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A32983 Complaints concerning corruptions and grievances in church government dedicated to the Kings Most Excellent Majestie, the Right Honourable Lords and the Honourable House of Commons now assembled in Parliament / by certaine peaceably affected Presbyters of the Church of England in the name of all the rest of their brethren. 1641 (1641) Wing C4094E; ESTC R35576 8,781 21

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doeit not out of envie of any mans Greatnesse or ambitious Affectation to bee medling in State affaires things too high for us but from the powerfull command of Conscience from unfaigned love to the Gospell of Christ whose Efficacie is much impeached by the following Corruptions and and from filiall Commiseration of our wounded and torne Mother Whose breaches wee verily apprehend cannot be made up but by reducing of her Discipline to a pure Concordance with those originall Divine Prescriptions We complain then 1. That the Power of Jurisdiction and Ordination is claimed and exercised by Bishops as their sole Right in a distinction from Presbyters This we affirme to be an Exorbitance from the second of those right originall and Apostolike Ordinances for Church Government And as it is a departure from the Rule so it is a maine corruption of evill consequence in the Church for it is First an Usurpation and undue appropriation of a Legacie which Christ bestowed in Common to reside in the Consessus or whole Presbyterie and to bee exercised by their common suffrage It not being in the Presbyters power to strip themselves and cast on one man that which was bestowed and by the Donor intended to the whole Community of their societie Secondly a severing of the Word and the Keyes which cannot without detriment to either bee sundred To Feed and Rule are the two parts of Pastor-ship where both are there is a Pastor so that with us while it is Ones worke to governe which seldome Feedeth and the worke of the rest to Feed which must not meddle with Government there is no full Pastor But the Office is destroyed by being divided and the Word in the mouthes of a disarmed Presbyterie is weake edgelesse and contemptible Thirdly the ordaining of a Number of Presbyters at large whereby the Church is filled with needy Ministers loose from any setled employment fit at low rates to bee hired by fat Pluralists Non-Residents and Lazie Voluptuaries which else would bee to seeke of Mercenarie supplies or bee driven in a penurie to give higher wages But hereby the Sacred Office is exposed to Contempt and the Ordination to the Office and Institution into a Charge are made severall Acts a divorce unheard of in that Primitive Politie Which grosse abuse could not bee if Ordination were the common Act of the whole Presbyterie of a Church Fourthly intromission to the Oversight of Congregations of Men Simoniacall scandalous and unapt to teach which can easily steale into Office by the connivence or corruption of One but if the Power were in a Multitude it could not soone be effected 2. The excessive Provinciall extent of Diocesan Churches is an evident departure not onely from the fift of those pure originall Constitutions but also from the manner of after Ages till Bishops in their Synods provided better for their own Greatnesse then the Churches welfare Then they degraded the Chorepiscopi and made Orders that Bishops should be placed only in the greater and more frequented Cities This is as a departure from the first pure manner so much for the worse for hence arise these Grievances Neglect of Reformation both in disordered Ministers and People Remotenesse of the Bishops seat Expences of Travailing Difficultie of proving and tedious expectation of the issue of Suits where Crimes must bee tried before Judges who are meere strangers to the Persons and Causes comming before them deterre almost all men from so troublesome an undertaking And thus the Churches are pester'd with infamous Offenders which could not be if the bounds of a Church were so appointed that all its members might be under the eye of the Governours 2. Deputation of Authoritie and Jurisdiction to others ● most grosse degeneration from that Primitive Discipline which never heard of such a thing as the deputing of any part of Pastorall Office which is committed to Men for their Personall abilities and cannot without abuse be committed to those who are oft Lay men and neither of Pastorall parts or Calling Hence that numerous frie subordination of Officers with the multitude of Fees which must needs be where the Churches are whole Countries so large that it is impossible that one Pastor should dispatch all by himselfe 3. The Non-residence of men having Pastorall Charge is a grosse violation of the seventh of those Apostolike Constitutions and is an unexcusable Corruption unfit to be tolerated in any well governed Church 4. A Plurality of Pastorall Charges undertaken by one Man is also a grosse exorbitancie brought in with the former after Church Goverment was at the worst Two Evils which are the shame of our Church not fit to bee named in a Reformed Church brought in and continued meerely to nourish Ambition Pompe Voluptuousnes and Avarice in Clergie-men These two usually goe together this last necessitating the former and are seminarie Evils First inducing a necessitie of deputing Pastorall Charge which every one before God undertakes to performe in his owne Person Secondly Church Robbery by transporting the sacred allowance paid and intended for the maintenance of a vigilant painfull Pastor over the soules of the People which afford it to another Place and Person which hath onely the Title and Charge but doth not the worke of a Pastor 3. Thirdly Impietie in placing a Mercenary unable for the Charge or Injustice if He substitute one able and fully discharging the Office allowing him the least part of that maintenance which was originallyintended and in no other plea can be challenged of the People for performing the Office 5. Imposing and rigorous urging on great undoing extirpating Penalties Ceremonies Taskes and Oathes meerely ad placitum and for their owne ends contrary to the fourth of those prime Scripture Cannons wherby Christian libertie in indifferents is much impaired Many worthy Men of great abilities paines and successe of Ministry in their Charges but of tender and strict Consciences have been thrust out schismes and dissentions in the bowels of the Church for the space now of more then fourescore yeares nourished to the prejudice of our Ecclesiasticall Peace which we apprehend can never be fully attained till liberty of Conscience in indifferencies and points of small consequence but great Controversie bee granted If severitie of Censures and force could have brought forth Unitie it had in this time beene effected This Remedie hath beene long applied and yet sadd experience now tells us that the disease hath growne worse and worse 6. The carriage and constitution of our Convocations or if they may be so called our Nationall Synodes is such that it is impossible to proceed to a reformation in any of these Ecclesiasticall distortions by that way what are they for the maine but Meetings of the one Party consisting of Bishops Deanes Arch-Deacons and other dependers on Episcopacy and preengaged persons So that there is as little hope for us of reformation in points of Government from them as was for the Protestants side of a faire decision of their
