Schismatick And consequently all Societies of Christians who withdraw themselves from the Government of their Bishops who are the Apostles Successors and from communicating with those Presbyters lawfully set over them by Episcopal Ordination and Institution and frame themselves into any other kind of Government are guilty of Schism This 〈◊〉 the true formal Notion of Schism in the sense of the Fathers in the â—tive Church Of which more anon This Church so constituted and established to continue to the end of the â—orld from its Universallity was by the Primitive Fathers called the Catholick Church and from its Unity the Communion of Saints Which is now to be considered What this Union and Communion of Saints is appears by Holy Scripture St. John 13. v. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one for another Love is the Badge of a Disciple of Christ and Member of the Catholick Church but there must be more in the command to the Disciples to love one another than commonly the acceptation Love hath for the Christian Religion enjoyns Love and Charity to all men To Love our Enemies to pray for them that hate us and to do good to them that despitefully use us and persecute us is the command of our Blessed Saviour and Gal. 6. v. 10. As we have therefore opertunity let us do good unto all men So that this Love which one Disciple is to have for another must be such as distinguisheth Chrstians from all other men Now what can that be but to love one another as members of the same Body whereof Christ is the Head and what can that be but to live in Christian Communion and Fellowship one with another Iâ— cannot be the bare loving one another for there are some who are not Christians who are so bountiful and loving towards all men that if this were the only Charactâ—ristical mark of a Christian they would and must pass for Christians without believing in Christ And who seeth not that Pyrats and Robbers and the vilest of men love one another So that it is as before is said not the bare loving one another by which men are known to be Christians but the being admitted by Baptism into the Society of the Christian Church and loving one another in the Communion of that Church this is that which makes true Christian Charity Saint Paul commands 1 Cor. 12.25 26. that there be no Schism in the Body but the Members should have the same care one for another and whether one Member suffers all the Members suffer with it or one Member be honored all the Members rejoyce with it now ye are the Body of Christ and Members in particular Christians to love one another is to love like Members of the same Body to preserve the Body from all Rents and Schisms and to maintain Sympathy and Chriâ—â—â— Charity in the Communion of Christs Body whereof we are all Mâ—â—bers So that Christian Charity unites us to Christs Body and nothinâ—â— Christian Love and Charity that doth not unite us in one Body 〈◊〉 one Communion that is one external visible Communion of the Christian Church Thus you see that by the words Christian Love and Charity so much used in Scripture must be understood the Communion of Saints and that out of the Communion of Saints there can be no Christian Charity And so is the same thing meant expressed by other words namely Brotherly Love Rom. 10.12 and by the name Brethren Heb. 13. v. 1. Let brotherly Love continue This term Brother was given to none but those who liv'd in Communion with the Church not the Gnosticks who seperated from it under pretence of greater Knowledge nor any who separate upon any pretence whatsoever And aâ—ter the Apostles the Primitive Church did confine the Christian Brother-hood to the Communion of the Church all the Precepts relating to Brotherly Love either in the Evangelists or Apostles suppose Christians to be Members of the Mystical Body of Christ that is his Câ—urch and to be all United there in full Communion and this is what tâ—e â—postle means to have no Schism in the Body out of all which it appears Fiâ—thly to assent to and believe all the Articles of Faith contained in the Apoâ—â—les Nicene and Saint Athanasius's Creed allow'd and receiv'd in the Primitive Church to pertake all of the same Table where we aâ— pertake of the same Body which was broken for us and of the same Blood which was shed for us and to joyn all in the same holy Prayers and Supplications Intercessions and giving of thanks made as the Aposâ—le expresâ—ly commands for all men to be Subject and Obedient to ouâ— Spiritual Rulers and Governors who have derived their Power and Authority â—rom the Apostles by a due succession to this present Age in all things pertaining to Godly Life Decency and Order as the Catholicks did in the Primitive times this is true Christian Charity in the Language of the Scriptures and this is the Communion of Saints To hold Communion in the Articles of Faith only or what you call Fundamentals without any visible Sign of being in Communion with some Church that is a true Member of the Catholick Church is not sufficient to make a Catholick or one in the