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A26898 Church-history of the government of bishops and their councils abbreviated including the chief part of the government of Christian princes and popes, and a true account of the most troubling controversies and heresies till the Reformation ... / by Richard Baxter ... Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. 1680 (1680) Wing B1224; ESTC R229528 479,189 470

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Irene will do as the Pope would have her She is as much for Pictures as the Pope himself She calling this Council at Constantinople the old Soldiers bred up under the former Emperors being against Images haeresin medullitus imbiberant saith Binnius p. 396. Would not endure them in Constantinople but routed them At which the Empress being troubled dismissed the Bishops till they had purged the Army of those old Soldiers and then she called the Bishops to Nice and there they knowing their errand before-hand damned themselves and their Brethren that had held the former universal Synod and set up Images again § 55. By the way I appeal from Pride and Ignorance to Christian Sobriety and Reason how the taking down of Images can in the Roman sense be called an Heresie unless it be an Article of Faith that Images must or may be used And can any Man that ever read and believed the Scriptures and the Writings of the first four hundred years believe that having or worshiping of Images or Saints by Images is an Article of Faith or necessary to Salvation The best of them that any Man can plead with Modesty is that they are indifferent or lawful and useful to some Persons The Papists tell us now that they would not compel us to bow toward Images but leave it to our liberty Must it be Heresie and the Christian world cast into distractions about it when yet this Image-worship is Idolatry in the sense of one part of Christians and but indifferent and convenient to the ignorant that have other helps enow in the sense of others O what a Plague hath it been to the world to have a worldly Clergy invade the Churches § 56. At the meeting of this Council we have first the Call and Title in which 1. The Emperor and his Mother are called the Governors of the whole world Orbis Terrarum And yet our Papists as W. Iohnson in his Novelty represt c. would make Men believe that if they find but such a saying of a Council or of the Church it must needs signifie more than the Empire even all the Earth indeed 2. It 's expresly said over and over that this Council was called by the Emperor and by their Decree and Command Tharasius beginneth with telling them the need of Reformation for Images and reporting how they were assaulted at Constantinople when they met there and so removed to Nice c. § 57. Next the Letters of the Empress and her Son are read in which they are before made know what they must do They are told what Paul Const. on his Death-bed said for Images and that Tarasius would not take the Patriarchate till he had promise of a Council to restore them and some hopes of it The Emperor here saith that he called and Congregated the Synod and that ex universo terrarum orbe out of the whole earthly world and yet it was only out of the Roman Empire § 58. When the Bishops business was so well made known by the Woman that called them first three Bishops that had been lately forward speakers against Images in the former General Council under Constantine did humbly confess their sin to the Council and asked forgiveness that is Basil. Ancyrae Theodorus Myron and Theodosius Amorii And first Basil Bishop of Ancyra gave them his Creed in which he professed to believe in the Trinity and to embrace the intercession of the Mother of God and of the heavenly Powers and of all the Saints and with all honour to receive and embrace their holy Reliques firmly believing that he may be made Partaker of their holiness Also that he embraceth the venerable Images which the Oeconomy of our Lord Iesus Christ c. and of the inviolate Virgin our Lady the Mother of God and of the holy Apostles Prophets Martyrs and all Saints and giveth them due honour Rejecting and cursing with all his mind that called the 7th Synod that was gathered by a depraved mind and madness a false Council as alien to all Piety and Religion impiously barking against Ecclesiastical Legislation reproaching venerable Images and commanding them to be taken out of the Churches c. And to shew his zeal and lead others the way he delivereth in nine Curses or Anathemas One against those that demolish Images Another against those that expound the Scripture words against Idols and Gentile Images as against Christians Images Next he execrateth all that embrace not Images so it is now become necessary unto salvation Another Curse is against those that favour them that are against Images c. Was not the Church ill used by her Bishops when they are sure to be cursed by them one year cursing all that be for Images and another cursing all that be not for them Was it such a cursing Clergy to make a cursed Church that Christ ordained And that the Council might not suspect that this Bishop was a Temporizer and changed his Opinion with the Times first he professeth to declare all this With his whole Soul Heart and Mind and next he wisheth That if ever by any means he revolt again from Images he may be alienated from God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and the Catholick Church And thus he renounceth Repentance cursing himself if ever he repent § 59. Tharasius and his Synod glorifie God for this excellent Confession And next cometh Theodore Bishop of Myros and he doth the like and is joyfully received And next cometh Theodosius Bishop of Amorium and he more dolefully lamenteth that being a sinner and seduced he had blattered out many evils untruly against venerable Images and therefore confessing his fault he condemneth and curseth or detesteth himself resolving hereafter to do the same thing which he had cursed or spoken ill of and to teach it to the world and begging to be received among Christians though unworthy Next he offereth his Libel viz. First I approve receive salute and venerate before all things the intemerate Image of our Lord Iesus Christ our true God and the blessed Mother Virgins who brought him forth without seed whose help protection and intercession I pray for night and day that she may help me a sinner as having that power from him whom she brought into the world Christ our God And I receive and venerate the Images of Saints Apostles Prophets Martyrs Fathers Eremites not as Gods c. And with all my mind I beseech them to intercede with God for me that I may find mercy in the day of judgment On the same account I venerate the Reliques of Saints c. So he proceedeth also to his Curses and first he anathematizeth all that venerate not Images Then he curseth those that reproach them And next that speak evil of them And next he curseth those that do not from their hearts teach Christian People the veneration of holy and honourable Images of all Saints which from the beginning pleased God Qu. 1. Where shall we
