Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	call_v	church_n	congregation_n	1,735	5	9.2238	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42270	A short defence of the church and clergy of England wherein some of the common objections against both are answered, and the means of union briefly considered.	Grove, Robert, 1634-1696.	1681 (1681)	Wing G2160; ESTC R21438	56,753	96

them seems to be this The inferiour City had a Bishop who with the assistance of a number of Presbyters under him had the Ecclesiastical care of the Territory that belonged to his City in the chief City was a Metropolitan or Archbishop and without him there were some things that were not to be done by the other Bishops and in some parts there were Patriarchs that had the inspection of divers Provinces And herein the Ecclesiastical honour followed the Civil and in those places where the secular Governour had the greatest power the Authority of the Bishop was increased in some degree proportionable to that And this indeed and not his being the pretended Vicar of Christ or the successor of S. Peter is the true reason of all the preheminence that the Bishop of Rome could ever lay claim unto He was Bishop of the Capital City of the Empire and upon that account might have the honour of precedency but was never acknowledged to be the Universal Pastor that had a power of commanding the whole Catholick Church He had the same Authority and no more within his own Precincts as other Patriarchs and Metropolitans had in theirs What ever the Priviledges of the Bishop of Rome were it is well known that the Bishop of Constantinople had the same conferred upon him by the decree of several Councils and the reason that is given for it is this because it was new Rome and an Imperial City as well as the old But it is clear that this distinction I have been speaking of is very antient We find mention of a Patriarch very probably of Alexandria in an Epistle of the Emperour Adrian which must be written within about a hundred years after the passion of our Saviour In the first general Council at Nice the power of Metropolitans was confirmed and then accounted by the Fathers assembled there amongst the antient customs of the Church So that it is evident what the judgement of Antiquity was in the case of Episcopacy they did not only allow of the Superiority of Bishops over Presbyters but gave the Metropolitan some power over the other Bishops which was very agreeable to the form of Government that was exercised in the time of the Apostles Now all the Christians in the World make up but one Catholick Church and the several portions and subdivisions of that whether smaller or greater have the same name and are called Churches as the whole is Thus we may read of the Eastern Western or African Church which did consist of divers Provinces and of the Church of Hierusalem Antioch or Corinth which were Episcopal or Metropolitical Churches and thus every particular assembly of Christians meeting orderly together for the worship of God may be called a Church For in homogeneous bodies where the nature of all the parts is the same they do properly take the same denomination with the whole thus every Bucket or drop that is of it is water as well as the Ocean And thus have all Christians spoken of Churches without any scruple in all ages But that there are no Churches but Congregational only is an opinion which I take to be exceeding modern And I will endeavour to make it appear in the instances of Jerusalem and Corinth that it was otherwise in the most Primitive times The Christian Religion by the blessing of God spread it self so fast at Jerusalem that within a short time after the miraculous descent of the holy Ghost we find that many of them which heard the word believed and the number of the men was about five thousand And soon after that Believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and women And again the word of God increased and the number of the Disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great company of the Priests were obedient to the faith Now if we consider these expressions and the mighty numbers that were wont to be converted by the Apostles preaching we may well conceive that by this time they might be augmented from five to ten or twelve thousand or it may be more But suppose them not to amount to above seven or eight thousand which is the least that can be reasonably imagined these how many soever there were of them did all make but one Church but it cannot be thought that they met all in the same place and that they made but one single Congregation For if there were no other Preachers there besides them yet the Apostles were all at Jerusalem at that time and then one of them must have gathered a Church but the rest could have none if it be supposed to have been but one Congregation But not to insist upon this If they were but one Congregation in what place could they possibly meet together for the publick exercise of their Religion If hated and persecuted as they were they durst have adventured upon erecting of a building capacious enough for so vast a multitude they had not yet done it When they assembled themselves it was in some private house and commonly in an upper room and what beams and rafters were able to bear them or what Palace had a Hall large enough to contain such huge numbers as must flock together upon their solemn times of Worship Or if these difficulties were removed the unbelieving Jews were their sworn and most implacable enemies and would not have suffered so many of them to meet without the most violent opposition and setting the whole City in an uproar against them Or if their malice could the vigilancy of the Roman Government would never have indured it They were extreamly jealous of every great and unusual concourse of people and would be more so in a Nation that had not been very long conquered and accustomed to the yoke especially one so stubborn and rebellious and hated of all the world as the Jewish was And their jealousie would have been increased when they had found that this was to be a frequent stated meeting for the exercise of a strange Religion as the Christian was then accounted For though they were very indulgent to all their conquests in allowing them the free use of the old Religion of their Country they were very fearful and cautious of admitting any new ones And these considerations being laid together it seems to me absolutely incredible that the Church of Jerusalem should consist but of one particular assembly For when the Christians there were so exceedingly multiplied why should we not think that they had so much prudence as to part themselves into several Congregations when it is a thing confessed to be allowable and sometimes necessary and there were Apostles and Teachers ready to instruct and edify them all and they might do it with so much greater convenience and security And that they did so besides the reasons already alledged the Text seems to intimate plainly enough And daily in the Temple and in every house that is

