Ordained Priest comes to thee make him thy true servant c. The Archdeacon saith The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. as above Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the East saith this Prayer O Lord God we beseech thee render him worthy of the vocation of Priesthood c. that he may Administer upon thy Holy Altar c. Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the West puts his right hand upon the Ordaineds head Praying thus O Lord God Omnipotent c. look upon this thy servant who is presented to thee in order to Priesthood by the approbation and judgment of those that propose him c. Replenish him with the Holy Ghost and Grace c. The Bishop Prays for him that he may worthily perform the Functions of Priesthood c. And turning to the West signs his forehead with his Thumb saying We call thee into the Holy Church of God Amen The Archdeacon with a loud voice saith N. is a Priest of the Holy Altar which is in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church of God Amen Then with a clear voice the Bishop saith We call thee N. a Priest of the Holy Altar which is called of the true Believers In the Name of the Father c. Then the Bishop makes three Crosses on his forehead signifying the Trinity Then he puts the Stole about him saying Glory and Honor be to the Holy Trinity consubstantial with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Peace and increase of the Holy Church of God Amen Then the Bishop turning to the East prays thus We give thee Thanks c. A Thansgiving to God and a Petition that the Ceremonies of Ordination may please him Then follows an Admonition to the Priest newly Ordained who having taken the usual Oath kisseth the Bishops hand the Altar and those that are present Then he explicates something of the Mysteries and the Bishop puts his hand three times upon him and all say with a loud voice N. is worthy to be a Priest in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church And so it ends These Rituals were with great trouble and industry Collected from several parts of the World by Morinus who saw the Originals and Translated them out of Greek and Syrian into Latine as you may see in his Treatise de Sacra Ordinatione part 2. Thus I have given you a Cursary View of the Manner how the Chiefest Professors of Christianity disperst all the World over did Confer the Order of Priesthood which compared to the present practise of the Church of Rome it will be obvious how this Church hath deviated in Essentials from the Institution of Christ the practice of the Apostles and the Primitive Church which by considering the particulars of the Roman Pontifical now in use will plainly appear A Draught of the Roman Pontifical for the Ordination of Priests now in use THe Bishop that is to give Orders is not to do it but in Mass and in the several parts thereof he exerciseth the several Functions of Ordination They that are to be Ordained Priests being by the Archdeacon presented and accepted The Bishop begins by the imposition of his hands upon the head of them successively but says nothing Then they return again and the Bishop puts his right hand upon the head of each of them and the Priests that are present do the like putting their hands by the Bishops Then the Bishop says a Prayer imploring Grace for them that are to be Ordained that they may worthily comply with the Functions of Priesthood This done the Ordainer takes the Stole of each that was before upon their left shoulder only and brings it round the neck and puts it upon the right shoulder also with these words Accipe jugum Domini c. Receive the yoke of the Lord c. Consequent to this he puts on their Casula or Priestly Vestment the hinder part being folded up and fastned to the upper part with this Forme Accipe Vestem Sacerdotalem c. Receive the Priestly Vestment c. Next follows the Annointing of their Heads with Holy Oyle And the Priests that assist tye the Palmes of their hands together with a Linnen Binder lest the Holy Oyle should be profaned Persuant to this the Bishop holding in his hand a Chalice with Wine and Water in it and upon it a Patene with an unconsecrated Hoast on it exhibits all this successively to them that are to be Ordained and here great care is taken by the Ordainer and the assisting Priests that they at the same 〈◊〉 touch the Chalice the Pattene and the Hoast to which end because their hands are bound together the Priests place their fore-fingers upon the Pattene so as to touch both Pattene and Hoast and the tops of their middle fingers being a little separated from the fore-fingers are applyed to the side of the Chalice under the Patene and the Priests in this posture press their fingers upon the Vessels alltogether and the Ordainer begins not the forme till he be assured that they touch all then he pronounceth the forme in these words Accipe potestatem offerendi Sacrificium pro vivis defunctis In nomine Patris filii Spirituus Sancti Receive the power of offering Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead In the Name of the Father c. This done they are esteemed Priests Quoad potestatem ordinis for as much as concerns the power of Consecrating and saying Mass and therefore they Consecrate together with the Bishop and say Mass all along with him having their Missals open before them Then after Consummation when they have all received the Communion the Bishop the third time puts his hand upon their heads with this form Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins ye forgive they are forgiven and whose sins you retain they are retained Then presently he unfolds their Vestment and lets it down behind saying Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus The Lord put thee on the Stole of Innocence And so it ends SECT IV. Shewing That the Church of Rome placeth the Essence of the Ordination of Priests in touching the Vessels and the Form annexed to it TO make good this Position I begin with the Autority of the Council of Florence Florent Instructione Armenorum Instructione ad Armenos where it Treats ex professo of the Essential matter of Priesthood and the Council assigns for this matter the Tradition of the Vessels and makes not the least mention of the Imposition of Hands nor any other matter Gregory the 9th tells us That if in Ordination the Imposition of Hands be omitted the Ordination is not to be reiterated his words are these Greg. 9. C. Presbyter de Sacramentis noniterandis Presbyter Diaconus cum ordinantur manus impositionem tactu corporali ritu ab Apostolis introducto recipiunt
Instruments which in these present circumstances is no proofe at all especially to one who impugnes them all For this is no Argument their Opinions are false ergo mine is true How easily is it Answered that they are all false both his and theirs except the contrary be proved But he endeavors to prove his Opinion by the Autority of the Council of Trent Sess 14. C. 3. where the Council Orders the Ministers of Extreame Unction to be only Bishops aut Sacerdotes ab ipsis rite Ordinatos per Impositionem manuum Presbyterii or else Priests by them Ordained by the Imposition of the Hands of the Presbytery which refers to none but the Second Imposition of Hands according to the Roman Pontifical for in this alone the Bishop joyns his Right Hand with the other Priests upon the head of the Ordained In this Opinion Morinus is singular for I find no Author that holds it but himself neither is it probable that the Validity of Ordination in the Church of Rome must rely upon the Autority of one single Author who is a better Historian then Divine in opposition to all other Authors Wherefore my First Answer is That this Imposition of Hands which Morinus insists upon cannot validly confer the Order of Priesthood for want of an intention in the Minister to confer it hereby For no Bishop that Ordains can prudently intend to Ordain by this Imposition of Hands only neither can the Church intend it First Because there is but one Author that holds it all the Divines being wholly against it asserting it to be only an accidental Ceremony preparative to the collation of Order but not at all belonging to the Essence of it For the greatest part of Divines and common perswasion of the Church of Rome admit no Imposition of Hands at all as belonging to the substance of Ordination but place the whole Essence thereof in the Touching the Instruments and their Forme Others that allow to the Imposition of Hands a partial concurrence together with the Tradition of the Vessels yet none of them make choice of this Imposition of Hands but they all attribute this partial vertue to the Third Imposition of Hands after Communion with this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis c. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. Secondly Because if the Church or the Ordainer should intend Ordination of Priests to be conferr'd by this Imposition of Hands and the Prayer that accompanys it as the total and compleat Essence and substance thereof they would thereby render the exhibiting of the Instruments and their Forme wholly useless which would reflect upon the Churches Prudence and Discretion in introducing them for no other necessity of this superinduction contrary to the constant practise of Antiquity can be groundedly assign'd but to be an adequate or a partial cause of Priesthood My Second Answer is That the Forme which accompanyeth the tendering of the Instruments doth so plainly so expresly and so explicitely signifie the Order of Priesthood to be thereby conferr'd that no Ordainer that is in his right wits can any way doubt of it or call it in question but that the Church by adding this Matter and Forme intended thereby to confer to the Ordained the power of offering Sacrifice wherein they place the Essence of Priesthood if then this power were given the Ordained before by that Second Imposition of Hands the Ordainer if he understands what he says must volens nolens confer that power over again to the same Ordained which is a Sacriledge neither can the Church who introduced it avoid this inconvenience For Reordination was by a never interrupted Tradition prohibited in the Church of God So in the Canons of the Apostles Canon Apost 68. Si quis Episcopus vel Presbyter vel Diaconus Secundam Ordinationem ab alio receperit deponatur ipse qui Ordinavit c. If any Bishop Priest or Deacon do receive from another a Second Ordination let him be deposed and he that Ordained him The same is Taught by the Council of Trent in these words Trid. Sess 7 Can. 9. Si quis dixerit tribus Sacramentis Baptismo scilicet Confirmatione Ordinatione non imprimi Characterem in anima hoc est signum quoddam Spirituale indelebile unde ea iterari non possunt Anathema sit If any one shall say That in Three Sacraments namely Baptisme Confirmation and Ordination there is not a Character imprinted in the Soul that is a certain Spiritual and indeleble sign by means whereof they cannot be reiterated let him be Accursed St. Cyprian de ablutione pedum cites an antient Author speaking thus Nemo Sacros Ordines semel datos renovat iterum c. quia contumelia esset Spiritui Sancto si evacuari posset quod ille Sanctificat c. None renews again Holy Orders that are once given because it would be a contumely to the Holy Ghost if that should be evacuated which he hath Sanctified But I need not insist upon this because they all grant it Hence it insues That though the Roman Ritual should contain all the Essentials of Ordination yet this would not evince the Validity of it First Because they reject that which is Essential as a meer circumstantial Ceremony inductive to Priesthood and consequently have no intention to confer the Order by it Which intention is a necessary condition sine qua non without which no Order can be Validly conferr'd as they all Teach and is defined by the Council of Florence as you may see above in the Fourth Section and the Second Proofe Secondly Because they have introduced a new Matter and Forme never Instituted by Christ nor ever mentioned by the Apostles nor the Primitive Church by which they intend the Collation of Priesthood Wherefore should the Priestly Power be conferr'd by that Second Imposition of Hands then in every Ordination there would be a Sacrilegious attempt of Reordaining A Seventh Objection Though the Church of Rome approves of the Tradition of the Vessels with its proper Forme yet it so allows it as not to exclude the Imposition of Hands and therefore the Ordination is Valid and no way repugnant to Christ's Institution for this additional Matter and Forme is but a thing indifferent to the other parts of Ordination and therefore cannot be prejudicial to them for as Gratian observes Vtile per inutile non vitiatur A useless addition cannot vitiate that which is useful Wherefore Tridem Sess 21. C. 3. according to the Council of Trent Agnoscens Sancta mater Ecclesia suam in Administratione Sacramentorum autoritatem The Holy Mother the Church well knowing the power she hath in the Administration of Sacraments she may add diminish or alter as incident occasions and circumstances shall require still retaining the Essentials To this I Reply That this Objection is already Answered in the Solution of the precedent Objection Only this layes an Aspersion upon the Church for introducing into
