Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	call_v	church_n	pillar_n	2,921	5	10.5182	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20595	A declaration of the reasons which moued Marcus Antonius de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalato or Salonas, primate of Dalmatia and Croatia, to depart from the Romish religion and his countrey. Written by himselfe in Latine, and now for the populare vse translated; Marcus Antonius de Dominis, Archiepiscopus Spalatensis, suae profectionis consilium exponit. English	De Dominis, Marco Antonio, 1560-1624.; W. S., fl. 1617.	1617 (1617)	STC 6999; ESTC S116248	16,073	35

perpetuall assistance which PAVL calleth the Pillar and ground of Veritie But now our Romanistes haue drawne this article of Faith in lesser bounds That the Catholicke Church now is to be taken for none other than the Court of Rome it is propounded to be beleeued by a firme Faith that in it only yea in the Pope alone the whole Spirit of CHRIST maketh residence and whatsoeuer of old time hath bene said for the honour of the vniuersall Church of CHRIST with great injury to the Church is wholly applyed to the Court of Rome many things are reduced to the articles of Faith wherof we neuer had any institution of CHRIST wherby the soules of the Faithfull are miserably deceiued and so the Blinde with their blind leaders rush headlongs in the gulfe of perdition These things among many other haue grieued me exceedingly doe yet stir vp in my spirit an incredible dolour But I wil cease now particularly to recount the innumerable nouelties of the Court of Rome and these moste pernicious erroures whereby a Boucherie of soules is wrought the vigour of Church Discipline is broken the propagation and purging of Religion is hindered and innumerable offences are brought in the Church the ciuill peace of Christians is troubled bloody warres stirred vp amongst them kingdoms are ouerthrown horrible schismes are made in the Churches and most grieuous calameties do arise which all I haue exactly obserued I will cease now I say to recount them because I haue fully treated of all these matters in my large worke Of the Ecclesiasticke Republicke which I haue in readinesse and shall giue to bee Printed in Germanie as first commodioufly occurreth to mee in this my journey all that worke Of the Ecclesiasticke Republicke I comprehende in ten Bookes In the first whereof I search out the forme of this Republicke and doe determine that the Church vnder CHRIST appertaineth to a most perfect Monarchie and that not the lesse the Ministers of CHRIST on earth by CHRISTS own institution are most farre from an earthly Monarchie do gouerne the Church with an Aristocratie or choise gouernment not without some mixture of a democratie or popular gouernment and consequently I shew that the Primacie of Peter is contrary to the Euangel institution of Christ In the second booke I consider the gouerners Ministers of the Ecclesiasticke Republick who they are what succession can be giuen to the holy Apostles what is the institution of Bishops wherein they differ from Presbyters who are the inferiour Ministers and what force holie Order haue in this Republicke In the thirde I doe expound what is the Hierarchie to bee found among the Bishops and Gouernoures of this Republick and I do teach that there is no praeheminence nor subjection among Bishops by diuine right but that degrees of places among them are distinguished by the constitutions of the Church only And consequently I doe treat of the Election Confirmation Consecration or Ordination of Bishops and of the power of Metropolitanes Primates and Patriarches In the fourth I examine the Priuiledges of the Church of ROME and doe proue that neither in her selfe nor in her Bishop nor Clergie shee hath anie praeheminence giuen her of CHRIST aboue other Churches but if anie shee hath had or nowe hath shee hath taken it from the helpes and furtherances of men In the fifth I doe vndertake to search out the proper power of the CHVRCH and doe prooue that it is meerelie Spirituall and so I remooue farre from the CHVRCH all Earthlie IVRISDICTION And then consequently I dispute of the force and operation of Sacramentes and of Ecclesiasticall Censures In the sixth I compare the power of the Laitie and of the Church that the difference betwixt the Ecclesiasticke and Temporall Republicke may appeare and I doe shewe that Christian temporall Princes may doe many thinges in the Church but the Church in temporall thinges and especially towards Kings may doe nothing at all I treat also of the temporall Kingdome of CHRIST of the power of the Laitie whence it is and of how large extent of the Immunities of the Church and Church-men of Inuestitures of the Monarchie of SICILL and such