Anti-Mortonus or An apology in defence of the Church of Rome. Against the grand imposture of Doctor Thomas Morton, Bishop of Durham. Whereto is added in the chapter XXXIII. An answere to his late sermon printed, and preached before His Maiesty in the cathedrall church of the same citty..

SECT. III. Whecher Protestants hold the Church of Christ to be inuisible.

YOur fourth Thesis is(n) 1.1: Protestants hold not any greater inuisibility, or rather obscurity of the Church Catholike, then that, which the Romanists are forced to confesse. This Thesis is manifestly false: for you haue heard your grand Maister Caluin, & other your brethren(o) 1.2 confessing, that before Lu∣thers time, the Church was wholly destroyed, euen as mans life is, when his throat is cut: that it is ridiculous to thinke, there were any true belieuers when Luther began: that not a part, but the whole body of the Church was fallen away by Apostacy. And you cannot be ignorant that other Protestāts haue testified(p) 1.3 that she was not only obscured as in the time of the Arians, but inuisible, and could not be shewed. Iuell(q) 1.4: that the truth was vnknowne at that time, and vnheard of. Perkins(r) 1.5: that a•• vniuersall Apostacy ouerspread the whole face of the earth, and that your Church was not then Visi∣ble to the world. Milius(s) 1.6: that if there had bene any right belie∣uers before Luther, there had bene no need of a Lutheran reforma∣tion. Francus(t) 1.7: that for 1400. yeares the Church of Christ was no where externall, and visible. Napper(u) 1.8: that for 1260. yeares, Gods true Church was most certainly latent, and inuisible.

These are the confessions of your brethren, conuincing you to speake vntruly, when you say, Protestants hold not any greater inuisibility, or rather obscurity of the Church Catholike, then that, which the Romanists are forced to confesse: for our Te∣nets, which we haue learned from the holy Scripture, are; that the Church of Christ is a magnificent throne, as resplendent as the sunne(x) 1.9; A lofty City placed vpon a mountaine(y) 1.10, which (sayth S. Augustine)(z) 1.11 cannot be hid, but shalbe knowne to all the coastes of the earth: To a mountaine prepared in the top of moun∣taines eleuated aboue the little hills; vnto which all nations shall flow(a) 1.12; to a Tabernacle seated in the sunne(b) 1.13; of which S. Augustine speaking, sayth(c) 1.14: He placed his tabernacle in the sunne, that is to say, his Church, in manifestation, or open view, not in a corner, not such as is hidden, as if it were couered &c. In the sunne he placed his tabernacle: what doest thou meane, O Heretike, to fly into darknesse? To a light that is not hidden vnder a bushell, but set vpon a candelstick: Which if Protestants see not. How (sayth S. Augustine)(d) 1.15 can I call them other then blinde, that see not so great a mountaine, and shut their eyes against the Lampe set vpon the candelstick? But what meruaile: for (sayth he)(e) 1.16 it is the condition of all here∣tikes, not to see the thing which in the world is most cleare, constitu∣ted in the light of all nations; out of the vnity wherof, whatsoeuer they do, can no more warrant them from the wrath of God, than the spiders web from the extremity of cold. Finally we belieue with S. Augustine(f) 1.17, that the Catholike Church hath this certaine marke, that she cannot be hidden.

This is the doctrine and beliefe of all Catholikes: Do you herein accord with vs? Do you hold the Catholike Church to be alwaies visible, and alwaies as conspicuous as a lamp•• vpon a Candelstick, as a city vpon a mountaine, as a tabernacle in the sunne? Why then do you say, that she was so many yeares latent, and inuisible, that she could not be shewad; that she was vn∣knowne, and vnheard of; that she was no where externall, and visible; that she was wholly destroied? With what modesty then can you say, that Protestants hold not any greater inuisibility, or rather obscurity of the Church Catholike, then that, which the Ro∣manists are forced to confesse?

