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1633 [1595]

Queene Mary. Disputation of Doct. Cranmer Archbishop of Cant. in Oxforde.

Marginalia1554. Aprill.though I dyd meane of the efficacy, & not of þe substance of the body: but I meane of them both,MarginaliaSubstance and efficacie both graunted in the Sacrament. as wel of the efficacy as the substaunce. And for so much as all thinges come not readily to memory, to a man that shall speake ex tempore, therfore for the more ample & fuller aunswere in the matter, this writyng here I do exhibite.

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¶ An explication exhibited by Cranmer.

MarginaliaAn other explication for aunswere exhibited in writing, by the Archb.OVr Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ, at the tyme of his Maundy, preparing himself to die for our cause, that he might redeme vs from eternall death, to forgeue vs all our synnes, and to cancell out the hand writyng that was agaynst vs, that we through ingrateful obliuion should not forget his death: therefore hee at the tyme of hys holy supper did institute a perpetual memory of this his death, to be celebrated among Christians in bread and wyne, according as it is sayd: MarginaliaThe finall cause why the supper was ordeined. Do this in remembraunce of me. And, So often as you shall eate this bread, & drynke this cup, you shall shew forth the Lordes death tyll he come. And this remembraunce or sacrament of his holy passion, that is, of his body slaine and bloud shed, he would all Christians to frequent and celebrate in bread & wine, according as he sayd: Take, eate: And, drinke ye all of this. Therfore, who soeuer for mans tradition denieth þe cup of Christes bloud to Lay mē, they manifestly repugne against Christ, forbidding that whych Christ commaundeth to be done, and be like to those Scribes and Pharises, of whom the Lord spake: MarginaliaMath. 15.MarginaliaLuke. 7. Ye Hipocrites, ye haue reiected the commaundementes of God for your traditions. VVell dyd Esay prophecy of you, saying: This people honoreth me wyth their lyps, but their hart is farre from me. VVithout cause do they worship me, teaching the doctrines and preceptes of men.

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This sacrament and mistical bread, being broken and distributed after the institution of Christ, and the mistical wyne likewise being taken and receiued, be not only sacramentes of the flesh of Christ wounded for vs, and of his bloudsheding, but also be most certaine sacramentes to vs, & (as a man would say) MarginaliaSacramētes seales of Gods promises.seales of Gods promises and giftes, and also of that holy fellowship, which wee haue with Christ and all hys members. Moreouer they be to vs memorials of that heauenly foode and nourishment wherewith we are nourished vnto eternall lyfe, and the thirst of our boyling conscience quenched, and finally whereby the hartes of the faythfull be replenished with vnspeakeable ioy, and be corroborated and strengthened vnto all workes of godlines. VVe are many (sayth S. PauleMarginalia1.Cor.11.) one bread and one body, all we whych doe participate of one bread, and one cup. And Christ sayth: MarginaliaMath. 26. Eate ye: thys is my body: And, drinke ye: this is my bloud. And, MarginaliaIohn. 6. I am the liuing bread which came downe from heauen. He that eateth me, shall also liue for me. Not as your fathers did eate Manna in the desert and are dead. He that eateth me, shall also lyue for me.

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MarginaliaBread and wine remaine still in the Eucharist, and be seales to vs annexed with Gods promises.Thus therefore true bread and true wyne remain still in the Eucharist vntill they be consumed of the faythfull, to be signes and as seales vnto vs annexed vnto Gods promises, making vs certaine of Gods giftes towardes vs: Also Christ remayneth in them and they in Christ, which eate his flesh and drinke hys bloud, as Christ him self hath promised: They that eate my flesh, & drinke my bloud, abide in me, and I in them. Moreouer he abideth also in thē which worthely receiueth the outward sacramēt, neither doth he depart so soone as the Sacrament is consumed, but continually abideth, feeding and nourishing vs so long as we remayne bodies of that head & mēbers of the same. I acknowledge not here þe naturall body of Christ, which is onely spirituall, intelligible, and vnsensible, hauing no distinction of members and partes in it: but that body onely I acknowledge & woorship, which was borne of the virgin, which suffered for vs, which is visible, palpable, and hath al the fourme and shape, & parts of the true naturall body of man.

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MarginaliaChristes wordes are spoken not of an vncertaine substance,but of a certaine substaunce of bread which he had in hys handes.Christ spake not these wordes of any vncertaine substance, but of the certayne substaunce of bread, which he then held in hys hādes and shewed his Disciples when he sayd: Eate ye: this is my body: and lykewyse of the cup, when he sayd: Drinke ye: thys is my bloud: meaning verely of that bread, which by nature is vsuall and cōmon with vs, which is taken of the fruite of the ground, compacted by the vniting of many graynes together, made by mā, and by mans hand brought to that visible shape, being of a round compasse, and wythout all sense or life, which nourisheth the body, and strengtheneth the hart of man: of thys same bread (I say) and not of any vncertayne and wandring substaunce the old fathers say that Christ

