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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09830	A disputation against the adoration of the reliques of saints departed Wherein nine palpable abuses are discouvered, committed by the popish Priests in the veneration thereof. Together with, the refutation of a Iesuiticall epistle, and an index of the reliques, vvhich euery seuenth yeere, are shovvne at Avvcon in Germanie vnto the superstitious people and pilgrimes, compiled by the canons of S. Maries Church an. 1608. By Iohn Polyander Professour of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Leyden in Holland, & translated by Henry Heham, out of French into English.	Polyander à Kerckhoven, Johannes, 1568-1646.; Hexham, Henry, 1585?-1650?	1611 (1611)	STC 20095; ESTC S119215	57,951	182

be buried so soone as they arrived in the land of Canaan in a field which Abraham Iacob had bought before time of the sonns of Hamor the father of Sechem Also the Prophet Samuel sheweth vs that K. Dauid hauing taken the bones of Saul and Ionathan frō the inhabitants of Gabish Gilead which had taken them vp from the streete of Beth-shan brought them from thence into the contrey of Beniamin caused thē to be buried in the sepulchre of Kis the father of Saul and that in the Solemnizatiō of their funeralls his subjects did all that the King cōmanded them but there is no mention made of any pilgrimage or any religious seruice which they should doe in honour of thē about their Sepulchre Likewise in the second booke of kings the Authour of this Historie writeth that King Iosiah willing to prophane the Altar which King Ieroboham had caused to be built in Bethel and to dishonour eternally the Priests other Idolaters which he had maintained there caused the bones of the false priests other their confederates to be digged vp cōmanding them to burne thē vppon the same Altar But on the contrary espying an other Tombe in the same Cittie demanded of the cittizēs thereof What title is that which I see hauing vnderstod by their answer that it was the sepulchre of the man of God which before prophesied the things which the sayde King came then to doe vpon that very Altar to shewe the publick reverence he bore vnto that man of God even after his buriall bad the inhabitants of Bethel Let him alone let none remoue his bones whereto this Historiā addeth that the citizens of the said city obeied therein king Iosiahs commandement Although the holy Scriptures giues vs to vnderstand that among all that are borne of woemē God hath not raised vp more excellēt servants of his house then Moses and Iohn Baptist nor a more faithfull Martyr of his son Christ Iesus then S. Stephē one of the seaven deacons of the Apostolique Church one of the first witnesses of Christ persecuted in Ierusalem Neueverthelesse their bodies were presently interred after their departure that of Moses by God himself after a miraculous manner in the contrey of Moab in a place vnknowne vnto the children of Israel and inaccessible for the deuil to the end they might not abuse it by Idolatrie that of S. Iohn Baptists by his disciples and S. Stephens by some men that feared God as appeareth by the History of Moses the Gospel according to S. Marke the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle of S. Iude. Among all the auncient Prophets there is none whose buriall is more memorable then that of the Prophet Elishas in regard it pleased God to raise vp miraculously by touching of his dead and buryed bodie a man which in great hast for feare of their enemies they had cast into the grave of this prophet as we read in the second booke of Kings 2. Chap howbeit the Authour of this historie addeth not for all that that the Priests of the old Testament haue commanded the people of God to resort vnto that tombe to offer vp their praiers and sacrifices or that they instituted any Feasts vpon certain daies in memorie of this miracle or enclosed the bones of this Prophet into a shrine or chose out any expresse place to raise vp some altar in his honour or did perswade any to resort thither from all partes to offer vp there their praiers and sacrifices in the name of the vulgar people as if it were before the face of God himself Morover the prophet Isaiah hauing respect vnto the auncient custome of interring the dead and hiding them in their graues compareth the sepulchres of the righteous vnto bedds to shew by this similitude that wee can doe noe greater pleasure to God nor a greater honour to his wel-beloved Sainctes after their departure then to wrap vp their bodies in the beddes of the Earth to rest there from their labours