Gregor epistolarum Lib. 4. Epist 32. 38. For he would not suffer this decrée to be receiued within his prouince of Italy but vtterly reiected it and wrote not only to the emperour how greatly he did offend almighty God in admitting this new prophane blasphemous name and authoritie into the Church of Christ empairing the authority which he hath giuen to the rest of his byshops and ministers but also to Iohn the patriarke that he by taking and vsurping that authority did shewe him self in pride and presūption to be the very forerunner of Antichrist Wherby it came to passe that Mauricius the Emperour was so greatly offended with this good Gregory Platina de vitis pontificum Romanorū in Gregorio primo Volaterranus Centuria 6. fol. 872. that as Platina doth report he exhorted the Lūbardes to set vppon the city of Rome which Agilulfus the king of Lumbardy did beséeging it a whole yeare Howbeit in the end he was faine to go away without any hurt done to the city that was saued by the mighty prouidence of God Chap. 3. That Christ in the promise of his second commission saying vnto Peter To thee will I giue the keyes of heauen doth giue him no supremacie Neither by these wordes I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not NOwe to returne to the commissions of Christe because that betwixt the first whiche was giuen before his passion to his Apostles as I haue declared and the second which he gaue them after his death and resurrection Christ did open to them in the meane time his purpose and intent both for giuing them further authoritie then before he gaue them and for instructing of them what they should doe with it he therefore demaunded of his disciples what men did talke of him and whom they saide him to be To whome when they aunswered some that Thou art Iohn Baptist and some Elias others Ieremias or one of the prophets Matt. 16. then Iesus said vnto them Vos autem quem me esse dicitis Respondens Simon Petrus dixit tu es Christus filius Dei viui Respondens autem Christus dixit ei beatus es Simon Bar-iona quia caro sanguis non reuelauit tibi hoc sed pater meus qui est in coelis Et ego dico tibi tu es Petrus super hanc Petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam portae inferni non praeualebunt aduersus eam Et tibi dabo claues regni coelorum quidcunque ligaueris super terram erit ligatum in coelis quidcunque solueris super terram erit solutum in coelis But whom saith Christ do you say that I am He said not Peter who dost thou say that I am but in the plurall nomber to all his Apostles who doe you say that I am Then Peter as the mouth and speaker of them al said Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God To whom our sauiour Christ aunswered and saide blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas for flesh and bloud hath not reuealed it to thee but my father which is in heauen And I say to thee Tu es Petrus alluding to the name of Peter for his perfect faith on the head corner stone the is to say on Christ wherevpon Peter him selfe was builded and not Christ vpon Peter therefore Christ said Vpon this rocke or stone of thy confession of me to be the sonne of the liuing God will I builde my Church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it Christ did not say against thée Peter but against it that is his true Church builded vpon that faith that Peter then confessed and not vpon Peters person I doe beléeue there is no man so ignoraunt or voide of knowledge that will iudge our Sauiour Christ would build his Church vpon so weake and fraile a foundation as Peter was if we regard not his profession but his person who shewed himselfe more wauering and vnstable then any other of the twelue Apostles as one that vtterly denied his Maister Christe thrée times in one day Matt. 26. and also before that did speake such carnall and worldly wordes vnto him that Christe was faine to answere him Thou art an offence vnto me and added moreouer Matt. 16. Get thee be hinde me Sathan Wherefore I do leaue it to the iudgement of euerie good Christian man whether it be more agréeable to our faith and safe for the Church of God to be founded vpon Christ or vpon Peter vppon the sonne of the liuing God whō Peter confessed or vpon a man who vttterly denied the sonne of the liuing God saying Non noui hominē istum and that cum iuramento Matt. 26. I do not knowe this man and bound it with an othe as the Gospel doth testifie It is certaine that Christ builded his Church vpon that rocke or stone Iuellus in replicatione ad responsum Hardingi fol. 221. 222. 246. 