libertie of the Church as an occasion to plucke the soueraintie to themselues and to oppresse Christian libertie Beleue me I speake of experience they will not cease till they haue gotten all into their owne handes The Pope imagineth new deuises in his brest to the intent he may stablish his owne Empyre he altereth lawes he stablisheth his owne he defileth he filtheth he spoyleth he defraudeth he killeth That lost man whom men are wont to call Antichrist in whose forehead is written a name of blasphemy that is to wit I am God and I cannot erre euen that lost soule I say sitteth in Gods temple and raigneth far and wide These and many other thinges like these did that holy byshop discourse with great boldnesse and constancie Neither was this Prelate altogether a vayne Prophet considering that within thréescore yeares after Boniface the eight of that name a most filthy and vngracious wight is reported to haue bene puffed vp into so diuelish and brasenfaste pride that openly in the Iubilie which he himselfe first inuented and ordayned contrary to the Christian fayth he durst vaunt himselfe as highest byshop and chiefe Emperour before a great assembly and prease of people of all nacions vnder heauen For the first day he came forth in hys byshoplike apparell and gaue the foolishe people his Apostolike blissing as they terme it And the next day wearing an imperiall crowne and being clothed in robes of estate he commaunded a naked sword to be borne before hym and sittyng downe in a throne cryed out Behold here be the two swordes And being not satisfied with this Luciferlike gaze he durst yet further at the same time most spitefully reiect the Ambassadours of the Princes Electors which gaue him to vnderstand that they had chosen Albert Prince of Habspurge and Austrich the sonne of king Rodolphus to be king of Romanes yea and also to make a lawe in all respectes tyrannicall and Antichristian which is extant in the extrauagantes in the booke of maioritie obedience beginning with vnam Sanctam c. In that lawe after he hath attributed all power both spirituall temporall to the Pope in the end he concludeth the same and saith moreouer we declare auouch determine and geue sentence that it is vtterly of necessitie of saluation that all men be subiect to the byshop of Rome Whereas there is commonly blazed abroad of the same byshop this commendation of his that he entred as a Fox raigned as a woolfe others haue as a Lion and dyed as a dogge And whereas Phillip the fayre king of Fraunce appeached him of heresie murther simonie and all maner of most heynous crimes yet are not the Papistes ashamed to alledge still the sayd stinking lawe of this rancke varlet for the maintenaunce of their monarchy Hereunto perteineth it that the Bull of Iohn the xxij published agaynst Lewes the 4. Emperour of that name which Bull Auentine rehearseth whole in his vii booke of Chronicles sayth among other thinges When the chief Empire happeneth to be without a head the souerein power of it is in the handes of the highest Bishop whole benefite the same is c. This durst he write the yeare of our Lord. 323. So greatly were their corages increased since Boniface dyed in prison which was within xxiij yeares space But the Emperour Lewes aunswereth the Bull at large by a proclamation which is to be read copyed whole by the same Auentine into his booke of histories In the same proclamation among other thinges The Byshop sayth he meaning Iohn the xxij thristeth after Christian bloud and soweth euery where the mischief of discord and seditions among Christians Neither can the Christians kéepe the peace giuen them of God by reason of this Antichrist So great is the madnesse of that man or rather of that féend that he preacheth his owne wicked doynges as if they were good déedes in open audience When Christian Princes sayth he are at variance one with an other then is the Romish Priest the hyghest Byshop in déede then reigneth he then is he in his ruffe And so the debate and discord of the Germanes is meate and drinke to the Byshops of Rome Therfore it standes the high prelate in hand to weaken the Empire of the Almaines And a little after the Emperour sayth Looke who soeuer kéepe their allegeance to the Emperour and to Christ our Sauiour which commaundeth them to obey Them for so doyng and for none other cause doth he brond with the marke of heresie What soeuer he listeth he déemeth it lawfull How shall I therfore deale with him He mindeth not to execute or to know any right any equitie any good He séeth nothyng he doth nothyng but what he listeth himselfe He taketh to him the spirit of Sathan and maketh himselfe like the highest He suffereth himselfe to be worshipped which thing a certaine aungell forbade Iohn to do vnto him and his féete to bée kissed after the maner of the most cruel tyrantes Diocletian and Alexander whereas Christ our Lord and kyng washed the féete of his Disciples beyng but fishermen to the intent that his messengers should do the same agayne to those that they were sent to so forth I haue rehearsed these things to the end that the manifest record and iudgement not onely of a famous Byshop but also of a most glorious kyng or Emperour concernyng this latter vnhappy and vngracious Bishops might remaine in record In the same tyme of Lewes the iiij about the yeare of our Lord .1330 that is to say two hundred and forty yeares ago florished the renowmed and sage Lawyer Marsilius of Padua who wrate a singular booke for the Emperour Lewes the 4. agaynst the Byshops of Rome and intitled it the defence of peace In the same booke Dict. 2. Chap. 4. he sheweth by many and those most euident reasons that neither the Byshop of Rome no nor any other Byshop or Priest hath any souereintie ouer any man either clerks or layman and that by the example of Christ if any such be offered them they ought to refuse it and that all Byshops and Churchmen ought to be subiect to the souerein that ruleth them Agayne the same man in Dict. 2. Cap. 25 sayth thus They haue taken to them the title which they make their boast of namely The fulnesse of power which they say that Christ gaue peculiarly vnto them in the person of S. Peter as to the successors of the same Apostle they indeuer to make it the instrument of this naughtinesse By which cursed title by sophisticall spéech they labour to bring all Princes people and persons politike and seuerall in bondage to them And agayne Although the Euangelist sayd trew in auouchyng Christ to be kyng of kynges and Lord of Lordes yet notwithstandyng he that hath auouched any power of souereintie at all much lesse any full power to be graūted to the Bishop of Rome or to any other Bishop in the persō of S.
of sinne releasing them their sinnes that is to say witnessing by the Gospell that their sinnes are released by fayth through christ For the Apostles release not sinne otherwise then by the warrant of the Gospell which auoucheth vnto them that onely Christ by his owne merite forgeueth sinnes For like as the Apostles are not sent to offer them selues in sacrifice for the clensing of the whole world as Christ was the sacrifice of whom alone clenseth away the sinnes of the whole world euē so doutlesse the Apostles were not sent to forgeue sinnes by their owne authoritie as Christ did but to witnesse vnto men that they be forgeuē by faith through christ For we must in these cases aduisedly and with a conscience obserue the matching of the superior with the inferior so as we may yéeld to ech partie that which is his owne and not wickedly attribute that glory vnto seruauntes which is due to the onely sonne of god Certesse Austine behauing him selfe reuerently in these matters sayth peremptorily that Christ worketh these thinges by power and that the disciples do the thinges which they do by seruice or seruauntly Wherof more shall follow anon Also Marke and Luke handling the same story which Iohn hath touched in his xx chapt do witnesse that in the talke which Christ hath in the day of his resurrection there is nothing els betaken to the Disciples but the office of preaching the Gospell For in Marke the Lord sayth Goe into the whole world and preach the Gospell And in Luke he sayth So behoued it Christ to suffer to rise againe from the dead the third day and repentaunce and forgeuenesse of sinnes to be preached to all nations in his name And therefore by laying all these places of Scripture together it is made most manifest and vndouted that the keyes which were geuen to Peter and the other Apostles is nothing els but the ministration of preaching the Gospel wherby the way is opened for the world into heauen wherby to be short is declared most assured release and forgeuenesse of sinnes through fayth in Christ to such as beleue Wherunto also séemeth to perteine this most elegant and fit sentence of the Lord speaking with Paule I will make thee a witnesse and messenger marke how he sayth a witnesse and messenger and will send thee vnto nations and realmes to open their eyes that they may be turned from darknesse to light and from the power of Sathan vnto God so as they may receaue forgeuenesse of sinnes and lot among those that be sanctified by the fayth which is to meward You haue in these wordes a most exacte description of the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Wherunto to adde any more I thinke it but superfluous Now if vnto all these thinges ye will adde the practise of the Apostles as they terme it and diligently search out how they haue vsed the keyes that were deliuered to them and after what sort they haue opened or shut the kingdome of heauen vnto men and also in what wise they haue either bound them or loosed them ye shal no where in all the new Testament finde them to haue exercised the Popishe practise that is to wit that the Apostles haue set thē selues downe in the places where they came to preach the kingdome of God and saluation and commaunded mē to come vnto them and there to crouch or to knéele after the maner of worshippers and to shriue them selues that is to say to poure out all their thoughtes wordes and déedes with all the circumstances of them into the eare or lap of the confessor as he sits and to craue of him the absolution of their sinnes with enioynance of satisfaction and that he on the other side laying his handes vpon the head of the shriftman whispered an absolution of sinnes ouer him in an ordinary forme of wordes and enioyned him a certaine satisfaction by the workes of penance Much lesse shall ye finde that the Apostles installed them selues in thrones and thrust downe sinners into hell by sentence of excommunication c. What then Looke vpon the Actes of the Apostles or rather goe through that booke wherein Luke hath most diligently written the notable sayinges and doinges of the Apostles and specially of Paule without ouerslipping of any thing which tended to soule health or was necessary to be knowen and therwithall hath in xxviii chapters set forth as many yeares that is to wit the things that the Apostles did by the space of xxviii yeares together in the matter of saluation and thou shalt not finde in all that great worke that all and euery of the Apostles did any thing els then agreably and constantly in all places and in euery place preach the Gospell and promise remission of sinnes and euerlasting life to such as beleued in Christ and on the contrary part threaten endlesse and most assured damnation to them that beleued not Thus I say did the Apostles vse the keyes which they receaued of the lord Thus did they binde and loose If they would haue had any other thing or any thing more to haue bene done in the Church by their successors they would not haue dissembled it by the space of xxviii yeares preaching in all their doinges which Luke hath most faythfully written And among other places of the Actes of the Apostles let the godly read the second x. xiii.xvi and xviii chapters and they will beare witnesse that the thinges which I haue spoken héere are most true yea and also thinke them selues satisfied in this case I speake of such as are not contentious for such no man can well satisfie And at this present I say to them also as Paule sayd If any man seeme to be full of contention we haue no such custome neyther the Churches of God. And whereas the aduersaries vrge this singular spéech I wyll geue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen vnto thee I say vnto thee Peter vnto thee singularly and not vnto you plurally and in their vrging do cry out that I haue openly corrupted this place of the Gospell by communicating vnto the rest of the Apostles and to all their successors being ministers of the word the keyes that were geuen to Peter onely they bewray their owne grosse foolishnesse together with their inuincible malice considering how they can not deny but that such synecdoches or figures of putting one for a number and specially in such cases are very vsuall in the Scriptures Againe seing it is sufficiently knowen what the keyes be and that the rest of the Apostles receaued them as well as Peter I pray you what will they proue by their singular number But let them aske their owne fathers why the Lord wheras he gaue equall or one maner of power to them all did neuerthelesse say seuerally vnto Peter I will geue thee and they shall perceaue that therby is betokened and expressed the vnitie of the Church Surely Austine in his 118. treatise
With like vanitie lightnes and malice the Bull is not ashamed to geue foorth that the Quéene setteth foorth or enforceth to hir whole realme bookes contayning manifest heresie for the Quéene hath authorized no bookes to be set foorth to hir realme but such as hir Maiesties brother King Edward willed to be set foorth afore specially the volume of the holy Bible Now to say that this contayneth manifest heresies it is an horrible and blasphemous wickednes and the greatest treason to God that may be Howbeit by the way there be many maintayners of the Pope and his sea which make neyther shame nor conscience to put openly in writing and to teach that heresies are learned out of the Bible and that he which hath the Bible and readeth it without the interpretatiō of the church of Rome hath nothing But I will speake no more at this time of the blasphemies of these wicked men Peraduenture the Bull meaneth the booke of common prayers and ceremo nies of the church of England But so ought it also to haue bene shewed which be heresies that are contayned in that booke The soresayd parlament of London maketh honorable mention of that booke And there shall be enow that will annswer if there be heresies in that booke at least wise if the bull meane that booke shew them expresly vnlesse peraduenture according to the maner of these stately sires euery thing must beare the blame of heresy which hath not the sent and tast of the stinch of the pope or of the sea of Rome which thing deserueth no aunswering at all Truely the Quéenes Maiestie hath prohibited all vngodly bokes to be dispersed yea or read in hir realme which are hereticall indéed and repugnant to the sinceritie of our Christian religion Neither may any man spread abroad any wicked or blasphemous booke or opinion in hir realme without punishment ¶ Here be recited other articles of accusation which the Bull mentioneth concerning the Queenes abolishing of the masse and hir taking away of many other superstitions and abuses Also here is expounded what catholikenesse is and who be catholike THe Bull knitteth héerunto also other articles of accusation agaynst the Quéene She hath also sayth the bull abolished prayers fastinges choyce of meates single life catholike ceremonies As concerning the sacrifice of the masse the Quéene not vniustly but for many and most iust causes hath abolished it like as King Edward had abolished it afore In the Syuode of London whereof we haue made mention now once or twise already thus remayneth in writing concerning the masse Christes oblatiō once made for all is a ful redemption attonement and satisfaction for all the sinnes of the whole world as well originall as actuall Neither is there any other satisfaction for sinnes sauing onely that one Wherfore the sacrifices of masses wherein the priest was commonly sayd to offer Christ for release of penaltie and fault for the quicke and the dead are but forgeries and hurtfull deceites Thus much is written there But it is the dutie of kinges to abolish and banish yea and to punish noysome deceites and deceyuers Worthely therfore haue the Kinges of England abolished the masse neyther haue they trespassed at all in that behalfe against God or against their owne office Moreouer by the Masse the holy institution of the Lords supper hath bene ouerwhelmed with mans inuentions additiōs vtterly peruerted made of publike priuate also dismembred For the Lord gaue it to all his faythfull in both kindes as they terme it Also wheras the massemūger taketh vpon him in his masse as a mediator betwéene God and men he committeth such an horrible offence as is neuer able to be purged by no satisfaction For there is no mo priesthodes but the priesthode of Christ and that is according to the order of Melchisedecke and so vnremoueable as it cannot passe vnto any other by succession Againe they offred or solemnized the masse in remembraunce and honor of saintes departed which now liue in heauen But the Lord had sayd do it in remembraunce not of saintes but of me And S. Paule would in no wise haue garlands and oxen offered vnto him Who then can thinke it likely that he would haue the Sonne of God offred in honour of him in a masse Shall the Lord of Lordes being now in glory do seruice still as a seruaunt to hys owne seruaunts These are frenzies and furies of men that be out of theyr wittes I could alleage many other abhominations of the masse like vnto these but I will adde no more but onely thys to all the rest That Christ our Lord instituted his holy supper without pompe or superfluitie simple moderate without ceremonies but yet commendable for the simplicitie and honourable for the authoritie of the founder But the Masse is most ceremonious most pompous most sumptuous and set out with persian furniture which in processe of time hath so encreases with hir abuses that in some thinges it could not be abated or purged but it must néedes be taken quite away Truly the common sorte made more accoūt of their Chapleines Masses aduaunced them more then the very sacrifice of Christ which few of them either knew or estéemed as became thē And for asmuch as the Apostle Paule when the Lordes Supper began in his time to grow into abuse taught how to call it backe to reforme it accordyng to the Lordes institution Like as Christes Martyr S. Cryprian also beyng taught by the same Apostles example counselleth and commaundeth vs that in repayring or setting vp agayne the true vse of the Supper we should go to the wells head and séeke out the originall and not do any other thing in this behalfe then that which he hath done which is before all men and alonely is to be heard Seing that the Quéenes Maiestie hath done so in abolishing the Masse and setting vp the Lordes Supper agayne in the place of it Surely she hath not sinned at all but is falsly accused by the Bishop in his Bull. Most false also is this that the Bull auoucheth the Quéene to haue abolished prayer and fastyng For she hath abolilished the abuses and superstitions in them and not the good thynges themselues which God hath commended vnto vs Which thing the matter it selfe doth openly auouch It can not be denyed but prayer and fastyng are couered with abuses and superstitions yea and with Idolatries almost innumerable among the Papistes Among them prayer is not made to God alone neither beleue they that God heareth vs for the intercession of Christ alone For they call vppon innumerable creatures as well as the creatures yea and vpon them more earnestly then vpon him And they haue in such wife commended the intercession and defense of Saintes to the wretched people that they know litle or nothyng of Christes intercession to God the father which is the onely acceptable and effectuall intercession Furthermore
A CONFVTATION Of the Popes Bull which was published more then two yeres agoe against Elizabeth the most gracious Quéene of England Fraunce and Ireland and against the noble Realme of England together with a defence of the sayd true Christian Queene and of the whole Realme of England By Henry Bullinger the Elder AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Day dwelling ouer Aldersgate AN. 1572. ¶ Cum Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis per Decennium ¶ To the right honourable and his singular good Lord Robert Dudley Earle of Leicester Baron of Denbigh Knight of the honourable order of the Garter one of the Queenes Maiesties most honourable priuie Counsell c. Arthur Golding wisheth health prosperitie and abundaunce of Gods grace WHat mischiefe hath of late yeares bene attempted against this Realme and how great a flame hath bene kindled against the walles of the Church through the great Treasons that haue bene practised to confound the whole state by reason of the Popes most pestilent Bull your Lordship right well knoweth yea and it is euen yet still so apparant or rather present in all mens eyes as there is no wise man but he trembleth at the dreadfull remembraunce nor simple godly minded man but he wondreth at the marueilous disappointing of the daungers which were sundry times ready to haue ouerwhelmed vs euen in one moment had not God reached out his mercifull hand from heauen in the open face of the world to defend vs For it can not be denied but that therby open defiance hath bene made to faythfulnesse and allegeance honestie and vertue were shamefully defaced Religion and Iustice were openly assaulted neiborod and charitie were trecherously despised God and godlinesse were wickedly impugned our most vertuous and renoumed