bare the keyes of the kingdome, as saying thus vnto vs: May not he which falleth, rise agayn? Oh you which are fallen, rise ye vp and behold me, and harkē vnto me trauailyng toward Paradise. The gates wherof to open I haue receaued power.

And thus do I write vnto you, not for any instructiō, but onely to put you in remembraūce: for I know how God hath indued you with all wisedome & knowledge. As Salomon sayth: Giue onely occasion to the wise, and he will learne wisedome: Teach the iust man, and he will be glad to take instruction.

MarginaliaChristian countreys and natiōs in the East partes, whiche are not vnder the Bishop of Rome.This one thing more I will say and so make an end. There be great & mighty nations that are of like minde and opinion with vs. First the Ethiopians that inhabite the chiefest part of the East. After that the Syrians: and other moe of greater nomber then they: and more disposed to vertue, as the Hyberi, Alani, Gothi, Charari, with innumerable people of Rusia, and the kingdome of great victory of the Vulgarians. And all these are obedient vnto vs as to their mother church, persisting hetherto cōstātly in the auncient and true orthodoxasticall fayth immouable.

MarginaliaChrist onely head of þ^e Church.The God of all holines which for our sakes became man, & which onely is þ^e head of his church & cōgregatiō, vouchsafe to gather vs agayne together in vnitie, and graūt, that þ^e Græcian church to gether w^t her sister church of old Rome may glorifie þ^e same Christ, þ^e prince of peace, by the vnitie of faith, to the restitutiō of sound and holsome doctrine, wherin many yeares agone they haue agreed and were vnited. God graunt vnto you brotherlike charitie, and the hand of the most mighty God gouerne you all (holy Cardinals) till that ioyfully ye arriue in the hauen of euerlastyng tranquillitie. The grace of God be with you all. Amen. Ex Math. Pariens. fol. 111.

MarginaliaThe Pope proclaymeth war agaynst the Greeke church.Shortly after þ^e sendyng of these letters, Pope Gregory prepared to send men of warre signed with the Crosse to fight agaynst the Grecians. MarginaliaThe Archbys. of Antioch and Constantinople excōmunicate the Pope.Whereupon the Archbyshop of Antioch, with the sayd Germanus solemnely excommunicated the Pope, after he first had excōmunicated thē. Par fol. 118. Marginalia5. Notes to consider.In the meane time by the tenour of these letters of the Patriarch sent to the Pope and to the Cardinals, it is euident to all mē that haue eyes in their heades, to see: MarginaliaThe first Note.first how the whole vniuersal Church of Christ, from the East partes to þ^e West, in aunciēt tymes were altogether vnited in one consent of doctrine, & lynked together in brotherly charitie, one church brotherly to helpe an other, both with tēporall ayde & spirituall coūsell, as case required. Neither was then any one mother Church aboue other Churches, but the whole vniuersall Church was the mother Church and spouse of the Lord, to euery faithfull beleuer. MarginaliaThe true catholike churche, where it was, and when.Vnder which vniuersall Church in general, were comprehended all other particular Churches in speciall, as sister churches together, not one greater then an other, but al in like equalitie, as God gaue his giftes so seruing one an other, euer holding together þ^e vnitie of fayth and sisterly loue. MarginaliaVnitie.
Vniuertie.
Consent.And so long was it and rightly might so be called þ^e Catholicke church, hauyng in it true vnitie, vniuersalitie, & free cōsēt. Vnitie in doctrine, vniuersalitie in cōmunicatyng and ioynyng together of voyces,, consent in spirite and iudgemēt. For what soeuer was taught at Rome touchyng fayth and saluation, it was no other thē was taught at Antioch Syria. &c.

MarginaliaThe secōd Note.Secondly, how in proces of tyme, through occasion of the Byshop of Romes tyranny and violent oppression, thys ryng of equalitie beyng broken, all flew in peeces, the East Church from the West, the Greekes from the Latins, and that which was one before, now was made two: vnitie turned to diuision, vniuersalitie to singularitie, and free consent to dissension.

