A Second Reply to an Answer Made by Doctor Whitgift Part 1, Reply 24 · Section 1
Caput 3, Diuiſ. 1.
THat the reader maie hauehave clearer light / to iudge of our writinges on both ſydes in the reſt off this controuerſie / and that we may be better furniſhed of weapons / againſte this greate leuie off pretended autorities; two queſtions ſeeme neceſſarie to be decided / before we come vntounto them. The one / whether the worde off God hathe ordeined that in eueryevery ſeuerall congreation there ſhoulde be a biſhop: which the Anſw. dothe flatly denie / and Pag. 328.further ſaith / yt appeareth owte off certeine eccleſiaſticall writers, and the exampels off Timothe, and Titus, that the Apoſtels appointed biſhops, onelyonly in principal townes and cities. The other is / whether there were allowed in one citie / 2. or moe biſhops: which likewiſe he flatly denieth can be ſhewed to hauehave bene from Chriſt… time, and that the whole practiſe pag. 366. Pag. 444off the prymitiue churche is againſte yt. Yf thes thinges be ſhewed to hauehave bene ordeined off the Apoſtels: yt muſte folowe that this inſtitution off God / baniſhed by Satan / owght to be called home / an that all autoritie off men / and couſtome exalted againſte this / muſt yealde thē ſelues priſoners. Likewiſe if theſe be ſhewed / the trwthe of expoſitiō of the teſtimonies of the moſte aunciente writers / ſhall better appeare: vvherby we hauehave ſhute the biſhoplike autoritie in the circuite / ād roundell of one church: which the Anſ. would hauehave extended vntounto a realme / or dioceſe. And ſo ſhall come to pas / that they which hauing all their ſenſes poſſeſſed of the couſtome of thes later / and corrupter times / when they reade or heare off a biſhop in the ſcripture / or in the moſte aunciēte writers / conceiue forthwith a biſhop of the ſame mould that ours be / ſhall a greate deale eaſelier correcte their error. For if a biſhop in the Apoſtels time / and off their inſtitution / was the biſhop off one churche onelie: by all likelihood thoſe times which folowed nexte after them / kepte them neereſt vntounto that image: whervpon will fall owte / that this vſurped autoritie of biſhops ouer their fellow miniſters / did by litle and litle encreaſe / according to the meaſure of time further from that wherin thapoſtels liued / and nearer vntounto that wherin Antichriſt was fully ſetled. which thinges although they hauehave light enough in them ſelues: yet to cleare this matter better / there ſhall be (God willing) ſet downe certein teſtimonies of the moſt auncient times: wherby as by certein traces / the truth off thes thinges may be eaſelier found owt.
The firſt that eueryevery particular church ſhould hauehave her biſhhop / is manifeſt by Paul to Timothe. For ſeing the deſcription of 1. Tim. 3.a biſhop which he gyueth / doth agree vntounto the miniſter of eueryevery congregacion / and nothing there required in the one / which is not in the other: it followeth that the miniſter off eueryevery congregacion / is the biſhop theroff. For the deſcription agreing with eueryevery of them: the thinges deſcribed muſt likewiſe. Secondly / onles he doo by this deſcription off the biſhop / ſet forth the nature off eueryevery miniſter of the word in his congregation: in deſcribing the offices off the churche / he hath left owt the principaleſt membres / and was more carefull in deſcribing the Deacons miniſterie / not occupied in the vvord / then the preaching miniſteries, but that is abſurd: yt muſt follow / that he vnderſtood them by the name off biſhop. Furthermore S. Paules biſhop was appointed to the ſame place / wherunto his Deacons: but his dPhili. 1. Act. 6.Deacons were aſſigned to a particular congregation / as appeareth both by the vſe of the ſcriptures / ād alſo by that after this corruption entred / that eueryevery church had not her biſhop: yet it had her Deacons / as is to be eAthana. Apol. 2. Ierom. cont. Lucifer.ſeen by that alledged of the Deacons off the churches off Mariotes. S. Paul alſo there aſſigning the charge / and care of the biſhop / ouer the church of God / muſt ether gyue him charge ouer the whole bodie of the catholike church: or ouer one particular congregation: or of the faithfull companie of one howſe. but he extendeth not his charge ouer all the Catholike church / for that were to make a Pope / not a biſhop: nor reſtraineth him to the faithfull of one howſhoulde / conſidering that he oppoſeth the gouernement off his howſe / to the gouernement of the church: yt followeth therfore that he appointeth hym to one particular church. That by this word church / muſt be vnderſtanded one of thes three ſignificacions / yt ſtandeth vponupon this grownd: that in none off S. Paules other Epiſtles / or S. Lukes writinges / that word church is euer vſed otherwiſe / and neuer ſignifieth the church ether off Prouince / or Dioces. For when the Apoſtles vtter the companie off belieuers in ſuch a circuit: they alwaies ſpeake in the plurall nombre / and call them the churches of ſuch / and ſuch a place. And if it can be ſhewed that this word is taken in them / for the faithful in a whole prouince / or dioces: I will giuegive ouer the hould of this argument. If (as I perſwade my ſelf) that can not be doon: then the church aſſigned vntounto S. Paules biſhop / is a particular congregacion.
