Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bishop_n	council_n	nice_a	6,219	5	10.6361	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14012	A letter written by Cutbert Tunstall late Byshop of Duresme, and Iohn Stokesley sometime Byshop of London sente vnto Reginalde Pole, Cardinall, then beynge at Rome, and late byshop of Canterbury.	Tunstall, Cuthbert, 1474-1559.; Stokesley, John, 1475?-1539. aut; Pole, Reginald, 1500-1558.	1560 (1560)	STC 24321; ESTC S111452	16,182	66

not exercise the chief office of the church in preaching and ministring of the sacramentes it is not requisite in euery body naturall that the heade shall exercyse ether al maner of offices of the body or the chiefe office of the same For albeit the heade is the highest and chiefe member of the naturall body yet the distribucion of life to al the mēbers of the body aswel tothe heade as to other members cometh from the hearte and is minister of lyfe to the whole body as the chief acte of the body This similitude yet hath not his ful place in a mystical body although the scripture speaking of kyng Saule saieth Cum esses paruulus in oculis tuis constituite caput in tribubus Israel When thou wert but of smale reputation in thine owne eies I made the head amongst the trybes of Israell And if a Kinge amongst the Iewes were Caput in tribubus Israël hoc est hominum videntium Deum per vmbram tempore legis multo magis princeps Christianus caput est in tribubus Israël hoc est vere per fidem videntiū Christum qui est finis legis The heade in y e tribes of Israell that is of men whiche see God by a shadowe in the tyme of the lawe muche more is a christian Kinge heade in the tribes of spirituall Israel that is of suche whyche by true fayeth see Chryst which is the ende of the lawe The office deputed to the Byshops in the mistical body is to be as eies to the whole bodye as almightye God saieth to the prophete Ezechiel Speculatorem te dedi Dom●i Israel I haue made the an ouer seer ouer the house of Israel And what byshope so euer refuseth to vse the office of an eye in the mysticall body to shewe vnto the bodye the righte waye of lyuinge whiche appertayneth to the spirituall eie to do shal shew him selfe to be a blynde eye and if he shall take other office in hande then appertayneth to the righte eye shall make a confusion in the bodye takynge vpon him an other office then is geuen to him of God Wherefore if the eie wyll take vpon hym the office of the whole heade yt maye bee answered vnto yt It canne not so do for it lacketh brayne And exaumples sheweth lykewyse that it is not necessarie alwaies that the heade shoulde haue the facultie or chiefe office of administration youe may see in a Nauye by sea where the Admyrall who is captayne ouer all doth not medle with stering or gouerninge of euery Shyp but euery Mayster particular muste directe the Shype to passe the Sea in breaking the waues by his sterynge and gouernaunce whyche the Admirall the heade of al dothe not him selfe nor yet hathe the facultie to doe but cōmaundeth the Maysters of the Shipe to do it And likewise many a captayne of greate Armies whiche is not able nor neuer coulde peraduenture shoote or breake a speare by his owne strength yet by his wisedom and commaundement onely he atchiueth the warres and attayneth the victorye And wher ye thinke that vnitie standeth not onely in the agreing in one faith and doctrine of the Churche but also in agreing in one heade if ye meane the very and onely heade ouer al the Churche oure Sauioure Christe Quem pater dedit caput super omnem Ecclesiam quae est corpus eius Whome the father hath set ouer all the Churche whiche is his bodye wherein all goode christiane men do agree ye saye trueth And if ye meane of any one mortal man to be heade ouer al y e Church y t to be the byshop of Rome we do not agree w t you For you do there erre in the true vnderstāding of scripture or els ye must say y t the said councell of Nice other most aūciēt did erre which diuided the administratiō of churches the Orient from the Occident and the Southe from the Northe as is before expresed And that Christe the vnyuersall heade is presente in euery churche the gospell sheweth Vbi duo vel tres congregati fuerint in nomine meo ego in medio eorum sum Where two or three bee gathered together in my name there I am in the myddes of theim And in an other