life unless he or she
perseveres in it to the end.
10. So that we could
fulfill our duty of embracing the true faith and of persevering unwaveringly
in it, God, through his only begotten Son, founded the Church, and he endowed
his institution with clear notes to the end that she might be recognized by
all as the guardian and teacher of the revealed word.
11. To the Catholic
Church alone belong all those things, so many and so marvelous, which have
been divinely ordained to make for the manifest credibility of the Christian
faith.
12. What is more, the
Church herself by reason of her astonishing propagation, her outstanding
holiness and her inexhaustible fertility in every kind of goodness, by her
Catholic unity and her unconquerable stability, is a kind of great and
perpetual motive of credibility and an incontrovertible evidence of her own
divine mission.
13. So it comes about
that, like a standard lifted up for the nations [22], she both invites to
herself those who have not yet believed, and likewise assures her sons and
daughters that the faith they profess rests on the firmest of foundations.
14. To this witness is
added the effective help of power from on high. For, the kind Lord stirs up
those who go astray and helps them by his grace so that they may come to the
knowledge of the truth [23] ; and also confirms by his grace those whom he
has translated into his admirable light [24], so that they may persevere in
this light, not abandoning them unless he is first abandoned.
15. Consequently, the
situation of those, who by the heavenly gift of faith have embraced the
Catholic truth, is by no means the same as that of those who, led by human
opinions, follow a false religion; for those who have accepted the faith
under the guidance of the Church can never have any just cause for changing
this faith or for calling it into question.
This being so, giving
thanks to God the Father who has made us worthy to share with the saints in
light [25] let us not neglect so great a salvation [26], but looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith [27], let us hold the unshakable
confession of our hope [28].
Chapter 4.
On faith and reason
1. The perpetual
agreement of the Catholic Church has maintained and maintains this too: that
there is a twofold order of knowledge, distinct not only as regards its
source, but also as regards its object.
2. With regard to the
source, we know at the one level by natural reason, at the other level by
divine faith.
3. With regard to the
object, besides those things to which natural reason can attain, there are
proposed for our belief mysteries hidden in God which, unless they are
divinely revealed, are incapable of being known.
Wherefore, when the
Apostle, who witnesses that God was known to the gentiles from created things
[29], comes to treat of the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ [30],
he declares: We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed
before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age
understood this. God has revealed it to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit
searches everything, even the depths of God [31]. And the Only-begotten
himself, in his confession to the Father, acknowledges that the Father has
hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to the little
ones [32].
4. Now reason, does
indeed when it seeks persistently, piously and soberly, achieve by God's gift
some understanding, and that most profitable, of the mysteries, whether by
analogy from what it knows naturally, or from the connection of these
mysteries with one another and with the final end of humanity; but reason is
never rendered capable of penetrating these mysteries in the way in which it
penetrates those truths which form its proper object.
For the divine mysteries,
by their very nature, so far surpass the created understanding that, even
when a revelation has been given and accepted by faith, they remain covered
by the veil of that same faith and wrapped, as it were, in a certain
obscurity, as long as in this mortal life we are away from the Lord, for we
walk by faith, and not by sight [33].
5. Even though faith is
above reason, there can never be any real disagreement between faith and
reason, since it is the same God who reveals the mysteries and infuses faith,
and who has endowed the human mind with the light of reason.
6. God cannot deny
himself, nor can truth ever be in opposition to truth. The appearance of this
kind of specious contradiction is chiefly due to the fact that either the
dogmas of faith are not understood and explained in accordance with the mind
of the Church, or unsound views are mistaken for the conclusions of reason.
7. Therefore we define
that every assertion contrary to the truth of enlightened faith is totally
false [34].
8. Furthermore the Church
which, together with its apostolic office of teaching, has received the
charge of preserving the deposit of faith, has by divine appointment the
right and duty of condemning what wrongly passes for knowledge, lest anyone
be led astray by philosophy and empty deceit [35].
9. Hence all faithful
Christians are forbidden to defend as the legitimate conclusions of science
those opinions which are known to be contrary to the doctrine of faith,
particularly if they have been condemned by the Church; and furthermore they
are absolutely bound to hold them to be errors which wear the deceptive
appearance of truth.
