Church History of the Government of Bishops and Their Councils, Title page – Preface
Church-History OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BISHOPS AND THEIR COUNCILS ABBREVIATED.
Including the chief part of the Government of Christian Princes and POPES, and a true account of the most troubling Controversies and Heresies till the REFORMATION.
Written for the use especially of them:
I. Who are ignorant or misinformed of the state of the Antient Churches.
II. Who cannot read many and great Volumes.
III. Who think that the Universal Church must have one Visible Soveraign, Personal or Collective, Pope or General Councils.
IV Who would know whether Patriarchs, Diocesans, and their Councils, have been, or must be the cure of Heresies and Schismes.
V. Who would know the truth about the great Heresies which have divided the Christian World, especially the Donatists, Novatians, Arrians, Macedonians, Nestorians, Eutychians, Monothelites, &c.
By RICHARD BAXTER, a Hater of false History.
LONDON: Printed by B. Griffin, for Thomas Simmons at the Princes Arms in Ludgate-Street. MDCLXXX.
THE PREFACE.
THE great usefulness of History needs not many words to prove it, seeing natural inclination it self is so much for it, and reason and experience tell men, that they cannot spare it, as to Natural, Civil, or Religious use. God himself hath highly commended it to us, by writing the Sacred Scriptures so much Historically; yea and making some of it part of the necessary Articles of our Creed. Children that yet understand not the Doctrinal part of the Bible, do quickly take delight in the Historical part; which prepareth them for the rest. Ignorant and ungodly persons that have no true sense of Sacred Doctrine, can yet understand and with lesse aversness and weariness read the history. Melancholy and sad persons who can hardly bear long Doctrinal studies, are often eased and recreated with useful History.
Man is a part of the Vniverse, and every man is a part of the world of mankind, and therefore thinketh the case of the whole to be much of his concerne. And were not narrow selfishnes much of our Pravity, we should take the universal and publick good, and Gods Love to it and Pleasedness and Glory in it, to be much more our end, and the object of our desire and delight, than any personal felicity of our own; It is a Monster of inhumanity in the Doctrine of the Sadducees, Spinosa, Hobbes, and their bruitish followers, that they set up Individual self interest as a mans chiefest end and object of rational Love and desire; and own no Good, but that which Relatively is Good to me, that is, either my personal life and pleasure as the end, or other things as a means thereto: Though Grace only savingly cure this base inhumane maladie, yet common reason beareth witness against it, and only sense, and reason captivated by sense do patronize it. Put not the question to a reasonable man, though wicked, what he can do or doth: But what in reason he should do, and he cannot deny but that he should think of a more excellent person at the Indies, that never will do anything for him, as more amiable than himself, much more many thousands such; And as Goodness and Amiableness are all one, so that which is best, should be loved best: And he that would not die to save his Country is worse than sober Heathens were. And he that would not rather be annihilated than all or halfe the world should be annihilated, is so basely selfish, that I should sooner believe that analogical Reason ruleth some bruites, than that true Reason determineth this mans choice.
Spinosa taketh the Knowledge of our Union with Universal nature (which he calleth God) to be mans perfection and his chief good, in comparison of which sensual Pleasure, Riches and Honour are but troubles further then they are a meanes hereto: And if he had better known God, as the Creator and Governour and end of the material Vniverse which he took to be God, and had joyned [holy Uniteing Joyful Love to the Universe, and specially to the Heavenly Society, and above them all to God himself] unto this Knowledge, and extended it to the perpetuity of an Immortal state, he had been happily in the right, which missing, he became a pernicious seducer of himself and others.
But thus nature and Grace do loudly tell us, that each part should be greatly concerned for the whole, and therefore every one should desire to know as much of the whole, as he is capable, and as tendeth to his duty and delight. And how small a parcel of Time, or Men, or Actions are present or in our daies? How little knoweth he that knoweth no more than he hath lived to see? What Religion can he have who knoweth not the History of Creation, Redemption or the giving of the Holy Ghost, or the planting and propagating the Church, and also what will be when this life is ended?
