since Athanasius his Synodicon hath been so long lost wherein all their Names were set down who were then present And that Catalogue of them if it were distinct which Epiphanius had seen There being then so much reason to believe the British Bishops present in the Council of Nice we have the more cause to look into the Constitution of the Ecclesiastical Government there settled that so we may better understand the just Rights and Privileges of the British Churches After the Points of Faith and the Time of Easter were determined The Bishops there assembled made twenty Canons for the Government and Discipline of the Church in which they partly re-inforced the Canons of the Council of Arles and partly added new Those that were re-inforced were 1. Against Clergy-mens taking the customary Vsury then allow'd Can. 17. 2. Against their removing from their own Diocese Can. 15. which is here extended to Bishops and such removal is declared null 3. Against Deacons giving the Eucharist to Presbyters and in the presence of Bishops Can. 18. 2. As to Lay Communion The Canon against re-baptizing is re-inforced by Can. 19. wherein those onely who renounced the Trinity are required to be re-baptized and the Canon against being excommunicated in one Church and received into Communion in another Can. 5. whether they be of the Laity of Clergy For the New Canons about Lay Communion they chiefly concerned the Lapsed in times of Persecution As 1. If they were onely Catechumens that for three years they should remain in the lowest Form not being admitted to join in any Prayers of the Church but onely to hear the Lessons read and the Instructions that were there given Can. 14. 2. For those that were baptized and fell voluntarily in the late Persecution of Licinius They were for three years to remain among those who were admitted onely to hear for seven years to continue in the state of Penitents and for two years to join onely with the People in Prayers without being admitted to the Eucharist Can. 11. 3. For those Souldiers who in that Persecution when Licinius made it necessary for them to sacrifice to Heathen Gods if they would continue in their Places first renounced their Employments and after by Bribery or other means got into them again for three years they were to be without joining in the Prayers of the Church and for ten years to remain in the state of Penitents But so as to leave it to the Bishop's Discretion to judge of the sincerity of their Repentance and accordingly to remit some part of the Discipline Can. 12. 4. If persons happen'd to be in danger of Death before they had passed through all the methods of the Churches Discipline they were not to be denyed the Eucharist But if they recover they were to be reduced to the state of Penitents Can. 13. But there was one Canon added of another nature which concerned Vniformity and that is the last of the Genuine Canons It had been an ancient Custome in the Christian Church to forbear kneeling in the publick Devotion on the Lord's days and between Easter and Whitsontide but there were some who refused to observe it And therefore this Canon was made to bring all to an Vniformity in that Practice Can. 20. But there are other Canons which relate more especially to Ecclesiastical Persons and those either concern the Discipline of the Clergy or the Government of the Church 1. For the Discipline of the Clergy they are these 1. None who had voluntarily castrated themselves were to be admitted into Orders Can. 1. For it seems Origen's Fact however condemned by some was as much admired by others and Christianus Lupus thinks the Sect of the Valesii who castrated all came from him But I do not find that Origen did propagate any Sect of this kind And Epiphanius makes one Valens the Authour of it However this great Council thought fit to exclude all such from any Capacity of Church Employments But it is generally supposed and not without reason that the Fact of Leontius a Presbyter of Antioch castrating himself because of his suspicious Conversation with Eustolia gave the particular Occasion to the making this Canon 2. None who were lately Catechumens were to be consecrated Bishops or ordained Presbyters Can. 2. For however it had happen'd well in some extraordinary Cases as of St. Cyprian before and others after this Council as St. Ambrose Nectarius c. yet there was great reason to make a standing Rule against it 3. None of the Clergy were to have any Women to live in the House with them except very near Relations as Mother or Sister c. Can. 3. For some pretending greater Sanctity and therefore declining Marriage yet affected the familiar Conversation of Women who made the same pretence For Budaeus hath well observed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Companion of Celibacy So that when two Persons were resolved to continue unmarried and agreed to live together one of these was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the other And Tertullian writing against second Marriages seems to advise this Practice Habe aliquam Vxorem spiritualem adsume de Viduis Ecclesiae c. And it soon grew into a Custome in Africa as appears by St. Cyprian who writes vehemently against it and shews the Danger and Scandal of it And that this Conversation was under a Pretence of Sanctity appears by St. Jerom's words speaking of such persons Sub nominibus pietatis quaerentium suspecta consortia and again Sub nomine Religionis umbra Continentiae But elsewhere he calls it Pestis Agapetarum for it spread like the Plague and was restrained with great Difficulty And at last Laws were added to Canons these being found ineffectual 4. If any persons were admitted loosely and without due Examination into Orders or upon Confession of lawfull Impediments had Hands notwithstanding laid upon them such Ordinations were not to be allowed as Canonical Can. 9. which is more fully expressed in the next Canon as to one Case viz. That if any lapsed persons were ordained whether the Ordainers did it ignorantly or knowingly they were to be deprived Can. 10. 5. If any among the Novatians returned to the Church and subscribed their Consent to the Doctrine and Practice of it their Ordination seems to be allowed Justellus and some others think a new Imposition of hands was required by this Canon If any of the Novatian Clergy were admitted into the Church And so Dionysius Exiguus and the old Latin Interpreter do render it But Balsamon Zonaras and others understand it so as that the former Imposition of hands whereby they were admitted into the Clergy were hereby allow'd If the words of the Canon seem to be ambiguous and their Sense to be taken from the Practice of the Nicene Fathers in a parallel Case then they are rather to be understood of a new Imposition of hands For in the Case of the Meletians
