certainly is the most holy Sacrifice of the Mafs; by the benefit of which it comes to pass, that Men by a kind of Anticipation + enjoy Heaven in Earth, whilft they do not only fee with their Eyes, but handle with their Hands the Creator of Heaven and Earth.]

III. You alfo Worship the meterial Crofs, as I have already proved; and nothing can excufe you, much lefs juftify you from Idolatrous Worfhip in these Inftances, but fuch like Apologies as the Philofophers framed to justify the Pagan Idolatries; and what hath usually been faid in defence of your Idolatrous Worship, will go a great way to justify theirs. All this, Sir, is as true as your Conclufion is falfe, that if you are guilty of Idolatry in these Inftances, as we not only affirm, but prove, that therefore the Roman Catholick Church is no true (i. e. no real) Church of Chrift, nor was it when we left it. I have already fhewed the Difference between a true Church in a metaphyfical and in a moral Senfe; and told you before, that when I came to this part of your Reply, I would use real, where you use true Church, to difcover the Fallacy of your Argument, and how you imposed upon your Convert, by the ambiguity of that Expreffion. And pray, Sir, let me ask of the fingle or perfonal Members of your Church or any part of it, upon Suppofition that you are guilty of that Idolatry we charge you with: Do they therefore ceafe to be Chriftians, as well as found and orthodox Chriftians? Are they no more Chriftians, than if they had maliciously renounced Chriftianity? Are they become profefs'd Infidels of any Sort, Jews, or Turks, or Pagans, or Atheifts, or Deifts, by being Mem

+ Poffident.

bers

bers of a Chriftian Church corrupted with Idolatry; and if they are true, that is, real Chriftians, notwithstanding their Idolatrous Belief and Practices, [as moft certainly they are,] how comes the whole Church, which is made up of those fingle Members, to lofe her Being, and become no Church by the fame Idolatry? As they are real Chriftians guilty of Idolatry, fo is fhe a real Church guilty of Idolatry: And, as if they would forfake Idolatry and other Errors of your Church, they would thereby commence found and true, as well as real Chriftians; fo would fhe reform from Idolatry and her other Errors and Corruptions, fhe would thereby become a Church morally, as well as metaphyfically true, i. e. [Catus or Congregatio Catholicorum,] a holy, pure, found, orthodox, as well as a real Church. [To confirm what I fay, I entreat you to confult Canon. Apoft. Ixxii. Canon. Concil, Nicen. xi, xii, xiii, xiv. and the first nine Canons of the Council of Ancyra, which was before the Council of Nice. From these Canons it is evident, that Chriftians who denied God and Chrift, and facrificed to Idols, and eat of the Meats which were offered to them in the Decian, Licinian, and Dioclefian Perfecutions, and by Confequence were declared Idolaters; yet were not thought by their Fall to have fallen from Chriftianity, or become Gentiles, or cease thereby to be Chriftians. Nay, the Clergymen who denied and facrificed, were not thought thereby to fall from their Clergy or Orders, or ceafe to be Bishops, Priests, or Deacons, though in fome Cafes they were thought worthy to be degraded or reduced to Lay-Communion, and in others, keeping their Rank and Dignity, they were only filenced, and forbidden to execute their Functions; which shews in the Judgment of thofe early and pure

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Ages,

Ages, that the Sin of Idolatry did neither destroy the Being of a Chriftian as fuch, nor deface the Character nor null the Orders of a Prieft. If that had been the effect of it, they could not have been reconciled or reftored to the Church, according to thofe Canons and the Practice of the African Church in the Decian Perfecution, as may be feen in the Synodical Epiftle of the African Bishops to Cornelius, which is the LVII in the Oxford Edition of St. Cyprian, and in that Father's Tract De Lapfis, where you will find, that Lapfers into Idolatry were reconciled by degrees of Penitence proportioned to the degrees of their Crimes. The fame was the Practice of the Church of Rome under Cornelius, as appears from Eufebius's Eccl. Hiflory, lib. vi. cap. xliii. particulary from the Story of Trophimus a Bifhop, whom, though he had offered Incense to Idols in the Perfecution, that Pope admitted to Lay-Communion. I muft alfo entreat you to confult St. Hierom's Dialogue againft the Luciferians; where he proves the

Arian Priefts and Bifhops to have been true, that is, real and valid Priefts and Bishops, and the Arian Churches to have been true, i.,e. real Christian Churches against Lucifer of Calaris and his Followers, who looked upon them as no Chriftians, but as Gentiles; and their Bishops,

not

Ita etiam tempore Ariana hærefeos, quicumque cum Arianis communicaverant, aut in Arianum dogma lapfi fuerant, non folùm fufcepta funt in Communionem, fed etiam Epifcopatus retinuerunt. Ac contraria Luciferi Calaritani, feveritas improbata eft. Du Pin de Antiqua Ecclefiæ Difciplinâ. Differt. iii. cap. ii.

