1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

years by kings who all had a passion forexpenditure and ample means of gratifying it."—McC.From the witness by Arius in 325 to the witnessby the next special messenger of the Church wasthe long period of 835 years; and during all thattime the Papacy was slowly rising, pushing itselfhigher and higher. "The first ecumenical councilof Nice (325), in its sixth canon, makes only anincidental mention of the Roman bishop.The first pope, in the real sense, was Leo I (440-461). The bishops of the African and the Spanishchurches submitted to his demands, and hegained an important foothold even in the East. InGaul, however, he met with a most determinedresistance. Gregory I (590-604) saw that thebishops of Rome could not enjoy theecclesiastical supremacy at which they aimeduntil they threw off their political dependency.The triumph of the Catholic Church overArianism in Spain greatly promoted his plans;but he did not as yet actually possess the powerof the mediaeval popes. In the seventh and eighthcenturies a series of important events gave thepopes a high and influential position among thesecular governments of the world. The actualpower was, however, for several centuries, notcommensurate with their claims and aspirations.In 1073, Hildebrand (Gregory VII), after beingforFM32about twenty-five years the guide of the Papalpolicy, boldly set forth the theory of a theocraticrule of the pope over all the nations of the world.The period from Gregory VII onward is analmost continuous conflict between the popesand the secular governments, during which theformer, with an iron firmness, endeavored at firstto destroy the direct influence of the princesupon the church, and secondly, to subject allsecular governments to the church. This conflictwas ended by the Concordat of Worms (1122),by which Emperor Henry V. after the precedenceof the governments of England and France,surrendered ‘to God, to St. Peter and Paul, and to