Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bishop_n	church_n	whole_a	1,876	5	5.4126	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20595	A declaration of the reasons which moued Marcus Antonius de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalato or Salonas, primate of Dalmatia and Croatia, to depart from the Romish religion and his countrey. Written by himselfe in Latine, and now for the populare vse translated; Marcus Antonius de Dominis, Archiepiscopus Spalatensis, suae profectionis consilium exponit. English	De Dominis, Marco Antonio, 1560-1624.; W. S., fl. 1617.	1617 (1617)	STC 6999; ESTC S116248	16,073	35

great conspicuous Princes but Bishops they are not but by aequiuocation all their Bishoply administration is perished for the gouernment of all Churches is drawn to Rome and the Bishops themselues are scarsely Vicars and seruants to the Lord Pope they are vile cōtemptible oppressed troden vnder foot miserably subjected not to the Pope only but to Cardinals to so many Cōgregations as are institute at Rome against them Legates from his Holines side Apostolick Nunces Inquisitors Visitors in end to innumerable Orders of Regulars and their brethren who now by their Apostolicke priuiledges are uot onely aequalled to Bishops but also ouermatcheth them stayeth their proceedinges in their gouernment swallowing vp their power The Church vnder the Bishop of Rome is no more a Church but a certaine humane Commonwealth all of it vnder the Popes temporall Monarchie It is a Vineyard only to make Noe drunke it is a Flock which the Shepheards do sheare and clip euen to the blood yea to excoriate and flaye them Why then should I not flee lest I should see these euils any longer lest I should be a fellow-worker of such thinges a partaker with them CHRIST hath set mee as a dogge among his flocke I should not bee dumbe anie longer as nowe all the other Bishops vnder the Romane pope are dumb dogs who on the one part allured with large ●●pes and on the other terrified with great feare are altogether silent and choose by base flattery to hasten to perdition with their Chiftane And because according to the Prouerbe Flattery begetteth friends and trueth begetteth hatred seeing I neither could nor ought to desert the trueth I behoued of necessitie to flee noisome hatred and poyson and daggers the ordinary effects of hatred among vs for in these our times matters are come to this poinct that at Rome or elswhere by commission from Rome the defence of Controuersies of Religion is not committed to Theologs or Councels but to Torturers Burrios Cut-throates and bloodie Murtherers And albeit all these things did euer and earnestly perswade me to flee yet I doe confesse I fonnd the handmaide Agar with her childe Jsmael for a long time troublesom to me I mean I heard my flesh rebelling against my spirit and reasoning after this manner And whither I pray thee wilt thou goe Thou art come to great dignities wealth vnder the Bishop of Rome with hope also to attaine further These things thou doest possesse these are certain but thou knowest not what shall befall thee in other places Shall it bee euen so that thou wilt leaue thy Countrey Consignes Alliance friends neuer any more to see them againe Wherfore makest thou thy selfe wiser than innumerable other Bishops who comporteth vvith all things tolerateh excuseth them why wilt not thou in like manner comport with tolerate excuse them Art thou only the wise man among such an innumerable multitude Are all the rest foolish Doest thou not know that immediatly after thy departing first at Rome and then euery where thou shalt bee burdened with great reproaches and noted with the infamous name of an Haereticke These and more such like speaches my fleshly Agar did often whisper in mine eares not without a great combate betwixt her mine inwarde spirit and my Conscience nowe already ouercome with the trueth But that diuine Spirit with a more vehement force suffered me not any longer to make delayes but with an effectuall voyce he called me to himselfe as he did Abraham saying Come out of thy Countrey and from thy kinred and from thy Fathers house and come vnto the Land which I will shew vnto thee And he forced mee to put in execution that notable saying of the wise men FOLLOW GOD euen as blessed Abraham indeed obeyed it according to the consideration of holie Ambrose de Abraham lib. 1. cap. 2. Which fact of the holy Patriarch after a wonderfull sort augmented both my courage and strength while I perceiued that GOD did first rewarde his ready obedience by keeping disgrace and infamie farre from him for hee praeserued the chastity of his