it is not of the willer nor of the runner but that we be saued it is of God which hath mercie Tenthly to confesse that pardon is geuen to them that aske according to the grace and mercie of God not according to their merites seeing the Apostle sayth that repentance it selfe is the gift of God where he saith of certaine men least God should giue them repentance which catholike faith is contrary to the new religion of Rome in those things First for the preparation vnto grace and workes of condignitie for they say then grace were no grace Secondly for the concurrence of free will to worke with the grace of God so to merite for they giue all to Gods grace and all pardon and saluation to Gods free mercie Loe here christian reader thou seest that the papists can tell vs of the particuler originall of the most part of their trumperie that the old christian churches in their counsels determinations were protestants touching the authoritie of Bishops and prouinces touching mariage eating of flesh priuate masse and receiuing the communion touching the holie scriptures and the reading of them touching weomens Baptisme and appeales to Rome and touching the grace of God freewill and merite therefore the heresie of the church of Rome being gathered since those primatiue times must needs be of a new generation lately sprong vp and come abroad into the worlde 5 And that thou maist yet further see Poperie hath lost the life breath of christianitie how they haue lost the verie life and breath of all religion and so are cleane fallen away from being any member in Christs church and to haue no part in the communion of Saints as in any sort to be called Gods visible people I wil shew thee fiue other points which are fundamentall and so farre of the foundation of christian religion that without them no man can be a mēber visible nor inuisible of the catholike church wherein thou shalt see that the protestant was the ancient true primatiue christian church of God Fiue fundamental points of christianity rased by poperie the papist a verie apostata comming in deed of a contrarie race euen of the very stocke of antechrist The first is of adoring God only the second of the condition of the couenant with God on our behalfe the third of the seales of the couenant the fourth of the writings of the couenant the fift of the soueraigntie and headship of Christ ouer his church And that these are foundamental consider with me that in the * 2. Idolatrie first they breake the spiritual wedlocke with God which giue his worship and honor to idols and images as thou mayst see God in a Cap. 16. Ezechiel complaining and saying Thou hast taken thy faire Iewels of my gold and of my siluer which I had giuen thee and madest to thy self images of men and diddest commit whooredom with thē c. * Merits of workes 2. In the second when they ioine workes and the fulfilling of the commandements with faith for they shut themselues from the righteousnes in the couenant whereby they should reioice with God as the Apostle saith b Rom. 4.2 If Abraham were iustified by workes he hath wherein to reioice but not with God yea they abrogate the grace of God and make Christ die in vaine as the same Apostle teacheth saying c Gal. 2.21 I doo not abrogate the grace of God for if righteousnes be by the law then Christ died without a cause * 3. Sacramēts In the third they annihilate and ouerthrow Christs institution in the seales of the couenant by their transubstantiation and vnbloudie sacrifice adored and make but a fanatical body of Christ and an imaginatie manhood where as Christ saith d 1. Cor. 11.24.25.26 Doe this in remembrance of me and Saint Paul expoundeth it saying As often as yee eate this bread and drinke this cup ye shewe the Lords death till he come For if he bee contained in heauen as Saint Peter e Act. 3. 21. saith till the restoring of al things and that this sacrament is to remember and shewe his death till hee come what is it but a newe institution when they say it is turned into his person and adore him as present and what can that bodie or manhood which is in heauen bee in the sacrament really and corporally any otherwise but in fansie and imagination seeing in the same till he come to iudgement he is in heauen In the * 4. Scriptures fourth they blot out the writinges of the couenant when as Christ a Mat. 15. sayth They make the lawe of God of none effect by their traditions while they equall their own deuises with the written word of God make it in sufficient to saluation and set the church which shoulde bee ruled by it and obedient to it to be aboue it the people aboue the lawe and the ladie vnder the handmaide * 5. Supremacy Lastlie they commit treason against the person of Christ when they set the pope in his place without his assignement that a mortall man shoulde bee head of the vniuersall Church and bodie of Christ For Christ onely is called b Eph. 1.22.28 1. Cor. 3.11 The head in all thinges ouer his Church and the foundation thereof excluding all other Nowe then seeing that there can bee no foundation of Christianitie nor Church of God where the couenant is broken by spirituall whooredome and where there is no reioicing with God and the grace of God and Christ death is made vaine and where the seales of Gods letters patentes and his glorious image which is Christ is defaced and his holie writinges blotted and abased and man aduanced in the chaire of the son of God and office of Christ it must needes followe that they being guiltie in these thinges there cannot bee any part of the visible Church of Christ amongest them I thinke it therefore good to take some more paines in these fiue points that thou maist see howe that in the first primatiue ages the Catholike truth was to be founde amonge the Christian protestants and that the popishe heresie in these pointes came vppe afterwardes to bee openlie seene and closelie grewe vnder them Consider therefore good Christian reader what I say and the Lord giue thee the spirit of true discretion and wisedome in all that thou readest First in the question of adoring God the papist thinke they doo not commit fornication because they haue a fine shift to say they doe not adore the image as to account it their God to put their trust in it but onely reuerence it as a representation of God by bowing before it kissing it praying before it c. they adore him which the image representeth And they thinke themselues verie wel discharged from idolatry seeing their images are not dedicated vnto diuels and false Gods but vnto the true God Christ and his Saints
all writings of Bishops prouinces and generall counsels as vncertain and vnperfect and such as may be amended but lifteth vp the scriptures and writings of the new and olde testament as the onely sure and sufficient truth b De baptism contra Donat. lib. 2. cap. 3. saying Who knoweth not that the holy scripture as well of the olde as of the new testament is contained within certaine boundes and the same to be preferred before all the letters of the bishops comming after as that there can be no doubt dispute of or about it But the letters of Bishops which haue bin written after the confirming of the Canon or are now written may be reprehended both by the speech perauenture more wise of any man more wise in the same thing and by the grauer authoritie of other Bishops prudencie of learned men and by counsels if perauenture any thing in them do erre frō the truth Also counsels which are holden in seuerall regions or prouinces are to giue place without any staggering to the authoritie of fuller counsels which are holden of all the Christian world and those verie fuller councels often the former may be amended by the latter when as by any experience of things that is made knowne which was hidden Cyrillus in that verie age sheweth himselfe in this matter a verie true protestant c Vpon Ioh. 20. cap. 68. saying All things which the Lord hath done are not written but those things which the writers haue thought sufficient as well for maners as doctrine that shining in a right faith and workes and vertue we may come to the kingdome of heauen through our Lord Iesus Christ And Theophilact one of the later writers of the Greekes condescendeth to this doctrine b Vpon 2. Tim. 3. and saith Nihil est quod nequeat scripturis dissolut There is nothing which cannot bee assoiled by the scriptures Here the Christian reader may see that the auncient Christian religion was the same of protestants holding the scripture for the onely Canon of faith the rule of righteousnesse containing all thinges necessarie to saluation most certaine and sure to discerne all truth and able to assoile all dobts and questions and that wee ought to follow no man because Bishops letters the most generall and fullest councels may be amended and that it is onely the holy scripture whereof there can bee no doubt or dispute so that it followeth that it is a new doctrine to say that the Churches authoritie is aboue the scripture or that the Church iudgeth the scripture and not the scripture the Church or that wee neede and must accept with equall reuerence traditions or vnwritten verities and canons of the church without disputing and such like blasphemies Gratian also the compiler of the decrees who c About Ann. 1160. liued in the chiefest growth of corruption did publish to all the world as an ecclesiasticall decree the soueraigntie of holy scripture For speaking of deuine lawes he sheweth the determination of ancient fathers to set the holy scriptures aboue all other lawes whatsoeuer And first aboue all customes in d Distinct 8. ca. Si solus Christus these wordes If Christ onely bee to bee hearde wee are not to regarde what any man before vs thought meete to bee done but what Christ who is before all hath first done For wee must not follow the custome of men but the truth of God seeing God speaketh by Esai the prophet and saith in vaine doe they worshippe mee teaching the commandements and doctrines of men Secondly that it is proper and peculier to the Canonicall scriptures e For so the glosse interpreteth the Canons of the distinction following of the olde and new Testament onely not to erre f Distinct 9. cap. Ego solit saying I haue learned to giue vnto those writinges onely which now are called Canonicall this reuerence and honour that I beleeue that none of them haue erred And againe g Cap. Noli frater Doe not desire brother to gather out of the writings of Bishoppes cauils against so many so excellent and vndoubted testimonies deuine c. Whether they bee ours or Hillarius or Cyprian and Agrippinus before the part of Donatus was seperated And first this kind of letters is to bee distinguished from the authoritie of the Canons for they are not so reade as though a testimonie were so brought out of them that it is not lawfull to thinke contrarie if in any place they vnderstood otherwise then the truth doeth require And againe Neither ought wee to account the disputations of any men whatsoeuer although Catholicke and reuerende men like vnto the Canonicall Scriptures that it shoulde not bee lawfull for vs sauing the reuerence due vnto these men to improoue some thing in their wrytinges and to reiecte it if happely wee shall finde that they thinke or imagine otherwise then the truth hath In the next age after Gratian I finde Bonauentura a Franciscan a man of great account in h De profect◠religiosorū cap. 6. He liued about Ann. 1280. his time with cleare tearmes to teach the doctrine of protestantes in these wordes Nam quod ratio nostra lippa facta est c. Whereas our reason is become as bleare eied our vnderstanding darkened through sinne that wee cannot finde the truth of our selues God came downe vnto vs least we should bee in error and gaue vs the knowledge of the truth in the scriptures which he would haue vs beleeue where we might find sufficiently and truely all thinges necessarie for vs vnto saluation that in them we should not follow our sence but humblie submit our sence vnto the rule of faith if we will not erre Nicholas Lyra in the a 1315. next age protesteth for the scripture in like maner b Vpon the Prouerb ca. 31. saying Sacra scriptura continet firmam c. The holy scripture containeth the firme and inuiolable truth as in a merchants shippe are caried diuers thinges necessarie for mans life so in scripture are contained all things necessarie to saluation But that I ouercloy not the reader with many testimonies for the authority of holy scriptures I wil now turne to the other side to trace the footsteps of the popish doctrine how it came vp that the scriptures hath lost their first authority and honour Surely by the witnesse of the papistes themselues not in 400. or 600. yeares after Christ For then saith the glosse vpon c Vpon distinct 9. cap. noli me 15. Gratian that about the times of Augustine Augustina scripta aliorū sanctorū patrum non erant autentica c. The writings of Augustine and of other holy fathers were not autenticall but d that is about Anno 1200. now they are commanded to be holdē to the vtmost Iod. And this Gratian e Distinct 15. cap. sancta Romana sendeth vs to Gelasius for the first founder of the authoritie of councels
