the Kings subiects in England are bound in conscience to take both these Oathes as often as the King shall exact the same Or whether they should suffer imprisonments torments and death it selfe rather then sweare Concerning the former point the Catholikes doubt nothing for that they haue certainly and firmly determined rather to loose their liues together with the glorious Martyrs Syr Thomas More and the Bishop of Rochester then to adâit the Kings Primacy and abiure the Popes Now concerning the later Oath there hath byn some doubt made these yeares past For that some Catholikes who perceaued not the force and scope of that Oath did a little stagger at the beginning whether they might with a safe coÌscience sweare therto or no. Which doubt of theirs notwithstanding did not last long but was soone taken away by Pope Paul the fifth and Cardinall Bellarmine For the Pope forthwith directed two Apostolicall Breues to the Catholikes of England and the said Card. wrote a letter to M. Blackwell then Archpriest of this affaire Both Pope and Cardinall do deny that the said Oath may be taken with a safe Conscience And their reason is this Because no man with a safe conscienceâ can deny the Catholicke faith But he now who should take this Oath proposed by the King should deny the Catholicke faith though not generally yet in âart so far forth as beloÌgeth to some one article therof Ergo no man with a safe coÌscience can take this Oath 7. This reason being very sound all good Catholicks admit but our aduersaries do not I in fauour and consolation of the Catholicks haue determined to adioyne heerunto two other reasons especially against the Oath of Supremacy which by the Aduersaries cannot be reiected The first is this No man is bound in CoÌscience to sweare that which is eyther apparently false or at leastwise doubtfull But that the King is Primate and supreme head of the Church and for such to be obeyed not only in temporall but also in Ecclesiasticall matters is eyther apparently false or at leastwise doubtfull Ergo no man is bound in Conscience to sweare the same The Maior is euident of it selfe for that it is not lawfull to affirme any thing which is eyther false or doubtfull and much lesse to sweare the same The Minor is proued thus For that is it iudged apparently false aswell amongst the Caluinists as amongst the Catholicks that the King is Primate and supreme head of the Church But now amongst the Caluinists of England who adhere vnto the King the same is called into doubt For that some of them affirme others deny these points following 1. That the King is Primate of the Church 2. That he is supreme head of the Church 3. That he hath Ecclesiasticall Primacy ouer the Church 4. That he hath power iurisdiction Ecclesiasticall 5. That the K. by his owne proper Authority may assemble Councells or Synods and sit as chiefe Head or President therin 6. That he can confer benefices or Ecclesiasticall liuings 7. That he can create and depose Bishops 8. That he is Iudge in Controuersies of faith c. So as truly if these and the like points be doubtfull and vncertaine amongst those who adhere vnto and fauour the King seing that some deny them some affirme them it followeth necessarily that the Kings whole Primacy is an vncertaine thing What rashnes then and imprudency is it to go about to bynd Catholicks in their Consciences to sweare that which they themselues do affirme some of them to be false some others to be doubtfull 8. I will explicate more distinctly that which I haue said The Oath of the Kings Primacy doth contayne so many parts as there be or are thought to be Offices and functions of the Kings Primacy The offices then eyther are or are thought to be diuers as we haue seene before to wit to assemble Synods to enact and decree Ecclesiasticall lawes to conferre benefices to creâte Bishops to determine controuersies of faith and the like Therfore diuers are the parts of the Oath of the Kings Supremacy Of these parts then let vs take one of them by it selfe to wit this I A. B. do sweare in my conscience that I will be faithfull and obedient vnto the King as often or whensoeuer he shall by his owne proper authority create Bishops whom he will and againe depose from their office or dignity whome he will c. If this part only of the Kings Offices should be exacted of all his Maiesties subiects in England what do you thinke would be done Would all trow you yea they who most adhere now vnto