place Ecce ego vobiscum sum vsque ad con summationem seculi Beholde I am wyth you vntyll the ende of the worlde By whiche it maye appeare Christe the vniuersall heade euerye where to be wyth his misticall bodye the Churche who by his spirit worketh in all places howe farre so euer they be distaunte the vnitie and concorde of the same And as for anye other one vniuersall heade to be ouer all then Christe hym selfe scripture proueth not as it is shewed before And yet of a further profe to take awaye the scruples that peraduenture do to youre apperaunce ryse of certayne wordes in some aunciente Authours and especially in S. Cyrianes epistles as the vnitie of the churche stode in the vnitie with the byshop of Rome though thei neuer cal him supreme head yf you preaslye weyghe and conferre all their sayinges together ye shal perceyue that they nether spake nor ment other thinge but when the byshop of Rome was ones lawfully elected and intronizate yf then anye other would by faction myght force or otherwyse the other liuynge and doynge his office enterpryse to put him down vsurpe the same byshopricke or exercise y e others office him selfe As Nouatianus did attempt in the time of Cornelius that then the sayde fathers reconed them good catholikes y t did cōmunicate with hym y t was so lawfullye elected and the custome was one primacie to haue a doo one with an other by congratulatorie letters sone after y e certentee of theyr election was knowen to kepe the vnitie of the church And they y t did take part or mainteine that other vsurper to be scismatiques because that vsurper was a Scismatike for that Quia non sit fas in eadem ecclesia duos simul esse episcopos nec priorem legitimū epm̄ sine sua culpa deponi That it is not lawful for two byshops to be at ones together in one churche Nor that the former byshop being lawful ought to be deposed gyltlesse w tout his fault be proued And this is not a prerogatiue of Rome churche more then of any other cathedrall speciall patriarchall or metropolitical church as appe reth in the. iii. epistle of the fyrste booke and in the eyght of the seconde and of the fourthe booke of Saincte Cypriane to Cornelius Whose wordes and reasons al that peraduēture might seme to conclude the vnitie of the church in the vnitie of y e byshop of Rome because they were all wryten to him in hys owne case maye aswell be writen to and of any other byshop lefully chosen possessed who percase shuld be lykewyse disturbed by any factions of ambitious heretikes as the byshops of Rome then were And where ye thinke

be called ether by God or by the Kynge And those Kinges that so do chiefelye do execute well their office So that the kinges highnes taking vpon him as Supreame heade of the Churche of Englande to see that aswell spirituall men as temporall do their dueties doth nether make innouacion in the Churche nor yet trowble the ordre thereof But dothe as the chiefe and the best of the Kynges of Israell did and as all goode christiane kinges oughte to doe Whiche office goode Christiane emperours alwayes toke vpon them in callinge the vniuersall counseles of all Countryes in one place and at one tyme to assemble to the entent all heresies troubling the church might be there extyrped calling and cōmaundinge aswell the byshope of Rome as other Patriarches and all Primates aswell of the east as of the west of the southe and of the northe to come to the saide Counceiles As Marlianus themperoure did in callinge the greate councell of Calcedon one of the iiii chiefe and firste generall councelles commaunding Leo then Byshope of Rome to come therto And albeit Leo nether lyked the tyme whyche he would for a season shoulde haue bene differred nor yet the place whiche he would haue had in Italie wher the Emperour by his owne commaundement had called it to Calchis in Asia yet he answered themperoure that he would gladly obey his commaūdemente and sente thither his agentes to appere ther for him as doth appere in y e Epistles of Leo to Martiane the Emperoure xli xlvii xlviii and in the. xlix epistle to Pulcheria Empresse And lykewyse desyreth Theodosius themperour to cōmaunde a concell of Byshops to be called in Italy for taking awaye suche contencions and troubles as at that tyme troubled the quietnes of the churches And in many mo epistles of the same Leo it dothe manyfestly appeare that themperours alwayes assembled generall councelles by their commaundementes And in the syxe Councell general it appereth very plainely that at that tyme the byshops of Rome made no claim nor vsed tyttle to call theim selfe heddes vniuersal ouer all the catholyke churche as there dothe appere In subscriptione seu salutati one synodica suggestionis antedictae Whiche is thus ad verbum Pijssimis dominis sereniss victoribus triumphatoribus dilectis filijs dei dn̄i nostri Iesu Christi Constantino Magno imparotori Heraclio Tiberio Augustis Agatho episcopus seruus seruorum dei cum vniuersis sy nodis subia cētibus cōcili● apostolicae sedis In y e superscriptiōor salutaciō of y e foresaid sinodical preāble which is thus worde for worde To the moste godly Lordes and most noble victors and conquerours y e welbeloued chyldren of god of our Lord Iesu Christ to Constantine the great Emperoure to Eraclius and Tiberius Cesars Byshop Agatho the seruaunte of the seruauntes of god withall the conuocations subiect to the councell of the sea Apostolique sendeth greetinges And sayth expressing what countryes he reckened and comprehended in that superscription or salutaciō It foloweth that these were vnder his assembly whiche were in the Northe and Easte partes So that at that time the Byshop of Rome made no such pretence to bee ouer and aboue all as hee nowe dothe by vsurpation vendicatinge to him selfe the spirituall kyngedome of Chryste by whyche he raygneth in the heartes of all faythfull people and then chaungeth it to a temporall kyngedome ouer and aboue all kynges to depose theim for hys pleasure preachynge thereby Carnem pro spiritu terrenum regnum pro coelesti in damnationē nisi resipiscat suam The fleshe for the spirit and an earthely kingdom for an heauenly to his owne damnacion yf he repente not Where he oughte to obeye hys Prynce by the doctrine of Saint Peter in hys fyrst epistle saying Subiecti estote omni humanae creaturae propter deum siue regi quasi praecellenti siue ducibus tanquam ab eo missis ad vindictam malefactorum laudem verô bonorum Be ye subiecte to euerye mans ordinaunce for the Lordes sake whether to the kinge as to the chiefe whether to the dukes as sente of him to the punishment of the euil doers to the praise of the good Againe S. Paule Omnis omnia potestantibus sublimioribus sub dita sit with other thinges before alleged So that this his pretensed vsurpacion to be aboue all kynges is directly againste the scriptures geuen to the churche by the apostles whose doctrine whosoeuer ouerturneth can be nether Caput nor Infimum membrum ecclesiae Wherfore albeit ye haue heretofore stycked to the said wrongfully vsurped power moued thereto as ye wryte by your conscience yet sythens now ye see further yf ye luste regarde the mere truth and suche auncient authours as you haue bene writen to of in tymes paste we would exhort you for the wealth of your soule to surrender into the Byshop of Romes handes your red hat bi which he seduced you trustinge to haue of you beynge come of a noble bloode an instrument to aduaūce his vaine glorye whereof by the sayd hat he made you participante to allure you thereby the more to hys purpose In whiche doynge ye shall retourne to the truth from whiche ye haue erred Do youre duety to your soueraigne Lord from whome ye haue declyned And please thereby almyghtye GOD whose lawes ye haue transgressed And in not so doynge ye shall remayne in erroure offendynge bothe almyghtye GOD and youre naturall soueraygne Lorde whom chiefly ye oughte to searche to please Whiche thinge for the good mynde that we heretofore haue borne you wee praye almightie God of his infinite mercy that you do not Amen FINIS Imprynted at London in Paules churche yearde at the the signe of the Brasen serpente by Reginalde Woulfe Anno Domini M. D. L X. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum Luke 15. Mat. 18. 1. Cor. 3. Luke 22. 1. Petri. 5. Act. 20. De simplicitate clericorum Contra Io●inianum Cap. 1. super Titū Lib. 3. cap. 21. Lib. 5. cap. 6. Lib. 3. cap. 23. Lib. 4. ca. 23. Epistola 16. 2. Vide duas Epistolas ad bonifacium pp. 1. ot conciliorum Fol. 307. 308. Dist. 16. Viginti Hist. tript Lib. 4. cap. 16. Apoca. 21. Mat. 28 Esd. 2. 1. Reg. 15. Eze. 3. Mat. 18. Mat. 28. August epist. 162. Rom. 13. ● Par. 28. 2. Par. 16. 2. Par. 19. 2. Par. 16. Epist. 81. Actione 4. 1. Pet. 2. Rom. 13.

