all this so much might easely be sayde as shuld serue to a whole volume But In this treatise seeking to auoide prolixitie hauing purposed to saye somewhat to this number of the other Articles and knowing this matter of the Primacie to be allready largely and learnedly handeled of others will but trippe as it were lightly ouer at this tyme and not sette my fast footing in the deepe debating and treating of it The Popes Primacie not of Man but of gods ordināce The first proufe of the Popes primacie scripture expoūded Matth. 16. First as concerning the right of the Popes primacie by gods lawe by these auncient autorities it hath ben auouched Anacletus that holy bishop and martyr S. Peters scholer and of him cōsecrated priest in his epistle to the bishops of Italie writeth thus In nouo testamento post Christum etc. In the newe testament the order of priestes beganne after our lord Christ of Peter because to him bishoprike was first geuen in the churche of Christ where as our lord saide vnto him Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it and vnto thee I will geue the keies of the kingdome of heauen Wherfore this Peter receiued of our lord first of all power to binde and to lowse and first of all he brought people to the faith by vertue of his preaching As for the other Apostles they receiued honour and power in like felowship with him and willed him to be their prince or chiefe gouernour In an other epistle to all bishoppes alleaging the same texte for the Primacie of the See of Rome speaking of the disposition of churches committed to Patriarkes and Primates saith thus most plainely This holy ad Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie not of the Apostles but of our lord Sauiour him selfe and hath gotten the preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people euen so as he saide to blessed Peter th'Apostle Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke etc. S. Gregorie writing to Mauritius the Emperoure against Iohn the bishop of Constantinople ambitiously claiming and vsurping the name of an vniuersall bishop proueth the bishop of Rome succeding in Peters chaier to be Primate and to haue charge ouer all the church of Christ by scriptures thus Cunctis euangelium scientibus liquet etc. Epist 32. It is euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed by the worde of our lord to the holy Apostle Peter prince of all the Apostles for to him it is sayde Peter Ioan. 21. Luc. 22. louest thou me feede my sheepe to him it is sayd Beholde Sathan hath desyred to syfte you as it were wheate and I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not And thou being once conuerted strengthen thy brethren To him it is saide Thou art Peter Matth. 26 and vpon this rocke I will buylde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it And vnto the I will geue the keies of the kingdom of heauen And what so euer thou byndest vpon earth shal be bounde also in heauen and what so euer thou lowsest on earth shable lovvsed also in heauen Beholde he receiueth the keies of the heauenly kingdome Cura ei totius Ecclesiae principatus committitur the power of bynding and lowsing is geuen to him the charge of the whole church and principalitie is committed to him Thus farre Gregorie But because our aduersaries though without iuste cause refuse the witnes of the Bishops of Rome in this article as vnlawfull witnesses in their owne cause were thei neuer so holy martyrs or learned confessours they may vnderstand we are able to alleage sundry other authorities to the confirmation hereof that be aboue all exception S. Cyprian declaring the contempte of the high Priest Christes Vicarie in earth to be cause of schismes and heresies writeth thus to Cornelius Pope and Martyr Neque enim aliunde haereses obortae sunt etc. Neither haue heresies or schismes rysen of any other occasiō then of that the Priest of God is not obeied and that one Priest for the tyme in the church and one iudge for the tyme in stede of Christ is not thoughte vpon To whom if the whole brotherhed that is the whole number of Christē people which be brethren together and were so called in the primatiue church would be obedient according to gods teachinges Secūdum magisteria diuina then no man would make adoo against the colledge of priestes no mā woulde make him selfe iudge not of the bishop nowe but of God after gods iudgement after the fauour of the people declared by theire voices at the Election after the consent of his felowbishops no man through breach of vnitie and strife would diuide the church of Christ no man standing in his owne conceite and swelling with pride would sette vp by him selfe abroade without the church a newe heresie Of all other authorities that of Athanasius and of the bishops of Egypte and Libya gathered together in a Synode at Alexandria is to be regarded Who making humble sute to Felix then bishop of Rome for aide and succour against the Arianes through the whole epistle confessing the supreme auctoritie of that Apostolike See vtter these very wordes Vestrae apostolicae sedis imploramus auxilium etc. In primo tomo Cōciliorum We humbly besech you of the helpe of your Apostolike See Because as verely we beleue God hath not despised the praiers of his seruantes offered vp to him with teares but hath constituted and placed you your predecessours who were Apostolike Prelates in the highest tower or supreme state In summitatis arce constituit and commaunded them to haue cure and charge of all churches to th' intent you helpe and succour vs and that defending vs as to whom iudgemēt of bishops is committed you forslowe not through negligence to delyuer vs from our enemies Now if the Apostolike church of Rome hath obteined the Primacie and preeminence of power ouer all churches and ouer the whole flocke of Christen people of our lord Sauiour him selfe as Anacletus saith If it be euident to all that knowe the gospell that the cure and charge of the whole church hath ben committed to the holy Apostle Peter Prince of all the Apostles by the worde of our lord as Gregorie witnesseth If the whole brotherhed that is to say all christen folke ought to obeye the one hygh Priest or bishop of God and the one Iudge that is Christes Vicare or in the steede of Christ for the tyme according to the preceptes and teachinges of God as Cyprian writeth If it be God that hath placed and ordeined the bishop of Rome in the highest state of the church as Athanasius with all the fathers of that Alexandrine councell recordeth If this I say be true then is
