The Cyprianic-Bishop Examined, Title page – Preface
THE CYPRIANICK-BISHOP Examined, and Found not to be a DIOCESAN, Nor to have Superior Power to A Pariſh Miniſter, or PRESBYTERIAN MODERATOR: Being an ANSWER to J. S. his Principles of the CYPRIANICK-AGE, With Regard to Epiſcopal Power & Juriſdiction.
TOGETHER WITH An APPENDIX, In ANSWER to a Railing Preface to a BOOK, Entituled, The Fundamental Charter of PRESBYTERY.
By GILBERT RƲLE, one of the Miniſters of the City, and Principal of the Colledge, of Edinburgh.
EDINBƲRGH, Printed by the Heirs and Succeſſors of Andrew Anderſon, Printer to His moſt Excellent Majeſty, Anno Dom. 1696.
THE PREFACE.
OF this Controverſie about Epiſcopacy, the Learned Vitringa, de Synagog. vet. lib. 2. C. 2. P. 474. hath this Obſervation; à quo tempore Eccleſia Reformati nominis, ſeceſſionem fecit à Pontificia Romana, & diverſam recepit regiminis formam, tantopere praeferbuit litibus, de vero typo Regiminis Eccleſiae, ut nulla controverſia fere eruditorum calamos tam diu, tam ſeriò, & pertinaciter, & tanto utrinque ſtudio & contentione, & vincendi tam ſpe, quam deſiderio, exercuerit, atque haec ipſa. It alſo hath long divided the Church in theſe Nations, and ſeemeth, in our days, to be further from Accommodation, than ever: Presbyterians, on the one Hand, growing daily more and more clear, and confident, that Parity is of Divine Institution, and cannot lawfully be changed, tho' mean while, they have Charity to good Men who are otherwiſe minded: and ſome of our Epiſcopal Brethren, on the other ſide, beginning to talk higher for a Jus Divinum to be for Prelacy, than their Predeceſſors did: and counting all the Societies of Chriſtians which are without Biſhops, to be no Churches of Christ, but a Company of damnable Schiſmaticks; among whom there can be no Salvation: if theſe men be for Peace, let any judge. But it is unaccountable, that in a Matter that Salvation does ſo much depend upon, in their Opinion, they ſhould lay ſo much ſtreſs (as they commonly do) on the Opinions of Men, and the Teſtimonies of the antient Church: ſeing, 1. All, except Papi…s, agree, that Matters of Faith, and which Salvation dependeth on, muſt be determined only by Scripture: and that God ſpeaking in his Word, is the only Judge in ſuch Controverſies. Secondly, The Fathers themſelves plead for this, and diſown both each himſelf, and one another as either Judge, or ſufficient Witneſs in ſuch Debates: Optat. Milevit. contra Parmen. lib. 5. de Coelo quaerendus eſt judex, ſed ut quid pulſamus ad Coelum cum habeamus hic in Evangelio Teſtamentum. Jerom in a Debate with Auguſt. had cited ſeven Fathers for his Opinion, and craved leave to err, (if he did err) with ſo many Learned Doctors, to whom Auguſtine replyed, ipſe mihi pro his omnibus, imò ſupra hos omnes, Apoſtolus Paulus occurit, ad ipſum confugio, ad ipſum omnes qui aliud ſentiunt provoco, &c. Augustin. Hieron. Ep. 19. the ſame August. Ep. 3. Fortunatiano. Neque enim (ſaith he) quorumlibet diſputationes quamvis Catholicorum, & laudatorum hominum velut Scripturas Canonicas habere debemus, ut nobis non liceat ſalva honorificentia, quae illis debetur, aliquid contra &c. and Tom. 2. Ep. 112. Paulinae: nunquid ullo modo Evangelio nos comparabis, aut ſcripta noſtra (he ſpeaketh of himſelf and Ambroſe) Scripturis Canonicis coaequabis? Profecto ſi recte in judicando ſapis, longe nos infra vides ab illa authoritate diſtare. Yea, in particular, this mark of Inſufficiency to prove a Divine Truth, is ſet on Cyprian's Authority, by Auguſtine, l. 2. contra Creſcon. cap. 32. Hujus Epiſtolae authoritate ego non teneor; quia literas Cypriani non ut Canonicas habeo. Et ibid. c. 31. Nos nullam Cypriano facimus injuriam, cum ejus quaſlibet literas à Canononica divinarum literarum authoritate diſtinguimus. Thirdly, It is obſervable, that even the Affrican Fathers, after Cyprian, do not ſpeak ſo high of Epiſcopal Praelation, as Cyprian doth; as Auguſtine, Cited in the Book it ſelf, his ſecundum honorum vocabula, and uſus obtinuit; are two conſiderable Diminutives, and derogate the one from the Degree of Epiſcopal Authority, the other from the Perpetuity