the faith and restorer of Christianitie And as God by that marriage of Henrie the seauenth with Elizabeth his wife made the Vnion of the houses of Lancaster and Yorke who had a long time beene in bloudye warres and by the marriage of Iames the fourth King of Scotland with Marguerite the eldest daughter of the sayde Henrie the seauenth your great graundfather the coniunction of the crownes of England and Scotland within these hundred yeares So wee hope that the same God will imploye this admirable Vnion vnder your commaunde to vnite the Christian and vniuersall Church vnder one spirituall royalty which is the worship of one God and to abolish idolatry which hath in a maner swallowed vp and deuoured the true Church My intention is to represent in briefe vnto your Maiesty and to all Christians desirous of eternall health the infinite graces benifits which God hath powred vpon your Ilands in the planting maintaining the preaching of his Gospell that it may plainely appeare that neither the deceased Queene Elizabeth of happy memory nor your Maiesty haue established any new religion in your Ilands but banished the new being polluted and defiled with errours and false worshippes of the Gentiles Arians Nestorians and Eutichians that the Religion which dooth now flourish in your Realmes is the same which soone after the death of our Sauiour was preached and receaued by the Kings your predecessours and by the people of your Realmes Theodoret a Greeke bishop and one of the most ancient of the Church in his bookes de curatione Grecarum affectionum sermon 9. de legibus makes a goodly comparison betwixt the power of the Romaine Empire and their Lawes the Empire of Iesus Christ and of his Lawe receiued throughout the worlde He saieth the Romaines could neuer make the Persians and Parthians of the East subiect to their lawes nor towardes the North the Cimbrians Danes nor the people of Brittaine But the power of Iesus Christ hath beene greater for saieth he our fisherman that is Saint Peter and our maker of tents which is Saint Paul haue made the Brittish people subiect to the lawes of Christ the which would not obey the Romaine lawes so as antiquitie doth testifie that the Apostles haue preached in our Ilands Metaphrastes cited by the Cardinall Baronius sayeth that Saint Peter came thether Ioseph of Arimathie and Simon Zelotes came likewise as Histories do teach vs. This seede of the Gospell in your Ilands tooke such increase as King Lucius and all his subiects about the yeere 180. did publikely receiue the Christian religion And indeede the Chronographers haue noted that about the yeare of our Lord 180. Brittaine was the first part of the world which did publiquely receiue the fayth of Christ for Lucius King of Brittaine did in those dayes depose the Priests of the Gentiles and did substitute in their places Bishoppes and Christian pastors hee banished Gentilisme out of his countrie which hapned not in any part of the worlde vntill the time of Constantine the great Tertulian and Origen who liued about the same time testifie that the countries of Brittaine beeing inaccessible for the Remains were subiect vnto Christ The Bishops of this Iland were at the councell of Nice held vnder Constantine the great three hundred yeares after Christ which is the first period of Christianisme during the which the Christians did suffer twelue most cruell persecutions vnder the tyrannie of Paganisme and the Idolatrie of olde Rome We well wot that during the three first Periods of Christianitie whereof eyther conteynes three hundred yeares the true and onely worshippe of one God which hath beene planted since the Apostles time in your Ilands hath beene continued there during the laid time and yet the Christians which liued in those ages no not the Remaines did euer allowe in the publique vse of the seruice of the Church of the worship of the host in the Romish masse nor of the pretended woode of the very crosse nor of the Images of Iesus Christ or his sepulcher seated neare to Mount Caluarie all which are worshiped in the new Romish Church as God himselfe which worships are abhominations of the Gentils Arriens Nestoriens which bring with it the shipwracke of eternall health The Christians vvhich liued during the first Period of the three hundred yeares of Christianitie did inuiolably keepe the first commaundement Thou shalt haue no other Gods against my face or before mee which the Thargum of the Caldeans hath interpreted besides mee or any other then mee The Greeke translation saith other Gods besides me Athanasius interpreting this commaundement sayth Hee hath not forbidden them to haue other Gods for that there were other Gods but least any one falling from the true God should make him a God of that which is not like to those Gods which the Poets and writers make mention of which haue but the name of God and not the effect And the same Authour sayeth If reason and the esteeme we houlde of God doth make vs beleeue that hee may bee in all places and that nothing of all that which God hath under him is God and that all things are vnder his power why doe not they which make a creature God see that it is out of the definition attributed vnto God Theodoret vppon the same commaundement saith that the Arrians offend against it and the true Christians obserue it They doe not allowe any thing to be held or worshiped for God but the deuine nature but those which follow the error of Arrius and Eunomius sinne directly against the deuine law for they confesse the onely Sonne of God but they maintaine that he was created and