Confutation of the Popes Bull, Part 11
¶That the first Bishops of Rome vsurped not any souereintie at all in the church, but were lowly shepeheardes, teachers and ministers of the Church of Rome: yea and besides that, also Martyrs of Christ.
I Will not now dispute whether Peter came at Rome or no. Wherof I sée learned men to dout, not without cause. Surely it may be proued by substantiall argumentes, that Peter sate not in that seate, at that tyme and so long a tyme as he is commonly sayd to hauehave sit continually together. If he came to Rome at all, certes it was late ere he came, and peraduēture not long afore his death. For all the old writers, euen those that were néere the Apostles time, do agreably and stedfastly affirme, that Peter was crucified at Rome vnderunder the Emperour Nero for preaching Christ and his Gospell, the same time that Paul was beheaded. Which thing I can easly graunt. But from this Peter vntounto Siluester there be registred 33. Byshops or pastors of Rome. Of whom notwithstandyng none tooke vponupon him any souereintie either ouer the Citie it selfe, or ouer the Church of Rome, and therfore much lesse aduaū ced they them selues ouer kynges and kyngdomes. Yet am I not afrayd to say thus much more of them, that if they might be found to hauehave attempted any whit of this preheminence, or to hauehave sewed for souereintie, it is certein that they started aside from the way of their predecessours, yea and from their maister Christ, and grew out of kynd from their owne Peter. Wherfore their sayinges and doinges being against the expresse testimonies of Christ and the Apostles aboue rehearsed, could proue nothing.
Howbeit, like as in other Churches, as of Antioche, Alexandria, Corinth, Philippos, Ephesus, Cesarea, and the rest, there were pastors or teachers which were called Bishops, set ouer the Church of God, which by their holy ministerie serued seuerally their owne shéepe that were committed to them, and not other mens shéepe, or in many places at once: (for at the begynnyng, eueryevery pastor had his slocke appointed and committed vntounto him.) So also was done in the Church of Rome, which is named Apostolicke Sea or Chayre. I would not hauehave any man amased at the termes of Sea & Chayre, and surmyse and imagine any Popishnesse by them. Men in old time gaue the termes of Sea and Chayre, not onelyonly to the Church of Rome, but to any of the notable Churches, I meane which the Apostles them selues founded, and in which the traditions or the doctrine of the Apostles and of the Gospell sounded or was preached & florished still vncorrupted. For Tertullian in his prescriptions of heretikes, saith: Peruse the Apostolik Churches, among which the very chayres of the Apostles are yet still sytin in their places, & among which their authenticall letters are still read, resounding the voyce and resembling the face of eueryevery of them. If Achaya be next thée, thou hast Corinth: if thou be not farre from Macedonie, thou hast Philippos, and thou hast Thessalonice. If thou list to go into Asia, thou hast Ephesus. And if thou border vponupon Italy, thou hast Rome, from whence also we hauehave authoritie at hand. O happy Church wherupon the Apostles bestowed their whole doctrine together with their bloud, where Peter was matched with his Lord in passion, where Paule was crowned with the end of Iohn Baptist, and where the Apostle Iohn, after he had ben plundged in scalding oyle & felt no harme at all, was banished into the Ile of Patmos. Thus saith he. Otherwise the Chayre is properly a hygh place in the Church furnished for the ministers to teach out of the more commodiously, as from whence they may the better be séen and heard of their audience that is assembled in the Church. Such as the men of old time are knowē to hauehave had, as appeareth by the doynges of Achaz kyng of Iuda, and by the viij. chapter of Nehemias. It is commonly called a Pulpit or preaching stoole. It is not a cloth of estate, or a Salomons throne, or a kynges chayre of estate. Neither did men in old tyme by the Apostolike chayre or sea, meane reigning or souereintie and I wote not what greater thyng, as they meane at this day. But rather the chayre is taken for the very Apostolike doctrine, which was preached out of those chayres or pulpites, and to fit in the Apostolike sea is to preach the Apostolike doctrine. For it is well knowen to all men what the Lord ment by the chayre of Moses in the Gospell, when he sayd, The Scribes and Pharisies sit in Moses chayre. What soeuer they bid you obserue, that obserue and do ye. For what els is it to sit in Moses chayre, than to professe Moses, and to teach the things that Moses taught? If any had taught any thing besides that or contrarie to that, they had ben of neuer the more authoritie for the chaire, like as at this day also, they that preach not Apostolicall doctrine, hauehave none authoritie by the Apostolike chayre or sea of Rome, of Antioche, or of Philippos, neither are they in any wise to be regarded, although they sit in the same seas. Uery well knowen is this Canon reported in the 40. Distinction of the Decrées, out of the writings of Ierome, It is hard to stand in the roome of Peter and Paule, and to kéepe the chayre of those that reigne with Christ. For hereupon it is sayd, They are not the Saintes children, which possesse the Saintes places, but they that fulfill the workes of the Saintes.
