blotted out for my sake The selfe same sentence Marke expressed albeit it wer in other wordes when he sheweth how Christe after his resurrecâ—ion from death saied to his Apostles going through out the vniuersall worlde preache the gospell to all creatures And Mathewe Goe forthe teache al people Lucke wryteth that Christe sayed it is written and therfore it must bee that Christe shall suffer and rise agayne from deathe the thyrde daye in whose name repentaunce and remission of synnes must bee preached to al people beginning at HierusaleÌ„ It is plain that the Euangelistes agre hetherto Iohn furthermore doeth adde that Christe sayed vnto them take ye the holy goste Which thing Luke declareth after another sorte saying that Christ opened theyr myndes that they might vnderstaÌ„d the scriptures which is the very trewe office of the holy goste wherefore he gaue them the holy gost brething vpon them that is as Luke doeth declare he opened theyr myndes and knowledge that they might vnderstande the holy scriptures and that was so done that they myght knowe and perceaue that the Gospell whiche they shoulde preache was no vayne or newe thynge but trewe and of antiquitie spoken of before by the vnfayned sayinges of the prophetes Which thing they beleuinge vndoutedly throughe an earnest styrringe and motion of the holy gost shoulde preache the gospell throughe out the whole world Now afterward when he gaue them the keyes Iohn writeth that he sayed whose synnes so euer ye forgeue they bee forgeuen them and whose sinnes so euer ye retaine they be retayned That is to say I deliuer you the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and giue you authoritye and power to open and shit thesame by the kingdom of heauen he vnderstandeth the kyngdome of grace and the kyngdome of glorye The synnefull manne was driuen out of the kingdome of the heauenly fauour neither can he fynde any meanes or wayes to entre into thesame agayne but by faithe Accordinge to the doctrine of paule He can not beleue of the common sorte onles he heare the worde of the gospell whiche can not be without preaching So that there was authoritie geuen vnto thapostles and keyes deliuered vnto theÌ„ that they should open the kingdome of heauen to the wicked when Christ gaue them authoritie to preache the gospeâ—l that is to saie to teach that men be saued by Christ. Because that when thei were sinners and without the kingdome of the grace of Christe neyther had any waye opened whereby they might entre thapostles in preachinge the gospell opened the gate of the fauour and grace of god vnto them which guided them in y e ready and plaine waye wherby they might obteyne to them selues the fauor of god by beleuing that Christ died for them by whose mean and helpe they are saued thapostles did moue and styre men to giue credit to this truthe And suche of them as beleued entred in the kyngdome of Chryste by fayth and the Apostles opened the gate vnto theÌ„ by preaching the word of the gospel did set open the waye for their entrye But if y e hearers of this preachiÌ„g beleued not thapostles dyd shut the gate of gods fauor wheÌ„ they taught in their preachinge that onles they beleued the gospell there was no hope of saluacion neither any other way or meanes wherby they mought entre the kingdome of the fauor of god Not withstandinge they had done as many good workes as bee in the whole worlde And so is this opening and shutting as a man may call it a lousing and a bindinge as Christe declared when he saied to Peter to the wil I giue the keies of the kingdome of heuen What soeuer thou shalt bind in earth shal be bound in heauen and whatsoeur thou lousest iÌ„ earth it shal be also â—oused iÌ„ heaueÌ„ Now these keies and power to open and shut to looâ—e and bynd were geueÌ„ to the Apostles wheÌ„ Christ said vnto theÌ„ whose synnes ye forgeue they shall bee forgeuen and whose synnes ye retayne they shall bee retayned Not that the Apostles themselues should haue power and authoritie to pardon and forgeue sinne for that belongeth to God alone And that shoulde be a wonderful ydolatry and blasphemy to attribute and assigne that thynge to man whiche belongeth to god onely Who is onelye he that forgyueth sinnes for Christes sake euen as it is onely he whiche powreth fayth into vs and men be hys seruantes and ministers in that they preache the gospell and moue men to beleue But the beleuinge it selfe and the faythe it selfe and the remission of synne whiche is by it procured is the gift of God Then the Apostles had no power to remitte and reâ—ayne synnes at their owne wyll and pleasure Neither to loose and bynde neyther yet to brynge manne in or out of the kyngdome of God when they lusted so to doe but they had power to preache the gospell and to shewe that thys preachynge must be beleued and that thys gospell must be embraced with a sound faythe yf they intend to haue forgyuenes of sinnes at goddes handes and so to be loosed to enter into the kingdom of grace For they onely haue their sinnes