〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Bishops throne a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orat. 7. Gregorie Nazianzen indeed so stiles his Episcopall dignity to which he was advanced but withall he saith he could not well tell whether he should call it a tyrannicall throne or hierarchicall in his next Oration he cals it in plaine termes b Orat. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a tyrannicall preheminence and sets down both there in prose and afterwards in c Carm. de vita suâ— oper Graecol tom 2. p. 24. seq edit Par san 1630 Carm. de div vitae genâ—ad pseudoepisc verse the bloudy contentions and divisions which the ambition of Bishops affecting this Episcopall throne caused both in Church and State I would the same were not verified in our dayes and that we had not cause with him to complain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alas for our great sorrowes and occasions of griefe Thus much for the foundation of Episcopall Jurisdiction pretended to be laid by Christ himself We are in the next place to enquire whether it hath in the practise of the Apostles and their recommendation any more solid and firme erection The onely instance of this that is produced is the charge of the Apostle in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus wherein in my understanding saith our fore-mentioned d Page 105. Patron of Episcopacie the Apostle speakes so home to the point that if he were now to give direction to an English Bishop how to demeane himselfe in his place he could not speake more fully to the execution of his sacred Office In which assertion we may seâ— what is one speciall ground of this great confidence Those acts and offices which have beene by degrees limited to the. Bishops as distinguished from Presbyters and granted by the Custome of the Church those are singled out as if then by the Apostle limited and restrained to the Bishop Amidst all that is here spoken out of these Epistles we have not the least mention of those qualifications which St Paul requirech in a Bishop It is not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the work of a Bishop but the dignitie and feigned Soveraignty for which they now contend and fight however they would faine beare the world in hand that Episcopacie is a sacred Order of Divine and Apostolicall institution so that we may truly apply that to ours which sometimes Martin Duther first and Marlorat after said concerning Popish Prelates e Perinde sunt qui statum episcopalem statum jactitant perséctionis quum interim nthil agant quam Satrap as pompa agere equitare bellos caballos nisi quod interdum templa consecrant aras Marl in 2 Pet. 2.18 ex Luth. Like unto them that speake great swelling words of vanitie are they which boast that Episcopacie is a state of Perfection when in the meane time the onely thing they aime at is to be equall to Peeres in pompe to ride on stately horses only now and then their Lordships doe consecrate a Temple or an Altar For if we should looke for the same conditions and qualifications in many of ours which St Paul commands to bee in those Bishops there mentioned by him we shall finde that we are f Hujusmedi conditiones siquu exactè consideret conferat cum nostrae aetatis episcopis videbitur in novo orbe in peregrina aliqua ecclesia quae Christum Apostolos penitus ignoraverit ve sari Salm. in Tit. 1. disp 1. ad 4 â—â—â— dub in a new world as Salmeron the Jesuite once spake and in a strange Church that never heard of Christ and his Apostles This by the way From all that is culled out of these Epistles the argument by which they must prove Episcopacie to have been erected by the Apostle laboureth with an usuall fallacie a shamefull begging of the question For first of all Timothy and Titus have been sufficiently un-bishopped not onely by him who hath written a particular treatise in that name but by all that have waded into this controversie Domestick and Forraigne Divines against English and Romish Hierarchists neither hath there been any sacriledge committed by those which have unbishopped them but they have been restored to the Dignitie of Evangelists from which the Prelates have sacrilegiously degraded them that so they might on the ruines of the fore-mentioned Evangelists honour build up their Episcopall Soveraignty I might be large in proving this that Timothy and Titus were Evangelists but the work is already sufficiently done by others Onely I will least our Hierarchists should say that this is the assertion of none but their opposites put them in minde what g Video Timetheum proculdubio Episcopum generalem i. e. Apostolum nulli certae sedi adbuc alligatum ab ipso Paulo vocari suum adjutorem de rep Eccl. l. 2. ca. 3. n 60. Antonius de Dominis hath observed concerning Timothie long after the first Epistle written to him even when the Apostle wrote his Epistle to the Romans which was about the time of his last journey to Hierusalem as is cleare by paralleling those two places of Scripture Rom. 15.25 Act. 24.17 18. to wit that he was out of doubt a generall Bishop i. e. an Apostle as yet confined to no certain seat So that if Spalatensis speake truth his Episcopacie of Ephesus is gone for he was not yet saith he confined to any certain See And as hee was not then when Paul wrote that Epistle to the Romans so neither was he when the same Apostle wrote his second Epistle to Timothie himselfe Consider the charge which the Apostle there gives him h 2 Tim. 4.5 Doe the worke of an Evangelist make full proofe of thy Ministery He doth not say Doe the worke of a Bishop then had our Prelatists some colour for their assertions but of an Evangelist now it is well knowne that the Apostle setteth the i Ephes 4. Evangelists as Persons whose calling was extraordinarie above the standing and ordinary governours of the Church Pastors and Teachers Those are by the Apostle there stiled Evangelists who did Evangelizare sine Cathedra as k in Eph 4. Ambrose speakes Preach the Gospel up and downe not being confined to Residence on any one peculiar charge We have St Paul professing that on him did lye the l 2 Cor. 11.27 Care of all the Churches and oft expressing his desire in his own person to come to them to confirme and strengthen their faith which when he could not do he sent these two not to mention any more sometimes to one Church sometimes to another but being now imprisoned at Rome and having once answered before Nero already knowing that he m Ac. â—0 should never see their faces any more as he said to those Elders of Ephesus that n â— Tim. 4.6 the time of his departure was at hand as he speakes to Timothy he puts him in minde of that Office
est qui inter Presbyteros primus He is the Bishop who is the first among the Presbyters is a cleare testimonie confirming what hath been delivered For it doth declare manifestly as i Paust tom â— l. 9. de Oec Pont. c. 5. n. 8. nihil abud quam inter Presbyteros is qui plures annâ—s in eo muncie Presbyteratus ministriasset Chamier hath well observed what was the degree of a Bishop in the first and purest times of the Church that it was no more then this He was accounted the Bishop who among the Presbyters had ministred longest in the office of a Presbyter Hence the forenamed French Divine doth conclude k Ibid. that at first there was no other difference between a Bishop and the Presbyters then what is between the Deane and Canons in a Cathedrall In reference to this l Sum. contr tract 2. q. 22. Rivetus doth conceive that Tertullian speakes when he saith Praesident probati quique Seniores Approved Elders doe sit as Presidents who have obtained that honour not by price but by testimonie In testimonie of that reverence and respect which age and Senioritie in the Ministery did bespeake at the hands of his fellow Presbyters was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the chiefe seat in the Ecclesiasticall Senate assigned unto him to whom the name of Bishop began now to be restrained on the fore-mentioned grounds Like as in the more publike conventions of Bishops and Presbyters assembled in a Councell the chiefest seat was deputed for him that was the ancientest and most venerable On this ground as Eusebius reports saith Rivetus m Hist l. 5. c 22. when the Bishops of Pontus met together Palmos was made President because he was antiquissimus maximè venerabilis the Eldest and most reverend amongst them Hence n Hom. 3. in Act. Apost Chrysostome doth compare the Preeminence of the Bishops over the Presbyters to the Preeminence of the Eldest brother or first-born over his younger brethren who hath indeed a certain preeminence over them but it is a brotherly preeminence not a Lordly or Jurisdictionall prelation as o Fraternam quidem non despoticam neque jurisdâ—ctionatem Spal de rep eccl l. 1. ca. 5. n. 13. Spalatensis doth expresse it the rest of his brethren being by ordinary right his equals in all things excepting age and that honour which is due to him in respect of it the precedencie of primogeniture which doth not invest him with any commanding power over them or put them in subjection unto him The name of Bishop being thus limitted to him that was the Elder Presbyter occasioned the mention of one alone in the writings of those who set downe the succession of Bishops Learned Salmasius hath illustrated this by two examples p Dissert 1. de presb episc ca. â— p. 274. When Athens was governed by nine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Riders the first of them onely gave the name to the yeere whence he was stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Romane Emperours did oft-times make many Consuls in a yeer which were called Consules per suffectionem yet these though they had full Consular authority were not registred among the Consuls but onely those which were created in t he beginning of the yeere because they were the Eldest the first Consuls 2. That Primacy which was granted unto him which was the first and eldest Presbyter and was now peculiarly called the Bishop was only at first a Primacy of order no Superiority of power or Jurisdictive dominion that Church affaires should be ordered by him alone without the consent and counsell of the Presbyters Observable to this purpose is that expression of Pius bishop of Rome in his second Epistle to Justus bishop of Vienna q Presbyteri Diaconi non ut majorem sed ut Christi ministrum te observent ap Sal. p. 275. Let the Presbyters and Deacons observe you not as one greater then they but at the Minister of Christ in which you see he doth in plain termes deny that Justus the bishop was greater in point of power and authority then the Presbyters and Deacons You know Reverend and Beloved what was the resolution of r Ad id quod scripserunt mibi compresbyteri nostri Donatus Fortunatus Novatus Gurdius solus rescribere nibil poâ—ui quande à primordio Episcopatus mei staâ—uerim nihil sine consilio vestâ—o fine consensu plebis meae privata sententiagerere Ep. â— exedit Gonlart aliis lib. 3. ep 10. Cyprian Bishop of Carthage from the first entrance to his Episcopacy he determined to doe nothing in the managing of Church affaines of his own head without the counsell of the Presbyters without the consent of the people which he laies down as a reason why he alone could not return an answer to that wherein Donatus and the rest of the Compresbyters did consult him Nor did Cyprian entertaine this resolution and observe it in his practice meerly out of a voluntary humility and condescension as Å¿ De Pent. RoÌ„ li. 1. c. 6. in resp ad tertium arg Bellarmine would beare the world in hand and by this shift elude this pregnant testimonie but he acknowledged himself by his place and Office to be bound thereunto even by that relation wherein he stood to the Presbyters and the Presbyters to him Å¿ Sed cum ad vot per Dei gratiam venero tunc de iis quae velgesta sant vet gerenda sicut mutune bonor poscit in commune tractabimus id ib. by vertue of that honour which they mutually owed one to the other As the Presbyters and people did owe this honour to the Bishop that without his advice and consent they ought not to doe any thing so the Bishop owed the same honour unto them not to doe any thing of his own head without their counsell and consent What Cyprian professeth concerning himself the late learned t Daven det quest q. 41. Bishop of Salisbury confesseth was in all likelihood observed by the rest of the godly Bishops in those dayes How exorbitant from this rule the practices of our Prelates have been the Christian world doth know full well and he that should goe about to reduce them unto it might deservedly be accounted Augiae stabuli repurgator as u Annot. in cypr. loc cit Gonlartius speakes the purger of Augias stable so full of dung and filth that it would be an Herculean labour for to cleanse it True it is that when the title of Bishop was restrained unto one of the Presbyters there did within a little after begin to be a kinde of reservation and restriction of some of those acts and Offices which were before common to all the Presbyters This was done for orders sake pro bono pacis for the preservation of the Churches peace and for the honour of the Bishop who being chosen by the consent of the Presbyters and people had now a
whereto he was chosen in an extraordinary manner o 1 Tim. 1.14 Chap. 4.14 by the prophesies which went before concerning him For these extraordinary Offices had an extraordinary manner of vocation also as sundry p Vide Bez. Aq. Lyr. â—spenc Soto major in loc Divines testifie concerning Timothy induced thereto by the forementioned passages of Scripture Doe the work of an Evangelist which what it was Eusebius doth set forth at large where he speaks of some who performed it thus q Euseb Eccl. hist â—i 3 ca. 34. edit Easil an 1570. they did preach Christ to those which had not as yet heard the word of faith they delivered unto them the holy Scriptures ordained Pastors and committed unto them the charge of those which were newly received into the Church and then they did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 passe over unto other countries and nations Whereas it is demanded r Bishop Hall â—â—â— cit p. 118. how should those Works of Ordination and execution of Church censures Which are constant and ordinary and so consequently deriveable to all successions to the end of the World be imposed upon a meere extraordinary agent this is a demand so senselesse and voide of all reason that I wonder it should fall from the pen of so learned and grave a Divine as Dr Hall but if he desire an answere I will returne it him in the words of Saravia a friend and fellow-stickler in their cause who will informe him that Å¿ Gradus ministrorom evangelli itasuâ—sse dist inctos ut majores includerent in erisrum ministeriae Sar. ad cap. 1. Bez. de div gra Min. Evang. The degrees of the Ministers of the Gospel were so distinguished that the greater did include the Ministeries of the lesser To the same purpose speakes Cajetan in Ephes 4. so that whatsoever were the acts of an ordinary and standing Minister of the Gospel the extraordinary Officer might performe them albeit the Ordinary officers might not presume with the execution of those which belonged to the extraordinary 2. If the Precepts given here in charge to Timothy and Titus concerne a Bishop alone then doth it concerne a Bishop alone to Å¿ â— Tim. 4.2 Preach the word in season and out of season to t Ch 1.6.1 Ep. Chap. 4.4 stirre up the gift of God that is in him and not neglect it to take heed to himself and his doctrine to flee covetousnesse and follow after righteousnesse godlinesse faith love These with many other precepts belong also to the Bishop and to him alone If our adversaries in this cause shall answer that these are duties belonging to all Ministers wherein they and Bishops doe participate but the other mentioned by them belong to a Bishop distinct from a Presbyter I shall return them the same reply which Gersom Bucerus doth to Dr Downham u Bucer p. 283. Quem istius distinctionis authorem proferemus Who hath taught us or them so to distinguish Surely the Apostle hath not for he makes not the least mention of what belongs to Timothy as a Bishop what to him as a Presbyter but gives all the commands promiscuously without any difference 3. For as much as those charges given to Timothy and Titus are so much insisted on to prove their Episcopall Power and consequently the Power and Preeminence of Bishops above Presbyters by the Apostles practice and recommendation I will take into consideration some of those which are materiall and see what strength they afford unto the cause That command given by the Apostle to Timothy Lay hands suddenly on no man and his appointing of Titus to ordaine Elders in every citie is strongly urged by the sticklers for Episcopall Soveraignty to prove that the Power of Ordination was in their hands alone Be there what Elders soever in Ephesus there hands without a Timothy will not serve to ordaine his without theirs might saith Bishop a Pa. 113. Hall very confidently but under favour and with respect to his gray haires very weakly Who seeth not how weak an inference this is Timothy is commanded not to ordaine any man suddenly Therefore Timothy alone had power to ordaine the Consequent may on just ground be denyed The President of a Colledge may be in a letter charged to take heed he admit not suddenly any man to a fellowship in the Colledge will it therefore follow that the power of Election and admittance is in the hands of the President alone For as much as this answer of those which are opposites to the Hierarchie who say that Timothy and Titus were to ordaine not by their owne power alone but by way of Partnership and Societie with the Presbyterie joyning with them is rejected by b P. 115. Bishop Hall as being so palpable and quite against the haire that he cannot think the authours of it can beleeve themselves I will therefore endeavour to confirme it and make it good 1. Since the Bishop will not beleeve what his Opposites say I would desire to know whether the Bishop doth beleeve that St Paul would invest Timothy and Titus with a greater power then he himselfe or the Apostles did exercise Now it is cleare that he did not assume the power of Ordination into his owne hands to execute it by himselfe but in it though he were as President to conduct and guide the action did conjoyne with himselfe the Presbyters in the Ordination of Timothy For albeit in c 1 Tim. 1.6 one place he speaketh of the imposition of his own hands alone yet in d Chap. 4.14 another he mentions the Presbytery as concurring with him in it Besides the Ordination of the Presbyters at Antioch was not the act of Paul alone but Paul and Barnabas at least or rather by comparing it with other places Paul and Barnabas with the Presbyters of Antioch did joyne together in the Ordination The phrase runnes in the plurall number e Act. 14.236 when they had ordained them Elders and had prayed with fasting From whence Gersom Bucerus doth argue thus f Dosser de guâ— Eccl. p 321. If the Hierarchists doe on just ground perswade us that Ordination doth belong to the Bishops because the Apostles whom the Bishops as they say doe succeed did ordaine by the same reason may Presbyters also ordaine because the 70. Disciples whom the Presbyters doe succeed as they informe us did ordaine For Barnabas is by many Historians reckoned among the 70. Disciples If we look further into the actions of the Apostles we shall finde all their Ordinations not by their own power but by the joynt consent and concurrence of the Presbyters and Disciples When g Act. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys hom 3. in Act. c. 1. Matthias was chosen into the roome of Judas Peter doth all by the common consent of the Disciples nothing by his own authority nothing like a Lord or Prince in a commanding manner as Chrysostome hath observed So in the
Presidentship over them and so after a sort a Majoritie of administration a Majoritas administrationis quae quidem administratio à jurisdictione pender ex consensu suljectionalt partim constuâ—â—tur sâ—â—ut dicunus â—lectum in cligences ex eo quod habet administrationem ordinariam habere jurisdictionem Conc. Carth. l. 2. c. 13. p. 7.7 ed. Bas cum priv Cas Majest ex off Henrici-Petrina ex consensu subjectionali as Cardinall Cusanus hath it from the free and voluntary act of those who consented to the prelation of the Bishop and subjecting themselves unto him Ordination is one of those acts the power whereof the Bishops doe challenge as one of those Prerogatives which belong to their Order yet if you look into the b Quamvis Chorcpiscopis presbyteris ministerterum communis sit dispensatio quaedam tamen ecclesiasticit regulis sibt prohibita noverint sicut est presbyterorum diacomnorum â—ut virginum consecratio sicut conss iâ—utio altaris ac benedictio velurâ—ctio Syn. Hispal 2. sub Stsekulo can 7. ap Cent Maga cent 7. c. 9. col 142. Canons of the second Councell of Hispalis which was held at least 600. yeares after Christ you shall finde this reckoned up among other particulars which the Presbyters are there commanded to know are prohibited them by Imperiall and Ecolesiasticall constitutions And mark I pray you the reason why they might not meddle with this and other acts x Quoniam quamquam consecrationem habeant Pontificatue tamen apicem non habent quem satis deberi episcopis â—â—thoritate canonum praecipitur â—â— per hoc discâ—â—â—io graduum dignitatis sastâ—gium summi pontificit demâ—nsâ—â—etur Ibid. the name and title of Bishop is by the Canons of the Church limited unto one and by the same power are these Offices limited also that so the difference of degrees which the Church had put betweene a Bishop and a Presbyter and the honour of the Bishop might be manifested So the Fathers in that Councell The same is acknowledged in the y Solum propter authoritatem summe sacerdeti Clericorum ordinatio consecratio reservata est ne a multis discipline ecclesiae vindicata coÌ„cordiam soiveret scandala generaret Concit Aquisgran ap Eocbel decret Eccl. Gald 5. tit 8. ca. 88. pag 784. Councell of Aquisgran an 816. in the dayes of Ludovicus the first Ordination is reserved to the Bishops only for authority or as an ensigne of his honour and for the prevention of scandals and divisions in the Church but as for a difference out of the word of God between a Bishop and a Presbyter they prove at large from the Apostles words to Titus Timothy and Act. 20. that there is none but Bishops and Presbyters are one and the same yet did not this reservation by an Ecclesiasticall canon put the power of Ordination into the hands of the Bishop alone so as that he might doe it without the concurrence of his Presbyters But as the Presbyters were by the Canon of the Church prohibited to ordaine so was the Bishop by the same Canonicall constitutions prohibited to doe it without their consent z Episcopus sine concilio clericorum suorum clericos non ordinet Conc. Carth. 4. can 22. Let not a Bishop ordaine Clergie-men without the counsell of his Clergie saith the Canon of the Councell of Carthage registred by a Dist 24. ca. 6. Episcopus Gratian in the Canon Law which who so will be pleased to consult shall find that his Glossator b Glossa in locum Vide etianâ— dist 67. cap. 1. Glos in ver Sacerdotes Semeca doth answer an objection made to the contrary and proves that the word solus where it is said the Bishop alone may give honour and alone may take it away doth exclude other Bishops but not his own Clergie So that a Bishop with his own Clergie might ordaine without the consent of other Bishops but not doe it alone by his owne peerelesse power without the rest of his Clergie consenting to and concurring with him in the action In this regard it was decreed in the eleventh Councell of Toledo in Spain c Dist 23. cap. Presbyter When a Bishop doth lay his hands on the head of him who was to be ordained let all the Presbyters who are present lay on their hands also by the hand of the Bishop Presbyters have you see a share with the Bishop in the imposition of hands at Ordination which they doe Iren. Forb lib. 2. cap. 11. pag. 163. not only as consenting to the ordination saith Forbesius for the consent of the people was also required yet never were they sharers in this Act of Imposition of hands and Ordination whereby an Ecclesiasticall power is conferred as both he and e De rep Eccl. lib. 2. c. 2. n. 51. p. 187. Spalatensis have observed but by suffrage did they manifest their approbation of the person elected or their election of him that was to be ordained f Tanquam ordinantes seu ordinem conferentes ex porestate ordinandi diviritus accepta gratiam ordinate boc adhibito ritu apprecantes Forb ubi supra but as those which were Co-ordainers with the Bishop and by the power of Ordination received from the Lord praying for grace to be conferred on the person ordained by them and the Bishop This Canonicall restriction of Ordination to the Bishop did no more invalidate the power of Presbyters to ordaine by vertue of their Presbyteriall order then if a Canon should have been made to inhibite a Presbyter to baptize to preach to administer the Sacrament of the Lords Supper in the presence or without the consent of the Bishop it would be of force thence to conclude that a Presbyter as a Presbyter by vertue of his order might not performe these Presbyteriall acts and offices It is not unknowne that long agone even in the dayes of g Dandi quidem Baptism habet jus summus Sacerdos qiuest Episcopus debinc Presbyteri Diaconi non tamen sine Episcopi authoritate propter Ecclesiae honorem Quo salvo salva pax est Tertull de â—ap c. 17. Tertullian there began to be a reservation of Baptisme to the Bishop that Presbyters and Deacons might not doe it without the leave of the Bishop all which was done on the same ground that Ordination was as hath been shewed before for the honour of the Bishop to whom the Church had conferred honour and for the Churches peace yet none did ever inferre from thence that this did properly belong to the Bishop and that a Presbyter might not doe it except he had a Bishops licence But if the h Veteres à Baptismo aâ—i ordinationem argumentatos suisse patet ex Magistro l. 4. dist 25. Sadcel resp ad â—urr Sopb â— â—40 Master of the Sentences may be beleeved albeit Ordination was limited to the Bishop yet did the ancients argue from the
power of administring Baptisme to the power of Ordination Presbyters might baptize therefore they might ordaine Thus did they reason for the power even then when the execution of the power was by canonicall-constitution restrained and shut up sub certis terminis positivis propter meliùs as i Conc. Cath. l. 2. c. 13. Cusanus speaks in the like case within certain positive limits and bounds and that for the good and benefit of the Church as it seemed unto them which first made and afterwards continued those limitations restrictions Thus much for Ordination Jurisdiction is the next thing wherein the Bishops doe claime a peerelesse power this respecteth either Presbyters subjected to censure and power of Jurisdiction in case of delinquency or the people in the sentence of Excommunication The field is very large I will not expatiate but only tender some few gleanings which I had gathered in the course of my studies in this argument I will not insist on that k Episcopus nullius causam audiat absque praesentia clericorum alioquin irrita erit sententia episcopi nifi clericorum praesentia confirmetur Conc. Carth. 4. can 23. Canon of the Councell of Carthage which prohibiteth the Bishop to meddle with the hearing of any cause but in the presence of his Clergie and pronounceth the sentence of the Bishop voide if it were not by them confirmed Concerning which Canon Dr Downham himself thus speakes l Defence of his Sermon ti 1. p. 179. Seeing good lawes arise from bad manners It is to be imagined that the Presence of the Clergie and Assistance of the Presbyters who were the Bishops Coassessors and from the beginning were appointed Judges of causes as himself doth m Ibid. p. 177. acknowledge was neglected and this neglect gave occasion to the making of this Canon What is by the Fathers in this Synod decreed concerning the Cognizance of causes in generall is afterward for that Councell was held about the year 401. by n Si quid de quocunque clerico ad aures tuas pervenerit quod is justè possit effendere non facilè credas nec ad vindictam te ret accendat incognita sed praesentitus senioribus ecclesiae tuae diligenter est veritas perscrutanda tunc si qualttas rei poposcerit canonica districtio culpam scriat delinquentis Greg. regist epist li. 11. indict 6. epist 49. prout citatur apud Grat. sed in edit eper Greg. an 1615. est epist 51. ad Iâ—han Episc Panermit Gregory the Great mentioned and commanded in particular to be observed in the cause of a Presbyter against whom accusations are brought or fame is raised for he commands the Bishop to whom he writes that in such cases he should in the presence of the Seniors of the Church make diligent inquirie into the matter and then proceed to a Canonicall censure as the qualitie of the crime should require Yea o In epist ad Cler. Eccles Tornac apud Cat. test verit l. 9. col 1000. Hincmarus the Archbishop of Rhemes prescribeth the same course to be followed citing the very words of Gregorie for it I will onely touch on some Canonicall Constitutions which have regulated the power of the Bishops in point of Jurisdiction over the Presbyters Who so will take the pains to consult p Caus 15. q. 7. Cap. 1. Gratian the Compiler of the Canon Law shall finde sundry Canons of more then one Councell of Carthage to wit Carthag 1. can 11. Concil Carthag 2. c. 10. Concil Carthag 3. can 8. ordaining that in case any crime were objected against a Presbyter the cause should be heard by sixe Bishops the cause of a Deaon accused should be heard by three besides his own Bishop This order in one of those Councels is thus ratified q Carth. 2. can 10. Ab universis episcopis dictum est veterum statut◠â nobis debere servari It was said by all the Bishops that we ought to observe the statutes of the ancient Fathers Whereunto may be added this that when in the Councell of Hispalis complaints were made that this rule was broken it was by the Fathers in that Synod ordered that r Statutum est juxta priscorum Paâ—rum decretum synodati sententia quod nollus fine concilii exam ne dejiciendum quemtibet presbyterum vel Diaconum au leat Naâ— multi suni qui indiscussos potestate tyrannica non auâ—boritate canonica damaant Syn. Hisp. a. act 6. Cent. Magd. cent 7. cap. 2. col 142. no Bishop should presume to put down a Presbyter or Deacon without examination before a Councell The contrary practice of some was adjudged to be the exercise of a tyrannicall power not of Canonicall authority I will not tire your patience with repetition of the same decree revived and confirmed in another Å¿ Concil Tribu an 895. caÌ„ â— ap Cent. Magd. cen 9. c. 9. coâ— 262. Councell almost 900. yeares after Christ Only this I will adde that This ancient order of the Councell and consent of six Bishops in the case of a Presbyters deposition from his place was not neglected by any regular allowance untill the Apostasie of Antichrist so far prevailed that the Gospel in the sincere and Orthodoxe Profession thereof was persecuted under the name of heresie In this case Gregory the ninth whose Decretals were published an 1230. gave a * Quaniam Episcoporum unmerus ad degra dationem Clericorum a Canonibus constitutus non pâ—â—est de socili convenire Concedtmus ut sacerdotem vel alium clericum in sacris ordinibus constitutum cum pro heresi suerit curiae seaulari relinquendus aut perpetuò immurandâ—â— â—onvocatis Abbatibus altisque praelatis ac Religiosis personis ac literatis sâ—â—â— Diocesis de quibus expedire videbatur suus solus possit Epis â—opiu degradase Sext. decret lib 5. tit 2. ca. 1. dispensation that the Diocesan Bishop alone in the presence of his Abbots with some Priests and other religious or learned persons of the Diocesse might proceede to the sentence In all cases heresie excepted the forementioned Ordinances of a Synodall audience for the Deposition of a Presbyter stood in force in succeeding ages as that learned Canonist t Instit Iur. Can. lib. 1. tit 20. Paulus Lancelotus hath observed By this which hath been spoken let the indifferent and impartiall Reader judge of the practices of our Prelates how strangely exorbitant that I say not tyrannicall in a very high degree they have been in their proceedings and execution of that Jurisdiction which they have usurped Excommunication is another branch of Jurisdiction which is claimed also by the Bishops as properly belonging unto them u Davenant abi supra Mucro episcopalis fulmen episâ—opale They tell us this Ecclesiasticall censure was alwaies accounted the Bishops sword and the Bishops thunderbolt and indeed since they have taken the power thereof into their hands and as they have managed it
it hath been an Episcopall thunderbolt that is to say brutum fulmen a thunderbolt which doth neither fright nor hurt any the denuntiation of this sentence being much corrupted that I say not quite altered from the practice of the Apostles and the Church in former dayes when no punishment was imposed without great lamentation of the multitude and greater of the better sort saith the a Lib. 4. p. 330. Author of the History of the Councell of Trent which he doth prove from those expressions of the Apostle b 1 Cor. 5. Ye have not lamented to separate such an one from among you And x 2 Cor. 12. I feare that at my coming I shall lament many of those who have sinned before But as for those amongst us which have challenged this power and taken it into their hands they have rather carried themselves like Salomons foole or mad-man which casteth arrowes firebrands and death and yet saith Am I not in sport Concerning this you are not ignorant what Hierome said of old y Presbytero licet si peccavero tradere me Satanae in Ep. ad Heliod A Presbyter may deliver me to Satan if I offend However this power hath been by the Prelates wrested out of the hands of Presbyters yet there have not been wanting those who when Prelates were in the height of all their pride and darted out their thunderbolts as it pleased them have maintained that the power of denouncing and executing that sentence did belong to the Presbyters I will only produce a witnesse or two in this and proceed z Defensor pacis part 2. cap. 15. pag. 256. Marsilius Patavinus disputing concerning the order of Priesthood