The League Illegal, Document 5
Dr. Featley's Sixteen Reaſons FOR Epiſcopal Government, Which he intended to have delivered in the Aſſembly immediately after his precedent Speech; but was not permitted.
1. THat the name of Epiſcopacy, even as it ſignifieth a degree of Eminency in the Church, is a Sacred and Venerable Title; firſt in holy Scripture aſcribed to our bleſſed Redeemer, who as he is Dominus Dominantium, Lord of Lords, ſo alſo,1 Pet. 2. 25. foreign. Act. 1. 20. Epiſcopus Epiſcoporum, Biſhop of Biſhops, the Shepherd and Biſhop of our ſouls: next to the Apoſtles, whoſe office in the Church is ſtyled by the holy Ghoſt Epiſcope, a Biſhoprick, Let another take his Biſhoprick; though it be tranſlated, Let another take his Office, yet the Original ſignifies not an Office at large, but an Epiſcopal function; that Office which Judas loſt, and Matthias was elected into; which was the Office and Dignity of an Apoſtle: *Ambroſ. com. in Epheſ. cap. 4. v. 10. Apoſtoli ſunt Epiſcopi. Jerom. ad Marcel. Apud nos Apoſtolorum locum tenent Epiſcopi. Cyp. c. 7. l. 3. Apoſtolos, …d eſt, Epiſcopos, & praepoſitos Dominus elegit. Auguſt. in Pſal. 45. loco patrum erunt ſilii, id eſt. Apoſtolorum Epiſcopi. Et ibid. Dilatatum eſt Evangelium in omnibus ſinibus mundi; in quibus principes Eccleſiae, id eſt, Epiſcopi ſunt conſtituti.laſtly to thoſe whom the Apoſtles ſet over the Churches, as namely, to Timothy and Titus, who in the Subſcription of the Apoſtles Letters, Divinely inſpired, are ſtyled Biſhops in the reſtrained ſenſe of the word 2 Tim. 4. written from Rome to Timotheus, the firſt Biſhop elected of the Church of Epheſus; and to Titus, the firſt elect Biſhop of the Church of the Cretians. How ancient theſe Subſcriptions are, it is not certain among the Learned. If they bear not the ſame date with the Epiſtles themſelves (the contrary whereof neither is nor can be Demonſtrated), yet they are undoubtedly very ancient, and of great Authority. And in them the word Biſhop cannot be taken at large for any Miniſter or Presbyter, but for a ſingular perſon in Place or Dignity above other Paſtors; for there were many other Presbyters in Epheſus, both before and beſides Timothy, Act. 20. 27, 28. and in the Iſland of Creet or Candie there muſt of neceſſity be more then one Paſtor or Miniſter. Beſides, St. Paul inveſteth Timothy in Epiſcopal power, making him a Judge of Presbyters, both to rebuke them, 1 Tim. 5. 1 and to prefer and reward them, verſ. 17. and to cenſure them, ver. 19. Againſt an Elder receive no accuſation, but under two or three witneſſes; and giveth to Titus exp…eſly both poteſtatem ordinis & juriſdictionis, of O…der and Juriſdiction; of Order in theſe words, Chap. 1. 5. That thou ſhouldſt ordain Elders in every City; and of Juriſdiction, I left thee in Creet that thou ſhouldſt continue foreign, to correct or red eſſe the things that remained, or thoſe things which the Apoſtle before intended to amend, but had not redreſſed.
2. The Angels of the ſeven Churches, Apoc. 10. 20. were no other in the judgement of the beſt Learned*Aug. Ep. 162. & Comment in Apoc. hom. 2. Ambroſe 1 Cor. 11. 16. Occumenus, Arethas, Marlorat. Pareus in Apoc. c. 1. 2. Policarp. Epiſcopus Smyrnae, Oneſimus Epheſi, Antipas Pergami, &c. Commentators both Ancient and Later, then the Biſhops of thoſe Sees; for in thoſe Provinces or Territories there cannot be conceived to be leſſe then many hundred ordinary Preachers and Paſtors; yet there were but ſeven preciſely anſwering to the ſeven golden Candleſticks. Seven Candleſticks, ſeven lights burning in them, theſe can be no other then ſeven prime Paſtors, who had the overſight of the reſt: for the Errors and Abuſes in all thoſe Churches are imputed to them, and they reproved for not redreſſing them, Chap. 2. 14. Thou haſt them that maintain the Doctrine of Balaam; and verſ 20. Thou ſuffereſt the *Edit, Teclae, it is foreign thy wif, which demonſtrateth that the Angell there ſignifieth one ſingular man of Authority in the Church, and not the whole Clergy of that place, Ep. ad Epiſc. Winton.woman Jezebel to teach, &c.
