them into our hands that wee might present them to yours First our Lord Iesus Christâ who having a speciall care of this Church hath by his holy Spirit provided a remedy for her who directed the Fathers in that Councell next unto him and under him our holy Father the chiefe ministeriall head of the Church having authorized and confirmed it and exhorted all Princes and republiques to receive and observe it and with him the whole Church not the Gallicane only but the Catholick doth summon entreat and pray you to receive it That blessed Councell carries with it to him that will duely read and consider it the marke of the Author in the face of it and hee that will judge of it without passion and prejudice will say it is rather the worke of God than men No good Christian can or ought ever to make any question but the holy Ghost did preside in that goodly company which was in that manner lawfully assembled at Trent with the intervening authority and command of the holy See the consent of all Christian Princes who sent their Ambassadours thither who stayed there till the very upshot without the least dissenting from the Canons and decrees there published there being such a number of Archbishops Bishops Abbats and learned men from all parts yea not a few Prelats of your owne Kingdome sent thither by thâ late King your brother who having delivered consulted and spoken their opinion freely did consent and agree to what was there determined And therefore we are bold to tell you that we bring unto you the Book of the Law of God which we humbly intreat you to receive with as much earnestnesse as wee can possible 12 A little after he addes If there be some particulars in that Councell which some body either by reason of their particular interest and commodity or because their bodies and humours are not sufficiently prepared and disposed for the taking of such strong physick do complaine of and make some dorres about them there is a good remedy for that and wee dare undertake and promise that recourse being had to his Holynesse and he required thereunto he will not refuse to provide for it In like manner as the Chapiters and exempted corporations have by our meanes and wee with them already preferred a petition that their priviledges and exemptions may be preserved intire unto them and that this publication may in no sort prejudice them expecting herein a new decree from his Holynesse after he shall bee sufficiently instructed by those remonstrances which may bee made unto him concerning this point As also wee meane not by this publication to prejudice the immunities and liberties of the Gallicane Church which we perswade and assure our selves his Holynesse when hee shall bee thereunto entreated will be content to maintaine and preserve These overtures being already twice made upon the petition of the publication of this Councell to wit at the assembly of the States at Blois and of the Clergie at Melun we thinke it our duty not to give them over 13 The provincicall Synod holden at Roan 1581 made this instance to the same Prince After that a good number of Bishops and proxyes for those that were absent together with Ecclesiasticall persons from all quarters of our Province of Normandy were met in our Metropolitan Church at Roan they tendred nothing more than earnestly to sollicite the publishing and promulgation of the Councell of Trent within this Realme Wherefore this our assembly by common consent have resolved to present their humble petition to our Most Christian King in like manner as was formerly done by the States of Blois and the Clergy convented at Melun that he would be pleased for proofe of his true piety and religion to enjoyne the publication of the said Councell whereby the maintenance of the Church is well provided for which is observed to be daily impared and abated In the end of this Councell there were thirteen doubts proposed to the Pope with his finall resolution to them the last whereof was a demand of the confirmation hereof which was condiscended unto 14 The provinciall Councell of Aix in Provence 1585 petition the King at the beginning of the Acts That he out of his singular piety would command the Councell of Trent to be published which had so exactly provided against those dangers wherein the Christian Commonwealth was then implunged 15 Wee must not thinke that these earnest sollicitations which our Ecclesiasticks here make did proceed from them but rather from the Pope One argument hereof which may be alledged is this that they were not now interested herein for the most of the decrees which concerned them were admitted and there was no default in the observation of them unlesse it were on their part and one company of them were inserted in the Edict of Blois the rest in divers other Provinciall Councels holden afterwards in France the Canons whereof are to bee seen in print at Roan 1581 at Bourges 1584 at Tours 1585 and at Aix in Provence the same yeere all which are put out in print at many other places Another argument may be the slight account they made of observing the Councell in such things as depended meerly upon them and which were in their power to doe which plainly shewes that all they did was but to humour another I speake not this of my owne head but from Claudius Espensaeus a Sorbon Doctor Doe wee dally saith he in a matter so serious or rather doe wee make a mocke of those which desire a reformation under colour of decrees What reformation can bee expected from us who doe not observe those things which we have so lately decreed Hee speakes this to those Prelates of France who were present in that Councell and after their returne made no reckoning of observing that discipline which depended mainly on them and was withall conformable to the ancient Canons See here said hee that which they of Trent ordained but where is it observed as for our Bishops who were at Trent and Bonony there is not any of them that instructs the people in his owne person at least not any that I heare of 16 And in his commentaries upon the Epistle to Titus speaking of the discipline of the Church But it is not long saith he since they have determined this point the Pope and Councell of Trent have brought it lately to an upshot But what were those pastors which came from thence and had a hand in the making of those Canons of reformation those injunctions of residence and preaching ere a whit more diligent in feeding their flocks or lesse silent in their pulpits after the Councell was confirmed by the Pope their non-residence was as great as formerly and they almost as dumbe as ever They had rather tire then give over and be cast out of their livings by those who style themselves reformers forsooth when indeed they are nothing lesse than indure to be
by thine owne sentence in as much as thou writest Cursed be he that doth not keepâ the Apostolicall commandments which it is well knowne thou both heretofore many wayes hast and at this present doest violate trampling under foot both the lawes of God and the holy Canons of the Church at once making them of no effect nor use in as much as thou canst never treading neere the footsteps of thy predecessors the Bishops of Rome We therefore having experience of thy craft and subtilty observe withall thy indignation and high swolne ambition and wee doe not yeeld an inch to thee nor to thy pride whereby thou hastenest to bring us under hatches prosecuting herein the desires of our enemies but thy favourites Nay thou shalt know we are none of thy Clerkes as thou doest boast and bragge but that thou shouldest acknowledge us for thy brethren and fellow-bishops if thy arrogancy would permit thee so to doe 14 When the Popes had not power enough of themselves to compasse their ends to tame Princes to trouble and enthrall Christendome or haply when they would set a fairer glosse of justice upon their actions and cut off all means of gainsaying then they releeved themselves by the authority of some Councell or other called together by their cunning and packed up according to their humour whereunto all men in honour and reverence to the Church readily submitted themselves as unto some divine Oracles Till at last they begunne to finde out the mystery and perceive plainly that those assemblies under colour of piety and religion served but for instruments to the Popes humours to wreake their humane malice stucke close unto their tyrannyâ and gave authority to their injust usurpations This was it which oft times gave occasion to reject those Councels as spurious and adulterate as the Synagogues of Satan yet alwayes conserving a due reverence to those true holy lawfull and Oecumenicall assemblies assembled in the name of the Holy Ghost wherâof we shall give you an instance or two 15 Gregory the seventh excommunicated the Emperour Henry the fourth by vertue of a famous Councell holden at Rome in the yeere 1074. The Pope say the German Chronicles called a famous Synod of Bishops and other Ecclesiasticall Prelates at Rome in which Councell divers things to bee observed by all Christians concerning the Popes authority were enacted and ordained There also was Henry afterwards excommunicated as an enemy and persecuter of the Church Platina hath set down the forme of that excommunication An English Monke doth ascribe it to the Councell of Cleremont but he doth but equivocate in that unlesse hee meane that it was repeated there Yet for all this the Bishops of Germany did set so light by it that the next yeere after being Synodically assembâed at Brixin in Austria they deposed Pope Gregory and chose Gerbert Archbishop of Ravenna in his stead calling him Clement Henry desiring to secure the fluctuating and troubled estate of the Church they are the words of the same Chronicle called a Councell at Brixin a City in Austria where he assembled all the Bishops and Abbats which were of his opinion against Pope Gregory In which Counceââ they by their decrees deposed Pope Gregory in his absence from the See apostolique as a perturber of the Church and a wilde headed Monke for he was a Monke before he was Pope and chose in his place Gerbert Archbishop of Ravenna Afterwards he sets downe the very words of the Decree Platina though an officer of the Popes affirmes as much Then saith he Henry being rather incensed than admonished by these censures having assembled a company of Bishops ill affected like himselfe he created Gerbert late Archbishop oâ Ravenna Pope and called him Clement The Councell of Cleremont holden under Vrban the second and where hee was personally present in the yeere 1094. or as others are of opinion 95. made the like attempt to excommunicate King Philip in his owne kingdome by reason of his marriage and againe in a Councel holden at Poictiers not long after by the Popes Legates In this Councell saith Matthew Paris speaking of that of Cleremont Pope Urban excommunicated Philip King of France And another English Author In this Councell the Pope excommunicated King Philip of France and all such as should call him their King or their Lord and which should obey him or speake unto him In like manner Ivo Bishop of Chartres speakes of them both By reason of this accusation King Philip was excommunicated by Pope Urban at the Councell of Cleremont and having resumed the same wife after he was divorced from her he was afterwards excommunicated at the Councell of Poictiers by the two Cardinals Iohn and Bennet Notwithstanding which excommunication he was crowned by the Archbishop of Tours in a full assembly of other Bishops Know you therefore saith the same Bishop of Chartres in a letter of his to Pope Vrban whose partisan he was that contrary to the prohibition of your Legat the Archbishop of Tours hath set crowne upon the head of the King He speakes afterwards of the election of a Bishop made at the same time by those who were assembled with the said Archbishop And in another epistle of his to one of the Legats of Pope Paschal the second Certaine Bishops saith he of the Province of Belgia crowned the King upon Whitsunday âontrary to the Edict of Pope Vrban of happy memory In another Epistle formerây writ to the same Vrban he gives him to wit how Philip had sent Ambassadours unto him with prayers in one hand and threats in the other such as these That the King and Kingdome would relinquish their obedienec to him unlesse he did restore the King unto his crowne and absolve him from the sentence of excommunication And afterwards he advertiseth him how the Arch-Bishops of Rhemes Sans and Tours had by injunction from the King appointed their suffragan Bishops to meet at Troyes the first Sunday after All-Saints day after he should have returned his answer Whence we collect two things first that the Bishops of France did not cease to acknowledge their King nor to obey him and communicate with him notwithstanding the prohibition from the Councell of Cleremont next that they were very ready to put in execution those threats which the Ambassadours went to make unto the Pope in case he did not condescend unto the Kings pleasure And yet that was as renowned a Councell as this of Trent if not more where the Pope himselfe was present in person where that great Croisada for the holy Land was concluded upon and one of our Historians speaking of it calls it in terminis The great Councell In the yeere 1215 Innocent the third in a generall Councell holden at Rome did excommunicate Lewes the eldest sonne of Philip Augustus King of France with all his adherents The same yeere saith an English Monke upon S. Martins day was there a generall
Forasmuch as the Bishop of Rome is Patriarch of the Westerne Provinces hee addes The Canons meane that Patriarches should be above Metropolitans and Metropolitans above Bishops to the intent that no matter of moment and importance bee done by the Bishops without them Now the Pope gaines nothing by all this for any Patriarch may serve himselfe of this Canon and apply it to his owne cause So likewise it is probable that the old Canon which was made hereabout spoke not of the Bishop of Rome in particular but had reference to all the other Patriarches and Metropolitans and that Pope Iulius being the first that complained of the breach of it alledged that Canon as if it had beene particularly in favour of himselfe howbeit it was conceived in generall termes And indeed hee is the speaker both in Socrates and Sozomen and those who afterwards mentioned the complaint or accusation which hee commenced against the Bishops in the Councell of Antioch in imitation of his words have also restrained the Canon to particular termes howbeit at the first it ran in generall 13 If this exposition will not give all the world content wee may say that that Canon being made as it is probable by the Bishops of the East they ordained that they should not set out any generall Decrees nor hold any Synodicall assemblies without calling in the Bishop of Rome unto them by that meanes to preserve the union of the Churches Decreeing thus much in favour of him rather than any other in consideration of his remotenesse as also for the same reason they allowed him to nominate some Greek Bishops for his Legats A way was invented saith Balsamon because of the length of the way that the Pope should have Legats out of our quarters yet were they not therefore under him For all this wee will never deny but by the See of Rome was alwayes held in honourable esteem both for the glory of the Citie which was the head of the Empire and the sanctity of the Bishops in those dayes nor that much reverence and respect was ever given unto it though not such and so much as they now take upon them And hence it is that the Bishops in the Councell of Rome writing to the Bishops of Illyrium amongst other reasons which they urge for the rejection of the Councel of Ariminum bring this for one because certaine Bishops whom they there mention never consented unto it and amongst others the Bishop of Rome Of whose opinion and advise speciall regard ought to bee had above all others 14 It may furthermore bee said and that not unlikely that this Canon was first made at that Councell which some say was holden at Alexandria in Palestine about the grand controversie concerning the keeping of Easter day if so be it bee true which is reported that Pope Victor was present there in personâ together with Narcissus Patriarch of Ierusalem Theophilus Bishop of Cesarea and Ireneus Bishop of Lyons considering that as Eusebius relates about the same time there were sundry Canons and Decrees made in sundry Councels concerning that controversie which might very well give occasion to all those Patriarches and Bishops there met together to ordaine for the better avoiding of such difference for the future and preserving the union of the Church that from thenceforth no universall Decrees should be made unlesse all the Patriarches or Metropolitans were first called 15 Yet for all this I doe much suspect that Councell of Alexandria especially in that forme wherein it is presented to us it being very improbable that both Victor and Ireneus should bee there in personâ and without question it is a mistake of our later Historians who misconceived the words of Eusebius telling us that about the same time there were divers Councels holden upon occasion of that divers celebration of Easter which some kept upon the fourteenth day of the moon the same day upon which the Passeover was kept others upon the sunday after as in Palestine by Theophilus and Narcissus at Rome by Victor in France by Ireneus and by others in other places And indeed that quarrell was not then accorded but continued till the Councell of Nice so that wee are yet to seeke for the authours of that Canon nor is there any body that can tell us any newes of them But be hee who he will it may suffice that wee have set downe the true meaning of it 16 Let not then Bellarmine and Baronius and all those that speake of it give any more right to the Pope by virtue of that Canon than hee himselfe pretended to have For Iulius never complained that the Councell was called by another and not by himselfe nor yet that the designe of holding the Councell was concluded upon without acquainting him with it but onely because he was not called unto it I know very well that the Popes afterwards have beene taught to speake another language Did I say afterwards nay even before too even those that lived before the Nicene Councellâ who tell us wonders of the authoritie of their See who as they say command the Pagan Emperours and make lawes and rules against them who arrogate unto themselves the appeales from other Bishops and the jurisdiction of making all causes of their cognizance who foist in other Canons and Dâcrees of the Nicene Councell upon us than those which were approved of and for their owne advantage who in case of appeale from other Bishops goe beyond the bastard Canon of Nice which the Popes to their owne shame and confusion would have had legitimated by the Councels of Africke who would perswade us also that it belongs to them to call Councels to preside in them to ratifie and confirme them although in those dayes there was no such matter Those good Bishops I say who never thought of ought but martyrdome and tortures have beene made to speake after their death what their life disavowed and gave the lye unto 17 But seeing that the rude and ignorant style of those Decrees betrayeth the asse unto us by the eares that this new plant could never yet take root in the understanding of the learned that the Popes owne Canons give us just cause of suspicion against them inasmuch as they informe us that the most ancient Decrees in this kinde are those of Sylvester and Siricius so that our predecessors long agoe rejected all those other which were said to be more ancient upon this ground because they were no where to be âound in that Codex Canonum which they used in their dayes besides that our Gratian assures us that excepting the twentie Decrees which we have of the Councell of Nice all the rest if yet there be any other are out of use and practice and not admitted in the Church of Rome wee will therefore forbeare that long discourse which we had prepared upon this subject and refuming our former thred will onely adde what was afterwards
for the Acts of the Councell say in expresse termes That the Kings of England Hungary Bohemia and Denmarke consented thereunto So likewise the Emperour Sigismund called that of Constance the Emperour Maximilian that of Pisa. 27 Although the Popes Primacy be not acknowledged by the Greâk church yet he assembled the Councell of Ferrara where were present the Emperour of Greece the Patriarch of Constantinople and a great number of Greek Bishops Let us never then make it a matter impossible it is fesable enough if we give our mindes to it When the Pope called the Councell of Trentâ he communicated it first and formost with Christian Princes and required their advice about it Having asked the advice saith Paul the third in his Bull of Convocation and sounded the mindes of Christian Princes whose consent in the first place we thought usefull and convenient and finding them not averse from this our designe we have thereupou denounced the Councell So King Charles the ninth became a suitor to the Pope and Princes of Christendome for the renewall of that Councell for mark how he speakes of it in his letters directed to the Prelates of France to cause them goe thither Although the present troubles of the Church have moved as to desire and procure by all meanes possible the holding of a Generall and Oecumenicall Councell and that our holy father the Pope the Emperour and other Christian Kings and Princes by their severall answers made upon our instant request and suit unto them thereabout doe make a faire show of being willing to hearken thereunto c. 28 He did no more in this but imitate the patterne of other Kings his predecessors Charles the sixt to make up the schisme betwixt Pope Boniface and Pope Bennet sent his Ambassadours to the Emperour the Kings of England Bohemia and Hungary to entreat them to have a regard to what concerned the publique good and quiet The same King went so farre that he perswaded Wenceslaus the Emperour to come to Rhemes where there was a Generall Councell holden upon that occasion where the Ambassadours of the King of England and divers other nations were present CHAP. VII That the authority of calling Councels belongs also to Kings and Princes 1 THese examples invite us to looke a little further into France and speake more fully concerning this point of calling Councels And the rather because both our Kings and all other Princes of Christendome are deprived of this royal prerogative by the Councel of Trent and that in such sort that the Pope thereby enhanseth his owne greatnesse to whom all such Councels are bound to swear obedience and not to depend upon any but upon him The Decree runnes thus Provinciall Councels if they have beene any where disused let them for reformation of manners correction of abuses composing of Controversies and such other ends as are allowed by holy Canons be brought up againe Wherefore let the Metropolitans themselves or if there bee any lawfull impediment why they cannot the senior Bishopâ within a yeare at the furthest after the end of this present Councell and after that once every three yeers at least after the octaves of the resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ or at some other more convenient time according to the custome of the Countrey not faile to call a Synod in their severall Provinces 2 And in anothâr Session there is a strict injunction laid upon them That at the first Provinciall Synod which shall bee holden after the end of this present Councell they publiquely receive all and singular such things as have beene determined and ordained by this holy Synod and withall promise and professe true obedience to the Bishop of Rome It remaines that wee prove this right of calling Councels to belong to our Kings within their owne Kingdome In the collection of the liberties of the Gallicane Church there is this Article The most Christian Kings have alwayes as occasion and the necessities of their Countrey required assembled or caused to assemble Synods or Councels Provinciall and Nationall Who among other things concerning the preservation of their State have also treated of such matters as concerned the order and Ecclesiasticall discipline of their Countrey touching which they have caused rules Chapters lawes ordinances and Pragmaticall Sanctions to be made and set out under their name and by their authority Wee read another Article of this straine in the third Chapter of the Remonstrance made by the Parliament of Paris to Lewes the eleventh 3 Nor is there ought in all this but is well backed by such examples and authorities as shall bee proâuced We begin then with Clovis our first Christian King by whose command the first Councell at Orleans was assembled about the yeer 506. So say the Bishops that met there in the letters which they sent unto him To their Lord the most illustrious King Clovis the sonne of the Catholique Church All the Clergy whom you commanded to come unto the Councell So likewise the second Councel of Orleans was holden in the yeer 533. by command from King Childebert which is mentioned in the subscription of the Bishop of Bruges and it is said in the Preface Wee are here assembled in the citie of Orleans by the command of our most illustrious Kings The fifth of Orleans was called by King Cherebert the yeer 549. Wherefore the most mild and invincible Prince Cherebert having assembled the Clergy in the citie of Orleans c. The second of Paris was called by King Childebert ann 558. Being met in the citie of Paris they are the words of the fathers of it by the command of our most illustrious King Childebert The first of Mascon by King Guntrand in the yeer 576. Wee being assembled in the towne of Mascon by the command of our most illustrious King Guntrand 4 The second of Valencia was called by him also in the yeer 588 and it hath the same Preface He called also the 2 of Mascon the same yeer 588 and afterwards by his Edict confirmed the Decrees thereof as made by his commandement Wherefore saith hee wee will and command that whatsoever is contained in this our Edict bee for ever observed and kept forasmuch as wee have taken paines to cause it to bee so determined at the holy Synod of Mascon That of Cavallon in Provence or as others fancie of Châalons upon the Saon was holden in the yâer 658 By the call and appointment of the Illustrious King Clovis The Synod which was held in France ann 742 was called by Cââloman as hee himselfe witnesseth in the Preface thereunto I Carloman Duke and Prince of the French with the advice of the servants of God and the chiefe Lords of the Land have assembled in a Councell all the Bishops of my Kingdome together with the Priests in the 742 yeere of Christs incarnation 5 In the time of King Childeric Pepin who then ruled all the rost called a Councell
deliberation hath chosen the welbeloved sonne of the Church Thomas for supreme Bishop calling him by the name which hee is now called Nicholas the fift This was done in the yeare 1449. In the same Act it is said that the Kings of England France Sicily and the Dolphin did much further that union 17 Bellarmine urgeth Leo the tenth against us also and the Councell of Lateran which was continued and ended under him after it was begun by Iulius the second For the better judging of the validity of this Councell wee must know the cause of it as Onuphrius a witnesse beyond exception doth deliver it The French being puffed up with the good successe of their affaires summoned Pope Iulius the second to a Councell which should be holden at Pisa the first of September as it was agreed upon betwixt them and the Emperor and the Cardinals that were revolted from the Pope who having laboured to make peace with the King of France Lewes the twelfth upon condition of recovering Bonony and dismissing this Councell of Pisa seeing that hee was growne insolent after his victory and that he obstinately refused to hearken unto him by the advice of Anthony de Monte he called the Generall Councell of Lateran to Rome to defeat the Conventicle of Pisa. And besides he excommunicated the King of France the Florentines who had received the Councell into the City of Pisa and all those that were assembled thither He deprived five Cardinals of all their honours and dignities who had beene the authors of that Councell He labours to sleight the authority of this Councell by setting downe the small number of Cardinals yea by minishing of them contrary to truth For by the Acts thereof it appeares that there were other five besides those whose names hee rehearseth The author of the Dialogue upon the death of Iulius reckons nine Nine Cardinals saith Iulius who is the speaker revolt from me proclaime a Councell invite me to come to it desire me to preside at it when they cannot obtaine that they call it themselves and summon all the world unto it with the authority of Maximilian as Emperour and Lewes the twelfth King of France But let him make the number as little as he will it may suffice our other Frenchmen yea all good Christians that this reverend Councell of Lateran was not called out of any zeale to religion but onely to breake that of Pisa and to hinder the reformation which they would have made of the head and the members But it is fitting to shew thoroughly the validity of that of Pisa and the nullity of the Lateranâ to the honour of our Kings and the shame of the Popes 18 The world had a long time gaped after that so much desired reformation of the Head and the members âivers Councels had bin holden for that end but still in vaine by reason of the Popes craftinesse I will say nothing without good warrant that is a thing must bee looked to nowadayes Give eare therefore to the instructions which the Cardinals that called the Councell of Pisa gave to Ioannes Baptista de Theodorico and Francis de Treio whom they sent to Rome Having not had any Generall Councels say they for so many years and howâver some few were assembled as wee finde that there have beene five within these hundred years last past viz. that of Pisa Constance Siena Basil and Florence yet for all that the Church hath not beene reform'd effectually by reason of those impediments and quarrels which have intervened and the Lords field in the meane time is overgrowne with briers and thornes that must of necessity bee purged by a Councell Vpon this occasion also it was religiously ordain'd by the Councels of Constance and Basil that Synods should bee held every ten yeers 19 But this being neglected by the Popes after the Councels of Lausanne and Florence at last the See comming to be void in the yeare 1503 the Cardinals before they went to a new election bound themselves by an oath that hee amongst them upon whom the election should light should bee bound to call a Councell within two years after and they drew an instrument hereof whose inscription runnes thus The things underwritten are the publique chapters ordained betwixt the supreme Bishop that shall bee and the right reverend Cardinals unanimously and with common consent for the defence of the libertie of the faith and the reformation of the Church in the Head and members Then follows the text We all and every one of the Cardinals of the holy Church of Rome here underwritten do swear and vow to God Almighty to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and promise to all the saints of holy Churchâ that if any of us be chosen Pope presently after the solemnity of his election he shall sweare and vow purely and in all simplicity and good truth to keep and cause to be effectually fulfilled and kept all and singular the Chapters here underwritten and to require all notaries to send out publique Buls of the same 20 First of all hee shall swear and promise that in case of necessity of assisting faithfull Christians c. There are yet some more Chapters and then it is said Item forasmuch as it is very important to call a Generall Councell with all speed for the peace of Christians the reformation of the Church the abolishing of many exactionsâ as also for an expedition against the infidels hee shall promise swear and vow to call it within two yeares after his creation and to begin it effectually in some place of freedome and safety which shall bee chosen by him and two parts of the right reverend Lord Cardinals by balots The oath and vow made by the Cardinals concerning the things aforesaid 21 Wee all and every one of us the Cardinals of the holy Roman Churchâ assembled together at Rome in the Palace Apostolique for the election of a future Pope of Rome conâirming the Chapters aforesaid agreed upon amongst us with consent and concord for defence of the Catholique faithâ Ecclesiasticall liberty reformation of the Church in the Head and members and for the band of charity and peace betwixt the supreme Bishop and the Cardinals of the Church of Rome his brethren do vow to God to the glorious Virgin Mary his mother to the blessed Apostles and to all the Court of heaven swearing upon the holy Gospels corporally touched one to another and also to the publique notaries here undeâwritten as legall persons covenanting in the name of the holy mother Church and of our sacred Colledge and of all others that have any interest therein that whosoever amongst us shall bee chosen Pope hee shall fulfill and keep all and singular the things contained in the said Chapters without all coven fraud and treachâry and without using any exception that hee shall not countermandâny of them directly or indirectly openly or privatly that after his election or before the publication of it hee
Pope St. Gregory delivered Trajan from the paines of hell which are infinite by his prayersâ therefore much more may hee deliver all those that are in Purgatory from their paines which are but finite by meanes of Indulgences Alexander of Hales one of the prime Divines puts a little mysterie in it for he saith that Trajan being raised up againe by St. Gregorie's prayers did penance and was baptized And indeed there was good reason he should passe through this formalitie But let us returne to our plaintives 50 The Councell of Trent was likewise pressed about this reformation by King Charles the ninth and by the German nation as appeares by their demands which wee have set downe elsewhere to which it was reason that some regard should have beene had Some will tell me that so there was If that be so I am farre deceiv'd Let us see how then Desiring that the abuses which are crept into them by little and little and by occasion whereof the worthie name of Indulgences is abused by heretiques may be corrected and amended the Councell doth by this present Decree ordaine in generall that all wicked gaines for the purchasing of them whence the main cause of these abuses amongst Christian people first sprang be utterly abolished But for the rest which proceeded from ignorance superstition irreverence or other occasion whatsoever seeing they cannot conveniently bee prohibited in particular by reason of the divers corruptions of the places and provinces where they are committed the Synod commands all Bishops that every one of them diligently observe the abuses of his Church and give notice of them at the first Provinciall Synod to the end that being knowne by the other Bishops also they may forthwith be presented to the Pope by whose authoritie and wisedome that shall be ordained which is expedient for the Church universall 51 See here processe is made against those under-rogues of Wallet-bearers and beggars which undertooke to sell these false spices in behalfe of the Bishops and other inferiour Officers But for the Pope his authoritie is preserv'd safe and sound as well in this as in all the rest His penitentiary taxe iâ neither dead nor sicke for all this for they abolished onely all wicked gaines which arise from them Who dare bee so bold as to referre that to the Pope He should be damned for it a thousand times for want of Indulgences Iudge what reformation they will make of this matter which are the authours of this disorder which reape profit by it which build their greatnesse upon itâ and who by that meanes make themselves omnipotent over weake and fearefull soules CHAP. II. Of Fraternities 1 ANd forasmuch as these large Indulgences whereof wee have spoke are most commonly granted to Fraternities as appeares by the Buls of them which have beene produced it is good reason we speake a word of them too King Charles the ninth in his demands required a reformation of the abuses of such Fraternities The Councell found nothing to be corrected in them but tacitly confirm'd them by ordaining that the administratours of them shall give account of their administration every yeare unto the Ordinary They were wary enough not to touch upon that point seeing it directly concernes the Popes authority By meanes of these indulgences and the superstition which hee useth in them he gaines millions of men unto himselfe who devote themselves so much unto him for the especiall favour which they suppose they receive by meanes of these indulgences that they doe not acknowledge any other superiour 2 Former times have instructed us that leagues and monopolies and conspiracies against the State have beene hatched in such Fraternities as these and that disorders and other unlawfull things have beene committed among them They have beene prohibited in all well policied Kingdomes and Common-wealths and particularly in our France where wee must observe that as they have beene instruments of trouble and dissolutenesse so they have beene judged hurtfull to peace and concord And for that reason they are condemned by the Edicts and Declarations of our Kings as the mothers or at least the companions of conspiracies for they are so joyned together by the same Ordinances as in that of Henry the third of September 1577. And all leagues associations and fraternities made or to be made under any pretence whatsoever to the prejudice of this our Edict shall bee utterly void and of no effect And in that of the same Prince given the 20 of December in the same yeare Wee expresly forbid all our said subjects of what qualitie soever they be to begin make or prosecute any league association or fraternitie amongst themselves to the prejudice of our said Edict of pacification The 44 Article of the conference of Flex saith in expresse termes All the foresaid to wit Provosts Maiors Consuls Sherifes of townes c. mentioned in the former Article and other Subjects whatsoever of this Realme of what condition soever shall depart from and renounce all leagues associâtionsâ fraternities and intelligences as well within the Realme as without 3 Durant Bishop of Mânde in the reformation which he presented to the Councell of Vienna holden in the yeare 1311. perswaded the abolition of these fraternities for two reasons for their dissolutenesse and âor conspiracie against their superiours It would bee also usefull saith hee that fraternities wherein both Clergy and Lay doe nothing but sowle themselves with delicates live in dissolutenesse and drunkennesse and busie themselves in divers plots against their superioârs were abolished There is at this day one in request in this Kingdome which we may and must beleeve to be both seditious and hereticall to wit that of the Recommendati to the blessed Virgin Mary otherwise called Confalonesi at Rome and in France The Order or Fraternity of the Chaplet the Order of Penitents the Order of Battu's all these are but one thing There are some poore innocents that enroll themselves among them thinking to find the salvation of their soules there and to enjoy the virtue of so many goodly indulgences Some of them pride themselves in going in a masque as it were and walking about the towne in a white or black or gray garment or of some other colour some with their white sandals and their sweet-meats in their pockets to throw at a sweet-heart as they passe along after they have cast many a pitifull amorous glance at her Another with a whip in his hand full set with prickes lancing himselfe and drawing bloud of his back who goes from street to street and Church to Church begging for mercie serving for a spectacle and an offence to all those that behold these antiques But the most part of them are Statesmen fine cunning delighting in troubles and enemiâs of peace Which make use of such assemblies to cast their plots to build their designes and to put them in execution 4 This Order was cried downe in the Citie of Paris by the late
is presently added Vnlesse it be otherwise declared by the See Apostolique So that by this meanes all depends upon the Popes pleasure CHAP. V. Of the residence of Bishops and approbation of the causes of their absence 1 IT was usefully ordained by this Councell that Bishops and other Prelats should reside upon their Bishopriques and prelacies But yet when all comes to all there is a dash with the pen that spoiles all for the judgement to bee passed upon non-residents is reserved to the Pope It is he too that must dispense with their absence and approve the causes of it These three points are specified in the Decrees of the Councell so that the authoritie both of Metropolitans and Princes is devolved upon the Pope And hee that considers all shall find that Kings and Princes suffer a mightie prejudice by this meanes They shall not have the power to aid themselves with so much as one Bishop for the affaires of their Stateâ and have them neare their person to take their counsell and good advice unlesse the Pope please 2 This is not all The Popes will take order well enough that there bee ever some to depend upon them and such as may bee their creatures so that as many Bishops as are neare to Princes so many enemies to them They will bestow whom they thinke fit in other places to contrive plots and projects get them to Rome to make their abode there so long as their busines requires traverse the Provinces reside where they shall thinke expedient And in case that either upon the Princes command or upon any other occasion one of these Bishops shall venture to absent himselfe by virtue of this Councell the Popes shall have power to deprive him of his Bishoprique and put another in his place for that is said in expresse termes 3 By the lawes of the ancient Emperours a Bishop might not absent himselfe from his Bishoprique without the leave of his Metropolitan or the command of his Prince Iustinian decrees thus Wee forbid Bishops to leave their owne Churches and goe into other Provinces But if so bee there bee any necessitie of so doing they shall not goe without the Patriarch or Metropolitans letters or without the command of the Emperour 4 Our Kings of France have alwaies reserved this authoritie and prerogative unto themselves to determine of the residence of Bishops to compell or cause them to bee compel'd by their officers to feed their flocks and wait upon their Churches when need required and that by seasing upon their temporals to call them from Rome to returne into France to dispense with them and approve the causes of their absence We will quote some passages to thiâ purpose 5 Lewes the eleventh in an Ordinance of the eight of Ianuary 1475 makes this narration When any questions or differences come upon us as well concerning the state of the Church of our Kingdome as other our affaires we that ought to have recourse to them cannot be assisted aided or advised therein by reason of their absence where wee and the Common wealth are ofttimes much interessed Then after he ordaines in this manner Wee will ordaine and declare by these presents that all Archbishops Bishops Abbats Prelats and others that hold any dignities within our Kingdome and do dwell and reside out of the bounds and limits thereof and out of our obedience doe repaire and returne within five moneths after the publication of these presents unto their benefices within our said realme or unto some one of them if they have any more and there make continuall residence there to celebrate and continue divine service as belongs unto them and as they are bound to doe As also to the end that they may serve and assist us in our Councels and otherwise to the behoofe of us and the Common wealth of our said Kingdome when need shall be And this upon paine of being deprived of the temporals of their said benefices 6 Henry the second in an Ordinance of the first of May 1557 directed to the Court of Parliament of Paris Wee command charge and enjoyne you by these presents that in our name you enjoyne all Archbishops Bishops Prelats Curats and others that have cure of soules within our jurisdiction to retire every one to his Archbishoprique Bishoprique Cures and other livings and to make personall residence upon them and to preach and declare or cause to be preached and declared the word of God c. And where they shall refuse so to doe that you cause the fruits profits and emoluments of the said Benefices to be distrained and seised into our hands 7 Charles the ninth by his Ordinance of the first of Aprill 1560 ordained the very same thing both for residence and for the disseisin of temporals but with this exception Saving and excepting the Archbishops and Bishops that are of our Privy Counsell and others imployed in our service out of the Realme for the weale publique thereof during the time that wee shall make use of them whereof our Bailifs and Stewards or their Lieutenants of that jurisdiction where the said Archbishopriques and Bishopriques doe lye shall give us notice presently after The same Prince in the fift Article of the Ordinance of Orleans doth enact concerning Archbishops Bishops Abbats and Curats that have many benefices That residing upon one of their benefices and doing actuall service there whereof they shall make good proofe they shall be excused from residing upon their other livings 8 But see here a thing to be observed namelyâ that the States of Blois holden in the yeare 1579 knowing the prejudice which this Councell had done to the liberties of France in this regard thought it reasonable to provide otherwise for the approving of the causes of non-residence than it had set downe For it is enacted in the fourteenth Article of the Ordinance made by King Henry the third upon the complaint of the said States That all Archbishops and Bishops shall be bound to reside upon their Churches and Diocesses and according to their ability to discharge their duties in person From which residence they shall not be excused but upon just and reasonable causes approved by law and such as shall be certified by the Metropolitan or senior Bishop of the province Otherwise if this be not done besides the penalties ordained by Councels they shall be deprived of all the fruits issuing in the time of their absence Which shall be seised and taken into our hands to be imployed in the reparation of ruinous Churches almes to the poore of the places and other charitable uses By this Ordinance the Metropolitan gives the certification and the Kings officers the judgement in causes of absence without reserving any thing to the Pope Nor is this law peculiar to our Kings but common to them with all other Princes as it shall appeare by what we shall speake of it in another place CHAP. VI. Of
are wee suppose you know very well how the partisans of Donatus of their owne proper motion accused Cecilian then Bishop of Carthage before that ancient Emperour Constantine And he afterwards addes that the Emperour made an end of that Episcopall cause after he had the hearing of it 7 The Emperour Constantius having judged of the great impietie of Actius sent him presentlie into banishment and commanded that he should be carried unâo a certaine place of Phrygia saith Theodoret. The forme of proceeâings is set downe by Sozomen a little more at large from whence we learne how Honoratus governour of Constantinople was first elected and deputed to proceed to the judgement of that Deacon and how the Emperâur himselfe tooke it afterwards into his own hand While these twentie Bishops sent from both Councels were at Constantinople together with some others who met there occasionally power was first given to Honoratus whom the Emperour had appointed governour of Constantinople to judge the cause of Aetius in the presence of the Counsellours of the great Counsell But Constantius afterwards having taken the same cause into his cognizance together with the Magistrates Aetius was found to thinke amisse of the faith insomuch that both the Emperour and the rest were greatlie offended with his words full of blasphemie 8 Saint Augustine intreats Apringius proconsull of Africa and Marcellinus the tribune to condemne certain Clerks partisans of Donatus to a more gentle punishment than they had deserved acknowledging them for Iudges in Eâclesiasticall causes He speaks thus unto the Proconsul interceding for his enemies Why will you not mitigate your sentence seeing it is lawfull for Iudges so to doe even in other causes which doe not concerne the Church And a little after When their enemies are too mildlie proceeded against men are wont to appeale a Minori Wee love our enemies so well that if we had not a good opinion of your Christian obedience we would appeale from the severitie of your sentence This is spoken by a man which approved their jurisdiction otherwise hee would have said they had nothing to doe to judge of the controversie 9 The Emperour Gratian granted a commission to Sapor one of his chief officers to eject the Arrian Bishops out of their Churches and replace the Orthodox in them according to the law which he had made By virtue of this commission Sapor judged of the difference which was betwixt Paulinus Apollinaris and Meletius in point of Religion deposing the oâe and establishing the other Sapor saith Theodoret being appointed Iudge of those matters which were urged on either side adjudged the Churches unto great Meletius Paulinus remained Bishop and Pastor of those sheep whom he had formerlie separated from the rest and Apollinaris being rejected from the government of the Churches begun openlie to publish that doctrine which hee had latelie invented and declare himselfe the head of that sect 10 Maximus the Emperour of the Gaules received the appeale which was put in by Priscillian Bishop of Spaine from the Councell of Burdeaux to whom hee had committed the judgement of him Hee deputed Euodius one of the governours of his Provinces Who after he had heard Priscillian in two judgements hee being convinced of the crime was by him pronounced guilty and sent to prison againe till such time as he had certified the Prince of him The processe being related at Court the Emperour was aminded that Priscillian and his complices should bee condemned to death 11 Sometimes the Emperours themselves or their Officers proceed to the judgements and condemnations of Clergymen with Councels called for this purpose by the authoritie of the same Emperours So Elpidius and Eulogius Magistrates and Officers were commanded by Theodosius to assist at the second Councel of Ephesus where the condemnation of Eutiches was controverted Their Commission runnes thus To be present at the judgement and to take order that a speedy and pertinent proofe be made by the Synod and sent to the Emperour Those who had beene Eutiches his Iudges before being now present but not Iudges 12 Wee read in the Acts of the Councell of Chalcedon of a petition put up by Eusebius Bishop of Dorylea directed to the Emperours Valentinian and Martian where hee intreats them that they would grant the cognizance of the injurie which had beene done unto him by Dioscorus Bishop of Alexandria unto the second Councell of Ephesus and of the death of Flavianus Bishop of Constantinople whereof the same Dioscorus was accused at the Synod of Chalcedon To the intent that it may heare us these are the very words and also Dioscorus and report unto your pietie all that passeth that you may doe in it as it shall please your clemencie Wee read there also another petition of Savinian Bishop of Lesina exhibited unto the same Emperours whereby they are intreated To command that his cause may bee examined in their presence it was so in the presence of the Officers and Magistrates who passed sentence upon it in full Councell ordaiâing that Savinian should continue in his Bishoprique yet with a Proviso Which was agreed unto by the whole Councel Where it is to bee observed that these Magistrates first judged of the cause and pronounced the sentence and afterwards asked the Fathers of the Councel whether they liked it or no. The holy Synod say they having heard what sentence wee have past let them say whether they decree the same or whether they be of another opinion The holy Synod said There is nothing more just nor more upright 13 In the third booke Iuris Graeco-Romani in the first tome we read this Decree concerning the deposition of a Bishop Iohn Amathunt Bishop having been depos'd by Iohn Archbishop of Cyrus and the Decree of that deposition having beene read at the Emperours tribunall having found that he was depos'd by fifteene Bishops and one Archbishop the most holy Patriarch Luke with the assistance of his Synod and the Senate there present ordain'd that such deposition was invalid and of no account because the whole Synod of the Church of Cyprus was not assembled 14 Sometimes the Emperours confirmed the sentence of the Synods containing such condemnations As Iustinian did that of Anthemius Archbishop of Constantinople and of some others deposed by a Synod of Constantinople And that because those condemnations were found to bee invalid if they were not fortified by the Emperours to whom such jurisdiction did properly appertaine Iustinian after hee had made the confirmation aforesaid saith If there bee any other thing contained in the sentence of the most holy Bishops which deposeth and anathematizeth the persons aforesaid wee also ordaine the like more firmely and with more continuance and wee make it of force by our Imperiall lawes just as if it had beene a thing done by our owne command 15 The Popes have so farre beleeved and holden for certaine this jurisâdiction of Emperours
Monasterie shall not in that case enjoy their priviledge of exemption but shall bee subject to the jurisdiction of the Ordinariesâ without any commission or delegation from the Pope We ordain by an irrefragable Decree that howsoever exempted persons enjoy their libertie yet upon any offence contract or such thing for which a man may have a sâte against them they may be convented before the Ordinary of the place And the Glosse upon it This is true if the contract were made or the crime committed in a place not exempted and if the thing in controversie bee not exempt So Scholars not residing in the Vniversities do not enjoy the priviledges granted unto them So a Clerke taken in a crime having not his Clericall habit on is subject to the jurisdiction of the Secular Iudge 7 In the third Chapter of the twentie first Session Bishops are allowed as Delegates for the See Apostolique to assigne unto all such Cathedral and Collegiat Churches as have no ordinary distributions the third part of the fruits and revenues to bee imployed in the said distributions Which is repeated in the third Chapter of the twenty second Session This derogates from the power and jurisdiction of Bishops to whom the right of providing for the necessities of the Churches subject unto them doth belong As to adjudge the tenth to an Archdeaconrie which hath but little meanes To joyne and unite Chappels to a Cathedrall Church upon evident necessity or commoditie To alter and give away the means of the Church upon just and honest reason with the consent of the Chapter Therefore by the same reason they may convert some part of the revenues of livings to ordinary distributions upon just and lawfull cause with consent of the Chapter without authoritie from the Pope or without any necessitie of his commission Which is valid in this Realme of France especially where the Popes power is regulated according to the ancient Canons and Decrees 8 By the fourth Chapter of the twentie first Session the Bishops are Delegates for the See Apostolique to compell the Rectours of Churches within their Dioceses to take Priests to assist them at the administration of the Sacrament in case they bee not able to doe it themselves And by the sixt chapter of the same Session they are also made commissaries and Delegates to assigne substitutes and assistants to unlearned and ignorant Rectors of Churches Which is also decreed to the prejudice of the ordinary jurisdiction of Bishops to whom of common right it appertaines to appoint such assistants even according to the Decretals of Lucius the third and Honorius the third whereby they declare that Bishops have power and authority to appoint coadjutours to Rectours of Churches in such cases 9 In the fifth Chapter of the same twentie first Session power is given to Bishops as Delegates for the Pope to unite Churches and benefices in case of povertie and such like permitted by the law And yet this is a thing which agrees unto them by their owne proper right even by the confession of Celestine the third It belongs unto the Bishop saith he to unite the Churches of his Diocese and to set one over another Which is elsewhere repeated by the Glosse upon the Canon law And it is confirm'd unto them by the sixt Aâticle of the Ordinance of Orleans See here the words And to the end that Curats may imploy themselves in their Charges without all excuse we enjoyne Prelats to proceed to the union of benefices distribution of tithes and other Ecclesiasticall revenues 10 By the seventh Chapter of the same Session power is also granted them as Delegates for the Pope to transferre the simple livings belonging to ruinated Churches which cannot be repaired by reason of their povertie upon the mother Churches or others in the Diocese having called unto them such as are interested in them howbeit by the same Decretall of Celestine Bishops may submit one Church to another with consent of the Chapter by their owne authoritie without any intervening of the Popes 11 The same Councell in the eighth Chapter of the seventh Session makes Bishops the Popes Delegates for the visitation and reparation of exempted Churches The Ordinaries of the place shall bee bound every year to visite all the Churches even such as are exempted in what kinde soever by authoritie Apostolique and to take order by such remedies as are according to law that those which stand in need bee repaired and that they bee not unprovided of the cure of soules if any have it over them nor of other duties such as shall bee found due It ordaines the like for the Churches which are not within any Diocese in the ninth Chapter of the twentie fourth Session All this derogates from the eleventh Article of the Ordinance of Orleans where it is said That all Abbats Abbesses Priours Prioresses not being heads of the Order together with all Canons and Chapters as well Secular as Regular whether of Cathedrall or Collegiate Churches shall be equally subject to the Archbishop or Bishop of the Diocese so as they cannot helpe themselves by any priviledge of exemption in regard of the visitation and punishment of their crimes By this Ordinance the visitation belongs to the Ordinarie Iurisdiction of Bishops By the Councell it belongs to the Pope and is conferred upon the Prelates as his Commissaries 12 There is yet more which is that by the same Councell the Archbishops and Bishops cannot visit the Churches and Benefices of their Dioceses and take order for the reparation of other things necessary but by virtue of the same Delegation For behold what is ordain'd concerning it in the eight chapter of the twentie first Session It is reason that the Ordinary doe diligentlie provide for all that concernes divine service within the Diocese Wherefore the Monasteries in Commendam the Abbeys Priories Provostships not tied to a regular observance as also the Benefices whether they have cure of soules or no Secular and Regular in what kinde soever of Commendam they bee holden even such as are exempted shall bee visited by the same Bishops as Delegates for the See Apostolique and the same Bishops shall take care by âonvenient remedies even by sequestration of fruits that necessarie reparations bee made and done By this Chapter the Bishops are deprived of their ordinarie power in case of visitation in as much as they are now made Commissaries in that respect which is contrarie to the ancient custome and the Decree of the Councell of Tarraco registred in Gratians Decret Wee ordaine that the order of ancient custome be observed and that Dioceses bee visited by the Bishops every yeare And if any Church be found destitute that the reparation thereof bee injoyned by his Ordinance Item against the Decree of the fourth Councell of Toledo where it is said That the Bishop ought every yeare to goe over all the Diocese and in every Parish to enquire
in any sort meddle with any thing that concernes the Church save only so farre forth as they are commanded by them Pope Paul the third serves himselfe of this instance against the Emperour Charles the fift being vexed at some Decrees which were maâe concerning Protestants at the Imperiall Diet of Spire ann 1544. Vzziah saith hee was an excellent King and yet for all that became a leper God so punishing his presumption because hee would have burnt incense upon the Altar It is a worke well pleasing to God to have a care of his Churches but that is the Priests office not yours but it belongs especicially to mee to whom God hath given the power of binding and loosing The Kings of these daies must âot meddle with the administration of the Sacraments the performing of Ceremonies the preaching of the word nor other such Ecclesiasticall offices But for the ordaining and making of Ceremonies for the reformation of abuses the extirpation of schismes and heresies the politie of the Church and such like things they both may and must look to them and have alwaies done so either by having a hand in them themselves or commanding them to bee done or by confirming the lawes and statutes and ordinances concerning them 8 Wee will here observe by the way that the Emperour the Kings of England and France have a more particular right and priviledge in the Church than others by reason of their Vnction at least if wee take Balsamon the Patriarch of Antioch his words for it who commenting upon the 69 Chapter of the Councell in Trullo saith The Orthodox Emperours that promote the Patriarchs with invocation of the blessed Trinitie and are the anointed of the Lord goe in to the blessed altar when they please and offer incense and imprint the character with a triple wax aswel as Prelates doe yea they teach the people to instruct them And he afterwards adds Forasmuch as hee that is now Emperour is also the Lords anoynted by reason of the Chrisme that is of the unction of the Kingdome and that Christ our God is reckoned for a Priest aswell as others hee is also justly endowed with priestly graces Some are of opinion thât this is the reason that our King of France receives the holy communion under both kinds that hee is served by those Clergy men which are most eminent in dignitie as the Archbishop Cardinals as when the kisse of peace is to bee given in the Church they must bring it him or for saying grace at his table and such like âut let us hold on our former course 9 One of the greatest arguments wee have to justifie this power is that Councels themselves have confessed it and have recommended such constitutions to our observation The sixt Generall Synod called in Trullo declares That they obseâve the Canon which was made by their predecessours which sayes thus If any citie by the Emperours power have beene made anew or hereafter shall bee made let the order of things Ecclesiasticall conforme unto the order of Civill and Politique affaires Where Balsamon the Patriarch makes this exposition This present Canon doth ordaine that such cities as are preferr'd by the Imperiall power or hereafter shall bee preferred be honoured by the Churches in such sort as the Emperours commanâ shall prescribe That is bee accounted Episcopall or Metropolitan Sees For it is fitting the Ecclesiasticall order follow the Civill command We say likewise that by this present Canon the Emperour hath power to erect new Bishopriques and preferre others to the dignitie of Metropolitans and set a forme for the election to them and other administration of them so as hee shall thinke good According hereunto the Primacy of the Church was conferr'd upon Boniface the fourth by the Emperour Phocas He obtained of the Emperour Phocas saith Martinus Polonus that the Church of the Apostle Saint Peter should be the head of all Churches because that of Constantinople did pretend to be the chiefe 10 The Popes have beene so well pleased to receive this Primacy at the hands of Princes that they have even made Constantine the Great speak of it in the fabulous instrument of his donation And giving over that they bragge That the Church of Rome erects Patriarchships Primacies of Metropolitans Bishops Seates and the dignities of all orders of Churches For these are Pope Nicholas the second his own words in his Epistle which he writ to the Milanois which is recorded in the great Decree Which the later Popes kâew well how to practise insomuch that Pope Iohn the twenty second made horrible alterations in our France within a litle time For he erected the Church of Tholouse to an Archbishoprique divided the Diocese of Tholouse into six Bishopriques the Bishops whereof should bee Suffragans to the Archbishop of Tholouse and turned six Villages into Cities to wit Montauban Rieux Lombez Abbey St. Papoul Lavaur and Mirepoix lodging the Bishops in them and erecting the Episcopall Seats there assigning to every oâe his proper Diocese He created two Bishopriques within the Archbishoprique of Narbon the first at Limoux whose seat hee translated to Alet not ââng after the second in the Abbey of Saint Pons setting out their Dioceses Hee divided also the Bishoprique of Alby into two and created one at Castres Hee erected divers others besides which are reckoned up in particular ây the authour of the continuation to Martinus Polonus from whence I borrowed the former passage verbatim But let us returne to our former discourse 11 A certaine Councell of Paris holden under Lewes the Gentle saith that the Church approves and observes a constitution made by the Emperour Iustinian concerning excommunication As concerning unlawfull excoâmunication saith it the law of the Catholique Emperour Iustinian which the Catholique Church doth observe and approve hath ordained that no Priest shall excommunicate any man till such time as the cause be proved for which the Ecclesiasticall Canons doe command it to bee inflicted This very constitution on Iustinian hath beene followed and allowed by our Popes as they themselves doe testifie in their Books and the addition made unto it by the Glosse is remarkable So for a long time about eight hundred yeares the Emperours made laws concerning Ecclesiasticall persons and affaires and the Church obeyed them This Glosse was afterwards put out because it told too much 12 At the Councell of Meaux held in the yeare 945 it is said That the Capitulary lawes concerning the Church which were made and set out by the great Emperour Charlâmaine and by the Emperour Lewes be strictly observed as 't is knowne that lawes should bee observed The same Councell intreats King Charles the younger To grant the Bishops a freer libertie for the execution of their ministeries in their Parishes The same Charles the Great had ordained in his Capitulary That to every Church there should bee given onely one entire Manour without any other