statutes and iudgements Here you see that the prophets hauing the same spirite of truth to leade them and their pen which Moses had in his writings auouch the perfection of Gods word in Moses bookes so farre as they would be vnderstood to doe or speake nothing that should not agree vnto that worde so written and whosoeuer did otherwise had not the light in him Now because Moses and the prophets agreed in their writinges in declaring and making manifest the same truth and word of God which he would haue to be the knowen canon and rule of religion Our Sauiour Christ reiecteth all c Math. 15.3 new deuises writing traditions and customes of men sendeth vs to the d Luk. 16.29 cap. 24.44 law and the prophets bidding vs to e Ioh. 5.39 search the scriptures Which also to bee a most certaine rule Saint Peter saith We haue a most sure worde of the prophets And Saint Paul a 2. Tim. 3.16 The whole scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach vs that the man of God may be absolute being made perfect vnto all good workes What can be a more perfect rule or touchstone then that which is most sure inspired of God profitable euery way in righteousnes by which a man may be absolute perfect vnto all good workes And hereof it commeth that the writinges of the new testament are not a new Canon or additament of rule in religion but onely a more plaine reuelation fulfilling of that which was before taught by Moses and the prophetes and therefore you shal find that Christ and the Apostles euery where do approue their doctrine by the testimonies of the scriptures of the olde testament Wherefore Paul acknowledgeth that b Rom. 16.26 God commanded the preaching of the gospell to bee by the scriptures of the prophets and Peter c Act. 3.22.24 appealeth to Moses and to all the prophets from Samuel and thenceforth that they foretold of those daies that is of the time of the gospell and the things which should bee manifested therein And therefore Paul protested that he d Cap. 26.22 witnessed both to small and great no other things then those which the prophets and Moses did say should come Wherefore the whole scriptures of the olde and new testament is one and the same rule of religion Although peraduēture as is before declared there may be some difference in ceremony and maner of gouernment yet is the first euen in those thinges a witnesse of the last and the last a true and faithfull expounder and fulfiller of the first Hereof it is that Mathew and the other Euangelists do confirme all the doctrine and doings of Christ by seuerall scriptures Yea those thinges which in forme order differ are yet proued that so they ought to be by Moses and the prophetes as the ministerie of a Math. 3.3 Iohn Baptist b Act. 2.16 and of the Apostles c Heb. 7.1.12 the priesthood of Christ and his changing of the lawe d 1. Cor. 9.9.13 prouiding for the ministerie though not by tithes and many such like But as for the most substantiall parts of the doctrine of faith and saluation I hope it shal appeare to the godly Christian by reading this Chapter throughout that there is but one canon and rule of truth Therefore to conclude let the reader obserue that this writing of Gods word is done by the spirit of God to this vse and ende that we might bee sure to know and how to trie and finde out what is the worde of God by examining all things wee heare by the Canon of the scripture As did e Act. 17.11 the noble men of Berea Wherefore Saint f Cap. 1.3.4 Luke affirmeth that the ende of this writing was that wee might acknowledge the certaintie of those thinges whereof wee haue beene instructed And Saint Paule saith that for the Church g Philip. 3.1 it was a sure thing and this sure thing is expounded by the Euangelist who sayth h Ioh. 20.21 These thinges are written that yee might beleeue that Iesus is the Christ the sonne of God and that in beleeuing yee might haue life through his name Therefore as Moyses which first wrote shewed the absolutenesse of this Canon of Gods worde written by i Deut. 4.2 forbidding all adding to and taking from So the last booke of this Canon sealeth vp all the writinges of God with the like admonition saying e Reuelat. 22.18 I protest to euerie one that heareth the wordes of the prophesie of this booke If any man shall adde vnto these thinges God shall adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke Now in both partes of this Article agreeing to all these testimonies of holy scripture is the iudgement and profession of the Church of England For we say b Artic. 20. of the authoritie of the church It is not lawfull for the Church to ordaine any thing that is contrarie to Gods worde written c Articl 6. the doctrine of holy scripture Holy scripture containeth all things necessarie to saluation so that whatsoeuer is not read therein nor may be proued thereby is not to be required of any man that it should be beleeued as an article of the faith or bee thought requisite and necessarie to saluation c. d Apolog. cap. 9. diuis 1. We receiue and embrace all the Canonicall scriptures both of the old and new testament c. they bee the verie sure and infallible rule whereby may be tried Whether the Church do swarue or erre and whereunto all ecclesiasticall doctrine ought to bee called to account and that against these scriptures neyther law nor ordinance nor any custome ought to be heard c. In all which wee doe acknowledge this most absolute canon of Gods word agreeing with Abraham Moses the Prophets Christ and his Apostles The tenth Article of the people who follow the right religion that is the Church of God 10 There is but one Church of God and the same is catholike and spread ouer all the world holding onely the true faith of Christ and it is made visible and knowne by the profession of the same faith which is in the preaching of the pure word of God and right administration of his holy sacraments IN this Article is a double description of Christes Church first in regard of the nature and second in regard of the visible markes The nature is in three things vnitie and vniuersalitie and faith The markes are declared by their profession which is preaching and administring the word sacraments By vnitie wee vnderstand that God hath not diuers Churches of diuers sectes in diuers places or times but howsoeuer times and places may haue some externall and temporal differences yet in all times and places the people whom God alloweth and accepteth to bee his church are but one misticall bodie wherof Christ is the head and as
new testament thus h Rom. 3.23.24 There is no difference for all haue sinned and are depriued of the glorie of God and are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus 25. whom God hath set forth to bee a reconciliation through faith in his bloud c. In the seuenth Article there are three contradictories of the lying erring multitude of Rome vnto the true religion For they i Concil Trident sessi 5. sess 6. canon 18. 25. say that Concupiscence in the regenerate after baptisme is no sinne although they confesse Saint Paule calleth it sinne 2. That there is nothing in him displeasing God but he is pure innocent and immaculate 3. A iustified man can keepe all Gods commaundements If these men had learned and beleeued the true religion they would not dare to speake so directly contrarie to truth seeing God teacheth far otherwise First in the old testament where the church is directed to say k Esai 64.6 Wee haue bin all as an vncleane thing all our righteousnes as filthy clouts And in the new testament l 1. Ioh. 1.8 If we say we haue no sin wee deceiue our selues and truth is not in vs. Which two places being spoken of the people being by the sacrament of initiation or Baptisme entred into the Church do shew plainely that original corruption is a sinfull matter in the flesh of the regenerate by which they are made vnable to doe any one worke perfect much lesse to doe all Gods commandements at all times in thought word and deede a thing which euerie man 's owne conscience doth testifie if he bee not too much besotted with the looking vpon his fruitlesse peacockes taile In the eight Article they make additaments namely that a Concil Trid. sess 6. canon 24. 33. 20. good workes are also causes of the encreasing of iustification and truely deserue eternall life and encrease of glorie and that the obseruing of the commandements of God and the Church are the condition of the promise of eternall life to which the iustified man is bound if he will be saued By which while they robbe Christ of his merits and giue more honour to the corrupt life of man and lesse to the redeemer and lay an other burthen vpon Christians then that which God layeth and such as no man can beare they leade themselues so farre from religion that either by a vaine hope of that which is not they forsake their owne saluation or els by a greeuous desperate downe-fall finding themselues as the truth is vnable to fulfill the condition they lay themselues open to euerlasting perdition But God alloweth no such additamentes where he teacheth vs in the old testament to say vnto him b Psal 16.2 Thou art my Lord my well doing extendeth not to thee And in the new c Luc. 17.10 When ye haue done all those things which are commanded you say wee are vnprofitable seruants c. And the condition of fulfilling the commandements is called d Act. 15.10 a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to beare and if it were possible to doe the commandements yet the holie Ghost teâ—â—eth vs that e Gal. 2.21 if righteousnesse bee by the lawe then Christ died without a cause Against the ninth Article the Romists do diuersly oppose themselues shewing themselues to bee of no religion For first they adde the commandement of the church making it equall vnto Gods written worde saying f Gret decreâ— pars 1. dist 20. cap. de libellis They which receiue not indifferently their Canons they profitablie effectually and to purpose holde or beleeue neither the catholike faith nor the foure holy Euangelistes They adde moreouer that g Distinct 19. all the decretals constitutions of that sea yea though it decree things scarce to bee borne yet must they bee borne with a godly deuotion though there bee as h Decret abbreuiat in versibus they say in one booke of decrees aboue 3000. Againe they say that i Concil Trident sess 4. decret 1. pari pietatis affectu reuerentia Traditions pertaine to faith and maners and that they doe receiue and embrace them with equall godly deuotion and reuerence as they doe the holy scriptures Lastly they set the Church before the scriptures as that by k Test Rhem. note vpon Gal. 2. vers 2. 6. D. Smith briefe treatise cap 2. 3. it the scriptures are so farre made knowen to all Christians as they are not bound so to take them vnlesse by the authoritie of the Church they knew them And that the authoritie of holy scripture dependeth and hangeth vpon the iudgement of the vniuersall or catholike church and that there are many vnwritten verities left by Christ and his Apostles to be beleeued and obeyed vnder paine of damnation Here is the mouth of blasphemie if wee may beleeue the vndoubted word of God how hee teacheth vs to esteeme of the holy scriptures and of the Church for in the olde Testament hee saith l Esai 8.20 To the law and to the testimonie if they speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them And in the new a 2. Tim. 3.13 The holy scriptures are able to make thee wise vnto saluation c. Let then euery wise man iudge that if the scriptures bee able to make a man wise vnto saluation and that there is no light that is to say knowledge of truth and godlinesse in them which agree not to the holy scriptures what canons decrees decretals traditions or vnwritten verities can haue any authoritie vnlesse they agree to the written word of God or that they can containe in them any thing not written in the scripture which is of necessitie to saluation or which not to doe or beleeue is damnation Againe how can the scriptures take their authoritie from the church seeing that the church is of no light vnlesse it bee found agreeable to the scriptures and therefore no church except it bee approued by the scriptures and so the scripture is iudge ouer the church and not contrarie And if I say the scriptures can make a man wise vnto saluation it is the greatest follie in the world to clogge the people of God with so many thousand of needles canons decrees decretals traditions and vnwritten falsely called verities and so make the light and easie yoke of Iesus Christ most heauie and burdenous If these diuilish blasphemies were true alas who could be saued For who was euer found that did or could doe all the foresaid Canons and traditions Therefore in them is fulfilled which is said by the Lord of Hypocrites b Math. 23.4 They bind heauie greeuous burthens not to be borne and lay them on mens sholders but they themselues will not moue them with one of their fingers Let vs abandon therefore these painted sepulchers and enemies of all true