Priests puts his Hands upon the Head of him that is to be Ordained he pronounceth this Forme Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the Imposition of our Hands Whose sins thou dost forgive they are forgiven and whose sins thou dost retain they are retained Aud be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of his Holy Sacraments in the Name of the Father c. Here are both the Essentials duely applyed and punctually observed Whereas the Church of Rome applyes neither as an Essential part and therefore their Ordination of Priests according to their own Doctrine can in no way be Valid SECT IX Consectaries drawn from the Proofes of the precedent Assertion HOw many false Aspertions and querulous Cavillations have been raised by the Jesuits and other Romanists against the Bishops of the Church of England under that frivolous pretence of their being Consecrated at the Naggs head Tavern in Cheapside by one single Bishop or at most by two and they not Canonically Elected and Consecrated in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign All which were false and Malitious Calumnies invented for no other end then to depress the Autority of the Bishops of England thereby to facilitate their access to draw Proselites from the Church of England and seduce them to their Communion Which scandalous and ungrounded Comments have been fully Answered and the Canonical Ordination and Consecration of the Bishops of England cleerly vindicated from the false Imputation of all such Detracters by that Worthy and Learned Prelate John Bramhall D. D. and late Lord Primate of Ireland But What judgment shall we frame of the Ordination of Bishops and Priests in the Church of Rome there being at present neither Pope nor Cardinal nor Bishop nor Priest but such as have been Ordained according to their new Model of Ordination we shall not need here to have recourse to frivolous and feigned Stories where such grounded Truths strike at the very Essentials of their Ordination and evince the invalidity thereof Neither can they raise a Battery of Arguments against us without destroying themselves for the Proofes of the nullity of their Ordination are grounded on their own Doctrine They all Teach That Ordination is a Sacrament Instituted by Christ. The Council of Trent hath defined it so to be as we see above Sect. 7. They all assert the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments to be determined by Divine Autority which Suarez saith is de fide See their words Sect. 6. They hold moreover that any substantial change either in Matter or Forme renders the Sacrament invalid 3 Part. Tom. 3. D. 2. S. 4. Si mutatio materiae aut formae Essentialis seu substantialis sit nullum essicitur Sacramentum saith Suarez which is the current opinion of their other Divines It is likewise certain that the matter which they use in the Collation of Priesthood is essentially and more then Specifically different from the matter which Christ Instituted and which was constantly used in Ordinations many Centuries after Christ before Ordination was new molded It is also certain that the Forme of Ordination determined by Christ and a long time in use in the Church is now utterly rejected and cast out All this being duely ponder'd we must of necessity conclude that their Ordination is invalid except some other grounded expedient can be found out and proved to uphold the validity of their Ordination which hitherto I cannot discover but wish I could But no quibbles nor quirkes nor nice distinctions can any way avail them for the matter of Fact is uncontroleable and the Doctrinal part is evidenced by their own Words and Writings which it is now too late to retract It is time therefore for them seriously to consider what expedient may be found out to reinvalidate their Ordination and to qualifie themselves so as they may be in a capacity to prevent this grand inconvenience for the future for this shakes the very foundation and renders the whole Hierarchy of their Church ruinous If there are no Priests there can be no Bishops since Episcopacy is no new Order superadded but only a farther extension of the Order and Character of Priesthood as they teach well then may the Bishops exercise their potestatem jurisdictionis but can no way exercise nor communicate to others their potestatem Ordinis for none can exercise nor confer upon another a power which he neither formally nor virtually nor radically contains in himself jure communi but their Jurisdiction they distinguish from the Order of Presbitery since divers Bishops and Cardinals in the Church of Rome are only Deacons or Subdeacons and yet their Jurisdiction is as ample and hath as great an extension as if they were Priests who commonly make use of other Suffraganean Bishops to Officiate Confirm and confer Orders in their Diocess Hence it ensues that those putative Bishops which are presumed to be Canonically indued with Presbytery and Episcopacy yet in reality are not so when they personally exercise the Functions of Episcopacy their Confirmation is void yea their very Consecration of Chrisme and other Holy Oyles is of no effect but after Consecration they retain nothing but the Natural Elements of Oyle and Balsome as they were before and so are uncapable of rendring any Spiritual Emolument to those to whom they are applyed their Imposition of Hands and Benedictions are no way available to the Confirmed no more than if they were performed by a Lay-person for where the radical power of Order is wanting none of these Spiritual and Supernatural effects can ensue And when they Officiate in Mass and attempt to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and having Consecrated the Hoaste they kneel down to adore it and then elevate it and shew it to the People that they also may adore it both they themselves and many Thousands of the People do daily commit at least a Material Idolatry though it may be that Invincible Ignorance may excuse them from a Formal one for they exhibit a worship of Latria to a supposed Deity under the species of Bread when in reality no such Deity is there so as they give to the meer substance of Bread a Worship due to God alone And this is daily repeated thorough the whole extent of the Roman Jurisdiction And the same happens when any other inferior Priest Officiates for the Order of Priesthood is equally defective in them all and where there is no power of Order to qualifie them for Consecration this must of necessity be void So when they administer the Communion to the People who present themselves in hopes to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and consequently those Graces which from thence accrew to the worthy Receivers Poor Souls How are they deluded and their hopes frustrated for whereas they came full fraught withthe expectation of Spiritual and Supernatural Graces they are dismist with a bare
his Example may confirm his Admonition that he may preserve the Guift of thy Ministry pure and undefiled and may transforme by his Immaculate Benediction the Body and Brood of thy Son through the obedience of thy People that as a perfect Man with inviolable Charity to the measure of age of the fulness of Christ in the day of the Justice of Eternal Judgment he may acquit himself with a pure Conscience with a full Faith being filled with the Holy Ghost Per Dominum c. Consecration of the Hand Let these Hands be Consecrated and Sanctified by this Unction and our Benediction that whatever they Bless may be Blessed and whatever they Sanctifie may be Sanctified Per Dominum c. Another Let these Hands be Anointed with this Holy Oyle and Chrisme of Sanctification as Samuel Anointed David for a King and a Prophet so let them be Anointed and Compleated in the Name of God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost making the Sign of the Cross of the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ who Redeemed us from Death and brings us to the Kingdom of Heaven Hear us Pious Father Omnipotent Eternal God and perform what we entreat and pray of thee Per Dominum c. A Ritual taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHere these words are contained Presbyter cum Ordinatur Episcopo eum benedicente manum super caput ejus tenente etiam omnes Presbyteri qui presentes sunt manus suas juxta manum Episcopi super caput illius teneant Another taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHen a Priest is Ordained the Bishop Blessing him and holding his hand upon his head likewise all the Priests that are present shall lay their hands upon his head by the hand of the Bishop The Ritual of Gelatius Pope Written 900 years since ORdo qualiter Romana sedis Apostolicae Ecclesia Presbyteri Diaconi vel Subdiaconi eligendi sunt Mensis primi quarti septimi decimi Sabbatorum die in duodecim lectiones ad Sanctum Petrum ubi Missae celebrantur Postquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione adnuntiat Pontifex in Populo dicens Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo Iterum dicit Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo eligimus in ordine Diaconi sive Presbyteri illum Diaconum sive Subdiaconum de titulo illo Si quis autem habet aliquid contra hos viros pro Deo propter Deum cum fiducia exeat dicat verumtamen memor sit communionis suae Et post modicum intervallum mox incipiunt omnes Kyrie eleison cum Letania hac expleta ascendunt ipsi electi ad sedem Pontificis benedicit cos à quo vocati sunt descendunt Stant in ordines suos benedictione percepta Sequitur oratio de bened require ipsam in quarto aut decimo mense The Ritual of Gelatius the Pope Written 900 years since THe Order how Priests Deacons Subdeacons are to be chosen in the Roman Church of the See Apostolick On the Sabbath of the First Fourth Seventh and Tenth Month at the 12 Lessons at St. Peters Church where Masses are celebrated After they have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer let the Bishop declare among the People saying Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting us Again he sayes Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting We chuse into the Order of Deacon or Priest that Deacon or Subdeacon of that Title If any one have any thing against these Men for Gods sake let him come forth with coufidence and speak yet let him be mindful of his Communion And after a small interval all forthwith begin Kyrie Eleison with the Letany this compleated the Persons chosen step up to the Bishops Seat and he Blesses them from whom they are called and they go down They stand in their Orders the Blessing being received Then follows a Prayer of Benediction as in the Fourth or the Tenth Month. What follows is all as above Ad Ordinandos Presbyteros Oremus dilectissimi c. the same in substance as above Then follows Consecratio Consummatio Presbyteri Item Benedictio All the same as above A Ritual of above 800 years standing This Ritual and the next were taken out of a Written Book kept in the Pontifical Chamber of the Vatican which the Pope used when he Officiated It may be seen in the Fifth Tome of St. Gregory POstquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione venit Archidiaconus offert eum qui ordinandus est Pontifici ita dicens Postulat sanct a mater Ecclesia Catholica ut hunc praesentem diaconum ad onus Presbyterii ordinetis Interrogat Episcopus Scis illum dignum esse Respondet offerens quantum humana fragilitas nosse sinit scio testificor ipsum dignum esse ad hujus onus officii c. Tunc annnnciat Pontifex Populo Auxiliante Domino Deo c. the same as in the Ritual of Gelatius then follows Oratio ad Presbyteros Ordinandos Consecratio Hic vestis casulam Benedictio Patris filii Spiritus Sancti descendat super te ut sis benedictus in ordine sacerdotali offeras placabiles hostias pro peccatis at que offensionibus populi omnipotenti Deo cui sit honor gloria in secula seculorum Then Consecratio manus as above and nothing else A Ritual of above 800 years standing AFter they shall have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer comes the Archdeacon and presents him who is to be Ordained to the Bishop saying thus The Holy Mother the Catholick Church requires that ye Ordain this Deacon here present to the charge of Priesthood The Bishop Asks Do you know him worthy The Archdeacon Answers So far as humane frailty is suffered to know I both know and testifie him to be worthy to undergo the burden of this Office Then let the Bishop say to the People Auxiliante Domino Deo c. By the help of the Lord God c. Then the Prayer and Consecration the Priestly Vestment c. The Blessing of the Father Son and Holy Ghost descend upon thee that thou mayst be blest in the Priesthood and mayst offer acceptable Sacrifices for sins and offences of the people to Allmighty God to whom be Honor and Glory for ever and ever A Ritual taken out of a very antient Manuscript of the Vatican This contains nothing different from the former but only a word or two here and there changed without any essential difference There are Three other Rituals the one belonging to Corbie in France another is a Ritual that was used in England 800 years since and now belongs to the Church of Roane The Third belongs to the Church of Remes and was Written about 800 years since which all agree with that above There is another Ritual 700 years old This did belong to
vero utrumque genu flectit super altaris crepidinem Quo facto Episcopus ter signo crucis caput ejus signat manumque super eum tenens impositum precatur Deus qui es sine principio fine qui omnis creaturae Rector es curator c. He that is to be Ordained is led by the Chief Priest to the Holy Table then the Keeper of the Archivium which contains the Writings and Records delivers to the Bishop a Written Paper Afterwards the Archdeacon proclaims Let us attend Then the Bishop in the hearing of all the by-standers Reads all that is Written in the Paper saying thus The Divine Grace c. And it is answered Kyrie Eleison And the Ordained kneels upon the step of the Altar which done the Bishop makes three signs of the Cross upon his head and holding his hand upon him Prays O God who art without beginning or end who art the Governor and Protector of all things c. Another Greek Ritual taken out of a later Manuscript This contains a Constitution of Philumenus in these words Ego dilectus à Domino vobis Episcopis sic constituo Repositis supra mensam c. Et completo Hymno Cherubico stat in solea ordinandus in Presbyterum tum egredientes duo Diaconi ipsum ex utraque parte accipiunt deducunt usque ad portas Sanctas ibique eum dimittunt Diaconi excipiunt duo Presbyteri primus secundus terque circumdant Sanctam mensam hymnum canentes Sancti Martyres qui praeclarè decertarunt Tum sic incipit magna elata voce is Presbyterorum qui lingua est expeditiore Offertur Religiosissimus Diaconus N. frater noster ut ordinetur in Presbyterum Sanctissimae Ecclesiae N. c. Sciendum autem quod cum canunt Sancti Martyres c. Sedet Episcopus in parva sella ante sanctam mensam illique gyrando cum pervenerint ante Episcopi conspectum inclinationem reverentiae causa faciunt ordinandusque genu Episcopi desuper pallium deosculatur Postea surgit Episcopus ad ipsum accedit ordinandus terque ab eo caput ipsius signatur Deinde fronti Sanctae Mensae impositus flectit quoque ambo genua exclamante Diacono Attendamus Episcopus imposita manu dextra super caput illius statim exclamat dicens Divina gratia quae infirma semper curat deficientia supplet promovet hunc religiosissimum sacrum Diaconum in Presbyterum Precemur igitur pro eo ut mittat super ipsum gratiam Sancti Spiritus Dicto postea ter Kyrie eleison iterum ipsum ter signat manumque tenens ipsi impositam Diacono dicente Dominum deprecemur orat Deus qui es principii finis expers c. Exclamatione sacta dicit Protopapas voce demissiore it a tamen ut qui praesentes sunt respondere possint haec Diaconica In pace Dominum deprecemur c. as above Amen dicto jubet eum surgere transfert orarii partem posteriorem in anteriorem dextri lateris diceus Dignus postea phelonio ipsum induens exclamat iterum dignus idemque canunt ti qui sunt in sanctuario cantores sic osculatus Episcopum Presbyteros abiens consistit cum Presbyteris legit Contacion sed Diaconus in loco consueto subsistit dicitque Compleamus orationem nostram Domino c. Cum vero sancta consecrata fuerint dicturus est it a ut fiant participantibus accedit Ordinatus eique sanctum panem tradit Episcopus sic dicens Accipe hoc depositum illud custodi usque ad adventum Domini nostri Jesu Christi quia illud à te est repetiturus Ipse vero eo accepto Pontificis manum osculatur revertitur ad locum in quo prius steterat manusque ponit super sanctam mensam dicens apud se Kyrie Eleison Miserere mei Deus Cum aeutem dicendum est Sancta Sanctis tum ordinatus reddit Sanctum panem ab Episcopo primus communicatur Dicit insuper orationem post ambonem In English thus I beloved of the Lord to you Bishops give this Constitution when the Sacred Mysteries are placed upon the Holy Table c. and the Cherubical Hymn being ended let him that is to be ordained Priest stand in the floor then let two Deacons go forth and one of each side let them lead him to the Holy Gates and there let the Deacons leave him and then let two Priests receive him the first and the second and let them go three times about the Holy Table singing the Hymn Holy Martyrs who have gloriously fought c. Then let one of the Priests that can speak best with a high and a cleer voice so begin Our Brother N. this most Religious Deacon is here offered to be ordained Priest of the most Holy Church N. c. but you must know that when they Sing the Holy Martyrs c. the Bishop sits on a little seat before the Holy Table and they in going round when they come in sight of the Bishop bow to him out of reverence and he that is to be ordained kisseth the Bishops Knee upon the Pall. Then the Bishop riseth and he that is to be ordained comes to him whose head is three times signed by the Bishop with the sign of the Cross then being placed at the Front of the Holy Table he kneels down and the Deacon pronouncing aloud Let us attend The Bishop putting his right hand upon the Ordaineds head pronounceth these words The Divine Grace which always cures that which is infirm and supplies that which is deficient promotes this most Religious holy Deacon to Priesthood Let us therefore Pray for him that the Grace of the Holy Ghost may come upon him and then Kyrie Eleison being three times repeated the Bishop again signs him three times and having his hand upon him the Deacon saying Let us beseech the Lord the Prayer is said O God that art without beginning and end c. The Pronunciation being made the chosen Priest with a lowd voice so notwithstanding as they that are present may answer Prays thus Let us beseech the Lord in peace c. as above and Amen being said he commands him to rise and removes the hinder part of his Stole to the fore-part of his right side saying worthy then putting on his Priestly Vestment with a loud voice saith again worthy and the same do they say that are in the Sanctuary and the Singers and Kissing the Bishop and the Priests placeth himself among the Priests reads the usual Lesson But the Deacon remains in his usual place and says Let us compleat our Prayer to the Lord c. But when the Holies are Consecrated and he is to say that all is ready for the partakers He that is ordained approacheth and the Bishop giving him the Holy Bread saying thus Receive this Pledge and keep it till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ because
