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1386 [1361]

Q. Mary. Disputation of Doct. Cranmer Archb. of Cant. in Oxford.

Marginalia1554. Aprill.synnes, & to cancel out the hand writyng þt was against vs, þt we through ingrateful obliuiō should not forget his death: therfore he at þe tyme of his holy supper did institute a perpetual memory of this his death,MarginaliaThe final cause why the supper was ordeyned. to be celebrated among christians in bread & wine, according as it is said: Do this in remēbrance of me. And So often as you shal eate this bread, & drinke thys cup, you shal shew forth the lordes death tyll he come. And this remembraunce or Sacrament of his holye passion, that is, of his body slayne and bloud shed, he would all Christians to frequent and celebrate in bread and wyne, according as he sayd: Take eate: And drinke ye all of this. Therfore, who so euer for mans tradition denyeth the cup of Christes bloude to Lay men, they manyfestly repugne agaynst Christ, forbidding that which Christ commaundeth to be done, and be like to those Scribes and Pharises of whom the Lord speake, MarginaliaMath. 15. MarginaliaLuke. 7.Ye hipocrites, ye haue reiected the commaundementes of God for your traditions. Wel did Esay prophecy of you, saying: Thys people honoureth mee with their lyps, but their hart is farre from mee. without cause do they worship mee, teaching the doctrines and preceptes of men.

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The sacrament and misticall bread, beyng broken and distributed after the institution of Christ, and the misticall wyne lykewise beyng taken and receiued, be not only sacramentes of the fleshe of Christe wounded for vs, and of hys bloudshedyng, but also be most certayne sacramentes to vs and, (as a man woulde saye) seales of Gods promises and giftes,MarginaliaSacraments seales of Gods promises. and also of that holy felowship which we haue with Christ and all his members. Moreouer they bee to vs memorials of that heauenly foode and nourishment wherewith wee are nourished vnto eternall life, and the thirst of our boyling conscience quenched, and finally wherby þe harts of the faythfull bee replenished with vnspeakeable ioy, and be corroborated and strengthened vnto all workes of Godlines. Marginalia1. Cor. 11.We are many) sayth S Paul) one bread and one body, all we which do participate of one bread, and one cup. And Christ sayth: MarginaliaMath. 26.Eate ye: this is my body. And, drinke ye, thys is my bloud. And MarginaliaIohn. 6.I am the liuing bread which came downe from heauen. Hee 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 liue for me.

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MarginaliaBread and wine remain stil in the Eucharist, and be seales to vs annexed with Gods promyses.Thus therfore true bread and true wine remayn still in the Eucharist vntill they be consumed of the faythfull, to bee signes and as seales vnto vs annexed vnto Gods promyses making vs certain of Gods gifts towards vs. Also Christ remayneth in them, and they in Christ, which eat hys flesh, & drink hys bloud, as Christ him selfe hath promysed. They that eat my flesh and drink my bloud, abyde in me and I in them. Moreouer he abydeth also in them which worthelye receaueth the outward sacrament, neither doth he depart so soone as the sacrament is consumed, but contynually abydeth, feeding and nourishyng vs so long as we remayn bodyes of that head, and members of the same. I acknowledge not here the naturall body of Christ, which is onely spirituall, intelligible, and vnsensible, hauing no distinction of members & partes in it: but that body onely I acknowledge, & worship, which was borne of the virgin, which suffered for vs, which is visible, palpable,and hath all the fourm & shape and parts of the true naturall body of man.

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MarginaliaChristes wordes are spoken not of an vncertain substāce, but of a certayn substāce of bread, which he had in his handsChrist spake not these wordes of any vncertayn substāce, but of the certayn substance of bread, which he then helde in hys handes and shewed hys Disciples when he sayd: Eat ye, this is my body: and likewise of the cup: when he sayde: Drinke ye, this is my bloud: meaning verely of that bread, which by nature is vsuall and common with vs, which is taken of the fruite of the ground, compacted by the vnytinge of many graines together, made by man, and by mans hand brought to that visible shape, being of a round compasse, and without all sence or lyfe, which nourysheth the body, and strengthneth the hart of man. Of this same bread (I say) and not of any vncertayn and wandring substaunce the old fathers say that Christ spake these wordes: Eat ye, this is my body. And likewise also of the wine which is the creature and fruyte of the vine pressed out of many clusters of grapes, and maketh mans hart mery, of the very same wine (I say) Christ spake: Drink ye, this is my bloud. MarginaliaHow the doctors do take the speach of Christ. Tropicall. Figuratiue. Anagogicall. Allegoricall.And so the old Doctors do call this speaking of Christ, tropicall, figuratiue, anagogicall, allegoricall, which they do interprete after this sort, that although the substance of bread & wine do remayne and be receyued of the faythfull, MarginaliaBread called by the name of the body.yet notwithstanding Christ chaunged the appellation thereof, and called the bread by the name of hys flesh, and the wine by þe name of hys bloud, non rei veritate, sed significante mysterio. i. not that it is so in verye deede, but signified in a misterye. So that we should consider, not what they be in their own nature: But what they import to vs and signifie, and shoulde 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, &

