crucified And such maner bloud was at his passion shedde foorth of his body in sighte of them which were then present But after that Christ rose againe from the deade his body from that tyme forward euer remaineth immortall and liuely in dāger no more of any infirmitie or suffering much lesse of death but is become by diuine giftes and endowmētes a spirituall and a diuine body as to whom the godhed hath communicated diuine and godly properties and excellencies that ben aboue all mannes capacitie of vnderstanding This fleshe and body thus considered which sundry doctours call corpus spirituale deificatum a spirituall and deified body is geuen to vs in the blessed sacrament This is the doctrine of the church vttered by S. Hierome in his commentaries vppon th'Epistle to the Ephesians where he hath these wordes Lib. 1. ca. 1. Dupliciter verò sanguis caro intelligitur vel spiritualis illa atque diuina de qua ipse dixit Caro mea vere est cibus sanguis meus verè est potus Et nisi manducaueritis carnē meam sanguinem meum biberitis non habebitis vitam aeternam vel caro quae crucifixa est sanguis qui militis effusus est lancea that is The bloud and fleshe of Christ is vnderstanded two waies either that it is that spiritual and diuine fleshe of which he spake him selfe My fleshe is verely meate and my bloud is verely drinke And excepte ye eate my fleshe and drinke my bloud ye shall not haue lyfe in you Or that fleshe which was crucified and that bloud which was shedde by pearcing of the souldiers speare And to the intent a man shuld not take this differēce according to the substance of Christes fleshe and bloud but according to the qualitie onely S. Hierome bringeth a similitude of our fleshe as of which it hath ben in double respecte sayde Iuxta hanc diuisionem in sanctis etiam diuersitas sanguinis carnis accipitur vt alia sit caro quae visura est salutare Dei Luc. 3. alia caro sanguis quae regnum Dei nō queant possidere 1. Cor. 15. According to this diuision diuersitie of bloud and fleshe is to be vnderstanded in sainctes also so as there is one fleshe which shal see the saluacion of God and an other fleshe and bloud which may not possesse the kingdom of God Which two states of fleshe and bloud seme as it appeareth to the vnlearned quite contrarie But Saint Paul dissolueth this doubte in the fiftenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians saying that fleshe of such sorte as we beare about vs in this lyfe earthly mortal fraile and bourthenouse to the soule can not possesse the kingdom of God because corruption shal not possesse incorruption But after resurrection we shal haue a spirituall gloriouse incorruptible and immortall flesh and like in figure to the gloriouse body of Christ as S. Paul sayeth This corruptible body must putte on incorruption and this mortall immortalitie Then such fleshe or our fleshe of that maner and sorte shall possesse the kingdom of God and shal beholde God him selfe And yet our fleshe now corruptible and then incorruptible is but one fleshe in substāce but diuerse in qualitie and propertie Euen so it is to be thought of our lordes fleshe as is afore sayde The due weghing of this differēce geueth much light to this matter and ought to staye many horrible blasphemies wickedly vttered against this most blessed Sacrament Now whereas M. Iuell denyeth that Christen people were of olde tyme taught to beleue that Christes body is really substantially corporally carnally or naturally in the Sacrament I doo plainely affirme the cōtrarie Yet I acknowledge that the learned fathers which haue so taught would not thereby seme to make it here outwardly sensible or perceptible Hom. 83. in Matt 60 ad popul Antiochen For they confesse all with Saint Chrysostome that the thing which is here geuen vs is not sensible but that vnder visible signes inuisible thinges be delyuered vnto vs. But they thought good to vse the aforesayed termes to put awaye all doubte of the being of his very body in these holy mysteries and to exclude the onely imagination phantasie figure signe token vertue or signification there of For in such wise the Sacramentaries haue vttered their doctrine in this pointe as they may seme by their manner of speaking and wryting here to represent our lordes body onely in deede being absent as kinges oftentymes are represented in a Tragedie or meane persones in a Comedie Verely the maner and waye by which it is here present and geuen to vs and receiued of vs is secrete not humaine ne naturall true for all that And we doo not atteine it by sense reason or nature but by faith For which cause we doo not ouer basely consyder and attende the visible elementes but as we are taught by the councell of Nice lifting vp our mynde and spirite we beholde by faith on that holy table put and layde so for the better signification of the real presence their terme sowndeth the Lambe of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that taketh awaye the synnes of the worlde And here saye they we receiue his pretiouse body and bloude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to saye verely and in deede which is no other wise nor lesse then this terme really importeth And touching these termes fyrst Verely or which is all one Really and substantially me thinketh M. Iuell shuld beare the more with vs for vse of the same sith that Bucer him selfe one of the greatest learned men of that syde hath allowed them yea and that after much writing against Luther in defēce of Zuinglius and Oecolampadius by him set forth and after that he had assured him selfe of the truth in this article by diuine inspiration as most constantly he affirmeth with these wordes In responsione ad Lutherū Haec non dubitamus diuinitus nobis per scripturam reuelata de hoc sacramento We doubte not sayeth he but these thinges concerning this sacramēt be reueled vnto vs from god and by the scripture If you demaunde where this may be fownde in the actes of a Councell holden betwen the Lutheranes and Zuinglianes for this very purpose in Martine Luthers house at Wittenberg in the yere of our lord 1536. you shal fynde these wordes Audiuimus D. Bucerum explicantem suam sententiam de Sacramento corporis sanguinis Domini hoc modo Cum pane vino verè substantialiter adest exhibetur sumitur corpus Christi sanguis Et sacramentali vnione panis est corpus Christi porrecto pane verè adest verè exhibetur corpus Christi We haue heard M. Bucer declare his mynde touching the sacrament of the body and bloud of our Lord in this sorte With the bread and wyne the body of Christ and his bloud is present exhibited and receiued
sacramentally with the priestes as it is before proued ergo there were Masses done with out other receiuing the Sacrament with the priestes And then further ergo priuate Masses in Chrysostomes dayes were not straunge and then yet one steppe further there to staye Ergo M. Iuel according to his owne promise and offre must yelde subscribe and recant Iuell Or that there was then any communion ministred vnto the people vnder one kynde Of communion vnder one kynde ARTICLE II. THis being a Sacramēt of vnitie euery true christen man ought in receiuing of it to consyder how vnitie may be acheued and kepte rather thē to shewe a streightnes of conscience aboute the outward formes of bread and wyne to be vsed in the administratiō of it and that so much the more how much the ende of euery thinge is to be estemed more then that which serueth to the ende Otherwise herein the breache of vnitie is so litle recompensed by the exacte kepinge of th' outward ceremonie that according to the saying of S. Augustine who so euer taketh the mysterie of vnitie and kepeth not the bonde of peace he taketh not a mysterie for him selfe but a testimonie against him selfe Therefore they haue great cause to weigh with them selues what they receiue in this sacrament who moued by slēder reasons made for bothe kyndes do rashely and dangerously condemne the churche for geuing of it vnder one kinde to all that doo not in their owne persons consecrate and offer the same in remembraunce of the sacrifice once offered on the crosse And that they may thinke the churche to stād vpon good growndes herein may it please them to vnderstand that the fruite of this sacramēt which they enioye that worthely receiue it dependeth not of the outward formes of bread and wine but redoundeth of the vertue of the fleshe and bloude of Christ And whereas vnder either kynde whole Christ is verely present for now that he is risen againe from the deade his fleshe and bloude can be sundred no more Rom. 6. because he dyeth no more this helthfull sacrament is of true christen people with no lesse fruit receiued vnder one kynde then vnder bothe And as this spirituall fruite is not any thinge diminished to him that receiueth one kinde so it is not any whitte increaced to him that receiueth bothe The Sacramentaries that beleue not the truth of Christes bodye and bloude in this holy Sacramēt I remitte to sundry godly treatises made in defence of the right faith in that pointe I thinke it not necessarie here to treate thereof or of any other matter which M. Iuell hath not as yet manifestly touched in his sermon Now concerning th' outward formes of bread and wyne their vse is imployed in significatiō onely and be not of necessitie so as grace may not be obteined by worthy receiuing of tbe Sacrament onlesse bothe kindes be ministred Therefore in consecrating of the Sacrament according to Christes institution bothe kyndes be necessarie for as much as it is not prepared for the receiuing onely but also for renewing and stirring vp of the remembraunce of oure lordes death So in as much as the sacrament serueth the sacrifice by which the death and oblation of Christ is represented bothe the kyndes be requisite that by diuerse and sundry formes the bloude of Christ shedde for our synnes and separated from his body may euidently be signified But in as much as the faithful people doo receiue the sacrament thereby to atteine spirituall grace and saluatiō of their soules diuersitie of the formes or kyndes that be vsed for the signification onely hath no further vse ne profite But by one kynde because in it whole Christ is exhibited abundance of all grace is once geuen so as by the other kynde thereto ouer added which geueth the same and not an other Christ no further augmentation of spirituall grace may be atteined In consideration of this the catholike churche taught by the holy ghost all truth whiles in the daily sacrifice the memorie of oure lordes death and passion is celebrated for that it is necessarie therein to expresse most playnely the shedding and separating of the bloude from the bodye that was crucified hath alwayes to that purpose diligently vsed bothe kyndes of breade and wine But in distributing of the blessed sacramāt to christen people hath vsed her libertie which Christ neuer imbarred by any commaundement to the contrary so as it hath euer ben most for the behoufe and commoditie of the receiuers and hath ministred sometymes bothe kindes sometymes one kynde onely as it hath ben thought most expediēt in regard of tyme place and persons Matth. 