An example
of the nature of the primacy of the Church of Rome not being consistent with that dogmatised in 1870 during Vatican I
can be seen in the following from Archbishop Nicetas of Nicomedia’s letter to
Bishop Anselm of Havelberg:
“My dearest brother, we do not deny to the
Roman Church the primacy among the five sister Patriarchates, and we recognize
her right to the most honorable seat at an Ecumenical Council. But she
separated herself from us by her own deeds, when she assumed a monarchy which
does not belong to her office. . . . How shall we accept decrees from her that
have been issued without consulting us, and even without our knowledge?
If the Roman pontiff, seated on the lofty
throne of his glory, wishes to thunder at us from on high, and if he wishes to
judge us and even to rule us and our churches, not by taking counsel with us
but at his own arbitrary pleasure, what kind of brotherhood or even what kind
of parenthood can this be? We would be the slaves of such a church, and the
Roman see would not be the pious mother of sons but a hard and imperious
mistress of slaves. . . . In such a case what could have been the use of the
Scriptures? The writings and the teachings of the Fathers would be useless. The
authority of the Roman pontiff would nullify the value of all because he would
be the only bishop, the sole teacher and master.” (Source)
