The triall of the supremacy wherein is set fourth ye unitie of christes church milita[n]t geue[n] to S. Peter and his successoures by Christe and that there ought to be one head bishop in earth Christes vicar generall ouer all hys churche militant: wyth answeres to the blasphemous obiections made agaynste the same in the late miserable yeres now paste.

¶Here now the councel of A∣lexandrine (wherein y^e Arians were condemned) here I saye all y^e bishops of Egipt, Thebe¦ans, & Libians, among whom holy Athanasius was, they writing to Felix then bi∣shop of Rome. Here I say how they ded ex¦pound the for∣mer text.

All those holye fathers did there playnlye declare that it was decreed in Nicē counsel y^t mē should appeale in certayne cases to the see apostolike, y^e see of Rome, to whome Christs gaue by speciall prerogatiue aboue all other power to lose and binde, and that it was the guide and henge in whom all

must be susteined, vpholden & mayntayned, he sayinge, thou art Peter, and vpon thy foun∣daciō the pillers of the church, that is to saye, the bishoppes (whose office is to susteyne the church) are builded and confir¦med vnto thee, the prince, the teacher, & the head of all christi¦an religion the keyes were ge∣uen and power in heauen and earthe. &c.

Oh howe great then is this authorytye where vnto wyth one consente whole christen∣dome thus doeth agree? Yea and that not all beinge stil ga∣thered together in one place, but being ofte seperated farre a sūder not one knowing of an

others minde, and yet al agre∣ing euer in one, & all after one fashion expounding the forsaid text thou art Peter. &c. Euery one hereby geuinge to Peter and his successours, the hyghe preeminence and authority a∣boue al christendom. So that by the consent of al these (both fathers and counsels) it well appeareth that Peter aunswe¦red onely for him selfe, like as didde the scribe marke the .ix. where as christ demaunded a question indifferentlye of all. Sometimes when he demaū∣ded of all, al gaue answere: as when he asked whom do men saye the sonne of man is?

Sometimes whē he asked all,* 1.1 none aunswered, but euerye one held his peace: as when he

asked, wherof they reasoned in the waye? And some tymes one alone aunswered,* 1.2 as did Peter in the former texte, and the scribe marke the .ix. And here now I iudge, this obiecti∣on is sufficiently answered vn¦to, to satisfye herewith al reaso¦nable people: and as for the o∣ther sorte, God I beseche him open theyr eies to se the truth, or els take them awaye quick∣lye for feare of infectinge the flocke of Christe and special∣lye the simple Lambes of his folde.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Math. 16.
• * 1.2

  Mar. ••.