understand it Mystically or reject those expressions as false and incongruous And it is also observable in other places when some of them fly higher in their Rhetorical expressions and to enflame the Zeal or to raise the Devotion of their Auditors who were apt to think too grosly of this Sacred Ordinance seem to express this change which you desire I say it is observable that they often speak not only beyond the truth and all that we believe but even the very utmost that you your selves will own and consequently there is no reliance upon such expressions as shew not the Faith but the Fancy of their Author Nay although it is apparent that the Roman Missal hath been alter'd since the days of St. Ambrose to make it more conformable to your present Doctrin Yet there is a memorable expression still retained in it in the very Prayer of Consecration wherein the Ancient Doctrin is sufficiently apparent For it is certain that no Man wou'd ever pray to God to grant him less than he expected to receive and yet it is obvious that although they pretend to a Transubstantiation yet they desire no more there than what we Pray for who do not believe it Their words are these Quam oblationem tu Deus in omnibus quaesumus ut benedictam c. Facere digneris ut nobis corpus sanguis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui c. Which Oblation we beseech thee O God to vouchsafe to render blessed c. that it may become to us the Body and Blood of thy most Beloved Son c. Since then the difference on debate is this whether the Elements in the Sacrament are changed as to their substance and so really made the Body and Blood of Christ in se in themselves as the Church of Rome asserteth or whether without any such Change or Alteration of their Substance they become Spiritually or Sacramentally so Nobis to us who do Receive by Faith the Body and Blood of Christ in them as the Church of England doth express it I say it is sufficiently apparent that the Composers of the Roman Missal have delivered their Opinion for us to be the same with that of the Church of England and not with the present Church of Rome So that the Ancient Doctrin of that Church is evidently for us and whatever is profest in point of Faith upon other occasions yet the truth in this place so far prevaileth as to be openly asserted whenever Mass is Celebrated among you § 13. But lastly this is not only the voice of Men but agreeable to the Declaration of Christ himself who directs all Christians not to understand him on this subject in a Literal Sense but to expound his words Spiritually as containing a Mystery For in the sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel he is very express as to the nature and design of this his Holy Institution as most of the Ancient Doctors have always understood him though Bellarmine for special Reasons is of another Opinion insomuch that if any Text of Scripture soundeth fair for Transubstantiation it is to be lookt for in that Chapter But we find in the conclusion that this was never intended by our Saviour For when his Disciples were offended at his Doctrin apprehending foolishly as St. Augustine observes that they must be Canibals in order to be Christians as if the eating of humane flesh was to be a Rite in their Religion he rectifies their thoughts and explains his meaning fully v 63. saying it is the Spirit that quickneth the Flesh profiteth nothing The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are Life that is as St. Augustine expounds it they are spiritually to be understood by you as containing a Mystery that will hereafter be apparent in the Institution of a Sacrament that will explain them And therefore it is observable that St. Paul calls the Eucharist Bread and not the Body of Christ but as it is received The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ For me being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread 1 Cor. x. 16 17. and in the following Chapter v. 26 27 28. even after an account given of the Consecration of it yet he is still express in calling it Bread and if words are to be understood always in a literal sense when no absurdity doth follow the Missal saith the same thing in the Prayer after Consecration calling it Panem sanctum vitae aeternae the Holy Bread of Eternal Life All which would strangely derogate from the nature of the thing if it were Christ's Body and not Bread which they discourse of But this is confirmed beyond all disputation by that expression of our Saviour at the Institution of it Do this in remembrance of me For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's Death 'till come 1 Cor. xi 26. Since first it contradicts the common form of speaking to remember a present Object that stands before us when we cannot make Reflections thus but upon absent things And secondly if Christ should actually come whenever the Sacrament is Administred then that Holy Institution is no longer to continue being to determine on our Saviour's coming especially when we know that it is no ravity even in the Scripture for a thing that represents or signifies another to bear the name or title of the thing represented § 14. If then Sir there is no advantage to a Christian in the Carnal Manducation of the Body of Christ as I suppose you will confess and it is â—vident to all Men that in point of Faith and as a Sacrifice the Body and Blood of Christ are as really and truly received by the Faithful in the Church of England as in the Church of Rome You must needs acknowledge then that in this Point of Faith and Worship you have gotten no advantage by the change of your Religion but rather on the contrary in the Rules of your Devotion you hazard your Salvation upon an Opinion that may be false and more than probably is so for none not the least advantage if it should be true For if those Elements should not be changed by their Consecration according to your Fancy and you know that besides all the reasons that can be offered against it there are a multitude of Circumstances that may obstruct their Change grosser Idolatry cannot be committed than Men are daily guilty of in Worshiping the Host And if you will believe Câ—nsterus in his judgement on the Case and it is reasonable to allow him well acquainted with your Doctrin you will find that your Publick Devotion in this point of Worship doth exceed the very Heathens in their greatest Idolatry And yet on the other hand if those Elements should â—e changed as you unreasonably believe but no Man can prove by solid Argument it is
to the nature of Man or to the justice of God especially if he should punish us for being so deceived I refer to any Man of reason to determine I will not trouble you with the recital of any of those Arguments which demonstrate this Change to be impossible and that the Doctrin doth imply so many contradictions that it is no proper Object for Almighty Power But this I must desire you to observe that if a substantial change were made of the Elements by the words of Consecration then the act of the Apostles was manifestly different from the command of Christ whereon it was founded For nothing can be clearer from the Text than that our Saviour gave the Bread and commanded them to take and eat that is Bread the words of its Consecration being not yet pronounced If then they did eat another substance and not Bread who can truly say that they fulfilled the Commandment of the Lord or Received the Sacrament according to his order § 10. As to the Design in this most Sacred Institution it appears to be the same in relation unto Christians as that of the Passover was unto the Jews That as they did believe in a Messias that was to come and of whom their Sacrifices were but Types and Shadows and so were partakers of the Sacrifice that he was to offer by eating of those Sacrifices that did Typically represent it So we that now believe in a Messias already come should in a parallel manner become Partakers of the same Oblation and by an external act like unto what they did in every Circumstance we should obtain the benefit of that propitiatory Sacrifice and really and truly be made Partakers of it And therefore our Saviour Christ appointed that Bread and Wine should be received by his Disciples in the place and stead of his Body and Blood which were the real Sacrifice that he offered unto God for Man and very improper things to be actually eaten or drank by Christians and therefore he calls the Bread his Body and the Wine his Blood not as being really the things themselves but as Instituted by him to represent them to us So that by a due participation of these Creatures according unto Christ's appointment it is certain that all Christians are partakers of that Sacrifice which he offer'd to God for them and the Bread and Wine being duly Consecrated and Received in the nature of a Sacrament the Body and Blood of Christ is really and truly received by the Faithful in them not that the Elements are changed in themselves or that there is any real alteration of their substance but the act is Spiritual in respect of the Receivers who take them not for Food but as a Mystery in Religion and therefore they do not receive them in their common notion as they are Bread and Wine that is proper Food to nourish or sustain the Body but as they represent the Body and Blood of Christ and are appropriated by Faith to nourish and support the Soul And since then this Sacrament was ordained to become a Sacrifice to Christians as St. Augustinâ— tell us and that those Patriarchs of old who believed in a Messias that was to come were as actual Partakers of that Sacrifice which he hath offered as we can be For they all eat the same spiritual Meat and they all drank the same spiritual Drink 1 Cor. x. 3. Neither is there Salvation in any other Acts iv 12. And yet it was impossible that they should eat the Flesh of Christ and drink his Blood according to the Letter because his Body was not framed yet nor actually born It is therefore rational to conclude that we are still Partakers of the Body and Blood of Christ in the same manner that they were not in a Literal but a Spiritual participation Since the reception of them by Faith only was fully sufficient to the Salvation of the one and therefore is all that is necessary to the Salvation of the other § 11. And this gives us a fair light into the reason or occasion of this Figurative Expression in that the Sacrament of the Eucharist being Instituted by our Saviour in the place of the Jewish Passover