The safegarde from ship-wracke, or Heauens hauen compiled by I.P. priest.

THE 2. ARTICLE. The same faith vvas vniuersally professed for sundry ages before, and vvas also agreable to that first faith vvhere vnto the Brittans of wales vvere conuerted in the Apostles tymes.

M Iohn Napper in hisa treatise vpon the reuela∣tiōs dedicated to his Maiestie; saith: Betweene the yeare of Christ 300. and 316. the Antichristian and Pa∣pisticall raigne begāne, raigning vniuersally & without any debatable contradiction 1260. yeares. And a little further he saith. [Euen 1260. yeares the Pope and his clergie haue possessed the outword visible Church of Christians.]

With this account of M. Napper a greeth M. Brocard in his treatise vpon the reuelations where he arfirmeth:b [That the Church was trodden downe & oppressed by poperie euen from Pope Siluesters tyme (an. 300.) vnto these tymes.]

which deduction in this kind of our religion, vp vn∣to the Apostles age, appeareth also yet further euident by conferring our foresaid confessed religion taught vs by S. Gregory and S. Austine with that primitie faith where vnto the Brittans of wales were confessedly cō∣uerted in the Apostles tyme.

M. Camdē: saithc [It is certayne that the Brittans rece∣aued the Christiā faith in the very infācie of the Church. in proofe where of he there alleadgeth sundrie aunciēt authorities. And a little further saith. [In this Glastē∣berie monasterie floristed, which hath it origen or be∣gining from Ioseph of Arimathia S. [for this also doe the most auncient monuments of this monasterie te∣stifie neither can wee doubt of it]

M. Harrison in his description of Brittannie annexed to Hollens head his great Chronicle of the last edition saith:d [Ioseph preached here in England in the Apos∣tles tyme, his Sepulcher in Glastenburie, and Epi∣taph affixed thervnto, is proofe sufficient.

M. Henoch Clapham speaking of the Brittans con∣uersion

in the Apostles tymes saith:e our Schismaticks may as well ask me what assurance I haue, there was a king Henry, as demaund what assurance I haue of the other.

MIVELL saith:f The BRITAINS being conuerted by IOSEPH of ARIMATHIA held that faith at AV∣STINES comming.

For breuities sake. I omitt many others, as D. FVLK, M. GODWIN, M. FOX, M. MIDDLETON, &c.

It is also euident euen by S. BEDE himself, vvho liued so neete those tymes, and vvrote the historie therof (as vvitnes∣sethg M. COVPER, and since acknovvledged by many Pro∣testans,) that vpon conference then had at a place called in S. BEDES tyme AVGVSTINE-IZAT betweene S. AV∣GVSTINE and the BRITAIN Bishops, vvho at the first frovvardly resisted S AVGVSTINE all that they could, for vvhich M. FOX not vniustly reproueth them.

S. BEDE saith:h AVSTINE vsing the help of king ETHILBERT, called the Bishops and Doctors of the chiefest & nearest prouinces of the Brittans to so∣me conference in a place called at this day in the En∣glish tongue AVGVSTINE-IZAT.

M. HOLLENSHEAD saith:i The greatest differen∣ce then stood vpon betweene AVGVSTINE and them, were expresly and only mentioned to be certaine (for that tyme) tollerable differences: for S. BEDE repor∣teth how AVGVSTINE said to the BRITTANS:k if you will obey me in these three thinges, that is; to celebrate the Pasche or Easter in it tyme, next, that you fulfill the ministerie of Baptisme, wherby wee are bor∣ne againe to God, according to the custome of the Romane and Apostolike Church: and that you will together with vs preach the word of our Lord vnto the English nation; for all other thinges that you treat of (although contrarie to our customes) yet wee will freely tolerate them.

The lyke is testified byl HOLLINSHEAD,m M. GO∣DWIN, and thenn PROTESTANT author of great BRI∣TANNIE vvho saith: The BRITAINE Bishops con∣formed them selues to the doctrine and ceremonies of the Church of ROME with out differēce in any thing specially remembred, saue only in the celebration of

the feast of EASTER &c. their dissent from the vse of the Romane Church was in their (ceremonies or) mi¦nisterie of Baptisme, and keeping of Easter, which la¦tre (as Osiander vvitnesseth heere follovving) vvas tolerated in l ke manner by the Apostles in regarde of the knovvne weaknes of some.o For the lyke respect circumcision was per∣mitted by Paul, who circumcised Timothy because of the Iewes that were in that place▪ And a••••te beneath:p ab¦stinence from blood and that which was strangled and fornication was only prescribed.

Osiander saith.q Iohn and Phillip did celebrate Easter decima quarta Luna post aequinoxium vernum, at which tyme also the Iewes were accustomed to cele∣brate their Easter or Pasche; and this vndoubtedly the Apostles did in fauour of those Iewes that were newly conuerted vnto Christ, that so they might also gaine more Iewes vnto Christ.

Now by this may well be collected their full agreement, for the Iewes who contradicted S. Austine, and that so earnestly about these few and smaller pointes, would neuer haue bene si∣lent, but much rather haue with stood him in the other, so many and incomparably much greater pointes of faith, had they in lyke sort disagreed from him therin.

S. Bede saith:r Then indeed the Brittans did confesse themselues to vnderstande, that to be the true way of iustice which Austine did preach.

M. Fulke affirmeth:s That Augustine did at last obtaine the aide of the Brittish Bishops for the conuersion of the English Saxons.

Notes

• a

  pag. 6••.
• pag. 145.
• b

  fol. 110. & 1••3.
• c

  in his Britannia S pag. 4••. pag. 157.
• d

  volum. 1 pag. 13. line 18.
• e

  in his Souerai∣gne reme∣die against Schisme pag. 24
• f

  in his pag••ant of Popes.
• An 724.
• g

  Chroni. ••le fo. 168
• h

  hist lib 2. cap. 2.
• i

  in his great Chron of the last e∣dition vo∣lum. 1. l. 5. cap. 21 pag. 102. line 23. 40.
• k

  vbi sup.
• l

  vol. 1. p. 103. line 17.
• m

  catalog. of Pops p. 6
• n

  lib. 3. cap 13. pag. 133. prin∣ted anno 1606.
• o

  Act. 16. v 3.
• p

  cap 15.••9
• q

  in Epi∣tom cent. ••6, l 2. pag. 51.
• r

  hist. l. 2. cap. 2.
• s

  confuta∣tion of Purgat p. 335. & Hollin∣shead vol. 1 pa 102 line 54.