Communion of Saints though without such a Communion of Faith it is imposible to be so Corah and his Company were of the same Creed with Moses and Aaron yet were Schismatical wretches and were punished with a Vengeance The Donâ—tiâ—â—s whom you acknowledge to be Scismaticks held the Fundamentals of Religion but their separate Communion from the Catholick Church upon pretence of greater purity excluding all other Churches as not Catâ—o ick this made 'em Schismaticks in the judgment of the Fathers in the Catholick Church at that time So that all particular Churches who agree with the Primitive Catholick Church in all the Articles of Faith and in the external visible Worship and Service of God are true Members of the Catholick Church and in the Communion of Saints and no other The Church of England then having from the first planting of the Gospel here retained the Apostolick power of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Ordaining Priests by an unterrupted Succession of Arch Bishops and Bishops in the right line from the Apostles to this present time and agreeing with and no way repugnant to the Primitive Catholick Church in Doctrin Discipline and Worship is truly a Member of the Universal Catholick Church out of which there is no Communion of Saints The necessary consequence whereof is that they who live within the Jurisdiction of the Church of England and refuse Communion with her in the external visible Worship and Service of God do exclude themselves from being Members of the Catholick Church or in the Communion of Saints and are consequently guilty of Schism The reason is plain because there is no other way for any to hold Communion with the Universal Catholick Church but
THE ARCH-REBEL found OR AN ANSWER TO Mr. M. H's Brief Enquiry into the true Nature of SCHISM By T. W. Citizen of Chester and a Sincere lover of Truth EZEK 13 Verse 10. Because even because they have seduced my People saying Peace and there was no Peace Printed for the Author in the Year 1690. TO THE READER THO by many Learned and Pious Clergy-men of our Church the Folly and Schism of our Dissenters has been clearly and sufficiently evinced and demonstrated yet you see how restless their Spirits are and with what little shifts they continue to buoy up their Faction The little Book of Mr. M. H's Enquiry c. shall by them be vastly prefer'd to and Dogmatically affirm'd to have the Conquest over all the Learned Orthodox and â—laborate Writings of Hooker Bramhall Hammond â—aunderson and divers others I have heard some of his Disciples boast that it was not nor could be Answer'd by any of the Church-men which considering and withall how it was as much below a Clergy-man to spend his precious time about such a trifle of a Book as it is for a Lyon to concern himself with a little insignificant barking Whelp I undertook my Lay-brother with a Resolution of Patience and Courâ—ge without any Apology being not skill'd therein to undergo the censures of all that read these papers If thou be a true Member of our Church I have confidence and am well assured thy precious Balm will never break my Head thy Religion hath taught thee Charity and Candor sufficient to cover any weakness that thou mayest discover and if thou art pleased with my attempt it is my great satisfaction If thou be a Dissenter who has not Sacrificed thy Name to the Factious so as to divest thy self of all Christian Temper of Humility and Consideration there is hope of thy Reconciliation and that thou wilt consider thy desperate State and Condition and if my weak endeavours may contribute to the snatching thee as a Fire-brand out of the Fire I shall exceedingly rejoyce but not I only for the Blessed Angels in Heaven will have joy among them for thy Addition to the Catholick Church of which they are the most Glorious Members If thou be Sceptical a slighter of our Religion Obstinate and Perverse a Despiser and Reviler of our Clergy whom I esteem as the Stewards of the Mystery of God and the Ministers of Reconciliation I shall altogether glory in thy Scoffs and have a low esteem of thy good words THE ARCH-REBEL found OR AN ANSWER TO Mr. M. H's Brief Enquiry into the true nature of Schism c. SIR HAD your Enquiry been to find out the true Notion of the Ninth Article in the Apostles â—reed viz. I believe the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints â—ou had then found the true Standard by which you might have made a far clearer discovery of Schism than you have done by your Enquiry For which purpose I offer to your Consideration first the Origination and first Existance of the Catholick Church which was before the day of Pentecost Acts 1. v. 15. The number of the Names together were about an Hundred and Twenty This Number consisted of the Apostles and Disciples That this was the Church appears Cap 2. v. 47. And the Lord added to the Church that is to the Apostles and Disciples dayly such as should be saved To encrease his Church and to plant it in all Nations Christ Jesus the head thereof gave unto the Apostles Universal