FOR the good will that wée haue borne vnto you in times past, as long as you con­tinued the kings true subiect, wée cannot a little lament and mourne, that ye neither regarding the inestimable kindenesse of the Kings highnesse héeretofore shewed vnto you in your bringing vp, nor the honour of the house that ye bée come off, nor the wealth of the Country that ye bée borne in, should so decline from your duety to your Prince, that yée should bée seduced by faire woordes and vaine pro­mises of the Bishop of Rome, to winde with him: going about by all meanes to him possible, to pull downe and put vnderfoote your naturall Prince and Maister, to the destruc­tion of the Country that hath brought you vp, and for a vaine glorie of a red Hat, to make your selfe an instru­ment to sette foorth his malice, who hath styrred by all meanes that hée could, all such Christian Princes as would giue eare vnto him, to depose the Kinges highnesse from his kingdome: and to offer it as a pray to them y^t should execute his malice, and to stirre, if hée could, his subiects a­gainst him, in stirring & nourishing rebellions in his realme, where the office and duetie of all good Christian men, and [Page] namely of vs that be Priests, should be, to bring al cōmotion to tranquilitie, all trouble to quietnesse, all discord to con­cord, & in dooing the contrarie, we shew our selues to be but the ministers of Sathan, & not of Christ, who ordeined al vs y^t be Priests, to vse in all places the legation of peace, & not of discord. But since that cannot be vndone that is done, se­cond it is to make amends, & to follow y^e doing of y^e prodigal sonne spoken off in y^e Gospell: who retourned home to his father,Luke. 15. & was well accepted, as no doubt ye might bée, if ye will say as he said, in knowledging your folly, & do as hee did, in retourning home again frō your wādering abroad in seruice of them, who little care what come of you, so y^t their purpose by you be serued. And if you be moued by your con­science, that you cannot take the king our Master as Su­preme head of the Church of England, bicause y^e Bishop of Rome hath heretofore many years vsurped y^e name vniuer­sally ouer all the Church, vnder pretence of the Gospell of Mathew, Mat. 18. saying: Tu es Petrus, & super hanc petram aedi­ficabo Ecclesiam meam: Thou art Peter, & vpon this rocke I wil builde my Church. Surely that text, many of y^e most holy and auncient expositours, wholly doe take to be ment of the faith then first confessed by the mouth of Peter, vpon which faith, confessing Christ to be the sonne of God, the Church is builded, Christ béeing the very lowest foun­dation stone, wherevpon both the Apostles themselues, and also the whole faith of the Church of Christ, by them prea­ched through the world, is founded and builded, and other foundation none can be, but y^t onely, as S. Paul sayth. Fun­damentum aliud, &c. No other foundation can any man lay,1. Cor. 3. besides that which is Christ Iesus. And wher ye thinke y^t the gospel of Luke prooueth y^e same authoritie of y^e Bishop of Rome, Luke. 22. saying▪ Rogaui pro te Petre, vt non deficiat fides tua, & tu [...] aliquando conuersus, confirma fratres tuos. Peter I haue praied for thée, that thy faith should not faile: & thou béeing once conuerted, confirme thy brothers. Surely that speaketh of the fall of Peter, knowen to Christ by his godly [Page] presence, whereof he gaue him an ynckling, that after the time of his fall, he should not dispaire, but retourne againe and confirme his brethren, as he euer, being most feruent of them, was wont to do. The place doth plainly open it selfe, y^t it cannot be otherwise taken, but this to be y^e very meaning of it, and not to be spoken but to Peter. For else his succes­cours must first faile in the faith, and then conuert, and so confirme their brethren. And whereas ye thinke that this place of y^e gospell of Iohn. Pasce oues meas, Féed my shéepe, was spoken onely to Peter, which woords make him shep­heard ouer all, and aboue all: S. Peter himselfe testifieth the contrary in his canonicall Epistle, where he saith to all Priests: Pascite qui in vobis est gregem Christi, 1. Petri. 5. feede the flocke of Christ which is among you, which he bad them do by the authoritie that Christ had put them in, as follow­eth, Et cùm apparuerit princeps pastorum, percipietis immercessibilem aeterne gloriae coronam. And when the chiefe shepheard shal appeare, ye shall receiue the incorrup­table crowne of eternall glory. The same likewise Sainct Paule in the Acts testifieth, saying: Attendite vobis & v­niuerso gregi, in quo vos posuit spiritus sanctus, Act. 20. regere Ec­clesiam Dei, Geue héede to your selfe & to the whole flock, wherein the holy Ghost hath set you to gouerne y^e Church of God. Wherein the originall text, the worde signifying Regere, to gouerne [...], the same woorde that was spoken to Peter, pasce, féede, for it signifieth both in the Scriptures. And that by these woords he was not made and constituted shepheard ouer all, it is very plaine by the fact of S. Peter which durst not enterprise much conuersa­tion amongst the Gentiles, but eschewed it as a thing vn­lawfull, and much rather prohibited than commaunded by Gods lawe, vntill he was admonished by the reuelation of the shéete full of diuerse viandes mencioned in the Actes of y^e Apostles, where if Christ by these woordes. Pasce oues meas, Féed my shéep, had giuē such an vniuersal gouernance to Peter, then Peter being more feruent then other of the [Page] Apostles, to execute