all this so much might easely be sayde as shuld serue to a whole volume But In this treatise seeking to auoide prolixitie hauing purposed to saye somewhat to this number of the other Articles and knowing this matter of the Primacie to be allready largely and learnedly handeled of others will but trippe as it were lightly ouer at this tyme and not sette my fast footing in the deepe debating and treating of it The Popes Primacie not of Man but of gods ordināce The first proufe of the Popes primacie scripture expoūded Matth. 16. First as concerning the right of the Popes primacie by gods lawe by these auncient autorities it hath ben auouched Anacletus that holy bishop and martyr S. Peters scholer and of him cōsecrated priest in his epistle to the bishops of Italie writeth thus In nouo testamento post Christum etc. In the newe testament the order of priestes beganne after our lord Christ of Peter because to him bishoprike was first geuen in the churche of Christ where as our lord saide vnto him Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it and vnto thee I will geue the keies of the kingdome of heauen Wherfore this Peter receiued of our lord first of all power to binde and to lowse and first of all he brought people to the faith by vertue of his preaching As for the other Apostles they receiued honour and power in like felowship with him and willed him to be their prince or chiefe gouernour In an other epistle to all bishoppes alleaging the same texte for the Primacie of the See of Rome speaking of the disposition of churches committed to Patriarkes and Primates saith thus most plainely This holy ad Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie not of the Apostles but of our lord Sauiour him selfe and hath gotten the preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people euen so as he saide to blessed Peter th'Apostle Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke etc. S. Gregorie writing to Mauritius the Emperoure against Iohn the bishop of Constantinople ambitiously claiming and vsurping the name of an vniuersall bishop proueth the bishop of Rome succeding in Peters chaier to be Primate and to haue charge ouer all the church of Christ by scriptures thus Cunctis euangelium scientibus liquet etc. Epist 32. It is euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed by the worde of our lord to the holy Apostle Peter prince of all the Apostles for to him it is sayde Peter Ioan. 21. Luc. 22. louest thou me feede my sheepe to him it is sayd Beholde Sathan hath desyred to syfte you as it were wheate and I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not And thou being once conuerted strengthen thy brethren To him it is saide Thou art Peter Matth. 26 and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it And vnto the I will geue the keies of the kingdom of heauen And what so euer thou byndest vpon earth shal be bounde also in heauen and what so euer thou lowsest on earth shable lovvsed also in heauen Beholde he receiueth the keies of the heauenly kingdome Cura ei totius Ecclesiae principatus committitur the power of bynding and lowsing is geuen to him the charge of the whole church and principalitie is committed to him Thus farre Gregorie But because our aduersaries though without iuste cause refuse the witnes of the Bishops of Rome in this article as vnlawfull witnesses in their owne cause were thei neuer so holy martyrs or learned confessours they may vnderstand we are able to alleage sundry other authorities to the confirmation hereof that be aboue all exception S. Cyprian declaring the contempte of the high Priest Christes Vicarie in earth to be cause of schismes and heresies writeth thus to Cornelius Pope and Martyr Neque enim aliunde haereses obortae sunt etc. Neither haue heresies or schismes rysen of any other occasiō then of that the Priest of God is not obeied and that one Priest for the tyme in the church and one iudge for the tyme in stede of Christ is not thoughte vpon To whom if the whole brotherhed that is the whole number of Christē people which be brethren together and were so called in the primatiue church would be obedient according to gods teachinges Secūdum magisteria diuina then no man would make adoo against the colledge of priestes no mā woulde make him selfe iudge not of the bishop nowe but of God after gods iudgement after the fauour of the people declared by theire voices at the Election after the consent of his felowbishops no man through breach of vnitie and strife would diuide the church of Christ no man standing in his owne conceite and swelling with pride would sette vp by him selfe abroade without the church a newe heresie Of all other authorities that of Athanasius and of the bishops of Egypte and Libya gathered together in a Synode at Alexandria is to be regarded Who making humble sute to Felix then bishop of Rome for aide and succour against the Arianes through the whole epistle confessing the supreme auctoritie of that Apostolike See vtter these very wordes Vestrae apostolicae sedis imploramus auxilium etc. In primo tomo Cōciliorum We humbly besech you of the helpe of your Apostolike See Because as verely we beleue God hath not despised the praiers of his seruantes offered vp to him with teares but hath constituted and placed you your predecessours who were Apostolike Prelates in the highest tower or supreme state In summitatis arce constituit and commaunded them to haue cure and charge of all churches to th' intent you helpe and succour vs and that defending vs as to whom iudgemēt of bishops is committed you forslowe not through negligence to delyuer vs from our enemies Now if the Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie and preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people of our lord Sauiour him selfe as Anacletus saith If it be euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed to the holy Apostle Peter Prince of all the Apostles by the worde of our lord as Gregorie witnesseth If the whole brotherhed that is to say all christen folke ought to obeye the one hygh Priest or bishop of God and the one Iudge that is Christes Vicare or in the steede of Christ for the tyme according to the preceptes and teachinges of God as Cyprian writeth If it be God that hath placed and ordeined the bishop of Rome in the highest state of the church as Athanasius with all the fathers of that Alexandrine councell recordeth If this I say be true then is