3. It is confeſſed by Molinaeus, and other Learned Patrons of Presbyterial Government themſelves, that Epiſcopacy is a plant, either ſet in the Church by the Apoſtles themſelves, or their immediate Succeſſors in the firſt and beſt ages of the Church; and is it agreeable to Piety to ſwear the Extirpation of ſuch a plant?
4. It cannot be denyed, that when the Church moſt flouriſhed, and was of far larger extent then now it is, over the face of the Chriſtian World; there was no*Concil. Nice. Can. 5. Conc. Antioch, Can. 6. Concil. Sard. Can. 14. Conc. Chal. Act. 15. c. 29. Ignatius in Ep. ad Philad. Irenaeus l. 3. c. 3. Tertul. l. de baptiſmo. Euſeb. l. 6. c. 40. Jerom ep ad Nepot. Optatus l. 1. cont. Parmen. Amb. in Eph. cap. 4. Baſil Eph. 70. other Government then Epiſcopacy regulated by Divine precepts, and Eccleſiaſtical Canons: and ſhall we ſwear to Extirpate that Government under the which the Church moſt thrived and ſlouriſhed? Shall we ſwear againſt our Prayers, viz. for the rooting out of that, upon which we are enjoyned to pray God to pour down the dew of his bleſſing? Surely the dew of heaven burns not the root of any Plant upon earth, but waters it and makes it grow.
5. They were Biſhops who had the chiefeſt hand, firſt in the plantation of Chriſtian Religion in the dayes of Lutius, King of Britan; and after in the reſtitution in the dayes of Etheldred King of Kent; and in the Reformation of it in the Reign of Edward the ſixth, and Queen Elizabeth: and is it a Religious act to eradicate that Government and Power which both planted and pruned Religion it ſelf?
6. Chriſt died not inteſtate; he made his laſt Will and Teſtament, and by it bequeathed many Legacies to his Church; and among them not onelyonly Catholike Doctrine, but Diſcipline alſo. This Diſcipline, if it be not Epiſcopal Government moderated by Evangelical and Apoſtolical Rules, the whole Church is guilty of the loſſe of a Sacred and Precious Jewel; for certain it is out of Records of all ages of the Church, that no other was ever retained or can be found ſave this, before the Religious Reformer and Magiſtrates of Geneva, having baniſhed their Popiſh Biſhops, were after a ſort neceſſitated to draw a new Plat-forme of Eccleſiaſticall Diſcipline by Lay-Elders. Chriſt, as the Apoſtle teacheth us, was faithfull in the houſe of God, as Moſes: and if Moſes, after his forty dayes ſpeech with God on the Mount, received a Patern from God and delivered it to the Jewes, not only of Doctrine but of Dicipline alſo, which continued till Chriſts coming in the fleſh; it cannot be conceived, but that Chriſt left a Pattern of Government to his Church, to continue till the end of the world: and doubtleſſe, his Apoſtles with whom he converſed forty dayes after his Reſurection, ſpeaking of thoſe things which appertain to the kingdom of God, Act. 3. 1. delivered that to the Church which they received from their Maſter. What Government or Diſcipline was that? There can be conceived but three formes of Government; Epiſcopal, moſt conformable to Monarchy; Presbyterial to Ariſtocracy, and Independent as they tearm it, to Democracy. Presbyterial or Independent it could not be, for Presbyterial is no Elder then the Reformation in Geneva, and the Independent no Elder then New-England; whereas Epiſcopal Government hath been time out of mind, not in one but in all Churches. A and ſith it was not firſt conſtituted by any Sanction of a General Counſel, it follows neceſſarily, according to St. Auguſtins obſervation, that it muſt needs be an Apoſtolical Inſtitution. For what not one Church, but all Churches, not in one age, but all ages, hath uniformly obſerved and practiſed, and no man can define who, after the Apoſtles, were the beginners of it; muſt needs be ſuppoſed to be done by Order or Tradition from them.