Christes cōmaundement, would of his owne courage haue gone without any such new admonitiō, to Cornelius: except peraduēture you would say, that Peter did not vnderstand the sayde woordes of Christ, for lacke of the light, which these latter men haue obteined to perceiue, & therby vnderstand the woords of Christ to Peter, better than Peter himselfe did. And strange also it were, to condēne Pe­ter, as an high traitour of his Master, after his ascention (as he in déed were worthy) if his Master had signified vnto him that y^e Bishops of Rome, by his dying ther, should be heads of all the church, & he knowing by these woords, Pasce oues meas, Féed my shéepe, notwithstanding his Masters high le­gacy & cōmaundement, yet would flée, as he did from Rome, vntil his Master encountring him by the way with terrible words, caused him to retourne. And bicause this history per­aduenture might not weigh against an obstinate minde to y^e contrary, what shall we say to y^e woords of S. Ambrose, de­claring & affirming as great & as ample primacie to Paul, as to Peter, vpon these woords of Paul? Qui operatus est Petro, &c. he y^t wrought for Peter, &c. Thus he writeth. Petrum solum nominat, & sibi comparat, quia primatum ipse acce­perat, ad fundādum ecclesiam: se quoque pari modo electū vt primatum habeat in fundādis Ecclesijs Gentium. Et pau­cis interiectis. Ab hijs ita (que) (videlicet apostolis) qui inter cae­teros clariores erant probatū dicit Paulus donum ꝙ accepit à Deo, vt dignus esset habere primatum gentium, sicut ha­bebat Petrus in praedicatione circumcisionis. Et sicut dat Petro socios viros egregios inter Apostolos, ita sibi iungit Barnabam, qui diuino iudicio ei adiunctus est: gratiam ta­men primatus sibi soli vindicat concessam à Deo, sicut & soli Petro concessa est inter Apostolos, deterunt (que) sibi in­uicē dexteras, &c. Et Paulo post. Quis auderet (inquit Am­brosius) primo Apostolo resistere, nisi alius talis, qui fiducia electionis suae sciens se non imparem, constanter impro­baret quod ille sine consilio fecerat? Which may thus be englished: He nameth Peter onely, and compareth him to [Page] himselfe, for he receiued a Primacie to buylde a Church, and that he in lyke sort was chosen to haue a Primacie in buylding the Churches of the Gentiles. And shortly after it followeth. Of the Apostles, he sayth, his gifte was al­lowed which he had receiued of God, that he might be founde worthy to haue the Primacie in preaching to the Gentiles, as Peter had in preaching to the Iewes. And as he assigned to Peter for his companions, which were the chosen men amongst the Apostles, euen so also doth he take to himselfe Barnabas, who was ioyned vnto him by Gods iudgement: yet did he challenge still to himselfe alone the prerogatiue of Primacie which God had graunted him, as to Peter alone was it graunted among other of y^e Apostles. So that the Apostles of the Circumcision gaue their hands to the Apostles of the Gentiles, to declare their concorde in fellowship, that eyther of them should know that they had receiued the perfection of y^e spirite in the preaching of the Gospel, & so should not néed eyther other in any matter. And shortly after, who should dare resist Peter y^e chiefe Apo­stle, but an other such a one, which by the confidēce of his e­lectiō might know himselfe to be no lesse, & so might reproue boldely that thing, which he inconsideratly had done, &c. This equalitie of dignitie of Paul, which S. Ambrose af­firmeth by Scripture to be equally committed to Peter and Paul ▪ Saint Cyprian and Saint Hierome doe extende to all the Apostles. Cyprian saying thus:De simplicitate clericorum. Hoc erant vtique & caeteri Apostoli, quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio praedi­ti, & honoris & potestatis. Undoubtedly, all the rest of the Apostles were the same that Peter was, endewed with like equalitie of honour and power. And Saint Hierome thus: Cuncti Apostoli claues regni coelorum accipiunt, Contra Iouiniū & ex ae­quo super eos Ecclesiae fortitudo fundatur: All the Apostles receiued the keyes of the kingdome of heauen, and vppon them as indifferently and equally is the strength of the Church grounded and established. Which Saint Hierome also aswell in his commentaries vpon the Epistle to Titus, [Page] as in his Epistle to Euagrius, sheweth that the Premacies long after Christs ascention were made by the deuise of men, where before Communi clericorum consilio, singulae Ecclesiae regebantur etiam Patriarchales: By the common agréement of the Clergy euery of the Churches were go­uerned, yea the Patriarchal Churhes. The wordes of S. Hierome be these. Sciant ergò episcopi se magis ex consu­etudine quàm dispensationis Dominicae veritate, Cap. 1. super. Titum. presby­teris esse maiores: Let the Bishops vnderstande, that they be greater than other priests, rather of custome, than by the vertue and veritie of the Lords ordinaunce. And in his E­pistle to Euagrius he hath y^e lyke sentence, & addeth there­vnto: Vbieum (que) fuerit Episcopus, siue Romae, siue Eugu­bij, siue Constantinopli, &c. Wheresoeuer a Bishop be, eyther at Rome, or at Eugubin, or at Constantinople, &c. he is of all one worthinesse, & of all one priesthood. And that one was elected which should be preferred before other, it was deuised to the redresse of schismes, least any one challenging too much to themselfe, should rent the Church of Christ. These words onely of Saint Hierome, be sufficient to proue, that Christ by none of these thrée texts (which be all that you and others doe alleage