Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus: Part Two
Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Doctor, A.D. 590-604: "Now the holy Church
universal proclaims that God cannot be truly worshipped saving within
herself, asserting that all they that are without her shall never be
saved." (Moralia)
"Consider that therefore whoever is not in
the peace and unity of the Church cannot have God." (Epistle to
Schismatic Bishops)
"And indeed we have learnt from the ancient
institution of the Fathers that whosoever among heretics are baptized
in the name of the Trinity, when they return to Holy Church, may be recalled
to the bosom of mother Church either by unction of chrism, or by imposition
of hands, or by profession of faith only.
Hence the West reconciles Arians to the Catholic Church by imposition
of hands, but the East by the unction of Holy chrism. But mono-physites and others are received
by a true confession only, because holy baptism, which they have
received among heretics, then acquires in them the power of cleansing,
when either the former receive the Holy Spirit by imposition of hands,
or the latter are united to the bowels of the holy and universal Church by
reason of their confession of the true faith." (Epistle LXVII)
“Since, then, by my own public profession you know the
entireness of our belief, it is fitting that you have no further scruple
concerning the Church of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles. But persist in the true Faith, and ground
your life on the rock of the Church, that is, in his confession: lest your
many tears and your good works avail nothing, if they be separated
from the true Faith. For as branches
wither without a root, so works, however good they seem, are nothing
if separated from the solidity of the Faith." (To Theodelinda, Queen of
the Lombards)
John Moschus (died A.D. 619): "There dwelt on the sacred river
Jordan a certain old man, Cyriacus by name, of great merit before God. To him came a stranger named Theophanes to
ask advice concerning temptations.
The old man began to encourage him with talk about temperance. Greatly edified and strengthened, he said
to the old man, "Truly, my father, if it were not that in my own country
I communicate with the Nestorians, I would remain with you." Now, when the aged man heard the name
"Nestorians," distressed for the ruin of a brother, he began to
rebuke him, and entreated him to withdraw from that most evil and baneful
heresy, and to seek admission into the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,
telling him at the same time that there is no other hope of salvation. "But my father and master," said
the brother, "surely this is what all heretics say: that, "Unless
you communicate with us, you will not be saved." Miserable that I am, I do not know what to
do! Therefore beseech the Lord to
make me know for certain which is the true faith." The old man was full of joy, and said to
him, "Come; sit in the cave with me, and have complete hope in God, for
His goodness will discover to you the true faith." Then, leaving the brother in the cave,
Cyriacus went forth to the dead sea to pray to God for him.
"Now, about the ninth hour the following day, the
brother beheld some one standing before him of terrible appearance, who said,
"Come and see the truth!"
And, taking him, he led him to a darksome and fetid place where their
burned fire and flames; and, in these flames he saw Nestorius, Eutyches, and
certain others. And he who had
appeared to him said, "This place is prepared for heretics and for
those who follow their teachings.
If this place pleases you, then continue in your present doctrine; but
if you do not want to undergo this punishment, join yourself to the Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church which that old man is teaching you to do. For I tell you that, although a man should
practice all the virtues and yet not believe rightly, he will have to
suffer in this place!" At these
words, the brother regained consciousness, and told Cyriacus, on his return,
all that he had seen. And then he
joined the Holy Catholic Church." (The Spiritual Meadow)
St. Maximus the Confessor (died A.D. 650): "Therefore if a man does not
want to be, or to be called, a heretic, let him not strive to please
this or that man [...] but let him hasten before all things to be in
communion with the Roman See.
If he be in communion with it, he should be acknowledged by all and
everywhere as faithful and orthodox.
