Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church Militant · The Church Spread Throughout the Whole World
Chapter 14: That the Church Cannot Err
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Ecclesia Militante, On the Church Militant (of the controversy On Councils and the Church). The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
It remains that we prove that the Church cannot err in any way, even without apostatizing from God. But first the opinion of the adversaries and our own must be explained a little more diligently.
Calvin, therefore, says that this proposition, “the Church cannot err,” is true if it be understood with a twofold restriction. The first is, if the Church propose no dogmas outside Scripture, that is, if it reject unwritten traditions and only propose faithfully what is had in the Scriptures. But if you ask whether we are certain that the Church will always propose faithfully what is in the Scriptures, he answers that the Church always proposes faithfully what is had in the Scriptures in things necessary to salvation, yet not in others, and accordingly there always remain in the Church some blemishes of errors.
The second restriction is that that, “the Church cannot err,” be understood of the universal Church alone, and not extended to the Bishops, who are the Church representatively, as our writers say; for each Bishop bears the person of his particular Church, and accordingly all the Bishops bear the person of the whole Church. So Calvin has, Book 4, chapter 8, § 11, 12, 14, 15, of the greater Institutes, and in the smaller Institutes chapter 8, § 146, 148, 149, and 150, where, however, lyingly and fraudulently explaining our opinion, he says that we assert that the Church cannot err, whether it use the word of God or not; when yet he himself is not ignorant that we speak not of the word of God absolutely, but only of the written word, and say that the Church cannot err, whether it propose what is had in the Scriptures, or dogmas outside Scripture.
Our opinion, therefore, is that the Church absolutely cannot err, neither in things absolutely necessary, nor in others which it proposes to us to be believed or done, whether they be had expressly in the Scriptures or not. And when we say that the Church cannot err, we understand this both of the whole body of the faithful and of the whole body of the Bishops, so that the sense of that proposition, the Church cannot err, is: that which all the faithful hold as of faith is necessarily true and of faith; and likewise that which all the Bishops teach as pertaining to the faith is necessarily true and of faith.
These things being explained, this truth is proved. First, of the whole Church as it contains all the faithful, and first from that of 1 Timothy 3: The Church of God is the pillar and ground of truth. Calvin answers that the Church is called the pillar and ground of truth because it preserves, as a most faithful custodian, the preaching of the written word of God, not because it can err in nothing.
But on the contrary, for first, in this way the shops of the booksellers would be pillars of truth, which most diligently guard all the Scriptures. Then the Apostle makes no mention here of the Scriptures, but simply says that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth. Moreover, it is much more to be a pillar than a simple custodian; for on a pillar the house rests, and, it being removed, it falls. So therefore the Apostle, calling the Church the pillar of truth, wishes to signify that the truth of faith, as regards us, rests on the authority of the Church, and that whatever the Church approves is true, whatever it disapproves is false. Add that the Church was a pillar even when there were no Scriptures, from which it follows that it is not called a pillar on account of the custody of the Scriptures. Finally, if it were a question of custody, Paul would better have compared the Church to a chest than to a pillar; for not pillars, but chests, keep books.
Moreover, secondly, the Church is governed by Christ as by its head and spouse, and by the Holy Spirit as by its soul, as is clear Ephesians 1: Him He gave to be head over all the Church, which is His body. And Ephesians 4: One body and one Spirit. Ephesians 5: The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church. Therefore if the Church erred in the dogmas of faith or morals, error would be attributed to Christ and the Holy Spirit. Wherefore John 16 the Lord says: The Spirit of truth will teach you all truth.
Calvin answered that Christ and the Holy Spirit teach the Church all truth simply necessary, yet always leave some blemish. Nor does it follow that error is therefore attributed to Christ or the Holy Spirit, just as ignorance is not attributed to them, which without doubt is in some measure in the Church.
I answer that, just as a husband, who is the head of the wife, is not bound to remove from the wife all ignorance, yet is bound to remove every error from which some great evil arises, though the wife be excused by ignorance: so also Christ is bound to remove from the Church every error from which a great evil arises; but such is every error concerning the faith. For it is a great evil that the Church worship God with a false faith, since divine worship consists chiefly in Faith, Hope, and Charity, as Augustine teaches in the Enchiridion, chapter 3.
Thirdly, we are bound under the penalty of anathema to believe the Church in all things, as is clear Matthew 18: But if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican. And all Councils say anathema to those who do not assent to the decrees of the Church. But it would be iniquitous to be bound under so grave a penalty to assent to uncertain and sometimes false things.