which was now to be abolished many of the External Rites were still retained to shew that all those Types are now compleated And therefore as it was usual at the introduction of the Paschal Lamb for the Priest or some other of the Company to tell the People that this is the Lamb that was slain in Egypt when the Lord passed over the houses of our Fathers and slew the Egyptians And again after Supper was ended distributing Bread and Wine to every one in order was wont to tell them This is the Bread of Sorrow which our Fathers eat in Egypt Whereas all Men know that it could not possibly be that very Lamb that was slain nor that very Bread that was eaten in Egypt but another Lamb and other Bread Instituted by God's order in the stead or commemoration of it So our Saviour likewise at the Institution of the Sacrament using the same Phrase upon the like occasion ought to be understood in the same manner of expression And since it was in conformity to their constant way of speaking that when he Instituted Bread and Wine to be Received by Christians in the Commemoration of his own death as that Lamb was of the Passover he said of the Bread This is my Body and of the Wine This is my Blood we are to understand by it no more than if he had told us that they are Elements Sacramentally to be Received in the stead and commemoration of his Body and Blood So that although there is nothing Corporeally upon the Table after the Coâ—â—eâ—ration but the same things that were there before nor eatâ—â— by the Receivers but very Bread with the very same substance that it always had Yet in the notion of a Sacrament and as a Religious Mystery it is not to be received as meer or common Bread by any true or faithful Christian But we verily believe that the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ is actually and truly partaken of in those Elements and as the Church of England Emphatically expresses it The Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and Received by the Faithful in the Lord's-Supper § 12. This you cannot but know to be the Doctrin of the Sacrament as it is received in the Church of England and if you will consult Antiquity you shall find that it hath not only been the general Doctrin of the Universal Church but particularly of the Church of Rome in former Ages For the Antient Fathers generally speak of the Spiritual and Figurative Being of Christ's Body in the Sacrament and do expresly call the same thing at the same time both Bread and the Body of Christ which is impossible to be a truth in the Literal sense and therefore it is necessary to
so no Action whatsoever can be justly lyable to Censure that is either founded on that motive or even tends to that design But it is very unreasonable to find fault with him that shall change his Sentiments of Religion and consequently make an open Profession of it provided that he acts directly upon truly Christian Motives according to a real apprehension of the Truth and a serious Conviction of the Conscience The only thing that in this Case is liable to Censure being a base compliance with the thoughts of other Men or a change of the True Religion upon false inducements since neither God nor Man can be secure of his Fidelity whom Interest can bribe to act against his Conscience It is therefore no small Satisfaction unto me and I believe also to the rest of all your Friends that being well acquainted with your former Conversation we believe your sincerity in all that you have done and that no Temporal advantage the too common spur of mean and fickle Spirits could ever incline your thoughts to entertain a Notion but as you were perswaded of and confided in its Truth So that either the want of a due Consideration in respect of your Motives to believe or some great mistake in your Notion of Religion and that as well in respect of the Faith which you deserted as of that which you embrace have ever appeared to me as the reason of your Change that you should quit those Principles wherein you were Bred for such as upon enquiry can never appear unto you either so Rational or so Christian As it is the duty of every Christian therefore to endeavour the satisfaction of his offended Brother and to rectifie those Errors that have seduc'd him from the Faith so I think my self obliged by the special tyes of Friendship to be peculiarly concerned in your Restitution and not only to discover to you the Sophistry of those Arguments that have imposed upon you but also to explain those Truths wherewith you seem unacquainted For if the account be true which I have had of your Desertion your Motives to leave the Church of England and Embrace the Communion of the Church of Rome were these A desire to live more truly in the Communion of the Catholick Church and to become more Orthodox in your Faith and Worship If then I can make it evident that you were mistaken in both these great Proposals and that a contrary event in both is the sure result of this your undertaking It will be reasonable to expect your Repentance for what you have done and a Reconciliation to that Mother whom you have forsaken § 1. How the first of these Proposals could ever influence your Practice is a very hard thing to be imagined or why you should phansie now that you