red more of him then you For I haue red ouer his boke of Martyrs and so I thinke did neuer you For if you had red so diligently in M. Foxe as you haue ben hasty to snatch at this place he would haue taught you the forgery of these Epistles whereout you fetch your authorities and would haue shewed you that the distinguishing of the orders of metropolitanes bishops and other degrees whych you say sometimes had their beginnings in the apostles times somtimes you can not tell whē were not in Higinus time which was a. 180. yeres after Christ I perceiue you fear M. Foxe is an ennemy vnto your archbyshop and primate therfore it seemeth you went about to corrupt hym wyth hys praise and to seeke to drawe hym if it were possible vnto the archbyshop and if not yet at the least that he would be no ennemy if he would not nor could not be his frend You make me suspect that your praise is not harty but pretended because you do so often so bitterly speake against all those that will not receiue the cap and surplice and other ceremonies wherof M. Fox declareth his great misliking For answer vnto the place because I remēber it not nor meane not to read ouer the whole boke to seeke it I say first as I said before that there may be some thing before or after which may geue the solution to this place especially seeing M. Foxe in another place prouing the Epistles of Stephanus to be counterfet he vseth thys reason because the fifthe Canon of the sayd Epistles solemnely entreateth of the difference betwene primates metropolitanes and archbyshops whych distinction sayth he of titles and degrees sauor more of ambition thē persecution Moreouer I say that M. Foxe wryting a story doth take greater paine and loketh more diligently to declare what is done and in what time and by whom then how iustly or vniustly how conueniently or inconueniently it is done Last of all if any thing be spoken there to the hinderance of the sincerity of the gospell I am well assured that M. Foxe whych hath trauailed so much and so profitably to that end will not haue hys authority or name therin to bring any preiudice Now wil I also wyne with you and leaue it to the iudgement of the indifferent reader how well out of the scriptures councels wryters old and new you haue proued either the lawfulnes at all of the names of archbishops patriarches archdeacons primates or of the lawfulnes of the office of them and of byshops whych be in our times And for as much as I haue purposed to answer in one place that which is scattered in diuers I will heere answere halfe a shete of paper whych is annexed of late vnto thys boke put forthe in the name and vnder the credite of the B. of Salisbury Wherin I wil say nothyng of those byting sharpe words which are giuen partly in the beginning when he calleth the propounders of the proposition whych concerneth archbyshops and archdeacons nouices partly in the end when he calleth them children and the doctrine of the gospell wantonnes c. If he had liued for hys learning and grauitye and otherwyse good desertes of the church in defending the cause therof agaynst the papistes we coulde haue easely borne it at hys handes nowe he is deade and layde vp in peace it were agaynste all humanitye to dygge or to breake vp hys graue only I wil leaue it to the consideration of the reader vpon those things whych are alledged to iudge whether it be any wantonnes or noueltye whych is confirmed by so graue testimonyes of the auncient worde of god Vnto the place of the. 4. of the Ephesians before alledged he answeareth cleane contrary to that whych M. Doctor sayth that we haue nowe neyther Apostles nor Euangelists nor Prophets wherevppon he wold conclude that that place is no perfect paterne of the ministery in the church In deede it is true we haue not neyther is it nedefull that wee should It was therfore sufficient that there were once and for a time so that the wante of those nowe is no cause whye the minysteries there recited be not sufficient for the accomplyshment and full fynishing of the church nor cause whye anye other minysteries should be added besydes those whych are there recyted Afterward he saith that neither byshop nor elder are reckned in that place The pastor is there reckened vp and I haue shewed that the pastor and byshop are all one and are but dyuers names to signifye one thyng And as for those elders whych doe only gouerne they are made mention of in other places the apostles purpose being to recken vp here only those minysteries whych are conuersant in the worde as I haue before alledged and therefore the byshop and elder whych wyth gouernment teache also are there contained After that he sayeth there is no catechista if there be a pastor or as some thynke Doctor there is one whych bothe can and ought to instruct the youth neyther doth it pertayne to any other in the churche and publykely to teache the youth in the rudiments of religion then vnto eyther the pastor or doctor how so euer in some times and places they haue made a seuerall office of it And where he sayth that there is neyther deacon nor reader mentioned for the deacon I haue answeared that s Paul speaketh there only of those functiōs whych are occupyed both in teachyng and gouernyng the churches and therfore there was no place there to speake of a deacon and as for the reader it is no such office in the churche whych the minister may not doe And if eyther he haue not leysure or his strength and voyce wil not serue hym first to read some long time and afterwarde to preache it is an easye matter to appoynt some of the elders or deacons or some other graue man in the church to that purpose as it hathe bene practised in the churches in times past and is in the churches reformed in oure dayes without making any new order or office of the ministery Where he sayth that by thys reason we should haue no churches pulpits schooles nor vniuersities it is first easely answeared that S. Paule speaketh not in the. 4. to the Ephesians of all things necessary for the churche but only of all necessary ecclesiasticall functions whych do both teach gouerne in the church and then I haue already shewed that there were both churches and pulpits As for scholes and vniuersities it is sufficient commaundement of them in that it is commaunded that bothe the magistrates and pastors should be learned for he that commaundeth that they shoulde be learned commaundeth those things and those meanes wherby they may most conueniently come to that learning And we haue also examples of them commended vnto vs in the old Testament As in the boke of the Iudges when Debora commendeth the vniuersity men and those
whych handled the pen of the wryter that they came out to helpe in the battell against the enemies of god And in the boke of Samuel and of the Kings where Nayothe and Bethel Ierycho and a place beyond Iordan are specified places whych were scholes or vniuersities where the schollers of the Prophets were brought vp in the feare of God and good learning The continuaunce of whych scholes and vniuersities amongste the people of God maye be easely gathered of that whych S. Luke wryteth in the Actes where it may appeare that in Ierusalem there were certen Colledges appoynted for seuerall countrey men so that there was one Colledge to receiue the Iewes and Proselites whych came out of Cilicia an other for those that came out of Alexandria c. to study at Ierusalem And if any man be able to shew such euidence for archbyshops and archdeacons as these are for vniuersities and scholes I wil not deny but it is as lawfull to haue them as these Furthermore he sayeth that the church is not gouerned by names but by offices so is it in deede And if the office of an archbyshop or archdeacon can be shewed we will not striue for the name but for so much as all the nedefull offices of the church togither wyth their names are mentioned in the scripture it is truly sayde that bothe the offices and names of archbyshop and archdeacon being not only not contained in them but also condēned ought to be banished out of the churche Last of all he sayth that Anacletus if there be any waight in his words nameth an archb I haue before shewed what waighte there is in his woordes and I refuse not that he be weyghed wyth the byshops owne weightes whych he geueth vs in the handling of the article