Nothing but that which Christ Instituted is the Essential Matter and Forme of the Order of Priesthood But Christ never Instituted the Touching of the Vessels and the words annexed to it ergo the Touching of the Vessels and the Words annexed to it are not the Essential Matter and Forme of the Order of Priesthood the Premises have been here clearly proved and the Conclusion is legally inferr'd For a farther Proof of this Assertion we must drive it a little higher and consider the fatal consequences that would ensue from their Doctrine were it true For if the Matter and Forme specifyed in the Title of this Section be the Essentials of the Order of Priesthood then it inevitably follows that the Greeks and all the Christians disperst over all the East yea and the Latin Church also for a Thousand years after Christ had never any Valid Ordination because they all wanted the Essentials of Priesthood for al these never made use of the Vessels nor the Forme annexed to them as appears by their Rituals And to this day none but the Latines ever applyed this Matter and Forme to him that was to be Ordained Priest and therefore could have no True Patriarchs not Bishops nor Priests among them A very sad Illation and of vast consequence for no Priest no Church What then Must the Church of Rome to keep up and Maintain their Innovation which is a Meer Humane Invention Un-Church all the Professors of Christianity in the World for a Thousand years together and a considerable part of them to this day and leave them destitute of either Bishop or Priest Where was all this while the provident care that our great Master and Redeemer ever had of his Church which he had Established by the Price of his Precious Blood Where was that tender love that he ever testified to his Endear'd Spouse Could heabandon his whole Church so soon after he had Instituted and so firmly Founded it that the Gates of Hell should never prevail against it What Christian can without a Sacred Horror entertain a thought of such a general devastation and deplorable desolation But this being so obvious could not but work the Church of Rome into an anxiety and sedulous industry to find a remedy wherefore to salve this Sore they would never Reordain their Proselites that had deserted the Communion of the Greek Church and imbraced theirs but on the contrary in all occasions declared the Ordinations of the Greek Church to be valid and consequently granted to those Greeks that were now Incorporated into their Church the free use of all their Priestly Functions though they had been created Priests according to the Rites of the Greek Church and never attempted to Re-ordain them By this they endeavor to evade this last imputation which otherwise would lye heavy upon them But in plain terms this evaasion is no better then a meer contradiction for How is it possible that the Ordination of the Greeks could be valid without the Essentials of Ordination which the Roman Church placeth in the Touching of the Holy Vessels with this Forme Accipe potestatem c. Receive a power to offer Sacrifice c. for these the Greeks never used You were as good tell me That one may be truly and properly a Man without either Body or Reasonable Soul which are the Essentials of Man If you should Reply That there may be Two Essences of Ordination so that each taken apart from the other makes the Ordination valid So when the Greeks Ordain they use for Matter the Imposition of Hands and for Forme these words Divina gratia c. The Divine Grace which always heals that which is infirm and supplies that which is defective promotes this most holy Deacon to be a Priest By this Matter and Forme the Greeks do validly confer the Order of Priesthood And when the Romanists Ordain they do the like by their peculiar Matter and Forme So that neither is rigorously necessary but either may suffice This Doctrine is very Paradoxical for in substance it asserts that one and the same thing may have two compleat and adequate Essences specifically and generically different from each other which is impossible for a thing and his adequate Essence is the same and nothing can be specifically or generically different from its self But you 'l say These are not two Essences of the same thing but two different causes of the same effect To solve this I must distinguish between the Order it self and the Ordination the Order is that Spiritual Power which is given to the Ordained by vertue of his Ordination from whence results the Order together with its concomitant Supernatural effects which are the Character and Sacramental Graces that are inseparable from it The Ordination is made up of those Actions and Words which the Ordainer exerciseth and applyeth to the Ordained so that the Ordination participates more of the nature of a causality then of a cause And the whole Essence of this Ordination is the Matter and Forme instituted by Christ for whatsoever was assum'd by the Original Instituter and by him elevated and impower'd to produce such admirable supernatural and Sacramental effects is the Essence of Ordination So that Order is the Effect and Ordination the Cause wherefore if you appoint new Essentials of Ordination you not only grant two Causes of the same effect but two Essences of the same thing whereby you render Ordination specifically and Essentially distinct from its self And because none but an Omnipotent Power can raise Natural Causes to such vigor and energy as to produce such extraordinary effects therefore that Matter and Forme which Christ hath Instituted to this end is the total Essence of Ordination And herein the Greeks have the advantage for they ever used the Imposition of Hands with the Forme above mentioned which the Primitive Church received from the Apostles and they from Christ so the Greeks are sure that their Ordination hath a legal and valid Institution But where shall we find another adequate Essence of Ordination by Divine Institution That of the Church of Rome hath no such Prerogative for we know its Origine and have scan'd its Pedigree whereby we find that there is nothing but Human Autority to authorise it which hath no proportion to such wonderful effects which are out of the reach of Nature and none but an Omnipotent Power can produce Hence we groundedly conclude that there is but one valid Ordination which hath but one certain and determinate Nature and Essence neither is there any power upon Earth that can add to it or take from it So that in vain you assign the Touching of the Vessels with its Forme for a second total and adequate Essence of Ordination For all Antiquity was a stranger to this the Apostles never heard of it Christ never mentioned it neither by word nor action Who then dares obtrude this as belonging to the Essence of Ordination which is of Divine Right as all
Instruments which in these present circumstances is no proofe at all especially to one who impugnes them all For this is no Argument their Opinions are false ergo mine is true How easily is it Answered that they are all false both his and theirs except the contrary be proved But he endeavors to prove his Opinion by the Autority of the Council of Trent Sess 14. C. 3. where the Council Orders the Ministers of Extreame Unction to be only Bishops aut Sacerdotes ab ipsis rite Ordinatos per Impositionem manuum Presbyterii or else Priests by them Ordained by the Imposition of the Hands of the Presbytery which refers to none but the Second Imposition of Hands according to the Roman Pontifical for in this alone the Bishop joyns his Right Hand with the other Priests upon the head of the Ordained In this Opinion Morinus is singular for I find no Author that holds it but himself neither is it probable that the Validity of Ordination in the Church of Rome must rely upon the Autority of one single Author who is a better Historian then Divine in opposition to all other Authors Wherefore my First Answer is That this Imposition of Hands which Morinus insists upon cannot validly confer the Order of Priesthood for want of an intention in the Minister to confer it hereby For no Bishop that Ordains can prudently intend to Ordain by this Imposition of Hands only neither can the Church intend it First Because there is but one Author that holds it all the Divines being wholly against it asserting it to be only an accidental Ceremony preparative to the collation of Order but not at all belonging to the Essence of it For the greatest part of Divines and common perswasion of the Church of Rome admit no Imposition of Hands at all as belonging to the substance of Ordination but place the whole Essence thereof in the Touching the Instruments and their Forme Others that allow to the Imposition of Hands a partial concurrence together with the Tradition of the Vessels yet none of them make choice of this Imposition of Hands but they all attribute this partial vertue to the Third Imposition of Hands after Communion with this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis c. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. Secondly Because if the Church or the Ordainer should intend Ordination of Priests to be conferr'd by this Imposition of Hands and the Prayer that accompanys it as the total and compleat Essence and substance thereof they would thereby render the exhibiting of the Instruments and their Forme wholly useless which would reflect upon the Churches Prudence and Discretion in introducing them for no other necessity of this superinduction contrary to the constant practise of Antiquity can be groundedly assign'd but to be an adequate or a partial cause of Priesthood My Second Answer is That the Forme which accompanyeth the tendering of the Instruments doth so plainly so expresly and so explicitely signifie the Order of Priesthood to be thereby conferr'd that no Ordainer that is in his right wits can any way doubt of it or call it in question but that the Church by adding this Matter and Forme intended thereby to confer to the Ordained the power of offering Sacrifice wherein they place the Essence of Priesthood if then this power were given the Ordained before by that Second Imposition of Hands the Ordainer if he understands what he says must volens nolens confer that power over again to the same Ordained which is a Sacriledge neither can the Church who introduced it avoid this inconvenience For Reordination was by a never interrupted Tradition prohibited in the Church of God So in the Canons of the Apostles Canon Apost 68. Si quis Episcopus vel Presbyter vel Diaconus Secundam Ordinationem ab alio receperit deponatur ipse qui Ordinavit c. If any Bishop Priest or Deacon do receive from another a Second Ordination let him be deposed and he that Ordained him The same is Taught by the Council of Trent in these words Trid. Sess 7 Can. 9. Si quis dixerit tribus Sacramentis Baptismo scilicet Confirmatione Ordinatione non imprimi Characterem in anima hoc est signum quoddam Spirituale indelebile unde ea iterari non possunt Anathema sit If any one shall say That in Three Sacraments namely Baptisme Confirmation and Ordination there is not a Character imprinted in the Soul that is a certain Spiritual and indeleble sign by means whereof they cannot be reiterated let him be Accursed St. Cyprian de ablutione pedum cites an antient Author speaking thus Nemo Sacros Ordines semel datos renovat iterum c. quia contumelia esset Spiritui Sancto si evacuari posset quod ille Sanctificat c. None renews again Holy Orders that are once given because it would be a contumely to the Holy Ghost if that should be evacuated which he hath Sanctified But I need not insist upon this because they all grant it Hence it insues That though the Roman Ritual should contain all the Essentials of Ordination yet this would not evince the Validity of it First Because they reject that which is Essential as a meer circumstantial Ceremony inductive to Priesthood and consequently have no intention to confer the Order by it Which intention is a necessary condition sine qua non without which no Order can be Validly conferr'd as they all Teach and is defined by the Council of Florence as you may see above in the Fourth Section and the Second Proofe Secondly Because they have introduced a new Matter and Forme never Instituted by Christ nor ever mentioned by the Apostles nor the Primitive Church by which they intend the Collation of Priesthood Wherefore should the Priestly Power be conferr'd by that Second Imposition of Hands then in every Ordination there would be a Sacrilegious attempt of Reordaining A Seventh Objection Though the Church of Rome approves of the Tradition of the Vessels with its proper Forme yet it so allows it as not to exclude the Imposition of Hands and therefore the Ordination is Valid and no way repugnant to Christ's Institution for this additional Matter and Forme is but a thing indifferent to the other parts of Ordination and therefore cannot be prejudicial to them for as Gratian observes Vtile per inutile non vitiatur A useless addition cannot vitiate that which is useful Wherefore Tridem Sess 21. C. 3. according to the Council of Trent Agnoscens Sancta mater Ecclesia suam in Administratione Sacramentorum autoritatem The Holy Mother the Church well knowing the power she hath in the Administration of Sacraments she may add diminish or alter as incident occasions and circumstances shall require still retaining the Essentials To this I Reply That this Objection is already Answered in the Solution of the precedent Objection Only this layes an Aspersion upon the Church for introducing into
