A67922:6579
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol.…Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol.…
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol. 1] with an universal history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitive age to these latter times of ours, with the bloody times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions against the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperors, as now lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realm of England and Scotland. Newly revised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time again published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the help of Christ our Lord) John Fox, which desireth thee good reader to help him with thy prayer.Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.
London: printed by John Daye, 1583London: printed by Iohn Daye, 1583
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
So when ill bishops and priests shall be banished, then place shall be made for good priests & bishops Also, your bishops and priests say, that we are miscreants and heretics, & that we believe not on purgatory, upon the virgin Mary, nor upon the saints: wherein they say ill for we will prove by the holy scripture, that we know better by Gods grace how we ought to believe upon Purgatory, & upon Mary the mother of our Lord, & upon his well beloved saints, than they can tell us. Also they say, yt we will not be obedient unto the P. Truly when he shall be come holy and just, then we know well that we ought to be obedient to him in all things and not before. They say also that we destroy Gods holy service, in that we destroy monasteries, banishing thence the wicked Monks and Nuns.1 Truly we did it, thinking once that they were holy, that they did the reverend service of god, but after that we well perceived and considered their life & works, then we perceived that they were false lowly hypocrites, and wicked builders on high, and sellers of pardons and masses for the dead, and such as devoured in themselves the sins of the people. And where as they said that they rise at midnight when other men sleep, and pray for the sins of the people: forasmuch as their selling of their prayers and masses for the dead for gifts, is no better then hypocrisy and heresy: therefore if we do speak against them and destroy their monasteries, we do not therein destroy the service of God, but rather the service of the devil, and the schools of heretics. And if ye knew them as we know them, ye would as diligently destroy them as we do. For Christ our Lord did not ordain any such order, & therefore it must needs come to pas that shortly it shall be destroyed as our lord saith in the Gospel of S. Matthew the 15. chapter.2 Every plant which my father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. We desire you also that ye would diligently consider the article• here written, wherein your bishops and priests are guilty. The 1. article is, that when your bishops will ordain priests,3 they do it not, except he y• is to be made priest have sufficient living, either inheritance left him of his parents or of benefices: whereas notwithstanding, Christ would that priests should be poor, forasmuch as it is enough for the scholar to be as his master is, and for the servant to be as his Lord is: