the expresse approbation of God so that if all the men of the world should agree to change tithes yet this would not make it lawfull without expresse warrant from God who hath appropriated tithes to himselfe and out of his owne right assigneth them to the maintenance of the ministerie Thirdly what reason should moue any man to thinke it sacriledge to take away lands giuen to the Church albeit giuen for superstitious vses and yet thinke it no sacriledge to take away or change tithes which were not giuen for superstitious vses but for maintenance of preaching For hee that alloweth some other prouision in place of tithes graunteth that to take away tithes in some case is not sacriledge If the restitution of some prouision in place of tithes could salue the Sacriledge why may not the Sacriledge of men bee excused who take away as much of the Church lands as are at the value of tenne thousand pounds and in place thereof giue tenne pounds For when any thing is taken away that a thing of the same value should bee restored who can expect and and who shall bee iudge if then to giue some thing in place of that which is taken away salue it from the crime of Sacriledge who seeth not to what a wretched estate the Church must needes bee brought for may not all bee taken away and something bee giuen backe in place thereof and yet that something bee as good as nothing But they who admit that tithes may bee taken away from the Church doe it with this caution so that a sufficient prouision bee left This is a castle in the aier that neuer stoode on the earth For if wee speake of the ordinary maintenance of the preaching ministerie a sufficient maintenance is not neither at any time hath beene without tithes and in this point the world is not like to alter Then to speake of a sufficient maintenance without tithes is but a conceit in the braines of some men which neuer was brought into action neuer will be God allowing a sufficient maintenance to the ministery nameth it tithes Now what stipend can man name that will supply the place of tithes I suppose it would much trouble the wisest to name a stipend that would bee sufficient at all times but tithes are sufficient at all times howsoeuer the price of things rise or fall the minister hath his part with his people in all estates by tithes which proportioning of the ministers estate making it able to answere all estates a like whether deare or cheape proceeding from the wisdom of God cannot be bettered or matched by mans wisdom Were it not then much easier to bring that ordinance in vse which standeth so agreable with the lawes of God nature of godly kings then to deuise strange courses which neuer were in vse and being deuised will neuer proue sufficient But let vs returne to the vse of this time whereof wee speake The vse of giuing lands to chiefe Churches whether begun before Urban or by him so much as in him lyeth he confirmeth prouiding that those lands so giuen may bee retained to the vse of the Church such lands and possessions were then giuen to the head Churches of euery countrey and committed to the Bishops who gouerned those Churches as to wise and faithfull stewards to husband the same according to the necessities of the Church through their diocesses It grew afterward in processe of time that the Bishops held those lands for their proper vses but this was from a latter vse the distribution of Church goods being first brought into foure parts and by little and little afterward as authority so power to maintaine that authoritie falling into the hand of one man The former vse was so ancient that it is hard to fetch the beeginning thereof In the time of Urbanus Origen liued for Hierom saith that Origen was 17. yeares old in the tenth yeare of Seuerus and died about the 70. yeare of his age so hee liued long before and after the time wherein Urban sat in the Sea of Rome In his time that order of the Church which before was held in the communitie of all things decaying tithes were accounted due and called for That thus they were accounted in his time it appeareth by these testimonies Quomodo abundat iustitia nostra plusquam Scribarum Pharisaeorum si illi de fructibus terrae suae gustare non audent priusquam primitias sacerdotibus efferant Leuitis decimae separentur ego nihil horum faciens fructibus terrae ita abutar vt sacerdos nesciat Leuites ignoret diuinum altare nonsentiat where Origen for the farther manifestation of his meaning doth distinguish these tearmes lex mandata iustificationes praecepta testimonia but forasmuch as serueth our purpose hee obserueth that it is not written haec est lex decimarum as it is written of things ceremoniall haec est lex paeschae lex Azymorum lex circumcisionis where Origen noteth that this is a mark of a ceremonie for of such it is neuer written saith hee hoc est mandatum Paschae but haec est lex Paschae c. by which he proueth that tithes are no ceremonies and he layeth downe this position Christus nos redemit