Princes Maiestie was traiterously impeached her rightfull preheminence diuersly assailed her vnblameable doinges causelesse diffamed her gracious clemencie scornfully abused her noble person priuily pricked at the welfare of the whole Realme daungerously hazarded and the state thereof either intitled to inward Competitors or profered as a pray to forreine enemies Is it not a straunge case that a Romishe Bull or to speake more rightly a childishe bable should be able to worke such inconueniences euen where the Gospell shineth most lightsomely And yet we see that not onely some of the rude and witlesse sort but also many of the greater sort which thought them selues no small fooles ne were in deede no young babes were contented to become such Calues as to runne out of Gods blissing into the warme Sunne and to turne their weapons into their owne bowells at the bellowing of an outlandishe Bull which notwithstanding was but a Leaden Bull a paper Bull a painted Bull and had neither breath mouing nor voyce of it own till the Calues them selues had breathed into it But righteous art thou O Lord God and rightfull are thy iudgemētes They digged a pit for others are fallen into it them selues They layd a snare for thine elected and their own feete be snarled in it Yea thou hast turned their purposed mischief vpon their owne heades Let the Papistes still feele and let all the world still see how it is thou onely that fightest for vs O Lord God of Hostes. Now albeit that the brunt of that abhominable Bull were bent directly at our most gracious soueraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth at her Maiesties Realme and faythfull subiectes yet notwithstāding forasmuch as the matter doth implyingly concerne the whole state of Christes Church which the Romishe Antichrist laboureth to draw away frō the obedience loue of her true husband Christ to the adulterous imbracing of Sathan Henry Bullinger the Elder that godly painfull minister of Christes Gospell in the Church of Zurike being by nation a mere straūger but by Christen Religion a deare brother vnto vs hath as it appeareth by his owne Epistle written this present confutation therof in Latin at the request or motion of certeine of our right reuerend godly Bishops By meanes wherof the case which otherwise had bene more peculiar to our selues is now become cōmon to all the true worshippers of christ For such is the nature bond of holy Religiō that whatsoeuer happeneth to any seuerall mēber of Christes Church the feeling therof disperseth it self into the whole body so as they ioy together sorow together also lay all their forces together to withstand their cōmon enemy to put him to flight by the power of the word of the spirite wherwith they be led gouerned Therfore to the end that such as haue any where ben bewitched by the sorceries of the Romish Circe and her Idolatrous hypocrites may returne to their right wits ceasse to be deceaued and that the simple ignorant may not be seduced by such fond toyes heerafter He learnedly pithely breefly confuteth the vnhonest and shamefull slaunders of that rayling and reprochfull libell defendeth the innocencie of our most vertuous souereigne Lady maintaineth the Religion now stablished by publike authoritie of this Realme disproueth the false vsurped supremacie of the Romane Prelates sheweth the right vse of the keyes which Christ hath cōmitted to his Church bewrayeth the weaknes of the Romish Iupiters thūdercracks and discouereth the horrible crueltie and outrage of the Popes in maintaining their wrongfull vnmeasurable power And heerwithall his desire is that the same his doing may turne to the profit cōmoditie of as many as may be For the accōplishment wherof that our nation in whose behalfe it was chiefly writtē may the more largely plenteously enioy the benefit wherof the first cause hath sprong frō thēselues I haue turned the sayd boke into our own mother toung a worke right necessary profitable for all such as mind to keep them selues true seruauntes to God faithfull subiectes to their prince or can finde in their hartes to loke vpō the light of the truth to their own benefite incomparable comfort For doubtlesse if there be any whom the present experience of our owne times can not moue they shall see it euidently proued by this booke that the fruite which the crediting or receauing of Popishe Buls such other pedlary trash of Rome yeeldeth is nothing els but horrible murther Rebellion slaughter Treason all maner of diuelish mischieuous wickednesse matched with most extreme calamitie hartgreef misery and in the end vnlesse Gods wrath be pacified by timely repentance accōpanied with vneschewable losse both of body of soule Wherfore as well in consideration of the premisses as also presuming vpon the apparant signes of your Lordships former fauour great good will towardes me but specially forasmuch as you are of that most honourable nūber vpon whose wisedome foresight trustinesse pollicie stoutnes God hath ordained the securitie of our most gracious soueraigne Lady of her Maiesties Realme subiectes which more is of his owne Religion and holy word to rest depend I haue takē boldnes to
the vpper hand in persecutiōs aduauncyng his maner of spéech from bodily and earthly thinges to spirituall and heauenly thinges Yet notwithstandyng after all these thinges which surely may séeme a wonder to the whole world yea euen after thrise most earnest warning and euident instruction the Disciples dare byanby vpon Christes Resurrectiō and at the verie instant of his Ascension into heauen make mētion yet agayne of reigning yea and to cloy the Lord again with their desirousnesse of superioritie saying Wilt thou at this time that is to say before thou depart from vs into heauen restore the kingdome vnto Israell Unto which question the mercyfull Lord bearing with the weakenesse of his Disciples aunswereth méekely agayne and biddeth them referre the seasonable doing of it vnto god In the meane while he repeteth and beateth into them agayne what they should do and what he requireth at their hands saying After that the holy Ghost is come downe into you you shall receiue power and you shal beare witnesse of me not onely at Hierusalem but euen to the vttermost costes of the earth also And what els is this then if he had sayd The holie Ghost shall teach you to vnderstād what maner of kingdome mine shal be doutlesse spirituall not worldly wherin I shall sit and reigne the chief onely souerein And in this my kingdome that is to wit in the very Church of the saintes you shal be witnesses not kinges preachers and not princes For by preachyng of the Gospell you shall gather me a Church out of the whole world This I say is Christes doctrine concerning supremacie and reigning concernyng the ministerie of Christ in the Church more lightsome thē the sunne Wherby also it appeareth more clearely then the day light that the Byshop of Romes vsurping of souereintie in the Church and his bosting of himselfe to be ordeined head ouer all kinges and Realmes contrarie to Christes example and doctrine is not by the lowlie spirite of Christ but by the proude spirite of Lucifer ¶ Nor that the Apostles of Christ tooke vppon them any souereintie in Christes Church but onely the ministerie ANd when the Apostles had receiued the holy Ghost they vtterly displaced all ambition and desire of souereintie out of their hartes perceiuyng now that no such thing as they and the Iewes had hitherto surmised was to be sought or looked for in the kyngdome and Church of Christ but farre greater and diuiner thinges namely spirituall thynges And therfore accordyng to their Lord maisters cōmaundement traueling ouer the whole world they so behaued them selues that in all thinges they were sound to be the very Disciples and folowers of their maister endewed with lowlinesse not with Lordlinesse renowmed for their faithfull seruice not for stately superioritie For they not onely preached the Gospell purely without mens forgeries and traditiōs but also were wont to reuerence kynges as next vnto God in earth and chief of all men and to call them their Lordes and to pay them tribute and to obey them faithfully and to pray for their welfare without ceasing yea and to threaten Gods vengeance to such as refused obedience to the Magistrate commaunding no wickednesse They no where intermedled them selues in worldly affaires in somuch as they cast euē the care of the poore which otherwise is most holy vpon the shoulders of the Deacons verely to the end they might the earnestlyer apply them selues to the preaching of the word They no where vsurped to them selues the benches of iudges or the thrones of princes and much lesse did they depose any kyng or prince from his kingdome were he neuer so wicked and yet there is no man ignoraunt what the Romane presidentes were that liued in the time of the Apostles full of couetousenesse lechery and pride and the posteritie of Herode euen venemouse slippes yea and the Emperours them selues most filthie and vngracious persons as the Tyberiusses the Caligulaze the Claudiusses and the Neroes or discharge his people of their allegeāce or contend with any prince for the souereintie and much lesse did they euer purpose or practise to place exalt them selues aboue him Nay rather they suffered sore persecutiō the which they ouercame by patience and not by violent withstanding nor by practises and pollicies of malicious wylinesse and gathered verie great Churches vnto Christ out of the whole world by preaching the Gospell ouer all the earth S. Luke the Euangelist describeth these thynges diligently and plenteously in his booke of the Actes of the Apostles wherin although he pursue their doinges by the space of xxviii yeares together Yet doth he no where giue any little incling of that supremacie and fulnesse of power which they at this day do boast of that call them selues Apostolick and crake of the fulnesse of their power But if any man desire to here some singular thyng of S. Peter he is alwayes set first in the register of the holie Apostles But all men know that this formershyp of Peters is not in ouer ruling but in order for accordyng to the doctrine of the Gospell all the Apostles were indewed with like dignitie and power and the Churches were gouerned by their trauell in common In the meane while it was requisite that there should be order both in speakyng and doing for the auoydance of disordered confusion they that had obteined greater giftes were more honored and had in more estimation and authoritie than the residew Like as Paule speaking of Iames Peter and Iohn sayth that they séemed to be pillars in the Church Not for that they were preferred afore all the rest or had obteined a larger Commission but bicause that hauing obteined greater giftes they did more luckely and easly go through with all pointes of their charge wherin otherwise the residew had as good part as they and therfore were had in greater price and estimation among the faithfull So also were the Apostolike Churches which were first founded by the Apostles worthely had in great price and estimation in old time For their authoritie was of great credit with other Churches not that they were beleued to haue superioritie ouer them but bicause that being the first that were conuerted to the faith they kept still vnappaired the faith which they had once learned of the Apostles and gaue light to other Churches by their purenesse and constācie These thinges are set forth more at large by a very auncient writer called Tertullian in the prescriptions of heretickes In which place also he not onely calleth Rome an Apostolike Church but Ephesus also and Corinth and Thessalonica and other Churches founded by the Apostles And it is not to be douted but that the men of old tyme called Peter and Paule the princes of the Apostles not that they were secular or worldly princes or that they had dominion ouer the rest or that they had obteined a larger commission but bicause that being endewed by God with most
