and veneration and even attribute to them sometimes names and degrees of excellency which do not belong to them without any prejudice to Piety provided they are not attributes nor honours which are appropriated only to the Divine Being for then it would be Idolatry as it is to attribute that to the Pope which belongs only to Jesus Christ. For example in reference to the great men of this world it is very allowable to speak to the advantage of a Minister of State to whom a great King shall communicate a part of his Authority for his service It is very fit to commend him and to extoll him even above his merit by reason of the good qualities which appear in him or the favours which he receives from the King provided that the respect and obedience due to the King be inviolably kept but it would be a crime to lessen or contemn him especially when the prosperity tranquillity and safety of the State depends upon him So I maintain that tho the Fathers had said a tâ—ousand times of St. Peter That the Church was founded upon him and that he was the Head of it If they have said sometimes that he was not so and that he had nothing more excellent than the other Apostles this last ought to prevail because that the first was an expression of favour and without danger since they assert evâ—ry where that Jesus Christ is the only Head of the Church and that it was hard to conceive that ever men should arrive to suâ—h excess of extravagancy as to think that one simple man could be the Head of the Universal Church Whereas if St. Peter had been instituted by God in that quality to deny it would look like resisting God destroying the Church which would be established upon him and dethroning Jâ—sus Christ by dethroning his Vicar It must then be agreed to whatever the Doctors of the Age say that the Church is built upon Jesus Christ and not upon a man and we may say with David That the stone which the builders refused is in spight of them become the Corner-stone of the Church But let us come to the second passage Tibi dabo claves c. I will give thee the Keys c. First of all you must know the occasion whereon this was said to him Jesus Christ had asked this question of his Disciples Whom think you that I am c. Peter with his wonted fervor spake and answered for all Thou art the Christ c. And our Lord upon this promiseth to all his Apostles and to the whole Church under the name of Peter the Power of the Keys which is indisputable because in the 18 Chap. of St. Matthew he tells them all in general and without distinction the same thing Verily I say unto you That whatsoever you shall bind upon Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven The other Apostles then have this power as well as St. Peter and we see it also in St. John the 20. and the 22. where Jesus Christ says to all his Apostles Receive ye the Holy Ghost whosesoever sins ye forgive they are forgiven and whosesoever ye retain they are retained Let us see whether the Fathers be not against us We have already heard St. Cyprian who says Christus Apostolis post Resurrectionem parem potestatem tribuit Jesus Christ after his Resurrection gave an equal power to his Apostles Origen demands An vero soli Petro dantur a Christo claves Regni Caelorum nec alius beatorum quisquam eas accepturus est Quod si dictum hoc tibi dabo claves c. Caeteris quoque commune est cur non simul omnia quae prius dicta sunt quae sequuntur velut ad Petrum dicta sunt omnium communia Were the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven given only to Peter and shall no other blessed person have them Certainly if what was said I will give thee the Keys be common to all the Apostles why shall not all that goes before and that follows after tho said only to Peter be common to all St. Hilary Vos O sancti beati viri ob fidei vestri meritum claves Regni Coelorum ligandi solvendi jus in terra adepti He spoke to the Apostles O holy and blessed men who by the merits of your faith have obtained the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the power of binding and loosing upon Earth St. Hierom At dicis super Petrum fundatur Ecclesia licet id ipsum in alio loco super omnes Apostolos fiat cuncti claves Regni Caelorum accipiunt ex aequo super eos Ecclesiae fortitudo solidetur tamen propterea inter duodecim unus eligitur ut capite constituto schismatis tollatur occasio Sed cur non Johannes electus est virgo Aetati delatum est Quia Petrus senior erat ne adhuc adolescens ac poene puer provectae aetatis hominibus anteferretur ne causam praebere videretur invidiae But you say the Church is founded upon Peter tho in other places the same thing is done upon all the Apostles and they all receive equally the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the strength of the Church is equally founded upon one as well as another