Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	call_v	people_n	town_n	4,591	4	6.6033	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96402	Historical reflections on the Bishop of Rome: chiefly discovering those events of humane affaires which most advanced the papal usurpation. By John Wagstaff, M.A. O.C.	Wagstaffe, John, 1633-1677.	1660 (1660)	Wing W196; Thomason E1035_9	19,265	43

which ought to be between believers especially those of the same calling But alas had the world been perswaded in the primitive times that the letters of the Roman Bishop were not onely charitative advisoes but dictatorian mandates necessary to be obeyed As proceeding forsooth from one whom Christ had appointed head of his Church and an oracle whence nothing but veritable answers should be heard I say had such a perswasion possessed the minds of men They would have made it the common subject of their praises and thanksgiving Without question many Panegyricall orations and many homilies would have been made upon no other theme or text than the praises of the Roman See and thanks unto God for bestowing on the Christians a visible unerring decider of controversie Whereas on the contrary if we peruse the ancient Writers we shall plainly perceive how little the noise was which the Roman Bishops did make in their daies So little that I much wonder they were no more talkt of considering as I said before their residence in the Metropol●● 〈…〉 and their virtues eminent in the first Bishops 〈…〉 not the Fathers been very malignant in this case if the papal pretenses were true not to leave it set down expresly in any of their writings That Christ made Peter the head of his Church and gave unto him an infallible spirit As also that Peter being Bishop of Rome The following Bishops in that City succeeded him not only in his Bishoprick but likewise in his great priviledges of headship and infallibility Moreover did not the Fathers trouble themselves to no purpose in toyling to make laborious confutations of hereticks if they might have had present recourse to a visible unerring authority in decision of controversies So that suppose the Hereticks had refused to submit unto this authority The maine worke should have been not to confute their opinions but to convince them of the duty of their obedience to the supreme judg For my own part I verily believe that if the Bishops of Rome had been acknowledged in the primitive times to be what he pretends to in these daies The eyes of all nations would have been upon that see to revere it to honour it to bow down before it in the submission of their understandings Nay further I am really perswaded Had Christ intended such a supreme power in his Church Seeing it doth so highly import the Church's welfare to be generally known We should have had it set down in Scripture with as expresse termes as we find Justification by faith or the resurrection of the dead But now on the contrary what is there left by 〈…〉 Penmen which may be said to patronize the 〈…〉 and infallibility of Peter and the Roman Bishops● As for Peter how easy were it for me to evacuate those trivial arguments which are drawn from Scripture concerning him which I forbeare to doe because it is not my intent to insist upon Logical arguments either pro or con but only to reflect on Historical passages Wherefore I cannot chuse but take notice that when Peter came to Antioch he walked not according to the truth but was guilty of a great scandall and thereupon withstood to the face by Paul Who makes it his businesse in the two first Chapters to the Galatians to prove himselfe equall with the rest of the Apostles Nay when Peter to speak according to their own phrase was in Cathedra in the midst of a Councel of Apostles and other brethren The definitive sentence to which all did assent proceeded from the mouth of James As for the Roman Bishop you must not look to have any hint of him in Scripture Peter never being taken notice of under such a capacity Nay Paul in those several Epistles which he wrote either to or from Rome doth not so much as mention Peter Which is somewhat strange if Peter did dwell in that City For Paul is solicitous in mentioning severall others farre lesse considerable whom he doth either salute or send salutations from to others But what if it should be granted that Peter was at Rome I am confident it would trouble the whole Papacy to prove that ever he was Bishop of that City Paul it 's certain was there and those who contend that Peter was too doe generally hold they were both martired at the same time the one by the Sword the other by the Crosse Why then was Peter Bishop and not Paul I 'me sure the Scripture saith that Paul was entrusted with the Gospel of the Uncircumcision as Peter with that of the Circumcision Nay James and Peter and John did solemnly give the right hands of fellowship unto Barnabas and Paul That they should goe to the Gentiles and themselves unto those of the Circumcision CHAP. II. How or by what causes the Pope was advanced to a supremacy in the Church BUt I shall not trouble my selfe any longer to make it appeare that neither Peter nor the primitive Bishops of Rome had that power which the later Bishops pretend to derive from them There being few in our Nation that will gainsay the truth of what I have said Wherefore having allready made such briefe remarques as plainly evince the Pope to be an usurper I am now come to what I did chiefely intend namely to lay down the several steps or degrees by which he was advanc'd in his usurpations This I shall doe by reflecting on the events of humane affairs and giving an account in order of the several causes which did cooperate towards the bringing of the intolerable Roman yoake on the necks of our Forefathers The first Cause therefore was The removing of the Empertal seat by Constantine For though a good while after him there were Westerne as well as Eastern Emperours yet after the 〈◊〉 on Italy by the Heruls first and then the Goths The Emperial Majesty did entirely reside at Constantinople Now this City by Constantines means was grown so magnificent and august that it was dearer to the Emperours than Rome in selfe Insomuch that when Bellisarius and Narses had recovered Italy from the Goths The Emperours never affected to goe and reside at old Rome by which means the Bishop thereof gained the more elbow rome to play REX Secondly The residing of the Italian exarchs at Ravenna Justine the second was Authour of the Exarchy to which kind of government the Italian writers impute most of the calamities afterwards befalling Italy But indeed it was the occasion of an other guise calamity than they were aware of For now neither the Emperour himselfe nor so much as his Exarch resided at Rome only a petty companion who was sent by the Exarchs to praeside over the City and was called Duke in the same manner as the governour of Narni Spoleto and other townes of Italy Hence it came to passe that the splendour of Emperiall Majesty being far removed from the eyes of the Roman people Their Bishops shone so much the brighter and gaind a proportionable

