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 anwere.

When by Philip the dracon the people of Samaria were cōuerted to y^e faith, by y^e cōsēt of all y^e apostles (the holye ghoste being y^e chief author) Peter as whose authoritie was greatest

was chosen as beinge thought moste mete to goe to confirme them with tholye spyrite, the matter and case then requi∣rynge the chiefe power. What did this againste Peters au∣thoritye? or to the derogation of his high power and preemi∣nece? It semeth rather to sette fourth his excellent priuelege: bycause none was thoughte (yea euē to the holy gost which was the chiefe sender) so mete as Peter he being the head of al to goe to destroye the great member of the deuil Simon Magus: a thinge of passinge difficultie which required Pe∣ters presēce. This was an ar∣gument of tharians, the father sent the sonne, ergo the sonne was lesse then the father. How

be it Herode sent y^e .iii. Kinges to Christ, yet he was not grea¦ter then they. May not y^e King and the Counsel of a Realme finde a cause that shal seme ex∣pediēt y^t the Kinge in his owne person shall goe? Wil they not then say, it hath pleased y^t King & the Councel, y^e the King him selfe shal goe, & take one chiefe Duke with him, as Peter had Iohn w^t him? May it not then be sayd, the cause was so great they haue euē sende fourth the King? haue not euen the verye consuls of Rome (as histories declare) ofte so bene sente? was not therfore the consuls autho¦ritye the higheste, but to be counted equal with other? yea haue we not a lyke example in scripture,* 1.1 how the head of al

Phinees was sēt & .x. Princes with him in to the land of Ga∣laad? euē so Peter the head as moste mete and as most hono∣rable was put therunto being so sent to Samaria: yea & note this that Peter euer vsed hum¦ble submission but where au∣thoritie was required. But fur¦ther yet herein to speake what derogation were it now to the Popes authoritie, if the whole college of Cardinalles did con¦clude that it were expediēt for his fatherhode now to come in to Englande? Moreouer, note wel (concerning this obiectiō) that in thactes Lukes chiefe purpose was to describe y^e pere grinatiō of him self & of Paule so y^• not one worde is there of Peters tarieng nor of his stal¦laciō

at Antioche, nor of y^e de∣uidīg thapostels into sūdry cū∣tres, nor whō they cōuerted nor what martirdōe they suffered.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ios. 2••.