gaue it to Peter in Actu that is the vniuersall iurisdictio both of spirituall thinges and also of temporall which double iurisdiction was signified by the 2. swordes in the Gospell And also by offering of the wise men who offered not onely incense but also gold to signifie not onely the spirituali dominion but also the temporall to belong to christ and to his vicare For as we read the earth is the Lordes and the fulnes thereof as Christ sayth all power is geuē to him both in heauen earth So it is to be affirmed Inclusiué that the vicar of Christ hath power on thinges celestiall terrestriall and infernall Which he tooke immediately of Christ all other take it mediately by Peter and the Pope Wherfore such as say that the Pope hath dominion onely on spirituall things in the world and not of temporall may be likened to the counsellers of the king of Syria 3. Reg. 20. Which sayd that the Gods of the mountayns be theyr Gods and therefore they haue ouercome vs but let vs fight agaynst them in the low midowes and in valleys where they haue no power and so we shall preuayle ouer them So euill counsellers now a dayes through theyr pestiferous flattery deceiue kinges and princes of the earth saying Popes and prelates be Gods of mountaynes that is of spiritual thyngs onely but they be not Gods of valeys that is they haue no dominion ouer temporal things and therefore let vs fight with them in the valleys that is in the power of the temporall possessions and so we shall preuayle ouer them But what sayth the sentence of God to them let vs heare Because sayth he the Syryans say that the God of mountaynes is theyr God and not the God of valleys therfore I will geue all this multitude into your hand and ye shal know that I am the Lord. What can be more effectually spoken to set foorth the maiestie of my iurisdiction which I receaued immediatly of the Lord of the Lord I say and of no man For where as Constantine the Emperour gaue to Siluester induing hym with this possession patrimony that is so to be expounded and taken not so much for a donation as to be counted for a restitution made of that which tyrannously was taken from hym before And agayn where as I haue geuen at sondry tymes to Ludouicus and other Emperours of my temporall lands possessions yet that was done not so much for any recognising of homage to thē as for keeping peace with thē For I owe to Emperoures no due obedience that they can clayme but they owe to me as to theyr superiour And therefore for a diuersitie betwixt theyr degree and myne in their consecration they take the vnction on theyr arme I on the head And as I am superior to thē so am I superiour to all laws free frō al cōstitutiōs Which am able of my self and by my interpretation to prefer equitie being not writen before the lawe written hauing all lawes within the chiest of my brest as is aforesayd And whatsoeuer this my sea shall inact approue or disprooue all men ought to approue or reproue the same without eyther iudging disputing doubting or retracting Such as the priuiledge geuen of Christ in the behalfe of Peter to the churche of Rome that what countrey soeuer kingdome or prouince chusing to themselues bishops and ministers although they agree with all other Christes faythfull people in the name of Iesu that is in fayth and charitie beleeuing in the same God and in Christ his true sonne and in the holy Ghost hauing also the same Crede the same Euangelistes and scriptures of the Apostles yet notwithstāding vnles their Byshops and Ministers take theyr origine and ordinatiō from this Apostolicall seate they are to be counted not of the Church So that succession of fayth onely is not sufficient to make a church except the ministers take theyr ordination by them which haue theyr succession from the Apostles So theyr fayth supremacy the chayre of Peter keyes of heauen power to binde and lose all these be inseparable to the church of Rome so that it is to be presumed that God alwayes prouiding S. Peter helping the Bishopricke and Dioces of Rome shall neuer fall from the faith And likewise it is to be presumed and presupposed that the Byshop of that Church is alwaies good holy Yea though he be not alwaies good or be destitute of his own merites yet the merites of S. Peter predecessour of that place be sufficient for him who hath bequethed and left a perpetuall dowry of merites with inheritance of innocency to his posteritie yea and though he fall into homicide or adultery he may sinne but yet he can not be accused but rather excused by the murders of sampson the theftes of the Hebrues the Adultery of Iacob And likewise if any of his Clergy woulde be founde embracing a woman it must be expounded and presupposed that he doth it to blesse her Furthermore the P. say they hath al the dignities all power of all Patriarches In hys primacie he is Abell In gouernment the Arke of Noe In Patriarchdome Abraham In order Melchisedech In dignitie Aaron In authoritie Moses In seate iudiciall Samuell In zeale Helias In meekenes Dauid In power Peter In vnction Christ. Nay thou art Antichrist My power they say is greater then all the Saintes For whom I confirme no man may infirme I may fauour and spare whom I please to take from one and to geue to an other And if I be enemy to any man all men ought to eschew that person forth with and not tary and looke while I bid them so to doe All the earth is my Dioces I the Ordinary of all men hauing the authoritie of the king of all kinges vpon subiectes I am all in all and aboue all so that God hymselfe and I the vicare of God haue both one Consistorie and am able to do almost all that God can do Claus non errante Itē it is sayd of me that I haue an heauēly ar bitrement and therefore am able to chaunge the nature of thinges Substantialia vnius applicando alteri and of nothing to make thinges to be and of a sentence that is nothing to to make it stand in effect In all things that I lift my will to stand for reason For I am able by the law to dispence aboue the lawe and of wrong to make Iustice in correcting lawes and chaunging them You haue hearde hetherto sufficiently out of my Doctors Nowe you shall heare greater thinges out of myne own decrees Read there Dist. 96. Satis Also 12. Caus. 11. q. 1. cap. Sacerdotibus Also 12. q. ◠cap. Futuram Doe not you finde there expressed how Constantinus the Emperour sitting in the general Councell of Nice called vs Prelates of the Church al Gods Agayne read my Canon