is deuided from the deuine substance God hauing sayde Thou shalt haue no other Gods but me doubtlesse these men bring in another God By these authorities we do inferre that the Romains which worship the host in the Masse breake this commaundement for they agree that it is no part of the deuine nature but of the substance and nature of Iesus Christs humanitie who is worshiped according to his diuinitie and not after his humanitie according to the aunbient simboles of the Church The Christian faith then hath for a firme and onely foundation the worship of one God according to this first commaundement and the worship of any thing created by God which is vnder him ought not to be receiued in the Christian religion but the onely deuine nature of the Father Sonne and holy Ghost ought to be worshiped and called on in Triple vnitie without the which nothing ought to be worshiped without manifest impietie and idolatrie The same Theodoret interpreting this commandement saieth Serm. 2. God the maker of all things in the beginning of the law which he gaue vnto Moses cōmaunded him to worship one God I am saith he the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt whē he hath put Moses in mind of his late benefits he exhorts
him to persist in the seruice of god not to deuide his worship but to cleaue onely vnto God Thou shalt not saith he haue any other Gods but me The which doth teach vs that those of the Romish corruptiō haue brought in strange Gods for that they haue deuided the adoration and veneration betwixt God and his creatures making three degrees The first they call Latria which they attribute to God and to the Host in the Masse equally The second Hyperdeulia which they yeelde to the blessed virgin And the third Dulia attributed to their other Saints and to their images and reliques abusing with too grosse an ignorance the signification of these Greeke wordes for Deulia signifies a greater seruice then Latria And we learne that in this place Theodoret calles the seruice and adoration of God by the name of Deulia and so doe Athanasius and Chrisostome And Saint Augustine who hath brought in this distinction attributes both vnto God onely In his 84. Question vpon Exod. Iustin Martir who liued vnder Antonius Pius in the second age of this period of Christianity shewes plainely that the Christians did not alow of the worship of any thing inferiour to the Deity and saieth that Iesus Christ had so taught them for speaking to the Emperour in his Apologie for the Christians of his time hee writes thus That God onely is to be worshipped for so Christ doth teach the greatest commandement is thou shalt worshippe the Lorde thy God and him onely shalt thou honour with all thy heart and all thy strength the Lorde God which hath created thee And a little after he saith we worship God onely in other things we willingly serue you for that we do acknowledge you for Kings and Princes of men and we pray vnto God that he will giue you wisedome equall to your royall power So as the Christians in matters of religion did not yeeld any worship to things created neither did they deuide the worship betwixt God his creatures as the Romish Church doth Many Christians of the same time were so exact obseruers of the onely worshippe of God as they would not reuerence the Roman Emperors as the souldiers did in ciuil causes for Theophilus to Apostolicus the sixt Bishop of Antioche who liued in the yeare of our Lord 173. when as Lucius was King of great Brittaine saith I shall honor the Emperour more in praying for him then in worshipping him for it is not lawfull to worship any but God onely The Christians of these three first ages had no Alters no Images nor any materiall crosses of golde siluer wood or stone for Clemens Alexandrinus who was neere the Apostles time saith Wee Christians are expreslye forbidden to vse any arte of deceite for so hee calleth painting and making of Images Thou shalt not saith the Prophet Moses make the likenesse of any thing that is in heauen aboue or on the earth beneath And the same author Strom. Lib. 5. Pythagoras saith he forbids the wearing of rings nor to ingraue in them the images and figures of Gods as Moses had long before forbidden and that we must not make any Image be it grauen molten counterfeite or painted that wee should not bee carryed away with sensible things but should passe vnto those thinges which are comprehended by vnderstanding And soone after he saith To honour the essence by the knowledge of a materiall thing is to contemne it The Doctrine of the Romish Church dooth heerein directly oppugne the Doctrine of Christian antiquitye making a new God of the host of the new Masse giuing it the name of God worshipping it as God and yet their doctors confesse that it is made and created by the wordes of consecration It is therefore euident that they haue brought into the Church a God created which is not contayned in the definition of God before mentioned by Saint Athanasius for the hoast of the Masse is not euerye where which is the property of God onelye neither dooth it containe all things vnder his power but contrarywise the Counsell of Trent saith in expresse wordes that Iesus Christ God and man is contained vnder the visible signes of Breade of Wine which is quite contrarye to the diuine nature which contaynes all things in it and is not contained in anye thing The God therefore of the Romish Masse is a God created which hath a beginning and ending and is contained in the visible forme of Breade and Wine and containes not in it all things created so as the worshippers