not over, till they had spread such an ecclesiastical empire over the world (i. e. the Roman empire,) as would admit neither superior nor equal.

But

Is it not plain (observes Dr Geddes *,) that the Bishops of Rome, after they were in possession of that primacy bestowed on them as Bishops of the imperial city, were still stretching it, though for many years, but to little purpose? So, in the fifth century, they attempted to obtrude on the African churches a decree of allowing appeals from them to the Roman See, as if it had been made at the Council of Nice. the African Bishops, to the number of 270, and St AUSTIN at their head, surprised at this new pretence, sent into Greece for authentic copies of the Nicene Canons; which, having examined, they sent letters to the Bishop of Rome, informing him, "that the Council of Nice had decreed, that all causes should be determined in the places where they arose; and that it was unreasonable to think that God should enable a single person (at Rome) to examine the justice of a cause, and deny his grace to a multitude of Bishops assembled in synod," &c. From hence (as Dr Cave argues,) it follows, 1st, That whatever power the Bishop of Rome claimed in Africa was founded on the canons, and not as successor of St Peter. 2d, The canons give the Bishop of Rome no power over foreign churches, either to hear or decide causes, or to send legates with authority, "for this, say the African Bishops, we do not find commanded by any synod of the fathers." 3d, That the Church of Africa, and accordingly every national church, has an inherent power of determining all causes that arise within it

* Tracts, Vol. II. p. 4. 1714.

self. 4th, That appeals which they call improba refugia, were not allowed even to Rome; and they inform the Bishop of Rome, that his proceedings were so far from the humility and simplicity of the gospel, that they tended only to nourish "swelling pride and secular ambition in the church." Their epistle to the Bishop of Rome (says Bishop Stillingfleet,) is a noble monument of the prudence, courage, and simplicity of the African Bishops,-enough to put any

reasonable man out of the fond conceit of an universal pastorship of the Bishop of Rome. I wonder not that Cardinal Baronius says, there are some hard things in this epistle, that Cardinal Perron sweats and toils so much to so little purpose to enervate the force of it; for, as long as the records of it last, we have an impregnable bulwark against the usurpations of the Church of Rome.-Stillingfleet's Works, IV. p. 394*.

Thus, by degrees the Bishops of Rome rose to that height they have now obtained, and not content with usurping over their fellow-churchmen, their next attempt was upon princes; for being now esteemed

* In order to supply the defect of evidence in the first three ages, for the authority of the Roman Bishop, the Decretal Epistles were impudently forged in the eighth or ninth century; and also the donation of Constantine, wherein he gave away the Roman empire and all its rights to the Pope. These false decretals, which exalt the power of the Bishops of Rome during the first three ages to heaven itself, "were universally believed (says Abbe Fleury,) to be the doctrine of purest antiquity from the eighth to the sixteenth century, They made an incurable wound in the discipline of the church, by the maxims they introduced concerning the judgments of Bishops and the Pope's authority." Discourses on Ecclesiast. Hist. p. 119. They were believed in the Council of Trent, but are now everywhere rejected as spurious. Febron. de Statu Ecclesiæ, p. 531.

Christ's Vicars on earth, with other blasphemous titles as Vice-God, yea and even Lord God, they thought their power was limited as long as kings and emperors were even in temporals, subject to them. And therefore, in the days of Gregory VII. (A. D. 1086.) they pretended to a power of deposing princes, disposing of their dominions to others, and dispensing with the oaths of allegiance, which their subjects had sworn to them. This exorbitant power has been challenged by them for many successive ages; and, when opportunity served, has been frequently put in practice.

And it was easy for them (observes Bishop Burnet,) to make crowns change their masters as they pleased, for there were always other ambitious princes ready, for their own ends, to invade the dominions of those deposed kings upon the Pope's warrant, and the generality of the people were so possessed with the Pope's power of releasing souls from purgatory, and from the punishment due to sin, that they were easily prevailed on to follow his thunders. And by that time, the Pope had swarms of emissaries of the Begging Orders, who, under shew of austere piety, gained much reverence and esteem in the world, and so got all subjected to the papal tyranny.

Thus did the empire of that usurping Bishop become, throughout the greatest part of Europe, triumphant, till at length the impudence with which their abominations were practised, and the length to which they were carried, shocked the common sense of mankind, and providence was pleased to raise up a succession of men, by whose exertions many kingdoms were rescued from the bondage in which they were held.

CHAP. IV.

A GENERAL DEFENCE OF THE REFORMATION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

FROM the foregoing examination of the scriptures. and primitive fathers, we may with the greatest truth and justice make the following inferences, with respect to the government of the Catholic Church :

1st, That it consisted, in the apostolic and primitive ages, of all faithful churches under their respective Bishops, who, by divine right, were accountable to Christ alone for their administration. 2d, The

churches were preserved in unity, not by necessary subjection to one visible head, but by their agreement in the essentials of the apostolic faith and worship, and the correspondence and intercourse of their Bishops. 3d, That as long as a church preserved the essentials of faith and worship, it remained in catholic unity, even although it differed from others in rites and ceremonies (for uniformity in these was not required,) but when it corrupted the faith and worship, it was excluded from catholic unity. 4th, That the church (or diocese,) of Rome, with its Bishop, was considered merely as a particular church, possessing, by divine right, no prerogatives above others, but liable to be expelled from catholic unity when it corrupted the pure faith or worship.

From these premises it clearly follows, that (since the Bishop of Rome possessed no supremacy by divine

right over other churches,) the Reformed Bishops and people would have been perfectly justifiable in shaking off the intolerable oppression of his jurisdiction, even although no differences had existed between the parties, with respect to faith and worship. But they had more serious reasons for seceding from his communion, and asserting their apostolic independency, than the burthen of a foreign usurpation. They could have remained no longer united with him, without partaking in those scandalous corruptions of faith and worship, which, for several hundred years, had defiled the greatest part of Europe, and which had been imposed on them as necessary to salvation, by the overbearing power of this Italian usurper.

Accordingly, the first step towards the restoration of their just rights, was the renunciation of the Bishop of Rome's usurpation by the Bishops in England, who determined in convocation, A.D.1553, (even before they had renounced the corrupt doctrines of Popery,) "that it was many hundred years before the Bishop of Rome could acquire any power of a primate over any other Bishops, which were not within his province 、 of Italy; and that the Bishops of Rome do now transgress their own profession made at their creation, for they solemnly vow that they shall inviolably preserve all the ordinances made in the eight first general councils, among which it is especially provided, that all causes shall be determined within the province where they began, and that by the Bishops of the same province, which absolutely excludes all papal, i.e. foreign power out of these realms." They proceeded next, upon mature deliberation, to reform (as far as their influence extended,) those other corruptions that had crept into the church. With respect to FAITH,