the Colossians and finally with the histories which openly beare record that euen the laymen receiued handled the bread and cup of the Lord with their bare handes certein hundred yeares after this Sixtus Besides this in the same Epistles there is open manifest mention made of Clementes iourney which booke neuerthelesse euē the very Decrées of Gratian do reiect among the authenticall writynges Yea and Thelesphorus commendeth the seuen wéekes fast before Easter forbidding also the eating of flesh Which thing againe how well it agréeth with the doctrine of the Apostles and with the doinges it is to be knowen by the thinges which S. Paul hath written in the 2. chapter to the Colossians and in the 4. chapter of the first Epistle to Timothie and which Socrates hath left written in his Ecclesiasticall historie in the 5. booke and xxii chap. but most of all which are taken out of Irenaeus by Eusebius in the 5. booke and xxvi chapter of his Ecclesiasticall historie Moreouer in those Epistles Calixtus is reported to haue ordeined the imber fast at foure seasons of the yeare Which thing others referre to other authors or founders And among this stuffe this is a thing that can not be read without laughter that Eusebius the predecessour of Melciades doth with so great statelinesse commaund the feast of the finding of the holy crosse to be solemnized the vi day of May. For some declare that the crosse was not yet found at this time but a xx yeares after by Helene the mother of the Emperour Constantine Agayne how superstitious péeuishe and fond géere are commaunded in the same Epistles namely that Nonnes should not touche the holy vessels As who should say there had ben any Nunnes as yet in those dayes the first comming vp of whom is referred to farre later times Many other thinges of this sort do I passe ouer willingly least I might make my readers to cast vp their stomakes For in these Epistles there be very many thinges so foolish so farre agaynst reason so full of superstition and so full of ambition that all men which haue eyes may gather therby that they be counterfettes and specially for asmuch as there is very seldome or no mention at all made in all the booke through out of vncorrupted fayth in Christ yea or of Christ himselfe our redemer of the treasures which the father hath giuen vs in him which thinges are the naturall markes of Apostolicall writinges Now although there be many thinges in them not vnprofitable to be read yet are the same thinges to be found in other men set forth more purely and without any paringes cankerfretted with the filthinesse of mans traditiōs Furthermore it is very well knowen that those first most pure tymes of the Church were not acquaynted with so many ceremonies so many decrées and so many constitutions as are found vrged vpon Gods Church in those Epistles For the holy and deuout folke of old time had not yet forgotten the Apostolicke Counsell that was held at Hierusalem wherin not onely Peter playnly would not there should be any yoke layd vppon the frée neckes of the faythfull but also moreouer it séemed good to the holy Ghost and to the whole primitiue Church of the Apostles that there should not any burthen be layd hereafter vppon the faithfull This story is knowen to be writtē in the xv chapter of the Actes of the Apostles But if our aduersaries will nedes procede to mainteine that these are the very Epistles of those men vppon whom they be fathered we haue aunswered a little afore how they be of no authoritie against the doctrine of the Gospell and the Apostles and therfore we admit them not in disputation Notwithstanding by the way we haue better opinion thā so of so great learned men and of so holy Martyrs of Christ neither will we in any wise stayne and deface their honorable names and blessed memoriall with such maner of gewgawes wherof out of all doubt there neuer came any in their mindes no not euen in their dreames ¶ Also that the latter Byshops of Rome vntill Gregorie the first vaunted not of any fulnesse of power nor of their supremacie ouer beyng aduaunced aboue kinges and kingdomes NEuerthelesse we must néedes graunt that from the tyme of Constantine the great who did set the Churches in peace not onely the Bishops of Rome but also the Bishops of other Churches through the worlde began to step aside from the playne footesteppes of their predecessors and claue not so carefully to the simple doctrine of the Apostles and therfore admitted mo ceremonies into the Church then beséemed and furthermore intermeddled them selues in worldly affaires and applyed them selues to much vnto them yea inuēted new names and offices of dignitie and brought such other thinges of the same sort into the Church which made way for worser thinges This saw that famous Poet Baptista Mātuanus who intreatyng of the times of Constantine the great among other thinges wrate thus Most noysom poyson sprang of honny sweete A right faire word is Rest a pleasaunt name is peace But yet from peace shall flowe more losse Dishonour shame reproche and miserie Then could from cruell warre For out of kynde the auncient vertue shall degenerate c. But howsoeuer the Bishops as well of Rome as of other Churches began to grow worse and worse yet were they still ignorant of that Romish Monarchie or rather tyrannie which is defended at this day For that I may alledge nothing hether out of the aunciēter writers of Gods Church doth not S. Hierome in his Epistle to Euagrius and in his Commentaries vpon S. Paules Epistle to Titus most manisfestly make the Bishop of Rome and the very Church of Rome it selfe equall with all other Byshops and Chuches in the world Doth he not openly say that the Churches in old time were gouerned by the common aduise of the elders Doth he not most piththely shew out of the Scriptures that elders and bishops be all one thing and that the one is not the name of age and the other of office Doth he not playnly say that Bishops were preferred before elders elders made subiect to Bishops by custome of the Church and not by appointment of God Wherfore it were truly a wonder why Epiphanius agaynst the Arrians should recken vp this thing for an heresie which Ierome vrgeth with so many and so piththy wordes but that others giue me warnyng that Epiphanius was to gentle in charging other folkes with heresie Truly in this case to speake with reuerence of so great a learned mā he wrongfully misreported the giltlesse contrarie without authoritie of the holy Scripture But if any man list to heare Ieromes owne wordes behold I will briefly rehearse the thinges that make to this purpose We must not sayth he to Euagrius esteme the Church of Rome to be one the Church of the whole world to be another Both Fraunce and Britaine and Affrike and
Persia and the Eastcountreys and Inde and all the barbarous natioÌ„s worshyp one Christ obserue one rule of truth If authoritie be sought the world is greater than a Citie Where soeuer is a Byshop whether he be of Rome or of Eugubie or of Alexandrie or of Tanais he is all one in merite all one in Priesthode The statelinesse of riches or the basenesse of pouertie maketh not a Bishop either higher or lower but all of them are successors of the Apostles And vpon the Epistle of S. Paul vnto Titus An Elder sayth he and a Byshop are both one And before such tyme as by the instinct of the deuill there were sectes in religion and it was sayd among folke I hold of Paule I of Apollo and I of Cephas the Churches were gouerned by the common aduise of the Elders But after the time that euery man imagined those whom he had baptised to be his owne and not Christes it was decréed through the whole world â–ª that one he speaketh not of the bishop of Rome onely but of all other Metropolitanes through the whole world should be chosen from among the Elders and set ouer the rest vnto whom the charge of the whole Church should belong and so the séedes of schismes and variances be taken away Againe when the same Ierome had proued and shewed by many textes of Scripture that Elders and Byshops are all one thing he addeth byanby I haue therfore mencioned these thinges that I might shew how Elders and Bishops were all one thing and that for the plucking vp of the plantes of dissention the charge of all things was by little put vnto one Therfore like as Priests know that by the custome of the Church they be subiect to him that is set ouer them so also let the Bishops vnderstand that they be greater than the Priestes rather by custome than by truth of Christes ordinauÌ„ce and that they ought to gouerne the Church in common And so forth And although I thinke not that any man will looke for plainer fuller matter in this present case than this which I haue rehearsed already out of Ierome yet will I adde somewhat more out of Gregorie who was himselfe a Bishop of Rome placed in that sea the yeare of our Lord. 591. in which he dyed the yeare of our Lord 64. He alone wil be a sufficient able witnesse that in his time the sayd tyrannicall and Popish Monarchie was not yet either placed in that sea nor grauÌ„ted to it Before this Gregorie was chosen to the Byshoprik of Rome he was Pretor or Maior of the Citie of Rome as he himselfe witnesseth in his booke of Epistles the second Epistle Beyng chosen Byshop confirmed in his Bishoprike or sea by the Emperour Morice who kept his residence at Constantinople he calleth him Emperour acknowledgeth him to be his souerein Lord ordeined by God and himselfe to be his subiect seruaunt Yea and he faithfully obeyed his Exarkes and Captaines that were placed through Italie calling them his Lordes He obeyed their lawes yea and their Ecclesiasticall lawes to All which thinges are to be read in his Epistles Lib. 2. Epist. 61. Againe Lib. 4. Epist. 31. Lib. 1. Epist. 43. Also Lib. 7. Epist. 