place to substitute their own and hereby to make Ordination void so likewise is Human frailty subject to many such defects whereof some are imputable of crime to the first Authors but not to those that succeed them for I suppose these to be blinded by invincible ignorance others proceed only from the weakness and limited capacity of Human nature without any deformity or Moral defect in their wills Wherefore should the Church of God so rely upon our weak capacities that a secret and clandestine defect in an Ordainer which no vigilance nor Human precaution can avoid when all other requisites are applyed and all have an invincible ignorance of that secret defect Should this I say render all his Ordinations invalid when all other requisites are applyed then another such defect may on the same account incidently fall on another considering our weakness or Malice in the beginners and so on a third and at length no Bishop nor Priest that 's validly Ordained will be found in the Church See how this is inductive to the Churches ruine which certainly had been long-since destroyed had not the Divine Instituter thereof maintained it by supplying such defects which we can neither avoid nor prevent which he can as easily do as he first Instituted the Sacraments and Ordination for it is he alone that gives the Spiritual Order to the Ordained and to give it in these circumstances is but congruous for none concerned in such an Ordination are blameworthy and not to give it is absolutely and by common providence inevitably destructive of the whole Church which certainly the Supreme Lord thereof will not deliver up to ruine since with so much difficulty care and tenderness he Instituted it and to the same it belongs first to Institute and then to Conserve But this Doctrine seems to administer the occasion of a reply for admitting that Titulus coloratus bona fides do supply the defect of Order in the Ordainer so that one who is by all esteemed and reputed a true Bishop yet in effect by reason of some secret default is not so when all other requisites and essentials are aptly and duely applyed do validly Ordain Why then cannot this Doctrine be applied to the Roman Bishops For if they should be defective in the Power of Order yet adhibiting all essentials and other necessary conditions their Ordinations would also be valid among themselves for we cannot in Charity presume that they proceed against their Conscience or that they want that sincerity and right intention which we suppose in others This being supposed the case is the same for if the Roman Bishops validly Ordained the Bishops of the Church of England Why should not they validly Ordain their own I Answer That they Ordain their own Priests and Bishops according to the Roman Ritual and consequently they want the maine requisite which is the essential Matter and Forme for they have Innovated a Matter and Forme of their own far different from that which Christ Instituted and they cleerly signifie by that Forme that they intend thereby to confer the Order of Priesthood so that they cannot intend to Ordain by the Essential Matter and Forme derived from the Apostles if any such be contained in their Ritual except they would be reputed deluders as hath been proved at large in the Fifth Sixth and Seventh Sections of this Disputation Wherefore according to the disposition of the Roman Ritual the Essence of Ordination cannot subsist And certainly nothing can have a being without its own Essence as all must grant For the Church of Rome partly by adding their new reputed Essentials to which their intention of Ordaining must be fixed and partly by Inverting the Order have made so great a confusion that one part destroys another and particularly their Essentials do absolutely destroy the Essentials Instituted by Christ if their Liturgy contain any such and hinder their effect But when the Bishops that were Ordained in the Church of Rome had deserted their Communion and Ordained the Bishops of the Church of England they did it by the English Ritual which contains the very Essential Matter and Forme Instituted by Christ and delivered to us by the Apostles which were so duely and regularly applyed to the Ordained as was ever in practise in the antient Church so that here nothing at all was wanting that in the case proposed was necessary to the validity of Ordination Wherefore this Ordination is far different from that which the Roman Bishops use when they Ordain according to the Roman Pastoral And consequently the Ordination which the Romans use among themselves is Invalid but the Ordination of the English Bishops reteins its Integrity A Second Proofe hereof is grounded upon the practise of the Greek Church whose Ordination the Church of Rome ever approved as valid yet they always used the Imposition of hands as the Essential matter of Priesthood with this Forme Divina Gratia quae semper infirma sanat deficientia complet promovet hunc Deo amabilem Diaconum in Presbyterum The Divine Grace that always cures that which is infirme and compleats that which is deficient promotes this pious Deacon to Priesthood Consider here what precaution the Greeks used in the Essential Forme of their Ordination for knowing how prone we are all to errors and mistakes they in a matter of such high concern have recourse to the Author of Grace to confirm and strengthen that which by Human Frailty might be weak and unstable as also to compleat the defects and supply the wants of their Ordination in case any thing else should be necessary not known to them And hereby they used their best endeavors to prevent the nullity of their Ordinations which might proceed from their own weakness or inadvertency as not being ignorant how many errors and mistakes we are subject to notwithstanding the best of our endeavors to the contrary Which implyes a confidence in them that using the true Essentials and a right intention Christ would supply all other secret defects whereof the want of the power of Order in the Ordainer is one especially when he is generally reputed by all and by himself also a true Bishop For as it is above observed in the beginning of this Section the Power of Order in the Ordained is no Essential part of Ordination but meerly the effect thereof so that the Ordination is Essentially and Specifically compleat without it and because Ordination is Instituted by Christ as a means to determine him to confer this Spiritual Power upon the Ordained How reasonable and congruous is it that the cause being compleat the effect should not be wanting especially since it exceeds our capacity to discover the defect For when a cause is hinder'd from producing his effect either by contrary agents or by the indisposition of the Medium or by the incapacity of the Passum we cannot thence infer that the agent is incompleat or wants vertue quantum est ex se for as much
Heresie He was of the most eminent repute of his time He was a great Opponent of all Novelty and Innovation and for his Merits very dear to the Emperor These then were the Persons which the Emperor consulted and required them to give him in Writing the True Sense of the Church concerning the Body of Christ in the Eucharist Whether it were contained in the Sacrament in Verity and Reality or only in Vertue and Figure as also whether it were the same Body of Christ that was born of the Virgin Mary Suffered upon the Cross Rose from the Dead c. that we receive in the Sacrament for to both Questions Paschasius Answers That it was the same Body present in the Eucharist in Verity and Reality and not only in Vertue and Figure To these two Questions the forenamed Doctors gave in their Answer in Latin to the Emperor in Writing and their Resolutions were contrary to the Doctrine of Paschasius as to both Questions For to the First Whether that which we receive in the Sacrament of the Eucharist be truly and really the Body of Christ or only a Figure and Type thereof They both Answer That the Body and Blood of Christ are contained in this Sacrament only in Figure and Virtue and not in Reality As to the Second Question Whether it be the same Body that was Born of the Virgin Mary that suffered on the Cross that was Buried and Rose again that Ascended into Heaven they Answer That we Receive the Figure and Verture of that same Body And not wholly to omit the Transactions of these two Doctors I shall here briefly relate some passages of each of them SECT VI. A briefe account of some passages of the life and death of John Erigène THis Learned Doctor how dear soever he was to that Great Emperor Charles yet he was sharply censur'd and severely handled by several Authors and great Prelates and especially by the Council of Valentia for some Dogmatical Points which he deliver'd in a Treatise that he Wrote of Predestination and the state of the future Life as deviating from the Orthodox Principles of the Church yet none reprehended him for his Doctrine of the Eucharist And certainly he meritted eternal renown for Translating the Hierarchy of Dionysius of Areopagyta from Greek into Latin by Command of the Emperor Charles which Work added no small access to the Opinion formerly conceived of his zeal and eloquence for hence he was esteemed a Saint and that his Doctrine and knowledge was infus'd from Heaven His Fame daily increasing he was at last called into England by Alfrede then King where he was Barbarously Murdered by his own Disciples in the Monastery of Malmesbury in the year 883 or thereabouts and was decently buried in that Church but his Body was afterwards with great Pomp and Magnificence translated to the Cathedral and there placed before the Altar with this Epitaph Here lies John the Holy Philosopher Gulielm Malmesb. L. 2. C. 5. who in his life time was inriched with wonderful Doctrine and in the end had the honor to ascend by Martyrdom to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ where the Saints reign eternally as William of Malmesbury relates And after his decease by the Autority of the See of Rome he was put into the Catalogue of Martyrs His Treatise of the Eucharist remained extant about 200 years after he Wrote it by the Emperors Command but about the year 1050 it was read in the Council of Verceils where Pope Leo the Ninth presided and there condemned to be Burnt as being repugnant to the Orthodox Doctrine of the Eucharist which was accordingly put in execution and so this Treatise perish'd And consequently it was often moved to have him expunged from the Catalogue of Saints but without effect till the time of Baronius who alledging That he had Written against the Real Presence upon this account got him excluded from that rank wherein he had been formerly placed by Gregory the 13th and other Popes Histor Ecclesiast Angliae L. 2. P. 119. as Fuller relates SECT VII Some Passages of the Life and Doctrine of Retram THis Doctor was one of the Learnedst and of the fairest repute of his time and upon this account was chosen among the rest by Charles the Emperor together with John Scot or Erigéne to give him an account what was the true meaning of Christ's Word 's and the true Doctrine of the Church in relation to the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist By this means to allay the heat of that turbulent Contention and Animosity which had reacht the utmost confines of his Dominions and dissected his Subjects into violent Factions occasioned by the Writings of Paschasius wherein he Asserted the Real Presence These two great Men in Complyance to the Emperors Command gave their Answer in two distinct Treatises in Latin upon this Subject wherein they both agreed that the true Orthodox Doctrine never admitted of any Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament but that it was there contained Virtually and Figuratively by means of Christ's Institution which they proved out of the Scripture and Fathers alleging several parallel examples out of Holy Writ concluding that the adverse Opinion was a Heterodox novelty contrary to Scripture Fathers and the Universal Belief of the Church till that time Retram when he Wrote this Treatise was a Priest of the Church of Rome and Monck of the Monastery of Corby soon after there arose great difficulties between Nicholas the First then Pope and Photius Patriarch of Constantinople whereupon Pope Nicholas implores the Assistance of the Bishops of France to defend the Latin Church against the Greeks The Clergy of the Gallican Church knew not where to find a more able and expert Champion to carry on this great design then Bertram or Retram and so unanimously chose him to defend the Pope and the Latin Church against their Antagonists Retram undertakes it and discharges his trust with a great deal of honor and applause and was afterwards created Abbot of Orbais But to come to his Doctrine his Treatise of the Body and Blood of Christ was providently preserved and at length Translated into English and Printed here in England about a Hundred Thirty and two years since in the year of our Lord 1549 whereof there have been several Editions since and it was lately Printed in France both in Latin and French But now come we to give you a Specimen of the Tenets which by this Treatise he endeavors to establish First Then he tells us That the Bread which by the Mystery of the Priest is made the Body of Christ doth shew one thing to the External Senses and another thing soundeth inwardly to the Mind of Faith Outwardly the Bread remaineth as it was before c. and then he adds of the VVine The Wine also which by the Consecration of the Priest is made the Sacrament of the Blood of Christ