Church-History OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BISHOPS AND THEIR COUNCILS ABBREVIATED Including the chief part of the Government of Christian Princes and POPES and a true account of the most troubling Controversies and Heresies till the REFORMATION Written for the use especially of them I. Who are ignorant or misinformed of the state of the Antient Churches II. Who cannot read many and great Volumes III. Who think that the Universal Church must have one Visible Soveraign Personal or Collective Pope or General Councils IV Who would know whether Patriarchs Diocesans and their Councils have been or must be the cure of Heresies and Schismes V. Who would know the truth about the great Heresies which have divided the Christian World especially the Donatists Novatians Arrians Macedonians Nestorians Eutychians Monothelites c. By RICHARD BAXTER a Hater of false History LONDON Printed by B. Griffin for Thomas Simmons at the Princes Arms in Ludgate-Street MDCLXXX THE PREFACE THE great usefulness of History needs not many words to prove it seeing natural inclination it self is so much for it and reason and experience tell men that they cannot spare it as to Natural Civil or Religious use God himself hath highly commended it to us by writing the Sacred Scriptures so much Historically yea and making some of it part of the necessary Articles of our Creed Children that yet understand not the Doctrinal part of the Bible do quickly take delight in the Historical part which prepareth them for the rest Ignorant and ungodly persons that have no true sense of Sacred Doctrine can yet understand and with lesse aversness and weariness read the history Melancholy and sad persons who can hardly bear long Doctrinal studies are often eased and recreated with useful History Man is a part of the Vniverse and every man is a part of the world of mankind and therefore thinketh the case of the whole to be much of his concerne And were not narrow selfishnes much of our Pravity we should take the universal and publick good and Gods Love to it and Pleasedness and Glory in it to be much more our end and the object of our desire and delight than any personal felicity of our own It is a Monster of inhumanity in the Doctrine of the Sadducees Spinosa Hobbes and their bruitish followers that they set up Individual self interest as a mans chiefest end and object of rational Love and desire and own no Good but that which Relatively is Good to me that is either my personal life and pleasure as the end or other things as a means thereto Though Grace only savingly cure this base inhumane maladie yet common reason beareth witness against it and only sense and reason captivated by sense do patronize it Put not the question to a reasonable man though wicked what he can do or doth But what in reason he should do and he cannot deny but that he should think of a more excellent person at the Indies that never will do anything for him as more amiable than himself much more many thousands such And as Goodness and Amiableness are all one so that which is best should be loved best And he that would not die to save his Country is worse than sober Heathens were And he that would not rather be annihilated than all or halfe the world should be annihilated is so basely selfish that I should sooner believe that analogical Reason ruleth some bruites than that true Reason determineth this mans choice Spinosa taketh the Knowledge of our Union with Universal nature which he calleth God to be mans perfection and his chief good in comparison of which sensual Pleasure Riches and Honour are but troubles further then they are a meanes hereto And if he had better known God as the Creator and Governour and end of the material Vniverse which he took to be God and had joyned holy Uniteing Joyful Love to the Universe and specially to the Heavenly Society and above them all to God himself unto this Knowledge and extended it to the perpetuity of an Immortal state he had been happily in the right which missing he became a pernicious seducer of himself and others But thus nature and Grace do loudly tell us that each part should be greatly concerned for the whole and therefore every one should desire to know as much of the whole as he is capable and as tendeth to his duty and delight And how small a parcel of Time or Men or Actions are present or in our daies How little knoweth he that knoweth no more than he hath lived to see What Religion can he have who knoweth not the History of Creation Redemption or the giving of the Holy Ghost or the planting and propagating the Church and also what will be when this life is ended But it is not all History that is needful or useful to us There are many things done which we are not concerned to be acquainted with But the History of the Church of the propagation of the Christian faith and what the Doctrine was that was then received and how it was practised promoted and defended and how it was corrupted invaded and persecuted is of so great use to posterity that next to the Scripture and the illumination of Gods Spirit I remember nothing more needful to be known When Philip Nerius set up his Oratorian exercises at Rome as to win the people they found it necessary to use large affectionate extemporate prayers and expositions and Serm●●s so the next thing found necessary was to bestow constantly one exercise in opening Church-History to the people And this did both entice their attentions by delight and also by fitting reports more to the Papal interest than to the truth did greatly bewitch them into a confident beliefe that the Papal sect was all the true Church and all other Christians were but sectaries and branches broken off and withered and therefore to be burned here and hereafter abusing Joh. 15. 5. c. And I have oft thought that the right use of such an Historical exercise in an ordinary congregation would be of great use to the ignorant vulgar and unlearned zealous sort of Christians For I find that for want of the knowledge of Church-History and how things have gone before us in all former times many errours and sins are kept up that else would more easily be forsaken To instance in some few I. As it was the craft of Baronius who performed that exercise in Nerius his Conventicles at Rome to write afterward his Church-History in Latin so voluminously that few but the Clergie byassed by interest would read it and so the Clergy might be the credited reporters of all to the vulgar so to this day the Papist-Priests contrive to be the Masters and reporters of Church-History as well as of unwritten Tradition and to keep the Laity so far ignorant of it that when they tell men confident stories for their advantage few or none may be able to contradict them and so their report