for your opi­nion) gaue to Peter any such superioritie, as the Bishop of Rome by them vsurpeth. And that Peter nor no other of the chiefe Apostles did vendicate such Primacie or supe­rioritie, but vtterly refused it, and therefore gaue prehemi­nence aboue themselues to one, that though he be some­times called an Apostle, yet he was none of the xij. as Eusebius in the beginning of his seconde booke called Hi­storia ecclesiastica, doth testifie, alledging for him y^e great and auncient Clearke Clementem Alexandrinum, saying thus: Petrus, Iacobus, ac Iohannes, post assumptionem saluatoris, quamuis ab ipso fuerant omnibus penè prelati, tamen non sibi vendicarunt gloriam, sed Iacobum qui dice­batur Iustus, Apostolorum Episcopum statuunt: Peter, Iames, and Iohn, after Christs ascention into heauen, al­though [Page] they were by him preferred wel ny before al other, yet they challēged not that glory to themselues, but decree [...] that Iames, who was called Iustus, should be chiefe Bishop of the Apostles. By these wordes it is cleare, that Iames was y^e Bishop of the Apostles, not bicause as some men do glose, he was elected by the Apostles, but bicause he had thereby Primacy and honour of a Bishop in Ierusalem, a­boue the rest of the Apostles. And one thing is especially to be noted, and also meruayled at, that the Bishops of Rome doe challenge this Primacie alonely by Peter, and yet Saint Paul, which was his equall, or rather superiour by Scripture in his Apostolate among y^e Gentiles▪ wherof Rome was y^e principall, suffered at Rome wher Peter did, and is commonly in all the Church Romaine, ioyned with Peter, in all appellations and titles of preheminence: and both be called Principes Apostolorum, the chiefe of the Apostles. Uppon both is equally founded the Church of Rome, the accounting of Bishops of Rome many yeares agréeth thervnto. For Eusebius sayth,Lib. 3. Cap. 21. that Clemens tertius post Paulum & Petrum, pontificatum tenebat: That Cle­ment was y^e third Bishop after S. Paul & Peter: reconing both them as Bishops of Rome, & yet therin preferring S. Paul. With lyke words saying of Alexander Bishop of Rome, y^e Quinta successione post Petrum at (que) Paulū, ple­bis gubernacula sortitus est: Alexāder obteined y^e gouernāce of y^e people by successiō, y^e first Bishop after Peter & Paul. Irenaeus also, as Eusebius recyteth,Lib. 5. Cap. 6. saith Fundata & aedi­ficata Ecclesia beati Apostoli, Lino officium episcopatus iniungunt. After the Church was once founded & buylded, they charged Linus with the office of y^e Bishopricke of the holy Apostle. Wherby appeareth, y^t they both ioyntly con­stituted him Bishop of Rome, & receiued only their Apo­stleship enioyned vnto thē by Christ. And therfore if y^e Bi­shops of Rome challēge any preheminence of authority by Peter, they shold aswell, or rather by Paul, bicause thei both soūded it, & both ther preached, & both ther suffred: resigning [Page] that Bishopricke to Linus, and all at once. And if yée will peraduenture leaue to the former preaching there by Peter, which by Scripture cannot be proued, yet then at the least Saint Paul and his successours in Epheso, should haue like Primacie ther, bicause he founded first that church, though Saint Iohn after that did buyld it: as witnesseth Eusebius, saying: Ecclesia quae est apud Ephesum, à Paulo quidem fundata est, Lib. 3. Cap. 23. à Iohanne verò aedificata: The Church which is at Ephesus, in déede was founded of Paul, but it was buylded of Saint Iohn. And so Peter should haue no other Primacie in Rome, but as Paul had in Epheso, that is to say, to be counted as the first preachers and conuerters of the people there to the faith of Christ. And as well might all the Bishops of Ephesus, challenge the Primacie of all Nations, both Gentiles and Iewes by Saint Paul Aposto­lum Gentium, their founder, as the Bishop of Rome by Saint Peter, Apostolum tantum Circumcisionis, in case hée were the first founder, challenging Primacie ouer all. But vndoubtedly this Primacie ouer all that the Bishops of Rome of late doe challenge, was not allowed nor yet knowen nor hearde off amongst the auncient Fathers, though they had the church of Rome in high estimacion, as well for the notable vertuous déedes, that the Clergie ther did shew and exercise abundantly to their neyghbours, as witnesseth the sayde Eusebius, Lib 4. Cap. 23. alleaging the Epistle that Dionisius Alexandrinus wrote to Sother Bishop of Rome, testifiyng the same. As for y^e Citie of Rome, was the most ample and chiefe Citie of all the world, witnessing Saint Cyprian, saying: Planè, quoniam pro magnitudine sua de­beat Carthaginem Roma praecedere, illic maiora & grauio­ra commisit: Certeinly, bicause that Rome ought for hir greatnesse excell Carthage, therefore there he committed the greater and more grieuous offences. Which Saint Cyprian also when he had done certeine actes, yea, & made certeyne determinations and statutes vnto the Bishop of Rome, he did not submit them to his reformation, or iudge­ment, [Page] but onely signified his owne sentences, to like him also. And yet adding therevnto, that if any Bishops, mea­ning as well of Rome as of others which were of the con­trary opinions to him, would otherwise thincke or doe, hée would not then his sentences should be to thē preiudiciall or compulsorie, but to follow their owne wits & customes, Tum quod vnusquis (que) Episcoporum habeat sui arbitrij libertatem, tum quod vnusquisque praepositus rationem sui actus sit Domino rediturus: Partly for that euery one of the Bishops