threatned those of his owne Kingdome to the end they might subscribe to his wicked passion Act of Parl. an 1. Mariae c. 1. and because the Pope refused to doe the same Henry declared himselfe Pope in his owne Dominions and all others to be Traitors that refused to sweare his supremacy And because many refused to damne their soules by knowne perjury he tooke away their lives amongst others that suffered death for refusing the oath were two Cardinals three Bishops thirteen Abbots Priors David Camer Scot. lib. 4. c. 1. Monkes and Priests five hundred Archdeacons fourteen Canons threesoore Doctors fifty Dukes Marqueses and Earles with their children twelve Barons and Knights twenty nine Gentlemen three hundred thirty six Citizens a hundred thirty foure Women of quality a hundred and ten In this Ocean of innocent and noble bloud was laid the first stone and fundation of the English Protestant Church it s no mervaile that it thrived no better 2 Notwithstanding Henry the VIII wickednesse he never permitted any new Sects to be professed in England during his reigne though many crept in by Cranmers negligence and connivance In the latter end of his reigne he felt the remorse of his guilty conscience and did often resolve with himselfe to be reconciled to the Church of Rome but know not how it might be done with his honour which he preferred before that of God and the salvation of his soule even in his last sicknesse for sending to Stephen Gardiner Bishop of Wâ—…ester who was the onely man that durst speake truth to the King for his advice he exhortâ—d him to declare and recant his errour in Parliament if God would give him life if not to testifie repentance with his hand and seale assuring him that God would accept his good will if time were wanting to performe what he desired This was resolved upon but as soone as Gardiner departed he fell of from his pious resolution and within a short time dyed despairing of Gods mercy because quoth he I never spared man in my wrath nor woman in my lust His last words were All is lost The greatest Policy and Majesty upon earth comes at length to be nothing and repentance differed doth commonly end in despaire and damnation 3 To King Henry the VIII succeeded in his Kingdome and Headship of the Church his sonne Edward the VI. a child of 9. yeares old His tender age was a faire oportunity for heresy and policy to conspire against Catholick Religion which had never beene suppressed in England untill that time His Uncle and Protector Seamor declared himselfe a Zwinglian and established that Sect in England by Act of Parliament but could not exclude the name of Bishops that had beene so much reverenced in the Nation since it was converted to Christianity though they looked upon the Ordination both of Priests and Bishops as upon a superstition of Rome and badge of Antichrist Witnesse their translating in the Bible Ordination by imposition of hands as Saint Hierome D. Greg. Martin in his Discovery of the corruptions of holy Scriptures by English Sectaries chap. 6. and all the Fathers doe the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ordination by election and for the word Priest they alwayes translated Elder for Priesthood Eldership Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury who ought to have opposed these wicked practises did accommodate himselfe to the times and prevailing party in King Henryes time he writ a booke in defence of the reall presence and now in King Edwards time he writ another against it both which bookes Bishop Bonner of London produced to his face Fox pag. 1200. col 1. num 2. Persons cap. 7. num 32. when Cranmer and Ridley were sitting in judgement against him to deprive him of his Bishoprick 4 After that the Zwinglian Clergy of England had corrupted Scripture and wrested both words and sense to their owne hereticall and mad fancies they composed their book of Common prayer and instituted a new forme of making Priest and Bishops which was rather a declaration and protestation against holy Orders then a manifestation or the Ordainers power and intention or of the effects of that Sacrament It s a received principle amongst all men who knowe any thing that a Bishop or Priest cannot be validly consecrated without words involving the name or at least the particular power and authority of a Bishop or Priest in the English forme of Ordination the names are not mentioned and the power or authority is not so much as insinuated The power and authority of a Priest must involve power to make Christs Body and Blond really present as our English Protestant Doctors now confesse whether with or without Transubstantiation is not the controversy let them examine whether any such power be mentioned in their forme which is this Receive the holy Ghost English Rituall printed at London 1607. whofe sinnes thou doest forgive they are forgiven and whofe sinnes thou doest retaine they are retained and be thou a faithfull Dispenser of the Word of God and his holy Sacraments in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost To dispense ot minister â—he Sacraments come farre short of declaring power to consecrate the elements or make present Christs