Church to be more deuided separated from the Church truly Catholike then they are themselues deuided from the whole world diuisos toto orbe Britannos That they are perfectly deuided froÌ„ the Roman Church other Churches subiect thervnto commumunicating with the same in Religion and fayth they will theÌ„selues willingly confesse and the thing is most euident most notorious Now wheras the RomaÌ„ Church with the others aforsaid is truly properly according to the Cath. Faith the Cath. Church of Christ doth it not necessarily follow the English Church as they call it to be cleane cut of froÌ„ the Catholike Church and consequently that it is not the body of Christ nor his house nor absolutly speaking to be called a Church Which when at length I plainly perceyued I was no longer to â—emain therin They will obiect say â—s this now plain vnto thee who yet in â—hy book of Ecclesiastical coÌ„mon wealth didst stile Rome Babylon who diddest deny the Church of Rome who didst teach vs that it was properly schismatical but that which thou affirmest of our Church doth not so plainly appeare vnto vs. So they Wherfor I shal goe about to mak this point euident vnto the English who know ful well that I am not Pithagoras whose only authority amoÌ„g his schollers for any thing that he sayd was held for best proofe let theÌ„ not therfore be moued with those things I haue sayd without other argument yea further let my wordes want their weight credit eueÌ„ where I bring my reasons and proofes if they be found to be weak and feeble Truly my reason on which I relied when I made Christian Rome to be Babylon was because the prophesy oâ— S. Iohn could no be explicated of Româ— as it was heathen before it imbraced the fayth of Christ Apocalip 8. But this reason is of no force for albeyt that this were granted yet it followeth not that the Christian Rome is Babylon for it is the opinion oâ— many Catholik interpreters that in the persecution of Antichrist the heathen Idolaters enemies of Christ are perhaps to subdue Rome and that of them this prophesy not yet accoÌ„plished may conueniently be vnderstood yet so as the fayth of the Catholike Church stilâ— continue safe and sound by this interpretation my affection of Rome as Christian is ouerthrown and conteyns in iâ— a meer slauÌ„der for I know the ChristiaÌ„ Rome not to be Babylon nor that it can without exceeding iniury be so called But God forbid that in this prophesy oâ— the Apocalyps we should conceaue thâ— Roman Church it selfe the mother of all Churches head of ReligioÌ„ hertofore â—o haue been or herafter that it shal be Baâ—ylon for those things which are spoken of the Citty are not to be transferred or explicated of the Church I denyed the Church to be at Rome but proued it not and therefore that deny all is to be â—laced amongst my curses and raylings â—ea also amongst my heresyes especialâ—y my self refuting the same by reason in my other workes in which strongly I â—aue affirmed the Roman Church with â—he others adherent to be the true onâ—y Catholike Church of Christ now â—oe as much as I can professe auer the â—ame I sayd that it had made a schisme â—ut then I sayd it when as yet I had no â—xact knowledge of schisme or nature â—herof I erred grossly herin because it â—s a manifest falsity the argumeÌ„t brought â—or the contrary is of no moment coÌ„â—ludeth nothing for he who being law â—ully made head of any body doth so â—…ile and proclayme himselfe doth not â—eperate himselfe from the body neither â—oth he cast away the body from him â—ut ioyneth himselfe vnto it which is a farr different thing from schisme but this I will further prosecute in the reuiew correction of that worke now only I declare how it is euident to me that the Englishmen and much more aâ— Sectaryes of our age are truly and properly Schismaticks for that without all lawfull cause they haue cut themselues from the true Church of Christ which is the Catholike Roman Church all those that communicate therewith 10. Two causes only there may be of lawfull separation that one or more Churches of Christ may wholy repell one or more Churches from their communicating with them without the incurring of schisme the one is heresy the other schisme it selfe The hereticalâ— Churches that are incorrigible are to bâ— eschewed of Catholikes who are to hauâ— no Ecclesiasticall coÌ„munion with theÌ„ This is a point well knowne amongâ—… Christians I often demaunded of thâ— Englishmen why they separated themselues from the Roman Church takinâ— the same as it comprizeth all other besides that adhere therunto was it for anâ— heresy But truly none of them al coulâ— eyther in writing or by word of mouth shew eyther the Roman Catholikes of of our tymes or our Predecessors in their publick profession to be or haue been tainted with any true heresy The most soueraigne King of great Britaine playnly and publickely graunted this vnto me this the wiser of their chiefe and inferiour Ministers graunted and many other learned men affirmed the Church of Rome not to erre in the fundamentall fayth wherfore by the grauÌ„t of English Protestants this Church is not hereticall They will obiect perhaps the Church of Rome not to erre in the fundamentall fayth which I in the booke of the causes of my departure in the sermon made at London seemed to defend but to erre and to haue fallen into heresy