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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86352	A breif [sic] enquiry into the ground, authority, and rights, of ecclesiastical synods; upon the principles of Scripture and right reason occasion'd by a late book, intitul'd, Municipium ecclesiasticum: &c.	Hill, Samuel, 1648-1716.; Hill, Samuel, 1648-1716. Municipium ecclesiasticum, or, The rights, liberties, and authorities of the Christian church.	1699 (1699)	Wing H2005B; ESTC R178160	16,608	46

A Breif Enquiry INTO THE Ground Authority and Rights OF Ecclesiastical Synods Upon the Principles of SCRIPTURE AND Right Reason Occasion'd by a Late BOOK INTITUL'D Municipium Ecclesiasticum c. LONDON Printed by M. B. for Richard Sare at Gray's-Inn-Gate in Holbourn 1699. TO THE READER THE Reverend Dr. Wake in his Book Intitul'd The Authority of Christian Princes over their Ecclesiastical Synods asserted c. has chiefly argued from matters of Fact in those Instances of Power and Jurisdiction which have all along been claimed and exercised by Christian Emperours and Kings except only where the unjust Encroachments of the Papacy had prevailed against the Lawful Right of the Civil Magistrate and which by the Laws of England are actually annexed to the Imperial Crown of the Realm Now if the Historical account which he has given of this matter be defective let it be shewn either that his Quotations are false or else insufficient But if neither of these can be done I wonder how any one who has subscrib'd to the Second Canon of our Church can deny The King's Majesty to have the same Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical as the Doctor has proved the Christian Emperours to have had in the Primitive Church But much more do I admire that such a man should venture to impeach in any part the Regal Supremacy in the said Causes Restored to the Crown and by the Laws of the Realm therein established But supposing a man to pay no deference to the Authority of our Church nor yet to the Opinions of our most learned Divines many of which the Doctor has Collected in his Appeal to all true members of the Church of England in the behalf of the Kings Ecclesiastical Supremacy there is one plausible Objection that may be made against his Book and is earnestly urged by the Nameless Author of the Municipium Ecclesiasticum Chap. x. viz. That to argue a right in any one from bare Matter of Fact alone is by no means a sufficient or conclusive way of Reasoning And therefore to take off this prejudice I think it would be a very necessary and useful work to give a clear and satisfactory account of the Ground Authority and Rights of Ecclesiastical Synods from the Law of God and Reason of things Whereby it might plainly be made appear whether or no that Power which other Christian Princes have exercised and our Kings do claim and practise over them be built upon a good Foundation or else be only an Encroachment and Usurpation upon the Church What the Municipium Ecclesiasticum advances upon this subject to me seems very obscure and confused And whether the fault be in the Book or in my Understanding I know not but I must own that I am not able to frame sufficiently clear and distinct notions of the Authors Opinions or the force of his Arguments in reference to this matter which he professedly proposes to handle And altho' Dr. Wake has here and there some very useful hints upon this subject yet as they are not all laid together in one part of his Book so neither perhaps would they amount to nor were they intended for a just discourse upon this Argument Which therefore I could heartily wish that he would set himself to write as being well assured by what I have read of his other works that he is abundantly able to give satisfaction to all reasonable men in whatsoever he shall think fit to undertake To provoke therefore either him or some other Learned man to set upon this work I have drawn up the following short Essay in which I have very freely and plainly set down my own thoughts And wherever I may happen to be in the wrong I shall own my self much obliged unto any Charitable hand that shall endeavour again to set me right AN ESSAY Concerning Ecclesiastical Synods 1. BY an Ecclesiastical Synod I mean a Lawful Assembly either of Bishops alone or of one or more Bishops in conjunction with some Presbyters of the Church or Lastly of Presbyters alone duly and sufficiently Authoriz'd to consult and determine some matter relating to the good of the Church and benefit of Religion so as that others shall be oblig'd to submit and give Obedience to their Decrees and Determinations For tho' Deacons or Lay Persons may in some cases be admitted to assemble with the others in a Synod Yet I take it for granted that their absence makes it never the less or their presence the more a Synod supposing it to have all the other qualifications And if such an Assembly be not Lawful that is to say Justifiable by some sufficient Law it would rather be a Riotous or Schismatical Meeting than an Ecclesiastical Synod And if the Bishops or Presbyters when met together have not Sufficient Authority to transact matters and lay an Obligation upon others as is above said they can at most be said to be but a Prudential Assembly And Lastly if they meet upon other business wherein the Church and Religion are not concern'd Notwithstanding that the Persons who compose the Assembly may be all Ecclesiasticks yet such an Assembly I conceive can not so properly be call'd Ecclesiastical 2. From the different extent of that tract or district of the Church from whence and for which any Synod is convened It may take and derive to it self a different denomination Thus for example If a Synod be call'd from within so much of the Church only as is under the care and Government but of one Bishop It is call'd a Diocesan Synod If from within several Diocesses more immediatly consociated under the jurisdiction of one Metropolitan a Provincial Synod If from all the several Provinces of one Kingdom or People a National Synod And if from every part of the whole Church a General or Oecumenical Synod 3. Concerning Ecclesiastical Synods I shall propose Four things to be inquired into First Of what Institution they are in the Christian Church viz. Whether of Divine or Human Secondly What right they have to meet and act antecedent to the Civil Laws of each Kingdom or Common-wealth Thirdly In what things and over whom they may have Authority I mean still antecedent to the Civil Laws And Fourthly How far their right of Meeting and Acting or their Authority over others may be restrained limited or qualified by the concessions of the Church to the Civil Magistrate or otherwise by the Laws of any Kingdom or Commonwealth 4. Towards the answering the First Inquiry Let it be noted that to the Institution of any Assembly it is absolutely necessary that there be some certain Rule for the fixing and determining at the least these three things viz. First At what time and place they shall meet Secondly Of what Persons the Assembly shall be compos'd And Thirdly What they are to do when they come together For while any one of these things remain uncertain the Assembly can not be said to be Instituted or Appointed For First if the time or