vntil the day of their resurrection in which Christ wil come to awaken call them vnto him bring them into the possession of life eternall I say moreover that the greatest hypocrits among the last Doctors of Israel to wit the Scribes and Pharises who through hypocrisie and vaine glorie buylt vp the sepulchres of the prophets and repaired the tombles of the righteous stoned massacred to death by their auncestors did not deterre their corpses to dismember them and shew their bones vnto the meaner sort of people or to adorne the Altars of the Tempel of Ierusalem with them but suffered thē to rest in their graues as Christ himself witnesseth in the 23. Chap. of S. Mathews Gospel the 27. verse and the next following Touching the Apostles disciples of our Saviour Christ the historie of his burial shews vs that S. Peter S. Iohn approching neere vnto his sepulchre to see whether he was truly risen or noe found there his kerchief with his linen clothes laied aside but the Euāgelist S. Iohn noteth more expresly that they came thither one after another to behold the more earnestly his hand-kerchief and linnē which he had left behinde him after his resurrectiō addeth not which neverthelesse would have ben soo much the more remarkeable that they either handled thē or bore awaie those reliques with them to shewe them vnto their con-disciples or put them into any shrine or boxe which with out all doubt they would haue done if they had receued any such charg frō ther Mr. or if they could haue gathered by any of his familliar speeches he had with thē before that such a collection transportatiō of his reliques would haue pleased him after his resurrection haue ben as a fitt meanes to confirme their bretheren in the Christian faith As for S. Luke who discribs vnto vs all the memorable acts of the Apostles since the assention of Christ vntil the second yeere of S. Pauls imprisonment at Rome to the intent they might serue as a miror and exsample to all our actions he makes no recitall nor reckons vp in his second booke any of Christs reliques his Parents or faithful Martyrs collected by his Apostles or giuen into the custody of their frends but hee shewes that the christians of his time perseuered with the Apostles in the sincere doctrine of the H. Gospell and in breaking of bread the true reliquaries and memorialls of the instructions suffrances of our sole Redeemer Iesus Christ. In like manner the Apostle S. Peter while he was living would not promisse the faithfull dispersed throughout Pontus Galatia Capadocia Asia and Bithynia to leave after his death any other reliques behinde him thē his Epistles which he wrote vnto them as him self declareth by these wordes that he wold endevour alwaies to wit by his writings that they also might bee able to haue rememberance of those things after his departure I could

other employements hee thought good not to limit mee any prefixed time but that I should vndertake finish this worke at my leisure This is the cause that I haue made noe great hast in composing this treatise which I haue distributed into three partes In the scope there of I haue followed the order the example of the ancient Prophets and Apostles as also their true Successours and Imitatours who haue all maintained with one common accord that God onely ought to be worshipped by his people will not haue this seruice giuen to anie other by the authentique and irreprehensible testimonies of holy Scripture the which God hath armed with an inviolable authoritie to the end that those which feare him might make noe scruple to receive it wholy and to giue full beliefe therevnto True it is that I haue annexed vnto it some attestations of the ancient Fathers not to approoue the foolish imagination of the Romanists but that the holy Scripture maye take more force credit seeing she hath receiued it alreadie frō God who is the authour thereof or that the trueth of it which is infalliable should depende vpon the advise and jugement of our ancestours predecessours which might erre but rather to shewe the Doctours of the Romane church who relye more vpon the authority of men then vpon Gods in the poincts which concerne our controversies that their condēnation is not onely found in the decrees of divine Law but also in the recordes of the pastours of the primitiue Church yea euen in theirs whome they choose for their Iudges and defendaunts I call the Epistle of these Canons Iesuiticall in the beginning of my disputation because after I had conferred it with Bellarmins booke the first tutour of these Iesuites vpon this subject I finde it is but a patching together of his argumēts whereby