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A20683 A defence of church gouernment Dedicated to the high Court of Parliament. Wherein, the church gouernment established in England, is directly proued to be consonant to the word of God, and that subiects ought of dutie to conforme themselues to the state ecclesiasticall. Together with, a defence of the crosse in baptisme; as it is vsed in our Church, being not repugnant to the word: and by a consequent, the brethren which are silenced, ought to subscribe vnto it, rather then to burie their talents in the ground. By Iohn Doue, Doctour of Diuinity. Dove, John, 1560 or 61-1618. 1606 (1606) STC 7081; ESTC S110107 58,733 80

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the Apostles in other places and so continued by succession from them vntill these daies vnlesse when their succession was interrupted by warres or schisme or persecution But to come to a Diocesan Lord Bishop ruling by his sole power which is indeed the chiefe matter now in question Such a Bishop saith hee seemeth not to haue beene established in Ambrose Ierom and Augustines time It may be it seemeth not so to Maister Iacob but it seemed so to Zozomene that Saint Ambrose himselfe did rule like a Lord Bishoppe Sozom. l. 7. ca. 24. by his sole authority when meeting the Emperour Theodosius as hee went to Church without any consent or consultation had with other Priests on a suddaine took him by the gowne in the sight of the people interdicted him both from the holy communion the Church for the offence he had committed and the Emperour obeyed his authority His wordes are these Imperator quum Mediolanum venisset ad Ecclesiam processit vt oraret Sed quùm ad ostium iam pernenisset occurrit et Ambrosius eius ciuitatis Episcopus apprehensâ illius purpû-â in prae●entiâ populi siste gradum inquit homini enim ob peccata prophano manus innoxio sanguine comaculatas habēti fa● non est antequā poenitentiā egerit vel sacrum ingredi solium vel ad diuinorū mysteriorum communionem admitti Imperator libertatem sacerdotis admiratu● cogitationibus conscientiam accusantibus regressus est poenitentia compunctus The Emperour when he came to Millanie went towards the church to pray whē he was but at the doore Ambrose the Bishop of that citie ran to him caught him by his purple robe in the presence of the people cōmanded him to stay there shewing that it was not permitted him hauing defiled his hands with innocent blood to goe into the Church nor to be partaker of the Sacrament before he had shewed himselfe penitent The Emperour meruailed at the great spirit of the Bishop his conscience pricked him vpon his remorse hee went backe and repented And afterward more plainly he saith Ambrosius Imperatorem insimulans vt consentaneum est ab Ecclesiâ arcuit à communione seclusit Ambrose laying to the Emperour his charge his crime which he committed as it did behooue him thrust him out of the Church secluded him from the communion In this Story that action is ascribed solely vnto the Bishop no mention is made of any other whose consent was required Though soone after we doubt not saith Maister Iacob it tooke place in the Church Therefore by his owne confession the office of Lord Bishop ruling by his sole authoritie is of great antiquitie and therefore to be preferred before the Eldership which is but a nouelty and neuer preuailed vntill our age and that but in some few Churches And that I may speake something for the iustification of Bishoppes ruling by their sole authority Timothy and Titus were such Bishops Maister Iacob replieth two manner of waies First he saith the Apostles did not ordeine Ministers nor censure offenders by their sole authority much lesse then Timothy and Titus which were inferiour to the Apostles For answer to his reply which consisteth of nothing but manifest vntruthes I do instance in S. Peter which by his sole authority censured Ananias Suphira when they lied to the holy Ghost smiting them with present death St. Paul which alone censured Elymas the sorcerer whē he smote him Acts. 5. Act. 13. 11 with blindnes for seeking to peruert the deputy frō the faith And both these censures were then in the place of excommunicatiō Vide Bucerum dè clauibus 1. Cor. 16. 22. anathema marannatha Politiae Iudaicae c. 2. which is now the ordinarie censure of the church And besides that Saint Paule by his sole authoritie excommunicated in general all that loued not the Lord Iesus euen vnder the time of nature Henoch as Cornelius Ber●ram writeth in his booke Printed at Geneua and allowed of by that church did alone anathema illud solenne suoe aetatis hominibus proponere quod extat Iudae ver 14 15. pronounce that solemne sentence of excommunication against the men of his time of which mention is made in S. Iude ver 14. 