there was need of establishing this sort of Government I have spoke of and of which the Holy Pen-men have not mentioned the time of its settlement because it may be they had no particular occasion of doing it as St. Luke had of writing the History of the Institution of Deacons which probably might also have been unknown to us if the murmuring of the Greeks against the Jews because their Widows were neglected at the ordinary Service had not oblig'd him to transmit it in writing However it be That it may not be imagin'd I only insist on meer conjectures and conjectures utterly destitute of the Authority of Tradition I 'll produce the formal Testimony of Hillary Deacon of Rome a Writer of the 4th Century who speaks in this manner In 1 Tim. 5. 1 2. apud Ambrose Tom. 3. p. 582. The Synogogue and the Church afterwards had Elders without whose advice nothing was done in the Church and I can't tell by what negligence the same has been abolish'd if it be not probably by the slothfulness of Doctors or rather through their Pride to make it be believ'd they are some-bodies It appears plainly by these words of the Deacon Hillary That the Church had her Elders as well as the Synogogue and that very early she began to make use of them when he began to write his Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles for he complains of the abolishing this holy Custom which in all likelihood held a considerable time after its first institution and in the very place it self where it was extinct by the negligence and malice of vain and ambitious Men which doth justify as I take it what I have said of its Antiquity that is to say That the first establishing of it was by the Apostles or at least by their immediate Successors if it were so that we could not find the Footsteps in the Monuments of Ecclesiastical Writers that immediately followed the Age of the Apostles Nevertheless who knows but Claudius Ephebius Valerius Biton and Fortunatus which St. Clement Disciple of the Apostles sent to the Church of Corinth with the Excellent Letter which he wrote to appease the troubles wherewith it was agitated who I say can tell but they were of those Elders whose original Institution we seek for for he says nothing at all which may induce us to think they were either Pastors or Deacons Moreover in the third Century Firmillian Bishop of Caesaria in Cappadocia and one of the most celebrated Prelates of his time makes mention of Elders which he joyns with Pastors for the treating of affairs which concerned the good and edification of the Churches Seniores Praepositi Apud Cypri pag. 144. Optat. l. 1. p. 41. Par. 1631. We meet together saith he every year Elders and Ministers to settle and order matters committed to our care and with common consent to treat of the weightiest and most important affairs About fifty years after Mensurius Bishop of Carthage having received orders to follow the Emperor's Court he committed to the trust of certain Elders saith Optatus of Milvetan several Ornaments of Gold and Silver which appertained to the Church But afterwards he made a Note of them which he gave to an old Woman with orders to give it to his Successor if it hapned that he died in his Journey as it fell out he did so that Cecilian having been Established in the place of Mensurius the Woman failed not to give him the Note she had by vertue of which he called for those Elders to whom Mensurius had committed this trust in the belief he had that they were good honest men but these perfidious persons willing to satisfie their own covetous desires converted the Gold and Silver to their own private uses Cecillian was frustrated of his expectation and as he was going about to compel them they rent from the Communion of the Church a good part of the People and began the Schism of the Donatists which prov'd so destructive to the Churches of Africa And what invincibly proves they were Lay-Elders like ours is that Optatus expresly distinguishes them from Botrus and Celesius which were of the Clergy of the Church of Carthage and who not attaining to the Degree of Bishops to which their ambition made them aspire they herded with these corrupt Elders together with Lucilla a factious and powerful Woman who of a long time endeavoured the ruin of Cecilian See here already sufficient Arguments of the truth of the matter we examine nevertheless because many do imagin that our practise in regard of Elders is new and unknown to the ancient Church it will not be amiss to insist a little longer on this subject and to alledg farther proofs the better to establish the Antiquity of the practise which we defend I 'le begin with the Acts of Justification of Cecilian and of Foelix of Aptonge his Ordainer which are at the end of Monsieur de Laubespine Bishop of Orleans his Notes on Optatus Bishop of Mileva in Numidia In these Acts which are ancienter than the Council of Nice there are several things which directly regard our Subject as what is said on occasion of Money given by Lucilla a Woman of Quality to have made Majorinus Bishop Pag. 268. That all the Bishops the Priests the Deacons and the Elders had knowledg of it And some lines after a Bishop called Purpurius writes to Silvanus Bishop of Cirthe who was accused of several things To employ those of his Clergy and the Elders of the People which are Ecclesiastical persons to the end they might give an account of the nature of these dissentions and in the following page there is mention made of a Letter writ to the Clergy and to the Elders and six pages after one Maximus saith Pag. 276. Inst I speak in the name of the Elders and Christian People of the Catholick Law St. Tom. 7. Pag. 191. c. 56. Tom. 2. p. 250. Austin in his third Book against Cresconius speaks of a stranger Priest and the Elders of the Church of the Country of Mâ—slitan The Title of his 137th Letter is conceiv'd in these terms To my beloved Brethren the Clergy thâ— Elders and all the People of the Church of Bonne Tom 8. in Psal 36. Conc. 2. p. 119. Extr. or Hippone whom I serve in the Love of Jesus Christ There is in this same Father's Sermons on the Psalms a Synodal Letter of the Cabarsussitan Council which speaking of Primian the Donatist saith He was given to be Bishop to the People of Carthage according to the request made of the Elders of the Church by Letters And in the next Page there is again mention made of Letters and Deputies of the Elders of the Church In the Nineteenth Sermon on the words of our Lord which is the third in the Appendix of the 10th Tome he makes appear wherein consisted one part of the Duty of their Employments The 100th Canon of the African Code attributed
through all the Churches These are the ardent Prayers that are made for you all by Gentlemen and Honoured Brethren Your most humble Servant and Brother in Christ Jesus M. LA ROCQUE Rouen 24o. June 1678. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE WHat Laws are in a State the same things are Canons in the Church All Societies of Men as well Civil as Sacred have always stood in need of some Rules for the conduct of those whereof it is composed and under their direction to attain the designed end which is pleasure of life with the repose of Conscience and tranquility of Mind Man ought of his own free will be inclined to the obedience of these in the main prospect of the pleasure there is in doing his Duty and in the delight which is to be found in the practise of Vertue besides that in so doing depends the happiness all men seek after but which few do find because they seek amiss Nevertheless according to the manner we are made it 's necessary we should be excited by other motives and be set a work by other principles these Motives are Fear of punishment and Hope of rewards the two great springs that give motion if it may be so said to the whole world and which do powerfully ingage men to eschew evil and do good Legislators have also employ'd it in the world the Apostles and their Successors in the Church and God himself made use of it in regard of Adam promising him Life and Immortality if he continued faithful and obedient to him and on the contrary threatning him with death if he were so foolish as to neglect the keeping his Commands and violate the purity of his Laws In the day thou eatest the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt die the death Man being a reasonable Creature it was suitable to God's wisdom to give him Laws to serve as a Rule and direction through the whole course of his life therefore he had no sooner created him but he imprinted in his heart those