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	nicene_n	3,055	5	12.2441	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07260	A sermon made in the cathedrall churche of Saynt Paule at London, the XXVII. day of June, Anno. 1535. by Symon Matthewe	Matthew, Simon, d. 1541.	1535 (1535)	STC 17656; ESTC S102306	16,458	60

lucre but of a good mynde not as though ye were lordes ouer your parysheners but that ye be an example to the flocke Here saynt Peter doth not onely knowledge hym selfe to be equal with other but he also sheweth that he desireth no royall regiment and so doth he exhorte other to be of the same mynd with hym They ther fore whiche extolle so moche the iurisdiction of Peter sclaunder hym And I am sure he is not contented to be so reported ageynst the veritie Therfore whanne so euer you shall haue any scripture that soundeth for Peters authoritie vnderstande the same spoken to all the apostols represented in Peter And this is saynt Augustynes mynde as I haue sayd before And euen so saynt Hierome in his fyrste boke ageynste Iouinian although he may be sene to some reder that he speaketh vtterly for the prelacy of Peter yet he sayth euen there that all the apostols receyued the keys of the kingedome of heuen and that the substance of the church was equally builded vpon them all So that saynte Hierome mente not that Peter had more auctoritie than the other but that he was chosen as one to be preloquutour and speaker for his felowes and that to auoyde confusion whiche shulde haue bene if all shoulde speake to gether And yet this pueth hym not to haue more authorite thā an other As although my lorde Mayre the aldermen with other shulde sende mayster Recorder in message to the kynge for some cōmon matter of the citie maister Recorder is not nowe a priuate person but a common persone and what so euer he speaketh durynge his commission the holle citie speaketh it what answere so euer is made to him is made to the hole cite And yet this proueth not mayster Recordar to be of more authorite thē my lord maire and the aldermen And truely onles we shulde thus vnderstonde sayncte Hierome he shuld be cōtrarye to him selfe For in his epistoll sent to Euagrius he maketh all bishoppes of al places equall these are his wordes The churche of Rome is not to be thoughte to be diuided frome other churches in the worlde both France Britayne Affrica Persis Oriens and India and all other strange nations honour Christe and kepe one rule of truth If auctoritie be asked therfore the worlde is bygger then one citie Where so euer the byshoppe shall be eyther at Rome or elles at a poore citie in Italy called Eugubiū or at Cōstantinoble in Macedonie or in Rhegio a citie in Grece or in Alexandria and Tanis cities in Egipte he is of lyke meryte and of lyke prelacy The abundance of ryches and the humilitie of pouertie auseth not a byshoppe to be more or lesse in auctoritie but all indifferently ar the successours of the apostols ¶ What can be more plainly spoken for equalitie of byshoppes Rede it and rede it agayne and imprint it in your hartis and muse vpon it and then iudge saynct Hieromes mynde you shall well perceyue that he meaneth all byshops to be of lyke authoritie in their owne diocese and that none shall challenge by the lawes of god any prelacye aboue an nother Saint Cyprian in lyke maner what so euer he semeth to say in other places yet in his epistolle ad Cornelium whome he calleth brother he saythe that it is decreed to hym and all byshops that euery one shall haue the ouersight gouernāce of their owne diocesans for whom they shal make accompte to god And in his boke called De simplicitate praelatorū he saith that all the apostols were lyke in honour and power And if they so were what is then become of Peters prelacye I thynke if in this matter he were reuerently handeled he shulde be vnderstōde as saint Ierome was whiche commendynge the auctoritie of byshoppis dyd neuer derogate the royaltie of princis but wolde euery byshoppe to haue the gouernance of his flocke maynteyninge alway the auctorytie of princes And in good feythe I can not rede the contrarye in theym but ofte I doo rede howe they submytted them selfes and called vpon temporal power for helpe maintenance of truth not presuming to call any general Councels but vpon their fauours As the councelle of Nicene whiche was celebrate by the commaundement of Cōstantine the emperor to represse heresies In the whiche councell it was determyned thus Mos antiquus perduret in Aegypto uel Lybia et Pentapoli ut