dispersed in the churche and a congregation of them in one certaine place in the name of oure Lorde God And if our Lorde haue assured and promised by his woorde one or two beyng gathered together in his name to bee in the myddest of them shoulde he refuse to bee amonge suche then as are farre better and in more nombre laufully assembled we ought truely then to crie oute with Dauid Psal 110 Great are the woorkes of our Lorde in the councell of the iuste and in their congregation But it hath ben declared vnto vs that not onely the prouinciall counsels haue bene corrected by the generall counsels but also which is a more matter that one generall counsel hath ben amended by an other De baptism 11 2. cap. 3. We knowe this to be saint Augustins sayeng whiche we say is to be vnderstand when there is question of customes and of discipline which do change accordyng to the tyme and will be changed accordyng to the qualitie of the places tymes and persons as it is seene by experience De sanguine suffocato But in tharticles of the faith and in thynges necessary to our saluation the holy ghost is the director in whom is no contradiction or contrarietie and so we beleue it That it is otherwyse it ought to be proued or els no more spoken of For if it were so in vaine and without profite our ancient fathers haue had thervnto suche recourse and reposed in them so great affiance in all the myseries and calamities of the churche and should not therof haue founde by experience the successe so happie Of which good fathers that are gone before vs behold what we saye That euery of them was a man so might erre But that all in one selfe same article or assemblie in one selfe same do at diuers times dispersed throughoute the churches haue erred Godlye counsell and admonitioÌ„ to knovv the churche VinceÌ„t LyrineÌ„sis we denie and mainteine it to bee impossible groundyng the same vpon gods infallible promesse Very profitably therfore one among those fathers for the conclusion of this purpose dothe geue vs councell and faith in this wise What shall we doo say the catholikes if any parte of the churche doth separate it self from the coÌ„munion of the vniuersall faith preferre the body beyng yet holle before a corrupt and sicke membre But if the sore haue thupper hande and beginneth to attempt thinfection of the churche then leane and cleane vnto the antiquitie and returne to the mothers whiche are the principall and first churches Emong whom al the antiquitie hath had recourse vnto the Romain churche and hath alwaies accompted her to be the first and principall among the Apostolicall churches as Ireneus Tertullian and S. Austen doo beare witnesse recountyng the bishops vntill their tymes who with all other auncient fathers haue alwais acknowleged that churche as the chief See of all Christendome callynge the Bishoppe thereof Primae Sedis Episcopum Nowe if in this antiquitie there be founde any errour either in any author or in any particular towne or prouince then against suche ignorance and temeritie of a fewe persons lay the decrees of ancient and vniuersall counsailes and if in those counsailes ye fynde nothyng serche diligently the sentences of all the ancient fathers approued by the churche writen to that purpose and gather and collect them together from all tymes and from all places as thoughe they were all together present at a Councell And that whiche all they haue openly and at sundrye tymes with greate continuance agreed accorded written and witnessed with one consent Knowe ye that without any doubte ye oughte the same to beleue and therevnto to submitte and subiecte your selues And aboue all thinges geue place as they doo to the expresse worde of God and to the testimonie of the scripture This is that we haue intreated concernynge the first point This is the authoritie that we geue to the holye scriptures to the determinations of the councells to the writinges of the olde and ancient fathers which order we purpose to obserue both for the confirmation of our flocks in the faithe and also to brynge home agayne suche as are gone astraye whiche can deuise none other waye to haue their doctrine and priuate interpretation to be credited and beleued but to despise and condemn thautoritie of the hole who reiectyng thantiquitie go about to bryng in estimation of their owne nouelties and deuises A thyng truely wherewith the Arrians were greatly troubled and dyd very well disclose Nestorius