he will require it of thee he receiving it Kisseth the Bishops hands and returns to his former place and puts his hands upon the Holy Table saving to himself Kyrie Eleison and Have Mercy upon me O God But when the Holy to Holies is to be said then the ordained restores the Holy Bread and is first communicated by the Bishop and moreover sayes the Prayer standing behind the Bishops Seat The Order of conferring Priesthood by the Syrian Maronites as followeth THe Maronites before their Reconciliation were esteemed Hereticks as holding but one Will and one kind of operation in Christ which was the Heresie of the Monothelites Their Ritual for Priesthood runs thus Primum venit ille quem elegit gratia utrumque genu flectit manus habens ante se junctas benediciturque ab Episcopo dicens benedic Domine tum Episcopus signat eum cruce inter oculos c. Interea Archidiaconus thus offert dicitque benedic Domine stemus omnes pulchrè in oratione reliqua Iterum atque iterum continuo omni tempore Domino supplicemus Domine pro redemptione auxilio ope remissione hujus servi tui N. qui hic adstat impositionem manus Divinae accipit Dona ei Domine gradum in Ecclesia sacerdotium perfectum c. Oremus igitur precemur supplicemus clamemus dicamusque tribus vicibus Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur dicitur Sanctificasti Deus Symbolum Interea Archidiaconus ducit eum manu dextra dicit Offerimus Sanctitati tuae O Pater sancte electe Dei Domine N. Episcope hunc Dei amantem qui hic adstat ut impositionem manus Divinae accipiat ex ordine Diaconi ad ordinem Presbyteratus super altare Sanctum Ecclesiae Sanctae Sancti Domini N. civitatis benedictae amantis Christi N. Est autem subjectus beatitati vestrae Pro co clamemus dicamus tribus vicibus Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur Divina gratia quae semper infirma curat deficientia supplet promovet hunc religiosissimum sacrum Diaconum in Presbyterum Diaconus in pace Domino supplicemus Episcopus precatur Diaconus proclamat istud Domini Ephrem Stemus omnes in oratione coram eo qui novit abscondita c. Episcopus imponit dexteram suam super caput ejus dicit ordinatus est in Ecclesia Archidiaconus clamat N. Presbyter ad Altare Sanctum Ecclesiae Sanctae istius loci N. Episcopus N. Presbyter Archidiaconus Psalmum Laus huic Pastori Postea legunt hunc Apostolum Fratres posuit onim deus in Ecclesia sua primum Apostolos c. datque ei Evangelium ut legat Sequuntur preces dein ter Kyrie Eleison Episcopus precatur thus datur ei circumducuntque ordinatum per Ecclesiam adferunt ei Evangelium dum autem circumducunt eum dicunt Positam Ascendit Moses in Montem Sinai c. Postea instruit eum de officio suo Explicet ordo Presbyteri Maronites First comes he whom Grace hath Elected and being on both his knees having his hands joyned sayes to the Bishop Your Bessing my Lord and is blessed by the Bishop then he signs him with the Cross between his eyes In the interim the Archdeacon offers Frankincense and sayes Your Blessing my Lord Let us all stand in Prayer and the rest Again and again continually and all the time let us Supplicate the Lord O Lord for the redemption help assistance and remission of this thy servant N. who stands here and receives the imposition of the Divine hand Give him O Lord a degree in the Church and perfect Priesthood Let us therefore beg and pray and supplicate and cry out and say Kyrie Eleison three times The Bishop Prays and saith Thou hast Sanctified O God and the Creed In the mean time the Archdeacon leads him in his right hand and saith We offer O holy Father and Elect of God Lord N. Bishop to thy Sanctity this Lover of God who stands here to receive the imposition of the Divine hand from the Order of Deacon to the Order of Priesthood upon the Holy Altar of the Holy Church N. of the blessed City that loveth Christ N. for he is subject to your Blessedness For him let us cry out three times and say Kyrie Eleison The Bishop Prays The Divine Grace which always cures the weak and supplies defects promotes this most Religious Holy Deacon to be a Priest The Deacon says In peace let us beseech the Lord. The Bishop Prays The Deacon proclaims this Ephrem of our Lord. Let us all stand in Prayer before him who knows all hidden things c. The Bishop puts his right hand upon his head and sayes He is ordained in the Church The Archdeacon cryes aloud N. Priest at the Altar of the Holy Church of this place N. the Bishop N. Priest The Archdeacon begins the Psalm Praise to this Shepherd c. After they Read this of the Apostle For Brethren God hath placed in his Church first Apostles c. and gives him the Gospel to Read Prayers follow and thrice Kyrie Eleison The Bishop Prays and Frankincense is given to him and they lead him round about the Church and bring the Gospel to him and whilst they lead him they say Moises Ascended Mount Sinai c. After he instructs him in his Office Here ends the Order of Priesthood The Ritual for Priesthood used by the Nestorians PRimum incipiunt Pater Noster c. Et Praesul precatur virtus tua Domine c. compleat media parvitate nostra Ministerium hoc Spirituale doni Sacerdotalis c. scito Domine quod in omni laudi in omni prece in omni canone adorant ordinandi ad terram usque prostrati Primum praesul abscindit capillos illius qui ordinatur cingulo ligat lumbos ejus dejicit cucullam ejus super humerum ejus sinistrum ingrediens stat in medio secretarii Archidiaconus orat pacem Praesul precatur Stolam Domine Sacerdotii c. O tibi sacerdos quam magnus est gradus cui tu ministras c. Venite accedamus ad Sacerdotium c. Stola Domine Sacerdotii veteris novi qua induisti veraces tuos hac indue adorantes te qui manus suas extendunt coram throno divinitatis tuae c. Sacerdotes qui digni facti estis Angelorum statu cavete ab iniquitate Oratio Oleo Sanctitatis Domine unge hos servos tuos c. Christe Sacerdos veritatis cujus Sacerdotium nunquam omnino praeterit operari erga servos tuos id quod adjuvat indue illos splendore decore ut Sacerdotio fungantur tibi praeclare cautè c. Item Spiritus Sanctus Paraclitus qui descendit habitavit super Discipulos ipse Domine descendat super capita te adorantium c. Et accedit ad ordinandos utrumque genu eos flectere jubet simul
extendentes manus suas super occulos suos Et profert Archidiaconus Oremus Pax nobiscum Et repetit Praesul demissè Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi qui omni tempore quod deficit supplet cum beneplacito Dei Patris cum virtute Spiritus Sancti sit omni tempore nobiscum perficiat manibus nostris ministerium hoc tremendum excelsum in redemptionem vitae nostrae His dictis vocem attollit Nunc semper Deinde signat Et profert Archidiaconus Pax eum Repetitque Praesul hanc manus impositionem manu dextera posita super caput ejus qui ordinatur dicitque demissa voce Deus noster bone c. Et juxta traditionem Domine Apostolicam quae propagata est ad nos usque in ordinatione ministerii Ecclesiastici Ecce offerimus tibi hos servos tuos ut sint Presbyteri electi in Ecclesia tua sancta pro iis oramus omnes Deinde signat eorum capita dicitque Archidiaconus Tollite occulos vestros in excelsa suprema postulate misericordiam à Deo clemente pro his his Diaconis qui ordinantur constituuntur Presbyteri in Ecclesia Dei cui sunt selecti Orate pro illis Et dicit Praesul super eos demisse dum dexteram super eorum capita imponit Domine Deus fortis c. Tu ergo Deus magnus virtutum Rex omnium seculorum respice etiam nunc in hos servos tuos elige eos electione sancta per habitationem Spiritus Sancti donaque illis in operatione oris sui sermonem veritatis elige illos ad officium sacerdotale c. Tunc signat capita eorum imperat eis ut adorant prostrati in terram surgent Postea Praesul cucullam accipit quae posita fuerat super humerum uniuscuiusque eorum ea illum induit tollitque orarium de ejus humeris illius pectori imponit Et accipit Episcopus ipse librum adorandum Evangeliorum tradit eum in manibus illius qui ordinationem accepit eumque signat inter oculos pollice dextro dicitque separatus est sanctificatus est perfectus est consecratus est N. in opus Sanctum Ecclesiasticum in ministaerium Sacerdotis Aaroniticiae In nomine Patris c. Dein Praesul tollit ab eis Evangelium Ille vero qui ordinatus est nectit genua Praesul vero baculum suum accipit c. Dum autem dicitur Canon apprehendit Archidiaconus eos qui ordinati sunt jubet eos salutare Altare Episcopum Sacerdotes Diaconos illi autem osculantur capita illorum Finit ordo impositionis manus Presbyterorum Nestorians FIrst they begin the Pater Noster And the Prelat Prays Thy virtue O Lord compleat by our weakness this Spiritual Ministery of the Sacerdotal guift c. Know O Lord that in every praise and in every Prayer and in every Canon those that are to be Ordained do adore thee prostrate upon the ground First the Prelate cuts off the hair of the Ordained and girds his loyns with a Girdle and casts his Cawle over his left shoulder and entring stands in the middle before the Altar The Archdeacon Prays for Peace The Bishop Prays Give him O Lord the Stole of Priesthood c. Consider O Priest how great is the degree to which thou art called Come let us proceed to the Priesthood c. O Lord put him on the Stole of antient and modern Priesthood wherewith thou hast clothed thy true believers with this clothe these that worship thee who stretch forth their hands before the Throne of thy Divinity c. Ye Priests who are made worthy of the State of Angels beware of Iniquity A Prayer O Lord anoint these thy servants with the Vnction of thy holiness O Christ the Priest of Truth whose Priesthood never faileth operate upon thy servants that which may be most helpful and indue them with splendor and beauty that they may perform their Priesthood to thee with Perfection and Caution c. Item Thou O Lord let the Holy Ghost who descended and dwelt upon thy Disciples descend upon the heads of those that adore thee Then he comes to them that are to be Ordained and commands them to kneel they extending their hands before their eyes c. The Archdeacon says Let us Pray Peace be with us And the Bishop with a loud voice saith The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which alwayes supplies that which is deficient with the good liking of God the Father and the vertue of the Holy Ghost be with us ever and perfect by our hands this dreadful and high Ministry for the Redemption of our life Having thus spoken he raiseth his voice Now and for ever Then he signeth him with the Cross And the Archdeacon saith Peace be to him And the Bishop again putting his right hand upon the head of the Ordained saith with a low voice Our good God c. And O Lord according to the Apostolical Tradition which hath descended to us in the Ordination of Ecclesiastical Ministry loe we offer to thee these thy servants that they may be elected Priests in thy Holy Church and for them we all Pray c. Then he signeth their heads with a Cross and the Archdeacon saith Lift up your eyes to the highest Heaven and implore Mercy from the God of Clemency for these and these Deacons who are ordained and confirmed Priests in the Church of God to which they are set apart Pray for them And the Bishop with a loud voice putting his right hand upon their heads saith O Lord God of power c. therefore thou O God the great God of vertue and King of all Ages now also look upon these thy servants and elect them by thy holy election through the inhabitation of thy Holy Spirit and in their Preaching indue them with the Word of Truth and Elect them to the Sacerdotal Office c. Then he again signs their heads with a Cross and commands them to Worship prostrate on the ground then to rise After this the Bishop takes the Cawle which was put upon their shoulders and puts it on them and takes the Stole from the shoulder and placeth it upon their Breast Then the Bishop takes the Book of the Holy Gospel and puts it into the hands of the ordained and with his right Thumb signs them between the eyes saying N. is separated sanctified is perfect is Consecrated in order to the holy work of the Church and Ministery of the Aaronitick Priesthood In the Name of the Father c. Then the Bishop takes from them the Book of the Gospel and the ordained kneel Then the Bishop takes his Pastoral Staffe c. and while the Canon is Read the Archdeacon takes the ordained and commands them to do reverence to the Altar to the Bishop to the Priests and Deacons and they kiss the head of the ordained Here ends the Order of Imposition