of the supremacye and in the. 223. and 224. pages by the whych waightes appeareth that thys Anacletus is not only lyght but a plaine counterfait The second reason whych sayeth that the churche of God vnder the lawe had all thyngs needefull appoynted by the commaundement of God the byshop sayeth he knoweth not what could be concluded of it I haue shewed before that there is nothyng les ment then that the church vnder the gospell should haue all those thyngs that that church had or shoulde haue nothing whych that had not but thys therevpon is concluded that the Lord whych was so carefull for that as not to omit the least would not be so careles for this church vnder the gospel as to omit the greatest And where he sayeth that there was then whych was called highe priest and was ouer all the rest he did well know that the cause therof was because he was a figure of Christe and dyd represent vnto the people the cheefetye and superioritye of oure sauioure Christe whych was to come and that oure sauioure Christe being come there is nowe no cause why there should be any such preheminence geuen vnto one and further that it is vnlawfull that there shoulde be any suche vnles it be lawfull to haue one head ▪ byshop ouer all the church For it is knowne that that prieste was the heade priest ouer all the whole Churche whych was during hys time vnto our sauioure Christe And as for those titles cheefe of the sinagogue cheefe of the sanctuary cheefe of the house of God I say that that maketh muche agaynst archbyshoppes and archdeacons for when as in steade of the sinagogue and of the sanctuarie and of the house of God or Temple are come particulare churches and congregations by this reason it foloweth that there shoulde be some cheefe not in euery prouince or diocese but in euery congregation and in dede so ought there to be certen cheefe in euery cōgregation whych should gouerne and rule the rest And as for the cheefe of the families of the Leuites and cheefe of the families of the priestes the same was obserued in all other tribes of Israell as a ciuile thyng And by all these princes ouer euery tribe and family as by the Prince of the whole land God did as it were by diuers liuely pictures unprint in their vnderstanding the cheefety and domination of our sauior Christ Moreouer these orders and pollicies touching the distribution of the offices of the Leuites and priests and touching the appoyntment of their gouernors were done of Dauid by the aduise of the prophets Gad Nathan whych receiued of the Lord by commaundement that whych they deluiered to Dauid And if so be that it can be shewed that archbyshops and archdeacons came into the church by any commaundement of the Lord then thys allegation hath some force but now being not only not commaunded but also as I haue shewed forbiddē euery man doth see that this reason hath no place but serueth to the vtter ouerthrow of the archbyshop and archdeacon For if Dauid being such a notable personage and as it were an angell of God durst not take vpon him to bring into the church any orders or pollicies not only not against the word of God but not without a precise word and commaundement of God who shall dare to be so bold as to take vpon him the institution of the cheefe office of the church and to alter the pollicy that God hath established by hys seruauntes the apostles And where the byshop sayth it is knowne and confessed that there wanted many things to the perfection of the church of the Iewes truely I do not know nor can not confes that that church wanted any thing to the perfection of that estate whych the Lord would haue them be in vntill the comming of our sauior Christ and if there were any thing wanting it was not for want of good lawes and pollicies wherof the question is but for want of due execution of them whych we speake not of For the two last reasons against the archbyshop and archdeacon although I be well acquainted wyth diuers that fauor this cause yet I did neuer heare them before in my life and I beleeue they cannot be proued to be hys reasons whose they are supposed to be and whych did set downe that proposition that the byshop confuteth Notwithstanding the former of these two seemeth to haue a good probability and to be grounded of that place of Logicke that sheweth that according as the subiect or substance of any thing is excellent so are those things that are annexed and adioyned vnto it But because I wold the simplest should vnderstand what is sayd or written I will willingly abstaine from such reasons the termes wherof are not easely perceiued but of those whych be learned And as for the answer whych the byshop maketh that in place of apostles prophets the gifts of tongues of healing and of gouernment are brought in vniuersities scholes byshops and archbyshops for scholes and vniuersities I haue shewed they haue bene alwayes and therfore can not come in to supply the roume of the apostles and prophets And
of may be remoued from amongst vs to the end that we being nearelyer both ioyned vnto the sincerity of the gospell and the pollicy of other reformed churches may therby be ioyned nearer wyth the Lord and may be set so far from Rome that both we may comfort our selues in the hope that we shall neuer returne thether againe our aduersaries whych desire it and by this too much agreement with them and too little wyth the reformed churches hope for it may not only be deceiued of their expectation but also being out of all hope of that whych they desire may the soner yeelde themselues vnto the truth whervnto they are now disobedient And as for the papistes triumphe in thys case I shall not greatly neede to feare it considering that their discords and contentions are greater and that our strife is because we would be farther from them For the other that profes the gospell I will desire in the name of God that they abuse not my labor to other end then I bestowe it and that they keepe them selues in their callings commit the matter by prayer vnto the Lord leauing to the ministers of the word of god and to the magistrates that whych appertaineth vnto them To come therfore to touch thys matter I answer that there is fault in the matter and fault in the fourme In the matter for that there are things there that ought not to be and thyngs there are wanting in the order that shuld be Of the first sort is that we may euermore be defended from all aduersity Now for as much as there is no promise in the scripture that we should be free from all aduersity and that euermore it semeth that this prayer might haue bene better conceiued being no prayer of faith or of the whych we can assure our selues that we shall obtaine it For if it be sayd that by the worde aduersity is meant all euill we know that it hath no such signification neither in this tongue of oures neyther in other tongues whych vse the same worde in common wyth vs but that it signifieth trouble vexation and calamitye from all the whych we may not desire alwayes to be deliuered And whatsoeuer can be alledged for the defence of it yet euery one that is not contentious may see that it needeth some caution or exception In the collect vpon the twelfth sonday after Trinitie sonday and likewise in one of those whych are to be sayd after the Offertorie as it is termed is done request is made that God would geue those thyngs whych we for oure vnworthynes dare not aske whych carieth wyth it still the note of the popishe seruile feare and sauoureth not of that confidence and reuerēt familiaritie that the children of God haue thorough Christ wyth their heauenly father For as we dare not wythout our sauioure Christ aske so much as a crumme of bread so there is nothing whych in hys name we dare not aske being needefull for vs and if it be not needefull why should we aske it And if all the prayers were gathered together and referred to these two heades of Gods glory and of the thyngs whych pertaine to this present life I can make no Geometricall and exact measure but verely I beleue there shal be found more then a third part of the prayers whych are not psalmes and texts of scriptures spent in praying for and praying against the commodities and incommodities of this life whych is contrary to all the arguments or contents of the prayers of the churche whych are sette downe in the scripture and