MarginaliaAn. 1551.our dayes most miserably troubled and tormented.

MarginaliaCōmendatiō of Doct. Redmā.This Doctor Redman, being continually by the space of xx. yeares or somthing more, exercised in the readinge of the holy scripture, with such industrye, labor, modesty, magnanimitie, and prayers to almighty God cryed and wayed the controuersies of religion, that in all hys doings, as he would not seme to approue that was eyther false or superstitious, so he would neuer improue that he thought to stand with the true worshippe of God. And albeit in certayne poyntes and articles of his fayth, he seemed to diuerse which were altogether ignorant of that hys singular grauitie, eyther for softnes, feare, or lacke of stomacke to chaunge hys mynde and beliefe: yet they, to whome hys former lyfe and conuersation by familiar acquayntaunce with hym was throughly knowen, with them also which were present at hys departure, may easely perceaue and vnderstand, how in graue and weighty matters, not rashely and vnaduisedly, but with constant iudgement and vnfayned conscience he descended into that maner of beliefe which at the tyme of his goyng out of this world, he openly professed.

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I gyue your wisdome to vnderstand, that when death drewe neare, he castyng away all hope of recouerye, minded and talked of no other thing (as we which were presente heard) but of heauen and heauenly matters, of the latter day, of our Sauiour Iesus Christ, with whom most feruently he desired to bee: whose incredible loue towardes vs miserable synners, most worthely and not without teares he often tymes vsed to extoll and speake of: MarginaliaExhortatiō of Doct. Redmā to them that were about hym.and vs which were there present, he earnestly moued and exhorted to prepare our selues to Christ, to loue one an other, and to beware of thys most wretched & corrupt world. And besydes that, he promised (calling God to wytnes therunto, to whom he trusted shortly to come) if any would demaunde any question, that he would aunswere hym what he thought in his iudgement to be the truth. At what tyme there were present maister Alexander Nowel,MarginaliaM. Alexander Nowell now Deane of Paules. a mā earnestly bent to þ^e true worshipping of God, and one that had alway singularly well loued the sayd maister Redman: to whom hee spake on this wise:

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Your excellent learning and puritye of lyfe I haue euer both highly fauoured, and had in admiration: and for no other cause (God be my iudge) I do aske these things of you which I shall propound, but that I might learne and know of you what is your opinion and beliefe touching these troublous controuersies which are in these our dayes: and I shall receaue & approue your wordes as oracles sent from heauen.

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To whom when Doct. Redman had geuen leaue to demaund what he would, and had promised that he would faithfully & sincerely aūswere (all affectiō set asyde) what he thought to be the truth, M. Nowell sayd: I woulde (quoth he) rightly gladly, but that I feare by my talke and cōmunication I shalbe vnto you so feble & now almost spent, a trouble & griefe. The said Doct. Redmā replying: what shall I spare my carkas (quoth he) which hath so short a tyme heare to remaine? Go to, go to (sayd he) propound what you will. Then M. Nowel put forth certayne questions in order, which I will here declare: wherunto the sayd Doct. Redman seuerally aunswered, as hereafter followeth.

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The fyrst question that he asked of hym was, what he thought of the Bishop of Rome. MarginaliaThe Sea of Rome a sincke of all sinne.Vnto whō D. Redmā answered, that the Sea of Rome in these our latter dayes had much suarued from the true religion & worshipping of God, and is with horrible vices stayned and polluted: which I therfore (quoth he) pronounce to be the sincke of all euill, & shortly wil come to vtter ruine by the scourge of God, except it do fall the sooner to repentance: Wherwith he briefely cōplained of the filthy abuse of our English Church.

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MarginaliaPurgatory.Being then asked what his opinion was concerning purgatory, and what the Scholemē iudged therof, he answered, that the subtyll reasons of the Scholemē concernyng purgatory, seemed to hym to be no lesse vaine, and fryuolus, then disagreing from the truth: adding thereunto, that when we be rapt vp to the cloudes to meete Christ comming to iudgement with a great number of Angels in all glory and maiestie, then euery one shallbe purged with fire as it is writtē: The fyre shall go before him, and shall flame round about his enemies, and the fier shall burne in his sight, and round about him shall be a great tempest:  

MarginaliaPsal. 97. and 50.saying that diuers of the old writers approued this his sentence concerning purgatorye.

