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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	believe_v	scripture_n	tradition_n	2,838	5	9.5550	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20733	A defence of the sermon preached at the consecration of the L. Bishop of Bath and VVelles against a confutation thereof by a namelesse author. Diuided into 4. bookes: the first, prouing chiefly that the lay or onely-gouerning elders haue no warrant either in the Scriptures or other monuments of antiquity. The second, shewing that the primitiue churches indued with power of ecclesiasticall gouernment, were not parishes properly but dioceses, and consequently that the angels of the churches or ancient bishops were not parishionall but diocesan bishops. The third, defending the superioritie of bishops aboue other ministers, and prouing that bishops alwayes had a prioritie not onely in order, but also in degree, and a maioritie of power both for ordination and iurisdiction. The fourth, maintayning that the episcopall function is of apostolicall and diuine institution.	Downame, George, d. 1634.	1611 (1611)	STC 7115; ESTC S110129	556,406	714

shall bee lawfull to take another The vntruths therefore which the Refuter hath bestowed vpon me here he must be intreated to take to himselfe To proue their dissent from vs in this fourth point I alleaged Beza his distinction of Bishops into three sorts and because it is an odious distinction I concea●●d his name and to salue his credit J shewed that although hee came farre short of Caluins moderation yet he is more moderately affected towards our Bishops then the Disciplinarians among vs vsually bee who as they speake despitefully of them calling them Antichristian pettite Popes c. so doe they wish and labour for the extirpation of them whereas Beza speaking reuerently of them praieth for their continuance But both his distinction and his wish by the Refuter are peruerted expounding him as though he had accounted for humane those which had onely a priority of order whereas indeed he acknowledgeth such a presidentship as you haue heard to be a diuine ordinance and vnderstandeth his praier where he wisheth the continuance of the Bishops as if he had wished that so long as England hath Bishops they may bee such as may giue their liues for the truth as they did Where whiles hee vnderstandeth Beza as wishing our Bishoppes to be Martyrs he indiscreetly maketh him to wish that our Princes may bee persecutors which God forbid That which he addeth concerning my saying Am●● to the like wish for the Churches of France and Scotland and yet be no maintainer of their presbyteries is meerely idle for I did not bring in Beza as a maintainer of Bishops bvt rather did note him as one of their chiefe opposites citing his differences from vs and mentioning that distinction of Bishops howbeit I acknowledge his proposition to be with more moderation then is commonly to be found in the Disciplinarians among vs. Now I am to descend with him into the particulars which I propounded to be handled first to shew that the Bishops or Angels of the primiti●e Church were as well as ours superior to other Ministers in degree and secondly to declare more particularly wherein their superiority did consist But before he entreth the combate distrusting himselfe and his cause he seeketh as such champions vse to doe which way if need be he may make an escape and hauing to this purpose looked well about him he hath found out two starting holes whereby he hopeth to finde some euasion The former hath these windings and turnings in it 1. That the primiti●e church is to be confined to the Apostles times and not extended to the whole 200 yeares 2. That the question is ●● be ●nderstood of the Angels of the 7. Churches 3. That I must p●●●●e these Angels to haue had sole power of ordination and iurisdiction The first of these argueth extreame diffidence for Caluin and others in this question within the limits of the primitiue Church include the times of Constanti●e at the least yea Caluin includeth all the time a●tepapa●●m before the Papacy in which time he acknowledgeth the forme of Church gouernment to haue had nothing in it almost disso●ant from the word of God And whereas saith he euery prouince had among their Bishops an Archbishop and whereas also in the Councill of Nice there were established Patriarchs who in order and dignity were superior to the Archbishops that appertained to the preseruation of discipline And although he misliketh that the gouernment so established was called Hiera ●hy notwithstanding if omitting the name saith he we looke into the thing we shall finde that the ancient Bishops would not frame a forme of Church gouernment differing from that which God prescribed in his word And Beza confesseth that those things which were ordained of the antient Fathers concerning the seats of Bishops Metropolitanes and Patriarches assigning their limits and attributing vnto them certaine authority were appointed optimo zelo out of a very good zeale And therefore no doubt out of such zeale as was according to knowledge otherwise it would haue been far from being optimus the best Zanchius intreating of the diuers orders of Ministers in the primitiue Church as Presbyters Bishops Archbishops c. faith they may be defended Against which some learned man I will not say Beza hauing