Chap. II. p. 260. 1 OF Fraternities how devoted 2 How dangeroââ to the State 3,4,5 Of the Fraternity of the Chaplet or the Order of Penitents 6 Of the sect of Flagellants 7 8 Their originall and orders 10 Gersons booke against them Chap. III. p. 265. 1 DIspensations abused by the Pope 2 Hee takes upon him to dispense with the Lawes of God and man 3 Complaints made hereupon by the Catholiques in Germany 6 By Saint Bernard 7 By the Parliament of England 9 By the Councell of Constance 10 By Iohn Gerson 11 By the deputies of Pope Paul 12 Reformation demanded at the Trent Councell 13 Which medled with them onely in three cases 14 And that as good as nothing 15 And contrary to the liberties of France Chap. IV. p. 269. 1 OF unions of Benefices both reall and personall Which the Councell leaves to the Popes disposall 2 Which of right belongs to the Bishops of the Dioceses with consent of the patrons 3 Vpon reasonable cause 4 5 6 Otherwise they have and may be disanull'd nothwithstanding any prescription 7 Contrary to the Councell of Trent which allowes prescription in some and the Popes pleasure in all Chap. V. p. 271. 1 OF the residence of Bishops Which the Councell leaves to the Popes approbation To the prejudice of Princes and Metropolitans 3 To whom it belongs to approve the causes of their absence 2 How Popes by this meanes deprivâ Princes of their best servants 4,5,6 For Kings to approve of non-residence was the practice of France before this Councell 8 And the law since Chap. VI. p. 273. 1 BY this Councell of Trent there can be no more Gânerall Counâels but when the Pope pleaseth 2 Which takes away all hope of reformation 3 And is contrary to the Decrees of former Councels 4 The benefits proceeding from the frequency of Councels 5 They bridle the Popes power And therefore they decline them Chap. VII p. 275. 1 OF Iesuites Their Order confirm'd by this Councell 2 Their speciall vow of obedience to the Pope 3 Their deifying of him 4 They are the Popes Ianizaries and Emissaries in the State 5 Slaves to the Pope and therefore nâ good subjects to their Prince 6 Their doctrine that Kings may be deposed 7 And of excommunicate killed 8,9 That heretiques are to bee put to death 17 Iesuites pernicious to the State therefore once banished out of France Chap. VIII p. 280. 1,2,3 THat this Councell in effect gives the election nomination and investiture in all Abbeyes and Bishopriques to the Pope 4 How this is prejudiciall to Princes 6 How elections were anciently made by the Clergie and people 7 Sometimes by the Pope Yet still by a power derived from Emperors and Princes 8,9 Proved out of the Canon law Popes anciently elected by the Emperour 13 14 This prerogative not renounced by the Emperour Lewes nor Henry 15 16 But practised by Emperours and allowed by Popes till Grâgory the sâventh 18 And then taken from them by usurpation Chap. IX p. 285. 1 THe election and investiture of Patriarchs and other Bishops belonged to the Emperours 2 3 In which the Popes had nothing to doe but by commission from them 10 Till Gregory the sevenths time who first usurped this power Which was afterwards the occasion of many quarrels betwixt Emperors and Popes 11,12 c. As betwixt Henry and Paschal about investitures 16 The Emperors renuââiation invalid 17 Because compell'd 18 And does not binde his successors 19 Who redemanded their right 20 The Councels that condemn'd Investitures for heresies censur'd 21 22 And Ivo for defending them 23 Who contradicts himselfe 24 The Emperour Henry in part excused Chap. X. p. 291. 1 ELections nominations and investitures belonging to other Kings and Princes in their owne dominions As the Kings of Spaine 2,3 c. The Kings of England possessed of this right both before and since the Conquest 11 With the Popes apâââbation 12,13 The Kings of Hungary ãâã Apulia have done the like 14,15,16 How the Kings of France have behaved themselves in this point 18,19 Their right confirm'd by Couââel 23. And testified by Civilianâ 26 Elâctours to have ââe Kings Conge d'âliâe 27 And the elected to tâke the oatâ ãâã âllegeance â8 29 That the Kings of France retââne the âomiââtion and the Popes have got the confirmation of Bishopââ 30 Which rââders them obnoxiââa to the Popes and carâlâsse of their Prince 31,32 c. Examples tâââeof in Englââd and Franceâ BOOK VI. Chap. I. p. 299. 1 ALL jurisdiction in all causes and over all persons belongs originally to Secular Princes 2 This Councell exempts Bishops and even in crimiâall causes submits them onely to the Pope 3 Contrary to right 4 5 And ancâent practice 11 c. How Emperours have exercised their jurisdiction over Clergie-men sometimes by their Delegates 12 Sometimes by Councels 15 16 c. This right of Princes acknowledged by Popes 18 Established by the Imperiall lawes 19 Allowed by Councels 21,22,23 French Bishops judg'd by their Kings Sometimes with a Councell 24 Sometimes without 26 This judgement of Bishops refused by Popes 27,28 The present practices of France in such cases Chap. II. p. 306. 1 THat Bishops by this Councell are made the Popes delegates in matters of their owne ordinarie jurisdiction 2 As visitation of Monasteries 3 Providing for Sermons in peculiars 4 Assigning a stipend to Curates 6 Visiting of Clergie men 7 Assigning of distributions in Cathedrall Churches 8 And assistants to ignorant Rectors 9,10 Vniting Churches 11 Visiting exempted Churches 12 And others not exempted 14,15 Visiting of Hospitals and Schooles 16 Disposing of gifts to pious uses 17 Such delegations prejudiciall to Bishops Archbishops and Lawyers 18 Evocations of causes out of other Courts to Rome allowed by this Councell 19 The inconveniences thence ensuing Chap. III. p. 313. 1 THis Councell entrencheth upon the Secular jurisdiction by attributing seemingly to Bishops 2 But really to the Pope 3 The cognizance of many things which in the Realme of France belong to the Civill jurisdiction in some cases not wholly to the Ecclesiasticall 4 As libels 8 Sorcerers 9 Clandestine mariages 10,11 And some other matrimoniall causes 12 Right of patronage for the posâessory 13 Lay appropriations 15 Maintenance of Priests 17 Visitation of benefices so as to compell reparations to be made 20 Sequestration of fruits 21 Royall Notaries 22 Simple Shavelings 25 Civill causes of Clerkes 26 Adulâârâes 29 Seisure of goods 30 Imprisonments 31 32 Appeales as from abuse abrogated by this Councell 33 Erection of Schooles 34 Building-money 35 Meanes of hospitals 36 Infeodation of Tithes 39 Taking of the accounts of Hospitals Colledges and Schooles Chap. IV. p. 32â 1 EXemptions granted by the Pope to Churches Colledges Abbeyes c. confirmed by this Councell to the prejudice of Bishops 2 3 Many complaiââ anciently made against them 4 The Popes have no power to grant them 5,6 The unlawfulnesse and abuses of them 7 Reformation hereof desired ât the Trent
heads and the Popes Bull represented in their hands and his armes reversed All which was done by the advice of the Princes Lords Prelates and other Ecclesiastiques of his Kingdome together with the Parliament and University of Paris as appeareth by the Acts published concerning this particular Lewes the eleventh to wave the censures of Pius the second made his Atturney generall put in an appeale from that Pope to the next Councell Lewes the twelfth had a defensive warre against Iulius the second upon this occasion He had suspended him by the Councell of Pisa whereupon hee procured a Synod of the Gallicane Church held at Tours in September 1510. to determine against him That it is lawfull for Christian Princes to defend themselves against such Popes as stirre up unjust warres against them and to substract their obedience from them The Parliaments of this Kingdome and namely that of Paris have alwaies engaged their authority for the justice of such defence either by way of humble remonstrance made to our Kings who upon the perswasion of some bad Councellors sometimes yeelded too much to the Popes impositions or else by reason of the exigency of their affaires which those cunning fowlers were ever ready to spy out soothed them up in their humour too much or else by cancelling the Popes Bulls in cases of appeales as of abuse or some other way where the Advocates and Atturneyes generall have euer had a faire occasion to shew their strength and abilities in and whence many of them have purchased eternall commendations The famous University of Paris and more especially the learned Sorbon have as it were set bounds and limits to the power of the Popes and made them know their duty they have sleighted their injust Buls and what by their consultations what by their appeales to future Councels they have preserved our liberties and priviledges entire even untill this instant I will not robbe the Clergy of France of the honour they have atchieved nor of the share which is due unto them in all these tropâees What though there were some of that ranke defective in their duty to their Prince out of a timorousnesse which they might have of being disobedient to him whom they accounted their spirituall Head yet there wanted not some of them who stood in little awe of his chafings and thundering The Prelates of France in the Synod of Rhemes held under Hugh Capet made a declaration that the Popes have nothing to doe to usurpe the power and authority of Kings Arnalt Bishop of Orleans maintained in that Synod that the Popes have no power at all over the Bishops of France so as to have any cognizance of cases belonging to them and hee declamed most stoutly against the avarice and corruption of the Court of Rome Gerbert Archbishop of Rhemes and afterwards Pope of Rome in an Epistle of his writ to Seguin Archbishop of Sens saith that Rome approveth such things as are condemned and condemneth such as are approved That saith he which wee say belongs onely to God the Apostle tells us If any preach unto you any other things than those ye have received though it be an Angell from heaven let him be accursed Must all Bishops burne incense to Iupiter because Pope Marcelline did so I dare boldly say if the Bishop of Rome have offended one of his brethrenâ and will not heare the admonitions of the Church he ought to be accounted as a Heathen and a Publican The Bishops of the Councell of Ments writ yet a little more tartly to Nicholas the first calling his fury tyrannicall his decree injust unreasonable and against the Canon lawes accusing him of rashnesse pride and cousenage and so giving him to know that he had no power over them and that he ought to acknowledge them for his brethren and fellow-Bishops Vrban the second forbade the Bishops of France to crowne Philip whom he had excommunicated but they were readier to obey their Kings commands than his prohibitions as we shall tell you anon The most of those oppositions made by our Kings whereof wee have spoken were abetted by the Prelates and other Ecclesiastiques These latter times afford us as pregnant examples as any of the precedent wherein we have seene the most learned and honourable Prelates of France banded together for the maintenance and defence of their King their rights and liberties of their Countrey and Church of France against a Gregory the fourteenth a Sixtus the fifth and such others as projected the demolition and utter ruine of this State It were too hard a taske to goe about to reckon up the words deeds and writings of the many Prelates and Churchmen of this Kingdome whereby they have many times repulsed the invasions of Rome 12 Suffice it us to say that in the greatest stormes God hath ever raised up men of courage and discretion as many yea more of that order than any other who have rung the alarum sounded the trumpet taken up armes and given our Kings to understand how farre they might exercise their power in spiritualls for the preservation of their rights and liberties 13 Nicholas the first in a Synod of his holden at Rome in the yeer 865. revoked the Decrees of the Councell of Ments pretending that it had attempted to make a divorce betwixt King Lotharius and Thiberg his wife promising withall that he should afterwards marry with Waldrada and this without the authority of the See Apostolique he also deprived of their dignities and excommunicated Theugot Archbishop of Triers and Gunther Archbishop of Cuââen and passed the same sentence of condemnation upon the rest of the Bishops of that Councell in case they did imitate and uphold the former Please you heare his owne words The sentence of deposition which we have denounced against the foresaid Theugot and Gunther and the other chapters made by us and the holy Councell shall be here inserted Yet for all these menaces they caused pretty stout letters to be writ to the Pope in the name of Theugot and Gunther whereby they shewed that they made no great reckoning of his thundering and condemnations though hee had given them a taste of a Councell We doe not receive said they that corrupt sentence which is far from any zeale of equitie injust unreasonable and against the Canon law But together with the whole assembly of our brethren we disregard and reject it as a matter unconscionable and full of wickednesse pronounced in vaine Nor will we communicate with thee who art a favourer of such as are anathematized and cast out despisers of holy Church and dost indeed hold communion with them But we content our selves with communion with the whole Church and that fraternall society which thou proudly misprizest in exalting thy selfe above it and excludest thy selfe from it making thy selfe unworthy of it by an over-haughty advancing thy selfe So that out of an inconsiderate lightnesse thou art strucke with an anathema
of incurring the curse of God and eternall damnation And presently after he addes Wherefore the Clergy doth most humbly beseech you that you would be pleased to ordaine that the decrees of the most sacred Councell of Trent may be generally published throughout your Dominions to be inviolably observed by them 6 Nicolas Angelier Bishop of Saint Brien made the like instance to the same King October the third 1579 in the name of the Clergy assembled at Melun Wee have saith hee earnestly desired and doe now desire more earnesty and will desire as long as we breath of God and you that the Councell of Trent may be published and the elections restored to Churches and Monasteries Which publication of the Councell is not desired by us that wee may thereby raise up you and other Catholick Princes in armes to spoile and butcher such as have stragled from the true Religion for wee desire not to reclaime and reduce them to the flock of Christ by force but by sound doctrine and the example of a good life For he we know came not into the world to destroy but to save the soules of all men for whom hee shed his precious bloud and if need so required we would not stick in imitation of him to lay downe our lives for the salvation of those poore misused soules But we desire that Councell may be published for the establishment and maintaining of a true sound entire and setled discipline which is so necessary and behoofefull for the Church 7 Iuly the seventeenth 1582 Renald of Beaune Lord Archbishop of Bourges and Primate of Aquitane delegat for the Clergy in this case spoke at Fountainbleau in this sort The whole Church Christian and Catholick assisted by the Legates and Ambassadours of the Emperour of this your kingdome and of all other Christian Kings Princes and Potentates did call assemble and celebrate the Councell of Trent where many good and wholesome constitutions usefull and necessary for the government of the Church and the house of God were ordained To which Councell all the Legats and Ambassadours did solemnly sweare in the behalfe of their masters to observe and keep and cause it to be inviolably kept by all their subjects yea even the Ambassadours of this your Kingdome solemnly tooke that oath Now it is received kept and observed by all Christian Catholick Kings and Potentates this Kingdome only excepted which hath hithertowards deferred the publication and receiving of it to the great scandall of the French nation and of the title of MOST CHRISTIAN wherewith your Majestie and your predecessors have been honoured So that under colour of some Articles touching the libertie of the Gallican Church which might bee mildly allayed by the permission of our holy father the Pope under scugge I say of this the staine and reproach of the crime of Schisme rests upon your kingdome amongst other Countries which signifies no lesse in Greeke then division and disunion a marke and signe quite contrary to Christianity and which your Majestie and your predecessors have ever abhorred and eschewed and when some difficulty was found about the receiving of some other Councells as that of Basil and others all was carried so gravely and wisely that both the honour and unity of the Church and also the rights of your crowne and dignity were maintained and preserved And this is the cause why the Clergy doth now againe most humbly desire your Majestie that you would be pleased to hearken to this publication and removing all rubs which are laid before you concerning it that you would with an honest and pious resolution make an end of all to the glory of God and the union of his Church 8 There was a Nuncio from the Pope who arrived in France in the beginning of the yeere 1583 who prosecuted this matter with a great deale of earnestnesse yet for all that he could not move Henry the third one jot who like a great statesman as he was perceived better then any other what prejudice that Councell might be unto him His majestie that now reignes was startled at that instance and afraid least that importunity should extort from him somewhat prejudiciall to France whereupon hee writ to the late King concerning it who made him this answer 9 Brother those that told you that I would cause the Councell of Trent to be published were not well informed of my intentions for I never so much as thought it Nay I know well how such publication would be prejudicall to my affaires And I am not a little jealous of the preservaton of my authoritie the priviledges of the Church of France and also of the observation of my edict of peace But it was only proposed unto me to cull out some certaine articles about Ecclesiasticall discipline for the reforming of such abuses as reigne in that State to the glory of God the edifying of my subjects and withall the discharge of my owne conscience A thing which never toucheth upon those rules which I have set downe in my edicts for the peace and tranquillitie of my Kingdome which I will have inviolably kept on both sides 10 November the nineteenth 1585 the same Bishop of Saint Brien delivered another oration in the name of the said Clergy and was their deputy whereby after he had commended the late King for his edict of Reunion and exhorted him to the execution of it and the reformation of Ecclesiasticks he addesâ This is the reason Sir why we so earnestly desire the publication of the holy Councell of Trent And above others my selfe have a more speciall command sâ to doe For that Councell hath not only cleeredâ resolved and determined those doctrines of the Church Catholick which were controverted by hereticks to the end that people might not waver and suffer themselves to bee carryed away with every wind of doctrine raised by the malice and cunning of men to circumvent and eâtice them into errourâ but also it hath most wisely counselled and ordained every thing which may seeme necessary for the reformation of the Church considering the exigency of these times 11 There was also another assault made upon him Oâtober the fourteenth 1585 by the Lord Bishop and Earle of Noyon in the name of the Clergy assembled in the Abbey of Saint German neer Paris which is more pressing than the former Wee present unto you saith he to the King a Booke which was found at the removing of the Churches treasures writ by the prudent and grave advice of the many learned and famous men assembled in the Councell of Trent guyded by the holy Ghost who with a great deale of travell paines and diligence have renewed the ancient ordinances of the Church which were most proper for our maladies and for those vices which at this present are most predominant in the State and withall have provided for those which being of no great standing amongst us had not any particular remedies assigned them The royall Priest hath put
from whom the appeal is made should be judge in the very case of appeal for our Doctours finde that the judge from whence an appeal is made may be refused in all other causes which concerne the appellant so long till the appeal be void CHAP. IV. That the reformation of the Pope was the thing in question IT is further alledged that Pope Adrian the sixth did freely confesse by the mouth of Francis Chregat Lord Bishop of Abruzzo his Legat at the Dyet of Noremberg 1522 that the See of Rome was corrupt and depraved and that the corruption of the Church was derived from the Popes wherefore he did promise they should have a free and generall Councell Now this acknowledgement doth disable him for being head of the Church This is further verified by his owne instructions given to his Legat where in the tenth article he saith thus 2 Wee know that within some yeeres agoe some abhominable things have crept into this holy See some abuses in matters spirituall some transgressions of Commissions and all out of order and it is no marvaile if the infection descended from the head to the members from the Pope to the under-Prelates Wee have all degenerated I meane we Ecclesiasticall Prelates we have gone astray out of the way there is not one that hath done good this long time no not one Wherefore for as much as concernes us you may assure your selves that we will take paines in the first place to reforme that Court from whence happily all this evill hath come to the end that as the corruption proceeded from thence to the inferiour orders so soundnesse and reformation may come thence also Which to doe we perceive our selves so deeply obliged that wee see the whole world call for a reformation Howbeit no man must admire if hee do not see an absolute reformation of all errours and abuses in an instant the malady is too far spread and too deep rooted Wee must goe step by step to the cure of it and hye âo such things as are of most importance and greatest danger for fear of putting all out of joynt by attempting to reforme all at once All suddaine changes are dangerous in a Common-wealth saith Aristotle and hee that wrings the nose hard brings forth bloud Marke here the words of that honest Adrian So that it hath been conceived the common voyce of Christendome for these two hundred yeeres almost that it was fitting there should bee a reformation in capite in membris both in the head and the members but the Popes wrought so well by their schismes shifts and tricks that the endevors of those that ingaged themselves herein were to no purpose and the Synods called about this were all to no effect and fruitlesse The Councell of Constance after the deposall of Pope Iohn the twenty third had made this good decree 3 That the new Pope who should be next chosen together with the Councell before he departed from thence should reforme the head of the Church and the Court of Rome about such articles as had beene put up by the people and nations But Pope Martin the fifth as soone as he was created did quickly shift himselfe from those who cryed so for a reformation and amongst others from the Emperour Sigismond who was more hot upon it than any else Platina gives the reason of that delaying A matter of that weight being finished as well as heart could wish by the travaile and endevour of all the Princes both Ecclesiasticall and Civill but especially of the Emperour Sigismond they begun to talke of the reformation of the manners both of the Laity and Clergy which were much debauched by overmuch licentiousnesse But because the Councell of Constance had continued foure yeeres already to the great incommodity both of the Churchmen and their Churches it seemed good to Martin with the consent of the Councell to defer a matter of such importance to a more convenient time For hee said the thing required maturity and deliberation seeing that in Hieroms opinion every country hath their severall customes and conditions which cannot bee removed on a sudden without disorder They have had leasure enough to thinke of it since for wee are yet consulting about it and nothing at all hath beene done besides 4 The acts of that very Councell and of that at Basil and others since give us sufficient proofe hereof who being not able to compasse this reformation put it off from hand to hand and commended it in succession one to another ordaining that the keeping of Councels should be every ten yeeres but so as the first should be within five yeers and the next within seven and this principally to provide for the reformation of the head and the members The second Pisan holden 1512 which was assembled for the same ends was so belaboured by Iulius the second and Leo the tenth that it was constrained to yeeld to their mercy and give place to the Lateran which was called for no other end but to countermine and disanull that other as is confessed by the historian of the Popes These good Fathers however they were for the most part French-men have left us in their acts a testimony worth our observance and that is that For many yeers there had not been any general Councels and if any were called as the first at Pisa and that at Constance Sene Basil and Florence yet the Church could not be reformed to the purpose by reason of those impediments and cavils which were procured thereupon which befell themselves also For Iulius the second and Leo the tenth had the wit to winne first Maximilian the Emperour and then the Cardinals that were at Pisa. King Lewes the 12 after the death of Iulius suffered himselfe to be led away with the blandishments of Pope Leo considering withall the danger whereinto the first had put both him and all the Kingdome of France against which he had procured the Kings of England and Spaine to take armes insomuch that renouncing the Concell of Pisa he acknowldged that of the Pope and caused certaine Ecclesiasticks of his Kingdome to doe as much But from that time till this we could never see this reformation for as for the Councels of Lateran and Trent they never cared for medling with it Which was worthily represented by Monsieur Arnald de Ferriers the French Ambassadour at the Councell of Trent in an Oration delivered by him September the 22. 1563 where he said That they had been entreating for a reformation of the Church in the head and members above 150 yeeres to no purpose and that in sundây Councels as those of Constance Basil Ferrara and the first at Trent and that the demands which were made in that of Constance by Iohn Gerson Chanceâour of the Vniversity of Paris in behalfe of the King of France may bee âead to this day as also those that were made in behalfe of the same Prince by M.
whither it was adjourned by reason of the plague was âo free place for them all Then hee prosecutes the narration of the âarman warres now lately begunne So then the Pope makes warre on the one side and keepes a Councell on the other this is truly and without a figure to beare St. Pauls sword and St. Peters keyes The first Session upon the first of May and the âecond upon the first of September 1559. were onely for Ladies for there was nothing done King Henry set forth an Edict at the same time dated the third of September in the same yeare containing a restraint of transporting gold and silver to Rome where he sets downe at large the occasiâns of the war of Parma begun by the Pope and amongst other things he saithâ Which holy father upon a suddaine fit of choler had caused a certaine company of men of warre both horse and foot to be levied and set forth and also enticed and perswaded the Emperour with whom we were in good termes of peace and amity to take armes to aid his forces in the designe of the recovery of Parma and after hee had harrased and laid waste all things wheresoever he pleased in the Countrey of Parma he caused his said forces to march towards the territories of Miâandula which hath for a long time even during the life of our late most honoured Lord and Father been in the knowne protection of the crowne of France which hee beleaguered using most incredible and inhumane cruelties towards the inhabitants of the said territory yea such as barbarians and infidels would not have used the like giving the world to know very stoutly that he meant them to us who have not deserved any such thing at his hands or the Holy See 6 There were six Sessions holden in the time of that waââe the two wee spoke of and foure more in two whereof the most materiall points of faith of manners and Church discipline were discussed and determined as those of the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist Transubstantiation the sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction as also about the jurisdiction of Bishops where many blowes were strucke at the liberties of our Gallicane Church and the rights of the Crowne Now the warre continued all the time of these Sessions without any intermission for there was no respit of peace save in May 1552. what time the said King put forth another Edict derogatory to the former whereby he licensed the transporting of gold and silver to Rome Wherein he saith Our holy father the Pope having now of late made knowne the love and affection which his Holinesse beares continually towards us by good and honest demonstrations c. But the Sessions we mentioned were ended before this for the fourth of them was upon the 25. of November 1551 and for the two following they did but bandy for balls in them for they treated of nothing but the safe conduct of Protestants aâd the suspension of the Councell Now the writing sent by the same Prince to all the States of the Empire February the third 1552. witnesseth that during those Sessions all was on a fire where after he hath laid downe the originall and progresse of the warre of Parma and laid the blame of it upon the Pope and the Emperour whom he impeacheth also of other things he profers his helpe and assistance to the Princes of the Empire We offer saith he of our free and princely pleasure meerly to deliver the German nation and the sacred Empire from that servitude wherein it now is to gaine thereby as Flaminius did in Grece an immortall name and everlasting renowne 7 From this time till the beginning of the yeare 1560. our Councell did starke nothing what time Pius the fourth so soone as he got into the chaire sent forth a declaration for the continuation of it against Easter day the next yeere this Bull was dated November the nineteenth or as some copies have it December the thirtieth 1560. The first Session was the eighteenth of Ianaury 1562. the last December the third 1563. during which time there was nothing but troubles and turmoiles in France so that those of the religion there have good reason to say that nothing could then be passed in the Councell to their prejudice they being debarred of the meanes of going thither It is plain first from the Edict of pacification in Ianuary 1561 that at the time of the calling it there was a great deale of stirre in France and that they had something else to thinke of than of making ready to goe to the Councell For it is said at the beginniâg thereof It is too well knowne what troubles and seditions have beene heretofore and are daily raised abetted and augmented in this Kingdome by reason of the badnesse of the times and the diversity of opinions in point of religion which now reigneth This Edict thus made for the good of the Country it was requisite to sue for the publication of it by reason of the difficulties raised against it by the Court of Parliament this hung on till the sixt of March in the same yeere what time the publication was made in some kinde by constraint witnesse those words Obeying herein the Kings pleasure without the approbation of the new religion and all by way of caution Yea more six dayes before upon the first of that moneth was the execution done at Vassy against them of the religion which impestered this Realme in more troubles than ever The Duke of Guise making his party the strongest at Court The Prince of Conde being retired to Orleans which they went about to reforme quickly after in April next So that King Charles set forth a declaration upon his former Edict where he saith towards the beginning Whence it is the more strange that some of them are now risen up in armes and have assembled themselves in great number as wee see in sundry places and namely in our City of Orleans under pretence of a certaine feare which they say they have least they should bee debarr'd the liberty of their conscience and the enjoying the benefit of our Edicts and ordinances in that behalfe 8 They had reason to be afraid lest their consciences should be rifled in such sort as were those of Vassy About the time of the first Session all was in an uproare in this Realme and there was nothing setled concerning the peace as may be gathered from an answere made by the Quâene mother to Mounsieur the Prince of Conde dated the 4. of May 1562 where amongst other things it is said In regard of the violence oppressions murthers and outrages committed since the edict and in despight of it both by the one side and the other her Majestie will cause such justice to be done and amends to be made as the case shall require both for publick satisfaction and also private to such as have received any wrong And also from an edict set forth by
consisting of Archbishops Bishops Chapters Abbats Deanes Provosts and other Ecclesiasticall persons together with Doctors of Law both divine and humane and other learned men of the Realme and also of the chiefe Lords of France and others of the Kings Councell about the receiving of the Councels of Constance and Basil. I say Synod for so it is called in the act of Appeal of the University of Paris A while after King Lewes the eleventh assembled a Councell of the Gallicane Church and all the Vniversities in the City of Orleans as well to understand the purport of the Pragmatique Sanction as to give direction for the annates of benefices saith the Author before alledged Before we leave France wee will set downe what an English Historian saith of the Councell of Rhemes holâen by Pope Eugenius the third ââ4â About that time saith he Eugenius Pope of Rome coming into France out of the affection hee bore to Ecclesiasticall discipline set up a generall Councell aâ Rhemes where he sitting with a great company of Bishops and Nobles there was a pestilent fellow brought before him who being possest with a devill had seduced a great many by his tricks and juglings 30 Spaine can furnish us also with such like examples and assure uâ that when it pleased their Kings even Lay men were admitted into theiâ Councels to have a deliberative voice there and to judge of matters 31 This may be collected from the sixth Councell of Toledo holden under King Chiutillaud and by his authority the yeere 654. where in the thirâ chapter we reade thus Wherefore we decree and denounce with heart and mouth this sentence pleasing to God conformable to our Kings and do furthermore ordain with the consent and advice of the Grandés and honourable persons of his Kingdome c. To the same effect we finde the eighth Councell of Toledo holden under King Recessuinth and by his command subscribed with the signes of fifteene of his Officers King Eringus caused divers of his Lords and officers of the Court to assist at the twelfth Councell of Toledo holden in the yeere 681â and ordained them for Iudges together with the Bishops to consult of such things as should bee handled there to all whom hee made this exhortation at the opening of the Councell I doe admonish and conjure you in commune both you holy fathers you right honourable of my royall Court whom we have chosen to assist in this holy Councell by the name of God and as you will answer at the dreadfull day of judgement that without all favour or acceptation of persons without any froward wrangling or âesire of perverting the truth you treat of such matters as shall be proâosed unto you with a sound examination and that you expresse them with a more sound judgement His subscription to the Acts of that Councell have these words Great good will accrue to our Realme and people if these decrees of the Acts of the Synod as they were made by our procurement so they bee confirmed by the oracle of our lasting law To the end that what the reverend Fathers and Lords have ordained by virtue of our command may be defendeâ by our Edict All his Courtiers and Officers are subsigned to the Acts of that Councell 32 The same forme was observed in England for in the yeere 905. King Edward and Plegmond Archbishop of Canterbury assembled a great Councell of Bishops Abbats and other faithfull people in the southerne parts of Englandâ saith Matthew Westminster 33 In the yeere 1150. King Stephen having done what hee would at Yorke and the adjoyning shires returned towards the southerne parts about the feast of Saint Michael th' Archangell to keepe a Councell at London together with the Bishops and Nobles of England both for the affaires of the Kingdome and of the Church of Yorke which was then vacant 34 The yeere 1170. at the request of the King of England two Cardinals Albert and Theodinus were sent into France from the See Apostolique who having called a great assembly of Ecclesiasticall persons and Noblemen within the territories of the King of England they solemnly admitted him to purge himselfe of the murther of Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury 35 In the yeere 1190. the Bishop of Ely Chancelour of England and Lieutenant generall of the Realme in the absence of King Richard the second who was then at the warre in the Holy Land called the Bishops and Lords of the Kingdome together And presenting them upon the suddaine with the inâstrument of his Legation hee openly declared himselfe with a great deale of pompe and insolency to be Legat oâ the See Apostolique 36 Come we backe to the Emperours there we have the example of Othâ the first who made up the Councell which he held at Rome for the condemnation of Pope Iohn of Ecclesiastiques and Lay men Of which ranke these are named by Luitprandus Of the Nobles Stephanus filius Iohannes superista Demetrius Meliosi Crescentius Caballi marmorei Iohannes Puisina Stephanus de Musa Theodorus de Rusina Iohannes de Primicerio Leo de Camurzuli Ricardus Petrus de Canaperia Benedictus Bulgaminus his sonne Of the communalty Peter Imperiola with all the Roman army And afterwards by their unanimous advice the Emperour pronounced the sentence of condemnation against Iohn and created Leo in his stead by the same advice 37 We have also the example of Henry the third Who saith Polanus having called a Councell at Worms consisting of foure and twenty Bishops and many of the Nobility he there commanded the decrees of Pope Gregory to bee disanulled 38 We may further alledge the example of Popes For Adrian did summon many Lay men to the Lateran Councell holden by him and Charles the great what time he caused him to bee proclaimed Emperour There was a holy Synod called saith a good Author by Pope Adrian of happy memory at the Palace of Lateran in the Church of St. Saviour which was most solemnly kept by fifty three Ecclesiasticall persons Bishops or Abbats together with âudges Magistrates and Doctors of Law from all parts and also personâ of all states and conditions of that City and all the Clergy of the holy Church of Rome Who made enquiry concerning the customes lawes and manners of that Church and Empire consulting also by what meanes heresies and seditions might be rooted oât of the Apostolique See and treating of the dignity of the Senate and Empire of Rome seeing that by reason of these thingâ a foule errour was spread over the whole world 39 In imitation of him Pope Leo did the like in another Councell at the Lateran under the Emperour Otho the first For as much as your âumility saith he doth humbly desire our Apostleship that dispatching the holy Synod assembled by your advice at the Patriarchall of the Lateâan in the Church of St. Saviour and consisting besides of Iudges and Doctors of
law wee would declare how we may live in peace and quiet 40 I am not ignorant that many examples may bee urged to the contraryâ and that in many Councels there were no Lay-men at all at least for ought we know I grant it but I would have it acknowledged withall that they might have beene there and that it belongs to Princes to admit Lay-men when they thinke good as Marsilius of Padua holds and we shall prove hereafter Neither will I maintaine that it is necessary they should alwayes be admitted but onely upon great occasions about some weighty matters and in case of urgent necessity When we speake of Lay-men we meane onely the learned not the ignorant for as for these whether Lay or Clergy they are good for nothing but to make up the tale and therefore have nothing to doe to goe there this is the opinion of Cardinall Cusanus There saith he where the sentence of definition goâs by plurality of voices and not by consent and unanimity it is good reason that discretion wisdome and authority should be considered that the judgement of fooles who are ever the greater number may not overbâare the opinioâs of the wiser sort So then we maintaine that the learned ought to bee admitted by a reason which is backed with authority and that is becaâse what concernes faith is a common case to Lay-men as well as Clergyâ and therefore when there is any controversie about it every man ought to deliver his opinion Pope Nicholas hath said as much in down-right termes Faith saith he is catholique and commune to all it belongs as well to Lay-men as Priests Yea to aââ Christians Hee speakes expressely of Lay-mens assisting at Councels whom he would have admitted when controversies of faith are handled 41 Let us apply this to our Councell of Trent There were deepe points of faith handled in many Articles of it therefore the lay-men should have been called and admitted and have delivered their opinions 42 Bellarmine shifts it off after his way when hee limits the admittance of Lay-men to Councels spoken of by Pope Nicholas to these ends onely that they may see and heare what passeth but not judge This glosse corrupts the text which speakes without distinction besides the cause being the same both in reâpect of Clergy-men and Lay the effect should likewise be the same 43 The second reason is the abuses which have been committed by these many ages in the disposall of Bishopricks and benefices whence the number of the learned Clergy hath beene more impared than it were to bee wished it had and is so at this day Marke what Marsilius of Padua said of it above three hundred yeers agoe Nowadayes saith hee by reason of the corruptâon which is crept into the regimânt of the Church the greater part of Priests and Bishops are but meanly skilled in holy Scripture and if I may lawfully say so this insufficiency comes by reason that some ambitious and covetous persons and Lawyers will needs purchase the temporall meanes of Church livings and doe so either by their services entreaties money or temporall power And God is my witnesse and the number of the faithfull that I remember and have seene many Priests Abbats and Ecclesiasticall Prelats so poorely learned that they were âot able so much as to speake true Latine Hence it follows that Lay men should be admitted into Councels considering withall that it was anciently accustomed At the most noted Councels saith he the Emperours and Empresses assisted with their officers for the resolving of Scripture doubts as appears by Isidores Code although there was no such necessity of calling in Lay men in those dayes as there is now by reason of the great number of Priests and Bishops which are ignorant of Gods Law 44 I doe not urge all these passages to offend the Ecclesiasticall order nor many learned Prelats now alive whom I much reverence for their learning and worth but only as suiting with the subject I have in hand I am certain they will in heart confesse what I say to be true That at this present there are some Ecclesiastiques which haue voices in Councels that are incapable of that priviledge And on the other side there have beene and yet are some Lay men of all sorts well skilled in Divinity however they make no profession of it Being then in the danger we are the fire being kindled through all parts of Christendome by reason of religion the Turks pressing so hard upon us that if God be not mercifull to us our slavery is not farre off Is it not reason to conferre about these differences with all sorts of people to the end that some remedy may be found out for them There was a poore ignoramus that puâled a great Philosopher at the Councell of Nice possible the like may befall us The opinion of one godly man ought to be preferred before the Popes if it be grounded upon better authorities of the Old and New Testament saith the Paâormitan Abbat Every learned man may and ought to withstand a whole Counâell if he perceive it erres of malice or ignorance saith Mr. Iohn Gerson But where and how I pray you if not in a Councell Or to speake more properly where can they doe it more fitly than in such an assembly and how should they doe it there if they be not admitted 45 It will be replyed that they may be allowed to come there but onely to consult and so they will expound most places out of Couuncels and ancient authors For example that which Socrates saith of the Councell of Nice There were present saith he many very learned Lay men and well skilled in disputations that which was ordained at the Councell of Toledo concerning the assistance of Lay men at Councels that which we find recorded of the sixth generall Councell at Constantinople and of the seventh generall which was the second Nicene Councell at both which in all of their Sessions diverse Senators and officers of the Emperour did assist that which Durand Bishop of Mande saith in his treatise of Councels that which the Abbat of Panormo in his allegations for the Councell of Basil Cardinall Turrecremata and Cardinall Iacobatius who admittes them in diverse cases and amongst others in this very case whereof we speake Yet for all that I cannot see what they can answer to Marsilius of Padua who allowes Lay men to be judges in Councels for he would have all countries in the world and famous commonwealths following the ordination of their humane law-giver to elect out of faithfull men first of Priests next of others provided they bee fit men of an honest life and well versed in Gods Lawes And as for the places before alledged let them say what they will it is plaine enough in most of them that Lay men were admitted into Councels to give voices and be partners in the judgement
Church of Rome against all sorts of men Besides it was very equitable that they should doe something for him considedering the benefit they received from him First it is to be considered that they were maintained there at his proper cost and charges which if it bee duely observed was no small matter to defray such a number of men for so many yeares Pope Pius saith Onuphius spent a great summe of money in the celebration of this Councel considering that he gave liberall allowances for diet and maintenance of the poore Bishops and Priests and to all the Officers of the Councell a thing which was anciently done by the Emperour 9 AS for this last we reade indeed that Constantine the Emperour feasted all the Bishops of the Councell of Nice that he bore their charges and gave presents to them as also he caused his officers to allow them the coaches and horses of the State to help them on their way The same Emperour sent the chiefe of his Court to Ierusalem to minister such things as the Bishops there assembled with their associates and all other necessitous people stood in need of And thus must wee understand that which Sozomen speakes of the expences of the Commonwealth upon the Bishops which were summoned to Synods for this must be referred to the Emperours Constantius commanded that the Bishops at the Councell of Ariminum should have their lodging and diet allowed but our Frenchmen were so scrupulous that they would not accept of it chusing rather to live sparingly upon their owne pittances than to feast it at the publique charges 10 It was good reason this charge should be transferred from the Emperours to the Popes since they pretend now adayes that the right of calling Councels and presiding in them belongs to them which was formerly the Emperors nay more since they have now ingrossed all the Imperiall power and dignity into their hands that so he that enjoyes the honour should also beare the chargâs Yet these are they that underwent this charge that they might thereby confirme their claime of presidency and convocation which was questioned and to winne a more favourable verdict from those Fathers If a Iudge may be refused by course of Law because he hath eaten or drunken with one of the parties much more may they bee that make themselves domestiques and pensioners as those Bishops did whose judgement is therefore lawfully rejected at this present 11 Pius the fourth did them yet another courtesie for by his Bull of the first of April 1561. hee exempted them from all paying of tenthes during the time of their abode at the Councell and it is furthermore probable that hee anointed them in the fist with some good fat Benefices at least the stoutest of them and those which did him the best service CHAP. X. That the number of Bishops there present was so small that it cannot be accounted Generall 1 LEt us here observe that the number of Bishops in this Councell was so small that it doth no way deserve the style of Generall and Oecumenicall In the first Session there were foure Archbishops twenty three Bishops the King of the Romanes Ambassadour the Captaine of the City of Trent five Generals of Orders and a few Doctors In the next there were five Bishops and three Abbats more In the third there was an eke of one Cardinall and two Bishops In the fourth they were in all nine Archbishops and forty three Bishops In the fifth there came in five Bishops more In the sixth there were fifty seven Archbishops and Bishops in all In the seventh three Bishops more In the eight fourty three Bishops and eight Archbishops and so on in the most of the rest except the last wherein the number was greater But what is this I pray in comparison of that of Nice where there were three hundred and eighteene Bishops Or that of Ephesus where there were two hundred that of Chalcedon where there were six hundred that of Constance three hundred that of Basil where were above foure hundred Bishops and others The first at Constantinople was the thinnest where there were onely a hundred and fifty Bishops but the reason of that was because at the same time there was another holden at Rome 2 We urge this of purpose that wee may serve our turne with that which Bellarmine sayes who would make us beleeve that the former Sessions of the Councell of Constance are null and invalid because that certaine schismaticall Bishops fell off there and were defaulty because they sided with the factions of the two schismaticall Popes these as hee saith made up two parts of the Church howbeit in those very Sessions there were present two hundred Bishops divers Cardinals the King of the Romanes in person and sundry Princes and Ambassadors Now by the same reason wee may lawfully say that the greatest part of the Church made default in this of Trent yea that it was no better than a Conventicle or at the best a National Councel And indeed if we throughly reade the acts of this Councel we shall find that the greatest part of the Bishops Ecclesiasticks that were there were either Italians or Spaniards and that there was but a very slender number of other nations and that especially towards the end In all the Sessions under Paul the third wee finde but two Frenchmen and in some none at all Insomuch as one of the Presidents of that Councell in a discourse of his in the last of those Sessions said That many Prelates are not yet come who wee know very well are upon their journey saith he and especially the devout and noble French Nation They were not onely not come but which is more they came not at all as appeares by the catalogue annexed after that same Session And after the death of Paul the third the Councell was forthwith broken up from the fourteenth of September 1547. till the first of May 1551. that it was set on foot againe and continued by virtue of the Bull of Iulius the third under whom were holden six Sessions and not a Frenchman assistant in any one of them as appeares by the same Acts. Thus it was at the time that Henry the second protested against the Councell and prohibited the Ecclesiastiques of his Realme to goe thither as shall be said hereafter 3 That Protestation may be seene in print bearing date in August 1551. out of which we have borrowed these words He protested as he may doe by law that being busied in great warres hee is not bound of necessity to send the Bishops of his Kingdome to the Councell of Trent inasmuch as they could not have free and safe accesse thither and because the Councell it selfe from which he was excluded against his will is such as was never reputed for a generall one of the whole Church but rather accounted a privy Councell invented not out of any desire of reforming discipline and restoring
wee must doe them right some other way The glossator of the Canon law decides the first point when hee saith That he which hath been lawfully obstinate that is against whom the formalities required in case of obstinacy have beene observed before a judge which is suspected and refuseable is not bound to send a proctour there to plead the causes of his suspition nay it is not necessary to protest but even eo ipsâ inasmuch as hee hath occasion to make refusall all the processe is avoidable The reason whereof in my opinion is because the judge that knowes himself to be suspected should have the modesty to refuse himselfe and not stay till it bee said unto him Forbear So the old Romans used to doe and it is the practice in France which hath been prescribed to us by our ordinances recusations have ever beene admitted with ease and oftentimes it hath been sufficient to sweare that the party refused was an injust Iudge without rendring any further reason It was to be wished that the Pope had asked his own conscience and examined whether he could be judge in the case in hand seeing that he was accused and taken for a party himselfe and he also presecuting the condemnation of his enemies those whom hee had pursued with fire and sword and condemned already by his Buls Which seeing he did not doe he is therefore the more refuseable and there is a flat nullity in all his proceedings 2 In the first place the Princes of Germany assembled with their Divines at Smalcald the yeere 1537 after they had proposed by the Vicechancelour of the Emperour Charles the fifth Matthias Held aââ declared the reasons that withheld them from repairing to the Councell they published a writing to that effect the contents whereof were that a Councell where the Pope and his adherents have the commanding power ought not to be holden legitimate That the power of judging belongs not onely to the Pope and the Bishops but to the Church wherein are comprehended Kings and other States That the Pope in this case is a party That it is not only his power and excesse which is called in question but his lawes and doctrine and he is accused of heresie and idolatry That he hath already condemned those whom he intends to judge in the Councell That the Convocation of it is not such as was promised it should bee namely in a place of freedome and safety and that in one or other of the Cities of Germany But because the author of this narration may be suspected by some I will produce his adversaries Pontanus speaking of this assembly saith that the Protestants after much deliberation made answer that they would never give way to the keeping of the Councell in Italy nor that the Pope and his confederate should be presidents of it That the Pope and his favourits should condemne their doctrine however sound That they would not submit themselves to his tyranny 3 Laurence Surius is yet more âull for speaking of that very assembly hee saith The twenty fourth of February all the confederates made answer at large which answere I would here set downe if it were to any purpose They talked much of the Councell which they would have to be free and that Luther forsooth and his companions should have as much power and authority in it if not more as the Pope of Rome although it bee directly against the customes of antiquity And this they said not without many bitter taunts of his Holynesse saying that he had broached and at that present defended a doctrine not only contrary to the word of God but also to the ancient Fathers and Councels And anon after The last of February the Protestants made answer at large to the points proposed by Held but I am loath to set them downe The summe of all that they said is in their answere to the Councell set forth by the Pope For they plead that the authority of judging belongs not only to the Pope the Bishops but also to the Church in which Kings and Princes are comprized They might as well say Hucksters Catchpols Druggists Apothecaries and such like As if it belonged to Lay men to a Cook or a Cowheard to intermeddle with the questions and decrees of the Church 4 Henry the eighth King of England although he was then a Catholique made the like protestation for heark what Surius saith of him About the same time the King of England set out a booke wherein he shewed the little account he made of the Pope of Rome and that he would neither come nor send his Ambassadors to the Councell which the Pope had called and hee ever and anon put in good store of jerkes at St. Peter Considering what we have heard from Surius that which Sleidan relates will not now be suspected 5 Presently after saith he the King of England put forth a book in the name of himselfe and the Lords of the Land wherein he complained that the Pope took upon him to call the Councell a thing not in his power to doe and that he called it then when there was open warre betwixt the Emperour and the French King Besides the City of Mantua where he appointed it should bee is no sure place for all parts nor yet convenient For his part he desired a Christian Councell but hee would not goe to the Popes nor yet send his Ambassadours for their common practice is in such assemblies to oppresse Christ and his truth for their owne advantage Nor hath he any thing to doe with the Bishop of Rome whose Edicts and commandements doe concerne him no more than any other Bishops The custome was to call Councels by the authority of the Emperour and Kings and it were fitting that custome were put ân ure againe especially in these times when the Pope hath so many vehement accusations laid against him And yet it would cost a man his life if any one shuold be so fool-hardy as to reprove him and accuse him to his face unlesse it were in a lawfull Councell Nor he nor his are secured by safe conduct and say he were there are such apparent dangers as it is not fitting hee should come there for it is no new thing with the Popes to breake promise and to staine and imbrue themselves with the bloud of innocents And however other men may safely go thither yet for his part he cannot and that for reasons wel known for the Pope layes snares for him and hates him mortally putting him out of favour with other Kingâ as much as he can and this for no other reason but because hee hath caât off his tyranny and withholden his Peter-pence which mads him so and the rather because hee is afraid lest other Kings by his example may ere long doâ the like At this instant the Councell is prorogued till the first of November without any mention where it shall be
kept and the fault is put upon the Prince of Mantua Is not this to gull the world the Prince of Mantua wrongs no body if he will not abandon his City to so great a multitude without a garrison but all the blame should be laid upon the Pope who doth not as yet goe roundly about the busiâesse but is ever a playing trickes and treacheries If he remove the Councell to another place he must take a City that belongs to some of his feudatary Princes or else one of his owne for he hath a goodly patrimony with many faire Cities gotten by his predecessors either by force or knavery and now kept by him by the bad title of coven and fraud Now seeing that almost every man of judgement doth despaire of ever seeing a true Councell hee thinkes it most fitting that every Magistrate reforme religion amongst his owne people If the Pope plead custome that will not serve the turne for as Saint Cyprian saith Custome without truth is but an inveterate and grounded errour Therefore this is his advice and this he thinkes the best course but if any know a better he will readily embrace it 6 Now the King of England never deserted these protestations and declarations much lesse the Protestants nay they repeated them divers times after and amongst the rest at an assembly at Wormes holden 1545. and another a Naumburg the yeere 1561 where an answer was given to the same effect to Pope Pius the fourth his Legats who came thither to summon them to appeare at the Councell 7 There were yet some other Protestations made against the Councell on the behalfe of our Kings Henry the second protested against the Pope and the Councell in the yeere 1551 saying amongst other things That the publication of it which was made regarded not the good of the Church Catholique but the commodity of some particulars That it seemed the Pope would exclude him from it That the beginning progresse and issue of his Holinesse designes did intimate as much That being imployed in the warre which hee had raised up against him he could not send the Bishops of his Kingdome thither seeing they could not have safe and free accesse and that neither he nor the people of France nor the Prelats and Ministers of the Gallicane Church will be bound to it hereafter 8 King Charles the ninth upon notice that all things went amisse in the Councell and that the demands of the Kings and Princes Catholique were not satisfied that the reformation was not applyed to such things as stood in need of it and were required to be reformed yea more that they intrenched upon the liberties of the Church of Franceâ and the rights of the Kingdome caused protestation to be made by his Ambassadours against the same Councell as appeares by the Oration made by M. Arnald de Ferriers the 22. of September 1563. where amongst other things after he hath laid downe many grievances he saith that according to the command of the most Christian King they were constrained Concilio intercedere ut nunc intercedebant to interpose in the Councell as they interposed Whereupon it is storied that a certaine Prelate of the Councell not well understanding the propriety of the word intercedere which the Tribunes were wont to use of old when they made their oppositions and hindrances asked his neighbour Pro quâ orat Rex Christianissimus What doth the most Christian King intercede for 9 But say the Pope and the rest that joyned in judgement with him were not to blame say they were competent Iudges such as could not be refused say the proceedings were lawfull yet still it was a juâgâment and sentence passed upon men in their absence so that the doore is open to all those that wil enter their plaint they may justly demand to beginne anew and that things be reduced to their first state A repeal may be had against a sentence given in case of contumacy onely paying the charges But for them I thinke the Pope that boâe them will never aske them againe and if hee should it is a question whether his demand were good or no for who bid him be at the charges he was not bound to it it is a liberality which he was willing to undergoe to shew his magnificence and in case he might redemand them hee must commence his action either against those whom he defrayed or against the Emperour who was anciently used to pay them and not against those who do now desire to justifie themselves seeing that according to the Decrees of Constancâ and Basil Generall Councels should be holden every ten yeeres 10 Let us proceed further and see if they could have any good grounds to demand that a second judgement might be had supposing they had appeared at the Councell and had audience there For this may be questioned in regard of the King of France who complaines now how hee was wronged in his rights and yet he had his Ambassadours resident at the Councell We say hee is nere the worse for all that considering that divers protestations were made against the Councell on both sides This we shall prove by some examples 11 We reade how the Donatists were many times condemned and that by many how the Emperour Constantine the Great yea the whole Church and the great Doctors of those times bore with them in their reciduations without ever troubling them with writs of rejection of their cause and other such shackles of law-formes They were first sentenced by Pope Miltiades and his Councell at Rome from which they appealing their cause was afterward examined at the Councell of Arles the Emperour Constantine the Great tooke the paines to heare them himselfe and yet after all this under the Emperour Honorius and by his command there was a generall conference of all the Bishops Catholiques and Donatists at Carthage in Africa Where it is to bee observed that the Catholiques desired that Conference so saith St. Austin who was one of the disputants The Emperours commission being read it was declared how the Catholiques had demanded the conference and that it was granted unto them 12 It is well knowne how many Councels were called and kept to convince the Arrians the first that was holden against them might have sufficed namely that of Nice considering the âame and worth of it and yet there was another Generall Councel holden at Sardis where the Emperours suffered them to dispute anew all that had been controverted and canvassed and especially of that holy faith and the integrity of that truth which they had violated so say the Fathers of that very Councell in a letter of theirs to Pope Iulius And after that there were yet two others called both at one time one at Ariminum of the Westerne Bishops the other at Seleucia of the Easterne where howbeit the Catholique Bishops were more in number than the Arrians yet they suffered themselves to be supplanted chiefly
is that none will beleeve it but he that hath seene it none will deny it but they that have not seene it 5 See you here what this excellent Devine speakes without any flattery but let us go to them of more antiquity and see how long it is since these complaints against the See of Rome begunne first to be made If wee beleeve the same author this complaint is pretty ancient and it is a long time since this reformation hath beene called for for see you what hee speakes of it in the sequele of the fore-cited passage I will omit the complaint which hath ever beene made thereof from age to age even from St. âeromes time 6 Nor will we take our rise so high but will insist upon these latter ages But here first I protest I have no purpose to discover the shame of that supreme See to expose her faults to derision and mockery but onely with intent to see them corrected and amended As also I declare that I meane not to enquire into the personall vices of the Popes for that would rather tend to calumny and injury than the end which I purpose but onely the abuses of the Popedome the maladies of the See the usurpations and over-bold attempts which have beene derived to their successors briefly no more but such vices as are become hereditary Which to compasse wee will beginne with the generall complaints that have beene made in divers ages and thence descend to particulars as from the bole to the branches speaking alwayes by another mans mouth unlesse it be when the connexion of places shal enforce us to contribute something of our owne 7 The Acts of the Councell of Rhemes holden under Hugh Capet the yeere 990. have these words Poore Rome what cleere lights of fathers hast thou brought forth in the time of our predecessours what horrible darknesse hast thou poured out upon our times which will redound to our shame and dishonour in future ages Hildebert Archbishop of Tours who lived about the yeere 1100. hath left us two pretty nipping verses against the Popes Rome to be masterlesse were well for thee Or some to have not void of honesty Saint Bernard who lived under the Emperour Conrade and Pope Eugeâius the fourth cryes out bitterly against the vices that were even then annexed to the Papacy as against ambition dominion pompe and vanity avarice jurisdiction over temporall goods against the abuses of dispensations indulgences appeals exemptions and such like wares wee will bring the places hereafter and dispose every one in due order That holy man is to bee commenâed for speaking so home of those abuses and that even while hee wrote to a Pope for which cause he is applauded by every one and with a certaine emulation cited in honourable termes by all those that lived after him 8 Marsilius of Padua who writ above three hundred yeeres agoe in the time of the Emperour Ludovicus Bavarus about the yeere 1320. hath spoken of the abuses of the Pope and the Court of Rome both in grosse and by retâile for in the 24. Chapter of the second part of his booke intitled Defensor pacis he saith That the body of the whole Church hath beene infected by that pleâitude of power which is allowed unto the Pope and he addes afterwards Let the faithfull cast their eyes that way those who have visited the Church of Rome which I might more truly call a shop of traffique an horrible den of theeves shall plainly see and those who were never theâe shall learne by the report of an infinite number of men of credit that it is become the receptacle of all rogues and rascals of truckers for all wares both spirituall and temporall for what is it else but a haven for Simoniacall persons who repaire thither from all quarters what else but a noise of Lawyers an assault of detractors a vâxation of honest men the justice of the innocent is there in hazard or else is so long deferred unlesse it be redeemed with money that being at length quite exhausted and wearied by infinite troubles they are enâorced to give over their just causes full of commiseration For there the lawes of men doe ring again but Gods lawes are either quite dumb or at least very rarely understood There is nothing but plots and projects how to seise upon Christian countries to win them by force of armes and wrest them out of the hands of such to whom they doe of right appertaine No further care no consultation ever about the conquering of soules Besides no order dwels there but a perpetuall horrour 9 In the eleventh Chapter of the same Booke hee makes along discourse of the robberies of the Popes and the Court of Rome of their Simony luxury sensuality vanity desire of domineering and of invading Lordships and Principalities and in an infinite company of places hee shewes the injust power which the Popes arrogate unto themselves over matters both spirituall and temporall and the meanes they used to usurpe it some passages whereof wee shall elsewhere relate This great divine was not moved to write these things by any hatred or discontent towards the Popes but onely by a just obligation to defend the Emperour Ludovicus Bavarus who was injustly excommunicate 10 A little before this devine put forth that Booke to wit in the yeer 1310 William Durant Bishop of Menda in Languedoc being summoned by Clement the fifth to the general Councel at Vienna to come and see what was fitting to be reformed in the Church made a book De Conciliis towards the beginning whereof he saith It seemes to bee a thing considerable that it is most expedient necessary that before any thing else wee should proceed to the correction and reformation of such things as ought to be corrected and reformed in the Church of God as well in the head as in the members And in the first Chapter of the third Book Certes as concerning the reformation of the Catholique Church to bring it about profitably with perseverance and effectually it seemes expedient that it begin at the head that is at the holy Church of Rome which is the head of all others Then hee sets downe in particular such things as stood in need of reformation representing a good many abuses of the See of Rome that deserved to be corrected But for all his learned discourse there was nothing done about them in that Councell witnes the Bishop of Panormo in his advice touching the Councell of Basil. This decree concerneth the estate generall of the Church and the matters belong to a generall reformation which may be hindred by a dissolution as it was by the dissolution of the Councell of Vienna 11 Nicholas of Pibrac who lived about the yeere 1290 tels strange stories both of the Pope and his Court in his booke called Occultus which I will not here insert And he afterwards addes Dites au Pape je vous prie Que