*Orthodox. dixit, Omnes ergo haretici Chriftiani non funt. Lucif. Jam fuperius audifti. Orthod. Si Chriftiani non funt, Diaboli funt. Lucif. Nemo dubitat. Orthod. Si autem Diaboli funt, nihil refert haretici, an Gentiles. Lucif. Non refello. Orthod.

not as Bishops, but as Heathen Priefts; and their Churches, not as Chriftian Churches, but rather as Synagogues of Antichrift and Satan, like the Capitol, which ought not to be called Churches. That Dialogue and St. Hierom's way of arguing in it, is wholly contrary to yours; and tho I will not charge the Herefy of Lucifer upon you, yet I affirm it is the Confequence of your Arguments; and I pray you to confider of it, and tell me, if you think] the corrupt Church of Pergamus ceafed to be a Church or loft her Being, by having those among them, who not only held and taught] the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans, but the idolatrous Doctrine of Balaam, who taught the Children of Ifrael to eat things facrificed to Idols, and commit Fornication, and put Antipas, Chrift's faithful Martyr, to Death, becaufe he bore his Teftimony against them. Did

Orthod. Igitur prafixum inter nos habemus de haretico fic loquendum ficut de Gentili. Lucif. Planè fixum. Orthod. Quare nunc, ut libet, quoniam inter nos conftat hæreticos Gentiles effe. Lucif Quod interrogatio mea cogere volebat, expreffum eft hæreticos Chriftianos non effe. Nunc reftat conclufio. Si Ariani hæretici funt, & hæretici omnes Gentiles funt, & Ariani Gentiles funt. Si autem Ariani Gentiles funt, tum conftat nullam focietatem Ecclefia effe cum Arianis, id eft, cum Gentilibus: manifeftum eft veftram Ecclefiam, que ab Arianis, id eft, à Gentilibus Epifcopos fufcipit, non tam Epifcopos recipere, quàm de Capitolio Sacerdotes, ac per boc Anti-Chrifti magis Synagoga, quàm Chrifti Ecclefia debet nuncupari. Orthod. Ecce impleta eft prophetia: paravit mihi foveam, & ipfe incidit in eam. Lucif. Quonam modo? Orthod, Si Ariani, ut dicis Gentiles funt, & Arianorum conventicula caftra funt Diaboli, quomodo in caftris Diaboli Baptifmum recipis.

* Angelo Ephefi deferta charitas imputatur. In Angelo Pergamena Ecclefia Idolothytorum efus, & Nicolaitorum doctrina repre henditur. Item apud Angelum Thiatyrorum Hielabel Prophetissa, fimulacrorum efca, fornicationes increpantur. Et tamen omnes hoc ad poenitentiam Dominus hortatur, fub comminatione futura pena nifi convertantur. Hieronymus adverfùs Luciferianos.

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the

the Church of Thyatira cease to be a real, as well as a pure Church, because fhe let the Woman Fefabel teach and feduce her Servants to commit Fornication, and to eat Things facrificed_to Idols; which provoked God to threaten to caft her into a Bed of Sorrow, and them who committed fpiritual Adultery with her into great Tribulation, So he unless they repented of their Deeds? threatned the Church of Pergamus to fight against her with the Sword of his Mouth, unless fhe repented. Repentance, if real, would have made them pure and morally holy Churches; and fo Repentance and Reformation would make yours. But if fhe will not remember from whence the is fallen, and repent, if she will not reform from her fpiritual Fornications, and do her first Works, God will come upon her as a Thief, and fhe fhall not know in what Hour he will come upon her. He shall call her to account, when the doth not think of it, and make her pay the long, long Reckoning of his infinite Patience. The Churches fhall then know, that he is the fearcher of the Reins and Hearts, and will give to every one of them according to their Works. He can call for the Whirle-wind and fpoilers from the North, to avenge his Caufe upon her. For three Tranfgreffions of Tyrus, and for four, he will not turn away the Punishment thereof; he can, he will find a way to make her and her Shepherds lament and houl: And tho' fhe flatters her felf with the Promife of Perpetuity, and faith in her Heart, I fhall never be moved, ufurping the Stile of the one holy Catholick and Apoftolick Church; yet he can do unto her as unto the Midianites. as to Sifera, as to Fabin, as to the Princes of Zeba and Salmanna, and make her as the Dung

of