Moreouer S. Paul writing to Tite / to appoint Elders throwgh eueryevery towne / which were vnblamable: addeth becauſe a Tite 1.biſhop muſt be vnblamable. Wherupon ether eueryevery towne muſt hauehave a biſhop: or his reaſon is not well knit. For he ſhould both giuegive his rule off one thing / and his reaſon off an other: and it ſhould come to paſſe / that thoſe churches vvhichwhich hauehave no biſhops / might lawfully hauehave ſlaunderous / and ſpotted biſhops ſeing his onelyonly reaſon why elders of eueryevery towne owght to be withowt reproche / is becauſe a biſhop muſt be ſo. Againe vvhere it is ſaide that Paule / and Barnabas apointed by voice elders in eueryevery Act. 14.churche / ether beſide the auncientes off the churche the Biſhop was ordeined: or els the famous cities of Antioche / I conium / and Liſtra / in the number of thoſe churches there mencioned / receiued no biſhop. But the Anſ. him ſelfe affirmeth / that the Apoſtels ordeined biſhops, in the principall cities, and townes: therfore vnderunder thes wordes ▪ they ordeined elders by voice in eueryevery churche, ys vnderſtanded that they ordeined biſhops in eueryevery churche. For S. Luke vſing the ſame wordes to ſet for the the miniſterie off all other churches / wherwith he ſettethe forthe the miniſterie off thoſe famous cities / vnleſſe he will denie there were Biſhops there: he muſte off neceſſitie graunt / that the other churches had their biſhops aſwell as they.
Laſte off all vnles yt be the inſtitution off God / that eueryevery particular congregacion ſhoulde hauehave her biſhop: in that largies / and bountifull liberalitie of eccleſiaſticall miniſters / which S. Paule ſhewethe our Sauiour Chriſte beſtowed vppon his churche Epheſ. 4. 11.after he was aſcended / nothing falleth to the lot of the partilar churches. But yt ys horrible iniurie vntounto the liberalitie off Chriſte / ſo to ſhutte his hande which he opened ſo wide: therfore it muſte needes be / that our Sauiour Chriſte gaue euerie churche her Biſhop as for the apoſtles / Euāgeliſtes / and Prophetes / beſide that their miniſterie was not ſtreightned vntounto particuler churchs: they are (as before hathe bene ſhewed) ceaſſed. There remaine therfore of the miniſteries there reckened / the Paſtor / and Doctor: wherof whether the biſhop be the ſame with the Paſtor / as ſome thinck / or whether he conteine both Paſtor / and Doctor / as other ſome eſteme: it ys manifeſt that ether eueryevery particular churche muſt hauehave a biſhop ▪ or els none of thoſe miniſteries there recited. For if it be ſaied that taking a biſhop for the ſame vvith a Paſtor / the particular congregations hauing the Doctor / may hauehave one off them / althowgh they hauehave no biſhop: it is eaſy to anſwere / that if the Paſtor moſt neceſſarie / and vvhom the churche can worſt ſpare / doo not belong: the Doctor can les be thowght to apperteine to a particular church. And thus far owt of the ſcripturs / for proofe of a biſhop in eueryevery particular church: yt followeth to ſhew the traces of this inſtitution in the primitiue church / vvhichwhich ſucceded next vntounto the Apoſtels.
