XXV.
The Necessity of the Ministry
The Church is sustained by the divinely ordained ministry of the Word, which believers are called to honor as a means of grace.
XXV. Now, because we enjoy Jesus Christ only through the Gospel, we believe that the order of the Church, established by his authority, must be sacred and inviolable, and therefore that the Church cannot continue without pastors charged with teaching, whom we must honor and listen to with reverence when they are duly called and faithfully carry out their office.1 Not that God is bound to such helps or lesser means, but because it pleases him to keep us under such a bridle.2 In this, we detest all Fantastics who would gladly abolish, as far as they are able, the ministry and preaching of the Word of God and of the sacraments.3
Read the original French
XXV. Or, parce que nous ne jouissons de Jésus-Christ que par l’Evangile, nous croyons que l’ordre de l’Eglise, qui a été établi en son autorité, doit être sacré et inviolable, et partant que l’Eglise ne peut subsister sinon qu’il y ait des pasteurs qui aient la charge d’enseigner, lesquels on doit honorer et écouter en révérence quand ils sont dûment appelés, et exercent fidèlement leur office. Non pas que Dieu soit attaché à telles aides ou moyens inférieurs, mais parce qu’il lui plaît nous entretenir sous telle bride. En quoi nous détestons tous Fantastiques qui voudraient bien, en tant qu’en eux est, anéantir le ministère et prédication de la parole de Dieu et des sacrements.
Notes
- 1 ↩en son autorité: son most naturally refers to Jesus Christ as the one who established church order, though Évangile is also grammatically possible.
- 2 ↩bride is kept as the source metaphor for pastoral discipline and restraint, not a generic 'rule' or 'guidance'.
- 3 ↩Fantastiques is a capitalized party-name for enthusiasts or fanatics who claimed inner illumination and would discard the ordinary ministry. Kept as Fantastics rather than flattened to a generic insult.
French Confession of Faith (Confession de La Rochelle / Gallican Confession) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit