Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	church_n	communicate_v	communion_n	2,805	5	10.2978	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58920	Seasonable considerations		1689 (1689)	Wing S2224; ESTC R34062	11,081	18

they willing and ready to do it But then you will reply That a Convocation shall take off that Excommunication which a Convocation laid on so that they may then be lawfully admitted Members of the Church because that the same Power which made a Law can annul it again which remember anon But by what Authority do you pretend to restore them to the Church whom upon many cases can only be absolved and restored by the Arch-Bishop Can you his Inferiors without his leave do that which is only left for him to do And some of the Bishops and inferior Clergy do their Superior's Office him gainsaying But if you betake your selves to your own Authority again which will oblige him and comprehend him with the rest Consider with your selves whether the Metropolitan of all England have nothing to do in the Alterations of the Church And one thing I would not have you to forget that by this your acting you will make many Orthodox Sons or the Church who cannot allow of your Authority plead from your mixt Communion the unlawfulness too of joyning with you For they knowing by what Authority these Sects were excommunicated and that with such Persons till restored they are not to communicate with in any holy Offices and approving not of this Authority by which the Excommunication is pretended to be taken off will be mighty prone to shun those Congregations where such mixtures are allowed and separate from all the new model'd Churches And since I am fallen upon the Inconveniences which will fall upon those who dare be Orthodox let me desire you to take care of one thing That you be not the occasion of utter Destruction to many of your Brethren the Clergy For there may be found some who have sworn with such a Declaration as not to own any present lawful Authority who will be apt to entertain Doubts concerning the Lawfulness of your Authority And since the chief Primate and Metropolitan of all England and many more of the Bishops Souls enter not into your Consultations nor consent to your Injunctions they will be extremely puzzled to find out the Lawfulness and Authority of your Determinations And since that they know themselves obliged by their frequent Subscriptions contained in the 36th Canon to stand to these Canons and Homilies and to use this Liturgy and no other that we have already by a lawful Authority and knowing of the great Punishment due to Prevaricators after Subscription in the 38th Canon which tho it may not be inflicted yet will however presuppose a Fault which by a good Man will be as fearfully avoided and carefully shunned as if the Punishment was to follow they therefore will conscientiously stick to their former Subscriptions and suffer what their unkind Brethren not Enemies shall lay upon them And this liberty you must allow 'em from your own Principles or else lose your own Argument just above That no Power can alter or abrogate a Law but the same that made it A lawful King and all other the Essentials of a lawful Authority have obliged them to the defending of these Rules for ever unless alter'd again by the same lawful Authority that made them and if they cannot find such Authority in your Injunctions as to annul their former Obligations blame not their Reasons but your own Actions Whatsoever Reasons the Bishop of Rochester had to act in the late Ecclesiastical Commission yet when he saw it was levell'd at the Destruction of his Brethren he thought it his Duty then to desist from any further acting and rather suffer in the same Cause with them if so it had been the pleasure of his King All good Men applauded that Action of his Lordship and if I mistake not you would willingly have the repute of as good Men as He. Consider therefore before it be too late I am sure our Ancestors and perhaps some of you now living were of another mind once when the Church of England had great reason to have comply'd if necessity could have justified any unlawful Uniting For when the Sectaries would correct and abolish our Liturgy and Discipline and set up their own by Authority of Parliament and no other thing would as indeed it scarce ever will cause their agreement with us You well know how bravely the poor Church then withstood and opposed all such endeavours Many things then were sent forth to shew the Reasons of their Dissent and have ever since had the Esteem and Character of Truth and Greatness Some of which because not unfit for this present affair I 'll now in short recite to you and of the many then writ only chuse those of the University of Oxford and that for more Reasons than one Jud. U●● Ox. 〈◊〉 47. Se● We cannot for certain say they obey the Orders of the Sessions of both Houses without Sin they having not been approved by the King's consent 1st Especially those which not only command things contrary to the Laws and Statutes of this Realm established by the unanimous consent of King Peers and Commons in Parliament 2ly But also because they annul and abrogate those Laws and Statutes For when 't is only in their power to cassate in whose 't is to make we cannot think it lawful for an inferior Power to rescind and annul that which was lawfully done by a Superior Stat. Eliz 3ly Especially when the whole Power of Jurisdiction in Ecclesiastical things is in most express Words of the Law for ever joyned and annexed to the Imperial Crown of this Realm And to whose Head that Diadem of right belongs no Subject ought to be ignorant Sect Nay say they We cannot comply to a Reforming the Religion of this Kingdom in its Doctrine Worship Discipline and Rule when Reformation necessarily and formally in its self includes a Change. 1st Without manifest Scandal to Papists and Separatists For 1st We shall desert the most just Cause which Bishops and Martyrs and other learned Divines have strenuously defended again ft the Enemies on both hands Ha● sut Ap c. 2 2ly We shall give greater occasion to the Papists of defaming our Religion of objecting we know not where to have it and that 't is a Parliamentary Religion 3ly We shall acknowledg something in our Doctrine and Worship not consentaneous to the Word of God whence will be given a just excuse to the one of his Recusancy and to the other of separation from the Communion of our Church 2ly Nor can it be done without manifest Injury to our selves for thereby we give false Testimony against our selves if we reform that Religion as depraved or vicious 1st Which by our Subscriptions before we have atttested to be consentaneous to the Word of God of which thing we have never repented 2ly Which by a firm perswasion we believe not to be contrary to the Word of God in any of those Four or any other things 3ly Which we rationally conclude to be many ways better and more