he sought to prooue the worshipping of the reliques of Saincts I meant not to vse in the resutation of their Epistle anie elegant speech or anie circumlocution and readiousnesse in wordes because the trueth without borrowing else where hath ornaments enough in her self and when shee is simple and in her naked robes shee taketh the more delight in such as fetts her foorth represents her before the view of al men in roundnesse and simplicitie Forasmuch then as wee cannot resist to much nor too often the heresies which daylie multiplie in this wicked worlde especially the foolish superstition of those which would attribute to the reliques of mortall man the honour belonging vnto the sole maiestie of the immortall God although that Calvin Chemnicius and some other excellent Divines haue taken penn in hand to oppose themselues against the first inventours and advancers of this Idolatrie yet I haue also thought it my duty to giue foorth this disputation against the new protecters of this superstition and in particular against the Canons of Awcō because it may be availeable to the Christiā church as S. Augustine saith that manie bookes be writtē vpon one subject prouided that they be made in diversity of stile but not in diuersity of beliefe seeing that by this meanes heretickes are the more convicted and on the otherside wee open the more passages for the Children of God to escape from the call and out of the snares of these fowlers offer them sundry sorts of counterpoysons to preserue their braines from the venoume of their Sophistrie As for the rest there are manie considerations which mooued mee to dedicate this treatise vnto you For I will not here speake of that holy zeale which made you expose your person and goods from your youth aswel in the defence of our iust cause at S Amands and in some other places adioyning therevnto wherein you bore the brunt of the first persecutiō as for the preseruation of our Churches here in these Vnited Provinces so long as it pleased the Lord of Hosts to maintain you in the gouvernement of the Towne of Sluce so long as your age would permit you to continew in that of Nemegen and to follow his Excellencie with your foote Regiment in manie feiges assaults admirable recouverings of manie Townes and fortes brought vnder the obedience of our Superiours in the face of our enemies Neither will I speake of that zeale and your other virtues which recommendes you among the gentlemen of our Common-weale and in perticular among vs for which I must acknowledge my self indebted to testifie the same publikly in the name of the members of our Church that for this respect we honor you and your like who loues true godlinesse with their hearts and seeke to worship with vs our onely God and heauenly Father in spirit and trueth Beside hauing knowne in sundrie sortes your singular fauour and beneuolence towardes mee and mine for which I feele my self obliged to present you with this small gift in acknowledgement thereof Wherevnto also your comendable resolution hath moued me in consecrating the rest of your aged daies in the lecture of ecclesiasticall bookes and your capacitie in iudging well of our disputations against the traditions of the papisticall Doctors and cheifly in this vpon the reliques of the Saincts departed For as in the daies of your ignorāce you haue seen the abuse of this superstition quickly after your conversion manifested vnto the worlde that you had it in abhominatiō so having as it were this smal treatise alreadie printed your heart I assure my self that yow will approue it and will finde that whatsoeuer I haue alledged therin is grounded vpon the experience of trueth the instruction of the Orthodoxe Fathers and the authoritie of the holy Scripture In confidence whereof I offer vnto you this memoriall as a token of the affection I beare to your L. beseeching the Lord who after the triall of a daūgerous prisō noe lesse couragious thē a long resistance against the allarmes pernicious enterprises of our adversaries hath at last trāsported you frō your gouvernmēt of the Citie of Nemegē in which our most illustrate LL. wold willingly haue held you still into this Citie of Dordrecht to liue here among vs for the more tranquility ease of your agednesse overworn weakened through the travels and wearisomenesse of the warres It will please him MONSIEVR To establish your heart in the assurance of his grace towards those which reverence him by the remembrance of so manie notable deliverances victories which he hath giuē in our time to our Churches to fortifie you with constancie to perseuer with vs in the sole invocation of his blessed name for the repose of your soule the advancemēt of his glory From my studie this 2. of Septem 1611. Your most humble servant and most affectionate brother in Christ our Souveraine Lord. Iohn Polyander The Second part of the fifth Psalme put into French meeter by Cl. M. 6 Ta fureurperd extermine Finalementious les menteurs Quant'aux meurtriers decepteurs Celui qui terre Ciel

