spiritual food to the soule wher of the wicked are not partakers who are yet partakers of the sacramental bread wine which do signifie the body bloud of Christ for our sauiour doth say Iohn 6. that Whosoeuer doth eate his flesh drink his bloud hath euerlasting life Wherfore it cannot be that the sacramental bread wine should be the verie natural bodie bloud of Christ for as much as the wicked who shal not liue for euer are partakers of them I mean of the bread wine in the sacrament as wel as the godly For as Paul doeth write to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 10. Brethren I wold not haue you ignorant how al our forefathers were vnder the cloud al passed through the sea were baptised vnto Moses in the cloud and in the sea Et omnes eandem escam spiritualē manducarunt omnes eundē potū spiritualem biberunt bibebant autem de spirituali consequente eos Petrâ Petra autem erat Christus And they did al eat the same spirituall meate and they did all drinke the same spirituall drinke For they did drink of the spirituall rocke that followed them and that rocke was Christ Wherein we sée first that the wicked among the Iewes with whome God was not pleased did enioye the same sacramentes of Christe the cloude the sea the meate the drinke which the godly did yet did they not enioy the same life by Christ which the godly did for it followeth in Saint Paul that God was not pleased with many of them Which wordes are meant of the wicked Secondly we sée that the godly amongest the Iewes did eate the same meate and drinke the same drinke that the godly amongest the Corinthians did to whome S. Paul doeth write yea that Paul him selfe the Apostles did Now the Iewes did it In spefuturi Christi In the hope of Christ to come for their redemption deliuerance from their sinnes and from death whereof it ensueth that our eating drinking in certa fiducia praeteriti Christi in true beliefe that Christ is come and hath redéemed vs and shed his blood for vs must bée the partaking of a meate spirituall and a spirituall drinke no lesse then that which Paul saith that their fathers did eate and drinke For he saith plainely They did eate the same meat and drunke the same drink that flowed out of the rocke and the rocke is Christ For as the Iewes did it in a figure of Christe by faith in whom to come they were saued as Christ doth say of Abraham Abraham desired to see my day Iohn 8. he saw it and reioiced so are we taught to doe it in remembrance of Christ by faith in whom being come we are saued wherevpon our sauiour said to his disciples Luke 22. Doe this in remēbrance of me Which Paul declareth farther in the first to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 11 the eleuenth chapter where after that he had declared the maner of the Lords supper he addeth to both the parts of it Hoc facite ad mei re cordationem Quotie scunque enim manducabitis panem hunc calicem bibetis mortē domini annuntiabitis donec veniat Do this in remembrance of me saith Christe For as often saith Paul expounding the wordes of Christ as ye shall eat this bread and drinke of this cup ye shall shewe the death of the Lord vntil he come So then if these thinges be well considered which I haue briefly touched out of the wordes of Christ declared by his holy euangelists and Apostles the godly I trust shal easily perceiue that Pope Innocent the thirde could by no autority of scriptures proue any transubstantiation in the sacramēt although it were confirmed by neuer so greate a councel of men assembled at Rome hauing in it as they say Archbyshops 70. Byshops 400. Abbats 12. Priors conuentual 800. besides the Orators and Ambassadours of Gréece of the Romaine Empire of the kinges of Ierusalem France Spaine England Cyprus and other kingdomes Many but all to little to take vppon them to alter and change the ordinance and institution which our Sauiour Christ had with his owne wordes established and set in his church for the space of aboue twelue hundred yeares together before the contrary was decréed though some did dreame of it But Pope Innocent was sure to enact there what he wold for that he had aboue the number of twelue hundred shauen crounes in his councel with him so that neither Princes nor Orators of Princes might hinder his pretēses The lesse it is to be meruelled at that the byshop of Rome would take vppon him so proudly to be aboue al other byshops yea the Emperours themselues and kings of this world séeing that he tooke vpon him to do more then euer Christ did that is to make Christ our creator and redéemer of a péece of bread whensoeuer he list and to make that euery one of his priests and chaplens might do the same also as them selues haue a saying Sacerdos est creator creatoris sui The priest doth make his maker And all by the authority of this Lateran Councel not by Christs scriptures And all for the aduancing of his worldly glory extolling of his clergie throughout all Christian kingdomes which after came to passe to the taking away of the goods and liues of a great number