de maledicto legis non de maledicto mandati nec de maledicto testimonij aut iudiciorum which sentence would bee fauourably expounded as taking usaledictum for the obligation which did bring the curse with it but I seeke out onely the iudgement of Origen for the point in question vpon these reasons he saith plainely hanc ego legem speaking of the law whereby tithes were payed obseruari etiam secundum literam sicut alia nonnulla necessarium puto and againe non videtur huinsmodi anima habere memoriam Dei nec cogiture nec credere quia Deus dederit fructus quos caepit quos iâ—a recondit quasi alienes à Deo si enim â Deo sibi dates crederet sciret vtique munerando Sacerdotes honorare Deum de datis muneribus suis farther he expoundeth that saying Mat. 23. these things you ought to haue done and not to haue left the other vndone to bee a precept no lesse for the vse of Christions then Iewes Out of which testimonies we see plainely what Origen whom Hierom accounteth the most learned of the Fathers esteemeth of tithes Of diuerse things so expresly affirmed by him we may especially obserue two First that Origen who by Hieroms account was borne in the yeare of Christ 188. had receiued from his elders no other knowledge of this question then this that tithes are due among Christians secundum literam aswell as among Iewes Secondly it is to bee obserued that as soone as wee first heare any thing spoken of this question in the church we finde that tithes were not accounted ceremoniall or iudiciall but morall and perpetuall precepts for the Church Now as Origen receiueth and reporteth the
doctrine of the Church before him so immediately succeeding the Apostles for betweene the death of Iohn the Apostle and Origen were but 84. yeares so that which Origen heere deliuereth of tithes was neuer crossed in the Church following till Antichrist oppressed all Now this seemeth to mee a very great presumption for the truth if there were no more that a sentence should bee kept in the best times of the Church so long vncontrolled and neuer altered till the mist of superstition came in which changed all things But let vs consider the rest which follow Next after Origen followeth Cyprian who reprouing Geminius Faustinus whom Geminus Victor had made ouerseer of his will this hee sharply rebuking as being against the Canons saith that ministers or as he termeth them by a word in vse in that age Presbyteri haue nothing to doe with secular affaires but as the Leuites had no other businesse but to attend on the Altar so the Lord had prouided for ministers that they might not be drawen by worldly occasions from their holy businesse but might liue of that honorable stipend with their bretheren as they who receiued tithes of the fruit of the earth c. Tanquam decimas ex fructu accipientes ab altari sacrificijs non recedant sed die ac nocte celestibus rebus ac spiritualibus seruiant Where he saith the ministers liued in honore sportulantium fratrum It sheweth that auncient vse whereof we spake before that the goods of the Church whether rents of lands or tithes or whatsoeuer other prouision were in his time retained according to the ancient custome in the Bishops hands and out of them did the Bishop minister to the necessitie of euery one for sportula was the stipend or allowance of each Presbyter or minister which the Bishop then vsed to distribute among them of the goods of the Church This was the ancient vse of the Church before the diuision of Parishes for at this time the diuision of Parishes was not yet instituted so wee finde tithes payed before Parishes were deuided but then brought to the Bishop and by him distributed among the Ministers It is the common opinion that Dyonisius did first institute the deuision of the parishes who was Bishop of Rome by Hieroms account in the yeare 266. that is some eight years after Cyprians martyrdome or Origens death for they two dyed almost within one yeare By this time parishes began to be deuided and tithes orderly assigned to seuerall Churches Heere the question may be moued when began tithes to be distinctly assigned to their seuerall Churches This question wee mooue for our ministers at the common law who following a common error and taking vp some rumor without skanning hould that tithes were not assigned to any certaine Churches before the councell of Lateran and that in the former times before that councell it was lawful for a man to pay tithes to what Church he would so he paied it was no matter to whom But this is a tale not onely without all groūd of story but against the testimonie of auncients for presently vpon the deuision of parishes it was assigned to what seueral churches tithes should be paid Gratian bringeth a testimony out of Dionisius himselfe to proue this Ecclesias singulas c that is wee haue assigned seuerall churches for seuerall ministers and deuided to each their parishes and church-yards appointed that euery one should haue their proper right so that