God To style himself by this humble Title he took occasion from the Pride and Arrogance of John called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Patriarch of Constantinople which being at that time the Imperial Seat this John had took upon him the Title of Vniversal Bishop whereof Gregory thus complains O tempora ô mores Ecce destructae urbes eversa castra c. tamen Sacerdotes qui in pavimento cinere flentes jacere debuerunt Vanitatis sibi nomen expetunt novis prophanis vocabulis gloriantur With this Expression of Gregory the Great agreeth that of Vspergensis Rogatu Bonifacii Phocas constituit Sedem Romanae Apostolicae Ecclesiae Caput esse omnium Ecclesiarum nam antea Constantinopolitana Ecclesia se scribebat primam Omnium Phocas at the Request of Boniface ordained that the See of Rome should be Head of all Churches for before that time the Church of Constantinople did write herself the Prime of all Churches And if so how can it be imagined that the Primacy of the Roman Bishop should be acknowledged and granted as Bellarmine contends by the sixth Canon of the very first General Council No the certain truth is this Canon was unworthily corrupted in favour of the Roman Bishop and although our Adversaries cannot for shame acknowledge their own corrupting of Councils yet they cannot deny but that it hath been familiarly done by other persons Nay doubtless in some cases they themselves pretend the Corruption of Councils when in truth there was no such matter For if the Authority of such or such a Council be urged against the Roman Church and cannot otherwise be well escaped they have no other Shift to save themselves but onely to pretend that such and such a Canon which they cannot answer is false and counterfeit 'T is a certain Truth that their Pope Honorius was condemned for a downright Heretick by the sixth General Council which consisted of an hundred and seventy Fathers assembled at Constantinople so 't is recorded 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith one The Council condemned Honorius and some other Assertours of the same Opinion as Hereticks that fought against God And that this Sentence was just Photius thus assures us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they brought them under a righteous Condemnation But will the Roman Church contentedly suffer any Bishop of theirs to be condemned branded and recorded for an arrant Heretick and plead nothing in his behalf What would then become of their dear Infallibility what would then become of Pope Agatho's Letter to the sixth General Council wherein he bragged that the Bishops of Rome never erred in Points of Faith Or will the Roman Church acknowledg that a General Council may be mistaken and that in a matter of so great Concern to themselves as they take the Infallibility of their Bishops to be 'T is a shrewd Dilemma that our Adversaries lie under in this case For if Honorius were certainly an Heretick their Infallibility ceaseth but if Honorius were no Heretick then may General Councils erre which the Roman Church is loath to grant Well to secure the Credit of Honorius and the Authority of that General Council which condemned him too Bellarmine invents this trick and tells us Erat Consuetudo Graecorum ferè ordinaria corrumpendi libros c. It was even the familiar Custom of the Grecians to corrupt the Copies of Councils And that it was so indeed in the case of Honorius he takes for granted Sine dubio Honorii nomen inter eos qui damnantur à sexta Synodo insertum esse ab aemulis Romanae Ecclesiae c. Without doubt the name of Honorius was inserted among those Hereticks whom the sixth Council condemned by some persons that bore no good will to the Roman Church Thus would the Cardinal make the world believe that what Canon soever spake any thing against a Bishop of his Church must certainly be corrupted and forged by the Grecians who as he intimates had no great Kindness for the Roman See And methinks if Bellarmine be real in what he saith if he did verily suspect that such and such Councils were indeed corrupted and forged by the Grecians as being disaffected to the Roman Church we have greater cause to be jealous that such and such Councils have been miserably corrupted and forged by the Latines who are sworn enemies to every Church which differs from their own For since 't is evident that they have made so bold with that famous Council of Nice as to falsifie a Canon of theirs we cannot think that they have so great a Veneration for any other Council besides but that they will corrupt and forge them even as oft as their Interest doth so require And since 't is thus since by the Confession of our Adversaries themselves such and such particular Fathers have strangely erred since the most Learned men of the Roman Church have acknowledged that even Popes and Councils have been if not mistaken in themselves yet basely corrupted by others we cannot think our selves obliged to accept the Authority and Testimonies of such Fathers Popes and Councils as sure and infallible Proofs of those Traditions which are now received in and recommended by the Roman Church though neither attested by the Vniversal Church nor warranted by the written Word of God And upon this score we can doe no less then wonder at the strange Confidence and unparallel'd Presumption of the Council of Trent and their Abettours who dare at least equal their own Traditions which stand upon such uncertain and slippery Grounds even to those Holy Scriptures which are universally owned and infallibly proved to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sure and undoubted Word of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FINIS Chrysost ad Col. c. 1. v. 1. Theophyl in Argum. Epist ad Col. Oecum in Argum. Epist ad Col. Chrys ad Col. c. 1. v. 1. Chrys ad Col. c. 1. v. 2. Theophyl in locum eundem Oecum in locum eundem Theoph. in Argum. Epist ad Col. Theodoret. in Argum. Ep. ad Col. The◠Col. 1.2 Joh. 1.17 Origen in Joannem Erasm in Joann c. 1.17 Cast in Joann c. 1.16 Acts 7.38 Chrys in Joan 1.17 Theophylact. in locum Chrys in locum Galat. 3.19 Act. 7.38 Grot. in Heb. 2.2 Exod. 20.1 Deut. 5.24 Gregorius Naz. Orat. 49. Chrysostomus in Act. 7.30 Dionys Areop Coelest Hierarchiae c. 4. Dionys ubi supra Joseph l. 1.5 August Contra Adimantum c. 9. Cael. Rhodig l. 18. c. 19. Seneca Epist 9. Deut. 33.1 2 Pet. 1.20 Heb. 1.1 2 Pet. 1.21 Ezek. 11.5 Pearson on the Creed Epiphanius in Ancor Gal. 4.6 Rom. 8.9 1 Pet. 1.11 Rom. 1.9 Heb. 1.2 Ephes 4.11 Rom. 1.5 1 Pet. 1.1 1 Cor. 11.23 Gal. 3.24 Psalm 40.7 Joh. 5.46 Luk. 24.27 Act. 13.27 Matt. 1.22 Luk. 24.44 Matt. 26.54 Act. 3.18 Act. 1.1 Act. 9.20 2 Cor. 4.5 Maldon in Luc. 24.27 Cornel à Lap. in Heb. 10.7 COROLLARIES Cael. Rhodig Antiquit. l. 30. c.
