The apology of the Church of England, and an epistle to one Seignior Scipio…

35. BUT Elutherius Bishop of Rome wrote much better, and more pertinently to the thing we have now in hand in his Epistle to Lucius, a King in Britain. You have (saith he) desired I would send you the Roman and Caesarean Laws, which you have a desire to settle in your Kingdom of Britain: We may abrogate the Roman and Imperial Laws when we will, but not the Law of God; for you have, by the Mercy of God, received the Law and Faith of Christ in your Kingdom of Britain; and you have with you in your Kingdom both Testaments; compile out of them, by the Assistance of God, and the Counsel of your Kingdom, a Law, and then by it, with Gods permission, govern your said Kingdom, for you are the VICAR OF GOD in that Kingdom, according to that of the Psalmist, the Earth is the Lords.

36. IN short, Victor Bishop of Rome, held a Provincial Synod at Rome, and Justinianus the Emperor commandeth, that ⟨p. 193⟩if need require, Synods should be held in each Province, and threatened, that if this were neglected, he would punish those that made default. Every Province (saith St. Jerome) hath its particular Manners, Rites and Opinions, which cannot easily be removed or changed without a very great disturbance. And why should I commemorate the most ancient Municipal Councils, that of Eliberis, Gangra, Laodicea, Ancyra, Antioch, Tours, Carthage, Milevis, Toledo, and Bordeaux, for this is no new thing. So was the Church of God governed before the Fathers met in the Council of Nice; for they had not presently recourse to a General Council. Theophilus held a Provincial Synod in Palestine, Palmas in Pontus, Irenaeus in Gaul, Bachilus in Achaia, Origen against Beryllus in Arabia; and I omit many other Provincial Synods which were kept in Africa, Asia, Greece and Egypt, which were most pious, Orthodox and Christian, tho the Pope had nothing to do with them. For the Bishops then, as necessity required, and as things fell out, presently consulted the Well-fare of their Churches in Domestic Councils, and sometimes implored the Assistance of their neighbour Bishops, at other, they frankly aided each other without asking, and if need were, did by turns help one the other. Nor did only the Bishops, but Princes of those times, think that the Concerns of the Church pertained to their Oice; for to omit Nebuchadnezzar, who published