the title of Christ hanging on the crosse was written in Hebrew Greeke and Latine Where you may see three strange thinges to bee done of these holy fathers first to celebrate that in an vnknowne tongue which containeth great instruction to the faithfull people as if it were meete in their eies that the meate which was good and appointed for them ought to bee kept out of their sight Secondly that this order must be learned of Pontius Pilate who put Christ to death a verie good an Apostle for an Apostaticall Church Thirdly this is expressely repugnant to holy scripture which saith c 1. Cor. 14.26.28 Let all things be done to edification and that hee which speaketh in a strange tongue should keepe silence in the Church In the foureteenth Article they bee also contradictorie to the truth And first touching matrimony they haue three degrees of contradiction d Concil trid sess 8. canon 9. First absolutely forbidding all preestes and ecclesiasticall persons to marie e Canon 11. Secondly they forbidde mariage certaine times in the yeare as in Lent c. And f Canon 3. thirdly take vpon thē to dispence with the order of God g Cap. 18. in Leuiticus touching the degrees of kindred prohibited also to adde and ordaine moe degrees to be prohibited which God hath not forbidden And whosoeuer doth maintain the Christian libertie herein they pronounce him Anathema accursed Forgetting what h Act. 10.15 Reuelat. 3.7 God said to Peter That God hath purified pollute thou not and that Christ the head of his Church hath the keye of Dauid that openeth and no man shutteth c. Wherefore seeing that Christ hath made i Heb. 13.4 Tit. 1.15 mariage honourable for all men and that by his ordinance To the cleane all things are cleane doe they not herein bewray their apostatical presumption to challenge authoritie more then euer Peter durst euen aboue Christ when they make mariage dishonourable in certayne times and persons and dispence by giuing libertie where Christ forbiddeth and making restraint where hee giueth libertie Now in the authoritie of the magistrate how vnlike the Pope is vnto Peter euerie man seeth For cleane contrarie to all religion and honestie hee taketh vppon him not onely to bee vniuersall Bishoppe aboue all Bishoppes but also vniuersall ministeriall head in earth aboue all power and potentates kinges and Emperours that is aboue all that is called k Psal 82.1 The Pope aboue all called God God Therefore we need not vse many wordes in this place seeing the Pope vsurpeth that which Christ himselfe neuer did in his owne person neyther gaue to any other after him For he meekely submitted himselfe to the ciuill power saying directly a Ioh. 18.36 Mark 10.43 My kingdome is not of this world and forbidding others he saith It shall not be so among you In the fifteenth Article the disagreement by addition that where the true religion by holie scripture haue this hope of the bodies rising at the last day The sea of Rome teach another arising namely of the soule out of Limbus Patrum out of purgatorie and out of Hell before that great day of iudgement come As first that b Test Rhem. annot Luc. 16.22.26 Dorbel distinct 2 sent 4. In miss quotid pro defund offert Christ descended into Hell deliuered the fathers some out of Limbus some out of purgatorie which had lien there till that time And that in hell a man may suffer part of his temporall penance which being ended hee is free from thence and therefore they pray in their Masse Domine Iesu c. O Lord Iesu Christ deliuer the soules departed c. Which dreaming additament of hope concerning the dead bewrayeth it selfe to disagree from the Christian religion in as much as God doth teach men that after death the faithfull doe onely rest till the last day First in the olde testament thus c Esa 57.2 Dan 12.13 He shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds Thou shalt rest and stand vp in thy lot at the end of the daies And in the new Testament d Reuelat. 14.13 Blessed are the dead which hereafter die in the Lord euen so saith the spirit for they rest from their labours If they rest and that till they stand vp then no translation out of Limbus Purgatorie or Hell And if they rest then no penance in hell or purgatorie for the faithfull Therefore I may conclude in this place that the popish superstition hath verie little or no affinitie with the true ancient and catholike religion but it hath verie many great intollerable disagreements from the same CAP. II. Of the disagreement that popish superstition now taught in Rome hath with the religion which Saint Paul taught the Romans and with the doctrine Saint Peter taught the Iewes IT will also appeare how new the superstition of poperie is if we find they keep not the doctrine of the blessed Apostles and founders of Christs Church Saint Paule and Saint Peter vpon which two they father all their authoritie and doings and call them founders and protectors and patrons of the church of Rome If then they be fallē from the faith which these two holy Apostles taught by the spirit of truth they must needs be accounted vpstarts of an apostatical new borne generation Marke therefore good Reader and consider Saint Paul taught the Romanes that it was an hethenish wickednes a Rom. 1.23 to turne the glorie of the incorruptible God into the similitude of a corruptible man The sea of Rome that now is cleane contrarie to that doctrine doth make images to represent the Trinitie and to represent God the father by the likenesse of an olde corruptible man The doctrine which Saint Peter taught the Iews saith that b Act. 2.23 Christ was deliuered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God to bee crucified and slaine by the handes of wicked men The sea of Rome that now is doth say that God did onely foresee but not determine or ordaine any thing which he commandeth not and it is certaine he commanded not the Iewes to crucifie Christ therefore in these two points they agree not with Paul Peters doctrine S. Paul taught the ancient Romanes that a Rom. 8.7 The wisedome of the flesh that is to say the knowledge and will of man as it is infected by original corruption before we be regenerate is enmitie against God and that it is not subiect to the law of God neither in deed can bee And the doctrine of Peter to the Iewes is that wee b 1. Pet. 1.22.23 cap. 2. 1. 2. 2. Cor. 3.5 are borne againe as new borne babes shewing that without the spirit of God we haue not one good thought But these new Romistes say that mans will onely stirred vp by the grace of God can prepare it selfe to the grace of iustification and doeth workes of congruitie pleasing God and
the authority of their Church before the holy scripture so these allow so much and so far of holy scripture as serueth for their purpose deuised wickednesse And as the heretikes called Nazarai did confirme their dotages by reuelations false miracles so traditions much ragged stuffe in poperie bee made warrantable by miraculous operations apperitions The heretikes aforenamed Pepuziani do send al men to a city in vpper Phrigia called Pepuza naming it the celestiall Ierusalem the citie whereof the prophets spake as though there were no other heauen So the papists cal vs to the church of Rome as though the vniuersall Church were tyed to one place out of which there is no saluation or way to heauen As concerning the worship of God Simon Magus the root of heretikes caused his owne image and of his harlot to bee worshipped of his disciples So the papistes set vp images of their canonized Saints to be adored Angelici were heretikes which worshipped Angels So the papists haue a b Missa votina de Angelis speciall masse of the Angels pray vnto Angels Marcellina companion of these heretikes called Carpocracians worshipped the images of Christ and Paul c. So do the papists Collyridiani worshipped the virgin Marie the Sethians worshipped Seth. The Abelonites worshippe Abell and diuers others doe the like according to their sect So the papistes according to their sect praye vnto all their canonized Saints and worship them The heretikes Armenij worshipped the crosse of Christ and so doe the papistes Concerning the sacraments the heretickes called Donatistes measure the power and effect of the sacraments by the dignitie holinesse and hand of the minister So the papists assigne the power of the sacraments to the worke wrought of the priest and that the intent of the minister is necessarie to make it a religious action And as the papists permit weomen to baptize cloistering their holy and religious nunnes So their progenitors the heretickes Pepuziani admitted weomen to the ecclesiasticall ministerie and the Marcionites taught that weomen might baptise The heretikes called Messalians say that the force of baptisme pertayneth onely to the signes and so do the Papistes And as the papists in Baptisme haue salte spittle crossing and other annexed ceremonies with coniuration by which it is as it were chaunged into a new thing So did the Simonians and Marcitae olde heretickes their naturall fathers defile and in a manner blot out baptisme In the Lordes Supper the heretikes Aquarij were not content with the two outwarde signes of bread and wine but added also water So do the papists mingle water with the wine in the cup. And the Marcitae aforesaid professed that by words and incantations they changed the wine in the cup into the bloud and bring the grace of God into the same cuppe so the papists professe that the sacrament is changed by their words of consecration and coniuring into the verie bodie bloud of Christ and that grace is contained in the sacraments And here they resemble the Apollinarians which made Christes bodie to bee heauenly and not earthly for the papistes say that it is the bodie of Christ though it be not seene felt nor heard and they are like the Marcionistes which accounted Christes bodie fantasticall so these will haue men beleeue the sacrament to bee his body though it haue no quantities nor qualities of a bodie And they are like the Timotheans which confound the two natures of Christ and the Euticheans who affirme the humane to be swallowed vp of the deuine and to the Nestorians who make his manhood equall to his Godhead For the papistes say that the same bodie or man is in heauen and in earth and that in as many places of the world at one and the same time as it is or may bee at once consecrated made by their priest which propertie of being in many places at once is not of the nature of man but of God therefore herein they are neere in affinitie with these heretickes The heresie of Vincentius Victor hath this amongst others that the sacrifice of Christians that is the sacrifice of the bodie and bloud of Christ is to be offered for them which being not baptised are departed out of the bodie So the papistes haue their sacrifice for the dead The Maniches refuse the olde testament and partly mangle and curtoll and partly cast away the new So the papist though in woordes they acknowledge both yet in truth they refuse both keeping them from Gods people and reading them in a strange toong that the people cannot vnderstande which vnto them is as good as if they were cast away The Heracleonites make a superstitious calling vpon God with strange and vnusuall words especially to driue away diuels such is the masse of the papistes all in a strange toong and their exorcismes are of the same fashion The heretikes called Taciani Origeniani Hierarchita Saturniani and diuers others make mariage an vnholie and vncleane thing and of the diuel and shut it out of their congregation So the papists not onely preferre a single life before mariage but also with such like tearmes make it as an vncleane thing not meete for their priestes and allure both men and weomen to the vowe of chastitie as a purer and holier life then matrimonie and therein they are also like the Eustachians who despised the maried priestes And as the papistes haue their Friers Monckes and Nunnes of a straunge and differing habite from other men and weomen and that seruants vpon a vowe may leaue their Masters and some of these vowed persons professe the renouncing of worldlie ritches and worldly dooings to walke a more neere course to heauen so these heretikes the Eustachians had their differing habite from other men seruauntes by this habite despised their Masters and ritche men which did not renounce all which they possessed were accounted without hope towardes God also these heretikes counted the eating of flesh vnlawfull euen as the papistes doo And as the papistes forbid flesh and as they call it white meat so their graundfathers the Maniches abstained from fleshe egges and milke And there were heretikes which put religion in going barefoot and therfore called of some Nudipedants so are the franciscans and others amongst the papistes of such religion The donatistes denie the magistrates authoritie in matters of religion and namely in punishing of heretikes So the papistes shut out the magistrate in causes ecclesiasticall and as the papist giue the pope the primacie aboue the magistrates in all causes and at their pleasure put them downe with their great curse so these their predecessours the heretikes called donatistes doo most vilelie raile against magistrates beate them downe with menacing words These donatistes had manie vile thinges in them wherein they fitly father the papistes they were circumcellions and counterfaited an austere life like the popish monkes heremites and friers liuing in caues and selles They ran vpon christians whom