11. Besides this Paulus Diaconus in his 4. booke 9. chap. of the doyngs of the Lombardes witnesseth that Gregorie submitted himselfe to be iudged by the Emperour Maurice for the murther of Malchus a byshop wherof he was appeached And Gregorie him selfe maketh mentioÌ„ of the same matter in the seuenth booke of his Epistles But these thinges will séeme light and small if they be compared with those which he himselfe hath left in writyng For when as one Iohn Bishop of Constantinople would néedes be called oeconomicall Bishop and be acknowledged for vniuersall Bishop to haue supremacie iurisdiction and dominion ouer all Churches and Byshops of Churches in the whole world Gregorie withstode him sharpely and stoutly like as Bishop Pelagius had done afore him He wrate many and sundry Epistles concernyng that matter to Maurice the Emperour to Constance the Empresse to Iohn himselfe the Bishop of Constantinople and to the Bishops of Antioche and Alexandria Among other thinges he denieth that any man ought to be an vniuersall Bishop sauing Christ that any Bishops vsurped that title afore him For he sayth that the title is straunge foolish proude péeuish wicked and heathenish wherunto to consent were euen as much as to renounce the fayth Agayne speakyng of Iohn of Constantinople Out of the same dust sayth he in which he sate and out of the same lowlynesse which he pretended he hath taken presumptuousnesse so as he assayeth to ascribe all thinges to himselfe and by haultinesse of stately spéech indeuereth to subdue all Christes members to himselfe which cleaue alonely to their owne head that is to say to the same christ Anon after comparing with Lucifer he writeth Lucifer sayd I will clymb into heauen I will exalt my throne aboue the starres of the skie For what els are all thy brethren the Byshops of the vniuersall Church but starres of heauen whose life together with their toung shineth among mens sinnes errours as it were in the dareknesse of the night Before whom when thou couetest to preferre thy selfe by title of preheminence and to treade their name vnder foote in comparison of thine owne what els sayest thou but I will clymb vp into heauen c. Finally writing to the same Iohn Byshop of Constantinople all thinges sayth he that were forespoken do come to passe The kyng of pride is néere at hand and which is a shame to be spoken there is an army of Priestes in preparing for him For they which were set to be lodesmen of lowlynesse serue as souldiers vnder the necke of loftinesse And the same man agayne in his 6. booke of Epistles and the xxx Epist. But I say boldly that who soeuer termeth himselfe or desireth to be termed the vniuersall Bishop is in his pride the forerunner of Antichrist bycause he preferreth himselfe by his proudnesse before the residue and by like pryde is led into errour And certes Gregorie hath spoken these thynges most truly For the sayd Iohn Bishop of Constantinople was the very forerunner of Antichrist as who by his wicked and importunate demaund of highest preheminence gaue occasion to the Byshops of Rome to aspire to the top of supremacie Among them after the death of Gregorie Boniface the third obteyned of the Emperour Phocas that he should proclaime the Church of Rome to the head of all other Churches as Bede sayth to be the first Church as Paulus Diaconus sayth or to be the mother Church as Vrspergensis and Crantzius say Whereupon the Bishops of Rome as beyng Byshops of the souerein Sâ—a immediatly proclaymed themselues both souerein and vniuersall Shepheardes of all Churches to whom all ought of dewtie to obey For the Emperour Phocas sayth Nauclerus in his hystorie by the Byshop of
déede that wise Prince king Henry the viii turned the Church that is in England away from many Romish superstitions that were very fowle And what offended he therin Nay rather he deserued prayse and his fallyng away is counted among wise men a vertue and not a vyce Moreouer the renowme of this Prince is so famous among all good and godly men as it can not be defaced by the raylinges of these rascals of the Romish sink He was of singular learnyng of notable wisedome and experience of excellent corage and adorned with all heroicall vertues and feates méete for a Prince And it is not I alone that thinke thus of this Kyng there be other graue personages which haue commended the same thinges in hym This Prince departyng blessedly out of this lyfe in the xxxviii yeare of his reigne about the end of Ianuary in the yeare of our Lord .1547 and hauyng erst by his will intayled the succession of his Crowne first vnto his sonne Edward a young child of ix yeares of age and successiuely after hym vnto his daughters Marie and Elizabeth was succeded by the sayd Edward the vi of that name whose ample commendations that notable Historiographer Sleidan hath comprised in few wordes in the xxv booke of his Comentaries saying Edward the vi the kyng of England doutlesse a Prince of singular towardnesse departed out of this lyfe the vi day of Iuly in the yeare of our Lord. 1553. beyng about the age of xvi yeares truly to the grief of all godly men For after his decease there folowed a very great alteration of thinges in England Surely Europe hath not had any kyng of so great hope now these certein hundred yeares Beyng very well trayned vp in godlinesse and instructed in learnyng euen from his tender yeares he was séene not onely in the Latin toung but also in the Gréeke the Frēch tounges and he had an earnest loue to the doctrine of the Gospell and gaue interteinement and defence to all learned men Germaines Italiās Frenchmen Scottes Spanyardes and Polonians Thus much saith he furthermore Iohn Bale Byshop of Ossoria in Ireland reporteth that this King did also exercise himselfe in writing and among other thinges wrate a Comedie of the whore of Babylon Concernyng the gouernaunce of Quéene Mary and her bringyng of the Church backe agayne to the Sea of Rome I will say nothing at this present bycause the declaration therof would be very sorowfull and lamentable and to say truth it sticketh yet still more fresher is all mēs myndes thou that it néedeth to be ripped vp agayne This onely will I say further that the Bishops of Rome were euen then also heauie frendes to the Realme of England as they had ben oft afore accordyng as they had alwayes wrought mischief vnto other kingdomes also in Christendome for these fiue hūdred yeares and more But God will iudge them when he séeth tyme. After Quéene Marie succeded Quéene Elizabeth in the kyngdome not a thrall of wickednesse as the Popes rayling mouth doth slaunderously reuile her but the seruaunt yea and the faithful seruaunt of Iesus Christ our redemer and Lord as by him set at libertie from the thraldome of sinne and made his fréewomā so as she is now the daughter of God and an enemie of all wickednesse yea euē of the Popes for their wickednesse sake For she cleaueth entierly to her onely Redemer Christ to him onely doth she with singular faithfulnesse and diligence indeuer to knit the people of her Realme and the subiectes that be vnder her charge Her owne selfe liueth a lyfe beséemyng a Christian princesse commendyng holy and honest conuersation to all folkes through her Realme and as much as in her lyeth forbidding restreining all wickednesse Which thing truly is not to draw backe her subiectes to destructiō but to plucke them from destruction and to restore them to assured saluation They that know this Quéene know also that I feyne nothing here to curry fauour And I touche these things the more sparely least I may séeme to purpose in any wise to flatter Neither hath her maiestie any néede of my defence considering that her owne godlinesse and innocencie defend her Surely her Maiestie like as also her brother of most blessed memorie Kyng Edward the vi did opened a Sanctuarie to outlawes I meane mē that fled their countryes and banished men that is to wit which were driuen out of the Popish common weales not for committyng wicked crymes but for castyng away of Idolatrie and for professing the healthfull Gospell of Iesu Christ. I graunt that these folke are enemyes or angry in their hartes howbeit not against Christ and his most holy Gospell but against the Pope and his most lewde practises cursed superstitions I graūt that the pope termeth these mē heretikes howbeit wrongfully for in very déede they be right Catholikes abhorryng all heresie fightyng agaynst it He that receiueth these receiueth Christ accordyng as Christ himselfe witnesseth who also promiseth most ample reward to such as giue enterteinemēt to his outcastes Therfore let that gracious Quéene reioyce let her reioyce I say in openyng refuge to the miserable outcastes that are driuen out of their countrie for the true Religion for she shall assuredly receiue those most ample rewardes at the Lordes hand And let not her Maiestie passe at all for that abhominable barbarousnesse and crueltie of Rome which both persecuteth the innocentes most outrageously it selfe and also cruelly commaundeth others to persecute oppresse and murther them That these men should so do S. Peter hath foretold in his Epistle where he matcheth them with wyld beastes Let that vertuous Quéene then shunne these cruell and beastly examples and let her rather hearken to Esay the holy Prophet of God speaking in the name of his God and saying Set thy shadow as a night in the midday hyde the chased and bewray not them that be fled Let my banished people dwell with thée Moab be thou their refuge agaynst the destroyer To impeach the right of hospitalitie hath alwayes ben reputed as one of the heynousest crymes that could be euen among the heathen But to giue harbrough to the afflicted and to the Church of Christ it hath alwayes and specially in Christes Church bene reckened among the cheefest vertues and allowed of all good men ¶ That it is no monstruousnesse at all for the Queene of England to be called supreme head of the Realme of England vpon earth ANone after among the haynous offences neuer able to be purged with any sacrifice and which most of all moueth the choler that boyleth inwardly in the brest of the vniuersal bishop and souerein Lord as he him selfe will séeme to be as well in cases spirituall as temporall bycause that power can abyde no partnershyp the foresayd thyng is bitterly recited in the Bull euen in these wordes Which will haue her selfe acknowledged alone for souerein Lady in cases spirituall and tēporall by
