Calvin On Monasticism

14. Still there was nothing with the Fathers less intended than to establish that kind of perfection which was afterwards fabricated by cowled monks, in order to rear up a species of double Christianity. For as yet the sacreligious dogma was not . . . Continue reading →

Donatists, Cathars, And Anabaptists

Over-Realized Eschatology

13. Our indulgence ought to extend much farther in tolerating imperfection of conduct. Here there is great danger of falling, and Satan employs all his machinations to ensnare us. For there always have been persons who, imbued with a false persuasion of . . . Continue reading →

Popes And Councils Do Err

The election of a universally recognized Pope did not put an end to the conciliar movement. The demand that councils should meet regularly was a nightmare prospect for a papacy struggling to reassert its authority, and one which Martin V and his . . . Continue reading →

Trent On Communion In One Species

For though Christ the Lord at the last supper instituted and delivered to the Apostles this venerable sacrament under the forms of bread and wine, yet that institution and administration do signify that all the faithful are by an enactment of the . . . Continue reading →

Resurgent Catharism?

In the 2nd century, the Fathers faced one of the greatest threats ever to confront the Christian faith and church: Gnosticism. The gnostics taught a hierarchical scale of being in which salvation meant being delivered from our status as creatures. Salvation was . . . Continue reading →

The Myth of the Papacy

You know by now that Benedict XVI has abdicated the papacy and the college of Cardinals have been preparing to elect a new pope. on Tuesday they are set to begin the process of actually electing a new pope. Over the next . . . Continue reading →