was translated into englishe in this authors name about two yeares past.
Phillip Melancton no papist nor priest, writeth a very wise epistle in this matter to Decolampadius, and signifiyng soberly his beléefe of the presence of Christes very body in the Sacrament: and to proue the same to haue béen the fayth of the old church from ye beginning, alleadgeth the sayinges of Irene, Ciprian, Chrisostome, Hillary, Cirill, Am∣brose and Theophilacte, which authors he estemeth both worthy credite, and to affirme the presence of Christes body in the Sacrament plainly without ambiguity. He answe∣reth to certain places of S. Augustine and saith, all Decolampadius enterprise to depend vpon coniectures, and argumentes applausible to idle wittes, with much more wise mat¦ter as that epistle doth purport, which is set out in a booke of a good volume among the o∣ther Epistles of Decolampadius, so as no man may suspecte any thing counterfayte in the matter.
One Hippinus, or Oepinus of Hamborough, greatly estéemed among the Lutheri∣ans, hath written a booke to the Kinges Maiesty that now is, published abroad in printe, wherein much inueyng against the church of Rome, doth in the matter of the sacrament write as followeth: Encharistia is called by it selfe a sacrifice, because it is a remēbrance of the true sacrifice offered vpon the crosse, and that in it is dispensed the true body & true bloud of Christ, which is plainly the same in essence, that is to say substāce, and the same bloud in essence signifiyng, though the maner of presence be spirituall, yet the substaunce of that is present, is the same with that in heauen.
Erasmus noted a man that durst and did speake of all abuses in the church liberallye, taken for no papist, & among vs to much estéemed, as his peraphrasis of the Gospell is ordered to be had in euery church of this Realme, declareth in diuers of his workes most manifestly his fayth of the presence of Christes body in ye Sacrament, & by his Epistles, recommendeth to the worlde the worke of Algerus in that matter of the Sacrament, whom he noteth well exercised in the scriptures, and the olde doctors, Ciprian, Hilary, Ambrose, Hierome, Augustine, Basill, Chrysostom. And for Erasmus own iudgement, he sayth we haue an inuiolable fountation of Christes own words (this is my body) re∣hearsed agayn by S. Paule: he sayth further, the body of Christe is hidden vnder those signes, and sheweth also vpon what occasions men haue erred in reading the old fathers, and wisheth that they which haue folowed Berengarius in error, would also folow him in repentance. I will not (reader) encombre thée with mo wordes of Erasmus.
Peter Martyr of Oxford taken for no Papist, in a treatise he made of late of the Sa∣crament, which is now translated into Englishe, sheweth how as touching the real pre∣sence of Christes body, it is not only the sentence of the papistes, but of other also, whom the sayd Peter neuerthelesse doth with as many shiftes and lyes as he may, impugne for that point, as well as he doth the Papistes for transubstantiation, but yet he doth not as this author doth impute, that fayth of the reall presence of Christs body and bloud to the [ 4] only Papistes. Wherupon Reader, here I ioyne with the author an issue, that the faith of the reall and substantiall presence of Christes body and bloud in the sacrament, is not the deuise of Papistes or their faith only, as this author doth considerately slaunder it to be, and desire therfore that according to Salamons iudgement this may serue for a note and marke, to geue sentence for the true mother of the child. For what should this mean so without shame openly and vntruely to call this fayth papishe, but only with the enui∣ous word of Papist to ouermatche the truth.