Calvin answers that Christ therefore commanded that we hear the Church, because He knew that the Church would teach nothing outside the written word of God. But on the contrary, for, to omit the very many things which we said in the disputation on traditions: the true Church teaches that the epistle to the Romans is the word of God, that the epistle to the Laodiceans is not the word of God; and the same can be said of the Gospel of Mark and of Nicodemus, and the like, which are nowhere written; not therefore is it true that the Church teaches nothing outside the written word of God.
Fourthly, that the Church is holy the Apostles' Creed teaches; but this holiness consists properly in the profession of dogmas; therefore the Christian profession contains nothing but what is holy, that is, true as to the doctrine of faith, and just as to the precepts of morals. And in this it really excels all the professions of philosophers, heathens, Jews, heretics: for all have some false dogmas mingled with the true.
Fifthly, if the opinion of Calvin were true, the greatest part of the dogmas of faith could be called into doubt; for there are many things of faith which are not absolutely necessary to salvation. Indeed, to believe the histories of the Old Testament, or that the Gospels of Mark and Luke are canonical writings, nay that there are any divine Scriptures at all, is not altogether necessary to salvation; for without this faith many were saved before the Scriptures were written, and afterward in the time of the New Testament many barbarous nations, of whom Irenaeus writes, Book 3, chapter 4. But this is most absurd, nor would Calvin in any way admit that it could be doubted of the Scriptures; not therefore is it true that only in things necessary to salvation the Church cannot err.
It is proved lastly from the Fathers, who, as we showed above in the question on the judge of controversies, all appeal to the Church in any questions of faith whatsoever; which certainly they would in no way do if they thought the Church could be deceived. Tertullian, book on prescription: “Come now,” he says, “let all the Churches have erred, let the Holy Spirit have regarded none.” Augustine, Book 1 against Cresconius, chapter 33: “The truth of the Scriptures is held by us, when we do that which has now pleased the whole Church, which the authority of the very Scriptures commends; so that, since holy Scripture cannot deceive, whoever fears to be deceived by the obscurity of this question, let him consult about it the Church, which holy Scripture demonstrates without any ambiguity.” And letter 118: he says that to dispute against that which the whole Church holds is of the most insolent madness.
Now that also the Church representatively cannot err is proved first, because if all the Bishops erred, the whole Church too would err, since the peoples are bound to follow their Pastors, the Lord saying, Luke 10: He that heareth you, heareth me, and Matthew 23: Whatsoever they shall say, do ye. Secondly, from the letter of the Council of Ephesus to Nestorius, where Nestorius, if he wished to satisfy the Church, is compelled to confirm by oath that he thinks as the Bishops of the East and West think. Likewise from Augustine, Book 1 on Baptism, chapter 18, who calls the decree of a general Council the consent of the whole Church: and deservedly, for the Church teaches and decrees nothing except through its Pastors, as any body through its head. Whence also 3 Kings 8 the congregation of Priests and Elders is called all the Church of Israel. And Chrysostom expounds that of Matthew 18: Tell the Church, that is, the Prelate. But of these more in the matter on Councils.