and Divine Right of it. And Primaſius Uticenſis calleth the Presbyterate, ſecundus, & penè unus Gradus cum Epiſcopatu; ſicut multis Scripturarum Teſtimoniis comprobatur. In Tim. 1. C. 3. Now theſe two Affrican Biſhops could not but know Cyprian's mind, and therefore they either differed from him in this Matter, or (which I rather think) Cyprian uſed higher, and more keen Expreſſions, for the ſame things, and that out of a peculiar Zeal, that he had for the Dignity of the Church; and to magnifie his Office. Fourthly, It is evident that the Antient Biſhops, and other Divines, when they gave Marks of the True Church, brought them always from the Scripture, not from Humane Teſtimony. Auguſt. Ep. 50. Bonifacio Comiti: in Sanctis Libris ubi manifeſtatur Dominus Chriſtus, ibi & ejus Eccleſia declaratur: Where alſo he Chargeth them with Wonderful Blindneſs, who ſeek Chriſt in the Scripture, and the Church in Humane Writings. Alſo Cyprian. Ep. Coecilio; and in that to Pompeius, proveth that we must follow Chriſt and his written Word only, as our Rule, and not old Cuſtoms and Practices. The ſame thing Gerſon proveth, in a Sermon before the Pope, and aſſerteth that the Scripture is ſufficient for the Government of the Church: and calleth it Blaſphemy to ſay, that it can be better done by mens Inventions. Fifthly, The Antient Biſhops (even ſuch of them as were Holy and Humble,) might have too high Thoughts of their own Praelation, and too much Inclination to greaten it. That Temper appeared among the Apoſtles, while Chriſt was with them. Great Corruptions in the Church have Inſenſibly had their Beginning from Good and Zealous Men. Sixthly, Many Famous and Learned Biſhops, much later than theſe called Fathers, and yet before the Reformation from Popery, held that Biſhops and Presbyters were by Divine Inſtitution every way one, ſo Anſelm Arch-Biſhop of Canterbury on Philip. 1. and Tit. 1. Rich. Armachan. in quaeſt. Armenorum: Aeneas Sylvius, (afterward Pope Pius ſecundus) Ep. 130; which is concerning his Conference with the Miniſters of the Taborites. Alſo in the time of the Reformation, the Engliſh Biſhops and Clergy, who still were Popiſh, in the Book called the Inſtitution of a Chriſtian Man; Chap. of the Sacrament of Orders. Caſſander in his Conſultation Art. 14. ſaith, non convenit inter Theologos, & Canoniſtas, an Epiſcopatus ponendus inter Ordines Eccleſiaſticos: convenit autem inter omnes, Apoſtolorum Aetate inter Epiſcopos & Presbyteros nullum Diſcrimen, &c Seventhly, Even Mr. Dodwell (as high as he is for Epiſcopal Authority,) ſaith, that the firſt Biſhops were made by Presbyters: and that it behoved to be ſo, otherwiſe the Succeſſion could not be ſecured in the firſt times of Perſecution. How this conſiſteth either with our Author's Book or with his own, againſt Separation from the Epiſcopal Chairs, let the Reader judge. It's true, Mr. Dodwell (it is 521, 522.) pretendeth not to be afraid of the Conſequence of this Aſſertion, with Reſpect to the Biſhop's abſolute Power, becauſe Kings alſo are Inveſted by their Subjects, (this Paralell I might, but ſhall not Debate with him,) but how can he, on this Suppoſition, defend their ſole Power of Ordination to be of Divine Right; I cannot ſee, but ſhall be glad to be inſtructed. I inſist not on the Suſpicion, that Cyprian's Epistles are corrupted; tho' Auguſtine Ep. 48. Vincentio; hath theſe words, neque enim potuit integritas atque notitia literarum unius quantumlibet illuſtris Epiſcopi, (Cyprian ſcil.) cuſtodiri quemadmodum Scriptura Canonica, &c. What is ſaid, may derogate much from the Teſtimonies that my Antagonist bringeth, and warrant our putting a ſenſe on them, different from the ſound they have in the Ears of this Author, and ſome others of his Perſwaſion. The Reader may know, that our Debate is not about the Jus, but Factum; not how the Church ſhould be Governed, but how it was done in the Age mentioned. In which, I affirm that tho' it is manifest, that the Biſhop was above the Presbyter in Dignity and Order, yet he did not Rule the Church by himſelf, but the Presbyters had equal Power with him in managing Church-Government.