feilicet Nicen. Conftantinopolitan. Ephefin. et Chal- Queen Elizabeth. cedonenfe fufcipere ac venerari me fateor. At the Ni

< cene Council, the firft of the Four, the Bishops which were affembled, did write their Epistle to Sylvefter, then Bishop of Rome, That their De6 crees made there must be confirmed by his Authority. At the Council kept at Conftantinople, all the Bishops there were obedient to Damafe, then Bishop of Rome. He, as chief Judge of that Council, did give Sentence against the Hereticks, Macedonians, Sabellians, and Eunomians; which • Eunomius was both an Arian, and the firft Author ⚫ of this Herefie, that only Faith doth justify; and here, by the Way, it is much to be lamented, that we, the Inhabitants of this Realm, are much more inclined to raise up the Errors and Sects of 'ancient and condemned Hereticks, than to follow "the approved Doctrine of the Moft Catholick and • Learned Fathers of Chrift's Church. At the Ephefyn • Council, Neftorius, the Heretick, was condemned by Celestine, then Bishop of Rome, he being the Chief Judge there. At Chalcedon, all the Bi⚫ fhops affembled there, did write their humble Sub⚫ mission unto Leo, then Bishop of Rome, wherein ⚫ they did acknowledge him to be their chief Head.

Therefore to deny the See Apoftolick, were to ⚫ comtemn and fet at nought the Judgment of these four Councils.

6 Second, we muft forfake and fly from all Canonical and Ecclefiaftical Laws of Christ's Church, ' whereunto we have already confeffed our Obedience at the Font, faying, Credo Sanctam Ecclefi" am Catholicam; which Article containeth, That ⚫ we must believe not only that there is a Holy Catholick Church, but that we must receive alío the Doctrine and Sacraments of the fame Church, obey her Laws, and live according unto the fame; which Laws do depend wholly upon the Authori⚫ty of the See Apoftolick. And like as it was here openly confefied by the Judges of this Realm, that the Laws made and agreed upon, in the Higher f and Lower Houfe of this honourable Parliament,

⚫ be

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Queen Elizabeth.be of small or none Effect, before the real Affent "of the King and Prince be given thereto; femblably Ecclefiaftical Laws made, cannot bind the Univerfal Church of Chrift, without the real Affent and Confirmation of the See Apoftolick.

The Third, We must forfake and fly from the Judgment of all Chriftian Princes, whether they be Proteftants or Catholick, when none of them do agree with thefe our Doings; King Henry " the Eighth being the very first that ever took upon him the Title of Supremacy. And whereas it

was of late here in this House faid by an honoura• ble Man, That the Title is, of Right, due unto the King, for that he is a King; then it would follow, That Herod, being a King, fhould be • Supreme Head of the Church at Jerufalem; and "Nero, the Emperor, Supreme Head of the Church • of Christ at Rome, they both being Infidels, and thereby no Members of Chrift's Church. And if our Saviour Jefus Chrift, at his Departure from this World, fhould have left the Spiritual Government of his Church in the Hands of Emperors and Kings, and not to have committed the fame . unto his Apoftles, how negligent then fhould he have left his Church, it fhall appear right well; by calling to your Remembrance, that the Emperor, Conftantinus Magnus, was the first Chriftian Emperor, and reigned about three hundred Years after the Abfence of Chrift: If therefore by your Propofition Conftantine, the first Christian • Emperor, was the firft Chief Head and Spiritual • Governor of Chrift's Church throughout his Empire, then it followeth, how that our Saviour C Christ, for that whole Time and Space of three hundred Years, untill the Coming of this Conftantine, left his Church, which he had dearly bought • by the Effufion of his most precious Blood, without a Head; and therefore, how untrue the Say⚫ing of this Nobleman was, it fhall further appear by the Example of King Ozias, and alfo of King David: For when King Ozias did take the Cenfer to incenfe the Altar of God, the Prieft Azari

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as did refift him, and expel him out of the Temple, Queen Elizabeth.

and faid unto him thefe Words, Non eft Officii tui, "Ozia, ut adoleas Incenfum Domino, fed eft Sacerdotis et Filiorum Aaron; ad hujufmodi enim Officium confecrati funt. Now I fhall moft humbly demand of you this Question, When this Prieft, Azarias, faid unto this King Ozias, Non est Officii tui, &c. • Whether he faid Truth or no? If you answer, ⚫ that he spoke the Truth, then the King Ozias was not the Supreme Head of the Church of the Jews: If you fhall fay, No; Why did God then plague the King with a Leprofy, and not the Priest? The Priest Azarias, in refifting the King, and thrusting him out of the Temple, in fo doing, ⚫ did he play the faithful Part of a Subject, or no? If you answer, No; Why did God then spare the Prieft, and plague the King? If you anfwer, 'Yea; then it is moft manifeft, Ozias, in that he ' was a King, could not be Supreme Head of the ⚫ Church. And, as touching the Example of King David, in bringing Home the Ark of God from the Philistines, ad Civitatem David, What Supre6 macy and Spiritual Government of God's Ark ⚫ did King David there take upon him? Did he · place himself amongst the Priefts, or take upon ' him any Spiritual Function unto the Priests appertaining? Did he approach near unto the Ark, or yet presume to touch the fame; no, doubtless, ' when before he saw Ozias ftricken by the Hand of God for the like Arrogancy and Prefumption; ⚫ (1) and therefore King David did go from the Ark of God with his Harp, making Melody, and 6 placed himself amongst the Minstrels; and fo ⚫ humbly did abafe himself, being a King, as to dance, skip, and leap before the Ark of God, like as his other Subjects. Infomuch, that Queen Micholl, King Saul's Daughter, beholding and feeing the great Humility of King David, did ⚫ difdain thereat. Whereunto King David faid, Ludam,

