Council Day 4 – Marcarius

Dear Emperor  Constantine, Ossius, and fellow Council Members,

I am extremely happy with the outcome of the past council session. I am especially happy that my fellow council members supported my views on the jurisdictional authority for Palestine to be returned to the Bishop of Jerusalem! Thank you all, once again! Moreover, I am in completely support of the canon that was passed to establish a hierarchy with Metropolitan bishops at the top. I think this is vital to establishing a firm structure in our church to ensure the stability of the unity of our Church. I believe that if all bishops had equal authority, then it allows for more disputes to occur which could be detrimental to the unity of our Church. However, with the Metropolitan bishops having higher authority, they can ensure that the bishops stay united always by making sure that the difference in views of minor things in the church do not affect the overall unity within the church but rather get resolved. I think this hierarchical structure is vital to the success of a united Church because there is no doubt that differences in views are going to arise amongst the bishops and if all the bishops have equal power, then they will all hold on to their views and lead their own church the way they wish to. If all the Bishops, having minor differences in views, lead the churches the way that favored them, then eventually these differences are going to become more prominent in their beliefs as different churches become centered on the differences that make them unique from the other churches. As a result, the church will become disunited. Since the ultimate goal for us all is to preserve the unity of our Church forevermore, I believe that the best assurance is the establishment of a hierarchy of clergy with metropolitan bishops at the top. I am also very pleased that men cannot be a bishop without the ordination of the Metropolitan bishops, including current bishops without the consent of the Metropolitan. I believe that this is a great system to follow to make sure that heretics do not become involved with the church and disrupt the unity since all of the bishops will be made certain that their beliefs are in alignment with the Church.

Moreover, I am also overall pleased with the second canon. I do not believe that there is a need for future councils because I believe that we can establish doctrine that ensures unity within the church forevermore. The point of this council is to create a unified church and I believe that we need to establish doctrine that can be sustained for many years to come to ensure a stable and unified church. However, I do understand that disagreements may arise since individuals will change throughout the years but I believe that the enactment of the primary bishop would help sustain the stability of our church by not allowing disagreements to affect the overall unity within the Church. As a result of the establishment of a primary bishop, I feel no need for future councils. I believe that all problems should be brought to the primary bishop to be discussed and resolved. However, I am slightly concerned about the Bishop of Rome taking on this role of primary Bishop.I personally think the Bishop of Jerusalem should be the primary Bishop since it is the most central city for Christianity, as even Vito agreed to.  However, it seems like my fellow council members are indifferent to this idea since Rome is the center of the empire. I am hoping I can change their views on this matter, in the near future, for the goodness of our Church.

I am hoping our next council day will be just as great as today’s!

Sincerely,

Marcarius