An Apology for the Discipline of the Ancient Church, Part 2 · Section 2

An Apology for the Discipline of the Ancient Church · Part 2 · Section 2

p. 48SECT. II. The words of the Letter.

1. THE firſt riſe of the rottening of the Church, was its falling from a pure poor Presbyterial Church, (which in reſpect of its primitive conſtitution was made up of living ſtones, namely, lively Members, and laborious Miniſters, being firmly faſtened and united to the Lord Jeſus as their onelyonly head by faith: one to another by a fraternal Covenant of love, according to the pattern that was propoſed and preſcribed in both Teſtaments, Iſ. 44.5. Jer. 50.5. Ezra 20.37. Zach. 11.7, 10, 14. 2 Cor. 8.5. Epheſ. 2.13, 19, 22. Col. 2.2, 19. 1 Pet. 2.5.) into an impure and unpoliſhed parochial Church: At that time when (ceaſing to elect and ordain a Teacher, a Paſtour, a Ruler, a Deacon and Diaconeſſe, or a Widow in conformity to the heavenly Canon, Rom. 12.7. and 15.4. and 16.1. compared with 1 Tim. 3.1. and Titus 1.5, 6.) it was well content to admit and accept of a Parſon, a Vicar, a Warden, an Over-ſeer of the poor, and a Mid-wife. By which wiſdome of the fleſh, being no better then enmity againſt God, within a ſhort time after the dayes of the Apoſtles, Chriſts ſpiritual houſe and growing as well as living Temple, was turned and transformed into a carnal and dead Town or Apoſtatizing Pariſh. The very beginning and breeding of which Parochial Church is ſeen to have been in the time of Polycarp and Irenaeus, one of them being an Elder of the Church at Smyrna, and a diſciple of John the Evangeliſt, and the other a Paſtour at Lyons, and a diſciple of that Polycarp, as any man may eaſily perceive, that will peruſe what is to be obſerved in Euſebius Eccleſiaſtical hiſtory. 4. lib. c. 14.15, 16. lib. 5. cap. 23.24.

2. The ſecond degree of the Combinational Churches corruptions was the Cathedral Churches generation, which did preſume to alter, and to elevate the places and appellations of the Teacher, Paſtour, Ruler, and p. 49Deacon, into thoſe unſcripture-like titles of Lord-Biſhop, Dean, Chancellour, and Arch-Deacon, who ventur'd to uſurp the power of excommunication againſt the Members and Miniſters of many Congregations in their Synods and Councels, contrary to what was practic'd in that Orthodoxe pattern, Acts 15.24. which is laid down and left as well for the imitation, as information of after-ages; whoſe work it was by Scripture-proofs to confute ſoul ſubverting poſitions, and to confirme Chriſtian-doctrines, without any manner of authority to cenſure any mans perſon, being that that is the expreſſe priviledge of the Presbyterial Church, 1 Cor. 5.4, 5. 2 Theſ. 3.15. The babe-age of which uſurpation is made mention of, as newly appearing in the world by what was exerciſed by Alexander of Alexandria againſt Euſebius of Nicomedia, as well as againſt Arius in the reigne of Conſtantius and Conſtance the ſonnes of Conſtantine the Emperour, as it is to be ſeen in Lib. 2. Socrat. Schol. c. 3. compared with the 32 cap. of 2 book. Evagr. lib. 1. cap. 6.

3. The third degree of the Presbyterial Churches degeneracy, was its climbing up to the ſtile of a Provincial Church, whoſe Paſtour was not afrai'd nor aſham'd to aſſume the name and office of an Arch-Biſhop, and Metropolitane; leaving the ſervile and ſubſervient titles of Prebende, Surrogate, and Vicar-general, as termes good enough to the inferiour Officers his underlings. Of which proud and prophane Peſt-houſe, that Auſtin which was ſent from Gregory, the laſt of good Biſhops, and the firſt of evil Popes of Rome, is reputed and recorded to have been the father and founder in this Land; even then when he was ſtifly and ſtoutly oppoſ'd by the Monks of Bangor, Anno Domini 596. and in the reign of King Ethelbert, witneſſe Fox Martyrol. page 119. together with the reſt of the Eng. Hiſt. and Evangr. lib. 2.8.

4. The fourth famous degree of the Combinational Churches infamous defection, was its notably naughty enlarging it ſelf into a National Church; when, and whence without controverſie aroſe that Jewiſh imitation, and irregularly Religious obſervation of five frivolous and foundationleſſe cuſtomes and traditions, of which the firſt was of National times, as the fifty yearly Feſtivals, or holy working-dayes, Curſed-Maſſe, Candle-Maſſe, &c. The ſecond, was the National places, as the Conſecrated meeting houſes, Porches, Chancels, Church-yards. The third, was of National perſons, as the Univerſal Preachers, Office-Prieſts, Half-Prieſts, and Dioceſan Deacons. The fourth, was of National pious performances, as ſt…nted Worſhip, Quiriſters, ſinging of Pſalmes with the Rubrique Poſtures. And the fifth was of National payments, or ſpiritual profits, as offerings, tithes, and mortuaries; the which faithleſſe and fantaſtical faſhions were the illegitimate off-ſpring of National Parliaments in this and the Neighbour-Nations. Witneſſe the publick Acts, Statutes and other Ordinances in that behalf.

5. The fifth and higheſt degree of Church-deformity, is the oecumenical Church, otherwiſe call'd Romane Catholique; the which in the apprehenſion of I know not how many Kingdomes is the very beſt, though in p. 50the judgment of Chriſt Jeſus it is the very baſeſt; becauſe the beaſtlieſt and the moſt blaſphemous of all the baſtard-Church conſtitutions, that ever were till now. Witneſſe what is written, Rev. 13.1, 3, 5, 6. whoſe Paſtor and other Presbyters the ſinne-pardoning Pope, Cardinals, Abbots with others, were owned and acknowledged for to be, and that not a few (if not of the ſummond Councels) yet in ſeveral Synods, in ſundry Countries. Inſomuch that Churches abominable iniquities were ſo increaſ'd over their heads, and their trayterous treſpaſſes were ſo grown up to heaven, as that the long-forbearing Lord could no longer forbear, but was put upon it, and as it were neceſſitated for to take vengeance on their inventions, as on Aarons golden Calf, and Samuels grievous connivency at the evils of his ſons, ſpoken of Pſal. 99.6, 8.

SECT. II. The Reply.

THis is your charge you have brought againſt our matter, and you have loaded it with all the aggravations you could think of. It brings to my minde a bill exhibited againſt me in Chancery about thirty years ſince, being the firſt and laſt that I was ever troubled withal, and upon no ground, for ought I know, except for paying another mans debt; when it was brought to my hand, I began to read, and farre I had not paſt, but I found my ſelfe charg'd with foul crimes, of which I was no way guilty. This put me into ſome choler; I champed on the b…t, and vowed to be righted on that man that had ſo falſely ſlandered me, and caſt ſuch foul aſperſions upon my credit and reputation. All this while my Atturney ſtood by, and ſmiled; I gueſſing what the truth was that he laughed at me, fumed and fretted the more; at which he let go the ſleider of his ſides, and burſt into an open laughter; this ſet me on fire to know what the cauſe ſhould be; but his immoderate bounds and curvets of laughing made ſuch ſtops and jumps in his words, that as yet I could perfectly underſtand nothing. Theſe delayes were ſo many ſpurres in my ſides, ſo that I was all this while upon thornes; I could have burſt for anger that my eares were put off from a having a preſent hearing. But at laſt, this mountain brought forth its mouſe; for the man compoſing his countenance, gravely told me, that ſuch words were uſual in theſe bills, and that the Clerks commonly uſed to do ſo pro form…, that they might fill up their ſheets, and that my good name was no way impaired by it; which for the preſent g…ve me ſatisfaction.

Had I not been uſed to read from your party ſuch a bill as this againſt the Church, I ſhould have been as much moved at your charge, as I was at my Chancery bill; but I am now ſatisfied, 'tis pro formâ, it muſt be done, and ſo let it paſſe for this time. Though becauſe I know the particulars in it, you will expect an anſwer, I promiſe you to receive it in its due place.

To the whole, I ſay, you have not drawn up your bill aright; for ſuppoſing the corruptions and deformities you mention, they ſtole not in upon the Church by thoſe degrees you have thought of. It was not the Pariſh that was firſt corrupted, then the Cathedral, after the Province, laſtly the Nation; p. 51as for the Oecumenical Church I know none,, except the Repreſentative in a General Council, which whether it may be corrupted or no, is a diſpute of a high nature. Now. I ſhall ſet you right, that againſt you frame your bill next, you may proceed by a better method. The firſt Church in reſpect of Diſcipline was Cathedral, the next Parochial, the third Dioceſan, the fourth Provincial, and the laſt National; out of all theſe you may if you pleaſe, frame the Oecumenical. Now if you will fancie unto your ſelf corruptions, which I ſhall not deny you in Paradiſe, but altogether in the conſtitution, which is the true queſtion, you muſt proceed by theſe degrees, and not by the former.