262. which was sure stedfast euen vpon the faith confessed by Peter and not vpon Peter And that by the iudgement of the olde fathers as Hillarie affirmeth in his second booke De Trinitate Haec est vna foelix fidei Petra quam Petrus ore suo est confessus This is the onely blessed rocke of faith whiche Peter confessed by mouth And Chrysost in Matth. Hom. 51. Super hanc petram in hac fide confessione aedificabo Ecclesiam Vpon this rocke vpon this faith and confession will I builde my Church And Saint Augustine in his 13. sermon vpon Matthew saith Non me aedificabo super te sed aedificabo te super me I wil not builde my selfe of thee but I will build thee vpon me And this was the meaning of Christ For after Peter had saide Tu es Christus filius dei viui Christ said not Super te Petrum vpon thee Peter but super hanc petram vpon this rocke or stable stone euen thy confession of me to be the sonne of the liuing God I will build my Church and the gates of hell shal not preuaile against it He saide not against Peter but against his Church which he builded vpon that rocke of faith that Peter helde For Christes words are Matt. 16. Portae inferni non praeualebunt aduersus eam in the feminine gender against it which must needes haue relation to Ecclesiam His Church not to Peter for then he would haue said Non preualebit aduersus eum Likewise he saide immediately Tibi dabo claues regni coelorum To thee will I giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Now it is plain that he gaue those keies vnto his Church and not to Peters onely person though he saide to him but as to his Apostle the charge pertayning to al his Apostles and all the ministers of his Churche by like right Quodcunque ligaueris super terram erit ligatum in coelis quodcunque solueris super terram erit solutum in coelis Whatsoeuer thou shalt
binde vpon the earth it shall be bound in heaueÌ„ whatsoeuer thou shalt loose vpon the earth it shal be loosed in heauen For otherwise those keyes of loosing binding had ben lost cleane and the authority of Christes church had bene ouerthrowen for euer if Peter onely shoulde haue possessed those keyes as parteining to himselfe alone and not to Christes Church For it followeth in the same chapter how Christ telling his Apostles that he must go to Ierusalem and there suffer many things by the elders scribes and princes of the priestes and beâ—lains and the third day rise againe from death Peter tooke him aside and rebuked him saying Let this be farre from thee let not this happen to thee Wherevpon Christe turning him selfe to Peter sayd vade post me Satana scandalum es mihi quia noâ— sapis ea quae dei sunt sed ea quaâ— sunt hominum Get thee behinde me thou Satan or Diuell thou art an offence vnto me for thou doest not sauour of the thinges that are of God but the thinges that are of men So that whatsoeuer Christ said to him before if the same had not concerned the authority of his whole church but onely Peters person theÌ„ al the vertue of those sayinges had bene clearely quenched and taken from Peter when Christ called him Sathan and bad him come behinde him But that the right of these wordes doth belong vnto the whole Church it is euident by the wordes of Christe that do follow in the eightéene Chapter spoken to the Church Matt. 18. Quaecunque ligaueritis in terra erunt ligata in coelo Et quaecunque solueritis in terra erunt soluta in coelo What soeuer ye binde in earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer ye loose in earth shall be loosed in heauen Yea to regarde the substance of Christes wordes touching that authority of binding and loosing mentioned to Peter Christ said not tibi do claues regni coelorum Matt. 16. I doe giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen to thee but tibi dabo I will giue to thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen to loose and to binde So that Christes wordes were spoken of the time to come not of the time present to be giuen afterward not as giuen presently Whereof it doeth follow that none of the Apostles had authoritie of binding and loosing of retaining and remitting the sinnes of all estates of men through all nations vntill our sauiour Christ had suffered his death and had washed away our sinnes with his bloud and had conquered death by rising from death At the which time they receaued the holie Ghost as it shall appeare in the second commission and had that perfourmed whiche was promised when Christ saide Iohn 20. I wil giue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen But in the mean season before that was performed Christ perceiuing by his diuine prescience and foreknowledge that Peter should denie him thrise in one day he saide vnto him Simon Luke 22. Ecce Satanas expetiuit vos vt cribraret sicut triticum ego autem oraui pro te vt non deficiat fides tua tu aliquando conuersus confirma fratres tuos Ipse verò dixit ei Domine tecum paratus sum in carcerem in mortem ire At ille dixit dico tibi Petre non cantabit hodie gallus donec ter abneges nosse me Simon saith the Lord to Peter Behold Sathan hath desired you to syfte you like wheat but I haue praied for thee that thy faith fayle not therefore when thou at length art conuerted confirme stablish thy brethren Then Peter saide vnto him Lorde I am ready to go with thee into prison vnto death But Christ saide Peter I tell thee the cocke shall not crowe this day vntill thou hast thrice denied that thou knowest me Whiche wordes of Christ were fulfilled the same night as soone as he was brought before the high priest For Peter being amongst them that stoode by the fire when he was reported of by a maide that he was one of those which were with Christ he aunswered I doe not knowe him When againe he was tolde by another man who stoode by the maide that he was of them he answered I do not know him Anone after the thirde time when another man said verily this man was with him for he is also