the King sweare this Let them sweare that would M. Tooker I am sure if he be a constant man would not For that he denyeth the creation and deposition of Bishops to belong any way vnto the King And if so be that he who otherwise acknowledgeth the Kings Primacy at least in words would not sweare heerunto how then should Catholicks be compelled to do the same who doe in no wise acknowledge it And what I haue said concerning this point the same may be also said of the rest 9. My other reason is this King Iames doth often protest that he claymeth no more right or Inrisdiction ouer the Church then did the Kings in the old Testament in ancient times and therfore that this his Primacy must be contayned within the same lymits termes that theirs was in the old TestameÌt But the Kings in the old Testament could not compell their subiects to sweare such an Oath as this I A. B. do openly testiâie and in my conscience declare that Ieroboam is the only supreme Gouernour of this Kingdome of Israel aswell in spirituall as temporall matters And that no forrayner hath any iurisdiction power superiority preheminence or authority in this Kingdome c. Ergo neyther King Iames can inforce his subiects to take such a like Oath The Maior is manifest out of his Maiestyes owne words in his Apology The Minor I thus explicate After the death of King Salomon his Kingdome God so disposing was deuided into two parts wherof one conteyned ten Tribes the other two So as by this meanes they became two distinct Kingdomes afterwards therin raigned two distinct Kings one wherof had no dependance of the other in temporall gouerment One was called King of Israel the other King of Iuda and both of theÌ had successours in their kingdomes The first Kings that ruled after the diuision of the kingdome made were Ieroboam King of Israel Roboam King of Iuda In eyther kingdome were Priestes and Leuites But the high or Chiefe Priest could not reside in both Kingdomes but only in one and that ordinarily in Iuda yet notwithstanding he was Head of all the Priestes Leuites that remayned in both Kingdomes Neither could Ieroboam lawfully say vnto his Priests and Leuites You shall not obey the High Priest that resideth in the Kingdome of Iuda but you shall obey me
statuchatur vt si quae pârsonae in Lâuitico non prohibitae solo consânsu per verba de praesenti matrimonium nulla carnis copula subsecuta contraxerintâeae verò ambae postea vel earum altera nuptijs cum altera persona in Lâuitico non prohibita contractis caânali copula easdâm consumma âerint hae postâriores quas firmasset copula non priores illae quas solus consânsus staâuâssât ratae atque legitimae haberântur adeo vt cùm olim iuris Gentium fuissât Regula Nuptias non concubitus sed consensus facit âam deinââps Hânrici râgula esse coeperit Nuptias non consenâus sed concubitus facit Et tamân ipsâ Legis-lator contra suam ipsius regulam vxorem Annam Cliuânsâm cuius nuptias non solo consensu sed septâm etiam mensium concuâitu firmauârat eo solùm praetextu râiccit iâsaque viuânte aliam superinduxit quòd altâri nesâio cui consânsum antea praebuisse finâârâtur Huius ergo legis tantopâre postea puduit ipsos Protâstantâs vt mortuo Henrico eam ipsi râuocauerint atque irritam fâcârint c In these dayes the most vigilanâ Pastor of the Church K. Hânry that it might be knowne to posterity what woman were lawfully married to another enacted a perpetuall law concerning Marriage authorizing the same by publicke Decree of Parlament wherin it was ordaâned that if any persons not prohibited in the Leuiticall law should contract marriage by only consent and by words de praesânti no carnall copulation following the same and that the said persons or eyther of them âhould afterward contraât with another person not prohibited in the Leuiticall law consummâte the same by carnall copulation that then these later contractes which were consuÌmated by carnall copulation not the former that were agreed vpon by only consent should be accompted for good and lawfull In so much thaâ wheras the rule of the law of Nations in old tyme was That consent not carnall copulation did make the marriage lawfull now heereafter by the law of K. Henry it began to be a rule That carnall copulation not consent did make marriage lawfull And yet for all this the law-maker himselfe K. Henry did against his owne proper rule and law reiect Anne of Cleeue his wife whose marriage was not only contracted by consent alone but consummated