10. Not only can faith
and reason never be at odds with one another but they mutually support each
other, for on the one hand right reason established the foundations of the
faith and, illuminated by its light, develops the science of divine things;
on the other hand, faith delivers reason from errors and protects it and
furnishes it with knowledge of many kinds.
11. Hence, so far is the
Church from hindering the development of human arts and studies, that in fact
she assists and promotes them in many ways. For she is neither ignorant nor
contemptuous of the advantages which derive from this source for human life,
rather she acknowledges that those things flow from God, the lord of
sciences, and, if they are properly used, lead to God by the help of his
grace.
12. Nor does the Church
forbid these studies to employ, each within its own area, its own proper
principles and method: but while she admits this just freedom, she takes
particular care that they do not become infected with errors by conflicting
with divine teaching, or, by going beyond their proper limits, intrude upon
what belongs to faith and engender confusion.
13. For the doctrine of
the faith which God has revealed is put forward not as some philosophical
discovery capable of being perfected by human intelligence, but as a divine
deposit committed to the spouse of Christ to be faithfully protected and
infallibly promulgated.
14. Hence, too, that
meaning of the sacred dogmas is ever to be maintained which has once been
declared by Holy mother Church, and there must never be any abandonment of
this sense under the pretext or in the name of a more profound understanding.
May understanding, knowledge
and wisdom increase as ages and centuries roll along, and greatly and
vigorously flourish, in each and all, in the individual and the whole Church:
but this only in its own proper kind, that is to say, in the same doctrine,
the same sense, and the same understanding [36].
1. On God the
creator of all things
1. If anyone denies the
one true God, creator and lord of things visible and invisible: let him be
anathema.
2. If anyone is so bold
as to assert that there exists nothing besides matter: let him be anathema.
3. If anyone says that
the substance or essence of God and that of all things are one and the same:
let him be anathema.
4. If anyone says that
finite things, both corporal and spiritual, or at any rate, spiritual,
emanated from the divine substance; or that the divine essence, by the
manifestation and evolution of itself becomes all things or, finally, that
God is a universal or indefinite being which by self determination
establishes the totality of things distinct in genera, species and
individuals: let him be anathema.
5. If anyone does not
confess that the world and all things which are contained in it, both
spiritual and material, were produced, according to their whole substance,
out of nothing by God; or holds that God did not create by his will free from
all necessity, but as necessarily as he necessarily loves himself; or denies
that the world was created for the glory of God: let him be anathema.
2. On revelation
1. If anyone says that
the one, true God, our creator and lord, cannot be known with certainty from
the things that have been made, by the natural light of human reason: let him
be anathema.
2. If anyone says that it
is impossible, or not expedient, that human beings should be taught by means
of divine revelation about God and the worship that should be shown him : let
him be anathema.
3. If anyone says that a
human being cannot be divinely elevated to a knowledge and perfection which
exceeds the natural, but of himself can and must reach finally the possession
of all truth and goodness by continual development: let him be anathema.
4. If anyone does not
receive as sacred and canonical the complete books of Sacred Scripture with
all their parts, as the holy Council of Trent listed them, or denies that
they were divinely inspired : let him be anathema.
3. On faith
1. If anyone says that
human reason is so independent that faith cannot be commanded by God: let him
be anathema.
2. If anyone says that
divine faith is not to be distinguished from natural knowledge about God and
moral matters, and consequently that for divine faith it is not required that
revealed truth should be believed because of the authority of God who reveals
it: let him be anathema.
3. If anyone says that
divine revelation cannot be made credible by external signs, and that
therefore men and women ought to be moved to faith only by each one's
internal experience or private inspiration: let him be anathema.
4. If anyone says that
all miracles are impossible, and that therefore all reports of them, even
those contained in Sacred Scripture, are to be set aside as fables or myths;
or that miracles can never be known with certainty, nor can the divine origin
of the Christian religion be proved from them: let him be anathema.
5. If anyone says that
the assent to Christian faith is not free, but is necessarily produced by
arguments of human reason; or that the grace of God is necessary only for
living faith which works by charity: let him be anathema.
6. If anyone says that
the condition of the faithful and those who have not yet attained to the only
true faith is alike, so that Catholics may have a just cause for calling in
doubt, by suspending their assent, the faith which they have already received
from the teaching of the Church, until they have completed a scientific
demonstration of the credibility and truth of their faith: let him be
anathema.