a Galilean then Peter cursed and did sweare as S. Matthew doth witnes that he knew not Christ And immediately the cocke did crowe Matt. 26. And Christe looked back vpon Peter and Peter went forth and did wéepe bitterly This I haue recited so muche the more at large because there be some who would proue authoritie giuen to Peter by the former wordes of Christ which if they be well considered are but a manifestation partly of Christs Godhead in that he did foreknow Peter would denie him partely of his mercie shewed gratiously to Peter whose faith he did establish with his praier that he should not dispaire as Iudas Iscariot did who after he had sold Christ went and hanged himselfe So vpon this verie sentence of Christ Ego rogaui pro te Petre vt not deficiat fides tua Chrisostomus in Mat. Cap. 26. Hom. 83. Saint Chrisostome doth say that Christe the more sharpely to reproue Peters pride who did presume more of him selfe then any other of the Apostles doeth signifie before vnto him that his fall shal be worse then the fall of the rest and therefore néedeth greater helpe to raise him vppe againe Wherefore that he might sée and féele his owne weakenes Christe suffered him to fal told him of it before it happened yet he preserued him wtall through his great care fauour that he should not fall from him though he did denie him wherwith he coÌ„forted him in saying I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith fail not Now as saint Chrisostome doth shewe that Christ did thus manifest his diuine knowledge and fauour vnto Peter by foreshewing him his fall and promising that he would rayse him so likewise holie Beda writing on the same wordes saith that he who onely knoweth what is in man Beda in EuangeliuÌ„ Lucae cap. 22. lib. 6. both as God did foretell in what sorte at what time how often Peter should denie him and as merciful did promise him the help of his defence least that any of the faithful either vnaduisedly should presume of his owne standing or more vnaduisedly should dispaire for his owne falling Wherefore to passe ouer other thinges that might be saide hereby it is manifest that the words of Christ spoken to Peter of his prayer for him haue no force at all to proue any preeminence or superioritie in Peter but they are rather of greate force against him and those that chalenge to be his successors sith they doe shewe a notable fall of Peter by occasion that he had too greate a confidence in himselfe as it is
The rooting out of the Romishe Supremacie Wherein is declared that the authoritie which the Pope of Rome doth chalenge to him selfe ouer all Christian Bishops and Churches is vnlawfully vsurped contrarie to the expresse word and institution of our Sauiour Iesu Christ who did giue equall power and authoritie to all the Apostles Bishops and Ministers of his Church whereof he is the true corner stone and only heade Set foorth by William Chauncie Esq AT LONDON Printed by H. Middleton for Iohn Perin AN. 1580. TO THE RIGHT Honourable and his singular good Lord the Lorde Robert Dudley Earle of Leycester Baron of Denbigh Knight of the most Honourable orders of the Garter and of Saint Michell Master of the Queenes Maiesties horses and one of the Lordes of her highnes moste honourable Priuie Councell William Chauncy Esquier wisheth prosperous continuance of health long life and honour with increase of the grace and all blessings of Almightie God IT is very well knowen and very woorthy to bee considered how the transgression and breaking the commandement of Almightie God by our first parent Adam in Paradise did so vehemently displease the Lord through disobedience and so greatly infect al mankinde with sinne that Adam lost thereby not only his Angelical estate of innocencie but also the most blessed ioyes of paradise from the which he was driuen out into this worldly vale of miserie therein to get eate his foode with the sweate of his face Gen. 3.19 as God did him commaund Whereof it came to passe that his two first naturally begottē sonnes of Eua his wife the Elder named Caine the younger Abel being the two first brethren in this world who therfore should most singularly and intirely haue loued ech the other aboue al other creatures yet the infection of their Father Adams sinne wrought so that because Abels oblation to God dutifully made was of him well accepted and Cains oblation was not regarded Caine therfore did so much hate enuie his brother Abel that when they were in the fielde Gen. 4.8 he maliciously fell vpon and did wilfully murther him of whom he neuer was offended This malice and sinful enuie of Cain hath euer sith that time so cleaued to mans nature and infected all mankind that no excellent worke or deede can be lightly done by any man but some other straightways are readie through enuie to despise it and speake reprochfully of it Yea not so much as the singular and famous learned in diuinitie or in any other knowledge of commendable artes can set his penne to the booke for the deuising or setting forth of any worke to the aduancement of the glorie of God and benefite of his Churche but some there are who moued with malice enuie by writing or speaking will hinder depraue it to the vttermost of their powers as by plaine experience