instructions which we call the Law of Nature the Exercise whereof was to constitute his joy and felicity so that had he always persever'd in his innocence he would not have stood in need of Judges nor of their Tribunals his conscience would have been sufficient for him its counsels would ever have been safe its decisions just and right and all its Ordinances would have tended to the practise of this important maxim of the Son of God which he drew from the very spring of Nature it self not to do to others but what we would they should do to us But sin having interrupted this Oeconomy and darkned the Lights which attended it all these directions of Nature have been ineffectual and these Instructions of no value Nevertheless 't is certain God preserved in Man after his fall or at least he stirred up in him anew by the efficacy of his Providence some little remains of that clear and pure light wherewith the understanding had been illuminated when 't was immediately made by his hand and thence it is that all men have the common and general Notions That there is one God That he governs all things That he punishes the wicked and rewards the good That to honour him is a Law that 's allowed amongst all men And that he must not only be thought to be immortal and blessed but also to be a Lover of Mankind of whose preservation he takes particular care in daily doing them good it was thereby that the Inhabitants of the Isle of Maltha concluded St. Paul was a Murderer Act. 28.3 they said when they saw a Viper on his hand Divine Vengeance followed him and would suffer him to live no longer It is also from this principle proceeded the knowledg the Apostle attributed to the Gentiles when he saith For when the Gentiles which have not the Law Rom. 2.14 15. do by nature the things contain'd in the law these having not the law are a law unto themselves which shew the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts in the mean while accusing or else excusing one another But at length Sin having almost extinguished the light of Nature and made all its instructions unprofitable God was obliged to renew the knowledg of it by publishing his Law which in substance contains the same precepts as those did which God had writ at first in the heart of Men and seeing the greater corruption is so much the more need there is to multiply Laws to restrain its impetuosity and violence and so hinder its spreading and excess God who knew very well the inclination of the people of the Jews which were a people of a stiff neck and uncircumcised heart as the Scripture speaks a people inclined to disobedience and rebellion God I say not content to divulge the Moral Law he thereunto joyned the Ceremonial and Political Laws to the end the Israelites should the easier be retain'd in their duty under the heavy yoke of this severe Discipline Thence it followed by the Rule of contraries That the more Sanctification is advanced the less need there is of Laws which made St. Paul say That the Law is not made for the just but for the Sinners and wicked The first Christians had but very few Decisions and Decrees in their Discipline because being full of Piety and Zeal and that labouring with unspeakable diligence in the work of their Sanctification they disposed themselves voluntarily according to the nature of the Gospel and intention of Jesus Christ and conscionably practising the Maxim of the Apostle That all things should be done decently and in order in the Church of God they with ease were guided by the Divine motions of Grace and the inspirations of that holy Spirit which God had so plentifully and in great measure poured forth on his Church in the first Establishing of Christian Religion for as to the Canons attributed to the Apostles and the Constitutions which also go in their name they are things forged in the following Ages and after this new people had began to degenerate from the first heat of their zeal and that they had given some check to the innocence of their life and to the purity of their Manners and as corruption insensibly got ground so also was seen to increase the number of Canons and Ordinances for it commonly happens that ill actions do multiply good Laws without which it would be impossible to make head against the many Scandals that licentiousness does introduce where it predominates and where sins are not repressed and punished Something of this kind hapned in our Reformation which had a great resemblance with the first Establishment of Christian Religion for it may truly be said that by a particular blessing of Heaven the first Reformers were so holy in their life so pure in their conversation so wise in their conduct so modest in their words and so humble
in their actions that all their study and care tended only to Piety and Virtue without being needful to incline them to it by any great number of Rules so also their Discipline at first consisted in forty little Articles which were composed by the first National Synod held at Paris in the year 1559 whereas that we have at this time contain'd in 14. Chapters 222. Articles much more large and ample than the first The Reason of this difference proceeds from the change which in time hapned to those that liv'd in our Communion and that were Members of our Churches had they always followed the steps of their Ancestors and that they had been faithful Representatives of their Innocence and of their purity they would have stood in need but of very few Rules because the only love of Virtue would have seasoned all their actions animated all their motions mortified their passions and desires and lighted in their Souls a Divine flame which would have raised their thoughts from Earth to Heaven and the which in snatching them by a holy violence from the love of the Creatures would inseparably have fastned them to the love of the Creator But because there is always some remains of Man in Man and that the flesh too often prevails over the spirit they by little and little degenerated from the zeal of their Fathers and their piety insensibly falling into extream coldness they suffered themselves to fall into many defects which dishonoured the Holiness of their Profession and which obliged their Guides to increase from time to time the number of Laws to restrain by the authority of those Ordinances the course of their disorders and to stop the spring of those abuses wherein they wisely followed the conduct of the Primitive Fathers who seeing a great negligence in the lives of Christians added to their Constitutions new Decrees proportionable as the Sins of Men gave them matter and occasion knowing well that 't was the only means to preserve in its purity a Religion which had been cemented by the blood of Jesus Christ and consecrated by his Spirit In conclusion How large soever our Discipline at this time may be and how much soever is increased the number of its Canons I dare boldly say That never was a better Discipline and that there was never seen an Ecclesiastical Policy more judiciously composed than it is if one take the pains to read it without prejudice one shall agree to this truth and unless one be extreamly prepossest with prejudice against it it must be granted that the Constitutions are just that the Rules are holy and that all the Decrees have no other aim but the glory of God and the holiness of those which submit themselves to the keeping of his Laws all the parts of this body answer one the other they march an equal pace and agree all to the same end the form of Government which it prescribes is indeed very simple but it is Evangelical the order it will have one follow is full of exactness and if the Government it establishes is far from splendor and pomp it is wholly bedew'd in justice and equity In a word All that 's contain'd in it was setled with a spirit of love and sweetness After all this what is there can be blam'd in this Discipline Is it the Establishment of its Ministers But there must be such to instruct the people Is it the manner of their Establishment But it is conformable to that which was observed in the Primitive Church Is it the qualities which is desired to be in them But they are the very same which St. Paul requires in those which consecrate themselves to the holy Ministry Is it the Duties whereunto they are obliged But in this also is followed the precepts of the same Apostle seeing they are obliged to preach the Word of God to administer the Sacraments which he has instituted to live unblameably to be an Example to their Flock in word and actions to edifie them by their Sermons