Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	roman_a	rome_n	3,452	5	6.8287	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61807	The necessity of reformation, with respect to the errors and corruptions of the Church of Rome the second part : wherein is shewed, the vanity of the pretended reformation of the Council of Trent, and of R.H.'s vindication of it : in his fifth discourse concerning the guide in controversies.	Stratford, Nicholas, 1633-1707.	1686 (1686)	Wing S5935; ESTC R19714	95,581	126

Persons was now out of doors But when the next Lateran Council came the case was quite alter'd the Pope was then mounted above a Council and his Supremacy and their Subjection owned by them and by the succeeding Council of Trent The sum of what hath been said may be reduced to these four Heads which quite evacuate the force of the Objection 1. That in the Councils of Pisa and Constance the case with respect to the Pope was as different from what it was and ever will be when there is a Pope whose Right is not disputed as the case of Subjects under a Prince whose Title is unquestionable from what it is under many Pretenders who are not able to make out their Claim The Subjects are oblig'd in Conscience and usually by Interest to obey the former but by neither to obey the latter 2. Suppose their Title was at first unquestionable yet they lost it by Heresy Schism and their prodigiously scandalous Vices 3. In the Councils of Constance and Basil it was reckon'd a Point of Faith That the Bishops change their place in relation to the Pope when united in a General Council and by consequence were no more bound by the Oath they had taken to the Pope than a Servant who swears Obedience to his Master is in case he cease to be his Servant and his Master become Servant to him And 4. In the Council of Basil the Pope himself had set the Bishops free from their Oath of Subjection to him by voluntarily subjecting himself to them By this time it is I think evident enough that notwithstanding this Exception in an extraordinary case the Reasons before mentioned stand good But what need I prove that the Sun is up at Noon The Reason the Sense and common Observation of Mankind do all tell us that as Men who have any Religion cannot but have a great Veneration for an Oath so on the other hand that they who have none cannot but be sway'd by their worldly Interests Where the Carcass is thither will the Eagles resort Since therefore the governing part of the Church of Rome were so miserably enslaved to the Roman Bishop could there be any hope of Reformation when there was no reason to hope that the Bishop of Rome would consent to it Obj. Some perhaps may say that I wrong the Popes in representing them as so obstinately set against Reformation For as many of them pretended a Zeal for it so 't is certain there was one at least viz. Adrian VI. who did himself earnestly endeavour it Ans But what kind of Reformation was it he endeavoured to make In matters of Faith and of the Sacraments he would allow no Man liberty so much as to dispute what had been once decreed by General Councils l Soave l. 1. p. 25. Sleid. Comment l. 4. that is by any of those Councils which he called General many of which were no more than Italian or Papal Councils Whosoever was so bold as to call any such thing in question he was to be dealt with as John Huss and Hierom of Prague m Soav ibid. so that if any Man denied the imaginary Fire of Purgatory he must presently be confuted by real Flames The Popes usurp'd Power and Greatness the source of numberless other Corruptions so far was he from retrenching that he rather endeavoured to set it higher The Princes of Germany were looked upon as too sawcy and thought to entrench upon his Prerogative for desiring only that a Council might be called with the Emperor's Consent n Soav l. 1. p. 28. What then was the Reformation Adrian aimed at Why the Church-men were in their Morals so monstrously degenerated that in almost all places they were become abominable The Abuses in Discipline were grown so intolerable that the Princes of the World were resolved no longer to endure them That therefore which he designed was to reduce the Clergy to somewhat better Manners and to correct some gross Enormities in Discipline which were most offensive This was all the Reformation he endeavoured for other Corruptions so far was it from his intention to reform them that he was resolved more firmly to establish them And yet this piece of Reformation he did not effect tho he much desired it Which leads me to another Consideration which further shews how hopeless the Reformation of the Church of Rome was For 6. Let us suppose