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT XIV. Ecclesiam non posse errare. Superest ut probemus. Ecclesiam non posse errare ullo modo, etiam non aposta- tando a Deo. Est tamen prius paulo diligen¬ tius explicanda sententia adversariorum, et nostra. Calvinus igitur dicit, istam propositionem : « Ecclesia non potest errare, » esse veram, si intelligatur cum duplici restrictione. Pri¬ ma est, si Ecclesia non proponat dogmata extra Scripturam, id est, si rejiciat traditio¬ nes non scriptas, et solum proponat fideliter quse habentur in Scripturis. Si autem quae- ras, an certi simus, quod Ecclesia proponet semper fideliter, quse sunt in Scripturis : Respondet, Ecclesiam semper proponere fide¬ liter, quse habentur in Scripturis, in rebus necessariis ad salutem, non tamen in aliis, ac proinde semper remanere in Ecclesia nae¬ vos aliquos errorum. Secunda restrictio esfc, ut illud : « Eccle¬ sia non potest errare, » intelligatur de sola Ecclesia universali, non autem extendatur ad Episcopos, qui sunt Ecclesia reprsesenta- tive, ut nostri loquuntur; Quilibet enim Epis¬ copus gerit personam suae Ecclesiae particu¬ laris, et proinde omnes Episcopi gerunt per¬ sonam totius Ecclesiae; ita habet Calvinus lib. IV, c. 8, § 11, 12, 14, 15, majoris insti¬ tutionis, et in minori institutione cap. 8, §. 146, 148, 149, et 150, ubi tamen menda¬ citer et fraudulenter explicans sententiam nostram, dicit, nos asserere, Ecclesiam non posse errare, sive utatur verbo Dei, sive non ; cum tamen ipse non ignoret, nos non loqui de verbo Dei absolute, sed tantum de verbo scripto, ac dicere, Ecclesiam non posse errare, sive proponat, quae habentur in Scripturis, sive dogmata extra Scripturam. Nostra igitur sententia est, Ecclesiam ab¬ solute non posse errare, nec in rebus ab¬ solute necessariis, nec in aliis, quae, cre¬ denda, vel facienda nobis proponit, sive habeantur expresse in Scripturis, sive non. Et cum dicimus, Ecclesiam non posse errare, (1) Rom.X, 10; Matth. X, 33. 350 LIBER III. id intelligimus tam de universitate fidelium, quam de universitate Episcoporum, ita ut sensus sit ejus propositionis, Ecclesia non potest errare, id est, id quod tenent omnes fideles tanquam de fide, necessario est verum et de fide; et similiter id, quod docent om¬ nes Episcopi, tanquam ad fidem pertinens, necessario est verum et de fide. His explicatis, probatur haec veritas. Pri¬ mo, de Ecclesia universa, ut continet omnes fideles, ac primum ex illo I. Timoth. III ; Ecclesia Dei est columna et firmamentum veri¬ tatis (1). Respondet Calvinus, Ecclesiam dici columnam et firmamentum veritatis, quia conservat tanquam fidissima custos praedica¬ tionem verbi Dei scripti, non quod in nulla re errare possit. At contra, nam in primis lioc modo offi¬ cinae librariorum essent columnae veritatis, quae diligentissime custodiunt omnes Scrip¬ turas. Deinde Apostolus non meminit hic Scripturarum ; sed simpliciter dicit, Eccle¬ siam esse columnam et firmamentum verita¬ tis. Praeterea, multo amplius est, esse colum¬ nam, quam simplicem custodem ; nam co¬ lumnae innititur domus, et ea remota, cadit. Sic igitur Apostolus vocans Ecclesiam colum¬ nam veritatis, vult significare veritatem fidei, quoad nos niti Ecclesiae auctoritate, et verum esse quidquid Ecclesia probat, fal¬ sum quidquid illa improbat. Adde, quod etiam Ecclesia fuit columna, quando non erant Scripturae, ex quo sequitur, non dici columnam propter custodiam Scripturarum. Denique, si de custodia ageretur, melius arcae, quam columnae Paulus comparasset Ecclesiam ; nec enim columnae, sed arcae libros custodiunt. Praeterea secundo, Ecclesia gubernatur a Christo, tanquam a capite sponso suo, et a Spiritu sancto, tanquam ab anima, ut patet Ephes. I : Ipsum dedit caput super omnem Ec¬ clesiam, quce est corpus ipsius. Et Ephes. IV : Unum corpus , et unus Spiritus ; Ephes. Y : Vir caput est mulieris , sicut Christus caput Ec¬ clesiae (3). Ergo si Ecclesia in dogmatibus fidei, vel morum erraret, Christo et Spiritui sancto error tribueretur. Quocirca Joan. XVI Dominus ait : Spiritus veritatis docebit vos omnem veritatem. (4) Respondit Calvinus, Christum et Spiritum sanctum docere Ecclesiam omnem veritatem simpliciter necessariam, semper tamen relin¬ quere aliquem naevum. Neque sequitur, tri¬ bui propterea Christo, aut Spiritui sancto errorem, sicut eis non tribuitur ignorantia, quse sine dubio aliqua est in Ecclesia. Respondeo, sicut vir, qui est caput mulie¬ ris, non tenetur removere ab uxore omnem ignorantiam, tenetur tamen removere om¬ nem errorem, ex quo magnum aliquod ma¬ lum oriatur, licet uxor excusetur per igno¬ rantiam ; ita etiam