Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Sacraments in General · Book I: On the Nature and Causes of the Sacrament
Chapter 1: On the errors concerning the Sacraments
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. III, De Sacramentis in Genere, Book I: On the Nature and Causes of the Sacrament. 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).
The ancient errors about the Sacraments can be reduced to four heads. For first, certain men tried to take away all the Sacraments. These were those whom Epiphanius, heresy 40, calls Archontics; Theodoret, book 1 On the fables of the heretics, calls them both Archontics and Ascodrites, or Ascodrupites. For these, on the authority of a certain Peter, a Syrian anchorite, execrated Baptism and the Eucharist (Epiphanius witnessing), and also (as Theodoret adds) all other sensible and corporeal signs, and placed the true redemption only in the knowledge of that which is. To this also pertains the error of the Fraticelli, or Beghards, who despised the Ecclesiastical Sacraments, as Pope John XXII testifies in the Extravagant Sancta Romana, On religious houses. To this finally pertain the Paulicians, who (Euthymius witnessing, in the second part of the Panoply, title 21) took away all the matter of the Sacraments — water, wine, bread, oil — and used only certain words in place of the Sacraments; as, for example, they said that Baptism was those words, “I am the living water.”
The second heresy is of those who did not indeed execrate or take away all the Sacraments, but stripped them of virtue and efficacy. These were the Messalians, who were also called Euchites from prayer. Of this heresy write Epiphanius heresy 80, Augustine heresy 37, and Theodoret book 4 On the fables of the heretics; but more fully, and from errors culled from their own books, John Damascene in the book On heresies, where he testifies that it is a doctrine of the Messalians that sins are not purged by the divine Sacraments, but only by prayers, which are rightly poured out by them. And so, without Baptism, without the Eucharist, without the absolution of priests, they professed that they could straightway justify men by their prayers — although they also admitted those Sacraments. Almost the same heresy Guido in his Summa attributes to the Armenians and to certain more recent Cathari; for he says they deny that the Sacraments of the new law confer grace.
The third heresy was of those who took away some of the Sacraments. For many rejected Baptism, as those whose heresy Tertullian calls the Gaian at the beginning of the book On Baptism; likewise the Manichees (Augustine witnessing, heresy 46) and the Seleucians (in the same Augustine, heresy 59), and others of whom afterward. Again, some rejected the Sacrament of Confirmation, as the Novatians (Theodoret witnessing, book 3 On the fables of the heretics). Others said the Sacrament of the Eucharist was nothing; for Peter of Cluny writes in his book against the Petrobrusians that one of the errors of the Petrobrusians was that the body of Christ was made of bread once only, namely on that night on which the Lord was betrayed, but that thereafter it neither was nor could be made. Euthymius too writes, in the Panoply part 2 title 23, that one of the errors of the Bogomils was that the Eucharist was nothing else than the Our Father. Others took away the Sacrament of Penance, as the Novatians (Epiphanius witnessing, heresy 39, and Augustine heresy 38). Others said the Sacrament of Orders was nothing at all, as certain followers of Taudemus, as he reports who supplied the Chronicle of Sigebert, at the year of Christ 1124. Others detested Extreme Unction, as the Albigenses (St. Antoninus witnessing, part 3 title 11 chapter 7 section 5 of the Theological Summa) and afterward the Flagellants (Bernard of Luxemburg witnessing, in the Catalogue of heretics). Others finally took away Matrimony, as the Encratites (Augustine witnessing, heresy 33), the Manichees (the same Augustine witnessing, heresy 46), and very many others.
