Nothing could haue more fitly serued the matter that he had in hand and it can not be sayed that it was for forgetfulnesse that he omitted it for he would haue done nothīg more willingly if the matter had suffred him He saw therfore wtout dout that that is the true reasō of vnitie which Ciprian excellētly wel describeth in these wordes The bishoprike is one wherof eche hath a part wholly and the Chirche is one whiche is with encrease of fruitefulnesse more largely extended into a multitude Like as there are many sunbeames and one light and many branches of a tree but one body grounded on a fast holdyng roote and like as from one fountain flowe many streames and though the multitude seme to be diuersely spread abrode with largenesse of ouerflowyng plētie yet the vnitie is kept whole in the original so the Chirch also being ouerspread with the light of the Lord extendeth her beames abroade throughout the whole worlde yet is it but one that is eche where poured foorth and the vnitie of the body is not seuered she spreadeth her branches ouer the whole worlde she sendeth out her ouerflowing streames yet is there but one head and one beginnyng c. Afterward The spouse of Christ can not be an adultresse she knoweth one onely house she kepeth the holinesse of one onely chamber with chast shamfastnesse You see how he maketh the vniuersal bishoprik to be Christ onely which comprehendeth the whole Chirch vnder him and saith that all they that execute the office of Bishop vnder this hed haue their partes therof wholly Where is the supremicie of the see of Rome if the whole byshoprike remayne with Christe onely and eche Bishop hath his part therof wholly These thynges therfore make to this purpose that the reader may vnderstande by the way that the olde fathers were vtterly ignorant of that principle whiche the Romanistes doo take for confessed and vndouted concerning the vnitie of an earthly head in the Hierarchie of the Chirche ¶ The .vii. Chapter Of the beginnyng and encreasyng of the Papacie of Rome vntill it aduaunced it selfe to this height wherby bothe the libertie of the Chirche hath ben oppressed and all the right gouernement therof ouerthrowen AS concernyng the auncientnesse of the supremicie of the see of Rome there is nothyng hadde of more antiquitie to stablishe it than that decree of the Nicene Synode wherein the Bishop of Rome bothe hath the firste place among the Patriarches geuen vnto him and is cōmaūded to looke vnto the Chirches adioynynge to the citie When the Councell maketh suche diuision betwene him and the other Patriarches that it assigneth to euery one their boundes truely it doth not appoint hym the head of all but maketh him one of the chief There were present Uitus and Uincentius in the name of Iulius which then gouerned the Chirche of Rome to them was geuen the fowerth place I beseeche you if Iulius were acknowledged the head of the Chirche should his Legates be thrust into the fowerth seat Should Athanasius be chiefe in the Councell where principally the image of the Hierarchicall order ought to be seen In the Synode at Ephesus it appereth that Celestinus whiche was then Bishoppe of Rome vsed a crooked suttle meane to prouide for the dignitie of his seate For when he sent his deputies thether he committed his stede to Cyrillus of Alexandria which should notwithstandyng otherwise haue ben the chiefe To what purpose was that same cōmitting but that his name might by what meane soeuer abide in the first place For his Legates sate in a lower place and were asked their opinion among the rest and subscribed in their order in the mean time the Patriarche of Alexandria ioyned Celestins name with his owne What shall I say of the seconde counsell at Ephesus where when Leos legates were present yet Dioscorus Patriarche of Alexandria sate the chief as by his owne right They wil take exception that it was no vpright counsell by which both the holy man Flauianus was condemned and Eutyches acquited and his vngodlynesse allowed But when the Synode was gathered when the Bishopes tooke their places in order verily the Legates of the Bishoppe of Rome sate there among the rest none otherwise than in a holy lawfull Councell Yet they striued not for the first place but yelded it to an other whiche they would neuer haue done if they had thought it to be theirs of right For the Bishops of Rome were neuer ashamed to entre into the greatest contentions for their honors and for this onely cause oftentymes to vexe and trouble the Chirche with many and hurtefull striues But because Leo sawe that it should be a to muche vnreasonable request if he should seeke to gette the chiefe place for his Legates therfore he successed it Then folowed the Councell of Chalcedon in which by the graunt of the Emperour the Legates of the Chirche of Rome sate in the chiefe place But Leo hymself confesseth that this was an extraordinarie priuilege For when he made petition for it to the Emperour Marcianus Pulcheria the Empresse he did not affirm that it was due to him but only pretended that the Easterne Bishops which sate as chief in the councell at Ephesus troubled all thynges and ill abused their power Where as therfore it was nedefull to haue a graue gouernour and it was not likely that they should be mete for it whiche had ones ben so light and disordered therfore he praied that by reason of the default vnfitnesse of other the office of gouerning might be remoued to hym Truely that which is gotten by singular priuiledge and beside order is not by common lawe Where this onely is pretended that there nedeth som newe gouernour because the former gouernours had behaued theim selues ill it is euident that it neither was so before nor oughte to continue so for euer but is doone onely in respect of present danger The Bishop of Rome therfore had the first place in the Councell at Chalcedon not because it was due to his see but because the Synod was at that tyme destitute of a graue and fitte gouernour while they that oughte to haue been the chiefe did through their owne intemperance and corrupt affection thruste themselues oute of place And this that I saye Leos successour dyd in dede proue For when he sence his Legates to the fifthe Synode at Cōstantinople which was holden long tyme after he brauled not for the firste seate but easily suffered Menna the Patriarche of Constantinople to sitte as chiefe So in the counsell at Carthage at whiche Augustine was present we see that not the Legates of the see of Rome but Aurelius Archbishop of that place sate as chiefe when yet the contention was about the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome Yea there was also a generall councell holden in Italy it selfe at which the Bishop of Rome was not present Ambrose was chiefe there which was in very
dominion ouer the whole Chirche For we denie not that he was one of the chief but we will not graunt that which the Romanistes nowe affirme that he had a dominion ouer all Nowe remaineth the fowerth kynde of power which standeth in appealles It is euident that he hath the chief power to whoe 's iudgement seate appellation is made Many oftentimes appelled to the Bishop of Rome and he him self also went about to draw the hearyng of causes to himselfe but he was alway laughed to scorne when he passed his owne boundes I will speake nothyng of the East and of Grecia but it is certain that the Bishops of Fraunce stoutely withstode hym when he semed to take to himselfe an empire ouer theim In Affrica there was long debate about that mater For where at the Mileuitane Councell at whiche Augustine was present they were excōmunicate that appealled beiond the sea the Bishop of Rome trauailed to bring to passe that that decree might be amended He sente his legates to shewe that that priuiledge was geuen to hym by the Nicene Councell The Legates brought foorth the actes of the Nicene Councell whiche they had fetched out of the storehouse of their owne Chirch The Affricans withstode it and denied that the Bishopes of Rome ought to bee credited in their owne cause and said that therfore they would sende to Constantinople into other cities of Grecia where copies were to be had that were lesse suspicious It was found that therin was no such thyng written as the Romains had pretended So was that decree confirmed which tooke the chiefe hearing of causes from the Bishop of Rome In whiche doyng the lewde shamelesnesse of the Bishop of Rome hymself appeared For when he guilefully did thrust in the Synode at Sardes in stede of the Nicene Synode he was shamefully taken in a manifeste falsehoode But yet greater and more shamelesse was their wickednesse that added a forged Epistle to the Councell wherein I wote not what bishop of Carthage condemnyng the arrogance of Aurelius his predecessour for that he was so bolde to withdrawe himselfe from the obedience of the see Apostolike and yeldyng himselfe and his Chirche humbly craueth pardon These be the goodly monumentes of antiquitie whervppon the maiestie of the see of Rome is founded while they so childishlye vnder the pretence of Antiquitie that very blind men may fynde it oute by gropyng Aurelius saieth he puffed vp with deuelishe boldenesse and stubbornesse rebelled against Christe and saint Peter and therfore to be condemned with curse What said Augustine But what saide so many Fathers that were present at the Mileuitane Councell But what nede is it to spend many words in confutyng that foolishe writyng whiche the Romanistes themselues if they haue any face left can not looke vpon without great shame So Gratian I can not tell whether of malice or of ignorance where he rehersed that decree that they should be excommunicate that appealle beyonde the see addeth an exception Unlesse peraduenture they appealle to the see of Rome What may a man do to these beasts which are so voide of cōmon reason that they except that only thing out of the law for whoe 's cause euery man seeth that the law was made For the Councel when it condemneth