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A84425
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An end to the controversie between the Church of England, and dissenters In which all their pleas for separation from the Church of England are proved to be insufficient, from the writings of the most eminent among the dissenters themselves. And their separation condemn'd by the reformed churches.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing E725B; ESTC R224499
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64,815
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158
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one Bishop in a City the two great Schisms of the Donatists in Africa and the Novatian at Rome might have been avoided but instead hereof see how St. Cyprian among others aggravates the Schism of Novatius for being chosen Bishop in the same City where Cornelius was chosen before For says he since there cannot be a second after the first whosoever is made Bishop where one is made already is not another Bishop but none at all Cypr. Epist 52. n. 4. And the same St. Cyprian in his Epistle 55. n. 6. 9. declares That to have only one Bishop in a City was the best means to prevent Schism See St. Cypr. de Vnitate Eccles n. 3 4. And St. Augustine in his Epistle 162. to the same purpose But now that 't is so plainly prov'd that there was never allow'd but one Bishop in a City in the Primitive Church they have no way to reconcile this to their Hypothesis but by endeavouring to prove that either the Cities were very small in those days or else the number of Christians in them were so few as that they might all conveniently meet in one Congregation And this they are not satisfied to do in the ordinary Cities which Mr. Clarkson in his Book of Primitive Episcopacy affirms were no larger than our ordinary Market-Towns in England But even in the very largest and most populous Cities they will not allow that there were more Christians than cou'd conveniently meet together in one Church to serve God as in Rome Alexandria Constantinople Carthage and the rest All which far exceeded any now in the World both for largeness and number of People This seems to be very strange Old Rome was at that time a City so large and populous that it excell'd London as it is at this day as far as London now does New Rome and had by Computation at that time above 1000000 Inhabitants as Dr. Maurice shows in his Defence of Diocesan Episcopacy p. 340. And seems indeed to be very probable if one considers those vast and mighty Pieces of Workmanship that appear to have been done there the Ruins of which are to be seen at this day as Dr. Burnet in his Travels tells us who gathers from thence That that City must have been vastly populous about that time And it was in Aurclius his days 50 Miles in Circumference Dr. M. p. 212. And yet will Mr. Clarkson allow no more Christians in this great City than cou'd meet in one Congregation So of Alexandria which was 1â— Miles in Circumference according to Pliny l. 5. 9. and the rest all greater far than London now is But to serve their turn they will reduce them all to the narrow limits of a single Congregation and by consequence give all the rest to the Devil by making them Unchristian Hereticks Schismaticks c. 'T is strange that Christianity shou'd make no better a Progress considering the largeness of the Cities and Multitude of People in them and considering the Care and Industry of the Apostles and Learned Fathers of those Ages and their extraordinary Gifts that in so large and populous a City as Rome Christianity shou'd gain no more Proselytes in 300 Years than cou'd meet all in one Church notwithstanding St. Paul himself had Preach'd there for many Years The very Quakers in London which is not comparable to Old Rome have made more Proselytes already than the Apostles in much longer time for were all the Quakers in London assembled in one Congregation I doubt that never a Church in the Kingdom wou'd be found large enough to contain them But besides if the number of Christians were so few as these Dissenters wou'd make them how was it possible for them to possess themselves of the whole Roman Empire in less than 300 Years They had no Interest at Court nor in the Army but were persecuted by the Emperors all that time unless in two Reigns so that there can be no other Human Cause assign'd for it but their great Numbers But farther 't is plain that there were some great Cities entirely Christian from the Apostles days as Cesaria and Lydda Acts 9. 35. and others So that in the first 300 Years whole Cities and Countries being become Christian as Eusebius affirms Praep. Evang. l. 1. p. 12 13. ' t was impossible for a single Congregation to contain a quarter of the Christians of a City much less of a whole Diocess For besides the large and populous City every Bishop had a Territory within his Diocess which extended it self for several Miles round the City For every City had a large Territory as it were a County round about it which was under the Jurisdiction of the Civil Magistrate who govern'd the City and as far as the Jurisdiction of the Magistrate reach'd in Civil Matters so far did the Jurisdiction of the Bishop reach in Ecclesiastical Matters See Can. Apostolic 34. by which a Bishop is forbid to do any thing without the consent of his Metropolitan or Archbishop but what relates to his own Diocess and the Territories under it And see Can. Antioch 9. 10. But that the Bishops Territories and Jurisdiction extended far beyond the Walls or Bounds of the City is most evident for Theodoret who was Bishop of Cyrus had a Diocess 40 Miles square and yet he reckon'd his Episcopacy of Divine Institution See his Epist 42. And he had within his Diocess 800 Parish Churches as appears by his Epist 113. to Leo. This is an Instance so clear against our Dissenters that Mr. Baxter and Mr. Clarkson and the rest have no way to Answer it but first that it came from the Vatican Library which Objection is fully removed by Dr. Stillingfleet in his Mischief of Separation p. 256. and by Dr. Maur. Def. of Dioc. Episc p. 396. and this Epist of Theod. prov'd to be his own by comparing it with his other Writings and also by the clear Testimony of Liberatus who infallibly knew Theodoret's Stile and Writings Neither does it follow that because it came from the Vatican Library therefore it must not be Authentick But when People are Drowning rather than sink they will catch hold of a Bull-rush The other Exception they take to this Testimony of Theodoret is That he was not Bishop of a single Diocess but of a Province and that Theodoret was an Archbishop but that Cyprus of which he was then Bishop was no Metropolis at that time nor Theodoret Primate of a Province but under a Metropolitan appears by his 16 Ep. and by his 81 82 34 94 and 161. Alexander was then his Metropolitan But Theodoret was not the only Bishop that had such a large Diocess for St. Chrysostom had one full as large and which contained as many Parishes he was Bishop of Constantinople and all the Territories thereto belonging and did not think it in his Conscience too large for if he did so good a Man as he would either have divided or quitted it And Athanasius was Bishop
