Examination of those Plausible Appearances in the Romish Church, Chapter 26
CHAP: XXVI. That the Popes authority, is not originally deriued from the Apostles.
BVt to come nearer to this matter, the Romish Church hath no kind of lawfull succession; not that of gouernment and policie, not that of rites and ceremonies, no not the succession of persons, least of all that of doctrine.
Shee hath not that of the policie of the ancient Church, for in the ancient Church there were no Popes, no Cardinalls, no Patriarches, no not Archbishops and Bishops after the Romish fashion. All the Apostles in respect of the power of the keyes, and authority of the Apostleship were equall. If there were any difference betweene them, it was not in respect of their function. For it they were all aIoh. 20.21.ioynt tenants immediately to the supreme Apostle, the Prince of Apostles the Lord Iesus. From him they all immediately receiued the same commission, to teach all nations, the bIoh. 20.23.same power to forgiue sinnes. Their names were equally written vponupon the twelue foundations of the high Ierusalem:cApoc. 21.14. dMat. 19.28. Luc. 22.30.they are placed vponupon twelue thrones, not subalternate, but coordinate, in the same pitch & eminē cie,eGelas. Cyzicen A…t. Syn. Nic. lib. 2. c. …. of the same dignitie, even as the twelue tribes. They are (said Constantine the great in the Councell of Nice) twelue pillars, not then vnderpropped by one another, but which being ioyned together bare vp the edifice of the Church. Be it, that the Lord hath promised the keyes of the kingdome of heauen to St. Peter, he fIoh. 20.23.hath bestowed the same power vponupon the other Apostles: be it, gLuc. 22.32.that he hath prayed that his faith might not faile, he hath hIoh. 17.20.prayed also for all the faithfull: be it, that he hath exhorted him thrice,iIoh. 21.15.16.17. to feede his sheepe, this was because he had denied him thrice, kforeign, Isid. Pelus. l…b. 1. ep. 103. Timoth. Anag.A triple deniall wanted a three-fold reestablishment: he which had stumbled thrice, was to be lifted vp thrice. Shall any extraordinary priuiledge be allowed him because of this reestablishment? Must those seruants which are most frequently and earnestly put in minde of their duties, for this be supposed to be in greater auctority? shall they be placed in a degree aboue the other? Nay they themselues interpret it on the contrary, and take it for an angrie dislike their superiours hauehave of them: they are vexed for it with St. Peter, and if their Masters could see in to their hearts, as his could, they would say with him,lIoh. 21.15. Thou know'st that I louelove thee, thou know'st that I desire to serue thee, Finally be it, that the Lord hath said vntounto him, mMat. 16.18.Thou art Peter, and vponupon this rocke will I build my Church: nGreg. Nyl. in Test. & vet. Test. de T…in. cont▪ Jud. Cyril. de. Trin. lib. 4. Chrys. in Mat. hom. 55. Hil. de Trin. l. 2. & 6. Aug. retract. l. 1. c. 21. in Ioan. tract. 124. & ali…i. saepe. Hieron. in Abdiam c. 1.The most ancient and most renowned amongst the fathers teach, that Christ vnderstood not the the person, but the confession of St. Peter; not Peter viz: the rocke which cōfessed, but the rocke by him confessed, viz: Iesus Christ our Lord. Howbeit, wee willingly confesse, that the Church hath beene built vponupon St. Peter, but not vponupon him onelyonly. He is one of the foundations of the Church, but not the onelyonly foundation of it, one of the twelue pillars, one of the twelue Iudges of the twelue tribes Israell, but not the foundation of these foundations, the pillar of these pillars, the Iudge of these Iudges, but a collaterall foundation, a collaterall pillar, a collaterall Iudge with the other Apostles his companions. Furthermore St. Peter vndertooke not, to depose Kings, or to vsurpe any such authority, contrarily he hath ioyned these two duties together: o1. Pet. 2.17.Feare God, honour the king, how heathenish a tyrant soeuer, and Persecutor of the Church, the Emperour at that time was. p1. Pet. 5.12.He had no dominion likewise ouer the other guides of the Church, whome he calleth his companions in office.