But it is not all History that is needful or useful to us: There are many things done which we are not concerned to be acquainted with. But the History of the Church, of the propagation of the Christian faith, and what the Doctrine was that was then received, and how it was practised, promoted and defended, and how it was corrupted invaded and persecuted, is of so great use to posterity, that next to the Scripture and the illumination of Gods Spirit, I remember nothing more needful to be known.
When Philip Nerius set up his Oratorian exercises at Rome, as to win the people, they found it necessary to use large affectionate extemporate prayers and expositions and Serm…s, so the next thing found necessary was, to bestow constantly one exercise in opening Church-History to the people. And this did both entice their attentions by delight, and also by fitting reports more to the Papal interest than to the truth, did greatly bewitch them into a confident beliefe, that the Papal sect was all the true Church, and all other Christians were but sectaries and branches broken off and withered, and therefore to be burned here and hereafter (abusing Joh. 15. 5. &c.)
And I have oft thought that the right use of such an Historical exercise, in an ordinary congregation would be of great use to the ignorant vulgar and unlearned zealous sort of Christians: For I find that for want of the knowledge of Church-History, and how things have gone before us in all former times, many errours and sins are kept up that else would more easily be forsaken. To instance in some few.
I. As it was the craft of Baronius (who performed that exercise in Nerius his Conventicles at Rome,) to write afterward his Church-History in Latin so voluminously, that few but the Clergie byassed by interest would read it, and so the Clergy might be the credited reporters of all to the vulgar; so to this day, the Papist-Priests contrive to be the Masters and reporters of Church-History as well as of unwritten Tradition, and to keep the Laity so far ignorant of it, that when they tell men confident stories for their advantage, few or none may be able to contradict them, and so their report must passe as undenyed truth. And thus false History is made the chief foundation of the Roman Kingdom.
Thus they will face you down that you are ignorant or impudent, 1. If you question whether Peter was a true Bishop at Rome, (yea or ever there, which Nilus hath shewed to be somewhat uncertain) 2. Or that he setled the Roman Bishop as his successour in a supremacy over all the Christian world, 3. Or that the Popes Primacie was over all the Churches on earth, which indeed was but (as Canterburie is in England,) in one Roman Empire only. 4. They will perswade you that this Primacie was setled by Christ or his Apostles, which was done only by Councils and Emperours of Rome, 5. They would make you believe that this was from the Apostles daies, which began long after, 6. They would perswade you that all the Christian world submitted to it, even Abassia, and all the extra-imperial Churches, which is no such matter, 7. Yea, that before Luther none contradicted the Papal power and claime, but all the Christian world were Papists. By many such lies they deceive thousands of the ignorant: And when they challenge men to dispute, by word or writing, their last refuge is to bring them into a wood of History, that there they may either win the game or end the chase: And if a Minister of Christ be not armed here, to confute their historical forgeries, they will take it for a victory and triumph, which made me write my last book against Johnson (or Terret) to shew Historically the Antiquity of our Church, and the novelty of theirs (which I could wish young Ministers unacquainted with Church-History would peruse.)
But if our people were truely acquainted how things have gone in the Church from the beginning, it would be one of the most effectual, preservatives against Popery, when now the falsifications are become its strength. I have oft thought that it had been greater policy in the Papists, if they could, to have burnt all Church-History, but specially of the Councils, that the credit might have depended on their bare word: For verily once reading of Crab, Binnius, Surius, or Nicolinus would turn against them any stomack, that is not confirmed in their own disease. But they have overdone Baronius, and now made so great and costly a load of the Councils, as that the deficiency of money, time, wit and patient industry, shall save the most, even of the Priesthood from the understanding of the truth: And such Epitomes as Caranza's leave out most of the culpable part: and yet even such they can hardly tolerate.
II. The more moderate French Papists who magnifie Councils aboue Popes, would make us believe, that though Popes are fallible and may miscarry, yet General Councils, have been the universal Church-representative, which have a Legislative and Iudicial Vniversal power, and that our concord must be by centring in their decrees; and all are Schismaticks at least, that take not their Faith and Religion upon their trust: But if men knew that there never was a General Council of all the Christian Churches but only of the Empire, and how wofully they have miscarried, it would do much to save them from all such temptations.
