so behaued himselfe among them that he might seeme in a manner to haue neglected his Pastorship by carrying himselfe as a Brother and Equall with them and not as either Head or Rector ouer them So he And he giueth you a Reason hereof for If Peter saith he had written as a Pope then might he be thought to haue published rather Pontificall than Diuine Lawes c. Which is no more in effect but that which a French Lawyer hath said before him namely that In the Apostles time as often as any was ordained Bishop or Deacon or any thing was to be decreed which appertained to the Church Peter neuer tooke that vpon himselfe but permitted it to the whole Church So hee How then shall any imagine that you can truely obiect any one act of Peter which might but probably proue his Dominion and Iurisdiction ouer the other Apostles as the Pope challengeth to doe ouer all other Bishops seeing that you are constrained to grant that he made himselfe Equall with them so farre as that he might seeme in a sort to haue neglected his Pastorship Although indeede this could not Saint Peter doe without exceeding iniurie to his place and Gouernment if he had any such because it belongeth to euery one in his degree to maintaine and magnifie the dignitie of his Ministrie as Saint Paul teacheth saying I will magnifie my office inasmuch as I am Doctor of the Gentiles Vpon which Text Pope Gregory collecteth a generall lesson for the defence of his owne Iurisdiction The Apostle saith hee teacheth vs so to carrie humilitie in our heart that we doe keepe and preserue the dignitie of that order whereunto we are called So he CHALLENGE WHat shall we say then will you haue vs beleeue that Peter held his whole Monarchie for so you call it which he had ouer the Apostles for the space of fifteene yeeres without any expression of any of those Notes of Catholike Iurisdiction which you account to be proper vnto Papall Monarchie ouer all Bishops and Pastors As for Example Not the Crowne vpon his head to shew his Empire nor the Miter to shew his Pastorall Dominion ouer the other Apostles No Legate à latere to carrie his Mandates no person admitted a pride which Saint Peter abhorred to kisse his feet No one Canon of directing them No Claime or yet Admittance of any Appeale from them No Reseruation of any great Case as by speciall Prerogatiue proper to himselfe such as you attribute to the Pope to wit of Admitting any out of the Dioces of another of Absoluing those that are Excommunicate by another of Canonizing Saints of Confirming Synods of Granting plenarie Indulgences of Pardoning Simonie and almost an hundred the like sinnes Teach vs this when you can perswade your selues that there euer was Temporall Monarch diligent in the Execution of his office that would neuer be distinguished from his Nobles either by his Guard or Coine or Habit or Commands or publike Edicts and Constitutions or at least by some one Note and Character of Imperiall eminencie and Authoritie I onely adde making bold to aske you a Question If that the Addition of the word ROMANE to the article of the Catholike Church be so necessary for the directing of the faith of Christians to the acknowledgement of the Seat of Saint Peter at Rome as the infallible ground of their faith and center of their Saluation why within the whole seauen yeares during which time as you say Saint Peter had his Seat at Antioch before it was translated to Rome cannot you finde in all Antiquitie the Addition of the word ANTIOCHIAN and the like Article of The Antiochian Catholike Church without vnion and subiection whereunto there is no saluation Farre be it from vs to thinke that the blessed Apostle Saint Peter who was caught of our Lord that The Catholike Church wheresoeuer for Place or whensoeuer for Time was built vpon the Rocke of the Confession of Christ the Sonne of God should euer haue entertained such a fancie of confining the supreme residence of Gods infallible spirit to any one singular Place Thus much of Saint Peter himselfe We proceed to the Pope That Saint Peter neuer beleeued the Priuileges which he receiued from Christ by the obiected Scriptures to be deriued from himselfe and conferred vpon any Pope SECT 6. NEuer had we heard you alleage any of these Scriptures to make Peter such a Rocke as must signifie a predominancie ouer all other Apostles except you had sought out of that Rocke to carue a Pope who should likewise haue a transcendent power ouer all other Bishops But seeing that as hath beene prooued the primitiue Peter had no such Prerogatiue surely your deriuatiue Peter must needs proue a Nullity But to the point The first Scripture Luke 22. CHRIST said indeed directly to S. Peter I haue prayed for thee that thy Faith faile not wherefore thou being conuerted strengthen thy Brethren Which we confesse doth signifie as great a priuilege granted to S. Peter as any mortall man can desire to enioy namely an infalllible assurance of sauing grace in this world and of saluation it selfe after his departure out of this life Matter we say of Saluation nothing of Dominion and that also proper to the primitiue person of Saint Peter but making nothing for any person deriuatiue and Successor of his be he Pope or whosoeuer If you could proue this we should need no more for our satisfaction Christ saith your Cardinall obtained two Priuileges for S. Peter in promising that his Faith should not faile and that he should neuer depart from the true Faith in himselfe the second that he should not teach others any thing contrary to the true Faith Thus of Saint Peter How can you deriue any part of this from Saint Peter to the Pope The first of these saith he peraduenture doth not but the second without all doubt redoundeth to his Successors So he Which is so vndoubtedly an vnconscionable Answer that it is subiect to a threefold Confutation the first is by retorting the Cardinal 's owne Assertion vpon himselfe for whereas your Parisian Doctors will haue Peter in his answer to Crist to haue beene the figure of the Church of Christ and not the sole Gouernor thereof himselfe the same your Cardinall will needs confute that Glosse in this manner Because Christ saith he did expresse one singular person saying Simon Simon adding the Pronoune of the second person in these words I haue prayed for THEE that THY Faith faile not and therefore THOV being conuerted strengthen THY Brethren Surely if he had spoken of the whole Church he would haue said I haue prayed for YOV that YOVR Faith faile not So he Which is a true and sound Collection indeed and by the Law of Retorsion confirmeth our defence that this Scripture doth not intend any other Prerogatiue than that which was onely proper to that Thou Simon and I haue prayed
desire to be vnited with the Church So they which is full enough for your fuller conuiction CHALLENGE IF without the Romane Church some may bee actually saued then the Addition of the word ROMANE caonot be a Declaration of The Catholike Church without which there is no Saluation But the Romane Church is such without which as you confesse some may be actually saued Ergo the Addition of the word ROMANE to the Catholike Church cannot bee a Declaration thereof For although All agree in this as your selues confesse that Without the Catholike Church there is no saluation yet haue you confessed two sorts of Christian Professors namely Excommunicates and Catechumenists to bee actually saued albeit no Members of your Romane Church As for being Saued only by Desire or Vâ—we of being in your Church it is but a wilde and extrauagant piece of learning in the iudgement of your owne Iesuite But we will reason the matter with you Know you not that the Church Catholike is compared by Saint Petor to the Arke of Noah that as all which were within that Arke were saued all without it were drowned although they Desired neuer so much to haue been admitted into the Arke so it is in the Church Catholike whosoeuer are essentiall members thereof cannot possibly perish and contrarily whoseuer is not a reall and vitall member therein cannot but perish The fourth Argument to proue that the Addition of the word ROMANE cannot be a Declaration of the Catholike Church mentioned in the Apostles Creed In respect of the Diuine Authority of the Article SECT 7. IT hath alwaies beene the Profession of the Catholike Church it selfe not to esteeme any Doctrine an Article of Faith which is not constituted and to speake with better Emphasis Created by Diuine authority This being a Truth vniuersally consented vnto you if you will make good the Addition of the word ROMANE to the Article of the Catholike Church are iustly challengable either to proue that the Romane Church as it is the Romane Church was constituted by diuine Authority to be rather than any other transcendently THE Catholike Church or else to confesse your Article of Romane Church without which there is no Saluation to be but new and consequently a Doctrine rather of fancie than of Faith The necessity of this Consequence was well foreseene of those your Popes who were the first Authors and Patrons of this Article and therefore haue published in their writings and decrees that The Romane Church was by Diuine Authority ordained to be the Catholike Church This Question dependeth vpon the reason of the Pope of Rome his succession to Saint Peter to wit whether it were allotted to the Bishop of Rome to succed Saint Peter as Head of the Catholike Church by the institution of Christ or else by the fact of Saint Peter himselfe For if it were by command and appointment of Christ then it must be allowed as a Diuine Ordinance but if it issued onely from the fact of Saint Peter then by your owne Confessions it is no doctrine of Faith This being the state of the Question as it is propounded by your selues hereunto we desire to receiue your owne Resolutions To this purpose when wee consult with your choisest Doctors as namely Bellarmine Suarez Soto Paludanus Bannes Augustinus Triumphus Cordubensis Armachanus Waldensis and Others they that speake more ingenuously doe freely grant that the pretended Pontificall Dignity Romane as it is Romane is not from diuine authority because onely from the fact of Peter They that are more affectionate to the Romane See although they attribute it to the Institution of Christ yet dare they not say that this is to be beleeued vpon certainty of Faith but onely as a matter Probable and Coniecturall Nay if you shall haue but a little patience vntill we descend to that point you shall perceiue by the iudgement of the Catholike Church it selfe in a generall Councell of primatiue Antiquity that The Prerogatiue which the Church of Rome then had was but from Humane authority CHALLENGE AN Addition standing onely vpon Probability and Coniecture cannot be infallibly a Declaration of an Article of Faith founded vpon Diuine and Infallible authority But your Addition of the word ROMANE standeth as you confesse vpon probability and Coniecture onely Ergo it cannot be an infallible Declaration of the Apostolicall Article The Catholike Church without which there is no saluation And consequently your word ROMANE added to the Christian Creed thereby to make the Romane Church The Catholike Church without which there is no saluation must necessarily be iudged Antichristian The fift Argument to proue that the Addition of the word ROMANE cannot be a Declaration of the Article The Catholike Church as it is Visible in respect of the Time past whereunto the word CATHOLIKE hath relation euen before Rome was founded a Church SECT 8. WHo knoweth not that your Addition of the word ROMANE vnto the Apostolicall Article of The Catholike Church is to infuse an opinion into the mindes of Christians that Catholike and Romane are termes vniuocall and conuertible which is as much as to say that whensoeuer there was a Romane Church it was The Catholike Church and whensoeuer there was a Catholike Church it was Romane Scarce shall you finde any Romish Professor especially among the vulgar who haue not this conceit of that Article of Christian Faith Notwithstanding your more learned Doctors are not ignorant that this Apostolicall Article The Catholike Church was published before that in Rome was founded a Church and that the Apostolicall Church it selfe was Catholike before the Article of the Catholike Church was proclaimed Which name CATHOLIKE or vniuersall was first attributed to the Church Christian To distinguishit as you know from the Synagogue of the Iewes which was circumscribed and confined to one only nation whereas the Church Catholike is not limited to any one place but is as broad in succession of place as is the whole world Now concerning the Catholike Church in the time of the Apostles Card. Baronius whose History you honour as an heauenly Lampe or torch telleth you that The Creed of the Apostles wherein is the Article of The Catholike Church was composed by them in the yeere of Christ XLIV and that the Catholike Church was extant sometime before this Article was put into the tenor of the Creed Which he demonstrateth from the act of Saint Peter who in the yeere of our Sauiour XXXIX is found Visiting the Churches in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia c. That the same Apostle Saint Peter Constituted the Church of Antioch in the same yeere and after that he had gouerned the See of Antioch seuen yeeres hee in the yeere XLV translated his See from Antioch to Rome Your other Chronologer Genebrard yeeldeth vnto vs eleuen yeeres betweene the Composing of the Apostles Creed and the first foundation of the Church of Rome by the Apostle Saint
so they say Both by the Canons and also by your letters and both these had relation to another part of Reasons and inducements premised in that place And is not this then slie Sophistrie to conclude an whole from a Part Yea but the same Councell say that They durst not iudge Iohn the Bishop of Antioch and therefore reserued him to the iudgement of Pope Celestine which plainly sheweth the supreme authority of the Pope So you What signifie these words that They durst not iudge Iohn of Antioch why they do plainly relate in the same Epistle that they had already deposed him We haue say they deuested him of all his Sacerdotall power So after this referring him to the iudgement of the Pope That for so they say they might with lenity ouercome his rashnesse This was not to preferre him to another Censure for there had bene no lenity in that but to the aduise of Celestine that by his perswasion he might be first reclaimed from error and afterwards restored to his place For a further discouerie of the Ecclipse of the Conscience in your Cardinall let vs consider what Supreme authority he would insinuate to wit that if the Councell could not depose Nestorius Patriarch of Constantinople without the Popes Mandate nor durst depose Iohn Patriarch of Antioch but referred the Cause to the iudgement of the Pope the issue hereof must be directly this viz. That the Pope is absolutely aboue a Generall Councell as the Cardinall defendeth else-where This were a Supreme authority indeed but in truth it is a falshood and long since condemned as you know by your owne Councels of Constance and Basil for a flat Heresie Which your Doctors of Paris haue alwaies disclaimed as contrary to antiquity and which no Councell since the beginning of the Christian Faith did as yet expresly decree as your Doctor Stapleton a great Champion in this Cause doth not denie and therefore betaketh himselfe to the Late tacit and silent consent of the Doctors of your Church Was not this then more than boldnesse in your Cardinall to inferre this Supreme authority out of this Councell Our Opposition First this Councell called Celestine Bishop of Rome Fellow-Minister and did as you haue heard Excommunicate and depose the Patriarch of Antioch before they made any Relation thereof vnto Celestine the Bishop of Rome Ergo It did not acknowledge the now pretended Supreme authority and priuilege of the Pope which is to haue Cases of that nature soly Reserued to his owne Determination Secondly looke into the Councell it selfe and into the Epistle alleaged wherein concerning the points which Pope Celestine had constituted Wee say they haue iudged them to stand firme wherefore we agree with you in one sentence and doe hold them meaning Pelagius and others to be deposed Ergo Consent to the Confirmation of the Popes sentence doth gaine-say his Supreme authority But principally we oppose the Acts of this Councell of Ephesus in decreeing that Neither the Patriarch of Antioch who made claime Nor any other should assume authority of ordaining any Bishop within the Isle of Cyprus The Arguments and Reasons whereupon the Synod made this Decree shew that as well the Authority of the Bishop of Rome as of any other is thereby excluded And they adde more peremptorily It is to be obserued say they in all Prouinces and Dioces that no Bishop drawe vnder his subiection any Prouince which was not his from the beginning lest that vnder pretence of Priest-hood he bring into the Church Arrogance and Pride The very selfe-same disease which Saint Basil and Saint Augustine with the whole Councell of Africke haue both expressely noted and openly detested in the Romane Popes euen of their times CHALLENGE NOne of you euer doubted that this Councell of Ephesus was Generall and the Bishops therein truely Catholikes wherein notwithstanding you see diuers Arguments although not of disunion yet of no Subiection And therefore You except you will condemne CC. holy Bishops must needs iudge your Romane Article to be damnably false IV. That the Beleefe of the Romane Article of The Catholike Romane Church without subiection whereunto there is no saluation Damneth aboue CCCC Catholike Bishops in the fourth Generall Councell of Chalcedon SECT 5. FOure hundred and thirty Bishops were assembled in this Councell of Chalcedon with whom we are to aduize concerning your Article of Necessary Subiection to the Bishop of Rome and his Church But first wee are ready to answer and then to replie Your Obiection THis Councell saith your Cardinall said that The custodie of the Vine that is of the Catholike Church is committed to the Pope by God It saith so and so doth that godly primitiue Pope Eleutherius say to the Bishops in France as you know that The whole Catholike Church is committed by Christ vnto them Were They therefore thinke you all Popes What say you The meaning of Eleutherius is say you that for as much as Heretikes doe oppugne the Catholike and Vniuersall Church it belongeth vnto euery Bishop to haue an vniuersal care to defend support it And this is a true Answer indeed else must you grant that Saint Paul was a Pope ouer Saint Peter because he tooke vpon him The cure or care of the whole Church and that Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria was Pope aboue the then Bishop of Rome because Gregory Nazianzene saith of him that He hauing the presidence of the Church of Alexandria may be said thereby to haue the Gouernement of the whole Christian World By these Euidences we are compelled to aske with what Conscience you could make such Obiections in good earnest to busie your Aduersaries and seduce your Disciples with all whereunto you-your-selues could so easily make answer But thus Catchitiue haue you beene at the shadow let vs trie whether we can apprehend the substantiall Truth Our Opposition For what is that which you will say belongeth really to the Supreame and Papall Dominion of the Bishop of Rome Because say you with common consent the Pope hath supreme authority in gouerning the Church therefore can hee change the Canons and decrees of General Councels So you But what then say you to the equalling of other Patriarchall Seates with Rome The Fathers of the Councel of Chalcedon say you did giue Priuileges to the Patriarkeship of Constantinople equall to the Church of Rome but Pope Leo did oppose against the Decree of the Councell and disclaimed it You say true but yet let vs come to the ground of beleefe as well of the Fathers of that Councell in opposing your pretended Papall dignity and authority as of your Doctors in contradicting them Secondly therefore The Pope of Rome say you hath his Monarchie and sole gouernment of the Church from diuine right And The Romane Church was founded by God What Prouince then in the world is free from her Iurisdiction So
giueth instance in the Churches of Corinth and Galatia both which Saint Paul stileth Churches of the Saints albeit the one is reprehended by the Apostle for denying the Resurrection 1 Cor. 15. the other for teaching a necessary Obseruation of the Law of Moses with the Gospell of Christ. Gal. 1. So he Yet lest you may erre in terming that a True Church which is wilfuliy intangled in any Heresie he giueth this Condition that The same that erre be ready to be reformed and to obey the truth as were the Corinthians and Galatians Otherwise to bee vnwilling either to learne or to yeeld vnto a manifest truth is proper saith your Author vnto a Satanicall Synagogue and to the Churches of the Malignant So your Cardinall and that most truely THESIS VI. Some Vnsound Churches are necessarily to bee auoided and the iust Causes why SECT 7. AS Leprousie Plague and whatsoeuer contagious Diseases are necessarie causes of separation from vnsound houses so Obstinacie of error in Teachers affected Ignorance and obduration of people Idolatry in Gods Worship Tyrannie and Persecution against the true and sincere Professors may be iudged necessary Causes of Separation from any particular Churches Against a generall Obstinacie of false-Teachers opposing to the wholesome doctrine We haue a Caueat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Depart from such 1 Tim. 6.5 Against the generall Obdurancie of hearts our Caueat is both Christ's Shake off the dust of your feet in departing and Saint Paul's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When certaine obstinate persons speake euill of the Word of God before the people he departed from them and separated the Disciples Act. 19.9 because else they should heare nothing but blasphemies against the truth of God Against the Corruption of Gods Worship Idolatrously the Command is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Flie from Idolatry 1 Cor. 10.4 euen as vnto the people vnder the Law when Bethel that is the House of God was turned into Bethauen that is the House of Vanity the Epithet of Idolatry then the Watch-word to the Faithfull was Separate your selues from among them Hos. 10. Against Tyrannie in Persecuting of Preachers or Professors in any one City the warning is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 likewise Flie vnto another Mat. 10.23 And lastly in the time of Antichristian Tyrannie and Idolatry in Romish Babylon the Spiâ—it saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Come out of her my people Apoc. 18.4 THESIS VII No vniust Excommunication out of a true Church can preiudice the Saluation of the Excommunicate SECT 8. YOur Romance Glosse authorized by Pope Gregory the XIII will speake as much as need be said to wit The Keyes of the Church erring in her binding and loosing the partie so bound is not then bound with God for it happeneth many times that he who is excommunicated out of the Church Militant is notwithstandeng in the Church Triumphant So your owne Glosse According as it hath beene obserued by you in the Blinde-man cured by Christ and professing the power of Christ whom therefore the Church of the Iewes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cast out of their Synagogues Ioh. 9.34 That is saith your Cardinall they excommunicated and separated him from the communion of Them who at that time were accounted faithful but yet happie was that Blinde-man who was Excommunicated for the name of Christ. So he And so may we say of Luther who was as one borne Blinde whilst hee continued in your Church according to your Assumption true vntill that Christ opened his eyes and he for acknowledging the diuine light was Excommunicate by your High Priest Yet happie man he who was taken into the protection of Christ whom he professed and worshipped Something more of Excommunication you may reade in the XV. Section Following The Second Part is concerning Departure from Rome more particularly comparing the Church of Rome with other Churches We are approached to the Walls of Rome and behold wee discouer in her iust iust Causes of Separation from her which we shall represent vnto you in that due place whereunto we now proceed by certaine Theses as it were by iust pases Comparing her first with other Remote Christian Churâ—hes THESIS I. The Church of Rome is as subiect to Errors as any other Church SECT 9. WHat Prerogatiue had the Church-of your Romanes aboue the Church of the Ephesians or Thessalonians in respect of any possibilitie of not Erring or of Contemning other Churches in respect of her selfe to which that may be obiected which the Apostle writ to the Corinthians to wit Came the Word of God first from you nay came it not First from Hierusalem to Antioch and many other places before Rome and at length from Greece to Rome And after that Rome is established a Church was it freed from Erring more than other through the Primacie which it challengeth ouer Others By what Law Humane that could not Diuine that did not authorize any such Primacy Which you are compellable to Confesse except you will say that the Catholike Church hath erred in the Generall Councell of Chalcedon which as hath beene confessed denied that Rome had her Primacie from diuine Ordinance except you will also Grant that the Church of Rome it selfe hath erred in her Councell of Constance which maintained the same Axiome to wit that the Church of Rome held not her Primacie from diuine authority Lastly except you will impeach the Apostle Saint Paul of error who by his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taught an indifferencie of all spirituall respect to Rome with other Churches as hath beene proued Take vnto you one infallible Argument that the Church of Rome may erre in matter of Faith It hath erred Ergo It may possibly erre That it hath one confessed instance may sufficiently resolue you if it bee pregnant Such is the doctrine of the Administration of the Eucharist vnto Infants vpâ—n Necessity of Saluation A doctrine by your owne Confession at this day false and yet at that day as is likewise Confessed taugh and continued in the Church of Rome for the space of 600 yeeres together THESIS II. That the Church of Rome is more subiect to Erring than any other Church Christian. SECT 10. WHy is it that Christ said The whole need not the Physitian but those that be sicke but onely to shew that the state of one in an health falsly-conceited is farre more desperate than the state of the most extreme disease sensibly â—elt in as much as that man is more incapable of remedie that feeleth not his owne maladie than hee that is sensible of his griefe Such is the Case of the Romane Church which is so much more obnoxious to Error as shee is flalsly perswaded shee cannot possibly erre and that vpon two notoriously-erroneous Articles which are fancied and fained onely by her selfe One is that shee beleeueth as an Article of her Faith that shee the Romane Church is that The Catholike Church which cannot erre Which
to iudicious Professors To trie all things and retaine that which is good that is to say True For if Truth were not good no Goodnesse could be True Next is the Bond of your Profession who will be thought to be the onely Catholikes that is the Professors of the Catholike Faith and possessors of that Fold of Christ which in the Apostles Creed is called the CATHOLIKE CHVRCH the defence of which truly called Catholike Church without which there no Saluation is the Subiect of this whole Treatise Wherein you may finde that your Romane Church quà Romane is excluded from the Prerogatiue of The Catholike Mother Church as by the Iudgement of the Catholike Church it selfe so also by the same Catholike Theoreme which you so Commonly obiect and glorie in viz. HE HATH NOT GOD FOR HIS FATHER WHO HATH NOT THE CHVRCH FOR HIS MOTHER according to the plaine and euident Sence of that Catholike Father who was the first Author thereof A Third Obligation ariseth from your owne Practise who are so vrgent vehement and in a sort violent in defending a Necessarie Vnion with the Romane Church and in inueighing against our Separation from it as against a deadly and damnable Schisme Wherefore it were in you a perfidious Tergiuersation to heare as hath beene partly pointed at your Answers refuted and your Obiections retorted vpon you and not to make Triall whether you haue beene able to stand vnto your Defence and Defiance or no. Lastly in your asking HOVV this Assertion can be made good your owne Interrogatorie exacteth of you a Diligence to vnderstand the Answer to the same HOVV Whereunto for this Present I shall Answer but in a Generality to wit that I haue endeuored to Insist 1. Concerning the Antecedents vpon Grounds immoouable such as are the Common Rules of Faith and good Conscience 2. Vpon Consequences vndeniable such as are your owne Principles and Conclusions 3. For Testification of both the former vpon Witnesses least partiall to vs-ward such as are for the most part your owne Writers and 4. Concerning the Credit which you may require in alleaging your Authors vpon such an oculata fides as whereunto you will take no Exception and although some of them may happen to bee vrged Iudicio errante yet sure I am animo reluctante not One. But What needs more Prefacing These and the like Questions which may appertaine to the Article in hand may bee more particularly satisfied in the Discourse it selfe which I shall desire you to accept with the same Right-hand of Christian Affection wherewith it is offered vnto you and that if Any shall addresse an Answer thereunto that then he iudge and censure it vpon the same Caution and Condition wherewith it is written and tendred vnto him euen as for his Sayings or Gain-Sayings he will answer God at the day of Iudgement Fare-you well Yours still a Debter vnto you in Christ Iesus THO. COVEN LICHF A SVMMARIE OF THE seuerall CHAPTERS CHAP. I. THe Profession of the Romish Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church c. imposed by the Romane Popes confessed by their Councels Catechismes and Iesuites Sect. 1.2.3.4 c. CHAP. II. OVR FIRST CONSIDERATION is of the Generall Foundation of our Confutation of that Romane Article by prouing it to be a sacrilegious Deprauation of the Common Article of our Christian Creede THE CATHOLIKE CHVRCH Sect. 1.2.3 I. Argument Because the Word ROMANE excludeth that part of the Catholike Church which is called the Triumphant Confessed Sect. 4. II. In respect of the Essentiall Parts of the Church Militant by comprizing in it those that are but Excrements and no true Members thereof Confessed Sect. 5. III. In respect as the Church Catholike is Visible by Excluding the Essentiall Members thereof viz. faithfull Catechumenists and vniustly Excommunicated Persons Confessed Sect. 6. IV. Because the Article of Catholike Roman Church as ROMANE is voide of all Catholike foundation which is Diuine authoritie Confessed Sect. 7. V. In respect of the Time Past because the Catholike Church was long before there was so much as a Romane Church Confessed Sect. 8. VI. In respect of the Time to Come because the Church Romane as it is ROMANE may possibly be altered from the Catholike Church Confessed Sect. 9. VII In respect of any Time Present because alwayes vncertaine of her true Romane Head Confessed Sect. 10. VIII Because this Romane Article is to all that Beleeue it Necessarily a matter of Heresie and of Periurie to All that which all Romish Priests are compelled vnto sweare vnto it Sect. 11. CHAP. III. A SECOND CONSIDERATION of the Catholike Church is by obseruing a Second general Head of Confutation from the Iudgement of seuerall Councels Churches and Fathers in a Different Respect of Time Sect. 1. I. In Respect of the Time Before the foundation of the Church of Rome that Church is falsly called the Mother-Church of all Others Sect. 2. 1. Proofe from the rottennes of the foundation of her Mother-hood which is the false Pretence of Peter his Ordaining all other Apostles to be Pastors Confessed Sect. 3. 2. Proofe by Instancing in the Examples of Churches which were Mother-Churches before Rome and some also to Rome Sect. 4. As Hierusalem Sect. 5. Caesarea Sect. 6. Antioch Sect. 7. c. The Greeke Church in Generall Sect. 8. And the Church of Britaine Sect. 9. CHAP. IV. II. IN Respect of the Time about When the Church of Rome was first founded because 1. The Romane Article of the Catholike Romane Church is Contrarie to the faith of Saint Peter the pretended Founder of that Church Sect. 1. to Sect. 8. 2. Contrary to the Faith of Saint Paul the supposed Co-founder of the same Church with Saint Peter Sect. 8.9.10 His account of the Romane Church Sect. 11.12.13.14 3. Contrary to the Faith of Saint Iohn who taught that the Citie of Rome was to be the Seat of Antichrist before the second Comming of Christ. Sect. 15. And because he could not be accounted Subiect to the Pope § 16. CHAP V. III. IN Respect of the Time When the Church of Rome was first founded the same Article is found Contrary to the faith of the Church of Christ. Sect. 1. An Argument from the Tyrannous Domineering of the Church of Rome by Two Instances Sect. 2.3 CHAP. VI. IIII. IN Respest of the Time After the foundation of the Romane Church Sect. 1. First in the Primitiue age Prouing that the now Romane Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church c. is Contrarie to the Iudgement of Antiquity Sect. 2. I. Argument from the Contrarie ancient Sence of the Word Catholike Church Sect. 3. By the iudgement of Saint Augustine Sect. 4. of Saint Hierome Sect. 5. of S. Gregory Sect. 6 CHAP. VII II. ARgument is taken from the Comparisons betweene the other Churches and Bishops with the Church of Rome and her Bishops by the iudgement of Irenaeus Tertullian Athanasius Vinc. Lyrinensis Sect. 1. The same Comparisons proued by
