Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	ceremony_n	church_n	ordain_v	3,759	5	9.3766	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13114	The epistle that Iohan Sturmius, a man of great lerninge and iugement, sent to the Cardynalles and prelates that were chosen and appointed by the Bysshop of Rome, to serche out the abuses of the churche. Translated into englysshe by Rychard Morysine.; Epistle that Johan Sturmius, a man of great lerninge and jugement, sent to the Cardynalles and prelates.	Sturm, Johannes, 1507-1589.; Morison, Richard, Sir, d. 1556.	1538 (1538)	STC 23407; ESTC S105095	25,896	98

relygion and not to suche as abuse theyr offyce to the defacyng of trouth Relygyon all godlynes Ye caste those out of youre Churche whyche note youre vyces and those that haue mooste nede of all to be corrected ye make arbytrours and iuges Is this any other thyng than to let olde rotten bowes growe stylle and to plucke vppe the yonge plantes that nowe begyn to springe in groundes more fertile thā yours is I say not this that I wolde men shulde thinke I iuged none amonges you to fauour the trouth or that at leaste there be not some of your syde whiche wold religion were redressed but I speke it bycause ye woll such to haue auctoritie as shulde if lawes myghte haue their places if canons myght beare the stroke if symonie were taken away if fytte and true minysters were ordeined in the churche not onely change their maners but also leaue their astate and kynde of lyuynge ¶ The bysshoppe of Lege a man of the same place that ye are of very couetous verye cruelle and nothing lerned is as ye know departed ye haue manye suche monsters with you at this present time in the court of Rome I wol not name thē that be alyue I speake of that holy byshop bycause it is well knowen what he was If ye gyue menne of his sorte lycence to iuge and make suche decrees as they wolde were made you may be assured they wol neuer admytte yours neither any other that shall be oughte worthe Wherfore menne thynke that you haue taken vppon you this consultation in vayne They feare ye cast them in a vayne hope you doo soo surely except this kynde of iudges be reiected and suche chosen as loue moche more the common welth thā their priuate commodities ¶ But nowe lette vs come to this that ye say of the byshop of Rome you woll thre thinges to be in hym First that he be byshop vniuersall secōde that he be byshop of Rome Third that he be a prince and lord of certaine franke cities and common welthes Of these thre we graunte hym but one that is to be byshop of Rome for this is his function this is his office this alone appertained vnto hym as longe as Christis doctryne flouryshed thother twain he hath dothe vsurpe arrogantly moche agaynste the worde of god and farre contrary to the aunciente custome of the apostels But where as many thynges oughte to be corrected amonges you in your owne consistorie of what one I pray you do you admonyshe the byshoppe of Rome wherin do you rebuke him Do you lay anything to his charge for the treadyng downe of Christis doctrine Do you write any thinge of his ambition any thynge of his corrupte and vicyous maners any thynge of suche shamefull and abhominable crimes as can not withoute greatte greefe be named nor thought vppon without moche offence of chaste myndes ye speake of priestes garmentes and of the horedome of Rome here ye make a great complaynte here ye be longe and very copious but of the deprauate vse of the Sacramente you speake neuer a worde If ye suffre these abuses in Rome What shall suche nations doo as oonely feare your name and can not here youre voyces beinge farre from you nor be taught your neglygence beinge so greatte as it is What shall we think you wol do in other matters whan in a thyng most weighty and necessarie ye be soo negligent For where as that sacrament was instituted by god not inuented of men taken from aboue not giuen vs for a season lefte with vs from the begynnynge halowed not boughte sent vs from god not gotten by fauour of men a thynge not to be other wise vsed than it was fyrste ordeyned fore a very gyft and gyuen to a certayn ende Do not we worse than yuel by our craftes to change and conuerte it to disceytefull marchandise to let no man be parttaker of it but suche as pay and such as beleue the spottes of the sowle be washed away therwith suche as beleue the grefe of conscience is taken awaye by it It hath chaunced in this thynge as it lyghtlye dothe in all other Those that are beste are soonest brought out of order This bicause it cometh not vnder the eye of man but is comprehended alone by thought and cogitation may be lyghtly stayed stopped and altered by false perswasion whiche the rude multitude dotynge age and longe custome ofte tymes bryng men vnto If the wyl of god were as sone perceyued in a mans harte as the fyre is whan it is put vnto any part of the body we myght care the lesse to seke the right knowledge of god No man crieth but whan he is peined But for as moche as we haue nede of quyckenesse of wytte industrie and diligence we do very yuel to thynke no parte of the bodye of Christe diseased where many partes are sore sycke worse to be negligent in redressynge and curynge of them where good men haue openid their diseases vnto vs. In your coūsell ye disclose certayn lyttell soores but the roote of them whyche be in those membres without the whiche lyfe can not contynue in the bodye you speake nothynge of neyther ye do marke that the very bloudde of the churche and body of Christe is corrupted the liuer infectid the hart and the brayne diseased and the lūges tendynge to putrifaction For as the body of man can not contynue without bloudde without the lyuer without the harte the lounges so the relygion of Christe is by and by lost where as true doctrine good intente good mynisters and the right vse of religion is not If ye wol restore agayne the ryght vse of suche ceremonies as be not contrary to Christis lawes yf you woll suffre euery man to haue knowlege of the gospell yf you woll graunt that men may be laufully assembled togyther yf you wolle make good rulers in the churche we wol ioyne with you ye shall fynde nothyng in vs that ought to greue you we wol forget all olde grudges ¶ You deeme wrongefully of vs where you thynke that we wolde haue all ceremonies taken awaye For whan we sawe the moste parte of them very naughte we reteyned styl the necessarie and threwe away the naughtye and yet we are in deuysinge whiche of the reste we may kepe or amende For this I knowe assuredly more reuerence is borne among vs to the sacramentis of the Altare and Baptisme thanne is in those places where your customes are yet maynteined Our holy days are so well appoynted so bestowed in honest vacation that they maye be more than comparid with yours And seing that all these thynges be foule out of order not only in other places but also in Rome at the bysshops nose it were your dutie to set them forth to be amended But thus farre we haue spoken of the byshop of Rome why do you speke nothing to proue him a prince as ye call hym where hath he

the difference that we put herein ye accuse vs and beare men in hande that we wolde haue no man better than other that we wolde no resorte of people shulde be to churches no knelynge no syngynge no sensyng shuld be in the tēples that we wold the vniuersall church were subuerted so that if your authoritie were ones taken away we myght do euery thynge at our pleasure withoute any reproche We be contente with all ceremonies that in any wyse be conformable and agreinge to oure religion Yea this also we permytte that what soo euer dothe not defyle our religion shoulde be lefte to the determination of a generall councill They be noo trifles that make vs to refuse your authoritie vsurped power and naughty censures Sadolete I wold haue you shewe what councils toke vppon theym to talke of this popish and priestly apparayle that you write of ¶ For holy days Sabbatiꝰ a Iew did his part he caused strife trouble and for the same matter there was variance betwene Policrates and Uictor But you knowe that Irineus greatly mysliked their discorde bycause that diuersitie either in holy dayes or fastyng days breaketh not the bonde of relygion ne of Christis feithe What dothe saynte Augustine in his letters to Ianuarie Doth he not euen the same that we require He requireth a meane in ceremonies Doth he not also lament that the burdeyn of ceremonies be more heuye vnto vs than euer were any to the Iewes What wolde he do nowe whan all thynge is done for the seruynge of mennes appetite for ambition and for desire of lucre ¶ Agaynste suche foolysshe trifles what I pray you saith Esaias what Ieremias what Amos the prophetes Esaias forsawe these ceremonyes and these yuell customes he sawe that vayne vanitie shulde folowe the destruction of the Iewes whiche he sheweth expresselye and yet we make as though we redde of no suche thynge ¶ Herein I se not what you canne laye agaynste vs more than the authoritie of the canons the church whose auctoritie we wold were safe and in ful strength But this muste alwais be one special point in the lawes of the church that prestes lyue wel and teache wel that they be presente abyde vpon theyr benefices that all they be deposed whiche haue goten any thynge in the churche by moneye Neyther he shoulde haue any benefice with cure whom the courte carieth from it or he that leaueth his flocke and foloweth an hauke prickynge to the partrige in stede of preachynge to his parysshe For as longe as these thynges are suffered vnpunished howe is it possible relygion to be kepte and ceremonies vnabused For let the leste parte be ones mysvsed and the reste can not long continue safe But you woll not touche the diseases that ye were set to seke fore nother ye woll suffre the partis soore greued to be healed Ye esteme more the smooke of the sensars bowynges and crouchynges more the apparaylle that men go in than ye do the knowlege of right religion or the feare of god or his honour where as in deede these thynges are of necessitie and the other for the soule helth nothing at all Neuer the lesse they maye in some case be suffered and are tollerable but these that I shal now reherse can nother be wynked at nother defended as not to aknowlege the abuse of the sacrament of the altare and the abuse of ceremonyes as that monkes and pristes haue libertye to lyue vnchaste and vnclenly and those that endeuour theym selfes to amende it to be troubled ye and iuged of you vnworthy to be in the company of good menne We ar careful and sory for this peruerse iugement we go not about to breke the ceremonies specially those that may stande with Christis relygion we promyse you to kepe them styll onely do you this for your parte see that those thniges be restored without the whiche neyther the dignitie of the churche nother the auctoritie of Christis name can continue ¶ Nowe here I wol come vnto an other poynte that moche letteth our agrement Ye complayne greately that we be ouer stubborne and rude and that we intende to destroy al iurisdiction and to take awaye all riches frome the churche This you say may not be suffred For it is an aunciente custome that noble men that come of great stockes be honorably promoted from whom so gret cōmodities can not be taken away without high displesure and great daunger If this be the worste we shall lyghtly be deliuered from gret grefe and trouble shortely be ioyned with you For seynge there be thre sortis of men in the church that rule one of them mete to teache an other mete to mainteyne the power and ryches of the churche the third whiche sometymes hathe bothe the thynges aforesayde and yet is mete for ner nother If you wyl be content to reiecte the laste sorte and suffer the other two to be seuered and diuided distinctly the one frome the other I trust all stryfe and grudge betwene vs shal be by those meanes quite abolyshed and cleane forgotten For you requyre in the minysters of the churche good lyfe and lernynge Let vs haue suche as be able bothe for theyr lernynge and for their liuing to gouerne the people put a difference betwene them and the other that haue in their gouernance the goodes of the worlde and of the cōmon weale do this we trust sone to haue an ende of all matters that we can nat now agree vpon or at the least wise a greatter moderation of our grudges stryfes There be som mē of gret blode whiche woll be ashamed of the gospel and there be some that faithfully woll kepe the goodes of the churche No man can make tyrantes beleue that it is more honour to be loued and honored of theyr subiectes than to be feared of theym But it were a shame for any christen mā to think that it were a higher dignite to haue great power and might thā to professe the gospell in suche wise as may stād best with godly liuing We ar moued by authorite of many great wise men to sette an order betwene these two sortes To let passe saint Augustin saint Ambrose and other perfect bishops did not Chrisostom before a multitude of an hūdred M. mē in a sermon greuously lament that bishops were taken frō the cure of their church and ocupied in money matters Thapostels also put a difference betwene the office of bishops and decons These two sortes had neuer bē sondred but y t they inspired by god did se before that at one time or other some wolde refuse to kepe these orders taken by them ¶ But peraduenture some mē wol say noble mē haue giuē gret riches to the church it is conueniēt y t theyr posteritie be sonest p̄ferred vnto the same First noble men ar not forbid neither to professe the gospel nother to haue the gouernance of money cites If there be

of them that be vnmete to haue y e one or the other there be lawes that wol such to be regarded as come of those auncestours that fyrst enriched this or that churche Fynally al riches wold be so disposed that none lack and an order taken after euery persons degree sorte whiche order must so longe be kept as religion take no hurt by it an equal and a conuenient distribution shulde be made to men of euery degre We may lacke riches in Christis churche but if we be spoyled of true doctryne than of necessytie we are destitute of all relygyon Therfore we woll not stryue with you for riches we require to haue Chrystis doctrine we desyre to haue true ministers we wyshe ernestly to haue a free councille in a safe place where mē may speke boldly whither good men and wel lerned maye be called where the naughty ignorant persons shal not be admytted as iuges and chiefe doers If you graunt vs these thinges and wol also helpe vs in them we woll not meddell with great men And yet as we woll not willingely gyue them the ryches of the churche that be of great power so if they woll nedes haue them we wol not gretly sticke therin If they desyre to haue golde and riches and the gouernance of common weales we wol not stryue with them for we seke not for suche thynges noo no whan al this that ye seke is taken a waye the churche remaineth styl so that Christis lernynge do remayne and the gospell florishe Sacrilege is a shameful