Section 15

Concerning the Lay Presbytery I said, and say still most justly, that it never had footing in the Church of God till this present age: These wits cry out in great sport, See, see, how like the man looks to Doctor Hall, in his irrefragable Propositions? Truly, brethren, as like him, as you are like your selves: who are still scornful and insolent: but though you be commonly spiteful, yet you are so seldom witty, that we may well bear with you for once: be he like whom he will; Doctor Hall will sufficiently defend both those Propositions, and this Remonstrance against all your impotent cavils: For this, concerning the questioned Lay presbytery, You make a fair flourish to little purpose: You do wisely to omit those three known Texts, which the world knows have been so thoroughly canvassed and eluded, and that famous Text of an acknowledged counterfeit, Ambrose, so often exploded: we shall have now new stuff from You, but of as little worth: Surely had the fore-going Patrons of your Lay-Eldership found that they could have received any color of protection from these places of Antiquity, alleged by you, they had not, after the raking of all the channels of time, forborne the utmost urging of these Your Testimonies, in their favor and defense; but they well saw how little reason there was, to press those unproving evidences, which you will needs urge as convictive.

Your testimony from Origen cannot but shame you, if yet you can blush; you feared to cite the Chapter, that in so long a book, you might not be discovered.

But the scope of the place is clearly thus, Origen is upon comparison of the Philosophers and Christians in their care of teaching; Nam illi (scil. Philosophi) propalam apud vulgus disserentes non sunt curiosi in descernendis auditoribus, &c. For the Philosophers, says he, in their public discourses to the people are not curious in the differences of their auditors, but every one that lists, comes and hears them at pleasure: But the Christians do, what they may, carefully pre-examine the minds of those that desire to hear them: and first they do privately so to those which are bewitched (with Paganism) before they be received into the congregation; And when they seem to have come on so far, as to be desirous to live honestly, then do they bring them in; but in distinct degrees; the one of those which are newly admitted, but have not yet attained (the cognizance of their Purification,) Baptism; the other of those which are now come on so far as to profess the Christian Religion; in this latter rank are appointed some, which do inquire into the lives and manners of those that come; that they may be a means to keep off such Candidates of Religion as do carry themselves amiss, from their assemblies: And the rest that are like themselves, they may gladly receive: In which passage it is most evident that Origen speaks of those which are newly admitted into the Church, who by reason of their late knowledge and acquaintance with those which they left behind them in Pagan superstition, might be fit monitors to know, and notify the condition of such Candidates as did offer to come into the Church; Now these trusty Answerers would make the World believe, that this is spoken of some Sage Elders, that were to govern the Church; and (to deceive the Reader) unfaithfully turn the words, Nonnulli Praepositi sunt, as if they were some ruling Elders indeed; Whereas the word signifies, and intends only a designation of such novices as were well approved, to an office of monitorship concerning those which would profess to be Converts. And now to return your own words, we would gladly know whether these were not, as it were, Lay Elders.

As for those other testimonies, which you have drawn here out of Augustine, Optatus, and the Letters of Fortis, and Purpurius out of Baronius; I could, if need were, double your files in this kind, might that do you any service, I could tell you out of the acts of the Purgation of Foelix and Caecilianus, of Episcopi, Presbyteri, Diaconi, Seniores; out of the Synodal Epistle of the Cabarsussitan council (as mentioned by Saint Augustine in his Enarration upon the Psalms) Necesse nos fuerat Primiani causam Seniorum literis ejusdem Ecclesiae postulantibus, audire atque discutere; which is a more pregnant place than any you have brought; and could reckon you up yet more, out of the Code of the African Canons, Canon 91. Out of Gregory Turonensis, who speaking of the Bishop of Marseilles brings him in to say, Nihil per me feci, &c. I did nothing of myself, but that which was commanded me à Dominis nostris, & Senioribus: Out of Gregory the great in his Epistles more than once, I could weary you with supply of such authorities: But, Brethren, I shall sadly tell you, that you do herein nothing but abuse your Reader, with a colorable pretense: For all those places you allege, are nothing at all to the purpose in hand. Who can make question but that Carthage and Hippo, and other African Cities, had old and grave men in them? Who can doubt that they had Magistrates and men in authority? Such, as we still are wont out of the ancient appellation, to style Aldermen? Who can doubt that they did in all great occasions of the Church take the advice, and assistance of these prime men? But will it hence follow that in the sense you contend for, they had a settled Lay Presbytery? Was their Church ever the more (according to your construction) governed by Pastors, Elders, Deacons? That these fore-cited were such, as we have intimated, is most evident; in the African Canons (Canon 100) they are called [in non-Latin alphabet] the old men; And in Canon 91, we find as a commentary upon this point, Debere unumquemque nostrum in civitate sua convenire Donatistarum Praepositos, aut adjungere sibi vicinum Collegam, ut pariter eos in singulis quibusque Civitatibus per Magistratus, vel Seniores locorum conveniant — That is, That every one of us should in our own Cities meet with the chief Governors of the Donatists, and take with him some neighbor as his Colleague or Assistant, that they together may give them a meeting by the Magistrates or Elders of the places.

But you will say, there were those which were called Seniores Ecclesiastici; ecclesiastical Elders also; True, there were such, Justellus confesses so much, and learned Isaac Casaubon (whose manuscript notes I have seen,) and his worthy Son, Meric Casaubon in his notes upon Optatus, yield no less, but these they do truly say, were but as our church-wardens; men that were trusted with the utensils, stock, and outward affairs of the Church; or, as I may more fully compare them, our vestrymen: who are commonly and of old designated under the name of the eight men, or twelve men, in every great parish (as I am sure it is in the Western parts) to order the businesses of seats, and rates, and such like external occasions; now that those places which you have cited intend no other Elders than these, you shall be convinced out of your own testimonies.

The place which you bring out of Saint Augustine contra Cresconium Grammaticum, runs thus; Omnes vos, &c. All you Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, and Elders, do know, &c. where you see plainly that the Elders which he means are below Deacons, and so you shall find them, wherever they are mentioned; now those that you contend for, are by your own claim, in a rank above them. Optatus whom you cite is clear against your sense; while he makes only quatuor genera capitum — only four sorts of men in the Church; Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, and the faithful (Laity) And in his first book against Parmenian, Quid commemorem Laicos, &c. he reckons up, mere laity, Ministers, Deacons; Presbyteros secundo sacerdotio constitutos, Presbyters in the second degree of priesthood, and principes omnium Episcopos, and the chief of all Bishops. Shortly, brethren, that there were in the Church of old ruling Elders, which were in a rank above Deacons, and had together with the pastors a settled power of government, in the Church, it is an opinion no less new, than unjustifiable; and I do here solemnly profess, that if any one such instance can be brought, I will renounce Episcopacy for ever. Do not then, against the light of your own knowledge set a face on proofs of those things, which never were, but give glory to God in yielding to so undoubted and clear a truth.