Now that this was the firſt conſtitution of the Church, even common reaſon ſhall informe and convince you. The Cathedral muſt needs be firſt, yea ſuppoſe it had been but only Congregational. (That you miſtake me not, do not think I ſpeak of a fabrick or a ſtately building, that came in after; for I ſpeak onelyonly of ſome ſet place, City, or Town, or houſe if you will, where the people of God were gathered to worſhip him; put caſe Jeruſalem, Antioch, &c.) This I ſay muſt needs be firſt; and becauſe the Apoſtles in theſe greater Cities firſt gathered Chriſtians, and were in them for ſome time reſident, therefore theſe Cities had from thence their Appellations, and were called Cathedra Petri, Cathera Jacobi, Cathedra Pauli, Cathedra Marci, &c. which is no other than the place where any Apoſtle, or Apoſtolical man ſeated himſelf, and in that Sede, ſeat or place exerciſed Apoſtolical or Epiſcopal juriſdiction. Tertull. to this purpoſe, Apoſtoli primo conteſtata fide in Jeſum Chriſtum per Judaeam, & Eccleſiis inſtitutis: deinde in orbem profecti, eandem doctrinam ejuſdem fidei nationibus promulgarunt, & proinde Eccleſias apud unamquamque Civitatem condiderunt, à quibus traducem fidei & ſemina doctrinae caetetae exinde Eccleſiae mutuatae ſunt, & quotidie mutuantur ut Eccleſiae fiant, &c. Tertull. de praeſc…ipt. cap. 20. & paulo poſt cap. 26.foreign. Euſeb. l. 3. c. 21. cap. 4. c. 11. cap. 31. lib. 5. c. 7. cap. 3. c. 28. cap. 22, 23, 27. Apud ha… adhuc Cathedrae Apoſtolorum ſuis locis praeſidentur.

2. That which we can in reaſon next reflect upon is the foreign, which is properly the franchiſes of that city; for it is a foul miſtake and abuſe of the word to ſuppoſe that foreign imports a Countrey Village, Hamlet or Townſhip. For Parochia in the prime ſenſe of the word, and in Church Records containes the Citizens of any great City, with all ſuch borderers and ſtrangers as dwelt near, and repaired to any chief Church or City. Euſebius calls Alexandria, Corinth, Jeruſalem, Epheſus, Athens, Lions, Carthage, Antioch, &c. by the name of foreign, and that muſt needs be more than Villages are with us. The very ſame is to be ſeene in the beginning of Clemens firſt Epiſtle to the Romans. Now tell me in reaſon what can be eaſilier conceiv'd, than that the Paſtor, who had his ſeate in the City, would imploy his endeavour next to bring to the faith thoſe who were his next neighbours, and liv'd in the foreign, the Franchiſes, the Suburbs, and neighbourhood. This Parochial Church then muſt be ſecond.

3. Theſe being converted, no queſtion the chief Paſtour did extend his charity, and by all poſſible means ſought to win thoſe who were further off p. 52diſperſed in Towns, leſſer Cities, Vilages and Hamlets; what he could not do by himſelf, being to attend the flock in the City, out of doubt he endeavoured to effect by thoſe he ſent, Gods bleſſing being upon their labours, it fell out as at Samaria by Philips preaching,Acts 8.Acts 8 that many were converted to the faith, and by reaſon of the number that beleeved, they needed a Miniſter of the Word and Sacraments to be reſident among them, and were able and willing to maintain one; To whom could they repair more fitly, than to the Biſhop of the next City, and deſire a fit man to ſerve their neceſſity? and he appointed them their Paſtour and Miniſter, and he and they became ſubject to the Paſtour of the chief City. This is evident to me, Acts 8. in the converſion of Samaria, Socrat. Schol. lib. 1. cap. 19.and in that ſtory of Adeſius and Frumentius that converted the Indians. And now the whole, viz. the City, the foreign, and theſe Villages, Towns, &c. thus converted being under the regiment of this Biſhop, were call'd foreign, that Biſhops Dioceſſe, which was the Original of a Dioceſan Church.

4. But the charity of the firſt planters of Chriſtianity ſtaid not here; they never thought they could bring fiſh enough into Chriſts net. As they were fiſhers of men,The Romane Provinces as I take it, were under Auguſtus Caſar. 22. After Marius thus conquered Syria, Germany, Brittanny, &c. ſo they fiſhed ſtill to catch more, untill they gain'd whole Provinces. (Now a province was a large territory conquer'd by the Romanes, which they put under the government of a Proconſul or Propretor.) Such a tract being converted by the foreſaid endeavours, was put under the government of the foreſaid Biſhop, …nd ſo of a Dioceſan, his Church had the name of Provincial; and becauſe the City where he was reſident was the Metropolis o… Mother-City to that whole Province, and under that many leſſe Cities with their foreign, and Towns and Villages, ſo that Pr…vince being ſo large, that it was not poſſible or not convenient for the Biſhop of the firſt ſeat to over-ſee all as he ought, the…efore prudence taught the Church to appoint Biſhops in leſſer Cities, and to aſſigne them their Dioceſſes, over which yet the Biſhop of the chief Cities ſhould have a ſuperviſion, whom they call'd a Metropolitane, after a Primate, and in ſome Churches a Patriarch, and all the ſubordinate Biſhops under him Dioceſan.

5. And again if this Church conſiſted of Converts of a whole Nation in which there were divers Provinces, as it fell out in Africk two, and Spain three, then the Church had the name of a National Church: and there might be divers Metropolitans in it, and more Primates, of which yet one was chief, and under theſe the foreſaid Dioceſan Biſhops with their Clergy.

Theſe are ſteppes in the judgment of reaſon by which the Church arriv'd to its em…nency; and therefore if it decay and rot by degrees, as you will have it, the corruption muſt begin in the Cathed…al, deſc…nd to Parochial, and thence ſpread to the Dioceſan, Provincial and National, and ſettle in the Oecumenical, if ſuch a local Church can be found.

Beſides that great reaſon, the propagation of the Goſpel, why the Church was at the firſt thus ſetled, one was, the exerciſe of government, and the more convenient adminiſtration of the diſcipline thereof. For being thus diſpoſed, the power of the Keys both in Ordination and Juriſdiction might be more eaſily and prudently turn'd.

p. 53The great Maſters of Policy could never yet acquaint us with any more than three kinds of government, Monarchy, Ariſtocracy, Democracy▪ Monarchy, when the ſupreme power is in one. Ariſtocracy, when it is in more, but thoſe the nobleſt, the beſt, the wiſeſt, the prudenteſt. Democracy, when the people have the power and rule, which if it be in many of them they call Polyarchy, if in a few onelyonly, they terme it Oligarchy. The two firſt of theſe the learned teach us, proceeds a jure divino gratioſ…; for our gracious God having all dominion and power in his hands, is pleaſed out of meer grace to impart of it to one, or ſome choice men, that they may uſe his power, and rule us for our good. But the laſt they inform us, proceeds a jure divin… vindicativo, from an angry and revengeful God, that puts ſuch power in the hand of the many, or few, to make uſe of it for our puniſhment. This is the worſt of the three, and if any man doubt of it, let him call to minde the anſwer that Lycurgus gave to the Lacedemonian, that importun'd him for an erection of a Democratical government in that Common-Wealth; go ſaith he,Plutarch. foreign, and do thou make a trial of that kinde of government in thine own family, and if thou finde it advantageous to make thy ſervants Maſters in thy family, then renew this ſuit, and I will hear it. This is abſurd in nature, in policy. In nature any body with two heads is monſtrous, and in policy a Ship govern'd by two Pilots, or an Army ſway'd by two Generals with an equal power, hath not been reade of to have good ſucceſſe.

To apply this to my purpoſe. The Church of God is a ſociety, and then it muſt be govern'd one of theſe wayes. Either by one, or by the beſt, o… the moſt. If either of the firſt two wayes, then it is a Deo propitio; if the laſt, a Deo irato; for I could evidently prove to you if I liſt, that Democracy is a conſequent of Gods anger. Now for the government of the Church there are who ſtrain the pinne too high, there are who let it down too low; bewixt both lies the medium.

1. Thoſe of Rome that they may advance that man of ſinne, and make him an oecumenical Biſhop, contend hotly for a Monarchy. The Biſhop forſooth of Rome muſt be accounted the ſole Monarch of the whole Church, and be put into the definition of it, ſo that no Pope, no Church. But we acknowledge no ſuch Monarchy, nor no ſuch Monarch. Chriſt Jeſus alone is the ſole head of this body, as it comprehends the Church Militant and Triumphant.

Neither are Bellarmines arguments of any validity for Papal Monarchy. In a Kingdome ſaith he, is but one King; but Chriſts Church is a Kingdome; therefore. There be in this ſyllogiſme foure termes; for Kingdome in the major is taken for an earthly Kingdome, in the minor for a heavenly, whence it will not follow that becauſe in an earthly Kingdome there muſt be but one King or Monarch, therefore in Chriſts heavenly K…ngdome there muſt be but one alſo. Then beſides there is a great diſparity betwixt earthly Kingdomes and the Church of Chriſt. For the Church Militant remaining one is ſpread in many earthly Kingdomes and cannot p. 54well be ordered like one particular Kingdome, and therefore it follows not though in one particular Kingdome there be many viſible Judges and one ſupreme, that in the Univerſal viſible Church there muſt be one ſupreme.

