my seruaunt Dauid did I will be with thée and I will build thée a sure house and so forth as foloweth in the third booke of kinges and the xj chapter And I haue already rehearsed out of Gods word what reward Iehu reaped at Gods hand for taking away of Idols Idolatrie and Idolaters Seyng then that the Quéene of England hath made reformation in her Realme according to Gods word and taken away the Idols and Idolatrie of Baal yea and Baals chappels and temples and his chapleynes also together with all Popish abhominations she hath not lost her kingdome but rather knit it more strongly vnto her and is sure of Gods protection and fauour and by Gods grace shall alwayes be sure of it if she continew in the faith Therfore there is no cause why her most gracious Maiestie should be troubled any whit at the Popes most peruerse sentence of deposition For God in his word hath giuen a contrarie sentence to the Popes so as the pope is most manifestly reputed among the false Prophetes Also in the times of Ioachim Iechonias Zedechias kinges of Iuda there were false Prophetes and fauorers of Idolatry which warranted good lucke to these Idolatrous kings and cursed the king of Babylon whom God had stalled in the kingdome and whom he would haue to reigne and who afterward in the time of Daniell was turned from Idols to the true God and drew away the miserable people from his obedience But they were greuously rebuked and disproued by Gods holy and true Prophetes Ieremie and Ezechiell who prophesied that all maner of miseries should be powred out vppon the Idolaters according as the falling out of thinges proued in the end by Gods large powring out of a sea of miseries vppon them The same God also a thréescore and ten yeares after ouerthrew the kingdome of Babylon chiefly for Idolatries sake as it is read in the fifth chapter of Daniell and conueyed the Empire to Cyrus king of Persia who proclaymed the true God of Israell and let Gods people go frée out of captiuitie and commaunded Gods temple and holie Ceremonies to be set vp agayne Therefore after so great light of Gods word and the goodly consent of the holie histories there is no cause why any Princes or sacred Magistrates should be afrayd of the Balaamish popes cursinges depriuations and manaces brandished and denounced for putting away Idolles and for treading vnder foote that new Baalishnesse the Poperie For God likes well of all such as reuerence Gods word reforming them selues purely according to Gods word and framing all thinges in Rellgion by the same But it is most manifest that Gods word condemneth and reiecteth all Idolatrie and all seruing of God that is counterfet and deuised by mans good intent inuented and receiued at the good pleasure and appointement of men without Gods woorde or agaynst it ¶ That the Byshop of Rome can not discharge them of their othe which are sworne to the Queene For the trothe that is once plighted must be kept both to good and bad MOreouer looke how many soeuer within the noble Realme of Englād haue in any wise sworne to the Quéenes maiestie the Bishop of Rome vtterly dischargeth them from such othe and from all dewtie of subiection fealtie obedience But we aske him againe from whence he hath that power and what God or rather what féend hath giuen him commission to release those of their othe once made of all dewtie and of all their rightfull obedience whom the true God himselfe in his owne true word openly and streitly bindeth to kéepe their promise he is not able to alledge so much as one litle word out of Gods booke for this power of his which he leawdly surmiseth worthely therefore is this trayterous ambition and rashnesse of his spitted at and the faithfull know that they must obey their gracious Quéene by the commaundement of God. For wheras the Bishops soothers alledge certein things in maintenaunce of their trecherie out of Gratian 22. Quaest. 4. and chiefly this saying of Isidore In euill promises go backe from thy word and such other thinges which the Lombard gathereth together about the end of the third booke of his sentences that Iehu the king of Israell called all the Priestes of Ball to make sacrifice and whē they were at their businesse brake promise with them and slew them euery mothers sonne and also that the Coūcell of Constance were of opinion that there was no promise to be kept with heretikes They make nothing at all for the beawtifying of their most rightlesse case For by sound iudgement we willingly admit the examples of Dauid and Herode and the sentences of Ambrose Isidore and Bede which are alledged by the Maister of the Sentences But we say further that the othe which the nobilitie and commons haue made to the Quéene of England is not to be accounted among euill promises and vnaduised vowes or othes but among such promises and othes as are promised and confirmed with swearing by the commaundement and allowance of god Wherefore I say that those othes must in any wise be performed and in no wise reuersed And who soeuer teacheth that they are to be reuersed he prouoketh Gods wrath agaynst himselfe and putteth them that obey him in daunger of Gods greuous iudgement Certesse as for Iehus déede in sleaing the Priestes of Baal God disallowed it not for he said openly that he had done the thing that was rightous in Gods sight the thing that was in Gods hart But this was a singular or peculiar déede like as certein of Sampsons doinges were and of certeine other noble men which are not setforth in the Scriptures for euery man to folow being not rightly called therunto by god For we know we must liue according to lawes and not according to custome nor after the example of particular déedes But the law commaundeth that we should not lye or deceiue any man by couin or craft and much lesse then may wee defile our selues with periurie The thinges are knowen well inough which Austen hath discoursed to Cōsentius against lying We may adde hereunto that king Iehu bound not himselfe by any solemne othe to the Priestes of Baal but onely allured them by putting them in hope that he would offer a right great and sumptous sacrifice that the Priestes being blinded with their owne naughtinesse and their ouereager desire of Idolatrie came flocking by heapes therfore suffered iust punishment in Gods behalfe for their owne sturdy wickednesse and their vnappeasable hatred towardes the true Religion and true Ministers of god Neither is this to be ouerpassed here that Iehu commaunded diligent search to be made in the tēple least there might be any of the Lordes Prophetes among the wicked Priestes of Baal meaning therby that the true seruauntes and worshippers of God must not be punished or put to death with the offenders Idolaters that be hated of god Which thing doth
