The grand imposture of the (now) Church of Rome manifested in this one article of the new Romane creede, viz: the holy, catholike, and apostolike Romane Church, mother and mistresse of all other churches, without which there is no saluation. Proued to ba a new, false, sacrilegious, scandalous, schismaticall, hereticall, and blasphemous article (respectiuely) and euerie way damnable. The last chapter containeth a determination of the whole question, concerning the separation of Protestants from the present Church of Rome: whereby may be discerned whether side is to be accounted schismaticall, or may more iustly pleade soules saluation. By the B. of Couentrie & Lichfield.

I. CHALLENGE.

WHich Answer of your Cardinalls importeth thus much, to wit, that we are to belieue that two hundred and seuenteene Bishops, two Reuerend Patriarchs, and three ancient Popes erred in their ignorance of a Generall Councell of Sardis, in those daies, wherein the matter was aduisedly and exactly discussed; rather than these Two Cardinals, which are but of yesterdaies birth, in their coniecturall presumptions: which is in effect as much as to tell vs, that those Archers canot discerne so well of a true aime, who are an hundred and fifty paces distant from the marke, as they who are of a thousand and two hundred: for such was the difference betw••ene the yeeres of those ancient Fathers, and of these Cardinalls, from the time of the Councell of Nice. Which Answer wee haue else-where proued to be no solution, but a fiction rather, and meere Illusion. Yet that we may deale liberally with you, so as not onely to suppose, but (if you will) to confesse also that there was a Generall Councell called Sardican, as such your

g 1.1 Testimonies delare; and therefore to yeeld so farre to h 1.2 Ba∣ronius, and i 1.3 Binius, as to thinke, that Augustine and the A∣fricane Bishops could not be ignorant of the Sardican Councell, which Saint Augustine himselfe calleth [Plenarium vniuersae Ecclesiae Concilium,] An Vniuersall Councell: Neuerthelesse heereupon must we likewise make bold to tell you, that the Canons which you cite for your Appeales must bee iudged fictions, because else the African Bishops, with Saint Au∣gustine, could not haue answered your Pope, that k 1.4 No Synod had ordained that any might come from his Holinesse to order these matters. Nor could those Popes haue omitted the menti∣on of such a Canon, if any such had been, when now it so much stood them vpon, both for keeping themselues free from crime of forging a false Canon of the Councell of Nice, and also for aduantaging their pretended Claime of Appeales, by virtue of a Canon of Sardis. Howsoeuer, let vs proceed to that which followeth.

Notes

• g 1.1

  Vt patet ex Athanasio Apol. 2. Magnum Con¦cilium. Socrates lib. 2. Cap. 16. Con∣cilium generale. Su••pitius Seuerus Epist. lib. 2. Impe∣rator iubet apud Sardicam, Conci∣lium congregari. Iustinian in Edicto contra Triae Capi¦••ula vocat Vniuer∣sale Concilium. Et Conciliū Chal∣cedonense mentio∣nem facit Sardi∣censis. Numerus Episcoporum 344. Primum Concilium Carthaginense tempore Iulij, de quo Grantianus. Sic decretum est in Sanctissimo Sardicensi Con∣cilio.
• h 1.2

  Baronius Anno 347. num. 97.
• i 1.3

  Binnius Annotat. in Concilium Sar∣dicense. pag. 439.
• k 1.4

  In nullâ patrum Synodo inueni∣mus constitutum. Conc. Afric. c. 105. Apud Sur.