4. On faith and
reason
1. If anyone says that in
divine revelation there are contained no true mysteries properly so-called,
but that all the dogmas of the faith can be understood and demonstrated by
properly trained reason from natural principles: let him be anathema.
2. If anyone says that
human studies are to be treated with such a degree of liberty that their
assertions may be maintained as true even when they are opposed to divine
revelation, and that they may not be forbidden by the Church: let him be
anathema.
3. If anyone says that it
is possible that at some time, given the advancement of knowledge, a sense
may be assigned to the dogmas propounded by the Church which is different
from that which the Church has understood and understands: let him be
anathema.
And so in the performance
of our supreme pastoral office, we beseech for the love of Jesus Christ and
we command, by the authority of him who is also our God and savior, all
faithful Christians, especially those in authority or who have the duty of
teaching, that they contribute their zeal and labor to the warding off and
elimination of these errors from the Church and to the spreading of the light
of the pure faith.
But since it is not
enough to avoid the contamination of heresy unless those errors are carefully
shunned which approach it in greater or less degree, we warn all of their
duty to observe the constitutions and decrees in which such wrong opinions,
though not expressly mentioned in this document, have been banned and
forbidden by this Holy See.
First dogmatic
constitution on the Church of Christ
Pius, bishop, servant of
the servants of God, with the approval of the Sacred Council, for an
everlasting record.
1. The eternal shepherd
and guardian of our souls [37], in order to render permanent the saving work
of redemption, determined to build a Church in which, as in the house of the
living God, all the faithful should be linked by the bond of one faith and
charity.
2. Therefore, before he
was glorified, he besought his Father, not for the apostles only, but also
for those who were to believe in him through their word, that they all might
be one as the Son himself and the Father are one [38].
3. So then, just as he
sent apostles, whom he chose out of the world [39], even as he had been sent
by the Father [40], in like manner it was his will that in his Church there
should be shepherds and teachers until the end of time.
4. In order, then, that
the episcopal office should be one and undivided and that, by the union of
the clergy, the whole multitude of believers should be held together in the
unity of faith and communion, he set blessed Peter over the rest of the
apostles and instituted in him the permanent principle of both unities and
their visible foundation.
5. Upon the strength of
this foundation was to be built the eternal temple, and the Church whose
topmost part reaches heaven was to rise upon the firmness of this foundation
[41].
6. And since the gates of
hell trying, if they can, to overthrow the Church, make their assault with a
hatred that increases day by day against its divinely laid foundation, we
judge it necessary, with the approbation of the Sacred Council, and for the
protection, defense and growth of the Catholic flock, to propound the
doctrine concerning the 1. institution, 2. permanence and 3. nature of the
sacred and apostolic primacy, upon which the strength and coherence of the
whole Church depends.
7. This doctrine is to be
believed and held by all the faithful in accordance with the ancient and
unchanging faith of the whole Church.
8. Furthermore, we shall
proscribe and condemn the contrary errors which are so harmful to the Lord's
flock.
Chapter 1
On the institution of the apostolic primacy in blessed Peter
1. We teach and declare
that, according to the gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the
whole Church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed
apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the lord.
2. It was to Simon alone,
to whom he had already said You shall be called Cephas [42], that the Lord,
after his confession, You are the Christ, the son of the living God, spoke
these words:
Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who
is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven [43] .
3. And it was to Peter
alone that Jesus, after his resurrection, confided the jurisdiction of
Supreme Pastor and ruler of his whole fold, saying:
Feed my lambs, feed my sheep [44].
4. To this absolutely
manifest teaching of the Sacred Scriptures, as it has always been understood
by the Catholic Church, are clearly opposed the distorted opinions of those
who misrepresent the form of government which Christ the lord established in
his Church and deny that Peter, in preference to the rest of the apostles,
taken singly or collectively, was endowed by Christ with a true and proper
primacy of jurisdiction.
5. The same may be said
of those who assert that this primacy was not conferred immediately and
directly on blessed Peter himself, but rather on the Church, and that it was
through the Church that it was transmitted to him in his capacity as her
minister.
6. Therefore, if anyone
says that blessed Peter the apostle was not appointed by Christ the lord as
prince of all the apostles and visible head of the whole Church militant; or
that it was a primacy of honor only and not one of true and proper
jurisdiction that he directly and immediately received from our lord Jesus
Christ himself: let him be anathema.