excellent giftes both in their sayinges and doinges yea and finally in their writings and vertewes they shyned as most bright Cressets among the rest of the Starres For S. Peter neuer chalendged to him selfe any superioritie no not euen ouer the basest sort of men and much lesse ouer princes he neuer aduaunced his throne which he had not aboue all kinges and all kingdomes Cornelius the Centurion a knight of Rome fell down at his féete and it was no small cause that made him so to do For the aungell of the Lord had set a great commendation vpon this Peter vnto him wherupon he fell downe before Peter But Peter liftes him vp agayne and humbly sayth that he him selfe is a man also So also when he had lifted vp the lame man and made him whole and sound at the temple of Ierusalem and that the people stode wondering and worshipping of him he gaue all the glorie vnto Christ and told them that he him selfe was but a Minister Neither doth he in his Epistles aduaunce him selfe with any prelacie but simply calles him selfe an Apostle and felowelder forbidding the elders to vsurpe any Lordship ouer the Clergie Neither sitteth he still in his chayre at Hierusalem and sendes abroad his Legates a latere but he is contented to let the cōgregation send him with Iohn into Samaria Yea and in the Counsell of Ierusalem he chalendgeth no preheminence to him selfe All thinges were done in that Counsell by common aduise and consent And the Apostle Paule who in all thinges euen of the smallest sort was a most diligent obseruer of the ordinaūces of his maister Christ no where acknowledgeth S. Peter as preferred before all other men by any prerogatiue neither would he in any wise haue neglected it if he had euer thought him to haue ben preferred afore the rest by the lord Nay rather he fréely reproued Peter in the Church of Antioche accordyng as he himselfe declareth in the 2. to the Galathians In the same place in déede he calleth Peter a Piller but not Peter aboue and therfore much lesse the piller of all pillers greatest and most excellent For with Peter he matcheth two other Apostles whom he termeth pillers as well as him euen Iames and Iohn yea and he putteth Iames afore Peter He had sayd heretofore that the same were had in reputation to the end we might know wherfore he called them pillers Meaning that they were in authoritie as men that by their common and faithful trauell séemed as it were to vphold the Church which els was like to fall if it had not ben vnderpropped and stayed vp through the grace of God in their faithfull teachyng And yet Paule affirmeth that those pillers added nothyng vnto him But rather comparing him selfe with Peter The same sayth he which was mighty in Peter in the Apostleship ouer the Circumcision was mighty in me also among the Gentiles And the same Paule speakyng of the plurall nomber saith he was nothing inferiour to the chief Apostles And in the 3. chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians what is Paule sayth he what is Apollo and in this place is Peter or Cephas to be implyed also as of whō he had made mention in the first chapter vsing the same maner of speaking Neither is there any reason why the opinion of those should hold vs in a mamering which surmise that here is not ment Peter but some other disciple whom Paul calleth by the name of Cephas For the truth of the Gospell crieth out against them in the first of Iohn and so doth Paules owne declaration in the second to the Galathians What are they saith he but onely ministers by whom you haue beleued euen as the Lord gaue vnto euery man I haue planted Apollo hath watred but God gaue the increase Therfore neither is he any thing which planteth nor he which watereth but God which giueth the increase And anone after speakyng of all the Apostles yea and euen of Peter or Cephas to Let a man sayth he in such wise esteme vs as the Ministers of Christ and the disposers of the secretes of God. These lightsome and euident textes of Scripture are sufficient for men that be curable as for vncurable quareling men we leaue them to God the iust iudge and doe witnesse manifestly enough that neither Christes Apostles no nor the Apostle Peter him selfe vsurped so much as one iote of souereintie in the Church but onely tooke vpon them ministration of the glad tydinges of saluation and of Christes holy Church all their life long euen vnto the last gaspe of their liues And therfore there is no reason why the Bishop of Rome should hereafter in maintenance of himselfe his supremacie alledge any more the supremacie of Peter which is now sufficiētly apparant to be vtterly none and alwayes to haue ben none at all in déede ¶ That the first Bishops of Rome vsurped not any souereintie at all in the church but were lowly shepeheardes teachers and ministers of the Church of Rome yea and besides that also Martyrs of Christ. I Will not now dispute whether Peter came at Rome or no. Wherof I sée learned men to dout not without cause Surely it may be proued by substantiall argumentes that Peter sate not in that seate at that tyme and so long a tyme as he is commonly sayd to haue sit continually together If he came to Rome at all certes it was late ere he came and peraduēture not long afore his death For all the old writers euen those that were néere the Apostles time do agreably and stedfastly affirme that Peter was crucified at Rome vnder the Emperour Nero for preaching Christ and his Gospell the same time that Paul was beheaded Which thing I can easly graunt But from this Peter vnto Siluester there be registred 33. Byshops or pastors of Rome Of whom notwithstandyng none tooke vpon him any souereintie either ouer the Citie it selfe or ouer the Church of Rome and therfore much lesse aduaūced they them selues ouer kynges and kyngdomes Yet am I not afrayd to say thus much more of them that if they might be found to haue attempted any whit of this preheminence or to haue sewed for souereintie it is certein that they started aside from the way of their predecessours yea and from their maister Christ and grew out of kynd from their owne Peter Wherfore their sayinges and doinges being against the expresse testimonies of Christ and the Apostles aboue rehearsed could proue nothing Howbeit like as in other Churches as of Antioche Alexandria Corinth Philippos Ephesus Cesarea and the rest there were pastors or teachers which were called Bishops set ouer the Church of God which by their holy ministerie serued seuerally their owne shéepe that were committed to them and not other mens shéepe or in many places at once for at the begynnyng euery pastor had his slocke appointed and committed vnto him So also was done in the Church of Rome which