That such a Man had been advanced to the Papacy who would have set himself in good earnest to make an impartial Reformation one of the most unlikely things in the World as the state of that Church then was and for a long time before had been he would have fail'd in his Attempt and not have been able to accomplish it And that for these two Reasons 1. Because he could have made no such Reformation unless he first made void those Obligations by which the governing part of that Church both in point of Conscience and of Interest were held in subjection to him 2. Because of that opposition which they being so let loose would for the generality have made against him 1. Because he could have made no such Reformation unless he first made void those Obligations by which the governing part of that Church both in point of Conscience and Interest were of held in subjection to him The great holds he had upon their Consciences proceeded from several corrupt Doctrines and those Practices of the Popes that were built upon them For instance That the Pope is by Divine Ordination Head of the Universal Church that all other Bishops are his Subjects and that he hath power to impose an Oath upon them as their Soveraign that he is the Supream Judg of Controversies and all Men oblig'd to stand to his Sentence These and several other Doctrines of a resembling nature have been defined by the Popes themselves and with great Zeal asserted as unquestionable Truths by their Flatterers and had been so far owned by the governing Clergy that they had bound themselves by solemn Oath has as been already shew'd to be obedient to him But now no Reformation to purpose could have been made but the Pope must condemn these Doctrines and divest himself of those Prerogatives which by virtue of them he lays claim to Because these are not only great Errors themselves but productive of all other the grossest Corruptions o Richer Hist Concil General l. 1. c. 13. Nor must he only loose the tie of Conscience but that of Interest too which with the generallity of Men is the stronger of the two He must no longer assume to himself the sole power of erecting and pulling down of Bishopricks of electing confirming deposing and restoring of Bishops of disposing of all the greater Dignities and Ecclesiastical Benefices of conferring those that are incompatible upon the same Person In a word of trampling upon all the ancient Canons And should the Pope have once parted with these Prerogatives together with

former Council They might as well have left it to him to make them as they in effect did for nothing was decreed without first asking his leave 4. The imposing on Provincial and Diocesan Synods an Oath of true Obedience to the Pope o Sess 25. cap. 2. another new piece of Tyranny for tho the Bishops at their Consecration fomerly took an Oath of Fidelity to him yet never before was any Oath imposed upon them when met together in Provincial and Diocesan Synods 5. Usurping the Rights of Bishops by making them the Pope Delegates in matters which belong to their Ordinary Jurisdiction (p) Episcoporum potestas non solum non aucta sed ex ea multum delibatum est cum ea potestas quae ipsorum propria est ex Dei instituto iis attributa iis tanquam a sede Apostolica delegatis concedatur Thuan. l. 6. c. 2. Review of the Council of Trent l. 6. c. 2. Whereas anciently every Bishop governed his own Diocess without Dependence upon or Subordination to the Pope by the Laws of Trent they can do almost nothing unless by Delegation from him May Bishops provide Vicars to supply the room of such Clergymen as are dispensed with for non-residence and assign them a competent Salary out of the Fruits Not by their own Authority but as they are Delegates of the Apostolick See (q) Sess 6. cap. 2. May they depute Assistants to unlearned and ignorant Parish Priests They may as Delegates of the Apostolick See (r) Sess 21. cap. 6. May they take upon them to Examine a Notary and if they find him unfit forbid him the Exercise of his Office in Ecclesiastical matters Yes but as Delegates of the Apostolick See (s) Sess 22. cap. 10. But surely in matters which belong to Visitation and the Correction of Manners the Bishops may of themselves ordain and execute those things which they judg necessary for the good of their People and for the profit of the Church No but only as Delegates of the Apostolick See (t) Sess 24. cap. 10. This is the enlargement of the Bishops Power which R. H. so much boasts of (u) Considerat on the Council of Trent c. 12. § 211 Many more Instances of like nature might be produced but these may suffice to shew how palpably untrue that Assertion of Pallavicino's is viz. That