Vindication of the Dissertations Concerning Episcopacy, Chapter 1 · Section 16
Section XVI.
Of the Churches of Aſia being Metropolitical. Of the paueity of believers.
HAving thus done, they ſay It is objected by ſome men that the ſeven Cities, in which theſe ſeven Aſian Churches had their ſeat were all of them Metropolitical, and ſo had relation to the reſt of the Towns and Cities of Aſia, as unto daughters riſing under them, and that therefore theſe Churches were Metropolitical Churches, and their Angels Metropolitical Biſhops.
2. How this comes to be ſtyled an objection I cannot well gueſſe, or what it is, againſt which it is thought to be objected. The truth of it, as farre as any Epiſcopal perſon I know, is intereſſed in it, is this, It is not onelyonly evident of the Angels of the ſeven Aſian Churches, that they were Biſhops, which is ſufficient for us againſt the Aſſemblers, but there is over and above that, all reaſon to deem them Starres of a firſt magnitude, i. e. Biſhops of Mother-Cities, Metropolitanes and that very pertinent to be urged in this matter of the Aſian Angels, not to ſecure the proofes of Epiſcopacy taken from thence, but to render a reaſon why in all Aſia but ſeven Churches and their Biſhops are named there. To this purpoſe the diſcourſe is inlarged (above what it needed to have been) Diſſert. 4. 5. to ſet downe the nature of Metropolitanes, the exemplars of them among the Jewes, the expreſſes of the Inſtitution in the Apoſtles writings, and the ſignal evidences of it in the Primitive Church, and the Antient Canons in the Councel of Nice and Antioch, and Epheſus, all owning them as Primitive and Apoſtolical Inſtitutions, and all this exemplified in Jeruſalem, in Antioch, in Rome, in Alexandria, in Gortyna of Creet, and at length in all the ſeven Churches of Aſia.
3. What is there thus ſet down, if it have not perfect truth in it, I ſhall be very glad to ſee the weake parts of that diſcourſe diſcovered, and therefore though I never propoſed or meant it as an Objection of ours againſt the Preſbyterians, having no need of ſuch auxiliaries, and the whole matter being ſufficiently proved without, and this onelyonly added ex abundanti, yet I ſhall moſt willingly attend their motions, and ſee what anſwers they will adapt to this Objection, as they call it.
4. And 1. they anſwer, that it will hardly be proved that theſe ſeven. Cities were all of them Metropolitical Cities in S. John's dayes, And the ſcituation of moſt them lying neerer together on the Sea ſide makes it very improbable.
5. To this I reply, that for five of them, Epheſus, Smyrna, Sardis, Pergamus, and Laodicaea, Pliny, that lived and wrote in the beginning of Vespatian's reigne,Lib. 5. …. 29. 30. is a competent witneſſe, that they were Cities wherein the Roman Proconſuls ſixt their Courts or Seats of Judicature, and adminiſtred juſtice there to all the Cities about them, and that is the interpretation of a chiefe City or Metropolis, in the ſecular account, and agreeably Vlpian mentions Epheſus as the chief of theſe Metropoles. And for the other two, Philadelphia and Thyatira, the latter of theſe by*Greg. l. 5 c. 2. Ptolomee, the former by the Councel of Conſtantinople ſub Menâ is punctually affirmed to be a Metropolis. To theſe are added other evidences and reaſons, and the Lord Arch-Biſhop of Armagh hath written (beſides his Original of Metropolitanes) a very learned Diſſertation of the Lydian Aſia, on purpoſe to cleare this matter.
6. And when a thing is ſo largely proved already, and when a ſatisfactory proofe of it in any one of the ſeven Cities is abundantly ſufficient to the aſſerting of Metropolitanes, (for then the Angel of that one was a Metropolitan) 'tis then certainly a very incompetent confutation barely to ſay, that it will hardly be proved, that theſe ſeven Cities were all of them Metropolitical Cities in Saint John's dayes, for if it be proved, it matters now how hardly, and if any one were ſo in S. John's dayes, it matters not, if poſſibly ſome other were not, that one was a Metropolitical Angel, which is all we need inſiſt on.
7. And for the Argument to make it improbable, drawn from the ſituation of the Cities, that is as infirme; for this, as all other controverſies of matters of fact, muſt be waged by authorities of thoſe which were likely to know the truth, and to teſtifie aright, and to thoſe we have all reaſon to adhere, and not to be moved by arguments that ſeeme probable to thoſe that live 1600. yeares after, and are not perhaps ſo perfect Masters of the Geographie of the place as duly to be able to judge even what is in that reſpect moſt probable.
