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book_n	ancient_a	church_n	father_n	2,262	5	4.7708	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01332	A sermon preached vpon Sunday, beeing the twelfth of March. Anno. 1581, within the Tower of London in the hearing of such obstinate Papistes as then were prisoners there: by William Fulke Doctor in Diuinitie, and M. of Penbroke Hall in Cambridge.	Fulke, William, 1538-1589.	1581 (1581)	STC 11455; ESTC S117689	47,991	130

liued with them vntill the time of Traianus the Emperour all which affirmed that Saint Iohn deliuered the same thing vnto them Yea some of them had séene not only Iohn but other Apostles also and hearde the same things of them testified of such report What a godly shew of truth hath this tradition Yea what woulde a man require almost for greater certaintie of such a tradition then the vniforme consent of al them that had séene and hearde the Apostle of which some had hard y e other apostles also What like assurance can the Papistes make vs for their pretended traditions of the Apostles And yet this traditiō which Iraeneus aduoucheth with such shew of credit to be a true tradition is a very falshood and vntruth contrary to the Historie of the Gospell which expresly affirmeth that Christ was but 30. yéeres olde when hee began to teache in the 15. yéere of the Emperour Tiberius after which time hee liued not aboue 3. yéeres and an halfe You sée therefore what it is to leaue the holy scriptures to follow vnwritten traditions whereof what certaintie can there bée when they that liued so néere the time of the Apostles were so grossely deceiued with impudent lyes and fables and yet coloured with such shewe and appearance of credite And no maruell if Irenaeus which receiued this tradition at the second hand was beguiled with a fained vntruth whē euen they that were the schollers of the Apostles them selues coulde not agrée about their traditions which were beside their holy writinges Eusebius out of Irenaeus testifieth that when Polycarpus Bishop of Smyrna came to Rome in the time whē Anicetus was bishop there they could not agrée about the tradition of the Apostles concerning the celebratiō of Easter For neither coulde Anicetus persuade Polycarpus to alter that which hee had seene Saint Iohn and other of the Apostles to practise neither coulde Polycarpus persuade Anicetus to forsake that whiche hée had receiued of his predicessors who pretended to haue receiued the same of the Apostles Peter Paule So that when the first and immediate successors of the Apostles cannot agrée vpon their traditions What hope of certaintie can wee haue after so many generations These were both auncient fathers both godly fathers which acknowledged y t all things necessary to saluation were contained in the holy Scriptures and therefore although they coulde not agrée in the vse of a Ceremonie yet they dyd not breake Christian vnitie for that diuersitie Whereas if they had thought vnwritten Traditions necessarie as Victor that was after successor to Anicetus séemeth to haue thought they woulde not haue so brotherly communicated the one with the other as they did but rather as Victor erroniously and presumptuously tooke vpon him to excommunicate the churches of Asia that agréed not with him they woulde haue detested the one the other This story also doeth plentifully witnesse that the Bishop of Romes authoritie in the beginning of the primitiue Church was not reputed to bée a matter of such certaintie y t all mē must obey his censure and no man gainesay or thinke otherwise then hée doeth in any case of religion For Polycarpus doubteth nothing at all to dissent from Anicetus Bishop of Rome where hée thought hée had better grounde neither doeth Anicetus obiect the necessitie of obedience vnto Saint Peters chayre as the Pope nowe a daies pretendeth but when hée coulde not perswade Polycarpus to consent with him in a mat-of small importance and which is beside the holy Scripture hée is content that hée shall dissent from him both in opinion and in practise But howe farre from this modestie is y e Pope of Rome in these dayes which though hée can tollerate diuersitie of Ceremonies as the Papistes say to colour this matter yet will he not tollerate that any man shall dissent in opinion iudgemēt frō him in any of those things for which he hath no groūd out of the holy scriptures but only a counterfet falsly pretēded tradition of the apostles Well you sée by the example of Polycarpus and Anicetus that there is no certaintie in vnwritten traditions when they y ● were the next and immediate successors of the Apostles were not resolued vpon thē but continued in contrary iudgementes of them And no maruell when Iohn him selfe testifieth that euen among the very Disciples of Christe there went a wrong tradition concerning the death of Saint Iohn which hauing no ground vpon the wordes of our sauiour Christe but being cleane contrary to the truth of the holy Scriptures was yet receiued from an vnwritten veritie vntill by the written Gospell of Saint Iohn it was plainly confuted But it will bée obiected that the auncient fathers Tertullian Epiphanius Basilius and such like doe maintaine that there were some vnwritten Traditions of the Apostles in their times which were necessary to bée obserued I answere although the auncient fathers and euen these before named doe sometime auouch the sufficiencie of y e holy scriptures yet it must bée confessed that otherwhile they ascribed too much to vnwritten traditions wherein what certaintie it was likely for them to haue you may consider by that whiche hath béene saide alreadie beside that they agrée not about their Traditions either with the papists or with vs or among themselues altogether Therefore very wisely and like an Apostolike man y e holy worthy Ignatius as Eusebius writeth when hée was trauelling through Asia towarde his martyrdome which hée suffered at Rome and in euery Citie where hée came exhorted the people to continue in the faith of the