dubble power of gouerning the Church one particular in the Citie of Rome an other general ouer al Bisshoppes Now such a primate of al Bisshoppes S. Iames was not albeit he was a Bishop of some Bishops To end this mater let vs heare the iudgement of S. Gregorie Certè Petrus Apostolus primum membrū sanctae Lib 4. ep 38. vniuersalis Ecclesiae est Paulus Andreas Ioannes quid aliud quâm singularum sunt plebium capita Surely Peter the Apostle is the chiefe member of the holy and vniuersal Churche Paule Andrew Iohn what other thing are they then eche one the heades of particular Churches Here S. Gregory meaneth not to saie that Saint Paul or S. Andrew coulde not preache in all the worlde God forbid but onely that as Bisshoppes they coulde haue but this or that flocke vnder them In 1. Reg. lib. 4. c. 4. totius Ecclesiae principatū obtinuit whereas otherwise Sainte Gregorie him selfe confesseth that S. Paule obteined the chiefe gouernmēt of the whol Church And the like all the other Apostles obteined by their Apostleshippe without anye diuision of flockes or Churches assigned by Christe But Peter hadde the charge of the whole Churche not onely as an Apostle but also as a high Bisshop And therein onlie S. Gregorie meaneth that he passed Paule Andrew or Iohn This much I trust may suffise them who will be satisfied for proufe that whereas euery Apostle had in him the whole right of the Apostleshippe and also the right of being a particular Bissshoppe Saint Peter had not only those two Authorities but also he had the right of the highest Bisshoppe in respect of all other Bisshoppes He as a Bisshoppe vvas the chiefe member of the whole militant Church that is to saie to the head thereof as S. Gregorie teacheth a Lib. 4. ep 38. He was the bisshop of bisshops saith Arnobius b in Psal 138. and the Primate of al prelates saith Leo. c. serm 2. in aniuers d lib. 2. ad Eugen. the pastor of al pastors saith S. Bernard He alone by the iudgement of Arnobius was called of Christ a Pastor because there was none other aduaunced to that power of feedinge which he receiued He was preferred a greate way before the Apostles in authoritie lib. 2. de Sacerdotio saith d lib. 2. ad Eugen. S. Chrysostome In him being one Pastour vnitie was signified saith S. e in Psal 138. e Homil. de pastor Augustine He was the vicare of Christes loue in feeding vs as S. f in Lucae 24. Ambrose affirmed Cōcerning this primacie of his Bisshoply power in that sense he was much more properly the guide toppe mouth chief and head of the Apostles then in the Apostolike function For whereas they were chosen Apostles aequally with him he alone was chosen high Pastour aboue them Al these things haue ben proued out of Gods word and out of the holy Fathers Order now requireth that I should shew S. Peters prerogatiue also by the continuance of his authoritie That the pastoral or chiefe Bisshops authoritie of s Peter was an ordinary authoritie and therefore it must goe for euer vnto his successours whereas the Apostolike authoritie being extraordinarie hath no successours in it The Xiij THe Apostles were instituted for a certain purpose Matth. 23 Act. 1. verilie to publish the Gospel and to plant the faith of Christe in al nations with a most absolute power and with an autoritie which neuer should be controlled For seing S. Peter being one man alone was not able to preach the Gospel at once in al places nor by and by to gouern diuerse nations newly conuerted as whose commission from Christ was not as then sufficientlie knowen Christ gaue him twelue Companions with as full authoritie ouer the sheepe for the time as he had who hauing conuerted manie countries to the faith might commend them all as sheep to be fedde of many pastours vnder one perpetuall chiefe shepheard S. Peter Who knoweth not that it is muche easier for one mā to gouern al the faith full being once conuerted and wel instructed by the helpe of many inferiour officers then it is for him to subdue al those vnto the faith which being as yet infidels are also dispersed into diuerse quarters But when the Apostles had spread the faith into all partes of the world with the death of them the Apostolike authoritie likewise was at an end And that being confessed by our Aduersaries euen this last yere in a Confession printed at Zurich needeth no farther proufe An. 1566. tit 18. For they saie when the Churches wer now stablished the Apostles ceased to be But that S. Peter must haue successours not in his Apostleship but in his supremacie of being chiefe Bisshop aboue al Bisshops that now is to be declared Who so marketh the peculiar names of a Rock of a Pastour Matth. 