Departure of Protestants from the Church of Rome occasioned by M. Luther I. Thesis Luther was vniustly Excommunicated out of the Romane Church Sect. 15. II. Thesis Luther had necessary Cause to depart from the Church of Rome Sect. 15. III. Thesis Luther and his Followers are farre more safe for their Soules state in that Separation from the Church of Rome and lesse Schismatikes than They whom they forsooke Sect. 16. IV. Thesis The Romish Obiections vrged against the Separation of Luther are notably friuolous Sect. 17. V. Thesis Their first Oiection in respect of Luthers former Vow to the Pope or Church of Rome is vaine and idle Sect. 18. VI. Thesis The second and most Popular Obiection against Luther in his Opposition to the Romane Church vrging him to prooue his Doctrine by immediate Succession and by naming his Teachers before him is as fond as the other Sect. 19. VII Thesis The Obiection That all Changes of Doctrines haue bene notorious in the Persons and Places of their Beginnings is false Sect. 20. VIII Thesis The last Obiection Of Cōtinuall and personall Succession in all ages is frustrate Sect. 21. The fourth and last Part of this Determination concerneth the state of the Churches of Protestants after the daies of Luther and their more iust Cause of continuing this Separation from the Church of Rome Sect. 22. I. Thesis Protestants are Generally Excommunicated by the Church of Rome Sect. 23. II. Thesis Protestants are vniustly Excommunicated Sect. 24. III. Thesis In the Continuance of this Separation Papists are rather Schismatikes than Protestants and consequently in the Heresie of the Donatists Sect. 25. IV. Thesis In the Continuance of this Separation the Vnion of the Protestants with the Catholike Church is both more true and more Vniuersall thā is the Vnion of the Romanists § 26 V. Thesis The Protestants granting it possible for some to be saued within the Church of Rome and the Papists denying that any can be saued in the Churches of the Protestants is but a Sophisticall proofe that there is more safety in the Romane Church Sect. 27 VI. Your common Obiection what is then become of the soules of our fore-Fathers more iustifieth the Protestants Separation from Papists than it can the Separation of Papists from Protestants Sect. 28. VII The Protestants at this day stand more Iustifiable in their Separation from Rome than did either the ancient Primitiue Churches in her Excommunicating of Them or yet Luther and his Followers in their Departure from Her Sect. 29. THE GRAND IMPOSTVRE Of the now Church of Rome Manifested in this ARTICLE of the new Romane Creed Viz. The Catholike Romane Church c. Without which there is no SALVATION THat this is the fundamentall ARTICLE of your Romane Church as it is called Romane We cannot bee better enformed than by the Bishops of Rome Heads of the same Church than by the Bodie thereof which is the Church of Rome it selfe in her Councell of Trent together with the Confirmation of the same by Pope Pius the IV than by your publike Catechisme ratified by the like authority Lastly than by her principall Doctors and Diuines in their most approoued and priuileged Books written vpon this Argument of THE CATHOLIKE CHVRCH All which you may read in their owne expresse words CHAP. I. The expresse Profession of the now Church of Rome concerning this her Article vz. The Catholike Romane Church c. without Subiection whereunto there is no Saluation is absolutely and peremptorily proclaimed by the Authority of the Popes SECT 1. IT wil be a good Decorum that in this case we begin to consult with the Heads of your Church the Popes of Rome themselues Gregory the VII in the yeere 1073 decreed thus The Church of Rome saith he was founded only by God and the Pope thereof is rightly stiled The vniuersall Bishop insomuch that whosoeuer consenteth not with the Church of Rome cannot be a Catholike After him in the yeere 1192. Pope Innocēt the 3. distinguishing of the Word Catholike or Vniuersall decreed as followeth If the Church saith he be called Catholike as a cōpany consisting of al Christian Churches so the Church of Rome is not to be termed The Catholike Church but a part therof but take the word Catholike a◠God is called vniuersall Lord because al things are vnder his dominiō so we say that the Church of Rome only hath al other Churches vniuersally subiect vnto it So he More than an hundred yeeres after him Boniface the 8. would needs be heard not speake but roare thunder by peremptory decree in this tenor viz. We declare define pronounce that it is Necessary for euery one that is to be saued to be subiect to the Pope of Rome Thus much for the testimonies of the Popes The iudgement of the late Romane Church SECT 2. SInce those times the Church of Rome her selfe in her Councell of Trent and by the Bull of Pope Pius the IV. set forth for the Confirmation of the same Councell in the yeere 1556. did impose vpon her Professors a new CREED consisting of more than twentie Articles of the now Romane Faith which shee hath prescribed vnto you and all other Ecclesiasticall persons of what denomination or Title soeuer to be professed vnder the tenor and forme of an Oath to wit I N. doe firmely beleeue sweare and professe that the Catholike and Apostolique Romane Church is the Mother and Mistresse of all Churches and I doe vowe promise and sweare true obedience to the Pope of Rome the Vicar of Christ Successour of S. Peter c. And this I hold to be the true Catholike Faith which whosoeuer beleeueth not cannot bee saued So your new Creed The now Romane Catechisme SECT 3. VPon this ground was founded that which you call the Romane Catechisme and published by the authoritie of the same Pope Pius and his Councell of Trent whereby yours as well as other Catechumenists are instructed to beleeue that The Catholike Church is One both because of one Faith also for that it is subiect to one inuisible Gouernour which is Christ and to one visible Head the Pope So your Catechisme The iudgement of Romane Doctors of singular Note SECT 4. IN the last place we are to consult with your publicke Readers in Schooles where by the testimonies of Three you may iudge of the faith of the rest especially these being as fully accomplished with all furniture of learning as any other The first thus The Church of Rome is the vniuersall Catholike Church not as it is a particular Bishopprick but as it comprehendeth all Beleeuers vnder the subiection of the Bishop of Rome And againe Wee must saith he hold it as a point of our Catholike Faith that this indiuiduall Congregation which professeth the Romane Faith and is vnited to the Pope of Rome is the true Catholike Church which I proue first by the Apostles Creed c. The Second thus We define saith
Peter We adde that S. Paul whom all the Romanists teach to haue beene a Co-founder with Saint Peter of the Church of Rome had been before that time A Persecuter of the Church of Christ as he himselfe confesseth when Saint Steuen suffered Martyrdome But the Church of Christ as it is called Catholike comprehendeth say you all times CHALLENGE THe addition of a word which betokeneth onely a part of Time of the Churches being cannot be a Declaration of the Church which is called Catholike on respect of the whole and vniuersall Time of the being of the Church But the addition of the word ROMANE doth betoken but a part of Time of the being of the Church namely after the first constitution of the Church of Christ Catholike Ergo It cannot be any true Explication of the Article properly called the Catholike Church except you will exclude out of the Church of Christ without which there is no saluation S. Stephen the first Christian Martyr and all other blessed primitiue Martyrs and Confessors who died the faithfull members of Christ before the Church of Rome had receiued her first life or breath Wherefore the word ROMANE cannot be added to our Christian Creed as a Declaration of that Article The Catholike Church without which there is no saluation without intolerable blasphemie against Apostles Martyrs and other Confessors and blessed Saints of God vnder the persecution of Saul afterwards Paul who because they were before the Church of Rome and consequently without it must be iudged by your Article to haue beene at that time without the state of Grace Of whom notwithstanding our Sauiour Christ gaue testimonie by this voice from heauen saying to Saul in their behalfe Why persecutest thou Mee So false and impious is your Addition of the word ROMANE to that Catholike Church mentioned in the Apostles Creed The sixt Argument to proue that the Addition of the word ROMANE cannot be a Declaration of that Article in the Apostles Creed The Catholike Church In respect of the Time to come SECT 9. AGaine the word Catholike or vniuersall mentioned in the Apostles Creed as it comprehendeth as you haue said the Time past so doth it you know implie The time to come vntill the ends of the world according to the promise of Christ Mat. 28.20 Whereâ—ore our next Question must be whether the Church of Rome which will needs be the Catholike Church can infallibly professe a Prerogatiue of continuing the the same pretended Catholike Church vntill the ends of the world and whether her owne principles doe not vtterly confute this vsurpation It is a generall principle of your Doctors aswell Iesuites as others that If the succession in the gouernement of the Catholike Church were not allotted to the Bishop of Rome by diuine authority then the same gouernement may bee transported from the same Bishop and the Church of Rome may depart from the Faith as well as other Churches and by name the Church of Constantinople haue done This Consequence being so vniuersally receiued and approued in your owne Schooles our next endeauour will be to proue that it cannot appeare infallibly that the Church of Rome hath a Priuiledge of continuing The Catholike Church to the end of the world by any diuine authority This hath bene briefly touched already but here is the place to handle it more at large Your Canus with some Others lest they should bee compelled to confesse that the Church of Rome may possibly Apostate in future times haue contended to defend that It was constituted the Catholike Church by the Institution of Christ. Which if it were true then would there appeare some euidence thereof either before or else after the Ascension of Christ. But Before the Ascention of Christ saith your Iesuite Suarez Nothing appeareth of any such Ordinance either in Scripture or from Tradition And that which is commonly alledged out of Egesippus of Christ his appearance after his Ascension vnto Peter Commanding him to fixe his seate at Rome vntill his death in the iudgement of your Iesuite Valentianus is of no force to proue that the Romane Church was to continue Catholike We draw nearer our marke There is no certaintie of faith saith Bellarmine with whom the Iesuite Suarez consenteth that the Sea Apostolike is so fixed at Rome as that it cannot be separated and remoued from that Church because there is neither Scripture nor Tradition to proue this Nor these onely but Sotus with diuers other Schoole-men directly and peremptorily consent that The Priuilege which Rome doth challenge is onely by the ordinance of Saint Peter and therefore from humane authority Yea and Some yeeld not so much as the Institution by S. Peter but by the Church so farre that If the Church in a Councell should choose the Arch-bishop of Treuers or of any other place to be Head of the Church he should be rather the Successor of Peter than the Bishop of Rome Furthermore we reserue vnto it's due place your Confession that The Citie of Rome shall vndoubtedly bee the Seate of Antichrist CHALLENGE AN Addition which notifieth a Church that may possibly be translated else-whither and depart from the Faith cannot bee a Declaration of that Article in our Christian Creed which signifieth a Church infallibly continuing in the Faith to the end of the world But the word ROMANE as it signifieth the Romane Church betokeneth a Church which may possibly be Translated and depart from the Faith Ergo it cannot be a Declaration of the Catholike Church mentioned in the Apostles Creed So then to make the word Catholike hereditarie to that Romane Church which possibly may be as truly Antichristian as Rome it selfe is sure to be by your owne Confessions The Seate of Antichrist doth plainly discouer an Article New False Antichristian and Blasphemous The seuenth Argument to proue that the Addition of the word ROMANE to the Catholike Church cannot be a Declaration of the Christian Faith mentioned in the Apostles Creed in respect of any Present Time SECT 10. THe Certainty whatsoeuer it is of your Article The Catholike Romane Church is built vpon this foundation that the Pope of Rome is the Catholike and Vniuersall Bishop of the Church of Christ as the Popes themselues haue formerly defined Now because no structure can be more firme than is the foundation vpon which it is built wee make bold to demand with what faith any of you can beleeue any Pope whatsoeuer he be that is elected to be the True Pope that is as you call him The Catholike Bishop of Rome without which the Church of Rome cannot be acknowledged The Catholike Church This Consequence Two of your Iesuites did truly discerne which made Them resolue thus As the visible Church saith the one is this indiuiduall Church so the visible Head thereof must needs be this visible Pope who by the common consent is so ordained vnto whom we owe obedience as
Churches Councels and Fathers SECT 1. AFter our Proofe that the now Romane Article The Catholike Romane Church without Vnion and Subiection whereunto there is no Saluation is New Imposterous Scandalous c. taken from the tenor and sence of the Apostolicall Article The Catholike Church expressed in our Catholike Creed We proceed to confirme our former Proofe by like euidence from currant Examples taken from the Catholike Church it selfe And for our more expedite Method passage herein We shall proportion our Treatise according to three Distinctions of Tyme the Tyme before the Tyme when and the Tyme after that the Church of Rome had her first foundation and being I. Of the Time before the Church of Rome was founded First setting downe the Romane Article intituling the Church of Rome The Mother Church SECT 2. WEE need not tell you that it is an Article in your Church to beleeue that the Church of Rome is The Mother and Mistris Church of all other Churches where by Mother you vnderstand her ancient Prerogatiue of spirituall Generation and by Mistris her Iurisdiction and Supreme Authority of directing all other Churches as Members of the Church Catholike seeing that the Fathers of the Councell of Trent in their Canons and Decrees haue fiue times published the same Article in expresse words calling her The Common Mother on earth which cannot forget whom shee hath begotten As if all the Faithfull on earth were her ofspring Instantly vpon this Decree of the Councell the Father of all these Trent-Fathers Pope Pius the 4. for Confirmation of that Councell enioyned euery Ecclesiasticke to professe among other points the same Romane Article vpon Oath thus I N. sweare that I acknowledge the Church of Rome to be the Mother and Mistris of all other Churches without which faith none can be saued So then this Article is become as Catholike among you as is your Church Which opinion of her Vniuersal Motherhood hath beene the greatest fascination and witcherie that of long time hath blinded the eyes of most of her Professors and which we shall prooue to bee no better than a False and Imposterous inchantment voide of all light of truth and repugnant vnto the confessed Examples of illustrious Churches more ancient than her selfe The first Confutation of that Article of Romane Mother-hood is taken from the rottennesse of the Foundation thereof SECT 3. IF there bee any sound ground of truth in the Article viz. that The Church of Rome is Mother of all other Churches sure we are that your two Cardinals for learning and deuotion towards that Church most Eminent viz. Baronius and Bellarmine will be most able and willing to expresse it especially where they professedly determine the very point Baronius teaching that Saint Peter being constituted by Christ the ordinary Pastor of the whole Church did fixe his seate at Rome doth thereupon resolue saying Hence it is that the Romane Church is called the Mother-Church of all others And lest any might deny this Consequence as being that which it is indeed fond and absurd Bellarmine addeth the reason thereof The Church of Rome saith he could not be called the Mother-Church except that all the Apostles had had their ordination of Pastorship from Saint Peter And for proofe heereof the Cardinall referreth vs to the Epistles of Pope Anacletus witnessing that The order of Priesthood had its ' beginning from Peter So he whereas notwithstanding Sacerdotall Order doth but coniecturally inferre the Episcopall Howsoeuer these testimonies from the Epistles of Anacletus which your Cardinall Cusanus beleeueth to be Apocryphall and vnworthy of beleefe Two of your most priuileged Iesuites Azorius and Suarez denie That the other Apostles receiued their Episcopall Ordination from Saint Peter Which they maintaine vpon better grounds than the Counterfeit Epistles of a Pope can be euen vpon the Oracles of God's Word where it appeareth say they that Matthias had his Ordination to the Bishopprick which Iudas lost not by the hands of Peter but by lott immediately from God and Saint Paul his not by Saint Peter but by a voice from heauen euen immediately from Christ. They adde other Reasons in the end adioyne the Consent of S. Augustine of many other Diuines Yet were it admitted that Peter as ordinarie Pastor of the Catholike Church had ordained other Apostles Byshops and by their Ministry begotten those innumerable Churches which the same Apostles as you Confesse constituted seauen yeeres before the Church of Rome was erected yet were it a mad point of Genealogizing to conclude that Rome must be Mother to those daughters of Saint Peter which were begotten seauen yeeres before shee was borne whereas shee could be to them but a Sister at the most and that but a younger Sister too CHALLENGE GIue vs leaue to dispute from your owne Confessions thus If all the other Apostles were not ordained Byshops by Saint Peter there can be no apparent reason why the Church of Rome should be called the Mother-Church Thus Bellarmine But all the other Apostles were not ordained Byshops by Saint Peter Thus your Iesuites out of direct Scriptures accompanied with the Consent of Saint Augustine and many other Diuines Ergo there is not sufficient ground to cal the Church of Rome the Mother of al other Churches Twice miserable therefore is the state of your Priests both because they are tied periuriously to sweare That to be an Article of Faith which is a manifest false-hood as also for that they and all that Sect being entangled in this error of beleeuing the Romane Church to be the Mother of all other Churches are thereby consequently entangled in all other her errors and Idolatries The second Confutation of the same Article ariseth from the Respect of many illustrious Mother-Churches more ancient than Rome SECT 4. WE furthermore endeauour to impugne your former infatuation in beleeuing the Vniuersall Mother-hood of the Church of Rome by the faith of Fathers of Primitiue times farre more Reuerend for antiquity and more credible for impartiality than were your Fathers or rather Step-Fathers of Trent Not but that we as willingly as worthily doe acknowledge the Ancient Church of Rome to haue beene in former times an happie Mother of many renouned Christian Churches in the world and we accordingly blesse the wombe of that sincere Faith and Piety which then brought forth so innumerable an of-spring of so many holy Professors which notwithstanding shee might content her selfe to haue deserued the Title of a Mother-Church as other ancient Churches were and not of THE MOTHER-CHVRCH OF ALL OTHERS For we are verily perswaded that no reasonable man can allowe any childe so to honour his Mother as that he must necessarily thereby disparage all others his honourable Progenitresses and that we may so speake his owne Grand-mother and Great-grand-mother together with others of his kindred more ancient than Shee Such was the state of the Church of Rome in
vexed with false Apostles who as Saint Hierome you know commenteth Affirmed that Peter Iames and all the Churches of the Iewes did mingle the Ceremoniall Law and Gospell together and all to this end that they might lessen and vilifie the authoritie of S. Paul in respect of them as though they had bene the Disciples of Christ and he the Disciple of the Apostles Hereupon Saint Paul who was otherwise the most humble among men in so much that he standing vpon comparison would be held the Greatest but yet of sinners and The least of all the Apostles notwithstanding when it stood him vpon to maintaine his Calling which he had from Christ against all malicious Detractors he professeth saying In as much as I am an Apostle of the Gentiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I magnifie mine office So that vpon a Compulsarie comparison prouoked by the Calumniation of others he esteemed it no arrogancie but direct iustice to auouch his owne worthinesse for the aduancing of the worke of his Ministrie A long time after the exercise of his Apostleship he would not Go to Hierusalem to Peter or any of the Apostles lest he might haue seemed to haue bene authorized by them yet three yeares after that he taketh a iourney thither To see Peter doubtlesse for honor sake as one in order of Apostleship most eminent but this he did voluntarily in discretion and brotherly communion and not in subiection as the Context sheweth Foureteene yeares also after this he maketh a second voyage to Ierusalem where he meeteth with Peter and others What then I conferred or communicated vnto them saith he that Gospell which I preached It is one thing to conferre saith Saint Hierome another thing to learne for among them that conferre there is Equalitie We heare not as yet of any authotitie which he receiued either from Peter alone or ioyntly together with the College of the other Apostles or of any thing that might betoken his subiection No he vtterly disclaimeth this for speaking of the Chiefest he saith Those who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing vnto me NOTHING namely Neither concerning doctrine nor authoritie as very well saith Aquinas In a word I saith Saint Paul am not inferiour vnto the chiefe of the Apostles What then obtained Paul of Peter and of the other chiefe Apostles Heare S. Paul himselfe They gaue vnto me the right hand of fellowship which was onely a testimonie of Communion in one Profession and Apostleship no imposition of subministration or subjection Hitherto we haue kept in the Negatiue of his not Inferioritie but Saint Paul doth further instance in the Affirmatiue of his Equalitie They saw that the Gospell of the vncircumcision was committed vnto me as the Gospell of the Circumcision was vnto Peter Where to seeke no further than your Rhemists Notes It is plaine by this place and others that to them that is Peter and Paul as the most renouned Apostles the charge of all Nations was giuen as diuided into two parts that is Iewes and Gentiles So they Their Dioces therefore was diuided yet not exclusiuely for the authoritie of the Apostles was vnlimited and often did as well Peter notwithstanding this diuision preach to the Gentiles as S. Paul to the Iewes but yet differently namely so that the ordinarie course of their Ministration was distinguished Peter to the Iewes and Paul to the Gentiles which was of infinite extent larger than the other In which respect Saint Chrysostome doth not sticke to say that The Vniuersall dispensation was committed to Saint Paul I. CHALLENGE from Reason IN all this we see not in Saint Paul any acknowledgement of Subiection or Substitution to Saint Peter but a plaine Plea of Equalitie or else tell vs what Pope since Gregorie the first would not hold it a Derogation from his Popedome to heare any Bishop in the Church stand in Contestation and say that The Pope could adde nothing to his authoritie nor that he was any whit inferiour to the chiefe of all the Bishops in Rome among whom the Pope himselfe was one What boldnesse and indeed contumely would this be iudged not onely to make many Chiefes with your Monarch but also to account himselfe Nothing inferior to the Chiefe of them Adde hereunto his next Assumption that he had as good and absolute right in his Dioces as the Pope had in his Your Iesuite Azorius saith that When there were two Emperours one in the East the other in the West both of them holding equall authoritie throughout the whole Empire it could not be but the authoritie of the one must needs diminish the authoritie of the other in some part and yet neither should be subiect to the other So he And indeed it could not otherwise be Neuer was there heard of Monarch as you instile the Pope in Imperio Diuiso that is in an Empire diuided in an equalitie with any other For Diuision and Equalitie is of moe whereas Monarchie can be but of one So impossible it is that Saint Paul should haue bene of the now Romane Faith concerning Subiection to the Pastor of the Romane Church II. CHALLENGE from the Fathers MVch time need not be spent in collecting the Testimonies of Antiquitie among whom Saint Ambrose saith that Paul was not lesse in dignitie than Peter Saint Maximus that Whether Paul or Peter were to be preferred it is vncertaine Chrysostome saith Paul that I say no more was equall to Peter Saint Hierome The titles of these two Apostles are equall saith he they are Chiefe of the Church S. Basil They are the Pillars of the Church Eucherius Peter and Paul two Princes of the Christians You will not we presume so much preiudice these Fathers as to thinke that they could not discerne betweene a Monarch such as you held Saint Peter to haue bene ouer all the other Apostles and a Subiect or so vniust as to haue thus equalled these Two if they had beleeued All the Apostles to haue bene subiect to the Dominion and Iurisdiction of Saint Peter much lesse could they haue attributed to S. Paul Titles of so great eminence as to instile him One To whom was committed the administration of the whole Church and One obeying the gouernment of the Church Vniuersall and One made the Head of Nations Saint Pauls Comparison of Others with S. Peter against the pretended Primacie of Peter his Iurisdiction ouer the other Apostles SECT 10. FIrst Saint Paul distinguisheth Iames Peter and Iohn from the other Disciples and ioyneth them in one Chiefedome among themselues saying I conferred with them of reputation and againe in the title They that seemed to be Pillars and yet againe They that were Chiefe of the Apostles Lastly his last vale with them They gaue to me the right hand of societie and fellowship Ergo he accounted them Equall in authoritie
which ancient Fathers haue collected from thence yet so as in alleaging their names Iames Peter and Iohn he preferreth Iames before Peter Do you aske why You can answer your selues Because say you Iames was Bishop of Hierusalem where the Apostles were at this time when S. Paul writ Be it so It must then follow that Iames was in that respect superior to Peter Lastly whiles Paul is earnest in vindicating the dignitie of his Pastorship euen then when he would stop the mouthes of false Apostles who obiected that he had no sufficient Commission to preach as not hauing bene authorized by the other Apostles hee answereth that hee had receiued his Calling Not of men neither by man but immediatly from and by Iesus Christ. And for proofe hereof he addeth a reason saying of the time when he was at Ierusalem I indeed saw Peter but other of the Apostles saw I none saue Iames the Lords brother His Consequent is Ergo he receiued not any authoritie of his Ministration from the Apostles Which had bene a seelie and indeed a sencelesse Reason if the spirit of Papistry had reigned in those dayes because his Aduersaries might readily haue replyed What is that you say Saw you none but Peter as though Peter were not sufficient in himselfe to authorize you seeing that Peter being the Vicar of Christ and the Ordinarie and Vniuersall Pastor of his Church is All in all because the Gouernor of all others without exception But Saint Paul we know spake by the Spirit of God the Author and Fountaine of Diuine reason and could not therefore argue absurdly yet notwithstanding he answered saying I saw none but Peter except Iames. Plainly signifying that Peter at that time could not challenge Iurisdiction ouer the College of all the other Apostles I. CHALLENGE SEt before your eyes any Bishop as for example the Bishop of Toledo who should defend that he was a Bishop extraordinarie and needed not at all to be authorized from Rome and when it should thereupon be obiected that he had bene at Rome with the Pope and other Bishops and Cardinals there and therefore it must needs be thought that he was established in his Calling by them then the Bishop of Toledo should answer semblably as did Saint Paul saying I confesse indeed that I went to Rome to visite the Pope and aboad with him certaine daies but other of the Bishops or Cardinals there I saw none except the Bishop of Cullen and therefore you may not obiect vnto me that I receiued any authoritie from the Conclaue and College at Rome Can you conceiue that any answer could more derogate from the now Popedome than to BVT and except against his authoritie in ordaining or establishing that Bishop of Cullen Yet such like was the Answer and Apologie of Saint Paul for himselfe II. CHALLENGE THe Cause is waightie and may require a further application as thus whiles you giue to the Pope an absolute Iurisdiction cum plenitudine potestatis ouer all other Bishops how can you suffer him to be mated or equalled with other Bishops as Paul did Peter by ioyning in societie with him Iames Iohn Much lesse would you permit that the name of the Bishop of Cullen should be preferred before the name of the Bishop of Rome whose Dioces you extend To the ends of the world as to marshall them thus viz. The Bishop of Cullen the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of Millan as Saint Paul did in alleaging the name of Iames before Peter For for you to say that this was done In respect that Iames was Bishop of Ierusalem and the Cause had relation to his Dioces is as much as to feigne that the Arch-bishop of Auignon whilest the Pope resided there had beene put in Catalogue before the Pope himselfe or that the name of some King must bee placed before the name of the Emperour euen within his owne Empire Next to talke that the Bishop of Toledo or any other Bishop came to visit the Pope and was dismissed by receiuing from him The right hand of fellowship as Paul did of Peter how if perhaps the phrase had such a literall sence would you thinke this good manners in a Bishop since you do tutor and instruct your Kings and Emperours to do homage to the Pope In kissing his foote But especially to heare any Bishop with a BVT to intimate the No-authoritie of the Pope in his Creation and Ordination as S. Paul did of Peter might this seeme tolerable vnto you who still honour him with the supreme Titles of n The Vniuersall Father The Catholike Bishop and Pastor ouer the whole Christian world III. CHALLENGE WIllingly shall we passe by other Obiections taken from the comparison of Paul or other Apostles with Saint Peter although we know that if Saint Peter had giuen sentence in the Apostolicall Synod at Hierusalem as Iames did in his presence If Peter had beene a Sender of any of the Apostles as he was himselfe one that was Sent by others If Peter had leaned on Christ his brest as Iohn did and had therefore beene solicited by Iohn to aske a question of secrecie as Iohn was by Peter If Peter had beene called by a voice from heauen as Saint Paul was If Peter had made as bold with Paul as Paul did with Peter by Reprouing him publikely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before them all which farre differs from the Papall Prerogatiue set downe in the Canon Law saying If the Pope be negligent c. So as thereby innumerable are led to Hell yet is there none that may say Why doe you soe If Peter alone as did Saint Paul had written To the Romanes If it had beene said of Peter's ship as it was of that wherein S. Paul was God hath giuen vnto thee all them that Saile with thee And Except those remaine in the ship you cannot be saued Finally and principally if Saint Peter had written of himselfe as Saint Paul did saying I haue the care of all the Churches This one to omit the rest would haue seemed to you a firmer Foundation than the word ROCKE and haue caused you to lay downe your former iô paean and insultation raised from the depraued sence of those Scriptures Blessed art thou Simon or I haue prayed for thee or Feede thou my Flocke or any other the like whereby you labour to erect a Monarch of Peter and by your Consequence vpon the Pope ouer all Churches in the world Wherein we challenge you of preiudice and rashnes Hitherto we haue spoken of the Faith of Saint Paul concerning the authority of Saint Peter and but consequently of the Romane Bishop We are in the next place to trie S. Paul's Faith directly concerning the Romane Church it selfe That Saint Paul was not of the now Romane Faith concerning the former Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church c. as may appeare by