are exacted without delay yea not only those annates that were granted by Princes for three yeers in the time of Pope Calixt the third are yet in force but are enhansed dayly pressing and oppressing more grieuously than âver And if the Princes doe not take an order with it all the gold and silver raked and squeazed out of Germany will be carried to Rome at time and time as into an holed sacke and an insatiat gulfe the dismembring of monasteries and chopping of Churches are allowed against all right and reason the government and administration of Churches are not bestowed on those that deserve bestâ but those that bid most the elections made by Bishops are commonly rejected and devolved to them of Rome great store of money is exacted and extorted for the purchase of Bishops pals to the detriment of the Churches At last he makes this Epilogue By reason of the foresaid grievances and such like as proceed from the Court of Rome there growes nothing but ruines destructions and miseries over all Christândome Conclude wee then that there was good reason why the Emperour the King of France and the States of Germany demanded this reformation of the Head and Court of Rome and no reason why it was denyed This is not all wee must now see in particular where in this reformation conâists at least for the maine heads of it and shew in particular the abuses that are to bee corrected and the plaints that were put up against them CHAP. III. Of the Popes too great care about temporall meanes and of their greedinesse in getting them 1 THe first thing that ought to bee reformed in the Church of Rome is the over-great care which the Popes take of temporall things now-adayes and the trick they have got of raking up goods revenues and riches together of setting their hearts wholly upon them with an ardent and inordinate desire yea so far as they forget spiritual matters and set light by them AEneas Sylvius who was afterwards Pope Pius the second makes the president of the Councell of Basil speake in this manner This decree was necessary to divert the minds of the Popes a little from the care of temporall things seeing they never thought of spirituall He speaks of that decree whereby the Popes power was abated and made subject to the power of a Councell But they knew well enough how to take order with it afterwards by meanes of the Councels of Lateran and Trent who have given them the upper hand and shamefully sold the liberty of the Church 2 Cardinal Cusan speaks of this matter more at large The Pope saith he hath hooked unto himself so much money by investitures that they complaine generally in Germany not that they are over-charged but that they are quite broke and utterly undone there is a raging appetite after the temporall meanes annexed to Churches which possesseth the hearts of our ambitious Bishops now adayes so as wee see them commit that openly after their promotion which they laboured for underhand before All the care is of the temporall none of the spirituall That was not the meaning of the Emperours they never intended that the spirituals should bee swallowed up by the temporals which were bestowed on Churches for their augmentation And presently after The Court ingrosseth unto it selfe all the best and the fattest and that which the Empire hath set apart and ordained onely for the service of God and the publique good by pretended reasons and new inventions is diverted another way since lust and avarice have so seized upon it that what was Imperiall is now made Papall and the spiritual temporall 3 Theodorie of Nihem in his third booke De Schismate speaking of the large revenues which the Emperours had bestowed upon the Popes saith What comes there of all this pompe of so much temporall meanes wherein the Church of Rome prides her selfe in these times but a neglect of spirituall matters a setting up of tyrants over them a many divisions and schismes in that Church and many other malladies This is well enough knowne 4 Mr. Iohn Gerson in his book De Ecclesiastica Potestate after he hath spoken of divers abuses of the Popes he addes What shall we thinke is to bee said of an infinite number of such like things that are done casting aside all care and regard of all spirituall and divine matters which concerne the Christian faith and religion 5 It is a wonder to thinke whither the ardent desire of getting hath transported them They have not spared Gods service and all that depends upon it to attaine their ends to become rich and make themselves great Lords They have spared neither Croisada's excommunications nor any thing that is most holy and sacred which they have not made stales to their avarice luxurie and ambition not without treason against the Divine Majesty We speak too much hereof of our selves although we doe not say all let us give place to our witnesses to speake who wee desire may beleeved and not our bare word In the first place let us produce those that testifie the setting to sale of spirituall and holy things which is practised at Rome We will marshall the Popes owne domestiques in the front See what is said to this purpose in an addition to the Canon Law taken out of Iohannes Andraeas and inserted in the glosse The same Iohn the Monk said that Rome being founded by robbers doth yet retaine her first originall being called Roma quasi rodens manûs because she corrodes the hands and he added that verse Roma manus rodit Quos rodere non valet odit The hands Rome grates Or if not so she hates The elegance of the French complies with the Latine Iames Fontanus puts this other in the margent borrowed from the glossator of the Civill Law Rome is the fountaine head of avarice And therefore all things there are at a price Gregory the thirteenth hath expunged all these additions in his new purgation of the Canon Law It were fitting that covetousnesse were blotted out of their hearts not their books Avery of Rosate an ancient commentatour of the Law mentions the forecited verse and puts this other to it Dante 's custodit Non dantes spernit odit The givers it protects The rest hates and neglects 5 AEnaeas Sylvius before he was Pope writ to a brother to his There is not any thing which the Court of Rome bestowes without money even the imposition of hands and the gifts of the Holy Ghost are set to sale there no remission of sins but to such as have money Pope Honorius the third in his letters to the Clergy of England doth freely confesse the villanie of his Court but to a pretty purpose I trow mark what the English Monks say of it And though the Popes Nuncio did publiquely rehearse before them all the letters wherein the same Pope did alledge the scandall and old reproach
hundred and nine hundred for St. Pharon of Meaux So likewise of graces expectative they tooke two parts or the thirds and more than ever was accustomed 10 This open Simony like a poyson which hath gotten to the heart hath occasioned many complaints and groanes Marsilius of Padua saith By the same power he reserves unto himselfe the rent and revenues in all places whatsoever of all benefices for the first yeer of their vacancy ingrossing to himself by that means all the treasures in the world wiping all Kingdomes and provinces of them 11 The Bishop oâ Menda in the reformation which he proposed to the Councell of Vienna saith The Court of Rome and the Colledge of Cardinals together with the Pope would have a certaine allowance of all Bishops that are preferred there it seemes very requisite that this were taken order with For this heresie doth much corrupt the Catholique Church and the common people and the remedies which have beene applyed hitherto are quite disrespected inasmuch that the contrary is usually practised in the Court of Rome as if it were no sinne at all to commit Simony or if it were not all one to give first and then take as first to take and then to give The thing was taken into consideration at the Councell of Vienna so as they were once advised to allow the twentith part of all livings in Christendome to the Pope and his Cardinals but at last it was shifted off without resolving upon any thingâ A Doctour of the Canon law saith it was better for that because their covetousnesse is so insatiable that if that had beene resolved upon they would have taken both 12 Cardinall Cusanus desired the very same reformation at the Councell of Basil The world cryes out saith he of the gettings of the Court of Rome if Simony in its kind be an heresie then sure it is a sacriledge to oppresse inferiour Churches If he that doth such things according to the Apostle be an idolater it will be very necessary by way of reformation to take away all these and such like gaines especially because the Catholique Church is scandalized for this covetousnesse of her governours and the Church of Rome more than other Churches Wherefore it is expedient in this holy reforming Councell to remove that especially which is so opposite to Gods Lawes so prejudiciall to souls and so scandalous to the whole Church that all things be done gratis in the Church of Rome and other Metropolitan Churches 13 Nicholas Clemangius in his booke De ruina reparatione Ecclesiae saith The Popes over and above the former charges have laid other tasks upon Churches and Ecclesiasticall persons to fortifie and maintaine their Chamber or rather their Charybdis For they have made a Law that as oft as any Ecclesiasticall person dyeth of what dignity or condition soever he bee or exchangeth his benefice with any other whatsoever their chamber shall receive all the fruits and revenues for the first yeere next insuing rated at a certaine summe according to their good will and pleasure Which exaction and divers others by him reckoned up there he blames and condemnes 14 The Glosser upon the pragmatique sanction saith That Boniface the 9 was the first that extended the use of annates to all Churches contrary to the equities of all Lawes divine and humane And he afterwards adds What are they that give and receive annates but the buyers and sellers of the Temple cast forth by Christ 15 Theodorick de Nihem upon the tract De privilegiis juribus imperii saith There is no reason why the Pope and the Cardinals should not prefer other men to Bishopriques Monasteries and other Ecclesiasticall dignities gratis and freely without any intervention of money promise or compact whatsoever But if it be said that the Pope is the generall steward of all Bishopriques Monasteries and other Ecclesiasticall preferments and of all the goods that belong unto them howbeit no such thing can be proved out of the Gospel the holy Scripture nor by the testimony of the Saints yet we must beleeve and maintain that this jurisdiction reacheth no further than to the giving unto discreet and faithfull Popes and Cardinals the power of disposing Ecclesiasticall benefices dignities and other meanes to distribute and bestow them freely as they have freely received them upon serviceable and deserving men And a little after Besides hence it is that they never regard the will of God nor the benefit of the people committed to their charge but their own gain as many good Devines say Hence have risen every where some great errours in Christendome and grievous defamations against the Court of Rome which is also drawn into an example by others 16 He addes yet further What then if hee that hath the power of preferring make a law which is the case in hand that he which will be preferred to such a dignity shall pay before his preferment one full yeeres value of that dignity Many great Devines are of opinion that it is a heresie to hold and maintaine that such a law may be observed without mortall sinne because the inferiour cannot abrogate the law of the superiour and hee can make no such law of himselfe how great soever his state and glory be And anon Whence then comes this power of making and observing this law Ye may say that it is abusively by the divels suggestion which haunt them that buy and sell holy Orders which obtaine by Simony Bishopriques Prebends Curates c. 17 In another place he saith thus Simony is alwayes excepted in the bestowing of Bishopriques and supreme Sees which if so why was it brought up by the Church of Rome and the Churchmen thereof to wit the Pope and the Cardinals who were then at Avinion that those who should be preferred by them to any Archbishopriques Bishopriques or Abbeys should compound with the chamber Apostolique and for the ordinary service of the Lord Cardinals otherwise none should be preferred or created Bishop from thenceforth unlesse hee either paid or entred bond for the payment of so much upon most damnable forfeitures 18 The Authour of the booke intitled De privilegiis juribus Imperii which is very ancient shewes that these annates were never exacted by the Emperours when they bestowed investitures and hee takes offence at the Popes using them We never read saith he nor is it credible that the Emperour Otho did ever either demand or receieve by himselfe or by any other the fruits of one whole yeere no nor of halfe a yeere for any Church Monastery or Ecclesiasticall dignity which he bestowed upon any man for a title Why then is the contrary pactised by some Ecclesiastiques It is a strange thing And perhaps by reason of the excesse herein or because no regard is had to the ancient laudable customes which have beene left by the holy Fathers to the Church militant the covetousnesse of the times
keeping it so close it appears more in deed that in writing in what sort the Catholique faith prospers by this meanes 19 Gregory of Haymburgh a German Lawyer who lived in the time of the Councell of Basil complaines likewise of these Annates and other exactions of the Pope upon benefices and Ecclesiasticall preferments The Empire saith he being thus divided or vacant they proceeded further reserving to themselves all advowsons and dignities how Canonically soever disposed of yea and the presentations to benefices surcharging withall the Bishopriques and other livings with Annates and other Symoniacall exactions for investiture into these livings that otherwise belonged to the Empire that the Popes by this meanes might squeaze all the treasures of the world as if they were not content to have usurped the Empire It was one of the Articles proposed by all the Nations of Christendome at the Councell of Constance there to bee reformed conceived in these terms Of Annates and petty services And indeed there was a mighty bickering about it betwixt the Cardinals who opposed the proposall and the French who did earnestly sollicite the contrary as appeares by the answere of our French men printed amongst the works of Nicholas de Clemangiis but at last the Cardinals by meanes of their shiftings and put-offes got the victory insomuch that there was nothing done in it 20 Albert Crants a German Historian and Devine in his book called Wandalia speaking of a tenth which Pope Paul the second would have laid upon Germany for making war against the Turke saith That the Archbishops of the Rhene were scarce willing to give way to this imposition because the Pope received the first fruits which was a great pressure to Germany and all saith he that the Cardinals may have to feed their beasts Volaterranus speaking of Rome in the 30 book of his commentaries dedicated by him to Pope Iulius the 2 saith That livings are there bestowed for wages and the spirituall treasure is made a merchandise 21 There is an arrest of the Parliament of Paris dated the 11 of September 1406 wherein it is said That Pope Benet and his officers should from thenceforth give over and abstaine from the exaction of Annates in this Kingdome of France and the Countrey of Daulphiny The Councell of Basil made also a very remarkable Decree hereabout in the 21 Session The holy Councell ordaineth that from this time forwards there shall bee nothing exacted either in the Court of Rome or else where for letters Buls seals Annates common and petty services first-fruits or any other title name or colour whatsoever for confirmations of elections admission of requests provisoes of presentations nor for any collation deposition election demand or presentation to bee made even by Lay men Nor for institution installation and investiture in Churches even Cathedrall and Metropolitan Monasteries dignities benefices and other Ecclesiasticall offices whatsoever Nor for Orders nor the sacred benediction nor for the Pall. This same decree was in expresse words inserted in the Pragmatique âanction and confirmed by it Wee may take notice by the way of the prohibition made by the Councell and the Pragmatique sanction against the Popes that they should not take any thing for the mantle or Pall which they were wont to sell to Archbishops and Metropolitans at a good round price as they did also afterwards notwithstanding these decrees as appears by the complaint which Langius maketh against Leo the 10 A great summe of money saith he is extorted for the purchase of Bishops Palls to the detriment of Churches against the constitution of the holy Councell of Basil which ordained that nothing should bee paied for the Pall nor for the confirmation or obtaining of other offices But to returne to Annates 22 It may seeme that the Bull of Pope Leo the 10 added at the end of the Concordate and confirmed by the letters patents of King Francis the first hath derogated from the Pragmatique sanction But that Bull was never received and approved in France as M. Peter Rebuffus doth testifie This constitution saith hee as being about a money matter was never received by the inhabitants of this Kingdome Nor is it comprehended within the Concordate nor the Kings declaration concerning it verified in the Court of Parliament And indeed all such Annates are expresly prohibited in the second Article of the Decree at Orleans Vpon the remonstrance and request of the delegates of the said States to the end that for the time to come no money for vacancy nor Annate be payed for the grant of Archbishopriques Bishopriques Abbeyes or other benefices that concerne the Consistory we have determined to conferre and treat more largely hereabout with the Commissioners of our holy Father the Pope and in the meane time by the advice of our Councell and according to decrees of the sacred Synods and ancient Statutes of the Kings our predecessours and the arrests of our Courts of Parliament we do ordaine that all transportation of gold or silver out of our Kingdome and all payment of money under colour of Annate Vacance-money or otherwise shall be left off and surcease under paine of paying foure-fold to all such as doe contrary to this present decree But afterwards the execution of this decree was suspended by the letters patents of the same Prince dated the 10 of Ianuary 1562 procured by the earnest entreaty of the Cardinall of Ferrara and Annates were tolerated in this Realme by reason that the Pope assured the King hee would take order for a reformation herein as appeares by the contents of the said letters which run thus 23 Charles c. Whereas at our comming to the Crowne at the request of the three estates of our Kingdome holden in the City of Orleans by the advice of the Princes of our bloud and other great eminent persons of our privy Councell we commanded our subjects that they should not transport or carry any more money out of our said Realme under colour and pretence of Annates and Vacants and made other prohibitions concerning the obtaining of benefices by anticipation devolution dispensation or such like meanes of dispatch sent out of the Court of Rome as is specified in the copy of the Ordinances aforesaid in the second fourth and twenty second Articles Which prohibitions were published in our Court of Parliament and other the jurisdictions of our said Kingdome whereof complaint and remonstrance hath beene made unto us by our deaâly and welbeloved Cozen the Cardinall of Ferrara Legate in France who hath entreated us to restore the things aforesaid unto that state wherein they were before the said Ordinance of Orleans We declare that we desire to render all honour and filial devotion to our Holy Father and out of the great confidence we have that his Holynesse will looke to provide and speedily to take order as need requires that the matters aforesaid may be reformed as
word The execution whereof ensued as rigorous as ever For one Mr. Otho who was sent as Legat upon that occasion did not spare excommunications causing besides certaine great summes of money to be levyed for the defraying of his charges because as he said in this commission hee was not bound to make war at his owne charges Mean while the Legat not forgetting himselfe did not neglect to extort both money and meanes for himselfe for compelling every one to pay him procurations he sent certaine rigorous injunctions to the Bishops and Archdeacons to this effect He afterwards demanded the fifth part of all the goods and spirituall revenues of the Clergy men aliens who had any preferments in England whereof there were then good store and from them hee proceeded to the rest and all to make warre against the Emperour Frederick And whereas divers were marked out for that beyond-sea voyage hee dispatched a pretty commission to his Legat to absolve them of their vow and to exact of them certaine great sums of money All these evils were occasioned mainly by the softnesse of King Henry the third who when it was asked by his subjects Why he would suffer England considering the large priviledges thereof like a Vineyard without a wallâ to ly open to the prey and desolation of passengers He replyed â neither will nor dare contradict the Pope in any thing 28 Nor is here an end For about that time saith the same Authour there came into England a new way of exaction most execrable and unheard of in any age For our holy Father the Popeâ sent a certaine exacter into England Peter Rubeus by name who was instructed to wipe the poore English of an infinite masse of money by a new invented mouse-trap trick For hee came into the Chapters of the Religious cozening and compelling them first to promise and then to pay after the example of other Prelates whom he lyingly affirmed to have payed already For he said Such and such a Bishop such and such an Abbat have already freely contributed why doe you slowbacks delay so long that you may loose your thanks with your courtesie Besides this cheater caused them to sweare not to reveal the manner of this exaction to any till halfe a yeere after like robbers who compell those they rob to promise that they will not speake of it But though men should be silent the very stones out of the Churches would cry out against such rake-hells This fit of the fever descended like an hereditary disease upon his successours Innocent the fourth knew well enough how to husband such a fertile field but so as he made all England cry out of him who brought their complaints as far as the Councell at Lyons in the yeere 1245 then and there demanding for justice and reliefe against these tyrannicall exactions and that even before the Popes nose who was there in person who as the Historians say casting his eyes downe for shame durst not say mum And for the Councell which regarded nothing but the Popes pleasure it was deafe on that eare The same complaint was afterwards put up in a Parliament in England by King Henry himselfe who begun to meane himselfe where these Articles were exhibited amongst others The Kingdome of England is grieved inasmuch as the Lord Pope is not content with the subsidy of Peter pence but doth extort a grievous contribution of the whole Clergy of Englandâ and intends to extort far greater yet and this he doth without the assent or consent of the King against the ancient customesâ liberties and lawes of the Kingdome and against the appeall and protestation made by the Proctours of the King and Kingdome in the generall Councell 29 This Parliament used so much respect to the Pope as to content themselves with sending some soothing letters to him thinking to soften his heart with the relation of their miseries but this was all in vaine for the grievance grew daily greater and greater and indeed you may observe a new kind of extortion whereof complaint was made to King Henry There were lately brought certaine letters from the See Apostolique containing no little prejudice against the King and Kingdome to witâ that the Bishops should maintaine some ten men of war well provided of horse and armour some five some fifteene to send over to the Pope for the service of the Church for the space of one whole yeere to be paid by the Bishops of England and imployed where the Pope should thinke expedient which Knights service is not due save only to the King and Princes of the Realme c. A little after The Pope taking courage to trample under-feet the poor English as the same Historian cals them and in trampling to impoverish them commanded the Bishops of England with more imperiousnesse than was usuall that all the beneficed men in England should contribute unto him to wit such as were resident the third part of their goods and the rest halfe adding withall some very hard conditions He sent to one M. Iohn his Legat that if any Bishop should make dainty of paying the subsidies which he demanded under colour of exemption that he should sesse them deeper Another English Historian speaks thus of this matter By reason of these and such like oppressions there was a great murmuring both amongst the Clergy and people insomuch that whatsoever was contributed was given with imprecations or to speake more properly and not conceall the truth with down-right cursings putting the Pope in minde of their grievances with a complaint proceeding from the bottome of their hearts and setting before him their insupportable oppressions And he afterwards addes these grievances The Church of England is intolerably vexed with infinite charges in the tenth of all their goods in the hastening of reliefes in the money levied for Souldiers in the subsidies divers times exacted by Otho the Legat in the paying of 6000 Marks in the twentieth part of their three yeeres revenues in the subsidie of the Roman Empire in the subsidie granted freely 30 Matthew Paris sets downe an infinite company of other barbarous exactions saying The charges were marvelously increased with a great deal of overplus and flowed day by day from the Court of Rome over the miserable Kingdome of England besides the burthen and unwonted slavery insomuch that the Bishops were debarred from the bestowing of their benefices till they had discharged these exactions and yet the pusillanimity of the King never contradicted it Horrible burthens and unheard of oppressions did spring up daily Wee have thought fit to insert in this booke not all the charges for that would be a very hard thing nay altogether impossible to set downe but onely some few to the end that such as read them may bee sorry for them and pray to God that we may be one day freed from them We should spend too much paper in setting downe all which is
were true which the Pope alledged or no providing that in imitation of the Kings of Spaine the Clergy did not meet to determine such controversies elsewhere than in the Kings Court. On the other side he writ to Arteaga his Proctour at Rome to goe and greet the Pope with all reverence and offer unto him in his name not only the tenths of his Dioces but even all the commodity all the moveables of the Churches all the gold and silver coyned or uncoyned which could be found in the Priests coffers and the Chappels and Churches but that he should earnestly intreat him withall openly to declare his purpose and resolution concerning the preparation of the Holy Warre For he would never be a meanes to make the Spanish Clergy tributary whom hee had appeased having been already in some commotion without very just cause He injoyned his Proctour also to inquire diligently what was the determination of the Councell of Lateran concerning those tenths Arteaga having informed the Pope of these things together with Lawrence Putius and Iulius de Medicis Cardinals the Popes privado's they made him answer in this sort That the Pope had not as yet imposed any tenth upon the Clergy neither by authority of the Councell nor otherwise Nor would he impose any but in case of extremity and when his affaires did not only require but compell him so to doe according to the last Decree of the Councell of Lateran But he laid the blame upon Iohn Ruffus Archbishop of Cosenza the Popes Nuncio in Spaine who had as they said divulged these things very iudiscreetly Wherefore the Clergy of Spaine might sleep secure for ought that concerned the paying of tenths And there was besides a Bull of the Popes shewed to the Proctour which was shortly to bee published which concerned the Act of the Lateran Councell Yet Ximenius so soone as hee understood all these passages from Arteaga did not let for all that to call the Clergy together who met all at Madrid a little before hee went to Tourverte For Peter Martyr who was present at that Synod as Proctour of the Church of Granada as appeares by his epistles declares how that it was adjudged by common consent to deny that tenth which consultation was commended by the Archbishop of Toledo promising to patronize and defend it if need required It is also plaine out of the Epistles of Bembus set out under the name of Leo that this tenth was really exacted and that it was no flying rumour or opinion But as I thinke in Italy only or other of the Popes dominions CHAP. VI. Of other demandes concerning the abuses of the Court of Rome 1 COnsequently to what we have already delivered in the former Chapters concerning the greedinesse and insatiable desire of the Court of Rome we will set downe this certaine complaints and demands exhibited by the States of Germany in this behalfe The first whereof shall be against the proviso's and clauses made at Rome concerning all maner of benefices to the defeating of the Patrons both Ecclesiasticall and Lay of their right of advowson by divers subtle fetches And all this for the great wealth the Court of Rome gaines by this meanes and which is brought in thither out of all the Kingdomes and Provinces in Christendome This demand deserved to have beene well considered of yet it was not it is attended with many grievous complaints hereof made in divers ages The Statutes of our Kings speake throughly of it and amongst others that of Charles the eighth of the 18 of February 1406 the words whereof are these Some yeers agoe the Popes of Rome in despite and contempt of the Decrees of ancient Fathers and Generall Councels have brought all Ecclesiastical dignities Cathedral and Collegiate under their disposall and all others of greatest value next after Bishopriques they have granted livings in reversions upon the Vacancie to any that would sue for them which hath beene an occasion for one to thirst after the death of another They have invented abundance of tricks whereby they have utterly annihilated the power and authority of the Bishops Chapters and Colledges insomuch that there is none now that hath the power to present to a living 2 S. Bernard toucheth this abuse to the quick in his books De Consideratione which he dedicâtes to Pope Eugenius Never tell mee of the words of the Apostles who saith Being freeâ I am made the servant of all The case is far otherwise with you for to my knowledge there come unto you from all parts of the world ambitious people covetous Symoniacall sacrilegious adulterous incestuous and such like monsters of men to obtaine or retaine Ecclesiasticall dignities by your Apostolique authoritie c. 3 The Bishop of Mende put up this abuse in the Councell of Vienna to bee reformed For after he had said that every Bishops jurisdiction ought to be preserved intire to himselfe he addes That Ecclesiasticall benefices which belong to the collation and disposall of Bishops are bestowed by the Sâe Apostolique and others even before they be void and that not only in the Court of Rome but out of it howbeit the Bishops must give an account of the cure and of those that execute them whose consciences they are utterly ignorant of in asmuch as they are none of their preferring He would never have demanded the reformation hereof unlesse the abuse had beene notorious 4 Marsilius of Padua his contemporaây tels us as much The Bishops of Rome saith he reserve unto their owne power immediatly the bestowing almost of al Ecclesiastical Preferments yea even unto the meanest basest oââices yea of such as may agree to meere Lay men for any thing that concernes Churches by meanes of which reservation they abrogate and make void all elections how legally soever they were made though of approved and sufficient men 5 The Cardinall of Cambray puts this also amongst those things which ought to be reformed in the Church It is further expedient saith he to provide against certaine grievances which are offered to other Prelates and Churches by the Church of Rome namely about bestowing of livings and election of dignities Nicholas de Clemangiis makes a very bitter complaint against it in his Book De ruina reparatione Ecclesiae where speaking of the Popes he saith They have arrogated unto themselves the right of disposing of all Churches in all places as farre as Christian Religion reacheth of all Bishopriques and dignities which are conferred by election voyding and disanulling the Decrees formerly made by the holy Fathers with so much care and commodity that so they may by this meanes fill their owne budgets the better And a little after But it may be peradventure that the Bishops of Rome tooke the creation of other Bishops and disposall of the highest dignities in the Church into their owne hands quite abolishing all elections to the end that by their providence the Churches might be the
better provided for and that such governours might bee set over them as are most commendable for their life and excellent for their learning It might bee thought that this were the reason indeed if the thing it self proclaiming the contrary did not make it apparent that since this custome was used there have beene none but dunses worldlings money men and such as were raised to those dignities by Simony And againe But to the end that the rivers of gold derived from all parts may flow unto them in a fuller streame they have taken away the power of presentations and the liberty of bestowing and disposing of benefices by any meanes whatsoever from all Diocesans and lawfull patrons Forbidding them upon paine of Anathema rashly to presume for so their writs run to institute any person into any benefice within their jurisdiction till such time as some one be presented to it to whom by their authority they have granted it 6 M. Iohn Gerson in his book De defectu virorum Ecclesiasticorum where he treats of the Reformation of the Church and which he presented at the Councell of Constance saith Marke what that meanes that now adayes Bishops Prelates and Parish Priests are mostly elected by the Pope as much as to say take an order with that abuse The Pragmatique Sanction hath another relation much of the same straine The Prelats and other ordinary dispensers as also the Patrons are deprived of their right the Hierarchy of the Church is confounded and many other things are committed contrary to the lawes of God and man to the losse of soules and the oppression of the Churches of our Realme The Councell of Basil did provide a remedy against this abuse and the Pragmatique after it but so as the Popes have cast off the yoke of it having disanulled almost all the Decrees of that Councell 7 The States assembled in the City of Toures 1483 in a bill which they presented to King Lewes the eleventh amongst other things say That if the King doe not undertake to defend them considering the quality of their persons the power and authority of the Holy See Apostolique they shall not be able to resist the usurpations and impeachments which any subject of the Realme and others ambitious of preferment will make against the electors which have the right of election or ordinary donation by censures Apostolique And by this meanes all this Kingdome which is already at a low ebbe and very poore shall bee stripped and dispoyled of that little money which remaines of the former exactions 8 A German Monke complaines likewise that under Leo the tenth the elections made by Bishops were quite rejected and the right thereof devolved to them of Rome A certaine Cardinall complaines That the Pope usurps all the rights of inferiour Churches that he ingrosseth to himselfe all power and jurisdiction making nothing as it were of other Bishops which he doth not according to Saint Peters paterne Marsilius saith That the Popes arâogate unto themselves a coactive power and jurisdiction over the ministers of all Churches of the world and that they have expressed by their decretall epistles that the dispensing and disposing of the temporall meanes of all Clergy-men belongeth unto them to doe with them as they list without ever asking the consent of any Colledge or particular person of what dignity or authority soever The Parliament of Paris in their Remonstrance made to Lewes the eleventh say That in the time of Mounsieur S. Lewes these are the very words those of Rome begunnâ to goe about to hinder elections and let loose the raines to the former inconveniences but that he by good advice and Counsell made an edict and decree to the contrary That is the Pragmatique which we have at this day entire wherein we read amongst other Articles Imprimis that the Bishops Patrons and ordinary doners of the Churches of our Realme keepe their right entire and that every mans jurisdiction be preserved Item that Cathedrall Churches and others of our Realme have their elections and that they be the sole Iudges of the validity of them In another Article of the same remonstrance it is said Item And consequently King Lewes Hutin confirmed the same edict of S. Lewes in the yeere 1315 and that of King Philip the Faire who had formerly made a like Decree And afterwards King Iohn the year 1551 confirmed the said ordinance of his said Grand-Father Philip. All these ordinances tend to the repulsing of the usurpations of Rome from which our ancestours had so much adoe to preserve themselves 9 The States of Germany complained also in the processe of their former grievances that the Pope not content to usurpe the right of another in case of elections and investitures committed also another intolerable fault in conferring benefices and Ecclesiasticall dignities upon ignorant people and strangers respecting in his elections only his own gaines not their persons which were indifferent to him We have told you already what Clâmangius said of dunces we will yet adde this out of him You have seene many which at their comming from their studies and Schooles nay which is worse from the plough have betaken themselves to the care of the Church and government of Parishes and other benefices after they had practised servile arts which understood as little Latine as Arabick yea which could not read and which I am ashamed to speake could not distinguish a B from a Bull-foot He saith as much concerning their manners declaring how those who were preferd by the Popes were wholly addicted to vices and dissolutenesse of life 10 Marsilius of Padua said as much or more before him In stead of sufficient and approved men out of the plenitude of their power they ordaine such as are ignorant of divinity meere idiots and without scholarship and oft-times debauched persons and notorious offenders Charles the sixth in his ordinance of the 18 of February 1406 And when there is any question of preferring men to elective dignities they never used those wayes which ought to be observed and which are appointed to examine and try them whence it comes to passe that it being not possible that the Pope should know all men and the state of the Churches he admits divers into those dignities who are unworthy of them and sometimes such as are unknowne to him but by their money Charles the 7 in his Pragmatique Sanction saith That unworthy persons unknowne and unexamined are preferred by the Popes to the greatest dignities and fattest benefices of this Kingdome The States of Tours in their complaint say So illiterate people and not Ecclesiasticall should be preferred to livings as we have formerly seene Amongst the ten grievances which Germany presented to the Emperour Maximilian to be redressed this was one That at Rome the government of Churches is committed to those who are the least worthy of them and who would bee more fit to governe
and other like knackes their money for vacancies which is levied contrary to the holy Canons and Decrees and contrary to the determination of the Catholique Church and sacred Councels that what is so gotten may bee employed in purchasing of Earledomes and Lordships to bestow upon people of meane condition and to preferre them without any precedent merit without any service or use which they can doe to the Church or for the defence of the faith 18 Francis Guicciardine in the fourth booke of his history of Italy in the discourse which he makes of the Popes of Rome which hath beene expunged by some cozeners amongst other vices and abuses which he observes in the Popedome thiâ is one An earnest and everlasting desire of preferring their children their nephewes and all the rest of their kindred and allies not onely to inestimable riches but also to Kingdomes and Empires And a little after To exalt their kindred and raiâe them from a private state to principalities they have of late yeeres beene the authors of warres and the firebrands of the late combustions in Italy We heard before what the same author told us of the Indulgence money of Leo the tenth how it was bestowed to the use and petty pleasures of his sister Magdalen 19 We will conclude this discourse with a passage out of the same author which will bring us upon another Their study and businesse is not onely saith he speaking of the Popes holinesse of life nor the propagation of religion and charity towards God and menâ but armes and warres against Christians handling sacred things with bloudy thoughts and hands but an infinite desire of money new lawes new trickesâ new inventions to ânhanse their rents from all parts for which ends they shoot out their coelââtiall arrowes they most impudently practise a trade and traffique of all thingâ sacred and profane whereby their riches being augmented to an excessive greatnesse and scattered over all their Court have brought forth pride luxury debauched manners and most abominable pleasures See here the saying of a ringleader and conducter of the Popes army of one who was Leo the tenths favourite 20 Let us paâse a while upon this luxury which he speaks of and set down the complaint which divers others have made against it First that which S. Bernard saith to Eugenius the 3 I doe not spare you here saith hee that God may spare you hereafter shew your selfe a sheepheard towards this people or else confesse that you are not so you will not deny that you are leasâ you should deny your selfe to be his successour in whose See you sit that Peter who for ought that wee know never went adorned with precious stones attired in silks and cloathed in gold mounted upon a white palfrey surrounded with a guard attended with a great many Lackeys and yet for all he had the power without all these to accomplish that saving commandement If thou love meâ feed my sheep 21 Iohn Sarisbury Bishop of Chartres who lived about 1180 saith That the Pope is burthensome and insupportable to all men 3. âe builds Palaces out of the ruineâ of Churches he goes accoutred not only in purple but in gold 22 Marsilius of Padua Let them tell me I pray them with what conscience according to Christian Religion they spend the goods of the poore living after a worldly fashion upon so many unnecessaries in horses servants banquets and other vanities and delicates both secret and publique They I say who for the ministery of the Gospel ought to be content with food and raiment according to the Apostles appointment in the first to Timothy CHAP. X. Of the injust power of the Popes 1 ONe of the maine poynts touching the reformation of the Popes is the unbridled and redoubted power which hee challengeth both in spirituals and temporals considering that hee pretends to have an absolute and soveraigne power over both It were fitting me thinks to set bounds to the plenitude of that power which hath neither banks nor bottome to him that extends his jurisdiction over all the world even as low as hell and purgatory as high as heaven which takes hold of great and small Clerks and Laiques things sacred and profane which hath set all the Church yea all Christendome by the ears together which is the source and fountaine of all our miseries and against which there have beene so many complaints exhibited upon this occasion 2 Paul the thirds Delegates had a touch at this point in their reformationâ In former times say they the truth could not have accesse to the audience of certaine Popes by reason of certaine flatterers which magnified and extended their power too much perswading them that they were Lords paramount of all and might doe any thing what they list from this spring have so many miseries in great flouds overflowed the Church that shee is now quite overborne and drowned See here what they say who were conjured by the Pope upon oath and upon paine of excommunication to tell him the truth of all that required reformation Wee have formerly observed a place in Zabarel of the like straine with this 3 Master Iohn Gerson in his book De potestate Ecclesiae hath the very same On the other side saith hee upstarts cunning and glozing fâattery whispers the Clergy but especially the Pope in the care O how great is the height of your Ecclesiasticall power O sacred Clergy all Secular authority is but a toy in comparison of thine seeing that as all power is given to Christ both in heaven and in earth so Christ hath bequeathed all to S. Peter and his successours So that Constantine gave nothing to Pope Sylvester which was not originally his owne but only restored unto him what he injustly detained from him Againe as there is no power but is of God so there is nothing temporall or spirituall Imperiall or Regall which is not of the Pope upon whose thigh God hath writ King of Kings and Lord of Lords So as to dispute his power is a kinde of sacriledge To whom no man may say Why doe you so although he should exchange purloine of sell all the temporals the goods lands and lordships of the Church Let me be a lyar if all these things are not written by such as seeme to bee wise men in their eyes and if they have not beene beleeved also by some Popes 4 So Marsilius of Padua in many sundry places of his Defensor Pacis particularly in the second part and twenty fifth Chapter They have taken up a title saith he which they arrogate to themselves and which they would make an instrument of this wickednes namely the plenitude or fulnes of power which they say was given to them in particular by Christ in the person of St. Peter as that Apostle's successours By reason of which accursed title and their sophisticall manner of discourse they use a certain captious kinde
the crime of sacriledge forasmuch as he is the cause of causes and the just cause and for that it is to bee presumed that whatsoever pleaseth him is just and reasonable 15 Divine honours have also beene ascribed unto him for it is appointed and prescribed in the Ceremoniall That all persons of what dignity or degree soever when they come before the Pope shall bow the knee thrice before him at a certaine distance and kisse his feet Thence followes adoration The Bishop of Zamore saith Let him be highly honoured let him be extolled and adored in all the parts of the world let every knee bow before him as is fitting they should Menotââ speakes of these honours with a very good grace I will make him speake in his owne language for the elegancies sake Nec est bodie princeps super terram qui non flectat genua coram Domino Papâ qul non se multum aestimet qui ne se tienne bien fier ejus pedes osculari Ioseph Stephanus a Devine hath writ a book in our dayes which he intitles Of the adoration of the Popes feet 16 These excessive honours and this divine power which is ascribed unto him have constrained some to cry out and complaine of them In the Acts of the Councell of Rhemes under Hugh Capet wee finde these words directed to the Pope What thinke you Reverend Fathers who that should bee that is seated in the highest place who glisters with a garment of gold and purple I say who thinke you that should be if he be without charity and be puffed up and exalted onely for his knowledge then hee is Antichrist sitting in the Temple of God and carrying himselfe as God but if he bee neither grounded in Charity nor exalted in knowledge he is like an image like an idoll in the Church of God 17 The Emperour Fredericke the second in the letters which he writ to the Princes of Germany saith The Pope being growne over wealthy to the great decay of Christian piety thinkes he may doe any thing like most wicked tyrants as if he were a God he will not give any reason for his actions to any man he takes upon him that which belongs to God alone for it is thought he cannot erre 18 A German Bishop who lived under the same Emperour in a certaine Oration which he delivered in an assembly held at Rhegimburg saith amongst other things That the Popes will never have done till they have trampled all things under their feet till they be seated in the Temple of God and exalted above every thing that is adored And a little after He that is a servant of servants desireth to be Lord of Lord just as if he were God 19 One of our old French practitioners hath made the very same complaint The Pope saith hee styles himselfe in words a servant of servauts but in very deed he suffers himselfe to be adored which the Angell in the Revelation refused to doe A learned Cardinall of Florence reproves the Popes slatterers because they beare them in hand That they may doe any thing that they may doe what they please even things that are unlawfull and so more than God himselfe whence infinite errours have proceeded Hee afterwards addes that in the Councell which shall be holden about the reformation of the Church It will bee fitting to advise concerning the honour which shall be done unto the Pope that there be no excesse in it that he be not honoured as God himselfe 20 They take upon them also all power authority and jurisdiction over Emperours Kings and Christian Princes and over all temporalties whatsoever We will here insert some of their maximes concerning this point First that which they say is contained in the donation of Constantine To the end that the Pontificial dignity be not disesteemed but more eminent in glory and power than the Imperiall we give and grant to the most blessed Bishop Sylvester universall Pope our Palace and City of Rome together with all the Provinces Palaces and Cities of Italy and of the Westerne Countries wee decree by this our Pragmatique Sanction that he and his successors may dispose of them and that they shall belong to the right of the holy Church of Rome By this pretended donation all the Princes of Europe are made the Popes vassals and subjects They say further 21 That it is necessary to salvation to beleeve that every creature is subject to the Pope of Rome 22 That he is set over Empires and Kingdomes 23 That he carrieth both the temporall sword and the spirituall 24 That the Empire depends upon the Pope and that hee hath dominion over it 25 That the Imperiall or regall power is borrowed from the Papall or Sacerdotall for as much as concerneth the formality of dignity and receiving of authority 26 That he may chuse an Emperour himselfe upon just and reasonable cause 27 That he may appoint guardians and assistants to Kings and Emperours when they are insufficient and unfit for government 28 That he may depose them and transferre their Empires and Dominionâ from one line to another 29 That Pope Zachary transferred the Kingdome of France upon Pepin 30 That the translation of all Kingdomes whatsoever was done by authority of the Pope or of some other that represented him 31 That the Empire was transferred upon the Romans by the Popes authority 32 That the Empire was transferred from the Romans to the Grecians by the Popes authority 33 That the Empire was transferred from the Grecians to the Germans by the Popes authority 34 That the Empire may be transferred from the Germans upon any other by the Popes authority 35 That the confirmation of the Emperour belongs to the Pope to whom also belongeth an universall jurisdiction 36 That the Emperour ought to swear allegeance to the Popes 37 That he cannot exercise his Imperiall power unlesse hee bee confirmed by the Pope 38 That the Pope may make the Empire hereditary if he see it expedient for quietnesse sake for just as he now ordaineth that it shall be elective so hee may bring in an hereditary succession 39 That he may change the Electors oâ the Empire if any evident and apparent benefit of the Christian Common-wealth doe so require 40 That the Electors of the Empire may bee appointed out of another Countrey than Germany if any just reason so require 41 That he may absolve subjects from the oath of allegeance 42 That the Pope upon just cause may set up a King in every Kingdome for he is the overseer of all Kingdomes in Gods stead as God is the supervisor and maker of all Kingdomes 43 That if one be oppressed in the Court of externall judgement hee may appeal from any man King or Emperour unto the Pope 44 That the Pope hath jurisdiction over all things as well temporall
universall dominion over all the world 11 Afterward hee applyes unto him certaine places of Scripture which speake of God Of whom saith hee it was written by Iob that those which beare up the world stoup before him and that the Kings of the earth are matters worthy of derision that hee onely hath all power the Scripture saith that hee is one and there is not a second and that it was writ to him Thou art alone and there is no man with thee And againe Thou art mighty over all them which are mighty To whom all justice power and Empire doth belong as the Prophet testifies and whom David afterwards meant when he said Hee hath given him the power and the Kingdome and all people and languages are subject unto him And presently after hee saith The greatnesse excellency commodity and necessity of the Popedome is seene in this that as the Philosopher testifies the world could not bee governed if there were not some supreame principality in it Wee must needs come to him onely who directs and governs all particular things by whose managing and disposall all actions of the Hierarchies are ordered that in fiâe the disposall of this lower world may be administred conformably to the Celestiall Monarchy And yet more The power of Iustice would decay witnesse the same Philosopher if there were not one in the world to administer it to all and supply the defects of the negligent And againe There can bee no true nor right Common-wealth if there bee not one above all the rest to guide and governe them Which is the Pope the Vicar of the immortall God Afterwards he ascribes unto him a commutative and distributive justice over the universall world and speaking of this last hee saith that being exercised by him it doth institute and ordaine dignities principalities Kingdomes and Empires according to merits and transferre them from one Nation to another according to their demerits 12 Hee that will not bee content with this may further read the Oration which was spoken in the presence of Pope Pius the second by the deputies of Florence registred in his History by Aâtonine Archbishop of that City for the instruction of posterity Hee may read also that which one Iames de Terano Chamberlaine to Vrban the 6 hath written concerning this point and Avarus Pelagius great Penitentiary to Iohn the 22. Together with other mercenary authours the Popes domesticks who spare no qualities either devine or humane to set forth unto us the power the dignity and the divinity of the Popedome Which authours and others above by us alleadged are so well approved by them that they sleep upon their pillows just as Homers Iliads did upon Alexanders For that same Austin de Ancona out of whom we formerly cited many maximes and those of the finest wâs dedicated by the authour to Iohn the 22 Ann. 1320 and afterwards to Pope Gregory the 13 by a Generall of the Order of the Austin Friers and printed at Rome by George Ferrarius Ann. 1582 with expresse priviledge of the same Gregory And Lancelot Conrade who helps well to build up this divinity and omnipotency out of whom we have cited some passages professed in his Preface that his booke was approved by Pope Pius the fourth one of the authours of the Councell of Trent and one that did the most good there To make this assertion yet more evident you need but read the Index expugatorius set out by the authority of the Councell of Trent where neither any authors of this stampe nor any of their fooleries and impieties are ever condemned but all those who in divers ages have beene so sawcy as to open their mouthes and utter any truth against the Holy See who have gone about to defend the right of the Church of the rest of the Clergy of Kings and Emperours against the tyranny of Rome CHAP. XII Of the complaints and oppositions which have beene made against the Popes dominions over Kingdomes and Empires NOw these great attempts as they have occasioned great mischiefs so have they raised great complaints and just disobediences to their unjust commands Our French men both Lay and Clergy assembled in a Councell at Rhemes about the yeere 870 gave Pope Adrian the 2 to understand who would have put this Realme of France in an interdict and bestowed it upon another by reason of the question betwixt King Charles the Bald and Lewes the son of Lotharius that his attempt was a novelty and unusuall and they would never suffer it For see here the resolution which was sent unto him on their behalfe by Hincmare Archbishop of Rhemes That hee could not be both King and Bishop at once that his predecessours disposed and governed the Ecclesiasticall order a thing which belonged unto him and not the Common-wealth which belongs unto Kings 2 In this action wee may observe a double abuse First that the Pope undertakes to transferre Kingdomes by excommunications next that it is not for any spirituall matter but upon a difference of succession and therefore that assembly added That it was not fitting for any Bishop to say that it is lawfull for him to deprive a Christian of his title so long as he is not incoârigible and the question is not of his personall faults but of the loosing or getting an earthly Kingdome 3 The Emperour Henry the 4 was excommunicated by Pope Gregory the 7 Ann. 166 and Ralph Duke of Suevia set up in his stead by his authority and that because he did not make his appearance before him being summoned upon pretence of Simony which he injustly laid to his charge The quarrell grew betwixt them upon this oââasion that the Pope was elected without the Emperours consent contrary to the ancient custome Whereupon a German Bishop writes thus I read and read againe the lives and Acts of the Roman Kings and Emperours but I never finde that any of them was excommunicated or deprived of his Kingdome before this unlesse we take that for an excommunication which passed in the case of Philip the first Christian Emperour who was put among the penitents by the Bishop of Rome or that of S. Ambrose who prohibited Theodosius the Emperour from comming into the Church because he had murthered many men 4 Godfrey of Viterbe in his Pantheon which he dedicated to Vrbane the 3 saith as much Wee never read that any Emperour before this was excommunicated by the Pope or deprived of his Empire Yet the Abbot of Vsperge saith that there are examples of it and hee urgeth that of Pope Gregory the 3 who caused all Italy to revolt from their obedience to the Emperour Leo whom he had excommunicated and deposed from his Kingdome yet withall hee gives us to wit that hee doth not approve the fact Howbeit saith hee the Popes of Rome challenge this power unto themselves and make their boast that they have done it yet we acknowledge these things came to passe
who hath said to a King Apostate and made an Hypocrite to reigne for the sinnes of the world teach the people that they owe no obedience to bad Kings no alleageance though they have taken an oath to performe it that those who take part against their King cannot be called perjured but rather he that will obey the King must be accounted excommunicate but hee that will be against him absolved from injustice and perjury 28 Hee that writ the Booke De unitate Ecelesiae observanda in the time of the same Henry the 4 which is supposed to be Venericus Vercellensis refuting the motives and reasons of Gregory the 7 saith As for that which he addes it seemes wondrous strange that any religious Bishop of Rome should undertake to absove any man from his oath of allegeance Not long after hee addes See how the Catholique Church defendeth every thing which is not reproveable and therefore shee defendeth both Zachary and Stephen Popes of Rome for the merit of their religion and piety none of which as we very well know absolved the French from their oath of allegeance which they had sworne to their King as Pope Hildebrand giveth out in writing that so by this president hee may cozen the Peeres of the Realme as if he could absolve them from their oath of allegeance which they have sworne unto their King in the Name of God intending by that meanes to depose him and strip him of his Kingdome Which being divers times attempted within these fourteen yeeres last past and above did never yet take effect for all that 29 Afterwards he relates the story of Pepins coronation and there concludes Marke now the order how things were carried and observe if any of the Popes of Rome ever deposed the King of France out of his Realme as Pope Hildebrand writes and absolved the French from the oath of allegeance which they had taken unto him which oath as hath beene formerly proved by the testimonies of holy Scripture no man can dissolve without making the party absolved a lyer and perjured and damning of the absolver 30 The Clergy of Leige in their Apology against Pope Paschal the second speaking of the absolution of the oath of allegeance which he had granted against the same Henry the 4 Who can justly blame a Bishop for favouring his Lords party to whom hee oweth allegeance and hath promised it by oath No man doubts but perjury is a grievous offence God only sweareth and repenteth not because wisedome keeps the Commandements of Gods oath But for us who often repent that wee have sworne wee are âorbidden to sweare If man sweare God injoynes him to performe his oath unto the Lord. Which is not unknowne to those that rend the Kingdome and the Priesthood by a new schisme and with their upstart traditions as some would have it promise to absolve from all sinne such as incurre the crime of perjurie towards their King Never regarding what God said to Zedekias by the mouth of Ezekiel who had committed perjury against his King Nebuchadonosor Hee that hath broken the Covenant shall hee escape Which St. Ierom expoundeth thus Hence wee may learne that we ought to keepe touch even with our enemies and not consider to whom but by whom we have sworne 31 Gregory of Heymburg in a tract of his With what conscience saith hee dare any Priest even the Pope himselfe undertake to absolve the Liege subjects of the Empire from their oath of allegeance and obedience to which Christ and his Apostles doe binde every one especially so long as the piety of faith is preserved entire And if the Pope may dispence by his oligarchicall law yet hee cannot so by the divine law without imputation of errour 32 Marsilius of Padua in his Treatise Of the translation of the Empire speaking of Gregory the 13 who made all Apulia Italy and Spaine revolt from their obedience to the Emperour Leo and made them deny to pay him tributes and subsidies by reason of a controversie about Images which was then betwixt them saith thus For this reason the said Gregory undertooke to excommunicate the said Leo and perswaded all Apulia Italy and Spaine to withdraw themselves from his obedience and as much as in him lay put it in execution howbeit without any great right Hee also in solemne manner forbade him to receive any subsidies By what authority I know not but I wot well by what temerity 33 Divers Doctours and learned men both in divinity and in either law have in their writings in sundry ages opposed this usurpation of Rome and proved by sound reasons that the Pope hath no temporall sword that it is in the power of Princes and other Magistrates that hee hath no Secular power or jurisdiction over Kings and Princes nor over their Empires and Kingdomes which depend upon God not upon him that consequently hee cannot take them from them to bestow them upon another nor absolve their subjects from the oath of allegeance These witnesses have withstood the Pope as stoutly by their pens at Kings and Emperours by their swords yea so farre forth that their armour had beene but very weake if they had not beene tempered in these writings as some Historians doe assure us And thence it is that the Popes many times have darted out their thunder-bolts against them and their works Which our Councell of Trent hath used to doe and which our Popes doe put in execution daily according to the commission granted them by iâ stuffing their Index Expurgatorius with their names I should bee troublesome if I should here quote their aâthorities and much more if I should set downe their reasons I will content my selfe with citing some few in the margent besides those whom I have already alledged to whom any man may have recourse CHAP. XIII The conclusion of all that went before 1 NOw to make an end of this Treatise wee will here set downe the antithesis of Gregory Haymburg which suits very well with the former discourse 1 CHRIST rejected the Kingdome of this world His Vicar canvaseth for it 2 CHRIST refused a Kingdome when it was offered him His Vicar will needs have one which is denied him 3 CHRIST refused to bee made a Secular Iudge His Vicar takes upon him to judge the Emperour 4 CHRIST submitted himselfe to the Emperours deputy His Vicar preferres himselfe before the Emperour himselfe yea before all the world 5 CHRIST reproved those who desired primacy His Vicar wrangles for it against all the Church 6 CHRIST upon Palmesunday was mounted upon an Asse His Vicar is not content with a stately Cavalierie unlesse the Emperour hold his right stirrop 7 CHRIST united the disagreeing Iewes and all other Nations in one Ecclesiasticall Kingdome His Vicar hath oftentimeâ raised seditions amongst the Germans when they were at unity 8 CHRIST though innocent endured injuries patiently His Vicar though nocent ceaseth not to doe injuries to the