appealles beyōd the sea forbiddeth only this that none should appelle to Rome Here the good expositor excepteth Rome out of the cōmon lawe But to determine this questiō at ones one historie shal make plaine what maner of iurisdiction the bishop of Rome had in old time Donate of the blacke houses had Cecilian bishop of Carthage The mā accused was condemned his cause not heard For when he knew that the bishops had conspired against him he would not appeare Then the mater came to the Emperour Constantine He forasmuche as he willed to haue the mater ended by ecclesiasticall iudgement cōmitted the hearing of it to Melciades bishop of Rome To whom he adioyned felow commissioners many bishops of Italie Fraunce and Spaine If that belonged to the ordinarie iurisdiction of the see of Rome to heare an appeale in an ecclesiasticall cause why doeth he suffre other to be ioyned with him at the will of the Emperour Yea why did he himselfe take the iudgement vpon him rather by the Emperors cōmaūdement than by his own office But let vs heare what hapned afterward There Ceciliā got the victorie Donate of the blacke houses was cōdemned for sclaūder he appelled Constātine cōmitted the iudgemēt of the appelle to the bishop of Orleance He sate as iudge to pronounce what he thought after the bishop of Rome If the see of Rome hath the chief power without appellation why doth Melciades suffer himself to receiue so great a shame that the bishop of Orleāce should be preferred aboue him And what Emperor doeth this euen Constantine of whom they boast that he employed not only all his endeuor but in a maner all the richesse of the empire to encrease the dignitie of their see Wee se therefore now howe farre the Bishop of Rome was at that tyme by all meanes from that supreme dominion whiche he affirmeth to be geuen vnto hym by Christe ouer all Chirches and whiche he lyengly saieth that he hath in all ages possessed by the consent of the whole worlde I know how many epistles there be how many writings decrees wherin the bishops doo geue muche and boldly chalenge much vnto it But this also al men that haue but a very little wit lerning do know that the most part of those are so vnsauerie that by the first tast of them a man may soone find out of what ship they cam For what man of soūd wit and sobre wil thinke that that goodly interpretation is Anacletus his owne which is in Gratian reported vnder the name of Anacletus that is that Cephas is a head The Romanists doo at this day abuse for defence of their see many suche trifles which Gratian hath patched together without iudgement and yet still in so great light they will sell suche smokes wherwith in olde time they were wont to mocke out the ignorant in darknesse But I will not bestow much labor in confutyng those things which do openly cōfute them selues by reason of their vnsauory folie I graūt that there remain also true epistles of the old bishops wherin they set foorth the honor of their see with glorious titles of which sort are some epistles of Leo. For that man as he was learned and eloquent so was he also aboue measure desirous of glory dominion but whether the Chirches then beleued his testimonie when he so aduaūced himself that in dede is it that is in cōtrouersie But it appereth that many offended with his ambition did also withstand his gredie desire Somtimes he appointed in his steede the bishop of Thessalonica throughout Grecia other contrees adioyning somtime he appointed the bishop of Orleance or som other throughout Fraūce
Athanasius the chief defendour there of the true faith was driuen out of his see such calamitie cōpelled him to come to Rome that with that authoritie of the see of Rome he might both after a sort represse the rage of his enemies and confirme the godly that were in distresse He was honourably receiued of Iulius then Bishop and obteined that the Bishops of the west toke vpon them the defence of his cause Therfore when the godly stoode in great neede of foreyn aide and sawe that there was very good succour for them in the Chirche of Rome they willyngly gaue vnto it the most authoritie that they coulde But all that was nothyng els but that the cōmunion therof should be hiely estemed it should be compted a great shame to be excommunicate of it Afterward euill and wicked men also added much vnto it For to escape lawfull iudgementes they fledde to this sanctuarie Therfore if any priest were condemned by his bishop or any Bishop by the Synode of his prouince they by and by appelled to Rome And the Bishops of Rome receiued suche appellations more gredily than was mete because it semed to be a forme of extraordinarie power so to entermedle with maters farre and wide aboute them So when Eutiches was condemned by Flauianus Bishop of Constantinople he complained to Leo that he had wrong doone vnto hym Leo without delay no lesse vndiscretely then sodeinly toke in hande the defence of an euill cause he greuousely inueyed againste Flauianus as though he had without hearyng the cause condemned an innocent and by this his ambition he caused that the vngodlynesse of Eutiches was for a certaine space of time strengthned In Affrica it is euidēt that this oftentimes chaunced For so soone as any lewde man had taken a foile in ordinarie iudgement he by and by flewe to Rome and charged his contreemen with many sclaunderous reports and the see of Rome was alway ready to entermedle Whiche lewdnesse compelled the Bishops of Affrica to make a lawe that none vnder peyn of excōmunication should appelle beyond the sea But what soeuer it were let vs see what authoritie or power the see of Rome then hadde Ecclesiasticall power is conteined in these fower pointes orderyng of Byshops summonyng of Councels hearing of Appealles or iurisdiction Chastisyng admonitions or censures All the olde Synodes commaunde Bishops to be consecrate by their owne Metropolitanes and they neuer bid the bishop of Rome to bee called vnto it but in his owne Patriarchie But by litle and litle it grewe in vse that all the Bishops of Italie came to Rome to fetche their consetration except the Metropolitans which suffred not themselues to bee brought into suche bondage but when any Metropolitane was to be consecrate the bishop of Rome sent thether one of his priestes whiche should onely be present but not president Of whiche thyng there is an example in Gregorie at the consecration of Constantius Bishoppe of Millain after the death of Laurence Howbeit I dooe not thinke that that was a very auncient institution but when at the beginning for honor and good willes sake they sent one to an other their Legates to be witnesses of the cōsecration and to testifie cōmunion with them afterward that whiche was voluntarie beganne to be holden for necessarie Howe soeuer it be it is euident that in olde tyme the Bishop of Rome had not the power of consecratyng but in the prouince of his owne Patriarchie that is to say in the Chirches adioynyng to the citie as the canon of the Nicene Synode sayth To the Consecration was annexed the sendyng of a Synodicall Epistle in which he was nothing aboue the reste For the Patriarches were wont immediatly after their consecration by solemne writyng to declare their faithe whereby they professed that they subscribed to the holy and catholike Councelles So rendryng an accompt of their Faith they did approue them selues one to an other If the Bishop of Rome had receiued of other and not him selfe geuen this confession he had thereby been acknowleged superior but when he was no lesse bounde to geue it than to require it of other and to be subiect to the common lawe truely that was a token of felowship not of dominion Of this thyng there is an example in Gregories epistle to Anastasius and to Cyriacus of Constantinople and in other places to all the Patriaches together Then folowe admonitions or censures whiche as in olde tyme the Bishops of Rome vsed toward other so they dyd agayne suffer them of other Ireneus greuously reproued Uictor because he vndiscretely for a thyng of no value troubled the Chirche with a pernicious dissention Uictor obeyed and spurned not against it Such a libertie was then in vre among the holy Byshops that they vsed a brotherly authoritie toward the Bishop of Rome in admonishyng and chastisyng hym if he at any tyme offended He agayn when occasion required did admonishe other of their duetie and if there were any fault rebuked it For Cyprian when he exhorteth Stephen to admonishe the bishops of Fraunce fetcheth not his argument frō the greater power but from the cōmon right that priestes haue among themselues I beseche you if Stephen had then ben ruler ouer Fraunce would not Cyprian haue saide Restraine them because they be thyne but he saieth farre otherwise This saieth he the brotherly felowshyp wherwith we be bounde one to an other requireth that we should admonishe one an other And we see also with how great sharpnes of words he being otherwise a mā of a mild nature inueyeth against Stephē himself whē he thinketh him to be to insolēt Therfore in this behalfe also there appereth not yet that the Bishop of Rome had any iurisdictiō ouer them that wer not of his own prouince As concernyng the callyng together of Synodes this was the office of euery Metropolitane at certaine appointed tymes to assemble a Prouinciall Synode There the Bishop of Rome had no authoritie But a General coūsel the Emperour only might sūmō For if any of the Bishops had attēpted it not only they that wer out of his prouince would not haue obeyed his callyng but also there would by and by haue risē an vprore Therfore the Emperour indifferētly warned them all to be present Socrates in dede reporteth that Iulius dyd expostulate with the bishops of the East because they called hym not to the Synode of Antioche whereas it was forbidden by the Canons that any thyng shoulde be decreed without the knowledge of the Bishop of Rome But whoe doeth not see that this is to be vnderstanded of suche decrees as bynde the whole vniuersall Chirche Nowe it is no meruayle if thus muche be graunted bothe to the antiquitie and honor of the citie and to the dignitie of the see that there should be no generall decree made of religion in the absence of the Bishop of Rome if he refuse not to bee present But what is this to the