15. Behold the Lord commeth with thousands of his Saints to giue iudgement c. And so did Saint Ambrose by their examples And as for making Ministers our Bishops doe not conferre orders alone but assisted with other ministers which ioyne with them in prayer imposition of hands Yet still the chiefest authoritie resteth in Bishops as S. Paule writeth to Titus For this cause I left thee in Creete that thou shouldest ordaine Elders in euery citie And to Timothy Tit 1 5. lay hands sodainly on no man by which words it appeareth that ordination imposition of hands belong to the Bishops 1. Tit 5. 22. principally and to the inferiour Ministers but as assistants to the Bishop But that it belonged to the same men to censure offenders rule by their sole authoritie the places of Scripture doe make it so plaine that ir may not be denied Rebuke 1. Tim ● v. 1. 9. 11. 17. 19. 21. not an Elder but exhort him as a Father Let not a widdow be taken into the number vnder 60 yeares old Refuse the yonger widdowes The elders that rule wel let thē be had in doble honor Obserue these things without preferring one before another doe nothing partially Receiue no accusatiō against an elder but vnder 2. or 3 witnesses Secondly he saith that if these things were granted that Timothy Titus ruled by their sole anthoritie it would not follow that therefore our Bishops might do the like his reason is this For saith he they are not to be reckoned in the catalogue of Bishops neither were they properly called Bishops because they were not affixed to certaine places but often remoued to other churches as the Apostles did Which reason I refute by manifest text for as much as Timothy was affixed to Ephesus as his proper charge and so Titus to Creete as to his peculiar place witnesseth the Apostle I besougbt thee to abide still in Ephesus For this cause haue I left 1. Tim. 1. 3. Tit. 1. 5. thee in Creete that thou shouldest continue there to redresse the things that remaine But what then though they afterward remoued and were called to other places so are our Bishops also and priuate pastours oftentimes called from one congregation to another I cannot deny but the cannon Lawe hath determined that Bishops shal not remoue from one Bishopricke to another without some vrgent cause as when they are required by another Church their gifts beeing thought fitter for a greater charge and the lawe is grounded vpon the decrees of the first generall councell of Nice which so concludeth Episcopus Presbyter aut diaconus non aebet transferri ab vnâ ciuitate ad a●iam quia id est contrà regulas
had his calling from his Father Moses from God Aaron from Moses the Apostles from our Sauiour Timothy Titus from S. Paul so we must consider in whom this authority resteth to call men to the ministery for none of these of whom I haue spoken had any consent of the people This custome of popular election is borrowed out of the Turkes Alcaron and not of the Bible It is saide to the congregation concerning the election of Deacons Looke ye out 7. men of honest conuersation c by which it is iustified which our law doth require that they vpon whom the Bishoppe Act. 6. shall lay hands must bring with them sufficient testimony of their worthinesse but in the words following it is said whom we may appoint to this businesse And afterward verse 6. when they were found out they set them before the Apostles and the Apostles prayed and laide hands vpon them but not the people as our Bishops assisted with other ministers without the helpe of the people ordeine ministers with vs. Therefore in their obiection out of the Acts where they alleage these English words When they had ordeined Elders by Act. 14. election in euery Church c they doe but deceiue themselues For the Greeke word is cheirotoneo of cheir an hand and teino porrigo extendo noteleno to reach or stretch forth or lay on not to eleuate or lift vp so cheirotoneia is not eleuation but imposition of hands in Eccesiasticall writers These words then cheirotonesantes eautois presbuterous is manuum impositione consecrantes sibi ipsi● presbyteros when by imposition of hands they had consecrated Elders or Ministers as Moses by imposition of hands conferred the holy Ghost vpon Iosua and sanctified him to be a Magistrate and our Deut. 24. Matt. 19. Sauiour in the Gospel by laying hands on the children blessed them And th●● cheirotoneia is expressed more plainely by another Greeke word in the Acts of the Apostles concerning Act. 6. the consecration of Deacons to be epithesis ion cheiron imposition of hands where the text saith proseuxamenoi op●thecan autois