To that his other popular Argument, that Monarchical government is the beſt, and therefore that undoubtedly, which Chriſt inſtituted for his Church, 'tis ſufficient to anſwer, that a Monarchy is the beſt forme of government in one City or Country; but it follows not, it is beſt in reſpect of the whole world, where the parts are ſo remote, and the diſpoſitions of men ſo various; The Courtiers of Rome go too high.

Ariſt. Ethic. lib. 8. c. 10.2. On the contrary ſide all the Combinational Churches fall too low, who plead ſtifly for the peoples right to govern; the adminiſtration of diſcipline ſay theſe muſt be Democratical. The Papalins are not more hot for one, than they are zealous and contentious for the many-headed multitude. But ſay in good ſooth, whether this can be likely. Even the very Heathen Polititians have branded this kinde of government. Plato Ariſtotle, Lycurgus, profeſſe it is of the three the very worſt, and experience convinceth us it is the worſt: and ſhall any man imagine that Chriſt who ſo loved his Church, that he bought it with his own blood, would inſtitute in it the worſt kinde of government? A diſcipline he left to it; that's confeſſed; and would he leave the rod in the hands of the bellua multorum capitum? credat Judaeus Apella, non ego. Beſides popular government proceeds from vindicative juſtice; 'tis abſurd in nature, 'tis abſurd in policy. But Chriſt was not angry when he gave the Keys, then he was pleaſ'd, then he was reconcil'd to the world; he could not when he was thus affected with love, give them to the people in anger. The end he gave them was to purge his Church, to keep out ſcandals, to keep out Schiſmes, Errours, Hereſies out of his Church; but being in the peoples hands, by this means they are let in, and that not thinly, but in whole ſwarms. Deny if you can ſince the people have griped the Keyes, whether Arianiſme, Atheiſme, Antinomianiſme, Montaniſme, Euthuſiaſme, Anabaptiſme, Familiſme, Quakeriſme, Chiliaſme, Socinianiſme, I want breath to reckon the reſt, hath not polluted, and to uſe your own word, rottened the Church? ſhall we ſay this government is from Chriſt which hath brought forth ſuch effects? The children betray the mother.

And now they are brought forth, the Key you ſo much boaſt of in the peoples hand, hath no power to ſhut them out of the Church; out of your particular Church you perhaps may (though I have good ground to doubt of that too, eſpecially if they grow nume…o is as they do of all Sects.) How I pray was it Arnhem Rotterdam, Amſterdam, New England? what is this to purging of the whole Church? I had thought the Keyes had been given for the benefit of the whole, and not for the cleanſing onelyonly of one ſingle Congregation. Well, keep your own as clean as you can, without ſpot, without wrinkle, and let many of your ſiſter-Combinationals remain defiled as they do, then you may admoniſh, councel, grieve for them, lament over, preſſe your non-communion to them. They'll do as much for you, as you p. 55do for them, but power nor means you have none to mend them, nor they you, and ſo Chriſts Church by commſſiion of the Keys unto ſingle Congregations becomes remedileſſe. If a corrupt or negligent Presbytery do not cenſure their own Members, all the Aſſemblies of the world may not attempt to cenſure any of them,Bayly pag. 112. though moſt apparently they did corrupt a whole Nation with the groſſeſt hereſies or moſt ſcandalous vices.

What can make the houſe of God worſe than a denne of thieves, if this do not? Well, you may perhaps reply, which is indeed all you can ſay for your ſelves, This may be the conſeqent, but not the cauſe: Be it ſo, which for preſent I ſhall give you, but never grant you; even this, were there no more, ſhould rouze you to look about, whether your tenure of your Keyes be good, and your claim and poſſeſſion juſtifiable by clear evidence of Scripture. Shew me the words there written, to…idem ſyllabis, and I will yield. Shew ſuch an evidence as others can, ſicut ne miſi… pater, ſic mittovos, and I will never queſtion the peoples right any more. Nay, I will go lower, ſhew me but one example of the peoples practice in this matter, and I have done. Mr. Cotton ſaw the inconvenience, and with fine diſtinctions ſtrugled what he could to withdraw the power from the people, and I hope in good time, God will open your eyes to ſee this errour, and leave the Keyes in their hands to whom Chriſt bequeathed them.

3. There is but one way left by which the Church can be govern'd, and that is Ariſtocracy. Which is no ſooner named, but all parties ſtrive, and eagerly contend that their title is good to it, as the two women did for the childe. The Presbyters put in for their right, the Independents will have it in their Congregations; but the Prelates will not ſuffer themſelves to be ſo cheated out of their old inheritance, but ſtoutly maintain their Church, and that it is alone to be found among them. With the firſt I am not to skirmiſh at this time; were I, then I ſhould tell them, that Ariſtocracy is not like to be found in their Country-Presbyteries. The ſecond are the men, whoſe claim and title I am to ſhew invalid; and though I have done it in part before, yet I will more clear it here by an evident and demonſtrative argument. The firſt we know, that oppoſed holy ſocieties were Anabaptiſts; the next who followed was John M…rell, who ſtood up for popular government of and in Independent Congregations, whoſe opinion when we object to the Combinational brethren, their common aſſertion is that they are far from Democracy, and ready to forſake their tenet, if that can be demonſtrated. Democracy then even in theſe mens eyes is no lovely and beautiful childe, that at the very name they ſtartle and fly from it, tanquam pedibu… qui preſſerat anguem. And now you ſhall ſee, how I can make it appear, that it is no falſe imputation, and I beleeve I ſhall be able to do it. Let us only caſt our eyes upon the birth of this childe the Combinational Church; and denyed it will not be, that three, ſeven, twenty, thirty, more or leſſe joyn'd together in a holy Covenant made this Church (for the greateſt number I have here named were at firſt ample Congregations.) Theſe as Democritus his atoms which were onelyonly ſimilar parts, falling together made up this body; but by their own confeſſion all this wh…le it was homogeneou…, p. 56one part, equal, every way like to another, it was inorganiz'd, having no diſtinction of parts, nor head, nor eyes, nor hands. Methinks I behold Ariſtotles materia prima, nec quid, nec quale, nec quantum. When they ſaw themſelves Chaos like, they thought it not good to remain thus miſhapen, and therefore they caſt about how they might lick themſelves into ſome form. An Heterogeneo…s body they thought it neceſſary to be, and to have Organs by which they might work; and at laſt their fancies ſuggeſted how they might clap a head to this body, and ſupply it with eyes and hands. They agreed that actu primo they had power ſufficient and authority in themſelves, viz. the power of the Keyes, and therefore they might organize their own body at their pleaſure; upon this thus ſet to work, they elected, they ordain'd, they choſe a Paſtour for their head, and Elders for their eyes, and other Church Officers for their hands, and ſo out of a lump they became a man; of a Homogeneous and Inorganical, an heterogeneous and organical body. At firſt they were but foreign a people, but this foreign had foreign, power and authority in themſelves; for why elſe did they all this! And if this be not an act of Democracy, I muſt profeſſe I underſtand not the name, nor definition of the word; I ſhall take it kindly that any man will informe my ignorance. Yea, but it may be ſaid, that now in organizato corpore this Democracy is at an end; for now it is a well ſhaped creature, it hath a head, it hath eyes, it hath hands, and all other parts in a goodly ſymmetry (though I could ask, what kind of Church was that of Mr. Canns at Amſterdam, which for a time had no Paſtour, that liv'd a long time without Officers or Elderſhip, yet I ſpare you.) Not ſo neither;Anſwer to the thirty two Queſtions. pag. 48. pag. 44. for the people for ought I can ſee, as they had authority in actu primo to elect and ordain, ſo they have authority in actu ſecundo to depoſe and excommunicate their Paſtour and Elders, and ſo to reduce themſelves to what they were in puris naturalibus, from an heterogeneous body to make themſelves homogeneous; from an organiz'd body, to make themſelves inorganiz'd; and either to remain ſo if they pleaſe, or to chooſe again. And for ought I conceive,Cottons Keyes. Mr. Cotton intends no other by his new-coyned and applauded diſtinction of power and authority, and power of liberty; for whatever authority he gives to the Elderſhip, he makes it vain and fruſtaneous without the conſent of the people; and notwithſtanding all the obedience and ſubjection he puts upon the people, yet he gives to them ſuch a power of liberty, that their concurrence with the Elderſhip in every act of power is not onelyonly neceſſary, but authoritativè. In a word, if the people have foreign authority of inſtitution and deſtitution, as your parties ſay, if you ſhould tell me a thouſand times over, I ſhall never beleeve otherwiſe but your Combinational Church is governed by a Democracy.