and by their Example under pain of great Censures to those which do not discharge themselves as they ought of these just Duties even to the suspending and deposing those which commit Scandalous offences and such as deserve suspension and deposition Shall our Schools be condemn'd But the use of them is too ancient and too necessary for 't is convenient to instruct youth and teach them with care that they may one day be fit instruments in the hand of God for the propagating his truth and for establishing the Kingdom of his Son If any carp at our Consistories it shall be made appear that from the beginning there was in every Church an Ecclesiastical Senate which informed themselves of all which concerned the good and edification of the Flock If any quarrel at our Lay Church Elders we will make appear that their Institution is almost as ancient as the setling of Christianity and that the Primitive Church having used it successfully several Ages we also make use of it with much utility according to its example As for Deacons all the world knows they were instituted by the Apostles and amongst us they answer very well to the design of their Institution for they take care of the Poor and distribute to them the gifts and charity of good people as their true Patrimony As to the Union of the Churches St. Paul declares sufficiently of what importance it is when he exhorts us to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and to be one body and one spirit as being called to the hope of one and the same vocation The ancient Doctors have recommended nothing with more care than this holy union nor censur'd any thing with more ardor and zeal than the Divisions and Schisms which divide the Church and tear to pieces the seamless Coat of our Lord Jesus Our Colloquies are nothing else in effect but Assemblies of Ministers and Elders of some certain Association or part of a Country deputed by their Churches to deliberate all together of Affairs which offer and do concern the quiet and comfort of those which sent them so that they cannot be condemned without censuring at the same time the Synods which are called Diocesan to which they have no little resemblance Who can find any fault with our Provincial and National Synods seeing they are grounded on the practice of the Primitive Church and on the authority of the Canons which so frequently recommend the holding and calling of them One must be very ill humoured to blame what we do in our Assemblies all the holy Exercises whereof consist in Invocating the Name of God in Singing of Psalms in Preaching his Word and in the administring the Sacraments These Sacraments being the Seals of his Covenant and Symbols of our Redemption they cannot be Celebrated with too great respect nor too much reverence cannot be shewn when they are administer'd and 't is this respect and reverence which has been
Election of the Clergy I proceed on farther and I say the same practice was observ'd in the beginning of the 13th Century therefore a Council of Avignon Assembled the Year 1219. by the Legates of Pope Innocent the 3d was obliged to prohibit it in the 5th Chapter Ubi supra p. 613. We forbid the Laity to intermedle by themselves or any else in the Election of a Bishop or of any other Church Guide And in all likelihood the Council made this Decree in regard of the Albigenses who doubtless followed the Ancient practice and with whom the Legates of this same Pope had a Conference in the City of Mountreall near Carcassone three years before whereof there is mention made in the 18th Chapter of the 2d part of the History of the Eucharist In the main I believe that since this Council of Avignon the People have by little and little been depriv'd of their just Rights from thence it is as I suppose that Pope Gregory the Tenth which order'd several things about Elections in the Council of Lyons in the year 1274 Tom. 7. Concil p. 885. ad 887. saith nothing at all of the suffrage of the People altho he speaks several times in general terms of those which do elect VII He who has consented to be Ordained to the Holy Ministry shall receive the Office which shall be given him and at his refusal shall be sollicited by all convenient Exhortations but he is not to be constrained CONFORMITY From the time that one has consented to make choice of him to settle him in the Office of the Holy Ministry he is ingag'd by a kind of promise that he is bound in Conscience to accomplish so that it is just to represent his Duty to him and to exhort him to bear without reluctancy the yoke which he had a design to take on him Nevertheless because these kind of actions should be free and that the work of the Lord ought to be without constraint it cannot reasonably be used towards those which refuse to accept this Office whatever inclination they had to it before according to which the third Council of Orleance assembled Anno Dom. 538. discharges the Pastors which were chosen into Orders by force or against their will it discharges them from their Employment without debarring them from the Communion Can. 7. t. 1. Conc. Gal. p. 250. but as for Bishops that have the confidence to make such Ordinations the Synod imposes on them a years Penance and suspends them from the functions of their Ministry The 36th Canon of those which go in the Apostles Names differs a little from this practice and is something more severe In the main the ancient Discipline never approved force nor constraint in these Occasions altho some instances are found in the Ecclesiastical History VIII The Election of Ministers shall be confirm'd by Prayers and the Imposition of hands nevertheless in avoiding all superstition according to the form which follows The manner of the Imposition of hands commonly observed in the Churches of France in the Ordination of Ministers All abovesaid having been observ'd two Pastors which for this purpose have been deputed by the Synod or Colloque to lay hands on him that is elected being come to the appointed place him of them that is to Pray shall briefly treat of the Institution and Excellency of the Ministry alledging the passages of Scripture most fitting to the occasion as Eph. 4.11 Luk 10.16 Joh. 20.21 1 Cor. 4.1 2. 2 Cor. 5.18 19 20. 1 Tim. 1.2 c. and others the like exhorting each one to beware to the end that as well the Minister as the People discharge their Duty The Minister discharging himself so much the more carefully of his Employment as he knows 't is precious and excellent in the sight of God and the people receiving with all reverence the Word of God which shall be delivered by him which is sent unto them Then shall be read in the presence of all what is written 1 Tim 3. Tit. 1. and 1 Pet. 5. where the Apostle teaches what a Minister should be And to the end God would be pleased to bestow his Grace on him which is Ordain'd well and faithfully to acquit himself a short Prayer should be made to this effect wherein the said Minister shall include these words or others to the same effect That thou wouldest be pleased Oh God to endow with the Gifts and Graces of thy Spirit this thy Servant lawfully Elected according to the Order established in thy Church supplying him abundantly with all Gifts necessary for well discharging his trust to the Glory of thy Holy Name the Edification of thy Church and the Salvation of him who is now dedicated and consecrated by our Ministry Then they shall lay their hands on his head Him that Prays standing at the Chair and him for whom he prays on his knees Prayer being ended and the new Pastor standing up the two Deputies of the Synod or Colloque shall in presence of all the people give him the hand of fellowship and let this Form with the direction abovesaid be generally observed in all the Churches CONFORMITY There are several Considerations to be made on this Article and on the form which is above recited In the first place the Minister to whom it belongs to Preach ought in his Sermon to treat of the Institution and excellency of the Ministry and of the duties of this weighty Office whereupon we find a great many excellent passages in the Writings of the Ancient Fathers of the Church and several holy reflections capable to infuse into Pastors an ardent zeal and a sincere affection in performing the several Duties of their Office Not to speak of Gregory the First having compos'd an intire Treatise to explain the Functions of this Excellent Office and it is very probable that in the time of Ordination it was signify'd to those which were to receive it whereunto the conduct of souls which God committed to their charge obliged them The first Canon of the fourth Council of Carthage insinuates it thus having touched all the several things about which he will have him examin'd which is to be establish'd in the Ministry Tom. 1. Concil p. 727. he adds When he has receiv'd the Episcopacy in the Name of Jesus Christ let him not follow his pleasures nor the inclinations of his mind but let him submit and acquiesce to these Decrees of the Fathers And I make no doubt but what was practic'd in Africa in the time of this Council in the Ordination of Bishops did tacitly warn them of their Duty for we find in the second Canon that two Bishops laid on his head the Book of the New Testament and held it there during the whole action we read almost the same thing in the Constitutions under the Apostles Names and in the Roman Pontificial and in the XI Chap. of the second Book of Durandus his Rational St. Chrysostom or rather some