especially of our sauior Christes prayer by the whych ours ought to be directed which of .vij. petitions bestoweth one only that wayes And this these foresayd prayers do not only in generall words but by deducting the commodities and incommodities of thys life into their particulare kindes we pray for the auoiding of those dangers which are nothyng neare vs as from lightning and thundering in the midst of winter from storme and tempest when the weather is most faire and the seas most calme c. It is true that vpon some vrgent calamity a prayer may and ought to be framed whych may beg eyther the commodity for want whereof the Church is in distres or the turning away of that mischeefe whych eyther approcheth or whych is alreadye vppon it but to make those prayers whych are for the present time and daunger ordinarye and dailye prayers I can not hetherto see any either scripture or example of the primitiue churche And heere for the simples sake I will set downe after what sorte thys abuse crept into the church There was one Mamercus bishop of Vienna whych in the time of great earthquakes whych were in Fraunce instituted certaine supplications whych the Grecians we of them call the Letany whych concerned that matter there is no doubte but as other discommodities rose in other countreys they likewise had prayers accordingly Nowe Pope Gregorie eyther made himselfe or gathered the supplications that were made againste the calamities of euery countrey and made of them a great Letany or supplication as Platina calleth it and gaue it to be vsed in all churches whych thing albeit all churches might do for the time in respect of the case of the casamity whych the churches suffered yet there is no cause why it should be perpetuall that was ordained but for a time and why all landes should pray to be deliuered from the incommodities that some land hathe bene troubled wyth The like may be sayd of the gloria patri and the Athanasius Crede it was first brought into the churche to the ende that nen thereby should make an open profession in the church of the diuinitie of the sonne of God against the detestable opinion of Arius and his disciples wherwith at that time maruellously swarmed almost the whole christendome now that it hath pleased the Lord to quench that fire there is no such cause whye these things should be in the church at the least why that gloria patri should be so often repeated Moreouer to make Benedictus Magnificat and Nunc dimittis ordinarye and daily prayers seemeth to be a thing not so conuenient considering that they do no more concerne vs thē all other scriptures do and then doth the Aue Maria as they called it For although they were prayers of thanks geuing in Simeon ʒacharie and the blessed virgin Mary yet can they not be so in vs whych haue not receiued lyke benefites they may be added to the number of Psalmes and so song as they be but to make daily and ordinary prayers of them is not wythout some inconuenience and disorder And so haue I answeared vnto those thyngs whych are contained in the 202. 203. pages sauing that I must admonish the reader that wheras you will proue that we ought to haue an ordinarye prayer to be deliuered from danger of thunder lightnings c. because there are examples
not be husbandmen crafts mē c. yet may haue ciuil offices I thinke far otherwise that although neither be lawfull yet the one were more tollerable then the other For seing after the ministery of the word there is no calling vnder the sunne weightyer and which requireth greater exercise of the mynde then the office of the magistrate it is agaynst all reason to lay this heauy burthen vpon a man that is already loden and hath as much as he is able to beare It were more equall if they will needes adde vnto the weyght of thys burthen to lay some lyghter charge of exercising handy craft then to breake hys backe with the charge of a cyuill magistrate And whereas in the pollicy of M. Doctor it semeth a furtherance to the gospell to ioyne these together which was also the pollicy of the Idolaters as I haue before declared in the wisedome of God it hath semed farre otherwyse which I doubt not dyd therfore separate the ministery from thys pompe whiche is commendable in the cyuill magistrate least the efficacy and power of the simplicitie of the word of God and of the mynistery should be obscured whilest men would attribute the conuersion of soules vnto the gospell dew vnto the worde and to the spirite of God to these gloryous shewes And least whylest the mynyster haue the woorde in one hande and the sword in the other men should not be able to iudge so well in their consciences of the mighty operation of the worde of God in them For they might doubt with them selues whether the feare out ward shew of the mynister caryed some stroke with them in beleuing the word But M. Doctor sayeth that cyuill offices are not to be counted worldly affayres but heauenly and spirituall it is so and yet when they are compared with the ecclesiasticall offices they may be called secular offices for so muche as they together with the care of relygion procure and prouide for the things wherby we may quietly and commodiously lyue here where the ecclesiasticall offices are immediatly and only bent to procure the glory of God and the saluation of men and in that signification of heauenly spirituall which you take marchandyse husbandry and the handy craft be heauenly and spyrituall although not in the same degree All lawfull callinges came from God returne to hym agayne that is he is both author of them and they ought to be referred to hys glory so that if the mynister may exercise all thinges which be heauenly and spirituall you may as well bring hym downe to the plough as promote hym to the courte And whereas M. Doctor sayth that the office of a commissyoner is ecclesiasticall because it handleth ecclesiasticall causes I meruayle that he is so ignorant that he can not put a difference betweene geuing iudyciall sentences and appoynting bodely punishmentes which are meere cyuill and betweene the vnderstanding the truth of euery such cause according as the worde of God defyneth of it which is a thing common as wel vnto the magistrate as vnto the minister and wherein the mynister because he ought to be most ready ought if neede be consulted with An other of Maister Doctors reasons is that as kinges doe serue Christ by making lawes for hym so byshoppes doe serue Christ by executing lawes for him As though it pertayned not vnto the magistrates to execute lawes aswell as to make them and as if the magistrate were not therefore called a speaking law because by executing them he doth cause the lawes after a fashion to speake Thys is to deuide the stake of the magistrate betwene hym and the byshop yea to geue the byshoppe the best part of it For wee know that with vs the people be at making of the lawes which may not meddle with the execution of them And if M. Doctor say that he meaneth not hereby to shut the prince from executing the lawes then as hys similytude when it is at the best proueth nothing so by thys meanes it haltes downe ryght and is no simylitude As for Elie and Samuell they are extraordinary examples which may thereby appeare for that both these offices first meting in Melchisedech afterward in Moses were by the commaundement of God seuered when as the Lord toke from Moses being so wise godly a man the priesthode gaue it to Aaron and to hys successors And so for so much as when the Lord would polishe hys church make it famous renoumed in the world he gaue thys order It appeareth that he wold haue this to be a perpetuall rule vnto his church And by so much it is the clearer for that the Lord did not tary vntil Moses death but toke the priesthode away frō Moses which was a man as able to execute both as eyther Elie or Samuell And thys may be also easely seene for that in a maner alwayes where there was any good and stayed estate of the churche these offices were mynistred by seuerall persons and then met were mingled when the estates were very ruinous and myserable And if thys be a good reason to proue that mynisters may exercise ciuill offices it is as good a reason to proue that princes may preach and mynister the sacramentes For if the mynisters may exercise ciuill offices because Elie and Samuell being mynisters