nevertheless he chose one out of the Twelve to the end that by establishing a Head he might take away the occasion of Schism But why was not John chosen Jesus Christ had regard to the age of Peter who was the eldest and would not prefer a young man one that was almost a child before those who were more advanced in years that he might not seem to give an occasion for envy amongst them The same Hierom tells us that the Ministers under the Gospel have also the power of binding and of loosing of pardoning sins or retaining them that is to say of judging when God doth pardon us or not Id juris officii habent Sacerdotes Evangelici quod olim sub lege habebent Legales in curandis Leprosis Hi ergo peccata dimittunt vel retinent dum dimissa a Deo vel retenta judicant vel ostendunt St. Augustin Sicut in Apostolis cum esset etiam numerus duodenarius omnes essent interrogati solus Petrus respondit Tu es Christus c. Et ei dicitur Tibi dabo claves tanquam ligandi solvendi solus acceperit potestatem cum illud unus pro omnibus dixerit hoc cum omnibus dixerit hoc cum omnibus tanquam personam gerens ipsius unitatis acceperit Ideo unus pro omnibus quia unitas est in omnibus Amongst the Apostles who were Twelve in number tho they were all asked Peter only answered Thou art the Christ and Jesus Christ said to him I will give thee the Keys as tho he alone had received the power of binding and of loosing Tho
had pleased they might have been reconciled to the Church of Rome by submitting to the Laws of that Bishop St. Gregory of Nazianzen writing to the Clergy of the Church of Caesarea in Cappadocia speaks to them thus It is just that care should be taken of the whole Church as of the Body of Jesus Christ chiefly of yours which hath been from the beginning the Mother of almost all the Churches which is so at this time and is so esteemed and to which the whole body of the Church relates as a Circle does to the Center round which it is formed c. This holy man thought not the Church of Rome was the Center of all the Churches In the Milevitan Council where St. Augustine was present it was Ordained That those of Africk who should Appeal to Rome should be Excommunicated These are the words We have adjudged that all Priests Deacons and other Inferior Ecclesiasticks who shall complain of their Bishops Administration shall apply themselves to the Neighbouring Bishops who by the consent of their own Bishops shall decide the Controversie between them And if they will Appeal from their Opinions let them not do it but to the Councils of Africa And if any man makes his Appeal to any place beyond the Seas here Rome must be understood let him be looked upon as an Excommunicated person by all Africa And since that time the same thing was Ordained in the Council of Africa and this they give for their reason That no Council hath taken away this Authority from the African Councils and that the Decrees of the Council of Nice have committed as well Priests as the Bishops to the direction of their Metropolitans Most prudently and justly providing that affairs should be determined upon the place where they had their first beginnings and that no Province would ever want the assistance of the Holy Ghost to discern equity that any injured person might procure a Council of his own Province yea and appeal from that to a General one and a man must be a fool to think that God would not rather inspire with the love and knowledg of Justice a great number of Prelates assembled in Council than a single person be he who he will. What stupidity and dulness is it that hinders Christians in these times from carrying it in the same manner towards Rome And the Council of Constantinople after having limited the bounds of each Patriarchal See says that the Affairs of every Diocess ought to be Regulated by the Synods of the Diocess and that in Confirmation of the Fourth Canon of the Council of Nice And in the sixth Canon it doth Enact That if any man hath been vexed by the Bishop let him complain of this Bishop to all the other Bishops of the Province and if these Bishops cannot determine the affair he ought to apply himself to a greater Synod of Bishops of that Diocess whereby we see that the Bishop of Rome had in those days no Authority over other Bishops but that every thing was then Regulated by Councils and by Synods If an Archbishop or a Metropolitan were accused the Affair was determined by an Assembly of the Synod of the Diocess and if any man appealed from thence it was not to the Bishop of Rome but to a Synod composed of many Diocesses which may be seen in the case of Bagadius Bishop of Bostra Metropolitan of Arabia who having been Deposed by some Bishops of his Province appealed from them not to Rome but to Constantinople where quickly afterwards was assembled a Synod of many of the Eastern Diocesses at