Alexandrinus episcopus horum omnium habeat potestatem quoniam quidem et Romano episcopo parilis mos est Simíliter autem et apud Antiochiam ceterasque prouincias honor suus unicuique seruetur ecclesiae We wylle that the olde custome and maner shall continue in Egipte Libie and Pentapoli whiche is that the bysshoppe of Alexandria shall haue gouernance and rule ouer al these for that there is a lyke custome for the bysshoppe of Rome In lyke maner we wyll that at Antiochie other prouincis euery one shall haue their due honour This mooste honourable councell whiche was kepte in the .iii. hundred .xxiiii. yere after Christe then beinge present .iii. hundred and .xviii. byshops and holy fathers determined that the byshoppe of Alexandria shulde haue as moche authoritie in his parties as the byshop of Rome shall haue in Italy and other places in the weste sayth that so it hath ben of a longe custome approuing the same Nowe if that custome were good and well allowed of suche holy fathers howe can it be thought that Peters successour shoulde by the lawes of god haue more iurisdiction then any other byshoppe seinge that these holy fathers iudged than and decreed the contrarie whiche beinge so nigh the apostels tyme not only approued the custome but also made a decrre thervpon whiche they wolde neuer haue done except it myght haue stōd with the lawes of god ¶ Also in the councel of Constantinoble it was ordeyned that byshops shulde not be troubled oughte frome their dioceses nor one shulde medle with an others iurisdiction but the byshoppes of Alexandria shuld haue the gouernance of the orientall parties the honour of primacy reseruid to the church of Antiochie as it was ordeyned in the Nicene councel And euen so the bysshoppes of Asie shall ouersee Asie and order all thynges perteynynge to Asie Lyke myse the byshoppe of Ponte shal gouerne the diocese of Ponte And the bysshops of Thrace their dioceses so that this coūcel also denieth prelacy to Rome and to the byshop therof reseruynge euery diocesse to his owne byshoppe ¶ And of this we also rede in an epistoll sent frome the councell of Affrike to Celestine byshoppe of Rome whiche accordynge to other councelles and also to the mynde of saynt Cypriane concludeth that no forein byshoppe shulde meddell out of his owne diocesse ¶ Lykewise in the councell Mileuitane it was prouided that al causes concernynge one prouince shulde be determyned in the same Wherfore as you haue harde I truste hit be playnly proued that the bishoppe of

to pray for the soules departed saying that he thought his prayer shuld nothynge auayle them yet I wyll desyre you to praye for them trustynge that you haue in remembrance howe in times paste I haue proued by auctorities of Hierome Augustin Ambrose and Chrysostome and also by scriptures as saynt Augustine vnderstandeth them that we shulde so do for they ar in such case that they maye be reliued by our prayer c. ¶ All thoughe in consyderynge the sensible creatures of god many tymes I am constrayned greattely to meruaylle at the diuyne power yet nothynge so greatly moueth me as when I remembre all the regions of Christendome whiche before the comynge of Christe were spiritually deade and nowe by his mercye haue lyfe gyuen to them so knyt and ioyned to hym as one principall heed by vnitie of feythe that nowe they are one misticall body hauynge dyuers membres deputed to dyuers offices and euery one ministrynge for other in Christe And this is well worthye to be meruayled at if we wyll consider the great multitude of the people and the diuersitie of the same whiche settynge all customes apart all humayn lawes all lernynge all pleasures al vices wherin they had al their lyfe tymes accustomed them selfes before most humbly receyued the feythe of Christ from the whiche neyther losse of goodes nor imprysonement nor dethe coulde euer disswade them ¶ And surely great meruaylle it is howe that so many noble men so many princis so many kynges so many emperours ye of so great power and stomake wolde gyue credence to suche symple vnknowen abiecte and vile persones as the Apostols were after the worldly estimation whiche preched thinges incredible as Christ god and man to be borne of a virgin whiche crucified and put to deth rise agayne the thirde daye by his owne power from dethe to lyfe and soone after ascended to heuen Whiche preched for delicacie of lyuynge abstinency for voluptuousnes chastitie for daliance lamentation and continuall moonynge for riches pouertie the spirite of god so workynge that many