26 Christes vvordes bynde not the laitie to receiue both kindes Ante passionē nobis solis praecepit hoc facere inquiūt Apostoli apud Clementem lib. 8. constitu Apostolicarū cap. vlt. As touching the wordes of Christ Bibite ex hoc omnes Drinke ye all of this they perteine to the Apostles only and to their successours For to them only he gaue commaundement to doo that which he dyd in his supper as Clement sayeth To them only saying doo this in my remembrance he gaue commission to consecrate offer and to receiue the sacrament in remembrance of his death and passion by the same wordes ordeining thē priestes of the newe testamēt Wherefore this belongeth not to the laye people neither can it be iustely gathered by this place that they are bounde of necessitie and vnder paine of deadly synne to receiue the sacrament vnder bothe kyndes And this vnderstoode they which aboue an hundred yeres past chaunging the olde custome of the churche of receiuing the communion vnder one kynde by theire priuate auctoritie would nedes vsurpe the cuppe also For seeing them selues not to haue sufficient proufe and warrant for their dooing of these wordes drinke ye all of this the better to bolster vp their newe flangled attempte Ioan. 6. they thought it better to alleage the wordes of Christ in S. Iohn Excepte ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke his bloude ye shall not haue lyfe in you which wordes for all that oure new maisters of these xl yeres past will to be vnderstanded of the spirituall and not of the sacramentall eating Which place although it be taken for the sacramentall eating as it may be and is taken for bothe of the doctours vewed a parte yet in all that chapter there is no mention of the cuppe nor of wine at all Wherefore they that crye so much on the Institution and commaundement of Christ can not fynde in all the scriptures neither commaundement where he gaue charge the sacrament so to be geuen neither so much as any example where Christ gaue it vnder bothe kyndes to any other then to the Apostles Where as contrary wise it may be shewed of oure parte that the sacrament was geuen vnder one kynde only to the two disciples that went to Emaus Luc. 24. For that the
temerê condemnandi aut inuicem iudicandi That the controuersie for the one or bothe kyndes may be taken awaye it shall be very well done that holy churche made it free to receiue this sacrament in one or bothe kyndes yet vnder suche condition as hereby no occasion be geuen to any bodye rashely to condēne the vse which the church hath so long tyme kepte nor to iudge one an other Soothly he which would haue it free and at libertie to receiue the sacrament vnder one or bothe kyndes and holdeth opinion that the olde custome of the one kynde onely is not to be condemned semeth plainely ynough to confesse that nothing hath ben instituted or commaunded of Christ touching this matter as necessarie to saluation Thus we may see playnely that they which haue diuided them selues from the mysticall bodye of Christ that is his churche who were of greatest learning and iudgement make it a matter indifferent as it is in dede of it selfe lefte to the libertie of the churche whether the sacrament be ministred vnder one kynde or bothe And this much hath ben cōfessed against M. Iuell and his secte not onely by the learned aduersaries of the churche in oure tyme but also by a learned man of Bohemia aboue six score yeres past His name is Iohn Przybxam of whose writinges some are set foorth in printe This learned man whereas he endeuoured to proue the vse of bothe kyndes of the wordes of Christ written by S. Iohn Except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his bloude ye shal not haue lyfe in you at length vttereth these wordes according to the eloquence of his tyme. In libr. de professione fidei catholieae cap. 19. Veruntamen hic Deum timens mores impios aliorum praecauens fateor quòd quaslibet personas de ecclesia communion fidelium sub vtraque specie repugnantes damnare aut haereticare non intendo But here hauing the feare of god before myne eyes and being well ware I folowe not the wicked conditions of others I grawnt that what persones so euer of the churche repine against the communion of the faithfull people vnder bothe kyndes I entend not to condemne them nor to holde them for heretikes But if it be the commaundement of God that the Sacrament be receiued of all vnder bothe kyndes why shuld he be forbydden by the feare of God to cōdemne those that wythstād that order of communion Seeing that who so euer goeth against Gods commaundement is worthy to be cōdemned Therefore by his testimonie the vse of one or bothe kindes is indifferent Thus we are able to alleage Luther Melanchthon Bucer and that learned Bohemian for the Indifferencie of the communion to be minister either vnder one kynde or bothe Whereby I meane not that the vse of the sacramēt is so lefte to euery mannes libertie as he that listeth may require bothe kyndes and an other may content him selfe with one kynde not so euery man is bownde to folow the order of the churche but the churche is not bownde of necessitie by Gods commaundement to minister it vnder bothe kyndes to the laitie And whereas it was ministred in bothe kyndes at Corinth as it appeareth by S. Paul and in sundry other places Causes mouing the churche to cōmunicate vnder one kinde as we finde most euidently in the writinges of diuerse auncient fathers yet the churche hath ben moued by diuerse and weighty causes to take order that the people should receiue their cōmunion vnder one kynde not onely in the councell of Basile but also in that of Constāce and long before them aboue a thousand yeres in the first councell of Ephesus as many doo probably gather and mamely Vrbanus Regius a doctour of Luthers scoole confesseth in his booke De locis communibus One cause and not the leaste was that thereby the heresie of Nestorius might the rather be extinguished who emonges other errours held opinion that vnder the forme of bread in the Sacramēt is cōteined the body of Christ with out his bloude and vnder the forme of the wine his bloude onely without his bodye Many other causes moued those fathers to take that order for th'auoyding of many inconueniences dangers and offences which might happē in the vse of the cuppe as vnreuerence of so high a Sacrament whereof christen people at the beginning had a meruelouse care and regarde the lothsomnes of many that can not brooke the taste of wine the difficultie of getting and impossibilitie of keping wine from corruption in countries situated neare to the north Pole in that clime where is knowen to be great extremitie of colde besyde a number of the like So that it had ben beside reason to haue bounde all to the necessitie of bothe kyndes Now in very dede if we would graunt to oure aduersaries which in no wise we do not graunt that it hath ben commaunded of Christ the laye people should communicate vnder bothe kyndes by these wordes Drinke ye all of this yet this notwithstanding the exacte streightnes of gods ordināce may without synne in cases be omitted in such thinges which be not necessaryly to be obserued of them selues or of the prescripte of the lawe of nature so that great and weighty causes the rule of charitie exactely obserued require the same For euident proufe of this we haue exāples bothe of the olde and also of the newe testamēt Leuit. 24. Dyd not God commaunde that none shuld eate of the shewebread but the priestes onely 1. Reg. 21. Dauid eate thereof and yet Christ cleareth him of all blame Mar. 2. The lawe of circuncisiō so streightly commaunded Genes 17. 34. was for the space of forty yeres by the people of Israel quite omitted whiles they passed from Egypte to the land of promesse and God fownde no faulte with them for it God gaue the law of keping holy the Saboth daye with out exception Exod. 20. 1. Mach. 1. The Machabés notwithstanding stickte not to arme them selues against Antiochus and to spende that daye in the fielde in theire defence hauing no scruple of conscience for breach of that law Many the like examples we fynde in the olde testament But let vs come to the newe testament and to the Sacraments of the tyme of grace In due cōsideration of which we may fynde that Christ hath scarcely commaunded any outward thing the moderation qualifying and ordering whereof he hath not lefte to his churche as according to the cōdition of the tyme it hath ben sene most expedient for the common prefermēt and edifying of the same So that notwithstanding there be no swaruing from the scope and principal intente and no creature defrauded of that good which by the outward thinges is to be atteined Touching the Sacrament of baptisme though nothing be sayde of the teaching of them that shuld be baptized neyther of the dipping of them in to the water Matt. 28. which Christes charge in