they serue and worship God and Baal together The Popish fastynges are not wynges and helpes of prayer nor an humbling of our selues wherby our amendement is declared but meritorious workes and playne hipocrisie And if they be compared with the fastyngs of the auncient Church they shal be found to be nothyng lesse than fastings But it wéerieth me to rehearse the fondnesse of these men in this behalfe This onely do I say or rather repete at this presēt which I haue said already That the vertuous princesse Quéene Elizabeth Kyng Edward haue abolished the abuses and superstitions of prayer and fastyng and not the true praying and true fastyng it selfe And it is straunge that the Bull alledgeth also the choise of meates If he know not how diuersly yea and also with how great libertie they were vsed in old tyme without any blame at all Let him read Socrates in the fifth booke and xxij chapter of his Ecclesiasticall history or the ix booke and xxxviij chap. of the Tripartite historie Among other things these are left in writyng And for asmuch as noman is able to shew any commaundement written concernyng this thyng it is apparant that the Apostles left it frée to euery mans will and choyse to the intent that no man should do the thyng that is good for feare or by compulsion Thus much is there We simply folow the thinges which we know to be deliuered to the faythfull by the Lord and hys holy Apostle The Lord sayth what soeuer entereth in at the mouth goeth down into the belly is cast out into the priuie But the things that come out of the mouth procede out of the hart be those thyngs that defile a man c. Math. 15. And the Apostle sayth Let noman iudge you in meate or drinke c. Also all thynges are cleane to the cleane but vnto the vncleane and the faithlesse all thynges are vncleane Moreouer as for the choyse of meates the Apiciusses or masters of gluttonie which are appointed and interteyned for the nonce haue a greater regard or speciall care at this day to come by the finest meates in the Court of Rome in Byshops palaces and in the dennes or Cloysters of Monkes than is had any where els in the vniuersal world And therfore we leaue them this fattie discourse vntouched Let belly Gods intreate of belly matters But I maruell more with what face these men beyng most vncleane and stinkyng of filthynesse the bondslaues of lustes and vnreasonable lecheries can make any mention of single lyfe What maner of single lyfe was in the religious houses of England and why the noble Prince Kyng Henry the viij emptyed them and ouerthrew them euery chone truly I had leuer it should be knowen by the Centuries of the reuerend Byshop of Ossoria in Ireland then by my declaration For I willingly spare chast eares Finally I say with the Apostle Honorable among all men is wedlocke and the vndefiled bed And agayne It is better to mary then to burne and for auoyding of fornication let euery man haue his wife Also if thou mary a wife thou sinnest not and if a mayden mary she sinneth not For it was lawfull euen for the Apostles who were busied in the ministerie to leade their Christian wiues about with them And all antiquitie auoucheth that many of the Lordes Apostles and specially Peter were maryed men And Paule more then once expresly sayth Let a Bishop be the husband of one wife hauyng faythfull children Yea and he calleth their doctrine a doctrine of deuils which forbid mariage like as also which forbid meates I know that our aduersaries wrest this place from themselues to the old heretickes Tatian Montane and others But the Prophet speakyng most effectually sayth Forbiddyng not Condemnyng The old heretickes condēned meates mariage vniuersally But our aduersaries condēne not meates mariage but restreine the frée vse of thē bynding men from them by wicked lawes Properly therfore the Apostle spake of them And what speake they of Catholicke ceremonies wheras if they did terme them aright they should call them superstitious and Idolatrous ceremonies These men bewray their owne shamelesnesse matched with wickednesse chiefly in this point that they foully deceiue the simpler sort by pretendyng the terme Catholike vnto all their errours They sticke to the terme and imagine I wote not what a singular holynesse and truth in themselues when in very déede they be not Catholikes but Cacolykes that is to say mischieuous wolues or shéepebyters settyng forth thinges particular and not vniuersall that is to wit burdenyng silly soules with the Decrées and deuises of certeine men both few in nomber and which were conspired to do mischief The Church is called Catholike that is to say Uniuersall bycause it is not onely found in some one place but also is spread abroad both through the whole vniuersall world and through all ages and also bycause there be no mo Churches without this For there is but one true Church which is the Catholike Church There is but onely one body vnder the one Christ in whom onely is saluation Wherupon it foloweth that there is no saluation but onely in the Church Therfore the Church of Rome lyke as also the Church of Antioche or of Alexandria or of any other place is not the Catholike Church For they be but members of that vniuersall body if so be that they be by one faith and one doctrine knit into this vniuersalitie as in the body vnder the head Christ. The Catholike Church then comprehendeth the Church of the fathers before Christes comming and our Church after his comming and consequently all the Saintes or faithful folkes of all places tymes and to conclude in one word of tymes past tyme present and tymes to come all which are one Catholike or vniuersall body vnder one Catholike or vniuersall head Christ. And so the Catholike faith doctrine is that which is preached and heard in this Catholike Church attributyng all thinges to Christ the onely head of saluation and depending wholly vpon the word of God and directing and gouerning all her matters by the same Therefore those be Catholikes in déede which in what place soeuer or in what tyme soeuer they be are in the felowshyp of this one body vnder the onely head Christ beyng all of one fayth and doctrine attributing their whole saluation vnto Christ alone dependyng wholly vpon his holy and most soothfast word These also are called Orthodoxi or Rightbeleuing that is to say of right opinion or iudgemēt and of sound doctrine accordyng to Gods word But as for them that are not in the compasse of this body vnder the fore sayd onely head Christ that they may draw life out of him and therfore are of a diuerse or rather of a contrarie doctrine and fayth deuising to themselues a new fayth a new doctrine a new
no equitie willeth to condemne a partie that is vnconuicted yea and vtterly giltles in the offence that he is charged with For by Gods owne iudgement he is an vniust a partiall and a wicked Iudge whosoeuer he is that condemneth a person which is vnconuicted yea and cleare to and dischargeth or acquiteth a person that is conuicted and found giltie in déed Truely by law Iudges heare the enditementes of the accusers and likewise on the other side the aunswers of them that be accused and yet he that is accused runneth not in any danger by law so long as the articles of inditemēt be not lawfully prooued but rather if he cleare himselfe of the articles of the enditement by lawfull and euident aunswer he is discharged of all domages and acquit of al fault Now forasmuch as it is certainly apparant by the thinges aforediscoursed that all the accusations wherwith the pope hath hetherto charged the Quéene of England and which he hath alleaged by hys Bull are disproued by iust open euident reasons or aunswers and therefore that her royall Maiestie is not conuicted of any of the faultes that be layd against hir It is also certaine and sure therewithall that the popes definitiue sentence against that giltles Quéene vnable to be conuicted of any of the crimes layd to hir charge is both most partiall and most vniust and that the Pope which taketh vppon him as a Iudge in thys cace is a most wicked and abhominable iudge And yet I wil not say that euen he the pope hath contrary to all right reason made himself both accuser iudge in thys case and hath bables out what so euer came at hys tounges ende and what so euer he listed but proueth not ne confirmeth not any whit of hys case ¶ That the Queene of England is not an hereticke and therefore not stricken with the popes curse nor cut of from the vnitie of Christes bodie ALthough the Bull be now sufficiently confuted and the Quéenes innocencie defended and declared and the popes outragious tyranny cruell wrong and excessiue vnindifferencie layd foorth so as his most vniust definitiue sentence may easely and by very good right be ouerpassed despised yea and laughed at yet shall it not gréeue me euen for an ouerplus to peruse it againe in sifting it by péecemeale The same hath chiefly fower points First the pope declareth and denounceth the Quéene of England to be an hereticke and a bolsterer of heretikes therfore that she is stricken with his curse and cut of from the vnitie of Christes body But it hath bene shewed in many woords already that the Quéene is a catholike and Christian princesse and not giltie of any heresie or crime Wherupon it followeth that the pope by his condemning of so giltles and rightbeleuing a Prince bewrayeth and vttereth himself what he is namly euen one of those of whome Peter hath sayd They despise higher powers presumptuous are they and stubbern and feare not to speak euill of them that be in authority c. A few yeares past the reuerend Bishops of England dyd setfoorth a godly and learned Apologie in the third chapter whereof chiefly they shew howe the Realme of Englande hath no aliance at all with heretickes or heresies In the same they plainly and stedfastly professe their fayth and openly declare themselues to be of a sound and christian religion eloquently and truely washing away all the accusations and slaunders of the papistes It is more manifest then that it néedeth to be reported with many words what the Doctors diuines ministers of the Church of Christes time haue thought to be heresie and whome they haue demed to be heretickes As for the law of Lucius the thirde concerning the suppressing of heresie which is registred by Gregory the ninth in the thirde booke of decretalles the seuenth title concerning heretickes wherby the popes deuise and shape all their iudgementes and condemnations Wise men and godly men haue alwayes déemed it tyrannicall contrary to the iudgements of holy and religious antiquitie and therfore we thincke it not woorth the naming and we estéeme all the decrées that be formed and pronounced according to the same to be tyrannicall Yet notwithstanding I can not stay my selfe but I must néedes at thys present rehearse the opinion of the auncient writer Tertullian concerning this matter In his booke of the veyling of Virgins Heresies sayth he are ouercome not so much by newnesse as by truth What so euer fauoureth otherwyse than of truth the same is heresie yea though it be euē auncient custome And againe in Prescriptions of heretikes Heresies sayth the same author are termed of the Gréeke woord as in respect of the choyce which a man vseth eyther in the mayntayning or in the receyuing of them And therefore he sayth that an heretike is condemned in himselfe because he hath chozen the thing wherein he is condemned But it is not lawfull for vs to do any thing vpon oure owne head nor to choose the thing that an other man hath brought in of hys owne head We haue the Lordes Apostles for our warrant who chose not any thing