Church and inscribed his Epistle CATHOLIKE Secondly the Inscription of that Epistle standeth thus To all that are at Rome the Beloued of GOD Saints by calling c. Wherein wee cannot discerne so much as one Syllable of the word Church as wee finde in his Prefaces to the Corinthians To the Church that is at Corinth To the Galathians To the Churches of Galatia to the Thessalonians To the Church of the Thessalonians But in this Epistle hee saith onely To them at Rome Saints by calling to wit the same tenure which hee vsed in his Epistles to the Ephesiaâ—â— Philippians and Colossians Whereunto your Iesuitâ— Salmeron giues this answer There was at this time saith he Factions in Rome betweene Iewes and Gentiles both Christians when Peter the Pastor thereof was expelled out of Rome so that it had scarce the forme of a Church and therefore may it fitly bee said that Paul forbore to call the Romanes a Church If this were the meaning of Saint Paul then are wee sure that hee who would not vouchsafe to call it a Church did thinke Rome to bee as other Churches subiect to the alterations and Changes of Schismes and Factions so farre as not to deserue the name of a Church how much lesse of The Catholike Church Now bethinke your selues what the Apostle would haue called your Rome of after-times when not onely your Professors among themselues but also Popes and Antipopes were distracted into tedious and pernicious Schismes and Factions one against another so that the true Pope sometimes could not bee knowne Which thing your owne deuout Doctors haue greatly deplored One reckoning the number of these Schismes to haue beene Twenty Another accounting the Continuance of one of them to haue endured Fifty yeeres when as the Pope quitting the Citie of Rome for many yeeres together kept his residence at Auignon in France Our third Proofe of Saint Pauls indifferent estimation of the Church of Rome SECT 13. THe third point concerneth the Prerogatiue which you assume to your Romane Church before others Wee shall desire you to consult once againe with Saint Paul in the same Epistle Chap. 1. Ver. 13. saying I haue oftentimes purposed to come vnto you Romanes that I might haue some fruite among you â—lso 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen as also among other Gentiles That one wor◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen as also among Others must needs prooue a prick in your eye who can looke vpon nothing that can more equall the condition of other Churches with the Church of Rome than that word doth by the confession of your Cardinall Tolet and he would haue you to Marke it and we also pray you to Marke what he saith MARRKE saith he the indifferencie of the Gospel because although the Romanes were farre more eminent than other Nations and had the Primacie neuerthelesse in the preaching of the Word and soules-businesse belonging to saluation the Apostle maketh Others equall with the Romanes Among you saith the Apostle as also among other Gentiles of what Nation soeuer So he Heere your Cardinall not to dissemble maketh the Comparison to stand betweene the Romanes and the Grecians as they were before their calling vnto Christianity namely in the equality of Sinne not any one deseruing to be partaker of Grace by the Gospell more than another Neuerthelesse if you shall Marke a little better nothing can be more cleare than that the Apostle compareth these Romanes as they were Christians with other Christian Gentiles conuerted to the Faith because of the same Romanes to whom he said Ver. 6. You are called of Iesus Christ and Ver. 8. You whose Faith is spoken of through-out the World and Ver. 11. I long to see you that I may impart vnto you some spirituall gift to the end you may be established of the Same he saith here in this 13 Verse That I might haue some fruit among you these you know could not bee other than Christians whom he thus commended as already called to the Faith therefore in the next words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as of other Gentiles he meant the Churches of the Gentiles committed vnto Christ Those saith Aquinas vnto whom he had preached So that the labour of the Apostle was vnpartiall vnto the Churches of Christ further than they should bring forth the Fruites of the Gospell of Christ CHALLENGE TWo things there are by which the estimation which Writers haue of Persons or Incorporations to whom they Dedicate their Epistles may bee discerned to wit Inscriptions and Comparisons The Apostle by the Inscription of his Epistle to the Romanes hath giuen vs iust presumption to thinke that he held not the Church of Rome then The Catholike Church which as then he had cause to forbeare to call so much as a Church and that the said Church by Comparison is subiect to alteration as well as Others And so much the rather because the Indifferencie of the Gospell is such as is not to be tied to one place or people more than to another but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 equall to all Churches so farre forth as they shall walke worthie of the same Gospell of Christ accordingly as we haue beene directed by the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romanes The Confirmation of the same Faith of Saint Paul by your owne Confessions equalling Saint Paul and Saint Peter in their diuers Relations to the Church of Rome SECT 14. WHat shall we say to your owne free grants 1. That Saint Peter and Saint Paul were both Co-founders of the Romane Church 2. That both were called Bishops of the same Church by Epiphanius 3. That the Authority of Both is cited in the Popes Breeues for Confirmation of Papall Ordinances 4. That both haue their Images ingrauen in your Popes Bulls yea and that in such sort that Paul sometime hath the right hand of Peter as well as other while Peter of Paul Thus farre your Popes and Iesuites CHALLENGE WHich being so how may it not perswade you that your Popes anciently iudged that Saint Paul did not beleeue himselfe subiect to the Iurisdiction of Saint Peter and his Roman See except you will thinke it possible to extract a Primacy of Authoritie out of Aequalitie as well of Titles as of Ordinances or else to conceiue one to be subiect vnto him of whom he hath the vpper-hand especially knowing that to be placed on the Right hand was held an Argument of greater honour among all people the Persians onely excepted If your Popes at this day should see any Bishops picture stamped ioyntly on his Seale that wee may appeale to your selues in this Case guesse wee pray you whether hee could behold any other matched in such an equipage with himselfe without high indignation and extreame Cause of Anathematization So iustly is your new Faith of your now Popes condemned by ancient Attributes Authorities and Seales Thus farre of the faith of Saint Paul your supposed Co-founder of the
Function such as is Priest or Bishop And in what terme I BESEECH not but that he had authoritie to command as an Apostle of Christ like as Saint Paul and euery Apostle had yet now taking vpon him the person of an Elder to Elders he doth not vse that which you know is the proper and ordinary stile of the Bishop of Rome WEE VVILL AND COMMAND The matter of his Beseeching is hortatiue and dehortatiue for he exhorteth them to Feed their flocke thus he whom Christ charged vpon all loues to Feed his flocke But not so Hee who for the space of many hundred yeares is not knowne to haue preached at all euen your Bishop of Rome The dehortatiue part is in beseeching them Not to domineire ouer the heritage of God What meaneth this The Greeke word signifieth Tyrannicall rule whereas meekenesse and moderation is required in Ecclesiasticall Officers So your Rhemists And they say true and therefore Saint Peters words wee thinke do iustly condeme your Romish Tyrannie especially in two points The first Instance of Tyrannous Romish Crueltie SECT 2. THe first is your Romish Inquisition wherein there is imprisonment famishment torment and ropes to strangle your prisoners and all in tenebris workes of darknesse against all Beleeuers Receiuers Defenders and Fauourers of Heretikes This word FAVOVRERS also hath a great latitude it may be if they chance to commend their learning wit zeale constancie or simplicitie which any Christian may do in a Pagan And how they proceed in the Inquisition it is knowne best to your selues This we find Confessed that The Inquisitors of Heretikes deale most cruelly whilest they relinquish all meanes of triall by Tradition or Scripture which they reiect as a dead letter which say they the Heretikes vse as their bulwarke whereas they themselues obiect and prefixe as the shield of their faith onely the Church of Rome which they hold cannot erre in the faith whose Head is the Pope And if the partie examined shall offer to prooue his opinion by Scripture and other Reasons then with swelling and angrie cheeks they tell him that he is not now to deale with Schollers in their Schooles but with Iudges before their tribunall and therefore he must answer directly whether he will stand to the Decrees of the Romane Church or not If he refuse then they conclude saying that they are not to dispute with him by Arguments and Scripture but and then they shew them with fier and fagot So he And is not this a barbarous crueltie Notwithstanding Pope Paul the III. and no maruaile when he was going out of the world Left this Inquisition as a Legacie to his Successor Anno 1559. when as your Thuanus storieth Calling vnto him his Cardinals he exhorted them in the last place to entertaine as he called it the most Sacred Office of Inquisition whereby onely said he the Authoritie of his Holinesse was supported So he And so now you see that vast house standing onely vpon one pillar which is founded vpon crueltie and bloud The second Instance of Barbarous Romish Crueltie SECT 3. IT happeneth sometime that a man after he hath Abiured Heresie before a Iudge may relapse into the same againe which may be say you By talking with an Hereticke or doing him reuerence or visiting him or giuing him a reward or else by commending him c. The question is how your Church ought to proceed with this man Your generall resolution is To condemne him of Heresie and to deliuer him to the Secular Magistrate without all hope of pardon yet so that if the partie shall continue Obstinate he shall be immediatly burnt but if he do repent then shall he be first strangled and afterwards burnt And whereas it may be obiected that no Penitent Child ought to be kept out of the Bosome of the Church your answer is that The Church doth admit them into her bosome because though they must be burned and loose their goods yet are they allowed the Sacraments of Absolution and the Eucharist But is this reasonable Yes say you because They by their relapse are held morally as Persons incorrigible What shall we say of this Church what Namely that neuer Bubalus was so stupid as to iudge them Morally incorrigible which do repent so as to make themselues Capable of Absolution Nor euer was there any Rhadamanthus so extreme as at once to pardon and kill Therefore Cursed be her mercie for it is cruell If the Sonnes of thunder were rebuked by Christ as not knowing what spirit they were of for calling for fire from heauen to consume obstinate sinners how farre worse are these Spirits that will needs destroy their Penitents with fire A practise by your owne Confession not heard of in Antiquitie Thus haue we finished the second Part concerning the Time at and about which the Church of Rome was first founded CHAP. VI. Of the TIME AFTER the Church of Rome had her first foundation SECT 1. FRom the Consideration of the Article of our Christian Creed viz. The Catholike Church and Of the Catholike and Apostolike Church it selfe as well Before as At the Time when the Church of Rome was first founded hath bene discouered and refuted that Article of The Romane Catholike Church without Vnion and Subiection whereunto there is no Saluation By proouing it False Hereticall Schismaticall c. Which we are now to confirme from other Euidences taken from the Profession of the Catholike Church it selfe SINCE the foundation of the Romane Church Of the more Primitiue Times AFTER the foundation of the Romane Church SECT 2. OVr easiest Course in the disquisition and discussion of this great Mysterie of Popedome by the iudgement of the Church Catholike will be to follow the seuerall tracts of Times beginning at the more ancient and proceeding to Successiue and later Times vntill we come to the last Ages of the Church Our first Argument is taken from the ancient Sence of this Article The Catholike Church condemning the now Romish Article viz. The Romane Catholike Church SECT 3. OFten haue we pleaded Logicke with you about this Terme Catholike Romane Church desiring to know of you seeing it is Romane that is a Particular Church how it can be called Catholike that is Vniuersall or the whole Church And if it be the whole Church how can it be a Particular Church distinct from the Church of Greece or Church of France Will you make vs beleeue that the thumbe of the hand can be the whole bodie Pope Innocent the third as though he had foreseene this Obiection doth preocupate as you haue heard saying If the Church be called Catholike as Consisting of all Christian Churches so the Church of Rome is not the Catholike Church but a part thereof but in respect of the authoritie which she hath as an Head ouer the body ouer the whole Church so is she called Vniuersall because of her Dominion Answerable hereunto your Iesuite Suarez The
Church of Rome saith he not as a particular Dioces or Bishopricke is called the Catholike Church but as it comprehendeth and containeth all Beleeuers in Christ vnder the obedience of the Pope of Rome So they This counterfeit Glosse vpon these termes The Catholike Church as vnder the Obedience of the Pope as Catholike and Vniuersall Head wee shall bring to the Test of the Antient Faith by the witnesse of more than three Fathers I. The iudgement of Saint Augustine SECT 8. WHat was meant by the Catholike Church in the Sence of Antiquity Saint Augustine may be vnto vs herein as the mouth of the whole Church seeing that he had more occasions to discusse this Article than any Other especially because in his time the Donatists did no lesse falsly than arrogantly appropriate the name of the Whole Church vnto their Church in Africke euen as you although in a different Sence hold it proper to the Church of Rome at this day But Saint Augustine The word in Greeke saith he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine Totum aut Vniuersale that is whole or vniuersall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not one but the whole whence the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Catholike is deriued Thus by distinguishing Whole Church from One Church he sheweth that it is as vnconceiuable that the Catholike Vniuersall or Whole should bee but one One part as it is impossible for one part to be the Whole Which is your Paradoxe to call the Head the whole Body whilest as in your Article you make ROMANE as the Head The Catholike and Vniuersall Church it selfe Thus haue we heard Saint Augustine will you now see him Then behold Rem gestam For when by that busie fellow Petilian the Donatist a publike Conference was held at Carthage betweene seuen Orthodoxe Bishops on the one part and seuen Donatists on the other concerning the Catholike Church Saint Augustine was singled out by the Disputer and posed in these words Whence art thou Who is thy Father Is the Bishop Caecilian he This was the Obiection challenging Augustine to answer whence hee receiued his Religion and vpon whom he depended Heare now his answer My communion saith he began first at Hierusalem and from remote places came nearer vntill it entred into Africke and so disperst it selfe through-out all the World From this my Father God and my Mother-Church will I neuer be separated for the calumnies of any man CHALLENGE SAy now if either Petilian the Heretike could haue questioned Saint Augustine professing himselfe a Catholike whether hee had his dependance vpon CAECILIAN Bishop of Carthage as his spirituall Father if it had beene a currant profession among the Churches of those times to haue held the Bishop of Rome The Catholike Father or the Church of Rome The Catholike Mother-Church without which there is no saluation Or whether it could haue stood with the Conscience of Saint Augustine if he had beene of your now Romish Faith in a question about the Father-hood What Bishop and Mother-hood what Church he professed fo◠to passing by all mention of the B. of Rome acknowledge no Head but Christ and neglecting the Romane Church adhere to the Whole Church dispersed throughout the whole Christian World as indeed the properly called Mother-Church How should not Saint Augustine although neuer so admirable a Saint haue beene held a Schismatike and Heretike if he had liued in these daies either for his ignorance or Contempt of the now Romish resolution of Faith in all such Questions to wit that the Spirituall Father of the Church is the Pope of Rome and the Church of Rome is the Catholike Church is selfe because Head of all the rest As for the prime Mother-Church by spirituall procreation wee see that Saint Augustine acknowledgeth no other than Hierusalem which verefieth that which hath been largely prooued to wit that although the ancient Romane Church might in many respects be called A Mother Church of many other Churches in Christendome especially in respect of her admirable care for the preseruation of diuine truth and peace in the Christian world Yet now since first by vsurping an Originall Prerogatiue of the Vniuersall Mother she is become the Mother of Arrogance and Falsehood 2. By preiudicing the Birth-right of other Churches more ancient than her selfe She may be called the Mother of Schisme 3. By excluding All from hope of Saluation that beleeue her not to bee the Mother-Church shee may iustly bee iudged the Mother of damnable Heresie Of Saint Augustines iudgement more hereafter II. The Iudgement of Saint Hierome concerning the Church Catholike SECT 5. SAint Hierome was a professed and deuoute Childe of the Church of Rome when Rome was yet a true and naturall Mother and no Step-dame who notwithstanding when the Custome of Rome was obiected against him in a Case of difference betweene Deacon and Priest calling the Aduerse part An arrogant paucity he maketh an answer full of indignity As though sayth he there were more authority in Vrbe quà m in Orbe that is in one Citie the Seate of the Bishop of Rome than in the whole Catholike Church besides This is the Testimonie of Saint Hierome wherein the Fathers of the Councell of Basil did in a manner triumph in opposition to the Papall Claime saying O Hierome what meane you Is there therefore greatnes in the Pope because he gouerneth the Church His authority is great indeed but not so great as the authority of the Catholike Church which is not conteined in one Citie but comprehendeth in it selfe the whole World CHALLENGE APply you to this former sentence of Saint Hierome if you can your former distinction namely that the Church of Rome is a Particular Church in it selfe but Catholike as the Head hauing Vniuersal Dominion ouer the whole Church and see whether it will abide the test of Saint Hierome who speaking of the Customes of the Church of Rome calleth the Custome of that Church Vrbem meaning the custome but of one Particular Church whose seate is at Rome and opposeth vnto it the Custome of the Catholike Church which hee calleth Orbem the whole world Shewing thereby with whom also doth accord the iudgement of the Fathers of the Councell of Basil that the Authority of the Church Catholike and of the Church of Rome are not equiualent much lesse the same for in Identity there can be no opposition or comparison None can compare a mans head with it selfe And what furthermore Saint Hierome did conceiue heereof will afterwards appeare in due Place III. The Iudgement of Saint Gregory Bishop of Rome Concerning the Head Catholike In denying the Title of Vniuersall Bishop as did likewise Pelagius and Leo both Bishops of the same See SECT 6. ALthough it can be no sufficient Argument for concluding a Papall authority to obiect vnto vs the testimonies of Popes which is your ordinarie guize in their owne Cause yet will it be vnto vs Armour of Proofe to oppose
words of Tert. your owne Beatus Rhenanus hath published as much as we can require Tertullian saith hee doth not confine the Catholike and Apostolike Church to one place and although hee giue an honourable testimonie to the Church of Rome yet did he not esteeme her so highly as we see her accounted of at this day He reckoneth her with other Churches yet doth not make her the onely Church but admonisheth his Readers as well to enquire what milke the Church of Corinth gaue as Rome So Rhenanus who addeth that If Tertullian were now aliue and should say so much hee could not escape without punishment Thus your Rhenanus whiles that hee had the vse of his tongue but since you haue Gagged him by your Index Ezpurgatorius a Booke which we may call the Martyrologe of many innocent bookes But no maruaile for this testimonie of Rhenanus was as a poyniard sticking fast in the very bowels of this Cause Notwithstanding Tertullian will be Tertullian still whom whosoeuer shall reade he will be able to auouch as much as Rhenanus hath obserued namely that Tertullian euen whilest hee was a true childe of the Church neuer allowed the Apostolike which we commonly call the Catholike Church to be appropriated vnto any one place nor had he further respect to Rome than he had to Corinth and other Apostolicall Churches which hee calleth Original Mother-Churches for directing of Christians in the Apostolike faith 4 Athanasius reckoneth vp to the Emperour Constantine the Churches that consented to the Councell of Nice thus The Churches of Spain of Britaine of France of whole Italie of Dalmatia without any precise mention of Rome otherwise than it was comprized in whole Italie A great Contempt doubtlesse if your Article had beene then hatch't because the Consent of Rome onely had been more perswasiue to the Emperour than all the rest 5 Vincentius Lirinensis likewise an ancient Father and greatly approued on all sides in his booke written in defence of the Catholike Truth against all prophane Nouelties aduiseth Christians to trie the Truth equally by the ioynt consent as well of the East as of the West-Church and to consult as well with Petrus Alexandrinus and Athanasius in the one Church as with Felix and Iulius Bishops of Rome in the other Concerning whom more hereafter 6 Saint Augustine against Iulian the Pelagian in the question of Baptisme speaking of Chrysostome the Bishop of Constantinople saith Farre be it from him that hee should dissent from his fellow-Bishops Innocentius Bishop of Rome Cyprian Bishop of Carthage Basil Bishop of Cappadocia Gregory Bishop of Nazianzum Hilary a French Bishop and Ambrose Bishop of Milan Is it possible that these orthodoxe Fathers should in this manner and vpon such occasions haue giuen the Bishop of Rome so many Mates in equalizing others with him if your Article of Monarchicall Dominion had entred into their breasts or braines The same comparisons proued by ancient Churches SECT 2. THe generall Councell of Constantinople in the East to make known their Consent in the Faith with the Church in the West doe endite an Epistle and inscribe it thus To their Reuerend brethren and fellowes as well to Damasus of Rome as to Ambrose of Milan and others The Church of Egypt gathered in Councell in their letters vnto the Emperour Leo professe Their Consent in the Catholike faith with the chiefe Priests in the Christian world naming as well Anatolius Bishop of Constantinople Basil Bishop of Antioch Iuuenall Bishop of Hierusalem as Leo Bishop of Rome The Decree of the Church of Carthage in her third Councell standeth thus It is decreed that we consult hereupon with our brethren Syricius viz. Bishop of Rome and Simplician viz. Bishop of Milane Not to omit how you confesse that The Bishops of Constantinople did sometime enioy the title of Vniuersall Bishops equally with the Bishops of Rome but this they did say you by permission of the Bishops of Rome and vpon conniuence Tell you this to them who know not that Maiestie brooking no Corriuall the Monarchie of Popes would neuer dispense or continue at any One vsurping equall Title of Monarchicall Iurisdiction which is as much as to snatch their Papall Miters from of their heads CHALLENGE THe distinction of East and West is not more familiarly knowne to euery vulgar man than is the distinction of East and West-Church by euery babe in Historicall learning vnderstanding thereby that they were anciently held as two generall parts of the Catholike Church and not as one subordinate to another as will afterwards more plainly appeare Againe vnlesse you shall except against the most ancient and vniuersally approued Instructors and guides of the Catholike Church we must conclude that the East part of the world is not more opposite vnto the West than is your now Romane Article to wit The Catholike Romane Church contrary to Catholike Antiquitie Insomuch that as when Protestants are controlled condemned tormented or put to death for renouncing this your Article Ignatius Ireneus to omit the authoritie of Councels and Others Tertullian Athanasius Vinc. Lirinensis and Augustine may seeme to suffer in them because it may be said of the rest which your Rhenanus spake of one saying Tertullian if he were aliue should not escape vnpunished for such his Praescriptions So False and Imposterous is your Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church as hauing Dominion ouer all Others CHAP. VIII Our third Argument taken from the iudgement of the Catholike Church it selfe in the first Six Generall Councels after the Apostles Besides a Seuenth and Eight Councell in Your estimation Generall SECT 1. EVery true Generall Councell you will esteeme to be the Representatiue Church Catholike than which after the euidence of diuine Scriptures the Oracles of God no better proofe can be required by the Professors of the Christian faith For this cause we hold it our duetie for your better satisfaction to giue you Instances in the first Six Generall Councels beginning at the first Generall Councell of Nice I. That the Beliefe of the Romish Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church without which c. damneth all the Catholike Fathers of the Councell of Nice and their Beleeuers SECT 2. THe first Generall Councell in Christianitie after the Synod of the Apostles was that famous first Councell of Nice consisting of CCCXVIII Bishops by whom were made two Decrees vtterly preiudiciall to the now Article of the Dominion of the Romane Church and Pope aboue all other Churches and their Bishops One is against the Appeales of persons Excommunicate in any Dioces vnto remote Churches which the Bishops of the Church of Africke in their Councell wherein Saint Augustine was an Actor did absolutely denie by virtue of the Canon of the Councell of Nice The second Instance in the sixt Canon of the same Nicene Synod decreeing thus That the Bishops of Alexandria should haue the Gouernment ouer Aegypt Lybia and Pentapolis
you and such is your now Romane Faith But the Fathers of the Generall Councell of Chalcedon were of a contrary beleefe because their reason of withstanding the Pope was as you know For that they held that the See of Rome was founded by humane authority Thinking that the Church of Rome got the Primacie namely of Order by reason onely that it was the chiefe Imperiall Seate So you We haue heard of Oppositions enough Gladly would we vnderstand how you can reconcile these oddes so that wee may not iustly condemne your now Romane Faith of Nouelty by the iudgement of a Generall Councell This was indeed say you the Decree of a great Councell but the Decree was not lawfully proceeded in because the Legates of the Pope were absent and afterwards protested against it And Pope Leo himselfe would not approue it saying that hee did allow onely those Decrees and Canons in that Synod which concerned matters of Faith So you And now vpon this Euidence heare our Verdict CHALLENGE IN these Premisses we finde a Councell in your owne opinion and in the Iudgement of the Christian World lawfull and Generall consisting of more than 400 Fathers without exception Catholike and Orthodoxe These haue opposed your Article of the Necessity of Subiection to the Pope razing the very foundation thereof by beleeuing that his Primacie is not by diuine Authority Vpon this beleefe they easily cast downe the roofe of your Papall building denying the Popes power of gaine-saying the Positiue and humane Decrees and Canons of Generall Councels and by erecting a Patriarch whom They adorne with a Priuilege of power excepting priority of Order in taking place giuing voice c. Equall to the Bishop of Rome What is if this bee not to ruinate your Romane Article Yet much more stand you entangled in your owne Answers For if that so many and so Reuerend Fathers determined against the pretended Prerogatiue of Rome notwithstanding the Contrarie protestation of the Popes Legates they teach vs thereby another crosse point to your Article viz. that the voice of the Pope by his Legates is of no more virtue in a Synod than the suffrage of any other Bishop And what though the Legates of the Pope were absent at the making of this Act in the Councell because they would not bee present and were notwithstanding present the next day and disclaimed the Act yet could nothing preuaile And againe what was the nullity of authority in the Popes Legates whensoeuer they contended against the Maior part of a Synod But Pope Leo say you gainesaid the former Decree of that Councell albeit he did approue of all Canons in the same so farre as concerned marters of Faith This Answer also proueth you faithlesse in all your defence euen by the iudgement of Pope Leo. For if he therefore opposed the Decree of that Synod which oppugneth the Papall Primacie and Dominion because it was no matter of Faith he thereby plainely confesseth your Article which maintaineth the Dominion of the Romane Church without which there is no saluation not to be at all an Article of Faith We conclude Therefore either must those 430 godly most Reuerend Fathers together with Leo the Pope himselfe be damned by your Romane Article or else must your Article be condemned by their contrarie iudgement and Decree Which notwithstanding the Popes Contradiction was afterwards sufficiently confirmed in other parts of Christendome by the vse thereof which as you confesse Continued a long time So large and long a false-hood is that which your Article of Necessary Subiection to Rome doth exact of the whole Church of Christ. V. That the beleefe of the Article of an Vniuersall Subiection to Rome as the Catholike Church damneth the 165 Fathers of the first Generall Councell at Constantinople being the second of that name Anno 553. SECT 6. LEt your owne most priuileged albeit most partial Authors Baronius Binius relate the whole Cause 1. Concerning the authority of this Councell whether it deserue the Title of Vniuersall Councell or no They answer that It was a General Councell and so approued by all Popes Predecessors and Successors to Saint Gregory and by himselfe saying I doe reuerence the fift Councell of Constantinople Now come we to the relation of the Cause First of Pope Agapetus The cause of Anthimius which he had condemned was afterwards ventilated in the Councell of Constantinople This argueth the No-Dominion of the Pope ouer that Councell which will take vpon them to examine that cause which the Pope had before condemned After Agapetus succeedeth Vigilius At what time In the Councell of Constantinople that which they called Tria Capitula was condemned The summe of their Answer is this Pope Vigilius before this Generall Councell of Constantinople defended the Cause of the Tria Capitula which the Councell being gathered together condemned The Pope resisted the Decree of the Councell the Councell endeth Pope Vigilius for not consenting to this Councell is banished by the Emperour Iustinian After that this Councell had so concluded Vigilius confirmed the sentence of the Councell of Constantinople and was thereupon released out of Banishment by the Emperour In all this say you the Popes change of his minde cannot be preiudiciall to him or his See for that the cause being no matter of Faith but onely of Persons he did it vpon iust reason least the East Church and the the West should fall into Schisme and be rent in sunder Thus farre your Authors CHALLENGE BE the Cause matter of Faith or onely of Fact or Persons it mattereth not nor to what end it was done Wee are not to inquire into the doctrines but the dispositions of this Councell nor to respect the point of Vnion of Churches but that which you haue created for a new Article of Faith the point of Necessary subiection to the Romane Church and Bishop thereof First by your owne Confession the Pope defendeth that which afterward the Councell gain-sayeth Next the Pope contradicteth the Decree of the Councell to wit of the same Councell determinately concluding and persisting in their Sentence against the same Pope euen to his Banishment for the same Cause Yet in the end he is glad for Vnions sake to yield vnto the former Decree of the Councel So They who in their Annotations conceale that which the Text expressely deliuereth We condemne say they all that haue defended Tria Capitula But Vigilius say you had before this Councell defended those Tria Capitula Therefore was your Pope also condemned by this Councell Behold now forsooth your Romane Faith Behold your Monarch Behold his Dominion Behold the necessary Subiection of his Subiects If it be called Dominion to Command and be glad to yeeld or accounted Subiection of that Councell to prescribe Decrees against the sentence of your Pope or esteemed Faith of your Article of Necessary subiection to the Romane Church vpon losse of Saluation to persist in