of good true Christians who would not beleeue such a new deuised faith of the sacrament of Christ set forth so lately so fondly so vngodly neuer before allowed as any point of our christiā faith for the space of so many hundred yeres after Christ as I haue shewed For in the former ages the godly had bene taughte that Christe according to the presence of his naturall bodye was ascended into heauen but by the benefites of his spirite and by the fruite of his passion he is alwayes present with thē who doe beléeue in him Wherof he gaue them a most liuely moniment and pledge in the blessed sacrament of his body and bloud a moniment for vs to remember his death a pledge to vs of euerlasting life with out transubstantion of the breade and wine or any alteration thereof at all otherwise then of common bread and wine to make it by the words of Christ the sacramental bread wine the signes of Christes body and bloud he being by those creatures of bread wine represented to vs that we may therby with the mouth of our faith that I may so speak receiue spiritually the very selfe same Christ god and man that was borne of the virgin Mary suffered death for our sinnes ascended into heauen and sitteth on the right hand of God the father almighty thence shall he come at the last day to iudge the quick the dead And this most heauenly maner of the spiritual receiuing of Christe is more agréeable to our christian religion then is the Romish dream of transubstantiation which doth as much abhorre from
time of King Henrie the eight who did roote it out wholy THus hauing hitherto shewed declared how the supremacy and Papacie of Rome béeing not planted by Christe and his Apostles was rooted first in the Church by Boniface the third and afterward spreade abroade farther and farther by his successours so that it grew and brought forth the poysoned fruites which I haue rehearsed Now it doeth remaine that I proceede to shew how it hath ben rooted out of the Church of England by godly princes of famous memorie whose examples some princes haue I wish all princes of the earth would follow And herein I shall euidently discouer and refute their errour who béeing counted men of good knowledge and iudgement haue borne me in hand that the power authoritie of the Pope of Rome was neuer banished out of this our countrie vntill that King Henrie the eight did expell it in the xxvj yeare of his raigne in the yeare of our Lord a thousand fiue hundred thirtie foure For it is certaine and shal be clearely proued that many yeares before that King Henrie the eight was borne or King Henries Fathers Father the kinges of this Realme haue made lawes and statutes against the Bishop of Rome his authoritie and iurisdiction whiche he did wrongfully clayme and vsurp within their dominions and therefore they did iustly remoue it and expell it To the which purpose it must be firste considered that vnder the colour of the decrées aboue mentioned the Popes did take vpon them to preferre strangers vnto the roomes of Archbishops and bishops throughout the Realme of England many yeares together and to place whom they list Abbots and Priors in any religious houses when so euer that the places were voide neither onely to present vnto all manner of religious houses but also to Prebends Prouostries Deanries Parsonages and such like Which thinges as they were done to the great impeachment of the kings dignitie and crowne imperiall of the Realme so did they tend also to the disinheritance after a sort of his maiestie of his coūsellours of the nobilitie of other his subiectes which had by inheritaunce the giftes of such liuings and to the great losse of the whole countrie by decay of hospitalitie and conueying of our treasures out of the Realme through the meanes of straungers who were preferred to these liuinges and spirituall promotions For redresse of which faultes the nobles and commons of this Realme at the Parleament holden at Carlile in xxv Anno. Domini 1296. yere of the raigne of King Edward the first did present and exhibite a bill into the Parleament of all the inconueniences and iniuries offered to the kinges maiestie the nobles and commons by the Bishop of Rome Wherevpon the Parleament tooke order and enacted that from thence forth the Bishop of Romes authoritie shold take no place within this Realme in any such matters if he dealt in any they should be voide and of none effect Which act made againste the Bishop of Rome because there was no penaltie set vpō such as did mainteine or suffer his doings to preuaile against the order taken therefore not long after the death of this good king Edward the first Edward the second his sonne being king a man of no suche courage as his father was neither hauing leasure thorough his great troubles with the Earle Mortimer and the Quéene his wife to looke to such matters the Bishop of Rome did spring againe to doe what he would The substance of this Act made by king Edward the first is not recited in the statutes of the xxv yere of his raigne because it is wholy mentioned