Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A96348
|
A speech of Mr. Iohn White counsellor at law, made in the Commons House of Parliament concerning episcopacy.
|
White, John, 1590-1645.
|
1641
(1641)
|
Wing W1773; Thomason E198_18; ESTC R212697
|
9,737
|
18
|
A SPEECH OF Mr Iohn White Counsellor at Law made in the Commons House of Parliament CONCERNING EPISCOPACY London Printed for Thomas Nicholes and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the Bible in Popes-head alley 1641. A Speech of Master John White Counsellour concerning Episcopacy EPiscopacy as it stands in this kingdom comprehends in it in line a recta these foure degrees the Deacon the Presbyter the Bishop and the Archbishop Every Archbishop wades through every of these ordinarily Of the first and last we have no vestigium in the holy scriptures This Deacon may Preach and Baptize help the Presbyter to administer the Lords Supper Book of ordering of Deacons but may not consecrate the Elements in the Lords Supper contrary to the Scriptures by which Preach and Baptize is a full Commission for the exercise of all the ministeriall function Mat. 28.19 The Deacon mentioned in holy Scripture is the same in Office with our Church-warden to looke to the Church goods and the poore Acts 6.1 Tim. 3. The Presbyter is of all hands acknowledged to be Jure Divino The Bishop is considerable in respect of his trayn and secondly in respect of himself His trayn are these first the Dean and Chapter called Prebends quia praeberent auxilium Episcopo and were originally ordained for his Counsell to advise him in difficulties in Religion and to advise him in and consent unto his dispositions of his possessions Cok. r. 3. Dean and Chapter of Norwiches case Secondly the Archdeacon is the oculuâ— Episcopi to discover and punish offences spirituall and Ecclesiasticall within his limits manus Episcopi to present unto him such as are to be made Deacons and Presbyters and to induct such as he admits and institutes into Benefices Thirdly his Chancellors Vicars Generall Commissaries Officials Surrogates Registers Promotors and others belonging co his Cathedrals These be all meerly humane and may be taken away without offence to God or conscience if there appeare just cause for it The Bishop in respect of himselfe is considerable in his Barony and temporalties and his spiritualties The first is meerly Exgratia Regis and in this kingdome began 4. Case of tenures 35. a. of William the Conquerour And by vertue hereof they have had place in the house of Peers in Parliament 7. H. 8.1846 Kel it is resolved by all the Judges of England that the King may hold his Parliament by himselfe his temporall Lords and Commons without any Bishop for a Bishop hath not any place in Parliament by reason of his spiritualties but meerly by reason of his Baronry and accordingly acts of Parliament have been made 2 Rich. 3. cap. 5. and at divers Other 〈◊〉 They have usurped the name of Spirituall Lords but of late and were first called so 16 Rich. 2. c. 1. in our Statutes By his spiritualties I mean those wherein he is more then a Presbyter and therein I consider his authority over Presbyters by the Oath of Canonicall Obedience by which he may command them to collect tenths granted in Convocation c. 20 Hen. 6.13 p. 25. Secondly his Office which in partly judiciall and partly ministeriall Judiciall by which he is Judge in his Courts of all matters Ecclesiasticall and spirituall within his Diocesse Cok. Rep. 8. Trollops C. Secondly he is Judge of the fitnesse of such as are presentell unto him to be instituted into Benefices Cok. rep 5. Spocâ—â—â— cap. Ministeriall and thereby he is to Sacred places Dedicate to Divine Service 9. H. 6.17 pag. 8. Secondly he is to provide for the officiating of Cures in the avoydance of Churches on neglect of the Patrons presenting thereunto Thirdly he is to certifie loyall Matrimony generall bastardy and excommunication Fourthly to execute Judgements given in quare impedit upon the writ Ad admittendum Clericum and other c. Fiftly to attend upon tryals of life to report the sufficiency or insufficiency of such as demand Clergy Sixtly to ordaine Deacons and Presbyters All these I conceive to be Jure humane given to these Bishops and may upon cause be taken away from them Bishops have been in the Primitive Church Ob. and are Apostolicall and from the beginning To this I answer first Sol. that in the pure primitive times of the Church the History whereof is recorded in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles in which the first and best patterns of Church government is expressed there is no mention of other Bishops then the Presbyters as appeares First the holy Scriptures declare the duties and office of Presbyters and Bishops to be one the same The Bishop is to teach and rule his Church or Congregation 1 Tim. 3.2.5 and the Presbyter is to teach and feed his flock and to oversee care for and rule them 1 Pet. 5.2.3 Secondly the Presbyters are in holy Scriptures said to be the Bishops of the holy Ghost Acts 20.28 Paul charges the Presbyters or Ephesus to take heed to the flock whereof the Holy Ghost had made them Bishops And other Bishops the Holy Ghost never made Thirdly Ephesians 4.11 God is said to have given to his Church for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery and for the edifying of the body of Christ Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastors and Teachers here is an expres enumeration of the officers God hath given whereof the first three are extraordinary and ceased and the last only remains and is to remain untill we all come to perfection as it is ver 13. and this perpetuall Officer is called Pastor in relation to his flock whom he is to govern in Spiritualibus and Teacher in respect of his duty to feed them with the word of truth and is the very same with the Presbyter as appeares above Argumentum à divisione est fortissimum The Bishop as he is any more then a Presbyter is none of these no Officer given by God and therefore ought not to be in the Church Christ the King of his Church was faithfull in his House not only as a servant as Moses was but as the Son in an excellency and eminency Heb. 3.5 and to his kingly Office it pertains to appoint the Officers he will use for the government of his Church in spiritualibus and it agrees not with his faithfulnesse to neglect or omit the appointment of them and leave his House his Church without such Officers He is only wise and therefore best knows what Officers are usefull for his Church and infinitly loving of his Church and therefore hath not lest her without any Officer fit for her Thus in the end of Pauls Epistle unto him Ob. is said to be the first Bishop of Crete and Timothy in the end of the Epistles unto him to be the first Bishop of Ephesus Those additions are spurious Sol. Perk. upon Gal. 6. infiâ—e For Tim. See 1 Cor. 4.17 16.10 Acts 17.13.15 19.22 20.4.5 1 Thes 3.1.6 Heb. 23.25 Colos 1.1
forsake the pure fountain and wallow in the muddy and corrupted streams of antichristian ambition Thirdly that part of the spirituall officer of the Bishop whereby he is to instruct the people committed to his charge with the holy Scriptures as upon the 2 question put unto him at his Consecration he undertakes to doe ought as I conceive to be reduced to a possibility for him to performe it It is impossible for him to doe it to a whole Diocesse therefore he should be limited to some particular Congregation unto which he might perform this trust which requires sufficiency attendance and diligence Fourthly Ordination in the scriptures is ever expressed to be by them in the Church that had authority and were officers in the Church as Apostles Evangelists and after by the Presbytery 1 Tim. 4.14 2 Tim. 1.6 And a shadow of this remains in our Law Acts 14.23 Titus 1.5 6 7. for the Bishop only is not to lay hands upon the party to be ordained but the Presbyters there attending are to joyn with the Bishop therein Books of ordering Priests This I conceive is not fit to be in the hands of any one ordinary officer in the Church the descerning of the gifts abilities and faithfulnesse of persons to be ordained Presbyters requiring great judgement care and circumspection Plus vident oculi quam oculus The like I say of deprivation Fiftly Excommunication by the Scriptures ought to be only in case of enormous offences and obstinacy in them and onely in the Congregation whereof the party to be Excommunicate is a member 1 Cor. 5.4 Tell the Church cannot be meant of one man Mat. 18.17 Diotrophes is branded for taking upon him alone to cast any out of the Church This also abused as well as usurped by the Bishop is to be reformed Sixtly Instituation and induction are usurped by the Bishops upon the fundamentall Laws of this Kingdome by which the Patron after his Clerk was ordained did without any more invest him into the Church See Selden of tithes 86. And a relick of this we retain still in Churches that be donatives Seventhly The jurisdiction of tithes causes matrimoniall