CAPUT II. De potestate et auctoritate sacerdotali.
The Gospel Foundation of Priestly Authority
Jonas declares that Christ granted priests the power to bind and loose, citing Matthew 16:19, 18:18, and John 20:23 as scriptural proof.
That the power and authority to loose and to bind has been given by Christ to priests—that is, to the successors of the apostles—is clearly declared by the Gospel reading, and the fullness of your wisdom is not unaware of this either. That is why we humbly appeal to your excellence: so that through you the nobles and the rest of your faithful may come to know the priestly name, power, force, authority, and dignity—lest, not knowing it, they put their own souls at risk in any way. So the nature of priestly power and authority is easily seen from the Lord's words, in which he says to blessed Peter, whose place we unworthily hold: "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven" (Matt.✦ 16:19). And elsewhere it is said to the disciples in general: "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven" (Matt.✦ 18:18). And elsewhere: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John✦ 20:23).
The Honor Due to Priests: Constantine's Example
Jonas urges that priests be honored, recalling Emperor Constantine's declaration that priests are gods appointed by God and are not to be judged by humans.
And many things like these, which the Gospel text presents even more fully and clearly. This too should be recalled to their memory—indeed, as an example for them—what Emperor Constantine said to the bishops in church history: "God has appointed you priests and given you power to judge even us, so we are rightly judged by you. You, however, cannot be judged by human beings; for that reason, wait among yourselves for God's judgment alone, so that any disputes you have may be reserved for that divine examination. For God has given you to us as gods, and it is not fitting that a human should judge gods, but only the one of whom it is written: God has stood in the assembly of the gods; and in their midst he judges the gods (Ps.1 81:1).2 "
Obedience to Priests and the Call to Kings
Jonas commands that priests be heard and honored for Christ's sake, citing Luke 10:16, and then turns to the kings who are to defend the Church.
For even though priests in our own day are negligent in many things, they still are not to be blamed or despised. Rather, for the sake of the One whose ministry they carry out, they are to be heard and honored with fitting respect.3 For after the apostles, this saying of the Lord is directed to them: "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16). It must be noted that contempt for Christ's priests amounts to an injury against Christ: for there are many precepts of the Law and of the Gospel that command obedience to priests.✦ As for the kind of life and conduct priests should have, what they themselves should be, how they should rise to the height of their office, how they should live, and how they should teach those under them by word and example—that has already been sufficiently set out elsewhere by the holy and venerable teachers. But here we must turn to discussing kings—those for whose salvation the ministry of priests carefully provides, and by whose arms and protection the Church of Christ is to be defended.4
Read the original Latin
Quod potestas et auctoritas absolvendi et ligandi sacerdotibus, id est successoribus apostolorum, a Christo sit attributa, evangelica patenter declarat lectio, quod et vestrae sapientiae non ignorat plenitudo. Unde excellentiam vestram suppliciter convenimus ut per vos proceres, caeterique fideles vestri, nomen, potestatem, vigorem, et auctoritatem, atque dignitatem sacerdotalem cognoscant; ne eam ignorantes animarum quoquo modo suarum periculum subeant. Qualis igitur sit potestas et auctoritas sacerdotalis ex verbis Domini facile animadvertitur, quibus beato Petro, cujus vicem indigne gerimus, ait: Quodcunque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in coelis; et quodcunque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in coelis (Matth. XVI, 19) . Et alibi discipulis generaliter dicitur: Quaecunque alligaveritis super terram, erunt ligata et in coelo; et quaecunque solveritis super terram, erunt soluta et in coelis (Matth. XVIII, 18) . Et alibi: Accipite Spiritum sanctum; quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis; et quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt (Joan. XX, 23) .
Et multa his similia quae textus evangelicus uberius evidenter depromit. Illud quoque ad memoriam, imo ad exemplum eis reducendum est, quod in ecclesiastica historia Constantinus imperator episcopis ait: « Deus vos constituit sacerdotes, et potestatem dedit de nobis quoque judicandi, et ideo nos a vobis recte judicamur: vos autem non potestis ab hominibus judicari; propter quod Dei solius inter vos exspectate judicium, ut vestra jurgia, quaecunque sunt, ad illud divinum reserventur examen: vos enim nobis a Deo dati estis dii, et conveniens non est ut homo judicet deos, sed ille solus de quo scriptum est: Deus stetit in synagoga deorum; in medio autem deos dijudicat (Psal. LXXXI, 1) .) »
Licet enim sacerdotes moderno tempore in multis sint negligentes, non sunt tamen vituperandi ac despiciendi, sed propter illumcujus ministerium gerunt, audiendi et congruo honore venerandi. Post apostolos enim ad ipsos haec Domini sententia dirigitur: Qui vos audit, me audit; et qui vos spernit, me spernit (Luc. X, 16) . Attendendum quod Christi sacerdotum spretio ad injuriam Christi pertinet: plura sunt quippe legalia et evangelica praecepta, quibus sacerdotibus obtemperari debere praecipitur. Qualis porro vita et actio sacerdotum esse debeat, quales ipsi esse, qualiter ad culmen regiminis venire, qualiter vivere, qualiter subjectos dictis et exemplis debeant docere; alibi a sanctis et venerabilibus doctoribus satis expressum est. Hic autem de regibus quorum saluti ministerium sacerdotum solerter prospicere, quorumque armis et protectione Ecclesia Christi debet tueri, prosequendum est.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.16.19 — I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
- ↩Matt.18.18 — Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
- ↩John.20.23 — If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
- ↩Luke.10.16 — The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me; but the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
Notes
- 1 ↩dii/deos here follows the biblical title applied to judges/rulers (Ps 81 Vulgate / 82 modern), which Constantine extends to priests; kept as "gods" to preserve the scriptural wording and the argument.
- 2 ↩Citation is Vulgate Psalm 81:1 (modern numbering usually Psalm 82:1); final Moses resolution deferred to later stage.
- 3 ↩Source prints 'illumcujus' as one word; rendered as 'illum cujus' ('the One whose').
- 4 ↩The Latin is slightly elliptical: 'ministerium sacerdotum solerter prospicere' lacks an explicit modal beside the later 'debet tueri'. Rendered as a mutual care structure (priests for kings' salvation; kings' arms for the Church's defense), which is the natural sense in context.
On the Institution of a King (De institutione regia) 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