in other not fundamentall articles but first of all I know not what article there is of true fayth which is not fundamentall neyther could I euer conceaue or were they able to explicate how that distinction should be admitted amongst the articles of faith that some were fundamentall some not for truly I alwayes iudged all and euery of those articles which are truly to be fuÌ„dameÌ„tal but I erred in this that from the number of fundamentall and consequently from the true articles I excluded many which are indeed articles of faith and consequently were all fundamentall and cannot without heresy be denyed howsoeuer they be not of these principall of the Trinity Incarnation Necessity of grace Baptizing in the name of the Trinity c. as are the Sacraments Iustification the necessity of workes merits indulgences and the like which before I set downe as now defined by the Church because these no lesse rely on Gods reuelation then the former and therefore as much belong vnto faith as they for he who makes God deceitfull in any one article whatsoeuer he must necessarily acknowledg him to be deceiptfull in all the rest agayne I demaunded of such as meaÌ„t sincerely that they would produce but one article in which the Roman Church doth hold and teach amisse they are wont to vrge that of Transubstantiation of bread and wyne into the body and bloud of Christ out of
at the gate of the tabernacle Exod. 33. but they adored not the cloud lykewise in the fyre 2. Paralip 7.3 neyther did they cōmit idolatry whiles they adored God in these corporal signs such therfore as condēne this adoration as of it self purly properly idolatrical haue not in them so much as one drāme of a pure soūd Deuine In vain therfor doe the Protestants cōplaine of this Idolatry that they may defēd their schisme in this very thing first of al they defile themselues with heresy further they remaine true Schismatikes because there was no lawful cause of their separation 22. They obiect vnto vs a most cleere Idolatry or bread-worship in the adoration of the B. Sacrament of the Altar and by this also they seeke to excuse themselues from sinne but they are fowly mistaken for to vs the real corporall presence of the body bloud of our Lord Iesus-Christ in the sacred mysteries of the Eucharist is most certayn and vndoubted we adore the same body of Christ capable of it selfe by reason of the hypostaticall vnion with the Word of supreme honour lying hidden vnder these formes of bread and wine but hereof I cannot much dispute in this place This reall and corporall presence we suppose and this supposall by our fayth is certayn because we take it from the gospell Christ saying when he had bread in his hands Hoc est corpus meum this is my body according to the promise he had made saying Ioan. 6. Panis quem ego dabo caro mea est the bread which I will giue is my body and therefore our aduersaryes cannot suspect that in this adoration we are lyable vnto the errour of idolatry and so neither from this can they pretend any excuse for their schisme but they are truly and properly not only schismatiks but also heretiks and therefore I was to depart from amongst them and no longer to adhere vnto their errours 23. Besides the former they obiect vnto vs a certayn hidden or secret idolatry when after the Exorcismes and blessings we place a spirituall confidence in salt in water in oyle and the like all which they heape together out of a desyre to slaunder vs and that they may seeme by any meanes to excuse their schisme but they know full well that we place no certayn confidence in these things as if we taught these creatures to receaue any certayn and infallible force from our exorcismes and prayers these things we say are Sacramentalls but not Sacraments and hallowed to the end we may stirre vp our deuotion by them all our confidence is placed in God alone who moued by the prayers of the Church euen by these creatures by vertue of the same prayers blessings bestowes his guifts vppon vs the greatest part of those and the like rites the Church hath receaued from Apostolicall tradition and from hād to hād of the most ancient Church which who so followes cannot erre he who contemnes and casts away is himselfe to be cast forth as a rash man and enemy of the Church Tertullian sets down the vse of holy Oyle Tertul. li. de Baptismo and amongst the matters of the Sacraments S. Augustine reckons Oyle Aug. Ep. 119. The hallowing of the water of Baptisme hath been obserued from tyme out of mind for S. Cyprian makes mention of the hallowing of water and oyle and of Vnction also Cyprian li. 1. Epist. vltima The holy Churches I meane the materiall in case by any chaunce they should be defiled were wont to be cleansed by exorcisme and washing of the walls this we haue deliuered by Optatus Mileuitanus Optatus Mileu lib. 2. con Parmenian S. Basill also from tradition deduceth the common ryte of annoyntinge with oyle the party that was baptized Basil lib. de Spiritu sācto cap. 27 all antiquity doth further teach vs the signe of the Crosse to haue beene vsed in euery blessing and consecration Iustinus quaestione 118. Nazianzen Orat. 1. in Iulian. Orat. in funere Patris Chrysostom Hom. 55. in Matthaeum Augustin tract 118. in Ioan. sermo de tempore 181. cap. 3. Areopagita alij There are perhapps some rytes now vsed in the Church not so