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 PART, CONCERNING THE PRINCES authoritie in causes Ecclesiasticall.

The Papists.

[error 100] THe Prince, they say, hath no authoritie to giue voyce deliberatiue or defini∣tiue in Councels concerning matters of religion, nor to make lawes Eccle∣siasticall concerning the same: Onely they giue them authoritie to execute the Ecclesiasticall lawes made by the Church, Rhemist. 1. Corinth. 14.16. Bellarm. de pontif. lib. 1. cap. 7.

1 Kings and Princes may in their owne persons execute if they will, what∣soeuer their inferiour officers do, as to heare and determine causes, as the Iudges and other Magistrates doe: but the Prince cannot execute any Ecclesiasticall function, as to preach, baptize: Ergo, he hath no authoritie in causes Ecclesiasti∣call: for how can the Prince impart that to others, whereof he is himselfe inca∣pable, as to giue Bishops and Pastors power to ordaine, to preach, and such like, Bellarm. Rhemist. ibid.

Ans. First, the authoritie of ciuill Magistrates doth not giue any thing to Ec∣clesiasticall Ministers, which appertaineth to their office, as to ordaine, preach, baptize, neither is the Prince to deale in these offices: yet may the ciuill Magi∣strates command them to execute their charge and dueties according to the word of God. Wherefore it followeth not, Princes cannot execute the pastoral dueties themselues: Ergo, they ought not to see them executed. Dauid, Salo∣mon, Iehosophat, Ezechia, commanded the Priests to execute their office accor∣ding to the law of God, though it was not lawfull for them, neither did they exe∣cute any thing proper to the Priests office in their owne persons; neither doth any Christian Prince challenge any such right in Ecclesiasticall functions: wherefore it is an impudent slander of Bellarmine, which he giueth forth of our Queene, Iam re ipsa Caluinistis in Anglia mulier quaedam summus pontifex. And now (sayth he) in England the Caluinists haue a certaine woman for their chiefe Bishop. De notis eccles. lib. 4. cap. 9.

2 It doth not followe, that the Prince might as well execute Ecclesiasticall offices, as he may ciuill in his owne person, if he haue authoritie ouer both: No

more then it followeth, that because Ecclesiasticall persons doe teach both ci∣uill Magistrates and Church officers their dueties, and may in their owne per∣sons execute the one, that is, spirituall duties, that they may as well intermeddle in the other: But these two offices of Ciuill and Ecclesiasticall gouernment are distinguished, and must not be confounded. The Prince, though he haue autho∣ritie to command Ecclesiasticall persons, yet being a ciuill Magistrate, is not to deale with the execution of spirituall dueties. Bishops & pastors likewise haue a spiritual charge ouer kings & princes, to shew thē their duties out of Gods word, yet because they are persons Ecclesiastical, they ought not to meddle with meer Ciuill dueties. The Prince hath the soueraigntie of externall gouernement in all causes & ouer all persons, yet not alike, for Ciuill offices he may both command and execute; Ecclesiasticall duties he commandeth onely: Bishops and pastors haue also a spirituall charge ouer all, prescribing out of Gods word as well the duetie of Magistrates, as of Ministers, but not alike, for the one they may fully execute, so may they not the other. The head in the naturall bodie, resembleth the Prince in the commonwealth, in some sense: the head giueth mouing to the whole bodie and all the parts thereof: but to the principall parts in the head the eyes, tongue, eares, it giueth beside the facultie of mouing, the sense also of see∣ing, tasting, hearing: So in the common-wealth, by the Princes authoritie all persons are kept in order, and vrged to looke to their charge, both ciuill officers and spirituall, as al the parts of the bodie receiue mouing from the head: But the ciuill officers receiue power and authoritie beside, and their very offices of the King, as the parts in the head, receiue sense from their fountaine: but Ecclesiasti∣call Ministers receiue not their offices from the Prince, or any mortall man, but they haue their calling according to the order of the Church of God.

Argum. 2. For the space of 300. yeeres the Church after Christ had no Chri∣stian gouernours, but all Heathen and Idoll worshippers, yet then the Church was established, and preuailed: Ergo, Ciuill Magistrates ought not to deale in Ecclesiasticall affayres, Bellarmine.

Ans. 1. Euen then also, the Heathen Emperours had authoritie in Church matters, and if they had commanded any thing agreeable to true religion, they should haue been obeyed: as Cyrus in the law which he made for building the temple, Ezra. 1. Darius the Median, for worshipping the true God, Dan. 6. Fulk. Rom. 13. sect. 3. The heathen Emperours then had the same power, but they knewe not how to vse it: Christian Princes doe succeede them in the same of∣fice, but are better taught by the word of God how to exercise the sword. Se∣condly, we denie not but that in the time of persecution all things necessarie for the spirituall building thereof may be had, without the Magistrate, as a Vine∣yard may bring forth fruite without an hedge, but it cannot enioy peace, nor be in a perfect estate, in respect of the externall gouernement, but vnder good Ma∣gistrates, as the Vineyard may soone be spoyled, the wild bore and the beasts of the field may breake in vpon it hauing no hedge. The child being in the womb, though it haue as yet small vse of the head, but is fed by the nauell, which is in

steed of the mouth, hath in it selfe the lineaments and proportion of a humane bodie, yet it wanteth the perfect beautie, till it be borne and come forth, and the head receiue his office: So may the Church haue a being in persecution, and the want of the ciuill head may be otherwise supplied, but it is not beautifull till the head be set vp, and the sword put into the Christian Magistrates hand.