is named Apostolicke Sea or Chayre I would not haue any man amased at the termes of Sea Chayre and surmyse and imagine any Popishnesse by them Men in old time gaue the termes of Sea and Chayre not onely to the Church of Rome but to any of the notable Churches I meane which the Apostles them selues founded and in which the traditions or the doctrine of the Apostles and of the Gospell sounded or was preached florished still vncorrupted For Tertullian in his prescriptions of heretikes saith Peruse the Apostolik Churches among which the very chayres of the Apostles are yet still sytin in their places among which their authenticall letters are still read resounding the voyce and resembling the face of euery of them If Achaya be next thée thou hast Corinth if thou be not farre from Macedonie thou hast Philippos and thou hast Thessalonice If thou list to go into Asia thou hast Ephesus And if thou border vpon Italy thou hast Rome from whence also we haue authoritie at hand O happy Church wherupon the Apostles bestowed their whole doctrine together with their bloud where Peter was matched with his Lord in passion where Paule was crowned with the end of Iohn Baptist and where the Apostle Iohn after he had ben plundged in scalding oyle felt no harme at all was banished into the I le of Patmos Thus saith he Otherwise the Chayre is properly a hygh place in the Church furnished for the ministers to teach out of the more commodiously as from whence they may the better be séen and heard of their audience that is assembled in the Church Such as the men of old time are knowē to haue had as appeareth by the doynges of Achaz kyng of Iuda and by the viij chapter of Nehemias It is commonly called a Pulpit or preaching stoole It is not a cloth of estate or a Salomons throne or a kynges chayre of estate Neither did men in old tyme by the Apostolike chayre or sea meane reigning or souereintie and I wote not what greater thyng as they meane at this day But rather the chayre is taken for the very Apostolike doctrine which was preached out of those chayres or pulpites and to fit in the Apostolike sea is to preach the Apostolike doctrine For it is well knowen to all men what the Lord ment by the chayre of Moses in the Gospell when he sayd The Scribes and Pharisies sit in Moses chayre What soeuer they bid you obserue that obserue and do ye For what els is it to sit in Moses chayre than to professe Moses and to teach the things that Moses taught If any had taught any thing besides that or contrarie to that they had ben of neuer the more authoritie for the chaire like as at this day also they that preach not Apostolicall doctrine haue none authoritie by the Apostolike chayre or sea of Rome of Antioche or of Philippos neither are they in any wise to be regarded although they sit in the same seas Uery well knowen is this Canon reported in the 40. Distinction of the Decrées out of the writings of Ierome It is hard to stand in the roome of Peter and Paule and to kéepe the chayre of those that reigne with christ For hereupon it is sayd They are not the Saintes children which possesse the Saintes places but they that fulfill the workes of the Saintes They thē which had the charge of the Romane Church after that Peter was put to death were ministers pastors and teachers or preachers and not princes or Lordes Irenaeus placeth Linus immediatly after Peter Tertullian placeth Clemēt Eusebius puts Anacletus in the middes betwixt Linus and Clement Some register one Cletus betwixt Clement Anacletus which Cletus is notwithstanding quite ouerskipped and omitted by diuerse Others also dispose the succession or Register of the first Byshops of the Romane Church some after one sort and some after another so as it may séeme straunge that antiquitie varieth so in the succession of them hath almost nothing certein assured in that behalf But howsoeuer the case standeth this is most certein that such as held the Apostolik sea of Rome after Clement were vtterly ignoraūt of that supreme power and the authoritie of both the swordes which those men presumptuously boast of that thinke themselues possesse the same seate at this day They were lowely and poore ministers of the Church preached the Gospell and the doctrine of the Apostles to the Church wherof they had the charge and therewithall ministred Christes Sacramentes to the Church and beautified their doctrine with example of lyfe in the end sealed it vp with Martyrdome For all those Byshops or pastors of Rome became Christs Martyrs and were put to death for mainteynyng the pure faith and doctrine and for preaching against Idolatrie and the vncleane conuersation of the heathen And whereas in other Churches there spring vp sundry heresies and greuous debates The Romane Church aboue the rest did faithfully at that time and in the begynning kéepe still the purenesse of doctrine and the consent and agréemēt of faith And this was the cause why the men of old time did worthely make so great account of the succession of those men in the Church and of their consent in the faith who otherwise would vndoubtedly haue made no reckening at all of the succession in the Sea onlesse the pastors and the Church of Rome had continued in pure doctrine and vnappayred faith Truly there arose dissention euen in this Church also betwixt Anicetus Bishop of Rome and Polycarpus the minister of the Church of Smyrna the Disciple of Iohn the Apostle howbeit not for any Articles of faith but for kéeping of the Easter day Neuerthelesse the contention endured not long For they agréed well and brotherly agayne and willed that euery man should obserue and kéepe still his owne custome that was admitted in his owne Church that the concord of the Churches might not be broken for the diuersitie of ceremonies But yet agayne Victor the Byshop of the Romane Church takyng more vppon him than became him and stepping aside from the modestie and simplicitie of his predecessours aduentured to breake the agréement that was begon betwene Anicetus and Polycarpus excommunicated the Easterne people that kept the Easter day vpon the xiiii day of the moneth Yet for all that the pastors of the residew of the Churches acknowledged not Victor for a commaunder of the Churches or for such a one as by right might take vpon him authority ouer other Churches For his ouerbold and rash enterprise was reproued by the Bishops as well of the East as of the West that is to wit by the holyest and best learned and by such as were had in chief estimation in that age namely by Polycrates Bishop of Ephesus and by Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons And so was Victor brought agayne into the right way Which thing Eusebius declareth at large in his historie of the Church matters And
truly in processe of tyme the vices that had euery where occupyed and corrupted other Churches began also to enter into the Church of Rome for there arose a great schisme in the Church of Rome some chosing S. Cornelius to be their pastors and some choosing Nouatus from whom sprong the heresie or sect of the Nouatians which became very noysome to the Church But Cornelius got the gouernement vnder whom certein of Aphrike began to put the decidyng of their controuersies to the sea of Rome Neuerthelesse the blessed Martyr Byshop of Carthage Cyprian did set himselfe agaynst them also and in his 3. booke of Epistles in his first Epistle to Cornelius Byshop of Rome whom he calleth his brother he sayth among other thinges how it is decréed by all men yea and also that it is right and reason that eche mans case should be there heard where the fault is committed Also he sayth that vnto euery pastor is allotted a portiō of the slocke for euery of them to rule and gouerne and he shall render an account of his doing vnto the lord Among these thinges marke that as yet at that tyme the Byshop of Rome was not taken for the vniuersall shepheard to whom all the other Churches should be subiect Nay rather he sayth that euery shepheard had his seuerall Church committed to him to gouerne for which he should render account to the Lord God and not to the Pope And S. Cornelius himself did not either allow such as appealed out of Affricke to Rome or desire to rule ouer all other Churches and to be