7. This form of Government was not only generally received and embraced by Catholicks, but even by Hereticks and Schiſmaticks; who though they ſevered from the Communion of the Church in Doctrine, yet not in Diſcipline. For the Novatians and Donatiſts had Biſhops of their own, from whom they took their names; only*Epiphanius Haereſ 75. p. 295. Aug. ad quod vult Deum. Aëriani ab Aërio quodam ſunt nominati, qui cum eſſet Presbytr, doluiſſe fertur quod Epiſcopus non patuit ordinari, dicebat Presbyterum ab Epiſcopo nulla differentia debere diſcorni. Hieron. in Tit. Aerius, who ſtood for a Biſhoprick, and miſſed it, out of diſcontent broached that new Doctrine wherewith the heads of our Schiſmaticks are ſo much intoxicated, viz. That there ought to be no diſtinction in the Church between a Biſhop and a Presbyter: and for this confounding thoſe Sacred Orders, was himſelf ranked among Hereticks, and ſtands upon record in the Bedrolls of them made by Epiphanius, Anguſtin, and Philaſtrius. It is true, he had other brands on him; but this was the proper mark put upon him by thoſe ancient Fathers, who mention this Tenet of his as Erroneous and Heretical. I grant ſome of the ancient Doctors affirm, That in the beginning, till the prevention of Schiſm made this diſtinction between Biſhops and Presbyters, they were all one in name, as now they are in thoſe eſſential parts of their function, viz. Preaching of the Word, and adminiſtration of the Sacraments. But Aerius was the firſt who profeſſedly oppugned the Eccleſiaſtical Hierarchy, maintaining, That there ought to be no difference and diſtinction between Biſhops and Elders.
8. This aſſertion of Aërius, as in the Doctrine thereof it was defined by the Doctors of the Church to be Hereſie, ſo in the practiſe thereof it is condemned by the great Councel of Chalcedon, to be Sacriledge: To confound, ſay they, the Ranks of Biſhops and Elders, Con. 1. Art. 15. c. 29. Epiſcopum in Presbyteri gradum reducere eſt ſacrilegium. Anatolius Conſtant. Epiſcop. dixit, ij qui dicuntur ab Epiſcopali dignitate ad Presbyteri ordinem deſcendiſſe, ſi juſtis de cauſis condemaantur, nec Presbyteri honore digni ſunt.and to bring down a Biſhop to the inferior degree of an Elder, is no leſſe then Sacriledge. Now I would fain know how that comes to be truth now, which was condemned for Hereſie; and to be Piety now, which was branded for Sacriledge above 1200 agoe.
9. Neither were the Fathers of the Councel of Chalcedon only zealous in this cauſe, which ſo much concerned the honour of the Church: but the other three alſo, whoſe authority St. Gregory held to be the next to the four Evangeliſts and the Doctrine thereof is after a ſort incorporated; into our Acts of Parliament, Eliz. 1. In theſe Councels which all conſiſted of Biſhops, Epiſcopacy it ſelf is almoſt in every Canon and Sanction either Aſſerted or Regulated
10. Next to the Primitive Church, we owe a reverend reſpect to the Reformed Churches beyond the Seas; who either have Biſhops, as in Poland, Tranſilvania, Denmark, and Swethland; or the ſame function is in Nature, though not in Name: to wit, Intendents and Super-intendents; as they would have them if they could, as I underſtood from many Miniſters in France; or at leaſt approve of them, as appeareth by the teſtimony of Beza, Sadiel, Scultetus, and others.
