one Constantinus Caetanus Abbot of a Monastery near Rome which contains all that the former Rituals have but is more ample and adds more Ceremonies and Prayers not any way belonging to the Essentials of Priesthood except that which is specified towards the end for the Bishop having recited the Consecration he totally omits that which is contained under the Title Consummatio Presbyteri as in the first Ritual then he puts the Stole on the right shoulder of him that is to be Ordained saying Accipe jugum Dei jugum enim ejus suave est onus ejus leve Receive the yoke of God for his yoke is sweet and his burthen light Then he puts on his Casula or Vestment saying Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus God put thee on the Stole of Innocence Then follows the Benediction Deus Sanctificationum c. as in the first Ritual which done Capiens oleum facit crucem super manus ambas ita dicens Consecrare sanctificare digneris Domine manus istas per istam unctionem ut quaecunque consecraverint consecrentur quaecunque benedixerint benedicantur sanctificentur in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi Hoc facto accipiat patenam cum oblatis calicâ—â—â— cum vino dicat Accipe potestatem 〈…〉 sacrificium Deo Missamque cebbâ—â—re tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis in nomine Domini Benedictio Benedictio Dei Patris silii Spiritus Sancti descendet saper vos ut sitis benedicti in ordine Sacerdotali offeratis placabiles hostias pro peccatis at que offensionibus populi omnipotenti Deo cui est honor gloria per omnia Taking the Oyle he makes a Cross upon both his hands saying thus O Lord vouchsafe to Consecrate and Sanctifie these hands by this Unction that whatever they shall Consecrate may be consecrated and whatever they shall bless may be blessed in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ This being performed let him take the Paren with the Offerings and the Calice with the Wine let him say Receive the Power to offer Sacrifice to God and to say Mass both for the Living and the Dead in the Name of our Lord c. The Benediction Let the Blessing of God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost descend upon ye may ye be blessed in the Order of riesthood and may ye offer Attoning Sacrifices for the Sins and offences of the People to Almighty God To whom be Honor and Glory c. This is the first Ritual that I can find which contains the touching of the Chalice with Wine and the Pattene with an Hoast with this Form Accipe potestatem c. as above which the Church of Rome hath ever since retained to this day Another Ritual belonging to the Church of Mens of 450 years standing contains all that the former hath But in the Margin it is written that the Bishop saith to them that are Ordained Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiserit is peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt c. post sumptionem corporis Sanguinis Jesu Christi antequam dicatur postcommunio tunc Episcopus trahat unicuique casulam deorsum per scapulas osculans eum dicens Pax Domini sit semper tecum Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins ye remit are remitted and whose sins ye retain are retained And after the receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ before the saying of the Post-Communion let the Bishop let down the Vestment from their shoulders kissing each of them and saying Let the Peace of our Lord be always with you This addition is all the difference between this and the last Ritual and in the perusal of these and several other Rituals I never met with any power to Remit and Retain sins communicated to the Ordained by such plain and express words after they had received the power of Priesthood Yet by the Custom of some Churches this form Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum c. is used in the beginning of the Ordination of Priests and accompanyeth the Imposition of hands But the present Practice of the Church of Rome is to give this power about the end of the Mass by the Imposition of Hands as the Matter and the words Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. as the Form And because the Modern Rituals of the Latines contain nothing of moment more then what the Roman Pontifical expresseth I shall therefore wave them lest it might prove tedious to the Reader SECT III. A briefe Account of the Rituals of the Greeks Maronites c. WE begin with the Greeks and because the Antient Rituals have no more in them then what is contained in those of a later date I shall omit the former for after them to transcribe the more modern Pontificals were actum agere to do the same thing twice A Greek Ritual Written 800 years since kept in the Liberary of Cardinal Franciscus Barbarinus Ordinatio Presbyteri Postquam allata sunt Sancta dona in sacra mensa reposita sunt completus est Sanctus Hymnus mysticus Cherubicus charta consueta traditur Archiepiscopo in qua scriptum est Divina gratia quae semper infirma curat deficientia complet promovet hunc N. Deo amabilem Diaconum in Presbyterum Eaque lecta ita ut omnes audiant qui ordinandus est adducitur eoque genu flectente tria crucis signa facit super caput ejus habensque manum et impositam haec precatur Deus qui es principii finis expers qui omni creatura longè es antiquior quique denominatione Presbyteri eos honorasti qui digni judicati sunt in eo gradu sancte administrare verbum veritatis tuae Ipse omnium Domine complaceat tibi hunc quam à me propter politiam irreprehensibilem modumque agendi inculpatum fidem constantem promoveri probasti magnam illam gratiam Sancti Spiritus tui suscipere Perfectum redda servum tuum ut tibi in omnibus placeat pro data sibi à providente virtute tua magno illo sacerdotali honore dignè sese gerat conversetur quia tua est potentia tuum est regnum virtus c. Tum facit Presbyterorum unus Diaconi precem in hunc modum In pace Dominum deprecemur Pro suprema pace ac salute Pro pace universi mandi Pro Archiepiscopo nostro N. ipsius sacerdotio auxilio perseverantia pace ac salute operibus manuum ejus Dominum deprecemur Pro eo qui nunc promovetur Presbytero salute ipsius Dominum deprecemur Vt clemens hominum amans Deus immaculatum irreprehensibile largiatur illi Sacerdotium deprecemur Pro piissimo à Deo custodito Imperatore Nostro c. Et cum à Presbytero haec habetur oratio Archiepiscopus consimiliter manum tenens super caput illius qui ordinatur sic precatur Deus qui potens es in
this from Infallibility As for Austerity I believe that many out of a true Motive of Piety are wrought to imbrace it But how many more are there that glory in their gross and vile habit and so are proud of their seeming Humility and in stead of holiness of life How many enormous crimes are committed within those private Walls they have their Pride Ambition and Factions one against another especially among the Female Sex For Miracles How many thousands have been cry'd up as true and afterwards decry'd when the Fallacy was detected And how many have the repute of Martyrs who in reality were Malefactors deserving death But how many Martyrs have the Romanists made in England by putting them to death meerly in odium fidei wherefore it is plain and evident that all these particulars being doubtful and uncertain no Infallibility can be hence evinced The Third Objection They whose reason and understandings are convinced of the truth of the Roman Religion are bound in conscience to believe it as the true Church of God For there is a Divine Precept still incumbent upon them which commands them not to sin therefore it commands them the necessary means to avoid sin but as they stand convinced the necessary means to avoid sin is to believe it to be the true Church of God but it cannot be that God should command Men to believe an error or that which is false therefore it is an infallible truth that the Church of Rome is the true Church of Christ for else God would command us to believe falsity and error and so God himself would be the Author of it First I Answer by retorting this Argument The Greeks for Example who hear their learned Doctors and Preachers Explicate and Preach their Doctrine of the Trinity that the Holy Ghost doth not proceed from the Father and the Son but only from the Father by the Son which they propose with so much plausibility and seeming truth that the hearers are convinced of the truth thereof as belonging to Faith in this case God commands them not to sin and consequently commands the necessary means to avoid sin which is to believe that Doctrine as an Article of Faith which notwithstanding is false and erroneous I aske the Romanists Whether in this case God commands the Greeks to believe this error and if they solve this Argument they will solve their own Secondly I Answer That in the case proposed in the Argument I admit a Precept of not sinning but I deny any Precept of believing the Church of Rome to be the true Church of God Nay such a belief upon the first appearance of truth would be a sin for such an easie belief upon ungrounded though plausible Arguments in a matter of Moment is an act of rashness and temerity which I am sure are no vertues and consequently not commanded by Gods Precept The reason is because where there are several means to attain an end though the end be under Precept yet no means in particular falls under the same Precept as in the case proposed They who seem to be convinced of the truth of the Church of Rome ought in prudence to suspend their Judgment to Read Authors that Treat of such matters to Converse with Men of Integrity Piety Knowledge and Learning and then seriously to ponder and maturely to consider the whole matter this is an act of Prudence and Discretion and consequently no sin so that the Persons in the Case proposed are not restrained to one only means of avoiding sin but may make use of any that is sit and apt in order to that end Else they must acknowledge the Protestant Church to be True and Orthodox for they who are convinced that this Church is the true Church of Christ are commanded not to sin and so to believe that the Protestant Church of England is the True Church of Christ which must be so because God cannot command us to believe an Error But you may Instance That an Infallible Church is certainly better then a Fallible one and the infinite goodness of God is such as always to determine him to do that wich is best and consequently in this case hath made his Church Infallible this being best I Answer The Principle on which this Instance is grounded is commonly rejected by the Roman Divines In 1 partem D. Thomae for though Granado a Spanish Jesuite doth fusely contend to establish a necessity in God to do always that which is best yet I have heard him earnestly impugned by other Professors of Divinity of the same order and in the same Colledge of St. Hermeingildus where Granado himself Taught it and Printed it and though he have some Sectators in this Point yet a far greater number of Doctors of several Orders Teach the contrary The case stands thus Here are two of Gods Attributes viz. his Liberty and Infinite Goodness brought in competition with each other Granado to maintain the Goodness of God detracts from his Absolute Liberty and Freedom which notwithstanding is as Essential to God as his Goodness Other Authors industrioufly contend to defend the Attribute of Goodness without prejudice of liberty for without any such fatal necessity of restraining the Omnipotent he hath an ample field wherein to display his Goodness That we have our Being is an effect of Gods Goodness that we are replenisht with all Necessaries and Conveâ—â—…ences in this life flows from his Bounty and Goodness that we were Redeemed when we were lost in Adam was Gods great Goodness towards us that we are now furnished with all Necessary Means of Salvation proceeds from Gods Goodness and the Ineffable and Eternal Goods of Heaven which we hope for are no other then the products of Gods Infinite Goodness and Mercy Besides we are no competent Judges whether a Fallible or Infallible Church be best for the second in it self seems best to us yet the All-seeing Eye of God who perfectly comprehends all the circumstances thereof together with all the combinations and Subordinations of one thing towards another in relation to the Divine Intention it may be for ought we know that a Church liable to error All things considered may be the best Thus you see according to my intended purpose I have delivered the Substance of what I Designed in this matter Methodically and with as much Brevity as was consistent with the clear understanding of the same Wherein First I proposed several Principles and Maxims of the Roman Doctors necessary and useful for the subsequent Discourse Secondly I gave you the grounds of their pretended Infallibility without dissembling any thing of their full strength Thirdly I set down my Tenet and Proofes thereof destructive of that Infallibility And Fourthly I solved their Objections which Method I shall observe for the future and hereby we may consider upon how weak a foundation this Main Pillar of the Church of Rome is grounded whereby the whole structure becomes disjoyned and ruinous Dispute II. Of the
his Example may confirm his Admonition that he may preserve the Guift of thy Ministry pure and undefiled and may transforme by his Immaculate Benediction the Body and Brood of thy Son through the obedience of thy People that as a perfect Man with inviolable Charity to the measure of age of the fulness of Christ in the day of the Justice of Eternal Judgment he may acquit himself with a pure Conscience with a full Faith being filled with the Holy Ghost Per Dominum c. Consecration of the Hand Let these Hands be Consecrated and Sanctified by this Unction and our Benediction that whatever they Bless may be Blessed and whatever they Sanctifie may be Sanctified Per Dominum c. Another Let these Hands be Anointed with this Holy Oyle and Chrisme of Sanctification as Samuel Anointed David for a King and a Prophet so let them be Anointed and Compleated in the Name of God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost making the Sign of the Cross of the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ who Redeemed us from Death and brings us to the Kingdom of Heaven Hear us Pious Father Omnipotent Eternal God and perform what we entreat and pray of thee Per Dominum c. A Ritual taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHere these words are contained Presbyter cum Ordinatur Episcopo eum benedicente manum super caput ejus tenente etiam omnes Presbyteri qui presentes sunt manus suas juxta manum Episcopi super caput illius teneant Another taken out of the Fourth Council of Carthage WHen a Priest is Ordained the Bishop Blessing him and holding his hand upon his head likewise all the Priests that are present shall lay their hands upon his head by the hand of the Bishop The Ritual of Gelatius Pope Written 900 years since ORdo qualiter Romana sedis Apostolicae Ecclesia Presbyteri Diaconi vel Subdiaconi eligendi sunt Mensis