Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus II (Pars Altera): Demonstratio Catholica

According to the testimony of the Gospels, Jesus Christ first signified the hierarchical power to the apostles, afterwards promised it, and finally conferred it.

1. Jesus Christ first signified the hierarchical power to the apostles. Already from the beginning of his public life he chose twelve from among his disciples, whom he also called apostles, i. e. legates. He sent them to preach and gave them the power of working miracles, by which they might prove their divine legation. "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, and he said to them: Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."¹ "And he called to himself whom he himself would, and they came to him, and he made that twelve should be with him, and that he might send them to preach."² "And it came to pass in those days, he went out into the mountain to pray, and he was passing the night in the prayer of God. And when day was come, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles."³ "And calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and that they should cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."⁴

To the apostles he joined "and other seventy-two, and he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come".⁵ While, however, he employs these seventy-two as forerunners and auxiliary "laborers",⁶ he continually kept the twelve⁷ apostles with himself. He educated them in a special manner,⁸ openly explaining the parables, which the crowd did not grasp: "Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it is not given."⁹ He gave them ample instructions on rightly discharging the apostolic office.¹⁰ By this manner of acting Christ indicated clearly enough that the apostles were to exercise hierarchical power over the rest of the faithful. Indeed:

2. Jesus Christ afterwards promised the hierarchical power to the apostles in these words: "If thy brother shall sin against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother; but if he shall not hear thee, take with thee still one or two, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he shall not hear them: 'tell the church; and if he shall not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.'"¹¹ These words implicitly presuppose and explicitly declare that the hierarchical power was to be given to the apostles.

The prior words, which deal with the correction of the guilty one, implicitly presuppose that the hierarchy is to be given to the apostles. The guilty one, if incorrigible after private correction, is to be denounced to the church. If he shall not hear her, he is to be excommunicated from the assembly of the faithful, just as the heathens and publicans were excluded from the synagogue, namely the religious assembly of the Jews. By speaking thus, the Savior certainly presupposes that to the church belongs the supreme hierarchical power of judging, coercing, and punishing the faithful. But that by the name of church is designated not the multitude of the faithful, but the ecclesiastical rulers and, in the first place, the apostles, is evident from the fact that Christ immediately addresses the apostles with weight: "Amen I say to you ..."

The later words, which concern the right of binding and loosing, explicitly declare that the hierarchy is to be given to the apostles. By these words there is promised to the apostles an authority of binding and loosing contained within no limits ("whatsoever you shall bind ... whatsoever you shall loose") and divine ("shall be bound ... shall be loosed also in heaven"). But to bind and to loose in the mouth of Christ are the same as to exercise spiritual power. For it is evident that the apostles are not commanded to bind or loose bodies with physical bonds, but to bind or loose souls with moral bonds, by teaching the faith, proposing laws, remitting or retaining sins.¹² Therefore, by the cited words Christ promised to the apostles an unlimited and divine authority of teaching, ruling, and sanctifying the faithful, i. e. he promised them hierarchical power taken in the strict sense.

3. Jesus Christ finally conferred the hierarchical power on the apostles both after the resurrection and before the ascension. After the resurrection, appearing to the college of apostles, he said: "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you ... Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."¹³ Just as Christ was sent with the full authority of the Father to teach, sanctify, and rule men, so the apostles are sent with the full authority of the Son. Nay, the likeness of the authority of Christ and of the apostles is so perfect that, after the manner of the Savior, the apostles are possessed of that most divine power of remitting and retaining sins.¹⁴

Before the ascension Christ again addressed the apostles, and them alone, saying: "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth: going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them (μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτούς) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things (διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα), whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."¹⁵ Appealing to the fullness of his divine power, Christ sends the apostles into the world, that as teachers they may teach (μαθητεύσατε) and make disciples (διδάσκοντες) of all peoples. And that they themselves, both individually and through their successors, may be able to discharge in due manner this teaching office, ministry, and sacred authority, Christ promises that he will preside over and assist the ecclesiastical hierarchy for all time until the end of the world.¹⁶

That the disciples understood the words of the Lord in this way is proved by: