. . Is rmintermpted Succej?ion 11ecejfary ? cdvcd Jmi[diftio;: in the Office received, will find that they do but hide their <lcfperare Ciufe in Co;z– fupon_and an. infigniticant _noife. For they maintain thac none on earth haV'e an EfficicJ 1 t·Jurifdi– {ilou m makmg Popes. l~or the former Pope dolh not make his fuccdfor; And borh Elcdurs Or– dainers and Confecrators, yea_, and the people Receiving, they hold ro be fubjcliJ of the Pope ~hen m•de, and th_crcfore ma.ke llltn not by Juri_fdidion giving him the power. Therefore J ohJJ_foil relb me, _that Chnll only, and not man, doth g1ve the power, a_nd they mufi needs hol<l thar men have n?thm~ to do but ~dign the pcrfon Recipient by Election and Reception, and to lnvdl him ccremo– Olllly m the p0ff1..010n. So that no Effident J urifdWion is here uft:d at all by mm. And for Rt· ~tived Jurij'di[/io~, 1· ~o on: qudlioncth ~ur when rhat OJ!!ce is r~ceivcd whi~h is E{fenti~lly·Govtrn~ng, ~e thar rccctvcrh Jt recetvcth a Govtrmng pJwer, or cite he d1d not receive tht Office. If the q __ uefho~ be only, whether the Ofiice of:a Bifhop,. be an Office ofJurifdiUion, .or contain effentially a G?vcr.nmg power, they make no qucllwn of this themfelves. So that the no1fe of Succcffivc Jurifdi– Chon IS vanii11cd into nothing. 2 . And with them that deny any JurifdiC!ion to belong to Presbyters this will be nothing as to their Clfe, who have nothing but Orders tO receive. ' They have no1hing of fcnfe left them to fay but this, That though the EJ!ieiem Juri[di/1io; 1 which mak,fth PfJfes be only i1J Cluiji, becaufi H9 men aft thtir Suptriours, ytt Bijhopr and Pre 1 byters wJ 10 haveSupcriours, cam101 receive tiJCir power but by an Efficimt Power of man, wbicb mujl comt down by uninterrupud fucccf!ion. An[w. l· And lo if ev<r the Papal Office have an intercifion, (as I have proved it hath had as to lawful Popes ) the whole Catholick Church is nullified ; and it is impofiible to giveit a new being but by a new Pope. ' . But the befi is, that by tlieir Dochine indeed they need not to plead for an uninte.rrupled fuccellion either of Popes, Bifi10ps or Presbyters, hut that they think it a ufeful cheat to perplex all that are not their fubjeds. t'or if the Papacy were extinct an hundted years, Chrifi is Hill alive : And fee– ing it is no matter ( ad cffe ) who be the Elcliorr or Confecralors, fo it be but made known conveni~ cntly to the people, and Men only Ele/1 and Receive the perfon, and Chrijl only givcth ihe power (by his ttated Law ) what hindcrcth after thclongdl: extinction or intercifion, but tlut fome body, or fome fort ofpcrfons may choofe a Pope again, and fo Chrijl make him Pope ? And thus the Catho– lick Church rn:~y dye and live again by a new Creation> many r.imes over. And when 1he Pope hath a Refurrctlion after the longcfi intercifion, fo may all the Bi!hops and ~ricfis in rhe .world , bccaufe a new Pope can make new Bifhops , . and new Bifhops can make new Pudls. And where then is there any Chew of necdfuy of an uninterrupted fucdlion of any of them. ·All that will follow is, that the particular Churches dye, till a Refum– C:tion: And fo doth the whole Church on earth every time the Pope dye~h, till another be made, it he be theConnitutiY'e !dead. 2. But as they fay that Chrifl only EJ!icimtly giv<th the Power to the Pope, fo fay we to the il:!hops or Pailors of the Church. For there is no act of Chrifis Collation to be proved, but the Scripture Law or Gunt: And if that fianding Law give Power to the Pope, when men have but ddigncd the Prrfon, the fame Law will dOthe fame to Bilhops or P~llors ; For it efiablilheth their Office in the fame forr. Or rather in truth there is no word, that giveth power to any fuch Officer as an Univctfal Head.or Pope, but the Ltw for the P,illoral Office is uncontrovertible. . And what 1he Spanifb Bi!hops at Trent thought of the Divine Right of the Bi010ps Office, I need not mention. . I fiull therefore thus truly refolve the qucfiion. . . I. In all Ordinations and Eletlions man doth but firil choofe the ReCiptent perfim : 2. And Cere– monioully and Minifierially Invefi him in the Poffeffion when God ha1h given him the power: But the tjficicnt CoU.;tion or Grant of the Power is done only by Chtifi, by the Infhumc:nraliry of his Law or JnlliJUtion. As when the King by a Charter faith, Whoever the Ci1y !hall choofe, !hall be their Mayor> and have fuch and fuch power, and be lnvelled in it by the Recorder or Steward: Here the pCJfon ckctcd rcceiveth all his Power fronl the King by his Charter, ( which is a fianding Efficient, conveyir.B it to the Capable Chofcn perfon,) and not from the Choofers or Recorder; only the !all is as afervant to d'liver po1Tcmon. So is it in this cafe. . 2. The regular way of entrance appointed by Chrifi to make a pcrfon capable, is the faid Electi– on, and Ordination. And for rwdtr fok..e where that may be had, the unordained are not to be re– <eivcd as P.1fiors. 3· If any get Poff,flion, by falfc pretended Ordin1tion or Miffion; and be Received by the Church, 1 have before told you that he is a Pafior as to the Churches ufc and benefit, though not to his own. And fo the Church is not extinct by every fraudulent ufurpation or mifiake, and fo not by want of a true Ordinationor Miffion. 4. lf the way of regular Ordination fail, God may otherwife (by the Churches nmffity and th.: notorioiiJ aptitudi of the per[on ) notifie his will to the Church, what pcrfon they !hall receive : ( As jf a Lay-man were caf\ on the Indian{hoar and converted thoufands, who could have no Ordmatton ) And upon the peoples Reception or Confcnt, that man will be a tr:te P~fior. And fecing the P1pifis in the C0:1clufion (as J ohnfim ubi fupra) arc fain to cafi all their caufe on theChurchesRmplion of the Pope, they cannot deny rcafonably but •d tfJe the Churches reccptton ·may bvealfo for another Officer. And indeed much better than for a Pope. For r. The llniver– fal Church is fo great, that no man can know when the Greater put Receivcrh him, and when· not~ ~.exctpt in fomc r:otorious declarations:. 2. And it is now known, that the far greater part of the Uaiverfal
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