also by seauen moneths carnall copulation vpon this only pretence that she had giuen her consent to another before I know not whome and vpon this fiction he married another she yet remayning aliue And of this law afterward the Protestants themselues were so much ashamed that after K. Henryes death they recalled and disanulled the same c. 2. Concerning his Vicar Generall Cromwell thus wryteth also the said Doctor Sanders in the same booke Septembri mense authoritate sua Vicaria Canones quosdam Ecclesiasticos quos Iniunctiones vocabat sigillo Vicariatus sui munitos Archiepisâopis Episcopis Abbatibus reliquo Clero praescripsit in quibus praeter cetera iubeâantur Parochi sub grauissimis poenis vt Orationem Dominicam cum salutatione Angelica Symbolum item fidei decem Decalogi praecepta aliaque huiusmodi Anglicè in posterum in Ecclesijs docerent In the moneth of September K. Henryes Vicar Generall by the authority of his Office prescribed certayne Ecclesiasticall Canons which he called Iniunctions signed with the seale of his Office of Vicar-Generall to the Archbishops Bishops Abbots and the rest of the Clergy wherin amongât other things the Pastors of Câurches were comâânded vnder most seuere punishmeÌt herafter to read in their Churches the Lords prayer the Aue Mary the Creed and ten Comaundements in English c. 3. Now our English Aduersaries that wryte in these daies of the Kings Supremacy do not agree in this point For that some of them say that the enacting of decreeing of Ecclesiasticall lawes doth by diuine right belong vnto Bishops others say that it belongeth to Kings and Emperours The first opinion holdeth M. Tooker pag. 42. of his booke where he saith that the Apostles in the first Councell at Hierusalem did enact this Ecclesiasticall law Visum est Spiritui Sancto nobis nihil vltra imponere vobis oneris nisi haec necessaria vt abstineatis vos ab immolatis simulachrorum sanguine suffocato It hath seemed good to the holy Ghost and to vs to lay no further burthen vpon you then these necessary things that you abstayne froÌ the things immolated to Idols and from bloud and that which is strangled c. And this saith he the Apostles did by diuine right The other opinion holdeth M. Tompson pag. 80. where he affirmeth that Bishops and Councels cannot enact or decree any Ecclesiasticall law which hath the force of law vnlesse Kings and Emperours consent therunto His words are these Decreta Conciliorum Patrum Ecclesiasticis Censuris ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã tantùm stetissânt nisi legum vim Caesarea aura ipsis afflasset The Decrees of the Councels and of the Fathers had bene held but only for Ecclesiasticall censures and penalties vnlesse the Emperours fauour had imparted the force of lawes vnto the said Decrees c. 4. Heere now the Iarre is euident For without doubt that Ecclesiasticall law which the Apostles decreed had the force of a law for that so much is gathered out of these words Visum est nihil vltra imponere vobis oneris nisi haec necessaria It hath seemed good to lay no further burthen vpon you then these necessary things c. But this Ecclesiasticall law had not it force from any fauour of the Emperor seing that neither Tyberius nor Pilate nor Herod nor any other fecular Prince which then liued did by his fauour authorize the force of the law but that it came from the Apostles themselues For that they by their Apostolicall authority and power which they had receiued from Christ did decree and promulgate that law And the same power authority haue Bishops now a dayes not Kings nor Emperours VIII Question vvhether the King by his owne proper authority may conferre collate or bestow Ecclesiasticall benefices 1. THAT the King may conferre Ecclesiasticall liuings M. Henry Salclebridge affirmeth pag. 121 in these wordes Christiani Principes in suis Rââniâ ãâ¦ã authoritate benâficia contulârunt ãâ¦ã in their owne Kingdomes by their owne proper authority haue giuen or bestowed benefices and that to their praise c. And then againe pag. 150. Audin Iâsuita non modò collationes benâficiorum ad Angliae Regâs spâcâare sed ad eosdâm illos spectare vti Ecclesiae Anglicanae Primates vel supremos Ordinarios c. Do you heare Iesuite the collation of benefices doth not only belong to the Kings of England but also it doth belong vnto them as they are Primates or supreme Ordinaries of the Church of England c. And yet more Rex ratione supremae suae Ecclesiasticae iurisdictionis praesentabit ad liberas Capellas