to the very written Oracles of God yet 't is clear enough that himself Baronius and others of the Roman Faith do use the Authority of these forged Epistles to countenance several Doctrines and Practices wherein the Reformed Church and theirs differ And yet for all this there are several learned Writers of the Roman Church who cannot but acknowledge that such and such Epistles Constitution Recognitions fathered upon their Primitive and Martyred Bishops are shrewdly suspected yea and clearly proved too to be false and counterfeit Thus Lorinus Verborum Domini liber tam est Apocryphus quà m in quibus memorantur Clementis Recognitiones The Book of our Lord's Words is as Apocryphall as the Recognitions of Clemens wherein that Book is mentioned He tells us indeed Clementis Constitutiones paulò majoris sunt fidei the Constitutions of Clemens are of a little more Credit But are these unquestionable no that he denieth Clementis libri Constitutionum non sunt usquequaque indubitatae Authoritatis The Constitutions of Clemens are not of an Authority that is undoubted altogether And what else can we think of those Decretal Epistles that are ascribed to Zephyrinus which contain things foolish ridiculous and false as that the Consecration of the Holy Cup must be in a vessel of Glasse onely that a Bishop must be accused before twelve Judges and that Evidence against him must be made by seventy two Witnesses How contrary is this not onely to Scripture but to those very Canons which are ascribed to the Apostles whereof this is one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And to the same purpose the Council of Nice too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These Canons according to the Rules of St. Paul require the Testimony two or three Witnesses onely even against a Bishop whereas the pretended Decree of Zephyrinus demands seventy two and that with an Appeal to Rome which is enough to prove it false and forged Such a counterfeit Epistle too was the second of those two fathered upon Pontianus which begins thus Pontianus Sanctae Vniversalis Ecclesiae Episcopus Pontianus the Bishop of the Holy and Vniversal Church This Title in those early days unknown to the World being as yet not claimed nor assumed by any Roman Bishop but afterwards denied and decried by Gregory the Great gives us a fair and clear Evidence that this Epistle is counterfeit and written by some other hand as well as those of Fabianus Stephanus and some other succeeding Bishops with a design to pretend something of Antiquity for the defence of those unwarrantable Doctrines and Practices of the present Roman Church for which they can produce no fair and clear Evidence from the genuine and acknowledged writings of the most ancient Fathers And as for the Decrees Constitutions and Canons of the Bishops of Rome which have sate in that Chair since the time of Sylvester what security have we but that these also may have been changed corrupted and falsified according as the exigence of the Roman Church hath so required Bellarmine tells us that Pope Leo complained that whilst he himself was yet alive the Graecians had corrupted his Epistle to Flavianus and why might not the Latines for their own ends doe as much What reason have we to give credit to such and such Papal Decretals when Bellarmine himself being pressed with a Canon of Zacharias that made against him had little to say but this Zachariae Canon mihi valde suspectus est This Canon of Zacharias I do very much suspect And the truth is we are so much of his mind and have so much cause to be jealous that many Canons and Constitutions ascribed to such and such Bishops of Rome were indeed none of theirs but onely forged and counterfeited that we cannot upon their Authority admit those Doctrines and Practices for which we can find no warrant in the written Word of God But 2. The Testimony of Roman Bishops in the Cause of Traditions is not firm and sure because the Pope at least in matters of this nature notwithstanding their Pretence of his being Infallible may possibly be deceived himself and if so he may deceive us too 'T is the free Concession of Bellarmine and that as he saith wherein all Catholicks do agree Posse Pontificem etiam ut Pontificem cum suo coetu Consiliariorum vel cum Generali Concilio errare in Controversiis facti particularibus quae ex Informatione TestimoniÃsque hominum pendent That the Pope considered as Pope with his private or General Council may erre in particular matters of Fact which depend upon the Information and Testimonies of other men And that seems to be the Case in hand the business of Traditions is a matter of Fact and the whole Controversie under our present Disquisition is onely this Whether Christ delivered to his Apostles the Apostles to the Primitive Bishops they to their immediate Successours and so from Age to Age such and such particular Doctrines and Practices as are now contended for by the Roman Church So that the whole Question in hand being concerned about matters of Fact wherein they themselves acknowledge the Fallibility of the Pope we have little Reason to acquiesce in his Determinations and to be so well satisfied with his Testimony as to think our selves obliged thereby to believe and doe those things which the Scriptures do