reading the Holy Scriptures seeing they have received the Office of Preachers And having observ'd that the dumb Minister is not fit to instruct his Flock The Assembly declares That the true Pastor ought to find out those who are under his care either to instruct them without arrogance if they are ignorant Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. Ibid. c. 3 10. or to rejoice with them for the progress they have made in the knowledge of the Mysteries of their Salvation The Council of Reims in the Year of our Lord 813. enjoins Bishops and Pastors in the 14th Canon To preach the Word of God to all the World The VIth of Arles in the same year requires that all the business of Bishops should be Instruction and Preaching because Ignorance is the Mother of all Errors and that the Word of God should be taught not only in Cities but also in the Parishes In the Year 858. Herrald Bishop of Tours made a Capitulary taken out of Ancient Canons in the 9th of which he appoints That Priests should preach to all the Faithful Tom 3. Conc Gall. p. 111. the Doctrines of Faith the Incarnation of Jesus Christ his Death Resurrection his Ascension the Gift of the Holy Ghost and the Remission of Sins To all which may be added the 58th Canon of the Apostles If after the Decrees of Councils we consult the Ancient Doctors they will also testify that Ministers are particularly called to Preach the Gospel and to declare to their Hearers the word of Truth My Sheep said to this purpose Gregory Nazianzen Orat. 25. p 440. My Sheep hear my voice that is to say that which I have received from the Divine Oracles which I have preached ever after one manner throughout the whole course of my life without complying with the Times and which I will never forbear to preach Tom. 4. p. 266. and St. Jerom in his 3d Book of Commentaries upon the 16th Chapter of Jeremiah saith It is the Duty of Pastors to teach it is what the putting the Bible on their head at their Ordination should put them in mind of This will appear yet more plainly if after having consider'd the Subject and Argument of Ministers Preaching the Gospel we also examine the Matter which according to our Discipline should be plain conformable to the Scripture fit to Edify free from intricate School-questions and from all Ostentation Let us now inquire if the Ancient Christians did otherwise The Council of Carthage Tom. 1. p 110. Paris 1574. Ibid. p. 185. in the Year 398. which we have often cited desires in the 1st Canon That the Doctrines of Faith should be taught with simplicity Origen in his 16th Homily upon Leviticus desires the Word may be preached to purpose and that one should accommodate himself to the Capacity of each person in giving Milk to some and strong Meat to others and in the 7th Hom. upon Joshua Ibid. l. 2. p. 393. he advises to shun the beauty pomp and ornament of Rhetorical Philosophers Poets and Writers of the Age of whom Valentine Basilides and Marcian learn'd their Heresies In the 9th Book of his Commentaries on the 12th Chap. of the Epistle to the Romans he saith So much care must not be taken to please the Hearers as to work on their Affections and to inspire into them the love of Vertue observing on this occasion that it often happens that the most Eloquent and sublime Preachers only tickle the Ears with pleasing words of humane Learning but do not work on the heart whereas many times those which study plainess and preach without affectation convert many to the Faith humble the Proud and bring Sinners to repentance St. Busil in his Morals saith several things which agree very well with the Article whose conformity we seek to find with the ancient Discipline of the Primitive Christians For Example Tom. 2. Reg. 70. C. 5 6 7 23 26. That one must not teach otherwise than we have learned in the Gospel that we must preach all things our Saviour has prescrib'd to us in the Gospel and by the Ministry of his Apostles and all things conformable to them That those to whom the preaching of the Gospel is committed should not conceal any thing which is pleasing to God fearing lest they should render them elves guilty of the death of those which perish That the Word of God must not be preach'd for Ostentation nor flatter those which hear it the more to serve our own Pleasure or Conveniencies but act as if we spoke for the glory of God in his presence and that to preach the Gospel one must not make use of any Prerogatives or Advantages that should advance us above others fearing lest the grace of God should be frustrated thereby There can nothing in the World be seen more conformable to our Discipline In the main all I have said on this Article is grounded on the Precepts and Example of St. Paul I say on his Precepts 2 Tim. 1.13 2.14 3.2 Hold fast saith he to Timothy the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus Of these things put them in remembrance charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers Preach the word 2 Tim. 3.3 be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine reproving those who having itching ears make teachers after their own minds 1 Cor. 1.17 2.14 I say in the next place according to his Example for he declares That Jesus Christ sent him not to Baptize but to Preach not with wisdom of Words nor with excellence of Speech and that his Preaching was not in flattering words of humane Wisdom XIII The Churches are warned more frequently to use Catechising and Ministers to treat and Expound it by succinct Questions and Answers simple and familiar accommodating themselves to the Peoples capacity without entring into long Common-place Discourses It is also the duty of Ministers to Catechise each one of their Flock once or twice a year and to exhort every one to come diligently to be Catechised CONFORMITY The Instruction of the People being the End which Jesus Christ proposed in establishing the Ministry of the Word it is worthy the prudence of those which are called to teach others to begin by those things which are the chiefest Essentials of Religion and which are the easiest to be understood as are the fundamental Points of Religion the Summary whereof we have contain'd in the Apostles Creed therefore it was that in the Primitive Church Catechisms were instituted wherein was familiarly explained to the Catechumeny the Doctrines of Heaven the knowledge whereof is necessary to Salvation and without which they could not receive the benefit of Baptism Of this kind for instance are the Catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem wherein he explains the Articles of