clay If we reade the warres sedition tumults bonefires massacres rebellions treasons murders and all manner of hurly burly betweene Pope and pope Cardinall and Cardinall betweene pope and Cardinals Emperors kinges and people betweene citie and citie subiect against their Lords and one nation against another From the first arising of Hildebrands fire which he brought from hell vntill our time which haue beene raised procured maintayned and continued by that wicked generation wee may well say of them as the prophete Esay speaketh of the wicked b Cap. 57.20 The wicked are like the raging sea that cannot rest whose waters cast vp mire and dirt But he that would reade Clemangis Sigebert Aeneas Siluius Sigonius Mathie Parrisius and other such writers which liued in those times shall find a great many more monsters new borne in the church of Rome then in this shorte treatise I am able to set downe yet for the further helpe of the reader I will leade him a worde or twaine from these storie writers to the Counsels If happely wee may finde some of this new broode of poperie by them The c Canon 6. Anno 330. The primacie of Bishops Nice councel summoned by Constantin the great consisting of 318. Bishops out of all the parts of the world ordained according to the custome of the church in those daies that the Patriarch of Alexandria and of Antioch shold haue the like authority in their Bishoprickes as the Bishops of Rome in his This was as Gratian saith the first generall counsell Therefore when the pope is gotten to an higher presumption he is in this respect of a new religion About this time the counsell of Ancyra d Canon 14. eating of flesh condemned those ministers that did account flesh vncleane and abominable And the counsell of e Canon 2. Gangrena a little after calleth them Anathema acursed which condemne a man for eating flesh in faith But this late counsell of Trent and Synagogue of Rome doe commaund abstinence from flesh vpon rewarde or vengeance of God and their practise of seueritie in punishing such for heretickes as eat flesh in daies by them deuised and canonized we well know and remember The same councell of Gangrena f Canon 4. 9 10. single life doth accurse whomsoeuer that put difference between a maried prieste or any other touching the seruice in the ministerie and also such as for virginitie sake iudge mariage abhominable But all men know that the Romish Harlot is of a new learning putting more holinesse in single life and vowes of chastity especially in their priests then in honest and honorable wedlock A counsel at Antioch somwhat after a Canon 2. the sole communion ordained such to bee cast out of the Church which entred the Church and heard the scriptures and did not tarrie to receiue the communion with the rest of the people And the like you may finde to be the order of the church in ancient time b Anno 480. Canon 18. in the counsell of Agatha a citie of Fraunce But now our new sinagogue hath deuised a priuate masse that the priest should blesse the people with the cup make them to worship his idoll and he himselfe eate all alone A councell at Laodicea c An. 368. Canon 16. 59. iudged that the gospels and other scriptures were to bee read on the Sabbaoth daies and that of the vnlearned there ought not to be said in the Church Canonicall scriptures only to be read in the church psalmes made and vulgar which as I iudge were balads neither to reade books which are out of the canon but onely the canonicall bookes of the old and new testament and there they reckon vp the bookes which we hold for canonicall But wee know that the Romish Apostasie hath afterward brought in legends and other Apocrypha writings to iustle out the holy scriptures of God keeping them secret in an vnknowen tongue The 4. counsell of Carthage saith Mulieres baptizare c. Let not women presume to baptize Women bapt But we know by what deuise the sea of Rome haue brought in women to baptise In the sixt counsell of Carthage Anno 430. Appeales to Rome wherein was S. Augustine Bishop of Yppo and Legate of the prouince of Numidia it was tried and found out that it was not as Bonifacius Bishop of Rome would haue vsurped lawful by the councell of Nice to appeale to Rome out of other Bishops prouinces Epist Concil Africk ad lestinum but that they saw most wiselie and iustly that all busines was to bee ended where it was begun neither should the grace of the holie spirit be wanting to any prouince whereby equitie might be wisely seene of Christs priests and constantly holden And after that the Mileintane counsell a Canon 22. forbad all people to appeale ouer the sea out of their prouince but only to the counsel of Africk the primates of their prouinces and who so did otherwise shold not be receiued to the cōmunion in al Africk But we know that since that time the pride of that wicked whore of Rome hath vsurped iurisdiction ouer al lāds that by any means they cold bring vnder their feet receiue appeals from whom soeuer insomuch that we b Polydor hist Ang. li. 20 Rich. 2. read of a Synode in England An. 1391. which because many were vexed for causes which could not be knowen at Rome ordained that the authority of the pope of Rome should stretch no farther then to the Ocean sea that who so appealed to Rome beside excōmunication shold be punished with losse of all their goods perpetual imprisonment In the same counsel of Mileintane Anno 420. c Canon 5.6.7 It was decreed against Pelagius that without the grace of Christ we can do nothing and that euerie man should know he hath sin in him Free will and iurisdiction by workes as saith Saint Iohn Epist 1. cap. 1. and that in many things wee sin all and that we must confesse with the Psalme enter not into iudgement with thy seruant for in thy sight shal no mā liuing be iustified which thing is opened by an d Epist 72. Epistle of Aurelius B. of Carthage vnto the Bishops of the prouince of Bizanzena and Arzignitanta where hauing shewed the error of Pelagius he declareth the faith of the Catholikes to be thus Sixtly to confesse the grace of God and his helpe to be giuen vnto all singuler acts and the same not according to our merits that it may be true grace that is freely giuē by his mercie who said I wil haue mercie on whom I will haue mercie c. And ninthlie to confesse when wee fight against tentations and vnlawfull concupiscences although we haue there euen our owne will yet not by that but by the mercie of God we haue our saluation because otherwise it shall not be true which the Apostle saith
doctrine For there are many things which are not yet come which he thinketh it ought Quo plus quā reliquis conscientiae nostrae perpetuo exagitantur being a point wherewith our consciences are continually troubled more then with other things yet he doubteth not but the masters of the church when their determination shal be hatched will embrace his opinion or some such like But I cannot a little merueile that when in the same counsell of Trent this mother Church brought foorth so many goodly impes that it forslowed the trauaile of so iolie a babe as a verie Zealous a Io. Sleidan Com. lib. 23. Franciscan did bring to the verie birth before them all when in his preaching amongst them and bitterly enueying against Luther he did openly say to be S. Pauls meaning vpon the second to the Romains Namely that they who haue had no knowledge of Christ and otherwise haue liued honestly haue obtained saluation Heere commeth Durandi with his rationale diuinorum Guidonius with his Manipulus curatorum Guiliermus parisiensis de septem sacramentis t is and infinite others both schoolemen doctors and friers whose new learning I must needs confesse I haue not neither haue I knowne the deepnes of Sathan and these haue offered a merueilous great and goodly accesse and increase to his tale spreading mother of popish blasphemie but they hange in the birth neither borne nor buried waiting the good hower when the churches determination without whose midwifeship they cannnot be autentical children shal acknowledge them make them of their holie generation Alfonsus de Castro a learned minoritie doth open vnto vs the reason of this matter namely b Aduersus hareses lib. 1. cap. 2. that we know many things now which of the first fathers were either doubted or altogether vnknowen by the change of things doth spring the change and varying of decrees that the same which in times past was lawfull is now vnlawfull but these innouations of decrees commeth not of the newnesse of the things but of the new knowledge of those things which being found the church taught by the spirit of God doth define which definition being geuen it is not lawfull to doubt of that where of it was before lawfull to doubt and hee sheweth an example saying in a an other place Cap. 8. Some men say that the deuine persons are set in a personall beeing as they speake respectiuely others affirme that they are set absolutelie others againe say that they are not set by any waie but to be them selues persons to them selues Now saith hee who seeth not some one of these to erre when yet euerie one of them sticke to his owne opinion without punishment or note of heresie and a little after yet if the Church taught by the holie gost shall define of that thing without all doubt the Church by her definition woulde not bring to passe that the persons shoulde bee so or so set but would teach vs that which although from euerlasting it were true yet did not wee knowe it After which definition of the Church it shall not bee lawfull to affirme which before was lawfull To whom accorde the wise Rhemist b Test Rhem. Annota vpon Act. 15. saying It is to bee noted that the Bishops so gathered in counsel represent the whole church haue the authoritie of the whole church the spirit of God to protect thē from error as the whole church and these make it a Maxime or ruled case that all good christians rest vpon the determination of a general Councel Now gentle reader if we may beleeue these great learned clarks it must needs follow that Lombardus the father and all his children the schoolemen and all other learned mens propositions questions and disputations are no further autenticall poperie then as the Church of Rome hath all readie determined and wee vnlesse they tell vs what is the Churches determination cannot tell what to beleeue to bee of their religion And this determination is harde to bee founde out and verie doubtfull whom to beleeue that shall declare vs the same For it is not yet fully agreed amongst them weather the pope or the Councell bee the hyest that we might certainly know where this determination resteth The counsels of Constance and Basill take authoritie aboue the papall dignitie whereby we might thinke with the Rhemistes and diuers others that the determination is of the counsels Pope Pius the second although he haue taken much paines for the honor and authoritie of the Councell of Basill yet hath hee sett foorth a Bull with the greatest cursse forbidde and barre all appeales from the Pope to the generall Councels as though the pope were aboue the Councels and the Rhemistes do helpe him a Vpon Act. 15. ver 7. where they make the Councell to bee of no authoritie which is not confirmed by the pope and they b Vpon Luke 22. ver 31. say that the Pope cannot erre iudiciallie although Alphonsus saie hee may erre in matters of faith and Platina sheweth that those Bastarde Popes who came after Formosus and altered by a newe and euill custome the decrees of one another did this by counsell iudicially If a man marke well this contradiction hee will hardely knowe where to finde their churches determination Againe the counsell of Basil Platina in vita Eugenij Alber. Krant Saxon. lib. cap. 20.21 c. would not be put downe by Pope Eugenius but constrained him for feare to confirme their authoritie and after for his contumacie deposed him and verie orderly as Eneus Syluius saith chose Faelix in his roome but this Eugenius would not obey them and so the scisme of two popes continued til Nicholas the fift so that here was no obedience of the pope to the counsell nor of the counsell to the Pope what shall we thinke of their determination where trow you it may be found may we not doo as the Germaine newters did who neither followed the Pope nor the counsell but appealed as they thought to an higher and more certain determination And whereas the Rhemist and Alfonsus with others affirme that the holie ghost teaching the coūsell which is in steed of the whole church their definition is the determination of the church to which men ought to stand we are yet more in doubt vpon other further waightie reasons and considerations First because this is spoken but by priuate men And the b Hist pars 3. tit 22. cap. 10. §. 4. Archbishop of Florence is not a feard to tearme the counsell of Basill a conuenticle and a synagogue of Sathan Thirdly the last counsell of Trident cannot be found to be a c Baleus in vita Marcelli 2. free general counsell because diuers men for speaking freely were thrust out and d Ioh. Sleidan Com. lib. 22. the holie ghost that guided all their definitions was brought in a portmanteau from Rome namely that as they had instructions from Rome so were
