foundations of the Church might remain firm and immovable.

The authority of all the Apostles was one and the same, and the dignity of the Apostleship the same in all: there existed no other distinction between them than what arose from age or degrees of excellence; and although St. Peter is always named first, his primacy lays in the order of vocation, not in superiority of power. If the Apostles had understood a greater authority to have been conferred on him by the words of our Lord, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my Church," and other similar expressions, they would not have afterwards twice raised a question as to which should be considered greatest among them. Although the Lord admitted Peter, James, and John, on some occasions, to what was kept secret from the rest, yet so impartially did he deal with all twelve, that they knew not which of themselves was to be preferred before the rest. From this high dignity Judas fell by his perfidious and sacrilegious avarice; Matthias

was elected into his place after the Ascension of our Lord; and, last of all, the Lord added St. Paul in a miraculous manner to the company of the Apostles.

ALTHOUGH St. Paul mentions Prophets in the second place, I remove them into the third, following not so much the order of dignity, as the time of institution of the offices of the New Testament. When the Lord saw that the labourers were few in proportion to the greatness of the harvest, he chose other Seventy Disciples, to preach the Gospel to whom although he gave the power of performing miracles, and the same right of support from those to whom they preached as he had before given to the Apostles, yet he did not so add them to the Twelve as to form one company with them: for we always read of the Twelve as distinct

from the Seventy, who appear to have been inferior to the Apostles, in that they did not live as familiarly as they with the Lord: for which reason also they could not be witnesses of all the things which He did and spake. If any besides the Twelve were thus privileged, they were Joseph, surnamed Justus, and Matthias; on the latter of whom God caused the lot to fall as successor to Judas. Barnabas, who certainly was not of the Twelve, went through divers countries, and formed Churches as an Apostle. Philip may also be reckoned among those who were thus favoured, and many others who laboured with the Apostles in spreading the doctrine of the Gospel. Since then we read that some were called immediately by the Lord, and given to the Church as Evangelists, who shall we say they were, unless we grant them to have been the Seventy? These then were the Evangelists, and inferior to the Twelve Apostles: being assigned, as deputies to commanders in chief, to act in their stead with like authority.