it easely sene vpon how good grownde this doctrine standeth whereby it is affirmed that the bishop of Rome his Primacie hath his force by gods lawe and not onely by mannes lawe much lesse by vniust vsurpation The scriptures by which as well these as all other holy and learned fathers were leadde to acknowledge and confesse the Primacie of Peter and his successours were partly such as Anacletus and Gregorie here alleageth and Cyprian meaneth as it appeareth by his third treatise De simplicitate praelatorum and sundry mo of the newe testament as to the learned is knowen of which to treate here largely and piththely as the weight of the matter requyreth at this tyme I haue no leisure neither if I had yet myght I conueniently performe it in this treatise which otherwise will amount to a sufficiēt bignes and that matter throughly handeled will fill a right great volume Wherfore referring the readers to the credite of these worthy fathers who so vnderstoode the scriptures as thereof thei were persuaded the Primacie to be attributed to Peters successour by God him selfe I will procede keping my prefixed order The 2. proufe coūcelles Whereas the preeminence of power and auctoritie which to the bishop of Rome by speciall and singular priuiledge God hath graunted is commended to the worlde by many and sundry councelles for auoiding of tediousnesse I will rehearse the testimonies of a fewe Amonge the canons made by the three hundred and eighten bishops at the Nicene Councell which were in number 70. and all burnt by heretikes in the East church saue xx and yet the whole number was kepte diligently in the church of Rome in the originall it selfe sent to Syluester the bishop there from the councell subscribed with the said 318. fathers handes Vide Frācisc Turrianū lib. 3. charact dogmat the 44. canon which is of the power of the patriarke ouer the Metropolitanes and bishops and of the Metropolitane ouer bishops in the ende hath this decree Vt autem cunctis ditionis suae nationibus etc. As the patriarke beareth rule ouer all nations of his iurisdiction and geueth lawes to them and as Peter Christes vicare at the beginning sette in auctoritie ouer religion ouer the churches and ouer all other thinges perteining to Christ was Maister and ruler of christen princes prouinces and of all nations So he whose principalitie or chieftie is at Rome like vnto Peter and equall in auctoritie obteineth the rule and souerainetie ouer all patriakes After a sewe wordes it foloweth there If any man repine against this statute or dare resist it by the decree of the whole councell he is accursed Iulius that worthy bishop of Rome not long after the councell of Nice in his epistle that he wrote to the 90. Ariane bishops assembled in councell at Antioche against Athanasius bishop of Alexandria reprouing them for theire vniust treating of him saith of the canons of the Nicene councell then freshe in their remembrance that thei commaunde Non debere praeter sententiā Romani pontificis vllo modo concilia celebrari nec episcopos damnari That without the auctoritie of the Bishop of Rome neither Councelles ought to be kepte nor bishops condemned Againe that nothing be decreed without the Bishop of Rome Cui haec maiora ecclesiarum negotia tam ab ipso domino quà m ab omnibus vniuersorum conciliorum fratribus speciali priuilegio contradita sunt To whom these and other the weighty matters of the churches be committed by speciall priuiledge as well by our lord him selfe as by all oure brethren of the whole vniuersall councelles Among other principalle pointes which he reciteth in that epistle out of the Nicene councelles canōs this is one Vt omnes episcopi etc. That all bishops who susteine wronge in weighty causes so often as nede shall require make their appeale freely to the See Apostolike and flie to it for succour as to their mother that frō thence they may be charitably susteined defended and deliuered To the disposition of which See the auncient auctoritie of th'Apostles and their successours and of the canons hath reserued all weighty or great ecclesiasticall causes and iudgementes of bishops Athanasius and the whole companie of bishops of Egypte Thebaida and Libya assembled together in councell at Alexandria complaining in their epistle to Felix the Pope of the great iniuries and griefes they susteined at the Arianes alleageth the determination of the Nicene councell touching the supreme auctoritie and power of that See Apostolike ouer all other bishops Similiter à supradictis patribus est definitum consonanter etc. Likewise saie they it hath ben determined by common assent of the foresaide fathers of Nice that if any of the bishops suspecte the Metropolitane or theire felowbishops of the same prouince or the iudges that then they make their appeale to your holy See of Rome to whom by our lord him selfe power to binde and louse Matt. 16. by speciall priuiledge aboue other hath ben graunted This much alleaged out os the canōs of the Nicene councell gathered partly out of Iulius epistle who wrote to them that were present at the making of them which taketh awaye all suspicion of vntruth and partly out of Athanasius and others that were a great parte of the same councell For further declaration of this matter it were easy here to alleage the councell of Sardica the councell of Chalcedon Ca. 4. ca. 9 certaine councelles of Aphrica yea some councelles also holden by heretikes and sundry other but such store of auctorities commonly knowen these may suffise The Christen princes that ratified and confirmed with their proclamations and edictes The 3. proufe Edictes of Emperours the decrees of the canons concerning the Popes Primacie and gaue not to him first that auctoritie as the aduersaries doo vntruly reporte were Iustinian and Phocas the Emperours The wordes of Iustinianes edicte be these In authēt de Eccles tit Sancimus secundum canonum definitiones sanctissimum senioris Romae Papam primum esse omnium sacerdotum We ordeine according to the determinations of the canons that the most holy Pope of the elder Rome be formest and chiefe of all priestes About three score and ten yeres after Iustinian Phocas the Emperour in the tyme of Bonifacius to represse the arrogancie of the bishop of Constantinople Lib. 4. historiae lōgobardicae cap. 36. as Paulus Diaconus writeth who vainely and as Gregorie sayeth contrary to our lordes teachinges and the decrees of the canons and for that wickedly tooke vpon him the name of the vniuersall or oecumenicall bishop and wrote him selfe chiefe of all bishops made the like decree and ordinance that the holy See of the Romaine and Apostolike church shuld be holden for the head of all churches The 4. proufe doctoures Of the doctours what shall I say verely this matter is so often and so commonly reported of them that their sainges laide together would scantly be