of Hands for Priesthood The Order of conferring Priesthood practised by the Eutichians and the Jacobites THese two Sects I joyn together because they Profess the same Doctrine and differ only in name the Jacobites assume their denomination from one Jacobus a Syrian Disciple of the Patriarch of Alexandria which was a Profest Eutichian This Jacobus made it his chief endeavor to settle this Belief and by himself and his adherents did it so successfully that at length they were numerously entertained in at least Forty Kingdoms in the East and in Africa under the Patriarch of Alexandria The Eutichians therefore and the Jacobites agreeing in their Doctrine the same Liturgy and Ritual were common to both They both held That there was such mixture and confusion between the Divine and Human Nature in Christ by reason of the Hypostatical Union that there resulted a Third Nature distinct from both if taken apart which they call a Theandrical Nature Yet they deny that the Humane Nature was converted into the Divine Nature for that imports a destruction of the Human Nature without which no Conversion could subsist This Doctrine hath no less Conformity with the Monothelites than opposition with the Nestorians here being a sure ground for the Monothelites to work upon for if there be but one Nature in Christ then there can be but one Will and one Series of Operation which is the Doctrine of the Monothelites but all this is repugnant to the Doctrine of Nestorius who held Two Persons in Christ and proved it thus A Compleat Nature and a Person are the very same thing but in Christ there are two Compleat Natures and therefore Two Persons This Argument was very vexatious to the Fathers and hath puzled all our Antient and Modern Divines and yet to this day there is no Satisfactory Answer given to it But Eutiches in his Principles solved it cleerly by Denying the Minor for he held but One Nature in Christ and consequently but One Person But consented to Nestorius in the Major and so might institute a Sillogisme against him thus A Compleat Nature and a Person are the same but in Christ there is but One Compleat Nature and therefore but One Person But this is to destroy one Error by another Wherefore the Eutychians and Jacobites agreeing in Doctrine agreed also in their Rites and Ceremonies and from Three Manuscripts sent from Goa the Metropolitan City of the East Indies to Lisbon in Portugal this Ritual is drawn out Presbyter quando ordinatur stat coram Altari subter gradus ipsius caput habens apertum inclinatum donec perficiatur oblatio Tunc Episcopus tondet in formam crucis capillos ejus qui ordinatur traditque eum institutori suo praeceptum dat illi de perfectione doctrinae suae ordinis sui c. Statim postea apprehendit Episcopus manum ejus dexteram dicitque Spiritus Sanctus vocat te cumque introducit ad Altare procumbere facit super duo illius genua coram Altari manus habentem junctas ante se orarium Diaconatus super se c. Archidiaconus hoc praeconium proclamat Gratia Domini Nostri Jesu Christi quae omni tempore perficit defectus nostros secundum voluntatem Dei Patris in virtute Spiritus Sancti adsit iis qui hic offeruntur c. Ipsa est quae vocat offert ex Ordine Diaconorum ad Ordinem Presbyteratus N. Presbyterum ad Altare Sanctum divinum domus genetricis Dei Mariae c. Precemur igitur omnes ut descendat super eos gratia illapsus Spiritus Sancti c. ter Kyrie Eleison reliqua Episcopus ponit manus suas super mysteria extendit brachia sua colligitque contrahit ea tribus vicibus super corpus sanguinem accipiens ex calice in pugillum suum dum colligant ea cooperiunt peplo seu linteo Sacro Postea revertitur ad illum qui est ordinandus imponit manus super caput ejus easque illi admetitur iterumque attollit manus porrigens brachia sua in altum easque deprimit tremulas super caput ejus hocque tribus vicibus facit Episcopus ipse oculis ipsius desuper cum timore aspicientibus Post hoc ponit dexteram suam super illius caput tegit manus caput illius qui ordinatur cum Phaina Dextera illius ponetur super ejus caput sinistra hinc hinc movebitur circumferetque sinistram suam tribus vicibus super cervicem ipsius faciem c. Invocatio Spiritus Sancti c. Postea revertitur Episcopus ad occidentem ad eum qui ordinatur imponitque dexte ram suam super caput ejus eum signat inter oculos sic dicens Ordinatus est in Ecclesia Sancta Dei. Archidiaconus dicit N. Presbyter ad Altare Sanctum domus genetricis Dei. Episcopus addit N. Presbyter ad Altare Sanctum c. Episcopus In nomine Patris c. Cum autem confecerit tria crucis signa tunc qui consecratur Sacerdos redit ad Altare hanc mystecè dicens orationem Suscepimus gratiam tuam Domine c. Post haec redit Episcopus ad cum qui ordinatur eumque apprehendit per manum suam dexteram erigit Archidiaconus autem dicit benedic Domine Episcopus accipit orarium quod super ipsum positum est traducit illud super humerum ejus dexterum à parte anteriori dicens Ad laudem honorem decorem exaltationem Trinitatis Sanctae consubstantialis ad pacem aedificationem Ecclesiae Sanctae Dei. Respondent Clerici Ad laudem c. Et cum pompa defert casulam tunicam zanadas singulam dicitque Ad laudem c. Deinde tradit ei thuribulum praecipit ut imponat adoramenta Apprehendit autem Episcopus manu eum qui ordinatus est adducit ut osculetur mensam vitae eaque salutata manum Episcopi deosculatur qui ipse pacem illi donat jubetque ut caeteri omnes pacem illi donent Et statim obsignat Episcopus consummationem corporis Sancti cum poculo eumque communicat praecipit ut ipse congregationem communicet Cruce autem signabit finiet Episcopus Eutichians c. WHen a Priest is Ordained he stands before the Altar under the steps thereof having his head uncovered and inclined till the Oblation is performed Then the Bishop cuts the hair of him that is to be Ordained into the form of a Cross and delivers him to his Tutor and gives him a Precept concerning the perfection of his Doctrine and Order c. forthwith afterwards the Bishop takes him by the right hand and saith The Holy Ghost calls thee and brings him to the Altar and places him on both his knees before the Altar having his hands joyn'd before him and a Deacons Vestment upon him c. The Archdeacon speaks aloud this Prayer The
Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who alwayes makest perfect our defects according to the will of God the Father in the virtue of the Holy Ghost be present with these who are here offered c. It is it who calls and offers N. from the degree of Deacon to the degree of a Priest at the Holy and Divine Altar of the House of the Mother of God Mary c. Therefore let us all Pray that Grace and the Holy Spirit may descend upon them c. thrice Kyrie Eleison c. The Bishop puts his hands upon the Mystery and stretcheth forth his armes and gathers and contracts them thrice over the Body and Blood taking out of the Chalice the Particles whilst they gather them together and cover them with a Veil or Sacred Linnen After he turns to him that is to be Ordained and puts his hand on his head and measures them to him and again lifts up his hands stretching out his armes on high and lets his hands fall trembling upon his head This the Bishop repeats three times his eyes looking down with fear After this he lays his right hand on his head and covers the head and hands of him that is to be Ordained with a Vaile His right hand is placed upon his head and his left is moved to and fro and he turns his left hand thrice about his neck and face c. Invocation of the Holy Ghost c. Afterward the Bishop turns to the West towards him that is to be Ordained and puts his right hand on his head and signs him with the Cross between his eyes saying thus He is Ordain'd in the Holy Church of God The Archdeacon saith N. Priest at the Holy Altar of the House of the Mother of God The Bishop adds N. Priest at the Holy Altar c. In the Name of the Father c. After he hath made three signs of the Cross the Priest Ordained returns to the Altar Mystically saying this Prayer We have received thy Grace O Lord c. Then the Bishop returns to him and takes him by the right hand and lifts him up The Archdeacon saith Your Blessing my Lord. The Bishop takes the Stole which was upon him and brings it over his right shoulder from the forepart saying To the Praise and Honor and Beauty and Exaltation of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity and to the Peace and Edification of the Holy Church of God The Clergy Answer To the Praise c. And when he with Pompe carries the Vestment and Tunick and Girdle c. and saith To the Praise c. Afterwards delivers to him a Censer and commands him to put Incense therein Moreover the Bishop takes him by the hand and leads him to kiss the Table of Life which being done he kisseth the Bishops hand who gives him his Peace and commands all the rest to do the like And forthwith the Bishop signs with the Cross the Consummation of the Holy Body with the Cup and after he hath communicated Orders that he Communicate the Congregation the Bishop shall sign with the Cross and conclude The Ritual of the Cophticks or Aegyptians for the Ordination of Priests THe disserence between the Cophticks and the Jacobites is not considerable only they who lived in Persia Syria Assyria and the East were called Jacobites But they who inhabited Aegypt and Aethiopia were called Cophticks whose Ritual differs but little from the Jacobites which is as followeth Cum volunt praesentare Ordinandum in Sacerdotem testificantur primo Sacerdotes de operibus ejus bonis de scientia ejus quod uxor ejus talis sit qualem lex requirit quod acceperit inferiores gradus c. Deinde prodit foras vestitus veste Diaconi haltheus super humerum ejus sinistrum coram altari Stet autem Episcopus cum Sacerdotibus Et qui separatus est incurvat genua sua ante Altare Episcopus dicit gratiarum actionem accipit simul thymiama orat super illud conversusque facie sua ad Altare dicit hanc orationem O Domine Deus qui venire nos fecisti c. He prays for the Holy Ghost and Grace to administer Priesthood right Ecce venit ad te Ordinandus in Sacerdotem perfice eum in servum tuum c. Dicit Archidiaconus Gratia Domini Nostri Jesu Christi c as above Ter Kyrie Eleison Episcopus conversus ad orientem hanc orationem dicit Queso Domine Deus pone eum dignum vocatione Presbyteratus c. ut ministret Altari tuo sancto c. ter Kyrie Eleison Conversus ad occidentem Episcopus ponit manum suam dextram super caput ejus sic orando O Domine Deus omnipotens c. Respice super hunc servum tuum qui tibi praesentatur ad sacerdotium per approbationem judicium eorum qui tibi eum stiterunt c. Reple eum Spiritu Sancto gratia c. The Bishop Prays for him that he may worthily perform the functions of Priesthood c. Et conversus ad occidentem signat frontem ejus pollice suo dicens vocamus to in Ecclesiam Dei Sanctam Amen Alta voce dicit Archidiaconus N. Sacerdos est Altaris Sancti quod est in Ecclesia Sancta Catholica Apostolica Ecclesia Dei Amen Deinde clara voce Episcopus dicit vocamus te N. Sacerdotem Altaris Sancti quod vocatur Orthodoxorum in nomine Patris c. Facit Episcopus super frontem ejus tres cruces significando Trinitatem Deinde vestit illum Stola dicens Gloria honor Trinitati Sanctae consubstantiali Patri Filio Spiritui Sancto Pax incrementum Ecclesiae Dei Sanctae Amen Conversus ad orientem Episcopus orat sic Gratias tibi agimus c. A Thansgiving to God and a Petition that the Ceremonies of Ordination may please him Then follows an Admonition to the Priest newly Ordained Et juramento praestito osculatur Episcopum Altare praesentes Deinde explicat aliquid de mysteriis Et Episcopus ponit super eum manum tribus vicibus omnes dicunt alta voce dignus est N. ut sit Sacerdos in Ecclesia Sancta Catholica Apostolica And so it ends The Cophticks and Aegyptians WHen they would present him that is to be Ordained Priest first of all the Priests give Testimony of his good Works and his Learning and that his Wife is such as the Law requires that he hath received the Inferior Orders c. Then he comes forth in his Deacons Habit and having a Stole on his left shoulder he stands before the Altar The Bishop likewise stands with his Priests And he that is separated kneels before the Altar The Bishop recites a Prayer of Thansgiving and at the same time takes the Incense and blesseth it and turning his face to the Altar he recites this Prayer O Lord God who hast ordered our coming c. Behold he that is to be
one Constantinus Caetanus Abbot of a Monastery near Rome which contains all that the former Rituals have but is more ample and adds more Ceremonies and Prayers not any way belonging to the Essentials of Priesthood except that which is specified towards the end for the Bishop having recited the Consecration he totally omits that which is contained under the Title Consummatio Presbyteri as in the first Ritual then he puts the Stole on the right shoulder of him that is to be Ordained saying Accipe jugum Dei jugum enim ejus suave est onus ejus leve Receive the yoke of God for his yoke is sweet and his burthen light Then he puts on his Casula or Vestment saying Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus God put thee on the Stole of Innocence Then follows the Benediction Deus Sanctificationum c. as in the first Ritual which done Capiens oleum facit crucem super manus ambas ita dicens Consecrare sanctificare digneris Domine manus istas per istam unctionem ut quaecunque consecraverint consecrentur quaecunque benedixerint benedicantur sanctificentur in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi Hoc facto accipiat patenam cum oblatis calicâ—â—â— cum vino dicat Accipe potestatem 〈…〉 sacrificium Deo Missamque cebbâ—â—re tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis in nomine Domini Benedictio Benedictio Dei Patris silii Spiritus Sancti descendet saper vos ut sitis benedicti in ordine Sacerdotali offeratis placabiles hostias pro peccatis at que offensionibus populi omnipotenti Deo cui est honor gloria per omnia Taking the Oyle he makes a Cross upon both his hands saying thus O Lord vouchsafe to Consecrate and Sanctifie these hands by this Unction that whatever they shall Consecrate may be consecrated and whatever they shall bless may be blessed in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ This being performed let him take the Paren with the Offerings and the Calice with the Wine let him say Receive the Power to offer Sacrifice to God and to say Mass both for the Living and the Dead in the Name of our Lord c. The Benediction Let the Blessing of God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost descend upon ye may ye be blessed in the Order of riesthood and may ye offer Attoning Sacrifices for the Sins and offences of the People to Almighty God To whom be Honor and Glory c. This is the first Ritual that I can find which contains the touching of the Chalice with Wine and the Pattene with an Hoast with this Form Accipe potestatem c. as above which the Church of Rome hath ever since retained to this day Another Ritual belonging to the Church of Mens of 450 years standing contains all that the former hath But in the Margin it is written that the Bishop saith to them that are Ordained Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiserit is peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt c. post sumptionem corporis Sanguinis Jesu Christi antequam dicatur postcommunio tunc Episcopus trahat unicuique casulam deorsum per scapulas osculans eum dicens Pax Domini sit semper tecum Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins ye remit are remitted and whose sins ye retain are retained And after the receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ before the saying of the Post-Communion let the Bishop let down the Vestment from their shoulders kissing each of them and saying Let the Peace of our Lord be always with you This addition is all the difference between this and the last Ritual and in the perusal of these and several other Rituals I never met with any power to Remit and Retain sins communicated to the Ordained by such plain and express words after they had received the power of Priesthood Yet by the Custom of some Churches this form Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum c. is used in the beginning of the Ordination of Priests and accompanyeth the Imposition of hands But the present Practice of the Church of Rome is to give this power about the end of the Mass by the Imposition of Hands as the Matter and the words Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. as the Form And because the Modern Rituals of the Latines contain nothing of moment more then what the Roman Pontifical expresseth I shall therefore wave them lest it might prove tedious to the Reader SECT III. A briefe Account of the Rituals of the Greeks Maronites c. WE begin with the Greeks and because the Antient Rituals have no more in them then what is contained in those of a later date I shall omit the former for after them to transcribe the more modern Pontificals were actum agere to do the same thing twice A Greek Ritual Written 800 years since kept in the Liberary of Cardinal Franciscus Barbarinus Ordinatio Presbyteri Postquam allata sunt Sancta dona in sacra mensa reposita sunt completus est Sanctus Hymnus mysticus Cherubicus charta consueta traditur Archiepiscopo in qua scriptum est Divina gratia quae semper infirma curat deficientia complet promovet hunc N. Deo amabilem Diaconum in Presbyterum Eaque lecta ita ut omnes audiant qui ordinandus est adducitur eoque genu flectente tria crucis signa facit super caput ejus habensque manum et impositam haec precatur Deus qui es principii finis expers qui omni creatura longè es antiquior quique denominatione Presbyteri eos honorasti qui digni judicati sunt in eo gradu sancte administrare verbum veritatis tuae Ipse omnium Domine complaceat tibi hunc quam à me propter politiam irreprehensibilem modumque agendi inculpatum fidem constantem promoveri probasti magnam illam gratiam Sancti Spiritus tui suscipere Perfectum redda servum tuum ut tibi in omnibus placeat pro data sibi à providente virtute tua magno illo sacerdotali honore dignè sese gerat conversetur quia tua est potentia tuum est regnum virtus c. Tum facit Presbyterorum unus Diaconi precem in hunc modum In pace Dominum deprecemur Pro suprema pace ac salute Pro pace universi mandi Pro Archiepiscopo nostro N. ipsius sacerdotio auxilio perseverantia pace ac salute operibus manuum ejus Dominum deprecemur Pro eo qui nunc promovetur Presbytero salute ipsius Dominum deprecemur Vt clemens hominum amans Deus immaculatum irreprehensibile largiatur illi Sacerdotium deprecemur Pro piissimo à Deo custodito Imperatore Nostro c. Et cum à Presbytero haec habetur oratio Archiepiscopus consimiliter manum tenens super caput illius qui ordinatur sic precatur Deus qui potens es in