He speaks in vain who tries to persuade me of the orthodoxy of
those who, like himself, refuse obedience to his Holiness the Pope of the
most holy Church of Rome: that is to the Apostolic See." (Quoted by Pope
Leo XIII in Satis Cognitum)
Saint Bede the Venerable
O.S.B., Doctor, (died A.D. 735):
"He who will not willingly and humbly enter the gate of the Church will
certainly be damned and enter the gate of hell whether he wants to or
not." (Sermon 16) "Without
this confession, without this faith, no one can enter the kingdom of
God." (Sermon 16)
"Blessed Peter in a special manner received the
keys of the kingdom of heaven and the headship of judiciary power, that all
believers throughout the world might understand that all those who in
any way separate themselves from the unity of this faith and communion, -
such can neither be absolved from the bonds of their sins, nor enter the gate
of the heavenly kingdom." (Homily on the day of Saints Peter and Paul)
Saint Peter Mavimenus (died A.D. 743): "Whoever does not embrace
the Catholic Christian religion will be damned, as was your false
prophet Mohammed." (Roman Martyrology, February 21st) [Upon this
profession of the faith, the infidel murdered him.]
Alcuin of York (died A.D. 780): "He then gives the reason why
he who believes not is condemned, viz. because he believeth
not on the name of the only begotten Son of God. For in this name alone is there
salvation." (cf. Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Jn.
3:18)
"Behold, thou art, most holy Father, the Pontiff
chosen by God, the Vicar of the Apostles, the heir of the Fathers, the
Prince of the Church, the Nourisher of the one Spotless Dove. In the kindness of fatherly feeling, by
thy most holy prayers, and sweetest exhortations of sacred writings, gather
us unto God's holy Church, within the very strong bonds of the Church's
soundness; lest any of us, wandering about, should be met on the outside
to be devoured by the ravenousness of the wolf." (Epistle)
Saint George of San Saba (died A.D. 852): "Mohammed was a disciple of the
devil, and his followers are in a state of perdition." (In
"Victories of the Martyrs" by Saint Alphonsus)
Blessed Rhabanus Maurus (died A.D. 856): "But this power of binding and
loosing, though it seems given by the Lord to Peter alone, is indeed also
given to the other Apostles, and is even now in the Bishops and Presbyters in
every church. But Peter
received in a special manner the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and a
supremacy of judicial power, that all the faithful throughout the world might
understand that all who in any manner separate themselves from the
unity of the faith, or from communion with him, should neither be able to be
loosed from the bonds of sin, nor to enter the gate of the heavenly
kingdom." (cf. Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Mt.
18:18)
"Without this faith, no one can enter
Heaven." (cf. Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Mk.
16:16)
Pope Hadrian II, A.D. 867-872: Council of Constantinople IV
against the schismatic heretic Photius: "The first thing required for
salvation is to keep the norm of correct faith and to deviate in no way from
what the Fathers have established, because it is not possible to lay aside
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ who said, `You are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my Church.' These words
are proved true by their effects because, in the Apostolic See, the Catholic
religion has always been preserved immaculate."
Pope Sylvester II, A.D. 999-1003: "I profess that outside the
Catholic Church, no one is saved." (Profession of Faith made as
Archbishop of Rheims, June 991; Letters of Gerbert, NY: Columbia University
Press.) [This is the man that introduced Arabic numerals (the ones we use)
into the West.]
Pope Saint Leo IX, A.D. 1049-1054): [regarding the eastern so-called
"Orthodox" schismatics]: "If you live not in the body which is
Christ, you are none of His.
Whose, then, are you? You have
been cut off and will wither, and like the branch pruned from the vine, you
will burn in the fire - an end which may God's goodness keep far from
you."
"So little does the
Roman Church stand alone, as you think, that in the whole world any nation
that in its pride dissents from her is in no way a church, but a
council of heretics, a conventicle of schismatics, and a
synagogue of Satan."
"As far as the pillars
of the empire are concerned and its wise and honoured citizens, the city is
most Christian and orthodox. But we,
not enduring the unheard-of offense and injury done to the Holy Apostolic and
First See, wishing to defend in every way the Catholic Faith, by the
authority of the Holy and Undivided Trinity and of the Apostolic See, whose
legates we are, declare that Michael, patriarch by abuse; [...] Leo called
bishop of Achrida; [...] and all their followers in the aforesaid
errors and presumption shall be: anathema, maranatha [...] with all the
heretics and with the devil and his angels, unless they repent. Amen." (Sancta Romana Prima) [The
"Orthodox" schismatics were thus excommunicated to burn with the
devil and his angels. When they came
to the Council of Florence to be momentarily reconciled, they professed to
the pope that: "We have come to you our head. You are the foundation of the Church. Every member that has left you is sick, and wild beasts have
devoured the flock that has separated itself from you. [...] You who have the power of the heavenly
keys, open to us the gates of eternal life."]