hath libertie of his owne will: and partly for that euery gouernour shall make an accompt to God of his owne déede, as it appeareth plainely in his Epistle to Stephanus and Iulianus. And in the third Epistle to Cornelius, towardes the ende, speaking of the refuge that one Felicissimus à Nouatian after the condemnation in Affrica made to Rome, he impugneth such appeales, saying: that Quia singulis pastoribus portio gregis est asscripta, quam regat vnusquisque & gubernet, rationem sui actus Domino rediturus, statutū est ab omnibus nobis, aequumque pariter ac iustū censemus, vt vniuscuiusque causa illic audiatur, vbi est crimen admissum. Forasmuch as euery pastour hath his flocke by portion committed to him, which euery one ought to rule & gouerne, and must giue accompt to the Lord of his administration, it is decréede of vs all, and wée thinke it both méete & iust, that euery mans cause and plea, should there be heard, where the crime is committed. This holy & excellent Clarke and Martyre S. Cyprian, would neuer haue either impugned their refuges to Rome, from their owne primates, or so obstinately holden and mainteyned his determinations in the counsels of Affrike, contrary to the opinion of the Bishop of Rome, and to their customes, without any submission by woord or writing, if the prima­cie ouer all (which the Bishops of Rome doe challenge and vsurpe) had bene grounded vpon the plaine Scriptures, as you with some others doe thinke. And it is to bée supposed also, that hée would in all his Epistles to them, haue called [Page] them Patres or Dominos. Fathers or Lords, as superi­ours, and not alwaies Fratres & collegas, brothers and fel­lowes in office, as but his fellowes: which yet more plainly doth appere by the Actes of the Counselles of Africke in Sainct Augustines time, by the which it is euident, that though the faith of Christ, was by the Romaines first brought into Africke as Saincte Augustine doth con­fesse,Epistolae. 10.2. yet it was not read nor knowne, that the Bishoppes of Rome vsed or challenged any exercise of souereigne­tie in Africke vnto this time. And yet then hée did not challenge it Iure diuino, but Praetextu definitionis cuiusdam canonis in concilio Niceno: That is, by the right of Gods woorde, but by the pretence of a certeine canon supposed to bée in the counsaile of Nice. Which article could neuer be found, though it were then very dili­gently sought for through all the principal Churches of the East and South:Vide duas Epi­stolas ad Boni­facîum pp. 1. to concilioram. Fol. 307.308 But onely alleadged of Iulius Bishop of Rome, out of his owne librarie. And you may bée well as­sured, that if these in Scriptures had made for it, neither the Bishop of Rome would haue left that certeine proofe by Scriptures, and trusted onely to the testimonie of an article of that counsaile doubted on vnlikely to be founde. Nor yet Sainct Augustine with his holy and learned com­pany,Dist. 16. vigin­ti. would haue resisted this demaunde, if it had bene ei­ther grounded vpon Scriptures, or determined in that or other counsayle, or yet had stand with equitie, good order or reason.

Howbeit, the largenesse and magnificence of buildings of that Citie, and auncient excellencie and superioritie of the same, in temporall dominions, was the onely cause that in the Counsailes (where the Patriarchall seas were set in order) the Bishoppe of Rome was lotted in the first place, and not in any such constitution made by Christ, as appeareth well by that that Constantinople béeing at that time of this ordering of the Patriarchall seas, by the [Page] Emperours most amply enlarged, béeing before a small towne, and of no renowne, and by them most magnifi­cently builded, and aduaunced worldly wyth all titles, prerogatiues and priuiledges temporall like vnto Rome, and therefore called Noua Roma, Newe Rome, was therefore aduaunced also to the second sea and place, An­tiochia in the East, where Sainct Peter first tooke the chaire before he came to Rome, and Christian men had there first their name gyuen them. Yea, and Hierusalem, which was the first Mother Citie of our faith, and where Christ himselfe first founded the fayth, reiected with A­lexandria, to the thirde, fourth, the fift places, bicause at that time they were not in so high estimation in the world, though in the faith of Christ all they were auncientes, and some of them Mothers to Rome.

Truth it is, that the Bishops of the Orient,Hist. trip. Li. 4 cap. 16. for de­bates in matters of the faith, amongest themselues made sutes to the Bishop of Rome, but that was not for y^e Su­perioritie of iurisdiction vpon them, but bicause they were greatly deuided. And those countries, as well Byshoppes as others, much infected with the heresies of the Arrians, whereof the Weast was in a manner cléere. And among the Orients, none were counted indifferent to decide those matters, but where all suspect of affection for one cause or other: wherefore they desired the opinions of the Bishops of the West as indifferent, vntangled with affections of any of those partes, and incorrupted with any of the Arri­ans, as appeareth by the Epistles of Sainct Basil written in all their names for the sayde purpose. In the which also it is especially to bée noted, that their suite was not to the Bishop of Rome singularly, or by name, but as the titles doe shewe to the whole congregation of the Bishoppes of Italy and Fraunce, or of the whole West, and sometyme preferring the French Bishops, saying, Gallis & Italis, and neuer naming the Romanes.

[Page]And for a cléere proofe that the auncient Fathers knewe not this primacie of one aboue all, wée néede none other te­stimonie, but their determination in the counsell of Nice, that Alexandria and Antiochia, and vniuersally all other primates, should haue the whole gouernaunce of their con­fine countries, likewise as the Bishop of Rome had of his Suburbicans. And this determination proueth also, that your thrée Scriptures ment nothing lesse, then this prima­cie ouer all. For God forbid that wée should suspect that counsell as ignoraunt of those plaine Scriptures, to the which sith that time all Christendome hath leaned, as the anker of our faith. And if you like to reade the auncient ecclesiasticall histories, there you may sée, that Athanasius & other Patriarkes did execute that primacie, as in making, consecrating, and ordering of Churches, Bishoppes and Clarkes in their countries, East and South, as the Bishops of Rome in that time did in the West and North. And if ye would yet any thing obiect against any of these witnesse, then for to eschewe contention, and for a finall conclusion, let the Bishop of Rome stand to his owne confession made many years past by his predecessour Agatho, to the Empe­rour Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius, in his Epistle written to them in his name, and in the name of all the Sy­nods which he thought to bée vnder the sea Apostolique, wherein soone after the beginning of the Epistle, he com­prehendeth them all vnder y^e name of the Bishops dwelling in the North and West parts of their Empire. So y^t ther, in his owne Epistle, he confesseth all his subiects or obedien­ciaries, to hée onely of the North and West, & so appeareth euidently by his owne confession, that neither by Gods law nor mans lawe he had to do with any person of the East or y^e South. And this his high souereintie ouer all challen­ged, as you and others say, by Scripture, as by his owne confession quailed and brought to a little & strayght angle. And this Agatho was not a man vnlearned, as ap­peareth by the Actes of the sixt Synode, Constantino­politane [Page] in the iiij. acte, wherein is written at large, and expressed the sayde epistle and confession. And afore the Primacie of Peter, which auncient Doctors speake off, that was onely in preaching and teaching the fayth of Christ, which he first among all the Apostles, and first of all mortall men, did expresse with his mouth. That Pri­macie did so adhere to his owne person, that it was ne­uer deriued neither to any successour, nor to other Apostle, but chiefely to himselfe: for all other professing after the same, speake it after him, who had professed it before. Moreouer all the Apostles, as Saint Iohn sayth,Apoca. [...]1. be funda­ments in the heauenly Ierusalem, & not Peter only. More­ouer Cyprian affirmeth, as is aforesayd, y^t all the Apostles were of equall dignitie and power, which all auncient au­thors lykewise doe affirme. For Christ gaue the Apostles lyke power in the Gospell saying: Ite, Mat. 28. docete omnes Gen­tes baptizantes eos, &c. Go and teach all Nations bapti­zing them, &c. And Saint Paul as is sayd before, knewe no other Primacie giuen to Peter to preach in any place, but among the Iewes, as he himselfe had among the Gen­tiles: as he writeth to the Galathians, where Saint Am­brose, as is aforesayd, affirmeth the same. And that the mo­ther of all Churches is Ierusalem, as afore is sayd, and not Rome: the Scripture is playne, both in the Prophet Esay: De Syon exibit lex, & verbum Domini de Ierusalem: Esa. 2. Out of Syon shall the law procéede, and the worde of the Lord out of Ierusalem. Upon the which place Saint Hie­rome saythe: In Ierusalem primùm fundata Ecclesia, toti­us orbis Ecclesias seminauit: Out of the Church first found in Ierusalem, sprong all other Churches of y^e whole world. And also in the Gospell, which Christ before his ascension commaunded his Apostles to preach ouer all the worlde, beginning first at Ierusalem: so that the Bishops of Rome vniuersall power by him claymed ouer all, cannot by any Scripture [...]e iustified, as if ye haue red the auncient Fa­thers expositions of the sayd Scriptures, as we suppose you [Page] haue sith your letters sent hether concerning this matter, and would giue more credence to their humble and playne speaking, than to the latter contentious and ambitious wri­ters of that high, and aboue the Ideas of Plato his subti­lytie (which passeth as ye write) the lawyers learning and capacitiy: we doubt not, but that ye perceiue and thinke the same.

And where ye thincke that the king cannot be taken as supreme heade of the Churche, bicause he cannot ex­ercise the chiefe office of the Church in preaching and mini­string of Sacraments, it is not requisite in euery body na­turall, that the head shall exercise eyther all manner of of­fices of the body, or the chiefe office of the same. For albe­it the head is the highest and chiefe member of the natu­rall body, yet the distribution of lyfe to all the members of the body, aswell to the head as to other members, commeth from the heart, and is minister of lyfe to the whole bodye as the chiefe acte of the body. This simlitude yet hath not his full place in a mysticall body, although the Scripture speaking of king Saul, 2. Reg. 15. sayth: Cum esses paruulus in ocu­lis tuis, coustitui te caput in tribubus Israel: When thou wert but of small reputacion in thine owne eyes, I made thée head amongst y^e tribes of Israel. And if a king amongst the Iewes, were Caput in tribubus Israel: hoc est homi­num videntium Deum per vmbram, tempore legis, mul­tò magis Princeps Christianus caput est in tribubus Israel, hoc est verè per fidem videntium Christum, qui est finis legis: The heade in the tribes of Israel: that is, of men which sée God by a shadowe in the time of the law, much more is a Christian king head in the tribes of spirituall Is­rael, that is, of such which by true fayth sée Christ which is the ende of the law. The office deputed to the Bishops in the misticall body, is to be as eyes to the whole bodye, as almightie God sayth to the Prophet Ezechiel: Eze. 3. Specu­latorem te dedi domui Israel. I haue made thée an ouer­seer ouer the house of Israel. And what Bishop soeuer re­fuseth [Page] to vse the office of an eye in the mysticall body, to shew vnto the body the right way of lyuing, which apper­tayneth to the spirituall eye to doe, shall shew himselfe to be a blinde eye: and if he shall take other office in hande than appertayneth to the right eye, shall make a confusion in the body, taking vppon him an other office, then is giuen to him of God. Wherefore if the eye will take vpon him the office of the whole head, it may be aunswered vnto it: It cannot so do, for it lacketh brayne.

And examples sheweth lykewise, that it is not ne­cessarie alwayes that the heade should haue the facultie or chiefe office of administration, you may sée in a Nauy by Sea, wher the Admiral who is captaine ouer all, doth not meddle with stering or gouerning of euery ship, but euery Maister perticular must direct the ship, to passe the Sea in breaking the waues, by his stering and gouernance, which the Admirall the head of all, doth not himselfe, nor yet hath the facultie to doe, but commaundeth the Maisters of the ship to doe it. And likewise many a captaine of great ar­myes, which is not able, nor neuer coulde peraduenture shoote or breake a speare by his owne strength, yet by his wisedome and commaundement onely, he atchieueth the warres, and attayneth the victory. And where ye thinke that vnitie standeth not onely in the agréeing in one fayth and doctrine of the Church▪ but also in agreeing in one head: if ye meane the very and onely head ouer all the Churche our Sauiour Christ, Quem pater dedit caput super omnem Ecclesiam, quae est corpus eius: Whome the father hath set ouer all the Church, which is his bodye, wherein all good Christian men doe agrée, ye say truth. And if ye meane of any one mortall man to be heade ouer all the Church, and that to be the Bishoppe of Rome, we doe not agrée wyth you. For you doe there erre in the true vnderstanding of Scripture, or els yée must saye, that the sayd counsell of Nyce & other most auncient dyd erre, which deuided the administration of Churches, the Orient from the Occident, [Page] and the South from the North, as is before expressed. And that Christ the vniuersall head, is present in euery Church, the Gospell sheweth,Mat. 18. Vbi duo vel tres congregati fuerint in nomine meo, ego in medio eorum sum: Where two or thrée be gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.Mat 28. And in an other place: Ecce ego vobiscum sum, vs (que) ad consummationem seculi: Beholde I am with you, vntill the ende of the world. By which it may appeare Christ the vniuersall heade euery where, to be with his misticall body the Church: who by his spirite worketh in all places, (how far soeuer they be distaunt) the vnitie and concorde of the same. And as for any other one vniuersall head to be ouer all, then Christ himselfe, Scripture prooueth not, as it is shewed before. And yet of a farther proofe to take away the scruples, that peraduenture doe to your ap­pearaunce rise of certeyne wordes in some auncient au­thours, and especially in Saint Cyprians Epistles, as the vnitie of the Church stoode in the vnitie with the Bishop of Rome, though they neuer call him supreme head, if you precisely weygh, and conferre all their sayings together, yée shall perceiue that they neyther spake nor ment other thing, but when the Bishop of Rome was once lawfully elected and intronizate, if then any other would by faction, might, force, or otherwise, (the other lyuing and doeyng his office,) enterprise to put him downe, and vsurpe the same Bishopricke, or exercise the others office himselfe. As Nouatianus did attempt in the time of Cornelius, that then the sayd Fathers reconed them good Catholiques that did communicate with him that was so lawfully elected, and the custome was one Primacie to haue adoe one with an other, by congratulatory letters, soone after the certein­tie of their election was knowne to kéepe the vnitie of the Church. And they that did take parte or maintaine that other vsurper, to be Shismatiques bicause that vsurper was a Schismatique for that, Quia non sit fas in eadem Ecclesia, duos simul esse episcopos, nec priorem legitti­mum [Page] Episcopum sine sua culpa deponi: That it is not lawfull for two Bishoppes to bée at once together in one Church. Nor that the former Bishop béeing lawfull, ought to be deposed guiltlesse, without his fault bee proued. And this is not a prerogatiue of Rome Church, more than of a­ny other cathedrall, speciall, patriarchall, or metropoliticall Church, as appeareth in the third Epistle of the first booke, and in the eight of the second, and of the fourth booke of S. Cypriane to Cornelius. Whose woordes and reasons, all that peraduenture might séeme to conclude the vnitie of the Church in the vnitie of the Biship of Rome, bicause they were all written to him in his owne case, may as wel be written to and of any other Bishop lawfully chosen & possessed, who percase should bée likewise disturbed by any factions of ambitious heretickes, as the Bishops of Rome then were. And where ye thinke y^e name of Supreame head vnder Christ giuen, attributed to y^e kings Maiestie, maketh an innouation in y^e church, & perturbation of the order of the same: it cannot be any innouation or trouble to y^e church, to vse y^e roume that God hath called him too, which good Chri­stiā Princes did vse in the beginning when faith was most pure, as Sainct Augustine ad Gloriam & Eleusium saith.August. Epist. 162. Ait enim quidam: Non debuit Episcopus pro consulari iu­dicio purgari: quasi verò ipse sibi hoc comparauerit, ac non Imperator ita quaeri iusserit, ad cuius curam de qua rationē Deo redditurus esset, res illa maximè pertinebat One ther is which saith, that a Bishop ought not to haue bene put to his purgation before the iudgement seate of the deputie, as though he himselfe procured it and not rather the Empe­your himselfe caused this inquirie to bée made, to whose iu­risdiction, (for the which he must aunswere to God,) y^t cause did especially perteine. Chisostome writeth of that imperi­all authoritie thus: Laesus est qui non habet parem vllum super terram, summitas & caput est omnium hominum su­per terram. Hée is offended that hath no péere at all vpon the earth, for he is the highest potentate, and the heade [Page] of all men vpon earth. And Tertulianus ad Scapulum saith: Colimus ergo & imperatorem sic, quo modo & nobis licet, & ipsi expedit, vt nominē à Deo secundū, & quicquid est à Deo cōsequntū solo Deo minorem, hoc enim & ipse volet: sic enim omnibus maior est, dum solo vero Deo minor est. Idē in Apologetico de Imperatoribus capite. 