They thē which had the charge of the Romane Church after that Peter was put to death, were ministers, pastors, and teachers or preachers, and not princes or Lordes. Irenaeus placeth Linus immediatly after Peter. Tertullian placeth Clemēt. Eusebius puts Anacletus in the middes betwixt Linus and Clement. Some register one Cletus betwixt Clement & Anacletus, which Cletus is notwithstanding quite ouerskipped and omitted by diuerse. Others also dispose the succession or Register of the first Byshops of the Romane Church, some after one sort and some after another so as it may séeme straunge that antiquitie varieth so in the succession of them, & hath almost nothing certein & assured in that behalf. But howsoeuer the case standeth, this is most certein that such as held the Apostolik sea of Rome after Clement, were vtterly ignoraūt of that supreme power and the authoritie of both the swordes which those men presumptuously boast of, that thinke themselues possesse the same seate at this day. They were lowely and poore ministers of the Church, & preached the Gospell and the doctrine of the Apostles to the Church, wherof they had the charge, and therewithall ministred Christes Sacramentes to the Church, and beautified their doctrine with example of lyfe, & in the end sealed it vp with Martyrdome, For all those Byshops or pastors of Rome, became Christs Martyrs, and were put to death for mainteynyng the pure faith and doctrine, and for preaching against Idolatrie and the vncleane conuersation of the heathen.
And whereas in other Churches there spring vp sundry heresies and greuous debates: The Romane Church aboue the rest, did faithfully at that time and in the begynning kéepe still the purenesse of doctrine, and the consent and agréemēt of faith. And this was the cause why the men of old time did worthely make so great account of the succession of those men in the Church and of their consent in the faith: who otherwise would vndoubtedly hauehave made no reckening at all of the succession in the Sea, onlesse the pastors and the Church of Rome had continued in pure doctrine and vnappayred faith.
Truly there arose dissention euen in this Church also, betwixt Anicetus Bishop of Rome, and Polycarpus the minister of the Church of Smyrna the Disciple of Iohn the Apostle: howbeit not for any Articles of faith, but for kéeping of the Easter day. Neuerthelesse the contention endured not long. For they agréed well and brotherly agayne, and willed that eueryevery man should obserue and kéepe still his owne custome that was admitted in his owne Church: that the concord of the Churches might not be broken for the diuersitie of ceremonies. But yet agayne Victor the Byshop of the Romane Church takyng more vppon him than became him, and stepping aside from the modestie and simplicitie of his predecessours, aduentured to breake the agréement that was begon betwene Anicetus and Polycarpus, & excommunicated the Easterne people that kept the Easter day vponupon the xiiii. day of the monethmonth. Yet for all that, the pastors of the residew of the Churches acknowledged not Victor for a commaunder of the Churches, or for such a one as by right might take vponupon him authority ouer other Churches. For his ouerbold and rash enterprise was reproued by the Bishops as well of the East as of ye West, that is to wit by the holyest and best learned and by such as were had in chief estimation in that age, namely by Polycrates Bishop of Ephesus, and by Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons. And so was Victor brought agayne into the right way. Which thing Eusebius declareth at large in his historie of the Church matters.
And truly in processe of tyme the vices that had eueryevery where occupyed and corrupted other Churches, began also to enter into the Church of Rome, for there arose a great schisme in the Church of Rome, some chosing S. Cornelius to be their pastors, and some choosing Nouatus from whom sprong the heresie or sect of the Nouatians, which became very noysome to the Church. But Cornelius got the gouernement, vnderunder whom certein of Aphrike began to put the decidyng of their controuersies to the sea of Rome. Neuerthelesse, the blessed Martyr & Byshop of Carthage Cyprian, did set himselfe agaynst them also, and in his 3. booke of Epistles in his first Epistle to Cornelius Byshop of Rome whom he calleth his brother, he sayth among other thinges, how it is decréed by all men, yea and also that it is right and reason, that eche mans case should be there heard where the fault is committed. Also he sayth, that vntounto eueryevery pastor is allotted a portiō of the slocke, for eueryevery of them to rule and gouerne, and he shall render an account of his doing vntounto the Lord. Among these thinges marke that as yet at that tyme the Byshop of Rome, was not taken for: the vniuersall shepheard, to whom all the other Churches should be subiect. Nay rather he sayth that eueryevery shepheard had his seuerall Church committed to him to gouerne, for which he should render account, to the Lord God, and not to the Pope. And S. Cornelius himself did not either allow such as appealed out of Affricke to Rome, or desire to rule ouer all other Churches and to be called the souerein Lord of all kinges and kingdomes. To be bréef, these Byshops of the Romane Church were all put to death for the sound doctrine and the professing of Christes name, by the Emperours of Rome. So farre were they of from taking vponupon them full and absolute power ouer any Princes, and least of all ouer the princes of Rome. For which of so many vngodly, bloudy, & manquellyng princes being mo then xl. in nomber, did they depose from his souereintie? or which of them I pray you did they excōmunicate? Or which of these bishops assoyled the people of their othe made to the Emperours? Or which of all these, said, wrate, or thought himself to hauehave receiued fulnesse of power at the handes of Christ our Lord by Peter, & to be set ouer kinges and kingdomes? Therfore it is most certein, that these first ministers of the Romane Church, were ignoraunt of the thinges which the Romish Bishops of this last and forworne age hauehave vsurped to themselues, and which they hauehave now a long tyme in vayne indeuered to stablish by the Epistles of those mē.