did so the Princes and Iudges may preach the word and mynister the sacramentes because Elie and Samuell being princes and iudges dyd so And so we see how M. Doctor going about to defende one confusion bringeth in an other As for Elias killing the false prophetes and our sauiour Christes whipping out of the temple it is strange that Maister Doctor will alledge them as thinges to be followed when he may as well teach that we may cal for fire from heauen as Elias dyd and being demaunded answere nothing as our sauiour dyd as to follow these actions which are most singular and extraordinary And if these one or two examples be enough to breake the order that God hath set by thys a man may proue that the mynisters may be fyshers and tent makers because Peter and Paule being mynisters dyd fyshe and make tents And truely these are not so extraordinary and from the generall rule as the other be And it was permitted in a councell that rather then a mynister should haue two benefices he might labor with hys handes to supply hys want withall When S. Paule willed Tim. that he should not receiue an accusation agaynst an elder vnder two or three witnesses he dyd commit nothing les then any ciuill office vnto hym And M. Doctor hym selfe hath alledged it before as a thing incident to the office of a byshop and therefore he doth forget hymselfe maruellously now that maketh thys a ciuill office And doth M. Doctor thincke that S. Paule made magistrates Or is he of that iudgement that the church in the tyme of persecution may make ciuill officers
whether a man consider the schollers that learne or the scholemaisters whych teach or the orders appoynted for the gouernment of the scholes they shall be found to be rather ciuill then ecclesiasticall and therfore can not come in stead of any ecclesiasticall ministery If the byshop do meane that they come in place of the gift of tongues and knowledge of the gospell that was first geuen miraculously I graunt it and then it maketh nothing to this question As for byshops they can not come in place of apostles or prophets for as much as they were when the Apostles Euangelists and Prophets were and are one of those ministeries whych S. Paul mentioneth in the. 4. to the Ephesians being the same that is the pastor There remaineth therfore the archbyshop whych if he came in place of the Prophets and apostles as the byshop sayeth howe commeth it to pas that the byshop sayeth by and by oute of the authoritye of Erasmus that Titus was an archbyshop for at that time there was bothe apostles prophets and Euangelists If it be so therfore that the archbyshop must supply the want of apostles c. howe commeth it to pas he wayteth not hys time whilest they were deade but commeth in like vnto one whych is borne oute of time and like the vntimely and hasty frute whych is seldome or neuer wholesome And for one to come into the apostles or prophets place requireth the authority of him whych ordained the apostles c. whych is the Lord and hys institution in hys word whych is that whych we desire to be shewed But heereof I haue spoken before at large The necessity of Deanes I do not acknowledge and I haue already spoken of them Touching Prebendaries I shall haue occasion to speake a worde heereafter For Earles and Dukes and such like titles of honor they are ciuil neither doth it folowe that because there may newe titles or newe offices be brought into the ciuile gouernement that therefore the same may be attempted in the church For God hath left a greater liberty in instituting thyngs in the common wealth then in the churche For for so much as there be diuers common wealthes and diuers formes of common wealthes and all good it falleth oute that the offices and dignityes whych are good in one common wealth are not good in an other as those which are good in a Monarchie are not good in Aristocratie and those which are good in Aristocratie are not good in a populare state But that can not be sayde of the churche whych is but one and vniforme and hathe the same lawes and forme of gouernment throughout the worlde In common wealths also there are conuersions one forme being changed into an other whych can not be in the true church of god As for Erasmus authoritye whych sayeth that Titus was an archbyshop I haue answeared to it And whereas Chrysostome sayeth that the iudgement of many byshops was committed to Titus I haue declared in what sorte that is to be vnderstanded and yet vpon those words the byshop can hardly conclude that whych he doth that Titus had the gouernment of many byshops For it is one thing to say the iudgement of many was committed vnto Titus and an other thyng to say that he had the gouernement of many The answer of the byshop vnto the fourth supposed reason pertaineth vnto an other question that is whether ecclesiasticall persons ought to exercise ciuil iurisdiction whervnto I will answer by Gods grace when I come to speake vpon occasion of M. Doctors boke of that question In the meane season I wil desire the reader to consider what weake grounds the archbyshop and archdeacon stand vpon seeing that the byshop of Sarum being so learned a man and of so great reading coulde say no more in their defence whych notwythstanding in the controuersies agaynst D. Harding is so pithy and so plentifull Now I haue shewed how little those things whych M. doctor bringeth make for proufe of that wherfore he alledgeth them I will for the better vnderstanding of the reader set downe what were the causes why the archbishops were first ordained and what were their prerogatiues and preheminēces before other byshops and the estate also of the old byshops whych liued in those times wherin althoughe there were great corruptions yet the church was in some tollerable estate to the entent it may appeare partly how little nede we haue of them now and partly also howe greate difference there is betweene oures and them Of the names of Metropolitane it hath bene spoken howe that he shoulde not be called the cheefe of priests or the high priest or byshop of byshops nowe I will sette downe hys office and power whych he had more then the byshops In the councell of Antioche it appeareth that the byshop of the metropolitane seate called Synodes propounded the matters whych were to be handled c. the archbyshop doth not nowe call Synodes but the Prince dothe for as much as there is no conuocation wythout a parliament he doth not propound the matters and gather the voyces but an other chosen whych is called prolocutor therfore in the respect that an archb metropolitane was first ordained we haue no neede of an archb or metropolitane Againe an other cause also appeareth there whych was to see that the byshoppes kepte them selues wythin their owne dioceses and brake not into an others diocese But first this may be done wythout an archbyshop and then it is not done of the archb hym selfe geuing licences vnto the wandring ministers to go throughout not so few as a dosen dioceses therefore the office of an archb is not necessarye in thys respecte and if it were yet it must be other then it is nowe Againe the cause whye the metropolitane differed from the rest and whye the calling of the Synode was geuen to hym as it appeareth in the same coūcel was for that the greatest concourse was to that place and most assembly of men whervnto also may be added for that there was the best commodity of lodging of vitailing and for that as it appeareth in other councels it was the place and seate of the Empire But wyth vs neyther the greatest concourse nor assemblye of men nor the greatest commodity of lodging and vitailing neyther yet the seate of the kingdome is in the metropolitane city therefore wyth vs there is no suche cause of a metropolitane or archbyshop In the councel of Carthage holden in Cyprians time it appeareth that no byshop had authority ouer an other to compell an other or to condemne an other but euery byshop was left at hys owne liberty to answer vnto God and to make hys accompt vnto Christ and if any thing were done against any bishop it was done by the consent of all the byshops in the prouince or as many as coulde conueniently assemble Therefore Cyprian whych was the metropolitane byshop had then no authoritye ouer the rest