So he apointed Hormisdas bishop of Hispalis to be his vicar in Spain but eueri wher he excepteth that he geueth out such apointmēts vpō this cōdition that the Metropolitās may haue their auncient priuileges remainyng safe whole But Leo himselfe declareth that this is one of their priuileges the if any dout happē about any mater the metropolitane shold first be asked his aduise Therfore those appointmētes of vicars in his stede wer vpō this conditiō that neither any Bishop should be letted in his ordinary iurisdictiō nor any Metropolitane in being iudge of Appealles nor any prouincial Coūcel in ordering of their Chirches What was this ells but to absteine frō all iurisdiction but to entermedle to the appeasing of discordes only so farre as the law and nature of the communion of the Chirche suffreth In Gregories time that aunciēt order was already much changed For whē the Empire was shakē and torne in peces whē Fraunce Spaine were afflicted with many ouertrowes receiued Slauonia wasted Italie vexed Africa in a maner destroied with cōtinual calamities that in so great a shakīg of ciuile affaires at least the integritie of faith might remaine or yet not vtterly perish al the Bishops frō ech part did the rather ioine themselues to the Bishop of Rome Thereby it came to passe that not only the dignitie but also the power of that see greatly encreased Howbeit I do not so much passe by what meanes it was brought about Truly it appeareth that it was thē greater thā in the ages before And yet it then greatly differed frō being an vnbridled dominiō that one mā myght beare rule ouer other after his own wil. But the see of Rome had this reuerence that it might with her authoritie subdue represse y◠lewde obstinate that could not by the other Bishops be kept wtin their dutie For Gregorie doth oftē times diligētly testify this that he doth no lesse faithfully preserue to other men their rightes than he requireth his own of them Neither doe I saith he pricked on by ambition plucke frō any man that which is his right but I desire in al things to honor my brethrē There is no saying in his writinges wherin he doth more proudely bost of the largenesse of his Supremicie thā this I know not what Bishop is not subiect to the see Apostolike when he is founde in faulte But he by by adioyneth Where fault requireth not al according to the order of humilitie are egal He geueth to hymselfe power to correct them that haue offended if all doe their dutie he maketh himselfe egall with y◠reste But he himselfe geueth himselfe this power and they assented to it that would other that lyked it not might frely gainesay it which it is well knowen that the most parte of them did Beside that he speaketh there of the Primate of Cōstantinople which whē he was cōdemned by the prouincial Synode refused the whole iudgemēte His fellow Bishops informed the Emperour of this stubbornesse of him The Emperour willed Gregorie to be iudge of the cause We see therfore that he both attēpteth no thing wherby he may breake the ordinary iurisdiction and the same thing that he doth for the helping of other he doth not but by the commaundement of the Emperour This therfore was thē al the power of the Bishop of Rome to set himself against obstinate vntamed heds whē there neded any extraordinary remedy that to helpe not to hinder Bishops Therfore he taketh no more to hīselfe ouer al other thā in an other place he graunteth to al other ouer hīselfe whē he cōfesseth that he is redy to be corrected of al to be amēded of al. So in an other place he doth in dede cōmaunde the Bishop of Aquilela to come to Rome to pleade his cause in a cōtrouersy of faith that was risē betwene him other but he doth not cōmaūde him of his own power but because that Emperor had so cōmaūded Neither doth he geue warning that he alone shal be iudge but promiseth that he will assemble a Synode by whom the whole mater may be iudged But althoughe there was yet such moderation that the power of the see of Rome had her certayne boūdes which it might not passe the Bishop of Rome himselfe was no more about thā vnder other yet is appeareth how much Gregorie misliked such state For he nowe thē cōplaineth that vnder color of Bishoprike he was brought backe to the world and that he was more entangled with earthly cares than euer he had serued them while he was a lay mā that he was in that honor oppressed with tumult of worldly affaires In an other place so great burdēs saith he of businesse do holde me down that my minde can nothing at all be raised vp to thinges aboue I am shaken with many waues of causes and after those leysures of rest I am tossed with tēpestes of troublesome lyfe so that I may rightly say I am come into the depth of the sea and the tēpest hath drowned me Hereby gather what he would haue sayed if he had happened to be in these tymes Although he fulfilled not the office of a Pastor yet he was doing it He absteyned from the gouernement of that ciuile Empire and confessed himselfe to be subiect to the Emperor as other were He did not thrust himselfe into the cure of other Chirches but being compelled by necessitie And yet he thinketh hymselfe to be in a maze because he can not apply himselfe altogether only to the office of a Bishop At that time the Bishop of Constantinople striued with the Bishop of Rome for the Supremicie as it is already said For after that the seate of y◠Empire was stablished at Cōstātinople the maiestie of the Empire semed to require y◠that Chirche also should haue y◠seconde place of honor after the Chirche of Rome And truly at the beginning nothing more auailed to cause that Supremicie to be geuē to Rome but because the hed of the Empire was there at that time There is in Gratian a writing vnder the name of Pope Lucinus where he saith that cities wer no otherwise diuided where Metropolitanes Primates ought to sit thā by the reson of y◠ciuile gouernemēt that was before There is also an other vnder the name of Pope Clemēt where he saith that Patriarches wer ordeined in those cities that had had the chefe Flamines in thē Which although it be false yet is takē out of a truth For it is certaine that to the ende there should be made as litle change as might be the prouinces wer diuided according to that state of thinges that thē wer that Primates Metropolitanes wer set in those cities that excelled the other in honors power Therefore in the Coūcel at Taurinū it was decreed that those cities which in the ciuile gouernemēt were that chefe cities of
euery prouince should be the chefe sees of Bishops And if it happened the honor of the ciuile gouernement to be remoued frō one citie to an other that thē the right of the Metropolitane citie should therwtal be remoued thether But Innocentius Bishop of Rome whē he saw the aunciēt dignitie of his citie to grow in decay after that the seate of the Empire was remoued to Constantinople fearing the abacemēt of his see made a contrary law wherein he denyeth it to be necessary that the ecclesiastical mother cities should be chāged as the Imperial mother cities change But the authoritie of a Synode ought of right to be preferred aboue one mans sentēce Also we ought to suspecte Innocentius himselfe in his owne cause Howsoeuer it be yet by his owne prouiso he sheweth that from the beginning it was so ordered that the Metropolitane cities should be disposed according to the outwarde order of the Empire According to this auncient ordināce it was decreed in the first Coūcell at Constantinople that the Bishop of that citie should haue the priuileges of honor next after the Bishop of Rome because it was a new Rome But a long time after when a like decree was made at Chalcedō Leo stoutly cried out against it And he not only gaue himselfe leaue to esteme as nothing that which sixe hundred Bishops or moe had decreed but also bitterly taunted them for that they toke frō other sees that honor which they were so bolde to geue to the Chirche of Constantinople I besech you what other thing could moue a mā to trouble the world for so smal a mater but mere ambition He sayeth y◠that ought to be inuiolable whiche the Nicene Sinode hath ones decreed As though forsooth the Christian faith wer endangered if one Chirch be preferred before an other or as though Patriarchies wer there diuided to any other ende but for policies But we knowe that policie receiueth yea requireth diuerse chaunges according to the diuersitie of times Therefore it is fonde that Leo pretendeth that the honor which by the authoritie of the Nicene Sinode was geuen to the see of Alexandria ought not to be geuē to the see of Constantinople For cōmon reason telleth this that it was such a decree as myght be takē away according to the respect of times Yea none of the Bishops of the East withstode it whō that thing most of all concerned Truely Proterius was present whom they had made Bishop of Alexandria in the place of Dioscorus There were presente other Patriarches whoe 's honor was diminished It was their parte to withstand it not Leos which remained safe in his owne place But when all they holde their peace yea assent vnto it and only the Bishop of Rome resisteth it is easy to iudge what moueth hym that is he foresaw that which not long after happened that it would come to passe that the glory of olde Rome decaying Constantinople not contented with the seconde place would stryue with Rome for the Supremicie And yet with his crying out he did not so much preuaile but that the decree of the Councell was confirmed Therfore his successors whē they saw themselues ouercome quietly gaue ouer that stiffenesse for they suffred that he should be accompted the seconde Patriarche But within a litle after Iohn which in Gregories tyme ruled