Argum. 3. Princes haue no cure nor charge of soules: Ergo, they are not to meddle with Ecclesiasticall lawes, Rhemist. annot. 1. Corinth. 14. sect. 16.

Ans. Parents haue charge ouer the soules of their childrē, for they are charged to bring them vp in the instruction and information of the Lord, Ephes. 6.4. Therefore Princes also haue directly charge of the soules of their subiects accor∣ding to their place and calling, by prouiding and making good Ecclesiasticall lawes, and compelling them to the true seruice of God: As the Ecclesiasticall Ministers in another kind, and more properly are said to haue the cure of soules, in feeding and instructing the people, Fulk. ibid.

The Protestants.

THe ciuill Magistrate, by the word of God, hath power to make and consti∣tute Ecclesiasticall lawes, and to establish true religion, and see that all per∣sons vnder their gouernment doe faithfully execute their charge: To say there∣fore that the Church officers are to deuise lawes concerning religion, and the Prince onely to execute them, is to make the Prince their seruant, and doth de∣rogate too much from the princely authoritie: Neither doe we giue vnto the Prince absolute power to make Ecclesiasticall lawes: for first, the Prince is not to prescribe what lawes he listeth to the Church, but such as onely may require the true worship of God. Secondly, that it is expedient and meete, according to the commendable custome of this land, that the godly learned of the Clergie should be consulted withall, in establishing of Ecclesiastical ordinances, vnlesse it be in such a corrupt time, when the Church gouernours are enemies to reli∣gion, for then the Prince, not staying vpon their iudgement, ought to reforme religion according to the word of God, as we see it was lawfully and godly pra∣ctised by King Henrie the 8. Thirdly, we doe make exception of all such Eccle∣siasticall canons and ordinances, the making whereof doth properly belong to the office of Bishops and gouernours of the Church: for our meaning is not, that it is not lawful for Ecclesiastical Ministers, to make Ecclesiastical decrees, which do properly concerne their office, as concerning the censures of the Church, ex∣communication, suspension, absoluing, binding, loosing, and such like, which things are incident to their pastorall office: and yet we grant, that the Prince hath euen in these cases an ouerruling hand, to see that none abuse their pastoral office. But that any lawes ought to be made without the authoritie of the prince, which the prince is bound, to execute, we vtterly denie: And so we conclude, that the ciuill Magistrate hath power ouer all persons and in all causes, both temporall and ecclesiasticall, in such manner as we haue sayd.

1 S. Paul willeth, that praiers should be made for Kings and Princes, that vn∣der them we may leade a peaceable life, in all godlines and honestie, 1. Tim. 2.2.

Ergo, it is their duetie as well to procure religion by their authoritie, as ciuill ho∣nestie. Againe, He beareth not the sword for nought, Rom. 13.4. He hath power to punish al euill doers: therfore also to correct euill ministers, & to make Eccle∣siastical lawes: for otherwise he should haue no ful power to correct the trans∣gressors thereof.

2 We reade that Iosua, Dauid, Salomon, Iosia, did deale in ecclesiasticall mat∣ters, which concerned religion and the worship of God. Bellarm. They did it by an extraordinarie authoritie, not as Kings, but as Prophets. Nay, it was an ordinarie power: for all the good kings of Iuda beside, as Iehosaphat, Heze∣kiah, and others, did take care of religion: & this was so properly annexed to the kingly office, that idolatrous kings also tooke vpon them to command false reli∣gion, as Ieroboam set vp two golden calues, and Ahaz king of Iudah cōmanded Vriah the high Priest to make an Altar according to the patterne which he sent from Damascus, 2. King. 16.11. This power also was afterward exercised by Christian Kings and Emperours: as Constantinus, Theodosius, Martianus, made lawes for the Church, Fulk. annot. 1. Cor. 14. sect. 16. Iustinianus the Emperour de∣creed many things concerning Church affayres: as how excommunication should be vsed, how Bishops and Priests should be ordained, concerning the or∣der and manner of funerals: that the holy mysteries should not be done in pri∣uate houses. Carolus magnus decreed, that onely the Canonical bookes of scrip∣ture should be read in the Church: he chargeth all Bishops and priests to preach the word. Lodouicus Pius his sonne, and Emperour after him, ordained that no entrie should bee made into the Church by Simonie: that Bishops should bee chosen by the free election of the Clergie and the people. All these Emperours did lawfully exercise their princely authoritie in Ecclesiastical matters: Ergo, o∣ther princes may doe the same still.

3 Augustine saith, Epistol. 50. Quis mente sobrius &c? Who in his right wits would say to the King, It pertaineth not to you, who in your kingdome is re∣ligious or sacrilegious, to whom it cannot be said, let it not pertaine vnto you, who in your kingdome will be chast or vnchast? And in another place, Ad fra∣tres in erem. serm. 14. Tunc iustitia dicitur gladius ex vtra{que} parte acutus, quia ho∣minis defendit corpus ab exterioribus iniurijs, & animam à spiritualibus molestijs. Then iustice is rightly called a sword with a double edge, because it doth both defend the bodie from externall and corporall wrongs, and the soule from spiri∣tuall vexation: That is, the sword of the Magistrate serueth as well to prune the Church, and to cut off all errors and heresies in religion, as to destroy the vices and corruptions in manners.

Notes

• Argum.
• Fulk. Hebr. 13.9.
• Fox. pag. 7.