Pelagianism in the Formation
and the Reformation of the
Christian Church

by Charles R. Biggs

Appendix V

The Council of Trent on Authority

"The holy, ecumenical and general Council of Trent…keeps this constantly in view, namely, that the purity of the Gospel may be preserved in the Church after the errors have been removed…It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules contained in the written books and unwritten traditions which have come down to us, have been received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ himself…Following, then, the example of the orthodox Fathers, it receives and venerates with the same piety and reverence all the books of both Old and New Testaments - for God is the author of both - together with all traditions concerning faith and morals, for they come from the mouth of Christ or are inspired by the Holy Spirit and have been preserved in continuous succession in the Catholic Church.

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