But in proofe of this Thesis, and in opposition to the

holy Scripture, and S. Augustine, you say to vs(g) 1.18, you re∣gard not, that the Church of Christ, as it is somtime in lustre glo∣rious as the sunne, so againe, it is (according to the iudgement of S. Augustine, and S. Ambrose) somtimes as the moone, which hath her increases, and decreases. Yes, we regard it well: and you ought to haue regarded, that although S. Augustine compare the Church to the moone, in this respect, that her externall lu∣stre is somtimes diminished by persecutions, and her glory obscured by the ill liues of some of her children, yet he fre∣quently compareth her to the sunne, and belieueth with the Prophet(h) 1.19, that her sunne shall neuer set, and her moone shall not be diminished: and(i) 1.20 that, when by scandalls her light is most obscured, etiam tunc in suis fortissimis eminent euen then she is emi∣nent in her most steedfast Champions, and in them remaineth resplendent, and glorious, displaying beames of light ouer the whole earth. So farre is S. Augustine from your absurd paradoxe of the inuisibility & totall decay of the Church. And in what sense S. Ambrose compareth her to the moone, he declareth, saying(k) 1.21: The Church hath her times of persecution, and of peace: she seemeth to decay, as the moone, but decaieth not. She may be shadowed, she cannot perish: because she is diminished by the fall of some in persecutions, to the end she may be filled with the confessions of Martyrs, and that being illustrated with trophies of the bloud shed for Christ, she may diffuse greater light of her deuotion, and fayth throughout the whole world.

If Costerus, Castro, Lindanus, and Stapleton affirme, that the Arian heresy in a short time infected almost all the Churches of the world; so haue Lutheranisme, Caluinia∣nisme, Zuing lianisme, with other new Sects sprung from them in these later times, infected many prouinces of Eu∣rope. But therfore is the Catholike Church in those Pro∣uinces inuisible? How then do you see Catholikes to per∣secute them, to imprison them? And euen so, & much more, when the Arian heresy was in the greatest ruffe, the Ca∣tholike Church was euery where still eminently visible, as that very passage of Liberius proueth, which here you produce for the contrary: for Constantius the Arian Em∣peror hauing by threats drawne many Bishops, especially

of the East, to subscribe to the condemnation of Athana∣sius, and (as Theodoret out of his Apology reporteth)(l) 1.22 the rest that refused to subscribe, either concealing themsel∣ues for feare, or being sent into banishment, he called Li∣berius vnto him, and vrged him not to communicate with Athanasius, saying, he was condemned by the whole world, and defended by none, but by him. Liberius ans∣weared(m) 1.23: Esto, quod solus sim &c. Be it, that I am alone; the cause of the fayth is not therfore the worse: for there was a time, when there were but three Children to resist the Kings command∣ment. These three Children were brought by Nabuchodo∣sor out of Iury, into Babylon. As then there were none in Babylon, to defend Gods cause, but only those three; so (sayth Liberius, and out of him Salmeron here obiected by you) be it, that I am now left here alone, to desend the cause of Athanasius, the cause of the fayth is not therfore the worse. This you bring to proue, that the Church was then, or may somtimes be brought to so low an ebbe, that there be but three, yea only one Orthodoxe man remaining. But it is an ignorant mistake: for albeit there were then in Baby∣lon three only Children to resist Nabuchodonosor, yet in Iury there was remaining a numerous Church of Ortho∣doxe people. And so likewise, though there was then no other Bishop present, to withstand Constantius, yet there were in the Church of God at that time, many Catholike Bishops, renowned for their learning, and constancy, and diuers of them then actually in banishment, whose restitu∣tion to their Churches Liberius in that very Dialogue of∣ten demanded of Constantius. And who knoweth not that beside many Catholike Bishops reckoned by S. Athana∣sius(n) 1.24 there liued at the same time other most eminent Prelates, and Doctors, as Saint Hilary, Pacianus, Di∣dymus, Titus Bostrensis, S. Cyrill of Hierusalem, Opta∣tus, Eusebius Vercellensis, S. Ephrem, S. Gregory Nazian∣zen, S. Epiphanius, S. Basil, S. Gregory Nyssen, S. Am∣brose, and many others? And as there were many Catho∣like Pastors, so were there Catholike people gouerned by them. Yea who knoweth not that both the Roman, and all

the Westerne Church at that time was full of Orthodoxe Pastors & people; in so much that after the Roman Matrōs by aduice of their Husbands(o) 1.25, had presented themselues before Constantius, and obteyned Liberius his returne from exile, the Bishops of the East sent Legates vnto him, and to all the Bishops of Italy, and of the whole Westerne Church, humbly crauing to be admitted into their com∣munion; and to declare themselues free from suspicion of heresy, with which they had bene charged, protested, that they did not belieue otherwise, then the Fathers of the Ni∣cen Councell did; and that they had held formerly, did still hold, and would euer hold till their last breath, the same fayth with them. Wherupon Liberius willingly ad∣mitted them into the communion of the Westerne Church, and addressed a letter to fifty nine of them by name and to all the rest in generall, expressing the great ioy he concea∣ued, to vnderstand, that they had alwaies agreed in fayth with him, and with the rest of the Bishops of Italy, and of all the other Westerne countries: for so are his words.