16. Ioan. 21. Luc. 22. and of a Cōfirmer of his brethern whiche are geuen by Christ to S. Peter alone may wel perceiue that S. Peters supremacie being meant by those names must necessarilie continue for euer If a rock be laid in the foundation of the house to staie it vp out of al question the rock must not be taken awaie if we will haue the house to stand The Rocke wherevpon the whole Church is built from the beginning of the world to the end 1. Cor. 3. 10. Dan. 7. is Christ himself but not onlie the whole Churche but also that part which liueth in the earth for the tyme wherin vessels both of honour and of cōtumelie are which vessels of contumelie are not in heauē that part I 2. Tim. 2. 1. Tim. 3. say liuing on the earth is called the house of God as S. Paule teacheth Therefore it also must haue a rock of his own sort and nature to leane vnto For as Christ alone is the vniuersal Rocke of that vniuersal howse and the vniuersal shepheard of that great flocke so besyde him God alwaies erected some certain particular stones ād certain smal Rockes in the earth which might stay vp that part of his house which for the time wandered in this worlde Such were Adam Enos Henoch Noe Abraham Isaac Iacob Math. 23. Moyses Aaron and his successours who sate in the chaire of Moyses vntil the cōming of Christ For alwaies there was some visible Rocke of the Churche in this life Deut. 17. who might be so strongly fastened in the faith of Christ the great Rocke that he though not for his own yet for the Churches sake might be able to staie vp other small stones which leaned vnto him Christ at the length hauing taken flesh and walkīg visibly in this world ād preachīg in the lād of Iewrie did not only stay his vniuersal house vpon his Godhead as he had euer done before but nowe also he staied the militant Church vpon the visible example of his own life and vpon the
that S. Peter came to Rome notwithstanding some brainesick men woulde now persuade the contrarie but also the selfe same thing is witnessed by the expresse word of God when S. Peter saith in the end of his own epistle Petrus in epist 1. c. 5 salutat vos Ecclesia quae est in Babylone collecta The Church which is gathered together in Babylon saluteth you For there he called Rome Babylon Because as Babylon was named of the cōfusion of tongs and had in it whiles it was the seat of the monarchy al maner of nations and consequētly al maner of vices euen so had Rome being now the seat of the Romane Empire when S. Peter wrote thence al maner of tonges of nations and of vices in it And of this mind was that Auncient Father Papias Euseb histor lib. 2. c. 15. Graecae scholia and diuerse other holie writers concerning the same place of S. Peters epistle Neither did S. Peter only come to Rome and preache at Rome for a tyme but he also died there ād so died there that it appered euidently God would haue him die no where els For whereas according to the duty of the chiefe pastour he came to Rome chiefely to saue his flocke there from the raging furie of Simon Magus the capitaine of al heretiks who began to be worshipped for a God in Rome whē by his praier he had caused the deuils who caryed Simon Magus a long in the ayer Euseb li. 2 c. 13. 14. 15. Egesippus lib. 3. c. 2. to let him fall whereupon his death insued shortlie after the Emperour Nero who toke no small delight in the sorcerie of Simon Magus being sore offended with S. Peters dede sought straight waies his apprehension and destruction At that tyme the Christians being verie loth to be depriued of so good a pastour as S. Peter was Amhros post epist 32. lib. 5 with much intreating and many teares praied him to goe out of the way and to saue himselfe At whose requeste Saint Peter otherwise vnwilling therevnto beganne to take his iourney out of the citie But when he was come to the gate he seeth Christ comming toward him whome he adoring said Domine quo vadis Ambos episto lib. 5. post epi. 32 O Lord whether goest thow Christ said vnto him venio Romam iterum crucifigi I come to Rome to be crucified againe Peter vnderstoode thereby that Christ would suffer in him at Rome who suffereth in euery of his members not by paine of bodie but by compassion of pitie or rather by the greatenes of glorie which is gotten to him by the victoriouse death which his Saints are put vnto Vpon this vision Peter returned againe into the Citie of Rome and being taken he was putte to death vppon the crosse with his head downward so that Christ himselfe appointed Rome to be the place where S. Peter should rest This matter is witnessed Lib. 5. post epist. 