MarginaliaAnno 1552.nobis sit donandum figuratè significatur: in hoc autem sacrificio, quid nobis donatum sit, euidenter ostenditur. In illis sacrificijs prænunciabatur filius Dei occidendus: in hoc pro impijs annunciatur occisus. In those carnall oblations the flesh of Christ was figured, which he should offer for our sinnes, and the bloud which he should bestow for vs. But in this sacrifice is the giuing of thanks and memorial of the flesh of Christ, which he hath offred for vs, and of the bloud which he hath shedde for vs. In that sacrifice therfore is signified figuratiuely what should be giuē for vs: in this sacrifice what is giuen to vs, is euidently declared. In those sacrifices, the sonne of God was before preached to be slaine: in thys sacrifice he is shewed to be slaine already for the wicked. MarginaliaOrigines in Matth.Origenes vpon Mat. expounding these words: This is my body, sayeth Panis iste quem Christus corpus suum fatetur esse, verbum est nutritorium animarum. i. The bread which Christ confesseth to be hys body, is a nutritiue worde of our soules. MarginaliaAugust. in Sermone.Augustinus: Nulli aliquatenus, dubitandum, vnumquemquc fidelium corporis & sanguinis Domini tunc esse participem, quando in baptismate membrum efficitur Christi. Sacramenti quippe illius participatione ac beneficio non priuabitur, quando in se hoc inuenit quod Sacramentū significat. No manne ought in any wise to doubt but that euery faithfull man is then partaker of the body and bloud of the Lord, when in Baptisme he is made a member of Christ. For he shall not be depriued of the participation and benefite of that Sacrament, when he findeth in himselfe that thing which the Sacrament doeth signifie. MarginaliaAmbrosius.Ambrosius: Tanta est vis verbi, vt panis & vinum maneant quæ sunt, & mutētur in aliud. Such is the force & strength of the worde, that the bread and wine remaine the same as they were, and yet are changed into an other thing. For it is not any longer common breade, but it is turned into a Sacrament: Yet notwithstanding there remaineth bread and wine. MarginaliaTertullianus contra Martion.Tertullian wryting against an hereticke named Martion, which taught that the creatures of God, as flesh, bread, wine and such like were naught and vncleanly: Non abiecit Deus creaturam suam, sed ea repræsentauit corpus suum. God hath not cast away his creature, but by it hee hath represented his body. MarginaliaOrigines in Leuit.Origenes vppon Leuiticus, speaking of the drinking of Christes bloud, sayeth: Non sanguinem carnis expetimus sed sanguinem verbi. We doe not desire þ^e bloud of the flesh, but the bloud of the woorde. Ambrose called the Sacrament, MarginaliaTypus. Antityphon.Typum corporis Christi, and Basilius Antitypum, whych is as much to say, as a token, a figure, a remēbrance and example of Christes body. MarginaliaOrigen super Matth. Cap. 14.Origine vpon the 14. chapt. of Mathew: In isto pane, quod est materiale eijcitur in secessum: id autem quod fit per verbum Dei pro fidei ratione prodest. In thys bread that thing which is materiall, passeth throughe mans body: but that which is made by the woord of God, by the meanes of faith doth profite. And least perhaps you thinke that hee spake those woordes of our common table bread, he concludeth the matter himselfe with these words: Hæc diximus de pane symbolico: These things we haue spoken of the mysticall bread. MarginaliaAugustinus contra aduersarium legis & Prophetarum.Augustinus contra aduersarium legis & Prophetatum, declareth that it must needes be a figure and a remembraunce of the body of Christ: Ista secundum sanæ fidei regulam figuratè intelliguntur. Nam alioqui horribilius videtur esse humanam carnem vorare quam perimere, & humanum sanguinem potare quàm fundere. These things are vnderstanded figuratiuely, according to the rule of sound and true faith. For otherwise it seemeth to be more horrible to eate mannes flesh, then to kill a man, and more horrible to drinke mannes bloud, then to shed it. And therfore he saith vpon the 98. Psalme: MarginaliaAugust. in Psal. 98.Non hoc corpus quod videtis estis manducaturi, nec bibituri sanguinem quem fundent qui me crucifigent. Sacramentum aliquod vobis trado. i. Ye shall not eat this body which you see, and drinke that bloud which they shal shed that shall crucifie me: I commend vnto you a Sacrament. MarginaliaTertullianus.Tertullian: Aliud a pane corpus Iesus habet: nec pro nobis panis traditus, sed ipsum Christi verum corpus traditum est in crucem, quod panis figura in cœna exhibitium est. i. Iesus hath an other body then breade, for breade was not geuen for vs, but the very true body of Christ was geuen vppon the crosse, which body was exhibited in the Supper vnder the figure of bread.