who were ordained in Schism too they determined in their Synodical Epistle that they should be received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a more sacred Imposition of hands But it is not agreed whether this implies a Reordination or not Valesius thinks it doth but others take it onely for a simple Benediction or the Laying on of hands upon Reconciliation to the Church And Godfrey Hermant hath at large proved Reordination in this Case to have been against the sense of the Church wherein he hath the advantage of Valesius as is evident to any one that reflects on the Occasion of the Luciferian Schism which began upon the Council of Alexandria's allowing the Ordination of the Arian Bishops And it would be very strange if Schism were more destructive to Orders than plain Heresie But the Novatian Bishop was to have no Jurisdiction where there was one of the Catholick Church Can. 8. Among the Canons which relate to the Settlement and Polity of the Church these three are very material 1. About Election and Consecration of Bishops 2. About Provincial Synods 3. About the Bounds of Jurisdiction For the seventh Canon is but a Complement to the Bishop of Jerusalem giving him the honour of a Metropolitane without the Jurisdiction 1. About Election and Consecration of Bishops The Canon is That a Bishop ought chiefly to be constituted by all the Bishops in the Province But if this be too difficult either through urgent Occasions or the length of the way yet three must be present for that purpose and have the Consent of the absent under their Hands and so to make the Consecration But the Confirmation of all things done in the Province must be reserved to the Metropolitane Can. 4. By this Canon the Government of the Church came now to be settled under Constantine and with his Approbation And here we find That every Province had a number of Bishops within it self who were to take care of the Ecclesiastical Government of it but so as the consent of the Metropolitane were obtained So that the Rights of Metropolitans as to the chief Ecclesiastical Government of every Province are hereby secured For the last Clause doth not merely refer to the Consecration of Bishops But takes in that with other Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Province The onely difficulty lies in the first Clause What is meant by the Bishops of the Province constituting a new Bishop Whether the right of Election is hereby devolved to them or whether it be onely the right of Consecration upon the Election of the People Which is therefore here fit to be enquired into because the ancient Practice of the British Churches may from hence be gathered which we may justly presume was agreeable to the Nicene Canon And because the signification of the Greek word is ambiguous we shall first see what Sense the Greek Writers do put upon it Balsamon interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is chusing by Suffrage And he in plain terms saith by this Canon the right of Election was taken from the People and given to the Bishops of the Province And it is not Balsamon alone as some imagine that was of that Opinion but Zonaras Aristenus Matthaeus Blastares as any one may find But we are told If they are all of that mind they are greatly mistaken because this Council in their Synodical Epistle to those of Alexandria and Egypt declare their Iudgment That if any Bishops decease others reconciled to the Church may be admitted in their room if they be worthy and the People do chuse them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One would think by this That the Council of Nice had put this matter wholly into the Peoples hands but if we look into that Synodical Epistle we shall find it much otherwise For the case was this The Council declares their tenderness towards those that had been made Bishops and Priests in the Meletian Schism allowing their Orders upon due Submission but not to exercise any Jurisdiction to the prejudice of those in Possession But if any Bishops died those Meletian Bishops might succeed but with these three Provisoes 1. That they be judged worthy By whom by the People No certainly For then there had been no need of the following Clause but this Judgment belonged to the Bishops of the Province according to this Canon 2. If the People chuse them What People The Meletian party No They are excluded because of their being in Schism from having any thing to doe in the Choice although they were admitted to Communion For they are forbidden before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to put up the names of the Persons to be chosen or to hold up their hands And so all right of Suffrage was taken from them on the account of their Schism So that what right of choice was in the People it was onely in the sound and untainted Party and after all it was no more but a Nomination by the People For the true right of Election was still in the Bishops For 3. all this signified nothing without the consent of the Bishop of Alexandria which immediately follows the other And is it a fair thing to mention that Clause onely in the middle and to leave out the two other which reduce it to a bare Nomination and the Meletian party excluded too Would those who contend among us for popular Elections like them upon these terms It is one thing for the People to propose or nominate Persons to be chosen And another for them to have the right of Election And it is one thing for a Person chosen to have the consent of the People and another for them to have the Power to reject him because he doth not please them And again it is one thing for the People to be allowed to enjoy some Privileges till the Inconveniences of them have made them be taken away by just Laws And another for them to challenge such a right as inherent in themselves and without which there lies no obligation on them to submit If these things were better understood it would allay some mens heats about these matters For granting that in the time of the Council of Nice the People had the liberty of proposing names or objecting against the Persons to be chosen And although their consent were generally desired yet all this doth not put the right of Election in them For all that they could doe signified nothing without the Consent of the Bishops and Metropolitane and none are properly said to chuse but those upon whose Judgment the Determination depends the rest do but propose and offer Persons to be chosen So that the utmost the People could have by this Canon was a right of Nomination Which upon Seditions and Tumults was justly alter'd And there can be no Plea for resuming it unless it be proved to be a divine and unalterable Right which can never be done nor is it so much as pretended by those who
long before their own it were a vain thing to hope for any Credit unless they could produce some Testimonies nearer those times which might be of some weight if they were Authentick And this is the Reason why these Inventers of History have still given out that they met with some Elder Writers out of whom they have pretended to derive their Reports Thus Hunibaldus pretends as much to follow the Old Sicambrian Manuscripts of Wasthald for the remote Antiquities of the Franks as Geffrey doth the Old British Manuscripts either for the Succession of the British Kings or the first bringing of Christianity hither But which makes this matter yet stranger Nennius himself who sometimes passes under the Name of Gildas saith nothing of this Tradition where he speaks of the first receiving of Christianity in Britain and yet Bale saith of him That he collected his Writings out of the former British Historians such as Teliesin Melkin Gildas and Elvodugus and it is not probable he would have left it out if he had found it in any of them But Bale quotes one of these British Authours viz. Melkinus Avalonius for this Tradition about Joseph of Arimathea and Arviragus but withall he confesses him to be a very fabulous Writer Leland saith That he met with the Fragments of Melkinus in the Library at Glassenbury by which he understood that he had written something of the British affairs but more especially concerning the Antiquity of Glassenbury and Joseph of Arimathea Which saith Leland he affirms without any certain Authour and which himself could not approve not thinking it at all Credible that Joseph of