called the souerein Lord of all kinges and kingdomes To be bréef these Byshops of the Romane Church were all put to death for the sound doctrine and the professing of Christes name by the Emperours of Rome So farre were they of from taking vpon them full and absolute power ouer any Princes and least of all ouer the princes of Rome For which of so many vngodly bloudy manquellyng princes being mo then xl in nomber did they depose from his souereintie or which of them I pray you did they excōmunicate Or which of these bishops assoyled the people of their othe made to the Emperours Or which of all these said wrate or thought himself to haue receiued fulnesse of power at the handes of Christ our Lord by Peter to be set ouer kinges and kingdomes Therfore it is most certein that these first ministers of the Romane Church were ignoraunt of the thinges which the Romish Bishops of this last and forworne age haue vsurped to themselues and which they haue now a long tyme in vayne indeuered to stablish by the Epistles of those mē ¶ That the Decretall Epistles of the first Byshops of Rome are but counterfettes VErely I am not ignorant how there fly abroad many Epistles of these holy Romane Bishops Martyrs which they call decretals But they ouerthrow themselues with their owne absurdities and shew themselues to be but counterfettes in asmuch as many thinges be so light so triflyng and so vtterly vnlike that auncient simplicitie purenesse and maiestie that not with out good cause they séeme vnto godly and learned men to haue ben deuised long since by others Neither do I greatly regard that the same are fathered vpon the gatheryng of Damasus and Isidorus seyng that there want not some men which put ouer certeine of these kynd of thinges euen to the time of Gregorie the 7. But howsoeuer the case stād for the tyme I pray yon what can be more fond then the fathering of these wordes vpon Anacletus This holy holy and Apostolike Church of Rome obteined the supremacie and preheminence of power ouer all Churches not frō the Apostles but from the very Lord himselfe our Sauiour And again There was a difference euen betwene the blessed Apostles and albeit that all of them were Apostles yet did the Lord graunt and the Apostles determined among them selues that Peter should haue preheminence afore all the rest of the Apostles and be Cephas that is to say a head and hold the souereintie of Apostleship Thus sayth he But who knoweth not though he be but meanely séene in histories that after full fiue hūdred yeares it was obteined and ordeined not by Christ or his Apostles but by loytering lozels or rather by traiterous persōs that Rome should be called the head of all Churches that is to wit that it should obteine supremacie prerogatiue of power ouer all Churches Or who would beleue that Anacletus exercised himselfe so little in readyng of the Gospell that he knew not how Cephas signifieth not a head but a stone or a Rocke according as it is interpreted by Iohn the Apostle in the first chapter And which interpreter should a man rather beleue Iohn the Apostle or the coūterfet Anaclete The lewd packing then of the lewd lozelles is detected both in these and in many other thinges The same partie maketh very often mention of Archbyshops and metropolitanes neither omitteth he primates But it is most manifest that those titles were vtterly vnknowen to the primitiue Church and were afterward inuented and vsurped in times folowyng And at their first comming vp the maner of vsing them was after a sort méetly tolerable till their posteritie did afterward vse them or rather misuse them more proudly Besides this the sayd counterfet Anaclete maketh a Bishop greater than an Elder whereas Ierome himselfe sheweth by Scriptures that Elders and Bishops are all one and that in processe of time Byshops were preferred before Elders not by the ordinaunce of God but by the ordinaunce of man Moreouer this Anacletus alloweth the Appeales that are made to the sea of Rome saying that all questions and matters of weight ought to be referred to the Apostolike sea for so had the Apostles decréed But this selfe same thing is manifestly disallowed by the holy maister of Christ Cyprian writyng to Cornelius the Pope Many other thinges prateth he concerning the priuiledges and iudgementes of the Church which who soeuer séeth not to disagrés with these first tymes of the primitiue Church he seeth nothyng but is blynder then a béetle Furthermore there is a decrée fathered vpon Pope Alexander wherby he commaundeth that water should be halowed with salt to clense the people and to put away the secret slightes of the deuill But who is so light headed to beleue that so great men in so great light of the Gospell published so filthy decrées concerning such baggagely gewgawes so openly fighting agaynst the Gospell and doctrine of the Apostles These thinges sauour not that Apostolike and auncient purenesse and maiestie which entierly attributeth all saluation to the onely bloud of the sonne of God and not to water and salt Pope Sixtus in the sayd decretall Epistles commaundeth that no man els should touch the holy vesselles but he that is halowed Ye may perceiue that this stuffe agréeth trimly with the Apostolicall doctrine deliuered by Paul in the 2. to
vsurpyng monstruously the place of supreme head And finally which hath presumed to dispose parsons of churches other Catholicke Priestes and to make constitutions in cases Ecclesiasticall deposing and oppressing the Catholike Byshops and aduauncing or restoryng wicked preachers and ministers of vngodlinesse to the roomes of those that be deposed c. This ye may sée is the fayre Helene for the winnyng of whom the Romish Byshops haue made warre in Christendome now these certeine hundred yeares agaynst all Christen Kinges and Princes This is the ground of all their grief verely this is the onely cause for which they haue turmoyled the whole world and cease not to turmoyle it euen at this day that is to wit in so great light of the Gospell which now shyneth bright and triumpheth through the whole world a most assured proofe of inuincible shamelesnesse and wilfulnesse For the Lord without any parable and most manifestly in the Gospell sayth to the pastors of Churches The kings of the Gentiles reigne ouer them but so shall not you Neuerthelesse the Byshop who will séeme to be the Prince of pastors despising or rather trampling that so manifest commaundement of the Lord vnder his féete is not ashamed to take vppon him all power as well in spirituall as temporall matters And what els is that but to wype away all shamefastnesse and openly and wickedly to rebell agaynst God and to outface him with saying to him but we will do so and not simply but also farre further yea and more to But I haue shewed euidently inough afore that all pastors of Churches are called and ordeined by Christ not to beare rule but to serue in all thinges Monstruously therfore doth the seruaunt of seruauntes which is excluded from all Lordship and appointed onely to do seruice vsurpe to him selfe the thyng that is peculiar onely to souereines whom God hath set in authoritie For if the thyng be sayd to be done monstruously which is done either agaynst nature or