of faith Now wee haue proued by your owne Witnesses as by your owne eyes that aboue 2280. Bishops in their VIII Generall Councels and euery Generall Councell you call the Catholike Church haue opposed your Article of pretended Subiection The first by proportioning aswell the limits of the Romane Dioces as of other Patriarks The second by iudging the Romane Primacie not to stand vpon any Diuine authoritie and setting vp a Patriarke of Constantinople contrary to the Popes will The third by inhibiting any Bishop whatsoeuer from Ordaining Bishops within the Isle of Cyprus The fourth by aduancing the Bishops of Constantinople and establishing them in equall Priuiledges with the Bishops of Rome notwitstanding the Popes earnest opposition against it The fift in Condemning the Sentence of Pope Vigilius albeit one extreamely vehement in that Cause The Sixt and Seauenth in condemning Pope Honorius of Heresie And the Eighth by imposing a Canon vpon the Church of Rome and challenging Obedience thereunto Any man therefore although destitute of good Conscience if but endued with common ingenuitie will iudge and confesse that this Article which thus Condemneth aboue 2280. Bishops of the first Eighth Generall Councels whereof most were as Catholike as they were ancient and learned together with all their Beleeuers for the space of aboue 540. yeares Professours of the Christian faith is iustly to be condemned as Scandalous Schismaticall Hereticall Blasphemous Respectiuely and euery way damnable CHAP. IX Our fourth Argument taken from the Examples of particular Churches Catholike which contemning the Excommunication of the Bishop of Rome were notwithstanding acknowledged to be in the state of Saluation SECT 1. THree things there are which your new Romane Article requireth as Necessary to Saluation of Christians throughout the World I. Is to haue Vnion with the Church of Rome and Head thereof II. Because there are two kindes of Vnions one in Equalitie as is betweene the Members of the same Body and another in an Inequalitie like as is betweene the Head and the Body your Article exacteth Vnion of subiection also The III. is the Necessitie of faith concerning both these as namely that euery Christian doe beleeue the truth of the Article in both to wit that they are indeede Necessary to Saluation Therefore haue wee singled out Examples of ancient Churches which you your selues note as Excommunicate by the Popo which notwithstanding all the Christian world haue held to haue beene in the state of Saluation Our first Instance is in the ancient Churches of Asia which notwithstanding the Excommunication of Pope Victor were in the state of Saluation SECT 2. YOur owne Authors boastingly relate that in the yeare 197. Pope Victor did excommunicate all the Easterne Churches for not obseruing the feast of Easter vpon the Lords day which Excommunication say they is not found to haue beene afterwards reuoked or retracted wherein notwithstanding those that were auerse continued a long time So they A storie certainly worthy your double consideration whereof you cannot be ignorant it being recorded by Eusebius at large that namely Polycrates Bishop of Ephesus in Asia pleaded the Cause of the Churches of Asia against the Excommunication of Victor in that his Epistle whereunto the other Bishops in Asia gaue their Consent Prouing that their Custome contrary to the Romane was receiued from Saint Iohn who leaned vpon our Lords brest that it was practised by Philip the Apostle who died in Asia that it was continued by Saint Polycarpus Martyr and Bishop of Smyrna by Thraseas Bishop and Martyr by Sagonius Bishop and Martyr and that then Polycrates being animated by these so worthy Examples and the vnanimous Consent of their Bishops in Asia stood in defiance with that Pope Victor and contemned his Excommunications saying I who haue now liued sixtie fiue yeares in the Lord and haue had communion in the faith with all the Brethren dispersed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 throughout the world and nothing moued with these terrors meaning of Ezcommunication which are vrged against vs. Thus farre the Ecclesiasticall Storie wherein appeareth this Conclusion as manifest as if it had beene deliuered in expresse termes viz. That a Christian may haue Communion generally with the Catholike Church else-where throughout the world notwithstanding the Excommunication of the Pope and See of Rome and therefore cannot the Romane Church be called the Catholike Church as the Head whereunto all others ought to professe Vnion and yeeld Subiection Yea but your Question will be whether these Asian Churches being thus Excommunicate by the Pope of Rome and so without the Vnion of your Church could therefore be said to be without the state of Saluation This is the maine point for satisfaction whereunto first if you will respect the faith of those Churches it is plaine that they beleeued that the Excommunication of the Bishop of Rome had no further power than to seperate them from his owne Romane Societie and Communion but extended not to the Church Catholike and Separation from it And this will appeare to bee true by better testimonies from the same knowne Storie it selfe where you may read that This Act of Victor did not well please all other Bishops who did greatly reproue him for troubling the peace of the Church And among others Father Irenaeus in the person of his Brethren in France wrote Letters to Pope Victor Dehorting him from his purpose This is enough to proue that Pope Victor was the Schismatike that troubled the peace of the Church and not the Asian Bishops whom these other holy Bishops did so far iustifie as not to deserue Excommunication But to appeale to your owne Consciences shew vnto vs in all your reading if you can that Polycrates and other Asian Bishops so Excommunicate by Pope Victor were held by any other Catholike Bishops of those times to be thereby without the state of Saluation For this you know is the very soule of your Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church without which there is no Saluation Nay but you full well know that Contrarily Saint Hierome in his Catalogue of Ecclesiasticall Writers numbred Polycrates among those who did aduance the Catholike faith And againe relating this his opposition against Victor This I therefore mention saith hee to make knowne what was his meaning Polycrates Authoritie And yet againe Reporting the behauiâ—ur of Irenaeus and other Bishops in the same Case These saith hee albeit they differed in opinion from the Asian Bishops yet did they not consent to Pope Victor in the act of Excommunication So hee Where Not Consenting to the Popes Excommunication doth plainly inferre their inward Communion with the Bishops of Asia CHALLENGE THis one Case if there were no other were enough to strangle your Romane faith in that Article viz. The Romane Church without vnion wherewith there is no Saluation Wherein we finde the Bishops and Churches of Asia Excommunicated by the Romane Bishop and so separated from the Communion of his See
Rome from Carthage but rather that there was a Canon to controll it they descended in the end to a flat and peremptory resolution Yet before wee set downe their Conclusion faine would we know how your Aduocates can quit and free your three Popes from forgery of a Canon of Nice They tell vs first that the Two Greeke Patriarchs were deceiued by giuing credit vnto their Greeke Copies which were Corrupted by Heretikes Next that the Popes themselues were deceiued in alleaging the Councell of Nice instead of the Councell of Sardis wherein saith your Cardinall The Canon was extant And lastly that the Bishops of Africke were deceiued in not acknowleging any Generall and Catholike Councell of Sardis by name S. Augustine affirming that He knew no Sardican Councell which was not Hereticall I. CHALLENGE WHich Answer of your Cardinalls importeth thus much to wit that we are to belieue that two hundred and seuenteene Bishops two Reuerend Patriarchs and three ancient Popes erred in their ignorance of a Generall Councell of Sardis in those daies wherein the matter was aduisedly and exactly discussed rather than these Two Cardinals which are but of yesterdaies birth in their coniecturall presumptions which is in effect as much as to tell vs that those Archers canot discerne so well of a true aime who are an hundred and fifty paces distant from the marke as they who are of a thousand and two hundred for such was the difference betwâ—ene the yeeres of those ancient Fathers and of these Cardinalls from the time of the Councell of Nice Which Answer wee haue else-where proued to be no solution but a fiction rather and meere Illusion Yet that we may deale liberally with you so as not onely to suppose but if you will to confesse also that there was a Generall Councell called Sardican as such your Testimonies delare and therefore to yeeld so farre to Baronius and Binius as to thinke that Augustine and the Africane Bishops could not be ignorant of the Sardican Councell which Saint Augustine himselfe calleth Plenarium vniuersae Ecclesiae Concilium An Vniuersall Councell Neuerthelesse heereupon must we likewise make bold to tell you that the Canons which you cite for your Appeales must bee iudged fictions because else the African Bishops with Saint Augustine could not haue answered your Pope that No Synod had ordained that any might come from his Holinesse to order these matters Nor could those Popes haue omitted the mention of such a Canon if any such had been when now it so much stood them vpon both for keeping themselues free from crime of forging a false Canon of the Councell of Nice and also for aduantaging their pretended Claime of Appeales by virtue of a Canon of Sardis Howsoeuer let vs proceed to that which followeth III. The decision and peremptory resolution of the Africans in Opposition against the Papall Claime of Appeales SECT II. FIrst 217 Bishops Saint Augustine being a principall one doe addresse their letters to the Pope of Rome shewing the false-hood of the Claime of Appeales made by your Three Popes Zozimus Boniface and Celestinus that it had no Patronage from the Councell of Nice but rather that there was in that Councell another Canon making much against such Appeales by determining that Popes being so farre remote from Africk could not be so competent Iudges in such Causes l Except say the Africans Some will thinke that God will inspire some One singular man with Iustice and denie that grace to innumerable persons assembled together in one Synod And therefore in plaine termes they desire the Pope not to admit heereafter of any such Appeale and in conclusion they call that Papall presumption a Smoakie secular arrogancy which say they we will not indure Furthermore the same Councell of Africk made Two Canons by the one as it were taking the Crowne of Pope-dome from the Head of your Bishop of Rome by the other piercing and wounding the Papall Primacie to the very heart For what fairer Crowne can you put vpon that Head than the Supreme title of Monarch ouer the whole Church or of Chiefe Priest and Bishop of Bishops wherewith you professedly adorne and in a manner adore your Romane Pope But these African Fathers vpon occasion of this contention with your Popes decreed That the Bishop of the Primary Sea should not bee called the Head of Bishops or chiefe Priest but onely the Bishop of the Primary Sea Secondly what greater Prerogatiue or higher token of Monarchie could your Popes couet than that which you challeng as A matter knowne to the Catholike Church which is that Appeales are to bee made to Rome from all the coasts of the world against which the same holy Bishops made this peremptory decree viz. If any Priest shall thinke that hee ought to Appeale beyond the Sea meaning to Rome let him not bee receiued any longer into the Communion of the Church of Africk So they All that your Cardinals can say to helpe your Popes at a dead lift is that the former pretended Canon of Nice insisted vpon was to be found in the Councell of Sardis which Antiquity hath denied And yet if that were granted your Monarchy standeth still vpon humane Authority For that Synod of Sardis sheweth plainely that their grant of Appeales to Iulius Pope of Rome was but vpon fauour and not vpon duty being not an old Custome but a new Constitution If it please you say they so much to honour the memory of Peter let vs write to Iulius Bishop of Rome c. And againe If you all bee pleased whence nothing can be gathered but that the same pretended Grant was no more than Ad placitum and might by the same Authority be as easily repealed We add that albeit you challenge a right that All causes of great moment among which these of Appeales is a principall one should bee Reserued to the Bishop of Rome you notwithstanding confesse that In the dayes of Saint Cyprian there was no Reseruation of any such Cases in vse II. CHALLENGE HEre haue we a faire and cleare glasse wherein any one that doth not wilfully close his eyes may see the full face of the vsurped and conunterfeit Monarchie of the Church of Rome For in your Romane profession your latter Popes proclaimed the Papall Monarchie to bee founded vpon Diuine Authority Whereas your ancient Romane Popes at the time of the African Councell when if euer they were to make good Appeales from all the parts of Christendome to Rome their principall part of Supreme power they themselues notwithstanding argued not from any diuine Law but onely from the humane decree of the Canon of Nice which the Fathers of that Councell discouered to be notoriously false For if the then Popes had thought that they could for this Papall pretension draw a sharpe two-edged sword ex iure diuino what needed they to haue fought with this wooden
dagger of humane Constitution which because of the false pretence thereof was shattered in pieces with the very drawing thereof IV. That the Bishops of Africk were in the state of Saluation notwihstanding either their not Vnion with the Pope of Rome by reason of his Excommunication or of their no Subiection vnto him by reason of their diuers Oppositions against him First of their not Vnion SECT 12. IN the Bodie of your Councels there is extant the Epistle of Pope Boniface the Second wherein about the yeere 606 the same Pope complaineth that Aurelius and his fellow Bishops of Africk with whom Saint Augustine did consent had by the instigation of Satan for so the Epistle speaketh beene separated from the Church of Rome vntill that now after an hundred yeeres space Eulalius Bishop of Carthage acknowledging his offence seeketh and desireth to be reconciled to the Church of Rome Thus farre the Epistle of your Pope Doe you beleeue this Epistle concerning the Excommunication of the Churches of Africk Then had you best stand aside a while for feare of knockes for behold there are at hand children of the Tribe of Dan angry fellowes that lay about them 1. Bellarmine I greatly suspect saith he that this Epistle is counterfeit 2. It is full of fraud saith Binius 3. Which saith Baronius some wicked Impostor hath fained because if this Epistle goe for currant then must we blot out of the Table or Booke of Monuments whole Troopes and Armies of Martyrs within the Church of Africk together suffering persecution within the space of an hundred yeeres vnder those bloodie Vandalls all which were crowned with Martyrdome and in like manner must we wipe out the memory of famous and godly professors of the same time So he But do you not beleeue that Epistle of Boniface to be true and that these holy Martyrs stood so long Excommunicate and separated from the Church of Rome Then hearken first to your Lindanus That this Epistle is not supposititious but true saith he this may be a sufficient argument that 500 yeeres since it was held and beleeued to be true as Antonius of Florence doth witnesse which if it should be counterfeit then can wee not haue confidence in the truth of any History of Antiquitie So he Your Costerus and Turrian both Iesuites and also Master Harding doe greatly magnifie your Popes for Discharging their office in excommunicating the Bishops of Africke and alleage this Epistle for their ground Your Iesuite Salmeron and Sanders doe confidently hold that All the African Bishops were seuered from the Church of Rome from the daies of Saint Cyprian vntill the time of the said Boniface the Author of this Epistle III. CHALLENGE WE doubt not but you stand halfe agast to heare the Contradictory spirits of your owne Authors as well Cardinals as Iesuites in a matter of so great moment The one side rather than the aforesaid Bishops of Africke should seeme to perish by their Separation from the Church of Rome will suffer all the Epistles of ancient Popes set downe in the body of the Councels to incurre as Counterfeits the suspition of forgery The other part rather than that one Epistle of the Pope which so much aduanceth the authrity of the Popedome in Excommunicating other Churches and illustrateth the necesity of Vnion with the Church of Rome vpon danger of damnation should want Authority care not although as your Baronius calleth them whole Troopes and armies of holy Martyrs and godly Confessors doe damnably perish But pacifie your selues my good friends the matteâ— vpon on due consideration will not proue worth your iarring For if as the one part will haue it these and all other Bishops of Africke for the space of an hundred yeeres were excommunicate by the Pope for their Opposition against the Church of Rome And that as the other side is constrained to confesse these foresaid Bishops and others made vp whole Troopes and Armies of Martyrs and holy Professors then this intestine Warre among your selues hath made this peace among vs to beleeue that the Popes Excommunication could inferre no mortall danger of Separation Take vnto you this This Syllogisme to ruminate vpon No true Christian Martyrs dye out of the state of Saluation Diuers true Christian Martyrs dye out of obedience to the Romane Church Ergo. Diuers dying out of obedience to the Romane Church dye not out of the state of Saluation Thus ought your grand Clerkes to haue framed their Argument for the stablishing of a true Conclusion and not by their coniecturall Opination to lay the forgerie vpon that Papall Epistle which in truth is to be laid vpon the Papall vsurpation it selfe Thus much concerning the no-necessitie of Vnion with the Church of Rome Secondly of their no Subiection SECT 13. WHatsoeuer that Vnion was which the Bishops of Africke and Professours among them had with rhe Church of Rome sure wee are that by denying Appeales to Rome they denied that Subiection without which your Church will acknowledge no Vnion and consequently no Saluation except you shall imagine that the Pope of Rome whom you intitle Monarch of the Church Catholike and Bishop of Bishops to whose absolute Iurisdiction you sweare Obedience as an Article of Faith without which none can be saued would accept it as a matter of Subiection for Protestants with Saint Augustine and those other African Bishops to deny that any ought to be called Bishop of Bishops and not to yeeld to his demands in point of Iurisdiction vpon any pretence of Diuine Law but to exact of him proofe by a Canon of an ancient Councell to gain-say his challenge of Right of Appeales to Rome from remote Nations calling this A smoakie secular pride to inhibit their Clergie from Appealing to the Romane See and to denounce Excommunication against them if they should transgresse in that Case IV. CHALLENGE WHerefore if any as some of your Church haue beene shall be so impudent as to adiudge these Bishops and Professors in the Churches of Africke which is a part of the world Thrice as great as Europe to haue beene without the state of saluation we can say no lesse than that which your Cardinall Baronius hath already put in our mouthes to wit Then must we blot out of the Table and bookes of Monuments whole Troopes and Armies of Martyrs within the Church of Africke for the space of an Hundred yeares wee might haue said many more suffering persecution for the faith of Christ and in like manner must wee wipe out the memorie of famous and godly Professors of the same time This Collection you must grant to be infallibly true which doth as iustly and irrefragably teach vs that your Papall-Article which seuereth all from Saluation that professe not Subiection to the Pope and Church of Rome is New False Scandalous and Schismaticall for which Article whosoeuer shall dye may be indeed called the Popes Martyr but no waies
vnto them Much lesse can we be perswaded that the first Catholike Emperors albeit otherwise most godly and humble were knowne to performe it If it had bene so then would not your Massonius when he sought to shew the Antiquity of it send you to seeke it He knoweth not where much lesse would your great Antiquary Polydore abhor this as A new and naughty custome of Imperiousnesse deuised first by the Popes themselues But of all others your Bozius one so transported with zeale towards the Pope and this his honour that he held it an Iniustice in the Pope to refuse this kind of Submission from any Christian whomsoeuer will giue you the best and worst satisfaction touching the practise of ancient Emperours where speaking of this Ceremony of Kissing the Popes feet and answering this doubt why in those Ages all sorts of Bishops gaue greater honour vnto Kings and Emperours than they receiued from them Then saith he whilest that the affaires of Christianity were not as yet established Kings and Emperours swelling with Arrogancy and as yet breathing the Pride of Gentiles were not to be prouoked by Bishops by denying them outward honour Can you haue a better Answer for confirming the Ancient practise of Emperours in receiuing honour or a worse satisfaction than is this his sawcy and malepart boldnesse in blurring the estimation of those Emperours which were first as in time so in excellency of all virtues with the false imputation of Pride for receiuing Honour from all others as an homage due to their state and so prescribed by God as Saint Peter and Saint Paul do both witnesse The Estimation of those forenamed Christian Emperours SECT 4. MVch need not be spoken in the commendation of the former Emperours whom your owne Cardinall produceth both for Examples of Godlinesse and Catholike Beliefe and also as Monuments of Gods miraculous Protection vpon them for their Catholike profession sake euen Because they did heartily and sincerely cleaue vnto God The Emperours whom he nameth are Constantine the Great Theodosius the elder Honorius Theodosius the younger and Iustinian But the last with some detraction Prosperous was the Emperour Iustinian saith he so long as he was a Catholike Also Bozius The Emperour Iustinian saith he was of a sound iudgement in the Doctrine of Christianity for his first ten yeares and was so long prosperous but forthwith he handled two Popes viz. Syluerius and Vigilius so roughly that after he was afflicted with all kind of calamities and in the end fell into the Heresie of the Apthartodocites How long Iustinian was both a Catholike in his Faith and Prosperous in his affaires notwithstanding his withstanding your now Romish Subiection required of Popes of later times from their Emperours we shall willingly commit to the report of your owne Cardinall by whom you may vnderstand that the Emperour Iustinian began his Reigne in the yeare after Christ his Incarnation 528 whom vntill ten yeares after Bozius himselfe acknowledgeth to haue bene a glorious Catholike Within which compasse of yeares we reade concerning Iustinian of nothing but of Building of Churches conuersions of Idolaters Constitutions against Heretiks Edicts for the Faith and whereunto you haue taken such exceptions his booke of the Code and Paudects wherein because he medleth with Ecclesiasticall businesse he hath therefore bene censured by you for an Intruder Inuader and Vsurper of an Authoritie superiour vnto his owne Notwithstanding whatsoeuer Decrees and Constitutions Iustinian published concerning the Catholike Faith and Ecclesiasticall discipline if we may belieue your Baronius they were made by the aduise and counsell of Two Bishops and Patriarkes of Constantinople Now are we come to the Tenth yeare of his Empire being the 538. yeare of our Lord Christ wherein Iustinian sent Pope Syluerius into Exile Betweene which time and his exiling of Pope Vigilius are sixteene yeares in all which space is registred Iustinian his Confession of Faith commended by Pope Vigilius his Patronage of Antiquity and his Sanctions and Contestations against Heretikes Then cometh in the Banishment of Vigilius before the time of Iustinian his Heresie containing the space of fiue yeares in which Interim is reported vnto vs Iustinian his Peace with Vigilius his Reparation of the Temple of Sophia his Erecting a most goodly communion Table and his Discouery of treasons that were plotted against him And now at length Iustinian falleth into an Heresie which although it may be some exception to his person yet can it be none to our Cause who dispute from the Acts and Constitutions of Iustinian whilest hee was a Catholike Neuerthelesse we may not let passe the Testimonies of Such as giue vs better hope of him than to thinke that he died an Heretike who by your owne Confessions after this Emperours death esteemed otherwise of him as namely The Fathers of the sixt Generall Councell honouring his memory with the title of PIETIE So Pope Gregory accordingly calling him an Emperour of holy memory And Agatho the Pope accompting his name to be still Worthy of all religious reuerence famous vnto all for the truth so largely dispersed by his Edicts throughout the world We may conclude with your owne Spanish writer who vpon like proofes hath concluded thus It is now euident by that which hath bene said that they are not to be hearkened vnto who vniustly call Iustinian the Emperour an Heretike So he If any desire to see a iust and full Confutation of all the Obiections made against the Faith and piety of Iustinian he may throughly satisfie himselfe by reading of two worthy Authors who haue lately written both copiously and learnedly of this Subiect CHALLENGE SO many tokens of no Subiection from so famously-pious and Catholike Emperours in so high a degree of Vsurpation and Inuasion as you call it vpon the Iurisdiction of Bishops and Popes in Gathering of Councels in prescribing them Lawes in Commanding their Presence in arresting Exiling their persons and all this in times so ancient and in so admirably-glorious state of the Church of Christ when so many hundreds of most learned and godly Fathers and illustrious Lights of the Church Catholike chiefly flourished and preuailed in Generall Councels for the determining of the Doctrine of Faith All these we say do sufficiently exclaime against the falshood arrogancy and iniquity of your Romish claime by an Article by force whereof all the aforesaid pious and Catholike Emperours Constantine the Great Theodosius the Elder Theodosius the Younger and Iustinian with such others must needs forfait their saluation Is it credible if this your Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church and Pope without Subiection whereunto and beliefe of the same Subiection there is no Saluation had bene then of Faith that no one of all those Catholike Bishops would haue Catechized their godly Disciples and taught them not to Inuade and Intrude vpon the Pope his Iurisdiction Or that no
Saint Saint Athanasius was Excommunicated by Pope Liberius and notwithstanding remained a Saint The very names of Baronius and Bellarmine we know carry such Authority with you that they will preponderate whatsoeuer can be said against them who ioyntly consent in this that followeth Pope Liberius say they through the faction of Arian Heretikes is by the Authority of Constantius the Emperour sent into banishment By the same Hereticall Arian Bishops is Felix made Bishop and placed in the Romane Sea When Liberius perceiued Felix to be intruded into his Chaire he after two yeares Banishment enuying and grieuing hereat doth ioyne communion with those Heretikes and gaue consent to the condemnation of Athanasius So they Our Assumption will be this that Athanasius neither before nor after the death of Felix did regard this Excommunication of Liberius Immediatly after this you esteeme Felix to be the Legitimate Pope but pronounce Liberius a Schismatike and one remooued from the societie of Catholikes and from his Papall function Which your Conclusions do notably fight against your owne Principles First this that There cannot be two Popes together in one Sea because this were as horrible a monster as a body with two heads One Pope then must be acknowledged Your next Principle is that No Pope can be deposed except he appeare to be a manifest Heretike whereby he ceasseth ipso facto to be a Pope without any other iudgement at all Yet grant you concerning Liberius that He was a Catholike in his inward iudgement notwithstanding his outward communion with Heretikes Your last Principle is that The Pope cannot be iudged of any on earth because he is Prince and therefore superior vnto the whole Church Catholike throughout the earth All these Premises being reduced into a Logicall forme will make vp our Conclusion thus No Catholike Bishop of Rome can be iudged or deposed But Liberius notwithstanding his consenting to the Condemnation of Athanasius and Communicating with Heretikes was a Catholike Bishop Ergo He could not be iudged or deposed from his Popedome If therefore Athanasius being Excommunicated by Liberius neuer sought as you all know any Vnion either with him or yet with Felix in his stead it must follow that he all that time contemned his Excommunication After the death of Felix who was Pope one yeare and some few moneths Liberius obtaineth againe your good reputation for presenly he was accompted the Legitimate Pope Why It is euident saith your Cardinall that Felix being dead Liberius vnited the Church of Rome which was then rent and diuided into a Schisme and became one Sheapheard of one sheepefold So they Where it will be as euident that during the time of Felix Athanasius if hee would haue sought Vnion with the Church of Rome could not know where to find it because the Catholike Church being but One Body One Spouse One Sheepfold how could now the Romane Church be called the Catholike which was as is confessed rent by a Schisme from it selfe But why stand wee wrestling with you for that which of your owne accord you are ready to grant willingly vnto vs It is a matter worthy consideration saith your Cardinall and so indeed it is to know what Liberius did after the death of Felix about the time of the Councell of Arimine which happened to be some two yeares after the departure of Felix And what this is he will haue vs vnderstand from the Epistle of Liberius vnto Athanasius principally thus This is our Confession most wished Athanasius wherein if you consent with me I pray you euen before our Iudge God and Christ to subscribe thereunto that I may be made the more secure thereby and readily performe your Command So the Pope to Athanasius Which Profession of Liberius saith your Cardinall was a solliciter for the repayring of the rent of that Communion which had bene formerly betweene them So he CHALLENGE IF therefore you will not regard our Inferences yet Liberius his owne Epistle and your Cardinall his Comment must giue light to any that shall not wilfully stupifie and blindfold himselfe namely to discerne That there was a breach of Communion betweene Pope Liberius and Athanasius That this continued two yeares for so long it was betweene the death of Felix and that Councell of Arimine whilest that Liberius was throughout the Church of Rome vniuersally acknowledged the Ligitimate Pope That the Seeker for this Communion was not Athanasius who had bene Excommunicate but Liberius who was the Excommunicator euen now being the true Pope That the tenor of the same Epistle is written in all submission both of his vnderstanding to the iudgment of Athanasius if he should happily consent also in the same behalfe to his will whatsoeuer he should Command If the like Epistle had bene written by Athanasius to Liberius we know how diligently and exactly and with what boldnesse you would haue pressed euery syllable thereof scarce could you examine any one word which should not haue seemed to weigh the weight of a Pope We conclude Athanasius being diuided from the Communion of the Pope so long time and not seeking to be reconciled before he was sought vnto by the Pope himselfe doth euidently shew that he belieued not at all your Article of Vnion with the Pope of Rome as with the Head of the Catholike Church vpon Necessity of Saluation Must we therefore iudge Athanasius therein damned nay rather damned be this your Article as Imposterous Scandalous Schismaticall and Hereticall whereby such a Saint should be damned who as your Author confesseth was so excellent an Organ of Truth that If all the commendations of ancient Fathers should be gathered together yet were they not sufficient to set forth the conflicts which this one hath had for defence of the Faith because no one I speake confidently sayth your Lippelous hath after the Apostles vndergone more continuall and grieuous conflicts for the patronage of Truth than he whom Gregory Nazianzene therefore calleth the Eie of the world the chiefe Captaine and Master of Priests and the stay and pillar of Faith So he So admirable was his Faith and Constancy in impugning their Obiections and induring their infinite Calumniations and persecutions IV. Saint Basil Bishop of Caesarea belieued not the Article of necessary Subiection to Rome SECT 4. LOoke againe into your Romane Calendar and you shall reade thus Saint Basil Bishop and Confessor A Saint then he was without exception in whom you will seeme to haue some Interest as though he would beare witnesse to the Antiquity of your Article of Vniuersall Romish Iurisdiction ouer all other Churches of Christ. Your Obiection SAint Basil writ an Epistle to Saint Athanasius whence if we belieue your Cardinall you may conclude that Saint Basil attributed vnto the Bishop of Rome authority of visiting the Churches in the East by whom he pleased and of making Decrees by his Authority and disanulling Generall Councels such as