I hope I have proved ſufficiently what I undertook; and now I returne to my purpoſe, for I leave the deſtructive part, and come to build. And here I ſhall lay that in the foundation, which none but Papiſts for ought I perceive will deny; That our Saviour Chriſt left the Church Militant in the hands of the Apoſtles, and their Succeſſours, and an Ariſtocratical p. 57government, which I ſhall illuſtrate unto you by an induction of particulars.

1. The firſt conſtitute Chriſtian Church we read of in the world,Iſa. 2.3.Isa 2:3 was that of Jeruſalem; for the Law was to come out of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jeruſalem. There the Apoſtles and Diſciples firſt preached; ſo that Eve was not more properly term'd the Mother of all living, then this Church by Theodoret, foreign,Theodoret. the Mother of all believing Churches. From thence, the Apoſtle being to depart, for that they might execute our Saviors command to preach unto all Nations, left the government of that Church unto James the brother of our Lord, not the Apoſtle; and ordained him then the firſt Biſhop.Euſeb. lib. 2.1, & l. 1.19. Jerom Hegeſip. Ambr. Euſeb. 3.11. Hegeſip. 4.22. Jerom. in Iſa. 3. Ambr. in 1 Tim. Ignat. ad Trall. Acts 21.18. Acts 15.Isa 3Acts 21:18Acts 15 Et poſt Martyrium Jacobi — traditur; ſaith Euſebius, Apoſtolos commune concilium habuiſſe, quem oporteret dignum ſucceſſione Jacobi judicari, omneſ que uno concilio, & uno conſenſu Simeonem Cleophae filium decreviſſe, ut Epiſcopatus ſedem ſuſciperet. And if I liſt, I could give you in the Catalogue of the ſucceeding Biſhops, for the firſt ſix hundred years.

To him I doubt not but there was joyn'd a Presbytery, which Jerome calls Senatus Eccleſiae; ſome Collegium Presbyterorum, Ignatius, foreign, which he thus deſcribes, foreign, and they were thoſe Elders preſent with James their Biſhop, to whom Saint Paul went in. And if I ſhall name Judas and Silas for two of them, I am partly aſſured, that I am not miſtaken, becauſe the Decree made by the Synod at Hieruſalem was ſent by them. The government here then was Ariſtocratical.

2.Acts 11.22, 26, 27, 28. cap. 13.1. Origen in Luc. Hom. 6. Euſeb. 3. cap. 35 Ignat. ad Antiochen.Acts 11:22Acts 11:26Acts 11:27Acts 11:28 The next inſtance I ſhall give you for a conſtitute Church is at Antioch. And in this City being the Metropolis of Syria, Barnabas, Paul, and other Prophets and Teachers, Simeon, Lucius, Man…en were ſound: and hither alſo Peter came, Gal. 2.11. Of this Church, Origen, Jerome, and Ignatius who beſt knew it, for he converſed with the Apoſtles, Socrat. lib. 6. cap. 8. make Saint Peter the firſt Biſhop, that Evodius ſucceeded is the teſtimony of Ignatius. He, ſaith he, foreign; Ignatius was the next himſelf, from whom I can give you a clear ſucceſſion to the terme I mention'd.

And thoſe I mentioned, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, &c. I ſhall not doubt to call the Presbytery, of which almoſt in every Epiſtle, Ignatius makes expreſſe mention, as Counſellours, Aſſiſtants, and Co-aſſeſſours of the Biſhop. At Antioch then was an Ariſtocracy alſo.

3. At Epheſus we meet again with a conſtituted Church, where Timothy was made Biſhop by Saint Paul. The ſubſcription of the ſecond Epiſtle ſhews that he was the firſt Biſhop there,Euſeb. lib. 3. c. 4. and Euſebius who ſaw the Records of the Primitive Church affirmes the ſame. That he was ordained by Saint Paul by the hands of the Presbytery, Calvin conceives is beyond queſtion. Now if it be demand…d when Timothy was made Biſhop? it is moſt probable, when Paul was at Miletum.

When the Apoſtles departed from any Church which they had planted, p. 58in that then they appointed a Biſhop. For while they remain'd in or near the place, there was no ſuch need, the Apoſtles ſupplying the wants of thoſe Churches with their preſence, letters or meſſengers, as the cauſe required. But when they were finally to forgo thoſe parts, then they began to provide for the neceſſity and ſecurity of that Church, by ſetling Epiſcopal; power; which in all probability was the reaſon, that they ſo ſoon provided a Biſhop for the Church of Jeruſalem. Saint Paul at this time was to take his leave of the Churches at Aſia; he ſaith it plainly in that Chapter,Acts 20.25.Acts 20:25 that they ſhould ſee his face no more; moſt probable then it is, that at this time he left Timothy to ſupply his place of Epheſus: yea, and that the ſix other Angels of the Churches were then by him ordain'd. Think of theſe ſeven Angels of the Churches what you pleaſe; I ſhall not doubt to eſteem them ſingle perſons and Biſhops, and that upon ſtronger evidence then any can be brought to the contrary. But that's no diſcourſe for this place. I ſuppoſe, that it is very probable, that they were ordain'd at this meeting at Miletum; except you judge that Saint John the Apoſtle ſetled them in thoſe Churches before his baniſhment to Patmos; for in thoſe Churches they had the power, when he wrote the Revelation.

Howbe…t it will ſerve my turn well enough, if they were onelyonly Paſtours with a Presbytery; for this will prove the government then of the Church to be Ariſtocratical.

4. If we come to Rome, there we finde Paul an Apoſtle; and as all Church Records aſſure us, Peter. Biſhop there needed none where they lived.Rom. 16.Rom 16 Presbyters there were then many, Junius, Clemens, Cle…us, Andronicus, Urbane, Tripheus, Perſes. Of theſe, Cletus and Clemens were Biſhops after the Apoſtles Martytdome, and their Succeſours ſo apparent, that I need not recite them.

Euſeb. lib. 2. cap. 24. Hieron. ad Evagr. Origen. Ambroſe.5. What ſhould I ſpeak that Mark was Biſhop of Alexandria, who died ſix years before Peter, in whoſe Church there was a Presbytery? of Titus appointed Biſhop by Saint Paul, and left to ordain in the Iſland Presbyters, and to have juriſdiction? Of Dionyſius the Areopagite, the firſt Biſhop of Athens? Of Archippus at Coloſſe? Of Oneſimus at Philippi? Of Gaius at Theſſalonica? The Records were infinite that I could produce in this kinde. You ſee I have not inſtanced in any but ſuch who were Biſhops, viventibus & videntibus & approbantibus Apoſtolis, that ſo the truth may be apparent. I ſhall not therefore doubt to affirme that the government of the Apoſtolical Churches was by Biſhops, as ſuch who had the chief power, and that it was Ariſtocratical.

Neither can all the Arguments of the Presbyterians any whit enervate this; for you ſee I grant and prove a Presbytery; in theſe two onelyonly lies the difference betwixt them and us. Firſt, that they would have a Presbytery eſtabliſhed by the Apoſtles without a Biſhop, which I ſhall never grant, and I know they can never prove. Secondly, that the power of this Presbytery without a Biſhop, ſhould be the moſt ſupreme in the Church, and that to it, without a Biſhop the Keyes were delivered.

p. 59For this is it which I affirme, that originally the whole power was in the Apoſtles, and by them exerciſed where they ſetled no Biſhop. But to him, where they fixed a Biſhop, they committed their power; yet ſo, that ſo long as they liv'd it was but in ſubordination and dependency on them; for out of queſtion they might have govern'd alone; when therefore they gave any power to others, it was onelyonly delegated, and they loſt not any of their own in giving orders. What therefore Biſhops were to the Apoſtles, that muſt needs all Presbyters ordain'd by the Biſhops be to them; voluntarily aſſumed they were in partem ſollicitudinis & reginimis, and had their power by delegation to aſſiſt in acts deliberative and conſiliary. But by vertue of their order, they had no juriſdiction in cauſes criminal. For in the Scripture there is not any commiſſion extant to meer Presbyters; there is no inſtitution of any power of Regiment in the Presbytery; no conſtitution Apoſtolical, that meer Presbyters ſhould alone, or without Biſhops govern; no example in Scripture of any cenſure inflicted by any meer Presbyters; no ſpecification of any power they had ſo to do. But the contrary to this may well be collected, becauſe to Churches where Colledges of Presbyters were reſident, Biſhops were ſent by Apoſtolical ordination; as Titus to Crete, Timothy to Epheſus, the ſeven Angels to the ſeven Churches, with power of ordination, excommunication, and taking cognizance of cauſes and perſons, even of Presbyters themſelves, as is apparent in th Epiſtles to Timothy and Titus, and in the Revelation. And a more evident example cannot be given then in the Churches of Corinth and Theſſalonica, in both which were Presbyteries; but as then no conſtituted Biſhop: In one of which was an inceſtuous perſon, in the other diſorderly perſons; why did not theſe Presbyters then caſt them out? It was for want of coercive power; the Apoſtle as yet kept that power in his own hand, and therefore adviſeth the Theſſalonians, that if any man obey not his words, 2 Theſ. 3.14, 152 Thess 3:142 Thess 3:15that they ſignifie that man by an Epiſtle to him; they in the mean time ſhould forbear his company, and admoniſh, but not count him as an enemy; that is, eject him by Church cenſure: that they ſhould leave to him in whoſe hand as yet the power was. But at Corinth upon ſignification, he gives order to the Presbytery to execute his ſentence. For I verily abſent in body but preſent in ſpirit, that is, by my Apoſtolical power,1 Cor. 5.3, 4.1 Cor 5:31 Cor 5:4 foreign have already judged or determined; the judgment you ſee was his, the decretory ſentence his, as though I were preſent conce ning him that hath done this deed; In the Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, when you are gathered together, and my ſpirit, that is, my power with you, with the power of our Lord Jeſus …hriſt, that is, which power the Lo d Jeſus Chriſt hath committed unto me, that then you prono nce my ſentence, and deliver ſuch a one to Satan. This ſhewes clearly where the power was ſetled, in the Apoſtle firſt; In them ſecondly; In him it was primative; from him to them it was derivative. All was to be done by his ſpirit.