them not to fauour him for nobilities sake not the bloud of my progenitours said he but Christian profession maketh me noble Then with great power of spirit he inueied against the capitain laughing to scorne the false gods of the heathen with the idolatrous worshipping of them affirming the God of the Christians to be the true God that created heauen and earth before whose iudiciall seat all nations shall appeare but the wholsome wordes of the Martyr were as oyle to the fire of the captaines fury The more the Martyr spake the madder was hee in so much that he commaunded the Martyrs sides to be launced with kniues vntil the bones appeared white againe Sorie am I O captain quod the Martyr not for that my flesh shall be thus cut and mangled but for thy cause am I sorowfull who being corrupted with damnable errours seducest others The seconde time hee preached at large the liuing God and the Lorde Iesus Christ his welbeloued sonne eternall life through faith in his bloud expressing therewith the abhomination of idolatry with a vehement exhortation to worship adore the liuing God At these words Asclepiades commaunded the tormentors to strike Romanus on the mouth that his teeth being striken out his pronunciation at least wise might be impeired The commandement was obeied his face buffeted his eye liddes torne with their nailes his cheekes scorched with kniues the skin of his bearde was plucked by little and little from the flesh finally his seemely face was wholy defaced The meeke Martyr sayde I thanke thee O Capitaine that thou hast opened vnto me many mouthes whereby I may preach my Lord Sauiour Christ. Looke howe many woundes I haue so many mouths I haue lauding and praising God The captaine astonished with this singular constancie commanded them to cease from the tortures Hee threatneth cruell fire he reuileth the noble martyr he blasphemeth god saying Thy crucified Christ is but an yesterdaies God the gods of the Gentiles are of most antiquitie Heere againe Romanus taking good occasion made a long Oration of the eternitie of Christ of his humane nature of the death satisfaction of Christ for all mankinde Which done he sayde geue me a childe O Capitaine but seuen yeres of age which age is free from malice and other vices wherwith riper age is commōly infected and thou shalt heare what he will say his request was graunted A pretie boy was called out of the multitude and set before him Tell me my babe quoth the Martyr whether thou thinke it reason that we worship one Christ and in Christ one father or els that we worship infinite gods Unto whom the babe aunswered That certainly whatsoeuer it be that men affirme to be God must nedes be one which with one is one and the same and in as much as this one is Christ of necessitie Christ must be the true God for that there be many gods we children cannot beleue The capitaine hereat cleane amased said thou yong villaine traitor where and of whom learnedst thou this lesson Of my mother quod the childe with whose milke I sucked in this lesson that I must beleue in Christ. The mother was called and shee gladly appeared the captaine commanded the childe to be horsed vp and scourged The pitiful beholders of this pitilesse acte could not temper thēselues from teares the ioyful and glad mother alone stood by with dry cheekes yea shee rebuked her sweete babe for crauing a draught of colde water she charged him to thirst after the cup that the infantes of Bethleem once dranke of forgetting their mothers milke and pappes shee willed him to remember little Isaac who beholding the sworde wherewith the altar wheron he should be sacrificed willingly profered his tender necke to the dent of his fathers sword Whilest this counsel was ingening the boucherly torture pluckt the skin from the crowne of his head heare and all The mother cried suffer my childe anone thou shalt passe to him that will adorne thy naked head with a crowne of eternall glory The mother counselleth the childe is counselled the mother encourageth the babe is encouraged receiued the stripes with smiling countenaunce The captaine perceiuing the childe inuincible and himselfe vāquished committeth the sillie soule the blessed babe the childe vncherished to the stinking prison commaunding the tormentes of Romanus to be renued and encreased as chiefe author of this euill Thus was Romanus brought foorth againe to newe stripes and punishments to be renued and receiued vpon his old sores in so much the bare bones appeared the flesh all torne away wherein no pitie was shewed but the raging tyrant puffing out of his blasphemous mouth like a madde man these woordes cried out to the tormentors saying Where is quod the Captaine where is your might What are ye not able one body to spill Scant may it so weake is it stand vpright And yet in spite of vs shall it liue still The Gripe with talent the dog with his tooth Could soone ye dastardes this corpes rent and teare He scorneth our gods in all that he doth Cut pricke and pounce him no longer forbeare Yea no longer could the tyrant forbeare but nedes he must draw nearer to the sentence of death is it painefull to thee sayde he to tary so long aliue a flaming fire doubte thou not shal be prepared for thee by and by wherein thou and that boy thy fellow of rebellion shall be consumed into ashes Romanus and the babe were led to the place of execution As they laide handes on Romanus hee looked backe saying I appeale from this thy tyrannie O iudge vniust to the righteous throne of Christ that vpright iudge not because I feare thy cruell torments and mercilesse handlings but that thy iudgements may be knowne to be cruell and bloudy Nowe when they were come to the place the tormentor required the child of the mother for she had taken it vp in her armes And shee onely kissing it deliuered the babe Farewel she said my sweete childe and as the hangman applied his sword to the babes necke shee sang on this maner All laude and praise with heart and voice O Lorde we yelde to thee To whome the death of all thy Saintes We know most deare to bee The innocentes head being cut off the mother wrapped it vp in her garment and laide it to her brest On the other side a mighty fire was made wherinto Romanus was cast who sayde that he should not burne wherewith a great storme arose if it be true and quenched the fire The Capitaine gaue in commandement that his toung should be cut out out was it plucked by the harde rootes and cut of Neuerthelesse hee spake saying hee that speaketh Christ shall neuer want a tongue thinke not that the voyce that vttereth Christ hath neede of the tong to be the minister The Capitaine at this halfe out of his wit bare in hande that
