A letter written by Cutbert Tunstall, late Bishop of Duresine, and Iohn Stokesley, sometime Byshop of London, so acknowledged and confessed by the said Cutbert, about 14 daies before his departure out of this his naturall lyfe, in presence of the moste Reuerende father in God MATTHEW Archebyshop of Canterbury and others, whiche letter was sent by the same two Byshops, to Reginalde Pole Cardinall, being then at Rome, and of late Archebyshop of Canterburye.
FOr the good will that wee haue borne vnto you in times paste, as longe as you contynued the kynges true Subiecte, we can not a little lament and mourne, that ye neither regardinge the in estimable kyndenes of the kinges highnes heretofore shewed vnto youe in your brynging vppe, nor the honoure [Page] of the house that ye be come of, nor the wealthe of the Countrye that ye be borne in, should so decline from your duetye to your prynce, that ye shulde be seduced by fayre woordes and vayne promyses of the Byshope of Rome, to winde wt him: going aboute by almeanes to him possible, to pull downe and put vnder foote, your naturall Prynce and Master, to the destruction of the Country yt haue brought you vp. And for a vayne glory of a redde hat, to make your selfe an instrumente to sette foorth his malice, who hathe styrred by all meanes that he coulde, all such Christian Prynces as woulde giue eares vnto hym, to depose the Kynges highenes from his kyngedome: and to offer it as a praye to them that shoulde execute his malice, [Page] & to stirre, if he coulde, his Subiectes against him, in styrringe & noryshynge rebellyons in his realme, wher the office and duetye of all good Christian menne, & namely of vs that be Priestes, should be to bring al commocion to tranquylytye, all trouble to quyetnes, al discorde to concord, and in doing the contrarye, wee shewe oure selues to be but the ministers of Satan, and not of Christ, who ordeined all vs that be priestes, to vse in al places the legacion of peace, and not of dyscorde. But syns that can not bee vndone that is done, second it is to make amendes and to folowe the doing of the prodigall sonne, spoken of in the gospell: who retourned home to his father, and Luke. 15. was well accepted, as no doubt ye myght be, if ye will saye as he [Page] said in knowledging your foly, & do as he did, in retourning home againe from youre wanderyng abrode in seruice of them, who litle care what come of you, so yt their purpose by you be seruede. And if you be moued by your cō science, that you cannot take the king oure master as Supreame heade of ye Church of Englande, because the Byshoppe of Rome hath heretofore many yeares vsurped that name vniuersallye ouer all the Churche, vnder pretence of the gospel of Matthew, sainge: Tues Petrus, & super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam: Mat. 18. Thou arte Peter, and vpon thys rocke I wil builde my Churche. Surelye that texte, many of the moste holy and auncient expositours, wholly do take to be ment of the faithe then fyrste confessed [Page] by the mouth of Peter, vpō whyche faith, confessing Christe to be the sonne of God, the Church is builded, Christ being the veri lowest foundation stone, whe rupō bothe the Apostles them selues, & also the whole faith of ye Churche of Christe, by them preached thorowe the worlde, is founded and buylded, and other foundation none canne be, but that onely, as Saint Paule saieth: Fundamentum aliud. &c. No other foundation 1. Cor. 3. can any man laye, besydes ye whiche is Christe Iesus. And where ye thynke that the gospell of Luke proueth the same authoritie of the Byshop of Rome, saying: Rogaui pro te Petre, ut non deficiat fides tua: & t [...]aliquando cō uersus, Luke. 22. confirma fratres tuos. Peter, I haue praide for thee, that thy fayth shoulde not sayle: and thou [Page] being ones conuerted, confirme thy brothers. Surely that speaketh of the falle of Peter, knowē to Christ by his godly prescience, whereof he gaue him an ynkeling that after the time of his falle, he should not dispayre, but returne agayne & confirme his brethren, as he euer, being most feruent of them, was wont to do. The place doth plainely open it selfe that it can not be otherwise taken, but this to bee the very meaninge of it, & not to be spokē but to Peter. For els his successors must fyrst fayle in the fayth, and then conuerte, and so confirme their brethren. And whereas ye thynke that thys place of the gospell of Iohn, Pasce oues meas, Feede my shepe, was spoken onely to Peter, whiche woordes make hym sheperde ouer all, and aboue all: [Page] S. Peter himselfe testifieth the contrary in his Canonical epistle, where hee saieth to all priestes: Pascite qui in vobis est gregem Christi, 1. Petri. 5. fede the flocke of Christ which is amonge you, which he had thē do by the aucthoritie that Christ had put them in, as foloweth, Et cum apparuer it princeps pastorum, percipietis immarcessibilem aeternae gloriae coronam, And whē ye chiefe Shepperde shal appeare, ye shal receiue the incorruptible croune of eternall glory. The same likewise Saint Paule in the Actes testifieth, saying: Attendite vobis & vniuerso gregi, in quo vos posuit Act. 20. spiritus sanctus, regere Ecclesiam Dei, Geue heede to your selfe & to the whole flocke, wherein ye holy ghoste hathe set you to gouerne the Churche of God. Where in the orygynall texte, the woorde [Page] signifyinge Regere, to gouerne, [...], ye same worde that was spoken to Peter, Pasce, fede, for it signifieth bothe in the scripture. And that by these woordes hee was not made & cōstitute Sheperde ouer all, it is very playne by ye facte of Sainte Peter, whiche durst not enterprise much cō uersation amongst ye Gentiles, but eschewed it as a thynge vnlawefull, and muche rather prohibitede then commaunded by Godes lawe, vntyll he was admonyshed by the reuelacion of the shete full of dyuers viandes, mentioned in the Actes of the Apostles, wher if Christe by these wordes, Pasce oues meas, Fede my shepe, had geuen such an vniuersall gouernaunce to Peter, then Peter beinge more feruent then other of the Apostles, to execute [Page] Christes cōmaundement, would of his owne corage haue gone wt out any such newe admonicion, to Cornelius: excepte peraduenture you woulde saye, that Peter dyd not vnderstande the sayde woordes of Christe, for lacke of the lyght which these latter men haue obtained to perceaue, and thereby vnderstand the wordes of Christe to Peter, better then Peter hymselfe dyd. And straūge also it wer to condemne Peter, as an highe traitor of his Master, after his Ascention (as he in dede were worthye) if hys Master had signified vnto hym that the Byshopes of Rome, by his dying ther, shold be headdes of all the Churche, and he knowing by these wordes, Pasceoues meas, Fede my shepe, not withstāding his masters high legacie [Page] and cōmaundement, yet woulde stee, as he dyd from Rome, vntill his master encountering him by the way with terrible woordes, caused him to retourne. And because this historie perauenture might not waghe against an obstinate mynde to the contrarye, what shall we fay to the wordes of Sainte Ambrofe, declaringe & affirming as greate & as ample prymacie to Paule, as to Peter, vpon these wordes of Pauler Qui operatus est Petro. &c. he that wrought for Peter. &c. Thus he writeth, Petrum solum nominat, & sibi comparat, quia primatum ipse acceperatad fundandam ecclesiam: se quoque pari modo electum ut primatum habeat in fundandis Ecclesijs Gentium. Et paucis interiectis. Ab hijs ita (que) (videlicet Apostolis) qui inter caeteros clariores erant probatum [Page] dicit Paulus donum quod 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 Barnabā, qui diuino iudicio ei adiunctus est: gratiam tamen primatus sibi soli vindicat concessam à Deo, sicut & soli Petro concessa est inter Apostolos, dederunt (que) sibi inuicem 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? Whiche may thus be englyshed: He nameth Peter onely, and compareth him to him selfe, for he receyued a prymacie to builde a Churche, and that he in lyke sorte was chosen to haue a primacy in building the Churches [Page] of the Gentiles. And shortly after it foloweth. Of the Apostles he sayeth, his gyfte was alowed whiche he had receiued of God, that he mighte be founde worthye to haue the primacie in preaching to ye Gentiles, as Peter had in preaching to ye Iews. And as he assigned to Peter for his companions, whiche were ye chosen men amongest the Apostles, euen so also doth he take to him selfe Barnabas, who was ioyned vnto him by Godes iudgment, yet did he chalenge still to him selfe alone the prerogatyne of primacie whiche God hadde graūted him, as to Peter alone was it graunted among other of the Apostles. So that the Apostles of ye circumcisiō gaue their handes to the Apostles of ye Gentiles, to declare their concorde in [Page] felowshipe, that either of theym shoulde knowe that thei had receiued the perfection of the spirite in the preachinge of the gospel, and so should not nede either other in any matter. And shortly after, who shoulde dare resiste Peter the chiefe Apostle, but an other suche a one, whiche by the confidence of his election myght know him selfe to be no lesse, and so myght reproue boldelye that thynge which he inconsiderately had done. &c. This equalitie of dignitye of Paule, whiche S. Ambrose affyrmeth by Scripture to be equally committed to Peter and Paule, S. Cypriane and Sainte Ierome do extende to all the Apostles. Cyprian saying thus: Hoc erant vtique & ceteri De simplicitate clericorum. Apostoli, quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio praediti, & honoris & potestatis. [Page] Undoubtedly, al the reste of the Apostles were the same yt Peter was, endewed with lyke equalitie of honoure and power. And Sainte Ierome thus: Cuncti Contra Io [...]inianum. Apostoli claues regni celorum accipiunt, & ex aequo super eos Eccle siae fortitudo fundatur: All the Apostles receiued the Keies of the kyngedome of heauen, and vpon them as indifferently & equallye is the strength of the Churche grounded and establyshed. Whiche Sainte Ierome also aswell in his commentaries vpon the Epistle to Tite, as in his Epistle to Euagrius, sheweth that these primacies longe after Chrystes ascention, were made by the deuise of men, where before, Communi clericorum consilio, singulae Ecclesiae regebantur, etiam Patriarchales: By the commune argrement [Page] of the clergy euerye of the churches wer gouerned, yea the Patriarchal churches The wor des of S. Ierome be these. Sciant Cap. 1. super. Titū. ergo episcopi se magis ex consuetudine quàm dispensationis dn̄icae veritate, presbyteris esse maiores: Let the Byshops vnderstande, that they be greater then other priestes, rather of custome, then by the vertue and veritie of the Lordes ordinaunce. And in his epistle to Euagrius he hath lyke sentence, and addeth therevnto: Vbicū (que) fuerit episcopus, siue Romae siue Eugubij, siue Cōstātinopoli. &c. Wheresoeuer a Byshop be, ether at Rome, or at Eugubin, or at Constantinople. &c. he is of all one worthines, and of all one priesthode. And that one was elected whiche shold be preferred before other, it was deuysed to [Page] the redresse of scismes, leste anye one chalenging to much to them selfe, should rente the churche of Christe. These wordes onely of sainct Ierome, be sufficiente to proue that Christe by none of these thre textes (whiche be all that you and others do alledge for your opinion) gaue to Peter anye suche superioritie, as