accountinge of byshops of Rome many yeares agreeth thereunto For Eusebius sayeth that Clemens tertius post Paulum Petrum pontificatum tenebat That Clement was the thyrde byshop after S. Paule and Peter Reconynge them bothe as byshops of Rome And yet therein preferringe S. Paule With lyke wordes sayinge of Alexander byshoppe of Rome that Quinta successione post Petrum atque Paulum plebis gubernacula sortitus est Alexander obteyned the gouernaunce of the people by succession the first byshop after Peter Paule Irenaeus also as Eusebius reciteth that Fundata aedificata Ecclesia beati Apostoli Lino officium episcopatus iniungunt After the churche was ones founded and buylded they charged Linus with the office of the Byshopricke of the holy apostle Whereby appeareth that they bothe ioyntly constituted him Bishop of Rome and receiued only their Apostle ship enioyned vnto them by Christ. And therfore yf the byshops of Rome chalenge anye preheminence of auctoritie by Peter they should aswell or rather by Paule because they bothe founded it and bothe there preached and bothe there suffered Resigning fyrste that byshopricke to Linus and all at ones And yf ye wyll peraduētur leane to the former preaching there by Peter which by scripture can not be proued yet then at the least saint Paule and his successours in Epheso should haue lyke prima ciether be cause he founded fyrste that churche thoughe Saint Iohn after that dyd buylde it as witnesseth Eusebius saying Ecclesia quae est apud Ephesum à Paulo quidem fundata est à Iohanne verò aedificata The churche whiche is at Ephesus in dede was foūded of Paul but it was buylded of S. Iohn And so Peter shuld haue no other primaci in Rome but as Paule had in Epheso that is to saye to be counted as the first preachers and cōuerters of the people there to the fayth of Christ. And aswel might al y e Byshops of Ephesus challēge the primacie of al nacions bothe Gentiles Iewes by S. Paule Apostolum Gentium their founder as the Byshop of Rome by S. Peter Apostolūtantum circumcisionis in case he were the first founder chalenging primacie ouer all But vndoutedly this primacie ouer all y t the Byshops of Rome of late do chalēg was not allowed nor yet knowē nor heard of amōges y e auncient fathers though they had y e churche of Rome in high estimacion aswell for the notable vertuous dedes that the clergie there dyd shewe and exercyse abundantly to their neyghbours as witnesseth the sayd Eusebius alleginge there the epistle that Dionysius Alexandrinus wrote to Sother Bishop of Rome testifyinge the same As for that citye of Rome was the moste ample and chiefe Citie of all the world witnessing sainct Cypriane saying Plane quoniam pro magnitudine sua debeat Carthaginem Roma praecedere illic maiora grauiora commisit Certenly because that Rome ought for her greatnes excell Carthage therefore there he committed the greater and more greuous offences which S. Cypriane also when he had done certeine actes yea and made certeyne determinacions and statutes vnto the Byshop of Rome he did not submit them to his reformacion or iudgement but onely sygnified his owne sentences to lyke him also And yet addynge thereunto that yf any Byshops meaninge aswell of Rome as of others which wer of the contrary opinions to him would otherwyse thinke or doe he would not then hys sentences shoulde be to them preiudiciall or compulsory but to follow their owne wyttes customes Tum quod vnusquisque episcoporū habeat sui arbitrij libertatem tum quod vnusquisque praeposi tus rationē sui actus sit domino redditurus Partely for y t euery one of the Byshopes hath libertie of his owne will partely for that euery gouernoure shall make an accompte to God of his owne dede as it appeareth plainely in his Epistle to Stephanus and Iulianus And in the thirde Epistle to Cornelius towards the ende speaking of the refuge that one Felicissimus a Nouatiā after his condēnacion in Affrica made to Rome he impugneth such appeales saying that Quia singulis pastoribus porcio gregis esta scripta quam regat vnusquisque gubernat rationem suiactus domino redditurus statutum est ab omnibus nobis aequumque pariter ac iustum cēsemus vt vniuscuiusque causa illic audiatur vbi est crimen admissum Forasmuch as euery pastour hath hys flocke by