THE JUDGMENT OF THE Foreign Reformed Churches CONCERNING THE RITES and OFFICES OF THE Church of England SHEWING There is no necessity of Alterations In a Letter to a Member of the House of Commons Arch-Bishop Bramhill's Works p. 494. All Protestants both Lutherans and Calvinists did give unto the English Church the Right Hand of Fellowship Casaubon's Prayer A. D. 1610. Thou O Lord Jesus preserve the Church of England and give a sound mind to the Nonconformists who deride its Rites and Ceremonies LONDON Printed for Robert Jenkinson A. D. 1690. To the Honoured A. A. A MEMBER Of the Honourable HOUSE of COMMONS SIR WHEN we parted at the Election you desired me to give you the Judgment of the Foreign Protestants about the Church of England and particularly as to the Rites and Offices of which the Author of the Letter to the Convocation tells us p. 23. That if the Convocation do not alter them most certainly the Parliament will The very talk of Change you know breeds a Ferment in the Nation and be sure the discontented will make their advantage of it but if the Nation finds the Parliament as steddy as the Convocation the Heats will soon be over and the Kingdom return to her Settlement and Peace Nolumus leges Angliae mutare was an Answer first in Parliament and that in opposition to some Ecclesiasticks who would have introduced several Foreign Rites and Customs into the room of received and approved Constitutions quae huc usque usitatae sunt ac approbatae Optatus Milev l. 3. p. 75. tells us of his time That there had been a Report spread by some that came from the Emperor that Alterations should be made in the Liturgy which startled the People but when they saw their Solemn Customs and wonted Rites observed and that nothing was changed added or diminish'd in their Divine Service they were quieted again Those Governments have been observed to continue longest that have been most steddy in their Laws and the Jews who were immediately governed by God had their very Rites and Ceremonies unaltered for almost 2000 Years their great Law-giver foreseeing that every considerable Alteration in an establish'd Religion or even its Rites and Modes would put the State into Convulsions and indanger a Revolution As to our present Conjuncture it was a great oversight in those that carryed on the Design of a Comprehension to begin with a Toleration and its unreasonable to think that the Dissenters will unite with Vs so long as their Separation is allowed Nothing that you can do will promote their Vnion with Vs but that which makes it their Interest and that can be only done by Rewards and Punishments and therefore the taking off the Sanctions of the Laws and making the Separation easie was beginning at the wrong end and a certain way to make a Comprehension ineffectual But since the Vnion proposed is not confined to our Nation but extended to all the Protestants in the World that are now united in their Interests I have here according to your Desires given you a true account of the great esteem and veneration they all have for the Church of England and particularly for those very Rites and Customs that are now disputed and what Offence and Scandal our Dissenters give them so that by an impartial Consideration of their Opinions you and all the Nation may be satisfied that making of Alterations in the Instances proposed will be so far from promoting a closer Vnion with the Foreign Protestants who have always esteemed Vs as the very Center of Union that its the most certain way to hinder it For what concerns the late Convocation I shall refer you to an excellent Paper Entituled Remarks from the Country upon the Two Letters relating to the Convocation and Alterations in the Liturgy SIR I am Your most Humble Servant N. S. THE CONTENTS 1. THE Dissenters from the Church of England constantly appeal to the Foreign Protestant Churches as Persons of their Opinions p. 2. 2. Some Inconsiderate or Designing Persons of the Church of England have joyned with them in this Appeal and Complaint p. 3 4 5. 3. This Opinion Confuted in general p. 6 7. 4. The Opinions of Beza Spanheim Diodate Casaubon Bochart Dumoulin c. concerning the Church of England Established p. 8 9 10 11 12. 5. The Opinion that the Foreign Reformed Divines have of our Dissenters particularly the Opinion of Calvin Beza Gualter Casaubon Bochart Capellus c. p. 12 13 14. 