Sanctifie the Receiver but still denies that the True Body and Blood of Christ which was Born of the Virgin Mary Suffered c. is in Verity or Reality present in this Sacrament but only Figuratively and Mystically SECT IX Animadversions on the Premises WE have seen the Opinion of those Two Champions of the Church of Christ which were Consulted by Charles the Emperor To whom I might add many more Abbots Bishops and Archbishops and the most eminent Persons of those times for Learning and Vertue but this would be too prolix and contrary to my Design But in the First place let us reflect that after Retram had Written his Treatise of the Body and Blood of Christ How all the Bishops and Prelates of France could precedently elect him in a matter of so great consequence to defend the Latin Church against the Pretensions of the Greeks and rely chiefly upon his management of it Especially since Pope Nicholas the First who had excited them to this Debate approved of their Choice for had they found any flaw in his Doctrine as not conformable to the Antient Belief of the Church they might with Reason have suspected that he might have vented some other error in his Disputes with the Greeck Church which would utterly have ruin'd their Cause But no such thing was surmis'd of him nor objected against him whence we may certainly infer That all the Bishops and Prelates of the Gallican Church yea and the Pope also were of his Opinion in the Doctrine of the Eucharist To this we may add That Pope Adrian the Second who also Govern'd the Church during this Debate never opposed himself against the Doctrine of Retram nor never Reprehended him for it which notwithstanding he ought to have done had he deem'd it any way Heterodox Gratian. in in Decret dist 82. C. Error For as Gratian tells us He approves an Error which he doth not oppose especially if by his Office he ought to do it And because during this Ninth Century there were so few that adher'd to the Doctrine of Paschasius it seemed very inconsiderable and like to dye of it self for want of support and therefore was prudently not reflected upon Whence we may safely conclude that the General Belief of the Church till almost Nine Hundred years after Christ was conformable to the Doctrine of Retram and of John Erigéne who denyed the Existence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrament in Verity and Reality and admitted it Virtually Figuratively and by way of a Sacrament Which belief maugre all the Anathemaes of the Church of Rome is lineally descended from Christ and his Apostles to these our times and is the general perswasion of the Protestant Church of England and conformable to the Nine and Thirty Articles Seconly Consider which of these two Dogmatical Assertions is most like to be the genuine and legitimate off-spring of Christ either that which drew his Origine immediately from Christ and his Apostles and hath kept possession ever since or the other that was not started till Eight Hundred years after and knows no other Progenitor but Paschasius The first certainly will appear to the unbiassed judgment of all to be Legitimate and the second Spurious and Adulterate But Thirdly Here is yet a higher Point which presents it self to our consideration We all believe that the Divine Word pursuant to his efficacious Decree became Incarnate chiefly for this end That in Human Nature he might Redeem Mankind he accomplished this end by a cruel Death and other Indignities which he suffered and thereby fatisfied for our Transgressions and Merited for us an infinite Treasure of Graces and to the end that Mankind might participate of this ineffable benefit for all future ages he instituted a Church ordained Sacraments to convey those Graces to our Souls He Instructed those that were to initiate his Church in his Divine Doctrine he gave them his Heavenly Precepts c. Whence I appeal to the impartial and unbyassed judgments both of Men and Angels whether it be probable or credible that this Supreme Artificer instructed with all his infinite Attributes of an illimited Knowledge Power Wisdom Providence c. should leave this great Work of our Redemption which was his Master-piece imperfect and incompleat yea contaminated with gross Errors and Heresies in its first Foundation in a matter of such high moment which concerned his most Sacred Body and Blood and was destructive of the Essentials of one of those two Sacraments which he had ordain'd and the Principal for Dignity and permit its progress in this erroneous Doctrine for Eight Hundred years together which would have had a direct tendency to confusion and finally to the utter ruine and dissolution of his Church and so frustrate the final end of his Incarnation And that after so many Centuries one Paschasius Rathert a Monk should start up from his Cell and pretend to Correct this Error and hereby to perfect and amend the work of the Omnipotent as if Christ would not or could not have done it of himself Is this I say credible or Would it not highly derogate from the Dignity of the Divine Person and the infinite Attributes of our great Lord and Master What then must we conclude But that this belief of the Body and Blood of Christ which took its Origine from the Primitive Institution of Christianity was True Orthodox and Catholick Doctrine so that Christ accomplisht the design which he had undertaken perfectly and compleatly and so remitted it to Posterity without either spot or blemish And if you desire Presidents do but cast a compendious glance upon all the former products of the Omnipotent hand of God The Frame of this Universe was Projected and Created by God himself who having produc't it he saw that it was very good that is perfect and compleat He Created the Angels with all the Natural Perfections due to the excellency of their Nature no accomplishment was wanting and moreover in their first Creation imbued them with Supernatural Grace and gave them a Title to Glory Simul in eis condens naturam Aug. l. 12. de Civit. C. 9. largiens gratiam saith St. Austin The same saith St. Gregory in his Morals and others Man was likewise produc't in his full perfection and his Soul in its first Creation was imbellisht with Sactifying Grace and Original Justice The Superior Orbes were Created and placed in their respective Sphears with all the Accomplishment of Perfection proper to their Nature with due Subordination conducing to the good and perservation of the Universe their Natural Motion was imprinted into them in their first Creation which still remains immutable though probably their rapt motion be regulated by the Ministery of Angels And in this sublunary World there is not one Species but in its first being received all the Perfections which were appropriated to its kind So that all the Works of God were perfect and compleat though some of the Angels
the Principles of Philosophy and Scholastical Divinity which though Abstruse and Speculative yet is Avowed by their own Champions Dispute I. Of the pretended Infallibility of the Church of Rome The Preface THE natural and acquisite knowledge of Man's intellectual Faculty could never pretend to any specifical degree of Clarity above those obscure Notions which by foreign Species we draw from several Objects wherefore the Representation being weak the Vnderstanding is seldom certainly assured of the true State of the Object But the Church of Rome pretends to a higher Prerogative above the rest of Mankind viz. an Infallibility in her decisions that is a determination to Truth and an incapacity of falling into any Falsity or Error wherefore I deemed it worth the Examination whither this superexcellent Faculty be grounded upon any sure Foundation or an assumed and pretended Priviledge like his Holinesses usurped Power to Lord it over Kings and to Depose them and dispose of their Dominions at his pleasure as if Emperors Kings and Temporal Princes were but his Tenants at Will and he the Proprietor or Landlord SECT I. Wherein consists the true Notion of Infallibility TO the end we may with greater perspicuity trace the Divines of the Church of Rome in their Principles we must first premise a four-fold Knowledge that the Understanding is capable of There is an abstractive a quidditive an intuitive and a comprehensive Knowledge The first is a weak and imperfect representation fram'd by borrowed Species gathered first by the external and internal Senses and thence transmitted to the Understanding which are but virtual representations and as it were the Seeds of the Object by means whereof the Vital Power together with these Species as con-causes produce a formal image or representation of the Object And this abstractive Knowledge is peculiar to the State of Man in this Life A quidditive Knowledge is a clearer Representation framed by the Understanding instructed with proper Species by means whereof it penetrates into the essential Perfections and peculiar Faculties of the Prototypon or thing represented An intuitive Knowledge is that which by the proper Species of the exemplar distinguisheth in what State the Object is whither existent past or to come and herein it resembles that Science in God which the Divines call Scientia visionis A comprehensive Knowledge includes the two former and moreover represents all the Perfections Powers and Faculties of its Object explicitely in order to all its Connotates and Correlatives explicating distinctly all the variety of effects that may proceed from such a cause and discovering all and singular the innate Powers and Faculties thereof with reference to all external Objects that have any connexion dependence or relation to it And because these external Objects are infinite therefore this comprehensive Knowledge is peculiar to God alone but the two former are imparted to the Blessed Angels and Souls of the Faithful who by their Beatifical Vision see God quidditively and intuitively Moreover there are three degrees of clarity or certainty whereby various Acts of the Understanding do variously represent their Objects The first is Probability which by reason of its weakness and imbecillity is always accompanied with a virtual or formal Ambiguity and Fear that the contrary may be true because the motives that are inductive to the assent bring no assurance but only a seeming resemblance with the Truth The second is a Moral certainty which though there be a possibility of its failing yet seldom or never errs as one that never was at Rome yet hath a Moral certainty that such a City is extant because he hath often heard the concurring Testimonies of so many that have been there The third and highest degree is the certainty of Infallibility which is always accompanied with Truth and imports also an incapacity of Erring so that all Physical Mathematical and Metaphysical demonstrations and all those Truths which Philosophers call Prima Principia as Nihil potest simul esse non esse Omne totum est majus suâ parte Quae sunt eadem unitertio sunt eadem inter se c. all these are invested with the certainty of Infallibility To this also belongs all acts of supernatural Faith which are truly grounded on Divine Revelation This being premised we now come to inspect the peculiar nature of that Infallibility which the Doctors of Rome attempt to affix to their Church And though the word Church taken in its greatest latitude include all the Members thereof wheresoever dispersed yet their Divines commonly restrain the meaning thereof to an Oecomenical Council indicted by the Pope promulged by the Emperor furnished with a sufficient number of Fathers and Bishops wherein the Pope by himself or his Legate presides and confirms the Canons and Decrees of the same by his Apostolical Authority so that a Council with all these Requisites is that which they call the Church and assert it Infallible in all its Canons and Decrees yea and some of the Popes Candidates affirm That his Holiness also participates of this high Prerogative when he speaks ex Cathedra though no Council be then sitting which the Jesuits the Popes Minions struggle hard to maintain against others of the same Church Another difficulty hath been started amongst them How this Infallibility affects their Church Whither it be an inherent quality possessing the minds and understandings of the Fathers and Bishops in Council essentially determining them to truth or else an extrinsical assistance whereby the Holy Ghost inspires them with Truth and protects them from Error But I leave them to debate these difficulties among themselves for it is not the scope of this present discourse to examine what they call their Church and how this Infallibility affects it but only whither this singular favour be really granted to them or whither they unjustly pretend a Right to it for the better satisfaction of their Followers and making a more copious access of Proselites SECT II. The Grounds of the pretended Infallibity of the Church of Rome are proposed GReat Acquisitions are seldom made and maintained without great Art and Industry A considerable part of this sublunary World are wrought into a belief That the Church of Rome is the only Oracle of the Universe whose Doctrine is always true and not capable of Error how many Kings and Princes are swayed by this perswasion and by this means testifie a high Respect and Veneration for the See of Rome who Commissionates her Emissaries the Divines Preachers and Confessors to inculcate this Doctrine to the credulous Believers all the World over and he who writes best on this Subject expects no less than a Cardinal's Cap or a Bishoprick for his Reward The Divine Prints it the Preacher promulges it and the Confessor takes hold of opportunity times and seasons to settle it in the minds of his Penitents Princes have commonly Divines Preachers and Confessors of their own Subjects and Nation to whose conduct they presume they may safely trust
