A reply to Fulke, In defense of M. D. Allens scroll of articles, and booke of purgatorie. By Richard Bristo Doctor of Diuinitie ... perused and allowed by me Th. Stapleton.

ij. What he saieth of the whole Church in some of those times.

* 1.1Thus he saith in one place: If we be asked, how we can shifte our selues against the generall practise of Gods Churche, for all popish assertions, and namely this of praying for the dead: We answere, that we denye the practise to be generall, because wee finde it * 1.2 not in the most auncient writers, that liued within an hundreth yeares and more, after the time of Christ. But what say you to the later practise, which for places then was generall, though for times you count it particular? And to the particu∣lar practise of later times, we answere, that it is not sufficient to controll the auncient doctrine and primer practise. Againe in an other place:* 1.3 The same order (that was before Epiphanius) and error (that was in Epiphanius time) doe all the later Liturgies followe (and therefore, saye I, all the later Byshoppes and Priestes, and people, because they vsed those Liturgies) making

memorie and prayers for all them that are departed in the faith. What saye you then to that practise so generall? In the me∣morie of all departed, they followe the olde order: in pray∣ing for all, they followe the later error, which had chaun∣ged the sacrifice of thankes geuing into the sacrifice of prayer. But more of the olde Liturgies nowe in the thirde Article, which must be of the originall that the Fathers referred this their practise vnto.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Pur. 382.
• * 1.2

  Is nothing ge∣nerall, but that vvhich you find in them?
• * 1.3

  370.