Page:The ancient Irish church.djvu/119

 CHAPTER XI.

first and most important difference that showed itself when the Roman missionaries in England and the Irish Church came into contact was, that the former were subject to the Pope, whereas the latter was not. This has been denied by some, but the proof of it is simply overwhelming. Every point of ritual, unimportant in itself, in which the Irish refused to conform to the Romans goes to show that this difference existed. In all their discussions it is tacitly assumed. The favourite argument of the Romans is that they are followers of Saint Peter, an honour which they altogether deny to their opponents. The Irish consider it a sufficient reply that they follow Saint John, or even Saint Columba. On one famous occasion a decision was given against the Irish, not on the merits of the question, but because the one side could quote the verse, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven'; whereas the other side could show nothing of the same kind about Columba. Such a way of deciding the question would have been impossible if both sides acknowledged equally the supremacy of the see of Rome. Then, the ignorance which the 115