an end to such Discords and prevent those evils which thereby tho' at some distance threaten the Civil State And altho ' he has no Power by Virtue of his Civil Authority to determine Controversies in Religion Yet he may very Lawfully And by his Office he is obliged to over rule and suppress all such dissentions about it as are any way likely to prove injurious to the welfare of that Society which is committed to his Care and Charge Secondly Whereas it is very possible that Governours of the Church may assume to themselves more Power than what really belongs to them and by degrees encroach upon the Authority of the Civil Magistrate as has actually been done by the Church of Rome It is Lawful for the Magistrate in such a case to make such Laws as may effectually keep and restrain the Church within the proper bounds and Limits of it's own jurisdiction For to say that the Supreme Magistrate has not sufficient Authority to assert and maintain his Lawful Power against all Encroachments whatsoever is in effect to take away his Supremacy and so to make him Supreme and not Supreme at the same time Thirdly If the Supreme Magistrate be a Christian and a Professor of the true Religion It will be his duty to make use of that Authority in which he is vested as much as he can for the Encouragement of that Profession of which he himself is For he that has great Opportunities of doing good and yet neglects to make use of them is accountable to God for burying that Talent which he ought to have employed in his Masters Service Altho' therefore he ought not to Persecute even a False Religion as long as it teaches nothing which is Injurious to Civil Society Yet he may and he ought both to defend and encourage the true one Which cannot as I conceive sufficiently be done without making some Laws concerning Ecclesiastical affairs as well for the supporting of the Churches Authority by the Civil Power as also for the Correcting and restraining those who are Unruly and Disorderly and under the pretence of Religion would embroil the Church And perhaps the State too And cannot be kept in Order by her Discipline and Censures And if the chief Stations in the Church should happen to be filled with such Men as should oppose the making of any such Laws as really would tend to the Security Peace and Advantage of Religion I see no reason why the Civil Legislative Power If in the hands of Christians may not even without the consent of the Church enact such Laws and enforce them with such proper penalties as they are fully convinced would be really useful and serviceable to so good an end 24. But here it may perhaps be demanded suppose the judgement of the Civil Magistrate and that of the Church should in this point differ one from the other which of them ought to take place And put the case that the Church should think it at any time to be absolutely necessary for the Glory of God and the good of Religion to hold an Ecclesiastical Synod and the Civil Magistrate at the same time should refuse his consent or directly forbid them so to do And that upon a strong persuasion that the meeting of such a Synod would in such a juncture be of very dangerous Consequence either to the Church it self or to the State or it may be to both What must in this case be done Must the Church convene a Synod in Obedience to the Conviction which she has of the necessity thereof And must the Civil Magistrate yield unto it against his own judgment Or must the will of the Magistrate be obeyed and the Church act contrary to her own perswasion To which I am able to give no other answer but this That every man who is honest and sincere will always act according as he is fully convinced to be his duty as he shall answer for the same before the Tribunal of God And if the different and contrary perswasions of men do sometimes occasion some clashing and opposition between them I know not how in this world it is to be avoided But considering how both Reason and Scripture do enforce Obedience to the Civil Powers upon the Conscience of every man I think the case ought to be Exceeding plain before Subjects should offer upon any account to act contrary to the Laws of the Land And when even their most necessary duty to God Obliges them so to do yet still it ought to be with all the respect and deference to the Civil Magistrate that the case will possibly admit of that all just reason of offence may be avoided and that the World may be throughly satisfied that it is pure Conscience alone and not any discontent or turbulent humour which moves them to proceed in such a manner And so much for the Fourth and Last Enquiry FINIS Books Printed for Richard Sare at Gray's-Inn-Gate in Holbourn THE Authority of Christian Princes over Ecclesiastical Synods in answer to a Letter to a Convocation Man Octavo An Appeal to all the True Members of the Church of England in behalf of the King's Supremacy Octavo The Principles of the Christian Religion Explained in a Brief Comentary on the Church Catechism Octavo A Practical Discourse against Profane Swearing Twelves These Four by the Reverend Dr. Wake Essays on several Moral Subjects Octavo A short View of the Profaness and Immorality of the English Stage Octavo A Defence of the said View Octavo These Three by the Reverend Mr. Collier Maxims and Reflexions on Plays in Answer to a Discourse Printed before a Play call'd Beauty in Distress Written in French by the Bishop of Meaux with an Advertisement concerning the Book and Author By Mr. Collier Octavo A Gentleman's Religion in Three Parts Twelves Humane Prudence or the Art by which a Man may raise himself and Fortune to Grandeur The Seventh Edition Twelves