the light of perfection It was not said vnto them All people that shal take the sword shal perish with the sworde What if Iohn the Baptist disallowed corporal fightings and corporall warfare at such time as the souldiours asked him saying And what shall we do Who sayth to them See that you strike no man neither picke ye quarels against any and be yee contented with your wages Thys saying of Iohn alloweth not corporal warfare amongest Christians For Iohn was of the Priests of the olde Testament and vnder the law neyther to hym it appertayneth to follow the lawe but to warne the people to the perfect obseruation of the lawe For he being like wyse demaunded of the publicanes what they should doe sayde vnto them Doe no other thyng then is appoynted vnto you But Christ the author of the newe Testament and of greater perfection then waâ— the perfection of the old law which gaue newe things as it plainly appeareth by the Gospel So that Christians ought to receiue information of Christ not of Iohn For of Iohn also doth Christ speak Uerely I say vnto you there hath not risen amongest the children of women a greater then Iohn Baptist but hee that is lesse in the kingdome of heauen is greater then he In which saying Christ sheweth that those that be least in the kingdome of heauen in the tyme of grace are placed in greater perfection theÌ„ was Iohn which was one of them that were the elders he liued also in that time of the law in greater perfection And wheÌ„ as certain of Iohns disciples sayd vnto him maister he that was beyoÌ„d Iordan to whoÌ„ thou gauest witnesse beholde hee baptiseth and all people come vnto him Iohn answered and sayde A man cannot take any thing vppon him vnlesse it shall bee geuen him from aboue You your selues doe beare me recorde that I sayde I am not Christ but that I was sent before hym He that hath the bride is the bridegrome as for the bridegromes frende who standeth and heareth him reioyceth wyth greate ioy to heare the voyce of the bridegrome Thys therefore my ioy is fulfilled he must increase and I must bee diminished Hee that commeth from an hie is aboue all Hee that is of the earthe is earthy and speaketh of the earthe Hee that commeth from heauen is aboue all folkes that which hee hath seene and heard the same doth he witnesse and yet his witnessing doth no body receiue But he that receiueth his witnessing hath put to his Seale that God is true For he whome God hath sent speaketh the wordes of God By whych things it plainely appeareth that credence is to be geuen neither to Iohn nor yet to angell if he teach any thing that is not agreeable to Christes doctrine For Christ is aboue the Aungels because that God infinitely passeth them in wisdome Nowe if Moses the seruaunt of God a minister of the old testament was so much to be beleued that nothing could be added nor yet any thing diminished from the commandements that were geuen by hym for so Moses had sayd the thyng that I commaund thee that do thou onely to the Lorde neither adde thou any thing nor diminish How much more ought we not to adde nor to take away from the commandements geuen by God himselfe and also the sonne of God In the primitiue Churche because the Christians had seruent loue and charity they obserued these precepts as they were geueÌ„ but their feruent charitie afterward waxing luke warme they inuented gloses by drawing the commaundementes of God backe to their own deedes which they purposed to iustifie and mayntayn that is to say warres against the infidels But that they by warres should be conuerted to the fayth is a fact faithlesse inough because that by violence or vnwillingly no body can beleue in Christ nor be made a christian neither did he come to destroy them by battaile that beleued not in him for he said to his disciples you knowe not what spirite you are of The sonne of man came not to destroy mens liues but to saue them Then to graunt pardons and forgeuenes of sinnes to those that kill the infidels is to much an infidels fact seducing many people For what greater seducing can there be then to promise to a man forgeuenes of sinnes and afterwarde the ioye of heauen for setting himselfe against Christes commaundementes in the killing of the Infidels that would not be conuerted to the fayth where as Christ doth say not euery one that sayth to me Lord Lord shal enter into the gidgdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen this person shall enter into the kingdome of heauen Now the will of the father is that we should beleue in his onely sonne Iesus Christ and that we would obey him by obseruing of those thinges which he himselfe hath commaunded Wherefore Christes preceptes of pacience must be fulfilled Warres fightinges and contentions must be left because they are contrary to charitie But peraduenture some man wil thus reason against Christ The saintes by whome God hath wrought myracles do allow warres as well against the faithfull people as also against the infidels And the holy kings were warriours for whose sakes also miracles haue bene shewed as well in theyr death as also in their life yea in the very time wherin they were a warfare Wherfore it semeth that their factes were good and lawfull For otherwise God would not haue done miracles for them To â—â—is agayne I say that we for no miracles must do contrary to the doctrine of Christ. For in it can there be no errour but in myracles there oftentimes chaunceth error as it is plaine as well by the old as by the new testament God forbid then that a Christian should for deceiuable miracles depart from the infallible doctrine of Christ. In Exodus the 7. chapter it is manifest howe that the wicked wise men of the Egiptians through the inchauntments of Egipt and certayne secret workinges threw theyr wands vpon the earth which were turned into Dragons eueÌ„ as Aaron before time in the prefeÌ„ce of Pharao threw his wand vpon the earth which by the power of God was turned into a serpent In the third of the kinges the 22. chap. Micheas did see the Lord sitting vpon his throne and all the hoste of heauen standing about him on the right hand and on the left And the Lord sayd who shall deceaue Achab the king of Israel that he may go vp and be slayn in Ramoth Gilaad And one sayd this way and an other otherwise now there went forth a spirit and stood before the Lord said I will deceiue him To whoÌ„ the Lord spake by what meanes And he sayd I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophetes And the Lord sayd thou shall deceiue him and preuaile go thy wayes forth and do euen so Thus also is it