Now albeit St. Peter should hauehave had that authothority, which is attributed to the Pope at this day, yet they are still to proue, that it died not with him. And if his authority of Apostle-ship suruiued him not, how much lesse that of being the Prince of the Apostles? If the other Apostles in regard of their Apostle-ship, hauehave not left themselues successours, how should he leaue his iurisdiction ouer them behind him? He had the gift of doeing miracles, to whom hath he particularly bequeathed this faculty? Can the Pope doe any miracles? He was the Apostle of the circumcision: is the Pope the Apostle of the Iewes? These offices of the Apostles were extraordinary, like that of Moses, which was extinguished in his person, and did not outliue him. As then the Bishop of Ephesus should idely hauehave challenged to himselfe the authority of Iohn the Euangelist, & the Bishop of Alexandria that of St. Mark, albeit that tradition report, that these two Apostles had bishops for their successors, St. Iohn at Ephesus, St. Mark, at Alexandria: Even so the Popes vnreasonably vsurp the authority of St. Peter, vnderunder pretence that tradition maketh them his successors. So that, in this respect, the Papall Monarchie hath no Apostolicall succession, seeing that not only, it hath not had its originall in the times of the Apostles, but also this kind of soveraigntie was a long time after vnknowne in the Church qCypr ep. 52. ad Anton edit. Pamel. & alibi passim.St. Cyprian calls Cornelius Bishop of Rome, his collegue and Co-Bishop, and the other Bishops coepiscopos, or the fellow Bishops of Cornelius;tEpist 55. ad Cornel. S. Augusti. in Concil. Africa. foreign. edit. Ehi…g…ri. he blameth him for hauing receiued those, which the other Bishops (whom hee calleth the fellow Bishops of Cornelius) had excommunicated; hee sets before him the statute of the discipline of those times, inioyning that the cause should be iudged, where the crime was committed; a statute, which he groundeth vponupon iustice and equitie, vponupon the commission giuen to all Pastours, and the power which eueryevery one of them hath by vertue of his Commissiion, ouer that portion of the flocke which is assigned him, of which he is to giuegive account vntounto the Lord. Likewise he sharpely reprehendeth Stephen also Bishop of Rome, teaching that as there is but one Church through out the whole world deuided into many members viz: particular Churches: so there is but one Bishopricke diuided into many particular Bishopricks. He attributeth the same authority to the other Apostles with St. Peter,sJdem de vnita. Eccles. although to denote vnitie it was said to St. Peter, I will giuegive thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen. It is not then to the person of St Peter, but to Peter as representing the vnity of all the Apostles. Of which mind also are tHieron. cont. Iovin. lib. 1 c. 14 August t…act. in Iohan. 119 & …24.St. Hierome, and St. Austen: uGelas Cyzi. act. Concil. Nic. p. 2. c. 28.The synod of Alexandria addresseth their synodall epistle, not to the Bishop of Rome in particular, but to him conioyntly with the other, without the interposition of any distinction betweene them. Athanasius neuer calleth him otherwise, then his Co-bishop, and Comminister, his fellow Bishop, and fellow Minister. Hosius subscribed first to the Canons of the Nicene Councell, not as representing the Bishop of Rome, but generally the Westerne Churches: after the same manner as the Bishop of Alexandria those of Egypt, Lybia, Pentapolis, &c. Hosius was not there then, to represent the vniuersall Bishop of the Church, but to represent the Churches of the West, as every of the other Bishops, Churches of a particular circuit or iurisdiction, as it may more amply be seene by their subscriptions. Lastly, that which hapned vntounto the Pope in the sixt Councell of Carthage puts all out of doubt,Tom. …. Concil. Concil. Carthag. 6. an 420. Vi…. Cont. M…g…. Cont. 5. cap. 9. and admitteth of no reply. A certaine lewd companion named Appiarius deposed from his Ministeriall function and preferment by the Bishops of Africa, repaired to Zosimus then Bishop of Rome, who hauing reinstituted him, and deeming this a fit occasion to enlarge the bounds of his dominion, graspeth it fast, and posteth this Appiarius reconfirmed with his Embassadours to the Councel of Carthage, giuing them moreover in commission, to demand that the vniversall authority of the Pope should bee acknowledged by the Councell, alleaging to that purpose a Canon of the Nycene Synode. VponUpon these passages Zosimus dying, Eulalius is chosen in his place, by the greater part of the Clergy and people: but he gaue place to the violence of Boniface, who out of his ambition prosecuted that which Zosimus had demanded, touching the acknowledgement of his primacy. The Councell flatly denied, that there was any thing in the records of the Nicene Synode, which might favour his pretended primacie, and in the mean time sent Commissaries to the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria, to hauehave a sight of the authenticke copies of the acts of the Councell which were kept by them. VponUpon this Pope Boniface died. Celestine succeeded him, who also with the like heat, claimed the approbation of his fained authority. But the Councell having already discouered by the report of their Commissaries, that the authenticke copies of the Nicene Synod contained no such matter as the proud Bishops of Rome required, blamed their fraud, checked their insolencie, and adiured them to receiue no more appeales, adding this notable reason that the grace of the holy spirit would not bee wanting to any Province, In epist. Concil. As…. ad Celest. Nisi forte quisquam est. &c,vnlesse some man imagined that God could inspire iustice to one only, and that he would withhold it from an infinite number of Bishops.
Now, this history maketh it appeare vntounto vsus, that vntill that time, the Churches of Africa had not acknowledged the Pope. So that if at this day, there were any in those parts of the world, which did acknowledge him, they should not be their successours in this. If the Pope hath beene from the beginning vniversall Bishop, how happened it that at that time he was not vniversally obeyed by the Church? But it is no lesse remarkable, that the Popes which required this acknowledgement from the Councell, sent not men to expostulate with that assembly by authority, much lesse to excommunicate them vponupon their refusall as schismatickes: as also, that they alleaged no Scripture for the primacie, but onelyonly the Canon of a Councell. Yet they vsed a strange boldnesse, in daring to falsifie the Canons of the Nicene Synode: A fraud yet of which their successours seeme to hauehave beene ashamed. For in the decrees of the Nicene councell, as we hauehave received them from them, there is nothing extant which maketh for the primacy: but in them, the other Patriarches are rather equalised to the Bishop of Rome. Lastly, the harsh censure, with which this councell entertained the Pope, which neverthelesse was but provinciall, witnesseth it not, that at that time his authority was new? This being so, seeing that succession must drawe its line from the first, and that the first Romane Bishop had not that authority which he hath that now raigneth: it followeth, that there is no succession in the Pope-ship, and by consequent not in the whole state of the Papacie.