perhappes that had ben done by cōmaundement of Mauritius the Emperour who did many other thinges wickedly thereof writeth to Constantina the Emperesse thus Salonitanae ciuitatis episcopus me ac responsali meo nesciente ordinatus est Et facta est res quae sub nullis anterioribus principibus euenit The bishop of the citie of Salonae sayeth he is ordered neither I nor my depute made priuye to it And herein that thing hath ben done which neuer happened in the tyme of any princes before our daies Thus it appeareth that before a thousand yeres past bishops had their ordination and election confirmed by the See Apostolike The Popes approuing of coūcelles That the bishops of Rome by accustomed practise of the church had auctoritie to approue or disproue councelles I nede to saye nothing for prouse of it Li. 4. c. 19. seing that the ecclesiasticall rule as we reade in the Tripartite storie commaundeth that no councell be celebrate and kepte without the aduise and auctoritie of the Pope Verely the councelles holden at Ariminum at Seleucia at Sirmium at Antiochia and at the seconde tyme at Ephesus for that they were not summoned nor approued by the auctoritie of the B. of Rome haue not ben accompted for laufull councelles but as well for that reiected as also for their hereticall determinatiōs The fathers assembled in the councell of Nice sent their epistle to Siluester the Pope beseching him with his consent to ratifie and confirme Quas Romana suscipiēs cōfirmauit Ecclesia In praefatione Niceni concilij what so euer they had ordeined Isidorus witnesseth that the Nicene councell had set forth rules the which sayeth he the church of Rome receiued and confirmed The second generall councell holden at Constantinople was likewise allowed and approued by Damasus specially requested by the fathers of the same thereto So was the third councell holden at Ephesus ratified and confirmed by Celestinus who had there for his vicares or deputes Cyrillus the famouse B. of Alexandria and one Arcadius a bishop out of Italie As for the fouerth councell kepte at Chalcedon the fathers thereof also in their epistle to Leo the Pope subscribed with the handes of 44. bishops made humble requeste vnto him to establish fortifie and allowe the decrees and ordinances of the same This being fownde true for the fower first chiefe councelles we nede not to say any thinge of the rest that folowed But for the suer proufe of all this that chiefly is to be alleaged that Constantius the Arian Emperour made so importune and so earnest sute to Liberius the Pope to confirme the actes of the councell holden at Antioche by the 90. Ariane bishops wherein Athanasius was depriued and put out of his bishoprike For he beleved as Ammianus Marcellinus writeth Lib. 15. that what had ben done in that councell shuld not stande and take effecte onlesse it had ben approued and confirmed by the auctoritie of the B. of Rome which he termeth the eternall citie Now what auctoritie the bishops of Rome haue euer had and exercised in the assoiling of bishops vniustly condemned Absolutiōs from the Pope and in restoring of them againe to their churches of which they were wrongfully thruste out by heretikes or other disorder it is a thing so well knowen of all that reade the stories in which the auncient state of the church is described that I nede not but rehearse the names onely Athanasius of Alexandria and Paulus of Constantinople depriued and thrust out of their bishoprikes by the violence of the Arianes assisted with the Emperour Constantius appealed to Rome to Iulius the Pope and bishop there and by his auctoritie were restored to their romes againe So Leo assoiled Flauianus the B. of Constantinople excommunicated by Dioscorus So Nicolaus the first restored Ignatius to the see of Constantinople though Michael the Emperour wroughte all that he could against it Many other bishops haue ben in all ages assoiled and restored to their churches by the auctoritie of the See Apostolike who haue ben without deserte excommunicated depriued and put from all their dignities But to haue rehearsed these fewe it may suffise Concerning the reconciliation of the prelates of the church both bishops and patriarkes to the B. of Rome Reconciliatiōs to the Pope wherby his primacie is acknowleged and cōfessed I nede not say much the matter being so euident After that the whole churches of Aphrica had continewed in schisme and withdrawen them selues from the obedience of the See Apostolike through the entisement of Aurelius archebishop of Carthago for the space of one hundred yeres during which tyme by gods punishment they came in to captiuitie of the barbarous and cruell Vandales who were Arians at the length when it pleased God of his goodnes to haue pitie on his people of that prouince sending them Bellisarius the valiant capitaine that vanquished and destroyed the Vandales and likewyse Eulalius that godly archebishop of Carthago that brought the churches home againe and ioyned the diuided members vnto the whole body the catholike church A publike instrument conteining the forme of their repentance and of their humble submission was offered and exhibited solemly to Bonifacius the second then Pope by Eulalius in the name of that whole prouince which was ioyfully receiued and he thereupon forthwith reconciled Of this reconciliation and restoring of the Affricane churches to the catholike church the mysticall body of Christ Bonifacius writeth his letters to Eulalius bisshop of Thessalonica requiring him with the churches there about to geue almighty God thankes for it But here if I would shewe what bishops diuiding them selues through heresie schisme or other enormitie from the obedience of the See of Rome haue vpon better aduise submitted them selues to the same againe and thereupon haue ben reconciled I had a large field to walke in As inferiour bishops of sundry prouinces haue done it so haue the great patriarkes done likewise Among them that to satisfie the maliciouse mynde of Eudoxia the Emperesse practised their wicked conspiracie against Chrysostome through which he was deposed and caried awaye in to banishment Alexander B. of Antioche and primate of the orient was one who at length strooken with repentance for that he had ben both a cōsenter and a promotour of that wicked acte submitted him selfe humby to Innocētius the Pope and by all meanes sought to be assoiled and reconciled And therfore sent his legates to Rome to exhibite to Innocentius a solemne instrumēt of his repentāce and lowly submission and to accepte what shuld be enioyned By which his hūblenes Innocētius moued graunted to his petitions receiued him in to the lappe of the catholike church againe and thus was he reconciled Sundry the like reconciliations of the patriarkes of Alexandria and Ierusalem to the See of Rome in like cases might easely be recited which for auoiding of tediousnesse I passe ouer as likewise of the patriarkes of Constantinople which as we reade