and that the mynister made prayers and thankes geuing in the hearing of the people which is that which the Euangelistes call the blessing and hath bene of later tymes called the consecration and after that the people were partakers of them that then thys being done the deacons dyd cary of that which was left vnto those which were not present for that corruption of sending the communion vnto the houses was then in the churche agaynst which I haue before spoken now if to cary to a priuate house the breade and wyne which was blessed or set a part by prayers by obeying the institution of Christ by the mynister be to mynister the sacrament of the supper then Serapions boye of whome mention is made by Eusebius mynistred the sacrament For Serapion being sicke as I haue before shewed and sending hys boye to the mynister for the sacrament receiued the same at the handes of hys boye for that the mynister being sicke could not come hym selfe so by M. Doctors reason Serapions boye mynistred the sacrament And a man would not thinke that one that hath bene the Quenes Maiesties publike professor of diuinitie in Cambridge should not know to distinguish put a difference betwene mynistring the sacrament helping to distribute the bread and the cup of the sacrament And if M. Doctor could not learne thys in bokes yet he might haue eyther sene it or at least heard tell of it in all the reformed churches almost where the Deacons doe assist the mynister in helping of hym to distribute the cuppe and in some places also the bread for the quicker and spedyer dispatch of the people being so many in number that if they should all receiue the bread and the cuppe at the mynisters hand they should not make an end in eight houres which by that assistance may be finished in two which is tha◠that M. Caluin sayth For he sayth the Deacons dyd reach the cup maketh no mention of the bread And if thys be to mynister the sacrament then they that cut the loafe in peeces they that fetch the wine for the supper they that poure it forth from greater vessels into glasses and cuppes or whosoeuer aydeth any thing in thys action doe mynister the sacrament then the which thing there can be nothing more ridyculous In the ende M. Doctor to shut vp thys matter sayth that it is the first steppe to the mynistery and so ioyned of S. Paule in the third chapter and first Epistle to Timothe But what a reason is thys to be a Deacon is the first step to the mynistery therefore the Deacon may preach and mynister the sacraments when as the contrary rather followeth For if it be a step to the mynistery then it is not the mynistery but differeth from it and so ought not to doe the things that belong to the mynister But I deny that it is or ought to be alwayes a steppe to the mynistery I knew that it hath bene the vse of long tyme I know also that there be very many which interpreate the place of S. Paule where he speaking of the Deacons that behaue them selues well that they get them selues a good bathmon that is a degree to be a mynister or a byshop But I will shew a manifest reason why it can not so be vnderstanded which is for that as the functions of a Deacon or a mynister are dyuers so are the giftes also wherby those functions are executed likewyse dyuers And therefore there may be some men for their wisedome and grauitie discretion and faythfulnesse and whatsoeuer other giftes are required in hym that shoulde doe thys office of prouyding for the poore and to be a good Deacon which notwithstanding for some impediment in hys tongue or for want of vtterance shall neuer be able as long as he lyueth to be a good mynister of the word and therefore the giftes being dyuers wherewith those offices must be executed although it is neyther vnlawfull nor vnmeete to make of a Deacon a mynister if he haue giftes for that purpose yet I deny that S. Paule appoynteth that the Deaconship shoulde be as it were the seede or frie of the mynisters or that he meaneth by those words that the Deaconship is a steppe to the pastorshyp Which may yet also further appeare by the phrase of speach which the Apostle vseth For he doth not say that they that do the office of Deaconship well shall come to or get a good standing but he sayth that in so doing they doe gette themselues a good standing that is they get themselues authoritie estimation in the church whereby they may be both the bolder to doe their office and whereby they may doe it with more frute Whereas when they liue naughtely they neyther dare doe oftentimes that which they should doe nor yet that which they doe well taketh so good effect because of the discredite which commeth by their euill behauiour And so I conclude that M. Doctor hath brought hetherto nothing to proue why either Deacōs ought or else haue wont eyther to preach or to mynister the sacramentes And albeit M. Doctor be not able to shew it yet I confes that it hath bene in tymes past permitted vnto them in some churches to baptise in other some to preach and baptise and sometymes also to mynister the supper but I say also that thys was a corruption and vsed at those tymes when there were many other grose vntollerable abuses from the which I doe appeale vnto that which was first that is the institution of the Apostles which lymitted and bounded euery function within hys seuerall limites and borders which it ought not to passe Vnto the three next sections contayned in the. 94. 95. and a peece of the. 96. pages touching that which is called the introite and fragments of the Epistles and Gospels and the rehersall of the Nicene Crede I haue declared before the causes of our mislyking neyther meane I to stand to refute the slaunderous surmises which M. D. rayseth of the authors of the Admonition wherby he would bring thē into the suspitiō of Arrianisme to whom all those that feare God beare witnes y they are most far from He him selfe notwithstanding once again in the last of these three sections 96. page doth lay the manyfest foundations of that part of Anabaptisme which standeth in hauing al things common saying directly agaynst S. Peter that in the tyme of the Apostles Christians had proprietie in nothing And further geuing great cause of triumph of the one syde to the Catabaptistes and such as deny the baptisme of yong infants in matching that with those things which the church may although not without incommoditie yet without impietie be without and of the other syde vnto the papistes whilest he sayth that we reade not of any women which receiued the Lords supper in the Apostles tyme For thys is that they alledge to proue theyr vnwritten verityes when as
it is easely answeared both to the papistes and M. Doctor that for so much as the Apostle doth witnes that the churches of Corinth consysting of meÌ„ and women dyd receyue that therefore women also dyd receiue and were pertakers of the Lords table Thus it is manyfest that M. Doctor only to displease the authors of the Admonition sticketh not to pleasure iij. notable heretickes Anabaptists Catabaptists and Papists To the next section contayned in the. 96. and a peece of the. 97. page MAister Doctor asketh how it is proued that there was any examination of the communicantes After thys sorte all thinges necessarye were vsed in the churches of God in the Apostles times but examynation of those whose knowledge of the mistery of the gospell was not knowne or doubted of was a necessary thing therfore it was vsed in the churches of God which were in the Apostles tyme Then he sayeth he is sure there is neither commaundement nor example in all the scripture In the booke of the Chronicles he might haue red that the Leuites were there commaunded to prepare the people vnto the receyuing of the passeouer in place whereof we haue the Lordes supper Now examination being a part of the preparation it followeth that heere is coÌ„maundement of the examination And how holdeth thys argument S. Paule commaundeth that euery man should proue hym selfe Ergo there is no commaundement that the mynister should proue and examine them so I may say that euery man is a spirituall king to gouerne hym selfe therefore he may not be gouerned of others The authors of the Admonition doe not meane that euery one shoulde be examyned as those whose vnderstanding in the gospell is well knowen or which doe examyne them selues and so they interpreate them selues in the. 108. page To the next section in the 97. 