Samosatenus and dyuers other Euse li. 7. ca. 30. Socrat. lib. 7. capit 32. and doubtlesse shall reuele all suche as will discerne a strawe in their neighbors eie and can not see a blocke in their owne Nowe I come to the last poynte of my oration whiche although it be last yet in very dede the principalst We haue conceyued an extreme grefs and sorowe suche a one as can not be disseÌ„bled which is that the most holy blessed sacrameÌ„t of the Eucharistie which our lorde lefte vnto vs for a band of vnitie and of his peace by a certaine curiositie I can not terme it more gently of searchyng thynges aboue oure capacitie Eccle 3. which contrary to the counsell of the wise man is made not onely an argumente of infinite controuersie and altercatioÌ„ but also a right waie wholly to destroy the truth or at the lest to expel driue away the same And in nothing els truly is the comon prouerbe By to muche disputyng debatyng the truthe is lost more veâ—fied than in this For not onely the truthe dooth perishe The Sacramente of the bodye and bloud of Christ 1. Cor. 10. Math 5. Ioan 6 but the fruite also which we should therby receaue if we vse it wel which consisteth in foure poyntes The firste is the vnitie and reconciliation whiche we ought to haue and make one with an other For it is written that we beyng many in numbre are al but one body which do participate of one breade and of one cuppe And it is commanded that when one dothe make his oblation to the altare he ought first to reconcile hymselfe to his brother The secoÌ„d is the vnitie with IESVS CHRIST Who sayth he that eateth my fleshe drinketh my bloode dwelleth in me 1. Co. 10 and I in hym The bread whiche we breake is it not the coÌ„munion of the body of Iesus Christ and the cup is it not the communion of his blood The thirde fruite is the forgeuenesse of sinnes For truly this blood is shed for the remission of sinnes The fowerth last is the attaynyng of lyfe euerlastyng For he that eateth this bread saith our lord shall lyue euerlastyngly All the contrary wherof cometh by this disputation Diuision among vs separation from god priuation from the remission of sinnes and from atteinyng of life euerlastyng For out of the churche there is no saluation and who so
let out his vineyard to others And the kingdome of heauen which is the church Mat. 13. is compared to nettes that gather fyshe of all sortes whiche shall not be seperated or deuided vntill the nette be ful that is to say in the consummacion and ende of the worlde at what tyme the angels shall seuer the euyll from among the iust 2. tim â— And in this great house there be many vessels some appoynted to honor and some to dishonor To be shorte among the xii Apostles Iudas was reproued and of hym it is writen in the actes that the place of his apostleship should be filled Act. â— Psal 10â— as the psalme saithe An other shoulde take his bishoprike And notwithstandyng all these expresse testimonies of the scriptures contrary to this opinion sundry inconueniences haue risen makyng this church to bee vnknowen and fantasticall wherby the state therof shoulde be so vncertaine that neither byshops nor priestes should be certayne no assured baptisme and all the administration of the sacramentes vncertaine For Predestination or reprobation bee among the highest secretes of God the certaine knowledge wherof we can not attain And notwithstandyng this mixture of good and badde together 1. Tim. 3 Ioh 14.16 Mat 16. Mat â—5 Mat. 24 Marc 13 2 The 2 1 Tim 4 1 Tim. 3 2 Pet. 3. Epi 119. â—…p 19. The fame and glorie of the chirche Pro. 40. 2. Re. 22 Ephe. 6. Psal 119. the churche ceaseth not accordyng to the sayeng of S. Paul to be the piller and foundation of the truthe wherin she is throughly instructed by the holy ghost and builded vpon that stone against which hell gates shal neuer preuail with whom IESVS CHRIST her true spouse shall remaine to the worldes ende although she is aduertised by her lorde and by the holye scriptures of the assaultes whiche she shoulde suffer by meanes of false Christes false prophetes false apostles and of the abuses errours and heresies which should inuade her Howbeit as saint Austine answereth very wel to Ianuarius sayeng The Churche beyng sett and placed among so muche chaffe and cockle suffereth many thynges but those thinges that be against the faithe or good life bee not by her in any wise allowed or made wherin she dothe neither howe her peace nor yet dissemble vppon which sence we acknowledge that she can not go out of the waye nor yet erre eyther in the faithe or in good lyfe whiche we confesse and affirme as a thyng that no christian man can denaie and accursed bee he that gothe about to obscure her glorye and fame The firste place and chiefest authoritie belongeth to this shielde whiche is the brandishyng sword of all those that put their trust in God The true light which leadeth and geueth lyghte to our feete 2 Pet. 1 and is the lanterne of our waies and pathes profitable to teache to argue to correcte to instructe a man in iustice that he may be perfect and redy to all the good workes of God and that it is the word of God which abideth and shall abyde for euer 2. Tim. 12 Pet. 10 whiche by the prophetes and apostles hath been preached vnto vs. Moreouer with this we acknowledge his spirite that geueth lyfe and not the dead letter that kylleth 21. Co 3 And to vse saynt Hieromes owne wordes Lett vs not thynke saith he that the Gospell is in the wordes of the Scripture but in the sence thereof It is in the marowe not in the barke or outwarde apparaunce of letters in the roote of truth not in the leaues of wordes And this woorde of God we say is of more antiquitie and before the churche as it appeareth in the creation of the worlde and in the commandementes made to our fyrst father howe be it the churche was long beefore any written woorde For Moyses was the fyrst that dyd put the ordinances of God in writyng And our sauiour CHRIST beyng a long space in the worlde And after his departure in long successe of time his worde was taught and preached by the Apostles after his ascention before they beganne to write whyche gyueth vs to vnderstande that the worde of God is as well to bee receyued and acknowledged of vs which is delyuered vs by the traditions of the Apostles and their successoures vnwritten as that whyche is lefte vnto vs in writyng 8. The. 2 And we ought saithe Saint Paule to bold faste the traditions whiche we haue been taughte eyther by woorde or sent by Epistle In lyke sorte as commandement to obeye and kepe theym is geuen in the Actes of Thapostles Act 15. 1. Cor. 11 And agaynste suche holye traditions yf any be founde contentious lette it be sayde vnto hym for a full aunswere we nor the Churche of God haue no suche custome by aucthoritie whereof wee knowe what Scriptures bee Canonicall VinceÌ„t LyrineÌ„sis and what bee Apocriphall The Cannon whereof althoughe it bee perfecte and sufficiente yet oughte not the auctoritie of the vnderstandyng of the Churche to bee coumpted superfluous for that the holye and sacred Scripture by reason of her hyghenesse and maiestie is not all together receyued in one sence and vnderstandyng by reason of the diuersitie of opinyons in sundrye sortes of menne Wherefore it is very necessarye to addresse the ligne of thinterpretation of the Prophetes and Apostles accordynge to the trewe rule and exposition of the Catholike Churche quod vbique I speake namelye of this churche Catholike to the ende that gatherynge the force and meanyng of the woorde we maye holde that for Catholike and vniuersall whyche hath ben in all places where the Gospelle hathe been preached quod seÌ„per quod ab omnibê° beleued whiche alwaies and in all tymes from the tyme of IESVS CHRIST vnto oure tyme of all menne hathe been approued and allowed whiche ordre wee pourpose to followe and practise In Vniuersalitie if we dooe confesse that to bee the trewe faithe whiche thole churche throughout the worlde dothe confesse In Antiquitie meanyng that whiche hath been sayde and spoken in all tymes yf we doo receiue none other sence and interpretation then that whiche oure honorable forefathers haue approued In Consente whiche I speake generally of that antiquitie wherin we doo folowe the definitions and opinions of all the holy Martyrs Byshops and priests Aug ep 118. cap. 1 ad Ianuarium Act 15. Theffect and description of general counselles Mat. 18. chrysologus ser 132. Nice li. 15. ca. 19. and all other our auncient masters and instructours THIS causeth me to speake of the Councels especially of those that be generall the authoritie and vsage whereof hath alwais ben very holsome and profitable in the church the same beyng instituted by God froÌ„ whoÌ„ their auctoritie procedeth first practised put in vse by the apostles as appereth in their actes Al which being well considered what other thyng is it thaÌ„ an assemble of all the pastors doctors before
