Exhortation to the Ministers of Gods Word, Dedication 2
To the right honorable Lord. Henry Buzinski, Treasurer of Polonia. &c. Iosias Simlerus wisheth grace and peace from God.
DOctor Henry Bullinger (right worthy Lord) the minister of our Churche heer at Zurick, whose doctrin and godlynes is right wel knowen vntounto you: hath set foorth in these dayes An exhortatiō to all the ministers of Christes Church, that setting a parte all controsies they might now and last preach true faith in Christe and amendment of life. Which when I had diligētly perused, taken councel & conferēce with the author him selfe, I determined to translate the same out of Dutch into Latin, and so in the name of vsus both to dedicate it to your worthynesse. For sith your honor hath hother vntounto by sundry meanes testified your good wil and looue towards vsus, and that which is moste déer vntounto vsus, doo dayly set foorth your great and earnest zeale in defending and spreading abrode of true and holsom doctrin, we supposed that this simple, yet sincere testimonie of our dutie would not be vnpleasant vntounto your Lordship and that cheefly because of the matter héerin contained. For how much more excellent your zeale is touching the preseruation of true doctrin: so much the more without all dout doo these so many and so gréeuo{us} cōtentions & discords trouble you, wherby the professors of the same pure doctrin are at war the one with the other, to the great offence of a number of simple men & such as are not yet throughly established in true faith. Furthermore sith about two yéeres past, the ministers of your Churches consented and agreed in one, and the same confession of faith which differeth not from the confession of Heluetia, Rhetia, Sabaudia, France, England and Scotland, and so by that menes many controuersies beeing quite taken away and ended which doo yet trouble and vex this our countrey of Germany, established and confirmed mutuall peace and concord amongst thē selues, we (truly) thought by speaking thus vntounto you to showe how glad wee were of the good successe of all your Churches and to giuegive an euident and manifest token of our ioy which we hauehave cōceiued by this your mutuall concord so firmely established, supposing that the endenors of such whiche are the Authors and exhorters of other Churches to the same concord and vnitie would be likewise acceptable vntounto them, and that the trauail of this woork wherin the fountains of discorde are discouered, & waies how to establish peace wisely disclosed, should neither be vain, nor vnprofitable, to take away if any discorde yet remain, and so vtterly extinguish the blasphemous heresies of Samosatenus, and Photinus with the which many Churches are troubled euen at this time.
I am not ignorant how scoffingly Osius and others of that here triumph, against our Churches by reason of these discords, how wunderfully they brag of the vnitie of their Church by meanes wherof they perswade that they onelyonly are the Catholick Church whiche all men ought to follow with their eies fast closed to doo what she commaundeth.
But these their trifles and swelling b… bles of vanitie are long since confute and the foundations found ouer weak whereon they séeke to establish the rui… nous buildings of the rotten Romain s… nagog. There is none which hath neue… so little a taste in the doctrin of the prim… tiue Churche, and that whiche afte… the writings of the Apostles and Prophets hath laboured, the writings of th… fathers (whose authoritie hath eue… more béen regarded) which may not eas… ly sée in how many things the papistical… Religion in these dayes disagréeth fro… the doctrin and maner of gouernment o… the primatiue Churches, to wit, the ancient Apostolick Church euen from th… time of the Apostles by the space of 157… yéeres, he may knowe that; that mona… chie of the Romain Bishop whiche he… challengeth as his proper ouer all common weales and Churches agréeth no… with the primatiue Churche: sith th… Churches of Affrica so constantly resisted in times past Bonifacius ye pope wh… in the time of Saint Augustine affected the like tiranny, yea and the Grecian… neur receiued it. Let those things I pray you which are taught in the popish scholes and Churches touching Iustification and merit{is} of woorks and frée wil be compared with the writings of Saint Augustine whome all men confesse to be a Catholick doctor and then shall it right euidently appéer how far vncatholick those doctors are.
The abstinence from meats whiche the Churche of Roome hath established by lawes, I wil then confesse tobe Catholick, when they shall euidently prooue vntounto me that Montanus was a Catholick Doctor, for euen from his oppinion and iudgement dooth Tertullian fetch arguments (euen such as the Papists doo) against the Psichians by whiche name in times past the Catholick and faithfull were called by the Montanistes as by Clemens Alexandrinus it dooth manifestly appéer. If they wil hauehave the vse of Images catholick in Churches, then let them first confesse that Epiphanius was not a Catholick, who euidently affirmeth it to be a detestable abhomination to hauehave the Image of Christe or any other Saint painted in the Churches of th… Christians. Yea, let them deny Elibert… num tobe called a Catholick whiche forbiddeth to paint on the walles the thing that is worshipped. If their Masse b… Catholick, then is not the Pope Gelasiu… a Catholick, who affirmeth that the substance of bread and wine so remainet… in the Sacrament of the Lords Supp… euen as in Christe dooth safely & soundly remain his two natures. Yea, neither Gelasius nor Cipriane shalbe catholick… which vtterly condemne the deuiding… the Sacraments, so as moste sharply th… one of them punisheth with excommunication all such as béeing contented with the one parte or kinde of the Sacrament abstained from the other.