The ſame the D. ſuppoſeth the true Ignatius / writeth thus: EueryEvery church ſhould hauehave her altar, and eueryevery churche her biſhop. And leſt peraduenture the D. ſhould interprete / eueryevery Ad Philadelphios.church, eueryevery dioces / or prouince: beſide that I hauehave ſhewed that ſignification of churche was vnknowen vntounto thoſe times / the autors meaning is cleare to the contrary / when he ſaithe / eueryevery church ſhould hauehave her communion table, which he calleth foreign.vnproperly an altar. Onles therfore the D. will ſay / that his meaning is there ſhould be but one cōmunion table in a whole dioces / or prouince: this hole is ſtopped vp againſt him. And if (as he would make vsus belieue) this was Iohn thapoſtles ſcholer: then amongeſt the teſtimonies of men / this may worthely beare the bell. Yf not (as I for my part thinck): yet the later he is / the longer is proued this order of hauing a biſhop / in eueryevery particular congregation / ſeing he ſheweth what the face off the church was / in thoſe times when he liued. Epiphanius prouing a biſhop / and preaching Elder to differ (which cometh after to be Epipha. l. 3. Tom. 1. hae. 75.examined) ſaith: vvhere (not as the Pope / and the Anſw. in what great cytie ſoeuer) there vvas found any vvorthy to be biſhop, there a biſhop vvas appointed: yea and vvhere there vvas not to fourniſh both biſhop, and preaching Elder, there thapoſtles made a biſhop, and left the Elder. So that by his Iudgement / biſhops were in greater nombre then / then preaching Elders. That the ſame was alſo in Cyprians time / ſhall appeare (God willing) in the places after to be handled owt off him. From his time vntounto the Councell off Nice / we hauehave the ſtorie of Euſebius: wherin as in a glaſſe we may ſee / that the churche in this point was litle altered Conſidering that he aſſigneth the biſhops charge / continually (for any thing that ether the Anſ. ſheweth / or I can gather) to one church / or to the churches in one citie onelyonly. Which maie better appeare in that his biſhops / are ſo often times called the biſhop off a pariſhe (as hath bene ſhewed) and that he confoundeth a pariſhe with a churche / a paſtor with a Biſhop (as ſhall appeare): ſo that onles the Anſw. will ſaie / that there was in thoſe times but one pariſh / church / paſtor / in compas off a prouince / or dioces: he muſte be conſtreined to confeſſe / that eueryevery particuler churche for the moſte parte / had a Biſhop.
And althowgh after time of the Nicene Councell / there is no dowbt but that as the Biſhops had more occaſions of enlarging their boundes / throwghe the diſordered zeale off the godlie Emperours / ſo they let not ſlip thoſe occaſions: yet if we conſider the eſtate off the churche / what yt was abowte 400. yeares after Chryſte: we ſhall finde that biſhops were not the tenth parte ſo thyn ſowen / as ours be now. If a biſhop ranne in to any ſlaunder / and the ſlaunder preſſing him he coulde not aſſemble a greate nomber of biſhops: to the ende he ſhoulde not remaine in that Tom. 1. 2. Carth. ca. 10.ſlaunder / the Councell off Carthage was off aduiſe / that his cauſe ſhoulde be hearde off twelue biſhops / and his owne biſhop. And an other / that if an elder were accuſed / he might call 6. biſhops frō the places harde by / and lykewiſe a deacon three: which Tom. 1. c. 8. 3. Cart.together with their owne biſhop ſhould hauehave autoritie to heare / and determine the cauſes in debate. Now if for eueryevery accuſation of a biſhop / there were aſſembled 12. biſhops at the leaſt / and that when the matter required haſte: for euerie accuſation of an elder ſix / and off a Deacon three / beſide their owne biſhop: and that thoſe might be taken in places harde by: all men maye vnderſtande / that there was more neighbourhood in biſhops then is nowe / and that yt behoued that thoſe biſhops dwelte within no greate compas / which might be aſſembled with ſuche commoditie. For if we ſhoulde imagine the ſame condition off biſhops then / which is nowe: how euill aduiſed ſhould the Councell hauehave bene / to cawſe ſo manie biſhops to come ſo farre / with ſo greate charges / with ſuche longe abſence from their churches / with ſuche delaie / and ſuſpence off the purgation off them / whoſe ſpeedie diſpatche ſtoode ſo greatly vponupon the glorie off God / and edification of their churches? Herof yt may eaſely be ſeene / that this bleſſing and gifte of God in hauing off a biſhop / rained not onelyonly vponupon greate cities / and greate townes: but euen ouer litle borowghes / and villages where there was a ſufficiente congregacion / hable to mainteine this myniſterie off the worde.
And althowghe there be diuerſe cawſes / why the aunciente ſtories doo not ſo often make mention / of the biſhopes of vplandiſhe townes / as that in thoſe tymes of perſequution / a nomber off them did ſcarcely yelde one ſufficiente companie / hable to mainteine the myniſterie off the worde: and that by all likelihoode the countrey men rownde abowte / made their reſorte vntounto the good townes nexte them / which had a biſhop: and for that the ſtories for the moſte parte / keepe the memorie onelyonly of the moſte famous biſhops / which by godly policie off the churche / were placed in the moſte peopled townes: yet notwithſtanding yt ys not harde to ſhew diuers / which are expreſſedly called biſhops off ſmall townes / or villages. As off one aEuſeb. … li. 16. cap.Zor…cus Biſhop of the village of Coman: of bTheod. 5 li. ca 4.Mares / Biſhop of a ſmall towne / called Dolicha: of cIerom. Tom. 1. catolog. Gen̄adi▪ vir. illuſ… ▪Aſclepius / Biſhop of a ſmall towne in Africa; and of others / vvhichwhich partly I hauehave alredy ſhewed owte off the teſtimonie off Ierome / and partly ſhall be ſhewed (God willing) in diſcouſe off Cyprians teſtimonies. I leaue alſo to ſpeake of dSocrat. 4. 26.Gregorie / biſhop of a ſmall cytie / called Naz…anzum: of an other which was eQuaeſt. 16.prieſt of the Caſtle Cumane / that is f80. diſt.Biſhop: both which are as well forbidden / as to hauehave a biſhop in a village. I followeth to ſhewe vponupon what cawſes / and by what meanes the churche ſo fruictfull in Biſhops became afterwarde ſo baren. wheroff albeit yt is moſte certein / that the principall cauſe was the wrathe off the lord / who angrie with his churche / ſente ſuche a dearthe: yet the doings off men which God had diſpoſed of wiſely / for the accompliſhement of his counſell towchinge the man of ſynne / were partly vnaduiſed / partly proceeding off ambicion: and that not alwaies after one ſorte / but taking encreaſe / and gathering ſtrenght with the time. So that the ambition which at the firſt was kepte in ſome awe / and reſtraincte / in the ende brake owte / and ſhewed yt ſelfe as yt were bare faced.