like In the seuenth I consider the inward direction of the Ecclesiasticke Republicke which is by faith and I inquire for the true rule of faith and so I dispute of the Word of GOD of the authoritie of the Church and of the Pope ouer it of Councels of Haeresie of Schisme and such like In the eight I consider the externall gouernement of the Church by Lawes Canons and Iudicatories Thereafter I discusse howe farre Canons doe oblish of dispensations of commandes enjoyning fasting prayer and such like In the ninth I come to the temporall goods of the Church and I expound at length how sparing the sustentation of the Ministers should bee whence it should bee taken and howe Church goods should be guided I treat also of Tithes of Benefices of dominion ouer Church-goods of the vse and abuse of Church-rents of Pensions of Commendas and Testaments of the Clergie In the tenth and last I vndertake to expound the libertie of the Church that wee may see what way this Republicke is free And consequently I treat of Priuiledges and persons priuiledged of the abuse of priuiledges of exemptions and persons exempted of the subjection of Moncks and such like This was the fruit of my painfull studies for while vpon the occasions before named I did griedily reade holy Scripture the Orthodox Fathers the holy Canons and Volumes of Councels mine eyes being opened and I inflamed with a zeale to explaine the trueth to others and to my selfe I could not but write those thinges I obserued and this my much writing hath begotten this worke the summe whereof I haue rehearsed I saw therefore plainly and did perceiue that in our Churches wee had gone farre astray from the right path both in Doctrine and Discipline What then should I doe more in the mids of a wicked froward nation If as reason craueth I would haue gouerned mine owne Church according to the ancient discipline of the Catholick Church and propone true and Catholick doctrine I should by that meanes hasten vpon mine head great stormes horrible tempests frō Rome for euē already at Rome great hatred was hatched fostered against mee because they had vnder-smelled my labours in writing against their opinions for which I was often admonished rebuked by the Popes Nuncio lying at Venice it was therfore much better to take the wings of a doue to withdraw my selfe fly away to the wildernes where I might wait vpon him who will deliuer me from the weaknes of spirit from the tempest rather than remaining among the blind willingly blinding my selfe I should leade the blind to perdition What are the Bishops vnder the Romane Popedome In temporall things indeed where the benefices are fat they shine in wordly dignitie they are

suspected some thing lurketh in them which our doctrine is not able to confute From the first yeeres wherein I rendered my selfe to be a Clergie man I fostered an in-borne desire to see the vnion of all the Churches of Christ could neuer patiently thinke vpon the division of the Westerne Easterne Churches the South North in matters of faith I desired earnestly to know the causes of so many and so great Schismes and to search if possibly any way could be found out to bind vp again all the Churches of Christ in the true ancient vnion I was also tormented with heauy dolour which I conceiued at the dissentions of Professors of Christian Religion and the coate of Christ so miserably rent asunder which dolour and too great heauinesse did wonderfully afflict mee and yet more and more vexeth me daylie Thereafter now some twenty yeeres agoe I was promoued to the gouernement of the Church and made Bishop of Segnat which thing my Fathers the Jesuits tooke heauily because they knew by experience that I was not ydle not improfitable for their societie but that their account I doe not much regard for I contemne all humane aestimation vnlesse it make some furtherance to diuine obedience they had found me I say profitable for them for in the time of my tryall when I was but young they praeferred mee to a publicke profession of HVMANITIE in the Colleges of VERONA And before I was a Priest they placed mee in the Publicke Chaire for the profession of the MATHEMATICKES at PADVA vvith great concourse of hearers They made mee Professor of RHETORICKE first and then of the LOGICKE and PHILOSOPHIE in the Publicke Schooles of BRESCIA and often on the Festuall dayes would needes haue mee making Sermon in their Churches They enjoyned mee the dispatch both of priuate and weightie Affaires And in all the seruices of their societie they found my diligence Why then should they not haue taken heauily my promouing to a Bishoprick which was vnto me the first occasion to come downe to the earth from the subtill and airie or improfitable disputations of the Schoolmen and to turne my contemplation