11. What ſhould I ſpeak of the Articles of Religion ratified by a Sequence of Religious Princes ſucceeding one the other, and confirmed by Act of Parliament; to which all Beneficed men are required under pain of loſſe of their livings, within a monethmonth to profeſſe their aſſent and conſent, in which, both the Power and Conſecration of Biſhops and Miniſters is expreſly aſſerted, and their diſtinction from Presbyters? or of the Statute of Carlile, the 15. of Edw. 2. and the firſt of Qu.See Art. 36. & l. de Conſecrat. It is evident to all men reading holy Scriptures and ancient Authors, that from the Apoſtles time there have been theſe three Orders in the Church of Chriſt, and that a Biſhop ought to correct and puniſh ſuch as are unquiet, criminous and diſobedient within his Dioceſs, according to ſuch authority as he hath by the word of God. Eliz. with very many other unrepealed Acts, in which Epiſcopall Government is either related unto, or regulated and confirmed in ſuch ſort, that quite to aboliſh and extirpate it would bring a confuſion, and make a ſtop as well in Secular as Eccleſiaſtical Courts? And therefore our zealous Reformers, if they think themſelves not too good to be adviſed by the Great Counſellor, ought to take heed how they raſhly and unadviſedly pluck up the tares, as they eſteem them, of holy Canons and Eccleſiaſtical Laws, ne ſimul eradicent & triticum, leſt together with thoſe tares (as they count them) they pluck up by the roots the good wheat of many profitable and wholeſome Laws of the Common-wealth and Acts of Parliament.
12. But if the Authority of both Houſes could ſoon cure theſe ſores in precedent Acts of Parliament, yet how will they make up the breaches in the Conſciences of all thoſe, who in the late Proteſtation and this New Covenant, have taken a Solemn Oath to maintain the Priviledges of the Members of Parliament, and the Liberties of the Subject? The moſt Authentical evidence whereof, are Charta Magna, and the Petitionof Right; in both which the Rights of the Church and Priviledges of Epiſcopal Sees, are ſet down in the Forefront in Capital Letters.
13. To ſtrain this ſtring a little higher, the power of granting Congedeliers, together with the inveſtitute of Archbiſhops, Biſhops, and Collation of Deanries, and Prebends, with a ſetled Revenue from the Firſt-fruits and Tenths there, is one of the faireſt flowers in the Kings Crown; and to rob the imperial Diadem of it (conſidering the King is a Perſon moſt Sacred) is Sacriledge in a high degree; and not Sacriledge only, but Perjury alſo in all thoſe who attempt it. For all Graduates in the Univerſity, and men of Ranck and Quality in the Common-wealth, who are admitted to any place of eminent Authority or Truſt, take the Oath of Supremacy, whereby they are bound to defend and Propugne all Preeminences, Authorities, and Prerogatives annexed to the Imperial Crown; whereof this is known to be one inherent in the King, as he is Supreme head of the Church within his Realms, and Defender of the Faith.
14. Yet for all this, admit that Reaſon of State ſhould inforce the Extirpation of Epiſcopacy thus rooted, as it hath been ſaid, both in the Royal Prerogative and Priviledge of the Subject, and in the Laws of the Land; it is a golden Maxim of Law, Poſſumus quod jure poſſumus, we can do no more then lawfully we may. If Epiſcopal Government muſt be overthrown, it muſt be done in a lawful way: not by Popular Tumults, but by a Bill paſſed in Parliament; and that to be tendered to his Majeſty for his Royal Aſſent. And how ſuch a Bill can be preſſed upon his Majeſty, who hath taken an Oath*Vide, Record in Exchequer. I will preſerve and maintain to you and the Churches committed to your charges, all Canonical Priviledges, and I will be your Protector and Defender to my power, by the aſſiſtance of God, as every good King in his Kingdom in right ought to defend the Biſhops, and Churches under their Government, &c. Then laying his hand on the book on the Communion Table, he ſaith, The things which I have before promiſed, I ſhall perform and keep, ſo help me God, and by the contents of this book. at his Coronation, to preſerve Biſhops in their Legal Rights, I muſt learn from our great Maſters of the Law. For by the Goſpel, all inducements to ſin are ſin; and ſolicitations to perjury are tainted with that guilt: neither is there any power upon earth to diſpence with the breach of Oaths lawfully taken.