nations vnlike in condicions vnlyke in langage and being in great distance dyd agree and yet do agree in professinge Christ Iesus and his religion one spirit workyng and gyuyng vital operation to them all For as in the naturall body of man the soule gyueth lyfe and mouynge to euery ioynt so that no man can moue any parte of his body but by the spirite vitalle extended to the same no more can any manne moue hym selfe to any poynt of vertue and goodnes but by the vertue of the holy gooste excitinge mouyng him to the same And as the bodye is one and hath many membres and yet al the membres make one bodi though they be many in theym selfes so is Christe with all christians one For al we are christened in one spirite for that we shulde be one body in Christ This body was sometyme in Christ and his apostols and disciples and by them it was nouryshed and increced some trauaylynge into one coūtrey and some into an other and as they dyd ꝓfyt in them so did they become ꝑtis of Christis misticall body that is to sey of the churche so that the diuersitie of regions and countreys maketh not the diuersite of churches but the vnitie of feyth maketh all regions one churche all thoughe the same regions were vnknowen to vs and we to them As if saynt Andrew Philip Thomas and other of the apostols preached in straunge countreys and conuerted them spekinge nothynge of eche other nor of Peter but onely of Christe and his benefytis yet for their feyth shulde they be of the same churche that Peter was of al though they neuer harde of Peter nor Peter of theym As sayncte Paule after his conuersion vnknowē to Peter and other apostols preched in Arabie and Damasco .iii. yeres Iesus that he is the son of god and many by his preachynge receyued the feyth whiche neyther knewe Peter nor other of the apostols but Iesus Christ and the same crucified for our redemption and yet for this feythe were they made one in Christ and of his churche So that it was of no necessytie for them to knowe Peter as many haue rekened in the byshoppe of Rome that excepte we knewe hym and his holy college we coulde not be of Christis churche But I am ryghte sure that manye thousandes are saued whiche neuer harde of Peter nor yet of the bishop of Rome so that the vnitie of Christis church cōsisteth not in the knowlege of any erthely creature but in the knowlege of Christe and true beleue in hym And for this laboured the apostolles and yet labour theyr trewe successours whose continuall study must be to maynteyn the same takynge example of sayncte Paule whiche regardynge moche this vnitie sayth in the .xiiii. chapiter to the Romaynes Quae pacis sunt sectemur et quae aedifi●●tionis sunt inuicem custodiamus Where he reprouynge vnfruitefull disputations wyllethe vs to folowe those thinges that maye make for vnitie for the edifienge of our brothern and vs. And in lykewise in the fyrst chapitre to the Corinthians in the firste epistle he saythe Obsecro uos fratres per nomen domini nostri Iesu Christi vt idipsum dicatis omnes et non sint in vobis schismata sitis autem perfecti in eodem sensu et in eadem sententia I instauntly desyre you sayth he to the Corinthians in the name of our lorde Iesu Christe that you agree both in word mynd in one and lette there be no schisme nor diuision among you And in the xiiii chapitre I rede of hym Non est dissensionis deus sed pacis sicut et in omnibus ecclesiis sanctorū do ceo where the holye apostoll wylleth that if any man reken hym selfe to haue the spiryte of god he shall the rather regarde vnitie for that the spirite of god is author of vnitie and not of discorde Euen so writinge to the Ephesians he saythe Soliciti seruare unitatem spiritus Eph ▪ 4. wyllyng al hautenes to be set apart and euery man with gentylnes to do his diligente endeuer to maynteyne vnitie And saincte Paule rekeneth that he shall sone opteyne his desire for that they haue one body and one spirite and one trust and hope of the enheritance of heuen that is promised them by their vocation Furthermore they had one lorde one feythe one baptime whiche by the meritis of the passion of Christe was of lyke effect to them all Also they haue one god whiche is father of them all hath the moste high regency gouernynge all thinge and by his diuine spirite is present in vs al. And in his epistle ad Hebreos in the .xii. chapitre he sayth Pacem sequim ini cum omnibus et sanctimoniam fine qua nemo deum uidebit contemplantes ne quis desit gratiae dei ne qua radix amaritudinis sursum germinans impediat et per illam inquinentur