the same belongyng. An. 821. as appeareth by the decree. MarginaliaThe decree, Ego Ludouicus dist. 63. suspected.Ego Ludouicus dist 63. But admitte that feyned decree to be vnfeinedly true (as it may welbe suspected for many causes, as proceadyng out of the same fountaine, with the constitution of Constantine afore mentioned, that is, from the master of the Popes library, MarginaliaGratianus and Volateranus what groūde they haue of their recordes.
Dist 63. cap. Ego Ludouicus.of whō both Gratianus, and Volateran, by their owne confession take their grounde) yet the same decree doth not so geue away the fredome of that election, that he limiteth it onely to the Cardinals, but also requireth the whole consent of the Romaines, neither doth he simplely & absolutely geue the same, but with condition, so that Omnes Romani vno consilio, & vna concordia sine aliqua promissione ad pontifactus ordinem eligerent:MarginaliaElection of the Byshop of Rome standeth vppon the consent of the Clergy and the people of Rome.that is, whom as all the Romaines with one counsail, & with one accorde, without any promise of their voyces graunted before, shall chuse to be Byshop of Rome. And moreouer in the same decree is required, that at the cōsecration of the same Byshop, messengers should be directed incontinent to the Frenche kyng concernyng the same. Furthermore, neither yet did the same decree (albeit it were true) long continue. For although Pope Stephen the fourth, and pope Paschalis the first in Ludouicus tyme were impapaced through discord without the electiō of the Emperour, yet they were fayne by message to send their purgatiō to him of theyr election. And after that, in the time of Eugenius the. ij. whiche succeded next to Paschalis, LothariusLotharius, sonne of Ludouicus, & Emperour with his father, came to Rome, and there appointed lawes and Magistrates ouer the Citie. MarginaliaThe decree Ego Ludouicus proued false.Wherby may appeare the donatiō of Ludouike, in geuyng away the Citie of Rome to the Pope, to be fayned. And after Eugenius, Pope Gregory the. iiij. who followyng within a yeare after Eugenius, durst not take his election without the consent & confirmation of the sayd Emperour Ludouicus. And so in like maner his successours Pope Sergius the. ij. Pope Leo, the iiij. Pope Nicolas the first, and so orderly in a long tracte of tyme, from the forsayd Nicolas the first, to Pope Nicolas the second. an. 1061. (whiche Nicolas in his decree begynnyng, MarginaliaDist. 23. cap. In Nomine Domini.In nomine Domini dist. 23.) ordained also the same in þ^e election of the Byshops of Rome, commonly the consent of the Emperour and the people with the Clergie of Rome, was not lackyng. After which Nicolas came Alexander the 2., and wicked Hildebrand, whiche Alexander beyng first elected without the Emperours will and consent, afterward repenting the same, openly in his preaching to the people declared that he would no lōger sit in the Apostolique sea, vnles he were by the Emperour confirmed. Wherfore he was greatly rebuked, and cast into prison by Hildebrand, and so deposed. Then Hildebrand and his folowers so ordred the matter of this election, that first the Emperour, then the lay people, after that the Clergie also began to be excluded. And so the election by litle & litle was reduced into the handes of a few Cardinals, contrary to all auncient order, where euer since it hath remained.

MarginaliaThe iudiciarie power of the pope examined.And like as in elections, so also in power iudiciarie, in decisinge and determinyng of causes of fayth, and of Ecclesiasticall discipline, the state of the Churche of Rome, now beyng, hath no conformitie with the old Romane Churche heretofore. For the Byshops debated all causes of fayth onely by the Scriptures, and other questions of Ecclesiasticall discipline they determined by the Canons, not of the Pope, but of the Church, such as were decreed by the auncient Councels, as writeth Greg. Turonensis in Francorum historia. MarginaliaGregor Turonens. in Francorum hist. lib. 10. ca. 18Where as now both the rule of Scripture, & sanctions of the old Councels set a side, all thynges for the most part are decised by certaine new decretall or rather extradecretal and extrauagant constitutions, in the Popes Canon law compiled, and in his Consistories practised.