of an olde and false table-cloth then of our Lord Iesus Christ the authour of truth and niewnesse of life call vpon it for aide in this manner Sanctissima Dei mappa ora pro nobis O most holy table-cloth of God pray for vs. The Monkes of Cahors addressing thēselves rather vnto the Napkin or kerchief which our Redeemer left behinde him to rot in his sepulchre thē vnto this high Priest who shortly after his resurrection was takē vp by his Father into Heavē to make there continuall intercession for vs cryes vnto it singing in this manner Sancte Sudari ora pro nobis that is O holy handkerchiefe pray for vs. againe Sudarium Christi liberet nos a peste morte tristi that is O kerchiefe of Christ deliver vs from plague and a heavie death Moreover they cr●ue that for his kerchiefes sake representing the face of Christ by picture it would please him to let them behold his face aboue in Heauen Omnipotens sempiterne Deus qui in memoriam passionis vnigeniti Filij tui sanctam eius sindonem cum expressaipsius effigie venerandam reliquistiin terris tribue quaesumus vt per virtutem eius sanctae sindonis faciem tuam contemplari mereamur in coelis That is to say O Almightie and Eternall God which in memorie of the passiō of thy only begottē son hast left behinde him on earth his holy Sindon with his shape printed vpon it graunt that through the vertue of this holy lunen wee maye merrit to contemplate thy face in Heaven O Lord how long wilt thou endure this idolatrie ô poore Superstitious men how long will yee continue on in seeking our Lord Iesus Christ who is all in all of vs in things that are nothing worth The fourth abuse consisteth in the adoration of false reliques so artifcially counterfeited and invented by the one as foolishly beleeved and receiued by the other The cause why S. Augustine complaineth in his treatise touching the travelling Monkes that Sathan had dispersed throwout Christendome many Hypocrites vnder the habit of vagabond Monkes straggling vp downe through countries not sent neuer still nor never setled whereof some of them made Marchandise of the members of the Martyrs which made him to doubt suspect that they were not the right members of the Martyrs To this purpose Socrates reporteth in the 14. Chap. and 7. booke of his Historie that the Christians for some time honoured through ignorance the dead carkiese of a seditious Monke called Ammomus thinking it had bene the body of some holy Martyr Also Erasmus of Rotterdam reporteth in his Conferences that two Pilgrims arriving at Canterburie the one of them was so amazed at the impudencie and deceit of those which presented before them al sorts of reliques to be worshipped and amonge the rest an Arme bleeding with the flesh vpō it that they seemed thereat to be horribly affrighted flying back would not kisse it Gregorie surnamed Turonensis and diverse other Historians affirme that in the shrine of a departed Sainct they found the roots of sundry plantes the teeth of Moses the bones of Mice and the feete of foxes in stead of the true reliques of his bodie It is most manifest that presently after the reformatiō of the Churches in France Helvetia Germanie and some other adjoyning places they founde in the shrines chestes of the papall reliques the bones of diverse Beasts pieces of brickes spriggs of trees cordes and manie other trifles small trash which these superstitious men had worshipped during the night of their ignorance the thicke darknesse of their idolatries Calvin noteth in his admonitiō against the reliques of the Romish Church that they found at Geneve the taile of a Hart which these Superstitious people had often times kissed imagining that it had ben S. Anthonies Arme and a pumeise stone saluted by these Doltes besotted with this opinion that it was S. Peters braines Theodorus Besa proueth by the testimonie of more then fiftie eye-witnesses in his Apologie against the calumnies of a certaine Apostate by name Francis Bauldwin that at Bourges they found a wheele turning about vpon a staff adorned with this laciuious and magicall verse written vpon a scrole of parchment Quand ceste roue tournera Celle que saime m'aimera That is to say When this wheele shall turne about Shee whome I loue shall loue mee And at Tours a Card which