In the Africane Councell / yt appearethe that before a certeine lawe made of the Emperour / wherſoeuer ād in what dioceſe 1. Tom. Concil. 66. ca.ſoeuer there was a churche off Donatiſtes conuerted vntounto the Catholike churche / that thoſe proſelytes / and conuertes had a Biſhop of their owne: and the Councell there confeſſethe / that they deſerued ſo to hauehave. Wherupon yt folowethe / that how many churches ſo euer off the Donatiſtes were conuerted: ſo manie Biſhops at the leaſte / there might be in one onelyonly dioceſe. And if this were a good lawe and equall (as the Councell confeſſethe): what cauſe can be aſſigned / why yt ſhoulde be taken awaie / as appeareth yt vvas afterward? In the ſecond Councell of Carthage yt vvas decreed / that thoſe dioceſes which had no biſhops 1. Tom. Concil. 5. cap.ſhould hauehave none: ād thoſe which had / ſhould kepe their proper Biſhop Notwithſtanding if the number off the faithfull ſhould encreaſe in that dioceſe / that the people deſyring a Biſhop / if the biſhop of the dioceſe conſented therunto / might hauehave another biſhop. Now in that the Councell ordeined that there ſhould be no biſhops in that dioceſe / where there had bene none: yt is apparā te that their dioceſes were not the twētith parte ſo large as ours. For is there any likelihoode / conſideringe the nomber off the biſhops before proued / that the Councell woulde decree that there ſhould be no biſhop within 30. or 40. myles / as it is with vsus? And when it ordeineth that in that dioceſe where there was a biſhop alredy / the nomber of the faithfull encreaſing / there might be at the inſtance off the churches / and conſente of the biſhop other biſhops ordeined: yt vttereth the cauſe vvhy diuerſe pariſhes rounde abowte / vvere the dioceſe of one biſhop: namely for that here and there / in this ād that towne / there vvas ſcarce gleaned owte a ſufficient number / off thoſe which hauing giuen their names to the goſpell / were hable to make one ſufficiente congregatiō to maintein the miniſtrie. And therfore ordeined / that whē the harueſte of the faithefull ſhould be more plentifull in thoſe places: then alſo counſell might be taken / off moe Biſhops.
Wherupon vve may gather / this to hauehave bene a cauſe of this ſcarcitie / that it being lefte alwaies in the diſcretion off the Biſhop / vvhether he vvoulde hauehave any moe Biſhops: throwghe Ambicion yt came to paſſe / that the nombre off Chriſtians increaſing / they woulde not ſuffer the people to hauehave moe biſhops / but ordeining them Elders / and Deacons / together with the name off the Biſhop / reteined vntounto them ſelues a greate parte off the autoritie / and gouernement to other belongyng. And this ys In his booke off the practiſe off Prelats.that vvhichwhich that excellent Martir of God William Tindall / ſhortly noted: vvhen the multitude off Chriſtians encreaſed, and the church vvas endovved vvith greate poſſeſsiōs: the biſhops made thē ſubſtitutes, vvhichwhich they called preiſtes, and kept the name of Biſhop vntounto them ſelues. And how vnhappely it was lefte in the Biſhops choiſe / ether to ſuffer another biſhop to be inſtituted or no / in his dioceſe: maie appeare by this ſhameful ambition / vvhichwhich euen thē beganne to ſhew yt ſelfe. For ſo far vvas yt / that they vvoulde departe vvith any already gotten: that they a Africanum Concilium c. 84. 85. 87aſſaied to encroche (and ſometimes by ſtronge hande) vponupon the boundes off others: as appeareth by the manifolde debates / which they had one with another / aboute their precinctes / teſtified in the booke of Councells.