III. The overvaluers of Church grandure, and wealth, and maintainers of the corrupt sort of Diocesane Prelacy, Patriarks, &c. write books and tell the ignorant confident stories, how such a Prelacy hath been in the Church ever since the dayes of the Apostles, and that all the Churches on earth consented to it: But if the people were acquainted with Church. History they would know, that the primitive fixed Episcopacy was Parochial, or every Church associated for personal present Communion had a Bishop, Presbytery and Deacons of their own: (unfixed Itinerant General Pastors, indefinitely taking care of many Churches): And that it was the Bishops striving who should be greatest, and turning single Churches into an Association of many Churches, and to be but Chappels or parts of the Diocesan Church (that their power and wealth might be enlarged with their Territories) and the turning of Arbitrating Bishops into the Common Indicatures, which must govern all Christians, and such like, which poysoned the Church, and turned the species of particular Churches, Episcopacy, Presbytery and Discipline, quite into another thing. And to speak freely, it was the many blind volumes and confident clamours of some men, that rail at us, as denying an Episcopacy, which the universal Church hath always agreed in, which drew me to write this abridgement of the Church History of Bishops, Councils and Popes.
IV. And those that make the Ignorant believe that seditious disobedient Presbyters have in all Ages been the dividers of the Church, and the Bishops the means of Vnity, concord and suppression of such Schismaticks and Hereticks, could never thus deceive the people, were but so much Church-History commonly known, as I have here collected. Read Church-History and believe that if you can.
V. And many that take up any new opinion or dotage which is but newly broached among them, would have been saved from it, if they …a… but known how that same opinion or the like, was long ago taken up by Hereticks, and exploded by the faitbful Pastors and people of the Church.
VI. And the sectaries who rashly seperate from some Churches, because of some forms, opinions or ceremonies, which almost all Christians on earth have used, in the former purer ages, and still use, would be more cautelous and fearful in examining their grounds, and would hardly venture to seperate from any Church for that, which on the same reason would move them to separate from almost all Christians in the whole world; if not Vnchurch the Church of Christ: And ancient errours and crimes would affright us from imitating them.
VII. And those that make new ambiguous words or unnecessary practices to become necessary to Church Communion, and hereticate all that differ from them, or persecute them at least, would be more frightened from such pernicious courses, if they well knew what have been the effects of them heretofore.
VIII. And it is not unuseful to Princes and Magistrates to see what hath corrupted and disturbed the Churches in f…rmer times: and what cause they have to keep the secular power from the Clergies hands, and to value those that for knowledge and piety are meet for their proper guiding office, and use of the Church Keys: but not to corrupt them by excess of worldly wealth and power, nor to permit them by striving, who shall seem GREATEST, WISEST and BEST, to become the incendiaries of the Church and world, and the persecutors of the best that cannot serve their worldliness and pride.
The Reader must Note, 1. That though much of the History be taken from others, the Councils are named and numbred according to Binnius and Crabbe: 2. And that because so much evil is necessarily recited, I thought it needful in the beginning and end to annex a defence of the Pastors and their office and work, lest any should be tempted to think hardly of Religion and the Church for mens abuses. 3. And if Micrelius, Gutlerbeth, Phili Pareus, Funcius, Carion, Melancthon, Buchotzer, Scultetus, Pezelius, Helvicus, or any other that I have seen, had answered the ends which I here intend, I should have gladly saved my self this labour and have refer'd the reader to them.
The Councils are now published voluminously, and many young students want money and time to read them at large. To such this abridgement may not be unuseful; especially to men that have mistaken the case of the great heresies and hereticators, and would know what Prelacy and Councils have done to the concord or discord of the Churches. The Description of the State of Alexandria recited in the beginning as a Letter from a friend, was from Mr. Clerkson a Learned and worthy Minister (though silenced) now in London.
The Lord pardon and heal our common faultiness, and give better Teachers to his Churches when we are dead and gone, who will take warning by all our errours and miscarriages, especially to escape a wordly spirit, pride, Church-tyranny and schism, and serving the world, the flesh and the Devil, by pretence of Authority from Christ. Amen.
March 31. 1680. London▪