ver every other. It was the greatest and the richest of all,
so that it could send help to distressed Christians in all countries. No
other church of the West had an Apostle to boast of, but Rome could
boast of the two great Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, who had
laboured in it, and had given their blood for the faith in the Gospel in
it. Most of the western nations had received their knowledge of the
Gospel through the Roman Church, and on this account they looked up with
respect to it as a mother. And as people from all parts of the empire
were continually going to Rome and returning, the Church of the great
capital kept up a constant intercourse with other churches in all
quarters. Thus the bishops of Rome were naturally much respected
everywhere, and, so long as they did not take too much upon themselves,
great regard was paid to their opinion; but when they tried to interfere
with the rights of other bishops, or to lord it over other churches,
they were firmly withstood, and were desired to keep within their proper
bounds, as Stephen of Rome was by St. Cyprian of Carthage.[14]

[14] Page 29.

Another thing must be mentioned as creditable to the Roman Church, and
as one which did much to raise the power of its bishops. The heresies
which we have read of, all began in the East, where the people were more
sharp-witted and restless in their thoughts than those of the West. The
Romans, on the other hand, had not the turn of mind which led to these
errors, but rather attended to practical things. Hence they were
disposed to hold to the faith which had come down to them from their
fathers, and to defend it against the new opinions which were brought
forward from time to time. This steadiness, then, gave them a great
advantage over the Christians of the East, who were frequently changing
from one thing to another. It gained for the Roman Church much credit
and authority; and when the great Arian controversy arose, the effects
of the difference between the eastern and the western character were
vastly increased. The Romans (except for a short time, when a bishop
named Liberius was won over by the Arians) kept to their old faith. The
eastern parties looked to the bishop of Rome as if he had the whole
western Church in his hands. They constantly carried their quarrels to
him, asking him to give his help, and he was the strongest friend that
they could find anywhere. And when the side which Rome had always
upheld got the v