A treatise of the nature of a minister in all its offices to which is annexed an answer to Doctor Forbes concerning the necessity of bishops to ordain, which is an answer to a question, proposed in these late unhappy times, to the author, What is a minister?

SECT. VI. It is an Error to think that the Anointing the Bishops Hand, is a necessary Essential.

THe third Ceremony by Tanner, out of the ponti••ical, is the Anointing of the Bishops hand, which is to be Con∣secrated in these words, ungantur manus istae oleo Consecrato; that is when he Anoints his hands, he saith, let these hands be anointed with holy oyl: And Francis Silvius, I must say truly a learned man and most perspicuous writer in his fortieth Quest. upon the supplement of Thomas Art 5. in resp. ad 8^m., saith that the essential Consecration of a Bishop consists in this uncti∣on, and the words pronounced with it; (for the Church of Rome calls the o••tward sign the matter, and the words the form)

and this to be it, he proves by a very strong Argument against the Romanist: because in the whole frame of Ordination, the Bishop Consecrated, is cal••ed in the ponti••ical untill then, Bi∣shop Elect only; But then absolutely Bishop from that time; and his Argument is as weakly answered by Tanner where before quoted that, Neque obstat quod in pontisicali ordinandus Episco∣pus post unctionem primum vocatur Consecratus, antea vero solum Electus id ••nim ad scriptorem Rubrici & modum l••quendi pertinent, plus non significat quam ante unctionem nondum esse plene Consecra∣tum, That is that the Language of the Ponti••ical ought to be attributed to the writer of the Rubrick, and that there is no more imported in it, but that before the Unction he is not fully Bishop: Truly I think Silvius doth desire no more, but if men can shift off such grave and weighty observations with saying it was a fault in the Writer or Printer; there can no authority be produced but may be so answered: But he is more to bl••me who transcribed it false, but why hath it not been amended, and that fault corrected: The truth is, the Ponti••ical it self is to blame, there is no such thing in that much more antient Ponti∣••ic••i, I mean the fourth Councel of Carthage, Canon 2. I will put down t••e words, because I am likely to make use of them hereafter; the words are these.

Episcopus quum ordinatur duo Episcopi ponant & teneant Evan∣geliorum codicem super caput & cervicem ejus & uno fundente benedictionem reliqui omnes Episcopi qui adsunt, manibus suis caput ejus tangant. That is, a Bishop when he is ordained, two Bishops shall put and hold the Book of the Gospel over his head and neck, and one giving him the blessing; the other Bi∣shops shall put and hold the Book of the Gospel over his head and neck, and one giving him the blessing; the other ••ishops which are present shall touch his head with their hands; here is not any word of anointing, and therefore according to this Canon neither of these Unctions, I mean head and hand are ne∣cessary, for although the Canon may name somethings which are not necessary, yet it is not to be imagined that it should leave out any thing which is necessary.