the Chirche of Constantinople brake forth so farre that he called himselfe the vniuersall Patriarche Here Gregorie lest he should in a very good cause fayle to defende his own see did constantly set hymselfe againste him And truely both the pride and madnesse of Iohn was intolerable whiche desired to make the boundes of his Bishoprike egall wyth the boundes of the Empire And yet Gregorie doth not claime to himselfe that which he denieth to an other but abhorreth that name as wicked and vngodly and abhominable whosoeuer take it vpon him Yea and also in one place he is angry wyth Eulolius Bishop of Alexandria whiche had honored hym with suche a tittle Beholde sayeth he in the preface of the Epistle which ye directed to my selfe that haue forbidden it ye haue cared to emprinte the woorde of proude callyng in manyng me vniuersall Pope Whiche I praye that your holinesse wil no more do because that is withdrawen from you whiche is geuen to an other more than reason requireth I compt it no honor wherin I se the honor of my brethren to be diminished For my honor is the honor of the vniuersall Chirche and the sounde strength of my brethren But if your holinesse call me the vniuersall Pope it denyeth it selfe to be that which it confesseth me to be wholly Truely Gregorie stode in a good and honest cause But Ihon holpen by the fauor of Maurice the Emperor could neuer be remoued from his purpose Ciriacus also his successor neuer suffered himselfe to be entreated in that behalfe At the last Phocais which when Maurice was slaine was set in his place I wote not for what cause being more frendly to the Romaines but because he was there crowned without stryfe graūted to Boniface the third that which Gregorie neuer required that Rome should be the hed of all Chirches After thys maner was the controuersy ended And yet this benefite of the Emperor could not so much haue profited the see of Rome vnlesse other thinges also had afterwarde happened For Gretia and all Asia were within a litle after cut of frō the communion of Rome Fraunce so much reuerenced him that it obeyed no further than it lysted But it was thē first brought into bondage when Pipine vsurped the kyngdome For whē zacharie Bishop of Rome had ben his helper to the breache of his faith and to robbery that thrusting out the lawful kyng he might violently enter vpon the kyngdome as layed open for a pray he receiued thys rewarde that the see of Rome shoulde haue iurisdiction ouer the Chirches of Fraūce As robbers are wonted in parting to deuide the commō spoyle so these good men ordered the mater betwene themselues that Pipine should haue the earthly and ciuile dominion spoiling the true king and zacharye should be made hed of all Bishops and haue the spirituall power which when at the beginning it was weake as it is wont to be in new thynges was afterwarde confirmed by the authoritie of Charles in maner for a lyke cause For he was also indetted to the Bishop of Rome for that by hys endeuor he had atteined to the honor of the Empire But although it be credible that Chirches eche where were before that tyme muche deformed yet it is certayn that the old forme of the Chirch was thē fyrst vtterly defaced in Fraūce and Germanie There remayne yet in the recordes of the court of Parise brefe notes of these tymes which where they entreate of the maters of the Chirche make mention of the couenant both of Pipine and of Charles wyth the Bishop of Rome Therby we may gather that thē was
Bishop which may beare these priuileges of dignitie Admit therfore al those things to be true which yet we haue already wroong from them that Peter was by the mouth of Christe appointed hed of the vniuersal Chirche and that he left the honor that was geuen hym in the see of Rome that the same was stablished by the authoritie of the auncient Chirch and confirmed with long continuaunce that the Supreme power hath been alway by one consent geuen of all men to the Bishop of Rome that he hath ben the iudge of al both causes and men and himselfe subiect to the iudgement of none let them haue also more if they wil yet I answere in one word that none of these things auaile vnlesse there be at Rome a Chirch a Bishop This they must nedes grauÌ„t me that it can not be the mother of Chirches which is not it selfe a Chirche that he can not be chiefe of Bishops which is not himselfe a Bishop Will they therfore haue the see Apostolike at Rome Then let them shewe me a true and lawfull Apostleship Will they haue the chief Bishop Then let them shewe me a Bishop But what where will they shewe vs any face of a Chirch They name one in dede and haue it oft in their mouth Truly the Chirche is knowen by her certaine markes and Bishoprike is a name of office I speake not here of the people but of the gouernemente it selfe which ought continually to shine in the Chirche Where is the ministerie in their Chirche such as Christes institution requireth Let vs cal to remembrance that which hath before ben spoken of the office of Priestes and of a Bishop If we shall bryng the office of Cardinals to be tried by that rule we shal confesse that they are nothyng lesse than Priests As for the chief bishop himself I would faine know what one thing at all he hath bishoplike First it is the principal point in the office of a Bishop to teach the people with the word of God an other and the next point to that is to minister the sacraments the third is to admonish and exhort yea and to correct them that offend and to hold the people together in holy discipline What of these thyngs doeth he yea what doeth he faine himselfe to doo Let theim tell therfore by what meane they would haue him to be compted a Bishop that doeth not with his little fynger no not ones so muche as in outewarde shewe touche any part of a bishops office It is not so of a Bishop as it is of a king For a king although he do not execute that which beloÌ„geth to a king doth neuerthelesse retein the honor and title But in iudging of a bishop respect is had to Christes comauÌ„dement which alway ought to be of force in the Chirche Therfore let the Romanistes lose me this knot I denye that their hye Bishop is the chiefe of Bishops forasmuche as he is no Bishop They must nedes proue this last point to be false if they will haue the victorie in the first But howe say they to this that he not onely hath no propertie of a Bishop but rather all thinges contrarie But here O God where at shall I begynne at his learning or at his maners What shal I say or what shall I leaue vnsayde where shall I make an ende This I saye that whereas the worlde is at this daye stuffed with so many peruerse and wicked doctrines full of so many kyndes of superstitions blynded with so many errors drowned in so great idolatry there is none of these any where that hathe not either flowed from thense or at least bene there confirmed Neither is there any other cause why the Bishops are caried with so greate rage against the doctrine of the Gospell newly springing vp agayne why they bend all their strengthes to oppresse it why they kindle vp kings and princes to crueltie but bicause they see yâ— their whole kingdom decaieth falleth down so sone as the Gospel of Christ cometh in place Leo was cruell Clement was bloudie Paul is a fierce murtherer But nature hath not so much moued them to fight against the truthe as for that this was their only meane to mayntain their power Therfore sithe they can not be safe till they haue driuen awaye Christ they trauaile in this cause as if they dyd syght for their religion and contrees and for their owne lyues What then Shall that bee to vs the see Apostolike where we see nothyng but horrible Apostasie Shall he be Christes vicar which by persecuting the Gospell with furious enterprises doth openly professe him self to be Antichrist Shal he be Peters successour that rangeth with swerd and fyre to destroy all that euer Peter hath builded Shall he bee hed of the Chirch that cutting of and dismembryng the Chirche from Christe the onely true head therof doeth in it selfe plucke and teare it in pieces Admitte verily that in the olde time Rome was the mother of all Chirches yet sins it hath begon to be the seate of Antichriste it hath cessed to be that which it was We seme to be to muche euill speakers and railers when we call the bishop of Rome Antichrist But they that so thinke doo not vnderstand that they accuse Paule of immodestie after whom we so speake yea out of whoe 's mouth we so speake And least any man obiecte that we doo wrongfully wrest against the bishop of Rome these words of Paul that are spoken to an other intent I will brefely shew that they can not be otherwise vnderstanded but of the Papacie Paule writeth that Antichrist shal sit in the temple of God In an other place also the Holy ghost describyng his image in the person of Antiochus sheweth that his kingdome shall consist in hautinesse of speche and blasphemyngs of God Hereupon we gather that it is rather a tyrannie ouer soules than ouer bodies that is raised vp against the spiritual kingdome of Christ. Then that it is suche as doeth not abolish the name of Christ and the Chirch but rather should abuse the preâ—ence of Christ and lurke vnder the title of the Chirche as vnder a disguised visour But although all the heresies and sectes that haue ben from the beginnyng belong to the kingdome of Antichrist yet where as Paule prophecieth that there shal com a departing by this description he signifieth that that seate of abhomination shal then be raised vp when a certain vniuersall departyng shal possesse the Chirche howsoeuer many membres of the Chirch here and there continue in the true vnitie of Faith But where he addeth that in his time he began in a misterie to set vp the worke of iniquitie which he would afterward shew openly therby we vnderstand that this calamitie was neither to be brought in by one maÌ„ nor to be ended in one man Now wher as he doeth set out Antichrist by this marke that he should plucke awaye from God his