Historical Reflections ON THE BISHOP OF ROME CHIEFLY DISCOVERING Those Events of Humane Affaires which most advanced THE PAPAL VSVRPATION By JOHN WAGSTAFF M. A. O. C. OXFORD Printed by Hen Hall for Ric. Davis and are to be Sold by S. Thompson at the Bishops Head in St Pauls Church-yard 1660. The PRAEFACE THese Reflections having laine by me long enough to coole the heat of my invention upon a late review of them I was emboldn●d to this Publication And here I dare promise the Reader that he shall not meet with Crambe bis cocta or a meer garbling of other mens labours For amongst all the various Tracts written against the Pope there never came any into my hands of the same kind Now if the novelty hereof shall invite any one to a perusal perhaps he will not altogether repent his pains especially if he intend for Historical Knowledg In regard that this Treatise may serve as a Praemonstratour or Pointer out of the most remarkable revolutions in Ecclesiastique affairs and the most notable junctures of time The thing which I chiefly aime at in the ensuing discourse is to make it appeare That the Hierarchical Policy of the Roman Church was not extant in the Learned times when the old Roman Empire flourisht But was contrived in the daies of ignorance between the Bishops of Rome and the Leaders or Princes of the Barbarians Nor would the truth of this assertion be in the least manner doubted were we not almost benighted with darke ignorance in reference to preceeding ages For as on the one hand an infinite number of Books have been partly abolished partly counterfeited and Partly adulterated or corrupted So on the other hand Those Books which remaine entire are for the most part written either by unskilful or partial pens However from the very present records an unpraejudic●d man though of ordinary parts may gather That the modern Policy which fashions a great part of the world as well in Church as State did take it's beginning since the inundations of the Northerne People July the 20. 1660. POSTCRIPT I have not quoted any Authours for these Passages which are reflected on in the following Treatise When I read the Historians whence the foundation of my discourse is gathered it was not in my thoughts to make use of them this way Afterwards reflecting on the series of affairs in Christendome and framing several meditations thereupon Though I very well remembred the Historians yet I had forgot the names of many Historians whence I gathered it Neverthelesse I can assure the Reader that I have hardly mention'd any Historical passage which is not very obvious in one of these three Authours Blondus Baronius and Platina CHAP. I. That the Roman Bishops had no supremacy over the Primitive Christians I Have often delighted to trace out in my mind the footsteps of the papal usurpations And perhaps it will please the Reader to give him in one view the several steps or degrees by which the Roman Bishop rose unto such a heigth as to trample upon the necks not only of his fellow Bishops but also of Kings and Emperours themselves For that the Pope did not from the beginning enjoy his present great and Lordly power but arrived unto it by several gradations in a long processe of time none but those who are either wholy ignorant of History or else swayed with invincible prejudice can offer to deny It being manifest on all hands that in the Primitive times the Roman Bishops were not taken notice of as superiours to all others much lesse as sole Vicars under Christ and infallible dictatours of Divine truth Indeed you may meet in the ancient Authours with commendations given unto the faith professed by the Bishops of Rome Which is no wonder to him that considers how pious at first they were in their lives how glorious in their deaths bearing witnesse to the Truth under Persecution Besides when the whole Christian world was under one Empire and Rome the Metropolis or Emperial City It was but rational that the new and rising sect of the Christians should bestow the notabl'st men of their party in that place Hence it came to passe that the Fathers dwelling in the Provinces when they contested with Hereticks did often commend the Roman Faith as it were upbraiding their Antagonists with a departure from those who resided in the Metropolis of the Empire where usually Learning and Religion doe most flourish And to speak the truth That advantage which the Roman Bishops had by dwelling in the Emperial City was the chiefe temptation at first inducing them to affect a supremacy For that the dignity and grandeur of a City or place of residence was wont to put spirits into the Bishops residing therein Rome is not the onely example So did Alexandria puffe up her Bishops So did Jerusalem Hers. So especially did Constantinople make John the Constantinopolitan swell with ambition and pride affecting the title of Oecumenical Bishop Nay which you 'l more wonder at even so did Ravenna when proud with Exarchs animate her Bishop also in contending with the Roman for superiority Which contention went so far that the Church of Ravenna by reason of her separation from Rome was commonly called Allocephalis Now by how much the renowned and ancient Rome was more venerable in the eyes of men than other Cities by so much had the Roman Bishops a fairer opportunity than others to put themselves forward and usurp an unlawfull power Nor needed they to be minded of this advantage such of them as were of haughty spirits beginning betimes to make use of it amongst whom I may justly reckon Leo surnamed the Great For he and severall others did take all occasions to send pragmaticall letters up and down the world about every important businesse which happened in Christendome Neverthelesse let no one be afraid of the Roman Bishops and be ready to ascribe unto them an universall Diocesse when he finds them frequently sending stately letters to the Bishops throughout the Christian world Many of those letters recorded in the book entitled Epistolae decretales summorum Pontificum are false and counterfeit many adulterated or corrupted and many if true are so haughtily written as to argue the Authours pride but not his power For in the pimitive times the Christian Bishops did generally and not only the Roman write often to their fellow Bishops in whatsoever place they resided And this they did whether they had any power one over the other or no meerly from a Principle of love or Christian charity Which familiar epistolary entercourse with one another was in those daies laudable and allmost necessary In regard the whole Christian world was at that time under one Empire Consequently they were obliged to exhort and admonish one another upon a twofold respect Partly grounded on that interest which members of the same Commonwealth especially those of the same rank have with one another And partly grounded on that spiritual communion