beleue one holy catholike and Apostolike churche therefore I saye it hath nede of one prince and ruler to be kepte and holden in If it be other wise vnitie must nedes forthwith be sparkled and brokē a sunder And therefore it behoued that the rule and gouernement of the churche shuld be committed to one And whereas these Gospellers saye that Christ is the gouernour of the churche and that he being one kepeth the churche in vnitie we answere that although the churche be first and principally gouerned by Christ as all other thinges are yet gods high goodnes hath so ordeined as eche thing may be prouided for according to his owne condition and nature Therefore whereas mankynde dependeth most of sense and receiueth all learnīg and institutiō of sensible thinges therefor it hath nede of a man to be a gouernour and ruler whom it maye perceiue by outward sense And euen so the Sacramentes by which the grace of God is geuen vnto vs in consideration of mannes nature being so made of God as it is are ordeined in thinges sensible Therefor it was behoofull this gouernement of the churche to be committed to one man which at the first was Peter and afterward eche successour of Peter for his tyme as is afore declared Neither can this one man haue this power of any consent or companie of men but it is necessary he haue it of God For to ordeine and appointe the vicare of Christ it perteineth to none other then to Christ For where as the churche and all that is of the chuch is Christes as well for other causes as specially for that we are bought with a great price euen with his bloude as S. Paul sayeth 1. Cor. 3. how can it perteine to any other then to him to institute and appoint to him selfe a vicare that is one to doe his steede Wherefore to cōclude excepte we would wickedly graunt that gods prouidence hath lacked or doth lacke to his churche for loue of which he hath geuen his onely begotten sonne and which he hath promised neuer to forgete so as the woman can not forgete the chylde she bare in her wombe Reason may sone enduce vs to beleue that to one man one bishop the chiefe and highest of all bishops the successour of Peter the rule and gouernement of the church by God hath ben deferred For elles if God had ordeyned that in in the church shuld be sundry heades and rulers and none constituted to be ouer other but all of equall power ech one among their people then he shuld seme to haue set vp so many churches as he hath appointed gouernours And so he shall appeare to haue brought in among his faithfull people that vnruly confusion the destruction of all common weales so much abhorred of princes which the grekes call Anarchian which is a state for lacke of order in gouernours without any gouernement at all Which thing sith that the wise and politike men of this worlde doo shunne and detest in the gouernemēt of these earthly kingdomes as most perniciouse and hurtfull to attribute to the high wisdome of God and to our lord Christ who is the auctor of the most ordinate disposition of all thinges in earth and in heauen it were heynous and prophane impietie Wherefore if the state of a kingdome can not continew safe onlesse one haue power to rule how shall not the church spredde so farre abroade be in danger of great disorders corruption and vtter destruction if as occasion shal be geuen among so great strifes and debates of men among so many fyerbrandes of discord tossed to and fro by the deuils enemies of vnitie there be not one head and ruler of all to be consulted of all to be hearde of all to be folowed and obeied If strife and contentiō be stirred about matters of faith if controuersie happen to rise about the sense of the scriptures shall it not be necessary there be one supreme iudge to whose sentence the parties may stande If nede require as it hath ben often sene that generall councelles be kepte how can the bishops to whom that matter belongeth be brought together but by commaundement of one head gouernour whom they owe their obediēce vnto For elles being summoned perhappes they will not come Finally how shall the contumacie and pertinacie of mischeuous persones be repressed specially if the bishops be at discension with in them selues if there be not a supreme power who towardes some may vse the rodde towardes other some the spirite of lenitie with such discrete temperament as malice be vanquished right defended and concorde procured least if the small sparkes of strife be not quenched by auctoritie at the beginning at length a great flame of schismes and heresies flashe abrode to the great dāger of a multitude Therefore as there is one body of Christ one flocke one church euen so is there one head of that his mysticall body one shepeherd and one chiefe seruant made steward ouerseer and ruler ouer Christes householde in his absence vntill his comming againe The 6. proufe practise of the churche syxfolde But here perhappes