Body Deacons did minister and dispense the Body of Christ to the people in ancient times but were never thought to have power to consecrate or make present Christs Body and Bloud They have no reason to cite Santa Clara in their behalf Franc. à S. Clara in exposit paraphr Confess Anglic. artic 36. I knowe not his intention but I am sure his words favour not their Ordination and much lesse these of Innocent the IV. Sussiceret Ordinatori dicere sis Sacerdos vel alia aequipollentia Be thou a Priest or some words equivalent but they who blotted the word Priest out of Scripture never thought to make use of it in the forme of their Ordination and they who denyed the reall presence were farre from expressing in their forme of making Priests any power to consecrate or make present Christs Body and Bloud in the Sacrament and Sacrifice of the Altar 5 Their forme of making Bishops is no lesse deficient then the former The words are Take the holy Ghost and remember that thou stirre up the grace of God which is in thee by imposition of hands for God hath not given us the spirit of feare but of power love and sobernesse This advertisement of Saint Paul to Timothy after he had made him Bishop doth suppose 2. ad Tim. 1. and not give the Order of Episcopacy it is an admonition to exercise the function and not the ordination it selfe because it doth not declare in particular the name or authority of a Bishop Take the holy Ghost is said to Priests as well as to Bishops and the spirit of love power and sobernesse is communicated also by Priesthood Here is nothing peculiar to Episcopall Ordination But the truth is
France now with Spaine because they are not able to stand upon their owne legs When the petty Church of England cannot defend it selfe against Catholick arguments then they side with Puritans or any others that will take them into protection and when Puritans and other Hereticks reject them then they pretend to be the same thing with us and goe by the name of Catholicks which becommeth them as ill and no lesse ridiculously then Spanish attire doth a Frenchman The title of supreme Head of the Church so spiritualized in Queene Elizabeths that she dispensed with all invalidities of Ordination and in King Iames that he dispensed with Abbats of Canterbury his irregularity when shooting at a Buck he killed a man was in King Charles his dayes limited onely to temporall affaires and all spirituall functions declared to he out of the supremacies reach and clement But rather then it shall be restored back againe to the Pope some of their chiefe Doctors bestow it upon the Sea of Saint David or some other Welch Bishoprick by reason of their obstinacy against Saint Augustin the Apostle of the Saxons who commanded the ancient Brittans to accommodate themselves to the Roman Church in celebrating Easter wherein alone they differed from it And the maine argument now alleaged for the old Brittains or Welchmens independency of the Sea of Rome is a Welch proverbe which for my ignorance of the language I cannot explaine but onely assure you that it was no more then a Welch proverbe and in all likelyhood of late date since the beginning of moderne heresies 7 Other Doctors of the English Church thinking it more for their honour and interest to have an independent Patriarch rather at Canterbury then in Wales were eager to comply with Master Lauds ambition by whom they might be exempted from dependence of Rome whence for themselves they could expect no preferment and exalted above the despicable and miserable tribe of Puritanicall pensionary Ministers Whereupon they framed a new Idea of a Nationall Faith as we see of Nationall fashions endeavouring To perswade the ignorant that a Nationall Synod of England alone was sussicient to frame a Faith and to shew the way for English men to take in their journey to heaven but this appearing ridiculous that Faith being universall to mankinde should be shaped to the severall fashions fancies customes and interests of different Nations they were forced for meere shame to appeale to Oecumenicall or universall Councells yet finding themselves in many of them plainely condemned they appealed to the foure first not as discovering in them any more ground of assurance then in others following bâ—t because they treated of matters that are not disputed in these times or at least amongst such as they regard For in those time there was no man so fond or foolish as to call our present controversies in question But upon further instance made against them that Christ had left meanes to confute errours emergent in ages following as well as in former and consequently it being no lesse possible that Luther Calvin Tindal and Fox might as well broach Heretick doctrines as Arrius Eutyches Eunomius and Nestor they were forced to admit the necessity of generall Councells in these our present and future ages Whereupon seeing themselves engaged to fall under the Censure of the Councells of Lateran and Trent which were as universall as by all humane industry could possibly considering the circumstances of time be procured and were as universally accepted as to points of doctrine as can be required and with much lesse opposition then some of the first foure which Protestants themselves are pleased to accept of there was no other remedy left to shuune their returning to Rome where they knew there was more wit then to trust men of no Religion in Ecclesiasticall government but to frame a Chimaera of a Councell morally impossible consisting of a joynt Assembly of those Patriarchs and subordinate Churches which for their long education in confessed heresy and strict subjection to the Turkes tyranny a jealous enemy of Christian Assemblies were sure never to be got together in the meane time which time they confided would serve their turne they perswaded the people to a superficiall acquiescence in the publick government and thereby in themselves without any regard to the substance of interiour intellectuall Faith and submission of judgement whereupon the worke of our salvation is built 8 They were no lesse cautious in avoyding the Censure of generall Councells then in determining that Doctrine which they pretended might onely be censured being resolved to have two strings to their bowe Upon this score they admit and absurdly apply the distinction of articles of Christian Religion into fundamentall and not fundamentall and to call that alone a fundamentall article of Faith which no Heretick ever denyed Whosoever say they doth confesse that IESVS is the Sonne of God is a Catholick and hath as much Faith as is necessary for salvation provided he doth professe to believe the Apostles and Athanasian Creed which he may interpret as he thinks most for his conveniency As for all other articles of Faith controverted betweene the Roman Catholick Church and Sectaries they looke upon them as we Catholicks doe upon some schoole speculations rather impertinent then profitable or necessary Hence you may gather that the Protestant Church of England is more beholding to their Neighbours for the little they yet retaine of Christian Religion then to their owne Doctors and Preachers the multitude and consent of believers in some generall points of Christianity is the motive of their beliefe and therefore it s meerly historicall grounded upon humane persuasion and not upon supernaturall inspiration If Protestants had conversed as frequently and familiarly with Turkes and Jewes as with Christians the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation would be esteemed no more necessary or fundamentall then that of Transubstantiation Truly Mahomets story of his familiar commerce with the holy Ghost in the shape of a Dove is every jot as probable as Luthers extraordinary vocation to reforme the Doctrine of the Church or Calvins fantasticall private spirit and would be no lesse credited by Protestants if to them it were as frequently and advantagiously recounted they would content themselves with believing that there is but one God Creator and Remunerator of mankinde 9 This want of supernaturall Faith and Christian Religion was not discovered by many who were much taken with the exteriour formalities and splendour of the English Protestant Church which looked as fresh and faire as the aples of Sodome and Gomorrha thougb in the inside all was trash and ashes it was a well adorned sepulchre of dead soules without Faith stuffed with stinking Atheisticall principles and abominable corruptions the Court seemed to be zealous for the Church and the Church for the Court but neither for God and true Religion policy and ignorance had the greatest share in their designes and decrees Heresy being thus raised to
forced to retire to a village and gaine his living by cutting wood and selling fagots a dangerous occupation for an Hererick if it were in Spaine or Italy where his fuel would be applied to his owne use At length being weary of that life he cast himselfe into Zwinglius his hands and opinions He is said to be the first Priest that married to celebrate his Nuptials with greater solemnity he writ to a Nobleman his neighbour desiring him to send him some venison and the Nobleman very discreetly sent him the head of an asse well dressed and baked for a buck the mistake was not perceived untill the yong couple had eaten so much of the supposed venison that they fell to pick crummes and at length to picke the asses eares to their great confusion laughter of the company and extraordinary contentment of him that sent the present good enough for so sacrilegious a feast and solemnity The Lutheran writers say that Carolstadius in his last Sermon did see the Devill who came to applaude his Doctrine and three dayes after being sick he came to fetch his person the Sacramentarians deny this story but Catholicks believe that he is gone to the Devill though they will not dispute whether the Devill came to see him in his last Sermon or sicknesse 4 Oecolampadius was a Priest and a Monke of Saint Brigits order infamous for being convinced of so notorious lyes in his writings He married a woman that was thought to have murthered him but others write that his friends injured the woman by casting this aspersion upon her and that he was strangled by the Devill its certaine he was found unexpectedly dead in his bed at Basile where he is enterred with this