added the rest, why did they set their peeces before his, seing they that began the first peece of the Canon, came after him?

MarginaliaTelesphorus Byshop of Rome and Martyr. The same likewise is to be iudged of the Epistle and ordinaunces of Telesphorus, who succeeded next vnto Xistus, and being Byshop of that congregation the terme of a. xi. yeares, in the first yeare of the raigne of Antoninus Pius, diyed Martyr, about the yeare of our Lord. 138. His Epistle like vnto the rest, cōtayning in it no great matter of doctrine, hath these ordinances:MarginaliaThe ordinaunes of Telesphorus First he cōmaundeth all that were of the Clergy to fast and abstaine from fleshe eating. vij. wekes before Easter. That three Masses should be sayd vpon the Natiuitie daye of the Lord. That no lay man should accuse either Byshop or Priest. He ordained moreouer Gloria in excelsis to be added to the Masse. &c .but these thynges falsly to be fained vpon him may easely be coniectured.MarginaliaLent fast & the original therof examined. For as touching the. vij. weekes fast, neither doth it agree with the old Romane terme commonly receaued, callyng it Quadragesima, that is, the. xl. dayes fast: neither with the example of our Sauiour, who fasted not. seuen weekes, but onely. xl. dayes. Moreouer, as concernyng this. xl. dayes fast, we read of the same in the Epistles of Ignatius, which was lōg before Telesphorus: wherby it may appeare that this Telesphorus was not the first inuentor therof. And if it be true, that is lately come out in the name of Abdias (but vntruly, as by many coniectures maye be proued) there is read, that in the dayes of S. Mathewe this Lent fast of. xl. dayes was obserued long before Telesphorus, by these wordes that followe: In the dayes, sayd he, either of Lent, or in the tyme of other lawfull fastynges, he that abstaineth not as well from the eatyng meate, as also from the mixture of bodyes, doth incurre in so doyng not onely pollution, but also committeth offence, whiche must be washed away with the teares of repentaunce.MarginaliaMontanus first brought in the lawes of fastyng
Ex Euseb. Lib. 5. cap. 18. Agayne, Apollonius affirmeth, that Montanus the hereticke, was the first deuiser and brynger in of these lawes of fastyng into the church, whiche before was vsed to be free. Euseb. Lib. 5. cap. 18. but especially by Socrates, writer of the Ecclesiasticall story, who lyued after the dayes of Theodosius, may be argued, that this. viij. weekes fast is falsely imputed to Telesphorus. For Socrates in his first booke, speakyng of his tyme, hath these wordes: Romani namq; tres ante Pascha septimanas præter Sabbatum & Dominicam continuas ieiunant,MarginaliaEx Socrat. Eccle. Iust. Lib. 5 cap. 22. that is: the Romaines (sayth he) do fast three weekes continuall before Easter, beside the Sabbaoth and the Sōday. And moreouer, speakyng of the diuers and sundry fastyngs of Lent in sundry and diuers Churches, he addeth these wordes: And because that no man can bring forth any commaundement written of this matter, it is therfore apparent, that the Apostles left this kynde of fast free to euery mans will and iudgement, least any should be constrained by feare and necessitie to do that, which is good. &c. With this of Socrates, agree also the wordes of Sozomenus, liuyng much about the same tyme, in his vij. booke, where he thus writeth:MarginaliaEx Sozomeno Lib. 7. cap. 19. The whole fast of Lent (sayth he) some cōprehend in vj. weekes, as do the Illyrians, & the west Churches, with all Libia, Egypt, and Palestina: some in, vij. weekes, as at Cōstātinople, & the parties borderyng to Phœnicia: othersome in. iij. weekes, next before the day of Easter: and some agayne in. ij. weekes. &c.MarginaliaThe ordinaunces of Telesphorus falsely to him ascribed. By the which it may be collected, that Telesphorus neuer ordained any such fast of vij. wekes: whiche otherwise neither would haue bene neglected in Rome, and in the west Churches: neither agayne would haue bene vnremēbred of these auncient Ecclesiastical writers, if any such thyng had bene. The like is to be thought also of the rest, not onely of his constitutions: but also of the other auncient Byshops and Martyrs, which followed after him,MarginaliaHigynus Byshop of Rome and Martyr. as of Higynus. an. 142. who succeedyng him, and dying also a Martyr, as Volateranus Lib. 22. declareth,MarginaliaEx Volaterano Anchrop. Lib. 22.
Creame.
One Godfather & Godmother in baptisme.
Dedication of Churches. is sayd or rather fayned to bryng in the creame, one Godfather and Godmother in Baptisme, to ordayne the Dedication of Churches: when as in his tyme so farre it was of, that any solemne Churches were standyng in Rome, that vnneth the Christians could safely conuent in their own houses. Likewise the distincting the orders of Metropolitanes, bishops, and other degrees, sauour nothing lesse then of that tyme.

MarginaliaPius Byshop of Rome. After Higynus followed Pius, who as Platina reporteth, MarginaliaThe daungers of lettyng the holy misteries fal from the Lordes Table. was so precisely deuout about the holy misteries of the Lordes Table, that if any one croome thereof did fall downe to the grounde, he ordained that the Priest should do penaunce. xl. dayes. If any fell vpon the Superaltare, he should do penaunce. iij. dayes: if vpon the linen Corporas cloth, iiij. dayes: if vpon any other lynen cloth. ix. dayes. And if any drop of the bloud (sayth he) should chaunce be spilled, where soeuer it fell, it should be licked vp, if it were possible, if not, the place should be washed or pared, and so beyng washed or pared, should be burned, and layde in the vestrye. All which toyes maye seeme to a wyse man, more vayne and triflyng, then to sauour of those pure and straighte tymes of those holy Martyrs. This Pius (as is reported) was much conuersaunt with Hermes called otherwyse Pastor. Damasus sayth he was his brother, but how is that like, that Hermes beyng the Disciple of Paule, or one of the lx. disciples, could be the brother of this Pius?MarginaliaThe reuelation of Hermes. Of this Hermes and of his reuelations the foresayd Pius in his Epistle decretall (if it be not forged) maketh mention,MarginaliaThe decretall Epistle of Pius. declaryng that vnto him appeared the Aungell of God in the habite of a shepheard, commaundyng him, þ^t Easter day should be celebrated of all men vpō no other day, but vpon a Sonday: whervpon, sayth the Epistle, Pius the Byshop, by his authoritie Apostolicall, decreed and commaunded the same to be obserued of all men.