Saint Bruno of Segni (died A.D. 1123): "Because baptism consists not
in the faith of the giver but in the faith of those who receive it, it is
good regardless of by whom it is given.
But where there is no Catholic faith, baptism does not work. Consequently, whoever is baptized
outside the Church is not released from sin before he returns to the
Church. For the remission of sins in
no way occurs except within the Church. [...]
"Thus it is clear that no one shall be
saved outside the Church, whether he was baptized within it or outside of
it. Why is this? Again, let the Lord himself speak:
"If someone does not remain in me, let him be cast out like [dead]
branches and they shall gather him up, throw him into the fire, and he shall
burn." (St. John 15:6) Hence, if
the person perishes who was sometimes in Christ but who does not remain in
Him, how shall the person not perish who was never in Him and did not remain
in Him? For whoever is
baptized outside the Church never was nor ever shall be in Christ unless he
should be joined to the Church before he departs this life – for he never was
nor ever shall be in the body of Christ.
For if he is separated from the body of Christ, he is no longer a
member of Christ. Moreover, the body
of Christ is not outside the Church.
Otherwise the Church itself would be outside itself – since the Church
is the body of Christ – and this is impossible.
"Consequently, baptism cannot be given and cannot
benefit [the person] outside the Church.
For although baptism which is given outside the Church does have the
form of the sacrament, it does not have the virtue of the sacrament; it has
the form, of course, because it is done in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. It does not have the
virtue, because it does not effect the remission of sins. Why then are those who come from the
heretics not rebaptized? Do you want
to hear why? Because they have the
form of baptism, i.e. because they have already been reborn from the water at
the invocation of the Trinity. It
still remains for them to be reborn as well in the Holy Spirit who effects
the remission of sins in them – something which the visible form cannot
give. For "unless someone should
be reborn from the water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the
kingdom of God." (St. John 3:5) [...]
"We have also stated that all sacraments
outside the Church have the form, to be sure, but they do not have the virtue
[of the sacrament]. We have also said
that no one is saved outside the Church." (On Simoniacs)
Pope Innocent III, A.D. 1198-1216 (D423): "By the heart we believe
and by the mouth we confess the one Church, not of heretics but the
Holy Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic (Church) outside which we believe that no
one is saved." (Profession of Faith for the Waldensians, Eius
Exemplo)
(D430) ***INFALLIBLE***: Ex cathedra: "One indeed
is the universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one
at all is saved." (IV Lateran Council, A.D. 1215)
Saint Francis of Assisi
O.F.M., Founder, (died A.D. 1226):
"And so the Friars who are inspired by God to work as missionaries among
the Saracens [Mohammedans] and other unbelievers must get permission to go
from their minister, who is their servant. [...] We Friars Minor, servants and worthless as we are, humbly beg
and implore everyone to persevere in the true faith and in a life of
penance; there is no other way to be saved. We beseech the whole world to do this, all those who
serve our lord and God within the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,
together with the whole hierarchy, priests, deacons, subdeacons, acolytes,
exorcists, lectors, porters, and all clerics and religious, male or female;
we beg all children, big and small, the poor and the needy, kings and
princes, labourers and farmers, servants and masters; we beg all virgins and
all other women, married or unmarried; we beg all lay folk, men and women,
infants and adolescents, young and old, the healthy and the sick, the little
and the great, all peoples, tribes, families and languages, all nations
and all men everywhere, present and to come; we Friars Minor beg them all
to persevere in the true faith and in a life of penance." (Rule of 1221)
Saint Thomas Aquinas O.P., Doctor, (died A.D. 1274): "But the unity of the
Church exists primarily because of the unity of the faith; for the Church is nothing
else than the aggregate of the faithful. And because without faith it is impossible to please God,
for this reason there is no room for salvation outside the
Church." (Expositio Primae Decretalis ad Archdiaconum Tudertinum, edited
by Fr, Raymond A. Verardo, O.P., Opusculum Theologica, Vol. 1, Marietta,
Turin, 1954.)
