Confutation of the Popes Bull, Part 18
¶How it is no monstruousnesse for the Queene of England and consequently for all ciuill Magistrates to determine in cases Ecclesiasticall, or to vndertake and beare the charge of Church matters, as to depose euill Byshops, and to set vp better in their roomes.
NOw then it is out of dout, that the sayd most vertuous Quéene is supreme head or souerein Lady in that her Realme, ordeined of God himselfe, and set ouer the puissant Realme of Englād: except it be false which the Lords Apostle and chosen vessel Paule hath sayd:Rom. 13. Let eueryevery soule be subiect to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: and the powers that be, are ordeined of God. Therfore who soeuer resisteth power, resisteth Gods ordinaūce. And they that resist shall purchase dānation to themselues. Seyng now, yt all men know these thinges to be most true, it foloweth there withal, not onelyonly that the Quéene of Englād is Quéene by Gods ordinaūce: but also that the byshop that resisteth her & setteth himselfe naughtely agaynst her, prouoketh Gods greuous iudgemēt agaynst himselfe. But forasmuch as the Pope thinkes it a monstruousnesse, that a king, or a Quéene, or any ciuil Magistrate in a cōmō weale should determine of Ecclesiasticall cases, put down naughtie Priestes or Bishops & aduaunce & set vp better in their steddes, and take vponupon him to beare the charge not onelyonly of temporall affaires, but also of spirituall or Ecclesiasticall matters: Lo, I will proue and shew by euident and inuincible argumentes, and examples of holy kynges, howbeit briefly, that the same thinges are parcell of their dewtie, and therfore that the Magistrate doth then by Gods law and accordyng to the commaundement of the euerlastyng God: and that the Bishop of Rome snatcheth them to him selfe and to his rable tyrannically, and wickedly agaynst God, & playeth the Antichrist in pluckyng them from those to whom God hath giuen them.
That God in any wise would,That the care of Religion belongeth to the ciuill Magistrate. and that he hath ordeined from the beginnyng, that Kynges in their kyngdomes and Magistrates in their common weales, ought to take vponupon them the care euen of Religion, and to looke faithfully vntounto it, and to order it diligently accordyng to the rule of Gods woord: this is the greatest proofe, that God in hys law doth straitly commaund a copie of the law to be deliuered to the Prince of his people, therby to dispose all his affaires. And in the same law he commaundeth the Magistrate to make examination of doctrines, and to restrayne yea and to smyte such as withdraw mē from God, and such as teach stubbornly agaynst the law. These thinges are to be read in Deut. 13. and 17. and in other places of the booke of the law.Moses. Besides this, Moses whom God had made the onelyonly lawfull and chief Magistrate of hys people, ordeyned, not onelyonly iudges, but also Priestes, and by Gods word appointed eueryevery of them his office, yea euen vntounto Aaron the high Priest and chosen of God. It would be to long to recken vp these thinges particularly.Iosue. Likewise also, Iosue that most deuout Capteine of Gods people, geueth charge to all estates, yea euen vntounto the Priestes to, what eueryevery of them shall do. For he ruled not onelyonly ciuill or warlike affaires, but Church matters also, both by himselfe and by others: Howbeit he restreined all thinges general and particular, not at his owne pleasure, but to Gods holy law. So did Dauid order the Priestes and the Churchmatters also.Dauid. In conueying and settling the Arke of the Lord, (wherein is séene the ordering of the whole Religion) he consulted with his Princes, and afterward made all the people priuie to it, and lastly also sent to the Priests and Leuites, appointyng them as well as others what they should do. Let the first booke of Chronicles be read, in which he also sorteth the Priestes into degrées, and appointeth eueryevery man his office by Gods commaundement: for the which thyng he deserued right great and perpetuall commendation in the Church. In the 2. booke of the Chronicles and the viii. chapter we read,Salomon. that Salomon according to the ordinaūce of Dauid his father, appointed the degrées of Priestes in their ministrations, and the Leuites in their degrées to wash and to do seruice before the Priestes &c. And byanby there foloweth, For so had Dauid the man of God commaunded. Neither did they omit or go beyond any part of the kynges commaundement, as well the Priestes as the Leuites. The same Salomon deposed Abiathar the hygh Priest, and set vp Zadoch in his sted. And many other such thyngs as these, did that wise king Salomon the beloued of God, with Gods well likyng & his owne glorie. The same thinges did the rest of the kings of Iuda. The kynges of Iuda.Dauides holy ofspryng, that folowed after hym. For Asa put the Priestes out of office that were defiled with idolatry, & set in others that were more godly.Iosaphat. Iosaphat callyng the Priestes together