neither assert nor command But what if the Pope may erre in considerable Points of Faith too and become an Heretick are we obliged to believe his Testimony even then too Photius tells us that by the Canon-Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hereticks might not in any Judicature be admitted to bear witness against any Orthodox Christian within the Church And certainly if Heresie be a Crime of that nature as that it hath been thought enough to exclude or evacuate any man's Evidence in Civil Causes we shall have but little reason to admit any person that is as liable to Heresie as other men as an infallible Witnesse in matters of Spiritual and Sacred Concern And that several Bishops of Rome have been not onely shrewdly suspected but publickly accused and condemned too and that of the foulest Heresies 't is not to be denied by any man whose brow is not made of Brass 'T is recorded by several Authours and those of good name and credit that some Roman Bishops have been Monothelites some Montanists some Eutychians some Arrians yea and some downright Atheists too But the Charge being heavy against them and the Honour of the Roman See lying at stake and the Pope's Infallibility also being herein somewhat concerned we must enquire into the Witnesses and see that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as deserve to be believed For so justly tender is the Christian Church of the reputation of her Bishops that she will not admit all persons whatsoever to bring in Evidence against them No the sixth Canon of the Second General Council forbids it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
Works of all Catholick Writers but chiefly those of the ancient Fathers to be purged and made clean from blots and stains of Errours that is from every thing that contradicts the Superstitions of the Roman Church But if it were a thing indeed so commendable to purge the Fathers yet is it a thing praise-worthy to falsifie and forge them too St. Chrysostom left upon record an Expression which the Roman Church doth no way like and that was this In times of Heresie there is no means to find out the Truth save onely the reading of the Scriptures Bellarmine confesseth Totus hic locus è quibusdam codicibus nuper emendatis sublatus est This whole Passage is left out of some Editions newly set forth and corrected But how comes St. Chrysostom thus to deserve the Spunge The Cardinal gives this Reason Hoc Testimonium non est Chrysostomi This Testimony is not Chrysostom's but whose then Ab Arrianis locus hic insertus This place was inserted into St. Chrysostom's Works by the Arrians and therefore deserved rather to be expunged then believed We see what liberty the Romanists take to themselves to raze and blot out such and such Passages of the Fathers which make against them upon a groundless pretence that those Passages were inserted by some Heretick or other and can they then justly complain of us if we are not willing to credit some Expressions of ancient Authours upon which they ground those Doctrines and Practices of theirs which we reject since we have too much reason to believe that those Expressions are corrupted falsified and forged and that by some of their own Church That the Roman Catholicks have indeed miserably corrupted the ancient Writers in their Editions we are sufficiently convinced by the Testimony of our learned Doctour Featly who hath traced them through the several Ages of the Church and discovered to the world this unworthy dealing of theirs by giving us particular Instances and naming the Treatises and Expressions of several Fathers which their Adversaries as well as ours have abused perverted and corrupted thus or thus That of Ignatius is one who bespeaks Virgins thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. In your Prayers set Christ before your eyes and his Father c. To evacuate this great and ancient Testimony against the Invocation of Saints and Angels a late Popish Edition printed at Lyons reads it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In your Souls set Christ before your eyes c. Again those words of our Blessed Saviour The flesh profiteth nothing Tertullian thus expounds Caro nihil prodest ad vivificandum scilicet The flesh profiteth nothing that is to quicken so saith the true Tertullian but a former Edition of theirs set forth at Paris though mended since by Rigaltius contrary to the meaning of Christ and Tertullian too reads it thus Caro nihil prodest sed ad vivificandum The flesh profiteth nothing save onely to quicken Once more our learned Authour mentions those words of St. Cyprian too Post gustatam Eucharistiam After the eating of the Eucharist which the Popish Edition at Paris to countenance a Ceremony of theirs changeth thus Post gestatam Eucharistiam After the Circumgestation of the Eucharist Nor can this Change be imputed to the mistake of the Presse because their Authours own and endeavour to justifie the Alteration These and a great many more Corruptions Forgeries and Falsifications of the ancient Fathers are reckoned up in that learned Treatise which give us fair warning not to believe every Testimony which our Adversaries pretend to produce out of such and such old Writers set forth by themselves for the justification of those Traditions for which they can bring no good warrant from the written Word of God For since 't is undeniable that they have notoriously abused the Records of Antiquity by suppressing changing and inserting what and where they pleased we have abundant cause to believe that these Alterations are made in those very places which they commonly cite in their own defence they being too wise to forge any counterfeit Deeds and suborn any other false Witnesses then such as are designed to speak for their Advantage But IV. The Champions of the Roman Church endeavour to justifie their Traditions by the Testimony and Authority of such and such Councils To which we have two things to reply 1. We cannot imagine but that whole Councils may erre