gospell to beware of heresies which thē beganne to spring and multiplie in cleauing fast to the Tradition of the apostles hée testified that the same Tradition that it might bée certaine and vndoubted was already committed to writing for by that time all the bookes of the new Testament were written And that tradition so written hée thought it necessary to bee plainly taught and set foorth vnto the people This sounde and vncorrupted iudgement of Ignatius a most auncient father next successor vnto Peter in the Church of Antiochia concerning the Apostles tradition if they which came after him had reteined they had neither so easily béene drawen into errour themselues as Papias A great admiror of tradition vnwritten was Irenaeus Tertullian and other nor giuen occasion to heretikes by alleadging the insufficiencie and imprefection of the holy Scriptures to cloke their new heresies vnder the name of auncient traditions Thus you haue hearde that the worde of truth is not to be sought in the vnwritten traditions but in the vndoubted writings of the prophets apostles vpō which foundation the Churche of Christ is builded as Saint Paule testifieth and not vpon the vncertaine reportes of forgetfull and deceiueable men Now must wée examine the tow other pretended recordes of the word of GOD. The Churche and the principall Pastor thereof which they say is

that the Councell of Basill lacked the Popes confirmation No truely for although I might alledge the confirmation of Pope Foelix whiche was chosen by the same Councell after they had deposed Eugenius for his contumacy the Bull of Pope Nicholas the fift which succéeded Pope Eugenius and confirmeth all thinges decreed in the Councell of Basill yet I will stande vpon the very same Eugenius the fourth which gathered held the Councell of Ferraria and Florentia against the Councell of Basill For euen the same Eugenius after he had in thrée solemne Buls in which hée complayned that the Councell of Basill vsurped authoritie aboue the Pope decreed the dissolution of the same condemning all the doings thereof at the length was compelled to reuoke his own Bulles and to declare that the Councell was lawfully cōtinued notwithstanding his Bulles and decrees to the contrarie His Bull of reuocation is to be seene in the 16. Session of the Councell of Basill Beside this in the nexte Session hée was sworne by his legates when they were incorporated into the Councell to defende that Councell and by especiall wordes to defend the decrée of the Councell of Constance made in the fourth Session therof by which the Councell is decreed to bée aboue the Pope and the Pope bounde to obey the Councell and the decrées therof Last of all by his Presidentes hée accepted such presidency of the Councell as the councell would graunt which was without all iurisdiction of compulsion béeing him selfe compelled to retaine that order of proceeding with the councell before his presidency was admitted had obserued and woulde not change now that they were content to make him in his legates there president What certaintie of truth therefore may bee looked for in the determinations of Popes and generall councelles you may easily perceiue You haue heard the coūcell against the pope and the pope against the Councell Councell against Councell one pope against another pope and the same pope against himselfe and all this is one question whether the pope or the generall Councell ought to bée taken as an infallible rule of truth that cannot erre Out of which contrarie decréees no other certaintie can bée concluded but y t it is certaine they may both erre and therfore it is euident that there is none other certaine and vndoubted recorde of the worde of truth but onely the newe Testament and the olde the holy Canonicall bookes of the holy Scriptues as it were easie to confirme euen by the iudgement of the most auncient and best approoued Fathers but that I haue alreadie helde you so long as I may not procéede any further After the sufficiencie of the holy Scriptures to teach vs al truth being thus maintained and the obiections made by the aduersaries cōfuted I had thought to haue added an other discourse concerning the right certain way of interpretation and vnderstanding of the holy Scriptures but because the time is so far spent y t I shall not be able to go through it I will altogether omitt it desiring God of his infinite mercy that as hee hath testified by his sonne our sauiour Christ Iesus y t we can haue no accesse vnto his Maiestie without sanctificatiō in the word of truth so it would please him by his holy spirit to cōsecrate dedicate vs wholy vnto his pleasure that following the infallible rule of truth described in his holy word we may glorifie his name in this life and after be partakers of eternall felicitie purchased vnto vs by the only merites of our Lord Sauiour Iesus Christ vnto whome with the father the holy Ghoste one eternall God be al honor glory power dominiō now and euer Amen ¶ Imprinted at London at the three Cranes in the Vintree by Thomas Dawson for George Bishop 1581. 2. Pet 1. Leuit. 11. 19. 20. 1. Pet. 1. In Psal. 96. In Epist. ad Eph. hom 18. In Psal. 9. 6. Apoe 19. 20. 22. Apoc. 7. Hebr. 12. Iam. 1. 1. Cor. 1. 2. Cor. 3. Gene. 8. Gene. 6. Iohn 15. Sess. 6. Can. ● Rom. 14. Heb. 11. Ephe. 2. Iacob 1. Rom. 4. Prou. 15. 21. Prou. 18. Rom. 4. Rom. 3. Ioh. 13. 15 Leu. 11. Ephe. 3. Ezech. 37. 1. Tim. 4. Rom. 8. In Epist. ad Himer 2. Thess. ● Psal. 51. Rom. 1. 1. Cor. 6. Prouer. 30. Deut. 12. Deut. 4. 12. Esaye 8. Iohn 5. Iohn 17. Rom. 5. Rom. 8. 2. Tim. 3. 2. Timo. 3 2. Tim. 3. Act. 17. Ioan. 5. Luk. 24. Deut. 13. 2. Thes. ● Ephes. 4. Hebr. 11. Rom. 10. Gen. 4. Gen. 5. Acts. 7. Lib. 3. Cáp. 2. Lib. 2. Cap. 35 Luke 3. Lib. 2. Ca. 26 Lib. 3. Cap 3● ●usch lib. Cap. vlt. Ephe. 2. Rom. 10. 1. Tim. 4. Apoc. 2. Gal. 2. Rom. 3. Ioan. 16. Act. 10. Gal. 2. 1. Tim. 5. Ephes. 5. Gal. 5. Rom. 3. Iac. 2. Lib. 5. Cap. 26 In Catalog 5. Cap. Inpatifi Contra. 〈◊〉 lib. 1. Cap. 2. Contra. du Epist. Pelag. lib. 2. Cap. 4. 1. Cor. 11.