Dogmatic Canons and Decrees
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;ru slsi, \ DOGMATIC CANONS AND DECREES AUTHORIZED TRANSLATIONS OF THE DOGMATIC DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, THE DECREE ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, THE SYLLABUS OF POPE PIUS IX, AND THE DECREES OF THE VATICAN COUNCIL * NEW YORK THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY 1912 REMIGIUS LAFORT, D.D. Censor imprimatur )J<JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY Archbishop of New York June 22, 1912 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY PREFACE versions of recent ecclesias ENGLISHtical decrees are easily found in pamphlet, book, or periodical. Up to the present time, however, this has not been true of earlier decrees. Those of Trent, bearing on justification, grace, the sacraments, etc., have long been out of print; so also the decree on the Immaculate Conception and the Syllabus of Pope Pius IX. It has seemed advisable, therefore, to publish in one volume, a collection of the most important dogmatic decrees from the Council of Trent down to the reign of Pope Leo XIII. No one will fail to recognize the desirability of such a collection. In almost every doc trinal treatise or sermon some of these decrees are sure to be used. In the majority of cases the writer or preacher is unable to quote directly, because in matters so important he naturally shrinks from the responsibility of giving an exact English rendering of the PREFACE original Latin. With an approved transla tion to guide him he will now be able to quote directly, and thus to state and explain the doctrines of the Church in her own words. In the present volume we have used Canon Waterworth s translation for the Council of Trent; Cardinal Manning s for the Vatican Council; and for the Syllabus, the one author ized by Cardinal McCabe, Archbishop of Dublin. All of these translations have been approved by ecclesiastical authority. New York, 1912. CONTENTS PAGE DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 1-179 Decree on the Symbol of Faith 3-6 Decree on the Canonical Scriptures 7-14 15-20 Decree on Original Sin Decree on Justification 21-48 49-57 Canons on Justification Canons on the Sacraments in General 58-62 Canons on the Sacrament of Baptism 62-66 Canons on the Sacrament of Confirmation Decree on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist 67-81 Canons on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist 81-84 Doctrine on the Sacrament of Penance 85-109 Doctrine on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction 109-115 Canons on the Sacrament of Penance 115-121 Canons on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction . 121-122 Doctrine on Communion under Both Species, and the Communion of Infants 123-129 Canons on Communion under Both Species, and the Communion of Infants 129-130 Doctrine on the Sacrifice of the Mass 131-142 Canons on the Sacrifice of the Mass 142-149 Doctrine on the Sacrament of Order 150-155 Canons on the Sacrament of Order 156-158 Doctrine on the Sacrament of Matrimony 159-161 Canons on the Sacrament of Matrimony 161-164 165-166 Decree on Purgatory of On the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics 1 Saints, and on Sacred Images 173-174 Decree on Indulgences 175-179 Profession of the Tridentine Faith DEFINITION OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION .... 181-184 SYLLABUS OF POPE Pius IX 185-209 DECREES OF THE VATICAN COUNCIL 211-257 ~ INDEX.. 259 261 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT THE COUNCIL OF TRENT SESSION III February 4, 1546 DECREE TOUCHING THE SYMBOL OF FAITH In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost This sacred and holy, oecumenical and gen eral Synod of Trent, lawfully assembled in the Holy Ghost, the same three legates of the Apostolic See presiding therein, consid ering the magnitude of the matters to be treated of, especially of those comprised under the two heads of the extirpating of heresies and the reforming of manners, for the sake of which chiefly it is assembled, and recogniz ing, with the Apostles, that its wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits 3 DOGMATIC CANONS AND DECREES 1 of wickedness in the high places, exhorts with the same Apostle, all and each, above all things, to be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of His power, in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith they may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one, and to take the helmet of salvation, with the sword of the Spirit (which 2 is the word of God) . Wherefore that this its pious solicitude may begin and proceed by the grace of God, it ordains and decrees that, be fore all other things, a confession of faith is to be set forth; following herein the examples of the Fathers, who have been wont, in the most sacred councils, at the beginning of the Actions thereof, to oppose this shield against heresies; and with this alone, at times, have they drawn the unbelieving to the faith, over thrown heretics, and confirmed the faithful. For which cause this council has thought good that the symbol of faith which the Holy Ro man Church makes use of, as being that prin ciple* wherein all who profess the faith of Christ necessarily agree, and that firm and vi. 12. "Ibid. vi. 10, 16, 17. THE COUNCIL OF TRENT alone foundation against which the gates of 3 hell shall never prevail, be expressed in the very same words in which it is read in all the churches. Which symbol is as follows: I be lieve in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages; God of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten not made, consubstaritial with the Father, by all for us Whom things were made ; Who men and for our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the and was made cruci Virgin Mary, man ; fied also for us under Pontius Pilate, He suf fered and was buried; and He rose again on to the and the third day, according Scriptures ; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and again He will come with glory to judge the living and the dead; of Whose kingdom there shall be no end : and in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and 8 Matt. xvi. 18. & DOGMATIC CANONS AND DECREES the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is adored and glorified; Who spoke by the Prophets; and one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins ; and I look for the resur rection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. SESSION IV April 8, 1546 DECREE CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES The sacred and holy, oecumenical and gen eral synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Ghost, the same three legates of the Apostolic See presiding therein keeping this always in view, that^errors being Removed, the purity itself of the Gospel be preserved in the ""Church; which (Gospel), before promised through the prophets in the holy Scriptures, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first promulgated with His own mouth/ and then to be His commanded preached by Apostles to every creature, as the fountain of all both saving truth and moral discipline; and seeing clearly that this truth and discipline are con tained in the written books, and the unwritten 1 Matt, xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 15. f DOGMATIC CANONS AND DECREES traditions which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dic tating, have come down even unto us, trans mitted as it were from hand to hand; (the synod), following the examples of the ortho dox Fathers, receives and venerates with an equal affection of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and of the New Testa- _ ment, seeing that one God is the author of both, as also the said traditions, as well those appertaining to faith as to morals, as having been dictated either by Christ s own word of mouth or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the Catholic Church by a continuous suc cession. And it has thought it meet that a list of the sacred books be inserted in this decree, lest a doubt may arise in anyone s mind which are the books that are received by this synod. They are as set down here below: of the Old Testament the five books of Moses, to wit: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deu teronomy; Josue; Judges; Ruth; four books of two of Kings; Paralipomenon ; the first book of Esdras, and the second which is en- 8 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT titled Nehemias; Tobias; Judith; Esther; Job; the Davidical Psalter, consisting of a hundred and fifty psalms; the Proverbs; Ec- clesiastes ; the Canticle of Canticles ; Wisdom ; Ecclesiasticus ; Isaias; Jeremias, with Baruch; Ezechiel; Daniel; the twelve minor prophets, to wit: Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Ag- gasus, Zacharias, Malachias ; two books of the Machabees, the first and the second. Of the New Testament the Four Gospels, accord ing to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke the Evangelist; fourteen Epistles of Paul the Apostle: one to the Romans, two to the Co rinthians, one to the Galatians, to the Ephe- sians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews ; two of Peter the Apostle; three of John the Apostle; one of the Apostle James; one of Jude the Apostle; and the Apocalypse of John the Apostle.