none may intrude vpon the parish or right of another The same is also confirmed by the testimonie of Leo the fourth who saith de decimis c. that is concerning tithes not wee onely but also those aunceaunts that haue bene before vs haue thought good that the people should pay them to baptismall Churches By a baptismall Chuch is meant such a Chuch where all who dwell within the circuit of that parish ought to be baptised and it is distinguished by this name from Chappels for albeit diuerse Chappels were founded within the same circuit yet it was the ancient order that Baptisme might not bee celebrated in those Chappels but onely in the chiefe Church in that circuit This is confirmed out of a councell of Toledo plures baptismales ecclesiae in vna terminatione esse non possunt sed vna tantummodo cum capellis suis. The counsel called Cabilonense about the yeare 650. hath thus Ecclesiae antiquitus constitutae nec decimis nec vlla possessione priuentur ita vt nouis oratorijs tribuantur And in case a man should build a Church or Chappell within his owne libertie yet hee might not pay tithes to it but the tithes must goe to the auncient Church as in former times for so saith a councel of Wormes about the time of Charles the great Quicunque voluerit c. that is If any man will build a new Church within his owne liberty hee may so hee haue the consent of the Bishop in whose diocesse it is but then the Bishop must prouide that the auncient Churchs loose not their right and tithes by these new but the tithes are alwaies to be payed to the auncient Churches Anastasius Bishop of Rome Ann. 398. hath two testimonies to the same purpose Statuimus c. that is we appoint that if any shall with-hold the tithes and offerings which the people are to pay or shall giue them from the baptismall Churches without the knowledge of the Bishop or of him whose duetie it is to looke thereto and will not be ruled by their counsell he be accursed and debarred from the communion Now if hence any shall surmise that hee may by the sufferance of the Bishop doe this because he is commanded without his knowledge not to doe it that is answered Concil Wormac that the Bishop himselfe may not giue that license to pay tithes from Baptismall Churches and in an other place it is said that if the Bishop should do so he should turne the house of God into a den of theeues and should therefore bee excommunicate without hope of returne Againe Anastasius saith quidam laici qui vel in proprijs vel in beneficijs suas habent basilicas contempta Episcopi dispositione non ad Ecclesias vbi baptismum praedicationem alia Christi Sacramēta percipiunt decimas suas dant sed proprijs Basilicis vel alijs Ecclesiis pro libitu sue tribuunt quod omnibus modis legi sacris canonibus constat esse contrarium The councell of Chalcedon Can. 16. witnesseth that the country parish Churches were vnder the iurisdiction of seuerall Bishops and if a question rose to which Bishop the parish belonged 30. yeares prescription was required to proue the right If any citie should bee afterward renued by the authoritie of the Emperour then the ordination of Parishes should follow the new ordination of that citie Thus were parish Churches vnder the gouernment of Bishops and tithes assigned to
TITHES Examined and Proued to bee due to the Clergie by a diuine right VVhereby the contentious and prophane Atheists as also the dissembling Hypocrites of this age may learne to honour the Ministers and not to defraude them and to Rob the Church The Contents heereof is set downe in the Page next following Written by George Carleton Batchelour in Diuinitie Printed at London by T. Este for Clement Knight dwelling in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Holy Lambe 1606. The contents of this Booke CHAP. FOL 1 The state of the question is set downe and the truth confirmed 1 2 How Tithes stood before the Law b 4. 3 How Tithes stood vnder the Law Where it is prooued that then this constitution of tithes was neither ceremoniall nor iudiciall but morall 11 4 How Tithes stood in the time of the new Testament 21 5 How Tithes stood in the ages of the Church after the Apostles wherein the point in question is confirmed by the testimonie of Fathers without contradiction vntill Antichrist by vsurped authoritie disordered the Church 24 6 The obiections answered and the point in question confirmed 35 To the most Reuerend Father in God my very good Lord the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury his Grace Primate and Metropolitane of all England and one of his Maiesties most Honourable Priuie Counsell SVch hath beene the preiudice of the times most reuered Father in God not in this age onely but in many ages of the world heeretofore that many truthes haue lien either neglected as couered in the dust or oppressed by the countenance and multitude of such as commonly are ready to condemne the thing which they will not vouchsafe to vnderstand The feare of which censures