And that this was ſo, viz. that the Presbyters power was not abſolute, but dependent; not prime, but delegate, there be two teſtimonies; p. 60the one in Ignatius, the other in Cyprian, which ſeems to me to evince it. Ignatius writes to his Church of Antiochia, being then in priſon in Rome; and he gives his Presbyters there this advice, that they rule the flock of Chriſt,Ignat. ad Antioch. untill God ſhould declare who ſhould be their Paſtour. His words are, foreign. The Presbyters were to feed or rule the flock, foreign untill God ſhould ſhew and deſigne him, qui principatum habiturus ſit, as Varlonius renders it, who to be their chief Paſtour. Their government there was to laſt till then; but when God had once deſigned him,Cyprian Ep. 21. their foreign was at an end. The other teſtimony is that in Cyprian, in the caſe of Candida, Numeria and Etecuſa, women that were accuſed to have fallen in the perſecution, and offered incenſe to Idols. Of theſe the Presbyters in the exile of Cyprian the Biſhop took the cognizance, and were ready to paſſe a ſentence upon them; Cyprian interpoſeth, and upon it, cauſa audita, perceperunt propoſiti eas tantiſper ſic eſſe, to remain in the ſtate they were, Donec Epiſcopus conſtituatur, untill the Biſhop ſhould be appointed. Here again, we ſee the verdict ſuſpended till there were a Biſhop, intimating that the prime power of juriſdiction and cenſure was in him, and that without him it might not be lawfully laid on. Nor do I ſee what can be anſwered to theſe two fathers.

Hitherto I have kept my ſelf within the bounds of the Scriptures, and out of them clearly demonſtrated as I ſuppoſe, that the firſt government of the Church was Ariſtocratical. It was in the Apoſtles and the Biſhops which they ſetled with their Presbyteries.

Now ſhould I deſcend lower, and ſhew the practice of the Church, eſpecially for the firſt three hundred years, I ſhould fill a volume; here I could tell you of thoſe famous Presbyteries of Alexandria, in which Origen, Clemens Alexandrinus, Euſeb. lib. 6. Euſeb. l. 6. c. 43. Cypr. lib. 3. Ep. 6.10, 14, 17, 18 19, 21, 22, 24.Pantenus, Hieroclas, were the Presbyters of Rome; in which under Cornelius and Stephen, there were forty ſix Presbyters with many other Officers: Of Carthage in which under Cyprian, as appeares, in many of his Epiſtles which he writ to them in his exile, there were many Presbyters. Of Smyrna, Antioch, Philippi, Magneſia, Trullis and Epheſus, all whoſe Presbyteries are remembred by Ignatius in the Epiſtles he writ to thoſe Churches. This is ſo clear, that it is written as it were with a Sunne beam, and it were ignorance and impudence to deny it. To which, if thoſe who ſo hotly contend for their Presbytery, would adde but theſe two things, which are as evident in Records, as is the Presbytery it ſelf; Firſt, that none of theſe Presbyters were Lay-Elders; and ſecondly, that after the Apoſtles dayes, there never was any Presbytery without a Biſhop, the conteſt were at an end.

One thing onelyonly more I ſhall adde about theſe Presbyteries, that they never were erected but in the greater Cities, where the Patriarch, Primate, Metropolitane, or Dioceſan Biſhop had their ſeats, (pardon me if I ſpeak in the language of thoſe Ancient times) and therefore to diſtinguiſh them from the Presbyters diſperſed in the leſſe Villages and Towns,Conc. Ancyr. Can. 13. Can. Apollon. Can. 37. they were call'd foreign, and ſometime foreign; the Preſbyters p. 61of the City or Metropolis: and their inſtitution was to help the Biſhop in ſacred actions, and to adviſe him in all judicial and Eccleſiaſtical proceedings. In ordination what they were to do,4. Concil. Carthag. cap. 3. is ſet out by the fourth Council of Carthage, cap. 3. Presbyter cum ordinatur, Epiſcopo eum benedicente, manum ſuper caput ejus tenete, etiam omnis Presbyteri qui praeſentes ſunt, manus ſuas juxta manum Epiſcopi ſuper caput illius teneant. 1. Concil Arel. Can. 19. Apollon. Canon. Can 35. Concil. Antioch. Can. 9.A cuſtome which was continued in our Church. And for their juriſdiction, that was limited by another Canon, Presbyteri, ſine conſenſu Epiſcoporum nihil faciant. The Ancyran Councel was before the Nicene, and that of Arles under Conſtantine. So ancient were theſe proviſions about the Presbyters and their power.

But methinks it were worth enquiry, how theſe Presbyteries that ſo long continued in the Church, became in difuſe; for I will not ſay they were ever aboliſh'd, in that I finde them in many Churches after the three hundredth year of Chriſt. I ſhall deliver what I conceive to be moſt probable; and I conjecture theſe to be the cauſes of it.

1. Upon the general prevailing of Chriſtianity, Synods began to aſſemble, and the Paſtours of divers Churches in theſe meetings conferr'd and agreed upon ſuch rules, as they thought needful to be obſerved in all their Churches, which they committed to the over-ſight of the Biſhops in their Dioceſſes; and in caſe they were negligent, the eſpecial ſuperviſion and execution was laid upon the Metropolitane; and if he were ſlack in doing what was enjoyn'd, an appeal was permitted to the Patriarch. This was the firſt occaſion that gave Presbyteries leave to play, by reaſon provincial Synods undertook the debating and reſolving thoſe doubts, and ordered thoſe difficulties which before troubled the Presbyteries. And reaſon it was, that the conſultation and determination of Synods ſhould be preferred before that of Presbyteries, as Courts of greater Judgment, higher power, better experience, and more indifferency.

2. Another reaſon may be, that when Emperours became Chriſtian, all thoſe civil caſes betwixt man and man, which were (to avoid the ſcandal that might ariſe by Law-ſuits among Chriſtians if tryed under Heathen Judges) debated and ended in theſe Presbyteries, fell to be decided and adjudged in the Imperial Courts, and men had reaſon to repair to that ſeat of juſtice which had a ſword and power compulſory to force obſtinatemen to do right to any injur'd party, which the Church Court had not. When the cauſes grew leſſe, the leſſe reſpect was had to the Court and now the Presbytery having leſs to do, weakned & mouldred away by little and little of themſelves.

3. And yet I ſhall venture at a third reaſon. Upon the great peace which the Church enjoy'd, with the priviledges, immunities, and ample endowments granted by Chriſtian Emperours, Magnificent Temples, and goodly fabriques were erected for the publick ſervice of God; ſome there were before, but not ſo many, nor yet ſo beautiful. Theſe commonly were built where the Biſhops had their Seas, and were therefore after call'd Cathedral Churches. In them the Biſhop at firſt with his Presbyters of the City made his reſidence, and to his Court there kept the greater matters of p. 62the whole Dioceſſe or Province referr'd. Found it was that in this Presbytery it was too eaſie a matter for the Biſhop to bear ſo great a ſway, that matters were ended often, as the man was by him friended. The dignities in that Church were in his donation, the dignified were his creatures, were ſubject to him, and many wayes might be diſpleaſed by him, if he would ſeek revenge. This being perceived, brought a great neglect and contempt upon the Presbyters. And the Biſhop taking his advantage thereby made uſe of his power, more than was fit. And if you ſhall ſay, that by this dore corruption entred into the Church, I ſhall not deny it. But then I ſhall rejoyn, that it was not the inſtitution; not in that the Church became Cathedral, Dioceſan, or Provincial; not in that it was govern'd either by a Biſhop, a Metropolitane, a Primate, or a Patriarch with a Presbytery, and ſo was Ariſtocratical; but in that this juſt and regulated power was ill uſed. It was not the conſtitution of the Church that was corrupt, but the Churchmen; and then lay the load upon the right horſe, and fly not violently in the face of your Mother.