some will saie it can not appeare by the euente of thinges and practise of the church that the Pope had this supreme power and auctoritie ouer all bishops and ouer all Christes flocke in matters touching faith and in causes ecclesiasticall Verely who so euer peruseth the ecclesiasticall stories and vieweth the state of the church of all tymes and ages cā not but cōfesse this to be most euident And here I might alleage first certaine places of the newe testament declaring that Peter practised this preeminence among the disciples at the beginning and that they yelded the same as of right apperteining vnto him Act. 1. As when he first and onely moued them to choose one in the stede of Iudas and demeaned him selfe as the chiefe autctor of all that was done therein when he made answere for all Act. 2. at what time they were gased and wondered at and of some mockte as being dronken with newe wine for that in the fistith day thei spake with tonges of so many nations when he vsed that dredfull seueritie in punishing the falshed Act. 5. and hypocrisie of Ananias and Saphira his wife Act. 15. when variāce being risen about the obseruation of certaine pointes of Moyses lawe he as chiefe and head of the rest saide his mynde before all others Among many other places lefte out for breuitie that is not of least weight that Paul being retourned to Damasco out of Arabia Galat. 1. after three yeres went to Ierusalem to see Peter and abode with him fiften dayes But because our aduersaries doo wreath and wreste the scriptures be they neuer so plaine by there priuate and straunge constructions to an vnderstanding quite contrary to the sense of the catholike church I will referre the reader for further proufe of this matter to the stories bearing faithfull witnes of the
noÌ„ne corporaliter quoque facit communicatione corporis Christi Christum in nobis haebitare what troweth this Ariane heretike perhappes that we knowe not the vertue of the mysticall blessing whereby is meant this sacrament which when it is become to be in vs doth it not cause Christ to dwell in vs corporally by receiuing of Christes body in the communion And after this he sayeth as plainely that Christ is in vs non habitudine solum quae per charitatem intelligitur verumetiam participatione naturali not by charitie onely but also by naturall participation The same Cyrill sayeth in an other place Lib. in Ioan 11. cap. 26. that through the holy communion of Christes body we are ioyned to him in naturall vnion Quis enim eos qui vnius sancti corporis vnione in vno Christo vniti suâ—t ab hac naturali vnione alienos putabit who will thinke sayeth he that they wich be vnited together by the vnion of that one holy body in one Christ be not of this natural vnion He calleth this also a corporall vnion in the same booke and at length after large discussion how we be vnited to Christ not onely by charitie and obedience of religion but also in substance concludeth thus Sed de vnione corporali satis But we â–ª haue treated ynough of the corporall vnion Yet afterward in diuerse sentences he vseth these aduerbes for declaring of the veritie of Christes body in the sacrament naturaliter substantialiter secundum carnem or carnaliter corporaliter as most manifestly in the 27. chapter of the same booke Corporaliter filius per benedictionem mysticam nobis vt homo vnitur spiritualiter autem vt Deus The sonne of God is vnited vnto vs corporally as man and spiritually as God Agayne where as he sayeth there Filium Dei natura Patri vnitum corporaliter substantialiterque accipientes clarificamur glorificamurque c. We receiuing the sonne of God vnited to the father by nature corporally and substaÌ„tially are clarifyed and glorifyed or made glorious being made partakers of the supreme nature The like saying he hath lib. 12. ca. 58. Now this being and remayning of Christ in vs and of vs in Christ naturally and carnally and this vniting of vs and Christ together corporally presupposeth a participation of his very body which body we can not truly participate but in this blessed sacrament And therefor Christ is in the Sacrament naturally carnally corporally that is to saye according to the thruth of his nature of his fleshe and of his body For were not he so in the SacrameÌ„t we could not be ioyned vnto him nor he and we could not be ioyned and vnited together corporally Diuerse other auncient fathers haue vsed the like manner of speach but none so much as Hilarius and Cyrillus whereby they vnderstand that Christ is present in this sacrament as we haue sayde according to the truth of his substance of his nature of his fleshe of his body and bloud And the catholike fathers that sithens the tyme of Berengarius haue written in defence of the truth in this point vsing these termes sometymes for excluding of metaphores allegories figures and significations onely whereby the sacrameÌ„taries would defraude faithfull people of the truth of Christes pretiouse body in this Sacrament doo not thereby meane that the maner meane or waye of Christes presence dwelling vnion and coniunctioÌ„ with vs and of vs with him is therefor naturall substanciall corporall or carnall but they and all other catholike men confesse the contrarie that it is farre higher and worthier supernaturall supersubstantiall inuisible vnspeakeable speciall and propre to this sacrament true reall and in deede notwithstanding and not onely tropicall symbolicall metaphoricall allegoricall not spirituall onely and yet spirituall not figuratiue or significatiue onely And likewise concerning the maner of the presence and being of that body and bloud in the sacrameÌ„t they and we acknowledge and confesse that it is not locall circumscriptiue diffinitiue or subiectiue