was the Councell of Arimine So he And why must not this be true if you will allow your Cardinall Bellarmine to make this Greeke Father to speake what Papall Romane Language he shall impose by his Sophisticall translation But your Cardinall Baronius one otherwise as partiall as any Writer euer was and catching at euery shadow of proofe for the aduancement of Papall Monarchy hath made another interpretation of the words of Saint Basil which may be a iust confutation of your other Cardinall from point to point For Bellarmine talketh of the Popes Seeing the Easterne Bishops by a Visitation of Iurisdiction But Baronius alloweth no more than a Seeing by Consideration of their estate but euery Care and Consideration of other mens estate doth not inferre a Iurisdiction ouer them Secondly Bellarmine will needs haue Saint Basil to desire the Popes Decree another tenure of Papall Authority Baronius readeth the word Councell or Aduise which may agree with a Co-equall Thirdly Bellarmine interpreteth Basil as though he yeelded to the Pope a peremptory power of Cutting off and disanulling the Acts of Generall Councels such as was that of Arimine Baronius saith that the motion of Basil was they should Bring with them such things as had bene done namely by some Orthodox at Arimine which might make for the necessary solution of that Councell which all Catholikes haue iudged Hereticall But this argueth not an Authoritatiue power proper to the Pope of dissoluing of Decrees of any Generall Councell which for the space of sixe hundred yeares he neuer had but an Arbitrary Authority granted vnto him by consent of the Easterne Bishops to exercise his fatherly and graue iudgement for the better establishing of the East-Churches which were now rent into sixe seuerall Schismes through the difference of sixe diuerse Heresies Howsoeuer what Authority this was we may best know from Saint Basill himselfe who deploring the State of the East-Churches now pestered with diuers pernitious Heretikes desireth helpe from the Bishops of the West how To comfort the afflicted and to set right and restore those that are broken Helpe then of Confortation it was not of Dominion Secondly shewing that he desireth no more helpe from the Westerne Bishops than the Bishops of the East both ought and would requite in the like case he calleth it A mutuall helpe of louing and brotherly Visitation or Consideration Thirdly his reason why he is so importunate to haue the helpe of the Westerne Bishops he expresseth to be this Because that priuate grudges among the Bishops of the East hindered the fruit of their doctrine and therefore the Westerne Bishops the farther distant they were so much the more Authority would they haue with the people and he addeth that Accustomed speach is not so preualent as that which proceedeth from Strangers chiefly if they were such as were more specially indued with Gods grace as you are euery where knowne to be saith Saint Basil speaking of the Westerne Bishops because you haue preserued the Faith in all sincerity among you So Saint Basil who would neuer haue vsed so often so great and sometimes indeed so crosse and thwarting reasons to moue the Westerne Bishops to compassionate their case and helping them for composing of such and so pernicious distractions by reasons taken onely from Brotherly loue Mutuall duty and Facility of effectuating that great good because of the Remotenesse of their dwelling and therefore to be esteemed persons more indifferent because of their Constancie in preseruation of sincere Faith and consequently beetter witnesses for the ancient Truth without any mention at all of the Prerogatiue of the Bishop of Rome as their Pope or of their Church of Rome as their Mother and Mistresse as you haue pretended if he had any beleefe of this Article Because this one reason taken from the Papall Romane Iurisdiction and dominion if it had bene a matter of Faith had bene more perswasiue and would haue bene more preualent than whatsoeuer hath hitherto bene mentioned by S. Basil. Besides which will be worthy your remarking after fowre seuerall Legations and Messages from the Greeke Church deliuered vnto the Bishops of the Latine Church for their help the Greekes as Baronius is perswaded neuer receiued any Answer Now therefore consult with your best iudgments whether the Church of Rome and her Chiefe Bishop whom Saint Basil more than once condemneth of Pride which Pride was also condemned by a Councellin Africke vnder Saint Cyprian and another wherein Saint Augustine was present for intruding craftily and iniustly vpon the Iurisdiction of other Churches would in humility refuse the offer of Subiection of the whole Greeke Church or he not haue exercised his Visitation ouer them if any such authority had beene intended by Saint Basil. For so should Rome haue beene marked with a greater note of infamy than was her Pride euen her deserting of the flocke of Christ committed vnto her and in a manner betraying the Cause of Catholikes vnto their many and most mischieuous Aduersaries the Sects of Heretikes But wee shall shew that Saint Basil was of a flat contrarie Faith Our Opposition shewing that Saint Basil did not beleeue your Article of Necessity of Subiection to the Romane Pope or Church Baronius would you should know that Saint Basil hauing written diuers letters and sent many Messages vnto Pope Damasus and to other Westerne Bishops yet receiuing no Answer from them in so vexatious and perilous times when the Greeke Church seemed as a ship almost split asunder by the continuall billowes of most pestilent Heresies He thereupon fell into distrust and if he might so say hatred with the Church of Rome So he We had rather you should heare Saint Basil expressing his owne Cordolium and hearts-griefe What helpe can we expect saith he from the supercilious Pride and haughtinesse of the Westerne Bishops who neither know the truth themselues nor yet will Baronius negligently rendereth it Tell learne it Againe I meant to write vnto the Chiefe of them meanig Pope Damasus to signifie by letters that Pride ought not to be accompted a Dignity And againe the same holy Father Saint Basil speaking of the Church of Rome as you know said I hate the Pride and arrogancie of that Church Yea but wee heare him call the Bishop of Rome CHIEFE True but with this limitation their Chiefe And yet if it had beene Chiefe of all others could this inferre a Popedome and Dominion aboue others Then must you confesse that Athanasius was more Pope than Damasus For Basill that calleth Damasus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calleth Athanasius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying The Crowne of the Head The chiefe of all Wee are saith he to flie vnto thy integrity as to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Top or Crowne of All others CHALLENGE SAint Basil Bishop of Caesarea speaking of the Bishops of the West saith distinctly I meant to write
Iurisdiction and a Necessity of Subordination to his Sea as whereunto All other Churches are subiect But all this by a meere fallacy in taking the words of Saint Hierom simply and absolutely which he meant in a respectiue and restrained sense whether you consider Damasus Bishop of Rome or the Church of Rome it selfe For first You Obiect concerning Pope Damasus that Saint Hierom calleth himselfe his Sheepe being notwithstanding vnder the Iurisdiction of Paulinus Patriarch of Antioch As though that he might not be held a Sheepe of the Bishop of Rome in respect of his Baptisme the signe and as it were eare-marke of Christianity being as you know Baptized at Rome in his full age Or as though when the Faith of Paulinus his Bishop was questionable it were not lawfull to submit to the iudgement of another Bishop of knowne constancie in the Truth Secondly That Hierom calleth Damasus The Successor of Peter As though euery Successor in Peters Seat had an hereditary Right to be Successor in Peters Faith which contradicteth the iudgement of Saint Hierom who condemned Pope Liberius who was as lawfull a Successor in the Seate of Peter as was Damasus for Consenting vnto Heresie Thirdly That Saint Hierom addresseth himselfe to Pope Damasus alone As though Damasus were the onely man to resolue him in all the Mysteries of Faith whereas in other Doctrines Saint Hierom ingenuously confesseth that he trauelled to remote Countries as Greece to Gregory Nazianzene whom he calleth his Master Of whom saith he I learned to interpret the Scriptures After that he iourneyed to Alexandria in Aegypt To see Didymus that I might saith he consult with him touching the doubts that I had in all Scriptures This needed not Saint Hierom to haue done if the Oracle of all Truth had resided at Rome and had beene personated in Damasus the Bishop of that See Fourthly Yet that Saint Hierom in this question concerning the vse of the word Hypostasis sought satisfaction onely from Pope Damasus and relyed onely vpon his iudgement for the sense of the word As though Saint Hierom did not for his Resolution ioyne vnto Damasus Bishop of Rome Peter the Bishop of Alexandria as depending vpon Both and professing either to be absolued or else condemned with both Or as though Pope Damasus in points of Diuinity had not more need to be instructed by Hierom than this Saint by Pope Damasus This were to giue Pope Damasus himselfe the lie who desired to haue conference with Saint Hierom that so I may aske questions saith Damasus and Thou mayst answer that is as Baronius confesseth that Hierom might teach and the Pope learne yea and as though if you require the sense of this word Hypostasis Saint Hierom did not teach Damasus yes he did So doth your Espensaeus confesse Hieronymus consuluit Damasum imò consuluit Damaso That is He rather instructed Pope Damasus than was instructed by him For he told Damasus that the word Hypostasis might haue a double sense the one was Catholike to signifie Persons the other Hereticall to signifie Essentiall nature The not vnderstanding of which word Hypostasis was the reason that Basil imputed Ignorance to the Church of Rome as hath beene said You will aske what then was the Resolution which Saint Hierom sought from Pope Damasus concerning the vse of that word seeing that S. Hierom could not be ignorant of the true sence This you may know by the Answer of Pope Damasus which was as your Baronius collecteth to let Hierom vnderstand that He might lawfully communicate with Paulinus the Bishop of Antioch So that your last error is as though you would conclude that he that could determine what person was most like to vse the word Hypostasis in the Catholike sense must therefore bee accompted the onely Competent Iudge of the Catholike sense Concerning the Second Subiect in this Obiection which is the Church of Rome we complaine of your Authors for the like Sophistry For you obiect for the Prerogatiue of your Church First these words of S. Hierom I am vnited to the Beatitude that is to the Chaire of Peter As though by Chaire he meant the See and Bishopricke of Rome and not the true doctrine of Faith then preached in Rome euen as Christ spake of the Chaire of Moses that is saith Saint Hierom the Law of Moses Secondly But Hierom saith of this Chaire that Christ hath built his Church vpon this Rocke As though by Rocke is not meant the same doctrine of Faith which was confessed by Saint Peter as hath beene proued and which was at that time truly and faithfully professed by Damasus and the whole Church of Rome or as though because that Rome was then faithfull shee therefore had a priuilege neuer to turne Apostate which is a pernicious Paradoxe voide of all ground of Faith as hath beene also largely declared and which can haue no support by this sentence of Hierom where by Rocke he meaneth not Rome saith Erasmus because Rome may degenerate but he vnderstandeth the Faith which Peter professed Bring vs now this Faith of Saint Peter and then challenge our Faith to beleeue you This is the Rocke vpon which Christ saith Hierom built his Church He saith not Built the Church of Rome but the whole Vniuersall Church This we confesse with Saint Hierom to bee The House of God without which whosoeuer eateth the Paschall Lambe is profane This is the Arke of Noah within which whosoeuer is not perisheth as well Romane as Grecian as well Bishop of Rome as Bishop of Thessaly Thus many waies haue you depraued the Orthodoxe meaning of Saint Hierome by expounding that which was spoken particularly of Damasus and of the Church of Rome then sound in the Faith and applying it vnto Rome and all the Bishops of Rome from time to time as though Virgine Ierusalem might not at length become an Whore Secondly by peruerting his speach concerning the Rocke and Building that is Faith and Church generally taken and appropriating it vnto the Faith and Church of Rome at all times and in all Causes Which in the next place we are to shew to be diametrally opposite to the iudgement of Saint Hierom. Saint Hierom his Opposition to the pretended Soueraignty and Infallibility of the Church and Pope of Rome What Saint Hierom hath taught vs to conceiue of the Pope Clergie and Church of Rome we shall shew from S. Hierom himselfe not sophistically but plainely and truly For when we aske you of what stature euery Pope ought to bee for his dignity and Authority You answer that hee can bee no lesse than a Monarch and sole Head of the Catholike Church But Saint Hierom in the same Epistle that was obiected speaking to Pope Damasus saith I desire of you my Pastor that you would preserue your sheepe and addeth immediately as followeth Put away enuie and let the ambition of the Romane height
depart from you Your Cardinall who vrged the former words leapt ouer these it may be because they were not so much for his purpose as they are for ours to proue that if Saint Hierome had beleeued the pretended Monarchie of Popedome in your after Popes hee would not thus haue twitted and taunted Damasus otherwise an excellent godly Pope not so much for his owne pride as for the pride of the Romane Top or height namely the ambition of his Seat In which reprehension of Papall pride the Councell of Carthage vnder Cyprian the Councell of Africke in the time of Saint Augustine Saint Basil yea and other holy Fathers haue bin most frequent when as yet the Top thereof was not so high as hath bin the after-ambition of Popedome by the one halfe Wee in the next place desire to know what you beleeue concerning the iudgement of the Pope of Rome in matter of Faith and we haue heard you call it Infallible yet did Saint Hierome note Liberius once Pope of Rome that Hee was perswaded to subscribe vnto Haeresie Your Cardinall answereth that Liberius indeede consented vnto Haeresie but Hee consented thereunto saith he not Expresly but Interpretatiuely because in Fact he subscribed to the condemnation of Athanasius whom he knew to be persecuted for his Catholike Faith As though this poore ragge were sufficient to couer that nakednesse No for you looke still vpon the Pope as vpon the Visible Head of the Visible Church If therefore hee Visibly communicated with Haeretikes as hath beene confessed and so Visibly subscribed vnto Haeresie Interpretatiuely that is so that none could Interpret his Fact otherwise than as to thinke it a plaine approbation of Haeresie then wee are perswaded that that holy Father who was so zealous of Gods truth as not to indure an ambiguous word which might any way relish of Haeresie and condemned that Pope Liberius of an Interpretatiue Haeresie would not if hee were aliue at this day suffer such a Deluge of Innouations by your 20. new Articles of the Romane Faith neuer so much as fancied of in his dayes In the next place the same Father expresseth his dislike of the Clergie of Rome crying out vpon them in the words following When I was in Babylon and liued an inhabitant of that purple Whore something I desired to chirpe concerning the holy Ghost and to dedicate the Worke vnto the Bishop of the same Citie And behold the assembly of Pharisees exclaimed vpon mee among whom there was not any learned Scribe but the whole faction of ignorance conspired against mee as if I had proclaimed some Doctrinall warre and strife against them Damasus who first moued me to this worke is asleepe in the Lord so that the song that I could not sing in a strange Countrey I now must murmure and noyse among you here in Iudaea So S. Hierome What one of you is there if not acquainted with the Bookes of Saint Hierome who will not iudge these words to haue beene the Exclamation and Inuectiue of some Protestant in your opinion Schismaticall and a professed Aduersary to the Church of Rome to call Rome in indignation and despight Babylon and Land of Captiuitie to tearme it a Purple whore and strange land wherein it was not lawfull To sing the Lords Song concerning the Holy Ghost yea to bespot the whole Clergie of that Citie with the note of Ignorance and at last after the death of Damasus to quit ROME as a Land of Bondage that he might inioy his libertie in Iudaea among the Christian Iewes Could this be said of a Citie priuiledged with a perpetuall Residence of the Holy Ghost and deseruing the Title of Motherhood ouer the whole Catholique Church of the Citie of the Popes Holinesse and of the Oracle of Truth Passe we from the Clergie of that Citie and come wee to the Romane Church it selfe there we finde a Custome of preferring Deacons before Priests Which Saint Hierome condemneth and aduanceth the dignitie of a Presbyter vpon which occasion he falleth into a Comparison of the Church of Rome with the whole CATHOLIKE CHVRCH and with other Parts thereof And comparing it with the whole Church he saith The Authoritie of the whole world is greater than of one Citie Meaning that the Authoritie of the Church Catholike is more than the Authoritie of the Church of ROME Which as hath bin proued from the iudgement of the Fathers in the Councell of Basil is a perfect demonstration that the Church of ROME cannot be called The Catholike Church And least any by that Example and Custome of the Church of ROME should prescribe vnto other Churches as though ROME being as you call her the Mistresse of all others All others should subscribe to her Saint Hierome immediately addeth Why doe you obiect vnto mee saith hee the Custome of one Citie and challenge that for a Law which is done of so few in respect whence haughtinesse hath sprung A plaine proofe that your now Doctrine of making one Particular Church to be in Iurisdiction Vniuersall is an Argument of a Sacrilegious Pride and no sound Article of Faith The next Comparison is betweene the Church of Rome other particular Churches in respect of the Iurisdictions of Bishops in their seuerall diocesses according to Diuine Law Wheresoeuer there shall be a Bishop saith hee whether it be at Rome or at Eugubium whether at Constantinople or at Rhegium whether at Alexandria or at Tanais hee is of the same worthinesse and Priesthood What may bee collected from hence you may know from him who being most conuersant in the writings of Saint Hierome is best able to diue into his meaning namely that Saint Hierome hereby seemeth to equall all Bishops among themselues as being equally the Successours of the Apostles who are therefore not to be measured by the amplitude of their Diocesse but by the worthinesse of their deseruings In which comparison Saint Hierome hath vsed singular art to expresse his meaning more Emphatically For whereas there are Three most famous Patriarchships viz. Rome Constantinople and Alexandria hee parallelleth the little Bishopricks vnder the same Patriarchships with the Patriarchall Seats as Eugubium in Italy with Rome Rhegium in Brutia with Constantinople in Thrace and Tanais in Aegypt with Alexandria in the same Prouince So that whatsoeuer Iurisdiction any Metropolitane Primate or Patriarke hath ouer other Bishops it is from Humane Constitution and not from Diuine Law So farre then was Saint Hierome from making Rome the Catholike Bishoprick that he accounted it as distinct from Eugubium as is Constantinople from Rhegium and Alexandria from Tanais After our Comparison of the Church of Rome with others in the Question of Iurisdiction we proceede with Saint Hierome to compare her in matter of Necessary and Catholike Doctrine But tell you vs First what is that Prerogatiue which is included in your Article of The Catholike Romane Church as properly belonging to the Church of
for the persons of al Popes at all times Againe if the bare Title of Rector of the Catholike Church ascribed to Damasus must needs argue your Pope to be Head of the Church then must you inlarge the Catalogue of your Popes and inrolle among them as many other Bishops as haue receiued Titles equiualent if not more excellent than that For as you your-selues well know Athanasius was intitled the Propp and Foundation of the Church Saint Basil the Mouth of the Church Saint Nazianzene the golden Pillar and Foundation of the whole Church and Saint Ambrose himselfe was commended by the Emperour Theodosius as THE ONELY BISHOP VVHOME HE KNEVV VVORTHY THE NAME OF A BISHOP These few Parallells may serue to allay your appetite vntill we shall be occasioned to satisfie you in this sort to the full In which kinde of Ascriptions there is not any acknowledgement of Authority but a commendation of their care and diligence iudgement and directions in behalfe of the whole Catholike Church Concerning the Second Saint Ambrose addeth a reason of his speach wisely dissembled by your Cardinall to wit The Bishopricke of that Bishop was in a Region diuided into diuers Schismes by Hereticall Spirits whereas the Church of Rome professed constantly the Catholike Faith No maruell therefore though Satyrus aske of a Bishop whose Faith hee suspected whether hee beleeued as that Church did whose Faith was knowne to be truely Catholike As it sometimes cometh to passe in the Common-Wealth in cases of violent ruptures into many Factions repugnant each to other and all to the Loyall and faithfull Subiects of the King among whom some one City as for Example YORK shall bee knowne more generall than any others to professe loyaltie to their Soueraigne if thereupon an honest man aske of a Souldier liuing in one of the factious Countries whether he were a true Subiect and consented with the Citizens of Yorke would you iudge it a Politicke Inference to say that therefore Yorke is the Head ouer all other Cities in the Kigdome And that you may know the due proportion of this Comparison remember we pray you that euen in the same age of Pope Damasus and in the time of the same Schismes many Greeke Bishops were as truly Catholike as was Pope Damasus and yet were not subiect vnto his Iurisdiction as hath beene manifestly proued out of Saint Basil and is heereafter to bee more copiously yea and Confessedly declared Our Opposition from the Example of Saint Ambrose his Opposing against the Church of Rome Sixe hundred and seuenty yeares after the death of Saint Ambrose his Church of Milan was visited by Petrus Damianus Legat vnto Pope Leo the ninth assuming Iurisdiction ouer them when the Clergie of Milan withstood the Legat alleaging that The Church of Ambrose had bene alwaies free in it selfe and neuer was subiect to the lawes of the Pope of Rome The veines of those Clergie-men must haue bene voyd of all tincture of bloud in making a most shamelesse Answer if that it had bene a knowne Catholike Article then that all Churches Christian are necessarily Subordinate vnto the Authority of the Papall and Romane Iurisdiction And why did they in challenging their libertie call their Bishopricke of Milan Ambrose his Church but onely that they knew that Saint Ambrose did preserue the liberty thereof neuer acknowledging Subiection vnto the Bishop of Rome Whereof we haue more than a presumption in the writings of Ambrose himselfe in the Question touching Washing of the feet of Infants baptized which the Church of Rome iudged to be superfluous but contrariwise Ambrose and the Church of Milan held to be necessary The same Father lest the Authority of that Church might preiudice their custome pre-occupateth in this manner I wish in all things saith Ambrose to follow the Church of Rome but yet be it knowne that we being Men haue sense also in continuing this Custome which is likewise more rightly obserued else-where CHALLENGE THis one short sentence is as a Canon full charged to batter downe your great Bulwarke that we may to call your Article of Papall Monarchy For first Ambrose speaking of his owne Church of Milan in opposition vnto the Church of Rome and saying Sed tamen Nos c. BVT YET VVEE c. Ergò he held not his Church of Milan to be a member subordinate to the Romane Church as to the Head thereof But wherein is he opposite Tamen nos homines sensum habemus But we men haue sense As if he had said We in Milan hold this Ceremony necessary They of Rome iudge it superfluous and ridiculous as though we were Asses or Blocks but neither so for we are men nor so for we haue sense and hold that which is more rightly obserued Ergò Ambrose held no Necessity of inthralling his iudgment to the Pope of Rome which is a part of your Article of Faith And in that he saith Cupio I wish to follow the Church of Rome in all things yet this TAMEN or Non obstante doth againe confirme both our former Collections because by calling it The Church of Rome he maketh it no Vniuersall Church in essence and in refusing to follow it where he thinketh hee hath iust cause so to do prooueth that he belieued not her iudgement to be Vniuersally and Necessarily Catholike nor her power and Iurisdiction absolute The Prouerbe is A Lyon is knowne by his claw As well may we discerne Saint Ambrose his Faith by this Clause who in this one Resolution teacheth all Christian Churches to follow the Church of Rome in nothing wherein they are perswaded as Saint Ambrose was in this Case that the Church of Rome hath denyed to follow the Church of Christ. Now for you to answer that his meaning was To follow the Church of Rome in all things necessary though not in a Rite This Answer as it is false for Saint Ambrose held this Rite Necessary so it is also friuolous because if it be iust to withstand the Church of Rome in a Rite and Ceremony as it were in a Mite then how much more may it be lawfull not to follow or belieue her in her many new Articles of Faith whereof among other this is a Principall to wit The Catholike Romane Church without Subiection whereunto there is no Saluation which can neuer be credible as long as Saint Ambrose is belieued to haue bene a Saint VIII Saint Augustine belieued not the now Romane Article of Necessary Subiection to the Church of Rome and Pope thereof SECT 8. SAint Augustine as All will confesse deserued to haue his memory Registred not onely as it is in your Romane Calendar in paper monuments but in the minds and hearts of all Christians so excellent a Saint was He. It is not long since one of your Priests published a booke entituled Saint Augustines Religion wherein he will needs be thought to haue himselfe collected all the materials of
made her the patterne of all other Christian Churches his stile should haue arrayed her otherwise than by inuoluing her among Loca Occidentis Secondly in Criminall Causes you belieue that the Supreme Right of Appeale to the Sea of Rome is a Iurisdiction whereinto the Bishop of Rome is inuested by virtue of his Succession from Saint Peter so that all other Churches Christian ought to acknowledge this Right of Appeale vpon all iust occasions and the Cause being there determined all parties are vtterly precluded hauing no power to Appeale from it to any Superior Iudicature This is your pretended Prerogatiue of the Church of Rome consisting of two Termes Appealing to Rome and not Appealing from Rome Will you admit of Saint Augustines determination in both these Saint Augustine as hath bene confessed was one of that Councell of Africke which abandoned the Claime of Right of Appeales from all Churches to Rome which was then challenged by three Popes successiuely to wit Zozimus Boniface and Celestine and yet concluded against them that it should not be lawfull for any within the Churches of Africke to make their Appeale to Rome Accordingly you that would thinke it an intolerable and sacrilegious derogation from the Papall Iurisdiction if in a Criminall Cause after the Pope with his whole Consistory of Cardinals had giuen iudgement any Bishop within the Romane Iurisdiction should be so audacious as to Appeale from that Sentence to an higher Iudicature where you that are my Iudges shall be iudged whether you haue giuen right iudgement or not remember that Saint Augustine concerning the Case of the Bishop Caecilian which was referred to the Arbitrement of Pope Iulius and others doubted not to giue such a Resolution I suppose saith he the Bishops that were at Rome were not good Iudges there then remained a Generall Councell where the Cause may be discussed so that if it shall appeare that those Iudges iudged wrongfully their sentence may be reuersed and disanulled Thirdly from Criminall we proceed to a Doctrinall point You that haue told vs that it is a peculiar Prerogatiue belonging to the Church of Rome as she is The Catholike Church to direct all other Churches which is the true Canon of Diuine Scriptures and that she by her Councell may pronounce euery one Anathema and Accursed that shall not giue beliefe to his Decree touching the right Canon of Scriptures obserue that Saint Augustine perceiuing how the Latine or Romane Church did not in those daies constantly hold the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrewes to be Canonicall and of Diuine Authority resolueth thus Notwithstanding I saith he am rather mooued by the Authority of the East Churches So Saint Augustine which is so much that a conscionable man we thinke should need no more For now we are in a Doctrinall point euen what and which is the Scripture and written Word of God the Principle and Doctrine of all other Principles and Doctrines Whereof when we enquire we are directed by Saint Augustine to consult with the Primitiue Churches as well East as West and wherein these do differ in their Customes therein to yeeld rather to the iudgement of the Greeke and Easterne Churches according as Saint Hierom also determined than to the Romane in the West And lest this Decision of Saint Augustine might seeme to proceed from some voluntary inclination to the Greeke Church rather than to the Latine he addeth that he is so moued by the Authority of the Easterne Churches Now how all these particulars will agree with your Article viz. The Catholike Romane Church Mistris of all other Churches without full Vnion and Subiection whereunto there is no Saluation do you your-selues deliberate Sure we are that this Resolution of Saint Augustine will easily interpret the meaning of his other sentence so often obiected by you to wit I should not haue belieued the Gospell except the Authority of the Church had moued mee that by Church he meant not the then present Church of Rome as you pretend which is as you see another vanity After this discussion of the Doctrinall Cause we adde a Consideration of the Schismaticall state of that Church according as our iudicious Casaubon hath obserued You who accompt it the onely note of Schisme to be diuided from the Romane Church and the Pope thereof as the onely Head of all Churches Answer vs Why Saint Augustine who in seauen Books besides many other places confuted the Schismaticall Donatists yet neuer spake word of the Monarchy of the Pope or of the Infallibility of his iudgement whereby to reduce them to the Vnity of the Church and Truth Lastly as for the Title of The Catholike Church you that appropriate it in your Article to the Church of Rome aduise againe with Saint Augustine who as he hath already defined that Catholike is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The whole as a Comprehension of all Parts and therefore that no Part can be called The Whole so doth he further illustrate the same in his Expositions vpon those words of the Psalmist The Kings daughters were among thine honourable women vpon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a Vesture of gold of Ophir Behold Rome saith he behold Carthage behold other Cities as Kings daughters of all which is made one certaine Queene speaking of the Catholike Church whereunto euery one ought to bee vnited in Faith and Hope So he You see that in Saint Augustines time when Rome was indeed Rome and truely glorious for Faith and Holinesse yet Behold Rome what The Queene which is the Catholike Church it selfe No but Behold Rome a daughter of the King And againe Behold Carthage and other Cities How Namely so and no otherwise than Rome and others all daughters of the King that is Particular Churches professing Christ. But the Catholike Church as Queene what must shee be any one of these bee it the Church of Milan Carthage or Rome No but One Vniuersall Church consisting of these and All others CHALLENGE SEe you now with what obliquity of iudgement your Authors haue obiected these colourable sayings of Saint Augustine out of his Epistles vnto Pope Zozimus and Pope Boniface and others Whereas when we come to his deeds he doth freely demonstrate his Faith contrary to your sense when Comparing Particular Bishopricke with Bishopricke as Rome with Carthage hee maketh them and their Bishops both Most Eminent Comparing Churches with Churches as Rome with the Churches of Africke he defendeth euen against the forenamed Popes Zozimus and Boniface both that it is not lawfull for Remote Churches to Appeale to Rome and that it is also lawfull for Churches that are subordinate to the Romane Iurisdiction to Appeale from Rome By which the very pinnacle of the pretended Authority of the Romane Iurisdiction is quite ouerthrowne and cast to the ground Againe Saint Augustine comparing the Two Moities of the whole Catholike Church commonly diuided into the East otherwise called the