thee and being sold was it not in thine own power why hast thou conceiued this thing in thine hart Thou hast not lyed vnto meÌ„ but vnto God And wheÌ„ Ananias heard these wordes he fell downe and gaue vp the ghost great feare came on all them that heard these things And the young meÌ„ rose vp and tooke him vp and caried him out and buried him And it came to passe about the space of iij. houres after that his wyfe came in being ignorant of that whych was done And Peter sayd vnto her Tel me womaÌ„ sold ye the land for so much And she sayd yea for so much But Peter saye vnto her why haue ye agreed together to teÌ„pt the spirit of the Lord Behold the feete of them which buried thy husbande are at the doore and shall cary thee out And straight way she fel downe before his feete and gaue vp the ghost and the yong men entring in found her dead and they caried her out and buried her by her husbaÌ„d And great feare came on all the church all those which heard these thinges It is meruaile that any man that is wise wyll say that by this processe Peter slue Ananias or hys wife For it was not his act but the act of God who made a wedding to his sonne sent his seruant to cal them that were bidden vnto the wedding and they would not come The king then sent forth his seruantes to the outcorners of the hie wayes to gather all that they could find both good and euill And so they did And the maryage was full furnished with gestes Then came in also the king to view and see them sitting Among whom he perceaued there one sitting hauing not a wedding garment and sayth vnto him frend how camest thou hither And he being dumme had not a worde to speake Then said the king to the seruitures take and binde him hand and foote and cast him into the outward darcknes there shall be weeping and gnashinge of teeth Many there be called but few chosen c. It is manifest that this wedding garment is charitie without which because Ananias entred into the maryage of Christ he was geuen to death that by one many might be informed to learne vnderstand that they which haue fayth not charitie although they appeare to men to haue yet it can not be priuy to the spirite of God that they doe fayne Such there is no doubt but they shal be excluded froÌ„ the mariage of christ as we see this here exemplified in the death of Ananias his wife by the hand of God not by the hand of Peter And how should Peter theÌ„ haue iudged Ananias albeit he had iudged him worthy of death by the rigour of the old law For why by the law he had not bene guilty of death for that part which they fraudulently dissemblingly did reserue to themselues Yea and if they had stolne as much from an other man which was greater neither yeâ— for hys lie committed he had not therfore by the law of iustice bene found gilty of death Wherefore if he did not condeÌ„ne hym by the law of iustice it appeared that he codeÌ„ned him by the law of grace and mercy whiche he learned of Christ. And so consequently it followeth much more apparent that Peter could not put him to death Furthermore to say that Peter put him to death by the meere motion of his own will and not by authoritie of the old law nor by the new it were derogatory and slaunderous to the good fame and name of Peter But if Peter did kill hym why then doth the Byshop of Rome which pretendeth to be successor of Peter excuse himselfe and his priestes from the iudgement of death agaynst heretiques and other offeÌ„ders although they themselues be conseÌ„ting to such iudgements done by lay men For that which was done of Peter without offence may reasonably excuse him and his felow Priestes from the spot of crime Actes 5. It is manyfest that there was another which did more greeuously offend theÌ„ Ananias and that Peter rebuked him with more sharpe words but yet he commanded him not so to he put to death For Simon Magus also remayning at Samaria after that he beleued and was baptised he ioyned himselfe with Phillip And when he sawe that the holye spirite was geuen by the Apostles laying theyr handes vpon meÌ„ he offred theÌ„ mony saying geue vnto me this power that vpon whome soeuer I shall lay my hand he shall receaue the holy Ghost To whom Peter answered Destroyed be thou and thy money together And for that thou supposest the gifte of GOD to be bought with money thou shalt haue neyther part nor fellowshippe in this doctrine Thy hart is not pure before god therefore repeÌ„t thee of thy wiâ—kednesse and pray vnto God that this wicked thought of thy hart may be forgeuen thee for I perceiue thou art eueÌ„ in the bitter gall of wickednes and bande of iniquitie Beholde here the greuous offence of Symon Peters hard sharp rebuking of him and yet therupon he was not put to death Whereby it appeareth that the death of Anamas aforesaid proceeded of God and not of Peter Of all these things it is to be gathered seing the iudgements of death are not grounded vpon the expresse and playn scriptures but onely vnder the shadow of the olde law that they are not to be obserued of Christians because they are coÌ„trarye to charity Ergo the bishop of Rome approuing such iudgements alloweth those that are contrary to the law doctrine of Christ as before is sayd of warres where hee approueth iustifieth that which is coÌ„trary to charity The order of Priesthood albeit it doth iustifie the iudgemeÌ„ts to death of the laity whereby offenders are condeÌ„ned to die yet are they themselues forbidden to put in execution the same iudgementes The priestes of the old law being vnperfect wheÌ„ Pylate said vnto theÌ„ concerning Christ whoÌ„ they had accused worthy death take him vnto you and according to your law iudge him answered that it was not lawful for them to put to death any man Wherby it appeareth that our priests being much more perfect may not lawfully geue iudgemeÌ„t of death against any offenders yet notwithstanding they claime vnto theÌ„ the power iudicial vpon offeÌ„ders Because say they it belongeth vnto them to know the offences by the auricular confession of the offenders and to iudge vpoÌ„ the same being knowne aud to ioyne diuers penances vnto the parties offending according to the quantitie of their offences coÌ„mitted to that the sinner may make satisfactioÌ„ say they vnto God for the offences which he neuer committed And to coÌ„firme vnto theÌ„ this iudicial power they alleage the scriptures in many places wrasting it to serue their purpose First they saye that the Bishop of Rome who is the chief priest and iudge among them hath ful power authority to