or naturall but such as is knowen to God onely Or that his body is or may be in a thousand places Iuell or mo at one tyme. Of the being of Christes body in many places at one tyme. ARTICLE VI. AMong the miracles of this bleshed Sacrament one is that one and the same body maye bee in many places at once to witte vnder all consecrated hostes As for God it is agreable to his godhed to be euery where simpliciter propriè But as for a creature to be but in one place onely But as for the body of Christ it is after a maner betwen bothe For where as it is a creature it ought not to be made equall with the Creator in this behalfe that it be euery where But where as it is vnited to the Godhed herein it ought to excelle other bodyes so as it maye in one tyme bee in mo places vnder this holy Sacrament For the vniting of Christes naturall body vnto the almighty godhed duly considered bringeth a true ChristeÌ„ man in respecte of the same to forsake reason and to leane to faith to put aparte all doubtes and discourses of humaine vnderstanding and to rest in reuerent simplicitie of beleefe Thereby through the holy ghost persuaded he knoweth that although the body of Christ be naturall and humaine in dede yet through the vnion and coniunctioÌ„ many thinges be possible to the same now Matt. 14. Luc. 24. Matt. 17. Luc. 24. Act. 1. Matt. 28. Ioan. 20. that to all other bodies be impossible as to walke vpon waters to vanishe awaye out of sight to be transfigured and made bright as the sunne to ascende vp through the clowdes and after it became immortall death being conquered to ryse vp againe out of the graue and to entre through doores fast shutte Through the same faith he beleueth and acknowlegeth that according vnto his worde by his power it is made present in the blessed sacrament of th'aulter vnder the forme of bread and wyne where so euer the same is duly consecrated according vnto his institution in his holy supper and that not after a grosse or carnall maner but spiritually and supernaturally and yet substantially not by locall but by substantiall presence not by maner of quantitie or fylling of a place or by chaunging of place or by leauing his sitting on the right hande of the father but in such a maner as God onely knoweth and yet doth vs to vnderstand by faith the truth of this very presence farre passing all mannes capacitie to comprehend the maner how Where as some against this pointe of beleefe doo alleage the article of Christes Ascension and of his being in heauen at the right hande of God the father bringing certaine textes of scriptures perteining to the same and testimonies of auncient doctours signifying Christes absence from the earth Christes being in heaueÌ„ and in the SacrameÌ„t at one tyme implyeth no coÌ„tradiction it may be-rightly vnderstanded that
he is verely bothe in heauen at the right hande of his father in his visible and corporal forme very God and mā after which maner he is there and not here and also in the Sacrament inuisibly and spiritually bothe God and Man in a mysterie so as the graunting of the one may stande without denyall of the other no cōtradiction fownde in these beinges but onely a distinction in the waye and maner of being And how the aunciēt fathers of the churche haue confessed and taught bothe these beinges of Christ in heauen and in the sacrament together contrarie to M. Iuelles negatiue by witnes of their owne wordes we may perceiue Basile in his liturgie that is to saye seruice of his Masse sayeth thus in a prayer Looke downe vppon vs lord Iesus Christ our God from thy holy tabernacle Qui suprà cum patre sedes hic inuisibiliter versaris and from the throne of glorie of thy kingdom and come to sanctifie vs which sittest aboue with thy father and art conuersant here inuisibly And vouchesaufe to imparte vnto vs thine vndefyled body and pretiouse bloude and by vs to all thy people S. Chrysostome prayeth with the very same wordes also in his Liturgie or Masse Where we read further that the priest and the deacon doo adore and worship saying three tymes secretly Et populus similiter oēs cū pietate adorant God be merciful to me a synner and that the people doo all likewise deuoutly adore Now sith he will adoration to be made he acknowlegeth Christ present whom he graunteth to be also at the same tyme in heauen Wich he vttereth more plainely in these wordes Chrysost de Sacerdotio l. 3. O miraculum o Dei benignitatem c. O miracle o the goodnes of God who sytteth aboue with the father at that very instant of tyme is handeled with the handes of all and geueth him selfe to those that will receiue and imbrace him And that is done by no crafty sleightes but openly in the sight of all that stande about How sayest thou seme these thinges to thee no better then to be contemned and despysed By which words of S. Chrysostome we may see that Christes being in heauen maketh no proufe that he is not in earth sith both these verities may well stāde together Christes body in many places at once Hom. 2. The same father confesseth the body of Christ to be in diuerse places likewise in his homilies ad populū Antiochenum most plainely alluding to Elias Elias sayeth he melotem quidē discipulo reliquit filius autem Dei ascendens suam nobis carnem dimisit sed Elias quidē exutus Christus autem nobis reliquit ipsam habens ascendit Elias when he was caried vp in the fyery chariot lefte to his disciple Eliseus his mātell of sheepes skynnes but the sonne of God when he ascēded lefte to vs his fleshe but Elias dyd put of his mātel and Christ bothe lefte his fleshe to vs and also ascended hauing it with him Nothing can be spoken more plainely whereby to shewe that we haue the same fleshe here in earth that was receiued into