the Byshop of Rome by theim vsurpeth. And that Peter nor no other of the chiefe Apostles dyd vendicate suche primacie or superioritie, but vtterly refused it. And therefore gaue preheminence aboue them selues to one, that thoughe he bee sometymes called an Apostle, yet he was none of the. xii. as Eusebius in the beginning of his second boke called Historia ecclesiastica, dothe testifie alledging for him ye great [Page] & auncient clerke Clementem Alexandrinum saying thus. Petrus, Iacobus ac Iohannes post assumptionem saluatoris, quamuis ab ipso fuerant omnibus pene praelati, tamen nō sibi vendicarunt gloriam, sed Iacobum qui dicebatur Iustus, Apostolorum Episcopum statuunt: Peter, Iames & Iohn, after Christus ascencion into heauen, although they were by him preferred well nye before all other, yet they chalenged not that glorye to theim selfe, but decreed that Iames, who was called Iustus, shoulde be chiefe byshop of the Apostles. By these wordes it is cleare, that Iames was the byshop of ye Apostles, not because, as some men do glose, he was elected by ye Apostles, but because he had thereby primacy & honor of a byshop in Ie rusalē, aboue ye rest of ye apostles. [Page] And one thing is especially to be noted, and also marueled at, that the Byshoppes of Rome do chalenge this primacie alonely by Peter, and yet Sainct Paule whiche was his equal, or rather superiour by scripture in his Apostolate amongest the Gētiles, whereof Rome was the principall, suffred at Rome where Peter dyd, & is commonly in all the churche Romane, ioyned with Peter, in all appellacions and tytles of preheminence: And bothe be called Principes Apostolorū, The chiefe of the Apostles. Upon bothe is equally founded the church of Rome, the accountinge of byshops of Rome, many yeares agreeth thereunto. For Eusebius sayeth, that Clemens tertius, Lib. 3. cap. 21. post Paulum & Petrum, pontificatum tenebat: That Clement [Page] was the thyrde byshop after S. Paule and Peter: Reconynge them bothe as byshops of Rome, And yet therein preferringe S. Paule. With lyke wordes sayinge of Alexander byshoppe of Rome, that Quinta successione post Petrum at (que) Paulum, plebis gubernacula sortitus est: Alexander obteyned the gouernaunce of the people by succession, the first byshop after Peter & Paule, Irenaeus also, as Eusebius reciteth, that Fundata & aedificata Ecclesia beati Lib. 5. cap. 6. Apostoli, Lino officium episcopatus iniungunt. After the churche was ones founded and buylded, they charged Linus with the office of the Byshopricke of the holy apostle. Whereby appeareth, that they bothe ioyntly constituted him Bishop of Rome, and receiued only their Apostle ship enioyned [Page] vnto them by Christ. And therfore yf the byshops of Rome chalenge anye preheminence of auctoritie by Peter, they should aswell, or rather by Paule, because they bothe founded it, and bothe there preached, and bothe there suffered: Resigning fyrste that byshopricke to Linus, and all at ones. And yf ye wyll peraduētur leane to the former preaching there by Peter, which by scripture can not be proued, yet then at the least saint Paule and his successours in Epheso, should haue lyke prima ciether, be cause he founded fyrste that churche, thoughe Saint Iohn after that dyd buylde it: as witnesseth Eusebius, saying: Ecclesia quae est apud Ephesum, à Paulo quidem fundata Lib. 3. cap. 23. est, à Iohanne verò aedificata: The churche whiche is at Ephesus, [Page] in dede was foūded of Paul, but it was buylded of S. Iohn. And so Peter shuld haue no other primaci in Rome, but as Paule had in Epheso, that is to saye: to be counted as the first preachers and cōuerters of the people there to the fayth of Christ. And aswel might al ye Byshops of Ephesus, challēge the primacie of al nacions, bothe Gentiles & Iewes by S. Paule Apostolum Gentium, their founder, as the Byshop of Rome by S. Peter, Apostolūtantum circumcisionis, in case he were the first founder, chalenging primacie ouer all. But vndoutedly this primacie ouer all yt the Byshops of Rome of late do chalēg, was not allowed nor yet knowē nor heard of amōges ye auncient fathers, though they had ye churche of Rome in high estimacion, [Page] aswell for the notable vertuous dedes, that the clergie there dyd shewe and exercyse abundantly to their neyghbours, as witnesseth the sayd Eusebius, alleginge there the epistle that Dionysius Lib. 4. ca. 23. Alexandrinus wrote to Sother Bishop of Rome, testifyinge the same: As for that citye of Rome was the moste ample and chiefe Citie of all the world, witnessing sainct Cypriane, saying: Plane, quoniam pro magnitudine sua debeat Carthaginem Roma praecedere, illic maiora & grauiora commisit: Certenly, because that Rome ought for her greatnes excell Carthage, therefore there he committed the greater and more greuous offences which S. Cypriane also when he had done certeine actes, yea and made certeyne determinacions and statutes [Page] vnto the Byshop of Rome, he did not submit them to his reformacion, or iudgement, but onely sygnified his owne sentences, to lyke him also. And yet addynge thereunto, that yf any Byshops, meaninge aswell of Rome as of others which wer of the contrary opinions to him, would otherwyse thinke or doe, he would not then hys sentences shoulde be to them preiudiciall or compulsory, but to follow their owne wyttes & customes, Tum quod vnusquis (que) episcoporū habeat sui arbitrij libertatem, tum quod vnusquis (que) praeposi tus rationē sui actus sit domino redditurus: Partely for yt euery one of the Byshopes hath libertie of his owne will: & partely for that euery gouernoure shall make an accompte to God of his owne dede. as it appeareth plainely in [Page] his Epistle to Stephanus and Iulianus. And in the thirde Epistle to Cornelius, towards the ende, speaking of the refuge that one Felicissimus a Nouatiā after his condēnacion in Affrica made to Rome, he impugneth such appeales, saying: that, Quia singulis pastoribus porcio gregis esta scripta, quam regat vnusquis (que) & gubernat, rationem suiactus domino redditurus, statutum est ab omnibus nobis, aequum (que) pariter ac iustum cēsemus, vt vniuscuius (que) causa illic audiatur, vbi est crimen admissum. Forasmuch as euery pastour hath hys flocke by porcion committed to him, whiche euery one oughte to rule and gouerne, and must geue accompt to the Lorde of his administracion, it is decreed of vs all, and we thinke it bothe mete and iuste, that euery mans cause [Page] & pley, should ther be heard, wher ye crime is cōmitted. This holy & excellēt clerke & martyrs. Cypriane, would neuer haue either impugned their refuges to Rome, frō their owne primates, or so obstinatly holden & mainteined his determinations in the counceles of Affrike, cōtrary to ye opinions of ye Byshop of Rome, & to their customes, wtout any submissiō by word or writing, yf ye primacy ouer al (which ye byshops of Rome do chalenge & vsurpe) had bene groūded vpō ye plaine scriptures, as you wt some others do thinke. And it is to be supposed also, yt he wold in al his epistles to thē, haue called thē Patres or dn̄os, Fathers or lordes as superiours, & not alwaies Fratres & collegas, brothers & fellowes in office, as but his fellowes: which yet more plainly [Page] doth appeare by the Actes of the Councelles of Aphrycke in S. Augustines tyme, by the whyche it is euidente, that thoughe the fayth of Christ, was by the Romaines fyrste broughte into Aphrike, as S. Augustine dothe Epistola 16. 2. confesse, yet it was not redde nor knowen, that the Byshopes of Rome vsed or challenged any exercise of soueraigntie in Aphrike vnto this tyme. And yet then he did not chalenge it Iure diuino, but Praetextu definitionis cuiusdam canonis in cōcilio Niceno: That is, by the right of goddes word, but by the pretence of a certeyne canon supposed to be in the councel of Nice. Whiche article coulde neuer be founde, though it were then very diligently soughte for throughe all the principall churches of the Easte and Southe: [Page] But onely alleadged of Iulius Vide duas Epistolas ad bonifacium. pp. 1. ot. conciliorum. Fol. 307. 308. byshop of Rome, out of his owne librarye. And you maye be well assured, that if these in scriptures had made for it, neither the byshop of Rome woulde haue lefte that certaine profe by scriptures, and trusted onely to the testimony of an article of that councell doubted on vnlikely to be foūde. Nor yet Saint Augustine with Dist. 16. Viginti. his holy and learned companye, woulde haue resysted this demaunde, yf it had bene eyther grounded vpon Scriptures or determyned in that or other councell, or yet had stande with equitie, good ordre or reason. How be it, the largenes & magnificencye of buyldinges of that Citye, and aunciente excellencie and superiorite of the same, in temporall dominions, was the [Page] only cause that in the Councels, (where the Patriarchall seas were sette in order) the Byshop of Rome was lotted in the first place, and not in anye suche constitucion made by Christe, as appeareth wel by that, that Constantinople, beynge at that time of this orderinge of the Patriarchall seas, by the Emperours moste amplye enlarged, beyng before a small towne, and of no renowne, and by theim mooste magnificentlye buylded, and aduanced worldly with all tytles, Prerogatiues and Priuileges temporall lyke vnto Rome, and therfore called Noua Roma, New Rome, was therfore aduaunced also to the seconde sea and place. Antiochia in the Easte, where Saincte Peter fyrste tooke the chayre before he came to Rome, [Page] and christen men had there firste theyr name geuen theym. Yea, and Ierusalem, whyche was the fyrste mother cytie of oure faythe, and where Christe himselfe fyrste founded the faythe, reiected with Alexandria, to the thirde, fourthe, and fyfte places, because at that tyme they were not in so hyghe estimacion in the world, though in the faith of Christe all they were auncientes, and some of theim mothers to Rome.
Trueth it is, that the Byshoppes Hist. tript. Lib. 4. cap. 16. of the Oriente, for debates in matters of the faythe, amonges theim selues made sutes to the Byshop of Rome, but that was not for the Superioritie of iurisdiction vpon them, but because thei wer gretly deuided. [Page] And those countreis aswell Byshops as others muche infected with the Heresies of the Arrians, whereof the w [...]ste was in a maner clere. And amonge the Orientes none were counted indifferente to decyde those matters, but where all suspecte of affection for one cause or other: wherefore they desired the opinions of the Byshops of the west, as indifferent, vntangled with affectiōs of any of those partes, and incorrupted with any of the Arrians, as appeareth by the Epistles of S. Basill written in all their names for the saide purpose. In the whiche also it is especiallye to be noted, that their sute was not to the byshoppe of Rome singularly, or by name: but as the tytles do shewe, to the whole congregacion of byshopes of Italye [Page] and Fraunce, or of the whole west, and sometyme preferring the French byshops saying, Gallis & Italis, and neuer naming the Romaines. And for a cleare profe that the aunciente Fathers knewe not this primacie of one aboue al, we nede none other testimonie, but their determination in the councell of Nice, that Alexandria & Antiochia, & vniuersally all other primates, shoulde haue the whole gouernaunce of their confyne countryes, lykewise as the byshope of Rome had of his Suburbicans. And this determination proueth also, that your three Scriptures