Synopsis papismi, that is, A generall viewe of papistry wherein the whole mysterie of iniquitie, and summe of antichristian doctrine is set downe, which is maintained this day by the Synagogue of Rome, against the Church of Christ, together with an antithesis of the true Christian faith, and an antidotum or counterpoyson out of the Scriptures, against the whore of Babylons filthy cuppe of abominations: deuided into three bookes or centuries, that is, so many hundreds of popish heresies and errors. Collected by Andrew Willet Bachelor of Diuinity.

The third Note of Succession.

THey make great boast of the long and perpetuall successiō of their Popes [error 20] from the Apostles for the space of these 1500. yeares and more: condem∣ning all Churches, which can not shew the like order of succession. Bellarmin. cap. 8. Rhemist. annot. in Ephe. 4. ver. 13.

We aunswer. First, they can not shew such an entier and perpetuall succes∣siō, without any interruptiō or discontinuance for so many yeares: for some∣time there were two, sometime three Popes together, and this schisme conti∣nued 29. yeares, till the Councell of Constance, where three Popes were depo∣sed at once, Benedict 13. the Spanish Pope: Gregorie 12. the French Pope, and Iohn 23. the Italian Pope.

2 If succession be so sure a note of the Church, it is found also in other Churches besides: as in Cōstātinople, where hath bene a perpetuall succession, as Nicephorus saith, from S. Andrew the Apostle: in Antioch from S. Peter: and in other Churches in Grecia. The Iesuite here is driuen to his shiftes, and hath nothing to say, but this: that the argument foloweth negatiuely, that where there is no succession, there is no Church: not affirmatiuely, that where any succession can be shewed, there straightwayes it should folow there is a true Church: so by the Iesuites owne confession he hath made but a bad argument for the Church of Rome: we haue a perpetuall succession of Popes from the Apostles time, Ergo we are the Church. It foloweth not: saith the Iesuite, we graunt it. Why then a litle before did he call it insolubile argumentum, an inso∣soluble

and vnanswerable argument.

3 Thirdly we say, that a succession of persons in the same place, without succession of doctrine, which they can not shew, is nothing worth. A succes∣sion of the Apostolike faith and doctrine proueth a continuance of pastors and teachers, and not contrariwise. We haue the Apostolike faith, and there∣fore, we doubt not but that there haue bene continually in the Church faith∣full teachers, by whom that doctrine hath bene preserued and kept: though they were not famous, nor carried a glorious shew in the world. For that out∣ward succession is not necessarie, neither so much to be stood vpon. Augustine, whē he had alledged succession against heretikes, concludeth thus: Quanquam non tantū nos de istis documentis praesumamus,* 1.1 quā de Scripturis sanctis: although (saith he) we presume not so much vpon these documēts as of holy Scripture.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Epist. 165.