in all Christian kingdomes hath beene and is shewed dayly too manifestly to the whole worlde How greatly then right honorable ought I beeing not brought vp in any Vniuersitie nor instructed in the artes of Logike and Philosophie be abasshed to take vpon me to set downe in writing this my simple collection out of the Scriptures and other lawes and histories to be thereby made by some others a mocke and a gasing stocke to euil disposed persons Wherefore had not your honour so earnestly required to haue a copie of it whereof my promise beeing past I might not denie it otherwise truely it should neuer haue gone further but haue still remained in my owne handes for the onely putting of my selfe in memorie of the thinges therein gathered as it may appeare by the simple doing of it But to present it to you this also made me the bolder that I know your Lordship is of so Noble a nature courteous conditions that you wil be a patrone and defender of it against all malicious and enuious persons which hereafter shall endeuour them selues by worde or writing to defame and slaunder it I present it therefore vnto your Honour according to my promise committing it wholy to your honourable protection as vnto one moste worthy of it for your true fauoring of Gods holy word for setting forth of his glorie for mainteyning the doctrine of his onely sonne our Sauiour Iesus Christ the suppressing of the Romish vaine and superstitious traditions and abuses The which your godly vertues are ioyned together with singular affabilitie iustice clemencie specially in forgiuing of iniuries Which appeareth by that you haue not sought or wrought reuengement or hinderance of any body for any wrongs don either to your own person or to your noble progenitors at any time sith you haue ben in great authority vnder our prince and right able to haue reuenged them but gently quietly haue borne al such things with great mildenes and without opprobrious rebukes and rehearsals of them made to any person as farre as euer I could heare of or learne Wherein your great modestie and magnanimitie hath so much redounded to your immortall fame and honour that I may right wel therefore compare you with the right noble Germanicus Caesar Lieutenant vnto the Emperour Tiberius ouer all Italie Who during the time of his Lieuetenantship did behaue himselfe so gently and vprightly to all men that he seldome entered into the Citie of Rome with out great peril danger of his life by reasō of the throng presse of the multitude of people which gathered about him for verie loue and desire they had to see and welcome him to the Citie These excellent giftes and qualities of that noble man Germanicus Caesar I say can no more staine or blemish your most noble vertues before touched then the burning candle is able to dimme or darken the cleare bright shining sonne at the noone day whereof I my selfe in the time of my great aduersities thorough most iniurious vexations and troubles of some enuious persons haue felt and tasted to my great comfort and reliefe as I can not but remember as long as I liue For the which I can but pray as I doe heartily to almightie God and wishe vnto your honour the same blessing that he promiseth to the iust and righteous man by his holie prophet Dauid Psal 91.16 Longitudine dierum replebo eum ostendam illi salutare meum Which blessing of long life assurance of saluation from almightie God how heartily I wish vnto your honour I haue giuen testimonie by presenting vnto you this my little worke set forth for the vtter rooting out of the vsurped Romish Supremacie out of all the Church of Christe chiefely out of this Church of England and also for the declaring of the most true perfect equal authority giuen by our Sauiour Iesus Christ to al his Apostles his Bishops and godly ministers of his word sacraments within his true Church wherof he is the only head chiefe corner stone Which thinges I my selfe haue bene ignorant of vntil it hath
supremacie neither did saint Paul make more accoūt of Peter then of other the Apostles reprouing him because hée had brought the Iewes and Barnabas into his dissimulation And here to passe ouer the frailty of Peter in this his great offence it is to be considered because the Bishoppes of Rome haue claimed a succession from him that if there ought to haue beene such a succession as they imagine of Peter rather then of other the Apostles the Bishops of Antioche then by likelihood shold haue claimed the right of Peters successors rather then the bishops of Rome sith it doth not appeare in any place of the holy scriptures that euer Peter was at Rome but at Antioche it appeareth and in sundrie places of Asia and other the East partes of the world Howbeit I denie not Euseb lib. 2. cap. 14. but that some histories and Chronicles doe make mention that Peter was at Rome Which I will not say that they were made to say so corrupted by popish setters forth of thē I can not affirme it but this I can affirme wil boldly say that al which those histories Chronicles doe writ of Peters being at Rome is not agreable with the word of God therefore is not of vs to be credited seeing that it is contrarie to the word of truth And herein all wise mē may consider that seeing Pauls iourney