the same Province or in any other XXXV Him who is destitute of a Church for not being employed in the Province and shall be lent elsewhere out of the Province by the Colloque until the Meeting of the Synod of the said Province if he be not employ'd by the said Synod in the Province he shall remain proper to the Church to which he was lent if he consents thereto and the said Church also CONFORMITY This Article depends of the foregoing ones and is no more but the continuance of the Rules we have examined amined therefore 't is needless to add to what has been said to this purpose XXXVI To the end that Congregations should acquit themselves of their Duty to their Pastors as the Word of God enjoyns them and that cause should not be given to Ministers to be dissatisfied and even to leave them the said Flocks shall be advertis'd to allow them what shall be necessary CONFORMITY When Jesus Christ first sent forth his Disciples to Preach the Gospel he forbid them to provide Gold or Silver alledging for this prohibition that the labourer was worthy of his hire St. Paul who wrought with his own hands that he might be burdensome to none nevertheless appoints in his Epistles the obligation Flocks have to their Pastors saying None goes a warfare at his own expence That him that plants a Vine cats of the fruit and him that feeds a slock drinks of the milk of it that what the Law saith Thou shalt not mussle the ox which treadeth out the Corn is to be appli'd to the Ministers of the Gospel who ought to receive temporal things of those to whom they sow Spiritual things That those which were employ'd about holy things did eat of that which was Holy and those which served at the Altar did participate of the Altar that in like manner the Lord ordained 1 Cor. 9.14 That those which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel The Charity of Christians who lived presently after the Holy Apostles was so servent that they suffered not those which were ordained to instruct in the knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven to lack any thing and altho in those first Ages they lived on the voluntary Oblations of Believers nevertheless they had suslicient for their maintenance and support and for the relief of the poor And because these offerings were divided amongst the Clergy each had his portion or at least they spent altogether that which fell to their share and also imparted to the relief of Indigent Clerks and other Brethren Ep. 66. p. 109. which were in want and which St. Crprian designs by Sportulantes fratres an expressien sound in the Testament of Perpetu Bishop of Tours in the Fifth Century inserted by Dom Luke D'Achery in the fifth Tome of his Collection The 25 Can. of the Council of Antioch appoints That the Bishop should receive of the Church-stores what shall be convenient for the necessary support of life both for himself and for the Brethren which lodg in his House and the 36 Syned of Agde in the year 506 requires That all the Clerks which serve in the Church faithfully Tom. 1. Conc 〈◊〉 p. 168. and with care receive of their Bishops the wages due for their labour propâ—rtionable to the service they yield or according as the Canons do appoint After all when Riches came flowing into the Church in several Provinces they divided them into four equal portions the Bishop had one the Clergy another the third was for the poor and the fourth for repairing the Church But in the Countreys where they divided them into three Portions as in Spain one third was for the Bishop one third for the Clergy and the other third for the Poor and repairation of Temples XXXVII And to avoid the ingratitude of those which have been found unworthily to treat their Pastors this order shall be observ'd To pay them aforehand one Quarters Sallery of the Pension which has been promis'd them yearly CONFORMITY Were the Charity of the Christians of this Age as great as was that of the Primitive Christians those who laboured in composing our Discipline had not been obliged to have made so many Rules to provide for the Maintenance of Ministers they would have found a sufficient propensity in the minds of their People to have contributed to their Necessities But this Charity being abated and the People being but too much inclined to pay those with ingratitude which labour for their Instruction it was expedient to multiply Laws to procure for them a moderate maintenance without the which a Minister cannot subsist XXXVIII And for the time to come doubting of miscarriage herein lest there should happen damage to the Churches Those elected to manage the Action of the Colloques shall inquire of the Elders of each Church what Allowance they make their Ministers and the care they take in administring what has been appointed to the end that by the Authority of the Colloques it might be remedied CONFORMITY The Ministers of the French Protestants living commonly on the equal contribution of their Congregations it became the wisdom of the Authors of their Discipline to remove all dissiculties which might retard or hinder these voluntary Contributions whereon depends their Subsistence having no stock for their Maintenance XXXIX When necessary support is refused to a Minister and that he hath made his complaints and applications and that three Months are elapsed it shall be lawful for the said Pastor to range himself to another Church by advice of the Colloque or Provincial Synod and in case of urgent necessity the Colloques or Synods may shorten the term of three Months and if necessity so require and that three Months are elapsed and that he continue unprovided altho the Minister has made his complaint to be set at liberty it shall suffice that he call into his Consistery the two adjacent Mimslers and shall not be bound to stay for the consent of any Colloque nor Synod unless one of those Assemblies were summon'd in the same Month to the which he may have recourse CONFORMITY Seeing that according to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ Those which Preach the Gospel shall live by the Gospel it cannot reasonably be refuted Minister to whom the Flock doth not apply necessary Subsistence I say one cannot refuse him the liberty of joyning himself to another which are more tender and grateful especially when he has nothing else to subsist upon It 's true this should not be done without the advice of his Superiors that is to say without consent of the Colloque or Provincial Synod which may dispose of his Ministry XL. Vpon the knowledg and judgment which shall be made of the ingratitude of the People upon the Minister's complaint all circumstances must be prudently weighed and as well principal regard shall be had to the poverty of the Churches as to the faculty and ways of him which makes the complaint the better to
follow what may most tend to the glory of God the Edification of the Church and the honour of the Ministry CONFORMITY In the main heed must be taken to do nothing in these occasions which may in the least prejudice the glory of God the Edification of the Church and the honour of the Ministry or that may offend the Laws of Christian Charity XLI The Church which shall be found ingrateful shall not be furnished with a Pastor until first of all she hath fully satisfied what she owes to him from whose service she is discharged CONFORMITY This Article is a consequence of the preceding ones and is founded upon Justice and Equity provided exact Judgment be made betwixt unableness and ingratitude the former deserving pity and compassion and the latter punishment and blame XLII Ministers that have some Rents and Goods may nevertheless take Wages of their Flocks it is even expedient they should do so for the consequence and to avoid the prejudice they may do to other Pastors and Churches But they shall be Exhorted to do as the necessity of the Churches and Charity shall require CONFORMITY The Ancient Canons do sufficiently authorise this settlement in distinguishing the goods of Bishops from those of the Churches the latter not being to be alienated whereas the Bishop at his Death might dispose of those which were his and if he disposed not of them by Will they of right appertain'd to his Heirs the Church not being permitted to trouble them on this occasion The 24th Canon of the Council of Antioch is formal in the case and so regulated the matter that afterwards there was no difficulty in the Case and I make no question but the Impostor that forg'd the Canons which go in the Apostles Names did borrow from that of Antioch the 4th of his which he a little alter'd to hide the fraud of his Imposture for he saith the Bishop has sometimes Wise and Children which are his Legitimate Heirs Neither do I make any doubt but the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon had in their view the same Canon a little more than 100 years after the Synod of Antioch when they forbid the Clergy in the 22d Canon to dissipate the Goods of the Bishop after his Death and that they alledge the Ancient Canons which prohibit the same it is hereunto may be applied the 32d Canon of the African Code attributed to the Council of Carthage in the Year 419. However it may be it clearly appears by what has been said That Ministers which had any Goods of their own might nevertheless take the portion of those of the Church which by the Decrees of Councils were destinated for the support of the Bishop XLIII It shall not be permitted for a Minister to possess any Inheritance under the Title of a Pastor but if his Pension or any part of it were assign'd upon any Possession Rent or Revenue all shall be administer'd by the Deacons or other person