7/;e HISTORY of the PuRITANS. VoL. n. K. Charles l. who:have the honour to be capable if deriving their calling from St. Peter, 16 4·4mufl deduce their foccejjion. She is therefore a true church, though not '-'"""""-" an orthodox one; our religion and theirs is one in .e1Tentials, and people may be faved in- either. It has not been proved, that I deny the pope to be antichrift, though many learned men have denied it; nor do I con– Prynne, p•. ss6. ceive that our homilies affirm it ; and if they did, I don't conceive my felf bound to believe every phrafe that is in them. I confefs, I have often wilhed a reconciliation between the churches of England and Rome in a jufl: and cbrifl:ian way; and was in hopes in due time to effeCt it; but a reconciliation without truth and piety I never deGred. To the unTo the objeCtion of the foreign protefl:ant churches, I deny that I ha11e churching endeavoured to fow difcord between them, but I have endeavoured to fi.';:ign prounite the calvinifl·sand lutherans ,· nor have I abfo!utely unchurched them. lep ants. Laud's hifi. I fay indeed, -in my book againfl Fijher, according to St. Jerom, no 6iP· 374· }hop no church; and that none but a bi!hop can ordain, except in cafes of Pryr:lfle.. inevitable neceffity; and whether that be the cafe with the foreign churE·540•· ches, the world mufl: judge. The judgment of the church of England is, that church government by bifhops is unalterable, for the preface to the book of ordination fays, that from the apofiles time there have been three orders of miniil:ers in the church, bi!hops, priefl:s, and deacons; now if bi!hops are the apofl:les fucce1Tors, and have continued in the church a– bove fixteen hundred years, what authority have any chriflian fl:ates to deprive them of that right which Chrifi has given them? as to the french and dutch cburches in this kingdom, I did not queil:ion them for. their an– cient privileges, but for their new encroachments, for it was not the delb. p. 37 8 · fign of queen [Elizabeth] to harbour them, unlefs they conformed to tbe eJZgli(h liturgy; now I infiil:ecl on this only with refpeCl: to thofe who were of the fecond defcent, and born in England; and if all fuch had I:Jeen obliged to go to their pari!h churches as they ought, they would not have done the church of England fo much harm as they h:~ve Gnce done. "l'o biscomf· To the fourth objecrion I anfwer, that I had no intimate correfpon~ pon1ing '!litb dence with prieil:s or jeiuits, nor entertained them at my table, knowing ) 0 Pi1.Prz:{['- them to be fuch. I never put my hand to the releaGng any priefl: out of ;.a~9:. hi • prifon, nor have I connived at the liberties they a1Tumed; the witnelfes who pretended to prove this are either mean perfons, or ftrongly prejudi– ced; and to moll: of the faC'cs there is but one witnefs. As to the nun. cios from Rome, it was not in my power to hinder their coming, the king having condefcended to it, at the earneil: requeil: of the queen ; nor had I any particular intimacy with them whiHl: they were here; nor do I re– member my checking the put:f'uivants in doing their duty. But if it could be fuppofed that l faid, I will have nothing to do with any priejl-catching knaves,
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