Epitaph Auctor Euangelicea doctrinae in hac urbe Templi ejus verus Episcopus These are the Apostles of all who deny the reall presence They were so vaine and ambitious of being esteemed Authors of new Religions that though all three agreed in the substance of their errour yet every one would needs maintaine it upon a different word and ground from the rest Carolstadius denyed the reall presence because he said that the word Hoc This was not referred by Christ our Saviour to what he had in his hands but onely to himselfe as sitting at the table Zwinglius laid hold of the word Est is and interpreted it significat signifieth my body thrusting into the very text signifieth and taking out is Oecolampadius grounded his fantasticall errour upon the word Corpus Body which he interpreted figura corporis a figure of the body not according to the language of Tertullian but as if the figure did exclude the reality of a body contrary to Tertullians phrase and doctrine as Pamelius in his Comments upon him doth plainely shew by many examples Thus we see how three Sycophants have rendred to their followers the words of God not onely inessicacious but wholly unsignificant and how the most absurd dreames of a distempered braine worke upon simple people and how apt Polititians are to worke their ends with thefe mad fancies my Reader may see in the Protector Seamour who brought into England this Zwinglian Religion and I will declare when I speake of the English Church in Edward the Sixth his time SECT IV. Of Calvinisme 1 THe Sect whereof Princes can make least advantage is this which now I am to describe because it was invented by Calvin to make himself Prince of Geneva and not to humor Monarchs he being confined to a towne where popular governmeÌ„t prevailed to which at length he accommodated his discipline contrary to his owne inclination and first designe Iohn Calvin therefore meanly borne in Noyon of Picardy hearing how many of his ranke had made fortunes by inventing new Religions and how easy it was to apply texts of Scripture to humane fancies resolved to sollow the steps of Luther Zwinglius and others especially after that he despaired to satisfie his ambition amongst the Catholick Clergy being branded with an infamous marke for Sodomy in his owne Countrey a truth so undeniable that his great friend and champion Whitaker speaking in his defence against learned and eloquent Campian who in his ten Reasons termed Calvin stigmaticus perfuga a branded spirit Whitak answ to Campians reasons printed 1582. sol 7â— gives this witty and pious answer si stigimaticus fuit fuit etiam Paulus fuerunt alij It was never heard that Saint Paul was branded with an infamous marke before and if Whitaker means not to disfame Saint Paul by making him as infamous as Calvin but onely compares the signes of Christs wounds which he had in his his body to Calvins marke he gaines nothing by his evasion but rather augments his malice and blasphemy Calvins first Master inheresy was Melchior Wolmar a German Lutheran though others attribute this honour to one Robert his owne kinsman Being suspected of heresy he retired to Angolesme where he went by the name of Deparcan and there remained three yeares studying hereticall bookes out of which he copiâ—â—â— hâ—s Institutions and the greatest part out of the workes of Melanchton and Hyperius Sapoerius yet Westphalus the Lutheran saith he stole all from Oecolampudius its certaine he never learnt Divinity in any Schoole such as it was either he stole from others or had it by private inspiration from his Master the Devill He communicated his erroneous opinions to Lewis Tiluis a Canon of Angolesme and his singular benefactor who liked well of them but desired Calvin to accompany him to Germany and there they both would conferre with the Authors themselves of so new Doctrine Tiluis was recalled from his way both to Germany and to Hell by a brother of his called Iohn of no small accompt in the Court of France but Calvin went on his journey and remained in Germany waiting upon one Rufus his Countreyman and a perverse heretike by whose meanes he became acquainted with all the German Reformers 2 Having by his conference with many dived into the ground of their errours and resolved to follow the Zwinglian Doctrine though not altogether his thoughts now were busied to finde out a place where he might with security divulge his heresy without being subordinate to any other heretike or Reformation He fixed upon Ferrara in Italy but could not long remaine notwithstanding that the Dutchesse the French Kings sister did incline to protect him At Liege he was refused entertainment and so was forced to returne into France and live privatly at Poitiers It happened that walking there in a garden he fell into discourse of the new Religions with some more curious then learned the question was whether Luther his opinion was more tolerable in matter of the Sacrament then that of Zwinglius Calvin laid hold of this opportunity to declare his owne condemning both the former He affirmed that Christ was not realy present in the Sacrament as Luther imagined neither was he realy absent as Zwinglius pretended that there was