Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A60240
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The critical history of the religions and customs of the eastern nations written in French by the learned Father Simon ; and now done into English, by A. Lovell ...; Histoire critique de la creance et de coutumes des nations du Levant. English
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Simon, Richard, 1638-1712.; Lovell, Archibald.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing S3797; ESTC R39548
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108,968
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236
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Constantinople against the Jesuits and Court of Rome was chosen Patriarch and for the space of five or six Months after made nothing appear in his Actions that might give any sign of Defection from the Religion of his fore-Fathers But seeing he had the Jesuits for Enemies he thought himself obliged to declare for the Hollanders that he might be seconded by them he engaged also in his party a considerable Number of Bishops and Churchmen who relished his opinions and were in the same Disposition as he was to introduce Novelties into the Greek Church But they were not the Stronger because the Jesuits who have a College at Constantinople where they teach the Youth Gratis easily gained the People who made an Insurrection against Cyrill The Greeks held an Assembly in the year 1622. wherein he was deposed from his Patriarchate and banished to the Isle of Rhodes Another Patriarch was chosen in his Place who by Letters submitted himself to the court of Rome that had forwarded his Election But seeing Cyrill still entertained a Party in Constantinople and that the Dutch supplied him with great Summs of Money it was not long before he was restored to his Patriarchate Then it was that he revenged himself on the Jesuits and those who had espoused the Interests of the Court of Rome and that Calvinism reigned at Constantinople This brought great Disorders into that Church for Cyrill set every thing to sale that he might pay the Money which he had borrowed of the Dutch The Jesuits and Court of Rome finding that Cyrill had absolutely got the better on 't endeavoured to gain him by proposing terms of accommodation and representing to him the danger of his Church if he continued those Intrigues with the Calvinists He seemed to be very willing to embrace an accommodation but seeing he still continued his Practices with the Dutch the Court of Rome made a fresh attempt to turn him out of his Chair which succeeded but for a very short time because the Dutch Money soon recalled him again to his Patriarchate The Court of Rome doubling their efforts against Cyrill sent one to Constantinople in Quality of Vicar of the Patriarch for maintaining the Orthodox Faith in that Church which seemed to be upon the brink of Ruine Cyrill's Party failed not to lay hold on that occasion to render the Jesuits and their Party odious to the Turks who were jealous of that Envoy of Rome Insomuch that he was very ill used by the Turks and Cyrill cruelly revenged himself on all the Greeks whom he thought to be his Enemies Nevertheless he rendered himself so odious by his great vexations and had so powerfull a Party as the Jesuits of Constantinople seconded by the Court of Rome to deal with that he at length fell and was strangled by express Orders from the Grand Signior This is the History of the Patriarch Cyrillus Lucaris in whose Name the Huguenots Printed a Confession of Faith boasting that they agreed in Opinions with the Greek Church But with the glance of an Eye one may judge what kind of a Confession of Faith it is It is true it was written by a Patriarch of Constantinople with the Title of The Belief of the Eastern Church but it was not written in name of that Church nor hath it any publick approbation Cyrill gave it privately to the Dutch Ambassadour whose assistance he needed to defend him against the Jesuits of Constantinople That work of Cyrill's is much like the Book that is said to have been made by William Postel for a Nun whom he perswaded that he might squeeze a little Money from her that the Messiah came into the world onely for Men and that she Lady Jean was to be the Messiess of the Women There is as much likelyhood of truth in that Confession of Cyrill's that went under the name of the Greek Church as there is in the Impostures of that famous Normand William Postel and I wonder that Protestants should still dare to object to Catholicks that pretended Confession Grotius gave a better Judgment of it in a Book that he published some time after that Confession came abroad in the word wherein he frankly says (1) Nuper Constantinopoli Cyrillus sine Patriarchis sine Metropolitis sine Episcopis novum nobis propinavit Symbolum Grot. de Antichrist that Cyrill forged a new Symbol without the assistance of any Patriarchs Archbishops or Bishops Now after all I have related the History of this Cyrill with all the exactness I could without any regard to what the Dutch have written of him nor to what Leo Allatius hath said who also exceeds the bounds of moderation I have scarcely mentioned any thing but what is agreed upon by both the opposite Parties Besides Cyrill there are other Greeks of less note who have written in favour of the Protestants and amongst others one Gergan a Bishop who hath published a Catechism wherein he openly denies Transubstantiation but with this difference from Cyrill that he follows not the Confession of Geneva but that of Ausbourg If we compare the Doctrine of this Catechism with that of the Greek Church we shall find it almost different in every Point that it may be accommodated to the Sentiments of Protestants as when it saith that Scripture alone is sufficient without the help of Tradition to prove the Articles of our Creed That the Scripture is plain and clear as to the Points of Faith and that Scripture ought to be interpreted by Scripture In a word Gergan is a Protestant and onely a Greek in Language and that too a base Vulgar Greek Nevertheless he dares boast that he is none of those false Brethren (2) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who have been poisoned at Rome But it is generally known that the Greeks themselves who have no Commerce with Rome confirm neither the Confession of Ausbourg nor of Geneva in their Books Protestants may also reckon amongst the Greeks of their Communion Nathanael of Crete who promised some time agoe to the Dutch that he would translate Calvin's Institutions into Greek and teach his Countrey-men Calvinism provided they gave him the Summ of Money which he demanded Mr. Claude adds to all these Greek Calvinists the Testimony of one Meletius Metropolitan of Ephesus in an answer he made about thirty Years agoe to the Divines of Leyden as to several Questions that had been put to him Father Simon made answer to Mr. Claude that he doubted not but that that was the Act of some Greek gained by the Dutch Divines who answered their Questions as they themselves would have him and that to judge of that answer it would be proper to publish it in the Authours Language I procured by means of one of Mr. Claude's Friends whom he could not deny a Copy of that answer and having read it I found that Father Simon 's conjecture was a real truth For Meletius who in that Letter takes the Title of Archbishop of Ephesus not onely