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When he was asked whether wicked and vngodly people in the holy cōmunion did eate the body of Christ,and drinke his bloud: MarginaliaThe wicked eat not the flesh of Christ.he answered that such kind of men dyd not eate Christes most blessed flesh, but onely tooke the Sacrament to their owne damnation: saying that Christ woulde not gyue hys most pure and holy fleshe to be eaten of such naughty and impure persons, but would withdrawe hymself from them. And that (quoth he) that is obiected by saint Augustine, that Iudas receyued the selfsame thing which Peter receaued: that I think to be vnderstanded of the externall sacrament. And the lyke kinde of phrase of speaking (sayd he) we may vse concerning the baptisme of Magus: that Simon Magus receaued that which the Apostles did receaue. In deede as concerning the sacrament of the externall baptisme, Simon Magus receaued that which the Apostels dyd: but that internall grace, wherewith the Apostels were indued, and that holy spirite wherwith by baptisme they were inspired, he lacked.  

And so (quoth he) the wicked and forsaken people, which rashly presume to come to the holy table of the Lorde, do receyue the sacrament and the self same which good and godly men receaue: but the body of Christ, they do not receyue, for Christ doth not vouchsafe to deliuer it them. And this he sayd was his opinion & beliefe, although hee knew others to be of a contrary iudgement.

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Being then after thys demaūded whether he thought Christes presence to be in the Sacrament or no, MarginaliaHow Christ is present in the Sacrament.he aunswered that Christ dyd gyue and offer to faythfull and Christian men, hys very reall body and bloud verely and really vnder the sacramentes of bread and wine: in somuch that they which deuoutly come to bee partakers of that holy foode, are by the benefite therof vnited & made one with Christ in hys flesh and body. And therfore he sayd that Christ dyd distribute hys body spiritually: but yet so spiritually that he gaue it truly, MarginaliaThe Capernaites grosse errour of Christes bodily presence in the sacrament.not so yet neuerthelesse that by these and the lyke wordes we should conceyue any grosse or carnall intelligence, such as the Capernaites  

once dreamed of:but that (quoth he) we might labor and endeuour to expresse by some kynde of wordes the ineffable maiesty of this mystery. For the maner wherby Christ is there present, and ministreth to the faythfull his flesh, is altogether inexplicable: but we must beleue (quoth he) & thinke, that by Gods mighty power and the holy operatiō of his spirit, this so notable a mistery was made: and that heauen and earth was ioyned together in that moment, as the blessed man S. Gregory sayth: the lowest partes are ioyned with the highest: By which is vnderstand that holy foode, wherby they which be regenerate by the holy ghost in baptisme are nourished to immortality. And further he sayd that Christes body was receaued in the sayd sacramēt by faith: which being receyued, both body and soule were quickned to euerlasting lyfe.

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MarginaliaTransubstantiation.Being then required to say his minde about transubstantiation, he gaue aunswere that he had much traueled in that poynt, and that he fyrst much fauoured and enclined to that part which maintayned transubstantiation: in searching the verity whereof most studiously, hee had bene no litle while occupied, and found to aryse thereabout infinite, and almost inexplicable absurdities. In confuting whereof, when he had but finally contented himself, he sayd that he toke in hand the Scholemens workes, and perused Gabriell and other writers of that sorte, for that by theyr helpe and ayde hee hoped that all inconueniences whych dyd spryng and aryse by maintenance of transubstantiation, might be cleane conuinced and wyped away. Of whych hys hope hee was vtterly frustrate (sayd he) for that he dyd fynde in those woorkes many fond and fantasticall thinges, which were both to foolish to be recorded in writing, and also to be alledged about such a mistery: and truly (sayd hee) euer after the readyng of them, my former zeale and opinion, touching the mainteinaunce of transubstantiation dyd euery day more and more decrease, and threfore in conclusion perswaded him selfe to thincke that there was no such transubstantiation as the Scholemen imagened and fayned to bee: saying that in deede the auncient wryters were plainly agaynst the maintenance thereof: amongest whō he recited by name Iustine,  

Ireney,   and Tertullian,  

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Tertullian was a major patristic writer and theologian.

notorious aduersaries to the same. MarginaliaConsecration what it meaneth.Furthermore he added hereunto, that the whole Schole vnderstoode not what thys word Consecratio was: whych he defined to bee the full and entire action of the whole Communion.

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Being demaunded also whether wee ought to woorship Christ present in his holy supper, he told vs that we are bound so to doe: and that it was most agreing to pietye and godly religion. Lykewyse being asked whether he would haue the visible sacrament to be woorshipped,