its merits."[1] Thus it is not surprising that St. Cyprian should give the title of mother church — root of the church to that of Rome, which had given birth to others, perhaps even in Africa, and whose origin was of apostolic date. Through the Apostles she was, like other apostolic churches, the mother and root of the Catholic Church. Since these qualifications are not given to her in an exclusive manner, they prove nothing in favour of the authority she claims. No one denies that Rome has been one of the most important centres of Christian radiation over the world; no one disputes that she was a powerful, venerable, and apostolic church. But all concurs to prove that her importance did not confer universal authority upon her during the first centuries.
We see that as early as the third century, the Bishops of Rome, because St. Peter had been one of the founders of that see, claimed to exercise a certain authority over the rest of the Church, giving themselves sometimes the title of bishop of bishops; but we also see that the whole Church protested against these ambitious pretensions, and held them of no account.
Since the Roman theologians attach so much importance to the testimony of St. Cyprian and Tertullian, we have been obliged to determine the sense of it in a clear and precise manner. To the texts of the great Carthaginian bishop we will add some of Tertullian, which are of high importance, because the Roman theologians have wished to interpret them in their favor.
In his book against Marcion,[2] he expresses himself thus: "If it be proved, to begin with: that is most true which is most primitive; that is most primitive which has been from the commencement ; that which was from the commencement was established by the Apostles; it