remit sinnes Wherupon they say that he is able fully wholy to absolue a man a poena culpa so that if a man at the time of his death had this remission he should straigtwaies flie vnto heauen without any paine of Purgatory The other Bishops as they say haue not so great authoritie The priests constituted vnder euery Byshop haue power say they to absolue the sinnes of thē that are confessed but not al kind of sinnes because there are some grieuous sinnes reserued to the absolutions of the Byshops and some againe to the absolution onely of the chiefe and high Byshop They say also that it behoueth the offēders for the necessitie of their soule health to call to remēbrance their offences and to manifest the same with al the circumstances therof vnto the priest in auricular cōfessiō supplying the place of God after the maner of a Iudge afterwarde humbly to fulfill the penaunce enioyned vnto him by the priest for his sinnes except the sayde penaunce so enioyned or any part thereof be released by the superior power All these things say they are manifestly determined as wel in the decrees as decretals And although these things haue not expressely their foundation in the playne and manifest doctrine of Christ nor any of the Apostles yet the authors of the decrees and decretals concerning thys matter haue groūded the same vpon diuers places of the scriptures as in the proces of Christ in the Gospell of Saynt Mathew the xvj chapter Wherupon they ground that popes power iudicial to surmount the powers of other priests as where Christ sayd vnto his disciples whō do men saye that I am And they aunswered some saye that thou art Iohn Baptist some Elias some Ieremy or one of the Prophets To whom he sayde but who saye you that I am Symon Peter makinge aunswere sayde Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God And Iesus answered and said vnto him Blessed art thou Symon the sonne of Ionas for flesh bloud hath not opened this vnto thee but my father which is in heauen And I say vnto thee that thou art Peter vpon this rocke wil I buyld my church and hel gates shal not preuaile against it And I wil geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen And whatsoeuer thou shalt binde vpon earth shal also be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt lose vpon earth shall bee loosed also in heauen Out of this text of Christ diuers expositiōs haue drawen diuers errours For when Christ sayd And I say vnto thee that thou art Peter and vpon this rocke wil I build my Church Some therupon affirme that Christe meant he would builde his Church vpon Peter by authority of that text as it is writtē in the first part of the decrees Dist. 19. cap. Ita dominus noster The exposition hereof is ascribed to Pope Leo the errour wherof is manifestly known For the Church of Christ is not builded vpon Peter but vpon the rocke of Peters confession for that he sayd Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God and for that Christ sayd singularly vnto Peter I will geue vnto thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt binde c. By this saying they affirme that Christ gaue vnto Peter specially as chiefe of the rest of the Apostles a larger power to binde and to lose then he did vnto the rest of the apostles or disciples And because Peter answered for him self al the Apostles not only confessing the faith which he had chiefly aboue the rest but also the faith whiche the rest of the Apostles had euen as himselfe by the reuelation of the heauēly father It appeareth that as the fayth of al the Apostles was declared by the answere of one so by this that Christ sayd vnto Peter whatsoeuer thou shalt binde c. is geuen vnto the rest of the Apostles the same power equallitie to binde to lose as vnto Peter Whiche Christ declareth in the Gospell of S. Mathew the 18. chapter in these words Verely I say vnto you what thinges so euer you shall binde vpon earth shal be bound in heauē whatsoeuer you shal lose vpon earth shal be also losed in heauē And further he addeth And agayne I say vnto you that if two of you shall consent vpon earth and request whatsoeuer it be it shall be graunted vnto you of my father which is in heauen For when two or three be gathered together in my name I am there in the midst of them And in Iohn the xx chapter he sayth generally vnto them Receaue ye my spirit Whose sins ye shall remit shal be remitted vnto them and whose sinnes you shall retayne shall be retained By this it appeareth that the power to bynde and to loose is not specially graunted to Peter as chiefe and head of the rest and that by him the rest had their power to bind and to loose for that the head of the body of the Churche is one which is Christ and the head of Christ is God Peter and the rest of the Apostles are the good members of the body of Christ receiuing power vertue of Christ wherby they do confirme and glew together the other mēbers as well the strong noble as the weake and vnable to a perfect composition and seemelines of the body of Christ that all honour from all partes and members may be geuē vnto Christ as head and chiefe by whome as head all the members are gouerned And therfore Paule 1. Corinthians chap. 3. When any man sayth I hold of Paule and an other sayth I hold of Apollo are ye not carnall men For what is Apollo what is Paule The minister of him in whom ye haue beleued and he as God geueth vnto euery man I haue planted Apollo hath watered but God hath geuen the increase Therfore neither he that plāteth is any thing neither he that watereth but God that geueth the increase And Paul to the Gal. chap. 2. God hath no respecte of persons Those that seemed to be great and to do much auayled or profited me nothing at all But contrariwise when they saw that the Gospell of the vncircumcision was committed vnto me as the circumcision vnto Peter for he that wrought with Peter in the Apostleship of the circumcision wrought with me also amōg the Gentiles and when they knew the grace which was geuen me Peter Iames and Iohn straightwayes ioyned themselues with me and Barnabas wee among the Gentiles and they in circumcision onely might be mindefull of the poore the which to do I was very carefull Hereby it appeareth that Paule had not his authoritie of Peter to conuert the Gentiles to baptise them and to remit their sinnes but of him which said vnto him Saule Saule why persecutest thou mee It is hard for thee to kicke agaynst the pricke Heare is Paule the head of the