in their Judgments and be mistaken in their Canons Decrees and Constitutions That no meer man save onely the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles ever was Infallible is acknowledged by some learned persons even of the Roman Church If Cajetane were not perfectly of this mind what means that Expression of his Solis Sacrae Scripturae Authoribus reservata est haec Authoritas ut ideo sic credamus esse quia Ipsi sic scripserunt That we should certainly believe things to be thus and thus barely because 't is so written by such and such is a Privilege peculiar to the Pen-men of Holy Writ alone Surely then that Assertion of Gratian mentioned by Bellarmine seems somewhat sawcy Epistolas Pontificum Decretales numerari debere inter Scripturas Canonicas The Pope's Decretal Epistles ought to be reckoned amongst the Canonical Scriptures And methinks the Cardinal himself seems somewhat confident when he speaks thus indifferently of Scriptures and Councils Vtraque sunt infallibilis Veritatis aequè certa They are both of infallible Truth and equally certain But if Cardinal Cajetane were in the right if all those Bishops and Doctours of whom Councils have consisted were but men subject to Mistakes and Errours in their own particular persons how the whole collective Body of any Synod should in the result prove infallible the Church of Rome will never be able to shew by any such clear Evidence as may satisfie a sober and impartial man We do not deny but that there is much of Truth in that Assertion of St. Austine Conoiliorum in Ecclesia saluberrima est Authoritas The Authority of Councils is of great Advantage to the Church of God we do with all thankfulness to Heaven acknowledge and own the Four first General Councils that of Nice which vindicated the Divinity of Christ against Arrius that of Constantinople which asserted the Divinity of the Holy Ghost against Macedonius that of Ephesus which maintained the Unity of Christ's Person against Nestorius and that of Chalcedon which asserted the double Nature of Christ against Eutyches So venerable is the Authority of these Four Councils that we do not quarrel with that high Expression of that good Emperour Justinian if rightly understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We receive the Doctrines of these Four holy Councils even as not in equality but similitude the Holy Scriptures and observe their Canons as so many Laws Accordingly Evagrius tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Emperour commanded that the Decrees of these Four Councils should be read
publickly in the Churches But although these Councils deserved this great Respect as keeping close to the Word of God yet other Councils which the Roman Church makes much of did not so That Councils may possibly erre and recede from Scripture-Rules St. Hierom declared his Judgment in that Expression of his cited by Chemnitius Spiritûs Sancti Doctrina est quae Canonicis literis prodita est contra quam siquid statuant Concilia nefas duco That is the sure Doctrine of the Holy Ghost which is delivered in the Canonical Writings against which if Councils determine this or that I count it wicked And did not their famous Council of Constance when three Popes were upon the stage at once John set up by the Italians Gregory by the French and Benedict by the Spaniards define contrary to the Word of God not to mention the case of John Husse and Jerom of Prague when they forbad all Priests under the Penalty of Excommunication to administer the Eucharist in both Kinds to the Laiety And was not this Canon so contrary to the general Custom of Antiquity that we must either grant the Primitive Church to have been mistaken in their old universal Practices or else this Council to have been erroneous in this new Constitution Indeed the Roman Church doth very well approve the Council of Constance in their Sacrilegious Decree which robs the People of half the Sacrament but I remember the Roman Church doth also condemn the self-same Council for that Definition of theirs whereby they robbed the Pope of more then half his Authority For when the Council of Constance had passed their Judgment and declared that the Authority of Councils is superiour to that of Popes and when the Council of Basil had ratified and solemnly confirmed the same Assertion in opposition to these two Councils the last not then dissolved Engenius the Fourth calleth a Council at Florence which by a contrary Vote sets the Pope above the Council So then here is Council against Council Canon against Canon directly contradicting one another in the self same matter and since 't is so we have all reason to conclude either that some of these Councils were in an Errour or else that all Logicians are certainly so who tell us that two contrary Propositions though possibly both may be false yet both can never be true together But the truth is 't is observed that there was such Ambition such Animosities and Factions discovered in several Councils that were convened in several Centuries that Gregory Nazianzene had he lived in later Ages might have had far more just occasion for those Complaints of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I never saw an happy Issue of any one Synod whatsoever which did not rather augment then remedy Evils Upon which score he thus resolves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If I may but write the Truth my purpose is to decline all Conventions of Bishops whatsoever But what is his Reason 'T is clear enough that this excellent Person did highly esteem the Council of Nice for he doth not onely call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Holy Council but he also tells us that those three hundred and eighteen Bishops were such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whom the Holy Ghost had brought together and as for the Council of Constantinople the Argument of his Epistle to Procopius tells us that he himself was magna Concilii pars a very great man in it and if so what occasion