15. If we deſire that this Church of England ſhould flouriſh like the Garden of Eden, we muſt have an eye to the nurſeries of good Learning and Religion, the two Univerſities; which will never be furniſhed with choice plants, if there be no Prefe…ments and Incouragements to the Students there, who for the far greater part bend their ſtudies to the Queen of all Profeſſions, Divinity; which will make but a ſlow progreſſe, if Biſhopricks, Deanries, Archdeaconries, and Prebendaries, and all other Eccleſiaſtical dignities, (which, like ſilver ſpurs, prick on the induſtry of thoſe who conſecrate their Labours and endeavours to the glorifying of God, in imploying their talent in the Miniſtery of the Goſpel, be taken away. What ſails are to a Ship, that are affections to the ſoul; which if they be not filled with the hope of ſome rewards, and deſerved preferments, as a proſperous gale of wind) our ſacred ſtudies and endeavours will ſoon be calmed: for,*Cic. Tuſc. quaſt. honos alit artes; omneſque incenduntur ſtudio gloriae; jacentque ea ſemper, quae apud quoſque improbantur; Honor nouriſheth Arts; and all men are inflamed with deſire of Glory; and thoſe Profeſſions fall and decay, which are in no eſteem with moſt men. And if there are places both of great Profit, Honor, and Power propounded to Stateſ-men, and thoſe that are learned in the Law, like rich Prizes to thoſe that prove Maſteries; ſhall the profeſſors of the Divine Law be had in leſſe eſteem then the Students and Practicers in the Municipal? And ſhall that Profeſſion only be barred from entring into the Temple of honour, which directeth all men to the Temple of Virtue; and hath beſt right to honour by the Promiſe of God, Honorantes me honorabo, thoſe that honor me, I will honor; becauſe they moſt honour God in every action of their function, which immediately tendeth to his glory?
They will ſay;Ob. That Epiſcopal Government hath proved inconvenient and prejudicial to the State; and therefore the Hierarchy is to be cut down,Sol. root and branch. Of this argument we may ſay, as Cicero doth of Cato his exceptions againſt *Pro Mur. tolle nomen Catonis.Murena, Set aſide the Authority of the Objectors, the Objection hath very little weight in it. For it is liable to many and juſt exceptions, and admitteth of divers Replyes.
Firſt it is ſaid, That Epiſcopal Government is inconvenient and miſchievous, and prejudicial to the State: but it was never proved to be ſo.
Secondly, Admit ſome good proof could be brought of it; yet if Epiſcopacy be of Divine Inſtitution, as hath been proved, it muſt not be therefore rooted out; but the Luxurious ſtems of it pruned, and thoſe additions to the firſt inſtitution from whence theſe inconveniences have grown ought to be retrenched.
Thirdly, If Epiſcopacy hath proved inconvenient, and miſchievous in this age, which was moſt*Statut. Edw. 3. Ann. 25. The Church of England was founded in the ſtate of Prelacy, &c. for we ow to it our beſt laws, made in the Saxon times, and Charta Magna it ſelf: The enion of the two Roſes, York and Lancaſter, the marriage with Scotland; and above all, the Plantation and Reformation of true Religion. See Vindication of Epiſcopacy, pag. 23, 24. See alſo the Statute book of 16 Rich. 2. where the Commons ſhew, That the Prelates were much profitable and neceſſary to their Soveraign Lord the King, and the Realm, &c. beneficial and profitable in all former ages, the fault may be in the Maladies of the Patient, not in the method of Cure. This age is to be Reformed, not Epiſcopacy Abrogated; that the Liberty and looſeneſs of theſe times will not brook the Sacred bands of Epiſcopal Diſcipline, is rather a proof of the integrity thereof, then a true argument of any malignity in it to the State: without which, no effectual†Jerome Adverſ. Luc. c. 4. Eccleſiae ſalus à ſummi ſacerdot…s dignitate pendet, cui ſi non exors quaedam, & ab omnibus eminens detur proteſtas, tot in Eccleſia efficientur Schiſmata, quot ſacerdotes. Cypr. Ep. 3. Non aliunde Haereſes abortae ſunt, aut nata Schiſmata, quan inde quod ſacerdoti Dei non obtemperatur; nec unus in Eccleſia ad tempus ſacerdos, & al tempus judex vice Chriſti cogitatur. means or courſe can be taken, either for the ſuppreſſing Schiſmaticks, or the continuation of a lawful and undenyable ſucceſſion in the Miniſtery.