this behalfe geuen semeth plainely to require go you sayeth he to his Apostles and teach all nations baptizing them etc and yet the church hath not feared to baptise infantes that be with out capacitie of teaching and for the due administration of this Sacrament to many hath thoughte powring or sprinkling of water vpon them sufficient though this be not spoken of I saye it is much to be consydered to this purpose that the Apostles stickte not for a tyme to alter and chaunge the very essentiall forme of wordes with which Christ would this sacrament to be ministred For where as he commaunded them to baptise in the name of the father and of the sonne Act. 8. and of the holy ghost thâ—y baptized in the name of Iesus Christ only intending thereby to make that to be of more fame and celebritie So to retourne to the Sacrament of the bodye and bloude of Christ whereof we treate no man can denye but many thinges were at th'institution of it done by the example of Christ and by him commaunded which now be not obserued and yet in that respecte no faulte is fownde Christ washed the Apostles feete and gaue them an expresse commaundement to doo the same with these moste plaine wordes If I that am your Maister and lorde Ioan. 6. haue wasshed your feete you also ought to wash one an others feete For I haue geuen you an example that as I haue done you doo so likewise Which commaundement of Christ according to the outward letter verely bindeth no lesse then these wordes Drinke ye all of this yet this commaundement is not kepte but cleane growen out of vse Though it appeare by Saint Bernard In ser de coena do who calleth it Magnum Sacramentum a great Sacrament and long before by reporte of S. Cyprian In serm de vnctione chrismatis that Christ dyd not onely washe his Apostles feete but commaunded also by solemne request and ordeined that th'apostles afterward should doo the same Whether this ordinance of Christ hath ben abolished for that it should not be thought a rebaptization as it may be gathered of S. Augustine Ad Ianuarium c. 18 or for any other cause it forceth not greatly But this is much to be merueiled at that this so earnestly commaunded is so quietly and with such silence suffered vndone and in the ministration of the Sacrament the vse of the cuppe so factiously and with so much crying out required Neither in many other rites and ceremonies we do not as Christ dyd Christ celebrated this sacrament after that he had supped we do it in the morning and fasting Christ sate at the table with his twelue Apostles neither sytte we at a table neither thinke we it necessary to obserue such number Christ brake the bread we thinke it not necessary to breake the hoste that is to be delyuered to the faithfull participantes Here is to be noted that saint Cyprian rebuking them which thought sprinkling or powring of water not to be sufficient for baptisme declareth that the saraments be not to be estemed according vnto their extreme and rigorouse obseruation or administration of all the externe elementes but rather according to the integritie and soundnes of faith of the geuer and of the receiuer and that diuine thinges vsed in a compendious sorte conferre and geue neuerthelesse to the right beleuers their whole vertue lib. 4. epist 7. Many other coÌ„maundemeÌ„tes of God concerning outward thinges might here be rehearsed which notwithstanding by litle and litle in the churche haue ben omitted as the forebearing of strangled thinges and bloude which was coÌ„maunded by God in the olde testament and according to the pleasure and aduise of the holy gost decreed by the Apostles in the newe testament yet for as much as concerneth outward thinges both this and many other the like haue in processe of tyme growen out of obseruation and haue with out any scruple of conscience ben abrogated I truste no man will gather of that I haue sayde here that it is none offence to doo against Gods commaundemente My meaning is farre otherwise Neither saye I that this saying of Christ in Mathew Drinke ye all of this or that in Ihon Excepte ye eate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his bloude ye shal not haue lyfe in you or other coÌ„maundementes of Christ be not to be kepte but this is that I saye and that euery catholike man sayeth that the vniuersall churche doth better vnderstand which are the coÌ„maundemeÌ„tes of Christ and how they ought to be kepte then Berengarius Wiclef Hus Luther Zuinglius Caluine Cranmare Peter Martyr or any their scolers and folowers which now be sundry sectes As for example God hath thus coÌ„maunded Matth. 5. Exod. 20. thow shalt not sweare and thow shalt not kylle and if thine eye cause the to offende pull him out and cast him awaye from the. Whereas certaine sectes of heretikes as namely they which be called Waldenses and Picardi by their construction hereof haue mainteined opinion that no othe ought to be geuen or made in no case or respecte lyke wise that in no case or respecte a man may doo an other to death and also that after the outward letter of the gospell sometyme a man is bounde to pull out his eye and cast it from him which thing hath beÌ„ done by some of the Picardes as it is reported as though elles Gods commaundement were not kepte this hath so ben vnderstanded by the catholike churche confessing neuerthelesse these to be gods commaundementes as in tyme in place and in certaine cases a man might and ought without breach of commaundement bothe sweare and kylle and likewise kepe his eye in his head and therein offend God nothing at all So the catholike churche vnderstandeth Drynke ye all of this to be Christes commaundement and of necessitie to be obserued but of priestes onely I meane of necessitie and that when in the sacrifice of the church is celebrated the memorie of Christes death which in that degree be the successours of the Apostles to whom that commaundement was specially geuen when they were consecrated priestes of the new testameÌ„t who so dyd drinke in dede as S. Marke witnesseth Et biberunt ex eo omnes Mar. 14. And they dranke all of it To these onely and to none other the catholike churche hath euer referred the necessitie of that coÌ„maundement Elles if the necessitie of it should perteine to all and because Christ sayde Drinke ye all of this if all of euery state and condition of necessitie ought to drinke of the cuppe how is it come to passe that oure aduersaries them selues who preteÌ„de so streight a conscience herein kepe from it infantes and young children vntill they come to good yeres of discretion specially where as the custome of the primitiue churche was that they also should be partakers of this sacrament as it may playnely be sene in S. Dionyse Cyprian Augustine
substance which was crucified and shedde foorth for vs. Thus to the humble beleuers scripture it selfe ministreth sufficient argument of the truth of Christes body and bloude in the sacrament against the sacramentaries who holde opinion that it is there but in a figure signe or taken onely Againe we can not fynde where our lord performed the promise he made in the syxth chapter of Iohn The bread which I wil geue is my fleshe which I will geue for the lyfe of the worlde but onely in his last supper where if he gaue his fleshe to his Apostles and that none other but the very same which he gaue for the lyfe of the worlde it foloweth that in the blessed Sacrament is not mere bread but that same his very body in substance For it was not mere bread but his very body that was geuen and offred vp vpon the crosse If the wordes spoken by Christ in S. Iohn of promise that he performed in his holy supper The bread that I will geue is my fleshe had ben to be taken not as they seme to meane plainely and truly but metaphorically tropically symbolically and figuratiuely so as the truth of our lordes fleshe be excluded as our aduersaries do vnderstand them then the Capernaites had not had any occasion at all of their great offence Then shuld not they haue had cause to murmour against Christ as the Euāgelist sheweth The Iewes sayeth S. Iohn Stroue among them selues Cap. 6. saying how can he geue vs his fleshe to eate And much lesse his dere disciples to whom he had shewed so many and so great miracles to whom he had before declared so many parables and so high secretes shuld haue had any occasiō of offence And doubteles if Christ had meant they shuld eate but the signe or figure of his body they would not haue sayde Durus est hic sermo this is a hard saying and who can abyde to heare it For then shuld they haue done no greater thing then they had done oftentymes before in eating the Easter lambe And how could it seme a hard worde or saying if Christ had meant nothing elles but this the bread that I will geue is a figure of my body that shall cause you to remember me To conclude shortely If Christ would so haue ben vnderstanded as though he had meant to geue but a figure onely of his body it had ben no nede for him to haue alleaged his omnipotencie and almighty power to his disciples thereby the rather to bring them to beleefe of his true body to be geuen them to eate Hoc vos scandalizet doth this offende you sayeth he what if ye see the sonne of man ascende where he was before it is the Spirite that geueth lyfe c. As though he had sayde ye consyder onely my humanitie that semeth weake and fraile neither doo you esteme my diuine power by the great miracles I haue wrought But when as ye shall see me by power of my godhed ascend in to heauen from whence I came vnto you will ye then also stand in doubte whether ye-may beleue that I geue you my very body to be eaten Thus by signifyyng his diuine power Christ confownded their vnbeleefe touching the veritie and substance of his body that he promysed to geue them in meate What occasioned the fathers to vse these termes really substantially corporally c. These places of the scripture and many other reporting plainely that Christ at his supper gaue to his disciples his very body euen that same which the daye folowing suffered death on the Crosse haue ministred iust cause to the godly and learned fathers of the churche to saye that Christes body is present in this Sacrament really substantially corporally carnally and naturally By vse of which aduerbes they haue meant onely a truth of being and not a waye or meane of being And though this manner of speaking be not thus expressed in the scripture yet is it deduced out of the scripture For if Christ spake plainely and vsed no trope figure nor metaphore as the scripture it selfe sufficiently declareth to an hūble beleuer and would his disciples to vnderstand him so as he spake in manifest termes when he sayde This is my body which is geuen for you Thē may we saye that in the sacrament his very body is present yea really that is to saye in dede substantially that is in substāce and corporally carnally and naturally by which wordes is meant that his very body his very fleshe and his very humaine nature is there not after corporal carnal or natural wise but inuisibly vnspeakeably miraculousely supernaturally spiritually diuinely and by waye to him onely knowen And the fathers haue ben driuen to vse these termes for more ample and full declaratiō of the truth and also for withstanding and stopping obiections made by heretikes And because the catholike faith touching the veritie of Christes body in the Sacrament was not impugned by any man for the space of a thousand yeres after Christes being in earth and about that tyme Berengarius Berengarius first beganne openly to sowe the wicked sede of the sacramentarie heresie which then sone confuted by learned men and by the same first author abiured and recanted now is with no lesse wickednes but more busely and more earnestly set forth againe the doctoures that sythēs haue written in defence of the true and catholike faith herein haue more often vsed the termes a fore mentioned then the olde and auncient fathers that wrote within M. Iuelles syx hundred yeres after Christ who doubteles would no lesse haue vsed thē if that matter had ben in question or doubte in their tyme. And albeit these termes were straunge and newe as vsed within these fyue hundred yeres onely and that the people were neuer taught for syx hundred yeres after Christ as M. Iuell sayeth more boldly then truly and therefore more rashely then wysely yet the faith by them opened and declared is vniuersall and olde verely no lesse olde then ys our lordes supper where this Sacrament was first instituted Here before that I bring in places of auncient fathers reporting the same doctrine and in like termes as the catholike churche doth holde concerning this article least our opinion herein might happely appeare ouer carnall and grosse I thincke it necessary briefly to declare what maner a true bodie and bloud of Christ is in the sacrament Christ in him selfe hath but one fleshe and bloud in substāce which his godhed tooke of the virgine Mary once and neuer afterward lefte it of The fleshe and bloud of Christ is of double consyderation But this one fleshe and bloud in respecte of double qualitie hath a double consideration For at what tyme Christ lyued here in earth among men in the shape of man his fleshe was thrall and subiecte to the frailtie of mannes nature synne and ignorāce excepted That fleshe being passible vntil death the souldiers at the procurement of the Iewes