6. These General Opinions applyed to the Matters proposed to be Altered by the Authors of the Letters to the Convocation and in behalf of the Bill of Vnion and the Opinion of the Foreign Protestants is shewed as to Reading the Apocryphal Books in the Church p. 14 15 16 17 19 20 21. 7. As to the Rules for finding Easter p 22 23 24 25. 8. As to the Names of some old Saints and Bishops in the Kalendar p. 25 26. 9. As to the Reading the old Version of the Psalms p. 26. 27 28 29 30 31. 10. As to the retaining the Athanasian Creed p. 32 33. 11. As to the Cross in Baptism p. 34. 12. As to Godfathers in Baptism p. 35 36. 13. As to Kneeling at the Sacrament p. 37 38. 14. As to Excommunication for Contempt p. 41. 15. As to Ordination by Bishops only p. 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52. 16. As to Set Forms of Prayers p. 53 54. 17. As to Established Rites and Ceremonies c. p. 55 56 57. 18. One Word to the Dissenters p. 58. 59. ERRATA PAge 6. l. 24. Humphred read Humphrys p. 17. l. 27. Populare read Populari p. 20. l. 2. Polyglot Latin read Polyglot Bible p. 22. l. 35. Venral read Vernal p. 26. l. 18. Evispine read Crispine p. 31. l. 24. perpagato read propagato p. 43. l. 34. pretented read pretensed THE JUDGMENT OF THE Foreign Reformed Churches CONCERNING THE RITES and OFFICES OF THE Church of England THERE have been Three Reasons much urged of late for making Alterations in the Rites and Offices of the Church of England at this Juncture the 1st relates to our selves the 2d to Dissenters and the 3d to Foreign Churches To the 1st it hath been answered that we do not need Alterations to the 2d that they do not desire them and the 3d is the Subject of this Discourse And though the Learned Books of Durel Comber Falkner and others might have rendered such a design needless yet so long as the Adversaries of our Peace and Establishment go on to amuse the Nation with old Fictions and Stories we must not cease to repeat old truths and plain matter of fact to confute them not doubting but that as truth is great so it will prevail It hath been the constant practice of the Preshyterian Party to boast of their Harmony and Agreement with the Foreign Reformed Churches in those things wherein they differ from us and frequently insinuate to their Followers that the
the Book of Tobit by which saith one of them we give too much countenance to the Church of Rome and supplant Canonical Scripture c. Now to see how very little reason is for this Objection let it be observed 1. That our Church always calls these Books Apocryphal and thereby sufficiently distinguisheth them from the Canonical and her self from Popery 2. In the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion she declares That she reads them for example of Life and instruction of Manners but yet doth not apply them to establish any Doctrine 3. All our Divines that have written upon this Subject especially Reynolds and Cosins have so Learnedly and unanswerably baffled the Papists that they have never thought good to reply to them 4. Our Church hath taken so great care in this matter to avoid giving offence that several of these Books are never Read in the Church at all as the Maccabees Books of Esdras Prayer of Manasseh and the famous Fifth Chapter of Tobit about him and his Dog which hath been left out of our Church from the beginning of King James the 1st almost an 100 Years the other Books that are ordered to be Read in the Church are never read on Sundays but only Week-days Now our Church in allowing of them sometimes to be Read doth much better agree with the Primitive Church than she would if they were shut quite out for 't is certain that they publickly Read them Athanasius or the Author of the Synopsis calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. not received into the Canon but read in the Church Ruffinus in Symb. Alii libri sunt qui non Canonici sed Ecclesiastici a majoribus appellati sunt Tobit Judeth c. quae omnia legi quidem in Ecclesia voluerunt non tamen Professi ad Authoritatem fidei confirmandam i. e. There are Books which are not Canonical but Ecclesiastical as Tobit Judeth c. all which are read in the Church but not produced to confirm any Article of Faith Which is exactly agreeable to the words of St. Hierom in his Preface to his Commentary upon Proverbs and which are quoted and approved of by our Church in the Thirty Nine Articles Gregorius Magnus in Moral l. 19. c. 13. Art 6 may speak for the succeeding Ages where he calls these Books though not Canonical yet published for the Edification of the Church That they were Read in the African Churches appears from one of the Carthaginian Councils at which St. Austine was present 3 Carthag Can. 47. That they have been all along read in the Western Churches appears from Isidore de Eccles Off. Rabanus de instit Cler. c. And lastly the Lectionarius published by Pamelius and which goeth under the name of St. Hierom and hath been of great Use and Authority in the Western Churches gives an account of particular days when particular places of the Apocryphal Books were appointed to be read in the Church As to the Greek Church besides the author of the Synopsis already mention'd Origene in his Epistle to Affricanus saith that the history of Susannah was read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every Church of Christ And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Churches make use of the book of Tobit And as to their present practice besides their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 printed at Venice A. D. 1596. which contains their several lessons for the whole year and hath several taken out of the Apocrypha we have the express authority of one that lived amongst them Mr. Rycaut in his History of the Greek Church p. 372. In the Greek Church they receive the Apocryphal Books as we do in England In the Ethiopick Churches they read the Athcpocryphal Books as appears from Ludolfus's History of those Churches and lastly by the works of Hippolytus Origen St. Chrysostome St. Hierome Theodore◠Asterius Leo Magnus and others it appears that the Fathers not only wrote Comments upon these books but frequently preach'd upon them and took their Texts thence not to mention that Conradus Pellican Drusius and some other Reformed Divines have without any offence wrote comments upon them as upon other parts of the Bible If from this general agreement of all the Christian Churches in the World we consider in the last place the judgment of the Reformed Churches we shall find them also agree with us 1. For the Lutheran Churches they gerally use them as we do and Alsted in Theol. Pol. p. 287. gives this account of them that they are sacri secundum quid populare quadam ratione merito proxime a vere divinis locum obtinere possunt i. e. that they are in a sense sacred and deserve the next place to the Canonical Scriptures And Chemnitius in examen post 1. de ser can speaking of the Apocryphal Books saith A fidelibus in Ecclesiis leguntur i. e. they are read by the Orthodox in the Churches And then for the Churches of the Calvinists first hear Calvin himself in Psychopannichia Melius nos decent sacrae literae corpus quod corrumpitur aggravat animam i. e. the holy Writings teach us better that the corruptible body oppresseth the Soul And yet those Sacred Writings are the book called the Wisdom of Solomon from whence that sentence is taken Conradus Pelicanus in his preface to his Comments upon the Apocryphal Books saith of them that they are Ecclesiastici ac Biblici in Ecclesia Catholica ab Apostolorum temporibus fuerint cum reverentia lecti i. e. these books are read in the Church and bound up with our Bibles and have with reverence been read in all Christian Churches from the very time of the Apostles and he was a famous Professor at Zurich Lud. Capellus in Thes Salm. expresly approves of the Declaration of our Church in her 39 Articles and saith that profit may come to the Church by their being read publickly and so they were read in the Primitive times for the instruction of manners Episcopius Professor at Leyden in Tom. 2. Part. 2. p. 75. though the Apocryphal Books cannot serve to confirm an Article of Faith yet may profitably be read in ' the Church And indeed of the Dutch Churches we have their solemn judgment declared in the Synod of Dort Art 6. We make a difference betwixt the Canonical and Apocryphal Books which last are the 3d and 4th of Esdras Tobit Judeth c. which the Church may read and take instructions in them agreeable to Canonical Scripture The Bibles of Holland Geneva and other reformed Churches have these books printed Quere in Deodats Ju 〈…〉 Bibles and bound up with the Canonical as we have and in the Preface to the Apocryphal Books they commend the very sentences of Ruffinus and St. Hierom which declare for the publick reading of them in the Churches And the like is done by the Publishers of the Harmony of the Confessions of all the Reformed Churches Printed at Geneva and lastly the Reformed Churches of