auncient in which we vse thinges blessed and consecrated but as the primitiue Church taught by the Apostles neuer feared any dāger of secret Idolatry if it vsed cōsecrated oyle and the lyke why should we now feare who attribute no more to these new cōsecrated things thē antiquity attributed vnto the other For these things to fly to Schisme is supreme impiety these rytes are good most of them were instituted by the Apostles others haue had their beginning from the deuotiō of Catholike Churches no way cōtrary to Faith yea most conforme agreeing therunto the variety of rites and ceremonyes was in auncient tyme in Churches and yet none vnder that pretence did depart frō mutuall communion amongest themselues The Auncients sayth Sozomen Sozomen lib. 7. c. 19◠did worthily iudge yt a friuolous or foolish matter that they for custome sake should be separated from one another who in the chiefe points of Religion did agree therefore this separation of the Englishmen is friuolous yea rash and wicked by which they haue deuided themselues from the true Catholike Church and haue broken forth without cause into open schisme with whom to communicate in diuine things is to consent to their most vniust and pernicious schisme 24. Touching the new articles of which they make their complaynt and excuse their schisme I wil not now dispute I should be too prolixe if I should now turne aside to these pointes in due place to be handled only here I demād of thē whether they thinke these new articles as they call them to be contrary vnto fayth or not If they were contrary to fayth they should be heresies and they would make the maintayners hereticks and worthily to be detested and separated from the communion of all Catholike Churches But I haue now proued that there is no heresy in the Church of Rome the most soueraygne King of great Britanny very many learned men in that kingdome confessing that the Church of Rome stands entier in the fundamentall faith but I haue shewed before that there is no true Article that it not fundamental and with assured fayth to be beleeued therefore it hath no articles which are contrary to the Catholike fayth and in case they be not cōtrary to the true faith but contayn the same they can yield no occasion of schisme But say they because we reiect and refuse these articles the Church of Rome hath separated cut vs of from that body Truly I lamēt and bewayle these men to haue made a beastly and perfect schisme before any thing was done or defined concerning those which they call new Articles in much as they cānot without exceeding vanity couer their schisme by these new articles for the
which they gather certayne heresies to wit Christ not to haue a true body but a fātasticall one because we put the whole body in so litle a compasse or quantity of bread in so much say they as the body is no more a body again that Christ is not in heauen if he be on the altar on earth against the article of his Ascensiō finally Christ not to haue beene borne of the Virgin Mary because that we doe make him of bread In these men truly that is veryfyed which S. Hierom writes In Epist ad Titum c. 3. nullum esse Schisma quod non sibi aliquam haeresim confingat vt meritò ab Ecclesia recessisse videatur There is no schisme which frames not to it selfe some heresy that it may seeme with some reason to haue departed from the Church And as for Trāsubstantiation which the Catholiks teach that is most far frō these heresies for in this all the properties of a body are out of danger from being destroyed although we graunt the same body to be conteyned vnder neuer so little formes and accidents of bread albeit these propertyes in ordine ad locum as they are referred to place which is a thing extrinsecall to the body may by Gods power be separated which thing is fully explicated by the schoole Doctors but what heresy can they imagine in vs if we doe al constantly affirme that we belieue as an article of fayth Christ to haue had still to haue a true body with all natural propertyes in it selfe which propertyes we belieue cōfesse by the same omnipotēt power may be preserued although the body be reduced to neuer so litle an external place neither can any by Thelogical proofe infring the same humane Philosophy neither can nor must measure Gods power let that iudge what can be done by nature but those things that are aboue nature let it reuerence but not iudge neyther doth it follow hence Christs body not to be in heauen but on the altar we all by diuine fayth belieue Christ haue ascended into heauen and there for euer to sit at the right hand of his father notwithstanding we affirme that by diuine power one and the selfe same body may be in many places at once at least sacramentally and this cannot be impugned but only out of humane Philosophy and seeming arguments and lastly we say not the body to be made of bread as if it had not beene before but we hould the bread to be transubstantiated into the body of Christ which body did preexist or was before the consecration and before transubstantiation the body of Christ borne of the Virgin Mary is extant and existent into which the bread is transubstantiated truly these men do ignorantly forge these heresies for he is an heretick who directly vtters heresy but if they aske of vs what we belieue of the truth of Christes body of the Ascension of