in auncieÌ„t stories haue forsaken the church of Rome twelue tymes and haue ben reconcilied to the same againe Thus hauing declared the supreme auctoritie and primacie of the Pope by the common practise of the churche I nede not to shewe further how in all questions doubtes and controuersies touching faith and religion the See of Rome hath alwayes ben consulted how the decision of all doubtefull cases hath ben referred to the iudgement of that See and to be shorte how all the worlde hath euer fetched light from thence For the proufe whereof because it can not be here declared briefly I remitte the learned reader to the ecclesiasticall storyes where he shal fynde this matter amply treated Now for a briefe answere to M. Iuell who denieth that within six hundred yeres after Christ the bishop of Rome was euer called an vniuersall bishop or the head of the vniuersall church and maketh him selfe very suer of it Although it be a childish thing to sticke at the name any thing is called by the thing by the name signified being sufficiently proued yet to th' intent good folke may vnderstand that all is not truth of the olde gospell which our newe gospellers either affirme or denie The Pope aboue a thousand yeres sithens called vniuersall bishop and head of the vniuersall churthe I will bring good and sufficient witnes that the B. of Rome was then called both vniuersall bisâ—op or oecumenicall patriarke which is one to witte bishop or principall father of the whole world and also head of the church Leo that worthy B. of Rome was called the vniuersall Bishop and vniuersall patriarke of syx hundred and thirty fathers assembled together from all partes of the world in generall councell at Chalcedon Which is both expressed in that councell and also clearly affirmed by S. Gregory in three sundry epistles to Mauricius the Emperour to Eulogius Patriarke of Alexandria and to Anastasius Patriarke of Antioche Thus that name was deferred vnto the Pope by the fathers of that great councell which by them had not ben done had it ben vnlawfull In very dede neither Leo him selfe nor any other his successour euer called or wrote himselfe by that name as S. Gregorie sayeth much lesse presumed they to take it vnto them But rather vsed the name of humilitie calling them selues ech one Seruum seruorum Dei the seruant of the seruantes of God Yet sundry holy martyrs bishops of Rome vsed to calle them selues bishops of the vniuersall church which in effecte is the same as the fathers of Chalcedon vnderstoode So did Sixtus in the tyme of Adrianus the Emperour in his epistle to the bishops of all the world So dyd Victor writing to Theophilus of Alexandria So dyd Pontianus writing to all that beleued in Christ before 1300. yeres past So dyd Stephanus in his epistle to all bishops of all prouinces in the tyme of S. Cyprian And all these were before Constantine the great and before the councell of Nice which times our aduersaries acknowledge and confesse to haue ben without corruption The same title was vsed likewise after the Nicene councell by Felix by Leo and by diuerse others before the first six hundred yeres after Christ were expired Neither did the bishops of Rome vse this title and name onely theÌ„ selues to theire owne aduauncemeÌ„t as the aduersaries of the churche charge theÌ„ but they were honoured therewith also by others as namely InnoceÌ„tius by the fathers assembled in councell at Carthago and Marcus by Athanasius and the bishops of Egypte Head of the churche Concerning the other name Head of the church I meruell not a litle that M. Iuell denyeth that the bishop of Rome was then so called Either he doth contrary to his owne knowledge wherin he must nedes be condemned in his owne iudgement and of his owne coÌ„scieÌ„ce Peter and consequeÌ„tly the Pope Peters successour called head of the church both in termes equiualeÌ„t and also expresly Matth. 10. or he is not so well learned as of that syde he is thoughte to bee For who so euer traueileth in the reading of the auncient fathers findeth that name almost euery where attributed to Peter the first B. of Rome and coÌ„sequeÌ„tly to the successour of Peter that name I saie either in termes equiualeÌ„t or expressely First the scripture calleth Peter primuÌ„ the first among the Apostles The names of the twelue Apostles sayeth Matthew are these Primus Simon qui dicitur Petrus First Simon who is called Peter And yet was not Peter first called of Christ but his brother Androwe before him as is before saide Dionysius that auncient writer calleth Peter sometyme De diuinis nominibus c. 3. supremuÌ„ decus the highest honour for that he was most honorable of all the Apostles sometime summum sometime verticalem the chiefest and the highest Apostle Origen vpon the beginning of Iohn sayeth Let no man thinke that we set Iohn before Peter Who may fo doo for who shuld be higher of the Apostles then he Lib 1. epistola 3. who is and is called the toppe of them Cyprian calleth the church of Rome in consideration of that bishops supreme auctoritie Ecclesiam principaleÌ„ vnde vnitas sacerdotalis exorta est The principall or chiefe church froÌ„ whence the vnitie of priestes is spronge Eusebius Caesariensis speaking of Peter sent to Rome by gods prouidence to vanquish Simon Magus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calleth him potentissimum maximum Apostolorum reliquorum omnium principem the mightìest of power and greatest of the Apostles and prince of all the reste Augustine commonly calleth Peter primum apostolorum first or chiefe of the Apostles Hierome Ambrose Leo and other doctours Prince of the Apostles Chrysostome vpon the place of Iohn cap. 21. sequere me folowe me among other thinges sayeth thus Homil. 87 If any would demaunde of me how Iames tooke the see of Ierusalem that is to saie how he became bisshop there I would answere that this he meaneth Peter Maister of the whole worlde made him gouernour there In Matth. homil 55. Ierem. 1. And in an other place bringing in that God saide to Ieremie I haue set thee like an yron pillour and like a brasen walle But the father sayeth he made him ouer one natioÌ„ but Christ made this man meaning Peter ruler ouer the whole worlde etc. And least these places shuld seme to attribute this supreme auctoritie to Peter onely and not also to his successours it is to be remembred that Irenaeus and Cyprian acknowledge and call the churche of Rome chiefe and principall And Theodoritus in an epistle to Leo calleth the same in coÌ„sideration of the bishop of that See his primacie orbi terrarum praesideÌ„tem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 president or bearing rule ouer the worlde Ambrose vpon that place of Paul 1. Timoth. 3. where the church is called the pillour and staie of the truth saieth thus Cum totus mundus Dei sit ecclesia