Gods expresse ordinaunce I pray you what can be deuised more monstruous than that he whom the Lord of all thinges of whom commeth all power and dominion hath cast downe as the basest seruaunt of all and put farre vnderneath the footestooles of all Lordes should not onely take vpon him the chayre of estate which God hath graunted onely to kynges but also moreouer deuise himselfe a throne which he will haue séeme to be exalted aboue the thrones of all kinges and mountyng vp into the same without remembraunce of his own base estate deuilishly vaunt himselfe to the whole world not now as a King or Emperour onely but also as chief Byshop that obteineth both the swordes and all power both in heauen and in earth Here is that dubbleshapped monster here here is séen that deadly and detestable that horrible also and wonderfull monster which is blased in the holy Scriptures by the title of the great whore which fitteth vppon many waters and vppon the scarlet colored beast full of names of blasphemie But for a kyng or a Quéene to be called a head as well in spirituall as temporall matters within their owne Realme it is no monstruousnesse at all bycause the Lord hath so ordeined it in Gods word Princes be called the heades of the people so the thing can not be sayd to be done mōstruously agaynst nature which is done according to Gods will word With Kyngs I ioyne Quéenes also and not without cause least the Pope perchaunce might surmyse that women are excluded from reignyng or that it is a monstruous thyng if a woman should reigne For we know that the thinges which the Apostle speaketh concernyng the obedience of wiues and the silence of women in the congregation of God are not to be wrested vnto reigning For it is certein that the Lords Apostles impeached not the successions in kyngdomes ne disordered not the accustomed maner of inherityng in kyngdomes Also we know that mention is made in the Bible of the noble Quéene of Saba to her great prayse for her much conference with Salomon Neither will I now say any thyng of Delbora that Iudged Israell of other Princely Ladyes Truly Esay not onely sayd And Kynges shal be thy foster-fathers but also added And Quéenes shal be their nurces they shall bow downe themselues before thée c. Esay 49. ¶ How it is no monstruousnesse for the Queene of England and consequently for all ciuill Magistrates to determine in cases Ecclesiasticall or to vndertake and beare the charge of Church matters as to depose euill Byshops and to set vp better in their roomes NOw then it is out of dout that the sayd most vertuous Quéene is supreme head or souerein Lady in that her Realme ordeined of God himselfe and set ouer the puissant Realme of Englād except it be false which the Lords Apostle and chosen vessel Paule hath sayd Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers For there is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordeined of god Therfore who soeuer resisteth power resisteth Gods ordinaūce And they that resist shall purchase dānation to themselues Seyng now that all men know these thinges to be most true it foloweth there withal not onely that the Quéene of Englād is Quéene by Gods ordinaūce but also that the byshop that resisteth her setteth himselfe naughtely agaynst her prouoketh Gods greuous iudgemēt agaynst himselfe But forasmuch as the Pope thinkes it a monstruousnesse that a king or a Quéene or any ciuil Magistrate in a cōmō weale should determine of Ecclesiasticall cases put down naughtie Priestes or Bishops aduaunce set vp better in their steddes and take vpon him to beare the charge not onely of temporall affaires but also of spirituall or Ecclesiasticall matters Lo I will proue and shew by euident and inuincible argumentes and examples of holy kynges howbeit briefly that the same thinges are parcell of their dewtie and therfore that the Magistrate doth then by Gods law and accordyng to the commaundement of the euerlastyng God and that the Bishop of Rome snatcheth them to him selfe and to his rable tyrannically and wickedly agaynst God playeth the Antichrist in pluckyng them from those to whom God hath giuen them That God in any wise would and that he hath ordeined from the beginnyng that Kynges in their kyngdomes and Magistrates in their common weales ought to take vpon them the care euen of Religion and to looke faithfully vnto it and to order it diligently accordyng to the rule of Gods woord this is the greatest proofe that God in hys law doth straitly commaund a copie of the law to be deliuered to the Prince of his people therby to dispose all his affaires And in the same law he commaundeth the Magistrate to make examination of doctrines and to restrayne yea and to smyte such as withdraw mē from God and such as teach stubbornly agaynst the law These thinges are to
good and thou shalt receaue prayse of him for he is Gods minister for thy welfare but if thou do the thing that is euyll then be affrayde for he beareth not the sworde in vaine for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on them that do euyll Why then did not these men well whome the Bull bewayleth for so should they doubtlesse haue receyued both prayse reward at the Quéenes hand being a gracious and bountifull prince The Quéene hath done nothing in this behalf which God hath not commaūded to be done afore in his law yea and also which is not ordayned in the lawes of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius L. Quicunque C. concerning Bishops and clerkes as hath bene sayd heretofore Yet will I not here sing the prayses of those that are set vp in the places of them that be deposed by Gods grace do their seruice at this day to the Churches of England peaceably and healthfully Their owne vertue commendeth them sufficiently so as they haue no néed of my prayse ¶ That the Queene of England hath not chosen mens opinions for herself and hir realme to follow but Gods pure word hertofore sought out and receyued by King Edward the sixth nor yet sette foorth bookes of heresie or forced her realme to receiue them THe goodly Bull a Gods name proceedeth on still to lay together the rest of the articles of his accusation against the Quéenes Maiestie in these wordes She hath sayth he commaunded hir subiectes to obserue the wicked misteries and ordinaunces which she hir selfe hath taken vp and obserued according to Caluins setting forth Also she hath set out bookes to hir whole Realme contayning manifest heresie But the lying and slaunderous Bull shooteth wide al the féeld ouer Perchance the Romish sort measure al men by themselues and because they them selues hang wholy vpon men in so much as there be many thousandes to be found among them which both will be called haue a plesure to be called Benedictines of Benet Franciscanes of Frauncis and diuersly and sunderly after many others and will both séeme to séeme to liue and glorie to liue according to these mens ordinances rules or appointmentes therefore they imagine that we also woulde be called Lutherans of Luther Zuinglians of Zuinglius and Caluinistes of Caluine and that we hang wholy vpon these mens ordinaunces but it is not so Paule the Apostle of Christ hath forbidden any such thing to be done in the Church saying to the