forgyuen theÌ„ which beleue the gospell they onely be loosed and enter into the kyngdome of god They had also authoritie to declare that their sinnes were retayned whiche beleued not the gospell and that they onelye bee bounde and shut out of the kyngdome of God Yt is euident and playne by Saynct Luke that thys is the wil and mynde of Christe who declarethe the selfesame sentence with more playne wordes saying Christ sayed to his Apostles y t Christ must dey as it was writteÌ„ ryse agayne the thirde daye from death and that repentaunce and remission of sinne must be preached to all nacions in hys name So that by thys it is easie to be perceyued that Christe gaue hys Apostles keyes and power not properly to forgyue synne but to preache remission of synnes to all them that beleue throughe Christ. The selfe same thyng maye also be confirmed by the authoritie of Saynct Marke who expondyng thesame sentence although it be in other wordes sayeth that Christe sayed to his Apostles Goe through out the whole worlde and preache the gospell to all creatures who so beleueth and is baptised shal be saued and he that beleueth not shall be dampned Whereby it maye be well perceyued that the authoritie power which Christ gaue vnto hys Apostles was nor to saue and condempne but onely to preache the gospell and to shewe the waye of saluacion in that they moued meÌ„ to enter into that way and they declared hym to be within the compasse of condempnacion which gaue no credit to the gospell and went about to disuade men from thys vnbelefe These be the keyes thys is the power whiche Christ gaue to hys Apostles and not onely to his Apostles but also vnto all their successors Which thyng doeth
chiefe byshoppes of all other and therfore coulde they not lye when they so sayed Wherefore we be sure and certayne of our popeshippe Then the imbassador sayed Ye take for a grounde that thyng whiche ye had most nede to proue That is that your Bishoppes were chiefe Byshoppes and then agayne that they coulde not erre bothe the whiche poyntes I vtterlye denye Yf ye would say some sainctes affirme Peter some tyme to haue bene at Rome I woulde streight make answere that I knewe not whether they were Saynctes or not for that there is no worde thereof in scripture But ye wyll peraduenture saye they were canonized of oure chiefe Byshoppes whiche coulde not erre to that wyll I aunswere as before that ye take that thynge for your profe whiche remayneth first to to be proued Yea and more ouer wyll I saye be it that â—e were assured that they were Saynctes yet must it be graunted that Saynctes haue sometyme erred And so it maye be that they erred euen the very same time wheÌ„ they sayd Peter was once at Rome Namely the thyng being spoken of them not to that ende that it shoulde be receyued for an article of oure fayth necessary for saluacion as your mynde is thus by all meanes be you in an error But let vs graunte that there hath bene some reuelacion touchyng thys poynt surely I must nedes thynke that it was an elusion of the deuill Yea be it that it were God hym selfe which had reueled thesame thyng vnto you that it were trueth in dede y t it was a reuelacion frome god yet because there is no worde in all scripture of the thinge neyther haue other menne this reuelacion of yours ye shoulde in no wise force menne to beleue this your popeshippe as an article of theyr faythe And furthermore I will proue by strong reasons that these historiogrephers of yours these byshopes and sayntces whiche wrote that Peter was the chiefe byshoppe at Rome and was put to deathe in y e same citie lyed vnreasonably And fyrst of all tell me in good faythe What tyme say they that Peter was at Rome and howe long dwelt he there Therunto auÌ„swered Pseudologus That he came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius themperoure and was made byshoppe there and dwelt there .xxv. yeres by whose preachinge Rome was brought to the faythe of Christe as both Eusebius and. S. Hierome hath wrytten Then aunswered thimbassadour Thys is once playne quod he y t Christe suffered vpoÌ„ y e crosse xviii yere of Tiberius themperour who reigned xxiii yeres After hym succeded Caius and reygned iiii yere Then folowed afterwarde Claudius Nowe then yf Peter came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius ye muste nedes graunt that Peter came to Rome within xi yeres after Christes deathe Agayne on the other side it is playne by the wordes of holye scripture that Paule was not onely not conuerted to the faythe when Christe suffered vpon the crosse but it appereth also that he was not conuerted when stephane was stoned Because the scripture is playne that he kepte theyr garmentes whiche stoned StephaÌ„ to death This being so Paule himselfe writeth to the Galathians y t he came to HierusaleÌ„ .xvii. yeres after he was conuerted and that then he founde Peter there Thys was at the leste the .xviii. yere after the deathe of Christe Then if Peter were yet at Hierusalem .xviii. yeres after the deathe of Christe