Folio 252

Council of Florence, 1438-1445

printed p. 220 · pdf p. 252

prayers, and almsgiving, and other works of piety, which are customarily performed by the faithful for other faithful according to the institutions of the Church. And that the souls of those, who after the reception of baptism have incurred no stain of sin at all, and also those, who after the contraction of the stain of sin whether in their bodies, or when released from the same bodies, as we have said before, are purged, are immediately received into heaven, and see clearly the one and triune God Himself, just as He is, yet according to the diversity of merits, one more perfectly than another. Moreover, the souls of those who depart in actual mortal sin or in original sin only, descend immediately into hell but to undergo punishments of different kinds [see n. 464].

694. We likewise define that the holy Apostolic See, and the Roman Pontiff, hold the primacy throughout the entire world; and that the Roman Pontiff himself is the successor of blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, and the true vicar of Christ, and that he is the head of the entire Church, and the father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter by our Lord Jesus Christ, to feed, rule, and govern the universal Church; just as is contained in the acts of the ecumenical Councils and in the sacred canons.

Decree for the Armenians 1

[From the Bull "Exultate Deo," Nov. 22, 1439]

695. In the fifth place we have reduced under this very brief formula the truth of the sacraments of the Church for the sake of an easier instruction of the Armenians, the present as well as the future. There are seven sacraments of the new Law: namely, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony, which differ a great deal from the sacraments of the Old Law. For those of the Old Law did not effect grace, but only pronounced that it should be given through the passion of Christ; these sacraments of ours contain grace, and confer it upon those who receive them worthily. Of these the five first ones are ordained for

  1. Msi XXXI 1054 B ff.; Hrd IX 473 D ff.; BR(T) 5, 48 a ff.; M B R 1. 355 b ff.; cf. Hfl VII 788 ff.; Bar(Th) ad 1439 n. 12 ff.; n. 15 (28, 289 a ff.).—This decree contains the Nicean Constantinopolitan creed, the decree regarding the acceptance of the Chalcedonian Synod and the letter of Leo the Great, an instruction on the sacraments, which we include, the Athanasian creed, the decree of the union of the Greeks, and the decree on celebrating feasts. On this decree, cf. Bulletin de litt. ecclés. (Toulouse) 1919: 81 ff., 195 ff. (J. de Guibert). The decree at the end distinguishes between chapters (capitula), declarations (declarationes), definitions (diffinitiones), traditions (traditiones), precepts (praecepta), statutes (statuta), and doctrine (doctrinam) which are contained in it.—This instruction is taken almost word for word from St. Thomas' work "On the Articles of Faith and the Sacraments of the Church" (De articulis fidei et Ecclesiae sacramentis). ↩