beautiful wife Sara whē it was in liazard by a licentious Tyrant Ambrose also did much comfort mee in this case while he saith Because Abraham contemned all things for GODS calling therfore he receiueth al things again abundantly multiplied first of all hee gaue him the safety of Saras chastity which hee knew was deare to the husband That same holy Father addeth moreouer Whosoeuer followeth the LORD is euer in surety therefore saith he we should not bee called backe from the obedience of heauenlie commandements neither for respect to our countrey or parents or children or wife because GOD giueth all these gifts to vs is able to preserue them all These things giue mee full assurance that for this my following of his calling though it bee somewhat too late GOD will giue me this remuneration euen the praeseruation of my fame and aestimation that of whatsoeuer account it be it shall suffer no disgrace amongst Barbarians but shall be kept found and vndefiled for the aedification of some and auoyding of offences Beeing therefore encouraged with this confidence and moued with this holy calling and admonished by these dangers I haue most chearefully vndertaken this my flight But yet the loue of CHRIST constraineth me for I might be counted of a vile base spirit if laying aside all lawfull striuing I should rot in sluggish idlenesse in some corner and so flee for mine owne ease The cause of CHRIST is in hand which calleth me to it selfe I heare that voyce continually thundering in mine eares CRYE and admonishing mee to goe vp to some high mountaine to the ende that my voyce joyned with their voyce who haue not bowed their knee to Baal may bee better heard in preaching the Gospel to Sion That voyce now I follow and I goe into some mountain where the Catholick Church hath lifted vp her head in a free profession from whence according to the oblishment of my calling so farre as in me lieth I may proclaime the trueth to the worlde and may open and shew the wayes for taking away all diuisions and binding vp again of peace in the Church The Church shall shortly heare my cries I will speake to the heart of Hierusalem and call vnto her For I cannot in any case bee lacking to my calling because I am a Bishop in the Church of CHRIST to euery Bishop his own particular Church is so committed that hee must in the meane time vnderstand where there is any necessity of his helpe the vniuersall Church is recommended to him by IESVS CHRIST To all of vs who are Bishops the Apostle Paul hath said Take heed to your selues to the whole flocke ouer which the Spirit of God hath made you ouer-sieers to rule the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood These words also are giuen out in the

name of Eleutherius an ancient Bishop of Rome writing vnto other Bishops For this cause Christ hath committed vnto you the vniuersall Church that ye labour for all men and neglect not to helpe all according to necessity Cyprian also affirmeth epist 13. lib. 3 that joyntly with Stephanus Bishop of Rome he did hold the leuell of gouerning the Church And then he addeth The body of the Priesthood is exceeding large and is coupled together with the glew of mutuall concord and the band of vnity therfore if any of our fellowship shall prasume to forge an haeresie or to rent destroy the Church of Christ let all the rest make conuenient helpe And that same Cyprian in very deede often helped troubled Churches euen such as were without the bounds of Africke yea and the Church of Rome it selfe So Polycarpus Irenaeus Osius of Corduba Athanasius Basilius the two Eusebii one of Samosata the other of Vercels Lucifer of Calarie Hilarie of Poitiers Theophilus and Cyrillus of Alexandria Aurelius of Carthage and many other Bishops did painfully labour by vertue of their Episcopall office to helpe the necssities of the vniuersal Church and leauing for a space their own Churches well appointed recōmending them to the ouersight of others they went vnto other afflicted troubled Churches Therefore it is most proper to my calling not without the compasse of it with all my might as Cyprian exhorteth to helpe the Court of Rome which factionously maketh a Sect and deuiding it selfe frō the Church renteth destroyeth the Church of CHRIST and yet mine helpe must not be by approching to it because that is not sure but by a bodily departing from it I would indeed most gladly haue retained mine own Church of Spalate as Osius Basilius the two Eusebii Hilarius others aboue named retained their own Churches returned vnto them after they had ended the publicke businesse of the vniuersall Church But because that my Church with many others groaneth