abolished But those Bishops that haue abused suche goodnesse of princes to their owne cōmoditie haue by shewyng of this one exāple enough and to much testified that they are not Bishops For if they had had any sparcle of an Apostolike spirite they wold without doute haue answered out of the mouthe of Paule The weapons of our warfare are not carnall but spirituall But they beyng rauished with blynd gredinesse haue destroyed bothe them selues their successoures and the Chirche At length the Bishop of Rome not contented with meane lordships fyrst layde hande vpon kingdomes and afterwarde vpon the very empire And that he may with some color whatsoeuer it be reteine the possession gotten by mere robberie he sometime bosteth that he hath it by the lawe of God he sometime pretendeth the gift of Constantine sometyme some other title Fyrst I answer with Bernarde Admitte that he do by any other reason whatsoeuer claime this vnto hym yet he hath it not by Apostolike right For Peter coulde not geue that whiche he had not but he gaue to his successors that which he had the care of Chirches But when the Lorde and maister saieth that he is not appointed iudge betwene two a seruant and scholar ought not to thinke scorne if he be not iudge of all men But Bernarde speaketh of ciuile iugementes For he addeth Therfore your power is in crimes not in possessions because for those and not for these ye haue receiued the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen For whiche seemeth to thee the greater dignitie to forgeue sinnes or to diuide landes There is no comparison These base and earthly thynges haue kynges and princes of the earthe their iudges Why do ye inuade the boundes of other c. Againe Thou arte made a superior he speaketh to Pope Eugenius but wherunto Not to beare lordship I thinke Therfore howe muche soeuer we thinke of our selues let vs remembre that there is a ministerie laid vpon vs not a lordshyp geuen vs. Learne that thou hast nede of a wedehoke not of a scepter that thou mayste doo the worke of a Prophete Agayne it is playne Lordship is forbidden to the Apostles Goe thou therfore and presume to vsurpe to thy selfe either beeyng a lorde an Apostleshippe or beyng an Apostle a lordship And by and by after the forme of an Apostleship is this Lordshippe is forbidden them ministerie is bidden them Wheras these thynges are so spoken of a man that it is euidente to all men that the very truthe speaketh them yea where as the very thyng it selfe is manifest without all woordes yet the bishop of Rome was not ashamed in the Councell at Orleaunce to decree that the supreme power of bothe the swerdes belong to hym by the lawe of God As for the gift of Constantine they that be but meanly practised in the histories of those tymes nede not to be taught howe muche this is not only fabulous but also to be laughed at But to passe ouer histories Gregorie himself is bothe a sufficient and most full witnesse hereof For so oft as he speaketh of the emperor he calleth him most noble Lord and himselfe his vnworthy seruant Againe in an other place But lette not our Lord by the earthly power be the soner angry with the prestes but with excellent consideration for his sake whoe 's seruantes they be let him so rule ouer them that he also geue them due reuerence We see howe in common subiection he wold be accompted as one of the people For he there pleadeth not any other mans cause but his owne In an other place I trust in the almighty God that he wyll geue a long lyfe to our godly lordes and will dispose vs vnder your hande accordyng to his mercie Neither haue I therfore alleged these thynges for that it is my purpose throughly to discusse his question concernyng the gift of Constantine but only that the Reders should see by the way how chyldishly the Romanistes do lye when they go about to chalenge an erthly empire to their Bishop And so muche the more fowle is the shamelesnesse of Augustine Steuchus which in suche a despeired cause hath ben so bolde to selle his trauayle and tong to the Bishop of Rome Ualla as it was not hard for a man learned and of a sharp witt had strongly confuted that fable And yet as a man litle exercised in ecclesiasticall maters he had not sayde all that mighte haue made for that purpose Steuchus burst in and scattred stinkyng trifles to oppresse the clere light And truely he doeth no lesse coldly handle the cause of his master that if some mery conceited felow faynyng himself to do the same wold in dede take Uallaes part But verily it is a woorthy cause for whiche the Pope should hyre such patrones for money and no lesse worthy are those hyred losells to be deceyued of theyr hope of gayne as it hapened to Eugubinus But if any man require to knowe the tyme sins this fained empire began to ryse vp there are not yet passed fiue hundred yeares sins the Bishoppes yet remained in subiection of the princes neither was the Pope created without the authoritie of the Emperor The Emperor Henry the fowerth of that name a light and rashe man and of no forcast of great boldnesse and dissolute life gaue first occasion to Gregorie the .vii. to alter this order For when he had in his court the Bishoprikes of all Germanie partly to be sold and partly laid open for spoile Hildebrand whiche had receyued displeasure at his hande caught hold of a goodly color to reuenge himselfe But because he seemed to pursue an honeste and a godly cause he was furthered with the fauor of many And Henry was otherwise by reason of his insolent maner of gouernyng hated of the most part of princes At the length Hildebrand whiche called hymself Gregorie the .vii. as he was a filthy and naughty man bewrayed the malice of his harte which was the cause that he was forsaken of many that had conspired with hym But he thus much preuailed that his successors might freely without punishment not only shake of the yoke but also bryng Emperors in subiection to them Hereunto was added that from thense fourth there were many Emperors liker to Henrie than to Iulius Cesar whō it was no hard thing to subdue while they sate at home carelesse of all thinges and slouthful when they had most nede with vertue and lawfull meanes to represse the gredinesse of the Bishops Thus we see with what color that same goodly gift of Constantine is shadowed wherby the Pope fayneth that the Empire of the West was deliuered vnto him In the meane time the Popes cessed not somtime with fraude somtime with treason and somtime with force to inuade other mens dominions and the very citie it selfe which before was free within a hundred and thirty yeres or there about they broughte into their subiection till they grewe to the same
hymselfe for a Byshop that had not also in very dede shewed himselfe a true Bishop Therfore suche was the seueritie of those tymes that all ministers were dryuen to the fulfillyng of suche office as the Lorde requireth of them Neither doo I reherse the maner of one age alone For euen in Gregories tyme when the Chirche was now almoste decaied certainly it was muche degenerate from the auncient purenesse it had not ben tolerable the any Byshop should absteine from preachyng The Priest saith he in one place dieth if there be no sound hearde of him because he asketh against himselfe the wrathe of the secrete iudge if he goe without sounde of preachyng And in an other place When Paule testifieth that he is cleane from the bloud of all in this saying we be conuinced we be bounde we be shewed to be giltie which are called Priestes whiche beside the euils that we haue of our owne adde also the deathes of other because we kyl so many as we beyng luke warme and silent doo daily see to goe to death He calleth himselfe and other silent because they were lesse diligent in their worke than they ought to be When he spareth not them that did halfe performe theyr dueti what thinke you he would haue done if a man had altogither sit idle Therefore this was a greate while holden in the Chirche that the chiefe duetie of the Byshop was to fede Gods people with the worde or both publikely and priuately to edifie the Chirche with sounde doctrine But wheras euery prouince had among their Bishops one Archebishop also where in the Nicene Synode there were ordeined Patriarches whiche shoulde in degree and dignitie be aboue the Archbishops that perteined to the preseruyng of discipline Howbeit in this discourse that whiche was moste rarely vsed may not be omitted For this cause therfore chiefly these degrees were ordeined that if any thyng hapned in any Chirche that coulde not well be ended by a fewe might be referred to a prouinciall Synode If the greatnesse or difficultie of the matter required a greater discussyng the Patriarches were also called to it with the Synodes from whom there might be no appelle but to a Generall Counsel The gouernement so ordered many called a Hierarchie by a name as I thinke vnpropre and truly vnused in the Scriptures For the Holy ghost willed to prouide that no man shoulde dreame of a principalitie or Dominion when the gouernement of the Chirche is spoken of But if leauyng the woorde we looke vpon the thyng we shall find that the olde Bishops ment to forge no forme of ruling the Chirch differyng from that which the Lorde appointed by his worde Neither was the order of the Deacons at that tyme any other then it was vnder the Apostles For they receiued the daiely offrynges of the faithfull and the yerely reuenues of the Chirch to bestow them vpon true vses that is to say to distribute them to fede partely the ministers and partly the poore but by the appointment of the Bishop to whom also they yearely rendred accomptes of their distribution For where as the Canons doo euery where make the Byshop the distributer of al the goodes of the Chirch it is not so to be vnderstanded as though he did by hym selfe discharge that care but because it was his part to appoynt to the Deacon who should be receiued into the common almes of the Chirche and of that whiche remained to whom