Arimathea should be buried there but rather some Eremit of that Name from whence the mistake first arose And elsewhere when he speaks of the Glassenbury Tradition He saith That twelve Eremits are reported to have come thither with one Joseph in the Head of them but not be of Arimathea as he supposes But still the Testimonies that concern this matter are derived from Glassenbury insomuch that even the British Historian hath the name of Avalonius from thence But some make use of this Testimony however to prove the Antiquity of this Tradition since this Authour is said to have lived Anno Dom. 550. under King Vortuporius so Bale but Pits places him ten years later under Magoclunus They might as well have made him contemporary with Gildas Cambrius or to have been Secretary to Joseph of Arimathea when he wrote his Epistles for they have no more Evidence to shew for the one than for the other The truth is there was an old Legend which lay at Glassenbury which Leland saw and out of which Capgrave hath transcribed that part which concerns this matter from whom Bale took it But it is so grosly fabulous that even Capgrave himself whose Stomach was not very nice as to Legends put an c. in the middle of it as being ashamed to set down the passage of Abaddar a great man in Saphat and the hundred and four thousand which were buried with Joseph of Arimathea at Glassenbury Yet this sensless and ridiculous Legend is by some thought to be the British History which William of Malmsbury appeals to for the proof of this Tradition and which he found in the Libraries of St. Edmund and St. Augustin But Malmsbury having designed to set the Antiquity of Glassenbury as high as he could called that a British History which is now found to be written by an English Monk as Archbishop Vsher hath evidently proved having several times perused it in the Cotton Library there being the very same passage in it which Malmsbury quotes And that he was no Britain is most certain because he calls the Saxon his Mother Tongue and England his Countrey And yet after all there is not a word of Joseph of Arimathea or his Companions in it all that is said is That in the Western parts of Britain there is a Royal Island called Gleston large and compassed about with Waters full of Fish and having other conveniences of humane life but which was most considerable it was devoted to the Service of God Here the first Disciples of the Catholick Law found an ancient Church not built as was reported by mens hands but prepared by God himself for the benefit of Men and which by Miracles was shewed to be consecrated to himself and to the Blessed Virgin To which they adjoined another Oratory made of Stone which they dedicated to Christ and to St. Peter The question is Who are here meant by these first Disciples of the Catholick Law not Joseph of Arimathea and his Companions who are never mentioned by him and who are never said to have found a Church there built to their hands but he speaks of some of the first Saxon Christians in those parts who might probably find there such a low Wattled Church as is described in Sir H. Spelman a Remainder of the British Christianity in that Island And this Passage affords us the best light into the true Original of this Tradition which was after so much heightned and improved as the Monks of Glassenbury thought convenient for the honour and privileges of their Monastery That which seems most agreeable to Truth from hence is That in the latter times of the British Churches when they were so miserably harassed and persecuted by the Pagan Saxons they were forced to retire into places of most difficult access for their own Security and there they made them such Churches as were suitable to their present condition and lived very retired lives being in continual fear of their barbarous Enemies Such a place this Island of Avalon or Glassenbury was which might be of far greater request among the Britains because it was the place where King Arthur was buried for I see no reason to question that which Giraldus Cambrensis relates concerning the finding the Body of King Arthur there in the time of Henry II. with an Inscription on a Leaden Cross which in Latin expressed that King Arthur lay there buried in the Island of Avalon For Giraldus saith he was present and saw the Inscription and the Body which is likewise attested by the Historians of that time as Leland proves at large And the account given that his Body was laid so deep in the Earth for fear of the Saxons farther confirms That this was a place of retreat in the British times but not without the apprehension of their Enemies Invasion This Church according to the Inscription on the Brass Plate on the Pillar in Glassenbury Church was in length 60 Foot in breadth 26. But that Inscription as the learned and judicious Antiquary Sir H. Spelman observes was by the Character not of above 300 years Antiquity and savours very much of the Legend In it we reade That the Church was first built by Joseph and his Companions but was consecrated by Christ himself to the Honour of his Mother This
among the Britains is onely spoken of the Maeatae and Caledonii in their great Confusion when all the Reins of Government were cast off and the People did what they list as Tacitus describes them in his time saying That they were drawn off from their former obedience to their Kings by the Heads of several Factions among them So that although in the most ancient times here was Monarchical Government yet it was not extended over all Britain as the Monkish Tradition pretends concerning King Lucius and I know not how many Predecessours of his even from the coming of Brutus to his days But neither our Religion nor our Government need such Fictions to support them Supposing then that King Lucius succeeded Cogidunus though not immediately in the Government of that part of Britain committed to his care I see no inconvenience in allowing that King Lucius hearing of the Christian Doctrine either by the old British Christians such as Eluanus and Medwinus are supposed to have been or by some of M. Aurelius his Souldiers coming hither after the great deliverance of the Roman Army by the Prayers of the Christians which had then lately happen'd and occasion'd great discourse every where the Emperour himself as Tertullian saith giving the account of it in his own Letters might upon this be very desirous to inform himself throughly about this Religion and there being then frequent Intercourse between Rome and Britain by reason of the Colonies that were settled and the Governours and Souldiers passing to and fro he might send Eluanus and Medwinus to Eleutherius to be fully instructed in this Religion And either the same persons alone or two others with them called Faganus and Duvianus commonly coming into Britain might have so great success as to baptize King Lucius and many others and thereby inlarge the Christian Church here The old Book of Landaff gives a much more modest account of this whole matter than either Geffrey of Monmouth or any of his followers There we find onely that King Lucius sent Eluanus and Medwinus to Eleutherius the twelfth Bishop of Rome to desire that he might be made a Christian through his Instruction Upon which he gave God thanks that such a Heathen Nation did so much desire Christianity And then by the Advice of the Presbyters of the City of Rome they first baptized these Embassadours and being well instructed they ordained them making Eluanus a Bishop and Medwinus a Teacher And so they returned to King Lucius who with the chief of the Britains were