in the first part of the statute made the xxv yere of King Edward the third At the which time in a Parleament holden at Westminster the same petition and Act made at Carlile was returned Anno Domini 1350. cap. 1. and more ample order taken withal against the Bishop of Rome For it was prouided there and enacted that whosoeuer did fetche from Rome or take any such prouisions to disturbe any presentation or election made in this Realme or the persons that were in possession of any spirituall promotions that the prouisors and disturbers their procurators executors notaries and attournies should be attached and laid in prison without baile or mainprise there to remaine vntil both they had answered the king such fine and raunsome as shold be taxed at his pleasure and also had agréed with the partie wronged neither should they be deliuered vntill they had put in sufficient sureties neuer to attempt any suche thing afterward Cap. 1. Againe in the xxvij yeare of his raign in the Parleament holden at Westminster the same statute was inlarged and the penaltie made that the offenders therein if they came not to answere at their day in proper person and were found culpable they should forfaite all their landes and goodes their bodie should remaine in prison out of the kinges protection It appeareth farther in the xxx yeare that an excōmengment as they do tearme it was certified by the Pope whiche was disallowed by the Iustices and the bringer thereof should haue bene hanged and drawne if the Chancelour of England had not prayed to the king for him In the xxxviij yeare the like acte was made for such as procured any citations or processes from the court of Rome that their procurers and attourneyes should haue such punishmentes and forfaitures as are before mentioned Now in the time of king Richard the second who did next succéed him there was a statute made the thirtéenth yeare of his reigne Anno Domini 1363. Cap. 1. in the Parleament at Westminster againste prouisors of benefices with this penaltie that they should be out of the kings protection and forfeit the benefice But in the sixtéenth yeare of his reigne Cap. 15. the same king made more full and straite lawes against the Bishop of Rome whereby he banished his whole authoritie out of this realme enacting that no processe from Rome should be allowed Yea further Cap. 5. that if any subiect of this realme should receiue or fetch from Rome or set forth any maner Citations Presentations Fulminations Buls or any other things against the kings regaltie crowne he being conuict thereof should loose and forfet all his landes and goods to the king his body to be at the kinges pleasure and out of his protection and in the cause of praemunire The same punishment also appointed for him who so euer should sue any appeale to Rome King Henrie the fourth which succéeded Richard in the second yeare of his reigne in the parlament holden at Westminster An. Do. 1401. Capit. 3.4 did likewise make a lawe that no spirituall or religious person secular or regular should take any maner of promotiō or liuing spiritual or offices in any spiritual houses by any prouisions of Licences or Buls frō Rome vnder the payne contained in the praemunire as in
Peter finally that these Bishops had but short liues bicause God did quickly take them out of the earth as it were certaine monsters And these are the testimonies that Platina doth giue of this trimme succession of the Romane Bishops following one an other when yet their power was lesser and their supremacie not growen so high If I should goe forward to speake of their behauiour who came after these men and did succéede them in that sée as namely of the crueltie of Sergius the third Platina in vitis horum pontificum who did behead the carcase of Pope Formosus long after he was dead of the beastlinesse of Iohn the thirtéenth a man euen from his youth giuen ouer to filthy lustes and all dishonestie of life of the sacriledge of Boniface the seuenth who being driuen of the citizens out of Rome did rob Saint Peters Church of iewels and making money of them returned to buy the Popedome of Iohn the sixtéenth who to enrich his kinsemen spared neyther heauen nor earth regarding neyther Gods honour nor the Churches commoditie of Siluester the second who gaue him selfe vnto the diuell that he would helpe him to be Pope vpon condition that he should haue him wholy after his death of Benet the ninth Siluester the third Gregorie the sixt of whom the first solde the other bought the dignitie and stroue together for it thrée most ougly monsters as Platina doth call them and to passe ouer the rest of Alexander the vi in our owne dayes who wasted and spoyled all Italy most miserably to make his bastarde Borgia Cesar a Prince and hauing at the length certaine of the richest Cardinals at supper did minde to poyson them to haue their riches for his bastarde Onuphrius in vita Alexandri sexti but him selfe was poysoned through the errour of his butler who mistakinge the flagon gaue the good wine to the Cardinals