[Back to Top]

This recordeth MarginaliaTheodoretus.Theodoretus an auncient wryter, and auoweth that there is no turning or altering of the bread in the Sacrament. His woordes are these: Symbola visibilia corporis & sanguinis, sui appellatione honorauit, non mutans naturam sed naturæ addens gratiam. i. He hath honoured and dignified the visible signes wyth the name of his body and of his bloud, not changing the nature, but adding grace to nature. And in an other place, where hee maketh a true Christian man to reason with an heretike, he geueth to the hereticke this part, to holde with the turning of breade and wine into the natural body and bloud of Christ. The heretickes wordes are these: Sacramentum Dominici corporis & sanguinis, alia sunt ante sacram inuocationē: post inuocationemverò mutantur, & alia fiunt. The sacramentes of the Lordes body and bloude before the holy inuocation are one thing, but after inuocation they are changed and made an other. This maketh Theodor. to be the heretikes part. Then bringeth he foorth the true Christian man, which reprooueth the hereticke for so saying: Incidisti in laqueos quos ipse struxeras: Ne& enim sancta illa symbola post consecrationem discedunt a natura sua: Manent enim in priori & substantia, & figura, etenim & oculis videri & digitis palpari vt ante possunt. Thou art fallen into the snares which thou thy selfe hast laid. For those selfe same holy signes after this consecration, do not go frō their nature, for they abide still both in their former substance and figure, and may be both with eyes seene and felt wyth handes, as before. To the same agreeth well MarginaliaChrisostomus.Chrysostome, saying, Postquam sanctificatur panis, non amplius appellatur panis, tametsimaneat natura panis. i. After the breade is sanctified, it is called breade no more, althoughe the nature of bread stil remaine. Hereby you may vnderstand, how & in what sort the old fathers, how the primatiue and beginning church, how the Apostles, howe Christ himselfe tooke these wordes: This is my body.

[Back to Top]

Now to withstand and stoutly to go against, not onely ancient wryters, or the congregation  

of Christian people, which at that time was not ouergrown, no neither spotted with couetousnesse and worldly honour, but the Apostles also, and God himselfe, no doubt it is great fondnesse. But what speake I of the olde fathers? It is not long since the sacrament grew out of his right vnderstanding. MarginaliaTransubstantiation a new inuention.For thys word Transubstantiatio,   wherby they signifie turning of the breade into the body of Christ, was neuer neyther spoken, neither heard, neither thought among þ^e auncient fathers, or in the olde Churche. But aboue 900. yeares past, Pope Nicolas 2. in a Councell holden at Lateranum in Rome, confirmed that opinon of the changing of bread, & woulde haue made an article of the faith, and placed it in the Credo. After whiche time ensued Corus Christi daye, Masses of Corpus Christi, reseruation of the sacrament, with honoure, with canapies, with sensing, w^t kneeling, wyth worshypping and adoration, and with so much as any man coulde deuise.   For they thought they could not do to much to hym after that the Bishoppe of Rome had allowed hym for a God. But not fully 200. yeare before that time, when thys doctrine first began to bud, and yet notwithstandinge had not so preuailed, but that a greate number of learned and good men could know the Sacrament to be a Sacrament, and not himselfe: Charles the great king of Fraunce, and Emperour of Rome demaunded of a great learned man, whose name was Bertramus,MarginaliaCarolus Magnus Bertramus. what hee thoughte by that straunge kinde of calling downe Christe from heauen, and turning a litle gobbet of bread into his naturall body. To whom Bertram made answere in this wise: Dicimus quòd multa differentia separantur corpus in quo passus est Christus & sanguis quem in cruce pendens fudit, & hoc corpus quod in mysterio passionis Christi quotidie a fidelibus celebratur. Etenim hoc corpus pignus & species est, illud autem ipsa veritas. Apparet ergo quod tam multa differētia separentur, quantum est inter pignus & eam rem pro qua pignus traditur, & quantum inter imaginem, & rem eam cuius imago est, & quantum inter speciem & veritatem. This wee say, that there is a great difference and separation betwixt the body in the which Christe suffered, and the bloud which he shed vpon the Crosse, & thys body which euery day is celebrated in the mysterie of the Passion of Christe. For this body is a pledge and a similitude, but the other is the very truthe it selfe. Ergo, it appeareth that these two are seperated a sunder by no lesse difference, then is betweene a pledge, and the thing whereof þ^e pledge is geuen, or then is betweene an Image of a thing and the thing it selfe whereof the Image is, or then is betwene the forme of a thing and the veritie it selfe. MarginaliaBertramus. Ioan. Scotus Druthmarus.This wrote Bertramus, Druthmarus & manye other, and yet were neuer in all their time once reprooued of heresie. Thys wrote Iohannes Scotus also, in whose life time men had not eies to espie his heresies. MarginaliaBertramus condemned for an hereticke 200. yeares after his death.But about 200. yeare after his death, he was iudged and condemned for an hereticke, & his bookes burned in a Councell holden at Vercellæ in Lombardie, in the yeare of our Lorde God, 1015. Since which time euen vntill this day although Idolatrye had great encrease, yet there neuer wanted some good men whiche boldly woulde professe and sette foorth the truth, although they were well assured that theyr worldly reward shoulde be spite, malice, imprisonning, sworde, fire, and all kindes of tormentes. Thus so shortly, and in so few woordes as I could, I haue declared to you what Christe meant by these woordes: This is my bodye, what the Apostles thought therein, & in what sorte they deliuered them to theyr successors, in what sense and meaning the holy Fathers and olde wryters, and the Vniuersall and Catholicke Churche   hath euermore taken them.

[Back to Top]