98. and in a peece of the. 99. pages I Haue spoken of thys bread before in generall and if Maister Doctor dyd not disagree wyth hym selfe we are heere well agreed For first he sayth it skilleth not what bread we haue and by and by he sayth that he wysheth it were common bread and assigneth a great cause which the booke of seruice lykewise assigneth which is to auoyde superstition And it is certaynely known by experience that in dyuers places the ignoraunt people y haue beene mysled in popery haue knocked and kneeled vnto it and helde vp theyr handes whilest the mynister hath geuen it not those only which haue receyued it but those which haue bene in the churche and looked on I speake of that whiche I knowe and haue sene wyth my eyes An other reason is alleaged by Mayster Bucer which is that there being some thicker substance of breade and such as should moue and stirre vp the tast better the consyderation of the mynde which is conueyed by the senses might be also the more effectuall and so the fruite of receyuing greater By the way note that eyther Bucers censures vppon the booke of seruice be falsely ascribed vnto hym or be corrupted or else were not euen in hys owne tyme heere thought good substantiall and suffycient when there is some cause by Acte of Parliament afterwarde found I meane in the second booke of kyng Edward to mislyke wafer cakes and to chaunge them into common bread How so euer it be that circumstance would be well marked that it was one thyng to talke of a wafer cake in the vse of the supper in kyng Edward dayes before they were iustly abolyshed an other thyng now being reuoked after they were remoued Besides that we be called by the example of our sauioure Christe to vse in the supper vsuall and common bread for what time our sauioure Christ celebrated hys supper there was no other breade to be gotten but vnleauened breade there being a straight charge geuen by the lawe that there should be then no leauened bread And it is not to be doubted but that if there had bene then when he celebrated hys supper as at other times nothyng but leauened breade he woulde not haue caused vnleauened bread to haue bene made for that purpose of celebrating hys supper But thys is a grosse ouersyght of M. Doctor both in thys section and that whych goeth before that he hathe not learned to make a difference betwene that whych is not sincerely done and that whych is not at all done For in the former section he triumpheth vpon the admonition because they conclude that for as muche as there is no examination therefore it is not rightly and sincerely ministred For sayeth he the examination of the communicants is not of the substance of the sacrament and in thys section he sayeth that for as muche as it is not of the substance of the sacrament whether there be leauened or vnleauened bread therfore it is not sufficiently proued that the sacrament is not sincerely ministred But he ought to haue vnderstanded that if either the matter of the sacrament as bread and wine or the forme of it whych is the institution whych thyngs are only substantiall partes were wanting that then there should haue bene no sacrament ministred at all but they being retayned and yet other things vsed whych are not conuenient the Sacrament is ministred but not sincerely For example in the popishe baptisme there was the substance of baptisme but there being vsed spyttle and creame and candels and such beggerly trumpery it was not sincerely ministred therefore it is one thyng to minister sincerely and an other thyng to minister so that that whych is of the substance shoulde be wanting But of thys distinction I haue spokeÌ„ in an other place wherinto although M. doctor falleth in the next section and in other places yet thys shall be an answere for all The meaning of the Admonition in saying their God of the altar is plain enough that it is vnderstanded of the papists but that M. Doctor doth set him selfe to draw the authors of it into hatred and he can not be ignorant that when a man speaketh of thyngs whych are notoriously knowne he often vseth the or that or their wythout naming the thyngs whych he speaketh of To the next section contained in the. 99. and a peece of the. 100. page ALthough it be not of necessity that we shuld receyue the communion sitting yet there is the same cause of abolyshing kneeling that there is of remouing the wafer cake and if there be danger of superstition in one as M. Doctor confesseth why is there not danger in the other And if there be men that take occasion to fall at the one and that by superstition howe commeth it to passe that M. Doctor in the. 180. page sayeth that neyther gospeller nor papistes obstinate nor simple can superstitiously offend in this kneelyng when as the kneeling caryeth a greater shewe of worshyp and Imprinteth in the mindes of the ignorant a stronger opinion and a deeper print of adoration then the syght of a rounde â—ake And
for the excommunication By whych testimonies besydes the institution of God the practise of the churches in the apostles times appeareth manifestly what hath ben the vse of the churches touchyng excommunication as long as there was any purity in the church And it is to be obserued heere that bothe in thys parte of the discipline and also in all other partes of it as I haue shewed as in harder and difficulter causes thyngs were referred vnto the Synodes prouincial nationall or generall as the case required so if the elders of any church shall determine any thing contrary to the worde of God or inconueniently in any matter that falleth into their determination the partyes whych are greeued may haue recourse for remedy vnto the elders and pastoures of dyuers churches that is to say vnto Synodes of shires or dioceses or prouinces or nations of as great or of as small compasse as shall be thought conuenient by the church according to the difficulty or waight of the matters whych are in controuersy Whych meetings ought to be as often as can be conueniently not only for the decision of suche difficultyes whych the seuerall presbyteries can not so well iudge of but also to the ende that common counsell myght be taken for the best remeady of the vices or incommodities whych eyther the churches be in or in daunger to be in And as those thyngs whych can not be decided by the Eldershyp of the churches are to be reserued vnto the knowledge of some Synode of a shire or diocese so those whych for their hardnesse can not be there decided must be brought into the Synodes of larger compasse as I haue shewed to haue bene done in the apostles times and in the churches whych followed them long after These thyngs standing in thys sorte all those Courtes of byshoppes and archbyshoppes must needes fall whych were by Antichrist erected against thys lawfull iurisdiction of Eldership as the courte of faculties and those whych are holden by chauncellors commissaries officials and suche lyke the describyng of the corruptions wherof would require a whole boke of whych I will note the principall heads and summes First for the they enter into an offyce whych pertaineth not vnto them but to euery particulare church and especially to the eldershyp or gouernoures of the church and therfore although they should do nothing but that whych were good lawfull and godly yet can they not approue their labors vnto men much les to God puttyng their sickle in an other mannes harnest For neyther by the truthe of the worde of God dothe that appertayne vnto them neyther by M. Doctors owne iudgement if hys yea were yea and hys nay nay consydering that he sayd before that thys iurisdiction belongeth to the ministers And although it should pertaine vnto the Byshop as he is called to whom notwythstanding it dothe not appertaine yet were it not lawfull for hym to translate thys office vnto an other and to appoynt one to doe it when he lysteth no more then he can appoynt them to doe hys other offyces of ministring as preaching the worde and ministring the sacraments An other thyng is that in these courts whych they cal spiritual they take the knowledge of matters which are meere ciuil therby not only peruerting the order whych God hath appoynted in seuering the ciuill causes from the ecclesiasticall but iustling also wyth the ciuill magistrate and thrusting hym from the iurisdiction