giueth them their charge, and ioyning certein of the noblemen with them, sendeth them through his Realme to preach Gods law. And he not onelyonly disposeth the Courbarres of iudges, but also ordereth the offices of Priestes. King Ezechias (than who there was not a better since Dauid, Ezechias.except Iosias onelyonly) repayred the temple of the Lord (like as kyng Ioas also had done afore him,Ioas. who likewise had the Priestes at commaundement) and sommoned a Counsell of the Priestes, where he made an excellent Oration to them & like a good diuine. He delt with them as one hauing full power, and commaūded them in these wordes, GiueGive eare, Clense ye, Cary away. &c. The Priestes also rebelled not stubbornly agaynst their Prince after the maner of our prelates, saying vntounto him, thou puttest thy siccle into an other mans corne, for it is no part of thy charge to commaunde the Priestes. But they submitted themselues redely to their Prince, and obeyed his holy hestes in all thinges. It is declared at large in the holy Scriptures, that Iosias did set order in the whole Religion accordyng to the rule of Gods law,Iosias. commaund the Priestes, puttyng some of them out of their office, & placing other in their roomes. I will rehearse no mo examples for makyng my readers wéery. But vponupon all these I conclude, that Kynges & Princes among Gods people had souereintie and authoritie by Gods ordinaunce, ouer the Priestes, ouer the hyghest Byshop, and ouer the whole Clergie, and disposed not onelyonly ciuill but also Ecclesiasticall matters accordyng to Gods law, both rightfully and also with singular commēdation.
And yet in the meane while, the Princes meddled not with the sacrificing, which God had committed to the Priestes.God made difference of functions and will not hauehave them confounded. For that was not lawfull for them without punishment, as it appeared by kyng Azarias, otherwise named Osias, who was striken with leprosie for presumyng wilfully to burne incense vponupon the brasen altar, contrarie to Gods ordinaunce. For it is one thing to sacrifice and to execute the offices that belong peculiarly to the Priestes: and an other thyng to dispose the Priesthode and discipline of the Church in conuenient order, and to kéepe them when they be ordered. For God hath sorted these offices asunder, and will not hauehave them confoūded.Kynges of the new Testamēt hauehave no lesse authoritie then had the kynges of the old Testament. And what man (except it be some giddybraynd and froward Anabaptist,) will say that Christen Princes hauehave lesse authoritie and power in the Churches of Christenfolke, than the Iewish kynges had in the Synagoges? Can ye say, that the authoritie of these is diminished by Christ our Lord, or by his Apostles? Most certein it is, that it is not diminished by Christ. For the Prophetes, and among them specially Dauid in the 2. Psalme, and Esay in his 49. chapter & in other places, hauehave foretold that kings should come into the Church of Christ, & that they should not onelyonly lead their liues there after the maner of other Christen men, but also more ouer continue there still in gouernyng, defending, & aduauncing Church affaires, as kinges still executyng kyngly power. Which point S. Austin handleth excellently, garnishyng and enlightenyng it with many sentences, agaynst the Donatistes, which denyed the Magistrate to hauehave any power at all to deale in matters of the Church. Furthermore it is certein, that Christes Apostles remoued not the faithfull Magistrate from the administration of Ecclesiasticall matters, therby to make Christen kynges of lesse power than the kynges of the Iewes had. For they say expresly that Princes are Gods ministers, yea and ordeined to plant the thing that is good, and to plucke vp the thing that is euill. But who is so ouerlodē with the flesh, that he will restreine these things to the flesh onelyonly and to outward affaires: and not also extend them to mens soules, and to spirituall matters? Considering how it is agréed vponupon among all men of a right opinion, that a Magistrate ought to looke chiefly vntounto such thinges as belong to the maintenaunce of the publike welfare of the common weale, or of the happy state of their Realmes. But it is out of all dout, that the diligent care of faith and Religion make to the increase and preseruation of the happie state and welfare of kyngdomes and common weales: and therfore no man (but he that is an enemy to the happy state of Gods people) can deny that the regard of Religion also perteineth to Princes or Magistrates. And that so much the lesse, bicause we learne plainly by readyng the stories of the kinges of Iuda and Israel, that those kyngdomes were and are most happie, wherin the Princes do faithfully administer matters of Religion: and that those be most vnhappie wherin the kynges either neglect or peruert the matters of the Church, and bryng thinges into the Church, which Gods word hath not allowed, and fill all thinges with mens traditions.