it should be geuen and howe muche to euery one because he had an ouerseeyng whether the Deacō did faithfully execute that which belōged to his office For thus it is red in the canons which they ascribe to the Apostles We cōmaūde that the Bishop haue the goodes of the Chirche in his owne power For if he be put in trust with the soules of men which are more precious muche more it is mete that he haue charge of moneye so that by his power all thyngs may be distributed to the poore by the Elders and Deacons that they may be ministred with all feare and carefulnesse And in the Counsell of Antioche it is decreed that the Bishops should be restrained that meddle with the goodes of the Chirche without the knowledge of the Elders and Deacons But of that poynt we nede to make no longer disputation sithe it is euident by many epistles of Gregorie that euen at that tyme when otherwyse the ordinances of the Chirch were muche corrupted yet this obseruation continued that the Deacons shoulde vnder the Bishop be the stewardes of the poore As for Subdeacons it is likely that at the beginnyng they were ioyned to the Deacons that they should vse their seruice about the poore but that difference was by litle and litle confounded But Archedeacons began then to be created when the plentie of the goodes required a new and more exacte maner of disposyng them Albeit Hierome doeth say that it was euen in his age In their charge was the summe of their reuenues possessions and store and the collection of the daily offrynges Wherupon Gregorie declareth to the Archedeacon of Salon that he should be holden gilty if any of the goodes of the Chirch perished either by his fraude or negligence But wheras it was geuen to them to rede the Gospell to the people and to exhort theim to praier and where as they were admytted to delyuer the Cuppe in the holy Supper that was rather doone to garnyshe their office that they shoulde execute it with the more reuerence when by suche signes they were admonished that it was no prophane baylywike that they exercised but a spirituall function and dedicate to God Hereby also we may iudge what vse there was what maner of distribution of the Chirch goods Ech where both in the decrees of the Synodes amōg the old writers it is to be foūd that whatsoeuer the Chirch possesseth ether in lāds or in money is the patrimonie of the poore Therfore oftētimes there this song is soong to the Bishops Deacons that they shuld remembre that they meddle not with their owne goodes but the goodes appointed to the necessitie of the poore which if they vnfaithfully suppresse or wast they shal be giltie of bloud Wherby they are admonished with great feare and reuerence as in the sight of God without respect of persons to distribute them to whom they be due Hereuppon also come those graue protestations in Chrysostome Ambrose Augustine and other like Byshopes whereby they affirme their owne vprightnesse to the people But sithe it is equitie and establyshed by the lawe of the Lord that they whiche employ theyr seruice to the Chirch should be fedde with the common charges of the Chirch and also many priestes in that age consecratyng their patrimonies to God were willingly made poore the distributyng was suche that neyther the ministers wanted sustenance nor the poore were neglected But yet in the mean time it was prouided that the ministers themselues which
an alteration made of the olde state Sins that tyme when thynges did eche where daily fal from worse to worse the tyranny of the see of Rome was now and then also stablyshed encreased and that partly by the ignorāce and partly by the slouthfulnesse of the Bishops For when one mā toke all thynges vpō him and without measure proceded more and more to aduaunce hymselfe against law right the Bishops did not with such zele as thei ought endeuor themselues to restrayne his lust and though they wāted not courage yet they were destitute of true learning and knowledge so that they were nothing fytt to attempte so greate a mater Therefore we see what and howe Monstruous an vnholy defyling of all holy thinges and a scattering abrode of the whole order of the Chirche was in Bernardes tyme. He cōplayneth that there resort by heapes to Rome out of al the world ambitious men couetous Simonians robbers of God kepers of concubines cōmitters of incest and all such monsters to obtein or reteine ecclesiastical honors by the Apostolike authoritie and the fraud and vndermining violence were growē in force He sayth that that maner of iudging which thē was vsed was abhominable vnsemely not only for the Chirche but also for a iudicial court He cryeth oute that the Chirche is ful of ambitious men and that there is none that more dredeth to commit mischeuous Actes than robbers do in their caue when they deuide the spoyles of wayfairing men Few sayeth he do loke vnto the mouth of the lawgeuer but vnto his hands But not without cause For those handes do all the Popes businesse What a thing is thys that they are bought of the spoiles of Chirches that say to thee oh well done well done The life of the poore is sowē in the stretes of the riche siluer glistereth in the myre mē run to it frō al places not the poore but the strāger taketh it vp or he paraduēture the runneth fastest before But thys maner or rather thys death came not of thee I would to God it might end in thee Among these thynges thou a Pastor goest forwarde compassed with much and precious aray If I durst say it these are rather the Pastors of deuils than of shepe Forsoth Peter did thus Paule played thus Thy courte is more accustomed to receiue men good thā to make them good For the ill do not there profit but the good do decaye Nowe as for the abuses of appealles that he rehearseth no godly man can rede them wtout great horror At the last he thus concludeth of the vnbrideled gredinesse of the see of Rome in the vsurping of iurisdiction I speak the murmour and commō complaynt of the Chirches They crie out that they be mangled and dismembred There are either none or fewe that do not either bewaile or feare this plage Askest thou what plage The Abbotes are plucked frō the Bishops the Bishops frō the Archebishops c. It is maruelous if this mai be excused In so doing ye proue that ye haue fulnesse of power but not of righteousnesse Ye do thys because ye can do it but whether ye also ought to do it is a question Ye are sett to preserue not to enuye to euery man hys honor and hys owne degree These fewe thynges of many I listed to rehearse partly that the reders may see how sore the Chirche was then decayed and partly that they may know in how great sorowe and mourning thys calamitie helde al the godly But nowe albeit that we graunte to the Bishop of Rome at thys day that preeminence and largenesse of iurisdiction which that see had in the meane tymes as in the tymes of Leo and of Gregory what is that to the presēt state of the Papacie I do not yet speake of the earthly dominion nor of the ciuile power therof whiche we will afterwarde consider in place fit for it but the very spiritual gouernemēt that they bost of what hath it like to the state of those tymes For they define the Pope none otherwyse than the Supreme hed of the Chirche in earth the vniuersal Bishop of the whole world And the Bishops themselues whē they speake of their owne authoritie do wyth great stoutenesse of countenance pronounce that to them belongeth the power to cōmaūde other are boūde to the necessitie to obey that so al their decrees are to be holden as confirmed with the diuine voice of Peter that the prouincial Sinodes are without force because they want the presence of the Pope that they may order clerkes of any Chirche that they will and may cal them to their see that haue ben ordered ells where Innumerable of y◠sorte are in Gratiās packe which I do not now rehearse least I should be to tedious to the Reders But this is the summe of them that onely the Bishop of Rome hath the Supreme hearing and determining of all ecclesiastical causes whether it be in iudging and defining of doctrines or in making of lawes or in stablishing of discipline or in executyng of iudgemētes It were also long and superfluous to rehearse the priuileges that they take to thēselues in reseruatiōs as they cal them But which is most intollerable of al other they leaue no iudgemente in earth to restraine and brydle their outragious lust if they abuse so immeasurable power It is lawful for no mā say they to reuoke the iudgement of that see because of the Supremicie of the Chirche of Rome Againe The iudge shal be iudged neither by the Emperor nor by kīges nor by al the Clergie nor of the people That is in dede to imperiously done that one man maketh hymselfe iudge of al men and suffreth himselfe to obey the iudgement of no mā But what if he vse tyranny ouer the people of God if he scatter abrode and wast the kingdom of Christ if he trouble the whole Chirch if he turne the office of Pastor into robberie Yea thoughe he be neuer so mischeuous he sayeth that he is not bounde to yelde accompte For these be the sayinges of the Bishops gods will was to determine the causes of other men by mē but he hath wtout questiō reserued y◠Bishop of this see to his own iudgemēt Again The doinges of subiectes are iudged of vs but oures of God only And that such decrees might haue the more weight they haue falsly thrust in the names of the old Bishops as though thinges had ben so ordeined from the beginning wheras it is most certaine that it is new and lately forged whatsoeuer the Bishop of Rome geueth to hymselfe more than we haue rehearsed to be geuen him by the aunciēt Coūcels Yea they are come to so greate shamelesnesse that they haue set forth a wryting vnder the name of Anastasius Patriarche of Cōstantinople wherin he testifieth that it was decreed by the olde rules that nothing should be done euen in the furthest prouinces that
