A reply to an answer made of M. Doctor Whitgifte Against the admonition to…A replye to an ansvvere made of M. Doctor VVhitgifte Against the admonition to…

Now that this charge of excommunication belongeth not unto one / or to the minister / but chiefly to the eldership and pastor / it appeareth by that which the authors of the admonition allege out of S. Matthew / which place I have ¹proved before to be necessarily understanded of the elders of the church. It is most absurdly said of M. doctor in the. 135. page / that by the church is understanded either my Lords grace / or the bishop of the diocese / or the Chancellor or Commissary. And that when a man complaineth unto one of these / he may be well said to complain unto the church: which is the more untollerable / for that being so strange a saying / and such as may astonish all that hear it / he neither confirmeth it by any reason / or like phrase of scripture / or by the authority of any godly or approved writer old or new / which notwithstanding he seeketh for so diligently / and turneth the commentaries in his study so painfully / when he can have but one against twenty / and but a syllable where he can not have a sentence. It may be the clearlyer understanded / that the presbytery or eldership / had the chief stroke in this excommunication / if it be observed / that this was the policy and discipline of the Jews / and of the synagogue from whence our saviour Christ toke this / and translated it unto this church / that when any man had don any thing that they held for a fault / that then the same was punished and censured by the Elders of the church / according to the quality of the fault / as it may appear in S. Matthew. For although it be of some (and those very learned) ⟨p. 184⟩²expounded of the civill judgement / yet for so much as the Jews had nothing to do with civill judgements (the same being altogether in the hands of the Romans) and that the word sanhedrin, corrupted of the Greek word synedrion, which S. Matthew useth / is known by those that have skill in the Rabbins / and especially the Jews Talmud, to signify the ecclesiastical governors / there can be no doubt but he meaneth the ecclesiastical censures. And if the fault were judged very great / then the sentence of Excommunication was awarded by the same elders / as appeareth in S. John. And this was the cause why our saviour ³Christ spake so shortly of this matter in the. 18. of S.