Cant. 6.4.Song 6:4For the conſtitution was holy, good and wiſe. God himſelf in the Canticles gives this teſtimony of his Church, that ſhe is terrible as an Army with Banners; if an Army, then ſhe muſt be ordinata; and the order in an Army is, that there be a General, a Major General, Collonels, Captains and Under-Officers. Wiſdome then taught the Church to order her ſelf; and yet ſhe ſate up no other orders then God had appointed. viz. Biſhops and Presbyters, Deacons; theſe onelyonly ſhe prudently marſhall'd; ſome ſhe thought good to place in more eminent degree. Will you then ask me, what are Metropolitans, Primates, Patriarchs? I readily anſwer, gradus in Epiſcopatu, all ſet in the chief places of the Army, for the ſafe guard of the whole, and for the better advantage to fight againſt the enemy. Yea, but who ſet them there? Prudence, and 'tis nere the more to be diſliked for that it was prudentially done; for I muſt tell you that prudence is to bear a great ſway in Church-Diſcipline. The ſubſtance it may not alter, neither hath it; but in the circumſtantials it hath a power; and if Saints Pauls rule be obſerved,1 Cor. 14.40.1 Cor 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order, all's well. What more decent among Church-governours, then that ſome be ſuperiours, ſome ſubordinate; how can order be better obſerved, then making the Church like an Army? Even among the twelve were there not chief Apoſtles? They were all equal Apoſtolatu, all equal in power, yet ſome priority and precedency might be among them. For Peter, James and John are call'd P…llars;Gal. 2. Chryſoſt. in loc. Victor. Antioch. in Mar. cap. 9. Hieron. ad Evagr. Cyprian de ſimplicitate Praelatorum.Gal 2Mark 9 hi tres tanquam Coriphaei, prímas inter Apoſtolos obtinebant: Thus is it with their Succeſſours the Biſhops; they are all pares poteſtate, in the power: he at Eugubium, is as great as he at Rome; he at Tanais, equal with him of Alexandria; for he is ejuſdem meriti, ejuſdem ſacerdotii; that rule of Cyprian being undoubtedly true, Epiſcopatus unus eſt, cujus a ſingulis in ſolidum pars tenetur. But yet for all this, one Biſhop may be ſet in a higher degree then another, and one ſet over another; and I ſhall make little doubt to make m words good out of the Scriptures; for what was Titus and Timothy? were they not more than ordinary p. 63Biſhops? Titus had the charge over the whole Iſle of Crete, Miraeus lib. 4. de Notitia Epiſc. pag. 181. Chryſoſt. H…m. 1. in Titum.in which there were ſeven Biſhops beſides. This was Pauls companion, ſaith Chryſoſtome, that was approved; otherwiſe Paul would not have committed unto him all whole Iſland, and the trial and judgment of ſo many Biſhops. To Timothy, if we beleeve Theodoret and other Ancients, was committed all Aſia the leſſe; in which were queſtionleſſe inſtituted by the Apoſtles many Biſhops. Of the laſt example there may be ſome ſcruple; of the firſt there can be no doubt to any one that liſts not to be contentious: but the Ancient, evident, and conſtant courſe in the Primitive Church to admit of theſe degrees in Epiſcopacy; and to have Primates and Metropolitanes for the calling and guiding of Synods in every Province, is to me a pregnant proof, that this order was either delivered or allowed by the Apoſtles and their Scholars: o… found ſo needful in the firſt government of the Church, that the whole Chriſtian world, till ſome of late fell from it, ever ſince received and continued the ſame.

If you ſuppoſe it came from Rome, you are much miſtaken; for it bore ſway in all the Eaſtern Churches, before the Romane Biſhop was of any great note, power or reputation, or at leaſt had any more precedency then any of the Eaſtern Patriarchs. Socrates relates that the firſt Councel of Conſtantinople, foreign, ordain'd Patriarchs;Socrat. lib. 5.8. may be the title was then given to thoſe who were onelyonly call'd Primates or Metropolitans before, and bounds ſet to their juriſdictions, which any man will judge, that conſiderately reads that place in Socrates.

The truth is this. The name of Patriarch I finde taken in a double ſenſe; largely or ſtrictly. Largely, for a Primate of any Province that was under the chief Patriarch; and ſo there are man… at this day,Brexwoods enquiry of Religion and Languages. as the Abannah the Patriarch of the Aethiopians; or the Primate of Moſco, who is the Patriarch of all Chriſtians under the Muſcovites Empire: The Primates of Sic and Sebaſha, who are the Patriarchs of the Armenians. The Primate of the Jacobites, who hath his Patriarchal Church in the Monaſtery of Saphran, near the City Merdin in Meſopotami…. The Primate of the Maronites, who reſides in Mount Libanu…. The Patriarch of the Neſtorians, who hath his reſidence in Muzal or Moſal. I could give in a liſt of many more of this kinde, as well in Europe as in the Eaſtern Churches; by which it appears, that in a large ſenſe the Prime Biſhops ſet over one or more Provinces may be called Patriarchs.Spalat. lib. 3. c. 10. Sect. 43.44 And it is the judgment of a learned, but unhappy man, that were there more of this kinde erected in Europe, who ſhould have no dependence on Rome, that it would be a ready way to reſtore peace and unity to the diſtracted Church, and to ſhut out the confuſion we groan under. All which are under one or other of thoſe Patriarchs of the Church, as their juriſdictions were limited in the fi…ſt erection; for that is the ſtrict acception of the word.

2. And three they were onelyonly at firſt. The fi…ſt at Rome, the ſecond at Alexandria, the third at Antioch; the firſt had the power in Europe, and in the Weſt; the ſecond in Africa and in the South; the third in Aſia, and over the Eaſt. Neither were their ſeats there placed, as Baronius would p. 64perſwade us, becauſe that the Apoſtles founded thoſe Churches (for were this reaſon good, we ſhould have more Patriarchates than theſe three, there being more Churches planted by the Apoſtles than theſe; neither were all the Churches they founded Patriarchates,Hegeſipp. de excid. Urb. Hieroſ. lib. 3. c. 5. not Corinth, not Epheſius, not Philippi, Smyrna) the reaſon then is that which Hegeſippus the younger hath given, becauſe theſe three Cities were the three Metropolies of the Empire, and ſo the Church in the inſtitution for the ſeats of their Patriarchs followed the ſecular power of the Roman Empire. The dignity of the Cities gave them the dignity and priority of their Seas. And it ſhould ſeeme the erection of theſe three was very ancient, in that when the Alexandrian Patriarch began to incroach upon his neighbours,Concil. Nic. can. 6. the Nicene Council made this Decree, Mos antiquus perduret in Aegypto, Lybia, Pentapoli, ut Alexandrinus Epiſcopus horum omnium habeat poteſtatem, quoniam quidem & Epiſcopo Romano parilis mos eſt, ſimilitèr autem & apud Antiochiam. foreign, ſaith the Canon; it ſeemes even then 'twas an old cuſtome; and the Council of Antioch in the like caſe, though it names not the Churches,Concil. Antioch. c. 9. yet provides to ſecure the rights, foreign, ſecundum antiquam conſuetudinem à patribus noſtris conſtitutam. And again upon the unjuſt claime of the Patriarchs of Antioch over the Biſhops of Cyprus the Epheſine Council decreed, ut ſingulis provinciis pura & inviolata manerent quae foreign,Epheſ. Conc. cap. 8. from the beginning upward they had foreign, according to old prevailing cuſtome. You ſee I do not exſpatiate beyond the bounds of the firſt three Oecumenical Councils, all which confeſſe that theſe Metropolitans, afterward Patriarchs, were no late nor new device; firſt authorized by the Council of Nice, but their right and preheminence was even then an ancient uſage and Canon of the Church, even from the beginning. Now if I may take liberty to conjecture, I may ſtrongly preſume, that the fathers of theſe three Councils had an eye to the conſtitution extant in the Apoſtolical Canons; The Biſhops of every Nation muſt know foreign, the chiefeſt, the firſt,Apoſt. Can. can. 35. the Primate, and willeth him to be foreign, as head among the Biſhops of that Province: who in the Africane Council is called foreign.

Theſe three were the three firſt and moſt ancient of the Patriarchs. To whom the fi ſt Council of Conſtantinople erected that Biſhop into a Patriarch, and for the honour of that City, being now called Nova Roma, gave the Biſhop the ſecond place, next after old Rome, who remains a great Patriarch to this day; and thus there became four. As for the fifth, it was of Jeruſalem, and it obtained the priviledge of a Patriarchate in the fifth general Council.1. Concil. Conſtantinop. can. 5. G. Tyrius de bello ſacro. l. 14. c. 12. Nic. coue. can. 7 Thus the caſe ſtood, Jeruſalem being deſtroyed by Veſpaſian, Caeſarea was made the Metropolis, and ſo is acknowledged in the Nicene Council, and the Biſhop Primate, even to …eruſalem. A great honour they are content ſhould be yielded to the Jeruſalem Biſhop, or Aeliae, as he is there called, according to the old cuſtome, yet manente metropolitanae civitatis propria dignitate, meaning Caeſarea. In the Council of Chalcedon there was a trial paſt betwixt the Biſhop of Antioch, and Juvenal Biſhop of Jeruſalem p. 65about juriſdiction, in which it was decreed that the Phaenicia's and Arabia ſhould be given to the Patriarch of Antioch, and all Paleſtina, Concil. Chalced. Act. 7.Acts 7jure Metropolitico ſhould be under Jeruſalem, and ſo Caeſaria loſt the Metropolitical right, and Jeruſalem was preferr'd, which afterward in the fifth General Council as I ſaid, was advanc'd into the firſt Patriarchate.

