A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

679(f) II Council of Toledo, A. D. 589, Canons. Bruns, I, 217.Canon 19. Many who have built churches demand that thesechurches, contrary to the canons, shall be consecrated in such away that they shall not allow the endowment, which they havegiven the church, to belong to the control of the bishop; whenthis has been done in the past, let this be void, and in the futureforbidden; but let all things pertain to the power and control ofthe bishop according to the ancient law.§ 102. Western Piety and Thought in the Period of theConversion of the BarbariansIn the century following Augustine, the dogmatic interest of theChurch was chiefly absorbed in the Christological controversiesin the East. There were, however, some discussions in the Westarising from the manifest difficulty of reconciling the doctrineof predestination, as drawn from Augustine, with the efficacy [621]of baptism. For the adjustment of the teaching of Augustineto the sacramental system of the Church and to baptism moreparticularly, see the Council of Orange, A. D. 529, of whichthe principal conclusions are given above (§ 85). In the sixthcentury and in the early part of the seventh, doctrines were clearlyenunciated which had been abundantly foreshadowed by earlierwriters, but had not been fitted into an intelligible and practicalsystem. These were especially the doctrine of purgatory andthe sacrifice of the mass. The doctrine of purgatory completedthe penitential system of the early Church by making it possibleto expiate sin by suffering in a future existence, in the case ofthose who had died without completely doing penance here. Bythe sacrifice of the mass the advantages of Christ's death wereconstantly applied, not merely to the sin of the world in general,but to specified objects; the believer was brought into closestcontact with the great act of redemption, and a centre was placed