The fourth heresy was of those who did not indeed take away certain Sacraments, yet did not rightly understand or administer them. Among these were the Marcosians, from a certain Marcus, most ancient heretics, who said Baptism was to be conferred not in the name of the Trinity, but in the name of the unknown Father, in the truth the mother of all, in Jesus who descended into unity and redemption and the communion of the powers; so Theodoret reports book 1 On the fables of the heretics. Likewise the Marcionites, who baptized men a second and a third time, as Epiphanius reports heresy 42. So too very many erred about the Eucharist, willing it indeed to be a Sacrament, but not to contain the true body of the Lord; as certain men of old, almost in the very time of the Apostles, as Ignatius reports in his epistle to the Smyrneans, and Theodoret in the third Dialogue, about the middle; and then Berengarius (Lanfranc witnessing, in the book against Berengarius); afterward John Wycliffe (the Council of Constance witnessing, session 8). Certain men erred about Penance, though they did not take it away, as the Audians, who heard confessions and absolved from sins, but did not enjoin penance, as Theodoret reports book 4 On the fables of the heretics. Certain erred about Orders, which they conferred even on women, as the Pepuzites (Epiphanius witnessing, heresy 49).
Let these things be said in general of the errors of the ancients. Like things we have seen in this our age. For, in the first place, there were not wanting those who despised all sensible and corporeal Sacraments, who certainly might be called new Archontics; this Frederick Staphylus testifies of the Schwenckfeldians in the book On the concord of Luther's disciples, and David Chytraeus in the preface of his Commentaries on the Apocalypse. The other Lutherans, and all the Calvinists, although they do not take away all the Sacraments, yet strip them all of virtue and efficacy, as the Messalians of old did; for as those attributed all things to prayer, so these to faith, but to the Sacraments plainly nothing, except that they are bare signs, and those not altogether necessary. For thus Luther writes in the assertion of the first article: “It is a heretical, but usual, opinion that the Sacraments of the new law give grace to those who do not place an obstacle. For the Scripture says, The just shall live by his faith; it does not say, he shall live by the Sacraments.” So he. Nor does any of the heretics of this time, so far as I know, dissent from this opinion.
Again, there were not wanting in this time those who take away some of the Sacraments, though not all. For, the Schwenckfeldians excepted, all the rest receive two Sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist; two they reject, Confirmation and Extreme Unction; Matrimony they receive indeed, but not for a Sacrament; concerning Penance and Ordination they contend among themselves, as we shall afterward explain. Finally there were not wanting also those who received certain Sacraments, but with errors mixed in. For the Anabaptists receive the Sacrament of Baptism, but for adults, not for infants; the Zwinglians receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but deny that it is the body of the Lord; Luther does not deny the Sacrament of Absolution, but requires or admits neither an entire confession nor any satisfaction, nor does he acknowledge the true minister of this Sacrament, as is plain from the assertion of the articles fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth. Finally all admit the ordination of ministers, but acknowledge neither the true minister nor the true rite of this Sacrament. So we see all four classes of heretics, which at various times through 1500 years vexed the Catholic Church, all together in this our age conspiring against the same Church. But by what leader the Catholic Church triumphed over those ancient ones — since that same leader can neither lose his strength, and promised by a sure testimony that he would always be present to his Church.