Church and not Peter By which head they say that al the members are sustayned and made liuely The thyrd errour which the authors of the canons cōceiueth in the sayd text of Christ which was sayd to Peter Unto thee will I geue the keyes c. is this They say that in this sentence which was sayd to Peter of the authoritie to binde and loose was ment that as Christ gaue vnto Peter aboue all the rest of the Apostles a speciall and as it I were an excellent power aboue all the Apostles euen so say they he gaue vnto the Bishops of Rome whome they call Peters chiefe successors the same speciall power and authoritie exceeding the power of all other Byshoppes of the world The first part of this similitude and comparison doth appeare manifestly by the premisses to be erroneous wherin is playnly shewed that the other Apostles had equall power with Peter to binde and lose Wherfore cōsequently it followeth the 2. part of the similitude grounded vpon the same text to be also erroneous But and if the first part of the sayd similitude were truth as it is not yet the second part must needes be an errour wherein is sayd that the Bishops of Rome are Peters chiefest successors For althogh there be but one Catholicke christian Church of al the faithful sort conuerted yet the first part therof and first conuerted was of the Iewes the second of the Greeks the third part was of the Romaynes or Latines Whereof the first part was most perfectly conuerted vnto the fayth for that they faithfully obserued the perfectiō of charitie as appeareth in the Actes of the Apostses by the multitude of the beleuers The were of one hart and one soule neyther called they any thing that they possessed theyr owne but all was common amongst them Hereupon Paule to the Romaynes Salutation to euery beleuer first to the Iew to the Greeks after the Iewes The Greekes were the second and after the Iewes best conuerted and after them the Romaynes taking their information of the Greekes as appeareth by the Chronicles although in deed some Romaynes were conuerted vnto the fayth by Peter and Paule And as Christ sayd thrise vnto Peter feed my sheepe so Peter ruled these three Churches as witnesseth the Chronicles But first he reformed the Church of the Iewes in Ierusalem and Iudea as appeareth by the testimony of the Actes of the Apostles For Acts 1. It is manifest how Peter stonding vp amongst his brethren spake vnto them concerning the election of an Apostle in the place of Iudas the traytor alledging places vnto thē out of the scripture that an other should take vppon him his Apostleship And so by lot was Mathias constituted in the 12. place of Iudas acts 2. After that the holy Ghost was come vpon the Apostles and that they spake with the tongues of al men the heares were astonied at the miracle And some mocked them saying these men are full of newe wine But Peter stood vp spake vnto thē saying that it was fulfilled in thē that was prophecied by Ioell the prophet and he preached Christ vnto the people whome they of ignoraunce had put to death To them was Sauioure promised by the testimony of the Prophets And whē they heard the wordes of Peter they were pricked at the heart saying vnto him and the rest of the Apostles What shal we then do And Peter sayd vnto them repent and let euerye one of you be baptised in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of your sinnes and ye shall receaue the holy ghost And there were ioined vnto them the same day about three M. soules And Actes 3.4.5 it appeareth that Peter aboue the rest did those thinges which belonged to the ministery of the Apostleship as well in preaching as in answering Wherupon some Chronicles say that Peter gouerned the church of the Iewes at Ierusalem 4. yeares before he gouerned Antioche And by the testimony of Paule to the Gal. as before is sayd The Gospell of the vncircumsion is cōmitted to Paule euen as the circumcision to Peter And he that wrought with Peter in the Apostleship of circumcisiō wrought with Paule amongst the Gentils Wherby it apreth that the Churche of the Iewes was commtted to the gouernment of Peter And in the proces of the Actes of the Apostles it appeareth that Peter beleeued that the fayth of Christ was not to be preached vnto those Gentiles which alwayes liued in vncleannes of Idolatry But whē Peter was at Ioppe Cornelius a Gētile sent vnto him that he wold come shew him the way of life But Peter a little before of the comming of the messengers of Cornelius being in his chāber after he had prayed fel in a trance and saw heauen open and a certayne vessel descending euen as a great sheete letten downe by foure corners from heauen to earth In the which were all maner of foure footed beastes serpentes of the earth and foules of the ayre And a voyce spake vnto hym saying arise Peter kill and eate and Peter sayd not so Lorde because I haue neuer eaten any common or vncleane thing This was done thrise And Peter descended not knowing what the vision did signifie and found the messengers of Cornelius As concerning the authoritie iudicial of the clergie many things are written thereof in the Canons of decrees greatly to be marueiled at and farre from the truth of the Scripture The authors of the Canons say that Chryst gaue vnto the priests power iudicial ouer sinners that confessed their sinnes vnto them And this they ground vpon the text of Christ I will geue vnto thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and what soeuer thou loosest c. And these keyes of the kingdome of heauen they cal the knowledge to discerne and the power to iudge which they say onely belongeth to the priestes except in case of necessitie then they say a lay man may absolue a man frō sinne And as touching absolution they say there are three thinges to be required on the sinners part first harty cōtritiō wherby the sinners ought to bewaile their offēding of god thorough sinnes the second is auricular confession whereby the sinner ought to shew vnto the Priest his sinnes the circumstances of them The third is satisfaction thorough penaunce enioyned vnto hym by the Priest for his sinnes cōmitted And of his part that geueth absolution there are two thinges say they to be required that is to say knowledge to discern one sinne from an other wherby he ought to make a difference of sinnes appoynt a conuenient penaunce according to the quantitie of the sinnes The secōd is authoritie to iudge wherby he ought to ioyne penaunce to the offender And further they say that he that is confessed ought with al humilitie to submit himself to this authoritie and wholy and voluntarily to doe those penaunces which are commaunded