the regulating of their Consciences yet these Men though never so Heterogeneal in Dialect and National differences make but one complex or collection of the Popes Negotiators whose main scope and design is to maintain and improve the Prerogatives of their great Master by all the subtle arts and sedulous industry they are capable of What plausible Arguments do they use to persuade people that their Church cannot Err and the illiterate Vulgar greedily swallow this Bait which confirms them in their servitude and slavery and makes them prompt to submit to all the Prescripts of the See of Rome not regarding the arduity thereof And among other marks of the Popes greatness this of Infallibility is chief for upon this Link hangs immediately his Supremacy his Temporal pretended Power over Kings and Princes c. because these Titles are deduced from his being universal Pastor which the non-erring Councils have declared him to be so that the Councils Infallibility is the Root of those Prerogatives it is the main Pillar which supports the Magnificence and Greatness of the Church and Court of Rome and if this should fail that Superstructure would fall to utter Ruine and Desolation This therefore is the great Bulwark which dreads no opposition this is the main Fort that still remains immoveable against all attempts this is the Ship of St. Peter which though tossed and agitated upon the swelling Billows by Raging and Tempestuous Storms yet never sinks Well may there be some attempts upon the out-works by light Skirmishes and Velitations in Controversies of less moment which if by immediate Arguments they cannot repel recourse may still be had to the main Fort and if that begins to open upon the Enemy by Thundring Infallibility in his Ears Lord who can withstand it This will soon defeat him and dissipate all his attempts But upon what grounds doth the Church of Rome arrogate to it self this high Character First Proof in exclusion of all others Why this is drawn from an irrefragable Testimony it being grounded on the Promises of Christ himself for this is the Church to whom Christ hath promised That the Gates of Hell should never prevail against it This is the Church to whom Christ's word is engaged to send it another Paraclite the Spirit of Truth that should lead it into all Truth This is the Church to whom Christ said I will be with you till the end of the World And finally this is the Church committed to the care of St. Peter first Pope thereof to whom Christ said Thy Faith shall never fail which is meant of all other Popes that by a lineal descent succeed him And who dare attempt to evacuate Christ's Promises Hence it comes to pass that the Bishops and Fathers assembled in a general Council though of themselves weak and subject to Error yet being the chief Members of the Church for Doctrine and Dignity and being the Representative of the whole are render'd Infallible as being backt by Divine Authority by virtue of Christ's Promise they do not now determine matters of Faith and dogmatical points as meer Men but are as it were Deifi'd in order to this Function by a supernatural quality infused into them and inherent in their Intellects or else by a previous disposition and concomitant operation of the Holy Ghost which determines them to Truth and protects them from Error They are but the Organ to deliver Truth but the Divine Oracle is the Dictator they are but the instruments which convey those Mysteries to the knowledge of Mankind but the Spirit of God is the principal Agent so that thâ—â— Canons and Decrees come from them full fraught with the Divinity which renders them Infallibly certain for the Holy Ghost every Session attends the motion of those great Men to regulate all their Proceedings by the never erring Rule of his infinite Veracity whence it ensues that to pick quarrels with their Definitions is a high Temerity it is to wage War with Heaven or by the weak scrutiny of humane discourse to examine the truth of such Mysteries as Heaven hath revealed which if they should contain any seeming Error or Contradiction yet our understanding must adhere to them as infallibly true because our Reason is guided only by obscure Notions and abstractive Acts which draws in foreign Species by the mediation of the Senses which give but a glimmering light to the Understanding and often suggest Falsity for Truth but the Decrees of Councils are sacred and carry the Seal of the Holy Spirit enstampt upon them by whose directions they are framed wherefore it is no less than a Sacrilegious Presumption to Question the Truth of them for this is to oppose Human Reason against Divine Authority This is the substance of their first Proof drawn from the Authority of Scripture which at first appearance seems great and glorious a specious pretence to work upon the credulity of the ignorant Vulgar The second Proof is grounded in Reason but before we propose it we must open the way by putting the Reader in mind that the Divine Word the Second Person of the Sacred Trinity considering the deplorable condition of Mankind by the Fall of Adam resolved upon an efficacious Remedy to assume Human Nature and by an Hypostatical Union to be Phisically United and become on with Flesh and Bloud and in that Nature to suffer death and thereby to offer to his Eternal Father an infinite Treasure of Merits and Satisfaction to make an attonement between God and Man and to satisfie for Mans transgressions even to the rigor of Justice because the satisfaction was made in the same specifical nature that offended and it was made to the full equality of the Crime because the Meritorious Cause thereof was a Divine Person of infinite Dignity and therefore his Actions were of infinite Worth But because it was not permitted to every individual Person to draw from that infinite Mass of Satisfaction and Merit in what measure he pleased this priviledge being reserved for the Pope alone to grant out of this stock by his Indulgences what quantity and to whom he deemed expedient therefore a Church must be ordained and a method prescribed how to apply the benefit of Christ's Passion to each one in particular To this end our great Redeemer instituted Sacraments to be the organs and vehicles to convey the Fruit of his Passion to the Receiver and this is secunda post naufragium tabula whence the Church of Rome saith in her Publick Office O felix culpa quae talem meruit Redemptorem This being supposed The second Proof is grounded on this consideration that the principal design of our Redeemer was to draw Souls to Heaven notwithstanding the loss sustained by Original Sin for to this end he offered his satisfaction to this end he merited habitual and sanctifying Grace transient and actual Graces prevenient concomitant and subsequent Graces to illuminate the Understanding to move and incline the Will to embrace Good and
his Example may confirm his Admonition that he may preserve the Guift of thy Ministry pure and undefiled and may transforme by his Immaculate Benediction the Body and Brood of thy Son through the obedience of thy People that as a perfect Man with inviolable Charity to the measure of age of the fulness of Christ in the day of the Justice of Eternal Judgment he may acquit himself with a pure Conscience with a full Faith being filled with the Holy Ghost Per Dominum c. Consecration of the Hand Let these Hands be Consecrated and Sanctified by this Unction and our Benediction that whatever they Bless may be Blessed and whatever they Sanctifie may be Sanctified Per Dominum c. Another Let these Hands be Anointed with this Holy Oyle and Chrisme of Sanctification as Samuel Anointed David for a King and a Prophet so let them be Anointed and Compleated in the Name of God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost making the Sign of the Cross of the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ who Redeemed us from Death and brings us to the Kingdom of Heaven Hear us Pious Father Omnipotent Eternal God and perform what we entreat and pray of thee Per Dominum c. A Ritual taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHere these words are contained Presbyter cum Ordinatur Episcopo eum benedicente manum super caput ejus tenente etiam omnes Presbyteri qui presentes sunt manus suas juxta manum Episcopi super caput illius teneant Another taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHen a Priest is Ordained the Bishop Blessing him and holding his hand upon his head likewise all the Priests that are present shall lay their hands upon his head by the hand of the Bishop The Ritual of Gelatius Pope Written 900 years since ORdo qualiter Romana sedis Apostolicae Ecclesia Presbyteri Diaconi vel Subdiaconi eligendi sunt Mensis primi quarti septimi decimi Sabbatorum die in duodecim lectiones ad Sanctum Petrum ubi Missae celebrantur Postquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione adnuntiat Pontifex in Populo dicens Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo Iterum dicit Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo eligimus in ordine Diaconi sive Presbyteri illum Diaconum sive Subdiaconum de titulo illo Si quis autem habet aliquid contra hos viros pro Deo propter Deum cum fiducia exeat dicat verumtamen memor sit communionis suae Et post modicum intervallum mox incipiunt omnes Kyrie eleison cum Letania hac expleta ascendunt ipsi electi ad sedem Pontificis benedicit cos à quo vocati sunt descendunt Stant in ordines suos benedictione percepta Sequitur oratio de bened require ipsam in quarto aut decimo mense The Ritual of Gelatius the Pope Written 900 years since THe Order how Priests Deacons Subdeacons are to be chosen in the Roman Church of the See Apostolick On the Sabbath of the First Fourth Seventh and Tenth Month at the 12 Lessons at St. Peters Church where Masses are celebrated After they have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer let the Bishop declare among the People saying Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting us Again he sayes Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting We chuse into the Order of Deacon or Priest that Deacon or Subdeacon of that Title If any one have any thing against these Men for Gods sake let him come forth with coufidence and speak yet let him be mindful of his Communion And after a small interval all forthwith begin Kyrie Eleison with the Letany this compleated the Persons chosen step up to the Bishops Seat and he Blesses them from whom they are called and they go down They stand in their Orders the Blessing being received Then follows a Prayer of Benediction as in the Fourth or the Tenth Month. What follows is all as above Ad Ordinandos Presbyteros Oremus dilectissimi c. the same in substance as above Then follows Consecratio Consummatio Presbyteri Item Benedictio All the same as above A Ritual of above 800 years standing This Ritual and the next were taken out of a Written Book kept in the Pontifical Chamber of the Vatican which the Pope used when he Officiated It may be seen in the Fifth Tome of St. Gregory POstquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione venit Archidiaconus offert eum qui ordinandus est Pontifici ita dicens Postulat sanct a mater Ecclesia Catholica ut hunc praesentem diaconum ad onus Presbyterii ordinetis Interrogat Episcopus Scis illum dignum esse Respondet offerens quantum humana fragilitas nosse sinit scio testificor ipsum dignum esse ad hujus onus officii c. Tunc annnnciat Pontifex Populo Auxiliante Domino Deo c. the same as in the Ritual of Gelatius then follows Oratio ad Presbyteros Ordinandos Consecratio Hic vestis casulam Benedictio Patris filii Spiritus Sancti descendat super te ut sis benedictus in ordine sacerdotali offeras placabiles hostias pro peccatis at que offensionibus populi omnipotenti Deo cui sit honor gloria in secula seculorum Then Consecratio manus as above and nothing else A Ritual of above 800 years standing AFter they shall have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer comes the Archdeacon and presents him who is to be Ordained to the Bishop saying thus The Holy Mother the Catholick Church requires that ye Ordain this Deacon here present to the charge of Priesthood The Bishop Asks Do you know him worthy The Archdeacon Answers So far as humane frailty is suffered to know I both know and testifie him to be worthy to undergo the burden of this Office Then let the Bishop say to the People Auxiliante Domino Deo c. By the help of the Lord God c. Then the Prayer and Consecration the Priestly Vestment c. The Blessing of the Father Son and Holy Ghost descend upon thee that thou mayst be blest in the Priesthood and mayst offer acceptable Sacrifices for sins and offences of the people to Allmighty God to whom be Honor and Glory for ever and ever A Ritual taken out of a very antient Manuscript of the Vatican This contains nothing different from the former but only a word or two here and there changed without any essential difference There are Three other Rituals the one belonging to Corbie in France another is a Ritual that was used in England 800 years since and now belongs to the Church of Roane The Third belongs to the Church of Remes and was Written about 800 years since which all agree with that above There is another Ritual 700 years old This did belong to
