1246 [1246]
K. Henry. 8. Notes of Tonstalls Sermon, agaynst the Pope.
MarginaliaThat popes and bishopes ought to be subiect to their souerainges.Fyrst, by the Scripture he reasoneth thus and proueth, that all good men oughte to obey the Potestates, and Gouernours of the world, as Emperours, Kings, and Princes of all sortes, what name so euer the sayde supreme Powers do beare or vse for their coūtreys in which they be, for so S. Peter
Commentary
doth playnlye teache vs. 1. Pet. 2. saying: Be ye subiecte to euery humaine creature for Goddes cause, whether it bee kyng as chiefe heade, or Dukes or Gouernours. &c.
Marginalia1. Pet. 2. So that S. Peter in his Epistle commaundeth al worldly Princes in their office to be obeyed as the Ministers of God, by al Christian men. And according vnto
Commentary
the same S. Paule Rom. 13. sayth:
MarginaliaWhosoeuer resisteth the high powers, resisteth God.
The pope resisteth the high powers.
Ergo the pope resisteth God.Let euery liuing mā be subiect to the hygh powers, for the hyghe powers bee of God: and who soeuer resisteth the hygh powers, resisteth the ordinance of God, and purchaseth therby to hym selfe damnation. &c.
[Back to Top]And in þe same place of Tonstall, it foloweth: and lest men shoulde forget their duetye of obedience to their Princes, it is thryse repeated: that they be the Ministers of God, whose place in their gouernāce they represent: so that vnto them all men must obey, Apostles, Patriarches, Primates, Archbishops, Bishoppes, Priestes, and all of the Clergie. &c. And therfore (sayeth he) the Bishop of Rome oweth to his soueraigne and superiour like subiection by the worde of God taught vnto vs by Peter and Paule, as other Bishopes do to their Princes, vnder whom they bee. &c.
[Back to Top]Also, an other
Commentary
expresse commaundement we haue of Christ, Luk. 22. who vpō the occasion of his Disciples striuyng for superioritie, discusseth the matter, saying on this wise: The kings of the people & nations haue dominion ouer them, and those that haue power ouer them be called gracious Lordes, but so it shall not bee amongest you: But who soeuer amongst you is the greater, shall be as the yonger. And who soeuer amongest you shall be chiefe, shal be as a seruaunt, and a minister. &c.
MarginaliaLuck. 22.[Back to Top]And agayne, Christ speakyng
Commentary
to Pilate of his kyngdome, declareth that his kyngdom is not of this world.
MarginaliaIoh. 28.And therefore sayth
Tonstall, those that go about to make of Christes spirituall kyngdome, a worldly kyngdome, do fall into þ
e errour of some heretickes that loke that Christ after the day of iudgemēt, shal reigne with all his Saintes here in earth carnally in
Hierusalem, as the Iewes doe beleue that Messias is yet to come, and when he shall come, he shall reigne worldly in
Hierusalem.[Back to Top]By these and such other places it may well appeare, that Christ neither before his Incarnation, (as Tonstall saith) nor after his Incarnation, did euer alter the authoritie of worldly kynges and princes, but by hys owne worde commaunded them still to bee obeyed of their subiectes, as they had ben in the auncient time before. &c. And for examples of þe same, he alledgeth first the example of Christ hym self.
MarginaliaMat. 22.Mat. 22. who beyng
Commentary
asked of the
Iewes, whether they should giue tribute to
Cæsar, or no,
MarginaliaExamples of Christs humble subiection.he bad them giue to
Cæsar those thinges, that be hys, and to God those thinges that be his, signifying that tribute was due to
Cæsar, and that theyr soules were due to God. &c.
[Back to Top]Also, in the xvij. of Mathew
Commentary
it appeareth that Christ bad Peter pay tribute for him and his Disciples, when it was demaūded of him.
MarginaliaMath. 17.And why? Because he would not chaunge the order of obeysance to worldly princes due by their subiectes. &c.
An other example
Commentary
of Christ he citeth out of the vj. of Iohn, where after Christ had fedde fiue thousand and moe, with a fewe loaues, and fewer fishes, and that the Iewes would haue taken him and made him their king, he fled frō them, and would not cōsent vnto them.
MarginaliaIoh. 6.For the kyngdome (sayth hee) that he came to set here in earth, was not a worldly & temporall kyngdome, but an heauēly & spirituall kyngdome, that is, to reigne spiritually by grace & faith in the hartes of all Christen and faithfull people, of what degree, or of what nation so euer, they bee, and to turne al people & nations, which at his cōming were carnall & lyued after the lustes of the flesh, to be spirituall and to lyue after the lustes of the spirite, that Christ with his father of heauen, might reigne in the heartes of all men. &c.