Chapter 2.
On the permanence of the primacy of blessed Peter in the Roman pontiffs
1. That which our lord
Jesus Christ, the prince of shepherds and great shepherd of the sheep,
established in the blessed apostle Peter, for the continual salvation and
permanent benefit of the Church, must of necessity remain for ever, by
Christ's authority, in the Church which, founded as it is upon a rock, will
stand firm until the end of time [45].
2. For no one can be in
doubt, indeed it was known in every age that the holy and most blessed Peter,
prince and head of the apostles, the pillar of faith and the foundation of
the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our lord Jesus
Christ, the savior and redeemer of the human race, and that to this day and
for ever he lives and presides and exercises judgment in his successors the
bishops of the Holy Roman See, which he founded and consecrated with his
blood [46].
3. Therefore whoever
succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains by the institution of Christ himself,
the primacy of Peter over the whole Church. So what the truth has ordained
stands firm, and blessed Peter perseveres in the rock-like strength he was
granted, and does not abandon that guidance of the Church which he once
received [47].
4. For this reason it has
always been necessary for every Church--that is to say the faithful
throughout the world--to be in agreement with the Roman Church because of its
more effective leadership. In consequence of being joined, as members to
head, with that see, from which the rights of sacred communion flow to all,
they will grow together into the structure of a single body [48].
5. Therefore, if anyone
says that it is not by the institution of Christ the lord himself (that is to
say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in
the primacy over the whole Church; or that the Roman Pontiff is not the
successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema.
Chapter 3.
On the power and character of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff
1. And so, supported by
the clear witness of Holy Scripture, and adhering to the manifest and
explicit decrees both of our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs and of general
councils, we promulgate anew the definition of the ecumenical Council of
Florence [49], which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely that
the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff hold a world-wide primacy, and that
the Roman Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the
apostles, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole Church and father and
teacher of all Christian people.
To him, in blessed Peter,
full power has been given by our lord Jesus Christ to tend, rule and govern
the universal Church.
All this is to be found
in the acts of the ecumenical councils and the sacred canons.
2. Wherefore we teach and
declare that, by divine ordinance, the Roman Church possesses a pre-eminence
of ordinary power over every other Church, and that this jurisdictional power
of the Roman Pontiff is both episcopal and immediate. Both clergy and
faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are
bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and
true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but
also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church
throughout the world.
3. In this way, by unity
with the Roman Pontiff in communion and in profession of the same faith , the
Church of Christ becomes one flock under one Supreme Shepherd [50].
4. This is the teaching
of the Catholic truth, and no one can depart from it without endangering his
faith and salvation.
5. This power of the
Supreme Pontiff by no means detracts from that ordinary and immediate power
of episcopal jurisdiction, by which bishops, who have succeeded to the place
of the apostles by appointment of the Holy Spirit, tend and govern
individually the particular flocks which have been assigned to them. On the
contrary, this power of theirs is asserted, supported and defended by the
Supreme and Universal Pastor; for St. Gregory the Great says: "My honor
is the honor of the whole Church. My honor is the steadfast strength of my
brethren. Then do I receive true honor, when it is denied to none of those to
whom honor is due." [51]
6. Furthermore, it
follows from that supreme power which the Roman Pontiff has in governing the
whole Church, that he has the right, in the performance of this office of
his, to communicate freely with the pastors and flocks of the entire Church,
so that they may be taught and guided by him in the way of salvation.
7. And therefore we
condemn and reject the opinions of those who hold that this communication of
the Supreme Head with pastors and flocks may be lawfully obstructed; or that
it should be dependent on the civil power, which leads them to maintain that
what is determined by the Apostolic See or by its authority concerning the
government of the Church, has no force or effect unless it is confirmed by
the agreement of the civil authority.
8. Since the Roman
Pontiff, by the divine right of the apostolic primacy, governs the whole
Church, we likewise teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the
faithful [52], and that in all cases which fall under ecclesiastical
jurisdiction recourse may be had to his judgment [53]. The sentence of the
Apostolic See (than which there is no higher authority) is not subject to
revision by anyone, nor may anyone lawfully pass judgment thereupon [54]. And
so they stray from the genuine path of truth who maintain that it is lawful
to appeal from the judgments of the Roman pontiffs to an ecumenical council
as if this were an authority superior to the Roman Pontiff.