of theyr owne head to bring in but faythfully deliuered ouer to all nations the discipline that they had receyued of christ And therfore if euen an Angell from heauen should preach any otherwise vnto vs we would hold him acursed Thus far Tertullian Wherfore séeing that the Quéene hath chozen nothing of hir owne head to deliuer to hir subiectes but onely hath betaken to them propheticall and Apostolicall truth of the scriptures to be followed hir maiestie is vtterly discharged of the crime of heresy And séeing that the romish opinions and the popish rites and ceremonies differing from our opinions and ceremonies are nothing els but opinions inuented by mens owne braynes selfchozen ceremonies Let the Romanistes consider to whether of vs the crime of heresy may iustlyest be imputed and to whome it sticketh fastest Besides this the Imperiall lawes commaunde all that be vnder the Empyre to follow that religion which S. Peter deliuered to the Romanes And it addeth We pronounce that such as folow this law embrace the name of catholike Christians and that the rest are to be taken for heretiks iudging them to be mad and out of their wits But the Quéene wil haue nothing to flourish in hir realme but the Apostolike doctrine ergo she is a catholike and not an heretike neither fauoureth she heretikes nor can abide to haue heresies taught in hir realme nor cherisheth such as be stayned w the spotte of heresy but rather euen for the same cause she hath banished the romish traditions and popish ceremonies out of her whole Realme least she might be sayd to beare with any thing against the Apostolike doctrine and Christian Ceremonies And therfore the thunderclap of that Tarpeian or Romane Iupiters curse wherewith he will haue the Quéene to séeme to be striken through is but a blockish
neuertheles kept promise with them vnimpeached euen after they had found out their deceit Wherupon Ambrose in hys booke of duties and Austen vnto Boniface geue vs to vnderstand and that full rightly that the promise that is once made must be perfourmed yea euen vnto our enemies and to euill men and infidelles Besides this certayne hundred yeares after the people of Israell were punished with a sore dearth for Saules breaking of the leage that was made with the Gabaonites and amendes could not be made for the fault vntill seueu men of Saulss posterity were hanged to death vnder the raign of Dauid according as it is read written in the second booke of Samuell the xxi chapter And like as our Lorde sayth in the Gospell that the Niniuites and the Quéene of Saba shall iudge the Iewes at the day of iudgemet Euen so there is no doubt but that Marcus Attilius Regulus the whole Senate of Rome which were heathen men shal condemne these most blessed fathers forasmuch as they estéeme it a thing of nothing to breake the promise that is made yea confirmed euē with an oth but the Romanes kept promise that a man would wonder at it yea euen to their enemies The histories beare witnes of these things in many places The Prophet Ieremy exhorteth Gods people with many wordes and very earnestly to kéepe promise with Nabuchodonozor though he were a heathen prince and an infidell and to obay him and to pray to God for hys welfare Ezechiel also speaking of the vnfaythfulnes of Zedechias towardes Nabuchodonozor sayth He hath set light by hys oth and broken hys couenaunt euen when he had geuen hys hand vpon it All these thinges hath he done and therefore he shall not escape As truely as I liue sayth God I will bring myne othe which he hath despysed and my couenaunt which he hath broken vpon hys owne head These sayinges are more apt and fit for our present case than that they read to be expounded applyed with many wordes None other thing taught Christes Apostles in the new Testament for Peter teacheth men expresly to perfourme faythfulnes euen to wicked maisters and rulers Let seruauntes sayth he obay theyr masters not onely if they be good and gentle but also if they be crabbed c. A little afore hauing spoken also of the magistrate he commaundeth the faythful to obay them for so is Gods will that we may stop the mouthes of foolish men by doing well And we knowe that in the Apostles dayes the Lordes and maysters were heathen men or infidelles Likewise S. Paule instructing seruantes sayth As many seruantes as be vnder the yoke let them estéeme theyr masters woorthy of all honor lest the name of God and hys doctrine be il spoken of Which thing the Apostle speaketh of heathen and vnbeleuing maisters for against these he macheth the beleuers saying forthwith And they that haue beleuing maisters let them not despyse them because they be brethren but let them bee the more seruiceable to them because they be beleuers After the same maner speaketh he in Rom. 13. and Tit. 3. and in other places of perfourmance of faythfulnes and obedience to the heathen magistrate And we also inferring vpon these thinges after the same maner say If the faithfull be bound to wayward and vnbeleuing maisters how much more are the Englishmen bound by Gods commaundemēt to kéep theyr promises and othes made to their Quéene being a faithfull holy and gracious Prince And men agrée also with God in thys behalfe For of many things I will alleage but this one About the yeare of our Lord 630. or as other reckon 681. vnder Sisenand king of Spaine at the citie of Toledo in Spayne there was hild a competent Synode wherin this case of performing othes sworne vnto Princes is diligently entreated of The sayd Synod is commonly called the fourth counsell of Toledo Among other thinges they make a decrée in these wordes Can. 74. The report goeth that many nations are so false-harted that they neglect to perfourme the promise which they haue made by othe vnto theyr owne princes and pretend to sweare with their mouthes when they wickedlye purpose to forsweare themselues in theyr hartes For they sweare to theyr kinges and impeach the faithfulnes which they haue promised and they are not affrayd of that booke of Gods iudgement whereby cursednes is brought vppon such as swear by the name of God lyingly What hope thē shall such people haue against theyr enemies when they be in danger What credit is to be geuen them any more in making peace with other contries what leage will they not break what assurance sworn to the enemies shal stand stable whē they kéep not their promises sworne to their owne kinges for who is so mad as to cut of his owne head with his own hands But they as it is wel known forgetting their own saluation murther thēselues with theyr own hand by turning their owne force against theyr Kinges thēselues And whereas the Lord sayth Touch not mine annoynted And wheras Dauid sayth who can lay his hand vppon the Lordes annoynted and be giltlesse they are not affrayd to fall into periury nor yet to destroy theyr owne kinges For promise is made to the enemies and not broken Now if faythfulnes take place in war how much more is it to be obserued in all other thinges For it is hye treason to God if people impeach theyr faythfulnesse promised to theyr Kinges For the offence is committed not onely agaynst them but also agaynst God in whose name the promise is plighted Héerupon it commeth to passe that the wrath of God hath so altered many kingdomes vpon earth that one of them is lozoned from another for the wickednes of their promise breaking and euil behauior Wherfore it behoueth vs to take warning at such chaunces of nations that we be not likewise stricken with swift plague and punished with cruell punishment for if God spared not the Angels that transgressed against him but thrust them out of their heauenly habitation for their disobedience wheruppon also he sayth by Esay My sword hath bene bathed in heauen how much more must we feare the losse of our saluation lest we perish for our vnfaythfulnes through the vengeance of the same sword of God But if we will eschew Gods displeasure and be desirous that he should turne his rigour into mercy Let vs kéepe the reuerence of religion and feare towardes God and performe the faithfulnes and allegiance that we promise to our Princes Let there not be in vs as there is in some nations wicked wilynes of vnfaithful dealing nor truthles trechery of deceitfull meaning nor villany of false forswearing nor trayterous practising of conspiracie Let no man among vs vsurp the kingdome through presumptuousnes let no man set his contrymen together by the eares let no man imagine the destruction of Kings but when a prince is
Ministers seruing for the same purpose Therfore render vnto euery mā his dew tribute to whom tribute is due Custome to whom custome is due awe to whom awe is due honour to whom honour is due The same Apostle willeth subiectes also to obey their Princes that is to wit their lawes and ordinaunces not onely that they may by their due obedience escape the punishments which Princes execute vpon the disobedient but bycause it is Gods will we should do so and we must yeld obedience to his commaundement except we had leuer to fall into the hand of Gods vengeance although princes punish vs not And this is it that the Prophet ment by saying ye must obey not onely for feare but also for conscience Also they that resist the Magistrate procure themselues damnation And truly this obedience stretcheth so farre that if the Prince néede thy seruice in the warres for the defence of his Realme against inuasions thou owest euen thy body to thy Prince yea and thy life and therefore much more thy goodes These are the thinges these I say are the thinges that all subiectes owe to their souereines by the allowance and commaundement of God and therfore the Englishmen also owe the same thinges to their Quéene True it is in déede that S. Peter sayd we must obey God rather then men howbeit that is in such things as are commaunded expresly against God and his word But the politike or ciuill gouernement is stablished and not infringed by Gods word And most of all it is stablished if the Princes be godly For the Princes that gouerne their people quietly and enforce not their subiectes to any wicked thinges but honour Gods seruice spread it abroad more more are well liked of God and helped by him And truly this obedience of the subiectes which God hath inioyned them kepeth them in their dewtie and perswadeth them that they attempt not any thing against their Prince or Magistrate As for those that rise against their Prince either by priuie practise or open force and breake the common peace they are not onely disobedient but also traytors and hated of god And yet it is the thing that the Pope in his Bull not so much teacheth as by his manaces indeuereth to inforce the noblemen and commons of England vnto The noble Realme of England through Gods grace cleaueth well together in lawes spirituall and temporall and the subiectes therof enioy peace and publike profite by the benefite of their most gracious Quéene Therfore not to be willing hence forth to obey her as the Pope would