baptized And then according to the Instructions of Eleutherius he settled the Ecclesiastical Order caused Bishops to be ordained and the Christian Religion to be taught There is nothing in all this account but what seems to have great probability in it The same account is in Capgrave out of John of Tinmouth in the Life of Dubricius and this seems to have been the original Tradition of the British Church Which Geffrey of Monmouth hath corrupted with his Flamins and Archiflamins and others afterwards made an Epistle for Eleutherius to King Lucius but could not avoid such Marks in the way of Writing as evidently discover the Imposture and when the Monks hands were once in they knew not how to give over For some of them carry Faganus and Diruvianus as some call him to Glassenbury others make them Consecrate the Church at Winchester to which they say King Lucius had a particular kindness and gave all the Lands and Privileges which the Flamins had to the Bishop and Monks A Gift that would never make them the richer or the safer Others make King Lucius to found St. Peter's Church at Westmister the Church in Dover Castle St. Martin's by Canterbury St. Peter's in Cornhill where the Metropolitan Church they say was placed by him and Theanus made the first Bishop who was succeeded by Eluanus who went on the Embassey to Eleutherius and besides these they make him to found and endow so many Churches with such unlikely Circumstances as hath made others question whether there was ever such a Person in the World as King Lucius That being the common effect of saying much more than is true to make what is really true more doubtfull and suspicious But there is one Difficulty yet to be cleared For all this Story in its best Circumstances seems to imply that there was no Christian Church here before For if there had been what need he to have sent as far as Rome to be instructed unless the Bishop of Rome were then known to be the Head of the Church which were a sufficient Reason for it To this I answer That if the Contest lay beâ—ween these two things Whether it be more credible that Christianity was planted here before King Lucius Or that King Lucius was baptized by order from Eleutherius I should very much prefer the former because the Authority of Gildas as to the British Christianity is to be relyed on before the later Writers and Gildas asserts the one and although he had as much reason as Bede or any after him he never takes the least notice of King Lucius and Eleutherius And if a Negative Argument will hold any where it is where a person hath as much reason to know as any that follow him and as great occasion to discover what he knows both which will hold in the case of Gildas compared with Bede or later Writers It were worth while for us to know whence Bede had his first Information of this matter for he professes to follow other Writers about the British Affairs and in many places he follows Gildas exactly but in this he passes by what Gildas saith about the Primitive Christianity of Britain and instead thereof puts in this Story of King Lucius Bale saith that Eluanus Avalonius was a Disciple to those who were the Disciples of the Apostles and that he preached the Gospel in Britain with good Success But King Lucius being persuaded by his Druids would not come to any resolution but to satisfie himself lest he should be deceived by his Countreymen he sent Eluanus and Medwinus to Eleutherius And Eluanus upon his return wrote a Book De Origine Ecclesiae Britannorum Of the first beginning of the British Church And Pits is sure to follow him where he hath no reason But Leland never mentions this Book nor the Writings of Medwinus Belgius and of King Lucius himself all relating to this matter But Leland onely takes notice that Eluanus and Medwinus were employ'd upon an Embassey to Eleutherius that by his means he might become a Christian which saith he is very unreasonable to suppose unless he were first informed what Christianity was which he thinks was preached to King Lucius by them being two of the old British Christians And there he relates how by chance he met with an old MS. of the British Affairs joyn'd with Geffrey of Monmouth wherein this Story is told exactly as it is in the Book
Theodoret takes notice that after the death of Leontius Eudoxius was the first who pulled off his Vizard and declared openly for Arianism but Leontius his way was to promote onely those in the Church he was before hand sure of and to suffer no other to come into Orders by which means saith he most of the Clergy were Arians and the People still continued sound in the Nicene Faith till Eudoxius his Persecution began This was the miserable Condition of the Eastern Churches under the Prudence and Moderation of the Eusebian Party but the Western Churches continued quiet and very little disturbed with the Arian Heresie while Constans lived who was ready not onely to maintain the true Faith in his own Dominions but to give his Assistence for the Relief of those who suffer'd in the Eastern Parts Which was the Reason of the calling of the Council of Sardica by consent of both Emperours although that happen'd onely to widen and inlarge the Breach However the Sardican Council had such effect in the Western Parts as to the business of Athanasius that as Athanasius tells Constantius Valens and Vrsacius two busie Factours in the Arian Cause freely own the malitious Intrigue that was carried on in the prosecution of him The first Council of Milan is supposed by Petavius to be called the same year that of Sardica ended But Sirmondus thinks it very improbable there should be two Councils in one year and therefore he believes it rather to have been the year before which is the more probable Opinion This Council of Milan was assembled on the occasion of several Bishops there meeting to wait on the Emperour Constans in order to a General Council to put things in order in the Christian Church which the Arian Faction had so much disturbed While they were there the four Eastern Bishops arrived with the long Confession made at Antioch and desire the Western Bishops concurrence with them in it These express their dislike of any New Confession of Faith especially after the Nicene but since they were so free of their Anathema's at the end of their Confession they desired them to make short Work of it to anathematize the Arian Heresie which they utterly refused to doe and so discover'd the Juggle of that seeming orthodox Confession This appears by Liberius his Epistle in the Collection of Church Records in Hilary's Fragments in which he tells Constantius that these four Bishops were so far from anathematizing the Arian Heresie then in order to Peace that upon being pressed to doe it they rose up in a Rage and left the Council From hence the Western Bishops smelt their Design however cover'd over with fair Pretences of Peace and Reconciliation Which they farther discover'd by their own Legates whom they sent into the East who made this Offer to the Bishops there that they would accept of their own Terms of Accommodation provided they would but condemn the Arian Heresie which upon consultation they refused to doe Upon these plain Discoveries the Western Bishops could easily see through all their Proposals for Peace being onely made with a Design to make them betray the Faith So that as long as Constans lived the Arian Faction could make little or no impression on the Western Churches but he being soon after taken off by the Treachery of Magnentius Captain of his Guards and the whole Empire falling to Constantius upon his