16. Laſtly, Though ſome of late think they have brought gold, and ſilver, and precious ſtones to build the houſe of God, by producing ſome ſtuff out of Antiquity, to prove the Ordination of Presbyters by meer Presbyters; yet being put to the teſt, it proves meer traſh: for there can be no inſtance brought out of Scripture of any Ordination, without Impoſition of Apoſtolical or Epiſcopal hands; neither hath prime Antiquity ever approved of meer Presbyters laying hands one upon another, but in Orthodoxal Councels revoked, caſſated, and diſannulled all ſuch Ordinations, as we may read in the Apologies of*Athanaſ. Apol. 2. Colithus quidam presbyter in Eccleſia. Alexandrina alios Presbyteros ordinare praeſumpſerat; ſed reſciſſa fuit ejus Ordination, & omnes ab …o conſtituti Presbyteri in laicorum ordinem redacti. See Epiph. Haer. 75. The order of Biſhops begets Fathers in the Church: but the order of Presbyters Sons in Baptiſm, but no Fathers or Doctors. Athanaſius, and elſewhere.
What ſhall I need to add more, ſave the teſtimony of all Chriſtians of what denomination ſoever under the Cope of heaven, ſave only the Muſhrom Sect of Browniſts ſprung up the other night, all who have given their name to Chriſt, and acknowledge and have ſome dependence on either the Patriarch of Conſtantinople in the Eaſt, or of Rome in the Weſt, or of Muſcovia in the North, or of Alexandria in the South, together with the Cophtie, Maronites, Abiſſones, and Chineſes, not only admit of Epiſcopal Government, and moſt willingly ſubmit to it, but never had, or at this day have any other? Neither is this, or can it be denyed by our Aerians: but they tell us, that theſe are Chriſtians at large, who hold many Errors and Superſtitions with the Fundament…ls of Chriſtian Doctrin: their Churches are like oare not cleanſed from earth; like gold not purged from droſs; like threſhed wheat, not fanned from the chaffe; like meal not ſifted from the bran; like wine not drawn off the lees: we are, ſay they, upon a Reformation, and the new Covenant engageth us to endeavour the Reformation of the Church of England in Doctrine, Worſhip, Diſcipline, and Government, according to the Word of God, and according to the example of the beſt Reformed Churches. The beſt Reformed, which are they? whether the remainders of the Waldenſes and Albigenſes in Piemont, and the parts adjoyning; or of the Taborites in Bohemia; or of the Lutherans in Germany; or thoſe that are called after the name of Calvin in France, and elſe where?
Firſt,See alſo G. Abbot in his Tract of the Viſibility of the Church, and in his Anſwer to Hill. for the Waldenſes, the fore-runners of Luther, as he himſelf confeſſeth, they had Biſhops who Ordained their Paſtours; a Catalogue whereof we may ſee in the Hiſtory of the Waldenſes, firſt written in French, and after tranſlated into Engliſh by a learned Herald.
Secondly, for the Luther an Churches, they have Prelates governing them, under the titles of Archbiſhops and Biſhops in Poland, Denmark, and Sw…thland; but under the name of Super intendents & Intendents in Germany: and as for their judgement in the point, it is expreſly fet down in the*Apol. Confeſſ. Auguſtan. c. de numero & uſu Sacrament. Not ſaepe proteſtati ſumn… ſumma cum voluntate conſervare politiam Eccleſiaſticam, & gradus in Eccleſia factos etiam ſumma authoritate: ſcimus enim utili conſilio Eccleſiaſticam diſciplinam have mode quo veteres eam deſcribunt conſtitutam. Apology of the Auguſtane Confeſſion, in theſe words, We have often proteſted our earneſt deſires to conſerve the diſcipline of degrees in the Church by Biſhops. Nay,*Luther Tom. 2. p. 320. Nemo contra ſtatum Epiſcoporum & veros Epiſcopos, vel bonos paſtores dictum putet, quiquid contra hos tyrannos dicitur. Luther himſelf, who of all men moſt bitterly inveighed againſt the Antichriſtian Hierarchy, yet puts water into his wine; adding, Let no man hereby conceive, that I ſpeak any thing againſt the ſtate of Biſhops, but only againſt Romiſh Wolves and Tyrants. Neither are the Lutherans of another minde at this day, witneſs their every-way accompliſhed †Gerard. de Miniſterio Eccleſ. Nemo noſtrum dicit nihil imereſſe inter Epiſcopum, & Presbyterum; ſed agnoſcimus diſtinctionem graduum propter foreign Eccleſiae, ut concordia conſervetur.Gerard: None of us, ſaith he, affirmeth, That there is no difference between a Biſhop, or Presbyter, or Prieſt; but we acknowledge a difference of Degrees, for good Order ſake, and to preſerve Concord in the Church.