appointed and deputed to this purpose by whose hands the Minister shall receive his Salary to take away all suspition of Avarice and to the end that by such sollicitudes he may not be hinder'd from doing his Office and Duty CONFORMITY St. Cyrill of Alexandria ordains something to this purpose in his Canonical Epistle when he saith That the holy Vessels and the immovables must be left to the Churches and leave to the Bishops which do the Functions of the Episcopacy the dispensation of the Expence which is necessary to be done whether it proceeds from the Revenues of Ecclesiastical Goods or from some liberality that comes from elsewhere The Council of Antioch had already ordain'd something of the same kind in the 25th Canon and since St. Cyril that of Chalcedon in the 26th XLIV The Church in whose Service a Minister dyes shall take care of his Widow and Children and if the Church be not able the Province shall provide for them CONFORMITY This Rule is in good measure grounded on Christian Charity and also on the acknowledgment a Church owes to the memory of a Minister dead in her Service to whom she is obliged to shew some marks of respect and kindness in the persons of his Wife and Children XLV Ministers shall be subject to Censures CONFORMITY All Pastors were subject to the Canons and by consequence to the Censures enjoined by the Canons it is a known Truth and which is not contested by those who have any knowledg of the practise of the Ancient Church Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. p. 27. The Council of Turin in the Year 397. in its Synodal Epistle saith They were Assembled to preserve the Blessing of Peace and the Decrees of the Canons and to apply a profitable remedy to Mens minds and in the 5th Canon speaking of a certain Priest called Exuperantius it saith He was deprived of the Communion of the Lord because he had done something against the Ecclesiastical Discipline Therefore it was Can. 1. that the Council of Chalcedon requires Tom. 1. Conc Gall. p. 490. that the Canons be observed which had till then been made by the holy Fathers and the Synod of Chalons upon Soan in the Year 650. enjoins all Men in the 2d Canon inviolably to observe the Decrees of the Councils Thence it is that the 4th Council of Orleans in the year 541. in the same Volume of French Councils speaks in the 37th Canon of the Censures which were made in the Synods to which also may be referr'd the 3d and 22d Canons of the Synod of Antioch and the 25th of that of Chalcedon and in the 4th of the 7th Council of Tolledo Anno Dom. 646. it is said expresly That if any Bishop be so inconsiderate as to violate the Decree of the Council the Censure and Punishment which the Fathers have enjoin'd Tom. 4. Concil p. 640. shall be inflicted on those which transgress the Canons XLVI The Office of Ministers is to Govern themselves and their Flocks great and small by the Word of God and Ecclesiastical Discipline but 't is also the Duty of the Magistrate to have inspection over all sorts of Men even over Ministers and to take care they behave themselves as becometh in their Vocation and if they fail therein the Magistrate shall warn them of their Duty by the Church Discipline in the Colloquies and Consistories else the faults may be punishable by the Laws the Administration whereof is in the Magistrate CONFORMITY Origen treats at large of these Duties of Pastors in several parts of his Works where he teaches how they ought to act in regard of themselves and in regard of those committed to their care towards whom they should not shew too much indulgence nor too much severity but open unto them the Gates of Heaven by their Doctrine and Example and not shut it against themselves by a disorderly and wicked Conduct But especially must be added what he saith in the 7th Homily upon Joshua which is in the 1st
same City of Antioch In the Year 346 Euphrates Bishop of Cologne was also depos'd by a Council Assembled in the same City for an impiety much like that of Paul of Samosatia for he denied that Jesus Christ was God It was on the same ground that in the Ancient Church Pelagius Celestius Julian and their followers Nestorius Eutyches and many others were Anathematiz'd not to speak of what was done against Arrius in the first Council of Nice I do not here make mention of scandalous vices for which Ministers deserve to be depos'd because I shall speak of them in the following Articles I will only add that the 45th Canon of the Apostles deprives of the Communion the Bishop Priest and Deacon which do so much as pray with Hereticks that is to say according to Balsamons interpretation If they have any Communication with them but he deposes them if they permit them to do any Ecclesiastical Function and the 46th if they allow of their Baptism and Oblation XLVIII Those shall not be depos'd who through Sickness Age or other the like accident shall be incapable of doing their Office in which case they shall still enjoy the Honour and shall be recommended to their Churches for a maintenance being provided of another which shall perform their Office CONFORMITY Old Age and Sickness being no lawful cause of deposition it is with good reason they here except them out of the Number of those things for which Bishops and Deacons are wont to be degraded and to turn them into the Rank of Lay-men from the which they were before distinguish'd as for Old Age it is certain that in the Primitive Church when a Pastor was well stricken in years and that by reason thereof he could not perform all things relating to his Office some other was chosen to assist him but in continuing to him the Honour of his Office and a competent Maintenance Euseb Hist Eccles l. 6. c. â— It was so practised at the beginning of the 3d Century in regard of Narcissus Bishop of Jerusalem Aged 116 years for there was by consent of the Neighbouring Bishops given to assist him in that weighty employment Alexander who had been Bishop in Capadocia It was for the same reason that Theotecnus Id. ib. l. 7. c. â—2 p. 288. Bishop of Caesarea of Palestine Consecrated one Anatolius Bishop with whom he divided the care of his Disocess which they govern'd both together for some time These are the two Ancientest Examples of Coadjutors of Bishops as is spoke at this time they were at first introduced for the ease of Ministers who for their extreme Age could not discharge the Duties of their Pastoral Office but since that time Favour and Ambition has had a much greater share in establishing these kind of Coadjutors than Necessity although the Council of Antioch in the year 341 expresly defends it in the 23. Canon which practise St. Austin was a stranger to when Valerius made him his Coadjutor and designed him his Successor as Possidonius observes in the eighth Chapter of his Life where he takes if I be not deceived the Council of Antioch for that of Nice the fourth Canon of which prescribes only the manner of Promotion of Bishops whereas the 23. of Antioch absolutely prohibits a Bishop to establish himself a Successor and by the same means a Coadjutor I come now to Sicknesses and other like accidents for the which we do not think fit a Minister should be deposed we do not indeed in the first Ages of the Church find any Rule on this subject because in all likelihood as yet none were found that would dispute to a Pastor who by reason of Sickness could not discharge the Duties of his Calling the name and quality of Pastor no more than things necessary for his subsistence In the time of Gregory the First things having in all likelihood changed face in this regard this Prelate made a Constitution which is yet to be seen in the 11th Book of his Letters Indict 6. Ep. 7 8. by which he appoints that a Coadjutor shall be provided for the Bishop who by reason of Sickness cannot take care of his Congregation which nevertheless shall be bound to maintain him as before it is much after this sort he deals by the Bishop of Rimini who by his own confession a great pain in the head rendered incapable of discharging his Episcopal Office for which cause he desired to be absolutely discharged that another might be put in his place which could not have been done without his consent but only to have given him a Coadjutor The Bishops of France did otherwise in regard of Heriman or Herman Bishop of Nevers who was troubled with a mighty head-ach but he stoutly resisted them as also Vvemlen Bishop of Sens his Metropolitan for they would have put another in his place against his will but having writ to Pope Nicholas the First in the year 862 he disapproved