"There is no entering into salvation
outside the Church, just as in the time of the deluge there was none
outside the ark, which denotes the Church." (Summa Theologica III. 73,
3.)
"Unbelief has a double sense. First, it can be taken purely
negatively; thus a man is called an unbeliever solely because he does not
possess faith. Secondly, by way of
opposition to faith; thus when a man refuses to hear of the faith or even
contemns it, according to Isaiah, Who has believed our report? This is where the full nature of unbelief,
properly speaking is found, and where the sin lies.
"If, however, unbelief be taken just negatively,
as in those who have heard nothing about the faith, it bears the
character, not of fault, but of penalty, because their ignorance of divine
things is the result of the sin of our first parents. Those who are unbelievers in this sense are
condemned on account of other sins, which cannot be forgiven
without faith; they are not condemned for the sin of
unbelief." (Summa Theologica II, II, 10, 1. Blackfriars, 1975. Eyre and Spottiswoode Ltd.)
"The Church's intention in baptizing is to cleanse
from sin in accordance with Isaiah, "This is full fruit that sin be
taken away." Thus, as far as the
Church is concerned, it does not intend to give baptism except to those who
have [the] true faith, without which there is no forgiveness of sins. And for this reason, the one being
baptized is asked whether he believes.
If, however, a person without [the] true faith receives baptism
outside the Church, the sacrament does not work to his salvation. Hence, Augustine says, "The
Church compared to Paradise indicates to us that men can receive her baptism
even outside her, but the salvation of blessedness no one can receive
or hold outside her." (Summa Theologica III, 68, 8, 2. As above.)
"And because the consecration of the Eucharist is
an act based on the power of Holy Orders, those [validly ordained priests]
who are separated from the Church by heresy, schism or excommunication,
are able to consecrate the Eucharist, which when consecrated contains
Christ's true body and blood; yet they act not rightly and sin by so
doing. Consequently they do not
gather the fruit of the sacrifice, which is a spiritual sacrifice." (Summa Theolgica, IIIa, 82, 7. As above.)
"On the other hand, the power of jurisdiction is
that which is conferred by a mere human appointment. Such a power as this does not adhere to
the recipient immovably: so that it does not remain in heretics or
schismatics; and consequently they neither absolve nor
excommunicate, nor grant indulgence, nor do any thing of the kind, and if
they do, it is invalid." (Summa Theologica, II, II, 39, 3.)
"It is shown also that it is necessary for
salvation to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Against the Errors of
the Greeks. Opuscula Theologica, Vol. I, Part 2, Chap. 36, edited by Fr.
Raymond A. Verardo, O.P., Marietta, Turin, 1954)
Saint Bonaventure O.F.M., Doctor. (died A.D. 1274): "Once these conditions
[intention and Orders] are present, the sacraments may be conferred by
either the good or the wicked, the faithful or the heretical, within the
Church or outside it: but within the Church, they are conferred both in fact
and in effect, while outside it, although conferred in fact, they are not
effective. [...]
"Because none may be saved outside of the
communion of faith and love which makes us members of the Church, whenever
the sacraments are received outside of it, they are received with no
effect toward salvation, although they are true sacraments. They may become effective however, when
the recipient returns to Holy Mother Church, the only bride of Christ, whose
sons are the only ones Christ the Spouse deems worthy of the eternal
inheritance. Wherefore Augustine
writes to the Donatists: "A comparison of the Church with paradise
reveals that while strangers to the Church may receive its baptism, no one
outside the Church may receive or possess beatific salvation.""
(Breviolquium VI.)