had he to write such unkind things of Councils Himself informs us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was so much Dissension and such Ambition in them as was beyond expression And certainly if such an eminent Person as Gregory Nazianzene who was deservedly styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Great Theologue or Divine of that Age found cause enough to blame some early Councils of those Times had he lived to see the Decrees and Canons established by the several Factions of later Conventions he would never have thought them as the Romanists contend to be Infallible True it is St. Austine tells us Concilia posteriora prioribus apud Posteros praeponuntur Men that live in later times are apt to prefer later Councils before those that are more ancient but what reason is there for it That of Justellus is certainly true concerning these later Councils Non sunt ejusdem fidei dignitatis cum prioribus illis Quatuor Oecumenicis c. They are not of the same Credit Faith and Honour with the Four first General Councils And if so since there are some just grounds of Suspicions and Jealousies concerning their Determinations who shall perswade us that they are Infallible But 2. What if it appear that Councils are not onely fallible but that they have been most miserably corrupted and forged too What sure warrant have we for such and such Practices not recommended in Sacred Writ from the Authority of Councils when such and such Constitutions Decrees and Canons have been ascribed to such and such Councils which indeed were never theirs We reade that Zosimus Bishop of Rome sent his Legats to the sixth Council of Carthage with Instructions to maintain the Primacy of the Roman Bishop as the onely Judge in cases of Controversies and Appeals and for that Prerogative of his they pretended a Canon of the first Nicene Council which was indeed a very fair Plea had it been true because the Acts of that Council were not onely confirmed by the Emperour but received by the universal Church What particular Canon of the Nicene Council was pleaded for the Primacy of the Roman Bishop Bellarmine tells us Habemus Nicaenum Concilium illum ipsum sextum Canonem c. We have on our side the Nicene Council and that very sixth Canon c. The Canon is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Design of this Canon was onely this that the Bishops of Alexandria and Antioch and all other Metropolitans should still govern the Churches within their respective Provinces as the Bishop of Rome was wont to govern those within his These being the express words and this being the undoubted Sense of the Canon the Council of Carthage answered Faustinus Philippus and Asellus who were the Pope's Legates that although they had strictly searched all Registers and examined the most authentick Copies of the Acts of the Nicene Council which they had received from Cyril Bishop of Alexandria and Atticus Bishop of Constantinople yet they could find nothing done by that Council to establish or countenance the Primacy of the Roman Bishop nor that the Bishops of Africa were obliged by any Canon of the Nicene Council to appeal and be subject to the See of Rome But the Primacy of the Pope being a Point of great Concern to the Roman Church and there being nothing more likely to establish it then the Authority of the Nicene Council which is received by the universal Church what greater Service could any man doe for the Bishop of
upon record to the contrary If any man hunger let him eat at home Hence Luther tells King Henry the Eighth Apud nos non peccat qui modestè ederit biberit ante Communionem With us the man doth not sin who eats or drinks moderately before the Sacrament And 't is well known that the Primitive Christians who were very tender of all Apostolicall Institutions did at least in some places and upon some days in imitation of our Blessed Saviour receive the Sacrament after Supper So much may we collect from that expression of St. Austine who grants Institutum esse multis locis ut die Paschae post refectionem Deo offeratur c. that it was the Custom of many places to offer the Eucharist to God after meat And Sozomen tells us that some also dined before the reception of the Sacrament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They coming together on the Sabbath towards the Evening and having already dined they partake of the Mysteries From this Authority Cornelius à Lapide is forced to acknowledge thus much Perduravit hic mos in nonnullis Ecclesiis per multa secula This Custom of eating before the Sacrament continued in some Churches for many Ages and yet is fasting an Apostolicall Institution is it indeed Consuetudo necessariò servanda a Custom that must of necessity be observed as Bellarmine contends But since Tertullian hath given us a fair Intimation in that expression of his Non sciet maritus quid ante omnem cibum sumas c. that in his time the Sacrament was received before all other food since Nazianzene hath assured us that the Eucharist was celebrated in his Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before Supper and since St. Austine hath told us Per universum orbem mos iste servatur The Custom of receiving the Lord's Supper fasting is observed by the whole Christian Church throughout the World we look upon it as a laudable Practice and use it as an ancient Rite though it will be hard to prove it an Apostolicall Institution For St. Austine's Placuit Spiritui Sancto c. urged by Bellarmine will not evince it no not upon the Principles of his own Church for 't is well known that the Pope and his Councils do commonly ascribe to the Holy Ghost as well their own Determinations as the Tradition of Christ's Apostles But although our receiving the Eucharist fasting were granted to be the Dictate of God's Holy Spirit signified to the Church either by the Apostles themselves or their immediate Successours in that Age wherein the extraordinary Revelations of the Holy Ghost were as yet continued though I say this Ceremony