Church without examining particulars as the Council of Florence directs 'T is well that you have exempted the Ordainer from reprehension But then I must demand What intention the Church had in introducing this new Matter and Forme so explicitely and in express terms signifying the collation of Priestly Power to proced from hence and consequently the Character to be hereby imprinted for if these are not intended as Essentials then you have removed the siction from the Ordainer and attributed it to the Church so that the one or the other must be the Author of it but as to this present controversie it matters not which And indeed to solve all there is but one way which is to grant that the tradition of the Vessels and the Forme of Words thereunto annexed do Essentially confer the Order and imprint the Character The Third Proofe is made out by induction which to effect we must make a strict inquiry into all the parts contained in the Roman Ritual to deprehend if any one of them have any proportionable capacity in order to this effect The first imposition of hands can have none because there is no Form appropriated to it neither can a bare Matter without a Forme constitute the adequate Essence of a Sacrament The Second Imposition of â—ands though there be a Form accommodated to it yet it is neither Indicative or Enunciative nor Imperative but only Deprecatory which is not sufficient to satisfie the See of Rome But however as the Roman Ritual for Priesthood is disposed the Order of Priesthood can never proceed from hence except the touching of the Vessels with its Forme be wholly left out for in case Priesthood should be validly conferr'd by this Imposition of Hands and its Forme then the tendring the Vessels afterwards to him that is already Ordained with these words Accipe potestatem Take a power to offer Sacrifice c. would be a Sacrilegious and Fallacious attempt to Reordain him that was before validly Ordained and had the Character of Priesthood imprinted upon him and this would be constantly practised through the whole extent of the Church Besides this Doctrine is wholly destitute of Autority for there are few or no Divines that insist upon this What then remains only the Third Imposition of Hands which follows a long time after about the end of Mass with these words Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt Receive the Holy Ghost they whose sins you forgive are forgiven and they whose sins you retain are retained This likewise hath no proportion to confer the Order of Priesthood First because it supposeth that Order already conferr'd for none but a Priest is sufficiently qualified to receive a Power of Relaxing and Retaining sins But in the Primitive Church this power was ever esteemed a branch of Presbytery necessarily resulting from the Validity of Ordination so that all Priests had the Radical Power of Absolving but they were not to practice it without a Deputation from their Bishop neither is it above Four hundred and Fifty years since this Forme was thrust into the Ritual and by reason of its novelty as not being instituted by Christ as Essential to the Ordination of Priesthood cannot participate of the nature of a Sacrament nor any way belong to the Essentials of Ordination Lastly That this Matter and Forme have no influence upon the Power of Consecrating or offering Sacrifice is evidently evinced from hence That all they who receive it had before said Mass with the Bishop and Consecrated with him and to that end the Canon and especially the words of Consecration that usually are pronounced with a lower voice are by the Bishop pronounced aloud and distinctly because the Ordained may accompany him for he that first ends the words of Consecration doth truly Consecrate and none of the rest except they direct their intention to that instant in which the Bishop pronounceth the last lyllable How then can this last imposition of Hands or its Forme any way conduce to the Power of Order It therefore remains that nothing contained in the Roman Ritual for Priesthood can be Essential to that Order except the Tradition of the Vessels with its Forme all the rest being accidentary and circumstantial as I shall prove hereafter by their own Authors All this is confirmed by the practise prescribed in the Roman Ritual for degrading a Priest Ministri tradunt in manus degradandi calicem cum vino aqua ac patena hostia quam Pontifex Degradator aufert de manibus degradandi The Ministers deliver into the hands of him that is to be degraded a Chalice with Wine and Water and a Patene and Hoaste which the Bishop that is the Degrader takes out of the hands of the degraded because by delivering these Vessels to him he was Ordained Priest and therefore by taking them from him again they think him sufficiently devested of that dignity This Truth is so apparent that it needs no other proofe then to observe in their Ordination how indifferent and unconcerned they are in all parts thereof except in delivering the Vessels and pronouncing the Forme that affects them here one Priest inspects one side another surveys the other side and they keep such a pressing of the Ordaineds hands both on the Patene and Chalice that no Error be committed in the application of these Vessels that the beholder will presently conclude that they esteem the whole substance of Ordination to consist in this Discourse their Clergy and you will find that no one doubts it Read the Forme Accipe potestatem c. Receive the power c. and you will certainly conclude that it signifieth nothing else And they who live amongst them and converse with them cannot but know their general and unanimous belief and perswasion that the Order of Priesthood is validly conferr'd by the touching of those Vessels and the Form which accompanys it and the Character thereby imprinted and Sacramental Grace conferr'd Wherefore as to the thing in substance I offer this Dilemma either the Order of Priesthood is validly conferr'd by touching the Vessels and the Forme appropriated to it and the Character thereby imprinted or not If the first be granted that is the scope of our present intention If the second then I declare that the words which the Ordainer pronounceth are Nugatory Delusive and Fallacious for the words are Imperative whereby the Bishop bids the Ordained receive a power of offering Sacrifice which in effect is Priesthood and the Ordained who comes full fraught with an ardent desire of receiving it consequently accepts it and yet notwithstanding this offer and acceptation he is deluded for that power being Spiritual and so invisible as is also the Character he conceives himself impower'd to offer Sacrifice and his Soul consequently imbellisht with a new and high Prerogative in plain and explicite words offered him and yet is defrauded and disappointed of his expectation
for that Matter and Forme as we suppose by the second part of the Dilemma is not capable to confer upon him such a dignity notwithstanding the Promise SECT V. The Order of Priesthood according to the present Institution cannot be validly conferr'd by touching the Vessels with this Forme Accipe potestatem c. THe Ordinations and Institutions of Christ none can attempt to abrogate or alter without a Sacrilegious temerity for they carry with them an irrefragable Autority they are Juris Divini of Divine Right they are Sacred and therefore no Human Power upon Earth can make any change or alteration in them and more especially when by Divine Institution Supernatural effects are produced by Natural causes as it falls out in the Ordination of Priests for when it is validly conferr'd there is communicated to the Receiver a Spiritual capacity to exercise all the Functions of Priesthood there is a Power granted to him over the Real Body and the Mystical Body of Christ the first by Consecration in the Eucharist the second by Relaxing and Retaining sins There is also imprinted upon the Soul of the Ordained a Character which is a Real Physical and Supernatural quality neither is it Supernatural only quoad modum in the circumstances of producing it but quoad entitatem the very Intrinsecal Nature and Essence of it is Supernatural because no exigence of Nature can ever challenge it as due in any circumstances whatsoever From the same cause also proceeds an increase of Sanctifying and inherent Grace in the Soul of the Ordained as also a plentiful supply of Actual and Transient Graces whereby his Understanding is Illuminated and his Will Fortified in all occasions conducing to the Functions of his Order all which are according to their Intrinsecal Nature Supernatural And yet the causes from which these strange effects proceed are of themselves purely Natural having no proportion to such Supernatural products They have only a Radical Obediential capacity to be assumed and elevated above their Nature by the powerful hand of the Omnipotent to produce joyntly with him any effect that involves not a contradiction Thus the Natural Element of Water is Instituted by Christ to produce Spiritual and Supernatural Grace and to destroy Original Sin And in our present case the Imposition of Hands though Natural in it self was appointed by Christ our Redeemer to produce the forementioned effects waving the question whether the Causality of Sacraments be Physical or only Moral which the Divines Dispute And as there is no power upon earth that can abrogate or alter Christs Institutions or devest those Natural Causes of that Efficacity which by an Irrevocable Decree the Author of Grace hath given them so there is no Created Power neither Human nor Angelical that can validly institute appoint ordain or determine any Natural Cause whatsoever to produce any Supernatural effect because all Created Power how great soever is limited and confin'd within the bounds of Nature and so neither formally nor virtually nor eminently contains that Supereminent Vertue or proportion with Supernatural Effects which are far above its Sphear How then can it Communicate to other Causes that High Vertue which it no way contains in it self Hence it ensues that as all the power of Nature though it summon and muster up all its strength can never deprive those Natural Entities Instituted by Christ of this Supereminent Prerogative nor hinder their effects when duly applyed to Subjects capable according to Christs Institution so likewise neither can it remove or transfer this operative quality from those causes to which Christ hath affixt it and place it upon others of its own invention and determination For no pure Creature can alter change or abrogate a Divine Law And in this case the word Incarnate is the Legislator or Law-giver and therefore none but himself can make any Change in his own Law Except Man that is but a meer Creature will wage War with his Creator and Usurp to himself a Power that never was nor ever will be granted him it being peculiar to God alone The ground of this Doctrine is not New but Admitted by All and is common to both Churches For this is the Argument that St. Augustin used against the Pelagians who held a proportion in our Natural Acts to Merit Glory and the Semipelagians or Massilienses endeavouring a Moderation attributed to our Natural Acts a power of Meriting Supernatural Grace and this obtained rendered us capable of Meriting Glory Which Opinions are both condemned as Heretical chiefly upon this Principle That whatsoever is Natural hath no proportion with things Supernatural which common Reason dictates Thus far in General now we 'll descend to Particulars The Question in agitation is whether the touching the Vessels that is the Chalice with Wine and Water in it and the Patene with an Hoast be the Essential Matter and Forme of the Order of Priesthood I Assert that it is not because it was never assum'd nor appointed by the Divine Institutor for that end This being a thing of Fact must be made out by the Testimony of those that best knew None are more competent Witnesses nor were better acquainted with the Transactions of Christ then his Apostles who were eye-Witnesses of his proceedings and to whom Christ communicated such things as chiefly concerned his Church And they have left their Testimony in Writing to be inviolably observed in future times and yet have no where left the least mention of this Matter and Forme If any such thing had been Instituted by their Divine Master it is most unlikely and wholly incredible that in a matter of such moment and high concern wherein the very being of the Church depended they should have past it over in deep silence and never have given the lest intimation of it neither in Word nor Writing to those of the Primitive Church that immediately succeeded them But so it is the Apostles never mention it All Antiquity is wholly ignorant of it search all the Minutest Passages of Scripture read all the Authors of the Infancy and Growth of the Church Examine all the Liturgies and Rituals of Ordination the Latines Greeks the Syrian Maronites the Nestorians the Eutichians the Jacobites the Cophticks the Aegyptians the Babilonians the Aethiopians c. Peruse all the Records of Councils and you shall find nothing but a profound Silence and Ignorance of any such thing till about 700 years since as you may see above Section II. in the Ritual of Constantinus Caëtanus In the Antient Rituals as well of the Latines as the Greeks and others there is frequent mention made of the Imposition of Hands in Ordination which was ever held Essential to the Order of Priesthood but of Touching the Vessels not a word Whence we may certainly conclude that those Vessels were never Instituted by Christ as the Essential Matter of Priesthood nor the Words annexed thereunto as the Essential Forme Let us now Collect what hath been proved in this Section
