Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How did the Roman See first begin to claim jurisdiction over other churches? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin shows that its early influence grew chiefly from the protection it offered to orthodox exiles during the Arian controversies, and from the readiness of condemned men to appeal there as an asylum. He carefully examines the four heads of ecclesiastical power—ordination, censures, the calling of councils, and appeals—and demonstrates that in each the authority of the Bishop of Rome was limited to his own patriarchate. When he attempted to go beyond those bounds, the bishops of Africa and France firmly resisted, and the fraudulent claims of the Roman legates were exposed.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religi ...