John Foxe's Book of Martyrs

1583

page:

navigate


106	King Lucius. Christian Religon planted in England, by whome.

THE SECOND BOOKE, CONTAINING the next 300. yeares following, with such things specially touched, as haue happened in England, from the time of king Lucius, to Gregorius, and so after to the time of king Egebert.

BY these persecutions hytherto in the Booke before precedent, thou maiest vnderstand (Christian reader) how the furie of Sathan and rage of men, haue done what they could to extinguish the name and religion of Christ. For what thing did lacke, that eyther death could doe, or torments coulde worke, or the gates of hell coulde deuise: all was to the vttermost attempted. And yet all the furie and malice of Sathan, al the wisedom of the world, & strength of men, doing, deuising, practising what they could: notw^tstanding the religion of Christ (as thou seest) hath had the vpper hand. Which thing I wish thee greatly (gentle reader) wisely to note, and diligently to ponder, in cōsidering these former histories. And because thou canst not consider them, nor profit by them, vnles thou do first read & peruse them:

A petition to the reader, diligently to read ouer the former booke of the x. persecutions.

let me craue therfore thus much at thine handes, to turne & read ouer the said hystories of those persecutiōs aboue described: especially aboue all the other hystories of this present volume: for thy especiall edification, whych I trust thou shalt finde not vnworthy the reading.

A petition to the reader, diligently to read ouer the former booke of the x. persecutions.

Nowe because the tying vp of Sathan geueth to the Church some rest, & to me some leisure to addresse my selfe, to the handling of other stories: I minde therefore (Christ willing) in thys present booke, leauing a while the tractation of these generall affaires, pertaining to the vniuersal Church: to prosecute such domesticall hystories, as more neare concerne this our country of England & Scotland, done here at home: beginning first with king Lucius, with whome the faith first begā here in this Realme, as the sentence of some writers doth hold.

The first planting of Christē faiyth in England. Question.

And for somuch as here may rise, yea and doth rise, a great cōtrouersie in these our Popish daies, cōcerning the first origine & planting of the faith in this our Kealme: it shall not be greatly out of our purpose, somewhat to stay & say of this question, whether the Church of England first receiued the faith from Rome or not. The which, although I graunt so to be, yet being so graunted, it little auaileth the purpose of them whiche woulde so haue it: for be it so, that England first receaued the Christian faith and Religion from Rome, both in the time of Eleutherius theyr Byshop. 180. yeares after Christ: and also in the time of Austen, whome Gregory sent hether 600. yeares after Christ:

Whether Christian Religion in this Realme came first from Rome.

yet their purpose followeth not thereby, that we must therefore fetche our Religion from thence still, as from the chiefe welhead and fountaine of all godlines. And yet as they are not able to proue the second, so neither haue I any cause to graunt the first: that is, that our Christian faith was first deriued from Rome, which I may proue by vj. or vij. good cōiectural reasons.

Aunswere. 1. Gildas.

Wherof the first I take of the testimony of Gildas, our coūtreyman, who in his history affirmeth plainly, that Britaine receaued the Gospell in the time of Tiberius the Emperour, vnder whome Christ suffered. Lib. De victoria Aurelij Ambrosij. And sayth moreouer, that Ioseph of Arimathie after dispersion of the Iewes, was sent of Philip the Apostle frō France to Britayne, about the yeare of our Lord. 63. and heere remained in this land al his time: and so with his fellowes, laide the first foundation of Christian faith amōg the Britayne people. Whereupon other preachers and teachers comming afterward confirmed the same, and increased it.

The first planting of Christē faiyth in England. Question.

Whether Christian Religion in this Realme came first from Rome.

Aunswere. 1. Gildas.

