An apology or answer in defence of the Church of England with a brief…An apologie or answere in defence of the Churche of Englande with a briefe…

Behold these are the horrible heresies ⟨image 37⟩for the which a good part of the world is at this day condemned by the Bishop of Rome, and yet were never heard to plead their cause. He should have commenced his suit rather against Christ, against the Apostles, and against the holy fathers. For these things did not only proceed from them, but were also appointed by them: except perhaps these men will say (as I think they will in deed) that Christ hath not instituted the holy Communion to be divided amongest the faithful: Or that Christs apostles and the ancient fathers have said Private masses in every corner of the Temples, now ten, now twenty together in one day: Or that Christ and his Apostles banished all the common people from the Sacrament of his blood: or that the thing which them selves do at this day every where, and do it so as they condemn him for an heretic which doth otherwise, is not called of Gelasius their own doctor plain sacrilege: or ⟨image 37⟩[…] these be not the very words of Ambrose, Augustine, Gelasius, Theodorete, Chrysostom, & Origene, The bread and wine in the Sacraments remain still the same they were before: The thing which is seen upon the holy table, is bread: there ceaseth not to be still the substance of bread and nature of wine: the substance and nature of bread are not changed: the self same bread as touching the material substance, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy: Or that Christ, the Apostles, and holy fathers prayed not in that tongue which the people might understand: Or that Christ hath not performed all things by that one offering which he once offered: or that the same Sacrifice was imperfect, and so now we have need of an other. All these things must they of necessity say, onlesse perchance they had rather lay thus, that all law and right is locked up in the treasury of the Popes breast, and that as once one of his soothing ⟨image 38⟩pages and clawbacks did not stick to say, the Pope is able to dispense against the Apostles, against a council, & against the Canons & rules of the Apostles,¹ and that he is not bound to stand neither to the examples, nor to the ordinances,²