Another cauſe off this dearthe was / an order taken amongeſt b Tom. 1. Concil. Mileuit ca. 24.thē / that where in Afrike there were greate ſwarmes of Donatiſte heretikes / and other ſtraungers from the churches: as eueryevery Biſhop gained thoſe foreners vntounto the churche / ſo he enioyed them. Which thinge extended not onelyonly vntounto eueryevery ones owne dioceſe: but alſo to other dioceſes / if the other Biſhop were ſomewhat ſluggiſhe in that behalfe. which what a greate prophanacion yt was of the giftes of God / no man of any iudgement in the worde of God / can be ignorante. For ſemeth it a meete thing / that for the bleſſing off God gyuen vntounto their preaching / they ſhoulde be made rulers off all thoſe peoples which they gained? And what differeth this from ſymonie: but that as one ſelleth the giftes off the holy goſte for monie / ſo this made march andriſe off them for honor / and money both? And verely hauing before a competente ſtocke / in this poincte they did not ſo much get diſciples vntounto Chriſte / as to them ſelues: nor ſo much enlarge his kingdome / as their owne: not doo thoffice of paſtors / as of hirelinges / and ſt…pendarie ſouldiers bente vponupon the ſpoile.
Another cauſe off this ſcarcitie was / that as they prouided / that there ſhould be no biſhops where were none before: ſo they African Concil. …. 66.decred / that in dioceſes where there were / if after the deathe of the biſhop / the people of that church had rather yelde them ſelues ſubiecte vntounto another biſhop / then chuſe a newe: that it ſhoulde be lawfull for them ſo to doo. And theruppon / yt is very like that diuers churches (when good biſhops beganne to be rarer / then wedges of golde) ſeing any one which behaued him ſelfe more tolerably: yelded them ſelues vntounto him. Not muche vnlike thoſe times off the Lordes indignacion / which the Prophete ſpeaketh of / wherin a nomber of weomen laide holde off one man. Beſide that it is not vnlike / but the ſtately pompe off biſhops hauinge Eſay 4. 1.taken deepe roote) the people did not vnwillingly quite the eſtate of a biſhop: and as off an euill neighbor / and one which laie to heauy vponupon them / were glad to be rid off him. yt might be alſo the peoples faulte / which (as our experience teachethe to muche) rather then they woulde beat the charge of mainteining a ſufficiente myniſtrie off their owne: were contente to yelde vp their priuiledge off hauing a biſhop / to receiue with abatement off their charges / a myniſtrie they cared not what.
Laſte of all / when Sathan had lifted vp the ſonne of perdition into his feare / and had made a full conqueſte off all ſynceritie off religion: yt was flatly decreed / that yt ſhould not be lawfull Tom. … Epiſt Zacha. Papad Bonifac. pag 44… ▪to ordeine any Biſhop / ether in villages / or ſmall cytie: leſte throwghe the multitude / biſhops ſhould waxe vile / as I hauehave alledged in the former booke. Wherupon cometh here to be conſidered / what ys anſwered: that I be not cōpelled there to renewe this queſtion againe. His anſwer is / that I hauehave falſtfied the place, that I hauehave not redd the Epiſtle, that yf I had, hauing anie modeſtie I would neuer hauehave ſo written To let the reſte goo / and withal his vnworthy reproche / ſo often repeated / for ſaying Boniface to Zacharie, in ſteade off Zachary to Boniface / ſeing the quotation in the margent is right: I ſay to let thes goe / conſider wherin I hauehave vſed falſhoode Y… ys firſte aſſigned / in that where the wordes off the Epiſtle are / leſte the name off a Biſhop ſhoulde vvax vile: I ſaide / leſte they ſhoulde vvaxe vile throvvghe the multitude. If I hauehave falſified in adding throvvgh the multitude: what truth / or faithe hathe the Anſwerer vſed / in adding / becawſe the contemptiblenes off the place, often tymes bringeth contempte off the perſon? This addicion off wordes ys greater then mine / and no more founde in the Epiſtle then mine: whoſe interpretacion is more aggreable vntounto the minde off the writer / his that the daunger off contempte was conceiued by reaſon off the place, ormine that it was by reaſon off the multitude: let the reader iudge.