the Incarnation they shall heare vs deliuer the true and Catholike beliefe notwithstāding that we affirme other things out of which they imagine to follow these erroneous opinions which we vtterly and truly deny to follow of them and they cannot Theologically conuince vs to the contrary In so much then as pertaineth vnto heresy they can pretend no cause wherefore they haue iustly for good cause separated thēselues frō our Church therfor they made an vnlawful schisme 11. The more moderate English Protestāts that are not Puritās vrge not much the heresy of the Roman Church nor from that ground free themselues from the foule spot of schisme but they vrge fiercely idolatry and obtruding of new articles of fayth by which meanes they will haue the Roman that is the Catholike Church to haue fallen from the true faith and hereby chiefely they defend the equity of their separation this idolatry they will haue to consist in the worship inuocation of Saints and reuerence of Relikes and Images and most of all in the Adoration of the B. Sacrament a more secret Idolatry they will haue to lye lurking in the cōfidence we repose on salt water oyle and other thinges exorcised blessed they also cōplain of new articles thrust vpon them by Catholikes in the definitions of the Councell of Trent about Iustification Workes Merits Purgatory Indulgences and the like but all in vayn Certainly if we Catholikes were indeed Idolaters we should not only be heretickes but much worse then most heretickes therefore ought to be auoyded and altogether separated far from all the faithfull And I wōder how any man that is in his right wits can charge them with idolatry who dayly professe themselues to belieue in one God and for this ground or foundation of fayth are ready to shed their bloud who dayly preach and teach that no diuine worship can be giuen to any pure Creature This then is a base slaunder Are we for our inuocating of Saints worshipping of images adoration of the B. Sacramēt held guilty or suspected with these men of idolatry Let them seeke let them vnderstand let them penetrate what we hold of the vnity of the true God what of diuine honour not to be imparted vnto creatures and then they shall presently perceaue all such to be very Sots who iudge and affirme vs to be idolaters that is worshippers of creatures with diuine honour neither let them breake out into open schisme vntill they haue found in our doctrine and practise true Idolatry 12. No Catholike euer auouched dead men or Angells to be worshipped with diuine honour we are not such fooles Vigilantius in tymes past obiected this vnto the Catholikes but falsely as S. Hier. writing against him doth shew and in this as in other thinges of this nature we haue the ancient Fathers our good maisters from them we doe not dissent we doe not depart we doe not disagree we willingly imbrace most exactly practise their most holesome doctrine and euery way Catholike touching the worshiping of Saints Originis lib. 8. contra Celsum Epiphanij haeres 79. August Epist. 44. libro de quantitate animae cap. 34. lib. de vera relig cap. 55. contra Faustum lib. 23. cap. 21. Cyrilli Alexand. lib. 6. contra Iulianum Theodoreti in historia Sāctorum Patrum cap. 21. I cite not the wordes of these and other Fathers because the shortnes of this smal treatise doth not comport it From whence then haue these late blind maisters borrowed their new eyes when as the Catholike Church long ere they were born was most excellētly furnished with most resplendent most secure shining lāps of learning sanctity 13. Festiual daies belong vnto the honour of Saints which we celebrate in their remembrance praysing God and thanking him that he hath aduaunced mortal men and sinners to so high a degree of holines neither is this a late nouelty in the Church by annuall deuotiō to keep festiuall daies in the honour of Saintes it is an ancient vse and so ancient
effect cannot goe before the cause I endeauour to shew that they made a schisme without cause hence I knew them to be true schismatiks and for that I departed from them And further these very Articles which they call new can euidently be demonstrated out of the Scriptures tradition and Fathers and the contrary decreed by themselues to be conuinced of open heresy if we will follow the iudgement of Antiquity howsoeuer some latter Protestants taking a more mild moderate course are wont to bring for some poynt such fauourable explications of which my selfe haue heard many as they seemed not to differ much from the Catholicke opiniō these seeme to admit some pious agreemēt who then without pernicious errour yea true heresy wil place his saluation on only Faith and exclude the necessity of Good works Who will absolutely deny our Merits and that iust men cannot loose their grace and that they are impeccable and cannot sinne And such as stiffly hould these and the like to be Articles of fayth and the contrary to be heresies they vndoubtedly doe erre in matters of fayth and shew themselues to be heretiks and consequently to be well and worthily by the Catholike definitions placed amongst such no heresy therefore of the Church of Rome no Idolatry open or hidden could giue occasion to the schisme of Protestants Neither can they obiect Schisme to the same Catholike Church for it hath made no schisme but suffered it From her hath Luther