of Alexandria and the Territories belong to it for he says Ap. p. 781 802. Maoretis is a Region belonging to Alexandria and all the Churches there are immediately subject to the Bishop of Alexandria But because Dr. Owen Mr. Baxter Mr. Cotton and the rest have made choice of the Church of Carthage in Africk in St. Cyprian's time to make their appeals to Dr. Stillingfleet to avoid all Cavils as he tells us has chosen that very Church to be decided by as to the Episcopal Government now in dispute between us And therefore first he proves that there were a great number of Presbyters belonging to the Church of Carthage at that time and therefore not likely to be one single Congregation And this he proves out of St. Cyprian's own Epistles in his Banishment Particularly in his 5th Book Ep. 28. he complains that a great number of his Clergy were absent and the few that remain'd were hardly sufficient for their Work And that these Presbyters and the whole Church were under the particular care and government of St. Cyprian as their Bishop appears by his own words Lib. 3. Ep. 10 and 12. to the People of Carthage he complains to them of his Presbyters that they did not reserve to their Bishop that honour due to his place for that they received Penitents to Communion without Imposition of Hands by the Bishop c. And in his Epist 28. he threatens to Excommunicate those Presbyters that should do so for the future And all the other Bishops gave their approbation to St. Cyprian for so doing And the same St. Cyprian in his 3 Book Ep. 65. tells them that a Bishop in the Church is in the place of Christ and that Disobedience to him is the occasion of Schisms and Disorders See more fully concerning this matter in Dr. Stillingfleet's Mischiefs of Separation p. 228 229. c. And now since Dr. Owen Mr. Baxter and the rest have agreed to appeal to the Church of Carthage we must suppose they allow no Deviations in that Church from the Primitive Institution and what that was then any one may judge And St. Augustine was another Bishop in the African Church he was Bishop of Hippo Regia the Diocess of which extended at least Forty Miles as appears by St. Augustine's own Epist 262. 'T is true the African Church came most near the Congregational way of any other the Diocess being smaller by reason of the many Sectaries there the Donatists and many others And that is the Reason Mr. Baxter and the rest express so great an Esteem for it But that their Bishopricks were much too large to serve either the Presbyterians or Independents turn and that they never allowed more than one Bishop in the largest Cities sufficiently appears by what has been said And in the African Code there is a Canon that says expresly no Bishop shall leave his Cathedral Church and go to any other Church in his Diocess to reside there See Codex Eccl. Africae c. 71. Which shows that the Bishops Territories and Jurisdiction extended into distant Places from the City as well in the African Churches as in others I shall only add to this that Calvin look'd upon it as a Thing out of dispute among Learned Men that a Church did not only take in the Christians of a City in the Primitive Times but of the adjacent Country also See Calv. Instit l. 4. c. 4. n. 2. But though there were never more than one Bishop in a City in the Primitive Church * v. Conc. Eph. Part 2. Act. 1. yet some Bishops have had Two or more Cities in their Diocess Timothy was Bishop of Farmissus and Eudocias Athanasius was Bishop of Diveltus and Sozopolis And there have been some Bishopricks that have had no City at all in them but only Villages for there were some Countries that had no Cities in them so have we at this Day Bishops in Ireland and Wales that have no Cities in their Diocess But it cannot be prov'd that the Jurisdiction of the Bishop and the extent of his Diocess was confin'd to any single Village So far from that that by the Canon of Sardica VI. all the Bishops Assembled at Sardica agree That it shall by no means be lawful to Ordain any Bishops in Villages or small Cities that the Dignity of a Bishop may not be contemptible from the meanness of the Place But says Mr. Clarkson and the rest The Apostles Ordain'd Elders in every Church and then Mr. Clarkson names the places to wit Antioch Iconium Lystra and other Villages and these Elders or Presbyters they will have Bishops But first I say That during the Apostle's days the names Bishop and Presbyter were commonly used the one for the other but not after as shall be show'd hereafter and therefore these Elders or Presbyters here spoken of may be as well taken for ordinary Presbyters or Priests as for Bishops But allowing these Presbyters were Bishops what advantage will it be to them for first it does not appear that the Apostles confin'd their Authority to those places but the contrary is evident and unless they can prove this it will not serve their turn But Secondly these Cities over which the Apostles appointed Elders were large Cities at that time by much too great to come together in one Congregation Iconium was then a Metropolitan and had many other Cities under it And the rest were all large Cities But before I conclude this point I must make one Observation and that is That Mr. Clarkson to prove that a Bishop of a City had no more but one Congregation undertakes to shew how small some Cities were but 't is remarkable he quotes for his Authority some Author who speaks of them long before there were any Bishops and because they might have been small places then will needs have them to be so in the days of the Apostles which is very ridiculous for under the Roman Emperours both the Roman and the Grecian Cities were at their height and did very much surpass both for their magnificence and number of people any that have been before or since nor is this to be wonder'd at since our Cities do now stand upon much narrower Foundations as to their constitution our Cities have seldom any Liberties half a mile beyond their Walls and are generally but an Assembly of Trades-men whereas the Roman Cities had each a Territory as it were a County belonging to it which was under the jurisdiction of the City Magistrate and the Citizens were the Lords of the adjacent Country I have now shew'd that the Government of the Church by Diocesan Bishops is agreeable to the practice of the best and purest Ages of the Church and to the Judgment of the wisest and holiest Fathers of it And that their Power and Jurisdiction was as absolute and extended as far or farther than any Bishops this day in England I shall shew hereafter that Episcopal Government as now settled in England has