Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A60240
|
The critical history of the religions and customs of the eastern nations written in French by the learned Father Simon ; and now done into English, by A. Lovell ...; Histoire critique de la creance et de coutumes des nations du Levant. English
|
Simon, Richard, 1638-1712.; Lovell, Archibald.
|
1685
(1685)
|
Wing S3797; ESTC R39548
|
108,968
|
236
|
Constantinople against the Jesuits and Court of Rome was chosen Patriarch and for the space of five or six Months after made nothing appear in his Actions that might give any sign of Defection from the Religion of his fore-Fathers But seeing he had the Jesuits for Enemies he thought himself obliged to declare for the Hollanders that he might be seconded by them he engaged also in his party a considerable Number of Bishops and Churchmen who relished his opinions and were in the same Disposition as he was to introduce Novelties into the Greek Church But they were not the Stronger because the Jesuits who have a College at Constantinople where they teach the Youth Gratis easily gained the People who made an Insurrection against Cyrill The Greeks held an Assembly in the year 1622. wherein he was deposed from his Patriarchate and banished to the Isle of Rhodes Another Patriarch was chosen in his Place who by Letters submitted himself to the court of Rome that had forwarded his Election But seeing Cyrill still entertained a Party in Constantinople and that the Dutch supplied him with great Summs of Money it was not long before he was restored to his Patriarchate Then it was that he revenged himself on the Jesuits and those who had espoused the Interests of the Court of Rome and that Calvinism reigned at Constantinople This brought great Disorders into that Church for Cyrill set every thing to sale that he might pay the Money which he had borrowed of the Dutch The Jesuits and Court of Rome finding that Cyrill had absolutely got the better on 't endeavoured to gain him by proposing terms of accommodation and representing to him the danger of his Church if he continued those Intrigues with the Calvinists He seemed to be very willing to embrace an accommodation but seeing he still continued his Practices with the Dutch the Court of Rome made a fresh attempt to turn him out of his Chair which succeeded but for a very short time because the Dutch Money soon recalled him again to his Patriarchate The Court of Rome doubling their efforts against Cyrill sent one to Constantinople in Quality of Vicar of the Patriarch for maintaining the Orthodox Faith in that Church which seemed to be upon the brink of Ruine Cyrill's Party failed not to lay hold on that occasion to render the Jesuits and their Party odious to the Turks who were jealous of that Envoy of Rome Insomuch that he was very ill used by the Turks and Cyrill cruelly revenged himself on all the Greeks whom he thought to be his Enemies Nevertheless he rendered himself so odious by his great vexations and had so powerfull a Party as the Jesuits of Constantinople seconded by the Court of Rome to deal with that he at length fell and was strangled by express Orders from the Grand Signior This is the History of the Patriarch Cyrillus Lucaris in whose Name the Huguenots Printed a Confession of Faith boasting that they agreed in Opinions with the Greek Church But with the glance of an Eye one may judge what kind of a Confession of Faith it is It is true it was written by a Patriarch of Constantinople with the Title of The Belief of the Eastern Church but it was not written in name of that Church nor hath it any publick approbation Cyrill gave it privately to the Dutch Ambassadour whose assistance he needed to defend him against the Jesuits of Constantinople That work of Cyrill's is much like the Book that is said to have been made by William Postel for a Nun whom he perswaded that he might squeeze a little Money from her that the Messiah came into the world onely for Men and that she Lady Jean was to be the Messiess of the Women There is as much likelyhood of truth in that Confession of Cyrill's that went under the name of the Greek Church as there is in the Impostures of that famous Normand William Postel and I wonder that Protestants should still dare to object to Catholicks that pretended Confession Grotius gave a better Judgment of it in a Book that he published some time after that Confession came abroad in the word wherein he frankly says (1) Nuper Constantinopoli Cyrillus sine Patriarchis sine Metropolitis sine Episcopis novum nobis propinavit Symbolum Grot. de Antichrist that Cyrill forged a new Symbol without the assistance of any Patriarchs Archbishops or Bishops Now after all I have related the History of this Cyrill with all the exactness I could without any regard to what the Dutch have written of him nor to what Leo Allatius hath said who also exceeds the bounds of moderation I have scarcely mentioned any thing but what is agreed upon by both the opposite Parties Besides Cyrill there are other Greeks of less note who have written in favour of the Protestants and amongst others one Gergan a Bishop who hath published a Catechism wherein he openly denies Transubstantiation but with this difference from Cyrill that he follows not the Confession of Geneva but that of Ausbourg If we compare the Doctrine of this Catechism with that of the Greek Church we shall find it almost different in every Point that it may be accommodated to the Sentiments of Protestants as when it saith that Scripture alone is sufficient without the help of Tradition to prove the Articles of our Creed That the Scripture is plain and clear as to the Points of Faith and that Scripture ought to be interpreted by Scripture In a word Gergan is a Protestant and onely a Greek in Language and that too a base Vulgar Greek Nevertheless he dares boast that he is none of those false Brethren (2) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who have been poisoned at Rome But it is generally known that the Greeks themselves who have no Commerce with Rome confirm neither the Confession of Ausbourg nor of Geneva in their Books Protestants may also reckon amongst the Greeks of their Communion Nathanael of Crete who promised some time agoe to the Dutch that he would translate Calvin's Institutions into Greek and teach his Countrey-men Calvinism provided they gave him the Summ of Money which he demanded Mr. Claude adds to all these Greek Calvinists the Testimony of one Meletius Metropolitan of Ephesus in an answer he made about thirty Years agoe to the Divines of Leyden as to several Questions that had been put to him Father Simon made answer to Mr. Claude that he doubted not but that that was the Act of some Greek gained by the Dutch Divines who answered their Questions as they themselves would have him and that to judge of that answer it would be proper to publish it in the Authours Language I procured by means of one of Mr. Claude's Friends whom he could not deny a Copy of that answer and having read it I found that Father Simon 's conjecture was a real truth For Meletius who in that Letter takes the Title of Archbishop of Ephesus not onely