adoration of christes bodie in them present And thus for the Eleuation or holding vp of the sacrament we haue sayde ynough Or that the people did then fall downe and worship Iuell the Sacrament with godly honour Of the vvorshipping or adoration of the Sacrament ARTICLE VIII IF the blessed SacrameÌ„t of the aulter were no other then M. Iuell and the rest of the Sacramentaries thinke of it then were it not well done the people to bowe downe to it and to worship it with godly honour For then were it but bare bread and wyne how honorably so euer they speake of it calling it symbolicall that is tokening and sacramentall bread and wyne But now this being that very bread which god the father gaue vs from heaueÌ„ as Christ sayeth Ioan. 6. This bread being the fleshe of Christ which he gaue for the life of the world this being that bread and that cuppe 1. Cor. 11. whereof who so euer eateth or drinketh vnworthely shall be gylty of the body and bloud of our lord in this Sacrament being conteined the very reall and substantiall body and bloud of Christ as him selfe sayeth expressely in the three first euangelistes and in S. Paul this being that holy Eucharistia which Ignatius calleth the fleshe of our Sauiour Iesus Christ In epistola quadaÌ„ ad Smyrnenses vt citatur à Theodori to in Polymorph Lib. 4. coÌ„trà haereses ca. 34. that hath suffered for our synnes which the father by his goodnes hath raysed vp to life againe This being not common bread but the Eucharistia after consecration consisting of two thinges earthly and heauenly as Irenaeus sayeth meaning by the one the outward formes by the other the very body and bloud of Christ who partely for the godhed inseparably thereto vnited and partly for that they were conceiued of the holy ghoste in the most holy virgine Mary are worthely called heauenly This being that bread which of our lord geuen to his disciples not in shape but in nature chaunged by the almighty power of the word In Ser. de coena do is made fleshe as S. Cyprian termeth it This being that holy mysterie wherein the inuisible priest tourneth the visible creatures of bread and wyne in to the substaÌ„ce of his body and bloud by his word with secrete power Homil. 5. de Pascha as Eusebiê° Emisenus reporteth This being that holy foode by worthy receiuing whereof Christ dwelleth in vs naturally that is to witte is in vs by truth of nature and not by concorde of will onely Lib. 8. de trinitate as Hilarius affirmeth Againe this being that table whereat in our lordes meate we receiue the worde truly made fleshe of the most holy virgine Mary as the same Hilarie sayeth This being that bread which neither earing nor sowing nor worke of tyllers hath brought forth but that earth which remained vntouched and was full of the same that is the blessed virgine Marye as Gregorie Nyssene describeth Lib. de vita Mosis cap. 48. CoÌ„stitut Apostol li. 8. c. vlt. In Leuit. lib. 1. ca. 4. This being that supper in the which Christ sacrificed him selfe as Clemens Romanus and as Hesychius declareth Who furthermore in an other place writeth most plainely that these mysteries meaning the blessed sacrament of th'aulter are sancta sanctorum the holiest of all holy thinges because it is the body of him selfe of whom Gabriel sayd to the virgine Luc. 1. the holy ghost shall come vpon the and the power of the highest shall ouershaddowe the therefore that holy thing which shall be borne of the shall be called the sonne of God and of whom also Esaie spake Holy is our lord and dwelleth on high verely euen in the bosome of the father On the holy table where these mysteries are celebrated the lambe of God being layed and sacrificed of priestes vnbloudely as that most auncient and worthy councell of Nice reporteth Briefly in this highest SacrameÌ„t vnder visible shape inuisible thinges soothly the very true reall liuely natural and substantiall body and bloude of our Sauiour Christ being conteined as the scriptures doctoures councelles yea and the best learned of Martin Lutheres schoole doo most plainely and assuredly affirme This I saye in conclusion being so as it is vndoubtedly so we that remaine in the catholike churche and can by no persecution be remoued from the catholike faith whom it liketh M. Iuell and his felowes to call papistes beleue verely that it is our bownden duetie to adore the Sacrament and to worship it with all godly honour By which word Sacrament notwithstanding in this respect we meane not the outward formes that properly are called the sacrament but the thing of the sacrameÌ„t the inuisible grace and vertue therein conteined euen the very body and bloud of Christ And when we adore and worship this blessed Sacrament we doo not adore and worship the substance it selfe of bread and wine because after consecratioÌ„ none at all remaineth Neither doo we adore the outward shapes and formes of bread and wine which remaine for they be but creatures that ought not to be adored What Christen people adore in the Sacrament but the body it selfe and bloud of Christ vnder those formes verely and really conteined lowly and deuoutly doo we adore And therefore to speake more properly and according to skill least our aduersaries might take aduaÌ„tage against vs through occasion of termes where right sense onely is meant we proteste and saye that we doo and ought to adore and worship the body and bloud of Christ in the Sacrament And here this much is further to be sayde that in the Sacrament of the aulter the body of Christ is not adored by thought of mynde sundred from the word but being inseparably vnited to the word For this is specially to be considered that in this most holy Sacrament the body and bloud of Christ are not present by them selues alone as being separated from his soule and from the godhed but that there is here his true and lyuing fleshe and bloud ioyned together with his godhed inseparably and that they be as him selfe is perfite whole and inseparable Which is sufficiently confirmed by sundry his owne wordes in S. Iohn I am sayeth he the bread of lyfe Againe this is bread comming downe from heauen that if any eate of it he dye not I am the liuely bread that came downe from heauen if any eate of this bread he shall lyue euerlastingly And to shewe what bread he meant he coÌ„cludeth with these wordes And the bread which I shall geue is my fleshe which I shall geue for the life of the world By which wordes he assureth vs plainely that his fleshe which he geueth vs to eate is full of lyfe and ioyned with his godhed which bringeth to the worthy receiuers thereof immortalitie as well of body as of soule Which thing fleshe and bloud of it selfe could not performe as our lord him selfe declareth plainely where he
hanging vp of it or for the Canopie Iuell Or that in the Sacrament after the wordes of Consecration there remayneth only the accidentes and shewes without the substance of breade and wyne Of the remaining of the Accidentes vvithout their substance in the Sacrament ARTICLE X. IN this Sacrament after consecration nothing in substaÌ„ce remayneth that was before neither breade nor wine but onely the Accidentes of breade and wine as their forme and shape sauour smell colour weight and such the like which here haue their being miraculously without their subiecte for as much as after consecration there is none other substance then the substance of the body and bloud of our lord which is not affected with such accidentes as the scholasticall doctours terme it Which doctrine hath alwayes though not with these precise termes ben taught and beleued from the beginning TransubstantiatioÌ„ affirmed and depeÌ„deth of the Article of Transubstantiation For if the substance of bread and wyne be chaunged in to the substance of the body and bloud of our lord which is coÌ„stantly affirmed by all the learned and auncient fathers of the churche it foloweth by a necessary sequell in nature and by drifte of reason that then the accidentes onely remaine For witnes and proufe whereof I will not let to recite certaine most manifest sayinges of the olde and best approued doctours S. Cyprian that learned bishop and holy martyr sayeth thus in sermone de coena domini Panis iste quem dominus discipulis porrigebat non effigie sed natura mutatus omnipotentia verbi factus est caro This bread which our lord gaue to his disciples chaunged not in shape but in nature by the almighty power of the word he meaneth Christes word of ConsecratioÌ„ is made fleshe Lo he confesseth the breade to be chaunged not in shape or forme for that remayneth but in nature that is to saye in substance And to signifie the chaunge of substance and not an accideÌ„tarie chaunge onely to witte from the vse of common breade to serue for Sacramentall bread as some of our newe Maisters doo expounde that place for a shifte he addeth great weight of wordes whereby he farre ouerpeiseth these mennes light deuise saying that by the almighty power of our lordes word it is made fleshe Verely they might consyder as they would seme to be of sharpe iudgement that to the performance of so small a matter as their sacramentall chaunge is the almighty power of gods worde is not nedefull And now if here this worde factus est may signifie an imaginatiue making then why may not verbum caro factum est likewise be expounded to the defence of sundry olde haynouse heresies against the true manhod of Christ Thus the nature of the bread in this sacrament being chaunged and the forme remayning so as it seme breade as before consecration and being made our lordes fleshe by vertue of the word the substance of bread changed into that most excellent substance of the fleshe of Christ of that which