⧠THE ORATION OF THE MOST NOBLE AND REVERENDE FAther in GOD the lorde Cardinalles grace of Lorrain made and pronounced in thassemblie at Poyssi the Kyng beyng present the sixtene days of Septembre In the yeare of our Lorde 1561. Translated out of Frenche into Englishe by T. S. THis present daye being the eight of October 156â— The kinge beynge at Saint Germyne in Laye did permit geue licence to William Morel his printer dwelling at Paris to printe or cause to be printed the oracion made by the cardinals grace of Lotharinge in the assemble at Poissy the 16. daye of September last past the same to put abroade vtter forbidding all other printers the same to imprinte or cause to bee imprinted or selle without licence or sufferaunce of the said Morel and his maiesty hath geuen me in commandement hereof to make asmuch expedicion as I conueniently coulde De Laubespine SYRE we acknowleadge you for oure soueraigne and naturall lorde and confesse oure selues to be your most humble and obediente subiectes and seruauntes And the fidelitie whiche we haue sworne and solemnely promised vnto your grace we will neuer gaine go it After our example then and accordyng to the doctrine of God whiche we announce all ye that be presente 〈…〉 and all those lykewise that bee vnder your maiesties rule gouernemente in this mosse christen realme be ye for the loue of God subiectes to all policie and humaine order whether it be to the kynge as to the head and soueraigne or vnto theim whiche vnder hym supplie the chiefe places nerte his persone or els vnto other by hym established thorough the prouinces euery one accordynge to his charge as vnto them whiche be sent by hym to the punyshyng of euyll doers and to the praise of them that do well For such is the will of God that in doyng well you shall stoppe the mouthe to the ignorant and foolyshe All this purpose the apostle saint Peter concludeth in these fower words 1. Pet. 1. Feare God and honor the Kyng as though he wold saye Honor the kyng for that ye ought to scare God It is he Pro. â— by whom kynges do rule And they that make lawes ordeyn iust thinges wherby princis doo commaunde and the mightie doo iudge the earth wherof he that will seke thoriginall must nedes confesse that all power is geuen of our Lorde God and the vertue strength cometh from aboue 〈…〉 Roâ— It is he saith Dauid that geueth saufetie to kinges and instructeth my handes to fight maketh my singers to serue in the warre To be short fithens that all superior and hygh power is of God principally then is the power of kynges ordeined by hym wher vnto if any maketh resistence dothe withstande his ordinance and purchaseth to himselfe damnation Let vs be therfore to your maiestie faithfull and obediente subiectes not onely for not prouoking your anger but also for conscience sake Notwithstanding remembre syre that you are not onely a minister of God and of oure Lorde Iesus Christe The duetie of a Kyng toward the churche of his authoritee there Esa 49 60 but also of his Chirch the whiche you norishe and conserue you are therof a sonne and not a lorde a member and not a head as by his prophete long tyme sithens he warned the chirche whyche shoulds be assembled of the Gentils For Esaie sayth The kynges shal be thy nourses and shal submitte them selues to do thee honor and seruice The kynges shall be broughte vnto thee and shall obeye thee And the people and realme that shall not serue thee shall peryshe and there shall be made suche waste and destruction that no habitation there shall bee founde Which saying our first and moste holy ancient Byshoppes aduentured to proteste before their myghtiest and moste redoubted Emperors 23 q. 8. cap conuenâ— oâ— and those Emperoures accepted the same in good parte Sainct Ambrose speakyng of the Emperour Valentinian the yonger and of Iustinian his mother saith thus What name or title more honorable maye an Emperor attribute to hym selfe then to bee called the Sonne of the Churche whiche was spoken withoute offence and the same ryghte thankefully accepted For the Emperor is within the Churche and not aboue The same Saint Ambrose in a request presented to the same Emperor refused his iudgement in his disputation with Aurentius an Arrian byshoppe Epi 32 Forasmuche sayth he as in causes of Faithe and of the Churche Byshoppes do iudge of the laitie and not the laitie in their consistories assemblies do iudge of Byshops