primi quarti septimi decimi Sabbatorum die in duodecim lectiones ad Sanctum Petrum ubi Missae celebrantur Postquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione adnuntiat Pontifex in Populo dicens Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo Iterum dicit Auxiliante Domino Deo salvatore nostro Jesu Christo eligimus in ordine Diaconi sive Presbyteri illum Diaconum sive Subdiaconum de titulo illo Si quis autem habet aliquid contra hos viros pro Deo propter Deum cum fiducia exeat dicat verumtamen memor sit communionis suae Et post modicum intervallum mox incipiunt omnes Kyrie eleison cum Letania hac expleta ascendunt ipsi electi ad sedem Pontificis benedicit cos à quo vocati sunt descendunt Stant in ordines suos benedictione percepta Sequitur oratio de bened require ipsam in quarto aut decimo mense The Ritual of Gelatius the Pope Written 900 years since THe Order how Priests Deacons Subdeacons are to be chosen in the Roman Church of the See Apostolick On the Sabbath of the First Fourth Seventh and Tenth Month at the 12 Lessons at St. Peters Church where Masses are celebrated After they have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer let the Bishop declare among the People saying Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting us Again he sayes Our Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ assisting We chuse into the Order of Deacon or Priest that Deacon or Subdeacon of that Title If any one have any thing against these Men for Gods sake let him come forth with coufidence and speak yet let him be mindful of his Communion And after a small interval all forthwith begin Kyrie Eleison with the Letany this compleated the Persons chosen step up to the Bishops Seat and he Blesses them from whom they are called and they go down They stand in their Orders the Blessing being received Then follows a Prayer of Benediction as in the Fourth or the Tenth Month. What follows is all as above Ad Ordinandos Presbyteros Oremus dilectissimi c. the same in substance as above Then follows Consecratio Consummatio Presbyteri Item Benedictio All the same as above A Ritual of above 800 years standing This Ritual and the next were taken out of a Written Book kept in the Pontifical Chamber of the Vatican which the Pope used when he Officiated It may be seen in the Fifth Tome of St. Gregory POstquam antiphonam ad introitum dixerint data oratione venit Archidiaconus offert eum qui ordinandus est Pontifici ita dicens Postulat sanct a mater Ecclesia Catholica ut hunc praesentem diaconum ad onus Presbyterii ordinetis Interrogat Episcopus Scis illum dignum esse Respondet offerens quantum humana fragilitas nosse sinit scio testificor ipsum dignum esse ad hujus onus officii c. Tunc annnnciat Pontifex Populo Auxiliante Domino Deo c. the same as in the Ritual of Gelatius then follows Oratio ad Presbyteros Ordinandos Consecratio Hic vestis casulam Benedictio Patris filii Spiritus Sancti descendat super te ut sis benedictus in ordine sacerdotali offeras placabiles hostias pro peccatis at que offensionibus populi omnipotenti Deo cui sit honor gloria in secula seculorum Then Consecratio manus as above and nothing else A Ritual of above 800 years standing AFter they shall have said the Antiphon to the Introitus after Prayer comes the Archdeacon and presents him who is to be Ordained to the Bishop saying thus The Holy Mother the Catholick Church requires that ye Ordain this Deacon here present to the charge of Priesthood The Bishop Asks Do you know him worthy The Archdeacon Answers So far as humane frailty is suffered to know I both know and testifie him to be worthy to undergo the burden of this Office Then let the Bishop say to the People Auxiliante Domino Deo c. By the help of the Lord God c. Then the Prayer and Consecration the Priestly Vestment c. The Blessing of the Father Son and Holy Ghost descend upon thee that thou mayst be blest in the Priesthood and mayst offer acceptable Sacrifices for sins and offences of the people to Allmighty God to whom be Honor and Glory for ever and ever A Ritual taken out of a very antient Manuscript of the Vatican This contains nothing different from the former but only a word or two here and there changed without any essential difference There are Three other Rituals the one belonging to Corbie in France another is a Ritual that was used in England 800 years since and now belongs to the Church of Roane The Third belongs to the Church of Remes and was Written about 800 years since which all agree with that above There is another Ritual 700 years old This did belong to
Ordained Priest comes to thee make him thy true servant c. The Archdeacon saith The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. as above Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the East saith this Prayer O Lord God we beseech thee render him worthy of the vocation of Priesthood c. that he may Administer upon thy Holy Altar c. Three times Kyrie Eleison Then the Bishop turning towards the West puts his right hand upon the Ordaineds head Praying thus O Lord God Omnipotent c. look upon this thy servant who is presented to thee in order to Priesthood by the approbation and judgment of those that propose him c. Replenish him with the Holy Ghost and Grace c. The Bishop Prays for him that he may worthily perform the Functions of Priesthood c. And turning to the West signs his forehead with his Thumb saying We call thee into the Holy Church of God Amen The Archdeacon with a loud voice saith N. is a Priest of the Holy Altar which is in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church of God Amen Then with a clear voice the Bishop saith We call thee N. a Priest of the Holy Altar which is called of the true Believers In the Name of the Father c. Then the Bishop makes three Crosses on his forehead signifying the Trinity Then he puts the Stole about him saying Glory and Honor be to the Holy Trinity consubstantial with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Peace and increase of the Holy Church of God Amen Then the Bishop turning to the East prays thus We give thee Thanks c. A Thansgiving to God and a Petition that the Ceremonies of Ordination may please him Then follows an Admonition to the Priest newly Ordained who having taken the usual Oath kisseth the Bishops hand the Altar and those that are present Then he explicates something of the Mysteries and the Bishop puts his hand three times upon him and all say with a loud voice N. is worthy to be a Priest in the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church And so it ends These Rituals were with great trouble and industry Collected from several parts of the World by Morinus who saw the Originals and Translated them out of Greek and Syrian into Latine as you may see in his Treatise de Sacra Ordinatione part 2. Thus I have given you a Cursary View of the Manner how the Chiefest Professors of Christianity disperst all the World over did Confer the Order of Priesthood which compared to the present practise of the Church of Rome it will be obvious how this Church hath deviated in Essentials from the Institution of Christ the practice of the Apostles and the Primitive Church which by considering the particulars of the Roman Pontifical now in use will plainly appear A Draught of the Roman Pontifical for the Ordination of Priests now in use THe Bishop that is to give Orders is not to do it but in Mass and in the several parts thereof he exerciseth the several Functions of Ordination They that are to be Ordained Priests being by the Archdeacon presented and accepted The Bishop begins by the imposition of his hands upon the head of them successively but says nothing Then they return again and the Bishop puts his right hand upon the head of each of them and the Priests that are present do the like putting their hands by the Bishops Then the Bishop says a Prayer imploring Grace for them that are to be Ordained that they may worthily comply with the Functions of Priesthood This done the Ordainer takes the Stole of each that was before upon their left shoulder only and brings it round the neck and puts it upon the right shoulder also with these words Accipe jugum Domini c. Receive the yoke of the Lord c. Consequent to this he puts on their Casula or Priestly Vestment the hinder part being folded up and fastned to the upper part with this Forme Accipe Vestem Sacerdotalem c. Receive the Priestly Vestment c. Next follows the Annointing of their Heads with Holy Oyle And the Priests that assist tye the Palmes of their hands together with a Linnen Binder lest the Holy Oyle should be profaned Persuant to this the Bishop holding in his hand a Chalice with Wine and Water in it and upon it a Patene with an unconsecrated Hoast on it exhibits all this successively to them that are to be Ordained and here great care is taken by the Ordainer and the assisting Priests that they at the same 〈◊〉 touch the Chalice the Pattene and the Hoast to which end because their hands are bound together the Priests place their fore-fingers upon the Pattene so as to touch both Pattene and Hoast and the tops of their middle fingers being a little separated from the fore-fingers are applyed to the side of the Chalice under the Patene and the Priests in this posture press their fingers upon the Vessels alltogether and the Ordainer begins not the forme till he be assured that they touch all then he pronounceth the forme in these words Accipe potestatem offerendi Sacrificium pro vivis defunctis In nomine Patris filii Spirituus Sancti Receive the power of offering Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead In the Name of the Father c. This done they are esteemed Priests Quoad potestatem ordinis for as much as concerns the power of Consecrating and saying Mass and therefore they Consecrate together with the Bishop and say Mass all along with him having their Missals open before them Then after Consummation when they have all received the Communion the Bishop the third time puts his hand upon their heads with this form Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins ye forgive they are forgiven and whose sins you retain they are retained Then presently he unfolds their Vestment and lets it down behind saying Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus The Lord put thee on the Stole of Innocence And so it ends SECT IV. Shewing That the Church of Rome placeth the Essence of the Ordination of Priests in touching the Vessels and the Form annexed to it TO make good this Position I begin with the Autority of the Council of Florence Florent Instructione Armenorum Instructione ad Armenos where it Treats ex professo of the Essential matter of Priesthood and the Council assigns for this matter the Tradition of the Vessels and makes not the least mention of the Imposition of Hands nor any other matter Gregory the 9th tells us That if in Ordination the Imposition of Hands be omitted the Ordination is not to be reiterated his words are these Greg. 9. C. Presbyter de Sacramentis noniterandis Presbyter Diaconus cum ordinantur manus impositionem tactu corporali ritu ab Apostolis introducto recipiunt
Church without examining particulars as the Council of Florence directs 'T is well that you have exempted the Ordainer from reprehension But then I must demand What intention the Church had in introducing this new Matter and Forme so explicitely and in express terms signifying the collation of Priestly Power to proced from hence and consequently the Character to be hereby imprinted for if these are not intended as Essentials then you have removed the siction from the Ordainer and attributed it to the Church so that the one or the other must be the Author of it but as to this present controversie it matters not which And indeed to solve all there is but one way which is to grant that the tradition of the Vessels and the Forme of Words thereunto annexed do Essentially confer the Order and imprint the Character The Third Proofe is made out by induction which to effect we must make a strict inquiry into all the parts contained in the Roman Ritual to deprehend if any one of them have any proportionable capacity in order to this effect The first imposition of hands can have none because there is no Form appropriated to it neither can a bare Matter without a Forme constitute the adequate Essence of a Sacrament The Second Imposition of â—ands though there be a Form accommodated to it yet it is neither Indicative or Enunciative nor Imperative but only Deprecatory which is not sufficient to satisfie the See of Rome But however as the Roman Ritual for Priesthood is disposed the Order of Priesthood can never proceed from hence except the touching of the Vessels with its Forme be wholly left out for in case Priesthood should be validly conferr'd by this Imposition of Hands and its Forme then the tendring the Vessels afterwards to him that is already Ordained with these words Accipe potestatem Take a power to offer Sacrifice c. would be a Sacrilegious and Fallacious attempt to Reordain him that was before validly Ordained and had the Character of Priesthood imprinted upon him and this would be constantly practised through the whole extent of the Church Besides this Doctrine is wholly destitute of Autority for there are few or no Divines that insist upon this What then remains only the Third Imposition of Hands which follows a long time after about the end of Mass with these words Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis quorum retinueritis retenta sunt Receive the Holy Ghost they whose sins you forgive are forgiven and they whose sins you retain are retained This likewise hath no proportion to confer the Order of Priesthood First because it supposeth that Order already conferr'd for none but a Priest is sufficiently qualified to receive a Power of Relaxing and Retaining sins But in the Primitive Church this power was ever esteemed a branch of Presbytery necessarily resulting from the Validity of Ordination so that all Priests had the Radical Power of Absolving but they were not to practice it without a Deputation from their Bishop neither is it above Four hundred and Fifty years since this Forme was thrust into the Ritual and by reason of its novelty as not being instituted by Christ as Essential to the Ordination of Priesthood cannot participate of the nature of a Sacrament nor any way belong to the Essentials of Ordination Lastly That this Matter and Forme have no influence upon the Power of Consecrating or offering Sacrifice is evidently evinced from hence That all they who receive it had before said Mass with the Bishop and Consecrated with him and to that end the Canon and especially the words of Consecration that usually are pronounced with a lower voice are by the Bishop pronounced aloud and distinctly because the Ordained may accompany him for he that first ends the words of Consecration doth truly Consecrate and none of the rest except they direct their intention to that instant in which the Bishop pronounceth