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heard the same time ouer Constantinople)  

MarginaliaEx libro Serm. Discipuli.
Looke Tyndal in his booke of the Practise of Prelates.so true humilitie began to decay, & pride to set in his foote, till at last they played as the Iuy doth with þ^e Oke tree, which first begynnyng with a goodly greene shewe, embraceth hym so long, till at length it ouergroweth him, and so sucketh all his moysture from him, setting his roote fast in his barke, till at last it both stifleth the stocke & killeth the braunches, and so commeth to bee a nest for Owles and all vncleane byrdes.   Not vntruly therfore it was sayd of Augustine: Religio perperit diuitias, & filia deuorauit matrem. i. Religion begat riches, and the daughter hath deuoured the mother. The veritie wherof notoriously may appeare aboue all other in the Church of Rome, and the Byshops of the same. For after that the Church of Rome, through fauour of Emperours, was endued with landes, donatiōs, possessions, and patrimonies, so that the Bishops therof feelyng þ^e smacke of wealth, ease, and prosperitie, began to swel in pompe and pride: the more they florished in this world, þ^e more Gods holy spirit forsoke them, till at last the sayd Byshops, who at the first were poore, creepyng low vpō the ground, and were persecuted long tyme, euery man treadyng vpon them in this world: now of persecuted people, began to be persecutours of others, & to treade vpon the neckes euen of Emperours, and to bryng the heades of Kyngs and Princes vnder their gyrdle: And not onely that, but furthermore through pride & ryches were so far gone frō al Religion, þ^t in the very end they became the great aduersary of God (whō we call Antichrist) prophesied of so long before by þ^e spirite of God to come, sitting in þ^e tēple of God, &c. MarginaliaThe gread aduersary called Antichrist, described by S. Paule. 2. Theß. 2.Of whō thus we read in the Epistle of Paul. 2. Thess. 2. where he sayth:   We besech you brethren, by the commyng of our Lord Iesus Christ, and by our felowshyp together in hym, that ye bee not sodenly moued in your mynd, nor troubled, neither by spirite, nor by word, nor by letter, as it were from vs, as though the day of Christ were at hand. Let no man in any wise deceaue you: for that day shall not come except there come a departyng first, and that man of sinne be reueled, euen the sonne of perdition, that aduersary which exalteth him selfe aboue allthat is called God, or that is worshypped, so that he shall sit in the Temple of God, as God, and set forth hym selfe as hee were God. &c.

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MarginaliaA declaration of S. Paules wordes.By which wordes of s. Paul we haue diuers things to vnderstād:  

First that the day of the Lordes cōmyng was not thē nere at hād. Secondly, the Apostle giuyng vs a tokē before, to know when that day shall approch, byddeth vs looke for an aduersary first to be reueled. Thirdly, to shew what aduersary this shalbe, he expresseth him not to be as a cōmon aduersary, such as were thē in hys tyme. For although Herode, Annas & Cayphas, the hygh Priestes and Phariseis, Tertullus, Alexander þ^e Copper smith, Elymas, & Symon Magus, & Nero the Emperour in Paules tyme were great aduersaries: yet here he meaneth an other besides these greater then all þ^e rest, not such one as should be like to Priest, Kyng, or Emperour, but such as far excedyng the estate of all Kynges, Priestes, and Emperours, should be þ^e Prince of Priestes, should make Kinges to stoupe, & should tread vpon the necke of Emperours, & make thē to kisse his feete. Moreouer, where þ^e Apostle sayth, that he shall sit in the Temple of God therby is ment, not the personall sittyng of the Pope in the Citie onely of Rome, but the authoritie and Iurisdiction of his sea exalted in the whole vniuersall Church, equall with God hym selfe. For let mē giue to the Pope that which he in his lawes, decrees, and in his pontificall requireth, and what difference is there betwen God and the Pope? MarginaliaThe Pope matching himself euē with God.If God set lawes and ordinaunces, so doth he? If God haue his creatures, so hath he. If God require obedience, so doth he. If the breach of Gods commaundementes be punished, much more be his. God hath his Religiō: the pope also hath his: yea for Gods one Religion, he hath an hūdreth. God hath set vp one Aduocate: he hath set vp an hundreth. God hath instituted but a few holydayes: for Gods one hee hath instituted fourtie. And if þ^e holyday that God appoynteth be simplex: the feast that þ^e Pope appointeth is duplex et triplex. Christ is the head of the Church: so is þ^e Pope.

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