A04458:94
An apology, or answer in defence of the Church of England concerning the state…An apologie, or aunswer in defence of the Church of England concerninge the state…
An apology, or answer in defence of the Church of England concerning the state of religion used in the same. Newly set forth in Latin, and now translated into English.An apologie, or aunswer in defence of the Church of England concerninge the state of religion vsed in the same. Newly set forth in Latin, and nowe translated into Englishe.
Londini: printed by Reginald Wolf, 1562
The Apology of the Church of England.The Apologie of the Churche of Englande.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Thus in times past, because the Christians our forefathers ⟨image 31⟩what time they made their prayers unto God, turned themselves towards the East:1 there were some that said they worshipped the Sun, and took hit to be their God. And when as they said, that as touching the everlasting and immortal life, they lived upon none other thing but of the flesh and blood of that Lamb that had no spot, that is to say, of our saviour Jesus Christ: The enviers and enemies of the Cross of Christ, who sought after nothing else, but that Christian religion by any manner of means might be evil spoken of,2 persuaded the people that they were wicked persons, that they killed men to make sacrifices of them, and that they drunk mans blood. Likewise when they said, that before God there is neither Male nor Female: nor, so far as appertaineth to the attaining of righteousness, there is at all no difference of persons, and when as amongest themselves every one called an other brother and sister: there lacked not malicious persons to quarrel against them,3 that the Christians made no manner of difference among themselves, other of age, or of kind, but lay together at adventure all of them as it came to hand like brute beasts. And whereas for common prayer and hearing of the Gospel, they were oft times fain to assemble themselves together in secrete vaults and hidden places: because that practisers of conspiracies hath accustomed sometimes to do the like, rumours were openly spread abroad that they conspired among themselves, and practised together other to murder magistrates, or to overturn the common wealth. And further,4 because that in celebrating the holy mysteries, they used according unto Christs institution ⟨p. 13⟩to have bread and wine, it was supposed of many, that they worshipped not Christ, but Bacchus and Ceres: by reason that these counterfeit gods amongest the heathen were worshipped after their profane superstition in a like ceremony with bread and wine.