their Councils abridged C H.A P. IV. The Firft General Council. at Conftantinóple, and fome following. f. t. He xeafon why the Weft with Rome was freer from the A; rian Heretic than the E4, was not, as the Papas fay, be- caufe Chrift prayed for Peur that his Faith might not fail, but becaufe the Emperours Of the Weft were Orthodox, while thofe inthe Eafl were Arian : And the Bifhops much followed the Emperours Will. That this laitwas theCaufe, is notorious in .theHifto- ry : That Chrifts.forefaid promife was not the Caufe, is certain. Becaufe whatever promife Chrift maketh, he Fulfilleth : But he bath not kept all the Bifhops of Rome from failing in their Faith : Therefore he never pro- mired fo to do. The minor-is certain by Hiftory Topafs by Mareellimes and Liberius and Honorius falls , (which were but likePeters) all thofe wicked men whom Councils depofed as Infidels, or Hereticks, Simoniacks,, Murderers, Adulterers, oneas aDevil Incarnate, and all thofe that Baroni- no and Genebrard faigmatize as Apoftatical , andnot Apoftolical, . (50to- gether) had not this promife fulfilled c Nor Sixtus Quintus, if Bellarmine judged truly, that he was damned: Forit was not a dead faith, butaPaving faith, which Chrift promifed Peter lhould not fail; fuch a faith as had the promife of life ; He that believeth -and is baptized (hall be fared: Whoever be- lievethinhim fhallnot perilh, bat have everlafting life: a faith that worketh by Jove : Elfe Peter might. havebeen a wicked man, and damned, notwith- ftanding this.Prayer of Chrift, and Promife. If the faithof Conffantinefe- ninr & junior Conflant, Valentinian, Theodofius, Honorius, Grattan, L'9-c had failed, the General Councils at Milan, and Ariminum, tell us, how failing the Bithops faith was like to ; when Y'erome faid, that the whole worldgroaned to find it felf turned .Arian. §. z.. Theblind zeal of Valets made him ratters inPerfecuting the Or- thodox in the Eall At Antioch he vexed thofe that would not Communi- cate with Euz.oius the allowed Arian Bithop: At Cyzicum Eunomitu was put in Eléufitù place ; but his followers built thema feparáte Churchwith- out the Walls. (Socrat.lib. 4. c. 6, 7.) He Perfecuted the Novatians, and exiled Agelius their Bithop at Conft. He banifhed Euffathius Antioch. and Evagriau, chofen by the Orthodox Bithop of Conft. againft Demophilus the Arian. Fourfcore Bifhops fent tocrave Juftice of him, were put to Sea in a Ship there fet onfire, and were both burnt and drowned together. (Secy. k 4. c. 13.) In all the Eaft hedepofed, abufed, murdered many that would not forfake the Nicene Greed. Hefet his Officers to fupprefs their K Conven-
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