A confession of faith made by common consent of divers reformed churches beyond the…A confession of fayth made by common consent of diuers reformed churches beyonde the…

Then Arius first occupied the age that followed, unto the manifest fall of the Romaine Empire: and after him Macedonius, denying the holy Spirit ⟨image 17⟩to be God, and therefore was called [Greek or Hebrew]. But chiefly Nestorius and Eutyches in the East, unto whom the principal & most excellent wits did answer and oppose them selves: neither was there any age that had more plenty of learned Bishops. The sect of the Pelagians did occupy the West, whose dregs to this day do still destroy the Church. Here now I require that without the injury of any, I may utter the matter as it is. Therefore I demand this question: ¹which one chiefly, or whom of all these Fathers, they will have for the judges & deciders of these controversies that are at this day amongst us? First of all, they them selves (as becometh them well) refuse this authority: for they cry with one voice, that they do bring that, which the Lord hath taught: ²and that they will have their doctrine no farther maintained then it is proved by the word of God written. The sayings of Cyprian, Augustine, and Chrysostom, chiefly of all others are evident in this point: whereby they ⟨image 17⟩call us to the only holy Scripture. I will say a little more also by the licence of them, that have studied their writings. Even at that time in Grecia, ³did Satan lay the first foundations of the invocation of the dead: the which error the Bishops of most reputation did not only not resist, neither yet other godly and learned men (save for such faults) but were occupied to set forth their eloquence all together in writing of their praises. Others of less learning busied themselves wholly in certain vain studies, which that nation of the Greeks was always overmuch given unto: as to the building of glorious temples, for the honouring of the memories of the Martyrs, and to the heaping together of ceremonies. Another sort partly of ignorance, partly of covetousness and ambition, & in the end of a manifest wickedness, did not only not repress those open superstitions, as they did grow, but altogether did nourish them. Howbeit in that time, three evils did principally reign: first, that they that