30. loquēs ait: Sciunt quis illis dederit imperium, sciunt qui homines, qui & animas sentiunt, eum Deū esse solum, in cuius solius po­testate sunt, à quo sunt secundi, post quē primi ante omnes, & super omnes Deos. We so honour & reuerence y^e Empe­rour, in such wise, as is lawfull to vs & expedient to him, y^t is to say, as a man next & the second to God, of whom is de­riued all the power he hath, but yet inferiour to God alone, for so is it his pleasure to haue it. For thus is he greater thā all men, while hée is inferiour but to God alonely. And the sayd Tertulianus in his booke Apologetical, speaking of Emperours: They knowe who hath giuen to thē their go­uernement, they know what men they be themselues, & vn­derstanding they haue of mans soules, but so y^t they perceiue y^t God is he alone, vnder whose onely power they be, & take themselues as second to God, after whom they bée the chiefe before other, & aboue all the Gods: Theophilactus ad Ro­manos super ilud: Omnis onima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit. Rom. 13. Ait apostolū hic vniuersos erudire, siue sacerdos sit ille, siue Monachus, siue Apostolus, vt se principibus subdat. Let euery soule be subiect to y^e higher powers. Hoc est, Etiam si Apostolus sis, Etiam si Euangelista, etiā si Pro­pheta, aut quisquis postremò fueris: Non enim subuertit pietatem haec [...]ubiectio. Et non simpliciter, Parcat inquit, sed subdita sit. That is▪ although thou art an Apostle, al­though an Euangelist, although a Prophet, or whatsoeuer thou art, be subiect, for this subiection ouerthroweth no god­linesse. And he saith not onely, let him obey, but let him bée subiect. And if the Apostles be subiect to princes, much more al bishops & Patriarches, yea, y^e bishops of Rome & all other. And it is written in the Cronicles: Dixit Dauid Salamoni: [Page] Ecce diuisiones Sacerdotum & Leuitarum in omne ministe­riū domus Domini, assistent tibi, & parati erunt. 1. Par. 28. Et Da­uid constituit principem ad confitendū Domino, 2. Par. 16. Asaph & fratres eius. Et, Constituit Iosaphat in Ierusalem Leuitas & Sacerdotes, & principes familiarum ex Israëll, 2. Par. 19. vt iudici­um & causam Domini iudicarent habitatoribus eius, prae­cepit (que) eis dicens: Sic agetis in timore Domini, fideliter & corde perfecto, &c. Dauid saith to Salomon: Behold,2. Par. 16. the Priests and Leuits deuided in companies to do all manner of seruice that perteineth to the house of God, shal assist thée and be ready. And in the xvj. Chapter, Dauid dyd appoint chiefly to thanke the Lord, Asaph and his brethren, &c. And Iosaphat the king, did constitute Leuits and Priests, & the auncient heades of Israel, that they should iudge the iudge­ment & the causes of the Lord, towards all the inhabitants of the earth. And he charged them, saying: Thus shall ye doe in the feare of the Lord, faithfully & in a perfect heart. Rex constituit turmas Sacerdotales & Leuiticas, vnumquē ­que in officio suo. Et sequitur, Ezechias praecepit populo vt darent part [...]s Sacerdotibus, qui dedit consequenter deci­mas. Et sequitur quod ad regem cum Azaria Sacerdote per­tinet omnis dispensatio domus Domini, & eorum qui ad e­am attinent. Et in fine: Fecit ergo Ezechias vniuersa quae diximus in omni Iuda, operatus (que) est bonum & rectum & verum coram Domino Deo suo, in vniuersa cultura mi­nisterij domus Domini, iuxta legem & ceremonias, volens requirere deum suum in toto corde suo, fecitque & prospe­ratus est, Iosias quoque constituit Sacerdotes in officijs su­is, mandauitque plurima. &c. Furthermore, Ezechias did appoint y^e Priests & the Leuites in their order to waite by course, euery man according to his office, whether Priest or Leuit, for y^e burnt offerings, & peace offerings, & to minister & to thank & to pray in the gates of y^e lodge of the Lord. And Ezechias gaue commaundement to the people dwelling in Hierusalem, that they should giue their portions to the Priestes and Leuites, that they might attende on the [Page] lawe of the Lord. And that by the precepte of Ezechias the king, and of Azarias the Bishop of the house of the Lord, all things were done, to whom perteined all the dispensation of the house of the Lord. And in the ende it is said. Ezechias did all those things in all Iury, he wrought that which was good, right and true before his Lord God, in all the furniture of the ministerie of the house of the Lord, according to y^e lawe and ceremonies, desirous to séeke his Lord God withall his heart, as he did, and prospered therein. Iosias also did ordeine Priestes in their offices, and commaunded many things. By al which it may appeare, that Christian Kings be souereigns ouer the Priestes, as ouer all other their subiects, and maye commaund the Priestes to doe their offices, as well as they doe other: And ought by their supreme office, to sée that all men of all degrées doe their dueties, wherevnto they he cal­led, either by God, or by the King. And those kings that so doe, chiefly doe execute well their office. So that the kings highnesse taking vpon him as supreme head of the Church of England, to sée that as well spirituall men as temporal do their duties, doth neither make innouation in the Churche, nor yet trouble the order thereoff: But doth as the chiefe and the best of the kinges of Israll did, and as all good Chri­stian kings ought to doe. Which office good Christian Em­perours alwaies tooke vpon them, in calling the vniuersall counsels of all countries in one place, and at one time to as­semble, to the intent all heresies troubling the Church, might be there extyrped: calling & commaunding as well the By­shop of Rome, as other Patriarches and all Primats, aswel of the East, as of the West: of the South, and of the North, to come to the sayde counsels. As Marlianus the Emperour did, in calling the great counsaile of Calcedon, one of the foure chiefe and first generall counsailes, com­maunding Leo, then Bishoppe of Rome, to come thereto. And albeit Leo neither lyked the time whiche hée woulde for a season shoulde haue bene deferred: nor yet the place which he woulde haue had in Italy, where the Emperour by [Page] his owne commaundement had called it to Calchis in Asia, yet he aunswered the Emperour, that he would gladly o­bey his commaundement, and sent thether his agents to appeare ther for him. As doth appeare in y^e Epistles of Leo to Martian the Emperor .xli.xlvii.xlviii. and in the xlix. e­pistle to Pulcheria Empresse. And lykewise desireth The­odosius the Emperour to commaund a councel of Bishops to be called in Italy, Epist. 81. for taking away such contentions and troubles, as at that time troubled the quietnesse of the Churches. And in many moe Epistles of the same Leo, it doth manifestly appeare, that the Emperours alwayes as­sembled generall councells by their commaundements. And in the sixte councell generall it appeareth very playnly,Actione. 4▪ y^t at that time y^e Bishops of Rome made no clayme nor vsed ti­tle to cal them selfe heads vniuersal ouer all y^e Catholique church, as ther doth apere, In subscriptione seu saluatione synodica suggestionis antedictae, which is thus ad verbum: Pijssimis Dominis & serenissimis victoribus & triūpha­toribus, dilectis filijs Dei & Domini nostri Iesu Christi, Constantino Magno Imperatori, Heraclio & Tiberio Au­gustis, Agatho Episcopus, seruus seruorum Dei, cum vni­uersis synodis subiacentibus concilio Apostolicae sedis. In the superscription or salutacion of the aforesayd synodi­call preamble, which is thus word for word: To the most godly Lords & most noble victors & conquerours, the wel­beloued children of God, and of our Lord Iesu Christ: to Constantine the great Emperour, to Eraclius and Tiberi­us Caesars, Bishop Agatho the seruaunt of the seruauntes of God, with all y^e conuocations subiect to y^e counsell of the Sea Apostolique, sendeth gréetings, and sayth, expressing what countries he reckned and comprehended in that su­perscription or salutacion. It followeth that these were vn­der his assembly, which were in the North and East parts. So that at that time the Bishop of Rome, made no suche pretence, to be ouer and aboue all, as hée now doth by vsur­pation, vendicating to himselfe the spirituall kingdome of [Page] Christ, by which he reigneth in the hearts of all faythfull people, and then chaungeth it to a temporall kingdome o­uer and aboue all kings, to depose them for his pleasure, preaching therby, Carnē pro spiritu, & terrenum regnum pro coelesti, in damnationem, nisi resipiscat suam: The flesh for the spirite, an earthly kingdome for an heauenly, to his owne damnation if he repent not. Where he ought to obey his Prince by the doctrine of Saint Peter in hys first Epistle saying: Subiecti estote omni humanae creatu­rae, 1. Pet. 2. propter Deum, siue regi quasi praecellenti, siue duci­bus tanquam ab eo missis, ad vindictam malefactorum, lau­dem vero bonorum: Be ye subiect to euery mans ordi­naunce, for the Lords sake, whether to the king, as to the chiefe, whether to the dukes, as sent of him to the punish­ment of the euill doers, & to the prayse of the good. Againe Saint Paul. Omnis omnia potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit, Rom. 13. with other things before alleaged. So that this his pretended vsurpation to be aboue all kings, is directly againste the Scriptures giuen to the Churche by the Apostles, whose doctrine, whosoeuer ouerturneth, can be neyther Caput nor Infimum membrum Ecclesiae.

Wherefore, albeit ye haue héeretofore sticked to the said wrongfully vsurped power, moued therto (as ye write) by your conscience, yet sithens now ye sée further, if ye list regard the méere truth, and such auncient authours, as you haue bene written to off in times past, we would ex­hort you, for the wealth of your soule, to surrender into the Bishop of Romes handes, your red hat, by which he se­duced you, trusting to haue of you, béeing come of a noble bloode, an instrument to aduaunce his vayne glory, wher­of by the sayd hat he made you participant, to allure you thereby the more to his purpose. In which doing yée shall retourne to the truthe, from which you haue erred, doe your duetie to your souereigne Lord from whom ye haue declined, and please thereby almightie God, whose lawes ye haue transgressed. And in not so doing, ye shall remaine [Page] in errour, offending both almightie God, and your naturall souereigne Lorde, whome chiefely ye ought to search to please. Which thing, for the good minde that we héereto­fore haue borne you, we pray almightie God of his in­finite mercy, that you do not. Amen.