Sacraments are Certainly none will attempt it but such whose ambition prompts them to intrench upon Divine Right and God it here upon Earth not knowing or not acknowledging that their power is limited and confin'd within its certain bounds Besides were there two Formes of Ordination one Instituted by Divine Autority the other by Human and both valid by the same Rule you might institute Two hundred yea every Diocess might have one peculiar to it self there is no more difficulty for the Third then there was for the Second nor for the Fourth then the Third and so of all the rest Wherefore if such a power were delegated to meer Humanes What a confusion might they bring into the Church which would be the ground of Discord and Dissention for one Bishop might contend with another whose Ordination was best Having thus proved the Invalidity of Ordination according to the Present Roman Pontifical and General Approbation of that Church I shall now imploy my endeavors to solve the Objections which may be proposed in vindication thereof SECT VI. An Answer to the Objections Proposed by the Doctors of the Church of Rome against the Invalidity of their Ordination THe Roman Divines who earnestly endeavor to compose this difficulty find so much arduity in it that they cannot agree among themselves but what expedient one finds out as accommodated to this end another disapproves and so with great anxiety they cast about by several windings and turnings to compose the Difference between both Churches but in the execution they impugne each other and by this means divide themselves into several Classes Whereof I shall here give you an account The most considerable Party as well for number as for autority and reputation are those who absolutely exclude all Imposition of Hands from the Essentials of Ordination and place the whole Essence thereof in Touching the Holy Vessels with the Forme accommodated thereunto And indeed this is generally received in the Church of Rome as an undoubted Truth Some of the Authors of this Opinion I have cited in the Fourth Section and practised as such This is conformable to the Doctrine of the Council of Florence and Pope Gregory the 9th which I have cited in the beginning of the Fourth Section This Opinion needs no Answer for the Authors hereof are so far from reconciling both Churches that they Unchurch both and in stead of solving the difficulty they sink under the burthen thereof They destroy the Greek Church by denying the Imposition of Hands to be Essential to Ordination which the Greeks ever used as the only Essential Matter thereof They destroy the Latines by relying wholly upon the Touching of the Vessels and the Forme annexed as the only Essential Matter and Forme of Ordination excluding all other and yet this Matter and Forme are wholly uncapable of giving any validity to the Order of Priesthood because they want the Essence the very life and soul of being Instrumental to Ordination which is the Divine Institution as I have manifestly proved in the precedent Section A Second Objection The Divine Institutor of the Order of Priesthood did not determine the specifical Matter and Forme thereof but only in general that the Church should appoint some sensible Matter and some Forme of Words whereby to signifie the collation of Order by their application So that here is a latitude in Christ's Institution and a Power left to the Church to determine what particular Matter and Forme she should think fit and by this Power the Church may alter the Matter and Forme of Order at her pleasure she may abrogate what was before in use and Institute a new Matter and Forme and the Order will still be valid So Isambertus the Kings Professor of Divinity at Paris Treating at large of the Sacrament of Order Disput 3. art 3. his words are these Christus Dominus instituendo Ordines determinavit tantum eorum materias in genere nimirum ut ea esset legitima cujuslibet Ordinis materia quae existens sensibilis sui Traditione debitè sufficienter facta tam ex parte Ministri quam intentionis significaret tune de facto potestatem tali Ordini propriam dari ei qui materiam istam sensibilem seu signum istud sensibile acciperet in sua Ordinatione particularem autem istius signi determinationem seu imponere veluti affigere significationem practicam illius potestatis huic vel illi rei sensibili in particulari reliquit faciendum Ecclesiae prout quando illa judicaret esse conveniens Our Lord Christ Instituting Orders did only determine their Matter in General which being sensible duly and sufficiently apply'd as well in reference to the Minister as the Intention might signifie then in effect the power proper to that Order to be given to him that in his Ordination should receive this sensible Matter or Sign But to determine this Sign in particular and to Impose and as it were affix to it a Practical Signification of that Power given to this or that Sensible Thing in Particular he hath left to be done by the Church when and how she should judge it convenient And having Proved out of the Constitutions of Clement and the Fourth Council of Carthage That the Imposition of Hands by the Bishop and the assisting Priests used in the beginning of Ordination was formerly the Essential Matter of Priesthood he adds Igitur cum hoc nostro tempore haec Impositio manuum sit tantum accidentalis illa posterior quae fit à solo Episcopo simul dicente ei quem Ordinat Accipe Spiritum Sanctum Quorum c. sit nunc Essentialis ut supra ostendimus aliqua mutatio est facta per Ecclesiam in ista materia Ordinum Therefore since in this our time this Imposition of Hands is only accidental and that last which is performed only by the Bishop saying to him whom he Ordains Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. is Essential as I have shewn above some change is made by the Church in this matter of Orders Thus he The same saith Gammacheus de Sacramento Ordinis Cap. 4. Hallerius S. Bonaventura Prepositus Atrebas de materia forma Ordinationis n. 109. There are Three Reasons that this Objection is grounded on Lugo D 2. de Sacramentis in genere S. 5. n. 85. The first is because the Church hath changed the matter of Subdeaconship which was formerly conferr'd by the Imposition of Hands but now by the Ordination and Practise of the Church that Imposition of Hands doth not at all belong to the Essence of Subdeaconship Secondly Clandestine Marriage was ever valid before the Council of Trent but now is rendred invalid by that Council Thirdly The Apostles Confirmed by Imposition of Hands without Unction but now if the Unction be omitted the Confirmation is invalid To this Objection my first Answer is That it is all gratis dictum it is said without ground It is mera
Divine which still makes the Church a joynt Institutor with Christ and so as that the Church hath the greatest hand in it for the Church Orders Appoints and Determines all and Christ is to be ready at the Churches beck to execute what she appoints as though the Omnipotent Power of the Divine Word were subservient to the Church for it is the powerful hand of Christ that elevates the sensible Signs to produce Sacramental effects which are out of the reach of nature But the Church determines what the Signs shall be and summons the Divine Words Omnipotency when and where to elevate them and so she hath the greatest share in the Institution of Sacraments 'T is strange how such a Thought could find admittance into any true Christians understanding to devest Christ of this Prerogative and give it the Roman Church which so much derogates from the high Power and Wisdom of the Incarnate Word My Fourth Answer is grounded on Autority And first I begin with the Council of Trent in these words Trident Sess 7. Can. 1. Si quis dixerit Sacramenta novae legis non fuisse omnia à Jesu Christo Domino nostro Instituta c. Anathema sit If any one shall say that the Sacraments of the New Law were not all Instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord let him be Accursed St. Thomas of Aquine their great Divine saith Aquinas 3 Part. q. 60. ar 5. corpore In Sacramentis novae legis quibus homines Sanctificantur oportet uti rebus ex Divina Institutione determinatis In the Sacraments of the New Law by which Men are Sanctify'd it is necessary to use things that by Divine Institution are determined Consonant to this is the testimony of Bellarmine Bellarminus L. 1. de Sacramentis in genere C. 21. Ibid. in these words Res certae determinaiae ab ipso Deo in Sacramentis esse debent Things certain and determined by God himself must be used in the Sacraments And again saith he Non solum res sed etiam verba in Sacramentis novae legis à Deo determinatae sunt ut non liceat quidquam immutare Not only the things saith he but also the words in the Sacraments of the New Law are determin'd by God so that it is not lawful to change any thing All this is confirmed and attested by Suarez that great Divine whose Autority bears such sway in the Church of Rome who first lays his Ground-work in these words Suarez 3 Part. To. 3. D. 2. S. 2. citans D. Thomam Omnia Sacramenta quae consistunt in usu constant rebus verbis seu materia forma tanquam ex partibus quibus componuntur All Sacraments which consist in use contain things and words or matter and forme as parts whereof they are composed And afterwards he adds these words Ibid. S. 3. Dico 1. materias formas Sacramentorum determinatas esse ex Christi Domini Institutione eo modo quo definitae sunt esse necessarias ad Sacramenta conficienda First I assert saith Suarez that the Matters and Forms of Sacraments are determined by the Institution of Christ our Lord and in that manner as they are defin'd they are necessary to the validity of the Sacraments But this is not all for of this very Opinion he adds these words Est communis Theologorum absolute loquendo est de fide This is the common Doctrine of the Divines and absolutely speaking it is an Article of Faith Ile adds one Text more out of Suarez because his Autority is so renowned In the Fourth Section he thus declares his Opinion Ibid. S. 4. Si mutatio materiae aut formae essentialis seu substantialis sit nullum efficitur Sacramentum If any change be made in the Matter or Forme that is Essential or Substantial it renders the Sacrament void and ineffectual Hence I conclude that the Authors and Abetters of the Doctrine contained in the Objection do not only impugne the common Opinion of Divines but they also erre in matter of Faith as Suarez observes And it is to be observed that all these Autorities agree in this That Christ not only Instituted but also Determined the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments which the Authors of this Objection deny To this I le annex the Judgment of Maldonatus Maldonatus Tom. 2. de Sacramentis Tract de Ordine q. 3. part 2. a Famous Divine of the Jesuits whose words are these Impositio manuum non est habenda tanquam ceremonia non necessaria scd tanquam pars Essentialis Sacramenti idque videtur tenendum side Catholica Primum quia in Scriptura ubicunque fit montio de Ordinatione declaratur per impositionem manuum Et videtur mihi esse temerarium scripturam deserere consectari chymeras id est rationes naturales Secundò quia veterem Ecclesiam nunquam ordinasse sine impositione manuum ex omnibus autoribus antiquis perspicuum est De traditione autem calicis hostiae nulla est mentio apud illos Tertiò quia videtur durum nimis esse ceremoniam quam nobis perspicuè tradunt Apostoli excludere à natura Sacramenti inducere illam de qua nulla mentio fit in Scriptura In English thus The Imposition of hands is not to be esteemed as a Ceremony not necessary but as an Essential part of the Sacrament and this ought to be held as an Article of Faith First Because in Scripture wheresoever mention is made of Ordination it is declar'd by the Imposition of hands and it seems to me temerarious to desert the Scripture and follow Fictions that is Natural Reasons Secondly Because it is evident by all Antient Writers that the Primitive Church never Ordained without the Imposition of hands but they make no mention of delivering the Chalice and the Hoast Thirdly Because it seems too hard to exclude from the nature of a Sacrament a Ceremony which is clearly delivered to us by the Apostles and to induce that of which there is no mention made in the Scripture Thus Maldonatus 'T is well that some of our Antagonists cannot be swayed neither by hope nor fear nor any way deterr'd from uttering Truth He tells us That it is an Article of Faith that the Imposition of hands is Essential to Ordination and that it is a temerity to deny it and he proves both by solid Arguments So that they who adhere to the practise and perswasion of the Church of Rome must to defend this Doctrine desert both Scripture and Tradition SECT VII The Solution of other Objections against the same Doctrine A Third Objection endeavors a Reconciliation by joyning the delivery of the Instruments or Vessels and their Forme with the last Imposition of hands and this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. So that of these two Matters they make one entire Matter and of these two Forms they frame one entire and adequate Forme Yet so as that by
touching the Vessels with this Forme Accipe potestatem c. they affirm the Ordained to receive the Order of Priesthood with Power to Consecrate and offer Sacrifice and the Character to be thereby imprinted But by the consequent imposition of hands the Ordained receives a Power only to forgive or retain sins as the Forme of words expresseth So Becanus Part 3. Theologiae Cap. 26. de Sacramento Ordinis quest 4. who uses his utmost endeavor by this means to maintain the Validity of Ordination according to the present practice of the Church of Rome yet so as not to draw any prejudice upon the Ordination of the Greek Church and other Christian Congregations whose Ordinations the Church of Rome ever declared valid But the Council of Florence seems to obstruct his design by assigning no other Essentials of Ordination but the Tradition of the Vessels and their Forme and here Gamachaeus above cited in the precedent Section Cap. 4. joyns his forces with Becanus or rather Becanus with him So also doth Meratius D 7. S. 2. who to the Autority of the Council of Florence Answers Concilium non suscepisse ex professo declarandum accurate singulorum ordinum materiam formam totalem ac integram c. sed solum per cujus rei Traditionem potestas ordinis conferetur The Council saith Meratius did not undertake of purpose to declare exactly the total and adequate Matter and Forme of each order c. but only to declare what those things were by whose Tradition the power of order was conferr'd And this Opinion Isamberus also imbraces with avidity as conceiving all helps little enough in such a hard conjuncture and therfore joyns this Opinion with his own specify'd above in the Second Objection St. Bonaventure holds the same in 4 d. 7. ar 1. q. 1. 2. and before him Alexander p. 4. Summe q. 9. Memb. 1. 