was before the accidentes remaine onely without the substance of breade The like is to be beleued of the wyne De consecrat dist 2 caâ— omnia quaecuÌ„que Nothing can be playner to this purpose then the sayinges of S. Ambros. Licet figura panis vini videatur nihil tamen aliud quam caro Christi et sanguis post consecrationem credendum est Although sayeth he the forme of bread and wyne be sene yet after consecration we must beleue they are nothing elles but the fleshe and bloud of Christ After the opinion of this father the shewe and figure of breade and wyne are sene and therefore remaine after coÌ„secratioÌ„ And if we must beleue that which was breade and wyne before to be no other thing but the fleshe and bloud of Christ then are they no other thing in dede For if they were we might so beleue For beleefe is grownded vpon truth and what so euer is not true it is not to be beleued Hereof it foloweth that after consecratioÌ„ the accideÌ„tes and shewes onely remayne without the substaÌ„ce of breade and wyne De SacrameÌ„tis lib. 4. cap. 4. In an other place he sayeth as much Panis iste etc. This bread before the wordes of the SacrameÌ„tes is bread as sone as the coÌ„secratioÌ„ coÌ„meth of bread is made the body of Christ Againe in an other place he sayeth most plainely De ijs qui initiaÌ„tur That the power of consecration is greatter then the power of nature because nature is chaunged by consecration By this father it is euident that the nature that is to saye the substance of breade and wine by consecration being chaunged into the body and bloude of Christ their natural qualities which be accidentes contynewing vnchaunged for performance of the Sacrament remayne without the substance of bread and wyne According vnto the which meaning Theodoritus sayeth videri tangi possunt sicut prius Dialog 2. IntelliguÌ„tur autem ea esse quae facta sunt creduntur The breade and wyne may be sene and felte as before coÌ„secratioÌ„ but they are vnderstaÌ„ded to be the thinges which they are made and beleued We do not in like sorte sayeth S. Augustine take these two formes of breade and wine after coÌ„secratioÌ„ as we tooke them before In lib SeÌ„tent Prosperi de coÌ„se dict 2. ca. Nos autem Sith that we graunt faithfully that before consecration it is bread and wyne that nature hath shapte but after consecration that it is the fleshe and bloud of Christ that the blessing hath consecrated De verbis domini SecunduÌ„ LucaÌ„ Sermone 28. In an other place he sayeth that this is not the bread which goeth in to the body meaning for bodily sustenance but that bread of life qui animae nostrae substantiam fulcit which susteineth the substance of our soule No maÌ„ can speake more plainely hereof then Cyrillê° Hierosolymitanus an olde auctor who wrote in greke and is extant but as yet remayning in written haÌ„de and commen to the sighte of fewe learned men His wordes be not much vnlike the wordes of the scole-doctoures Praebetur corpus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in specie siue figura panis Item praebetur sanguis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christes body sayeth he is geuen vs in forme or figure of bread Againe his bloud is geuen vs in forme of wine A litle after these wordes he sayeth thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 etc. Ne mentem adhibeas quasi pani vino nudis sunt enim haec corpus sanguis vt Dominus pronunciauit Nam tametsi illud tibi sensus suggerit esse scilicet panem vinum nudum tamen firmet te fides ne gustatu rem dijudices quin potius pro certo ac comperto habe omni duhitatione relicta esse tibi impartitum corpus sanguinem Christi Consyder not sayeth this father these as bare bread and wyne For these are his body
had done their due penaunce One as he telleth there thinking to haue that blessed body which he had receiued with others in his hande when he opened the same to put it into his mowth fownde that he helde ashes And thereof S. Cyprian sayeth Documento vnius ostensum est dominum recedere cum negatur By the example of one man it was shewed that our lord departeth awaie when he is denyed It is neither wicked nor a thing vnworthy the maiestie of that holy mysterie to thinke our lordes body likewise done awaie in cases of negligence villanie and prophanation Or that when Christ sayde Hoc est corpus meum Iuell this word Hoc pointeth not the bread but Indiuiduum vagum as some of them saye What this pronoune Hoc pointeth in the vvordes of coÌ„secration ARTICLE XIIII VVhat so euer hoc pointeth in this saying of Christ after your iudgemeÌ„t M. Iuell right meaning and plaine christen people 2. Thes â— who through gods grace haue receiued the loue of truth and not the efficacie of illusion to beleue lying beleue verely that in this sacrament after consecration is the very body of Christ and that vpon credite of his owne wordes The benefite of the Geneuian CoÌ„munioÌ„ Hoc est corpus meum They that appoint them selues to folowe your Geneuian doctrine in this point deceiued by that ye teache them hoc to point the breade and by sundry other vntruthes in stede of the very body of Christ in the Sacrament rightly ministred verely present shall receiue nothing at your communion but a bare piece of bread not worth a point As for your some saye who will haue Hoc to point indiuiduum vagum first learne you well what they meane and if their meaning be naught who so euer they be handle them as you lyste therewith shall we be offended neuer a deale How this word Hoc in that saying of Christ is to be takeÌ„ and what it pointeth we knowe who haue more learnedly more certainely and more truly treated thereof then Luther Zuinglius Caluin Cranmer Peter Martyr or any their ofspring Iuell Or that the accidentes or formes or shewes of bread and wyne be the Sacramentes of Christes body and bloud and not rather the breade and wyne it selfe Who are the Sacramenâ—tes of Christes bodye and bloud the accidentes or the bread and vvyne ARTICLE XXV FOr as much as by the almighty power of gods word pronounced by the priest in the consecration of this Sacrament the body and bloud of Christ are made really present the substance of breade tourned into the substance of the body and the substaÌ„ce of wine into the substance of the bloud the breade which is consumed awaie by the fier of the diuine substance as Chrysostom sayeth In homil Paschali and now is becoÌ„me the breade which was formed by the hand of the holy ghost in the wombe of the virgine and decocted with the fyer of the passion in the aulter of the crosse as S. Ambrose sayeth De conse dist 2. ca. omnia can not be the sacrament of the body nor the wine of the bloud Neither can it be sayde that the breade and the wine which were before are the sacramentes for that the breade is becomme the body and the wyne the bloud and so now they are not and if they be not then neither be they sacramentes Therefore that the outward formes of breade and wyne which remaine be the sacrameÌ„tes of Christes body and bloud and not the very bread and wine it selfe it foloweth by sequell of reason or consequent of vnderstanding deduced out of the first truth which of S. Basile in an epistle ad Sozopolitanos Epist 65. speaking against certaine that went about to raise vp againe the olde heresie of Valentinus is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of which sequell of reason in the matter of the Sacrament many conclusions may be deduced in case of wante of expresse scriptures Which waye of reasoning Basile vsed against heretikes as also sundry other fathers where manifest scripture might not be alleaged And whereas there must be a lykenesse betwen the sacrament and the thing of the sacrament for if the sacrameÌ„tes had not a likenesse of thinges whereof they are sacramentes Aug. epis 22. ad Bonifacium EpiscopuÌ„ properly and rightely they shuld not be called sacramentes as the sacrament of baptisme which is the outward washing of the fleshe hath a likenesse of the inward wasshing of the soule and no likenesse here appeareth to be betwen the formes that remaine and the thing of the Sacrament for they consist not the one of many cornes the other of grapes for thereof cometh not accident but substance hereto may be sayde it is ynough that these sacrameÌ„tes beare the likenesse of the body and bloud of Christ for as much as the one representeth the likenesse of breade the other the likenesse of wyne De conse dist 2. ca. hoc est quod dicimus which S. Augustine calleth visibilem speciem elementorum the visible forme of the elementes Thus the formes of breade and wine are the sacramentes of the body and bloud of Christ not onely in respecte of the thing signified which is the vnitie of the churche but also of the thing coÌ„teined which is the very fleshe and bloud of Christ whereof the truth it selfe sayde Ioan. 6. The breade that I shall geue is my fleshe for the lyfe of the worlde Iuell Or that the Sacrament is a signe or token of the bodye of Christ that lyeth hydden vnderneathe it Of the vnspeakeable maner of the being of Christes bodye and bloud vnder the formes of breade and vvine ARTICLE XXVI THat the outward forme of bread which is properly the sacrament is the signe of the body of Christ we confesse yea of that body which is couertly in or vnder the same In libro Sentent Prosperi which S. Augustine callet carnem domini forma panis opertam the fleshe of our lord couered with the forme of bread But what is meant by this terme Lyeth we knowe not As through faith grounded vpoÌ„ gods worde we knowe that Christes body is in the Sacrament so that it lyeth there or vnderneathe it by which terme it may seme a scoffe to be vttered to bring the catholike teaching in contempte or that it sitteth or standeth we denye it For lying sitting and standing noteth situatioÌ„ of a body in a place according to distinction of membres and circunscriptioÌ„ of place so as it haue his partes in a certaine order correspondent to the partes of the place But after such maner the body of Christ is not in the Sacrament but without circumscription order and habitude of his partes to the partes of the body or place enuironning Which maner of being in is aboue all reache of humaine vnderstanding wonderouse straunge and singular not defined and limited by the lawes or bondes of nature but by the almighty power of God