the last lyllable How then can this last imposition of Hands or its Forme any way conduce to the Power of Order It therefore remains that nothing contained in the Roman Ritual for Priesthood can be Essential to that Order except the Tradition of the Vessels with its Forme all the rest being accidentary and circumstantial as I shall prove hereafter by their own Authors All this is confirmed by the practise prescribed in the Roman Ritual for degrading a Priest Ministri tradunt in manus degradandi calicem cum vino aqua ac patena hostia quam Pontifex Degradator aufert de manibus degradandi The Ministers deliver into the hands of him that is to be degraded a Chalice with Wine and Water and a Patene and Hoaste which the Bishop that is the Degrader takes out of the hands of the degraded because by delivering these Vessels to him he was Ordained Priest and therefore by taking them from him again they think him sufficiently devested of that dignity This Truth is so apparent that it needs no other proofe then to observe in their Ordination how indifferent and unconcerned they are in all parts thereof except in delivering the Vessels and pronouncing the Forme that affects them here one Priest inspects one side another surveys the other side and they keep such a pressing of the Ordaineds hands both on the Patene and Chalice that no Error be committed in the application of these Vessels that the beholder will presently conclude that they esteem the whole substance of Ordination to consist in this Discourse their Clergy and you will find that no one doubts it Read the Forme Accipe potestatem c. Receive the power c. and you will certainly conclude that it signifieth nothing else And they who live amongst them and converse with them cannot but know their general and unanimous belief and perswasion that the Order of Priesthood is validly conferr'd by the touching of those Vessels and the Form which accompanys it and the Character thereby imprinted and Sacramental Grace conferr'd Wherefore as to the thing in substance I offer this Dilemma either the Order of Priesthood is validly conferr'd by touching the Vessels and the Forme appropriated to it and the Character thereby imprinted or not If the first be granted that is the scope of our present intention If the second then I declare that the words which the Ordainer pronounceth are Nugatory Delusive and Fallacious for the words are Imperative whereby the Bishop bids the Ordained receive a power of offering Sacrifice which in effect is Priesthood and the Ordained who comes full fraught with an ardent desire of receiving it consequently accepts it and yet notwithstanding this offer and acceptation he is deluded for that power being Spiritual and so invisible as is also the Character he conceives himself impower'd to offer Sacrifice and his Soul consequently imbellisht with a new and high Prerogative in plain and explicite words offered him and yet is defrauded and disappointed of his expectation
Sacraments are Certainly none will attempt it but such whose ambition prompts them to intrench upon Divine Right and God it here upon Earth not knowing or not acknowledging that their power is limited and confin'd within its certain bounds Besides were there two Formes of Ordination one Instituted by Divine Autority the other by Human and both valid by the same Rule you might institute Two hundred yea every Diocess might have one peculiar to it self there is no more difficulty for the Third then there was for the Second nor for the Fourth then the Third and so of all the rest Wherefore if such a power were delegated to meer Humanes What a confusion might they bring into the Church which would be the ground of Discord and Dissention for one Bishop might contend with another whose Ordination was best Having thus proved the Invalidity of Ordination according to the Present Roman Pontifical and General Approbation of that Church I shall now imploy my endeavors to solve the Objections which may be proposed in vindication thereof SECT VI. An Answer to the Objections Proposed by the Doctors of the Church of Rome against the Invalidity of their Ordination THe Roman Divines who earnestly endeavor to compose this difficulty find so much arduity in it that they cannot agree among themselves but what expedient one finds out as accommodated to this end another disapproves and so with great anxiety they cast about by several windings and turnings to compose the Difference between both Churches but in the execution they impugne each other and by this means divide themselves into several Classes Whereof I shall here give you an account The most considerable Party as well for number as for autority and reputation are those who absolutely exclude all Imposition of Hands from the Essentials of Ordination and place the whole Essence thereof in Touching the Holy Vessels with the Forme accommodated thereunto And indeed this is generally received in the Church of Rome as an undoubted Truth Some of the Authors of this Opinion I have cited in the Fourth Section and practised as such This is conformable to the Doctrine of the Council of Florence and Pope Gregory the 9th which I have cited in the beginning of the Fourth Section This Opinion needs no Answer for the Authors hereof are so far from reconciling both Churches that they Unchurch both and in stead of solving the difficulty they sink under the burthen thereof They destroy the Greek Church by denying the Imposition of Hands to be Essential to Ordination which the Greeks ever used as the only Essential Matter thereof They destroy the Latines by relying wholly upon the Touching of the Vessels and the Forme annexed as the only Essential Matter and Forme of Ordination excluding all other and yet this Matter and Forme are wholly uncapable of giving any validity to the Order of Priesthood because they want the Essence the very life and soul of being Instrumental to Ordination which is the Divine Institution as I have manifestly proved in the precedent Section A Second Objection The Divine Institutor of the Order of Priesthood did not determine the specifical Matter and Forme thereof but only in general that the Church should appoint some sensible Matter and some Forme of Words whereby to signifie the collation of Order by their application So that here is a latitude in Christ's Institution and a Power left to the Church to determine what particular Matter and Forme she should think fit and by this Power the Church may alter the Matter and Forme of Order at her pleasure she may abrogate what was before in use and Institute a new Matter and Forme and the Order will still be valid So Isambertus the Kings Professor of Divinity at Paris Treating at large of the Sacrament of Order Disput 3. art 3. his words are these Christus Dominus instituendo Ordines determinavit tantum eorum materias in genere nimirum ut ea esset legitima cujuslibet Ordinis materia quae existens sensibilis sui Traditione debitè sufficienter facta tam ex parte Ministri quam intentionis significaret tune de facto potestatem tali Ordini propriam dari ei qui materiam istam sensibilem seu signum istud sensibile acciperet in sua Ordinatione particularem autem istius signi determinationem seu imponere veluti affigere significationem practicam illius potestatis huic vel illi rei sensibili in particulari reliquit faciendum Ecclesiae prout quando illa judicaret esse conveniens Our Lord Christ Instituting Orders did only determine their Matter in General which being sensible duly and sufficiently