[Back to Top]And here in these exāples of Christes humilitie, farther is to be noted, how Christ the sonne of God dyd submitte him selfe, not onely to the rulers and powers of this world, but also deiected him selfe and in a maner, became seruaunt to his owne Apostles: so farre of
Commentary
was hee from all ambitious and pompous sekyng of worldly honour: For so it appeared in him, not onely by washyng the feete of his Apostles, but also the same tyme a litle before his Passion, when the Apostles fell at contention among them selues, who among them should be superiour, he settyng before them the example of his own subiection, asketh this question: Who is superiour,
Commentary
he that sitteth at the Table, or hee that serueth at the Table? Is not he superiour that sitteth? but I am amōgest you, as he that ministreth, and serueth. &c.
MarginaliaLuck. 22.[Back to Top]
MarginaliaExamples of Peters subiection.The like examples Tonstall also inferreth of Peters humilitie. For where we read
Commentary
in þ
e Actes, how þ
e Centurion a noble man of great age, did prostrate him self vpon the grounde at the feete of Peter: then Peter not sufferyng that, eftsoones tooke him vp and bad him ryse, saying: I am also a man as thou art.
MarginaliaAct. 10.[Back to Top]So lykewise did the Aungell
MarginaliaApoc. 19. 22.Apocal. 19. and. 22.
Commentary
to whom when Iohn would haue fallen downe to haue adored him whiche shewed him those visions, the Aungell said vnto him: See thou do not so, for I am the seruaūt of God, as thou art. &c.
Agayne in the foresayd Peter
Commentary
what an example of reuerent humilitie is to bee sene in this, that notwithstandyng he with other Apostles hauyng hys commission to goe ouer all, yet neuertheles hee beyng at
Ioppa and sent for by
Cornelius, durst not go to him, without the vision of a sheete let down from heauen, by the whiche vision hee was admonished not to refuse the Gentiles, or els he knew in him self no such primacie ouer all people and places gyuen vnto hym, nor no such commission so large aboue the other. &c.
[Back to Top]Furthermore,
Commentary
This refers to Acts 10.11-15 & 11.5-11 and is taken as a sign that God wants all men to be saved, not just Jews or Gentiles. The bishops' point being that, while fervent in his faith, Peter had been wrong in his approach until this truth was explained to him. Indeed, Peter does not figure very heavily from this point on; attention has switched to the evangelising efforts of Paul.
[Back to Top] þ
e sayd Peter beyng rebuked of Paul his felow brother, tooke no scorne therof, but was content, submittyng him selfe to due correction.
MarginaliaThe popes obiections.But here,
Commentary
sayth
Tonstall, steppeth in the Bishop of
Rome and sayeth that Peter had authoritie gyuen aboue all the residue of the Apostles, and alleageth the wordes of Christ spoken to hym Matth. 16. Thou art Peter, and vpon this rocke I will builde my Churche, and will gyue to thee, the keyes of the kingdome of heauen: and what soeuer thou shall bynde vpon earthe, shall be bound in heauen.
MarginaliaMath. 16.This sayd Christ, sayeth the Pope, and S. Peter is buried at
Rome,
Commentary
This is an interesting claim based on the account written in Eusebius, [Church History 2:25:5-8] which seems to tally with the text of the Apocryphal 'Acts of Peter' (said to have been written by Leucius Charinus). Peter was seen fleeing Rome to avoid execution until he was confronted by a vision of Christ heading into Rome. This is the source of the famous 'Quo Vadis?' phrase. Peter turns back and accepts his martyrdom.
[Back to Top] whose successor I am, and ought to rule the church, as Peter did, and to be porter of heauen gates, as Peter was. &c.
[Back to Top]And Christ sayd
Commentary
John 21.17. The Roman interpretation of this verse is that it strengthens and compliments Matthew 16.18, in that Peter's supremacy is here confirmed over all the 'sheep' (the whole flock of the church). Foxe has selected quotations from Tunstal with the specific aim of highlight papal arrogance and the misinterpretation of their so-called scriptural evidences.
[Back to Top] also to Peter after his resurrectiō: Feede my shepe,
MarginaliaIohn. 21.which he spake to hym only, so that therby he had authoritie ouer all þ
t be of Christes flocke, & I as his successor, haue þ
e same.
MarginaliaThe ambitious pride of the pope.And therfore who so wil not obey me, Kyng, or Prince, I wil curse hym, and depriue hym of hys kingdome or segniorie: For al power is gyuen to me, that Christ hath, and I am hys vicar generall, as Peter was here in earth, ouer all and none but I, as Christ is in heauen.
[Back to Top]
MarginaliaThe scriptures falsely peruerted by the pope.This ambitious and pompous obiection (sayeth Tonstall) of the Pope, and his adherentes, hath of late yeares much troubled the world, and made dissension, debate, and open warre in all partes of Christendome, and all by a wrong interpretation of the Scripture. Who if hee woulde take those places after the right sense of them, as bothe the Apostles themselues taught vs, and all the auncient best learned interpretours do expounde them, the matter were sone at a point. But otherwise, syth they peruert the Scripture, and preach an other Gospell in that point to vs, then euer the Apo-
[Back to Top]stles
1570 Edition | Book 8 | Page 1246 