Here, me-thinks, I ſee the Smectimnuans bend their brows, and anſwer with ſome indignation: What have we to do with Lutherans who have Images in their Churches, and Auricular confeſſion, and maintain Conſubſtantiation, and Ubiquity, and interciſion of grace, and many other Errors? We are of Calvin, and hold with the Doctrine and Diſcipline of Geneva, which hath no allay at all of Error and Superſtition, but is like the pure Angel-gold.
Here though I might (as many have done) crave leave to put in a Legal Exception againſt the authority of Calvin and Beza in matter of Diſcipline, becauſe they had a hand in thruſting out the Biſhop of Geneva, and the Lay Presbyterian Government was the iſſue of their brain; and we know it is natural for Parents to dote upon their own Children and accompt them far fairer and more beautiful then indeed they are: yet ſuch was the ingenuity of thoſe worthy Reformers, and ſuch is the evidence and ſtrength of Truth, that in this point, concerning the Abolition of Epiſcopacy in the Church of England, I dare chuſe them as Umpires.
Firſt, let *Calv. de neceſſ. reform. Eccleſiae. Talem nobis Hierarchiam ſi exhibeant, in qua ſic emin…ant Epiſcopi, ut Chriſto ſubeſſe non recuſent, ut ab i…o tanquam unico capite pendeant & ad ipſum referantier, in qua ſic inter ſe fraternam ſocietatem colant, ut non alio modo quam e…us verit…te ſint colligati; tum vero nullo non anathemate dignos fateor, ſi qui erunt, qui noa eam reverenter, ſummaque obedientia obſervent.Calvin ſpeak in his exquiſite Treatiſe concerning the Neceſſity of Reforming the Church, the moſt proper place (if any were) clearly to deliver his judgement in this Controverſie; where, having …ipt up the abuſes of the Romiſh Hierarchy, in the end thus he reſolves: Let them ſhew us ſuch an Hierarchy, in which the Biſhops may have ſuch preheminency, that yet they refuſe not themſelves to be ſubject to Chriſt, that they depend upon him as the only Head, and refer all to him, and ſo embrace brotherly ſociety, that they are knit together by no other means then his truth, and I will confeſs they deſerve any curſe, if there be any who will not obſerve ſuch an Hierarchy with reverence and greateſt obedience.
After him, let us hear†Beza de grad. Miniſt. Evang. c. 18. Seſſ. 3. Quod ſi nunc Eccleſiae inſtauratae Anglicanae ſuorum Epiſcoporum & Archi epiſcoporum authoritate ſuffultae perſtant, quemadmodum hoc illis noſtra memoria contigit, ut ejus ordinis homines non tantum inſignes Dei Martyres, ſed etiam praeſtantiſſimos Doctores & Paſtores habuerit, &c. Bezae in that very Book which he wrote againſt Saravia, a Prebend of Canterbury, concerning different Degrees in the Clergy: but, ſaith he, if the Reformed Churches of England remain ſtill ſupported with the authority of their Archbiſhops and Biſhops, as it hath come to paſſe in our memory, that they have had men of that rank, not only famous Martyrs, but moſt excellent Doctors and Paſtours (which happineſs I, for my part, wiſh that they may continually enjoy) &c. Surely, he that ſo highly extolled our Biſhops, and wiſhed that that Order might, like the tree in the Poet, continually bring forth ſuch golden boughs and fruit, would not readily ſwear to endeavour the utter Extirpation thereof.
THE END.