Corrinthians Euery of you sayth I hold of Apollo I of Cephas and I of christ Is Christ deuided was Paule crucifyed for you or were you baptized in Paules name And againe when one sayth I hold of Paule and an other I holde of Apollo are ye not fleshly Therefore the true Christians will be named but onely after christ As for the names of men be they neuer so excellent we acknowledge them not in this case neither do we regard or receyue theyr ordinances furtherfoorth then they agree in all poyntes with Gods woorde and when we receiue them we receiue thē not for their sakes but for Gods wordes sake And the Quéene of Englands Maiestie neuer receiued of Caluin or of any other excellent and well learned men any ordinaunces to follow nor neuer regarded them and yet by the way if any of them haue taught any thing out of Gods pure woord no godly man can take scorn of for the Quéene in that reformation of hirs had an eye onely to the liuely woord of God deliuered vnto vs by the holy scriptures and so she setled all matters of religion vppon the very woord of God and not vpon any men Dauid speaking of Gods woord sayth in the 119. Psalme Thy woord O Lord endureth for euer in heauen Thy woord is a lanterne to my féet and a light vnto my paths Lord thou art righteous and thy iudgement is rightfull Princes sit together and rayle vpon me because thy seruaunt talketh of thy statutes and because thy testimonies are my delight and my counsellors Princes haue persecuted me without cause but my hart standeth in awe of thy woord And Lord seing I stick to thy testimonies bring me not to shame c. That godly prince of blessed memorie and woorthy of immortall glorie King Edward the sixth folowing the examples of Iosias and Constantine the great two of the excellentest princes that euer were in the world began the reformation of the English church For like as Iosias calling a parlament or Couusell of his noble men Priestes and Commons did first cause the law of God to be read openly before them and then obediently refourmed hys whole realme woord for word according to the law that was read And like as Constantine summoned a generall counsell of the teachers and Ministers of the Churches through the whole worlde and sitting downe among them sayd The bookes of the Gospelles and the Apostles together with the oracles of the auncient Prophets do plainly entruct vs of Gods meaning and will and therefore laying aside all enemylike discord let vs take the exposition of our questions out of the sayinges of the Holie Ghost Euen so King Edward summoning a parlament at London of all the Nobilitie Bishoppes and notablest learned men through hys whole realme admitting also the famousest clarkes of other realmes being Gods seruauntes commaunded them to shew by the holy scriptures what was to be followed of him and his realme in so great diuersity of opinions And they executing faythfully the charge which the King had enioyned them did the same time with one consent and according to Gods woord agrée vpon certaine articles which the King did both receiue and publish without delay wyth this title set afore them Articles agréeed vpon by the Bishops and other learned men in the Parlament holden at London in the yeare of our Lord 1552. for the taking away of the diuersitie of opinions and the stablishing of consente in the true religion published by authoritie of the Kinges maiestie Therefore by the labour and endeuor of that godly prince King Edward the English Church was refourmed according to the rule and appointment of the holy scriptures After King Edwardes decease Quéene Marie repealing the same reformation abrogated it for a time And Queene Elizabeth hauing receiued it againe by Gods grace hath eftsoones set it vp in perfect estate And therefore nothing els hath she receiued and deliuered to be kept of hir whole Realme then that hir brother of blessed memorie King Edward héertofore most godlily and wisely thought méet to be receiued and beleued of himself and to be conueighed ouer to his subiectes out of the liuely woord of God as hath bene sayd already whereby it appeareth now most manifestly that the thinges are false and forged which the lying Bull hath bruted concerning wicked misteries with spightfull interlacing the name of Caluine receyued by the Quéenes Maiestie and enioyned to the Realme of England
thūderbolt and no more to be feared then the thunderclappes smokes and mistes of Cacus were to be feared of Hercules as hath bene sayd already afore The blind mā to whom Christ had giuen eye sight was in old tyme cast out of the Synagoge of the Pharisies But that excommunication was so farre from hurting him that from thence forth he was receiued into Christes houshold by the Lord Christ himselfe who in his Gospell prophesying of the thinges that are now accomplished by the Pope sayd They shall thrust you out of their Synagoges Yea and the tyme commeth that who soeuer killeth you he shall thinke he doth God seruice And these thinges shall they do vnto you bycause they haue not knowē the father nor yet me But I haue told these things vnto you to the intent that whē that time is come ye may remember what I haue sayd vnto you Wherfore it hurteth not the Queenes Maiestie a whit that she is sayd to be cut of truly not from the vnitie of Christes body but from the felowshyp of the Popish corporation For were she not cut of from this verely she could not be reckened among the true and liuely members of Christes body neither could she haue God to be her father if she could finde in her hart to be an obedient daughter to the Syr that sitteth vppon mount Tarpey deuouring his owne sonnes and daughters like Saturne For the Lord willeth hys children to get them out of Babylon if they minde to escape the plagues of God and to atteine true saluation And we be not kept in the vnitie of Christes body which is the Church of the liuing God by obeying and reuerencing the Romane Church and the Bishop therof but by true faith in Christ according to the Gospell of god He that wanteth this or he that impugneth this hath no communion at all neither with Christ nor with the Church how much soeuer he pratle of the vnitie of Christes body ¶ That the Pope of Rome doth falsly and tyrannously giue sentence that the Queene of England is depriued of her kingdome and of all right of her crowne AFterward the Pope in his sayd definitiue sentence determineth peremptorily that the Quéene of England is depriued of her crowne and of all right of her crowne and of all other authoritie dominion dignitie and priuilege whatsoeuer But who hath made the Pope a souerein Monarche ouer the whole world to reigne alone and to haue all kingdomes vnder him and to hold all kynges and princes vnder his allegeance as his vassals or tenauntes at wil so as he might set them vp or thrust them out of their kyngdomes at his pleasure Heretofore when I discoursed vpon Ieremies wordes I haue set thee ouer kynges and kyngdomes c. I haue shewed openly and sufficiently inough so as there néedeth no more at this tyme that the Pope is not set ouer kynges and kyngdomes by God but rather vsurpeth superioritie and power ouer kynges and nations contrarie both to the open example and commaundement of the lord