there is not so much as one Syllable in this Council for any new Emolument to the Pope (w) In hoc Concilio ne una quidem conspicitur syllaba pro novo Pontificis Emolumento Apparat ad hist c. 10. n. 3. And how unjustly the same Cardinal charges Soave with falsity for saying That this Council hath so established the Popes Power that it was never so great nor so solidly founded (x) Ibid. And likewise that R. H. had as little reason to carp at a like passage of Dr. Stilling fleet 's viz. That which was intended to clip the Wings of the Court of Rome had confirmed and advanced the Interest of it (y) Considerat c. 12. § 103. For as all those Decrees that might otherwise have retrenched their Exorbitances were themselves so clipt by Exceptions or Restrictions or by some other Counter Decree that they could effect nothing so many other Decrees were made by which the Interest of the Pope and his Court were highly promoted particularly this last mention'd of deriving all Jurisdiction from the Pope by making all other Bishops his Vicars and Commissaries And therefore no wonder that his Holiness was transported with Joy and gave immortal Thanks that the Council had such an happy Issue (z) Pallav. l. 24. c. 9. n. 5. For to use the words of Du Ranchin you shall never read of any Council that was so much to the Popes Honour and good liking as this Amongst so many Bulls and Constitutions which have come forth since you shall scarce find any which doth not make mention of this Council which doth not name it with Honour which doth not express an earnest desire of the observation of it and which doth not in some sort confirm it Among all the Councils that ever were no compare with this for Reverence and Respect It hath quite defaced and extinguished the memory of all the rest It is their Minion their Favourite their Champion their Arsenal their Bulwark their Protector their Creature and good Reason why they should make so much of it (*) Review of the Council of Trent l. 1. c. 1. FINIS AN ADVERTISEMENT Of Books lately Printed for Richard Chiswell THe History of the Reformation of the Church of England by GILBERT BVRNET D. D. in two Volumes Folio The Moderation of the Church of England in her Reformation in Avoiding all undue compliances with Popery and other sorts of Fanaticisms c. by TIMOTHY PVLLER D. D. Octavo A Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church more particularly of the Encroachments of the Bishops of Rome upon other Sees by WILLIAM CAVE D. D. Octavo An Answer to Mr. Serjeants Sure Footing in Christianity concerning the Rule of Faith with some other Discourse by WILLIAM FALKNER D. D. Octavo A Vindication of the Ordinations of the Church of England against the Romanists by GILBERT BVRNET D. D Octavo The APOLOGY of the Church of England and an Epistle to one Signior Scipio a Venetian Gentleman concerning the Council of Trent Written both in Latin by the Right Reverend Father in God JOHN JEWEL Lord Bshop of Sarisbury Made English by a Person of Quality To which is added The Life of the said Bishop Collected and Written by the same Hand Octavo The LETTER writ by the last Assembly General of the Clergy of France to the Protestants inviting them to return to their Communion Together with the Methods proposed by them for their Conviction Translated into English and Examined by GILBERT BVRNET D D. Octavo The Life of WILLIAM BEDEL D. D. Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland Together with Certain Letters which passed betwixt him and James Waddesworth a late Pensioner of the Holy Inquisition in Sevil in matter of Religion concerning the General Motives to the Roman Obedience Quarto The Decree made at ROME the Second of March 1679. condemning some Opinions of the Jesuits and other Casuists Quarto A Discourse concerning the necessity of Reformation with respect to the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome Quarto First and Second parts A Discourse concerning the Celebration of Divine Service in an Unknown Tongue Quarto A PAPIST not Misrepresented by PROTESTANTS Being a Reply to the Reflections upon the Answer to A Papist Misrepresented and Represented Quarto An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England in the several Articles proposed by the late BISHOP of CONDOM in his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholick Church An Answer to THREE PAPERS lately printed concerning the Authority of the Catholick Church in matters of Faith and the Reformation of the Church of England Quarto A CATECHISM Explaining the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome with an Answer thereunto by a Protestant of the Church of England Octavo