France in their Book of Discipline p. 391. have this rule Les livres de la Bible soit Canonique ou autres ne seront transformez en Comedies ou Tragedies i. e. the books of the Bible whether Canonical or others shall not be used in Plays in which Words they first call these Apocryphal books part of the Bible and then take care that they be not prophaned And thus it 's evident that all the Primitive and Purer Ages of the Church all the Eastern Western and African Churches all the Lutheran and Calvinistical Churches beyond Sea do either read these books publickly in their Churches or very expresly approve of it nor is there any one instance of any Reformed Church that since the Reformation read them publickly as we have done but still continues to do so and our English Dissenters are condemned by all the Churches in the World in leaving them out of their Bibles who were the first body of Christians as far as I can find that ever did so To make this the more evident I shall here give a Catalogue of the publick large Bibles of all the Countries I could meet with in all which upon examination I find the Apocryphal added for the same intent as in ours viz. For the Example of Life and the Instruction of Manners A Catalogue of Bibles Printed with the Apocrypha English with Archbishop Cranmer's Preface Lond. 1541. By Coverdale Lond. 1550. By Command of Q. Eliz. Lond. 1578. Welch Lond. 1588 Scotch Edenburgh 1596. English translated by Wicliff a M. S. with a Prologue in which are these words Holy Church readeth Judeth and Toby and the Books of Maccabees but receiveth not them among Holy Scriptures so the Church readeth the two Books Ecclesiastici and Sapience to edify the People not to confirm the Authority of Teaching Bohemian 1613. Danish at Copenhagen 1550. French at Geneva 1588 At Amsterdam 1669 German 1604 Of Luther's Translation Heidelberg 1617 Dutch at Frankfurt 1580 Armenian at Amsterdam 1666 Spanish by Protestants Amsterdam 1602. Hungarian by the Protestant Bishops of Hungary at Hannover and Oppenheim 1608 Muscovitish at Ostrogoth 1581 Italian by Deodate 1607 Latin by Castalion dedicated to King Edward the 6th Bas 1573 By Junius dedicated to William Prince of Orange 1592 By Robert Stephens Paris 1540 Critici Sacri 9 Tomis Lond. 1666 Hebrew Polyglott 〈◊〉 Lond. 1567 Septuagint Syrtach Vulgar Latin And indeed amongst all the Bibles which I have seen I find them only left out in the Spanish Bible examin'd by the Inquisitors printed at Ferara 1553 and that of New-England in the Virginian Tongue printed at Cambridge in New-England 1663. So that if to comply with our English Dissenters we must strike out these Apocryphal books I know no Bibles we shall follow but that of the Inquisitors of Spain and the Commissioners of New-England And to conclude this head I shall put down these five observations First That no Papist ever made use of this as an Argument that our Church own'd these Books as Canonical so that there could be no feal ground for this objection Secondly That there neither is nor ever was any one Christian Church in the whole World that had set Lessons appointed for every day in the year as we have but some of them were taken out of the Apocrypha Thirdly That no one foreign Church whatsoever did ever declare themselves offended with the Church of England in this matter but as I have shewed generally approve it Fourthly That these very persons who complain of our reading Apocryphal Chapters for Lessons make no complaint of having Hymns printed in their Bibles before and after Davids Psalms in meeter and being frequently used in the Church instead of them Which is agreeable to the practice of Holland where that Church before Sermon sings a Hymn composed by one John Wittenhaven as we do any one of our Psalms Fifthly That the great Promoters of this objection do not stop here but urge it to the laying aside Sermons and Homilies as not being within the Canon yea and the Scripture and Lessons themselves and as we have reason to fear laying aside all publick service whatsoever T. C. in his admonition p. 221. would have no Homilies read in the Church because nothing but the voice of God and holy Scriptures should sound in his Church and this will destroy Sermons and Preaching also The Author answered by Bishop Nicolson in his Apology p. 184. is angry with our Church for reading two Lessons and would have but one And that Lesson also is in danger by the Author of the Letter to the Convocation p. 21. where he proposeth the leaving out the first Lesson in