is not possible but that all this kynd of dominion must immediatly be ouerthrowen and fall down As for the power of the swerd whiche they also geue to themselues because it is not exercised vppon conscieÌ„ces it pertaineth not to our present purpose to entreate of it In which behalf yet it is also to note that they be alwaye like themselues verily nothyng lesse than that which they would be taken for that is to say Pastors of the Chirch Neither do I blame the peculiar faultes of men but the common wickednesse of the whole order yea the verye pestilence of the order forasmuch as it is thought that the same should be maymed vnlesse it be gloriously set forth with welth and proude titles If we require the authoritie of Christ concernyng this mater it is no dout but that his mynd was to debarre the ministers of his word from ciuile dominion and earthly gouernement when he said The kyngs of the Gentiles beare rule ouer them but you shall not so For he signifieth not onely that the office of Pastor is distinct from the office of a Prince but that they be thynges so seuered that they can not mete together in one man For wheras Moses did beare both the offices together First that was done by a rare myracle agayne it was but for a time tyl thinges were better set in order But when a certaine forme was ones prescribed of God the ciuile gouernement was left vnto him and he was coÌ„maunded to resigne the priesthode to his brother And worthily For it is aboue nature that one maÌ„ shold suffise to beare both burdens And this hath in all ages beene diligently obserued in the Chirche And there was neuer any of the Bishoppes so long as the true forme of the Chirch endured that ones thought of vsurping the power of the swerd so that this was a common prouerbe in the tyme of Ambrose that Emperors rather coueted the prestehode than prestes the empire For this which he afterwarde sayth was emprinted in the myndes of all men that palaces perteined to the Emperor and Chirches to the prest But sins that a way hath ben deuised wherby Bishops myght holde the title honor and richesse of their office withoute burden or care least they should be lefâ—e altogether idle the power of the swerde was geuen them or rather they dyd by vsurpation take it vpon theÌ„ selues By what color wil they defend this shamelesnesse Was this the dutie of Bishops to wrappe themselues with iudiciall hearyng of causes wyth the gouernementes of cities prouinces through large circuites to meddle in businesses so vnperteining to them which haue so much worke businesse in their owne office that if they were wholly and continually occupied in it and were withdrawen with no callinges away from it yet they were scarcely able to satisfie it But suche is their waywardnesse they sticke not to bost that by this meane the Chirch doth florishe accordyng to her worthinesse and that they them selues in the meane tyme are not to muche drawen away from the dueties of their vocation As touchyng the first point if this be a comely ornament of the holy office that they be aduaunced to suche heighth that the hyest monarches may stand in feare of them then they haue cause to quarel with Christ which hath in such sort greuously pinched their honor For at lest in their opinion what could haue ben spoken more dishonorably than these words The kinges of the Gentiles and princes beare rule ouer them but you shall not so And yet he layd no harder lawe vppon his seruantes than he first layde and receiued vpon himselfe Who sayth he hath made me a iudge or diuider among you We see that he plainly putteth away froÌ„ hymselfe the office of iudgyng whych he wolde not do if it were a thing agreyng with his office will not the seruantes suffer themselues to be brought into that order wherunto the Lorde hath yelded hymselfe subiecte As for the other pointe I woulde to God they coulde so proue it in experience as it is easy to speake it But forasmuche as the Apostles thoughte it not good to leaue the woorde of God and minister at tables therby because they will not be taught they are conuinced that it is not all one mans woorke to be bothe a good Bishoppe and a good Prince For if they whyche accordyng to the largenesse of the giftes wherwith they were endued were able to satisfie moe and greater cares than any men that haue ben borne since them haue yet confessed that they can not at ones applie the ministerie both of the worde and of tables but that they shold faint vnder the burden how could these that be meÌ„ of no valor in coÌ„parison of the Apostles a hundred folde excell the industrie of the Apostles Truely to attempt it was a point of most shamlesse to presumptuous boldnesse yet we se that it hath ben atteÌ„pted but with what successe it is euidence For it could not otherwise come to passe but that forsaking their owne office they shold remoue into other mens charge And it is no dout but that of smal beginnyng they haue by litle litle groweÌ„ to so great encreases For it was not possible that they shold at the first step clime vp so hie But somtime with suttletie and crooked crafty meanes they priuily auaunced them selues so as no man coulde foresee that it would come to passe tyll it was done somtime when occasion serued they did by terror and thretenings wryng from princes some augmentation of theyr power sometime when they sawe Princes not hard laced to geue they abused theyr fonde and vnaduised gentlenesse In olde tyme if any controuersie happened the godly to escape the necessitie of goyng to lawe committed the arbitrement to the Bishop because they douted not his vprightnesse With such arbitrementes the olde Bishops were ofteÌ„times encoÌ„bred which in dede greatly displeased theÌ„ as Augustine in one place testifieth but least the parties should runne to contentious lawyng they did though against their willes take that encumbrance vpon them These men haue of voluntarie arbitrementes whiche were altogether differyng from the noyse of iudiciall courtes made an ordinarie iurisdiction In a litle whyle after when cities and contrees were troubled with diuerse harde distresses they resorted to the protection of Bishops to be sauegarded by their faithful succour the Bishoppes by marueilous sutteltie of protectors made them selues Lordes Yea and it can not be denyed that they haue gotten the possession of a greate parte by violente seditious partakinges As for the Princes that willingly gaue iurisdiction to Bishops they were by diuerse affections moued thereunto But admitting that their gentlenesse had some shew of godlinesse yet with this their wrongfull liberalitie they dyd not very well prouide for the profite of the Chirch whoe 's auÌ„cient and true discipline they haue so corrupted yea to say truthe haue vtterly
power which they haue at this day and for the obteining or encreasing wherof they haue so troubled Christendome by the space of twoo hundred yeres for they began before that they toke to them the dominion of the citie that they haue almost destroyed it In the olde tyme whē vnder Gregorie the kepers of the goods of the Chirch did take possessiō of the landes which they reckened to belong to the Chirch and after the maner of seising to the vse of the Prince did sett tittles vpon them for token of claime Gregorie assembling a Councell of Bishops inueying sore against that prophane maner asked whether they did not iudge the Clerke accursed which did of his own will by wryting of any title attempt to entre vpon any possession They al pronoūced accursed If to claime a pece to groūde by wryting of a title be in a Clerke an offense worthy of accursing when whole twoo hundred yeres together Popes do practise nothing ells but battells sheding of blood destructions of armies sackinges of some cities racing of other ouerthrowes of natiōs wastinges of kingdomes only they that might catch hold of other mens possessions what cursinges can be enough to punish such examples Truly it is very plaine that they seke nothing lesse that the glory of Christ. For if they of their own wil do wholy resigne al the secular power that they haue therin is no danger to the glory of God no danger to sounde doctrine no danger to the safetie of the Chirch but they are carryed blinde and hedlong with only gredinesse of dominion because they thinke nothing safe vnlesse they may beare rule with rigorousnesse as the Prophete sayth and with power To iurisdictiō is annexed immunitie which the Romish Clergie toke to themselues For they thinke it against their dignitie if they answere in personal causes before a tēporal iudge therin they think both the libertie dignitie of the Chirch to consist if they be exēpt frō cōmō iugemētes and lawes But the old Bishops which otherwise were most rigorous in defēding the right of the Chirch iudged themselues their order to be nothing hurt if they were subiect to them And the godly Emperours wtout gaine saying of any man did alway call Clerkes to their iugemēt seates so oft as nede required For thus saith Constantine in hys Epistle to the Nicomedians If any of the Bishops shall vndiscretly disorder hymselfe his boldnesse shal be restrained by the execution of the minister of God that is by my execution And Valentinian saith good Bishops do not speake againste the power of the Emperor but doe sincerely both kepe the cōmaundemētes of God the great king also obey our lawes At that tyme all men were persuaded of thys without controuersy But ecclesiasticall causes were referred to the iugemente of the Bishop As if any Clerke had offended nothing against the lawes but onely was accused by the Canons he was not cited to the commō iugement seate but in that cause had the Bishop for hys iudge Lykewyse if there were a question of Fayth in controuersie or such a mater as properly perteined to the Chirch the iugement therof was committed to the Chirch So is that to be vnderstanded which Ambrose wryteth to Ualentinian Your father of honorable memory not only answered in worde but also decreed by lawes that in a cause of Fayth he ought to be iudge that is neither vnfit in office nor vnlike in ryght Agayne If we haue regarde