MarginaliaThe thyrd Note.Thyrdly, here is also to be noted, after this pitifull breach of equalitie, how many and what great nations departed from the communiō of the Church of Rome, and especially about this tyme aboue specified of Pope Gregory 9. an. 1230. so that both before and after that tyme many Councels were holden, and many thinges here concluded in the West Church, wherunto the one halfe of Christendome lying in the East partes, dydneuer agree: and contrary, many Councels holdē with them, which in the Latine Church were not receaued. MarginaliaThe Church hath her name of Catholicke, whereby and when.So that the Church now as she lost the benefite of vniuersall consent, so also she lost the name of Catholicke. MarginaliaWhether the doctrine of trāsubstantiation, made without the free consent of the East Churches, bee Catholicke or no.Wherupon this question is to be asked, that when the Councell of Laterane vnder Pope Innocent 3. ordeyned the doctrine of transubstantion and auricular confession here in the West Church, without the free consent of the East Churches: whether the same doctrine is to be counted Catholicke or not?MarginaliaThe fourth Note.Fourthly, in the departyng of these Churches from the Byshop of Rome, here is also to b enoted, that the same Churches of the Greekes, notwithstādyng they sequestred them selues and fell out with the church of Rome, and that iustly: yet they kept theyr vnitie still with their God, and reteyned still þ^e true xxx that is, the true and sincere doctrine of fayth, ready to debate and try the truth of their Religion by the Scriptures, as they here in their owne writynges desire to haue the truth examined, accordyng as ye haue heard. Wherfore the Church of Rome hath done them open wrong, which beyng offred so gently to try and to be tryed by the truth of Gods word, not onely would stād to no tryall, nor abyde conference, but also hath excommunicated thē as heretickes, which appeare here to be more orthodoxasticall Christians, then they thē selues.

MarginaliaThe 5. Note.Fiftly, these thynges thus standyng, then haue we to conclude that the Church of Rome falsely pretendeth it selfe to be Catholicke. MarginaliaThe Church of Rome proued not to be Catholicke.For if the name of Catholicke must needes importe an vniuersall consent of the whole, how can that be Catholicke where the consent of so many famous and true Christian Churches hath bene lackyng, and furthermore where the consent that hath bene amongest them selues, hath rather bene coacted, then any true or free consent? Which is easie to bee proued. MarginaliaThe procedings of Rome stand vpon no free cōsente, but are coueted.For let these fiers and fagottes cease, let Kynges and Princes leaue to presse their subiectes with the Popes obediēce, but let the Scripture, and the Byshops alone euery one in hys owne Dioces to gouerne their flocke after þ^e rule of Gods word, and how few be there in this West end of the world (trow you) that would not do the same that these Grecians, Ethiopians, & Syrians haue done before vs? And thus much by the occasiō of this Patriarches letters sent to Pope Gregory, concernyng the Grecians.

Whose doynges when I consider, as I can not but commend their wisedome and iudge their state happy and blessed, in shakyng of frō their neckes the miserable yoke of the Popes tyranny: MarginaliaThe miserable state of þ^e West partes of Christēdome vnder the Pope.so on other side consideryng with my selfe the wretched thraldome of these our Churches here in the West part of the world, vnder the Bishop of Rome, I can not tell, whether more to maruell or to lament their pitifull state, who were brought into such oppression and slauery vnder hym, that neither they could abyde hym, nor yet durst cast hym of. MarginaliaThe Popes excōmunications like to a fooles dagger.So vntolerable were his exactions, so terrible was his tyranny, his suspensions and excommunications, much like to a madde mans dagger, drawen at euery trifle, that no Christen pacience could suffer it, nor nation abyde it. MarginaliaThe false persuasion of the Popes supremacie, cause of much wretchednes.Agayn, so depe did he sit in their consciences, falsely beleuyng hym to haue the authoritie of S. Peter, that for conscience sake neither Kyng nor Cæsar durst withstand hym, much lesse durst poore subiectes once mute agaynst hym. And although his takinges and spoilyngs, namely in this Realme of England were such, that neither the layty nor spiritually could beare them: yet was there no remedy, beare thē they must, or els the Popes sentence was vpon them, to curse them as blacke as pitch.

In readyng the historyes of these tymes, any good hart would lament and rue, to see the miserable captiuitie of þ^e people, what they suffered vnder this thraldome of the Byshop of Rome, wherof part hath bene shewed before, more (God willyng) shall folow hereafter, & some part here presently I mynde to expresse.  

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Papal exactions from England

The Foxe Project was not able to complete the commentary on this section of text by the date by which this online edition was compiled (23 September 2008). This commentary will become available in due course from the 'Late Additions and Corrections' page of the edition.