The apostolical institution of episcopacy demonstrated by Will. Chillingworth ... Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644. 1664 Approx. 12 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A32851 Wing C3884A ESTC R20665 15586544 ocm 15586544 103987 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A32851) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 103987) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1589:2) The apostolical institution of episcopacy demonstrated by Will. Chillingworth ... Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644. [2], 5 p. Printed by E. Cotes ..., London : M.DC.LXIV [1664] Imperfect: faded and stained with loss of print; text begins on signature Aaa. Reproduction of the original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Episcopacy -- Early works to 1800. Church polity. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1642-1649. 2003-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-07 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-10 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2003-10 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-12 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Apostolical Institution OF EPISCOPACY DEMONSTRATED . BY WILL. CHILLINGWORTH Master of Arts of the UNIVERSITY of OXFORD . LONDON , Printed by E. Cotes dwelling in Aldersgate-street . Anno Dom. M.DC.LXIV . THE Apostolical Institution OF EPISCOPACY DEMONSTRATED . SECT . I. IF we abstract from Episcopal Government all accidentals , and consider only what is essential and necessary to it ; we shall finde in it no more but this : An appointment of one man of eminent sanctity and sufficiency to have the care of all the Churches , within a certain Precinct or Diocess ; and furnishing him with authority ( not absolute or arbitrary , but regulated and bounded by Laws , and moderated by joyning to him a convenient number of assistants ) to the intent that all the Churches under him may be provided of good and able Pastors : and that both of Pastors and people , conformity to Laws , and performance of their duties may be required , under penalties , not left to discretion , but by Law appointed . SECT . II. To this kind of Government , I am not by any particular interest so devoted , as to think it ought to be maintained , either in opposition to Apostolick Institution ; or to the much desired reformation of mens lives , and restauration of Primitive discipline ; or to any Law or Precept of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : for that were to maintain a means contrary to the end ; for Obedience to our Saviour , is the end for which Church-Government is appointed . But if it may be demonstrated ( or made much more probable than the contrary ) as I verily think it may : I. That it is not repugnant to the government setled in and for the Church by the Apostles . II. That it is as complyable with the Reformation of any evill which we desire to reform either in Church or State , or the introduction of any good which we desire to introduce as any other kind of Government : And , III. That there is no Law , no Record of our Saviour against it : Then , I hope , it will not be thought an unreasonable Motion , if we humbly desire those that are in Authority , especially the High Court of Parliament , That it may not be sacrificed to Clamour , or over-born by Violence : and though ( which God forbid ) the greater part of the Multitude should cry , Crucifie , Crucifie ; yet our Governours would be so full of Justice and Courage , as not to give it up , until they perfectly understand concerning Episcopacy it self , Quid mali fecit ? SECT . III. I shall speak at this time only of the first of these three points : That Episcopacy is not repugnant to the Government setled in the Church for perpetuity by the Apostles . Whereof I conceive this which follows is as clear a Demonstration , as any thing of this nature is capable of . That this Government was received universally in the Church , either in the Apostles time , or presently after , is so evident and unquestionable , that the most learned adversaries of this Government do themselves confess it . SECT . IV. Petrus Molinaeus in his Book De munere pastorali , purposely written in defence of the Presbyterial-government , acknowledgeth : That presently after the Apostles times , or even in their time ( as Ecclesiastical story witnesseth ) it was ordained , That in every City one of the Presbytery should be called a Bishop , who should have pre-eminence over his Colleagues ; to avoid confusion which oft times ariseth out of equality . And truly , this form of Government all Churches every where received . SECT . V. Theodorus Beza in his Tract , De triplici Episcopatûs genere , confesseth in effect the same thing . For , having distinguished Episcopacy into three kinds , Divine , Humane , and Satanical ; and attributing to the second ( which he calls Humane , but we maintain and conceive to be Apostolical ) not only a priority of Order , but a superiority of Power and Authority over other Presbyters , bounded yet by Laws and Canons provided against Tyranny : he clearly professeth that of this kind of Episcopacy , is to be understood whatsoever we read concerning the authority of Bishops ( or Presidents , as Iustin Martyr calls them ) in Ignatius , and other more ancient Writers . SECT . VI. Certainly , from * these two great Defenders of the Presbytery , we should never have had this free acknowledgement , ( so prejudicial to their own 〈◊〉 , and so advantagious to their adversaries purpose ) had not the evidence of clear and undeniable truth enforced them to it . It will not therefore be necessary , to spend any time in confuting that uningenuous assertion of the anonymous Author of the Catalogue of Testimonies , for the equality of Bishops and Presbyters , who affirms , That their disparity began long after the Apostles times : But we may safely take for granted that which these two learned Adversaries have confessed ; and see , whether upon this foundation laid by them , we may not by unanswerable reason raise this superstructure ; That seeing Episcopal Government