And this saith he none will cal in doubte that wil kepe the wel ordered course of the holy scriptures or that wil folow the good auncient customes and obseruations Way enge well then these thynges what is he that in cause of faithe will denye that Byshoppes haue not accustomed to iudge of Christian Emperors and not the Emperours of Byshoppes In this Consistorie IESVS CHRIST hathe not accustomed to occupye the place of a partie but rather of a Iudge If ye treate with hym I haue learned that it oughte to bee in the Churche whyche my forfathers haue doone If it bee to haue conference in matters of Faithe that conference oughte to bee made with the priestes VVhat in gâ—ments in maters of faithe the olde christian Emperors obserued and in vvhat estimation they had their Bishops priestes Ruf. li. 10 ca. 2. Tripar li. 2 ca â— Socr. li. 2. ca. 8 Theo. li. 1 cap 11. Sozom. li. 1. c. 17. Nicep li. 8. ca. 16. â— Ambrose in the place befor alledged The lyke order was obserued vnder that greate Emperoure Constantine who withoute any restraynte dydde permyt to the Ecclesiasticall persones free iudgemente in matters of faithe and would neuer iudge of priuate complayntes made of any Byshoppes in the councell of Nice It is GOD sayth he that hath constituted you priestes that hathe geuen you power to iudge of vs and not power to me to iudge of you He is onely youre iudge and you oughte not to bee iudged by men Whyche holye opinion Valentinian the elder full welle did folowe sayeng It becometh me not to iudge amonge the Byshoppes where any question of the Faithe or of Ecclesiasticall ordre aryseth He ought not to iudge that doothe diffre in charge but he whyche is of lyke vocation that is to saye priestes oughte to iudge of prestes In the selfe same tyme and to lyke effecte Gregorye Nazianzene dydde preache before the Emperour Valens and tolde hym The ordynaunce of IESVS CHRIST hathe made you subiecte vnto my power and to my iurisdiction You are not he onely that ruleth for we also rule in a greatter and more perfecte Empire yf we dooe not submytte the spirite to the fleshe and heauenly thynges to earthly But geue me leaue moste noble Emperour more frankelye to vtter my mynde I knowe that thou arte a sheepe of my flocke and in that
is putte oute of the Churche he ought to bee vnto vs as a heathen or publican And althoughe that in this poyncte there is but one onely and simple veritie yet good God howe many sortes doo we see of Sacramentaries That woulde to God you woulde in deede referre them as you seeme by woorde in the .xxviii. article of youre confession prynted Howe ofte doo they reproue one an others opinion and yet howe ofte doo they change their owne In suche sorte that in the exposition of the wordes of our Lorde in his supper they be so among theim selues deuided that a manne way easily shewe you eighte opinions at the least not onely diuers but some of theim also cleane contrarye Howe muche better were it to perseuer in the opinion whiche the Catholike churche delyuered vnto vs frome the beginnyng whych in few wordes is this The opinion of the sacrament in the beginning That the very and lyuinge bodye of oure Lorde IESVS CHRIST and his very blood is present in this holy sacrament and is there receyued And these be those reasons besides an infinite number of other that kepeth within the vniuersall churche in this simplicitie of confession and puritie of faith my reuerend brothers the archebishops and bishops and al other that befor the religion here assembled First and formoste the verye and expresse woordes of oure Lorde This is my bodye This is my bloode Whiche wordes yf they be not of so great force as they be in word and sounde why bee the selfe same woordes and the lyke in all poynctes repeted by the three Euangelistes and by thapostle Sainct Paule Wherefore after the sayenge of Saincte Mathewe the fyrste of the Euangelistes Sainte Marke Saint Luke or saincte Paule doo not write after suche fashion as oure sacramentaries so longe tyme after would make exposition sithens that it is not a thynge contrary to the custom of the said Euangelists that in a matter of farre lesse importance they themselues sometymes doo make exposition and sometyme the writyng of the one is made playne by the other As where the first and the thirde saythe That it is a harde thynge yea and impossible for a ryche man to entre into the kyngdome of heauen The seconde as it were expoundyng the other