32. Egesip lib. 3. cap. 2. not onelie by Saint Ambrose but also by Egesippus who was a very auncient writer euen straight vpon the tyme of the Apostles albeit his worcke being translated into Latin seemeth to haue certain names of Cities added by him who did translate it about the tyme of S. Ambrose and of Ruffinus Neither is it to be douted but S. Luke would haue writen the same appearing of Christ vnto S. Peter as wel as he wrote the appearing of Christ vnto S. Paule if he had gon so farre forward in his storie of the Acts of the Apostles Actor 9. But seing he did not continue his narration vntill the death of S. Peter and of Saint Paule we must needes credit those faithfull auncient witnesses who reporte the same By which historie we learne that Christe who might easilie haue graunted the the glory of Martyrdom to his Apostle in any other place had a special regard that both hee Vvhy S. Peter shuld die in Rome and his fellow Apostle S. Paul might die in Rome Whereof I find diuerse causes alleaged in the Fathers Augustini de sanctis serm 27. One is for the glory of the Apostles ne alteri Roma deesset that Rome might not lacke to either of them or that they might not lacke the glory of the chiefe Citie Rome concerning the place of their Martyrdom An other is for the destruction of superstition Augustin ibidem Vt vbi caput superstitionis erat illic caput quiesceret sanctitatis Et vbi gentiliū principes habitabant illic Ecclesiarum morerentur That where the head of superstition was there might be the head of holines And where the Princes of the Gentils dwelt there the Princes of the Church might die The third cause is for the honour of the west Church Ibidem Cum Dominus orientis regionem propria illustra uerit passione occidentis plagam ne quid minus esset vice sui Apostolorum sanguine illuminare dignatus est Et licet illius passio nobis sufficiat ad salutem tamen etiam horum Martyrium nobis contulit ad exemplū Whereas our Lord hath made the East part lightsom with his owne passion he voutsafed in his steed that it might be no lesse to geue light vnto the west quarters by the bloud of his Apostles And albeit our Lords passion suffiseth vs for saluation yet their Martyrdome also hath done vs good for example The fourth cause is Leo serm 1. in natali Petri Pauli for the spreading of the Gospel Vt lux veritatis quae in omnium gentium reuelabatur salutem efficacius se ab ipso capite per totum mundi corpus effunderet That the light of the truthe which was reuealed for the saluation of al nations might spread it self more effectuouslie frō the very head through out the whole bodie Now forasmuch as God vsed the Citie of Rome as a most special meane wherby to enlarge and spread his faith through al the world which obeied that one citie it came also to passe that the same citie per sacrā B. Petri sedē caput orbis affecta Leo ibidē latius praesideret religione diuina quà m dominatione terrena Being made the head of the worlde through the holy See of S. Peter shuld rule more largely by Gods religion then by earthly dominion Lib. 6. epist 37. Petrus enī saith S. Gregorie subli mauit sedē in qua etiā quiescere praesentē vitā finire dignatus est For Peter hath lifted vp a high the See wherin he also voutsafed to reast and to end this present life Marke that the glory and prerogatiue of the Romaine Church is most speciallye imputed to S. Peter For although two Apostles died in one Citie at one time for one truthe of Christes Gospel yet they left not two Chaiers or successions there Iren. lib. 3 cap. 3. August ep 162. 165. Neither is the Bisshop of Rome called the successour of
and teach to be done For as S. Augustine teacheth they that sitte in the chaire of vnitie which I wil proue hereafter to be the chaire of S. Peter are constrained to teach the doctrine of veritie And in deed whereas the office or power is one thing and the vse therof an other thing seing the office is geuen before it be vsed the euil vse of it which insueth afterward caÌ„ not make void the former power And so without al question the substance of the â—rimacie remaineth safe and sure in â—he Apostles and their successours alâ—hough thei practise not their Primacie â—n such sort as they ought to doe Whereupon it foloweth that it is â—arke false and vngodly that these meÌ„â—each saying not only that al primacie 〈◊〉 forbidden in the Church of Christe â—ut also that they leese their Primacie who ceasing to preach doe abuse their â—ffice For they in deed leese the merite of their Primacie but not the self Primacie so long as the Church doth â—olerate and permit them in their places Otherwise Caiphas being so euil a man as he was Ioan 1â— Pontifex anni illius had not been the Bishop of that yeare which yet the Gospel sheweth to haue ben otherwise As concerning which some are wont to obiect that the Bishoppe of Rome doth not gouerne as a Pastor but doth beare a soueraintie as Princes of the world it hath no colour of truth whether thei respect the manner of coming by this primacy or the order iâ— practising the iurisdiction of it First of al no man succedeth into that Chaire by any right of inhearitance which is a common mean to get Domition among worldly princes Secondarilie that Chaire is not obteined by any right of battaile or lawe of Armes neither when it is voide it is permitted to him that can first possesse it but it is geuen onely by election Besides neither childd nor woman nor infidel nor catechumen or learner of the faih can be chosen to be bisshop of Rome or of any other citie which is farre otherwise in wordlie Kingdomes Distinct 62. 