gamesters call the knaue of Dyamants with a bawdie and villennous song written vppon it by some whoremonger put into a silver Arme. And after that a silver crosse besett with many precious perles and with an Agath wherevpon was engravē the picture of Venus bewailing the death of Adonis her Louer lying by her which the vulgar sort of people adored vpō the day of the death and passion of our Lord Iesus Christ. Rodulphus Hospaniā attesteth likewise in his recitall of the originall of Reliques that in the shrines treasuries of the Catholique Church at Zurich they foūd some of the ribs of a Cat or some such like creature with a cord twelue ells long which before the reformation of the said Church was worshipped by the blinde people there perswaded there-vnto by the guilfull gloses of their pastours that they were the reliques of Felix and of some other holy Martyr Although these Testimonies are worthy of beliefe and approved by every man without contradiction yet I assure myself that our adversaries will take a small occasion at the very name of these Authours to quarrell at the Title of their bookes to call them in question and reject them I feare I shall not get much more by inserting here the wordes of George Cassander one of their chiefest writers whereby he admonisheth the Emperours Ferdinand and Maximilian that this abuse began to thrust vp her head litle by litle through the often visiting of the monuments of the renownedst Martyrs that in S. Augustins and S. Ambroses time the custome of bringing victualls in memorie of the martyrs was forbidden by S. Ambrose himself that in the ages ensuing they haue attributed too much honour vnto the memorie of the Saincts that some men of noe note had perswaded the simple to place a false confidence in a superfluous fond seruice and had added many other euils vnto it to wit that the priestes monkes coveteous of dishonest gaine haue counterfeited reliques preached false miracles to nourish superstition in the hearts of men and drew them rather vnto the admiration of their miracles then vnto the imitation of the Saincts Finally that the Devill making vse of the superstition of these men reuealed euery day new reliques when he saw that the Bishops of the Romish church were so earnestly giuen to enquire foorth the inventers and promoters of those reliques and they should finde therein as he saith abuses deceits as great and as abhominable as that was which S. Martyn discouvered who

denieth that S. Ireneues corps was burned at Lyon● or that his ashes were cast into the Rosne I say againe that this accusatiō of theirs it false because they impute to the first Reformers of our age whom wronfully they tearme Innovators of religion the insolences committed by some vndiscreet souldiers in the beginning of the troubles without their councel or avouchment For they were so farre from exhorting thē to burne the bodies of the Saints or to throw their ashes into riuers that cōtrariwise they preached against such outrages and admonished their anditorie therein to followe the example of the auncient Fathers and that euery man was obliged to lay them into the Earth and honorably to burie the bones and ashes of those whom God had taken out of this world The fift fault is they ranck amonge the nomber of the first founders of their Catholique religion the Emperor Charles the great who approoued not all the point● thereof For sundty Historians yea and his booke which he wrot against the second Councell of Nice shewes euidently that hee condemned the decree of that Councell for the worshipping of images calling it a most impudent tradition and a foolish and prophane invention comming neere vnto that infidelitie which alwaies keeps her Adorers in errour Touching their allegation of the double diligence which many towns provinces vsed in searching out and in honoring the reliques of the deceased Saincts wee reply that wee are not bound to follow the customes of men but onely the rule of diuine law which neither hath enjoyned vs nor our fathers vnto any such superstitious worshipping of reliques Let vs now proceed forward to see what these Canons of Awcon cann say vnto vs in the third part of their Epistle The third parte of this Iesuiticall Epistle This abundant liberalitie of God say they seemeth noe new thing to those that are read in holy writ and Historie because they know that by S. Peters shadow though nothing seemeth more vain and by the kerchiefs and hād kerchiefs which they brought frō S. Pauls body all sorts of griefs presently most happily haue be● driuen from diseased boddies the infernal Spirit● cast foorth of their Soules From which