of receiving the Sacrament fasting were certainly of Divine or Apostolicall Institution yet doubtlesse severall Rites recommended and used by the Roman Church in the Administration of this Sacrament are not so For who commands that the Sacramental Bread must needs be broken into three Pieces as if there were some great Mysteries signified by a threefold fraction Who requires the Circumgestation of the Host Who commands the Priest to sign himself the Altar the Book the Elements and all the Congregation with the Crosse Was it some Apostle or their own Alexander which ordained that the Sacramental Wine should be mixed with Water What warrant can be pretended from the command or example of Christ or any Apostle of his for putting the consecrated Bread not into the Hand but the Mouth of their Communicants I remember that Canon of the Council of Altissiodorum a Town in France Non licet mulieri nudâ manu Eucharistiam sumere 'T is not lawful for a woman to receive the Sacrament with a bare and naked hand no if she want her Dominical her linen Gloves non communicet let her not partake of the Sacrament that 's their law I remember also another Canon established by a Council assembled in Constantinople which runs thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Communicant must frame his hands into the figure of a Crosse And how that must be done too there is a Jesuit who thus instructs us Dexterâ superpositâ sinistrae in modum Crucis c. Certainly these Canons are so superstitious that they savour of a Pope rather then an Apostle but however they give sufficient evidence that the Eucharist of old was received by the Communinicants with their Hands not their Mouths The truth is the Roman Church hath no more warrant from any Apostolicall Tradition for these and some other Ceremonies used therein about the Eucharist then they have for their half-Communion whereby against the Institution of Christ the Discourse of St. Paul and the Evidence of Primitive Practice the Laiety are unworthily robbed of half the Sacrament and are admitted onely to a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a dry Feast indeed 'T is very evident that these and many other Vsages and Doctrines received in the Roman Church are not the Doctrines and Practices taught and required by Christ or St. Paul no such they are as have no Countenance from any clear Text of Prophets Evangelists or Apostles and because 't is so because the Scriptures will never justifie those Practices and Assertions of theirs they are resolved and indeed much obliged in point of honour to seek out for other Arguments to prove them and what they are we shall now consider II. The Champions of the Roman Church do endeavour to prove their Traditions to be Apostolicall by the Testimonies of their own Bishops as if they were Infallible Thus that the yearly Renovation of their Chrism is an Apostolicall Tradition doth Bellarmine offer to prove by the Authority of Pope Fabian who in his second Epistle to the Bishops of the Eastern Church tells them thus Ista à Sanctis Apostolis eorum Successoribus accepimus VobÃsque tenenda mandamus 'T is that which we have received from the Apostles and their Successours and so we require from you its Observation To this he adds the Testimony of Innocent the First who in his first Epistle to Decentius saith Si Instituta Ecclesiastica ut sunt à beatis Apostolis tradita integra vellent servare Domini sacerdotes c. If our Lord's Priests would entirely observe the Institutions of the Church as they were delivered by the blessed Apostles c. Now to these and the like Testimonies of the Roman Bishops which are cited in the defence of such and such Traditions we have two things to answer 1. The Roman Bishops that have pleaded for the unwritten Traditions of that Church are not competent Witnesses nor doth their Testimony deserve to be admitted in matters of this Concern 'T is notoriously known that there are severall Traditions maintained by the Roman Church that are very advantageous to their Bishop and others of their Clergy too and that upon severall accounts That Doctrine which teacheth the Pope's Primacy and Supremacy over all other Bishops and Secular Princes makes much for
Rome then to prove his universal Preeminence over all other Bishops and Churches by some Act of that famous Council which no Church gainsayeth This is that which Bellarmine attempts and because he cannot doe it convincingly by the Canon as it is vulgarly read and expressed in the usual and publick Editions he produceth a private Copy and tells us that the Canon as it is commonly read is imperfect and ought thus to begin Ecclesia Romana semper habuit Primatum Mos autem perduret c. The Roman Church hath always had the Primacy c. One would think it strange that Bellarmine should adventure to make such an Addition to the Canon of so known and famous a Council but to justifie himself he tells us that this Canon was anciently so read and that about a thousand years ago it was thus translated out of the Greek Copies into Latine by a certain Abbot named Dionysius and that such a Copy was found in the Roman Library and that it was so read by Paschasianus the Legat of Pope Leo in the Council of Chalcedon and there approved But in desperate cases the old Rule must be observed Scelere tutandum est Scelus One Lie must be justified by another For 't is not easie to believe that the onely true Copy of the Acts of the Nicene Council and that in a Latine Translation too should be preserved at Rome nor is it easie to imagine that if there had been such an authentick Copy of that famous Council lodged at Rome it would have been permitted so long to have lain in the dark and never have been produced ti◠the Council of Chalcedon especially since the Interest of the Roman Bishop required the Production thereof to prove the same Prerogative above fifty years sooner For will any man believe that those Roman Bishops Zosimus and his Successour Boniface who claimed this Primacy from the sixth Council