9. So, then, if anyone
says that the Roman Pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance,
and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, and
this not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in those which concern
the discipline and government of the Church dispersed throughout the whole
world; or that he has only the principal part, but not the absolute fullness,
of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and
immediate both over all and each of the Churches and over all and each of the
pastors and faithful: let him be anathema.
Chapter 4.
On the infallible teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff
1. That apostolic primacy
which the Roman Pontiff possesses as successor of Peter, the prince of the
apostles, includes also the supreme power of teaching. This Holy See has
always maintained this, the constant custom of the Church demonstrates it,
and the ecumenical councils, particularly those in which East and West met in
the union of faith and charity, have declared it.
2. So the fathers of the
fourth Council of Constantinople, following the footsteps of their
predecessors, published this solemn profession of faith: The first condition
of salvation is to maintain the rule of the true faith. And since that saying
of our lord Jesus Christ, You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
Church [55], cannot fail of its effect, the words spoken are confirmed by
their consequences. For in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always
been preserved unblemished, and sacred doctrine been held in honor. Since it
is our earnest desire to be in no way separated from this faith and doctrine,
we hope that we may deserve to remain in that one communion which the
Apostolic See preaches, for in it is the whole and true strength of the
Christian religion [56].
What is more, with the
approval of the second Council of Lyons, the Greeks made the following
profession:
"The Holy Roman Church possesses the supreme and full primacy and principality over the whole Catholic Church. She truly and humbly acknowledges that she received this from the Lord himself in blessed Peter, the prince and chief of the apostles, whose successor the Roman Pontiff is, together with the fullness of power. And since before all others she has the duty of defending the truth of the faith, so if any questions arise concerning the faith, it is by her judgment that they must be settled." [57]
Then there is the
definition of the Council of Florence:
"The Roman Pontiff is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church and the father and teacher of all Christians; and to him was committed in blessed Peter, by our lord Jesus Christ, the full power of tending, ruling and governing the whole Church." [58]
3. To satisfy this
pastoral office, our predecessors strove unwearyingly that the saving
teaching of Christ should be spread among all the peoples of the world; and
with equal care they made sure that it should be kept pure and uncontaminated
wherever it was received.
4. It was for this reason
that the bishops of the whole world, sometimes individually, sometimes gathered
in synods, according to the long established custom of the Churches and the
pattern of ancient usage referred to this Apostolic See those dangers
especially which arose in matters concerning the faith. This was to ensure
that any damage suffered by the faith should be repaired in that place above
all where the faith can know no failing [59].
5. The Roman pontiffs,
too, as the circumstances of the time or the state of affairs suggested,
sometimes by summoning ecumenical councils or consulting the opinion of the
Churches scattered throughout the world, sometimes by special synods,
sometimes by taking advantage of other useful means afforded by divine
providence, defined as doctrines to be held those things which, by God's
help, they knew to be in keeping with Sacred Scripture and the apostolic
traditions.
6. For the Holy Spirit
was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by his
revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by his assistance, they
might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or deposit of
faith transmitted by the apostles.
Indeed, their apostolic
teaching was embraced by all the venerable fathers and reverenced and
followed by all the holy orthodox doctors, for they knew very well that this
See of St. Peter always remains unblemished by any error, in accordance with
the divine promise of our Lord and Savior to the prince of his disciples: I
have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned
again, strengthen your brethren [60].
7. This gift of truth and
never-failing faith was therefore divinely conferred on Peter and his
successors in this See so that they might discharge their exalted office for
the salvation of all, and so that the whole flock of Christ might be kept away
by them from the poisonous food of error and be nourished with the sustenance
of heavenly doctrine. Thus the tendency to schism is removed and the whole
Church is preserved in unity, and, resting on its foundation, can stand firm
against the gates of hell.
8. But since in this very
age when the salutary effectiveness of the apostolic office is most
especially needed, not a few are to be found who disparage its authority, we
judge it absolutely necessary to affirm solemnly the prerogative which the
only-begotten Son of God was pleased to attach to the supreme pastoral
office.
9. Therefore, faithfully
adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith,
to the glory of God our savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion
and for the salvation of the Christian people, with the approval of the
Sacred Council, we teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when
the Roman Pontiff speaks EX CATHEDRA, that is, when, in the exercise of his
office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme
apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be
held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to
him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his
Church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals. Therefore,
such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are of themselves, and not by the
consent of the Church, irreformable.
