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The Prescription Against Heretics

Chapter XX.--Christ First Delivered the Faith. The Apostles Spread It; They Founded Churches as the Depositories Thereof. That Faith, Therefore, is Apostolic, Which Descended from the Apostles, Through Apostolic Churches.

Christ Jesus our Lord (may He bear with me a moment in thus expressing myself!), whosoever He is, of what God soever He is the Son, of what substance soever He is man and God, of what faith soever He is the teacher, of what reward soever He is the Promiser, did, whilst He lived on earth, Himself declare what He was, what He had been, what the Father's will was which He was administering, what the duty of man was which He was prescribing; (and this declaration He made,) either openly to the people, or privately to His disciples, of whom He had chosen the twelve chief ones to be at His side, ¹ and whom He destined to be the teachers of the nations. Accordingly, after one of these had been struck off, He commanded the eleven others, on His departure to the Father, to "go and teach all nations, who were to be baptized into the Father, and into the Son, and into the Holy Ghost." ² Immediately, therefore, so did the apostles, whom this designation indicates as "the sent." Having, on the authority of a prophecy, which occurs in a psalm of David, ³ chosen Matthias by lot as the twelfth, into the place of Judas, they obtained the promised power of the Holy Ghost for the gift of miracles and of utterance; and after first bearing witness to the faith in Jesus Christ throughout Judaea, and founding churches (there), they next went forth into the world and preached the same doctrine of the same faith to the nations. They then in like manner founded churches in every city, from which all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith, ⁴ and the seeds of doctrine, and are every day deriving them, ⁵ that they may become churches. Indeed, it is on this account only that they will be able to deem themselves apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic churches. Every sort of thing ⁶ must necessarily revert to its original for its classification. ⁷ Therefore the churches, although they are so many and so great, comprise but the one primitive church, (founded) by the apostles, from which they all (spring). In this way all are primitive, and all are apostolic, whilst they are all proved to be one, in (unbroken) unity, by their peaceful communion, ⁸ and title of brotherhood, and bond ⁹ of hospitality,--privileges ¹⁰ which no other rule directs than the one tradition of the selfsame mystery. ¹¹

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De Praescriptione Haereticorum

XX.

[1] Christus Iesus, Dominus noster, permittat dicere interim, quisquis est, cuiuscumque Dei filius, cuiuscumque materiae homo et Deus, cuiuscumque fidei praeceptor, cuiuscumque mercedis repromissor, [2] quid esset, quid fuisset, quam patris uoluntatem administraret, quid homini agendum determinaret, quamdiu in terris agebat, ipse pronuntiabat siue populo palam, siue discentibus seorsum, ex quibus duodecim praecipuos lateri suo allegerat destinatos nationibus magistros. [3] Itaque uno eorum decusso reliquos undecim digrediens ad patrem post resurrectionem iussit ire et docere nationes tinguendas in Patrem et in Filium et in Spiritum sanctum. [4] Statim igitur apostoli - quos haec appellatio missos interpretatur - adsumpto per sortem duodecimo Matthia in locum Iudae ex auctoritate prophetiae quae est in psalmo Dauid, consecuti promissam uim Spiritus sancti ad uirtutes et eloquium, primo per Iudaeam contestata fide in Iesum Christum et ecclesiis institutis, dehinc in orbem profecti eamdem doctrinam eiusdem fidei nationibus promulgauerunt. [5] Et perinde ecclesias apud unamquamque ciuitatem condiderunt, a quibus traducem fidei et semina doctrinae ceterae exinde ecclesiae mutuatae sunt et cottidie mutuantur ut ecclesiae fiant. [6] Ac per hoc et ipsae apostolicae deputantur ut soboles apostolicarum ecclesiarum. [7] Omne genus ad originem suam censeatur necesse est. Itaque tot ac tantae ecclesiae una est illa ab apostolis prima, ex qua omnes. [8] Sic omnes primae et omnes apostolicae, dum una omnes. Probant unitatem communicatio pacis et appellatio fraternitatis et contesseratio hospitalitatis. [9] Quae iura non alia ratio regit quam eiusdem sacramenti una traditio.