of truth Vnto which the Pope by a speciall bull gaue him licence prouided that of euery house be paid vnto Peter the yerely pension of a pennie and the foundation of this graunt in the said bull is builded vpon this that the Pope therein most arrogantly without any authoritie from God challengeth saying Sane omnes insulas c. Surely all Ilands vpon whom the sunne of righteousnesse shineth haue receiued the doctrine of the Christian faith without doubt doth appertain to the right of S. Peter of the holy church of Rome Behold a wōderfull arrogancie a maruellous awe of a king to a proud prelate And not onely was he thus in awe of the pope a thing abhorrent from a free kingdome but also c Pag. 134. so forward Thomas Archb. of Canterbury being one of his own subiects did verie greatly curbe him For beside many other crosse dealing whereas An. 1164. the Archbish Bishops Abbots priors the cleargie Earles Barons and all the nobilitie did sweare and firmely promise in the word of truth to keepe and obserue to the king his heires in good sooth without any ill meaning for euer sixteene points of customes or liberties recognised and acknowledged to be to him and namely of the auncestors of the king for the auoiding of dissentions and discord often arising betweene the cleargie and the Iustices of the Lord the king and the peeres of the Realme which were as touching aduowsons and presentations of Churches of Clearkes accused or conuicted of the going of Archbishops Bishops c. out of the land without the kinges licence of excommunication and of lay men accused to be done by lawful and honest accusers and witnesses that such as helde of the king should not bee excommunicated or interdicted without the kinges knowledge that appeales should not go further then the Archbishop without the kinges consent that Archbish Bishops and all persons holding lands of the king in Capite should haue their possession as a baron and doe seruice therein as other Barons accustomablie did and such like This Thomas after his solemne oath repenting himselfe without the kings licence or knowledge trauelleth and maketh suite to the Pope of Rome not onely to be discharged of his oath but to ouerthrow the whole libertie of the realme and that against both the king nobles prelates and the whole state of the land and of them he excommunicateth many causeth verie great disturbance to the king and all the realme Thereof are many appeales diuers meetings of cleargie states sometime of Cardinals sometime of the French king to compound or determine the cause At length by the meanes of the French king the matter being taken vp Thomas sent peaceablie home was no sooner warme in his seate but by bulles from the Pope hee fell to excommunicate and curse the other Bishoppes and others who had offended him Whereupon there was kindled such indignation and wrath in the heart of certaine resolute persons that because hee remained obstinate in his former crossing of the king as they tooke it laid violent hands vpon him as vpon the kings enemie and slew him The king hearing thereof being much greeued did humble himselfe in sackcloth and ashes protesting by solemne oath his ignorance and innocencie of the fact sending Embassadors to Rome of his defence submission to the order of the Church which had such strange entertainment that neither the first nor second messengers could come into the popes sight and had much adoe to keep the land from interdicting but at the length by swearing that the king would stand to the iudgement of the Pope his Cardinals that great curse was auoided Howbeit the king although by oath he sware earnestly that he was not priuy nor acquainted with the fact yet because in his anger he had spoken some wordes vnaduisedly and had brought vp such wicked soldiers as would be reuenged vpon the kinges traitor the Archbishop and so slew him therefore the king for remission of his sins was enioyned by the Pope to giue so much money as would maintaine 200. soldiers a yeare and suffer appeales and let go all his customes and liberties of his ancestors before spoken of and recognised by oath of all his subiects And after this a thing not be seeming any Christian much lesse a king returning into England and comming neere to the cittie of Canterburie he alighted from his horse and putting off all kingly maiestie barefoote like a pilgrim penitent and supplyant with sighes groanes and teares he commeth to the tombe of this Thomas casting himselfe downe in all his bodie spreading his hands to heauen remained in praiers and after other popish ceremonies because of his vnaduised words he tooke vpon him this penance hee asked absolution of the Bishops then and there present laying open his naked skin to the discipline of rods he receiued of euerie religious man whereof there was a great multitude three or fiue ierkes Let any wise man knowing the word of God consider whether this were not a shamefull slauerie both of body soule king and kingdome a Math. Paris hist Ang. pag. 254. The king appealeth from his subiect King Richard the first going about to fortefie the out borders of his countrie in Normandie was maruellously confounded and ouerstreightned by the Archb. of Roan his subiect Who therefore interdicted all the countrie so that mens bodies being dead lay vnburied in the streetes of the cities and villages very greatly annoying the liuing with their stinch yet had the king no way to relieue himselfe but by appeale to the court of Rome loe here the king appealeth from his subiect by whom it was ordered that by exchange of so much for so much as belonged to the Archb. chapter of Roan the interdiction was staied and the Archbishop appeased toward the king And who hath not heard of the vnspeakeable thraldome that king Iohn was wrapped in because hee allowed not the choise of an Archbishop made by the pope without his consent but vsed his royall authoritie against them which agreed to such choise wherein his Maiestie was excluded First his land was accursed so that no Churches opened to their manner of seruice Secondly he was excommunicated and lastly deposed of his kingdome and his kingdome giuen to the French King to winne from him by force of armes And by this he was driuen to commit himselfe to the Popes pleasure and to resigne his crowne and kingdome into the Popes hands receiued it againe in fee and vnder homage paying a thousand markes yearely swearing himselfe the Popes vassall for euer What a lamentable case was it in England when b Mathew Paris histor Ang. pag. 703. king Henrie the third being humblie moued by his subiectes to stand vpon his priuiledge that his people should not bee made a pray to the Romish exactions did answere directly and say Neither will I neither dare I gainsay the Pope in
fallen into an Apostasie And the reason he giueth confirmeth it directly that it should vndoubtedly fall out and so come to passe for hee afterward affirmeth that it commeth of the righteous iudgement of God vpon the reprobate saying God shall sende them stronge delusion that they should beleeue lies that all they might bee damned Vers 12.12 which beleeued not the truth but had pleasure in vnrighteousnesse which thing if it be wel seen into vprightly waied it will cōuince the church of Rome to be of the false religion and antechristian church and their brauerie of profession their antiquitie vniuersalitie and visible succession to be the sitting of the man of sinne in the temple of God that is the plague and running soare of the Church the damnation of many soules and that now within these few yeares the gospel teaching the true Christian religion hath reuealed their Apostasie and that so openly clearly as euerie man may see it if he doe not wilfully blind his owne eyes 3 Now if they say that the Church cannot erre and thereupon build their antiquitie vniuersalitie succession c. Namely that they must needes bee the true Church being so actiuely and vniuersally visible in their continued succession because it belongeth to the Church vnder the gospell as they say to bee as the Moone that neuer is ecclipsed nor couered vnder a cloud but alwaies appeareth glorious and beautifull vnto the world then doe they euidently declare and proue themselues to bee the false sinagogue of Sathan and their religion to bee his delusions and lies Because the worde of God doth so manifestly say there shall bee an Apostasie and falling away in religion and that the enemie of Christ should raigne in the place of Gods temple And least happily wee should bee deceiued in thus iudging euen in this one point of their religion that they hold that the church cannot erre they cōuince themselues to be Antechrist many wayes especially in that they make the authoritie of the Church aboue the scriptures that they might be iudges of it and not of them What do they herein more truely then professe to all the worlde that there sitteth amongst them the aduersarie that exalteth himselfe against all that is called God for what is there in the whole world by which God is knowen or can bee knowen truely and rightly to bee God and by which God is exalted and all his honour truth and word magnified and his will wisedome and goodnesse glorified and worshipped but onely the inspired writinges of the blessed booke of God If they hauing no truth on their side to maintayne themselues to bee the Church of God they will foist in with a brasen face contrarie to euident scripture this vntruth that the church cannot erre and thereupon vsurpe authoritie ouer this booke of God and after it to haue no authoritie but such as they allow and to haue no other meaning or sence but such as they giue and so God and his holy law must looke for no other name credite and dignitie but as it pleaseth them being men to giue And so againe God and his word should not bee builders and describers of the Church but the Church builders and describers of God and his word doth it not then necessarily follow that they are verie Antechrist and the seate of Apostasie Moreouer if Christ say this Apostasie should bee so great that if it were possible a Math. 24.24 the verie elect should bee deceyued Are not they verie Antechrist to make the Church alwaies visible and not able to erre And let the godly Christian reader consider what vse there is of these rules precepts b Math. 7. 1. Ioh. 4.1.2 2. Ioh. vers 9. Beware of false prophets beleeue not euerie spirit c. hereby shall you know the spirit of God that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God whosoeuer transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God c. Againe there is prophesied of a woman whose name is Reuelat. 17. 18. A misterie great Babilon the mother of whordoms abominations of the earth which is a great citie which raigneth ouer the kings of the earth and all nations drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And God saith to vs Go out of her my people c. If the true vse of these scriptures teach vs two things first that we must trie and iudge the false prophets the spirits and whosoeuer may cal themselues the Church by the doctrine of Christ expressed in the scriptures and that vnder the time of the gospell a citie by false doctrine should poyson all nations and we ought to go out of that citie how can any man iudge the Citie of Rome which calleth her selfe the mother of all Churches and vsurpeth ouer all nations seeing that it hath forsaken the truth and yet claimeth vniuersalitie perpetual succession visible refuseth to be tried by the holy oracles of God these rules and Canons of holy scriptures how I say can any man iudge otherwise but that it is the verie seat of Antechrist And in this that it would bee maintained by saying it cannot erre it erreth most apparantly And therefore that onely is the true Church and house of God whether visible or inuisible a Heb. 3.6 Math. 18.20 which holdeth fast the true faith where two or three are gathered together in Christes name and not that which pretendeth visible succession and saith it cannot erre 4 Howbeit in all this time it was not as the church of Rome would beare vs in hand that our religion which is that auncient religion of Abraham had such an ecclipse that it cannot bee traced in these 1600. yeares after Christ for as before the comming of Christ it lay hidde in comparison of the vniuersalitie of the whole world in the house and posteritie of Abraham and sometime more then other appearing and shining forth when God made his glorious truth to cast the beames of light far and wide at such times as he made his saintes glorious by deliuerance as out of Egipt and Babilon And in subduing the Cananites in prospering Dauid Solomon Iehoshaphat Ezekiah and Ioshiah So in this time of Christianitie among the Gentils there hath beene as it were an ebbing and flowing and as I may say a morning and an euening For the gospell beginning with small degrees and like a grayne of mustard seede was persecuted by the vniuersall world at the first And yet preuailed mightely through all those bitter and intollerable persecutions of the first three hundred yeares in so much as in the first Christian Emperours dayes namely Constantine the great when hee summoned the first generall Councell of Nice for the cause of Arrius there came 318. Bishops and these were from all partes of the worlde West as farre as Spaine and North in a manner at the verie North Pole So that all the worlde stoode amased