hath moued me to suppresse for a long time that which I had written of this question In which purpose I should still haue continued if the reasons of other had not more preuailed with me then mine owne opinion Being therefore perswaded of your graces fauourable acceptance I haue presumed to offer this as a pledge of my dutie which as it was intended for the seruice of the Church so to whom may it more worthily bee offered then to him who as in place so in care and resolution sitteth to aduance the good estate of the Church In offering heereof my case is strange and singular for I must do it with protestation that I am far off from thinking that the thing for which I plead will or can be effected onely the opinion which many haue conceiued of your Graces wisedome and courage for the aduancement of the Churches oppressed estate doth incourage mee also to thinke that by your Graces care the oppressions of the Church may be mollified if not remooued that the malice of iniurious customes and prescriptions against the Church may be abated that the vse of impropriating may now at least be staied from proceeding to any further greauance of the Church In which seruice of the Church as you shall heereafter leaue a memorable name to your selfe so in the meane time you shall stir vp the prayers of many for your preseruation and continuance for the good of the Church of God who with his plentifull graces blesse and direct your wayes to his glory and the comfort of his Church through Iesus Christ. Your Graces in duetie and in the seruice of the Church to be commaunded George Carleton To the Reader SEing wee are fallen into these last times times dangerous and filled with much euill wherein the furtherances of pietie doe dayly decrease and the Church her selfe euen with that small portion which shee hath left is become an vsuall praie either to the prophane Atheist that will violently rob her or to the cunning hippocrite that vnder pretence of long prayers will deuoure Gods house I thought it fit to recommend this learned treatise to the indifferent reader that men of place in the common wealth indued with knowledge to support the truth may make a conscience to assist the clergie for obtaining their owne right least vnder coulour of some vaine title or pretense of custome the Lord himselfe complaine both against them and vs that his house is a house of prayer and we haue made it a den of theeues Our land I confesse is faire and blessed like the kingdome of Canaan but many of the people are like the Anakims that eate vp the clergie thereof and though Iosias were a good king yet the times were euill and a punishment of the former sinnes reserued in Gods iustice to the dayes that followed And howsoeuer wee cannot with Iosua finde kings in this caue yet I feare mee wee may fetch out more then fiue times fiue of our great families made richer by the spoiles of the Church who haue either come in dissemblingly like Icroboams wife or boldly like Pharo to the Israelites saying of the clergie this people is stronger then we are come let vs work wisely with them least they multiply and without a witnesse the leprosie of Gehezie sticketh so fast vnto their families as many of our most auncient houses I am perswaded haue beene ruinated by this meanes for the Church liuing dealeth as the Arck with Dagon casteth that downe which they had of their owne If some of them delt but as Dauid with Saul cut off the lap of our garment it were well yet I would wish them to haue remorse for it but to vse the Clergie as the king of the children of Ammon did the messengers of Dauid who shaued of halfe of their beards cut off their garments in the middle it is a contempt which the Lord wil not suffer to escape vnpunished Now I doubt not but the diligent perusing of this treatise shall so perswade the consciences of all that are not alreadie forestalled by some great sinnes that tithes are the Lords portion holy to himselfe that this portion he hath giuen to his ministers that serue at the Altar and so consequently that they may not safely detaine that from the Clergy which belongs vnto them but rather make restitution with al humilitie and desire the Lord with penitent harts to receiue at our hands the tenth part which in a peculiar manner holily is his owne portion for by another right the cattell are his that are on a thousand hils that so in mercy hee may blesse vnto vs the nine parts that remaine of all our substance this fruit if it shall bring vnto thee that readest and rest and peace to the poore Clergy that are torne with contentions for their owne right wee shall haue iust cause to reioyce for thy good and be ready to recommend our further paines to tho blessing of thy prayers and the benefit of this Church Lambeth Ianu. 4. 1606. WILLIAM COVELL CHAP. I. The state of the question is set downe and the truth confirmed COncerning Tithes so farre as I could learne there haue beene three opinions First that Tithes are meere