is confessedly so Ancient and so Catholique , it cannot with reason be denyed to be Apostolique . SECT . VII . For so great a change , as between Presbyterial Government and Episcopal , could not possibly have prevailed all the world over in a little time . Had Episcopal Government been an aberration from ( or a corruption of ) the Government left in the Churches by the Apostles , it had been very strange , that it should have been received in any one Church so suddainly , or that it should have prevailed in all for many Ages after . Variâsse debuerat error Ecclesiarum : quod autem apud omnes unum est , non est erratum , sed traditum . Had the Churches err'd , they would have varied : What therefore is one and the same amongst all , came not sure by error , but tradition . Thus Tertullian argues very probably , from the consent of the Churches of his time , not long after the Apostles , and that in matter of opinion much more subject to unobserv'd alteration . But that in the frame and substance of the necessary Government of the Church , a thing alwayes in use and practice , there should be so suddain a change as presently after the Apostles times ; and so universal , as received in all the Churches ; this is clearly impossible . SECT . VIII . For , What universal cause can be assigned or faigned of this universal Apostasie ? You will not imagine that the Apostles , all or any of them , made any decree for this change , when they were living ; or left order for it in any Will or Testament , when they were dying , This were to grant the question ; to wit , That the Apostles , being to leave the Government of the Churches themselves , and either seeing by experience , or foreseeing by the Spirit of God , the distractions and disorders , which would arise from a multitude of equals , substituted Episcopal Government instead of their own . General Councels to make a Law for a general change , for many ages there was none . There was no Christian Emperour , no coercive power over the Church to enforce it . Or , if there had been any , we know no force was equal to the courage of the Christians of those times . Their lives were then at command ( for they had not then learnt to fight for Christ ) but their obedience to any thing against his Law was not to be commanded ( for they had perfectly learn't to die for him . ) Therefore there was no power then to command this change ; or if there had been any , it had been in vain . SECT . IX . What device then shall we study , or to what fountain shall we reduce this strange pretended alteration ? Can it enter into our hearts to think , that all the Presbyters and other Christians then , being the Apostles Schollers , could be generally ignorant of the Will of Christ , touching the necessity of a Presbyterial Government ? Or , dare we adventure to think them so strangely wicked all the World over , as against knowledge and conscience to conspire against it ? Imagine the spirit of Di●trephes had entred into some , or a great many of the Presbyters , and possessed them with an ambitious desire of a forbidden superiority , was it possible they should attempt and atchieve it once without any opposition or contradiction ? and besides , that the contagion of this ambition , should spread it self and prevail without stop or controul ; nay , without any noise or notice taken of it , through all the Churches in the World ; all the watchmen in the mean time being so fast asleep , and all the dogs so dumb , that not so much as one should open his mouth against it ? SECT . X. But let us suppose ( though it be a horrible untruth ) that the Presbyters and people then , were not so good Christians as the Presbyterians are now ; that they were generally so negligent to retain the government of Christ's Church commanded by Christ , which we now are so zealous to restore : yet certainly we must not forget nor deny , that they were men as we are . And if we look upon them but as meer natural men ; yet , knowing by experience , how hard a thing it is , even for Policy arm'd with Power by many attempts and contrivances , and in a long time , to gain upon the liberty of any one people ; undoubtedly we shall never entertain so wild an imagination , as that , among all the Christian Presbyteries in the World , neither conscience of duty , nor love of liberty , nor aversness from pride and usurpation of others over them , should prevail so much with any one , as to oppose this pretended universal invasion of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ , and the liberty of Christians . SECT . XI . When I shall see therefore all the Fables in the Metamorphosis acted and prove Stories ; when I shall see all the Democracies and Aristocracies in the World lye down and sleep , and awake into Monarchies : then will I begin to believe that Presbyterial Government , having continued in the Church during the Apostles times , should presently after ( against the Apostles doctrine and the will of Christ ) be whirl'd about like a scene in a masque , and transformed into Episcopacy . In the mean time , while these things remain thus incredible , and , in humane reason , impossible , I hope I shall have leave to conclude thus : Episcopal Government is acknowledged to have been universally received in the Church , presently after the Apostles times . Between the Apostles times and this presently after , there was not time enough for , nor possibility of , so great an alteration . And therefore there was no such alteration as is pretended . And therefore Episcopacy , being confessed to be so Ancient and Catholique , must be granted also to be Apostolique , Quod erat demonstrandum . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A32851-e110 * To whom two others also from Geneva may be added : Daniel Chamierus ( in Panstratia , tom . 2. lib. 10. cap. 6. Sect. 24. ) and Nicol. Vedelius ( Exercitat . 3. in epist. Ignatii ad Philadelph . cap. 14. & Exercit. 8. in Epist. ad Mariam , cap. 3. ) which is fully also demonstrated in D. Hammond's Dissertations against Blondel ( which never were answered , and never will ) by the 〈◊〉 of those who wrote in the very next Age after the Apostles .