·

(1) Here the Archbishop forgot that Oxias was not before David, but many Years after him,

Strype.

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Queen Elizabeth. Ludam, et vilior fiam, plufquam faltus fum coram • Domino meo, qui me elegit potius quam Patrem tuum 6 aut Domum Patris tui. And whereas Queen • Micholl was therefore plagued at the Hand of God perpetua Sterilitate, King David received great • Praife for his Humility.

Now it may please your Honours, which of both these Kings Examples it fhall be most con•venient for your Wifdoms to move our Queen's • Highnefs to follow; the Example of the proud King Ozias, and by your Perfuafions and Counfells, to take upon her Spiritual Government, thereby adventuring yourselves to be plagued at • God's Hands, as King Ozias was; or elfe to follow the Example of good King David, which in Refufal of all Spiritual Government about the • Ark of God, did humble himself as I have declared ⚫ unto you? Whereunto our Sovereign Lady the • Queen's Highnefs of her own Nature very well• inclined and bent, we may affure ourselves to have of her Highnefs as humble, as virtuous, and as godly a Mistress to reign over us, as ever had • English People here in this Realm; if that her Highness be not, by our Flattery and Diffimulati6 on, feduced and beguiled.

Fourth and Laft, we must forfake and fly from ⚫ the Unity of Chrift's Church, when St. Cyprian, that holy Martyr, faith, That the Unity of the Church of Chrift doth depend upon the Unity of Peter's Authority; therefore by our leaping out of • Peter's Ship, we must needs be overwhelmed with the Waters of Schifm, Sects and Divifions. For the fame holy Martyr, St. Cyprian, faith in his Third Epiftle ad Cornelium, that all Herefies, Sects and Schifms do fpring only, for that Men ⚫ will not be obedient unto the Head Bifhop of God. The Latin thereof is, Neque enim aliunde Hærefes aborta funt, aut nota fint Schifmata, quin inde quod Sacerdoti Dei non obtemperatur. And how true this Saying of Cyprian is, it is apparent to all Men that lifteth to fee by the Example of ⚫ the Germans, and by the Inhabiters of this Realm. ! And

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And by our forfaking and flying from the Unity Queen Elizabeth. of the Church of Rome, this Inconveniency, amongst many, muft confequently follow thereof, That either we muft grant the Church of Rome to be the Church of God, or elfe a malignant 'Church. If you answer, that it is of God, where Jefus Chrift is truly taught, and all his Sacraments rightly miniftered; how then may we disburden ourfelves of our forfaking and flying that Church, whom we do confefs and acknowledge to be of God, when with that Church, which is of God, we ought to be one, and not to admit any Sepa⚫ration? If you answer, that the Church of Rome is not of God, but a malignant Church; then it will follow, that we, the Inhabitants of this • Realm, have not as yet received any Benefit of Chrift, when we have received no other Gospel, no other Doctrine, no other Faith, no other Sacraments, than were fent us from the Church of Rome. First, in King Lucius his Days, at whose humble Epifle the holy Martyr Elutherius, then Bishop of Rome, did fend unto this Realm two holy Monks, Faganus and Damianus, by whofe Doctrine we were firft put to Knowledge of the Faith of Jefus Chrift, of his Gospel, and of his moft bleffed Sacraments. Second, holy St. Gre· gory, being Bishop of Rome, did fend into this Realm two other holy Monks, St. Auguftin and • Mellitus, to revive the very self fame Faith of Jefus Chrift, that was before planted in this Realm in the Days of King Lucius. Third, and Laft, Paulus Tertius, being Bishop of Rome, did fend the Lord Cardinal Pole's good Grace, by Birth a • Nobleman of this Realm, as his Legate, to restore us to the fame Faith that the bleffed Martyr Elu• therius and holy St. Gregory had planted here in • this Realm many Years before. If therefore the • Church of Rome be not of God, but a malignant • Church, then we have been deceived all this "while; when the Gospel, the Doctrine, Faith and Sacraments muft be of the fame Nature that the ⚫ Church is of from whence it came. And there

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