in wholesome practise of the cure of soules and of the Church And because I did acknowledge the proper taske of a Bishop was to preach the Word I set my selfe to reade Sermons and such Bookes as are appointed for Lent which did soone beget in mee a loathing and detestation for I sawe in them and that easilie a filthie abuse of Scripture while it is throwne to vaine improfitable impertinent yea and a pernicious sense I saw Examples and Miracles propounded either false and fained or at least ridiculous and not worthie of credite I sawe the people miserablie deceiued and the inuentions of auarice and ambition superstitiouslie forced vpon them vnder colour of articles of Faith These thinges I was astonished to consider and therefore I resolued to leaue these troubled Streames and to take my selfe to the Fountaines of the Fathers in reading of whose works I beganne to delyte for Sermons and holy Canons and Church Gouernement From this course now and then some beames of new light did shine vnto me as yet vnwilling and repining for on the one part I did obserue the sayinges of the Fathers in verie manie thinges contrarie to the common Doctrine which I had learned in the Schooles and I did perceiue that they were either passed by in silence by my Masters or not faithfully alledged or not sufficientlie or which is worse sinistrously expounded On the other part I did see and that not without great wondring that the Rule of Church Discipline and Spirituall Gouernement of our time was exceeding farre different from the ancient practise whereby my forenamed suspicions were greatly augmented and I perceiued a farre off that we did not faithfully handle the Doctrine and Affaires of CHRIST and his Church but sluffed our THEOLOGIE rather with the quicke inuentions of humane speculations and Philosophie than with the wholsome wordes of holy Scripture exactly considered and expounded whereof there is a grosse ignorance amongst vs. From a Bishoprick I was aduanced to an Archbishoprick wherby a new and more vrgent occasion grew vnto me to renew my studies and to labour in them more earnestly for whereas the troubles of the Suffragane Bishops of my Prouince but much more the excessiue power of the Court of Rome encroching vpon my Metropolitane Iurisdiction began to injure mee I proponed to my selfe to search out and throughly to knowe the Root and Fountaine of Church degrees Iurisdictions callings offices and dignities and chiefely of the Papall greatnesse A little after the State of VENICE was by the Pope put vnder Interdiction and scoffing Pamphlets sent dayly from Rome ceased not to oppresse vexe and slander all of vs who were Bishops of the SEIGNORIE of VENICE as Beastes Dolts Ignorantes and men of euill Conscience Whereof for the better instructing our lawfull defences and for the better knowledge of the quaestion debated betwixt the Venetians and the Pope new occasions were giuen to mee of a new and more earnest studie The holy ancient Canons the Orthodox Councels the Discipline of the Fathers and the ancient customes of the Church were often and againe turned ouer by me Whereto shall I say more I found aboundantly in these only all that I sought and a great deale more than I sought Then it was easie with opened eyes to obserue that the doctrine of these Reformed Churches which in great numbers Rome maketh enemies to her selfe and which are bitterly reproued and impugned by our THEOLOGS did in little or nothing at all differ from the true and ancient doctrine of the pure Church I did also perceiue that their doctrine both at Rome and among vs is abhorred and repelled rather than lawfully impugned not for that it is indeede Haereticall and false but only because it is contrary to the corrupt sense and manners of the Court of Rome and to her fleshly plottes and inuentions which is nowe turned into a temporall estate I saw also perceiued most clearly that at Rome without any lawfull ground yea by extreame violence innumerable new articles of faith were daily coined forced vpon vs that in such things as not only appertaine nothing to diuine faith but also containe in themselues manifest falsehood Which articles that corrupt Court will neither suffer to be discussed by any nor be brought in a due consultation of the Church but pursueth euen to the death all those who dare whisper against them They haue now for a long time smoothered the sacred Councels and so haue put out the eyes of the Church of CHRIST that nowe vnhappie shee as another Sampson made blinde and depriued of her owne strength captiued and made vyle is able only to groane It was sometimes an article of Faith that the vniuersall Church dispersed throughout the whole worlde is that Catholicke Church of CHRIST whereunto CHRIST himselfe doeth promise his