and causes testamentary in the times of the Increasing power of the Pope when the Bishops thereby grew more formidable were taken from the Civill Magistrate to whom originally they belonged upon pretence that the tithes were Jure divino the Churches patrimony and Mariage a Sacrament and that the disposing the goods of the dead most properly belonged to him for the good of the soule in Purgatory to redeem it thence to whom the cure of the Soule appertained in his life time vide 2 R. 3. Testaments 4.11 H. 7.12 B. Plowdeu 279. B. Foxes c. Cok. rep 9.37 B. Heustoes case Dames rep 97. B. Lalors c. Selden of tithes 4â—5 Eighthly The matters which are meerly and only spirituall which are properly of Ecclesiasticall cognizance were anciently by the Lawyers of this Kingdome heard and determined in the County and hundred Courts by the Sheriffe and the Bishop and by William the Conquerour these matters were taken thence and appropriated to the Bishop alone 2 R. 2. Rotul Parliament num 12. Selden of tithes 412. Book of Martyrs 154. And by the Law of God as I conceive they ought to be heard determined by them that have rule in the particular congregations and Churches Mat. 18.17 1 Cor. 5. which if it were so among us would be a wonderfull case and save great charges to the subject And where the difficulty of case or greatnesse of the persons whom it may concern or where the Governors in particular Congregation demean not themselves as they ought it ought to be referred to a Synod of Presbyters of many as shall be thought meet as Acts. 15 a question of difficulty arising in the particular Church of Antioch and the dissention growing great about the same they sent to Hierusalem and there the Apostles and Presbyters convened debated concluded and decreed the matter and imposed the observation thereof upon Antioch and other Churches ver 1.2.6.28 The Apostles would not meddle in the question without the Presbyters and other Bishops there were none there nor in the Churches And faelicius expediuntur negotia commissa pluribus in the multitude of Counsellors there is safety Proverb 11.14 And the change of our Laws in case this House shall see cause for it will not be so great or difficult as is conceived by some For ordination admonition suspension and deprivation of Presbyters and the judgement of the fitnesse of persons to be invested into Benefices Ecclesiasticall and the care of providing for the serving of Cures during the vacancy and avoydance of Churches and taking of the subscription of Ministers to the Articles of Religion 13 Eliz. cap. 12. 14 Eliz. cap. 5. and the visiting of Hospitals whose Founders have appointed no visitors which are now in the Bishop may be settled in a convention of Presbyters to be appointed for every hundred from whom appeale may be had upon every gravamen to a greater Assembly of them and those Presbyters or any one of them may be inabled to give the Oathes of Supremacy and alleageance where the Bishop is authorised to give the same And Excommunication may be ordered to be certified by the Parson 5 Eliz. c. 1. 7 Jac. cap. 6. Vicar or Stipendary of that Church where the party is excommunicate And all Churches presentative may be filled by investure of the Patrons and all questions concerning them be determined by the same rules of law as Donatives are And loyall Matrimony be tryed by a Jury where the woman is party to the suit as now it is where she is not party so E. 3.15 p. 5.11 H. 4.4 B. 30. and as it is now where the issue is Nient sa femme 12. E. 3. Brife 481.50 E. 3.15 B. 7. H. 6.12 June 35. H. 6.9 P. 10. Coke 8. E. 4.12 a Laton And Bastardy generall Bastardy beyond Sea within the Statute 25 E. 3. De natis ultra mare may be made tryable by Jury as now speciall Bastardy is 11 Ass 20.38 ass 24.39 E. 3.31.6 7. Ed. 6. Dier 79. P. 52. So tithes may be reduced to the Common Law and be sued for there as it was ever in the case of the King or his Debtor 38. ass 20. Cok. r. 5.16 a Cawdreis case and as it is by the Statute of 2 and 3 E. 6. cap. 13. And for the Bishops attendance on tryals of life it is needlesse he being no Judge in it but the Court who may appoint any other or doe it themselves And for Sacring of Churches and other dead things it is fit to be neglected and left off being a Popish vaine superstition and without colour of countenance from the word of God the Leviticall consecrations being typicall and shadows of the good things we enjoy under the Gospel Heb. 9.19 c. The Bishop being thus reformed and reduced to a condition and