his information is very
instructive, for it proves that the Roman Church was ever regarded as
specially charged with watching over the observance of the conditions of
the general ecclesiastical federation, the [Greek: koine henosis]. As to
the fact that in circular letters, not excepting Eastern ones, the Roman
Church was put at the head of the address, see Euseb., H. E. VII. 30.
How frequently foreign bishops came to Rome is shown by the 19th canon
of Arles (A.D. 314): "De episcopis peregrinis, qui in urbem solent
venire, placuit iis locum dari ut offerant." The first canon is also
important in deciding the special position of Rome.]

[Footnote 337: Peculiar circumstances, which unfortunately we cannot
quite explain, are connected with the cases discussed by Cyprian in epp.
67 and 68. The Roman bishop must have had the acknowledged power of
dealing with the bishop of Arles, whereas the Gallic prelates had not
this right. Sohm, p. 391 ff., assumes that the Roman bishop alone--not
Cyprian or the bishops of Gaul--had authority to exclude the bishop of
Arles from the general fellowship of the Church, but that, as far as the
Gallic Churches were concerned, such an excommunication possessed no
legal effect, but only a moral one, because in their case the bishop of
Rome had only a spiritual authority and no legal power. Further, two
Spanish bishops publicly appealed to the Roman see against their
deposition, and Cyprian regarded this appeal as in itself correct.
Finally, Cornelius says of himself in a letter (in Euseb., H. E. VI. 43.
10): [Greek: ton loipon episkopon diadochous eis tous topous, en hois
esan, cheirotonesantes apestalkamen]. This quotation refers to Italy,
and the passage, which must be read connectedly, makes it plain (see,
besides, the quotation in reference to Calixtus given above on p. 162),
that, before the middle of the 3rd century, the Roman Church already
possessed a legal right of excommunication and the recognised power of
making ecclesiastical appointments as far as the communities and bishops
in Italy were concerned (see Sohm, p. 389 ff.).]

[Footnote 338: Euseb., H. E. VII. 30. 19. The Church of Antioch sought
to enter upon an independent line of development under Paul of Samosata.
Paul's fall was the victory of Rome. We may suppose it to be highly
probable, though to the best of my belief there is for the present no
sure proof, that it was not till then that the Roman standards and
sacraments, ca