63. Actor 1. Againe although the faithfull people and the princes also may craue desire and require a pastoure or Bisshop and may geue their coÌ„sent to the choise of him yet the right to choose as well â—he bishop of Rome as al other pastours Act. 14. 20. Tit. 1. 1. Pet. 5. Greg. lib. 1 ep 55. 56. 77. Concil 8. c. 28. â—pperteineth only to ecclesiastical perâ—ons as whose dutie it is by Gods law to â—lace and make priests in the cities and Churches where nede is to fede to rule â—o confirm or to displace or traÌ„sfer and generally to prouide for the flock as Paulus Barnabas Titus and other bishops haue doÌ„ whereas the right of choosing 〈◊〉 Prince where he is made by election may as well or much more apperteine to the common people being the body of the realme then to the clergie or to the nobilitie alone When the bishop of Rome is thus chosen that I may omitte his temporal dominion which is but an accessorie to his bishoprike doutlesse in his Ecclesiasticall gouernment he vseth not that force and power which worldlie Princes doe Greg lib. 1 ep 45. distiÌ„ct 45. c. De Iudaeis Hee compelleth no man by violence no not so much as the Iewes that liue in Rome to baptisme or to embrace the catholike faith of Christ whereas worldly princes may iustly enforce the people whom they haue vnder them both to obey their lawes and to liue after their custome and manner Moreouer the bishop of Rome as bishop neuer punisheth any of them with the material sword who after baptisme forsake the Church but onlie with ecclesiastical censures And to them also he cometh very slowlie and teacheth that men must haue recourse vnto them none otherwise 2. quaest 1. multi then to a medicine For albeit he both plainlie affirmeth that hereticks are worthy of all punishment yea of violent death it self and that according to Gods word yea although he permitteth Deut. 13. and also where he hath any temporal dominion procureth schismatikes and heretikes to be punished with death partlie because they are themselues vnworthie to liue for their own heinous fault partly also because they shuld not infect others with their words 2. Tim. 2. which creepe and fret like a cancre â—et notwithstanding he doth it not by himselfe nor by others as a bishop and pastour of Christes flock but he doth it by the ministerie of others as a temporal prince and lord Psal 98. euen as Moyses being one of the Priests of our Lord was also master of the ciuil gouernment and a disposer of warre and peace Exod. 17. Deut. 31. as who commaunded Iosue to fight against Amalech and to be his successour in the ciuil gouernment Now whereas the Protestants deny Moyses to haue ben a priest and that by pretense of the Hebrew text they spaek therein against the expresse word of God and against the most auncient and best lerned Fathers The word of God saith Psal â—8 Moyses Aaron in sacerdotibus eius Moyses and Aaron are among the priests of the Lord the Hebrew word is cohaniÌ„ the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latin sacerdotibus which is to say those who make sacrifice In coÌ„mentarijs psal 98. S. Augustine reasoneth that he was Sacerdos a Sacrificer because whereas he was in al authoritie and power the very greatest among the Iewes yet he could not be Maior sacerdote greater then he that hath power to sacrifice S. Hierom being I am sure as good an Hebrician as M. Nowel in his booke against Iouinian Lib. 1. aduersus Iouinian groundeth the Priesthood of Moyses vpon the same text of the Psalme making a differeÌ„ce betwen Samuel the Leuite and Moyses and Aaron who were Bisshops or high Priests In oratione de Moyse Aar S. Gregorie Nazianzene is of the same minde yea Dionysius Areopagita confesseth Moyses to haue ben Primum legalium sacerdotum mystem ac ducem De Eccles Hierar c. 5. The first cunning master and guid of the Priest of the law qui fratrem Aaron ad sacerdotale munus inuÌ„gens sub Deo principe sacerdotalem consecrationem poÌ„â—ificabiliter consummauit Who â—nointing his brother Aaron to the Priestlie office vnder God the chief of al finished the Priestly consecration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bisshoplike or as Bisshops are wont to doe Philo Iudeus writing three bokes of Moyses life De vita Mosis and hauing spoken before of his authoritie in ciuil matters speaketh in the third of his Priesthod which he could not iustly doe except he had ben a Priest But what neede many woordes What thing doth in al the world belong to a Priests office which Moyses did not Exod. 20. He toke the law of God aÌ„d taught it the people he preached to them he consecrated the high Bishop