Pope Boniface VIII, A.D. 1294-1303: "We are compelled, our faith
urging us, to believe and to hold; and we do firmly believe and simply
confess; that there is one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside
of which there is no salvation or remission of sins; her Spouse
proclaiming it in the canticles, "My dove, my undefiled is but one, she
is the choice one of her that bore her;" which represents one mystical
body, of which body the head is Christ, but of Christ, God. In this Church there is one Lord, one
Faith, and one Baptism. There was
one ark of Noah, indeed, at the time of the flood, symbolizing one Church;
and this being finished in one cubit had, namely, one Noah as helmsman and
commander. And, with the exception of
this ark, all things existing upon the earth were, as we read, destroyed.
"This Church, moreover, we venerate as the only
one, the Lord saying through His prophet, "Deliver my soul from the
sword, my darling from the power of the dog." He prayed at the same time for His Soul; that is, for Himself
the Head, and for His Body; which Body, namely, He called the one and only
Church on account of the unity of the Faith promised, of the sacraments, and
of the love of the Church. She is
that seamless garment of the Lord which was not cut but which fell by
lot. Therefore of this one and only
Church there is one body and one head; not two heads as if it were a monster:
Christ, namely, and the vicar of Christ, Saint Peter [who are one head,
Christ and His Vicar:] "Feed my sheep." My sheep, He said, using a general term, and not designating
these or those particular sheep; from which it is plain that He committed to
him all His sheep.
"If, then, the Greeks or others say that
they were not committed to the care of Peter and his successors, they
necessarily confess that they are not of the sheep of Christ; for the
Lord says, in John, that there is one fold, one shepherd, and one only.
"We are told by the word of the Gospel that in
this His fold there are two swords; a spiritual, namely, and a temporal. For when the apostles said, "Behold
here are two swords", the Lord did not reply that this was too much, but
enough. Surely he who denies that the
temporal sword is in the power of Peter wrongly interprets the word of the
Lord when He says, "Put up thy sword in its scabbard." Both swords, the spiritual and the
material, therefore, are in the power of the Church; the one, indeed, to be
wielded for the Church, the other by the Church; the one by the hand of the
priest, the other by the hand of kings and knights, but at the will and
sufferance of the priest. One sword,
moreover, ought to, be under the other, and the temporal authority to be
subjected to the spiritual. For when
the Apostle says "There is no power but of God, and the powers that are
of God are ordained," they would not be ordained unless sword were under
sword and the lesser one, as it were, were led by the other to great deeds.
"For according to St. Dionysius the law of
Divinity is to lead the lowest through the intermediate to the highest
things. Not, therefore, according to
the law of the universe are all things reduced to order equally and
immediately; but the lowest through the intermediate, the intermediate
through the higher. But that the
spiritual exceeds any earthly power in dignity and nobility we ought the more
openly to confess, the more spiritual things excel temporal ones. This also is made plain to our eyes from
the giving of tithes, and the benediction and the sanctification; from the
acceptation of this same power, from the control over those same things. For, the truth bearing witness, the
spiritual power has to establish the earthly power, and to judge if it be not
good. Thus, concerning the Church and
the ecclesiastical power, is verified the prophecy of Jeremias: "See, I
have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms," and the
other things which follow.
"Therefore if the earthly power err, it shall be
judged by the spiritual power; but if the lesser spiritual power err, by the
greater. But if the greatest, it can
be judged by God alone, not by man, the Apostle hearing witness. A spiritual man judges all things, but he
himself is judged by no one. This
authority, moreover, even though it is given to man and exercised through
man, is not human but rather divine, being given by divine lips to Peter and
founded on a rock for him and his successors through Christ Himself whom He
has confessed; the Lord Himself saying to Peter: "Whatsoever thou shalt
bind," etc. Whoever, therefore,
resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordination of God,
unless he makes believe, like the Manichean, that there are two
beginnings. This we consider false
and heretical, since by the testimony of Moses, not "in the
beginnings," but "in the beginning," God created the heavens
and the earth.
Related:
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/06/extra-ecclesiam-nulla-salus-part-one.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/04/no-salvation-outside-church.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/04/protestant-errors-on-salvation.html
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