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spake these wordes: Eate ye, this is my body. And lykewise also of the wyne whych is the creature and fruite of the vine pressed out of many clusters of grapes, and maketh mans hart mery: of the very same wyne (I say) Christ spake: Drinke ye, this is my bloud. MarginaliaHow the Doctours do take the speach of Christ. And so the olde Doctors doe call this speaking of Christ, MarginaliaTropicall, Figuratiue, Anagogicall, Allegoricall.tropical, figuratiue, anagogicall, allegoricall, whych they doe interprete after thys sort, that although the substaunce of bread and wine do remayne and be receyued of the faythful, yet notwithstanding Christ chaunged the appellation thereof, and called the bread by the name of his flesh, MarginaliaBread called by the name of the body. and the wine by the name of his bloud, non rei veritate, sed significante mysterio. i. Not that it is so in very deede, but signified in a misterie. So that we should cōsider, not what they be in their own nature, but what they importe to vs and signifie, and should vnderstand the Sacrament, not carnally, but spiritually, and should attend, not to the visible nature of the Sacramentes, neyther haue respect onely to the outward bread & cup, thynking to see there with our eyes no other thinges but onely bread and wyne, MarginaliaThe Sacrament is to be considered not what it is in nature, but what it signifieth in mysterie.but that lifting vp our myndes, we should looke vp to the bloud of Christ with our faith, should touch him with our minde, and receyue hym with our inward man: and that being lyke Eagles in this lyfe, we should flye vp into heauen in our hartes, where that Lambe is resident at the right hand of hys father, whych taketh away the sinnes of the world, by whose stripes we are made whole, by whose passion we are fylled at hys table, and whose bloud we receiuyng out of hys holy syde, doe liue for euer, being made the ghestes of Christ, hauing hym dwellyng in vs through the grace of his true nature, & through the vertue and efficacy of hys whole passion, beyng no lesse assured and certified that we are fed spiritually vnto eternal lyfe by Christes flesh crucified and by hys bloud shed, the true foode of our myndes, then that our bodies be fed with meate and drinke in thys lyfe: and hereof this said misticall bread on the table of Christ, and the mysticall wyne, being administred and receyued after the institution of Christ, be to vs MarginaliaThe Sacrament is a memoriall, a pledge, a token, a Sacrament, and a seale.a memoriall, a pledge, a token, a sacrament, and a seale.

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And thereof is it that Christ sayth not thus: Thys is my body, eate ye: but after he had bydden them eate, then he sayd: This is my body which shall be geuen for you. Whych is to meane, as though he should say: MarginaliaWhat is ment by eatyng the mystical bread.In eatyng of thys bread, consider you that this bread is no common thing, but a mysticall matter: neither do you attend that which is set before your bodely eyes, but what fedeth you with in. Consider and behold my body crucified for you: that eate and digest in your myndes. Chawe you vpon my passion, be fed with my death. MarginaliaWhat the crucified body of Christ doth to our soules.This is the true meate, thys is the drinke that moisteneth, wherewith you being truly fed and inebriate, shall liue for euer. The bread and the wyne which he set before your eyes  

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An interesting misprint occurred in the 1583 edition. Where all previous editions rendered a phrase in Cranmer's explication (i.e., his written response to the articles being debated) as 'the bread and wine which is set before your eyes' (1563, p. 941; 1570, p. 1595; 1576, p. 1361), the 1583 edition reads: 'the bread and wine which be set before our eye' (1583, p. 1432). This is obviously a typographical error.

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, are onely declarations of me, but I my self am the eternall foode. Wherfore when so euer at this my table you shall beholde the sacramentes, haue not regard so much to them, as consider ye what I promyse to you by them: whych is my selfe to be meate for you of eternall lyfe.

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The onely oblation of Christ (wherewyth he offered him selfe to God the father once to death vpon the aultar of the crosse for our redemption) was of such efficacy, that MarginaliaThe sacrifice of Christes body once sufficient for all.there is no more nede of any sacrifice for the redemption of the whole world. But all the sacrifice of the old lawe he tooke away, performing that in very dede, which they did signify and promise. Whosoeuer therefore shall fyxe the hope of his saluation in any other sacrifice, he falleth from the grace of Christ, and is cōtumelious against the bloud of Christ. [For] MarginaliaEsay. 53. he was wounded for our transgreßions, and was broken for our iniquities. All we like sheepe haue wādred astray. Euery mā hath turned after his own way, and the Lord hath layd all our iniquities vpon him. [For] MarginaliaHeb. 9. he hath entred once for all into the holy place by the bloud, not of Goates or Calues, but by hys own bloud, finding eternall redēption: [And] hath entred into heauen, to appeare now in the sight of God for vs, not to offer hym self oftētimes (for so should he haue suffered many tymes) but now hath hee appeared once to put away sinne, through hys owne oblation. And as it is appoynted to all men once to die, so also Christ once was offered: VVho offering vp one oblation for sinnes, sitteth now for euer on the right hand of God. For by one oblatiō hath he made perfecte for euer those that be sanctified. [For] MarginaliaHeb. 10. where is remißion of sinnes, there is now no more oblation for sinne [but this onely sacrifice of Christ]. MarginaliaNo sacrifice now for sinne but one. Whosoeuer shal seke any other sacrifice propitiatory for synne, maketh þe sacrifice of Christ of no validitie, force, or efficacie. For if it be sufficient to remytte sinnes, what nede is there of any other? For the necessity of an other, argueth and declareth this to be in-

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