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.

¶The ninthe ob∣iection.

Anacletus and also Ci∣prian do saye that all the a∣postles had equall power and dignitye geuen to theym by Christ: but bycause all should preache one thinge: therfore the beginning thereof first be∣gan by one, which was Peter.

Yea and he sayeth further, in the church there is one office of all bushoppes, wherof euerye one hath a part allotted whol¦lye vnto him.

¶The answere.

This is somwhat answered vnto in the last responsion. Ne¦uertheles to speake a lytle fur∣ther therin, S. Aug. saith that S. Peter and S. Paule were

equall: but he doth not leue it so raw, but declareth how, say∣inge, they were equall in me∣rite, but in power and autho∣rytye Peter didde farre excell, like as Paule did in science. Howbeit in power to forgyue sinnes, in power to preache, in power to minister the Sacra∣mentes, in excommunicatinge &c. all were lyke, and all theyr power was like not onelye a∣monge thappostels, but also if ye ioyne the .72. disciples wyth them (as is declared in the last responsion) so that herein doth not consist Peters authoritye aboue others but it doth cōsist in the iurisdiction aboue all o∣ther. So that thoughe in some thinges all the apostels

had equall power and dignitie geuen vnto thyem by Christe, yet bycause they shoulde all preache one thynge, Christe woulde one (that is to say Pe∣ter) to be the begynner, the chiefe and heade of al: bycause the vnytie of the church should depende vpon the vnitie of Pe¦ters authoritie. As concerning thoffice of apostelship or edify∣inge in fayth, so they were e∣qual, but in gouernement and power Peter heade of all the rest.

And where you saye there is one office of all bishops wher∣of. &c. S. Ciprians wordes be these. Ecclesia vna est. &c. epis∣copatus vnus est cuius a singulis in solidū pars tenetur, id est. The church is one, the bishopriche is one, wherof parte is holden of euerye one as in the whole. This is the englishe of it (and not as ye for youre purpose haue translated it) wherby ap¦peareth nothinge els but that al dependeth vpon the vnitye. &c. If this were not here S. Ciprians meaninge, why then in other places did S. Cipri∣an say (as we haue it in the .74 probacion and iu aunswering to the first obiection) that vpō Peter Christe builded his church as vpon the first in dig¦nity?

And that the see of Rome is the roote and mother of all churches? And agayne y^t al he resies and schismes do springe only of that men will not obey the head bishop? I set Ciprian to answer to Ciprian. Thinke not y^t the holy Martir will be cōtrary to him selfe.

Notes

• In simp. ••le.
• Anacle. ait caeteri aposto¦li cum beato petro pari corsortio p̄∣diti & hono∣rem et pote∣statem acce∣perunt. Cip. ait, {quod} hoc caeteri apostoli erant {quod} petrus fuit, pari con¦sortio prediti & honoris & potestatis.
• Respon̄. Id est in simil. honoris & potestatis. Rursus: duplex est potestas, vna, ordinis siue consecra∣tionis, altera, regiminis siue administrationis. Anacle. & cipri. fatentur omnes esse pares si loquaris de potestate ordinis vel consecrationis, sed non esse pares in regi∣mine, in administratione, ac iurisdictione.
• con. 27. de sanctis.
• Super vnum edificat ec∣clesi. quam∣uis omnibus apostolis pa∣rem dederat potestatē (in sacramento videlicet & potestate or∣dinis sacer dotalis) vt vnitatem ma¦nifestaret. v∣nitatis ita{que} ciusdem originem ab vno incipientem authoritate sua disposuit: & exordium ab vnitate proficiscitur vt ec∣clesia vna esse monsiretur que est vna semper ordinata hominum multitudo in diuinum cultum.