Councell it selfe which gives him this prerogative For after all the resolutions it made both about faith and discipline it addes If it so fall out that any thing herein contained stand in need of further declaration or determination besides other remedies appointed in this Councell the Holy Synod trusts that most blessed Bishop of Rome will take order that the necessities of the Provinces shall be provided for to Gods glory and the peace of the Church either by sending for such out of those Provinces especially where such difficulty shall arise as hee shall thinke fit to negotiate such a businesse or by holding a Generall Councell if hee thinke it necessary or any other more commodious way as hee thinks good 5 As for the translation of the Councell to Bonony indeed the Cardinall de Monte President for the Pope did the Councell the honour to let them consult about it the 10 of March 1547 as appeares by the 8 Session But this was after an absolute and peremptory injunction whiâh âhe same Pope had formerly made as appeares in his Bull set out in Marâh 1544. Where he speaks in this manner Of our âwn proper motion certaine knââledge and full power Apostolicall with advice and consent correspondent wee give you full and absolute power by authority Apostolique by the tenure of these Presents hee speaks to his Legats to transferre and remove the said Councell from Trent to some such other City as you shall thinke fit and to suppresse and dissolve it in the said City of Trent and to prohibite the Prelates and other persons of the said Councell to proceed any further at the said Trent upon paine of Ecclesiasticall censures and punishments and to cite the said Prâlates and other persons of the Councell unto that city whither it shall bee transferred upon paine of perjury and other punishments expressed in the letters of Convocation 6 See here good weighty words which in a most extraordinary way doe crush the authority of the Councell yea even inslave and subject it to the Pope And yet the Councell is so farre from complaining that on the contrary it professeth that it consented to this translation in consideration that it was done by the Popes command For hearke how they speake of it in the beginning of the ninth Session holden the 21 of Aprile 1548 This holy Oecumenicall Councell c. considering that upon the 11 of March this present yeere in a generall publique Session holden in the said city of Trent at the accustomed place all things requisite to bee done being first done after the usuall fashion upon some earnest urgent and lawfull reasons and by the intervening authority of the Holy Apostolique See granted in speciall manner to the said right Reverend Presidents decreed and ordained c. They expresse it as well as they can for feare least some body should bee so farre mistaken as to thinke the translation was made upon the Councels owne motion to the prejudice of the Popes authority for they would have taken that in dudgeon 7 Let us now see whether the Pope challengeth this rightâ which is confirmed unto him by this Councell by usurpation onely or whether it doe indeed justly belong unto him If wee will take the Popes own word for it the question will bee quickly decided for they affirme that to make such a Convocation belongs to none but them Their Doctours and Disciples have so fortified this proposition that they have stopped all passages and not left so much as one hole open wherby there is any possibility of surprizing it Some few have beene so reasonable as that they have made some exceptions as in case the Pope refuse to call the Councell or in case he be an heretique or in case the question be about some fact of his owne or about his condemnation Some are of opinion that then the Emperour is to undertake it others that it belongs to the Cardinals others to the Councell But those who were more deeply ingaged or spurred on by fairer hopes and goodly benefices doe not leave ought open not one chinke yea they come so farre as to say that those Councels which were not called by the Pope are bastards illegitimate void and of no effect condemning by this opinion those foure Generall Councels which Gregory the Great did reverence as the foure Gospels besides a great many more which wâre either holden without the Pope or at least which were not of his calling or where he was not President 8 True it is that some others which are more subtle to wave this objection put in this alternative Or consented unto and approved by him whereby they give us to understand that without this approbation all those ancient Councels should be either hereticall or without effect alwayes putting the Popes authority above a Councels I know very well that all learned men and truely religious soules doe abhorre this But seeing our Sophisters nowadayes doe here bring their owne dreames and fancies to make a cleare casâ seeme doubtfull and seeing they cannot deny but the Emperours called those Councels they runne to the Popes consent or authority maintaining that it was ever interposed I shall prove the contrary by the Acts of ancient Councelsâ by the testimonie of Histories and by the Popes owne confessions or their Decrees 9 The Councell of Nice was called by the Emperour Constantine by virtue of his Edict as is set downe in the beginning of the Acts thereof Chapter the 5â The Emperour seeing there was some trouble in the Church called a Generall Councell exhorting by his letters all Bishops to repaire unto Nice a City of Bithynia The same is affirmed by Eusebiââ Theodoret Socrates Zonaras Ruffin and many others Whence wee discover his forgery that framed the Epilogue of the second Councell of Rome In the time saith he of Pope Sylvester and Constantine the Emperour there was a great Councell holden at Nice in Bithynia where three hundred and eighteen Catholique Bishops were regularly assembled by the call and command of Pope Sylvester If this bee trueâ the Acts of that Councell are false and so many ancient Authours all lyars which ascribe the Convocation of it to Constantine 10 And yet this goodly Epilogue is foisted in among the Councels as if it were an ancient piece whereas the authour of it is but a modern man for he hath inlarged Isidores prefaces putting in many things of his owne headâ as in that of the Councell of Ephesus For Isidore having said simply At which Councell the most happy Cyril Bishop of Alexandria was president This fellow puts in of his owne Instead of Pope Celestine Which is detected by comparing Isidores Decree printed at Paris ann 1524 and 1537 with the collection of Generall Councels printed at Cullen ann 1537 and 1551. Bellarmine gives us ground enough to know it also inasmuch as he never maketh use of it It is true he maintaines that that Councell was called by
made any such command who was not present in that Councell neither in person nor by proxie Bellarmine hath taken up the errour of one of the Latine translators of Theodoret who renders these words ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã mandatâ vestrarum literarum by command of your letters in stead of per vestras literas by reason of your letters in asmuch as these letters gave occasion to the Emperour Theodosius to call the Councell of Constantinople buâ not by the Popes command Yea the Councell of Constantinople was so farre from being called by the Emperour upon the Popes command that on the contrary the Pope summons the Easterne Bishops to the Councell of Roââ by virtue of the Emperours letters as the forecited letters of the Councell of Constantinoplâ runne 17 Bellarmine brings also the authority of the sixth General Couââell but under correction hee hath foisted in a little too much of his owne âor it is said simply Macedonius denyed the divinity of the Holy Ghost but Theodosius and Damasus opposed him stoutlyâ Bellarmine addes by the second Synod Hee might well have opposed him before the Synod yea in the Synod by meanes of his Legats as some other Bishops did hee is named onely as the foreman of them but it followes not therefore that the Councell was called by him or by his authority 18 The third Generall Councell was called at Ephesus by the Emperour Theodosius the Historians that speak of it make no mention at all of the Popes consent I will set downe the places The Bishops saith Socrates came together from all parts and met at Ephesus by the Emperours command Nestorius saith Evagrius would not submit to the advise of Cyrill and Celestine Bishops of old Rome but belched out his venome against the Church and demanded that a Councell might be assembled at Ephesus by the authority of Theodosius the younger who at that time governed the Easterne Empire Wherfore letterâ were dispatcht from the Emperour unto Cyrill and the rest of the Bishops 19 Theodosius saith Nicephorus commanded by his letters Imperiall the Bishops of all places to come to Ephesus setting them a day against the feast of Pentecost This Councell of Ephesus put this inscription to a letter written to the Synod of Pamphylia The holy Synod assembled at Ephesus by the grace of God and good pleasure of the most devout Kings to the holy Synod of Pamphylia greeting And in another Act afterwards The Synod by the grace of God and by virtue of the Edict of our most devout Kings lovers of Christ assembled in the Metropolitan City of Ephesus c. The Kings which these Acts speak of are the Emperours Theodosius and Valentinian 20 But there is no need of these authorities considering that wee have the Acts of that Councell yet extant which may cleare the doubt that might bee raised If there be one single word in them whence it may appeare that Theodosius required âope Celestines consent to the calling of that Councell then Bellarmiâe shall win the day but withall if there bee nothing spoken of it however the Acts are very large he shall give us leave not to beleeve it Those Acts speak in diverse places of the convocation but so as it is alwayes ascribed to the Emperours Theodosius and Valentinian without any mention of the Pope 21 The 25 Chapter of the first Tome containes letters of the same Emperours sent unto Cyrill to command him to come but no newes of the Pope In the first Chapter of the second Tome it is said The Synod wa assembled in the Metropolitan City of Ephesus by virtue of the Emperours Decree Not a word of the Pope In the same Chapter it is commanded Let the Edict which was sent by the most pious and most Christian Emperours be read and give light like a torch unto such things as wee now beginne to treat of The 17 Chapter of the second Tome containes those letters which the Fathers of that Councell writ unto the said Emperours whereby they certifie them of the comming of the Popes Legats and mentioning the Councell they adde Which your majesties commanded to meet at Ephesus In the 18 Chapter of the second Tome Cyrill saith in an Epistle of his to certaine Bishops The time for holding the Synod was appointed by the most devout Emperours to bee upon the day of Pentecost so did their first letters by which wee are summoned thither command The 19 Chapter of the same Tome containes a certaine writing of the Clergy of Constantinople which beginnes thus The sacred Synod assembled at Ephesus by virtue of the Edict of the most devout and most Christian Emperours having found that the enemy of Christ continues obstinate in his perverse opinion hath deprived him of his orders and degraded him There are many other places in those same Acts where that convocation is spoken of without ever ascribing it to the Pope nor part nor quart as they say and yet the contrary is debated amongst us 22 But saith Bellarmine Cyrill was in that Councell as the Popes Legat a certaine argument that it was not called without his consent We deny both the one and the other For you must know that the Nestorian heresie was condemned in a Councell holden at Rome by Pope Celestine and forasmuch as Cyrill Patriarch of Alexandria the professed enemy of Nestorius Patriarch of Constantinople had formerly written unto Pope Celestine about it the said Celestine certified him of the resolution which had past upon it and intreated him withall that hee would be pleased in his stead to cause the sentence of the Synod of Rome to be put in execution 23 All this was done before there was any speech of the Councell of Ephesus as iâ plaine out of the letters of that Councell written to the Emperours the words are these Celestine the most holy Bishop of Great Rome had signified the judgement which was past by him and his before any Synod was assembled at Ephesus and intrusted in his stead Cyrill the most holy and religious Bishop of Alexandria with the putting of that in execution which was determined at Rome So then hee was not sent by the Pope to supply his place at the Councell of Ephesus which is properly to bee a Legate Nor had hee any expresse charge from the Pope to supply his place in that Councel for there is no mention at all of any such command Wee conclude therefore that it cannot bee inferred from thence that there was any particular consent of the Pope in the calling of that Councell Wee doe not yet meddle with the Presidency of Cyrill that we reserve for another place 14 This notwithstanding Bellarmine urgeth some authours for proofe of his assertion namely Evagrius Photius and Celestine himselfe in his Epistle They all say that Celestine by his letters did substitute Cyrill in his place It is true but it is true withall that when those letters were written he spoke not of
the Councell of Ephesus but of that of Alexandria which was holden by Cyrill Besides the Pope sent his Legats to Ephesus in number three to supply his place which he would never have done if hee had taken Cyrill to have been there in his stead It is true moreover that Cyrill who would have âad it so in opposition to Nestorius to gaine himselfe the more authority at Ephesus during the time of that Councell did serve himselfe of that substitution which had beene formerly granted unto him But this makes nothing at all for the Popes consent to the calling of the Councell which is the point now in question 25 Bellarmine flies to the authority of a Chronicler to prove the Popes consent Prosper saith he shewes in his Chronicle that the Councell of Ephesus was holden by the industry of Cyrill and the authority of Celestine Vnder correction hee never thought so The yeere 431 speaking of the heresie of Nestârius who taught that our Saviour Christ was borne of the Virgin Mary not Godâ but meere man This impiety saith hee was principally opposed by the industry of Cyrill Bishop of Alexandria and the authority of Pope Celestine There is no mention of the Councell of Ephesus But at the yeere 434 in these words The Synod being assembled at Ephesus of above 200 Bishops Nestorius was there condemned and that heresie which tooke the name from him There is nothing there for the Popes consent Martinus Polonus would have afforded him a more favourable testimony for hee saith that the Synod of Ephesus was assembled by the commandement of Pope Celestine and Theodosius the younger But what can an upstart Historian who writ not till 250 yeeres afterwards testifie against so many Acts Bellarmine knew that well ânough 26 Nor doe wee finde that the Emperours Valentinian and Martian asked the consent of Pope Leo for the calling of the Councell of Chalcedon In the first Act whereof it is said That a Synod was held in Chalcedon the Metropolitane of Bithinia by the Decree of the most devout and faithfull Emperours Valentinian and Martian The Emperour Martian witnesseth as much himselfe in his constitution for the confirmation of the Councell For saith he whosoever dare call in question and publiquely dispute those things which have beene once judged and well determined hee wrongs the reverend Synod forasmuch as those things which were agreed upon concerning the Christian faith by the Clergy assembled in Chalcedon by our command were determined according to Apostolicall expositions c. And Martinus Polonus saith The fourth Synod of Chalcedon consisting of six hundred and thirty Bishops was holden by the industry of Pope Leo and the command of the Emperour Martian No body denyes but that Councell was assembled by the industry of Leo who was a solliciter for it but those Emperours were so farre from desiring his authority and consent that on the contrary hee used earnest prayers to Theodosius for the obtaining of the Councell bestowing tears to that end which hee said were shed for his Clergy using withall another mans favour in his suit 27 After the death of Theodosius Valentinian and Martian were more favourable unto him they granted him a Councell after they were petitioned by his Ambassadours Martian writ a very honest letter unto him wherof Bellarmine now serves himself to prove that the Popes consent is requisite to the calling of Councels The Emperour saith hee intreats the Pope to come and hold the Councell There is no such intreaty but only these words It remaines that if it please your Holynesse to come into those parts to celebrate the Councell you would be pleased to doe so out of religious affection The Pope by his letters and by his Legats desired two things that a Councell might be kept and that it might bee in Italy the first he obtained the second was denyed him True it is that Martian qualified the denyall with faire words as that If hee would not be present at it hee would tell them so to the end that they might call the Bishops unto that place which should be pitcht upon to provide for the Christian religion and the Catholique faith by their decision as your Holynesse shall determine according to Ecclesiasticall constitutions I finde no other consent to the calling of it but such as stands with a petitioner Indeed seeing he desired it and that in such manner as we have said it follows that he consented unto it but diverse other Bishops have the same plea that he hath in asmuch as divers times they became petitioners to the Emperours for the holding of Councels 28 Bellarmine urgeth a letter written by certaine Bishops of Bursia wherin they say That many holy Bishops are assembled in Chalcedon by the command of Pope Leo. But it is a hard case that he would rather trust those poore ignoramus's whom the distance of place and inexperience of affaires doth in some sort excuse than the truth of the Acts. Considering withall that these Bishops speake more in this point than hee would have them for he standeth only for the Popes consent and they ascribe unto him the command Why doth not hee speake as they doe If they be mistaken in the command why should we beleeve them about the consent especially seeing they never speake of it 29 Afterwards he descends to domestique testimonies as to Pope Gelasius his Epistle to the Dardan Bishops where he saith That the Apostolique See by her sole authority decreed that the Councell of Chalcedon should bee holden Decreed it indeed but with prayers intreaties and teares with much passionate importunity to the Emperours See wherein that authority consisteth see how the Popes would make us beleeve it 30 The same question is concerning the Councell of Sardis to the convocation whereof Bellarmine pretends that the Popes consent was required and that by Emperours themselves Hee takes a great deal of paines to fight against the truth which hee hath obscured but not extinguished Wee can easily evidence to the contrary Then saith Socrates there was a Generall Councell appointed that all should repaire to Sardis a City in Illyriâm and that by the will and pleasure of the two Emperours the one by his letters requiring it the other who governed in the Eastâ freely condescending unto it The Bishops of the same Councell in their letters to all the Churches speake on this manner ofâardis âardis Let us heare whât Bellarmine urgeth to the contrary hee brings a passage out of Socrates where he saith That the Easterne Bishops lay the blame of their absence from the Councell of Sardis upon Pope Iulius because the time allotted them for their comming was too short Whence it follows saith hee that the Councell was not called by the Emperour alone but by Pope Iulius also yea and that principally by him But hee mistakes himselfe in his inference Pope Iulius was deeply ingaged for Athanasius hee had written in his
behalfe certaine angry letters to the Orientall Bishops assembled at Antioch gaining nothing at their hands hee addressed himselfe to the Emperour Constans and perswaded him to write to his brother Constantius to send certaine Bishops to Rome to answer for their rejection of Paul and Athanasius Lastly after some other accidents which befell about that point it was decreed by the will and pleasure of the two Emperours that the Bishops of both sides should meet at a day appointed in Sardis a City of Illyrium All that wee say is related by Sozomen without any intermixing of ought of our owne So that it is not without good reason that the Easterne Bishops imputed the shortnesse of the time unto the Pope seeing they had occasion to beleeve that hee had prosecuted and obtained the holding of that Councell without allowing them sufficient space to come thither CHAP. II. Other examples to prove that the Popes consent was not required to the calling of Councels 1 HEre Bellarmine stops and speakes not of other Councels which were holden afterwards it is true that he seems to dissipate and dispell all that we have replyed concerning the former Councels with one puffe that is that for foure or five Councels which the Emperours called the Popes have called a dozen Hee puts us upon the necessity of urging other examples over and above the former If any of those with whom Bellarmine bickets had delivered a thing so exorbitant and remote from all truth hee would have given them the ly and hooted at them Let us shew the contrary without passion without calumny for these are things mis-beseeming learned men and especially those that meddle in these matters 2 The fifth Generall Councell holden at Constantinople under the Emperour Iustinian was called by him without the Popes consent This is proved out of his owne letters Wee have summoned you saith hee unto the royall City exhorting you in generall that when you are come thither you would declare your opinion and your minds about these matters Nicephorus witnesseth as much The Emperour Iustinian saith hee called the fifth Oecumenicall Councell and cited the Bishops of all Churches unto it upon this occasion 3 The sixth Generall Councell was called at Constantinople by the Emperour Constantine the 4 as Zonaras testifieth Constantine saith hee being an Orthodox Prince laboured to unite the Churches that were at oddes by reason of the heresie of the Monothelites who sprang up after the reigne of Heraclius his great Grand-father whereupon he called a Councell at Constantinople Martinus Polonus ascribes the Convocation of that Councell to the Emperour Constantine and speaking of Pope Agatho hee saith nothing of him but onely that the sixth Synod was holden in his time 4 Hee saith as much of the first Nicene when he speaks of Constantine the Great and Pope Sylvester But for the Popes consent there is no newes at all The Popes themselves witnesse this truth in their Decree compiled by Gratian. For it is said in the sixth distinction The 6 holy Synod after the publication of the sentence against the Monothelites the Emperour that called it dying presently after c. And in another place The sixth Generall Councell was holden at Constantinople in the time of Pope Agatho by the care and diligence of the Emperour Constantine who was there in person The Popes verily have done themselves a great deal of wrong that they declared not that Convocation to bee made by their authority for it is not their fashion to forfeit their right for want of demanding or of publishing it 5 The Acts of the second Nicene which is the seventh General Councell tell how it was called by Constantine and his Mother Irene The holy and Generall Synod assembled by the pious Decree of those Emperours in the most famous City of Nice the Metropolis of Bithinia And this is confirmed by that letter which Tarasius Patriarch of Constantinople writ unto a certaine Priest inserted in the Acts of the Councell and by that which Zonaras speakes of it 6 The eighth Generall Councell which is the sixth of Constantinople was called also by the Emperour Basil witnesse Zonaras Basil saith hee come into the great Church upon a festivall day to receive the unbloudy sacrifice was hindered by Photius the Patriarch who called him murtherer but he being incensed with this repulse calling a Councell cast Photius out of the Church 7 Cardinall Cusan freely confesseth that the Emperours had anciently this right of calling Councels Yea he affirmeth that the eighth General whereof we have spoken were called by them Howbeit saith hee wee read that the Generall Councels were ofttimes called by the Emperours yea all the eight as may bee proved out of their Acts yet notwithstanding in those Councels the Pope had alwayes the authority of presiding So then in his opinion the Pope had no share in the calling that 's all which we demand for the present As for the presidence that 's another matterâ wee will speake of it anon 8 This is no small thing that all the eight General Councels were called by the Emperours I say the eight Generall which are acknowledged to be such by the Pope But we will finde more yet Theodoret speaking of Athanasius's adversaries saith Hee perswaded Constantine the Emperour to call a Councell at Cesarea in Palestine and to command that Athanasius should bee arraigned but St. Athanasius knowing the malice of his Iudges went not to the Councell He afterwards addes Hee suspecting that Athanasius would not appeare in Cesarea by reason I suppose of the Bishop of that place commanded that the Councell should meet at Tyre Eusebius in the life of Constantine speaking of the same Synod of Tyre saith The Emperour called together a great company of Bishops out of Egypt Africa Asia and Europe and opposed them as an army of God against that enemy of mankinde 9 The Acts of the first Councell of Carthage teâtifie that it was called by Constantine where Crates the Bishop of that City speaketh thus Lât us thanke God that he hath inspired the religious Emperour Constantine with a desire of the union of the Church and to send Paul and Macarius servants of God as his ministers in this holy worke to the end that wee may holâ Councels in divers Provinces 10 Theodoret speaking of the Councell of Antioch About that time saith he Constantine making his abode at Antioch called and assembled the Bishops together againe 11 The Councell of Aquileia writes thus unto the Emperours Gratian and Valentinian Wee give you thanksâ most milde Princes that for the taking away of all quarrels you have taken the paines to assemble an Ecclesiasticall Councell and of your bounty have done this honour unto the Bishops that such as would might come and no man bee compelled 12 About the yeere 413 The Emperours Honorius and Theodosius the younger called a Councell at Carthage consisting of 313 Bishops for the
himselfe So that St. Hierome ought to have used another phrase when hee said in his Apology against Ruffine Tell mee by what Emperours command that Synod was called Hee who was a Clergy-man should rather have said Tell mee what Pope consented to the Synod For our Sophisters hold that the Popes authority is the soveraign plaister which salves all and that it is no matter who call them so that his authority come in any way either in the beginning the middle or the end But what will they say when wee shall make it appeare that the Popes themselves became supplicants to the Emperours to intreat them to call Councels That they became the Emperours servants in calling them at their command That they were summoned unto Councels as well as other Bishops Yea that the Emperours have holden Councels sometimes without them sometimes against them It is necessary that wee treat a little at large of all these Articles to take away all meanes of shifting and evasions from such as will not yeeld to reason CHAP. III. That the Popes have beene suiters to the Emperours to get leave of them for the holding of Councels WE descend to the proofe of this point not without good reason considering that some have ventred so farre as to affirme that the Emperours called Councels onely by commission from the Popes Alledging to this effect a misconceived passage out of the epistle sent by the first Councell of Constantinople to the Councell at Rome which wee have expounded in the first chapter of this third Booke Wee therefore maintaine this assertion to be so farre from truth that on the contrary the Popes have become humble suiters to the Emperours to desire of them that they would call Councels 2 Pope Liberius upon the instance made unto him by Constantius an Arrian Emperour to abandon Athanasius considering how hee stood condemned for a heretique by a Synod makes this reply That in proceeding to Ecclesiasticall censuâes great âquity ought to bee used and therefore if it please your Holynesse command that an assembly be called to sit upon him to the end that if he be to be condemnedâ sentence may passe upon him in manner and forme Ecclesiasticall By which words hee meanes nothing else but the calling of a lawfull Councel Which may bee collected from the sequell of that discourse betwixt Constantius and Liberius about the Councell of Tyre wherein Athanasius had beene condemned As also from that which Ruffin delivers concerning this particular in the sixteenth chapter of his Ecclesiasticall History 3 Pope Celestine with his fellow Patriarchs were petitioners to Theodosius the Emperour for the Councell of Ephesus These things were no sooner known to the other Patriarchs saith Zonaras speaking of Nestorius Patriarch of Constantinople but Celestine Pope of Rome Cyrill Patriarch of Alexandria Iohn of Antioch and Iuvenal of Ierusalem opened the cause to the Emperour Theodosius and Pulcheria the Empresse humbly entreating them to cause the opinions of Nestorius to bee examined in a Councell 4 Sozomen reports in his eighth booke and 28 Chapter how Pope Innocent sent five Bishops and two Priests to the Emperours Honorius and Arcadius to entreat a Synod of them together with the time and place for the calling of it 5 Pope Leo together with the whole Synod assembled at Rome earnestly entreats the Emperour Theodosius in his 23 Epistle that hee would command a Generall Councell to bee holden in Italy Hee repeats the same request to the same Emperour in his thirty first Epistle and withall makes use of the favour of the Empresse Pulcheria in his twenty fourth Epistle As also of the Empresse Eudoxia as appears by her letter to the Emperour and his answere which are recorded in the Acts of the Councell of Chalcedon and further confirmed by the testimony of Zonaras 6 Pope Gregory exhorts one of our Kings to command a Councell to bee called for the punishing of the vices and abuses of the Clergy within his Realme Wee are urgent upon you by our second exhortation that for the reward which you shall thence reape you would command a Synod to bee assembled and as we have long since writ unto you cause the corporall vices of the Priests and the foule heresie of Simony to bee condemned by the joynt sentence of all the Bishops and to bee utterly rooted out of all the confines of your dominions This passage is the more remarkable in as much as it is put into the Canon by some of those that collected the Canons and Decrees of the ancient Fathers and also this his request is often repeated in his several Epistles to King Theodoric King Theodebert and Queene Brunechilde 7 Nor did the Popes herein any thing but what was the common practice of other Bishops who when just occasion was offered became supplicants to their Princes for the keeping of Councels Athanasius reports how himselfe and some others finding themselves aggrieved by the Arrians petitioned the Emperour Constans for the calling of a Councell and how upon their intreatie it was called at Sardis whither the Bishops repaired from above five and thirty Provinces The list of whose names you may finde in Theodoret. 8 The Arrian Bishops prevailed with the Emperour Constuntius for the calling a Councell at Milan They perswaded him saith Theodoret to call a Councell at Milan a City of Italy and compell all the Bishops to subscribe to the abdication of the injust judges of Tyre and to set out a new Creed and cast Athanasius out of the Church Thither the Bishops came in obedience to the Emperours royall command Eusebius with his partisans that were of the same sect desired the Emperour to have it at Antioch who by the cunning of the Arrians was wrought at last to proclaime two Councels one at Seleucia for those of the East and another at Ariminum for them of the Western Church 9 Besidesâ that at other times also they called Councels by virtue of the Emperours authority is plaine from that passage of the letter which was sent by the Generall Councell at Constantinople to Pope Damasus and the Synod at Rome where they mention how the Pope and his Councel had convoked the Easterne Bishops by virtue of a commission granted by the Emperour Theodosius But say they whereas youâ proceeding to the holding of a Councell at Rome have out of your brotherly charity summoned us thither by virtue of the Emperours letters as your fellow members c. So then we are already at a great deale of oddes with those people that put the Cart before the horse CHAP. IV. That the Popes have beene summoned to Councels by the Emperours as well as other Bishops 1 EMperours when they intended to call Councels were wont to write unto all the Bishops that they should make their appearance at such places as they appointed but more especially to the Patriarchs and Metropolitans Thus much wee
over General and Oecumenical Councels they stickle for it over others also Pope Symmachus tels us âo very roundly The Councels of Priestâ which by the Ecclesiasticall Canons ought to bee holden every yeere through the Provinces have lost their force and power inasmuch as the Pope is no longer present with them It is true indeed that Gregory the thirteenth when hee purged Gratians Decrets puts those words upon Damasus's adversaries and to helpe them for a shift the ensuing words upon him Silly fooles that you are did you ever read of ought that was determined in them but by appointment from the See Apostolique and without having constant recourse to that See to consult when any matter of importance was in hand 3 Yet still this makes the validity of these Councels to depend upon the Popes authority And Pope Gelasius is in the same tune saying That it is not lawfull to assemble any particular Councell nor was it ever permitted so to doe but when any question was to bee resolved either touching some doubtfull passages in Generall Councels or touching salvation recourse was wont to bee had unto the See Apostolique The severall Acts of Councels both Provinciall nationall and Generall holden in divers Countries may easily convince these domestique testimonies of falsity in asmuch as it is plainly evident from them that those Councels were holden without the presence authority or consent of the Popes and yet withall they made some Canons whereof the Popes afterwards served themselves and were well content they should be enrolled in their books 4 Wee have also divers presidents of sundry Councels holden against the the Popes as that of Rome called by Otho the Emperour against Pope Iohn the 12 about the yeer 956 Another called about 1040 by the Emperour Henry the 3 against the Popes Bennet the 9 Sylvester the 3 and Gregory the 6. That at Sutoy a town in Tuscany called by Henry the 4 Emperour against Bennet the 10 ann 1058 That at Brixine called by the same Emperour against Gregory the 7. about the yeere 1083 As also the first and second at Pisa the one against Gregory the 12 and Bennet the 13 the other against Iulius the second There is not one of all these which was either called or consented unto by them at first and I am much deceived if ever they were confirmed by them after CHAP. VI. That notwithstanding all these authorities the Popes doe arrogate unto themselves the power of calling Councels and how long it is since they usurped it 1 IT is not without good reason that wee have produced so many passages to prove by the testimony of all antiquity that the right of calling Councels belongs to the Emperours and not to the Popes and that their consent or advise was never required thereunto considering that if wee give ear to them there is no man how great soever hee bee in place that may interpose himselfe in this businesse but themselves And if wee must stand to their words it is a judged case Observe I pray you how they speake of it The power of calling Generall Councels saith Pelagius the second was by speciall priviledge devolved upon the See Apostolique by Saint Peter And Leo the first that so belaboured the Emperours Theodosius Valentinian and Marcian to obtaine leave of them that a Generall Councell might be called saith in a certaine epistle of his directed to a Spanish Bishop Wee have sent out our letters to our brother-Bishops and summoned them to a Generall Councell Sixtus the third saith Valentinian the Emperour hath called a Councel by authority from us So Pope Marcellus and Iulius the first affirme That Councels cannot bee holden without the authority of the See of Rome 2 As for Pelagius wee must tell him by his good leave that it is not true which hee saith and desire him to answer all the fore-cited authorities And for Pope Leo if the will may passe for the deed it was hee that called the Councell indeed for I doubt not but hee was as greedy of arrogating this to himselfe as the presidency for which hee was at daggers drawing with Dioscorus who as hee said had cozened him of it underhand But it may be hee goes not so farre as some would beare us in hand for he meanes onely of a Generall Councell of all the Bishops of Spaine but not of all Christendome The entire passage which is mangled and cited by Bellarmine is as wee have formerly alledged it conceived in these termes Wee have sent out our letters to our brethren and fellow-Bishops of Tarraco Carthagena Portugall and Gallicia and have summoned them to a Generall Councell And it seemes he much distrusted his owne power for hee addes But if any thing hinder the celebration of a Generall Councell which God forbid yet at least let the Clergy of Gallicia assemble themselves Now he that should grant the Pope this power of calling a Councell of the Bishops of Spaine should give him onely the authority of a Patriarch in the West but not in Africk nor in the East So that there is nothing gotten by this place for the calling of Generall Councels and for others we shall speak of them anon 3 Now for Sixtus we will demurre upon an answer for him till such time as he hath proved unto us that the Emperour called that Councell which hee speaks of by authority from him And for the saying of Marââllus and Iulius it is capable of a tolerable construction for they speake not of the calling but of the holding of Councels 'T is true indeed that for the holding of them they take too much upon them by the word Authority they should have used another terme for that is too imperious to expresse what they intend For all the authority they pretend to comes but to this That a Generall Councell cannot be holden unlesse they be called to it Which we grant to be true And this is the meaning of that old Ecclesiasticall Canon mentioned by some authours Which forbids the making of Decrees in the Church or as Bellarmine expounds it the celebration of Councels without the opinion and advise of the Bishops of Rome The application which Pope Iulius the first makes of it clearly proves as much when hee complaines that hee was not called to the Councell of Antioch where Athanasius was condemned charging them for that with the breach of that Canon Iulius saith Socrates in his letters to the Bishops of the Councell of Antioch tels them they had offended against the Canons of the Church in that they called not him to the Councell Forasmuch as the Ecclesiasticall Canon forbids the making of any Decrees in the Church without the opinion and advise of the Bishop of Rome 4 And Sozomen saith Iulius writ to the Bishops which were assembled at Antioch accusing them for seeking after novelties contrary to the faith and beliefe of the Nicene Councell and contrary to the lawes
observed and practised which plainly proves our exposition to be true 18 Our Lawyers tell us that when there is any controversie about the sense and meaning of a law speciall regard ought to be had of that sense which practice hath put upon it Let us observe this rule in the exposition of our Canon The question is Whether the Pope ought to call Councels or no we finde by practice that the Popes did not call them but the Emperours and that they did so constantly the Popes seeing and knowing as much that they themselves have beene petitioners to the Emperours to get them called that they have appeared at the Councels upon command from them therefore we may well conclude they have no right at all by this Canon to call Councels 19 We will adde furthermore that the Popes never complained of the Emperours for taking upon them that power of Convocation which doubtlesse they would have done if it had belonged to them of right for they have alwayes observed that rule to a haire De vigilantibus non dorâientibus So as to say the truth no man can accuse them of negligence in preserving St. Peters patrimony which they have husbanded so well that their successors for the future need make no scruple of receiving it without an inventary 20 We say moreover that it is but a little while agoe since they usurped this authoritie for we doe not finde that ever they used it till the yeare 1123â what time the first Councell of Lateran was holden Calixt the second being Pope and Henry the fifth Emperour Platina saith that Pope held a Councell of nine hundred Bishops to consult about the sending of succours into the holy Land Howsoever we must observe that this usurpation which they continued from thence forwards was not without all interruption for the Emperors alwayes kept a hanke of their right though it was but extrema quasi lacinia They called divers Councels after that time as that of Pavy which was assembled by the Emperour Fredericke the first to determine the schisme betweene Victor and Alexander the third about the yeare 1163 or 64 but it is not amisse to heare what language he useth in his letters of Convocation 21 And for the prescribing of a remedy pleasing to God and proper for this disease we have resolved upon the advice of certaine godly and religious men to hold a generall Councellâ which we appoint to be at Pavie The author that relates these letters speakes thus of them The Emperour supposing that the authority of calling a Councell appertained unto him after the example of Iustinian Theodosius and Charles and that the controversie could not be determined by any lawfull judgement unlesse both parties were summâned thereunto sent Bishops both to the one and the other to summon them The same Emperour useth the same termes in his speech made at the opening of the Councell He was also the man that called the Councell of Dijon about 1165. It is true that Pope Alexander the third would not be seene there Because saith Platina he did not call it himselfe But he raised that quarrell too soone considering that his right was not yet well caulked 22 So likewise the Councels of Pisa and Constance were called by the Emperours Now if the possession was afterwards lost by the negligence of the Emperours yet this is sufficient to bring a writ of Right and make an entry for which triall the Emperours are better furnished of evidence than the Popes and besides they who should breathe nought but justice and honestie will voluntarily surrender unto Cesâr what of right belongs unto him 23 What we here speake is concerning Generall Councels for as for Provinciall we deny not but the Popes have hâd authoritie to call them within the bounds of their owne territories as have also other Patriarchs and Metropolitans And yet those bounds are but very narrow for wee doe not finde that they were extended over all the West and what Balsamon saith that the Bishop of Rome is the president of the Westerne provinces must be restrained unto Italy And for matter of fact the Pope was neither seene nor heard in person nor by proxie at the Councell of Cullen which consisted of the French and German Bishops and was assembled by the authoritie of the Emperour Charles the third Anno Dom. 887. 24 Nor was hee at that of Aquileia called by the Emperours Valentinian and Theodosius consisting of the Bishops of France Africke and other Provinces at which Saint Ambrose Bishop of Milan was present 25 The like may be said of such as have beene holden in France Spaine and other Kingdomes or Provinces of the West the calling whereof bâlonged either to the Primates and Metropolitanes or to the Kings and Princes 26 So Maximus Patriarch of Ierusalem assembled the Bishops of Syria and Palestine to receive Athanasius into the communion of the Church and restore him to his former dignitie So Athanasius himselfe after hee was called home out of exile by Iovinian the Emperour assembled a Councell of Bishops But it would be tedious to heare all the examples which are extant about this subject As for the calling by Kings and Princes we shall speake of that anon 27 For the present we must answer an absurditie which Bellarmine presseth that in these dayes it would be impossible for any one to call a Generall Councell but the Pope for as for the Emperour to whom wee said it of right belongeth he cannot doe it saith he because he hath no authoritie over Kings and Princes but on the other side the Pope hath over all Christendome Bellarmine is deceived for the Pope in that respect hath scarce any more authoritie at this day than the Emperour Let him cast up his count of those Kingdomes and Provinces which have withdrawne their obedience from him and he will finde that he hath misreckoned himselfe All that Bellarmine can infer is this that we must talke no morâ of Generall Councels in these dayes seeing there is no man to call them with convenience and authoritie Wee answer that he that should now undertake of his owne absolute power to call any should much deceive himselfe even the Pope not excepted But that every one out of courtesie would be willing to hearken unto it There is not a Prince in Christendome but yeelds the first degree of honour to the Emperour and would take in good part any gentle and kinde summons which should come from him for the holding of a Councell The Emperour Fredâricke the first found a way to assemble that of Pavy whereunto he summoned the Archbishops Bishops Abbats and other Ecclesiasticall persons as well in all his Empire as in other kingdomes to wit of England France Hungary Denmarke And it is probable that when he made this convocation he writ of it in particular to those Christian Princes which were no subjects to the Empire
at Soissons in the yeer 744â where hee assisted in person together with the greatest Peeres of the Land In the second yeer of Childeric the French King I Pepin Duke and Prince of France with the consent of the Bishops and Clergy after I had consulted thereabout with the chiâfe Lords of France determined to hold a Synod or Councell at Soissons which wee have also done The Decrees of that Councell are all conceived in his name for the constant forme of them is Wee ordaine with the consent and advice of the Bishops and chiefe Lords of the Land Now these Decrees are concerning the confirmation of the Nicene Creed the keeping of yeerly Synods the ordination of Bishopsâ the obedience due unto them the life and manners of the Clergy and such like matters 6 The same Pepin being afterwards King of France in the yeer 755 caused almost all the Gallican Bishops to meet at the Councell of Vernes Palaceâ so saith the Preface to it Charles the Great called the Councell of Frankford where the heresie of Felix was condemned and the seventh Generall Councell as it is confessed in the Acts thereof A great number of Bishops out of all the Provinces under the dominion of the most mild Illustrious King Charles assembled themselves with especiall care by virtue of his ordinance and command Charles the Great saith as much himselfe in an Epistle which hee writ to Elipend Archbishop of Toledo which is inserted amongst those Acts. To accomplish that joy being incited thereunto by a fraternal Charity we have commanded that a Synodicall Councell bee assembled out of all the Churches of our Dominions Which is further confirmed by the authority of the old Chronicle The King in the beginning of harvest what time âee called also a generall meeting of the States caused a Councell of Bishops out of all the Provinces of his Doâinions to meet in the same citieâ to condemne the heresie of the Felicians where the Legates of the Pope of Rome were present also 7 The Bishop of Aquileia in a speech which hee made at the Councell of Friuli holden likewise under Charles the Great and Pepin his sonne gives us to understand that he had beene in divers Councels called by the command of Kings and Princes For it having oftentimes befalne the humility of my meannesse to be present at the Generall assembly of a Councell very famous for reverend fathers being thereunto summoned by the sacred commands of our Princes The fourth Councell of Arles was holden also in the time of Charles the Great and called by him in the yeer 813 the Bishops thereof make this praier for him That he God would confirme in his faith the Emperour Charles our Soveraigne by whose commandement we are here assembled So likewise the third of Tours the same yeer 813 The time and place being appointed when and where the assembly should bee we are come to the place appointed according to the injunction which was laid upon us by so great a Prince There was another holden the same yeer 813. under the same Emperour at Mentz at the beginning whereof they speake thus unto him Wee are come to the city of Mentz according to your command So likewise at Rhemes the same yeere 813â at the beginning whereof it is said This is the order of those Chapters which were made in the yeer 813â at the Councell of the Metropolitan See of Rhemes called by the most devout Emperour Charles after the custome and fashion of the ancient Emperours There was also another holden under him and by his command at Chalons mentioned by divers ancient Historians who speake also of those others which were holden under him whereof wee have spoken already For say they Hee commanded the Bishops also to keep divers Councels for the reforming of the state of the Church one whereof was holden at Mentz another at Rhemes a third at Tours a fourth at Chalons and a fifth at Arles Wee have the Acts of that of Chalons extant wherein although Charles the Great bee mentioned yet it is not said that the Councell was holden by his command And wee may observe the case to bee just the same in divers other Councels holden in France The same King and Emperour held many other Councels the Acts whereof wee have not now extant yet thus much is testified by Regino that he called them who hath reckoned us up nine or ten after the yeere 770 till 994. King Lewes the 6 called the Councell of Aix in Germany in the yeer 816. Seeing that say the Acts the most Christian and most Illustrious Emperour Lewes by the grace of God Victorious Augustus had called a holy and Generall Councel at Aix in the yeer of Christs incarnation 816. 8 There is an old Chronicler that sayes it was in 819 and another puts it in 820. There was a Councell holden at Paris too by the command of him and his sonne Lotharius in the yeare of grace 829 and three others at the same time in other places as is collected from those words in the preface Hereupon they ordained that Synods should bee assembled at the same time in foure severall convenient places of their Empire Besides this is the very title of the preface Here beginneth the preface of the Synod which was holden at Paris by the command of the most Illustrious Emperours Lewes and Lotharius his sonne And againe in letters sent by the Synod to those Emperours We the most loyall and most devâuâ sollicitours of your salvation according to the meannesse of our understanding in obedience to your desire and command have observed and set downe in these precedent papers such things as concerne Christian religion which we present unto your clemency to be perused and approved of by you 9 There was another Councell holden at Aix by his command in the yeare 338. Whereas we Bishops were assembled together by a Synodicall convocation the most Illustrious and most orthodox Emperour Lewes the most invincible Augustus having summoned us thereunto And yet another at Mentz anno 834. Weâ are come to Mentz say the Bishops of it according to your commendment And another at the same place anno 837. whither the Bishops say they were assembled By a seasonable and most wholesome order and command from the Emperour Lewes And this is a Synod of which an ancient French Historian speaks saying Rhabanus was created Bishop of Mentz in 847 who by command from King Lewes held a Synod at Mentz the same yeare The title of this Synod saith that this same Rhabanus was president of it and not unlikely but we must understand that this was by authoritie from King Lewes who as wee have said already commended him to hold that Synod There was yet another Councell holden at Mentz under him and by his command in 852 where the same Rhabanus was president the same Emperour being willing to have it so There was likewise
saith an old French Historian by the will and command of the same most milde Prince a Synod holden at Mentz a Metropoliticall Citie of Germany where Rhabanus the reverend Archbishop of the place was president 10 There was afterwards a Councell holden at Valentia under King Lotharius in the yeare 855 the Acts whereof speake in this manner The most reverend Bishops of three provinces being by the command of King Lotharius assembled together in one body at the City of Valentia upon occasion of the Bishop thereof who had beene cited and impeached of diverâ crimes The History of Rhemes mentions a Councell at Paris called by the same King That the Canons concluded and agreed upon at the Generall Councell assembled in S. Peters Church in Paris by the diligence of King Lotharius bee inviolably observed It mentions also another called by Charles the Bald In the yeare 845 Charles called the Bishops of his Realme to a Synod at Beavis summoned forth of the Province of Rhemes King Lewes the second as we have elsewhere observed prescribed to the Councell of Pavy holden 855 what points they should consult upon whence it follows that that Councel was called by his command as wel as the rest The Councell of Wormes was called by the same King Lewes the second anno 868 We being assembled in the City of Wormes in the yeare of grace 868 by the command of our most excellent Illustrious Soveraigne King Lewes to treat of certaine points concerning the good of the Church 11 An old French author tells us that the same King caused another to be assembled at Cullen anno 870. There was a Synod holden at Cullen saith he by the command of King Lewes Iohn le Maire tells us that Lewes the Smatterer called another at Vienna in the time of Pope Formosus anno 892. 12 King Arnold held another at Tribur anno 895 which consisted of a great many both Ecclesiasticall and lay men In the yeare of our Lord 895 the eighth of his reigne the thirteenth Indiction in the moneth of May the King came by the instinct of the holy Ghost and the advice of his Princes to the royall City of Triburia seated within the French dominions accompanied with the precited Bishops Abbats and all the Princes of his kingdome and a great number both of Ecclesiasticall and Secular persons repairing thither c. Now if the King held the Councell I suppose none will deny but he called it 13 Hugh Capet who lately reigned in France saith Iohn le Maire called a Councell at Rhemes in Champaigne consisting of the Prelates of the Gallican Church where he caused Arnalt Archbishop of Rhemes to be deposed 14 In the yeare 1140 by authority from King Lewes the younger there was a Synod held at Sens of the Bishops Abbats and other religious against Peter Abelard who scandalized the Church by a prophane novelty both of words and sense 15 Philip Augustus saith an ancient Frenchman called a Generall Councell at Paris anno 1179 of all the Archbishops Bishops Abbats as also all the Princes and Lords of the Realme of France He called another likewise in the same Citie anno 1184 to entertaine the Patriarch of Ierusalem and consult about sending aid against the Saracens He commanded saith the same Author that a Generall Councell should be called of all the Archbishops Bishops and Princes of his Realme The Bishop of Chartres tells us there was another called at Troyes by his commandement 16 Pope Eugenius the third of that name saith Le Maire being come into France as well to avoid the tumultuous fury of the Romanes as to animate Christian Princes to the beyond sea voyage King Lewes the younger sonne of Lewes the Fat caused a Councell to be assembled in the towne of Vezelay in Burgundie of all the Prelates Princes of France to whom hee purposed to declare by the mouth of Saint Bernard Abbat of Clerevale all the misfortunes that had befalne in the holy Land There was another called at Paris by the command of Charles the sixth where he was in person attended by the Nobilitie of his Princes and Barons 17 So likewise Lewes the eleventh called one at Orleans Lewes the 12. one at Tours another at Lyons King Charles the ninth summoned the Bishops and other Prelates of the Churches within his Realme by his letters patents of the tenth of September 1560. By whose advice we have concluded and agreed that a generall Assembly of the Prelates and other members of the Churches within our dominions be held the 20. of Ianuary next ensuing to conferre consult and advise what they shall thinke fit to bee proposed at the said Generall Councell if so be it bee holden shortly And in the meane time resolve amongst themselves notwithstanding of all things which may upon our part any way concerne the reformation of the said Churches In a word it is a thing without all peradventure so that wee may now conclude that the calling of Nâtionall Councels belongs unto the King of France within his owne kingdome And as oft as we finde that any Councell was holden in France if there be no particular mention of the calling of it we must alwayes presume it was by the authoritie of our Kings 18 Sometimes indeed it was not by their command but by their bare consent and approbation as that of Arvergne which was held by the consent of King Theodebert The second of Tours by consent of King Charibert That of Meaux by consent of Lewes the younger anno 846. That of St. Medard of Soissons by consent of Charles sonne to Lewes the Emperour in the yeare 853. One at Cullen under Charles the Grosse anno 887. and another in France by the approbation of Lewes the father of St. Lewes in the yeare 1222. And this must be understood of all those Councels which we reade were called in France by the Popes their Legates or other Prelates for this was alwaies done either by the expresse consent of our Kings or else by their toleration as hath beene particularly expressed of two to wit that of Cleremont and another of Rhemes Which as Iohn le Maire saith were holden by the approbation and consent of King Lewes the Grosse and whereat Pope Innocent the second was present Vnlesse perhaps it be some few which were holden against them as that of Compeigne called by the Prelates of France against Lewes the Gentle that of Rhemes by Benedict the seventh against Hugh Capet that of Dijon by one of the Popes Legates against Philip Augustus that of Cleremont in Arvergne by Vrban the second against Philip and such like But for such as these wee may call them spurious and illegitimate Councels unlawfull Conventicles and Monopolies for so Iohn le Maire calls that of Compeigne although it was called by the consent of Pope Gregory the fourth 19 Let us now passe over into England which will
furnish us also with varietie of examples and show us this right annexed to the Crowne of their Kings to use it when they please In the yeare 905 King Edward the elder together with Plegmond Archbishop of Canterbury called a famous Councell of Bishops Abbats and other persons In the yeare 1070 saith an English Monke there was a great Councell holden at Silchester upon the Octaves of Easter by the command and in the presence of King William the Pope consenting thereunto and contributing his authority by his Legates In the yeare 1301 Edward the first called a Councell at Lincolne Sometimes the Kings let either the Archbishops of Canterbury call them or some other of the Clergie who proceeded thereunto onely so farre as they had their leave and consent So Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry the first by his will and pleasure called a Councell at London in the yeare 1102. Pope Alexander the third saith another English historian assisted by the favour of the Princes he means the Kings of England and France held a Generall Councell at Tours in the year of grace 1163. King Henry the second of England having quieted the state of Ireland caused divers abuses not sufficiently purged out of the Church to bee reformed and corrected according to the doctrine of Christianitie and by a Councell by his meanes holden at Casselles The same King caused a Councell consisting of Bishops and other Princes to bee called at Northampton King Henry made all his adversaries bee pronounced enemies of their Country by a Councell which he caused to be holden at Winchester which others call Silchester Hee that will be curious to enquire into their histories may finde divers other presidents and yet it may be said that this Kingdome of all others hath beene most subject to the papall power 20 As for Spaine the Acts of almost all those Councels which wee have in the great collection of them doe plainely shew us that the Kings had the whole stroke in this matter For the Preface of the first which was holden at Braque in the yeer 572 runnes thus Whereas the Bishops of Gallicia were met together in the Metropolitan Church of the Province by the command of the most Illustrious King Aramirus And a litle below Now then seeing our most glorious and most devout sonne hath by virtue of his command royall granted unto us this day so much desired of our Congregation for us to assemble our selves all together let us in the first place treat of the state of the Catholique faith In the yeere 573 there was another Councell holden in the same place By the command of the same King In some copies Miriclias is named in stead of Ariamirus but that imports not the point in hand The third Councell of Toledo where the Arrian heresie was condemned ann 589 was called by King Recharedus as is set downe in expresse termes both in the Acts thereof and by divers Historians The fourth of Toledo was called by the command of King Sismand The fifth and sixth by King Suintilla for besides that it may be proved out of the Acts of them there is a Prebend of Barcelona which affirmes it downright This King saith he called the fifth and sixth Synod in the citie of Toledo The seventh of Toledo was called by King Sindasund The eighth ninth and tenth by King Risisund After he was received into the Kingdome saith the same Prebend of Barcelona hee commanded three severall Councels to bee held in the Citie of Toledo under Arch-bishop Eugenius But we have no need of his testimony for the Acts themselves plainely say as much of those Councels at least of two of them The eleventh of Toledo was commanded by King Bamba in the yeer 674. The Acts doe obscurely intimate so but Tarafa clears it Bamba saith hee after his victory over Paul and the Gauls returned to Toledo where hee commanded the celebration of the eleventh Councell So likewise the third of Braque was called by him the same yeere as we have it set downe in the end of the Acts. The twelfth thirteenth and fourteenth of Toledo were called by the command of King Eringius The Acts of the first testifie as much directly those of the second intimate so and for those of the third wee have them not but the same Prebend of Barcelona relates it in this manner This Eringius in the second yeere of his reigne caused the twelfth Councell of Toledo to be holden which consisted of thirty six Bishops in his fourth yeere he made the thirteenth be holden consisting of fourty eight Bishops and the foureteenth in his fifth yeer wherein were twelve Bishops all three under Iulian Archbishop of Toledo The other foure following Councels of Toledo King Egytas assembled the Acts of two wherof were carried to Rome to help to correct Gratians Decret's by as is mentioned in a note put at the end of the Acts of the thirteenth of Toledo but waiting till they bee put out in print we shall content our selves for the present with what is delivered concerning this point by the forementioned Canon of Barcelona King Egyta saith hee in the first yeere of his reigne which was the yeere of our Lord 693 caused the fifteenth Councell to bee celebrated under Iulian Archbishop of Toledo consisting of sixty one Bishops the sixteenth Councell in his third yeere and the seventeenth in his fourth under Philip Archbishop of the same Church Wee shall observe by the way that these Councels of Spaine consisted partly of the Bishops of Languedoc a Province of Franceâ for there are named in the subscriptions of some of them the Bishops of Carcasson Narbo Beziers Lodeuâ Agde Maguelone who is now Bishop of Montpelier Nismes and others in the same Province and this because the greater part of it was then under the dominion of the Gothes who held it together with Spaine wherfore it is sometimes by our French Historians called Gothia Gottica Provincia and Gothica regio CHAP. VIII That it belongs to the Emperour and Kings to appoint the time and place when and where Councels shall bee held and not to the Pope 1 HAving proved already that the calling of Councels belongs unto the Emperour and Kings and not unto the Pope it follows then that it is for them also to appoint the time and place Yet notwithstanding we will further confirme it by some examples It is storied by Sozomen that Constantine the Emperour resolved to hold a Councell at Nice upon occasion of the new doctrines of Antiochus and the heresie of Aetius and how by the perswasion of Basil hee changed his purpose and would have removed it to Nicomedia but by reason thât citie was ruined by an earthquake by the advice of the same Basil hee made choice of Nice againe and how when there happened another earthquake there too hee resolved upon the perswasion of
did acknowledge him 12 Charles the sixth having called a Councell at Paris the yeare 1398. to consult about the schisme which then was betwixt Boniface the ninth and Benedict the thirteenth He would not suffer the Archbishops and Bishops of Rhemes Roan Sens Paris Beauvis and some others to assist there because they were Benedicts partizans by reason of the great courtesies they had received either from him or his predecessour 13 The Bishops of the fourth Councell of Toledo use this preface which is very remarkable Wee being assembled in the Citie of Toledo by the care and diligence of King Sisenand to treat in common of certaine points of Church discipline according to his injunctions and commands Wee will conclude this Chapter with a passage of Marsilius Humane lawgivers saith he are bound to chuse out fit men for the keeping of Councels and provide necessaries for the defraying of their charges to compell such as refuse to come thither provided they be able men and have beene chosen whether they be Clergymen or others CHAP. XI That the presidence in Councels belongs to the Emperour and Kings as also the judgement 1 THe calling of Councels doth not onely belong to Emperours and Kings but also the presidence and judgement in them Constantine the Great was president in that of Nice So Pope Miltiades testifieth in Gratians Decrees Valentinian Theodosius and Arcadius the Emperours doe confirme it in the same Decrees Constantine the Emperour say they presided in the holy Councell of Nice c. The reasons which are urged to the contrary are too weake to disprove these authorities as when it is objected that Constantine would have sit upon a low seat in token of humilitie that he would not be judge among the Bishops but professed that he ought to be judged by them that he would needs subscribe unto the Acts in the last place It is not good to use so many complements with Popes that which is given unto them of courtesie is taken as of necessity This yeelding hath made them soar so high that if this Councell bee received wee must talke of greater mâtters than kissing their pantofle If they who defend the Popes cause so stoutly refuse to beleeve their Canons at least without a dispensation what others will doe judge you St. Ambrose his authoritie which is further added is of no more force than the rest Constantine saith he would not make himselfe judge but left the judgement free to the Clergy Wee must distinguish betwixt the function of a Iudge and of a President They would have made him Iudge of the Bishops crimes that hee would not doe this is nothing to the Presidence we shall speak of it elsewhere The saying of Athanasius is the most pressing of all in that complaint which hee makes against the Emperour Constantius who would have been President and Iudge against him in the Councell of Milan yea and that so as to condemne him The condemnation was indeed injust but O how passion blinds us in our owne cause the good man to prove the nullity of the judgement urgeth amongst other things that it cannot bee a lawfull Councell wherein a Prince or any other Lay man is President For saith hee if it bee a judgement of Bishops what hath the Emperour to doe there Hee exclaimes mightily against such Presidence but all because hee was condemned there If hee had beene acquitted he would have beene sure not to have said mum to it Hee condemnes in this what hee approves in a like case for when hee was deposed by the Councell of Tyre he had recourse to Constantine he presents himself before him to make his complaint and was a meanes that the Emperour sent to seeke all the Councell to render a reason of that action of theirs If a man should have said then If it be a judgement of Bishops what hath the Emperour to doe with it What would Athanasius have answered 2 The grand controversie in point of religion betwixt the Catholique Bishops and the Donatists which was spred over all Africa was decided at Carthage by Marcelline one of Honorius the Emperours Officers after a long dispute in his presence Read all the books and you shall never finde that ever they complained of him Nay on the contrary St. Austine who was one of the disputants to testifie his gratitude for his just sentence dedicated his books De civitate Dei unto him Pope Nicholas admittes them unto Councels when points of faith are there handled yea and all other Lay men too without distinction whether it be to judge or to preside there 3 If a man will suppose mee here an ignorant Prince it would bee a very great indecorum for him to engage himselfe in such matters as these and hee had better forbeare yea and just so had a Bishop too But if the Prince have learning and ability what reason is there to exclude him It would indeed suit better with the dignity of his person to let disputing alone to the Bishops yea and the ordering of the whole action to some one of them or other such as hee shall thinke fit alwayes reserving to himselfe the Presidency with the determination confirmation and putting in execution the Decrees after hee hath seene and considered of them It is no jesting matter when salvation is in question a Prince hath as deep an interest in this as a priest But let us hold on our course 4 Zonaras testifieth that the Emperour Theodosius assisted at the first Councell of Constantinople and therefore wee may inferre that hee was president of it for wee read of no other that tooke that place upon him as we shall say elsewhere As for that of Ephesus Theodosius the younger sent Candidianus one of his Officers to preside there but with a limited commission having first charged him not to intermeddle with questions and controversies of divinity And this is the reason why Cyrill the chiefe in dignity of all the Patriarchs who were there in person is by some authours called the President of that Councell 5 Dioscorus Patriarch of Alexandria did preside at the second Councell of Ephesus by authority from the Emperour Theodosius This we collect out of the first Action of the Councel of Chalcedon where the Iudges that were presidents say How the Right reverend Bishops to whom at that time that is at the time of the Councell of Ephesus by the Emperours clemency authority was given over such things as should bee there treated of give a reason why the letters of the most holy Archbishop Leo were not read yea and when it was interposed that they ought to bee read Dioscorus the Right reverend Bishop of Alexandria made answer The Acts themselves beare witnesse how I did twice interpose that they might be read This is further confirmed by Evagrius in his Ecclesiasticall History 6 Bellarmine thinks he hath given us very good content by saying