apply'd as well in reference to the Minister as the Intention might signifie then in effect the power proper to that Order to be given to him that in his Ordination should receive this sensible Matter or Sign But to determine this Sign in particular and to Impose and as it were affix to it a Practical Signification of that Power given to this or that Sensible Thing in Particular he hath left to be done by the Church when and how she should judge it convenient And having Proved out of the Constitutions of Clement and the Fourth Council of Carthage That the Imposition of Hands by the Bishop and the assisting Priests used in the beginning of Ordination was formerly the Essential Matter of Priesthood he adds Igitur cum hoc nostro tempore haec Impositio manuum sit tantum accidentalis illa posterior quae fit à solo Episcopo simul dicente ei quem Ordinat Accipe Spiritum Sanctum Quorum c. sit nunc Essentialis ut supra ostendimus aliqua mutatio est facta per Ecclesiam in ista materia Ordinum Therefore since in this our time this Imposition of Hands is only accidental and that last which is performed only by the Bishop saying to him whom he Ordains Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. is Essential as I have shewn above some change is made by the Church in this matter of Orders Thus he The same saith Gammacheus de Sacramento Ordinis Cap. 4. Hallerius S. Bonaventura Prepositus Atrebas de materia forma Ordinationis n. 109. There are Three Reasons that this Objection is grounded on Lugo D 2. de Sacramentis in genere S. 5. n. 85. The first is because the Church hath changed the matter of Subdeaconship which was formerly conferr'd by the Imposition of Hands but now by the Ordination and Practise of the Church that Imposition of Hands doth not at all belong to the Essence of Subdeaconship Secondly Clandestine Marriage was ever valid before the Council of Trent but now is rendred invalid by that Council Thirdly The Apostles Confirmed by Imposition of Hands without Unction but now if the Unction be omitted the Confirmation is invalid To this Objection my first Answer is That it is all gratis dictum it is said without ground It is mera
touching the Vessels with this Forme Accipe potestatem c. they affirm the Ordained to receive the Order of Priesthood with Power to Consecrate and offer Sacrifice and the Character to be thereby imprinted But by the consequent imposition of hands the Ordained receives a Power only to forgive or retain sins as the Forme of words expresseth So Becanus Part 3. Theologiae Cap. 26. de Sacramento Ordinis quest 4. who uses his utmost endeavor by this means to maintain the Validity of Ordination according to the present practice of the Church of Rome yet so as not to draw any prejudice upon the Ordination of the Greek Church and other Christian Congregations whose Ordinations the Church of Rome ever declared valid But the Council of Florence seems to obstruct his design by assigning no other Essentials of Ordination but the Tradition of the Vessels and their Forme and here Gamachaeus above cited in the precedent Section Cap. 4. joyns his forces with Becanus or rather Becanus with him So also doth Meratius D 7. S. 2. who to the Autority of the Council of Florence Answers Concilium non suscepisse ex professo declarandum accurate singulorum ordinum materiam formam totalem ac integram c. sed solum per cujus rei Traditionem potestas ordinis conferetur The Council saith Meratius did not undertake of purpose to declare exactly the total and adequate Matter and Forme of each order c. but only to declare what those things were by whose Tradition the power of order was conferr'd And this Opinion Isamberus also imbraces with avidity as conceiving all helps little enough in such a hard conjuncture and therfore joyns this Opinion with his own specify'd above in the Second Objection St. Bonaventure holds the same in 4 d. 7. ar 1. q. 1. 2. and before him Alexander p. 4. Summe q. 9. Memb. 1. 2. ar 2. where he distinguisheth between that which Christ Ordained and that which the Church Ordained in these words Quae enim ab homine Ordinata sunt ab homine possunt mutari quae autem à Deo instituta sunt non nisi dictante Deo debent mutari These things saith he that are Ordained by Man may be changed by Man but those things that are Instituted by God are not to be changed but by Gods appointment As to their Interpretation of the Council of Florence I Answer That it is is a meer ungrounded shift for the Council gives not the least hint of any such sense but undertakes to assign the Essential matter of Priesthood and to that purpose specifies only the Tradition of the Vessels as the only Essential Matter and mentions nothing else which would be a meer delusion if the Council had judged any thing else to be Essential But Becanus interprets it thus Nota antiqua Concilia assignasse materiam à Christo Institutam Florentinum verò materiam assignasse quam Ecclesia introduxit Note saith Becanus that the Antient Councils assigned the matter Instituted by Christ but the Council of Florence specified the Matter that was introduced by the Church Be it so then the Antient Councils assigned only the Imposition of hands as the Essential Matter of Priesthood but the Council of Florence in the time of those Fathers signified the Tradition of the Vessels and nothing else as the only Essential Matter So that neither the Antient nor Modern Councils ever joyned these two Matters together as parts of the whole by their own Confession But hence it is plain that the Church of Rome hath introduced a New Matter and Forme which Christ never Instituted and yet they hold it Essential Now to their Argument My first Answer is That this is a meer evasion to save them from Shipwrack What ground have they for patching up a Sacramental Matter with two such disparate and heterogeneal pieces What time will they appoint to have the Character imprinted What will this avail them if it should be all granted for none of them will admit the Imposition of Hands alone with its Forme to have a capacity to confer the Order of Priesthood and Imprint the Character therefore they must declare the Ordination of the Greeks to be frustrate who never used any other Matter then the Imposition of Hands But if this alone be sufficient Then what need is there of the Tradition of the Vessels Why should these two parts so different from each other be conjoyned if either of them apart were sufficient My Second Answer is That they could never have made a worse choice then to joyn these two Matters and Formes together in order to constitute the entire Essence of Ordination for both the one and the other are Innovations the one begun about Seven hundred years since the other was introduced about Four hundred and fifty years since so that neither was Instituted by Christ neither recommended by the Apostles neither practised in the Church of God before the times specified From whence then can they derive their Validity My Third Answer is That the last Imposition of Hands with this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins you forgive they are forgiven whose sins you retain they are retained This I say can no way belong to the Essentials of Priesthood because this Matter and Forme are applyed to none but those that have before received the Order of Priesthood and have the Character Imprinted which is manifest because they all said Mass and Consecrated with the Bishop before the application of this Matter and Forme which is not performed till