tamen domus eius dicitur cuius hodie rector est Damasus Where as the whole world is gods yet the churche is called his howse ▪ the ruler whereof at these daies is Damasus I would not weery and trouble the reader with such a number of allegations were not that M. Iuell beareth the world in hande we haue not one sentence nor clause for vs to proue either this or any other of all his Articles But perhappes some one will replye and saye yet I heare not the B. of Rome called Head of the vniuersall churche What forceth it whether that very terme be founde in any auncient writer or no Other termes of the same vertue and power be oftentymes founde Is it not one to saie Head of the vniuersall churche and to saie ruler of gods house which Ambrose sayeth whereof this argument may be made The church yea the vniuersall church is the house of God but Damasus B. of Rome is ruler of the house of God after Ambrose ergo Damasus is ruler of the vniuersall church and by like right and title is the Pope who is B. of Rome now also ruler of the same What other is it to call the church of Rome the principall churche respecte had to the bishop there and not otherwise wherein a figure of speach is vsed as Ireneus and Cyprian doo and president or set in auctoritie ouer the whole world as Leo doth then to call the bishop of Rome In locum Ioā 21 homil 87. ex ponēs illud sequere me In Matth. homil 55. Heade of the vniuersall church what meaneth Chrysostome calling Peter totius orbis magistrum the Maister and teacher of all the worlde and saying in an other place that Christ made Peter not ruler ouer one nation as the father made Ieremie ouer the Iewes but ouer the whole worlde what other I saie meaneth he thereby then that he is head of the whole worlde and therefore of the vniuersall church But to satisfie these men and to take awaye occasion of cauille I wil alleage a fewe places where the expresse terme Head is attributed to Peter the first B. of Rome and by like right to his successours Peter and his successour called head of the churche expressely and to the See Apostolike Chrysostome speaking of the vertue and power of Peter and of the stedfastnes of the church in the 55. Homilie vpon Mathewe hath these wordes among other Cuius Pastor caput homo piscator atque ignobilis c. By which wordes he affirmeth that the pastour and head of the church being but a fisher a man and one of base parentage passeth in firmnes the nature of the diamant Againe in an homilie of the praises of Paul he sayeth thus Neither was this man onely such a one but he also which was the head of the Apostles who oftentymes sayde he was ready to bestowe his life for Christ and yet was full sore afrayed of death If he were head of the Apostles then was he head of the inferiour people and so Head of the vniuersall churche Hierome writing against Iouinian sayeth propterea inter duodecim vnus eligitur vt capite constituto schismatis tollatur occasio for that cause among the twelue on is specially chosen out that the Head being ordeined occasion of schisme may be taken awaye Whereby it appeareth that Peter was constituted head for auoiding of diuision and schisme Now the danger of the inconuenience remaining still yea more then at that tyme for the greater multitude of the churche and for sundry other imperfections the same remedy must be thought to continewe onlesse we would saye that Christ hath lesse care of his church now that it is so much encreaced then he had at the beginning when his flocke was smal For this cause excepte we denye Gods prouidēce toward his church there is one Head for auoiding of schisme also now as well as in the Apostles tyme. Which head is the successour of him that was head by Christes appointment then the B. of Rome sitting in the seate that Peter sate in Cyrillus sayeth Petrus vt princeps caputque caeterorū primus exclamauit tu es Christus filius Dei viui Peter as prince and Head of the reste first cryed out thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God Serm. 124. de tēpore Augustine also in a sermon to the people calleth him head of the church saying Totius corporis membrum in ipso capite curat ecclesiae in ipso vertice componit omnium membrorum sanitatem He healeth the member of the whole body in the Head it selfe of the church and in the toppe it selfe he ordereth the helth of all the members And in an other place Li. quaest vet no. testam q. 75. Saluator quando pro se Petro exolui iubet pro omnibus exoluisse videtur Quia sicut in saluatore erant omnes causa magisterij ita post saluatorem in Petro omnes continentur ipsum enim constituit Caput omnium Our sauiour sayeth Augustine when as he cōmaundeth paimēt for the Emperoure to be made for him selfe and for Peter he semeth to haue payde for all Because as all were in our sauiour for cause of teaching so after our sauiour all are conteined in Peter for he ordeined him Head of all Here haue these men the plaine and expresse terme Head of the rest Head of the church Head of all and therefore of the vniuersall church What will they haue more Neither here can they saie that although this auctoritie and title of the Head be geuen to Peter yet it is not deriued and transferred from him to his successours For this is manifest that Christ instituted his churche so as it shuld continewe to the worldes ende Cap. 9. according to the saying of Esaie the prophete Super solium Dauid c. Vpon the seat of Dauid and vpon his kingdome shall Messias sitte to strengthen it and to establish it in iudgement and righteousnes from this daye for euermore And thereof it is euidēt that he ordeined those who then were in ministerie so as their auctoritie and power shuld be deriued vnto their aftercommers for the vtilitie of the church for euer specially where as he sayde Matt vlt. beholde I am with you vntill the ende of the worlde And therefore as Victor writeth in his storie of the persecutiō of the Vandales Eugenius B. of Carthago Lib. 2. conuented of Obadus a great capitaine of Hunerike king of the Vandales about a councell to be kepte in Aphrica for matters of the faith betwixte the Arians supported by the king and the catholikes sayde in this wise Si nostram fidem c. If the kinges power desyre to knowe our faith which is one and the true let him sende to his frendes I will write also to my brethren that my fellowebishops come who may declare the faith that is cōmon to you and vs there he hath these wordes