Greeke Church and the West or Latine wherein the Church of Rome hath the greatest preeminence He in the Case of Apostolicall Tradition concerning Rites and Ceremonies hath made their credit equall but in the Doctrinall as namely a Tradition Apostolicall concerning the true and Canonicall Scriptures he preferreth the Authority of the Greeke and East-Churches and confesseth that it shouldereth out in this maine Case the Authority of the Romane Lastly comparing any One part with All Churches as by name Rome with Carthage and All others hee proueth that Rome can bee no more The Vniuersall or Catholike Church than Carthage No nor both together but that the Catholike Church as the Queene is the Whole Church of Christ by an Aggregation and Comprehension of All together in One. So direct and absolute a Doctor was Saint Augustine of the no-Necessity of vniuersall Vnion or Subiection vnto the same Church in poynts of Controuersie whether Rituall or Doctrinall and consequently of the no-Necessity of Beleefe of either of both all which your Article doth require and exact and yet we notwithstanding your damning Article must still beleeue that Saint Augustine is a blessed Saint IX Saint Hilary Bishop of Arles in France beleeued not your Article of Necessary Subiection to the Pope and Church of Rome SECT 9. THis Saint albeit he haue no place in the Romane Calendar of your Masse wil notwithstanding challenge a place among our honourable Witnesses because he is reckoned in your Martyrologe of Saints He in the yeere 445 seemed to vsurpe vpon the Iurisdiction of the Prouince of Vienna notwithstanding the Inhibition of Pope Leo who taketh it very haynously that Hilary heerein refused to be subiect vnto him This Hilarius as you without any proofe would make vs beleeue yeelded at length vnto the Pope making no further Apologie for the defence of his Cause Which were it so it mattereth not for that will suffice for his Apologie which is confessed by your Baronius namely that Although Hilarius did incurre the displeasure of Pope Leo in the defence as he was perswaded of the Right of his Episcopall Sea Yet notwithstanding was he worthy saith the Cardinall for his singular sanctity to be registred in the Romane Martyrologe of Saints CHALLENGE LEo the then Pope complaineth against this Saint for refusing to bee Subiect to his iudiciall determination the which this Saint did saith your Cardinall in presumption that his cause was iust Yet Gennadius Prosper and others that set downe his life doe not note in him any iniquity in this Case What need many words He that in a Question of Ecclesiasticall Rites could not but doubt of the uniuersall authority of the Pope could not bee of the now Romane Faith Therefore this Saint Hilary was confidently perswaded that in some case it was lawfull to denie Subiection to the Pope Wherefore it will belong to you either to renounce this sacrilegious Article or to vn-hallow and vn-saint this holy man The Generall CHALLENGE concerning the forenamed Saints ALl this while that wee haue laboured to confute your former Romane Article from the iudgements of ancient Fathers and holy Saints we haue insisted onely in them whose names are celebrated in your Romane Church and recorded in the publike Calendar thereof or in your Martyrologe of Saints to wit Saint Polycarpus Saint Cyprian Saint Athanasius Saint Basil Saint Hilary of Poictou Saint Hierom Saint Ambrose Saint Augustine and Saint Hilary of Arles all of them in the opinion of all Christians deseruing of the Church of Christ the most Honourable Title of SAINTS besides the other Attributes which for further Amplification of their worthinesse are ascribed vnto them as adorning Saint Polycarp with the Title of the Doctor of Asia Cyprian the most famous Doctor Saint Hilary of Arles with the Title of Sanctity And as for the rest you shall need no more than that which your Cardinall Baronius testifieth in his Dedicatory Epistle vnto Pope Clement the Eight I present before you saith he Athanasius the Great and Basil the Great two Chiefes or eminent Topps of the east-East-Church and Hilary Hierom Ambrose and Augustine the Foure Principalls of the Westerne Church Pillars of the Faith and Miracles of the World with this company of so excellent Fathers your throne is crowned So he What larger Assumption could your Cardinall haue made in Ostentation of the Papall Monarchy from the Authority of these Fathers then to boast vnto the Pope of the establishing of his Throne by the Testimonies of the same Saints Wherefore seeing we likewise doe ioyntly Appeale vnto these holy Fathers as vnto most impartiall witnesses of Truth you are by your amplifications of their Learning Wisedome Constancie in the Faith and Sanctity as by so many Obligations bound to stand to their iudgements by which the sinewes of your Romane Article are broken asunder First of Necessity of Vnion with Secondly of Subiection vnto the Church and Bishop of Rome as The Catholike Church and Bishop Thirdly the Beleefe of the Necessity of both these And each of those Three vpon losse of Saluation to All them that are not of this Beleefe Recall to minde the former Passages concerning the behauiour of these Saints in whom you haue seene professed Opposition in matter of Doctrine against the Pope and Church of Rome by setting Councell against Councell by taxing the Romane Church of Pride and Ignorance by contempt of the Popes Excommunication by condemning his Condemnation by Anathematizing his person by preferring the iudgement of the East-Church before hers in the great Question of the Canon of Scriptures as well of the Old as of the New Testament Can you desire a more cleare Demonstration of a Beleefe of no Necessity of Vnion with the Pope or Sea of Rome than this is But because you hold it not sufficient to Saluation that a man professe Vnion in Faith with the Church of Rome except also he acknowledge an absolute Subiection in Discipline vnto her Iurisdiction it may not be held superfluous to repeate vnto you the liuely Characters of their no Subiection by denying of Conformitie with Rome in so little as in a Rite whether of a Fast or of Washing of Feete by inhibiting foraine Prouinces to Appeale To Rome and permitting of Appeales sometimes From Rome to a Councell by equalling other Bishops with the Bishop of Rome and making Rome so A Church that it cannot be The Catholike Church any more than Carthage or any other Particular Church is and by maintaining of Iurisdiction against the Bishop of Rome Lastly for as much as neither Vnion in Faith with the Church of Rome nor Subiection in Discipline vnto her doth by your Romane Article satisfie except a Christian haue also beleefe of the Necessity of both the former in euery one that shall seeke to be saued ponder with your selues whether these Fathers if they were as both you and wee proclaime them Saints could beleeue in their hearts and mindes that
by their Acts and Deedes that Popes anciently were no Monarks at all Then will you conclude that we haue iust reason to challenge your Authors of great vnconscionablenesse in their defence and by the vanity of their proofes to perswade your selues of the Truth of our Cause Your Second kinde of Obiections are taken from Titles attributed by Ancient Fathers to the Bishop or Church of Rome The Vanitie of the Consequence hereof discouered First by Equiualences SECT 2. YOur Cardinall to proue his former Conclusion concerning the Succession of the Pope in the Ecclesiasticall Monarchie flieth againe after Titles as namely such as haue beene attributed vnto Popes long since by Ancient Fathers Wee are to discouer the falsehood of this Consequence knowing that the Foundation is too weake to carry so great a weight as is a Monarchie and sole Dominion of one Atlas the Pope ouer all the Catholike Church of Christ and to answer the most of those by like Parallels and Equiualences First The Popes Primacie is proued say you by the word Papa that is Pope Three wayes One because though it had bin giuen commonly to others yet was it attributed to the Bishop of Rome by way of Excellencie thus THE Pope Ergo Monarke False for it was bestowed as well vpon Saint Cyprian by the way of Excellencie insomuch that at the point of his Martyrdome when the Paganish Proconsull askt him Art thou he whom Christians call their Pope Saint Cyprian answered yea IAME Next because say you he is also called The Pope of the Vniuersall Church Ergò hee is a Monarke False for Athanasius also who is called Pope had his Church called by Constantine The Vniuersall Church Lastly because say you The Bishop of Rome himselfe calleth no other Bishop Pope but Sonne or Brother Ergo hee is Monarch False for Pope Cornelius likewise as is confessed called Cyprian Pope yea and Cyprian called Pope Cornelius Brother as also Epiphanius as is further confessed called Pope Hormisda Brother so little doth the name of Brother or Title of Pope auoid the Equalitie among Bishops The Second name is The Father of Fathers giuen to Damasus Ergo he was Monarch False for if Others were called Popes as you haue heard all is one because as is confessed Papa and Pater Patrum Pope and Father of Fathers is the same And also Saint Polycarpus was called The Father of Christians Thirdly Fourthly and Fifthly the Bishop of Rome say you was called The high Priest of Christians yea The Chiefe Priest yea The Prince of Priests Ergo Monarch False for Basil who was no Pope was called Great Priest Athanasius also was called The Master of Priests and you haue many in the Church of Rome vnder Monarchs yea or Bishops that are called Arch Priests and whatsoeuer your phrase be it cannot be higher or chiefer than Summus or Chiefe which by your owne Confâ—ssions hath bin communicated to Non-popes Sixthly the Bishop of Rome say you was called The Vicar of Christ. Ergo Monarch False for Pope Eusebius alluding to that of the Apostle concerning all the Apostles Wee are the Embassadours in Christi vice in Christ his stead and applying it to Bishops saith There is one Head of the Church Christ but the Vicars of Christ are they that in Christ his stead are Embassadours for Christ. Seauenthly the Bishop of Rome say you was called The Head of the Church and his Seate or Church The Head of Churches Ergo the Pope is Monarch False for Athanasius was likewise called The topp of the Head of all and Cyril in a Councell The Head of the Assembly and Antioch is called The Head of the whole world The Eight and Ninth The Bishop of Rome is called The Foundation of the Church and Pastor of the Lords flocke Ergo Monarch False for Athanasius also is called The Foundation of the Church of God And if you speake De iure the word Pastor of the whole flocke was proper to the Apostles who receiued in their ioynt Commission a power and Authoritie of Preaching throughout the world to euery humane creature without any limitation insomuch that as Saint Augustine saith Peter was a Pastor and Paul was a Pastor and the other Apostles were also Pastors But there could not be so many Monarchs ouer the whole Church But if you vnderstand thereby Curam Studium Care Studie which by the Office of Pastorship euery one is bound vnto according to his possibility towards the good of the Vniuersall Church in this all other Bishops are Pastors as well as the Pope as hath bin confessed The Tenth The Bishop of Rome say you is called The Rector or Gouernour of the house of God Ergo Monarch False for it is not spoken Vniuersally but Indefinitely In materiâ contingenti with allusion to the words of Saint Paul to Timothie thus That thou maist know how to conuerse in the house of God which is the Church of the liuing God namely with an vniuersall care ouer All but a Particular power ouer that his Church of Ephesus which was his Bishopricke and yet Timothie was no Monarch The Eleuenth The Bishop of Rome say you is called Hee to whom the Lords Vineyard is committed Ergo hee is Monarch False for Pope Eleutherius as you know writ to the Bishops of France thus The vniuersall Church saith hee is committed vnto you yet hee ment nothing lesse than to iudge them Spirituall Monarchs The Twelfth The Bishop of Rome is called say you The Father and Doctor of all Christians Ergo Monarch False for the First of these was Attributed vnto Polycarpus a Bishop of Asia who was called The Father of Christians And because the Second concerneth your Faith and the iudgement of the Bishop of Rome as an Oracle for the full determination of Faith as being therefore worthy to bee held Monarchicall wee say that your Consequence from this Title The Doctor of Christians and the like is as false as any of the rest because of the Equiualencie of Attributes giuen to other learned and Orthodox Fathers as followeth Our second discouery of the falshood and vanity of your Papall Defence from Titles borrowed from Ancient Fathers by our like Equiualences SECT 3. IF your Consequence from Titles must needs conclude a Monarchicall Pope then marke we pray you how many Monarches must be acknowledged in the purest times of Christ his Church after the Apostles who notwithstanding neuer were lifted in the Catalogue of your Popes wherein we make bold to call your owne Authors to witnesse First then to answer you as Logicians speake in your very Termes looke into the Marginalls and you shall finde 1 Origen called by Didymus The Master of the Churches and by Saint Hierom Most excellent expounder of
Scriptures Chrysostome called by Pope Innocentius The Great Doctor of the whole world Augustine called The most singular Doctor of all Churches And Hilarius by your Cardinall worthily accompted The greatest Doctor and Pillar of the Catholike Church Next if you would haue Metaphoricall phrases of like efficacy and Emphasis you may obserue Athanasius anciently called The stay and foundation of the Church Basil the mouth of the Church the eye of the world the light of the world and the Sunne among the Starres Lastly if you require a further expression and commendation of the credit and Authority of the forenamed Fathers in the Truth of their Doctrines then may you happen vpon some which will more Emphatically and significantly giue your Papall Monarches the mate as namely that the Doctrines of Athanasius were of that credit that they were held for A Rule of the Orthodoxe Faith Nazianzene to haue bene of so great estimation for his Doctrine that he obtained the surname of Diuine primitiuely ascribed to the Euangelist Saint Iohn insomuch that whosoeuer dissented from him in any point of Doctrine was thereupon so much rather iudged an Heretike euery one being deemed not to be sound in the Faith that accorded not to him in beliefe Ambrose to haue receiued and gouerned the helme of the Faith in the ship of Christ which is his Church Augustine to haue bene honoured of all as the builder againe of the ancient Faith and Cyril of Alexandria to haue bene called The Iudge of the whole world Thus much of the twelfth Title The Thirteenth The Bishop of Rome say you was called by Saint Augustine The Bishop of the Apostolike Sea meaning the Romane without addition of the word Romane Ergò by way of Excellency it argueth him to be Monarch False for so the Bishop of Alexandria was in like manner called by Saint Hierome The Bishop of the Apostolicall Sea without any addition of the word Alexandrian Yea but you say the Bishop of Rome is further said to hold the Principality or Chiefedome of the Apostolicall Sea Ergò Monarch False for the Bishop of Antioch also was said to possesse The Primacy of the Apostolike Sea yea and Others also Oh but further say you the office of the Bishop of Rome is called an Apostleship Ergò Monarch False for if this Consequence be extended to the times of the Apostles then must Iudas Iscariot haue bene a Monarch who had an Apostleship Act. 1.25 And Matthias after him should haue bene another Monarch who was chosen into the same Apostleship from which Iudas fell And if you restraine it to after-times then can no Bishop properly arrogate an Apostleship which was an Office as your selues confesse Proper vnto the immediate Apostles of Christ. Lastly the Bishop of Rome say you was called The Vniuersall Bishop Ergò Monarch False for as is confessed the Popes of Rome by conniuency yeelded to the Bishop of Constantinople that the Bishop of that Sea should vse the same Title of Vniuersall Bishop as well as the Bishop of Rome and yet was he no more Monarch than Cyril the now Patriarch of Alexandria who is instiled Pope and Vniuersall Iudge at this day Our third Discouery of the Falshood and Vanity of the Papall Defence from bare Titles is by your owne Contradictions SECT 4. HItherto haue we examined your Titles giuen to the Popes of Rome in the equall scales of Comparison with other Bishops and find them all too light neither scale being able to carry the weight of a Monarch We now proceed to a further Confutation of your Arguments Consequences in many of them from your owne Confessions and Reasons You haue first obiected the Title of Pope of Rome as The most ancient name of the Bishop of Rome yet you confesse that there was a time so Ancient when Neither the name of Papa or Pontifex were attributed to the Bishop of Rome but onely the bare Title of Bishop of Rome Againe of this name you haue affirmed that it was Anciently giuen to the Bishop of Rome Per Antonomasiam by way of Excellence as proper vnto him and yet you grant that The name of Pope was appropriated onely to the Bishop of Rome by the Decree of Pope Gregory the seauenth in a Councell at Rome about the yeare 1073. Againe you noted the Bishop of Rome to be called Papa Ecclesiae Father of the Church as if he were altogether Father and could not by any Relation be Filius Ecclesiae the Child of the Church or Subiect to a Councell Which bladder of pride was pricked by the Fathers of the Councell of Basil arguing thus If the Church Catholike be the Mother of all the faithfull then the Bishop of Rome ought to be Child vnto her else according to that saying of blessed Augustine he cannot haue God for his Father that hath not the Church for his Mother So they Haue you not now by your propriety of the name Papa spunne a faire threed whereby you strangle your Popes and Popedome it selfe As for the fourth Title of Summus Pontifex or Chiefe Priest you haue auouched from thence that the Pope of Rome is the onely Monareh And yet yeeld that there may be Two Chiefes in euery kind namely Negatiuely as that which hath none aboue it although not Affirmatiuely chiefe as that which is aboue all others So then it is not necessary that the word Chiefe should inferre a Supremacy else Pope Leo was farre ouershot when speaking of Bishops in Generall he called them Summi Pontifices Chiefe Priests and so making All other Popes made himselfe none at all because still the Monarchy can be but of One. Nor thus onely but further you who by one Cardinall haue made these words Pontifex Maximus and Sacerdos Summus to be Notes of Monarchie in the Popes do by another Cardinall contradict it saying that The name of Pontifex Maximus may admit of Equality with others except there be ioyned with this another Title of Bishop of Bishops Which also as you know is insufficient because Pope Clemens in the Epistle which you call his called the Apostle Saint Iames The Bishop of Bishops euen in the dayes of Saint Peter The ninth Title you contended for as proper to the Pope was the name of Pastor or Sheapheard of the flocke of Christ Notwithstanding of all other Bishops in the Christian Church the Pope hath least right to be called Pastor except it be Per Antiphrasim à non pascendo because you cannot reckon for some hundreds of yeares scarce any One Pope that professedly discharged his Function of Preaching albeit Preaching be acknowledged more than once by your Fathers of the Councell of Trent to be The Chiefe office of a Bishop If therefore as your Cardinall himselfe preached He deserueth not the name of
but to signifie that hee ment not the Chaire of Iurisdiction in One but of Vnion equally in Many he addeth The other Apostles were the same with Peter indued with equall honour and power Therefore by Chaire hee meant not any particular See of Peter but the Vnion of one Vniuersall Church gouerned by an Aristocraticall Equality of many We leaue the true Peter and come to the counterfeit whom you call your Pope and see if you can take any better hold either at the word Episcopatus Bishoprick or Episcopus Bishop There is one Bishopricke saith Cyprian dispersed throughout the world consisting of the vnanimous multitude of many Bishops If by One Bishopricke were meant onely the See of Rome then should there be so many Bishops of Rome as there are Bishops throughout the world This one Sentence of Cyprian breaketh the necke of your Cardinals conceit that will haue vs to vnderstand by Bishopricke in Cyprian the Indiuiduall Bishopricke of the Pope of Rome and not a generall Complexion and Comprehension of All. But that you may further know that Cyprian himselfe will challenge a part in this Bishopricke as well as the Pope Wee saith he that gouerne in the Church ought to hold Vnity that so we may proue the Bishopricke to be but one The Bishopricke is but one a portion whereof is wholly and fully held of Euery Bishop To signifie that in the Essentiall nature of a Bishop euery Bishop is equall and the Collection of All doth equally make vp this One Vniuersall Bishopricke Which can no more agree as your Cardinall would haue it to the Particular Bishopricke of Rome than if hee would conclude that because there is One Man-hood whereof euery man whatsoeuer in the world hath equally a portion therefore this Man-hood is proper to Clement Pope of Rome If your Plea faile in the word One Bishopricke it will neuer preuaile in the word One Bishop for Bishopricke and Bishop are Relatiues and inferre the same Consequence Cyprian writing to Pope Cornelius saith that There ought to be but One Bishop in the Catholike Church which soundeth in the braines of your Teachers that by Catholike Church is ment the Vniuersall Church of Christ and by One Bishop particularly Cornelius the then Bishop of Rome A Glosse which neither Cyprian nor Cornelius himselfe will admit Not Cornelius who describing the lewd properties of Nouatus who sought to snatch the Bishopricke of Rome from him Nouatus saith he would haue vs to thinke forsooth that hee did forget that there ought to be but One Bishop in the Catholike Church wherein there are six and forty Priests and seauen Deacons where the word Catholike Church is not taken in the proper sense of Vniuersall Church as you would haue it to make him an Vniuersall Bishop but it is taken for a Church professing the Catholike Faith in which signification the word Catholike Church doth agree as well with any Orthodox Church as with the Church of Rome You discerne this as well as we for hee speaketh expresly of a Catholike Church which hath but Fortie and six Priests and but seauen Deacons You are wee thinke already ashamed to heare of such a paucitie of Priests and Deacons within albeit but the Suburbs of the Citie of Rome which to pronounce of the whole and Vniuersall Church Catholike throughout the world seemeth to be as loud a lye almost as can be in the Vniuersall world and as little truth then can there be in your Obiections Wee returne to Cyprian who sometimes speaketh of One Bishop at large and sometimes with Relation to himselfe Nouatian saith hee could not obtaine the Bishopricke meaning of Rome although hee had bin made Bishop namely thereof by his fellow Bishops that is to say Nouatian Bâ—shops Who then should haue the Bishopricke Who but Cornelius who was made Bishop of Rome for this is implied by his Orthodox fellow Bishops If in this place Bishop must signifie One onely Bishop how commeth the Bishop of Rome to haue Fellow-Bishops Doe not Onely and Also make a plaine Solecisme And other Bishops there alwayes were except when you make onely the Pope the One Bishop as the onely Vicar of Christ you make all other Bishops against your owne Conclusions to be but the Vicars of the Pope At the length Cyprian commeth to plead his owne Cause Once writing to Pope Cornelius I cannot but speake with griefe saith hee and I am constrained to say it when a Bishop elected in peace and approued of his people Foure yeares c. Where by Bishop hee could not vnderstand Cornelius Pope of Rome who liued Bishop but Two yeares but ment indeede himselfe Againe writing to his Aduersary Pupianus who sought to ouertop him Hence sprang Schismes and Haeresies saith Cyprian when that one Bishop that gouerneth the Church is insolently contemned as who should say the Fraternitie hath not had a Bishop these sixe yeares nor the Flocke a Shepheard nor God a Priest Which words the iniurie hee receiued of his Aduersary compelled him to speake of himselfe and his owne modestie to speake in the Third person as not of himselfe Lastly when hee calleth the Church One which saith hee possesseth all the grace of Christ the spouse of the Church wherein speaking of himselfe we haue authoritie and rule must the word Church here also Indiuidually point out the Particular Church of Rome So should Cyprian be said to haue gouerned the Particular See of Rome which whether it were alone or with Cornelius it dissolueth his Monarchie What shall wee say to the sayings of Cyprian if hee had beleeued your Article of Papall Monarchie as a Doctrine of Faith hee that laid downe his life for the Profession of our true Monarke and Head Christ the Lord of life was hâ—e either such a Coward that hee durst not plainely professe this Faith or else such an Infant as that hee could not expresse it in the proper style of that Article concerning the Pope of Rome the Bishop of Bishops the Father of Fathers the High-Priest of Christ and Monarch of the Vniuersall Church or at least some one Syllable to that effect of which Attributes your Cardinall hath made a faire Diademe and fitted it onely to your Head the Pope And so indeede Cyprian would haue instiled Pope Cornelius if he had bin of your Faith For Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Yet what Faith did that holy mouth of Saint Cyprian vtter in his inscribing of Pope Cornelius In all his Epistles to that Pope hee saluteth him with onely Charissime Frater Most deare Brother and taketh his Vale with the same Most deare Brother Farewell And in his Epistles vnto others falling into mention of the same Pope Cornelius whom hee indeede both much loued and honoured yet hee exceedeth not these Epithets Our fellow-Bishop Cornelius our Collegue or fellow in office Cornelius and O Brother Antonianus
defect of pronouncing Shibboleth euen as the Character of a man is seene by his speach CHALLENGE IN Examination of these Premises you may finde iust matter for Challenge of your owne Proctors and Pleaders for the Popes Primacy from these Popes by reason of their fourefold Iniurie First to their Aduersaries the Protestants whom they traduce as enemies to Antiquity in not admitting the Testimonies of so holy Popes of the Primitiue age which all Christians ought to beleeue and reuerence But in this clamour they abuse their Readers by deliuering vnto them onely the names of Popes Epistles as is vsuall in false Certificates wherein a man shall reade a Catalogue of names of men whereunto the parties themselues neuer yeelded their consent or as in a Stage-play wherein are presented Personates instead of Persons themselues and to the chins of boyes are fixed the beards of old men Is not this a theatricall forgery Secondly to your Popes by vrging writings in their nameâ— which if they were theirs must proue them to haue beene foolish false and barbarous Our zeale therefore to those blessed Popes doth challenge your Obiectors of extreme iniury to their memory Thirdly to the Church of Rome as well Ancient as Successiue that when you boast so much of the truth of your Traditions as a Nuncupatiue Testament of Christ wherein your Chiefest Article is your Doctrine of Papall Monarchy yet when we are to consult with the first witnesses that should testifie this Article in tht Romane Church it selfe namely those Ancient Popes we can haue no better assurance of their Testimonies than as of such as are confessed to bee both fraught with Errors and also falsely imposed vpon those Popes Which is in effect to condemne your Romane Church of sacrilegious negligence and vnfaithfulnesse in not preseruing that sacrum Depositum as you call the Ancient Tradition of Popes from hand to hand and consequently must inferre a iust suspition of Falshood in the Chiefest ground of your Romish Faith the pretended Law of Tradition Is not this also an iniury But the greatest Iniury that we lament is the wrong which your Obiectors doe vnto their own Consciences when some will haue all those Epistles to be Authenticall and worthy of absolute Beleefe without Exception yet are condemned by the most learned among you who confesse and proue that they are mixed both with Theologicall Chronologicall falshoods Some againe especially your Cardinal obtruding Epistles in the names of Popes and yet doubting whether they be truely the Epistles of these Popes or no and some other-where also reiecting some of them as Counterfeits So foolish is his Obiection in alleaging them for Ancient who could not be ignorant that there haue beene Ancient forgeries of which stampe your owne iudicious Authors haue noted these to bee And that which exceedeth almost the highest note of to speake mildely Inconsideration to proue your Doctrine of Romish Primacy from the word Primatus mentioned sometimes by the Bishops of Rome in their Epistles which as your owne Contius teacheth is an Argument to iudge them not to be so Ancient because that that word was not of currant stampe in that age And what great iniurie can any man doe than that which he doth to his owne Conscience Finally pardon vs if we cannot impute such a degree of Impiety to those holy Popes that they who liued in the times of those bloudy Massacres wherin most of them with infinite other godly Professors in the same Church of Rome bequeathed their bodies to the sword for the Faith of Christ and their soules and spirits by Martyrdome to his armes of blessednesse should be wholly busyed in their Epistles about poynts of Ordination of Priests Inuention of Ceremonies and aduancing the Prerogatiues of the Romane Church but neuer to vtter any syllable of Exhortation and Consolation in behalfe of the Flocke of Christ dayly in the iawes of the Wooluish Persecutors of these times as those Epistles by you obiected do make appeare Your Obiections from the Testimonies of Ancient Popes of the Second Three hundred yeeres and the Vanity thereof discouered SECT 12. FOr the Second Three hundred yeeres are presented before vs a Second Iury of Twelue Popes to giue their Verdicts for proofe of the extent of their owne Papall and Monarchicall power and Iurisdiction Ecclesiasticall ouer the whole Church of Christ throughout the world Manifold haue been the Answers of Many to these Testimonies which the breuity that we haue propounded to our selues in this Treatise will not suffer vs to relate our Answers shall be no lesse plaine and yet more compendious 1. Almost all of these Testimonies may be denied in that sense of absolute Monarchie for the which they are propounded As for the first man of the Inquest viz. Pope Iulius he plainely speaketh of Document Instruction receiued from Peter and not of Dominion or Iurisdiction which may be an Answer to many of the rest 2. Some speake not but their Counterfeits as the last Iurist Pope Gregory in an Epistle wherein Eusebius Bishop of Constantinople is said to haue beene Subiect vnto him when as as our Doctor Reynolds hath proued there was no Eusebius Bishop of Constantinople in the daies of Saint Gregory This tricke of corrupting the writings of Antient Popes as you haue seene in their Epistles for the first Three hundred yeeres giue vs iuster cause to suspect the Popish Scribes in the Second Three hundred yeeres 3. Some haue beene already satisfied by Parallels 4. Reuerence say some Popes is due to the Apostolike See So you know Saint Peter doth require of the Husband Honour towards his Wife and Saint Paul of a Bishop Reuerence vnto Widowes Reuerence therefore which is nothing else but a due estimation of all persons according to their Order and Degree may bee exacted without any Note of Dominion 5. Nine of these Popes call the Church of Rome and Bishop thereof either Head of all Churches or One that hath the Care of all Churches or one hauing Principality Euery of which as you know were antiently ascribed to other Churches and Bishops besides the Romane 6. Some may be checked by Retorsion as in the first and last witnesse For the first if from the words obiected out of that Epistle of Iulius you shall inferre that he had Vniuersall Monarchy throughout the Catholike Church then may wee more iustly conclude that the same Pope being challenged by the Bishops of the East whom he calleth Most dearely beloued both for writing to them Alone and from his owne Authority and also for transgressing the Canons of the Church by admitting men vnto his Communion that had beene by them deposed and answering to the one that Although he wrote alone vnto them yet that he did it by consent of his fellow Bishops and to the other standing onely vpon his iustification in not transgressing the Canons of Ancient Councels