And now if you ſhall aske me why I have ſo enlarged my ſelf to diſcover the riſe, the antiquity, the inſtitution of theſe Patriarchs, it was, that you may ſee how the Church was govern'd at firſt. There was no Monarchy in it, no Democracy, but an admirable Ariſtocracy; it was like a well marſhall'd army indeed; it had the Primates after call'd Patriarchs, as it were the Generals; the Metropolitans as Major General, the Biſhops as Colonels. The Biſhops again with their Presbyteries as a Council of warre, The Preſbyters of the C…ty and Countrey as Captaines and under-officers, the people as the ſouldiers under obedience, but without command. Never tell me this was a corruption; for thus it was ab incunabulis Eccleſiae, if credit may be given to all Church ſtories, to Acts of Councils, to Records, to Fathers; and thus it was not in one, but in all Churches throughout the four quarters of the world. And if you ſhall yet demand upon what ground of Scripture this Hierarchy was taken up, Saint Paul ſhall informe you, where he commands, Let all things be done decently, and in order.

Calvin being to ſet down the forme, this very forme of government in the Primitive Church, in the beginning premiſeth theſe words:Calvin. inſtit. cap. 8. Sect. 51, 52, 53, 54. Tametſi multos Canones ediderunt illorum temporum Epiſcopi, quibus plus viderentur exprimere, quam ſacris litter…s expreſſum erat, ea tamen cautione totam ſuam oeconomiam compoſuerunt ad unicam illam Dei normam, ut facilè videas, nihil ferè in hac parte habuiſſe à Dei verbo alienum. And again, Sect. 54. Quod autem ſingulae provinciae unum habebant inter Epiſcopos Archiepiſcopum, quod item in Synodo Nicaena conſtituti ſunt Patriarchae, qui eſſent & ordine & dignitate Archiepiſcopis ſuperiores, id ad diſciplinae conſervationem pertinebat. By this means all inferiour Clergy were better kept in order, informed in their duty, contentions were compoſed, which to uſe his words, ex aequalitate naſcerentur, confuſion was avoided; & diſſentionum ſemina tollerentu…, cum ad unum omnis ſollicitude eſt delata, which he hath out of Jerome; Hieron. ad Evagrium.and if antiquity of the inſtitution may ſatiſfie, Jerom derives it from the Evangeliſt Saint Mark. This form of Government, the ancients call'd the Church Hierarchy; and it is true, that Calvin conceives the name improper; but then I pray mark how with in four lines he ſhuts up his diſcourſe, Verum ſi omiſſo vocabulo, rem intuemur, reperiemu… veteres epiſcopos non aliam regendae Eccleſiae forman voluiſſe fingere, ab ea, quam dominus verbo ſuo praeſcripſit, and he means that which I have ſet down. Men are much miſtaken,Calvin. Epiſt. ad regem Polon. pag. 140, 141. edit. Genev. an. 1576. who conceive Calvin to have been an enemy to this ancient Church-government; let them but reade his Epiſtle that he writes to the King of Poland about the Reformation of the Kingdome, and they will tell me another tale; for he there ſets down to the King the order of the Primitive Church for a patterne, where, ſaith he, there were Patriarchs and Primates, and ſubordinate Biſhops to tye the p. 66whole body together with the bond of concord; And adviſeth the King to eſtabliſh Biſhops in every Province, and over them an Arch-Biſhop and Primate of that Kingdome;Calvin. Inſtit. lib. 4. c. 12. artic. 6. and if the Popiſh Biſhops were true Biſhops, he would allow them ſome authority, not as much as they challenge, but as much as he thinks would ſerve for the right governing of the Church. Not ſo much as they challenge; good reaſon for that, for this would ſet up regnum in regno. Independent for ſoo…h then they muſt be of any but the Pope, which Princes have no reaſon to take well; but if they ſhall be content to move within their proper Orbe of Church-government, he is not againſt it.

Now with Calvin agrees that learned and judicious Zanchy; his words are, Non improbamus patres, quod juxta variam tum verbi diſpenſandi, tum regendae Eccleſiae rationem, Zanch. de relig. Chriſt. cap. 25. Sect. 10, 11.varios quoque miniſtrorum ordines multiplicarint, quando iis liberum fuit, ſicut & nobis, & quando conſtat, id ab illis factum honeſtis de cauſis, ad Ordinem, ad Decorum & ad aedificationem Eccleſia, pro eo tempore, pertinentibus. And thus he begins the next paragraph, Novimus enim Deum noſtrum Deum eſſe Ordinis non confuſionis, & Eccleſiam ſervari Ordine, perdi autem foreign, quo de cauſâ non ſolum in Iſraele, verum poſtea in Eccleſia ex Judeis & gentibus collectâ, multos etiam & diverſos miniſtrorum ordines inſtituit; and about twenty lines after addes theſe words, Hac ſone ratione, quae etiam de Epiſcopis, imo & de quatuor Patriarchis, ante ipſum etiam Concilium Nicaenum creatis, conſtituta ſuerunt, excuſari, defendique poſſe ſentimus.

And that this learned man may give more light and ſtrength to what he delivers in theſe two paragraphs, in his obſervations upon theſe paragraphs he inſerts a very ſober and clear diſcourſe out of Maſter Bucer de diſciplina Clericali, which is very well worth your reading. The ſumme of it is, what I have already ſet down, and Bucers concluſion is, Quia omnino neceſſe eſt, ut ſinguli Clerici ſuos habeant proprios cuſtodes & curatores, inſtauranda eſt, ut Epiſcoporum, ita & Archidiaconorum, aliorumque omnium, quibuſcunque cenſentur nominibus, quibus portio aliqua commiſſa eſt cuſtodiendi gubernandique Cleri authoritas, poteſtas: ſed & vigilantia, & animadverſio, ne quis omnino in hoc ordine ſit foreign. This is the cloſe of Bucers diſcourſe, not onelyonly reciting, but prayſing and commending the conſtitution and cuſtome of the old Church, in the various diſtribution of the Eccleſiaſtical functions and degrees.

I have many years ſince heard a wiſe man affirme, that a little inſight into Natural Philoſophy is apt to make a man an Atheiſt, as a litttle knowledge in Phyſick creates an Emperick, a little ſight in the Law a petty fogger; for it prides men with the confidence of knowledge, and makes them pragmatical: whereas a deep ſearch in any art humbles the man, brings him to the ſight of his own miſtakes, and makes him ſenſible, that truth, as Plato was wont to ſay, lay in the bottome of a deep well, and without labour and a long rope it was not to be fetcht from thence. Was it not ſo with Ariſtotle, with Plato &c? whereas others upon the ſlight ſearch of nature became Atheiſtical, the laſt of theſe by his depth of enquiry, became to acknowledge p. 67the prime cauſe of all things to be foreign, very little differing from that ineffable name, by which God was made known to Moſes foreign.Juſtin. Martyr. Paraenetic. ad Hellenas. Exod. 3.14.Exod 3:14 I am that I am. And the other, not being able to ſearch, why the Euripus ſhould ebbe and flow ſeven times a day, cryed out, O eus entium. This ſhews what a little skill in any ſcience, and what a profound knowledge will do. The one will raiſe ſtrange confidences, and Chimeras in the brain, the other will allay and ſettle them.

He who would be quieted and ſatisfied about Church-government, I could adviſe him to ſearch this point to the depth; for otherwiſe he may be tranſported with ſtrange fancies. His little knowledge may ſwell him too much, and make him over-confident to practiſe upon the Church, and make experiences before he is throughly skilful. Whereas if he will ſtay his pace, and not venture and vent his drugges, till he hath conſulted the Ancients, and ſeen what judgment his fore-fathers, and thoſe that liv'd neareſt the Apoſtolical times gave of them, I beleeve he will not be over-haſty to preſcribe any new doſe; eſpecially when he ſhall finde, that the old was held ſafe and ſufficient to preſerve the health of the Church, and to prevent incroaching diſeaſes.

This courſe if you diſdain and diſlike, you condemn the whole Church of Chriſt from the firſt encreaſing and ſpreading thereof to this preſent age; and preferre your own wiſdome before all the Martyrs, Confeſſours, Fathers, Princes, Biſhops that have lived, dyed, governed in the Church of God ſince the Apoſtles times. How well the height of your conceits can endure to blemiſh and reproach ſo many religious and famous lights of Chriſtendom, I know not. What? all the old Fathers, all the zealous firſt Reformers, all blinde, in compariſon of your ſelves? for my part, I wiſh the Church of God in our dayes may have the grace for piety and prudence to follow their ſteps; and not to make the world believe, that all the ſervants of Chriſt before we liv'd, favoured and furthered the pride of Anti-Chriſt, till now in the fagge end of the world, when the faith of moſt men, and their love and charity are quench'd and decay'd; ſome new lights aroſe to reſtore the Church to that perfection of diſcipline, which the Apoſtles never mentioned, the Ancient fathers and Councils never remembred, the Univerſal Church of Chriſt before us never conceived, nor our chief Reformers never imagined: for they have as you have heard, delineated and commended the old way of diſcipline.