Government what is there constituted must bee held inviolable what is a deviation from that must bee accounted Apostacy and Corruption as well in Discipline as in Doctrine no plea of antiquity or universality can priviledge it from that imputation what is not therein appointed must at most bee held but as conducent not necessarie No though it be proved to be received into the Churches in the age immediatly succeeding the Apostles all after them were but of a private spirit And it is apparent that Ambition and Corruptions grew up as soone in the Covernment of the Church as Errors in the Doctrine thereof Suffer us therefore with your wonted patience and lenity which are men preingaged to no side or faction but the free humble and meek servants of Truth to declare our minds concerning the first and purest form of the Churches government and then as Verit as est mensur● sui et obliqui from that light to discover the heavie grievances which at this day remaine unremoved in our Nationall Church 1. It is a perpetuall Ordinance of Christ that there should be Pastors and Teachers in the Church for the administration of the Word Sacraments and spirituall Discipline 2. That there should be a Societie of these Pastors or Presbyters in every particular Church is an Apostolicke appointment who have also exactly prescribed what manner of men they ought to be 3. That this company of Elders should have the charge of the Church in which they are constituted and the power of Feeding Censuring and Ordering the Flocke committed to them as also of ordering Elders and Officers in the Church The worke of Preaching and sacramentall administration to be done by any one of them But that of Jurisdiction and Ordination by the society as a common Act not competible to any one in particular 4. Among these and in all their Acts there ought to be Decencie Order the Bond of Peace Humility Meeknesse and an ayme that the spirit of the most scandalous Offender or stubbornest opposer may be brought to Repentance and saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus 5. That the Bounds and extent of every particular Church ought to be a Towne and so much of the adjacent Territory and Villages as such a Presbytery can well by themselvs watch over and take a spirituall care of 6. That this society especially those of them which labour in the Word and Doctrine may challenge from the People whom they take spirituall care of double honour and liberal suitable Maintenance to the Calling they execute 7. That every one who is consecrate to this Presbyterie or Office must wait on it be instant in it and therfore reside within the confines of that Church where he hath such charge or there where he may by himselfe on all occasions attend on it 8. That in cases of strife and difficulty in any Church recourse must be had to the Meeting of the most able Presbyters of the Churches for their determinations and every one ought to subject his Spirit to the Spirits of such Prophets yielding to the Customes of the Churches of God provided they crosse not the All-commanding evidence of Gods immutable Word either directly or by due consequence These are Rules in the Gospell either directly constituted or evidently deduced out of expresse Constitution or practise so solemn and Universall that it hath in it the reason and vertue of a Constitution so that every addition which thwarteth or hindereth the due execution of these must needs be accounted a Degeneration from originall purity of Government and a corruption in sacred Politie have it never so much Antiquity or weight of humane Authority to plead for it and give countenance to it One thing more there is which on probable ground seemeth to be taken up by the practise of some Churches in the latter end of the Apostolike age some of them yet living and that is the prostasie or presidence of one of these Pastors Bishops or Presbyters above the rest But it cannot possibly with any colour of consequence be proved to be Authoritative being only for Order and Unitie that all their common Acts should have a beginning from One as if many Deacons should appoint an Arch-Deacon or many Bishops an Arch-Bishop in common acts to be the Mouth and Hand of the society And this preeminence of One if the utmost of dark probability be granted appeareth to be but the meere practise of some particular Churches so that it cannot have the universall binding force of a Law from that ground much lesse of an Apostolike Constitution or Divine Right Now are we descended from the first Age and so what ever follows can be but of humane and alterable Constitution Very soon these presidents of the Presbyteries either assumed or by their Compresbyters had conferred on them Authority and Jurisdiction and by way of propriety the name of Bishop so that where before it was the Presbytery now it was the Bishop and his Presbyters But observe 1. That his Dioces Parish or Church was no larger then He and his Presbyters could well Oversee and Governe 2. That this Bishop had the Burthen as well as the Dignitie and Chiefty passed over to him for He was the ordinary Preacher of that Church the Presbyters for the most part assisting in matter of Discipline and sacramentall Administration 3. That he did nothing of weight by himselfe but with the concurring Authority and consent of his Presbyterie Beyond this we will not proceed for these Bishops now gotten above their Brethren and making up the maine body of the Councels in which all Decrees were enacted knew how to make the distance 'twixt themselves and their once Compresbyters greater and greater by lifting up themselves and depressing those who now of Associates were become Servants and Vassals to Episcopall principalitie But what-ever came to passe in after Ages it was but by the hand of Man established and the like hand may abolish it reduced all must be to the former Scripture and Apostolik rules If accessories deviat from them they are Apostacies which must be reduced if there bea through Reformation How can their maintenance be justified in a Church which hath professed to make the Scriptures her Rule and to reject all which is exalted against its Divine and absolute Soveraignty Proofes we have not annexed to the former asserted Truths to avoyd over-bold prolixitie in a supplication of this nature as also because the most of them are obvious to every Mans collection which is exercised in Gods Booke But if any of them shall be opposed being called to it by Authority and having the freedome of indifferent not preingaged Judges we will by Gods grace with all meeknesse make good what is heere asserted against all contradiction of gain-sayers Now will we proceed to an enumeration of those obliquities and corruptions in our Church Government which call to your supreame Power to be rectified And wee protest before the All-knowing God that Wee