Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	canon_n	council_n	nice_a	2,852	5	10.4936	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50549	A sermon preached before the King and Queen at Hampton-Covrt, July 14th, 1689 by Richard Meggott ...	Meggott, Richard, d. 1692.	1689 (1689)	Wing M1628; ESTC R794	12,555	36

them she determineth and appointeth them for but if she should have been faulty in it and hath not it is a greater fault rather to break her peace than bear with them And therefore tho the Recusants here in England are greater Schismaticks than any other Separatists among us because whereas others for the most part only forbear communion with our Church these condemn the Church it self yet neither can any of the other that separate well clear themselves from being such it being the strict and proper notion of Schism for Persons causelesly to rend themselves from that particular Church whereof de jure they are Members How they under whose Spiritual Conduct such Persons put themselves can satisfie their own Minds in entertaining them I know not This I am sure of it is more than the Pope himself anciently would take upon him It is a famous Answer which one of them geve to Marcion when in opposition to his own Church he came to Rome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Epiphan adv Haer. Vol. 1. Com. 3. Haer. 42. and sued to be admitted into Communion there that he could not do it without the consent of his venerable Father between whom and him there was one Faith. The 12th Canon among the Apostolick forbidding under the Penalty of Excommunication the receiving any under the Censures of their own Church without Letters Commendatory was confirmed by the first famous Council of Nice Canon 5th Conc. Nit. and the Bishop of Rome then thought himself no more exempted from it than the rest of his Brethren And tho now for a long while by a dispensing Power they have acted otherwise it is an insolent trampling upon that Rule their Predecessors walked by Now they that do the same thing how opposite soever they may be to the Pope in other Matters in this his Usurpation agree with him and can no more be justified in it than he being no more able to show by what Authority they do these things I might confront such Persons Practice with their Judgment when in other Circumstances but I spare them I will only say it is an inlet to Disorder Now God is not the Author of Confusion but of Peace as in all the Churches of the Saints And so much for the first case how far Christians are to behave themselves as Members of that particular Church they regularly be●ong to The second is the case of other Churches di●tant from and independent on us how we should behave our selves as Members of them St. Paul Eph. 4.4 5 6. telleth us by what sacred Bands and Ligaments we are knit and fastned to all these There is saith he one Body and one Spirit one Hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all These are the same to all of us And therefore tho there be much variety in their Rituals in their Discipline yea even Doctrines of inferiour Nature every Church ought mutually to allow and bear them in each other without censuring or reproaching one another concerning them They who were so superciliously Arrogant as to condemn all other Churches that did not in all things exactly chime in with them such as the Novatians Donatists Meletians Luciferians the Fathers inveigh against as no Christians for their so unreasonable rash uncharitableness The Romanists at this day do all this and yet nothing will serve them but the Name of Catholicks but sure it is the absurdest one they could have took upon them For Catholick is but another word for Vniversal but these Anathematize and would extirpate all that submit not to the particular who notwithstanding all their boast of Universality are in truth the major part of Christendom They tell us by their Emissaries we may if we will be reconciled they are contented to be at peace with us So did * 1 Sam. 11.2 Nahash condescend to the men of Jabesh Gilead and vouchsafe to signifie the same thing to them and in earnest his were the civiller fairer terms of the two He would have been contented if they would have parted but with one of their Eyes but these will not except we part with both ours and all our other Senses Christians of old did not deal so with one another Every Church then did not only think herself obliged to a charitable opinion of every other holding the head but as they had opportunity had actual communion with them St. Chrysostom complaineth of Theophilus Bishop of Alexandria because when he came to Constantinople * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys Ep. Innoc. he repaired not to the congregation after the usual manner to their Sermons Prayers and Sacraments And Eusebius taketh notice that Polycarp when he came to Rome tho' there were some other matters besides the controversie of Easter they disfered in † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Ec. Hist l. 5. c. 24. communicated with Anicetus And it was the general way when they were in other Countries to apply themselves to the Churches there and joyn in their Worship with them Besides these occasional and accidental there are other Duties this Spiritual Relation obligeth us to always These are to pray one for another be tender one of another sympathize one with another be helpful one to another If grieved to comfort them if in want to relieve them if in danger to defend them if persecuted to succour them as far as is in our power I hope I need not press this on any of ours If we who by the blessing of God have so lately reaped the benefit of these Duties from others should be backward upon like occasion to express them towards others God and Man would reproach us for Disingenuous When we see the Members of Christ so dealt with as many thousands have been both in France and Ireland so endangered as all the Protestants in the Neighbour Nations at this day are should we shut up our bowels of compassion from them with what face could we pretend to be of the Body If we truly are it will be impossible to be unconcerned at their troubles and afflictions but we shall remember them that are in Bonds as bound with them and them that suffer adversity as we our selves being also in the body be weak when they are weak and burn when they are offended That is the second Case how we should behave our selves as members of the other Churches distant from and independent on us There remaineth the third and that is relating to such Christians as upon dissatisfaction divide and will not joyn with us how we should carry our selves towards them And this hath more difficulty in it than either of the other hard to be spoken of without extremes or offence but when there are such numbers of these among us 't is fit people should know what they ought to do in it It is enough to startle a very confident man to