But here befo…e I end my general anſwer, I muſt remove one block which ſome have caſt in my way. For I have heard it objected that theſe Patriarchs were Independents, which I confeſſe in ſome ſenſe is true, becauſe one Patriarch was not to intermeddle in the juriſdiction of another; the Canons of the Church having ſet out the extent of their Provinces, and limited their power. But this will make nothing for the preſent Independency of Combinational Churches; for they had Churches, many Metropolitan ſees, many Dioceſſes under their power and over-ſight. But theſe have but one ſingle Congregation. Thoſe could call Synods through their whole Province, and puniſh any Biſhop or Church-man or other under them: An Independent p. 68dependent Church can call no Synod, nor puniſh nor reforme any member that is not of their own ſociety or Combination. Thoſe were not ſo abſolute neither, but they were bound upon their elections to informe their fellow Patriarchs, and by theit communicatory letters to give accompt of it, and of their faith: The Paſtours of the Combinational Churches are not accomptable to any ſiſter-Church. Laſtly, put caſe, as it ſometimes fell out, that Factions, that Schiſmes, that Hereſies aroſe in their Patriarchates, the Church was not left remedileſſe; for the Patriarch or Church being not able to quell, compoſe, or extirpate them, a General Council was call'd to which they were all inferiour, and to whoſe verdict they were bound to ſtand, as is evident in the caſe of Neſtorius, Dioſcorus, &c. who were depoſ'd by general Councils, and their Hereſies condemned; and the like may be ſaid of Arrius and Eutiches, condemn'd in general Councils; which ſhews that the general Council was the ſupreme judicature, and that the Patriarchs had their dependence on it, and ſo were not abſolute Independents. Now for the calling of theſe and other Councils, they had their warrant and pattern from the Apoſtles, Acts 15. who to redreſſe a contention then aroſe in the Church, call'd that Synod to Jeruſalem, and compoſed it.

And indeed were there no other argument againſt Independent or Congregational Churches,Rutherford peace, plea. c. 7. Concl. 4. Bayly c. 10. (as there be very many and very ſtrong, as you may read in Rutherford and Bayly out of him) yet this one drawn from this Apoſtolike Synod, I ſuppoſe were unanſwerable. No Synod can impoſe Decrees upon any Combinational Church; That's your own Maxime. But this Synod did impoſe her Decrees upon thoſe Churches which you ſay were Combinational: This propoſition is evident in the Scripture, Acts 15. and verſe 22, and 35. Therefore now if this Church of Antioch were ſubject to the authority of Synods, what Church might plead a freedome from the like ſubjection? and conſequently none is Independent.

Thus have I as it were in a Table, preſented you with the plain face of Truth, and ſent it you bare and naked as Truth ſhould be; If the viſage ſeem old, the better; 'tis as I intended it; that hinders not, but ſhe may be comely, venerable, amiable; for he that will reverence and love truth, he muſt do it, becauſe ſhe is an Ancient Matron. For Quod primum, verum, ſed enim in omnibus veritas imaginem aniccedit, p…ſtremo ſimilitudo ſucoedit. Tertull. Praeſ. c. 29. cap. 31.Ex ipſo ordine manifeſtatur, id eſſe Dominicum & verum, quod ſit prius tradijtum; id autem extraneum & falſum, quod ſit poſteriùs immiſſum. A rule which that learned father often inculcates, but nowhere more clearly then in this fourth book againſt Marcion, where he hath theſe words by aggravation:Tertull. l. 4. adverſus Marcion. c. 5. In ſumma ſi conſtat, id verius quod prius, id prius quod eſt ab initio, ab initio quod ab Apoſtolis, pariter utique conſtabit id ab Apoſtolis traditum, quod apud Eccleſias Apoſtolicas fuerit ſacroſanctum; which Chapter is worth your reading, for there the learned man refers the Original of Biſhops to the Apoſtles; intimates their ſucceſſion, which in many Churches he doth more clearly in the thirty ſecond Chapter of his preſcriptions.

p. 69This prime Truth I have here repreſented with her Ancient Officers about her, the Biſhops with a Presbytery; of which in wiſdome ſhe thought fit to raiſe ſome higher, not in Office, but in Degree; ne quid detrimenti Eccleſia capiat. And this advancement was no new device neither, for we read of Metropolitans, and Primates, before the Nicene Council, as I have prov'd after of Patriarchs. Yet all this while, the Church remain'd a pure Virgin; Thebulis being the fi…ſt that corrupted the Church,Hegeſipp. apud Euſeb. l. 4 c. 21. Tertull. becauſe he could not be a Biſhop, as did afterwards Valentinus and Marcion upon the ſame occaſion: and I had almoſt ſaid Tertullian himſelf. This certainly ſhewes that the Office of a Biſhop even then was no contemptible dignity. For certainly the rejection of ſuch men from the over-ſight of a Congregational Church, could never work ſuch men to ſo great diſcontent; Of ſuch parties they were the chief, even after they had failed of their expected hopes. No queſtion they were of Diotrephes minde,John Epi. 3.10 they were foreign, they deſired to be foreign, Primates (ſo old is that word) in the Church; to which becauſe they could not be admitted, they corrupted it with their doctrines. Ambition is by Charron call'd the ſhirt of the ſoul,Charron of wiſdome. being the firſt garment that it puts on, and the laſt that it puts off! for men while there be men, will be of aſpiring minds.

—foreign,

foreign,

foreign.

Even a beggar will ſtrive to be chief of his company, and a tradeſman to be Maſter over thoſe of his own profeſſion; this cannot nor ever will be avoided. Such thoughts have alwayes tickled Church-men. Now to ſatiſfie this deſire, God hath appointed higher places in his Church, and ſo they be deſired in a fair way, and to lawful ends, it is commendable.1 Tim. 3.1. ver. 31. Conc. Afric. Chalced. Sardic. Naz. in Athanaſij vitâ.1 Tim 3:1 This is a true ſaying, ſaith the Apoſtle, If a man deſire the office of a Biſhop, he deſires a good work; and again in the ſame Chapter, they that have uſed the office of a Deacon well, purchaſe unto themſelves foreign, a faire ſtep to aſcend to a higher degree;) as firſt to a Presbyter, then to a Biſhop. And it is written of Athanaſius that he aſcended by all theſe ſteps, till he became Patriarch of Alexandria; then he was ſet upon the higheſt ſtep: and yet this advancement of his, or any other, cannot hinder the government of the Church for being Ariſtocratical, but confirms it rather; ſince in this eminence he was to guide the Church, not according to his own pleaſure, but according to the preſcribed Canons of Synods and Councils; from which if he erred, he was liable to anſwer to the ſupreme Court of an Oecumenical Aſſemblie.

I have you ſee laid the foundation of the Churches government in Ariſtocracy, of which Monarchy and Democracy are the extremes. If you can ſhew me any Church that hath deviated from the middle way, I ſhall confeſſe it to be corrupt. And for the firſt it is eaſie to inſtance; viz. the Romane Church, whoſe Patriarch affects a Monarchy, and his Courtiers and p. 70learned Rabbies the Jeſuites plead ſtifly for it. But then you muſt not take that way you do to prove it; for the erection of Cathedral, Parochial, Dioceſan, Provincial and National Churches through his Patriarchate will never do it; Since theſe were from the beginning in other Patriarchates, and in his too, when no Monarchy was ever dream'd of or challeng'd. That his challenge I acknowledge to be a corruption.

And if any Church ſhall affect Democracy, I ſhall ſay it is corrupted alſo; in that it obſerves not that Apoſtolical rule of government and diſcipline which was then uſed, as I have demonſtrated. It is then a great miſtake in you, to make the Presbyterial or Combinational Church to be the ſole pure and Apoſtolical Church; and that all Churches that are fallen off from that government are corrupted. This if you can confirme fairely and firmly by unanſwerable arguments as you make ſhew of, then you have reaſon to faſten your degeneration and corruption on Cathedrals, Pariſhes, Dioceſſes, Provinces and Nations; but if this can never be done, as I am aſſured it cannot, then I ſhall affirme, that the caſting the Church into Cathedrals, Pariſhes, &c. was not errour, ſince by that the diſcipline of the Church might be better adminiſtred, and the Ariſtocratical government far advanced and furthered.

And ſo having expreſſ'd unto you my thoughts in the general, I now come to examine what you lay to the Churches charge in particular; in the diſcuſſion of which I hope you will give me leave to proſecute my own method; and I ſhall begin with the Cathedral, which you ſay was the ſecond degree, but I conceive it the firſt. Of this your words are.