what they did in the case Tom. â— Cone Gal. Ann. 862. p. 87 88 politickly avoiding the question they put to him touching the forged Decretal of Melchiades In the Appendix at the end of the Letters of Loup Abbot of Ferriers of the last Edition there 's a Letter of Innocent the Third to the Archbishop of Tours writ in the year 1209 whereby he will have the Bishop of Perigueux to resign his Bishoprick to another because he was uncapable and unfit to discharge the Office and that moreover he wasted the Treasure of the Churches altho he judges the former reason sufficient cause for the resignation But Innocent the Sixth in the sixth year of his Popedom that is about the year of Christ 1360 writes to Girlac Archbishop of Mayence to appoint a Coadjutor to Salvian Bishop of Worms by reason of his great age and sickness without leaving the Coadjutor any hopes of succeeding him after his death the Letter is to be seen in the same Appendix Mark Patriarch of Alexandria Apud Beaureg Annot. in Can. Apost To. 2. Pandect p. 37. having demanded of Balsaman the famous Greek Canonist that liv'd in the Twelfth Century If a man that had but one hand or but one eye were worthy the honour of Priesthood and whether 't were permitted to him that after Ordidination chanc'd to be dismembered in any part of his body to celebrate Divine Service or not Balsaman after having alledged the 77 and 78 Canons of those which go in the Apostles names to resolve the difficulty proposed to him adds That those ought not to be established in Ecclesiastical Offices which by reason of their sickness and infirmities are incapable of doing their Duties but as for those which since their Ordination are faln into any mischance he declares That if their inconvenience don't hinder them from discharging their calling they are permitted to continue in it and to celebrate Divine Service but if the inconvenience be such as that it hinders them he will that they
towards it by putting the Cup as near their Mouth as they possible can to avoid giving any manner of Offence CONFORMITY This is a wise and charitable condescendence towards an insurmountable weakness of Nature it was by this Principle the Antient Church gave the Sacrament mixt and soaked to those who lay at the point of Death Apud Euseb l. 6. c. 44. so it was practis'd in the Third Century towards a certain Old Man called Serapion who was a dying Penitent for a Priest of Alexandria sent by a Young Man a little or a Portion of the Sacrament commanding it should be steept and put in the Old Mans mouth that he might swallow it down but this was not done but in case of great necessity as Hugh Maynard a Learned Benedict in observes in his Notes on the Book of Sacraments of Gregory the First The same favour was used towards Young Infants in the times as they were admitted to the participation of the Sacraments and not that only but Pope Paschal who succeeded Vrban the Second in the year 1099 commanded that the Two Symbols should be distributed apart except 't were to little Children and to such as are extream sick for to such he permits that they might be communicated with the Wine only because they cannot swallow Bread The charitable Indulgence then allowed by our Discipline towards such as have an invincible aversion and antipathy against Wine ought not to be blamed VIII It remains in the Liberty of Ministers in distributing the Bread and Wine to use the accustomed words the thing being indifferent provided words are used that tend to Edification CONFORMITY When Jesus Christ gave to his Apostles the Sacrament of Bread he said this is my Body and in giving them the Symbol of Wine this is my Blood or this Cup is the New Testament in my Blood As for the Apostles we do not find they said any thing In the time of Justin Martyr Apol. 1. pag. 97. the Giver nor the Communicant said nothing but the Deacons gave to the faithful Bread and Wine which had been Consecrated And 't is gathered from Clements of Alexandria Strom. lib. 1. pag. 271. that 't was so practis'd at the end of the Second Century sometime after it was said to Communicants in giving them the Sacrament The Body of Christ The Blood of Christ In the Sixth Century and after it was said particularly in the West The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve you to Everlasting Life The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ Redeem you to Eternal Life Euchol p. 83. The Greeks say at this time You participate and communicate of the Holy Body and Pretious Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the Remission of your sins and to Life Everlasting Amongst us is commonly said This is the Body of Jesus Christ this is the Blood of Jesus Christ The Church as any one may see having at all times used a great freedom in this matter IX The Churches shall be advertis'd that the Cup is to be administred by the Minister CONFORMITY As Jesus Christ Blessed and Consecrated his Eucharist so he also administer'd it for there was none but him that did the Office and Duty of a Minister A little more than a Hundred years after Apol. 1. pag. 97. Christians received the Communion from the hands of Deacons as we find by Justin Martyr a practice observ'd a long while but with some difference and 't is probable those who did so grounded themselves on what is said in the VI. chap. of the Acts that Deacons should serve at Tables as if by this Expression was to be understood the distributing the Sacrament at the Holy Table whereas it means no more but the distributing of Alms and Charities to Widows and Orphans and in general to the Poor of the Church After all lio de Coron c. 3. Tertullian observes it was not received but of the hand of him which presided that is to say of Pastors and probably 't was in his time the use of the Churches of Africa which doubtless were more conformable to the Example and Practice of Jesus Christ to which we may add what is said by St. Chrysostome in his Forty Sixth Homily on St. Matthew The Priest only is permitted to distribute the Cup of the Blood of Jesus Christ The Greek word designs also Bishops as well as Sacerdos which the Interpreter has used X. Inasmuch as distributing the Lords Supper several sick Persons came to receive which occasions that several make scruple of drinking the Wine after them the Pastors and Elders shall be warn'd to take prudent care and give good Order therein CONFORMITY It is a prudent and cautious Establishment to avoid greater inconvenience XI Those who have been a long time in the Church and will not communicate of the Lords Supper if they do it through contempt as for fear of being obliged to forsake all manner of Idolatry after several admonitions they shall be cut off from the body of the Church but if it be by infirmity they shall be borne with for some time until they can be Established CONFORMITY There 's nothing in this Article that differs from the practice of the Antient Church which obliged all those which heard the Word of God to participate of the Lords Supper 't is what is intimated by the Second Cannon of the Council of Antioch Those which enter into the Assemblies and hear the Holy Scriptures but by a certain looseness do not communicate in Prayer with the People and deprive themselves of the participation of the Lords Supper let such be cast out of the Church The Ninth of those attributed to the Apostles and which probably was borrowed of that of Antioch is no less positive All the Believers which enter into the Church and that hear the Reading of the Scriptures but which stay not for the Prayers nor do receive the Holy Sacrament let them be cut off because they give offence to the Church Thence it is that in the Eleventh chap. of the Eighth Book of Constitutions called the Apostles it is Ordained That the Deacons should stand at the Doors where the Men sit and the Vnder-Deacons of that of the Women to hinder that no body go out during the time of the Oblation that is to say during the time of celebrating the Eucharist XII Those which frequent the Christian Congregations but on the Communion Day shall be reprov'd and warned to do their Duty and even to this purpose to joyn to one certain Church CONFORMITY The Author of Constitutions which go in the Apostles Names prescribes to Believers to frequent the Holy Assemblies not only when the Lords Supper is celebrated but also on all other Dayes Lib. 2. cap. 59. there to attend on calling on the Name of God in singing Psalms and the hearing of his Word The 80th Cannon of the Sixth Oecumenical Council does depose Church-men Tom. 5. Conc. pag. 344.