power Saint John 20.21 As the Father sent me even so send I you to Preach the Gospel to all the World that in every Nation they that believe might be Baptiz'd and made Members of this Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ And the Apostles according to the Command of our Saviour and by Virtue of that Power wherewith he invested them and those extraordinary gifts which they received by the Descent of the Holy Ghost enabling them mightily for so great a work did preach the Gospel to all Nations and so wonderfully prevail'd that in the life time of St. John there were Seven Churches Established in Asia under Seven Bishops each Church having a Bishop presiding over it which is very manifest by the name Angel which St. John gives them Now though there be a Multiplication or Plurality of Churches by the encrease of Believers yet no variation they are all one with that Church first mentioned at Jerusalem and all one with one another being all United into one Spiritual Society or Body under one Head Christ Jesus and are in all things the same with that first Church United in one Baptism and in one Faith and all pertake at the same Table eating the same Bread being the Symbol of the same Body which suffered on the Cross and drinking all of the same Cup the Cup of the New Testament the Symbol of the Blood of Christ which he shed for his Church and so United all in the visible external Worship and Service of God This is â— Original and first being of the Church The next thing Sir I offer to your consideration is the Continuance oâ— Duration of this Church on Earth and that is till our Blessed Saviour's second Advent St. Mat. 28.20 And lo I am with you always even to the end of the World Amen The power wherewith our Blessed Saviour vested the Apostles was not to cease or expire with them but as they had received the power of Governing and Conferring Orders in the Church from Christ Jesus so they conferr'd the same on others that the Church might for ever retain this Apostolical power and thus in this respect our Lord is with his Church to the end of the World And this Apostolical Succession was begun in Timothy and Titus the former being Ordained by the Apostles Bishop of Ephesus the other Bishop of Creet that they were both invested with power of jurisdiction and conferring Orders and that though in each Diocess there were many Presbyters yet that none had Authority to ordain Elders or Priests but they is most manifest by Saint Paul's Epistles to them both To propagate this Apostolical Succession Linus by Apostolical Consecration Succeeded the Apostles in the See of Rome Symeon Succeeded Saint James in the Chair of Jerusalem Anianus Succeeded Saint Mark in the Jurisdiction of the Church of Alexandria And this Succession in the right line from the Apostles to secure the Church from Impostors and Pretenders was so sacredly carryed on and propagated with such certainty that Saint Irenaeus affirms Lib. 3. adv Her c. 3. he could name all the Successors of the Apostolick Churches unto his days And accordingly this line of Apostolick Succession of Bishops hath continued in all Ages without interruption to this present time Now whoever he be that is out of this line of Apostolick Succession and exercises any Ministerial Office without the Commission of Episcopal Ordination can be no more or other than a Lay-Impostor and a
hinc illae lacrymae It must rather be the setting up of your Seperate Communions that hath been so much the bane of this Christian Church I am sure it was the Puritanical Faction who in their Conventicles blew up the Trumpet of Sedition and Rebellion and overturned the Government of both Church and State and through pretended Sanctity and Gospel Zeal perpetrated the most hellish Actions that ever were since Adam Then was Violence under the colour of Zeal the Note and Badge of Sanctity Loyalty to a Prince of incomparable piety and faithfulness to the most pure Christian Church was damn'd for malignancy I am sure you are of the same Tribe these were the men by whom the Church was not only rent in Pieces but for a time which was as long as they were in Power rooted out here we may truly say hinc illae lacrymae Mr. H. I lived in the time when through Blood and Rebellion your Party gave Laws and Rules to all then all that were of our Church were not Censured for little things but Branded for Reprobates Excluded from Mercy all the Clergy not only Silenced but Sequestred and many Imprisoned and starved it was not much worse with Christians under Nero and Dioclesian and all this for not Conforming to your Novel Discipline yet the gentle Penalties of the Royal Laws which were made for Peace and Unity are cry'd up by you and your Party for such a Persecution as never was Alas Sir for all your pretended Meekness and Charity now you that retain the same principles would certainly repeat the same miseries had you the same power which God of his Infinite mercy for ever prevent Amen Now I return and try whether from your Instance in the Corinthians you could