how can it bee that he came to Rome the seconde yere of Claudius as you saye whiche was theleuenthe yere after Christes deathe You youre selues maye easely perceaue when ye saye so that ye speake directlye agaynste the manyfeste wordes of the scripture Furthermore Peter was at Hierusalem not onely eightene yeres after the deathe of Christe but thesame tyme also was he sent to preache the gospell not to the Romans but to the Iewes And it is to bee beleued that he preached y e gospell amongest the Iewes And Paule also in thesame epistle which he wrote to the Romans because he saluteth a great many there by name trewly he woulde haue saluted Peter also if he had then bene the chiefe byshoppe there as you contende Wherefore it is easy to be proued that it is a very false lye that youre Historiographers doe wryte But to say the truethe they that be named to wryte thys gear be not the authors thereof but they bee youre lyes whiche you haue annexed maliciously to theyr bokes directly repugninge to the manifeste authoritie of the holy scripture Then master Pseudologus brought forthe a very olde booke that laye by hym so olde that it was eaten with mothes and wormes wherein there were certayne Epistles I canne not tell what wryten by Clement as he sayed whome he iudged the fyrste byshoppe of Rome after Peter In these letters wrytten by thesame Clement to Iames byshoppe of Hierusalem this thinge was conteyned howe Peter beinge at Rome and perceauynge death drawe nere in the presence of a number of Christian menne toke Clement by the hand and in the hearing of them all saied Bretheren my death is now at hande as Christe hathe reueled vnto me Wherefore I ordeyne thys Clement youre byshop vnto whome onely I deliuer my seate and the preachinge of my doctrine into whome onely I translate the same power of loosinge and byndinge whiche I receaued of Christe Then sayed Pseudologus Loe here maye you see howe that Peter was at Rome and ordeyned Clement byshoppe after hym and set him in hys seate grauntinge him hys full authoritie Then thimbassadour would see and reade those epistles when he had red and weied them he sayd master myne Pseudologus Ye can not cloke youre lyes so craftely but they will apâ—are as they bee that is to say lyes euen at the fyrste sight For these epistles of youres bee nothinge els but fayninges of youre owne without authoritye full of vanyties and lyes And that it is trew I say hereby it maye appere that euen by youre owne Historyographers Linus folowed Peter and not Clemente And after Linus folowed Anacletus afterwarde Clement Who is numbred to bee the fourthe after Peter and yet would you falsely place hym to be the secounde And more ouer by youre owne historiographers yf ye wyll account the course of the times as ye shoulde ye shall finde that Iames was dead seuen yeares before your Clement was Byshoppe wherefore I can not saye by what reason he coulde writ to Iames beinge dead And agayne euen in the first beginning of the salutacion he calleth hym Byshoppe of byshoppes who should gouerne not onelye the churche of the Iewes at Hierusalem but also all other churches And yf Iames were then Pope trewely then was not Peter Pope and therefore could he not make Clement Pope after hym neither by Clemente his successours And more ouer euen by the same very wordes that ye alledge that Peter shoulde saye to Clement before hys death it can not be proued that
longer And beinge indewed with a wonderful power stoutnes violence and fury thus he sayed What nede we haue so many wordes for the defence of oure Popeshypppe seynge there hath bene brought stroÌ„g reasons enoughe to ouercome the grossest witte in the worlde in so muche that a blynde man maye see the truethe of them Wherfore bycause these our reasons our pleasures our gentylnes and fayre promises can not content them our moste holye father must vse hys large and endeles authoritie And then turnyng hymselfe and speakyng to the Pope he sayed You moste holy father bee the supreme head of the churche of Christe therefore be you aboue all other parsons men Angels reasons holy scriptures authorities yea and aboue the whole world There is no man may iudge you or elles coÌ„maâ—nde you for so it is come to passe Nowe ye be Pope and being Pope ye can not erre Therfore onely saye thus We be Pope and we wyll be Pope and it is ynoughe Your power and authoritie is so greate that if ye wer not pope if yet ye once prononced these wordes we wil be ye should be out of hande Then loking vpon the imbassadors with a fearce countenance he sayed Yf ye wil be rebelles to hys holines ye shall feele the lighteninges and thunderboltes of his excoÌ„munications and cursinges flye in the ayer euen to the furthest countrye in the Easte and then shall ye knowe whether he bee pope or not Moreouer we shal haue Cesars helpe and fauor ioyned to our strengthes so that all we coupled in one will defende the popes authoritie with our sworde Then all the imbassadours arose at once to aunswer this sayinge with