praiers in an vnknowne tongue giue them images to be their bookes Saint Peters doctrine touching mariage appeareth that he being b 2. Cor. 9.5 1. Pet. 5.2 an Elder had a wife as the other Apostles laid no other burden vpon Elders but to feed the flocke of God and yet these new law makers forbid mariage to the which Peter called elders S. Paul taught the Romans that c Rom. 13.1 1. Pet. 2.13 euery soule should be subiect to the higher powers and S. Peter commaundeth submission to all maner ordinance of man But these proude vsurpers take vpon them to dispence with the oth obedience of subiects bringing all superiour power vnder their seruant the Pope of Rome S. Peter taught d 1. Pet. 5.9 to resist the diuell stedfast in faith these afterwitted men teach vs to do it by coniuring by crosses and by holie water Saint Paul taught the first childe of the Romanes that e Rom. 14.2.3.4 in meate and dayes men should not iudge and condemne one another these men vnder the name of the Church forbid and commaund iudge and condemne men in meates and in dayes and that vnder paine of damnation S. Peter taught the Iewes f 1. Pet. 1.5 that wee are kept by the power of God thorough faith vnto saluation these mē say that faith without hope charity cannot performe it S. g 2. Pet. 3.18 1. Pet. 3.15 Peter would haue euery man grow in the knowledge of our lord Iesus Christ and to be so far instructed in the gospel that hee might be able to giue a reason of his faith These Antipetrians would haue men to content thēselues with ignorance to beleeue as the church beleeueth by this colour that ignorāce is the mother of deuotion they kepe the common people frō knowledge of the scriptures S. Peters doctrine doth say h Act. 3.2 that the heauens must containe Christ vntil the time that al things be restored S. Paul taught the Romanes i Rom. 8.24 that Christ is at the right hand of God yet say these shameles forgers that Iesus Christ very God and very man is really locally by the intention of a Priest vttering certaine wordes which they call cōsecration is in the sacrament as they cal it of the Aulter Saint Peter taught the Iewes that it was k Acts. 15.10 a tempting of God to binde Gods people to keepe the law because it is a yoke that neyther we nor our fathers were able to beare These presumptuous backesliders doe say that it is a condition of our saluation and righteousnesse to doe the commaundements of God and the Church that a man is able to fulfill the commaundements of God Saint Peter l Act. 10.25.26 Math. 17.24 forbad Cornelius a Captaine of a band when he fell downe at his feete and worshipped him saying that hee himselfe was a man and being directed and commaunded by our Sauiour Christ hee paide tribute and pollemonie vnto Caesar But the Pope the counterfeit successour of Peter refuseth no kinde of honour euen to the kissing of his feete done by Kinges or Emperours and taketh tolle and tribute out of all lands whom he can make his vassals and vnderlings Saint * Act. 3.12 Peter in the good works which he did renounced in plaine tearmes his owne power and godlinesse and laboured by all meanes to set forth the name of Christ that Christ onely might be glorified These filthie changelings haue no end in aduancing the power of Peter and therein of the name authoritie and glorie of the Pope Saint Peter neither a Act. 8. 11. 15. hauing nor taking vpon him any soueraigntie aboue other Apostles or aboue any estate was sent by the Apostles at Ierusalem to doe some Apostolicall worke in his ministrie and S. Iohn equallie with him and he obeyed his bretheren submitted himselfe to giue an account of his doings for his going to the Gentils and gaue place to Iames to determine the controuersie touching circumcision and the law of Moses to be imposed vpon the Gentils had no greater title in the counsell nor in any place of scripture then Simeon Peter or Cephas seruant and Apostle of Iesus Christ or Elder Also hee b Gal. 2.7.8.9.11 acknowledged the same authoritie in Paul ouer the Gentils which he had ouer the Iewes and therefore hee meekelie suffered reproofe for his weakenesse at the hands of Paul and c Act. 5.40.41 with all patience and ioyfulnesse tooke stripes with the rest of the Apostles for the name of Christ The Pope his pretended successor taketh vpon him farre otherwise namely the Primacie aboue all Bishops and Patriarkes aboue all Princes Magistrates and maketh Cardinals and Archbishops his Embassadors and Legattes disdaineth to giue an account of any thing and taketh vpon him to confirme all counsels and to annihilate whatsoeuer is concluded without his consent and authoritie entituling himselfe Bishop of Bishops cheefe Pastour head of the vniuersall Church of Christ He is so far from being reprooued that hee will iudge all men but himself be iudged of no man and that his determinations must not be reasoned nor disputed vpon and not onely ouer the Iewes but also ouer all nations he vsurpeth authoritie and is so farre from meek bearing of reproof or stripes for the name of Christ that he raiseth vp sedition rebellion and cruell wars against the lawfull superiour putteth downe Emperours and Kings for his owne name sake maintenance of his owne pride and vsurped iurisdiction In all the storie which is in the new testament concerning Paul and Peter we haue not one word that Peter should be head of the Apostles much lesse head of the vniuersall Church or ouer Princes neither is there any direct or indirect collection to be made out of holy scripture that if Christ had giuen him such authority the same should haue descended and gone to his successors And if to his successors yet it would be doubtfull whether Babilon or Samaria or Ioppa or Ierusalem might not be the place of succession for at these places it is expreslie said hee was and remained And as for Rome there is great reason to thinke that hee was neuer there or at the least some verie little while and if he were there at all yet neuer was hee Bishop of Rome First it is cleare that S. Peter kept at Ierusalem till the conuersion of Saint Paul a Act. 8. 9. 10. 15. which was sometime after the Apostles had begun the planting of the Church of Ierusalem and the Martyrdome of Steuen the Deacon Then b Gal. 1.18 three yeeres after Paul visited Peter at Ierusalem and c Gal. 2.1 fourteene yeeres after that he communicated with Peter Iames and Iohn at Ierusalem and then after this d Act. 12.1.2.3 was Peter cast into prison by Herode after the martirdom of Iames the brother of Iohn after e
risen vp without Gods authoritie by men how where and when since the pure times of the blessed Apostles and founders of Christes church and religion yea and that in most of the particulers Wherin my purpose is not to enter so farre as might be spoken for I cannot make in so short a roome an exact treatise but onely as briefely as I can conueniently so far to shew the christian reader as he may sufficiently see and perceiue that poperie hath his originall from men and not from God that it came vp since and vnder the Christian religion like vnto the Iuie that commeth vp after the oke and taketh holde thereon and by little and little so ouerspreadeth it and couereth it from the sight of men that wee can scarse see or discerne the oke Histories differ in setting downe 〈◊〉 times And here I am to aduertise the reader that historie writers and reporters of antiquitie differ much in these causes about the times so as the cronologie writers finde themselues encombred howe to set downe the certaintie in manie things yet notwithstanding though the authors disagree about the certaine time yet the matter is made vndoubted when they all agree that it is found out to come in after the Apostles times Wherein I make choise to take our testimony from hartie and vnfained papists that the truth of this cause may the more appeare when themselues cannot but yeeld vnto vs sufficient warrant and proofe of their new borne superstition Two deuises to hide the newnes of poperie They haue two great helpes to maintaine the antiquitie of their follie First the authorising of counterfait writinges such as are the decretall Epistles of Clemens Anacletus and others of the primatiue Church which not onely disagreeing in stile and matter from the times they pretende but also telling of those thinges and persons which were many yeres after doo very much argue that when the papists are faine to runne vnder the shadowe of such muddie and vnsetled Wales of forged authoritie their foundation is not so deepe in their owne conscience as they would beare the worlde in hand Their second helpe is that they proine pare and loppe and engraft the writings of auncient fathers and others teaching them by a newe deuise called Index Expurgatorius hatched in the late Counsell of Trent Anno 1571. to speake as they thinke best for there sea of sinne and to holde their peace where they like not of their sayinges If they may thus authorise false witnesses to speake for their purpose as they list and gagge the toonges of the true witnesses they can speake no further but as they giue them leaue then may euerie simple man see in them that an euill conscience findinge themselues to haue no antiquitie of trueth doth cause them to inuent shiftes to colour and cloake their wicked forgeries and newe deuises by which they haue manie yeeres abused Gods people But GGD bee thanked who bringeth the hidden and secreate thinges of the wicked vnto light he hath confounded their wisedom that all this doth not hide their filthie and earthlie generation For the prophesie of Saint Paul concerning such peruerse and cursed speakers which haue a shewe of godlinesse but haue denied the power thereof is now in the eyes and knowledge of all men come to passe For he a 2. Tim. 3.9 saith They shall preuaile no longer for their madnesse shal be euident to all men 3. And this verily is brought to passe by the righteous iudgements of God causing their owne tongs to take them and making the counsell of the wicked to bee foolishnesse Marke therefore and consider how they confound the glorie of their inuentions ad deuises Martinus Peresius Aiala a Bishop and a verie zealous papist seeming to haue taken great paines in reading of antiquities writeth a b Printed at Paris 1549. booke of traditions dedicated to Phillip king of Spain where hee c In his preface nisi attramento mortuo in sacris codicibus expressū calleth the inspired scriptures of the worde of God Dead incke in the holy bookes and affirmeth that if we should follow onely the holy scriptures which he calleth a pestiferous opinion Christian religion and ecclesiasticall pollicie should vtterly be destroied auouching beside the canonical scriptures another kind of doctrine called Tradition the head seed plot as he saith of almost all controuersies betweene vs and if herein wee agreede all discord now in religion would quickly cease And in this booke he maketh d 3. pars assertio 6. fol. 6. Diuina authoritas magisterium apostolicum Episcop maxime Romanorum a Deo concessa authoritas three fountains of traditions First they call diuine authority that is such as Christ in their deuise instituted deliuered which were not laid vp in the scriptures the second fountaine they call the Apostolicall mastership where they haue traditions some in the canons Apostolicall some in holy mens writings the last fountaine is the mastership authoritie of the Bishops most of all of the Roman Bishops which they also cal the e pars 2. assert 5. fol. 44. mastership of the church Wherein is a power as they say to iudge and determine what is canonicall scripture and to make diuers lawes and ecclesiasticall discipline And this last giueth power to all the rest for here as they say wee know which is the true worde of God heere the authoritie of decretalles is made firme and this being a gift and priuiledge that cannot erre is of that autenticall authoritie if we beleeue them that no man must once reason against it Out of these fountaines they drawe their traditions of the rites of Baptisme of confirmation auricular confession and penitentiall satisfaction the tradition of order and his rites the fearefull sacrifice of the alter transubstantiation praier for the dead communion vnder one kind purgatorie extreame vnction worship and intercession of Saints worship of relickes images exorcismes Lent fastes single life vowes of chastitie and such like In handling of which traditions he b Postulat 3. fol. aut quia legi Dei repugnant proximae sunt occasiones peccandi c. giueth vs a rule to discerne humane traditions from diuine saying Traditions which are not good are either contrarie to the law of God and are verie neere occasions to sin or derogate to the glorie of Christ or they are friuolous burdensome and of no profit If it be lawfull for vs to follow these three rules we shal easily proue popery to be no good tradition but a meere humane inuention of their owne For the first rule I hauing before shewed that all their popish religion is contrary to the religion which God taught Abraham Moses and the Prophets taught the Iewes and Christ and his Apostles taught all nations and contrarie to the doctrine which Paule taught the auncient Romanes and which Peter taught the Iewes it must needes follow that these traditions being