heauen which Christ hath not put of to geue it to vs. By which doctrine of S. Chrysostome we are taught to beleue that Christes fleshe or his body is bothe in heauen and also in the earth in how many places so euer this blessed Sacrament is rightely celebrated And whereas many measuring all thinges by the common order and lawes of nature beleue nothing can be done aboue nature and therefor thinke that the body of Christ for as much as it is of nature finite can not by power of God be in many places at once of which opinion M. Iuell semeth to be him selfe it shall not be besyde the purpose though the places alreadie alleaged proue the contrarie to recite the testimonies of an olde doctour or two wherein they confesse most plainely that which by this article is most vntruly denyed Saint Ambrose hath these wordes In Psal 38 Et si Christus nunc nō videtur offerre tamen ipse offertur in terris quādo Christi corpus offertur Imò ipse offerre manifestatur in nobis cuius sermo sanctificat sacrificium quod offertur If Christ now be not sene to offre yet he is offered in earth whē the body of Christ is offered yea it is manifest that him selfe offereth in vs whose worde sanctifieth and consecrateth the sacrifice that is offered Now if Christes body be offered in earth as this father affirmeth and that of Christ him selfe in respecte that the sacrifice which is offered is by his word cōsecrated then it foloweth Christes bodie to be in so many places as it is offered in Where by the waye this may be noted that the sacrifice of the churche Sacrificiū incruentū viuificum is not thākes geuing as our newe Maisters doo teache but the body of Christ it selfe which of the fathers is called an vnbloudy and quikning or life geuing sacrifice We fynde in Chrysostome a most manifest place for the being of Christes body in many places at once so as though he be offered in many places yet is he but one Christ not many Christes his wordes be these Vnum est hoc sacrificium In epist ad Heb. homil 17. alioquin hac ratione quoniam multis in locis offertur multi Christi sunt nequaquam sed vnus vbique est Christus hic plenus existens illic plenus Vnum corpus Sicut enim qui vbique offertur vnum corpus est non multa corpora ita etiam vnum sacrificium This sacrifice is one elles by this reason sith it is offered in many places bee there many Christes Not so but there is but one Christ euery where being both here fully and there fully also one body For as he that is offered euery where is but one body and not many bodies so likewise it is but one sacrifice By this place of Chrysostome we see what hath ben the faith of the olde fathers touching this article euen the same which the catholike church professeth at these dayes that one Christe is offered in many places so as he be fully and perfitely here and fully and perfitely there And thus we perceiue what force their argumentes haue in the iudgemēt of the learned fathers by which they take awaie from Christ power to make his body present in many places at once Sermo in coena Domini S. Bernard vttereth the faith of the church in his tyme agreable with this in these wordes Sed vnde hoc nobis pijssime Domine vt nos vermiculi reptātes etc. From whēce commeth this most louing lord that we seely wormes creaping on the face of the earth yea we that are but duste and asshes be admitted to haue thee present in our hādes and before our eyes which all and whole sittest at the right hande of thy father
which also arte present to all in one momēt of tyme from the east to the west frō the north to the sowth one in many the same in diuerse places from whēce I saye cōmeth this soothly not of our dutie or deserte but of thy good will and of the good pleasure of thy swetnesse for thou hast prepared in thy swetnesse for the poore one o God In the same sermon exhorting the churche to reioise of the presence of Christ he sayeth In terra sponsum habes in Sacramento in coelis habitura es sine velamento hic ibi veritas sed hic palliata ibi manifestata In the earth thou hast thy spouse in the sacrament in heauē thou shalt haue him without vaile or couering both here and also there is the truth of his presence but here couered there opened Thus all these fathers as likewise the rest cōfesse as it were with one mowth that Christ sitteth at the right hande of his father and is here present in the sacrament the same tyme that he is in heauen and in earth at once in many and diuerse places one and that the same is euery where offered the one true sacrifice of the churche And this article is by them so clearely and plainely vttered that figures significations tropes and metaphores can fynde no appearaunce nor colour at all Whereby the new Maisters reasons seme very peeuishe Christ is ascended ergo he is not in the sacramēt Christ is in heauen sitting at the right hande of his father ergo he is not in earth Christes body is of nature finite ergo it is conteined in a place circūscriptiuely ergo it is not in many places In making of which slender argumentes they will not seme to acknowledge whose body it is euen that which is proper to God whose power is ouer all and to whom all thinges obeye But because M. Iuell and they of that secte seme to set litle by these fathers though very auncient S. Bernard excepted and of the churche holden for saintes I will bring forth the auctoritie of Martin Bucer a late doctour of their owne syde though not canonizate for a sainte as yet Truth cōfessed by the enemie of truth for that I knowe This newe father whom they esteme so much and was the reader of diuinitie in Cābridge in kyng Edwardes tyme very vehemently and for so much truly affirmeth the true reall presence of Christes body in the sacrament For he