one accorde but there was a signe made to the popes chaplayne that he shoulde doe as he was bidden and straighte waye he beganne with a loud voyce the himne Te Deum laudamus The noyse whereof fylled the ayer vp to the sterres and all the reste folowed them crying whow victoria victoria victoria And euen at the very same instante range all the belles in Rome The pope himsefe was by and by caught with mennes handes and borne vpon theyr shoulders and so they caried home the moste holy father to hys place with a great pompe and triumphe Nowe must ye not meruaylle though ye sawe me as ye sayed in the begynninge iocunde and merye Mas. Alas what became of the poore imbassadors Lepi They were all stryken in a dumpe by and by and departed to theyr innes sad heuy taking thys great rebuke so well as it might be Mas. Yf I had bene in theyr coâ—es I woulde not haue thought that it had bene good taryinge for me then in Rome Lepi. I thinke no manne woulde vse any violence agaynste them Mas. Well I am suer the pope would no more send them wine of Grecia and Corsica Lepi. Or if he sent any it shoulde peraduenture bee myngeled But nowe canne I tary no longer with you for now I see the nyght drauethe on and I haue an excedinge deale of busines to doe Thinke ye not where this disputacion was euen where there was none els by sauing the popes moste faythefull frendes who woulde say nothinge but that should make for the pope Mas. Yf it be as you say either wil they hold theyr peace or elles they haue very litle to saye to theyr commendacion Lepidus Ye bee in a manifest errour For there was neuer so greate a lye but it may be so craftely coloured and painted that the blynd common people may thinke it very trewe I haue nowe tolde you all the whole matter desieringe you to kepe it secret as ye promessed me at the beginninge Mas. I will doe the beste I can but me thinketh it will be very hard for me so to doe I thanke you hartelye for your paynes for shewinge this prety storye so fully and so diligentlye Lucifer Beelzebub I Haue thought good to call you agayne to gether here in thys place that I might reioyce with you for the byrthe of Antichrist so happy so vnloked for euen as the angelles reioysed in Christes natiuitie But nowe must we laye our heades to gether and take counsell by what meanes and deuise wee maye establishe thys our kyngdom and increase it bring it to the highest degre of all wickednes and mischiefe Me thynketh it were best first to goe about so to sette forth and amplifie hys honor that menne by litle and lytle maye take thys Antichriste for a certayne God in earthe and honor and magnifie hym euen as their god That we maye vse the highe authoritie whiche he hath for a handsome and strong instrument to the committinge of all kyndes of deceyptes mischefes and wickednes We wyll prynâ—e in mennes heartes as muche as in vs lyeth that Christe gaue the keyes of the kingdom of heaueÌ„ to Peter and his successors and also ful power and iurisdiction not onely of the empire of thys worlde but also of the heauenly kingdome Beelze Truely thys thynge pleaseth vs very well so that he haue none authoritie in hell ouer vs for we be surely persuaded that he will come to so highe a degre in abhominacion and wickednes that yf he shoulde haue the rule ouer vs but one day he would bryng vs into a greate deale worse case then we be Luci. Yt is euen as thou sayest But we wyll foresee to y t ieoperdy wisely ynough for my trust is to bring him to such a wickednes that he shal aduenture with hys theuish fingers to corrupt the holy scriptures shal violently mischeuously wryth them to the establishinge increasing and excercisyng of his intollerable tiranny I knowe well they will not be ashamed to saye when Christe sayed to Peter thou shalt be called Cephas that he mente thou shalt bee called head and so was Peter made head of all thapostles who willinglye obeyed that primacie And also that Peter afterwarde left thys chiefe high authoritie to the Byshoppes of Rome by succession Beelze Yf the matter woulde come thus to passe in case Peter shoulde be raysed agayne from deathe he shoulde no more be Pope no he shoulde haue no maner of authoritte Luci. In dede he shoulde haue no more then shoulde please our Byshoppe of Rome to graunte hym of hys bountifull liberalitie And thys thynge is very notable we will cause all their lyes to be written in their canons and so will we blinde the eyes of the vnlearned that they shall take the same canons for thynges moste holye And also we shall all cause the churche of Rome notwihstandynge it is most wicked and hereticall that it shall not onely be accounted for the churche of Christ but also it shall be takeÌ„ for the head and mother of all other churches Beelze Surely the churches of Christ wyll neuer so take it thoughe oure churches so doe Luci. Yes menne shall haue thys opinion of the churche of Rome chiefelye and so of all other churches that shal hang vpoÌ„ her y t