Christus tenetur remo¬ vere omnem errorem ab Ecclesia, ex quo magnum oritur malum, talis autem est om¬ nis error circa fidem. Nam magnum est ma¬ lum, quod Ecclesia falsa fide Deum colat, cum praecipue cultus divinus in Fide, Spe, et Charitate consistat, ut Augustinus docet in Enchiridio, cap. 3. Tertio, obligamur sub anathematis pcena, credere Ecclesiae in omnibus, ut patet Matth. XVIII : « Quod si Ecclesiam non audie¬ rit, sit tibi velut Ethnicus et Publicanus (5) : et Concilia omnia dicunt anathema non as- sentientibus Ecclesiae decretis : At iniquum esset, sub tam gravi pcena obligari ad assen- tiendum rebus incertis, et interdum falsis. Respondet Calvinus, ideo Christum j us¬ sisse, ut Ecclesiam audiremus, quia sciebat, Ecclesiam nihil docturam extra verbum Dei scriptum. At contra, nam, ut omittam plu¬ rima, quae diximus in disputatione de tradi¬ tionibus : vera Ecclesia docet, epistolam ad Romanos esse verbum Dei, epistolam ad Laodicenos non esse verbum Dei; et idem de Evangelio Marci et Nicodemi, et simili¬ bus dici potest, quae nusquam scripta sunt, non igitur est verum, Ecclesiam nihil docere extra verbum Dei scriptum. Quarto, Ecclesiam esse sanctam, docet Symbolum Apostolorum, ista autem sancti¬ tas proprie in professione dogmatum consis¬ tit, ergo Christiana professio nihil continet, nisi sanctum, id est, verum, quoad fidei doc¬ trinam, et justum, quoad praecepta morum. Et in hoc revera excellit omnibus professio¬ nibus Philosophorum, Ethnicorum, Judaeo¬ rum, Haereticorum : Omnes enim habent dogmata aliqua falsa admista veris. Quinto, si esset vera Calvini sententia, maxima pars dogmatum fidei in dubium revocari posset; nam multa sunt de fide, quae non sunt absollite necessaria ad salu¬ tem. Sane credere historias Testamenti vete¬ ris, vel Evangelia Marci et Lucae esse cano- (1) I. Tim. III. 15. - (2) Eph. I, 22; IV, 4; V, 23; - (3) Joan. XVI, 13. — (4) Matth. XVIII; 17! CAPUT XV. 351 nica scripta, imo ullas esse divinas Scriptu¬ ras, non est omnino necessarium ad salu¬ tem ; nam sine hac fide multi salvati sunt, antequam Scriptura} scriberentur, et postea tempore novi Testamenti, multae barbarae nationes; de quibus scribit Irenaeus lib. III, cap. 4. At hoc est absurdissimum, nec ullo modo admitteret Calvinus posse dubitari de Scripturis ; non igitur verum est, solum in rebus necessariis ad salutem, Ecclesiam non posse errare. Probatur ultimo ex Patribus, qui, ut supra ostendimus, in quaestione de judice contro¬ versiarum, omnes ad Ecclesiam provocant in quaestionibus fidei quibuscumque ; quod certe nullo modo facerent, si Ecclesiam falli posse existimarent, Tertullianus libro de praescript. : « Age, inquit, omnes Ecclesiae erraverint, nullam respexerit Spiritus sanc¬ tus. » Augustinus lib. I. contra Cresconium, cap. 33 : « Scripturarum a nobis tenetur veritas, cum id facimus, quod universae jam placuit Ecclesiae, quam ipsarum Scriptura¬ rum commendat auctoritas, ut quoniam sancta Scriptura fallere non potest, quisquis falli metuit hujus obscuritate quaestionis, Ecclesiam de illa consulat, quam sine ulla ambiguitate sancta Scriptura demonstrat. » EtEpist. 118 : « Disputare contra id, quod universa Ecclesia sentit, insolentissimae in¬ saniae esse dicit. » Jam quod etiam Ecclesia repraesentative non possit errare, probatur primo, quia si omnes Episcopi errarent, tota etiam Ecclesia erraret, quia tenentur populi sequi suos Pas¬ tores, dicente Domino Lucae X : Qui vos au¬ dit, me audit , et Matth. XXIII : Quacumque dixerint , facite (i). Secundo, ex epistola Con¬ cilii Ephesini ad Nestorium, ubi cogitur Nestorius, si Ecclesiae satisfacere velit, jura¬ mento confirmare, se ita sentire, ut sentiunt Orientis et Occidentis Episcopi. Item ex Au¬ gustino lib. I. de Baptismo cap. 18. vocat de¬ cretum Concilii generalis, Ecclesiae univer¬ sae consensum : et merito, nam Ecclesia non docet nec decernit quidquam, nisi per suos Pastores, sicut quodlibet corpus per suum caput. Unde etiam III. Reg. VIII. congre¬ gatio Sacerdotum et Seniorum vocatur om¬ nis Ecclesia Israel. Et Chrysostomus exponit illud Matth. XVIII : Dic Ecclesia , id est, Prce- lato. Sed de his plura in materia de Conciliis.