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cup, thinking to see there with our eyes, no other things but onely bread and wyne, MarginaliaThe Sacrament is to be considered not what it is in nature but what it signifieth in mistery.but that lyftyng vp our myndes, we should looke vp to þe bloud of Christ wyth our fayth, should touch hym with our mynde, and receiue him with our inward man: and that being lyke Eagles in thys life, we should flye vp into heauen in our harts, where that Lambe is resident at the right hand of hys father, which taketh away the sinnes of the world, by whose stripes we are made whole, by whose passion we are filled at hys table, & whose bloud we receiuyng out of hys holy side, do liue for euer, beyng made the ghestes of Christ, hauing hym dwelling in vs through the grace of hys true nature, and through the vertue and efficacy of hys whole passion, beyng no lesse assured and certified that we are fed spiritually vnto eternall life by Christes flesh crucified, and by his bloud shed, the true food of our myndes, then that our bodyes be fed wyth meate & drinke in thys life: MarginaliaThe Sacrament is a memoriall, a pledge, a token, a Sacrament, & a seale.and hereof thys sayd misticall bread on the Table of Christ, and the mysticall wyne, beyng administred and receiued after the institution of Christ, be to vs a memorial, a pledge, a token, a sacrament, & a seale.

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And thereof is it that Christ sayth not thus: This is my bodye, eate ye: but after he had bydden them eate, then he sayd: This is my body which shall be geuen for you. MarginaliaWhat is meante by eating the misticall bread.Which is to meane, as though he shoulde say: In eatyng of thys bread, consider you that thys bread is no common thing, but a mysticall matter: neither doe you attend that which is set before your bodely eyes, but what fedeth you within. Cōsider and behold my body crucified for you: that eate and digest in your myndes.MarginaliaWhat the crucified body of Christ doth to our soules. Chaw you vpon my passion, be fedde wyth my death. Thys is the true meate, this is þe drinke that moisteneth, wherewith you being truely fed and inebriate, shall lyue for euer. The bread and the wine which be 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 selfe am the eternall foode. Wherfore whensoeuer at this my table you shall beholde the sacramentes, haue not regarde so much to them, as consider ye what I promise to you by them: which is my selfe to be meate for you of eternall lyfe.

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MarginaliaThe sacrifice of Christes body once sufficient for all.The onely oblation of Christ (wherewith he offered hymselfe to God the father once to death vpon the aultar of the crosse for our redēption) was of such efficacy, that there is no more neede of any sacrifice for the redemption of the whole world but all the sacrifice of þe old law he toke away, performing that in very deede, which they did signifie and promise. Whosoeuer therfore shall fixe the hope of his saluation in any other sacrifice, he falleth frō the grace of Christ, and is contumelious agaynst the bloud of Christ. [For] MarginaliaEsay. 53.he was wounded for our transgressions, and was broken for our iniquities. Al we like sheepe haue wandred astray. Euery man hath turned after his owne 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 his owne bloud, finding eternall redemptiō: [And] hath entred into heauē, to appeare now in the sight of God for vs, not to offer himself oftentimes (for so should he haue suffered many tymes) but now hath he appeared once to put away sinne, through his owne oblatiō. And as it is appointed to al men once to die, so also Chrisl once was offered: MarginaliaHeb. 10.Who offeringe vp one oblation for sinnes, sitteth now for euer on the right hand of God. For by one oblatiō hath he made perfect for euer those that be sāctified. [For] where is remission of sinnes, there is now no more oblation for sinne [but this onely sacrifice of Christ]. Whosoeuer shall seeke any other Sacrifice propitiatorie for sinne maketh the Sacrifice of Christ of no validitie, force, or efficacie. MarginaliaNo sacrifice now for sinne but one.For if it be sufficient to remitte sinnes, what neede is there of any other? For the necessitie of an other, argueth and declareth this to be insufficient. Almighty god graunt that we may truely leane to one sacrifice of Christ: and that we to hym agayne may repay our sacrifices of thākes geuing, of prayse, of confessing his name, of true amēdment, of repentaunce, of mercifulnes towardes our neyghbours, and of all other good workes of charitie. MarginaliaChrist sacrificed once for sin, wee sacrifice dayly by thanksgeuing and thankefull wordes of charytie.For by such sacrifices we shall declare our selues neyther ingratefull to god, nor altogether vnworthy of this holy sacrifice of Christ. And thus you haue out of the testimonies of holy scripture, and of the auncient Doctors of the Church, the true & sincere vse of the Lords holy supper, and the fruite of the true sacrifice of Christ. Which whosoeuer through captious or wrested interpretations, or by mens traditions shall goe about, otherwise then Christ ordayned them, to alter or transubstantiate, he shall aunswere to Christ in the latter day, when he shall vnderstand (but then to late) that he hath no participation wyth the body and bloud of Christ, but that out of the supper of eternall lyfe he hath eaten and drunken eternall damnation to himselfe.

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West. Because we will not consume and spend the tyme in wast, this your writyng which you exhibite, hereafter shall

be