he will require it of thee he receiving it Kisseth the Bishops hands and returns to his former place and puts his hands upon the Holy Table saving to himself Kyrie Eleison and Have Mercy upon me O God But when the Holy to Holies is to be said then the ordained restores the Holy Bread and is first communicated by the Bishop and moreover sayes the Prayer standing behind the Bishops Seat The Order of conferring Priesthood by the Syrian Maronites as followeth THe Maronites before their Reconciliation were esteemed Hereticks as holding but one Will and one kind of operation in Christ which was the Heresie of the Monothelites Their Ritual for Priesthood runs thus Primum venit ille quem elegit gratia utrumque genu flectit manus habens ante se junctas benediciturque ab Episcopo dicens benedic Domine tum Episcopus signat eum cruce inter oculos c. Interea Archidiaconus thus offert dicitque benedic Domine stemus omnes pulchrè in oratione reliqua Iterum atque iterum continuo omni tempore Domino supplicemus Domine pro redemptione auxilio ope remissione hujus servi tui N. qui hic adstat impositionem manus Divinae accipit Dona ei Domine gradum in Ecclesia sacerdotium perfectum c. Oremus igitur precemur supplicemus clamemus dicamusque tribus vicibus Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur dicitur Sanctificasti Deus Symbolum Interea Archidiaconus ducit eum manu dextra dicit Offerimus Sanctitati tuae O Pater sancte electe Dei Domine N. Episcope hunc Dei amantem qui hic adstat ut impositionem manus Divinae accipiat ex ordine Diaconi ad ordinem Presbyteratus super altare Sanctum Ecclesiae Sanctae Sancti Domini N. civitatis benedictae amantis Christi N. Est autem subjectus beatitati vestrae Pro co clamemus dicamus tribus vicibus Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur Divina gratia quae semper infirma curat deficientia supplet promovet hunc religiosissimum sacrum Diaconum in Presbyterum Diaconus in pace Domino supplicemus Episcopus precatur Diaconus proclamat istud Domini Ephrem Stemus omnes in oratione coram eo qui novit abscondita c. Episcopus imponit dexteram suam super caput ejus dicit ordinatus est in Ecclesia Archidiaconus clamat N. Presbyter ad Altare Sanctum Ecclesiae Sanctae istius loci N. Episcopus N. Presbyter Archidiaconus Psalmum Laus huic Pastori Postea legunt hunc Apostolum Fratres posuit onim deus in Ecclesia sua primum Apostolos c. datque ei Evangelium ut legat Sequuntur preces dein ter Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur thus datur ei circumducuntque ordinatum per Ecclesiam adferunt ei Evangelium dum autem circumducunt eum dicunt Positam Ascendit Moses in Montem Sinai c. Postea instruit eum de officio suo Explicet ordo Presbyteri Maronites First comes he whom Grace hath Elected and being on both his knees having his hands joyned sayes to the Bishop Your Bessing my Lord and is blessed by the Bishop then he signs him with the Cross between his eyes In the interim the Archdeacon offers Frankincense and sayes Your Blessing my Lord Let us all stand in Prayer and the rest Again and again continually and all the time let us Supplicate the Lord O Lord for the redemption help assistance and remission of this thy servant N. who stands here and receives the imposition of the Divine hand Give him O Lord a degree in the Church and perfect Priesthood Let us therefore beg and pray and supplicate and cry out and say Kyrie Eleison three times The Bishop Prays and saith Thou hast Sanctified O God and the Creed In the mean time the Archdeacon leads him in his right hand and saith We offer O holy Father and Elect of God Lord N. Bishop to thy Sanctity this Lover of God who stands here to receive the imposition of the Divine hand from the Order of Deacon to the Order of Priesthood upon the Holy Altar of the Holy Church N. of the blessed City that loveth Christ N. for he is subject to your Blessedness For him let us cry out three times and say Kyrie Eleison The Bishop Prays The Divine Grace which always cures the weak and supplies defects promotes this most Religious Holy Deacon to be a Priest The Deacon says In peace let us beseech the Lord. The Bishop Prays The Deacon proclaims this Ephrem of our Lord. Let us all stand in Prayer before him who knows all hidden things c. The Bishop puts his right hand upon his head and sayes He is ordained in the Church The Archdeacon cryes aloud N. Priest at the Altar of the Holy Church of this place N. the Bishop N. Priest The Archdeacon begins the Psalm Praise to this Shepherd c. After they Read this of the Apostle For Brethren God hath placed in his Church first Apostles c. and gives him the Gospel to Read Prayers follow and thrice Kyrie Eleison The Bishop Prays and Frankincense is given to him and they lead him round about the Church and bring the Gospel to him and whilst they lead him they say Moises Ascended Mount Sinai c. After he instructs him in his Office Here ends the Order of Priesthood The Ritual for Priesthood used by the Nestorians PRimum incipiunt Pater Noster c. Et Praesul precatur virtus tua Domine c. compleat media parvitate nostra Ministerium hoc Spirituale doni Sacerdotalis c. scito Domine quod in omni laudi in omni prece in omni canone adorant ordinandi ad terram usque prostrati Primum praesul abscindit capillos illius qui ordinatur cingulo ligat lumbos ejus dejicit cucullam ejus super humerum ejus sinistrum ingrediens stat in medio secretarii Archidiaconus orat pacem Praesul precatur Stolam Domine Sacerdotii c. O tibi sacerdos quam magnus est gradus cui tu ministras c. Venite accedamus ad Sacerdotium c. Stola Domine Sacerdotii veteris novi qua induisti veraces tuos hac indue adorantes te qui manus suas extendunt coram throno divinitatis tuae c. Sacerdotes qui digni facti estis Angelorum statu cavete ab iniquitate Oratio Oleo Sanctitatis Domine unge hos servos tuos c. Christe Sacerdos veritatis cujus Sacerdotium nunquam omnino praeterit operari erga servos tuos id quod adjuvat indue illos splendore decore ut Sacerdotio fungantur tibi praeclare cautè c. Item Spiritus Sanctus Paraclitus qui descendit habitavit super Discipulos ipse Domine descendat super capita te adorantium c. Et accedit ad ordinandos utrumque genu eos flectere jubet simul
extendentes manus suas super occulos suos Et profert Archidiaconus Oremus Pax nobiscum Et repetit Praesul demissè Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi qui omni tempore quod deficit supplet cum beneplacito Dei Patris cum virtute Spiritus Sancti sit omni tempore nobiscum perficiat manibus nostris ministerium hoc tremendum excelsum in redemptionem vitae nostrae His dictis vocem attollit Nunc semper Deinde signat Et profert Archidiaconus Pax eum Repetitque Praesul hanc manus impositionem manu dextera posita super caput ejus qui ordinatur dicitque demissa voce Deus noster bone c. Et juxta traditionem Domine Apostolicam quae propagata est ad nos usque in ordinatione ministerii Ecclesiastici Ecce offerimus tibi hos servos tuos ut sint Presbyteri electi in Ecclesia tua sancta pro iis oramus omnes Deinde signat eorum capita dicitque Archidiaconus Tollite occulos vestros in excelsa suprema postulate misericordiam à Deo clemente pro his his Diaconis qui ordinantur constituuntur Presbyteri in Ecclesia Dei cui sunt selecti Orate pro illis Et dicit Praesul super eos demisse dum dexteram super eorum capita imponit Domine Deus fortis c. Tu ergo Deus magnus virtutum Rex omnium seculorum respice etiam nunc in hos servos tuos elige eos electione sancta per habitationem Spiritus Sancti donaque illis in operatione oris sui sermonem veritatis elige illos ad officium sacerdotale c. Tunc signat capita eorum imperat eis ut adorant prostrati in terram surgent Postea Praesul cucullam accipit quae posita fuerat super humerum uniuscuiusque eorum ea illum induit tollitque orarium de ejus humeris illius pectori imponit Et accipit Episcopus ipse librum adorandum Evangeliorum tradit eum in manibus illius qui ordinationem accepit eumque signat inter oculos pollice dextro dicitque separatus est sanctificatus est perfectus est consecratus est N. in opus Sanctum Ecclesiasticum in ministaerium Sacerdotis Aaroniticiae In nomine Patris c. Dein Praesul tollit ab eis Evangelium Ille vero qui ordinatus est nectit genua Praesul vero baculum suum accipit c. Dum autem dicitur Canon apprehendit Archidiaconus eos qui ordinati sunt jubet eos salutare Altare Episcopum Sacerdotes Diaconos illi autem osculantur capita illorum Finit ordo impositionis manus Presbyterorum Nestorians FIrst they begin the Pater Noster And the Prelat Prays Thy virtue O Lord compleat by our weakness this Spiritual Ministery of the Sacerdotal guift c. Know O Lord that in every praise and in every Prayer and in every Canon those that are to be Ordained do adore thee prostrate upon the ground First the Prelate cuts off the hair of the Ordained and girds his loyns with a Girdle and casts his Cawle over his left shoulder and entring stands in the middle before the Altar The Archdeacon Prays for Peace The Bishop Prays Give him O Lord the Stole of Priesthood c. Consider O Priest how great is the degree to which thou art called Come let us proceed to the Priesthood c. O Lord put him on the Stole of antient and modern Priesthood wherewith thou hast clothed thy true believers with this clothe these that worship thee who stretch forth their hands before the Throne of thy Divinity c. Ye Priests who are made worthy of the State of Angels beware of Iniquity A Prayer O Lord anoint these thy servants with the Vnction of thy holiness O Christ the Priest of Truth whose Priesthood never faileth operate upon thy servants that which may be most helpful and indue them with splendor and beauty that they may perform their Priesthood to thee with Perfection and Caution c. Item Thou O Lord let the Holy Ghost who descended and dwelt upon thy Disciples descend upon the heads of those that adore thee Then he comes to them that are to be Ordained and commands them to kneel they extending their hands before their eyes c. The Archdeacon says Let us Pray Peace be with us And the Bishop with a loud voice saith The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which alwayes supplies that which is deficient with the good liking of God the Father and the vertue of the Holy Ghost be with us ever and perfect by our hands this dreadful and high Ministry for the Redemption of our life Having thus spoken he raiseth his voice Now and for ever Then he signeth him with the Cross And the Archdeacon saith Peace be to him And the Bishop again putting his right hand upon the head of the Ordained saith with a low voice Our good God c. And O Lord according to the Apostolical Tradition which hath descended to us in the Ordination of Ecclesiastical Ministry loe we offer to thee these thy servants that they may be elected Priests in thy Holy Church and for them we all Pray c. Then he signeth their heads with a Cross and the Archdeacon saith Lift up your eyes to the highest Heaven and implore Mercy from the God of Clemency for these and these Deacons who are ordained and confirmed Priests in the Church of God to which they are set apart Pray for them And the Bishop with a loud voice putting his right hand upon their heads saith O Lord God of power c. therefore thou O God the great God of vertue and King of all Ages now also look upon these thy servants and elect them by thy holy election through the inhabitation of thy Holy Spirit and in their Preaching indue them with the Word of Truth and Elect them to the Sacerdotal Office c. Then he again signs their heads with a Cross and commands them to Worship prostrate on the ground then to rise After this the Bishop takes the Cawle which was put upon their shoulders and puts it on them and takes the Stole from the shoulder and placeth it upon their Breast Then the Bishop takes the Book of the Holy Gospel and puts it into the hands of the ordained and with his right Thumb signs them between the eyes saying N. is separated sanctified is perfect is Consecrated in order to the holy work of the Church and Ministery of the Aaronitick Priesthood In the Name of the Father c. Then the Bishop takes from them the Book of the Gospel and the ordained kneel Then the Bishop takes his Pastoral Staffe c. and while the Canon is Read the Archdeacon takes the ordained and commands them to do reverence to the Altar to the Bishop to the Priests and Deacons and they kiss the head of the ordained Here ends the Order of Imposition
Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who alwayes makest perfect our defects according to the will of God the Father in the virtue of the Holy Ghost be present with these who are here offered c. It is it who calls and offers N. from the degree of Deacon to the degree of a Priest at the Holy and Divine Altar of the House of the Mother of God Mary c. Therefore let us all Pray that Grace and the Holy Spirit may descend upon them c. thrice Kyrie Eleison c. The Bishop puts his hands upon the Mystery and stretcheth forth his armes and gathers and contracts them thrice over the Body and Blood taking out of the Chalice the Particles whilst they gather them together and cover them with a Veil or Sacred Linnen After he turns to him that is to be Ordained and puts his hand on his head and measures them to him and again lifts up his hands stretching out his armes on high and lets his hands fall trembling upon his head This the Bishop repeats three times his eyes looking down with fear After this he lays his right hand on his head and covers the head and hands of him that is to be Ordained with a Vaile His right hand is placed upon his head and his left is moved to and fro and he turns his left hand thrice about his neck and face c. Invocation of the Holy Ghost c. Afterward the Bishop turns to the West towards him that is to be Ordained and puts his right hand on his head and signs him with the Cross between his eyes saying thus He is Ordain'd in the Holy Church of God The Archdeacon saith N. Priest at the Holy Altar of the House of the Mother of God The Bishop adds N. Priest at the Holy Altar c. In the Name of the Father c. After he hath made three signs of the Cross the Priest Ordained returns to the Altar Mystically saying this Prayer We have received thy Grace O Lord c. Then the Bishop returns to him and takes him by the right hand and lifts him up The Archdeacon saith Your Blessing my Lord. The Bishop takes the Stole which was upon him and brings it over his right shoulder from the forepart saying To the Praise and Honor and Beauty and Exaltation of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity and to the Peace and Edification of the Holy Church of God The Clergy Answer To the Praise c. And when he with Pompe carries the Vestment and Tunick and Girdle c. and saith To the Praise c. Afterwards delivers to him a Censer and commands him to put Incense therein Moreover the Bishop takes him by the hand and leads him to kiss the Table of Life which being done he kisseth the Bishops hand who gives him his Peace and commands all the rest to do the like And forthwith the Bishop signs with the Cross the Consummation of the Holy Body with the Cup and after he hath communicated Orders that he Communicate the Congregation the Bishop shall sign with the Cross and conclude The Ritual of the Cophticks or Aegyptians for the Ordination of Priests THe disserence between the Cophticks and the Jacobites is not considerable only they who lived in Persia Syria Assyria and the East were called Jacobites But they who inhabited Aegypt and Aethiopia were called Cophticks whose Ritual differs but little from the Jacobites which is as followeth Cum volunt praesentare Ordinandum in Sacerdotem testificantur primo Sacerdotes de operibus ejus bonis de scientia ejus quod uxor ejus talis sit qualem lex requirit quod acceperit inferiores gradus c. Deinde prodit foras vestitus veste Diaconi haltheus super humerum ejus sinistrum coram altari Stet autem Episcopus cum Sacerdotibus Et qui separatus est incurvat genua sua ante Altare Episcopus dicit gratiarum actionem accipit simul thymiama orat super illud conversusque facie sua ad Altare dicit hanc orationem O Domine Deus qui venire nos fecisti c. He prays for the Holy Ghost and Grace to administer Priesthood right Ecce venit ad te Ordinandus in Sacerdotem perfice eum in servum tuum c. Dicit Archidiaconus Gratia Domini Nostri Jesu Christi c as above Ter Kyrie Eleison Episcopus conversus ad orientem hanc orationem dicit Queso Domine Deus pone eum dignum vocatione Presbyteratus c. ut ministret Altari tuo sancto c. ter Kyrie Eleison Conversus ad occidentem Episcopus ponit manum suam dextram super caput ejus sic orando O Domine Deus omnipotens c. Respice super hunc servum tuum qui tibi praesentatur ad sacerdotium per approbationem judicium eorum qui tibi eum stiterunt c. Reple eum Spiritu Sancto gratia c. The Bishop Prays for him that he may worthily perform the functions of Priesthood c. Et conversus ad occidentem signat frontem ejus pollice suo dicens vocamus to in Ecclesiam Dei Sanctam Amen Alta voce dicit Archidiaconus N. Sacerdos est Altaris Sancti quod est in Ecclesia Sancta Catholica Apostolica Ecclesia Dei Amen Deinde clara voce Episcopus dicit vocamus te N. Sacerdotem Altaris Sancti quod vocatur Orthodoxorum in nomine Patris c. Facit Episcopus super frontem ejus tres cruces significando Trinitatem Deinde vestit illum Stola dicens Gloria honor Trinitati Sanctae consubstantiali Patri Filio Spiritui Sancto Pax incrementum Ecclesiae Dei Sanctae Amen Conversus ad orientem Episcopus orat sic Gratias tibi agimus c. A Thansgiving to God and a Petition that the Ceremonies of Ordination may please him Then follows an Admonition to the Priest newly Ordained Et juramento praestito osculatur Episcopum Altare praesentes Deinde explicat aliquid de mysteriis Et Episcopus ponit super eum manum tribus vicibus omnes dicunt alta voce dignus est N. ut sit Sacerdos in Ecclesia Sancta Catholica Apostolica And so it ends The Cophticks and Aegyptians WHen they would present him that is to be Ordained Priest first of all the Priests give Testimony of his good Works and his Learning and that his Wife is such as the Law requires that he hath received the Inferior Orders c. Then he comes forth in his Deacons Habit and having a Stole on his left shoulder he stands before the Altar The Bishop likewise stands with his Priests And he that is separated kneels before the Altar The Bishop recites a Prayer of Thansgiving and at the same time takes the Incense and blesseth it and turning his face to the Altar he recites this Prayer O Lord God who hast ordered our coming c. Behold he that is to be
Ordained Priest comes to thee make him thy true servant c. The Archdeacon saith The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. as above Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the East saith this Prayer O Lord God we beseech thee render him worthy of the vocation of Priesthood c. that he may Administer upon thy Holy Altar c. Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the West puts his right hand upon the Ordaineds head Praying thus O Lord God Omnipotent c. look upon this thy servant who is presented to thee in order to Priesthood by the approbation and judgment of those that propose him c. Replenish him with the Holy Ghost and Grace c. The Bishop Prays for him that he may worthily perform the Functions of Priesthood c. And turning to the West signs his forehead with his Thumb saying We call thee into the Holy Church of God Amen The Archdeacon with a loud voice saith N. is a Priest of the Holy Altar which is in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church of God Amen Then with a clear voice the Bishop saith We call thee N. a Priest of the Holy Altar which is called of the true Believers In the Name of the Father c. Then the Bishop makes three Crosses on his forehead signifying the Trinity Then he puts the Stole about him saying Glory and Honor be to the Holy Trinity consubstantial with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Peace and increase of the Holy Church of God Amen Then the Bishop turning to the East prays thus We give thee Thanks c. A Thansgiving to God and a Petition that the Ceremonies of Ordination may please him Then follows an Admonition to the Priest newly Ordained who having taken the usual Oath kisseth the Bishops hand the Altar and those that are present Then he explicates something of the Mysteries and the Bishop puts his hand three times upon him and all say with a loud voice N. is worthy to be a Priest in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church And so it ends These Rituals were with great trouble and industry Collected from several parts of the World by Morinus who saw the Originals and Translated them out of Greek and Syrian into Latine as you may see in his Treatise de Sacra Ordinatione part 2. Thus I have given you a Cursary View of the Manner how the Chiefest Professors of Christianity disperst all the World over did Confer the Order of Priesthood which compared to the present practise of the Church of Rome it will be obvious how this Church hath deviated in Essentials from the Institution of Christ the practice of the Apostles and the Primitive Church which by considering the particulars of the Roman Pontifical now in use will plainly appear A Draught of the Roman Pontifical for the Ordination of Priests now in use THe Bishop that is to give Orders is not to do it but in Mass and in the several parts thereof he exerciseth the several Functions of Ordination They that are to be Ordained Priests being by the Archdeacon presented and accepted The Bishop begins by the imposition of his hands upon the head of them successively but says nothing Then they return again and the Bishop puts his right hand upon the head of each of them and the Priests that are present do the like putting their hands by the Bishops Then the Bishop says a Prayer imploring Grace for them that are to be Ordained that they may worthily comply with the Functions of Priesthood This done the Ordainer takes the Stole of each that was before upon their left shoulder only and brings it round the neck and puts it upon the right shoulder also with these words Accipe jugum Domini c. Receive the yoke of the Lord c. Consequent to this he puts on their Casula or Priestly Vestment the hinder part being folded up and fastned to the upper part with this Forme Accipe Vestem Sacerdotalem c. Receive the Priestly Vestment c. Next follows the Annointing of their Heads with Holy Oyle And the Priests that assist tye the Palmes of their hands together with a Linnen Binder lest the Holy Oyle should be profaned Persuant to this the Bishop holding in his hand a Chalice with Wine and Water in it and upon it a Patene with an unconsecrated Hoast on it exhibits all this successively to them that are to be Ordained and here great care is taken by the Ordainer and the assisting Priests that they at the same 〈◊〉 touch the Chalice the Pattene and the Hoast to which end because their hands are bound together the Priests place their fore-fingers upon the Pattene so as to touch both Pattene and Hoast and the tops of their middle fingers being a little separated from the fore-fingers are applyed to the side of the Chalice under the Patene and the Priests in this posture press their fingers upon the Vessels alltogether and the Ordainer begins not the forme till he be assured that they touch all then he pronounceth the forme in these words Accipe potestatem offerendi Sacrificium pro vivis defunctis In nomine Patris filii Spirituus Sancti Receive the power of offering Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead In the Name of the Father c. This done they are esteemed Priests Quoad potestatem ordinis for as much as concerns the power of Consecrating and saying Mass and therefore they Consecrate together with the Bishop and say Mass all along with him having their Missals open before them Then after Consummation when they have all received the Communion the Bishop the third time puts his hand upon their heads with this form Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins ye forgive they are forgiven and whose sins you retain they are retained Then presently he unfolds their Vestment and lets it down behind saying Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus The Lord put thee on the Stole of Innocence And so it ends SECT IV. Shewing That the Church of Rome placeth the Essence of the Ordination of Priests in touching the Vessels and the Form annexed to it TO make good this Position I begin with the Autority of the Council of Florence Florent Instructione Armenorum Instructione ad Armenos where it Treats ex professo of the Essential matter of Priesthood and the Council assigns for this matter the Tradition of the Vessels and makes not the least mention of the Imposition of Hands nor any other matter Gregory the 9th tells us That if in Ordination the Imposition of Hands be omitted the Ordination is not to be reiterated his words are these Greg. 9. C. Presbyter de Sacramentis noniterandis Presbyter Diaconus cum ordinantur manus impositionem tactu corporali ritu ab Apostolis introducto recipiunt