This is the story truly set downe. What reliefe do you finde here for your inuisible Church, since in the very height of the Arian heresy (which is the greatest wayne you can sinde in the Catholike Church) she abounded, and shined like a sunne most gloriously, with orthodoxe Pa∣stors and people, both in the East and West? Shew vs such a Protestant Church before Luther, or els confesse the truth, that you had no Church before Luther.

But you tell vs(p) 1.26, with how great a cloud of obscuri∣ty the Church shalbe couered in the time of Antichrist, & proue it out of the Rhemists, who make wholy against you: for albeit they grant, that then there shalbe no publike seat of gouerment in the Church, nor publike exercise of Ecclesiasticall functions, nor publike entercourse with the See of Rome, (as there is not this day in Cyprus, nor in England) yet there shall not want Orthodoxe Pastors, and people, remaining in due obedience to the Roman Church, and communicating with her, not only in hart, but practi∣sing the same in secret, and making publike profession ther∣of

of, if occasion require it. This is the doctrine of the Rhe∣mists, and of all Catholike writers. Wherfore, as Catholikes are not in England at this day inuisible, nor yet so obscure but that their cōstaney is knowne and renowned through∣out the Christian world; so likewise shall the faithfull be in the dayes of Antichrist. Nor do Costerus, Ribera, Pere∣rius, Acosta, Viegas, or any of the Fathers which you ob∣iect(q) 1.27, teach ought to the contrary.

The testimony of S. Hilary which you obiect(r) 1.28 S. Au∣gustine hath answeared long since(s) 1.29: for it was obiected to him, by Vincentius the Rogatist, of whose spirit and be∣liefe you shew your selfe to be, vrging against vs the same testimony he vrged against S. Augustine, who not only in that place (as you haue heard) teacheth that, if the Church be somtimes obscured, and as it were shadowed with cloudes, by the multitude of scandalls, that is, persecutions, when sinners bend their bow to wound her in the obscurity of the Moone; yet euen then, she is eminent in her most constant professors, but also in his bookes Of the City of God(t) 1.30, speaking professedly of the state of the Church in the dayes of Antichrist, he sayth, she shall not be so obscured, that either Antichrist shall not find her, or when he hath found her, be able with his persecutions to ouerthrow her; but that euen then faithfull Parents shall with great deuotion procure baptisme for their children; & that, as many shall fall from the Church, so others shall stand constant, and others shall enter a new which before were out of her, and in particular the Iewes, who towar∣des the end of the world shalbe conuerted to Christ(u) 1.31. And the same is testified by S. Gregory(x) 1.32, whom you mis∣cite(y) 1.33: for the words you obiect out of his Moralls on Iob, are not there to be found.

Notes

• (n) 1.1

  Pag. 167.368.369.370.
• (o) 1.2

  Here aboue sect. 1.
• (p) 1.3

  Brereley Prot. Apol. tract. 2. c. 2. sect. 11. sub. dict. 3.
• (q) 1.4

  Ibid.
• (r) 1.5

  Ibid.
• (s) 1.6

  Ibid.
• (t) 1.7

  Brerel. Ibid. tract. 2. c. 1. sect. 4.
• (u) 1.8

  Ibid.
• (x) 1.9

  Psal. 88.38.
• (y) 1.10

  Math. 5.14.
• (z) 1.11

  Cont. Parm. l. 3. c. 5.
• (a) 1.12

  Isa. 2.2.
• (b) 1.13

  Psal. 28.6.
• (c) 1.14

  In ••um Psal.
• (d) 1.15

  Tract. 2. in 1. Ep. Ioan.
• (e) 1.16

  L. 2•• co••••. Parm. c. 3.
• (f) 1.17

  Cont. lit. Petil. l. 2. c. 104.
• (g) 1.18

  Pag. 367. fin.
• (h) 1.19

  Isa. 60.29.
• (i) 1.20

  Ep. 48.
• (k) 1.21

  L. 4. Hexam. c. 2.
• (l) 1.22

  L. 2. histor. c. 15.
• (m) 1.23

  Theod. l. 2. hist. c. 16.
• (n) 1.24

  Apud Theod. l. 2. hist. c. 14.15.16.
• (o) 1.25

  Theod. ibid. c. 17.
• (p) 1.26

  Pag 369.
• (q) 1.27

  Pag. 370.
• (r) 1.28

  Pag. 3••8.
• (s) 1.29

  Ep. 48.
• (t) 1.30

  L. 20. c. 8.
• (u) 1.31

  S. Aug. ibid. c. 29.
• (x) 1.32

  Hom. 12. in Ezechiel.
• (y) 1.33

  Pag. 370.