Victory over Magnentius a sudden alteration here happen'd about these Matters Valens and Vrsacius who had so solemnly retracted their former unjust Sentence of Athanasius now lay it upon their fear of Constans and appear in the Head of the Arian Faction and with them as Severus Sulpicius saith the two Pannonia's declared for Arianism And now they having an Emperour to their mind resolve to lose no time but carry things on with a mighty violence and banish all who would not subscribe to the condemning Athanasius For this stale Pretence must still be made use of to deceive the People and to make way for Arianism and yet this prevailed so far that as Hilary saith in the Preface to his Fragments the People wondred what made so many Bishops go into Banishment rather than condemn one and the Design of those Fragments is to shew that the Matter of Faith lay at the bottom of all this violence against Athanasius Which proceeded so far that in the Council called at Arles Paulinus Bishop of Triers was for opposing the condemning Athanasius and desiring the Matters of Faith might first be settled deposed by the Council and banished by the Emperour And so great then was the Power of Fear upon them that some of those very Persons who had clear'd Athanasius at the Council of Sardica did now subscribe to his condemnation among whom was Vincentius of Capua the Pope's own Legate as Athanasius himself confesses Not long after Constantius summons another Council at Milan where Socrates and Sozomen say above three hundred Western Bishops were assembled Here again the Arian Faction made a great outcry about Athanasius but Dionysius Bishop of Milan and Eusebius of Vercelles laid open the Design so far as to make the Council be broken up and themselves to be banished by the Emperour's Edict While the Emperour continued at Milan Liberius Bishop of Rome was summon'd to attend upon him there in order to his Banishment if he did not condemn Athanasius Theodoret hath preserved the most material passages that happen'd between them One whereof is that if Constantius really designed the Peace of the Church the first thing was to be a general Subscription of the Nicene Faith after which other things would more easily be composed But this would not be hearkned to and so Liberius was banished but afterwards he unworthily complied not onely to the Condemnation of Athanasius but he professed his consent to the Sirmian Creed as appears by his Epistle in Hilary's Fragments for which Hilary bestows his Anathema's very freely upon him But it is of late pleaded on behalf of Liberius that he subscribed onely to the first Sirmian Confession in the Council against Photinus which was express against the Arian Heresie Whereas Hilary who I think knew this matter somewhat better saith in so many Words Haec est perfidia Ariana i. e. that what he subscribed contained in it the Arian Heresie But where doth Hilary or any one else say that Liberius onely subscribed the first Confession of Sirmium and upon that was restored Nay Sozomen saith that Constantius at first required him in terms to renounce the Son 's being Consubstantial to the Father but afterwards they joined together the Confession against Paulus Samosatenus and Photinus with that of Antioch at the Dedication and to these Liberius subscribed So that he struck in wholly with the Arian Faction which undermined the Authority of the Council of Nice and he betray'd the Faith if he did not renounce it The Eudoxians
time before his Persecution began or there were any such Monks in the World But it seems strange that the British Bishops should be then under such Poverty when Liberius in his Conference with Constantius told him The Churches were able to bear the Charges of their Bishops in going to Councils without the publick Carriages For even before Constantine's time they had endowments besides the voluntary Oblations of the People which in great Churches were very considerable But that there were certain Endowments besides appears both by the Edicts of Maximinus and Constantine By that of Maximinus not onely Houses but the Lands which belong'd to the Christians whether seized into the Emperour's hands or in the Possession of any City or given or sold are all commanded to be restored And that this doth not relate to their private Possessions but to the publick Revenue of their Churches will appear by the following Edict of Constantine and Licinius which in the first place commands all their Churches to be restored and then is added because the Christians are known not onely to have those Places where they assemble but others which likewise of Right belong to their Body i. e. their Churches For so the Words of the Edict in Lactantius are Sed alia etiam habuisse noscuntur ad jus corporis eorum id est Ecclesiarum non hominum singulorum pertinentia These are commanded to be restored without any delay or dispute Which is again inforced by another Edict of Constantine to Anulinus extant in Eusebius with the former and there are mention'd Houses Gardens or whatsoever Possessions they had Those who would have nothing more meant by these Expressions but some Fields and Gardens rather than Lands may consider that when the Church had plentifull Possessions they were called by no other Names So St. Ambrose Agri Ecclesiae solvunt Tributum And in another Law of Constantine directed to the Provincials of Palestine to the same purpose and with as full and large Expressions And howsoever they became alienated the present Possessours were to be satisfied with the mean Profits But by all means he commands a Restitution to be made not onely to particular Persons but to the Churches too But if the Endowments of Churches were not then considerable what need so many Edicts for the Restauration of them But Constantine did not onely take so much care to restore what the Churches had before but in case there were no Heirs at Law to the Martyrs and Confessours he bestows their Lands and Goods on the Churches And after this about four years before the Council of Nice he published the famous Constitution still extant in the Theodosian Code wherein a full Liberty is given to all sorts of Persons to leave what they thought fit by Will to the Catholick Churches of Christians And this as Gothofred saith was the true Donation of Constantine for by means of this Law Riches flowed into the Church and especially at Rome For although as Paulus saith by an Edict of M. Aurelius the Collegia licita Societies allow'd by the Laws were capable of receiving Legacies and Estates yet by the Laws of the Empire the Christians were no legal Society to that purpose before And by a late Constitution of Dioclesian Societies were excluded from receiving Inheritances without a special Privilege yet now by this Law all those Bars being removed Riches came in so fast in some Places that there needed new Constitutions to set bounds to so great liberality And the Privileges which Constantine gave to the Clergy of exemption from publick Services drew so many to take Orders especially in Corporations where the Services were very burthensome That Constantine was forced to publish Edicts to restrain the Numbers of them which were not intended to hinder Persons of Estate and Quality from entring into Orders as some have suggested but onely such whose Estates were liable to the publick Services as those who were Decuriones origine and not merely incolatu were who bore all the Offices and did the publick Duties having Lands given them on purpose in the first Settlement of Colonies which were called Praedia Reipublicae as