from Ierusalem to Rome is most plainly set forth in the scriptures from place to place frō Iland to Iland from coūtrie to coūtry what he did either by land or by sea much more if Peter had traueiled from Antioche to Rome and that his iourney had beene of so great weight to our saluation as the papistes doe pretende by grounding therevppon the supremacie and authoritie of the Bishops of Rome it is to be thought that Peters iourney shoulde haue bene written and set foorth most expressely Yea of all likelihood it should haue bene extolled more then the iourneis of famous Emperours then Xerxes iourney into Grece with tenne hundreth thousande men then Alexander the greate his iourney to conquere the whole worlde then Iulius Cesars iourneyes in his conquest of Asia France Spaine England and many other nations But if the Papistes fansies be true belike saint Peter did flie in the skies aboue the ground and neither trauailed by sea nor by lande Certainely this is euident that the foundation of the Romish supremacie is too weake to beare such weight as they would haue it séeing that it hath no ground in all the scriptures but onely in mans corrupt deuises for worldly vaine glorie As in déede it is most vngodly extolled and aduaunced by Albertus Pighius Eckius Hosius and such other Romish clearkes and Popishe Sophisters who doe exalt the Bishop of Rome to the celestiall hierarchies and make a doubt whether he be a mere man or no whether he haue not as great power as our Sauiour Christ had with other such matters grounded on his supremacie most vaine and blasphemous to the dishonour of God and our Sauiour Iesu Christ in whose word it hath no ground For to go forward with Peters being at Rome the foundatiō of this supremacy S. Paul being at Rome in the time of Nero the Emperor did write his Epistle to the Colossiās in the fourth Chapter wherof sending gréetings salutations from his friendes that were then at Rome with him he saith to the Colossians Col. 4. Salutat vos Aristarchus Marcus consobrinus Barnabae Iesus qui dicitur iustus Hi soli sunt adiutores mei in regno Dei qui mihi fuere solatio Salutat vos Epaphras qui ex vobis est seruus Christi Salutat vos Lucas medicus charissimus Demas Aristarchus doth salute you Marcus Barnabas sisters sonne Iesus which is called Iustus These only are my workfellowes to the kingdome of God which haue bene a comfort to me Epaphras doth salute you which is one of you the seruant of Christ Luke the beloued physician and Demas doe salute you also now if Peter had bene at Rome in the time of Nero with Paul was not he worthie to haue bene named in these salutations as well as Aristarchus Marcus Iesus Epaphras Luke and Demas would not he haue ben a fellowhelper to Paul which saint Paul saith none were but onely those thrée whom he nameth to them and Peter is none of them Yes doubtlesse Whereby it appeareth he was not then at Rome Againe he writeth afterwarde from Rome vnto Timothie Festina ad me venire citò 2. Tim. 4. Demas enim me reliquit diligen◠hoc seculum abijt Thessalonicam Crescens in Galatiam Titus in Dalmatiam Lucas est mecum solus Marcum assume adduc tecum est enim vtilis mihi in ministerio Tychicum autem misi Ephesum Haste thee to come to me quickly For Demas hath forsaken me embracing this present worlde and is gone to Thessalonica Crescens into Galatia Titus to Dalmatia Luke is only with me Take Marke and bring him with thee for he is profitable to me in the ministery Tichicus I haue sent to Ephesus c. Nowe if Peter had beene at Rome with Paul when hée wrote this Epistle to Timothie then he would not haue written that there was none with him but Luke only and therfore required Timothy to bringe Marke with him then would he not haue added that which there doth follow that at his first answering no man did assist him but all did forsake him which I thinke the Papistes will not say that Peter would haue done if he at that time had béene at Rome with Paul which that hee was not at any time it may be farther coniectured by that which is written in the second to the Galathians Galat. 2. how Iames Peter and Iohn made an agréement with Paul and Barnabas that they shoulde preach vnto the Gētiles as Iames Peter and Iohn vnto the circumcised which are the Iewes And vppon this agréement they did pledge their faith and gaue their right hande of fellowshippe one to the other Whereby it may be gathered that Peter did rather frequent those places where the Iewes were more dispersed ◠Peter 1. as Pōtus Galatia Cappadocia Asia Bithynia to the which he writeth also his first Epistle then the landes of Gréece and Italy with the citie of Rome replenished with the Gentiles hauing fewer Iewes amongest thē Al which things laid together it will appeare to be verie likely the Peter was neuer at Rome neither before the time of Nero nor in Neroes time with Paul Which proueth the foundation of the Romishe Bishops supremacie vppon Peters being at Rome to bée a verie weake and fickle foundation as all the other groundes of his supremacie are with the rest of his religion Chap. 6. That although Peter had beene at Rome yet could he not be the foundation of the Church which honour is proper vnto Christ onely By the way against the sacrifice of the