of this God of the Masse doe worshippe a newe and strange God contrarye to the first commaundement If the Arrians as Theodoret saith haue broken this first commaundement for that they taught that Iesus Christ according to his deity was a creature and yet he was God with greater reason the Romaines transgresse the same commaundement confessing that the pretended deitie of the hoast of the Masse is a deitie purchased by the consecration and not by the eternall deity without beginning and without ending And the same Theodoret writing against the Greekes in the foresaide passage teacheth vs that by the commaundement which saith Thou shalt haue no other Gods but mee that Moses forbiddes to make anye deuision of the deuine worshippe but to giue all to God onelye The Romaines who haue made three degrees of worshipping cannot denie but they haue broken this first commaundement and brought in a multitude of Gods making as manye Gods as they saye Masses So as their pluralitie of Gods becomes infinite and surpasseth the multitude of the Paynims Gods Minutius Foelix Tertulian Origen and Arnobius vvho liued in the third age of this first Periode of Christianisme testifie that the Gentiles accused the Christians for that they had neither Temples Altars Images nor visible or Materiall Sacrifices and that they did hide from sight that which they did worshippe Cecilius a Pagan Oratour disputing against Octauius a Christian as Minutius doth reporte obiected to the Christians Why haue they no Alters no Temples no knowne Images They did blazon our Christians in the vvorshiping of the Crosse vvhich they sayd they deserued taking the Crosse for a punishment To whom Octauius aunsweres for the Christians We neither worshippe nor desire Crosses but you who haue consecrated Gods of Wood worshiping Crosses of Wood as peeces of your Gods Whereby it appeares that the auncient Christians in the purenesse of Christian religion did neither worship crosses of Gold Siluer Stone or Wood as these doe of the Romish religion How should they I pray you worshippe them seing they had them not which is more would not haue them But the Church of Rome doth quite contrarie running after Gods of Gold and Siluer made as the Psalme◠saieth by mans hand In regarde of that which the Gentiles did obiect vnto the Christians that they did hide and not shew forth what they did worship Octauius aunsweres for the Christians Doe you thinke that we doe hide what we do worship although
formes wee will therefore conclude our discourse of the proofe of the true and onely adoration of God obserued throughout all the habitable world during the first periode of three hundred yeares with the testimonye of Arnobius writing against the Gentiles obiecting to the Christians that they would not worshippe any but the first and the greatest of all the Gods and not the inferiour Gods according to the manner in those dayes to whome hee aunswereth saying And wee may say in that which concernes the worshippe and honour of the diuinity that it sufficeth vs to haue one onelye God God I saye the father of all things who hath created and gouerneth all things In worshipping of him wee worshippe all that we ought to worshippe when wee honour him wee honour in him that which hee requires at our handes what the duety of worshippe dooth exact that we performe by our worshippe For seeing wee holde the chiefe of all diuinitye of whome all diuine thinges depend wee thinke it superfluous to seeke to priuate persons And a little after hee saithe As in earthlye kingdomes wee are not constrained to worshippe and honour euerye priuate man of the Kings house but in the honour wee doe vnto Kings those which belong vnto them are sceretly honored with them So the Christians of that perfect age did not worshippe nor call vpon any thing vnder God as the Romanistes of our age doe which worship the blessed virgin the Angelles Michael and Gabriel Saint Iohn Baptist the Apostles and Martyrs their reliques Sepulchers and Images So as it is most apparent that the Religion planted at this present in the Ilandes of great Brittaine is the true auncient Religion and the only worship of one God incōmunicable to the Creatures the which hath continued during the first periode of the three hundred yeares of Christianity So as it is a meere slander what the aduersaries of the trueth saye that your Maiestye hath banished the true auncient Christian Religion out of your Realmes to plant a newe Religion pretended to bee begunne by Martin Luther Iohn Caluin and other great Personages in the puritye of the true Christian Doctrine But contrarywise it is an immortall glorye which shall increase in your raigne and continue to posterity seeing that your Maiesty is the author of the restoring of the true Christian religion in your realmes hauing restored it I saye to that beauty and sincerity as it was in oulde time planted by Lucius your fore-runner the first Christian King of great Brittayne who became so affectionate and zealous of the aduancement and propagation of the trueth and so great an enemie to Idolatrie and the worship of Creatures and visible formes that of a King he became a Preacher as some Histories say And as during the persecutiō of the Christians vnder Dioclesian and Maxentius which were the most bloudie of all God vsed your Ilands and kingdomes as a refuge for the true Christians which fled from the saide persecutions Euen so the same God hath made your most happie raigne to be a safe harbour for the Christians of our age who haue been forced to abandon houses goods and inheritances