or of a Presbyter for they are all one and the power of the Keyes to binde and loose observeth out of the forementioned Father the Church hath these Keyes in the Presbyters and Bishops and gives this reason why Hierome speaking of this power of the Keyes doth mention Presbyters before the Bishops a Preponens in boc pretbyteros quoniam authoritas baec dâ—betur presbytero in quantum presbyter primò secundum quod ipsum because this authoritie belongs to a Presbyter as a Presbyter primarily and properly From the same Authour I first tooke notice of this b Cap 6 pag. 165 in init albeit Timothy a Bishop as our Hierarchists say was then at Corinth when the Apostle gives charge to excommunicate the incestuous person yet we heare not a word of command to the Bishop to doe it but a mandate unto others When ye are gathered together and my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such an one unto Satan The charge is given to the Presbyters of Corinth it was not the act of one but of c 2 Cor 2.6 many who did denounce and execute the sentence on him Had it been proper to a Bishop St Paul would not have so much forgotten himself as to lay the blame and burthen upon others and omit the mention of him I finde also that d Glos in caus 2 q. 1. ca. 11. verbo Excommunicet Ecclesiarum praelati de jure communi possunt excommunicare licet episcopi jam praescripserint contra multos praelatos Bartholomaeus Brixniensis and Johannes Semeca both Glossators of the Canon Law doe maintaine and prove even out of it that by right Presbyters may excommunicate though the Bishops by custome and Prescription have taken the power out of their hands The same Interpreters of the Canon Law agree in this also e Non debet Episcopus revocare sententias excommunicationis justè lat as ab eorum praelatis sine corum consensit Gloss in dist 50. cap 64. verb. injungere A Bishop ought not to revoke the sentence of excommunication which a Priest hath on just ground pronounced without the Priests consent which did pronounce it By this which hath been spoken it is evident I hope that though there were a Primacy granted yet at first the Bishop had no Superioritie of power much lesse was the power of Ordination or Jurisdiction put into his hands alone you are not ignorant that Calvin Bucer Bullinger and Zanchie have maintained that the Bishop was at first no other then a President of the Presbytery his Act and Office in their meeting as of the Consul in the Senate to propound matters to gather votes and declare the resolutions of the Presbyterie With what scorn this is rejected by our Episcopall Monarches you all know as if they were the meere fancies of Calvins braine and the testimonie of the rest which confirme their assertions by pregnant passages out of antiquitie slighted because they are Disciplinarians of the Geneva cut If Protestant Divines be not regarded let us see whether the judgement of a Fryer and consent of a Jesuite will be of more weight with our Prelates there is good reason to expect it considering that Papists and Prelates were so linked together in their votes whilest they had any Jesuites and Bishops are at this day as all the world seeth so neerly conjoyned in their designes The Fryer is Petrus Suavis that Historian of note who discoursing at large touching the Originall of Episcopall power and Church censures as they were anciently administred tels us f Hist of the Councell of Trent lib. 4. p. â—3â— The judgement of the Church as is necessary in every multitude was to be conducted by one who should preside and guide the action propose the matters and collect the points to be consulted on This care due to the more principall and worthy person was alwayes committed to the Bishop Judge now I pray you Fathers and Brethren whether this be any more then to be a President of the Presbyterie or Senate Ecclesiasticall How the Bishops power came afterwards to be ampliated you shall there finde set forth to the full the passages are all of them too large for me to repeat or transcribe they are worth his reading that shall take paines to peruse them I shall only mention one g Ibid. pa. 331. The goodnesse and charity of the Bishops mark this I pray you he doth not say the Superioritie and power but the goodnesse and charity of the Bishops made their opinion for the most part to be followed and by little and little was the cause that the Church charity waxing cold and not regarding the charge laid upon them by Christ did leave the care to the Bishop and ambition a witty passion which doth insinuate it selfe in the shew of vertue did cause it to be readily embraced This and much more that Fryer in the same place The Jesuite is Salmeron who expounding the words of the Apostle to Titus I left thee in Creete to ordain Elders in every City positively affirmeth h Nec hoc loco permisit Paulus Tito ut praefiâ—iat omnibus ecclesiis ministros baec enim regia esset potestas juâ— eligendi tolleretur ecclesiis