ес were violated, the Ordinances of the Fathers were broken, the Canons of our Ancestors abrogated, and whilft the licentious Liberty of profane and new Curiofity kept not it felf within the chaft Limits of facred and found Anti66 quity.

And now, to make this as ufeful as poffible to thofe of my Neighbours and Friends, for whom it is principally defign'd, I find it abfolutely neceffary to go a little farther, than at first I propofed.. They labour under two Miftakes, of which tho' they make but little Account, yet they appear to me to be of the last Confequence; and therefore (in Chriftian Charity) I think my felf obliged (as far as in me lyes) to undeceive them; and for that end fhall advance nothing, for which I fhall not bring fufficient Authority.

The first is, That many, tho' otherways good, well-meaning People, look upon Schifm to be a very trivial harmless Thing; they have been fo long furrounded with it, and fo much converfant with Schifmaticks, that they never confider the Nature of it, nor the fad Confequences that attend it.

The 2d is, they take the Government of the Church to be indifferent, and that Ordination without Bishops, by meer Presbyters, is of the fame Validity as that given by Bifhops; and confequently, that Presbyterian Teachers have the fame Power to Preach, and adminifter the Sacraments, as Epifcopal Minifters have; and in Confequence of that Miftake, many do fometimes joyn with the one, and fometimes with the other, occafionally, as their Intereft leads them. I fhall endeavour to fet thefe Points in

as

as clear a Light as I can, and that with as much Brevity as poffible, knowing there are many that will read a Pamphlet, that care not to engage with a large Volume.

As to the firft; In that barbarous and unnatural Rebellion against the best of Kings, Charles the First, the Bishops, the chief Pastors of the Church were facrilegiously turned out of their Offices, the Publick Worship of the Church discharg'd, and Presbitery establish'd, from which Root fprang up Independents, Anabaptifts, Quakers, Muggletonians, Family of Love, Fifth Monarchy Men, all of them Free-Thinkers, and many other Schifmaticks never before heard of in the Chriftian World, all of them fetting up one Form against another, and joyning Hands against the One, Catholick, and Orthodox Church, under the Name of Diffenters in general. Whereas if the Church of Christ be One, as it certainly is, all in Difunion from her must be in a State of Schifm, and fo in a very finful and deplorable Condition, as will appear by what follows. I fhall firft confider wherein the Unity of the Church confifts; 2dly, The Nature and Danger of Schifm; and 3dly, if there be any Regular Priestood amongst these Diffenters, and by that will appear the Danger of Schifm, the joyning with it, or countenancing it by our Prefence, or any other way.

The Vifible Catholick Church of CHRIST must be One; CHRIST the Head thereof is but One Head, and can have but One Body; he is but One Spouse, and can have but One Bride; he is the One chief Corner-ftone, and fo can ferve but for One Building; he is the One Sacrifice offered up for the Sins of Mankind, and fo there

can

can be but one Altar. This Unity of the Church might be proved by innumerable Paffages of Scripture, which for Brevity's fake I fhall omit, it being an Article of our Creed, I Believe in the Holy Catholick Church; By this One Catholick Church, is meant the Church of CHRIST, as in all Ages, fo in all Nations; He that's a Prieft in any one National Church, that's in Communion with the Catholick Church, is a Priest in all the Catholick Church, of which CHRIST is the only Head and Center of Unity; and if any one Perfon, Society or Nation, cuts it felf off from the Communion of this One, Catholick Church, they thereby involve themselves in the Guilt of Schifm.

And this brings me to confider, wherein the Unity of any National Church consists, and it's in this; The Bishop of every particular Church is the Center of Unity of that Church of which he's Chief Governour; for without his Autho rity, neither Priest, Deacon, nor Laick, can do any thing that's meerly Ecclefiaftick; and therefore it was that St. Paul fent Timothy and Titus, these two Bishops, to ordain Elders in the Churches of Crete and Ephefs, giving them a Jurifdiction over thefe Churches, and Rules whereby to regulate themselves therein. That Holy Martyr, St. Ignatius before-mention'd, fays, (c) "Let "no Man without the Bifhop do any thing "that belongs to the Church. Where the Bi "fhop is, there let the Multitude be. He that "doth any thing without the Bishop, ferves the "Devil. (d) As many as are GOD's and

(c) Ep. ad Smyr.

(d) Ep. tothe Philip.

CHRIST

* CHRIST are with the Bifhop," fo excluding from CHRIST's Body all that are without the Bishop. And in the fame Epiftle, fpeaking of the Repentance of Schifmaticks, and of GOD's Pardon offer'd to fuch, he fays, If they return to the Unity of GOD, and Senate of the Bishop; thereby plainly declaring, that without that Condition they could not expect Pardon from GOD.So alfo faith St. Cyprian, fpeak✩ ing of the Schifmatical Presbyters of Feliciffimus (a), in their breaking off from the Bifhop, and caufing others likewife to do fo. And in his Book of Church Unity (b) he defcribes the Schifmatick to be Filius Impius, &c. an Impious Son, who having contemned the Bishops, and forfaken the Priefts of GOD, dares conftitute another Altar. He fays (c), One Thing ye are to know, that he that is not with the Bishop, is not in the Church. The Writings of the Holy Fathers are fo full in this Matter, that it's impoffible for any that has read them to deny, that this was the univerfal and uncontroverted Opinion of the whole Catholick Church in the earliest Ages of Chriftianity; and fo by the fore-cited Rule of St. Auguftine, must be an Apoftolical Inftituting, that the Bishop was the Center of Unity in every National Church, and that Separation from him was Schifm, and may be faid to be an open Rebellion against the King of Heaven, and High-Prieft of our Salvation, even the LORD JESUS CHRIST, in fo far as it's a contemning the Authority, gi ven by him, to his Vicegerents and immediate

4

(a) Epift. 4. (b) De Unitate Ecclefiæ. (c) Epift. 64. Sub

N

1

1

Substitutes on Earth, the Bishops of the Chriftian Church; for when he fent forth his Eleven Apostles, (d) to Teach and Baptize all Nations, for their Encouragement, and the Church's Comfort and Stability in fubfequent Ages, he tells them, he will be with them to the end of the World; from which it will naturally follow, that those who are not in Unity with them, cannot be united to him; and those who contemn them, contemn him that fent them; and deplorable is the Condition of all fuch. Schifm in all Ages was deem'd a Sin of a moft heinous Nature both by GOD and his Church. Remarkable is the Hiftory of that Schifm of Korab (e) and his Accomplices, they feparated from Mofes and Aaron, and withstood their Authority, faying, All the Congregation was holy as well as they; which, by the way, is the common Cant of all Schifmaticks to this very Day, all Seats of them pretending to a greater Degree of Santity than is to be found any where elfe; but I must tell them, that all that outward Sanctity they can attain to, will be of no Ufe to them as long as they continue in a State of Schifm; and they'll find that Saying to be true (fome time or other) Extra Ecclefiam, nulla Salus. But to return; as the Sin of Korah, &c. was heinous, fo was the Punishment GOD was pleafed to inflict upon them for it dreadful. He was fo incens'd by it, that he commanded Mofes and Aaron (f) to feparate themfelves from amongst the People, that he might deftroy them all in a

མ་

(d) Matth. xxviii. 20. (e) Numb. xvi.

21, 22.0

(f) Ver.

Moment;