Under him : ) fome that read the old Canons, which confine Bifhops to Cities,and take not the . word as then it was taken, for any great Town or Corporation, but for fuchpriviledged Towns only as are called Cities in Englanci3hence gather that as the King may disfranchife Cities and reduce them to ten, two or one in a Kingdom, he may by confequence do fo by Churches that have Bifhops; which if it be fpoken but of Epif- copi Epifcoporurn we refift not ; But if ofEpif copi Gregis ofthe firft Order of Churches called [Particular ] we fuppofë that out of fuck a Kingdom- Church Provincial or Diocefan-Church, it is no Schifa to gather particular Parochial Churches though forbidden. And the fame rea- fon will prove that if in a leffer circuir, the fame things be done though in a lower degree, viz, were it but three , four or ten particu- lar Churches of the largefl fuze capable of Perfondl Communions turned into one which is Capable only of diftant Communion per alios it is lawful to gather particular Churches out of that larger fort of Church. If the Bifhop of Rome, Alexandrr.a, m tioch, Cef2rea,Heraclea, Carthage, c. Mould have put down the Bifhops of ten, twenty, an hundred or many hundred Churches about them, and fet up only Oratories and Catechifls in their .dead making them all but part of their own Churches, it would have been lavvfia1 to have gathered Churches in their Churches For God never made them proper yudges whether Chrift fhould have Churches according to his laws, nor whether God fhould be worfhipped, and fouls be Caved, or his own. 1titu Lions of Churches be obfLrved. E 3 XL 8, If
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