calleth hym the ryche man which putteth his trust in his rychesse The other .iii. also doo saye that that thyng which to men is impossible is possible with God The like also is to be sene in other places sufficientely whyche for breuitie I do omyt So sayth that holy martyr and philosopher Iustin in his seconde apologie to the Emperor Antonine that the apostles haue taught vs in their writinges which bee called the gospels that this holy meate which we calle Eucharistia is the flesh the body blood of our sauior IESVS CHRIST But in this point there is muche more And because that in these fewe wordes Hoc est corpus meam spoken by saint Mathew and saint Marke there should remaine no doubte Saint Luke hath expressed the same by woordes The opinion of the Euangelistes makynge therof no maner of doubt or ambiguitie This is my body saith he which is deliuered for you as though he wold say not a mysticall bodye as the churche is called by S. Paule but the body of the fleshe of Iesus Christ certainly true and conceiued by the workyng of the holy ghoste of the purest blood of the most blessed and perpetual virgin Mary This body of fleshe I say wherwith the day after he spake these wordes in his supper he dyd reconcile vs by his deathe vnto God his father And here we must note that in these wordes there be foure things Fovver thynges to be considered in the sacrament Psal 18 An historie written plain true without doubt a most clere euident cōmandement For the cōmandemēt of our Lorde doth lighten and illuminate our eies A Testamēt cōfirmed by the death of the testator therfore of strength force Which ought not to be so obscure as to cause the heires to bee in controuersie sute about his will made so plaine and manifest by the wordes of the testament Rom. 8. whereby we bee heires of God and the coheires of IESVS CHRIST It is also a sacrament whiche maketh and exhibiteth that which it doothe figurate Whiche foure thinges ought not to bee vnderstanded allegorically or spoken by parable but the sence thereof to be kept whiche we obserue For nothyng can bee spoken more plaine And yet notwithstandynge ye wyll not acknowledge this sence who shal be iudge of this controuersie or rather who herein shold be more indifferent and iust then our cōmune mother The Church I say which went before vs and hath regenerated vs all in Iesus Christ And this is the vniuersall consent of our old and holy fathers beyng either assembled in general coūcels or els writē by them whē they were dispersed throughout the churches in all tymes And firste touching the coūcels forasmuch as the first .iiii. Generall councels approue the veritie of Christes holy in the sacrament general Coūcels be by ye aproued acknowleged This same faith wherof we haue made profession here before is writen in the acts of the coūcel of Nice which was the first and in the councel of Ephesus which was the third In al other coūcels which haue bene sythens that tyme celebrated there canne nothing bee found to the contrarie albeit that alwaies euen before those iiii great councelles this doctrine hath ben thus preached so of all men written And the churche of god during so troublous tymes wanted not false bishops false ministers and false christians louers of dissentions and diuisiōs who knowing all kinde of Idolatrye had no more power to dissemble their faith herein then these holy bishops to abide suffer the same And thus much touchyng Councelles But which way shal I begin to enter in the testimonies of our fathers shal I begyn frō this yere vntil the apostels time folowing the order and succession of our bishops and the names of the churches wherein God hath bene called vppon Shall I speake of this laste fiue hundred yeares or of the other fiue hundred yeres to a thousand Which no doubte be great in number sufficient to prescribe against an Innouatour But you desire an other thing Let vs speake then if ye wil stand thervnto of the first fiue hundred yeres which immediatly folowed the doth of our Lord IESVS CHRIST Lette vs all make I saye of that most pure and holly tyme a councell where the writinges of al our bishops doctors and pastours of all the churches whether they were in Asia in Europa or Africa be pervsed sene let vs folow the pluralitie of voices of al their opinions not onely in the cōtrouersy which we haue in this holy sacrament but in al other wherin oure payne and trauayle shall not bee greate Doctors and learned men of