if there bee any that undertake to usurpe any thing relying upon the lustre of their cities this aimes especially at the Patriarch of Constantinople repell all such enterprises with that courage which is requisite 10 It is an easie matter now to answer all the objections of this great Disputer The pronouncing of the sentence against Dioscorus was done in this third Session The Iudges and Senatours tell us so in the next action yea and that by way of complaint Your Reverence say they speaking to the Councel must give account before God for the case of Dioscorusâ whom you have condemned without the Emperours knowledge and ours The Synod saith in their letters to the Pope That hee is in that Councell as the head to the members That is either in respect of the Presidency in that one Action or in respect of other Bishops but not in reference to the Emperour and his officers with whom these Popes Legats never once contested but ever gave place to them with all willingnesse taking it for a great honour to supply their place and execute their charge in their absence 11 Some of our age have left upon record that Pope Leo had an aime at this Presidence and that hee required it at the Emperours hands But in good time the Doctour himselfe gives them the lye For Leo himselfe in one of his letters to the Emperour Martian saith in plain termes But forasmuch as some of our brethren wee speake not this without griefe of hearâ have not had the meanes of expressing a Catholique constancy against the storme of falshood it is fitting that Bishop Paschasin whom I send preside in my place And in very deed he complained both to the Emperours and Empresse of Dioscorus Bishop of Alexandria his being president at the Councell of Ephesus 12 But here is that which seemes to bee more pressing than all the rest namely that the Emperour and his officers were not Iudges of controversies of faith nor pronounced any sentence in those points but submitted themselves to the sentence of the Bishops in short that they were only to guard the action from troubles and tumults Bellarmin is the man that affirmes it and one of the Presidents of the Councell of Trent before him All this is pointblanke against the truth of the Acts. When the question was about debating some point of faith the Officers of the Empire who are constantly called âudges throughout all the Acts of that Councell and the Senatours caused that to bee rehearsed which had formerly beene determined at the Councels of Nice and Constantinople concerning that particular and withall Pope Leo's Epistle which hee writ to Flavian Archbishop of that citie And because there were some Bishops which doubted of that faith the Iudges and Senatours decreed that the matter should bee put off for five dayes during which time Anatolius Archbishop of Constantinople should make choice of some few of the most learned to instruct them that were not fully resolved so as the whole Synod should not need to trouble themselves about it Hereupon there being a diversity of opinions some approving of that Decree and others not the Iudges pronounced That which wee interposed shall be put in execution 13 In the fifth Action they caused every Bishop to make rehearsall of his Creed and the rule of faith to bee read and ordained further that certain Bishops should be chosen and shut up in St. Euphemia's Oratory with Anatolius the Archbishop and the Popes Legats in the presence of the same Iudges Some of the Bishops falling at variance hereabouts the Iudges ordained that it should bee referred to the Emperour who being perfectly informed of all confirmed the Decree of the Iudges which was afterwards put in execution The Bishops elect being assembled together with the Iudges to treat of matters of faith after they had all agreed upon them went to the Synod to acquaint them with their resolution But it is requisite to set down the very words First it is said And the Iudges being entreated thereunto by all the rest went into the Oratory of St. Euphemiaâ with Anatolius the Reverend Archbishop of Constantinople Paschasin and Lucentius Right Reveâend Bishops Boniface the Priest and Iulian the Reverend Bishop of Cos deputies for the See Apostolique of the great citie of Romeâ c. And after they had treated of the holy faith they came forth and all sate downe The most magnificent and most glorious Iudges said The holy Synod is pleasâd peaceably to heare what things have been determined by the holy fathers assembled together in our presence who have also expounded the rule of faith Afterwards the determination concluded upon and put in writing was read which contained a ratification of what had beene formerly determined by the Councels of Nice and Constantinople in that behalfe In the next Action the Emperour being come himselfe in person confirmed that very Creed and enacted that from thenceforth it should bee embraced 14 See here a discourse somewhat of the longest indeed which yet was no lesse than necessary to convince such as will beleeve nothing without good warrant I will further observe to doe them a courtesie that Paschasin the Popes Legat in his subscription to that Creedâ useth this forme Paschasin Bishop in stead of the most honourable Leo Pope of the Catholique and Apostolique Church of the citie of Rome who presided at the Synod hath ordained consented and subscribed hereunto Which must bee imputed to the vanity of the man for the truth is he presided not in that Action wherein this rule and Creed was made but the Iudges as hath beene said And which is more when they are spoken of that were nominated to make it in the presence of the Lay Iudges the Popes Legats are thrice put after the Patriarch of Constantinople 15 Now I demand further yet if the Popes Legats had presided in all these Actions what would they have done more than these Imperiall Iudges did They would have made the proposals they would have chosen a certain number of Bishops to draw the forme of confession they would have caused their resolution to be read which is all one with the pronouncing of the sentence they would have interposed their authority as the Emperour did in person that the matter might carry the more weight with it If they will say that they would have given voices which the Lay Iudges did not doe wee answere It cannot bee collected from the Acts of the Councel that the Iudges did not give their opinions tooâ for whereas they say The determination was made in their presence they doe not deny that that they had any voice in it But I will grant they did not give their owne opinions yet they were the Iudges of others opinions and might reject what was resolved upon by the Synod in case they found it to be injust this is farre more than to give a voice And indeed when
the Synod cryed with one voice That they would stand to that definition of faith which had beene rehearsed the Iudges contradicted it saying that it was defective and that it was requisite to adde something to itâ which was the cause why they met in the Oratory of St. Euphemia where the forme of faith was drawne as hath been said I will transcribe the whole passage 16 The Bishops cryed with a loud voice Let the definition stand or else let us dye The most magnificent and Right honourable Iudges said Dioscorus did say I admit that of two natures The most holy Archbishop Leo did say There are two living natures inconfusibly inconvertibly indivisibly in the one and onely Sonne of God IESVS CHRIST our Saviour Which of the two doe you follow Whether holy Leo or Dioscorus The right reverend Bishops shouted Wee beleeve as Leo beleeved those that doe otherwise are Eutychians Leo hath well expounded it The most magnificent and Right honourable Iudges said So then you adde to the rule of faith according to our holy father Leo's opinion that there are two living natures in Christ inconvertibly inseparably and inconfusedly And these Right honourable Iudges being entreated thereunto by all the rest went into the Oratory of St. Euphemia together with Anatolius c. And after they had treated of the holy faith they came forth and all sate downe And the copy of their determination was read by the appointment of the Iudges as wee said before 17 Now if wee shall make it yet appeare that the Iudges opinion was followed and that addition which they insisted upon was admitted What can be said more Now marke what it containes amongst other matters So then âonsenting to the holy Fathers wee teach all with one accord to confesse one and the same Sonne IESVS CHRIST our Saviour to be one in two natures inconfusedly immutably indivisibly inseparably If this may not be called judging of matters of faith then I may put up my pipes 18 Yet for the further clearing of the point in hand wee will compare the Presidence of the Popes Legats in one Action with that of the âudges to see if they wrought any greater wonders than the Iudges See first the power which they assumed That such things as should bee proposed might bee judged by their interlocution The Iudges had the very same power of interlocution For at the end of the second Action thus they speake That which wee interposed by interlocution takes effect And at the beginning of the seventh The Right honourable Iudges said Wee have thought it necessary to give notice of these things before the holy Synod to the intent that what shall bee resolved hereupon may bee confirmed by our sentence and interlocution The Legats pronounced the sentence of condemnation against Dioscorus So did the Iudges the sentence of absolution for Theodoret in the eighth Action The words are these The Right honourable Iudges according to the decree of the holy Councell said The most holy Bishop Theodoret shall receive the Church of Cyrrha 19 It must bee further observed that Bellarmin was a litle too hasty when hee read the Councell of Chalcedon else hee might have found that what he cals the pronouncing of the sentence was no more but a bare proposall made by the Popes Legats unto the Councell to cause the assembly to consult upon it and that this is true see here their conclusion So as this great and holy Synod ordaine what shall seeme good unto it in the case of Dioscorus And afterwards follows the giving of voices Besides by his account all the Popes Legats that were present at the Councel should have been Presidents which is not true for none but Paschasin was As appears by Pope Leo's request to the Emperour Martian in that behalfe and that of Paschasin then when hee officiated as President and by the subscriptions both of himselfe and his fellowes for hee only and none else takes upon him the quality of President 20 Let us now come to other Councels Iustinian the Emperour did not preside himselfe in the Councell of Constantinople holden under him in the time of the Patriarch Mena but hee determined of the Presidence that is hee chose and nominated the Presidents of it to wit the Patriarch of Constantinople with whom hee joyned as assistants those whom the Pope sent Hear what the very Acts of that Councell say concerning this point After the Consulship of Belisarius the most holy and most happy Oecumenicall Archbishop and Patriarch Mena being President in the citie of Constantinople the most excellent and most holy Bishops Sabinus and Epiphanius sent out of Italy by the See Apostolique sitting upon his right hand as coadjutors by the command of Iustinian the Emperour 21 It is objected that this Councell was not Vniversall I grant it but so as it bee granted mee withall that neither was the Pope universall and that it belonged not unto him to preside in all Councels If hee had any right to preside in Generall Councels much more had hee in nationall especially then when hee was called unto them or was present at them upon any occasion 22 As for the fifth General Councel which is the second of Constantinople holden under the same Iustinian by his command wee shall make it appeare ânon that all things were carried there by him and his authority although himselfe were not present at it no more than Pope Vigilius who having travailed from Rome to Constantinople and being there at that time the Councel was holden yet had never the courage to goe unto it 22 The Emperour Constantine the fourth was President of the sixth Generall Councell of Constantinople and divers of his Officers assisted there by his command whose names and qualities are registred in the Acts of it Loe here the words The same Emperour Constantine being President in a place of the Palace which is called Trullus there being present there as auditour Nicetas Exconsul and a Patrician and maister of the Offices Imperiall Theodorus exconsul Patrician c. Which is repeated in every Action of it And as for the Popes Legats they are indeed marshalled in the first place amongst the Patriarches and Archbishops but not as Presidents but because the priority of honour amongst the Clergy belonged to the Pope Where it is to bee observed that in Councels ordinarily the Legats and Vicegerents tooke the same place of honour that belonged unto him that sent them And of a truth in the Acts of this same Councell there is one Peter a Priest and Monke the Patriarch of Alexandria's Legat placed betwixt the Patriarches of Constantinople Antioch and another Priest and Monke called George the Patriarch of Ierusalem's Legat put between the same Patriarch of Antioch and the other Bishops The like may bee seene also in the Acts of the second Councell of Nice 23 This Councell is wholly approved by the Pope And it is yet further observable in
it that the five Patriarches were all there in person or by proxéy which was not so in any of the rest All this is out of question but here 's the doubt Bellarmine pretends that Pope Agatho by his Legats presided there Hee urgeth Zonaras for proofe of his assertion who makes nothing for him but indeed against him See here the passage entire Constantine called a Councell at Constantinople the chiefe whereof were Pope Agatho's Legats George Patriarch of Constantinople and Theophanes Patriarch of Antioch for Alexandria and Ierusalem had no Patriarchs at that time being then taken by the Saracens When hee saith Chiefe or Princes hee doth not meane Presidents for so all the Patriarches should have beene Presidents there seeing the word relates unto all which yet Bellarmine denies to bee so If wee would expresse it in plaine English wee should say chiefe and principall for that is the genuine sense of the author 24 If wee should admit of other Presidents over the Clergy besides the Emperour it would not bee the Pope but the Patriarches of Constantinoplâ and Antioch for hearke what Lambert an old Dutch Historian saith of it Constantine called the sixth Synod at whose request Pope Agatho sent his Legats to the royall Citie amongst whom was Iohn then Deacon of the Church of Rome This sixt Councell was holden at Constantinople where there were present one hundred and fifty Bishops George Patriarch of the Imperiall Citie and Macarius of Antioch being Presidents Hee cals them Presidents because either of those two Patriarches were there in person and the rest onely by their deputies 25 In the next place Bellarmine saith they are named first in all the Acts. Hee should have said they are named first after the Emperour and all his Officers that assisted there That is first among the Clergy this is the honour which belonged to Rome But hee addes further that they speake first I know not where he learn'd that but I dare beleeve hee never read it I desire no more for proofe of what I say but the Acts of the Councell themselves For of all the eighteen Actions of that Councell in most of them the Popes Legates doe preside so honourably that they speake never a word In the first they put up a complaint in some others they deliver their opinion as other men doe sometimes in the first place sometimes in the last sometimes after a good many Besides this order is observed the Secretary alwayes proposeth and the Emperour determineth in the eleven first Actions and last and in all the rest the two Patricians and two Exconsuls whom hee sent and substituted in his place And in pronouncing their Decrees both the Emperour and the Iudges by him delegated doe alwayes say The Emperour and the holy Councell or The Iudges and the Holy Councell said appointed commanded ordained c. No such matter with the Popes Legates Nothing passeth without the Emperour and his Officers be it they treat of points of faith or what else so ever they discusse controversies in divinity as well as the Bishops To bee shoât a man cannot collect ought out of the whole story of this Councell but that the Emperour and his Officers were Iudges and Presidents of it And yet some dare say that the Emperour was no Iudge nor formall President of it that he pronounced no sentence there And for subscription all the Clergy signed first and the Emperour last of all His Officers did not subscribe at all it was not the fashion their masters subscription was sufficient And for his subscribing first or last it is neither here nor there to the cause If the Popes Legats had presided but in one Action only as at the Councell of Chalcedon they would have beene carefull not to forget that title of honour in their subscription It is a strong argument to prove they had not the Presidence neither in show nor substance for otherwise they would surely have told us some newes of it 26 As for the other sixt Generall Councell of Constantinople in Trullo the Emperour Iustinian the second did not only call it but presided in it The Bishops thereof addresse these words unto him in their preface Our Saviour Christ hath given us in you a wise governour a pious Emperour and a true President Wee know very well this Councell is rejected but we are yet to learn the just reasons of this repulse for Balsamon Patriarch of Antioch assures uâ the Popes Legats assisted there 27 Wee have formerly by the way made mention of the Conference at Carthage betwixt all the African Bishops both Catholiques and Donatists called by the command of the Emperour Honorius who were summoned thither by the Imperiall Officers who disputed all along before Marcellinus the President and Iudge delegated by the Emperour who in fine passed his sentence of condemnation upon them 28 Otho the first surnamed the Great called a Councell at Rome the yeere 963. and presided in it There was a great Councell held at Rome saith Lambert wherein the Emperour Otho did preside with a great multitude of Bishops Abbats Priests Clerks and Monks by whose determination Bennet was deposed from the See Apostolique This was Bennet the fifth in whose stead Leo the eighth was created Pope 29 Otho the second sonne to the former being arrived at Ravenna in the yeere 967 saith Regino and having there kept his Easter with Pope Iohn the third hee there assembled divers Bishops of Italy and Romania and himself keeping the Councel he invented many things to the profit and behoofe of holy Church Therefore he was President and Iudge in the Councell 30 The Emperour Henry the sonne of Conrade being beyond all patience displeased with the excessive Simony which had got foot amongst the Câergy called an assembly of all the Archbishops and Bishops of his Empire so saith Glaber Monke of Cluny in the last chapter of the fifth booke of his History After he had made remonstrance unto them of divers things concerning that point hee set out an Edict over all his Empire saith the same authour That no degree or Order of the Clergy or Ecclesiasticall Ministery should be purchased for mony and whosoever should be found to have given or taken any thing should be deprived of all his honour and be accursed You see then hee was Iudge and President of the Councell Wee shall then conclude for hereafter that not only the Presidence in Councels but the judgement also belongs unto the Emperours 31 Whereunto wee will adde as touching this last point That from the beginning to the end of the Councels all matter of action was performed by the Emperours or those to whom they committed that charge The Convocation was made by them the place was appointed by them the forme of meeting and treating was prescrib'd by them the number of persons both Clergy and Layty was stinted by them they forbad some and commanded others to
Pope because hee was chiefe in Ecclesiasticall dignity It is a hard matter to know who had the Presidence in that Councell because when the question is of decreeing or pronouncing any thing the Councell is made to speak in corps as on this manner The Councell saith The Councell ordaineth Yet is not this carried so closely but it may appeare that Tarasius Patriarch of Constantinople managed the action seeing for the most part he proposeth and decreeth yea and when the question is of giving voices the Popes Legates come in the first place and he in the last to make the conclusion as in the third Action And besides those Legats shew themselves so seldome that hee that shall read all the Acts will never take them for Presidents But oâserve I pray that which gives a shrewd blow to the Popes Presidence When the Councell was finished Those which had celebrated it saith Zonaras repaired to Constantinople where the Acts of the Councell were read in the Palace royall the Emperor presiding there and upon the audience of every Action they were approved and subscribed unto by them 13 As for the eighth General holden at Constantinople I professe the Popes Legats presided there onely I entreat the reader to observe in his perusall of the Acts in what manner they make their Presidence passe for good they take good heed of not forgetting that title as in the former and it is credible they would have beene as carefull then if it had beene in their power In the first place they produce their commissions and instructions wherby they are charged by the Pope to preside there they met with such Emperours as they desired that is so honest and respective that they not only yeelded the Presidence to them but which is worse they would not signe the Acts till after the Bishops and Delegates as is testified in their subscriptions Certaine Princes and Lords which assisted at that Synod by the Emperours command were also so milde and courteous in imitating their maisters example that the Popes Legats having requested them to put some interrogatories to certain men who were come into the Councell concerning a petition prefârred by them they replyed In obedience to your request and upon your command wee will examine them not of our owne power for this power belongs to you To be short it cannot be denyed but the Pope was truely the President of that Councel So that we need not marvaile that he did such an ill office to Charles the Great as to condemne his Councell of Francfort considering he did not vouchsafe to devolve the presidence upon him 14 Now we affirme yet for all this that this courtesie ought not to be drawn into an argument that the Emperours might well prejudice themselves thus but not their successors Yea it may be said that what they did in this case is a nullity seeing that by the very Decrees of Pope Alexander the third no man can forfeit a priviledge which is granted to his order ranke and dignitie That because a man hath presided in one Councell he must not therefore pretend that the whole presidence belongs unto him and that the Emperour who was wont to preside in all hath no more right ever after 15 All this then being proved to be true That the Emperors called Councels That they and not the Popes presided in them That when they pleased they had the whole stroke and authority in them who will not henceforth startle to hear the language of Pope Nicholas to the Emperour Michael Where did you ever read saith he that your predecessors had ought to doe in any Councell unlesse perchance in some one wherein matters of faith were handled Wee aske him on the contrary where did he ever read that they had not to doe Yet we are much beholding to him for that exception unlesse in some one The language of Leo the tenth and his Councell of Lateran is yet more frightfull The Pope of Rome alone as having authority over all Councels hath full power and right to call transferre and dissolve Councels CHAP. XIII Of the Presidence of Kings and Princes in Councels 1 HAving spoken of the Presidence of the Emperour and the Pope it remaines we speake of that of Kings in the Councels Synods of their own realmes And for France we shall here marshal the examples of Charles the Great Lewes the Gentle and other French Emperours howbeit they might have beene disposed amongst the former It is reported in the life of Charles the Great At that time King Charles held a Synod at Valentia And again in the life of the same Prince He together with the French in generall held a Synod at Gennes and there dividing his army hee marched towards mount Senis So saith Regino divers times when he speaks of Charles the Great The King held a Synod the words in Latine are habuit tenuit which signifie both his presence and his presidence The Acts of the Synod of Francfort say in plaine termes that he presided there for hearke how they speake of him in their letters to the Bishops of Spaine We have all met together by the command of the most pious and most glorious King Charles who presided amongst us to repaire the state of the Church Yea which is more he disputed there about matters of faith and therefore it is probable hee delivered his opinion concerning them Vpon a day say the Acts being all at the Palace the Priests Deacons and all the Clergy being seated circular-wise in the presence of the said Prince there was a letter brought in sent by Elipend Bishop of Toledo who had committed a most enormous crime and being read aloud by the Kings command that reverend Prince rising up on a suddaine from his chaire of State continued standing and discoursed of matters of faith for a long time together adding at the close What thinke you of it And the Canons and Decrees of that very Councell informe us of much more namely that Charles the Great was the author of them for hee is the speaker The fourth begins thus The most pious King our Lord ordaineth with the consent of the Synod At the sixth seventh and eleventh the King and the Councell both speake It is decreed by the King our Lord and the holy Synod And at the tenth It is decreed by the King our Lord or by the Synod c. 2 Lewes the Gentle at his entrance into the Councell of Aix made an exhortatory speech wherein he warnes the Bishops to provide for some things by him specified which stood in need of reformation hee prescribed unto them a set forme which they were to follow which was highly commended by all the Synod yea and approved in all points besides he furnished them with divinity books which they might make use of All this is related in the Preface of that Councell whence it may bee inferred that hee
presided there 3 We read in an old French Historian that Rhabanus Archbishop of Mentz presided in two severall Councels holden in that Citie by the command of Lewes the Gentle But the same authour tels us plainely that it was the same Emperours pleasure and in his absence seeing that in the Acts of those Councels at least of the first for the rest wee have not the same Rhabanus and all the Synod speake continually of the Emperour with a great deal of humility even referring all to his judgement But heark what the forecited author saith of it Orgarius Bishop of Mentz dyed in the yeer 847 and Rhabanus succeeded in his place who by command from King Lewes held a Synod at Mentz the same yeere The title of that Synod imports that Rhabanus presided in it whence it follows that it was by virtue of the Emperours command The same author saith In the yeer 852 there was a Councell holden at Mentz the Metropolitan Citie of Germany by the will and command of the said most renowned Prince Rhabanus Archbishop of that Citie being President of it A litle after he addes further that at the same time while they treated of Ecclesiasticall matters the King was imployed in publique affaires and that they sent their Decrees unto him to bee confirmed a certaine testimony that the presidence was conferr'd upon Rhabanus by the Prince 4 King Charles the Bald was present at the Councell âolden at Piâtis upon Sein in the yeer 863. Hee is named first the Decrees are conceived in his name whence it follows that hee presided there Wee may make the like inference of all those other Councels which run in the name of our Kings or to speake more properly where our Kings speak and decree such things as are proposed with the advice of the Clergy of which kind we find good store for without doubt either they themselves presided in them or others for them 5 King Arnold after he had called the Councell of Triburâ in the yeer 895. presided there himselfe as may be collected from that epistle which contâines the Preface which is likewise avouched in plaine termes at the end In this holy Councell the devout Prince and most renowned King Arnold being President and imploying himself about it the holy fathers and Reverend Pastors of the Church which came thither were all seated 6 Philip Augustus call'd a Councel at Paris ann 1â84 at which he presided as is collected from the words of the author who speaks thus of it He commanded a Generall Councell to bee called at Paris of all the Archbishops Bishops and Princes of his Realme which he having kept with them by common advice by his authority royall hee enjoyned the Archbishops Bishops and all the rest of the Ecclesiasticall Prelats by their frequent Sermons and exhortations to perswade the people committed to their charge to goe to Ierusalem to defend the Christian faith against the enemies of the crosse of Christ. 7 When King Lewes the father of St. Lewes reigned in France saith Iohn le Maire and Gregory sixâ Romanus the said Popes Legat came into France by the will of the King there was a Councell of the Gallicane Church assembled whereat the King and the said Legat did preside 8 In the yeer 1286 there was a Councell holden consisting of all the Prelates and Barons of France Against Pope Boniface the eighth where King Philip was present in person and presided at it reckoning up all the outrages and injuries which hee had received from that Pope Boniface saith the same authour 9 The Ordinance of Charles the sixt in the yeer 1408 makes mention of certaine Presidents by him established at a Councell holden at Paris Not long agoe saith hee it was proposed and demanded by our Atturney Generall at a Councell holden at Paris consisting of the Bishops and Clergy of the Churches within our Kingdome and Dauphiny where our cousen Lewes King of Sicily our eldest sonne Duke of Aquitain and Viennois the Duke of Bourges our unkle by the fathers side the Duke of Burgundy our cousen and the Duke of Bourbon our unkle by the mothers side did preside for us that the Popes exactions and other grievances formerly rehearsed might be utterly abolished 10 King Lewes the eleventh caused a Councell Of the Gallicane Church and all the Vniversites to bee assembled in the Citie of Orleans to bee more fully informed in the businesse of the Pragmatique Sanction at which Peter Duke of Bourbon Lord of Beavieu presided in steed of the King 11 There are Presidents in store for England too William the first presided in a Councell holden at Roan in the yeer 1073. It was judged saith an English authour at a Councell holden in that Citie where William King of England was President that the Monkes which were guilty of the cryme should bee kept in close prison during the Bishops pleasure The same King presided also at another holden before that at Silchester in the yeere 1070 whereof we have spoken elsewhere In the year 1102 or as others have it 1070 Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury called a Generall Councell of the Churches of England to London and presided at it but it was with the consent and good will of Henry the first where some Ecclesiasticall affaires of great importance were treated of 12 Wee could also produce some examples for Spaine for hee that shall read the Councels holden in that Countrey âill easily acknowledge that the Kings had all the authoritie in them whensoever they were pleased to use it 13 All the discourse which wee have made upon this point is in a manner superfluous for having proved by so many examples that Kings and Princes called Councels it follows that they had also authority to preside in them which yet they did not alwayes use being for the most part more apt to weild the sword than to manage an Ecclesiasticall action to give their opinions or cause others to opine in spiritual matters to pronounce the sentence of judgement and such like For this reason ofttimes they left all to the Clergy without intermedling themselves but when they were pleased to interpose they were so farre from being censured for taking too much upon them that on the contrary they were highly extoll'd and commended for it And what was spoken to the Emperour by an Archbishop of Bulgaria is applyable to all Princes within their owne Realmes and Dominions The Emperour saith hee as the common-skilfull Monarch of the Churches is President of the Decrees of Councels and makes them bee in force he ordaineth Ecclesiasticall orders hee sets lawes to the life and policy of those that serve at the Altar c. CHAP. XIV Of the approbation and authorisation of Councels 1 IT remaines now that we speak of the authorising of Councels which the Popes in their books arrogate unto themselves exclusively to all others which is also
confirm'd by this Councel of Trent The words of the Decree as they are in the French translation by Gentian Hervet Canon of Rhemes are very remarkable It pleased all the fathers to make an end of this holy Councell and that his Holynesse should be desired to confirme it saving only three who said the confirmation needed not be required Wherefore wee the Legats and Presidents conclude this holy Councellâ and desire the confirmation of it from our holy father in as earnest manner as is possible That which is spoken here of those three is razed out of all the Latine copies which were printed since It is a losse that the names of those honest men who were of that sound judgement are not knowne 2 See here a Decree which doth not a little enhanse the power of Rome The Popes heretofore cryed most stoutly that it belong'd to them to authorize and confirme Councels yet for all that no body beleeved them This Councell states the question and will not have any to make a scruple of it hereafter So that if the pope thinke good it is a thing done to his hand there needs no more talking of it As for the Emperour and Kings and Princes and all other persons whatsoever no matter for them they have no more to do but receive what shall be sent them to execute what shall bee enjoyn'd them without making any bones of it referring themselves in all things wholly to another mans trust 3 And the worst of all is that by assembling this power of confirmation the Pope pretends to bee above the Councell For amongst other arguments which the Romish Doctours use to prove the Popes power to be above the Councels this is one that hee conformes and rejects the determinations of Councels To repell this errour wee shall prove three things 1 That in the approving of Councels the Popes have no more authority than other men 2 That the approbation of them made by them in times past hath not wonne them any supreme authoritie over Councels 3 That for point of approbation Emperours and Kings had anciently more power than they 4 For proofe of the first wee say that anciently after the celebration of Councels the Synodicall fathers as also the Emperours were wont to give notice unto those that were absent and to the Provinces of such things as had bin determined in them to the end that they might conforme and give their consent unto them yet so as there can bee nothing observed which makes for the See of Rome in particular This course the Councell of Nice useth towards the Church of Alexandria and the Bishops of Egypt Lybia and Pentapolis as is apparent from that Epistle in Theodoret. Victorius testifies that the Nicene Creed was sent over all the world almost approved of all The first Councell of Ephesus writ in generall to all the Provinces and sent their Canons and Decrees unto them The Acts of the Councell it selfe doe witnesse it wherein the letters directed to them upon that occasion are inserted The Councel of Sardis did the like to the Bishops of the whole Chuâch Catholique whose letters to that effect wee may read at this day The Emperours kept that authority to themselves principally of sending abroad what had beene determined in those Oecumenicall Councels to the intent that every man might become conformable thereunto The letters of Constantine the Great directed to all the Provinces of his Empire to that effect doe fully testifie as much And in stead of doing it by their owne authority the Popes will needs say they did it only as executers of their and the Councels Decrees wherein they have grossely abused those that have been too credulous towards them 5 Provinciall Councels tooke the same course of proceeding and gave notice one to another of their determinations and of the Canons and Decrees which they made to the intent that they might mutually conforme one to another So the Councel of Gangra in Cappadocia did to the Bishops of Armenia So that of Aquileia to the Bishops of the Provinces of Arlesând ând Narbon So that of Valentia to the rest of the Bishops of Gaul and the Clergy and people of Friuli So the third of Carthage to the Bishops of Numidia Mauritania and Tripoly Pope Syricius after he had held a Councell at Rome of eighty Bishops tooke the very same course in acquainting the Bishops of Africa with the resolutions of it as also another Councell holden at the same time at Telense formerly a citie of Italy Pope Damasus with other Bishops Synodically assembled at Rome acquaint the Bishops of Illyrium with the resolution they had taken for rejection of the Councell of Ariminum 6 On th' other side the Councell of Arles holden under Constantine the Great doth the like to Pope Sylvester But to the end that such as ascribe unto him authority over Councels may not wrest it to their advantage I will set down the very words as they are recorded at the beginning of the Councel To their holy brother Sylvester Marinus or the assembly of Bishops that was in the Citie of Arles greeting We signifie unto you of our charity what we by common counsell have decreed to the end that all men may know what they ought to observe for the future There is an ancient Chronicler that relates how when there was a Councell holden at Carthage of two hundred and sixteen Bishops the Synodicall Decrees thereof were brought to Pope Zozimus where being approved the Pelagian heresie was condemned all the world over The Pope hath not yet gained any thing by all this There is nothing for him in particular but here 's it which is presupposed namely that the authorising of the Canons and Decrees belongs unto him alone exclusively to all others Let us evidence the contrary 7 Victorinus testifies that when the determination of the Councel of Nice was sent every where it was approved of by an infinite number of Bishops The Councell of Nice was approved by the third of Carthage in the Acts whereof it is said That the confession of faith made by the Councell of Nice was rehearsed and confirmed The same was done at the second of Constantinople Afterwards they confirmed the Councell of Nice So the Acts. The first of Toledo used the like confirmation as did also the sixth of Carthage as appears by the first and seventh chapters of it Athanasius speaking of the Councell of Sardis saith These things being set downe in writing the holy Councel of Sardis sent them unto those which could not bee there present who by their suffrages also approved the Decrees of the Synod It is good reason the Pope should contribute his authority aswell as others and that he bee not in a worse state than others Pope Sylvester the first in his Synod at Rome confirmed and approved all that was decreed at the Councell of Nice Pope Hilary used the
a many blowes laid on all at once St. Ierom acknowledges the Pope for his superiour in exhibiting his Creed unto him hee hath recourse unto him as to an Oracle submits himselfe to his judgement which hee extols above all So then it must bee one of these two either he is a flatterer or he is a lyer seeing in another place hee hath ranked the Pope so low But it may bee well maintain'd that hee is neither so nor so The Bishops and others of the Clergy had a laudable custome in ancient time one of them to communicate with another by letters or otherwise and mutually to declare the faith they were of and the doctrine they felloweâ We could produce divers instances hereof but we shall content our selves with one which gives full satisfaction to all that can be collected from the former passages It is Pope Liberius's epistle written to Athanasius containing a rehearsall of his faith with a request that hee would approve it that so he might bee more assured of it Wherefore saith he I beseech you brother Athanasius to subscribe to this confession that I may be more assurâd of it and may fulfill your commands without delay Hee that shall take this passage in the strictest sense will make brave stuffe of it That a Pope who is the universall head of all the Church and for whom it is not possible to erre as Bellarmine saith would bee further assured in his faith by the approbation of a Bishop that hee submits himself to do his commands This is too much Say we then that they are words of complement aswell in the one as the other Those which St. Ierom useth are more respective indeedâ but wee must consider withall that it was a meere Priest which spoke to the Pope Besides it was the part of a good Oratour to extoll the Pope and his authority that so hee might gaine his consent and bring him to approve of that his confession 19 Nor will I ever deny but that the See of Rome had alwayes a great deal of lustre and much honour was alwayes given unto it but never so much as to make it a soveraigne Iudge and state it above a Councel We might further confirme this by divers other testimonies of Popes They themselves have granted that they may be judged when there is a schisme amongst them and the election is not rightly performed as also when they erre from the faith This is enough to prove that they are inferiour to a Councell The glossatour goes yet further when he saith That a Simoniacall Pope or an adulterer or he that scandalizeth the Church by any other notorious crime and is grown incorrigible may be accused Now in all these cases they must be judged by a Councel as the same Glossatour expounds it whence it follows that they are inferiour to it CHAP. III. Popes judged by Councels 1 THe Councel of Sinnesse in Italy condemn'd Pope Marcelline because hee had sacrificed to Idols Marcelline fell upon the ground before the Synod and lying prostrate all along in that manner hee was condemn'd by the Synod These Acts are more to bee credited than Pope Nicholas who saith that never a Bishop durst pronounce the sentence of condemnation against him or Bellarmine who saith that Marcelline first condemn'd himselfe 2 These answers cannot serve in Pope Honorius his caâe who was condemned of heresie by the sixt Generall Councell holden at Constantinople Together with these say the Acts we have cast Honorius who was Pope of old Rome out of the holy Catholique Church of God and have anathematized him because we finde by his writings directed to Sergius that hee hath followed his opinion in all things Here they apply another plaister this is say they for the crime of heresie and it is the Glossatours pleasure to comprehend symonie adultery and other crimes whereby a man may fall into contempt under this of symonie This will prove anon all one with the times of some Emperours under whom there was but one crime namely that of treason but that included all others For to pisse in his hose as they say or at least against a wall was treason 3 The Emperour Otho called a Councell of the Italian Bishops By whose judgement saith Platina the life of this so lewd a person hee speakes of Pope Iohn the thirteenth was to be judged but hee being afraid of the judgement of honest men fled away This Pope durst not rely too much upon his letters of Tonsure I meane upon the Popes priviledge which is that he cannot bee condemned by any but God himselfe He chose rather to dye miserably being stricken by the Devill as Platina saith than submit himselfe to that judgement We must here observe that Platina relates but halfe the story as in many other things for feare of prejudicing the Popes prerogatives but Luitprand a Clergyman one imployed in affaires and who lived at the same time tels us all the businesse from one end to the other Namely that hee was informed of to the Emperour by the Bishops the Clergy and Citizens of Rome for divers crimes that the Emperour called a Councell consisting of the Cardinals Patriarchs and Bishops of Italy Germany France and the prime Citizens of Rome in St. Peters Church in Rome that the Pope was commanded to appeare by the Emperours letters that he disdaining to make appearance the Bishops of the Councell after they had understood the heads of the accusation and the crimes wherewith he was charged were all of one opinion that Iohn ought to be degraded and deposed from the Papall dignity desiring the Emperâur to depose him and put another in his place Which was done accordingly Another Historian saith almost as much of him at least he speakes of his condemnation by the Councell The King having assembled a Councell he speakes of the Emperour Otho caused Pope Iohn whose name was Octavian to be deposed though he were absent being accused of divers crimes for he had declined the judgement by flight and caused Leo to be put in his place Wee must here observe that this Pope Iohn was not accused of heresie but of fornication and symony and leading a scandalous life as appeares by the rehearsall of the crimes objected against him set downe by Luitprand 4 Which we will further confirme by the testimonie of Theoderic à Nihem who hath some remarkable passages to this purpose Now that the Emperour saith he hath power over the Pope especially if hee be wicked and incorrigible and such a one as scandalizeth the Church doth sufficiently appeare from the acts and exploits of the Emperours or Kings of the Romanes For Pope Iohn the twelfth others call him the thirteenth was sans controversie or dispute the alone Pope who before his Papacy was called Octavian descended of a noble and potent family who after he was admitted into the Popedome gave himselfe sometimes to the hunting
unto them which he and his predecessours had a long time long'd for If when the Generall Councell is assembled saith the 21 Canon there be any controversieâ or complaint against the holy Church of Romeâ enquiry ought to be made upoâ the question proposed with convenient reverence and respect and to admit of satisfaction and to proceed or cause to be proceeded therein yet not andaciously to passe sentence against the supreme Bishops of old Rome Whence we collect thât it was the intention of the Councel that processe should be made against the Bishop of Romeâ with all honour and reverence indeed then when he was accused in some sort yet still that processe should goe on against him 10 The Councell held formerly by Photius Patriarch of Constantinople had condemned Pope Nicholas This anathematizeth Photius not because he venter'd to proceed to that reformation as some would make us beleeve but because he had laid a false accusation against him and for certaine other causes as the sixt Canon declares Wee anathematize Photius for his intrusion into the Church of Constantinople for his subornation of false vicars for his adventuring to hold a Councell of vanitie and for the crimes which hee falsly objected against Pope Nicholas 11 The Generall Councel of Chalcedon was Iudge in Pope Leo the first his cause against the Patriarch of Constantinople touching point of honour which was thus The Councel of Nice had tacitly assigned the first place of honour to the Patriarch of Rome the second to him of Alexandria the third to him of Antioch and the fourth to him of Ierusalem and because that Constantinople was then scarce borne there was no talk of it but at the second Councel of Constantinople the question was canvassed where it was âetermined that the Bishop of that Citie should be honoured as the next Primat to the Bishop of Romeâ because it was new Rome The Pope complaineâ of this Decree to the Councel of Ephesus pretending that the Councel of Nice was disparaged the other on the contrary stood for the Dâcree of the Councel of Constantinople the Councel gave sentence that what had been there determined concerning this point should stand The reverend Bishops said This sentence is just Wee all say so It pleaseth us all likewise The Decree is just See here how they pronounced against the Pope whose Legats the next day desired the retractation of that Decree or at least that their protestation might be registred and that they might know what to informe the Pope of to the end say they that hee might passe his sentence upon the injury done to his See or of the subversion of the Canons Hereupon the Iudges pronounced Our interlocution was approved by all the Synod 12 Pope Leo was much displeased with this sentence which hee did not dissemble in his letters written to the Emperour Martian Pulcheria the Empresse the Patriarches of Constantinople and Antioch and others Yet for all that he durst not withstand the Councels resolution nor proceed any further than only to complaine against it Howbeit speaking to the two last who were interested in the cause as well as himself hee tels them that hee will not consent to that sentence Hee had reason for his consent to it waâ never demanded But hee never complaines of the Councel for confirming the definition and rule of faith which hee sent thither but bragges of it in his letter to Theodoret Bishop of Cyprus which notwithstanding was strictly examined in this Councell which gave every man leave to impugne it If it bee not say they consonant to holy Scripture let any man disprove it As also they reprove yet very nimblely and by way of exposition that saying of his That it belonged to none to expound matters of faith saving the Fathers of the Nicene Councell and they shew how it belongs to others also not so as to derogate from ought that had beene there determined but to explaine the controversies which arise about it 13 Bellarmine seeing that this is prejudiciall to the Soveraignety of his Patriarch saith that Leo's epistle did not containe any definitive sentence but only his advice and wee on the contrary affirme it was his determination and resolution Let us hear what he him selfe saith of it What God had first determined by our ministery he hath now confirmed by the irretractable consent of all our brethren And for the last course if it may be said this Leo was one of the most ambitious Bishops that ever wore Mitre Hee that shall peruse his epistles without passion will ever passe this judgement upon him 14 The Emperour Constantius having banished Liberius another whose name was Felix was elected in his stead The Emperour having recalled Liberius some time after the Councel which was then at Sirmium a citie in Hungary writ to Felix and the Clergy of Rome to receive him in such sort as both of them might continue Popes and might execute that function with one common consent Which was done accordingly Bellarmine answers two things First that the Councel doth not command so but only send some exhortatory letters But this is but a shift for Sozomen saith the Councell ordained so Next that this Councel was composed of Arrians for the most part This consideration were to the purpose if the question were about their doctrines but here the controversie is about a thing which was never in dispute with them And besides both the Popes were Orthodox But bee that as it will be we collect from hence all that we desire namely that the Councell passed sentence in the Popes case 17 Pope Miltiades was by the Emperour made Iudge betweene the Catholiques and the Donatists and after him the Bishop of Arles as St. Austin testifies at which judgement the Donatists being displeased St. Austin adds But suppose the Bishops which judged at Rome did not judge aright recourse may yet be had to a Councel of the Church Catholique where both the cause and the Iudges themselves may yet bee tryed that so if they bee convinced to have judged amisse their sentence may be repealed Bellarmine quits himselfe but poorely from this argument First of all he affirmes that thiâ cause was judged againe by the Bishop of Arles not saith hee because there was any reason why it should be so but because it was the Emperours pleasure this I do not deny to be true But in the second place he saith that a cause judged by the Pope in a particular Councel may afterwards bee judged by him againe in a Generall Councel This is nothing to the purpose for St. Austine saith not that the Pope ought to assist in this Generall Councell as Iudge but only to defend his owne sentence being in danger to see it repealed if it were found to bee injust 16 Besides if the Pope hold his greatnesse only by St. Pauls sword and St. Peters keyes and if he be above all then hee
Appeal to a future Councell touching the condemnation of the Councell of Basil made by Leo the tenth in a conventicle assembled by him at the Lateran and also touching the abrogation of the Pragmatique Sanction wherein that Councell was confirmed But it is expedient to heare the truly pious words of that generous Vniversitie Pope Leo the tenth in a certaine assembly holden at Rome we know not how but surely not in the name of the Holy Ghost for where he is nothing can be consulted upon or determined against the law of God the Sacred Councels hath resolved we know not upon what advice to abrogate the said so usefull Decrees transgressing herein against the Catholique faith and authority of sacred Generall Councels and therefore hath condemn'd the holy Councell of Basil making certaine other Decrees at his pleasure under correction be it spoken to the prejudice of the Realme and of Daulphine and to the detriment of the subjects of our most illustrious King of France And afterwards Having made such novel decrees he hath constrained our most renowned King Francis by the perswasion of some body or other to give his consent unto them while he was in Italy imployed there in businesse of warre Wherewith we the Rectour and Vniversitie doe finde our selves grieved wronged and oppressed and doe provoke and appeale from the Pope ill-advised as concerning the abrogation of the Ordinances and Decrees of the said holy Councell of Basil and the Pragmatique Sanction thereunto adhering to a future Councell lawfully assembled in some safe and free place c. Given at Paris in our generall Congregation solemnly holden at Saint Bernards May the 27. 1517. A German Monke speaking of this Appealâ saith Not without cause did the Vniversity of Paris become appellants to a Generall Councell against Pope Leo for the good and preservation of the Churches of the whole Kingdome and especially for that the same Pope Leo had undertaken to condemn and disanull the Councell of Basil in a certaine assembly or conventicle of Cardinals holden aâ Rome 9 Some of the Commentators among the Canonists have said in expresse termes that an Appeal may lye from the Pope to a Councell amongst whom are Ludovicus Romanus and Abbas Siculus in his allegations Such Appeals to a future Councell are not to bee stranged at for in France they goe further than so insomuch that it is lawfull to appeale to the Parliaments from the execution of the Popes abusive Buls 10 But Bellarmine urgeth some examples to the contrary against us to wit of Appeals made from Councels to Popes the first is of Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria and Paul Bishop of Constantinople who saith he being deposed by a Councell appealed to Pope Iulius and were by him restored to their Sees againe This he takes out of the Ecclesiasticall history of Soâââen which makes against him First he doth not any way speake of appealing ââom the Councell to the Pope for that was not then in use Hee saith indeed that Athanasius and some other Bishops being deprived of their Sees and persâcucuted by the Arrian Bishops which were in the East fled to Rome as to a haven of reâuge that the Pope having heard their confession conformable to the Nicene Creed received them into communion restored them to their Churches and writ to the Easterne Bishops whom he rebuked for deposing them but we must alwaies remember that they were Arrians and persecuters and that the controversie was not betweene parâie and partie If Bellarmine deny it or if he answer that wee must looke here onely to the forme of proceeding which was ordinary we will take him at his word and presently oppose unto him the authoritie of his owne author who saith that these Bishops so soone as they had received the Popes letters framed him an answer full of ironyes and threats That they confessed as hee said that the Church of Rome was the principall as that which was the prime of the Apostles and the Metropolitane for pietie ever since the beginning howbeit thoââ which planted Christian religion there came first out of the East but they were displeased that he should thinke they were inferiour to himselfe because his Church was of a greater lustre though they excelled him in virtue and sanctitie of life They objected also against him as a crime that hee had communicated with Athanasius and the other Bishops and that they could not endure to see their sentence made invalid by him as if it were by a Councell So that what he did was by way of abuse and usurpation and not by right 11 The second example is of that Appeal which he saith was made to Pope Leo the first from the second Councell of Ephesus by Flavian Bishop of Constantinople and Theodoret Bishop of Quars It is easie to make it appear thââ tâis was not so For first it is plaine from the Acts that the Appeal was put in âimply by the word Appello without mentioning whither Secondly the appellants presented a petition to the Emperours tending to this effectââhat they would be pleased to referre the cause unto a Councell Thirdlyâ the Councell passeth the judgement upon the case of the Appeale And fourthly the Pope himselfe was condemned by that Synod He was one of the plainâifes against Dioscorus the Head of it Whereupon it was said to his Legats by the Presidents of the Councell of Chalcedonâ That they being accusers could not bee judges Pope Nicholas the first testifies that Dioscorââ was not so much condemned for his heresie as for daring to passe sentence against the Pope To what purpose then had it beene to appeale to him seeing hee himselfe was condemn'd and was a plaintife 12 The third example is of an Appeal made to Pope Iânocent the first by Iohn Chrysostome who was deposed by a Councell as it is testified by Pope Gelasius But he makes us sometimes beleeve that they as other men will be sure to let us have the best in the packe when their owne greatnesse is in question Sozomen is more to bee credited in this point than hee who relating the fact saith not a word that comes neare to any such Appeale Onely hee tells us that Chrysostome was deposed by a Councell of Chalcedon not the Generall but another that Pope Innocent having notice of the fact condemned it that is was displeased at it and disallowed of it That which followes confirmes this exposition that hee tooke paines to get a Generall Councell called that hee writ some consolatorie letters to Chrysostome and the Clergie of Constantinople where he was Bishop Amongst other things hee saith But what remedy can wee apply to it for the present There must of necessitie bee a Synodicall judgement So I have said a long time that wee must assemble one And accordingly hee sent five Bishops and two Priests of the Church of Rome to the Emperours Hânorius and Arcadius to intreat a Synod of
in the 18 of St. Matthews Gospel Tell it unto the Church Where as it is collected from that which follows is signified the power of jurisdiction given to the Church Synodically assembled And there are many good writings upon that subject and divers âestimonies of Scripture whereby that truth of the Councels of Constance and Basil is confirmed There have been infinite books and treatises writ of it already The second part is cleare inasmuch as the sonne the servant the Scholar is bound to obey his mother his maistâr his schoolmaister but the Church is the mother the mistresse and the pedagogue of all the faithful in Christ of which number the Pope is one though he be the eldest sonne and the chief servant styling himself not in a feigned humility but in a Catholique verity Christs Servants Servant and the principall among all the other disciples of the faith So then he is set as the rectour pastour and Doctour of the rest of the faithfull of Christ in Christs corporall absence who is alwayes mystically and spiritually present and by Christ the spouse of the Church the father lord and maister of the faithfull by the authority of Christ and of the Church his wife and Spouse which is another new Eve sacramentally taken out of the side of the new Adam sleeping upon the crosse and joyned in marâiage with him as th'Apostle witnesseth This is a great sacrament betwixt Christ and the Church not betwixt Christ and the Pope Whence it is easie to shew that the Church Synodically assembled is a judiciall consistory and supreme over all the faithfull of Christ. And from hence also the third part of the conclusion is evident inasmuch as no party can transferre or dissolve the Iudges Seat at his pleasure For if the Pope had this power he should bee above not under the Church using not a mere borrowed power of the Apostolique keyes but an absolute free Princedome a jurisdiction belonging to himselfe And hee should not bee only the Pastour and steward over the sheep and lambes of Christ but the King and Pastour of his owne sheep against that which is said in the last of St. Iohns Gospel Feed my sheep hee âaith not feed thine own Besides if the part had power over the whole the thing contained over the continent the particular badnesse of the Pope might oversway the universall good of the Churches intention and the Popes pleasure should be a law to the whole Church And that Church which in one of the Articles of our Creed we beleeve to bee holy built upon the immoveable rocke of our Christian faith should be made subject to a moving to a moveable and erring Prince against which saith Saint Ierom neither vices nor heresies which are meant by the gates of Hell shall ever prevaile 3 The Vniversity of Erford was of the same opinion and gave the same advice concerning the receiving and approbation of the Councel of Basil which they directed to Theodorus Archbishop of Mentz in the year 1440 we will here set downe some passages of it Now it is fitting to set which of the two ought to bee obeyed whether Eugenius or the holy Councel having shewed the validity and subsâstence of the Councel of Basil the superiority and preeminence of the Councel is proved thus Although the Pope or supreme Bishop bee so the principall part of the Church or in the Church that there is no one member of the said Church or particular councel greater or more principal than he nor indeed so great as he is avowed and acknowledged to be by all those that have treated of the power of the Pope Yet no Catholique that will understand the maâter can eâer doubt but that the whole Church or a firme and subsistant Generall Councel ãâã greater than he and his superiour in matters that concerne faith or the extirpation of schismes or the generall reformation of manners For this was determined by the authority of the Church Catholique at the sacred Councell of Constance and confirmed at the holy Synod of Sens and of Basil in these words That a Synod lawfully assembled in the name of the holy Ghost making a Generall Councell and representing the Church militant hath its power immediatly from Christ to which every one is bound to obey of what estate or dignity soever hee be though he be Pope in matters which concerne c. And although this declaration of the Catholique Church might suffice alone to prove the supreme authority of sacred Councels upon earth yet notwithstanding for the greater confirmation of what hath been spoken That the rest of the body of the Church excluding the Pope if he bee contrary to it hath this authority there may be brought both reason and experience and authority In the first place reason teacheth us c. After they have proved this in manner aforesaid at last they conclude in this sort Considering then that all General Councels are grounded upon such authority that if they be assembled about faith reformation of manners that which belongs thereunto every man from the least to the greatest is bound to obey them as also considering they cannot erre and that the sacred Councel of Basil continues firme and undoubted untill this day as hath beene proved From hence three things are inferred First That if a General Councell and the Pope though hee bee truely and reallie Pope be at variance and command contrary things the most illustrious Princes Electours and all other Christians ought and are bound to obey the Councel and leave the Pope The second that the sacred Councell of Basil and Pope Eugenius that was commanding contrary things they are bound to yeeld obedience to that sacred Councel and not to Eugenius Yea to account him no Pope seeing the Councel had power to proceed to the deposing of him for his disobedience The third that they are bound to obey the most holy Pope Felix who was chosen by the Councell 4 The counsell and advice which the Vniversity of Vienna gave to the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Salizburg upon his request made unto them is conformable to the former To the second namely whether the holy Councell of Basil had full power to proceed against Eugenius and to depose him and create another it is answer'd That the holy Ghost hath openly declared by the Organ of the sacred Councel of Constance that the Church and a holy Councell whâch represents it hath such a power over any man whatsoever he be although he be placed in Papall dignity Afterwards they adde the Decree of the said Councell which hath beene here alledged already together with another of the same Councell made against those that doe not obey the commandements thereof though they be placed in dignity Papall And in another place 't is said It followes then that the Holy Ghost is there at the General Councel but not as a subject but as a supreme President from whom it is not lawfull
