Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/378

372 ceived which is not governed by some supreme authority. Christ therefore must have given to His Church a supreme authority to which all Christians must render obedience. For this reason, as the unity of the faith is of necessity required for the unity of the Church, inasmuch as it is the body of the faithful, so also for this same unity, inasmuch as the Church is a divinely constituted society, unity of government, which effects and involves unity of communion, is necessary jure divino. "The, unity of the Church is manifested in the mutual connection or communication of its members, and likewise in the relation of all the members of the Church to one head."

From this it is easy to see that men can fall away from the unity of the Church by schism, as well as by heresy. "We think that this difference exists between heresy and schism" (writes St. Jerome): "heresy has no perfect dogmatic teaching, whereas schism, through some epis- copal dissent, also separates from the Church." In which judgment St John Chrysostom concurs: "I say and protest," he writes, "that it is as wrong to divide the Church as to fall into heresy," Wherefore as no heresy can ever be justiffable so in like manner there can be no Justification for schism. "There is nothing more grievous than the sacrilege of schism . . . there can be no just necessity for destroying the unity of the Church."

The nature of this supreme authority, which all Chris- tians are bound to obey, can be ascertained only by finding out what was the evident and positive will of Christ. Certainly Christ is a King forever; and though invisible, He continues unto the end of time to govern and guard His Church from heaven. But since He willed that His kingdom should be visible He was obliged, when He