taken exception Zanchius maketh this apology When I wrote this confessiō of the faith I did write all things out of a good conscience and as I beleeued so I freely spake Now my faith is grounded chiefly and simply on the word of God Something also in the next place on the common consent of the whole antient Catholike Church if that bee not repugnant to the Scriptures I doe also beleeue that what things were defined and receiued by the godly Fathers being gathered together in the name of the Lord by the common consent of all without any gainsaying of the holy scriptures that those things also though they be not of the same authority with the holy Scriptures proceeded from the holy Ghost Hence it is that those things that be of this kind I neither will nor dare with good conscience mislike But what is more certaine out of histories Councels and writings of all the Fathers then that those orders of Ministers whereof I spake were established and receiued by the common consent of all Christendome Quis a●tem ego sim qui quod tota Ecclesia approbaui● improbem And who am I that I should disallow that which the whole Church allowed c. Neither doe I see any reason why the Church in Constantines time should not rather bee propounded as a pate●●e for imitation to Churches that liue vnder Christian princes and flourish through Gods blessing in peace and prosperitie then the Churches of former times which were not in all things established and setled according to their desires but were hindred by persecutiō For in time of persecution their gouernment was not alwaies such as they would but such as they could attaine vnto And vnlesse we would haue the Churches to liue alwaies vnder persecution it is madnesse to require them to be imitated in all things But what was by generall consent receiued and practised in the time of peace and prosperity was that which in their iudgements ought to be done and is of vs being in the like case to be imitated Now that in Constantines time the Bishops had superiority ouer other Ministers in degree and a singular preheminence of power and authority it is most euident Neither was their superiority and authority increased by the accession of the Christian Magistrate as their wealth was but rather diminished seeing while there was not a Christian Magistrate they were faine to supply that defect and by their owne authority did many things which afterward were done or assisted by the Magistrate But though there can no colour of a good reason be giuen why the superiority and authority of Bishoppes as they were diocesan should haue been greater

he wil acquaint you with his maner of performance which in general he confesseth to haue bene done in much weakenesse and many wants neither do I denie it But he might to his ouersight proceeding from ignorance weakenesse haue added his wilfull falsificatiōs deprauatiōs his forged calumniations his Sophisticall shifts and euasions to elude the light of truth conuicting his conscience But though he would seeme to acknowledge much weakenesse and many wants it was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of an affected modestie for his conceit is which hee shameth not to vtter that hee hath brought euidence sufficient I warrant you to make it manifest hee doubteth not of it that the doctrine in my Sermon is nothing lesse then true profitable and necessarie that my Preface is full of wittie calumniations to make them and their cause odious and that my Sermon notwithstanding my great boasting hath in it no one sound syllable of argument to proue my cause and disproue theirs What euidence he bringeth I shall not need here to relate this defence of my Sermon will make it manifest That I vsed either calumniations to make them and their cause odious or any great boasting which he talketh of I vtterly denie Who it is that vseth either calumniations the examination of his booke will bewray or boasting the very forefront of his booke this present place and many others besides doe testifie But I much disdaine that he should say that there was not a syllable of any sound proofe in my Sermō as before he had said that in my sermō I vttered scarse any one word of truth The proofes which I haue vsed are such I take God to witnesse as satisfie mine owne conscience And I trust I may without any great boasting assume vnto my selfe as good skill to iudge of an argument as this refuter or some others of his side Of his blasphemie against the truth which I deliuered I pray God giue him grace to repent And what was it that he hath thus censured A Sermon vttered in the presence of God in the roome of Christ before a most honourable auditorie by a Minister of the Gospell shall I say as sound and faithfull as himselfe no I disdaine the comparison for by his fruites in his booke whereby alone I can iudge of him he hath to my seeming plainely bewrayed an vnsound iudgement an euill conscience and an vnsanctified heart I trust I may say by a Minister of the Gospell as sound and orthodoxall as his betters as conscionable in all Sermons writings and as carefull to deliuer nothing but the truth of God Me thinkes he should rather haue trembled to thinke of confuting a Sermon of such a one as he iudging according to the iudgement of charitie cannot denie to be a faithfull Minister and Orthodoxall diuine then haue dared thus to censure it as hauing scarce one word of truth and not one syllable of a sound proofe Is this the reuerent estimation that you would worke in the peoples minds of the word preached or must they thinke that none make conscience of preaching the truth but your selues But if it shall appeare to any indifferent and iudicious Reader comparing this my defence with his refutation of my Sermon that hee hath not beene able to disproue any one of my proofes nor to cōuince me of any one vntruth throughout the whole body of my Sermon as in my conscience I am perswaded he hath not then doe those two censures of his the one that thereis scarce a true word the other that there is not one syllable of a sound proofe in all the Sermon containe so many vntruthes as there are sentences or proofes in the whole Sermon More particularly he telleth you both what he did not and what he hath done He hath made no large discourses to teach ouer anew the discipline of Christ so hee doubteth not to call their owne deuises onely he hath said what the Author of the abortiue booke and himselfe with their Coadiutors were able to say either for it or against the gouernement by Bishops The thing which he hath done is that he hath fulfilled my desire in applying distinctly his answeres to my arguments But my desire was not that he should balke those which he could not answere or depraue and weak on those which he did by fitting them to his owne strength Neither desired I alone that their answeres might be applied to euery argument in order but also that their proofes might be produced But forasmuch as hee had none such as I told them theirs had need to be that is to say very pregnant and demonstratiue whereby they might hope to perswade both the abolishing of that forme of gouernement which euen from the Apostles times hath beene perpetually obserued in the Church and setting vp of another which was neuer heard of till now of late therfore in the chiefe points of controuersie he hath beene for prooe need very sparing to vse any other proofe besides the testimonies of newe Diuines who are incompetent witnesses in a question of story concerning things done or not done 14. or 1500. yeares before their time themselues also for the most part being parties in the cause Now follow his directions to the Reader And first that he should w●igh my arguments with his answeres and compare the one with the other belieuing neither further then euidence truely produced leadeth him the which direction I earnestly desire the Reader in the feare of God to follow not to regard his calumniation whereby he seeketh to worke in him a preiudicate opinion against me most falselie charging me that as another Pythagoras I seeke to be belieued vpon mine owne word without authoritie and good reason For whether of vs seeketh more to be belieued without proofes I dare appeale to his iudgement when he hath perused what is alledged on both sides Howbeit I must needs say he giueth the Reader a good proofe in this place of his dexteritie in alleadging testimonies when to proue that in disputation credit is not to be giuen to him that speaketh without good proofe hee citeth Ierome and Tertullian disswading men from giuing credit to fame an vncertaine rumors His second direction is vnreasonable and the reasons thereof such as both contradict what he said euen now and are contradicted by that which he affirmeth afterwards If thou findest saith he no sufficiencie in his reasons to inforce thee to acknowledge his doctrine for true iustly thinke with thy selfe it is not else where to be had This is an vnreasonable motion that the weight of the whole cause should lye vpon one short Sermon vttered by so meane a man as my selfe What reasons can he bring to perswade the Reader to accept this motion forsooth all men knowe me to be a Scholler Not vnlike for so haue I beene euer since I was fiue yeares old But what manner of Scholler our Refuter will tell

Alexandria that order was changed Then at the soonest saith the refuter began M. D. superiority of Bishops to creep in c. Which answere if his meaning be as our refuter conceiteth is vnsound For first where he saith the order was changed in Heraclas and Dionysius that is spoken but by ghesse because Ierome nameth them Vpon which coniecture T. C. and H. I. as you haue heard did build their two diuers fancies For Ieromes meaning was not to signifie that the superioritie of Bishops was altered but as I haue shewed that vntill Heraclas and Dionysius who were not Presbyters but Teachers of the schoole in Alexandria the Presbyters euer since S. Marks time did chuse one out of their owne number That which the Refuter addeth is absurd and against Ieromes plaine words Then at the soonest began M. D. superiority of Bishops to creepe in for the superiority I spake of is superiority in degree And Ierome saith that euer from Saint Marke and therefore euen in the Apostles times the BB. had been placed in a higher degree My fift argument is also from the authority of Ierome which yeeldeth a double proofe the former that the superiority of Bishops ouer Presbyters and Presbyters aboue Deacons is an ordinance or tradition apostolicall Secondly that as the high Preist was in degree superiour to the other Preists and they to the Leuits so by an apostolicall ordinance the Bishop is superiour to the Presbyters and the Presbyters to the Deacons That wee may know saith he the apostolicall traditions are taken out of the old testament looke what Aaron and his sonnes and the Leuits were in the Temple the same let the Bishops Preists and Deacons challenge in the Church To this testimony containing two impregnable proofs for the superiority of BB. not onely de facto but also de iure the refuter thought it his wisest course to say nothing To these arguments this may be added That as the new ordination of a Deacon when he was made a Presbyter doth proue that he was aduanced to a higher degree of the ministery euen so when a Presbyter was chosen to be Bishop he was by a new ordination promo●ed to the Bishopricke as to a higher degree The two first canons among those which are called the Apostles appoint that a Bishop should be ordained of two or three Bishops but let a Presbyter say they be ordayned of one Bishop and likewise a Deacon and the rest of the clergy Valeriu● the Bishop dealth with the Primate the Bishop of Carthage by letters intreating him that Augustine who then was Presbyter might be ordained Bishop of Hippo which being obtained Augustine tooke vpon him the care of the Bishopricke maioris loci 〈…〉 and ordination of a greater place The councell of Sardica taketh order that before a man may be a Bishop he must first performe the ministery of a Reader then of a Deacon then of a Presbyter that so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by euery degree if hee be worthy he may arise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnto the height of the Bishopricke Theadoret testifieth that Iohn Chrysostome hauing been the chiefe of the Presbyters at Antioch a long time oft times might haue been chosen to the Bishopricke which he calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostolicall presidency but alwaies did flie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that principality So that though he were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the chiefe of the Presbyters yet he was no Bishop neither durst he for a long time take vpon him that degree of principality So much of the superiority of Bishops in generall CHAP. III. Shewing wherin the superiority of Bishops did and doth consist and first of the singularity of preeminence Serm. sect 3. page 32. But let vs consider more particularly wherein the superioritie of Bishops did and doth consist c. ad lin a fine 6 THe superiority of Bishops ouer other Ministers I place in three things singularity of preeminence during life the power of ordination and the power of iurisdiction all which I ground on Tit. 1.5 But where I say during life hee saith This addition needed not seeing it is grounded vpon an erroneous conceit of mine owne whereby I charge them as holding the contrary Secondly that it is not proued out of the place alleaged In the former hee sheweth how audacious he is seeing Beza the chiefe patron of the pretended discipline holdeth that the Presidents of the Presbyteries which afterwards as he saith were called Bishoppes ought to be but for a short time and that by course and esteemeth them which had a perpetuall presidenship to be Bishops humane as I haue shewed before The practise also of those Churches where the discipline is vsed doth prooue what their Founders thought was agreeable to Gods word This their conceit is euidently confuted by the Epistles to Titus and to Timothy For seeing they doe confesse that they were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Churches of Creet and Ephesus it is euident that they continued in this Presidentshippe whiles they liued there For it is absurd to imagine that Titus was sent to Creet and Timothy to Ephesus to be presidents there in their turnes and when their turnes were ended to be subiected to other of the Presbyters there in their course But these things the refuter doth but cauill at by the way For he granteth that Titus had this superioritie which we speake of his maine answer is that Titus was not a Bishop Which afterwards J proue in the Sermon by the common consent of the antient and most approoued Writers of the Church with whose affirmation in a matter of fact if this Refuters deniall shall be weighed in the ballance of an vnpartiall iudgement it will be found as light as vanitie it selfe But of this question more hereafter In the meane time J will but desire the Reader to take this for granted because it cannot be denied that if Titus was Bishop of Creet then Bishops had this threefold superioritie which I speake of Where I commend this order of Church gouernement consisting in the superiority of Bishoppes and inferioritie of other Ministers this graue and learned Refuter maketh a scorne at it saying It is a toy to please children and a gay Epiphonema wanting a note of exclamation he would haue said acclamation to grace it The which argueth his spite against the gouernment of Bishoppes rather then his might being neither able to endure the iust commendation of episcopall gouernment nor yet to confute it For what hath he but trifles and toies to obiect against it For where hee saith I begge the question supposing ech Church to be a diocesse the conscience of the Reader I hope also of the Refuter will testifie that what I suppose in this behalfe hath beene before sufficiently prooued Besides those with whom I principally contend in this point doe confesse the Churches indued with power of