The Unity of the Church is not an Human thing, but Divine. The Unity is as the Church is, built upon the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets, Eph. 2.20. All the Joints and Bands which tie the Church together, are from Christ the Head. As under the Old Testament, God ordained the Loops and the Taches, that coupled the Curtains together, to make one Tabernacle, Exod. 26.6. So under the New, Christ hath ordained the Bands and Ligatures, that couple Believers together, to make one Church: Hence this Unity is styled by St. Cyprian, 1Unitas à Domino, & per Apostolos tradita: An Unity delivered from the Lord Christ, and by the Apostles; and by St. Austin, ⟨p. 7⟩Unitas Christi, the Unity of Christ. 2St. Jerome, speaking of the Church of Christ as joined together in the unity of the Spirit, hath this notable Passage. Ecclesia habet urbes legis, 3Prophetarum, Evangelii, Apostoloram: Non est egressa de finibus suis, id est, de Scripturis Sanctis. The Church hath its Cities, the Law the Prophets, the Gospel, the Apostles, it goeth not out of its bounds the Holy Scriptures. That only is Unity which is found there. When the question was between the Catholics and Donatists, Ubi sit Ecclesia? Where is the Church; the Columba unica, the Dove that is but one? St. Austin tells them,4 that it was to be sought, Non in verbis nostris, sed in verbis Capitis; Not in our words, but in the words of the Head. Jesus Christ the Head knew his own Body: And again, Sunt certe libri Dominici, ibi quaeramus Ecclesiam: There are the Lord's Books, there let us seek the Church: And again, Nolo Humanis Documentis, sed Divinis Oraculis Sanctam Ecclesiam demonstrari. I will not have the Holy Church demonstrated by ⟨p. 8⟩Human Documents, but by Divine Oracles. It was the notable Observation of Bessarion, 5Archbishop of Nice, That then the Church had the highest concord, peace and truth, when it did adhere to the simplicity and purity of the Evangelical Doctrine, contented with the Sacred Oracles, inhering and acquiescing in them only, collected by them into one fold, and living under one Pastor. The only true Unity of the Church is that which is to be found in Scripture. When men will have an Unity not of God's making, but of their own, it falls out as when a piece of new cloth is put to an old Garment, there is a [Greek or Hebrew], a rent made.
The Unity of the Church is not an Human thing, but Divine. The Unity is as the Church is, built upon the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets, Eph. 2.20. All the Joints and Bands which tie the Church together, are from Christ the Head. As under the Old Testament, God ordained the Loops and the Taches, that coupled the Curtains together, to make one Tabernacle, Exod. 26.6. So under the New, Christ hath ordained the Bands and Ligatures, that couple Believers together, to make one Church: Hence this Unity is stiled by St. Cyprian, 1Ʋnitas à Domino, & per Apostolos tradita: An Ʋnity delivered from the Lord Christ, and by the Apostles; and by St. Austin, ⟨p. 7⟩Ʋnitas Christi, the Ʋnity of Christ. 2St. Jerom, speaking of the Church of Christ as joined together in the unity of the Spirit, hath this notable Passage. Ecclesia habet urbes legis, 3Prophetarum, Evangelii, Apostoloram: Non est egressa de finibus suis, id est, de Scripturis Sanctis. The Church hath its Cities, the Law the Prophets, the Gospel, the Apostles, it goeth not out of its bounds the Holy Scriptures. That only is Unity which is found there. When the question was between the Catholicks and Donatists, Ʋbi sit Ecclesia? Where is the Church; the Columba unica, the Dove that is but one? St. Austin tells them,4 that it was to be sought, Non in verbis nostris, sed in verbis Capitis; Not in our words, but in the words of the Head. Jesus Christ the Head knew his own Body: And again, Sunt certe libri Dominici, ibi quaeramus Ecclesiam: There are the Lord's Books, there let us seek the Church: And again, Nolo Humanis Documentis, sed Divinis Oraculis Sanctam Ecclesiam demonstrari. I will not have the Holy Church demonstrated by ⟨p. 8⟩Human Documents, but by Divine Oracles. It was the notable Observation of Bessarion, 5Archbishop of Nice, That then the Church had the highest concord, peace and truth, when it did adhere to the simplicity and purity of the Evangelical Doctrine, contented with the Sacred Oracles, inhereing and acquiescing in them only, collected by them into one fold, and living under one Pastor. The only true Unity of the Church is that which is to be found in Scripture. When men will have an Unity not of God's making, but of their own, it falls out as when a piece of new cloth is put to an old Garment, there is a , a rent made.
- 1Epist. ad Cornel.
- 2Contra Cresc. l. 2. c. 31. l. 4. c. 21.
- 3Come. in Mich. c. 1.Com. in Mich. c. 1.
- 4De Unit. Eccl. c. 2, & 3.
- 5Fuit aliquando tempus quo immaculata Dei Spoas• Ecclesia summâ concordiâ tranquillissimâ pace, & intemeratâ veritate fruebatur, cum simplicitatem, & puritatem Evangelicae Doctrinae maximi omnes faciebamus, solis Sacris eloquiis contenti, his inhaerentes, his acquiescentes, in unum ab his collecti ovile sub uno Pastore omnes agentes. Crab. Conc. Florent.