MarginaliaThe Popes iurisdiction vsurped in geuing and disposing ecclesiasticall promotiōs.And where as the old ordinaunce and disposition, as well of the common law, as of the sacred Councels, and institution of auncient fathers haue geuen to Byshops and others prelates, also to patrons and donors of Ecclesiasticall benefices euery one within his owne precincte and dominion, also to cathedrall Churches and other: to haue their free electiōs and to prosecute the same in full effect: ordryng and disposing promotions, collations, prouisions and dispositions of prelacies, dignities, and all other Ecclesiastical benefices whatsoeuer, after their owne arbitrement, as appeareth by the first generall Councell of Fraunce. 16. q. 7. cap. Omnes Basilicæ. Marginalia16 q 7 cap. omnes Basilicæby the first generall Councel of Nice, cap. 6. MarginaliaThe counsel of Nice. cap. 6Also by the general councel of Antioche. cap. 9. MarginaliaThe generall Counsell of Antioch. cap. 9& is to be seen in the Popes decrees. 9. q. 3. cap. Per singulas. Marginalia9. q. 3 cap. per sīgulas Pragmatica sanctio sācri Ludouici.And also beside these aunciēt decrees, þ^e same is cōfirmed agayne in more latter yeares by Ludouicus the. ix. French Kyng in his constitution called pragmatica sanctio, made and prouided by full parliament agaynst the Popes exactions, An. 1228. in these wordes as folow. Item exactiones & oneragrauissima pecuniarum, per curiā Romanam Ecclesiæ regni nostri impositas vel imposita (quibus regnum miserabiliter depauperatum existit) siue etiam imponendas vel imponenda leuari aut colligi nullatenus volumus: nisi duntaxat pro rationabili, pia & vrgentissima causa, vel ineuitabili necessitate, ac etiam de expresso, & spontaneo iussu nostro, & ipsius Ecclesiæ regni nostri. &c. that is, Item all exactions and importable burdens of money, which the court of Rome hath layd vpon the Church of our kyngdome (wherby the sayd our kyngdome hath been miserablely hetherto empoueryshed) or hereafter shall impose or lay vpon vs, we vtterly discharge and forbid to be leauied or collected hereafter for any maner of cause, vnlesse there come some reasonable, godly, and most vrgent, and ineuitable necessitie, and that also not to be done without the expresse & voluntary commaundement of vs, and of the Church of the same our foresayd kyngdom. &c. Now contrary & against to these so manifest and expresse decrements of generall Councels, & constitutions Synodall, this latter Churche of Rome of late presumption, degeneratyng from all the steppes of their elders, haue taken vpon them a singular iurisdiction by themselues, and for their owne aduauntage to intermedle in disposing and transposing Churches, Colledges, Monasteries, with the collations, exemptions, elections, goodes and landes to the same belongyng, MarginaliaImproperatiōs first fruites of benificesby reason and example whereof haue come in these improperatiōs, first fruites, & reseruations of benefices to the miserable dispoyling of Parishes, & horrible decay of Christē fayth, which things amōg the old Romaine elders were neuer knowē. For so much then dyd it lacke, that due necessities were pluckt from the Church, that Emperours, Kynges, and Princes pluckynge frō their owne, rather did cumulate the Church with superfluities.

Agayne, when such goodes were geuen to the Church by those auncetors, they were neither so geuen, nor yet taken, to serue the priuate vse of certaine Churchmen takyng no paynes therin, but rather to serue the publique subuention of the nedy, as is conteined in the canonicall iustitutiōs by the Emperour Ludouicus Pius set forth. an. 830. The wordes be these: Res Ecclesiæ vota sunt fidelium, precia peccatorum, & patrimonia pauperum, MarginaliaInstitutiones canonicæ sub Ludouico piothat is: The goods of the Church be the vowes and bequestes of the faythfull, prices to raunsom suche as be in captiuitie or prison, and patrimonies to succour them with hospitalitie, that be nedy.

Wherunto agreeth also the testimonie of Prosper, MarginaliaThe wordes of Prosper.whose wordes be these: Viros sanctos res Ecclesiæ non vendicasse vt proprias, sed vt cōmēdatas pauperibus diuisisse: that is good men tooke the goodes of the Church not as their own but distributed them as geuen & bequeathed to the poore. And saith moreouer: Quod habet Ecclesia, cum omnibus nihil habentibus habet commune, that is: Whatsoeuer the Churche hath, it hath it common, with all such as haue nothyng, &c.

Adde to these the worthie testimonie of S. Aug. MarginaliaAug. ad Bonifac.ad bonif. Si autem priuatim, quæ nobis sufficiant possidemus, non sunt illa nostra, sed pauperum quorum procurationem quodammodo gerimus, non propietatem nobis vsurpatione damnabili vendicamus, &c.

MarginaliaVowsons and pluralities of benefices.Lykewise vowsons and pluralities of benefices were thynges then as much vnknowen, as now they are pernitious to the Church, takyng away all free election of ministers from the flocke of Christ.

MarginaliaThree poyntes wherin the Popes Church erreth in his iurisdictionAl which inconueniences as they first came and crept in chiefly by the pretensed autoritie and iurisdiction abused in this latter Church of Rome, so it can not be denyed but the sayd latter Church of Rome hath taken and attributed to it selfe much more, then either the limites of Gods word do geue, or standeth with the example of the old Romaine Church, in these three thyngs especiall. Wherof as mentiō is touched before, so briefly to recapitulate the same.

Marginalia1.
Ecclesiasticall iurisdiction falsly restrayned & impropriat to the Church of Rome, whiche ought to be generally equall to all Churches Christian.The first is this, that whatsoeuer the Scripture geueth and referreth, either to the whole Church vniuersally, or to euery particular Church seuerally, this Church now of Rome doth arrogate to it self absolutely and onely, both doyng iniury to other Churches, and also abusing the Scriptures of God. For albeit the Scripture doth geue authoritie to binde and loose, it limitteth it neither to person nor place, that is, neither tothe Citie of Rome onely, more then to other Cities, nor to the sea of Peter, more then to other Apostles, but geueth it clerely to the church, wherof Peter did beare the figure, so that where soeuer the true Churche of Christ is, there is annexed power to bynde and loose, geuen and taken meerly as from Christ, and not mediatly by the Pope or Byshop of Peters sea.

Marginalia2.
Ecclesiasticall iurisdictiō abused and extended in the Church ofThe second poynt wherin thys present Churche of Rome abuseth his iurisdiction contrary to Scripture and steps of the old Romane Church is this, for that it extendeth his authoritie farther and more amply, then either the