not have found a far more genuin conclusion and more agreeing with the Apostles meaning If but the having one Minister of Christ though rightly ordained in admiration above another to the begetting Contention incur the Guilt of Schism and is no way to be Tollerated in the Church of God How much more am I a Schismatick who am not only not rightly ordained but keep up a Communion seperate from the Church of God in the Kingdom where I live the Argument will hold a Minori ad Majus If contentions about admiring one Minister above another be Schism then sure to maintain a Separate Communion which makes Contention much hotter fiercer and more numerous must much more be Schism In Page 15. you say That 's Schism which breaks or slackens the bonâ— by which the Membeâ—s are knit together In this you are Orthodox but you keep not to it for you say Now that bond is not an Act of Vniformity in point of Communion in the same Modes and Ceremonies but true Love and Charity in point of Affection The breach of Communion be it for want of Uniformity in the same Modes and Ceremonies or what you will that is not sinful does certainly to use your own words Break and Slacken the Bond by which the Members are knit together for to divide in point of Communion is to dis-unite and unknit the Members and consequently the Bond be it as you say Love and Charity or the Unity of the Spirit or what you please is broken and this you most truly say is Schism and yet you say that the Bond is not an Act of Vniformity c. in point of Communion which is a manifest contradiction Now all these erroneous and miserably mistaken Expositions of Scripture and inferences equally false are the Foundation upon which you erect your Description of Schism and which at present you apprehend is the true Scriptural Notion of Schism which that all who read these papers may judge of I here Insert Schism is an Uncharitable Distance Division or Alienation of Affection among those who are called Christians and agree in the Fundamentals of Religion occasioned by their different apprehensions about little things You agree with our Church in all that you call Fundamentals and your Distance and Division you acknowledge is for little things that it is an Uncharitable Distance and Division is undeniable for the breach of Christian Communion is certainly the breach of Christian Charity here you are Condemned out of your own mouth But how far different your Description is from the Primitive Catholick Notion of Schism sufficiently appears to you by what I have shewed before You mention not Seperating or withdrawing from the Communion of the Church which is most Infamous and Notorious Schism and confine it only to breach of Charity which though always a great fault yet in many cases amounts not to Schism I now take notice of your Fourth Inference page 23. If this be Schism then there may be Separation of Communion where there is no Schism say you for thus we all agree that there may be difference of apprehension and yet no Schism provided it do not eat out Christian Love but be managed amicably as betwixt the Arminians and the Calvinists in the Church of England What strange kind of Reasoning is this If breach of Charity be Schism then separate Communion may be without Schism and to prove this you instance in the difference between the Arminians and Calvinists in the Church of England who differed in Opinions the former Asserting the Freedom or Liberty of the Will the other Election and Reprobation here was no separation of the Communion or denial of any Article of the Church for both sign'd the Articles nor from Communion one with another both parties submitting to the Uniformity required so you bring an instance to justifie seperate Communion from Schism where there was no seperate Communion at all see how illogical your reasoning is If breach of Charity be Schism then there may be separate Communion without Schism Would any man of Sence but you have made such a Conclusion from such premisses would not the Argument have run truer thus If breach of Charity be Schism then separate Communion is much more Schism But breach of Charity is Schism Therefore c. I am forced here to say what I have said before that it is most manifest that a separate Communion unless from a Schismatical Church is in it self the agravation and extremity of Schism and is naturally and infallibly the cause of the highest breaches of Charity and of the hottest and fiercest contentions which you own to be Schism But suppose there were some thing in our Constitutions that needed amendment or alteration yet every defect and supposed Corruption in a Church is not a sufficient ground for Separation or warrant enough to tear it in pieces Hear Mr. Calvins Opinion he saith where ever the Word of God is duely Preached and Reverently attended to and the true use of the Sacraments kept up there is an appearance of a true Church whose Authority no man may dispise or reject its admonitions or resist its Councils or set at nought its Discipline much less separate from it and