al the rest of thapostles and namely to Paule who wryteth in special wordes that he labored more then all the rest did in the ministery of preaching Yea and Christe himselfe before he spake these wordes to Peter commaunded the selfe same thynge to all the Apostles sayinge goe ye throughe out the vniuersall worlde and preache the Gospell to all creatures So that it can not be sayed that the office of preachynge was gyuen by Christe onely to Peter and to the Byshoppes of Rome in ordinary succession after him by whose appoyntment it shoulde also descend to other For then must it be graunted that there hath bene very fewe lawefull and trewe Byshoppes whiche had lawefull authoritie to preache and so fewe that Peter onely maye bee accountyd the trewe Byshoppe whiche preached lawefully and a fewe besides who were by him appoynted in such countryes where as he preached By thys meanes Paule and the elleuen Apostles and suche as were by them conuerted to the faythe neither were truely bishoppes neither yet preached lawefullye because they neither had their Bishoprike neither authoritie to preache of Peter And more ouer none after the death of Peter should haue bene made Bishop neither haue licence to preache besydes the Byshoppe of Rome And truely the Byshoppes of Rome haue committed a greuouse offence in that they haue hyd this large and greate authorytye of theyrs that they had so necessarye in the churche of God Then replied master Falsidicus euen as Peter quod he loued Christ more earnestly then the rest of the Apostles as it is plaine by the wordes of his aunswere when Christe demaunded him whether he loued hym more feruentlye then the rest dyd so had he more authoritie gyuen vnto hym ouer the shepe of Christ then the rest of the Apostles To this answered thimbassador of CoÌ„staÌ„tinoble And where I praye you haue you founde that Peters aunswere was to Christ that he was more earnestly beloued of him then of the rest of y e Apostles Not withstandyng that he was so demaunded yet hys aunswere was onely in thys wyse Thou knowest O lorde that thou art belouyd of me He sayed not Thou knowest O Lorde that thou arâ—e more feruentlye belouyd of me then of the rest For so coulde he neuer haue sayed without greate suspicion of arrogancie because it was vnknoweÌ„ to hym how much y e rest loued Christ. But let it be graunted that Christ was more earnestly beloued of Peter then of the rest doeth it therefore folowe that Christ gaue him more power Or in case he gaue hym more was it therfore most of all For it is not all one thing to saye fede my shepe and to saye be thou head of my churche or elles Take thou more authoritie then the other Apostles And as for that Christe demaundyd of him thryse whether he loued hym or not it was done for thys ende and purpose that hys loue beinge declared by thryse confessynge myght counteruayle and somewhat make amendes for his fault WheÌ„ he thrise denied him he minded to haue Peters loue sealed as it were warranted before he would commit vnto him the cure of soules that all menne myghte knowe no man can bee a good shephard onles he loue Christ earnestly Furthermore yf your reason were a good reason it shoulde rather folowe therof that Christe declared Ihon the chiefe Byshop then Peter For it is written of Iohn this is the disciple whom Christ loued Wherfore if he were beloued of Chrisâ— aboue other he gaue vnto him more worthye gyftes replenished him more abouÌ„dantlye with grace and therfore placed hym aboue the other and namelye for that he was more mete for the purpose by the reason of the excellent giftes whiche he receiued at Goddes handes And so much the more bycause it shoulde rather appeare that Ihon loued Christ more then the other did was loued againe of Christ knew hiÌ„ more thorowly therfore more like to be iudged worthye to feed the shepe of Christe Yt maybe proued that Christ would haue ordeined hym the vniuersall shepard not onely by reason of the noble light of the heuenly spirit wherwith he was indued and was alwayes nighe and familiare to Christe and amongest all the rest of thapostles he alone folowed him to the crosse but chiefly for thys cause that when he was vpon the crosse he committed his mother vnto him in whome only as you your selues doe confesse the lyuely churche of Christe remayned after Christes death For al thapostles were not a litle afrayed and dismayd with that terryble dolefull sight of Christes death vpon the crosse accordingly as Christe had told hym before And if Iohn were not ordeyned the supreme head of the churche of Christe then muche lesse was Peter Then sayed master Falsidicus will ye see howe Christe ordeyned onely Peter to be the chiefe Pastor of all Reade the Gospel of Luke and there shal ye fynde spoken onely to Peter Thou shalt be a fisher of menne Thereunto aunswered thimbassadour And will you see how Christe ordeyned not Peter to bee the chiefe Pastor of all Reade the Gospell of Mathewe and Marcke and there shal ye finde the same spoken also of Christ to Andrewe and the two sonnes of zebedei Wherfore it foloweth that