8. Nay for the diſtances of theſe Cities, though I have not now Mr. Brightman by me, yet my notes out of him tell me, that in his ſcale of furlongs, Pergamus was diſtant from Smyrna 540. furlongs, i. e. about 68. Engliſh miles, and Epheſus from Smyrna 320. i. e. about 40. miles, and Thyatira from Pergamus 80. Engliſh miles, which is a diſtance very reconcileable with their being Metropoles.
9. But they are content to ſuppoſe this was true, and then have anſwers ready another way, 1. That it is no good argument from the greatneſſe of the Cities to inferre the greatneſſe of the Churches, for though the Cities were great, yet the Churches were but ſmall, and the number of believers very few in compariſon of the reſt of the people.
10. To this I reply, 1. by conceſſion, that in all places and times the greatneſſe of the Church cannot abſolutely be concluded from the greatneſſe of the City, becauſe it is poſſible that a great City may have utterly reſiſted the faith, and a leſſer City received it; or againe a greater City, that hath received the Faith in ſome of the Members, may yet have fewer believers in it, than another City, which is not ſo great. This therefore is not our way of concluding, from the bare greatneſſe of the Cities, to infer the great number of believers in them.
11. Our way of concluding is this; Paul had ſpent three yeares, Act. 20. 31. in this Lydian or Proconſular Aſia, ver. 18. In this time he had purſued his worke very diligently and zealouſly, not ceaſing to warne every one night and day with teares, and herein his harvest was proportionable to his labour; After two years ſpace and upwards ſpent at Epheſus, it is ſaid, ver. 19. that by the continuance of his preaching and gathering Diſciples, all they that dwelt in Aſia, heard the word of the Lord both Jews and Greeks, and though many were hardned and believed not, and spake evil of that way, ver. 9. yet ver. 17. by ſome extraordinary workes of his, which were made knowne to all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Epheſus, feare fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jeſus was magnified, a converſion in a manner general, and therefore it followes, and many that believed—ver. 18. and ſo mightily grew the word of God and prevailed, ver. 20. Whereupon Saint Paul himſelfe ſpeaking of theſe ſucceſſes, calls it a great dore and an effectual, 1 Cor. 16. 9. which at Epheſus, v. 8. was opened unto him.
12. From hence we conclude, and ſure ſafely may, 1. that in Aſia generally, and eſpecially in Epheſus there was a great number of Chriſtians, before this time of Christs Epistle, (which is not a concluding it barely from the greatneſſe of that or any other Cities of Aſia) Secondly from hence, together with Epheſus's being in the ſecular account (the Notitiae Imperiales) a Metropolis, where the Aſſizes were kept, we conclude that Epheſus was in the Chriſtian account alſo a Metropolis, and the chiefe of all Aſia; and this I hope is not ſo improbable infirme a way of concluding, as the other impoſed on us ſeemed to be.
13. Thirdly, from hence, and from other exemplifications of it (as that Trallis and Magneſia, which appeare to be under the Metropolis of Epheſus, are by Ignatius written to as all Epiſcopal Sees, in our preſent notion of the word Biſhop) we conclude that other Cities of Aſia beſide theſe ſeven, had received the Chriſtian faith, and were certainely taken care for by Paul, which had planted it among them, and agreeably had Rulers ſetled in them, i. e. Biſhops ſubordinate to the Metropolitans. And all theſe inferences I doubt not will appeare regular enough, and I ſhould farther enlarge on them, if there were any thing in the anſwer, which could render it needful or ſeaſonable.
14. As for the paucity of Chriſtians in thoſe times in compariſon of the reſt of the people, that cannot be pertinently oppoſed to our pretenſions, becauſe ſtill the number of Chriſtians in a great City might beare the ſame proportion to the number of the Chriſtians in the ſmaller Cities, that the people in the one did to the people in the other, one thouſand bearing the ſame proportion to one hundred, that an hundred thouſand doth to ten thouſand.
15. And it being the affirmation of Clemens, that the Apoſtles in each City, where they received any proſelytes, though never ſo few, before their parting conſtituted a Biſhop (with his Deacon) who was to be governor foreign, of thoſe that ſhould after believe, it followes unqueſtionably from thence, that in the Cities which had but few Chriſtians, Biſhops might be and were conſtituted, and thoſe very regularly depending on the greater (their Metropolitical) Cities, from whence the faith was derived to them, (as from Epheſus, where Paul chiefly reſided, to the Cities about it) and all this without any need of ballancing the parties, or conſidering what compariſon the number of the Chriſtians in one, or the other, bore to the number of the unbelievers in either City. And let this ſerve by way of Reply to the firſt branch of the ſecond anſwer.