hese, rank the Bishops of Ephesus,
Cesarea, and Heraclea, who preside respectively over the provinces of Asia,
Cappadocia, and Thrace, and were afterwards called Exarchs. And the source
of this preponderating influence is to be traced to the fact that the
Apostles laid hold of the principal cities, and founded Churches in them,
which became centres of light to their several provinces, and naturally
exercised a parental authority over their children. The three great
Bishops, though not yet called Patriarchs, or even Archbishops, seem to
have exercised all the power of Patriarchs. No general Council would be
binding without their presence in person, or by deputy, or their subsequent
ratification. Moreover, among these, the Bishop of Rome, as successor of
St. Peter, has a decided preeminence. What the extent of that preeminence
was, had not yet been defined; but it is very apparent, and acknowledged in
the East as well as in the West. It does not seem, indeed, that his
authority differed in _kind_, but only in _degree_, from that of his
brethren, especially those of Alexandria and Antioch. The Apostolical
Canons, more ancient than the Council of Nice, and representing the whole
East, say:--"The Bishops of every nation must acknowledge him who is first
among them, and account him as their head, and do nothing of consequence
without his consent; but each may do those things only which concern his
own parish, (_i.e._ diocese,) and the country places which belong to it.
But neither let him (who is the first) do anything without the consent of
all, for so there will be unanimity, and God will be glorified through the
Lord Jesus Christ." Canon 34. The Council of Nicea mentions the sees of
Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome in precisely similar terms:--"Let the ancient
customs be maintained, which are in Egypt and Libya, and Pentapolis;
according to which the Bishop of Alexandria has authority over all those
places. For this is also customary to the Bishop of Rome. In like manner in
Antioch, and in the other provinces, the privileges are to be preserved to
the Churches." Canon 6. That is, as it would seem, let the Bishop of
Alexandria have the power to consecrate Bishops in the three provinces of
his Patriarchate, for the Bishop of Rome does the same in his, _i.e._ in
the suburbicarian provinces, or in Italy, south of the province of Milan,
and in Sicily. This precedence or prerogative of Rome, to whatever extent
it reached, was certainl