praecipuè ecclesia Romana quae Caput est omnium ecclesiarum and specially the church of Rome which is the Head of all the churches Naming the church of Rome he meaneth the bishop there or his legates to be sent in his stede Thus it is proued by good and auncient auctorities that the name and title of the Head ruler president chiefe and principall gouernour of the church is of the fathers attributed not onely to Peter but also to his successours bishops of the See Apostolike And therefore M. Iuell may thinke him selfe by this charitably admonished to remember his promise of yelding and subscribing I will adde to all that hath ben hytherto sayde of this matter a saying of Martin Luther that such as doo litle regarde the grauitie of auncient fathers of the olde church may yet somewhat be moued with the lightnes of the young father Luther Patriarke and fownder of their newe churche Lightnes I may well call it for in this saying which I shall here rehearse he doth not so soberly allowe the Popes Primacie The popes primacie acknovvleged by Martin Luther as in sundry other treatises he doth rashly and furiousely inueigh against the same In a litle treatise intituled Resolutio Lutheriana super propositione sua 13. de potestate papae his wordes be these Primum quod me mouet Romanum pontificem esse alijs omnibus quos saltem nouerimus se pontifices gerere superiorem est ipsa voluntas Dei quam in ipso facto videmus Neque enim sine voluntate Dei in hanc monarchiam vnquam venire potuisset Rom. Pontifex At voluntas Dei quoquo modo nota fuerit cum reuerentia suscipienda est ideoque non licet temerè Romano pontifici in suo primatu resistere Haec autem ratio tanta est vt si etiam nulla scriptura nulla alia causa esset haec tamen satis esset ad compescendam temeritatem resistentium Et hac sola ratione gloriosissimus martyr Cyprianus per multas epistolas confidentissimè gloriatur contrà omnes episcoporum quorumcunque aduersarios sicut 3. Regum legimus quòd decē tribus Israel discesserunt à Roboam filio Salomonis tamen quia voluntate Dei siue auctoritate factum est ratum apud Deum fuit Nam apud theologos omnes voluntas signi quam vocant operationem Dei non minus quà m alia signa voluntatis Dei vt praecepta prohibitiua etc. metuenda est Ideo non video quomodo sint excusati à schismatis reatu qui huic voluntati contraueniētes sese à Romani pontificis auctoritate subtrahunt Ecce haec est vna prima mihi insuperabilis ratio quae me subijcit Romano pontifici Primatū eius confiteri cogit The first thing that moueth me to thinke the B. of Rome to be ouer all other that we knowe to be bisshops is the very will of God which we see in the facte or dede it selfe for without the will of God the B. of Rome could neuer haue commen vnto this monarchie But the will of God by what meane so euer it be knowen is to be receiued reuerently And therefore it is not lawfull rashly to resiste the B. of Rome in his primacie And this is so great a reason for the same that if there were no scripture at all nor other reason yet this were ynough to stay the rashnes of them that resiste And through this onely reason the most gloriouse martyr Cyprian in many of his epistles vaunteth him selfe very boldly against all the aduersaries of Bishops what soeuer they were As in the thirde booke of the kinges we read that the ten tribes of Israel departed from Roboam Salomons sōne Yeat because it was done by the will or auctoritie of God it stoode in effecte with God For among all the diuines the will of the signe which they call the working of God is to be feared no lesse then other signes of Gods will as commaundemētes prohibitiue etc. Therefore I see not how they may be excused of the gilte of schisme which going against this will withdrawe them selues from the auctoritie of the B. of Rome Lo this is one chiefe inuincible reason that maketh me to be vnder the bisshop of Rome and compelleth me to confesse his Primacie This farre Luther Thus I haue briefly touched some deale of the scriptures of the canons and councells of the edictes of Emperours of the fathers sayinges of the reasons and of the manifolde practises of the church which are wonte to be alleaged for the Popes Primacie and supreme auctoritie With all I haue proued that which M. Iuell denyeth that the B. of Rome within sixe hundred yeres after Christ hath ben called the vniuersall bishop of no small number of men of great credite and very oftentymes Head of the vniuersall church both in termes equiualent and also expressely Now to the nexte article Or that the people was then taught to beleue Iuell that Christes body is really substantially corporally carnally or naturally in the Sacrament Of the termes really substantially corporally carnally naturally fovvnde in the Doctours treating of the true being of Christes body in the blessed Sacrament ARTICLE V. CHristen people hath euer ben taught that the body and bloud of Iesus Christ by the vnspeakeable working of the grace of God and vertue of the holy Ghoste is present in this most holy Sacrament and that verely and in dede This doctrine is fownded vppon the plaine wordes of Christ which he vttered in the institution of this sacrament expressed by the Euangelistes and by S. Paul As they were at supper sayeth Matthewe Iesus tooke breade and blessed it and brake it Matth. 26 and gaue it to his disciples and sayeth Take ye eate ye this is my body And takyng the cuppe he gaue thankes and gaue it to them saying Drynke ye all of this For this is my bloude of the newe testament which shall be shedde for many in remission of synnes With like wordes almost Marke Luke and Paul Marc. 14. Luc. 22. 1. Cor. 11. doo describe this diuine institution Neither sayde our lord onely This is my body but least some shuld doubte how his wordes are to be vnderstanded for a playne declaration of them he addeth this further Wich ys geuen for you Luc. 22. Likewise of the cuppe he sayeth not onely This is my bloude But also as it were to putte it out of all doubte Which shall be shed for many Now as faithful people doo beleue that Christ gaue not a figure of his body but his owne true and very body in substance and like wise not a figure of his bloude but his very pretiouse bloude it selfe at his passion and death on the crosse for our Redemption so they beleue also that the wordes of the institution of this Sacrament admitte no other vnderstāding but that he geueth vnto vs in these holy mysteries his selfe same body and his selfe same bloude in truth of
