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
A44086	Animadversions on two pamphlets lately publish'd by Mr. Collier the one call'd, A defence of the absolution given to Sir William Parkins at the place of execution, April 3d, the other, A vindication thereof, occasion'd by a paper entituled, A declaration of the sense of the achbishops [sic] and bishops, &c. : shewing the nature of the late absolution, both as to church and state : in a letter to a friend.	Hody, Humphrey, 1659-1707.	1696 (1696)	Wing H2338; ESTC R13887	12,754	28

ANIMADVERSIONS ON Two Pamphlets Lately Publish'd by Mr. COLLIER The one call'd A Defence of the Absolution given to Sir William Parkins at the Place of Execution April 3d. The other A Vindication thereof occasion'd by a Paper entituled A Declaration of the Sense of the Achbishops and Bishops c. Shewing the Nature of the late Absolution both as to CHURCH and STATE In a LETTER to a Friend LONDON Printed for John Everingham at the Star in Ludgate-Street near the West End of St. Pauls 1696. Animadversions ON Two Pamphlets Lately Published by Mr. COLLIER SIR ACcording to your Desire I have sent you here my Thoughts concerning the Proceedings of the three Absolving Clergymen at Sir J. Friend 's and Sir W. Parkins's Execution together with some short Remarks on Mr. Collier's two Papers in which he has endeavour'd to justify those Proceedings I shall consider 'em First With Relation to the Church and Secondly With relation to the State As they are considered with Relation to the Church I take 'em to be irregular and unwarrantable on several accounts For 1st Such an Imposition of Hands as those Clergy-men made use of in the Absolution is by no means warrantable Mr. Collier endeavours to shew that the giving of Absolution with imposition of Hands was the general Practise of the Antient Churches particularly in St. Cyprian's Age and that the performance of this Ceremony was allow'd to Priests and sometimes to Deacons as well as Bishops Suppose all this Yet this Practice of those Antients does not at all justify Mr. Collier's Proceedings in this Point and that for these two Reasons 1st The Absolution in which those Antients made use of Imposition of Hands was not such an Absolution as that in which Mr. C. was concern'd but an Absolution of Persons Excommunicated or such as had deserted the Communion of the Church It was customary in the Antient Church to Excommunicate such as had committed any very grievous and notorious Crime and after they had given the Church Satisfaction and were again to be reconciled to it they were Absolv'd from the Censure of the Church by the Imposition of Hands What they meant in this Case by the Laying on of Hands we may learn from S. Cyprian They look't upon those that were out of the Church to be depriv'd of the Holy Ghost and as he saith not to be truly Christians And as now in our Ordinations we make use of the Imposition of Hands so the Antients frequently made use of the same Ceremony for restoring to the Communion of the Church such as before were Excommunicated For the same cause it was that they that were Baptiz'd either by Hereticks or Schismaticks were not among them receiv'd into the Church but by Imposition of Hands for tho they own'd the Baptism of Hereticks and Schismaticks to be valid yet they did not believe that any so Baptised could be endued with the Holy Ghost till the Church had laid their Hands on ' em For the same reason the Imposition of hands was made use of when any one that had turn'd Heretick or Schismatick was again reconcil'd to the Church as also in the Absolution of the Lapsi that is such as in the times of Persecution had Sacrificed to the Heathen Gods and by doing so had thrown themselves out of the Communion of the Church The Examples and Authorities produced by Mr. C. are all of this kind neither can he if I am not much mistaken produce any one instance of the Imposition of Hands in Absolution except in the Reconcilement of Offenders to the Church His Albaspinaeus will hardly be able to supply him with any that are pertinent to his purpose But 2dly Could he shew that in the Antient Church this Ceremony of Imposition of Hands was made use of in Absolution in other cases besides that mention'd yet his Proceedings who professes himself to be a Member of the Church of England and to Govern himself by the Orders of it could not be Justified by any such Instances of those times It is Tertullian's Observation That the Law of Faith remaining intire other things belonging to Discipline and Conversation admit alteration according as circumstances require And accordingly our Church hath declared That every particular or National Church hath Authority to Ordain Change and Abolish Ceremonies or Rites of the Church Ordained only by Man's Authority so that all things be done to Edifying Now since the laying on of Hands in Absolution is acknowledged to be only a Ceremony and not to be necessary to it it must be in its own Nature changeable and so may be used or laid aside as the Church shall see meet And since it is a Ceremony not retained in the Church of England it 's being in use heretofore in another Church or Age cannot warrant the use of it in any particular Officer of this Church no more than it will the standing on the Lord's Days between Easter and Whitsontide the Trine Immersion and several other Rites too many to be here repeated The Church of England has as much Power and Authority as to the Institution or Abolition the Use or Disuse of any particular Ceremonies as St. Cyprian's own Church had and a Minister of the Church of England is not to govern himself herein by the usage of the Church of Carthage but by his own And therefore it is not sufficient for Mr. C. to shew Imposition of Hands in Absolution to be a Ceremony used in the African Church that will justify his Practice for then by the same Reason all Ceremonies of those Churches and of all other Orthodox Churches in that time or before would become obligatory But as a Member of the Church of Carthage would then he must be able to prove it to be the Injunction or practice of his own Church What say the Articles or Rubricks or Canons or Offices of the Church where he Officiates What they injoyn he must use what that uses he may Practice But he cannot be a Rule to himself He is no more to add than he is to injoyn or alter for they all belong to the same Authority So impertinent is that which he alledges in his own defence viz. That as the Ceremony of Laying on of Hands is not prescribed in the Rubrick of Absolution so neither is it Prohibited For if the not being Prohibited could be a sufficient warrant for a particular Person 's Practice we might return to the condition the Church was in in St. Austin's Time which he complains of nay to the Ceremoniale of the Church of Rome and so the Rubrick of our Church concerning ceremonies why some are abolished and some retained be altogether in vain Good Order Uniformity and Decency require that as those Ceremonies which the Church Ordains should not be omitted at pleasure by particular Mininisters so They should not make use of any but what the Church and Law amongst us do Prescribe of which Mr. C. may be convinced