Furthermore we hauehave notable examples of those Emperours and Princes,Christiā Princes and defenders of the Church. which (accordyng to the Prophesies) came into Christes Church and renownced their heathenishnesse, and shewed themselues faithfull fosterfathers, ouerséers, and defenders of the Church. Among the first in account is Constantine who for his noble actes and manifold vertewes was surnamed the great.Constantine the great. This man closed vp the temples of idols, and abolished all heathenish sacrifisings. In Nice a citie of Bithynia he called a Counsell, the greatest of all Counsels and of most authoritie, And there he rebuked the Byshops sharply and layd his commaundement vponupon them, & set order in the matters of the Church. Eusebius in the life of Cōstantine, is not afrayd to terme this Prince a Byshop, bycause he did most diligently looke to the matters of the Church. If any man require the authors wordes, thus they be. Cōstantine (sayth he) imployed his care vponupon the Church of God. And bycause many were at oddes among themselues in diuers places: he beyng ordeined a common Byshop by God, sommoned a Dyet of Gods Ministers. Neither disdained he to be at it himself, & to sit amōg them, & to become a felow of theirs, & to dispose to all of them the thynges that made for the peace of God. Thus much sayth he. Behold, here is a Councell called, not by the Pope, but by the Emperour. Wherupon when one Ruffinus obiected a certein Councell agaynst Ierome, he aunswered, saying: shew thou me what Emperour commaunded it to be assembled. Moreouer the strife of the Byshops had burst further out, if this Emperour had not bridled them, and brought them to order. This Prince by his intermedlyng in matters of Religion & of the Church, dyd within a while not onelyonly salue them but also greatly further them. Which thing the Emperours, Valentine, Gratian, and Theodosius did in likewise, as it appeareth in the beginnyng of Iustinians Code. And the Emperour Theodosius in Nouellis tit. 2 concerning Iewes, Samaritanes, &c. confesseth to Florentius, that the searchyng out of Religion is the chief charge and greatest care that belonges to the Maiestie of an Emperour. Also the Emperours Leo and Anthemius, in L. omnes .C. concernyng Byshops and Clerkes, hauehave set downe by name, that Ciuill Magistrates were and ought to be iudges of the Byshops. And before the reigne of these, Archadius and Honorius, in L. Quicun que .C. concernyng Byshops and Clerkes, denounce a Byshop that breakes the common peace to be vnworthy the name of a Bishop, and depose him from his Bishoprike, and finally will that he shalbe banished.Iustinian.
The Emperour Iustinian about the yeare of our Lord 550, made many lawes, openly settyng order in matters of the Church, & appointyng Byshops & Clerkes what they should do. And in Nouellis. Constit. 123. he commaūdeth the Presidentes of Prouinces, that if the Byshops forslow to kéepe conuocations, then they should do it, and execute the lawes,Charles the great. and mainteyne the ordinaunces of the Church.
Furthermore Charles the great, kyng of Fraunce and Emperour, and his sonne Lewis the milde, published many Ecclesiasticall lawes concernyng the holy doctrine, the ministration of the sacramentes, and the Ministers them selues. Abbot Ansegisus compyled their lawes into foure bookes. But it would be too tedious to rehearse and of these lawes, therby to shew and proue that which is otherwise sufficiently proued already, namely that the charge of Religion and of Church matters perteineth also to Kynges and Quéenes, and that it is no monstruousenesse at all though the ciuill Magistrate determine of matters of Religion, vnles those so many, so mightie, and so holy Kynges, Princes, and Emperours, whose examples I hauehave hitherto alledged, were all monsters. But no such thyng can sinck in godly mens mindes, who doutlesse do rather beleue, that Pope of Rome the author of this rayling Bull is a monster both most hideous and most vgly, as hath ben sayd also héertofore.