sayeth Christ sayde not This is my spirite this is my vertue but this is my body wherefore we must beleue sayeth he Christes body to be there euen the same that dyd hange vpon the crosse our lord him selfe Which in some parte to declare he vseth the similitude of the sunne for his purpose contrary to M. Iuelles negatiue to proue Christes body present and that really and substātially in what places so euer the sacrament is rightly ministred His wordes be these In cōmēt in 16. cap. Matthaei Vt sol verè vno in loco coeli visibilis circūscriptus est radijs tamē suis praesens verè substātialiter exhibetur vbilibet orbis Ita Dominus etiā si circūscribatur vno loco coeli arcani et diuini id est gloriae Patris verbo tamē suo sacris symbolis verè et totus ipse Deus et homo praesens exhibetur in sacra coena eoque substantialiter quam praesentiā nō minus certò agnoscit mēs credēs verbis his Domini Symbolis quā oculi vident et habēt solem presentē demonstratū exhibitū sua corporali luce Res ista arcana est noui testamēti res fidei nō sunt igitur huc admittēdae cogitationes de praesentatione corporis quae constat ratione huius vitae etiam patibilis fluxae Verbo Domini simpliciter in haerendum est debet fides sensuum defectui praebere supplementum Which may thus be englished As the sunne is truly placed determinatly in one place of the visible heauen and yet is exhibited truly and substantially by his beames euery where abroade in the worlde So our lord although he be conteined in one place of the secret and diuine heauen that is to witte the glorie of his father yet for all that by his word and holy tokens he is exhibited present in his holy supper truly and him selfe whole God and man and therefore substātially or in substāce Which presence the mynde geuing credite to these our lordes wordes and tokens doth no lesse certainely acknowledge then our eyes see and haue the sunne present shewed and exhibited with his corporall light This is a secrete matter and of the newe testament a matter of faith therefor herein thoughes be not to be admitted of such a presentatiō of the body as cōsisteth in the maner of this lyfe passible and transitorie We must symply cleaue to the word of our lord and where our senses faile there must faith helpe to supplie Thus we see how Bucer in sundry other pointes of faith bothe deceiued and also a deceiuour confirmeth the truth of this article pyththely and playnely Such is the force of truth that oftentymes it is confessed by the very enemies of truth Fight not with the churche M. Iuell but fight with the enemie of the churche fight with him whō you haue folowed in departing from the churche who neuer the lesse by force of truth is driuē against you to confesse the truth in those most plaine wordes Verè totus ipse Deus homo praesens exhibetur in sacra coena eoque substantialiter in this holy supper him selfe God and Man is exhibited present truly and whole and therefore substantially Now to be shorte whereas the chiefe argumētes that be made against the being of Christes body in many places at once be deduced of nature in respecte that this article semeth to them to abolishe nature it maye please them to vnderstand God vvorking aboue nature destroyeth not nature that God who is auctour of nature can by his power doo with a body that which is aboue the nature of a body nature not destroyed but kepte and preserued whole Which Plato the hethen philosopher would sone haue ben induced to beleue if he were alyue Who asked what was nature answered quod Deus vult that which God will And therefore we beleeue that Enoch and Elias yet mortal by nature doo by power of God lyue in body and that aboue nature Abacuc was by the same power caught vp and in a momēt caried from Iewrie to Babylon his nature reserued whole Saint Peter by God according to nature walked on the earth the same by God besyde nature walked vpon the waters Christ after condicion of nature assumpted suffred death in body the same Christ by his diuine power entred with his body in to his disciples through doores closed Christ at his last supper according to nature sate downe with his twelue disciples and among them
sayeth as there it foloweth It is the spirite that quikneth or geueth lyfe the fleshe profiteth nothing The vvordes vvhich I haue spoken to you bee spirite and life As though he had sayde thus The fleshe of it selfe profiteth nothing but my fleshe which is full of godhed and spirite bringeth and worketh immortalitie and life euetlasting to them that receiue it worthely Thus we vnderstand in this blessed Sacrament not onely the body and bloud of Christ but all and whole Christ God and man to be present in substāce and that for the inseparable vnitie of the person of Christ and for this cause we acknowledge our selues bownden to adore him as very true God and man For a clearer declaration hereof I will not let to recite a notable sentence out of S. Augustine where he expoundeth these wordes of Christ In Ioan. tractat 27 Then if ye see the sonne of man go vp vvhere he vvas before There had ben no question sayeth he if he had thus sayde if ye see the sonne of God go vp where he was before But whereas he sayde the sonne of man go vp vvhere he vvas before what was the sonne of man in heauen before that he beganne to be in earth Verely here he sayde where he was before as though then he were not there when he spake these wordes And in an other place he sayeth No man hath ascended in to heauen but he that descended from heauen the sonne of man vvhich is in heauen He sayde not was but the sonne of man sayeth he vvhich is in heauen In earth he spake and sayde him selfe to be in heauen To what perteineth this but that we vnderstand Christ to be one person