example th● Godly custome of our ancestours proceeded tha● in immitating Ioseph of ●●rimathea Nicodemu● represented by the bodies of our Lord Iesus Christ and S. Stephen they vsually wrapped vp the most precious reliques of their Church in silken clothes which they called Sāctuaires of holy coverleds as ecclesiasticall historiās write the which they haue since distributed sent abroad according to the anciēt custom of the church to such as through piety and loue vnto religiō desired thē in such sort that the Romane church hath not bestowed noe other reliques vppon Emperours or any other great personnages whatsoeuer thā such sanctuaires and Couverleds as appeareth by the letters pope Hormisda wrote vnto his Embassadours and vnto Iustinian the Emperour And to the end those Sanctuaires might bee in the greater request amonge vs it pleased the diuine goodnesse as it euidēt to māy of our church to illustrate manifest thē through the operation of many great miracles so much the more because that without this meanes they could not satiate the pietie which was kindled in many Now this custōe of going on pilgrimage towards thee places renowned for their reliques and other memorialls of the Saincts was brought vp in Christēdō frō the first age of the Catholique church in that time whē she had some rest from the oppression of Tyrants and other perverse Ennemies of the faith And because we wil not here speake of the Ceremonies of the anciēt law wherby euery one was enjoyned to goe yearely on pilgrimage to the feasts as God himself had cōmāded it many other most religious personages yea Chris● himself his most holy parēts accomplished it with so great a zeale of going on pilgrimage principally vnto the holy places of the land of Iudea which zeale was kindled also in the hearts of mē after Christs death in immitating their ancestours as the testimonie of diuine write and S. Hierome also speaking vpon this matter doth auouche that all the wordes in the holy Scripture recommend to vs this godly worke And in another place they runne hither saith he from al the corners of the Earth the citie is full of all sorts of people c. But chiefly with those which hold the highest degrees of honour in this world meet here with one accord And verely our Patron Charles of most holy and famous memorie withour producing any other examples at this present of any other Emperours most noble parsonages who were so much giuen vnto the exercise of these holy pilgrimmages that oftentimes they went a foote to Rome onely to excercise thēselves in this godly worke And haue attributed so great honor vnto S. Peters Cathedrall church at Rome as they haue kissed the very stares thereof one after another So that one may say of him these Emperours that which Austin heretofore obiected against the Idolaters of Madaure ye se that the highest dignity of the most noble Empire supplicates with an humble crowne by the Sepulchre of S. Peter the fisher The like also haue ben found in Englād Dēmarke Frāce Splayne who being touched with this desire of pilgrimages discharging thēselfs for the present fro● al the affaires of their earthly kingdomes transported themselfes thither-wards through a long daungerous weary some way to honour there their hevenly King after the example of the three Kings which came to honour the cradell of our Lord Iesus Christ. Also many other Christians haue done the same whose ordinarie custome was eftsoones to visite the places which were destined for the holy memorials sepuleres to the end that as it is written of the virgin marie their inward loue might be nourished by holy signes inflamed with the more loue of devotion through the most joyfull contemplation of the Saincts tombes reliques For this hath alwaies ben found by experience confirmed by the testimony of all antiquity that through these pilgrimages through this great flocking and godlynes of the people a new zeale began to kindle in our spirits togeather with the piety reverēce we bore to these holy things and also new desires to liue well and to immitate the Saints in our life and manners And loe next vnto the glory of God the chiefest ende of our pilgrimages which God so specially demādeth of vs was because as S. Augustin saith the bodies of the Martirs haue ben giuen vs to awaken vs vnto the excercise of devotion through the admonition of the places by the presence of these holy pledgs For the holy place as this Father exhorteth vs reneweth encreaseth our former affections whē as through the advertisment of the places it is manifested raiseth it self vp by wheating our charitie aswell towards those whome we are to imitate as