of Carthage would have been so far wanting to themselves as not to have produced such an authentick Copy which if clearly made out would have satisfied the Council ended the Controversie and established the Primacy of Rome by a Law True it is Faustinus the Pope's Legate produced in that Council his Commonitorium which he had from Rome pretending the Authority of the Nicene Fathers for the Primacy of the Pope and particularly in matters of Appeal but how little these Pretences were liked by the Council we may easily guess by that Answer which was returned by Alipius who was a great man there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It troubleth me that though we have examined the Greek Copies of the Nicene Council yet how it comes to pass I cannot tell we can by no means find any such thing as the Roman Bishop pretends and claims And so much did they certifie Pope Boniface himself in their Synodical Letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Having many Greek Copies before us we could not find what was intimated and demanded from Rome no not so much as in any one However that they might satisfie themselves and the Bishop of Rome too so much the better they thought fit to dispatch away their Letters to Cyril Bishop of Alexandria and Atticus Bishop of Constantinople desiring them to send over what Copies and Registers they had of the Nicene Council who accordingly did so For thus Cyril tells them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus Atticus too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 'T is evident by these Expressions that these two Bishops sent over to the Council of Carthage the Acts Decrees and Canons of the Nicene Fathers entire uncorrupted and unquestionable And what 's the Issue do any one of these Copies agree with that of Rome No the Council having perused 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these true Copies sent this Message to Caelestinus who was now become Pope and had made the same Demands with Zosimus and Boniface 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We cannot find any such Canon as is pretended no not in the most authentick Copies that we have perused But the truth is that Copy of the Nicene Council mentioned by the Pope's Legate to the Council of Carthage was to the shame of the Roman See unworthily and basely corrupted and those words mentioned by Bellarmine Ecclesia Romana semper habuit Primatum were de novo how politickly soever yet knavishly enough added to the old Canon For 't is evident that the Council of Carthage resolved to alter nothing that had been defined by the Nicene Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which Expressions are enough to convince all reasonable men that this Council of Carthage had no inclination to change any but confirm all the Constitutions of the Nicene Fathers but as to that Canon which the Pope's Legate pretended requiring or allowing the African Clergy to appeal from their own Bishops to the Bishop of Rome they were so far from confirming this that they established an express Canon against it and thus it runs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Presbyters Deacons and other inferiour Clergy-men in whatever Causes they have let them not appeal to any Tribunal beyond the Sea i. e. as the Council expresly words it in their Letter to the Pope 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let them not appeal to the Bishop of Rome This Canon did so nettle the Roman Bishops that upon this occasion Boniface the Second told Eulalius Bishop of Carthage who had now unworthily submitted his Chair to the See of Rome that his Predecessour Aurelius St. Austine and above two hundred more learned and pious Bishops assembled in the Council of Carthage had denied Subjection to the Roman Bishop because they were as he impudently affirmed inspired and instigated by the Devil But as from this Determination of the Council of Carthage we may conclude that pretended Canon of the Nicene Bishops alleged by Faustinus in the Pope's behalf to be spurious and forged so may we reasonably infer as much from the consideration of its matter which is altogether untrue and evidently false For is it imaginable that so early a Council as that of Nice should acknowledge and ratifie the perpetual Primacy of the Roman Bishop since 't is notoriously known that the Primacy of the Roman Bishops was first derived from that bloudy Emperour Phocas and procured by the crafty Insinuations of Boniface the Third who magna cum contentione as Platina writes with much adoe procured but most willingly assumed to himself the Title of Vniversal Bishop and Head of all other Churches That it was not thus in former Ages we have the Confession of Gregory the Great who tells us Nullus unquam Praedecessorum meorum hoc tam prophano vocabulo uti consuevit None of all my Predecessours would ever assume to himself this profane Title and as for himself he was so far from owning it that he was the very first Bishop of Rome that styled himself Servus Servorum Dei the Servant of the Servants of
No man shall be admitted to accuse a Bishop till first his quality be duely examined nor shall every fellow be suffered to exhibit Articles against the Governours of the Church And as every man might not accuse a Bishop so whosoever wrongfully did it though it were but a Bishop elect and yet to be ordained he was severely punished 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let his Penalty be a long Excommunication So saith the Canon-Law So then since there is an Indictment of no less Crimes then Atheism and Heresie drawn up and exhibited against several Bishops and those of the Roman See too who claim a Superiority over all Bishops besides as being the onely Successours of the Prime Apostle and the immediate Vicars of Christ 't is of a considerable Concern that what is thus alledged against them be well proved too And here that Pope Marcellinus offered Incense to Idols might be proved with ease and evidence