Gelasius went about to spredde their heresie in Rome and in the parties of Italie Their hereticall opinion was that Christ tooke not oure fleshe and bloude but that he had a phaÌ„tasticall bodye and dyed not ne rose agayne trulye and in dede but by waye of phantasie And therefore at the communion they absteined from the cuppe and the better to cloke their heresie came to receiue the Sacrament in the forme of breade with other catholike people Against whom Leo sayeth thus Serm. 4. de quadra gesima Abdicant enim se sacramento salutis nostrae etc. They dryue theÌ„ selues awaye from the Sacrament of oure saluation And as they denye that Christ oure lorde was borne in truth of oure fleshe so they beleue not that he dyed and rose agayne truly And for this cause they condemne the daye of oure saluation and gladnes that is the sunnedaye to be their sadde fastinge daye And where as to cloke theire infidelitie they dare to be at oure mysteries they temper them selues so in the communion of the Sacramentes as in the meane tyme they may the more safely kepe them priuye With vnworthy mowth they receiue Christes bodye but to drinke the bloude of oure redemption vtterly they will none of it Which thing we would aduertise your holynes of that bothe such men maye be manifested by these tokens vnto you and also that they whose deuilish simulatioÌ„ and fayning is fownde being brought to light and bewrayed of the felowship of saintes maye be thrust out of the churche by priestly auctoritie Thus farre be Leo his wordes Gelasius that succeded fourty yeres after Leo imployed no lesse diligence then he dyd vtterly to vanquish and abolish that horrible heresie of whom Platina wryteth that he banished so many maniches as were fownde at Rome and there openlye burned their bookes And because this heresie shuld none elles where take roote and springe he wrote an epistle to Maiâ—ricus and Ioannes two bisshops amongest other thinges warning them of the same Out of which epistle this fragment onely is taken whereby he doth bothe briefly shewe what the Maniches dyd for cloking of their infidelitie as Leo sayeth and also in as muche as their opinion was that Christes bodye had not verye bloude as being phantasticall onely and therefore superstitiously absteined froÌ„ the cuppe of that holy bloude geueth charge and commaundement that either forsaking their heresie they receiue the whole Sacramentes to witte vnder bothe kyndes or that they be kepte from them wholy Here the wordes of Leo afore mentioned and this canon of Gelasius conferred together specially the storye of that tyme knowen it may sone appeare to any Iuell Or that the people had their commen prayers then in a straunge tonge that they vnderstoode not Of the Church Seruice in learned tonges vvhich the vnlearned people in olde tyme in sundry places vnderstoode not ARTICLE III. IF you meane Maister Iuell by the peoples common prayers such as at that tyme they commonly made to God in priuate deuotion I thinke they vttered them in that tonge which they vnderstoode and so doo Christen people now for the most parte and it hath neuer ben reproued by any catholike doctour But if by the common prayers you meane the publike Seruice of the churche whereof the most parte hath ben pronounced by the bishops priestes deacoÌ„s and other ecclesiasticall ministres the people to sundry partes of it saying Amen or otherwise geuing their assent I graunt some vnderstoode the language thereof and some vnderstoode it not I meane for the tyme you referre vs vnto euen of syx hundred yeres after Christes conuersation here in earth For about nyne hundred yeres past it is certaine the people in some countries had their Seruice in an vnknowen tonge as it shall be proued of our owne countrie of England But to speake first of antiquitie and of the compasse of your first syx hundred yeres it is euident by sundry auncient recordes bothe of doctours and of councelles specially of the councell Laodicene in Phrygia Pacatiana holden by the bishops of the lesser Asia about the yere of our lord 364. that the Greke churches had solemne Seruice in due order and forme set forth with exacte distinction of psalmes and lessons of houres dayes feastes and tymes of the yere of silence and open pronouncing of geuing the kisse of peace to the bishop first by the priestes then by the laye people of offering the Sacrifice of the only ministers coÌ„ming to the aulter to receiue the communion with diuerse other semely obseruations As for the Latine churches they had their prayers and Seruice also but in such fixed order long after the Grekes For Damasus the Pope first ordeyned that psalmes shuld be longe in the churche of Rome alternatim enterchaungeably or by course so as now we sing them in the quyere and that in the ende of euery psalme shuld be sayde Gloria Patri Filio Spiritui sancto sicut erat etc. Which he caused to be done by counsell of S. Hierome In rescripto Hieronymi ad 2. epist Damasi Papae ad HieronymuÌ„ presbyterum that the faith of the 318. bishops of the Nicene councell might with like felowship be declared in the mowthes of the Latines To whom Damasus wrote by Bonifacius the priest to Ierusalem that Hierom would send vnto him psallentiam Graecorum the maner of synging of the Grekes so as he had learned the same of Alexander the bishop in the East In that epistle complayning of the simplicitie of the Romaine churche he sayeth that there was in the Sunnedaye but one epistle of the Apostle and one chapter of the Gospell rehearsed and that there was no synging with the voice hearde nor the comelynes of hymnes knowen among them About the same tyme S. Ambrose also tooke order for the Seruice of his churche of Millane and made holy hymnes him selfe Lib. ConfessionuÌ„ In whose tyme as S. Augustine writeth when Iustina the young Emperour Valentinians mother for cause of her heresie wherewith she was seduced by the Arianes persecuted the catholike faith and the people thereof occupied them selues in deuoute watches more then before tyme ready to dye with their bishop in that quarell it was ordeyned that hymnes and psalmes shuld be song in the churche of Millane after the maner of the east parties that the good folke thereby might haue some comfort and spirituall reliefe in that lamentable state and continuall sorowes Thereof the churches of the West forthwith tooke example and in euery countrie they folowed the same In his seconde booke of Retractations Cap. 11. he sheweth that in his tyme such maner of synging began to be receiued in Aphrica Before this tyme had Hilarius also the bishop of Poiters in Fraunce made hymnes for that purpose of which S. Hierom maketh mention In 2. prooemio coÌ„mentariorum epist ad Galat. Much might be alleaged for proufe of hauing Seruice in the Greke and in the