from house to house as the same phrase is before translated or in some houses they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. They went to the Temple whither the unconverted Jews did resort at the hours of prayer and preached Christ publickly to them there and at other times they disposed themselves into the private houses of some of them that did believe and there they farther instructed and confirmed those that had already received the Christian Faith And besides this there is mention made of their breaking Bread from house to house and if by breaking Bread we are to understand the participation of the holy Eucharist as I think will not be denyed then it is clear from hence that they did daily meet in several houses to hear the word Preached and to pray and receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and that therefore the Church of Jerusalem had in it at that time divers distinct Congregations very probably as many as there were Apostles at the least if no more The other instance which I shall give in those Apostolical times of a Church that was not meerly Congregational is that of Corinth Clement then Bishop of Rome writing to that Church upon occasion of a great difference that was amongst them begins his Epistle thus The Church of God dwelling in and about Rome to the Church of God dwelling in and about Corinth I think the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be so translated here to comprehend those that dwelt in the Territory that lay round about it as well as those that lived within the City itself because that this Epistle was written to those that S. Paul wrote his and he wrote his not only to those that were of the City of Corinth but to all the Saints which were in all Achaia and therefore this of Clement must be written likewise to all the Saints in all Achaia whereof Corinth was the Metropolis and these are made but one Church by him that was personally known to S. Paul and whom he calls his fellow-labourer And this Church being of so great extent must consist of many Congregations for he that can believe that there was but one Congregation of Christians in all Achaia may be perswaded in time that there were no more in all Greece If either of these instances will hold good it will sufficiently prove that all Churches in those first times were not Congregational I shall now make it farther appear that there were Bishops then that had the rule over many Presbyters and of this I shall give a few Examples such as I think may be the most convincing I begin with S. James that is called the Brother of our Lord his near Kinsman to be sure he was whatever the particular relation might be He was not of the number of the twelve Apostles but yet was preferred by them to be the first Bishop of Jerusalem as all Ecclesiastical Writers that mention him do agree and there are several passages of Scripture that may serve to confirm their Authority which otherwise we have no reason to question For we find him generally residing at Jerusalem and sometimes with the Brethren or Elders about him if there happened any matter of importance to the Church it was communicated to him When the Angel had delivered S. Peter out of prison he bid them to whom he first came go shew these things to James and to the Brethren When S. Paul was returned to Jerusalem the very next day after his arrival he gives him an account of the success of his Ministry among the Gentiles For he and they that were with him went in unto James and all the Elders were present The Elders or Presbyters were there but S. Paul went in unto James their Bishop and applyed himself more particularly to him In the first Council that ever was held in the Christian Church concerning the great controversie as it was then esteemed of Circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses after much disputing and debate upon the question S. Peter stood up and gave his opinion and when some other matters had been discoursed S. James at last resumes the argument again and determines as it were in a Judiciary manner Wherefore my sentence is Which words are observed to carry more of Authority than those which S. Peter had used before And it became S. James so to speak as being then within his own Diocess And it is farther taken notice of that S. Paul mentioning James Cephas and John puts James before the other two though principal Apostles because he was speaking of things that were transacted at Jerusalem where James had the Episcopal Jurisdiction And these probabilities if they be no more joyned with the unanimous consent of Antiquity may convince us that James governed the Church of Jerusalem as their Bishop in which there were certainly many Presbyters and it cannot be doubted but that there were divers Congregations of Believers which they did severally edify and confirm in the Christian Faith Another example of such a Bishop is Ignatius of Antioch who is said by some to have been the little Child that our Saviour took up in his arms and blessed but though 't is most likely he was not the Child yet for his age he might have been for he was very old when he suffered Martyrdom which was but about seventy four years after the Death of our Lord. And he saw our Lord in the Flesh after his Resurrection as St. Jerom translates his words but certainly he expresses as much assurance of the thing as if he had seen it with his own eyes This holy and Apostolical man is accounted the second Bishop of Antioch after S. Peter had left that place he continued some considerable time there and then was sent from thence to Rome to be torn in pieces by wild Beasts In that long and tedious journey he wrote Epistles to several Churches and amongst them to three of those to whom S. John had written in the beginning of his Revelation about twelve years before and in these he declares the Superiority and power of Bishops over Presbyters so plainly and urges it so frequently and passionately that they that will not allow of such a power have no greater Argument than this to prove that those Epistles are not genuine But I think this will not now be denyed since it has been lately so clearly demonstrated by a Reverend Prelate of this Nation in a most learned and accurate Treatise written purposely on this Subject In these Epistles he shews a great concern and desires their prayers for the Church in Syria and in one place he calls himself the Bishop not of Antioch but of Syria And the particular care that he often expresses of the whole Church of Syria and the title he takes of being their Bishop do very probably prove that he was Metropolitan of that Province