Pancirol observes And therefore Constantine had reason to forbid such entring into Orders to the Prejudice of the Government And so the Title of the Constitution is De ordinatione Clericorum in Curiarum Civitatum praejudicium non facienda Which was at that time a very just and reasonable Constitution But afterwards Men of great Honour and Dignities came into the Council as not onely St. Ambrose at Milan who was the Consular Governour over Liguria and Aemilia and St. Paulinus a Roman Senatour behind none in Birth saith St. Ambrose having a great Estate in Aquitania was made Priest at Barcelona and Bishop of Nola but many Examples of this kind were in one Age in the Gallican Church as Honoratus Bishop of Arles of a Senatorian and Consular Family St. Hilary of Arles of a very Noble Family and born to great Riches Sidonius Apollinaris whose Father and Grandfather were Praefecti Praetorio Galliarum and himself married to the Daughter of the Emperour Avitus made Praefectus Vrbi Patricius one of the greaest Persons and Wits in Gaul was made Bishop of Auvergn St. German Bishop of Auxerre was of Noble Parents and Governour of a Province Saint Ruricius Bishop of Limoges descended from the Annician Family as Venantius Fortunatus saith which was of that Fame at Rome that St. Hierome saith Very few of it missed the Consulship and two Brothers of it were Consuls together as Claudian saith a thing never seen before or since From this Family Arnoldus Wion proves that the Emperours of Germany are descended And of this same Family another Ruricius succeeded his Grandfather in the same Bishoprick But besides that general Law which gave Permission to others to give liberally to Churches Constantine of his own Revenue allow'd a proportion of Corn to be given to the Clergy of the greater Cities Of which Athanasius speaks when he saith Constantius took it away from him and his Clergy and gave it to the Arians But the Gift it self was continued all the time of Constantius Then it was taken away by Julian and in part restored by Jovian It is then no wonder that the Bishops at Ariminum refused the publick allowance being maintained by the Revenues of their Churches But it seems the British Churches were not then in so Rich a condition to maintain their Bishops so long abroad For Constantine drawing all the Wealth and Trade of the Empire Eastward for the greater Advancement of his New City And this Countrey having been so long harassed with Wars and scarce recovered from the Effects of them For the Scots and Picts had been very troublesome to them both in the times of Constans and Constantius the former came himself over into Britain to
Professours of all Arts and Sciences And at Sicca Veneria in Africa Arnobius was Professour of Rhetorick Near Lyons in Gaul the 60 Cities had dedicated an Altar to Augustus where the Rhosn and the Arar meet there Caius Caligula appointed Prizes to be plaid both in Greek and Latine Eloquence And not that onely but Philosophy was there taught Thence Odilo Abbat of Clugney about Anno Dom. 1020. calls Lyons of old the Mother and Nurse of Philosophy In the time of Dioclesian and Maximianus the Nobility of Gaul were brought up to Learning at Augustodunum Autun and there Eumenius was both Rectour and Professour as appears by his Speech to Constantius where he celebrates so much the Scholae Moenianae Quondam pulcherimo opere studiorum frequentiâ celebres which having suffer'd very much in the Rebellion of the Bagaudae under the latter Claudius he was extremely concerned to have them rebuilt which is the design of his excellent Oration But long before in Tiberius his time Tacitus saith The Sons of the Nobility did there Liberalibus studiis operari improve themselves in Learning Eusebius mentions in the time of Nero Statius Vrsulus of Tholouse a famous Professour of Rhetorick And Ausonius reckons up many of those who had been famous there and at Bourdeaux and other Places But to spare our pains in particular Places there is extant in the Theodosian Code an Edict of Gratian requiring all the chief Cities of these Parts of the Roman Empire to settle and maintain in them Professours of Learning both of the Greek and Roman Languages This Edict was directed to the Praefectus Praetorio Galliarum and was commanded to be observed through all his Diocese which Gothofred restrains to the Provinces of Gaul excluding Britain for which I see no reason Since Ausonius who was himself in that Office in Gratian's time comprehends the Britains under his Jurisdiction And the Notitia Imperii places the Provinces of Britain under him after Gratian's time Which Notitia he thinks was made about Anno Dom. 426. By virtue of which Edict we are to search for the ancient Schools of Learning among the Britains in the chief Cities of the Provinces at that time especially at London which was the Caput Gentis being Augusta or the Imperial City and so at York and Caerleon So that the British Churches as long as the Roman Power continued here had the same advantages for Learning which they had in other Provinces But when the Roman Forces were withdrawn and nothing but Miseries and Desolation follow'd then St. German's Care proved a most seasonable Relief to them in providing such Schools as those of Dubricius and Iltutus for the breeding up of Persons qualified for the Service of the Church as far as the Miseries of those times would permit The last thing to be considered is The Publick Service of the British Churches And in an ancient MS. in the Cotton Library about the Original of Divine Offices Germanus and Lupus are said to have brought into the use of the British Churches Ordinem Cursûs Gallorum By which Archbishop Vsher understands the Gallican Liturgy For Cursus in the Ecclesiastical use of the Word is the same with Officium Divinum as Dominicus Macer in his late Hierolexicon shews thence Cursum celebrare is to perform Divine Offices And so the word Cursus is often used in Fortunatus his Life of St. German Bishop of Paris and in our Saxon Writers But this Cursus Gallorum is there distinguished from the Cursus Orientalis and the Cursus Ambrosii and the Cursus Benedicti which little differs he saith from the Cursus Romanus And this was that which Germanus and Lupus had learnt in the Monastery of Lerins where it was used by Cassianus and Honoratus as the Authour of that Book affirms which I find to have been the same which Sir H. Spelman commends for its great Antiquity And that Authour derives the Gallican Liturgy from St. John by Polycarp and Irenaeus Which MS. Mabillon was inclined to think to have been the Book which Gregorius Turonensis wrote de Cursibus Ecclesiasticis but for the quoting the Life of Columbanus and Attala which was not written till after his Death This will oblige us to enquire what the Gallican Liturgy at this time was and how far different from the Roman It is agreed on all hands that there was a material difference between them but wherein it lay is not so easily understood When Gregory sent Augustine the Monk into England to settle the Saxon Churches and he was consecrated by the Archbishop of Arles one of the Questions Augustine proposed was since there was such difference between the Offices of the Roman and Gallican Churches Which he should follow Gregory answered That he should chuse what he thought most proper for the English Church Which implies That there was a diversity still between them And that the Pope did not oblige him to follow the Example of the Roman Church chiefly I suppose Because the Queen being a Christian before and using the Gallican Liturgy