May mall make 11e1v [hurch,Forms or Officers? 4· Chriflianiry givcth mLn right to communion in particular Churches, when rhry .!fo m.:~k_e k(zown their ChriHianity to the Birhops of thof~ Churches, and are received (as flared or rranfienr) mem– bers by mutual confenr; ~ut not othcrwtfc : nor dorh meer Regal Government, give any fubj,d right to Chtlrch CommuniOn, except by aChurch you mean a Kingdom. Obj. A particttlar Cbttrcb thcu I would dc{cribe th:o [It is a focirty of mtn j~yncd tngether in the vifible proflffion of tbc truef.Jilb, IJ,winga right to, a~z~ enj11)'iHg amo1fgthcm~ the ordinance! nJ ;be Go[pet. J Anjiv. z. When you tell us by Y?ur delcr~pcton _wh~t. you Will mean by [ aparticular Church J ·we may un?crfland your dt:~onunatton: But yet wh!le 1t IS unufual, you mutt not expect that other men fo u(e the Word. HJd you called your drfcription a d~fiitlition, I would have asked you 1. whether by [ afocicty J you mean not fhiCtly [a Political fociely J con11itutcd by a Pars Gubcr: na~tJ, &gubemat,,? If not, it's no Church five lquivocal!y. If fo, (hould not the Pars rcgc,.s which ~s cont\itutivc have .been pu.t in? If priv:aemen joyn tog_elhcr, &c. i~ .makes but acommunity. 2· A r_,gbt toGofp~l Ord,nanccs IS fuppo(ed, b~t need not b~ m the: dcfi.mtton. 3· The tnjn)'i 1 tg of them, 1s not dftnttal to a Church. The Relatton may contmuc, when the tnjnymcnt is a long cime hindcud. 4· [ Amon.~ tbtm J is a very ambiguous word : Is it among them in the fame place l or in the fame Counucy or Kingdom? or in the j.Jmeworld? If you difference and detinc them not by Relation to the f~Jme Rijh,ps or Paftors, an4 by intended Per{onal holy Communion, your defcripdo~ confoundeth the univcrfzl Chmch, as wc:Jl as the Niltional, with a Particular Church: for the whole Chrillian world, is [ aSociety of nun joyniHJ! togtther in the vi(lble profeffioll pf the true faith, having a riJ!bt to, aHd otjtryi1tg amOitJ!. them tbeOrdinaNCCJ of the Gt{pel. J Obj. A Nation jP)ning i1t the profrf!ion of Chriftianity Ua true Church of God: J:Pbtnct it evidently f pUnwcth, tb.:Jttbcrc muff be aform of Ecclefiajlical Government over a Natifln .as a Church, ps well 111 of Ch'il Govcnmmtt over it, a1 afociety governedby the fame Larvr- FtJT every focitty mujl have itr Go– vcrprncm brlonging t~ it ar. {ucb a [ociety : And the fame rea[on that mak._cs C:over~me~t ntctJ{ary in a~y particnl.1r Ccwgregatton wzll mak._e '' neceffQry for all th~ partzcular Co.,grrgattons, )Oynutg toge,h<r in one vifible focict)l, as a particular 11a1ional Church. Fer thr unity and peace cf th:Jt Church, OHgbt much more to be lou~edafter tha11 of any one particular Congregation, &c. An[w. I · From oncabfurdiry many follow : .our Controverfic befo·rc: was Qut of the Namr: If an Accidental Royal or Civil Head may equivocally denominat~ an ccclc(i,J.fiical focic:ty, and we srant you the ufc of an equivocal name (or rather the: abufe ) you will grow too hard upon us, if thence you will gather a necenicy of a real Ecclejiaftical policy) befides the: Civil. Names abufed inferr not chc: tbingr fignitied by an univocal term. 2· You ffillH firft prove: the furm of Government, and thence: infc:rr the denomination, and not cor... tranly, firfl beg rhc naiT)e, and then infen the Government. 3· 11 yet by [a f erm (If Ecclefia{fical Government J you meant nothing but the Kings cxtrinjick,_ Go– -.:crumwt ( which you may as well call alfo a form of School·Government, of CoUtdt.e Government, &c. ) we would< grant you all. But if I can underlland you, you now fpcak of Ecclefiaftical Government as di11inct from thar. And then, 4· You arc now grown upfrom a may be, to a mufl be, and neceffity: And a ~eater.ncceffity of cne National Eccltji.;jlical6ovtrnmcn~, than of a Particular Church Gevernment; whtch bemg undeni– ably of ChriOs Inllirurion ( by rhe Holy GhoO in the Apollles ) you do not make all forms ro be · ;,different or deny this to be jure divi11o·.What! lf(:ccjfary and more: neccffary than that which isjure divinos and yet indiffcrcm and 1tot jure divi!to l . If you fay, It if neaffary only onfuppofition that ~here be a n.;~tional Churcb: 1:~nfwer; Buc your realonseyidently inferr that it is alfo necdfarx that there be fuch aNa– tior.al Church, where it may be had: Tbough you deny the neceffity of Monarchical G0vernrnem by one High Pridi in it ? J3ut I know you call not tbiJ a forn; of Governm!nt, unlefs as detcrminateiy managed by one, 'Yf.my or mojf. But why a "ational fpiritu~l Policy. as dillinct from Congregational, . may not be called [a forr" of Goverumem J as well as One mans diHmCl ~rom two, over the fame peo– ple, 1 fee not. Bur this is at your liberty. But your Ncceffity of fuch aNltio~al Regiment is a matter of g1eater momrnt· . · In thcfe tbreefenfcs I confefs a Nt~tional Church. I· As all the Chrifiians in a Nation are under one Civil C/mrch Govtrnour ; .2· As they are Confociatcd for Conco1d and m~~t i~ S.rnods or hold c;~i rc:fpondcncics. 3· As they arc all a part of the: univer~l ~hurch~ cohabmn.g m 011~ Nat~OJ?· But all thefc are cr.ui1:1ucal ufes of the word Cburcb. ; che denommatton bemg taken 111 the firfi from an Acci– dwt ; In the fccond the name of a Policy ~c:ing given to a Cemmunily agreeing for Concord ; [n the third the name of the wbole is given t6 a fmall integral part. But the 11ccrffi~y of any _orher ~hurch, headed b~ your Ecclefiaftical m•tion_al Governour, ?,erfonal' or CoUetiive\ Mona1chicaJ, Anfio~raJ!cal or DernocratJcal, I utterly dc:ny, and find not a word of proof which I rhi1~k 1have acy nctd to furnifl1 the Reader with ap ,anfwer ro. 5 . And your judgtmtnt in this is ~ownright ag~ipfi the ~onfiitut\n, Canons and judg~mcnt of th~ Nalional Chu:ch of Engl.md? F6r that they ufe rhc: Wor~ m the fenfcs allowed by me, and not in ymrJ is proved, 1. From the vifble co,flitmion in w~ich there: is ( befides the King) no diniO~ Eccle– jiajlical Head. For rhe Arch·biOlOp of Canterbury rs gol the proper Governour of the AJch-b10!0p 9f York._ and his Provia~ce. . . 2, horn rhc Canons. Cm. 1 39· [A Natlpnal Sy~od the Church Reprtfintatm; Tffl!ofoever jhaU sf– firm tbat the SacrttJ Synod of thiJ Narioff, in the name of Cbrift and by the Kin;J authority a{fomb/ed, Hnot the true Ch~trch of England by reprcfentation, let him be excommunicated, &c. J fo that the Synod is bur rhe ReprtjiHttHive Churcb: And therefore not the Political Head of the Church: whether it be the Laity, or
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