are more in the Communion of the Catholick Church than you were among us before your Change is really a Conceit that I cannot find the ground of Since the common imposition by the Name of Catholick must be too slight to move a Man of Learning When the Name of Roman Catholick is but an usurpt Title that carries little less than a contradiction in the terms I know indeed there is an Error in the Notion of Church-Government that is too prevalent with many Christians and may possibly seduce them from the Truth of their Religion to submit unto those Laws that can't oblige them And that is That the Government of the Catholick Church on Earth is Originally Monarchical and consequently that the Unity thereof consists in the due subjection of all the Members unto the Dominion of one Universal Bishop So that no Man can be a Christian or in the Communion of the Catholick Church but he that will submit unto the Pope's Authority But in Truth it is fully evident from the Scriptures from the Constitution of the Church and from the practice of all Christians in the Primitive Ages that the Government of the Church on Earth is Aristocratical and that the Unity thereof doth eminently consist in the Communion of all its Members So that every Person that makes Profession of the Christian Faith and lives in the Communion of any particular Church or Society of Christians he is certainly in the Communion of the Catholick Church of Christ and according to the sincerity of his Profession he hath an undoubted Right unto all her Promises For first the Scriptures do expresly tell us that Christ Selected not one alone but twelve Apostles and that he gave them all but one Commission jointly as well as made them by it all equal in Authority That he was so far from constituting one as his Vicar upon Earth with an Absolute Dominion over all his Brethren that he forbad such Ambition as disagreeable with his Laws and Ordained Humility to be their way of Government Ye know saith he Mat. XX. 25. that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority upon them But it shall not be so among you but whosoever will be great among you let him be your Minister And whosoever will be chief among you let him be your Servant Intimating clearly that Ecclesiastical Authority is not like the Dominion of the Gentils which was altogether managed in a Despotical way of Government But as he himself was a pattern of Humility and submitted unto Death for the good of his People so their joint Power should consist in serving others without any pretence unto a Temporal Dominion St. Paul therefore most evidently refers the building of the Body of Christ which is certainly the Catholick Church not to any one but unto the Apostles in the plural number Ephes iv 11 12. and although he was himself the last of all that Order being as he saith 1 Cor. xv 8 9. the least of the Apostles as one that was born out of due time Yet he assures the Galatians Galat. ii 7. that in point of Authority in the Church of Christ he was inferior unto no Man in that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision was committed unto him as that of the Circumcision was to Peter And consequently then St. Peter's Principality if he had any was limited to the Jews that were Converted to the Faith and not extended to the Gentils over whom he ne're presided So that in this pretence of a Succession from the Prince of the Apostles the Pope can have no claim to a Jurisdiction in our Countries except he can derive our Pedigree from those of the Circumcision But to manifest more clearly that the Church of Rome is not the whole Tree or Body of Christians no nor so much as the Root thereof St. Paul not only reckons her among the Branches Rom. xi 17. but doth expresly admonish her not to usurp Dominion as if he were suspicious of her future greatness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Do not boast against or rather do not insult over the Branches But if thou
guilty of no other Crime or Misdemeanour but in coming to the Marriage without a Wedding Garment For it doth not appear that he so much as sat down among the Guests or was any-wise a Partaker of the Wedding Feast But his Indictment is for his presumption in daring to come in without a proper dress and for that alone he was Condemned to misery In the Primitive Church therefore we find this mischief most cautiously prevented and that whenever the Celebration of the Sacrament began one of the Deacons stood up and Exhorted all Persons that were unfit for to receive it to retire So that instead of the common notion that is received among the People that in the Mass a Sacrifice is offered for all that are present at it There is oftner a danger than an advantage in such an attendance and instead of taking away it rather adds unto their Sins Since all Men know that the Sacrament cannot be beneficial but only unto those that worthily receive it as its very Institution Nature and Promises do manifest But it is very injurious unto all Spectators that are not duly qualified for to joyn in the Communion § 17. I could easily run up this my Letter to a Volume with such like Observations upon other Particulars wherein you now profess to differ in Opinion from me As the Administration of