after they have all Received the Communion immediately before the Post-Communion is Read wherefore this Matter and Forme comes too late to have any influence upon the Order of Priesthood but I shall not need spend time in the Proof of this because the Authors of this Objection grant it and only make use of this Matter and Forme to confer the Power of Forgiving and Retaining sins Which being supposed they must rely wholly upon the Tradition of the Vessels for conferring upon the Ordained the Spiritual Power of Priesthood and enabling him to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and to offer Sacrifice and for Imprinting the Character c. all which the touching of the Vessels with its Forme can never accomplish because here is nothing at all of Christ's Institution no Imposition of Hands doth any way concur to this So that we have here the Power of Priesthood conferr'd with the Character and yet without any Imposition of Hands and hereby this Opinion agrees with the First Objection which excludes all Imposition of Hands and therefore must of necessity condemn the Greek Church who never use any other Matter of Ordination then the Imposition of Hands And yet the main drift of these Objections is to save the Validity of the Greeks Ordinations so as not to destroy their own And that the Power of Consecrating the Body and Blood of Christ is the
Instruments which in these present circumstances is no proofe at all especially to one who impugnes them all For this is no Argument their Opinions are false ergo mine is true How easily is it Answered that they are all false both his and theirs except the contrary be proved But he endeavors to prove his Opinion by the Autority of the Council of Trent Sess 14. C. 3. where the Council Orders the Ministers of Extreame Unction to be only Bishops aut Sacerdotes ab ipsis rite Ordinatos per Impositionem manuum Presbyterii or else Priests by them Ordained by the Imposition of the Hands of the Presbytery which refers to none but the Second Imposition of Hands according to the Roman Pontifical for in this alone the Bishop joyns his Right Hand with the other Priests upon the head of the Ordained In this Opinion Morinus is singular for I find no Author that holds it but himself neither is it probable that the Validity of Ordination in the Church of Rome must rely upon the Autority of one single Author who is a better Historian then Divine in opposition to all other Authors Wherefore my First Answer is That this Imposition of Hands which Morinus insists upon cannot validly confer the Order of Priesthood for want of an intention in the Minister to confer it hereby For no Bishop that Ordains can prudently intend to Ordain by this Imposition of Hands only neither can the Church intend it First Because there is but one Author that holds it all the Divines being wholly against it asserting it to be only an accidental Ceremony preparative to the collation of Order but not at all belonging to the Essence of it For the greatest part of Divines and common perswasion of the Church of Rome admit no Imposition of Hands at all as belonging to the substance of Ordination but place the whole Essence thereof in the Touching the Instruments and their Forme Others that allow to the Imposition of Hands a partial concurrence together with the Tradition of the Vessels yet none of them make choice of this Imposition of Hands but they all attribute this partial vertue to the Third Imposition of Hands after Communion with this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum quorum remiseritis c. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins c. Secondly Because if the Church or the Ordainer should intend Ordination of Priests to be conferr'd by this Imposition of Hands and the Prayer that accompanys it as the total and compleat Essence and substance thereof they would thereby render the exhibiting of the Instruments and their Forme wholly useless which would reflect upon the Churches Prudence and Discretion in introducing them for no other necessity of this superinduction contrary to the constant practise of Antiquity can be groundedly assign'd but to be an adequate or a partial cause of Priesthood My Second Answer is That the Forme which accompanyeth the tendering of the Instruments doth so plainly so expresly and so explicitely signifie the Order of Priesthood to be thereby conferr'd that no Ordainer that is in his right wits can any way doubt of it or call it in question but that the Church by adding this Matter and Forme intended thereby to confer to the Ordained the power of offering Sacrifice wherein they place the Essence of Priesthood if then this power were given the Ordained before by that Second Imposition of Hands the Ordainer if he understands what he says must volens nolens confer that power over again to the same Ordained which is a Sacriledge neither can the Church who introduced it avoid this inconvenience For Reordination was by a never interrupted Tradition prohibited in the Church of God So in the Canons of the Apostles Canon Apost 68. Si quis Episcopus vel Presbyter vel Diaconus Secundam Ordinationem ab alio receperit deponatur ipse qui Ordinavit c. If any Bishop Priest or Deacon do receive from another a Second Ordination let him be deposed and he that Ordained him The same is Taught by the Council of Trent in these words Trid. Sess 7 Can. 9. Si quis dixerit tribus Sacramentis Baptismo scilicet Confirmatione Ordinatione non imprimi Characterem in anima hoc est signum quoddam Spirituale indelebile unde ea iterari non possunt Anathema sit If any one shall say That in Three Sacraments namely Baptisme Confirmation and Ordination there is not a Character imprinted in the Soul that is a certain Spiritual and indeleble sign by means whereof they cannot be reiterated let him be Accursed St. Cyprian de ablutione pedum cites an antient Author speaking thus Nemo Sacros Ordines semel datos renovat iterum c. quia contumelia esset Spiritui Sancto si evacuari posset quod ille Sanctificat c. None renews again Holy Orders that are once given because it would be a contumely to the Holy Ghost if that should be evacuated which he hath Sanctified But I need not insist upon this because they all grant it Hence it insues That though the Roman Ritual should contain all the Essentials of Ordination yet this would not evince the Validity of it First Because they reject that which is Essential as a meer circumstantial Ceremony inductive to Priesthood and consequently have no intention to confer the Order by it Which intention is a necessary condition sine qua non without which no Order can be Validly conferr'd as they all Teach and is defined by the Council of Florence as you may see above in the Fourth Section and the Second Proofe Secondly Because they have introduced a new Matter and Forme never Instituted by Christ nor ever mentioned by the Apostles nor the Primitive Church by which they intend the Collation of Priesthood Wherefore should the Priestly Power be conferr'd by that Second Imposition of Hands then in every Ordination there would be a Sacrilegious attempt of Reordaining A Seventh Objection Though the Church of Rome approves of the Tradition of the Vessels with its proper Forme yet it so allows it as not to exclude the Imposition of Hands and therefore the Ordination is Valid and no way repugnant to Christ's Institution for this additional Matter and Forme is but a thing indifferent to the other parts of Ordination and therefore cannot be prejudicial to them for as Gratian observes Vtile per inutile non vitiatur A useless addition cannot vitiate that which is useful Wherefore Tridem Sess 21. C. 3. according to the Council of Trent Agnoscens Sancta mater Ecclesia suam in Administratione Sacramentorum autoritatem The Holy Mother the Church well knowing the power she hath in the Administration of Sacraments she may add diminish or alter as incident occasions and circumstances shall require still retaining the Essentials To this I Reply That this Objection is already Answered in the Solution of the precedent Objection Only this layes an Aspersion upon the Church for introducing into
