Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How did the claim of Roman primacy first arise? In the opening of Chapter 7, Calvin traces its beginnings to the Council of Nice, which gave the Bishop of Rome a place of honour among the patriarchs but not supremacy over them. He shows that in later councils the Roman legates often sat in inferior places, that the first seat at Chalcedon was granted only as a temporary and special concession, and that the ancient Fathers never bestowed the title of primate or universal bishop. Gregory himself, when the Bishop of Constantinople claimed the title of universal bishop, denounced it as profane, blasphemous, and a forerunner of Antichrist—while refusing to claim it for himself.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 1–4

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

Is it slander to call the Roman Pontiff Antichrist, or is it simply to speak with the apostle Paul? In these final sections of the chapter, Calvin argues that Paul’s description of the man of sin who sits in the temple of God, robbing God of his honour and using the name of Christ as a mask, can only be understood of the Papacy. The honour of the ancient Roman See cannot survive when the church itself has been destroyed and the office of bishop no longer exists. Modern pontiffs have been openly irreligious; one of them, John XXII, publicly taught that the soul is mortal until the resurrection. Neither the place once occupied by Peter nor the empty titles of cardinals can make a devil the vicar of Christ. Rome was once the first of churches; she no longer deserves to be counted among her least members.

### Today’s Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 25–30

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

Can the modern Papacy claim the ancient privileges of the Roman See when it no longer possesses even the marks of a true church or a true bishop? In these concluding sections of the chapter, Calvin presses the argument to its sharpest point. The high claims of universal jurisdiction, infallibility, and exemption from all judgment rest on forged decretals and recent fabrications, not on the testimony of the early councils or the practice of Gregory. Gregory himself anathematized the title of universal bishop and refused the language of command over his fellow bishops. Yet even if all the ancient privileges were granted, Calvin asks, what of them if Rome is no longer a church and the pontiff is no longer a bishop? The office requires the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of discipline—none of which the modern pope performs. Rome was once the mother of churches; having become the seat of Antichrist, she has ceased to be what she was.

Today’s Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 20–24

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How did the limited influence of the ancient Roman bishops grow into the unbridled claims of the later Papacy? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin traces the decisive turns. Leo bitterly opposed the honour given to Constantinople at Chalcedon, moved less by doctrine than by fear of losing primacy. Gregory firmly rejected the title of universal patriarch for anyone, including himself, declaring that such a claim diminished the honour of all other bishops. Yet after Phocas conceded the headship of the churches to Rome, and after Pepin and Charlemagne rewarded papal support with expanded jurisdiction, the ancient order was gradually effaced. By the time of Bernard the Roman court had become a market for ecclesiastical honours, filled with ambition and simony, while the modern Papacy claims a supremacy that no bishop of Leo’s or Gregory’s day ever possessed—an authority that judges all and submits to none.

Today’s Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 15–19

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How far did the ancient Roman bishops actually rule over other churches? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin examines the historical record and shows that the jurisdiction claimed by later popes was unknown in the early centuries. The famous case of Cecilianus of Carthage was decided not by any inherent Roman supremacy, but by the Emperor’s appointment, and the appeal was even referred to the Bishop of Arles. Leo’s commissions as vicar carefully preserved the ordinary rights of metropolitans and provincial councils. Even in the time of Gregory, when political turmoil increased Rome’s influence, that influence remained limited, subsidiary, and often exercised only at the Emperor’s command. Gregory himself complained of being overwhelmed by worldly business and insisted that where no fault required correction, all bishops stood equal under the rule of humility.

Today’s Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 10–14

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How did the Roman See first begin to claim jurisdiction over other churches? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin shows that its early influence grew chiefly from the protection it offered to orthodox exiles during the Arian controversies, and from the readiness of condemned men to appeal there as an asylum. He carefully examines the four heads of ecclesiastical power—ordination, censures, the calling of councils, and appeals—and demonstrates that in each the authority of the Bishop of Rome was limited to his own patriarchate. When he attempted to go beyond those bounds, the bishops of Africa and France firmly resisted, and the fraudulent claims of the Roman legates were exposed.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 7, Sections 5–9

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

Even if primacy had been given to Peter, was it fixed forever at Rome? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin examines the claim that Peter’s residence and death in the city established a perpetual universal jurisdiction for its bishop. He shows the weakness of the historical arguments, the silence of Paul’s letters concerning any Petrine episcopate at Rome, and the real reasons why the early Church held the Roman See in high regard—none of which amount to a divinely instituted primacy over all other churches. Drawing on Jerome and Cyprian, he insists that the true unity of the Church resides in Christ alone, the one Head, while each bishop holds a share of the one episcopate under him.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 6, Sections 11–17

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