2. ar 2. where he distinguisheth between that which Christ Ordained and that which the Church Ordained in these words Quae enim ab homine Ordinata sunt ab homine possunt mutari quae autem à Deo instituta sunt non nisi dictante Deo debent mutari These things saith he that are Ordained by Man may be changed by Man but those things that are Instituted by God are not to be changed but by Gods appointment As to their Interpretation of the Council of Florence I Answer That it is is a meer ungrounded shift for the Council gives not the least hint of any such sense but undertakes to assign the Essential matter of Priesthood and to that purpose specifies only the Tradition of the Vessels as the only Essential Matter and mentions nothing else which would be a meer delusion if the Council had judged any thing else to be Essential But Becanus interprets it thus Nota antiqua Concilia assignasse materiam à Christo Institutam Florentinum verò materiam assignasse quam Ecclesia introduxit Note saith Becanus that the Antient Councils assigned the matter Instituted by Christ but the Council of Florence specified the Matter that was introduced by the Church Be it so then the Antient Councils assigned only the Imposition of hands as the Essential Matter of Priesthood but the Council of Florence in the time of those Fathers signified the Tradition of the Vessels and nothing else as the only Essential Matter So that neither the Antient nor Modern Councils ever joyned these two Matters together as parts of the whole by their own Confession But hence it is plain that the Church of Rome hath introduced a New Matter and Forme which Christ never Instituted and yet they hold it Essential Now to their Argument My first Answer is That this is a meer evasion to save them from Shipwrack What ground have they for patching up a Sacramental Matter with two such disparate and heterogeneal pieces What time will they appoint to have the Character imprinted What will this avail them if it should be all granted for none of them will admit the Imposition of Hands alone with its Forme to have a capacity to confer the Order of Priesthood and Imprint the Character therefore they must declare the Ordination of the Greeks to be frustrate who never used any other Matter then the Imposition of Hands But if this alone be sufficient Then what need is there of the Tradition of the Vessels Why should these two parts so different from each other be conjoyned if either of them apart were sufficient My Second Answer is That they could never have made a worse choice then to joyn these two Matters and Formes together in order to constitute the entire Essence of Ordination for both the one and the other are Innovations the one begun about Seven hundred years since the other was introduced about Four hundred and fifty years since so that neither was Instituted by Christ neither recommended by the Apostles neither practised in the Church of God before the times specified From whence then can they derive their Validity My Third Answer is That the last Imposition of Hands with this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins you forgive they are forgiven whose sins you retain they are retained This I say can no way belong to the Essentials of Priesthood because this Matter and Forme are applyed to none but those that have before received the Order of Priesthood and have the Character Imprinted which is manifest because they all said Mass and Consecrated with the Bishop before the application of this Matter and Forme which is not performed till after they have all Received the Communion immediately before the Post-Communion is Read wherefore this Matter and Forme comes too late to have any influence upon the Order of Priesthood but I shall not need spend time in the Proof of this because the Authors of this Objection grant it and only make use of this Matter and Forme to confer the Power of Forgiving and Retaining sins Which being supposed they must rely wholly upon the Tradition of the Vessels for conferring upon the Ordained the Spiritual Power of Priesthood and enabling him to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and to offer Sacrifice and for Imprinting the Character c. all which the touching of the Vessels with its Forme can never accomplish because here is nothing at all of Christ's Institution no Imposition of Hands doth any way concur to this So that we have here the Power of Priesthood conferr'd with the Character and yet without any Imposition of Hands and hereby this Opinion agrees with the First Objection which excludes all Imposition of Hands and therefore must of necessity condemn the Greek Church who never use any other Matter of Ordination then the Imposition of Hands And yet the main drift of these Objections is to save the Validity of the Greeks Ordinations so as not to destroy their own And that the Power of Consecrating the Body and Blood of Christ is the
Essential Matter of Order but only as a preparative thereunto And the Second Imposition of Hands which immediately follows the First hath no Forme but a Precation neither can it confer the Order of Priesthood because the Forme which follows at a distance and affects the Tradition of the Vessels expresly signifies the Order then given which would be a Sacrilegious Repetition were it given before Wherefore the Antient Forme being omitted and the new one not applyed to the Original Matter I conclude that here is made an Essential Mutation destructive of the Validity of Order A Fifth Objection much like the former is proposed by his Eminence Cardinal Lugo who disapproving all other ways of reconciling the Church of Rome with the Greek Church in matter of Ordination proposeth as he conceives a better expedient in these words Verior ergo planior conciliandi modus est quam supra insinuavimm Lugo D. 2. de Sacram in genere S. 5. n. 98. Ecclesiam Latinam retinuisse utique priscum illum ritum ab Apostolis introductum Ordinandi Sacerdotem per manus Impositionem illam tamen materiam magis explicitam reddidisse adjungendo traditionem panis vini quod Graeci non faciunt ita ut ex manus Impositione Traditione panis vini fiat una integra materia magis explicita cum forma quae nunc profertur explicante potestatem solam ad sacrificândum Postea vero adhibetur iterum alia manus impositio cum altera forma explicante potestatem ad Absolvendum Wherefore a truer and a plainer way of Reconciliation is that which we have insinuated above that the Latin Church hath indeed retained the Antient Rite introduced by the Apostles of Ordaining a Priest by the Imposition of Hands but hath rendred it more explicite by adding to it the Tradition of Bread and Wine which the Greeks do not practise so that of the Imposition of Hands and Tradition of the Bread and Wine there is made one entire Matter more explicite with the Forme now in use that expresseth only a power of Sacrisicing But afterwards there follows another Imposition of Hands with another Forme expressing the Power of Absolving Thus Cardinal Lugo The same is held by Gravina De materia forma Ordinis D. 2. Sect. 3. where he saith That the Vessels are implicitely contained in the Imposition of Hands wherefore the Greeks do implicitely and virtually touch the Vessels but the Latins do it explicitely and formally I Answer That the so much desired Reconciliation between the Greeks and the Latines in reference to Ordination will never be made by the Doctrine of this Objection which is grounded upon a false Principle that the Touching the Vessels is equivalently the Imposition of Hands and so virtually contained in it which is repugnant to common sense For What have the Vessels to do with the Imposition of Hands What analogy or similitude is there between them The Imposition of Hands being the Action of the Ordainer wherein the Ordained is but passively concerned And the Touching the Vessels is the proper Action of the Ordained Now to prove the difference between them we must have recourse to the specificativa entium as the Philosophers terme it that is by assigning the termes or correlatives of their intrinsecal and Essential Relations we may evidently deduce what their Nature and Essence is The Touching of the Vessels is an action whose origine and cause is the Person of the Ordained The Object or Term of the same action is the Thing Touched which are the Vessels The Imposition of Hands hath for its origine or cause the Person of the Bishop who is the Ordainer and for its object or terme the Person of the Ordained so that the correlatives of the one compared with the correlatives of the other are as different as the Vessels are from the Person of the Ordained and from this difference we evidently gather the like difference between the Touching the Vessels and the Imposition of Hands by reason of the intrinsecal and Essential habitude and reference which these actions have to their correlatives But the Essence of the Vessels and the Person of the Ordained are not only specifically but generically different from each other the one being an Animate Creature the principle of Vegetation Sensation and Reason the other only Inanimate Metals destitute of Life Vegetation Sensation and Reason which by the first notions of Philosophy argues a specifical and generical difference And consequently the Imposition of Hands and touching the Vessels are Essentially and Substantially different from each other And by this Discourse the same difference will result whether you insist upon the Vessels or the Substance of Bread and Wine which they contain for they are all Inanimate and destitute of Life So that the Touching of the Vessels and the Imposition of Hands are Essentially and Substantially distinguisht from each other and consequently the one can neither formally nor virtually nor equivalently nor implicitly contain the other And yet that the Order of Priesthood is a Sacrament we have their universal consent The Council of Trent defines it Tred Sess 23. Can. 3. to be truely and properly a Sacrament Instituted by Christ and layes a Curse upon those that shall deny it as we see above What then remains but that in the Essentials of an acknowledg'd Sacrament Instituted by Christ they have made a substantial and Essential Mutation And yet they cannot deny that whatsoever is Instituted by Christ himself is Sacred 't is Juris Divini of Divine Right and therefore not to be altered by the wisest of Mankind And to attempt a change in things of Divine Right implyes either an imputation of Ignorance in Christ or else a distrust of his Prudence and Providence as if we were not content with what Christ hath Ordained for us but we must presume to Reform his Ordinances Detracting one thing and Substituting another to Reform or Compleat the Work of the Omniscient A Sixth Objection That the Order of Priesthood was rightly and validly conferr'd in the Antient Church as well by the Latines as the Greeks no Man doubts but the Church of Rome retains all that was then in use as appears above by the Rituals Sect. 2. Ca. 3. and in particular the Imposition of Hands then used with a Deprecatory Forme which is the Second Imposition of Hands contained in the Roman Ritual with that Antient Prayer to which in the old Rituals is prefixt this Title Consecratio Presbyteri the Consecrating of a Priest whereby Priesthood was formerly conferr'd wherefore the Church of Rome using this Matter and Forme in the beginning of Ordination wants none of the Essentials and therefore her Ordination is valid So Morinus De Sacris Ordinationibus Part. 3. Exercitatione 7. C. 1. 2. which he proves by refelling the Opinions of other Authors who place the Essence of Ordination in any of the other two Impositions of Hands or in the Tradition of the
the Ritual a needless Addition though in effect it is destructive of the Validity of Ordination by rendring the Essentials useless and drawing from them the intention of Ordaining as is above declared But if this Addition be not Essential Why is the power of offering Sacrifice exprest in it Surely the Council of Florence and Pope Gregory the Ninth thought it Essential as you may see above Sect. 4. And indeed that which is added is used as Essential and that which Christ Instituted is rejected as Circumstantial which vitiates the Ordination An Eighth Objection The ground of this Discourse against the Validity of Ordination according to the Roman Ritual depends upon that Opinion which allows to the Sacraments a Physical influence into the supernatural effects thereof for great difficulty is made how Natural Causes can produce Supernatural Effects on pretence that none but an Omnipotent Power can elevate them per potentiam obedientialem to render Nature proportionable to that which is above Nature wherefore admitting only a Moral Causality which is a probable opinion held and maintained by many Divines this difficulty will cease for then the Church may Ordain and determine the Matters and Formes of Sacraments without communicating to them that Supernatural Power of producing Physically and really such like Sacramental effects as are above Nature My First Answer is That many Grave and Learned Divines maintain That the Sacraments do Really and Physically produce their Supernatural Effects and they prove it by substantial Reasons wherefore this Opinion both by Autority and Reason claimes the preference especially as being more conformable to the expressions of the Councils who Teach That the Sacraments contain Grace that is virtually which signifies a power to produce it and also that they confer Grace ex opere operato c. that is the Sacraments by their due application confer Grace to the Receiver through the power and vertue wherewith they are indued by Divine Institution which is distinct from that Grace which is produced ex opere operantis that corresponds to the piety and devotion of the Receiver So the Council of Trent Si quis dixerit per ipsa novae legis Sacramenta Trid. Sess 7. Can. 18. ex opere operato non conferri gratiam c. Anathema sit If any one shall say that by the Sacraments of the New Law there is not Grace conferr'd which proceeds from the vertue of the Sacrament let him be Accursed My Second Answer is That the Doctrine above delivered depends not on either of these two Opinions determinately for admit which you please yet it cannot be deny'd but that the Sacraments duely applyed bring with them an exigence and infallible determination for the conferring Supernatural Graces Imprinting the Character c. by vertue of Christ's Institution Independant whereof Pray what power is there in Nature to indue the Matter and Forme of Sacraments with such vertue and exigence which all the force of Nature can never pretend to or challenge as due So that an Omnipotent Power is here rigorously necessary to institute and determine the Matter and Forme of Sacraments which is all their Essence and to communicate to them this high Prerogative which surpasseth all the strength of Nature as well Angelical as Humane A Ninth Objection In the Collation of Priesthood as well the Church as the Ordainer direct their intention to the whole Liturgy thereby to confer the Order not determining any one part more then another and certainly the whole contains all the Essentials and consequently thereby the Order must be Validly conferr'd there being nothing wanting neither the Essentials nor the intention of the Minister to the Validity thereof My First Answer is That though in some cases a denomination may be appropriated to the whole which cannot be applyed to the parts thereof if taken separately as the compound of a body and a reasonable Soul is a Man and yet neither the Body nor the Soul taken separately and by themselves is a Man So likewise a Number is made up of several Unities and yet never an Unity by it self is a Number Yet when there is a real and Physical effect to be produced and the parts of the whole are applyed successively so as that when one part is existent the other is past and not then in being and the subsequent parts are not yet extant In this case a real effect cannot proceed from them all neither by a Physical action nor by a Physical determination but this real effect must be produced in the same moment of time when the cause of it is existent whether its influence be Physical or Moral provided that its determination to such an effect be Physical Now for application In the same moment of time that the Order of Priesthood is conferr'd there is a Spiritual Power given to the Ordained there are several Real and Supernatural Graces produced there is a Real Character Imprinted These are the effects Now let us inquire into the Cause The Essential Matter and Forme of Ordination duely applyed are the cause of those real effects either by a real influence and principiating the action which produceth them or by a real determination or strict exigence of having then actually produced according to the Divine Decree of Institution so that the effect cannot be deferr'd or suspended when the cause either Physical or Moral is sufficiently applyed And certain it is that the Ritual contains many circumstantial and accidental Rites intermixt with the Essentials and several parts of the Mass as they successively occurre for they are not all Essentials neither is the Person to be Reordained if any one action of the whole Ritual be omitted Whence it ensues that some one determinate Matter and Forme in particular is the cause of the forementioned effects and in that cause consists the Essence of Ordination And yet if we run over all the parts of the Roman Ritual there is no Matter that can be Essential except it be the Tradition of the Instruments or the Imposition of Hands for nothing else was ever esteemed in the least as Essential The Tradition of the Vessels cannot be Essential as we have clearly proved above in the Fifth Section as for the Imposition of Hands we find it in three places only in the Roman Ritual and neither of these three Impositions of Hands belong to the Essential Matter of Ordination as we have proved in the Fourth Section by Induction or enumeration of parts My Second Answer is That notwithstanding the drift of this Objection which is to involve all in obscurity and confusion yet whether they will or no their Essential Matter and Forme are fixt from whence they cannot recede for the Tradition of the Instruments and the Forme that affects them which they have introduced can have no other end then to constitute the Essentials of Priesthood The Forme is this Receive a power of offering Sacrifice c. These words if they have any signification import a