hee was neither accompted of them not yet esteemed himselfe the Vniuersall Pope and Monarch of the Church As for the last to wit Gregory if in some tearmes he seeme to speake somewhat lowd as though he were very great yet by confining himselfe to the Constitution of Iustinian and disclaiming as you know the Title of Vniuersall Bishop of the Church as most odious euen in the now Romane signification of Vniuersall Iurisdiction hee was too little to become in that Sense a Romane Pope Againe Damasus say you called the Easterne Bishops Sonnes belike it was in loue Yet the same Easterne Bishops called Damasus Brother and Fellow Lastly Some may be confuted and indeed confounded by as Antient Oppositions as of the Orientalls against the Authority of Pope Iulius of the Bishops of Africke against the pretended Authority of Pope Zozimus and of Cyrill against Pope Innocentius Our Generall Discouery of the Vanity of your Proofes of Papall Monarchy from the mouthes of Popes themseluos who haue beene anciently noted of Pride SECT 13. OVr Sauiour Christ obseruing the equity of humane Law applied it to himselfe saying If I giue testimony of my selfe my testimonie were not true And why then should not this Consequence vsed by Christ be of force against your Consequences taken from the testimonies of those Popes who boast themselues to be the onely Vicars of Christ Yes verily because there is such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Selfe-loue in euery man so bewitching him that he can discerne Any sooner than himselfe Yea and if in all Courts of Pleas greatest exception is taken against selfe-Testimony in a mans owne Cause then ought not this our Answer seeme harsh vnto you if we should denie the Assumptions which the Popes of Rome euen of more Primitiue times haue made for the aduantage of their Romane Iurisdiction and that so much the lesse by how much the more many Popes of that age are noted to haue beene taxed for their great Arrogancy by the Ancient Fahers of their owne Times Whereupon it is that we haue heard Tertullian girding at the Pope as if hee would bee Bishop of Bishops Polycrates contemning his threats of Excommunication as Vaine Terrors Cyprian noting the Popes Pride and scorning his Tyrannicall terror The Fathers of the Councell of Africke among whom Saint Augustine was one branding Three Popes with the note of Smoakie Arrogance and Saint Augustine himselfe poynting at the vaine Boasting of Rome nay euen Saint Hierom also durst say concerning the Ecclesiasticall State of that City Away with Ambition And how did Saint Basil beard the same Church with the termes of Westerne superciliousnesse Pride Others likewise albeit more couertly and closely ' twitted other Popes Cyrill We may not saith he for the speaches of Some meaning the Pope with others suffer our Canons to bee infringed and Saint Ambrose We also haue our senses about vs speaking in Opposition to Rome and intimating that shee conceited too highly of her own Iudgement Thus these holy Fathers concerning the Popes of their daies being otherwise holy Fathers also For we forbeare to Oppose against you the iudgement of Authors of after-ages who speake against the Romane Pride as liberally as did Nicephorus who condemned Pope Vigilius of Insolency in Excommunicating Mennas the Patriarch of Constantinople Nay and did not one of your owne Prophets in defence of the Superiority of the Councell aboue the Pope say that Popes doe commonly stretch their fringes too much arrogating that to themselues which is proper to a Councell CHALLENGE WHat holy Popes wil you say and yet proud arrogant and challenging Dominion aboue others without the limits of their owne Iurisdiction Yes why not They were the holy Disciples of Christ that ambitiously wished by the solicitation of their Mother that They might sit the one on the right hand of Christ and the other on the left in his Kingdome they were also holy Apostles that sought among themselues without any Ordinance of their Lord Who should be Chiefe They were likewise zealously-holy seruants of Christ that beyond their Commission would haue had fire from heauen vpon the Samaritans And certainely many of the Popes especially of the Second Classis and rancke within the compasse of the Second Three hundred yeeres may be said to haue beene Successors of those Disciples and Apostles as in many virtues so in these kinde of defects also And if this may be said of holy and Primitiue Popes what shall we thinke of those Popes who a Thousand yeeres after them haue degenerated both from the holinesse and sincere Religion of their Predecessors What but as of Gyants in respect whose thumbs of Pride were greater than their Fathers Loynes When the particulars of these our Answers together with theis more Generall are summed vp and due subtraction made of those Obiections which are satisfied thereby you shall finde that the Remainder for your aduantage will be iust nothing at all So vaine and friuolous is the pretence for your Romane Article of Vniuersall Iurisdiction ouer the Church of Christ. Your Second kinde of Obiections from the Testimonies of Popes is from their Acts in exercising of their pretended Papall Authority and our Discouerie of the Vanity thereof SECT 14. THis Vniuersall Exercise of Papall Authority your Cardinall will haue vs discerne in three points 1. Of Confirming 2. Of Deposing 3. Of Restoring other Bishops wheresoeuer by his owne Authority Euery which act saith he may be of it selfe a sufficient proofe of his Primacy ouer all other Bishops You may take for your first Answer that anciently Institutions of Metropolitans and Patriarchs were done by Communicatory letters to the Chiefe Patriarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ergò for Order-sake by Communicatory Letters we say or as we may call them Letters of Correspondence to shew their agreement in the Faith in which case the Bishop of Rome sent his Pall in token of his Assent So likewise the Popes Deposing of other Bishops without the Romane Dioces was but an Expression of his Assent to others that hee thought them iustly deposed The same may be said of his power in Restitution of others that had beene deposed that it was the like manifestation of his Consent to haue such and such restored euen as other Patriarchs often did So that your Proofe fayleth in Two maine points 1. You produce no one Example wherein it can appeare that the Pope could either Institute Confirme Depose or Restore any such Bishop by his owne Authority alone without the helpe of a Councell 2. That infinite Examples are Recorded of Bishops Metropolitans and Patriarchs which haue beene Instituted Deposed and Restored without the Consent of the Bishop of Rome Your Cardinall himselfe foreseeing thus much seeketh to preuent it by a Second Opposition Although saith he the Pope did not himselfe Confirme all other Remote Bishops
What Bishop soeuer doth exercise any Authoritie ouer others to Institute them by Confirmation of their Election by Letters Communicatorie or otherwise and to Depose them he hath Ecclesiasticall power ouer them and they are vnder his Iurisdiction But Popes of Rome haue accordingly Instituted Deposed and Restored Bishops in all Prouinces in the Christian world Therefore are they to be acknowledged the Vniuersall Monarchs therein and are not subiect to Any nor are any-way to be equalled with Others So you Now apply the Examples which haue bin granted and then see how often you shall vn-Monarke your Popes and set vp many vnexpected Anti-popes First by the power exercised by Cyprian both in Confirming the Popes Election and in withstanding dis Restitution next by the power assumed by those Patriarks which Excommunicated your Popes but principally by the Testimonies of your owne Popes Pope Gregorie confessing it to haue bin an Ancient custome in your Popes to submit their Elections to the Approbation of other Patriarks by their Synodicall letters and so to be acknowledged to be in their Communion and lastly by the Claime made by Two Popes Hadrian and Nicolas for the Restoring vnto them a power of exercising their Ecclesiasticall Functions in certaine Prouinces within the Patriarkship of Constantinople If A. B. challenge absolute Royaltie in Eight Towneships onely within the Manor of C. D. that Manor consisting of 28. Towneships wherein saith A. B. my Predecessours haue long since had Fishing Fowling Waifes Strayes Deodants and such like Prerogatiues what can be the issue of this Plea but that whatsoeuer his Right hath bin to these Eight yet his power for Fishing Fowling and the like hath not of a long time bin exercised accordingly and againe that pleading but for Eight it is an acknowledgement that he renounceth all Claime to any of the Twentie besides So then your Popes Monarchicall Prerogatiue of Instituting Deposing and Restoring of all Bishops and Patriarkes throughout the Christian World is now come to be somewhat abated being confined within his owne Peculiars as well as A. B. by his Plea for Fishing and Fowling To conclude whatsoeuer example of the Popes Confirmation of Bishops of other Dioces can be brought in such Cases is not an Act essentiall or proper vnto him but accidentall and of common Congruitie rather than of Necessitie Your Fifth ground of Obiections taken from a pretended Vniuersall Right of Appeales to the Church and Pope of Rome as a Principall part of your Romane Article Our first Discouerie of the Falsehood and Vanitie of the First Pretences taken from the Councell of Sardice SECT 15. POwer of Appeale in any is indeede as your Cardinall saith A most certaine Argument of Dominion to wit if it be right and proper otherwise it is not Power but Oppression nor Right but Vsurpation There were many Causes why the Catholike Bishops in the East should yeeld great Authoritie to the Bishops of Rome in the West before others but specially because of the Distractions and Schismes among themselues by manifold Heretikes and of the Vnion which in the Romane Church had continued and beene maintained by the Bishops thereof with great wisedome and constancie besides the aduantage that the See of Rome had gotten in the time of the Imperialtie of that Citie Notwithstanding neuer shall you proue your Article of Necessitie of Subiection to the Church of Rome vpon Necessitie of Saluation by any Right of Appeale to the Bishop thereof which is the maine scope of your Cardinall in this place The First Testimonie which hee propoundeth is out of the Councell of Sardis This Councell he produceth in this place as a sound Argument which else-where hee ranketh among those Councels that are to be partly allowed and partly reiected As if Coyne partly mixed and Counterfeit ought to be taken for good paiment Againe in this hee alleageth such a Canon which another Cardinall questioneth saying Wee may lawfully doubt whether there be any such Constitution extant And this againe is vrged to proue your Article of an Absolute Monarchicall power and Diuine Right thereunto in the Pope of Rome concerning the Prerogatiue of Appeales from all Christian Churches A doctrine quite ouerthrowne by the same Witnesse whom your Proctor hath produced for this Cause euen the Synod of Sardis it selfe and that Two manner of wayes as your Cardinall Cusanus will testifie One is that the same Synod doth limit his power giuing him Authoritie to approue any thing concluded by a Particular Synod but not to disallow it without the assistance of a new Synod the Other that the Right which the Pope can claime for Appeales dependeth Greatly vpon humane Constitutions Hee might as truely haue said Altogether as wee haue already proued and the Tenor of the Councell of Sardis it selfe doth fully purport If it please you say they speaking of a new Constitution let it be Ordeined c. Would it haue become Orthodox Fathers so to haue spoken if in their iudgement they had conceiued that power of Appeales to Rome to haue beene the Ordinance of God Wee confesse that the Supreame Right of Appeales is proper to a Monarrh it being as Essentiall a part of his Monarchie to haue the Right of Appeales as it is for him to be a Monarch Wherefore bethinke your selues if the Nobles in any Kingdome should write vnto their Soueraigne concerning the Exercising of his Authoritie receiued from his Ancestors as the Pope pretendeth to haue from Saint Peter and should say Wee are pleased and contented that Appeales should be made vnto your Maiestie whether this would not imply in the eares of the Monarch as much as Laesa Maiestas as though he were now to receiue an Authoritie from their Grant and beneuolence wherein hee was inuested and established by his Primarie Right vnto the Crowne By this your Cardinals beginning you may guesse with what conscience hee is like to proceede Examine well the Marginals First If you remoue from his witnesses Parties themselues many being the Testimonies of your Popes themselues For if Adoniah say hee is King will Solomon or any wise and faithfull Counsellour of State take his word for it and yet he was a Kings Sonne whereas the Pope neuer was either Sonne or Successour to such a Monarch as hee faineth to himselfe Secondly If you except the Examples of those who Appeale to the Bishop of Rome as being within his Patriarkship and therefore rather subiect vnto him than others this is as though a Procter would say My Client had Tithe in his owne Parish therefore doe the next Parishes adioyning owe their Tithes vnto him Thirdly If you passe by Appeales that were notoriously Impious such as were made by Fortunatus Felix and Basilides in this Case you that plead so much for the Romane Bishop could not haue allowed Romulus to say thus Fugitiues and Runnagates flye vnto mee for succour in Opposition to their naturall Kings
and Soueraigns therfore am I the King of those Kings Fourthly If you omit such holy men as addressed their requests to the Bishop of Rome such as were Theodoret Athanasius Chrysostome Flauianus not as to a peremptory Iudge but as to a Patron and Arbitrary Dais-man and one vpon whose Authoritie and credit one of them depending acknowledgeth in expresse words his reason to wit The integritie of the Faith of the Pope and promising to abide his award with the assistance of others and to be content therewith whatsoeuer should be determined relying vpon their iudgements so Theodoret Now whom one acknowledgeth to be his Patron and Aâ—bitratour him he denieâ—h to be his Iudge If we say these many Witnesses may be forborne then is there nothing at all said for the Necessitie of your Romane Article of Papall Dominion in respect of Vniuersall Right of Appeale Nay Fifthly if you will but obserue that the Popes which are most apprehensiue of Appeales to the Church of Rome doe not plead any Right from Diuine Authoritie but onely from Ecclesiasticall Canons and Customes so then for the Church can no more create an Article of Faith for mans soule to beleeue than it can create the soule of man your Article cannot be of Faith which wanteth Diuine Ordinance the onely Foundation of Faith Our second Discouery of the Vanity of your Pretence for Vniuersall Right of Appeales to Rome by an Argument taken from the Councell of Chalcedon SECT 16. ONE whole Chapter is spent by your Cardinall in answering the Obiection of Nilus Arch-Bishop of Thessalonica in Greece proouing Appeales to haue been as generally allowed vnto the Patriarch of Constantinople as vnto the Patriarch of Rome because of the Equall Priuiledges granted by Generall Councels to the one with the other In answer whereunto your Cardinall is so miserably perplexed that we shall need no other Reply than to manifest how manifoldly he is repugnant vnto a Generall Councell to euident Truths and oftentimes vnto himselfe as may appeare by the Marginals The Canon of the Councell of Chalcedon held in the yeare 451. standeth thus If any Clerke haue a Cause against a Clerke let him be iudged by a Bishop if against a Bishop by an Arch-Bishop if against an Arch-Bishop by the Primate or by the Bishop of Constantinople The question is what is meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translated Primate He answereth by allowing the Answer of Pope Nicolas that by Primate is there meant the Bishop of Rome False for the Canon vseth a Climax or Gradation from Clerke to Bishop from Bishop to Arch-bishop from Arch-Bishop to Primate or the Bishop of Constantinople Therefore doth the word PRIMATE signifie that which is expressed namely the Bishop of Constantinople and not that which is not expressed viz. the Bishop of Rome Yet be it that it pointeth out the Bishop of Rome then beware the Popes Head of Monarchie because the Bishop of Constantinople in this Gradation hauing the last that is the most excellent place he must be confessed to be iudged by that Canon Superior or at least Equall to the Bishop of Rome As it doth appeare in the like case thus A common Souldier is subiect to a Lieutenant a Lieutenant to a Captaine a Captaine to a Colonell or to a Generall shall Generall in this place be inferior to a Colonell But the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he signifieth a Prince and therefore agreeth onely with the Pope who onely is a Prince False for the Councell of Carthage applying the same word to Priests forbiddeth that any be called Prince of Priests But the Councell speaketh saith he of Appellants that were neare to Constantinople False for it speaketh Generally of Euery Church as If a Clerke If a Bishop If an Arch-Bishop not if some certaine but whosoeuer But the Canon saith he speaketh of the First iudgement and not of the Last which is by Appeale Most false for the Canon it selfe denounceth peremptorily If any whosoeuer shall do contrary hereunto let him be subiect to Canonicall punishments Thus farre appeareth your Cardinalls repugnancy to the Truth of the Canon This Obiection is a Gordian Knot he could not vntie it with his teeth and now Alexander-wise he will cut that which he cannot loose These Canons â—f Chalcedon saith he Haue no force in our Church vntill they shall be confirmed by some Pope So he Why my Masters was not this Councell one of the First and best Generall Councells Did not your Pope Gregory adore this with Three others as the Oracle of God Was there euer any ancient Orthodox Father the Popes excepted that tooke exception vnto any Canon of that Councell Oh! you the Children forsooth of Ancient Fathers who can blow away three hundred and thirty Reuerend Fathers and Bishops with one breath But how should he agree with Others who in the third place will be found at variance both with Pope Nicolas and with himselfe Nicolas saith he expounded the Canon aright that by Primate was meant the Pope of Rome and notwithstanding for a farewell to this Obiection he saith that The Canon is to be vnderstood of the First iudgement Which euidently crosseth the Popes Exposition who granting that Iudgement to be there allowed to the Bishop of Constantinople Per permissionem and extraordinarily which Per Regulam and ordinarily he challenged to belong to himselfe could not but vnderstand the Last therfore the chiefest iudgement for Nicolas was one of the first vsurping Popes But your Cardinall that saith Pope Nicolas did rightly expound it if he would haue him make his Papall Iudgement for in gradation of Appeales the Last is alwaies the highest and most excellent to be the First The Popes we thinke would iudge him no true Proctor but a plaine Praeuaricator in their Cause So easie a matter it is for any that will be repugnant to all Others to be found sometimes contradictory to himselfe Our third Discouery of the Vanity of your Pretence of Right of Appeales the Principall part of your Romane Article out of Saint Cyprian Anno 256. SECT 17. SAint Cyprian hath bene often an Actor with others in our former Scenes in this he entereth the stage alone The Argument of his Epistle vnto Pope Cornelius is 1. His Expelling Fortunatus and Felicissimus from his Communion 2. Their Appeale to the Pope 3. His Preuention by his Letters to the Pope and his Reasons to perswade the Pope not to admit of their Complaints The summe whereof is comprized in one sentence which if your Cardinall had set downe sincerely without pulling our Wiâ—nes backe at the midst of his tale by omitting a principall part of his speach the very Sentence it selfe would haue on Cyprianus part decided the whole Cause concerning the point of Appeales to Rome For seeing that it is decreed saith Cyprian to Pope Cornelius of vs all and it is likewise both equall and iust
from the Head the Pope as the Successor of Peter and not the Pope from the Church Your Article of beleeuing The Catholike Church of Rome c. consisteth of many other Articles and ioynts which ought to bee obserued because euery one containeth in it according to your Faith a Necessity of Beleefe As 1. The Necessity of Beleeuing that there ought to bee An Vniuersall Iudge vpon earth as the distinct Vicar of Christ 2. The Necessity of Beleeuing that this Iudge ought to be but One Alone because Two Heads vpon One Body would make it Monstrous 3. The Necessity of Beleeuing that this One Head is Aboue a Councell and you may haue as good Reason for that if as you fondly conclude there be the same Reason of the Ecclesiasticall Body as there is of the Naturall because it is Necessary that the Head be predominant ouer the Body 4. The Necessity of Beleeuing that this predominant Head must be Romane so farre as to hold that by virtue of this Head Not onely the Romane Church taken at large but euen the Partiâ—ular Romane Church as it is in the City of Rome ouer-ruleth throughout the world 5. The Necessity of Beleeuing that this Romane Head must bee Visible because it is the Head of a Visible Church 6. The Necessity of Beleeuing this Visible Head to be so Visible in one Indiuidual person that It is as necessary for euery one to beleeue THIS man as if you should say This Clement or this Vrban to be the Head as it was necessary for the Iewes to beleeue THIS IESVS when he was reuealed vnto them because if there be not infallible beleefe of his person there can be no certainty in his Decrees And therefore it is requisite that you beleeue This man to bee the true Head with an infallible Faith 7. The Necessity of Beleeuing the Iudgement of this Visible Head to bee Infalliby true 8. The Necessity of Beleeuing that the Vnion of this Infallibly-true Head and the Body thereof as also the Vnion of the Members one with another are A true and proper note of the true and Catholike Church That so many Necessities of Beeleefe doe inforce as many Necessities oâ— Damnation partly vpon your pretended Head partly vpon your Body and Members thereof All that can bee said to this purpose may bee reduced to these Obseruations concerning the Head and Body and Members of your Church viz. as it may be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Body without an Head or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as hauing a False Head or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Multitudes of Heads or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One Head repugnant vnto the whole Body or to the Essentiall Members thereof or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doubtfully Headed I. The Church of Rome sometimes a Body Head-lesse SECT 13. THis happeneth as often and as long as there is a Vacancy in that See by reason of the death of the former Pope which hath beene often for One or Two and sometimes for Eight yeeres space Where then is your Tibi dabo claues what becommeth of the Keyes of your Romane Catholike Church These saith your Cardinall the Pope being dead continue not formally in the Church will you see a iugler except as they are committed vnto the Inferior Ministers but are in the hands of Christ and after that a new Pope is Chosen the Keyes are deliuered vnto him not by the Church but by the hands of Christ. CHALLENGE 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O the Depth of Delusion Doe then indeed Saint Peters Keyes flie into heauen at the death of euery Pope If so we demand what you vnderstand by those Keys which were promised by Christ to Peter Mat. 16. saying To thee will I giue the Keyes of the Kingdome of heauen Keyes in this place saith hee signifie principalitie of Ecclesiasticall power ouer all the Church and not remission of sinnes because Christ addeth saying Whatsoeuer thou bindest vpon earth c. Where by Binding is ment power of Praecept and of punishment by Excommunication So hee What power then is that which remaineth formally in the Inferior Ministers of the Church at the death of the Pope if it be the Keyes of Principality then is euery Inferior Priest a Pope if it be the Keyes onely of Order and Absolution then shall it not be lawfull for any Bishop to exercise any power of Iurisdiction by Praecept or punishing by Excommunication during all the time of the Vacancie be this for the space of Two Three Foure or as it is said to haue hapned Eight yeares together You will easily guesse what it was that drew your Answerer into this most vncouth and extreme corner wherein neuer any ancient Father before him set so much as the least print of his shooe for your owne Binius will tell you a story to some good purpose In the Interregnum or Vacancy betweene the death of Pope Agapetus and his Successor was celebrated saith he the Councell of Constantinople wherein there were present Two Legates of the Church of Rome together with Menna the Bishop of Constantinople and Vicar of meaning Romane the Apostolicall See So he Heere you see the Pope is dead notwithstanding you obserue a Generall Councell gathered which is an act that you haue called Proper to the Papall Primacy and Principality and in Councells are commonly Acts both of Generall Decrees and Precepts as also of punishments by Excommunication in the name of the Catholike Church Besides you may behold heere Legates yet not of the dead Pope but of the Romane Church liuing If then your Article take place in that sense as to denie any Formall power of Keys vnto Inferior Bishops then is heereby condemned the whole Romane Church not onely ancient in the Councell of Constantinople but also at all times of Interim betweene the death of one Pope and Election of another whensoeuer they execute any Act of Iurisdiction Answer then we pray you doe you vpon this conceit of Bellarmine iudge all these condemned then may and must we most iustly renounce your Article as execrable Or doe you beleeue that in the Church there remaineth Formally the power of the Keyes for the execution of all functions belonging to the necessary preseruation of the Church and Members thereof then must it follow which your Cardinall fore-saw right well that the Pope receiueth his Authority from the Church and not immediately from Christ and that therefore the Church hath no absolute necessity of a Pope And so may you bury your Article of Necessary Obedience to the Papall Monarchy in the graue of euery dead Pope and instead of that Article you may frame another De Anferibilitate Papae ab Ecclesiâ out of Gersons Instructions which may serue you for a Catechisme Because if the Church may consist sufficiently in that which you call her Widow-hood destitute of her Monarchical Head for Six or Eight yeeres why
not also for Eighty yea and Eighty times Eighty if shee would so Decree II. That the Church of Rome hath sometimes a False Head SECT 14. WHich false Head may bee easily seene thorrow many holes as First to make him as you do Vniuersall Head ouer the Whole Church of Christ throughout the world is to erect a False Head as Saint Gregory once Head of the Particular Church of Rome did often teach by calling the Title and Doctrine of Vniuersall Bishop Prophane Sacrilegious Blasphemous and Antichristian 2. God neuer ordained an Head no bigger then of a wren to stand vpon the shoulders of a man and so little in respect is One Bishop of One City of Rome to bee set ouer the Church Vniâ—ersally dispersed throughout the whole world as you may guesse by the exceptions which Saint Cyprian and after him S. Augustine and the Churches wherein they liued tooke against the Bishops of Rome accompting them Incompetent Iudges in Cases of Appeale from Remote Nations by reason of the distance of places and yet their Churches in Africke might be said to be neare neighbours to Rome in respect of many farre more distant from thence therefore an Head extreamely disproportionate is a False Head 3. None call that a Necessary and liuing Head which was not created by God no more can that Ecclesiasticall Head be iudged Necessary for the Church of Christ which was not instituted by Diuine Ordinance But that the Head of the Church of Rome was not ordained by Diuinâ— Authority you haue for proofe not onely the Church Catholike in the Councell of Chalcedon but also the Romane Church it selfe in the Councell of Constance Therefore an Humane Head in pretence of a Diuine one is a False Head 4. An Head subiect to Heresie cannot be truely adequate and proper to a Body which dependeth vpon Infallibility in matters of Faith But he that will be called Vniuersall Head is obnoxious to Heresie as Pope Gregory excellently taught when he denied that either He or any Bishop in the Church ought to be called Vniuersall Bishop of the whole Church lest that the same Vniuersall Bishop falling into error the whole Church saith he might erre with him An Example of an Hereticall Pope you haue had Confessed in Honorius from the Testimonies of Romish Doctors of Ancient Fathers of Councells and of Popes themselues And certainely that cannot be but a False Head which cannot be a True Member of the Body of the Church Catholike which no Heretike as you haue confessed can be 5. You your selues admit of no Head on earth of the Visible Body of Christ that is his Church which is not also so Visible that a man may point at it vndoubtedly and Indiuidually saying of it This is the Bishop of Rome But you can haue no such Certainty of any Bishop of Rome both because his Ordination without which he cannot be truely Pope dependeth vpon the Intention of the Ordeinour than which what can be more vncertaine vnto you as also because you are often constrained to doubt of the truth of his Election For you cannot be ignorant how plentifull a matter wee haue now in hand if we intended to prosecuâ—e the manifold Examples that are extant in your owne Bookes of Popes who haue taken possession of the Romane Chaire by Intrusion One you may receiue from the Relation of your Baronius viz. of Iohn the Twelfth who was no manner of way saith he to be termed a legitimate and lawfull Pope because no law was obserued in his Election but all things carryed with terror and Violence who although by reason of his young yeeres he could not be made so much as Deacon yet did the Church honour him for her Pope accompting it a Lesse euill to tolerate one although a Monstrous Head than to be diuided into many Heads So he This is plaine dealing openly confessing what kinde of Heads your Romane Church is sometimes vnited vnto One for his life Monstrous and therefore a braine-sicke Head One for his yeeres not fit to be so much as a Deacon that is as wee may so say an Elbow of the Church is made Head Chiefe Pastor thereof therefore a braine-lesse Head One that is an Intruder and No-way a lawfull Pope and therefore nothing lesse than a true Head because an Example differing from your Rule which your Iesuite Salmeron confesseth to be this To beleeue with a Diuine or Infallible Faith THIS singular and Indiuidual man to bee our Pope who is defined by the Electors yet so that it doth not appeare that there was any defect or fault in his Election But behold heere is one with a Constat that there was nothing but Defects in his entrance because no law of iust Election was obserued therein and yet notwithstanding acknowledged and honoured as true Pope of your Romane Church 6. As the Body cannot boast of Vnion with a Head that is Headlesse no more can an Head be truely so called which is Bodilesse But we haue proued that that which you call Principally the Church of Rome as resident at Rome shall haue no being and therefore be no Bodie in Rome namely when-as the City of Rome shall be the Seate of Antichrist CHALLENGE ALas my Masters what meane you will you needs condemne your selues and your whole Romane Church by your owne Faith Your Article is to Beleeue with an Infallible Faith One singular man to be the True Pope of Rome and Vniuersall Pastor hauing Monarchicall power in the Church wherein by the word Vniuersall you condemne the Romane Church as it was in the daies of Pope Pelagius the Second and Pope Gregory the First both which held the Title of Vniuersall as execrable and Anti-christian By Monarchicall and absolute power you condemne the Romane Church in the daies of Pope Damasus who held himselfe no Competent Iudge in Cases fore-iudged by a Prouinciall Councell By True you condemne the Romane Church in the daies of Pope Iohn the Twelfth which acknowledged for her Pope Him whom shee knew to bee euery way Vnlawfully possessed of the Popedome and therefore no True Pope Yet what maruell if they doubt not to obey false Pastors who daily Worship false Saints By Romane you condemne that Christian Church which shall be in the daies of Antichrist when-as the City of Rome from whence the Denomination of Romane is deriued shall be the Seate of Antichrist And by beleeuing Hunc This Indiuiduall Pope to bee verily the Pope with that Infallible Faith wherewith you beleeue any thing necessary to Saluation you condemne here-in the Romane Church throughout the whole Succession thereof from Saint Peter to this day and therein also your owne soules in professing that to bee Infallible which by reason of many defects both in the Ordination and Election of any Pope is knowne to be full of Fallibilities and vncertainties as all your owne Historians doe proue and as will bee further euident