on purpose by the Patriarch Elias who stood in need of the Assistance of Rome The same Judgment we are to make of the Letters which the Nestorians assembled at Mosul for the Election of a new Patriarch wrote to Pope Julius III. wherein they give him the Title of Head of all Bishops in the same manner as St. Peter was of all the other Disciples That is not the ordinary Language of the Orientals in regard of the Bishop of Rome whom they do indeed acknowledge to be the chief of Patriarchs but that according to them is onely a Primacy of Honour and not of Jurisdiction and Power over the rest The same patriarch Elias annexed to his Letter the Confession of Faith of his Church where amongst other Articles it is said that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father that the Son hath taken a Body of the Holy Virgin that he is perfect both in Soul and in Mind and in all that belongs to a Man that the Word having descended into a Virgin was united to the Man and became one thing with that Man in the same manner as the Fire and the Iron are united together that that Unity is without either Mixture or Confusion and therefore it is that the Properties of each Nature cannot be destroyed after the Union that they believe that Jesus Christ who is begotten of his Father from all Eternity as to his Divinity was born of a Virgin in the fulness of time and united with the Nature of his Humanity As to what is objected to them that they call not the Virgin the Mother of God but Mother of Jesus Christ he answers that they speak in that manner to condemn the Apollinarians who pretend that the Divinity is without the Humanity and to confound Themistius who affirmed that Christ was onely Humanity without Divinity He farthermore adds that that is the Belief of the Church of Rome and that he receives all which that Church teaches that he acknowledges the Pope to be Head of all Churches and that out of the same Church of Rome there is no Salvation Now seeing Elias Patriarch of Babylon otherwise of the Nestorians could not come to Rome himself He dispatched to the Pope some of the ablest and most prudent Men about him to make the Reconciliation of the two Churches They together framed an Explanation of the Articles of their Religion where they laid down at length the manner of reconciling their Belief with that of the Church of Rome Abbot Adam who was one of the Deputies was charged with that Commentary or Explanation and the Patriarch accompanied him with a Letter to the Pope (1) Epist El. Patr. ad Paul V. wherein he treats of that Reconciliation of Belief and makes it appear that the two Churches differ onely in Ceremonies but that as to the Doctrine of Faith all the Disputes with the Church of Rome are but nominal He reduces those Points of Belief wherein he pretends to differ onely in Name from Rome to five Heads to wit in that the Nestorians call not the Virgin the Mother of God but Mother of Christ in that they assign to J. C. but one Power and one Will in that they acknowledge in J. C. but one Person in that they say barely that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and in fine in that they believe that the Light which is made on Holy Saturday at the Sepulchre of our Lord is a Light truly miraculous The Patriarch Elias having taken the Advice of the most knowing Men about him pretends that in all these Points they understand not one another aright And in effect Abbot Adam endeavours to justify himself in a long Discourse of which we shall onely here relate a Summary without speaking of the two last Articles which are common to all the Orientals the three first onely relating particularly to the Nestorians and I find that that Abbot evidently proves that the Modern Nestorianism is but a Heresie in Name and that it hath onely been condemned because not understood In the first place the Abbot makes appear that it is easie to reconcile the Roman Church which calls the Virgin Mother of God with the Nestorian which calls her Mother of Jesus Christ because it is a Principle received by both Churches that the Divinity neither generates nor is generated so that the Virgin hath engendered Jesus Christ who is God and Man both together but that it is not therefore to be believed that there are two Sons but one onely true Son insomuch that there is in Jesus Christ but one Filiation and one onely visible Person which the Nestorians call Parsopa In fine he concludes that they deny not but that the Virgin may be called Mother of God because Jesus Christ is really God and that that Doctrine is agreeable to the words of St. John in his Gospel of St. Paul and St. Gregory Nazianzene wherefore says he according to these Principles the Church of Rome acknowledges really that the Virgin is the Mother of God and the Orientals with good reason say also that she is Mother of Christ and yet for all that differ not in Judgment In the second place he examines the difference that seems to be betwixt the Roman and Nestorian Churches touching the Natures and Persons in Jesus Christ It is certain the Latins acknowledge two Natures and one onely Person in Christ whereas the Nestorians say that there are two Persons in him and one Parsopa or visible Person and besides that there is but one Power and Virtue in him He reconciles those two Opinions that seem at first so different by the explication which he gives of that Mystery The Orientals or Nestorians says he according to the two Natures that are in Christ distinguish in their Mind two Persons but with their Eyes they see but one Christ who is onely the Parsopa or Appearance of one Filiation And it is in that Sense also that the Nestorians acknowledge but one Power or Virtue in Christ because they look upon him but as one Parsopa or visible Person and so by reason of that real and perfect Union which makes but one Compositum of two Natures the Divine and Humane they distinguish not a double Power or Virtue making the Terms to rest on the Unity of Filiation Whereas in the Church of Rome these Powers or Virtues are distinguished into Divine and Humane because they are considered with relation to the Natures and it may easily be concluded from thence that this Diversity of Judgment is onely apparent since in effect the Nestorians confess with the Latins that there are two Natures in Christ and that each Nature hath its Power and its Virtue and besides both Churches acknowledge that there is no Mixture nor Confusion of those two Natures each retaining the Attributes which are proper to them In fine for a greater Illustration of his Opinion he adds these words As the Fathers of the Church of Rome acknowledge one