God and man not two least our faith be not a trinitie but a quaternitie Wherefore Christ is one the worde the soule and the fleshe one Christ the sonne of God and the sonne of man one Christ The sonne of God euer the sonne of man in tyme yet one Christ according to th'unitie of person was in heauen when he spake in earth So was the sonne of man in heauen as the sonne of god was in earth The sonne of god in earth in fleshe taken the sonne of man in heauen in vnitie of person This farre saint Augustine Herevpon he expoundeth these wordes it is the spirite that quikneth or geueth life the fleshe auaileth nothing thus The fleshe profiteth nothing but the onely fleshe Come the spirite to the fleshe and it profiteth very much For if the fleshe shuld profite nothing the word shuld not be made fleshe to dwell amongest vs. For this vnitie of person to be vnderstanded in bothe natures sayeth the great learned father Leo we reade that bothe the sonne of man came downe from heauen Epist ad Flauianū Constantinopolitanū epis cap. 5. when as the sonne of god tooke fleshe of that virgine of whom he was borne and againe it is sayde that the sonne of god was crucified and buryed whereas he suffered these thinges not in the godhed it selfe in which the onely begotē is coeuerlasting and consubstantiall with the father but in the infirmitie of humaine nature Wherefore we cōfesse all in the Crede also the onely begoten sonne of god crucified and buryed according to that saying of th'apostle For if they had knovven 1. Cor. 2. they vvould neuer haue crucifyed the lord of Maiestie According to this doctrine Cyrillus writing vpon S. Iohn sayeth In Ioan. li. 4. ca. 15. he that eateth the fleshe of Christ hath lyfe euerlasting For this fleshe hath the word of god which naturally is lyfe Therfore he sayeth I vvill rayse him againe in the last daye For I sayde he that is my body which shall be eaten will raise him againe For he is not other then his fleshe I saye not this because by nature he is not other but because after incarnation he suffereth not him selfe to be diuided in to two sonnes By which wordes he reproueth the heresie of wicked Nestorius that went about to diuide Christ and of Christ to make two sonnes the one the sonne of god the other the sonne of Marye and so two persones For which Nestorius was condemned in the first Ephesine councell and also specially for that he sayde we receiue in this Sacramēt onely the fleshe of Christ in the bread and his bloud onely in the wine without the godhed because Christ sayde he that eateth my fleshe and sayde not he that eateth or drinketh my godhed because his godhed can not be eaten but his fleshe onely Which hereticall cauille Cyrillus doth thus auoyd Vide Anathematismum xi Item ad Theodos de recta fide li. 2. ad Reginas de recta fide Although sayeth he the nature of the godhed be not eaten yet we eate the body of Christ which verely may be eaten But this body is the Wordes owne proper body which quikneth althinges and in as much as it is the body of life it is quikning or lyfe geuing Now he quikneth vs or geueth vs lyfe as God the onely fonteine of lyfe Wherefore such speaches vttered in the scriptures of Christ whereby that appeareth to be attributed to the one nature which apperteineth to the other and contrary wise according to that incomprehēsible and vnspeakeable coniunction and vnion of the diuine and humaine nature in one person are to be taken of him inseparably in as much as he is both god and man and not of this or that other nature onely as being seuered from the other For through cause of this inseparable vnion what so euer is apperteining or peculiar to either nature it is rightly ascribed yea and it ought to be ascribed to the whole person And this is done as the learned diuines terme it per communicationem idiomatum And thus Cyrillus teacheth how christ maye be eaten not according to the diuine but humaine nature which he tooke of vs and so likewise he is of Christen people adored in the Sacramēt according to his diuine nature And yet not according to his diuine nature onely as though that were separated from his humaine nature but his whole person together God and man And his pretious fleshe and bloud are adored for the inseparable cōiunction of bothe natures into one person which is Iesus Christ God and man Whom God hath exalted as S. Paul sayeth and hath geuen him a name Philip. 2. vvhich is aboue all name that in the name of Iesus euery knee be bovved of the heauenly and the earthly thinges and of thinges beneathe and that euery tonge confesse that our lord Iesus Christ is in glory of God the father that is of equal glory with the father Heb. 10. Psal 96. And vvhen God sayeth S. Paul bringeth his first begoten in to the vvorld he sayeth and let all the Angelles of God adore him S. Iohn writeth in his reuelatiō that he heard all creatures saye blessing honour Apoc. 5. glory and power be to him which sitteth
in the stalle and hauing takeÌ„ a long iourney being bothe wicked and aliantes with very great feare and trembling adored him Wherefore let vs folowe at least those aliants vs I saye that are citizens of heauen For they whereas they sawe but that stalle and cabben onely and none of all the thinges thou seest nowe came notwithstaÌ„ding with the greatest reuereÌ„ce and feare that was possible But thou seest it not in a stalle of beastes but on the aulter not a woman to holde it in her armes but a priest present and the holy ghoste plentyfully spredde vpon the sacrifice This father in his Masse maketh a prayer in presence of the blessed Sacrament almost with the same wordes that S. Basile did AtteÌ„de domine Iesu Christe Deus noster etc. Looke vpon vs o lord Iesus Christ our God from thy holy habitacle and from the throne of the glory of thy kingdom and come to sanctifie vs who sittest on high with the father and art here inuisibly with vs and make vs worthy by thy mighty haÌ„de that we may be partakers of thy vnspotted body and pretiouse bloude and through vs all the people In the same Chrysostomes liturgie or Masse a most euident testimonie of adoration of the SacrameÌ„t is thus vttered Sacerdos adorat et diaconus in eo in quo est loco ter secretò diceÌ„tes Deus propitius esto etc. The priest adoreth and the deacon likewise in the place he standeth in saying three tymes secretly God be mercifull to me a synner So the people and likewise all make their adoration deuoutely and reuerently In the same father is an other prayer which the greke priestes doo vse to this daye at their adoration of Christes body in the Sacrament and it is expressed in these wordes Domine non sum dignus etc. Lord I am not worthy that thou enter vnder the filthy roofe of my soule But as thou tookest in good parte to lye in the denne and stall of brute beastes and in the house of Simon the leprouse receiuedst also a harlot and a synner like me comming vnto thee vouchesafe also to enter into the stalle of my soule voyde of reason and into my fylthy body being dead and leprouse And as thou dydst not abhorre the fowle mowth of a harlot kissing thyne vndefyled feete So my lord God abhorre not me though a synner but vouchesafe of thy goodnesse and benignitie that I maye be made partaker of thy most holy body and bloude S. Ambrose after long serche and discussion De spiritâ— sancto li. 3. cap. 12. Psal 96. how that saying of the prophete might be vnderstanded Adore and worship ye his footestoole because it is holy At length concludeth so as by the footestoole he vnderstandeth the earth because it is written Esa 66. Heauen is my seate and the earth is my footestoole And because the earth is not to be adored for that it is a creature by this earth he vnderstaÌ„deth that earth which our lord Iesus tooke in the assumption of his fleshe of the virgine Marye and hereupon he vttereth those plaine wordes for testimonie of the adoration Iraque per scabellum terra intelligitur per terraÌ„ autem caro Christi quam hodie quoque in mysterijs adoramus quam Apostoli in domino Iesu adorarunt And thus by the footestoole earth may be vnderstanded and by earth the fleshe of Christ which euen now adayes also we adore in the mysteries and the Apostles adored in our lord Iesus S. Augustines learned handling of this place of the psalme adore ye his footestoole because it is holy maketh so euidently for this purpose that of all other auctorities which in great number might be brought for prouse of the same it ought least to be omitted The place being long I will recite it in English onely His wordes be these Adore ye his footestoole In Psal 98 because it is holy See ye brethren what that is he byddeth vs to adore â—sa 66. In an other place the scripture sayeth heaueÌ„ is my seate and the earth is my footestoole What doth he then bydde vs adore and worship the earth because he sayde in an other place that it is the footestoole of God And how shall we adore the earth whereas the scripture sayeth plainely Deut. 6.10 Thou shalt adore thy lord thy God and here he sayeth adore ye his footestoole But he expouÌ„deth to me what his footestoole is Matth. 4. and sayeth And the earth is my footestoole I am made doubtefull afrayed I am to adore the earth least he damne me that made heauen and earth Againe I am afrayed not to adore the footestoole of my lord because the Psalme sayeth to me Adore ye his footestoole I seeke what thing is his footestoole and the scripture telleth me The earth is my footestoole Being thus wauering I tourne me to Christ because him I seeke here and I fynde how without impietie the earth may be adored For he tooke of earth earth because fleshe is of earth and of the fleshe of Marye he tooke fleshe And because he walked here in fleshe and that very fleshe he gaue vs to eate to Saluation and no man eateth that fleshe excepte first he adore it it is fownde out how such a footestoole of our lord may be adored and how we not onely synne not by adoring but synne by not adoring Doth not the fleshe quicken and geue lyfe Our lord him selfe sayde when he spake of the commendation it selfe of that earth Ioan. 6. it is the spirite that quikneth but the fleshe profiteth nothing Therfore when thou bowest thy selfe and fallest downe to euery such earth beholde it not as earth but that holy one whose footestoole it is that thou doest adore for because of him thow doest adore And therefore here he added Adore ye his footestoole because it is holy Who is holy he for whose loue thou adorest his footestoole And when thou adorest him remaine not by cogitation in fleshe that thou be not quikned of the spirite For the spirite sayeth he quikneth and the fleshe profiteth nothing And then when our lord commended this vnto vs he had spoken of his fleshe and had sayde Excepte a man eate my fleshe he shall not haue in him lyfe euerlastyng Againe S. Augustine sheweth the maner and custome of his tyme touching the adoration of Christ in the Sacrament writing thus ad Honoratum Epist 120. cap. 21. vpon the verse of the xxj psalme Edent pauperes saturabuntur that is the poore shall eate and be filled and vpon that other Manducauerunt adorauerunt omnes diuites terrae all the riche of the earth haue eaten and adored It is not without cause sayeth he that the riche and the poore be so distincted that of the poore it was sayde before the poore shall eate and be fylled and here of the riche they haue eaten and adored all that be the riche of the earth For they haue beÌ„ brought to