the Romane Church which boasteth her selfe to be the Mistresse of all Churches and Iudge of all matters of Faith is not after a Thousand Six hundred yeares fully assured whether Comparison being made betweene her Pope and her selfe Hic or Haec Hee or Shee be the Supreme Iudge When then and how will you resolue in this so principall a Case must the Scales still stand euen that neither of them shall ouer-poise Not so for you teach if One as your fore-man may speake for you all that Although this case haue not beene decided by any absolute Decree yet it is defined saith hee by the tacit and secret censent of the Doctors of the Church scarce any one Diuine holding any other opinion herein than that which before that of late this Controuersie was moued was anciently in force namely that the Pope is aboue a Councell as the Head is aboue the Body As if he should say Sirs if the Question be whether Iohn an Oake or Iohn a Stile be heire to that Land because the Witnesses conceale their meaning without question they by a tacit Consent are for the Complainant that Iohn an Oake must carry the Land O Quacksaluer Consider you not now that the Subiect of all this Dispute is The Catholike Visible Church whose Consent likewise is to be discerned onely by Visible Characters whether it be by word or by writing And are you now come to this passe as that in a Cause of so great moment you must depend vpon the iudgement of the Tacit Consent of your Doctors Wee doe not therefore maruell why they must needes be blinde Guides who themselues haue no better Direction than dumbe Iudges All other Christian Churches in the world stand for the Authoritie of a Generall Councell against whatsoeuer Pope which the Cause of your Pope hauing now bin heard we are to proue from the Romane Church it selfe That the Romane Church is rather Iudge than the Romane Pope in all Causes of that Church by the publike Decree of the same Church in it selfe First in the Councell of Constance SECT 18. IN the yeare of Christ our Lord 1415. was celebrated the Councell of Constance in Germanie a place then most fit consisting as you know of almost a Thousand Fathers whereof more then Three hundred were Bishops This Synod with an Inprimis beginneth with this Article The Holy Synod inspired with the Holy Ghost being lawfully assembled making vp a Generall Councell which representeth the whole Catholike Church hath immediate power from Christ whereunto euery state and condition be it the Papall or whatsoeuer is bound to obey in all things which concerne either Faith or Generall reformation of the Church whether in the Head or Members thereof Thus farre that Councell which was expresly confirmed by Pope Martin to be held Inuiolable in matter of Faith CHALLENGE TEll vs now whether euer the Church of Rome had a Councell more ample for multitude of Fathers being almost a Thousand whether euer any Councell could assume more Infallibilitie to it selfe than to be congregated by the Holy Ghost thereby making her Degrees Authenticall or whether euer any Councell could Derogate more from the Papall Power as it is now beleeued and Attributed to your Popes than to subiect him to the Determination of a Councell in matters both of Direction in Faith and Reformation of manners or can any of you require a more fundamentall reason thereof than that which is intimated in the Decree it selfe saying that The Councell hath its Authoritie immediately from Christ The meaning whereof is as you are taught that the Popes Authoritie is not of Diuine but onely of Humane Institution or Lastly can you expect a stronger confirmation of all this than is the Ratification thereof by the then Lawfull Pope Now then for now wee are come to our conflict by Comparison If as your Cardinall and others answer The Pope confirmed other matters of Faith decreed in that Councell but would not ratifie this Decree as being so derogatiue to his Headship and supreme Iudicature then behold that which wee assumed to proue as great a Difference betweene that Assembly of Fathers which was as much the Representatiue Body of the Romane Church as any can be named Whence it must as well follow that your Pope if hee had hereupon Excommunicated the Fathers of that Councell had bin a Schismatike as it doth follow that diuiding himselfe from their Decree hee could by your Romane Principles be no lesse than an Haeretike For the Decree is peremptorie as a matter of Faith the Reason they gaue was concluded against the Pope namely that the Pope of Rome is not Head of the Church by any Diuine Ordinance euen as a Thousand yeares before this the Fathers of the Councell of Chalcedon anciently beleeued Another like Example in the Councell of Basil. SECT 19. IN the yeare 1431. there was a Councell gathered at Basil by the Authoritie of Pope Martin the Fift and after confirmed by Eugenius wherein were 90. Fathers who hauing confirmed the Decrees of the Councell of Constance whereby the Pope is made subiect vnto a Councell and the Censure thereof now at the length Pope Eugenius perceiuing they held this course will needes dissolue the Councell and translate it to Florence The Councell it selfe withstandeth this and Commandeth the contrary shewing thereby that The Pope sought nothing but by abrogating of Councels the destruction of the Church Therefore they fairely suspend the Pope and in the end according to the iudgement of the Councell of Constance they Decree as an Vniuersall Truth that the Pope hath no Authoritie aboue a Councell nor power of himselfe to dissolue it which truth whosoeuer say they shall obstinately contradict is to be iudged an Heretike So They. Will you now see the Pope and the Councell grapple together The Councell hath suspended the Pope and iudgeth him no better than a Schismatike The Pope pronounceth the Fathers of the Councell Schismatikes Separated from the Mother Church of Rome meaning the Conclaue of some Cardinals at Rome and the Head thereof for the space of seauen yeares last past The Councell answereth saying What will the Pope then damne for Schismatikes all the Cardinals Bishops and the Emperour himselfe with Kings and Princes there present yea and the whole Church which doth approue of this Councell In the end to end the fray The Pope saith the Councell did yeeld to the Admonition made vnto him of not dissoluing the Councell Here is presented before you the Romane Head and in the Opinion of the Fathers of that Councell the Catholike Bodie of the Romane Church in a Distraction and Separation either from the other for Seauen yeares space As for the Popes Pretence of his Romane Church which were but a few Domesticall Cardinals the Councell did not accompt them worthy the name of the Members of the Church This being
the Case whether shall we call the Schismatikes for so the one party necessarily must be That in this Case the Pope is the Schismaticke SECT 20. SOme would thinke that the Pope could not be the Schismatike because which is your common Argument the Head although it be diseased yet it is not separated without the destruction of the Body If there be any peircing sharpnesse in the point of this Reason it may to your owne mischiefe easily be turned backe into your owne bowels as the Fathers of the same Councell wisely did because say they If the Case could be the same in a Naturall Body as it is in a Body Ecclesiasticall that assoone as one Head is remoued another might be had then in many head-aches would men make often changes of their Heads And indeed if there were not this difference betweene the Ecclesiasticall and Naturall Head it should follow that as oft as the Ecclesiasticall Head the Pope should die the Ecclesiasticall Body and Church of Christ should perish also So they Come we to their other Reason That which Christ promised to his Church doth more especially agree to a Generall Councell now Christ said vnto Peter if he should take any offence Dic Ecclesiae Tell the Church the Complainant is not of equall Authority with the Iudge It were ridiculous to interpret that by Church was meant Peter himselfe and as fond to send him vnto any Inferiour to himselfe and no lesse absurd had it bene to send him to the whole Church diffused euery-where therefore Christ meant the assembly in a Councell Besides The Pope is Minister and but one part in Comparison to the whole therefore lesse yea in Authority for the greatnesse of the Authority dependeth vpon the Maior pars the greater part of suffrages and voyces So that Synod of Basil. We might adde hereunto the Argument of Nilus the Greek Arch-Bishop of Thessalonica If that saith he the Pope had Infallibility of Iudgement to what end were the cost and labour of troubling all parts of Christendome for gathering Generall Councels Nor he alone but another more Romish than he could be If so saith he why should the learned in Lawes be sought for Why so many Vniuersities vexed by discussing of Questions belonging to Faith c. So he CHALLENGE AFter your perusall of these Premises remember but your Iesuites Assertion If the Pope should diuide himselfe from the whole Church Hee should be iudged a Schismatike But whether the guilt of Schisme be in Pope or Councell your owne guilt in such a Case can be no lesse than Periury who by your Article are bound to belieue that both Subiection and Vnion vnto both Romane Church and Pope are Necessary to Saluation You haue now a Woolfe by the eares whether you hold him or let him loose you are sure to be bit Thus much of the Dis-union betweene the Head and Body of the Romane Church The fourth Instance of the Dis-union betweene the Romane Church and some Members thereof in the Examples of France and England SECT 21. AN Appeale was made about the same time of the Councell of Basil against Pope Leo the tenth by the Vniuersitie of Paris in Defence of the Authority of the same Councell wherein the same Vniuersity taxeth the Session of the Pope and his Cardinalls as Not gathered together by the Spirit of God professing herein that Not the Popes particular Assembly in the Citie but the Congregation in the publicke Councell is to be called The Church of Rome And this Right of Appeale from the Pope is a liberty which the Vniuersity of Paris hath alwaies challenged to this day yea and the whole Church of France whose King by his Orator in the Councell of Trent made knowne the Vniuersall Tenet of that Church namely that The Pope is not Superiour to a Councell Which they still maintaine notwithstanding Pope Pius the fourth his contention by Arguments in his letters to the contrary And how little accompt they make of the Trent-Canons which are the Articles of Faith whereunto you are sworne is more than manifest seeing they haue not yet admitted of that Councell within the Kingdome of France and therefore are yet at libertie to beleeue as much thereof as they list Not long after this in the dayes of Henry the Eight then King of England Stephen Gardiner being of the Romane Religion yet withstood the Romane Dominion in this kingdome saying as followeth The Authority which the Bishop of Rome would be thought to haue by Gods Law is no Authoritie with vs like as no manner of forraine Bishop hath Authority among vs. Afterwards he descanteth vpon the Title of Head as it is attributed to the Church and Pope of Rome and denyeth him to be the Head by Dominion but by Order in like respect as Appelles was called the Head of Painters and Lutetia or Paris the Head of Vniuersities As for the other Supremacy which the Pope challengeth it is that which Pope Boniface the second begged of the Emperour Phocas It is an ambitious vanity for them to be called Supremes who are Postremes in that which is least All sorts of people in England are agreed vpon this point with most stedfast consent learned and vnlearned both men and women that no manner of person bred or brought vp in England hath ought to do with Rome So he This was the Faith of the Church of England then notwithstanding the Excommunication of the Pope against the King and All his Adherents CHALLENGE IN these Examples to omit others you haue two most potent Kingdomes excepting the Article now in Question vnited in Faith and the one also professing Subiection to your Church of Rome as noble Members thereof who all in all the time of their Opposition if your Article of Necessary Subiection and Vnion to the Church of Rome and Pope thereof bee of Faith are made liable with all their people vnto eternall Damnation Wherefore as we do complaine of the maliciousnesse of your Romane Article which denounceth Curses vpon all Protestants and Others of a different Religion from Rome so may wee cry out vpon the madnesse thereof by which she strangleth the children of her owne wombe yea and her whole Representatiue Bodie in her late Generall Councels as hath bene proued CHAP. XV. The Determination of the whole Controuersie betweene the Church of Rome and the Church of England together with other Protestant Churches concerning the CHVRCH CATHOLIKE to discerne whether Side is rather to be accounted Schismaticall or may more iustly pleade Soule 's Saluation First by Generall THESES SECT 1. THE word CATHOLIKE CHVRCH is that which you oppose vnto vs in euery Dispute as it were a Gorgons head able to terrifie Protestants at the first mention thereof Which name as it is appropriated to the Romane Church we haue prooued to be but a bare name and indeed Medusa's head painted in a shield a meere delusion able to feare
is not iustifiable in the Conscience of euery sound Christian First hee held it a way to Heresie for any Church to take vpon her to create a new Article of Faith such as hee beleeued the Romish Doctrine of Indulgences to be Secondly he taught it to be a Satonicall lye to constitute that for an Article of Faith which is in it selfe a meere falshood Thirdly hee proclaimed your Doctrine of Indulgences to be a Blasphemous Article because it is not onely a new and false Doctrine but also the very Nurse of all Impietie Each point is worthy to be Discussed Touching the First point your Philiarchus will haue you to Take heede of the Heresies of Luther in teaching that the Church hath no power to create new Articles of Faith So hee If this be true then marke I pray you what fellowes and Companions Luther hath or Patrons rather of his Heresie accordingly as your owne Doctors will teach you who doe not onely openly professe for themselues that The now Church ought to relie vpon the Doctrine anciently taught in the Apostles times but also confesse that The ancient Fathers taught that the Church deliuereth no new Faith but alwaies confirmeth and explicateth the ancient Faith Alleaging for proofe hereof the authoritie of Irenaeus Hierome Vincentius Lirinensis Nor can any produce one Father in all Antiquitie that did not account euery new Article of Faith that is to say euery new Doctrine made necessary to saluation to be no better than a new Heresie So iustifiable is Luther in this point Next Luther in his first Assumption saith that the Doctrine of the Popes Indulgence is a New Doctrine of Faith and that it is imposed vpon the Church of Rome as an Article of Faith Whereof if peraduenture you should be ignorant your owne Popes would instruct you Pope Pius the IV. setteth downe this of Indulgences among his other Articles concluded of in the Councell of Trent as Necessarily to be beleeued vpon danger of Damnation And Pope Leo the X. tooke this as his hint in condemning Luther for denying any power to be resideÌ„t in the Church to establish a new Article of Faith An Articleâ—hen â—hen it is made and that it is also New which Doctrine of IndulgeÌ„ces you beleeue to be an easing or helping of Soules out of the paines of Purgatorie-fier we hope you may be satisfied from your selues who teach first that all Doctrine which is not New is deriued either from Scripture or antient Tradition But concerning your Doctrine of Indulgences some of your owne Doctors haue made bold to proclaime saying It is not found either in Scripture or in other writings of ancient Fathers Whereof also your Romane Champion against Luther euen in this Question concerning Indulgences doth grant that There was no vse of Indulgences in the beginning of the Church Christian. Which must necessarily haue then bene if at that time it had bene a Doctrine of Faith except you will confesse that there was then no Purgatory-fier at all nor any soules of men departing this life in the guilt of veniall sinnes but that all the scores of debts of temporall punishments were then wiped off at the death of euery Christian in those Apostolicall times And accordingly giue vs some reason how afterwards that Fier was kindled and what was the fewell that set it on a flame after the space of 1294. yeares when Boniface the 8. was Pope Who as your selues know after that the world was affrighted with Purgatory-torments was the first that extended and applyed Indulgences vnto Purgatory This made your Frier Castro in his coniecture of greater antiquity in them to excuse their Noueltie saying Indulgences are not therefore to be contemned as being admitted but of late because many things saith he are made knowne to posteritie of which the more ancient times were ignorant Behold now the great reuerence forsooth you haue of the iudgement of Antiquity Besides to pull vp this weede by the roots the ground of Indulgences as you teach is The spirituall Threasury of the Church consisting in the satisfactory and meritorious workes of Supererrogation done by the faithfull Which notwithstanding as you likewise know your Doctors of Louaine and some Schoolemen affirme were anciently wanting in the Church So then your Doctrine of Indulgences is New in Institution New in Practise New in the Extent New in the Roote and foundation and euery way a New Article So iustifiable is Luther in his Assumption calling it New Thirdly Luther called this Doctrine False yea and Impious also and Blasphemous And false it must needs be if it be but New But how naughty also and impious the vent of Indulgences was your noble Historian can best report giuing you an instance in the same Pope Leo Who saith he vnto his sinne of ill dispersing of Indulgences added a farre greater for although he was of himselfe prone enough to all licentiousnesse yet by the instigation of Cardinall Puccius in whom he had great confidence he gathered huge summes of money by sending his Breeues abroad euery where promising expiation of all sinnes and life euerlasting vpon a certaine price which any should giue according to the haynousnesse of his offence Then rose vp Martin Luther a Professor of Diuinity in Wittemberge who first confuting and then condemning the Sermons which were made for Indulgences at length questioned that power which the Pope assumed to Himselfe in the same Breeues So he And what other we pray you can be the Consequence of this piece of Doctrine but that which if you be to seeke you may learne from experienced Authors within your owne Church who say as appeareth in the Margent that When first Indulgences were set on sale with full Pardons men did lesse abstaine from wickednesse and the keyes of the Church became vile That Pope Leo the 10. was Too too indulgent in granting Indulgences That Popes are the most expert Alchemists By Turning their leade into gold through their Negligences otherwise called Indulgences Noting that Papall Indulgences to Sinners worketh Negligence in well doing That They Measuring all things by gaine tyrannize ouer the people sitting in the seate of Simon Magus or else of Caiphas We might easily loade you with multitudes of Inuectiues of your owne Authors against the Impiety of Papall Indulgences so iustifiable is Luther in his Opposition against them insomuch that Erasmus held it An Impiety not to defend him This Luther who in the opinion of the Popular Auditors so farre ouercame his Aduersarie Ecchius in a Disputation held at Lipsia that your Castro doth instance in this Example and thereupon prefixeth a Rule To auoide publike Disputation with as he accounteth and calleth Protestants pertinacious Heretikes The Summe of All may be comprized in a few words The Patrons of Romish Indulgences by making it an Article of Faith do Canonize and Deifie a Nouelty a Falshood and a
very Baud of all Impietie Whence to vse your owne words Adulteries Incests Periuries Homicides and the spawne of all euils did arise THESIS II. LVTHER had necessary Cause to Depart from the Church of Rome SECT 15. IT is not as you haue heard the corruption of a Doctrine which can alwaies driue a man out of the Church except other properties of necessary Remoouing do concurre What these are you may call to your remembrance Which may be obserued in this Case of Luther and iustifie him before God and Man As first the generall Obstinacie of contrary Teachers such as were the Romish of whom Luther complained saying They Alto fastu with high disdaine contemned my Preaching against Indulgences Secondly Luthers hearing if he had stayed the way of Truth often blasphemed Thirdly Luthers complaining of violent forcing of men to subscribe vnto New Articles this is Tyrannie And lastly he further chargeth them with Compelling him to submit to Satanicall Doctrines speaking both of the vilenesse of Indulgences and the Idolatrie of and in the Romish Masse Albeit any One of all these had bene a sufficient cause for him to warrant his Departure out of Romish Babylon THESIS III. LVTHER and his Followers were farre more safe for their Soules state in that Separation from the Church of Rome and lesse Schismatikes than They whom he forsooke SECT 16. ALL sound knowledge is by vnderstanding of the true Causes of things It is the Cause that distinguisheth a Martyr from an Heretike and the same iust Cause also truely and essentially vniteth one with the true Catholike Church discerneth him both from an Excommunicate properly so called and from a Schismatike Attend then to that which your Cardinall would haue you to MARKE Marke saith he that an vniust sentence of Excommunication is of no force at all Accordingly Saint Augustine Iniusta vincula iustitia disrumpit Vniust bonds are more iustly broken then kept Of this somewhat more hath bene said in a former Thesis This knowne it wil be no hard matter to find out the true Schismatike For as it is the vnlawfull Agent and not the Innocent Patient that maketh the Fray so in Excommunication Whosoeuer Excommunicateth another vniustly condemneth not that other but himselfe Accordingly in Separation from any Church the Actiue if vniust and not the partie Passiue is the Schismatike vpon which Suppositition Firmilianus Concluded against Stephen Pope of Rome that the said Stephen was the Schismatike by his Excommunicating and separating S. Cyprian with many Others in the Africane Chuches and else-where from his Communion In like Case well said once your Cardinall Benno that Eusebius did binde Liberius by forsaking his Communion Euen as did also the Africane Bishops in their Synod by Excluding Pope Vigilius out of their Communion in the dayes of Iustinian Now that Luther was vniustly Excommunicate by your Pope the first Thesis hath fully prooued And that Luther was a Passiue in this Separation appeareth not onely by his owne Complaints saying I was Compelled Constrained c. but also by the Proceedings of Pope Leo against him Else why is it that your owne Thuanus speaking of this Separation said that Some in those dayes layd the fault vpon Pope Leo More fully your Cassander an Author selected in those dayes by the King of the Romanes as the chiefest Diuine of his time and one most fit to be Consulted with concerning the same Separation of Protestants I cannot saith he denie many of them in the beginning to haue bene mooued and prouoked with a pious zeale to a sharpe reprehension of manifest Abuses and that the principall cause of this calamity and Disunion is to be imputed to them who superciliously and disdainefully contemned such godly Admonitions Neither yet euer had there bene as I am perswaded any Contention about the externall Vnitie of the Church except the Popes had abused their authority to an ambitious and Domineiring manner of Rule aboue the limits which Christ prescribed to his Church So He. But it will be said Why did not Luther seeke remedie and redresse of his wrong somewhere where we pray you should he haue sought it can you tell By Appealing to a Generall Councell why that meanes was barred by the Popes Extrauagant denouncing him to be Anathema whosoeuer shall so much as consult or deliberate to Appeale from the Pope to a future Generall Councell Albeit this preferring the Popes iudgement before a Councel's is by the sentence of two Romish Councels as namely Constance and Basil held a Doctrine of all others most Schismaticall Oh! but he being but a Sheepe cited to Rome should haue appeared before Leo his Pastor notwithstanding the Popes high indignation against him As though you could be ignorant of the Apologue of the Sheepe and the Lion at their meeting the end whereof could be no other then this Ora Leonis habes for the sheepe to run head-long into the Lions mouth A Fable which of later times the Venetian Fulgentius the French Abbot of Boys and after them the Dalmatian Spalatensis verified seelie Sheepe with the losse of their liues THESIS IV. The Romish Obiections vrged against this Separation of LVTHER are notably friuolous SECT 17. STill we say that an ill Cause oftentimes bewrayeth it selfe as much by the friuolous Obiections of an Opponent as it is discouered by the iust Euidences of a Defendant There are but foure kinde of Obiections besides such as haue bene alreadie answered which you do usually vrge against Luther THESIS V. The I. Obiection in respect of LVTHER'S former Vow to the Pope or Church of Rome is vaine and idle SECT 18. IT is true Luther had bene a Vowed and if you will a sworne Vassall to the Pope and to the Romane Church And so was once your owne Stephen Gardiner sometimes Bishop of Winchester whose answer in like case may satisfie your Curiositie and controlle your scurrilitie in this point Hee in his booke of True Obedience to the King notwithstanding the Popes Breeues to the contrary enlargeth himselfe in his Answer after this manner following Some saith he pull me backward asking why I enterprize so to teach Obedience as that I do disclose my owne Disobedience to the authority and power meaning of the Pope for whose Defence I was bound by my Oath to defend his authority to my possible Power Where is his keeping of Oaths become say they where is his fidelitie He was sworne to defend the Rights of the Church of Rome and now professeth himselfe an open enemie ther-unto But this their talke no more mooueth me than the bumbling sound of an old barrell because where vnlawfull Oathes there also vnlawfull Vowes are not to be kept for none are to sweare to any wickednesse Thus your owne Bishop and after illustrateth this by an elegant Similitude A certaine married man saith he when he thought by iust likely-hoods his first wife was dead
the Romans but be it Ecclesiasticall power yet was not the necessitie of râ—course vnto it absolute and perpâ—tuall but occasionall for that time For Iraenaeus sheweth that he might haue proued his Traditions from other Churches Longum esset omnes enumerare Ecclesias c. but for breuitie sake he instanced only in Rome and the rather for the powerfull principality of that Sea in the preseruation of Originall Truth And remember this Irenaeus was hee that consented with the Asian Bishopâ— that were excommunicated by Pope Victor See abouâ— Cap. 9. §. 2. n Epiphanius Haeres 68. Vrsatius Valens Episcopi ad Papam â—ulium prosecti pro reddendâ ratione de suo delicto Ergò Papa Romanus Episcoporum Iudex The same parties that had columniated Athanasius and thereby as much as lay in them discredited the Pope who had iustified him asked pardon for their offence both of Athanasius and of Pope Iulius o Athanasius Apolog. 2. Episcopos eosdem à Papa Iulio Delicti veniam petijsse Et Epistolâ ad Felicem Papam Episcâ—pos Romanos in summitatis arce constitutos omnium Ecclesiarum Curam habere Of Cuâ—am habere see aboue Cap. 8. §. 5. p Dionysius Alexdrinus Is apud Romanum Pontificem accusatus Ergo Papa communis omnium in lex Jt is no extraordinary thing for one Patriarch to be accused before his fellow-Patriarch yet not iudicially but by Confederation that the guilty person be depriued of his Communion with whom the Cause is pleaded q Basilius Epist. 52. ad AthanasiuÌ„ tribuit Romano Episcopo authoritatem visitandi Ecclesias orientis See aboue Capit. 12. §. 4. after at §. 7. r Gregorius Nazianzenus in Carmine dicit Romanam Ecclesiam semper conseâ—uasse veram de Deo sententiâ—m vt decet vrbem quae toti orbi praesidet He saith not Ecclesia praesidet but Vâ—bs meaning the Temporall state of Rome Ob Sol. Although the Emperour resided at Constantinople yet was he stiled of Rome The Romane Emperour For Rome was after this time called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Omnium Ciuitatum facilè Princeps Socrates lib. 2. Cap 11. Theod. lib. 4. Cap. 8. s Zomen lib 3. Cap. 9. Propter sedis dignitatem cura omnium ad Iulium spectabat singulis Ecclesiam suam restituit nempe Athanasium Alexandrino Paulo Constantinopolitano He did so pro posse suo but was resisted by the Easterne Bishops and reuiled Ibid Where Zozomen is not to be vnderstood to speake these words from his owne iudgement but from the opinion that Pope Julius had of himselfe For it followeth in Zozomen that those East-Bishopâ— expostulating the Cause with Pope Iulius did protest against him saying that hee had no more to doe with restoring Athanasius Excommunicated by them than they had to restore Nouatus Excommunicated by himselfe And the helpe that Athanasius had was not in the Pope absolutely but in the Synod t Chrysost. Epist. 1. ad Innocentium Papam Obsecro vt scribas vt illi qui iniquè egerunt poenae Ecclesiasticâ—rum legum subiaceant Ergò Papa summus Pontifex etiam Graecorum 2. Agnoscit Papae Paternam beneuolentiam Ergò patrem 3. Orat Papam nè mimicos ejus eijciat When the Generall Canons of Election of a Patriarch were broken well might Chrysostome seeke helpe of a Co-Patriarch Innocentius to defend the Canon so farre as his Authority would reach and to punish â—hem by Excommunication which was but only a Separation from Communion with his own Church And Innocentius himselfe confesseth Epist. ad Chrysost. that he would not restore Chrysostome without a Synod See Binius Tom. 1. and when he had done his best his Authority was reiected with scorne yet could Chrysostome doe no lesse than thankefully acknowledge his Fatherly care being now no Bishop but Deposed u Cyrillus Alexandrinus Epist. 10. ad Nest. Epist. 11. ad Clerum et populum Constantinop Nestorium dicit excommunicandum ab omnibus nisi intra terminos à Papa praescriptos se reuocet Et ad Coelestinum Num velit cum Nestorio ad tempus aliquod communicari petit ab eo Ergò Is administer Papa iudex Rursus in libro de Thesauro Debemus capiti nostro Romano Pontifici adhaerere See after §. 7. x Theodoretus Episcopus Asianus ad Leonem Obsecro vt mihi opem feras iudicium tuum appellanti Meaning a Subsidiarie iudgement not absolute Binius Tom. 2. Annot in Conc. Chalced. Sess. 8. pag. 184. Theodoretus Cypri Episcopus depositus tanquam qui Nestorianus esset exulate coactus ad Romanum Pontificem aliosque orientis Epiâ—copos hac de re diu multumque conquestus se vere Catholicum esse probans literis significauit in hoc consessu insâ—iterunt vt Anathema Nestorio dicerent sed in pristiuam fidem est restitutus namely by the Synod of the Bishops in the East y Acacius in Epist. ad Smplicium Solicitudinem omnium Ecclesiarum secundùm Apostolum circum-ferentes nos indesinenter hortamini Acacius meant not to make the Pope a Monarch by this because he alludeth to that saying of the Apostle not of Peter but of Paul that said I haue the care of all Churches and Chrysostome himselfe Curam Vniuersae Ecclesiae gerimus Hom. 18. in 2. Cor. 11. z Liberatus de Episopo Patarensi in Breuiario Cap. 22. Pontifex Romanus praeest Ecclesiijs totius mundi De quo Bellar. lib. 4. de Rom. Pont. Cap. 10. §. Posset Possit dici epistolam illam Vigilij cuius meminit Liberatus confictam fuisse ab Haereticis Liberatum autem credidisse falso rumori quem Haeretici sparserant And would he not be as well deceiued in this 2. This Greeke Author must bee taken in the Greeke sense of Primacy or Order 3. Iustinian promised to restore Syluerius vpon condition that he would cleare himselfe otherwise to be confined to one City Patarensis that laboured the Release of Syluerius did not oppose against this Condition Baronius anno 538 num 13. a Iustinianus Epistolâ ad Iohannem 2 quae habetur in Codice in primo Titulo Quae est Caput omnium Ecclesiarum If we should grant you that that Rescript is not Counterfeit yet He meaneth no more but Primus Episcoporum As for the word Caput you haue heard how common â—â— hath beene without any sense of Monarchy * See aboue Cap. 9. * See after at q. * See aboue Cap. 12. §. 4. * See aboue at t. b Baronius Anno 412. â—um 43. c Ibidem num 44. 46. d Jbidem num 47. Theophilus iâ— Sanctis e Jbidem num 47 Populi concordiae gratiâ necessitate premente ne Religionis res ex populi arbitrio penderet Baronius in the Margent noteth Cogitur Atticus restituere nomen Iohannis And Anno 425 num 19. Ostendimus Atticum coactum fuisse ab Innocentio Romanâ— Pontifice restituere nomen Iohannis And yet neuer produceth any place to proue it but this forenamed in Num 49. which speaketh onely