2. Ex Tertul. contra Iudæos.

2. The secōd reason is out of Tertullian, who liuing neare about, or rather somewhat before the time of this Eleutherius, in hys booke Contra Iudæos, manifestly importeth the same: where the sayde Tertullian testifying how the Gospel was dispersed abroad by the sound of the Apostles, & there reckening vp the Medes, Persians, Parthiās, and dwellers in Mesopotamia, Iewry, Cappadocia, Pōtus, Asia, Phrigia, Egypt, Pamphilia, with many mo, at length cōmeth to the coasts of the Moorrians, and al the borders of Spayne: with diuers natiōs of Fraunce, & there amongst all other reciteth also the partes of Britayne, whyche the Romaines could neuer attaine to, and reporteth the same now to be subiect to Christ, as also reckeneth vp the places of Sarmatia, of the Danes, the Germanes, the Scithians, with many other prouinces and Iles to him vnknowen: in all which places, sayth he, raigneth the name of Christ, which now beginneth to be commō. This hath Tertullian. Note here, how amōg other diuers beleuing nations, he mentioneth also the wildest places of Britaine to be of the same number. And these in his time were Christened, who was in the same Eleutherius time, as is aboue sayd. Then, was not Pope Eleutherius, the first whych sent the Christian fayth into this Realme; but the Gospell was heere receiued before hys time, eyther by Ioseph of Arimathia, as some Chronicles recorde, or by some of the Apostles, or of their scholers, which had bene heere preaching Christ, before Eleutherius wrote to Lucius.

2. Ex Tertul. contra Iudæos.

3. Ex Origene hom. 4. in Ezechi.

3. My thirde probation I deduct out of Origen, Hom. 4. in Ezechielem, whose words be these: Britāniam in Christianam consentire religionem. Whereby it appeareth that the faith of Christ was sparsed here in England before the daies of Eleutherius.

3. Ex Origene hom. 4. in Ezechi.

4. Ex Beda.

4. For my fourth probation I take the testimony of Bede, where he affirmeth that in his time, and almost a thousand yeare after Christ, here in Britayne: Easter was kept after the maner of the East Church, in the full moone, what day in the weeke soeuer it fell on, and not on the Sonday, as we do now. Wherby it is to be collected, that the first preachers in this land, haue come out from the East part of the world, where it was so vsed, rather then from Rome.

4. Ex Beda.

5. Ex Niceph. Lib. 2. cap. 40.

5. Fiftly, I may alledge the woordes of Nicephorus, Lib. 2. cap 40. where hee sayeth, that Symon Zelotes did spreade the gospel of Christ to the West Oceane, and brought the same vnto the Iles of Britayne.

5. Ex Niceph. Lib. 2. cap. 40.

6. Ex Pet. Cluniacensi. ad Bernardum.

6. Sixtly may be added here also the words of Petrus Cluniacensis, who wryting to Bernard, affirmeth that þ^e Scots in his time did celebrate their Easter, not after þ^e Romane maner, but after the Greekes. &c. And as the said Britains were not vnder the Romane order in the time of this Abbot of Cluniake(illegible text): so neither were they nor woulde be, vuder the Romane legate, in the time of Gregory: nor would admit any primacy of the bishop of Rome, to be aboue thē.

6. Ex Pet. Cluniacensi. ad Bernardum.

7. Ex Epist. Eleutherij ad Lucium.

7. For the the seuenth argument, moreouer I may make my probation by the plaine woordes of Eleutherius, by whose Epistle wrytten to king Lucius, we may vnderstande, that Lucius had receaued the faith of Christ in his lande, before the king sent to Eleutherius for the Romane lawes: for so the expresse wordes of the letter do manifestly purport, as hereafter followeth to be seene. By all which coniectures, it may stand probably to be thought, that the Britaynes, were taught first by the Grecians of the East Church, rather then by the Romaines.

7. Ex Epist. Eleutherij ad Lucium.

Peraduenture Eleutherius might helpe something, eyther to conuert the king, or else to encrease the Faith then newly sprong among the people: but that he precisely was the first, that cannot be proued. But graunt he were, as in deede the most part of our English stories confesse, neither will I greatly sticke with them therin: yet what haue they got thereby, when they haue cast all their gaine? In fewe wordes to conclude this matter, if so be that the Christian faith and religiō was first deriued from Rome to this our nation by Eleutherius, then let them but graunt to vs the same faith and religion, which then was taught at Rome: and from thence deriued hether by the sayd Eleutherius, and we wil desire no more.

What difference betweene the late church of Rome, from the old Church of Rome, and in what matters.

For then neither was any vniuersal Pope aboue all Churches and Councels, whych came not in before Bonifacius time, whych was 400. yeres after: neither any name or vse of the Masse, the partes whereof how and by whom they were compiled, here after in this booke following appeareth to be seene. Neither any sacrifice propiciatorie for the scouring of Purgatory was then offered vpon halowed altars, but onely the Communion frequented at Christian tables: where oblations and gifts were offered, as well of the people, as of the Priestes to God: because they should appeare neither emptie nor vnkinde before the Lord, as we may vnderstand by the time

What difference betweene the late church of Rome, from the old Church of Rome, and in what matters.

top