Sacraments are Certainly none will attempt it but such whose ambition prompts them to intrench upon Divine Right and God it here upon Earth not knowing or not acknowledging that their power is limited and confin'd within its certain bounds Besides were there two Formes of Ordination one Instituted by Divine Autority the other by Human and both valid by the same Rule you might institute Two hundred yea every Diocess might have one peculiar to it self there is no more difficulty for the Third then there was for the Second nor for the Fourth then the Third and so of all the rest Wherefore if such a power were delegated to meer Humanes What a confusion might they bring into the Church which would be the ground of Discord and Dissention for one Bishop might contend with another whose Ordination was best Having thus proved the Invalidity of Ordination according to the Present Roman Pontifical and General Approbation of that Church I shall now imploy my endeavors to solve the Objections which may be proposed in vindication thereof SECT VI. An Answer to the Objections Proposed by the Doctors of the Church of Rome against the Invalidity of their Ordination THe Roman Divines who earnestly endeavor to compose this difficulty find so much arduity in it that they cannot agree among themselves but what expedient one finds out as accommodated to this end another disapproves and so with great anxiety they cast about by several windings and turnings to compose the Difference between both Churches but in the execution they impugne each other and by this means divide themselves into several Classes Whereof I shall here give you an account The most considerable Party as well for number as for autority and reputation are those who absolutely exclude all Imposition of Hands from the Essentials of Ordination and place the whole Essence thereof in Touching the Holy Vessels with the Forme accommodated thereunto And indeed this is generally received in the Church of Rome as an undoubted Truth Some of the Authors of this Opinion I have cited in the Fourth Section and practised as such This is conformable to the Doctrine of the Council of Florence and Pope Gregory the 9th which I have cited in the beginning of the Fourth Section This Opinion needs no Answer for the Authors hereof are so far from reconciling both Churches that they Unchurch both and in stead of solving the difficulty they sink under the burthen thereof They destroy the Greek Church by denying the Imposition of Hands to be Essential to Ordination which the Greeks ever used as the only Essential Matter thereof They destroy the Latines by relying wholly upon the Touching of the Vessels and the Forme annexed as the only Essential Matter and Forme of Ordination excluding all other and yet this Matter and Forme are wholly uncapable of giving any validity to the Order of Priesthood because they want the Essence the very life and soul of being Instrumental to Ordination which is the Divine Institution as I have manifestly proved in the precedent Section A Second Objection The Divine Institutor of the Order of Priesthood did not determine the specifical Matter and Forme thereof but only in general that the Church should appoint some sensible Matter and some Forme of Words whereby to signifie the collation of Order by their application So that here is a latitude in Christ's Institution and a Power left to the Church to determine what particular Matter and Forme she should think fit and by this Power the Church may alter the Matter and Forme of Order at her pleasure she may abrogate what was before in use and Institute a new Matter and Forme and the Order will still be valid So Isambertus the Kings Professor of Divinity at Paris Treating at large of the Sacrament of Order Disput 3. art 3. his words are these Christus Dominus instituendo Ordines determinavit tantum eorum materias in genere nimirum ut ea esset legitima cujuslibet Ordinis materia quae existens sensibilis sui Traditione debitè sufficienter facta tam ex parte Ministri quam intentionis significaret tune de facto potestatem tali Ordini propriam dari ei qui materiam istam sensibilem seu signum istud sensibile acciperet in sua Ordinatione particularem autem istius signi determinationem seu imponere veluti affigere significationem practicam illius potestatis huic vel illi rei sensibili in particulari reliquit faciendum Ecclesiae prout quando illa judicaret esse conveniens Our Lord Christ Instituting Orders did only determine their Matter in General which being sensible duly and sufficiently apply'd as well in reference to the Minister as the Intention might signifie then in effect the power proper to that Order to be given to him that in his Ordination should receive this sensible Matter or Sign But to determine this Sign in particular and to Impose and as it were affix to it a Practical Signification of that Power given to this or that Sensible Thing in Particular he hath left to be done by the Church when and how she should judge it convenient And having Proved out of the Constitutions of Clement and the Fourth Council of Carthage That the Imposition of Hands by the Bishop and the assisting Priests used in the beginning of Ordination was formerly the Essential Matter of Priesthood he adds Igitur cum hoc nostro tempore haec Impositio manuum sit tantum accidentalis illa posterior quae fit à solo Episcopo simul dicente ei quem Ordinat Accipe Spiritum Sanctum Quorum c. sit nunc Essentialis ut supra ostendimus aliqua mutatio est facta per Ecclesiam in ista materia Ordinum Therefore since in this our time this Imposition of Hands is only accidental and that last which is performed only by the Bishop saying to him whom he Ordains Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. is Essential as I have shewn above some change is made by the Church in this matter of Orders Thus he The same saith Gammacheus de Sacramento Ordinis Cap. 4. Hallerius S. Bonaventura Prepositus Atrebas de materia forma Ordinationis n. 109. There are Three Reasons that this Objection is grounded on Lugo D 2. de Sacramentis in genere S. 5. n. 85. The first is because the Church hath changed the matter of Subdeaconship which was formerly conferr'd by the Imposition of Hands but now by the Ordination and Practise of the Church that Imposition of Hands doth not at all belong to the Essence of Subdeaconship Secondly Clandestine Marriage was ever valid before the Council of Trent but now is rendred invalid by that Council Thirdly The Apostles Confirmed by Imposition of Hands without Unction but now if the Unction be omitted the Confirmation is invalid To this Objection my first Answer is That it is all gratis dictum it is said without ground It is mera
Power of offering Sacrifice then conferr'd upon the Ordained and nothing else And the offering of Sacrifice is the chief action of a Priest because it impowers him to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ which none but a Priest can do Albert. Mag. L. 6. Theolog. veritatis C. 36. Actus Presbyterorum saith Albertus Magnus est Consecrare corpus Sanguinem Christi est actus principalis Alius est consequens scilicet ligare solvere The Act of Priests is to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and it is the principal Act. The other is consequent which is to Retain and Absolve which they all grant therefore they must acknowledge Priesthood to be hereby conferr'd For To what other sense can they draw those words Take Receive Accept the Power of offering Sacrifice and the Ordained comes with a full intention to Receive the Power whence there cannot be the least shadow of any other design then intending this Matter and Forme as the Essentials of Priesthood SECT VIII An Illation drawn from the Premises of the Invalidity of Ordination in the Church of England Solved THe Council of Trent seems to make no difference between Order and Ordination Trid. Sess 23. Can. 3. but confounds them together Si quis dixerit Ordinem sive Sacram Ordinationem non esse verè propriè Sacramentum à Christo Domino institutum c. Anathema sit If any one shall say That Order or Holy Ordination is not truly and properly a Sacrament Instituted by Christ c. let him be Accursed But I shall make it appear that there is a considerable difference between Order and Ordination the one is that which they call a Sacrament the other not The Order of Priesthood is a Spiritual Power whereby the Ordained is enabled and Commissioned to exercise all Priestly Functions with Autority The Ordination consists in the Essential Matter and Forme regularly and aptly applyed by the Bishop which is the Ordainer to him that is Ordained and from this Matter and Forme so applyed results in the Ordained that Spiritual Power which is properly the Order of Priesthood the Character is thereby Imprinted and the Graces accommodated to the Priestly Ministry are also conferr'd So that Order with its concomitants is the effect but Ordination is the cause That is permanent in the Ordained for terme of life this is transient and passeth away for it lasts no longer then while that power is in conferring That is the principal end intended by Christ This is the means Instituted by Christ to attain that end That is as it were a Patent or Commission which the Priest acts by this the cause either efficient or Moral which procured it wherefore these being so different from each other the Council of Trent could not intend to have them both Sacraments but that alone if any must be a Sacrament which confers the Order of Priesthood to the Ordained and also Imprints the Character c. all this is performed by Ordination not by Order for nothing can be the cause of it self Order is the effect and therefore cannot be the cause The Character and Sacramental Graces are not produced by the Order but by the Ordination so that if any be a Sacrament it must be this which being premised as evident in it self A Tenth Objection by way of Deduction is drawn from the precedent Doctrine For if the Ordination of the Church of Rome be Invalid it must of necessity draw with it the Nullity of the Church of Englands Ordination who received her Orders from the Church of Rome and cannot make out her Succession of Bishops from Christ and his Apostles without passing through the sides of the Roman Bishops who must integrate the linkes of continuation Wherefore if the Church of Rome have no true Bishops it inevitably follows that the Church of England must lye under the same Censure for one that hath no power of Order can never confer that power upon another because none can give that which he hath not Otherwise it would follow that meerly Men or Civil Magistrates might confer Orders which no Man will grant My Answer to this Objection is grounded in a Principle received by the Romanists themselves namely that where the true Essentials are regularly and orderly applyed though there be a defect in the Ordainer for want of the power of Order yet if he Ordain Cum titulo colorato bona fide the Ordination is valid Four things therefore are necessary to the Validity of Ordination conferr'd by such a Bishop First That none of the Essentials be wanting Secondly That nothing be added in the Ordination repugnant to the Essentials or destructive of their Operation Thirdly That there be in the Ordainer Titulus coloratus bona sides that is a general presumption that he is a true Bishop and that he Ordains according to his Conscience knowing nothing amiss Fourthly That he have a right Intention of conferring the Order Where these Requisites do concurre the Ordination is certainly valid The First Proof hereof is grounded upon that provident care that Christ ever had of his Church for when all the Essentials and necessary Conditions are applyed and no Moral defect to be imputed to the Ordainer nor the Ordained and no Humane prudence could ever detect that secret defect in the Ordainer it would be too severe that the Original Instituter of Ordination should refuse to the Ordained the power of Order nay in a short time it would prove destructive to the whole Church for Christ knew full well the fragility of Humane Nature and considering his infinite Wisdom and Protection of his Church would not oblige our imbecility to Moral Impossibilities or if we failed by our Natural Weakness without either sin or voluntary error would permit the utter ruine and destruction of his Church which would certainly insue if such Ordinations were not valid For I suppose the Ordainers and Ordained to proceed with a candid sincere and good Conscience and that Morally speaking have not the least suspicion of any default or want of power in the Ordainer nay he himself neither knows nor surmiseth any desiciency in his Order In this Case Should the Ordination be void and null Whom could we impute it to certainly to none but those who by their Super-inductions pretended to Correct Christ's Institutions and thereby rendred all defective But must this be so prejudicial to the Church of Christ as to involve all Posterity into the Imputation of the same Crime who were no way consenting to it nay who in due time reformed such abuses and wholly disclaimed from them No certainly our Great Redeemer is more equitable and knows who rejects his Ordinances and Institutions and who endeavors to maintain them But now since Pride Ambition or a vain Pretence to an Arbitrary Power against Divine Right or what Motive else I know not induced the Prelates of the Church of Rome to evacuate Christ's Institutions and in their