Which that he may he may the eaſelier doo / let it be conſidered ad Euag. 2.what Ierome writeth / where ſpeaking off the pride off the Deacons: he aſſigneth the cawſe that they were ſo much ſet by / to hauehave bene their fewnes / and the cawſe why the Elders were ſo light made of / becawſe they were moe in nomber. For the aboundance of any commoditie / doth ſo commenly bring downe the price of it / that there is no nation I thinck where it is not in prouerb / that rare thinges are greatly eſteemed: as contrariwiſe thinges off excellent / and neceſſarie vſe / are throwgh their multitude called vile. Which is declared there by example of Poley / a commen / and vile herb in thoſe countreis: and yet for the rarenes more eſteemed in India / then pepper. Of the other ſide where he ſaith / they were not placed in villages▪ or ſmall cities, becauſe the ſmallnes of the place doth make the perſon often times contemned, in ſteed that it is meet the biſhop ſhould be reuerenced: by that reaſon there ſhould be no miniſter of the word in thoſe places at all. For it behoueth that the miniſter alſo hauehave the reuerence of his people / which becommeth the embaſſadour / and ſteward off Chriſt: and if the biſhop looke for more / he pricketh at a further marck / then euer the word off God ſet vp. But how cometh it to paſſe / that the biſhop off Canturbery is more eſteemed / then the biſhop off London: and he off Wincheſter / then he off Norwich / if the place cawſe the eſtimacion of the Biſhop? When gentlemen / and noblemen build their howſes more commenly in ſmall townes / and more ſolitary places: doth the Anſ. thinck that they loſe any of their eſtimacion therby? Alſo by this reaſon it owght to be forbidden / that Iuſtices off Peace, and Quorum ſhoulde dwell in countrey townes / and commaunded to dwell onelyonly in great townes / leſt they be contemned off the people. But beſide that it is contrary to the wiſdome of God in the ſcripture: the Paganes which neuer ſaw that light / could tell that the places doo not make men honorable, Plutarch. foreign.but men the places. And Ierome ſaith / the biſhop off an obſcure citie, hath as much autoritie as he off the moſt famous. If the D. āſwer / that it owght to be ſo / but it is not / throwgh the folie off certein: yf that were graunted / yet yt is vnmeet that the miniſtrie ſhould be according to the euill diſpoſition off certein. for then forſomuch as yowth is ſubiect to contempt / it ſhoulde be vnmeet to chooſe a young man (of what giftes ſoeuer) vntounto the miniſterie.
Thother falſhoode the Anſ. chargeth me with / is / for that I gather off this canon, that in times paſte there were biſhops in ſeuerall pariſhes, and ſmall townes, when there was no biſhop before off anie pariſhe. yt ſemeth that his vnderſtanding can not be ſo ſimple / but that he maie perceiue if there were no other proofe / that thoſe canones made ſo often for the forbidding of ordeining of biſhops in villages / and ſmall cities / proceeded theroff / that the churches in villages / and ſmall cyties / had their biſhops as other places had. For to what pourpoſe doo they defende yt / but that yt was vſed? And wherfore was that lawe ſo often renewed; vnles there had bene reſiſtance / and vnles the churches refuſed to ſubiecte themſelues / to ſuche a wicked order? yf men make not lawes but vpō erperience of thinges which they miſlike: how muche les doo they renew them againe and againe / but vponupon gainſaying? And in that Boniface which wrote vntounto Zachary / had appointed thoſe three biſhops in ſmall pariſhes / and townes: all vnderſtand that yt was no new thing then / to hauehave biſhops in ſuch places. But becauſe he cloſethe his eyes / and will not ſee thinges ſet before him: at leaſte let him grope them. The falſe Damaſus / 1. Tom. Concil. Epiſt. 4. Chorepiſcopi. Villani Epiſco.and verie Antichriſte / writing of this matter / inueiethe vehemently againſte the appointinge off Biſhops in villages / which he calleth countrey biſhops. And yt appeareth plainly in that Epiſtle / that they had the ſelfe ſame autoritie in all thinges / which citie Biſhops had. There he ſaith alſo / that yt was forbidden that there ſhoulde be any biſhop ether in ſmall cytie / or in village / or Caſtell: leſte the name and autoritie of a biſhop / ſhould waxe vile. And therfore commaundeth / that thoſe biſhops off villages being diſgraded off their Biſhoprickes / ſhoulde be throwne downe to the order off preiſthoode. Heere the D. maie vnderſtande / that euen in the time off Antichriſte / this order off euerie churche hauing her biſhop / was not ſo aboliſhed / but that there were remnantes off it in diuers places / and ſome which mainteined the libertie wherin God had ſed them / againſte that owtrage off Satan: who becawſe he woulde make off biſhops yong Princes / and ſaw that euerie pariſhe was not hable to mainteine that pompe / wente abowte with robberie off the reſte / to lifte vp the heade off one. Heroff yt may be ſeene what cawſe the D. hathe / to charge me with the falſifiyng of the Popes wordes / and how his habilite to defende the Popes decree / doothe not anſwer his deſire.