rather then to bow to the Romish worship God the protector of his true Church hath continued his admirable graces ouer your Ilands in the second Period of Christianisme the which begun with the most happie Empire of Constantius Chlorus for during the last persecution God raysed vp this wise and warlike Emperour in the westerne parts of Europe in the which England Scotland and Ireland are conteyned where the saide Emperor tooke to wife Hellen borne in your said realmes who receiued into his protection all the Christians which fled from other prouinces to auoyde the cruell persecution which was made against them by his other associates in the Empire SIRE we must here obserue a notable pollicie of this wise Emperour to trie the fidelitie of his seruants and ministers in the gouernment of his Empire which will much auaile for the preseruation of your royall estate He did publish a fayned edict commaunding all the subiects of his Empire to sacrifice to the false Gods and whosoeuer should refuse so to doe to departe out of his armies and Empire This proclamation beeing made a great number of Christians did sacrifice vnto the false Gods to preserue their estates dignities and goods but the true Christians desired rather to leaue all then to serue them wherevpon the Emperour discouered himselfe presently and discharged all such as had worshiped these false Gods saying How can they be faithful vnto the Emperour that are faithlesse vnto God And as for the true Christians which had left all hee called them home and made them guardiens both of his person and estate as Eusebius saith I desire not your Maiestie should make such counterfeite proclamations but that the same God which hath made you successor to Constantius Chlorus will giue you the grace to make such an election of your subiects as in your most important affaires you admit not any but such as are knowne to be well grounded in the true Christian religion For euen as a modest woman ought not onely to be chast but free from all suspition euen so those which are imployed in the affaires of true Christian Princes as your Maiestie is should be free from all suspition of false religion The said Constantius died at Yorke in England after that hee had instituted Constantine the great his sonne the which was an other especiall grace which God hath poured vppon your realmes And euen as vnder King Lucius It was the first part of the world which did banish the Pagan Idolatrie euen so God hath raised out of the same Iland the said Constantine the great who expelled the same Romish Idolatry out of all the other Prouinces of the habitable world whereof your Maiestie hath a familiar example to imitate in this restorer of the Christian religion This great Constantine your predecessor and countrieman in the beginning of his Empire Hee studied what God he should choose as the same Eusebius saith that his Father had condemned the Error of Idolatrie and al his life had worshiped one onely God the protector guardien of the Empire the free giuer of all good Vppon this resolution he made choise of the true God to serue beleeuing that the onely cause of Kings and Emperours felicitie proceeded from him alone as the same Authour saith He worshiped the same God that is aboue all things And in his ordinarie praiers beeing alone he spake to God alone Whereby it appeareth that the religion which your Maiestie hath established in your realmes is conformable to that of your predecessour Constantine who worshiped as I haue saide but one onely God the Creator of all things and not the Crosse and Images of Iesus Christ In his ordinarie praiers hee did not call vppon the blessed Virgin Saint Peter Saint Paul nor the other Apostles and Martires neyther haue we
Idols and Images abolishing the new Masse or the worshiping of the Hoast Soone after many Princes did rise and many faithfull learned men by whose ministrie and valour the purenesse of the preaching of the Gospell was restored in the sinceritie of Christian truth as it was at the comming of Constantine in the West of Europe I may therefore iustly say that among all the Princes which haue laboured for the restoring and reformation of the auncient Church your predecessours King Edward and Queene Elizabeth of happle memories haue beene the first which haue built vpon this foundation after Constantine although long after and now SIRE these blessed soules behould from heauen the full perfection of their worke which must be finished by you whom they haue left the successour and heire of their most royall enterprises Your Maiestie hath a familiar example in the life of the disceased Queene of happie memorie who hath bene a true mother vnto you In whose gouernment we haue seene as in a looking glasse that God hath accompanied her with an admirable and extraordinarie prosperitie foelicitie and happie successe in all her affaires for hee hath drawne her from a prison to a kingdome he hath made her to raigne fortie and fiue yeeres in great peace and tranquilitie hauing discouered aboue twentie enterprises readie to bee put in execution against her life and state hee indued her with all kindes of perfections and vertues as prudence modestie and wisdome in all her actions beautified with a liuely and sound iudgement farre exceeding her sex And for a fulnesse of happinesse the same God did prolong her daies vnto threescore and ten yeares in the which she was alwayes victorious ouer her enemies both home bred and strangers What is then the cause SIRE I will attribute it wholy vnto God and to the puritie of his Gospell and to