Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	angel_n	bishop_n	ephesus_n	3,413	5	11.4256	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34152	A compendious discourse, proving episcopacy to be of apostolicall, and conseqvently of divine, institution by a cleare and weighty testimony of St. Irenaeus, a glorious martyr, and renowned Bishop of Lyons in France, upon the yeere of our Lord, 184 : the said testimony being so declared, pressed, and vindicated from all exceptions : that thereby an intelligent and conscionable reader may receive abundant satisfaction in this behalfe / by Peloni Almoni, Cosmopolites.	Almoni, Peloni, Cosmopolites.	1641 (1641)	Wing C5607; ESTC R1019	8,451	16

question for if he erred it was in a point dogmaticall we are now upon a point historicall viz. Whether this relation of Irenaeus concerning the Episcopacy of Polycarpus which he received from the Apostles be true or not Wherein he had information immediately from Polycarp himselfe and the whole Church of Smyrna wherein he lived Who wil who can who dareth say that Irenaeus hath lyed in this report He knew Polycarp very well and knew undoubtedly that his Episcopall office was derived from the Apostles why should this relation seeme incredible unto you The Scriptures themselves informe us so much For when S. John writeth to the Angell of the Church of Smyrna who is this Angell Polycarp So the concordance of Scriptures and histories so the judgement of many learned men some protestants do informe us And why is Polycarp here an Angell because he is praepositus Ecclesiae the Governour or Bishop of the Church many Presbyters being therein but he in title distinct from them and in power superiour to them as wee may clearely collect out of S. Augustine epist. 162. where first he sheweth and proveth that under the name of Angels are not understood celestiall Angels in these 7. Churches as Origen and some others following him did conceive and then particularly for the Angell of Ephesus he saith afterward that he is praepositus Ecclesiae the governour of the Church Now since we read of many Presbyters in Ephesus Act. 20. 28. and here of one Angell in it he must needs be a person in place and office as well as name distinguished from the common Presbyters of the Church as Epiphanius more ancient then Aug. doth hence collect and constantly affirme Haeres 25. This explication is confirmed by our best Divines as namely by venerable Bullinger conc. 9. in Apocal. saying An heavenly Epistle is destinated to the Angell of the Church of Smyrna Now histories doe testifie that the Angel or pastor of this Church was Polycarp ordained a Bishop by the Apostles even by John himselfe To him I conjoyne worthy Marlorat saying that in Apoc. 2. 1 Iohn doth not set upon the people but upon principem Cleri utique Episcopum the Bishop Prince or chiefe of the Clergy Presbyters and Deacons in that Church To both them I adde the famous Clerk David Pareus who dareth not say though some doe that Timothy was then the Angell but denieth not that we was sometimes the Angell or Bishop there and therefore he putteth there this question in the margine Was Timothy Bishop of the Ephesine Church at that time He saith tunc then he saith not unquam at any time which is a plaine concession that in his judgement Timothy was sometimes as indeed he was the Bishop of that Church Also in Apocal. 3. 1. he confesseth ingenuously upon evidence of the text that under the name of Angell there is to be understood ANTISTES the Chiefe the Prelate the Bishop of the Church Which resolution of ancient and moderne Divines to which I adde the judgement of the great Divine D. Rainolds Confer. with Hart. cap. 8. divis 3 is confirmed by the perspicuous evidence of undeniable reason for in the Church of Ephesus and so in the rest why is one man where many Presbyters were called an Angell specially but for his speciall eminency above the rest And why was the succession of one man to one observed in Histories and registred in the Diptycha of the Church rather then of many to many As here in the Church of Ephesus of Smyrna and the rest one man singularly is remembred and why one if this one man did not in dignity of his place and office therein excell the ' common Presbyters as their Governour and Prefect placed over these Presbyters by the holy Apostles To this effect speaketh Leontius B. of Magnesia in the Councell of Chalcedon Act. 11. amongst 630. Bishops that Memnon then B. of Ephesus was the 27. Bishop in succession from and after Timothy as being the first Bishop of that Church For as the subscription of the second Epistle of S. Paul to Timothy doth directly beare it so we have a cleare attestation to it from Eusebius l. 3. c. 4. Epiphanius har●s 75. Chrysostome praf● in 1. ad Timoth homil. 1. in Epist. id Philip Hierome de viris illustr. * Primasius paefrat in 1 ep. ad Timoth. To all which and others I may adde Oecumenius who lived in the yeere 1080. as also Tertullian who intimateth this truth sufficiently in his book of Prescriptions cap. 36 and finally S. Ambrose praefat. in 1. epist. ad Timoth but that I esteeme the authour to be a counterfet whom yet I conceive to be very ancient Finally then to end this point Irenaeus hath now related no more touching Polycarps Episcopacy then is warrantable by Scriptures Fathers Historians and our owne Divines I end therefore with Hierome ep. 85. affirming that the Apostles by their tradition did institute Bishops Presbyters and Deacons in the new Testament looking unto the answerable degrees of the High priest the inferiour Priests and Levites in the old and telling us in his exposition of Psal 45. 16. that Bishops are there foretold as Aug. also doth himselfe conceive To that ancient Hierome I adde a latter viz. the most learned Zanchius confessing fairely and truely Miscellan t. 2. d● primatu papae p. 193. impres Neostad●i in 4. Anno D. 1608. that in the Church FIRST Presbyters onely were SECONDLY saith he additi Episcopi idque Apostolorum temporibus Bishops were added as being in degree place and office distinct from Presbyters and that also was done in the Apostles times If in their times then by their meanes as any rationall man may thereupon conclude For who durst institute Bishops in their times without their direction where in Scripture or history doe they impugne this institution And if they made not this institution who made it What Councell generall or provinciall when where produce any evidence of probable truth I say not certaine in this behalfe And thus having justified the relation of Irenaeus concerning the Episcopacy of Polycarp to which the Apostles and particularly S. Iohn did advance him I proceed to some other poore exceptions against the aforesaid testimony which need not so large a discussion as the former that being the very substance and center of our whole discourse A second exception is that perhaps this place hath beene forged or corrupted But this objection is of no force or value For as this place now standeth in Irenaeus so it stood word for word in the time of Eusebius upon the yeere 330. who hath thence transcribed it into his Ecclesiasticall history lib. 9. c. 14. This is an old device of heretickes to say that the place is corrupted when they cannot ●nswer it as S. Augustine observeth Confes. lib. 5. c. 11. A third exception is that Irenaeus was himselfe a Bishop and so not a competent witnesse in such a case