Priests puts his Hands upon the Head of him that is to be Ordained he pronounceth this Forme Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the Imposition of our Hands Whose sins thou dost forgive they are forgiven and whose sins thou dost retain they are retained Aud be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of his Holy Sacraments in the Name of the Father c. Here are both the Essentials duely applyed and punctually observed Whereas the Church of Rome applyes neither as an Essential part and therefore their Ordination of Priests according to their own Doctrine can in no way be Valid SECT IX Consectaries drawn from the Proofes of the precedent Assertion HOw many false Aspertions and querulous Cavillations have been raised by the Jesuits and other Romanists against the Bishops of the Church of England under that frivolous pretence of their being Consecrated at the Naggs head Tavern in Cheapside by one single Bishop or at most by two and they not Canonically Elected and Consecrated in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign All which were false and Malitious Calumnies invented for no other end then to depress the Autority of the Bishops of England thereby to facilitate their access to draw Proselites from the Church of England and seduce them to their Communion Which scandalous and ungrounded Comments have been fully Answered and the Canonical Ordination and Consecration of the Bishops of England cleerly vindicated from the false Imputation of all such Detracters by that Worthy and Learned Prelate John Bramhall D. D. and late Lord Primate of Ireland But What judgment shall we frame of the Ordination of Bishops and Priests in the Church of Rome there being at present neither Pope nor Cardinal nor Bishop nor Priest but such as have been Ordained according to their new Model of Ordination we shall not need here to have recourse to frivolous and feigned Stories where such grounded Truths strike at the very Essentials of their Ordination and evince the invalidity thereof Neither can they raise a Battery of Arguments against us without destroying themselves for the Proofes of the nullity of their Ordination are grounded on their own Doctrine They all Teach That Ordination is a Sacrament Instituted by Christ. The Council of Trent hath defined it so to be as we see above Sect. 7. They all assert the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments to be determined by Divine Autority which Suarez saith is de fide See their words Sect. 6. They hold moreover that any substantial change either in Matter or Forme renders the Sacrament invalid 3 Part. Tom. 3. D. 2. S. 4. Si mutatio materiae aut formae Essentialis seu substantialis sit nullum essicitur Sacramentum saith Suarez which is the current opinion of their other Divines It is likewise certain that the matter which they use in the Collation of Priesthood is essentially and more then Specifically different from the matter which Christ Instituted and which was constantly used in Ordinations many Centuries after Christ before Ordination was new molded It is also certain that the Forme of Ordination determined by Christ and a long time in use in the Church is now utterly rejected and cast out All this being duely ponder'd we must of necessity conclude that their Ordination is invalid except some other grounded expedient can be found out and proved to uphold the validity of their Ordination which hitherto I cannot discover but wish I could But no quibbles nor quirkes nor nice distinctions can any way avail them for the matter of Fact is uncontroleable and the Doctrinal part is evidenced by their own Words and Writings which it is now too late to retract It is time therefore for them seriously to consider what expedient may be found out to reinvalidate their Ordination and to qualifie themselves so as they may be in a capacity to prevent this grand inconvenience for the future for this shakes the very foundation and renders the whole Hierarchy of their Church ruinous If there are no Priests there can be no Bishops since Episcopacy is no new Order superadded but only a farther extension of the Order and Character of Priesthood as they teach well then may the Bishops exercise their potestatem jurisdictionis but can no way exercise nor communicate to others their potestatem Ordinis for none can exercise nor confer upon another a power which he neither formally nor virtually nor radically contains in himself jure communi but their Jurisdiction they distinguish from the Order of Presbitery since divers Bishops and Cardinals in the Church of Rome are only Deacons or Subdeacons and yet their Jurisdiction is as ample and hath as great an extension as if they were Priests who commonly make use of other Suffraganean Bishops to Officiate Confirm and confer Orders in their Diocess Hence it ensues that those putative Bishops which are presumed to be Canonically indued with Presbytery and Episcopacy yet in reality are not so when they personally exercise the Functions of Episcopacy their Confirmation is void yea their very Consecration of Chrisme and other Holy Oyles is of no effect but after Consecration they retain nothing but the Natural Elements of Oyle and Balsome as they were before and so are uncapable of rendring any Spiritual Emolument to those to whom they are applyed their Imposition of Hands and Benedictions are no way available to the Confirmed no more than if they were performed by a Lay-person for where the radical power of Order is wanting none of these Spiritual and Supernatural effects can ensue And when they Officiate in Mass and attempt to Consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and having Consecrated the Hoaste they kneel down to adore it and then elevate it and shew it to the People that they also may adore it both they themselves and many Thousands of the People do daily commit at least a Material Idolatry though it may be that Invincible Ignorance may excuse them from a Formal one for they exhibit a worship of Latria to a supposed Deity under the species of Bread when in reality no such Deity is there so as they give to the meer substance of Bread a Worship due to God alone And this is daily repeated thorough the whole extent of the Roman Jurisdiction And the same happens when any other inferior Priest Officiates for the Order of Priesthood is equally defective in them all and where there is no power of Order to qualifie them for Consecration this must of necessity be void So when they administer the Communion to the People who present themselves in hopes to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and consequently those Graces which from thence accrew to the worthy Receivers Poor Souls How are they deluded and their hopes frustrated for whereas they came full fraught withthe expectation of Spiritual and Supernatural Graces they are dismist with a bare