dede and worthy gret punishement and agaynst this many lawes be made certainely it is a kynde of Sacrilege not to dispense the goodes of the church to thē that be nedy And they that do not distribute them in this wyse doo veraye naughtily Trewe it is that at this houre the goodes of the churche be meruaylous great and aboundant we wolde haue them well dysposed but we wold in especial haue the disposition distribution of them committed to the prechers of the gospel ministers of the churche If they that be rulers rule the churche well we ought to reioice at the cōmon ꝓfite of christen men but if they rule not wel and can not be amended by power we ought to be sorie Neuer the lesse we may not take the matter so greuously that men think we wold rather haue our part of the riches than se the gospel go forward Therfore let vs be at a point for the teaching of the gospel for the sacramentes and for the ceremonies and we wol neuer striue with you for the riches which we were better to lack than that for theym Christis glorie shuld be hindred I se there lacketh nothynge to brynge vs to a perfect peace if ye wol put a part al displesure and hatred Ye not redyng our bokes haue withdrawen your hartes from vs ruled by the reporte of them that loue vs not And so you beleue that we intende to distroy al good ordinances And on the other syde bicause we are put in feare by many examples we can not yet but suspect and thinke that you intende not a true and an ernest reformatiō of the church If that that we mean and go about could synke into your heedes if we had some certayn assurance good token of your diligēce vnfeined faith we shuld be bothe out of moche trouble and with one mynde we with you wold endeuour our selues to do those thinges that were best for the common welthe of Christendome ¶ I suppose ye be none of them y e trust by force of armes to maintein your power and by violence to kepe vnder your aduersaries I remembre whan poore Luther was alone and at warre with all the worlde no man being more hatid than he was all his enemies coulde not take his life from him These studies ar now so encreased within fewe yeres soo many folowing him that now they feare lytle your thretnynges They haue many and great tokens that god fauorith them so that if you intende any thing against them they surely truste that no battayle shall preuaylle nor haue any successe ageinst them beinge in daunger only for the loue they beare to Christis religion Wherfore while you haue tyme thynke vppon this mattier loke well about you If you wolle be ruled by reason we shall easilye defende our parte so that our iuges be indifferent and iuste If the matter muste be tried by force of armes Fyrste this were a cruel waye to put so many common weales of Cristendome in hasarde Secondarylye There is gret danger in this thing by reson your aduersaries strength is waxen puissant and mighty And it maye chaunce that when menne shall se that ye intende to vse crueltye many moo woll take our parte thanne yet are knowen to be of our syde Fynally admyt that ye might haue the vpper hande and opteyne your pourpose eyther by vniuste iudgemente or elles by force and vyolence yet where crueltye vnrightous dealynge and grudge of conscience is there can ye not leade your lyfe in honour moche lesse in pleasure Ye can neuer soo destroye vs but the fundations and rootes woll remayne wherof alwaye some shall sprynge that woll be able to iuge truely of our matters Againe althoughe you shulde destroy vs all to gether yet there is a GOD that seeth all thynges and is hable to reuenge oure quarell there is a CHRISTE in whose tuition and defence we are all whyche as he was cause of helthe in the worlde soo is he able to restore agayne his religion thoughe it were vtterlye distroyed ¶ I speake not this Contarene by cause I iudge you by these your deuises to intende myschiefe but bycause there be many amonges you which if they might haue their mindes wold cause more mischiefes in Christis churche than euer we sawe hitherto But I iudge this of you that god maye rule your hartes I knowe that ye lacke neither lerning nor wysedom it may be that ye wol loue his honour and beare a zele to his trouthe ye may forsee that whiche shall bothe please god and be moche to your honour You amonges all men ar chosen for great causes your honour is to restore Christis doctrine and to appoynt suche as woll and shall be able to teache the gospelle to amende the ceremonies and to put a differēce betwene the mynysters of the churche By these meanes you may bring in vse ageyne the olde maner of lerninge the olde disciplyne of the churche without the which neyther your dignitie can be cōmendable nor your authoritie continue any longer nor religion flourishe at any time For there is no honour where as is noo good gouernāce where gouernors liue not wel they can haue but smal commendation Men can neither be obedient nother loue you that do not your dutie men wold be taught holpen out of ignorance for many mens hartis be wonne this way and