in the Publick Service and her Bishop being of the Gallican Church it would have given great Offence to them to have had it taken away as likewise to all the British Churches which had been accustomed to it If the Books of Musaeus mention'd by Gennadius were extant we should easily understand wherein the difference lay For he being a Presbyter of the Church of Marseilles and a Man Learned in the Scriptures was desired by Venerius the Bishop there to draw up a Form of Publick Service consisting of two Parts viz. The Morning Service and the Communion Service The first he finished in the time of Venerius and is highly commended by Gennadius for its Order Vsefulness and Decency The second in the time of Eustathius his Successour which he likewise commends for its great weight and exactness And there was great Reason at that time to bring the Church Service into Order because Cassian and others endeavour'd to introduce the Monastick Customs which he had observed in Egypt and elsewhere as appears by the design of his Monastick Institutions especially the second and third Books which he dedicated to Castor Bishop of Apta Iulia at the same time that Venerius was Bishop of Marseilles where Cassian lived This Musaeus was therefore employ'd to draw up the most convenient Order for the Publick Service from whence we may be able to judge of the difference in both parts between the Gallican and Roman Offices I begin with the first viz. the Morning Service which consisted of Lessons Hymns and Psalms agreeable to the Lessons and short Collects after them In the Church of Rome for a long time viz. for above 400 years they had nothing before the Sacrifice as the old Ritualists agree besides the Epistle and Gospel then Celestine appointed the Psalms to be used or as Walafr Strabo and Micrologus say caused
shall after all find the Life of St. David not much clearer than that of his Nephew Arthur for he is supposed to have been Uncle to him by the Mother's side whose Name is said to be Nonnita in Capgrave Nonna in the Utrecht MS. Nemata in Colganus Melari in the Life of St. Kenna so Colganus and Bollandus say But in Capgrave I find Melari said to be the Mother to the Father of St. David i. e. to Xantus King of the Provincia Ceretica i. e. Cardiganshire so called from Ceretus Father to Xanctus say some from Caraticus who ruled here as Camden seems inclinable to believe That Melari was one of the 12 Daughters of Braghanus King of Brecknock from whom Giraldus saith the County took its Name And he said from the British Histories that he had 24 Daughters but Capgrave saith he had 12 Sons and 12 Daughters D. Powell in his Notes on Giraldus saith this Brachanus his Father was Haulaphus King of Ireland and his Mother a Britain viz. Marcella Daughter to Theodoric Son of Tethwaltus King of Garthmathrin afterwards called Brecknock Another Daughter of Brachanus he saith was Wife to Congenus Son to Cadel King of Powisland and Mother of Brochmiel who killed Etheldred King of Northumberland and routed his Army about Anno Dom. 603. By this we see what a Number of Petty Princes there was about that time among the Britains but whether St. David were Vncle by the Mother to King Arthur or not we have not light enough to discover I shall pass over all the Legendary parts of his Life and consider onely what relates to the Church-History of those times His Domestick Education is said to have been under Pauleus or Paulinus a Disciple of St. German with whom he continued ten years in the Isle of Wight saith Giraldus but it seems more probable to have been Whiteland in Caermardenshire the School of Iltutus being not far off in Glamorganshire at Lantwitt i. e. Fanum Iltuti and in his Life it is said that he came to the King of Glamorgan and after that Sampson Paulinus Gildas and David were his Scholars But Bollandus shews that there must be a mistake as to David and that instead of him it should be read Daniel who was a Disciple of Iltutus and consecrated first Bishop of Bangor by Dubricius After this it is said that David and Eliud or Teliaus and Paternus went to Jerusalem and David was there consecrated Bishop by the Patriarch And it is not to be wondred that in such a distracted time at home they should go to Jerusalem when Saint Jerome in his time mentions the Britains going thither especially such as were more inclined to Devotion which humour spread so much that Gregory Nyssen wrote against it as a thing very much tending to Superstition if not arising from it But it was most excusable in such a troublesome time at home Not long after his return the famous Synod at Brevy was held at a place called Lhandewy-brevy the Church of Saint David at Brevy Here the Vtrecht MS. saith was a Synod assembled of all the Bishops of Britain upon the account of the Pelagian Controversie then revived Giraldus saith It was a general Convention of Clergy and Laity But the former MS. saith there were present 118. Bishops besides Abbats and others One would think it hard to find so many Bishops in Britain at that time And Bollandus startles at it but Colganus undertakes to defend it having premised that Giraldus and Capgrave leave it out But he saith there were more Bishops at that time than afterwards and more Bishops than Bishopricks Dioceses not being then so limitted as afterwards And every Monastery almost having a Bishop its Superiour By which means he justifies Saint Patrick 's consecrating as Jocelin saith 350 Bishops with his own hands But after all this Giraldus did much better to omit such a number in such a time unless there were better Testimony concerning it However there was a considerable number there present yet St. David was absent and first Paulinus was sent to him but he prevailed not then Daniel and Dubricius went upon whose intreaty he came and by his Authority and Eloquence put an effectual stop to Pelagianism And before the end of the Synod it is said That by general Consent he was chosen Archbishop of Caerleon Dubricius desiring to retire on the account of his Age. But here we meet with a considerable difficulty concerning the Succession to Dubricius viz. That Teliaus is said to succeed Dubricius at Landaff and to have power over all the Churches of the Western parts of Britain How can this be consistent with St. David's succeeding Dubricius in the See of Caerleon which had the Metropolitan Power over those Churches Bishop Godwin out of Bale and as he supposeth out of Leland saith That St. Dubricius was first Bishop of Landaff being there consecrated by Germanus and Lupus and that afterwards he was removed by a Synod to Caerleon and Teliaus placed in Landaff But this by no means clears the difficulty for although Bale doth there exactly follow Leland yet Leland himself did not seem to have consulted the Book of Landaff Where it is said That when Dubricius was made Archbishop he had the See of Landaff conferr'd upon him by the Gift of Mouricus then King and the three Estates i. e. the Nobles Clergy and People and all the Land between the Taff and Elei And Leland himself out of another Authour saith That when Dubricius was made Archbishop Landaff was made his Cathedral Church After Dubricius his time Teliaus is said to be Archbishop several times in the Book of Landaff and after him Oudoceus is called Summus Episcopus and the Bishop of Landaff in 〈◊〉 Sermon to Calixtus 2. Anno Dom. 1109. saith That it appears by the hand writing of St. Teliaus That the Church of Landaff was superiour in dignity to all other Churches in Wales That which seems to me the most probable account of this matter is That when Landaff was given to Dubricius then Archbishop he fixed his See there and so Landaff was the Seat of the Archbishop of Caerleon But afterwards when St. David removed the Archiepiscopal See to Menevia a remote barren and inconvenient place as Giraldus himself confesseth The Bishops of Landaff assumed the Archiepiscopal Power which had been in that See and would not submit to the Bishops of St. Davids This is apparent from that passage of Oùdocëus who succeeded Theliaus in the Book of Landaff that he would not receive Consecration from the Bishop of St. Davids as his Metropolitan but had it from the Archbishop of Canterbury This is a very improbable thing at that time considering the hatred the Britains did bear to the Saxons and their Bishops to Augustin the Monk It is far more likely that they received it from the Archbishop of Dole in Britany or from the Archbishop of London then resident in those parts