which Nectarius of Constantinople Flavian of Antioch and Theophilus of Alexandria all three Patriarches assisted and the case was determined in the year 394 and Bagadius Reestablished in his place It was the opinion of St. Hierom tho a Roman and very zealous for his own Patriarch That if there be any question concerning Authority that of the whole world is greater than that of one single City For what end shall a man alledg the Customs of one only Town Wheresoever there is a Bishop there is always the same Dignity Neither Riches nor Poverty making them Superiors or Inferiors They are all Successors of the Apostles St. Chrysostom was also of this opinion when he spoke thus If any Bishop affecteth Supremacy on Earth he shall find confusion in Heaven And whosoever shall be ambitious of raising himself above others shall not be reckoned among the servants of Jesus Christ. Thus are all the Popes Inclusively Excommunicated by St. Chrysostome since Boniface the Third and not only by him but by the Milevitan Council by the Council of Sardis the third Council of Carthage and another Council held at Carthage at the Instance of Gregory the First under the Emperor Maurice all these Councils do Excommunicate and declare him a forerunner of Antichrist who shall call himself Universal Bishop St. Grâ—gory doth himself abominate the Pride and Impiety of our Popes of these last Ages when he says That whosoever shall make himself be called Vniversal Bishop shall be the forerunner of Antichrist because he will by his Insolence raise himself above others And in another place speaking to Anastasius Bishop of Antiâ—ch he says That without mâ—ntioning the dishonâ—ur that the pride of such a man would do you If a Bishop should mâ—ke himself be called Vniversal Head of the Churâ—h the whole Church must run to ruin if this Vniversal Head shâ—uld fall For my pâ—rt I prâ—y God keep me from hearkening to any such folâ—ies and from bâ—ing capable of so greâ—t â—â—anity c. I should never have done if I should pretend here to relate all the Evidences of Antiquity which are contrary to the pretences of the Bishops of Rome for some Ages past St. Austin tells us a story which I cannot lâ—t pass which shews things pretty clearly He says that Donâ—â—us had accused Ceciliâ—n Arch-bishop of Carthage of a great Crime and that the Emperor Constantine chose the Bishop of Rome and several other bishops for Judges of the Affair Donatus was condemned by them and made his Appeal to the Emperor who referred the Judgment of his Appeal to Arles At this Judgment the Bishop of Arles presided and the Affair was by him determined in favour of Cecilian and the Judgment given at Rome confirmed It would be a fine thing now to see the Emperor in an Affair purâ—ly Ecclesiastical as that was establish the Pope as his Commissary with other Bishops and an Appeal made from their sentence before the Emperor and he should send the cause before another Bishop to judge definitively of it I know not after this what Evidenâ—es I further need to prove the Usurpations which the Popes have made since those times Christians ought to die in confusion who want Proofs for a thing as clear as the day considering the enormity and exorbitance of the power which these people take
to People that are condemned Nec quisquam dicat se injustè hâc ratione condemnari nec conqueratur do judicibus Ecclesiasticis vel de judicio Ecclesiae ita statuentis Nor let any Man say that he is condemned unjustly upon this account nor complain of the Ecclesiastical Judges or of the Church so ordaining These Hangmen will make the Church accessary to their Barbarities Sed si injustè condemnatus sit gaudeat potiùs quòd pro veritate mortem patiatur but if he be unjustly condemned let him rejoyce rather that he suffers Death for the Truth What could the Devil do worse if he were incarnate Yet this is the Churches Head the Vicar of Jesus Christ the Holy See the Apostolick See it is his Holiness who hath made and decreed these things They do yet worse than this to Kings and Princes for they make use of secret means for fear they should get notice of them and by their Power prevent their wicked Designs They employ ignorant Creatures that are loaden with Iniquity such as Ravilliac who was a Murtherer by Profession and a Sorcerer too as was commonly said they give these People Absolution from all their Crimes and promise them Paradise if they perish in the Execution or if they are taken after it They have for such purposes as these in Italy those whom they call Crocesegnati and in Spain los Familiares See in the Book of Francis Suarez the Spaniard called Defensio fidei Catholicae By the way we are very much obliged to this Loyal Loyolist for calling these Maxims the Catholick Faith. If what he said were true it would be no great advantage to be a Catholick