both Preachers Gouernours yet saith Saint Paul If any man obey 〈…〉 note him by a letter and shall I come vnto you with a Rod saith he to the Corinthians which Church had many Presâ—yters there is the Censure reserued For the other Philip though full of the holy Ghost and of power hauing preached and conuerted many in Samaria yet had no authoritie to lay-hands vpon any but the Apostles were faine to send from Hierusalem Peter and Iohn to doe that office there is Imposition of hands reserued both these they conueyed vnto Bishops First for Ordination by laying on of hands in this Church of Ephesus there were many Presbyters long before Timothie was appointed their Bishop yet Saint Paul sent him of purpose to Impâ—se handes 1. Tim. 5. 22. and for that intent also he left Titus in Creta Neither would the Church of Christ succeeding admit any other but Bishops to that businesse as not iustifiable for the Presbyters either by Reason example or Scripture First for Reason it is a rule which admits no contradiction saith the Apostle that he which blesseth should bee greater then he which is blessed taking it for the benediction which is ex authoritate not deuotione for the subiect may blesse the Prince man blesseth God in heartie deuotion but the blessing of authoritie comes from the greater as honour is in him that confers it not in him that takes it And this is Saint Ambrose his reason Secondly for example not one to bee shewed through the whole storie Ecclesiasticall that any besides a Bishop did it If some one of the inferior ranke presumed to doe it his Act was reuersed by the Church for vnlawfull as in the case of Collâ—thus a Presbyter of Alexandria whereof Athanasius and Epiphanius do both make mention who took vpon him to giue orders for which both himselfe was censured and what hee did was reuoked and they receiued as meere Lay-men and no otherwise vnto the communioÌ„ whom he had ordered Thirdly For scripture there is none either of Holie men or of the Holy-Ghost not holymen for all the Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one consent do contradict it Chrysostome vpon the 1. Tim. 3. and 4. Theodoret vpon the same places Oecumenius vpon 1. Tim. 5. Ambrose is peremptory that it is neither Fas nor Ius consonant neither with Gods nor mans law that any besides a Bishop should do it Yea Hierom himselfe who setteth a Presbyter like him in Sophocle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aduanceth him as high as he can to make him go aequis ceruicibus with a Bishop yet takes him this one peg downe Excepta Ordinatione what is it saith he that a bishop doth which a Presbyter may not do sauing Ordination No scripture of the Holy-ghost either analogically by consequent or directly by precept For analogie none but the Apostles did it or might do it as before you heard not directly for to what Presbyter was the authority committed as a Presbyter vnto Timothy a Bishop of Ephesus it was said lay hands hastily on no man And to Titus a Bishop of Creta I have left thee here to ordaine presbyters But to each of these there is an obiection First for example that of Ananias Act 9. who being neither Apostle not Bishop onely a disciple laide his handes vpon Paul and had a commission for it True but they were Manus curatoriae not confirmatoriae as appeareth verse 12. to restore his sight not to giue him his function Els should he haue beene first actually consecrated an Apostle of Christ before hee had beene baptised into Christ which was Psal 18. Secondly for scripture Saint Pauls precept seemes to imply a practise of consecration by the Presbyteri in those wordes neglect not the grace which is in thee and was given thee cum impositione manuum presbyterii faire colours in show but they will not hold Shall the Fathers bâ—e iudges They al with one consent interpret the Presbytery by the Praelacy that is by the Bishops for they onely say the Fathers may doe it Shall moderne writers and the best of them Maister Caluin presbyterii nor the Colledge saith hee is here meant for the Bishops had then and after a colledge of priestes to assist them in their sacred businesse which Saint Hierom calleth Senatum ecclesiae but the office as if Paul shoulde haue said neglect not the grace which was giuen thee when by imposition of handes thou wert made presbyter which interpretation he borrowes from Saint Chrysost. Shal Saint Paul himselfe determine it In the second Tim 1. 