porcion committed to him whiche euery one oughte to rule and gouerne and must geue accompt to the Lorde of his administracion it is decreed of vs all and we thinke it bothe mete and iuste that euery mans cause pley should ther be heard wher y e crime is cōmitted This holy excellēt clerke martyrs Cypriane would neuer haue either impugned their refuges to Rome frō their owne primates or so obstinatly holden mainteined his determinations in the counceles of Affrike cōtrary to y e opinions of y e Byshop of Rome to their customes w tout any submissiō by word or writing yf y e primacy ouer al which y e byshops of Rome do chalenge vsurpe had bene groūded vpō y e plaine scriptures as you w t some others do thinke And it is to be supposed also y t he wold in al his epistles to thē haue called thē Patres or dn̄os Fathers or lordes as superiours not alwaies Fratres collegas brothers fellowes in office as but his fellowes which yet more plainly doth appeare by the Actes of the Councelles of Aphrycke in S. Augustines tyme by the whyche it is euidente that thoughe the fayth of Christ was by the Romaines fyrste broughte into Aphrike as S. Augustine dothe confesse yet it was not redde nor knowen that the Byshopes of Rome vsed or challenged any exercise of soueraigntie in Aphrike vnto this tyme. And yet then he did not chalenge it Iure diuino but Praetextu definitionis cuiusdam canonis in cōcilio Niceno That is by the right of goddes word but by the pretence of a certeyne canon supposed to be in the councel of Nice Whiche article coulde neuer be founde though it were then very diligently soughte for throughe all the principall churches of the Easte and Southe But onely alleadged of Iulius byshop of Rome out of his owne librarye And you maye be well assured that if these in scriptures had made for it neither the byshop of Rome woulde haue lefte that certaine profe by scriptures and trusted onely to the testimony of an article of that councell doubted on vnlikely to be foūde Nor yet Saint Augustine with his holy and learned companye woulde haue resysted this demaunde yf it had bene eyther grounded vpon Scriptures or determyned in that or other councell or yet had stande with equitie good ordre or reason How be it the largenes magnificencye of buyldinges of that Citye and aunciente excellencie and superiorite of the same in temporall

the name of Supreame head vnder Christ geuen attributed to the Kinges maiestie maketh an innouation in the Church and perturbation of the ordre of the same it canne not be any Innouation or trouble to the Churche to vse the roume that God hath called him to whiche good Christian Prynces dyd vse in the begynninge when fay the was moste pure as Saint Augustine ad Glorium Eleusium sayeth Ait enim quidam Non debuit Episcopus pro cōsulari iudicio purgari quasiverò ipse sibi hoc comparauerit ac non Imperator ita quaeri iusserit ad cuius curam de qua rationem Deo redditurus esset res illa maxime pertinebat One there is whiche sayeth that a Bishop ought not to haue bene put to his purgacion before the iudgemente seate of y e deputye as thoughe he him self procured it and not rather the Emperour him selfe caused this inquirye to be made to whose iurisdiction for the whiche he must answere to God that cause did especially pertaine Chrisostome writeth of that Imperiall authoritie thus Laesus est qui non habet parem vllū super terram summitas caput est omnium hominum super terram He is offēded that hath no peere at al vpon the earth for he is the highest potentate and the heade of all men vpon earth And Tertullianus ad Scapulam sayth Colimus ergo imperatorem sic quo modo nobis licet ipsi expedit vt hominem â deo secundum quicquid est à deo consequutum so lo deo minorē hoc enim ipse volet sic enim omnibus maior est dum solo verò Deo minor est Idem in Apologetico de Imperatoribus capite 30. loquens ait Sciunt quis illis dederit imperium sciunt qui homines qui animas sentiunt eum Deum esse solum in cuius solius potestate sunt à quo sunt secundi post quem primi ante omnes super omnes Deos. We so honoure and reuerence the emperoure in suche wyse as is lawefull to vs and expedient to him that is to saye as a man nexte and the second to god of whome is deriued al the power he hathe but yet inferioure to god