him by the priest except the sayde penaunce be released by a superiour power for all priestes as they say haue not equall authoritie to absolue sinnes The chiefe priest whome they call Peters successour hath power fully and wholy to absolue But the inferior priests haue power some more some lesse The more as they are neare him in dignitie The lesse as they are farther from the degree of his dignitie All this is declared by proces in the decrees butnot by the expresse doctrine of Christ or any of his Apostles For although Christ absolued men from their sinnes I do not find that he did it after the maner of a iudge but of a sauior For Christ sayth God sent not his sonne into the world to iudge sinners but that the worlde should be saued by him Iohn chap. 3. Wherupon he spake vnto him whom he healed of the palsie Beholde thou art made whole go thy wayes and sinne no more And to the woman taken in adultery Christ sayd woman where be thy accusers hath no man condemned thee who sayd No man Lord. To whom then Iesus thus said No more wil I condemne thee go and now sinne no more By which words and deedes of Christ and many other places of the scripture it appereth he was not as a Judge at his first coÌ„ming to punish sinners according to the quaÌ„titie of their offences but that day shal come hereafter where in he shall iudge all men according to their workes as in Mat. 25. where he sayth When the sonne of man shal come in his maiesty and all his aungels with him then shall he sit vpon the seat of his maiesty and all nations shal be gathered together before him and he shall seperate them one from an other as a shepheard seperateth the sheepe from the Goates c. Neither shall he iudge alone but his Saintes also with him For he sayth you that haue followed me in this generation when the sonne of man shall sit in the seat of his maiestie shal sit also vpon 12. seats and iudge the 12. tribes of Israell If then sith Christ came not as a Iudge why doe the Priestes say that they supplye the roome of Christ on earth to iudge sinners according to the quantitie of theyr offences And yet not onely this but it is more to be maruailed at how the Byshop of Rome dareth to take vpon him to be a Iudge before the day of iudgement and to preuent the time iudging some to be saintes in heauen to be honoured of men and some agayn to be tormented in hel eternally with the deuils Would God these men wold wey the saying of S. Paule Corin. 4. Iudge ye not before the time vntill the comming of the Lorde who shall make light the darcke and secret places and disclose the secretes of hartes and then euery one shall haue his prayse Let the Byshop of Rome take heede lest that in Ezechiell be spoken by him because thy hart is eleuate and laydst vnto thy selfe I am God I haue sitten in the seat of God in the hart of the sea when thou art but man and not God It is manifest that the remission of sinnes principallye belongeth to God who through grace washeth awaye our sinnes For it is sayd the lamb of God taketh away the sinnes of the world And vnto Christians it belongeth as the Ministers of God For in the 20. of Iohn Christ sayth Receaue vnto you the holy Ghost whose sinnes you shall remit they are remitted vnto them and whose sinnes you shal retain they are reteined Seing therfore that all Christians that are baptised in the name of the Father and of the sonne of the holy Ghost receaue the holy ghost it appeareth that they haue power geueÌ„ vnto them of Christ to remit sinnes ministerially Hath not euery Christian authoritie to baptiseâ— and in the baptisme all the sinnes of the baptised are remitted Ergo they that doe baptise do remit sinnes And thus ministerially all suche haue power to remitte sinnes Therfore to say that one man hath more authoritie to remit sinnes then al other Christians haue is to much to extol him to place him euen in Gods seat I pray you how are the sinnes remitted him that is baptised of the Prieste yea although he were of the pope himselfe baptised more then if he were baptised of an other Christian Surely I thinke no more For seing that before Baptisme he remayneth a sinner and of the kingdome of the deuill by sinne after baptisme he entreth into the kingdome of heauen It appeareth that he that doeth baptise openeth the gate of the kingdome of heauen to him that is baptised the whiche he cannot do wtout the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Therfore euery one that both baptise hath the keyes of the kingdome of heauen as well the inâ—eriour Priest as the Pope But these keyes are not the knowledge to discerne power to iudge because these doe nothing anayle in baptisme Ergo there are other keyes of the kingdome of heauen theÌ„ these Wherfore it seemeth that the authors of the Canons erred in mistaking the keyes wherupon they ground the authoritie iudiciall of the Clergy Now a little errour in the beginning graunted groweth to great incoÌ„uenience in the end Wherfore in my iudgement it seemeth that the keyes of the kingdome of heauen are sayth and hope For by fayth in Iesus Christ and hope in him for the remission of sinnes we enter the kingdome of heaueÌ„ This faith is a spiritual water springing from Iesus Christ the fountayne of wisedome wherein the soule of the sinner is washed from sinne With this water were the faithfull Patriarches baptised before the lawe and the faythfull people of the Hebrewes and the faythful Christians after the law Wherfore I greatly maruell of that saying in the decrees which is ascribed vnto Augustine that litle children that are not baptised shal be tormented with eternall fire although they were born of faithfull parents that wished them with all their hartes to haue bene baptised as though the sacrament of Baptisme in water were simply necessary to saluation when neuerthelesse many Christians are saued without this kinde of Baptisme as Martirs If that kinde of Sacrament be not necessary to one of elder yeres how theÌ„ is it necessary to an infant born of the faythfull Are not all baptised with the holy Ghost and with fire But yet not with materiall fire no more is the lotion of water corporally necessary to washe awaye sinnes but onely spirituall water that is to say the water of fayth Are not the quicke baptised for them that are dead as witnsseth Paule 2. Corin. 15. If the dead arise not at all why are the liuing then baptised for them If the liuing be baptised for the dead Why then is not the infant saued by the baptisme of his parentes seeing the infant it selfe is impotent at the time