Innocētius Zosimus and other auncient fathers what better reason haue they to kepe the infantes from the cuppe then the Anabaptistes haue to kepe them from theire baptisme If they allege their impotencie of remembring our lordes death the Anabaptistes will lihewise allege their impotencie of receiuing and vnderstāding doctrine that Christes institution in this behalfe semeth to require Thus th' aduersaries of the churche them selues doo agnise that the vse of the cuppe in the Sacrament perteineth not to all of necessitie So haue they neither godly charitie to ioyne with the churche neither sufficient reason to impugne the churche And although herein we could be content infantes not to be spoken of yet it maye easely be proued that the communion vnder bothe kyndes hath not euer ben generall And as we doo not cōdemne it but confesse it might be restored agayne by th'auctoritie of the churche lawfully assembled in a generall councell vppon mature deliberation before had and a holesome remedie against the inconueniences thereof prouided euen so are we hable to shewe good auctoritie for the defence of the one kynde now vsed in the churche And because M. Iuell beareth the world in hand nothing can be brought for it of oure syde some places I will allege here that seme to me very euidently to proue that the vse of bothe kyndes hath not alwayes ben thought necessary to all persons and that the communion vnder one kynde hathe ben practised and holden for good within the six hundred yeres after Christ that he would so faine bynde vs vnto Proufes for communion vnder one kinde Here maye be alleaged first the example of our lord him selfe out of the 24. chapter of S. Luke which is spoken of before where it is declared that he gaue the Sacrament to the two disciples at Emaus vnder the forme of bread only which place ought to haue the more weight of auctoritie in a catholike mannes iudgement because it is brought by the councell of Constance and also by the councell of Basile for proufe of the communion vnder one kynde That it was the Sacrament the auncient doctours doo affirme it playnely and the wordes cōferred with the wordes of our lordes supper doo agree and that it is not nedeful of oure owne head to adde thereto the administration of the cuppe as oure aduersaries doo by their figure synecdoche it appeareth by that those two disciples declared to the twelue Apostles assembled together in Ierusalem how they knew our lorde in fractione panis in breakinge of the breade to them which can not be taken for the wine and as sone as they knewe him in breaking of the breade he vanished awaye from theire syght er that he tooke the cuppe in to his handes and blessed it and gaue it vnto them as it appeareth euidently ynough to S. Augustine to Bede and to all other that be not willfully opinatiue Agayne what nede is it to vse violence in this scripture and ioyne vnto it a patche of oure owne deuise by so simple a warrant of a figure sith that according to the minde of the learned fathers Christ gaue here to the two disciples not a piece of the sacrament but the whole Sacrament as it is proued by th'effecte of the same and th'effecte presupposeth the cause For saint Augustine confesseth by that Sacrament of breade so he calleth it De cōsensu Euangelistarū li. 3. ca. 25. Vnitate corporis participata remoueri impedimentum inimici vt Christus posset agnosci that thereby they were made partakers of the vnitie of Christes bodye that is to saye made one bodye with Christ and that all impediment or lette of the ennemie the deuil was taken awaye so as Christ might be acknowleged What more should they haue gotten if they had receiued the cuppe also Here might be alleaged the place of the Actes in the 2. chapter where mention is made of the communion of breakinge of the breade the cuppe not spoken of which the heretikes called Waldēses dyd confesse that it must be vnderstanded of the Sacrament in confessione ad Vladislaū and likewise the place of the twentith chapter and specially that of the seuen and twentith chapter of the Actes Where Chrysostome and other fathers vnderstād the breade that saint Paul in perile of shipwracke tooke gaue thankes ouer brake and eate to be the holy Sacrament It is not to be merueiled at albe it S. Paul deliuered to the Corinthians the institution of oure lordes supper vnder hothe kyndes that yet vppon occasion geuen and when condition of tyme so required he ministred the communion vnder one kynde sith that with out doubte he tooke that holy mystery vnder one kynde for the whole Sacrament as we perceiue by his wordes 2. Cor. 10. where he sayeth Vnus panis et vnum corpus multi sumus omnes qui de vno pane participamus One breade and one body we being many are all that doo participate of one breade Where he speaketh nothing of the cuppe And likewise by his wordes where he speaketh disiūctiuely as the greke and the true latine texte hath Quicunque manducauerit panem 1. Cor. 11. vel biberit calicem domini indignê reus erit corporis et sanguinis domini Who so euer eateth the bread or drynketh of the cuppe of our lord vnworthely he shall be gylty of the bodye and bloude of our lorde Whereon dependeth an argument of the contrary that who so euer either eateth this bread worthely or drinketh this cuppe worthely he eateth and drinketh righteousnes and lyfe For thys purpose we haue a notable place in the hebrew gospell of S. Matthew which S. Hierome sayeth he sawe in the librarie of Caesarea and translated it This place is cited by S. Hierome in his booke de ecclesiasticis scriptoribus in Iacobo fratre domini The wordes touching the communion that S. Hierome rehearseth agree thoroughly with those of S. Luke 24. chapter Matthaeus sic refert Dominus autem etc. Matthew reporteth thus When oure lorde had geuen his shrowde vnto the bishopes seruant he went to Iames and appeared vnto him for Iames had made an oth that he would not eate breade from that howre he dranke of the cuppe of our lorde vntill he saw him raysed from the dead It foloweth a litle after Afferte ait dominus mensam panem Statimque addit Tulit panem benedixit ac fregit dedit Iacobo iusto dixit ei frater comede panem tuum quia resurrexit filius hominis à dormientibus Bring the table and set on bread quoth our lorde and by and by it is added he tooke bread and blessed it and brake it and gaue it to Iames the iust and sayde vnto him my brother eate thy breade for the sonne of man is risen agayne from the dead No man can doubte but this was the Sacrament And wine was there none geuen for any thing that may be gathered For it is not likely that S. Iames had
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
Iuell denyeth Irenaeus receiued the same from Saint Iohn the Euangelist by Polycarpus Saint Iohns scoler He declareth it with these wordes Eum qui ex creatura punis est accepit gratias egit dicens Libro 4. cap. 32. Hoc est corpus meum Et calicem similiter qui est ex creatura quae est secundum nos suum sanguinem confessus est noui testamenti nouam docuit oblationem quam Ecclesia ab Apostolis accipiens in vniuerso mundo offert Deo De quo in duodecim prophetis Malachias sic praesignificauit Non est mihi voluntas in vobis dicit Dominus exercituum Malac. 1. munus non suscipiam de manu vestra He tooke that which by creation is bread and gaue thankes saying this is my body And likewise the cuppe full of that creature which is here with vs and confessed it to be his bloud and thus taught the newe oblation of the newe testament which the churche receiuing of the Apostles doth offer to God through the whole worlde whereof Malachie one of the twelue prophetes dyd prophecie thus I haue no lyking in you sayeth our lord almighty neither will I take sacrifice of your handes because from the rysing of the sunne to the going downe of the same my name is glorified among the nations and incense is offered to my name in euery place and pure sacrifice for that my name is great among the nations What can be vnderstanded by this newe oblation of the newe testament other then the oblation of that which he sayde to be his body and confessed to be his bloude And if he had offered bread and wine onely or the figure of his body and bloud in bread and wine it had ben no newe oblation for such had ben made by Melchisedech long before Neither can the prophecie of Malachie be vnderstanded of the oblation of Christ vpon the crosse for as much as that was done but at one tyme onely and in one certaine place of the world in Golgoltha a place without the gates of Ierusalem neare to the walles of that citie Concerning the sacrifice of a contrite and an humbled heart and all other Sacrifices of our deuotion that be mere spirituall they can not be called the newe oblation of the Newe testament for as much as they were done as well in the olde testameÌ„t as in the newe neither be they all together pure Wherefore this place of Irenaeus and also the prophecie of Malachie wherewith it is confirmed must nedes be referred to the sacrifice and oblation of the body and bloud of Christ dayly throughout the whole world offered to God in the Masse which is the externall Sacrifice of the churche and proper to the newe testament which as Irenaeus sayeth the church receiued of the Apostles and the Apostles of Christ Now let vs heare what S. Cyprian hath written to this purpose Because his workes be common Lib. 2. epist 3. to be shorter I will rehearse his wordes in English If in the Sacrifice which is Christ none but Christ is to be folowed soothly it behoueth vs to obey and doo that which Christ dyd and coÌ„maunded to be done For if Iesus Christ our lord and God very he him selfe be the high priest of God the father and him selfe first offered sacrifice to God the father and coÌ„maunded the same to be done in his remeÌ„braunce verely that priest doth occupie the office of Christ truly who doth by imitation the same thing that Christ dyd And then he offereth to God the father in the church a true and a perfite sacrifice if he begynne to offer right so as he seeth Christ him selfe to haue offered This farre S. Cyprian How can this Article be auouched in more plaine wordes he sayeth that Christ offered him selfe to his father in his supper and likewise coÌ„maunded vs to doo the same Here we haue proued that it is lawfull and hath alwaies from the begynning of the newe tâ—stament ben lawfull for the priestes to offer vp Christ vnto his father by the testimonies of three holy martyrs two Grekes and one Latine most notable in sundry respectes of antiquitie of the rome they bare in Christes churche of learning of constancie of faith stedfastly kepte to death suffred in places of fame and knowledge at Paris at Lions at Carthage Our aduersaries crake much of the sealing vp of their newe doctrine with the bloud of such and such who be writteÌ„ in the booke of lyes not in the booke of lyfe whom they will nedes to be called martyrs Verely if those Moonkes and freres Apostates and renegates wedded to wiues or rather to vse their owne terme yoked to sisters be true martyrs then must our newe Gospellers pull these holy fathers and many thousandes mo out of heauen For certainely the faith in defence of which either sorte dyed is