to the Scriptures or olde examples who is there that can denye that in a cause of Faith in a cause I say of Fayth Bishops are wonte to iudge of Christian Emperours and not Emperours of Bishops Agayne I would haue come O Emperor to your consistorie if either the Bishops or the people would haue suffred me to goe saying that the cause of Fayth ought to be debated in the Chirch before the people He affirmeth verily that a spiritual cause that is to say the cause of religiō ought not to be drawen into the temporal court where prophane causes are pleaded Worthily do all men prayse hys constance in thys behalfe And yet in a good cause he procedeth but thus farr that if it come to violence and strong hande he sayeth that he wyll geue place Willingly sayth he I will not forsake the place committed vnto me but when I am enforced I knowe not howe to resist for our armure are prayers and teares Let vs note the singular modestie and wisdome of the holy man ioyned with stoutenesse of courage and boldnesse Iustina the Emperours mother because she could not drawe hym to the Arrians side practised to dryue hym from the gouernement of the Chirche And so should it haue come to passe if he had come when he was called to the palace to pleade hys cause Therefore he denyeth the Emperor to be a competent iudge of so great a controuersie Which maner of doing both the necessitie of that tyme and the continual nature of the mater required For he iudged that he ought rather to dye than that suche an example should by his consent be geuen to posteritie and yet if violence be offered he thynketh not of resistance For he denyeth it to be Bishiplike to defende the Fayth and ryght of the Chirch with armes But in other causes he sheweth hymselfe redy to do whatsoeuer the Emperor shall commaunde hym If he demaunde tribute sayth he we denye it not the landes of the Chirch do pay tribute If he aske landes he hath power to claime them none of vs resisteth After the same manner also speaketh Gregorie I am not ignorant sayeth he of the mynde of our most noble soueraigne Lorde that he vseth not to entermeddle in causes perteining to prestes least he should in any thyng be burdened with our synnes He doth not generally exclude the Emperor from iudgyng of Prestes but he sayth that there be certayne causes which he oughte to leaue to the iugement of the Chirch And by thys very exception the holy men soughte nothing ells but that Prynces lesse zelous of religion should not wyth tyrannous violence and wilfulnesse interrupte the Chirch in doyng her offyce For neither did they disallowe if Prynces somtyme dyd vse their authoritie in ecclesiastical maters so that it were done to preserue the order of the Chirch not to trouble it to stablishe discipline not to dissolue it For sith the Chirch hath not the power of compelling nor oughte to require it I speake of ciuile constrayning it is the office of Godly kynges and Princes to mainteine religion with lawes proclemations and iudicial procedinges After thys maner when the Emperor Maurice had commaunded certaine Bishops that they should receiue their fellowe Bishops that were their neighbors and driuen oute by the barbarous nations Gregorie confirmeth that commaundemente and exhorteth them to obeye it And when he himselfe is admonished by the same Emperor to come to atonement with
prest and the people The selfe same thyng dothe Augustine testifie in many places But why dispute I about a thyng moste knowen Let all the Greke and Latine writers be redde ouer suche testimonies shal echewhere offer themselues Neither was this custome growen oute of vse whyle there remained one droppe of purenesse in the Chirch Gregorie whom you may rightly say to haue ben the last bishop of Rome teacheth that it was kept in his tyme. What is the blood of the Lambe ye haue nowe learned not by hearyng but by drinkyng His blood is poured into the mouthes of the faithfull Yea it yet endured fower hundred yeares after his death when all thynges were growen oute of kynde For neither was that taken onely for an vsage but also for an inuiolable lawe For then was in force the reuerence of Gods institution and they douted not that it was sacrilege to seuer those thynges which the Lorde hadde conioyned For thus saieth Gelasius We haue founde that some receyuyng only the portion of the holy body do absteyne from the cup. Lett them without dout because they seme to be boūd with I wot not what superstition either receyue the Sacramentes whole or bee debarred from them whole For the diuidyng of this mysterie is not committed without great sacrilege Those reasons of Cypriane were heard which truely ought to moue a christian mynde How saith he do we teache or prouoke them to shed their blood in the confessing of Christe if we deny his blood to them that shal fyght Or how do we make them fitte for the cup of Martyrdome if we do not first in the Chirch by right of communion admitte them to drinke the cup of the Lord Whereas the Canonistes do restraine that decree of Gelasius to the prestes that is so childish a cauill that it nede not to be confuted Thirdly why did he simply say of the bread that they should eate but of the cuppe that they shoulde all drinke euen as if he had meant of set purpose to mete with the craft of Satan Fowerthly if as they would haue it the Lorde vouchesaued to admitt to his Supper onely sacrificyng Prestes what man euer durst call to the partaking of it strangers whom the Lorde had excluded yea and to the partakyng of that gifte the power wherof was not in their handes without any commaundement of him which onely could geue it Yea vpon confidence of what warrant do they vse it at this day to distribute to the common people the Signe of the body of Christ if they haue neither commaundement nor example of the Lorde Fifthly did Paule lie when he saide to the Corynthians that he had receiued of the Lorde that which he had deliuered to them For afterwarde he declareth the thyng that he deliuered that all without difference should communicate of both the Signes If Paule receiued of the Lord that al shold be admitted without differēce let them loke of whome they haue receiued which doo dryue awaye almost all the people of God because they can not now pretend God to be the author of it with whome there is not yea nay And yet still for clokyng of such abhominations they dare pretend the name of the Chirch and with suche pretense defende it As though either these Antechristes were the Chirch whiche so easily treade vnder foote scatter abroade and destroy the doctrine institution of Christ or the Apostolike Chirche were not the Chirche in which the whole force of religion florished ¶ The .xviii. Chapiter ¶ Of the Popishe Masse by whiche sacrilege the Supper of Christ hath not only ben prophaned but also brought to nought WIth these and lyke inuentions Satan hath trauailed as by ouerspredyng of darknesse to obscure and defile the holy Supper of Christ that at least the purenesse of it shoulde not be kepte styll in the Chirche But the head of horrible abhomination was when he aduanced a signe by which it myght not onely be darkned and peruerted but beyng vtterly blotted and abolyshed shoulde vanyshe away and fall oute of the remembrance of men namely when he blynded almost the whole world with a moste pestilent error that they shoulde beleue that the Masse is a sacrifice oblation to obteine the forgeuenesse of sinnes How at the beginning the sounder sort of the Scholemē toke this doctrine I nothyng regard farewell they wyth theyr crabbed suttelties whiche howsoeuer they may be defended with cauillyng yet are therfore to be refused of all good men because they do nothyng ells but spred muche darknesse ouer the brightnesse of the Supper Therefore biddyng them farewell let the readers vnderstand that I here matche in fight with that opinion wherewith the Romishe Antichrist and his prophetes haue infected the whole worlde namely that the Masse is a worke wherby the sacrificyng Prest which offreth vp Christ and the other that doo partake at the same oblation do deserue the fauor of God or that it is a cleansying sacrifice wherby they reconcile God to themselues Neither hath this ben receiued onely in common opinion of the people but the very doyng it selfe is so framed that it is a kynde of pacifyeng wherwith satisfaction is made to God for the purgyng of the quicke and dead The wordes also which they vse do expresse the same and no other thyng may we gather of the dayly vse of it I know how depe rootes this pestilence hath takē vnder how great seming of goodnesse it lurketh howe it beareth in shewe the name of Christe howe in the one name of Masse many beleue that they comprehende the whole summe of Faith But when it shal be by the worde of God most clerely proued that this Masse how muche soeuer it be colored and glorious yet shamefully dishonoreth Christ burieth oppresseth his crosse putteth his death in forgetfulnesse taketh away the frute that cometh therof vnto vs doth weaken and destroy the Sacrament wherin was left the memorie of his death shall there then be any so depe rootes which this moste strong are I meane the word of God shall not cutt downe and ouerthrowe Is there any face so beautifull that this lyght can not bewray the euell which lurketh vnder it Let vs therfore shew that which hath ben set in the fyrst place that in it is intolerable blasphemie dishonor done to Christ. For he was consecrate of his Father a Prest and Bishop not for a tyme as we reade that they were ordeined in the olde testament whoe 's life beyng mortal theyr presthode also coulde not be immortall for which cause also there neded successors that should from tyme to tyme be putt in the place of them that dyed But in place of Christ which is immortal there nedeth no vicar to be set after hym Therfore he was ordeined of the Father a prest for euer according to the order of Melchisedech that he shold execute an euerlastyng presthode This mysterie had bene long before