from her Caluin from her haue their first followers separated themselues whiles stubbornly they refused to stand to her iudgement these haue made a schisme these haue deuided the garmēt of Christ these haue erected altar against Altar finally these haue left and forsaken the Catholike Church 25. Besides the former alleadged and discussed causes they pretend another of Reformation forsooth needful to be made but I amongest them scant euer saw any reformation or to speake more truly saw none at all but as for Deformations I saw many amongst thē For the most part all care of conscience is cast away they are not there excepting a very few of them troubled with any scruples for adulteries robberyes or deceauing theyr neighbours and in like manner for coosenage deceypts and vsuries for they haue wickedly abolished auricular Confession fasting pennance and the like holy meanes for our amendment and if these men had found amongst vs somewhat amisse in conuersation in actions in gouernement in direction and the like that had not argued any defect of the Church but the errours of particuler men which of Catholikes are not allowed but mysliked neyther for these lesser a matters as manners of life and that not in all but some were they to to make this most vgly schisme There remaines in the Roman Church a soūd an immoueable and constant foundation and suppose it were true 1. Cor. 3. that we buylt thereon wood stubble hay yet were we not therby debarred from saluation but the Protestāts haue departed from the foundatiō it self they haue forsaken it and except they build vppon the foundatiō which is Christ gold siluer pretious stones which foolishly they boast to be theirs all are proiecta viliora alga wast weedes all fruiteles labours and nothing auay leable to saluation There is one foūdation not two one Church not two one Christ not two if Christ be our foūdation which they cannot deny he is not certaynly theirs they haue made themselues a new Church deuided and separated from ours and that also cannot be a Church because the Church is one not two he who wil be of their Church he must needes be out of the true Church of Christ 26. I confesse that I was deceaued by the English Protestants before I had considered diligently the nature of schisme for when I obiected this fault vnto them some of them replyed that it was not their fault that they communicated not with the Church of Rome who were ready to make vnion and accorde but that the Pope would not receaue them into communion whom he had cut of from him and his by excommunicatiō This excuse for a while seemed vnto me lawfull and reasonable yet when afterwards vppon this ground I beganne in priuate disputes and publick sermons to vrge an vnion which I tooke not to be farre off from making and whiles I striued to put my finger deeper into this festered vlcer I perceaued in England not the English Cōfession which they commended vnto me as modest but the Confession of Caluin and many doting dreames of Luther to be the common rule of their fayth this I perceaued more clearely by the counterfeyt Synod of Protestants at Dort in the which the opinions of the rigid Caluinists by consent and concurrence of the English sect by their ministers sent thither were confirmed which opinions of the rigid Puritans if the confession of the English Church deuided into certain Articles doe not as they pretend include then why vnder the name of the English Profession did the aforesayd Ministers yield their consent and set their hands to these Caluinian excesses How can it be that those who professe themselues most eager enemies of the Church of Rome should be thought to desire vniō with the same Church and the defect thereof not to proceed from their fault How can they cast the fault of their schisme vppon the Tridentine excommunications who before these Anathema's had deuided themselues by schisme from the Catholicke Church and truly by a schime in some sort farre more worse and foule then was the schisme made by Luther and after confirmed by the instigation of Caluin Because England in the begining refrayned from the opinions of Luther and Caluin and charged not the Roman Church with heresy or Idolatry as Lutherans and Caluinists did to couer their schisme withall and yet notwithstanding long after not with so much as any apparent cause it yielded to the common schisme of heretiks The Englishmen now for the most part doe prayse and defend the diuision and separatiō that is made for that they striue for that they fly vnion for that they cast away Charity they labour all they can that agreement doe not succeede and fraternall vnity be fast knit in the bands of peace and many of them say that they would more willingly and more easily haue vnion society with the Turkes then with Papists Is this to be ready to make concord Is this the truth of their wordes when they sayd that it was not their fault they communicated not with the Church of Rome Truly it cannot possibly be that any vnion which I thought might easily haue beene atchieued be made vnlesse they detest all heresies and heretiks and beleeue aright with the Catholike Roman fayth and be vnited vnto the same by perfect Charity 27. Henry the 8. had in manner only contention with the Pope and out of an hereticall spirit denyed his Supremacy and tossed with many discomposed passions