they very well understood his meaning and gave Answer in short to the main point And upon this Account I suppose it was that the Anchoret's advice was followed about observing Whether he rose up to the British Bishops at their entrance Not that they were so offended for want of a Complement as Mr. Cressey suggests but this was look'd on by them as a Mark of that Superiority which he challenged over them And therefore they had reason to take so great notice of it and to infer harder usage from him when they should be under his Authority They could not be ignorant what Authority the Pope had given Augustin and that made them more Observant of his whole Behaviour and finding it so agreeing to the Character of an Archbishop over the British Churches They give him that Resolute Answer That they would not own any Authority he had as Archbishop over them Which is a sufficient proof that this was really the main point contested between them 2. As to the British MS. which contains Dinoth's Answer more at large I Answer 1. Leland observes That the British Writers give a more ample account of this Matter than is extant in Bede who is very sparing in what concerns the British Affairs But from them he saith That Dinoth did at large dispute with great Learning and Gravity against receiving the authority of the Pope or of Augustin and defended the Power of the Archbishop of St. Davids and affirmed it not to be for the British Interest to own either the Roman Pride or the Saxon Tyranny And he finds fault with Gregory for not admonishing the Saxons of their gross Vsurpations against their Solemn Oaths And adds that it was their duty if they would be good Christians to restore their unjust and Tyrannical Power to those from whom they had taken it For Dinoth out of his great Learning could not but know that the Pope under a pretence of bringing in the true Faith could not confirm them in their unjust Vsurpation For if that should be admitted no Princes could be safe in their Dominions And no doubt the British Bishops looked upon this attempt of Augustin upon them to be the adding one Vsurpation to another Which made them so adverse to any Communication with the Missionaries which otherwise had been inexcusable 2. The certainty of the British Churches rejecting the Pope's Authority and Augustin's jurisdiction doth not depend upon the Credit of this British MS. for this is sufficiently clear from Bede's own Words wherein they declare they would not own Augustin as Archbishop over them But if they had owned the Pope's Authority they ought to have Submitted to him who acted by virtue of his Commission And it was not possible for them at such a distance from Rome to express their disowning his Authority more effectually than by rejecting him whom he had sent to be Archbishop over them And Nich. Trivet in his MS. History cited by Sir H. Spelman saith expresly that Augustin did demand Subjection from the Britains to him as the Pope's Legate but they refused it So that if this MS. had never been heard of the Matter of Fact had been nevertheless fully attested 3. The Objections against this MS. are not sufficient to destroy the Authority of it Sir H. Spelman who sets it down at large in Welsh English and Latin tells from whom he had it and exactly transcribed it and that it appeared to him to have been an Old MS. taken out of an Older but without Date or Authour and believes it to be still in the Cotton Library Here is all the appearance of Ingenuity and faithfulness that can be expected and he was a Person of too great Judgment and Sagacity to be easily imposed upon by a modern Invention or a new found Schedule as Mr. Cressy Phrases it The substance of it is That the Abbat of Banchor in the Name of the British Churches declares That they owe the Subjection of Brotherly Kindness and Charity to the Church of God and to the Pope of Rome and to all Christians but other obedience than that they did not know to be due to him whom they called Pope And for their parts they were under the Jurisdiction of the Bishop of Caerleon upon Usk who was under God their Spiritual Overseer and Directour But say the Objectors There was then no Bishop of Caerleon upon Usk and had not been since the time the Metropolitan Jurisdiction was by St. David transferr'd to Menevia I grant that from the time of Dubricius the See was transferr'd first to Landaff and then to St. Davids but this latter Translation was not agreed to by all the British Bishops And it appears by the foregoing Discourse That the Bishops of Landaff did at that time when Oudocëus lived challenge the Metropolitical Power of Caerleon to themselves and therefore would not be consecrated by the Bishop of St. Davids And Caerleon having been the ancient Metropolitical See it was no absurdity at all to mention that in a Dispute which depended upon ancient Right For the Authority over the British Churches was not upon the account of St. Davids or Landaff but the Metropolitan Right which belonged to the See of Caerleon As if in the British times the Metropolitan See had been removed from London to Canterbury what incongruity had it been in a dispute of Superiority to have alledged that the British Churches of these parts were under the Jurisdiction of the Archbishop of London although at that time the See were removed to another place And if this be all to make it appear to be a Forgery as Mr. Cressy pretends for all that I can see it may be a very ancient and genuine MS. But Alford goes deeper for he disproves it because it contradicts the Sense of the British Churches before which professed subjection to the Roman See This is indeed to the purpose if it be well proved which in the last place comes to be considered 3. To this purpose he alledges 1. The Confirmation of St. David 's Synod by the Pope's Authority But from whence hath he this From no other Testimony than that of Giraldus Cambrensis cited by Bishop Vsher who in the same place confesses That there was no Monument of those Synods at all remaining nor of the Pope's Confirmation of them and the other MSS. and Legends of St. David's Life say not a Word of this How then came Giraldus to affirm it We are to remember that Giraldus had a Cause depending in the Court of Rome about the Bishoprick of St. David's and he knew well enough what Doctrine was pleasing there and therefore the Testimony of such a one having no concurrent Evidence to support it is of very little force in this matter 2. He mentions the Respect Kentigern shew'd to the Church of Rome going seven times thither and having at last his uncanonical Ordination purged or confirmed by the Pope as the Authour of his Legend relates But