Council determines what contracts shall be Sacraments and what shall not the Council determines to what contracts Grace shall be affixt and to what not which is all that Institution imports for they would have Christ to take his measures from them and would impose a Law upon the Will of God to accommodate himself to their will they order all and the Word Incarnate must regulate himself accordingly which makes them the principal Instituters and Christ only the Instrumental Which is too great an indignity and detracts very much from the perfection of Christ's Institution For I demand What reason can be alleag'd Why Christ could not or would not determine all this himself He had a perfect comprehension of all that concern'd his Church which the Council had not neither can they deny but that Christ was the Principal nay the only Instituter of Sacraments Who then can deny but that Christ by an Irrevocable Decree determin'd all things relating to the Sacraments independant of the Council of Trent many Ages before this Instituting Decree was framed But an Error once committed per fas nefas must be maintained I might here annex an Account of the proceedings of the Church of Rome in some others of their pretended Sacraments for whereas the Order of Subdeaconship was ever conferr'd in the Primitive Church by the Imposition of Hands this is now wholly omitted and in lieu thereof they have Instituted the Tradition of an empty Chalice and an empty Pattene to the Ordained which argues a total change So likewise in Consirmation the Apostles and their Successors ever Confirmed by the Imposition of Hands without any Unction but now without the application of Chrisme they deem Confirmation invalid and the Forme would be false which is this Signo te signo crucis Confirmo te Chrismate salutis In nomine c. I Sign thee with the Sign of the Cross and Confirm thee with the Chrisme of health In the Name c. But this I leave to others consideration for enough hath been already said to my designed end Dispute III. Of Communion in One Kind The Preface ALL Humane Laws though never so well Constituted are liable to be subverted either by the change of circumstances or by the capricious humors of Governors How happy were the Lacedemonians as long as they were govern'd by those wholsome Laws which Lycurgus had established amongst them but when those Laws were gradually repealed or per non usum antiquated then their Commonwealth began to be ruinous and tended to destruction But Divine Laws ought to be Sacred as being framed by an irrefragable Autority whose Legislator is omniscient neither hath his wisdom and prudence any bounds who knows and foresees all future changes and circumstances as perfectly as if they were present and whose infinite providence is best skilled in fencing against all adverse accidents that may happen and yet these Laws also must undergo the Test of Human Policy and suffer change and Reformation Our Great Redeemer furnished his Church with such Laws as he thought most convenient obliging all Christians to receive those Sacred Rites of his Body and Blood in both Kinds yet in process of time the Church of Rome upon some pretended inconveniences hath alter'd that Law and denyes the Laytie the use of the Chalice but whether groundedly or illegally is the drift of this Disputation to Examine SECT I. The Grounds of the Church of Rome for denying the Chalice to the Laity THat Pure and Soveraign Doctrine which was Taught and Practised by Christ himself attained its Original Purity for the space of many Centuries after Christ and his Apostles during which time the Sacrament of the Eucharist was Administred to the faithful Receivers under both Kinds but the continuance of it drew it insensibly more remote from its Origine and so exposed it to the danger of being Adulterated for the Romanists pretend that it was observed that when the Communicants lips were separated from the Chalice some small particles of the Consecrated Species fell from the Chalice which it was not possible to prevent or to collect the Particles so dispersed wherefore another expedient was instituted that they who presented themselves to participate of those Sacred Mysteries should suck the Consecrated Species out of the Chalice by a Silver Quil fitly adapted and prepared for that purpose yet all in vain for this also was found liable to the same inconvenience wherefore finding no remedy for so great a difficulty it was at last resolved That none of the Seculars nor the Clergy except such as were Priests should receive the Blood under the Species of Wine So the Council of Trent Trid. Sess 21. C. 2. Quarè agnoscens Sancta mater Ecclesia hanc suam in Administratione Sacramentorum Auctoritatem licet ab initio Christianae Religionis non infrequens utriusque speciei usus fuisset tamen progressu temporis latissimè jam mutata illa consuetudine gravibus justis causis adducta hanc consuetudinem sub altera specie communicandi approbavit pro lege habendam decrevit quam reprobare aut fine ipsius Ecclesiae Auctoritate pro libito mutare non licet And then layes a Curse upon those that should not submit to this Doctrine in these words Si quis dixerit Sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam non justis causis rationibus adductam fuisse ut Laicos atque etiam Clericos non conficientes sub panis tantummodo specie communicaret aut in eo errasse Sess 22. Can. 2. Anathema sit The First Reason Because it was a great irreverence and a high Contempt of the Sacred Blood of Christ which was the price of our Redemption to see it fall to the ground and trampled under foot by those who receive so great a benefit by it and whereunto they stand indebted for the Graces they receive here and the hope of Glory hereafter wherefore the high Veneration and Adoration which we owe to the Incarnate Word present in this Sacrament ought to preponderate all other Considerations which certainly our Redeemer expects from us The Second Reason Because whosoever receives the Holy Eucharist under the Species of Bread only receives all Christ as well the Blood as the Body together with the Divine Word and all the Sacred Trinity for though ex vi verborum by the words of Consecration only the Body of Christ be Sacramentally Constituted under the Species of Bread yet per concomitantiam by a necessary Connexion of the parts of Christ with each other the Blood of Christ the Soul c. are all rendred present under the Species of Bread so that if this Sacrament be once Administred under the Species of Bread it were a needless repetition to administer the same under the Species of Wine for this were no other then to Administer to the same person one and the self-same thing twice without addition or diminution which would not be available to the Receiver The Third Reason
Principal Act of Priesthood they all grant and it is so asserted by Albertus Magnus The Act of Priests saith he is to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ Albert. Mag. L. 6. Theologie veritatis C. 36. and it is the Principal Act the other is consequent which is to Retain and Absolve A Fourth Objection Nothing can be more significant nor more proportionable to the Function and chief Ministry of a Priest then the delivering to him in his Ordination those Vessels wherein he is to Consecrate and Consummate the Mysteries of the Eucharist which is the Principal and Substantial Act of his Priestly Office and therefore nothing so fit to be the Essential Matter of his Ordination So likewise the Forme clearly and Explicitely signifieth the Order of Priesthood to be conferr'd to the Ordained by the application of this Matter and Forme and therefore is most exactly accommodated to this present end I Answer That it argues Temerity and Presumption for meer Men to prefer their judgments before the judgment of the Word Incarnate who knows and comprehends all things whose judgment and prudence is infi nite and consequently he best knew what was most significant and most expedient for the Matter and Forme of such Mysteries as he himself Instituted And therefore to reject that which Christ appointed and substitute in lieu thereof the products of our own weak invention under pretence that it is more accommodated to the Mystery then that is too high an attempt for hereby we devest Christ of his Omniscience and consequently of his Divinity by preferring our own Finite and Limited capacities before the II-limited Perfections of Christ's Understanding which is very preposterous and deordinate As to the Forme of words which they have introduced to animate their adventitious Matter lest their Reformation should remain incompleate I Answer That this Modern Forme now in practice in the Church of Rome to wit Receive a Power of offering Sacrifice as well for the Living as the Dead c. is very different from the antient Forme derived from the Apostles which is this The Divine Grace which always heals that which is infirm and supplies that which is defective promotes this holy Deacon to be a Priest Compare these two together and you will find a substantial difference between them that is Imperative this Indicative that gives Power of offering Sacrifice this hath no such expression That specifies to whose benefit the Sacrifice shall accrue this makes no mention at all to whose benefit it should redound c. These and other differences make those two Forms very heterogeneal and discrepating when compared with each other But it may be alleag'd That notwithstanding these seeming Differences yet in effect the two Forms are equivalent and render the same sense only with this difference that what the one contains implicitely the other expresseth more particularly and explicitely The second signifies Priesthood conferr'd which implies a power of exercising all the Functions and Ministeries that properly belong to a Priest among which is enumerated the power of offering Sacrifice which peculiarly belongs to a Priest This therefore is tacitly contained and involved under the signification of this Second Forme and the first signifies more distinctly this self-same thing and no more For the intention of the Sacrificator is extrinsecal to the Sacrifice for whether he offer it for the Living or the Dead or by way of Satisfaction Propitiation or Impetration for himself or others makes no change in the Sacrifice This latter part I admit but to the rest I Answer That the offering of Sacrifice in the Law of Grace is not the only Function peculiar and proper to a Priest because the Administration of the Sacraments Preaching and Explaining the Word of God c. are Ministeries belonging to the Office of Priests all which are contained under the Second Forme but wholly omitted in the First which only impowers the Ordained to offer Sacrifice and limits his power to this alone because this Power is explicitely given him and no mention made of any other so that the Second Forme having a greater latitude as comprehending all that is contained under the notion of Priesthood and the First Forme limited to one Function alone it is manifest that this First Forme peccat per defectum that it is deficient for it doth not reach the compleate Power of Priesthood and the Second Forme being wholly omitted in the Roman Pontifical the Ordination consequently is Essentially defective Yet Independent of all this they acknowledging the Original Matter and Forme to be valid What necessity was there of Instituting this New Matter and Forme Is it Christian-like to be diffident of Christ's Providence as though the Supreame Power of our Benign Redeemer wanted Ability or his Omniscience were defective to know our wants or his Infinite Goodness had not the Will to furnish us with all necessaries conducing to our Eternal Bliss Is it possible that any understanding though but meanly instructed with Reason can conceive that Human Providence in these Supernatural Mysteries can in the least manner come in competition with that never failing Providence of Christ himself They Teach That the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments are so determin'd by Divine Institution Bellarm. L. 1. de Sacram in genere C. 21. ut non liceat quidquam immutare that it is not lawful to change any thing saith Bellarmine and Suarez saith It is an Article of Faith See the Authors for this above Sect. 6. in the Fourth Answer to the Second Objection they also hold Ordination to be a Sacrament Si quis dixerit Ordinem sive Sacram Ordinationem Trident. Sess 23. Can. 3. non esse verè propriè Sacramentum à Christo Domino Institutum c. Anathema sit If any one shall say That Order or Ordination is not truely and properly a Sacrament Instituted by Christ our Lord let him be Accursed saith the Council of Trent If therefore they stand to their own Principles the change which they have made in the Matter and Forme of Ordination can be no less then a violation of Divine Right which renders the Order of Priesthood Invalid But this is not all for though their Modern Forme should be equivalent to the Primitive Forme yet if it be misplaced and not applyed to the Imposition of Hands which is the Original Matter it cannot make one with it and so on this account the Ordination will be Invalid And in effect they have so dismembred the parts of Christ's Institution and so inverted the Order of them that it is very remote from being the same thing it was For though they use the Imposition of Hands which is the Original Matter yet they apply not to it the Original Forme which they entirely omit nay they allow it no Forme at all as it were in Contempt the Ordainer with Deep Silence only putting his hand upon the Head of him that is to be Ordained not deeming it an