them to Idolatry Shall they then obay these Princes commaund âut then should they do against their Consciences Shall they refuse to obay Then farewell Primacy of the Church Perhaps they will answere that they will obay when they thinke good Shall therfore subiects be Iudges of their Kings May then the Catholickes in England say after this manner If it plâase your Maiesty in this point we thinke good to obay your Maiestyes commaund but in that not XIII Question VVhether the King may constraine his Subiects to take the Oath of Prmacy or no 1. HITHERTO haue we treated of the Iarring disagreement of our Aduersaries abouâ the nature offices origen of the Kingâ Primacy Now there remaineth a certaine practicall question which toucheth the ConscieÌce to the quicke to wit whether the King may constraine or force his Subiects to sweare that they acknowledge his Kingly Primacy wherof we haue spoken before Or whether they will acknowledg the King as Primate and supreme Head of the Church of ângland vnto whome as vnto their Primate supreme Head they will promise fidelity no lesse in Ecclesiasticall and Spirituall matters then in Politicke and temporall This question hath two points The first whether the King of England doth de facto exact or hath at any time exacted such an Oath of his subiects The other is whether his subiects are bound in conscience to take such an Oath if the King should exact the same Of both these points seuerally I meane to speake a word or two The first Point 2. The first point then is Whether the King of England doth exact or at any tyme hath exacted such an Oath of his subiects It is manifest that K. Henry the 8. did For so wryteth Doctor Sanders in his booke of the Schisme of England Laurentius Cocchus Prior Coenobij Dancastrensis vnà cum tribus Monachis duobus laicis Aegidio Horno Clemente Philpotto quòd nollent Ecclesiasticum terreni Regis Primatum iuratò confiteri exclusi è terris ad caelestem aeterni Regis gloriam transmissi sunt Laurence Coch Prior of the Monasterie of Dancaster togeather with three Monkes and two Laymen Giles Horne and Clement Philpot for that they would not sweare to the Ecclesiasticall Primacy of a temporall King being excluded from earth were translâted to a celestiall glory of the eternall King c. And then againe Proponebantur eis noua Comitiorum Decreta iubebantur iureiurando affirmare Regem Ecclesiae supremum esse Caâut The new decrees of the Parlament were propounded vnto them they were commaunded to sweare the King to be supreme Head of the Church c. 3. Now that Queene âlizabeth the danghter followed heerin her Father K. Henry it is manifest by the forme of Oath that she exacted of her subiects which is this âgo A. B prorsus testificor declaro in conscientia mea Reginam âsse solam supremam Gubernatricem istius Regni Angliae alioruÌ omnium suae Maiestatis dominiorum regionum non minùs in omnibus spiritualibus atque Ecclesiasticis rebus vel causis quà m temporalibus Et quòd nemo externus Princeps Persona Praelatus Status vel Potentatus aut facto aut iure habet aliquam iurisdictionâm potestatem superioritatem praeeminentiam vel authoritatâm âcclesiasticam aut spiritualem in hoc Regno Ideoque planè renuntio repudio omnes forinsecas iurisdictiones potestates superioritates atque authoritates c. I A. B. do verily testify and declare in my conscience that the Queene is the only supreme Gouernesse aswell of this Kingdome of England as of all other her Maiesties dominions and countâeys aswell in all spirituall and Ecclesiasticall matters and causes as in temporall And that no forrayne Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath eyther by fact or right any Iurisdiction power superiority preheminence or authority Ecclesiasticall or spirituall in this Kingdome And therfore I do vtterly renounce and abandone all forrayne Iurisdictions powers superiorities and authorityes c. 4. The very same also doth now King Iames who byndeth his subiects not with one Oath alone but with two to wit of Supremacy and Allegiance The former Oath of Supremacy beginneth thus Ego A. B. palà m testor ex conscientia mea declaro quod Maiestas Regiaâ vnicus est supremus Gubernator huius Regni omniumque aliorum suae Maiestatis dominiorum territoriorum tam in omnibus spiritualibus siue Ecclesiasticis rebus causis quà m in temporalibus Et quòd nullus extraneus Princeps Persona Praelatus Status aut Potentatus