fact which he relates it is not to be thought strange that Gulielmus Tyrius hath fallen into the same mistakes Eutychius says M. Nairon affirms that Maron the Monothelite lived in the time of the Emperour Mauritius and nevertheless Monothelism was not as yet known at that time But if the Authority of the Arabian Historians be rejected because of their not being exact in Chronology there is not one of them but must be wholly laid aside The Authority of Gulielmus Tyrius is not so much made use of in the matter in hand for what he relates out of the Annals of Eutychius as for his own Testimony speaking of a thing that happened in his own time under Aymeric Patriarch of Antioch who made the Maronites of that Countrey abjure their pretended Errours There is no likelyhood of truth in the story that M. Nairon alledges and which hath been already mentioned by (1) Quaresm in dilucid Terrae sanctae Quaresmius to wit that Maron went from Antioch to Rome with a Legat or Envoy of Pope Honorius who created the same Maron Patriarch of Antioch because of his Orthodox faith I pass over some other Acts of this nature which are not to be found but in Arabick Books written since the Reconciliation of the Maronites to the Church of Rome The least knowledge in Ecclesiastical History is enough to convince us that these Histories have no ground in Antiquity and that the Maronites and other Eastern People who are unskilfull Criticks in Historical Learning have referred to Ancient times what hath been onely in use amongst them for some latter Ages According to this Principle we must not easily give credit to the Authority of Johannes Maron whose (2) Joan. Maro Comm. in Liturg St. Jacobi Commentary upon the Liturgy of St. James is not so very Ancient as some would have it seeing it contains matters of fact that are Posteriour to it by many Ages After all the Maronites who pretend to have always preserved the Purity of their Faith cast the errours that are to he found in the works of their own undoubted Authours upon their Neighbours who were Hereticks that had sown these errours amongst them and who had even won over to their Sect some of the Maronites themselves And so though the Maronites pretend that they have always preserved the true Faith yet they cannot deny but that some of their Nation have entertained the Sentiments of the Jacobites (1) Petr. in Epist Arab. ad Card. Caraff Anno 1578. Peter Patriarch of the Maronites in a Letter which he wrote to Cardinal Carraffa says that the errours which occur in their Books ought to be imputed to their Neighbours but the (2) Steph. Petr. in Epist ad Faust Naw Ann. 1674. present Patriarch writing to M. Nairon affirms that they have preserved many Books that are free from all these errours and gives us hopes of a Volume of Oriental Liturgies which he pretends to reconcile with the Latin Mass That must needs be a very usefull Work and will clear to us a great many matters of Fact concerning that affair which lye as yet wrapt up in obscurity CHAP. XV. Of the Religion and Customs of the Mahometans THE Religion of the Mahometans being for most part but a medly of the Christian and Jewish Religions we have thought it pertinent to give an Abridgment thereof in this place to the end that they who travell into the Levant may lay aside a great many prejudices that they have conceived against that Religion and that they may consider that it is indebted to the Jews and Christians for all the good that is in it especially in relation to Morality Mahomet who was perswaded that all Religion ought to be founded on the word of God and not upon the Dictates of Men was obliged to take to himself the Title of God's Messenger and the more to impose upon Christians he feigned himself to be that Paraclet or Comforter promised in the Gospel Nay he hath borrowed part of their Maximes and acknowledg'd Our Lord to be a great Prophet inspired by the Spirit of God On the other hand being willing also to gain the Jews and of these two to make but one more perfect Religion he hath brought into his pretended Reformation a great part of Judaism and that makes the Mahometans pretend that the two Laws aswell that of Moses as that of Our Saviour are at present abolished and that so Men are obliged to embrace Mahometanism if they would be true Believers They consess that both these Laws have been grounded upon the word of God but still add that they are no longer in force since he hath empowered Mahomet to reform Religion There are even some Mahometans who affirm that neither the Jews nor Christians can have certain and infallible Principles of their Religion because their Sacred writings have been corrupted The Jews say they lost their Law and all their Holy Books during the time of the Captivity in Babylon and what they call Canonical Books are not so indeed but onely some scraps of those Ancient Books which the Jews have pieced together as well as they could after their Captivity As for the Christians they say that the Books of the New Testament have been corrupted by the different Sects that have arisen amongst the same Christians Mahomet then feigned that during the space of 23 Years God sent him by the Ministery of the Angel Gabriel a certain Number of Pieces of Writing whereof he composed the Book which is called the Alcoran and that Book is to them the Holy Scripture being the chief ground-work of their Religion But as among the Jews besides the 24 Books of Scriture there is also the Talmud which contains their Traditions so the Mahometans have their Assonna that declares to them the Traditions which they are to follow They have likewise Expositions on those Books to which they submit and besides they distinguish aswell as we that which is of Precept from that which is onely Advice The Chief Article of their Belief is founded upon the Unity of God and therefore it is their ordinary saying There is no other God but God God is one and they call those Idolaters who acknowledge any Number in the Deity thereby condemning the Trinity of Persons which the Christians acknowledge to be in God The second Fundamental Article of their Religion consists in these words Mahomet is the Messenger of God By that they pretend to exclude all other Religions because they say that Mahomet is the most excellent and last of all the Prophets whom God was to send to Mankind And as the Jewish Religion was abrogated by the coming of Jesus Christ so in their Opinion the Christian Religion was not to subsist any longer after the appearance of their Prophet Mahomet They who introduce a new Religion ought to shew some Miracles that so their words may be the better believed And therefore the Mahometans attribute some to