A Preface to the Reader. Thus fares itwith our Dot-lour , and his Ignatiue : ús ád4v , idh',ouny LP dl t rjkwu o1Àñvnv; I Shall only crave leave to fay to him as Auguflus of 9....uintiliusram ; upon the lots of his Legions in Germany under his command ;,Q5intili Vare redde legions: Domine `Doctorredde Ec- clefiu:give us the Churches ofChrift fuch as they were in the dayesof the Apoftles,and down to ignariue,thoughbefore that time (if Hegefeppus may be believed)fomewhat deßowred,and our conteft about Church - Officers, & Goverment,will benearer at an end,then perhaps you will readily imagine. Give us a Church, all whole members areholy, called,fanfhifred,juflified living-flones, Temples for the Holy Ghofl, Saints, Believers, united to Chrifl the head by the Sit tit, that is given to them, and dwelleth in them , aChurch whole , is gas dv eavii i cnñ- eaorg-,that doth nothingby it's members apart, that appertaines to Church-order but when iris gathered eau' w ò ; a Church that being fo gathered together, in one place oasdk- S aúv>a .a",lo yráucvórá 3aoú,2CSwa`Jnsdoo1vF.m,Todas,ac`íing inChurch things,in it'swhole body under the Rule and prefidenceof it's Officers. A Church walking in order , and not as force who ¿77i$X,RVV tgoiosv, Xtíets dti adv7a eatieJOVOW ( ofwhomfaith /gnarius ói 701;70114 Úswvd 7c ¡ ér é çi voV ,orá l[ 7ò Hui Pad! ç roT' i97m?Ñr wvaupbt<s,9 u,fuch as calling theBijhops to the Affemblies,yetdo all things without him,(the mannerof Come in our dayes)hefuppo- feth not to keep the Af embliesaccording to thecommand ofChrift ) give us, I fay ,fuch a Church ; and let us cometo them when they areaávTSS mi T; rn 717 ÿ a e9osvzñ iio 74,ax dv- 7 i, fuch as the Churches in the dayesof lgnatisu appeare to have been, and are fo rendred in the Quotations taken from his Epiftles by theLearned Dotlonr,for theConfirmation of Epif- copacy, & as I Paid before, theconteft of this prefent digrelfìon, willquickly draw to an Iffue. Being unwilling to go too farout ofmy way, I Shall not, I Confider the teveralls inftanced in for the proof ofEpifcopacy by the Dotlaur. Seeing indeniably the Interpretation muft follow , andbeproportioned by the General Iffue ofthat fiate of theChurch, in the dayes wherein thofe Epiftles were writ, or are pretended fo to be, ifthat appeare tobe fuch as I have mentioned ; I prefume the Donour himfelfe will confers, that his witneffes fpeaknot one word to his bufrnefs,for whofe confirmationhe doth produce them. Nor zly, Shall I infift upon the degeneration of the /nflitsoieus, and eilppointments of Jefas Chtift concerning Church Adminiftrations in the management ofthefucceeding Churches,as principled, and fpirited by the operativeand efficacious Miller, oflniquity,occa- Cioned and advantaged by the Accommodation of Ecclefiaftical affayres to the civildiftributi- ono,and Alotments of the political Rate of things in thofedayes, nor 3 Infill much farther , on the exceedingditrrmi!itude, and inconformity, that is between the Expreflions concerning Church -Officers, and affaires in theft Epifiles ( whence everthey come ) and thofe in the writings ofunqueftionable credit, immediarlybefore,and after them, as alto the utter fllence of theScripture in thofe things,wherewith they fo abound. The Epi- ftleof Clemens,ofwhich mentionwas made before, waswritten for the compofing,and quie- tingof divition and diftemper that was fallenout in the Church ofCorinth, Of the caufe of that (intention thatthen miferably rent that congregation,he informs us in that complaint that fome( d):yíms i ,nuns u I as7sp, )were wrongfullycart from theminiftry,by the multi. rude, & he tells you that thefe weregood lumen men,& faithful in the difchargeof their du- ty;for faith he, ipwr:v tu=vi,í pals ..z;i;,qT,xarü,s Rohe7svo drus,msF á5e1;1.c7a5 w'TCrs 7.omvjosvns xtt- TePPat :though theywereunblamable both in theirconverfation,&minifry, yet they removed them from then odùei To reprove this evill, toconvince themof the finfulnefsof it, toreduce them to a right underftandingoftheir duty,&order,welking in thefellowfbip ofthegofpel,what courfe doth he proceed in? what arguments doth he oft? He minds them ofoneGod,oneChrifl, one body,onefaith,tells them that wickedmen alone rifefuch Wades d-prat ifes:bids them read the Epiftle ofPaul formerly written to them, uponoccafronof another divifton,and to be fubjeét to their own Eldersl& all of them leaveoff contending,quietlydoing the thingswhich thepeo- plc, orthe bodyof the Church delivered,& commanded.Nowhad this Perkin writingon this oeca= Pion, ufing all forts of Arguments, Artificial, or inartificial for his purpofe,been bapti zed into the opinion& efteemof a tingle Episcopacy"fuperintendent, whofe Exaltationb ernes tobe the defign of much which is faid in the E'piflles of Ignatius in the fenfe wherin his words are ufual- lv taken,would yet never once fo much as bid them be fubjeti to theBiJhop,that Refemblanee ofGod the Faeher,fupplying ofthe place ofChrifl,nortold them bow terrible a thing it was,to difobey him, nor pawned hisfoule for rheirs, that fhouldfobmittohim, that all that obeyed him were Cafe , all that difobeyed him,wererebellioru, curfed,and feperatedfromGod. What Apologie can be made for the weaknels and Ignorance of that holy Martyr, if we (hall fop- 'D 3 pole
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