mente nothing lesse, then thys primacie ouer all. For god forbid that we should suspect that coū cell as ignoraunt of those playne Scriptures, to the whiche syth [Page] yt time all Christendom hath leaned, as ye anker of our faith. And if you like to reade ye auncient ecclesiastical histories, there youe may se, that Athanasius & other patriarkes did execute yt primacie, as in making, consecrating & ordering of churches, Byshops & clerkes in their countries easte & south, as ye byshops of Rome in yt time did in ye west & north. And if ye would yet any thing obiecte against ani of these witnes, thē for to eschue cōtenciō, & for a final cō clusiō, let ye byshop of Rome stāde to his owne confessiō made many yeres paste by his predecessoure Agatho, to themperoure Constātine, Heraclius, and Tiberius, in his epistle writen to them in his name, & in ye name of all the Synodes whiche he thought to be vnder ye sea Apostolique, wherin [Page] sone after ye beginning of the epistle, he cōprehendeth them al vnder ye name of the byshops dwelling in the north & west partes of their empire. So that ther in his owne epistle, he confesseth al his subiectes or obediēciaries, to be only of ye north & west: & so appeareth euedētly by his owne confesssiō, yt neither by godes lawe nor mās law he had to do wt any person of ye east or ye southe. And this his high soueraignty ouer al chalēged, as you & others say, by scripture, as bi his own cōfessiō quay led & brought to a litle & straight angle. And this Agatho, was not a man vnlearned, as appeareth by ye actes of ye vi. synode Constā tinopolitane in ye iiii. acte, wher in is writē at large, & expressed ye said epistle & confessiō. And afore the primacye of Peter, whiche [Page] auncient doctors speake of, that was onely in preachinge & teachinge the faythe of Christe, whithe he firste amonge all the Apostles, and first of all mortal men, dyd expresse wyth his mouthe. That primacie did so adhere to his owne person, that it was neuer deriued nether to any Successour, nor to other Apostle, but chiefely to him selfe: for all other professing after the same, speake it after him, who had professed it before. Moreouer all the Apostles, as S. Ihon saieth, be fundamentes Apoca. 21. in the heauenly Ierusalem; & not Peter onely. Moreouer Cyprian affyrmeth, as is aforesayd, that al ye Apostles were of equall dignitie & power. whyche al auncient authors likewise do affirme. For Christe gaue the Apostles like power in ye gospell [Page] saying: Ite, docete omnes Gentes, Mat. 28 baptizantes eos. &c. So and teache all nations, baptizinge them. &c. And S. Paule as is said before, knewe no other primacie geuen to Peter to preache in any place, but amonge the Iewes, as hee him self had among the Gētiles: as he wryteth to the Galathiās, where S. Ambrose, as is afore said, affirmeth ye same. And that the mother of all churches is Ierusalem, as afore is sayde, & not Rome, ye scripture is plaine, both in the prophete Esay: De Sion exibit lex, Esd. 2. & verbum Domini de Ierusalem: Oute of Sion shal the lawe procede, & the worde of the Lord out of Ierusalem. Upon ye which place S. Ierome sayeth, In Hierusalem primùm fundata ecclesia, totius orbis ecclesias seminauit: Out of the churche first founde in Ierusalem, [Page] spronge all other churches of ye whole world. And also in the gospell, which Christe before his ascension commaunded his Apostles to preache ouer all the world, beginning first at Ierusalem: So that the byshops of Rome vniuersal power by him claimed ouer all, can not by anye scripture be iustified, as yf ye haue redde the auncient fathers expositions of the sayde scriptures, as we suppose you haue syth your letters sente hither concerning this matter, and wold geue more credence to their humble and playne speaking, then to the latter contencious and ambicious writers of that hyghe, and aboue the Ideas of Plato hys subtilitie (whiche passeth as ye write) the lawyers lerninge and capacitie: we dout not, but that [Page] ye perceiue and thinke the same. And where ye thincke that the kynge can not bee taken as supreme heade of the churche, because he can not exercise the chief office of the church in preaching and ministring of the sacramentes, it is not requisite in euery body naturall, that the heade shall exercyse ether al maner of offices of the body, or the chiefe office of the same. For albeit the heade is the highest and chiefe member of the naturall body, yet the distribucion of life to al the mēbers of the body, aswel tothe heade as to other members, cometh from the hearte, and is minister of lyfe to the whole body as the chief acte of the body. This similitude yet hath not his ful place in a mystical body, although the scripture speaking of kyng Saule, saieth: [Page] Cum esses paruulus in oculis tuis, 1. Reg. 15. constituite caput in tribubus Israel: When thou wert but of smale reputation in thine owne eies, I made the head amongst the trybes of Israell. And if a Kinge amongst the Iewes, were Caput in tribubus Israël: hoc est hominum videntium Deum per vmbram, tempore legis, multo magis princeps Christianus caput est in tribubus Israël, hoc est vere per fidem videntiū Christum, qui est finis legis: The heade in ye tribes of Israell: that is of men whiche see God by a shadowe in the tyme of the lawe, muche more is a christian Kinge heade in the tribes of spirituall Israel, that is: of suche whyche by true fayeth see Chryst which is the ende of the lawe. The office deputed to the Byshops in the mistical body, is to be as eies [Page] to the whole bodye, as almightye God saieth to the prophete Ezechiel: Speculatorem te dedi Dom [...]i Eze. 3. Israel. I haue made the an ouer seer ouer the house of Israel. And what byshope so euer refuseth to vse the office of an eye in the mysticall body, to shewe vnto the bodye the righte waye of lyuinge, whiche appertayneth to the spirituall eie to do, shal shew him selfe to be a blynde eye: and if he shall take other office in hande then appertayneth to the righte eye, shall make a confusion in the bodye, takynge vpon him an other office, then is geuen to him of God. Wherefore if the eie wyll take vpon hym the office of the whole heade, yt maye bee answered vnto yt, It canne not so do, for it lacketh brayne. And exaumples sheweth lykewyse, [Page] that it is not necessarie alwaies that the heade shoulde haue the facultie or chiefe office of administration, youe may see in a Nauye by sea, where the Admyrall, who is captayne ouer all, doth not medle with stering or gouerninge of euery Shyp, but euery Mayster particular muste directe the Shype, to passe the Sea in breaking the waues, by his sterynge and gouernaunce, whyche the Admirall the heade of al, dothe not him selfe, nor yet hathe the facultie to doe, but cō maundeth the Maysters of the Shipe to do it. And likewise many a captayne of greate Armies, whiche is not able, nor neuer coulde peraduenture shoote or breake a speare by his owne strength, yet by his wisedom and commaundement onely, he atchiueth [Page] the warres, and attayneth the victorye. And wher ye thinke that vnitie standeth not onely in the agreing in one faith and doctrine of the Churche, but also in agreing in one heade: if ye meane the very and onely heade ouer al the Churche oure Sauioure Christe: Quem pater dedit caput super omnem Ecclesiam, quae est corpus eius: Whome the father hath set ouer all the Churche, whiche is his bodye, wherein all goode christiane men do agree, ye saye trueth. And if ye meane of any one mortal man to be heade ouer al ye Church, & yt to be the byshop of Rome, we do not agree wt you. For you do there erre in the true vnderstāding of scripture, or els ye must say, yt the said councell of Nice & other most aūciēt did erre, which diuided the administratiō [Page] of churches, the Orient from the Occident, and the Southe from the Northe, as is before expresed. And that Christe the vnyuersall heade, is presente in euery churche, the gospell sheweth Vbi duo vel tres congregati fuerint Mat. 18. in nomine meo, ego in medio eorum sum: Where two or three bee gathered together in my name, there I am in the myddes of theim. And in an other place: Ecce ego vobiscum sum, vs (que) ad con Mat. 28. summationem seculi: Beholde, I am wyth you, vntyll the ende of the worlde. By whiche it maye appeare Christe the vniuersall heade euerye where, to be wyth his misticall bodye the Churche: who by his spirit worketh in all places, (howe farre so euer they be distaunte) the vnitie and concorde of the same. And as for [Page] anye other one vniuersall heade to be ouer all, then Christe hym selfe, scripture proueth not, as it is shewed before. And yet of a further profe, to take awaye the scruples, that peraduenture do to youre apperaunce ryse of certayne wordes in some aunciente Authours, and especially in S. Cyrianes epistles, as the vnitie of the churche stode in the vnitie with the byshop of Rome, though thei neuer cal him supreme head, yf you preaslye weyghe, and conferre all their sayinges together, ye shal perceyue that they nether spake nor ment other thinge, but when the byshop of Rome was ones lawfully elected and intronizate, yf then anye other would by faction, myght, force, or otherwyse, (the other liuynge and doynge his office,) enterpryse to [Page] put him down, & vsurpe the same byshopricke, or exercise ye others office him selfe. As Nouatianus did attempt in the time of Cornelius, that then the sayde fathers, reconed them good catholikes yt did cōmunicate with hym yt was so lawfullye elected, and the custome was one primacie to haue a doo one with an other, by congratulatorie letters, sone after ye certentee of theyr election was knowen to kepe the vnitie of the church. And they yt did take part or mainteine that other vsurper, to be scismatiques, because that vsurper was a Scismatike, for that, Quia non sit fas in eadem ecclesia, duos simul esse episcopos, nec priorem legitimū epm̄ sine sua culpa deponi: That it is not lawful for two byshops to be at ones together in one churche. Nor that [Page] the former byshop being lawful, ought to be deposed gyltlesse, wt out his fault be proued. And this is not a prerogatiue of Rome churche, more then of any other cathedrall, speciall, patriarchall, or metropolitical church, as appe reth in the. iii. epistle of the fyrste booke, and in the eyght of the seconde, and of the fourthe booke of Saincte Cypriane to Cornelius. Whose wordes and reasons, al that peraduēture might seme to conclude the vnitie of the church in the vnitie of ye byshop of Rome, because they were all wryten to him in hys owne case, maye aswell be writen to and of any other byshop lefully chosen & possessed, who percase shuld be lykewyse disturbed by any factions of ambitious heretikes, as the byshops of Rome then were. [Page] And where ye thinke the name of Supreame head vnder Christ geuen, attributed to the Kinges maiestie, maketh an innouation in the Church, and perturbation of the ordre of the same: it canne not be any Innouation or trouble to the Churche, to vse the roume that God hath called him to, whiche good Christian Prynces dyd vse in the begynninge when fay the was moste pure, as Saint Augustine ad Glorium & Eleusium sayeth, Ait enim quidam: August. epist. 162. Non debuit Episcopus pro cō sulari iudicio purgari: quasiverò ipse sibi hoc comparauerit, ac non Imperator ita quaeri iusserit, ad cuius curam de qua rationem Deo redditurus esset, res illa maxime pertinebat One there is whiche sayeth, that a Bishop ought not to haue bene put to his purgacion before the [Page] iudgemente seate of ye deputye, as thoughe he him self procured it, and not rather the Emperour him selfe caused this inquirye to be made, to whose iurisdiction, (for the whiche he must answere to God) that cause did especially pertaine. Chrisostome writeth of that Imperiall authoritie thus: Laesus est qui non habet parem vllū super terram, summitas & caput est omnium hominum super terram.
He is offēded that hath no peere at al vpon the earth, for he is the highest potentate, and the heade of all men vpon earth. And Tertullianus ad Scapulam sayth: Colimus ergo & imperatorem sic, quo modo & nobis licet, & ipsi expedit, vt hominem â deo secundum: & quicquid est à deo consequutum so lo deo minorē, hoc enim & ipse volet: sic enim omnibus maior est, [Page] dum solo verò Deo minor est. Idem in Apologetico de Imperatoribus capite. 30. loquens ait: Sciunt quis illis dederit imperium, sciunt qui homines, qui & animas sentiunt, eum Deum esse solum, in cuius solius potestate sunt, à quo sunt secundi, post quem primi ante omnes, & super omnes Deos. We so honoure and reuerence the emperoure in suche wyse, as is lawefull to vs and expedient to him, that is to saye: as a man nexte and the second to god, of whome is deriued al the power he hathe, but yet inferioure to god alone, for so is yt his pleasure to haue it. For thus is he greater then all men, while he is inferioure but to God alonely. And the saide Tertullianus in his booke Apologeticall speaking of Emperoures: They know who hathe geuen to them [Page] theyr gouernemente, they knowe what men they be them selfe, and vnderstandinge they haue of mans soules, but so that thei perceaue that God is hee alone, vnder whose onely power they bee, and take them selfe as seconde to God, after whome they bee the chiefe before other, and aboue all the goddes: Theophylacttus ad Romanos super illud: Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus Rom. 13. subdita sit, Ait Apostolū hic vniuersos erudire, siue sacerdos sit ille, siue monachus, siue apostolus, ut se principibus subdat.
Let euery soule be subiecte to the hygher powers. Hoc est, Etiam si Apostolus sis▪ etiam si Euangelista, tiam sie Propheta, aut quisquis postre mo fueris: Non enim subuertit pie tatem haec subiectio. Et non simplicirer, Pareat inquit, sed Subdita sit. [Page] That is. Althoughe thou arte an Apostle, although an Euangelist, although a prophete, or what soeuer thou art, be subiect, for this subiectiō ouerthroweth no godlynes. And he sayth not only, let him obey, but let him be subiect. And yf ye apostles be subiecte to Princes, muche more al byshops and patriarches, yea the byshops of Rome and all other. And it is written in the Cronycles: Dixit [...]. Par. 28. Dauid Salomoni: Ecce diuisiones sacer dotum & Leuitarum in omne ministerium domus domini, assistēt tibi, & parati erunt. Et: Dauid consti tuit 2. Par. 16. principem ad confitendum domino, Asaph & fratres eius. Et: Constituit Iosaphat in Ierusalem Le uitas 2. Par. 19. & sacerdotes, et principes familiarum ex Israēl, vt Iudicium & causam dūī, iudicarēt habitatoribus eius, praecepit (que) eis dicens: Sic agetis [Page] in timore domini, fideliter & corde perfecto. &c. Dauid saith to Salomon: Beholde, the priestes and Leuites diuided in companies to do all maner of seruice that perteyneth to the house of God, shall assiste thee and be ready. And in the. xvi. Chapter, Dauid 2. Par. 16. dyd appoynte chiefly to thanke the Lorde, Asaph and hys brethren. &c. And Iosophat the kinge, did constitute Leuites & priestes, and the aunciente heades of Israell, that they shoulde iudge the iudgemente, and the causes of the Lord, towardes al the inhabitauntes of the earth. And he charged theim sayinge: Thus shall ye do in the feare of ye Lorde, saythfullye, and in a perfecte herte. Rex constituit turmas sacerdotales & Leuiticas, vnum quem (que) in officio suo. Et sequitur. Ezechias [Page] praecepit populo vt darent partes sacerdotibus, qui dedit consequenter decimas. Et sequitur quod ad regem cum Azaria sacerdote pertinet omnis dispensatio domus dn̄i; & eorū qui ad eam attinent. Et in fine: Fecit ergo Ezechias vniuersa que diximus in omni Iuda, operatus (que) est bonum & rectum & verum cor [...] ̄ domino deo suo, in vniuersa cultura ministerij Domus Domini, iuxta legem & caeremonias, volens requirere deum suum in toto corde suo, fecit (que) & prosperatus est. Iosias quo (que) cōstituit sacerdotes in officijs suis, man: dauit (que) plurima. &c. Furthermore, Ezechias did apoynt the priestes and the Leuytes in their order to wayte by course, euery mā accordinge to his office, whether priest or Leuyte, for the burnte offerynges, and peace offerynges, and to minister and to thanke, [Page] and to praye in the gates of the lodge of the lorde. And Ezechias gaue commaundemente to the people dwellinge in Ierusalem, that they shoulde geue their portions to the Priestes & Leuites, that thei mighte attende on the lawe of the Lorde. And that by the precept of Ezechias the king, and of Azarias the byshop of the house of the Lorde, all thinges were done, to whome pertayned all the dispensacion of the house of the lorde. And in the ende it is sayde. Ezechias dyd all those thinges in all Iurye, he wrought that which was good, right and true before his Lorde god, in al ye furniture of the ministerte of the house of the lorde, according to ye lawe & cerimonies, desierous to seke his lor god wal his heart, as he dyd, and prospered therein. [Page] Iosias also did ordeyne priestes in their offices, & commaunded many thynges. By all whiche yt may appeare, yt Christian Kinges be soueraignes ouer the prestes, as ouer all other their subiectes, and may commaund the priestes to do their offices, aswel as thei do other: And oughte by theyr Supreame office, to see yt all men of all degrees do their duetyes, whereunto they be called, ether by God, or by the Kynge. And those Kinges that so do, chiefelye do execute well their office. So that the kinges highnes taking vpon him as Supreame heade of the Churche of Englande, to see that aswell spirituall men as temporall do their dueties, doth nether make innouacion in the Churche, nor yet trowble the ordre thereof: But dothe as the [Page] chiefe and the best of the Kynges of Israell did, and as all goode christiane kinges oughte to doe. Whiche office goode Christiane emperours alwayes toke vpon them, in callinge the vniuersall counseles of all Countryes in one place, and at one tyme to assemble, to the entent, all heresies troubling the church, might be there extyrped: calling and cō maundinge aswell the byshope of Rome, as other Patriarches and all Primates, aswell of the east, as of the west: of the southe and of the northe, to come to the saide Counceiles. As Marlianus themperoure did in callinge the greate councell of Calcedon, one of the iiii. chiefe and firste generall councelles, commaunding Leo, then Byshope of Rome, to come therto. And albeit Leo nether [Page] lyked the tyme, whyche he would for a season shoulde haue bene differred: nor yet the place whiche he would haue had in Italie, wher the Emperour by his owne commaundement had called it to Calchis in Asia, yet he answered themperoure, that he would gladly obey his commaū demente, and sente thither his agentes to appere ther for him. as doth appere in ye Epistles of Leo to Martiane the Emperoure. xli. xlvii. xlviii. and in the. xlix. epistle to Pulcheria Empresse. And lykewyse desyreth Theodosius Epist. 81. themperour to cōmaunde a concell of Byshops to be called in Italy, for taking awaye suche contencions and troubles, as at that tyme troubled the quietnes of the churches. And in many mo epistles of the same Leo, it dothe [Page] manyfestly appeare, that themperours alwayes assembled generall councelles by their commaundementes. And in the syxe Councell general it appereth very plainely, Actione. 4. that at that tyme the byshops of Rome made no claim nor vsed tyttle to call theim selfe heddes vniuersal ouer all the catholyke churche, as there dothe appere In subscriptione seu salutati one synodica suggestionis antedictae, Whiche is thus ad verbum: Pijssimis dominis & sereniss. victoribus & triumphatoribus, dilectis filijs dei & dn̄i nostri Iesu Christi, Constantino Magno imparotori, Heraclio & Tiberio Augustis, Agatho episcopus seruus seruorum dei, cum vniuersis sy nodis subia cētibus cōcili [...] apostolicae sedis. In ye superscriptiōor salutaciō of ye foresaid sinodical preāble, which is thus worde for worde: [Page] To the moste godly Lordes and most noble victors and conquerours, ye welbeloued chyldren of god, & of our Lord Iesu Christ: to Constantine the great: Emperoure, to Eraclius and Tiberius Cesars, Byshop Agatho the seruaunte of the seruauntes of god, withall the conuocations subiect to the councell of the sea Apostolique, sendeth greetinges. And sayth, expressing what countryes he reckened and comprehended in that superscription or salutaciō. It foloweth that these were vnder his assembly, whiche were in the Northe and Easte partes. So that at that time the Byshop of Rome, made no such pretence, to bee ouer and aboue all, as hee nowe dothe by vsurpation, vendicatinge to him selfe the spirituall kyngedome of Chryste, by [Page] whyche he raygneth in the heartes of all faythfull people, and then chaungeth it to a temporall kyngedome ouer and aboue all kynges, to depose theim for hys pleasure, preachynge thereby, Carnem pro spiritu, & terrenum regnum pro coelesti, in damnationē, nisi resipiscat suam. The fleshe for the spirit, and an earthely kingdom for an heauenly, to his owne damnacion, yf he repente not. Where he oughte to obeye hys Prynce by the doctrine of Saint Peter, in hys fyrst 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 verô bonorum: Be ye subiecte to euerye mans ordinaunce, for the Lordes sake, whether to the kinge as to the chiefe, [Page] whether to the dukes, as sente of him to the punishment of the euil doers, & to the praise of the good. Againe S. Paule. Omnis omnia Rom. 13. potestantibus sublimioribus sub dita sit, with other thinges before alleged. So that this his pretensed vsurpacion to be aboue all kynges, is directly againste the scriptures, geuen to the churche by the apostles, whose doctrine, whosoeuer ouerturneth, can be nether Caput, nor Infimum membrum ecclesiae. Wherfore, albeit ye haue heretofore stycked to the said wrongfully vsurped power, moued thereto as ye wryte by your conscience, yet sythens now ye see further, yf ye luste regarde the mere truth, and suche auncient authours, as you haue bene writen to of in tymes paste, we would exhort you for the wealth [Page] of your soule, to surrender into the Byshop of Romes handes, your red hat, bi which he seduced you, trustinge to haue of you, beynge come of a noble bloode, an instrument to aduaūce his vaine glorye, whereof, by the sayd hat, he made you participante, to allure you thereby the more to hys purpose. In whiche doynge ye shall retourne to the truth, from whiche ye haue erred. Do youre duety to your soueraigne Lord, from whome ye haue declyned. And please thereby almyghtye GOD, whose lawes ye haue transgressed. And in not so doynge, ye shall remayne in erroure, offendynge bothe almyghtye GOD, and youre naturall soueraygne Lorde, whom chiefly ye oughte to searche to please, Whiche thinge, for the [Page] good mynde that we heretofore haue borne you, wee praye almightie God of his infinite mercy, that you do not.
Amen.