A challenge concerning the Romish Church, her doctrine & practises, published first against Rob. Parsons, and now againe reuiewed, enlarged, and fortified, and directed to him, to Frier Garnet, to the archpriest Blackevvell and all their adhærents, by Matth. Sutcliffe. Thereunto also is annexed an answere vnto certeine vaine, and friuolous exceptions, taken to his former challenge, and to a certeine worthlesse pamphlet lately set out by some poore disciple of Antichrist, and entituled, A detection of diuers notable vntrueths, contradictions, corruptions, and falsifications gathered out of M. Sutcliffes new challenge, &c.

Title: A challenge concerning the Romish Church, her doctrine & practises, published first against Rob. Parsons, and now againe reuiewed, enlarged, and fortified, and directed to him, to Frier Garnet, to the archpriest Blackevvell and all their adhærents, by Matth. Sutcliffe. Thereunto also is annexed an answere vnto certeine vaine, and friuolous exceptions, taken to his former challenge, and to a certeine worthlesse pamphlet lately set out by some poore disciple of Antichrist, and entituled, A detection of diuers notable vntrueths, contradictions, corruptions, and falsifications gathered out of M. Sutcliffes new challenge, &c.

Author: Sutcliffe, Matthew, 1550?-1629.

Collection: Early English Books Online 2

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had béene a monarke, yet it is absurde to say, that the vi∣sible monarchy is founded vpon him. For no man saith, that the kingdōe is founded vpon the King, neither is it probable, the foundation being inuisible, that the building should bée visible. Finally, this being a ground of his legendicall fa∣bles, that the bishops of Rome succeeded Peter in the visible monarchy of the church, it must néedes follow, if this ground faile him, the cardinall lyeth in euery page of his annales, and as often, as he talketh of this matter. But that neither Peter was constituted monarke of the church, nor the bishops of Rome haue succeeded in any such phantasticall monarchy, I haue at large proued in my booke de pontifice Rom. set out against Bellarmine, some fowre or or fiue yeares sence. Out of Clement. lib. strom. 6. most simply and falsely, he af∣firmeth, Apparat. p. 17. Cod. Antuerp.that as the Iewes knew God by the prophets, so God did separat from the commō multitude of the Gentiles, the most excellent of the philosophers, and made them capable of Gods beneficence. He alledgeth also an apocryphal text out of Paule and seemeth to affirme, that some Gentiles did knowe Christ. He saith, that the church of Ara coeli in Rome was built by Constantine in memoriam dei genitricis Mariae:In apparat. ad annal. eccls. and so called for that Augustus the emperor being admonished by a Sybille did there see the virgine Mary high aboue in the aire with christ in her armes, and built an altar in that place, where he sawe the vision. Matters very fabulous. for neither doth any authenti∣call story affirme, that Christ was made knowne to Augustus, nor is it likely, that the blessed virgin and her sonne should be transported out of Iudea to be shewed to Augustus at Rōe, nor did any Sybille liue in Augustus time, nor could he learne when our Sauiour Christ would appeare in the ayre, by the bookes of the Sybilles, nor doth there appeare any such mat∣ter in the Sybilles writinges. It should seeme therefore, that Baronius was abused with some idle tale of the friers of hara poreorum, that dwell in the house called Ara coeli. & the rather I do beléeue it for that no churches were built in the honor of the blessed virgin in the time of Constantine, neither was shee 0