But to wade through all their trumperies were infinit. For in déed in times past so far did the Scholes of the deuines departe from the Scriptures and fathers that now they are ashamed of a number of things whiche before they publikely taught, so as a certain famouse Doctor calleth these the contentious Doctors out of whose writīg{is} we may not iudge what is the doctrin of the church. And although they séem after a certain sort to agree amongst them selues, yet may not this consent whiche dissenteth from the vnitie of the Scripture, purchace vntounto them the authoritie of the Catholick Churche sith they so many wayes disagrée with the Scriptures whiche is the onelyonly rule of the Church of Christe which onelyonly is the true Catholick Church.
Christe saith, his shéep heare his voice and God the Father from Heauen commaundeth vsus to hear Christe. But these men commaund vsus to folow and acknowledge the voice of the Churche, whiche Church if it gaue eare to ye voise of Christ it were tollerable, but now in stéed of Christes Churche, they thrust vponupon vsus that Church which acknoledgeth the Roomish Pope tobe her hed and is gouerned by him, the chéef members whereof are the sworen Souldiers of the Pope, the Cardinalls and Bishops, in this Church they promise vsus peace and tranquilitie, if wee depend wholly on the onelyonly faith therof and holde fast the Colliers faith so highly commended by Osius, who béeing asked what he beleued, answered: that h… beleeued the very self same thing, whic… the Catholick Church beleueth, and béeing asked again what that Church beléeueth, he answered, she beléeueth the ver… self same thing that he beléeueth, and other answere then this could they ge… none of him. This answere and faith (God wot) dooth Osius commend abooue the moon, and so in sted of the liuely faith he thrusteth vponupon vsus his childish trifles: but if any man that were accused of true Religion, should be brought to examination before the inquisit…s, and Osius should hear him answere thus: that hee throughly beleeued all those thing{is} which are contained in the holy writings of the Prophets and Apostles, the sum wherof is cōtained in ye Apostles créed, he would not be contented with this confession, nor attribute suche honor to the holy Scripture giuen to vsus from God that he would absolue and acquite him from heresy that would make this confession: he would paraduenture say, that this man did not rightly vnderstand the Scriptures, that he wrested the testimonies of them to confirme his euill conceiued oppinions (and so paraduenture this may be aptly spoken of some who abuse the holy Scriptures) and may not I pray you by the like reason the colliers faith be a cloke for errors? for paraduenture vntounto the Colliar the Churche may séeme to beléeue one thing, and vntounto Osius she may séem to beleeue an other.
And truely if there cannot any sure or certain thing be determined by ye woords of the holy Scripture how plain so euer they be: how can there then be any thing determined by the woords of the Church? For it must néeds bee that this sure and catholick faith of their Churche must be showed vntounto vsus, to be layed vp either in the writings of the fathers, or decrées of Councels, or of the popish law or finally in some vn written verities, traditions, and the bosom and chest of the popes hart or of his members. But that there is more light, authoritie and trueth in these writings, then in those that are written by the holy Ghoste, they shall neuer be able to say. If they call back to traditions, who séeth not what an vncertain and slippery foundation they lay, sith in all Churches there was neuer at one time the like tr… ditions, except by the name of traditio… they vnderstand, as the ancient Father… did the Apostles créed. But if they brin… vsus back to the Chest of the Popes bres… that now the same must néeds be ver… christian whiche the Pope at any tim… with his hath decréed, who I pray yo… (if he be in his right minde) can suffe… them? Wherfore sith the foundations of Papistrie be such, it is not to be looked for that from them we should receiue the pe… fet quieting of controuersies of Religion, yea, & what wee may look for from them they hauehave sufficiently in these few yéeres declared, whilest Osius (who otherwise wanteth no woords) hath not set foorth (I wil not say) an Epistle, but not so muche as one line in defence of the doctrine of God against the hereticks whiche deny the Trinitie, and suche as affirme there are thrée Gods, or against the Samosatenists. Wherfore bidding them adue, let vsus constantly embrace the simplicitie of the holy Scriptures, let vsus set the same before vsus as a moste plain rule of all controuersies, for if (setting affections aside and such other lets as are resited in this booke and ioyning earnest praier héervnto) we so doo, it is to be hoped we shall obtaine some tollerable quiet peace and concord of the Church, whiche hope: the lawdable example of your Churches hath confirmed in vsus.
But for asmuch as we are yet very far wide from the mark, we thought good to dedicate this book vntounto your worthynesse, as well to confirme that concorde so well and so godlily begun amongst you, as also to stir you to finish and make perfet that which wanteth, that by your singuler diligence and labour: those also which béeing sedused by the woulues and wander from the true church, may be ioyned and knit vntounto the same.
Moreouer I suppose that if togither with this book of exhortation I should set foorth an euident example of the reconciliating of Churches deuided, it would hauehave the more authoritie and waight, not onelyonly amongst forrain nations, but also cheefely amongst the Germains of whōe if I might obtain this thing, that by your example setting now at last all affections aparte, they would conclude a godly concord and peace in that gréeuous controuersie of the Sacrament, I dout not but many other controuersies would be buryed togither with it. And because we knowe (moste excellent and honourable Lord) that it is a thing which your honor greatly desireth, I thought good to dedicate this little book (bothe in mine owne and the Authors name) vntounto you, to the end bothe you and all your Churches, by example, councel, and all industrie, yea (and that chéefest is) with earnest prayers, might procure and preserue the peace of the church, not onelyonly amongst your selues, but also amongst others.
I beséech God to increase in your honor the gifts of his holy spirit, and graunt you a most long life and health, to the glory of his name which thing also togither with me, euen with all the hart the Author of this Book wisheth vntounto you.
At Zureck the chéef Citie of Heluetia 1572. the last of Ianuary.