As for the reaſons I browght to proue / that the placing… off biſhops in villages, and ſmall cyties, coulde no more bringe them in contempte, then the ſhininge of the ſonne, or falling off the raine in villages as vvell as in cyties, breedeth contempte off thoſe benefites: or the name or autoritie of father, gyuen to poore men as vvell as riche, maketh that ordinance off God nothing ſet by: he anſwereth not a worde. Where I further alledged the foreſight / and wiſdome of God / which ſhoulde receiue a greate wound if in inſtituting for eueryevery churche a Biſhop / he ſhoulde not hauehave foreſeen this inconuenience / which the Anſ. vppon the Popes autoritie meinteineth: he aſkethe when and where? I hauehave (I truſte) ſhewed him now bothe. althowghe he if he had ether vnderſtoode / or remembred what he wrote before twiſe / or thriſe / when with Ierome he propoundeth vntounto vsus / that Biſhop / and elder were all one by Gods worde: he ſhould not hauehave fallē into this extreme boldenes / of denying eueryevery thing which is enemie vntounto his vnaduiſed aſſertions. For yf yt be the inſtitution off God / that euerie churche ſhoulde hauehave a teaching elder / and that elder (according to Ieromes ſaying alowed off him) were a biſhop: yt muſte needes folowe / that to hauehave a biſhop in euerie churche / ys the inſtitution of God. And becauſe the D. boweth ſo caſely vnderunder the autoritie of men / that he eſtemeth it the beſte proofe: let him vnderſtande that this was the iudgemēt off twoo of the moſte famous mē / which our lande browght forth thes manie yeares. And the ſame alſo executed for the teſtimonie off the truth off god: wheroff one of them amongeſt other thinges / ſuffred alſo for this cauſe nowe in hande.
a The ſixte Article which M. Barnes was condemned for / is this: I vvill neuer belieue, nor can neuer belieue, that one In M. Foxes booke of Barnes, Tindall, &c. fol. 216. or there about.man maie by the lavve off God, be biſhop off tvvoo or three cyties, yea off an vvhole contrey: for that yt is contrary to the doctrine of S. Paul, vvhichwhich vvriting vntounto Titus, commaundeth that he ſhould ordeine a biſhop in eueryevery tovvne: prouing that by the worde elder / the Apoſtell meaneth a biſhop. bM. Hooper vponupon the 8. cō maund. pag. 90.M. Hooper ſhewing that one man may not hauehave two lyuinges / addeth: but this is clavv me, and I vvill clavv the. If the biſhops permitted not their prieſtes to hauehave 2. benefices, it may fortune the prieſtes vvould likevviſe ſay, the biſhop ſhould be biſhop but of one citie. And in deed ſo it ſhould be: and till magiſtrates bring thē to that point, it ſhal he as poſsible to heare a biſhop vvade godly, and ſymply thorovvgh the ſcripture in all caſe off religiō, as to driue a camell thorovvgh the eie of a nedle. A great pitie it is to ſee, hovv far the office off a biſhop is degenerated, from the originall in the ſcripture. It vvas not ſo in the beginning vvhen biſhops vvere at the beſt, as the Epiſtle to Tite teſtifieth: that vvilled him to ordeine in euerie citie of Crete a biſhop. And in caſe there vvere ſuch louelove in them novv, as vvas then tovvardes the people: they vvould ſay them ſelues, there vvere more to doo for the beſt off them in one cytie, then he could doo. They knovv the primitiue church had no ſuch biſhops. vntill the time off Silueſter the firſt, &c. Off thes thinges partly / and partly of that which ſhall be hereafter (God willing) ſpoken / I leaue yt to be eſteemed off the indifferente reader / with how ſmall ether knowledge / or conſcience the D. hathe affirmed that yt can nether be ſhewed by ſcripture / nor confirmed by anie eccleſiaſticall writer / or practiſe off the primitiue churche: that ether eueryevery churche ſhoulde hauehave her biſhop / or that there ſhould be biſhops in villages / and ſmall Cyties.
Thother off the two queſtions remaineth / whether yt can be ſhewed by ſcripture / and by examples off the primatiue churche ▪ that there were in one churche moe biſhops then one. which we might in parte hauehave bene eaſed off / if the anſw. hauing fallen owte with the trwth / were not likewiſe fallē owte with him ſelfe. For he approuing off the teſtimonie off Ierome / which affirmeth elders / and Biſhops all one / and that the elders off a churche choſe one amōgeſte them / which onelyonly kepte the name of biſhop: dothe withall neceſſarily affirme / that before the time that this ordinance was eſtabliſhed / there were diuers biſhops in one church. And in ſaying the word biſhop is not commenly vſed / but Pag. 383.for him that in degree is aboue the reſt: he at vnawares confeſſeth / that there were diuers biſhops in ſome churches / althowgh not commenly. But becawſe he hath a facultie in denying / and affirming withowte ſhewing any reaſon / and that his worde is no bonde to tie him with all / when yt maketh againſte him: ſome thinge alſo muſte be ſpoken / towching this matter. And ſeing I hauehave ſhewed that he is by S. Paules determination / a Biſhop / which is ap…e to teache / and to exhorte / to conuince falſe doctrine / and reproue corrupte maners; and that the Anſ. can not denie but one ſuche alwaies is not ſufficiente / for ſome churches eſpecially where the commoditie of aſſemblies is ſo good / that eueryevery daie the worde off good ys to be preached: yt can not be denied but that there bothe maie / and owght to be moe biſhops in a churche (muche more in a cytie) then one.