Which thinges beyng vndoutedly so,The Queene of England hath not done amisse in taking vponupon her the care of religion & in deposing ye popish bishops. the vertuous Quéene of England hath done nothing amisse, but rather she hath done her dewtie, and deserued eternall prayse, for succoryng the persecuted and forwéeryed state of the English Church, and for takyng vponupon her the case of Religion, which she hath vertuously disposed hetherto accordyng as she began at the first, deposing from their estate and office the bishops that were sworne to the pope, which preached the pope and papistry: and not Christ our Lorde, and his pure Gospell: and preferring to their roomes, men sworne to Christ our Lorde, and to the Quéenes Maiestie, which preache Christes Gospell sincerelye through the whole Realme, without any corruption of popery.
The slaunderous Bull rayling vppon these Ministers of Christ lawfully ordeyned by the Quéene, termeth them in way of disdaine and reproch, lewd preachers and ministers of wickednes.Math. 6. But it is well for them: for Christ our Lord sayth: Blessed are ye when men reuile you, and speak all euill against you,2. Tim. 1. béelying you for my sake. Furthermore the Apostle was not ashamed to name him self a publisher or preacher of the Gospell: neyther are they lewde preachers which,1. Tim. 2. according to Paules saying, deuyde the woord of truth rightly and honestly, and endeuour to shew themselues allowable woorkmen afore God: neyther are they ministers of wickednesse, that do theyr seruice vntounto Christ, and his Church, with all faythfulnesse and singular dilligence.
I will not say at this present, how cruell those bishops (whom ye Quéenes Maiestie hath deposed frō their estate, & cast in prison) were when they had the law in their owne handes, agaynst the faythfull professors of Christ, nor how stubbornely they sticked to idolatry, and to the Romane Idoll, vntounto whome they had bound themselues by othe, defending most pestilent and manifesterrors, and continewing malicious and vnappeasable enemies of the truth of the Gospell: in so much as the Quéenes Maiestie neither could vse their seruice, nor ought to wink at their rebelliō, traiterousnes, & lewd meaning, if she meant to aduaūce & maintain the peace of hir realme, the welfare of hir people, & the procéeding of the Gospell. Therefore if these men pyned away for sorrow, and dyed miserably in prison, that is nothing to the Quéenes Maiestie: for they may wite it vppon theyr owne vniust stubbernesse, ioyned with maliciousnes: they may wite it vponupon their owne most wilfull rebelliousnesse, and in generall vponupon their owne wickednes. And as for those that be punished, or put to death for their owne offences, the righteous Lord God geueth sentence vponupon them in his owne law, saying: Their bloud be vponupon their owne heades. Most excellent and true also is the sentence of S. Iohn Chrisostome: No man is hurt, but by himself. Furthermore Paule in expresse wordes to the Romanes saith: Princes are not a terror to them that do well,Rom. 13. but to them that do euil: but wilt thou not feare power? thē do the thing that is good, and thou shalt receaue prayse of him: for he is Gods minister for thy welfare: but if thou do the thing that is euyll, then be affrayde: for he beareth not the sworde in vaine: for he is the minister of God, to take vengeance on them that do euyll. Why then did not these men well, whome the Bull bewayleth? for so should they doubtlesse hauehave receyued both prayse & reward at the Quéenes hand, being a gracious and bountifull prince. The Quéene hath done nothing in this behalf, which God hath not commaū ded to be done afore in his law: yea and also which is not ordayned in the lawes of the emperors Arcadius, and Honorius. L. Quicun que C. concerning Bishops and clerkes, as hath bene sayd heretofore. Yet will I not here sing the prayses of those that are set vp in the places of them that be deposed, & by Gods grace do their seruice at this day to the Churches of England peaceably and healthfully. Their owne vertue commendeth them sufficiently, so as they hauehave no néed of my prayse.