vtterly contrary The worst that I wishe to them is that God geue them eyes to see and eares to heare and that he shut not vp their hartes so as they see not the light here vntill they be throwen awaye into the owtward darkenes Matt. 15. where shall be weeping and grynting of teeth Leauing no small number of places that might be recited out of diuerse other doctours I will bring two of two worthy bishops one of Chrysostome the other of S. Ambrose confirmig this truth Chrysostomes wordes be these Pontifex noster ille est qui hostiam mundantem nos obtulit ipsam offerimus nunc Chrysost in epist ad Heb. Homil 17. quae tunc oblata quidem consumi non potest Hoc autem quod nos facimus in commemorationem fit eius quod factum est Hoc enim facite inquit in mei coÌ„memorationem He is our bishop that hath offered vp the hoste which cleanseth vs. The same doo we offer also now which though it were then offered yet can not be consumed But this that we doo is done in remembraunce of that which is done For doo ye this sayeth he in my remembraunce S. Ambrose sayeth thus In Psalm 38. Vidimus principem Sacerdotum ad nos venientem vidimus et audiuimus offerentem pro nobis sanguinem suum sequamur vt possumus Sacerdotes vt offeramus pro populo sacrificium etsi infirmi merito tamen honorabiles sacrificio Quia etsi Christus non videtur offerre tamen ipse offertur in terris quando Christi corpus offertur We haue sene the prince of priestes come to vs we haue sene and heard him offer for vs his bloud Let vs that be priestes folowe him as we maye that we may offer sacrifice for the people being though weake in merite yet honorable for the sacrifice Because albeit Christ be not sene to offer yet he is offered in earth when the body of Christ is offered Of these our lordes wordes which is geuen for you and which is shedde for you and for many Here S. Ambrose exhorteth the priestes to offer
of the Sacrament being the Institution of Christ and the maner number and other rites of the receiuing not fixed nor determined by the same but ordered by the Churches disposition whether many or fewe or but one in one place receiue for that respecte the ministration of the priest is not made vnlaufull But if they alleage against vs the exāple of Christ saying that he receiued it not alone but did communicate with his twelue Apostles and that we ought to folow the same I answer that we are bounde to folow this example quo ad substantiam nō quo ad externam ceremoniam for the substance not for the outward ceremonie to the which perteineth the number and other rites as is a fore sayde Christes exāple importeth necessitie of receiuing onely the other rites as number place tyme etc. be of congruence and order In which thinges the churche hath taken order willing and charging that all shall communicate that be worthy and disposed And so it were to be wished as oftentymes as the priest doth celebrate this high sacrifice that there were some who worthely disposed might receiue their rightes with him and be partakers sacramētally of the body and bloude of Christ with him But in case such do lacke as we haue sene that lacke commonly in our tyme yet therefore the cōtinuall and dayly sacrifice ought not to be intermitted For sith this is done in remembraunce of Christes oblation once made on the Crosse for the Redemption of all mankinde therefore it ought dayly to be celebrated thorough out the whole churche of Christ for the better keping of that great benefite in remembraunce and that though none receiue with the priest And it is sufficient in that case if they that be present be partakers of those holy mysteries spiritually and communicate with him in prayer and thankes geuing in faith and deuotion hauing their mynde and will to communicate with him also facramentally when tyme shall serue M. Iuell and many other of that syde thinke to haue an argument against priuate Masse of the word Communio as though the sacramēt were called a communion in cōsyderation of many receiuers together So he calleth that a Communion In his sermō fo 41. which is for the whole congregation to receiue together And therefore in his sermon oftentymes he maketh an opposition betwen priuate Masse and communion and alleaging diuerse places where mention is of a communion inferreth of eche of them an argument against priuate Masse But this argument is weake and vtterly vnlearned as that which procedeth of ignorance For it is not so called because many Why the sacramēt is called a cōmuniō or as M. Iuell teacheth the whole congregation communicateth to gether in one place but because of the effecte of the Sacrament for that by the same we are ioyned to God and many that be diuerse be vnited together and made one mysticall body of Christ which is the churche of which body by vertue and effecte of this holy Sacrament all the faithfuls be membres one of an other and Christ is the head Thus diuerse auncient doctoures doo expounde it and specially Dionysius Areopagita Ecclesias hierarch cap. 3. where speaking of this sacrament he sayeth Dignissimum hoc Sacramentum sua praestantia reliquis sacramentis longè antecellit atque ea causa illud meritò singulariter communio appellatur Nam quanuis vnumquodque sacramentum id agat vt nostras vitas in plura diuisas in vnicum illum statum quo Deo iungimur colligat attamen huic Sacramento Communionis vocabulum praecipuè ac peculiariter congruit This most worthy Sacrament is of such excellencie that it passeth farre all other sacramentes And for that cause it is alonely called the communion For albe it euery Sacrament be such as gathereth our lyues that be diuided a sunder many wayes in to that one state whereby we are ioyned to God yet the name of cōmunion is fitte and conuenient for this sacrament specially and peculiarly more then for any other By which wordes and by the whole place of that holy father we vnderstand that this sacramēt is specially called the communion for the speciall effecte it worketh in vs which is to ioyne vs nearely to God so as we be in him and he in vs and all we that beleue in him one body in Christ And for this in dede we doo not communicate alone For in asmuch as the whole churche of God is but one house De coena domini as Saint Cyprian sayeth Vna est domus ecclesiae in qua agnus editur There is one house of the church wherein the lambe is eaten and S. Paul sayeth to Timothe ◠Tim. 3. that this house of God is the churche of the lyuing God who so euer doth eate this lambe worthely doth cōmunicate with al christen men of all places and countries that be in this house and doo the like And therefore S. Hierom a priest shewing him selfe loth to contend in writing with S. Augustine a bishop calleth him a bishop of his communion Inter epistolas Augustini epist 14. His wordes be these Non enim conuenit vt ab adolescentia vsque ad hanc aetatem in monasteriolo cum sanctis fratribus labore desudans aliquid contrà Episcopum communionis meae scribere audeam eum Episcopū quem ante coepi amare quâm nosse It is not meete sayeth he that I occupied in labour from my yowth vntil this age in a poore monasterie with holy brethren shuld be so bolde as to write any thing against a bishop of my communion yea and that bishop whom I beganne to loue er that I knewe him Thus we see that S. Hierom and S. Augustine were of one communion and dyd comunicate together though they were farre a sunder the one at Bethlehem in Palestina the other at Hippo in Aphrica Thus there may be a Communion though the communicantes be not together in one place What if foure or fyue of sundry houses in a sicknes tyme being at the pointe of death in a parrish requyre to haue their rightes er they departe The priest after that he hath receiued the sacrament in the church taketh his naturall sustenaunce and dyneth and then being called vpon carieth the reste a mile or two to the sicke in eche house none being disposed to receiue with the sicke he doth that he is requyred Doth he not in this case communicate with them and doo not they cōmunicate one with an other rather hauing a will to communicate together in one place also if oportunitie serued Elles if this might not be accōpted as a lawfull and good communion and therfore not to be vsed th' one of these great inconueniences shuld wittingly be committed That either they shuld be denyed that necessarie vitayle of lyfe at their departing hence which were a cruel iniurie and a thing contrary to the examples and godly ordināces of the primitiue
churche Or the priest rather for companies sake then of deuotion shuld receiue that holy meate after that he had serued his stomake with coÌ„mon meates which likewise is against the auncieÌ„t decrees of the churche Euen so the priest that receiueth alone at Masse doth communicate with all them that doo the like in other places and countries Now if either the priest Necessitie of many coÌ„municants together contrarie to the libertie of the gospell or euery other christen man or woman might at no tyme receiue this blessed Sacrament but with mo together in one place then for the enioying of this great and necessary benefite we were bounde to condition of a place And so the churche delyuered from all bondage by christ and set at libertie shuld yet for all that be in seruitute and subiection vnder those outward thinges which S. Paul calleth infirma egena elementa Galat. 