three Bishops to Rome to assist at the Synod which shall bee holden there Which cannot bee referred to a Generall Councell And for the rest no body denyes but the Pope hath the same power in respect of the Churches which depend upon him which the other Patriarches and Metropolitans have 11 But let us grant what they say of him There is nothing got by it it is a domestique testimony and of one that is himselfe a party Hee that hath at other times disputed the presidence of Councels is now in question himselfe in his owne cause and his successours Besides wee have spoken sufficiently elsewhere of the approbations and subscriptions of the Acts of Councels which were desired at the Popes hands that they desired as much of other Bishops to mantaine the union and intelligence of the Church from whence no advantage will accrue to the Pope and yetâ for all the Councel of Lateran makes this a strong ground as neither from that which the Councell of Constance did which our Lateran Fathers have put in the list too thereby tacitly approving it Of whom I demand lastly Why then do they not observe its decrees touching the power of a Councell seeing they can finde no flaw in them They take at nothing but the Councel of Basil and this poore Pragmatique and that by reason of the sawcinesse of them as they intimate unto us by those words Which was likewise observed by the Fathers of Constance which laudable custome if those of Bourges and Basil had observed without doubt we should never have all this adoe This for the point of approbation which Councels required at the hands of Popes Let us then leave our Bourgeois and Basilians there and confesse they were to blame to exempt the Pope from trouble But what had the Councel of Constance to doe with it that the Decrees thereof must be abrogated for this Besides is it not a fine argument to conclude that the Pope is above a Councel because that of Constance demanded the approbation of their Decrees at his hands whereas by the same Decrees they make the Pope inferiour 12 See here all their reasons saving that they urge the abrogation of our Pragmatique made by Lewes the eleventh and consequently of the Councell of Basil. To which wee cannot answer but to the shame of Pius the second who having wrought wonders against the Popes at the Councell of Basil having even writ the history of all that passed there with exceeding approbation thereof when hee came to be Pope urged King Lewes with the performance of a promise which he had extorted from him when hee was Dolphin of repealing that pragmatique as soone as he should come to the Crowne and he never gave over solliciting of him by letters and Legats till hee had his desire So then the pragmatique was repeal'd by this Prince with the advice of a few but was set up againe presently after with the consent of many having perceived the prejudice done to France by him We must confirme all this by good witnesses 13 M. Iohn le Maire relates many things about this particular it is fit we heare him Forasmuch saith he as the Popes are not content that the pragmatique Sanction be in force although it bee founded upon the holy Canons and authorized by the Councell of Basil But it derogates from the insatiable covetousnesse of the Court of Rome and therefore they say it is a pure heresie Pope Pius the second imagined by all meanes to perswade and put it in King Lewes his head to abrogate and put all downe under colour as the Pope pretended that the said Lewes when he was then but Dolphin had promised the Pope that when hee came to the crowne he would abolish the said Pragmatique And to bring this about presently after the Kings coronation Pope Pius sent the Cardinall Monke D'Arras for his Legat into France The Legat being arrived in France put the King in minde of fulfilling his promise and the King being willing to condescend to the Popes desire at least making a show of so doing dispatched his letters patents in ample manner directing them to the Parliament of Paris and sent Cardinall Balue thither to have the Decree of the Lords of the Parliament thereupon But when the âase was discussed the auditory of the Court being present the Kings Atturney called Iohn de Rome a sharpe man of great eloquence and courage straight opposed himselfe against it boldly affirming and maintaining that a law so holy so redoubtable and of so great benefit to the kingdome ought not to be repealed In like manner the Vniversity of Paris joyned with the Kings Atturney and appealed from all the Popes attempts to a future Councell At which things Cardinall Balue a wary malicious and stout man was much offended and used big words but all this notwithstanding hee returned to the King againe without doing any thing And so our Pragmatique continues still in force save that the King did afterwards bestirre himselfe to cause his letters patents to be verified 14 Now that he made this repeale without counsell we prove from Pope Pius out of his letters gratulatory which he sent to him thereupon Meane while we commend that saith hee that you have determined to disanull this Pragmatique without the assembly or advice of many as the same Bishop hath given us to understand Certes you are wise and you bewray a great King to governe and not to be governed See here the good counsell of the Popeâ but which did not thrive very well with him for this default made all be cancell'd Malum consilium consultori pâssâmum Let ãâã heare yet his other elogyes concerning that repeale You were reserved till these times to restore her liberty to the Church of Rome by abolishing errours that is the Pragmatique And in another passage You doe what is meet knowing that the Pragmatique is godlesse you have resolved to abolish it out of your Kingdome The rest may be seene in the authour himselfe 15 But let us here observe the inconstancy of this Pius who saith in his Commentaries of the Councell of Basil that every one held the conclusion of the Bishop of Arles who presided there in admiration concerning the authority upon a Councel against the Pope as undertaken by the speciall favour of the Holy Ghost saith he In another place hee extols the integrity and devotion of those Fathers with exclamation matterâ Now our Pragmatique is nothing else but the marrow and substance of the Councell of Basil yea but the very Decrees of it Now we demand of him Cur tam variè as our Practitioners speak Hee will give us King Francis his answer It is not for a King of France to revenge an injury done to a Duke of Orleance But rather it is for a Pope to defend the Popes cause That when he writ that as well as that which hee writ against the
Donation of Constantine he was but one of the Councel of Basils frogs but this he pronounceth as Pope that is as one who is now better advised having all wisedome both divine and humane in his pantosâe and all law in his budget 16 I will not now spend time upon answering the arguments which Bellarmine brings out of holy Scripture to make the Pope above a Councel As Thou art Peter Feed my sheep Ergo the Pope is above a Councel Item The Pope is the Head the Steward the Shepheard the husband or spouse of the Church Therefore he is above a Councell Part of which have been confuted by the Councell of Basil in the Acts collected by AEnaeas Sylvius and part by many other Doctours which writ since Besides the solution of them may bee gathered out of those places which wee have here above transcribed out of the opinions of the Vniversities of Germany and Poland 17 We have also made answer alreadie to that which is urged of the Councels of Sinnesse and Rome That the Primier See that is the Pope cannot bee judged by any man and we have shewed that this is meant of particular persons or of Provinciall Councels at most Besides that wee have divers examples of their judgements in which this maxime was never determined Adde further that we have made it evident by an infinite number of examples that divers Popes have beene judged even for other crimes than heresie 18 But the most pressing argument of all is that which hee collects out of the letters of certaine Easterne Bishops writ to Pope Leo the first and the Councel of Chalcedon joyntlie and that during the celebration of that Councell in the inscription whereof they put the Popes name before the Councels and yet the Fathers there assembled to whom these letters were presented never complained of it saith Bellarmine Hee had great dearth of good arguments when he flies to such as these By the very same reason the Archbishop of Constantinople must bee above the Councel whose name is put before the name of the Councel in the letters of Eusebius Bishop of Doryleum To the most holy and most blessed Archbishop Flavian saith hee and to the holy Councel See here the Patriarch of Constantinople as good as the Pope and by consequent Pope Leo who pleaded the contrary in that very Councel hath lost his right by Bellaermines judgement If he should have said so much in his time it is a hazard hee had never beene Cardinal so highly was the Pope displeased at the judgement of this Councell Another Bishop puts the names of the Pope and of the Patriarches of Constantinople and Antioch all before the name of the Councell in a letter of âis The Councell of Chalcedon writing to Pope Leo puts it selfe before him and on the contrary writing to the Emperours Valentinian and Marcian puts it self after them all in the same Session Bellarmine knowes also very well that the Emperour Iustinian writing to Pope Iohn puts his name of Emperour before that of Pope and that Iohn also puts it before his in his answer It is true the glosse spoiles all which saith This would not be so now adayes Wee know Pope Adrian the fourth had a great quarrell with the Emperour Frederic about it who had beene so bold as to put his owne name before the Popes in the letters which he writ whereof wee have spoken elsewhere But our predecessours went not so precisely but in writing one to another they put their owne names sometimes before sometimes after as wee could make it appeare by many examples if it were worth the while 19 Bellarmine addes that the Councell of Chalcedon it selfe hath acknowledged this for true when they call the Pope their head and themselves his members Yea but they were to blame to put the head under the feet in that inscription which we urged Wee have said before in another place that hee is called the head because hee was the first in degree of honour amongst the Clergy because he sate in the first place amongst the Bishops Others say because hee is the head of particular Churches but not of the Vniversall represented by an Oecumenicall Councell All the other arguments which hee brings are refuted by us in divers places saving only those which are drawne from the authority of Popes whom wee desire to forbear aswell from giving evidence as from passing sentence seeing their owne cause is in question A REVIEW OF THE COVNCELL OF TRENT BOOKE V. CHAP. I. Of Indulgences THe Pope hath usurped such an excessive power in point of Indulgences that there is not a good Catholique but is sory for it I will not here dispute whether these indulgences bee profitable or no and whether hee hath power to grant them or no I leave that question to Devines My aime is to shew that this Councel did not satisfie the desire and hope of Catholiques The abuse which the Popes have committed in matter of Indulgences and which they commit every day is notoriously known to every body as also the complaints that have beene made of it The Popes have undertaken to pull soules out of Purgatory by commanding the Angels to take them forth and to carry them into Paradise Wee have set downe the Bull of it in another place As for the plenarie pardon of all sinnes with this expression be they never so hainous this is ordinary with them not only at the great Iubily which they reduced from an hundred yeares to fifty from fifty to thirty from thirty to twenty five and ere it be long they will abate yet a little more of the terme to the intent that they may augment their Court and oblige every body to come thither the oftener but also in their particular Buls which they grant out That of Sixtus the fifth of the year 1588 granted to the Catholiques of this Realme of France makes proose of it which gives the Curats and Confessours power To absolve from all crimes sinnes and excesses be they never so heinous with many others which I could alledge containing bolder clauses than that which not long since have with scandall beene presented to open view 2 But that which is yet more to be condemned in them is that the Popes doe not only give remission of sinnes already committed but also of such as are to be committed Which is a meanes to oblige all the base raskals in the world unto him and to give them occasion to redouble their crimes and misdemeanours to rob with foure hands to kill father and mother to set upon their Lords and Maisters to violate the authority of their Princes and usurpe their Dominions For provided they can make their party stronger and that they be devout towards the Holy See there will be no want of an indulgence yea even without that alwayes provided they pay their rent 3 The Clergy of Leige in their epistle directed to Pope
quarantains of true pardon 40 And the said pardons and indulgences here above mentioned are granted onely to the brothers and sisters of the said Fraternitie which shall upon the daies aforesaid everie yeare visit the said altar in that Church of St. Hilary of Chartres upon which the blessed Sacrament and precious bodie of Iesus Christ is placed 41 Medard Thiersault Priest Licentiat in the Lawes Canon of Chartres Oââiciall and Vicar Generall both in the spiritualty and temporalty of the reverend Father in God Monsieur Lewes by the grace of God and the holy See Apostolique Bishop of Chartres to all and singular the Parsons and Vicars of the Churches within the Citie of Chartres sendeth greeting ân our Lord God everlasting Pope Paul the third of happy memorie did heretofore of his own proper motion for the honor reverence of the precious blessed Sacrament grant unto the brothers of the fraternity of the blessed body of Iesus Christ in the Minerva of Rome certaine indulgences plenary remission of sinnes immunities and other graces the good devotion and upon petition of the faithfull Christian Brothers Which indulgences and plenary remission of sins our holy Father Iulius the third by the divine providence Pope to the end that all Christians should presse more earnestly and devoutly to come and honour the so admirable blessed Sacrament of his owne authoritie and dignitie hath willed and decreed that they bee of perpetuall force and efficacie And these indulgences and other graces aforesaid at the instance and request of the most noble personage Mr. Christopher de Herovard the Lieutenant Generall of the most Christian King within the Bailiwicke of Chartres hath communicated and granted them to the Brothers and Sisters of the Fraternitie of the most blessed body of Iesus Christ heretofore instituted and erected in the Church of Saint Hilary of Chartres alwayes provided that like grace and gift was not formerly granted to any other Church of the said Citie of Chartres And forasmuch as we have viewed the contents of the said indulgences in the publique instrument out of the copie of Domenic Bishop of Hostia Cardinall of the holy Church of Rome by title Traven Deane of the sacred Apostolicall Colledge Protector and Patron of the devout and Catholique Fraternitie of the blessed body of our Lord Iesus Christ founded in the Church of our Lady of Minerva of the Order of Friars predicants in the Citie of Rome in manner of an exemplification published drawne signed and sealed by Genese Bulter Secretary to the said Fraternitie given at Rome the sixt of May one thousand five hundred and fiftie And furthermore whereas by a certaine declaration made unto the Court of Rome by the command and with the leave of the Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Chartres and as it seemes to us truly and lawfully made that 't is certaine the like grace was never granted to any other Church in the Citie of Chartres Wherefore we command you to publish and cause to bee published in your Churches the said indulgences and the exemplifications of the letters aforesaid according to their forme and tenure Giving leave to the said Mr. Christopher de Herovard to cause the said Graces and Indulgences to be published within the Citie and Suburbs of Chartres whether by Siquis's or otherwise as the same Herovard shall thinke good Given at Chartres under the seale of the Chamber of the said Reverend Father in God the Bishop of Chartres in the yeare one thousand five hundred and fiftie upon Thursday being the last of Iuly Subscribed P. le Seneux 42 See here how the Popes play with their indulgences and amongst the rest two of them which presided by their Legats at the Councell of Trent to wit Paul the third and Iulius the third The reformation of such abuses was required heretofore in such Generall Councels as were then holden as by the Bishop of Menda in that of Vienna in Dauphiny who amongst other points by him proposed unto the said Councell puts this for one It were fit to provide a competent remedy for this and besides to cause the fees of the curriers and Nuncio's of the Court of Rome to cease We have told you elsewhere upon the testimonie of the Bishop of Panormo that by reason of the too hastie breaking up of that Councell by Clement the fift that reformation was never medled with 43 Amongst other articles proposed by divers nations at the Councell of Constance touching the point of reformation this about Indulgences was one upon which they were to deliberate after the creation of the Pope But Martin the fift being elected he referr'd the case to another time And forasmuch as Mr. Iohn Gerson Chancelor of the Vniversitie of Paris was present at the same Councell and in very much repute and authoritie both in behalfe of the Vniversitie and as deputy for Charles the sixt King of France we will here make him declare his beleefe in matter of Indulgences Behold here his articles 44 The onely supreme Pope Christ together with the Father and the Holy Ghost can by a plenary authoritie grant a totall indulgence as well from punishment as fault 45 The onely Pope Christ can commute eternall punishment into temporall or absolve from punishment freely and without any merit besides his owne 46 The onely Pope Christ can give indulgence for so many thousand millions of dayes and yeares as we finde in divers grants of Popes and others in divers times and places and upon divers occasions 47 The granting of Indulgences for so many millions not onely of daies but yeares seemes impossible to be maintained without great difficultie after remission of eternall punishment and commutation into temporall For it is certaine that no particular man can or ought to bee bound to doe penance so many yeares forasmuch as he cannot live the thousand part of those yeares and no man is bound to impossibilities It is also certaine that Purgatory shall cease at the worlds end and consequently the dayes of his penance too 48 From hell there is no redemption At the end of that Tract hee hath these verses Arbitrio Papa proprio si clavibus uti Possit cur sinit ut poena pios cruciet Cur non evacuat loca purgandis animabus Tradita If so the Pope may use the keyes aâ's pleasure Why does he let good men such paines endure Why does he not too cruell and unkinde Emptie the place for purging soules design'd 49 Now whereas he beleeves that the Popes indulgences doe not reach so farre as hell that is hereticall as well as the other articles by him set downe For other Doctors hold that the Pope is Lord of the world that he officiats in the nature of Christs Vicar both in things celestiall terrestriall and infernall Angustin de Ancona approved by the Popes as well as the former author argues thus in the matter of Indulgences
can dispense with the law above the law by reason of his plenitude of power This âext will bee alwaies understood according to the exposition of the Doctours and Practitioners who hold that the Pope may dispense above the law beside the law and against the law that hee hath soveraigne power in all and above all 2 But though he should challenge no more but the dispensing with humane laws in all those cases specified by Gratian it were no light matter Our laws would henceforth scarse serve our turnes neither the Decrees nor the Canons For according to his opinion the Pope is no way subject to them but may dispense with them and make new lawes Our Glossatour upon the Canon law avowed by the Rota of Rome goes farre further as thatâ The Pope may dispense against the Apostle against the old Testament against the foure Evangelists against the law of God When they come so farre in this I leave you to imagine what they will doe in the rest at this day especially when the controversie betwixt the Pope and the Councell shall bee decided It will not need to put in that exception of the glosse That the Pope cannot dispense against the generall state of the Church For he being above it and having full soveraigntie when he shall make use of it who will tell him You are to blame Especiallie considering our Sophisters maintaine now adaies that all he does is well done and that he cannot erre in that regard Popes are not content to dispense onelie in their books but they do it farre better in their practise and that alwaies to their owne advantage For these dispensations aime at two things their profit and their greatnesse Germany will tell us newes of them As for the first I doe not speake of the Protestants but the Catholiques assembled ât an Imperiall Diet at Noremberg the year 1522 when they say 3 Many things are forbid by humane constitutions and many things also are commanded which are neither commanded nor prohibited by the lawes of God such are divers impediments of marriage by reason of affinitie common honesty spirituall and legall kindredâ and consanguinitie in many divers degrees Besides the use of some meats is forbidden which yet God created for the necessitie of men These and many other such like humane constitutions bind men so long till they can by their money purchase a dispensation from such lawes of those that made them So money makes that lawfull to the rich which the poore cannot compassâ gratis And by such unlawfull bands of humane constitutions there is not onely aâ huge masse of money drain'd out of Germanie and transported beyond the Alpesâ but a great deal of iniquitie is raised amongst Christians themselves many offences and quarrels when the poore perceive themselves caught in these nets foâ no other reason but because they want the thornes of the Gospel for so are richeââalledâ there This complaint was presented to Pope Adrian the 6 when hee talked of calling that Generall Conncell which was afterwards holden at Trent 4 The same nation of Germany had drawne up a summarie of other grievances some years before and presented them to the Emperour Maximilian The first was this As for the observance of Bulls compacts priviledges and letters granted by their Predecessours without any limitations the later Popes thinke they are not bound to them but on the contrarie they transgresse them by frequent dispensations suspensions and repeals upon any mans entreaty yea even oâ some base fellow 5 A certaine Archbishop of Germany Legat for the See of Rome asked Pope Zacharie what he should do about a dispensation which a German assured him he had got of Pope Gregory his predecessour to marrie a woman that had first beene married to his uncle and afterwards to a Cozen of his from whom shee was divorced and who was yet alive besides she was his kinswoman in the third degree and had beene a Nun. We know not what answer he had nor doe we here consider any thing but the injustnesse of the dispensation 6 Saint Bernard who lived in the year 1150 writing to Eugenius the third complaines bitterlie of these dispensations What you will say unto me doe you forbid me to dispense No saith he but onely to dâssipate I am not so ignorant but I know you are placed there to bee a dispenser but to edification not to destruction 7 The States of England being all assembled together in corps in the yeare 1246 under Henry the third put up divers grievances against the Pope in a bill of complaint drawne by them which wee read entire in the Historie of an English Monke amongst which this is one England is further aggrieved by the frequent comming of that infamous Nuncio non obstante whereby the religion of oathes the ancient customes the validity of writings the authority of grants the Statutes lawes priviledges are weakened and disanull'd Insomuch that infinite numbers of Englishmen are grieved and afflicted thereby The Pope doth not carry himselfe so legally and moderately towards the Realme of England in revoking the plenitude of his power as hee promised by word of mouth to the Proctours at Rome 8 The Bishop of Mânda in Gevaudan being commanded by Clement the fift to goe to the Generall Councell holden at Vienna in the time of Philip the Faire made some pretty notes touching the point of reformation Where speaking of dispensations he saith That the very nerves of the Canons and Decrees are broken by the dispensations which are made according to the style of the Court of Rome that they are against the common good And citing the authoritie of Saint Ierom writing to Rusticus Bishop of Narbon hee saith Since avarice is encreased in Churches as well as in the Roman Empire the law is departed from the Priests and seeing from the Prophets We reade also in the Decree sath he that Crassus was turned into gold and that he dranke gold He gives us the definition of a dispensation according to the Lawyers which he saith is a provident relaxation of the generall law countervailed by commodity or necessity that if it be otherwise used it is not a dispensation but a dissipation that the question is now about the staining of the state of the Church that those who dispense upon unnecessary causes erre Lastly for matter of dispensation hee would have that observed which Pope Leo said to wit That there are some things which cannot be altered upon any occasion others which may bee tempered in regard of the necessity of the times or consideration of mens age but alwayes with this resolution when there is any doubt or obscurity to follow that which is not contrary to the Gospell nor repugnant to the Decrees of holy Fathers 9 All the nations of Christendome that were present at the Councell of Constance demanded the like reformation For amongst other articles of
liberties by virtue whereof the Pope cannot dispense for any cause whatsoever with that which is of the law of God or nature or with that wherein the holy Councels doe not allow him to dispense And to that which is set downe in this point by the Ordinances of our Kings which expresly forbid all the Iudges of the land to have any regard To dispensations granted contrary to the Sacred Decrees and Councels upon paine of losing their places and declare furthermore That such as procure the said proviso's and dispensations shall not make use of them unlesse they get leave and permission from his Majesty CHAP. IV. Of Vnions of benefices 1 THe Councel leaves the Vnions of the benefices of Popes disposall at least such as are perpetuall for having made some rules concerning them it addes this clause Vnlesse it be otherwise declared by the See Apostolique The like may bee said of personall Vnions whereof the Pope may dispose at his pleasure by virtue of that clause Saving the Popes authoritie in what concernes manners and Ecclesiasticall discipline So then hee may make them at his will and pleasure and no abuse which he can use therein be subject to censure For from what hand can it come In the meane time see here a notable prejudice to all Christendome and which continually tends to the augmentation of this Papall power in attributing unto him the power of other Bishops to the end that all may depend upon him 2 In the Canon law it is said that Bishops may unite Churches Seeing then it belongs to their ordinary jurisâiction it is a wrong to them to take this power and facultie from them to bestow it upon the Pope To whom it is true so much honour hath beene yeelded in France as to receive his Bulles whereby they proceed to the union of benefices provided they be not personall and for the other that they be granted after full cognizance of the cause and upon very just and lawfull reasons And which is more it is not sufficient that those causes bee knowne to the Pope alone that they bee declared in his Bulls but hee is bound to send out his writs of delegation In partibus for the effecting of the said unions with cognizance of the cause and consent of the Patron and such as are any way interested in them Which is as much as to give the power and authoritie to the Bishops reserving the honour to the Poep as appeares by the Collection of the liberties of the Gallicane Church See here the very words of it The Pope cannot make any unions or annexions of the livings of this Kingdome during the life of the Incumbents nor at other times but he may grant out writs of delegation concerning unions which is conceived to bee done according to the forme prescribed in the Councell of Constance and not otherwise and this with the consent of the Patron and such as have any interest in them 3 In the fortie third Session of the Councel of Constance it is said that those unions shall be void which are not made ex veris rationalibus causis upon true and reasonable causes This is the forme which the former Article speaks of If they be made otherwise an appeale is put up to the Parliaments of this Kingdome to stop the execution who have ofttimes cassed and disanull'd such like Bulls upon such occasions and that without any regard of the lapse of time or any other prescription as appears by the testimony of our common Lawyers of France and by the Arrests which have beene granted out So by an Arrest of Paris of the 17 of February 1547 the union made by the Bulls of Pope Clement the sixt with the counsell of his Cardinals and a Commandery of St. Lazarus and another Commanderie of St. Iohn of Ierusalem was cassed and declared to bee void upon the Appeal as from abuse exhibited by the maister of the Order of St. Lazarus a hundred years after and that because it had beene made without any just cause 4 The union of the benefice of St. Saviour with the Church of St. German Lauxerrois in Paris made in the yeare 1456 by virtue of the Bulls of Pope Calixt the third was likewise disanulled by an Arrest of the Parliament of Paris of the first of Aprill 1560 and so above an hundred years after Although by the said Bulls there was a commission In partibus directed to a certaine Counsellour Clerk of that court of Parliament And this because it appeared to the Court that that union had not beene grounded upon any sufficiciently just and necessary cause 5 Another union of divers livings with the Church of Tulles in Limosin made by virtue of the Bull of Pope Leo the tenth in the yeare 1513 was declared to be abusive by an Arrest of the Court of Parliament of Paris And another besides of divers benefices with the Priorie of Limoges by an Arrâst of the grand Councell of the 13 of March 1559. Pope Innocent the eight had united the parish Church of Blonu with the Chapter of the Cathedrall Church of Limoges by his Bulls of the 19 of March 1488 upon very colourable and apparent grounds as appears by the Bull which a learned person of our times hath inserted in his works entire But notwithstanding all his faire narration it was anulled fourescore years after by an Arrest of Paris of the last of Aprill 1575 upon the Appeale as from abuse which was exhibited against the execution of it for defect of a Commission upon the place 6 Another Bull had beene granted by Pope Alexander the sixt in the year 1500 for the union of the Parish Church of Doway with the Chapter of the Cathedrall Church of the same place which is quoted by the same authour But the Parliament of Paris upon the Appeale as from abuse exhibited by the Curat of Doway to stop the execution of it disanulled the union by an Arrest of the 1 of May 1575 because there wanted a writ for a Commiâsion In partibus Divers other unions besides have beene declared to bee abusive because they were made without the consent of the Lay Patrons and the Bulls have beene annulled as well by the Parliaments as by the Grand Councell 7 Now the Councell of Trent hath derogated from all these Arrests and others of the like kind first whereas abusive unions may be disanulled without any regard to prescription or tract of time by this Councell prescription of fourtie years is approved unlesse it bee in case the Bulls were obreptitious or subreptitious that is unlesse the Pope had false information whereas by the foresaid Arrests no prescription is considerable As for the other which have beene made within fortie years it is said indeed that they ought not to be valid unlesse they were made upon just cause and those whom it concerned were called before the Ordinarie of the place but it
the frequency of Councels 1 IT is a great advantage which the Pope hath got that there must bee no more Generall Councels but when hee pleaseth For loe here the Decree of our Councell If it chance that there bee any things which it thinkes there are not that require further declaratioÌ or determinatioÌ besides other remedies appointed in this CouÌcel the holy Synod trusts that the most blessed Bishop of Rome either by calling forth those whom he shall think most fit to treat about such a businesse out of those Provinces especially where such difficultie shall arise or by the celebration of a Generall Councell if he thinke it needfull or by any other more commodious way as he shall think good will take care that the necessities of the Provinces be provided for for Gods glory and the Churches peace 2 This is all one as to make the Pope past breeching past tutoring and correction to take away that frequent celebration of Couââels and leave the convocation of them to their courtesie is as much to give the rod wherewith the master hath whipt him into the Schollers hand to doe what he please with it The Popes when they were monstrously debauched in a monstrous fashion and given over to all manner of vices abominations and impieties were curb'd and brought under to some discipline by the Councels of Pisa Constance Siena Basil Lausanne and the second of Pisa. Where many of their Popes were deposed where many good rules were made for the holding of Councels tending principally to the reformation of the abuses of the Pope and Court of Rome where it was religiously ordained that Generall Councels should be called and celebrated every ten yeares and that in such sort as the Popes might not prolong the terme but might abridge it if need required See here the very words of the Decree of the Councell of Constance We ordaine and decree by this perpetuall Edict that from this time forwards Generall Councels shall bee holden in this manner The first that shall be held after this shall be within five yeares next following and the next after that within seven yeares immediately reckoning from the end of the former and alwayes after from ten yeares to ten yeares for ever And afterwards Which terme the supreme Bishop may abridge upon some occasions which may come to passe with the advice of his brethren the Cardinals of the holy Church of Rome but he may not protract it in any wise 3 This same Decree is set downe word for word in the first Session of the Councell of Basil and confirmed by it And in the eleventh Session is added this exposition of it This holy Synod doth further declare that these words of the Decree That it cannot be prolonged in any wise ought to bee understood by way of forbiddance or prohibition in such sort as it cannot bee prolonged even by the Pope himselfe It is the third time repeated and confirm'd in the sixteenth Session These same Decrees of these two Councels are transcribed word for word into the second of Pisa at the beginning and confirmed by it Antiquity shewes us plainly that after the Christians were at liberty Generall Councels were very frequent 4 The fruit that springs from the frequency of these Councels is recommended unto us by the Decrees above-mentioned where it is said that it is the principall tillage of the Lords field that it extirpates heresies schismes errours corrects excesses reformes what is amisse makes the vineyard of the Lord fertile Whereas the cessation of them on the other side produceth quite contrary effects as it is there delivered with this addition That the memory of times past and the consideration of the present made them eye-witnesses of it Whereunto we will adde the testimony of Mr. Iohn Gerson There never was heretofore nor ever will bee hereafter a more pernicious plague in the Church than the omission of Generall Councels whether in the matter or in the authority And in another place If so great and such enormous dangers have befalne the Church of God since the celebration of Generall Councels hath beene intermitted it is easie to see how usefull and commodious the frequent celebration of them would be 5 He is a very novice in the history of later times which knowes not the shifts and evasions which the Popes have used about the holding of Generall Councels even after they have by solemne oaths bound themselves to hold them and the wiles they have used to disanull and dissolve them the bickerings and disputes they have had with Councels themselves about that matter whereof we make mention in divers parts of this discourse The same Gerson witnesseth as much in saying that the Popes abuse the plenitude of their power in that they will not celebrate Generall Councels 6 Everard Bishop of Salisburg in an Imperiall Diet of Germany holden about two hundred ââares agoe speakes thus of this matter He that is the servant of servants desires to be the Lord of Lords as if he were a God hee sleights sacred assemblies and the advice of his brethren yea of his masters he is afraid lest he should be constrain'd to give account of those things which he commits dayly more and more against the lawes 7 Zabarel Cardinall of Florence who writ a little before the Councell of Pisa saith The ancient custome was that all difficult cases should bee determined by a Councell the convocation whereof was frequent But in after times certain Popes that have governed the Church rather like earthly Princes than like Apostles never tooke any great care to call them From which neglect hath sprung much mischiefe 8 Iacobus de Paradiso saith They tremble to heare any man speake of the calling of a Generall Councell knowing by experience that Councels doe not deale gently but correct and amend without respect of persons And indeed the Emperours and Princes who in these later times had quite let goe the reines of Ecclesiasticall discipline through ignorance of their right were forced to resume their authority and proceed to the convocation of Councels against the Popes will 9 So that it is but a cheating of Christendome above board to leave the judgement of the necessity of Generall Councels to the Popes will and pleasure abolishing by this meanes the good order established by the Councels aforesaid which was received and confirm'd by our Pragmatique Sanction where the said Decrees are transcribed word for word Which gave occasion to King Charles the ninth to require by his Ambassadours at Trent the celebration of Generall Councels every ten yeares as appeares by his demandsâ to which no regard was had because this intrencht upon the Popes authority who by this kinde of suppression of Generall Councels hookes all the power of them unto himselfe CHAP. VII Of the Iesuites 1 THe Order of Iesuits instituted by the two Popes Paul and Iulius the third the
them upon them ought all of them to be reputed not Ministers but theeves and robbers that came not in by the doore 4 It may bee made to appeare yet more particularly that this Councels intention was to put into the Popes hands all that concernes the election of Bishopriques and other Ecclesiasticall dignities and offices and to deprive others that might claime any right to them For by the first Chapter of the sixt Session the care and charge of preferring or causing to bee preferred unto the government of Churches such as shall be most worthie and the power of providing for Bishopriques in stead of the Bishops that do not reside belongs unto him which will be a meanes for him to revenge himselfe of such Princes as would desire to retaine trusty Prelates in their Counsell For if they doe so without the Popes licence they shall be deprived of them if with his consent they shall be but ill served by them Besides the Pope will keepe them continually in awe by other meanes afforded him by this Councell as namely by the oath which they are bound to sweare unto him at their Provinciall Councels and Synods within their Dioces by the censure of their life and manners their errours and offences which is also granted unto him with supreme jurisdiction to punish them 5 And as for lesser dignities the Pope is intreated at the twenty first Chapter of the last Session that the Monasteries Abbeyes Priories and Provostships be bestowed for the future upon regular men of tried virtue and sanctity If these authorities be not sufficient we adde further That this Councell gives the Pope authority over all that by this meanes hee may derogate abrogate change make unmake any thing that he pleaseth the clause of Clave non errante and the exception Curita facis being now abolished We say more that this Councell confirmes all the Canons and Decrees of Popes and that by them elections now adaies belong neither to the people nor to Kings and Princesâ that they have neither part nor quart in them nor can they meddle with them in any sort In all this the interest of Kings and Princes and of the people likewise is concerned If wee make this right and interest appeare by their owne testimonies by the very Canons and Decrees of Popes and Councels by the authority of all antiquity by the credit of Histories what will remaine more but that we conclude that that is by usurpation taken from them which in justice ought to bee restored unto them The Glossatour upon the Canon Law confesseth this usurpation in downe right termes For speaking of the consecration of Archbishops The Archbishop saith hee of right ought to bee consecrated by all his âuffragans yet notwithstanding the Pope usurpes this power to himselfe With greater reason may it be said that hee usurps the consecration of Bishops and others that are of inferiour dignitie 6 Now that the people hath a share in the election of their Bishops and Pastours besides the expresse places of holy Scripture which may and ought to suffice I urge their owne Canons and the sayings of former Popes who testifie the use and custome of the ancient Church in matter of elections and tell us in plaine termes that they were made by the Clergy and people jointly and by one common advice without the one usurping upon the others authoritie Amongst the Epistles of Ivo Bishop of Chartres we read the very form which the Popes used at the consecration of Bishops where mention is made of the election of the Clergie and people which beginnes thus Forasmuch as wee beleeve that being called by the will of God the Clergy and people of such a City have with one consent chosen you their Rectour and Bishop brought unto us to desire consecration c. The very same forme did Pope Vrban use at the consecration of the said Bishop of Chartres for it is upon that occasion Ivo relates it 7 This was also observed even in the election of the Pope of Rome which was performed by the Clergie and people as their owne bookes testifie To all which they proceeded in such sort as the Princes authoritie was above all For whether he made the election himselfe alone and by his owne proper authoritie which is condemned by this Councell or hee gave and granted it sometimes to the Pope this I learne from their owne writings sometimes to the Clergy and people yet still so as his consent and the confirmation was reserved unto himselfe The Emperours and Princes themselves made the lawes and Ordinances concerning it they prescribed the order and forme which should be observed in it All this is testified unto us by the Popes and Councels themselves yea approved and followed by them yea with all humility received and they thought this right to belong to Kings and Princes so farre that they never made any bones of acknowledging in them a power to chuse Popes and all other Bishops of declaring in their Synods that this of right belonged unto them of confirming it unto them as farre as they were able 8 Pope Adrian with his whole Synod which consisâed of one hundred fiftie three Bishops Religious persons and Abbats gave the right and power of electing the Pope ânto Charles the Great the power and right of chusing and further ordained that the Archbishops and Bishops of all the Provinces should receive their investiture from him in such sort as no Bishops can bee consecrated by any man unlesse he be approved and invested by the King pronouncing and anathema against such as shall doe otherwise as is said in expresse termes in the Canon Adrianus 9 Pope Leo the seventh following this example made this Constitution I Leo Bishop servant of servants with all the Clergy and people of Rome doe ordaine confirme corroborate and grant by our authority Apostolique unto Otho the first our Lord King of the Germans and his successors the power from hence forwards of electing the successors and ordaining the Pope of the high See Apostolique as also to the Archbishops and Bishops to receive their investiture from him and their consecration where they ought And a little after That the Bishop being elected by the Clergy and people cannot bee consecrated till hee bee first allowed and invested by the King See here how every one had his share in it the Clergie and People the election the Prince the approbation and investiture the Archbishop or Metropolitan or the Councell it selfe the consecration 10 Nor can it be said that this right was first granted to the Emperours in the person of Charlemaigne it was no more but confirmed for other Emperours of old were anciently accustomed so to doe as it is affirmed in expresse termes in the Canon Agatho very remarkable to this purpose Where Pope Agatho who lived in the yeare six hundred eighty eight obtained of Constantine the fourth their Emperour an immunitie and release from that
side and other the Emperour was reconciled to Gregory and confirmed him Pope as was then the custome of Emperours to doe 17 The same Platina saith in the life of Alexander the second that a certaine Archbishop delegated on behalfe of the Emperour Henry the fourth reproved him very sharpelie for usurping the See of Rome without the Emperourâ command contrarie to law and custome It is true he addes that Archdeacon Hildebrand who was Pope after him and was called Gregorie the seventh defending the Popes cause said That if hee would consent with law and ancient custome the election of him belonged to the Clergy And by these reasons brought over the Archbishop to his opinion So that this was out of faint-heartednes and not by the truth of his reasons for he himselfe that urged them when he was made Pope received his owne confirmation from the Emperour as wee have said 18 The right of the Emperours in the election and confirmation of Popes being such there can bee nothing now alledged against these authorities but mere usurpation and violence which the succeeding Popes have used towards the Emperours to deprive them of it For after all these there was no more neither contracts nor agreements about this subject CHAP. IX Of the election and investiture of other Bishops 1 LEt us speake now of other Bishops The Patriarchs were created also by the Emperour or at least by his consent and approbation Balsamon the Patriarch of Antioch gives testimonie of it The Orthodox Emperours who by the invocation of the blessed Trinitie preferre the Patriarchs and are the anointed of the Lord goe in to the sacred altar when they will As for other Bishops we have learned from the Canons before alledged that the approbation and investiture of them belongs to the Emperours and they were wont so to use them even with the consent of the Popes and Synods 2 The authoritie which the Councell of Trent gives to the Pope at this day to dispose of dignities and Prelacies belonged anciently to the Emperours yea and that in such sort as the Popes themselves never came in competition with them for it but all the power which they had in that respect proceeded from the commission delegation or grant of the Emperours They are the Popes owne Canons which say so Leo the fourth in Gratians Decrees entreats the Emperours Lewes and Lotharius that they would bestow the Bishoprique of Riete upon a certaine Deacon called Colonus and to be pleased that with their leave and permission hee might consecrate him Bishop Which was granted him as appeares by the letter which the Pope writ to the Countesse of Riete about it The Emperour and Emperesse saith he enjoyned me by their letters to make Colonus Bishop of Riete which I have done accordingly 3 Guido Earle of the same Citie by his letter entreated Pope Stephen that hee would consecrate a Bishop that had beene chosen by the Clergy and people that so the Church might not continue any long space without a Pastor To whom hee made answer Wee could not consecrate him so soone as you desired because hee brought us not the Emperours letters containing his pleasure therein as the custome is by reason whereof wee are perplexed But we advise you seeing wee can doe no otherwise in this case to procure the Emperors licence as the ancient custome is and his letters directed unto us so shall wee not faile to satisfie your desire and to consecrate him that was elected 4 St. Gregory in the same Decret of Gratian makes his complaint to the Empresse Constantia how the Bishop of Salona which some call Spalato at this day had beene consecrated by another than himselfe and how upon that occasion he had suspended him from celebrating Masse till such time saith he as I shall haue understood from my most Illustrioâs Lords whether they commanded him so to doe Hee afterwards addes For all this he doth not forbeare celebrating of masses and that hee would not come unto him according to the Emperours command 5 In the Canon Principali Pope Pelagius the first or second writes to the Bishop of Forcella how he had received a letter or commission from the Emperour called Sacra whereby he was commanded to create a Priest a Deacon and a Subdeacon in that City in obedience whereunto hee commanded the said Bishop to proceed to the ordination Gregory the thirteenth in his new purgation of the Canon law saith that the consecration spoken of in this Canon was made upon the Emperours demand He should have said by the Emperours command For it is in the text praecepit and not petiit 6 Gregory the Great speakeâ in another place of a Bishop of Locri elected by common consent of a Councell and assisted by the Emperours pleasure in the yeare of the Lord 1046. Gregory the sixt created Odilo Abbat of Cluny Archbishop of Lyons by his owne proper authoritie sending him the Pall and the Ring which he received yet without accepting of the Dignitie saying he would reserve it for him that should bee chosen Archbishop At the same time the Emperour Henry the third to whom Lyons then belonged as an Imperiall Citie was perswaded as well by the Bishops as by all the people to ordaine Odolricus Archbishop thereof who was Archdeacon of Langresâ a man worthy such a charge which he did 7 The same Emperour made an Edict against Simoniacall persons where he urgeth this reason As God hath freely given me the Crowne of the Empire so will I freely bestow that which belongs unto his religion and will have you also to doe the like saith he speaking unto the Bishops whom hee had assembled in a Councell to provide against that contagion which was so rife in those dayes and having found them all almost spotted with that disease having pitie on them he gave them this comfort Goe your wayes saith he and endeavour honestly to distribute what you have unlawfully received and pray to God for my fathers soule who is guilty of this fault as well as you Therefore the Emperour Conrade his father created those Bishops though it were by Simony 8 All the rest of the Emperours that lived both before and after him had the same power of chusing or confirming Bishops and other Ecclesiasticall Prelats or of approving them by putting them in possession of such dignities by granting them investitures into them Helmodius a Priest and historian makes Vicelin Bishop of Aldembourg speake thus To invest Bishops belongs onely to the Imperiall Majesty He puts the same language in the mouth of the Archbishop and Clergie of Breme The investiture of Bishops is permitted onely to the Imperiall dignity A certaine Bishop of Germany in a treatise made by him of the Investiture of Bishops the yeare 1109 saith amongst other things That Gregory the great writ to Theodorick Theodebert and Brunedulde Kings and Queene of France to make their
investitures of Bishops without Simony He saith also that Pope Iohn confirmed the investiture of the Bishoprique of Liege which King Charles had granted to an Abbat whose name was Richard 9 An infinite number of Historians and other ancient Authors besides doe testifie that the Emperours bestowed Bishopriques and Abbeyes and gave the investitures of them I shall content my selfe with putting down some of theââ in the margent without relating what they say of it considering it is a thing sufficiently knowne 10 The Emperours enjoyed this right peaceably without any controversiâ till the time of Gregory the seventh who though himselfe had received his confirmation from the hands of Henry the fourth as wee have said yet with the advice of a Synod he thundered out an excommunication against all Emâperours Kings Dukes Marquesses Earles and other secular powers or person who should adventure to conferre investitures of Bishopriques and other Ecâclesiasticall dignities and against such as should receive them at their handsâ Which Decree serves now adaies for an inviolable law unto his successours being inrolled in their bookes And wee may truly say this was the flame thaâ gave fire to those seditions warres and other bickerings betwixt the Pope and Emperours which have consumed all Christendome and which engenâdred nought since but disorder and confusion 11 I will not stay to relate the histories of all that hath passed concerning this subject because they are sufficiently knowne to every bodie save onely what passed betwixt Pope Paschall the second and the Emperour Henry the fift whom they hold to have renounced this right to the prejudice of his successours This Pope made an obligation to this Emperour about investitures in these termes Pope Paschal granteth unto the Emperour Henry and to his kingdome as his priviledge inviolable and in the person of the Bishop or Abbat elected freely without Simony the same will corroborate and confirme with consent of the said Emperour that it shall belong unto the said Emperour to invest them by giving of a ring and crosier staffe and that the Bishop or Abbat thus invested shall freely receive consecration from that Bishop to whom it shall belong to give it But if any be elected by the Clergy and people unlesse he be invested by the Emperour he shall not be consecrated by any man and the Archbishops and Bishops shall freely consecrate those that are invested by the Emperour Hee set out another Bull and constitution besides pretty large containing for substance the same with the former script which we read in histories entire 12 All this is now condemn'd as a nullitie and accused of force and violence being made by a prisoner and captive Pope Besides the repeale thereof is alledged which was made presently after by the Councels of Lateran and Vienna under the same Pope and almost at the same time That of Lateran calleth this priviledge granted unto Henry a praviledge playing upon the word condemnes it casseth and declares it a nullitie yea and excommunicates it We condemne it say they we judge it null and utterly cashiere it and for feare lest it should have any authoritie and eâfâcacy wee absolutely excommunicate it That of Vienna useth the like condemnation and goeth yet further declaring investitures to be hereticall Behold the words Following the authority of the Church of Rome wee judge investitures of Bishopriques Abbeyes and other Churches to be a heresie It pronounceth also the same Emperour accursed We excommunicate him saith it wee anathematize him and cast him out of the bosome of the holy mother Church 13 Such was the fury of the See of Rome against this poore Emperour that the Legats trotted over all parts of Christendome to cause the like excommunications to proceed against him as an ancient writing testifies which Mr. Francis Iuret hath inserted in his notes upon the Epistles of Ivo Bishop of Chartres The yeare one thousand one hundred and fourteene Cono Bishop of Pilastrine and Legat of the See Apostolique did anathematize the said King Henry at Beauvais at a Councell by him there holden and at the next Lent He condemned the same Henry in a Councell holden at Rhemes Conon condemned King Henry at Cullen in the Church of St. Gereon Conon condemned the same King in a fourth Councell holden by him at Chalons 14 See here is enough to put him in a fright but they must trouble England too about it For Anselme Bishop of Canterbury having received the decree of the Councell of Lateran did his endeavour to make it be observed by degrading certaine Abbats and Priours who had taken their investitures from lay hands 15 This poore Emperour abandoned almost by all the world and combated even by his owne subjects especially by the Clergie was constrained to renounce the right of his predecessors and to quit claime the investitures to the Pope by a goodly declaration which he made concerning it see here the words I Henry by the grace of God Emperour of Rome for the love of God of the holy Roman Church and of Pope Calixt and for the benefit of my soule doe restore unto God and to his blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and to the holy Catholique Church all kinde of investiture made by the ring and the staffe and permit that elections and free consecrations be made in all Churches The Pope on the other side made this declaration unto him Calixt servant of the servants of God to his welbeloved sonne Henry by the grace of God Emperour of the Romans I grant that the elections of the Bishops and Abbats of Germany which belong to the Empire be made in your presence without Symony and violence to the end that if any discord chance to arise betwixt the parties you may give your consent and assistance to the sounder side by the Counsell or judgement of the Metropolitan and Provincials And that hee who shall bee elected may receive from you the Royalties by the Scepter excepting all such as belong to the Church of Rome and that he doe unto you all which he is bound by right to doe And hee that shall be consecrated in other parts of the Empire shall be bound to receive the Royalties of you by the Scepter within six moneths Hee calls the fiefs and other rights which the Bishops hold of the Empire Royalties 16 The question is now whether this renunciation be valid and whether it could prejudice his successors No good lawyer will ever pronounce for it First in as much as the Councels aforesaid cancelled the obligation of Pope Paschal as made by impression and violence this renunciation of the Empire stands void by the same reason considering he was brought to that extremitie by the noise of those thunderbolts hurled by the See of Rome in all parts of the world and by the revolt of his subjects seduced by the abuse of these spirituall remedies and by the warre which was stirred up against him to preserve and
defend himselfe from an ignominious authoration and to procure the repeale of those anathema's which vexed his soule how ever unjust he was compeld to disclaime his rights 17 Now this force and necessitie appears by that testimonie of Otho Bishop of Freisinger Wherefore saith he the Empire being dismembred and broken many wayes the Emperour perceiving that the King revolted from him because of the anathema pronounced against him and fearing his fathers example having called a great assembly of Princes together at Wormes hee resigned the investiture of Bishops to Lampert Legat of the See Apostolique The revolt against him was such that his owne nephewes did abandon him saith the Abbat of Vsperge who addes these words the true tokens of this violence He surrendred Ecclesiasticall investitures unto the Church and all other spirituall matters which the Empârours of Germany had so long managed and which hee had purposed for the not impairing the honour of the Empire never to forgoe so long as he liv'd No man can say but an injust anathema is an unlawfull force a violent impression and what is done by occasion thereof is lyable to restitution 18 The termes of this surrender doe elsewhere shew it to be personall and that it layes no obligation upon his successors It is the exposition which was put upon it in those dayes witnesse the same Bishop of Freisinger This priviledge therefore is set downe in writing for the Church and it is granted to him by way of exchange by the Pope that those who shalâ be elected as well on this side as you side the mountaines shall not be consecrated Bishops till they have received the Royalties from his hands and by the Scepter Which the Romans say was granted for quietnesse sake and to him onely not to his successors Seeing by their confession the compact is no more but personall for as much as concernes what was granted to the Emperour by the same reason they must acknowledge it is just so in regard of what was granted to the Pope 19 So the Emperours which reigned after him complain'd of injustice even Lotharius the fourth the successor of the same Henry against Innocent the second witnesse the Abbat of Vsperge At this time saith he the Pope went to finde the Emperour at Leiege demanding assistance and favour of him against the said Peter and his abettors but the Emperour having taken advice what hee should answer begunne to redemand of the Pope the investitures of Bishopriques which the Emperours had enjoyed for a long time before The same was done by Otho the fourth Which a German Historian signifies unto us by these words speaking of the dissention of that Emperour and Pope Innocent the third As for the Pope saith he the reason of it might bee because the Emperour redemanded the ancient imperiall rights over Italy some whereof had beene lately transfer'd unto the Church But Marsilius of Padua affirmes it more clearly speaking also of the Emperour Frederick the secondâ Otho fourthâ saith hee and Frederick the second when they would have repealed it may be for lawfull causes these grants and priviledges he speaks of Investitures or indeed repealing them absolutelie or in part they endured many plots persecutions and impediments from the Clergy and Bishops of Rome 20 As for those Councels which were the cause of this renunciation and pronounced the Emperour anathema depriving him of Investitures it must be observed upon what grounds they stand They deprive an Emperour of the right of Investitures without hearing him without summoning him See here an injustice They condemne Investitures as hereticall they condemne then Pope Adrian the first and all his Councell of heresie who granted them to Charles the Great Leo the eight and his Councell who granted them to Otho as also all other Popes who tolerated them yea even those who approv'd them of whom we have spoken already 21 And upon this point we must heare what our good Bishop of Chartres that great Pope-Monk saith who is much troubled to defend this condemnation of heresieâ and implication of horrible contradictions For in his epistles making answer to Iohn Archbishop of Lyons who reprehended herein the fathers of this Councell of Vienna Whereas saith he you reprehend those that ranke the investitures of Ecclesiasticall dignities made by Lay men amongst the number of heresies it seemes there is no great force in your reprehension For although hereticall errour lodge in the heart as well as Catholique faith yet notwithstanding as we know a Catholique by his Catholique works so wee know an heretique by his hereticall works God hath said by their fruits yee shall know them and every tree is knowne by his fruit And although externall investitures made by Lay men cannot be properly judged heresies yet to bee of opinion and to maintain that they are lawful is an undoubted heresie This is not said with sufficient reason For the Councell saith Investiture is an heresie and he makes no answer to that If it bee an heresie then it follows as wee said that those precedent Popes and Councels that authorized them yea to take in all that is in Ivo's answere that were of opinion they might and ought to bee given by the Emperours were truly heretiques 22 This Bishop makes us behold this heresie of another colour so much paines does he take to defend a bad cause for he judgeth it an heresie in case the Lay man which performes it doe thinke it to bee a Sacrament If any Lay man saith he fall into this follie that he thinks he can administer a Sacrament or a thing belonging to a Sacrament of the Church by the giving and taking of a rod wee judge him an absolute heretique not for his manuall investiture but for hiâ diabolicall opinion Verily so should a Priest bee too that should beleeve his âurre his surpleââe or his square cap to bee a Sacrament And yet hee must not therefore be devested of them In that epistle hee notes no other heresie in investitures but urgeth many reasons to prove they are not so yet notwithstanding he concludes that Princes must be deprived of them Because saith he being performed by Lay men it is an usurpation upon another mans right a sacrilegious presumption Hee speaks thus to maintaine the cause of the Pope and the Councell right or wrong 23 But let us hear what he saith of it formerly when he was in cold bloud in an Epistle of his written to Hugh Archbishops of Lyons As for that which you writ unto me how the said party elect received Investiture into his Bishoprique from the Kings hands wee knew nothing of it nor was it told unto us by any body But although it were so yet considering that hath no force of a sacrament to make a Bishop whether it bee done or not done I doe not see wherein it can be hurtfull to faith and religion yea we doe not finde that by Apostolicall authoritie Kings