Christian religion the which she hath established in her kingdoms whereof this most Christian and generous Princesse made a sincere profession all her life Hauing therefore in this peaceable and Christianlike manner yeelded vp her blessed soule to her benefactor and Creatour the great God immortall she left those realmes aboūding in all riches in great peace and admirable vnion and concord And moreouer to seale vp her forepassed life and death with a greater benefit for the loue she bare vnto her subiectes which is a great proofe of the blessing of God we haue seene the wisdome she vsed euen at the last gaspe hauing so profitably and so effectually perswaded her subiects to imbrace acknowledge your Maiesty whom she knew to be the true lawfull vndoubted heire and successor of her goodly flourishing Realmes of England and Ireland by right of consanguinity and lawfull succession Who dooth not see the assistance of God in all this action In that he would haue your Maiesty established in this most high degree of honour not for any other respect but that in raigning happily and in peace you should finish the full deliuery and restoring of Israel and of the Churches of your realmes and to continue the pure preaching of the Gospel so happily begun by her Maiesty of blessed and happy memory against the Idolatry of Rome I doubt not SIRE but Sathan and his supporters will herein imploy their straragems to counsell your Maiesty to induce you to ioyne with that great whore of Babilon a whore which makes the kings princes of the earth drūk with the cup of her spiritual fornicatiō But I assure my selfe that your Maiesty like vnto wary nice Vlisses will stop your eares against al her charmes inchantments and all urements continuing inuiolable constant and resolute in your royall vertues the which God hath bountifully planted in you to maintaine and preserue his Church and Sacraments to his honor and glory in their purety against the poisons Romish inuensions of men Most humbly beseeching your Maiesty to remember that the Popes pretend to be the true kings of England and Ireland houlding the Kinges of the said kingdoms for their vassals and tributaries who now vnder colour to free you from their said pretensions would draw you vnto them and impose vpon you a most heauy and seruile yoake If your Maiesty should so forget your selfe as to cleaue vnto them who knoweth not that their successors are accustomed to disanull the deedes and promises of their predecessors and which is more to hould no faith with heretickes as they call you But SIRE this is nothing in respect of the hard slauery of soules whom they torture with their censures and excommunications So as you shal no sooner subiect your selfe vnto their lawes but vpon the first dislike they will absolue and free your subiects from their oath of obedience due vnto their true and lawfull King they will depose you at their pleasures and giue your crownes to whom they like wherof we haue too many late examples But when they shall see your Maiesty to oppose constantly against their tyranny they will not dare to attempt against you nor your realmes And moreouer is not your Maiesty at this present protector of the Church of all your realmes yea the greatest of the Soueraigne kings which professe the purenes of the Gospell shall not these lawfull titles of honour be sufficient to diuert your Maiesty from following the counsell of such Sirens of state They would gladly perswade you to acknowledge this furious beast who seekes but to deuour good Kings to chalenge to himselfe all power as he saith in heauen earth and hell An essentiall marke that he is the man of iniquity mētioned in the Scriptures which hath raised himselfe aboue all nations and aboue all religion If this monster held you at his deuotion the which I with all your good subiects thinke to be impossible how great a leuiathan soeuer he be doubt not SIRE but he would make you the most vile and most abiect of al his lifetenants treading you more proudly vnder his feete then euer he did the good Emperour Barbarosse And then let your Maiesty consider in what misery calamity and desolation of desolations both you my Lord the Prince whom you loue deerely and all your subiects who pray for you hourely should be reduced in these your flourishing realmes The Almighty God which gouerneth disposeth of Monarchies according to his will which giueth victories in battailes who is the spring and fountaine of all wisedome and knowledge giue your Maiesty a raigne like vnto the Queene of blessed happy memory Increase your Maiesty in wisedome and knowledge and in true piety and purenesse of his seruice giue you victory ouer all them that shall attempt against you or your estate and finish the worke in you begun for the restoring of the true Church banishing out of your Ilands and realmes all tyranny heresie and Romish Idolatry And for a happy ende the same eternall God giue you a full and perfect inioying of the Crowne of glory in the happinesse of eternall life through his sonne Iesus Christ our Lorde FINIS Baleus ex Gilda et alijs script Anglis Niceph l. 2. c 4 Plat. in vit The lesph Athanas Oret cont gentes tom 1. pag. 34. In Parenetico Euseb in vita Constan Idem in Constant Euseb ibid. Sedulius in cap. 1. epist ad Rom. Aug. epist 45. ad Max grammat tom 2. Athā cont Arr. orat 3 et epist ad Ephes Orat. 3. pro. pace Expositor ordin in Rom. Casand in Litur Honor. in Gemma anime Ado. in Chro. Aeneas Siluius in Hist Boem * Matth. Paris in Hist Angl. sub Henric. 3. pa. 660. Mat. vvestmon in Florib hist sub an 1216.