habet aut habere debet vllam iurisdictionem potestatem superioritatem praeeminentiaÌ vel authoritatem Ecclesiasticam siue spiritualem intra hoc Regnum c. I A. B. do publikely testify and in my conscience declare that the Kings Maiesty is the only supreme Gouernour of this Kingdome and of all other his Maiesties dominions and territories as well in all matters and causes spirituall or Ecclesiasticall as in temporall And that no forraine Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to haue any Iurisdiction power superiority preheminence or authority Ecclesiasticall or spirituall within this Kingdome c. The later Oath called of Allegiance beginneth thus Ego A. B. verè sincerè agnosco profiteor testificor declaro in conscientia mea coram Deo Mundo qùod supremus Dominus noster Rex Iacobus c. I A. B. do truly and sincerely acknowledg professe and testify in my conscience before God and the world that our Soueraigne Lord King Iames c. 5. Boâh these Oathes are set downe at large in his Maiesties Apology and in both of them his subiects are required publickely and openly to professe acknowledgeâ that King Iames is the supreme Gouernour and Lord of all England not only in politicke and temporall matters but in spirituall and Ecclesiasticall also And that neither the Pope nor any other forrayner hath any power or Iurisdiction in or ouer the Church of ângland Againe the former of these Oathes was brought in by King Henry the 8. as his Maiesty confesseth in his Apology in these words Sub Henrico octauo primùm introductum est Iuramentum Primatus sub eoâue Thomas Morus Rofâensis supplico afââcti idque partim ob eam causam quòd Iuramântum illud recusarent Ab eo deinceps omnes mei Praedecessores quotquot sunt hanc Religionem amplexi idem sibi aut non multò secus asseruerunt c. The Oath of Primacy was first brought in vnder K. Henry the 8. vnder whome Syr Thomas More and the Bishop of Rocâester were beheaded and that partly because they refused that Oath From him all my Predecessours downward as many as haue imbraced this Religion did retayne the same Oath or not much different vnto themselues c. Now the later Oath was inuented by K. Iames himselfe The second Poynt 6. The Question then is whether all
The King by vertue of his supreme Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction shall be able to present vnto Free Chappell 's c. 2. Now M. Tooker to the contrary denyeth it pag. 36. where talking of the Kings of England he saith thus Beneficia autem curata vel non curata non confârunt omnino in quempiam maiora minoráue multò minus dignitates Ecclesiasticas siue Episcopatus siue Archiepiscopatus per vniuersum ambitum Regni sui Eorum certè collatio vel institutio est quorum est destitutio id est Episcoporum Comprouincialium qui potestatâm habent personas ipsas sacrandi Hoc habet iuris Regia Maiestas quod minor subordinata potestas habet ius inquaÌ nâminandi praesentandi apud nos c. Kings do not at all collate or bestow vpon any man benefices that haue care of soules or not care greater or lesser much lesse Ecclesiasticall dignities whether Bishopriâkes or Archbishoprickes throughout the whole circuite of their Kingdomes For this truly belongeth vnto those whose office it is to dispose therof to wit to the Comprouinciall Bishops who haue power to consecrate the said persons on whome they bestow them Indeed the Kings Majesty notwithstanding hath this right with vs in EnglaÌd which an inferiour and subordinate power also hath to wit right to nominate and present vnto benefices c. 3. Behould heere a triple Iarre or discord betwene these two Authors and this in a dayly and vulgar matter The first is that M. Henry Salclebridg saith that the collation of benefices belongeth to the Kings of England in that they be the Primates of the Church of England M. Tooker saith to the contrary that it belongeth not to Kings at all but to Bishops The second Iarre is that M. Salclebridge saith that Kings by their owne authority haue conferred benefices M. Tooker saith that they neuer do nor haue done The third is that M. Salclebridge saith that Kings by vertue of their supreme Ecclesiasticall Iurisdiction may present vnto benefices M. Tooker auerreth that in this point Kings haue no more right then their subiects other inferiour persons for so he saith Hoc haâet iuris Regia Maiestas quod minor subordinata potestas habet The Kings Maiesty hath in this point of conferring benefices the same right that