MarginaliaAnicetus Byshop of Rome, and Martyr.
Soter Byshop.
Eleutherius Byshop. Then succeeded Anicetus, Soter, and Eleutherius, about the yeare of our Lord. 180.MarginaliaEngland conuerted to the fayth of Christ This Eleutherius, at the request of Lucius kyng of Britaines, sent to hym Damianus and Fugatius, by whom the kyng was conuerted to Christes fayth, and Baptised about the yeare of our Lorde. 179. Nauclerus Lib. Chron. Gen. 6. sayth, it was an. 156. Henr. de Erfordia, sayth it was. 169. in the xix. yeare of Verus the Emperour, some say it was in the vj. yere of Commodus, which should be about the yeare of our Lord. 185.Timotheus in his story thinketh that Eleutherius came him selfe: but that is not like. And as there is a variance among the writers for the count of yeares: So doth there rise a question amōg some, whether Eleutherius was the first that brought the fayth from Rome into this land or not. Nicephorus Lib. 2. cap. 4.MarginaliaEx Nicep Lib. 2. cap. 4 sayth that Symō Zelotes came into Britaine. Some other alledge out of Gildas de victoria Aurel. Ambrosi,MarginaliaEx Gilda de Victor. Aur. Ambros. that Ioseph of Arimathie after the dispersiō of the Iewes, was sent of Philippe the Apostle, from Fraunce to Britaine, about the yeare of our Lorde. 63. & here remained in this land all his tyme, and so with his fellowes layde the first foundation of Christian fayth among the Britaine people. Wherupon other preachers & teachers comming afterward confirmed the same, & increased it more.MarginaliaWhether this lande of Brittane receued the Gospell before kyng Lucius dayes. And therfore doth Petrus Cluniacensis call the Scotishmen & so doth count them, as more auncient Christiās. For the cōfirmatiō hereof might be alledged the testimonie of Origene, of Tertulian, and the wordes also of the letter of Eleutherius, whiche importe no lesse, but that the fayth of Christ was here in England among the Britaine people, before Eleutherius tyme, & before the kynge was cōuerted, but hereof more shall be spokē hereafter (Christ willyng) when after the tractation of these x. persecutiōs, we shall enter þ^e matter of our English stories.

About this tyme of Commodus afore mentioned among diuers other learned men and famous teachers, whom God stirred vp at that tyme (as he doth at all other tymes rayse vp some) in his Churche, to confounde the persecutors by learnyng and writyng, as the Martyrs to cōfirme the truth with their bloud,MarginaliaSerapion bishop of Antioch was Serapion Byshop of Antioch.MarginaliaEgesippus Ecclestical writer. Egesippus a writer of the Ecclesiastical history from Christs Passion to his time, as witnesseth Hierome and Euseb. Lib. 4. cap. 8. & 22. whiche bookes of his be not now remainyng. And those that be remainyng (which be 5. de excidio Hierosol.) be not mentioned neither of Hierome, nor of Eusebius.MarginaliaMilitiades Ecclesiastical writer. Miltiades which also wrote his Apology in defence of Christian Religion, as did Melito Quadratus, and Aristides before mentioned. About the same tyme also wrote Heraclitus, who first began to write anotatiōs and enarrations vpon the new Testament, and Epistles of the Apostles.MarginaliaTheophilus Ecclesiasticall writer.
Dionisius Corinthius Ecclesiastical writer Also Theophilus Byshop of Cæsaria, Dionisius, Byshop of Corinthe a man famously learned, whiche wrote diuers Epistles to diuers Churches, and among other writeth, exhortyng Penitus a certaine Byshop, Ne graue seruandæ castitatis onus necessario fratribus imponat, sed multorū sese imbecilitati attemperet, that is,MarginaliaThe yoke of chastitie not to be layde vpon the infirme brethren.
Ex Euseb Lib. 4. cap. 23 that he would lay no yoke of chastitie, of any necessitie vpon his brethren: but that he would consider the infirmity of other, and beare with it. Euseb. Lib. 4. cap. 23. Morouer the sayd Dionisius in his Epistles writyng of Dionisius Areopagites, declareth of hym, how that he was first conuerted to the Christian fayth by S. Paule, accordyng as in the Actes is recorded, and afterward was made the first Byshop of Athens, but maketh there no mention of his booke de Hierarchia.MarginaliaThe booke of Dionisius Areop. De Hierarchia suspected. Whereby it may easely appeare what is to be iudged of the booke. Furthermore, by the Epistles of the sayd Dionysius Corint. this we haue to vnderstand, to be the vse at that tyme in Churches to read the letters and Epistles, such as were sent by learned Byshops and teachers vnto the Congregations, as maye appeare by these wordes of Dionysius, who writyng to the church of the Romaines, and to Soter saith:MarginaliaCelebration of the Sonday This day we celebrate the holy Dominical day. In which we haue read your Epistle, which alwayes we will read for our exhortacion, like as we do read also the Epistle of