J. Lescornay - Pratique de l'Eglise Primitive - 1647

Jacques de Lescornay
PRATIQUE DE L’ÉGLISE PRIMITIVE.
Recueillie des textes du droit civil. Pour faire voir que la Religion Catholique Romaine luy est conforme, & que S. Pierre en est le seul Fondateur. Paris, chez Jean Gaillard, 1647.

In-8° (19,4 × 12,8 cm); (12), 144, (2) pp.

Frontespizio tipografico con vignetta calcografica. Legatura coeva in pergamena flessibile con titolo manoscritto al dorso.

希少な seventeenth-century edition of the work by the Parisian advocate Jacques de Lescornay, a treatise of great historical-theological and legal interest dedicated to demonstrating the continuity between the Primitive Church and the Roman Catholic Church through civil and canon law texts.
The work analyzes ecclesiastical and imperial authorities of early Christian antiquity—including Leo, Zenon, Anastasius, and Justinian—to highlight the role of ecclesiastical institutions, monasteries, and the episcopal hierarchy in shaping the religious and legal discipline of the Church.

The volume is set within the lively confessional debate of the 17th century, when jurists and theologians sought to establish historically and legally the legitimacy of Catholic institutions. Precisely because of this perspective, which weaves together Roman law, church history, and religious polemic, the work constitutes a significant testimony to French juridical-religious culture of the modern era.

Uncommon edition on the antiquarian market, printed in Paris by Jean Gaillard in 1647 and today rarely found in complete form. A genuine exemplar in an era-bound parchment binding, with a natural patina of time and well-preserved leaves.

A work of notable interest for collectors of church history, canon law, and 17th-century religious books, as well as for libraries specializing in ecclesiastical and legal studies.