bishops that reacheth from Peter him selfe to Anastasius which now sitteth in the same chaier if any traitour had crepte in it shuld nothing hurte the church and the innocent christen folke ouer whom our lord hauing prouidence sayeth of euill rulers what they saye vnto you Matth. 23. doo ye but what they doo doo ye not for they saye and doo not to the intent the hope of a faithfull person may be certaine and such as being set not in man but in our lord be neuer scattered abroade with tempest of wicked schisme And in his 166. epistle he sayeth our heaueÌ„ly Maister hath so farre forewarned vs to be ware of all euill of dissension that he assured the people also of euill rulers that for their sakes the Seate of holesom doctrine shuld not be forsaken in which Seate euen the very euill men be compelled to saye good thinges For the thinges which they saye be not theires but gods who in the Seate of vnitie hath put the doctrine of veritie By this we are plainely taught that albe it the successours of Peter Christes vicares in earth be fownde blameworthy for euill lyfe yet we oughte not to dissente from them in doctrine nor seuer our selues from them in faith For as much as notwithstanding they be euill by gods prouidence for the suertie of his people they be compelled to saie the thinges that be good and to teache the truth the thinges they speake not being theirs but gods who hath put the doctrine of veritie in the Seate or chaier of vnitie which singulare grace cometh specially to the See of Peter either of the force of Christes prayer as is sayde before or in respecte of place and dignitie which the bishops of that See holde for Christ as Balaam could be broughte by no meanes to curse that people whom God would to be blessed And Caiphas also prophecied because he was high bishop of that yere and prophecied truly being a maÌ„ otherwise most wicked And therfore the euill doinges of bishops of Rome make no argument of discrediting their doctrine To this purpose the example of Gregorie Nazianzene may very fittely be applied of the golden syluerne and leadden seale As touching the valewe of metalles golde and syluer are better but for the goodnes of the seale as well doth leadde imprint a figure in waxe as syluer or golde For this cause that the See of Rome hath neuer ben defyled with stinking heresies as Theodoritus sayeth and god hath alwaies kepte in that chaier of vnitie the doctrine of veritie as Augustine writeth for this cause I saye it sitteth at the sterne and gouerneth the churches of the whole worlde for this cause bishops haue made their appellations thither iudgement in doubtes of doctrine and determination in all controuersies and strifes hath ben from thence alwayes demaunded Now that the B. of Rome had alwayes cure and rule ouer all other bishops specially of them of the East for touching them of the West church it is generally coÌ„fessed besyde a hundred other euideÌ„t argumentes this is one very sufficient that he had in the East to doo his stede three delegates or vicares now commonly they be named legates And this for the commoditie of the bishops there whose churches were farre distaÌ„t froÌ„ Rome The one was the bishop of Constantinople as we finde it mencioned in epistola Simplicij ad Achatium Constantinopolitanum The seconde was the bishop of Alexandria as the epistle of Bonifacius the seconde to Eulalius recordeth The third was the bishop of Thessalonica as it is at large declared in the 82. epistle of Leo ad Anastasium Thessalonicensem By perusing these epistles euery man may see that all the bishops of Grece Asia Syria Egite and to be shorte of all the Orient rendred and exhibited their humble obedieÌ„ce to the B. of Rome and to his arbitremeÌ„t referred their doubtes coÌ„plaintes and causes and to him onely made theire appellations Of the B. of Rome his punishing of offenders by censures of the church and otherwyse CorrectioÌ„s from the Pope as by excommunications eiection deposition and enioyning penance for transgressions we haue more exaÌ„ples then I thinke good to recite here They that haue knowledge of the ecclesiasticall stories may remeÌ„ber how Timotheus B. of Alexandria was excommunicated with Peter his deacon by Simplicius the Pope Nestorius B. of Constantinople by Celestinus Theophilus B. of Alexandria with Arcadius the Emperour and Eudoxia the Empreresse by Innocentius for their wicked demeanour toward Chrysostome How Dioscorus B. of AlexaÌ„dria was deposed though the whole secoÌ„de Ephesine councell stoode in his defence how Peter B. of Antioche was not onely put out of his bishoprike but also of all priestly honour How Photius was put out of the Patriarkeship of Constantiple into which he was intruded by fauour of Michael the Emperour at the sute of his wicked vnkle by Nicolaus the first Lib 3. epist 13. For proufe of this auctoritie the epistle of Cyprian which he wrote to Stephanus Pope in his tyme against Martianus the B. of Arelate in Gallia maketh an euident argument For that this Martianus became a maineteyner of the heresie of Nouatianus and therewith seduced the faithfull people Cyprian hauing intelligence of it by Faustinus from Lions aduertised Stephanus of it and moued him earnestly to directe his letters to the people of Arle by auctoritie of which Martianus shuld be deposed and an other put in his rome to th' intent sayeth he there the flocke of Christ which hytherto by him scattered abroade and woonded is contemned may be gathered together Which S. Cyprian would not haue written had the B. of Rome had no suche auctoritie CoÌ„firmations by the Pope For the Popes auctoritie concerning confirmation of the ordinations and elections of all bishops many examples might easely be alleaged as the request made to Iulius by the 90. Ariane bishops assembled in councell as Antioche against Athanasius that he would wouchesafe to ratifie and confirme those that they had chosen in place of Athanasius Paulus Marcellus and others whom they had condemned and depriued Also the earnest sute which Theodosius the Emperour made to Leo for coÌ„firmation of Anatolius and likewise that Martianus the Emperour made to him for confirmation of Proterius bothe bishops of Alexandria as it appeareth by their letters written to Leo in theire fauour And as for Anatoliê° Leo would not in any wise order and coÌ„firme him onlesse he would first professe that he beleued and helde the doctrine Vide Leonis epis 1â— which was conteined in Leo his epistle to Flauianus and would further by writing witnesse that he agreed with Cyrillus and the other catholihe fathers against Nestorius For this if nothing elles could be alleaged the testimonie of holy Gregorie were sufficient to make good credite Who vnderstanding that Maximus was ordered bisshop of Salonae a citie in Illyrico without the auctoritie and confirmation of the See Apostolike standing in doubte least