6. Stirre vp saith he the grace which is in thee by the laying on of My hands So that either Saint Paul was himselfe that whole Presbyter 〈◊〉 as hauing in him being an Apostle which Bishops also haue all the fuÌ„ctions Ecclâ—siastical as the Philosopher speaks of anima rationalis that it hath in it all the inferior faculties both sensitiue and vegetatiue Or at least he was principal in the action without him it might not be done Which were it so yet Master Caluin stands resolute that S. Paul alone did it it preuentes a third obiection taken out of the 4. Carthaginian Councell where there is a Canon that when a Bishop laies handes to giue Orders all the priestes present do withall lay their handes iuxta manum Episcopi True First iuxta manum so that the Bishops hand must necessarily and 〈◊〉 bâ— on Secondly there is 〈◊〉 scripture a twofould 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or stretching forth of the hand the first extended to coÌ„secrate and bâ—esse So did the â—aâ—riaâ—chs and priestes in the ould testament our Sauiour and his Apostles in the new The other stretched out ad testimoâ—um for a witnesse and assent The Bishops hand is the first for that blesseth and consecrateth the preâ—byters assisting do with their handes 〈◊〉 and approue what hee doth How will that appeare demonstratiuely because if there were an error in the ordination as that a man either insufficient for learning or scandalous for life or otherwise Canonically impeached were admitted into Orders the Bishop only was censured the assisting presbyters neuer called in question whereof the examples are infinite and therefore the diuines haue very well obserued out of that place 1. Tim. 5. 22. lay handes hastily on no man that the Bishop as hee hath manuÌ„ porrigendaÌ„ he only hath authority to impose haÌ„ds so he hath also manuÌ„ corrigendam if as S. Basil speaketh he hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hands too hasty and easy for admittance into orders without triall and testimony his hand onely is to bee corrected For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is thou Timothy not the Presbyters that communicatest with their sinne whom thou so admittest So then since neither the error was imputed vnto the Clergie assistant nor the Censure inflicted vpon them the
often confounded yet the functions are distinct For in the 24. of Matthew Verse 45. hee that was appointed Rector super familiam Steward of the houshold vnder the chief Lord was in the 49. verse called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fellow seruant with the rest of the Meany all seruants vnder one Lorde but yet some superior to other in Office In the Ciuile state being more familiar vnto you this distinction will be more apparant For the stile of Barâ—n is a tiâ—tle belonging to men of great Honor and of noble birth but yet communicable to men scarse of meane Worship Yea euen in that honourable rank both Earles and Lords are called Barons yet their places and Dignities vnequall euery Earle being a Baron but euery Baron not an Earle So in this case both Bishops and Priests in respect of that generall seruice to our Lord the Dispensation of his word and mysteries are all Presbyters and fellow-Presbyters but the stiles being communicable the tearmes are not conuertible for euery Bishop is a Presbyter but euery Presbyter is not a Bishop For S. Peter calleth himselfe a Presbyter 1. Pet. 5. 1. and yet he was an Apostle the communitie of names confound not the offices Neither shal we euer read that any of those things inioyned by Paul to Timothie were committed to Presbyters either to a singular person or to a whole Colledge where there was not a Bishop Wherevpon the very same authoritie both of Ordination and Iurisdiction the Churches succeeding reserued to their Bishops onely I maruaile saith Hierom that the Bishop of the Diocesse wherein Vigilantius is a Presbyter doth not crush that vnprofitable vessell with his Apostolique rod. And it is thy humilitie saith Saint Cyprian to Rogatianus a Byshop that thou wouldest complaine to me of the conâ—umelie offered vnto thee by a Deacon whereas thou mightest pro Episcopatus tui vigore Cathedrae authoritate that is through the strength of thine office as thou art a Byshop and the authoritie of thy Chayre haue power sufficient to reuenge thy selfe on him And therefore willeth him â—hat if the Deacon doe still persist in that his malipert cariage he should either Deponere or abstinere Depose him from his Ministerie or suspend him at his pleasure And thus much of the Superioritie of Bishops ouer their Clergie the nature whereof what it is you see Wee must nowe come to examine the authoritie whereon it is grounded and that is in these wordes Spiritus sanctus the Holy Ghost For his authoritie runs through all the partes as in the beginning I told you Of his immediate disignment of any to the place we speake not yet though â—ome referre the calling of Timothie to his Bishopricke vpon those words per Prophetiam thereunto Oecumenius vpon that place infers that generall conclusion that Bishops were not made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pell-mell at all aduentures but by the Commandement of the Holy Ghost wee speake of their appointment by men indued with the Holy spirit from aboue that is the Apostles for euery ordinance Apostolick wee take to be the action of the Holy Ghost In triall whereof we will follow M. Beza Surely saith he Si ab ipsis Apostolis profecta esset c. If I could finde this superioritie of a Bishop ouer the rest of his Clergie to haue proceeded from the Apostles I would not feare to attribute it Divinae in solidum dispositioni Wholly and fully to the diuine Institution Let vs then ioyne that issue Saint Augustine