the Sacrament in one Kind only directly contrary to our Saviour's Institution Mat. xxvi 27. your Publick Prayers in an unknown tongue against the express Doctrin of St. Paul 1 Cor. xiv 28. your Praying to Saints and Angels in opposition to God's Law and the practice of his Servants Mat. iv 10. Revel xxii 8. and your Worshiping of Images against the express letter of the second Commandment But these are I hope sufficient to my present Design both to discover fully your disadvantage in your change and to clear those mistakes which were the occasion of it To shew you plainly how continually you stand exposed to danger in that Profession wherein you are and that even your own Notions being granted as far as the words can bear yet you are daily guilty of a most grievous Sin and this not altogether in a careless run of irregular practice but in the Solemn Acts of your Publick Devotion and yet all this mischief you have drawn upon you gratis without any the least prospect of an imaginary Benefit there being no advantage which you can pretend to now that you did not as fully and as clearly enjoy before you were perswaded for to alter your Religion I will not therefore press you with any farther Arguments to return to renew your first love and to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance since I have reason to hope that you will never shut your eyes against the light nor obstinately withstand your own Salvation But when you seriously consider and carefully weigh the Arguments that are offered to you and have strictly examined the Principles of your Religion with a Rational indifference and a Christian diligence that that Grace of God that hath influenc'd your former Practice â—ill be now as effective in enlightning your Understanding And since it is no shame to err but to persist in error the one â—eing the product of infirmity but the other of perverseneâ—â— You will demonstrate your sincerity in what you have doâ—e by embracing of the truth on the conviction of your Conscience And that the God of truth may direct you in the right way to Heaven and Happiness and by the influence of his Holy Spirit shew you clearly what is right and what is true and what that Orthodox Divine Faith is which he requires in every Christian This is the hearty and the constant Prayer of SIR Your most Real and Faithful Friend and Servant in Christ R. D. Cork the 29 th of December 1691. Preface 1 Mat. x. 1. Mark iii. 14. 2 Mat. x. 5. John xx 21. 3 Sic me saepissimè sic exposuisse quod à Domino dictum est Tu est Petrus super hanc Petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam ut super hunc intelligeretur quem confessus est Petrus dicens tu es Christus filius Dei vivi ac si Petrus ab hac Petrâ appellatus personam Ecclesiae figuraret quae super hanc Petram aedificatur accepit claves regni coeli Non enim dictum est iâ—â—i tu es Petra sed tu es Petrus Petra autem erat Christus quem confessus Simon sicut tota Ecclesia confitetur dictus est Petrus August Retract l. 1. cap. 21. Tom. 1. col 30. edit Basil 1556. Non enim sine causa inter omnes Apostolos hujus Ecclesiae Catholicae personam sustinet Petrus huic enim Ecclesiae claves regni coelorum datae sunt cùm Petro datae sunt cum ei dicitur ad omnes dicitur amas me Pasce oves meas Ib. de Agon Christ cap. 30. Tom. 3. col 776. Cui S. Petro totius Ecclesiae figuram gerenti Dominus ait super hanc Petram c. Ibid. Epist 165. Tom. 2. Col. 751. 4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vide Euseb Histor Eccl. l. 2. cap. 3. 5 Act. vi 2. The twelve called the multiude of the Disciples unto them and ordained several Deacons to take care of the Poor Acts xv 6. And the Apostles came together for to consider of this matter viz. whether it were necessary for the Gentiles to be Circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses which was afterward determined by them v. 2â— 6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 5. c. 22. de Paschate Etiam de Haeres Arian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Socrat. Hist Eccl. l. 1. cap. 5. 7 Vide Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 4. cap. 15. 22. etiam l. 5. c. 1. 4 23. l. 7. c. 29. 30. 8 Hoc erant utique caeteri Apostoli quod fuit Petrus pari consortio praediti honoris potestatis sed exordium ab unitate proficiscitur Primatus Petro datur â—ratione scilicet ordinis non jurisdictionis ut observatu dignum est ut una Christi Ecclesia una Cathedra monstretur Cyprian de Vnitat Ecclesiae pag. 254. edit Paris 1643. item Episcopatus unus est cujus à singulis in solidum pars tenetur Ib. 9 Vide the Case of Marcioâ— Excommunicated by his Father the Bishop of Synope in Pontus as it is related by Epiphanius And the proceedings of Synesius against Andronicus concerning the Excommunicated Persons in the Church of Pâ—olemais Both which could not be received into the Communion of the Church of Rome without particular Satisfaction in their respective Churches as it is observed by Mr. Thorndike Epilog to the Tragedy of the Church of England l. 1. c. 10. 10 Vide Caranz Sum. Concil Carthaginens pag. 68. edit Rothomag 1655. 11 Praeter Ecclesiae societatem aqua baptismi non valet ad salutem sed potius ad perniciem Augustin contra Manich. Libr. 12. cap. 17.