Baxter - BV669 B3 1681

C 5 ) an vniverfal Church Headedby ChriJ, and particularChurches headed under him by their Bifliopsor Paftors : A Church without a Head, (inFair, Ship,, or Temple) we talk not of Nor yet of a Churchthat bathbut an Acciden- tal, Extrinrick, and not an Efl-ential Conftitutive Head, to them, as they areChurchesof Chrift's Inftitution: Whether it be the Emperour of Ger- many, or of Conflantineple, Mahemetan, Chriftian , Papift, or Proteftant, we believe that every Soveraign is fothe Head, that is the Ruler ofthe Church, that is, of the Chriftiansin his Dominions. We denominate â forma : Bithop Downame may denominate whencehe pleafe,, á materia or ab accidente, &c. and fay, They areone Churchthat areunder'one Prince, Law, ; of.one Religion.. '.,Do With your Equivocals what you wil l ; Silt for- get notthat it is aPaitoral particular Churchof the Holy Ghoft's Inftituti- on that weDifpute about. Otherwife 'I deny not Diocefan, or - Patriar- chal Churches,, nor deny that the Papal Kingdom is a Church of a certain fpecies right or wrong. And forget not his Conceffion p. 6. andwe needno more; [Indeed at the very. fárfi converfion ofCities, thewhole number of the People converted (bring fometimesnot muchgreater than the number of the Presbytersplatedamongthesü) were able remake but a fmall Congregation. But theft Churches'were4n Confli- turing, they were not fully Conftituted, till their number being increafed they báá their Bu(hop or Paftor, their Presbyters and Deacons, without which, Ig'uarkis faith, there Ives no Church, &c.] .Of'whicha`tet'. He next, Cap.:r, laboureth much tc proï'e, that theWords Eácfefia, Pa- racia, and Diecæfis, of oldwere of the fame iiguificatíon, Aboutwordis we have nomind to ftrive : But all the proofs that he brings of the ex- tent of a Church to more than one Congregation or Altar, are fetcht from later times, when indeed Churches were transformed into Societies muchdifferent from thole before them. - He citeth Concil. Carth. is C. g. & 3. 42, 23,3, ètrë. that 'places that had no Bifhops before fhould not receive Biihnps'without the`ctiñtentofthe Bithop whom they were before under. Indeed- by thefe Canons we fee much of the ftateof theChurch in thofe times; and partly how the Cafe was altered. Every Church hada Bithop of its own: Thofe Churches were almóft all firft planted in Cities : The multitudes were Heathens : but the City Chriftians with thofein the Country near them, were enow to flake aChurch or Congregationl. Intime fo Many were Converted in the Coun- tryVillages, that theywere allowed AfI'ernblìes like our Chappelsat here i And force of them had Country Bifhops let over them And in many pla- ces greater Towns (which they'then' called-Cities) Wereanew wiliest= ed. The Presbyters that were abroad among thefe newConvects or fcatered Chriftians, made them 'know thatevery Church fhould have a Bithop, and than they might choofé one of their own : And few Presby- ters being then Learnedable men in Comparifon of the Bifhops, by this advantage of pretence among them, many raw and fchifmatical Presby- ters crept into the Peoples affeftions, and perfwaded them to choofe them

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