Therfore as now I wil adde no more but this that the Pope doth falsly or rather through mere tyranny without any right or regard of shame chalenge to him selfe this power which the Lord neuer deliuered to any man For the wise Prophet Daniel sayth Wisedome and power belong vnto the lord He it is that altereth the tymes and chaunges of tymes He it is that putteth downe kinges and setteth vp kinges The same thyng also haue Iob and Dauid in his Psalmes affirmed afore him Yea and the holy histories setting forth the same thyng most plenteously declare that God ordeined Saule kyng of the Israelites by the Prophet Samuel and by the message of the same Prophet deposed him agayne for his disobedience and rebellion aduauncing Dauid to his roome a man accordyng to Gods owne hart Agayne vnder Salomon Dauides sonne the kyngdome was rent a sunder and God by the message of his Prophet Ahia gaue ten partes of the kyngdome to Ieroboam and those ten partes of the kyngdome were not taken away from Salomon and his posteritie for any other cause then for that Salomon him selfe had withdrawen his hart from God and allowed his outlandish wiues wherewith to set vp and exercise their Idolatrie But the same Ieroboam is deposed agayne and none other cause of hys deposing by the report of the same Ahia the Prophet then for that he hearkened not to the word of the Lord but according to mans policie vpon a good intent of his owne made him straunge Gods and set vp the same for the children of Israel to worship and cleaued not vncorruptly to the word of the Lord. Other kinges of Israel also were deposed from from their kingdome by God as Baasa Ela Achab such other like and for none other cause then that they had leuer to folow the Idolatrie of Ieroboam then the word of the Lord. Furthermore when Iehu had destroyed Iezabell king Achabs wife and all his posteritie and therewithall made cleane riddance of all the Priestes of Baal yea beaten downe the Temple of Baal and made a draught of it the Lord said vnto him for asmuch as thou hast earnestly executed the thing that is right in mine eyes and done vnto the house of Achab according to all that was in my hart thy sonnes shall sit vppon the seate of Israell to the fourth generatiō I could rehearse many other thinges of this sort no lesse notable then these but that I séeke to be brief as far as the matter giueth leaue And I haue rehearsed these thinges to the end that all men may manifestly perceiue how it is God himselfe and not the pope that createth kinges and displaceth them yea and which remoueth shaketh ouerthroweth repaireth and stablisheth all kingdomes vniuersally and seuerally Now although he haue disposed it by his messengers the Prophetes as by Samuell Ahias Eliseus and others yet is not the Pope called to these matters as those men were neither hath he receiued any commission from God in this case so much as by one little word but rather is commaūded to attempt no such thing Besides this God deposed kinges as it were extraordinarily by the Prophetes not by the high Priestes which were ordeined by God to be in Israell with the kinges least the kingdome and the Priest hode might be set at oddes betwene them selues Therfore although the Pope were the souerein Bishop yet should not the disposing and ordering of kinges belong to his charge Moreouer if a man consider wherefore God deposed those kinges by the meane of his Prophetes the Quéene of England hath wherwith to comfort and confirme her and the Pope hath that which graffeth him into the nomber of false prophetes discorageth him and vtterly ouerthroweth him For Ahias said out of the mouth of the Lord vnto Ieroboam if thou wilt hearken to my commaundementes and walke in my wayes as
the Pope And if he obey not he commaundeth all his Lordes temporall and spirituall to forsake their Prince and to compell him to obey the Pope This Bull was published the xv day of October the yeare of our Lord God. 1323. But Lewes asked the aduise of all the Clerkes that were best séene in the lawes as well of God as man through Germanie Italie and Fraunce at Paris Bononie Padua and other Uniuersities who gaue an agreable aunswere That the Popes doinges against the Emperour are contrarie to Christian doctrine that the Pope was out of his wittes and made hauocke of Christes people for desire of dominion and that the Emperour was not subiect to the Pope but the Pope to the Emperour For the seruaunt of seruauntes ought not to beare rule but rather to do seruice to such as sit at the table But the Bishop cryes out that all these which gaue the Emperour this aunswere are heretickes and he excommunicateth them all with the Emperour and burneth their bookes The Emperour for all this called a Parlament about the matter and sommoning a Counceil deposed the Pope For he was openly proclaymed for an heretike a tyraunt of the Church and a troubler of the common peace and thereunto his image was burned in the Marketsted Neuerthelesse when Iohn the xxij was dead Clement the sixth continewed the displeasure still agaynst Lewes commaunding him likewise to depose himselfe from the Empyre Yea he proceded yet further and reuiuyng all Iohn the xxij processes denounced the Emperour to be an heretike and a schismatike moreouer commaundyng the Electors to chuse another king by a tyme appointed except they had leuer that the Bishop himself should giue them a king They therfore obeying his manaces chose Charles Marques of Morania But for asmuch as the better part of the Empyre was displeased both with the Pope with Charles and sticked still to Lewes their true souerein Lord and Emperour it came agayne to swordes drawyng on both sides and there was burning wasting and sleayng the accustomed frutes of the Byshops of Rome which neuer brought tydinges of peace but alwayes blew vp the trumpet to battell And least Italie and Naples might take breath any while from their slaughters and wastinges Vrbane the sixth of that name made sute to Lewes the puissant king of Hungarie that he should send Charles Duke of Durace into Italie with an host of Hungarians for he would bestow the kingdome of Sicilie vpon him Therfore when he came to Rome he crowned him king of Sicilie howbeit in such wise as he departed with certeine of the best Earledomes in the Realme to the Bishops neuew Againe least Clement the Antipope might séeme of lesse authoritie then Pope Turbane he crowned Lewes Duke of Angeow a sideman of his kyng of Sicilie who immediatly enters into Italie with threescorethousand mē Then folowed spoilyng burning and sleaing againe and all maner of crueltie was exercised on either side verely by the instigation of these good and peaceable Apostles the souerein Shepeherdes of the Church of Rome I wittingly passe ouer here many outrageous doynges of the Bishops which the storywriter Theodoriche of Nyem prosecuteth very largely and truly in his thrée bookes of the Schisme Now come I to Martine the fifth that was created Bishop at the Councell of Constance who being nothing vnlike his predecessors gaue Sicilie in Fee to one Aloyse of Sicilie against Alphons king of Spayne Wherupon rose againe not a few nor small calamities The same Byshop was the cause of the Ciuill warre in Beame and that