alone for so is yt his pleasure to haue it For thus is he greater then all men while he is inferioure but to God alonely And the saide Tertullianus in his booke Apologeticall speaking of Emperoures They know who hathe geuen to them theyr gouernemente they knowe what men they be them selfe and vnderstandinge they haue of mans soules but so that thei perceaue that God is hee alone vnder whose onely power they bee and take them selfe as seconde to God after whome they bee the chiefe before other and aboue all the goddes Theophylacttus ad Romanos super illud Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit Ait Apostolū hic vniuersos erudire siue sacerdos sit ille siue monachus siue apostolus ut se principibus subdat Let euery soule be subiecte to the hygher powers Hoc est Etiam si Apostolus sis ▪ etiam si Euangelista tiam sie Propheta aut quisquis postre mo fueris Non enim subuertit pie tatem haec subiectio Et non simplicirer Pareat inquit sed Subdita sit That is Althoughe thou arte an Apostle although an Euangelist although a prophete or what soeuer thou art be subiect for this subiectiō ouerthroweth no godlynes And he sayth not only let him obey but let him be subiect And yf y e apostles be subiecte to Princes muche more al byshops and patriarches yea the byshops of Rome and all other And it is written in the Cronycles Dixit Dauid Salomoni Ecce diuisiones sacer dotum Leuitarum in omne ministerium domus domini assistēt tibi parati erunt Et Dauid consti tuit principem ad confitendum domino Asaph fratres eius Et Constituit Iosaphat in Ierusalem Le uitas sacerdotes et principes familiarum ex Israēl vt Iudicium causam dūī iudicarēt habitatoribus eius praecepitque eis dicens Sic agetis in timore domini fideliter corde perfecto c. Dauid saith to Salomon Beholde the priestes and Leuites diuided in companies to do all maner of seruice that perteyneth to the house of God shall assiste thee and be ready And in the. xvi Chapter Dauid dyd appoynte chiefly to thanke the Lorde Asaph and hys brethren c. And Iosophat the kinge did constitute Leuites priestes and the aunciente heades of Israell that they shoulde iudge the iudgemente and the causes of the Lord towardes al the inhabitauntes of the earth And he charged theim sayinge Thus shall ye do in the feare of y e Lorde saythfullye and in a perfecte herte Rex constituit turmas sacerdotales Leuiticas vnum quemque in officio suo Et sequitur Ezechias praecepit populo vt darent partes sacerdotibus qui dedit consequenter decimas Et sequitur quod ad regem cum Azaria sacerdote pertinet omnis dispensatio domus dn̄i eorū qui ad eam attinent Et in fine Fecit ergo Ezechias vniuersa que diximus in omni Iuda operatusque est bonum rectum verum cor●̄ domino deo suo in vniuersa cultura ministerij Domus Domini iuxta legem caeremonias volens requirere deum suum in toto corde suo fecitque prosperatus est Iosias quoque cōstituit sacerdotes in officijs suis man dauitque plurima c. Furthermore Ezechias did apoynt the priestes and the Leuytes in their order to wayte by course euery mā accordinge to his office whether priest or Leuyte for the burnte offerynges and peace offerynges and to minister and to thanke and to praye in the gates of the lodge of the lorde And Ezechias gaue commaundemente to the people dwellinge in Ierusalem that they shoulde geue their portions to the Priestes Leuites that thei mighte attende on the lawe of the Lorde And that by the precept of Ezechias the king and of Azarias the byshop of the house of the Lorde all thinges were done to whome pertayned all the dispensacion of the house of the lorde And in the ende it is sayde Ezechias dyd all those thinges in all Iurye he wrought that which was good right and true before his Lorde god in al y e furniture of the ministerte of the house of the lorde according to y e lawe cerimonies desierous to seke his lor god wal his heart as he dyd and prospered therein Iosias also did ordeyne priestes in their offices commaunded many thynges By all whiche yt may appeare y t Christian Kinges be soueraignes ouer the prestes as ouer all other their subiectes and may commaund the priestes to do their offices aswel as thei do other And oughte by theyr Supreame office to see y t all men of all degrees do their duetyes whereunto they