hys part for here are many byshops proctors whō he doth not recken because they are not of his opinion Neither is the dignities of the fathers to be respected in the Councell as he sayth but onely reason nor anyethyng more to be looked for then the truth neyther will I for my part preferre a lye of any byshop be he neuer so rich before a veritie or truth of a poore priest Neither ought a byshop to disdayne if he be rude or vnlearned that the multitude doth not follow hym or that the voyce of a poore learned and eloquent priest should be preferred before his For wisedome dwelleth oftner vnder a bare and ragged cloke then in rich ornamentes and apparell Wherfore I pray you my Lord byshops do not so much contēne your inferiours for the first which dyed for Christ the which also opened vnto all other the way of Martyrdome was no byshop but onely a Leuite As for that whiche Ludouicus and Panormitane do allege touchyng the voyces of Bishops I know not where they haue it Wherfore I desire them that they would tell me where they haue foūd it But if we repeat the examples of old councels we shall finde that the inferiours were alwayes present with the Bishops And albeit that Ludouicus do forbid vs the examples of the apostles I stay my self most vpon their doings For what is more comely for vs to followe then the doctrine customes of the primitiue Church It is sayd therfore in the 15. chapter of the Acts of the Apostles it seemed good vnto the holy ghost and to vs. The whiche word to vs is referred vnto them which are before named the Apostles and the Elders Neither this word it semed good signifieth in this place consultation but decision and determination whereby it appeareth that other beside that byshops had determining voyces In an other place also of the sayd Actes when as the apostles shoulde intreate vppon anye wayghty matter they durst not determine by themselues but the xii called together the multitude Here Ludouicus sayth that it doeth not appeare y◠the Apostles called other of necessitie but I say vnto hym how knowest thou that they did not call thē of necessitie But for so much as both partes are vncertayne nothing doth prohibite vs to follow the Apostles For seeing that all thinges were written for our learning it appeareth that the Apostles wold geue vs exāple that in wayghty matters we shold admit our inferiours And therfore in all Councels which were celebrate holden afterwards we find that Priestes were also present as in the Councell of Nice whiche of all other was most famous Athanasius being then but onely a priest withstood the Arrians and infringed their argumentes Albeit there were also other priestes And albeit mention be made of 322. byshops yet is not denyed but that the inferiours were there whome I thinke to be omitted for this cause for that they were almost innumerable for as you know well enough the denomination for the most part is taken of the most worthy In the Synode of Calcedon which was counted one of the foure principall Synodes it is sayd that there were present 600. priestes the which name is common both vnto byshops and Priestes In other Councels the name both of Bishops and Priestes is omitted mention made onely of Fathers which hath the same signification the thys worde Elders had in the actes of the Apostles Wee haue also a testimony of the ecclesiasticall history how that ther was a Councell gathered of Rome of lx Byshops and as many Priestes Deacons agaynst the Nouations which called themselues Cathari Also when Paule the Byshop of Antioche in the tyme of Galiene the Emperoure preached that Christ was a man of common nature the Councell assembled agaynst hym in Antioche wherunto there came Byshops out of Cesaria Capadotia out of Pontus Asia and from Ierusalem and many other Byshops Priestes and Deacons and it is said that for that cause the Councel was often holden And at the last in the same place vnder Aurelius the Emperour Paule was condemned of al Christian Churches which were vnder heauē neyther was there any mā which did more confound the sayd Paul then Malchiona Priest of Antioche which taught Rhetorike in Antioche But to make no long digression from the matter we haue most euident testimonies for the defence of the inferiours For the chiefe and principall amongst all the Diuines S. Austen vpō the wordes of Mathew where as Christ saith vnto Peter I wil geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauē sayth that by those words the iudiciall power was geuen not only vnto Peter but also to the other Apostles and to the whole Churche the byshops and Priestes If then Priestes haue a iudiciall power in the churche what shold iet that they haue not also a determining voyce in the coūcels The famous Doctour S. Hierome doth also agree with S. Austen whose wordes are these vpon the Epistle of Paule vnto Titus Before that difference was made in Religion by the instigation of the deuill or that it was spoken amongest the people I holde of Paule I of Apollo I of Cephas the Churches were gouerned by the common consent and Councell of the Priestes for a priest is the very same that a byshop is Wherefore all Byshops ought to vnderstand that they are of greater power then Priestes rather by custome then by the dispensation of the truth of God and that they ought to rule the church together And this we do also gather out of Paule vnto Titus which maketh so much concordaunce betweene bishops and priests that oftentimes he calleth priestes Byshops whereby it doth euidently appeare that priestes are not to be excluded from the conuentions of byshops and determinations of matters And albeit as S. Hierom writeth that byshops onely by custome are preferred before Priestes it may be that a contrary custome may take away that custome For if priestes ought to rule the church together with the byshops it is euident that it also pertayneth vnto them to decide and determine the doubtfull matters of the Church Wherfore the testimony of S. Paule is euident for as he writing vnto the Ephesians sayth If Christe instituted hys Apostles Prophetes Pastours and Teachers to the worke of the ministery for the edifying of hys Church vntill such tyme as we should meete hym for this purpose that there should be no doubt in the diuersitie of doctrine who doubteth then but that the gouernaunce of the Church is committed vnto others together with the Apostles Let these our champions now hold their peace and seeme to be no wiser then they ought to be The memoriall of the coūcell of Constance is yet fresh in memory wheras diuers of vs were present and I my selfe also whiche was neither Cardinall nor byshop but onely a Doctour where I dyd see without any maner of doubt of difficultie the inferiors