the Afternoon upon short days and in Country Parishes to read Prayers without Lessons So that upon the whole however it seems to some a small to others a reasonable matter I do not say to leave out for then that should have been done at first but to reject the Apocryphal Lessons yet in this we shall separate from the Primitive the Eastern Western and African Churches from most of the Reformed Churches we must alter the 39 Articles of Religion which have been so generally received and applauded for they declare that the Church doth read them We must alter our Apologies and Canons for there Canon 30. Juells Apol. p. 170. it 's declared that it was so far from the purpose of the Church of England to forsake and reject the Churches of Italy France Spain Germany and other Churches in all things which they hold and practis'd that as the Apology of the Church of England confesseth it only departed from them in those particular points wherein they were faln both from themselves in their ancient integrity and from the Apostolical Churches To this agreeth the Apology for Protestants by a French Divine and translated A. D. 1681. p. 23. As to the reproach cast upon our first Reformers it is one of the greatest injustices in the world for nothing can be clearer from their own writings than that it was never their intent to subvert the ancient Government of the Church nor to abolish those Religious Rites and Holy Ceremonies which the piety of the primitive Christians had introduced but only to take away the abuses of them So that in making unnecessary changes in these things we shall destroy the very foundation and principle of the Reformation And that this rule is properly applied to the matter in hand is evident from the declaration of our Church at the beginning of the Liturgy where the reading of the Lessons as is appointed is called a godly and decent order of the ancient Fathers agreeable to the mind and purpose of the old Fathers Upon all which accouuts it is evident that we ought not to consent to the taking away the Apocryphal Lessons and that the Reformed Churches do not desire it of us Secondly As to the Rules and Tables for finding Easter great objections have been raised against our Church
to the beginning of the Reformation and they generally all of them used the Cross in Baptism for 1500 years and its strange that all the Christian Churches for so many years should be guilty of so dangerous an evil as the sign of the Cross in Baptism nor do I know of any one Church in the World that condemned or so much as shewed their dislike of it for 1500 years And for the present age it 's still retain'd in all the Churches of the Roman Communion in all the Greek Churches Rycant p. 168. in the Churches of the Jacobites Brerewoods Enq. p. 153. in the Churches of AEgypt Pagitt's Chistianogr p. 104. in the Abissine or AEthiopian Churches Ludolfi Hist AEthiop l. 3. c. 6. in the Churches of the Muscovites Joh. Faber de relig Muscov in the Protestant Churches of the Ausburg confession the Sign of the Cross is generally used in Baptism and for the other Reformed Churches not one hath declared themselves offended with us for using it but several eminent amongst them have declared for it Bucer declared it an ancient and innocent Rite and that it might be decently and profitably used The Learned Casaubon in his answer to Baronius Exerc. 13. Sect. 33. commends our holy and prudent Bishops who have retain'd this use of the Cross amongst us Peter Martyr declared it lawful to profess our selves Christians by the Sign of the Cross Beza himself speaks favourably of it in his book adversus Baldvinum And Goulartius of Geneva declares it to be a ceremony indifferent Apology for Protestants by a French Divine p. 87. Touching the Sign of the Cross which the Church of England retains to understand it as they do as a visible mark that the Infant Baptiz'd is enroll'd as Christs Souldier should not be ashamed to confess the Faith of Christ Crucifyed and fight under his Banner I see no ground at all of exception against this Ceremony And William Durel in his Sermon on 1 Cor. 11. 16. had amongst other things given the Reformed of France an account of our using the Sign of the Cross he by several Letters from De L' Angle Bochart Daille and other eminent Divines of the French Church received its due praise and approbation And now Gods Providence hath settled so many thousands of them amongst us they readily and willingly make use of it and approve it Secondly For Godfathers I find â—hem not only required in all the Eastern and Western Churches but more particularly Zuinglus in his Book de Bapt. is much for the use of them and saith that the clamours raised against them were only by the Anabaptists Calvin in the form of Baptism composed for Geneva and which is still used there requires Godfathers at Baptism and they promise for the Childs Christian Education as in the Church of England And in an Epistle to Farell he hath these words We require of the Godfathers that they promise to see the Children when grown up instructed in the Faith they are Baptized in If there be no Godfathers it 's certain the Baptism is prophaned Beza in his Epistles frequently declares for the use and necessity of them and particularly in Ep. 24. reckons them among the Constitutions of the Church that bind the Conscience And Epist 8. to the Bishop of London That Infants be Baptized in the publick Congregation with a set form of Prayer that there be Godfathers to engage fortheir Christian Education c. these are plain and honest Rites such as give no occasion to Superstition and who is there that dare condemn them In the Laws of the Church of Geneva Sect. 38. The name of the Infant and Godfather must be Registred by the Minister This was heretofore enjojned by the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Diocess and I have seen some Registers in that Diocess whereby it appears that injunction was observed for some time Sect. 39. None are to be Godfathers but the faithful and those of our Confession Sect. 40. they that are suspended from the Lords Supper must not be Godfathers In the Discipline of the Reformed Churches of France chap. 11. Sect. 7. Tho we have no express commandment of the Lord for Godfathers and Godmothers in Baptism yet because the custom is ancient and introduced for a good end those that will not follow so good an example but present their Infants themseves should be earnestly exhorted not to be contentious but to behave themselves according to this ancient custom which is good and profitable Sect. 12th The Minister shall diligently admonish the Godfathers and Godmothers to consider the promises they have made at the celebration of Baptism c. and to this agreeth the Synod of St. Foy A. D. 1578. at Samues 1596. at Montpellier 1598. which last saith that Godfathers are obliged not only to instruct the Children in Piety but also in case of necessity to provide for their maintenance Sect. 18th the names of the Godfathers and Godmothers of the Infant shall be registred Which last thing of Registring them as it 's generally practis'd by the reformed Churches abroad so is very agreeable to the practice of the Primitive Church and particularly taken notice of by Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite To all which I beg leave to add the observation of Monsieur Larroque an eminent Minister of the French reformed Church in his Book entituled Conformite de la Discipline Ecclesiastique des Protestants de France avec celle des anciens Chietiens A. D. 1678 and p. 208. he thus writes L'usage des parriens c. i. e. the use of Godfathers and Godmothers to present Children in Baptism is very ancient Tertullian makes mention of them in his book of Baptism chap. 18. St. Austin in his 23d Epistle the pretended Denies the Areopagite who tells us that they are of Apostolick Institution Gregory the 1st in his book of the Sacraments Caesarius of Arles in his 12th Homily the SixthCanon of the Council of Mets. A. D. 888. and indeed the subject of that whole Book is to justify their Discipline from the antiquity of it and agreement with the primitive Church I therfore mention this because Arguments of this nature are so very much slighted by our own Dissenters This author in the Title page of his book prefixeth this sentence from the Laws of Theodosius Statuimus observari quod prisca Apostolica Disciplina Canones veteres eloquuntur i. e. we command that those things be observed which the Apostolick Church and old Canons declare for and appoint Which I think is more fully explain'd by St. Austin Epist 118. ad Casulan In iis rebus de quibus nihil statuit scriptura mos populi Dei instituta majorum pro lege Dei tenenda sunt i. e. in such things as the Scripture hath not determined the custom of the Christian Church and the constitutions of our Ancestors should be observed as the Law of God To return Godfathers are also used in the Dutch Rohemian and all the