Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 2, part 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.

¶The determination of Doctor Nicolas Rid∣ley Bishop of Rochester, vpon the conclusi∣ons aboue prefixed.

THere hath bene an ancient custome amongst you, that after disputations had in your common scholes,* 1.1 there should be some determination made of the matters so dis∣puted and debated, especially touching Christian religion. Because therefore it is seene good vnto these worshipfull assistentes ioyned with me in commission from the kings Maiestie, that I should performe the same at this tyme: I will by your fauourable pacience declare, both what I do thinke and beleue my selfe, and what also other, ought to think of the same. Which thing I would that afterwardes ye did with diligence way and ponder, euery man at home seuerally by himselfe.

The principal groundes or rather headsprings of this matter are specially fiue.

The first is the authoritie, maiestie, and veritie of holy Scrip∣ture.* 1.2

The second is the most certayne testimonies of the auncient Catholicke Fathers, who, after my iudgement, do sufficiently de∣clare this matter.

The third is the definition of a Sacrament.

The fourth is the abhominable heresie of Eutiches that may ensue of Transubstantiation.

The fift is the most sure beliefe of the article of our fayth: He ascended into heauen.

¶The first grounde.

This Transubstantiation is cleane agaynst y^e wordes of the scripture,* 1.3 and consent of the auncient Catholick Fa∣thers. The scripture sayth: I will not drinke hereafter of thys fruite of the vine. &c. Now the fruite of this Uyne is wyne. And it is manifest that Christ spake these wordes after the Supper was finished, as it appeareth both in Mathewe, Marke, and also in Luke, if they be well vnderstanded. There be not many places of the scripture that do confirm this thing, neither is it greatly materiall: For it is enough if there be any one playne testimonie for the same. Neither ought it to be measured by the number of Scriptures, but by the authority,* 1.4 and by the veritie of the same. And the maiestie of this veritie is as ample in one short sentence of the Scripture, as in a thousand.

Moreouer, Christ tooke bread, he brake bread, he gaue bread. In the Actes Luke calleth it bread. So Paule cal∣leth it bread after the sanctification. Both of them speaketh of breakyng, which belongeth to the substaunce of bread, and in no wyse to Christes body, for the Scripture sayth: Ye shall not breake a bone of hym.* 1.5 Christ sayth, Doe ye this in my remembraunce. Saint Paule also sayeth: Doe ye this in my remembraunce. And agayne, As often as ye shall drinke of this cup,* 1.6 do it in the remembraunce of me. And our Sauiour Christ in the 6. of Iohn, speakyng against the Capernaits, sayth: Labour for the meat that perisheth not. And when they asked: What shall we do that we may worke the workes of God? He aunswered them thus: This is the worke of God, that ye beleeue in hym whom he hath sent.* 1.7 You see how he exhorteth them to fayth, for fayth is that worke of God. Agayne, This is the bread which came downe from heauen. But Christes body came not downe from heauen. Moreouer, Hee that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my bloud, dwelleth in me, and I in hym. My flesh (sayth he) is meat in deede, and my bloud is drinke in deede. When they heard this, they were offended. And whilest they were offended, he sayd vnto them: What if ye shall see the sonne of man ascend vp where he was before? Wher∣by he went about to draw them from the grosse and carnal eatyng. This body sayth he, shall ascend vp into heauen, meanyng altogether as S. Augustine sayth: It is the spi∣rit that quickneth, the flesh profiteth nothyng. The wordes that I speake vnto you, are spirit and lyfe, and must be spiritually vn∣derstood. These bee the reasons which perswade me to in∣cline to this sentence and iudgement.

* 1.8¶The second ground.

Now my second ground agaynst this transubstantia∣tion are the auncient Fathers a thousand yeares past. And so farre of is it that they do confirme this opinion of tran∣substantiation, that playne they seeme vnto me, both to thinke and to teach the contrary.

Dionysius in many places calleth it breade.* 1.9 The pla∣ces are so manifest and playne, that it needeth not to recite them.

Ignatius to the Philadelphians sayth:* 1.10 I beseech you bre∣thren cleaue fast vnto one fayth, and to one kynde of preachyng, vsing together one manner of thankesgeuyng: for the fleshe of the Lord Iesu is one, and hys bloud is one which was shedde for vs: There is also one bread broken for vs, and one cuppe of the whole Church.

Irenaeus writeth thus:* 1.11 Euen as the bread that commeth of the earth receauyng Gods vocation is nowe no more com∣mon breade, but Sacramentall breade, consistyng of two na∣tures, earthly and heauenly: euen so our bodyes receauyng the Eucharist, are now no more corruptible, hauyng hope of the re∣surrection.

Tertullian is very playne,* 1.12 for he calleth it a figure of the body, &c.

Chrysostome writyng to Caesarius the Monke, albeit he be not receyued of dyuers,* 1.13 yet wyll I read the place to fasten it more deepely in your myndes: for it seemeth to shewe playnely the substaunce of bread to remayne. The wordes are these.

Before the bread is sanctified, we name it bread: but by the grace of God sanctifiyng the same thorough the ministery of the Priest, it is deliuered from the name of breade, and is counted worthy to beare the name of the Lordes body, although the ve∣ry substaunce of bread notwithstandyng doe still remayne ther∣in, and now is taken not to be two bodies, but one body of the Sonne, &c.

Cyprian sayth: Bread is made of many graynes. And is that naturall bread, and made of wheate? Yea it is so in deede.* 1.14

The booke of Theodoret in Greeke, was lately printed at Rome, which if it had not bene his, it should not haue bene set forth there, especially seeyng it is directly against transubstantiation: For he sayth plainely, that bread styll remayneth after the sanctification.

Gelasius also is very playne in this manner. The Sacra∣ment (sayth he) which we receyue of the body and bloude of Christ, is a diuine matter:* 1.15 by reason whereof we are made par∣takers by the same of the deuine nature, and yet it ceaseth not s••il to be the substaunce of bread and wyne. And certes, the repre∣sentation and similitude of the body and bloud of Christ be ce∣lebrated in the action of the mysteries, &c.

After this he recited certayne places out of Augustine and Cyrill, which were not noted.

Isichius also confesseth that it is bread.* 1.16

Also the iudgement of Bertram in this matter, is verye playne and manifest. And thus much for the second groūd.

The third ground.

The third grounde, is the nature of the Sacrament, which consisteth in three things, that is, Unitie,* 1.17 Nutriti∣on, and Conuersion.

As touching vnitie, Cyprian thus writeth:* 1.18 Euen as of many graynes is made one bread, so are we one mysticall bodye of Christ. Wherfore bread must needes still remaine, or els we destroy the nature of a Sacrament.

Also they that take away nutrition, which commeth by bread, do take away likewise the nature of the sacrament.* 1.19 For as the body of Christ nourisheth the soule, euē so doth bread likewyse nourish the body of man.

Therfore, they that take away y^e graynes or the vnion of the graynes in the bread, and deny the nutrition or sub∣staunce thereof, in my iudgement are Sacramentaries: for they take away the similitude betwene the bread & the bo∣dy of Christ. For they which affirme transubstantiation are in deed right Sacramentaries and Capernites.

As touchyng conuersion (that lyke as the bread which we receyue, is turned into our substance,* 1.20 so are we turned into Christes body) Rabanus and Chrysostome are wit∣nesses sufficient.

The fourth ground.* 1.21

They which say that Christ is carnally present in the Eucharist, do take from him the veritie of mans nature. Eu∣tiches granted the diuine nature in Christ, but his humane nature he denied. So they that defend transubstantiation ascribe that to the humane nature, which onely belongeth to the deuine nature.

The fift ground.

The fift ground is the certaine perswasion of this Ar∣ticle

of fayth: He ascended into heauen, and sitteth on the right hand. &c.

Augustine sayth: The Lord is aboue euen to the end of the world: but yet the veritie of the Lord is here also. For his body wherein he rose agayne,* 1.22 must needes be in one place, but his ve∣ritie is spread abroad euery where.

Also in another place he sayth: Let the godly receyue al∣so that Sacrament, but let them not be carefull (speaking there of the presence of his body.* 1.23) For as touchyng hys maiesty, his prouidence, his inuisible and vnspeakeable grace, these woordes are fulfilled which he spake: I am with you vnto the ende of the world. But accordyng to the flesh which he took vpō hym, accor¦dyng to that which was borne of the Virgin, was apprehēded of the Iewes, was fastened to a tree, taken downe agayne from the crosse, lapped in lynnen clothes, was buried and rose agayne, and appeared after hys resurrection, so you shall not haue me always with you. And why? because that as concernyng his flesh he was conuersant with hys Disciples fourty dayes, and they accompa∣nying hym, seyng hym, but not followyng hym, he went vp into heauen, and is not here, for he sitteth at the right hand of hys Fa∣ther, and yet he is here, because he is not departed hence, as con∣cernyng the presence of hys diuine Maiestie.

Marke and consider well what Saint Augustine say∣eth: He is ascended into heauen, and is not here, sayth he. Be∣leeue not them therefore which say that he is yet here still in the earth.

* 1.24Moreouer, Doubt not (sayeth the same Augustine) but that Iesus Christ as concernyng the nature of hys manhoode, is there from whence he shall come. And remember well and be∣leeue the profession of a Christian man: that he rose from death, ascended into heauen, and sitteth at the right hand of his father, and from that place, and none other (not from the aultares) shall he come to iudge the quicke and the dead, and he shal come as the Angell sayd, as he was seene go into heauen: that is to say, in the same fourme and substaunce, vnto the which he gaue im∣mortality, but chaunged not nature. After this fourme (mea∣nyng hys humaine nature) we may not thynke that it is eue∣ry where.

And in the same Epistle he saith: Take away from the bo∣dies the limitation of places and they shall be no where:* 1.25 and be∣cause they are no where, they shall not be at all.

* 1.26Vigilius sayth: If the word and the flesh be both of one na∣ture, seeyng that the word is euery where, why then is not the flesh also euery where? For when it was in earth, then verely it was not in heauen: and now when it is in heauen, it is not sure∣ly in earth. And it is so certayne, that it is not in earth, that as cō∣cernyng the same we looke for hym from heauen, whom as con∣cernyng the word, we beleeue to be with vs in earth.

Also the same Vigilius sayth: Which thyngs seeyng they be so, the course of the scripture must be searched of vs, and many testimonies must be gathered to shew plainly what a wickednes and sacriledge it is to referre those thyngs to the property of the diuine nature, which do onely belong to the nature of the flesh: and contrarywyse, to apply those thinges vnto the nature of the fleshe, which doe properly belong to the diuine nature. Which thyng the transubstantiatours doe, whilest they affirme Christes body not to be conteyned in any one place, and ascribe that to hys humanity, which properly belongeth to hys diuinitie: as they do which will haue Christes bo∣dy to be in no one certayne place limited.

Now in the latter conclusion concerning the sacrifice, because it dependeth vpon the first,* 1.27 I will in fewe wordes declare what I thinke. For if we did once agree in that, the whole controuersie in the other would soone be at an end: Two things there be which do persuade me that this con∣clusion is true: that is, certayne places of the scripture, & also certayne testimonies of the fathers. Saint Paul saith, Heb. 9.* 1.28 Christ beyng come an high Priest of good thinges to come, by a greater and more perfecter tabernacle not made with hands,* 1.29 that is, not of this building, neyther by the bloud of Gotes and Calues, but by his owne bloud, entred once into the holye place, and obtayned for vs eternall redemption, &c. and now in the end of the world he hath appeared once to put away sinne by the sacrifice of hymselfe.

And agayne: Christ was once offered to take away the sinnes of many.

Moreouer he sayth: With one offering hath he made per∣fect for euer those that are sanctified.* 1.30

These scriptures do perswade me to beleeue that there is no other oblation of Christ (albeit I am not ignoraunt there are many sacrifices) but that which was once made vpon the crosse.* 1.31

* 1.32The testimonies of the auncient Fathers which con∣firme the same, are out of Augustine ad Bonifac. Epist. 23. A∣gayne in his booke of 43. Questions, in the 61. Question. Also in his 20. booke agaynst Faustus the Manichie, cha. 21. And in the same booke agaynst the sayd Faustus, cap. 28. thus he writeth: Now the Christians keepe a memoriall of the sacri∣fice past, with a holy oblation and participation of the body and bloud of Christ.

Fulgentius in hys booke De Fide, calleth the same obla∣tion a Commemoration. And these thynges are suffici∣ent for this tyme for a scholasticall det••rmination of these matters.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The determina∣tion of D. Nic. Ridley vpon the disputations.
• * 1.2

  5. Princypall groundes to take away transub∣stantiation.
• * 1.3

  Transubstantia∣tion agaynst the Scripture.
• * 1.4

  Scripture to be measured not by number but by authoritye.
• * 1.5

  Exod. 12. 1. Cor. 11.
• * 1.6

  Iohn. 6.
• * 1.7

  Iohn. 6.
• * 1.8

  The second ground agaynst transubstantia∣tion.
• * 1.9

  Dionysi•••• Eccle. 〈◊〉〈◊〉.
• * 1.10

  Igna••ius 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Phila∣delph.
• * 1.11

  Irennaeus lib. 4. cap. 34.
• * 1.12

  Tertullia∣nus.
• * 1.13

  Chrisost. Cesariu••
• * 1.14

  Cyprian. Lib. 1. E∣pist. 6. Theodor••••••us.
• * 1.15

  Gelatius Epist. de duabus n••••turis in Christo.
• * 1.16

  ••sych. Lib▪ cap. 8. ••ertrame.
• * 1.17

  The third ground.
• * 1.18

  Cyprian. Three thinges in Sacramen••▪
• * 1.19

  1. Vnity 〈◊〉〈◊〉 2. Nutriti••••▪ 3. Conu••••••sion.
• * 1.20

  Conuers••••••▪
• * 1.21

  4. Grou•••• The real•• presence the Sacr••••ment sta••••deth not with the truth of Christe•• humanit••▪
• * 1.22

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.23

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.24

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.25

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.26

  Vigilius 〈…〉〈…〉 lib. 4.
• * 1.27

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 thyrd ••onclusiō.
• * 1.28

  ••eb 9.
• * 1.29

  ••••crifice of 〈…〉〈…〉.
• * 1.30

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 10.
• * 1.31

  〈…〉〈…〉 offered 〈◊〉〈◊〉 once.
• * 1.32

  〈◊〉〈◊〉. ad 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Epist. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 August. 〈…〉〈…〉 cō∣••tanstum 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••1.