And that this was the inſtitution off God / it appearethe by 1. Phil. 1.the practiſe of the churches in thapoſtels times: at Philippos / where Paul expreſly / ſaluteth diuers biſhops: at Epheſus / frō whēce aA &. 20.certein biſhops ſent for / came to Miletū. Likewiſe in the church off b1. Theſſ. 5. 12.Theſſalonica there were diuers Preſidentes / the ſame (by the cPa. 410.D. diuinitie) that Biſhop / or Archbiſhop. And as it was in thoſe churches: ſo yt ys like to hauehave bene in other off greate reſorte to heare the worde off God / and habilitie to enterteine a more plentifull miniſtery. Nether let him (as he is wont) oppoſe vntounto the manifeſt wordes off the ſcripture / Ambroſes expoſition vponupon the place to the Philippians / nor that which goeth vnderunder Ieromes name vponupon the ſame. For as for Ambroſe / a childe may ſee how violently he forceth the texte: and what inconuenience he runnethe into / to make yt agree with the couſtome off his times / wherin this order was for the moſte parte / worne owt. And as for the other / he is a coūterfaicte / and ſo marked not Eraſmus.onelyonly becauſe he contrarieth that which Ierome did plainly teache: but alſo for that the forme off writing / is farre off another complexion.
Yt can not be denied but that this order of God was ſtrickē at by diuers canons off Councels / and that as this was the firſte attempte / which the deuill gaue to abridge the nomber off Biſhops in the churche: ſo yt was more aunciente then that other / off robbing the villages / and ſmall Cyties off their biſhops. VponUpon what rotten groundes this abuſe crepte in / cometh afterward to be conſidered: here yt is to be noted that this corruption was not ſo generall / but that often times yt admitted exception. And notwithſtanding bothe cuſtome / and Canons in that behalfe: good men vponupon occaſion made no conſcience / to ordeine twoo biſhops of one citie. alib. 6. c. 10.Euſeb. maketh mention of Narciſſus / and Alexander Biſhops at ones in one pariſhe. and if yt be true which he reporteth / that the ſame was by reuelation from heauen: yt ys a good argumente / that this voice was as yt were a repeale off that cuſtome / which had bene browght in contrarie to the firſte inſtitution off God. Yt is writtē off Auguſtine / that he was made b Poſsido nius in the life of Auguſtine.biſhop off Hippo / bothe by the inſtante requeſte off Valerius / then another biſhop there / and by the conſente off the Metra politane Biſhop off Carthage. And albeit in conſideration off the canons made to the contrarie / Auguſtine was lothe to take the charge: yet inſtantly required / he accepted yt. cAuguſt. in collat. primi diei cū Donat. Auguſt. in geſtis cum Emerit. Donat.Auguſtine him ſelfe alſo was off aduiſe / that in thoſe places where was a Donatiſte Biſhop / and a catholike / if the Donatiſte returned vntounto the vnitie of the churche / then he ſhould be receiued into the felowſhip off the biſhops office with the catholike biſhop. Where he putteth onelyonly thes exceptions / if the people vvill ſuffer yt: yf becavvſe yt is not accouſtomed, the people vvill beare it. Wherby is cleare / that notwithſtanding it was forbiddē by canons: yet he thowght yt not vnmeet / to hauehave two biſhops in one church / if the people would beare it. and if he were of this aduiſe / notwithſtanding the coūcels to the cōtrary: how much more would he hauehave thought it meet if the church had required / ād made ſute for it?
Alſo it is not to be forgotten / that although this corruption off gyuing the name biſhop to one in a church / from the reſt to whom it did off right belong / be auncient: yet godly men miſliked it / and by all likelihood broke it of. Which Ieromes wordes do apparantly import: this couſtome vvas in the church Ierom. ad Euagr.off Alexandria from S. Mark, vntill Heraclas, and Dionyſius. For onles there were ſome change then: why would he not rather hauehave ſaied / from S. Mark vntill his time? conſidering that all that time / there was continuall ſucceſſion of church / and biſhops. Therfore belike thoſe godly men / ſeing the miſcheif like to enſue of that couſtome / and vnderſtanding that thinges owght to be called to the apoſtolick inſtitution: changed that couſtome. Furthermore it is diligently to be conſidered / that this order off hauing one onelyonly in eueryevery church to hauehave the name of Biſhop / ouerſpred not the church ſoudenly / and at a clap / but entred by litle and litle: Ierom. vponupon the epiſt. to Tite.ſo that it is like there were diuers ages paſt / or euer this had a generall paſſage / thorowgh all the churches in the world. By all which it may appeare / how the Anſ. is abuſed in ſaying / it can not be ſhewed from Chriſtes time, that euer there were two biſhops in one church. Thes thinges being thus laied / let vsus now come to Cyprians Teſtimonies.