and to the Pope the poyson If further I shoulde speake of all their straunge and horrible scismes and contentions when two or three were made Popes at one time and raised their thrones at once in diuerse places of the which kind themselues doe number thirtie scismes some of them lasting for fiftie yeares together as namely that for which the councell of Constance was assembled by Sigismund the Emperour because the state of Christendome was troubled then with three Popes all chosen by Cardinals The firste Pope in Italy the seconde Pope in Fraunce the thirde Pope in Spaine and none would yéeld to other the very rehearsal of these and the like pointes would I feare be tedious and I coulde say no more of them thē that which Platina doth say often O quantum degenerarunt isti Pontifices a suis maioribus Alas howe greatly do these Bishoppes degenerate from their auncesters Or rather that which the Apostle doth write to the Romanes he spake it of the Gentiles it was fulfilled in the Popes Bicause they knewe God Rom. 1. and did not glorifie him as God but became vaine in their owne imaginations and turned the glory of the incorruptible GOD into the similitude of the image of a corruptible man therefore God gaue them vp to their hearts lustes vnto vncleannesse vnto vile affections vnto reprobate mindes Wherefore to leaue the rest which might be saide touching these fruites of the Romish supremacie to the further search and consideration of the godly reader onely this I can not choose but I must expresly note as the chiefest pearle of their supremacie that after they had gotten the loftie title of it by the graunt of Phocas of Emperours subiectes they became the Lords of Emperours commaunding what they list deposing whome they list as though they were the souereigne kings of all the earth First Constantine the Pope did onely resist Philippicus the Emperour refusing to plucke downe images as he commaunded him Then Gregorie the second when Leo the Emperour gaue him the same charge did take away from him his Empire in Italie and Gregorie the third did both depriue him of the Empire and of the fellowship of the faithfull But in this point Gregorie the seuenth who was named Hildebrand before he was Pope did farre passe all his predecessors for whereas before that time the Emperour had authorite to giue byshopriks and other spiritual liuings through all his dominions Gregory the seuenth tooke authoritie vppon him to forbidde the Emperour to giue any such liuinges threatening him withall that if he did giue them hee woulde condemne both him and whosoeuer shold receiue them Which commaundement of the Pope for as much as Henrie the Emperour missliked thinking it vniust and would not therefore obey it Gregorie the Pope excommunicated him and depriued him of his Empyre assoyling all his subiectes of their allegeances vnto him and charging them withall that they shoulde not obey him Wherevppon a parte of his Empire did rebell and great warres were raised against him by the Saxons which and other discommodities that did ensue I will not stande vppon Onely I do note the presumption of these Priests who both rebell them selues againste their Lordes and Emperours and stir vp others to rebellion vnder the colour of their supremacie Whereof we neede not to séeke for the proofe in Gregory the seuenth who did so abuse the good Emperour Henrie we haue had experience of it at home within our owne realme which Pius the fifth did raise to rebellion against our gratious Quéene Elizabeth whome the Lorde defende for euer as hee did then defend her when Pope did curse her he did blesse her But to knit vp this point of the fruites of the Popes supremacie this is the summe of all that they doe seeke their owne dominion the honour the wealth the pleasures of this worlde they will rather spoile Princes and Emperours all of their right then any part of their preeminence or commodities shal be empaired Vppon this ground to satisfie their ambition their coueteousnesse their lustes beside dominions in Italie which with Italian policies by the discorde of kings and Emperours they haue gotten into their hands they haue endeuored to take away as I haue shewed in Hildebrand and might at large in sundrie others which I omit for breueties sake they haue don I say whatsoeuer they could to take away frō Emperours Kings noblemen gentlemē and all the temporalitie as they did terme it their liberties of patronages donations presentations of al spiritual promotions in al kingdomes and countries reseruing to thēselues either alone or especially full power authoritie to giue bishoprickes and Abbayes and Prebendes personages and other such liuings And al to maintain their inordinate ambition their excesse of riot their imperial pompe their fleshly sensualitie which are the naturall children of the Romish supremacie the daughter of coueteousnes pride the mother of mischiefes and all abominations Chap. 14. Howe the Princes of England made many lawes and statutes against the Popish supremacie long before the