A defence of the true and catholike doctrine of the sacrament of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ with a confutacion of sundry errors concernyng the same, grounded and stablished vpon Goddes holy woorde, [and] approued by ye consent of the moste auncient doctors of the Churche. Made by the moste reuerende father in God Thomas Archebyshop of Canterbury, primate of all Englande and Metropolitane.

* 1.1And nowe I will reherse dyuers difficultees, absurditees and inconueniences,* 1.2 whiche muste nedes folow vpon thi•• error of transubstantia∣tion, wherof not one ••oth folow of the true and right faith, which is accordyng to Gods worde.

[ 1] FYRST, if the Papistes be demanded, what thyng it is, that is broken, what is eaten, what is dronken, and what is chawed with the teeth, lyppes, and mouth in this sacrament, they haue nothyng to answere, but the accidences. For (as they say) bread and wyne bee not the visible ele∣ment in this sacrament, but onely their acciden∣tes. And so they be forced to saye, that acciden∣tes be broken, eaten, dronken, chawen, and swa∣lowed without any substance at all: whyche is not onely agaynst all reason, but also agaynste the doctrine of all auncient authors.

[ 2] Secondly, these Transubstantiatours do say (contrary to al learnyng) that the accidentes of bread and wine do hang alone in the ayre with∣out any substance, wherin they may bee staied. And what can be sayd more foolyshely?

[ 3] Thirdly, that the substance of Christes body is there really, corporally and naturally present without any accidentes of the same. And so the Papistes make accidentes to be without substā¦ces, and substances to bee without accidentes.

[ 4] Fourthely, they say, that the place where the bread and wyne bee, hath no substaunce there to fyll that place, and so must they nedes graunte

vacuum, whiche nature vtterly abhorreth.

Fiftly, thei ar not ashamed to say, that substāce [ 5] is made of accidētes, whē the breade mouleth, or is turned into worms, or whā the wyne sowreth.

Sixtly, that substāce is norished without sub∣stāce, [ 6] by accidentes onely, if it chance any catte, mouse, dogge, or any other thyng, to eate the sa∣cramentall bread, or drink the sacramental wine

These inconueniences and absurditees do fo∣lowe of the fond Papistical transubstantintion, with a numbre of other errors as euyll or worse than these, whervnto they bee neuer able to an∣swere, as many of them haue cōfessed themselfs.

And it is a wonder to see, how in many of the forsaid thynges, they vary among them selues.

Where as the other doctrine of the scripture, and of the old catholike churche (but not of the lately corrupted Romyshe church) is playn and easy, as well to be vnderstanded, as to answere to all the foresayd questions, without any absur¦ditee or inconuenience folowyng therof: so that euery answere shall agree with Goddes worde, with the olde Churche, and also with all reason and true Philosophie.

For as touchyng the fyrst poynt, what is bro∣ken, what is eaten, what dronken, and what cha¦wed in this sacrament, it is easy to answere, The bread and wyne, as S. Paule saith: The bread whiche we breake.

And as cōcernyng the second & third pointes; neither is the substance of bread & wine without

their proper accidentes, nor their accidentes hang alone in the ayre without any substaunce, but accordyng to all learnyng, the substance of the bread and wyne reserue their owne acciden∣tes, and the accidentes do rest in their owne sub¦stances.

And also as concernyng the fourth poynt, there is no place lefte voyde after Consecracion (as the Papistes dreame) but bread and wyne fulfyll their places, as they did before.

And as touchyng the fift point (whereof the wormes or moulyng is engendred, and whereof the vyneger commeth) the answere is easye to make (accordyng to all learnyng and experiēce) that they come, (accordyng to the course of na∣ture) of the substaunce of the bread and wyne to long kept, and not of the accidētes alone, as the Papistes do fondly phantasy.

And likewise the substances of bread & wyne, do feede and norishe the body of them, that eate the same, and not the only accidentes.

In these answeres is no absurditie nor incon¦uenience, nothyng spoken, either contrarye to holy scripture, or to natural reason, Philosophy or experience, or against any olde auncient au∣thor, or the primatiue or catholike churche, but onely against the malignant and Papisticall church of Rome. Where as on the other syde, y^t cursed synagoge of Antichrist, hath defined and determined in this matter, many thynges con∣trary to Christes wordes, contrary to the olde

catholike church, and the holy martyrs and doc∣toures of the same, and contrary to all naturall reason, learnynge and phylosophy.

And the final end of all this Antichrists doc∣trine is none other, but by subtelty and crafte, to bringe christian people from the true honou∣ringe of Christ, vnto the greatest ydolatry, that euer was in this worlde deuised: as by goddes grace shalbe plainly sette forth hereafter.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Chap. 14
• * 1.2

  Absurdi∣tees that folowe of Transub∣stātiation