So then, should anyone,
which God forbid, have the temerity to reject this definition of ours: let
him be anathema.
Given at Rome in public
session, solemnly held in the Vatican Basilica in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and seventy, on the eighteenth day of July, in the
twenty-fifth year of Our Pontificate.
In conformity with the
original.
Joseph, Bishop of St.
Polten Secretary to the Vatican Council
1 The Profession of faith
of the other fathers added: and I pledge and swear true obedience to the
Roman Pontiff, successor of blessed Peter the Prince of the Apostles, and
Vicar of Jesus Christ
2 The profession of faith
of the other fathers continues: my subjects, or those for whom I have
responsibility in virtue of my office, hold, teach and preach the same
3 See Mt 28, 20.
4 See Heb 13, 9.
5 1 Tm 2, 4.
6 Lk 19, 10.
7 Jn 11, 52.
8 See Wis 16, 12.
9 Is 59, 21.
10 See Lateran Council
IV, const. 1 (see above, p. 230).
11 Wis 8, 1.
12 Heb 4, 13.
13 Rm 1, 20.
14 Heb 1, 1-2.
15 1 Cor 2, 9.
16 Council of Trent,
session 4, first decree (see above p. 663).
17 Heb 11, 1.
18 Mk 16, 20.
19 2 Pt 1, 19.
20 Council of Orange II
(529), canon 7 (Bruns 2, 178; Msi 8, 713).
21 Heb 11, 6.
22 Is 11, 12.
23 1 Tm 2, 4.
24 1 Pt 2, 9; Col 1, 13.
25 Col 1, 12.
26 Heb 2, 3.
27 Heb 12, 2.
28 Heb 10, 12.
29 Rm 1, 20.
30 Jn 1, 17.
31 i Cor 2, 7-8, 10.
32 Mt 11, 25.
33 2 Cor 5, 6-7.
34 See Lateran Council V,
session 8 (see above p. 605).
35 See Col 2, 8.
36 Vincent of Lerins,
Commonitorium (Notebook), 28 (PL 50, 668).
37 1 Pt 2,25.
38 Jn 17, 20-21.
39 Jn 15, 19.
40 Jn 20, 21.
41 Leo 1, Serm.
(Sermons), 4 (elsewhere 3), ch. 2 for the day of his birth (PL 54, 150).
42 Jn 1, 42.
43 Mt 16, 16 19.
44 Jn 21, 15-17.
45 See Mt 7, 25; Lk 6,
48.
46 From the speech of
Philip, the Roman legate, at the 3rd session of the Council of Ephesus (D no.
112).
47 Leo I, Serm.
(Sermons), 3 (elsewhere 2), ch. 3 (PL 54, 146).
48 Irenaeus, Adv. haeres.
(Against Heresies) 1113 (PG 7, 849), Council of Aquilea (381), to be found
among: Ambrose, Epistolae (Letters), 11 (PL 16, 946).
49 Council of Florence,
session 6 (see above p. 528).
50 See Jn 10, 16.
51 Ep. ad Eulog.
Alexandrin. (Letter to Eulogius of Alexandria), VIII 29 (30) (MGH, Ep. 2, 31
28-30, PL 77, 933).
52 Pius VI, Letter Super
soliditate dated 28 Nov. 1786.
53 From Michael
Palaeologus's profession of faith which was read out at the second Council of
Lyons (D no. 466).
54 Nicholas I, Ep. ad
Michaelem imp. (Letter to the emperor Michael) (PL 119, 954).
55 Mt 16, 18.
56 From Pope Hormisdas's
formula of the year 517 (D no. 171), see above p. 157 n. 1.
57 From Michael
Palaeologus's profession of faith which was read out at the second Council of
Lyons (D no. 466).
58 Council of Florence,
session 6 (see above p. 528). S Bernard, Ep. (Letters) 190 (PL 182, 1053).
59 Bernard, Ep. (Letters)
190 (PL 182, 1053).
60 Lk 22, 32.
The translation found
here is that which appears in Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils ed. Norman
Tanner. S.J. The numbering of the canons is however found in Tanner's text.
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Ministry of Altar Servers
Lunes, Pebrero 4, 2013
FIRST VATICAN COUNCIL (1869-1870)
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