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT I. De erroribus. Antiqui errores de Sacramentis ad qua- tuor capita revocari possunt. Primum enim quidam omnia Sacramenta de medio tollere conatisunt. Ii fuerunt quos Epiphanius, hce- resi 40, Archonticos, Theodoretus lib. I. de haereticorum fabulis, cum Archonticos, tum etiam Ascodritos, seu Ascodrupitas appellat. Isti enim auctore quodam Petro Anachoreta Syro , Baptismum et Eucharistiam execra- bantur, Epiphanio teste , necnon (ut addit Theodoretus) omnia alia signa sensibilia, et corporalia, ac solum in cognitione ejus quod est, veram redemptionem constituebant. IIuc etiam pertinet error Fraticellorum, seu Beguinorum, qui Sacramenta Ecclesias¬ tica despiciebant, ut testatur Joannes Papa XXII, in Extravaganti , sancta Romana, de religiosis domibus. Huc denique pertinent Pauliciani, qui tes¬ te Euthymio in II. part. Panopliee , tit. 21. tollebant de medio omnem Sacramentorum materiam; aquam, vinum, panem, oleum, et solum verbis quibusdam loco Sacramen¬ torum utebantur : ut, exempli gratia, Bap¬ tismum esse dicebant illa verba : « Ego sum aqua viva. » Secunda hseresis est eorum, qui Sacra¬ menta omnia non quidem execrabantur, nec LIBER I. 336 tollebant , sed virtute et efficientia spolia¬ bant. Hi Messaliani, qui et Euehitae ab ora¬ tione dicti sunt. Scribunt de hac haeresi Epi- phanius ha?resi 80. Augustinus haeresi 37. et Theodoretus lib. IV. de haereticis fabulis, sed fusius et ex libris ipsorum decerptis er¬ roribus, Joan. Damascenus in lib. de hsere- sibus , ubi testatur, dogma Messalianorum esse, peccata non purgari divinis Sacramen¬ tis , sed solis precibus , quae ab ipsis recte funduntur. Itaque sine Baptismo , sine Eu¬ charistia, sine Sacerdotum absolutione pro¬ fitebantur , se statim suis precibus homines posse justificare : tametsi etiam Sacramenta illa admitterent. Eamdem fere haeresim tribuit Guido in sua Summa Armenis , et quibusdam recen- tioribus Catharis; si quidem eos negare di¬ cit, Sacramenta novae legis gratiam con¬ ferre. Tertia haeresis eorum fuit, qui aliqua Sa¬ cramenta de medio tollebant. Multi enim Baptismum rejecerunt, ut ii, quorum haere¬ sim Gaianam appellat Tertullianus initio li¬ bri de Baptismo : item Manichaei, teste Au¬ gustino haeresi 46. et Seleuciani apud eum- dem Augustinum haeresii 59. et alii, de qui¬ bus postea. Rursus quidam rejecerant Sacramentum Confirmationis , ut Novatiani , Theodoreto teste, lib. III. de fabulis haereticorum. Alii Sacramentum Eucharistiae nullum es¬ se dixerunt. Scribit enim Petrus Cluniacen- sis in lib. contra Petrobrusianos , unum ex erroribus Petrobrusian orum fuisse, corpus Christi ex pane semel tantum facium esse, ea videlicet nocte , qua Dominus traditus est : deinceps autem nec factum esse, nec fieri posse. Scribit etiam Euthymius in Pa- noplia par. II , tit. 23. unum ex erroribus Bogomilum fuisse , Eucharistiam nihil esse aliud, quam Pater noster. Alii Sacramentum Poenitentiae sustulerunt, ut Novatiani, teste Epiphanio haeresi 39. et Augustino haeresi 38. Alii Sacramentum Or¬ dinis nihil omnino esse dixerunt, ut quidam Taudemi sectatores , ut refert is, qui Sige- berti Chronicum supplevit, ad annum Christi' 1124. Alii Extremam unctionem detestati sunt ; ut Albigenses, teste S. Antonio ’. par. tit. XI, cap. 7, §.5. Summae Theologicae; et postea Flagellantes, teste Bernardo Lutzem- burgensi in Catalogo haereticorum. Alii denique Matrimonium sustulerunt, ut Encratitae, teste Augustino haeres. 33. Mani¬ chaei, eodem Augustino teste haeres. 