whych appertaineth vnto hym as the causes of the contracts of mariage of diuorces of willes testaments with diuers suche other like things For although it appertaine to the church and the gouernors therof to shew out of the word of God whych is a lawfull contract or iust cause of diuorce and so forthe yet the iudiciall determination and definitiue sentences of all these do appertaine vnto the ciuill magistrate Heerevnto may be added that all their punishments almost are penalties of mony whych can by no meanes appertaine to the church but is a thyng meerely ciuill Thirdly as they handle matters whych do not appertain vnto the Ecclesiasticall iurisdiction so those whych do appertaine vnto the church they do turne from their lawfull institution vnto other ends not sufferable whych M. doctor hym selfe doth confesse in excommunicating for money c. Last of all they take vpon them those thyngs whych are neyther lawful for ciuill nor ecclesiasticall iurisdiction nor simply for any man to doe of whych sorte diuers are reckened vp by the admonition and same confessed by M. Doctor I will not heere speake of the vnfitnes of those whych are chefe offycers in these courts that the most of them are eyther papists or bribers or drunkardes I know what I wryte or epicures and such as liue of benefices and prebends in England or in Ireland doing nothing of those things whych appertaine vnto them and of other suche naughty persons whych are not only not meete to be gouernors in the church but whych in any reformed church shoulde not be so much as of the church I speake not of all I doubt not but there be some do the whych they do of conscience and with minde to healpe forwarde the Churche whych I trust will when the Lorde shall giue them more knowledge keepe them selues in their vocations and being men for their giftes apte and able either to serue the Church or the common wealth in some other calling will rather occupye theyr gifts there then where they haue no grounde to assure them selues that they doe please god Now I will take a short suruey of that whych M. doctor alleageth to proue his offices of master of faculties chancellors c. First he sayth in the 117 page out of the Ancyran councel that there were vicars of bishops wher although y name be not foūd of chācclors c. yet there is sayth he the office What vicar s Paules B. may haue and in what case I haue shewed before where I haue proued the necessary residence of euery pastor in his flock But I will note heere how M. Doctor both goe about to abuse hys reader in these vicares And first where there were three editions of which one only maketh mention of these vicares he tooke that left the other which is to be obserued for that thys varietie of editions rose of the diuers vnderstanding of the greke word chorepiscopos which may be taken eyther for hym that is byshop for an other and in hys place or for hym that is byshop in the country that is in some towne which is no citie so that chorepiscopus was opposed vnto the byshop which was of some citie And if it be so taken then here is no proofe for the vicarse of byshoppes But howsoeuer it be it shall appeare that the names of chauncelors and chorepiscopos doe not so much differ as the offices and functions of them For it appeareth in the same Councell and Canon that they were like the. 70. disciples
iudgement of M. Bucer And wheras M. doctor vpon that s. Peter willeth the husbands to geue honor to their wiues wold approue this manner of speach in matrimony wyth my body I thee worshyp he must vnderstaÌ„d that it is one thing wyth vs to worship and an other thing to honor For we honor men whych we do not worshyp and besides that S. Peter speaketh of the honor of the mynde wherby the husband shuld be moued to beare wyth the infirmities of his wife therfore it is vnfitly alleaged to proue that he may worship her with his body As for the receiuing of the Communion when they be marryed that it is not to be suffered onles there be a generall receiuing I haue before at large declared and as for the reason that is fathered of M. Bucer whych is that those that be Christians maye not be ioyned in maryage but in Christe It is verye slender and cold as if the sacrament of the supper were instituted to declare any such thyng or they could not declare their ioyning togither in Christ by no meanes but by receyuing the supper of the Lorde To the next section in the. 197. page TEll me M. doctor why there should be any such confirmation in the church being brought in by the fained Decretall Epistles of the Popes and no one tittle therof being once found in the scrypture and seeing that it hath bene so horribly abused and not necessary why ought it not to be vtterly abolyshed and thirdly thys confirmation hath very dangerous poynts in it The first steppe of popery in thys confirmation is the laying on of hands vpon the head of the childe wherby the opinion of it that it is a sacrament is confirmed especially when as the prayer dothe saye that it is done according to the example of the Apostles whych is a manifest vntruthe and taken in deede from the popish confirmation The seconde is for that the byshop as he is called must be the only minister of it wherby the popishe opinion whych esteemeth it aboue baptisme is confirmed For whilest baptisme may be ministred of the minister and not coÌ„firmation but only of the byshop there is great cause of suspition geuen to thinke that baptisme is not so precious a thing as confirmation seeing thys was one of the principall reasons wherby that wicked opinion was establyshed in popery I do not heere speake of the inconuenience that meÌ„ are constrained with charges to bryng their childreÌ„ oftentimes halfe a score miles for that which if it were nedeful might be as wel done at home in their owne parishes The thirde is for y â— â—â— the allegation of the seconde cause of the vsing of the confirmation the boke sayeth that by the imposition of hands and prayer the chyldren may receyue strengthe and defence agaynst all temptations whereas there is no promyse that by the laying on of hands vpon chyldren any suche gyfte shall be geuen and it maintayneth the popyshe distinction that the spirite of God is geuen at baptisme vnto the remissyon of synnes and in confirmation vnto strength the whych very worde strength the booke alledgeth and all thys M. Doctor confuteth by callyng of the authors of the admonition peeuish and arrogant To the next section contained in the. 198. 199. 200. 201. pages LEast M. Doctor as hys common fashyon is when the corruption of anye thyng is spoken agaynst say that we condemne buryall I would haue hym vnderstand that we hold that the body must be honestly and comely buried and that it is mete that for that cause some reasonable numbre of those whych be the frends and neyghbors about should accompany the corps to the place of buryall We hold it also lawfull to lament the dead and if the dignity of the persone so require we thynke it not vnlawfull to vse some way about the buriall wherby that may appeare but yet so that there be a measure kepte bothe in the weepyng and in the charges consydering that whereas immoderate eyther weepyng or pompe was neuer no not in the tyme of the lawe allowed nowe in the time of the gospell all that is not lawfull whych was permitted in the time of the law For vnto the people of God vnder the law weeping was by so much more permitted vnto them then vnto vs by howe muche they had not so cleare a reuelation and plaine syght of the resurrection as we haue whych was y cause also why it was lawfull for them to vse more cost in the embaulmyng of the dead therby to nouryshe and to helpe their hope touchyng the resurrection wherof we haue a greater pledge by the resurrection of our sauyor Christ then they had Nowe for the thyngs whych the admonition findeth fault wyth and thereof bryngeth reason M. Doctor of hys bare credite wythout any reason or scrypture or any thyng els commendeth them vnto vs sayeth they be good And thys you shall marke to be M. doctors symple shyft throughoute hys booke that when he hath no coloure of scripture nor of reason no name nor title of doctor theÌ„ to make vp some thyng he varyeth hys affirmation by all the figures he can as in saying simplye that it is so and then in askyng whether it be not