to the Council of Carthage in the year 407 speaks three several times of the Elders at Nova Germania and because there had been some difference betwixt this Church and Maurentius its Bishop and that nevertheless the Elders deputed in this affair to the Synod appeared not the Council assigned to Maurentius the Judges he desired and left to the choice of the Elders tho absent the nomination of those that should be needful to compleat the number and what is very remarkable in this conjuncture is that these Elders defended the right of the People which were the Bishops opposite party who complained of their outrage and calumnies What I have hitherto writ does clearly shew that when the Deacon Hillary complained that the use of Elders was abolished he had a regad to Italy where it had indeed hapned in sundry places though the same practise continued elsewhere as I have justified by many Examples after the time in which this Roman Deacon wrote I now proceed on farther and do say this custom was not extinct in France and Sicily at the end of the Sixth Century I say first of all in Sicily for Pope Gregory the First writ to John Bishop of Palermo Tom. 2. lib. â—1 Ind. 6 Ep. 49. p. 1083 and recommends two things to him one was To establish a Receiver by consent of the Elders and Clergy to give an account yearly to take away all suspition of fraud The other was not to give easie credit to reports that might be made to him of his Clergy but carefully to examine the truth in presence of the Elders of his Church I say in the second place this same practice was observed in France In effect Gregory of Tours has transmitted to us the Letter of an Assembly of Bishops held at Poictiers by the King's Command to take course about the disorders of the Monastry of St. Radegonda Hib. l. 1â— c. 16. and in this Letter the Abbess confesses amongst other things that she received Earnest for the Marriage of her Neece which was an Orphan that she received it in presence of the Bishop the Clergy and the Elders And in the year 585. King Goutran makes express mention of the Elders of the Church which he distinguishes from the Clergy in the Edict which he addresses to the Bishops and Judges of his Kingdom Tom. 1. Conc. Gall. p. 391. I can't say but Agobard Bishop of Lions in the ninth Century might design these same Elders Lib. de Jure Sacerd pag. 135. Tom. 2. when complaining of Persons of Quality that abused Priests they had in their Houses He saith That by reason of these Domestick Chaplains They forsook the Churches the Elders and the publick service Now it follows I must treat of the form and manner of Electing our Deacons and Elders The Establishment I examin distinguishes the places where the Discipline is not yet setled from those where it is already received in the former it requires Election should be made by the Votes of the People and Pastors In the other it appoints that nomination shall be made in the Consistory and that it shall be signified to the People to have either their consent or their refusal because their Establishment depends on the liking and approbation of the People the nomination made in the Consistory no way depriving the People of their Right seeing the most part of those which do it that is to say the Elders and Deacons do represent the People and are invested with its power and rights It is therefore of the People either mediately or immediately that depends the Establishing of Elders and Deacons amongst us And herein our Discipline has Religiously followed the practice of the holy Apostles who referred to the liberty of the People the Election of the Seven Deacons the History whereof is mentioned by St. Luke in the 6th Chap. of the Acts. And 't is not only in regard of Deacons the Apostles proceeded in this manner they would also that the whole Church of Jerusalem should have share in Establishing Matthias Acts 1. who by common consent was added to the Number of the Eleven Apostles and when they Ordained ordinary Pastors doubtless they did it by the advice of the Assemblies of the People to the conduct of whom they intended to commit them Which example the succeeding Christians imitated very exactly as we have made appear on Artic. 4. of the first Chap. Our Discipline does not therefore prescribe any thing as to what regards the Election of our Elders and Deacons but what is very conformable to the practice of the Apostles and to that of the Primitive Christians in short if in the first Ages of Christianity the People had a good share in the Vocation of Ministers of greater reason had they in Establishing of Elders which were if it may be so said the Executors of their Will and the dispencers of their Rights And if our Ministers by the ninth Article of the first Chapter are obliged to sign our Confession of Faith and Ecclesiastical Discipline agreeable to what was practiced in the Primitive Church it cannot be thought strange that we should also oblige our Elders and Deacons to sign them because they make up one body with the Ministers of each Church and do partake with them of the conduct of the same Flocks II. Hence forward as much as possible may be avoided there shall not be elected for Elders and Deacons of the Church those which have Wives contrary to the true Religion according to the saying of the Apostle Nevertheless that the Church may not be deprived of the labour of several good persons who by reason of the ignorance of past-time have Wives of a contrary Religion they shall be dispensed withal for the present necessity provided they shew their readiness in instructing their said Wives and in desiring them to joyn themselves to the Church CONFORMITY Having established as we have done the first Article this has no difficulty in it for St. Paul requires 1 Tim. 3. That Deacons should hold the mystery of the Faith in a pure Conscience He also requires That their Wives be faithful in all things and by consequence in those of Religion and Piety which should be the only Religion of Jesus Christ both in Husband and Wife to avoid the great inconveniences which happen by diversity of Religions which Tertullian represents very well to his Wife in the Second Book he wrote to her III. The Office of Elders is to have care of the Flock with the Pastors to take care the People come to the Assemblies and that every one frequent the holy Congregations to give notice of misdemeanors and scandals to take cognizance and judg of them with the Pastors and in general to have care with them of all such like things which concern the Order Support and Government of the Church so that in each Church there shall be a form of their office in writing according to the circumstance