haue it what els is it then to trouble the state of the whole Realme and consequētly to stirre vp rebellion and sedition wickedly and to procure themselues assured and greuous damnation at Gods hand But heare how God hath alwayes hated seditious persons and how greuously also he hath euermore punished seditiōs Chore Dathan and Abyron with their complices raised a sedition against Moses the chaplein of Gods people But the earth opened and swallowed them vp with their housholdes and all that euer they had A right dreadfull example surely to the intent that none should hereafter ryse agaynst their Princes any more The Israelites also raysed an insurrection agaynst the same Moses in the wildernesse But for their so doing they were shet out of the land of promise and by the space of xxxviij yeares together ouerwhelmed with sundry calamities tyred and forspent with dayly trauelyng in the desert and at length also in sundry times consumed and made away with horrible kindes of death Also in the booke of Iudges the Ephraemites made an vprore against Iephthe who had deserued well at their handes But through the vengeance of God for their vngracious rebellion and vnthankefulnesse there were slaine of them about a xlij thousand What befell in Dauids time to Absolon Seba the sonne of Bithri when they rebelled seditiously against their lawfull king Dauid it is better knowen then that if may séeme requisite to be setforth in many wordes There are in the holy Scriptures and the wordly histories of sundry kingdomes many exāples to be seene no lesse horrible then these of seditious persons that were most greuously confoūded by the lord For the Lord being rightuous and a louer of order and peace neuer spared any such And to the intent I may also bring somewhat out of latter tunes there is a notable example of the punishment of traiterous rebellion and disobedience and periurie in king Rafe of Rinfield chosen king of Romanes at the cōmaundemēt of pope Gregorie the vij against the Emperour Henry the iiij lawfully ordeined of God and succeding in the Empire by descent from his aunceters who were very good Princes The said Gregorie had prophesied out of that chayre of his in the Easter wéeke that the same yeare which was the yeare of our Lord .1080 the false Emperor should dye adding this protestation further neuer take me more for Pope but plucke me from the Altar if the false Emperour be not dead betwene this and Whitsontyde Which prophesie like as was the prophesie of Caiaphas was fulfilled in déede howbeit after another meaning then the Pope thought of For the false Emperour Rafe who was created Emperour by the Pope against Henry whom the Pope had deposed discharging all his subiectes of their faith and obedience towardes him was wounded to death the selfe same yeare Thrise before had he traiterously fought with Henry to his owne losse and now trusting to the prophesie of his blessed dad Pope Gregorie the vij he repayred his power againe the fourth tyme and in the moneth of October encountered with the army of Henry in the fieldes of Misnia where he was put to shamefull flight agayne and receiued a very great losse and blouddy slaughter In the same battell the right hand of the sayd Rafe was striken of of the which wound he dyed within a few dayes after leauing the Empyre which he had receiued of the Pope fulfilling the prophesie of the Pope his creator It is reported sayth Abbas Vspurgēsis in the 238. leafe of his Chronicles that Rafe now drawing towardes his end and beholding his right hand cut of gaue a sore sigh and said to the Bishops which by chaunce were present Lo this is the hand wherwith I tooke mine othe of allegeance to my Lord Henry the Emperour And behold now I leaue both his kingdome and this present life Sée whether you that made me mount vp into his chayre of estate haue led me a right way which thing other storywriters report in these wordes it was by your impulsion that I haue fought so often vnluckely Looke you to it whether you haue led me a right way or no. Ge your wayes performe your first faith plighted to your king for I shall go to my fathers Now ye honorable Péeres of England and thou noble Realme of England in generall learne ye by all these
of Sweueland and Austriche two of the auncientest and noblest houses of Germanie Afterward Rafe Duke of Haspurge a Swicer seased vppon both the Duchies and bestowed them in Fée vppon his two sonnes Albert Rafe of whom Rafe was made Duke of Sweueland and Albert Duke of Austriche I haue recited this pitifull and lamentable storie out of Iohn Auentine somewhat the more at large bycause that in it as it were in a cleare glasse a man may behold the bloudthirstie nature of the Popes bearing hatred in minde most spitefully of couetousenesse and ambition vtterly vnsatiable malitious in all respectes outraging with beastly woodnesse and crueltie And also to what point the Bulles of the Romish Bishops haue driuen kingdomes and common weales casting downe some and aduauncing othersome at the pleasure of the Bishops and also acquitting the nobilitie and commons of their fealtie and obedience dew to their Princes Now if any man in way of obiection demaund wherefore God giueth these beastes leaue to outrage agaynst all good men and to bring to passe so great thinges and not rather ouerthroweth the seate them that sit in the seate the aunswere is ready shapen The Scriptures must néedes be fulfilled and specially the prophesie which Daniell vttereth in these wordes The Horne that grew vp had eyes and a mouth speaking great things and his looke was grimmer then all his felowes And he fought a battell with the Saintes and preuailed against them vntill the auncient of yeares came and iudgement was giuen to the high Saintes and so forth as foloweth in the vij and eight chapters of Daniell In the last end of their reigne when there shal be great store of wicked folke there shall stand vp a king of a stoute countenance that vnderstandeth riddles and he shall excell in strength howbeit not by his owne power and he shall make wonderfull hauocke and speede his matters prosperously and trouble the strong and the holy people and he shall bring his businesse to passe luckely through his owne wylinesse and craftes Also he shall presume great things in his hart and being furnished with store of thinges he shall spoile many men Furthermore he shall set himselfe against the highest Prince and shal be broken in péeces without handes For S. Paule also hath sayd that Antichrist shal be slayne that is to witte in the hartes of the faythfull not with swoorde speare or gunnes but with the breath of the Lordes mouth and be quyte done away at the commyng of the iudge to the last iudgement of the world But like as the former Bishops aforesaid drew the Frenchmen into the kingdome of Sicill Naples Puell So the latter Popes that is to say Adrian the fifth and Nicolas the third sought all the meanes that could be to haue them dispossessed of the same the one of them calling in the Germanes and the other calling in Peter of Aragon with the Spaniardes against the Frenchemen Contrariwise Martine the fourth aduaunced Charles the French king againe whom Nicolas had displaced and restored him againe to his former state Howbeit to no purpose For all at one same time the Frenchmen were diminished with a sore slaughter at an Euensongtime of the Sicilians and driuen out of the Isle and Peter of Aragon receiued in Who also vanquishing the sonne of king Charles in a battell vpō the Sea not farre from Naples caried him away prisoner into Spayne to the great grief of his father And Charles himselfe sayling ouer into Aphrike pyned away for pensiuenesse a iust punishmēt as many men then iudged for his most shamefull vniust putting of the ij Princes of Sweueland Austriche to death at the instigation of the Pope But Martine the fourth beyng moued with Charles miserie excommunicateth Peter of Aragon and giueth his kingdome for a pray to him that would inuade it assoyling his subiectes from the bond of their othe and finally proclayming a Croissy against him Besides this he sent Ambassadours into Fraunce to king Philip and commaunded him to inuade the kingdome of Aragon out of hand Once againe therfore when the Pope had sounded his trumpet they met together in mortall battell by the riuer of Geround And at the first the Frenchmen had the better but anone after the Spanyardes get the vpper hand What néedeth many wordes there was a miserable and sorowful slaughter all thinges were wasted farre and wyde bloud was shed without measure As soone as Martine was dead byanby there steppes vp another Hyen Honorius the fourth Who least there might be any abatement of miserie calleth Rafe of Haspurge king of Romanes out of Germanie to Rome there to receiue the name of Augustus to recouer Campain Calabrie Puell and Sicill to the Romane Empyre by driuing the Frenchmen and Spanyardes from thence For the which matter Rafe sommoned a Parlament at Wirtsburge thether there came a very great resort vnto whō Probus a Diuine of Tubing the Bishop of Tull made an Oration wherin amōg all other thyngs How long I pray you my right deare brethren sayth he will these Romish kytes abuse our patiēce I pray God I may not say our foolishnesse How lōg shall we beare with their trecherie couetousenesse pride superfluity This worst kind of Archsinagoges will neuer leaue till it hath brought all men to beggerie and slauerie This mischief hath growen through our debate It is our debate that setteth those rakehelles in their ruffe Neither is it possible for vs to maynteine peace and godlinesse as long as they reigne Not long ago they set the Sarons and Sweuians together by the eares Afterward they depriued Friderike the second a Prince most profitable for the common weale and Conrade his sonne and foure Princes of Sweueland of Empyre and life together They haue sowed the séede of discord in Germanie Besides this when Corradine that noble young gentlemā of excellent towardnesse who neuer did harme sought to recouer the heritage of his aunceters by the law of all nations they tooke him prisoner by craft and pollicie and put him to death They set the Sweuians and Frenchmen of Westrich at warre one against another and then stirred vp the Spanyardes against the Frenchmē and now they labour to set vs at oddes with the kinges of Spayne and Fraunce our owne kinsmen which came in old tyme out of Germanie And so forth as foloweth in the same Bishops Oration in the seuenth booke of Auentines Chronicles the 15. leaf What mā reading or hearyng these such other like doinges of the Romish Bishops can take them for Apostolike men that preach peace to folke and not rather for apostaticall Bellonase cursed féendes and the very furies or hellhoundes themselues About this time Meynhard the Earle of Tyroll entered into certein Castles that belonged to him by right of inheritaunce which notwithstanding the Bishop of Trent auouched to be his was not ashamed