vnder the tyrannie of the Pope who hateth abhorreth Reformatiō and by all his power and the forces of his adhaerent Princes maketh impediment to it And hauing power of life death ouer these who suit vrge reformation suffereth none of them aliue Therefore I could not choose but leaue my Church that I my selfe hauing cast off these bands set at liberty might be the more ready to proclaime the trueth and with greater safety might deplore the desolation of the holy Church which she suffereth of the Court of Rome True it is the majesty of an earthly king is dreadfull because as Tertullian saith he is next vnto God lesser than God only aboue whom as Optatus Milevitanus saith there is none saue God alone Therefore when k. Dauid was to be reproued for his adultery murther neither the high Priest nor any other of the Priesthood nor any Leuit or friend or familiar durst praesume to take that charge vpon him but God vsed his own proper peculiar messenger appointed the Prophet Nathan to rebuke him But there is not now such necessity neither need we expect that God will raise vp extraordinary Prophets appoint peculiar messengers to deal with the Bishop of Rome who is now troubling scandalizing spoyling oppressing the whole Church The majesty of our Rom. Pope is not so great as to affray vs that his temporall hauty majesty is fained vsurped is none at all he is but our Brother Collegue a Bishop with vs a Fellow-seruant in the work and a brother who is holpen of a brother is as a fenced city as Salomon saith in the Prouerbs Wherfore then doe we snort wherfore doe we sleep a Brother perisheth draweth the Churches away with him to perdition we his Brethren neglect the danger doe not occur Let all be silent let all be quiet contemn as they will yet I the least Whelpe among them all with such barking as I can shall wakē those great mastius who are asleep made drowsie by a wōderful policy of the Popedome that according to their charge they may hold back the Wolues saue the flock of Iesus Christ I shall not vse mine own voyce but the voyce of God in wakening the good Dogs and I shall double vpon them the Cry of holy Fathers Councels holy Catholick Church As for these ten Bookes Of the Ecclesiastick Republick which I am shortly to put to light I shall specially endeuour that the errours of the Church of Rome may be detected the trueth and wholsomnes of the Catholick doctrine discipline may be opened these many reformed Churches which by our Romane Church are proudly casten off diuorced may be retained in a Catholik sense and that the way of vnion of all the Churches if not clearly demonstrat may be at least pointed out if by any means we can be broght to that estate all of vs to thinke one thing to say one thing that Schismes may be remedied and all occasions taken away from Christian Princes of plotting the ouerthrow one of another of troubling the common peace of Christian people with vntimous vngodly warres that vnder the praetence of Faith Religion but rather that all their forces may be so directed as the Catholik Church of Christ groaning vnder the tyrannie of those who are Infideles indeed may be restored to her ancient libertie This my departing from my Countrey or rather my going out flight from Babel I will that it want all suspicion of Schisme for I flee from errours I flee from abuses that lest I be partaker of Babels sinnes and receiue of her plagues yet will I neuer seuer my selfe from the loue which I owe to the holy Catholick Church and to all and euery one who communicate with her but so far as in me lieth I shall euer bee ready to communicate with them all so long as wee agree in the essentiall articles of our Faith and the Creedes of the ancient Church of Christ if in the meane time we derest abhorre all new articles of Faith which are contrary to holy Scripture or repugnant to the forenamed Creedes and that we admit not in anie case articles indifferent in thēselues as articles of Faith which haue neuer bene sufficiently discussed established and determined by the Church except first they be fully determined or bee showne to haue bene determined of before neither yet that we condemne those articles as haereticall vnlesse we haue sufficient notice that they haue bene condemned by the Church In things therefore indifferent let liberty of opinion and action be permitted to euery Church and let euery of them abound in their own judgement vntill the Church it selfe instructed gouerned by the Spirit of Christ shall put an ende to controuersies and seuer the Chaffe from the true Corne. In the meane time let vs remember that notable saying of worthie Cyprian which hee vsed in