It would be perfect Manicheisme a Man must believe two contrary Principles good and bad God and the Devil at the same time There is a certain Author called Guliel Nubrigensis who relates the Story of a Monk who dethroned his natural Prince and sat himself in his place he had engraved upon his Seal Ferus ut Leo mitis ut Agnus This Monk was Villain enough thus to usurp the Authority of his Prince but he was a thousand times better than any of these Thieves at Rome For my part I will all my Life-time hold Communion with the Catholick Gallican Church but for the Bull de Coenâ Domini the Inquisition the Superiority of the Pope above the Council and the Morals now in fashion I declare I do detest it as a thing dangerous to Salvation to hold Communion with them who believe and maintain these things and that I believe them as far from being saved as the Mahometans Who can believe that Jesus Christ who gave himself for the Salvation of us all and who is all Charity it self can approve of it that People should be put to death for Religion or that he does not detest the Barbarities which these Monsters exercise under the Name of Vicars of Jesus Christ How contrary are these Practices to those of Jesus Christ and of his Apostles See after what manner our merciful Saviour spoke to his Apostles who would have forsaken him What and will you also leave me upon which St. Chrysostom makes this Reflection * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He asks them saying Will ye also go away which was the voice of one taking away all force and compulsion And in truth they did all abandon him yet after his Resurrection he received them as kindly as tho they had followed him to the very Cross and we see that when he gave his Apostles the Power of the Keys he ordered them only to teach Men and not to compel them by force and on that occasion when the Apostles were discontented with the Samaritans and would have called down Fire from Heaven upon them he says to them Ye know not what Spirit ye are of the Son of Man is not come to destroy Mens Lives but to save them But the Popes who make a quite contrary use of this Power are come to destroy both Souls and Bodies too We see that the Apostle St. Paul followed these holy Rules of Charity when he wrote to Titus teaching him the Duty of a Bishop he says to him only A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject He says not do him Injustice kill him ruin him by Violence or by Craft break your word with him according to the Maxims and Practices of the Court of Rome According to these Principles St. Chrysostom says these words Apud nos non cogendo sed suadendo id agendum est ut qui malus est melior evadat neque enim ad coercendos peccatores Potestatis jus nobis datum est si datum maximè esset locus non esset juris istius exercendi cum Deus coronet non eos qui necessitate sed qui voluntate liberâ à malo abstinent We must not endeavour to make a bad Man better by Force but by Perswasion For we have no Authority to compel Sinners and if we had we ought not to make use of it seeing God crowns not those that abstain from Evil out of meer necessity but those that do it out of free choice And hence it comes that St. Hierom comparing a King to a Bishop says Ille nolentibus praeest hic volentibus The one rules over those that are unwilling the other over those that are willing And Gregory Bishop of Rome writing to the Bishop of Constantinople says to him Nova est inaudita ista praedicatio quae verberibus exigit fidem That is a new and unheard-of sort of Preaching that requires Faith with Blows The Fathers abhorred not only that Men should be put to death but that any Injustice should be done to them upon the account of Religion for to make this use of Religion is to betray it and it is a sure means to make Hereticks more obdurate for it is certain that they who do thus have only the Name of Christians and People readily believe that a Religion is nothing worth which they are forced to embrace by such ways as these St Athanasius speaking of the Religion of the Arrians who persecuted the Catholicks driving them out of all Employs depriving them of the means of getting their Living prohibiting them the Exercise of their Religion and doing them many other Wrongs by Violence and Fraud and by groundless Accusations even to the bringing some of them to Death says very well Atque seipsum quà m non sit Pia nec Dei cultrix manifestat and shews it self how it is neither pious nor worshipping God. The same thing may be said of the English at present St Chrysostome also says Errantis poena est doceri the Punishment of the erroneous is to be instructed The Emperour Antoninus tho a Pagan was much more a Christian than the Popes and their Inquisition when in his 9 th Book he says Si potes meliora doce si non potes memento in hoc tibi