fathers and decretals epistles so that by the papistes owne account and confession the holy scriptures raigned alone many ages together after Christs ascention as Lady Queene to bee the onely law to rule iudge and know the Church and whatsoeuer necessarie to saluation And the Church presumed not ouer the scriptures but was squared ordered by them This Gratian sheweth vs f Distinct 16. Cap. Canons that the Canons of the Apostles were pronounced by g He liued Anno 530. Isidorus not to haue bene receiued of the Church nor of the holy fathers because they were knowne to be made of heretikes vnder the name of the Apostles After he h Distinct 19. cap. Si Romanor Ann. 865. telleth vs that Pope Nicholas giueth autenticall authoritie to the decretall Epistles of his predecessors And that i Distinct 19. cap. sic omnes Anno. 680. Pope Agatha first breathed out this blasphemie that all sanctions of the Apostolicall sea are to be receiued as confirmed by the deuine voice of Peter And k Distinct 20. cap. de libellis Anno 850. Leo the 4. followed him in the same rebellion of Gods word pronouncing that they who do not receiue al their canons indifferently do not beleeue the Apostolicall faith and the foure Euangelists effectually as they should And here the maker of the glosse is touched in conscience for the East churches that did not receiue these decretalles all this while whether they were not heretikes Much about this time came in the Legenda aurea which is l Bernard de Girard hist Franc. lib. 4. Albert. Krant Saxonia lib. 2. fathered vpon Carolus Magnus And after this others in these things kept on this new deuotion and presumption But the battell was not full and strong till Gratian himselfe m Anno. 1160. came vp and set them in aray by compiling the booke of decrees containing more then halfe a legion the Ciuilians and Canonistes muster themselues to make the first squadrant then Lombardus his brother bringeth forth a second in foure bookes of sentences and in the reare warde march n Anno 1270 Thomas Aquinas and o Ann. 1295. Scotus Duns with many Franciscans and Dominicans and make a strong battell of distinctions questions philosophie Aristotelians and all the forces of reason a Anno 1230. Gregorie the 9. bringeth forth his barbed horsemen of decretall as flanckers to make incursions in fiue troopes or bookes well armed with Apostaticall ordinaunce and Boniface the eight added a sixth Then come in the light horsemen of Clementines and extrauagantes readie for many seruices amongst whome there commeth in a monstrous huge b Seruice in a strange tonge came in after the adoring of Eucharist Anno 1220. read Lyra vpō 1. Cor. 14. beast to make way for the rest called Lingua Latina seu peregrina that is seruice and scriptures in an vnknowen tongue which casteth such a mist into the eyes of Gods people that they are brought vnder the antechristian bondage and from the glorious lawe of libertie which is the gospell of Christ Iesus before they be aware By all these there came vp such great and vniuersall studie of the Canon and Ciuill lawes and such honour of schoole learning amongst all the learned and wise men on the one side and such palpable ignorance in the common people that it was impossible that the worde of God could haue his primatiue dignitie witnesse the councell of Trent c Reade Caesar Baron vpon the Martyrolog Non Martij who often clapped handes and gaue great applause to Thomas Aquinas And that when Luther beganne to preach the gospell his greatest aduersaries fought against him eyther by Canons decrees of some scholasticall conclusion and witnesse the conscience and knowledge of all men that haue looked into the estate of religion Thus is it easie to see what a strong force the deuill had by this meanes to bring the holie scriptures of God into a base and low remembraunce and how in tracte of time hee hath made his owne lawes traditions decrees and counsels not onely equall but far aboue them And as iustly complaineth Anthonius de Rampegolis a man of their owne side who as Tritte then d De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis writeth flourished personally in the counsel of Constance e Figurae bibliae cap. de sacra scriptura Sacram scripturam in honorantes trahunt in obsequium philosophiae faciunt ancillā dominam de domina ancillam many dishonoured the holy scripture and made it obedient to philosophie causing the handmaid to be mistresse and the mistresse to be handmaid and thus was fulfilled that which Hilarius wisely obseruing did f Aduersus Arianos Et facta est fides temporum potius quā Euangeliorum say in his time When the vse of writing innouating of faith beganne to bee in vre after it did rather beginne to make new thinges then keepe that which it had receiued it neither maintained the old nor confirmed the newe and so faith became to bee of the times rather then of the gospels That is to say men leauing that which they receiued and learned by the scriptures and writing themselues opinions and decrees of their owne it came to passe in time that the faith of the Church was not that which the Gospell of Christ teacheth but such as liked men of the seuerall ages and times such as counselles decreed and Bishoppes ordained Which thing Erasmus being a great Scholler did see to be happened vnto the Church of Rome and thereof giueth admonition to a great Bishoppe and amongst other thinges touching humane constitutions g ad Christoph Episcop Basil de interdicto esu carmum c. he saith Haec primum obrepant honesti specie c. These thinges first creepe in by a colour of honestie after they ouerflow more aboundantly then after a while being confirmed by vse they raigne as tyrants c. 5. Of the supremacie Now let vs come to the last foundation of popery and banishing of Christ and his lawes Namely the royal primacie of the Pope clyming into the seat of Christ and aduancing himselfe aboue all that is called God And let vs examine whether it be Euangelicall and of the Christian religion and ancient profession of the primatiue Church First it is manifest and cleare that the first sixe hundred yeare neuer knew him but they were all protestants allowing no vniuersall Bishop but Christ onely and honouring the Emperors and kinges where they liued as Lordes and supreame gouernors ouer all persons ecclesiasticall ciuill euen as they had learned of Saint Paule who did commaund a Rom. 13.1 euerie soule to bee subiect to the higher power and of Saint Peter b 1. Pet. 2.13 who would haue them submit themselues to the king as the superior And herein I will call for the papistes themselues to be my witnesses First Gratian c Distinct 21. cap.
cleros telleth vs out of Isidorus that among the auncient fathers a priest and a Bishop were all one And the same thing he d Distinct 93. cap. legimus affirmeth out of Hierome with many reasons drawne from holy scripture and he sheweth that the first rising of one Bishop ouer another was deuised for a remedie against schisme And as concerning the preheminenc of the citie of Rome he addeth Si authoritas quaereretur c. if authoritie be sought for the authoritie of the world is greater then that of one citie wheresoeuer there is a Bishop at Rome or at Engubium or at Constantinople or at Rhegium or Alexandria or at Thebes or at Guarmatia it is of the same merit it is of the same priesthood which the glosse there doth interpret that discreete learned and wisemen esteeme all alike but ideots and the comon people despise a Bishop of a smale or litle citie And a litle after e Distinct 95. cap. olim he saith As the elders or priestes knowe that they by the custome of the church are subiect to him which is set ouer them So let the Bishops know that they are greater then the prists rather by custome then by the truth of Gods ordinance and that they ought to rule in comon Cesar Baronius by the cōmandement of pope Gregory the 13. making a new legend called Martyrologiums after the order of their new callender in his notes vpon that booke f Ian. 20. pag. 22. at the letter c. teacheth vs that this word Papa pope was first accounted to come of the greeke word Pappas signifying a father and in the same sence came to be a name of dignitie that the reuerend clerkes or clergie men were called by that name Afterward the same name began to be peculiar vnto Bishops that they were called Papae that is popes or fathers vntil An. 850. then it began to grow to fasten only vpon the head of the pope of Rome at the length pope Grerory the 7. An. 1071. in a synod ordained that there should be but one name of Pope in all the Christian world This man also a Quint. ad April pag. 160. 161. witnesseth that it was in times past the old custome of the church that the Bishops were not onelie called Pontifices prelates but also summi pontifices chiefe or hiest prelates because that the office of a Bishop was called the chiefe priesthood this hee proueth by expresse examples vntill the 6. counsel b About An. 645. of Toletane and he bringeth in Saint Augustin saying those wordes what is a Bishop but the first elder that is the hyest priest briefely hee calleth them no otherwise then fellowe Elders and his fellow priestes But after Baronius addeth that the latter custome obtained that the Bishop of Rome should bee called summus maximus pontifex the hiest and greatest prelate or Bishop Polydor vergill c De inuentorrer lib. 4. ca. 10. telleth vs that the first honour that was giuen to the Bishop of Rome was this that he might change his name when he is created Pope if his name be not handsome and the author of this deuise was Sergius whose name was called os porci that is the mouth of an hogge But more neere to our matter Platina d In vita pelagij deinceps sheweth that the commandement of the Emperour did sway all the matter in the choise of the pope vntill the time of * Pelagius the second About Anno 600. So that when by the extreame fall of waters they could not go to the Emperor the pope was faine to send Gregorious to make his excuse because the election was nothing woorth without the Emperors approbatiō And after him in the election of Gregorious the clergie people desired the Emperor that it would please him to cōfirme the election which was made concerning Gregorius And where as Iohn Patriarch of Constantinople obtained by a Synod the title Ecromenicus that is of vniuersall Bishop Gregorie resisted him not because as Platina saith it belongeth to Peters sea as they falsly call Rome but because it was a new and blasphemous name and such as none before them did euer allow of or take vnto him selfe As Gregorious himselfe in diuers letters both to the Emperor the Empresse to diuers Bishops to Iohn himselfe doth write whereof you shal heare some part First to the Emperour he among other things a Epist lib. 4. cap. 29. Mauritio August Epist 32. saith Quis est iste c who is this that against the statutes of the gospel against the decrees of the canons presumeth to vsurpe to himselfe a new name Would to God that without the diminishing of others there were one which desireth to be called vniuersall and a little after But be it far from the harts of Christians this blasphemus name wherein the honour of all priests is taken away while it is madly arrogated of one vnto himselfe And b Constantie August Epist 34. to the Empresse It is a verie heauie thing that it should be patiently born that al being despised my foresaid brother fellow-bishop goeth about to be called Bishop alone but in this his pride what other thing is shewed but onely that the times of antechrist be at hand And vnto c Epist 36. Eulogius Bishop of Alexandria and Anastasius Bishop of Antioch None of my predecessors haue euer consented to vse this so prophane a terme or word Because forsooth if one be called vniuersal patriarch the name of patriarch is taken from others vnto which if you ioine that of the sixt counsell of Carthage That all matters should be ended in the prouince where they began And that of the Milenitane counsell that no appeale should be made out of the prouince ouer the sea you may easilie plainly perceiue that vnto this 600. yeres after Christ it doth so far appeare that the Pope had no supremacy ouer kings or Emperors that his authoritie was not so much as ouer any minister or priuate man out of his owne diocesse or prouince and that to claime any such title as to be vniuersall Bishop was new blasphemous the ouerthrow of priesthood not sufferable and a fore-running of Antechrist How the pope brought vnder the ciuill power by growing ouer the ecclesiasticall And here thou maist obserue that in all this time there was not yet any question of superioritie ouer the superior ciuil magistrate but ouer the Bishops them selues But how they came to crow ouer the ciuill magistrate the storie of the time following doth declare wherin I might spend much time of the seed of these things as the aduancing of the honor of Peter cunningly pretended to draw on the primacy vpon the pope of Rome his counterfeit successor Constantine forged donation but I shal not need to rip vp euery circumstance For if neither these nor any other were able to cōpasse this infernal primacy in