4. weake and beggarly ceremonies after the English Bibles translation Then where S. Paul blamyng the Galathians sayeth Ye obserue dayes and monethes and tymes For this bondage he might likewise blame vs and saye ye obserue places But S. Paul would not we shuld retourne againe to these which he calleth elemeÌ„tes for that were Iewishe And to the Colossians he sayeth we be dead with Christ from the elementes of this worlde Colos 2. Now if we excepte those thinges which be necessaryly requyred to this Sacrament by Christes institution either declared by writteÌ„ scriptures or taught by the holy ghost Similiter calicem misceÌ„s ex vino aqua sanctificaÌ„s tradidit eis diceÌ„s bibite etc. ClemeÌ„s in Canone Liturgiae lib. 8. apostol coÌ„sti c. 17 1. Cor. 3. as bread and wyne mingled with water for the matter the due wordes of Consecration for the forme and the priest rightely ordered hauing intention to doo as the churche doth for the ministerie all these elementes and all outward thinges be subiecte to vs and serue vs being members of Christes churche In consideration whereof S. Paul saveth to the Corinthians Omnia enim vestra sunt etc. All thinges are yours whether it be Paul either Apollo either Cephas whether it be the worlde either lyfe either death whether they be present thinges or thinges to come all are yours and ye Christes and Christ is Gods Againe where as the auncient and great learned Bishop Cyrillus teacheth plainely and at large the meruelouse vniting and ioyning together of vs with Christ and of our selues in to one bodie by this sacrament seing that all so vnited and made one body be not for all that brought together in to one place for they be dispersed abroade in all the worlde thereof we may well conclude that to this effecte the being together of communicantes in one place is not of necessitie His wordes be these much agreable to Dionysius Areopagita a fore mentioned In Ioan. lib. 11. c. 16 Vt igitur inter nos Deum singulos vniret quanuis corpore simul anima distemus modum tamen adinuenit consilio patris sapientiae suae conuenieÌ„tem Suo enim corpore credentes per communionem mysticam benedicens secum inter nos vnum nos corpus efficit Quis enim eos qui vnius sancti corporis vnione in vno Christo vniti sunt ab hac naturali vnione alienos putabit Nam si omnes vnum panem manducamus vnum omnes corpus efficimur diuidi enim atque seiungi Christus non patitur That Christ might vnite euery one of vs within our selues and with God although we be distant both in body and also in soule yet he hath deuised a meane conuenable to the counsell of the father and to his own wisedom For in that he blesseth them that beleue with his own body through the mysticall Communion he maketh vs one body both with him selfe and also betwen our selues For who will thinke them not to be of this natural vnion which with the vnion of that one holy body be vnited in one Christ For if we eate all of one bread then are we made all one body for Christ may not be diuided nor done asunder Thus we see after this auncient fathers learning grounded vpon the scriptures that all the faithfulles blessed with the body of Christ through the mysticall communion bee made one body with Christ and one body betwen them selues Which good blessing of Christ is of more vertue and also of more necessitie then that it may be made frustrate by condition of place specially where as is no wylfull breache nor contempte of most semely and conuenable order Many maye coÌ„municate together not being in one place together Sermon fol. 51. And therefore that one may communicate with an other though they be not together in one place which M. Iuell denyeth with as peeuish an argument of the vse of excommunication as any of all those ys that he scoffeth at some catholike writers for and that it was thought lawfull and godly by the fathers of the auncient churche neare to the Apostles tyme it may be well proued by diuerse good auctorities Irenaeus writing to Victor Bishop of Rome concerning the keping of Easter Ecclesias hist lib. 5. cap. 24. As Eusebius Caesariensis reciteth to the intent Victor shuld not refrayne from their coÌ„munioÌ„ which kepte Easter after the custome of the churches in Asia fownded by S. Iohn th'Euangeliste sheweth that when bishoppes came from forreine parties to Rome the bishoppes of that see vsed to send to them if they had ben of the catholike faith the Sacrament to receiue whereby mutuall communion betwen them was declared Irenaeus his wordes be these Graeca sic habeÌ„t aliter quà m Rufini versio vulgata Qui fuerunt ante te presbyteri etiam cum non ita obseruarent presbyteris ecclesiarum cum Romam accâ—derent Eucharistiam mittebant The priestes by which name in this place bishoppes are vnderstanded that were a fore thy tyme though they kepte not Easter as they of Asia dyd yet when the bishoppes of the churches there came to Rome dyd sende them the sacrament Thus those bishoppes dyd communicate together before their meeting in one place Iustinus the Martyr likewise describing the maner and â—â—der of christen Religion of his tyme touching the vse of the Sacrament sayeth thus Finitis ab eo Apolog. 2. qui praefâ—ctus est gratijs orationibus ab vniuerso populo facta â—cclâ—matione Diaconi quoâ— ita vocamus vnicuique tum temporis prasenti paâ—is et aquae vini coÌ„secrati daÌ„t participationem adeos qui non adsunt deferunt When the priest hath made an lende of thankes and prayers and all the people therto haue sayde amen They which we call deacons geue to euery one then present bread and water and wyne consecrated to take parte of it for their housell and for those that be not present they beare it home to them Thus in that tyme they
praecipuè ecclesia Romana quae Caput est omnium ecclesiarum and specially the church of Rome which is the Head of all the churches Naming the church of Rome he meaneth the bishop there or his legates to be sent in his stede Thus it is proued by good and auncient auctorities that the name and title of the Head ruler president chiefe and principall gouernour of the church is of the fathers attributed not onely to Peter but also to his successours bishops of the See Apostolike And therefore M. Iuell may thinke him selfe by this charitably admonished to remember his promise of yelding and subscribing I will adde to all that hath ben hytherto sayde of this matter a saying of Martin Luther that such as doo litle regarde the grauitie of auncient fathers of the olde church may yet somewhat be moued with the lightnes of the young father Luther Patriarke and fownder of their newe churche Lightnes I may well call it for in this saying which I shall here rehearse he doth not so soberly allowe the Popes Primacie The popes primacie acknovvleged by Martin Luther as in sundry other treatises he doth rashly and furiousely inueigh against the same In a litle treatise intituled Resolutio Lutheriana super propositione sua 13. de potestate papae his wordes be these Primum quod me mouet Romanum pontificem esse alijs omnibus quos saltem nouerimus se pontifices gerere superiorem est ipsa voluntas Dei quam in ipso facto videmus Neque enim sine voluntate Dei in hanc monarchiam vnquam venire potuisset Rom. Pontifex At voluntas Dei quoquo modo nota fuerit cum reuerentia suscipienda est ideoque non licet temerè Romano pontifici in suo primatu resistere Haec autem ratio tanta est vt si etiam nulla scriptura nulla alia causa esset haec tamen satis esset ad compescendam temeritatem resistentium Et hac sola ratione gloriosissimus martyr Cyprianus per multas epistolas confidentissimè gloriatur contrà omnes episcoporum quorumcunque aduersarios sicut 3. Regum legimus quòd decē tribus Israel discesserunt à Roboam filio Salomonis tamen quia voluntate Dei siue auctoritate factum est ratum apud Deum fuit Nam apud theologos omnes voluntas signi quam vocant operationem Dei non minus quà m alia signa voluntatis Dei vt praecepta prohibitiua etc. metuenda est Ideo non video quomodo sint excusati à schismatis reatu qui huic voluntati contraueniētes sese à Romani pontificis auctoritate subtrahunt Ecce haec est vna prima mihi insuperabilis ratio quae me subijcit Romano pontifici Primatū eius confiteri cogit The first thing that moueth me to thinke the B. of Rome to be ouer all other that we knowe to be bisshops is the very will of God which we see in the facte or dede it selfe for without the will of God the B. of Rome could neuer haue commen vnto this monarchie But the will of God by what meane so euer it be knowen is to be receiued reuerently And therefore it is not lawfull rashly to resiste the B. of Rome in his primacie And this is so great a reason for the same that if there were no scripture at all nor other reason yet this were ynough to stay the rashnes of them that resiste And through this onely reason the most gloriouse martyr Cyprian in many of his epistles vaunteth him selfe very boldly against all the aduersaries of Bishops what soeuer they were As in the thirde booke of the kinges we read that the ten tribes of Israel departed from Roboam Salomons sōne Yeat because it was done by the will or auctoritie of God it stoode in effecte with God For among all the diuines the will of the signe which they call the working of God is to be feared no lesse then other signes of Gods will as commaundemētes prohibitiue etc. Therefore I see not how they may be excused of the gilte of schisme which going against this will withdrawe them selues from the auctoritie of the B. of Rome Lo this is one chiefe inuincible reason that maketh me to be vnder the bisshop of Rome and compelleth me to confesse his Primacie This farre Luther Thus I haue briefly touched some deale of the scriptures of the canons and councells of the edictes of Emperours of the fathers sayinges of the reasons and of the manifolde practises of the church which are wonte to be alleaged for the Popes Primacie and supreme auctoritie With all I haue proued that which M. Iuell denyeth that the B. of Rome within sixe hundred yeres after Christ hath ben called the vniuersall bishop of no small number of men of great credite and very oftentymes Head of the vniuersall church both in termes equiualent and also expressely Now to the nexte article Or that the people was then taught to beleue Iuell that Christes body is really substantially corporally carnally or naturally in the Sacrament Of the termes really substantially corporally carnally naturally fovvnde in the Doctours treating of the true being of Christes body in the blessed Sacrament ARTICLE V. CHristen people hath euer ben taught that the body and bloud of Iesus Christ by the vnspeakeable working of the grace of God and vertue of the holy Ghoste is present in this most holy Sacrament and that verely and in dede This doctrine is fownded vppon the plaine wordes of Christ which he vttered in the institution of this sacrament expressed by the Euangelistes and by S. Paul As they were at supper sayeth Matthewe Iesus tooke breade and blessed it and brake it Matth. 26 and gaue it to his disciples and sayeth Take ye eate ye this is my body And takyng the cuppe he gaue thankes and gaue it to them saying Drynke ye all of this For this is my bloude of the newe testament which shall be shedde for many in remission of synnes With like wordes almost Marke Luke and Paul Marc. 14. Luc. 22. 1. Cor. 11. doo describe this diuine institution Neither sayde our lord onely This is my body but least some shuld doubte how his wordes are to be vnderstanded for a playne declaration of them he addeth this further Wich ys geuen for you Luc. 22. Likewise of the cuppe he sayeth not onely This is my bloude But also as it were to putte it out of all doubte Which shall be shed for many Now as faithful people doo beleue that Christ gaue not a figure of his body but his owne true and very body in substance and like wise not a figure of his bloude but his very pretiouse bloude it selfe at his passion and death on the crosse for our Redemption so they beleue also that the wordes of the institution of this Sacrament admitte no other vnderstāding but that he geueth vnto vs in these holy mysteries his selfe same body and his selfe same bloude in truth of