so and after in askyng whether there is any other man will thynke that it is not so as if the woulde make vs beleeue that he setteth vs dyuers kindes of meates because he bryngeth the same in dyuers dyshes For besydes these reasons he hathe no reason eyther to proue that it is meete to haue prescript forme of seruice for the dead or that the minister should be drawne to thys charge Surely if the order be so good and conuenient it hath met with a very barren patron whych can say nothing for it And although there be enough sayd by the admonition yet because thys bold and hardy speache is enough to lead the simpler away to make them thinke that M. doctor hathe a good cause therfore I wil also say somthyng of these rites of buryal And first of all as thys almost is a generall fault in them all that they maintayne in the mindes of the ignorant the opinion of praying for the dead so is thys also a nother general fault that these ceremonyes are taken vp without any example either of the churches vnder the law or of the purest churches vnder the gospel that is of the churches in the apostles times For when the scripture descrybeth the ceremonies or rites of buryall amongste the people of God so dilygently that it maketh mention of the smallest thyngs there is no doubte but the holy Ghoste doth therby shew vs a paterne wherevnto we should also frame oure buryalles And therfore for so much as neyther the church vnder the law nor vnder the gospell when it was in the greatest puritye dyd euer vse any prescript forme of seruice in the buryall of theyr dead it coulde not be but daungerous
the glory of God whereof they saw the sacrament before theyr eyes Neyther is the hyghe priest commaunded to be present to thys ende that he should sitte as iudge of that matter but that he might dissolue the difficulties if any rose of the vnderstanding of the law and that hee myght pricke forward and styre vp by admonition the Princes to whome the iudgement appertayned if so bee he should see them colde slacke to reuenge the iniury done vnto the Lorde Which thing may the better appeare in that the handling of the matter is there appoynted not vnto the priestes but vnto the iudges or princes only and so lykewyse of matrimony and diuorse although the iudgement thereof appertayne vnto the ciuill magistrate yet the minister if there be any difficulty in knowing when it is a lawfull contract when the dyuorse is lawfull maye and ought to bee consulted wyth Thus may the common wealth and church enioy both the wysedome learning which is in the mynister things may bee done in that order which God hath appoynted without suche confounding and iombling of offyces and iurisdictions together For although Aristotles obeliscolychnion and Platoes dorydrepanon that is instrumentes seruing to two purposes bee lawfull in offyces of the common wealth where things are more free and left in greater liberty to bee ordered at the iudgement and aduise of men especially consydering that vppon the diuersitye of the formes of common wealthes varietie of regiment may spring yet in the church of God where things are brought to a strayghter rule and which is but one and vniforme the same may not bee suffered And yet euen those coÌ„mon wealth Philosophers which doe lycence vpon occasion that two offices may meete in one man holde that it is best and conuenientest that euery one shoulde haue a particulare charge For Aristotle sayeth that it is most agreeable to nature that hen shoulde be pros hen that is one instrument to one vse And Plato vseth the prouerbe mede heracleis pros duo against those which wil take vpon them diuers vocations and not content them selues with one so that they make the meting of many functions in one man to be a remedy only in extreme neede pouerty of able men And although both be vnlawfull yet as the case standeth in our realme it is more tellerable that the ciuill magistrate should doe the office of a minister then that the minister shuld intermeddle with the function of the magistrate For when the accountes shall be cast it will fall out that there are more sufficient able men to serue in the common wealth of thys realme then in the churche and greater wante in the one then in the other And if besyde thys both authoritie of the werd of God and lyght of reason wee will looke vnto the practise of the church many yeares after the time of the Apostles we shall finde that the church hath bene very carefull from time to time that thys order should bee kept that the ministers shuld not entangle them selues with any thing beside their ministery and those things which the word of God doth necessaryly put vpon them leâ—st the strength of their minde of their body being distracted vnto many thinges they should be the lesse able to accomplishe their ministery vnto the full Which may also partly appeare by that which I haue alledged out of Cyprian which will not permit them so much as to bee executors of a Testament And in one of the Canons whiche are ascribed vnto the Apostles it is enioyned that they should not entangle them selues with worldly offices but attend vpon their Ecclesiasticall affaires Further in the councell of Calcedon it was decreed that none of the clearkes or cleargie as it termeth them shoulde receiue any charge of those which are vnder age vnlesse they were suche as the lawes dyd necessarily cast vpon hym which it calleth inexcusable charges meaning by all lykelyhoode the wardshyp of hys brothers children or some suche thing Where is also declared the cause of that decree to haue beene for that there were certeine mynisters which were stewardes to noble men And in the. 7. canon of the same councell it is decreed that none of the cleargy should either goe to warfare as souldyers or captaynes or should receiue any secular honors and if they dyd they shoulde bee excommunicated or accursed Now I come to M. Doctors argumentes which he bringeth to establish thys disorder And first he sayeth mynisters of the word may not occupy them selues in wordly busines as to be marchants husbandmen craftes men and such like but they may exercise cyuill offices Where first of all I perceiue M. Doctor is of thys mynde that the order of God is not to be broken for small gayne or when a man must take great toyle of the body to breake it but it may be broken with getting of honor and doing of those things which may be done with out soyle with great commendation there it is lawfull to breake it In deede so the Poete but in the person of an vniust and ambition man sayd ei chre adicein tyrannidos heneca chre that is If a man must do vniustly he must doe it to beare rule Secondarely I doe see that M. Doctor will not be shackled and hyndered from hys ministery by a paire of yron fetters but if he can get a payre of golden fetters he is conteÌ„ted to be hampered and entangled from doing the office of ministery committed vnto hym For onles these should be the causes which should moue hym to take the one and refuse the other verely I see none For where as he sayth it is a helpe maynteineth relygion in deede that is the reason of the papistes which M. Caluin confuteth in hys institution And although it be good and necessary to punish vice and iniquity by corporall punishmentes and by cyuill corrections yet it doth no more follow that that should be done by the mynisters then it followeth that for that preaching and mynistring the sacramentes and excommunication are good and necessary therefore the same is fitte to be executed by the cyuill magistrate I graunt the mynisters haue also to punyshe vice for as the cyuill magistrates punishe lyghter faultes with some penalty of money or losse of membre so the churche and the mynister especially with the church hath to punishe faultes by represions and rebukes And as the cyuill magistrate punisheth greater faultes by death so the mynister with other whiche haue intereste hath with the sworde of excommunication power to kill those which be rebellious to cut them from the church as the other doth from the common wealth And if it be a helpe to the mynisters office that he shoulde meddle with ciuill punishmeÌ„ts why shuld it not be a helpe vnto the magistrates office that he should excommunicate and other things pertayning to the ecclesiasticall disciplyne And where as M. Doctor sayth they may