Let vs come now to the third part, which concerneth ecclesiasticall discipline: the officers that haue to deale in this charge, are chiefely three, Ministers, Preachers or Pastors, of whom before. Seniors or Elders and Deacons. Concerning Seniors, not only their office, but their name also is out of this English Church vtterly remoued. Theyr office was to (q 1.1) gouerne the church with the reste of the Ministers, to consulte, to admonish, to correct, and to order all thinges apperteyning to the state of the congregation.
To proue that the office of Seniors was to gouerne the Churche with the rest of the ministers, to consulte, to admonish, to correct and to order al things apperteyning, to the state of the congregation, you alleage Act. 14. & the. 1. Corinth. 12. In the 14. of the Actes it is writtē that Paule & Barnabas ordeyned Elders at Antioche in euery Churche, but there is not one worde spoken of their office, & therefore that text serueth not your purpose. You haue alleaged this selfe same place twice before, to proue that no minister of the worde ought to be placed in any congregation, but by consent of the people, & that the election of ministers ought to be by the con∣gregation: now you alleage it to proue the office of your Seniors: can it both be meant of Seniors, and of the ministers of the worde, being as you say, distinct offices? will you thus dally with the scrip∣ture, and make it a nose of waxe (as the Papistes terme it) to wreast and wryth it which way you list? here you must needes confesse ey∣ther contradiction in your selues, or falsification.