enough but because he did it barely for fear of Diocletian and afterwards repented and became a Martyr we pass him by Rhenanus saith of Pope Zephyrinus Episcopus Romanus Montanizat The Bishop of Rome embraceth the Heresie of Montanus So Tertullian who was too much of the same Opinion witnesseth too That Pope Honorius the First was a Monothelite and denied the distinction of two Wills in Christ we have the Testimonies of Pope Agatho Leo the Second Adrian the Second besides the Evidence of the Sixth General Council wherein he was publickly condemned for an Heretick That Pope Liberius and his Antipope Felix were Arrians is testified by Athanasius and St. Hierom too Nor need we be ashamed to produce the Testimony of Calvin and Erasmus who do both affirm that Pope John the Twenty second denied the Immortality of the Soul And what if we mention that Expression of Picus Mirandula Alium meminimus Pontificem qui nullum Deum credens c. We remember another Pope who believing that there is no God c. But that of the Council of Basil must not be forgot which having voted a General Council to be above the Pope could not possibly give a better Reason for it then this Multi Pontifices in Errores Haereses lapsi esse leguntur c. 'T is recorded that many Popes have fell into Errours and Heresies c. And the truth is there is no Pope who stifly maintains those Doctrines which assert the worshipping of Angels Saints Images Reliques a Morsel of Bread or a Consecrated Wafer but is a down-right Heretick and since he is so we cannot so far betray our own Reason as to rest satisfied and be convinced that such and such Doctrines which have no Countenance in Scripture are Apostolical by the Testimony of any Roman Bishop who notwithstanding the Pretence of his Infallibility is proved to be obnoxious to gross Errours even Heresie and Atheism it self as well as other men But III. The Champions of the Roman Faith do endeavour to justifie their unwritten Traditions by the Testimonies of the Fathers who are produced as Witnesses which seem in their account to speak a great deal for them Thus Bellarmine cites Ignatius who is an early and substantial Witness indeed as being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Coetane Collegue and Scholar of the very Apostles themselves and of him Eusebius thus records 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He exhorted the Christians to stick fast to the Traditions of the Apostles and that they might be preserved incorrupt not long before his Martyrdom he judged it necessary that they should be written This Testimony is clear for traditions and so is that of Dionysius the Areopagite too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The first Founders of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy the Apostles delivered to us Heavenly Mysteries by Instructions written and unwritten according to the Sacred Laws And thus great St. Basil too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To persevere in unwritten Traditions I think 't is Apostolical And so Tertullian also mentions several particular Observations quas sine ullo Scripturae Instrumento solius Traditionis titulo exinde Consuetudinis patrocinio vindicamus c. which the Church practised and defended without the Authority of any Scripture upon the bare credit of Tradition and the Patronage of Custom c. Now this being Argumentum Achilleum one of the strongest Arguments which the Romish Church can possibly urge for their Traditions we shall give an Answer to it in some distinct Particulars 1. Whatever Traditions are expresly and dogmatically delivered by the Vniversality of the ancient Fathers we do readily embrace own and defend That Expression of St. Basil the Great we do willingly close with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Old Doctrines are to be reverenced and for as it were their hoary Antiquity they deserve a Veneration But withall those Doctrines that may justly challenge a respect for their Age must be such as were generally received believed and practised according to that Rule which Vincentius Lyrinensis gives us Id teneamus quod semper quod ubique quod ab omnibus creditum est Let us hold that which hath been believed at all times in all places and by all Christians And for this St. Austine gives this Reason Illa quae non sunt scripta sed tradita custodimus quae quidem toto terrarum orbe observantur dantur intelligi vel ab ipsis Apostolis vel plenariis Conciliis quorum est in Ecclesia saluberrima Authoritas commendata atque statuta retineri sicuti quòd Domini Passio Resurrectio Ascensio in Coelum adventus de Coelo Spiritûs Sancti anniversariâ Solennitate celebrantur siquid aliud tale occurrerit quod servatur ab universa quácunque se diffundit Ecclesia This Expression commends the belief and practice of those Traditions supposing them to be the Institutions either of the Apostles themselves or ancient General Councils which were unanimously observed by the universal Church But now that such and such traditional Doctrines and Vsages were indeed generally received by the whole Christian Church we must have clear Proofs from credible Witnesses that have given Testimony thereunto throughout all the respective Centuries and Ages of the Church This is no more then was urged long since by Gregory Nyssene for the Ratification and full Establishment of all such Vsages and Doctrines as pretend to Antiquity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For this and nothing lesse is sufficient for the Proof of our Assertion that we have a Tradition derived to us from the Fathers as it were a certain Inheritance descending by entail from the Apostles by those Saints who were all along their Successours And this is the onely thing which we demand from the Roman Church being ready to acknowledge the Truth of all Doctrines and the Equity of all Practices which the Vniversality of the Fathers have left upon Record as things believed and done in the first and purest Ages of the Church And thus to doe