the Germanes that went into Beame with a great power brought nothing thence but dishonour very great losse I will not pursue the slaughters burninges wastringes miseries of that warre They be described at large by Aenaeas Syluius in his Historie of Beame The same author setteth out the horrible and blouddy practises that Eugenie the fourth and his successor Martine the fifth vsed to ouerthrow the Councel of Basill And it hath ben shewed already how great mischief the same Eugenie the fourth brought vpon Christendome when he inforced kyng Ladislaus vnto vnhappie warre contrarie to his othe made vnto Amurathes Prince of Turkye Pius the second and Sixtus the fourth were forewarder to feates of armes then to peace and preaching of the Gospell They neuer yelded an inche to any Prince but indeuered most scoutly not onely to maynteine but also by hooke and by crooke to increase the maiestie of their sea The histories beare witnesse hereof abundantly I will not any further report what the Byshops of Rome haue committed in our age and within the remembraunce of man least I trouble the gentle reader to much for they be better knowen then that they néede to be rehearsed For who knoweth not how great lawlesnesse they haue abused in transposing kingdomes in dischargyng subiectes from their dew faithfulnesse and obedience in putting downe and settyng vp of kynges and in hatching of most blouddy and mortall warres The horrible trecherie of Alexander the sixth agaynst Charles kyng of Fraunce is well inough knowen in that he made him take armes vppon him and called him into the kyngdome of Naples agaynst the kyng of Spayne and yet for all that did byanby after most trayterously take part with the Spanyardes agaynst him Iulius the second a Lombard practised the Uenetian warre which being the greatest and sorest of all others continewed eight yeares with excedyng great bloushed before it could be ended and stirred vp Lewes kyng of Fraunce agaynst the Uenetians and byanby after led not onely the Uenetians but also all the puissantest Princes and people of Europe agaynst Lewes Also he behaued himselfe after such a sort in the matter of calling a Councell that euen the Papistes themselues do greatly blame him and finde fault with him in that behalfe Yea and euen Onuphrius Panuinius hath blamed this dealing in Iulius the second Leo the tenth not onely appeased not the troubles styrred vp by Iulius but also continewed them doubblyng mischief vppon mischief armyng nation agaynst nation and kéepyng promise neither with Germanes nor with Frenchmen Clement the seuenth passed Leo and some of his predocessours For first he tooke part with the Emperour and afterward slipt away to Fraunces the French king to whom he was the occasion of a very great losse For in the kyngdome of Naples whether Lawtreche had brought his army very well appointed by the instigation of the Pope he lost the greater part of his armye by reason of an vnmercyfull plague that fell vpon them The storie of Frijndsperg Captein of the Almaine souldyers auoucheth in the eighth booke and the hundred and thréescor the leafe that of fourescore thousand there remained alyue scarcely one thousand and seuen hundred What troubles Paule the third the Romish Byshop wrought vnto Germanie the warre that
seruice of hys Prophetes in puttyng kyngs downe Promises must be broken in euill cases Iehu the kyng of Israell sleaing of Baals Priestes Whether promise be not to be kept with heretikes The Councell of Constance Hereby thou mayst learne what it is to breake promise euen with infidelles The 10. of Nouember 1444 â–ª The promise that is made lawfully â–ª must be kept alwaies to all persons Exod. 20. Leuit. 22. Ephes. 4. Psalm 5. Ieremie reacheth that promise is to be kept euen with infidelles Ezech. 17. The doctrine of the Apostles concerning this matter 1. Tim. 6. The fourth counsell of Tolet willeth men to keep promise made vnto princes The pope then teacheth high treason against God when he dischargeth meÌ„ of their othe made to the Queene Marke these thinges Esay 34. A very godly saying This is a iust curse plaine contrary to the popish curse The conclusion of the place concerning the discharge of the othe 2. Thes. 2. Apoc. 19. The bloudy sentence of the pope Iohn 8. Princes must be obeyed Princes and Magistrates must be honored Exod. 22. Princes are to be feared Rom. 13. All dewties be to be payde vnto Princes Agaynst seditions and seditious persons Plagues punishments executed vpon rebelles by God. Num. 16 Num. 13. 14. I notable example of Gods greuous punishment vpon kyng Rodolphus for hys periurie and rebellion Marke this Hist. lib. 6. Cap. 32. The maister the scholer were both witches The cause of Gregorie the seuenthes hatred toward the Emperor HeÌ„ry the fourth Gregory the 7. agaynst the Emperour Henry the fourth 1076. Excommunicaters of Princes 1079. Sorowful turmoyles in Germanie The Germane preachers against the pope whom they call Antichrist 1083. 1086. The disciples of Gregory the seuenth The 〈◊〉 stir vp the sonnes against their father See to what point the popes draue the Emperour Malice ceaseth not against the dead Calixt against Henry the fifth 1122. Innocent the third against the Emperour 1199. 1212. 1219. Gregory the nynth against Frederik the second The Gwelfes Gwibelines In what wise the bisshops of Rome haue indeuored to keep folk together in christen vnitie Innocent the fourth agaynst the Emperor 1248. The preaching of the Crosse. 1095. These thynges were done vnder Innocent the thyrd Frier Dominike Canonised for a saint Kynges chosen agaynst Friderike the second The death of the Lantgraue Corradine duke of Sweueland is oppressed by the Pope 1266. 1268. O blessed saying of a butcherly Bishop The Princes are put to death and in theÌ„ surceaseth the auÌ„cient ofspryng of the Dukes of Sweueland and Austrich See here the cause of the loÌ„g warre for Sicilie Naples betwene the FrenchmeÌ„ and the Spanyardes Why these thynges are rehearsed Why God suffereth so horrible thynges agaynst hys Saintes 2. Thes. 2. The wonderfull inconstancie of the Byshops of Rome 1278. 1283. 1285. The Spanyardes are set at oddes with the FrenchmeÌ„ 1285. 1286. The Byshop of Tull against the Popes 1289. The Earle of Tyroll against the Pope and the Byshops 1301. Boniface the viij agaynst the K. of Fraunce 1307. Clement the fifth agaynst the Uenetians Frances DaÌ„dalus made a Dog. The Emperour Henry the vij is poysoned 1313. Iohn the 22. against the Emperour Lewes the fourth See his shamlesse boldnesse The iudgemeÌ„t of the Doctours in the chief Uniuersities in the Emperours behalfe agaynst the Pope Luke 22. 1327. Clement the sixth agaynst Lewes the 4. 1346. 1381. The Hungarians are called into Sicilie 1383. The Frenchmen are called into Sicilie agaynst the HuÌ„garians 1423. 1428. The warre in Beame 1458. 1471. The Popish kingdome conâ—â—â—â—â— Pope Alexander the vi 1494. Pope Iuly the second 1508. Pope Leo the tenth 1515. Pope Clement the seuenth 1525. Pope Paule the thyrd 1546. Pope Paule the fourth 1557. The conclusioÌ„ of the whole discourse AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Day dwellyng ouer Aldersgate ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis