( 77 ) are, ifnot much more ? What ! not a Gregory, a Bafil, .aChrljflome, anAu- gafline, a Fulgentitu, a Hillary, &c. What ! not they that preached almofr daily ? They that write fo ftriótly of the laboters of the Miniítery? They that lived foaufterely, and favoured not the fleth ; that fpeak fo tenderly of the worth offouls ? And :would all ,thefe, think you, undertake to be Bithops ofa whole Church, and yet fo leave the whole work upon others, as never to come among . them and teach therm, and examine them, nor give them the Sacra- ment inall the Parilhes of the Diocefefave One ? This is not credible. Ifyou fay that inAlexandria it was certainly fo, that diflin6 congregations were committed to the Presbyters, I anfwer,' e. Yet fo as that, they might any part ofthem ( as living in the famecity ) comeand hear the Bithopwhen they would : 2. They might communicate with himper vices ifthey would 3. Theywere all bound to do fo at the great feftivals of the year : 4. They were all perfonally governed by the difciplineof the. Bifhop andPresbyters conjun&. in Council : But ofthisnext. XXI. Another evidence is ,that the whole Plebs or people of the Bithops charge ( till Churches were fetled under Presbyters far off in the countreys ) were bound by the Canons to come to the Cathedral.Church, and communi- cate with the Bithop at Eafter, Whitfúntide, and Come other fuch feftivals, even after they werediftinguithed'into feveral Auditories and. Communicating Affemblies under Presbyters ; which I have before proved from the. particular Canons : which certainly proveth that, the Diocefes were nehmore than could aWhmble in one place. XXII. Another evidence is that Presbyters did but rarely preach in the two or three firft ages ( except in Alexandria, or inforce fewChurches which,had got force extraordinary men ; Chryfoftome's preaching at Antioch, Augeeelin's at Hippo, while they were but Presbyters, are noted as unufual things. Andit isfaid ofAuguffine (as forecited) that it beingnot ufual in other Churches, for the Presbytersto preach inthe Bifhopspretence, the example ofthat Church ( by the humility of the honett Bithop who preferred his ablerPresbyter before himfeif) did lead many other Churches into the fame praQice. Spalatenfis Imay add and many others have given large proofs, that theBithops and not the Presby- alfo as ters.were the ordinarypreachers in their Church.., Filefacus faith,. DeEpifcop. anther authorit.cap. r 5. Sell. r.pag--344 C Epifcopos confueviffe ex ambone verbsfacere, evdeinnceth. e refrrt Coned. Lateran.fub Martino, &Coned. gale c. 33. Përmifum deredi'Pref- tbegining byteris, quanquam non palm, net in quibuflibet ecclefits : Diaconis slim id concef- fer a confe- derable time, Confirmation was clofely ¡synod to Raptifm and therefore ordinarily none were Baptized but by acnn- firmer,' or in hisprefence : And the Bi¡hops fay, that only Biflops did confirm: And if fo, then ter it be con- fdered, to hew large a Diocefe a Bi;hsp could be brefent atevery Baptifm : Tea ifconfirmationhad been at a.greaser diflance, geeing all that were baptized were confirmed, it is eafy to knew- for howmany-ono Bi,hop cannot do this. Del our Bifhops of et they would know. I do not think that in this -city one perfon of go or coo is confirmed though the Bilhop dwell among room. .perhaps. inlose Die( efes nonone of zoos.: for we.- rarely hear of any at all.
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