as belongs to it to produce its effect But in this case the power of Order is no Physical but a Moral effect and in all Ordinations it is given by Christ alone ad exigentiam Ordinationis by a determination which proceeds from the Ordination by vertue of Divine Institution for it is Christ alone that impowers the Ordained validly to exercise the Functions of his Order which is but a Moral Power whose immediate cause is not the Ordainer but only Christ thereunto determin'd by the Ordination which doth very much facilitate and confirm the foresaid Doctrine A Third Proofe is drawn from an acknowledged Principle of those of Rome who after a vacancy when a new Pope is chosen the Cardinals in the Conclave only concur to make the Election Canonical which being done all the Power they have cannot communicate to the new elected Pope that Universal Jurisdiction over all the Church which they pretend to because they have no such Jurisdiction in themselves every Bishop and Cardinal being confined within the limits of his own Diocess and one Bishop cannot extend his Jurisdiction to the Subjects of another Diocess From whence then doth the Pope receive his pretended Universal Jurisdiction Here they must of necessity have recourse to the Supreame Lord of the Church which is Christ himself for the obtaining this Jurisdiction for their new Pope which neither they nor their Canonical Election can effect for this Election is only a Condition not the Cause of such an illimited Jurisdiction so that Christ alone is the only cause of this Pretended Papal Jurisdiction Why then in like case when the Ordination is compleated in foro externo and no error committed in foro interno Why I say in this case should not Christ in like manner confer to the Ordained the Spiritual Power of Order for though the Ordination be never so Canonical and compleat yet still it is Christ alone that grants the power of Order and it is he alone that gives Jurisdiction to every Bishop in his Ordination and even in the Church of Rome the Jurisdiction of Bishops comes not from the Pope but from Christ and therefore Jurisdictio Episcopalis est Juris Divini Episcopal Jurisdiction is of Divine Right because it proceeds immediately from Christ. So that in any Ordination when no essential nor necessary condition is wanting though the Ordainer have not the power of Order yet being universally reputed a true Bishop and this defect being secret that Morally speaking no Human Industry can discover it and all concencerned in the Ordination do proceed sincerely and with a good Conscience What true Christian can frame so hard a judgment of our Great Redeemer as to deny to the Ordained the power of Order and thereby permit so great a breach in his Church which hath an immediate tendency to the utter ruine thereof when it may be so easily remedied and when neither the Ordainer nor the Ordained can in the least have any imputation of blame As to the Point of Succession mentioned in the Objection I Answer That this succession is not to be understood in a Mathematical but a Moral Sense and it is the same in Ordination as it is in all other Dogmatical points and Principles of Faith contained under the Reformation For though the Latin Church which is but one Branch of the Universal Church was Guilty of many Errors in matter of Faith and for many years swerv'd from the Doctrine and Practise of Christ and his Apostles yet this could impose no necessity upon the Successors of this Branch ever to be excluded from the hopes of Salvation For when the Erroneous Principles of the Church of Rome were sufficiently detected they might yea they ought to Reforme such abuses and to conforme themselves to the Original Doctrine and Practise of the Primitive Church which were the immediate Successors to the Apostles and so to redintegrate their Faith and for the future to regulate their Faith and Practise by that never erring Rule of the Doctrine and Practise of Christ and his Apostles And shall then the Church of Rome Object against them that they cannot prove their Succession from Christ and the Apostles Which in plain termes signifies no more then this That they have not persisted in the Errors of the Church of Rome but have imbraced a new Doctrine New indeed to them but exactly conformable to the old Doctrine which Christ left to his Church and which the Church of Rome long since deserted and so Interrupted the Continuation of Professing the True and Orthodox Principles of Christ which we by our Reformation do Reassume and chuse rather to follow Christ and his Apostles then to adhere to the False and Erroneous Principles of the Church of Rome If this be a Crime then we are Guilty Must we lye under the Imputation of Blame because we would not run headlong to utter Ruine and Damnation by adhering to the Erroneous Doctrine of Rome Must that one word of Succession startle us and be inductive to perswade us to leave Heaven and go with them to Hell for Company 's sake They have made a long continued Breach in the Church themselves and interrupted their own Succession and Must they blame us for returning to the Truth because we will not succeed them in their Errors So then our Succession in Dogmatical Points in Practise and Ordination consists in this that after a Breach made by the Latin Church we having cleerly Detected the Error have reunited our selves again to the Antient and True Professors of Christianity and detested the opposite and Erroneous Doctrine of those that had Apostated from the True Church The last Clause contained in the close of the Objection that pursuant to this Doctrine a meer Secular Layman may confer Orders is easily solved because this no way follows for in this case he could neither Ordain with a colourable Title nor with a good Conscience which are both necessary for the validity of Ordination he wants the first because he never was esteemed to have the power of Order and he himself knows certainly that he never was in Orders nor ever attempted to receive them so that in presuming to Ordain he commits a heinous Sacrilege by a gross contempt of the Holy Ghost which is inconsistent with a candid sincere and conscientious proceeding so that he wants the second also and besides in so doing he can never have a right intention to confer Orders because he is conscious that he cannot have several requisites without which he cannot Ordain I only add this General Rule That according to the present Constitution and Institution of Christ practised by the Primitive Church it is impossible to confer Priesthood validly except the Imposition of Hands be applyed as the Essential Matter and accompanyed by the words of the Bishop signifying Priesthood to be thereby conferr'd as the Essential Forme which the Church of England Religiously observeth in their Ordination for while the Bishop with other
Priests puts his Hands upon the Head of him that is to be Ordained he pronounceth this Forme Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the Imposition of our Hands Whose sins thou dost forgive they are forgiven and whose sins thou dost retain they are retained Aud be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of his Holy Sacraments in the Name of the Father c. Here are both the Essentials duely applyed and punctually observed Whereas the Church of Rome applyes neither as an Essential part and therefore their Ordination of Priests according to their own Doctrine can in no way be Valid SECT IX Consectaries drawn from the Proofes of the precedent Assertion HOw many false Aspertions and querulous Cavillations have been raised by the Jesuits and other Romanists against the Bishops of the Church of England under that frivolous pretence of their being Consecrated at the Naggs head Tavern in Cheapside by one single Bishop or at most by two and they not Canonically Elected and Consecrated in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign All which were false and Malitious Calumnies invented for no other end then to depress the Autority of the Bishops of England thereby to facilitate their access to draw Proselites from the Church of England and seduce them to their Communion Which scandalous and ungrounded Comments have been fully Answered and the Canonical Ordination and Consecration of the Bishops of England cleerly vindicated from the false Imputation of all such Detracters by that Worthy and Learned Prelate John Bramhall D. D. and late Lord Primate of Ireland But What judgment shall we frame of the Ordination of Bishops and Priests in the Church of Rome there being at present neither Pope nor Cardinal nor Bishop nor Priest but such as have been Ordained according to their new Model of Ordination we shall not need here to have recourse to frivolous and feigned Stories where such grounded Truths strike at the very Essentials of their Ordination and evince the invalidity thereof Neither can they raise a Battery of Arguments against us without destroying themselves for the Proofes of the nullity of their Ordination are grounded on their own Doctrine They all Teach That Ordination is a Sacrament Instituted by Christ. The Council of Trent hath defined it so to be as we see above Sect. 7. They all assert the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments to be determined by Divine Autority which Suarez saith is de fide See their words Sect. 6. They hold moreover that any substantial change either in Matter or Forme renders the Sacrament invalid 3 Part. Tom. 3. D. 2. S. 4. Si mutatio materiae aut formae Essentialis seu substantialis sit nullum essicitur Sacramentum saith Suarez which is the current opinion of their other Divines It is likewise certain that the matter which they use in the Collation of Priesthood is essentially and more then Specifically different from the matter which Christ Instituted and which was constantly used in Ordinations many Centuries after Christ before Ordination was new molded It is also certain that the Forme of Ordination determined by Christ and a long time in use in the Church is now utterly rejected and cast out All this being duely ponder'd we must of necessity conclude that their Ordination is invalid except some other grounded expedient can be found out and proved to uphold the validity of their Ordination which hitherto I cannot discover but wish I could But no quibbles nor quirkes nor nice distinctions can any way avail them for the matter of Fact is uncontroleable and the Doctrinal part is evidenced by their own Words and Writings which it is now too late to retract It is time therefore for them seriously to consider what expedient may be found out to reinvalidate their Ordination and to qualifie themselves so as they may be in a capacity to prevent this grand inconvenience for the future for this shakes the very foundation and renders the whole Hierarchy of their Church ruinous If there are no Priests there can be no Bishops since Episcopacy is no new Order superadded but only a farther extension of the Order and Character of Priesthood as they teach well then may the Bishops exercise their potestatem jurisdictionis but can no way exercise nor communicate to others their potestatem Ordinis for none can exercise nor confer upon another a power which he neither formally nor virtually nor radically contains in himself jure communi but their Jurisdiction they distinguish from the Order of Presbitery since divers Bishops and Cardinals in the Church of Rome are only Deacons or Subdeacons and yet their Jurisdiction is as ample and hath as great an extension as if they were Priests who commonly make use of other Suffraganean Bishops to Officiate Confirm and confer Orders in their Diocess Hence it ensues that those putative Bishops which are presumed to be Canonically indued with Presbytery and Episcopacy yet in reality are not so when they personally exercise the Functions of Episcopacy their Confirmation is void yea their very Consecration of Chrisme and other Holy Oyles is of no effect but after Consecration they retain nothing but the Natural Elements of Oyle and Balsome as they were before and so are uncapable of rendring any Spiritual Emolument to those to whom they are applyed their Imposition of Hands and Benedictions are no way available to the Confirmed no more than if they were performed by a Lay-person for where the radical power of Order is wanting none of these Spiritual and Supernatural effects can ensue And when they Officiate in Mass and attempt to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and having Consecrated the Hoaste they kneel down to adore it and then elevate it and shew it to the People that they also may adore it both they themselves and many Thousands of the People do daily commit at least a Material Idolatry though it may be that Invincible Ignorance may excuse them from a Formal one for they exhibit a worship of Latria to a supposed Deity under the species of Bread when in reality no such Deity is there so as they give to the meer substance of Bread a Worship due to God alone And this is daily repeated thorough the whole extent of the Roman Jurisdiction And the same happens when any other inferior Priest Officiates for the Order of Priesthood is equally defective in them all and where there is no power of Order to qualifie them for Consecration this must of necessity be void So when they administer the Communion to the People who present themselves in hopes to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and consequently those Graces which from thence accrew to the worthy Receivers Poor Souls How are they deluded and their hopes frustrated for whereas they came full fraught withthe expectation of Spiritual and Supernatural Graces they are dismist with a bare