whereat the said Archbishop was highly offended in so much that he with other Bishops at the Synod of Estampes were upon the point of revoking the said consecration made by the Pope as prejudiciall to the authoritie Royal. See here what the same Bishop saith of it in a letter to Pope Vrban Moreover I give your Holinesse to wit that the Archbishop of Sens being infatuated by the counsell of the Bishop of Paris having summoned the said Bishop of Paris and two others of the same humor to wit he of Meaux and he of Troyes did very indiscreetly accuse me this present year because of the consecration which I had received from you saying that I had offended against the Kings Majesty by attempting to receive my consecration from the See Apostolique We have heard before what this same Bishop said of Investitures speaking of the King of France 26 We may now conclude that elections nominations and approbations in point of benefices have alwaies belonged unto our Kings and have beene at their free disposall By their last ordinances they have beene pleas'd as well to disburthen themselves of that charge as also to prevent the enterprises of the Popes to decree that elective dignities should bee conferr'd by elections and benefices which were not elective by the collations and presentations of the Collators and Patrons And this according to the Councell of Basilâ which hath tied the Popes hands in this respect and the Pragmatique Sanctions of St. Lewes and Charles the seventh Yet this was still with two conditions one that the Kings Congé d'elire should bee requir'd by way of preamble at least in respect of Bishopriques and Abbeyes otherwise the election should be accounted a nullitie Which is verified by the letters of our Kings as farre as King Lewes the eleventh containing the said licence which may yet be found in the treasurie of Chartres in a great box quoted xxv Which right was declared to belong to King Philip the Faire when the question was about Saint Maglairs Abbey as some report 27 The other that the said Prelates before they could be called such should be bound to take the oath of allegiance according to the ancient custome as it was determin'd by the Arrests of the Parliament of Paris against the Archbishop of Anx and the Bishop of Mantes Which was observed in the time of Philip the first according to the testimonie of the Bishop of Chartres who in his epistles addressed to Pope Paschal speaking of the Archbishop of Rhemes who had beene depriv'd of his dignitie and for whose reestablishment the said Bishop had interceded to the Kings Councell The Princes Court saith he inclining to the contrary we could not obtaine an entire peace unlesse the said Metropolitan would make unto the King such an oath of allegiance as other Archbishops of Rhemes together with all the rest of the Bishops of this Realme of France how holy and religious soever they were made to the Kings his predecessors Divers authors beare witnesse of this oath of allegiance made by Bishops to their kings and princes both in England and France and other places some of them set downe the very forme 28 Since this time our kings have beene compell'd to divide their rights with the Popes to give them content and be at peace with them by taking away elections and reserving unto themselves in stead thereof the nominations and allowing unto Popes the confirmations By the ordinance of Orleans King Charles would have taken the Clergie and people in to his share by decreeing that when Bishopriques fell void the Archbishop and Bishops of the Province and the Canons of the Cathedral Church should meet togther with twelve gentlemen chosen by the Nobilitie of the Dioces twelve Bârgesses chosen in the Guildhal of the Archiepiscopal or Episcopal Citie to make he a nomination of three persons of which the King should chuse one whom he pleased to name Which notwithstanding we never yet saw observed 29 Wee will say for conclusion that it is no small advantage to the Pope to have the confirmation of the Bishops of France which was granted him by the Concordat but it will bee farre greater yet if he keepe that authoritie which is given him by this Councel For by it hee will quickly bring all these Concordats to nothing and wil resume the extravagancies of his predecessors who had got all the elections and collations of the Bishopriques and benefices of this Kingdome into their Churches to the utter ruine and destruction of it draining the Realme of moneyes and filling it with strangers and bringing it to an extreame miserie as we say else where 30 We shall only here observe the particular interest of Kings and Princes for as much as concernes their power and authoritie whereof they ought to be very jealous if they marke it There is nothing which fortifies it so much as that right which they have to chuse and elect Churchmen nor which weakneth it so much as when the Pope hath an hand in it either in whole or in part Ivo Pishop of Chartres although hee had received his Investiture from Philip the first yet in asmuch as he had got his confirmation from Pope Vrban he was alwaies affectionate to him and the See Apostolique even to the prejudice of the King and Kingdome to whom he did sometimes very ill offices as wee collect from some of his epistles On the contrarie because Lupus had got the Abbey of Saint Peter de Ferriers in the Dioces of Sens by the donation of Charles the Bald he was alwaies loyall and he even brags of it in one of his Epistles 31 An English Historian though hee bee a Monke yet hee knew well how to set out this interest of Princes For speaking of the consecration of certaine Bishops of England made by Innocent the fourth when he was at Lions hee saith They were consecrated by the Pope not without great damage and danger to the Realme of England For the Pope having so ingaged the Bishops unto him they found themselves more obliged unto him and despising the King they were more inclined to doe mischiefe to the Kingdome 32 The Bishop of Chartres continuing his devotion to Pope Vrban gave him notice of this point upon the election of an Archbishop of Rhemes who he assured the Pope was very zealous for the See Apostolique adding afterwards Now how necessarie it is for the Church of Rome to place in that See a minister which is devout and affectionate unto her it is not for me to informe your wisedome which knowes very well that this See weares the Royall Diademe and serves for a patterne almost to all other Churches of France either of ruine or Resurrection 33 Not without cause did Pope Nicholas the first stomach at Lotharius because he would not suffer any Bishop to bee chosen in his Kingdome unlesse hee were faithfull and well inclined to
over Bishops and other Ecclesiastiques that they themâselves have been intercessours unto them to get them to proceed unto such judgements Pope Liberius intreated the Emperor Constantius that hee would make the cause of Athanasius be judged If your clemencie thinke good saith hee that you would let him be judged Pope Iulius had recourse to the Emperour Constans in behalfe of the same Athanasius and of Paul who presented him with letters directed to his brother Constantius upon the same occasion 16 Gregory the Great intreats the Kings of France Theodoric and Theodebert to doe justice to Vrsicius Bishop of Turin To make justice in all things bee observed towards him and the truth being knowne to make that be amended which hath beene unlawfully committed against him and to cause that to bee restored with equitie which was taken from him by violence This Bishop had beene deposed and another put in his place The same Pope after he had divers times intreated the same Kings of France to call a Councell in their Realme for restraining of the crime of Simonie which was at that time verie rife writ at last to Queene Brunchaut in these termes Let your letters bee directed unto us and if you command us with your consent and authoritie we will send you some on our behalfeâ to inquire straitly into thâse things together with the rest of the Clergy and to make such reformation thereof as shall be acceptable to God For these things ought not to bee dissembled inasmuch as hee that hath power to correct them and notwithstanding neglects to doe it makes himselfe a shaâer in the fault 17 Gratians Decret gives further credit unto this Imperiall jurisdiction over Bishops in criminall causes considering that there a certain Pope whether it bee Gregorie or Pelagins speaks on this manner Behold what wee demand and require further that you would send unto the most gentle Prince Paulinus that false Bishop of Aquileia and that other of Millaine under good and sufficient guard to the intent that he who can no waies be a Bishop inasmuch as heâ was created contrary to all canonicall custome destroy not others and hee who hath attempted to ordaine against the ancient custome may be submitted unto the punishment of the Canons Hee that collected the summarie of this Canon conceives some policie in it when hee saith That those should bee corrected by Princes who cannot be corrected by the Church making the rule by this means no more than an exception as hee ofttimes makes rules of exceptions But it may bee hee meant that these Bishops could not by right bee corrected by the Church because she hath no such power If this bee his meaning wee take him at his word There is yet more in it for the Popes themselves have undergone this jurisdiction have beene judged condemned and deposed by the Emperours Wee have given examples of it when wee treated of âhe power of a Councell above the Pope which wee will not now repeat 18 By the law of the Emperours Valens Valentinian and Gratian the cognizance of crimes committed by Ecclesiasticall persons is reserved to the Magistrates Arcadius Honorius and Theodosius declare the judgements passed by Episcopall Synods upon the crimes of Priests to bee valid so as they cannot bee disanull'd by themselves Honorius and Theodosius will have Clerks to be accused before their Bishops Iustinians Novel gives the cognizance of civill crimes by them committed unto the Lay Iudges and of Ecclesiasticall to the Bishopsâ so that this cannot be understood but of the meaner sort of Clergy men such as are inferiour to Bishops And of these it is spoken in another constitution which forbids the Civill and Militarie Iudges and Magistrates to call them before them for civill and criminall matters unlesse they have the Princes command for it Where two things are to bee considered one that it is an Emperour which ordaines it and therefore hee hath the disposall of it the other that he reserves unto himselfe the cognizance or authoritie 19 The Councell of Milevis holden in the year foure hundred and two confesseth and avoweth this Imperiall jurisdiction It pleaseth us say the fathers of it that whosoever shall demand of the Emperour the cogniâance of publique judgements bee deprived of his dignitie But if hee desire of the Emperour onely the exercise of Episcopall judgement that can no way hurt him The judgement over Lay men in publique crimes was thought to suit ill with Bishops and therefore it is condemn'd in this Councell the other is permitted but so as they tooke it from the hands of the Emperour It is strange that in all these places there is no mention of Popes no more than if there had beene no such men in the world 20 The sixt Canon of the first Councell of Constantinople disposeth somewhat boldly of Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction to the prejudice of the Imperiall right in attributing the judgement of crimes committed by Bishops unto provinciall Synods and forbidding them to have recourse either to the Emperor or other secular Princes for judgement or to a Generall Councell despising that Decree and neglecting the Bishops of particular Dioceses It was a litle too much entrenched upon the Emperour Howsoever we draw from hence this advantage that in the making of this Order about Episcopall judgements in criminall matters the Pope was never reckoned of And yet the Councell of Trent gives to him alone the criminall and supreme jurisdiction in the first place over all other Bishops in the world in such sort as neither the Emperour nor Kings and Princes nor their Officers nor Synods either Provinciall or Generall can intermeddle 21 Let us now speak of our France and shew the prejudice done unto it by this Decree In the time of our ancient Kings the Bishops upon any crime whatsoever were accused in a Synod of the Churches of tâe Realme So Guntrand King of Burgundy caused a Synod to assemble at Lyons where two Bishops Salonius and Sagittarius were accused convinced and condemn'd and put out of their Bishopriques for some crimes by them commiâted It is true that by their flatteries they prevailed so farre with the King afterwards that he gave them leave to have recourse to Pope Iohnâ to whom also he writ in their behalfe yea upon the request afterwards made unto him by the Pope hee restored them to their Bishopriques But all this was done onely by way of courtesie and complement anâ because the King himselfe sought a faire way to restore them to their charge and dignities without offending the Synod 22 King Chilperic having called an assembly of Bishops and Prelats in his Citie of Paris brought Pretextatus Bishop of Roan before them saying these words unto them Although the royall power may by the lawes condemne one that is guiltie of high treason notwithstanding that I may not oppose the ancient Canons I present this man unto you who hath
urge the testimonie of our common Lawyers as of Mr. Giles Burdiâ upon the Ordinances of the year 1539. Mr. Iohn Imbert in his institutions of common law Mr. Choppin in his treatise Du Domaine and many others would be a thing superfluous CHAP. II. Of Delegations and Evocations 1 THe Popes jurisdiction and authoritie is greatly augmented and inhaunsed in this that the Bishops and other Ecclesiastiques are made his commissaries and Delegates in divers cases which are of their owne proper and naturall jurisdiction It is said in the first chapter of the fifth Session That in the Monasteries of Monks where it may be conveniently done there shall bee a lecture read out of holy Scripture And that in case the Abbats be negligent âhe Bishops of that place must compell them by convenient remedies as delegates for the See Apostolique Now there is no doubt or difficultie but it belongs to Bishops to provide herein by their own proper authoritie in case of the negligence of Abbats For the Abbatsâ Monks and Monasteries are subject to the Bishop of the Diocese where such Abbeyâ stand and they are under his power and jurisdiction by the 21 chapter of the Councel of Orleans Canonized in the Decret They may depose the Abbats upon sufficient cause They must take care for the profit and advantage of the Monasteries and Abbeys See that no alienation bee made by the Abbats without their consent 2 As for that which is decree'd that the Abbats shall cause a lecture in divinitie to be read it is a thing which they are bound to doe in France by virtue of the 20 Article of the Ordinance of Orleans whereby the Superiours and heads of the Orders are enjoyn'd to take care of diligently to proceed to a ful reformation of Monasteries And it is further said That in every one of the said Monasteries there shall bee maintained a good and able man to teach holy Scripture and a stipend allowed him at the charges of the Abbat or Prior. Now the word Superiours may bee as well referr'd to Bishops as to Abbats and Priors in case these be negligent Howsoever this power is not given unto Abbats and Priors as Delegats or by way of privileâge but belongs unto them by common right It ought also to agree unto Bishops by the same right where the priviledge of exemption ceaseth 3 In the second Chapter of the same Session where Curats are enjoyn'd to preach upon Sundayes and Holydaies or to provide some to preach in case of lawfull impediment it is added That if there be any Parish Churches under such Monasteries as are not sâtuate in any Diocese the Prelats regular being negligent in the premises they shall bee compell'd unto it by the Metropolitans of those ârovinces where the Dioceses lye as Delegats herein for the See Apostolique Now it is certaine that Metropolitans have power over the Clergie within their Province even over the Bishops themselves according to the honour prescribed by the ancient Canons under the one in the first and the other in the second place If an Abbey be subject to the Bishop the Metropolitan shall have nothing to doe with it save in case of appeale If it belong to no Diocese and consequently to the Iurisdiction of no Bishop then it must have the Metropolitan for Superiour unlesse it bee of the number of such as are exempt which have no other superiour but the Pope and which are spoken of in the eight chapter of the 25 Session But the question is not now of such And suppose they were now in controversie by the eleventh Article of the Ordinance of Orleans all Abbats and Priors must bee subject to the Arch-Bishop or Bishop of the Diocese notwithstanding their priviledge of exemption 4 In the second Chapter of the sixt Session Bishops are enjoyned as Delegates for the Pope to provide that there be able Vicars in stead of such Clergy men under their jurisdiction as are dispensed with for non residence To which Vicars they must assigne a competent portion of the fruits Now it is too apparent that this provision belongs to the ordinary jurisdiction of Bishops and therefore such Delegation is abusive and made as well against the ancient Canons as against the Ordinances of this Kingdome This is delivered in expresse termes by the constitution of Boniface the eighth who after hee hath given way that such as are preferred to Parish Churches may stay seven years before they be ordained Priests to the intent that they may have occasion to apply their studies hee ordainesâ That during these seven years the Bishops and Superiours shall carefully provide that the cure of soules be diligently discharged and that such benefices be served with good and able Vicars who shall bee deputed by them and to whom in consideration thereof a competent portion of the fruits shall bee by them assigned for their maintenance In all this there is no delegation from the Pope but this is given to Bishops as depending upon their Ordinarie jurisdiction 5 The fifth Article of the Ordinance of Orleans saith in plaine termesâ That the Abbats and Curats who hold many benefices by dispensation or reside upon one of their benefices requiring actuall service and residence shall bee excused from residence upon their other livings Alwaies provided that they depute sufficient men for their Vicars of a good life and conversation to every of whom they shall assigne such a portion of the revenue of the benefice as may suffice for their maintenance Otherwise in default hereof wee admonish and enjoyne the Archbishop or Bishop of the Diocese to take order for it and most expressely command our Iudges and Proctours to assist them therein to cause the temporalities of such Abbeys or other benefices to be seized upon without dissembling a moneth after they shall have warned and required the Prelats and other Titulars to reside or cause some to reside upon their benefices and fulfill the contents of this present Ordinance From hence we collect that the forementioned case belongs to the jurisdiction regall within this Kingdome and that the Councel having given it up to the Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction and that even to the Pope hath infringed the rights of France 6 In the third Chapter of the sixt Session the Councel gives power to the Ordinaries of the place as Delegates for the Pope to visit punish and correct Clerks both Seculars and Regulars that live out of the Monasterie No Secular Priest nor Regular of what Order soever living out of his Monastery must thinke himselfe so sure upon pretence of the priviledge of his Order that hee cannot bee visited punished and corrected according to Canonicall Constitutions in case hee offend by the Ordinary of the place as Delegate for the See Apostolique By the Generall Councel of Lyons holden under Innocent the fourth ann 1246 and approved by the Popes themselves all deliâquents contracting or committing any fault out of the
Article of the Ordinance of Orleans Secondly that the Councell gives the power of this erection to the Clergie without employing the Maiors Sheriffes Councellors Capitons or other Civill Magistrates which the same Ordinance doth require the words whereof are these Besides the said Divinity Prebend another Prebend or the revenewes thereof shall bee assign'd for the maintenance of a Schoolemaster who shall be bound in the meane time to teach all the youth of the City gratis without any wages Which Schoolemaster shall be chosen by the Archbishop or Bishop of the place calling in the Canons of the Church together with the Maiors Sheriffes Councellors or Capitons of the City and to bee put out by the said Archbishop or Bishops with the advice of them aforesaid And the execution of the aforesaid Ordinance is committed to the Officers Royall by another Ordinance of the same Prince given the 22 of November 1563. And the reason why the Ecclesiastickes are here joyned with the lay in the election of a Schoolmaster is because his maintenance is taken out of the revenewes of the Church For otherwise there were no necessitie why they should come in 34 In the third place it disposeth of other mens goods too freely as of building money imploying it to another use against the will of the founders King Henry the third without any regard had to the determination of that Councell by his Edict of Melune Anno 1580 Article the eighth doth expressely forbid both his Iudges and all others to divert or apply the goods and revenewes which have beene given for the building of Churches and Chappels to any other use than that to which it was ordain'd Which sheweth withall the little regard the late King had of this Councell 35 It disposeth likewise of the revenewes of Hospitals contrary to the intention of the Founders and to the prejudice of divers Ordinances of our kings which have beene made in this behalfe whereby all jurisdiction and disposall of the goods of hospitals is intirely given to the Iudges Royall who are commanded to take the accounts of the administration of them to proceed to the correction and reformation of such abuses and disorders as are committed in them to assigne an allowance to their tutelar governours for the charge of divine Service which they are bound to doe to give the residue intirely unto the poore according to the institution of them This is the summe of King Francis the first his Edict given at St. Germain in Laye the 15 of Ianuary 1545 published at the Parliament of Paris the 4 of February the same yeare confirmed afterwards by another of the same Prince made at Rochfort the 26 of February 1546 and another given at Melune the 20 of Iune the same yeare another of King Henry the second the 12 of February 1553. of Charles the ninth 1561. of the Ordinance of Moulins of the same Prince Article 73. And besides all these by the Edict of Blois by the late King Henry Article 65. All which Edicts set downe other formes for the administration preservation and distribution of the goods of the said hospitals Yet so that they must alwayes bee imployed to the reliefe and sustentation of poore people the reparation of buildings and such necessaries 36 The same Councell disposeth likewise of infeodated tithes that is such as have by just title beene appropriated to lay men so as now they retâââ nothing of spirituall giving the Bishops Soveraigne power to apply one part of them to the maintenance of Colledges and so as there shall bee no appeale from them Which it ought not to doe because it hath no power over the goods and lands of lay men no nor over the temporals of Clergy men in the Realme of France It is here considerable that although tithes bee reckoned amongst spirituall things by Eugenius the third yet that 's improperly spoken and they are not so truly spirituall as set aside for the use of the spirituall Ministers of the Church as Mr. Iohn Gerson teacheth 37 And this is also the reason that by the Edicts of our Kings the most of the controversies arising about tithes are of secular jurisdiction as when the question is of the possessorie when the quotitie of tithes is controverted or the removeall of corn or other tithable fruits of the earth out of their place before the tith be payed and such like cases So that there is nothing left for the Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction save onely the question of right namely Whether the tith be due Amongst other Edicts to this purpose there is one of Charles the ninth whose words are remarkable All suits concerning tithes and the right of them wee have for the present remitted to the ordinary Iudges of every Province to whom the cognizance thereof shall appertaine and over which we have given them full jurisdiction And another of the same Prince made at Paris the 18 of April 1571 in the 16 Article of which there is this clause Wee grant unto our Courtâ of Parliament the cognizance of such suits as shall arise hereabout every one within their owne circuit 38 If these Ecclesiasticall tithes are of secular jurisdiction because they have in them but a little of the spirituall much more ought they to be so which are appropriated So it is reported as a ruled case in law That tithes holden in see belong to the jurisdiction of the secular Iudge exclusively to the Ecclesiasticall So then the Ecclesiasticall Iudges cannot intermeddle with them nor determine of them without intrenching upon the other jurisdiction much lesse can the Clergy dispose and decree concerning them whether assembled in Councell or otherwise to the prejudice and damage of the lay men that are the owners and possessors of them And therefore in this Kingdome wee ought not to have any regard to that prohibition made by the Councell of Lateran whereby lay men that hold tithes in fee are forbidden to make conveyance of them to other lay men for that is to make lawes about particular mens estates and thrust the sickle into another mans harvest Now the attempt which is made by the Councell of Trentâ the thing now in question is farre greater for that of Lateran doth onely prohibit the alienation of them to lay men whereas the Councell of Trent gives Bishops power to deprive a lay man of his goods and estate of a thing which truly belongs unto him and which hath nothing spirituall in it to wit to take a part of his tithes that is a part of his inheritance from him and convert it to the maintenance of a Schoole And which is worse there must bee no appeale made from that order and decree which the Bishop shall make what abuse so ever theâe be in it So that both the owners and possessors of those tithes shall be deprived of their goods and the Iudges of their jurisdiction and that to the prejudice of those
âdicts already alledged 39 And after all this yet this Councell will have the accounts of Colledges so erected to be heard and examined yearly by the Bishop with the two deputies of the Chapter and the other two of the Clergy Which is derogatorie to the Edicts alleadged here before whereby the making of such accounts of building-money and Hospitals is laid upon the Kings Iudges inasmuch as there shall no account bee made to them hereafter of that part of the revenues which shall bee taken out of such buildings and Hospitals to bee imployed to the use of those Colledges and Seminaries but only to the Bishop Wherein there is a very great accumulation of grievances for they to whom it formely belonged to make those accounts ought not to bee deprived of it by meanes of such application of the revenues to another use And suppose that might be admitted yet it were reasonable that those accounts were still made before the Kings Officers at least that the Major and Sherifes of the towne where such houses are and such like persons were called considering that the meanes of Colledges and Schooles is no more spirituall than that of buildings Hospitals and Spittles Especially considering that building-money after the buildings are finished ought to be converted to the reparation of Churches and purchasing of ornaments for them and other works of charity and yet there is never any alteration for that of the parties which are to make the accounts but it is alwaies left to the Officers Royall nor is the Clergie suffered to intermeddle in the accounts of building-money and in case they should attempt there might be put in an appeal as from abuse as it was judged by an Arrest in Iune 1550. And as for the accounts of Hospitals they are to bee made also before the Kings Officers notwithstanding that by the will of the Founder part of the revenues of those Hospitals be designed and appointed for divine service according to an Edict of King Francis ann 1545. And which must bee taken notice of in case the Bishops and other of the Clergy have the right of overseeing the administration of those Hospitals yet they retain unto themselves the hearing of the accounts aswell as Lay Patrons doe Howsoever in such sort that the foure at the least of the most eminent inhabitants of the place or Parish must bee called unto them as it is ordered by the sixt article of the Ordinance of Hospitals made 1561. From which the tenth article of that of Melun 1580 doth no way derogate which must be expounded by the former in that where it is said That the Prelats and Clergy shall be maintained in their right which they have of looking to the administration of Hospitals and Spittles and taking the accounts of their revenues where that must be repeated which is in the precedent Edict The most eminent inhabitants c. being called thereunto forasmuch as this latter aâmes at the preserving and confirming the right of the Clergy not at the excluding of the inhabitants of the place or Parish from the hearing of the accounts 40 Lastly the remedy of appeal is not admitted to take place against such decrees as the Bishops shall make for the repairing of Cloysters and Monasteries but they must be forthwith put in execution without all appeal yea and that in such sort that the Secular Magistrates are commanded upon paineâ of excommunication to assist them In which there are many grievances First in that the Iudges Royall as also the Bailifs and Stewards are deprived of that cognizance which belongs unto them before all others in case of such reparations as we have made it plaine already Secondly in that the Parliaments are deprived of those appeals which would bee made unto them from the inferiour Iudges Thirdly in that no appeal can bee made unto them as from abuse from the sentence of Bishops And fourthly in that the Kings Officers are made lyable to excommunication contrary to that priviledge which hath beene granted unto them and which they have ever enjoyed whereof wee shall speake in another place Now if this Councel take place we must make account that appeals as from abuse are utterly abolished as wee have said already which is a thing that concernes France not a litle inasmuch aâ it is one of the principall weapons wherewith our Predecessours have foughâ against the usurpations of the Popes and other Ecclesiastiques CHAP. IV. Of Exemptions 1 ANother meanes which the Councell useth to hooke in to the Pope the jurisdiction over other men are the Exemptions granted to Churches Chapters Corpses Colledges Abbeyes and Monasteries to the prejudice of their lawfull Prelates and Ordinaries the Bishops and Metropolitans Our Trent Fathers knew wel enough and confessed that such exemptions are a cause of much evill for say they They give occasion to the persons exempted to live more dissolutely and more at their libertie This is not all for wee must adde That they take away the reverence and obedience which the exempted owe unto their Prelates and Ordinaries and make them thinke themselves as good men as the Bishops and other their superiours That the correction and punishing of faults and excesses is hereby âindred and brought to nothing That they are prejudiciall to the whole Church Catholique inasmuch as the exempted cannot bee judged but by the Pope and hee cannot doe it by reason of his remotenesse from them That they rob men of the meanes of doing many good works in religion That they are the cause of many scandals That those to whom they are granted abuse their priviledges That they draw after them the ruine of Monasteries being rather a burthen than an honour or profit to them All these reasons were alleadged by William Durant Bishop of Mende in Gevauldan in the time of Clement the fift to perswade the Generall Councell of Vienna to abolish such exemptions Let us heare what complaints have been made against them at severall times 2 Saint Bernard spoke very freely of them to Eugenius the third in those books which hee dedicated unto him Abbats saith he are exempted from the jurisdiction of their Bishops Bishops from their Archbishops Archbishops from their Patriarchs or Primats Does this manner of dealing seeme good to you It were strange if it could bee excused or if there were any need of it In so doing you shew that you have plenitude of power but perhaps not of justice He speaks yet more of it but this is sufficient 3 Cardinall de Alliaco makes a complaint of them likewise and is of opinion that a course should be taken with them adding That many devout zealous men in the Church have a long time complained of them as Saint Bernard in a booke by him directed to Pope Eugenius and others Iohn of Paris a devine of the Order of Predicants urgeth the same Saint Bernard It is also to bee considered saith he that Saint
Bernard reproves the Pope for troubling the state of the Church by exempting Abbats and others subject to Bishops submitting them to himselfe immediatly 4 The same Durant maintaines That the Pope hath no power to grant such exemptions considering that they overthrow the generall order of the Catholique Church which proceeds from Godâ the Apostlesâ the holy fathers and generall Councels and which was approved and confirmed by Popes that by this order all the Monasteries religious places Abbats Abbesses Monkes and Nunnes and all other religious and Ecclesiasticall persons are immediately subject to the government and guidance of Bishops within their Cities and Dioceses as unto their superioursâ the Apostles successours and such as have power and authority over them Which maxime he proves by a great number of authorities taken out of ancient Fathers Councels and the Canon law part whereof we have set downe in the margent From whence and upon divers other reasons he concludes that the Pope ought not for the future to grant any such exemptions and that those which are granted already ought to bee called in 5 Marsilius of Padua makes a grievous complaint hereof setting out the injustice of them to the life The Pope saith he absolveth all the Prelats and superiour orders from the power care and correction of their superiours as Archbishops from the jurisdiction of their Patriarchs Bishops from the Archbishops Chapters or Colledges of Clergy men from their Bishops as also Abbats and Priours of Monks and now of late I wish it were without a great deal of mischief the Religious called of the Order of Povertie putting them all by a kind of subversion of all order under his immediate care and correction without any evident necessity but rather upon a notorious greedinesse of increasing suits beating his braines to make the fees runne to him wards to spoile the Prelates and inslave them unto him so much the more No man is ignorant of the insolence which proceeds from hence For these exempted persons having not their superiours at hand grow contumacioââ disobedient and irreverent towards those to whom they ought of right to bee subject taking from hence matter and occasion of offending more freely both against them and others 6 Nicholas de Clemangiis toucheth also upon this abuse for speaking of Canons he saith To the end that they may freely and with impunitie commit all kinde of wickednesse which a soule is capable of they are exempted from all the correction and discipline of their Prelates by paying a great ransome He makes a particular enumeration of their vices and crimes and afterwards addes Having committed all these frauds and rapines there is no body to punish them for the poore can have no accesse to the Pope who is the sole Iudge which many of them brag to have 7 Mr. Iohn Gerson in a certaine booke of his where hee treats of the reformation of the Church Consider saith he whether the too large exemption and priviledge of some men bee profitable or no and whether the avoidance of the correction of the Ordinaries granted unto them be commodious The Emperour had also given his Ambassadours in charge to require at the Councell of Trent the reduction of Monasteries under the jurisdiction of the Bishops of the Dioceses where they stand The King of France his Ambassadours stood to their demand as wee have said elsewhere 8 Let us now see the goodly reformation herein made by the Councel For that piece which we have viewed already promiseth some goodnesse for the future First there is no forbiddance nor prohibition of such exemptions nor so much as any restrictions or limitations saving onely forasmuch as concernes Proto-notaries Acolyths Counts Palatines Kings Chaplaines and other such like dignities which challenge a kind of exemption Which saith our Councell ought not to bee granted save upon just important and almost necessarie causes As for other exempted persons let the Pope make as many as hee will no body sayes a word to him But they have done a great courtesie when they declare that nothing is taken from the Ordinaries by such priviledges of exemption inasmuch say they as they shall alwaies have the cognizance and jurisdiction over exempted personâ as Delegates for the See Apostolique According to them there is no difference betwixt having a proper jurisdiction and of a mans owne head and having it by commission 9 The interest of our France concerning this point is very evident in two things first in the grant of exemption In as much as from all antiquity they were not granted save onely by our Kings and Princes or by the Popes at their instance and upon very weighty and important considerations Next For as much as no Monastery Church Colledge or other Ecclesiasticall body can be exempted from their Ordinary so as to say they depend immediately upon the holy See without the Kings leave and permission These are the very words of one Article Of the liberties of the Gallicane Church They derogate from this right by the second Chapter of the twentie fourth Session of which we have spoke already and the third Chapter of the sixt Session which gives Prelates power to visit punish and correct all exempted Clerkes Secular or Regular so journing out of the Monasterie as Delegates for the See Apostolique 10 And to shew that this abuse of the Popes doth still remaine wee will give one instance as good as all Every man knowes how the Iesuites encrease both in number of men and Colledges and revenues It is a wonderfull thing to heare what relations goe of them yea to see as much as wee see of them at this present that a little poverty should beget so much riches that ten men in such a short time should have bred as many of them alreadie as there are Salvages in the New-found Land Now all these are exempt from the jurisdiction of all Iudges both Ecclesiastique and Secular and a suit cannot bee commenced against them but onely before the Pope in person If any man would plead with them he must resolve to goe to Rome For hearke what their new Buls say which they got from Gregory the thirteenth in the yeare 1584. To be immediately subject to this See and totally exempt from the jurisdiction of all Ordinaries and Delegates and all other Iudges as wee also by virtue of these presents exempt them from them That this is a new priviledge may bee collected from the Bull of Iulius the third of the yeare 1550 where after hee hath reckoned up their priviledges he addes Wee ordaine and declare that all these things and every one of them shall remaine firme and stable for ever and shall bee inviolably observed and kept and that they shall be so judged expounded and decided by all Iudges and Commissaries by what authority soever established depriving all and every one of them of any power of judging and expounding them otherwise So that others
beside the Pope may be their Iudges alwaies provided that they judge according to the Bulls which are granted unto them and observe them CHAP. V. Of the Letters of grace or Pardons for criminall matters 1 HAving put the Pope above Councels above the Emperour above Princes and above all Clergie men whatsoever having given him the jurisdiction spirituall and temporall and in a word the power of life and death over al creatures as masters had anciently over their slaves it was very good reason to leave his mercie to the liberty of his conscience to grant life to such as he shall thinke good Hence it is that these good Fathers leave it to his discretion to grant Letters of grace and pardon to whom hee please for there is no restriction They give order indeed that criminals and offendors shall not cozen his Holinesse or at least that they reape no profit from their lying For they command the Bishop that shall take the cognizance of them or shall have passed the sentence of condemnation upon them to take speciall knowledge of the subreption or obreption of the Popes letters and of the knaverie that any shall use towards his Holinesse for feare lest they make not a good market for their offences and abate something of those rights which the Pope receives of them for the pardon He that purposely laid in wait for a man is more deeply taxed than he that killed another onely by chance and so of the rest This is the meaning of that Decree And to the intent that all may depend upon the Pope and it may be further lawfull for him to barter with the delinquent âor the pardon of his offence in case hee will give a more reasonable price for it the cognizance and judgement of this false information is given unto the Bishop onely by commission from the Pope to whom consequently it will be ever lawfull to have recourse by way of Appeale or otherwise Wee will here set downe the Decree at large that the truth of our exposition may be better knowne 2 And for as much as it happens now and then that upon fained causes which yet seeme probable enough some extort such pardonâ whereby the punishments inflicted upon them are either totally remitted or à bated seeing it is intolerable that a lye which displeaseth God so much should not onely bee unpunished it selfe but also procure pardon for another offence to the lyar therefore it determines and decrees as followes That the Bishop residing upon his Church may by himselfe as Delegate for the See Aposâolique take the cognizance even summarily of any subreption or obreption of pardon obtained by false petitions for the absolution from any publique crime or offence which he had taken into his inquisition or remission of the punishment whereunto the delinquent was by him condemnedâ and the said pardon not admit after it shall appeare that it was procured either by false information or concealment of the truth 3 Our ancient Canons never yet spoke of such Graces they talk indeed of pardoning of sins as Priests but not of remission of crimes as Kings Princes And that which Innocent the third speaks of subreption oâ obreption of the Popes letters holds onely in civill matters The glosse upon it which expresseth divers cases of subreption and obreption assignes none eââe The referenââ made by Gratian to the constitution of the Emperours Theodoââaâ and Valââtinian tends to another purpose as namely to shew that the Pope hath no intention to take away another mans right by his dispensations It is a thing never heard of in France before this present that Popes should intermeddle with granting of pardons The very faculties of the Legats sent heretofore into this kingdome make not any mention of it but onely of the remission of sinnes proceeding from crimes And though there should bee any such thing yet they are still curb'd in with this bridle To use it in such things as are not contrary derogatory nor prejudiciall to the rights and prerogatives of the King and Kingdome nor against the sacred Councels the lawes of the Vniversities the liberties of the Gallicane Church and the Ordinances royall 4 The Clergie of France doe not hold their Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction of the Pope but of the King alone howsoever the Iesuites teach the contrary When they doe not use it as they ought when they connive at the punishment of crimes whereof they have the cognizance the Courts of Parliament may interpose by meanes of an Appeale as from abuse especiâlly considering it is it that grants them jurisdiction over spirituals And if the question be of granting pardon to a Priest or other Ecclesiastique not onely in a priviledged case but also upon a common crime by him committed it belongs to the King onely to grant it not to the Pope nor the Bishop And so it hath beene alwaies accustomed to be done in France as our Practitioners both ancient and modern doe assure us 5 We goe yet further which is that the Pope cannot restore Clergy men to their former state so as to free them from the infamy which they have incurred nor lay men unlesse it be to receive them into Orders Offices and Ecclesiasticall acts and not otherwise As also that within this Realme he cannot pardon or remit the honorary amends adjudged by a lay man albeit the condemnation were passed by an Ecclesiasticall Iudge and that against a Clerke as making such honorary condemnation a part of the civill satisfaction These are two entire Chapters out of the Collection of the liberties of the Gallicane Church CHAP. VI. Of the Popes Canons and Decrees 1 THe Emperour Sigismond made a very remarkable demand to this Councell for as much as concerns the Popes Constitutions and Decrees It would not be amisse saith he that the multitude of humane Statutes and Decrees were lessened and many superfluous ones cut off and that the Prelates would conforme their constitutions to the obligation of the law of God Heare now the justice which these Fathers did him The holy Councell hath thought good to put secular Princes in mind of their duty trusting that they will not suffer their Officers or inferiour Magistrates to violate the immunity of the Church and Ecclesiasticall persons but that they together with the Princes themselves will yeeld due obâdience to the sacred Constitutions of Popes and Councels Wherefore it decrees and commands that the sacred Canons all Generall Councels together with other Apostolicall Ordinances made in favour of Ecclesiasticall persons and Ecclesiasticall liberty and against the violators thereof all which it âenewes by this present Decree bee precisely observed by all men 2 See you here that which comprehendeth all the Canons Decretals Clementines Extravagants Bulls Taxes and all other Papall Constitutions and Ordinances of what kinde soever they bee even such as concerne temporall matters as the most of them do and which containe some
notable usurpations upon Kings and Princes their Realmes and Dominions for a man shall not finde so much as one of them which is not in favour of the Church We may justly say that here is a brave bargaine for the Pope and that âe could not hope for a greater advantage from the resolutions of these Fathers 3 Wee shall observe in the first place that there are a very many Decretals which were never in use before this Councell witnesse Cardinall Cusan Wee see saith he an infinite number of Apostolicall Ordinances which were never received not even then when they were made Our France in particular hath rejected an infinite companie of them as namely all those which are prejudiciall to the State to the Edicts of our Soveraigne Princes and to the liberties of our Gallicane Church Wee must now receive them and not only those which are contained in Gratians Decret the Decretals of Gregory the ninth Boniface the eight the Clementines and Extravagants but besides all those that are contained in the booke intitled Collectio diversarum Constitutionum literarum Romanorum Pontificum in another called Epistolâ decretales Summorum Pontificum in three volumes in another intitled Eclogae Bullarum motuum propriorum in that which is called Summa Pontificum and in the seventh booke of Decretals newly composed in the rules of Chancery which are changed and rechanged a thousand times and in other such like collections which containe yet three times as many more constitutions as are extant in the Ordinarie books 4 To this demand of the Emperour wee must joyne the judgement which our Predecessors made of the Decrets and Decretals to the end that the justice which our Trent Fathers used in this regard may bee so much the more cleare Albericus de Rosate one of the best of our Commentatours who lived about three hundred years agoe unfolds their Cabal in this manner The Presidents of the Court of Rome by meanes of their cunning and acute prudence have altered their Statutes and Decrees according to the varietie of the times sometimes exalting their commands otherwhiles abasing them from time to time But to what end save onely insensibly to inslave and bring under their feet as they use to make their brag openly all things both celestiall and terrestriall spirituall and temporall 5 Everard Bishop of Saltzburg said full as much in an Imperiall Diet holden in Germany in the time of the Emperour Ludovicus Bavarus The Pope saith he casts new projects in his breast how to establish an Empire proper to himselfe Hee changeth the lawes hee sets up his owne he pollutes he reaves hee robs hee cheats yea he kils Marsilius de Padua speaks of this in divers passages of his Defensor Pacis In the sixt Chapter after he hath quoted this place of Marke You make the commandement of God of no effect through your traditions hee puts this glosse upon it Thus they doe which teach humane Decretals which give the Bishop of Rome the power and lordship over temporal things and those not Ecclesiasticall only but even Imperiall and Royall making a mock of the commandement of God 6 In the twentie third Chapter hee reckons up the pedigree and progresse of Papal Decrees which will serve for a comment upon that which Albericus and Everard have delivered upon this subject The Bishops of Rome saith hee having arrogated these things unto themselves and relying upon the priviledges and grants of Princes have consequently increased this title then especially when the Empire was vacant First they made certaine lawes about the Ecclesiasticall Order and concerning Clerks which they called Decrees After this they perswaded lay men to certaine Ordinances by way of entreatie and exhortations as fasting and abstaining from certaine meats at certaine times to obtaine the suffrage and mercie of God to remove certaine contagions and tempests of the aire from among men as appeares by the legend of Saint Gregory and some other Saints Next perceiving that the Laity received them willingly and that they observed them by reason of their devotion the custome being now growne ancient in such matters they begunne to alter those institutions which ran by way of entreatie into commands being so bold as even to strike the transgressours of them with the terrour of an anathema or verball excommunication yet alwayes under colour of devotion and divine service and this without licence from the humane lawgiver The desire of domineering encreasing yet more and more in them and they perceiving withall that devout faithfull people were frighted at such words by reason of their dulnes and ignorance of the law of God which perswaded them they were bound to all that was commanded thâm by their priests upon paine of eternall damnation the Bishops of Rome with the assembly of their Clergy undertooke to enact certaine edicts or oligarchicall and factious ordinances concerning civill affaires whereby they pronounced and declared themselves together with all those that receive their order or office of Clerkship yea even pure lay men exempt from all publique charge admitting even Secular married men to that office who were easily allured thereunto that they might enjoy those immunities from publique charges gaining unto themselves no small part of the people by that meanes whom they freed from the power of Princes and Magistrates labouring withall to draw yet a great many more from their obedience By other edicts they denounced a curse or anathema against all such as doe any personall injurie whatsoever to those which are admitted into the number of Clerks defameing them publiquely in Churches by excommunications and presenting them neverthelesse to get them punished by the punishments prescribed by humane lawes But the most horrible thing of all and which is most exeârable in the office of Priests is that the Bishops both of Rome and others to enhanse their jurisdiction and thereby their most dishonest gaine to the contempt of God and the open prejudice of Princes doe excommunicate and debarre from the Sacraments of the Church as well Lay men as Clerks which neglect to pay certaine pecuniarie debts or indeed which are not able to doe it to the paiment whereof within a set time they were civilly obliged And not being yet content with these things but aiming at the greatnesse of Secular Princes contrary to the commandement of Christ and his Apostles they take licence to make lawes distinct from those which concerne the generalitie of the citizens by declaring all the Clergie exempt from them and bringing in a civill division and a pluralitie of Soveraigne principalities For this is the root and originall of this contagion of the Realme of Italy from whence all scandals grow every day and as long as it continues discords will never bee at an end For the Bishop of Rome hath enjoyed this power a long time already upon which hee entered by a covert prevarication by litle and litle and the boldnesse of one of
Vicechancelours Notaries Registers and Executours their servants and others which have any thing to doe in what sort or manner soever with capitall or criminall causes against Ecclesiasticall persons in banishing or arresting them passing or pronouncing sentence against them and putting them in execution even vnder pretence of any priviledges granted by the See Apostolique upon what causes and in whattenor and forme soever to Kings Dukes Princesâ Republiques Monarchies Cities and other Potentates by what name and title soever they be called which we will not have to be usefull for them in any thing repealing them all from henceforth and declaring them to bee nullities See here all the Iudges Royall both superiour and inferiour utterly despoyled of the cognizance of criminall causes 8 The twelfth Article speaks on this sort Wee excommunicate all and every the Chancelours Vicechancelours Counsellours ordinariâ and extraordinarie of all Kings and Princes the Presidents of Chanceries Counsels and Parliaments as also the Atturneyes generall of them and other Secular Princes thogh they be in dignitie Imperiall Royall Duâall or any other by what name soever it be called and other Iudges as well ordinarie as by delegation as also the Archbishops Bishops Abbats Commendatories Vicars and Officials who by themselves or by any other under pretence of Exemptions letters of grace or other Apostolicall letters doe summon before them our Auditours Commissaries and other Ecclesiasticall Iudges with the causes concerning benefices tithes and other spirituall matters or such as are annexed to them and hinder the course of them by any lay authoritie and interpose themselves to take cognizance of them in the qualitie of Iudges 9 This is not all for in the following Article hee goes yet further striking a heavie blow at the Ordinances of our Kings Those also which under pretence of their Office or at the instance of any man whatsoever draw before them to their bench Audience Chancerie Counsell or Parliament Ecclesiasticall persons Chapters Covents and Colledges of all Churches or cause them to bee brought in question before them or procure them directly or indirectly under what colour soever beyond the appointment of the Canon law Those also which ordaine and set forth Statutes Ordinances Constitutions Pragmatiques or other Decrees whatsoever in generall or in speciall for any cause or colour whatsoever even under pretence of Apostolicall letters not now in practise or repeââed or of any custome or priviledge or any other manner whatsoever or that make use of them when they are made and ordained when by them the Ecclesiasticall libertie is abolished impaired depressed or restrained in any manner whatsoever or who do any prejudice to our lawes and those of our See directly or indirectly implicitely or explicitely 10 See yet another which followes after this Those likewise which doe any way hinder the Archbishops Bishops and other Prelats superiour and inferiour and all other ordinarie Ecclesiasticall Iudges in the exercise of their Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction against any person according as the Canons the sacred Constitutions of the Church the Decretals of generall Councels and principally that of Trent doe ordaine There is further in the same Bull some excommunications against those which appeal from the Popes sentence to Generall Councels Against those that hinder Clergy or Lay men from going to plead at Rome which is a remarkable thing Against Kings and Princes which make the fruits of Ecclesiasticall livings bee sequestred upon any occasion whatsoever which concernes the right of the Crowne Against those which impose any tenths subsidies or other taxes 11 All this is leveld against the rights of the King and the liberties of the Gallican Church I aske now seeing our Popes take upon them to excommunicate our Kings which make ordinances concerning such matters their Officers and Magistrates and all others which practise them whether they will make any conscience of putting forthwith such lawes and ordinances into their Index expurgatorius Let a man goe about to put all the distinctions which hee can devise to save our liberties upon this Councell will not it bee lawfull for the Pope when he shall please to derogate from them to come in with a non obstante Doth not hee in the fore-mentioned Bull repeall all the priviledges granted by the See Apostolique His successours shall not they have the same power that hee hath 12 The other piece which wee promiseâ shall bee taken out of the privie Counsell which was holden at Rome almost at the same time when the former Bull was sent which was found in the Advocat Davids trunk where it is said That the successours of Hugh Capet to undoe the Church brought in that damnable errour which the French men call the Liberties of the Gallican Church which is nothing else but a refuge for the Waldenses Albigenses poore of Lyons Lutherans and Calvinists at this present And in another Article it is said That all Edicts made within the Kingdome of what standing soever if they bee repugnant to Councels shall be cassed repealed and disanull'd As much as to say al the Edicts concerning the rights of our Kings the good of the Kingdome and the liberties of the Gallican Church which are all abolished and brought to nothing by the Councel of Trent A REVIEW OF THE COVNCELL OF TRENT BOOKE VII CHAP. I. That the Councell of Trent tends to the depression and abasing of the authority of Christian Princes 1 THis redoubted greatnesse to which the Pope is exalted by this Councell doth diminish as much not onely the power of Councels and Clergie-men but also that of Christian Princes These are their spoiles their Scepters their Crownes their justice their soveraigne authoritie their honours and preheminences all this is violently pull'd from them and transferr'd upon another lord In the first place they are depriv'd outright of that power which they have over Ecclesiasticall things and persons due unto them both by divine and humane law The calling of Councels is taken from them the presidence in them the approbation and authorizing of the determinations made in them the nomination election or investiture to the Bishopriques within their Empires and Dominions justice civill and criminall upon the goods and persons and discipline Ecclesiasticall and many other such like things It tacitely approves yea in many things expressely the unmeasured power and dominion which the Popes have usurped upon Kingdomes and Empires upon the election and deposition of Kings and Princes and upon all that belongs unto their state It disanuls their lawes and ordinances and on the contrarie establisheth those of the Popes and condemns all those that have defended their rights All this is handled in the former bookes and it would be impertinent to use repetitions And therefore we send the reader backe thither We will here adde that which remaines to be spoke of that subject 2 They are further grieved inasmuch as the Councell takes upon it more than belongs unto it in point
how bad soever they were as Constantius the Arrian Iulian the Apostat Maximus the tyrant when occasion place and the cause required it c. And they say that the scripture of this age holds that every Kingdome of this world is got by armes and enlarged by victories and cannot be purchased by excommunications from the Popes or other Bishops and they urge that holy Scripture saith that Kingdomes are from the Lord by whom Kings reigne and that by the ministerie of men and Angels he confers them upon whom hee pleases See here are things which without all compare deserve rather to be struck with an Ecclesiastical thunderclap than the giving way unto a Duell or interposing their authoritie in a matter of marriage 4 Now whatsoever others bee our Kings are exempted from such thunders so as neither the Bishops of this Kingdome nor strangers no nor the Pope himselfe have any power over them in this regard Wee have hereof divers testimonies our French men do avouch it in an article which was drawne by them in behalfe of King Lotharius against Pope Nicholas the first who would have excommunicated him for his marriage with Waldrada As hee cannot bee excommunicated say they speaking of the King by his Bishops whatsoever his fact bee so cannot he bee judged by other Bishops 5 Vincent in his allegations after he hath set downe the good deeds of the Kings of France towards the Church saith This is the cause why the Kings of France cannot bee excommunicated by reason of their priviledge else their labour should bee fruitlesse Likewise their souldiers and their men of warre and their Captaines inasmuch as they cannot offend by obeying them These last words must bee understood of an excommunication thundred out against the men of warre for this reason because they fight for their Prince 6 Lancelot Conrade a Lawyer of Millain subject to the King of Spaine saith as much in expresse termes The King of France pretends to have this prâviledge that hee cannot bee excommunicated neither by the Canons nor by men As the Doctours collect in the division of the chapter Vbi Periculum in princip de elect in 6. When the Parliament of Paris gave their opinion and all the Chambers met together about receiving the Cardinall d' Amboise and the qualifications that should bee put to his Faculties which was upon the eleventh of December 1501 The lawes of the Land and the liberties of the Gallicane Church were represented at large amongst which this was one That the King of France cannot bee excommunicated that his Kingdome cannot bee put in interdict as is collected out of the ancient Registers 7 Yet notwithstanding alwaies as oft as the Popes have gone about to attempt any such excommunications whether by their owne proper authority or joyntly with Councels they have found strong resistance and the French have got this commendation that they never abandoned their Princes in such conflicts The Histories thereof are knowne to all men and they have been so canvased in divers writings set out during our late troubles that it will bee fitting to overpasse them that wee renew not the memorie of our former miseries We will only say that some Popes have in good sincerity acknowledged this right and prerogative of our Kings yea which is more they have confirmed it by their Buls declaring thereby that the King of France cannot bee excommunicated nor his Kingdome interdicted and amongst others Martin the third and fourth Gregory the eighth ninth tenth and eleventh Alexander the fourth Clement the fourth and fifth Nicholas the third Vrban the fifth and Boniface the twelfth whose Buls are yet preserved in the treasurie of the Kings Charters as divers testifie 8 Pope Benedict th' eleventh partly as it is probable upon this occasion revoked the excommunication which was denounced by Boniface the eight his predecessour against Philip the Faire of his own meere motion and without being desired unto it by any man as Walsingam witnesseth He absolved saith he Philip the Faire King of France from the sentence of excommunication given out against him by his predecessour without being desired to it Wee read the Bull thereof to this day in Mr. Nicholas Gille in his Annals of Aquitain Amongst the testimonies of Popes wee will put that of Sylvester the second for the judgement which he passed before he was preferred to the Popedome and the excommunication which the Pope that then was threatned against the King and some Prelates of this Kingdome See here the place taken out of one of his Epistles which hee writ to the Arch-Bishop of Sens 9 I say confidently and boldly that if a Bishop of Rome hath offended against his brother and will not give eare to the admonitions which should bee divers times given by the Church I say that same Bishop of Rome by the commandement of God must bee accounted as an Heathen and a Publicane For by how much the degree is higher by so much the fall is greater But if hee account us unworthie of his communion forasmuch as none of us will consent with him in that which is against the Gospel hee cannot therefore separate us from the communion of Christ. And presently after We should not therefore give this advantage to our ill-willers as to make the Priesthood which is but one in all places as the Catholique Church is but one seeme to bee subject to one man only in such sort that if hee be corrupted by money or favour or fear or ignorance no man can bee Priest but hee that shall be commended unto him by such virtues as these 10 Whence wee collect that the Popes have no more power over our Kings in matter of excommunications than other Bishops whether of their owne Kingdome or strangers The Courts of Parliament of this Realme and especially that of Paris have alwaies stood out against such excommunications and have declared them to bee frivolous nullities and abusive yea and have proceeded with rigour and severitie against the bearers of them The Arrests given out against the Buls of Benedict the thirteenth the two Gregories the thirteenth and fourteenth are sufficient witnesses hereof Now it is not only true that our Kings cannot be excommunicated but which is more they may absolve such of their subjects as are excluded from the Communion of the Church yea they are accounted to restore them to their former state by the meere admitting of them to their table or into their company This is a thing which wee finde upon record in the Capitularie of Charles the Great in these words If the Royall power doe receive any delinquents into favour or admit them to his table they shall be likewise received into the assemblies of the people and Clergy in Ecclesiasticall communion to the intent that the ministers of God may not reject what the pietie of the Prince doth admit The Prelats of France have observed this law at other times Ivo Bishop of Chartres saith hee
practised it towards one Gervase and hee sets downe the words of this Ordinance In another epistle he gives us to wit that our Kings have this priviledge not only for other men but for themselves too Kings saith hee shoâld not bee exasperated by us but in case they will not rest quiet for all our admonitions they must be left to the divine judgement Hence it is that wee read in the Capitularie Royall concluded upon by the authoritie of the Bishops If the Royall power c. 11 Now this priviledge that they cannot bee excommunicated is no new thing Clement the fourth in one of his Decretals confirmes this privildge granted to the Kings Queens and their children that they cannot be excommunicate nor their lands interdicted Which Iohn Andreas extends to the brethren of Kings so they be children of Kings too but not to such as are only brethren and no more For example If saith he ãâã that is no Kings sonne should succeed in a Kingdome where such a proviso is made as suppose in the Kingdome of France at this present the Kings brethren shall not enjoy this priviledge But when according to the ordinarie custome the eldest succeeds in the Kingdome and hath brethren by the fathers side they enjoy this privildge forasmuch as they are children of the same head This instanceing in France shewes that our Kings are of the number of those that have this priviledge that they cannot bee excommunicated nor interdicted à quocunque as the Decrâtall hath it that is By any man whatsoever Which may be understood as well of the Pope himselfe as of others 'T is true the glosse excepts him as also his Legat à latere but that doth not take place against our Kings who by reason of their great deservings and good deeds to the Church are exempt from all such thunderclaps CHAP. IV. That the Councel useth commanding termes to Kings and Emperours and makes them executioners of the Bishops Decrees Of the honour which was anciently done unto them by Clergy men 1 OVr Councell is not content with clipping the rights authorities and prerogatives of Kingsâ Princes and other Lords to enhanse that of Rome but further it tramples them under foot makes them but officers and ministers to Bishops by commanding them to execute what these ordaine The holy Councell say they doth further exhort all Kings Princes Common-wealths and Magistrates and by virtue of holy Obedience doth command them to interpose their aid and authoritie in behalfe of the said Bishops Abbats Generals and others which have the charge and superintendence for the putting of the said reformation in execution every time and as oft as they shall be thereunto required to the intent that they may without any impediment put in execution the things aforesaid to the glory of almighty God 2 Had there beene no more but a bare exhortation it had beene well enough but this command founds somewhat harsh however it be mitigated with the sweet appearance of a holy obedience for 't is well knowne in what fashion they serve themselves of these faire words This Mandamuâ is extraordinary and was never vented but from the stomachs of ambitious Popes or their Conventicles Let a man but reade the Acts of ancient Councels Generall or Provinciall he shall finde nothing but humble petitions sweet exhortations prayers and blessings for as much as concernes Emperours Kings and Princes commands to them were not heard of then They are the men who alone have the fountain and arsenall in their owne hands both for things temporall and spirituall who impart them to whom they thinke good Ecclesiastiques have nothing to do but by way of petition they have neither command nor Empire unlesse they cozen the Monarchs of the earth of it they are Physicians of soules subject to secular powers having no weapons at all but censures and anathema's against such as are perverse and irregular This Mandamus therefore is injust both in regard of those which give it and those to whom it is given so it is too in regard of the subject and reason for which it was made in as much as by virtue hereof Princes and Monarchs must be bound to obey the Clergie of their Empires and Kingdomes and that even to the meanest of them They must be bound to assist them with a strong hand to put their ordinances in execution every time and as oft as they shall bee required thereunto and in case they faile herein there will not want thunderbolts to deprive them of their Empires and Dominions 3 In another Decree they sharply rebuke such Bishops as debase themselves too much to Kings and Princes and give place and submit to them in point of honour 'T is true they speake at first of pettie Kings and other Lords but the end of the Decree relates also to such as are of greater ranke where it is said by way of command to Bishops That as well within the Church as without having before their eyes their place and order they should ever remember that they are Fathers and Pastours And as for Princes and all others that they doe fatherly honour and due reverence to them 4 In the same Decree they renew and confirme all the former Decrees and Decretals which speake of the honour of Bishops and put them in course which are noted in the margent by the Popes expositors and amongst others the Epistle of Innocent the third writ to the Emperour of Constantinople whom some thinke to be Baldwin or his brother Henry who were Frenchmen towards the end whereof it is said If the Imperiall greatnesse would wisely consider these things it would not suffer the Patriarch of Constantinople who is in truth a great and honourable member of the Church to sit over against his footstoole and upon the left hand considering that other Kings and Princes doe with reverence stand up as they should doe before their Archbishops and Bishops and allow them a venerable place next after themselves Gregory the thirteenth in his new purgation of the Decretalls hath put this note upon it See here saith he the Councell of Trent in the twenty fift Session and seventeenth Chapter of reformation But let us here adde the rest of the places in the margent that wee may better know what honour this Councell would have Kings and Princes doe to Bishops 5 The Canon Valentinianus containes the resolution which the Emperour Valentinian made concerning the election of Saint Ambrose and the exhortation which he made to the Bishops then present when the question was concerning proceeding to the election Set such a one saith he in the Pontificall See as we that governe the Empire may sincerely put our heads under his hands and receive his admonitions inasmuch as we shall offend as men like medicines from a necessarie Physician See here words that beseeme a Christian Emperour indeed who gives Clergie men that reverence which is due unto them as