600. yeres we must looke further for it to the diuels principal instrument namely that after this time the emperor made the pope of Rome high priest ouer al the Bishops of the world and the pope in tract of time by this very authority of being aecumenical Bishop giuen them by the Emperor rewarded him with this blessing and kindnes to make the Emperor to kisse his feet and to wait vpon him as his vassal The dignity of Bishops at this time was in iiij patriarkes till after the death of this Gregory then presently there arose a new cōtention between Cōstantinople Rome which would be chiefe here Boniface the 3. by some sweate labor obtained of Phocas whose hāds were yet blody with the slaughter of his L. Mauritius to be this soueraigne chiefe Bishop of Bishops then * Platina in vita Bonif. 3. came into the popes stile We wil and command and the next pope Boniface the 4. got of the Emperor the temple called Pantheon there made a church for the virgin Mary al Saints most liuely shewing that now they fell from God to al foule spirits as the sequele after declared For these were the beginnings of all maner of corruptions yet all this while the honor of the Emperor stood still the first step to pull of the Emperors crowne after this was that Constantinus then Emperour graunted to a About Anno 685. Benedick the second that whom soeuer the people and clergie chose should thence foorth be pope After b Anno 755. him Stephanus the 2. of rare loue was caried vpon the shoulders of the people and so the Bishops of Rome began to take that honour vnto them And c Anno 710. Iustinianus a wicked Emperor to flatter the pope was the first that kissed his feete namelie of pope Constantine the first Yet were not the popes aboue the Emperors all this while For after this the Empire of Constantinople being weak and not able to defend the pope and leauing them to the spoile of the Lombards they fled for succour vnto France First to Carolus Martellus and Pipine and after to Carolus Magnus d Anno 801. first Emperor of the west to whom some said the pope gaue the power of chosing confirming the pope but e Barnard Girard Tom. 1. lib. 4. Lois le papes nauoient aucune puiscana in authoritie en le ville de Rome c. the french Chronicle saith he wan it as he did the imperiall dignitie by his sword and law of armes For then the popes had no power or authority in the citie of Rome but medled only in the affaires of religiō of ceremonies of the church things pertaining to the soul Therfore saith Polydor that the successors of Charles the great did vse to confirme the election of popes De inuenter lib. 4. cap. 10. But last of all g Anno 1059. Pope Nicholas the second brought the election from Emperor people and Clergie to the Cardinals onely and so the pope of Rome became head of the church as he saith by consent of all nanations And here indeed he began to treade downe the Empire For h An. 1080. Hildebrand being called Pope Gregory the 7. depriued Henry the 4. of his imperial crowne Then did the Emperors begin to learn new maners as to a light from his horse and to do honor to the pope as to the vicar of Christ as did i Anno 1155. Frederick to pope Adrian the 4. and being vnaccustomed to such seruice as a Alber. Krant Saxon. lib. 6. cap. 16. some say was blamed for holding the stirrop on the wrong side when the pope alighted from his horse And the consuls of Rome learned to sweare fealtie to the pope as to b Anno 1165. Alexander the 3. Then could the Pope allowe who should bee Emperor as c Anno 1200. Decretal lib. 1. tit 6. cap. 34. Innocent the 3. did Otho and d Anno 1230. maketh it as a law that the right and authority to examine a person elected to be king and to be promoted to the Empire pertaineth to the pope who doth annoint him consecrate and crowne him Then could the popes make the people crosse themselues to fight against their liege Lord the Emperour as if it were against the Turke vnder promise of eternal life As d Anno 1230. Gregorie the 9. against Freodorick the 2. And pope Innocent by decree and his counsell depriued him of his kingdome of Sicile and so was established the authority of popes to depose Emperors Kings and Potentates But for the better enthronising of the pope in this fresh and new shining primacie herewithall e Read Polydor de inuent lib. 4. cap. 9. lib. 8. cap. 2. Platina in vita Bonif. 8. so forward and Boniface 13. and his successors Krant Saxon lib. 5. 6. Aeneus Syluius de moribus Germanorum ad Martin Meyr came vp the red hats and gay palfries and royall maiestie and senate of Cardinals the colledge of scribes and other officers which Polydor for their rauening calleth Harpeis and other annats and yerely scottes peter pence buls prices of pals pardons aduowsons dispensations appeales cases papall reseruations comendums prerogatiues and I cannot tell how infinite iurisdiction in heauen in earth in purgatorie hell they changed inuented renewed put downe and lifted vp whom what and when they woulde And so the estate of the pope became an imperiall maiestie far aboue all earthly monarkes and principalities and thrones and dominions Now therefore good christian reader thou maist here obserue that the order of this supremacie came vp by degrees through the climing pride of the cleargie and had many yeeres in growing First contending for highnes in dignitie among themselues and namly Constantinople against Rome and secondly when the Emperour had granted the title of vniuersall Bishop to the pope of Rome then he shifted the Emperors by little and little out of all dealing in Ecclesiasticall matters as namely and principally in the elections of Popes and from this it grew to soueraigne authority ouer all euen as a bramble it tooke hold and grewe vp ouer the hyest ceders of Libanon and a fire came out of this bramble and consumed the imperial glorie of the kingdom and ouer grew the maiesty of the temporall power Here shalt thou see a verie great change Gregorie the first proclaimeth the title of vniuersall Bishop to be blasphemus and not sufferable Boniface the 3. and all his successors take it vpon them and make it their principall strength and glorie a Anno 801. Antonius Archb. of Florens histor pars 2. tit 14. cap. 2. Adrian with a Synod of an hundred fiftie and three Bishops gaue vnto Charles the great as the papists say the right and power to choose the pope and graunted him the Apostolicall sea and dignitie of Senatorship moreouer hee desired that Archbishops and
1. § 21. there neuer was a greater scisme in the Church in the time of any heresie few men keeping themselues chaste some feyning continencie for gaine and boasting and many encreasing their incontinencie with periurie and diuers sortes of adulterie c Balaeus de Act. Rom. Pont. de Greg. Christianis It is recorded that Gregorie the first did among the first commaunde single life vnto priests but after finding that they did commit filthinesse secretly that thereof many children conceiued were murdred he did abrogate that commādement and said it was better to marry then to giue cause of slaughter For when on a time hee sent to fish in a ponde there were found in the same sixe thousand heades of drowned children which hee seeing to come of this constrained single life mourning and sighting from the depth of his heart did forthwith reuoke his decree Hee that readeth the liues of popes if it were onely in popish writers or could trauell and learne the guise of Rome or could but vnderstand what the commishioners of King Henry the eight of noble memorie found and saw in putting downe of Abbies hee would easily in this point beleeue the papist d Metropol lib. 9. cap. 34. Krantius where hee saith That in the cittie of Rome Continencie is more rare then a white Swanne among seculer men And this soare is growne grieuous that euerie where it is complained of So that their a Campegius reade Ioh. Sleid. coment lib. 4. verie champions and defenders are forced to confesse that the popish bishops doe not onely wincke at the beastly filthinesse of their priestes but also take money to suffer such wickednesse yea they are not ashamed to face it out with this whoorish boldnesse as to say Shrift foster father of filthinesse It is a much more grieuous sinne for a priest to haue a wife then to keepe many whoores at home This sinne of vncleannesse shall you also finde to bee nourished by shrift For beside many other things we b Histor tripart lib. 9. cap. 35. reade that Nectarius Bishop of Constantinople finding by experience how apt this confessing to a priest was to breed and nourish whoordome tooke it vtterly away in those Greeke Churches But in the Latine churches remaining still one example may suffice to shew what a rich and fatte dunging vnto a single life this shrift hath beene and is to bring forth such vncleane and beastly fruit We c Discouerie of the holy inquisition of Spaine printed at Londō 1569 reade of the Spanish inquisition that on a time it pleased the Lords inquisitors of the holy house to cause proclamation to bee solempnly pronounced in the prouince of Siuill that whosoeuer knew of their certaine knowledge or by report that any Monks or other religious or spirituall persons had abused their holy sacrament of confession to any such abhominable vse or that any ghostly father had dealt in any such sort with their shrift children they shall signifie it to the house of inquisition But this proued to be so great and plentifull an haruest to that holy house for so many so sundrie women of all sortes yea of the grauer matrons were touched in conscience to enforme the holie fathers as obedient children that they were faine for verie shame to leaue it of as they began and secreatly to hang vp these holie men which heard confession by their purses whom they durst not for the multitude call into open question for their adulterous and filthie liuing But this shrieft The greatest policie in the world did the pope compasse by the setling of auriculer confession if you marke it is not onely naturally fit to foster this kinde of filthinesse but also all treasons and sedition and all licence to euerie kinde of wickednes noisome to the common wealth For howe thinke you was the Pope able to wrestle with the Emperours and Kings of the worlde if hee had not all the ghostlie fathers at commaundement who vnder Benedicite might and did lead the people whither they list and who is it that being so easilie as by confession pardoned of all his sins which would not be encouraged to run after the like or greater exces Moreouer what thing could be kept secreat from his beastlie holines when his seruants were the princes confessors councellors To maintain theeues Sanctuaries for maintenance of euill doers murderers and traitors they haue sanctuaries cloisters and monasteries to hide keep them from the ciuil power Their imagery keeping their seruice in an vnknowen tong with conceiling of holy scriptures kept the people in such awe and motherly deuotion that they might easily carie the people not onely against their liege Lords on earth but euen against the Lord God of heauen Their holie daies and fasting daies grewe to such numbers that the meaner people could not tell howe to liue Their merites praiers for the dead oblations sacrifice of the masse and such like superstitions stale away the ritches of the comminaltie and made manie good heires begge a crust at their religious monasteries Of all these things not onely stories and experience Polydor verg hist Angl. li. 7. Lex ad Manumortua but also the Lawyers can certifie by the statutes that haue been made against incest buggerie appeales holie daies and dead mens deuotions But the thing that I will specially stand vpon is this that beside all these which doo naturally in that religion afflickt and keepe vnder the comely and honorable estate of the common wealth there are other things in the lordlynesse and spirituall preheminence of the prelacie and especially of the Pope that make the ciuill state as no state except as a meere slaue and they tread vnder foote all earthlie kingdoms First I obserue the popish doctrine as it was suffered by the Emperour Poperie ouerthrew the east Empire by his ouergrowing to haue wayed downe the imperiall authoritie namely by graunting to Boniface the third the title of vniuersall Bishop he lost his authoritie ouer the pope and cleargie as is before at large declared And when in the second Councell of Nice the Empire condescended to images it was presently so weake that it had no more power to holde out in Italie And lastlie when the Greekes agreed more generallie vnto poperie at the Councell of Basill The Turke by and by ouercame Constantinople and so the Empire of the East was vtterly abolished Secondly though Charles the great rose vp about that time Emperour in the West and so from thencefoorth the Pope hath seemed to allow and maintaine an Empire in the west yet all men knowe that the warres raysed against the Emperours by the Popes for the Primacie in their inuesting of Prelates and such like hath made it a verie poore thing for that it was in the daies of the said Charles For though poperie vse the ciuill sworde for her defence yet it suffereth not the glorie and power of the