Peter onely was not assigned of Christ to be the fisher of men Yea and consequently not alone of his owne shepe Christ neuer sayed to Peter onely fede thou my shepe be thou onely a fisher of menne To the onely will I gyue the keyes of the kingedome of heauen No he neuer saied so much as this be thou onely a shepard and a fysher aboue the reste of thapostles Take thou more authoritie then they haue But he sayed in simple and plaine wordes I will gyue vnto thee the keyes of the kyngdome of heaueÌ„ and so he kept promes Mary he gaue thesame keyes also to the reste of thapostles And that this is trew it is euident For Christe gaue the keyes to Peter and to the reste of thapostles after his resurrection from deathe standynge in the middest of them when he had saluted them and shewed hys handes and hys syde that they should both see and know him that talked with them and deliuered them the keies to be in dede very Christe the sonne of god he sayed vnto them as Iohn wryteth Euen as my father sent me so I send you As though he had sayd my father sent me in to thys worlde that I shoulde preache the gospel as Esay the prophet saied longe agoe Therfore do I send you euen of thesame fashion throughe out the worlde to preache thys glad tidinges that I am nayled vpon the crosse and dead for the sinnes of the whole worlde that I am the onely and euerlastynge redempcyon and reconciler who haue purchased the fauour of the eternall father to all mannekynde by the price ranâ—ome of my bloude and that al the synnes of al the menne in the worlde be pardoned and
Clement was ordeyned vniuersall Byshoppe of all churches but onelye the byshoppe of the church of Rome Besides this if Clement was made Byshoppe of Rome by Peter as you saye he was and not chosen of the people no doubt hys successors woulde haue folowed the same example whiche thyng they dyd not and therefore it is false that Peter made hym Byshoppe I will passe ouer that neither Eusebius neither Hierome number these Epistles amongest Clementes workes Yea Clement hym selfe in these Epistles prayseth a boke that he shoulde write the title wherof is Itinerarium Clementis whiche boke of trueth was neuer of hys makynge And furthermore thys boke maketh mencion of dioceses archbyshoprikes primacies and bishoprikes whiche orders and names were not yet distincted and appoynted out neyther doeth he anye thyng els in these Epistles but set forth the dignitie and fredome of priestes whome he wyll haue so free that they shall not intermedle themselues with anye handycraft for a profe of the which absurditie he citeth certayne places of holye scriptures wrythed beyond the nocke More ouer in his second Epistle he is so bolde to teach Iames of what sorte he shoulde minister the Sacramentes And yet that fashioÌ„ is not obserued thys daye namely in the administracion of the lordes supper Furthermore none of the auncient writers make any mencion of these Epistles neither yet of them y t Anacletus or Euaristus should wryte He citeth out of the newe and olde testament that it is not laweful for priestes to sacrifice or syng masse but when the Byshoppe commaundeth them which thynge can neither be founde in the newe neither in the olde testament In the fyft Epistle he affirmeth that all thynges wyfes and other shoulde be common and that yf it be not so it commeth of the wyckednes of menne There bee also in thesame Epistles many other folishe thynges and lyes whiche he rehersed but bycause ye maye read them your selfe I wyll reherse no more Master Pseudologus shewed also certeyne other epistles wrytten as he sayed by Anacletus and Euaristus whereby he minded to stablysh this popeshippe But thimbassadour proued by good reasons that they all were of none authoritie because that it is conteined in them that Clement should be his predecessor which thing Hierome denieth also Ireneus Further he would not y t priestes should be accused or iudged for a profe wherof allegeth y e scriptures with out iudgemeÌ„t or reasoÌ„ he wil haue Byshoppes iudges in seculer matters and that euery manne maye apeale to them When it is well knowen that that thynge was neuer graunted vnto them before the tyme of Theodosius the Emperour and agayne he sayeth that Cephas signifieth a head where as in dede it signifieth a stone And furthermore I can proue the Epistles of Euaristus to be of none authoritie not onely by that he bryngeth manye sentences of scripture sasly writhed y t priestes should not be accused of any lay meÌ„ but also because he writeth ad Gallium BarduaÌ„ two Counsels in whose tyme Anacletus was Byshop of Rome not Euaristus which thing is euident by the histories Master Pseudolog us blushed was ashamed wonderfully when these thinges were layd to his charge because he appeared openlye to all mens sight to haue played a false parte whiche thinge when the embassador of Antioche perceyued he left hym as he was and gaue place to the imbassador of HierusaleÌ„ who spake than wonderfully in this wise There is no doubt but that Christ who was the chiefe and vniuersall Byshop of hys churche preached his gospell chiefely at HierusaleÌ„ in y e which place he was contented to dye for our sakes And this is also certaine y t Iames succeded in hys roume who was nexte Byshoppe in Hierusalem after Christ. Wherfore yf there shoulde be any supreme vniuersall and visible head stablished in yearth of the church of Christ militant because it is sufficiently proued that Peter was not the chiefe Byshoppe our Byshoppes of Hierusalem oughte to be Popes and not the Byshoppes of Rome For you woulde haue your Byshoppes of Rome to be Popes because of none other reason but that they succeded Peter we maye muche the better chalenge oure Byshoppes of Hierusalem to bee chiefe Byshoppes because they succeded Christ in so muche as Christ is greater and more excellente then Peter As touching Christe it is knowen ryght well that he was the vniuersall head of hys churche and that he was crucified in Hierusalem And more ouer not onely Paule nameth Iames first before Peter and Iohn but also in the first consell of the Apostles where as Peter Paule Barnabas and the rest of the Apostles speake he as their heade and iudge sayed his mynde laste whiche was aproued of all thapostles and of the whole congregation And it is not to be doubted but that if the church of Hierusalem be the mother as she is in dede of all other churches and of whome all other churches had theyr beginninge wherefore she ought to bee called mother as it was determyned in Nicene counsell Then muste the byshop of Hierusalem as the spouse of the churche be called the vniuersall father of all other churches and the chiefe byshoppe and byshoppe ouer all other byshops as your Clement calleth hym in hys fyrste epistle if it bee hys as you doe alledge Then thus he sayed These wordes haue I spoken not that I thinke oure byshoppes to bee highest by any meanes for Christe onely is thuniuersall head of hys churche who is onelye sufficient but to declare vnto you by a certayne suer reason if there muste bee anye supreme heade in earthe thesame ought rather by right belonge to our byshop then to the byshop of Rome Ye maye nowe see howe muche vanitie there is in your reasons when our reasons bee so sclender and yet better then yours For Christe made neither Peter neither Iames y â— supreme head of his churche And yet in the fyrste counâ—ell of the Apostles Iames sayed hys mynde laste as byshop of Hierusalem and Paule nameth hym before Peter and Iohn But it followeth not therefore that he was vniuersall byshop aboue all other byshops Notwithstanding this one thinge is trewe that our churche muste be called the mother of all other churches not that it ought to gouerne all other churches as you make your argument Whiche thinge canne not be but because all other churches had theyr originall and fyrste begynnynge of it Wherefore oure byshoppes haue the fyrst place in the counsell appoynted vnto them and bee called bishops of the fyrst seate because of the estimacion of the citie wherein Christe was put to deathe But they muste not therefore bee called the byshops of other byshoppes and the vniuersall heades of the churche of Christe The imbassadour of Alexandrya interrupted thys imbassadour of hys tale sayinge What nede we so many wordes in so playne a matter Yf the byshoppes of Rome had receaued thys
authoritie at Christes hand y t they should be chief byshops gouernours of al other bishops as you say al churches and theyr byshops with theÌ„ the church of Rome onely excepted had ben from the deathe of christe vntill thys daye euer styll heretikes and scismatikes because they neuer acknowledged hym to be theyr supreme heade And moreouer all counsels whiche hathe ben holden vntill this day should haue bene but deuelish metynges because they neyther alowed neither declared the byshoppe of Rome to be Christes vicar and the supreme head of hys church But Nicene counsell chiefly shoulde haue ben deuelysâ—e not onely because it gaue not the fyrste place to the byshope of Rome but the fourth but also much more because they toke so greate and so heauenly a power awaye from hym the best parte whereof they gaue to oure byshoppe of Alexandria who had the charge committed vnto hym of the churches in the Easte parties vnto whome he was appoynted gouernor And the counsell of Affrike should haue passed all other in heresie wherein it was establyshed that the byshop of the fyrste seat ought not to be called the heade priest chiefe byshoppe neither by anye such lyke tytle but chiefely because there was an ordinaunce made in expresse wordes that the byshop of Rome by name muste not be called the vniuersall byshop This is very certayne if the byshopes receyued thys monarchie of god then were these counselles deuelyshe whyche toke thys diuine power away from them Cyprian also shoulde hauebene an heretike not onelye because he callethe the Byshop of Rome brother in hys epistles which he wrot vnto him but muche more because he maynteyneth with S. Augustine that