Physicians of soules But the Glossatour conforming himselfe to the ambition of Rome referres all this to worldly honours and vanities Set here an argument saith he to prove that the Emperour is inferiour to a Bishop and that he may bee excommunicated by a Bishop T is true that on the other side hee seemes to favour the Emperour by giving him an office in the Church and making him Archdeacon for expounding the word Ordinem hee saith From this word some have affirmed that the Emperour should have the Order of Subdeacon in the Church but it is not true because hee hath a militarie character yet howsoever hee performes the office of Subdeacon when hee serves the Bishop O bravely thrust 6 Gregory the seventhâ in an Epistle which he sent to the Bishop of Mentz speakes yet in a more loftie style for point of honour Who makes question saith he but the Priests of Christ are reputed for the Fathers and Masters of Kings and Princes and all the faithfull Is it not knowne that 't is a miserable madnesse if the sonne should goe about to dominere over his fatherâ or the scholler over his master and by some unlawfull obligations to bring him under his power by whom he may be bound and unbound not only upon earth but in heaven also The glosse makes an exception Yet if the father should grow franticke the son should be made Tutour over him to governe him He that shall reade Cardinall Benno upon the life of this Pope and others that have made mention of him will finde that this is not much beside the cushion 7 Pope Iohn the eighth saith That t is Gods will the disposall of the Church should belong to the Clergie and not to secular Princes who if they be of the number of the faithful his will is they should be subject to the Clergie He addes yet further That Christian Emperours ought to submit their executions to Ecclesiasticall Prelates and not to preferre them Pope Gelasius writ to the Orientall Bishops That Christian Princes were wont to obey the Decrees of the Church and not preferre their owne power To submit their owne heads to Bishops not sit as Iudges of theirs These are the Glosses of the Councell of Trent upon the forecited Decree all taken out of Gratians Decree all hammered out and whetted in the Popes forge 8 They forgot that Decretall of Clement the third Saint Peter commanded saith he that all Princes of the earth and all other men besides should obey Bishops The Glossatour infers Ergo The Princes of the earth are inferiour to Bishops Which is true But if the King have many Bishopriques within his Realme before which of them shall he treat of his spirituall cases Hee shall treat of them before that Bishop in whose territorie hee makes his principall residence Which glosse is approved and followed by the Canonists that comment upon that place And wee need not wonder if they would have the King to repaire to the Bishop to treat of spirituall matters For there are some of them that left it in writing that if the Bishops bee out of the fiefs or mannors which they hold they are not bound to call Kings by their names nor to acknowledge them for Kings not so much as for the goods temporall of the Church It is a Pope that pronounced this sentence by name Innocent the third 9 We forgot to tell how our Canonists are entered upon a profound piece of Philosopie to know exactly how much the Sun is bigger than the Moone for without the knowledge of this point they cannot resolve how much the Papall dignitie surpasseth the Imperiall inasmuch as this is the ell with which they must be measured the Pope being by Innocent the third compared to the Sunne and the Emperour to the Moone The Glosse upon that Chapter determines the case thus Wherefore seeing the Earth is seven times bigger than the Moone and the Sunne eight times bigger than the Earth it followes that the Papall dignitie is fortie seven times bigger than the Royall Iohn Andreas observes there is a fault in this glosse In other copies saith he it is ten times foure in othersâ fortie times but neither this nor that can stand with the supputation of the Glosse For if the Earth be seven times greater than the Moone and the Sunne eight times greater than the Earth the Sunne must then be eight times seven times greater than the Moone and therefore it is fifty six times greater For eight times seven make fifty six Pope Gregory in his censure upon this place takes notice of this diversity of reading which is more to his owne advantage In other copies saith he it is fifty times seven times But for the quantity of the Sunne and Moone and Earth and how much greater one of them is than another see Ptolomie in hiâ fift Booke and sixt Chapter It was requisite to observe that for by this meanes the Popes greatnesse is tenne times greater But see here another addition yet which helpes well to augment the score Here Laurence saith the addition cites the saying of Ptolomy it is evident that the greatnesse of the Sunne containes the greatnesse of the Earth one hundred forty seven times and two halfe parts more It is also well knowne to every body that the greatnesse of the Sunne containes the greatnesse of the Moon seven thousand seven hundred forty foure times and one halfe more See here how they write of this point it being to be feared they will never disintangle themselves out of these doubts but by the determination of a Councell and further it will be necessary that they imploy some surveyouâ in the busines And if in the meane time the Sunne should happen to decrease or the Moone to encrease there would be a great many amaz'd with it 10 Though this be but a sport yet no man of judgement but will bee more readie to weepe than to laugh at it For this vanitie hath made men renounce the simplicitie of Christianitie to runne after the world and glut themselves with vanities This Ecclesiasticall ambition begunne to grow up as high as Origens times We are in such a taking saith hee speaking of the Prelates of his times that we seeme to outvie the pride of the Princes of this world either because we doe not understand or doe not respect the commandment of Christ and after the fashion of Kings wee desire to have weapons of terrour to march before us Saint Chrysostome saith likewise That the Princes of this world are for ruling over such as are inferiour to them for bringing them into subjection and spoiling them when they deserve it and for serving their turnes of them to their commodity and for their honour even to death But the Prelates of the Church are ordained to serve such as are inferiour to them and to minister unto them all that they have received from Christ c. It is not then either just
Lewes the eleventh touching the defence of the Pragmatique Sanction hath inserted this Article Item it belongs to our Soveraigne Lord the King who is the principall founder guardian protectour and defendour of the liberties of this Church when she suffers in her liberties to assemble and call together the Prelates and other Clergie-men as well within this Realme as of Dauphiny and in the same assembly and congregation of the Gallicane Church so called together there to preside and provide a remedy against such attempts as may be prejudiciall to the said liberties as it shall be said hereafter 5 The three Estates assembled at Tours the yeare 1483 in their Remonstrance presented to the same King Lewes th' eleventh say thus That the king by reason of his crowne as well of common right as by the consultation and request of all the Church of France and Dauphinie is as the former Kings his predecessours were the protectour and defendour of the holy Decrees liberties and franchises of the Church of his Kingdome and Dauphinie 9 According hereunto every time and as often as there have been any troubles or disorders in the Church or when any question was about proceeding to some greater reformation the Emperours and Kings have put their hands unto it and have applyed the remedie either upon their owne meere motion or at the request of others Which is verified by the example of Kings Hezekias Who in the first year of his reigne in the first moneth opened the doores of the house of the Lord and repaired them and hee brought in the Priests and the Levites and commanded them to sanctifie the house of the Lord and carry forth the filthinesse out of the holy place and the Levites rose and they gathered their brethren and came according to the commandment of the King by the words of the Lord to cleanse the house of the Lord. The same Hezekiah cast out idolatry which by little and little had crept into the Temple of God He removed the high placesâ and brake the images and cut downe the groves and breake in pieces the brason Serpent that Moses had made for untill those dayes the children of Israel did burne incense to it The book of the Law being found after it had beene a long time lost King Iosias commanded Hilkiah the High Priest and some others to goe to Huldah the Prophetesse to enquire concerning this booke Having heard their report after their returne he went up into the house of the Lord and all the men of Iudah and all the inhabitants of Ierusalem with him and the Priests and the Prophets and all the people both small and great and hee read in their eares all the words of the book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant before the Lord to walke after the Lord and to keepe his commandements and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart And he commanded Hilkiah the high Priest and the Priests of the second order and the keepers of the doore to bring forth out of the Temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal And he put downe the idolatrous Priests whom the Kings of Iudah had ordained to burne incense and destroyed their altars And did other such like things concerning the order and discipline of the Church 7 Let us prove this further by the example and âestimonies of Popes The fourth Councell saith Zonaras was called by reason of thâ instance which was made by Leo Pope of Rome and Anatolius Patriarâh of new Rome to the Emperour Martian that the opinions of Diosâoruâââtâiaâch ââtâiaâch of Alexandria and Euâychâs might not remaine unexamined and that the crime committed against St. Flavian might not bee slurred over under hand Pope Boniface the first intreats the Emperour Honorius in his letters to take order that they doe not proceed to the Creation of the Pope by corruption which gave him occasion to make a Decree thereupon Wee have related the passages of it in another place 8 Pope Gregory the first writ to Aldebert King of England in these termes Most glorious Sonne bee diligent to preserve that grace you have received from God make haste to extend the Christian faith over all people which are subject to you multiplie the zeal of your uprightâesse by their conversion take away the service of Idols pull down the eâifices of their temples exhorting thereunto the minds of your subjects in great uprightnesse and purity of life edifie them by frighting by flatteringâ by correcting them that so you may be rewarded in heaven by him whose name and knowledge you shall have to dilated upon earth The same St. Gregorie writ to Childebert King of France in this manner For as much as wee have beene informed of certaine things which doe highly offend Almighty God and doe greatly disgrace the honour and reverence of the Priesthood wee intreat you to take order that such things may be mended by the censure of your power And to King Theodebert thus This would be absolutely profitable for your Kingdome if that which is committed against God within your Dominions were corrected by such reformation as your excellence shall applie unto it 9 The Acts of a Synod holden at Rome in the year 876 about the Coronation of Charles the second son to Lewes the Gentle containes a certain proposition made by Pope Iohn the eight where amongst othâr things speaking of Charles the Great he saith of him That having raised all the Churches to a mighty greatnesse hee had alwaies this wish and desire of reforming aâd restoring the holy Roman Church to her first order and estate Hee addes presently after That hee learned the state of Religion out of holy writâ which he found to be unhusbanded and overgrowne with the thornes of divers errours and abuses That he trim'd it up with knowledge both divine and humane purg'd it from errours and furnisht it with sure and certaine doctrines 10 Iohn of Paris a Fryer Predicant who lived about the year 1280 saith That it is lawfull for a Prince to repell the abuses of the spirituall sword in such sort as hee may proceed by the Materiall sword especially when the abuse of the spirituall sword turnes to the prejudice of the common-wealth the care whereof belongs unto the Kings otherwise hee should beare the sword in vaine 11 Claudius Espenseus a Doctour of the Sorbon in an epistle of his printed 1547 where he treats of the institution of a Prince teacheth that it belongs to a Prince to take upon him the reformation of the Church then especiallie when shee is full of so great abuses errours and heresies And upon the Epistle to Titus I will here adde one thing saith he for feare lest any bodie should thinke that it concernes Princes onely that prophane things succeed well and not sacred too as if they were only keepers of
the second table of the Decalogue which concernes our neighbour and not of the first also which concernes God and the Church Secular Princes have got the higher degree of power in the Church therby to fortifie Ecclesiasticall discipline that they may command with terrour what the Clergy cannot doe by their bare word and the heavenly Kingdome may bee advanced by the earthly According hereunto wee may affirme that the great schismes and divisions which have dismembred all the Church in these later daies have beene appeased and accorded especially by the authoritie of Kings and Princes 12 The Emperour Henry the third seeing the abuse which was at Rome by meanes of the creation of three Popes to wit Bennet the ninth Sylvester the third and Gregorie the sixth yea of a fourth too namely Gratian who had drawne over the rest by briberie presently made thitherwards and called a Councell and made them bee dismissed and another substituted in their stead by lawfull election Frederick the first to remove the schisme betwixt the two Popes Victor and Alexander the third By the counsell and advice of his Princes saith Radenicus resolved with himself to take care that neither the state of the Church nor the Common-wealth of the Empire should receive any damage thereby And hearing that both of them had beene elected consecrated Bishops and that the one had excommunicated the other he thought that this difference could not bee determined but by a Councell Hee therefore called one after the example of the ancient Emperors and summoned both the parties to it caused one to be condemned for not appearing to wit Alexander and the other to bee confirmed as lawfully elect As soone as the Emperor Sigismund was preferr'd to the Empire saith the German Chronicle he put on this resolution not to spare any paines for the pacifying of the Church which was then miserably rent with divers factions more like a most confused Chaos than a Congregation of faithfull men and Saints of God Hee sent certaine Ambassadours to the Popes and to the Bishops to compose the affaires of the Church and make an agreement betwixt the Popes Which hee did so well that notwithstanding the collusion which was between them and all the Legierdemaine the Councell of Constance was celebrated where all those Popes which were no lesse than three in number were deposed namely Iohn the 23 Gregory the 12 and Bennet the 13 and Martin the 5 was chosen in their place 13 The same Emperour together with other Christian Princes did oppose Eugenius the fourth about a translation of the Councell of Basil which hee would have made and they caused it to continue in such sort that hee himselfe was there deposed The Emperour Maximilian and King Lewes the twelfth proceeded to the convocation of the second Councell of Pisa to reforme such disorders as were in the Church seeing that Iulius the second made no reckoning of them The Emperour in his command saith among other things That the Pope and Cardinals not performing their dutie in this particular hee would not doe as they did for feare lest God should accuse him of negligence inasmuch âs they behaving themselves negligently herein we saith he as Emperour Protectour and defender of the holy mother Church are bound forasmuch as lies in our power to relieve so great necessities King Lewes sent out a commandement of the like nature which beginnes thus Be it knowne unto all and every man present and to come that as our ancestours have alwaies beene not only favourers and assistants but also most vigilant champions most good and constant defenders of the Christian faith and the holy Roman Church in all matters of importance without sparing any paines or dangerâ we following the steps of our predecessours considering what great profit generall Councels have brought to the Christian Common-wealth and what damage the Church Catholique hath received by the intermission of them and the grâat necessitie which there is at this present to assemble a Councel of the Church Catholique for the rooting out of heresies schismes and factions in divers parts of the world for the reformation of manners in the Church and punishment of crimes which are too notorious too lasting and incorrigible both in the head and members to establish the peace of Christians to discharge our selves of our dutie towards God Wee have deputed our well-beloved and trustie Mr. Iohn de Biragua Chancellour of our Exchequer for the Dutchie of Millain Balthasar Plat another of the Proctourâ of our Exchequer to signifie and assemble a generall Councell in our name or together with our welbeloved brother Maximilian the most sacrâd Emperour c. 14 This is not the first time that our Kings have travailed aboât the Convocation of Generall Councels Charles the sixth bestirr'd himselfe to remove the schisme which was betwixt Bennet the thirteenth and Boniface the ninth and to dispose all the Princes of Christendome for the same designe according to the testimonie of an English Historian Hee heard with patience saith he the Legats of either Pope but by the advice of his devines hee would not submit himselfe neither to the one nor the other Hee rather thought upon a meanes whereby hee might relieve the Church by removing out of her all matter of dissention Having therefore sent his Ambassadours to the Emperour whose authoritie faith and affection ought to surpasâe that of other men as also to the Kings of England Bohemia and Hungaria he conjured them not to bee wanting to the publique good and tranquillitie All men of any judgement doe well know that the peace of the Church must come out of this quarter This may bee done when it shall please the divine bountie to touch the heart of our Soveraigne Prince who hath greater meanes than any other to acquire this honour God hath made him peaceable that so he may procure this good to Christendome O great Prince hearken to the complaints which your Vniversitie of Paris addressed to King Charles the sixth one of your Predecessours and apply them to your selfe 15 Indeavour for this peace and for the safetie of your foster mother the Church and imploy to that end most Christian Prince all your strength as you have begunne to doe cure this maladie looke upon her which is desolate have pitie upon her which is oppressed relieve her which is undeservedly dejected stretch forth your helping hand to her which is extreamelie weake and which is not able to rise out of her bed Doe not deferre any longer to hear her which implores your aid with continual sighs and plaints and groanes Preferre this before all care of temporall things how profitable and usefull soever they bee This onely businesse ought to bee preferr'd before all others inasmuch as all others will have a more happie successe by reason of this and the honour of your Kingdome which you have got by your ancestours shall bee preserved unto you and to
I know what the matter is when the fires were kindled over all France to burn them all alive Religion was then a case Royal. But when the question is about a necessary reformation of the Clergie or Monkery or sending Pastours home to their flocks this is a case Synodicall or Papall For as I remember I have heard some distinguish so and those eveââââhops themselver As if Princes were no more but miâisters of another zeal ofttimes indiscreet and without knowledge that I say not executioners of cruelty and not rather Guardians Protectours and externall defendours of all the constitutions of the Church as her children 3 But let us here shew by good examples and sufficient testimonies in what fashion Secular Princes have medled with such things as concern the Church The first lesson which God gives the King which would bee established over his people is this It shall bee when he sitteth upon the throne of his Kingdome that hee shall write him a copy of this law in a booke out of that which is before the Priests and the Levits And it shall be with him and hee shall read therein all the dayes of his life that he may learne to feare the Lord his God to keepe all the words of this law and these Statutes to do them According hereunto the Lord speaks thus to Ioshua whom he had chosen to be the governour of his people after Moses This booke of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to doe according to all that is written therein 4 Let us now see how these Kings and Governours behaved themselves in the ancient Church and the power which they tooke upon them without rebuke or to speake more properly with approbation David gathered together all the Princes of Israel with the Priests and the Levits Of which twenty and foure thousand were chosen to set forward the worke of the house of the Lord and six thousand were Officers and Iudges Moreover foure thousand were Porters and foure thousand praised the Lord with instruments which hee made to praise therewith And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi. And a litle after And Aaron was separated that he should sanctifie the most holy things he and his sons for ever to burne incense before the Lord to minister unto him and to blesse his name for ever All this concernes the discipline of the Church and yet all was done by the conduct and command of David King Solomon built the Temple of the Lord in Ierusalem by the speciall appointment of God The son that shall bee borne to thee shall bee a man of rest Hee shall build an house for my name David would have built the temple himself but he was forbid by the Lord because he had shed bloud King Ioash repaired it afterwards And it came to passe after this that Ioash was aminded to repaire the house of the Lord. And he gathered together the Priests and the Levites and commanded them to goe out unto the Cities of Iudah and gather out of all Israel money to repaire the house of the Lord from year to year And when the Levites hastened not the King called for Iohoiadah the chief and said unto him Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring out of Iudah and out of Ierusalem the collection And at the Kings commandement they made a chest into which every man brought his share and portion that Moses had laid upon them This money was brought unto the King and distributed by him and the high Priest amongst those that wrought about the temple 5 The Emperour Charlemaigne who was as great in Ecclesiasticall policie as in feats of armes speaks on this wise to the Clergy of his Empire in the preface of his Capitulary We have sent our Deputies unto you to the intent that they by our authoritie may together with you correct what shall stand in need of correction We have also added certaine Chapters of Canonicall ordinances such as we thought to bee most necessarie for you Let no man I entreat you thinke or censure this pious admonition for presumptuous whereby wee force our selves to correct what is amisse to cut off what is superfluous and briefly to compact what is good But rather let everie man receive it with a well-willing minde of charitie For wee have read in the booke of Kings how Ioas endevoured to restore the Kingdome which God had given him ãâã âhe service of the true God by going about it by correcting and admonishing it 6 Wee have elsewhere said that he discoursed himselfe about points of divinitie at the Councel of Francfort Nor doe wee ever finde so many Synods holden as in his reigne and all by his command which is a faire prâsiâent for his successors By his command saith Regino there were Councels celebrated in all parts of France by the Bishops about the state of the Church One was held at Mentz another at Rhemes a third at Tours a fourth at Cavaillon a fift at Arles and the severall Constitutions which were made in every one of them were confirmed by the Emperour Besides these five which were held in the yeare 813 namely but one yeare before his decease hee called one at Worms the year 770. One at Valentia in 771. Another at Worms in 772. Another at Genes the yeare 773. Another at a place called Duria in 775. Another at Cullen 782. A third at Wormsâ 787. Another at a place called Ingeluheym the yeare 788. And a Generall one consisting of all the Westerne Churches at Francfort the yeare 794. Besides others which may be observed out of histories 7 See now then how Kings have a commanding power over the Clergy how they make Ordinances about such things as concerne Ecclesiastical discipline how they ingage themselves in such matters above all others yet not so as to minister in the Church to offer incense or such like For this belongs properly to the Church and cannot bee taken from them This is the reason why King Hezekiah speaks thus to the Priests and Levites when hee exhorts them to doe their dutie My sons be not now negligent for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him to serve him and that you should minister unto him and burne incense Hee calls them sons or children that wee may observe so much by the way whereas our Canon law on the contrary saith that Bishops are the fathers and masters of Kings and Princes as wee have âeene already It is not lawfull for Princes so much as to touch this mysterie and this is the reason why King Vzziah was smitten with a leprosie because hee had taken upon him to offer incense upon the altar and the Priests withstood him From whence our Popes make a wonderous âârange consequence when they concluâe from hence that Kings and Emperours cannot
into speciall recommendation Reverend Father in God we beseech the blessed Sonne of God to grant you your desire Written at Paris in the Parliament under the seale thereof the seventh day of September the men celebrating the Kings Parliament And this annotation is writ in the margeut Antiquitùs fiebant aliter All this serves to shew the antiquity and possession of this right which we could not but touch upon considering as it seemes that this Councell was resolved to be revenged upon that venerable Senate in hatred of that service which they have ever done to their Prince and whole Realme as oft as there was any danger of their preservation 4 This Counncell hath also gone about to diminish the power of other Parliaments and Courts of justice in France for as much as concernes excommunications ordaining two things which are very prejudiciall to the temâorall justice First That no excommunication nor citation be granted out by the Bishop upon the request or authority of the Magistrate The next That it shall not be lawfull for the secular Magistrate whosoever he be to prohibit or forbid the Ecclesiasticall Iudge to excommunicate any man or charge him to revoke the excommunication by him denounced And that is say they because this cognizance belongs not to Seculars but to Ecclesiastiques This reacheth further than a man would think It is the robbing of Parliaments of the meanes which they have to stop the course of those interdicts and excommunications which are thundered out against the Realme of France by the Popes when they are in their fury to bridle the abuses of the Court of Rome and the Clergy of this Realme who have sometime ventured so farre in thiâ kinde that we could see nothing but confusion and disorder But 't is requisite we treat of these two points distinctly for that which we are about to say concernes properly the later 5 It is an ancient practice of our Iudges Royall in France upon just occasion to grant out monitories against the plaintife or defendant and to decree that they be proceeded against by Ecclesiasticall censures and bâ excommunications Their sentences were wont to bee executed by the Priests and other Churchmen without any difficulty This power of the Iudges Royall was since the celebration of this Councell confirmed by the twenty first article of the Ordinance of Blois see here the words of it For the revelation of which crime the said Bishops together with our Offiâers may cause monitories to be published in all the parishes at such time as they shall thinke proper and fit It is also confirm'd by infinite number of Arrests of Parliaments sent out at severall times which regulate these licences of proceeding by excommunications granted by under Iudges Besides our Practitioners set us downe the very formes of them Emperours and Kings have alwayes had the rule and managing of excommunications and have sometimes used it themselves The lawes of Iustinian Charles the Great Charles the ninth and others which are received even by the Popes themselves and other Clergy men doe fully prove it Now there is no question but the power which they have in this particular they might derive it upon the person of their Officers The Clergy have alwayes suffered the use of this practice It is true that as in other things they have gone about to hooke in unto themselves the whole administration of justice so have they endeavoured to doe the like in this case not directly but obliquely For in proceeding to censures by virtue of the command of the Iudge Royall they have gone about to get the cognizance of the revelations made in consequence of those censures by that meanes robbing the Iudge of his jurisdiction 6 As for the other point where they say that the cognizance of censures belongs not to Secular Iudges the contrary is evident from those reasons which have beene urg'd already whereto wee will adde use and practice It is certaine that in all ages secular Princes their Officers and Magistrates or other their Committees have judged of abuses befalling in excommunications and interdicts have stopped the unjust proceedings of Popes and other Ecclesiastiques have bridled their too bold enterprizes their passionate maledictions The Courts Royall of this Kingdome were wont to grant the courtesie of an absolution by way of caution to the appellant as from abuse whether Clergy man or lay without any prejudice to the right of the parties and compell the Bishop to endure it even by the seizure of his temporals It is one of the liberties of the Gallicane Church By an Arrest of the twelfth of December 1468 granted at the instance of the Kings Atturney generall and Mr. Peter Charres Regent Doctor in Divinity in the Vniversity of Paris it was declared that notwithstanding the interdict which was denounced against the City and Diocesse of Nâvârs by virtue of certaine Buls from the Pope divine service should be there continued and the Churchmen should bee compell'd to doe it by the distraining and seisure of their temporalls By another in 1488 the Bull which at the instance of Maximilian of Austria was thundered out by the Pope against the inhabitants of Gant and Bruges then the King of France his subjects was declared to bee abusive It was necessary the secular Iudges should take knowledge of such fulminations conâidering the abuses were unsufferable 7 They have plaid such reâks with these censures heretofore that there was no case in which they were not us'd right or wrong to the great scandal and vexation of good men By meanes of them the Iudges Royall were totally stripped of their jurisdiction For they were excommunicated because they would have had the cognizance of possession procured by a Lay man for the holding of some of his Lands against a Clergy-man As also for not admitting of an appeal put in to the Ecclesiasticall Iudge from sentence given betwixt Lay men in an action reall or personall nor of an appeal put in from a command of an Arrest granted out against one Lay man at the suit of another for some pecuniary debt For not causing the thing which hee had robb'd or stolne to bee restored to the thief after sentence was pasâed upon it and it adjudg'd to him to whom it belonged after proofe made thereof under colour that hee is a Church-man standing upon this qualitie after judgement had passed upon him For not surrendring up a malefactour affirming himselfe to bee a Clergy-man although hee had neither tonsure nor habit appertaining to a Clerk and hath liv'd as a Lay man all the dayes of his life For not desisting from the cognizance of the cause of a Clerke married or one that trades in Merchandise or intermeddles in such like things For seising upon the goods and lands of a Priest at the suit of a Lay-man 8 Moreover they behaved themselves so towards the Lay judges as to
of great personages than liberty of conscience which is much to be feared in a matter of this nature But as for you Sirs who are here assembled in the name of God you acknowledge no superiour but the honour of God and the quiet of his Church 4 And presently after he addes If wee will apply our selves to the humour of this or that Prince whatsoever and if we chuse rather to mistake the truth by that meanes than embrace our owne salvation and the right managing of affairâ there is no question but the neglect of our duty deprives us of the glory of heaven and if so be there be any default of yours in this respect howbeit your vertues doe assure me of the contrary the state of religion will be so desperate that there will be no hope of remedy left I have seene the originall copy of a letter in the hands of a learned Catholique dated the 19 of May 1563 written from Trent to Rome by Monsieur de Lansac King Charles his ambassadour at the Councell of Trent unto Monsieur de Lisle the same Kings ambassadour to the Pope wherein he intreats him to deale so that the Pope would leave the Councell to their liberty and send the Holy Ghost no more in a Clokebag The Lord de Ferriers assisted by the Lord of Pibrac in his oration delivered in September 1563 touching the precedency of the King of France before the King of Spaine accuseth the Pope of bereaving his eldest son of the honour that belongs unto him of arrogating unto himselfe power over the Councell and prescribing unto it what it must follow and observe And in the letters written by the same Ambassadours unto King Charles the 25 of November 1563 upon occasion of their retiring to Venice they say amongst other reasons they departed from the Councell Because nothing was done there but what pleased the Pope and hereupon they stood so long upon determining things proposed if there was any difficulty because they must send to Rome to seeke the Popes resolution 5 This is also the great complaint which hath ever beene made and that justly by the Protestants of Germany Heare what Paul Vergerius who had formerly been the Popes Legat in Germany against Luther and the Protestants speakes concerning it in an Epistle of his to the Bishops of Italy I desire you moreover to consider a little and throughly to informe your selves of that which Pope Paul the third and Iulius the second lately deceased were wont to doe they framed Ordinances and Decrees to their carrier then they sent them to Trent with an expresse injunction that nothing should be determined but what they commanded Which I know to be very true because in the time of Pope Paul my selfe being then Bishop was at Trent from whence I was ferreted because I was suspected to have taken notice of it whereupon they were afraid lest I should disclose it howbeit I knew but very little of it at that time And there is none now but knowes that all the definitions which were first made at Rome by the Popes commandement were sent afterwards to the Legat that he might looke well to this that the divines observed the same order and platforme in their disputes as was prescribed to them Whence it came to passe that they commonly say nowadayes The Holy Ghost came to Trent packt up in a Clokebag 6 A learned man of those times among the Protestants called Fabricius Montanus hath made a great complaint hereof in a speech of his pronounced before the States of Germany which is contradicted by Fontidonius a Doctor in Divinity he that made the speech in the behalfe of the King of Spain at that Councell I shall content my self with two passages which that Apologist labours to refute in his rejoynder As for that saith he which you urge and account for a fault that the Pope doth not submit himselfe to the Councell but rather the Fathers of the Councell are subject to him what furtherance can that bring to your cause And in another place You rake up many calumnies not crimes which you doe not confirme by any arguments as that the Fathers of the Councell doe wholy conforme themselves to that which is prescribed in a certaine schedule containing the declaration of his pleasure There are many other writings besides wherein may be read the same complaint 7 Howbeit the Doctor doe peremptorily deny that it was so and sayes that the Pope and the Councell did accord very well yet for all his answer it is not amisse to tell him what Onuphrius saith in the life of Paul the third for it serves very well to our purpose Being thus highly offended with the Emperour saith he without any dissembling of it he beganne to thinke of suspending the Councell which he had formerly commanded to bee kept at Trent in courtesie to the Emperour and of removing it to Bononia which he was the more willing to doe because hee had understood how his dignityâ was taxed and disparaged by the malice of some suâorned Prelates in certaine sanctions decreed upon in an odious disputation See what the Popes use to doe when the Councels doâ not please their palat and doe what they would have them so Pope Eugenius dealt with the Councell of Basil and Pope Iulius the second with that of Pisa. This transferring of the Councell was put in execution howbeit it was contradiâted by divers Bishops as appeares by the eighth Session 8 We will conclude we need not seeke a more authentique proofe hereof âhan the determinations of the Councell it selfe which were all entirely submitted to the Popes authority and which for the most part tend to no other end but the support of his greatnesse So Pius the fourth in a publique oration of his delivered in the Consistory after the conclusion of tâe Councell thankes them heartily for having such a tender regard to his authority when they went about an Ecclesiasticall reformation in so much that if hee had undertaken to reforme himselfe he should have gone more severely to worke as appeares by that Oration printed with the French translation of the Councell of Trent which was very wisely retained by a learned Sorbonist But indeed it is a thing not much to be marvailed at for what could such men doe else which were not their owne masters which were bound to the Pope by such a strict oath that they durst not flinch from him yea they durst not so much as speake the truth in what concerned him So said AEneas Sylvius in an Epistle to the Chapter of Mayence Even to speake truth against the Pope is to breake the oath of a Bishop And indeed marke the purport of one of the clauses in the new oath They shall disclose and effectually hinder with all their might whatsoever shall be plotted negotiated or attempted against the Pope They are also tyed by the ancient forme To defend the Popedome of the
in what need of reparation the Churches stand 13 The Royall jurisdiction in France suffers prejudice hereby considering it belongs to the Lay Iudges to take order for such reparations as wee shall prove in another place hereafter But that which is ordained in the tenth Chapter of the twentie fourth Session is yet more exorbitant namely That the Bishops as Delegates of the holy See have power to ordaine rule punish and execute according to the determination of the Canons in all things which concerne the visitation and correction of their subjects Whence it will come to passe that if a Bishop condemne any of the people under his jurisdiction for eating an egge in Lent or any such like thing hee must trudge to Rome to get his sentence made good 14 The like here is decreed concerning the visitation of Hospitals Fraternities and all kinde of sacred places Colledges and Schooles For it is given unto the said Bishops as Delegates for the Popes although it belong unto them by virtue of their ordinarie jurisdiction by the Decree of the Councell of Vienna holden under Clement the fifth at least for asmuch as concernes Hospitals And in our France such visitations belong to the Lay Iudges and especially to the great Almoner who hath the super-intendence of them So saith King Henry the second in expresse termes in his Ordinance of the yeare 1552 Our great Almoner saith he hath the super-intendence cognizance over the Hospitals and Spittles of our Kingdome that they bee well and dulie maintained as well for the reparation of them as for the imployment of the moveable goods thereunto belonging And whether the poore sick folks and distressed persons resorting unto the said Hospitals bee entertained and lodged maintained and fed according to the revenues of the said Hospitals As also to compell the masters and Administratours of such Hospitals to make account of the said meanes and revenues See here that which compriseth every part of the visitation and all that belongs to the office of him that is to bee the visiter 15 By another Ordinance of King Francis dated the fifteenth of Ianuarie 1546 the visitation of the said Hospitals and other charitable places is committed to the Iudges Royall Ordinaries of the place where such Hospitals are situate All Governours and Administratours of Hospitals or other charitable foundations shall be compell'd by our Iudges of the places next adjoyning to give up their accounts of the revenues and administration of the said Hospitals by what titles soever they hold them together with the charters and titles of their foundation if they have any within two monthes after the publication of these Presents Whom wee command and expressely injoyne everie one respectively within his Precincts and jurisdiction that immediatly after the publication of these presents they visit the said Hospitals and charitable foundations to enquire of the revenue estate and reparation of the places and the number of beds and poore people whom they shall finde there It is true that upon the publication of the said Ordinance there was some opposition made by certaine Bishops and Abbats of this Kingdome and by the grand Almoner but upon the said opposition there was no more decreed by the Court of Parliament of Paris but this That out any regard therunto had they should proceed to the publication ordaining nevertheles That within every one of their Ecclesiastical Precincts each Ordinary Bishop or Abbat the grand Almoner might commit and delegate one or two honest men to assist the Iudges who were to execute the said letters patentsâ yet without hindring or contradicting the said Iudges in such manner as that the Kings will and pleasure might bee put in execution This Ordinance was yet further confirm'd by another of the same King Francis dated the sixth of Februarie 1546. And by another of Henrie the second the twelfth of Februarie 1553. 16 With better reason may wee say that the visitation of Schooles erected for the institution of youth should belong to Lay Iudges Howsoever it bee such visitations are not cases reserveâ to the Pope and therefore this Delegation is against the rules of the Canon law As is that also which is granted unto them for the execution of things given to pious uses in such cases as are allowed by the Law The Bishops saith the Councell as Delegates for the See Apostolique shall bee executours of all pious donations given as well by last wils and Testaments as by those which are yet alive in such cases as are permitted by the law Now by the ancient Decrees they are executours of such donations Iure proprio Witnesse Gregorie the ninth in a âecretall of his Be it that all testaments to pious uses should bee taken care for by the Bishops of âhe places and that all things should be confirmed according to the will of the deceased Howbeit the testatours themselves should have prohibited c. Which he further confirmes in another Decretall The executours appointed by the Testatour after they have undertaken that charge ought to bee comâell'd by the Bishop of the Diocese to performe the will of the Testatour The like was ordâinââ by the constitution of the Emperour Anthemius If the Tâstatour saith he hath expressed the summe of the legacie or Testament in trust given to pious uses without appointing the partie that shall bee executour of his will the Reverend Bishop of the citie where the testatour was borne hath power to exact what was bequeathed to that end executing the holy intention of the deceased without any delay 17 A man might observe divers other Articles of this Councell where such delegations are granted to Bishops and Ordinaries which is as much as to annihilate their intire jurisdiction and devolve it upon the Pope that so all may depend upon him and his power may be so much the greater Wherein many men are prejudiced to wit the Bishops who loose that which belongs unto them having it onely by way of loan or in a precarious manner The Metropolitans who are hereby deprived of the appeals which should come unto them from the sentence of the Bishops And the Lawyers as well Ecclesiasticall as Lay who must bee constrained to goe to Rome either to voyd the appeals which will be put in or at least to get new Commissioners in case hee faile to appoint the judgement In partibus according to the liberties of France which will be as great a foile as can be imagined 18 Weâ will now speak of Evocations which is another mightie means for the Pope to make him absolute Lord of all Ecclesiasticall justice to get the cognizance of all causes which hee shall thinke good to make his Court more frequented than ever it was This Councell after it had decreed that the judgement of causes cannot bee taken from the Ordinaries by any extraordinarie commissions Evocations nor Appeals it addes Except in such causes as ought to bee tried
service and that such Priests as are ordained and established in them shall not be tyed and bounâ to doe any other service but Ecclesiasticall for and in consideâation of the tithes and oblations of faithful peopleâ houses base Coârts or gardens adjoyning to the said Churches nor for the Manour aforesaid A certaine Councell held at Paris doth commend and follow this same Ordinance and our Popes have canonized it 13 The Councell of Pavy holden under the Emperour Lewes the second in the yeare 855 addresseth these words unto him As for the reparation of Churches the Chapter which was made by your Predecessour is suââicient But that it may bee observ'd it stands in need of your admonition So likewise forasmuch as concernes places for the entertaining of strangers that which is set downe in the Capitularie ought to bee observed 14 The Emperour Iustinian in one of his Edicts doth excommunicate all heresiesâ and that of Nestorius and Eutyches in particular Wee anathematize all heresie and especially that of Eutyches and Nestorius as also that of Apollinaris Hee further ordaines that if the followers of that sect doe not returne after the warning which should bee given unto them by virtue of his Edict That they should not looke for any favour or pardon commanding that they should be punished with condigâe punishment as convicted and denounced heretiques This Edict was commended and approved bp Epiphanius Patriarch of Constantinople and by a good number of Bishops which were then at Constantinople as the same Iustinian affirmeth in one of his Constitutions directed to him where after he hath rehearsed the tenor of the said Edict These are the things saith he which by our divine Edict we have condemned in the persons of heretiques to which all the most holy Bishops and reverend Abbats which were then present in this Citie have together with your Holynesse subscribed Pope Iohn in the answer which he made to the same Emperour hath such another confirmation Wee have beene informed saith he by the report of Hypatius and Demetrius that you being stirred up by the love of the faith for the abolishing of the opinions of heretiques have set out an Edict following therein the Apostolicall doctrineâ and with the consent of our brethren and fellow-Bishops which wee by our authoritie doe here confirme as conformable to the Apostolicall doctrine Pope Iohn's successour would say now adaies That it does not concerne him to intermeddle so farre in divine matters Hee goes further yet for he prayes Iustinian that hee would mitigate this his Edict towards such as would repent Forasmuch as the Church doth not shut her bosome against those that returne unto her I entreat your Clemencie saith he that if they will returne to the union of the Church by forsaking their errours and casting off their bad intention that you would turne the edge and point of your indignation from them by receiving them into your communion and admitting them into your savour upon our intercession 15 A certaine Councell held at Tribur under King Arnold which is extant in a Booke of Rhabanus hath this preface In the 895 yeare of the incarnation of our Lordâ the glorious King Arnold so journing at Tribur there were twenty six Bishops assembled and to the number of a hundred Abbats of Monasteries whom the same King commanded to treat of Ecclesiasticall lawes and promised to shew himselfe a most devout coadjutour for the reestablishing of the Canons and Decrees as also the Constitutions of his ancestours which are contained in their Capitulary so farre forth as he should find them infeebled He assisted also the Bishops and the holy Synod by his authority Royall against some secular persons who would have infringed the Episcopall authoritie and those capitulary Lawes which are hereafter set downe were published and approv'd by him 16 As for the Popes In former times they did not onely not contradict this but rather became supplicants to Emperours for the obtaining of such rules and Ordinances saith Marsilius of Padua And indeed Leo the fourth writes to the Emperour Lotharius in this manner As for the Capitulary Ordinances and Imperiall Constitutions as well of your selfe as of your predecessors we declare unto you that we will observe and keepe them exactly both at this present and for ever hereafter so farre forth as we are or shall bee able and if perchance any man either hath or doe informe you otherwise know for certaine that he is a lyar See here a faire promise which was canonized in the Decret but it serves for nothing there but tapestrie 17 The Emperour Maurice set out a prohibition in one of his Constitutions That such as were bound to beare armes or to other publique services should not be admitted into any Ecclesiasticall habit nor into any Monasterries seeing by that meanes they thought to secure their affaires Gregory the Great sent this Edict to the Bishops of Sicily recommending the observance of it unto them Which was approved by his successours who have canonized this Epistle of his 18 Pope Gelasius recommends the observance of lawes made by secular Princes about Ecclesiasticall matters Who dare say saith he that the lawes of Princes the rules of Fathers or the new admonitions may be sleighted And he afterward speakes of two naturall borne slaves who had beene made Deacons in the Church contrary to the said lawes One of the Bonifaces writ thus to the Bishops of France If any doubt doe arise about Ecclesiasticall law or any other matter betwixt any two Bishops belonging to the same Councell let the Metropolitan in the first place judge of it at the Councell with the rest of the Bishops and if the parties will not stand to that judgement then let the Primate of the Countrey have the hearing of it and determine of it according to the Ecclesiasticall Canons and your owne lawes and neither of the parties shall have power to contradict it Which is avowed in like manner by his successours 19 We have elsewhere handled many points which concerne the authoritie of Kings and Princes as the calling of Councels the presidence and judgement in themâ the authorizing of them the election or nomination to Bishopriques the jurisdiction over Clergie-men and other things of like nature which it is not necessary to reinculcate here Wee will adde for a close that famous passage of Demetrius Archbishop of Bulgaria which containes a great part of all that goes before and with which for that reason we will conclude Hee therefore in one of his responses to Constantine Cabasilas Archbishop of Dyrrhachium saith The Emperour being as it were the common knowing Monarque of the Churches doth preside in Synodicall determinaâions and makes them be in force he prescribes Ecclesiasticall Orders he sets lawes to the lives and politie of such as serve at the Altar as also to the judgements of âishops and Clerkes and to the suffrages of vacant
their Sergeants and Varlets constraining them by their censures to execute their Ordinances and obey their Decrees For if an excommunicate person did not readily pay the summes of money expressed in the excommunication the Lay-judge was submitted to the same censure in case hee did not make means for the paimentâ and if so bee he found no goods hee was compell'd at his own charges to go and appeare before the Officiall to take an oath of his diligence And in case a Clergy man had beene committed to prison by the Lay judge either out of oversight or ignorance though hee were surrendred to the Ecclesiasticall Iudge upon the first demand yet the Lay Iudge notwithstanding was held by the Canons for as good as excommunicate They served themselves also of the same censures against parties in suit excommunicating some Lay men that were summoned before them in causes not spirituall for want of appearance yea and that even after the default made upon a simple citation Item for refusing to plead before them in causes real and actions prâceeding from contracts with Ecclesiasticall persons For not paying the sum set downe in a sentence upon the day therein prefixed although by reason of his povertie the partie were not able to pay it For biding judgement in a Lay Court about the demand of a widdow For drawing those into the cause which live in Hospitals Spittles and houses Royal and conventing them before other Iudges denying them such absolution as was necessarie till such time as they had set an arbitrary fine upon them Vsing also the like vexation to such witnesses as were summoned by them in causes brought before them even although they were out of their jurisdiction As also to such as dwelt in the same place with him whom they had excommunicated sometime causing all the inhabitants of a whole parish or village both old and young to bee cited before them to goe and purge themselves at one or two severall places of the participaâion and commuâion which they might have had with him freeing such as would redeeme themselves by money from this labour All which abuses and infinite more were represented to King ââilip de ãâã in the yeare 1329 by Mr. Peter de Cugnieres the Kings Counsellour in prââânce of the Prelats of this Realme who in their answers âot only not deny thâm but which is more defend them 9 Conformable hereunto is the complaint made by the States of Germanie assembled at Norâmberg the yeare 1522. âor they make remoâââance That both at Rome and all other placesâ many Christians are exâââmuniâatâd by thâ Archbishops and Bishops or their Commissaries for prophane causesâ and diâhonâst gaine That by this meanes many mens consciences are trâââled and thâsâ that are weak in faith are driven to dispaire and at last are brâught to the ãâã of soule and body and honour and goods contrary to all laââoth diviââ and âumane And for this cause they required That none might ãâã excommunicated but for the crime of manifest and convinced heresie They coâââiâed aâso tâat to beare one excommunicate person company the Ecclesiasâââal Iudgââ would excommunicate ten or twelve of his neighbours without any cause or ãâã that they constrained his fellow-citizens to pay for him that was not âble to pay for himselfe as also for that if a Priest happened accidentallâ to âe killed any where all the towne or Citie was interdicted by reason of tâe âârther Durant Bishop of Menda saith that in his time In many places excommunications were thundred out for a six penny debt 10 These abuses and such as these of which wee have spoken elsewhere did many times constraine Kings and Princes and their Oââicers to oppose themselves against them take them into their cognizance to restraine them Ludovicus Bavarus was excommunicated by Iohn the twentie second because he had behaved himselfe as Emperour before hee was crowned by him Whereupon his excommunication was declared to bee injâst by an Imperiall Diet at Francfort Philip the Faire was interdicted by Boniface the eight the States of France disanull'd his excommunication Bennet the thirteenth hurld his thunderbolt against Charles the sixt the Parliament of Paris together with all the Lords of the land condemned his Bull and the bearers of it Gregory the fourteenth excommunicated the late King and the King now reigning the Parliament of Chaâlons by an Arrest given out in Iune 1591 did casse repeal and nullifie his Bulls processes and excommunications as abusive scandalous seditiousâ full of impostures and made contrary to the holy Decrees Canonicall Constitutions approved Councels and the rights and liberties of the Gallicane Church absolved those that were excommunicated by virtue thereof and decreed they should bee burn'd in the market place by the common hangman The Parliament sitting at Tours did ordaine the like by an Arrest of the fift of August 1591. Furthermore declaring the said Gregory who cals himselfe Pope the fourteenth of that name an enâmie to the peace to the union of the Catholique Apostolique and Roman Church to the King and State 11 Seeing wee are gone so farre in this point of Excommunications wee will speake oââ word of the demands which were put up at the Councell of Trent by the Emperour Ferdinand by Charles the ninth and the States of Germany The Emperour demanded that there might bee no proceeding to excommunication but for mortall sin or a publique offence The King of France That it might not be denounced upon every fault nor for contumacie but for some grievous sinne and that after three admonitions The States of Germany That it might bee only for opeââ and convicted heresie These demands were conformable to the Decrees of ancient Councels as namely that of Agatha and that of Auvergne which are Canonized in Gratians Decree by virtue of which no man can be excommunicated upon light occasions and that of Rhemes holden under Archbishop Sonnace where it is said Let no man be lightly or rashly excommunicated 12 The like demand was made by Durant Bishop of Mande at the time of the Councel of Vienna to whom Clement the fift had given in charge to observe him all that stood in need of reformation That no body saith hee be excommunicate but for mortall sinne considering that anathema is a comdemnation to eternall death which ought not to be inflicted save only upon such as are incorrigible and not for pettie light matters Which is not observ'd in the Church of Rome in which even by the Delegates thereof these sentences are thundred out against Prelates and other persons for a very small matter 13 Marsilius of Padua speakes likewise of them in this wise But that which is most abhominable of all and very odious in the office of Church men is that the Bishops of Rome and others also to enlarge their jurisdiction and reape some most base gaine by it
to the contempt of God and prejudice of Princes doe excommunicate as well Lay men as Clerks and deprive them of the Sacraments of the Church because they are either negligent or insufficient to discharge some pecuniarie debts to the paiment whereof within a certaine time they stood civilly bound 14 The Cardinall of Cambray when hee speaks of the reformation of the Church in the time of the Councell of Constance puts the multitude of excommunications among the number of such things as stood in need of reformation Which saith he the Church of Rome hath imposed by her penall Constitutions and especially by some new Decretals and have thundred them out by their Collectours to the scandall of many men by whose example other Prelates doe cruelly smite poore people with excommunications without any consideration and that for light matters as for debts which must necessarily bee provided for seeing it is against all right 15 Nicholas de Clemangiis in his tract of the ruine and reparation of the Church Hence saith he â those anathema's so oft repeated which were noâ used in the time of our forefathers but very seldome and that in criminall causes and abhominable wickednesse forasmuch as a man is hereby separated from the communion of the faithfull and given up into the power of Satan But at this present they have proceeded so farre as to use them ordinarily for very pettie matters yea when there is no fault at all 16 The Lawes and Constitutions of our Princes are conformable to the ancient Canons and to all these demands In the Capitulary of Charles the Great it is said That excommunications be not often used nor without cause And in the Ordinance of Orleans that there bee no proceeding to them but in case of crime and publique scandall It is true that in another Ordinance made 1571 they are limited by the forme of the ancient Canons But this is still the same considering that by them there is no place for excommunications Save for grievous faults Wherein there is sufficient occasion of complaint against the Councell of Trent which contrary to all antiquity allowes the proceedings to censures and monitions for matters of no moment CHAP. IX Disposall of the goods of Religious persons Purchases made by Mendicants Leases of Ecclesiasticall meanes Commutations of last wills and testaments 1 THis Councell would furthermore have all the goods which shal be purchased by religious persons after they have maâe their profession to bee taken from them and given to their superiour that is to the Abbat or Aâbesse to be incorporated to the Monastery This derogates from the nineteenth Article of the Oâdinance of Orleans where there is one case which ought to have beene excepted Namely when proâession is madâ before the age of twenty five yeares by males or twenty by maiâs for then they may dispose of their portion left them by way of inheritance already fallen unto them or hereafter like to fall either in a direct line or collaterall to the use and bâhoofe of such of their kindred as they shall thinke fit and not of the Monastery And to this effect the Ordinance addes we have from henceforth declared them capable of inheriting and making testaments the said profession or any rigour of law or custome to the contrary notwithanding These last words are added by reason of the generall custome of France whereby all religious persons are incapable of inheriting Since that time the Ordinance of Blois alter'd the time of possession and reduc'd it to the age of sixteene yeares yet alwaies retaining the same rule for as much as concernes successions 2 The same Councell hath made two Decrees very unlike one to another By the one It commands all Regulars as well men as women to compose and conforme their life to the rule whereof they make their profession as the particular vow of Obedience poverty and chastity By the other It gives leave to Mendicants except the Fryers of St. Francis the Capuchins and Fryers Minorites to possesse immoveable goods even to such as are prohibited by their Orders According hereunto the States holden at Blois in the yeare 1576 Vpon the eighteenth of December came a Iacobin to preferre a petitionâ that according to the Councell of Trent Mendicants might be allowed to possesse immoveables but it was answered they would advise upon his petition by making a generall order for it 3 It is a long time since they procured Bulls from Rome derogatory to their first rules and institutions which they call Mare Magnum but they were never received in France One of our French Doctours prayes to God that hee would take care that this great Sea become not the devils pond The goodliest possessions are at this day in the hands of the Clergy and that in such abundance that some great Doctours have beene of opinion that they ought to bee taken from them And in very truth if they may be allowed to purchase there is no doubt but within a very little time the Clergy wil get all into their hands and will have all the layitie onely for renters and farmers of their goods Howsoever notwithstanding all their dispensations they have in France beene alwayes kept to their ancient abstinence And of this matter there is an Arrest of the Parliament of Paris in the Collection of Gallus given out upon the Vigils of our Lady 1385 against the foure Orders of Mendicants wherein it was said that the Provost of Paris did ill to judge as he did who had condemn'd the heires of Isabel de Bolayo to pay twenty pound Paris of yearely rent to every one of the said Orders to bee received by the said Mendicants for certaine houses in Paris which she had given them to have and to hold for them and their successours for ever Their suit was declared irreceivable into the Court and they condemned to pay charges Gallus gives this reason Because such Donation was contrary to the substance of their Order I have an ancient copie of the Arrests of this Parliament concerning the King and the temporall justice where the fact is related otherwise yet so as the substance is much alike Betwixt the Fryers Mendicants plaintiffes of the one partie and Isabel de Palais inheretrix of Ioan Paumer defendresse on the other party By an Arrest of the Court it was said that the Provost of Paris had not judged right and the said Isabel did well to appeale for as much as he had condemned her to pay and to deliver to each of the said two orders namely the Predicants and the Carmelites twenty pound rent given to them by legacy together with the Improvements and arrerages which should be raised of it and the charges And had determin'd the contrary for the other two Orders because they had not exhibited their titles And it was said by the same Arrest that the said Mendicants ought not to be admitted in the suit which