an inferiour subordinate power hath c. Whether of these two then should King Iames belieue if he had a fat benefice or an Archbishopricke now to bestow IX Question VVhether the King can create and depose Bishops or no 1. MAISTER Salclebridge saith that he can For thus he writeth pag. 121. Christiani Principes in suis Regnis cum laude propria authoritate Episcopos crearunt deposuerunt Christian Prices haue in their Kingdomes by their owne proper authority created and deposed Bishops and that with praise c. And then againe pag. 144. Rex Angliae Archidiacono Richmundiae Episcopalâm concessit Iurisdictionem The King of England graunted Episcopall Iurisdiction to the Archdeacon of Richmond c. And yet further pag. 155. Reges Angliae suprema sua authoritate de iure atque cum laude omnium Ordinum Episcopos elegerânt ac proinde deponere potuârunt The Kings of England of their owne supreme authority by right with praise of all maÌner Estates haue elected Bishops and therfore they might depose them also c. And then lastly Constat Christianos Prinâipes cum laude Episcopos elegisse deposuisse etiam Romanos It is manifest that Christian Princes haue elected deposed Bishops yea Popes also and that with their praise c. 2. Now M. Tooker he denyes in the place before cited that the King can create or depose Bishops For there he assigning two things necessary for the ordayning or creating of a Bishop to wit ConsecratioÌ of the person a Bishopricke addeth that the King can performe neyther of these two For neyther can he confer any beneficeâ and much lesse a Bishopricke or Archbishopricke neyther hath he any power to coÌsecrate persons In so much that in another place he confesseth that it is so far off from King Iames to haue power to create or depose Bishops that he would rather acknowledg himselfe for one of their schollers and Disciples For thus he wryteth pag. 311. Serenissimus ac pientissimus Rex noster Iacobus non habet quicquam antiquius honorificentius quà m vt cum Valentiniano filium se Ecclesiae profiteatur cum Theodorico Italiae Rege se alumnum Ecclesiae discipulum Archiepiscoporum suorum Episcoporum libenter recognoscat Our most Gratious and most pious King Iames doth esteeme or accompt nothing more noble and more honorable then with Valentinian the Emperour to professe himselfe a sonne of the Church and with Theodoricus King of Italy most willingly to acknowledge himselfe a foster-child of the Church and a disciple of his Archbishops and Bishops c. 3. This Iarre now as you see is of great momeÌt For if the King cannot create or ordaine Bishops as M. Tooker saith he cannot then it followeth euidently that Thomas Cranmer who was made Archbishop of Canterbury by the King Henry the 8. was no true but a false Bishop no pastour but a robber one that entred not into the sheepfold by the dore but climbed vp some other way Whereof againe ensue three other markable points First that all other Bishops who were afterward eyther created by CraÌmer or by the King were like vnto Cranmer himselfe Secondly whatsoeuer was done of them by Episcopall authority or Iurisdiction was of no validity or force Thirdly that they so ordained are bound to restitution of all reuenewes and profits which they haue reaped by their Bishopricks What counââll now is there to be taken in this point Let your Academicks I pray you consider X. Question VVhether the King can excommunicate his obstinate subiects or no 1. HEERE now do our aduersaries ranke their King amongst ordinary men what they graunted vnto him before heere now they seeme to reuoke For they say that the King cannot excommunicate any of his subiects and yet himselfe may be excommunicated by them and expelled out of the Church of England wherof himself is supreme Head The former part herof doth M. Tooker affirme pag. 15. in these worlds Rex non habet potestatem distringendi gladium spiritualem vel quempiam excoÌmunicandi The King hath no power to vnsheath the spirituall sword nor to excommunicate any man c. And the Chaplaine my Lord of Ely pag. 151. saith Nos Principi censurae potestatem non facimus We do not giue authority to our Prince to vse Censures c. And againe M. Tompson pag. 83. ExcoÌmunicare nullo modo ad Suprâmatum Ecclesiae pertinet To excommunicate doth no way belong to the Supremacy of the Church And againe pag. 84. Omnes fatemur Râgem excomunicandi potestatem nullam habere We do all confesse that the King hath no power to excommunicate c.