shall beginne That which the whole Church reteineth and no Councell hath first decreed and was neuer alâ—red must be beleeued to be an Apostolicall ordinance Now â—or this particular Saint Hierom himselfe câ—nfessethâ— that not one Church onely but the whole world decreed the superioritie of Bishops Vt vnus coeteris superpoâ—erâ—tur As for a Councell that first erected it there is none The Canons which for the antiquitie of them are called Apostolorum Canones distinguish theâ— Degrees as we now haue them The Nicen Councel which is the first generall we haue in print extant reckoneth them in the same order with the same prerogatiues and establisheth them to be continued according to the ancient and former custome with this short Aphorisme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For alteration there was none for 1500. yeeres together vntill young Iosua his emulation enuying that some had the Key of Knowledge more then other Enuiest thou for my sake ioyned with Corah his repining that some had the Key of power and Iurisdiction aboue others You take too much vpon you Moses and Aaron I say not for 1500 yeeres did any Church alter that Gouernment or opinion perhaps a pedling Heretique or two Theâ—alâ—s in the Church of Ierusalem and Aerius else-where fancied vnto themselues a Paritie but their ground was Malecontentment as Eusebius and Epiphanius both witnes because they could not be made Bishops which they earnestly affected Egesippus the ancienst Historian cited by Eusebius hath branded Theblis with a marke that will not out while there are bookes extant viz. That the Church of Ierusalem remained no way infected with error in so much that she was by men stiled a Virgin the first that corrupted her was Thebulis because he was not made Bishop So that by Saint Augustines inference the Institution is Apostolicall and therfore by M. Beza his concession Diuine But this is perhaps but an oblique and indirect proofe Surely we are no Arcadians to fetch our Pedegree from beyond the Moone shall Histories of fact or Testimonies of the auncient be our Heraldes for record Eusebius the most auncient of the Historiographers that wee haue for 300. yeeres succession nameth the persons and calculateth the times of the Bishops of foure principall Churches of the worlde Ierusalem Antioch Rome and Alexandria Socrates and Theodoret the rest who lineally succeeded the Apostles in those Sees vntill the Councell of Nice who with 314. Bishops more subscribed vnto that Generall Councill And that which Eusebius witnesseth of those foure the same doth Irenaeus more auncient then hee by almost two hundred yeeres iustifie to bee the case of all the Churches in the world that the Bishops theÌ„ gouerning could deriue their succession from them to whom the Apostles by hand deliuered the saide Churches to gouerne in euery place Which certeine successiue propagation Saint Augustine maketh the maine roote of Christian societie and Tertullian the maine proofe of true doctrine And heere if I would seeme ambitious in heaping Authors I might goe downeward from Irenaeus through the whole course of the Fathers delineating this succession and thereby trouble rather your patience then mine owne memorie The best course therefore to determine this question in this short time allotted mee will bee as I think if we make him the vmper whoÌ„ they make our Accuser that is S. Hierom
Leuiticall seruice a weekely monethly or annuall course but posuit setled in their persons during life Thirdly their Diocesan Iurisdiction In quo vniuerso for a Parochian assemblie a petty parish came not within S. Pauls cognisance for a Bishop Fourthly the author of these all spiritus sanctus this calling beeing no humane inuention for euery plant which my heauenly Father hath nat 〈◊〉 shall bee rooted out Fifthly the manner thereof that is also in the word posuit First posuit actu he acted it by the hands of the Apostles and so the Episcopall function is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an ordinaÌ„ce Apostolical SecoÌ„dly posuit iure he hath enacted it for succeeding posteritie and so it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Canon or coÌ„stitutioÌ„ of the whole Trinity These are the partes many in number easy for proofe and yet hard in the taske onely in this respect because of whatsoeuer shal be vttered by me in this discourse that of Solomon is verified Non valet quisquam dicere ecce hoc recens est so many treatises there haue bene compiled conferences had bookes stuffed with proofes in this argument to which nothing can bee added and lesse hath beene answered for an answere worse then silence is lesse then nothing Notwithstanding though QuintiliaÌ„ Seneca do both of them repute it to be tardi ingenii to set a mans wit working no further then his reading I had rather in such a case which stands vpoÌ„ authority Sapere excoÌ„mentario to be wise by other mens labors then sapere prae commentario as some in this very point do who like vnto him Ezec. 28. 