there is none which is byshop of other byshops and that it is a greate tyranny to desier to be lorde ouer other byshoppes And also youre S. Gregory shoulde not onely not haue ben a sayncte but also an extreme wicked and a condempned parsone For he wryteth expresly that he which woulde bee byshop of all other byshoppes shall not haue the place of Christ in earthe but of Lucifer and shal bee very antichriste hymselfe And further he bryngeth in a number of inconueniences whiche shoulde insewe yf the byshoppe of Rome shoulde take vpon hym the dygnitie of the chyefe byshoppe as thoughe it were by the lawe of god Then thus he sayed Seing then that thys your primacie is not godly nor of God ye must of force grauÌ„t that it is either of manne or els of the deuill But it is not of manne as I wyll proue by stronge reasons wherfore it is of the deuyll That it is not of manne thys wyll I proue The Emperour hymselfe can not gyue vnto you anye spirituall power For you youre selues graunte that thys dignitie whiche ye haue is not geuen you of the Emperour but of Christ. Wherfore ye must acknowledge Christ to be your supreme head as all other Byshoppes doth who confesse not that they receyued thys spirituall authoritie that they haue either of the Byshoppe of Rome or elles of the Emperour but of Christe onely So that the Emperour can not gyue vnto you any dominion or power sauinge that whiche is temporall and that onely in suche countreyes as be vnder hys gouernaunce Seing then he hathe no dominion either in Asia or eles in Affrike He caÌ„ not make you superiours to vs neyther haue we anye nede to haue you to be our gouernours the princes that we haue be sufficient for our tuicion He maye gyue vnto you some temporall power but yet only in such prouiÌ„ces as be vnder him in Europa but he can not gyue you the chiefe place onles he will willingly forsake his empire sette you in hys place and make you aboue hym selfe Ye crye and saye that ye be Christes Uicars truely yf ye bee Christes Uicars ye would indeuour your selues earnestly to folowe hym When the Iewes would haue made hym a kynge he fled and woulde not receyue that dignitie But you be farre from folowynge hys example whose Uicars ye seme to be that ye procured wonderful ambiciously thys chiefe supreme dygnitie contrary the expresse worde of Christ who perceyuing the Apostles to conteÌ„d which of them should be aboue other he sayed vnto them playnly he would not haue them stryue to be lordes and beare rule as the princes of thys world but rather to serue Christ him selfe as longe as he was here in earthe woulde take no temporall dominion vpon him that he might holly be bent to the sauinge of soules and that no let shoulde hinder him in settinge forthe the Gospel But you as though ye were superiours to Christ will like tyrauntes with the offence of all the whole worlde chalenge vnto you an vniuersall dominioÌ„ Seing theÌ„ thys primacie of yours is neither of God neither of manne ye must nedes graunt that it is of the deuil Wherfore we all as many as be here together protest with one assent and voyce in the name of oure churches that we wyll not admit thys primacie we alow it not neither wil grauÌ„t we theruÌ„to But vtterlye and exepresly we condempne it we wyll not obey it but wil withstaÌ„d this vnbridled terannye of yours to the vttermost of our powers Then arose master Gooplanus a stout proctour of the Pope thus he began Our chiefe bishop quod he hath not takeÌ„ this high dignitie vpon hym to the intent to offende you spoile you or to excercise any teraÌ„ny ouer you but onlye to defende you to endewe you with honor and to profit you and to enriche you with benefices titles dignities priuileges immunities benedictions stacions absolucioÌ„s dispeÌ„sacioÌ„s pardoÌ„s suffrages Iubilies in the whiche thynges he wyll serue you all he wylbe the seruauÌ„te of the seruauÌ„tes of god wherfore ye ought not to withstande hym in a thynge so profitable vnto you To thys the same imbassador aunswered saying As longe as ye can not proue by vnaunswerable argumentes that youre Byshoppe is equal with Christ in spirite and loue we wyll neuer assent that he shal be oure Byshoppe and supreme head Yf ye wyll haue vs to acknowledge hym not onely to be our chiefe Byshoppe but also oure chiefe prince as by youre argumentes ye appeare to goe about and that we ought to beleue that he may chalenge vnto hym both the authorities ecclesistical and ciuill ye must of necessitie first shewe that he is aboue Christe in wysdome power and loue bycause it is well knowen that Christ woulde in no wise take vpon hym any ciuile gouernaunce in thys worlde We be affrayed of so monstrous and horirible a head Wherfore we can not allowe this authoritie neither that he shoulde be oure superior Yf you intende to admit hym take heede ye be not to hastie for ye shall perceyue to your vtter vndoinge that he is no shepeherd but a bloudie woulfe Then arose master Thrasibristus so sodenly so fearslye that it appeared he coulde staye hym selfe no