46. ct alii permulti. Quarta haeresis eorum fuit, qui certa Sa¬ cramenta non quidem tollebant, tamen non recte intelligebant , vel administrabant. In iis erant Marcosii a Marco quodam , vetus¬ tissimi haeretici, qui Baptismum conferen¬ dum esse dicebant, non in nomineTrinitatis, sed in nomine ignoti Patris, in veritate ma¬ tre omnium; in Jesu, qui descendit in uni¬ tate, et redemptione, et potestatum commu¬ nione : ita refert Theodoretus lib. I. de fa¬ bulis haereticorum. Item Marcionitae, qui se¬ cundo , et tertio homines baptizabant ; ut Epiphanius refert haeresi 42. Sic etiam permulti circa Eucharistiam er¬ rarunt, volentes quidem Sacramentum esse, sed non continere verum Domini corpus; ut quidam olira ipso fere tempore Apostolorum, ut referunt Ignatius in epistola ad Smyrnen- ses, et Theodoretus in tertio Dialogo, circa medium ; ac deinde Berengarius, teste Lan- franco in |ib. adversus Berengariuin : pos¬ tea Joannes Wiclefus, teste Concilio Constan- tiensi sess. VIII. Quidam circa Poenitentiam errabant, etiamsi eam non tollerent, ut Audiani, qui confessiones audiebant, et a peccatis absol¬ vebant, sed poenitentiam non injungebant, ut Theodoretus refert lib. IV.de fabulis hie- reticorum. Quidam errabant circa Ordines, quos etiam foeminis conferebant, utPepuritae, teste Epi¬ phanio haeresi 49. Haec generatim de erroribus veterum dic¬ ta sint. Similia nostro hoc saeculo vidimus. Nam in primis non defuerunt, qui omnia Sacramenta sensibilia, et corporalia contem¬ nerent, qui certe novi Archontici nominari possent : id etiam de Swenckfeldianis tes¬ tantur Fridericus Staphilus in lib. de con¬ cordia discipulorum Lutheri, et David Chy- traeus praefatione Commentariorum in Apo- calypsim. Lutherani caeteri, et Calvinistae omnes, etsi Sacramenta non tollunt omnia , omnia tamen virtute, et efficacia spoliant, ut olim faciebant Messaliani : ut enim illi orationi, ita isti fidei omnia tribuunt, Sacramentis au¬ tem plane nihil, nisi ut sint nuda signa, ea- que non omnino necessaria. Sic enim scribit Lutherus in assert primi articuli : « Haere¬ tica, sed usitata sententia est, Sacramenta novae legis dare gratiam iis, qui non ponunt CAPUT II. 337 obicem. Scriptura enim dicit : Justus ex fi¬ de sua vivet, non dicit, ex Sacramentis vi¬ vet. ;> Haec ille. Neque ab hac sententia ul¬ lus, quod sciam, ex haereticis hujus tempo¬ ris dissentit. Rursus non defuerunt hoc tempore , qui tollant e medio aliqua Sacramenta, licet non omnia. Nam Swenckfeldianis exceptis, cee- teri omnes duo Sacramenta recipiunf, Bap¬ tismum , et Eucharistiam; duo rejiciunt, Confirmationem, et Extremam unctionem : Matrimonium recipiunt quidem, sed non pro Sacramento : de Pcenitcntia, et Ordina¬ tione inter se contendunt, ut postea explica¬ bimus. Denique non defuerunt etiam , qui certa Sacramenta reciperent, sed erroribus admix¬ tis. Nam Anabaptistsf Sacramentum Baptis¬ mi recipiunt, sed pro adultis, non pro infan¬ tibus Zwingliani recipiunt Sacramentum Eucharistiae, sed corpus Dominicum esse ne¬ gant. Lutherus Sacramentum Absolutionis non negat, sed nec integram confessionem, nec ullam satisfactionem requirit , aut ad¬ mittit; nec verum ministrum Sacramenti hu¬ jus agnoscit, ut patet ex assertione articulo¬ rum, quinti, sexti, septimi, octavi, noni, de¬ cimi. Denique ordinationem ministrorum omnes admittunt, sed nec agnoscunt verum ministrum, nec verum ritum hujus Sacra¬ menti. Ita videmus omnes quatuor haereticorum classes, quae variis temporibus per 1500 an¬ nos Ecclesiam Catholicam vexaverunt, om¬ nes simul hoc nostro saeculo contra eamdem Ecclesiam conspirasse. Sed quo duce de ve¬ teribus illis Catholica triumphavit quando¬ quidem idem ille dux, nec vires amittere po¬ test, et Ecclesiae suas semper se adfuturum certa testificatione promisit.