3. taking themselues to be wiser then Daniel for he grounded his wisdom vpon books reading prefer their owne fancie before al antiquity My humble request vnto you is it might please you to cast off all preiudice either to the question in hand or the party that handles it and before I enter it to ioyne with mee in humble and hearty praiers vnto almighty God that what shal be vttered by me his vnworthy minister may turne to his glory and to your instruction in Christ Iesu. In which praier c. The first thing I am to handle is the prioritie and superioritie of Bishops ouer their cleargie in this word Episcopos IT is Saint Pauls rule that all things be done decently and in order for where there is no order there can bee no decency the best means for order is when S. Pauls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 commandement with authoritie is followed with S. Peters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a subordinate obedience No place doth order become better then the Church of Christ which himselfe in the Canticles calleth Aciem ordinatam an armie well marshalled wherein euery company hath a Captaine both Captaines and companies are vnder one General For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 equalitie in government is the entertainer of confusion saith the Philosopher that is so fit guest for the Churches of the saints saith the Apostle Wherefore as the great shepheard of Israel professed of himself that he led his people gouernd his flock with two staues which Zachary the eleuenth he called the one bandes and the other beautie so the great clauiger of heauen which hath the key of Dauid that shutteth and no man openeth openeth and no man shutteth for his Church gouernment hath left two keyes in the 16. of Matth. the one clauem scientiae the key of knowledge the preaching of the gospell which as the more essentiall part are the bandes of our function for that necessitie is laid vpon vs and wo vnto vs saith Saint Paul if we preach not the Gospel if wee turne not that key The other of power and iurisdiction which by distinguishing of functions causeth as Saint Paul describes it 1. Cor. 12. a singular decency in the Church of Christ the one imposeth a duty haec oportet fâ—cere there is Zach. his first staffe Bâ—ndes the other maketh for the comlines of the regiment hac decet fieri there is Zach. his second staffe Beauti And as the Father and the Sonne so the holy Ghost also would make it knowne that as in his dedit Ephes. 4. the guifts which he hath conferred vpon Church-men there is an imparitie and some better then other couet after the best guiftes 1. Cor. 12. so in this posuit the functions and offices of the Church hee hath appointed an inequalitie and some to be higher then others not onely that there be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 12. 28. some to gouerne some to obay but that among the gouernours there should be a disparitie of honour in the 1. Tim. 5. some to bee aduanced with double honour in respect of others This is the proiect of the whole Trinitie for Church gouernement and their practise was semblable For God himselfe in the olde Testament in the paritie of priesthood allotteth an imparitie of gouernement one Leuit aboue an other Priestes aboue them and the high-priest chiefe of them all So Christ while he liued on earth of 84. whom hee appointed for the generall seruice which Saint Luke Actâ— 6. 4. calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ministration of the word he selected 12. to be the principall and superior to the other which appeareth manifestly Act. 1. For as an Apostles room became void one of the 72. was chosen into his place yea euen of those 12. there were as S. Paule intitles them Summi Apostoâ—â— the chiefe Apostles by good coniecture those 3. Peter Iames and Iohn whom in the 2. to the Gal. he calleth Columnas Pillers For those 3. alone did our Sauiour make pertakers of his transfiguratioÌ„ on the mount Mat. 17. and of his agony in Gethsâ—many Mat. 26. Which Selection did not so much expresse his loue to them more then the rest as which Nazian well obserueth argue their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prerogatiue preheminence aboue the rest An euident argument or probable at the least Epip maketh therof in that our Sauiour dignified them and not the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with names stiles of Honour calling Simon Peter Iames and Iohn Boanâ—rges the sonnes of thunder So the holy ghost after Christes ascention first Symbâ—lically 1. Cor. â—â— distinguisheth persons ecclesiastical placing some as the head others as the eyes others as the feete all together like members of the body with equal concord but vnequal dignitie conspiring together for the safety of the whole Secondly directly in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Tim. 3. 13. which the Geneua hath not well translated They which haue ministred well For the words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those which haue discharged the office of a Deacon 〈◊〉 prepare vnto themselâ—es 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 to ascend to a higher degree as first