tas cheiras when they had prayed they layed hands vpon them And Gual●er in his Commentary vpon that place of the Acts which before was alleaged when they had ordeined Elders by election in euery Citie after he hath iustified these popular elections vsed in the Church of Tigurie and dispraised our manner of ordination reuoketh himselfe and confesseth by the word cheirotonesantes magis verisimiliter hîc incelligi manuum impositionem non incerto populo rem tam seriam committendam that in that place imposition of hands is rather to be vnderstoode then any popular election and that a matter of so great importance as the ordination of Ministers is not to be committed to the rude and inconstant common people He commeth now to his ob Sol and obiecteth in our behalfe as we doe our selues commonly alleage that it cannot stand with the state of a Kingdome that there should be a popular gouernment of the Church And he answereth himselfe that it is not requisite that the gouernment of the Church should bee answerable to the gouernement of the Realme To which his answer I reply that if the gouernment of the Church be not answerable to the gouernment of the Realme then our assertion is true that this popular gouernment cannot stand with the state of a Kingdome because the King is by the people excluded out of the Church gouernment With vs Bishops are the Kings Lieutenants in Ecclesiasticall causes and all Ecclesiasticall Courts are the Kings Courts they be held immediately vnder the King his authority in causes Ecclesiasticall being subalternate and immediately subordinate vnto our Sauiour Christ Now for as much as they which hold with the lay Eldership and popular gouernment doe claime their authority immediately from God without the King they derogate from the Kings authority in Ecclesiasticall causes and in Church matters they hold him for no King Lastly whereas we obiect that popular gouernment with vs cannot be but tumultuous and hee answereth that no tumults can arise by their gouernment considering foure circumstances First that it is Gods ordinance Secondly that it is to be executed by no greater multitude then a parish Thirdly that the Church guides being seperated from the people determine the matter and prepare it onely the people consent with them Fourthly if any few be violent and vnruly the next Iustices are to keepe the peace among them It is but an answerlesse answer For first that popular gouernment is not Gods but mans ordinance as I haue shewed Secondly it is apparant that diuers parishes with vs be so populous that they consist of many thousands and are as large in compasse as some Diocesse in other places Thirdly for the guides of the Church priuately to agree vpon the matter and to vrge the people and constraine them by the authority of Iustices of peace to yeelde vnto that which they haue decreed is as much as to make it no popular election at all because then free consents are denied them and all authority resteth in the guides of the Church For if there be no tumult it is wholly in the power of the Church Magistrates to conclude and establish what they list and the people must agree to it if there be a tumult the Magistrates of the Church are to command the Iustices to execute what their selues would haue done so that the people are vsed but as ciphers and haue no liberty in themselues So this is as good as no election Of Lord Bishops and Ecclesiasticall persons exercising ciuill authoritie THe common obiection is that our Sauiour being the chiefe Bishop was not held for a Lord neither had hee any outward pompe or glory in this world To which I answer if so be they inferre this conclusion vpon that example therefore Bishops must not be Lords the weakenesse of that argument will appeare by the like for they may as well conclude against Kings that because our Sauiour being a King yet was no Lord had no pompe nor glorie-therefore Kings must not be Lords c. I could answer further Tit. 2. that he was a Lord and so the Apostle doth call him a great Lord and the head of the Church and the Prince of Eph. 4. 15. Apoc. 1. the kings of the earth and because he is head of the Church all Kings doe holde their Crownes vnder him That the world did not acknowledge him for a Lorde it was their blindnesse Hee came to be crucified and had the world knowne him non Dominum gloriae crucifixissent they had not crucified the Lord of glory And yet in his state of humility hee had an honourable retinew to attend vpon him to the number of eighty two his twelue Apostles and seuenty Disciples Matth. 1● Luk. 10. Iudas was his treasurer or pursbearer he sent Philip to the market to buy bread he imployed his Disciples in such seruices